A/N: Here's the chapter I've been teasing you all about! It's exactly 3,998 words haha so extra long, plus extra good ;) Remember, 50th reviewer gets a shoutout guys!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee!

PLEASE enjoy, favorite, follow and REVIEW!

I have to go so I don't have time to reread this right now and make edits, but I shall reread it as soon as I get the chance and if I find anything major I'll fix it haha :P

^Yep found a big problem. Forgot my shoutouts and left my reminders in the story lol. Well, shoutout to shananan5, who suggested the Abuela flashback, and shoutout to ChaserMoonstone who asked for a flashback in which Dantana was talking about forever. Sorry it wasn't as fluffy as you wanted :P

Also sorry for the mistake haha, I was rushing, but all fixed now ^.^

I woke up bright and early, and with the realization that I really had no idea what I was doing here. I guess I was here to sort of reunite with my parents, but how did I expect this trip to help me move on in my life at all?

I got up and got dressed and ready for whatever I was going to do today. Then I went downstairs, where both of my parents were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. "Morning, mija," Papi greeted me.

"There's coffee in the pot if you'd like some," Mami told me with a smile.

"Gracias," I returned, smiling and going to pour myself some coffee.

My Papi cleared his throat. "So, Santana," he started, "what exactly are you going to do while you're in town? You mentioned how you felt like you needed a break from your normal life, but how do you think coming back here will give you that?"

I swallowed thickly and looked down at my coffee. What was something that I really needed to change or set right here, besides the fact that I hadn't seen Dani in eleven years. Not that that particular problem could be solved here, she was in LA after all.

Then something popped into my mind.

A few weeks after Dani's mom's car was found on the outskirts of Austin, Texas found me finally deciding to openly come out to everyone outside of my parents. Now that I knew they accepted me, what did I really have to worry about?

I did wish that Dani was still here with me, though. It was always easier to do things like this with her.

I was starting with my Abuela. The last thing I needed was for her to hear about it through the grapevine instead of directly from me. So one sunny day saw me borrowing my mom's car to drive to the other side of town, where my Abuela lived.

I had called her to let her know that I was coming over, so she was expecting me when I got there. Of course, that meant there was food sitting out for me when I came in. My Abuela always insisted that I was far too skinny and needed more meat on my bones. She was one to talk, considering that she was all skin and bones.

"You like the salsa?" she asked me, after I had a few bites of what she'd made for me.

"Of course, Abuela," I answered, giving her a smile. I always loved her food. I swallowed thickly though, and she could probably tell that I was nervous about something.

"Santana, did you come here to tell me something?" she asked me pointedly. I took a shaky breath and nodded.

"Si," I answered, my voice less powerful than I would've preferred. "Abuela… over the years, I've become more and more comfortable with who I am and how I've grown."

She nodded slowly, as though trying to guess what it was that I was planning on telling her.

"You know, I learned to be so strong from you, Abuelita," I reminded her, before wetting my lips slightly with my tongue. "There's a part of me that I've been hiding for a long time, because I was afraid of what everyone would think of me. But I'm not afraid anymore, Abuela, and I want to share that part of me with you."

The older Latina gave me an expectant look, waiting for me to get to the point.

"Abuela, I love girls, the way I'm supposed to feel about boys," I admitted. "I guess I just kept it hidden because I was afraid that people would look at me differently…"

My Abuela took in a deep breath through her nose, something I knew that she did when she was thinking hard. "Santana, this is a sin."

I swallowed nervously and shook my head. "No, Abuela, it's not. It's how I was born…"

"Fine, it's how you were born, but acting on it and speaking of it is the sin, Santana," she snapped at me.

"Are you trying to tell me that I should have not told anyone?" I asked, hurt lacing my voice. My grandmother looked at me with an uncomfortable look that I didn't really understand.

"I want you to leave, Santana, and I don't want you to come back," she said, effectively shattering my heart even more than it'd been shattered in the last few weeks. I'd lost my girlfriend, and now my Abuela. Who was next? What was next?

"Abuelita, I am the same person I was before I told you," I pleaded. She just shook her head.

"Out, Santana."

I blinked, and a tear dropped from my right eye. I pursed my lips and nodded. "Right." I grabbed my purse, stood up from the table, and left. As I walked outside, my tears went into full hurricane mode. I was sobbing by the time I got into my mom's car. I sat behind the wheel, not able to control the sobs and tears coming out.

I needed Dani. She was the only person who would make me feel better after all of that.

And she wasn't here for me. She was supposed to always be here for me. Always. And now, she wouldn't ever be here for me. Never. She was gone.

A new wave of sobs took over, and I sat there in front of my Abuela's house for nearly half an hour before I could finally see well enough through my tears to drive home safely.

My life was officially and completely ruined.

"Santana?" my Mami said, shaking me out of my flashback. I realized that a tear had fallen from my eye, and I quickly wiped it away and took a sip of my coffee.

"I have to talk to Abuela," I told my parents. My parents exchanged concerned looks, and my expression hardened. "What are you not telling me?"

"Santana, your Abuela passed away a year ago," my Papi told me softly.

My mouth went completely dry. "What?"

"She got sick," my Mami explained.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't I get to go to her funeral?" I demanded.

"She didn't want a big funeral," my Papi told me. "She didn't want her death to bring anyone more pain than it had to."

I was crying already. "S-so now I just never get to know if she would have ever accepted me."

"She left you a letter," my Mami told me. "I'll go get it."

She disappeared, and my Papi met my eyes. "Santana, this letter… she didn't want you to have it right away. She wanted to wait until you came back for us to give it to you. I'm not sure how she knew that you would come back, considering how you never wanted to come back when you left. That's why we never gave it to you until now. We were respecting your Abuelita's last wishes."

I nodded that I understood, even though I wasn't exactly positive that I did, and wiped some of my tears away. My Mami came back into the room with a white envelope. On the outside, in my grandmother's neat cursive, my name was written. I swallowed the choked up feeling I had.

"Are you going to read it, mija?" Mami questioned carefully.

"Yes. But not here. I'm going out to me and— um… just this place in the woods. I need to be alone I think. I'll uh… I'll be back later. Thank you, for this letter. And I understand that you were respecting Abuela's wishes, but I really wish you would've called me when she got sick," I told them, trying too keep any bitterness out of my voice.

They nodded, and I took a deep breath.

I left the house and started walking to me and Dani's spot. That was the only place that I was sure I could go to be alone. After Dani left, I went there a lot. To remember her, or just to feel like I was in a safe place, even when she wasn't there to make me feel safe.

My heart clenched painfully in my chest. I didn't have Dani anymore, and I didn't have my Abuela.

I got to the clearing before I knew it, and felt tears coming on again. The place was completely unchanged, even after eleven years. The trees were as green as always, as was the grass. Our hut cabin thing still stood. I carefully made my way over to it and glanced inside. The blankets and pillows were still in there, though some of them seemed to be a little torn up. Probably by a squirrel or a raccoon. I leaned against the outside of the hut and breathed in the fresh air around me, closing my eyes. I tried to remember the last time that Dani and I were here together.

"Dani, how long do you think we'll be together?" I asked her. It was the day before the first day of school.

Dani flashed me a sweet smile. "How long would you like for us to be together?"

I rolled my eyes playfully at her. She was probably the mushiest person in the world, always lovey dovey and giving me those smiles. "I asked you first," I said, nudging her. She leaned her head against my shoulder as we sat with our back to the back of the hut, watching the sky together.

"Well, I don't ever want to leave you," Dani reasoned. "I love you too much."

"I love you too much, too," I agreed, giggling a little bit. Dani was the only one that I ever really giggled with. It made sense, though, because she was also the only person I could be myself with.

"So, I guess that means that we're going to be together forever," Dani reasoned. She lifted her head a little bit and turned it so that our faces were facing each other. I gave her a smile and then kissed her lightly on her lips. She kissed me back, smiling into the kiss and then pulled away to lean her head back on my shoulder. "I love you, Santana."

"I love you too, babe."

I took in a shaky breath and opened the letter from my Abuela.

Dear my sweet Santana,

As I write this, I know that I am a coward. I have told your madre y padre not to call you and tell you about my approaching deathbed. If you come here, I will have to tell you all of my regrets, and I am too cowardly to do that. So I will write them down, and one day, you will see them.

Ten years ago, I thought I did right by you when I disowned you. I thought that what you are was a sin and that if I couldn't fix it, I had to get rid of it. As I approach the end of my life, I am starting to realize that I wasted ten years of memories we could have been making. You were my only grandchild, and I ruined our relationship.

I know that you will be hurt by your mother and father when you find out that they didn't tell you that I died, assuming that they carry out that wish of mine. Do not be angry with them, Santana.

I want you to know, though, that before I died, I accepted you in my heart. I admitted to myself what I did wrong, and I need you to know that when I passed, I loved you with every ounce of my being. I will watch over you from wherever I go once I die, I promise.

Love,

Abuelita

Tears were falling again, I did my best to keep them from falling on the letter. People liked to do this to me. They liked to leave without anything but a note as a goodbye. I folded the letter carefully back the way it was and slipped it into its envelope as I sobbed into the empty area.

DANI

I woke up in a state of panic. Today was the day that I would see my parents for the first time in eleven years. I got up off of the uncomfortable hotel bed and changed, redid my smeared makeup and fixed my blond hair. Once I was comfortable with my look, I took a deep breath. "You can do this Dani. You can do this."

So I left the hotel, deciding that I would probably be staying one more night and leaving my things in the room, aside from my purse. I ran my fingers through my hair as I started my rental car and started back to my old neighborhood. Intending not to draw too much attention to myself, I parked my car down the street from my parent's house, and the Lopez house.

I got out of the car over there, being sure to lock it up, and then started walking down the street. I got to my parents' house first, and slowly turned up onto the walkway to the door. Taking a deep breath, and I did my best to push away all of my fears.

Nevertheless, my hands were shaking uncontrollably as I lifted of them to knock on the door. I swallowed nervously and knocked on the door. Things were silent for a moment, and the I heard the hand turn on the other side of the wooden door. My heart clenched in my chest as my nerves brought on the feeling that I was about to get sick.

And then I saw my mother's face. First, it was casual, like she was expecting a mailman or something. Then fear, surprise, sadness, and finally something like joy took over her expression. "Dani," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. I swallowed away the sob I felt coming on and forced a smile.

"Hi, mom," I greeted.

"C-come in," she insisted, stepping backwards and giving me room to come in.

"Who was at the door?" came my father's voice from a few rooms over. I took a shaky breath.

"Dad?" I called. My dad appeared almost instantly from around a corner, his eyes wide.

"Dani… you… you're here."

I shrugged slightly. "Yep."

"Let's all sit down, hm?" my mom suggested. "How about some tea? You still like the mint stuff?"

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"If you're sure," my mom said, leading me into the living room. Looking around the house made my heart clench painfully. We all sat down around the small room, and my parents both stared at me like I was an alien.

Finally, I decided that we might as well start somewhere. "Before we start talking about anything, I just want to say that I am sorry that I had to leave."

"You didn't have to leave…"

I gave my dad a sad half smile. "Yes, I did. If I hadn't, I may never have made it as far as I have."

"What do you mean?" my mom asked carefully.

"I live in LA. I have my own place, and I work. I just came out with a single that's on the radio now, mom," I explained.

"I haven't heard it," she admitted.

"How did you manage to stay so hidden from us then? We looked you up countless times," my dad wondered.

I bit my lip guiltily. "I changed my last name."

Something like hurt flashed across my father's face. I went wet my lips with my tongue, but found that my whole mouth was strangely dry.

"I'm sorry that I had to hurt you guys. But the fact is that you hurt me first, and couldn't see myself living here for a whole 'nother year," I explained, trying to keep this conversation very adult like. How else would I show my parents that I was all grown up? I knew that they wouldn't believe it if I didn't show them. They would assume that I was just the same as I was when I left. "But I'm not scared anymore. And well… my best friend is the one who suggested I come back here and talk to you guys again."

"Are you… are you still…" My dad didn't seem to be able to get his question out, but I was pretty sure that I knew what he was going to ask me anyway.

"Am I still gay?" I asked, asking if that was his question. He swallowed visibly and nodded. "Yes. You may not believe it, but that actually isn't something someone can change about themselves."

My mother pursed her lips together and exchanged a look with my dad. I took a deep breath.

"And if you can't accept me still, after eleven years, you should probably just tell me now so that I can leave. I've done everything I could in the last eleven years to surround myself with people who build me up, rather than break me down. I don't want to move backwards anytime soon," I explained.

"You have grown up so much," is all my mother said, looking me up and down. I had filled out over the years; gone from a lanky teenager to a curvy woman. My hair was blonde, I had more of a modern style. I was barely the girl they remembered.

I nodded, still waiting for them to tell me whether or not they could accept me for who I was this time around. "Dani, what happened when you reached Austin?"

All those years ago. I took a deep breath. "I did some stuff for a while until I had enough money to get to LA. Figured out what it was like to be alone and to grow up without anyone to help you."

My parents exchanged looks. "We never wanted you to leave, Dani," my dad told me. "We didn't want to lose you like that."

"I know," I answered. "But you wanted me to be someone that I couldn't be, dad. You would have lost me one way or another. This way, I didn't have to constantly be reminded that I wasn't the person you needed me to be. I didn't have to be reminded that you hated who I was."

"We don't hate you," my mom argued.

"I know," I stated, tears coming into my eyes. "But you hated a part of me that I couldn't change. Do you still hate that part of me?"

Ted "Well, we don't love it," my dad answered, "but we don't want you to just completely disappear on us again."

"I won't, but I can't—" I found myself starting to get a little choked up. "—I can't be… I can't completely your daughter again until you can accept that I love girls. Which means, maybe we can talk on Facebook, or you can have my number, but I'm not coming to visit you."

"We understand," my mom agreed, nodding. "You have to understand, Dani, the way we believe is the way we were taught."

"I understand. But the way you believe is also how I was taught, and I still don't share those views. Beliefs aren't truths, you know? You can change them, no matter how embarrassing it may feel," I told them. They nodded.

I left the house a few minutes later, after having given my parents my phone number and my new last name, as well as the only way they could find me online— Danielle. I didn't try to explain the entire reason behind that to them, though.

When I left, I contemplating just going back to the hotel, or going to grab lunch, but then I decided to stop by the Lopez residence. They were always like my second family. I had no idea what happened with Santana after she found that letter— whether or not she told my parents about us, or her parents. I guess I might never find out.

I went to their door next, less nervous after that confrontation with my parents, and knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal my former girlfriend's mom. "Mrs. Lopez," I greeted, not able to keep away the smile that appeared on my face.

"Dani!" she exclaimed, grabbing my in a hug. I laughed lightly as I hugged her back tightly. "You have to tell us what happened!"

Mr. Lopez had appeared behind his wife during our hug. "Wow, isn't this a big surprise. We thought we would never hear from you again."

"Believe me, I thought the same thing," I admitted. "I just came down here to talk to my parents for the first time in eleven years. It blew over okay, I guess. I guess you know why I ran away?"

The two Latinos exchanged a glance, and then they nodded carefully. "Why don't you come inside, dear, we probably should talk."

I nodded and followed them inside. We sat in the living room, and my heart clenched once again while I was in this house. It felt weird to be in here without Santana.

"Now, we know why you ran away, dear. We saw the note that you wrote to Santana, and she told us everything," Mrs. Lopez explained. "It's a pity that your father couldn't see past such a small thing. When he found out, he tried to blame it on Santana, you see. We haven't really spoken much to your parents since then."

I swallowed thickly. I hadn't want Santana to really be involved with the problem, but I guess as my girlfriend of the time, there wasn't really another option but for her to be involved. "I see."

"Speaking of Santana, have you spoken to her?" Mr. Lopez asked carefully, exchanging a concerned look with his wife.

I pursed my lips. "No. Not since… you know."

"Well we ask because… it seems that a slight coincidence has occurred, my dear. Santana is here," Mrs. Lopez explained.

My mouth went dry again, and my heart squeezed, and my brain got all foggy. "She's here?"

"Not in the house, not right now. She said something about going into the woods," Mr. Lopez answered.

I took in a shaky breath. "I—I… it was great to see you guys again, but I really need to go talk to S-Santana."

"Okay," Mrs. Lopez answered. "Just be careful. She's going through some rough things."

I nodded, wondering briefly what those things were. Then I gave them both a hug and hurried out of the house. If Santana was going to the woods, there was only place that she could be going.

When I got out of plain sight, I broke out into a near sprint as I ran through the trees. I wanted to get there before she left to go back to her parents. When I started to approach the area, I slowed. I didn't want to startle her. She likely wasn't expecting me.

When I got to the edge of the clearing, I saw her. She was sitting against the side of our hut, and she had an envelope in her hand. She wasn't crying, but the distant look on her face told me that she definitely had been. Whatever she had read in that envelope had probably made her upset.

Her face, though tear stained, was just as beautiful as I remembered it, and maybe even more so. Her body was a little more filled out, like mine, but she was thinner than me, even if just a little bit. Her raven colored hair was longer than I remember it being, and she had it in more of a layered style than years before.

I contemplated what to say when I walked out of the trees, and finally, I just went for it. I took another step, my heart racing uncontrollably, and spoke, "I almost forgot what it looked like."

OH MY GOD TANA WHAT THE HELL WITH THAT CLIFFHANGER?!

Ya know me, talking to myself.

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Something random for today: I'm in this acting class that goes every thursday, right? And last week we did some scenes from some TV shows I'd never heard of and I was like OMG WHAT IF WE DO GLEE SCENES ONE DAY I WILL DIE ND EVERYONE WILL STARE AT ME LIKE IM INSANE.

Yeah so it was short but random lol gotta go so.. hope you liked!

Have a great day! Please review :D