AN: Well this is an early July 4th gift. I didn't think I would be able to post until after the holiday so be sure to be grateful in your reviews ;)

Thank you again to everyone that is reviewing and reading I really am blown away at the positive response this story has got. Thank you and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Glee is not mine despite owning the dvd box set

Revelations

The last bite of food was barely in Brittany's mouth before she felt a gentle tug on her shorts "Let's go see the ducks Mommy" said the little voice of her son who was bursting with excitement standing along side the table

Brittany looked to her son whose excitement could barely be contained "Just give me a few minutes to let my food settle and then we can go" Brittany said while smiling half heartedly at her son

Everyone watched the little boys shoulders practically dropped to the floor in disappointment as he reluctantly walked back to play with his trucks.

Santana cast a questioning look towards Brittany who didn't even notice all the eyes at the table suddenly shift in her direction. It wasn't like Brittany to hesitate when going to see the ducks and everyone knew it; maybe I was wrong earlier when I thought she was showing signs of improvement thought Santana.

Not even a minute later Anthony came running back into the kitchen ready to go "Are you ready now Mommy?" Anthony asked hopefully

Everyone in the kitchen laughed slightly at Anthony's abbreviated time table which clearly showed how eager he was; it probably had felt like a few minutes to him since he was so anxious. The only one not laughing at Anthony's cuteness was Brittany she just sighed and slowly stood from the table almost looking as if she was being led to the gallows.

Santana grimaced in response to the signals Brittany was giving off; not wanting to go see the ducks, not smiling at Anthony's cuteness; this is so unlike her thought the Latina. Nothing ever upsets Brittany for more than like five minutes she thought, but then again Brittany did lose someone she had once loved… and she was trying to get back to normal, maybe getting back to doing things that normally made her happy will help. At least I hope it does sighed the Latina

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Brittany's POV

It had been a long time since Brittany had walked this familiar route to get to the park. Santana and I must have walked this path hundreds of times over the years. Brittany knew Santana couldn't have cared less about going to see the ducks, but she never once complained. Santana was a good friend and an even better wife and mother thought Brittany. Brittany was deep within her mind when she glanced down at her son who was walking about as fast as his little legs could carry him and for the first time since Artie's death she smiled a genuine smile. It felt good to smile again thought the blonde, but as she did a wave of guilt washed over her. How can I be happy when three days ago one of my best friends was killed she thought. Realizing her mistake Brittany quickly dropped the smile and once again became a sad panda as she continued the walk to the park.

They entered through the park gate hand in hand as Anthony eagerly dragged Brittany deeper into the park. Scanning the area Brittany thought time could have stood still because the only difference was there appeared to be a new addition to the old playground but other than that this place looked exactly the same.

"So what do you want to do first?" Brittany asked "feed the ducks or play on the playground?"

"DUCKS…" he said with a big toothy grin while jumping up and down

A slight smile appeared in spite of herself as she watched her son bounce up and down with excitement. "The pond is this way" she said as she took Anthony's hand to lead him in the right direction.

Anthony spotted the pond as it barely came into view as they rounded a large area of pine trees and as soon as he did he released his mom's hand and took off running.

"Hey, wait for me" Brittany yelled as she started to jog slowly after the excited toddler.

When Brittany finally caught up to Anthony at the waters edge he was bending over trying to pick up a baby chick that was lying in the grass.

As his small hands reach out to grab the chick Brittany yell "WAIT…" which startled the boy as he jumped and turned to look at his mother with wide eyes. He looked almost scared as Brittany closed the distance between them

"Sorry buddy, but you can't pick them up… you'll scare them and they might bite you if they get scared" Brittany said sweetly trying to protect the boy from injury

Anthony looked saddened by this news and Brittany hated to see her son upset "Why don't you give the ducks some of the bread we brought… they look pretty hungry" she said trying to raise his spirits and distract him from his disappointment after not being able to pick up the cute baby chick.

Brittany handed Anthony a clump of bread as he walked closer to the waters edge

"Not too close Anthony…" Brittany said protectively as he stepped closer and closer to the water. He squatted down and gently started throwing the bread into the water so the ducks would come closer. Slowly, the ducks happily started to swim and quack their way over to where Anthony had thrown the bread.

Anthony turned around very happy with himself and smiled brightly at his mom. Before Brittany even knew what was happening a big smile appeared on her own face before the thought could even surface to pull it back.

Brittany and Anthony happily enjoyed the splashing and quacking ducks until Brittany heard a loud scream coming from the direction of the play ground. She quickly stood from her position next to Anthony and took a couple curious steps in the direction of the scream. She thought for a moment about investigating the scream further since it had sounding like a child in some serious pain, but before she could entertain that thought further she heard a horde of quacking and splashing coming from behind her as Anthony took off running away from the pond.

His little legs were running as fast as he could in the direction of the slide about 50 feet away as a very large and pissed off duck followed on his heals.

Brittany seeing her son's eyes full of fear went into protective mode as she quickly started chasing after her son and the irate duck. Anthony reached the slide and started to climb the slope of the slippery aluminum slide in an attempt to get away for his attacker which obviously wasn't the best plan since he was starting to slide back down the slide in the direction of the awaiting Momma duck. Brittany grabbed him as he continued to slide downward just in the nick of time before he could reach the bottom and the awaiting angry bird. Brittany shooed the duck away as she shielded and held her scared son tight to her chest and after a few moments the duck grew tired of the confrontation and slowly began to waddle back to the pond.

Brittany lowered her son back to stand on the ground as she looked him in the eyes "You tried to pick up the baby chick after I told you not too… didn't you?" questioned Brittany with a stern look

Anthony thought for a minute as Brittany continued to stare him down if he could cover this up "But mom" he said looking as adorable as possible. Brittany silently thought I know that look as she furrowed her brow in thought. Santana gives that same look when she wants to avoid a disagreement "the chick asked me to pick him up… his mom should be mad at him… not at me" he said with an honest and slightly confused look.

Brittany thought about Anthony's reason for picking the chick up and on more than a few occasions she had talked with animals so it was entirely possible Anthony had the gift as well. "It's okay…" she said with a sigh "I'm not mad… you just scared me is all" she continued as she began to relax "but Anthony if I tell you not to do something it doesn't matter if someone else tells you differently you still need to listen to me" she said trying to channel Santana's parental bad cop.

"You can't pick the chick's up… their Mommy will get scared just like I would if some stranger tried to pick you or Emily up" Brittany said trying to make Anthony understand so this wouldn't happen again.

Anthony looked to the ground shamefully as he noticed his mom's unusually stern tone "I'm sowry Mommy" he said

"Hey" Brittany said as she gently placed her fingers under Anthony's soft little chin tilting his head upward "I'm just trying to protect you when I tell you not to do something… I don't want you to get hurt" she said looking into Anthony's piercing blue eyes and reverting back to her normal sweet good cop style.

Anthony had never been one to dwell on the negative so it came as no surprise when Brittany watched his guilt dissipate before her very eyes as the gears starting to turn once again obviously coming up with his next new scheme. "Do you think we can get a duck to come live with us… this way I can pick him up whenever I want?" he asked cheerfully

Brittany smiled involuntarily for the forth time today at Anthony's quick rebound from guilt to excitement in a matter of seconds as she momentary got excited at the prospect of having a duck for a pet. In fact Brittany had asked Santana a few times that very same question with unfortunately no luck up to this point. The mother in her was trying to kick back in after briefly entertaining the thought of having a duck for a pet as she said "Maybe if you stay out of trouble for awhile Mami and I will think about getting a pet duck." At least that will give the little trouble maker some incentive to behave for at least awhile she thought.

"Okay Mommy… I'll be good" Anthony said excitedly thinking he had a shot at getting a pet duck. He hugged his mom quickly before running over to the jungle jim to play on the slide.

Brittany watched her son happily climb, swing, and play in the sand box as her mind drifted back to her grief and a time she had come to this very same place with a very different boy.

Flashback- April 2012

Today was the day she was going to tell Artie that her and Santana were officially a couple. Brittany had walked to the park after meeting at Santana's house for a little motivational pep talk from the Latina. She knew this was something that had to be done and she wanted to be honest with Artie, but it still hurt knowing she was going to hurt him.

It had been months of pushing and pulling between Artie and Santana when Brittany finally realized that she was just scared; scared of giving into her feelings for Santana and Santana getting spooked again and reverting back to her sex isn't date mindset.

Brittany knew Santana had changed and she was doing everything she could to prove to Brittany that she could be a good girlfriend, but Brittany still couldn't shake the years of hurt feelings and neglect Santana's behavior had caused. She was scared so this was a big step; one that she was finally ready to take.

So as Brittany walked through the park gate she scanned the area looking for the boy in the wheel chair. She finally spotted Artie sitting next to the park bench alongside the playground. It's now or never she thought as she walked in Artie's direction.

"Hey Brittany" he said with a goofy smile as she sat down next to him on the bench

"Hey" she said weakly

Artie noticeably frowned at the blondes unusual mood "Is everything okay… you look kinda sad?" he asked

"Well…" she hesitated as she began playing with her hands nervously in her lap "I have something I need to tell you" she said trying to maintain her courage "You're not going to like it…"

His face now mirrored her own because he now visibly looked nervous "just say it Britt…"he said with a look of uncertainty as he looked Brittany in the eyes

Brittany was still playing with her hands in her lap hoping this would help her avoid looking into his sad eyes and hold onto her resolve "Santana and I have decided we want to be a couple" she said deciding to just rip off the band aid so she wouldn't prolonging the pain

Artie stared at her for a moment before his eyes fell and his head dropped into his hands "Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked while looking at his feet

Brittany sighed knowing how much this was hurting him "Yes… this is what I want" she said with conviction and a hint of sadness

He sat for a few moments with his head still in his hands as Brittany held her breath not knowing what would come next. At this point she just wanted to get out of here and out of this awkward situation.

"You're really honestly sure this is what you want…?" he asked again weakly "she can make you happy?"

Brittany sighed knowing how hard this was for him "Artie I know this is hurting you…," she said sympathetically "but I've been in love with Santana for as long as I can remember… and its not that I didn't love you too… because I did and still do… its just I need to follow my heart… and my heart is telling me it wants to be with Santana" she said finishing and finally looking him in the eye

Artie sighed deeply trying to control his emotions and find the right words that would convince Brittany to change her mind. He thought long and hard for the right words and unfortunately over a time period of who knows how long the right words never came. Probably because deep down he always knew this day would come.

Brittany just sat there and stared while Artie appeared to be deep in thought

"Well" he said tentatively "I guess there is nothing I can do to change your mind" he continued voicing his thoughts out loud as he finally raised his head to look at Brittany once again.

Brittany shook her head side to side sadly and reaffirmed "No… there's not"

Finally, for the first time since Brittany sat down the two former lovers looked into each others eyes as they both felt the loss of something that had been exactly what they both had needed for quite some time.

"Brittany…" he said just above a whisper "I just want you to be happy… and if Santana can do that for you, I'm not gonna stand in your way"

Brittany was a little confused by Artie's comment which had distracted her from the deeper meaning behind what the boy was saying "but Artie I thought you couldn't stand?" the blonde questioned seriously confused

"No Brittany…" he said shaking his head "that's a figure of speech. It just means that if you want to be with Santana I'm not going to do anything to keep you from what you want"

The misunderstanding luckily seemed to have lightened the mood because they both smiled weakly at each other for the first time

"You better tell Santana she better not fuck it up or she is gonna be hit full force with the weight of the battering ram that is my wheel chair" he said trying to keep the mood light even though his heart was breaking on the inside

Brittany laughed a little at his statement "I will" she said with a smile as she slowly stood up from the bench getting ready to leave.

Artie made no attempt to move from his spot and Brittany silently thought he probably needed a little time to process this information

As she was starting to turn to walk away Artie spoke causing her to stop in her tracks

"I'm gonna miss you" he said sadly "Please just be happy"

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Brittany sat on the park bench almost in shock. That memory felt so real… almost like Artie was right there next to her telling her to be happy. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts as she looked to Anthony who was happily climbing the steps up the slide.

She thought back to Artie's words as she watched Anthony slide down the slide and quickly run back around to do it again. Artie wanted her to be happy even then; even when his heart was breaking. He was thinking about my feelings… when really he wanted a very different outcome. He was putting me first…

It was like a bolt of lightning hit her as her eyes drooped shut and her hands came up to her face… I've been so selfish she thought. What am I doing? I've been miserable for the past three days in part because I thought that is what Artie would want, but that's not what he would want at all. He has always just wanted me to be happy despite whatever sacrifices he needed to make.

I'm such a fool she thought shaking her head. I need to move on because that is what Artie would want for me. He wants me to be happy.

Just then Anthony came jogging up, his face as red as a cherry tomato "Mommy… can we get some ice cream from the ice cream truck before we go home?"

Brittany smiled for the first time without guilt as she bent over to hug Anthony. Anthony was a little surprised by the embrace and a little impatient since his mom didn't answer his question. "Well… can we?" he asked again into his mom's shoulder

Brittany giggled in response "sure…" she said pulling away "we can get some ice cream for the walk back to abuela's" and for the first time in three day's her joy was guilt free.

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It had been a long emotional day between traveling, the funeral and her revelation. So when Brittany finally walked into the guest room at the Lopez house she felt like she had been to hell and back. Even though she felt extremely tired she also felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It felt good to be getting back to her old self. She was still sad at the lose of her friend and she knew she always would, but that didn't mean she had to make herself and everyone around her miserable. It was time to get back to living.

Upon entering the tastefully decorated guest room Brittany noticed Santana lying in bed reading a book. Santana's head immediately looked up from her book to take in the person who had just walked through the door.

Santana appeared hesitant and nervous and Brittany silently kicked herself because she knew her behavior had caused that reaction.

"Hey" she said meekly "How did your date with Anthony go?"

Brittany smiled "We had fun… he reminds me so much of you"

Santana noticed the difference in Brittany's tone immediately and on top of that she could see the smile in Brittany's previously sad blue eyes. The corner of the Latina's mouth optimistically turned up as she took in the sight of her wife readying herself for bed.

"I'm glad you had fun… It's nice to see your beautiful smile again" Santana said as she put her book down and climbed off the bed to make her way over to Brittany.

Brittany felt strong arms wrap around her waist as she was engulfed in Santana's warmth. "I was starting to get worried about you" Santana said into Brittany's ear

Brittany slowly turned around in Santana's arms and looked lovingly at her wife "Don't worry… it will give you wrinkles" Brittany said jokingly as she lightly tapped her finger to Santana's cute nose.

Brittany went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and upon her return slowly lower her tired body into the warm bed. She crawled close to her wife and lowered her head to rest on the Latina's chest as their arms and legs intertwined with one another. They laid together both enjoying the comfort of have the other women close. After a few moments of content silence Brittany abruptly spoke "O… I almost forgot… we might have to get a pet duck" she said with a knowing smile

"WHAT?" questioned Santana

"Just thought I'd let you know" she responded as she tucked her body closer to her wife and smiled mischievously.

AN: I have to admit I had a little trouble thinking and writing from Brittany's POV so if its hard to follow because I occasionally slipped into someone else's POV I'm sorry (rookie mistakes).

To everyone state side Happy 4th of July since I probably won't get to update again until after the holiday; to much partying to do (and by partying I mean drinking and drunk writing is probably not a good thing since I have a hard enough time sober).

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always please, please, please review.

Thanks and take care