The next day, Denver had left for work early, so not to bump into Brittany beforehand. Brittany hadn't heard from him all day and was under firm instruction from Santana not to text him first. Santana had gone to work with Brittany again, popping out briefly to pick up a little gift for her.
When they had wrapped up for the day, Santana walked over to Brittany and presented her with the gift bag.
"Just a little something to make you smile" said Santana, hoping the gesture would pick her up.
Brittany's face lit up, as she opened the bag containing a bag of her favourite sweets, a small slice of raspberry and white chocolate cake, and a Jasmine scented candle from Bath and Body Works.
"I love it, thank you so much babe. That's definitely put a smile on my face" Brittany smiled, reaching out to give Santana a hug.
The two of them headed home to get ready for the night. At midnight, it would be Santana's birthday, so they were heading out to a rooftop pool party at Dream Hotel Downtown. It was a chance for them to truly let their hair down, and Brittany had managed to get tomorrow off work, putting more hours in on Friday instead when Santana would be heading back to Lima.
Brittany decided to text Denver, not to apologise, but simply to let him know she wouldn't be home until late and not to wait up. She had learned from her mistakes last time, but she made sure to keep the message extra blunt.
The night was in full swing, and both girls were drunk and having the time of their lives. Brittany was still sober enough to keep track of the time, ready to wish Santana a happy birthday.
"One minute to go San!" Brittany cheered, raising her red cup filled with gin and tonic in the air. Santana giggled at the girl's adorableness, drunkenly wrapping her arm around her. As Brittany stared at her phone, she squeezed Santana enthusiastically.
"This is it! The big countdown" she said, counting down to Santana's birthday like it was New Year's Eve, much to Santana's amusement.
"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANNY!" she shouted enthusiastically, drunkenly scooping the smaller girl up into her arms, Santana's legs wrapped tight around her waist as they laughed hysterically together. As she placed Santana back down, Santana lost her footing, and fell into the pool behind her.
Brittany raised her hands to her mouth and gasped, watching as Santana emerged soaking wet, before bursting into a fit of laughter. Santana glared at Brittany for a second, pretending to be angry, before being unable to stifle her laughter any longer. When they had calmed down, Santana swam to the edge of the pool and reached out her hand.
"Come on, help me out" she laughed. Brittany stepped forward to take Santana's hand, but before she could help pull her up, Santana took her by surprise and yanked on her arm to pull her in.
Brittany screamed as she hit the water, popping back up again to find a hysterical Santana, as she wiped the water from her eyes.
"Oh you're so gonna pay for that Lopez!" Brittany grinned, splashing Santana with the water.
"Come on, come on, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Santana laughed frantically, shielding herself from Brittany's splashing.
The two of them stood to observe their drenched attire, as Santana stared at Brittany's white shirt, which had now gone see through, revealing her bra underneath.
"You're looking way too hot right now Brit" Santana said, pointing at Brittany's shirt.
Brittany looked down, the energy around them felt charged. She broke the tension by diving forward and picking Santana up, throwing her back down into the water, the two of them exploding into giggles again as they splashed playfully at each other.
They finally left the pool and partied on until the early hours of the morning, dancing and laughing together. The sky began to get light, and their clothes dried, Brittany admiring the way Santana's hair had moulded into its natural state. She found the pieces of frizzy baby hair that framed her face, especially adorable.
As they left the party just before 5am, they decided to walk through the city for a bit, rather than take a cab all the way. Neither of them had ever seen it at this hour before. They walked through The High Line, admiring the street art and taking lots of photos. They grabbed coffee and pastries as they sauntered up the Hudson River, and as they reached Times Square, they watched as the city grew busier with people beginning to file in.
They walked through Central Park, the spring-time sun now beaming down on their faces, as it was now past 6am.
"Shall we sit for a bit?" Brittany suggested.
It seemed a little crazy considering they had been out all night and not slept yet, and they didn't look their best, but right now Brittany didn't care. They never did things like this, and she just wanted to enjoy this moment with her best friend. Santana smiled, taking Brittany's hand and leading her over to a spot on the grass where they could sit. As Brittany lay down, Santana positioned herself on top of Brittany's stomach, resting gently on her. The two of them just enjoying the feeling of happiness that swirled around them after a great evening, listening to the birds tweeting, and the distant sound of hustle and bustle.
"It's strange you know?" Santana sat up, causing Brittany to sit up also, so she could look at her. She leaned back with her legs out, while Santana flipped over on to her stomach in the gap by Brittany's side, their bodies close together.
"To think I could have lived here and been part of it." Santana continued, Brittany looking at her tenderly "But, I don't regret Mila you know? I mean, how could I? She's…she's the most amazing kid"
Brittany smiled in agreement.
"The weird thing is…she reminds me more of you than me" said Santana, her eyes almost vacant, before she brought them up to meet Brittany's again "but that's probably just because I love her"
They stared at each other, the sun beaming through the narrow gap between them, when Santana found herself inching in. She didn't know what was happening, all she knew was something was pulling her towards Brittany's lips in that tender and sweet moment. Brittany slowly closed her eyes, as she felt the energy between them, she could have sworn Santana was moving into kiss her. She so badly wanted to lunge forward and claim Santana's lips with her own. Then, a pang of guilt hit her, as she thought about Denver sitting at home. How hypocritical would she be to kiss Santana, after assuring him only two nights ago she would never cheat on him. She wasn't even sure that's what Santana was going to do, but she had definitely felt a weird energy between them. She turned her head away and cleared her throat. This jolted Santana back to her senses, as she blinked and wondered what on earth she was doing. Definitely too much alcohol, she figured.
"We should head to find a cab" Brittany smiled, standing up to brush the grass of her, and holding her hand out to Santana to help her up.
As the two of them began to walk in a content silence through Central Park, Santana thought she would use the opportunity to bring up Denver again.
"Hey Brit, I wanted to talk to you about Denver again"
Brittany swallowed and looked down, nervous about what Santana was going to say.
"I just really want to be sure that things are good between you two" Santana continued "I can't stop thinking about the other night, and how he spoke to you. He just has no right Brit I mean, the whole 'look at me while I'm speaking to you' thing, what was that about?"
Again, Brittany said nothing, as she continued to stare at her feet.
"Brit, will you just stop for a second please?" Santana asked gently, standing in front of Brittany and putting her arm out. Brittany stopped with a sigh and met Santana's gaze, allowing Santana to continue.
"Come on B, talk to me" Santana urged, putting her hands over Brittany's shoulders. Brittany nodded, leading Santana over to the nearest bench.
"Some days are really great with Den. You know, he treats me so well and we're just…so happy together" Brittany began, struggling to get the words out "but not all days are like that"
Santana squeezed Brittany's hand firmly, urging her to continue.
"I guess he gets annoyed at me a lot more easily now. He's stressed with work and…he takes a lot of that out on me"
"How do you mean?" Santana pressed
"Like, I don't know he'll just go in moods a lot more than he used to. If I don't have dinner ready for him when he comes home from work, he'll snap at me, just…things like that"
"But Brit, you work very hard too, you're not a full-time housewife in the 1950s!" Santana frowned, seething at what Brittany was telling her.
"I know, I know that but…I think since he started working properly, he thinks his job is more important. It's more money and it's how we can afford to live where we live"
"Woah woah woah…hold up! This is insane Brittany. He has no right to make you feel like your job is inferior to his, just because he earns more money. You've worked damn hard to get where you are"
Brittany could sense Santana's anger, and she hadn't even told her the worst parts. If Santana knew just how patronising Denver could be towards her, she would hit the roof. She decided to backtrack slightly.
"I don't think he means it San, like I said, he just gets stressed"
"It doesn't matter!" Santana sighed exasperated at how Brittany was covering for him, before lowering her voice again "if he loved you like he should, he would never take any of that out on you"
Brittany looked down; she knew Santana was right, she knew she didn't deserve the depreciating attitude she often got from her boyfriend. But at the same time, she had been conditioned to think she couldn't live without him. She needed him, and so she always clung to their good times.
"I just want you to be happy Brit, that's all I want" Santana said softly, searching Brittany's eyes.
Brittany stood up, beckoning for Santana to follow, so they could walk out of the cab to catch a cab.
"You have to remember Santana; I've been with Denver for almost five years now. I know we like to think of relationships as being full of love and happiness every day but, that's not real life. There's challenges, life gets in the way, stress happens. A relationship is choosing to love someone through all of that, no matter what, and I choose to love Denver. We aren't in the honeymoon period anymore no, but underneath all of that, I love him and we're happy"
"I disagree" Santana said firmly "loving someone shouldn't be a challenge, and every day spent together should be happy"
Brittany knew Santana had never been in a long-term relationship to truly know, but she didn't argue with her, Santana was far too stubborn for that.
"We're going through a bit of a rough patch okay, I'll admit it. But that's all, and for couples who have been together as long as we have, that's not out of the ordinary. I love him and…I want to keep on working things out with him, so if you love me too, you'd accept that"
"It's your life Brit" Santana shrugged, after a few moments of silence "All I can do is advise you and pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong. But if he ever, ever talks to you the way I heard him the other night, you better tell me about it Brittany. I mean it. I won't have him speak to you like that"
Brittany smiled at her protective best friend, who she always felt lucky to have.
"Come on, let's get in this cab and go home" she smiled, gesturing towards the line of waiting taxis.
As they stumbled through the door just after 7, they were greeted by Denver in his robe, stood at the top of the stairs. He said nothing, but raised his eyebrows, while Santana looked at him with a stern glare. He turned and went back to the bedroom.
The two girls headed to bed, after taking some water and painkillers to aid the impending hangover, with Brittany sleeping in the guest room with Santana again. They slept for most of the day, awoken at around 3pm by a knock on the bedroom door.
Brittany sat up with a frown, Denver wouldn't be home from work yet, while Santana hazily rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Just as Brittany was about to get out of bed and open the door, it opened, revealing Denver carrying two mugs of coffee.
"I thought if I left you two to sleep much longer, you wouldn't sleep tonight" he smiled, placing the cups down gently on the bedside table, much to the girl's confusion.
"What are you doing home from work?" Brittany asked with a frown. That was one question, and why Denver was suddenly being nice again was another. Was this his way of an apology?
"I have a work event to prepare for tonight, so they let me knock off early" he replied "Drink up! Then when you're ready come downstairs, I'm cooking us up something good to help the hangovers" before heading out of the room.
Brittany and Santana stared at each other in confusion, before reaching out for the much-needed coffee.
After they had taken time to drink their coffee's, and get dressed, they walked downstairs to the smell of bacon cooking. They pushed open the kitchen door to find Denver in a good mood, singing along to the radio. He turned to greet them, as he heard the door open, reaching out for the two bunches of flowers he had left on the table.
"For the birthday girl" he smiled, passing one bunch to Santana
"And…for my beautiful girlfriend" he continued, passing the second bunch to Brittany and leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek "these ones come with a big sorry"
Brittany felt the ice melt as she let out a small smile and inhaled the smell of the flowers, but Santana simply cast hers aside with a frown. Brittany might fall for his schmoozing that easily, but she most certainty wouldn't.
"Sit down girls, food is about to be served" he gestured towards the table. The girls did as he said, and sat at the table, Santana doing everything to bite her tongue.
"So…I actually managed to score two extra tickets for tonight's event, I thought that both of you would want to come along and join me" said Denver, turning his attention back to the frying pan.
Brittany scratched her ear nervously, turning to look at Santana, then back to Denver.
"Den, I would love to, but it's San's birthday…I'm not sure she'll want to spend it at a work event…"
"Oh, come on Brit! You've always said how much you want to come along to one of these things. Santana will have a great night, free bar, swanky rooftop hotel, law professionals she can network with…"
Brittany looked at Santana, who offered her a small smile. She wasn't ready to forgive Denver this easy, but she would still go ahead and do whatever Brittany wanted to do. Taking the smile as approval, Brittany turned back to Denver.
"Okay…sounds great!"
"Perfect! It starts at 8 so, be ready for 7:30" he smiled, plating up the food and placing it in front of them. As the three of them sat down to eat, he asked them about their day yesterday and made small talk. Santana said nothing, unless Brittany addressed her, of course.
"You're very quiet today Santana" Denver suddenly said. It was enough for Santana to lose her composure.
"Yeah well, I'm sorry Denver, but I'm not quite ready to forgive you for the way you talked to Brit the other night. Even this morning, the way you looked at her like she's a badly-behaved teenager when she got in. She's a grown woman, she can do as she likes, and a bunch of flowers and an invite to some flashy event isn't going to change that"
Denver placed his cutlery down to stare at Santana.
"I apologised to my girlfriend for my outburst" he said firmly "she understands that I was just very worried. We're trying for a baby, and she's supposed to be cutting back on alcohol to help her conceive, not going out partying all hours of the night and leaving me with no clue where she is. She needs to be more responsible"
Brittany looked down, bring her hands up to her head and massaging it, preparing for the inevitable reaction from Santana.
Santana's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Trying for a baby!?
"I'm sorry, what!?" Santana choked, placing her knife and fork down and turning to Brittany in disbelief "A baby?"
"Oh, did she not tell you? Brittany and I have been trying for a baby in the past month. All being well, we can expect Baby Pierce-Hughes in 2015. Isn't that right darling?"
Brittany merely looked down, and let out a meek nod, as Santana's stare burned into her.
"No actually…she didn't tell me that" she laughed incredulously, before taking her plate and heading off upstairs to the guest bedroom to get ready for the night. The tension between them was evident.
Santana clutched her glass of wine, lost in her thoughts. She couldn't get her head around the fact Brittany was trying for a baby with a man she was so clearly unhappy with. Not once had she mentioned it when they had brought up Denver, and she knew she could hardly be the one to lecture Brittany about secret pregnancies, but it was more the situation itself that Santana couldn't understand. Her and Brittany were so close and told each other everything, so she would always think that Brittany would have told her when the time had come to try for a baby. But if she had held back telling Santana until she was actually pregnant, Santana would have understood. It was the norm to do it that way really. It was more the fact that Brittany had admitted they were going through a rough patch but had left out the details of trying for a baby, that Santana couldn't understand.
"Hey" a tap on the shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, she spun around to be greeted by Brittany "Sorry about this, I know it's probably not the most fun. It won't last much longer though" she said, feeling guilty that most of her evening had been spent milling around and being introduced to Denver's colleagues, leaving Santana on her own for the most part.
Santana didn't have change to reply before Denver dashed over again.
"Sweetie, Mrs Collins is over there" said Denver pointing excitedly "I'd really like you to meet her. Her husband is a TV producer, currently working on a new dance talent show"
"Den not now…" Brittany pleaded, glancing towards Santana, she knew she had to make things right with her.
"But this could be great networking for you Brittany" he pressed, looking at Santana.
"He's right Brit…" Santana swallowed "Go."
Taking this as his cue, Denver pulled Santana towards his colleague, as Brittany looked at Santana apologetically.
She watched them for a while, chatting away animatedly to the woman, Denver's arm wrapped lovingly around Brittany. They looked like the perfect couple, but Santana could see right through it. When she could look no longer, she turned on her heel and began to head out of the building. Brittany turned around to check on Santana and noticed her leaving. Making no apologies to Mrs Collins or Denver, she ran after her, hot on her heels.
"San? San…Where are you going!?" she shouted after her, catching up with her as they got outside of the building.
"Anywhere that's not here" Santana shouted back, her anger getting the better of her.
"Santana wait!" Brittany pleaded, the crack in her voice causing Santana to stop in her tracks.
Brittany hurriedly ran over to her to stand in front of her, hesitantly placing her hands over Santana's tense shoulders. Santana had tears in her eyes and was refusing to look at her.
"Is it the baby?" she asked gently "Is that what you're mad about?"
Santana shifted her gaze to look at Brittany.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me that."
Brittany looked down, as Santana continued.
"I mean we were out the whole night, we had a whole conversation about Denver, and you didn't think once to tell me about the fact that actually, you were trying for a baby with him. Try and work things through, you said, not try for a freakin' baby."
"Well…you never told me about when you were pregnant with Mila" Brittany snapped back defensively.
"Don't" Santana said, raising her hand up firmly "Don't even play that card, when you know that was a completely different situation. I was 18 and scared, and the only reason I didn't tell you, was because I didn't want to ruin your future."
Brittany bit her lip, knowing her comment was out of line.
"And you really think that's what this is about Brit?" Santana continued "That the reason I'm upset because I didn't know you were trying? Because it's not that at all. It's the fact you're in a mess Brittany. This whole situation is just one big giant mess!"
"Meaning?" Brittany grew defensive again.
"You're in denial Brittany. You're not happy, I know you're not and you know you're not. And you're really going to bring a baby into this whole fucked up situation? Do you think that's going to fix things between you two because…really Brit, I don't get it?"
"Santana you don't understand…"
"Then make me understand Brit! Because right now this all seems very rash and you're acting like a different person and it's making me sad!" Santana softened towards the blonde, she looked incredibly vulnerable "Having a child, it's hard work Brittany, I mean I should know! The last thing you want to do is bring a baby into a situation, that to me, quite frankly seems toxic. Do you really want to go through with this? Have a baby to try and fix the problem, only to realise it hasn't worked, and you're tied to Denver for life?"
"Look, San. I appreciate your concern, but we know what we're doing. I'm ready for this baby, and so is he, and we're going to be stronger because of it. Just wait and see"
"Oh, Brittany wake up!" Santana sighed exasperated bringing her palm up to her face "I think you need somebody who knows you better than you know yourself, to point out what's really going on here. All I see is you trying to compensate for this shitty situation you've found yourself in, by having a baby with someone who treats you like crap"
Santana's responses were beginning to irritate Brittany. She had expected her to be upset at first, but now that she had told her the truth, why couldn't Santana just be happy for her? She had never called her stupid like Denver, but right now she was insinuating she was, by making out she couldn't make her own life choices. She found herself growing even more defensive.
"Shitty situation? Alright let's see uhm…stable long-term relationship with gorgeous boyfriend, beautiful home, a great circle of friends, a job that I love, and soon a kid on the way, who's going to have two parents by the way, not one"
Santana's face fell, and simultaneously, Brittany's filled with instant regret. She hadn't meant to say such a hurtful comment, it had just spilled out. She watched as Santana stepped back from her, eyes filling with disbelief.
Brittany knew how much it played on Santana's mind about Puck not being in Mila's life, she had always been the one to assure her about it, Santana couldn't believe she would hurt her like that. She turned to walk away.
"San…Santana come on, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" Brittany said frantically, tears beginning to fall thick and fast.
"Just forget it Brittany!" Santana span around, tears matching Brittany's "Go ahead and carry on with your perfect family life. Just don't come crying to me when it all goes wrong"
And with that, she stormed off into the distance, leaving Brittany crying harder than she'd ever cried before.