Chapter 3

July 2012

"Papá, where is she? What happened?"

"Calm down Santana, she's through there"

Santana had rushed to the hospital as soon as her dad had rung to inform her of what had happened. Her heart broke at the realisation that Brittany had heard the news of her parent's death without her by her side. The Latina had promised Brittany's parents that she would always look after their daughter, but had already broken that promise.

"It's not your fault" her father said, sensing his daughter's pain.

"I wasn't here when she needed me"

"You couldn't have known what had happened when Brittany rushed off and your here now, that's all that matters" the older Lopez said.

Santana just nodded and headed into her girlfriends room.

Santana wept at the sight that greeted her. Brittany was curled up in her hospital bed, a bruise forming on her forehead, which Santana assumed she had got from passing out when being told the awful news. As she sat next to the bed, gently taking Brittany's hand, she couldn't even begin to imagine how her girlfriend was feeling. Brittany's grip on Santana's hand suddenly tightened.

"San?"

"I'm here babe"

"My parents... they've gone..." her voice broke, the tears began to fall again and she threw her arms around Santana's neck.

"I'm so sorry Britt" and with that Santana's tears started to fall again "I'm here, I've got you, I won't let ago".

The pair of them stayed in this position for what felt like a lifetime, neither of them wanting to let go, neither of them wanting to think about what the future holds.

Suddenly Brittany let go and sat bolt upright.

"What is it?" Santana ask, suddenly seeing the panic spread across the blondes face.

"My, My, My" Brittany stuttered "My sister?" she screamed. During all the commotion since she had been told of her parent's death, she had forgotten that her baby sister was in the car too.

"Grace was in the car too?" Santana questioned

"YES, they had all gone out for the day!"

At this point Doctor Lopez knocked on the door. "Can I come in girls?"

"Papá, Grace was in the car too, where is she?" the anxiety in her voice was clear for everyone to see. Brittany was sobbing uncontrollably in her arms.

"I can't lose her too" Brittany kept saying

"I'm here silly" Grace said as she stepped out from behind Doctor Lopez. Santana quickly let go of her girlfriend and ran over to the little girl who she loved like she was her own little sister.

"Come her squirt" she said as she swept the little girl into her arms and ran her over to be reunited with her big sister.

"I thought I had lost you too Gracie" the older Pierce cried as she cradled the 6 year old in her arms.

"I didn't go anywhere, but I can't find mummy and daddy? Where are they Bri...?"

At this point Santana realised that in the blink of an eye, the future had changed. Her future, Brittany's future and of course Grace's future.

Present Day

"Ms Lopez?"

"Mmm?"

"Where are we heading today?" her taxi driver asked.

"Airport please" she exhaled

"As you wish! Going anywhere nice?" he responded

"That all depends on how you look at it really" she responded.

To say Santana was apprehensive about this trip back to Lima would be an understatement. After talking to Quinn she had booked her flights to leave as soon as it was possible but still had no idea what she was going to do once she got there, what she was going to do to stop Brittany marrying Harry. She had spent every waking moment plotting and scheming and had even gone as far as to consider kidnap but that idea was quickly muted.

The taxi finally arrived at the airport and for a moment the Latina considered getting back into the taxi and returning to her apartment. Would it be better for everyone involved if she just gave up on this crazy idea? Would it make a difference? Santana soon dismissed these ideas, she would not give up this easily, what she wanted she normally got.

After going through the normal airport ritual, check-in, security, duty free shopping, she was finally waiting at the gate. Five minutes till boarding. Five minutes to change her mind.

"There's no going back now" she whispered to herself as she approached the flight attendant who was checking all their boarding cards.

"Have a nice flight" the lady said as she returned Santana's boarding card to her.

"Thanks" she muttered to the lady.

The plane was half empty, or half full, depending on your outlook on life, so Santana had a choice of seats. She was glad to see that the window seat just above the wing was free, so she headed for that one, knowing that this was one of the safest places to sit on a plane.

Take off was smooth as normal, that bit of the flight was not what worried Santana, it was the landing that terrified her, for so many reasons. Santana was interrupted from her thoughts by the announcement that the in-flight movie was about to start.

"Today's in-flight movie will be a nice classic for you" a member of the cabin crew announced "My Best Friend's Wedding. Enjoy!"

Santana couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it. "Typical!" she said to no one in particular.

August 2012

"I want to watch this one" Grace said to her sister and Santana

"What have you picked this time Grace" Santana replied to the little girl

"My Best Friend's Wedding!" she replied with a big smile on her face.

"That's a good choice Gracie" Brittany replied to her little sister.

"Are you serious Britt?" Santana replied to her girlfriend "I hate that film!"

"Well we did say it was Gracie's turn to pick the DVD and she has picked this so we are watching it, end of" Brittany replied with a strict tone which always makes Santana smile.

"I love it when you get all strict with me, really turns me on. Can't we just leave Grace to watch the film by herself and we head upstairs?" Santana said smirking.

"No San, its family night and we are all the family Grace has, so we will not just leave her down here" the older blonde replied. "But" she continued "if you sit like a good girl and watch the film Grace has picked for us, I will show you latter just how strict I can be" Brittany finished with a wink and placed a sweet kiss to the end of her girlfriend's nose.

"Well, how can I refuse an offer like that" Santana said as she made herself comfy on the sofa with the two blondes, her family.

Santana and Brittany had become Grace's everything and they did everything in their power to make this sudden change in circumstances as easy as possible for the young girl. So far they were doing a remarkable job and Santana was actually enjoying playing happy families.

Both Brittany and Grace had fallen asleep before the movie ended but Santana had still sat and watched it to the very end. Deep down she actually liked the film but would never admit to anyone, not even Brittany.

She carefully picked Grace up off the sofa and carried her to her bedroom. As she tucked her in, the Latina kissed her forehead and simply whispered "Night Night Gracie, love you". As she turned to walk out Gracie mumbled "Love you too San".

Santana was heading to the living room, trying to wipe away the tears that had started to fall after hearing Grace's words, when she heard Brittany call her back towards their bedroom.

"Where are you going San? I'm waiting to show you how strict I can be!"

Santana did not waste any time, she just ran towards her girlfriend.

Present Day

The plane finally touched down and Santana was more than relieved. Watching the film had brought back some good memories and some painful memories and now all she wanted to do was get off this plane, to see her 'family' again.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity to collect her baggage, she was finally heading for the arrivals area. Was Brittany going to be waiting for her? Was she going to be pleased to see her? Was this a good idea? All these questions just kept going through her mind.

As she walked into the arrivals area, she had the answer to her first question.

A/N will Brittany be there or not?