Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Thanks for being patient. I hope you guys like the latest chapter. There are about 3-5 left. It depends on how much, I end up writing.


Santana grabs the door handle and takes a deep breath. She is not sure she is prepared to see the look on Brittany's face. Visiting hours are over, and she needs to tell Brittany that her friends have to leave. She opens the door and walks in. Brittany's head looks up with red puffy eyes and a red nose. She'd been crying. She watches as Brittany wipes her eyes and moves her body to stand up. Santana shakes her head, letting her know she doesn't have to rush out.

"I wanted-" she stops and clears her throat after her voice cracks. "I wanted to tell you that we were informed that visiting hours are over. You and I can stay, but Kurt and Rachel have to go. They wanted to speak with you before they left."

She watches as Brittany opens her mouth to say something, but then she shuts it and nods. Santana watches her as she gets up and makes her way to the door. She moves to let Brittany pass.

The sound of beeping machines and the ventilator grab her attention from the door to David. Her eyes build with tears again at sight before her. She closes her eyes and lets her tears fall down her face. She sniffs and opens her eyes. His motionless body is a chilling reminder that she still needs to tell Brittany that her father is dying. She gets closer and sits in on one of the two chairs occupied by Brittany seconds ago. It is still warm. She takes his hand and holds it between both of hers.

She needs to tell Brittany about David, and she can't put it off much longer. She had promised to say to her. Santana sits quietly as she tries to figure out how to deliver the news.


Brittany walks out of the room and down the fall to find Kurt and Rachel, who both stand up when they see her approaching them.

"Santana told me you have to go."

Kurt nods and says, "We will come tomorrow."

Brittany nods, wanting to smile but failing to do so.

"We will text you when we're on our way," Rachel adds.

Brittany wants to say something, but all she can do is hug them both close. The pair instantly hug her back. They hold each other for a few moments before the intercom announces once more that visiting hours are over.

"I love you, guys," Brittany finally says with a whimper.

She closes her eyes and squeezes her eyes tightly, causing the tears to fall from her eyes anew.

They whisper they love her back before squeezing her tightly once more and pulling away. There are no other words to say. Goodbye is not something they want to hear tonight. They nod at each other promising to meet up tomorrow before walking away.

Brittany's eyes follow them until they reach the elevator. Kurt blows her a kiss, and Rachel lifts her hand. Once the door closes, she looks up at the ceiling and closes her eyes. It is her, Santana, and her dad now, but more like just Brittany and Santana. When she woke this morning, everything was so good. Brittany wishes so desperately she could go back to this morning. She lowers her head and sighs before making her way back to her dad's room.

Brittany enters the room quietly. Her eyes lock with Santana's, who looks as if she's reading her. Feeling naked under her gaze, Brittany begins to walk to the side of the bed across from Santana. It's been months since they'd all been in the same room. Brittany tries to remember when exactly the last time was. She closes her eyes when she remembers.

It was a few days after Santana's parents visited her. Her father had invited her for breakfast that weekend. Her eyes open when she remembers a particular conversation she and her father had that morning as he dropped her off. Her father had mentioned that one of his greatest regrets was that he didn't give her a little brother or sister and hoped to fix that soon. Her eyes brow furrow, and she swallows the knot in her throat as her stomach turns. Her heart is torn between wishing she never heard that, to wishing her dad was awake telling her about things he planned for the future. More than anything, she wanted him to wake up and talk to her.

"I need to tell you about your dad," Santana starts.

The sound of Santana's voice barely reaches her ears. Santana is no more than a few feet away, but she manages to sound like she's far away.


Brittany looks at her. Santana feels like her heart is in her throat. Brittany's blue eyes looked gray and dull. Santana feels tears build up again. She is terrified of telling Brittany the truth. This might just break her, and Santana doesn't know if she can handle that. She doesn't want to see Brittany broken.

"The doctor said that he lost too much blood from the injury on his head. H-He hit his head really bad on an indented side that formed sharp corners. It fractures his skull. They did manage to stop the bleeding and stitch up the wound, but-"She takes a breath to wipe the tears falling on her face. "The doctor isn't sure when or i-"her voice cracks, and she swallows harshly, urging herself to finish. "If-if, he will wake up." She swallowed and pushed through her emotions to finish speaking. "He believes he won't."

The last words barely left her lips, but she knows they did. Brittany does not react. Brittany's eyes tell a different story. She can see sadness taken over by anger. She sees it for a second before Brittany grabs the chair and throws it at the window. The material doesn't break, but a nearby nurse's eyes widen before she opens the door.

"You need to leave this hospital, right now or I will call security," The nurse said sternly.

Santana could hear the fear in the woman's voice. Santana opens her mouth to apologize before Brittany beats her to it.

"I'm sorry," Brittany says quietly before making her way out past the nurse and down the hall.

Santana looks apologetically at the nurse.

"People process things differently, but this is no place for that. She can come back tomorrow. "

Santana nods as if to thank her. She kisses David on the forehead and promises to find her and return tomorrow. She quickly exits the hospital hoping to catch up to Brittany, but the younger girl is long gone. Santana sighs when she reaches the car with no sign of Brittany around. She waits a few minutes hoping Brittany will come out and even calls her, but she had no luck.

She sends a quick text to Quinn, Rachel, and Kurt asking her to text her if she sees or hears from her before she buckles herself and turns on her car before leaving the parking lot. She drives home being sure to look at both sides of the street as often as she can to see if she spots her, but again, she had no luck. After checking around campus and Brittany's favorite spots, Santana went home.

Santana breathes in profoundly before opening the door. She and Brittany had quickly gotten ready after the cops had arrived that they left things in a state of disarray. She opens the door and enters. Hours ago, she was in the same place in the utmost form of bliss with the love of her life. She has little time to dwell on things because she can see from the dining room that Brittany is in her room, lying on David's side of the bed. It was the same side that had not been slept on in weeks. Heck, Santana hadn't slept on their bed either.

Santana quietly approaches the bed. It isn't until now that she realizes Brittany is crying. The sound absolutely breaks her heart.

She knows she shouldn't, but she wants nothing more than to comfort her. She's inching closer to the bed and gets on.

"Let me hold you," Santana begs with a whisper as she lays down on her side. "Please."

Brittany nods before turning around and burning her head into Santana's neck.

Santana can feel the wetness on her skin from Brittany's face. She pulls her closer and lets her hand soothe Brittany's back.

No words are needed as she comforts Brittany.


Brittany is avoiding Santana so much that they hardly see each other. Brittany knows that throwing herself into her schoolwork isn't the best way to deal with things, but it helps keep her busy, which occupies her mind. It allows her some escapism, if even for a little bit. She can't seem to stay too far from her father for too long.

It's been a few weeks since her father was in the accident. The weather has gotten colder with the snow. It is usually one of her favorite times of the year.

"It used to be," she thinks out loud.

She used to spend time with her mother. Last winter, she and her mom had a marathon of all their favorite Christmas movies with some hot chocolate and cookies. This year was going to be the first one her father, and she was going to create a new tradition. Brittany would never admit it, but she was excited. She even had a shopping list of Christmas pajamas she was going to get them.

She shakes her head. She can't think of what-ifs. She knows they will only make her sadder.

She takes her father's hand, and as she sits. Santana is nowhere in sight, which is not a surprise. Santana had given her the space she had asked for. She knew Santana visited her dad. The flowers were being replaced when they needed to, and a religious candle would be lit.

She sighs as she looks at them and then her father.

"I miss you," she says with a shaky voice.

It doesn't take too long for the tears to fall from her eyes.

The beeping coming from the machines in the room was the sound she had grown familiar with. It's been forever since she's heard his voice, seen his eyes, or seen him smile. He's there physically, but he also was not.

She sniffs her nose as she thinks. She knows what she has to do. She knows she needs to tell Santana she's ready to let her dad go, but she is afraid of doing that at the same time. She will never get to see him again. She will be truly alone.

She sucks her lips into her mouth, causing her to taste the saltiness of her tears.

After a couple of hours, she realizes it is time for her to go. Santana will be visiting him soon. Brittany does not want to see her yet. She gets up and caresses his face.

"I love you. I wish you could stay forever," she whispers and kisses him before she leaves.


The next morning, Santana wakes up early to go to see David. She's gone every day, but not when Brittany is around. When Brittany was there, Santana had been contacting many of David's friends and coworkers and making arrangements.

She had contacted their lawyers to deliver the news of David's accident. She was not surprised to hear that he had a will in writing. David had mentioned it to her. He left some things to her and some other matters she had to make decisions on, but she, true to her word, changed anything he had gone to her so that Brittany would be the sole beneficiary of everything. Santana also arranged so that her and David's shared assets were evenly split with his portion and earnings going to an account he had made for Brittany.

With assistance from his lawyers and higher-ups at his company, she attended meetings to put new directors in charge while Brittany finished school. She made sure there was a clause that would allow Brittany to overtake her father's role when she was ready if she wanted to do so.

With a heavy heart, she also started arranging for a funeral. She hadn't picked a place or a date, but she had chosen a nice casket and knew what church she would have it at whenever the day came.

She was going to give Brittany as much time as she needed.

Santana stills her movements before she drops her stuff at the door and leaves her keys at the counter before covering her mouth and making a quick dash to the bathroom where she falls to her knees and hurls. Her stomach muscles tighten, and her mouth widens as she shuts her eyes as the contents of her stomach force their way out. Tears come out of her eyes as her stomach repeats the action. Her face contorts at the smell and sight before her as she wipes her mouth. She hovers for a moment, unsure if she is done before she stands up straight.

She flushes the toilet and then washes her hands before she wrinkles her mouth and brushes her teeth.

"Just when I thought I had gotten over that nasty bug,"

She rinses her mouth with water and then mouthwash.

"Yuck," she says as she checks herself in the mirror again before making her way to retrieve her things and once again making her way out of her home to see David.

"Ms. Lopez?" She hears as she makes her way past the front desk on her way to David's room.

Santana looked confused but approached the lady at the front desk who had called her name.

"Yes?" She questioned.

The front desk woman gave her a contact card. Santana took it and looked at her questionably.

"The bus driver who helped David came looking for you after you left last night. He said he had something to share with you. He regrets that he missed you but said that you must call."

Santana thanks the woman before she walks away, looking at the card. Curiously peaks inside her as she wonders what the driver has to share with her. Before she enters the room, she calls him. Unfortunately, she reaches a voicemail. After leaving her name and a call-back number, she hangs up.

"I did it," She says as she places a kiss on his forehead. "I made the changes so that you can rest easy. Everything is taken care of. She's going to be okay."

Her phone rings, breaking the silence. She reaches into her purse and quickly answers it.

"Hello?" She says.

She nods her head when she hears her name and the person that called.

"Yes, I am here at the hospital today. Thank you-"

She closes her eyes and tries to recollect his name from the contact card.

"Thank you, Joe. I will be waiting here. Also, thank you for helping David that night."

After the call ends, she hands up and sits down.

She bites her lip. Brittany needs to be here for this. Joe, the bus driver who helped David that night, had a letter he wanted his daughter to receive. She opts to call her but decides to send her a message. Her eyes are drawn to the last messages she had received from Brittany. It was a photo of her blowing a kiss to the camera with a caption that read, "On my way home, babe:)." A sad smile graces her lips.

She shakes her head and continues to type a message.


Brittany reaches for her phone as she removes the towel from her head. She'd just showered after taking her morning jog. The contact name makes her heart skip a beat, and she quickly chastises herself. She closes her eyes and opens the message.

SNIXX: Hey, I know you need space, but I have been informed that there was a letter your dad left for you. The bus driver that helped him that night was instructed to give it to you. He had scheduled some days to deliver it this weekend. He missed the few times he tried. He says he will stop by 10 am.

Her heart beats rapidly, and a lump forms in her thought. The timing is impeccable. She had a dream of her father last night telling her that he loved her. She'd woken up with tears in her eyes.

She looks to the sky, wondering what the universe was trying to tell her.

Brittany makes her way to her room, where she gets ready. What does the letter say? Am I prepared to read it?

Brittany knows she isn't, but she also knows she needs to. She needs to know what it says.

She breathes deeply and lets it out slowly. Losing one parent was hard. Losing another was even harder. She was still dealing with the loss of her mother, and things were getting better, and now she is losing her dad or has. She has. She closes her eyes to keep her emotions at bay. It's the first time she has accepted that fact. Her father is gone, and she can't bring him back. She opens her eyes and is met with her reflection in the mirror. Tears are in her eyes, and she blinks to let them fall before she wipes them away. She breathes in deeply again before releasing it.

"You're going to be okay," she whispers to herself. "You're going to be okay."

A half-hour later, she gets out of the elevator and onto the floor her dad is on. She has two coffees and some muffins. She had only planned to get one for herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling of not getting one for Santana. She pushes that thought and those surrounding their relationship to the back of her head.

She makes her way to the room and enters the room since the door is open. Santana looks at her, and they share a timid smile. Without an exchange for words, Brittany offers Santana her cup and muffin, who thanks her. Not another word is exchanged between them as Brittany sits across from her.

Brittany looks to her dad, who looks as he is peacefully sleeping. The smaller bruises and cuts had long healed. His bandages were recently replaced.

The dream last night had helped her more than she realized. She once again repeats to herself that she will be okay.

Her thoughts are disrupted by a knock on the door.

Santana gets up to greet him.

"Good morning, you must be Joe. I'm Santana."

"It is unfortunate we meet under these circumstances."

Joe looks at her.

"You must be Brittany."

She nods.

"Nice to meet you, Joe." She says with a sad smile as she makes her way to him to shake his hand.

"As I mentioned in a call to Santana, I have a letter from your dad. I would have given it to the officers, but I made it my obligation to deliver this letter. Because of the condition, I took a few days to rewrite it."

Brittany looks at the new envelope with her name on it.


When the car is flipped, and he is upside down, his head hurts. He touches his head and feels a slick wetness. When he looks at his hand, he sees red. It is his blood. Ringing hinders his ability to hear, but he does. Everything is muffled and so far away.

"Sir! Sir, can you hear me?"

David turns to look at the man. He tries to get out of the car, but it only hurts him to do so.

"Sir, don't move. Help is on the way."

David blinks. Everything feels loopy. He can feel himself going in and out of consciousness.

"Letter," he mumbles.

The man looks at him, trying to make out what he is saying. He attempts to reach over to the glove compartment, but it only hurts him more, causing him to grunt.

The man advises him to stop moving. He reaches for the glove compartment anyway and retrieves a letter, grunting and groaning in pain as he does so. Again, he feels himself going in and out of consciousness.

"Please," David gets out as he hands the letter, now stained with his blood. "Daughter."

David can faintly hear the man telling him to stay awake, but it's too hard to open his eyes. He has never been so tired.


Joe extends the letter to her.

"This is for you. Again, I wish we could have met under different circumstances. I offer my deepest condolences."

Brittany accepts the envelope.

A faint thank you leaves her lips.

"Thank you so much," she hears Santana say as she quietly makes her way to the seat where she sat.

She sits down, looking at the envelope her father hoped would get to her in his last moments of consciousness.

The rest of the world fades into the background as she opens the letter and reads it to herself.

Britty,

If you are reading this letter, it is because my time with you has come to pass.

There are many things I have taught you. There are many more things I wish I got to guide you. I wish I could stay with you forever. I am sorry our time together has ended. I have taught you many things, and in turn, you have taught me much as well. Thank you for that.

It's hard for me to find exactly what I want to write in this letter. There are so many things I want to tell you.

First, I love you. I love you more than you will ever know. It killed me the time we were not together, but I am glad that you returned to my life. You have always been my little ray of sunshine. You undoubtedly did not have an easy life growing up, but I think you've only become a better person for having gone through that. Thank you for letting me hold your hand through such a scary time.

Second, I am sorry I did not tell you the truth about your mother. Despite how things went for you and me, I don't regret it. You made your mom and supported her when she needed it most. I never thanked you for that.

However long or short, my life was, I want you to know that I have no regrets about things in my life. Despite things sometimes not going planned, like my marriage to your mother, I have no regrets. I would do everything all over again. That includes the painful stuff, too.

Also, Pain has taught me about two things. Acceptance and forgiveness. If ever in your life you are hurt, the first thing to do is to accept it. You can not control everything that happens. Accept what happened and forgive everything else. Some things in life don't make sense. There is no point in making sense of it all. Accept it and forgive anyone and anything that brings you Pain. Life is much too short.

Because life is too short, I want you to do one thing for me. I want you to be happy. Find what brings you happiness, and never let it go (except for drugs. Don't do drugs, Britty!). Never let it go.

You are my pride and joy. You are meant to do great things. Be the greatest you can be. I know you will be.

I may not be with you anymore, Britty, know that wherever I go, you'll always have a part of me with you. I love you.

Live life to the fullest, love wholeheartedly, and always be open to forgiveness,

Dad

Brittany couldn't help but smile through her tears. Her dad always did know how to make her feel better. She takes a deep breath and releases it. She looks up to Santana and lets her know.

" It's time. I'm ready.


Author's Note: David dying was in the plans since the very beginning. Originally, his death was going to be a suicide. My aunt had attempted suicide and ended up having in a coma. Much like David, there was little chance she'd ever wake up. I decided to change the ending to an accident because I felt the guilt would drive Brittana apart indefinitely because of guilt. I also felt it would be too dark. I shared the original plan with some early beta reviewers (you know who you are) who expressed this sentiment as well. In my head, I didn't think David would be able to deal with the fact that he had 2 failed marriages where he dealt with infidelity. I imagine he would have been so broken to the point where he did commit suicide. My plan to include that was, again, because my aunt had passed the same way. I wanted to include suicide hotlines around the world at the very end. I might still add that alternate chapter after the story ends and ad the contacts after that chapter. Let me know what you guys think. Was this decision better?