A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took a little longer than I thought. I've had a lot going on. Thanks again for all of the wonderful feedback!

tinygleek: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you continue to enjoy the story :)

TobiasFangor92: Don't you worry, there will be some more Quinn drama sooner than you think!

BadWolfRisen: Thank you so much! :)

Enjoy!

~Chapter 36~

Santana took a deep breath before walking into the library in search of a familiar head of blonde hair. She turned the corner abruptly and ran into the woman in question.

"Excuse me, Miss Holiday, I really need your advice on something," she murmured uncomfortably, refusing to meet the older woman's gaze.

"Alright, Santana, come with me," the substitute teacher spoke with an encouraging smile. The two made their way to an empty class room. Upon their arrival, Holly turned off the light, placed some pillows down on the floor, and motioned for the Latina to take a seat. "Ok, girlie, what's up?"

"I have all of these…feelings. Feelings for Hermione and I don't know how to…express them the way she deserves," Santana murmured sadly, finally looking up at the woman across from her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I only knew it was only a matter of time before you realized your feelings for our lovely British resident," the older woman beamed as the former cheerleader gazed at her with wide eyes.

"What! Does everyone know?" She shrieked, shooting up from her spot on the floor to start pacing.

"No, although I'm sure Brittany knows how deep your feelings run for Hermione. Now, please sit back down and listen to what I have to say, alright?" The younger girl sat back down with a huff. "Do you love Hermione?" Santana nodded slowly. "Do you want to be with her in a serious relationship?" Another nod. "Then who cares about everyone else! It's none of their damn business. Your relationship with Hermione is just that. Yours. It's between the two of you."

"I've just never felt like this before, but she just makes me feel so happy to be alive," the Latina sighed wistfully. "I guess love has made me her bitch," she chuckled.

"Ain't nothing wrong with that, sweet cheeks. Now the next step…what are you going to do about it?"

"Actually I think I have a song in mind, but I might need your help with it…"

"I thought you'd never asked," Holly answered with a smirk.

A few hours later, Santana was driving home feeling much better than she had earlier about her relationship with the beautiful brunette. As she pulled into her driveway, her phone began to ring. Rolling her eyes at the name flashing across the screen, she answered with an impatient sigh.

"What do you want, Porcelain?"

"Hello to you too, Satan," the boy replied sarcastically. "I'm actually calling about Hermione."

"Is she alright? Was there another accident?" Santana questioned rapidly, panic evident in her voice.

"Santana, calm down. Blaine and I just dropped Hermione off at her place. We're just worried about her."

"Do you want to meet up at the park so we can talk about this face-to-face?" The raven-haired girl asked, reluctant to meet up with the Wonder Twins, but concerned for the girl who had stolen her heart.

"Alright, see you there in five minutes."

A few moments later, the former cheerleader approached Kurt and Blaine at the playground and sat down next to them on one of the swings.

"Hello, Santana," Blaine greeted her with a warm smile.

"Yeah, yeah, hi," the Latina replied with a nod. "So, what's going on with my girl?"

"Have you noticed that she hasn't been sleeping well lately?" Kurt asked her gently.

"And she's really distracted too," the younger Warbler pointed out.

"Yeah, I noticed, but she always brushes it off whenever I try asking her about it," Santana answered with a frown. "You don't think it's something I did, do you?" She murmured dejectedly.

"No, I really don't. I think there's something she's hiding from us. We just can't figure out what it is," the curly-haired boy spoke sadly.

"I mean, Regionals is coming up, but I don't think that would cause her to be this stressed out," the former member of New Directions interjected. The three sat silently, pondering over various scenarios until Santana slapped her palm against her forehead.

"I'm so stupid," she groaned. "Remember that woman who tried to attack Hermione on Valentine's Day?" The boys nodded. "Well, that wasn't the first time they'd come across each other. I think it's almost been a year since she and those other people kidnapped Hermione…"

"Oh my god," the brown-haired boy gasped. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think we should force it out of her. We all know how hard it is for her to talk about what happened in her past. As hard as it's going to be…I think we should wait for her to open up to us. For now, we just need to be there for her," Blaine spoke up with a frown. Kurt and Santana nodded their agreement before the three finally went their separate ways.

When the Latina got into bed that night, she knew she had to put her plan into action as soon as she could. She wanted Hermione to know that she was serious about her and maybe, just maybe, the British girl would realize how much she loved her, even if those three little words were impossible for the younger girl to say.

"C'mon, Mia, we have to get to glee!" Santana called out, dragging Hermione down the hallway the next afternoon.

"Whoa, calm down, love. I don't think I've ever seen you this excited to go to glee," teased the British girl. "Now, just stop and stand still for a moment." Santana groaned but stopped fidgeting. "Thank you. You look really beautiful today," she murmured quietly, grinning down at the shorter girl.

"So do you," the former cheerleader responded with a shy smile. "Now, come on!" Seconds later, Hermione found herself sitting in the front row of the risers, looking confusedly at Santana who was sitting next to Holly on a stool.

"San, what's going on?"

"Just listen, ok? The song should speak for itself." The blonde woman began strumming the guitar before opening her mouth to sing.

"I took my love and I took it down.
I climbed a mountain and I turned around.
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills,
Where the landslide brought me down."

After the first verse, Santana's watery gaze locked onto the British girl.

"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh."

As the Latina and substitute teacher continued to sing, Hermione felt her eyes fill up with tears as well.

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older and I'm getting older too
Well, I'm getting older too.

So, take this love and take it down
Yeah, if you climb a mountain and you turn around
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide brought me down
And if you see my reflectionin the snow covered hills
Well maybe, well maybe, the landslide will bring you down

Everyone looked upon Santana in shock as she and Miss Holliday finished the song.

"San?" The Latina slowly moved off of the stool to stand in front of Hermione. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to be with you…officially. Princesa, will you be mine?" She managed to choke out quietly.

"I thought you'd never ask," the older girl responded, wrapping her arms around the raven-haired girl, who was now openly crying.

"Hey, that's my line!" The blonde woman called out from behind them as she wiped away a single tear from her cheek.

"Well, I want to applaud Santana for allowing us to see her vulnerability. Brava!" Rachel praised, earning a glare from the former cheerleader.

"If any of you tell anyone about this, I's will cuts you. Do I make myself clear?" The group nodded fearfully as Hermione rolled her eyes, before kissing the girl in front of her.

The next day, Hermione entered the auditorium and sat down next to Santana with a yawn. The Latina immediately grabbed her hand and turned to look at her, concern shining in her eyes.

"You ok, mi amor?"

"Yeah, just tired," she replied distractedly. The former cheerleader wasn't convinced, but before she continued, the rest of the New Directions hurried into the auditorium eagerly awaiting the Celibacy Club's performance. As soon as the intro to Afternoon Delight, Hermione began snickering.

"Are they singing what I think they're singing?" Santana whispered from next to her.

"Yes, love, they are singing about a quickie in the afternoon."

"Well, that gives me a great idea…" The Latina trailed off suggestively.

"Oi. Just pay attention. We're here to support Quinn, Puck, and Rachel." The dark-haired girl scoffed, but put her arm around her girlfriend and pulled her close. Once the song was finished, Holly took it upon herself to break the awkward silence.

"Hi, um, Holly here. So I'm a little confused. Isn't this a strange song for the Celibacy Club to sing?"

"Why? It's so wholesome. It was written during the bicentennial to celebrate America and fireworks," the guidance counselor spoke innocently.

"No…it's about sneaking out for a nooner."

"Yes! Exactly! A nooner is when you have dessert in the middle of the day, right? Right, Carl?"

"Aww, poor Emma," Hermione murmured as she pulled Santana up with her.

"Where are we going?"

"Can we go back to your place and just cuddle?" The raven-haired girl gazed into her tired eyes before wrapping her arms around the taller girl.

"Of course, princesa. Let's get outta here."

Several hours after the British girl left, Santana was awoken by her cell phone ringing.

"Hello?" She growled out sleepily.

"Santana? It's Mr. Schue. Sorry for calling so late, but it's about Mia…" Suddenly, the former Cheerio heard an ear-piercing scream ring out in the background.

"I'm on my way." Santana made it to Mr. Schue's building in record time and sprinted to the door. She pounded on it for a few seconds before she was met with worried hazel eyes.

"I don't know what's wrong. Her nightmares have never been this bad. She won't wake up and she keeps thrashing around. I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself," the curly-haired man informed her sadly as they rushed to Hermione's room. As soon as Santana saw her, she felt her heart breaking. She moved onto the British girl's bed and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

"Princesa, you need to try to wake up. I'm right here. I'm not going to hurt you," she murmured soothingly. After several moments, the other girl started to calm down. "Is it alright if I stay the night? I don't really want to leave her alone."

"Yeah, of course, Santana. Try to get some sleep, ok?" Will told her quietly, flickering off the light. The Latina nodded and snuggled up against the sleeping girl. The hazel-eyed man smiled at the pair before closing the door behind him.

The next morning, Hermione began to stir. When she opened her eyes, she was met with familiar chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey, not that I mind, but what are you doing here?"

"Your uncle called me at two o'clock in the morning because your nightmares were so bad," Santana told her worriedly. "And I think I know why you've been so distracted lately. It's because it's almost been a year since those people took you, right?" The British girl looked at her with tear-filled eyes before nodding slowly.

"I know she's gone, but I can't get her out of my head," she choked out. "Every time I close my eyes, there she is looking down on me. Every time I take my clothes off, I see the numerous scars littered all over my body. She made me so ugly inside and out."

"Hermione Jean Granger, stop right there. You are the most beautiful, loving, caring person I know. The fact that you are such an amazing person after everything you've been through should speak volumes to you. You are wonderful and no one is going to take that away from you." She paused. "And you've made me a better person, so you should definitely win an award for that."

"I love you so much," the British girl muttered before kissing her softly. Santana pulled back, a serious expression on her face, before she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to reply.

"I…love you too. No, scratch that. I love you more." Hermione looked at her with wide eyes before a dazzling smile appeared on her face.

"That's the first time you've said that to me."

"I know," the Latina answered shyly. "I should've said it a long time ago. I love you so friggin' much."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that," the older girl said, snuggling closer to her girlfriend. "Since it's the weekend, are you ok with staying in bed for a while?"

"Of course, mi amor," Santana replied, tightening her hold on the girl in her arms. As she gazed down at the wavy-haired brunette, she realized without a doubt that she had done the right thing in expressing her feelings for the other girl.

A/N, part II: Song was "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within the next week or so. Once again, thank you so much for the feedback, it truly means the world to me.