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Til Death Do Us Part
Chapter 2
Santana has been staring a Rachel without saying anything for a few seconds, her mind trying to process what her girlfriend has just said. She definitely wasn't expecting Rachel to say that.
"What? I...What?" Santana asks when she finally finds her voice.
"I know you're confused" Rachel says.
"That's an understatement."
"Please would you let me explain myself?"
"Go ahead. I would love to hear you explain how you're already married!"
"Please don't be like this."
"How do you expect me to react? My girlfriend just told me that she's married. That's a big thing for me to process."
"I know but if you let me explain, everything will be a lot clearer and hopefully you'll understand. Can we just go home so we can talk?" Rachel asks.
"Okay, fine."
They walk back to their apartment in complete silence. Rachel attempts to say something to her girlfriend, but every time she tries she thought better of it. When they reach the apartment Santana pours herself a large glass of wine before making her way out of the kitchen and into the living room.
She finds Rachel sitting on the couch, but instead of sitting in the empty space next to her, she sits on the chair.
"You said you were going to explain, so explain" Santana says before taking a large sip of wine.
"When I said I was married, I should have been more technical and said that I am separated. However, we never managed to make anything legal."
"So you're not like married with kids, living a double life or anything?"
"Santana we've been dating for five years and have been living together for two of those years, do you really think I could hide a spouse and children?"
"You managed to hide the fact that you were married easily enough."
"I know. I'm very sorry about that, but it's in my past and it's something I would rather stay there."
"So do you have a husband or a wife?" Santana asks.
"I was married to a man; you're the only woman I've ever been in love with."
"Who is he?"
"His name is Nick and he was my high school boyfriend."
"So when did you marry him?"
"A year after high school. I was so in love with him, when he proposed I couldn't say no. Our parents and friends told us that we were crazy to get married so young, they told us we wouldn't last but as always I wouldn't listen. I thought we'd be on of those couples that lasted, but of course I was wrong and everyone else was right. We didn't even last a year" Rachel explains.
"So why didn't you get a divorce?"
"I tried to, but after we broke up, he moved away and we lost contact with each other. I tried to find him, but not even his parents knew where he was. When I met you I forgot all about him, you made me forget about the stupid mistake I made in the past and made me fall in love with you."
"I still don't get why you never told me."
"I was embarrassed by my actions; I married my high school boyfriend straight out of high school. When we first met I didn't mention it because I thought you'd think I was easily committed and that it would scare you off but I'm not like that, I was young and stupid at the time."
"You think that little of me? I wouldn't have thought that at all. I understand how strong you feel for your first love, trust me I've experienced it. All of your emotions feel heightening in high school and you obviously felt strongly for this guy that you agreed to marry him. I also know that not everything works out the way you want it to" Santana says.
"I know I went about this the wrong way but I have told people I've dated in the past and they've seemed put off by it. It was wrong of me to hide it from you; you're such a wonderful person I should have known that you would understand."
"I would have understood and I'm very disappointed that you felt the need to lie to me. We've been together for five years and we pride ourselves on never lying to each other and now I find out you've been lying to me since the very beginning. How do I know that you haven't lied about other things?" Santana asks.
"I'm hoping you know me well enough to know that I would never lie to you and this particular secret was the only thing I've ever hid from you. I know I've broken your trust, but I swear this is the only thing I have not told you about."
"I can't deal with this now. I was expecting to ask you to marry me tonight and instead I find out that somebody else got there first. I'm going to bed."
Santana makes her way to their bedroom; she knows that Rachel won't follow her. Rachel is well verse in how to deal with an angry Santana, she just let's her have her space so she can calm down. Rachel knows that Santana will always go to her when she's ready.
At the moment Santana's head is all over the place, she just wants to sleep on it and deal with things tomorrow.
Santana leaves Rachel asleep the next morning as she leaves for work. She still wasn't ready to talk and she had a long day of work ahead of her so she didn't want to add any more stress to the day. As she enters the station Santana is greeted by her partner and best friend.
"Hey Santana, how did the proposal go?" Dobbs asks.
"Not the way I planned. It's complicated."
"She didn't say no did she?"
"She didn't say no but she didn't say yes either" Santana explains.
"Yeah that does sound complicated."
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"No worries but you know that if you ever do, I'm here."
"Thanks Dobbs."
"No problem. You have someone waiting for you in interview room one."
Santana enters interview room one carrying two Styrofoam cups. She's been dealing with this woman for years now, so she knows that a gentle approach is the best way.
"Hey Carmen, I brought you a nice cup of coffee" Santana says placing the cup on the table in front of the woman.
"I hope it's the good stuff and not that crap from the vending machine."
"Only the best for you Carmen. So first of all, how you holding up?" Santana asks as she takes a seat at the other side of the table, across from Carmen.
"I'm good."
"You staying off the drugs?"
"I've been clean for six weeks."
"Good, just make sure you keep it up. So on to business, we have to thank you. Thanks to your tip off, Kyle Walker is now behind bars. However, we think this is a bigger operation than just a few drug dealers so we need more information."
"I've already put my ass on the line for you" Carmen snaps.
"You're ass would be in jail if it wasn't for me."
"Fine, I'll try, but I'm not endangering myself for you."
"We don't expect you too. Just keep your ear to the ground and if you think you hear something that might interest us then you report it to us immediately."
"I actually heard one of my clients on his cell phone yesterday. He was talking about a shipment that was coming in."
"I need more information than that Carmen" Santana presses.
"He didn't say where, but he did say he'll see the other person tomorrow."
"Come on Carmen is there anything else you remember."
"He mentioned the name Estevez and that's all I know, I promise."
"Was it Tiago Estevez?"
"I don't know he just said Estevez."
"Alright, thanks Carmen. If you have any more information, you call me immediately."
Santana stands up from the table and exits the room; she has a drug dealer to hunt.
At 9am Santana and a few other officers including Dobbs all gather in a meeting room with Captain Matthews to go over the Estevez case.
"Lopez, update us on what we've got" Mathews says, gesturing for Santana to stand at the front of the room.
"Our target is Tiago Estevez" Santana says pointing at the photograph pinned to the whiteboard.
"He's been in our sights for the past couple of months but we haven't been able to get any concrete evidence that would result in his arrest. Reports suggest that he's the main man behind the increase in drugs being supplied in Lima. He supplies the dealers and the dealers supply the people."
"We had some information about a new dealer that's offering a cheaper product, my informant received information that this dealer was Kyle Walker" Santana explains, pointing at the photograph of Walker pinned on the white board.
"We assume there is a connection between Walker and Estevez, but after his arrest Walker wouldn't talk. The informant that told me about Walker told me about a phone call she overheard. There's a shipment of what we can only assume are narcotics being transported at sometime tomorrow. We have no idea exactly when or where but the informant heard Estevez's name mentioned. We have Estevez's home address so I suggest we send a surveillance team to follow him for twenty four hours, where he goes we go and hopefully he'll lead us straight to the drug deal."
"Okay good work Lopez. I'll get a schedule set up as soon as possible for the surveillance teams. When we have any information, we'll alert you immediately. Meeting over" Mathews says.
After the meeting Santana and Dobb's head out to their police car. As they drive around the streets of Lima, Dobbs notices that is partner is quieter than normal.
"You okay Lopez?"
"I'm fine" Santana replies.
They sit in silence for a few more minutes until Santana decides to speak up.
"When you were dating Maggie, what would you have done if you found out she was married?" she asks.
"Rachel's married?"
"It was hypothetical."
"So hypothetically, is Rachel married?" Dobbs asks with a smirk.
"You're such an ass. I was trying to open up."
"I'm sorry; you know I'm an insensitive asshole. That's why we get along so well, but I did tell you that I was here if you wanted to talk. So tell me what's going on."
"Rachel is married or she was married. They're separated but not legally, so we can't get married until she gets a divorce" Santana explains.
"Why didn't they get divorced?"
"She tried but the guy just disappeared."
"You're a cop; there are procedures we can use to find someone. All you have to do is find the guy and ask him for the divorce and then you and Rachel can get married."
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is simple. I'm surprised you hadn't thought about it yourself."
"I didn't mean that finding the guy was simple. It's the situation; she lied to me for five years. We've talked about past relationships with each other before, we've always been honest with each other and this is a big thing to lie to me about" Santana explains.
"So other than the fact she lied about being married, you guys are completely honest with each other?"
"Of course we are."
"The other week Maggie asked me to visit her family in Miami. I told her that I was working, but I really went to watch the Indians play. A lot of people tell white lies to their partners all of the time, the fact that you and Rachel are so honest with each other shows what a strong relationship you have."
"This wasn't a little white lie though. This was a big lie, a lie that can potentially ruin our future."
"It will only ruin your future if you let it. If you love Rachel and you want to marry her find the guy, get the divorce and marry your girl."
"I thought you were supposed to be an insensitive asshole."
"Well I have my moments" Dobbs smiles.
"Thanks Dobbs. It really helped to talk to someone about this, knowing me I would have done something rash and destroyed my relationship."
"Yeah well I wasn't doing it for you. I just didn't want a mopey partner if you and Rachel broke up."
"The asshole returns."
"It was getting too sentimental and I was getting uncomfortable" Dobbs laughs.
The unmarked police car pulls up to the curb a few feet away from the suspect's house. The car in front of them turns on its engine and slowly moves away from the place it was parked. It's another unmarked police car that had been watching Tiago Estevez's house, they had been there for a few hours and now it was Officer Clarke and Officer Barnes' job to take over the surveillance.
"I hate stake outs" Clarke states.
"I think they're exciting, you never know what's going to happen and you should always expect the unexpected."
"This guy had been under surveillance for over twenty hours and so far he's been to the seven eleven and to the diner down the street."
"Just be glad that we got the last shift, if something is going to go down it'll be during the next few hours and we'll be in the middle of all the action" Barnes explains.
"So how many of these stakeouts have you been on over the years?"
"I'd say about forty in my thirty years of service. I remember one time we were following a suspect and we saw him go into his house. We watched the house for twelve hours waiting for the warrant to come through so we could arrest him, but by the time we got the warrant and stormed the house we couldn't find him. He just disappeared."
"So what happened?"
"We searched the house and we found a secret room behind a bookcase, it was like something out of a spy movie. We broke through the door and there was the suspect just sat there watching TV."
"Yeah well I hope that isn't the case with this guy" Clarke says.
"I think you're in luck, the suspect is just leaving the house."
They watch as Tiago Estevez gets into his black BMW with tinted windows. He pulls out of the driveway and when he nears the end of the street the officers decide that he's a far enough distance to start tailing him.
They follow a safe distance behind the BMW, they had made it this far and they didn't want to blow their cover now. Estevez stops in a parking lot of a warehouse that looks abandoned. He exits his car and quickly scans the area before entering the building.
They sit and wait for half an hour to see how the situation progresses. Another car appears and out steps a tall man with blonde hair.
"That's Eric Marsden. He's a known drug dealer; he just got out of prison a few months ago. It looks like old habits die hard" Barnes says as he picks up his radio.
"Captain Matthews, this is Officer Barnes. Officer Clarke and I have followed Tiago Estevez to an abandoned warehouse in Lima Heights. We also have a new development; Eric Marsden a repeat offender for supplying has just entered the warehouse. We're sure that this is the location where the exchange is going to happen."
"Good work boys. You two stay in your current location and we'll send back up."
Santana and Dobbs arrive at the warehouse, but they're not the first there. There are four other police cars surrounding the entrance to the building.
"Lopez! We have the building surrounded, there are three possible exit points and we have two officers stationed at each point. There are three suspects that we know of, Tiago Estevez, Eric Marsden and an unknown male, no one else has entered or exited the warehouse since we've been here."
"Okay, good work Barnes. We'll enter the building through the main entrance only; it'll give us the chance to intercept them if they run towards the other exit points. We go in armed as a precaution; I want all of these guys in custody before the end of the night." Santana explains.
"Dobbs, Barnes and Clarke you'll enter with me, once we're in I want you two to man the main entrance" Santana says to the officers stood next to the police car closest to the warehouse.
Santana pulls out her gun from its holder and turns off the safety.
"Everyone ready?"
The group of officers nod their heads in reply.
"Then let's go."
Dobbs walks over to the door, grabs the handle and waits for Santana's say so. She gives him the nod and he forcefully opens the door. Santana holds her gun out steady as she enters the building, Dobbs following right behind her.
The warehouse was pretty dark, the only light being emitted from a section of lights that are fully functioning. In the middle of the large space is a table that is surrounded by three men.
"LPD. Get down on the floor. Now!" Santana yells.
Dobbs is on her right flank and Barnes on her left. The intrusion in the warehouse surprises the three men, the young unknown male immediately drops to the floor, but Marsden's first instinct is to run. He runs towards the back of the warehouse where there is a fire exit, he opens the door and is greeted by two armed police officers.
"Down on the ground with your hands behind your head" one of the officers tells Marsden.
"We have this place surrounded so there is no point trying to run" Dobbs explains.
"Barnes, you get the kid. Dobbs you take Marsden and I'll deal with Estevez" Santana commands as she walks over to the man she's been searching for, for weeks.
"Alright Tiago, no sudden moves. Put your hands behind your back."
"I'm going to kill Walker" Estevez says as Santana hand cuffs him.
"Okay two things. One, making death threats in front of a cop is never a good idea. Two, Walker didn't sell you out. He's been quite quiet since we locked him up in a jail cell, if you're lucky you might get the one next to him."
"You cops ain't that smart. Someone must have sold me out and I'm going to find out who."
"Well you might have to wait a while because if I get my way you'll spend at least the next five years in a cell."
"Tiago Estevez you're under arrest for the suspicion of possession and the intent to supply. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. However, if you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand?" Santana asks.
"Yes, now when can I speak to my lawyer?"
"You can call him at the station" Santana says as she pulls him off the ground.
"Clarke will you take him to the car, I'm going to take a look around?"
Santana approaches the table in the middle of the room and finds it's scattered with a couple of empty beer bottles.
"It looks like these guys were having a party as well as a drug deal" Santana says to Dobbs as he approaches the table.
"Well I have a lot of experience from gate crashing parties in high school, so I'm happy to gate crash this one."
"I never had to gate crash a party, I was always invited" Santana teases.
"Of course you were, you were a cheerleader! So what've we got here?"
"It looks like it was just a taste test. We got a couple of blocks of powder, possibly cocaine and a bag of marijuana."
"There's a couple of bags of pills here too. It looks like their catering for all needs."
"Walker was supplying pills. Once we've tested these, if they're a match we might be able to connect him to this operation" Santana says.
"Here's hoping. We both know that asshole is connected to this somehow."
"Well Estevez threatened to kill him for being a rat so he's definitely connected, we just need hard evidence to prove it in a court of law" Santana says as a short woman with red hair approaches her.
"Officer Lopez, I'm Wendy Jones and I'm here to collect the evidence."
"Alright, thanks Wendy. Let me know the results as soon as you have them."
"Looks like it's going to be a late one, we better call the wives from the station" Dobbs says.
"Yeah Rachel will get worried If I come home late without telling her, especially after this morning."
"You haven't talked to her at all since this morning?"
"I wasn't ready. I needed more time to think it through before I talked to her" Santana explains.
"Well you're going to get plenty more time if we have to work through the night."
"That's why for now I'm going to focus on the case and deal with my relationship when I get home."
When Santana enters the station she walks over to her desk, picks up the phone and dials Rachel's number. She's waiting for the voicemail to pick up so she's surprised when she hears Rachel answer.
"Oh hey, sorry I was expecting the answering machine. I thought you'd be in bed."
"I am, but I answered when I saw your name."
"We got a break in the case I'm working on so I just wanted to let you know that I will be home late. I probably won't see you until tomorrow."
"Okay well thanks for letting me know, you now how I worry about you" Rachel says.
"I'll be fine it's mostly interviews and paperwork."
"Santana, about this morning."
"Please Rach, I don't want to talk about this now. I promise we'll talk tomorrow though, just know that I love you."
"I love you too Santana."
"Good night" Santana says before putting the phone down.
"Everything okay?" Dobbs asks as he approaches the desk.
"Peachy. How's Maggie?"
"Fine, she just told me not to wake her up when I got home. I doubt she'd have noticed if I wasn't there anyway" Dobbs laughs.
"Okay, I'm gonna need coffee to keep me going through the night."
"Well you know how I like mine."
Santana makes her way over to the coffee station and fills two mugs with steaming hot coffee. She adds one spoonful of sugar to hers and two with a splash of milk into Dobb's mug. She gives them both a quick stir before heading back over to her partner.
"Here, I hope you choke on it" Santana says as she puts the coffee on the desk in front of her partner.
"Thanks."
Just as Santana sits in the chair behind the desk Captain Matthews enters the room.
"Burning the midnight oil?" Matthew's asks.
"We're just waiting for news on the suspects." Santana replies.
"Estevez and Marsden won't talk and the kid is as high as a kite so we can't interview him until tomorrow. Estevez's lawyer is stuck in Boston and Marsden needs a lawyer provided for him and we can't get one down here until tomorrow" Matthews explains.
"So we have to wait until tomorrow to interview them all?" Santana asks.
"It looks that way. I suppose the only advantage is to get some paperwork done and to give the case notes a once over to make sure we're fully prepared for the interviews. I want both of you conducting them bright and early in the morning."
"Yes sir."
"You two have been doing a great job on this case, don't let me down now."
"We won't sir, you can count on us" Dobbs says.
Captain Mathews exits the room, leaving Santana and Dobbs with a desk piled with case files.
"So where do you want to start?" Santana asks.
"Well as we suspected we now know that Kyle Walker was involved in this operation."
"Well Estevez made the threat, but unfortunately it was before I read him his rights so we might have to get him to admit that he said it on tape."
Dobbs nods his head as he reaches for another case file, he chose the one with the photo of their unknown suspect attached to it. He opens the file and quickly scans through the information.
"So our unknown male is Thomas Phelps. He's twenty two and has a previous conviction for burglary when he was eighteen" Dobbs explains.
"So he's moving up in the crime game. Have you found any other connection between Estevez, Marsden, Phelps and Walker?"
"The only cross reference is that Phelps and Walker went to the same high school. They're the same age so it's probable that they were in the same grade."
"That's a good start. We'll have to go over all of these case files to make sure we're properly prepared for tomorrow" Santana says picking up another case file.
She knows she'll need another coffee soon, they're going to be spending at least another two hours going over the evidence they have in preparation for the interviews tomorrow. They had been working on this case for a long time and they might finally get a break.
Santana quietly makes her way into the apartment, it had been a long day and all she wants to do is get in bed and get some sleep. She sneaks into the bedroom that she shares with Rachel, with her job she has been home late many times so she's perfected a routine that gets her into bed as quickly and as quietly as possible.
Santana gently slips into the bed, but when her head hits the pillow she notices a pair of brown eyes looking at her through the dark.
"I'm sorry; I tried not to wake you."
"I always find it hard to sleep when you're working late" Rachel replies.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault; I just worry because your job is dangerous."
"You know I'll always come home to you."
"Do I?" Rachel asks.
"Yes. I know I freaked out this morning, but I meant what I said on the phone earlier, I love you. I love you so much and that's why I asked you to marry me, we just have an obstacle to get over before we can officially be engaged."
"By obstacle you mean the fact I'm married."
"Yes that. Don't worry, I'll find a way to get you out of that marriage so then you can start a new one with me. Although technically you haven't said yes yet."
"Once my previous marriage is officially over than you can ask me again and find out what my answer will be."
"Well I hope it's a yes after I go through all of that effort."
"Does this mean you forgive me?" Rachel asks hopefully.
"We've always been honest with each other so it hurt me to find out that you had been lying to me since we met. It took a while for me to deal with the situation, but it doesn't change how I feel about you. I don't doubt the trust I have for you so yes, I forgive you."
"I wish we weren't in this mess, I would marry you tomorrow if I could."
"I thought you were supposed to keep me in suspense with your answer?" Santana teases.
"Well unfortunately for me, I wear my heart on my sleeve."
"It's one of the things I love about you, I always know how your feeling."
"We should go to sleep. I have to get up early and you've been working all day. Good night San, I love you."
"I love you too baby" Santana replies.
She brushes her lips against Rachel's in a sweet kiss before they move into their usual sleeping position, with Rachel's back against Santana's chest. Santana is always the big spoon; she thinks it's because of her natural protective instinct. She feels safer having Rachel in her arms just the way Rachel feels safer wrapped in the comfort of Santana.