Hi guys! Remember when Brittana got married? Still crying about it. Anyway, here's some new stuff for you, and thank you, thank you all for your support! Also, you're all ALWAYS welcome to tell me if you ever see any glaring errors in anything I write, because sometimes my brain is fried, and if I slip, I love being able to fix it! Hope you all enjoy this one!


All throughout the school day, Brittany fidgeted in her seat, anxious to be through, anxious to be out in the desert, anxious to know just what it was that Holly Holliday, or, her...sort-of mother-in-law…had to share with them. She knew that she wasn't alone in her anxiety, she knew that Santana had tossed and turned in her sleep the whole night before, she knew that there were probably massive craters outside Quinn's from blowing up whatever she could to temper her emotions while everyone else was sleeping, she knew that Sam, being Sam, had probably whispered his concerns late the night before through the phone to Mercedes. They knew who they were and where they'd come from, but really, there was so much more to learn, so many more questions they'd once assumed they'd never get the answers to, until they'd tracked down Holly, and until she was willing to finally answer them.

When the last bell of the day rang, Brittany was out of her seat in a flash, only allowing herself the quickest glance in Santana's direction. They'd be together once they were out of Roswell, Santana and Mercedes would drive together, and Brittany would drive Sam and Quinn, but it felt strange to her, heading separately into their entwined future, strange enough that once she'd made it to the parking lot, she couldn't help herself but to pull out her phone to send an I love you text message to her girlfriend, only to find that she was already the recipient of one that said exactly the same thing. On the drive out to the rock formation where they were to meet Holly, even Quinn was silent, picking at her cuticles in the back seat, words not even at the tip of her tongue. Outside the window, the clouds hung low and dark in the sky, a fall storm brewing somewhere in the distance, and Brittany considered that, as she followed the road ahead of her, finally swerving off and out into the vast expanse of ruddy dirt before her.

Somehow, Mercedes and Santana had beaten them there, and Santana, wearing an unapologetically short dress sat on the hood of Mercedes car, tanned legs crossed, hair blowing across her face in the wind. Brittany swallowed hard at the sight of her, thoughts that she knew she should keep at bay swirling through her head, thoughts that made her involuntarily lick her lips, before she shook them away, and caught Santana's smirk, knowing exactly what effect she had on her alien girl. Though she was enjoying the teasing, Santana waited barely a minute until she was up and at Brittany's side, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her softly, softly on the lips, their muffled hello's and I missed you's inaudible to the rest of the group. It was the sound of an engine in the distance that drew their lips apart, and, as she always did, Brittany kept a protective arm around Santana (and her brother, around Mercedes, she noted) as the three of them positioned themselves to be able to take down any threat against them. When a Jeep pulled up beside the other two vehicles, and wild blonde hair came into sight, Brittany felt herself relax, but only slightly, and the tension in Santana's muscles unraveled at the sight before them. Pulling her hair off of her face, Holly approached them, standing across from the five who'd already gathered.

"Hola, clase." She greeted them as she did her classes in school, trying, Brittany figured, to keep the tone light, but falling more than a little short. There was almost a visible shift that occurred in front of them after that, where her face never changed, but somehow, from Holly, she became Polerma, and inexplicably, it made Brittany draw Santana a little closer. "Right down to business then, okay. It's very strange to me, you know, this unfamiliarity with me that comes from each of you, when I know you all so well."

"You know us in another life." Sam corrected, looking to his sister. "We aren't the same beings that came from Uecridis."

"I beg to differ on that." Holly told them cooly. "You may have these human interests and desires, but what is at the essence of your being means far more than that. It's the reason Cader-, er, Brittany was able to recognize Santana deep within her, it's the reason the pendant will lie on Santana's throat won't kill her. We are who we are, eternally, no matter the body we inhabit, our deepest feelings are the same, our reactions are the same, the other things, those are secondary, and though they manifest in different ways, still reflect our inner selves."

"Holly, we've spent days convincing ourselves that we aren't doomed. What you're saying sounds a lot like you're telling us that history is going to repeat itself." Brittany felt Santana's thumb making circles on the inside of her wrist as she spoke, and she squeezed her hand in response, a silent thank you.

"It's the contrary, actually." Holly corrected. "What I'm saying is that those fibers of your internal makeup remember everything from our hone, they remember the visceral reactions each of you had to the first act of war from our enemies, and they've adapted so that you are prepared to fight in the event of a threat. We were sitting ducks then, we won't be now."

"I'm sorry, do you wanna repeat that in English?" Mercedes asked, feeling brazen enough to partake in the discussion.

"Quinn and Sam have yet to realize the full extent of their abilities, but they're lying dormant inside of you both, just as Brittany's lied dormant until the need to heal rose up within her."

"A baby bird, when I was nine." Brittany remembered, and Santana closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the Brittany she only knew from afar those years ago, taking an animal in her hands and saving him. "But Santana is the only person that I've ever…"

"What each of you are able to do reflects what you couldn't, on Uecridis. Brittany, you are the healer, because you couldn't save the life of your own mate. Sam, you are the warrior, because you wanted your whole life to be able to fight. Quinn, you are the protector, because though a little misguided, all you ever sought was to keep your family safe."

"The protector? So, what, Brittany can bring people back to life, Sam can shoot lasers out of his eyes, or whatever, and I can, what? Build a bomb shelter?"

"I don't know how your powers will manifest, all I know is that they will, when they become necessary."

"Holly." Santana's voice cracked a little when she started to speak, almost molding herself into Brittany's body. "The way you say that still makes it sound like we're preparing for a war."

"Because the last time, we weren't. Whether the threats against you are human or alien, you need to be prepared."

"Human, as in Hummel?" Sam asked her, and Santana noticed, before anyone else, the way Holly sucked in a breath.

"I believe, though I'm not entirely certain, that as of right now, Burt Hummel may be the very least of our human problems."

"I'm sorry, what?" Santana nearly shrieked. "The least of our problems? He point blank accused Brittany of a murder committed in 1947, and murder that-"

"You can say it." Holly clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth when Santana faltered, a strange, white hot fear flaring up within her. "A murder that I committed. I killed seven people that day, five men and two women, four of which were not much older than you are now. I brought my hand to their throats and I took the life from their bodies, but I did it because they got too close to you. But, what would have happened to you...to all of us, what did happen to Yiofre, would have been a fate far worse. I am not sorry for the deaths of those people, I will never be sorry, because I was protecting my family. But for all these years, I've been in hiding from the United States Army, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and their special branch that was designed specifically to investigate our crash and the existence of extraterrestrial life on this planet, and much like his father, I am certain that Burt Hummel wouldn't hesitate to get them involved if he believes there is something going on right under his nose. The local sheriff is just one man with a Glock 22, any one of you could take him down easily. It's the others you have to worry about, they have weapons beyond your wildest imagination."

"And they're..." Quinn started, but couldn't bring herself to finish.

"I have reason to believe that they're working undercover again here in Roswell. I don't know who, and I don't know where, but, at risk of quoting The X-Files, trust no one, outside of the six of us."

"I, I need to say something." Brittany looked at Holly, and held Santana closer to her just in case. "I want to trust you, Holly, I do, because it seems like your story adds up with the memories Santana has, and the little that the rest of us recall, but, how are we to know that we can trust you? Maybe this is paranoid behavior, but, we sought you out after the shooting in the diner, what if this is all a trap? What if the information you have was taken from the real Polerma, we haven't even seen that you have any of the same abilities as us."

"Britt, I have, remember?" Santana whispered in Brittany's ear, inaudible to everyone else, not entirely surprised by Brittany's concern, because her girl was cautious like that, and knowing, though Brittany had not spoken of it, that she'd weighed every possible risk in her head of each and every person they came in contact with. "The note."

"I know." Brittany murmured back. "I just...I need to be be sure we are safe, that you are safe. This is too important, I can't make a misstep, not after the last time, I just...can't."

"I understand." She nodded. "And I love you."

"You're wise not to trust me." Holly broke Brittany and Santana from their hushed discussion. "But what I have to show you will hopefully prove to you that I'm who I say that I am. Come with me."

It shocked Brittany, the way that Sam and (especially) Quinn both deferred to her, waiting for the small nod, telling them that they would go. Brittany took a firm grip on Santana's hand as they took lead in following Holly up the barely worn path, toward the large rock formation that loomed before them. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Santana noticed the way Quinn, taking up the rear, kept her eyes on any possible escape route, should the need for one arise, and she nodded a small gratitude toward the one who was newly labeled as their protector. When Holly approached a flat area hidden by brush among the rough stone, and she pressed the palm of her hand to the stone surface, someone, Mercedes, possibly, gasped out loud as the stone slid away, like a doorway, and revealed the interior of a cave.

"Stay behind me?" Brittany pressed her lips to Santana's ear, almost a plea, and Santana nodded, falling back between she and Sam, but not releasing her hold on Brittany's hand as she tilted her head back to the other four, mouthing to them. "If anything happens, run like hell."

Holly stood in the center of the cave, when the others came to join her, and it seemed to house nothing more than a small cot and several dozen books. Though it gave no impression of being threatening, the three alien beings still remained on high alert, while Santana and Mercedes remained as close as possible to Brittany and Sam. Holly gave them a moment to adjust to the low light, then using the same method she had outside, opened a hole in back wall of the cave, and they followed her into another room, one lit in sickly yellow.

"What is...?" Brittany began, but didn't bother to finish, when she saw the three sac like chambers that lined the back wall.

"I'll give you a moment." Holly nodded, stepping back through the hole, and leaving them alone to process.

"This is real." Quinn confirmed immediately upon Holly's departure. "I don't remember it, but I know I've been here before."

"Yeah." Sam stepped back and took in what was in front of him. "I have no idea how we got out of here, but…"

"Britt, baby, what is this place?" Santana asked, trying to read the flurry of emotions that ran through her, the emotions that came solely from Brittany and latched on to every fiber of her being.

"It's...it's where we were born, reborn, hatched, whatever it is." She closed her eyes for a moment, sucking in a deep breath, concentrating on the weight of Santana's hand in her own, trying to be a leader, since for the first time, Quinn and Sam both were allowing her to be. "Holly is who she says she is. There is no more doubt in my mind."

"Brittany." Santana looked to her, taking her other hand and turning her body so they stood across from each other.

"I'm okay." She stiffened her back and met Santana's eyes. "I'm just, looking at this, thinking how improbable and lucky it was that we made it to this planet alive. Holly is the one who saved us, on this planet, and our last."

"So you think that we should trust her then?" Quinn asked, and Brittany turned her attention from Santana to look at Quinn, Sam and Mercedes.

"Yes. We trust her with our lives."

Santana found herself unable to break from the trance she'd sort of fallen under at the sight before her, staring at the webbed casing, staring at the mechanism that had brought the other half of her soul to her side. Her hands wa inexplicably drawn to the first of the pods, and she ran her fingers delicately over the pliable outside, feeling the gelatinous material that oozed a little from within, and then stopped when she brushed something hard, and her entire body sparked. Drawn by an invisible force, Santana sunk her whole hand into the gel, and dug through, wrapping her fingers around the most familiar of forms and feeling her heart burn and hammer in her chest as she pulled upward, freeing what she sought from it's confines.

"Britt." Santana wasn't even sure she'd spoken her name out loud, electricity buzzed through her, and she clutched at the source of blue heat between her breasts through her shirt. Almost instantly, Brittany was at her side, encouraging Santana to unfurl her finger and show her what she already knew was there. "It's..."

"The other one...mine."


The sun was low in the sky, almost dipping below visibility, and the sky was turning the deepest indigo as the rainbow stars rose. Anticipation crackled in the air, as if it were a physical entity, and Caderyna walked, her brother at her side, toward the place where they would all meet. It had been too many hours since she'd seen Reyneva last, more, perhaps, than she'd spent apart from her since her early days at the palace, and her skin itched and jumped, a physical need for her always present. It was to be expected, she knew, from Reyneva's long explanations of soul bonding (though, truly, Caderyna no longer needed them, her own feelings toward her lover were proof enough) but still, it was strange to her, how difficult it was to go even a single hour without seeing her, touching her, breathing her in, let alone multiple. She couldn't wait until her betrothed was at her side again, she couldn't wait until they completed their joining, and were back in each other's embrace.

"Cady, you're sure this is what you want, right?" Oskari asked his sister, stopping to take her hand and look into her wide dark eyes. "I know you care for her, but this is an eternal commitment, and I don't want you to do such a thing because you think it's what's best for us."

"Kari, I know it's impossible for you to understand this from the outside, and I thank you for not being as vocal about is as Azar is, but, I more than care for her, I so much more than care for her. It's like, she runs through me, every moment of every day. Without her in the fibers of my being, I feel like maybe I would cease to exist. The love I feel for her, it's more real than the stars in the sky or the sand beneath our feet. She's my everything, from the moment I met her, even before I understood what was happening to me, it was like everything just clicked into place, it was like I wasn't even real before she was at my side. I'm not committing to her eternally today, because I already did that. I committed eternally to her before I ever knew her, and maybe before I was even born. Her soul and mine, they're wound so tightly together that I don't know where mine ends and her's begins. Today, we will stand up and make it official, but it's only because it's the thing we are supposed to do, and it's only because in doing so, in exchanging these pendants, we'll be offering each other eternal protection. Reyneva is already my bedmate, my love, my partner, in this life, and any other. Formalities don't make this any more real for me."

"This world we're in now, it's so different than the one we came from, Cady. We were brought up not knowing that this thing that set us apart from the others were souls, and now here you are, soulbonded, something that seems like the work of fantasy tales."

"I don't think even the greatest story tellers could put into words what it is I feel for her."

"Well then, I'm happy for you." Oskari nodded, always his sister's biggest supporter, much as she was his. "Today you'll become queen."

"Today I'll become queen." She repeated. "I'm glad though, that only you, Polerma and Azar will be present for this. I'm glad that Neva is breaking the tradition of her crown and keeping this from being a public affair."

"She knows you well, my sister." He let a smile come to his mouth. "She knows that you're not one for publicity, because even when we were raised to be...what we were raised to be, we were still kept in the shadows, and we were still taught to be silent."

"It's not that I want to hide though, it's not, it's just that, I think she and I, and what we have, it's too special to make a spectacle of. The waterfall, it's where we met, away from the eyes of everyone else, and it only makes sense for us to continue this journey at that very place."

"You're quite the romantic."

"You could learn a bit from me." Caderyna ribbed him a bit. "Find a girl of your own, be she your soulmate or not."

"The only girl I know is Azar, and she's certainly not the one for me."

"She'd eat you alive." Cady laughed, shaking her head. "I feel for the ones she brings home, I'm always afraid she'll rip them to emotional shreds."

"Sometimes I wonder if she has a soul herself."

"She does." Caderyna shook off the notion, turning serious. "She just guards herself, she's cautious, I understand it, but perhaps someday, there will be someone who makes her throw all caution away so she can feel even a fraction of what her sister and I feel for each other."

"Well, that one won't be me. But perhaps you're right, perhaps I should seek out the company of others."

"I'd advise it. It would do you well, taking a break from your studies and enjoy yourself."

"There's still much I have to lean about this world, Cady. It's amazing to me that I can feel so foolish about a place that's only a few days walk from where we gone from."

"Truly a world away though." Caderyna sighed, never choosing to think of the place they came from, the place where she'd been raised thinking her only duty in life was to kill the one whom she now loved so wholly and completely. "Embrace it, Kari, there's so much more to learning than there is in those books. Most of what I know, I've learned at Neva's side, and she's been my best possible teacher."

"So you've said." Oskari's antennae quirked, and Caderyna shoved him playfully. "I'll think about it, but first let's worry about getting you to meet your queen on time."

Reyneva arrived at their meeting place first, attended by her mother and sister, and fussing with the material of the dress garment she'd chosen, fixing the crown she only wore for ceremonial occasion on her head. It didn't matter, truly, what she wore, her Caderyna had seen her in far simpler clothing, and in nothing at all, but still, she'd wanted to look her best for her mate, wanted to mark the start of the rest of their lives together in finery. This was different, she knew, than the ceremony that joined her parents, they'd had words promising lifelong devotion, and her mother had accepted the crown she was gifted with, in front of onlookers from near and far. But her ceremony, her true joining, of body and soul, with Caderyna would be different. Reyneva had learned of the Dales Stones in reading through accounts of her grandmother. She'd learned of capturing the essence of the bond between true soulbonded mates, of their power for both protection and connection, and though pairings like she and Caderyna were few and far between, she'd gathered all the information she could on the stones through the help of Polerma. They'd each choose a simple stone, it didn't matter much about them, but that they were small enough to be worn, and, in holding them in clasped hands, having a third party speak an incantation of sorts, their combined power would change the molecules of the rock into something unmatchable, capturing their very essence inside.

Waiting, Reyneva rubbed her chosen stone with her smallest finger, concerned, truly, that perhaps she was being foolish, that she'd filled Caderyna's head with these tales of stones that couldn't be touched but by the two they joined, stones that allowed the wearer to feel the heartbeat of their other, stones that would wrap them each in a protective blanket of sorts, a blanket that mimicked the other's embrace. She worried, though Polerma verified that she'd seen the stones of her daughters' grandparents firsthand, that this was nothing but myth, and she worried, though she knew it changed nothing of their everlasting bond, that she'd disappoint her love. It was Azar that broke Reyneva from her thoughts, coming into her space and tugging the bunched robes on her sister's frame, maintaining a tight smile as she did, much to the annoyance of Reyneva.

"I'm glad you're keeping this private from the kingdom. Mother really does fill your head with silly romance, leaving little room for practicality." Azar huffed. "A Dales Stone ceremony, Neva? Really? You've gone out of your head because of this girl, bringing back long dead traditions and truly believing they're real. The soulbonding is madness enough, but this..."

"Azar. There's no madness in knowing that Cady is my one, my other half. Disbelieve all you want, but tell me, how was it that I knew her from the moment I saw her? Tell me how she and I were born on the very same day, and escaping her fate of ending my life, she found me anyway, and she loved me instead."

"Don't speak of her intended fate. I've just learned to believe that she does love you, at least, and I won't stop this ceremony, because I know she brings you happiness, but today of all days, don't remind me she was born to assassinate you."

"She was born to be my mate, in every sense of the word. What those...soulless creatures meant for her is another story. Don't test me, Azar, because I love you dearly. Don't test me, by thinking she, or her brother, for that matter, are anything but the most good, or-"

"Or what? You'll banish me? Lock me in a prison?"

"Or I'll reconsider the liberties you've always been allowed." Reyneva hissed, not liking reminding her sister of her own position of power, but finding it necessary.

"You'll reconsider the liberties?" Azar snarked back.

"It would suit you well to remember who the first born is, who the queen is, and who will soon be crowned the same."

"Oh, this is what we'll do now? Well then, your highness, by all means, do as you wish." Azar snipped, sarcasm thick in her words.

"Zar-"

"Save it. You have no need for giving me an apology, do you? "You've said it yourself, you are the queen. I'll keep quiet with my opinions."

Before Reyneva could speak again in response, she saw Caderyna and Oskari making their way up the worn path to the edge of the stream. In response to the presence of her other half, Reyneva's antennae perked, and her eyes dilated with a want for her, a want to feel the beat of Caderyna's heart against her own, a want to take her in her arms after a half a day apart, a want to press their mouths together, and relish in every sensation that brought her. Caderyna, as she typically did, even after so much time of togetherness had passed since their first meeting, felt her skin prickle and flush, deep purple concentrating on her cheeks and neck, revealing to everyone present the extent of her feelings toward Reyneva.

"My Cady." Reyneva approached, taking Caderyna by the hand and helping her the remainder of the way.

"Hi." Caderyna whispered, awestruck that her love could look more beautiful than she typically did, and feeling the sides of her mouth upturn as Reyneva brushed her warm cheek with the back of her hand. "You look..."

"So do you. You're sure, my love, that this is what you want?" Reyneva asked softly, always, always making sure Caderyna was comfortable with what their next step was, always making sure she had full understanding, since she'd learned so much that was new upon her arrival.

"More sure than I've ever been of anything. It's you, Neva, this is all that I want, to belong to you and have you belong to me, in all the ways the universe has to offer."

"What we want is the same then." Reyneva could hardly find her voice, her vocal cords constricting at Caderyna's powerful words. "Then we'll do this, we'll hold the essence of the full soul we make close to our hearts, and I will feel you with me, no matter how far I travel."

"Well I hope not too far, not without me." One of Caderyna's antennae fell, and Reyneva squeezed her hand in an effort to perk it back up.

"Never too far, I couldn't bear that." Reyneva promised. "Come on, the others are waiting."

"Your sister looks angry. Is everything alright?"

"My sister always looks angry, leave her be, I won't have her ruin our happiness."

Together, they reached the peak of the falls, where the water tumbled over, oozing and sloshing at the bottom. The others waited for them, Azar and Oskari standing on the either side of Polerma. Hand in hand, Caderyna and Reyneva took their place in front of them, and could look nowhere but into the deepest depths of the others eyes. From the pockets of their garments, each took out a stone, the one in Reyneva's hand a little larger and slightly more misshapen than the one Caderyna held (the result of an arduous effort to find the one most perfect, because she felt the strongest desire to prove herself most worthy of her queen), and as they joined their other hands, two sets of fingers entwining around them, they pressed together. At the way they clinked, both Caderyna and Reyneva felt a jolt of electricity, one stronger than the one they'd normally experienced when they touched, and Reyneva felt a flutter in her throat. It was here, the day she'd dreamed about from the time she was a small child, the day she was unsure would ever come for her, with a person she was never even sure existed. Her precious gem, her Caderyna, her love, her life, her eternal mate. She didn't hear her mother speak the words, words in a version of their native tongue so old it was hard to distinguish from nonsense at all, all she heard was the sound of Caderyna's breathing, her heart, her everything, rushing through her as the palm of her hand began to warm, and the stones began to flatten between them.

When Caderyna raised her hand from atop Reyneva's, at the repeated instruction of Polerma, the once silver stones glowed a bright yellow, the flecks of their old form glistening inside. Though on any other day, Reyneva would have drawn to her sisters attention that she had been right, the thought didn't cross her mind, no thought crossed her mind but that she and Caderyna were truly what she believed the were, and that she held in the palm of her hand something so precious, something gifted to her by Caderyna, that, now transformed, held a gift far greater. Gently, Reyneva liberated the intricate metal chain from beneath the garment that covered Caderyna's chest, the chain she'd given to her when asking to commit to her officially, and after pressing her mouth, for just a brief instant, to Caderyna's forehead, she used her sparking touch to mold the metal around the stone. It glowed, brighter even than it had in the palm of Reyneva's hand, and before she could do the same to the chain on Reyneva's neck, one she'd fashioned with her brother's help, Caderyna had to bring her hand to her love's face, amazed by the way her purpled cheeks glowed bright in the yellow light.

"The crown, Neva." Polerma nudged her daughter gently, once Caderyna had finished fastening the stone in it's setting, reminding her of her worldly duties, while she was caught up in something so much greater.

"Right." Reyneva nodded, though her eyes never left Caderyna's as she adjusted to the sensation of a separate heartbeat coursing through her, one that quickly evened to match her own. "As your true destined mate, I've asked you to join officially with me today for the rest of eternity, and you did, making me happier than I've ever been, Cady. But now, as the queen of Uecridis, I ask you to sit by my side, sharing with me the power and position this lifetime has afforded me. I ask you to rule with me as queen, because you've already taken the position as queen of my heart."

"Not the lines." Azar muttered under her breath, a stickler for the purest form of tradition when it came to the order of their kingdom, but she was quickly silenced by a single glare from Polerma.

"I will. I accept the duties and responsibilities of the crown. I accept the path before me to lead the people of this great planet with dignity and kindness." Caderyna nodded along with her words, having practiced them over and over again, wanting nothing more than to honor and respect the etiquette of Reyneva's people. She waited, quietly, until Reyneva moved close to her, settling the plain band that matched her own upon her head, then lowered her voice barely above a whisper. "Though you were already queen when I came to know you, and a wonderful one at that, I believe you reign is even more powerful in my heart, my love."


"Guys, what do you think?" Sam asked, breaking their connection. Brittany jerked her hand away, closing the pendant in her palm and burying it deep within her pocket.

"I...yeah, sure." Santana mumbled, having absolutely no idea what they'd been talking about, her mind still cloudy with thoughts of what basically equated to a marriage ceremony for Caderyna and Reyneva, something more beautiful than any earthly ritual she'd ever seen. "Whatever you think."

"Whatever you think?" Mercedes quirked an eyebrow, knowing full well that Santana hadn't heard, or else she'd have an opinion one way or another. "So then we don't tell Holly whether we trust her or not? Keep her from thinking she's gotten in?"

"No." Brittany shook her head quickly, reaching back for Santana's hand. "I'm sorry. This place is just...overwhelming. I'm against that idea. If we trust her, we trust her, and we give full disclosure. The worst thing we can do at this point in time is to play any games. If the threat against us is as real as Holly says, we need true allies, and she's the only one."

"But." Quinn argued, crossing her arms over her chest. "You put this in my head now, Brittany, and I'm not going to stop thinking that you're right."

"Well that's a first." Sam muttered to Mercedes.

"Shut up, Sam. We'll be revealing our biggest weakness, our humanness. How do we know that these emotions are even something she feels, and not a result of our hybrid-ness. We could be putting the nail on our own damn coffins."

"Quinn. She already knows each of our biggest weaknesses." Brittany tried hard not to let her eyes cast to Santana, but it proved impossible. "It's obvious by what she knows of our specialized powers. And, emotion there, back where...we came from, if she feels things in the way I've felt what it's like to feel in our old life, all human feeling dulls in comparison."

"The circle of trust is getting too big. Let it be known that I'm entirely against letting another person in."

"And I'm entirely for it." Brittany reiterated.

"I was just saying a compromise might be to believe what she said, but not tell her that." Sam shrugged, trying to keep the peace.

"No. It's all or nothing. We need her protection, we let her in. End of story." Brittany pronounced.

"I don't know who died and made you queen." Quinn snipped, and Santana felt a coldness rush through her body, making her grip Brittany's hand tighter. "Whatever, you'll all vote against me anyway."

"Oh, please, enough with the self-pity." Santana rolled her eyes hard. "Brittany is trying to do what keeps us safe and you know it. Stop contradicting her for contradiction's sake. Let it go."

"Fine." Quinn shocked herself with her own acquiescence, and Brittany looked at Santana, impressed. "We better not die though."

"We're not going to die, Quinn." Sam promised her. "We're going to learn, we're going to practice, and if the time comes, we'll fight."

With a final nod all around, confirming that the decision was made, Brittany and Santana, side by side stepped through first, the other three falling in line behind them. Much to their surprise, Holly was sitting on the cot, large knitting needles and green yarn in her hand, working on what appeared to be a sweater. When she noticed the presence of her guests before her, she stopped and looked up at them, a grin creeping across her face.

"What, you've never seen someone knit before?"

"No, it's not that." Mercedes spoke first. "It's just...don't you have other things to do?"

"I've been on this planet almost seventy years. I've pretty much done all there is to do, and taught myself all there I'd to learn. Knitting's a hobby of mine, I've got a whole closet full of sweaters and scarves I've never even worn."

"Is it behind another wall?" Sam looked around, and Holly laughed.

"You think I live here? This place is a bunker, I guess, when I'm between identities, trying to reestablish myself. Right now, I've got a pretty big house over in West Roswell. Can't be a teacher in the district if you don't live there, so I've had it in my possession for a while, waiting for the day you found me. Anyway, enough about me, did you make a decision?"

"You're who you say you are." Brittany nodded, since she was the one who'd originally voiced her concerns. "Now tell us what it is you want to do."

"First and foremost? Publicly connect yourselves. I know you've been intentionally doing to opposite, but you're terrible at it. Any idiot can see you two making eyes at each other from the moon." She pointed her thumb to Brittany and Santana. "Not that I'm surprised, it was the same thing back home, but the less you look like you're sneaking around, the less attention you draw to yourself."

"I think that's a terr-" Quinn started, before Holly cut her off.

"And you need to stop looking so suspicious of everyone. I have far more reason to distrust everyone than you do, but I don't make in known. Do something fun, join a team or a club, become a cheerleader, or, I don't know, maybe something less peppy, I guess? Is there an anti-cheerleading squad. Whatever, do something, stop skulking around."

"Did Holly just tell Quinn the same thing we've been telling her for years?" Sam murmured to Brittany.

"Did Holly just tell me I can date Santana and let people see?"

"Yes to both. Advanced hearing. And you- Holly shrugged, tapping her ear before pointing to Sam "You're doing the best job of being an all-American kid. Keep it up, I don't know when shit is going to hit the fan, but I know it will, and I'd like to prolong it as long as possible."

"Well that's...comforting." Santana rolled her eyes a little, though her heart still leapt with excitement about Holly giving her permission for the thing she wanted most.

"It's reality, sweet cheeks. This whole planet is inhabited by ignoramuses, terrified of things they don't know. Minus the evil murderous beings that made up four percent of the population of our home planet, it wasn't like this at all. I'm still adjusting."

"So what else to we do?" Brittany asked hearing the pang of home sickness in Holly's voice.

"Absolutely nothing but wait. We can't combat our enemies until we know who they are, and until they come for us first. Give me some time, and hopefully, I'll at least figure out who they are."

"But what about these secondary abilities?" Quinn asked, her palm twitching.

"Look, I'm going to be honest about something." Holly sighed. "I'm not entirely sure how any of your genetic makeup was designed to work. It was Yiofre who had that knowledge, and since he's dead...Anyway, all I kind was that they were supposed to develop as you needed them, but I can't imagine that working with the abilities you already have wouldn't help to hone them. Learn about yourselves, learn about your bodies."

"Wanky." Santana couldn't help herself, earning herself a chuckle from Holly and a glare from Quinn.

"We'll meet again, when I have more to tell you."

Turning away, Holly left the chambers, leaving the others to follow behind her, Brittany sparing a final glance in the direction of the place that housed their incubation pods, before wrapping and arm around Santana's waist, led them from the place. Holly had disappeared by the time they made it back to their cars, her Jeep long gone, only a trail of dust indicating she'd been there at all. They all stood for a moment, before Sam made the first move toward the car, pecking Mercedes on the cheek, and looking to his sister and Quinn. Brittany's goodbye to Santana took longer, kissing her twice on the lips, murmuring more I love you's and promising to see her later and figure out what everything meant for them, their new instructions from Holly and the stone weighing heavy in Brittany's pocket looming over them.

Quinn, clearly miffed by Holly's instructions, grumbled in the back seat for the entirety of the trip back to Roswell. Her desire to be human wasn't like Brittany and Sam's, and why would it be? Brittany and Sam had a human life to fit into, Quinn pretty much just existed on Earth, a ward of the state with a foster mother who couldn't care less about her, no romantic interests, no any interests really. She'd assumed someday she'd be going back to where'd she'd come from, she'd never imagined in her wildest dreams that this far off place that she'd dreamed of since before she could even write her human name for all intents and purposes no longer existed. Their lives were on earth, forevermore, and that was a difficult thing for her to reconcile. When Sam pulled up to drop her off at home, she mumbled a goodbye and shouldered her backpack, Brittany watching her go as she did.

"I think, maybe, if a soul is unhappy, it's unhappy no matter what bodily form it takes." Brittany pondered aloud to Sam.

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his brow.

"I don't believe Azar was happy on Uecridis either. It's like, she's always seeking something she can't find. I don't know, never mind."

"I feel bad for her, you know. She's bitchy and sort of intolerable, but she's our bitchy and intolerable."

"She just doesn't let anyone in. And us, well, we were the ones she trusted the least back then, so, I guess it kind of sucks for her that she got saddled with us in this quest to find Reyneva."

"And then we find Santana, and she's got this instant connection with you, but, she can't really wrap her head around Quinn."

"I'm really not sure they were on the best of terms when she died. I don't know, I know Holly said that Azar grew to trust Caderyna, and then that trust was shattered after, but I'm not sure she ever truly did, and I think Azar's relationship with Reyneva was really fractured because of it. You know, Polerma was their mom, her perspective on this could be colored by what she wanted to see for her daughters."

"It's funny, Britt, we always thought Quinn was the most alien, and here you are, actually understanding what happened back there."

"Because of my connection with Santana, it brings up a lot. I don't know, it's weird, I'm not sure how I feel about it."

"The connection?"

"No, no." Brittany shook her head quickly. "Remembering these things. Even the good memories, they're really intense."

"I saw what Santana found." Sam confessed.

"Yeah." Brittany nodded slowly, reaching into her pocket to wrap her fingers around the stone. "I'm not surprised she was the one who did, since I had these really strong feelings as soon as I was in the presence of Reyneva's."

"So they're basically like their wedding rings, right?"

"It's so much more than that, Sam. I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm not really ready to talk about them right now. That's why I didn't say anything in front of everyone else."

"I get it." He nodded. "But, I just want to remind you what you said about full disclosure. You're dealing with something you don't understand."

"I understand it more than you think." She snapped at him, and then immediately felt sorry. "Look, I'll tell Quinn, just give me a little time. It's something really sacred, and I need to deal with it with Santana first, okay?"

"Yeah, Britt, sure, whatever. Just be careful, you're playing with something bigger than us."

"So much bigger, Sam." She whispered, looking out the window as the heavy raindrops that had begun to call from the sky. "So much bigger than you could possibly understand."


Dinner at home with the Pierces was uneventful, though, as Susan ribbed Brittany a little as to whether she'd maybe asked out a cute waitress girl, and Evan joined in on the teasing, Brittany couldn't help but smile a little, thinking how much her parents would enjoy it when she was actually able to bring Santana home. Across town, at the Lopezes, Santana ate alone, as was usually the case, her father working the counter at the diner (not that he had cooled down enough to speak to her yet anyway), and her mother filling in in the kitchen, because Puck had an entire week of extra football practice in preparation for Friday's game. When she finished the sandwich that she'd grabbed from downstairs, Santana sat working through her homework, finishing her essay on Wide Sargasso Sea, and occasionally letting her mind wander to Holly's words, because the last time, we weren't. It terrified her, the talk of preparations, honestly, because she knew she had little to offer in a fight, and she knew, if she was going to function as more than a weakness for Brittany, she needed to find her own way to contribute.

Though she normally heard Brittany in advance when she was approaching her window, the heavy rain that pattered on glass had silenced her approach, and it was the almost unbearable heat that burned between her breasts which notified her that Brittany was near by. Before Brittany could even rap against the glass, Santana was up on her feet, raising the window and offering her very wet girlfriend a hand inside. They exchanged quick kisses and hellos as Brittany quickly changed into the pajamas Santana tossed her way, and after quickly waving her hand over the clothes she'd had on, to leech them of their dampness, she pulled the second stone pendant out of the pocket of the jeans. It still glowed brilliant yellow in her palm, radiating heat, an effect, she figured that was a result of it being in close proximity to it's mate, and she sat on the edge of Santana's bed, holding it tightly.

"They remember each other." Santana tugged hers free from beneath her shirt. "It only glows like this when yours is here."

"Does it hurt on your skin?" Brittany asked, brow furrowing in concern.

"If doesn't hurt, really, it just...it feels, I guess, like when we kiss or have sex, and my body burns, except the burn is all in one place. It's not a bad feeling, it feels like you."

"I don't like that the feeling you associate with me has to be burning."

"Britt, fire is so much more then a vehicle for pain and destruction. Mankind's greatest gift, right?"

"That's another way to look at it." A slow smile spread across Brittany's lips, and Santana nudged her knees apart a little so she could stand between them and place her hands on Brittany's upper arms. "I'm so glad you found this."

"Me too. I thought about it a lot, and I wondered if it was lost forever, in the whole mess of the crash, but you had it close to you the whole time. I wonder why you weren't wearing it though."

"I wonder..." Brittany started, the took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Santana's. "Reyneva put it on Caderyna, I wonder if after I was transformed into my human body, if I was waiting to find you to do that again."

"Brittany." Santana could feel the gravity of her words, pressing her. It was different, she knew then when Brittany had unknowingly placed her chain around her neck for safekeeping. It was different, because with the knowledge of what the stones actually were, they were completing, in this life, a sacred ritual. Closing her eyes for a moment, Santana leaned down and kissed Brittany slow, deep, pouring every bit of her emotion into a singular action, before she opened her mouth the speak again, feeling how raspy her voice had become. "Is that still something you want me to do?"

"It is." She nodded slowly, as Santana covered the pendant held in her palm with her own hand. "If you don't think it's too weird."

"I don't even know if it's weird, and I don't even think I care. I mean, I was married, or, joined, whatever they call it, to you before I was born, and I don't think it's wrong to want you give you back, in it's entirety, something that was already yours. I want to know if they still work the same, I want to know if we'll always feel each other's heartbeats now, and mostly, I want you to gave every kind of protection you possibly can. Holly said mine killed a soldier when he ripped it from Reyneva's neck, I just...God, I wanted to sound more romantic than this, I'm sorry."

"You're very romantic." Brittany chided her a little, poking at her side. "But you're right, I just, wow. So when we announce that we're dating, do we tell everyone that we were actually married on another planet?"

"Honestly." Santana laughed at Brittany's joke, flicking her ear. "We could go with the truth if we tell the, we joined the Tin Hat Society at school."

"You mean the UFO Hunters Club?" Brittany giggled in return, thinking of the group led by Jacob Ben Israel that sounded like a major threat to them, but really, involved a bunch of the AV Club who fabricated videos of their findings. "Only in Roswell, Santana. But I think we should just go with mom, dad, the cute girl from the diner asked me out."

"Your mother will be thrilled."

"Yes, yes she will." Brittany kissed Santana's nose, then turned serious. "Okay, are you ready for this?"

"I am."

Santana took in all the air she could manage and carefully lifted the necklace from Brittany's hand. They kept their eyes locked as Brittany pulled back her hair, and the heat in Santana's chest grew tenfold, hissing, almost, as Caderyna's stone passed over it. Twice, Santana tugged at the chain in her hands, and the metal fell apart easily, as if she were tearing paper. When the stone hit Brittany's chest, she felt the pure energy that radiated from it, tingling down to the very tips of her toes. When the chair magically repaired itself at the nape of Brittany's neck, the surge that released from both stones would have knocked Santana to the ground had Brittany not grabbed onto her waist. It was intense, more intense than anything either of them had ever experienced, and Brittany swore, as a thick coppery taste filled her mouth, that actual blue waves came off of their bodies, like a beacon, of sorts. Several moments passed before the feeling began to fade, but when it did, the yellow light grew brighter, brighter, until it dimmed to only the lowest light.

"Do you..." Santana trailed off, swallowing the thickness in her throat at the sensation of a second heart beating almost in sync with her own once the light had faded. "It's you. I...I'll always know..."

"We'll always know. Wow. I feel your heart close to mine so much, but this us the strangest feeling."

"Like it's actually beating inside yours, right?"

"That's exactly what it is." Brittany marveled. "I know it's not actually in there, but, I just feel like, there is no possible way to keep each other safer than with each other's hearts beating inside our own."

"I agree. I agree one-hundred percent."