I just realized I made a mistake. Leroy Berry is supposed to be the doctor and Hiram Berry is supposed to be the one who works at the museum. I had Leroy doing both, so I apologize for those of you who caught that. Anyway, this is the morning after of some sorts. Enjoy.

"Rach, they're gonna look at me like I'm a special animal exhibit at the Lima Zoo." I whispered into the phone. I was looking right out the window at Rachel as she paced in her room. She had been trying to convince me to come over her house for a little over an hour now. I hadn't really budged but I did find some amusement in the way Rachel's voice got higher when she was frustrated.

"No they aren't! You don't even have to talk to them." I rolled my eyes. That was faulty logic on Rachel's part. I could already tell the different between Leroy and Hiram Berry. They were fantastic, humorous and kind, but Leroy was the male version of Rachel. He was dramatic, artsy, and sometimes oblivious. Hiram on the other hand, knew his shit; he was sarcastic and confrontational, just like me. I guess my point is that they'll both want to talk to me about last night, and I wasn't in the mood.

"Look out your window." I said watching as she pulled open her blinds further and looked up at me.

"Oh god, I didn't think you could see this well into my room-…San, you don't…how often to you look into my room." I chuckled and shrugged so that she could see. "Santana!"

"Anyhow, maybe I should just nap or something-."

"No Santana, you can come over and we can talk or…we don't have to talk…I have no idea what I'm saying anymore. I just want you over here with me." I looked back at her though my window and saw this adorable little pout on her face.

"Fine…will you feed me? I've been living on Fruit Loops and Nutella for the past three days." I explained as I held my phone between my ear and shoulder and I yanked off my pants and tugged on some sweatpants.

"Sure I'll make you something."

"That's my girl." I said with a grin. I searched through my drawers for a shit that said 'no my father is not an abusive drunk'. I put on a Beatles shirt and put on a black beanie.

"I'm not your girl." Rachel replied.

"Harsh, you sure you still want me to come over?" I joked. I could tell that Rachel wanted to say something mean but she held her tongue. "See you in five." I hung up the phone and put on my beat up converses and began my trek down the stairs. It was sort of eerie seeing my father the day after a fight. Usually we kept our distance but I couldn't really avoid this if he was sitting five feet in front of me and he was looking directly into my eyes.

"Where are you going?" Clearly he knew where I was going. I may have been a hot bloodied Latina but I damn sure wouldn't be going outside without a jacket on a cold day like this unless I was going over to Rachel's house.

"Let's not fight." I said simply. "It's getting old-."

"It's just a question Santana." He said quietly. "I think it'd be best if I went over there with you. I don't want you to have to explain my actions to them."

"Dad, no offense, but you've done enough." I took a few steps towards the door but stopped suddenly. "What do you think of Rachel?"

"Obviously you don't care for my approval." He said standing up.

"Fine, you're right. I'll be back in a few hours." I stormed out of the house hoping that the cold air would quell my anger. I guess I didn't really have the right to be pissed off. I'd told him about a million times that I didn't care whether he liked it or not that I was gay, but now that mom is gone, I wanted his approval.

I knocked on the door and waited for someone to open up. Secretly I hoped it was Rachel, because Lord knows I couldn't deal with the Berry men right now.

"Hi there Santana." Remind me to never hope through the Lord ever again. Hiram Berry stood in front of me, with that huge grin and he welcomed me inside. I knew I was trapped as soon as I stepped foot inside and Leroy was sitting right there with Rachel uncomfortably seated next to him on the couch. I spotted some small treats and coffee in front of a empty seat which I assume was reserved for me.

"Shit." I muttered quickly trying to turn around and evade this whole thing. Hiram wrapped his arm around my shoulder and lead me to the seat that had an electric chair sort of vibe to me. I sat down and glanced over to Rachel. "Thanks for the impromptu intervention Rachel." I was bitter and I wanted everyone to know that.

"They lied to me about this. I didn't know, nor do I approve of this." Rachel crossed her arms and legs and slumped down in the seat next to Leroy who watched his daughter in what I could only assume was amusement.

I reached for a cookie and took a bite before looking at both the Berry men. "I know this is about last night. Just…can we get this over with?"

"Certainly Santana. We'd like to make this as painless of a process as we can. If you need time or space at any point during this talk, just let us know, but we feel it is our duty to get to the bottom of this issue. As an authority figure and father myself I have to make sure that everything is safe for you." If he wasn't being so damn serious right now I would've laughed, because he had the same sort of long and drawn out way of speaking like Rachel.

"Now, we would like to know how often your father is like that." Hiram questioned.

"When he's like what? Like an asshole or drunk?" It was a joke that only I could fully appreciate. The room fell silent and I looked at Rachel for guidance. She was mortified that I would even joke about that, but I was only trying to lighten the mood. This was weird for her, but this was insane for me.

"Let's start with the drunk part." Leroy said shifting in his seat.

"Everyday, once he gets back from work. He just sits in the kitchen getting hammered. Once I actually watched him, it's was like animal planet or something." I took a sip of my coffee and added sugar to sweeten it. "Don't worry though he doesn't lay a finger on me, sorta wish he did sometimes…maybe that would make things a little more normal." Rachel looked down at the ground and I knew I was scaring her with this kind of talk.

"Santana you have to tell us if he is hurting you." I looked at Hiram whose eyes were filled with so much tension that I desperately hoped someone would slip on a banana peel soon to relieve some of it.

"I just said…he doesn't hit me, he doesn't lay a damn finger on me." They believed me, but they weren't done with me. "I don't see why Rachel has to be here for any of this."

"Because I want to be." Rachel replied.

"You're so damn stubborn." I mumbled.

"So are you." Rachel replied just as sharply. I smiled and gave her a little touché nod of approval. I could the shift in mood with the Berry men. They felt like they shouldn't be witnessing this between Rachel and I, but they were also dazzled by it. I'd bet they'd never met someone willing to go head to head with their daughter.

"Why is there so much tension at home?" Another laughable question from Hiram. Was he expecting a three sentence answer? I could write a damn book about the tension in my house.

"Because I'm a teenage girl and he's an asshole. We don't see eye to eye." They would've accepted what I'd said if Rachel didn't open up her honest Abe mouth.

"Santana, I know you're scared, even if you'll deny it till your last breath, but my fathers are here to help you. You don't have to lie to them, just be honest." I stood up and I could see it in their eyes they thought I was going to run.

"Don't worry…I'm not going anywhere." I shoved my hands into my pockets and began slowly pacing. My breathing was so off, that I thought I was just going to pass out at any moment. It's happened before.

"Are you okay?" Leroy asked.

"I'm fine; it's just something I learned to do to calm myself down. Generally keeps me from punching people's faces in." They looked astonished and I smiled. "That was more for you guys Mr. Berry, I couldn't hit Rachel no matter how pissed I got."

"Good to know." Hiram deadpanned.

"You were the one bargaining for honesty." I gripped my cup of coffee and drank the rest. "What the hell was the question?"

"Why is there so much tension at home?" Leroy and Hiram said in unison.

"Oh right…after my mom's death, my dad and I were always at odds. She was sorta like a buffer I guess. He doesn't really approve of anything I do, just like I don't approve of anything he does. It's simple like that." Except it wasn't simple and Rachel and I were the only ones who needed to know that.

"Can I say something important?" Leroy asked.

"I really doubt I have a choice." I replied.

"You clearly need an outlet. I think that my daughter is that for you-."

"Stop right there." I said. "She's more than that to me. And I may have brought her home super late last night, but…well I'm not corrupting her to become some fucked up teenager. I'm all about the angst, she's not."

"I trust you." Hiram said. "Which is insane because we've only known you for a few months, but…what can I say something about her, right?" He looked over at Leroy and he nodded.

"I think we've put you through enough. All we can offer for consolation is dinner." I smirked and thought of saying something crude and probably offensive, but I held my tongue.

"That sounds amazing right now." I said. I waited until the Berry men exited the room and I walked over and sat down next to Rachel on the couch. She just continued staring ahead with a look of contempt on her flustered face. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"It's none of my families business."

"It's nice to know that people care. Hey I'll trade." Even though I'd made a subtle joke Rachel still didn't smile. "Come on Rach, you can't be mad if I'm not."

"You're only saying that because you're trying to make me feel better. I know you're angry about this."

"So what if I am? It's over, and I only came over here for you anyway." She looked to my eyes but then quickly looked away. I wasn't having it, so I pulled Rachel on top of me, so that she was straddling my hips.

"Santana! What are you doing? My fathers are in the next room." I was really grateful that Rachel decided to wear a skirt today. A short skirt at that.

"All the more reason why you should hurry up and kiss me. That's what I've decided is going to be my compensation for this whole thing." Rachel tried to get off my lap but I held her in place. "I'm a hot blooded animal Rach, I've got needs." If Rachel was brave enough she would've smacked me.

"Well why don't you call up Quinn." That was a harsh jab, one I wasn't expecting, and certainly didn't need right now. "Jesus what is wrong with me? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

I yanked Rachel closer to me and kissed her hard, passionately, wishing that we were stripped naked so that our bodies could blend together. When I finally pulled back. "I don't want anyone but you."

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