A Silent Song

by acewritergirl

AU. Brittany is a star at the William McKinley Music and Performing Arts Academy. When a new student starts at the school, Brittany finds herself completely captivated by the mystery of Santana Lopez and she's going to do whatever it takes to get to know her.

10. A letter and a sleepover

A/N: For those still following this story, I am forever indebted to you. There aren't enough apologies to make up for my absence. This story was never on a hiatus, and neither was I. Just…life :/

Hopefully this will make up for it? :)

Also, my thoughts go out to the FF readers and writers from the Philippines and Sydney. Hope you guys are all okay with the crazy nature vibes that are being sent your way.

A nice long chapter to make up for my absence.

Onwards and up!

-H

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee :(

---

CHAPTER 10: A letter and a sleepover

Brittany kept Santana's shaking hand securely in her own as she took a seat on the couch in Will's office. She didn't miss the arched eyebrow and disapproving look from Shelby. Santana immediately sat next to her, pressing close. Quinn sat on the other side of Brittany and Rachel made a move to take the last remaining seat next to Quinn, but a sharp gaze stopped her in her tracks. She swallowed and leaned awkwardly against the glass door of Will's office.

Brittany finally lifted her eyes to assess the top two people on her shit list. Finn was fixated on the floor. Puck, for once in his miserable life, actually looked worried. And rightly fucking so. Brittany wished so bad that they got every ounce of what was coming to them. Or what she hoped was coming to them.

"Right, all present and accounted for," Sue began. "Butt Chin, are you able to retrieve your head out of your ass for long enough to objectively announce the board's ruling?"

Will set his jaw and it was honestly the first time she'd seen the founder of the school anything close to angry. She wondered who his anger was directed towards, though. He didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to playing the disciplinarian card.

"Finn, Noah, I believe there is something you need to say?" he said in a stern voice.

Finn stood first, lifting his eyes towards Brittany and physically flinching at the death glare she sent him. If only looks could kill. Britt was sure she'd be serving life in prison. But then she'd be without Santana…

She diverted her 007 death glare and took in her girlfriend's nervous demeanour. Even though their fingers were entwined, Brittany could feel Santana's pulse racing from her wrist. She was trembling so slightly that only Brittany – who'd pretty much mastered the art form that was Santana Lopez's moods – could tell. Her breathing was quick, but silent. The poor girl was terrified.

God, what had she been thinking, bringing Santana into a small room with her two attackers? It was too soon.

Fucking idiot.

She squeezed Santana's hand and brown eyes immediately lifted to hers. She asked a question with her own and the younger girl bit her lip in quick contemplation. Eventually, she shook her head once and took a deep breath, slowly raising her gaze to Finn.

Brittany held onto Santana's hand like it was her lifeline.

"Um, Santana, I just…I wanted to say…"

Brittany clenched her jaw in anger. How could he think that it was even close to okay that he called her by her first name? It wasn't okay. Not by a long shot.

"I wanted to…"

"Christ, Lumps. Did you fail blabbering back in kindergarten?" Quinn snapped.

Finn looked to Rachel, who just met it coolly. Her arms were crossed over her chest and it was very clear where her allegiances lay. Or more accurately, where they didn't. It appeared as though Finn had finally realised just how much he'd lost because of his cruel actions.

"I'm sorry, Santana. You didn't deserve what we…what I did. I know that I am just as responsible for what happened as Puck and I just want you to know how deeply sorry I am for every second of hell that you went through because of me."

Brittany still hated him from the inside out, but she had to acknowledge that his apology was heartfelt and genuine. She wasn't so sure that they'd get the same sincerity from Puck.

"Uh, yeah. I'm, uh, sorry and stuff," Puck mumbled. He got a smart slap over his head from his attorney who, upon Brittany's closer inspection, actually turned out to be his father.

"I don't give a shit what you do with the rest of your miserable life, Noah, but so help me God, you will apologise to this girl and mean it," Mr. Puckerman threatened. His no nonsense voice was not one to mess with.

"It was stupid and I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, not looking at Santana.

Brittany felt her girlfriend curl more into her and she just sent Puck a curt nod, barely able to even do it. She didn't forgive him for one second, but she would play the part necessary to ensure that she'd never have to see him again. She wrapped both her arms around Santana and held her as close as she could. She placed a feather kiss on her head and whispered a barely audible I love you, but the three taps of Santana's index finger against hers was enough of a response.

"Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman, I hereby expel you both from the William McKinley School of Performing Arts. You have until lunch to get all your belongings together and leave the school grounds. If either of you are found on the property, I won't hesitate to call the police."

Eyes bugged all around the office at Will's cutting speech. Brittany was relieved, but hadn't expected it to be delivered so bluntly and coldly.

Of course, they deserved it…

But still…

Ouch.

"My mom's gonna kill me," Finn mumbled, running a hand through his short hair.

"Enjoy your last few hours in the land of the living," Rachel snapped under her breath.

"Rachel-"

"No, you don't get to say anything to me, Finn. I don't even know who you are! The man that proposed to me-" Quinn scoffed loudly, "-would never, ever have even contemplated doing something so horrendous. I can't even stomach the sight of you." Rachel turned on her heel and in her standard diva fashion, stormed out of the office.

Brittany sighed. That had been the first glimpse of the real Rachel she'd seen in weeks. Finn followed his ex-fiancée out sombrely and Puck let himself be dragged out by his father gripping the lapels of his jacket.

"Santana, let's go," Shelby said abruptly, gripping the wrist that wasn't tucked in Brittany's lap with the blonde's own hand.

The young girl jerked her hand back and shook her head defiantly.

"Santana," Shelby sighed. "Will and I agree that you should be at home, resting. You've had a traumatic experience and to revisit the scene of the crime so soon after it happened isn't wise."

Brittany immediately let her girlfriend's hand go as she felt her fingers twitch. Within a second, Santana was signing faster than Brittany could blink. She was pissed.

Shelby frowned and started replying in kind, her hands meeting each other loudly to almost accentuate her frustration.

Try as she might, Brittany couldn't catch anything. She had gotten better at sign language with Santana's help, but what she and Shelby were doing was like, genius level stuff. She was still a guppy.

"Ms. Corcoran." Sue placed a strong hand on Shelby's arm and halted her conversation with Santana. "I mentioned this earlier and forgive me for misinterpreting – it's been a while since I had to translate for myself at that speed – but you honestly don't need to worry about Santana with Brittany. That girl will make sure absolutely no harm becomes your niece."

Santana shot her aunt an I told you so look and sat back down, curling into Brittany. The blonde glanced up at the woman who inexplicably hated her guts.

"Shelby, I'll take care of her."

"Like you did on Friday?" Shelby sneered.

Brittany felt like she'd been slapped. Shelby's eyes went wide and her hand slowly cradled her own reddening cheek. Brittany grabbed Quinn's arm and yanked her back down onto the couch.

"You little-" Shelby started.

"No, you're little. You're as bad as them!" Quinn fumed. "You bully your own niece! And I really like that Santana speaks for herself, even when you try to control every aspect of her life. If you can't see how good Brittany and Santana are for each other then I have no idea how you've maintained a relationship of your own. Are you so jaded that you can't see true love right in front of you?"

Shelby's mouth opened and closed like a fish's.

"Quinn, dial it back," Brittany hissed. She stood up, Santana staying seated and holding onto her hand. "Shelby, while I'm not as forceful with my words as Quinn, please believe that if I had any idea of what was happening, I would probably be sitting through my own disciplinary hearing for killing those two. As it is, Santana had to stop me a few times." She got a squeeze and gentle kiss on her hand from her girlfriend. "You're right, though. I wasn't there when it happened. But I was there afterwards. I was the one that helped her, that got her out. Santana knows that I'm not going anywhere, so you'd better get used to the idea too. I love your niece more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone and by some miracle, she loves me back. Yes, it's fast. Yes, it's unconventional. Yes, it's going to be challenging. But, I would do absolutely anything for Santana. Anything."

Shelby was quiet for a few moments and just stared at the blonde. Brittany swallowed her nerves, determined not to let them get the better of her.

"And what happens when you graduate? You're going to leave and Santana's still got another year."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It's barely November. We have time to figure out technicalities. Right now, though, we're still learning about each other and I'm just falling more and more in love with Santana with every new thing I discover about her. Your niece is truly amazing, Shelby. You should embrace her strength instead of trying to squander it. Give her credit. She knows what she's doing. And if she decides not to be with me-" Santana frantically held her hand tighter at Brittany's words, "-then I will respect that, because she doesn't make rash decisions."

A flash of their bodies entangled on her bed passed through her mind and she cleared her throat subtly to hide the flush of heat that ran through her body.

Santana stood up and started signing to Shelby. Brittany could tell her girlfriend was tired of fighting with her aunt. She would be too. And she'd only had like, two days of it.

Shelby sighed. "Fine. I'm still not comfortable with this whole…arrangement, but I will trust your judgement, San. Just…be careful, okay?"

The young girl nodded and smiled, hugging her aunt briefly before turning to Sue and shaking her hand enthusiastically. Brittany smiled at her adorable girlfriend. God, she loved her.

---

They had lunch together and Brittany had so much fun. Santana had a wicked sense of humour and she tricked Quinn too many times to count. Needless to say, the other blonde wasn't impressed. But, to her credit, she kept a lid on her volatile temper that seemed to have been quick to ignite of late.

She couldn't really blame her, she supposed.

Santana fed her another grape and leaned back into Brittany's embrace, the blonde's arms secure around the younger girl's waist. Quinn was doing a pretty perfect impression of the senile vocal coach she had.

"Hi, guys," a timid voice interrupted their laughter.

"Hey, Rach," Brittany replied with a smile. Santana waved and Quinn stood up, mumbling something about needing to work on her winter showcase.

Brittany frowned as she watched her best friend practically run away from the table. Santana tapped her hand and looked up at her in confusion.

"Later," Brittany promised in a whisper. She cleared her throat and faced her sister, who was looking at Quinn's rapidly disappearing figure forlornly. "Rach, you know it's going to be a battle to get her to trust you again."

"I know," she said with a sigh, sitting in the seat that Quinn had previously occupied. "I know."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was actually going to see if Mrs. Hagberg needed my assistance in the singing department. You know, just as a TA or something. I could get some extra credit before heading to New York after New Year."

"You're going to go?" Brittany asked with a smile. "That's great! Even though it's a few months late, I'm glad you're following your dreams."

"One of them is here, though," Rachel mumbled.

Brittany sent her a sympathetic look. "Have you tried speaking to her?"

"She won't talk to me. I tried after you left Will's office, but she just ignored me and walked off. I wasn't about to embarrass her by cornering her as she came out of her class, so I thought that I could maybe catch her at lunch. But, well, guess that didn't turn out too well."

Santana reached over the table and patted Rachel's hand. Brittany's sister sent her a grateful smile. She sat up straighter.

"We haven't been officially introduced. I'm Rachel Berry, Brittany's sister."

Santana smiled and shook the offered hand. With her other hand, she signed her response, which Brittany proudly translated.

"Wow, I'm impressed, Britt. This must be true love."

Brittany hummed and pulled her girlfriend back into her, kissing her cheek. "The truest love," she murmured against Santana's soft skin, delighting in the small shiver she felt ripple through the girl in her arms.

"I'm happy for you, Brittany," Rachel said with a genuine smile. "I wish you and Santana a long future together."

"Thanks, Rach. So, what are you going to do about Quinn?"

"I don't know. Any suggestions?"

"Don't give up," Brittany said with a shrug. "You need to show her that you're serious."

Rachel nodded and stood up. 'Thanks for the pep talk. It was lovely to finally meet you, Santana. I can see how happy you make Brittany."

Santana beamed in response and the couple waved as Rachel walked away. Santana signed a question.

"The whole story?" Brittany asked.

Santana nodded, snuggling back as she got comfortable. Brittany smiled and snuck a kiss before beginning.

"Rachel and Quinn have known each other for years. Rachel came to live with us when her parents were killed in a car crash." Santana suddenly gripped her hands tightly and her body shook slightly. It alarmed Brittany. "San, what is it? Should I stop? Did I say something wrong?"

The brunette just took a deep breath and shook her head, signing that Brittany should continue.

"Um…" Brittany was worried about the way Santana had responded. In the back of her mind, it stirred a question about why Santana's parents weren't in the picture. "Okay, so after they…after the accident, Rachel came to live with us. Our moms were best friends and guardianship was left to my mom in Rachel's mom's will.

"The three of us were pretty inseparable when we were growing up. My mom called us the Unholy Trinity because we would always get into so much trouble. Innocent stuff, mostly, but we were precocious preteens. What did she expect?" She smiled to herself at the memories of the fun she had with Quinn and Rachel. "I'm getting sidetracked. Quinn and I always had a healthy curiosity about our sexuality, but I'm actually not sure when things changed for Rachel. Or maybe it was Quinn that changed them for her." She pulled her mouth to one side in contemplation. I remember one night, we were having a sleepover in the den and I had dozed off during the movie. When I woke up, I saw them making out. At the time, I didn't really think much of it because Quinn and I had done the same thing."

Santana's arms tightened around Brittany's as she let out a huff of air. Brittany couldn't help the smile that crossed her face and she kissed her girlfriend's cheek three times lovingly. "San, that was four years ago. You know that you don't have to worry about Quinn, right? She's not even on my radar in that way. You're the only blimp that I'm zeroed in on." She nuzzled her nose against Santana's cheek and let out sporadic beeping sounds until she could feel the younger girl shaking with contained laughter.

"I love you," she whispered.

Santana rested against Brittany's shoulder and turned her head so that their eyes met.

I love you, she mouth back.

Brittany grinned and closed the small space between them for a soft kiss. She couldn't wait for the day that she would hear those words for real. She knew it would happen. She just knew. But she would wait forever for Santana to be ready.

"Back to the crazy love story that is Faberry."

Santana frowned.

"It's this name I came up with for them. They have so much drama that they belong on a TV show. So I called them Faberry."

The brunette nodded thoughtfully and absentmindedly started tapping her finger against Brittany's forearm. The blonde recognised the action immediately. Santana always tapped her finger when she was thinking.

"Do you want me to continue with the story or should I wait until you've come up with a name for us?" she teased lightly.

Santana grinned and wiggled her eyebrows before relaxing into Brittany's arms once more.

"So, once again, back to the crazy love story that is Faberry. I kind of forgot about the whole making out thing for a while. Then one Friday night, I was going to a dance competition in another county and Quinn offered to stay at my house to keep Rachel company. I think that was the summer before our sophomore year. I was under the impression that Rachel was coming with me because my parents were tagging along as well, but when Quinn made the suggestion to stay, Rachel suddenly wasn't feeling very well. That was when I knew. When we got back from the competition, I could sense that something had changed between them. Or at least grown. I just told Quinn that she had better not have had sex in my bed. She blushed so bad that I knew my suspicions were right.

"What I didn't understand, though, was that they never actually dated. They fooled around all the time and anyone with eyes could see that they were head over heels for each other. Rachel told me that Quinn didn't want to label them and Quinn told me that Rachel didn't want to be tied down, so I don't even know what the real reason was. Anyway, during summer last year, Rachel suddenly started dating Finn. They'd also known each other for a while, but I didn't even know that Rachel liked him. Quinn was pissed and that's when we kinda started our messed up thing."

Santana automatically tightened her grip again. Brittany smiled and kissed her cheek with a little beep.

"Last year was so messed up. Rachel and Finn would break up over stupid things, Rachel would go back to Quinn, they'd hook up for a bit and then she and Finn would make up. It happened every other month. I didn't like it because I could see what it was doing to Quinn. She was slowly starting to believe that she couldn't be loved, that she wasn't good enough. She denied it, of course, but I could see it clear as day. She loved Rachel, though, despite everything. She told me once at a party. Just before the final showcase last year, Finn did something stupid and they ended things for good. Well, that's what everyone thought. Quinn saw her chance and put herself out there. She asked Rachel out and Rachel said yes. They went on a few dates and I could see how happy they were. They'd decided to really give a real relationship a shot, then Finn proposed out of the blue. And Rachel said yes."

Santana sat up, turned around and looked at Brittany in disbelief.

"I know," Brittany sighed. "She said that she got scared with how things were progressing with Quinn and that she would be graduating while Quinn still had another year. It was total bullshit. She was happy, happier than I've ever seen her and she threw it away. I still don't know why, but if she has any hope of getting Quinn back, she needs to be honest about that." She took a deep breath. "Quinn was devastated. She went a little crazy, dying her hair and getting like four tattoos and piercings. But I was there for her. She needed me so I was that person. It didn't help that I was in New York for two months last summer, but I think she was okay. Maybe…I dunno."

Santana bit her lip and Brittany could almost see the cogs turning. The dancer smiled and cupped her cheek.

"What are you thinking?"

The younger girl just smiled and signed that she'd tell her later. Brittany knew she wasn't being brushed off, but that whatever idea her girlfriend was working on just hadn't been fully formed. They hadn't been together for long, but Brittany had learned pretty quickly that Santana liked forming complete thoughts before sharing them. She figured it may have had something to do with her communication barriers, but she didn't mind. Her girlfriend was brilliant and she would always allow her as much time as she needed to sort her thoughts out.

---

"Hey, Mike," Brittany called out to her mentor as she walked past his office to her studio.

"Brittany! Wait!"

She winced to herself and backtracked into his office. It was time to face the music.

"What's up?" she asked.

Mike just looked at her in disbelief. "You know what."

Brittany sighed. "Look, Mike, I get that it probably looks really bad, but I would do the same thing if I had to do it over."

"Which part exactly? Would you do the same dance at your first eval or would you ruin the chance of getting a better grade?"

Brittany's blue eyes narrowed. Mike didn't often get pissed, and nor did she, but he was messing with something very dear to her heart and she would always defend that.

"I can't change what has already happened, Mike, and I'm sorry about missing my re-eval."

"It didn't look good, Britt. I didn't even have a reason to cover for you."

"I would never ask you to cover for me. I missed it. Me."

"It reflects on me, Brittany!" Mike snapped. "What the hell were you thinking?"

It pushed her over the edge. "I was thinking that the love of my life had just been tortured in a way that you and I could never even imagine. I was thinking that I would do anything to never see that fear in her eyes again. I was thinking with a human heart, Mike."

Mike just looked at her, his face blank. After a few moments of silence, Brittany spun on her heel.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Brittany. You have everything going for you. You're so close to attaining your dream and I just want you to remember what you wanted before she came along."

"Don't worry," she muttered loud enough for him to hear. "My priorities are exactly as they should be."

She just neglected to mention what her number one priority. One glance back at her mentor told her that he had probably guessed what she meant, though.

Brittany entered her studio and threw her bag into the corner angrily. Why were so many people trying to brush off what had happened to Santana as nothing? Why the hell did she have to convince people that bullying was not okay? She hadn't missed the arched eyebrows sent her way every time she had walked Santana to her next class that morning. She hadn't missed the whispers, but had ignored them. It didn't matter what people thought of her. It sure as hell didn't matter what people thought of her with Santana. The only person whose opinion mattered was that of her girlfriend.

Her beautiful, amazing, talented girlfriend.

Brittany leaned against a wall and slid down to the floor. Santana hadn't seemed phased by any of the attention either. She had played a melody with her fingers on Brittany's arm as they'd weaved through the students and it had just sent the butterflies rampant in her stomach.

She loved her so damn much.

Blinking her eyes and surprised when her vision was a little blurry with tears, Brittany hurriedly stood up, rubbing the moisture away with the heel of her hand. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her iPod and connected it to the studio. A small smile crept onto her face as she spied Santana's name as an artist on the screen. She had no doubt that her girlfriend's name would end up on a lot of iPod screens across the world at some point. Her girl was going to change the world.

She pressed play and cranked up the volume. It was a rough cut of what Santana had been working on at her house on Sunday morning. They'd tentatively decided to see if she could use it for her winter showcase.

As the first few melodies engulfed her body, Brittany just closed her eyes and listened. The steady notes of the piano, the soft harmonising of the violin (how had those even got in there?) and the second piano harmony in the background. She hadn't been in Santana's room, but her girlfriend had told her that she had equipment that allowed her to produce her own music.

Understandable. Her girl was a genius, after all. A musical prodigy.

As she listened, the events of the day and weekend just ran through her mind. Without restraint, her hands clenched into fists and she moved them upwards abruptly, as though trying to break free. She repeated the movement a few times, each time slightly different.

"That's it," she breathed when the track ended.

She quickly started the track again and set it on repeat. After the music had played for the third time, Brittany ran through the rough choreography she had thought of. Her movements were raw, edgy and almost unco-ordinated. But she knew that once she had it polished, it would look exactly like she wanted it to. It was time people knew that she meant business.

After an hour of hard dancing and playing around with various options, she could feel a familiar gaze on her. She didn't stop, just continued until the music ended. She turned and sent her girlfriend a smile. Holding out a hand and inkling her head, she invited her in. Santana returned the smile and walked in, looking around and nodding.

"So this is my little room," Brittany said quietly, once she'd turned the music down.

Santana signed that she liked it and leaned up to kiss her.

"Baby, I'm all sweaty," Brittany mumbled against her lips.

The younger girl pulled back and smirked. It made Brittany laugh.

"I think we have a very skewed perception of that angelic face you show off around here."

Santana lifted a shoulder in nonchalance and glanced at the stereo.

Something new? she signed slowly.

"Yeah, you're still okay with us using that new piece for my winter showcase, right?"

Santana nodded and asked her to explain the dance.

"Well," Brittany said with a deep breath, "after what happened the last few days, I feel like people have this weird opinion of me. Now, I don't give a shit what people think about me, but I do care that they can't understand that what happened was in no way okay. It's not the majority, thank God, but all it takes is a few small-minded ingrates to spread the disease."

Is that all? Santana asked.

Brittany smiled and kissed her cheek. "You know me so well in such a short time."

It caused her girlfriend to blush and it reminded her so much of the young girl she'd met the first week of the school year. A day that had changed her life.

"For so long, I've been the girl that was going to make it. The girl that is going to make it. I don't mind that pressure. I've always thrived under pressure, but today, especially, I feel like I'm only seen as Brittany the dancer, and not so much Brittany the high school girl. I'm not just a dancer. I mean, it's still a huge part of my life and probably always will be, but since I met you, my priorities just seemed a little…misguided. I guess that could be because I never knew that I could ever feel like this, so I didn't really know what to expect. But now that I'm in it, that's I'm experiencing you and our love, I just…I want to break out of this expectation box I've been put in."

Santana nodded and smiled. I like it, she signed.

"You think it'll work?"

She nodded again and kissed her cheek. Santana dropped her hands that had been resting on Brittany's waist and headed for the stereo. She started the song again and turned the volume up.

Again?

"Sure, baby. It's rough, but it's a start."

Brittany concentrated hard as she went through her brief routine, adding random movements in at various points as they came to her. She kind of liked how loose it was to start off. She suspected that her winter showcase was going to be a big performance for her. Not necessarily for the school or for Mike, but for her. That was why she'd started dancing in the first place anyway.

---

"I hate this part,' Brittany mumbled against Santana's lips.

She felt the younger girl subtly nod, but didn't break their kissing. Eventually, Brittany somehow found strength to pull away from Santana's addictive mouth and tongue.

"Shelby's giving me chance with you so I don't want to push any boundaries yet," she whispered, tucking dark strands of hair behind her girlfriend's ear.

Santana raised an eyebrow and smirked. Brittany chuckled. "Of course you would pick up on that one part. Besides, you're the one that's too irresistible. It's not my fault."

Santana just nodded, but Brittany could tell it was sarcastic. The blonde just smiled and leaned in to kiss Santana's cheek three times.

"I love you," she added verbally. "Today was really great. I was so happy to have you on my arm."

Santana blushed and leaned in. She returned the three kisses, but on Brittany's lips, lingering on the last one. She sighed and pouted after pulling away.

"Put that away," Brittany said softly with a smile, brushing her thumb across the plump bottom lip of her girlfriend. She glanced past Santana's shoulder to her house. "You should go," she mumbled sadly.

Santana unbuckled herself and promptly climbed into Brittany's lap, locking her arms around her neck and burying her face against the blonde's shoulder.

"I know," Brittany sighed, tightening her arms around Santana's waist, anchoring them together. "I'd give anything to just be around you forever and never have to say goodbye, but until we get to that point, we're just going to have to deal with it. It sucks, but it's our reality for now."

She felt Santana nod reluctantly into her shoulder and she turned her head to press a light kiss against the temple.

"Come on, baby. I'll walk you to the door."

The mood had changed quite drastically from teasing and passionate to sombre. Brittany hated it and one look at Santana's frown told her that her girlfriend felt the same way.

"Sweet dreams, Santana. I'll text you later?"

She nodded and pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you," Brittany whispered.

I love you, Santana mouthed against her cheek before kissing it and pulling away.

The blonde sighed and reluctantly released the love of her life's hand, watching as she disappeared into her house. She knew that she hated being away from Santana because she just loved her so much and being around her was the best feeling in the world.

She would trade saying goodbye for a fraction of their lives together for never having to let her go in a heartbeat. Brittany just knew. She and Santana were each other's forever.

---

Following a cryptic message from her girlfriend that she'd only seen on her phone when she'd woken up, Brittany was a little worried about what the morning had in store for her. The message wasn't ominous, but Santana willingly divulging a piece of her past was a pretty big damn deal.

Brittany wondered what had brought the sudden desire for revelation. Santana had made it pretty clear over the weekend that they weren't at that level of trust yet. She knew Santana trusted her with a lot, but her past wasn't one of them. Brittany had made peace with it. She knew that whatever Santana had gone through had probably been pretty traumatic and she wasn't going to ever force her girlfriend to relive that time unless it was on Santana's terms.

As she drove to Santana's house, she remembered that they should probably pick her car up from the school lot at some point.

She pulled up outside the now familiar house and walked up to the front door, taking a deep breath before knocking twice. She rocked on her heels as she waited, nervous about who would open the door.

"Morning, Twinkletoes," Holly greeted with a grin.

Brittany matched it in relief. "Morning, Holly. How are you?"

"Smashing and yourself?"

"I'm good, thanks."

Holly stepped aside and allowed Brittany to cross the threshold.

"You're here early," the older blonde commented, shutting the door.

"Uh, yeah. Santana sent me a message asking if we could go for coffee. She, uh, said she had something important to show me."

"Do we need to be concerned?" Holly asked seriously.

Brittany lifted a shoulder. "If I knew, I'd probably be freaking out a little less." She felt like she could be honest with Holly and not get the third degree like she undoubtedly would with Shelby.

"Good morning, Brittany."

Speak of the devil.

"Morning, Shelby. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?"

Brittany blinked in surprise at Shelby's lack of contempt. "I-I'm great. Thanks for asking."

Shelby nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "Santana should be down shortly. She was up at some godawful hour this morning doing who knows what."

It didn't ease Brittany's nerves. Before she could respond, she heard the telltale sound of Santana's descending the stairs. Well, more like galloping down them. Her adorableness brought a loving smile to Brittany's lips.

Her eyes drifted to the stairs in anticipation for the sight that would always make the crappiest day infinitely better. When Santana swung around the bannister and skipped the last four steps to land in front of Brittany with a wide smile, the dancer couldn't help but match it.

For a moment, they just lost themselves in each other's eyes, Brittany only dropping her gaze bashfully when Shelby cleared her throat.

"Santana, I've noticed that your car isn't here. Is it still at school?"

The younger brunette nodded and signed something too quickly for Brittany to catch.

"Okay, I don't necessarily mind that you get a lift to and from school, but if your car isn't being used, it should rather stay in the garage."

"We'll bring it back after school today," Brittany promised.

Shelby nodded. "Good. Have a good day, girls."

She turned and walked into another room. Holly nudged Brittany's shoulder and winked.

"Looks like she's warming up to you, Blondie."

Brittany smiled. "I'm sure you had nothing to do with that."

"Hey, I'm all abroad the Brittana ship. Wouldn't hurt to have as passengers as possible, right?"

"Brittana?" Brittany chuckled and linked her fingers with Santana's. "That was your idea, wasn't it?"

Santana nodded proudly.

"Ah, you guys are just cotton-candy-melt-in-my-mouth cute. I've gotta get myself camera ready. See you later, Hot Stuff."

"Bye, Holly." She turned to face Santana fully and leaned down to kiss her cheek warmly. "Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?"

Not as good as with you, Santana signed slowly, using signs that she knew Brittany understood. It made the blonde just fall in love with her a little more. Or a lot more.

"So…this talk we need to have. Um, do I need to be worried about anything?"

Santana smiled and shook her head, standing on her toes to press her lips comfortingly against Brittany's.

I love you, she mouthed against them.

Brittany breathed a sigh of relief through her nose and folded her arms around her girlfriend, pulling her close. They traded soft kisses until Santana pulled away and guided them towards the door. Brittany let herself be pulled out of the house and towards her car. She opened the door for Santana, causing her girlfriend to blush and kiss her cheek. Brittany grinned and ran around the car, jumping into the driver's seat and starting the car. Songs played and they danced unabashed as Brittany drove them to Charlie's.

"Morning, Charlie!" Brittany greeted cheerfully as the bell welcomed them to the diner.

"Britt!" Charlie replied with a smile. "And Santana! Two beautiful ladies! Is there a special running that I don't know about?"

"Hardy har." Brittany wrapped an arm around Santana as they walked to their booth. "Find your own angel, Charlie. This one's all mine."

"So possessive," he teased, grinning. "Coffee?"

"Times two."

"Lois will right with you."

Santana slid into the booth first and pulled Brittany with her, almost causing the blonde to land on top of her.

"Never pegged you for a bottom, Lopez," she teased before she could stop herself.

The arched eyebrow and smirk that the brunette sent her way made her mouth immediately run dry.

"D-do you want some, um, breakfast? Have you eaten yet? Breakfast, I mean," she added hurriedly, mentally facepalming herself for her inability to string coherent words together.

Santana grinned. You want to share? she signed.

"Perfect."

Lois appeared at their table with their coffee and Brittany added one sugar the way Santana liked it while her girlfriend was scrimmaging for something in her bag.

"What's that?" she asked after testing the coffee and putting it in front of Santana. Two unmarked letters rested on the table between them.

Santana kissed her cheek and slid one of the letters over to her. Brittany smiled.

"If I knew we'd progressed to the love letter stage of our relationship, I would've brought one too."

The brunette chuckled and rolled her eyes. She snuggled into Brittany's embrace and nudged the letter closer to her.

Brittany's brow furrowed in curiosity and used one hand – her other was securely around Santana and she wasn't about to move it – to open the envelope. Santana helped her when the lip got a bit stuck.

"Thanks, baby," Brittany murmured, suddenly nervous about what the letter could contain. Not a bad nervous, though. More like an excited nervous.

"Are you girls going to have some breakfast?" Lois asked just as Brittany unfolded the paper.

"Uh, yeah. Could we have one special to share, please?" Brittany requested with a smile.

"Absolutely."

Santana found Brittany's left hand that was resting against her ribs and started playing with her fingers.

"My dearest Brittany," she began, but Santana quickly put a hand over her mouth.

I want you to read it, she signed.

"Okay, love," she acquiesced. "I love you."

Santana smiled and they shared a quick kiss before Brittany's attention returned to the letter.

My dearest Brittany,

As much as I want to be able to tell you all of this, I can't. I think that trying to sign it would end up becoming more frustrating than anything. So I felt that writing you this letter would be the best way to tell you what I want to tell you.

Firstly, I want to thank you. I never thought that I would ever find someone so wonderful. Sometimes I wonder if this is all a dream and I'll wake up one morning and you won't actually be there. But then I wake up and I can feel you, even if we're a few miles apart and I know that I'm just truly lucky. I love you with all my heart.

I know you have your suspicions about me and my muteness, and the fact that you haven't pressed me or asked me about it just shows the calibre of person that you are. It's one of the many reasons that I love you, and why I truly feel like we're so perfect for each other. I'm getting sidetracked, though. Talking about you can do that to me.

Brittany let out a little giggle. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. She could feel how nervous her girlfriend was if how her hands were shaking was any sign. She paused in her reading and turned to Santana.

"Hey," she murmured.

Brown eyes lifted to meet hers and she smiled.

"Santana, no matter what this letter says or doesn't say, I will still love you. I know that you're a little scared because I can feel it, but please believe that I would never judge you. The fact that you're willing to share even just a small part about your past with me means the absolute world to me."

Santana nodded slowly and a relieved smile flashed across her face. Brittany leaned down and kissed her, lingering as she tried to convince her girlfriend of her words. Santana's hand cupped her cheek and her soft fingers traced her jaw as they broke apart. Brittany smiled and rubbed their noses together, eliciting a brief giggle from the younger girl. She pulled away and turned back to the letter, keeping Santana close to her. Her girlfriend rested her head on her shoulder as she continued where she'd left off.

The story that you told me yesterday, about Quinn and Rachel and their really complicated history got me thinking. I know we were so fortunate to find each other so quickly and easily and when I saw how Rachel looked at Quinn when she left made me realise that they could have what we have. I know that this makes me incredibly nosy, but when you told me about what happened to Rachel's parents, I kind of became determined. And you know how stubborn I am.

I've written a similar letter to Quinn, but I wanted to write you one first because I love you and I think that if I'm going to divulge something about my past, you should be the first one to hear it. Or read it. My parents were killed when I was twelve. I'm not ready to divulge how or why, but I do know a little something about regret. The last thing that my father said to me was that he was ashamed of me because he'd caught me kissing a girl in our basement a few days before. My mother, ever the peacemaker, tried to make him understand that I didn't do it to hurt him or embarrass him. My father and I were very alike, though. We were both stubborn and proud and refused to admit defeat. I refused to apologise and so did he. We had an argument the day they died and I never got to say sorry. I never got to tell them one last time that I loved them and that I was sorry for not telling them about Dani.

I have to live with that regret every single day and if I can prevent someone else from going through it as well, then I will. I can tell that Rachel knows she made a huge mistake, but she's willing to make amends and if I can help in any way, I want to. I know that Quinn could ignore my letter completely, but at least I'll know that I've tried to prevent that kind of pain grabbing someone else.

You're the first person that I've told this to, other than Holly and Shelby. It's partly why Shelby is so protective over me. She just doesn't want me to make any mistakes that I'm going to regret. I think she's finally realising that it's not the fact that I kissed a girl that I feel guilty about, it's that I didn't appreciate the truly wonderful parents I had when I could. Now they're gone and all I can do is wish.

I know Quinn is hurting. Even if you hadn't told me, the tension between them this weekend was enough of a clue. I'm not going to tell her about my parents, but all I wrote in her letter is that I know what regret feels like and gave her a few examples of my low points (I'll tell you those when we're face-to-face). I just want her to understand that I've been there. Maybe not in the same way; our hurt is a little different in its cause, but the result is the same.

So, Brittany, my love, would you allow me to send your best friend a letter in the hopes that it might help in repairing her relationship with your sister?

All my love,

Santana

Brittany took a deep breath and folded the letter, placing it on the table. Instinctively, her arm tightened around Santana's waist and she turned her body towards her girlfriend's so that she could fully see her and feel her.

"Santana, you are truly the most amazing, strong girl I have ever met. Despite what you went through and what you have to deal with daily, you still manage to smile and laugh and give me your heart. I am in complete awe of you and if you want to help Rachel and Quinn, then you have my full support."

Santana's eyebrows shot up and she searched Brittany's eyes for any sign of her joking or teasing. When she didn't see anything, she threw her arms around Brittany's neck and the blonde held her close. She kept murmuring I love you into Santana's neck and her hands stroked her back comfortingly.

When Santana pulled back, Brittany smiled and used her thumb to brush away the tears that had gathered under her eyes.

"You never have to be scared to tell me anything. I know that's easier said than done, but you know that I'm in this through thick and thin."

She revelled in the way Santana looked at her, total wonder in her dark eyes. She smiled and tucked some stray strands of dark hair behind her love's ear.

"I think that you really are an angel, you know," she murmured, her eyes flittering all over Santana's face, taking in every detail that she already had memorised. "I feel like you came out of nowhere and just lit up my life."

The younger girl blushed and dropped her gaze. Brittany just tipped her chin back up. "You don't need to be shy about it, Santana. I just realise that every day with you is a gift and I intend to appreciate that gift as much as I can."

Santana nodded her agreement and the girls simultaneously leaned in, sharing sweet kisses until the sound of a plate being gently placed on the table caused them to break apart.

"Sorry!" Lois apologised with a friendly smile. "I really was trying to be quiet."

"It's okay, Lois," Brittany replied, swivelling so that she was facing the table and their food. "This looks yummy. Thanks!"

The waitress nodded her gratitude and Brittany grabbed a knife and fork, carefully getting a healthy helping of egg and bacon onto the fork before holding it up for her girlfriend. Santana's eyes smiled as she accepted the mouthful.

Brittany grinned and quickly took a bite herself. As they ate their breakfast, Santana showed Brittany some signs to showcase emotion.

"So this is delicious?" Brittany asked, pressing her thumb and middle finger together on both hands and bringing them to the respective corners of her mouth, motioning them forward.

Santana nodded with a smile. Perfect, she signed.

Brittany chuckled. She always thought that sign looked a little strange and not at all like what the word meant. Most of the other signs that Santana had taught her kind of fit the meaning of the word. Like delicious. But perfect was...well, almost a misnomer.

What? Santana queried with a curious smile.

"Nothing. I was just thinking how much fun I'm having with you and learning sign language. You're such a great teacher, Santana."

The younger girl blushed again and Brittany giggled. It delighted her endlessly to see her girl get shy. Adorable just wasn't descriptive enough. She leaned in to pepper her girlfriend's warm cheek with kisses, eventually causing Santana to bat her away playfully and then pull her close almost immediately to snuggle.

She gives the best snuggles.

"So I was thinking, if you don't have anything in particular that you wanted to work on this afternoon, maybe we could work on my winter showcase?"

She felt Santana nod against her neck and pressed a kiss against her temple. "I'm really excited to do this with you, Santana. Not just because we're together and it means I get to see more of you, but I just really think that we can create something truly magical. I mean, you're magic on your own-"

Santana gave her a smart slap on her stomach.

"Oof," she wheezed. "Nice one, babe. Aren't you lucky that I have abs of steel."

As soon as she said it, she knew she'd regret it. As expected, Santana lifted her head from Brittany's shoulder and smirked, arching and eyebrow and letting her eyes slowly travel from her face down her chest and rest on her covered stomach.

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.

A month ago – hell, a week ago – she would never have though of Santana as a vixen, but holy shit. Her girlfriend had sex appeal to burn and apparently she knew how to render Brittany completely limbless.

"Umnhrgfly," she mumbled, squeezing her eyes closed at her verbal fail again.

Santana just giggled, but the smirk stayed in place so Brittany could only imagine that it was a naughty giggle. Oh, when she finally heard that, she was sure that it would probably be the death of her.

The brunette leaned in to kiss her neck and Brittany didn't even realise where her hand was until it had somehow wormed its way underneath Brittany's top and she yelped at the feeling of Santana's warm hand against her bare skin.

"Jesus, Santana," Brittany breathed, almost voiceless. "The things you do to me."

Santana suddenly sat up and stared at Brittany, her eyes dark and determined.

"Wha...um...why...?" Brittany stumbled. She knew exactly what Santana was saying, and she was so very tempted to go along with her. So, so tempted.

But...

"The winter showcase, okay?" she whispered. "That night."

Santana sighed and nodded, her hand on Brittany's stomach resting comfortably against the skin and she snuggled back into her. The blonde tried to control her rapid heartbeat and she could tell that Santana was very aware of it because she was tapping her fingers against her stomach in time with the rhythm.

She could make music anywhere, out of anything. She was a true genius.

"So," Brittany ventured, clearing her throat. "Do I need to worry about this Dani chick?"

Santana's response was to start tickling her.

---

"Yo, Q!" Brittany called down the hallway just after first period. She had already fetched Santana and was walking her to her Calculus class when she spotted her best friend.

The pink-haired singer turned around and flipped her the bird with a grin. "Slut, you're looking dreadful," she commented when Brittany and Santana joined her.

"Bitch, please. I know you rolled out of bed looking like that," Brittany retorted good-naturedly, pulling her in for a hug.

Santana just looked bewildered.

"Don't worry, babe. This is how we compliment each other," she added for her girlfriend's benfit.

"Yeah, for example, I would normally tell her that she looks like she ate a gallon of ice cream last night. But for your benfit, I'll tell her that she looks like she ate two."

Brittany chuckled. "At least Boy George didn't jerk off in my hair. Oh, snap!"

Quinn's mouth dropped open and Santana covered her own with her hand as she giggled.

"You don't mess with the 'do, Pierce," Quinn said calmly, but Brittany knew her well enough to know that she wasn't serious, just appreciating that Brittany had out-insulted her. "So, what's cracking this fine Tuesday morn?"

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and the brunette pulled a letter similar to Brittany's out from her bag and handed it to Quinn.

"Bit early for me to getting a reply from Santa, but okay. He does owe me for the crappy presents he got me last year."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Loser. Promise me that you'll read that after lunch, okay? Find a room, read it and let us know what you think whenever you're ready."

Quinn frowned in confusion. "Britt, is everything okay? I mean, are you okay?" She addressed the question to both girls.

"Yeah, both of us are totally awesome," Brittany replied. "Seriously, we're good. Just read the letter, okay?"

They got a slow nod as Quinn turned away, turning the envelope around in her hands. Santana lifted her worried gaze to Brittany, who simply winked in comfort.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, baby," she assured her, playfully bopping her nose with her finger. "Quinn has a way of processing things. It's only Tuesday. I'm sure that by Friday we'll have our sleepover like you planned."

Santana bit her lip and smiled.

I'm excited for Friday, she signed.

"Oh, you have no idea," Brittany agreed with a smirk. "Finally get you back in my bed."

Santana admonished her with a slap on her arm and then laughed when Brittany pretended to be in severe pain.

After dropping Santana off at her class, she skipped into Spanish and dropped dramatically into her seat.

"What's up, Quinnie Poo?" she greeted cheerfully, ruffling her best friend's pink hair.

When she didn't get a response, Brittany leaned forward and her eyes widened when she saw the envelope open and the letter folded. From the creases on the page, she could tell that Quinn had read it.

Brittany sighed. "This is why I wanted you to read it after lunch, when you were in your own headspace to work through it."

"Did that…" her voice shook and she coughed. "Did that really happen? She didn't like, make it up to try and make me feel-"

"Quinn Lucy Fabray, you finish that sentence and I swear to God I will denounce our friendship right here and now," Brittany cut in firmly.

"You're right." Quinn rested her head in her hands. "You're right. She wouldn't do that. Fuck. Brittany…I mean, just fuck."

"She didn't say that to guilt you into anything, even though it may sound like it. She just wants you to know that she's been to the other end of the scale. She knows what it's like not to have that choice anymore, to have it taken away before she could make it. She doesn't want that for you. And I have to say, Q, I agree with her."

Quinn lifted her head and watery hazel eyes met clear blue eyes. Brittany smiled and put a hand over her friend's.

"You know that I've always tried to stay out of the Quinn/Rachel dilemma, but I think that now is the time. You've been given an opportunity to put all the bad shit behind you and take a jump."

"Again?" Quinn asked, a little bitterness creeping into her voice.

"Again," Brittany repeated with a nod.

"You know what it took for me to put myself out there the first time, to take a jump as you said," she whispered. "And now you want me to do it again because she had a sudden revelation about her douchebag play doll? Need I remind you, Britt, that this revelation came about at the expense of your girlfriend. Does this not sound just a little fucked up to you?" she asked in a harsh voice, keeping her volume low so as to not attract attention.

"Quinn, life is too short. Santana knows that, I'm learning from her and Rachel knows it too. I'm not asking you to forgive and forget in one night and go back to where you were. I know you too well to expect that. But I would like you to just think about maybe trying to start rebuilding your relationship with Rachel. Even if that relationship never extends beyond friendship, you can't sit with this anger forever. It's gonna drive you crazy and I think that we don't need you to go any crazier."

Her weak joke drew a small smile from her best friend.

"So what do you say, bestie? Just try?"

Their eyes met again and Quinn blinked, looking up as she tried to will the tears away. "Fuck you, Pierce. You're a bitch for making me cry."

Brittany chuckled. "Easy there, Lucy. Technically Santana made you cry, and if you're calling my girlfriend a bitch, well…we're gonna have a problem."

"You think you can take me?"

"Oh, I know I can," she retorted.

"Bring it, Pink Panther."

Quinn laughed. "Pink Panther? Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

Brittany shrugged and was about to reply when their teacher rushed in, asking them to open their books. The dancer zoned out and looked out of the window towards the classroom where she knew the love of her life was sitting, probably looking totally adorable. Brittany imagined her cute little tongue poking between her lips as she concentrated on what the teacher was saying.

A sudden thought came to her and she pulled her notebook out of her bag, finding a pen that she knew worked. She grinned as she started her very own love letter to her beautiful soulmate.

---

As Brittany entered her house, she sent a text to Santana to let her know that she was home. They'd spent almost five hours in her studio after school, going over her routine, trying to iron out some of the messy parts. She shouldn't have been surprised that Santana was a fantastic dancer too. The ease with she moved told Brittany that she'd definitely taken dancing at some point, probably before her parents had died.

Brittany sighed as she headed upstairs. She couldn't fathom how horrible it must have been for Santana to have lost her parents at such a young age, especially when she was going through a crisis of her own. She shook her head and walked into her room. She didn't know what she'd do if anything ever happened to her parents. She could only imagine the kind of pain that two of the most important people in the world to her had gone through, and even then, it probably wasn't even close to the actual pain and hurt they'd endured.

The chime of her phone returned her focus to her phone.

Just got home too. Miss you already. Counting down the hours till I get to say goodnight to you! For now, homework :( Love you xxx

Brittany grinned, all sad thoughts diminished. God, she loved her. She was just completely and utterly perfect. Feeling strangely energised, even though she'd just come from hours of dancing, she stripped out of her dance clothes and put her bikini on. Humming one of Santana's melodies, she made her way down to the pool, texting her girlfriend her later afternoon plans. She plugged her iPod into the docking station in the pool room and turned the volume on loud. She loved how it echoed off the tiled floor and walls.

Dropping her phone onto her towel, she dived into the clear water and started doing laps. She found it incredibly relaxing and wasn't sure how long she'd been swimming when she saw a figure standing at the edge of the pool in her peripheral vision. She frowned mid-stroke when she heard her music being turned off. Reaching the far side of the pool, she broke the surface, breathing deeply. She turned around and glared at the intruder,

"What the fuck are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

"Ah, come on, you think I don't remember all the tricks you and Quinn taught me to break into Casa De Pierce?"

"Well, you'd better forget them pretty quickly, Puckerman. You are not even remotely welcome anywhere on my property."

From where she stood in the pool, she could see Puck's eyes narrow. "You think you're so fucking high and mighty, don't you? Just because you went to New York and you live in this big ass house doesn't make you any better than me."

Brittany scoffed and pushed herself out of the pool, ignoring the way he leered at her. "It doesn't take much to be better than scum," she replied nonchalantly, squeezing the water out of her hair.

"Do you have any idea what your little stunt has cost me?" Puck suddenly yelled. "My dad took my car, my bike and my guitar collection. He's shipping me off to military school. And it's your fault."

"My fault?" Brittany retorted incredulously, walking towards her towel. "Are you delusional? You're the one who fucked up, Puckerman. You were the one that decided to fucking tape Santana to a toilet! What kind of sick, twisted asshole does that?"

"You made me!"

"I made you?" Brittany shouted back, losing her tightly controlled temper. "Are you fucking six years old? Huh? Are you so incompetent that you can't make your own decisions? Or is your precious ego so fragile that you felt you needed to torture a mute girl? Is that what you need to get your kicks off now, Puckerman? Because let me tell you what that is. It's what you've always been, ever since we were kids, and that's pathetic."

"Bitch!"

He moved so quickly that she didn't even really have a chance to react. All she could feel was the water hitting her back and then a constant downward pressure. She struggled violently, using her nails, feet, anything to get her back to the surface.

She was strong, but he was stronger. She felt her strength rapidly wane as she ran out of oxygen. She hadn't even had a chance to take a breath before he'd dunked her. In a desperate movement, she aimed for his golden jewels as he'd named them once upon a time. What a douche. She became as wild as her body allowed to be as she fought to maintain the last bit of air in her lungs. She must have connected him, because she felt his hand loosen on her hair and she burst to the surface, gasping frantically.

"You fuck," she growled, clenching her fists and letting them fly, not caring where she hit him, just that she inflicted as much pain as possible. She felt a big hand on her shoulder and he forced her down again.

Hell no. You are not a fuck getting the better of me again, asshole.

She let her fist fly and felt it connect his nose. He cried out in pain and released her. Taking the chance, she pushed away from him, swimming as fast as she could to the stairs. She was breathing hard, trying not to give in to the exertion that was desperately trying to take over her body. She climbed onto the first step, and the second, and that was when she felt him grab her ankle and pull. Because she was in the water, she had no grip and slipped. Her knee jarred against the granite painfully, but the worst was watching as the top step rushed up to meet her head.

---

"Brittany!" Quinn yelled in anguish, dropping her bag and running into the pool room.

"Quinn, wha-holy crap!" Rachel shrieked, following her.

Without thinking twice, Quinn dove into the pool, swimming strongly to where her best friend was laying face down in the water. She swallowed as she gathered her in her arms and turned her over. She whimpered as she saw the deep gash in her head. She was so pale. So, so pale.

"Quinn!" Rachel called.

She snapped out of her panic and waded through the water as quickly as she could. Rachel was kneeling down on the edge, reaching for her sister as soon as Quinn was close enough. She lay her down on the floor next to the pool.

"Is sh-she breathing?" Quinn stammered from the water.

Rachel didn't respond, but checked all of Brittany's vital signs.

"Rachel!" Quinn cried helplessly.

"She's breathing," Rachel said calmly. "But this cut doesn't look good. We should call Chris."

Quinn nodded, but didn't move. She had to be okay. God, she had to.

"Hey, listen to me." She could feel Rachel's fingertips against her cheek. "She's going to be fine. You know Britt. She'll never give anything up without a fight. And now she has the incentive of all."

Quinn's eyes widened.

Santana.

God, did she call her? Did that even work? Or did they just text all the time? How was she supposed to tell her about Brittany? That she was…that she…

"I need you to help me get her to the den, Quinn," Rachel said firmly. "Stay with me, okay?"

Quinn nodded numbly and climbed out of the pool. She pulled her dripping jacket off and knelt down next to Brittany. She slung her limp arm around her neck and tucked her hands underneath her body, hoisting her up. Rachel ran ahead, tossing the multitude of pillows off the big couch. She gently deposited her best friend onto the couch and started trembling.

"R-Rachel, this is…she w-wouldn't, she-"

"I know, Quinn. Something else happened. We will find out what that is, but first you need to call Santana. I'm going to call Chris and Victoria. Okay?"

Quinn nodded, not entirely sure how she was going to do what Rachel asked her to. Rachel was already chattering away on her phone and it suddenly catapulted the blonde into action. She ran back into the pool room, trying desperately not to look at the pink water surrounding where she'd seen her best friend.

God, she'd never been so scared in her life.

Quinn swallowed and with shaking hands, picked up Brittany's phone from the floor next to where her towel and iPod was and scrolled down to Santana's number. She figured that calling her from Brittany's phone probably wouldn't be ideal. She pulled out her own phone and dialled the number.

"Hello?" someone answered.

Quinn blinked. "Santana?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, this is Holly. Who are you, unknown number, and why are you calling my niece?"

"I'm, uh, Quinn. Quinn Fabray. I'm Brittany's friend."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?" Holly replied cheerfully.

"Um, w-w-well, there…" Fuck it, Fabray, just speak!

"Quinn, just breathe and say what you need to say," Holly said in a soothing voice.

She did as she was told. "Brittany's been hurt. I'm not sure how or to what extent, but she's unconscious. Her parents are on their way-"

"Describe her injuries," Holly said abruptly.

"Uh, sh-she has a cut on her head. It's quite bad. She was in the water so I don't know what else."

"Okay, Quinn, listen to me. I have a niece who's about to tear me to pieces if I don't tell her what's going on, so I need you to get Brittany as warm as you can, but be careful when you move her, okay?"

"O-Okay. I got her out and put her in the den."

"Good girl. Keep her warm until we get there."

She was left with a dial tone and stared at her phone blankly. Santana certainly had an interesting aunt. She wondered how in the hell someone like Holly, whom in the thirty seconds she'd spoken to her, was with someone like Shelby.

She walked back towards the den and saw Rachel putting a pillow behind Brittany's head. Well, I guess when it's love, it doesn't matter what their flaws are. She sighed. Because in your eyes, they'll always be perfect.

She swallowed, her mind going back to the surprise waiting for her in the music room when she'd arrived there after lunch.

"Hey."

She looked up and almost immediately started to drown in the brown eyes that would always find a way into her soul. Sometimes she hated it.

"She's going to be fine, sweetie," Rachel said sweetly, her eyes widening momentarily at the slip of the pet name.

Quinn sniffed and stared at Brittany, now covered in a blanket. "W-We have to keep her warm. Santana and her aunt are on their way."

Rachel nodded. "So are Chris and Victoria."

"What can I do?" She looked frantically around the room. "I need to do something."

"Quinn." Rachel gripped her forearms, forcing her to look her in the eye. "Brittany will be fine. It's okay to be scared, or in your case, it's okay to show that you're scared."

The blonde bit her lip, her gaze diverting past Rachel's shoulder to her best friend. "I know I shouldn't feel like this. I mean, you've lost your parents and Santana's lost her parents and who am I? I mean, I just have a fucked up family life. I used to think that if they died then…fuck. I used to wish that, Rachel. I actually fucking wished that." Tears suddenly streamed down her face. "What kind of person wishes that their parents were dead?"

Rachel caught her as her feet collapsed underneath her. Slowly, she lowered herself to the floor with Quinn hanging on her and weeping.

"I've got you," she murmured, kissing Quinn's ridiculous but oddly cute pink hair. "I'm not letting you go."

After about a minute, Quinn broke away from Rachel and stood up abruptly. She cleared her throat, wiped her eyes and walked towards where Brittany was on the couch. Rachel sighed. Baby steps.

---

Ten minutes later, the front door to the Pierce home burst open. Rachel turned away from where she was watching Quinn talk quietly with an unconscious Brittany to see who had arrived. She was met with panic-stricken dark eyes and a quivering lip.

"Hi," a tall woman greeted, holding her hand out. "Holly Holliday, MD."

"Rachel Berry, uh, sister?"

"Never a title to be ashamed of, honey. Where's Blondie?"

"Which one?" Rachel asked in confusion.

Holly rolled her eyes and followed where Santana had gone. She followed Santana and saw Quinn immediately stand up when she saw that the cavalry had arrived.

"San, sweetie, you need to give me a little room," Holly requested, which earned her a fierce glare from her niece. She sighed. "Fine, get behind her. But don't get squeamish, okay?"

Santana rolled her eyes, but quickly dropped her bag, kicked off her shoes and jacket and slid in behind Brittany, substituting the pillow for her thighs.

Rachel just watched Holly with Brittany, Santana with Brittany and Santana with Holly. There was clearly a bond between the young musician and her aunt, something that Rachel hadn't seen Santana share with Shelby.

Quinn moved just as Rachel saw Brittany moving.

"Easy, easy, Blondie," Holly said in a soothing voice.

"Where is he?" Brittany rasped, coughing at the dryness of her throat.

Santana signed for something to drink and Quinn jumped to action.

"Where's who, Britt?"

After glancing around the room frantically to make sure that he wasn't there, she dropped her head back into Santana's lap, her eyes finally meeting her love's.

"Oh, baby," she whispered, lifting her hand to wipe the tears running down Santana's cheeks. "Please don't cry. I'm still here."

Santana just nodded, but the tears continued. As Rachel observed, she realised just how much Brittany and Santana meant to each other. She couldn't help but glance at Quinn, who happened to choose that exact moment to meet her gaze. They stared at each other for a few moments before commotion from the hallway broke it.

With one last look at Quinn, then at Brittany and Santana, Rachel turned to explain what happened to Chris and Victoria.

---

Brittany was lost in Santana's eyes. Her girlfriend couldn't take her brown orbs off her, every now and then flickering up to her head. Brittany frowned and winced.

"You'll want to keep a straight face as much as possible for the next few hours," Holly said firmly, opening her bag.

"Why?"

"Because it looks like you lost a smackdown with the step. What happened?"

"Uh, I-" Brittany started, but was cut off by raised voices entering the den.

"Brittany, what happened?" Victoria asked in worry.

"We were just about to find out," Holly replied, standing up from where she was kneeled next the couch. "Victoria, why don't you and I go make some tea while we have a little chat?"

Somehow, she coaxed Brittany's parents out of the den, which allowed the dancer to let out a sigh of relief. Santana's hands were starting to shake on her shoulders.

Wincing, Brittany pushed herself to sit up. Santana held her arm in alarm.

"I'm okay, baby. Promise. I just need to be closer to you."

Santana just nodded and helped her into a comfortable sitting position, making sure that the warm blanket was snug around her virtually naked body. She glanced to her left and smiled at the love of her life. She opened the blanket, inviting her to cuddle. The younger brunette didn't need a second invitation. She scooted underneath the blanket, burying her face into Brittany shoulder, inhaling deeply.

"I'm here," Brittany whispered, closing the blanket around them. She wiggled her left arm around Santana and pulled her as close as she dared. Her cut or bruise or whatever was on the right side of her forehead, so she could get as close to Santana as possible, which her girlfriend was only too happy with.

Once making sure that Santana was satisfied with their proximity, she looked up and met the matching worried gazes of her sister and best friend.

"Come on, you two," she said tiredly, patting the right side of the couch. "Plenty of space."

Rachel smiled and started forward, pausing only when she realised that Quinn was still rooted to the spot. Brittany smiled and watched as her sister turned around and backtracked to Quinn, taking both her hands in her own. She tugged her a few times until she felt Quinn give and pulled her slowly towards the couch.

Brittany was momentarily distracted by Santana's lips brushing her ear. She froze when she felt a slight breeze across her lobe. She swallowed nervously and turned her head towards Santana's. The Latina was looking at her and biting her lip. She looked petrified.

"I-I love you too, Santana," she whispered. "I love you so damn much."

She kissed her cheek and couldn't help but smile. It had been soft, very soft and almost unnoticeable if Brittany hadn't almost been subconsciously listening for the quietest whisper of I love you from Santana's lips.

It was a start.

---

With Santana holding onto her from her left side and Quinn's hand in her right, Brittany took a deep breath and prepared to explain what she remembered happening.

"I was swimming and all of a sudden, he was just there," she began.

"Who?" Chris asked sharply. He was usually a mild-mannered man, but when his family was threatened, he lost his cool. Much like his daughter.

"Puck."

"Sonofabitch," Quinn hissed.

"Q, let me finish, please? I don't want you going kamikaze on me."

"Britt-"

"Promise me."

Quinn grumbled her agreement, but not happily.

"I'll sic Rachel on you if you misbehave," she teased lightly.

Rachel chuckled from the other side of Quinn, who just scoffed. "Hobbit can't hold me down."

"We'll see," Rachel replied with a smile.

Brittany grinned and squeezed Santana's hand underneath their blanket. Her girlfriend gave a small smile and nodded.

"Britt?" Victoria queried with a frown.

"Oh, right! Puck. So, he was there. I told him to get out, he started talking smack about how I thought I was better than him and how he had everything taken from him because of me. Which, naturally, just tipped the Angry Brittany scale to livid and I totally lost my shit with him. Apparently that wasn't the best idea because – blame Quinn – my insults were quite bad-"

"So not me," Quinn interjected with a pout.

"Anyway, he tackled me into the pool."

"What?" Chris and Victoria shouted angrily.

Santana just held her hand tightly, turning her face into her shoulder. Brittany saw Holly's worried eyes firmly fixed on her niece. Briefly, their eyes met and Brittany nodded in understanding. This was difficult for Santana not just because she had got hurt. It had something to do with her past. Carefully, Brittany shifted so that was closer to Santana and coaxed her into her lap. Santana didn't say anything, just kept her face buried in Brittany's shoulder.

The dancer frowned, not sure if she wanted to continue the retelling if Santana was already so badly affected. The look on her family and Quinn's faces told her that they needed to know as much as Santana didn't.

"Block you ears, baby," she whispered. "Just don't listen, okay?"

Santana nodded and wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck, keeping her face hidden.

Brittany cleared her throat and continued in a low voice, "We were struggling in the pool and he was holding me under the water. I managed to kick him or hit him and he lost his hold on me. I just started hitting him anyway I could. I think I punched him pretty good in the nose cos he let me go completely and that's when I tried to make a break for it. I reached the steps and he grabbed my ankle, I think? Yeah, my ankle. He pulled me back and I hit my knee." She bent her right knee as she suddenly remembered how much it actually hurt.

Quinn released her hand to pull the blanket back. Brittany couldn't see the extent of the damage with Santana in her lap, but the look on her mother's lap was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"I guess that's what he wanted," she said bitterly. "In his mind, I took away his future, so he tried to take mine away too."

Her shoulders shook from the effort to not cry. Her mother knew all about dancing injuries. A knee injury after a car accident had ended her dream of professional dancing. And she'd been good – better than Brittany.

"So when you hit your knee, is that when you hit your head?" Rachel asked quietly.

Brittany shrugged. "Guess so." She felt incredibly sombre about what had happened and took a deep breath. "Um, I'm kinda tired so would it be okay if I just went to bed?"

"That'll be the concussion talking," Holly informed her.

"Concussion?" Brittany asked miserably. She knew what that meant without Holly having to elaborate. No dancing for three, probably four weeks. And that was without whatever damage had been done to her knee.

"B, we were wondering if we could have a sleepover?" Rachel asked quietly. "You remember, like we had when we were younger?"

Brittany just nodded, wrapping her arms tighter around Santana, feeling like everything had been taken from her in an instant. She had to hold onto the most important thing, the most important person to her. She could never lose Santana. She wouldn't survive.

"San?" Holly asked gently.

The brunette just shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around Brittany's neck.

"Just let me know if you need me to call the school tomorrow and excuse you, okay?" Holly murmured, stepping closer to them and resting a hand on Santana's back. "Okay?"

Santana lifted her head and nodded, signing her thanks.

"Okay, sweetie. Take care of your girl." She stood up straight and picked up her bag. "Chris, Victoria. You have one hell of a girl there."

"Thank you for helping her," Victoria replied, standing up to walk her out.

"It was a race between Santana and me to get out the door," she said with a good-natured smile. "Love you girls. Be good."

Santana lifted her arm in a half-hearted wave.

"Rach, a sleepover sounds great, by the way," Brittany said to her sister. "But, um, San and I are gonna go upstairs and take a bath first."

"Britt-" Quinn began.

"I wasn't asking, Q," Brittany cut in tiredly.

She tapped Santana's side and her girlfriend immediately slid off her lap, subtly wiping her eyes as she made sure not to hit Brittany's injured knee. She supported her left side and Quinn her right, and together they pulled her into a standing position. Brittany winced at the pressure on her knee. She also felt light-headed.

"Britt, I don't want you going upstairs like that," Chris said seriously.

"Dad-"

"No, use the guest bathroom for now. I'm sure Rachel and Quinn will bring down whatever you need."

"Definitely," Quinn said, without any snark.

"Um, okay," Brittany agreed. "Q, you know all my nice bath stuff, especially the vanilla one." She smiled at her girlfriend. "San likes that one. Um, and some clothes for us. Santana wears what I wear. Anything else, babe?" she asked.

The younger girl nodded and signed pillow.

"Oh, right. My pillow, please. My big one. Thanks."

"Sure." Quinn headed upstairs and Rachel stepped in to help get Brittany going. After a few steps, she was able to walk by herself, mostly because she didn't want anyone's help. She was stubborn like that. She didn't let go of Santana's hand, though. Not that Santana would have let her.

They reached the guest bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom where Quinn was already running the water.

"Thanks, Q," Brittany said with a grateful smile. "I could never have asked for a better best friend."

Quinn nodded and looked down. "Yeah, well, I need to keep you around to keep my street cred up, you know?"

Brittany smiled. "Love you too, Quinn."

"I'm gonna go," she said suddenly, standing up. "You don't need me anymore. Okay. Um, bye!"

Brittany rolled her eyes and immediately regretted it. "Ow," she muttered, leaning against the sink.

Santana's hands were immediately up around her face, carefully inspecting her. Brittany opened her eyes and let her girlfriend look.

"You haven't kissed me since you arrived," she muttered.

Santana's eyes filled with tears and she smiled, standing on her tiptoes to press a sensual, sweet kiss against Brittany's lips.

"I don't want you to cry," she whispered when the broke apart. "I never want you to cry, especially because of me."

I was scared, Santana shakily signed.

"I know. I know. I was too. But I'm okay."

Santana shook her head, gesturing to her head and knee.

"Physical injuries fade, Santana. The worst thing that could happen would be for you to be taken from me, and that didn't happen. So even if I never dance again – and I really hope that's not the case – I will still always be yours. I will always want you close." She wrapped her arms around Santana's waist, partly for balance and for partly for comfort. "Just like this."

Santana kissed her again and eventually pushed the towel down from around Brittany's shoulders. The blonde swallowed, memories of Saturday night flashing through her mind. That had been both physically and emotionally intense. She had no doubt that the next hour would probably be even more emotional.

She let Santana pull the strings apart that kept her bikini on her body and the material dropped to the floor. To her credit, her eyes never left Brittany's. Even when she undressed herself, their gaze held. When they were both naked, Santana stepped forward. Brittany's heart was racing and she was sure it was going to break some kind of land speed record or something when her girlfriend pressed their bodies together, her lips brushing where they met Brittany's skin on her collarbone.

"You feel wonderful," she whispered, unable to keep the thought to herself.

Santana just nodded her agreement, keeping her arms around Brittany as she guided them towards the bath.

In a reversal of the previous night, Santana got in first, inviting Brittany to lay against her. Slowly the dancer managed to settle into the hot water, immediately feeling more relaxed. She leaned back, feeling secure in the arms of her love.

They just soaked in the warm water, Santana tracing bubble patterns on Brittany's arms and every now and then, giving her sweet kisses against her hair, cheek and shoulders. After about half an hour, when the water's temperature had grown tepid, Brittany suggested they get out. Santana climbed out first and helped the injured dancer out. She was gentle and loving in drying her off, taking extra special care around Brittany's bruised and swollen knee. Just the sight of it brought tears to Brittany's eyes again. She loved dancing. She didn't know what she'd do if she wasn't able to dance. She was at a performing arts school for fuck's sake. She had to perform.

Santana placed a finger over Brittany's lip, telling her to stop her thinking.

"It's hard not to think about it, San," she mumbled.

Her girlfriend nodded in understanding.

Tonight you can't do anything. So tonight, just be with me, she signed.

Brittany sighed. "I couldn't think of anything better."

It took them another fifteen minutes to get dressed and get back to the den.

"Fabray, your ass better not be on my couch," Brittany announced, walking slowly into the den. She paused. "Oh, wow."

The big couch had been turned and pushed against the perpendicular wall, leaving enough space on the floor for a double mattress that looked like it had been stolen from the guest bedroom.

"Don't worry your banged up noggin, Pierce. Your couch is all yours. Like I want you kicking me anyway."

Santana tightened her arms around Brittany's waist and the blonde turned to her, pressing a comforting kiss against her head.

"Only you, remember. My present and future. We can't change the past."

The younger girl nibbled on her bottom lip before nodding.

"Looks like we'll be snuggling all night again," she said with a genuine smile. There seriously wasn't much in the world that could top falling asleep with Santana. There was, of course, hugging Santana, kissing Santana, making her laugh, and being…intimate with her. She smirked at the last thought. The winter showcase seemed like months away, but she couldn't wait.

Santana walked them over to the couch where her pillow was already set up, along with her comforter.

"Thanks, Quinnie. You did a great job."

"I brought food!" Rachel announced, walking into the den dressed in ridiculous pink flannel pyjamas with gold stars. "What?" she asked when the other three girls stared. "Gold stars are my thing, okay?"

"Rach, I'm not really hungry, but thanks," Brittany told her sister, reaching the couch and sitting down in relief. "I'm just exhausted. I'm sorry that this isn't going to be much of a sleepover."

"No, we understand, Britt," Rachel replied with an understanding.

"Thanks. So I'm gonna cuddle with my girl for the next gazillion hours and when I wake up, you're gonna tell me what's going on." She gestured between Rachel and Quinn with a knowing smile.

With Santana's help, she lay back, careful to keep her knee secure against the back of the couch. Her girlfriend grabbed a smaller pillow and put it underneath her hurt knee. Brittany just watched Santana until she was satisfied and sent the blonde a proud smile.

"Genius, my love," she praised. "Now come snuggle me."

Santana immediately slid under the comforter and snuggled close.

"Hmmm, this is seriously one of the best feelings in the world," Brittany murmured, her eyes already drooping closed. "I love you, Santana. I love you."

Just as she slipped into a deep sleep, she heard the barely there whisper of Santana's reply.

"I love you too, Brittany."

---

A/N: I don't have anything against Puck, seriously. I just needed a bad guy for this story…

I know I said earlier that I was going to write a sequel, but I decided not to do that and just continue this story. So instead of there only being two or three more chapters left, the end is now indefinite. But the updates will be more regular because yay for normalcy! :)

Also, you really should read anything and everything by LoneGambit. Especially Faster. Cos it's just awesomesauce in written form.

Onward and up

-H

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