Not trusting other people had been what Brittany went on since moving to Lima. Not once did she expect to be sat in a room after speaking to the police about everything. When one police officer started out, Brittany went on to explain to the remaining officer in the room about Jason threatening her - how he threatened to hurt her mother if she told anyone about his dirty little secret. Unfortunately, she had to go into detail about some things, most things actually, nevertheless she managed it. Hell, that's the main reason behind her wet cheeks - tears falling from her eyes uncontrollably. She had been waiting for a piece of paper to be put in front of her as a statement - as if talking in detail about everything wasn't enough.

Getting her phone out, Brittany went straight to Santana's name - tears continuously running down her face. Naturally, Brittany only wanted to talk to one person - Santana. The past few months the blonde had grown fond of Santana which, naturally, made her want to talk to her. Brittany kept telling herself to stop crying but nothing worked - she hadn't cried in ages. She felt weak. Helpless. Brittany didn't want Jason getting to her - she was stronger than that. Trying to ignore her thoughts, Brittany dialed Santana's number - her shaky hand moving to hold her phone close to her ear. The phone rang three or four times and just when Brittany thought to hang up, Santana answered,

"Hey, Britt."

Closing her eyes, Brittany took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "Santana. Are you - Are you free?"

"Yeah, I'm free. Is everything okay?"

Brittany's eyes filled with more tears, taking another breath, Time to be honest. "No. No, I'm not okay."

"What's going on? You're worrying me."

The blonde let out a shaky breath, "Can you - just - come to the hospital? I need you."

"Of course, I won't be long, okay?"

"Thank you." Brittany whispered before hanging up, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs in a tight grip.

When Brittany thinks about it, she knows now is a terrible time to bring up what happened to her for three and a half years back in Phoenix but if she didn't tell someone now she never would. Brittany was not about to give Jason that power - he deserved to be punished for what he did. For what he did to her. That man tortured her for years and now she just wanted him to be locked away. He deserved to be locked away where he couldn't hurt anyone else - assault anyone else. She didn't care go into her mother's room because she knows her grandfather has gone in there and explained everything. She must be so distraught. Well, either that or her mother thinks she is a liar and is currently in the mindset of hating her instead. Better she finds out now rather than later though.

Wiping her tears away, Brittany moves to a standing position when her grandfather walks back into the room. She doesn't know whether to look up or to keep her head down so she decides on the latter. How can she look at her grandfather knowing she lied to him for months? In a way, Brittany does wish she kept it to herself but the minute they walked into the room she just had to talk to them. It was as though there was an invisible tether drawing her to them - so much that letting them walk away would be regrettable. Telling the police had to be one of the toughest things she had ever done before - retelling the story of the abuse brought back so many memories. Painful memories. Memories that kept her up at night.

"Brittany..." John whispered, standing in front of his granddaughter. "Why didn't you tell me? It pains me that you felt you had to keep this from me."

Shaking her head, Brittany finally raises her head to look at the elderly man in front of her. "It was my way of protecting myself. I had no idea if Jason had someone tracking me. To be totally honest, I didn't want to upset you."

"It upsets me even more that you didn't tell me," John says, putting his hands-on Brittany's arms. "I am here to protect you and if that bastard comes anywhere near you again, I will kill him myself."

Nodding her head, Brittany feels her eyes start to tear up. "I didn't want him, grandpa. I swear I didn't do anything to lead him on. He came on to me and I just - I just - I couldn't -"

John pulls Brittany into his arms straight away allowing the young girl to sob in his arms. How could his daughter's husband do something like this? How could he abuse her the way he did? Rubbing her back he allows her to cry and let out what she's been holding in for so long. It's clear to him that Brittany has so much emotion she's kept in and now she's told other people about her pain she's allowing herself to cry. It's a good thing since keeping feelings hidden just makes you feel worse.

Hearing a knock on the window, Brittany pulls away to see an officer motioning for her. She gives her grandfather a kiss on the cheek assuring him she'll be fine before walking out of the room. The blonde closes the door quietly behind her looking at the officer.

"What is it?" Brittany asks.

"There is a girl waiting at reception." Officer Lawson says, pointing towards the waiting room. "She requested to see you."

With a nod of her head, Brittany makes her way towards reception noticing a Latina stood there looking at her phone. Santana wasn't wearing anything spectacular, only some sweatpants and a hoodie, but Brittany thought she looked beautiful. Walking towards her, Brittany stopped in front of her before Santana wrapped her arms around the blonde. Brittany's arms went around her waist whilst her face buried into the crook of her neck – it felt nice to be in Santana's safe arms. She had always felt safe around Santana and even though she didn't know why, she was going to take it. With the investigation beginning on Jason she needed her more than ever. Yes, the Latina didn't know what had happened to her but she would shortly. She just hoped she still saw her the same way.

"I came straight after you called me," Santana whispered pulling back to take Brittany's hands in her own. "What's going on, Britt? You sounded upset when you phoned me."

Brittany looked down shaking her head before raising her head again to meet Santana's eyes. "Can we go somewhere private? I don't want everyone hearing what I'm going to tell you."

The two girls walked away from the reception area and down the corridor to find a quiet place to talk, Brittany walked into an empty waiting area room with Santana in tow closing the door behind them. It was quite large with chairs around the edge of the room so they just chose two in the far corner to sit in. Brittany had explained it to the officer already and even though that was hard, this would be even harder. Telling someone she really cares for about what Jason did is definitely not going to be an easy task. Nevertheless, Brittany had to tell Santana in case Jason turned up which could be any day now. The man was bound to find out sooner or later that his wife had woken up. Plus, with his search for her, he was definitely going to make his way towards Lima.

"What I'm about to tell you is the truth – it happened to me before I came to Lima," Brittany began, looking at the girl beside her before taking her hand. "Actually, it happened for three and a half years before I ran away to Lima."

Santana moves her fingers through Brittany's maintaining eye contact with her. "Take your time. I'll sit here for as long as you want."

Taking a deep breath, Brittany began to explain everything - from the moment she met Jason to when she ran away from her life in Phoenix. She didn't leave out any details since she wanted Santana to know exactly how she felt when she was in that moment. She wanted Santana to understand everything she went through. Explaining things twice definitely took a toll on her, but she did it for the right reason. The police so they could find the man and Santana so she could help her through what was going to happen – going through it with her family alone wouldn't be enough. She needed someone in the circle who she felt safe around – who wouldn't let anything happen to her. Yes, her grandfather would protect her but Santana would protect her emotionally. The way Santana reacted showed Brittany she hid it well meaning no one would have picked up on it from school – she'd deny it if they did anyway but that wasn't the point.

Every time Brittany felt herself about to cry, Santana squeezed her hand in support and comfort. In no way shape or form did Brittany enjoy being in a vulnerable state, however, she was glad that the person sat with her is Santana and not some random person. It's better than someone like Jason seeing her this way.

"So, after three and a half years I just had enough so I ran away." Brittany finished, with a shake of her head. "I don't want you to think less of me or think I'm disgusting."

"You are beautiful, inside and out." Santana states, squeezing the blonde's hand. "No matter what happened in your past, I will never, ever, think less of you."

Brittany looks up with a teary smile. "Thank you," Brittany whispers back, sitting up again with a sigh wiping her eyes. "Your opinion is the only one that matters to me."

"Yeah? What about your family?"

Laughing, Brittany shrugs. "Well they do matter but I don't open up to them like I have to you. I just – I trust you. I'm not saying I don't trust my family or anything but – well, you know."

Santana nods in understanding. "It's different with friends and – partners."

"Partners?" Brittany questions. "Is that what we are?"

Santana blushes looking away nervously with a shrug. "We never discussed it."

"Very true but I thought -" Brittany began before shaking her head. "Never mind."

Before Brittany could get up and walk away from the awkward atmosphere that had risen into the air, Santana leaned over kissing Brittany with her hand cupping her cheek. Gasping in surprise, Brittany relaxed feeling the Latina's soft lips against her own allowing her own lips to brush back against the other girls. She wasn't sure whether to feel awkward about where they were but she decided to just enjoy the moment. She would if they weren't in a hospital so why shouldn't she whilst sat in the waiting room? Brittany slid her hand up her neck before resting on the back of it feeling the small hairs on the back of the girl's neck. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss feeling Santana smile back before they both pulled away. The two girls looked at each other before laughing and standing up from their seats. Brittany glanced at the Latina with a smile of adoration.

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what exactly?" Santana asks, folding her arms. "I didn't do anything."

Shaking her head, Brittany took a step closer to Santana. "Au contraire. You always find a way to make me feel better, even when I don't want to."

"Aren't you sweet?" Santana says, putting her hand on Brittany's arm. "You should go back to your family."

Brittany nods her head. "Will you come with me? I need you around right now."

"Of course – whatever you need."

Brittany and Santana made their way back to where Brittany's mother is. Even though Brittany is independent, she still enjoys company and the comfort of someone close to her. In this case its Santana. She knows she freaked out a little back there when they started to talk about their relationship but she still hadn't decided what she wants. Santana is a beautiful, smart and caring person but did she want to commit to her? Last time she committed to someone she ended up leaving them and she couldn't even imagine hurting Santana – she didn't want to do that. But if her mother wants to move back to Phoenix then she would most likely end up going back with her. She just didn't want to put Santana through that pain.

"There you are Brittany!" John cried out, pulling her into a hug. "I was worried when you were gone for a while."

"Grandpa, I'm fine. Santana came to see me, that's all." Brittany mumbled against his shoulder before pulling back. "She makes me feel safe."

John smiles before holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Santana. I'm John."

"Santana Lopez." Santana said, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's lovely to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Brittany."

Chuckling, John pulls his hand away. "Nothing bad, I hope."

Santana smiles shaking her head. "I assure you, she speaks very highly of you."

"Okay let's just go in and see mom. I'm sure she's wondering what's going on." Brittany suggested, walking to her room pulling on Santana's arm, dragging the Latina behind her.

They all walked into Whitney's room to see a nurse looking at the chart they had for her. Brittany walked slowly towards her mother taking her hand. She wasn't sure how to act around someone who had been out of her life, through no fault of her own, for the past two years. Brittany had, of course, gone to see her in the hospital to talk to her but it's not as though she responded to anything she told her. Brittany's eyes kept wandering towards the window as though Jason was going to walk past and enter the room at any given moment. It had been exactly 7 weeks and two days since she ran away and seven weeks and three days since Jason last had his hands on her. Just thinking about it makes her shiver and want to jump straight into the shower to scrub the feeling away.

"Is everything okay?" John asks the nurse. "Will she be okay?"

The nurse looks in his direction nodding his head. "Your daughter will be just fine, Mr Pierce. We just need to do a few more tests and we will need to keep her here for observation for the next few days but after that, if everything goes to plan, she should be fine to go home with you."

"That's great. Thank you very much."

The nurse left allowing the family, plus Santana, in the room alone with Whitney. Brittany pulled up a seat next to the bed not letting go of her mom's hand.

"I was so worried about you, mom." Brittany whispered, stroking her arm with her other hand. "I prayed every day that you would come out of the coma and wake up to be with me again."

"It looks like your praying worked then," Whitney said with a smile. "I know you came to see me every day before I was transferred here."

Brittany looked at her mother confused. "How do you know that?"

"I remember hearing your voice. You always told me about your day at school and about your girlfriend. Even though I couldn't respond I heard every word."

Hearing that made her eyes water but Brittany was determined not to cry. She couldn't believe her mom heard every word when she visited her in Phoenix. She always wished her mom secretly could but now it had been confirmed the whole situation was an emotional experience. Since meeting Jason back in 2012 he made it very clear on the rules of crying in the house – even if she did it quietly he would end up walking up the stairs, barging into the room and snapping at her to stop. Very scarily sometimes.

"You heard me?" Brittany asked in a whisper. "I always hoped you did."

"Every word, sweetheart."

With a smile, Brittany stepped back wiping tears away with the back of her hand, "I'm glad you are awake, mom. I've really missed you."

"I think we can all agree it's lovely to see you awake, honey." John said, patting his daughters arm. "I've not seen you in so long and I have to admit, it is so good to see you."

Brittany stepped back to give her mother and grandfather some room to talk standing next to Santana. Even though she Latina isn't part of this family she couldn't be more grateful for the support. Just having someone there who isn't family helped her keep calm – if not Brittany knew she would have ended up breaking down in some way. Right now, that isn't what her mother needs - she needs happiness. Brittany couldn't believe how happy her grandfather looks seeing his daughter in person – probably similar to how she feels too. Smiling, Brittany looks at Santana who seems to be looking at her with a soft smile. The blonde feels Santana's fingers trace the skin on her wrist lightly causing a tingling feeling shoot through her arm. The fact that she had been sexually assaulted for three and a half years but still have these feelings for someone else confused her. How is that even possible? If anything, she should be terrified of any physical contact. Brittany has read about stuff like this before – every person who has been sexually assaulted deals with what happened in a different way. Brittany will openly admit that Jason terrifies her and, generally, men scare her - it's different with women. She may not be ready to be sexually intimate with someone for a while but Santana is different. She always has been different to everyone else since they met and that could be either a blessing or a curse depending on the way you look at it.

"I should head home, Britt," Santana whispers, letting go of her arm.

Brittany nods her head resting a hand on Santana's lower back. "I'll take you home."

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine." Santana insisted turning to face the blonde. "You need to be with your family."

Resting her hands upon Santana's biceps, she shakes her head. "I need air anyway." Turning her head towards her family, Brittany notices them looking at the both of them with a smile. "I'm going to take Santana home."

"Alright, honey. Are you coming back to the hospital or going home?"

She looks at her grandfather then her mother biting her lip slightly. "Home. I'll come back tomorrow, I promise."

Walking up to the bed, Brittany hugs her mom tight for a few moments before pulling away with a smile.

"I love you."

Whitney smiles reaching up to touch her arm lightly. "I love you too, honey. I'll see you tomorrow."

Brittany walks over to her grandfather hugging him as well. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"I'll be back later on." John whispers. "After finding out about Jason I want to be there for you."

Pulling back, she kisses her grandfather's cheek in response before making her way to the door walking out of the room with Santana. Having some space from the hospital will do her good and being able to spend time with Santana is just a bonus. They make their way to the parking lot when Santana grips her arm halting them to their current position.

"What is it?" Brittany asked. "I want to make sure you get home safe."

"And I want to make sure you're okay." Santana responds, looking at Brittany square in the face. "What you told me earlier is serious. It's not something you tell a person and go on afterwards like nothing happened."

"I told you because I trust you immensely. Frankly, if it wasn't for my feelings towards you, I wouldn't have even told you." Brittany stated, looking around cautiously. "I need you – I need you to help me through this. I don't usually ask for help but I am struggling by myself."

Santana nods her head, taking Brittany's hand giving it a squeeze. "I'll help you with whatever you need."

With a nod of her head, Brittany looks around once again before nodding her head. "Where's your car?"

"Just over there. Come on."

The two girls make their way over to Santana's car before driving out of the hospital parking lot completely. Santana had given Brittany permission to drive in this instance to help her feel better and distract herself. Brittany couldn't be more grateful as a matter of fact. She needed some distraction and even though Santana generally is that distraction, driving helps clear her head. It did when she lived back in Phoenix too.

It didn't take long before they were parking in front of Santana's house. No lights were on indicating everyone must be asleep – saying that it is early hours of the morning. Four am to be exact. Brittany turned off the engine taking off her seatbelt sighing out loud. She still had to get home yet and normally she would be fine walking home alone but tonight was different. Jason could definitely be around since telling the police about what he did to her. He had surprised her before and she would definitely not put it past him to be standing in the shadows somewhere.

"Well, here we are – your house." Brittany said, motioning to the building. "I should get back."

"I want you to stay with me tonight." Santana responded, turning in her seat to face the blonde. "I know you don't need a protector or anything but Jason sounds like a very dangerous man. I don't feel safe knowing you are planning to walk back to your grandfather's place at this time of night."

"Santana…"

"No arguments. You're staying here. With me."

Brittany saw the look of worry on Santana's face and knew it would probably be best if she did say. Her phone is in her pocket so texting her grandfather where she is would be easy. The Latina definitely had a way of making her feel safe s, in a practical manner, it seems logical. Biting her lip once, Brittany nods her head.

"Okay."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Feeling a warm heat on her face was what woke Brittany up. Opening her eyes, she noticed the room definitely wasn't the one she had been waking up in for the past few weeks. Not only that but there was an arm over her stomach which definitely isn't something she wakes up to on a daily basis. Her head turned to the side allowing her eyes to gaze over a sleeping Latina beside her which could only be Santana. After all the excitement, even though it was pretty bad for the most part, it made her so tired that as soon as her head hit the pillow she passed out completely. Shit, did she even text her grandpa? Reaching over Brittany grasped her cellphone going straight to the messages and sighing in relief. Even in her tired state she managed to let her grandpa know where she stayed. With the whole Jason situation, out in the open Brittany could only imagine what would have happened if she hadn't let him know where she stayed. The police station definitely comes to mind.

Even though Brittany is terrified about what events were going to follow last night, she felt relieved in some way. Now she can allow the police to do their job and arrest the sick bastard – hopefully her mother won't hate her too much. Brittany is aware deep down her mom will take her side instantly but what will she think? Will she blame herself for not noticing? Hate the fact she married a molester? Frankly, Brittany doesn't know of her mother knows what Jason did to her. She told he police and her grandpa knows but she isn't sure whether the information made it as far as her mother's ears. The police may have questioned her but surely, they would wait until the nurse or doctor gives their approval. It seems like the right thing to do – well, it does in Brittany's opinion.

Sitting up, Brittany moves her hands over her face to wake up a little more. It was definitely weird waking up in someone else's bed but, at the same time, it is sort of nice. She hears her phone start to go off causing Brittany to pick her phone up again – her father? Why would he be messaging her? Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, she opens the message.

From Dad: Is everything okay, Brittany? I've just got a call from the police about you.

Brittany frowns as she reads the message. Why would the police contact her father? It has nothing to do with him so what possible cause would the police needs to speak to him. Her grandfather, maybe, but not a man she hardly talks to or sees. She cannot even remember the last time, aside from the time he turned up at the hospital, that they saw each other.

To Dad: Why do you care? It's not as though you even see me.

Okay so maybe her wording could be a little less harsh but at the end of it all the man hasn't been around. If he was she wouldn't have gone through all the shit she did back in Phoenix. She has no intention on forgiving the man just because he is her biological father. Sighing in frustration she reads the reply when her cell goes off again.

From Dad: I always care. I know I'm not around as much as I should be but I will always look out for you. I love you.

To Dad: Just answer the questions they ask. I don't care what you do.

Sighing in frustration, Brittany puts her phone on the side ignoring it when it goes off again. Lying back down she notices Santana start to stir causing a smile to form on her lips. It amazed Brittany just how beautiful she looks in the morning – not that she had woken up next to many women in her life time. She leans on her side watching the Latina slowly wake up and if she was being perfectly honest, Brittany knew she could watch her all day. All night. Damn, she could watch her all the time.

"Morning."

Brittany smiles tracing her hand over Santana's back. "Morning."

"What time is it?"

Raising her head, she looks at the clock on Santana's nightstand. "Around midday. We didn't go to bed until around five this morning though so it's not as though we slept for ages. Around seven hours."

Santana nods rubbing her eyes. "I didn't know if you would still be here actually."

"No? Why didn't you think I would be here?"

Santana shakes her head looking at Brittany with a sleepy smile. "It's stupid but I thought you would leave once I fell asleep."

"I fell asleep before you." Brittany responds with a laugh. "I had no chance, trust me."

Rolling onto her back Santana looks up at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah? Would you if you had the chance?"

Pressing her lips together in thought for a second, Brittany shook her head. "No. I think after you asked me to stay I felt grateful that someone would want to spend time with me even after finding out about my past."

Santana leans up slightly on her arms. "No matter what you tell me about your past it won't change my interpretation of you."

Brittany smiles leaning down to brush her lips gently against Santana's. "You are amazing."

"Me? I thought you were." Santana responds cupping her cheek before kissing back. "I admire how strong you are, Brittany.

"I'm the opposite of strong," Brittany responds with a sigh. "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't save my mom. I couldn't stop him."

Resting her hand on Brittany's cheek, Santana strokes it gently with her thumb. "You survived. He can't hurt you anymore and if he tries I will…punch him in the face."

"Punch him in the face?" Brittany asks, chuckling a little. "You are really going to punch a 6 ft man?"

"I would do anything for you, Britt."

Brittany traces her fingers along Santana's side. "I know – I would do anything for you too."