A/N: Hey guys, I'm back again. This chapter gave me so many feels writing it, so I hope you all enjoy it. Please hit the review section and let me know what you think. Also, a massive thank you to all who have already reviewed, both here and on twitter. And thank you all for the favourites and follows :) Any questions or thoughts, hit me up in the PM's or over on twitter. My username is in my bio. Before I let you get on with the reading, I need to address something that was brought to my attention in the reviews of the last chapter. I am not now, nor have I ever been from the US. The only time I've ever been, I was four years old and went to Florida. So it was a shock to me when someone pointed out to me that the term Spook is a derogatory, offensive, racist word in the US. I had NO idea. I am by no means racist, and I didn't intend to offend anyone. The term spook, in the UK, is another word for a Spy, someone who is undercover. Someone who is in an organization like the CIA. That was what I meant when I used the term. It probably won't appear again in this fic, but I left it in the last chapter, because it was important. I hope that clears that up. Once again, I apologise for anyone who was offended. Now on to the next chapter :)
I was driving to the hospital on auto pilot. My mind was in over drive. Anna had collapsed at school after eating her lunch, the lunch I had given her. Only, I hadn't given her lunch. We'd agreed that she should try the school food first. I began to assess all the information I had.
One: The diary I had found at the Statue of Liberty that let me know that Anna's parents were back in the city and planning something big, like really big.
Two: That I hadn't given Anna a lunch, so either someone had made a mistake and given her the wrong lunch, or someone had intentionally given her a lunch to do one of two things: either to hurt her to get at me, or to make her have a reaction, which would send her to the hospital, where they could try and kidnap her.
I had asked the kindergarten teacher, Brittany Pierce to stay with Anna. To go with her to the hospital and to not leave her side. I'd managed to do a little digging into Brittany's background and knew that she seemed to be a pretty good person, with a decent family background and that she loved children. Apart from myself, right now she was the only other person I trusted with my little girls life.
As I pulled up at the hospital, I began to panic. Even though I'd been through all this years ago when I first decided to keep Anna, I hated visits to doctors and hospitals. The CIA had allowed me to create a new identity for my daughter, in order for her to stay with me and be safe. It had never let me down in the past five years, but that didn't stop me from panicking now. I didn't want anyone to discover the truth and let it slip to Anna.
"Hi, I'm Santana Lopez. My daughter Anna was brought in here."
"One second please, ma'am." the receptionist said, as she moved towards her computer and began typing.
My heart rate picked up, my palms became sweaty. I hated being stuck here.
"She's down the hall, take the first left and her room is on the right. She's in room 212."
"Thank you." I breathed, trying not to sigh in relief. They hadn't found out that I wasn't actually Anna's mom.
I fast walked, slow jogged, towards Anna's room. I was good with details, so I found my way to her room easily. When I got there, that sigh of relief I'd been holding finally slipped out. My baby girl was sitting up in bed, talking animatedly to her teacher. I stood still on the spot for a few more seconds, taking in the image in front of me, completely happy and relieved that my little girl was okay, and that she was safe here with her teacher.
"Hey, baby." I said, as I walked into the room and sat right next to Anna's bed. Her teacher stayed sitting on the other side.
"Hi, Mama." Anna said, stretching her arms out for a hug.
"Hi, Santana." Brittany said, as she stood to leave.
"Brittany, hi. Don't go." I found myself rambling out all at once. I hoped she didn't mind me using her first name, but she had called me by mine, so I hoped it was okay.
"Mama, I scared everyone." Anna mumbled, still hugging me around the neck.
"You're damn right you did!" I replied.
"Santana, language!" Brittany said, as she sat back next to the bed.
"Sorry." I replied, blushing a little.
Anna just chuckled. Clearly she found her mother being admonished by her teacher, amusing.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Brittany said, as she started to blush.
The room fell silent for a minute as I checked over my baby girl to make sure there was no lasting damage or bruising or anything from her fall. Brittany seemed to stay quiet, sitting beside Anna's bed, and watching the interaction. Just then the door opened and a woman, slightly older than Santana and Brittany, entered. She walked to the end of the bed and picked up Anna's chart.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Coburn, I take it you're Anna's mom?" she asked, looking at the chart in her hand, then looking up at me.
"I am, Santana Lopez." I answered, reaching out a hand to shake hers.
"How are you feeling now, Anna?" the doctor asked, turning her attention to my little girl.
"Better, thank you." Anna replied. "Although my leg hurts."
"Sorry about that, it's where the paramedics injected you with adrenaline." the doctor explained, as she replaced the chart on Anna's bed.
"Doctor, what happenend?" I asked.
"Your daugher had a severe allergic reaction, and went in to anaphalactic shock. The paramedics gave her a shot of adrenaline, and she recovered pretty quickly. Do you know what caused the reaction?" the doctor asked, looking between me and Brittany, and then down at Anna.
"I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before it happened?" Anna asked.
"That'll do it. Seems you have an allergy to nuts. Did you not know about this already mom?" the doctor asked, turning her attention to me.
I just shook my head. How could I have not known about something so important. Something so life threatening.
"Well, from now on Anna, you will have to carry something called an EpiPen. It's basically just a shot of adrenaline. If anything like this happens again, use it straight away and you should be okay. A nurse will be in soon to give you an antihistamine and for now, I'm going to put you on a short course of steroids so you don't have a recurrance. And we're gonna have to get you a medical bracelet. But apart from that, you can go home soon." the doctor finished, looking back up at me again.
"Thank you."
"Not a problem, just make sure she stays away from nuts from now on. Bye Anna." the doctor said, turning and leaving the room.
"I'm sorry. I can't believe I didn't know." I mumbled, leaning my head down on to Anna's chest. I felt so guilty. I couldn't help but think that her real mom would know stuff like that about her.
"Hey, come on Santana, it's not your fault." Brittany said, getting up and walking around the bed. "Until these things happen, you can't know." she said, placing her hand on the small of my back.
"I'm her mother, I should know these things!" I felt myself getting angry, not at Brittany but it seemed to come off that way. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to lash out at you. This isn't your fault."
"It's okay." Brittany said, running her hand up and down my back. It was distracting.
"No more PB&J sandwiches in my lunch now mom." Anna said, as she moved the strand of her behind my ear. That seemed to be a habit when she was trying to make me feel better.
"Speaking of sandwiches, Brittany how did Anna get a home lunch? She was supposed to have a school lunch today." I asked, trying to distract myself from the movement of her hand on my back.
"I don't know. There must have been a mix up or something. There was a home lunch with Anna's name on it." Brittany explained, removing her hand from my back and taking a step back. "I'll look into it though." she added, making her way back around to the other side of Anna's bed.
"Yeah, please do. Thanks." I answered, instantly missing the feeling of her warm hand.
"I should go. Anna I'll see you at school tomorrow, maybe?" Brittany said, bending down and picking up her purse.
"I don't know, I think she may take a couple of days off. Just to make sure she's okay." I answered, looking down at Anna.
"No, mom. I want to go to school tomorrow. I signed up for a dance class and it starts tomorrow after school. I really wanna go." my little girl whined.
"I don't know, baby. I need to make sure you're okay." I answered, stroking Anna's head.
"I'm fine, mom. You heard the doctor. Please, I really wanna try this new dance class. And I want my new friends at school to know that I'm okay. I scared them pretty bad." Anna rambled.
"Ok, tomorrow you can go back to school. I'll pick you up after and if you feel okay, we can talk about the dance class." I conceded.
"Well, the dance teacher is pretty cool. I'm sure she'd keep an eye on Anna for you." Brittany said. She'd been so quiet, I almost forgot she was still in the room.
"Oh, you know the dance teacher?" I asked.
"Yup, and she's pretty awesome. I think she wouldn't mind watching out for Anna."
"Please, mom?" Anna asked, looking up at me with her big green eyes. I had already lost, I could tell. I could never refuse that look.
"Okay, when I take you to school tomorrow, I'll try and find this dance teacher. I'll let her know what's happened and ask her to look out for you. If she agrees, you can go."
"I agree." Brittany said from beside me.
"What?" I asked, as my brain caught up.
Anna seemed to love the idea of dance even more than she had only moments ago.
"I agree. I'll look out for my favourite student." Brittany said, moving closer to Anna's bed and giving her a high five.
"You're the dance teacher?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"I am. And Anna is in. I'll look after her. Don't worry." Brittany said, moving towards the door of Anna's room. "I'll see you both tomorrow." she added, then left the room.
"She's the best!" Anna exclaimed, excitedly.
My little girl sure wasn't wrong. Her new teacher was becoming even more intriguing to me, and the more time I spent with her, the more I began to like her.
I'd taken Anna home an hour after Brittany had left us in the hospital room. I'd given her the tablets the nurse had told me to, she'd taken a bath and I put her to bed. She needed rest and relaxation. I was exhausted myself, I couldn't believe how tiring the day had been, and not long after I put Anna to bed, I was in bed and falling asleep myself.
The next morning, I was reluctant about sending Anna to school. I wanted her to have the day off, to relax and rest some more before she went back. The last thing she needed was class all day and then a dance class. But she wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Thank you, mama." Anna said, as she leaned over in the car and kissed me.
We were sitting outside her school, most of the other kids had already gone in. I'd decided that we would be a little late, I didn't want her dealing with the hustle and bustle of the bigger kids.
"Come on, let's go find Miss Pierce." I replied, taking off my seatbelt and opening the car door.
Anna walked around the car and stopped next to me. She took my hand and looked at the school. I wasn't sure if she was regretting her decision or not.
"You don't have to go today." I reminded her.
"I know, I want to." she answered and tugged on my hand.
We walked towards the school and stopped at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door. Brittany was standing there, waiting for us.
"Hi, Miss Pierce." Anna said, looking up at Brittany.
"Hey, Anna. How are you today?"
"I'm okay."
"You'll look after her?" I asked, knowing already that she would.
"I will. If there are any problems, I have your numbers." Brittany reassured me.
"Okay, have a good day sweetie." I said kneeling down so I was eye level with my little girl. "I love you."
"I love you too, mama. Bye." Anna said, letting go of my hand and reaching for Brittany's.
I knew she'd be safe. I knew Brittany would look after her. I just couldn't help but worry, I'd entrusted my little girl to this school yesterday and she'd ended up in hospital.
"I promise, I'll look after her." Brittany said, and gave me a small smile.
"Okay, have a good day Anna." I called, as they made their way inside the building. I felt lost. Something didn't feel right but I didn't know quite what it was. I trusted Brittany to look after Anna, and I was sure she'd do her best to look after her.
"Anna!" the chorus of children's voices filled the room as Anna entered the room. Apparently her new friends really did care about her and they were worried.
"Anna, I thought you had died!"
"I didn't think you were coming back!"
"What happened?"
Anna felt herself being pulled away from the questions and over to the table where she had been sitting yesterday. When she looked at who it was pulling her, she realised it wasn't Brittany taking her away from all the questions, but her new friend Lisa.
"Are you okay?" Lisa asked, as she sat down next to Anna.
"Yeah, better than I was yesterday." Anna replied, smiling at her friend.
"Good, you scared us." Lisa replied.
"Sorry."
"Okay, guys come huddle up. Sit here on the carpet while I take the register and see who's here." Brittany said, drawing the attention of all the kids.
The rest of the day went by quickly for Anna. She found herself staying close to Brittany a lot. She didn't know why, but she felt safe when she was around the woman. Now, she was the last child left in the classroom, waiting with Brittany for her mom to come in. Anna had been looking forward to the dance class all day, but she felt a little tired.
"Hey, baby." Santana said, as she walked into the room. She felt so relieved to see that Anna was okay.
"Hey, mama." Anna replied, throwing her arms around her mom.
"Are you okay?" Santana asked, looking down at Anna.
"Yeah, I'm just tired."
"You don't have to come to the dance class today, Anna. I can hold a spot for you." Brittany said, moving closer towards the child and her mother.
"You will?" Anna asked, looking up at Brittany.
"For you, of course." Brittany smiled, she really did like this little girl.
"You wanna go home?" Santana asked, picking Anna up.
"Yeah, I do." the child replied.
"Okay, why don't you go get your bag and your coat and we can get going." Santana said, kissing Anna's head and putting her down to go and get her things.
"She seemed okay for most of the day, she seemed to tire about an hour ago. I was tempted to call you and get you to come pick her up, but she told me not to." Brittany said.
"Thank you. For looking after her. And for keeping her a place on the dance team. She's crazy about dancing, I don't know where she gets it from." Santana rambled.
"It's not a problem. She's a good kid. And I'm sure she's a great little dancer." Brittany smiled.
Santana started to feel awkward. She wanted to do this. She had spent half the day finding it and the other half working out how to say what she wanted to say, without it coming across too weird. She knew Anna would be back any second and she wanted it done before then.
"Look, I uh ..." Santana started.
"Are you okay, you look a little ... hot." Brittany answered. She hadn't meant to so openly flirt, but she could cover that up. Santana did look a little flustered, but hot was a better word.
"I, um ... I got you something." Santana mumbled, handing over a medium sized square white box. "You looked after Anna for me yesterday, and you were there when I wasn't. When she really needed someone. I also know she's kind of your favourite, and I happen to know that you're her favourite too." Santana rambled. She needed to wrap this up. "So I got you something. It's nothing special, and if you don't like it I can return it." Santana knew all of that was lies. She couldn't return it, she'd had it made especially for Brittany. A custom design. It had cost her several hundred dollars and another hundred to have it finished today. There was no taking it back, and it certainly was special. Just like the woman she was giving it to.
"What is it?" Brittany asked, a smile forming.
"Open it and see." Santana smiled.
Brittany took special care opening the box. Inside she found a smaller wooden box. The box looked beautiful, Brittany could only imagine what the gift was going to be like. She opened the box, and took out the item. It had an opening in the middle, when she opened it, she saw the small ballerina twirling around and the music started playing. Brittany couldn't believe what she was seeing. A small tear found its way out of her eye and rolled down her cheek.
"Oh, god you hate it." Santana said, shaking her head at herself.
"No, no." Brittany managed to get out. "I love it. It's super special, and amazing and just wow."
"Cool music box." Anna said, coming back into the room. "Wait, can I call it a box? It's more of an apple." she added.
"Let's go, Anna." Santana said, reaching down and taking her little girls hand.
"Thank you." Brittany said, and before she knew what she was doing, she threw her arms around Santana. "Thank you." she whispered in the brunette's ear.
"You're welcome." Santana breathed.
"It's beautiful." Brittany said, pulling away.
"Just like you." Santana said before her brain could process what she was saying.
"Bye, Miss Pierce." Anna said, as she pulled Santana towards the door.
"Bye, Anna. Bye, Santana." Brittany replied, looking down at the apple shaped music box she knew Santana had to have had made. It was a one of a kind and it was perfect. Just like Santana.