Wow I really got into the writing zone for this one. It's kind of depressing I'm sorry. Almost everyone thinks it's Quinn now. I'm so glad you're all enjoying it!

In the morning Blaine woke before anyone else because he'd already had a lot more sleep than them the day before. He realised Santana's arm was around him and smiled. It did make it a little harder to get up without waking her, but he managed it.

His friends all looked so peaceful. Except for Finn. But then he'd been going a little crazy lately. Blaine looked over them for a while before he realised something was wrong. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Why had Santana been cuddling only him? Usually she held hands with him and Brittany… but not today.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw Brittany's empty bed. Quickly he fell to his knees and shook Santana awake.

"Santana," He hissed "Santana please,"

And her eyes fluttered open. The sight of his startled face made her jerk upright so quickly that it smashed their foreheads together.

"What's happening?" She asked.

"Brittany," Blaine pointed to her empty sleeping bag. "Sh-she's gone."

Santana's face fell her eyes widened. "No, that's- she's just gone to the toilet. Silly thing. I'll go and get her."

She tried to stand but Blaine caught her arm.

"You have to take someone with you." He said. "Let's wake the others."

So they did, Santana shaking more every minute, Blaine still not quite able to even comprehend what was happening. He could tell Santana was overcome with worry, but she was trying not to show it.

When everyone was sitting up confusedly in bed, Santana stood before them trying to look tough.

"So Britt's missing and she probably went to the toilet by herself so let's go and check." Santana said.

"Oh no," Rachel gasped. "You don't think she-"

"No." Santana was harsh. "She promised."

And then she turned on her heel to head to the toilets, but Quinn caught her ankle as she went and almost made her fall.

"We're checking the kitchen and stuff first." Quinn said. "Just in case."

"She's not dead." Santana snapped. "She isn't."

But despite herself she followed as Puck and Quinn led the way to the kitchen. She felt a small warm hand slip into hers and glanced back at Blaine. He was biting his lip so hard he'd drawn blood.

Blood.

Santana turned around just as they opened the door in front of her. Rather than the bead of blood growing on Blaine's lip, she was faced with a puddle of it.

Blood.

And Brittany.

She was lying beside in the remains of a shattered broken chair.

Everyone was frozen. Santana pulled away from Blaine, his hand dropping to his side.

Her knees gave way and she was crouched beside Brittany. The blood soaked into the knees of her pyjamas, but she didn't notice. One of her hands fluttered out and then pressed against her Brittany's neck, as if she could close off the flow of blood.

"B-Britt?" She said softly, tears springing to her eyes. "Sweetie?"

She was shaking and her vision blurred as she blinked and felt hot salty tears spill over.

"Honey wake up please." She said, her red stained hands moving up and brushing back Brittany's golden locks of hair. "Sunshine I need you."

Her index finger brushed Brittany's eyes as if they might open.

"Santana," Puck's voice was barely audible, but because everyone was quiet it sounded far too loud. "She's not going to-"

"She promised." Santana growled, fist slamming against the ground and spattering the blood around as she whirled viciously to spit the words at Puck. "She'd not dead! She promised!"

But then she started to weep. Because she knew she was wrong. She knew that Brittany had been wrong. The sunshine of the world had just been sucked out. How could anything good exist anymore? How could Brittany be looking at her with those bright eyes and talking with so much optimism at one moment, and be dead the next?

Santana's gasping was smothered as she pressed her blood covered hands to her mouth to hold back a proper scream and then turned back to the body of the love of her life.

Her hands shuddered violently as she brushed back Brittany's hair again. Her girlfriend was gone. There was nothing left in this body. It was just a gilded cage left empty after the beautiful bird had flown away. Santana's whole face crumpled as she leaned forward over the body. Her head ended up resting of Brittany's silent chest and she let herself sob louder and louder. There was blood in her hair and all over her clothes, not the mention the stains on her face, but she didn't even notice.

"She promised. She isn't dead. She promised me." Santana breathed out deeply and her intake of breath sounded like she was dying too. "Brittany never breaks her promises."

But this time the words were as empty as Brittany's body. Brittany had broken a promise. She'd done the one thing she'd always said she wouldn't do. She'd left Santana. She was gone.

Quinn and Blaine fell to their knees at the same time and each put an arm around they broken friend. Blaine was pretty sure that whatever was left of his heart was being squeezed into a hard lump in his chest. He didn't know when he'd become so attached to these two girls, but it had happened. Rachel and Puck put a hand on each shoulder and stepped in close so their knees pressed against her back. They formed a comforting circle, and as Finn wheeled Artie around the other side, Artie reached out a hand and pushed Santana's hair away from her face so that he could see her.

"Santana, I think this time she couldn't help it." He whispered. Santana straightened a little and he brushed her cheek gently with the hand that had brushed back her hair. "But she loved you. She always did."

Santana leaned into Artie's hand and curled in on herself, and closer to the Glee kids behind her. As Finn crouched beside Artie, she could see the horror in his eyes and she had to look away.

"I know that you freaking dumbass." She whimpered in Artie's direction. But something made the title sound more like a term of endearment. Artie smiled weakly at her through his own teary eyes and his hand fell to squeeze her shoulder over Puck's.

"You'll be okay." Quinn said. She was losing it too. They could hear the anguish in her tone.

"No I won't." Santana's voice broke. "None of us will."

She reached out and grabbed one of Artie's hands, and one of Finns. She took a deep breath. She could feel everyone's hands on her. She could feel their support surrounding her. She held back the screaming inside herself.

She wasn't going to explode. The world was not ending.

Santana took a deep breath. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She tried to think about the Heaven Brittany had always believed in. She tried to imagine that her last moments had been contented and oblivious. She tried to hold her heart together.

But she couldn't

"We're all here for you." Rachel said. She was trying to help. It didn't work.

"Can we all shut up?" Santana asked. She swallowed again and then squeezed Finn and Artie's hands before dropping them. She shrugged the hands off her shoulders and stood up. She couldn't keep the terror and the pain inside. She was about to explode.

She could feel the need to punch a wall, or kick someone in the face. Something in her was burning.

Santana pulled away from the group, her feet sloshing slightly in the blood and making her go pale.

"Santana what are-" Puck started.

"I need to be alone." She said. She was still holding together her tough exterior. Her face was pulled so tightly into a serious yet neutral expression that it looked like it might crack.

"We can't let you-" Rachel tried.

"Yeah you can because a) you aren't the boss of me and b) I said I fucking need to be alone so I fucking need to be alone." Santana hissed. She closed her eyes and then opened them again. "I'll be back in like half an hour tops."

And she was gone before anyone could say anything.

…

They gave her five minutes before someone spoke.

"Do you think we should get her back?" Rachel asked. She never could stay silent, and it was obvious that her anxiety was overwhelming her.

"We should clean this up before she returns." Quinn said, "And find the fairytale."

"I know what that'll be." Puck said. His gaze moved over the broken chair and then he nodded toward the table and they saw the empty bowls of porridge and the little note tucked beside them.

The Club stared and them shuddered and looked away. Their eyes fell on the amount of the red seeping liquid that covered the floor.

"So do we mop or…?" Artie's face so pale and his jaw so tight he seemed like he might vomit.

"There's stuff in the laundry." Quinn said.

They all went together, listening for sounds of Santana but not hearing anything.

It took them a long time, and lot of tears, and great difficulty, to clean up the majority of the blood. At one point, Blaine vomited again in the kitchen sink. He was so weak and shaky when he returned that they gave him the task of cleaning to porridge bowls so he didn't have to face the blood. Unfortunately, Rachel ended up gagging at the sight of the blood getting under her nails and threw up as well. Because the sink was full of water, she had to fumble for a bowl while she sobbed and shook.

And still Santana had not returned

Then her and Blaine just sat and held each other while they cried. Finn was so furious at the sight that he slammed the bowls back in the cupboards so hard they chipped.

And still Santana had not returned.

They went together to collect sheets and gently wrap Brittany in them. As they covered her and saw her friendly face for the last time, none of them really saw her through their tears.

And still Santana had not returned.

They carried the body and laid her down beside Mercedes and Sam. When they closed the door they had to clutch each other on their return to find their way back past their blurred vision. They sat down in the seats in the Main Hall together.

And still Santana had not returned.

So they all got changed and those who had blood on the edges of their pyjamas and on the knees where they had knelt beside Santana cut their pyjamas down into shorts with a pair of old scissors because they felt they wouldn't have time to wash them and they couldn't bear to anyway. They threw the bloody fabric in the bin.

And still Santana had not returned.

"I'm getting worried." Quinn said finally. "It's been ages."

"You're right. It's already ten am." Artie agreed, frowning at his watch. None of the colour has returned to his face. He'd cried longer than the rest as well, with Puck patting his hand awkwardly and wondering if he'd still been just a little in love with Brittany. She was his first after all.

Artie's red-rimmed eyes snapped up at the almost silent gasp from Rachel beside him. The rest turned to look at her too as they followed his gaze.

"Oh no." Rachel said, standing quickly. "You don't think she tried to k- she wanted- you don't think that she wanted to j-join Brittany and-"

"Die?" Quinn choked. "Oh no we have to go find her!"

"Santana wouldn't kill herself!" Finn said firmly as they flew up and began to exit. Puck, wheeling Artie out, just turned and jerked his head at Finn.

"Hurry up! You never know." He snapped. So Finn followed.

They didn't find it too hard to track Santana's progress, considering the trail of blood she was leaving. It was just small smears from the bottom of her pyjamas, but because she'd followed the wooden pathway built for wheelchairs, it was easy see the smudges.

They followed this wooden path all the way to the lakeside.

…

Santana had escaped from the room, keeping composure. Then she had merely ran, because she had to burn off the crazy negative energy inside her.

And when she reached the lake she stared at the lakeshore for a long moment, everything in the little ball in her chest started to unwind.

She was still shaking violently. The horror was getting to her. She took another of her deep and supposedly calming breaths, and looked down at herself.

Blood.

She was covered in Brittany's blood. She only realised it now and it made her gag. Then she screamed, tearing at her clothes.

The sounds echoed in her ears as she managed to rip off her pyjama pants so that she stood in her underwear. She threw the dripping clothing into the water, horrified by the stains. Next she tore off her top and because it was so therapeutic, she ripped at the fabric with her hands. Her screaming turned into to frustrated and agonised shrieks.

Santana could no longer tell if she was shaking for fright or cold, but she waded out into the water, feeling it swirl around her ankles and then up to her chest. She flung her head underwater and tugged and ripped at her hair as she untangled the knots in it and watched the blood leach out.

Her roots ached when she was finished, but she felt cleaner. She tried splashing cold water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up.

Instead she thought she was going to throw up.

All she could think about was Brittany. Everything reminded her of Brittany. The water, her own underwear, and especially the blood.

"Brittany," Santana whimpered. "Britt,"

Her nose was running and she was a mess, but she moved back a little and collapsed in the water. She sat there and rubbed at her arms, her nails digging in, until she got all the blood out.

"Brittany," she repeated the name as she scrubbed. Her skin was red with a mixture of cold and scratches.

In the distance she saw a single bird flitting across the sky. It was so happy and free. It's little lithe body twisted in the sky like Brittany's dancing.

Santana screamed again and kicked at the water with all her might. A splash flew up and the bird disappeared in quick flaps of the wing, alarmed.

"Fuck you!" Santana howled. "I hate everyone! I fucking hate y-yy-y-y-you."

But she was crying again, and fell back to her knees in the water. She felt the rocks digging into her skin but she didn't really notice. Santana knew how easy it would be to just swim out now. She could die the same was Mike had. She could join those she cared about…

But Santana would never do that.

She just whimpered and slowly regained control of her breathing. She was used to dealing with hardship. She'd be okay.

She was used to this.

Brittany would still be with her, as cheesy as that sounded.

Santana laughed bitterly and then cried harder than ever before. She thought about everything she'd lost.

Damn, she'd thought it had been hard when it was just her little Kurt, and her other dear friends. Those were the people she never expected to love this much, so it had hurt in a strange way, like she'd lost something before she fully grasped what she had.

They'd been a wall of friends around her guarded heart, helping her keep it hidden and catching glimpses. She's let them see parts of the real her, but never the full her.

This time was different.

Because Brittany was the only person she'd ever let right in to the centre. Brittany had each of her gentle hands wrapped around Santana's heart and she'd seen all of it. She knew all of Santana Lopez. But Brittany was gone and Santana was sure her heart had been ripped from Brittany's tender grasp by the murderer. And then the murderer had killed Britt and ripped the heart to shreds in the process.

It was even worse because whoever had done that was one of her loved ones. Whoever had done that was one of the people she'd let in. One of the few people who knew she actually had a heart, had just taken advantage of that to break it.

But more than that, this wasn't about Santana.

Because though Brittany had captured Santana's heart, she was so much more than just that. She was the rare spark of brilliance in a world of dim stars. And now someone had put out the light forever. It wasn't fair that there should be a world without Brittany S. Pierce. But there was.

"A world without you." Santana murmured, her eyes squeezed shut against her tears and her pounded headache.

She just sat waist deep in the water as these thoughts ran through her.

And after a while she started talking aloud again.

"I'm going to look after our little Blainers, okay?" She said softly. "I know you love him."

There was no answer, but in her mind's eye, Santana could remember Brittany's smile. She knew the exact way it would tug at her lips. That was unforgettable.

"And Quinn and I will take care of everyone." Santana said. "I'm going to need Quinn. You were right, when you said the same thing every time we fought. I do need Quinn. She'll miss you too, Britt Britt. And I'll take care of Artie. I know you still loved him, even if it wasn't in that way. It was still some kind of love. And I guess I'll even be nice to Rachel, and forgive Puck for being an ass sometimes. And Finn… maybe."

She knew this was where Brittany's expression would become confused, and she could picture it in high quality.

"I think the killer was Finn. I do think that now. And it's not just because I sort of like him the least, because I don't really know who I like the least. It's just that he seems the most suspicious." Santana sighed. "If I find out for sure who did it, Britt, I'll make them pay."

The wind whispered through her wet hair and her shivering became more intense. She drew her knees up and then, slowly and quietly, she started to sing. She sang 'Songbird,' because it was their song.

As the words tumbled out she realised how right they were. As she sang "I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before." She knew it was true.

Brittany was gone, but still she just loved her more with each passing moment.

…

That's where the Glee Club found her. She was standing now, her arms outstretched, singing to the open sky with tears pouring down her face and ripping into the lake along with the water that trickled down her bare back, glistening in the dim sun that peaked between rolling dark clouds.

"Oh thank God." Quinn gasped at the sight of her, not even flinching at her nakedness.

For once all the guys were modest. Even Puck didn't want to look at Santana standing in her underwear in the water. Finn averted his eyes, embarrassed, and Artie was looking at Quinn as if asking what to do next.

Blaine stepped forward first and Quinn grabbed Rachel's hand and followed. Blaine shrugged off his thick woollen jumper as he approached. He kicked off his shoes and didn't bother with his socks, wading straight out. Quinn paused by the water's edge and pulled Rachel's skirt off before she could say anything, leaving her standing in her leggings. Rachel stepped out of the skirt and let Quinn take it. They turned in time to see that Blaine had reached Santana.

He reached out a shaking hand as she finished the last notes of the song and then gently laid it on the small of her back. Santana turned slowly to face him.

"Hello," She said in a flat voice, tossing her hair back a little. Her eyes were very red, but at least she'd cleaned up a little bit while she was sitting in the water.

"You look freezing." Blaine eyed her scratched arms with worry. Instead of handing her his jumper he pulled off his shirt as well and then wrapped it around Santana's shoulders and rubbed to warm her up as her dried her.

Santana just sobbed harder and leaned in to give him a rib crushing hug while he continued to rub her back and hum comfortingly in her ear.

Then Blaine pulled back and slipped his jumper over her head. Santana wiped her fresh tears away before she moved to stick her arms through the holes. Blaine put an arm round her and led her back to shore, where Quinn quickly enveloped her in a second hug. As soon as Quinn let go, Rachel dived in to hug her too. Santana managed a short laugh as the breath was squeezed out of her.

"Try not to kill me, Berry. I'm going to be fine." Santana huffed as she pulled back and Quinn gave her Rachel's skirt. Santana screwed up her nose at the pattern but put it on anyway.

Blaine's hand was still warm and comforting against her back, and Quinn held her hand all the way back up the Hill to re-join the three guys who had waited.

"Still scared of boobs Finn?" Santana asked jokingly. Finn just spluttered, but they could see that Santana felt a little lighter to be able to tease them again.

She took Artie's chair, determined to help out. She didn't realise they'd been worried she might kill herself. Instead she found herself concerned with how they were doing.

"Look at you, Curly-Top, your triangle eyebrows are flat with worry." She bumped Blaine with her hip and he managed a smile. "And Quinn and Rachel, you haven't made a bossy comment since you found me. I hope you're not forgetting your inner divas."

"Don't worry about us." Quinn said softly, exchanging a significant look with Rachel.

Santana clenched her fists tighter around the handles of Artie's chair for a moment because she'd hoped to start a conversation and distract herself, but no one seemed to be taking the bait. The silence stretched and she had to try very hard not to start crying again.

Strangely enough, it was Puck who picked up on her need for conversation.

"We found the note, Santana." He told her. She quickly turned her gaze on him.

"And?"

"It's Goldilocks, but we haven't read it yet." Puck told her, seeing the tension disappear slightly from her shoulders.

"Good. I want to read it with you." She said firmly.

Before they could say anything else, a few splatters of rain hit them. And then, rather quickly, it built up until it was pouring down and they were running toward the cabin.

They slammed the door behind themselves, panting after the long run up. They left Artie's chair to drip all over the dining room floor and Puck carried him along with the rest of the club into the living room. Here, everyone grabbed more clothes and towels to wrap their wet hair in. They got changed and then gathered in the kitchen.

Their 'brunch' occurred at lunchtime and they all ate the sandwiches ravenously because they'd missed breakfast. It was only when they were finished that they decided to read the note from the killer.

"Who do you want to read it, Santana?" Artie asked.

"You can." Santana said, staring at the paper as Artie picked it up and opened it.

"Once Upon a time there was a lovely young lady with golden hair who walked through life as if the world was the most wonderful place. She trusted everything to be safe, and never thought twice before doing things. With her head in the clouds and her heart open to all, she came across a little place in the woods.

Goldilocks trusted that the place would be completely safe, so she snuck in by herself. When she saw the bowls of porridge, she ate. When she saw the seats, she sat down and made herself at home. When she was tired, she was ready to sleep there.

But the owners returned, and they were not happy to see this naïve little girl in their house. She was a fool for entering, and a fool for trusting them. The three bears tore her to pieces as a punishment for her crimes of stupidity.

The End."

Artie had tears running down her cheeks again, and he looked up to see that everyone else did too. He looked each and every one of them in the eye.

"Brittany's not stupid." He said. "I don't know which of you wrote this, but you're wrong. Brittany isn't stupid."

He screwed up the paper in his hand and threw it at the wall.

"I wish I'd never called her that." He growled "I was the last person in the school to call her that!"

He was sobbing again, and Santana reached out and hugged him tight. Artie squeezed her back, still shaking with his own sorrow.

"I'm glad she was with you, Santana." Artie mumbled into her hair. "But I wish things had ended better between us."

"It's okay." Santana sniffled. "I called her that too and I'll always regret it."

"Same," Every other person in the room managed to say that at the same time. And it made them laugh, just a little.

Santana couldn't help thinking that the laughter was definitely good for them. Brittany would be so much happier just knowing that she still knew how to laugh.

I'd absolutely love to get feedback for this one! It was pretty emotional so I want to see what you thought. And does anyone want me to re set the poll? I haven't done it in a while.