''Oh my god, I can't believe I beat the both of you.'' Rachel breaths out excitedly as they walk off of the stage the second the camera's turn off, Santana and Mercedes turn to each other unimpressed frowns clear on their faces and roll their eyes as Rachel jumps around them. ''I am the best, come on say it!'' Rachel chants dancing around with a big grin.
''Can it dwarf.'' Santana growls as she pushes her away. ''Kiss your trophy again and shut up.''
''You are just jealous that I won Santana, don't be, you will surely receive a label offer soon.'' Rachel tells her grinning.
''You only won because both girls already signed to 1021 Entertainment hobbit, they received the offer of a lifetime even before Finals started.'' Brittany tells the dancing girl, she opens her arms as Santana walks over to her giggling as Rachel stops in her tracks and kisses her head. ''You don't need a trophy to show that you won babe, you and C carried this show.''
''You sure did.'' Maribel agrees as she joins their hug, she kisses her daughters cheek and smiles proudly. ''So, so incredible proud of you mija.''
''You are just jeal…''
''Can it dwarf!'' Mercedes and Santana exclaim in unison smirking as Rachel jumps with a squeak, Mercedes turns to the group laughing as she sees them just watching them in amusement and sighs. ''Can we go?''
''Yeah I am ready to leave too.'' Santana agrees.
''Let's go, any of you want to go clubbing?'' Puck asks as they walk out of the building after the girls retrieved their things.
''Let's all go, well all of us except San and B.'' Quinn tells the group. ''I think they need a moment alone so B can explain everything in peace without us hanging around the house.''
Brittany just leans down to Kiss Quinn's cheek as she hears the other agree and smiles slightly. ''Thanks Q.'' She murmurs softly.
Quinn just pulls back with a grin and turns to their friends. ''Come on it's our last night in Vegas, let's get our drink on!''
Brittany shakes her head as Santana giggles and chuckles as their friends all agree quickly hailing a cab after hugging them and telling Esmeralda that it was nice to meet her, she raises an eyebrow as she hears Esmeralda reply that it won't take too long for them to see each other again and turns to her as they drive off leaving one cab for them. ''Where exactly do you live Esme?''
''Still in New York querida.'' Esme replies as they all pile into the cab. ''I just moved from Manhattan to Queens.''
''For real?'' Brittany and Santana ask in surprise.
Esmeralda nods her head and chuckles. ''Yeah, I already heard that all of you live in Queens too.''
''Talk about small word babe.'' Santana mutters giggling, Brittany just nods her head in agreement and smiles.
''I already loved it when I met you but now I love it even more.''
''How did the both of you meet?'' Esmeralda asks as the cab pulls to a stop, Brittany gently slaps her hand away as she tries to pay the driver and hands him some bills.
''Keep the change sir.'' She tells him as she slides out of the car after Santana, she turns to Esmeralda laughing as she sees her glare and walks over to kiss her cheek.
''Stop glaring at me.'' She grabs her hand leading her to the house as Maribel unlocks the door and smiles slightly. ''And I rather keep the story of how San and I met to tell after everything else, it will lighten up the mood.''
''Inside or outside?'' Maribel asks. ''And beer, wine, or something else?''
''Wine.'' Santana and Esmeralda answer in unison, chuckling as they turn to look at each other.
Brittany twists the army ring on her right middle finger after sending Blast off to grab a snack and sighs. ''I'll take a beer Mari.''
Maribel exchanges a sad smile with her daughter, knowing the blonde only drinks whenever she needs the liquid courage and just nods her head. ''Alright.''
''Want to sit outside babe?'' Santana asks softly. ''Blast can sprint around while we talk.''
''You know that you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to right?'' Esmeralda asks sliding up to Brittany as she sees her nervously playing with the ring on her middle finger.
''I want to.'' Brittany murmurs sitting down in the love seat beside Santana, watching Esmeralda and Maribel sit down in the chairs in front of them. ''It's just hard to explain why I was addicted.''
''Well I am almost a hundred percent sure, that you are not to blame for the first thing you took.''
''Well yeah that is one way to put it.'' Brittany whispers, she leans back playing with etiquette on her beer bottle and launches into the story of what happened right after her parents kicked Esmeralda out.
Santana sighs sadly, grabbing Brittany's hands as they start to trembling and slowly switches their position allowing Brittany to recline back against her so she feels her presence and knows that she is surrounded by love.
''So hold up.'' Esmeralda breaths out as Brittany finishes. ''You blame yourself for starting taking shit at high school and tell people that you started it, even though bitch slipped you the first pill?''
''She does.'' Santana answers sadly as Brittany just hums. ''She told me that version at first too, the truth came out after a nightmare weeks later and I asked her why she woke up screaming that, that bitch had to stop giving her that damn pill.''
''I had to fight harder.'' Brittany grumbles shrugging.
''I will stop you right there querida.'' Esmeralda exclaims standing up, she walks over to her and crouches down grabbing both of the hands still in Santana's hold. ''You were thirteen, how much of a fight did you want to put up against her probably also him who held you?''
She shakes her head as Brittany just shrugs and sighs. ''No don't shrug Britt, it's the truth.'' She tells voice soft but firm. ''You were just a fucking child, they are to blame, not you!''
''Now you hear it from her too Britt.'' Maribel whispers softly. ''You are the stronger person and fight to stay sober, hell you even sat through an operation and took Tylenol to deal with the pain afterwards knowing it wouldn't help at all.''
''You serious?'' Esmeralda asks shocked.
''Yeah she had to remove burns on her back after she came back home.'' Santana explains softly, tightening her hold on her girlfriend as her body wracks with the first sob. ''She didn't want to risk taking opioids so she preferred taking Tylenol to dull a bit of the pain, I think you can imagine just how much that shit didn't help at all.''
''Oh Princessa.'' Esmeralda breaths out sadly, she leans forward pulling her in a hug, placing her hands on Santana's shoulder blades the both of them sandwiching Brittany between them and turns her head to kiss her temple. ''I already knew that you were the strongest watching you grow up and making the best out of the situation, but hearing what you had to endure during your teenage years and seeing the woman you became makes me so incredible proud querida.''
''You don't even know how much it means to hear that coming from you Esme.'' Brittany whispers softly as she nuzzles her face against Esmeralda's shoulder intertwining her hand with Santana's on her leg.
''And I will tell you over and over again Britt.'' Esmeralda murmurs softly. ''I am happy to see just how happy you are right now, you didn't allow life to bring you down even though you had quite a few of huge rocks landing in your path. Not everyone has that much strength to conquer that and come out stronger as before.''
''I have a good support system now though.'' Brittany mutters with a small grin, she pulls back wiping away her tears and leans back in Santana's hold while reaching out to squeeze Maribel's hand. ''Mari and San are both making sure that life is looking up, our friends are there to back us up whenever it's needed and before meeting them, I had Sam, he was the first person in my life I told the whole truth and went through hell with me.''
''Don't call them friends B.'' Esmeralda tells her grinning. ''They are your family, you all are not related by blood but your bond is as strong as one a family normally has to have.''
''I have my family back though.'' Brittany murmurs as they lock eyes. ''You raised me Esme, I never told anyone about them but I did tell them about the eighteen year old who got hired to raise me. You put your own life on hold to make sure I was happy, without you I wouldn't have the strength and fight I had back then to kick addictions ass and force myself to think of my future.''
''I will never regret taking that job, I don't care what anyone says, you are my daughter querida.'' Esme murmurs lovingly. ''I never stopped searching for you but I was hella proud to know that you kept everything hidden, sure it made finding you impossible but I knew that you would be smart enough to leave them.''
''I heard your name the first time on TV after sixteen years and started searching for you again, sadly with no avail but suddenly.'' She glances at Maribel and chuckles softly. ''The woman that knew you, walked into the church I attend to every Sunday and work at in my free time asking if anyone knew a woman with the last name Rodriguez, who was the nanny of a little girl named Brittany.''
''You walked in and asked that?'' Brittany asks in amusement.
''You went to church?'' Santana asks with an eyebrow raised the both of them turning to Maribel.
Maribel laughs softly and nods her head. ''Yeah one of my customers told me about a church filled with Latin people asking if I was one of them, I wasn't of course but decided the Sunday after to pay it a visit and try my luck.'' She glances at Esmeralda and chuckles. ''Luck was definitely on my side that day because I walked in and practically bumped into her.''
''I can't thank you enough for this Mari.'' Brittany whispers softly as she pulls her closer to kiss her cheek.
''You don't have to thank me at all Britt.'' Maribel whispers. ''You made sure that all my husbands belongings are where they belong and you even helped me receive the help I had to receive after he passed, if anything I still have to thank you for practically risking your name to make sure the army sees how much they fucked up.''
''It was so worth it.'' Brittany murmurs shrugging.
''Exactly, seeing the smile on your face right now, was so worth walking into that church and finding Esmeralda so don't you dare thinking of a way to thank me Brittany.''
''Oh she used your full name, don't try her mi amor.'' Santana warns giggling.
Brittany just laughs and shakes her head slowly standing up to hug Maribel tightly. ''I love you Mari.''
''I love you too B.''
''So now how did the two of you meet?'' Esme asks smirking as she sits back down facing the both of them as Maribel joins her again clinking their wineglasses.
Brittany chuckles and turns her head to look at her girlfriend with a loving grin as she just chuckles softly murmuring her answer after kissing her cheek. ''Well it all started with a best friend being annoying as always and a letter send overseas.''
Brittany laughs softly and turns to look at Esmeralda nuzzling her head under Santana's chin intertwining their hands on her abs. ''San was my pen pal but letters about every days life turned quickly into texts about deeper subject and feelings started to build up even though we only saw one or two pictures of each other.''
''So you had a long distance relationship?'' Esmeralda asks curiously, Santana shakes her head and smiles sadly.
''No the kidnapping happened before any of us could voice the feelings we had.'' She mutters softly. ''But after B came back home our relationship progressed quite quickly, some thought we went too fast but we never felt like that.''
''If the two of you never felt like you were moving too fast, fuck those who thought that.'' Esmeralda tells them grinning.
''Amen.'' Maribel mutters laughing.
Santana giggles and shakes her head. ''I think mami found herself a friend babe.'' She whispers softly as she kisses the back of Brittany's head, Brittany just hums taking a sip of her beer and chuckles as the women in front of them fall into an easy conversation.
''Yeah I think so too love.'' She turns on her side after climbing over Santana's leg and cuddles into her side nuzzling her face against her chest.
''You okay?'' Santana asks softly as she runs her fingers through soft blonde locks.
''Couldn't be better baby.'' Brittany whispers softly as she curls her arm around her waist, she pats Blast's back as he lays down in front of them smiling as his snout presses against the palm of her hand and sighs softly. ''Sure talking about it is hard, but I am glad to have her back in my life.''
''Just as glad as she is baby.'' Santana replies just as softly, scratching Blast's ear as he leans his head on her hip with a big doggy grin. ''We can all see that she missed you just as much as you missed her.''
She slides down the seat, crossing her ankles as she relaxes them on the chair beside the love seat and pulls Brittany closer, she looks up at the sky and smiles slightly. ''Look up baby.''
''Are those?'' Brittany cuts herself off as she sees another shooting star and smiles slightly. ''Make a wish babe.'' She whispers as she allows her eyes to slip shut.
Santana just hums closing her eyes as she feels Brittany's hand intertwine with her own, Blast's head leaning right on top of them and exhales slowly.
I wish nothing but happiness and love for the both of us and our family.
They both wish as they cuddle closer enjoying the soft voices of Maribel and Esmeralda as they talk about their lives and the gentle warm breeze hitting them, slowly allowing them to drift off with small happy smiles on their faces.