I have a message at the end of the chapter but that can wait. Please enjoy this chapter!

"Brett, can you hear me?" Nina asked as she shined a small light into his eye. Brett's eyes darted around the room. "Brett, my name is Major Thompson. I am the doctor on your case. I need you to calm down so we can access you" Owen explained. Brett did not respond or even look at the two people that were talking to him. "You are in the hospital. You have a tube down your throat to help you breathe. We are hoping to take it out soon" Major Thompson explained. Brett's hand came flying up and grabbed the tube that was going down his trachea.

"NO NO NO" Nina yelled also grabbing the tube and his hand, anything to keep Brett from pulling it out. She didn't want him pulling the tube with the balloon still inflated, which would damage his trachea badly. "Do not pull it out, we will take it out but you need to be calm" Nina explained but Brett continued to pull on it. "He is breathing over the vent" Owen noticed. Major Thompson walked over to the door and opened it wide. "We need some help in here and an extubation tray STAT" Owen yelled to the staff at the nurse's station of the ICU. "What's going on?" Santana yelled. One of the men in uniform was holding her back from going too close to Brett's room. "You do not get to know confidential information," The man said to Santana getting into her face. "You better back the fuck up NOW" San yelled back.

As back up walked into the room to help Brett, Major Thompson stepped out. He walked over and placed himself between Santana and the serviceman before she took a swing at him and ended up in jail. "Listen to me," Owen said loudly. "Major, you cannot tell her anything," the man said. Owen whipped around to face him, "I am done playing these games. Brett Pierce is one of us. His family had no idea where he was, as he sat in an ICU bed. Now they are here coming thousands of miles to see him. I am going to give them an update because they deserve to know. If you have a problem with it then call General Kennedy and he can talk to me" Owen said.

He turned back around to face the Latina. "Brett is fighting against the tube," he said. Santana took a deep breath, "is that bad?" she asked. Owen shook his head, "no. it means that he is breathing on his own. We are going to take the breathing tube out." he explained. Santana smiled, "so he is going to be okay?" she asked. "His brain is responding but without talking to him, we do not know the extent of his Traumatic brain injury" Major Thompson explained. "Owen" Nina yelled from the door. Both Major Thompson and Santana turned to look at her. She was standing at the door of Brett's room looking distressed. "Get her in here. We need to calm him down or he is going to hurt himself" she yelled before going back into the room.

Major Thompson placed his hand behind her back and started leading her toward the room. "I need you to get Brett to stop moving and pulling at all the lines. We are going to take the tube out but we need time to set everything out so we can do this safely. Do you understand Santana?" Owen asked. Santana just nodded, she didn't give a crap what she needed to do. All she knew was that this meant that Santana could see Brett again and that's what she wanted.

When she walked into the room, it was chaos. Brett was thrashing in the bed. Multiple nurses were holding him down, begging him to calm down and relax. He was going to hurt himself more if he kept moving like that. Brett was moving his injured knee like it was nothing and attempting to get up from the bed. All while trying to grab at the tube that was going down his airway. The nurses didn't want to hurt him but at this point, it was the only way to keep him safe. One nurse was holding his burned arm down. Santana could see his hand so tense that she thought his veins were going to burst. Another nurse was holding the tube with one hand to keep it steady and using her other hand to hold Brett's left arm down. His brutal strength even after being in a terrible accident and in a coma was no match for this nurse. Another nurse saw and jumped on his left arm before he could overcome her. There was a third nurse holding his knee still and pressing her body against the side rail. Anything to keep Brett from throwing his legs over the rail.

"Get over here!" Nina said, pulling Santana from her trance. "Hey, hey Brett look at me!" Nina yelled. She grabbed Brett's face with her hands, forcing him to look at her. "I know you are scared and confused but look, look who it is," Nina said. She turned his face in the direction of Santana. Once Brett's eyes met hers all his movements slowly stopped. Santana's heart stopped when she looked into Brett's eyes. Did he know who she was? "Please know who I am" Santana whispered to herself.

The nurses stopped fighting with him but kept their hands in place in case he began to fight again. "Hi" Santana whispered. She saw the tears starting to well up in his eyes. Brett rose up his left arm, the one that wasn't covered in bandages. The nurse's hands slowly lifted with his, fearing that he was going to grab the tube in a split second. Brett's hand reached out as if to grab her but she was too far away. "Can I?" Santana asked. Not knowing if she was allowed closer to him during this whole thing. "Please," Nina said, watching just how calm she made the soldier with just her preseance.

Santana walked closer and around the bed. The two nurses that were holding down his left arm were ushered away by Nina. Then Nina pulled the bed rail down so absolutely nothing was in between Santana and Brett. When Santana made it next to his bed, Brett immediately placed his hand on her hand. His fingertips traced up her soft skin. Santana wasn't expecting that. They hadn't seen each other in weeks and instead of grabbing her and pulling her close, he touched her arm.

Santana sat down on his bed. The nurses worked around them, getting everything set up for the extubation. While one nurse kept a close eye on the couple in case Brett started acting up again. Brett's hand moved up toward her neck. It reminded her of when they would have sex, especially the last time. Brett said he wanted to memorize every inch of her and it seemed like he was doing it again. Brett's hand moved up to her face and caressed her cheek. Santana placed her hand over his and leaned into his touch. "We were looking for you, I was looking for you. God, I missed you so much" Santana cried. Brett wiped her tear away. He pulled his hand toward the tube, and Santana just managed to grab his hand. "They are going to take it out" Santana reassured him. Brett made a sound as if he was choking. It scared her, what was happening? "He is trying to talk to you, we are almost done setting up" Nina explained seeing the fear in her eyes.

Santana held his hand so he wouldn't go toward the tube again. Her other hand caressed his cheek, mimicking the action he had just done to her. "I know you want to speak. It is only going to be a few more minutes but I am right here B. I am not going anywhere" She whispered. Santana had no idea if he could understand what she was saying but Santana swore that she saw him nod. When they mentioned that Brett had a TBI, the first thing that Santana thought was that he wasn't going to remember her. That would have been the ultimate wound to this awful year. But now standing here, there is no way he doesn't remember her…..right? Brett wouldn't be touching her the way he is if he thought she was a stranger.

Santana clutched his hand as if her life depended on it as the nurses and doctors hustled around them. Brett's eyes never left hers. He didn't care about all the commotion and alarms going off. The only thing he cared about was the girl in front of him, staring into the eyes that he missed so much. "Santana," Nina said for the third time as she placed her hand on the couple's hands. Santana was so caught up in the moment, that she didn't even hear the nurse. Santana turned toward her, "we are all set, we are going to take the tube out" she explained. Santana nodded and turned back to Brett. "Did you hear that, they are going to take the tube out now." Santana said. Brett slowly nodded.

"Santana if you could just step back for a second" Major Thompson asked, needing to get into position. Santana rose from the bed and attempted to get out of the way but was immediately stopped. Brett's arms were thrown in the air, he grabbed at the Latina's shirt not letting her out of his clasps. Brett saw this as someone taking her away again, he had just got her back. There was no way he was going to let her go again. "No no no," all the nurses said lunging forward. They were trying to stabilize the tube and his injured extremities before he hurt them more. Santana looked back at him, his eyes were bugging out of the socket. She grabbed his face, "I am not going anywhere B" Santana said.

Hearing her say that immediately stopped all of his movements. The nurses back off a bit, letting Santana take the lead. "I need to step out of the way so the doctor can take the tube out. I am not leaving the room" Santana explained. Brett squeezed her hand. "Can I hold his hand while you do this?" she asked looking between Major Thompson and Nina. They both nodded. "We just need to be close to his face, But Brett, Santana is going to be here the entire time. Just hold her hand and it will be over fast okay?" Major Thompson explained. Brett nodded his head. Nina had worked with many soldiers over the years and knew how sudden movements could be interpreted the wrong way. Explaining everything to Brett was the only thing that was going to work in this situation.

"Santana is going to move right near your waist while Major Thompson and I will be near your head. Keep holding her hand and focus on her touch." Nina explained. Brett could tell that she was telling the truth just by looking into her eyes. He nodded, indicating that it was okay for the people in the room to move. Santana shifted out of the way but never let go of his hand. Major Thompson and Nina were positioned at the top of the bed. "Now when I tell you, I want you to start coughing. You might cough up some secretions and that is normal, Nina is going to suction them away. Are you ready?" Owen asked. Brett looked at Santana. She smiled at him and nodded her head. He leaned back and nodded, squeezing her hand.

Major Thompson deflated the balloon that was holding the tube in place. He released the ties that were also stabilizing it. Nina held the suction close. "Cough Brett, cough," He said. The soldier began to cough, over and over as the doctor pulled the tube out. Nina held the suction catheter close and began suctioning the secretions that were coughed up. Brett squeezed Santana's hand as he cleared all the mucus from his lungs. "It's out Brett, it's all over," Major Thompson said throwing the tube in a hazardous waste bag. The doctor moved out of the way and pulled Santana up to the head of the bed.

Santana held his hand and moved her other hand behind his back. As Brett was leaning forward and coughing, Santana rubbed his back and whispered things like, "it's okay" in his ear. Once Brett felt like the majority of the mucous was gone, he leaned back and stared up at Santana.

Santana dropped his hand and placed both her hands on his cheeks. Her thumbs rubbed the stubble that was growing back. "Hi B" Santana whispered. Brett just looked at her, saying nothing. Nina cleared her throat making the soldier look at her. "Brett I need to know that you understand us. Talking is going to be hard, in fact, your throat is going to hurt for a little while but that is completely normal" Nina explained. Brett looked back at her, it seemed that he was understanding everything she was saying but he didn't mumble a word.

Major Thompson stayed in the background watching the exchange. He did everything he could to help the man, all they needed now was Brett to show them that it was worth it. Brett looked around the rooms, the white walls, taking in everything that he saw. "We are in a hospital" Nina piped up saying. He turned back toward the nurse. "You were injured, badly. Especially your head. We need to know that you are in there" Nina explained. "Please baby" Santana begged, clutching his hand as tight as she could. Brett turned and looked at her, at the love of his life. "Please say something" Santana whispered.

Brett cleared his voice and finally spoke, his first words in weeks. "Kiss me" he whispered back. Santana smiled and wasted no time dropping down and planting her lips on his. It was exactly like the last time she kissed him or the first time, basically, every time they kissed. Santana felt the tingles and the butterflies invade all her senses.

Brett moved his lips needing to feel all of her. He placed his hands on her cheeks somehow pulling her closer. Brett didn't care that he felt pain shooting through his arm. The nurses quickly moved the lines that were still connected to Brett out of the way so they were sure none would pull them out. Santana slowly pulled away needing to breathe. She leaned her forehead against his, their eyes connecting immediately. The water welled up in her eyes and a tear escaped rolling down her cheek. Brett wiped it away, "Why are you crying Beautiful?" he asked. Santana couldn't help but smile, hearing his voice after so long. "I am just so happy to see you" she whispered. Brett smiled back, "I didn't think I was going to see you again" he admitted.

"I wasn't going to stop until I found you" Santana revealed. "You're amazing" he replied. Santana giggled, "I know" she answered making everyone else in the room laugh. The sound brought the couple out of their little love bubble. Santana pulled back and whipped the tears that escaped but she kept her hand in his.

"Brett, how are you feeling?" Major Thompson asked. "I am okay, now" He replied squeezing Santana's hand. Nina reached out and touch his bad arm. Brett hissed and pulled back. Nina's hunch was correct, "You're not okay," she said. Santana looked at him concerned. "It just hurts a bit but nothing that I can't handle" Brett explained. "We can give you a bolus of your pain medications, thrashing around can really make things hurt more" Nina explained as she started messing with one of the IV pumps. "I don't want the pain medications" Brett quickly said. "You need them, Brett, you have a lot of injuries," Santana said. "Pain medications do not mean you are weak," Major Thompson said, understanding that some soldiers think that way. "No they make me fuzzy, I don't want to fall asleep" Brett explained. "I know you were in a coma but you are going to need to rest and sleep is the only way to do that" Nina explained. "You don't get it. The last time I fell asleep, I was plagued with nightmares over and over. Then when I woke up, I watched my girlfriend but dragged out of the room and I can't do anything about it" He said.

Everyone in the room felt for him. Santana brushed the hair out of his face so he could look at her. "I am not going anywhere. I need you to take care of yourself so we can go home. Please Brett I can't watch you in pain" San pleaded. Brett didn't want to hurt her more than he already did. She had bags under her eyes, she wasn't sleeping and he knew that he was definitely the cause. He looked at the two medical professionals in the room. He recognized one of them, she was there when he fell asleep last time. "I know you, you were there when they put me under weren't you?" Brett said to Nina. She smiled, "I was, and I've been here almost every day since" she added. "You kept your promise. You didn't lose my picture" he said. Brett reached out and grabbed it from the table. "This picture kept me alive when I was out there. You kept it in here every day didn't you?" Brett asked. Nina nodded.

"I trust you. I know you keep your promises which means I need you to promise that Santana can stay here. I need her here when I wake up. That is the only way I will take the medications you want me to. If you can't promise that, I am leaving" Brett exclaimed. "Brett" Santana sighed knowing there was no way Brett was going to be able to just leave. He had a long road ahead of him. Nina looked at Owen who nodded. "I promise Brett. Santana is more than happy to stay as long as she wants. We will do everything in our power to keep it that way" she said. Brett nodded and looked over at his scared girlfriend before looking back at the nurse. "Okay. Thank you, then I'll take the pain medication because it really hurts" Brett admitted.

Santana knew how bad it probably was because he never admitted that he was in pain. Nina programmed the pump and administered the IV medication. Brett could feel the initial sharpness of pain start to dull pretty quickly. "Why am I so tired?" he asked. "Your brain suffered a major trauma. Healing takes a lot of energy and so does waking up. These last few minutes were extremely overstimulating. Just moving around is the equivalent of running a marathon, that's why I think it is best to rest. Nina and I will be back a bit later. Please just rest okay" Major Thompson explained. Brett nodded, he didn't want to tell them but his head feels like a million pounds so they must be right. Owen patted Brett's good leg, "It's really great to finally meet you," he said with a smile before walking out. "Please tell me if you guys need anything, I am going to shut the door to give you two some privacy. Just hit the button to call one of us" Nina explained. "Thank you so much, Nina, we really appreciate it," Santana said squeezing Brett's hand. Nina gave the couple a smile before shutting the door.

Santana looked at her boyfriend. She couldn't help it but the tears started to well up in her eyes. "Tana" Brett whispered. Santana completely broke, it was like the flood gates completely broke open as she started to sob. "Come here baby" Brett whispered. Brett didn't care about the pain, he moved over and helped his girlfriend lay down next to him in the bed. "I'm going to hurt you," She said between the cries. "You could never hurt me, remember," he said thinking back to when she said that during his follow-up when she found out he was captured. Brett wrapped his good arm around her waist and pulled her as close as possible. Santana tossed her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck, the side without the central line. He just held her, taking in the feel of her skin and the smell of the perfume that she always wore.

Neither of them knew how long they laid there but after a while, the tears started to slow down. "I'm right here Tana, I'm not going anywhere" he whispered into her ear. Santana sat up a bit so she could really look at him. He was skinnier compared to the last time she saw him but not by much. They must have been feeding him in his coma somehow. Santana ran her fingers through his beard and then up to his hair. It was longer now and looked more like him. Brett caressed her neck, "I can't believe you are really here" he whispered. "I never gave up hope, I wasn't going to stop until I found you" she whispered back. Her fingers ghosted over his face, "I dreamed about you every night." San admitted.

"I slept in your shirts every night, along with using your pillow. That way I could feel close to you and I could smell you. Your pillow just stopped smelling like you, I felt like I was losing you" Santana explained. "I bet I don't smell very good right now," Brett said trying to make her laugh. Santana cracked a small smile, "you smell exactly like I remember" she said.

The door to the room swung open, making the couple look over in that direction. Quinn's hand rose to her mouth and covered it. The tears welled up and started falling down her cheeks. "You're awake" she whispered but didn't move. Santana got up from where she was laying. Brett quickly grabbed her hand, "don't worry" San whispered. She moved over to the door and grabbed Quinn's hand. "Does he remember us?" Quinn asked scared. "Why don't you go see for yourself," Santana said with a smile. Quinn looked at her brother who gave her a small smile, "Hi Quinny" he said. She ran over and threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you so much" Brett whispered. "I didn't want to think you were dead but everyone kept saying you were. But we knew you wouldn't leave us" Quinn cried.

She pulled back to look at him. "I knew you would fight back, I just knew it," She said. "It would take a lot more to keep me from coming home to my girls" Brett admitted. "Hey what about us?" Puck asked as he and Aaron walked into the room. "I have to say you looked a lot better the last time I saw you," Aaron said making the room laugh. Quinn leaned back to sit on the bed while Aaron hugged his best friend. "Are you okay?" Puck asked the Latina. "More than okay" she whispered back, "Go say hi" she added pushing him toward the hospital bed.

Aaron backed up so Puck could squeeze in and give him a big hug. The guys started chit-chatting about absolutely nothing, basically just guy stuff. Quinn walked over and hugged Santana tight. "We found him" Quinn whispered. "Now we just need to figure out this whole thing," San said when she pulled away. "Let's just take in this moment and we can figure that out later" Quinn explained. Santana nodded as her phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at the caller ID. "Who is calling you this late?" Quinn asked. "It is my doctor, I am pretty sure it's morning in the city" Santana replied. "Your doctor as in….." Quinn said, her eyes looking at the Latina's abdomen then back up to her eyes. Santana nodded. "Hey guys, I need to take this. I'll be right back" Santana announced. She could see the concern in Brett's eyes. "I will be right outside," she said with a smile.

Both she and Quinn stepped out. Santana answered the phone while Quinn looked on holding her best friend's hand. They both knew this call was coming eventually they just didn't think it was going to be when they finally found Brett.

Santana- "Hello"

Dr. Garcia- "Hello Santana, how are you?"

Santana- "I am okay, how are you?"

Dr. Garcia- "I am good thank you. I am just calling because I want to go over your pathology results. Do you have a minute to talk?"

Santana- (Look over at Quinn who squeezed her hand) "Yes, I have a minute."

Dr. Garcia- "So as you know, we sent off the fetus and the placenta that we removed from your uterus to do some genetic testing. We do this in order to see if there is a genetic reason as to why you had your miscarriage. The pathology results showed that there were no chromosomal abnormalities identified."

Santana- "What does that mean?"

Dr. Garcia- "Basically it means that the fetus was genetically healthy."

Santana- "If it was healthy, why did I miscarry?"

Dr. Garcia- "As you know the risk of miscarrying after 6 weeks is pretty rare. Normally there is a genetic cause but in this case, we definitively know that it is not the case. The tricky thing about miscarriage is that sometimes we don't know why it happens. It could be because of an unknown infection, something you ate, your diet, or even the uterus wasn't prepared to carry a pregnancy. There are so many things Santana. The good thing to take from this is that we don't see a genetic concern for when you want to try and conceive again if that is what you wish."

Santana- (Feeling like she is going to throw up) "So what you're saying is that this might be my fault. It's because I didn't gain enough weight isn't it. I killed my baby" (Quinn started shaking her head no)

Dr. Garcia- "It is not your fault Santana. You were doing everything right. You even gained weight, did you know that? You were doing everything in your power to support your pregnancy. Do not blame yourself."

Santana- "I can't help but feel like I should."

Dr. Garcia- "The only way to move forward is to forgive yourself. Since it's been a few weeks, you can try and conceive again whenever you want. We will watch you closer next time to ensure a full-term pregnancy."

Santana- "Thank you but I don't think that will be for a while."

Dr. Garcia- "I will be here whenever you want to. And Santana, we found out the gender of your baby if you want to know."

Santana- "I didn't even know you could do that."

Dr. Garcia- "Science is a pretty fascinating thing, do you want to know? It's okay if you don't want to. I can have it removed from the report that we are going to mail to your home to look over."

Santana- "No, I think I want to know. Please"

Dr. Garcia- "You had a baby boy Santana"

Santana- (she wiped her eyes and Quinn looked at her concerned) "Thank you, Dr. Garcia. I will see you at my check-up."

Dr. Garcia- "You're welcome. Keep an eye out for the pathology report. And if you want to bring it with you we can discuss it further and I can answer any questions that come up. Have a good day."

Santana- "Goodbye" (hangs up)

"What did she say? and don't tell me it's your fault because everyone already knows it's not" Quinn exclaimed. "There was no genetic reason for my miscarriage. Which basically means that they don't know why I lost the baby" Santana explained. "Things happen San. You did everything to support that baby. The doctor told you to gain weight and that was exactly what you did." Quinn said. "What if it was too late? I could have been the reason why the baby wasn't growing" Santana explained. "You can't think like that. Stop focusing on the what-ifs. We finally found Brett and right now he needs you to be strong for him" Quinn said. Santana nodded slowly before looking her friend in the eye. "I was right you know," she said. Quinn looked back perplexed, "right about what?" Quinn asked. "It was a boy. Brett and I had a baby boy" Santana explained. Quinn pulled her friend into a tight hug. "And that baby boy helped us find Brett" she whispered.

When they pulled away Quinn asked, "Are you going to tell Brett?". Santana shook her head, "not right now, it will be way too much." she said. Quinn nodded, "I agree. What can I do to help you?" she asked. "Let's just do everything to get him back home. I am not leaving this country without Brett," Santana said. Quinn nodded, "me neither, let's go see him," she said.

The girls walked back into the room. Brett looked over at them and saw the gloss in Santana's eyes. There was even a glimmer of sadness staring back in his sister's eyes also. Brett had no idea if it was from the tears they shed a little while ago or if it was from whatever phone call they just took. "Are you guys okay?" Brett asked. Santana walked over to the head of his bed. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder while he wrapped his good arm around her waist. "We are okay" San whispered kissing his head lightly.


When Santana woke up, Brett's bad arm was still wrapped around the front of her waist. He was sound asleep. She looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was about 7 in the morning. The rest of the crew finally decided to go back to the hotel to sleep while she stayed and slept with him in the hospital bed. There was no way she was going to leave him. It was probably the best few hours of sleep she had gotten since he left. With her face pushed into his neck, every time she breathed in Santana could smell her soldier. It brought so much comfort, that she couldn't even describe it.

"Santana" Nina whispered from the door. Santana looked over at Brett to check if he was still asleep. He was, so she slowly peeled his arm from around her waist and got up. She took one last look at him before walking out of the room with Nina so their conversation wouldn't wake him up. "Is everything okay?" She asked concerned. Santana didn't know if any tests came back while they were sleeping or his the blood they took at 5 am showed something bad. "All the blood work looked good but we have something wrong. General Kennedy is currently in a meeting with Major Thompson" Nina explained. "He flew here?" she asked in disbelief. Nina nodded, "and let me tell you he looked pissed," she said. "Well, he can come and talk to me then. I would love for him to explain why he told us Brett was dead when he was right here the whole time." Santana said ready for a fight, the lawyer in her coming out. "I think you should call Aaron, he knows how the military works and has a connection with General Kennedy, I bet he could help sort all this out" Nina suggested.

"I will, I'll call them right now. Can you try and by us some time?" San asked. "I will try everything I can but I can't stop a General no matter how much I try" Nina explained before walking away. Santana pulled out her phone and called the crew. She told them to get dressed and get down to the hospital as soon as possible. She walked back into the room, Brett was still sound asleep. As she waited Santana watched him sleep. She couldn't help but imagine what their baby would have looked like. Would their skin be darker like hers and lighter like Brett's? Would their eyes be brown or blue? Maybe even a mixture? She always imagined the baby as a blonde. Like that shaggy dirty blonde that Brett has. Santana knew that it probably wouldn't have happened since she has dark-haired genes. But Santana would never get to know what her heavenly baby looked like. So Santana thought it would be okay to imagine him however she wanted. Just like her mother's intuition that told her the baby was a boy, the same intuition told her that their baby boy look exactly like Brett.

"Hey," Quinn said placing her hand on her shoulder. "Wow that was quick," San said getting up. "I brought you those clothes you wanted, I also brought your curler and make-up. Why did you want all this?" She asked, "Because you need to look the part to be respected and I am still wearing the clothes from yesterday. Can you sit with him while I freshen up? I don't want him to wake up alone" Santana explained. Quinn nodded and took the seat next to her brother's bed. "Where are the boys?" San asked. "They were stopping to grab some coffee and breakfast. They should be here in a little bit" Quinn explained. Santana nodded and walked into the bathroom that was attached to Brett's room so she could get ready. Santana had a feeling that General Kennedy was going to try to dig his way out of this one so she needed to be prepared. That also includes looking the part.


Quinn reached over and grabbed her brother's hand. It killed her to see the strongest person she knows sitting in a hospital bed. Yet somehow he still looks like he could break someone's arm if they laid a hand on anyone he knew. Brett's leg was still wrapped up in a knee immobilizer and raised up on some pillows. His right arm was still wrapped in gauze that extended over part of his chest, his arm propped up on some pillows. The only part of his chest still visible showcased the scars from his previous injuries. Brett also had a few steri-strips on each side of his temples from the holes they drilled into his skull, they were just starting to heal. Quinn ran her thumb over the back of his good hand. There were a few cuts but they were the least of his concerns. Quinn was most scared of one injury that people couldn't even see. What was this TBI going to do to him? They knew he remembered them but what long-term problems was he going to have to deal with? Quinn was terrified.

"Hey," Brett said quietly making Quinn look from his hand to his face. She quickly smiled so he didn't catch on to the sad thoughts that were plaguing her thoughts. "Hey B, how did you sleep?" she asked. Brett stretched out as much as he could in a bed, "so well. It's kinda crazy how I spent the last 6 weeks basically sleeping and I am still tired" he laughed. "It's different. You weren't sleeping you were in a coma" Quinn explained. "Same thing," he said nonchalantly. "Where is Tana?" Brett asked. Quinn pointed at the bathroom door, "she's just freshening up" she said. Brett nodded.

"So how were the last few weeks without me?" Brett asked. Quinn opened her mouth and then shut it again, trying to figure out what to even say to her brother. "What is it?" he asked again. Quinn squeezed his hand, "they were rough, really rough" she said. "What happened?" Brett asked. Before Quinn could answer, Aaron and Puck walked in holding coffee and a few bags with different pastries in them. "We brought food" Puck announced placing everything on Brett's tray table. "Everything okay?" Puck asked noticing the exchange. "I just asked Quinn about life while I was gone" Brett announced. Both Puck and Aaron looked at each other, also not really knowing what to say. "What are you guys keeping from me," Brett asked. "I think we should just focus on your recovery," Aaron said trying to just keep the peace. Brett slammed his hand on the table, "JUST TELL ME" he yelled. Quinn jump up from the chair while Puck and Aaron flinched, no one expected that reaction.

The bathroom door flew open, "What the hell was that sound?" Santana asked. Brett was breathing heavily, attempting to calm down. "We were just talking," Puck said. Santana saw the way Brett was reacting, his hand balled in a fist on the table. She walked over to her boyfriend who was just staring at his fist. Santana reached out and covered his fist, he flinched a bit but kept his hand there. "Brett, are you okay?" She asked. It's like a voice snapped him out of it. He stopped shaking and slowly looked up at her.

Her makeup was all natural just the way he liked. Her hair was down, the ends just curled slightly out. She had on a pair of jeans with a rip at the knee and a white top with a cute long white coat over it, along with a pair of black pumps. "Brett," Santana said again. "You look beautiful," he said pulling his fist from under her hand and placing it on her hip. Santana placed her hand on his that was clutching her hip, she leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thank you" she whispered when she pulled away. "Now what is going on?" She asked, standing up and looking at the others in the room. "I want to know what happened while I was away and they don't want to tell me" Brett announced.

Santana looked down at him and moved her hand to caress his face. "Why don't we just talk about that later? Let's just eat some breakfast. The nurse is going to be in soon to do your dressing change anyways" She recommended. Brett reached for her hand and pulled it off his face. "You don't want to tell me either," he said. "B, it doesn't matter right now" San pleaded. "Yes, it does. Quinn said life at home was rough while I was gone. All I want to know is what happened. Why are you guys being all secretive?" Brett asked looking from his girlfriend to his sister and lastly to his best guy friends.

The door to the room opened and everyone looked over. A man dressed head to toe in a military uniform with multiple metals, even more than Brett walked in. Santana instantly recognized him, she was not going to let him throw her out this time. Nina came running in after him, "I am sorry I tried to stop him but" she said. "It's okay Nina," Santana said giving her a smile, it wasn't her fault he came barreling in here. "Everyone in here needs to leave. I need to speak with Master Sergeant Pierce at this instant" General announced. Santana placed her hands on her hips, "I am sorry sir, but we are not going anywhere. We haven't seen Brett for months so we are staying right here." Santana said, standing her ground.

"ADA Lopez I suggest you step out of the room" General Kennedy said. "How do you know her?" Brett asked looking between the two. He knows that he told his boss he was seeing someone but Kennedy never saw a picture of her or knew she was an ADA. "We have met before. Now if everyone could leave, I am here to discuss crucial business and what we need to talk about is confidential." the General explained. "They are not going anywhere. Anything I say they can hear about it" Brett said. "You and I both know that our conversation needs to stay private," General said. Major Thompson came and stood next to the General. "General Kennedy, why don't we do this later? We need to change Brett's bandages" he said. "Major Thompson, I already told you I needed to talk to Master Sergeant right away and by right away I mean now. I would appreciate it if you would escort his visitors out or have security called." General Kennedy commanded.

Major Thompson knew that he was completely outranked right now. He didn't want to kick out the family of a patient but what was he supposed to do? "General, this is the family of a patient," Owen said trying to plead with him. "Patient!? He is a war criminal!" General Kennedy yelled. "War criminal? That is a lot coming from you" Brett yelled straightening up in his bed. "Shut your mouth before I arrest you" General Kennedy threatened pointing his finger at Brett. "You have nothing to arrest him for," Santana said stepping forward. "You know nothing about military law nor do you know what he did. I thought I told you to stop snooping" The General snapped back. "I am so glad I didn't stop or else I never would have found him. You told us he was dead!" Santana yelled at him.

"You told them I was dead?" Brett asked. "He called Santana and told us that you were declared dead a few weeks ago. It was Aaron and another soldier that told us it wasn't true" Quinn explained. "Then he threatened Santana right in front of me, saying that if we kept looking for you then she would be sorry," Puck said. It was like something snapped in Brett again. Nobody threatens the love of his life, especially after telling her he was dead. "YOU have made my life a living hell. YOU forced me to go back there, leave my family. YOU made me get on that chopper that was a suicide mission waiting to happen. Then I find out that the reason I was abducted the first and the second time was all YOUR fault. YOU are the reason I am in this hospital bed, Then YOU go and tell my family I am dead and threaten the person I LOVE" Brett yelled.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself up. "Brett," Santana said and wrapped her arm around his waist to support him. Brett supported himself with his good hand pushing off the bed railing, he managed to drag his leg and walked closer to him. "Brett, sit down you are going to hurt yourself" Quinn pleaded. "Baby" Santana said trying to stabilize him but he kept hobbling forward ignoring the pain. "YOU DID IT ALL" Brett yelled. Aaron pushed past Puck and stood in between his best friend and his old boss. "Brett, what do you mean he is the reason you were captured?" Aaron asked. "Staff Sergeant Walker, your General is ordering you to leave the room," General Kennedy said.

Aaron just ignored him and focused on his fuming best friend. Santana could barely hold him up as Brett was clearly getting tired. Aaron put his hand under Brett's arm to try and help support him. Brett hissed in pain which Santana saw but Brett just ignored it. "What are you talking about?" He asked again. "He told them our helicopter was coming. He is the reason I was shot down and why Captain Phillip Madison is dead. General Kenndy is a danger to national security and needs to be placed in custody immediately" Brett said, clearly out of breath from yelling and standing up for the first time in a long time.

Everyone in the room's mouth dropped. "Is that true?" Major Thompson asked. "The man has a TBI and is being investigated. Nothing he says will ever hold up" The General explained scoffing. Quinn pulled the chair she was sitting in behind Brett. "Sit down, you are going to pass out," She said placing her hand on his shoulder. Aaron and Santana helped him sit back in the seat. "You tried to have me killed because I figured it out, I know everything. Including how you tried to give the enemy operation Ghost" Brett disclosed. Both Aaron and General Kennedy gasped. "That is confidential, nobody except certified soldiers are supposed to talk about that, especially not with civilians in the room," The General said pointing to the other people that were all witnessing this conversation.

"The mission that I was first captured on was your call. You sent me into that house alone knowing that the Ahmadi brothers were in there waiting for me." Brett said completely exposing him. Santana couldn't believe it. Brett's own General is the reason he almost died and then almost died again. "You are a liar. Your fucking brain injury has you going crazy doesn't it" the General said stepping forward. "Now close your FUCKING mouth before I shut it for you," he said lunging. Santana stepped in front of her boyfriend. General Kennedy pushed her out of the way, she stumbled to the side catching herself on the wall. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER" Brett yelled jumping up. Brett swung and connected his good hand with the jaw of his General. General Kennedy reached out with his left hand. He dug his fingers into the raw burns that were running across Brett's shoulder. This caused Brett to yell out in pain and while doing so General Kennedy punched him in the face with his other hand.

Major Thompson grabbed General Kennedy and pulled him back while Aaron pushed him away from Brett. "BRETT" Quinn and Santana both yelled as they jumped forward to catch him. They helped lower him to the chair that was behind him. Security came running in and grabbed the General who was still struggling. "HE IS A LIAR, I WANT HIM ARRESTED" the General was screaming.

"Brett baby, please" Santana begged. "He is unconscious, someone help us!" Quinn yelled. Nina jumped forward and forced his eye open to shine a pen light into it. "We have a blown pupil, WE NEED SOME HELP IN HERE" Nina yelled. Major Thompson rushed over once security and Aaron had General Kennedy restrained. He took a look at Brett and fear came rushing over his face. "We need to get him to the OR now!" He yelled as a stretcher came in. "What is going on?" Santana asked. Quinn moved out of the way next to Santana so the stretcher could be placed next to Brett. "Brett has a blown pupil. Getting punched with a TBI is extremely dangerous. I suspect a bleed or an increase in pressure. We need to get Brett to the Operating Room before there ia any permanent injury" Major Thompson explained. "Help us lift him," he asked. Owen, Nina, and Puck were able to lift his unconscious body out of the chair and onto the gurney. "We are going to do everything we can," Major Thompson said as they started to push the stretcher out of the room.

Santana managed to step forward and kiss him light only on the forehead. "I love you," she said as the stretcher moved past her. "Let's see if he remembers anything now," General Kennedy said laughing as Brett was pushed out of view.

Santana ran up to him and pushed him back. "What are you going to do? Hit me too?" she said pushing him. Puck wrapped his arm around her waist and held her from hitting him again. "Don't test me little girl" The General threatened. "Little girl? Well, this little girl is not going to stop until she puts you in prison. Look up my conviction rate it is pretty fucking good" Santana threatened back. "You have nothing" General Kennedy spat. "Brett is going to wake up and spill everything. Anybody will believe a decorated soldier over a shady General who makes reckless calls 24/7" Santana said back. "I know Brett is telling the truth. All your calls put him in danger and I will testify of that" Aaron announced. General Kennedy looked absolutely pissed. "Let's see if he ever wakes up," The General said. Security stepped forward, "Please General Kennedy, let's go before this gets more out of hand," he said. The General nodded and started to walk away, "I will see you guys soon" he said to the group before leaving the vicinity.

I know it has been more than a while. I was unfortunately in a car accident and have been through a lot. On the bright side, I am doing better and have started writing again. It is going to take me a little bit to really get back into the swing of things but I WILL finish this story, I have a lot more to write. Thank you to the people who are still here and reading this story, it means so much to me!