a/n: I told you winter break would benefit my output. I still have little inspiration for my other WIPs but at least this one is moving along nicely. Admittedly, some facts in here may be a bit off, but bear with we: all my knowledge of court comes from Law Order: SVU. I did my best with a quick Google. the song is by Pierce The Veil. Enjoy!
Chapter 32: One Hundred Sleepless Nights
It wasn't right that they were sitting in the ADA's office again, but it was reality. Monday morning, Santana and Britrany had been getting ready for school, albeit tiredly due to another sleepless night. That's when Ali's phone rang, and all their plans of trying to fill Santana's mind with school distractions came to a screeching halt. Puck was making his plea, and his scumbag lawyer was pushing to get things dealt with as quickly as possible. His parole hearing had gone well, but the ADA had argued that more evidence could be presented. The judge side with her, but now things were in shambles. They were sitting just outside her office while Sue went over what she'd found.
"Finn?" Santana said as he walked in the door flanked by Mike and Artie. Kurt followed not far behind with his dad.
"Hey. Sue said that we needed to come testify against Puck. We weren't involved. With the incident." Finn said, the other two nodding.
"But locker room talk." Artie waved his hand "We should've known that he wasn't just bluffing."
"I knew he wasn't. I tried to stop him." Mike crossed his arms "Azimio made sure I wasn't able to."
"Hopefully your testimonies help." Brittany said "Kurt's too. I heard Sue say since it's Puck appealing and not Karofsky your words are still good."
"Seeing as I would agree with Puck in throwing a Karofsky under the bus, I can see that." Kurt smiled tiredly. Sue opens the door followed by the ADA. Both of them looked pleased to see the football players.
"Character witnesses." Sue presents "Even someone who used to be the defendant's best friend." Finn looks away shamefully.
"Right. And you said there would be girls too?" the ADA asked.
"Yes. They should be here any minute." Sue said. A few Cheerios walked in, those who'd been witnesses last year.
"Alright. So his appeal for parole is that he's got no history. We're trying to prove that false. Girls, Ms.Sylvester tells me you all have been assaulted at the hands of Noah Puckerman?" the ADA asks, and they all nod. "And you're prepared to testify?" another round of nods.
"Good. Court begins in 15 minutes. You'll be escorted to witness holding." a court officer comes in and leads the football players and Cheerios along with Kurt away.
"Santana and Brittany." the ADA turns to them "I want you to be in court today. Quinn and Rachel should be here as well. If things go badly, which I highly doubt, we will immediately move forward in processing restraining orders to protect Brittany and Rachel, since Santana and Quinn already have criminal restraining orders."
Santana and Brittany nod in understanding and follow the ADA to the courtroom.
"All rise for the Honorable Judge"
The hearing consists of character testimonies that both say good and bad about Puck, but the bad outweighs the good. The testimonies from his other victims also seem to shake his lawyer. The school nurse and hospital officials revisit Santana's injuries, and a video that someone took of the attack is introduced into evidence.
"We ask that all those in the courtroom practice caution upon the viewing. This material may be disturbing." the ADA says.
Santana refuses to look away despite Ali and Brittany's warnings. The video caught Puck and Karofsky in action. At the end of the video, both sides made closing arguments. There was little time wasted in Pucks parole being denied. He was told he would not be able to appeal again until his eighteenth birthday.
"Court is adjourned."
Santana hoped knowing Puck and Karofsky were locked up at least until the end of highschool would calm her down, but it didn't. Having watched the video, her nightmares that night were more vivid than ever before.
Santana shot up in bed, sweat dripping down her body. She looked beside her to see Brittany sleeping, Lady Domino curled up on the blonde's back. Asher looked up at her from beside the bed and she pet him gently. She got up slowly, Asher right on her heels as she washed the sweat from her face. Painful memories danced in her eyes as she studied them in the mirror. Asher alerted her and she sat against the wall with him for a while. Eventually, she climbed back into bed, but she woke only a few hours later, drenched in sweat again. Asher kept an eye on her just as he had before, and they ended up sitting in the bathroom again. Santana hugged Asher and went back to bed hoping this time the only thing to wake her would be her alarm.
That was when the worst nightmare came. The events played in her head, from beginning to end. By the time she was shaken from her slumber, Brittany was already aware beside her trying to get her out of the dream. Asher was whining and trying to alert. She breathed hard as she began to take on what had happened. She was horrified when she realized that her dream has caused her to wet the bed. Brittany shushed her assuring her it was okay and slowly helped them both get into a shower, rinsing off before allowing the tub to fill with water for a bath. Brittany worked methodically, dropping a bath bomb in and letting it fizz before helping Santana in and settling behind her. It was already close to the time they'd have to get up, so they soaked in the bath until they heard their alarms going off. Santana was completely drained from not sleeping at all the night before. Brittany had slept through most of the nightmares but she hadn't slept well. She'd fallen asleep worried about Santana and it plagued her the entire night.
"You two look terrible." Ali said as they trudged down the stairs. Both girls' hair were up in messy buns, and despite the weather still being warm, they were both in thick baggy hoodies and sweatpants. Neither of them had bothered with their usual makeup and Santana glasses were perched precariously on the tip of her nose.
"Gee thanks." Santana brushed shoulders with Ali as she made her way to the coffee maker, pouring herself a to-go mug of black coffee. She grabbed a caffeinated tea from the cupboard and boiled some water to make a cup for Brittany.
"Are you sure you two should go to school today? It's okay to stay home." Ali leaned against the counter top.
"Calmate Tia." Santana said briskly, steeping Brittany's tea and adding nearly a pound of sugar.
"I can't miss anymore school. I'm already falling behind." Brittany lamented, thanking Santana for the coffee as the Latina added a few ice cubes so the blonde wouldn't burn her tongue.
"Your teachers will understand won't they?" Ali looked between the two girls who stared at her unblinking "Right?"
"They don't care why we miss Tia. We're expected to catch up within a day of returning, whether we missed a week or a day. No exceptions." Santana deadpans "They weren't understanding when they didn't agree to transfer my credits and made me retake my freshman year, why would they be any better now?"
"I almost forgot you were supposed to be a grade ahead of me." Brittany pouted.
"Honey, starting school late doesn't mean a thing." the Latina reminded softly.
"I know...my parents made the right decision for me…" the blonde carefully sips her tea.
"Right. Now we better get going. See you later Tia." Santana said as her and Brittany left. The drive to school was quiet aside from the occasional sip of coffee or tea. Brittany pulled into a parking spot and leaned her head back against the headrest. Santana gently kissed her cheek as she dealt with getting Asher into his vest for the day. Asher was even off his game from the lack of sleep, but he stood dutifully by Santana's side as she coaxed Brittany out of the car. They walked hand in hand to their lockers, their feet dragging the entire way.
"You two look awful" Quinn greeted as she approached their lockers with Rachel in tow "Things must be pretty bad then?"
"I'm surprised you're so chipper." Santana glared at the blonde "Glad yesterday's proceedings calmed you down."
"San…" Brittany said softly, chastising the girl. She knew her girlfriend meant nothing by her sharp words, but they should be happy for Quinn.
"It's okay Britt. I expect I'd act similarly if the roles were reversed." Quinn smiles softly "But Santana, I really hoped things would be the same on your end. I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do-"
"Don't bother." Santana cut her off "I don't want anyone's pity. I'm tired of it." The Latina stormed away, and Brittnay mustered a sorry before taking off after her.
"Well that was uncalled for." Rachel huffed.
"Rach, just give her space. She's going through the wringer. Let's just be there for them if they ask " Quinn led Rachel to their first class where Santana and Brittany had already taken their seats. Santana was working on yesterday's work at a furious pace while Brittany watched helplessly. Quinn took the same missed work for herself and Rachel and took their seats.
In every class, Santana acted the same, getting the missed work and working at a mad pace to finish before the lesson even began. Brittany tried to tell her to slow down, but nothing got through. The teachers were pleased with the rate at which the Latina assured she was caught up, and that only encouraged her. She even spent lunch working after she hadn't had enough time. Brittany sat by, slowly eating, Asher resting a worried head on the Latina's knee. He'd alerted her multiple times during her work, and that had served to slow her pace to one less laced with anxiety. Still, the lack of rest was affecting him and he wasn't at full capacity. After lunch, Santana was out of steam. She stared blankly ahead through both classes, and Brittany practically dragged her to Glee. Upon arrival, Santana fell asleep on Brittany's shoulder.
"Is she okay?" Quinn asked, and Brittany looked at her quizzically. The fact that her girlfriend was asleep on her shoulder spoke for itself and Quinn walked away.
"This week's theme is all about expressing our deepest insecurities." Mr.Schue says as he walks in, and a collective groan is heard across the classroom.
"Now, I'm talking about our fears that fuel anxious thoughts. You all have them, and we need to overcome what's holding us back." He continues.
"Don't you think that's a little too deep?" Rachel asks.
"We agreed we wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. To inspire. If we don't face things head on ourselves, our mission is doomed. I know I for one am always worried about how our goal will be perceived." Mr. Schue explains "Anyone else want to volunteer an example?" Finn raises his hand and Mr.Schue gives him the go ahead.
"It's kind of unrealistic, but I wonder what would happen if I were ever injured? Who would I be without sports?" he shrugs "It's deep rooted, and it shows how much I depend on sports to define myself."
"That's exactly what I'm looking for. It's a fear rooted in something that could happen. It's those what if scenarios. Maybe you're facing it head on now. Maybe what you're going through feels like that "what if". Maybe it's far-fetched and you have to dig deep to reveal those emotions." He walks to the board "Feel it." He scrawls the words in chalk. "This is a chance to take those fears and overcome them."
Brittany gently wakes Santana and explains the lesson once everyone starts working. Santana shrugs and says "I've got a song. You can sing it with me. Schue can decide if we met his lesson requirements after."
"Shouldn't we properly conquer this?" Brittany asks and Santana shakes her head.
"Hun, my song totally fits. I'm just not sure Schue will think it does." Santana sighs. They discuss the song later that night, and Brittnay agrees that it fits her deepest "what if" fear too. Of course, with that on her mind, Santana's mind is full of what-ifs and rather than waking to nightmares, she can sleep with her brain running laps. Brittany has a little more luck sleeping, but being worried about her girlfriend makes her sleep restless when she gets any. Despite a terrible night sleep, they drag themselves to school again the next day, and at Glee Santana tells Mr.Schue that her and Britt want to "get his dumb lesson over with so she can take a nap". He opens the floor and Santana hands sheet music to the band and she does her best to sing.
NightmaresNo longer wait for sleep
Her exhaustion weakens her voice, but all things considered it's going well.
But I don't see your faceTaken by the one hearted race home now
Brittany looks at Santana, and can tell that part of her voice cracking is the exhaustion, and part is the truth behind the lyrics.
Failing lights, amass one hundred sleepless nightsAnd I might be holding on too tightBut there is a beast in my heart and he won't let you leave alive
They finish the song and Mr.Schue claps before addressing them.
"So what was the "What if" situation here?" He asks.
"What if we fall out of love?" Brittany answers as Santana curls into her side.
"So this would be the fallout of a breakup between you two?" he asks.
"Only the beginning." The blonde says pulling Santana who is clinging to her close. Clearly the song has struck a nerve and Asher can sense it as they return to their seats. Luckily, Mr.Schue lets everyone leave, and Santana's saga of troubled sleep continues, despite Brittany being by her side.