Girlfriend. It's such a weird world. It's such a weird thing for Santana to conceptualize. She's spent all of her adult life avoiding any sort of feelings, and then came Brittany. The feelings Santana has for her are so real, so raw, that becoming her girlfriend almost doesn't feel like enough. She can't verbalize it, but it's dragging her under. And the strangest part is, she's not even afraid anymore.

For the first week, Santana doesn't really know how to process it. She loves that she can go into Brittany's office before she leaves in the morning and just…kiss her. She loves the idea that when she goes to get coffee at eleven-thirty at night, Brittany calls her, all sleepy and in bed. She loves that Brittany texts her pictures of drawings that Liam made for her, scribbles in every color of the rainbow. She loves that when she's done with nights next week, she'll be able to have dinner with Brittany, to lay on her couch with her, to read bedtime stories to Liam. She loves that she'll be able to make love to her, and for the first time afterwards, fall asleep in her bed. She loves that there's someone out there who's hers. But still, there are things she's just unsure about.

The hospital, for one. They still haven't told anyone that they're dating…well, Santana hasn't, though she has a sneaking suspicion that Dr. Abrams knows. Brittany told her that they're not breaking and rules, but still, Santana worries. Still, Santana makes sure the shades in Brittany's office are drawn, when she goes to kiss her good morning before she leaves for the day. Still, Santana is terrified that they could be doing something that could destroy one or both of their careers. Still, Santana feels jumpy, whenever Shelby is around. Still, Santana pointedly avoids telling both Kurt and Mercedes, for fear that one of them will accidentally slip to the wrong person.

The second is Maribel Lopez. Santana's relationship with her mother is fine. She doesn't hold a grudge against the woman for the years of hell they went through. It's not Maribel's fault, really, that her ex-husband was an emotionally abusive piece of shit. If anything, Santana's mother suffered it even greater than she did. She wrote letters to the judge in her mother's divorce case, stating as much. But still, they're not particularly close. Santana loves her, of course. She goes up to Peekskill for every holiday, and usually once a month, but like everyone else in her life—Brittany, not included—Santana acts out of self-preservation, and she keeps her mother at an arm's length.

So naturally, when her mother calls her at the start of her last nightshift, Santana feels a sort of panic bubble low in her belly. She doesn't understand how normal people go through life without these feelings—though her therapist has repeatedly told her to stop referring to them as normal, and herself as not—because it's such an all-encompassing presence for her. It's not about keeping it a secret. Not at all. God, she'd tell the whole world she Dr. Brittany Susan Pierce's girlfriend if she could. But it's just the how of it. It's the breaking down her own walls. It's the suddenly letting people in, when she never has before.

"Hi, Ma." She answers, flipping through the office supply catalogue that someone left in her office. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Santana. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Working right now."

"Right. You told me that last time I talked to you. I forgot." There's an awkward pause, and Santana focuses her attention on the seventy-three varieties of Post-It notes on the glossy pages in front of her.

"So what's up, Mama?"

"Not so much. I was just calling to see what you're doing tomorrow. I have a meeting in the city, and I was hoping to see you."

"Tomorrow?" She swallows hard. She and Brittany hadn't made official plans, but…they're both off, and she'd kind of figured that they'd spend the day together. "Uh…"

"If you have plans, Santana, it's fine. Don't change things around on my account."

"No, uh…" Santana falters. She knows her mom really tries to build a better relationship with her. She knows she tries to get past those ironclad walls Santana surrounds herself with. She knows that she wants to be close with her, and Santana feels really awful saying no. "No, we can get together. It's just…I, uh. I need to tell you something."

"Did you move again?" Maribel asks, bringing up the time Santana had lived in her apartment for three months, before she remembered to tell anyone she had moved from her downtown studio.

"No, I'm still in the same place. I just, um…I met someone, and we started dating, and now, we're, uh, more serious?"

"So you have a girlfriend?" Santana can hear the excitement in her mother's voice, and we feels heat creep up her neck and into her face. "Oh, Santana. That's wonderful! Does she work with you?"

"Yeah…she's, uh, the head of plastics. She's really, really smart, and she's gorgeous and the sweetest person I've ever met."

"Plastics." Maribel repeats the word. "And you're…"

"Yeah. Yeah. She's not like…his friends." She doesn't use her father's name, she doesn't use terms of endearment for him. He's just…him. "She's really something else."

"And does she have a name?"

"Brittany." Santana smiles, as her name rolls off her lips. "Brittany Pierce. But don't, like, find her on Facebook or anything and send her a friend request, okay?"

"I wouldn't, honey." Maribel promises. "But would she like to join us for dinner tomorrow? I was hoping we could go early, if that works with your schedule."

"Early's fine. But, I'm not sure about Brittany. She, um, actually has a kid, and it's her day off, so I don't think she'd want to leave him with a sitter."

"She could bring him. I'm not offended by children, Santana."

"No, no, I know you're not, it's just…" Santana sighs, raking her hand through her hair. "Let me just talk to her, and I'll figure something out, okay,"

"Whatever you want, honey. I just want to see you, and I'd like to meet your girlfriend if I can too. But if not, it's fine."

Santana knows her mother isn't trying to make her feel guilty. She knows she just takes a genuine interest in her life. But still, as she hangs up, she feels twisty and conflicted inside. She doesn't want Brittany to feel like she has to leave Liam. She doesn't want her to feel obligated to meet Santana's mother, or have dinner with them. She doesn't want her to feel forced to make Liam sit through some dinner, she she's sure he'd rather be home eating a hot dog or spaghetti and meatballs. But on the other hand, Santana doesn't want Brittany to think she doesn't want her to meet her mother. She doesn't want Brittany to think that her weirdness about their relationship extends past the hospital. And she, for her own sake, doesn't want Brittany not to come.

So she calls Brittany. She whispers for her to hold on into the phone, and Santana knows she's crawling out of Liam's bed. She pictures her, soft and cozy in her pajamas, her hair swept off her face. She feels a pang in her chest at the thought, wishing she was there. When she come back on the line, Santana invites her to dinner. She tells her everything about the conversation, and she waits, full of twisting anxiety, for Brittany to give her an answer.

Because she's Brittany, and she manages to turn every sort of crisis that Santana has into an actual solution, she makes a suggestion. Invite her mother over to her apartment. She'll help Santana cook. Liam will finally get to see the place he's been begging to go. Santana will feel less anxious about everything, when she does it all on her own terms. Sometimes it scares Santana, how well Brittany knows her, how much she's got her tics figured out. But these days, mostly, it makes her really happy. These days, mostly, it makes her feel so settled and secure.

Santana gets off of work, and she wants to sleep. She knows if she took enough Ambien, she could sleep until it was dark again. But she can't. She knows it's bad for her body, but she gives herself three hours to nap. She has to transition back to days, and the best way for her to do it is to sleep tonight. Plus, Brittany is coming at one. Brittany is going to help her cook dinner for her mom. Brittany is coming here, into Santana's space with her son, and she'll be damned if she leaves it it disaster.

When she wakes up, Santana brushes her teeth, and she starts to clean up. She bags her laundry to be picked up, she changes her sheets, she dusts behind the TV, though she's sure she never has before. It's just after eleven when she finishes with all of that, and she jumps in the shower. More than anything, she's concerned about shaving, so while the conditioner seeps into the pores of her hair, she goes over her legs two, then three times, making sure she didn't miss a single spot.

It's only noon when she finishes getting dressed, and diffusing her thick curls. The groceries she'd frantically ordered late last night from her office computer won't be there until after Brittany and Liam show up, so she has some time. Giving the apartment one last once over, she goes out to the liquor on the corner. She buys four bottles of wine—her mom's favorite red and white, and Brittany's favorite red and white—before she ends up getting sucked into the toy store next door. Three-hundred dollars later, she has two big bags full. Three-hundred dollars later, she has trains and DVDs and art supplies, a soft stuffed turtle, and a woodland creatures fleece blanket. Things that can stay at her apartment. Things for Liam, so he always feels welcome there too. She's making room for Brittany in her life, and she wants Liam to know that she's making room for him too.

Doccer Santana! Doccer Santana! Santana hears through the phone, when Ken calls to let her know that her guests are here. She has the white wine chilling, and Liam's new things are stacked up neatly on the coffee table. They're here, this is happening, and Santana has to take breath after breath to remind herself that this is a good thing, that she can calm down.

"We're here! We're here!" Liam shouts, when Santana opens the door, and though Brittany tries to shush him, a smile spreads across her face.

"What? Huh? I can't see anyone here." Santana teases, but he wraps his arms tight around her legs, making his presence known. "Oh! There you are. Hello, sir."

"Why you always callin' me sir?" He giggles. "Remember? I always telled you my name?"

"Oh, right. I forgot. It's Liam Connolly Pierce right?" She feigns trying to remember, and he keeps giggling. "I think you look like that name, but I also think you look like a sir, especially in that bow tie."

"You can say I'm sir, if you really, really really want to." He grins, showing his little teeth, as he plays with his little green tie. "And Mama gived me this. She says we gonna meet your mama! I didn't even know you haved a mama!"

"I do." Santana kneels and hugs him close. "Her name is Maribel, and I think she's going to think that you're the best guy in the world. I think before she gets here though, you should go check out some of the cool new stuff that appeared here for you today."

"How you maked all that appear?" His little eyes go wide as he looks at the coffee table. "That's magic!"

"Looks like Santana's pretty good at magic." Brittany winks, though when she looks at Santana, she shakes her head, awed.

"Hi." She whispers, once Liam is sufficiently distracted, picking, with his left hand, through the neat stack. Santana is uncertain what to do, or whether it's okay if she kisses Brittany. She's never done it in front of Liam before, but…before she can think, soft lips her on hers, and she hums against them. "That's a good hi."

"You're cute." Brittany tucks a fallen lock of Santana's hair behind her ear, and Santana sucks her lips into her mouth, blinking quickly. "You didn't have to do that."

"I…I dunno, I wanted him to feel comfortable here."

"I think—" She cocks her head over to Liam, spreading his new blanket over himself on the couch. "That you were really successful. Thank you, Santana. Really."

"Is it…it's okay if I kiss you again? With him here?"

"Of course it is. Liam knows…I asked him if he was okay with it, and he looked at me like I had six heads. He said 'Mama! I knowed she's not a boy,' and that was that."

"I guess it's that easy then." Santana leans in, brushing Brittany's nose with her own, then catching her bottom lip. "I'm really glad you're here."

It's different, having Brittany and Liam over. Santana has cooked in her kitchen exactly two times, once, because she was trying to prove a point to Kurt that she actually could, and the second, because she got on a seventeen hour kick, thinking she'd stop living out of takeout containers and on hospital food. But here she is, rolling meatballs with Liam—or, really, turning his meat snakes into balls. Here she is, watching Brittany as she puts never-used spices into a pot of simmering sauce. Here she is, brushing her front against Brittany's back, as she goes to the sink to wash her hands. Here she is, so new in this relationship, but feeling such a level of comfort that she can barely comprehend.

When the apartment phone rings, with Ken announcing that her mother is here, Santana is sitting on the living room floor with Liam and his trains. She feels Brittany's eyes on her, as she sips her wine, but she can't look in her direction. It's too much, sometimes, the way she looks at her. It's too much, sometimes, the way she makes her feel. She pushes herself to her feet, and Liam is quick to follow, trailing her to the door, waiting, waiting, waiting for a new friend to arrive.

"Hi, lady!" He chirps, when Santana opens the door. Her mother steps inside, all in black, with diamonds on her wrist, and Liam is immediately taken. "Whoa! Sparkles!"

"And what might your name be, sir?" Maribel smiles at him, and Santana steps back a few inches, not noticing her own protective haunch over the boy.

"Doccer Santana!" Liam giggles. "Why you telleded her 'bout my name is sir?"

"Is your name not sir? My deepest apologies." Maribel's eyes sparkle, as she feigns formality with the bow tie clad child.

"You silly! Doccer Santana! Mama! She so silly! My name is Liam Connowee Pierce. Only Doccer Santana say it's sir."

"Well, Liam Connolly Pierce, it's a pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a handsome boy." She leans down and extends her hand. Liam takes it with his left, and he shakes it vigorously. "I'm Maribel Carlotta Lopez."

"That's a big name." His eyes go wide, and Santana feels Brittany step to her side, the ghost of fingertips brushing the small of her back.

"How about you just call me Mari instead?"

"Okey! And you just say I Liam, okey? Then I showed you my new trains?"

"Okay." She nods, laughing, as she stands up.

"Hey, Ma." Santana shrugs a little, that nervous sort of thing she does, eyes following Liam as he goes back to his toys.

"Hi, baby girl." She leans in, hugging Santana tight. "What a charming little guy he is."

"Thank you." Brittany nods, reaching to take Maribel's hand. "It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Lopez."

"Maribel, please." Maribel shakes her head. "And the pleasure is all mine. I've been waiting Santana's—"

"Mama!" Santana snaps, her body tensing up, even with Brittany's shoulder brushing her own. "Wine?"

"Of course. Red?"

"Mmhm." She turns away and goes into the kitchen, taking a gulp of her own that she'd left on the counter, steadying herself, before she pours a glass for her mother.

"Santana." Brittany's voice breaks her from her thoughts before she even has the opportunity to begin obsessing, and she bites her bottom lip. "Do you need any help?"

"Pouring wine?"

"Sure, why not?" Brittany chuckles a little, moving to Santana's side, and squeezing her shoulders. "Mostly though, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine." She rolls her eyes, mostly at herself, and takes another sip from her glass. "Totally fine."

"It's okay if you're nervous, you know." Her nose nudges Santana's ear. "I was nervous when you met my parents, and you were just some girl from the hospital then."

"Why were you nervous then?" Santana turns around, shivering when Brittany's hands find purchase on her hips.

"I love my mom and dad more than almost anything, but they can be a little…different. I just wanted to impress you. I was terrified that my mother would tell the story of the day I was born and you'd be horrified."

"Well, now I want to know what it is." A laugh bubbles out of Santana's throat, and she feels her anxiety releasing with it.

"It involves a barn, a cow, and a sandwich wrapper. I'll save it for her. She really likes to tell it."

"You'll let her?"

"I will." Brittany nods, kissing Santana's forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her lips. "Because I know it's not going to scare you away."

"How?"

"Faith." She whispers against her lips. "Have some in me too, okay? I know it's hard for you to believe, but I'm not going anywhere. I don't know if I've told you today, but you're really, really special to me, and I think that I'm—"

"Mama!" Liam's voice cuts through their moment, and Brittany takes a step back, but doesn't break eye contact with Santana for several more seconds. "We makeded a bridge! Come see! Come see!"

"Okay, Li." Brittany gives Santana a nod, and her hand a quick squeeze, before she turns back to the living room. "Let's go see."