It had been a long day of work without having Brittany as a distraction, and it had been an even longer three days without the blonde at all. The last Santana had heard from her was the small conversation they had after Brittany landed at LAX, which was before Brittany had gone to see her uncle in the hospital.

Santana could only imagine the state the girl was currently in, which was part of the reason why she had decided to refrain from texting her until she was ready to talk. Sure, she had sent a couple 'good night' texts to let Brittany know that she was thinking about her, but since none of them had received an answer, she never pushed for anything more. The last thing Santana wanted to do was make her feel pressured to talk or reach out to her. She knew that the girl would talk to her when she was ready if that was what she truly wanted. In the meantime, she would just have to give Brittany her space and hope that she was finding all the love and support she needed from the people around her.

Heaving a long sigh, she decided to stop focusing on the things she couldn't currently change and, instead, moved her thoughts back to her work.

The rest of the day passed just as slowly as the ones before. Even her lunch spent sitting alone in the office break room felt as if it lasted too long.

Thankfully, 5:00 PM eventually rolled around, and Santana was finally able to leave the office. As she moved toward the elevator, she pulled out her phone to find a text from a number she didn't recognize. Opening it up, she quickly started reading the message.

To Santana: Hello, Santana. This is Patty, Brittany's coworker. I'm sorry for having to do this, but I need to ask you for a favor. I've been taking care of Brittany's cat, Lord Tubbington, while she has been away. Unfortunately, Gerry and I forgot that we were supposed to be leaving right after I get off work this afternoon so we could make it to my grandson's birthday party later this evening. I didn't know what to do, so I called Brittany and asked for your number. Is there any possible way you could run by her apartment tonight and feed him?

To Patricia: Hi, Patty. I would be more than happy to. I'm actually leaving work right now. Would it be okay for me to come up and get her key from you?

To Patricia: Oh, thank you so much. That would be perfect. See you in a minute.

Locking her phone, she shoved the device back into her purse and made her way out of the building and across the street.

Santana came walking through the front door of Brittany's apartment about an hour later.

Reaching into her purse, she dug out the list of instructions Patricia had given her on how to take care of Lord Tubbington. Opening up the folded up sheet of paper, she began reading the strangest feline care regiment she had ever seen.

Instructions for Taking Care of LT:

1. Fill up food bowl as needed.
2. Fill up water bowl as needed.
3. Check litter box as needed.
4. Please pet and give LT some attention if time permits.
5. Please let LT watch some TV if time permits. (See list below for his favorite shows and times.)
6. Check for hidden cigars under my bed.
7. Check for hidden cigars under the sofa.
8. Check for hidden cigars in between and under the sofa cushions.
9. Check for hidden cigars in LT's litter box.
10. Check for hidden cigars anywhere you think cigars may be hidden.
11. Ask LT if he is hiding any cigars in the apartment.
12. Look for any signs of him lying about hiding cigars if he says no. (See list below for ways to tell if he is lying.)
13. Lecture him on why cigars are bad for his health regardless of whether you actually find any cigars or not. (See feline health statistics and LT anti-smoking speech below if you don't know what to say.)

Thank you!
-Brittany

The list was then followed by everything the blonde had promised would be found after the conclusion of her instructions, and Santana couldn't help but smile at her friends's never ending cuteness.

Folding the piece of paper back up and shoving it into her front pocket, the accountant walked over the to kitchen where Patricia had told her Lord Tubbington's food and water bowls could be found. Filling them both up, she then made her way into the bathroom to check the litter box and was thankful to find it almost completely untouched.

She then took the list back out to check for a television show that would be on at that time while she made her way back to the living room. As soon as she stepped foot in the room, she noticed a large cat lounging on the couch. "So, you must be the famous Lord Tubbington," she assumed, walking over to give to give the oversized feline a scratch behind the ears. "Let's see what's on the tube, huh?"

Turning around, she found the remote sitting on an end table and picked it up before pressing the power button. As she sat down and started punching in the digits of the channel she had in mind, she spoke up again, "You know, you and I actually have similar taste in television shows, assuming that the ones listed on this sheet of paper are accurate."

Santana unsurprisingly received no response from the feline sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Despite this fact, she continued making comments about the current Law & Order episode, figuring that it could pass as giving the cat attention.

As soon as the episode was over, Santana turned her attention back over to Lord Tubbington, "Look, Tubbs. Is it alright if I call you Tubbs?" She paused briefly but continued when she received no signs of opposition, "Okay, so like I was saying, I'm really sorry to have to ask you this. I honestly wouldn't even be doing it if I wouldn't feel bad later on for not doing everything your mom said I was supposed to do, so can we just save ourselves a lot of time and cut to the chase by you telling me if you have any hidden cigars or not?"

Lord Tubbington looked over to the girl, giving her a disinterested look, which she quickly imagined to be him asking her if she was being serious, before laying his head back down. Santana had never felt more lame in the presence of a cat in her entire life, "Uh, thanks. Sorry again. Just, uh, just know that they are bad for you, and Brittany really hopes that you aren't smoking them. Anyways, I'll just shut up and let you get back to sleep now."

That was the last thing she said for the rest of her stay. After a couple more episodes, she finally decided that she better head home so she could get ready for work in the morning.

Turning off the television, she got up and made her way over to where Lord Tubbington was laying. Kneeling down, she started to gave him a few little pets, "I'm going to leave now, but I told Patty that I'd come by and take care of you in the morning since I have the only spare key right now so I'll see you then."

She then pushed herself back up and made her way out the apartment, locking the door behind her.

The next two days of work turned out to be even worse than the first. The days seemed to get even longer, which she hadn't previously thought to be possible, and she once again spent lunch alone in the break room with nothing but a measly peanut butter and jelly sandwich to keep her company.

There had still been no word from Brittany, which was causing the girl to start to worry. Every time those thoughts started to make themselves known, however, the Latina would work to push them away. She knew Brittany would be fine. She just had to give her time.

Walking into her apartment Wednesday evening, she threw her keys down on the coffee table and made her way into the kitchen to fix her something to eat.

For some reason, sitting in the empty dining room felt even lonelier than having lunch in the break room had, which only confused Santana since the blonde had barely spent any time at her apartment. In fact, Brittany had only been over a handful of times since the day she took care of a sick Santana. The accountant quickly realized that this train of thought was getting her nowhere, so she finally decided that she was just going to take a shower and go to bed.

About five hours later, Santana was sleeping in bed cuddled up to Mr. Bear when she was woken up by her phone ringing. Reaching out blindly, she eventually felt the device under her palm and picked it up. Without bothering to open her eyes to see who it was, she pressed the answer button.

"Hello," she asked groggily.

"Oh, no. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, San. I can just call back later," said a quiet, timid voice.

Realizing that she was on the phone with the girl she had been waiting to talk to for days, Santana's eyes snapped open, "No, B! I'm up. I'm awake."

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot about us not being in the same time zone anymore. What time is it over there?" Brittany asked.

Looking over to the digital clock sitting on her bedside table, she saw that it was almost two in the morning, "Uh, not too late. We can talk."

"Santana, what time is it?" Brittany asked again with a serious tone.

"It's two o'clock."

That's when she heard Brittany's voice become a little frantic, "Oh my goodness! I can't believe I didn't think of the time difference. I probably woke you up. What am I talking about? Of course I woke you up! Oh gosh, and you have work in the morning! I'm going to let you get back to sleep now. Sorry for disturbing you."

"No, Britt. Seriously, it's okay. I'm just glad that you decided to finally call me. I was starting to get worried," Santana quickly spat out before the blonde could hang up the phone.

"I know. I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to act so distant. Being here has just made everything feel so real, and I guess I wasn't prepared for all that has happened since I've been back. I did get your texts, though, and I wanted to thank you for sending them. They really did mean a lot to me."

"It was no problem at all. I'm just glad that I could make you feel even just a little better."

"You did," Brittany confirmed.

The blonde continued to fill Santana in on everything that had happened since flying home. She had managed to make it there in time to see her uncle and was able to spend the following couple of days visiting him before he passed away. She also talked about how she had been having a hard time coping with the loss, especially since she had been trying to stay strong and help support the rest of her family to the best of her ability.

By the end of her recap, Brittany had been reduced to tears and said, "Tomorrow is his funeral, and I don't think I can go, San. It's all too hard."

Trying to find a way to comfort the blonde, Santana encouraged, "B, you are one of the absolute strongest people I have ever met. You can do anything. I know it'll be hard, but I'm sure your uncle would have liked for you to be there."

"But what if I'm not ready to say good-bye?" Brittany choked out.

"Then, you don't have to say good-bye, Britt. Just think of it as 'see you later.'"

A long moment of silence passed between the girls before Brittany spoke up again with a strained voice, "Has anyone ever told you that you're really smart? Like really, really smart?"

Santana gave a small shrug, though no one was there to actually see it, "Yeah, I might have heard it a time or two." Keeping the conversation light, the brunette looked down at the teddy bear lying curled up in her arm, "What was that, Mr. Bear? You want me to tell Brittany that you miss her and hope that she comes home soon?"

That seemed to get Brittany's voice to perk up a bit as she asked, "Is he there by you?"

"Yep, we're all cuddled up right now. You were right, by the way. He is a fantastic cuddler," Santana replied as she tightened her hold around the bear.

"Well, he did learn from the best."

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"Yours truly, of course!" Brittany exclaimed, causing both of them to laugh.

"Hm, I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait and see for myself before I can agree with you."

"Fine, suit yourself," Brittany concluded before adding, "By the way, can you tell him that I'll be flying home on Saturday?"

"You will?" Santana asked, her voice coming out a little more enthusiastically than intended.

"Yep, I sure will," Brittany confirmed, and Santana could almost hear the smile in her voice after hearing the brunette's reaction.

"Will you need me to give you a ride home from the airport?"

"Only if you wouldn't mind driving all the way back over there to come get me."

"I definitely wouldn't mind, B. Not at all."

"Well, then that would definitely be appreciated," Brittany responded. There was a comfortable silence that passed between the two before Brittany was speaking up again, "Hey, San, what's 'duck' in Spanish?"

"Pato. Why do you ask?" Santana inquired.

"Well, I've been calling the duck you gave me Mr. Duck since I've been here, but I thought saying it in Spanish would be even better, especially since he was a gift from you. Isn't that right, Señor Pato?" Brittany's voice sounded a little farther away from the phone, and Santana pictured the girl looking down as she talked to the stuffed duck, just as she had done with Mr. Bear.

Santana gave a few chuckles before the pair were met with another small silence.

"Hey, San," Brittany said, her voice getting a little softer.

"Yeah, Britt?"

"Thank you for staying up to talk with me and for allowing me to take my mind off everything, even if it was for just a little while."

"Anytime, Britt-Britt. I hope I was able to help you to feel a little better."

"Yeah," the blonde said with a yawn, "You've actually been doing that a lot for me lately."

"Well, I'm glad. Now, how about you get some sleep? You got a big day tomorrow."

"Okay, but do you think you could maybe stay on the phone until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, I think I could do that."

"Awesome. Good night, San and Mr. Bear."

"Buenas noches, Britt-Britt y Señor Pato," Santana said, purposefully causing the blonde to giggle.

There was a quiet rustle of covers on the other side of the line as Brittany tried to get comfortable, and eventually, Santana noticed Brittany's breathing even out, which she took as her cue to follow the blonde into dreamland.

Author's Note:

Yeah, I definitely did not expect to get this posted as quickly as I did, but I was pretty excited to get this chapter written so I just went for it.

This should really be the last update until the end of the week.

I unfortunately have two major exams to study for, which will basically rule my life for the next six days.

Sorry, everyone.

Anyways, I hope to see you all next time!