Two Years Later…

"Mind if I grab a beer?" I ask from the kitchen of the small studio.

"If you don't mind cheap, piss color beer, then be my guest," says the naked brunette as she lays in bed just a few meters away.

"Why do you buy such shit beer?"

"Look around, Genius. I live in a shoebox. Be thankful I can afford any at all." She slips out from underneath the covers and walks over to the small refrigerator from which she pulls out a beer for herself. "How is it that you're a college dropout and make more money than me, someone who went to college right after high school and graduated exactly four years later?"

"Welcome to the United States of America," I say with a smile as I pick up my vibrating phone off the nightstand. "Shit," I say under my breath. I swipe the screen and bring the phone to my ear. "Hey, Brittany! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, San! Sorry I missed your call yesterday. I had to finish clearing out my dorm, then my parents took Sugar and me out to dinner after the ceremony, so I kinda just collapsed as soon as we got to the hotel."

"That's okay, Britt," I say as I begin slipping my clothes back on. "Did you get my flowers?"

"I did," she says, and I can tell she's smiling. "They were beautiful, but I wish you'd been there to give them to me yourself."

"I know, me too, but you know work has had me tied down for months."

"It's like work always seems to keep you away from me," she says, and I know it's true. Between being a freelance photographer and working at a cheesy portrait studio, I've only talked to her maybe three or four times in the last three months and Skype calls have become non-existent.

"I know. I'm sorry," is all I can say.

"When will I see you?"

"Uh, well…" I stall, being caught off guard.

"Cause you know, now that I'm done with school I'll have loads of free time while I figure out what I'm gonna do next. I know you're always busy, but I really wanna see you, and you kind of owe me for missing my college graduation."

I chuckle. "I know, I know. You're flying back to Ohio tomorrow, right? Maybe I can take a trip down there soon."

"Hmm. That doesn't sound too promising."

"Hey, take it or leave it," I joke.

"Fine!" She laughs. "By the way, I'm sending a gift via Sugar."

"Really? What is it?"

"You'll have to wait and find out!"

"Brittany, I don't like surprises. Can you just tell me?" I beg.

"Nope. And I wish I could talk to you all night, but I've got to run. I have to go… change my bed sheets."

"What? Aren't you in a hotel? Isn't there people who do that?"

"Yeah, but maybe they need a break, you know?"

"Sure. I guess… Will you call me when you land tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Congratulations, again."

"Thank you! I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

"I thought you didn't have a girlfriend," says the brunette as she falls back into bed. "I don't know if I'm comfortable sleeping with someone who's in a relationship."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my friend, so you just keep getting naked for me, okay?"

She laughs. "If you say so."

"I'm gonna go," I say, slipping on my boots. "My roommate is going to be home from California soon and apparently she has a gift for me."

"A gift from your girlfriend?" She teases.

"Not my girlfriend," I state. I grab my camera bag off the floor and swing it over my shoulder. "See you at the studio?"

"Yup. Drive safe."

"Will do. Take it easy on the piss water," I toss over my shoulder as I exit the single room.

After a short drive through the dark streets of Chicago, I hurry up the stairs of our building and find myself ambushed by a small pair of hands as soon as I enter through our apartment's door.

"Don't look!" Comes Sugar's demanding voice.

"What the hell?!" I say as I try to remove her hands from my eyes. "Sugar! I could have tried to stab you with my keys or something. Don't pull shit like that on me!"

"Just walk!" She leads me to what I think is our kitchen. "Okay, ready for Brittany's surprise?"

If her tiny hands weren't pressed against my face, I'd roll my eyes. "Yes," I sigh.

"Okay. Ready?" She repeats with a giggle.

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay. One… Two… Three!"

Her hands fall from my face and I'm left staring at a grinning Brittany who wears a shiny, red gift bow on her head. "Surprise!" She squeals.

"What-" I start but get cut short when she envelopes me in her arms and spins us in a circle.

When she sets me down, she asks, "Do you like your gift?" And points at the bow on her head.

I chuckle, still taken aback. I haven't seen her in two years and now she's suddenly here. Just a few minutes ago I still believed she was in California. "I- Yeah, of course. I love it. I'm just surprised."

"Well good cause that was kind of the whole point," Sugar says.

"So wait, you were here when we talked on the phone?" I ask Brittany.

"Yup! We got here about an hour ago. We're sneaky, aren't we?" Brittany says, proudly.

"You sure are," I agree. "So then, what about Ohio? Are your parents in Chicago, too?"

"No, they flew back home from Davis, and Sugar and I flew here. I'm only staying for a few days though. I just wanted to come visit because this might be the only chance I get to see you."

I scowl. "I told you I'd go to Ohio."

"You know that was probably not going to happen." She pulls me back into her arms and takes a deep breath. "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too," I say, finally taking the time to appreciate having her so close to me again.

"You smell different." She pulls back and sniffs the air around me. "Did you start using a new perfume?"

" ," I say, creating some distance between us. "Maybe it's the shampoo I'm using." I glance at Sugar who gives me a judging stare. "You guys hungry?"

"Can we get some pizza?" Brittany asks, excitedly. "It's the first thing on my list of Things to Try."

"Pizza sounds great, right Sugar?" I urge.

"Mhm," she hums, still judging me with her eyes.

/

Two days later, after having taken Brittany to the Millennium Park and having posed for about two dozen pictures with the Cloud Gate, I wake up during the late morning and tip toe to the kitchen where I start a pot of coffee.

"San?" I hear a sleepy voice call out from the living room where Brittany has been spending her nights.

"Yeah, it's me," I announce. "Want some coffee?"

"Yes, please."

I pour myself the usual mug of dark coffee with a bit of milk and a little extra something before filling a mug for Brittany. "How do you take yours?" I ask, turning around to find Brittany already taking a sip from my coffee.

She grimaces. "What's in this?" She sets the mug down and away from her. "Alcohol?"

"It's just a little vodka," I say, innocently, as I hand her the non-alcoholic coffee.

She eyes me curiously, probably wondering why I drink so earlying in the morning

"It wakes me up," I explain.

Brittany pours some milk into her coffee and drops a few tablespoons of sugar. "It's weird being here," she comments.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's weird being here in your apartment. Like you and Sugar are so grown up, you know? You both have jobs and live on your own." She sips on her coffee. "It's like having a sleepover everyday. I'm kinda jealous."

"Don't be too jealous. Living with Sugar isn't sunshine and rainbows all the time, but I am lucky that she decided to move out here when I dropped out of school. I would hate to have to live with some random person."

With a smile she says, "You should have asked me to move in with you."

"Believe me, I would have if you weren't living across the country."

"I would have totally dropped out of school and came running over here."

I laugh. "No way. You're way too smart to be a dropout."

"Are you saying you're not smart?" She teases.

"Not as smart as you, that's for sure. School just wasn't for me, but I at least discovered photography through it."

"So you see yourself taking pictures for the rest of your life?"

"I don't know. I'm good at it and it pays well," I say. "What about you? Are you ready to start saving the lives of the pussycats of Ohio?"

She gives a cheeky smile. "I am, but I was thinking that maybe I could start saving lives here, in Chicago." I give her a puzzled look and at that she laughs, lightly. "I really like what I've seen of this city so far. And I don't want to be in California or Ohio anymore, so why not try Chicago where my best friends are? We can be a trio again."

"Are you being serious? I mean, I think that'd be pretty fucking cool, but you've only been here a few days. Shouldn't you think about it some more?."

"To be honest," she starts as her head drops down in embarrassment, "I've kinda been thinking about it for a while, but I hadn't had the guts to tell you."

"What? Why not?"

"Well for one, I don't have much money, so I would kinda need a place to stay while I save enough to get my own place."

"Brittany, c'mon." I nudge her arm. "You're acting as if you don't know me. You can stay here as long as you want. I'm sure Sugar will not protest. If anything, she'll want me to give up my room for you."

She laughs. "So, you think I should do it? Should I move to Chicago?"

"It's up to you, Britt, but I think it'd be amazing if you did."

She smiles. "Then… I think I will. I'm gonna do it. I'm moving to Chi-town."

"Okay, now you really need some of this." I pour a shot of vodka into her coffee and hand it back to her. "To Chicago," I say, holding up my mug.

She pulls a face as she looks down at the coffee but clinks my cup anyway and says, "To Chicago." Before chugging the coffee down.

My eyes go wide. "Brittany! It was still coffee not a glass of whiskey! "

"Sorry," she says, swiping the corners of her mouth. "Might as well." She shrugs.

/

"Yoo-hoo! Sugar Momma is home!" Sugar announces as she comes in through the front door and finds me sprawled on the living room floor. "Um… What are you doing?"

"Cooling off like a god damn dog," I say. "I thought you said you told maintenance to come fix our A/C."

"I did!"

"Then you need to go tell them again! My implants are about to melt inside my chest! I'm not ready to have the tits of an 80 year old woman."

She sighs and sets her shoppings bags down. "It's your turn to go tell them. I have another client in an hour."

"Do you know what being a personal shopper means? You're suppose to buy clothes for other people not for yourself!" I say as I point at her shopping bags.

"Those are just some treats I got myself after having to put up with people that have the worst taste, ever. And speaking of work, why are you still home?"

"I let Brittany borrow my car to go to a job interview, so I need you to give me a ride to the studio."

"Fine. Let's go now. I need to stop at the mall before my next appointment."

I give her a scolding look.

"It's for my client!" She defends.

Once we're in Sugar's car, her curiosity comes seeping out. "Sooo… It's been a week since Brittany officially moved in and you seem to be doing really well."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Santana, really? Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm fine. I'm over her."

"Are you? I know we haven't talked about it in a while, so I figured maybe you were trying to forget about how you felt, but I honestly didn't think you'd achieve it since you were still talking to her often."

"Yeah we talked, but being physically away from helped a lot. I still lover her, but it's different now. I lover her the same way I love you. And I actually think the three of us being together again will be fun."

"I think so too! And although I was like your guys' number one fan, I'm glad I won't have to put up with any more angst between the two of you. It's been going on for waaaaay too long. "

"I agree. Red light," I warn her as we near an intersection. "Sugar, red light. Slow down!"

"I'm trying!" Her knees jerk up and down as she pumps the brakes repeatedly. "They're not working!"

"Sugar!"

/

"You're lucky your friend is a slow driver," the nurse says as she packs up her suture kit. "You girls would have ended up beneath that truck if she were racing down the road."

"Yeah, lucky me."

"Make sure you wash your wound within 24 hours, okay?" She says as she examines the stitches on my brow bone. "And rub this in gently, it's an antibiotic ointment," she explains, holding up a small tube.

"I will. Thank you."

"Alright, honey. Take care."

When the nurse swings the cubical curtain open, I spot Brittany frantically walking down the corridor. She stops and looks around before spotting me and racing towards me.

"Brittany. What are you doing here?" I ask before her hands quickly clasp the back of my neck and jank me towards her until our lips crash together in a painful kiss.

She doesn't make a move for a long time, and neither do I. She just holds me there while my hands tightly grip the gurney on which I'm sitting on.

Finally, someone nearby clears their throat, and when Brittany doesn't seem to plan on letting go of me any time soon, I pull back and out of her hands.

"Didn't mean to interrupt," Sugar says as she fixes her neck brace.

Brittany's eyes are still on me. They scan every inch of my face then lower over the length of my body. "You're okay?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yes. I am."

She presses her index finger against my chin and turns my face to get a better look at my stitches. "I thought… Sugar said-"

"Sugar said we were both in a car accident," Sugar finishes. "I broke my neck, you know?"

Brittany finally tears her eyes from me and looks at Sugar. "You did?" She asks, her voice still laced with worry.

"Well, not all the way."

"You broke your neck halfway?" I ask, unimpressed.

"It's called whiplash," she explains.

"That's nothing like breaking your neck. You didn't even- Nevermind," I sigh. "Are you done? I'm going home."

Brittany's hands are on me before my feet touch the ground as she gently helps me get down from the gurney. I'm perfectly fine. I could have jumped off the thing, but I don't tell her that. I just smile and thank her. "So Sugar called you?"

"Yeah," she nods, still holding on to my arm as we walk to the exit. "She said you guys had crashed and it had been horrible. She said you were bleeding all over the place."

"Of course she did," I growl as I glare at the back of Sugar's head. "It wasn't that bad. We're obviously fine."

"You have no idea how scared I was, San. I thought I was going to find you in a bed half dead and hooked up to machines."

"I won't be needing machines anytime soon, Britt. I can still breathe and shit on my own just fine. I just want to go home and sleep. "

"Anything you want, San," Brittany replies.

/

Later that day, after having slept all afternoon, I wake up in the late evening with a horrible headache.

I sit up on my bed with a hand pressed against the side of my head and grunt a groggy, "Fuck…" I grab the empty cup on my night stand and slowly move towards my door. When I step into the living room, I notice the TV is on. Brittany turns to look at me from her spot on the couch and is at my side before I can say a word.

"What do you need? I'll get it for you," she says as she lightly holds my elbow.

"I was just gonna get some water. My head is killing me."

"Go back to bed." She takes the glass from me. "I'll get it for you."

"I can do it, Britt."

"I know, but I want to do it for you. Just go back to bed, okay? I'll grab you some painkillers too."

I give in to her pleading eyes and go back to my room. A few minutes later she comes in with a glass full of water, a bottle of Advil, and a gentle smile displayed across her face.

"Do you want one or two?" She asks as she uncaps the small bottle.

"The whole bottle would probably be better," I say while resting my head against my pillow.

She extends her palm towards me. "Two it is."

I take the pills and toss them back with some water.

"Do you need anything else?" Brittany asks.

I shake my head. "Where's Sugar?"

"She's sleeping. I made her some dinner earlier. Do you want to eat?"

"No, thanks." I open my eyes into slits and find her still standing by my bed. I chuckle. "Lay down," I say, patting the spot next to me.

She stalls for a minute then rounds the bed and sits with her back against the wall.

I blindly reach for the ointment on my nightstand. "I should probably put this crap on now."

"I'll do it," Brittany offers and takes the small tube from me.

"Okay," I laugh. "Would you like to officially be named Nurse Brittany?"

She shrugs with a smile. "I wouldn't mind, but technically, I'm closer to being doctor than a nurse."

"Oh, that's right," I say as she slowly rubs in the cream on my wound. "You can be my doctor if I ever grow a tail."

"I may specialize on cats and dogs, but I'm still pretty bad ass when it comes to fetching pills and rubbing ointments on humans, aren't I?" She asks as she finishes up.

"You most definitely are," I chuckle, my eyes still closed. "Now if you could just make this headache go away."

"It's that bad?"

"It's bad, but I'll live."

After a moment of being silent, Brittany starts, "Santana," she says, carefully. "I don't know if I should bring this up right now or at all since you haven't mentioned it but… I'm sorry about earlier… About what I did at the hospital? I know I told you a long time ago that it wouldn't happen again, but I don't know. I just… I was scared and worried, really worried. And then I saw you-"

Although I feel like the room is spinning so fast that it's about to throw me out the window, I lean up towards her and seal her rambling with a kiss. The room is still turning, but Brittany feels frozen beneath me, and when I can no longer stand the pain vibrating through my head, I drop back down on to my pillow. "Stay with me," I say, too scared to open my eyes and see her reaction.

For a moment everything is still and the only thing I hear is the blood rushing to my head as my headache gets worse. Just when I start to think that I might pass out, Brittany shuffles down on the mattress and lays her head on the pillow next to mine. I smile. At least some kind of small relief washes over me tonight.