A/N - A little filler chapter, mostly getting instead Santana's head. Up next, time to meet the parents…

Chapter Twenty One

The nurse's room was cold and sterile and Santana hated the smell of disinfectant that always seemed to linger around. She had seen the inside of the room way to many times; numerous cheerleading accidents sending her seeking pain relief way all too often. But sitting on the edge of the bed now all the Latina could think about was Rachel. She had been staring off into space for a few minutes when Quinn's voice snapped her back to reality.

'San do you…do you want me to call Rachel?'

The Latina shook her head venomously 'No, absolutely not'

Quinn frowned, and staying silent she only had to raise an eyebrow in an unspoken question to get the brunette talking.

'I know, I just…' Santana trailed off as she looked up at the blonde with a sigh 'I don't want her to see me like this, it's kind of selfish to want her here right now'

'You're impossible sometimes' Quinn sighed with a gentle smile 'I might not know Berry all that well but I know she'd want to be here for you, you know that too and more importantly you want her here so don't be such an ass and let me call her'

Santana removed the ice pack she had been holding to her lip, it was true she did want her girlfriend in fact all she could think about was collapsing into the singer's arms but on the other hand she did not want to put Rachel through the horror of having to come to the nurses office and see how beaten she was. After all, Santana was supposed to be untouchable and even though that façade might not wash with the diva anymore Santana liked to think she could still appear strong. Rachel seeing her now would only upset both of them.

'I know what you're thinking' Quinn intruded whipping out her phone and tapping in a few numbers 'She isn't going to think any less of you, no-one could, she's tougher than you give her credit for too so; be quiet, stop thinking so much and let me make this frigging call!'

'If you're going to call Rachel don't bother I already did' Brittany piped up as she strolled into the room and took a seat next to her friend.

'What?' Santana questioned with a sideways glare.

'I know you S, and I know you want her here so I called her…well actually I had to go get her, I think my cat stole my phone again. But Rachel's' always in the same place at lunch so she was easy to find'

Santana cast a worried eye to the door opposite 'Britt, where is Rachel?'

'Oh she was right behind me' the blonde said puzzled 'But I was worried about you so ran all the way back here. She's little so she probably couldn't keep up. Are you okay?'

Santana nodded, her eyes downcast as she played off the seriousness of the situation 'I'm okay Britt but-'

Santana didn't get to finish her sentence as a loud gasp suddenly filled the room, the brunette couldn't bring herself to look up as she heard the hurried patter of small feet scurrying across the room and stop in front of her. Staring at the shoes in front of her the cheerio sighed 'Hey'

'Hey? Hey?' Rachel's shrill voice cut through the room and Santana found herself shrinking back a little at the panic in the small girl's words 'Brittany pulls me from the choir room telling me you've been in a fight, which clearly you have, and all you can say is hey? Seriously?'

Santana mumbled a vague apology as she shifted uncomfortably; all she wanted was to disappear from sight. She could feel all three girls looking at her, she knew it was a mix of pity and worry and Santana hated it. She hated feeling so conflicted when all she wanted to do was hop up off the bed and stride out the room with her head held high to show them she was okay, and at the same time all she wanted to do was completely fall apart neither of which was particularly helpful.

Santana sighed as she felt Rachel sit next to her, with Brittany on one side and her girlfriend on the other and with Quinn stood watching over them the cheerio felt like she had her own personal security team. When Rachel reached out and carefully took her hand Santana smiled, it as a small gesture but it meant everything.

Looking up Santana offered her girlfriend an apologetic shrug 'Sorry Britt dragged you here'

Rachel shook her head 'If I have to tell you one more time that being in a relationship means you get to lean on me then…I'm going to make you sit through the special edition of Les Mis my dad brought me back from New York last week and then again the director's commentary. And then mine'

Santana grinned as Rachel shifted to look seriously at the cheerio 'Yes ma'am'

Santana could almost hear the playful sigh of suffering from her girlfriend and could only smile in response before she turned her attention to Quinn 'How's the hand?'

'What?' Rachel asked in confusion as she spun to look at the blonde as if noting her presence for the first time.

'It's fine' Quinn replied casually as she removed her own ice pack to reveal her swollen knuckles, adding sarcastically 'Who would have thought cheerleaders would have such hard heads?'

Looking down sheepishly Santana 'I…You didn't have to wade in you know'

Rachel's eyes flicked between the two as she raced to catch up 'You were involved too?'

Quinn nodded 'I came back to put my phone away and I heard shouting, I saw you and I just….I should have waited with you, I had a bad feeling like something was going to happen but-'

'I told you to go Q, it's not your fault. Besides you were pretty fierce back there' Santana interrupted 'Thanks'

Quinn nodded, she knew how hard it was for her friend to have to sit there and acknowledge what had happened. With a quick wave of her hand the blonde made her way over to Brittney 'I've always got your back San'

Dragging Brittany to her feet Quinn pulled her towards the door 'But right now, I think we should get to class and leave you in the capable hands of your girlfriend…wait, that didn't sound right…'

Santana laughed as she watched Quinn and Rachel share an embarrassed look 'Sounds about right to me'

Letting out a groan of disgust Quinn stuck out her tongue playfully before disappearing from the room. As she listened to the two blondes walking away Santana was aware of the increasing silence in the room. She wanted to say something to break the tension but was drawing a blank. All she could think was how ashamed she was that it was only a day in and she'd already had her ass handed to her and hadn't been able to protect herself or more importantly, Rachel, from the ugliness that came with being out at McKinley High.

'This is gonna be rougher than we thought huh?' Santana finally said dejectedly.

Rachel nodded, tears already forming as she wrapped her arms gently around the shaking girl 'I guess so. Have you spoken to Principal Figgins yet, or Mr Shue, or Coach Sylvester?'

Santana shook her head 'I'm sure they'll come barging in soon enough though'

As if waiting for his cue Mr Shue came striding into the room a look of worry etched on his features as he laid eyes on his two students.

'I came as soon as I heard, are you okay? What happened?'

Santana sighed, glaring at the floor she replied 'I got the shit knocked out of me'

Santana watched wearily as he crossed his arms and began to pace the small room to work off some of his anger. She couldn't help but wonder why he was so upset, after all the two of them had never gotten along and although she knew he considered her one of 'his' kids via glee she had been pretty sure that he wouldn't be entirely devastated if she ever left.

'Why would anyone do this?' he muttered, looking up at the two girls suddenly.

'Haven't you been keeping up to date with the latest gossip? I'm a dyke' Santana answered bluntly, the pain her voice evident as she gritted her teeth and tried to fight back the tears 'Turns out the cheerio locker-room isn't exactly a hotbed of tolerance, go figure'

Neither of the girls had ever seen their teacher lost for words and if the situation hadn't been so serious Santana was sure she would have been revelling in her ability to finally shut him up.

'Mr Shue?' Rachel piped up, her eyes shifting nervously as she broke the silence 'If it's okay with you I think it would be best if we left this till tomorrow. I think I should take Santana home now, she's in no condition to-'

'That's fine' the teacher interrupted raising his hand to hold the younger girls rant 'I'll speak to Figgins for you, just look after Santana okay?'

Rachel nodded and quickly hopped up and grabbed their belongings 'Thanks'

Mr Shue nodded, walking forwards he stopped in front of the cheerio 'I'd like you to meet with Principal Figgins tomorrow morning, what happened today is unacceptable and we need to sort it as soon as possible okay?'

Santana nodded mutely, a million thoughts playing through her head not least the echoed threat whispered in her ear moments before.

'And I'll call your parents to fill them in on the situation'

'No!' Santana shouted startling the teacher 'You can't tell them what happened, they'll kill me-'

'They're your parents Santana, if you've been hurt they'll want to know about it and besides it's the schools responsibility to inform any parents of incidents of bullying-'

Santana shook her head venomously 'If you tell them about this then they'll want to know why and I can't lie to them'

'I can't-'

The cheerleader ploughed on ignoring his protests 'I don't want them finding out about me like this okay? They're going to be freaked out enough that I'm gay, they'll only be more terrified if I come home half-beaten I can't put them through that'

Mr Shue sighed as he looked at the young girl 'It's my duty to tell them there was an incident but I suppose…I could, downplay it a little. I won't tell them why or the details, that's up to you. But I will be calling them, understood?'

The Latina nodded gratefully, letting out a sigh of relief she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Ignoring the pain that shot through her she smiled 'Thank you'

Mr Shue nodded, he didn't look particularly happy as he turned and left the room but Santana chose to ignore that fact, instead she congratulated herself on having brought a little more time. She wanted to be honest with her parents, and she was going to tell them eventually, but she needed to wait for the right time. She knew they probably weren't going to take the news especially well and coming home bruised and battered would only give them more to be afraid off.

Santana didn't say anything as she followed Rachel out to the parking lot she simply concentrated on avoiding the rest of the student body as much as she could. Luckily with classes going on the school was deserted and they made it to her car unseen. On any normal day Santana would have pitched a fit at anyone with the audacity to urge her into the passenger seat of her own car but today she sat back and obliged her girlfriend, smiling as she watched the smaller girl slide into the driver's seat and start adjusting the seat.

As they pulled out of the parking lot Santana sighed 'I don't want to go home'

Keeping her eyes focused on the road the diva frowned 'Why not?'

'I just…I don't okay?' Santana replied defensively, crossing her arms 'Can we go to yours, please?'

Rachel nodded but stayed uncharacteristically silent. Santana knew the other girl wanted to push the subject but was holding back, it hurt the cheerleader to see the unease on her girlfriends face. Staring out the window she grimaced 'My house is empty okay, my parents work all the time and they're not around that much. I don't want to go and sit in silence waiting for them to come home so I can tell them I got my ass kicked'

Rachel swallowed hard as she took in her girlfriends words 'My Dad's will be at work but we have the house to ourselves until six'

Santana smiled softly as she reached over to place a hand on Rachel's leg, she didn't mean to snap but talking about her parents had always been a touchy subject. It wasn't that she had a bad home-life but her parents were consumed by their jobs and that hadn't left much time for their daughter over the years.

'I can go when they come back, its fine' Santana said quietly.

'You're welcome to stay for as long as you want, you know that' Rachel sighed 'I'm sure my Dads would love to finally meet you'

'Probably best to do the whole meet the parent's thing when I don't look like I've been used as a punching bag Rach, I'm not exactly looking forward to seeing my own let alone the in-laws'

Santana was trying to sound light-hearted and with anyone else she knew they would have bought the act but seeing the singer frown sadly the cheerleader was instantly aware she had failed. Santana had spent so long behind her mask of indifference and sarcasm that it was increasingly hard to break down the walls and tell Rachel what she was actually feeling. She knew it hurt the other girl and for that Santana hated herself but she was trying to slowly let Rachel in.

Staring out the window Santana bit her lip 'My parents…they work hard to provide everything, if there's something I want I know they'd get it for me but they spend so much time working and earning shit loads of money that they're never around. I never know when they'll be home, if at all, and when they are there it's….it's like they're strangers sometimes, y'know? We've barely spoken in months, and never about anything important, I don't want the first thing we actually talk about to be this. I know there's no way around it, but I can't help it'

Rachel nodded, steering the car down their street they passed by Santana's house and pulled into Rachel's driveway 'You can't put this off forever but until you're ready to go home, you know you're more than welcome here'

'Thank you' Santana whispered as Rachel pulled her into a loose hug, carefully of the Latina's beaten body.

'Do you think they'll be mad?' Rachel queried as she pulled back to look at her girlfriend.

'About the fight? Doubtful, it'd be surprised if Shue even managed to get hold of them; he probably just left a message on the machine'

'I meant…about us' the diva whispered, her eyes now glued downwards.

Santana frowned as she contemplated the question 'I don't think so…I don't think they'll care either way. But the two things combined, that's a different thing all together so one step at a time okay? I don't want them to equate our relationship with any kind of violence or hatred'

Rachel smiled, 'Okay'

'Good' Santana replied with a quick nod 'Now I'm pretty sure in this situation as the patient that makes you my nurse so…'

The dirty look on the cheerleaders face made Rachel blush, leaning in the singer placed a gentle kiss on her girlfriends forehead before moving down to capture her lips. Pulling back she mumbled 'You have a filthy mind'

'And you wouldn't have me any other way'