I'm well aware that this chapter is shorter than the last few have been, but I think that's normal for a story that's wrapping up. I want to thank everyone for the reviews and alerts to the last chapter. There is only an epilogue left, and I'm going to have some more serious detailed thanks then. :)

chapter twenty-one

New York City was a rude wake up call for Santana. Lima had been simple, relatively speaking. Her old hometown held a lot of bad memories for her, but it held good times, too, and after a few missteps and a little frustration, it ultimately came through for her. She felt like maybe she could remember who she was.

When she stepped back into her apartment in New York, Santana remembered who else she was – the girl who had given up on every dream she had. And now she was back in the place that had stolen them from her and she could feel them slipping through her fingers again. Just being there made her chest start to tighten and her breathing quicken.

Santana was alone, and she was finding that it didn't help the dread and self-loathing that were creeping through her veins like they naturally belonged there. She and Rachel had shared a cab and Rachel had dropped her and her suitcase off before going back to her own apartment to unpack. They had parted with a kiss and a smile, and it was kind of cheesy, but Santana figured that she would take silly and sappy over anything else her life could and had been.

No, she thought, New York didn't steal her dreams. She threw them away, tossed them aside when everything went wrong. Everything didn't get better, though – it only got worse – and now here she was, with the clothes in her luggage and very little money in the bank (Rachel had already bought her ticket to Lima long before she agreed to go and most of the food she had eaten in Lima had belonged to the Berrys). She had no job and no prospects. She was starting to remember why and how she ended up where she did.

It was almost tempting, almost, to call her old boss and see if he was interested in taking her back. He probably wouldn't be, but maybe if she asked the right way, he would think about it. But she shook those thoughts away. She had Rachel now, and Rachel would never let her do that to herself; she wouldn't let her do that to herself. She didn't want hers to become another tragic stripper story.

Santana sighed, glaring at her suitcase like maybe it would unpack itself. She had just convinced herself to grab the handle and head back towards the bedroom, which was still without a bed, when there was a knock at her door.

"Great," she muttered, storming over to it, "I can't even be here an hour and that pervert next door is already coming over to hit on me."

When Santana swung the door open, though, she was surprised to see Rachel there.

"Can I come in?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, of course," Santana answered, shrugging her shoulders and stepping aside to let Rachel enter. She closed the door behind the girl and followed her as she went into the living room. "What – what are you doing here?"

"Are you not happy to see me?" Rachel grinned.

Santana rolled her eyes and dropped on the couch next to the other brunette. "It's not that," she said, nudging Rachel casually with her elbow. "I'm just surprised. I wasn't really expecting you."

"Well," Rachel started, "I got back to my apartment and I was unpacking. I managed to put my clothes away, but the whole time I kept thinking about you over here in this apartment and well, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Santana nudged her again. "You just wanted to see me again, admit it," she teased. "You couldn't even stay away from me for a couple of hours."

Rachel just shook her head at her, but the hint of a smile was on her face. Santana dreaded everything that was coming; all of the things she needed to do in order to get her life together. But if Rachel kept looking at her like that, she was going to forget why she was supposed to be worrying.

Santana reached out to take Rachel's hand, threading their fingers together. "Rach?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "I know that you've been nervous about coming back to New York City and I thought of something that might help you, if you agree to it."

"Come out with it already," the taller brunette said good-naturedly.

"Move in with me," Rachel said quickly.

If Santana had been drinking something, she would have spit it out. "What?" she cried.

"I mean, don't move in with me in a romantic way," Rachel blushed, shaking her head and Santana's hand all at once. "I really like you, but I wouldn't say we're ready for that."

All Santana could respond with was a strangled noise from the back of her throat.

The shorter girl squeezed her hand. "What I'm trying to say is that you can sleep on my couch," she said, speaking quickly. "You don't have a job yet, and that's partially my fault – not that I regret my actions – and I hate to think of you here in this place by yourself. You can stay on the couch and I'll make you vegan food while we figure out what to do next."

"Sounds like you've got it all planned out," Santana said, smiling despite herself. "Your vegan food is okay."

Rachel looked proud at the sentiment and Santana rolled her eyes at the girl. "Would there happen to be a 'yes' in there?" the shorter girl asked.

Santana shook her head, holding tightly to Rachel's hand as her face fell. "Don't get me wrong, it's a nice idea," she told Rachel kindly. "But I should stay here."

"But you don't have to," Rachel interrupted.

"I do have to, Rachel," she responded adamantly. "I need to do some things on my own, remember? I don't need your charity, I just need you to like, support me and stuff. That's what girlfriends do, right?" she asked, and she was seriously checking a little bit to make sure. Santana never would have thought that she would be dating Rachel, but if she was going to, she was going to do it right.

"It's not charity," Rachel shot back.

Santana shrugged. "It is a little bit."

"It's me trying to 'support you and stuff,'" Rachel said, smirking a bit as she used Santana's own words.

Santana wouldn't tell her, but she kind of loved when Rachel smirked or looked otherwise mischievous. It made her wish they had been friends in high school because she could see them doing all kinds of damage together. She wouldn't have minded helping Rachel take out her competition, if only for the challenge and the thrill of scheming.

"You're sweet," she said eventually, and the words sounded saccharine even to her. "But I'd rather just have your moral support, okay?"

Rachel's smirk slipped and Santana countered it by kissing Rachel softly on the cheek. Rachel had turned her into some kind of sap, but she was coming to accept that maybe that wasn't so bad. "You've always had my moral support," she smaller girl said, leaning into her a bit. "Even when you didn't want it."

"Even that first night when you stormed off?" Santana smirked, letting her arm wrap around Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel nodded, moving closer to her. "You can be quite infuriating when you want to be," she responded. "And I found you again, didn't I?"

Santana smiled. "You definitely did."

The girl in her arms twisted around until she could wrap her arms around Santana's waist. She laid her head on her chest and played with the seam in Santana's shirt. They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and Santana was perfectly content to cuddle with Rachel. It made even her uncomfortable couch more bearable.

"Just know that if you ever want to stay somewhere else or just get away for a night, my couch is always open," she heard Rachel say.

"Your couch?" Santana asked, waiting until Rachel nodded to speak again. "What about your bed? Is that open?" she quipped.

Santana could practically feel Rachel's eyes roll in her head. "Perhaps," she said quietly. The taller girl's eyebrows shot up and Rachel quickly swatted her stomach. "Eventually," she finished, leveling a firm gaze up at her.

Santana smirked, tilting her head. "I can work with eventually," she smiled, winking at the other girl.

Rachel shook her head, but she was smiling as she settled back down against Santana, who dropped her chin down to rest atop Rachel's head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe, holding in the oxygen that filled her lungs until it burned slightly. She exhaled and felt Rachel squeeze her midsection.

"Are you okay?" she heard.

It felt like the hundredth time she had asked been asked that question by Rachel, and perhaps it was. And when Santana gave her a simple 'yes,' she realized that her answer had never ever been truer. If Lima had come through for her back in Ohio, Rachel Berry was coming through for her in New York City.

Santana didn't realize that she had fallen asleep holding on to Rachel until she felt someone tugging on her, forcing her to lie down on the couch. She felt arms wrap around her and someone snuggle up against her side. Maybe Rachel's couch was open for her, but her couch was just as open for Rachel.