Brittany is in full on panic mode.
She shakes Santana's shoulders hard this time. Santana mumbles something incoherently in response. At first it's nothing but then the more she tries to keep Santana awake and talking, she starts to hear things that make more sense like that Santana feels cold, and that she's tired. While this certainly isn't good news, it's enough to snap Brittany out of blind panic and into action. She gets out of bed and runs over to the desk and grabs Santana's wallet and keys. Then she gets dressed and throws on some flip flops before dressing Santana in basketball shorts and a tank top. She wipes the hair off of her sweaty forehead before kissing it. "I'll be right back baby."
She runs outside and starts Santana's car and leaves the passenger door open before running back inside and picking Santana up, bridal style blanket and all, and walking outside with her. Santana curls slightly into her body which only makes it harder to put her down because all she really wants to do is comfort her right now, but she knows she needs to get her to a doctor.
While driving to the hospital she can't stop herself from feeling like the worst girlfriend for not making Santana do something sooner. They should have gone to the doctors two weeks ago. She pushes the thoughts out of her mind. She can't change what happened and now she just needs to get Santana help. She tries to talk out loud in a soothing voice in case she does wake up so she doesn't panic. When they get there Brittany pulls into emergency parking. She's not sure if she's allowed, but whatever, this feels like an emergency. She jumps out of the car and collects Santana into her arms and pulls her back out of the car without hitting her head on anything. It is much more difficult than putting her into the car.
She walks right up to the nurses station and as soon as they notice that she's carrying an unconscious Santana, someone comes to help her right away. They take Santana from her and into a room. Brittany had been reluctant to let her go, but as long as they didn't try to separate them, it was ok. The nurse asked Brittany a lot of questions while she took Santana's vitals. The guilt came back about letting Santana be this sick for so long.
Her temperature is 106 degrees, which is dangerously high. The doctor immediately orders her to be hooked up to an IV, as other nurses start placing ice packs around her and on top of her. After a few minutes Santana started shaking but the nurse told her it was ok. It didn't look ok. That was when Brittany couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Seeing Santana look so small, shaking in that bed, and Brittany couldn't even hold her to make her feel better? It was torture.
Slowly Santana started to come back around. "I don't like this Britt" is the first full sentence she says. Brittany jumps into action getting a nurse to come fix whatever it was that Santana didn't like. The doctor was happy with how much they had lowered her temperature so they took the ice packs away. That helped Santana's discomfort a little, but she was still miserable.
The doctor comes back in after they get the results of her blood test and tells them that he would like to have an xray done to check for pneumonia, because the blood tests aren't showing anything specific. Santana agrees but as soon as they start to wheel her away and she realizes that Brittany can't come with her she starts to get upset. "Shh. I'll be right here when you're done, they'll bring you right back to me." She coos into Santana's messy hair. "I love you. See you in a few minutes." Santana nods trying to hold back more tears as they take her back to get x rays.
It really does only take a few minutes but when they see each other again it's like it had been weeks. Brittany can't explain it really but she needs to be with Santana. Like she needs to protect her, even though she knows there isn't anything she can protect her from here. But that doesn't make the feeling go away. After about half an hour of Santana laying on her side holding Brittany's hand to her chest and falling in and out of sleep the doctor comes back in. "Ok girls. It's a pretty obvious case of pneumonia. Thankfully you are young and otherwise healthy so I think with some medicine and rest you're going to be fine. I'm going to prescribe you some antibiotics as well as two different inhalers and a cough suppressant. Take everything exactly how it tells you to on the package, except for the suppressant. That you can just take as needed. Ok? I'll have a nurse come in and work on getting you discharged, she can also answer any other questions you ladies might have. Feel better Santana." And then he was gone. Before they even had time to ask questions.
Brittany was ready when the nurse came in with all of her questions. "How can I help her sleep easier?"
"If she's calm and not coughing she shouldn't have too hard of a time sleeping. Now that her fever broke the symptoms might keep her up a little more, but the medicine should help. If the coughing proves to be a problem, have her sleep sitting up a little." Brittany wishes she had paper so she could take notes. But this was all common sense and she just needed to focus right now. This was for Santana.
"Ok. How long is it going to take her to get better?"
"She should start feeling better pretty soon. The medicine works fast. But she probably won't be completely over it for another two weeks, maybe more. But if it's more we're going to wnat you to come back."
"Is there any other reasons we should come back? Like any signs or something?"
"If her temperature goes back up give us a call. Other than that, unless she's feeling a lot worse I think it's going to be ok."
"I need to get a thermometer." Brittany mumbled to herself.
"I've got one you can have. Ok?" The nurse could tell how anxious Brittany was. She thought it was kind of cute.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
"Is it contagious?" They both heard Santana mumble from the bed. Brittany had thought she was sleeping.
"No honey." The nurse answered. "Some kinds are, but if you two have been together since you started getting sick and you've been around others it's safe to say you're probably not contagious."
Santana nodded a few times before she sort of drifted back off to sleep.
"Don't fall asleep Santana, I need you to sign this and then we're going to get you out of here." Santana opened her eyes and struggled to pull herself up. Brittany thankfully helped pull her into a sitting position. She signed the papers and then slumped into Brittany who held her sitting on the bed. The nurse went to get a wheelchair, which Santana tried to protest, and they wheeled her out of the door to Brittany's car.
On the way home Santana was asleep within a few seconds. The hospital had given them enough medicine to last until morning when Brittany could go pick up her prescriptions. She parked the car as close to the apartment as possible before going over to Santana's side, prepared to carry her in again. But as soon as she slipped her arm under Santana's leg, she woke up. "I can walk B." She mumbled sleepily. Brittany tried to argue but Santana insisted and very slowly climbed out of the car, Brittany supporting most of her weight anyway. After a very slow trip inside, Brittany got her into bed and as soon as she joined Santana climbed into her arms.
Brittany held her tight as she fell asleep and tried to will her own brain to shut off and fall asleep. But she couldn't. Even with Santana's warm and breathing body pressed against hers, she could not stop her mind from running at all of the horrible ways tonight could have ended. After an hour and a half of laying there Brittany heard the birds starting to chirp which meant it was officially morning. There was no way she was going to fall asleep, and she thought at least if she got out of bed and did things then maybe she could stop thinking for a little bit.
Santana was sleeping heavily so maneuvering their tangled limbs so she could pull them apart wasn't terribly difficult. She kissed Santana's forehead, lingering to gauge the temperature there, before parting and going into the kitchen. She knew one thing she definitely had to do, but did not want to. So instead she cleaned the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, and did a load of laundry that included all of Santana's favorite pajamas (which happened to consist primarily of Brittany's clothes). She checked on Santana every few minutes to make sure she was still ok. After she finished all of her options to further procrastination that didn't involve leaving the house to get medicine she went into their bedroom and got her phone.
She sat down on the couch and took a deep breath before selecting a number and pushing send. "Brittany!"
"Maribel, hey." She tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible.
"How are my girls?"
"We're uh… you know. How's vacation?" She could tell by the half second of dead silence that her attempts at making this conversation casual were not going to happen.
"Brittany what's wrong?" Maribel's voice was instantly more serious. "Are you ok? Is Santana ok? Brittany?"
"We're ok." Brittany answers quickly before Maribel could full on panic. "Santana is just, she's sick."
"Sick with what?" The panic was definitely not out of her voice. "Like the cold she's had?"
"Yeah. But it got worse. Uh last night she had a really high fever so I took her to the emergency room and they said she has pneumonia."
"Pneumonia?!"
"She's….yeah. But they gave her medicine, and sent her home. I'm going to go pick up her prescriptions soon."
"We'll get the next flight home. Immediately." Brittany could now hear Antonio in the background getting steadily more upset.
"No. No it's fine. If you left your vacation she'd be really upset. It's ok, other than getting things for her, I can be here 24/7. I already texted someone to cover my dance classes this weekend."
"Antonio wants to speak to you." Maribel answered back a little shaky. Brittany nodded her head as if they could see her.
"Brittany. Tell me everything the doctor said." Brittany recounted every single detail to him from the time they stepped into the hospital. He seemed satisfied with the diagnosis and what they had given Santana to make her feel better.
"I'm really sorry to have to call and ruin your vacation." Brittany said quietly. She knew that would potentially be the outcome. They were both very protective parents.
"No. I'm glad you called. We're not going to leave just yet. I trust you and the doctor. But if she gets worse, you need to call me. As soon as she is up and awake I want her to give us a call ok? We'll keep checking on the both of you." Brittany nodded again.
"Absolutely."
"Ok. Go take care of her Brittany. Thank you for calling, I will speak to you soon." They hung up the phone and Brittany breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't easy, but it was over. She looked at the time on her phone, Santana needed her next round of medicine in less than an hour. She called the prescription into the pharmacy and then went and got dressed. She walked over to the bed and kneeled down kissing Santana's head before shaking her lightly. "Mmmm". Santana protested.
"You don't have to get up S. I just want you to know I'm going to get your medicine. I'll be back soon. Ok?"
"Don't go." Santana whined pathetically.
"I have to baby. You need the medicine. Go back to sleep. I'll be back before you even wake up ok?" Santana shook her head in a vague way that could have meant either 'Ok' or 'No' but Brittany couldn't tell. And she had to get the medicine either way. So she leaned down and pressed her lips to Santana's cheek and left.
When she got to the grocery store that had the pharmacy in it, the medicine still had a few more minutes before she could pick it up so she quickly gathered anything and everything Santana might want over the next few days. She had no intentions of leaving her side again, not until she was healthy. Once the medicine was ready she picked it up, quickly checked out, and drove home as fast as she legally (or maybe a little illegally) could.
When she got inside she didn't even put the groceries away before she ran into the bedroom to check on Santana. She was still asleep in the same position she had been when Brittany left. Except now she was looking a little flushed. She put her hand on Santana's cheek and it was definitely warm. Without raising any panic, she grabbed the thermometer they had given her at the hospital. "San, sweetie wake up. I need to take your temperature." After a few more gentle shakes Santana stirred and looked up at Brittany with watery eyes.
"Why?" She pouted.
"You feel a little warm and the doctor told me to monitor your temperature. Just open your mouth a little. That's all you have to do." Brittany slid the thermometer under Santana's tongue and pressed her chin gently to get her to close her mouth. While she was waiting she stroked her fingers over Santana's exhausted features, hoping to sooth her in some way. When the thermometer beeped she read that Santana was running a fever again. "Ok baby. I'm going to go wash this off. Do you want anything? You should try to drink some of the water I have here." Santana lifted her arm to reach to grab the bottle of water but she was weak and couldn't quite reach. "Let me get it for you." Brittany whispered.
She took the water bottle and held the straw part up to Santana's dry lips. She took a few sips before the exertion of keeping her head up got to be too much. "Ok I'm going to go wash this and put away the groceries." Brittany partially lied.
"Do I have to go back to the doctors?" Santana mumbled.
"I'm just going to call and see what they say ok?" Santana nodded as Brittany took the thermometer and her phone into the kitchen. The first thing she did was dial the number she had programmed into her phone last night.
"Hello I need to speak to Dr. Jameson please."
"He actually left a few hours ago. Can I direct you to another doctor?" Brittany rolled her eyes.
"I guess so?" The woman put down the phone with promises to be back as quickly as possible. In the meantime Brittany put things away and and disinfected the thermometer.
"Hello this is Dr. Lutzer can I help you?"
"Hi, my name is Brittany. I brought my girlfriend to the emergency room last night…" She told him the entire story before ending with her current temperature.
"Have you given her another dose of medicine?"
"She's not due for another half an hour."
"Ok. Go ahead and give it to her now. If the fever doesn't fade pretty quick, make her take a lukewarm bath. Make sure the water is pretty low though, and if in two hours the fever persists, bring her back in. Ok? Some people burn through medicine quicker than others. So that might solve the problem very quickly." Brittany thanked him and hung up the phone before gathering everything she needed and heading back into Santana's room.
In just the few short minutes it took her to call the doctor, Santana was already back asleep. Brittany hated that she had to keep waking her, but the alternative was scary. Once she gently woke Santana again she helped her sit up just a little bit. "What did he say?" Santana's voice was so weak, Brittany hated it.
"Medicine now, and then a cool bath if that doesn't work, and if nothing happens in two hours he said to bring you in. But he thought the medicine was going to fix it."
"Hope so. I don't want to go back."
"Me neither baby. Ok swallow these." She held the pills up to Santana's lips and followed quickly with the water. She shook the inhaler just as the instructions said before holdng it up to Santana's mouth. "Ok love. As deep of a breath as you can manage ok? On three." Santana took both of her inhalers before settling back down on the bed.
"I wish I could take a bath though. Feel so gross."
"You can if you want. I washed all your favorite boxers and pj pants." Brittany continued to run her fingers through Santana's limp hair.
"Can't B. I can barely stand. I couldn't even reach the water bottle." Santana started to tear up. It was no secret to Brittany that Santana got like this when sick or scared. She couldn't blame her.
"I'll carry you."
"You will?"
"Anywhere you want to go." She saw Santana crack a tiny smile. "Let me go run the water first though." She ran into the bathroom and remembering the doctors suggestion she kept the water at a low height. She went back into the bedroom and helped Santana sit up, pulling her t-shirt off over her head, and her boxers down off of her tiny legs. It broke Brittany's heart how difficult the task of someone else undressing her made Santana look even more tired and pale. She reached under Santana's legs and picked her up and pulled her into her chest. When she got to the bathroom she lowered Santana into the tub, her muscles straining.
"S'cold."
"I know San. But the doctor said it's good for you." Brittany waited for a moment but it seemed Santana was asleep again. She shook her head and grabbed the wash cloth, lathering it up with Santana's favorite body wash. She started up at her neck, cleaning every inch as gently as she could. She cleaned her breasts and her sides before moving up and getting both of her arms. She went to lift one of her arms to wash her armpits when Santana woke back up slightly.
"Thanks Britt." If Brittany didn't know better she would swear Santana was sleep talking. She finished cleaning and rinsing her armpits before moving down to her feet and up both legs. The only reachable spot she had left to clean was Santana's penis and the surrounding area. Without even thinking about it she gently lifted it and washed it with the utmost care. Santana jerked awake. "You don't have t'do that." She mumbled, weakly raising her arm.
"Why? You're sick and you need taken care of. This is part of that." Then after a pause she added as an afterthought. "Is it weird for you?" Santana shook her head back and forth.
"Not really. Feels good to be taken care of. Feels good to be clean. S'long as it's not weird for you."
"It's not at all. This isn't a sexual situation. It's not weird for you to need help cleaning yourself when you're as sick as you are?" Santana nodded. Brittany, as usual, was right.
Brittany continued her reverent washing of her girlfriend's body before washing and rinsing her hair. She carried Santana back into the bedroom and dried her off and brushed her hair. "Feel any better?"
"A little." Her voice definitely sounded a little stronger.
"Can I make you some soup and maybe we can sit on the couch for a little bit? I want to wash your bedding and you need to eat and get some more fluids down. Santana agreed and Brittany helped move her to the couch.
That's how Santana spent the majority of the next few days. Shuffling back and forth between the bed and the couch. Maribel made good on her promise to call and check on them several times a day. Brittany knew Santana was starting to feel better when she asked if Brittany would go lay out by the pool with her. She just needed sunshine. And Brittany couldn't disagree. Santana had not seen sunlight in several days, which couldn't be helping anything. They didn't stay out long but they did go out again the next day.
A week and a half later Brittany and Santana were preparing to make the trip up to Santana's parents house. They were back from vacation and had insisted on coming down to see them but Santana told them no, that she wanted to come home for a few days. Really, she just needed a change of pace, but one that would still allow her to spend a lot of time sleeping. She was definitely feeling better, but not awesome. Not yet. So Brittany packed everything while Santana took a nap and when she woke up they showered and got into the car. Santana had almost protested when Brittany got into the drivers seat but decided she didn't really have the energy to drive anyway.
Brittany panicked a little bit when they got closer to the city, but she held her own and did remarkably well, in Santana's opinion, for her first drive into the city. As soon as they drove into Santana's neighborhood she saw the signs for the neighborhood festival hanging over the streets. They would be here for that. She always thought it was super lame when she was younger, but now that she was older she guesses it's kind of cool. Plus Brittany will love it, they have fireworks and games and everything.
Maribel is outside waiting when they pull up, which is extremely unusual. But Santana gets it, she's been worried. She just hopes it doesn't cause her mom to be too hovering because that just gets annoying. Brittany pulls into the parking lot and before she even gets the car turned off Maribel is already opening up Santana's door and pulling her out of the car. "Mami my seat belt! Calm down." But Maribel doesn't (not that anybody actually thought she would). She hugs and kisses Santana a hundred times before she does the same to Brittany who is now thankfully at Santana's side, and carrying their bag.
Maribel told them they should go inside and get out of the heat. She went to help Santana inside but as soon as she turned to do so, Brittany already had her arm around her and was supporting her up the walkway and into the house. It took a little while for her to get used to someone else caring for one of her babies in her presence, but it was heartwarming to watch. It also reaffirmed the decision that Antonio had made about not coming home from vacation because he was positive Brittany would take good care of her. And it wasn't that Maribel didn't agree, it's just that she still felt slightly guilty. But watching Brittany care so tenderly for Santana erased that guilt
Break was slow and sweet. Family dinners and time spent in the back yard. All of Santana's brothers came to visit at least once. She was feeling significantly better by time the neighborhood festival came up. "Hey Britt…there's this thing tonight. I don't know if you saw signs around. The neighborhood festival? It's this stupid thing, kind of like a fair. There's rides and food. Fireworks…"
"Can we go?!" Brittany finished for her excitedly. "Wait. If you're feeling up to it. I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for."
"I think I'm feeling up to it. My mami and papi are probably going to. And you'll get to meet more of my family. My aunt and uncle and their kids will be there." Brittany smiled and hugged Santana.
"I'm excited."
Later that evening they got ready. Santana was, as usual, struck by Brittany's effortless beauty. It still happened sometimes, that she couldn't believe Brittany was hers. Forever. It was something she never doubted, just that it snuck up on her and reminded her how lucky she was. They headed over to the street that was blocked off for the festival during the early evening. They walked slowly, but nobody minded. Santana was feeling much better, but weeks of lying around and not eating much definitely took a toll on her body.
When they got there Brittany was instantly overtaken by the excitement. She had been to an amusement park twice while in school but this wasn't like that. It was smaller, closer together, and somehow brighter. Santana couldn't help but smile at the look on Brittany's face. She knew she would love it. She loves being part of the reason for that look.
They spent the first hour walking around saying hello to people they knew and just seeing what all was at the fair. Brittany had declared that she wanted to eat every single thing they passed (and Santana believed she probably could). She only made Santana promise to ride one ride with her, the ferris wheel. Santana was grateful that Brittany didn't ask her to ride more, she wasn't feeling up to it. But Brittany probably knew that which is why she only asked for the one.
After a little while of walking around they met up with Santana's aunt and uncle and their three kids. After initial hugs and kisses Brittany pulls Brittany forward. "Aunt Nina, Uncle John this is Brittany my girlfriend." Brittany shyly waved but Nina jumped forward pulling Brittany into her arms.
"I've heard so much about you! Oh my God Maribel she is as pretty as you said!" Brittany blushed and whispered thank you.
"Britt these are my snotty little cousins JJ, Lena, and Tony." Santana gestured to the three young children standing excitedly in the center of the adults.
"We're not snotty Tana!" The little girl yelled back making Brittany laugh. Brittany knelt down.
"I bet you're not snotty. I'm Brittany." She stuck out her hand to the little girl who shook it enthusiastically. "How old are you guys?"
"Me and Lana are 8 cause we're twins. Tony's a baby. He's six."
"I'm NOT a baby!"
"You don't look like a baby." Brittany cut in. Tony towed the ground with his shoe and blushed.
"Somebody has a little crush on your woman Tana." Nina jokingly whispered.
"Can we ride rides now?" Lena asked. "I want to sit with Brittany!"
"I don't know if Brittany wants to ride rides sweetie." John answered.
"Of course I do." Brittany laughed. Santana loved every single meeting Brittany had with her family and how easily she always fit in. She was meant to be here. They walked around the fair and rode every ride the kids wanted to. They fought over who got to sit with Brittany and honestly, Santana couldn't blame them. They took a break to eat way too much food. Brittany was having an amazing time playing with the kids and walking around with Santana and her family. She hoped they could come back for this every year.
After a few more rides they settled on the grass to watch the fireworks. Brittany sat next to Santana for a total of three minutes until the kids were pulling her up to play again. Santana sat next to her mom, watching Brittany play, thinking about the future because it was hard not to in moments like these. Beautiful Brittany, happy children, perfect life. She wasn't paying attention to anything else so when her mom leaned over and whispered "Like looking into the future mija?" in her ear, it scared her for a second.
She felt that initial panic she always felt when her mom brought up the future or children, but it went away quickly. She'd thought about it too much recently to be surprised by someone else thinking about it too. "Yeah." She smiled. She didn't know if now was a good time, or if there ever was a good time to bring up something she'd thought about recently. "I've been thinking about" she took a breath. "engagement rings. Not now. But maybe someday."
Maribel nodded. She wasn't surprised. Not even a little bit. Really she was trying to hold back the urge not to scream and dance and start talking about locations and dresses. She took a second to calm herself. "Well. Maybe you should move some money from your savings account. Just in case. You want to be prepared."
Santana's heart started to pound harder. She thought for sure her mami would say something about waiting till they graduated, and honestly, she didn't think she could wait that long. But for her to say this, basically giving her permission, telling her to even. "Yeah, prepared." Was all she could come up with to respond.
As soon as the fireworks started Brittany came running back to Santana. Santana took her hand and pulled her down in between her legs instead of next to her where Brittany had looked like she was going to sit. She really needed to hold her right now. As soon as Brittany was laying back against her chest looking up at the fireworks Santana whispered "I love you" into her ear and pressed a kiss there.
"Love you too. So much." They watched the rest of the fireworks. But mostly Santana watched Brittany.
After the fireworks the kids were getting tired, but they hadn't rode the ferris wheel yet so Nina and John promised them one more ride before they left. The kids fought over who would sit next to her on this one but she ended the argument pretty quickly. "Sorry guys, Santana promised me a ride on this one." They whined a little bit but got over it pretty quickly as soon as they got in line and started fighting over who got to sit in the middle.
They got onto the ride and Santana put her arm around Brittany's shoulders. "Did you have fun today Britt?"
"The most. I want to come back again."
"We can come every year if you want."
"Really?"
"Well yeah. My parents will probably never leave this area so we'll always be allowed to come with them." Brittany nodded, smiling. Santana swallowed thickly, a little nervous for her next statement. "We could even bring our kids here, you know." Brittany looked at her with her eyes shining.
"I think that would be amazing." Brittany leaned down to kiss her, and that's how they spent the rest of the ride.
The next morning they packed their stuff to get ready to head back to New Jersey. Quinn was coming back that evening and Santana had promised to pick her up from the train station. Brittany also had to get back to teaching her weekend dance classes. Santana promised her parents they would come back for a few days before school started back up, and after a million hugs and a huge bag full of leftovers, they left. As Santana was driving down the street she thought of something. "Do you mind if we stop at my bank really quick? I just need to run in and check on something." Brittany shook her head no.
They pulled into the bank parking lot and Santana left Brittany in the car still looking for a song on her iPod.
"Hello can I help you?"
"Yeah. I just need to uh, transfer some money from my savings account."
"Ok, I just need your ID and your account number." Santana gave her both and waited for a moment, tapping on the counter. "Ok Miss Lopez. How much money would you like me to transfer?"
"I… like eight thousand. I think."
"Eight thousand? Planning a big purchase?" The teller asked making idle conversation while she tapped away at the computer.
"The biggest." Santana responded seriously. The teller smiled at her and handed her a statement slip before Santana thanked her and ran back out to the car where Brittany was having a solo dance party in the front seat. She slipped into the drivers side and leaned over kissing Brittany fully on the lips, taking her by surprise. But the surprise faded and her hands came up to cup Santana's face and she deepened the kiss. When they parted they were both gasping for air.
"What was that for?"
"I just love you."
"I love you too." Brittany responded sweetly. Santana took her hand and started the drive back home, with Brittany and the biggest purchase she will have ever made on her mind.
AN: Thank you to my beta, as always. She's wonderful. Also everyone that reviewed last chapter, you are all my favorite.
Three more chapters, I'm pretty sure. Then some one shots. Then maybe a sequel? Or... I don't know.
No guys I'm just kidding there is definitely a sequel. I just can't promise you when it will be out. But it is a real thing. It is planned.
Reviews? Let me know what you thought? Feelings on the sequel? It's already planned out but that doesn't mean I can't involve some things that you guys suggest. Follow me on tumblr (klikeszombies . tumblr . com).