It had been two weeks and Santana was just about ready to slap Rachel in the face numerous amount of times, if only to shut her the hell up. She had been gushing about Quinn Fabray nonstop and Santana was annoyed. It had been a subtle change. The brunette had gone from outright denying whatever was going on between her and the doctor, to blushing but saying nothing every time Santana teased her, to outright gushing about all the woman's attractive qualities and all the dates she'd taken her on.

"Rachel, just go marry the woman already." Santana said, glaring at the woman who sat next to her on her living room floor. Dani had asked Santana to invite Rachel and Quinn over for dinner but Rachel had shown up at their door by herself saying Quinn was on call. The blonde doctor probably was on call but Santana knew Rachel hadn't asked her to come to dinner with them but she hadn't brought it up.

That had been about five hours ago and the brunette had stayed all night chatting her head off about Dr. Fabray. Dani and the kids had long since gone to bed and Santana was left to indulge her friend alone.

"Santana, we're not even a couple yet. We've only been going out together for two weeks." Rachel said, not chancing a look at Santana because she knew the woman was glaring at her.

"Dating, Rachel. It's called dating."

"I know what it's called Santana. It's just… I have a feeling that she doesn't want us to be more than that." Rachel finally turns to her friend.

"And she finally says it!" Santana said, throwing her hands up in the air for emphasis. "I knew there was a reason you were still here even though dinner has already been served and probably digested by now. God, Rachel, it took you five fucking hours just to say what's on your mind."

"Well excuse me for being afraid and nervous about the way my love life is going. Not all of us can find an immediate family lying around in an alley, Santana." Rachel snapped at the Latina before she even realized what she had said.

"Don't. Just…don't say that again. Especially if you want to set back foot in my house." Santana said it calmly. So calm that if Rachel didn't know the severity of what she had said, she'd have thought the woman had no problem with it at all. The Santana she knew before all of this wouldn't have hesitated to physically pick her up and throw her through the door, ending all connections with her right then and there. But she thanked the stars that Santana had changed because the Latina may not know it, but she meant a lot to her and she couldn't take losing someone so important in her life right now.

"I'm sorry Santana. Really sorry. It's just…" Rachel sighed because she had no idea why she was getting so worked up about such a silly situation. So what if Quinn didn't want them to be an official couple. She'd surely find someone else.

But that was the thing; she knew she would never find someone like Quinn Fabray. The woman was everything she wanted in a partner and Rachel cringed when she thought about how the woman would have passed her by if she had insisted on playing the straight card.

"I know Rach. But I don't understand why she has to be the one to ask you."

"Well…because Santana it's…" Rachel was truly stumped. She'd just expected Quinn to ask because, well, guys were usually the ones to ask her to take things further.

"Exactly Rachel. There is no reason why you can't ask her. You're in a relationship with another woman not a man and even then, there was nothing stopping you from making the first move. Stop following the status quo." Santana always surprised others and herself when she gave good, solid advice. Not because she wasn't usually good at it, but because she never usually cared enough to give other people advice on their issues.

"Maybe you should quit being an FBI agent and become a psychologist." Rachel mused.

Santana scoffed at that suggestion. "I'd kill my clients before I helped them."

Rachel laughed. "You're probably right. Scrap that idea."

Santana smiled. "So, are you good now?"

"Yep. Good enough to get my annoying self out of your hair." Rachel said, standing from the floor and handing the TV remote over to Santana.

"Berry, it's probably after midnight. I know this city never sleeps but it's still dangerous to be out late. Just stay here."

"Aww, you care about my safety." Rachel said, knowing it would get on the woman's nerves.

"Of course I care about your safety Rachel. But only when you're not being annoying as fuck." Santana said, getting up from the floor slowly. Her chest was mostly healed now and sometimes she forgot that she almost lost her life. But there was a scar, not quite healed, on her chest that would serve to remind her that life was short and very unpredictable. 'Carpe Diem' made so much more sense to her now.

"How touching." Rachel deadpanned as she forced herself to not reach out a helping hand to Santana. It had become a habit- a very annoying habit as Santana had constantly told her- which she had picked up in the weeks after Santana came home from the hospital. She had to remind herself daily that Santana was fine and she didn't need her help to stand anymore.

"Well, unless you're a beautiful blonde, a cute chubby baby or a hyperactive two year old, don't expect much kindness from me." Santana retorted, turning off the television and taking the empty popcorn dish to the kitchen.

"Well, I'll take what I can get then. Thank you Santana."

"Don't get all mushy on me Berry." Santana returned from the kitchen and lead the way upstairs to the guest room where Rachel had only ever stayed in twice. "I'm assuming you know where everything is?"

"It's been quite a while since I've been in here."

"Well, nothing's changed so everything is where it was when you left it." Santana said. "Now if you'll excuse me, my bed is calling."

"Are you sure it's your bed that's calling?" Rachel smirked and waited for Santana's reaction. The glare the other woman sent her way only made her grin wider.

"Not that it's any of your business little midget, but my bed is empty and has been empty of anyone but me since Dani moved in here." Santana said, not even bothering to mention that one night where Dani had crawled into her bed in the middle of the night.

"You sound disappointed."

"Shut up." Santana didn't give herself a chance to hear Rachel's laughter. She closed the door with as much emphasis as she could without waking anyone, and walked away.

Santana couldn't sleep. Not because she wasn't tired, but because she had been thinking about what Rachel had said. Yes, she was disappointed that her bed was empty every night but not because of the reasons Rachel might have been thinking. She knew that even though her blonde…girlfriend had made much progress, she still had plenty more issues to deal with and one of them would no doubt be the sexual abuse she had gone through. She would never force the woman to have sex with her. As a matter of fact, sex was rarely on her mind when she thought of Dani and that was weird for her because she knew a sexy woman when she saw one and though she wasn't one for one night stands, she'd indulge every once in a while because before Dani, physical attraction was the most important thing to her. And why be in a relationship if you can't have sex.

But now, circumstances were different and even if Dani wasn't as fragile as she was, she'd still want to take it slow with her. Now that she was being honest with herself, she knew she'd never felt this way about another person, except for… and even then, she hadn't fallen so deep so fast.

So no, this wasn't about sex. It was about her wanting Dani beside her at night, to cuddle, to chase away those nightmares she knew the blonde was having. She wanted her beside her so she knew that she was okay, that she was real and she hadn't been dreaming up the past two and a half months they've spent together.

She sat up and stared at the wall opposite her for a while before she made up her mind. She was going to see Dani.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and though she was asleep, she heard it. She was a light sleeper, had to be in the circumstances she'd lived in. It took her body a while to catch up with her brain but it did and she carefully untucked Izzy from her chest and stood to open the door, ignoring the panic that had built up at the thought of who might be waiting behind the wooden barrier.

It would be a lie to say relief and joy didn't flood her system when she saw Santana staring back at her.

"Hi." The dark haired woman said shyly. It was a look Dani had found incredibly adorable on the woman. She smiled back before answering.

"Hi. Is something wrong?"

"No! No. I just- I… I'm stupid. Sorry I woke you. I'm going back to b-" Dani stopped the woman the only way she could think of at that moment. The kiss was effective and when Dani opened her eyes to gage Santana's response, she saw the woman's eyes were closed and she was smiling.

"So, what's the reason for the visit?"

"…what?" Santana said, still slightly dazed from the kiss Dani had just planted on her.

Dani laughed and moved away from the door's entrance. "Come in Santana." The woman did as commanded and stepped into the room. She took a deep breath to allow her senses to come back to her before she spoke up.

"I'm sorry Dani, really. It's just…I couldn't sleep." Santana said, sitting on the edge of the queen sized bed, turning her head to watch the tiny blonde on the bed sleep.

"Bad dream?" Dani asked, coming to sit beside Santana on the bed.

"No. I just…missed you." Santana was very aware of how pathetic she sounded but she couldn't find herself giving a damn.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I missed you too. I was just tired enough to pass out unwillingly." Dani said, nudging Santana with her shoulder. Santana smiled at her. She asked herself sometimes who was the strong one in their relationship and who was the most vulnerable and her mind always gave her an automatic response. She was the strong one and Dani was the vulnerable one. But then there are times like this one that are becoming more often and she knew that her brain's automatic response was incorrect because they both shared their weight in strength and vulnerability.

"I'm glad I didn't keep you up. Guilt is not a good look on me."

"I'm pretty sure everything looks good on you." Dani winked and Santana wonders when that had happened. When did Dani become the flirt? Was she just finally uncovering something that was always there?

"I'm too tired to argue with you."

"Then stay here, with us." Dani said. She knew that even though Santana was more emotionally open with her than she was with everyone else, the woman was still sometimes reluctant to express her feelings or let others, including her, see her emotions. She knew the moment Santana entered the room, what she had wanted. But she also knew that the woman was not going to tell her the reason soon. She would drag out a conversation and even then, still be hesitant to say what was on her mind. So Dani helped her out.

"I…if that's what you want." Santana answered.

"That's what I want." Dani said and she didn't wait for Santana's response. She climbed unto the bed on Izzy's left side, going back under the covers and cuddling the little girl. She waited for Santana who was still allowing her brain time to catch up with reality. It only took her a few seconds but she climbed into the bed on Izzy right side. Dani saw the tension in her movements and she moved her hand across the bed in the dark, finding the other woman's hands and intertwining them together.

"It helps keep the nightmares away." Dani said but the sentiment was only half true. Yes, any contact she had with Santana did help keep her emotions in check and there were some times where she'd fallen asleep cuddled into the other woman and she didn't have any nightmares. However, she knew it would calm the dark haired woman if she thought the contact was helping her.

"It helps me too." The response was quiet and barely there but Dani heard it. She didn't comment, allowing Santana that silence to think over her admission. Dani knew the woman never intended for her to hear so she didn't acknowledge the response.

Santana would have been surprised at the admission two months ago. Vulnerability was never her thing. Wearing her heart on her sleeve was not her type of fashion choice but when she thought about it now, when she looked over and glimpsed the two heads of blonde hair and she felt the bodies pressed close to hers and acknowledged the hand holding hers tightly, she realized that being surprised at the things she felt and said now was so last season.

A/N: Another Sunday, another chapter. As usual, you guys are amazing. If you haven't followed me on Tumblr yet, my name over there is femslashfantasies. Go ask your questions about the story or if you want me to do any one shots or even if you just wanna say hi. Okay so this chapter was longer than this but I cut it because this was so fluffy and I didn't wanna kill the fluff with the entrance of the new character. So next week we'll be meeting the newbie! Again, thank you all and please review! Love y'all

XoXo.