Hey! Last chapter guys! unless you all want an epilogue? anyway... I just wanted to thank everyone of you for sticking by me and reading this story! it really means a lot to me, you're all amazing people.
Please don't hate me for the ending, I promise there will be a sequel or an epilogue to come so everything will be explained in one of those.
I love you all, now please read and review. xx
Chapter 36
Habits were something Santana found hard to break like how she always had to have the last word in an argument or how every time she sang her hands seemed to find themselves hovering somewhere around her midsection. She always rolled her eyes at whatever Rachel and sometimes Quinn said, she had an incessant need to insult everyone around her, when she would get angry she would clench her jaw and dig her nails into her thighs.
But most of all, a habit she had stuck with was trying to prove herself to everyone around her. So sometimes she acted like she didn't care what people thought about her or what people would say didn't hurt but deep down every time she was insulted it would chip away at her until she was sure eventually there would be nothing left.
Habits were hard to break.
But not all of them were bad habits.
One habit she'd kept up for the past two years – a habit that would potentially keep her alive – was taking her medication every morning and night, medication that kept her blood pressure in check and kept her heart healthy enough to keep her alive.
Santana Lopez found habits heard to break but what would happen if maybe once, just once she didn't move her hands to her stomach when she sang? What would happen if she didn't roll her eyes or insult Quinn or Rachel or didn't let what people said get to her? What if, maybe, just maybe, she forgot to take her medication one morning and then later that night?
What if one day all of this happened and the habits were broken?
"Santana, did you move my shoes?" Brittany called out from their bedroom where she had been getting ready for the last half hour. If she didn't hurry up they were going to be late for Quinn's dress fitting and Santana didn't want to deal with the stressed out bride to be. They had both gotten up before eight a.m. on a weekend - when they both had the day off from work – and raced around the apartment like a pair of crazy people so they would be on time. Santana couldn't shake off the feeling she was forgetting something though.
"No, did you check in the closet?" the Latina called back as she picked up her purse and threw her phone and keys into it.
"They're not there." Brittany walked down the stairs in bare feet and an adorable pout on her face. "I think they ran away again… or maybe someone stole them whilst we were sleeping." The pout only grew and Santana found the need to kiss it away so she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist and pulled her in for a comforting kiss.
"You can borrow a pair of mine if you want?" she whispered sweetly but Brittany only shook her head.
"You have tiny feet." She giggled at the shocked expression on Santana's face.
"Miss Pierce, are you insulting my feet?" the brunette mocked hurt as she placed her hand over her heart and pretended to blink back the non-existent tears.
The blonde let out a breathy laugh and shook her head; she pulled away from Santana's warm arms and made her way back up to their room to have one final look. "If I don't find them I'll have to go bare foot." Santana was about to suggest that she just wear a different pair of shoes but then Brittany would want to find a matching outfit to go with them and that would take another half hour so she collapsed down onto the sofa and kept her mouth shut.
Santana wasn't a patient woman, not by any means but with Brittany she was different, she acted different. She found herself to be a lot calmer and relaxed, she would find herself having a laughing fit every time Brittany said a terrible joke or did something that wasn't that funny. But that was how she was when she was around Brittany, she could be herself.
"I found them!" Brittany came charging down the stairs with a pair of black heels on and a bright smile on her face.
"Where were they?" the blonde's happiness seemed infectious because ridiculous smile seemed to be pulling at the corners of the Latina's mouth.
"Behind the toilet in the bathroom…" she replied like it was the most normal thing ever. Santana chose not to say anything she liked to think it was because she was used to hearing that sort of stuff come from Brittany but really it was because the smile on her face was so big that she couldn't even form words. She still wondered how she had gotten so lucky to have this woman fall in love with her.
"We better get going; Q will be pulling her hair out if we don't get there on time. Seriously, I can't believe she's more obsessive than Berry about this wedding." She rolled her eyes at the thought. For some strange reason, Rachel and Quinn had completely swapped places, the diva was unusually relaxed and calm about the wedding, taking her time to organise everything whereas Quinn was running around the place like a mental patient or something. She was getting stressed, getting no sleep and Santana had actually had to go round to the couple's apartment just to get Quinn away from everything and feed her. Granted the wedding was only a week or so away and they still hadn't bought their dresses yet, bit fucking stupid if you asked Santana.
"Like you would be any different when we get married." Tingles shot down Santana's spine at Brittany's words. The blonde had been saying a lot of stuff like that lately and every time it made Santana want to break out with a grin and scream with excitement.
"Of course I wouldn't, Q's crazy. I'm sane." She shrugged and opened the car door for Brittany to climb in.
"You're a little bit crazy." The blonde winked and kissed Santana's cheek.
"Okay, maybe just a little bit but if you tell anyone I said that I will deny it until the day I die." She replied seriously but the smile on her face said otherwise. Lately her and Brittany had been extra clingy, the blonde had moved in three weeks ago and everything was amazing, Quinn and Rachel moved to Long Beach a week later and Santana hadn't seen them happier.
The only time Santana and Brittany weren't together was when they had to work but their hours fit together so they could spend as little time apart as possible. They were still so in love even after all this time, nineteen years of being best friends and then girlfriend's, nineteen years of being completely in love and with every day that past Santana felt that feeling intensifying.
Santana turned to glance at Brittany; she was swaying and singing along to whatever song was playing on the radio but she couldn't hear, her thoughts were too loud. I'm going to marry her one day. Her mind wandered back to their apartment and what she'd hidden in the draw beside her bed and under a dictionary she knew Brittany wouldn't go anywhere near. Her heart sped up with what? Excitement? Nerves? She didn't know but the harder she tried to figure it out the harder it became to pin point a single emotion.
They pulled up outside the wedding dress shop and were immediately face with an impatient Quinn. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her foot was stomping harshly on the ground. "Here we go." Santana muttered which earned a snigger from Brittany.
"Where the hell have you been?" Quinn called as she raced over to the car with flushed cheeks. She didn't give the two women a chance to reply before she grabbed their arms and pulled them over to the shop doorway.
"Brittany's shoes ran away and she found them behind the toilet." Santana grumbled, she did not like being manhandled.
"Okay…" Quinn relaxed long enough to give her two best friends a strange look before she turned back into crazy bitch mode. "Rach just text me, she's got her dress and Blaine and Kurt have got their suits too." She pushed them into the shop and they were hit by uncomfortable humid air.
"What the hell? Like it isn't already hot enough around here. You would have thought they would own air conditioning." Santana was already beginning to complain and they had only just arrived. She began to fan her face with Brittany's hand as they followed the blonde towards a woman who was straightening out some bridesmaids dresses on manikins. "I swear if we're going to be in here for more than an hour you should just kill me now." Brittany giggled and pulled the woman into her arms and squeezed tight. Her laughter grew louder when Santana struggled and grunted to get out of her girlfriends embrace. "Brittany, you're not helping. I feel all hot and sticky."
"Like you were last night and the night before that and every night for the past month and a half?" She teased playfully, her hot breath ghosted over the Latina's ear who shivered involuntarily at the blonde's words.
"Britt, stop it." she giggled and tried again to pull away with no success. "Brittany." Santana said more forcefully but she found her own grip tightening on the blonde and before she could stop herself she was kissing down Brittany's neck with hot open mouthed kisses. She didn't even care that they were in public or that Quinn and the other woman were talking about the different styles of dresses and what Quinn was looking for.
"Are you two done?" Quinn asked in annoyance, as much as she was happy that everything was okay between her two best friends she really didn't want to see that. She was here to get the dress of her dreams and of course the bridesmaid's dresses but obviously they weren't as important.
Brittany and Santana reluctantly pulled apart with a blush as the shop owner gave them an amused look. "Sorry." They muttered in unison and followed Quinn and the older woman into a large room that was surrounded by racks of dresses, mirrors and dressing rooms. In the middle of the room were a small, circular podium for the bride to be to stand on and a few comfy looking arm chairs surrounding it.
"Ladies," the woman gestured for Brittany and Santana to take a seat and placed a tray of champagne flutes and a bottle in a bucket of ice down on the small table. "Would you like a drink?" Brittany was happy to and quickly dived for the bottle but Santana sat back in the chair with a slight shake of her head. "Not a champagne person?"
"I can't drink alcohol, I had a heart transplant." Santana explained. And the woman's eyes widened but nodded in understanding.
"Is there anything I could get you? Water, decaf coffee?" she seemed nice and didn't look like she was silently judging Santana so she nodded.
"Could I have decaf please?" the woman nodded and wandered off into a room somewhere in the back of the building. Suddenly, there were two pairs of eyes glued to her. "What?"
"Since when did you start liking decaf?" Quinn exclaimed with wide eyes. The two blonde's minds immediately wandered back to the first time Santana had ever tried the drink and how badly she'd reacted to the taste.
"A lot can change in a year." Santana winked and leaned back in her chair, one leg tossed over the arm and her hands behind her head. "Wow these chairs are so comfy, Britt, we need to get some of these." Quinn rolled her eyes at the two women now getting excited about furniture and walked over to the rack that was closer to her. "We should ask her where she got them from!" Santana exclaimed and Brittany nodded eagerly with a mouthful of champagne, her own excitement began to get the better of her at the thought of furnishing their own home together.
"You guys better help me." Quinn warned when the exited chatter didn't stop. "I swear to god if you don't…" she trailed off with a shake of her head, she really needed to calm down but this was only her real chance to find a dress.
"It's okay, we'll find you something." Brittany reassured her as she finished off her second glass and poured herself another. "How about you look for a dress and me and San will go and have a look for dresses for us?" Quinn nodded, that would definitely speed things along. Just as Santana and Brittany stood up to wander off the older woman walked back in with a glass of iced water for Santana. The Latina took it gratefully and turned to face Brittany, the blonde smirked down at the shorter woman and held out her glass as Santana scooped out the ice and dropped it into Brittany's glass.
"Too cold, too cold." Santana muttered as she wiped her hand on her skinny jeans.
"You were just complaining about it being too hot in here." Brittany giggled as she hoisted the bottle out of the ice bucket greedily and slipped her empty hand into Santana's. The Latina shivered at the contact it still amazed her how she would still feel electricity shoot through her at the smallest touch or graze.
"Okay, well Kurt and Blaine have red ties so you need to find something that will match." The blonde instructed and Brittany and Santana quickly jumped into action glasses in hand. Quinn was left with the shop owner as they all began their search.
"I can't believe you drank the whole bottle, B." Quinn groaned as she scowled down at the two women sprawled out on one of the arm chairs, Brittany smothered Santana's body with her own. Half an hour had passed and Santana had scoped out a pair of red dresses straight away, strapless so they showed off just enough cleavage to look sexy, just above the knee so that they looked sexy but long enough that it would be acceptable to wear in a church. They were perfect. Santana wished she could say the same for Quinn…
Brittany lazily waved the shorter blonde off and began to giggle hysterically when Quinn exited the dressing rooms. "Oh my god, you look like a giant meringue!" Santana couldn't help but join in with her girlfriend's laughter when she saw the horrified look on Quinn's face.
"I didn't think it would be possible to fit so many frills and poufy shit onto one dress…" Santana chuckled into the back of her hand, the blonde standing in front of them didn't look too thrilled by their reaction and Santana knew if they didn't stop laughing Quinn would get really pissed and go all ape shit on them. "Sorry." She coughed into the back of her hand to cover up her laugh.
"So, not this dress then?" Quinn chuckled for the first time that day. Santana relaxed and looked down at Brittany who was playing with caramel hands like a toddler. "I've got one more dress to try." She turned and disappeared back into the dressing room.
"You okay, Britt-Britt?" Santana whispered as she placed a kiss onto the top of the blonde's head.
"Feel a bit sick now. It didn't taste too good." She muttered with a pout her eyes looked slightly glazed over with all the alcohol she had drank.
"You shouldn't have finished the bottle then." Santana smirked and ran her fingers through Brittany's hair.
"I thought it would start to taste better if I drank a little bit more." Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and pulled herself closer before she turned to face where Quinn had disappeared too. "Quinn?" she called out a little too loudly.
"Yes?"
"Who do you have singing at your wedding?" she asked curiously. She been wondering this for a while now, she'd hoped it would be someone famous because Rachel's dads have a lot of money so they would be able to afford it but Santana had told her that if it would be someone famous Rachel would only want Barbra Streisand or someone equally boring.
Quinn was silent for a moment and it only raised the couple's curiosity. "Actually, Rachel and I decided that we would just have everyone from glee club sing…" she paused to let her words sink in. "I hope that's okay?" She opened the door and Santana and Brittany's jaws dropped.
"Sweet, baby Jesus."
"Holy, shit."
Quinn smirked at the women's responses and gave them a little twirl. "How do I look?"
"If you weren't getting married to Rachel and I wasn't with Santana, I would so marry you right now."
"Not if I married her first." Santana replied and the two blonde's burst out laughing. "Seriously, I think you've found the dress, you look beautiful…" Quinn blushed and ducked her head, her shoulders relaxed and she began to feel calm again. There was no doubt in her mind that this wedding was going to be perfect.
"No strippers!" Rachel screamed for the hundredth time that day. Santana clutched the steering wheel tighter and gritted her teeth as Blaine chuckled from the front passenger seat.
"For the last time, Berry, if you don't shut the hell up I will stop this car and make you walk home while me and gel head over here go and have ourselves a good time." She patted the man's leg cheerfully and ignored the two sets of eyes glared at her in annoyance. She'd promised Brittany that there would be no strippers but she would let Rachel panic for a little while longer. She was thankful that Quinn had ended up with Kurt because she knew if he and Berry were to be on the same hen party as each other she might just have to murder them both.
Santana turned off the highway, into a small town and then onto a dirt road that led deep into what could only be described as a forest. "S, where are we going?" Blaine asked as he took in his surroundings.
"All in good time my friend, all in good time." Santana chuckled at the frightened look on the two passengers faces, her laughter only grew when they pulled up outside a building and Rachel let out a frightened whimper. "Come on guys, it will be fun! Better than what Porcelain probably had planned for Q and Britt, you should be thankful we're going to have so much fun!"
Rachel rolled her eyes at the comment. "I'm sure what they're doing is much safer than what we are about to do."
"Sure it's safe! Just don't get hit." Blaine shrugged and climbed out of the car.
"See! Blaine thinks it's a great idea! Come on Rach…" Santana pleaded with puppy dog eyes, she placed her hands on the diva's thigh and shook it like it would make an answer fall quicker from her mouth.
"It is dangerous, but it could also be fun." A bright smiled tugged at both the brunettes' lips before they raced to get out of the car and join Blaine who was already walking in through the front entrance.
"What is Q doing anyway?" Santana asked once she had paid for all three of them and collected their things. "Can't get any better than what we are about to do." She chuckled as Rachel rolled her eyes.
"I think he said something about a spa day…" Blaine shrugged. It wasn't like he or Santana would've enjoyed something like that, not that he was trying to call Santana butch or anything but it just wasn't their thing. Rachel, however, was a different story. She tried her hardest not to scream at the Latina for putting her through this hell when she herself could've had a spa day with her fiancé.
Santana giggled at the look on Rachel's face as she pulled on her armour and helmet on top of her camouflage suit. "Don't' worry, Berry. You can take your anger out on the other team. Now let's go shoot ourselves some bitches." She stormed out of the locker room with her paintball gun ready to fire with Blaine close behind ready to cover her.
"I could just shoot myself right now." Rachel sulked; she gazed down at her gun as she debated over her thoughts but then decided against it. "Would be pretty painful…" she ran off to catch up with her friends.
Santana was pleased to find out that the team they were playing against was full of middle aged, overweight, sweating men that were far too easy to take out. She was a bit disappointed that the game ended as quick as it had, she wouldn't have minded shooting a few more people but Rachel was more than pleased to leave and was mumbling something about candles and bath salts. The diva had been the only one out of the three of them to get shot, huge green and blue splodges had tattooed her camouflage suit, her skin was bruised and paint was still sticking to her hair where she had failed to fully wash it out in the locker rooms.
"Come on, Rach, it wasn't that bad." Santana chuckled and the exasperated look on the shorter brunette's face, Blaine was sitting in the back seat trying his hardest not to laugh at the state of his friend.
"Wasn't that bad? Wasn't that bad?!" Rachel flung her hands into the air as she shouted at the Latina. "I am bruised through to my bones. I have luminous paint in my hair that I probably won't be able to remove therefore I will look ridiculous for my wedding-"
"You don't need the paint to look ridiculous…" Santana muttered under her breath so that Rachel couldn't hear her but Blaine sniggered from behind her.
"And… And… And… this was a stupid hen party!" she finished with a bright red face and clenched fists. Santana gritted her teeth at Rachel's words and turned in her seat; she started the engine and pulled away from the building without another word. She'd put in a lot of effort to plan this for Rachel and if all she was going to do to thank her was complain then what was the point? Santana quickly shook that thought away, she was a good person, she was a good friend and she had put a lot of effort into making this day special for Rachel. Well okay, maybe the first half of the day was mainly for Blaine and herself but what was to come had 'Rachel freaking Berry' labelled all over it.
Santana pressed her foot down on the gas a little too hard a sped off down the road towards their next destination. She caught Rachel's expression grow curious out of the corner of her eye but she kept quiet for the rest of the drive.
"So, Quinn, are you nervous for tomorrow?" Kurt's voice was muffled by the massage bed that he was currently lying face down in; the two other blondes were mirroring his position.
"Nervous doesn't even begin to cover it." Quinn's sweet laughter filled the room and was more than infectious because Brittany and Kurt quickly joined in until they were out of breath and panting for air. "But god, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her."
That got both Brittany and Kurt thinking about their own futures. "She's lucky to have you, Quinn, hell do I dare say that you're even lucky to have Rachel Berry?" Kurt mused as he nudged the blondes shoulder with his own. Over time, Kurt had grown to love both of them even Rachel and he was so pleased that both of them were happy which was more than he could say for himself…
His thoughts were cut off by the sound of a ringtone filling the room. Quinn grunted but made no move to get up and answer it. "B, could you get that, please?" she relaxed further into the massage table and let her eyes drift shut.
"Sure can." Brittany said a little too cheerfully, her happy thoughts had gotten the better of her. She fished Quinn's phone out of her robe pocket and looked down at the unknown caller ID. "Quinn's phone, Brittany speaking, what can I didly do for you?" she giggled at her own words as her friends smirked at her playfulness.
"Hello, Brittany. It's Judy Fabrey here." Brittany's smile completely dropped and she thanked every god out there that Quinn had asked her to answer it and not answered it herself. All hell would have broken loose otherwise.
"H-hi." She stuttered out in slight shock. It had been over four years since Quinn had spoken to her parents and the fact that they would be contacting her at this point in time dumbfounded her. "Quinn can't talk right now…"
There was an unnatural giggle that crackled down the line and Brittany had to resist the aching urge to grimace at the sound. "It's okay if she doesn't want to talk to me, Brittany." Judy sighed sadly and the blonde thought she heard the sound of paper being fiddled with and suddenly the older Fabrey sounded deeply pained and nervous. "Quinn's father and I received the wedding invitation in the post the other week and I know it's very late…" Brittany's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in surprise, she'd had no idea that Quinn had invited her parents and she didn't know why she would… "But could you tell her that her father will not be attending but I will be flying over with the Berry's this evening?"
Brittany wasn't even surprised that Russell Fabrey – the biggest ass in the history of ass' – would not even bother to turn up to his daughter's wedding and by the sound of Judy's voice, neither was she. "I'll tell her when she's free." The blonde couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. "But I will not be held accountable for actions."
"I understand." Just when Brittany was about to hang up the phone Judy cleared her throat. "It was nice to speak to you again."
"You too." She replied shortly before she hung up and turned back to Quinn and Kurt who were staring at her with intense curiosity. She fumbled to put the phone back into the blonde's robe before she stumbled back towards the door. Kurt saw what she was doing before Quinn and jumped to hold her back so Brittany could make her escape; he'd heard most of the conversation being closer to Brittany and knew that Quinn would not take it well.
"Brittany!" the blonde screamed but it was too late, the door had already slammed shut.
"What the fuck?" Santana screamed as a sobbing Quinn lay curled up in Brittany's lap. "How can he do that? It's your wedding, Quinn!" the Latina wasn't half as angry as Rachel had been when she'd found out but it was close. Judy was in for a car ride of hell when their plane landed.
"I know… that!" Quinn half sobbed and half exclaimed all at once. Apparently everyone being angry and telling her the same thing over and over wasn't helping one bit, she couldn't tame the tears and her wailing was only getting louder. She didn't know what it was inside of her that made her think that her father would ever turn up to walk her down the aisle but she'd just hoped that maybe once, just once she wouldn't be let down again like she had been so many times before that. "I just hoped…" her voice cracked and a fresh wave of tears spilled over the walls.
Santana's anger vanished in less than a second and she was by Quinn's side with her arms around her. "Shush, it's okay, every things going to be okay." she looked over at Brittany for help but all the taller bone could do was open and close her mouth like a fish. A slight flash of anger burned through the Latina again at the thought of Russell Fabrey hurting his daughter. "Why did you even invite him anyway?" she snapped a little too harshly.
"Because I wanted tomorrow to be perfect!" Santana's shoulders deflated and she pulled the blonde closer to her body.
"Tomorrow will be perfect, what could be more perfect than standing up there with the woman you love?" deep chocolate eyes wandered over to blues and found her gaze locked. Her own words hit her hard, a smile was tugging at the corner of her lips and her heart was racing. From the looks of it, Brittany was experiencing the same things, that was until the sounds of a phone ringing through their apartment pulled them from their haze.
Brittany jumped from her seat and ran to retrieve her phone from her purse and disappeared into the bathroom. "Hello?" the blonde could still hear the two other women talking in the living room but she couldn't make out the muffle words.
"Thank god you answered." Rachel's high pitched voice gasped down the phone causing Brittany to pull back momentarily. "My parents just called and said that their flight was delayed or something which is ridiculous because I just checked everything is fine… anyway, I just wanted to let you know in case Judy doesn't turn up later tonight but don't tell Quinn unless it's completely necessary, I don't want her worrying any more than she already is." She took in a deep breath like she was going to carry on.
God I hope she doesn't carry on… Brittany thought with two crossed fingers by her side.
"Brittany?"
"Huh? What? Oh, yeah totally, everything will be fine. What time should we start to worry that she isn't going to turn up on time?" Brittany asked hoping that she wouldn't get a huge rant for a reply.
"Shall we say about nine?"
"Sounds good enough. I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel." And with that she hung up thankful that she wouldn't have to hear the diva's voice for another couple of hours yet. She shoved her phone into her pocket and walked out into the living room. "You guys want food? I think there are some easy microwave meals in the fridge that I could make by myself." She stared at the two women on the sofa; Santana was trying to hide her smirk while Quinn just looked confused. The last time Brittany had tried to make a meal – beans on toast – the whole kitchen had gone up in flames. "Santana's been teaching me how to cook." She finished with a smile and skipped off into the kitchen.
"Cook?" Quinn raised her eyebrow at the Latina sitting next to her.
"You know, how to set the timer on the microwave to the right time, when smoke is pouring from the toaster you shouldn't poke it with a fork… you know… the usual." Santana smirked with a shrug and followed Brittany off into the kitchen knowing the blonde still didn't understand the microwave.
But she had plenty of time to teach her.
Their whole lives actually.
Santana was sat on top of the counter staring intently at the wall with a deep frown on her face as Quinn desperately tried to get rid of the dark smoke that was filling the room from the burning plastic that had melted in the microwave. The Latina couldn't even focus on the drama that was unfolding in front of her, she didn't know what it was but something had been bugging her for the past couple of weeks but she couldn't work out what.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
There was this intense feeling in her chest, something heavy and irregular that shouldn't be there but before she could think about it anymore the sound of a woman's high pitched voice filled the kitchen, then two more.
Judy Freakin' Fabrey had entered the building…
The night before had ended up with three very, very intoxicated women and one very, very irritated Latina. Santana was not at all pleased to find out at that Brittany had found the Jack Daniels she had hidden behind the toilet tank for special occasions, she the displeasure only intensified when she found the bottle completely empty and three very loud blondes racing down the beach towards the freezing water.
It had been then that Santana vowed never to have triplets. Especially not three blonde girls that had Brittany's hyper active genes, maybe a boy with bright blue eyes and perfect blonde hair would be okay but not a girl. Girls were too much trouble, loud, and had boy troubles all the time. Okay so if her son had boy troubles she would be totally okay with that. She would kick the ass of any boy who broke her sons little gay heart…
She was getting side-tracked. The point was that she was pissed off the morning of her best friend's wedding because she'd stayed up to some ungodly hour just to put the three women to bed.
She was not a happy lesbian.
"Earth to Santana!" Quinn waved her hand in front of her best friends scrunched up face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" the blonde was struggling to zip up her dress so the brunette kindly stood up to help her.
"I'm tired." She grumbled and gave Quinn a playful shove. "I spent my night putting three toddlers to bed."
"Sorry." Quinn couldn't hold her laughter down, yes she had a pretty fucking bad hangover but last night had been one of the best nights of her life and today would top them all. She'd had no idea how much she'd missed her mother and she knew her mom had missed her too.
At that thought, Judy Fabrey came sauntering into the room along with a cheerful Brittany. "Holy shit. How can you all be so happy after the night you've had?!" Santana exclaimed. "I'm never this cheerful on a good morning! Never mind with a freaking hangover." The brunette let the warm arms of her girlfriend engulf her and she revelled in the feelings of sparks and crackling electricity race through her body. "Mhmm, don't let me go, Britt-Britt." She mumbled into the soft skin of her bare neck.
Those words clicked in the back of Brittany's head and her mind wandered back to that day she'd rescued the Latina from the tree. A smile tugged at her lips and a beaming smile graced her beautiful features. "I'd never let you go, San."
Santana reached up on her tip toes, her arms snaked around the back of her girlfriend's neck and pulled her into a searing kiss, "I love you, so much." She whispered against soft lips.
"I love you, too." Their eyes were locked and it felt like nothing could break them out of their little world, not even if all hell broke loose. But apparently they were wrong because the sound of someone knocking on the door pulled them from their trances.
Blaine's head poked into the room with more wax on his hair than usual and a bright red tie that matched Santana's and Brittany's dresses hung around his neck. "Her majesty is ready for you." He smirked and left the room.
Nerves and excitement filled every space around them. Brittany's hand found Santana's hand and the brunettes eyes wandered over to her purse that was sitting on top of the chest of draws at the other end of the room.
The jewellery shop had called her earlier that day and told her it was okay to come and pick it up, her heart jumped up into her mouth at the thought of what was going on and what was about to happen, happiness, excitement and every other amazing feeling you could think of was swarming Santana's body. She didn't even realise they were walking towards the room where the ceremony would be held.
Everything was great until all those happy feelings came crashing down. That thought was back, she had forgetting something, something was wrong and everything wasn't going to be okay. She was on the edge of working out what that thing was when Brittany's words broke through the screaming silence of her thoughts.
"What's wrong?" her voice was calm and soothing and the Latina released the death grip she hadn't realised she'd been giving Brittany's hand. Quinn walked through the doors and into the beautifully decorated room with a single nerve in her body.
"I'm not sure… I just d- I don't know." She stuttered out, lost in her own confusion and thoughts.
"Why do you say that?" they entered the room and suddenly all eyes were on them – including those from glee club, and surprisingly enough the one and only Mr Finnocence which was weird because he had been in love with both of these woman… – but before she could give the blonde and answer Blaine took her hand and they were walking off down the aisle. That thought alone was almost enough to make the bad thoughts go away.
Almost.
The man let go of her hand and took his place on the opposite side where Rachel would stand. She shot Quinn a bright smile that said everything from 'I'm so proud of you.' And 'Hell you look hot in that dress.' She only received a nervous smile in return.
A second later and Brittany was by her side and the conversation started up again, this time ten times quieter. "I just feel like everything too perfect to be true, I just have this feeling that everything's going to come crashing down around me." she looked around at the reception, it was too perfect to be true. For the past three years of her life all Santana had known was death, heart break, hurt and angry parents that couldn't accept their children. She just could fathom how everything had started to go so well again, her best friends were getting married, she'd gotten the love of her life back and were now restarting their life together, Quinn's mom was here and everyone was just so happy.
It just didn't feel right.
"I feel like I'm taking a deep breath before I throw myself into some stormy water that's going to drown me." Santana looked down at her hands clasped firmly around the flowers in her hands. Her eyes were filling with tears but not of happiness like they should've been at a wedding, she was scared.
Brittany pried Santana's hand away from the stems and held it softly in her own, "I'll never let go of you. You're not going to drown because I won't let that happen; I'll pull you straight out of the water and be right there to give you CPR." Her eyes were so intense and full of love that the brunette had to look away.
Here come the happy sappy tears.
"You understand? I'll never let you go." The blonde's grip only tightened and Santana nodded weakly.
"You saved me, Britt." They both understood the double meaning behind her words and it was enough for them to end the conversation and re-join the ceremony. Santana's jaw dropped at the sight of Rachel Berry in the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. When had she even walked down the aisle? "Wow." She croaked out only loud enough for a few people sitting in the front row.
"I know right?" Brittany replied. "Did you even see her walk down?" Santana only shook her head, if she could have a wedding that was half as perfect as this she would be happy. No, scratch that. If she were to marry Brittany in a McDonalds play area she would be happy, as long as it were Brittany she was marrying nothing else would matter. Her mind wandered back to her purse sitting back in the room they had been given to get ready in and a smile was pulling at her lips. She really couldn't wait for that night to come.
The vows had been given, the first kiss as a married couple had been made, and now the all-important speeches were over. All that was left was the first dance and then the rest of the night will be filled with congratulation, alcohol and lady baby making fun.
Everyone was eating, dancing or mingling and making small talk but for some reason Blaine and Kurt was sitting either side of her, Blaine with his angry eyes and Kurt posing like a frigging diva, the tension in the air was thick enough to make the Latina's head hurt. "What the hell is going on with you two?" she asked after ten minutes, she couldn't take the awkward silence anymore. Both men jumped to explain, both with different sides of the story and both equally as whiny. Santana just rolled her eyes and stud up. "I don't care who was flirting with whom. Nothing happened right?" they both shook their heads. "Good. Just sort this out now."
"Wait!" Blaine called after her just as she was about to make her way over to the stage. "Could I maybe get a lift home with you tonight instead?" his puppy dog eyes broke straight through the brunette's defences – not that she would admit it or anything but she had a soft spot for her second favourite gay – and she found herself nodding. She hated when those two fought but they couldn't fix it if they both didn't try.
Santana stood up on the stage alone in front of a room filled to the brim with friend's family and relatives Rachel and Quinn had probably never met in their lives. "Sup, y'all?" she smirked into the microphone at the amused look on Rachel's face. "Q asked me to sing this song for you Rachel, so would the two of you get your sweet lesbian butts out here and ready to dance!" the room filled with a round of cheers and whistles as the happy couple walked forward and as soon as they were stood in the centre of the stage, hand clasping hand, hand on waist and eyes locked, the room fell silent. Tina positioned herself on the piano and hit the first note which caused butterflies to erupt in every stomach in the room.
Kiss me, out of the bearded barley
Lightly, beside the green, green grass
Swing, swing, swing the spinning step
I'll wear those shoes and you will wear that dress
Quinn led and Rachel followed, Santana's eyes had been watching the couple but were now entrapped by the loving gaze from Brittany. It made her mind wander to what her own wedding would be like and what her first dance with Brittany would be like, the blonde would definitely lead that's for certain. The thought made a smile crack and Brittany winked apparently knowing what Santana had been thinking about.
Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies
Dance silver moons sparkling, so kiss me
Quinn had never looked so happy in her entire life a fact of which sent a pang of guilt shooting through Judy's stomach. Tonight, tonight she would tell her daughter that she would be leaving her father for good this time and that she wanted to move over to California so she could be there for her, there for Rachel and hopefully grandchildren.
She couldn't wait to have a relationship with Quinn again.
Kiss me down by the broken tree house
Swing me upon its hanging tire
Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map
Finn watched on as the only two loves of his life danced happily to the soft but raspy voice of the Latina. Not once had he ever seen either one of them look at him like that and for some reason - some absurd reason - that made him happy. He knew that neither of them would have been truly happy with him no matter how hard he tried.
The fact that he had been angry with the two of them ever since senior year disappointed him. If they were happy, he would be happy.
Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies
Dance silver moons sparkling, so kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
Santana looked down at her hands that had found their way up to her stomach towards the end of the song; she couldn't help but frown at the sight. That had always been a habit, ever since she'd first started singing.
Stupid fucking habit.
At that thought Santana's blood ran cold. She realised why she'd been feeling so weird lately, why she felt like she was forgetting something, why she thought something bad was about to happen. Her whole body was tense and as if on cue her chest suddenly started to hurt, sweat was trailing down the back of her neck and she knew she had to get of that stage as fast as she could. Through the haziness of her panicked mind she could see Quinn and Rachel kissing and then Brittany making her way towards her. She handed the microphone to Mercedes who was going to be singing for the rest of the night – obviously – and raced towards her purse that was left on her chair. She could hear Brittany calling after her, and the applause from the other guests filling the room but she needed to get to the bathroom now.
She swung the door open to a thankfully empty room and ran towards the sink, her face was ghostly pail, her eyes were threatening to let terrified tears spill over and her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't pick her purse up to retrieve her pills that she hoped to god she'd kept in her bag. "Take a deep breath, San. Come on, breathe." She urged herself to calm down and finally she was able to open her purse and fished out a strip of pills. "No, no, no, no…" she trailed off. It was empty. Why hadn't she been taking her pills? What the hell was going on with her?
It occurred to her that she'd been so caught up in this whole wedding fiasco and her own feelings for Brittany that that part of her life had totally slipped her mind.
Before a panic attack could take over her she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her nerves stopped getting the better of her, her heart calmed and her shoulder relaxed. Santana reached into her purse and lifted out a small blue velvet box. She needed to stay calm for Brittany. She needed to stay alive for Brittany.
Before anymore emotions could take over her body, the door to the bathroom burst open and Noah Puckerman of all people came storming in. "What the he-" she was cut off when Puck grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the bathroom, her purse was left next to the sink but the little box was still clutched tightly in her other hand.
"No time, emergency. Quinn, Rachel, Beth, Shelby, Berry's!" he rushed out the different names and Santana struggled to keep up with his words.
"The fuck you mumbling about, Puckerman?" She snapped angrily. Hints of her high school bitchiness were seeping through the cracks she had kept sealed for three years.
Her question was answered the moment she was dragged outside of the building and was met by the three faces of Hiram and Leroy Berry which was no surprise considering but then Santana's eyes wandered over to Shelby Corcoran. Her eyes bugged out of her head and a wave of anger surged through her. She had no right to be here. No right at all. Shelby was going to ruin this wedding and she wouldn't let that happen. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" she screamed at the unsuspecting woman.
Hiram quickly jumped in. "Santana, I think you should hear her out." He looked genuinely concerned for the other woman which made no sense at all after what she'd put his daughter and daughter in-law through.
"Fuck no. I don't have to hear anything she has to say." She ignored the crowd of people that were gathering outside which consisted mostly of elderly people and smokers who had left for 'fresh air'. "You've caused enough trouble in their lives, do you really think I'm going to let you cause anymore?" she snapped but Shelby didn't even flinch.
"I'm not here to cause trouble, Santana. I just need to talk to them before it's too late." She pleaded but Santana wasn't going to back down. Not even those last two words pulled her out of her anger.
"No. go away, if you want to talk to them you can see them when they get back from their honeymoon in a week. Don't ruin this for them." Her own voice turned pleading and she knew Shelby would understand. "They deserve to be happy for once, please. Mr Berry will let them know that you stopped by but please… just go."
"Okay, I'm sorry if I've ruined yours or anyone else's night." She apologised but Santana waved her off. It was then that she realised that that was why the Berry's and Judy had been 'late'. They didn't want Rachel knowing Shelby was here. It made her wonder what the woman desperately wanted to tell them that could possibly make her want to show up on their wedding day to tell them. 'Before it's too late.' The words echoed in her mind but she quickly shook her head. Shelby's business was no concern of hers. Her best friends were, however. She would not let anyone ruin this night for them. She was even equipped and ready to take out Finn if he wandered too close to Quinn and Rachel.
"What the hell, Puck? Can you not keep your ex-girlfriends under control?" Santana asked as she stormed back into the building through the crowds of people that would most liking be talking about the scene for the rest of the night. She didn't give the man a chance to answer before she was shoving the box into her bra and scanning the crowd of people for Brittany. She found the blonde easily, digging into a plate of chicken wings and downing a glass of cherry cola. "Dance with me, Britt. I need you to take my mind off things and your sweet moves are the only thing that can do that…" she smirked at the surprised look on her face.
"I could just fuck you in the bathroom?" Brittany wasn't even joking and it immediately lightened Santana up.
"Not right now, baby. But you can rock my world tonight." She teased and pulled the blonde closer to her body and began to move with the music.
"Are you okay?" the blonde asked after a few minutes of slow dancing. Santana could tell that Brittany was worried about her, especially after what she'd said earlier that day but there was no need for concern, Santana had gone two weeks without taking her pills, what would a couple of more hours do?
"I'm fine; all the lovey dovey shit is just making me nauseous that's all." She teased but Brittany just frowned.
"You're lying to me." she dead panned. "I found your purse in the bathroom." Santana smile dropped at her words, she knew what Brittany would've found: an empty strip of pills that should've been full.
"Britt-" she didn't have the chance to answer because out of nowhere her drunken father came barrelling into the back of her, she crashed into Brittany but thankfully the blonde kept them both upright. "Ow!" she grunted and turned to face the older man. "What the hell?"
"Sorry, darling." He chuckled and turned to face Dylan who was trying to hide his laughter
"You let him get drunk?" she asked him but the blonde man just shrugged and dragged him towards the door.
"It's two in the morning, he's held his drink well for the amount he's consumed all day." He chuckled at Marco's obscured dancing. "I'm going to put him in the car, do you want to head home soon?" he asked and Santana just nodded not waiting for an answer from Brittany but it looked like the blonde wanted to leave too, it was a lot later than she originally thought and she was beginning to feel sleepy.
"Meet you outside, Blaine's coming back with us as well." she called after the two men that were stumbling out the doors and probably hadn't heard a word she'd just said. "Do you want to go and say bye to Q and Rachel?"
Brittany shook her head, "I've already told them to have a good honeymoon. I'll just find Blaine and meet you out at the car?" Santana nodded and wandered off into the crowd. She knew there was something wrong with Santana, something seriously wrong that she wasn't telling her. Why would she have said all of that stuff earlier? She'd found the empty strip of pills and the Latina was looking very pail.
She found Blaine moping by the exit and hoisted him to his feet. "What's wrong Warbler?" she teased but the man didn't find her amusing.
"Kurt and I keep fighting." He mumbled through his drunken fogginess.
"I'm sure you two will be okay in the morning." They made their way out to the car where Marco and Dylan were already singing along to the radio. She smirked at the sight and climbed into the back with Blaine by her side. Dylan started the car and drove closer to the building so Santana wouldn't have to walk as far.
"Quinn!" Santana called over the sound of the beating music. The blonde spin round from where she was talking to a group of old people with a bright smile on her face.
"Hey! Are you having a good time?" she asked pleased with how everything had gone.
"Yeah, it's been great and you and Rachel look beautiful but I'm not feeling too good so we're just going to head home. Okay?" Quinn looked worried for a second knowing the only reason Santana would miss a good party like this was if something serious was happening. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She rubbed her chest to silently signal to her blonde best friend what was going on.
"Come here." Quinn pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you for everything you've done to help with this." Santana only nodded but held tighter. "I love you, S."
"I love you, too." She pulled away and planted a kiss onto the blonde's cheek before heading out to the car and collapsed in.
"What a night." She sighed exasperatedly and tilted her head to rest on Brittany's shoulder. "I just want to go to sleep she groaned." The blonde wrapped her up in her arms and pulled her tightly into her body.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" she whispered into Santana's ear as the streetlamps flashed and lit up their faces every few seconds. Santana sighed reluctantly but she knew she didn't have a choice.
"I've been forgetting to take my pills, I had no idea." She looked around the car to make sure no one was listening, Blaine was a sleep and her dad and Dylan were still singing.
"What?" Brittany's whole body tensed and fear raced through her body.
"I'm okay I feel fine, I'll just take a double dose when we get home." Her words didn't relax the blonde and all Brittany could do was pull Santana even closer like it would keep her healthy and safe.
The roads were quiet but that was hardly surprising for this time of night, droplets of rain were landing on the windshield and the wind was whistling through the air vents. Santana found herself relaxing into her girlfriend's arms but the tightening and pain in her chest was becoming ever more apparent, the nauseous feeling was increasing and she knew she could go in cardiac arrest at any moment.
"Britt-Britt?" she whimpered, her fists clenched at her sides as she tried to calm herself.
"Baby, what's wrong?" she shushed the blonde so that no one would hear her worrying.
"Did you have anything to drink tonight?"
"I had cherry cola, Pepsi and an orange juice with one of those little umbrellas in it." She said proudly forgetting what was going on; she had promised not to drink any alcohol that night because she wanted her and Santana to have a good time.
"So no alcohol?" the blonde nodded. "Good, Brittany, I'm going to need you to drive me to the hospital when everyone's home okay?"
"Santana, I'm scared what's going-" her words were cut short by a blinding light that filled the car. Everyone cringed and flinched away from it but it was no use, it only got bright and bright and Santana swore she could hear car horns blaring and people screaming but she couldn't tear them apart.
Everything was happening in slow motion, they were being lurched around in the car, flying through the air and it was possible that they'd passed the same stop sign more than four times but the Latina couldn't be sure.
Someone was screaming, it could have been Brittany or herself but she didn't know because it stopped just as quickly as it had started.
Santana's head crashed into the glass of the window with a crunched, the roof of the car was compressed, the front windshield was smashed and glass was thrown into their faces.
The cars horn only grew louder as the passengers came round to what was happening to them but then silence fell. No one moved or spoke for the first couple of seconds; they were all scared of the reality of the situation and what it might mean for them all.
Dylan was the first to speak, "Oh… fuck, is everyone… okay?" he stuttered between pained breaths. "I don't know what happened, that truck just came out of nowhere…" he tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. "The door won't open…"
"Dylan?" Santana whimpered. "Is my dad okay?" she couldn't move her chest was crushing down on her lungs and heart, her head was pounding and her eyes wouldn't open. Suddenly there was a warm sticky substance running down the side of her face, neck and down her chest. "I think I'm bleeding, there's a lot of blood back here."
"He's still breathing but he won't wake up." Dylan replied in a panicked voice. The Latina forced her eyes to stay open and turned to Brittany who looked to be unconscious next to her.
"Fuck! Brittany! Are you okay? Can you hear me, baby? Please wake up." Tears were pouring from her eyes the second she remembered her girlfriend had been sitting next to her. She reached up with a shaky hand and placed two fingers on the blonde's neck, a heavy sigh escaped her when she felt a strained pulse. "Check Blaine." She ordered Dylan who seemed to be the only other responsive one.
"I can't move, my legs are stuck under something." He grunted as he struggled to move out of his seat. "I'll try and phone for an ambulance…" he moaned as he reached into his pocket, something was stabbing him in the top of his leg but he couldn't see what, everything was so dark. He tried to turn on his phone but it wouldn't light up. "My phone's broken… do you have yours?"
"No, I left my purse in the bathroom…" she trailed off angrily.
"I can't move, Santana…"
"Okay, just stay still and don't move." She unfastened her seatbelt but stopped when the car started to spin, or was it her? A sudden wave of nausea swept over her and she had to gulp back the bile that had risen up her throat. "I can't move either without wanting to throw up."
"You have a concussion." Or maybe it was her heart finally getting the better of her.
"Brittany wake up, baby." The brunette placed her hand on the blonde's and squeezed it hard causing the woman to stir and mumble something incoherently. Santana's heart sped up, "Come on, Britt, wake up, look at me." she squeezed even harder and shook her thigh gently.
"Sa- S'tana." She slurred, one eyes inched open followed by the other. She began to cough and splutter and a trail of blood left the corner of her mouth. "Everything hurts." She managed to get out when the coughing fit stopped.
"It's okay, baby, I'm right here." She cupped the blonde's cheeks in her hands. "Just keep still and don't move." The blonde nodded but cringed at the motion. Santana began to inspect her girlfriend and was horrified to see a pool of blood at her feet, she gasped and sobbed then the tears fell and showed no signs of stopping. "Brittany, tell me where you're hurting." She pleaded through her crying.
"My legs, my back and my head." She mumbled as her eyes began to droop. There was glass everywhere; huge shards were digging into both of the women's bodies, pieces of metal off of the car were stabbing into Brittany's calf and Santana could feel a sudden twinge in her chest but there was no way of telling where all of that blood was coming from.
This wasn't good.
And when Santana realised this might be the end and that they might not make it out of this car alive her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces in her chest.
"Brittany," Santana reached into her bra with blood stained hands and shakily presented the little box to the woman she had been so deeply in love with ever since she was six. "I was going to wait until tonight to give you this but obviously it can't wait." Santana's lips turned up into a soft smile at the shocked expression on Brittany's face. Her head was still spinning and now she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Santana, don't." Brittany pleaded but not because she didn't want the Latina to propose to her but because she didn't want the woman acting like this was the last time she would get the chance to confess their love for one another.
"No, Britt-Britt… Here me out. I've wanted to marry you all my life. Do you remember when we used to have fake weddings with each other when we were little?" they both smiled at the memories. "But after a while fake weddings aren't enough. I love you so much, so much that sometimes it hurts."
"Stop, please. Stop acting like this is the end." Brittany's voice sounded tired.
"You don't know that it's not." Santana quipped. "Brittany, will you marry me?" the car fell silent and Santana knew that Dylan was listening into their conversation.
Brittany shook her head 'no' and reached out with one hand to close the box in Santana's hands. "I'll say yes when we get out of here, ask me when we get out and I'll marry you a… million times, Santana. I'll marry… you without a second thought. Just… please don't act like this is… the end… because we're both going to get out of this…" Santana nodded in understanding and dropped her head to Brittany's shoulder, but before she slipped the box back into her bra she pulled out the ring.
"Please just wear it. Britt. Just in case?" she pleaded with tears pouring from her eyes. Brittany was an optimist but with everything the brunette had been through she wasn't so optimistic about the chance they were going to get out of here alive.
Brittany nodded with a lazy smile on her face and let the Latina slip the ring onto her finger. "Here." Brittany reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. "I won't ever let go."
"I love you…" she trailed off as drowsiness took over her body and her eyes finally gave and closed. The last thing Santana remembered thinking about before everything was engulfed into darkness was how unfair life was, how Brittany and her had made it through so much, they'd come so far only to have their worlds come crashing down in the space of a couple of seconds.
Yeah.
Santana would say life was pretty unfair.
"Reports have just come in; there has been a major car crash on West Ocean Boulevard between a logging truck and a car carrying five people. Police have informed us that the truck collided with the car when they were leaving a wedding reception. So far there has only been one reported death and the other four passengers were all seriously injured with two of them in critical condition, they have all been taken to the nearest hospital.
"The driver of the truck escaped with only a few minor cuts and bruises and was reportedly the one who called 911.
"Police have yet to find the cause of the accident but have ruled out alcohol intoxication. All we can do now is pray for the survivors to make it through."
I love you all so much! thanks for reading and please give me some feedback! :* x