"Santana, for the love of God, will you hold still?" Rachel grunted, grabbing Santana's chin and pulling it sharply until her face was straight forward. When their eyes met, Rachel's eyebrows both lifted and she looked at her with a bit of annoyance "If you don't hold still your make up is going to look like a child applied it for you."

"I am trying to read the case file!" Santana barked back, lifting her arm to wave the paper she held. "I need to be up to date. I can't go in there uninformed."

"Don't they brief you before the case starts?" Rachel asked with a shrug before lifting her hand to Santana's eye, gently using the tiny brush she held to apply some color to her eyelids.

"Yes" Santana grumbled as her eyes closed to help Rachel be able to put the makeup on. "But, as the word brief indicates, it is short and condensed. I need the details. I need to be able to reference something that maybe the other party didn't know about. I need to have all the weapons I can."

"Your team has more information on this guy than necessary" Rachel said softly as she concentrated on her task. "I am sure between the four of you, you know more about the guy than he knows about himself. It's a pretty open and shut case, isn't it?"

Santana just shrugged. She opened the eye that Rachel wasn't working on and gave a slight smile at the look of concentration on Rachel's face "There is no such thing as an open and shut case. The fact that he didn't take his plea bargain is an indication that he thinks his lawyers have a strong enough case to keep him out of jail."

"How is that even possible?" Rachel shook her head, dropping her hand away from Santana's face now. She eyed her work carefully then smiled before turning to her makeup bag and digging for something new. "Don't you guys have literal hours of tape showing him being a creep? Aren't there at least a dozen girls testifying against him?"

"Yeah well that's the shitty thing about our justice system. Sometimes even with the truth so blatantly obvious, the guilty walk free anyway." Santana shrugged and lifted the hand mirror to look at the work Rachel had done. "How did you get so good at this?"

"When you take as many roles as possible in any theater that will take you, sometimes you have to not only be the talent but the makeup department, the wardrobe department, and tech all at once." Rachel smiled as she moved the brush over the pad of blush she held in her hands now. She motioned for Santana to turn her head and once she did she started to lightly apply the color to her cheeks "How many cases with this much evidence have you lost?"

"None" Santana said with a shrug. She took advantage of the fact that her head was turned and lifted the paper to read it over. "But it happens sometimes, Rach."

"Well it won't this time" Rachel said with a nod. She grabbed Santana's chin and turned her face to the other side before repeating her actions from before. A silence settled between them as Rachel finished the makeup and Santana read as much from the case file as she could. After another few minutes, Rachel dropped the last of her makeup into her bag then gave Santana a grin "There you go. As beautiful as always and yet there's an air of power and intimidation. I really am an artist."

"So humble, too" Santana rolled her eyes playfully. She leaned in and kissed very softly at Rachel's lips, smirking when she left behind the soft shade of red that Rachel had applied to her lips. "Thank you."

"Of course" Rachel nodded, reaching out to slide her thumb over Santana's bottom lip to smooth out the smudge of lipstick that had been caused by the kiss. "I am always happy to help but why didn't you just do your own makeup?"

Santana shrugged as she got up from the bed where they had been sitting together. She moved over to her closet now and started searching through her shoes to find ones that matched the pantsuit she was wearing. "I figured you were just as nervous as I am and could use the distraction." When she found the heels she wanted, she grabbed them and returned to the bed, sitting down as she worked them over her feet. "Considering you've been ready since dawn I thought I'd let you focus on me."

Rachel bit her bottom lip and dropped her head so Santana couldn't see the soft blush on her cheeks. It amazed her how well Santana knew her. In just a few short weeks Santana had observed her and understood the person she was with scary accuracy. When she looked up and saw Santana smirking at her, she just rolled her eyes and pushed at her shoulder playfully "Whatever."

Santana let out a laugh and stood up from the bed. She reached back and offered her hand to help Rachel to her feet as well. She waited until Rachel's hand slid into her own and they were both standing before she turned to face her completely. She smiled and slid her hands down along Rachel's sides, smoothing out the dress she had put on that morning "You look really pretty. Are you ready for this?"

Rachel gave a nervous nod. She wasn't really sure she was ready but it was too late for doubt. The day of the trial was there and it was now or never. So she steeled her nerves and put on a smile for Santana so that hopefully she wouldn't be too nervous to argue the case. "I'm ready. How are you feeling?" Her eyes flickered to Santana's left side and it was immediately obvious she was asking about Santana's physicality more so than her emotional state.

"I'm okay" Santana whispered with a nod of her head. "I won't be standing the entire time. I have my pain medicine in my briefcase in case I need it but I won't. I will be okay."

Rachel nodded quickly and let out a soft sigh. Her hands moved down Santana's arms to her hands. She laced her fingers through Santana's and gave both of her hands a tight squeeze. She offered her a soft smile and slowly nodded again "Okay then, let's do this. Let's go put a pervert in jail."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Though Santana had argued hundreds of cases, this was all new to Rachel. The hustle and bustle of everything pertaining to the case was absolutely enthralling. It was like the tv shows about court and stuff but only ten times better. There was a chaos about it all as people moved in and out of the courthouse in anticipation of the start of the trial.

The local media had caught wind of the story so there were a few cameras lingering about. They had focused mainly on the defendant when he had arrived so Santana and her team had been able to slip into the courthouse without being bothered. Rachel suspected, however, that once her team won the cameras would be swarming them. She liked the thought of that. Santana definitely deserved to have the world know her name for doing something amazing.

Rachel sat in the gallery and just looked around in awe. One thing was for sure, tv and movies nailed it. It was like every other courtroom you'd ever seen on tv. She wondered if tv had shaped their courtroom sets around actual courtrooms or if courtrooms had eventually just morphed into what everyone expected them to look like because of tv and movies.

Her thoughts were cut short when Santana and her team entered the room. They had been separated to go over the case beforehand. Since Rachel was only a witness, she would not need to be briefed until the day of her testimony. Santana had told her that the first day would probably consist of a lot of boring talking as they presented evidence and facts but Rachel had insisted on coming anyway. Truthfully, she couldn't wait to see Santana in action.

Slowly the court filled and every essential person took their spots. The jury had filed in quietly and the defendant and his team of lawyers had followed Santana's team in. Rachel couldn't help but scowl at the big pervert who had manhandled her. He was even more disgusting looking in the daylight. Finally, the judge entered and order was called so the trial could begin.

Santana hadn't been exaggerating when she said there would be a lot of boring talking. Rachel had no idea how anyone sat through this on a regular basis. She was intimately involved in the case and she was bored out of her mind. Maybe because she just wanted to see the man go to jail so she was impatient for that moment to come. In fact that was the only thing that helped keep her attention. She wanted to hear every bit of evidence against him so she could rest easy at night knowing how much safer the streets were.

Though it was only a few hours, it had felt like years to Rachel when they finally broke for lunch. She was out of the courtroom first. She made her way all the way outside before she even looked at anyone else. She lifted her face to the sun and felt the warmth it offered and a smile came to her lips. She needed air. She needed to be reminded of the beauty of the world. Hours of reminders of how horrible that man was had taken their toll on her. She just needed to escape that reality for a few moments and enjoy something pure.

She was sitting outside on one of the benches, eyes closed, taking in slow easy breaths when someone approached her. "Ms. Berry?"

Rachel opened one eye to find the source of the voice. When she recognized the young man as one of the assistants on the case, her other eye came open and she offered him a pleasant smile "Yes?"

"Ms. Lopez sent me to come find you. She can't leave the courthouse for lunch so she wanted me to bring you to her." He offered her a bit of a crooked smile and offered his hand out to help Rachel up.

Rachel frowned a little at the news. She was hoping she and Santana could escape for just a moment and go back to being, well, whatever it was that they were. It had been nice since the night Santana had come to talk about her feelings. They had been, well, completely content together in their own little world. Even with Rachel rehearsing over Skype and Santana going over the case file they had still kind of been in their own little bubble of a world. But that bubble was gone now as they were forced back into the real world with the start of the trial.

Getting up off the bench, Rachel motioned for the young man to lead the way and followed him begrudgingly back into the cold stone halls of the courthouse. She was quickly growing to wonder how anyone could want to spend their days working in a place that was so bleak.

Rachel was lead to a room near the courtroom where the trial was being held. The young man offered her a smile as he pulled the door open for her and motioned her inside. "Thank you" She offered politely before walking into the new room. It was small with a round table surrounded by plush office chairs in the middle of it. She immediately spotted Santana hunched over numerous papers that were spread out over the table top. The other members of her team were present too and it was obvious that when they broken for lunch that they had no actual intention of taking a break.

"There you are" Santana glanced up when she heard the door close behind Rachel. She offered her an immediately apologetic smile and motioned to the chair next to her. "Have a seat."

Rachel hesitated for a moment. Part of her wanted to turn around and leave. She didn't want to distract Santana. She also didn't want to sit around in a stuffy office and waste the only break they would have that day. But a bigger part of her wanted to be near Santana anyway she could so she finally moved to sit in the chair next to her. "So lunch doesn't really mean lunch in legal jargon?"

Santana let out a laugh and shook her head as she flipped a paper over and took a note "It does but in the middle of a trial like this we eat as we read."

"What good does that do?" Rachel asked softly, watching Santana's hand fly over the paper as she wrote. "I mean it's not like a new piece of evidence is suddenly going to pop up on those pieces of paper you've been studying for weeks."

"Doesn't mean we didn't miss something" Santana said with a shrug. She looked up at the team around her that were reading and taking notes too then over to Rachel "You know how sometimes you have a situation that you are sure you understand completely then an outsider comes in and takes one look and points out something you didn't see before?" She nodded and motioned around the table "The more sets of eyes on this the better. What one person sees another might not so it's good that we have as many people working this as possible."

"I get that" Rachel whispered softly. She eyed the others around them for a moment before sighing and looking back to Santana "I just thought, you know, we might get a chance to have a little time together."

"We will" Santana said with a nod. She reached out and put a hand over one of Rachel's and offered a soft smile. "Tonight, I promise. I just have to keep my head in the game right now."

"So why did you send for me? I feel like I'm just distracting you" Rachel frowned and looked down at Santana's hand over her own.

"I wanted to see you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I know a lot of what is being said in court is hard to hear but we can't pull punches in there or we will lose." A knock came to the door and a delivery guy entered with several bags of food. "Oh good, lunch is here."

Rachel watched as each bag of food was set in front of each person. When Santana pushed a bag toward her with a smile, she tried to return the smile but it fell flat. She reached for the bag and opened it to see what was inside. It was some sort of sandwich, it looked like. She was sure it was good but she wasn't particularly hungry anymore. Once the delivery guy was paid and took his leave, Rachel glanced over at Santana with a shrug "I'm doing alright. But I think I am going to take this outside" She motioned to her bag and started to stand.

Santana looked up with concern on her features. She looked Rachel over once, trying to read her, before she turned in her chair to face Rachel completely "Are you sure you're alright?"

Rachel nodded quickly and smiled just slightly "It's just a nice day outside and I've been in this courthouse all day. I just need a little air, a little sunlight."

"Okay" Santana said with a frown. She handed the bagged lunch to Rachel then shrugged her shoulders "You'll be here when we call it a night, right?"

"I'll be here" Rachel nodded firmly. "I'll be in the courtroom after lunch, too. I just..." She glanced around the room where she stood and shook her head before looking back down to Santana "It's cold in here."

Santana nodded. The temperature wasn't cold. It was Vegas in the middle of summer. Sure the air conditioning was on but that was not what Rachel had meant. She knew that courthouses weren't exactly the warmest and most welcoming places in the world. They definitely weren't the type of place Rachel liked to hang out in. "I'll see you after, then?"

Rachel nodded and turned to leave. She didn't want to come back after lunch but she had to. She had to be here for Santana. But for now she would enjoy the freedom of her lunch break. She would enjoy not feeling like she was sitting in a prison. It was funny to her that a courthouse, where justice was supposed to be served, felt more like a tomb than anything else. She felt that even if you were found innocent you didn't fully leave this place. A part of you remained locked in the cold stone walls forever. It was ugly. She never wanted to return, if she was being honest.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Rachel couldn't get out of the courtroom fast enough once they adjourned for the night. She was the first out of the doors and the first out of the building. She wasn't sure how she would return the next day to give her testimony. Not even the allure of watching Santana work was enough to get her excited about being in that courtroom again. She shook the thoughts away and moved toward the sidewalk outside the courthouse to wait for Santana.

It was about twenty minutes later when Santana finally appeared. She had a frown on her face as she approached Rachel "I didn't mean to keep you waiting. They wanted to go over a summary of what happened in there and-"

"It's fine" Rachel lifted her hand to stop Santana from continuing. "I don't really mind. I get it, okay? I just want to go home and have dinner and go to bed. Today has been surprisingly exhausting for me. I can't even imagine how you're feeling."

"Tired" Santana said with a little nod of her head. She kept her eyes focused on Rachel, trying again to read her. She couldn't decide if she was mad or genuinely just wanted to move on and go home. "Do you want to order something and pick it up on the way home?"

"Sure" Rachel offered a forced smile and glanced at her feet. "I didn't really eat lunch."

Santana nodded and moved to put her hand against Rachel's back, motioning for her to move along with her toward where they had a car waiting. "Me neither. Too much to go over."

Rachel nodded, her arms folding across her chest as she fell in step with Santana. She was quiet a long time as they moved down the sidewalk toward the parking garage. She kept her eyes on her feet as they moved together. It wasn't until they were in the car and Santana was directing the driver to one of the places they liked to get take out from that Rachel looked up again. She bit at her lip nervously before she spoke softly "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Santana asked just as softly as she settled back in her seat as the car moved forward.

"All of that" Rachel motioned behind her where the courthouse was fading in the distance as the car moved. "Hang out in the cold, emotionless halls of a courthouse all day. Look at detail after detail of a criminal's record and not be completely appalled by the human being they are. Spend hours in stuffy conference rooms and courtrooms talking about evidence and witnesses and crimes."

Santana shrugged her shoulders at that. She thought it over for a moment, taking in everything Rachel described before reaching a hand out to take Rachel's gently in her own. "The halls aren't cold or emotionless to me. When I walk down the hallway of a courthouse or a law office or anything like that I feel everything that has ever happened in that building. I feel the scared mothers or lonely children or battered spouses who have sought help and refuge in those hallways and who have left knowing that everything was going to be alright. I feel every tear shed because of the injustice a person has endeared. I feel the radiant relief of every single person who has seen the one who harmed them put in a place where they could no longer do that to them. I feel the hope of a fresh start."

Rachel kept her eyes on her lap. If she looked up now Santana would see the tears in her eyes. The tears of guilt. She had never thought a place as cold and empty as she had seen that day could be as beautiful as Santana had described it. She shook her head and sniffled softly "I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't get it."

"It's okay" Santana said with a nod, her arm sliding around Rachel and pulling her against her side. "I didn't get it at first, either. I hated it, actually. When I spoke up about my rape and was shown no warmth and no justice, I hated being anywhere that any sort of law took place because I felt that the law didn't care about me. But then I thought to myself, you know what, I'm not a liar and I deserve to be heard. Not only do I deserve to be heard but I deserve to have justice and feel normal again. That is when I decided to be a lawyer and I guess over time and after helping so many helpless victims, those places turned into home for me. Almost like going home and smelling a fresh baked batch of cookies."

Rachel looked up at Santana now as a tear slid down her cheek. She pouted out her bottom lip and nodded "I have never thought about it that way. You really love what you do, don't you?"

Santana nodded, her hand lifting to Rachel's cheek to wipe away the tear "I really do. Now..." She leaned down to kiss her forehead before smiling "Why are you so upset?"

Rachel just shook her head as another tear moved down her face "I have no idea. All of this is just so much to handle. I don't know how you do it. I feel so much emotion and I've only been involved for a couple weeks. Can you imagine the girls that were taken by this man and how they must feel? It's awful, Santana. I just want it to be over with so I never have to think about the fact that people like him actually exist in the world."

"It's hard" Santana gave a nod as her hand once more swept away Rachel's tears. "I don't know that I will ever get used to it, per se. But it gets easier. I guess I keep thinking about how I felt and how I would have done anything to have someone there who cared about what I was going through. That gives me the strength. It helps me get through knowing that I am standing up for someone who can't do it for their self."

Rachel drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her arms wrapped around Santana and she gave her a tight squeeze before opening her eyes to look up at her "You're the bravest person I've ever met."

"Nah" Santana grunted and moved a hand along Rachel's arm to where she gripped around her body. "You have to let go" She whispered softly.

"I'm trying. I think once I'm done testifying and he is in jail I'll be able to."

"No" Santana grunted again and grabbed Rachel's wrist. "You have to let go of me. You're hurting me."

"Oh my god" Rachel squeaked in horror and pulled her arms off of Santana immediately. Her eyes were wide, tears spilling from them as she stared up at her "I am so sorry! I didn't even think about it! Are you okay? I can't believe I did that."

"You're fine" Santana shook her head, lifting one hand to cup at Rachel's face in attempt to soothe her as her other hand ran up and down gingerly along her still healing wound. "It's okay. I'm not going to break because of a little pain, okay? I am totally fine."

Rachel nodded but didn't look convinced. She swallowed a lump in her throat and wiped at a tear on her cheek "Are you sure?"

"Completely" Santana leaned in and kissed at her cheek, giving her a soft smile "Don't worry about it. I will take a pill with dinner and be just fine by the time bed rolls around, okay?"

"Okay" Rachel said softly, still unsure about the extent of how badly she had hurt Santana. She was still a few weeks away from getting her stitches out and she hoped that the hug hadn't torn any of them. She would have to make sure to steal a peek when Santana wasn't looking. How she would do that she wasn't sure but she would try. Just then the car rolled to a stop and Rachel glanced out the window to see where they were. She smiled slightly and looked back to Santana "Chinese?"

"The perfect end to a hectic day" Santana said with a nod. She leaned over to kiss her just once before reaching for the door. "Stay put. Think of what movie you want to watch while I go get us something to eat."

"Okay" Rachel smiled again, this time more genuinely as she watched Santana slide from the car. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head as she wiped at the lingering tears on her cheek. It was like they were in their bubble again. Santana had taken an awful, emotionally disastrous day and managed to make it alright. Rachel thought that maybe, just maybe this could be a peek into their life when they got back to New York. She liked the thought of that more than she probably should but that was alright. She needed something good to look forward to to get her through the rest of their time in Vegas.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Here" Rachel handed Santana a glass of water and her bottle of pills before she moved to sit back down on the couch next to her. She lifted Santana's legs and pulled them over her lap as she settled back against the cushions, glancing at Santana with a smile before looking back to the tv "Did I miss anything?"

"You've seen this movie a thousand times, you know exactly what you missed" Santana said with a laugh before popping a pill into her mouth and swallowing it down with a mouth full of water. She set the water on the table then settled back against the couch, sighing softly as she stretched out completely.

"I haven't seen it in months" Rachel said with a laugh, her hand moving along Santana's shin gently. They had gotten home and tore into the take out that Santana had gotten them. They were now letting their food settle as they enjoyed a movie and a little relaxation together.

Santana just shook her head in amusement at that. How Rachel Berry managed to be a diligent Broadway star and watch all of her favorite movies regularly blew her mind. She probably also had a spotless home with everything somehow in alphabetical order. She smirked at the thought and looked over at Rachel "Where do you live?"

Rachel perked an eyebrow at the sudden, random change of subject and looked over at Santana curiously. She laughed and shook her head "What?"

"I was just thinking about how clean your house probably is and then I realized I don't actually even know where you live in the city." Santana shrugged as casually as possible "How is it we've both lived in the same city for so long and have never run into each other?"

"Well I'm usually at the theater or in Chelsea with Kurt" Rachel shrugged, her hand that had been roaming along Santana's leg paused now. "I imagine you probably hang out in Lower Manhattan where all the other suit and ties are, so..."

"I am not a suit and tie" Santana let out a laugh and rolled her eyes.

"You are a lawyer" Rachel mumbled with a smirk. "You are the exact definition of a suit and tie."

"And you're the exact definition of Bohemian" Santana said with a shrug, almost in a mocking tone.

"Thank you" Rachel smiled proudly at that. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Oh that's bullshit" Santana chuckled. She sat up now, pulling her legs so only her feet were resting on Rachel's lap now. "What about when I told you I got shot because I was too busy worried about your safety to think about mine?"

Rachel eyed Santana up and down slowly before she smirked and gave a casual half shrug "Eh, I mean that was alright I guess."

"You're impossible!" Santana threw her head back and laughed out loudly now. She took a few moments just to enjoy her laughter before she drew in a deep breath, rolled her head forward, and smiled at Rachel with a shake of her head. "Why do I hang out with you?"

"We're married, darling. You haven't a choice" Rachel tone was teasing, sounding much like an old time stage actor. She held the serious look she had taken on while speaking for only a moment before her face softened and she cracked a smile. "For what it's worth I'm glad you hang out with me. Even if you are a yuppie."

"Oh I'm a yuppie now?" Santana scoffed and used one of her feet to nudge at Rachel's side now. "That's it. When we get back to New York I'm going back to all my yuppie friends and never talking to you again."

"Fine with me" Rachel shrugged and waved her hand to the side as if brushing Santana off "My Bohemian lifestyle strictly forbids me hanging with a corporate mule like you anyway. That is way too conformist and what not."

"I'm a mule now?" Santana perked an eyebrow and shook her head. "Keep talking, Berry. You're digging yourself a hole you won't be able to climb out of."

"Oh yeah?" Rachel smirked, arching an eyebrow curiously. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"I won't kiss you anymore" Santana gave a firm, definite nod.

Rachel gasped and put a hand over her heart. She stared at Santana in shock for a few seconds before her mouth closed and her lips pushed out into a pout "That is so rude."

"So is calling me a mule!" Santana laughed softly.

"I was kidding!" Rachel huffed and folded her arms in a playful pout. "We were teasing each other. You know I don't think you're a mule."

Santana eyed her for a moment before a smirk came to her lips. She wondered exactly how sorry Rachel was and how much apologizing she was willing to do. "I don't know..." She shrugged and let out a sigh "That really cut me pretty deep."

Rachel's lip pushed out again and she moved closer to Santana now. She pulled her legs all the way over her own lap and managed to slide her arm around Santana's waist, carefully, not wanting to hurt her still healing wound. "You're not a mule or a yuppie or even a suit and tie. You are a beautiful, courageous woman who is making the world a better place." She batted her eyes and leaned closer, touching a kiss to Santana's bicep since that was all she could reach with the position she sat in.

Santana bit her lip to hide her smile. Rachel was actually kind of adorable when she was groveling. "You know if I didn't know any better, and if I were actually able to participate, I would think you were trying to get some make up sex out of me."

Rachel sat upright and a blush filled her cheeks. She shook her head and moved her arm out from around Santana's waist and gently laid her hand against her stomach "You wish" she managed to mumble.

Santana couldn't hide her amusement when Rachel blushed. She reached out now and lifted Rachel's hand off her stomach, moving it to her lips to kiss at her fingers lightly. "It was a joke, Berry. I can't believe you are twenty-five and still blush at the mention of sex."

"It's not the mention of sex" Rachel mumbled, rolling her eyes with a sigh. "I worked at a strip club, remember? I was in a play where I had to simulate sex every night on stage. Sex does not make me blush."

"Could have fooled me" Santana whispered softly, reaching her hand out to lightly touch Rachel's cheek where the blush had finally faded.

"It's not the mention of sex" Rachel said with a little shrug. Her eyes flickered down to where her free hand was gently tapping against Santana's thigh where it had come to rest in the shift. "It's the mention of sex with you" Her eyes lifted and she managed to catch Santana's eyes for just moment before looking away again as her cheeks lit up with another blush.

Santana bit her lip to fight a smile. She sat up even more on the couch, making it possible to slide both arms around Rachel's waist. She shifted her legs off the couch and slid right up next to Rachel so she was leaning against her completely. "Hey" She whispered softly, touching a kiss to the side of her head. "It was just a joke, okay? Obviously we are not in the place. I mean I can't even take a crap without hurting myself."

"That is so not romantic at all" Rachel shook her head in amusement as soft laugh left her lips.

Santana laughed and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Look what I mean is that I'm not thinking about that. I mean, I have before, but it's like in the back of my mind. We have so much going on right now that..." She let out a sigh and shook her head "I don't think we should do anything more than what we are doing now until we can get back to New York and back to our regular lives."

"More than what we are doing now?" Rachel perked an eyebrow, glancing at Santana with a bit of confusion.

Santana shrugged and motioned with her hand between them "We are something. We have something happening here and believe me I am happy for that. But starting a real relationship, diving into something serious right now isn't going to be good for us. We have been put together under unique circumstances and grown close under a high amount of stress. It's normal for two people to grow close when they've experienced what we have together. I'm not saying our bond isn't real. I'm saying that we should wait until we get back to New York to really see how well this is going to work."

Rachel nodded slowly. Part of her didn't like what Santana was saying because it almost sounded like she wasn't sure that what they were sharing could survive in their real world. Another part of her knew that she was right. She was being rational. They should definitely return to their normal lives before getting serious with one another. "You're right" She glanced at Santana and gave her a soft smile "Besides, after we're done here we still have our annulment to deal with."

Santana laughed softly and gave a little shrug of her shoulders "Yeah. I think we should definitely get out of here first then deal with our real issues." She shook her head immediately at that "I didn't mean issues in a bad way. Just, you know, things we have to deal with."

"I know what you meant" Rachel smiled then lifted her chin just enough to kiss at her cheek lightly. "I think you're right. We should return to the real world before we decide anything more. So for now we just..." She shrugged, giving her a sweet smile as her hand reached up to touch at Santana's cheek lightly "Enjoy each other's company."

Santana nodded and leaned in to kiss Rachel's forehead again lightly. "I'm glad you agree. I was worried you'd think it was me trying to, I don't know, avoid any real type of commitment or something. I'm not. I just think we have to be smart about this."

"You are absolutely right" Rachel nodded slightly. "I think as long as we are honest with each other we can figure all of this out together."

"Together" Santana smiled, giving a single nod as her hand brushed lightly against Rachel's cheek "I like the sound of that."

"Me too" Rachel leaned up to place a kiss to Santana's lips now softly. She let it linger for just a moment before pulling back. When their eyes met, she smiled very softly "Now, let's finish this movie and get to bed. I have a big day tomorrow."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Rachel flinched in her sleep as the gunshot went off. Her eyes shot open and though she was awake now the sound echoed around her mind as she blinked and tried to focus on where she was. It was dark now but she didn't remember going to sleep. She lifted her head up and looked around and that is when she realized she was still on the couch.

She sat up on the couch slowly as she drew in a few breaths to calm her beating heart. She had been dreaming about the shooting, again. She was sweating and her body was trembling. She licked at her lips and closed her eyes as she sat there, trying to relax herself. "It was just a dream" She whispered to herself.

After sitting there for a few minutes silently, she looked up and that is when she realized that Santana was still on the couch, too. They must have drifted off to sleep during the movie, both of them taking their place at each end of the long couch, feet to feet under the same light blanket. Rachel smiled at that. It helped to see Santana after that dream. It reminded her that she was still alive.

Then her gut twisted and a shiver slid through her body. The memories of the night Santana was shot flooded back to her. She remembered how scared she had been that she would lose Santana. She remembered how she sat in the waiting room, sobbing, unable to do much more than that. Her throat closed up and tears welled in her eyes. The thought of losing Santana rushed forward and she couldn't handle it. She started to cry again softly.

It had been, without a doubt, the scariest thing she had ever experienced. She had spent hours in turmoil because she would no longer have Santana. She spent the entire night wondering how her life would be now that Santana was gone. She hadn't seen the girl in seven years and, yet, in just a couple weeks she had become the most important person in her life and the thought of life without her had been terrifying.

Wiping at a tear on her cheek, Rachel slowly looked back over at Santana. She smiled just slightly then reached out and touched at her foot under the blanket. She needed to feel her warmth. She needed to feel that Santana was, in fact, alive and well. So she touched at her foot for just a moment and though the warmth soaked into her fingertips it wasn't enough. She had to know that she was okay. The gunshot was still echoing around her head. The pain of possibly losing Santana had come back. She needed to feel her living and breathing.

Slowly Rachel got to her feet. She moved to the end of the couch where Santana was asleep and looked down at her. She bit at her lip, fighting back another wave of tears at just the sight of Santana laying there. She reached out a hand and ever so lightly slid her fingers along her cheek, brushing back some stray hair. A smile came to her lips at that. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep.

Rachel looked at her for a few moments before gently pulling the blanket off Santana and ever so gently climbed onto the couch next to her. They had slept together on the couch the first night Santana had returned from the hospital so she knew the both of them could fit. She moved slowly, not wanting to stir Santana as she settled in beside her. It took a few minutes but she was finally laying down next to her and she was starting to feel better.

Slowly she slid an arm around Santana's waist. She moved to lay her head gently against Santana's chest, just above her heart. She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly as the sound of Santana's heartbeat filled her eyes. She smiled very softly as the beats echoed around her ear and into her very core. Each steady beat soothed her. Each deep breath Santana drew in was like a relaxing breath pulled into her own lungs. Santana was alive and it was beautiful.

Rachel laid like that longer than she could recall. She let the sound of Santana's heart and breathing bring a peace to her entire body. Soon the tears dried up and the grip she had on Santana loosened. The beats of her heart and the soft pulls of breath in and out acted like a lullaby and soon Rachel was asleep again, completely at peace for the first time in longer than she could count.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.