The three victims, including Marley, were ushered into a room in the police station. The walls were all black and there were a one way mirror and no one could see what or who was watching them from behind. The three sat next to each other and Marley was lead to sit in front of them, next to her senior.

"Can you tell us what exactly happened?" Marley's senior started. He was a huge man with muscular body, his blue uniform almost bulging. On his nameplate Montgomery was written.

Everyone in the police station knew it was Marley who messaged them. They all believed that it was Marley who rescued the three girls and it pissed off Marley. She didn't deserve all the congratulations, the handshakes, the smiles, the pat on her shoulders, the pride. Instead of making her proud with what she did, all those gestures actually had the opposite effect on her. It was like a slap in the face.

Santana looked at the two girls sitting beside her, asking through her eyes their permission, and they nodded, Brittany even held Santana's hand under the table to tell her it was alright. They only have one feeling in their hearts right now—understanding. Marley misunderstood everything and she deserved a second chance no matter how sinister what she'd done was.

"There's no need for an investigation, Sir. There's no harm done. We're not going to file any case."

Marley, who was drowned in her thoughts, suddenly snapped her head up to look incredulously at the three girls in front of her in hopes that they were just kidding. What were they doing? Were they not going to tell Montgomery she was the one who planned everything? Instead, she received kind smiles from the three. She felt like crying then but she thought she didn't have any tears left.

"But, Ms. Lopez, we can't be so sure. This can happen again if the hostage taker would not be jailed."

"This won't happen again, trust me."

Montgomery seemed to want to say something but when he saw the determined look from Tina, Brittany and Santana, he had second thoughts.

"Are you sure about this, Ms. Lopez? It could be really dangerous." He was still doubtful. He studied the three girl's faces but he only received a smile.

"I know this woman, investigator. She's just confused, and blinded by the lies. She knows now that what she did is wrong, thus she turned herself over. I'm sure she won't do this again." Santana was looking at Marley while saying this.

Marley ducked her head in shame, avoiding everyone's eyes. She didn't deserve their kindness either. Were they trying to make her feel bad? Because it was working. After all she had done to them, they still had the guts to actually forgive her.

Montgomery was still doubtful but he finally stood up and picked his tablet up with a sigh. "Okay. I guess I can't do anything to change your mind." He bowed before leaving the four girls alone in the room.

"What are you doing? Why don't you tell him the truth?" Marley whispered over the table once the door closed.

Brittany smiled. "There's no need. You did nothing harmful to us."

"I could have! If Santana didn't tell me the truth, I could have!" Marley hissed, near tears.

"But you didn't. It's all in the pass now, Marley. We know you're not gonna do it again," Tina said.

"How could you forgive me just like this?"

"Because you're like a sister to me. I might not like you when you're still Harmony, but it's because you're giving off this different aura around me. And now that I know you're Marley, I can finally trust you again," Santana said.

"The kindness you've shown me before might be with an underlying purpose, but I know that's the real you. I always have trusted you, Marley," Brittany continued.

"Have you forgotten that you're the closest to me in our group of friends?" Tina finished.

"Y'all forgive me just because of that? And I haven't even said sorry yet!" Marley finally let her tears fall as she grabbed the first hand she saw, which was Tina's. She gripped it, pressed her forehead on the table, and continued crying. Brittany and Santana also held her hands with their unoccupied ones.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Marley chanted.

"You're already forgiven, Marley," Brittany said.

They let Marley cry all she wanted. Sometimes, people needed a good cry. No one could really act all tough and strong all of the time. Sometimes, even the most despicable person, out of conscience, could cry for something bad they've done.

"Stop crying, Marley," Santana said after a while and Marley looked up to see her smile. "You need to go and find Sugar."

At the mention of the girl's name, Marley has bolted out of the door before she even knew it. She ran straight to the cells and found Sugar was just being let out of the cell. She ran straight into her arms, ignoring the people's stares, even if it could raise suspicions out of her coworkers.

She cried and cried in Sugar's arms until her tears dried out.

~.~

When Brittany, Santana and Tina went out of the investigation room, they were met by Madison and Katy, who just knew what happened, and Quinn, Rachel and Laurenzo, who came the moment they were called over to the police station. They looked worried as they ran to hug the three girls.

"What happened?" Katy asked. "We were so worried."

Santana smiled mysteriously. "It's best if you don't know."

Madison was about to say something but stopped short. This was nothing to shrug off. This was a big thing and a serious matter. But when she saw the three's expression she wanted to just trust them. The three girls were beaming and even looked happy. There was this certain feeling they radiated that told Madison she should listen to them. Katy, Quinn and Rachel seemed to have noticed it too so they didn't say anything anymore.

Brittany let go of Santana's hand so she could take Laurenzo from Quinn. She suddenly missed him.

"How's my Laurenzo?" she asked fondly before kissing his puffy cheeks. He just continued nibbling on his right hand.

"Aww, so cute," Santana said from over Brittany's shoulder.

Suddenly, all of the fatigue and all of the things that happened recently lost its effect. The two parents only felt nothing but happiness to have reunited with their child. He really has this effect to his parents, though all he did since he was born was so eat and sleep and nibble on his hands.

It wasn't really easy to accept when Madison, Tina and Katy heard about Laurenzo before. Who could really believe Santana had gotten Brittany pregnant? It wasn't easy, but they eventually got used to it. How could they deny this little, cute and lovable bundle of joy that obviously acted as a strong bond between Brittany and Santana? Besides, they were his godmothers.

"I-is he… your child?"

Everyone looked behind Santana and Brittany to see Sugar and Marley standing there. Marley knew about Santana's health conditions because of the men she has hired, but she never really saw Laurenzo until now.

Santana and Brittany simply nodded.

"I… I'm sorry."

Marley looked down as she felt bad. She almost turned Laurenzo like her. She almost killed one of his parents for the wrong reason. How could she even think of killing Santana? It was just so nasty.

"Marley." Santana put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop feeling bad for what you've done. Actually, I'm thinking of making you his godmother, if you would let me, and Sugar too."

Marley looked up to see Santana and Brittany's identical smiles. She, too, unconsciously smiled and hugged Santana. "Of course. Thank you."

Suddenly, Marley remembered something and she pulled away.

"The man… who killed my father…"

"Don't worry. He's already paying for what he's done. He's pledged guilty and punished to spend the rest of his life in jail."

Quinn felt her fist-sized iPadXV from her pocket vibrated and she fished it out, drowning the next of the conversation out. The call was from Mr. Pierce. She informed him about what happened and he probably wanted updates. She moved away from the other girls to answer the call.

"Yes, Sir?"

"How are things now?"

"They're okay now, Sir."

"Can I talk to Brittany?" His voice sounded so worried.

"Yes, Sir." Quinn walked over to Brittany and whispered to her about her father wanting to talk to her. Brittany passed Laurenzo to Santana and moved away to talk to her father.

"Dad?"

"Brittany, how are you? What happened?"

"I'm good, Dad. Nothing serious."

"Brittany…" He hesitated for a while. "… go back home."

Brittany silently gasped and looked over her shoulder if anyone was watching her. She caught a glimpse on Marley and Sugar playing with Laurenzo while the other girls remained watching them. Her eyes lingered to Santana, who was smiling so big it reached her eyes and occasionally laughing, with Laurenzo in her arms. Go back home? How about Santana and Laurenzo?

"B-But… Dad, why?"

There was a long pause and only the static was all Brittany could hear.

"Your mother… she's sick." His sentence was followed by a sniff.

"Dad, are you crying?"

"Please, Brittany." His voice sounded tight. "Go back home. She needs you here."

This was serious. Definitely serious. Her father wouldn't cry for a small reason. He was the strongest man Brittany has ever known and he never cried in front of anyone.

"W-what's her disease?"

"…She has ALS."

~.~

Just when Brittany thought all the drama was over, it turned out not yet. She has to go back to Lima as soon as possible because her mother was sick.

Santana, Brittany, Laurenzo, Quinn and Rachel left the police station at around six in the morning. Santana went back to Brittany's house mainly because Brittany asked her to. "Even just for today," Brittany has said. Once Quinn and Rachel have gone into the nursery room with Laurenzo, Brittany took Santana by the arm and said, "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

Brittany led her to the living room to talk to her. But, even before she had the chance to start, the doorbell rang.

"Wait, I'll just get this." Santana went over and opened the door to find her parents outside.

"Oh, Santana!" Maribel hugged her. "We're from the police station but we didn't find you there. What happened?" she asked. They looked worried too.

"It's nothing serious, Mom, really."

"What happened to your bodyguards? We gave them to you for reasons like this!" She nagged.

"Mom, I don't like them so I turned their power sources off and thew them on the basement." Santana rolled her eyes.

"And, why you didn't tell us that you've already found Marley?!" Maribel looked incredulously at her daughter.

"Oh, so you finally saw her?"

"Yes, we saw her at the police station. They said she's the one who rescued you, Brittany and Tina. I'm so thankful for her. Ernest and I were so happy to find her." Maribel beamed delightedly as she talked excitedly. "We said sorry for her father's death and we asked her to just live with us, but she refused. Do you know why?"

Yes, Santana knew. But she's not going to tell her parent that. They might have known Sugar as the suspect and it wouldn't be good if Santana would tell them Marley was living with her.

Santana shook her head and lied, "I dunno. But I think it's good the way it is. At least we could still communicate to her." Then she remembered they were still standing by the door. "Oh, do you wanna come in?"

Ernest and Maribel followed Santana into the living room and they sat down in front of Santana and Brittany. Brittany eyes them first and thought if this was a nice timing. Maribel looked glad, and Ernest was as neutral as ever. This was just a nice timing. Brittany could tell them now.

"Uh, Mom, Dad, Santana, I… have to tell you something."

The three looked at her expectantly.

"I… I have to go back to Lima tonight."

"What!?" Santana was the first one to react. "Why?"

Brittany looked down at her lap and felt tears rimmed her eyes at the thought of her sick mother. "My mother's sick."

Maribel and Ernest didn't ask what kind of sickness because it seemed to be a sensitive topic for Brittany. They just knew it was serious. And then they realized why Whitney was rushing them to have a grandchild. This was probably the reason.

Whitney took Brittany's hands in hers. "I'm sure she needs you, Brittany. If a mother is sick, there's no better relief than having her children around her," she said sympathetically.

"I-I'm bringing Laurenzo with me."

"We respect your decisions, Brittany," Ernest said.

Brittany nodded and the first few tears fell. When Santana hugged her, Ernest and Maribel exchanged looks. They knew it was their cue to leave. Maybe they could reconcile and get married again. They wanted no other daughter-in-law but Brittany. They were still hoping maybe the divorce was kind of impulsive and the two would realize how much they needed each other right now more than ever.

"We're leaving."

Santana kept Brittany in her arms until the house turned quiet, save for Brittany's sobs. She could feel Brittany's grip on the sleeves of her shirt, her chest heaving up and down in deep breaths.

It broke Santana's heart seeing Brittany like this, and it also broke her heart knowing that she's leaving without a clear purpose of going back. How could she confess now? How could she confess if Brittany's mind was occupied by her mother? She didn't want to burden Brittany anymore, or pressure her, so maybe she would just wait until things calmed down.

"Brittany, stop crying now," Santana said, for the first time calling Brittany by her whole name, unaware of the effect it had on Brittany. Brittany was glad that Santana doesn't call her Britt Britt anymore. It reminded her of the stupid contract she stupidly signed.

"Come on. You should take a rest."

Santana pulled Brittany to her feet and assisted her up the stairs and into their room. She tucked Brittany into the bed and when she was about to leave, Brittany grasped her wrist.

"C-can you stay?" Her pleading eyes were red and puffy and Santana suddenly forgot how to say no. Brittany felt stupid, she could have said this a couple of days ago. Why had she had enough courage to say this only now? But the effect of this request now was only for a short time, unlike if she said them before they parted. Right now, Santana might stay, but she'd leave soon.

Santana tucked herself under the blanket next to Brittany and hugged the older girl close to her chest. Brittany automatically wrapped her arms around Santana and looked up at Santana's face as the latter looked down at her, seeing fear in her eyes.

Santana sighed. "Go on, take a deep sleep."

But Brittany kept looking at her.

Santana's cupped her right cheek with her left hand. "Don't worry, I'll still be here when you wake up."

When Brittany finally closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she kept hoping Santana would still be next to her not only when she woke up, but also for the rest of her life.

~.~

Once Brittany stepped a foot inside the airport, she knew her hope earlier was worthless. Santana might choose to stay longer, but she would be the one leaving this time. Why did every event in their lives seem to push them farther away from each other? Was being forever apart their destiny?

"Brittany."

Brittany turned around to find Santana anxiously standing in front of Quinn and Rachel, who were both quiet and were just sympathizing with what's happening between the two. They were on the flight line itself. Lopezes have let Brittany use their private airtrain for her convenience and it was standing proudly in the middle of the runway, just a couple of yards ahead of them.

"Hm?" Brittany pulled at the strap of her shoulder bag that contained Laurenzo's feeding bottles, milks and diapers as she balanced Laurenzo with one arm.

Santana walked over to them and kissed both of Laurenzo's cheeks and his forehead. It was hard that her whole family was leaving, but she could make the distance seem nothing. If Brittany wouldn't want to come back, she would settle everything in their company and just follow her there. She would do everything just to get Brittany back and their child.

"You're… coming back, right?" Santana found herself dreading the answer for this though she already made plans.

Brittany looked down and slowly shook her head. "I… I dunno."

Santana wished she could kiss Brittany too, for the last time before she would leave. And also for another reason that their kisses seemed to have a magic. Whenever they would kiss for the last time, it would turn out that it wasn't really the last. Maybe if she kissed Brittany now, she could still have chances of kissing her in the future.

But that was a juvenile thought.

This was more realistic: if she would kiss Brittany now, Brittany would think she loved her. Of course, Santana wanted that, even though she's not sure whether Brittany loved her back or not. If Brittany's leaving and not coming back, Santana would run after her. She had nowhere to go. Santana would follow her everywhere she would go. She wouldn't let her love escape so easily like sand in her hands. But she respected Brittany, that's why she doesn't want to do it. Kissing Brittany on her lips was not the only way to convey her feelings.

Santana looked down, and her eyes landed on Brittany's left ring finger. There was the source of her confidence. Brittany was still wearing their wedding ring. Santana could see she has a chance to have Brittany again, so she wouldn't give up. As long as they could see the same sky, step on the same planet, breathe the same air, then her and Brittany were not impossible.

Santana took Brittany's left hand and kissed it instead of Brittany's lips. But, after that, she cupped Brittany's cheek and kissed her on the forehead tenderly.

There was no doubt Brittany felt it, Santana kept emotions, through that simple kiss. Santana still loved her and she was sure of that now. But she couldn't stay, not when the last moments to spend with her mother were at stake.

Quinn and Rachel couldn't help but to sigh. Santana and Brittany loved each other so much but life's sequences were pulling them farther from each other, like constant hooks pierced through their back's skin and once they took a step closer, it would pull them two steps backward.

Brittany willed herself to move away. The plane was waiting for them. Whitney was waiting for them. That kiss would be enough anyway. She hoped it would last a lifetime for whatever may happen now. She didn't know if she would still come back or not, but that last kiss would be etched in her heart forever, as well as the first ones- all of their shared kisses, touches, moments and words. Everything.

Brittany turned around even before Santana could say anything. She climbed up the detachable stairs and went into the airtrain. Santana soulfully watched as the door automatically closed, concealing her family from her sight. She wanted to run to Brittany and ask her to stay, but she knew Brittany's decision wouldn't change now. It was her mother that was waiting for her arrival. She had nothing against that.

One of the windows of the plane flickered open and there was a man ushering Santana, Quinn and Rachel away from the plane so it could already fly and leave. Santana refused to follow. She saw Brittany through the window, looking down at her. She couldn't quite see her facial expression because of the distance. She started struggling out of the man's arms that insisted on pushing her away from the plane.

"Miss Santana, you have to move away! It's dangerous!" the man shouted over the loud engine of the plane.

"No… it's my family who's inside that plane! I'm not leaving until they go down that monster and stay here with me!"

Santana's tears started flowing now, endless and streaming.

From inside the plane, Brittany watched as Santana struggled from the man's hold. She saw Santana shouted something but she couldn't hear it because of the plane's engine. Santana had let it known, though. Santana pulled out that look that only said one thing, and her lips moved very slowly for Brittany to decipher.

"Don't go."

Brittany had let herself shed tears only then. She thought she could act strong through this but she couldn't. She's weak, after all. She raised a hand and ran her fingertips over the window, as if she could touch Santana if she did. Her head slowly shook and she soundlessly mouthed two simple words that acted as a tranquilizer for Santana.

I'm sorry.

Santana had finally stopped struggling and let the man drag her somewhere far from the plane. She slumped on the hard ground when the man let go of her and Rachel immediately went over to hug her.

"Couz."

"R-Rachel…" Santana desperately grasped Rachel's sleeves. "Why is she leaving me?"

Rachel looked seriously at her.

"Sometimes, two people need to fall apart… to realize how much they need to fall back together."

~.~

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, doesn't have any known cure until now. At some random point in the nervous system the cells began to die, inexplicably, incurably, spreading through the whole network of ganglia, until the motors of life, large and small, were all besieged, overwhelmed. It could start with the most innocuous symptom, an odd patch of numbness on the skin, and from there the disease marched outward, sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly, leading inevitable to loss of the ability to move the limbs, to swallow, to speak, to breathe on one's own. Often it took away the ability to see or hear. With all the advanced technology on the society now, you might think scientists might have already found a cure for it, but they still haven't.

When Brittany arrived at their house in Lima, Whitney was already on a wheelchair. She refused to drink any medicine to slow down the progress of the disease. She refused any machine to connect to her body. And Brittany felt devastated seeing her like this, so far from her strong mother she last saw just a couple of months ago. She remembered Whitney as a very strong woman. Whitney loved to talk about shoes with Brittany, but now she couldn't even wear one except for cushioned shoes to keep her limp feet warm, a blanket draped over her lap.

This wasn't the image of home welcoming Brittany had pictured in her mind.

"Mom." Brittany passed Laurenzo over to Haller so she could hug her mother. She instantly cried. It was the most heart-wrenching image of her mother she'd seen.

"Brittany… welcome ho-ome."

Brittany cried even harder. Whitney used to love to talk so much, but she found it hard to do now. Her speech was almost gibberish and she couldn't finish a sentence without taking a deep breath.

"Mom, what hap-pened to y-you?" Brittany's voice cracked.

Whitney lifted her arms with efforts and was unable to hug Brittany back so she just settled on grasping Brittany's sleeves weakly. There was nothing comforting in the world than a mother's hug, and it made Brittany cry harder that her mother couldn't do that anymore.

"I'm al… right," she said, but she, too, was crying. She couldn't help it. She knew the risks of crying. She might suffocate from crying too much but it was just hard to contain, next to impossible.

The disease was spreading obviously fast. A year into this disease, she couldn't walk anymore, arms were hard to move and it was getting hard to breathe. But she doesn't want to suffer anymore longer, that's why she refused to take the medicines and the machines.

"Mom, don't leave me yet," Brittany sobbed.

Haller took her cue to leave then, with her little nephew in her arms. She couldn't take the scene. It was just too sorrowful. She has begged her mother the same thing, but Whitney stubbornly rejected to take the medicines to at least slow the progress of the sickness down. She said she didn't want to be a burden anymore.

"The doc-tor said… I have two y-years… to live… without the med-dicines… and m-machines… but I know… I have less."

Hearing that straight from her sick mother hurt more than anything. Brittany wished she could take the disease instead. She'd rather suffer than her mother. Her mother was half of her world. What should she do if Whitney left soon and without notice? It'd surely kill half of herself.

Brittany regretted a few things now. If only she didn't moved to live with Santana in the new New York, she could have spent a lot more time with her mother. She could have made her happy and, if the disease was really inevitable, she could have at least prepared for it because of the symptoms that had occurred. She felt so bad for leaving her mother only to go home when she's so close to dying.

Whitney's death was inevitable now. If only she could do something… but she couldn't and it frustrated her. Why was life this hard on her? Why was she being punished like this? Did she deserve this after all the good things she has done for the others that she already forgot about herself?

Why was this happening?

"Brittany… don't b-blame… anyone f-for this… especial-ly Him. T-this is… just a… test of our… f-faith."

Of course she would never blame Him. She never had the rights to blame Him. Her life was merely borrowed, He could do whatever He wanted with it, though mostly it was all tests of her faith. She was never been the one to blame God for the bad things because He had given her far more greater things. She blamed herself for her decisions in her life. She blamed no one but herself.

Drowned with the guilt that had flooded her being, Brittany whispered assurance to her mother.

"Mom, I won't leave you again."

It was probably the best decision she had ever made in her life.