Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Glee belongs to Fox. The characters of Josie, James, Laura, TG, Kat, and various other OCs are mine but they're based on a mix of my friends and other people so they're not really mine either.

This is short, I have a hard time writting Brittany in a way that makes sense. It was originally longer but Brittany made too much sense, way too much sense. By the way I like wolves... they just have a bad Western social meaning thus the usage.

Also:

Joe, I'd like to ask where exactly did you get confused and was I unclear that Brittany went home for New Years?

wkgreen and Sonia - thank you as always for your support.

All the other readers/alerters: thank you for reading this story and I appreciate the time you take to read this.

Chapter 21 New Years – Josie and Brittany

Josie was bored. Just bored, she had run out of things to do. She wasn't one for these adult parties, all the conversations were the same. The whole "how have you been?" "what are your children up to?" "Did you hear so-and-so is running for office?" ugh. And the children that were her age were just that, childish. If it wouldn't make such a scene she'd be banging her head against the wall.

In her boredom she had managed to roughly calculate the temperature of the room based on the air conditioning and the number of bodies in their house. If she wasn't required by her mother to be here until midnight, she'd be out of this place in under a second and somewhere else. But, unfortunately, her mother had eyes in the back of her head, already she had tried to slip off five times and she had been caught even when she was sure the woman wasn't looking. On the bright side, it was almost midnight. Glancing around she looked for Aaron, she had been keeping tabs on that one because he always made fun of Brittany and never gave up the chance to do so. She spotted his sister, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Envy, where's your younger brother?" she asked. It was hard to believe that they were even related. For one, Josie had never met a kinder person than her.

"I haven't seen Aaron for a while," Envy said sounding almost apologetic. "Do you want to talk to him?

"No," Josie said.

"Brittany?" Envy questioned.

"Yes."

"I see," Envy said understanding. "Don't worry, I'll find him." At that moment the clock signaled the midnight hour.

xxxxxx

Brittany woke to the sound of cheering. When had she drifted off? What is midnight already? She felt a ball of fur stretch and climb on top of her lap, purring loudly. The ball of fluff was demanding to be petted; Brittany couldn't help but smile and comply with the demand.

"I'm sorry," she murmured regretfully to Lord Tubbington. "You've been trapped in here with me, when you should be out getting all the girl cats." A sharp pain on her left hand, the one that wasn't petting him, told her what he thought of that. "You're right. I should stop assuming I know you're thinking." Another scratch. "Ow, stop that. Do you want me to stop petting you?" The response she got was an innocent lick. Then, the door crashed open.

"Is the idiot enjoying talking to a dumb fat animal?"

Brittany winced inwardly; of course it would be him. She put on a polite smile. "Can I help you?"

"No, but maybe I can help you," he sneered. "Perhaps I can help you with that thick brain of your and smarten you up." Lord Tubbington's claws were digging sharply into her leg.

"You should leave," Brittany warned him." Lord Tubbington dislikes having his petting time interrupted."

"Was that a threat?" A creak told Brittany he had taken an aggressive stance. "Who am I kidding? A stupid girl like you doesn't know what she's saying." There was something in his tone that she didn't like. As Lord Tubbington hissed from her lap, she realized that he must have picked up on it too.

"Aaron?" Came a voice from the hallway. "Mom's looking for you."

"Tell her I'm having a nice chat with Brittany." Brittany never like the way he said her name.

"Aaron, you know perfectly well that her mother said she wasn't feeling well. Leave the poor girl alone." There was a pause. "Mom really wants to talk to you, now."

"Fine," he called. As he turned he muttered, "Sick my ass. Stupid bith doesn't even know how to get sick." For a second it almost seemed like he was going to stay, but he left just as another person approached the room.

"You ok?" inquired Josie, closing the door behind her.

"Lord Tubbington was here to protect me," Brittany said indicating the now perfectly calm cat on her lap.

"Good kitty," said Josie scratching him under the chin. "Thank you for protecting my sister from the big bad wolf." Lord Tubbington purred, basking in the praise.

"I'm sleeping in here," Josie announced. She wanted to make sure that creep didn't come back. Brittany opened her mouth to object. "Lord Tubbington agrees with me," Josie interrupted before Brittany had a chance to speak. "So you're outvoted." Josie yawned and got into the bed. "It's not fair you know," she said quietly. Brittany said nothing only snuggled enjoying the company of another person. "Remind me, we have to thank Ana for calling off Aaron."

"Who?"

"Envy," responded Josie using the name that Brittany had given the girl. "So, why'd you give this friend of yours the nickname Angel?"

"She rescued me from the wolves."

"Wolves?" Josie was confused she'd never heard this reference before.

"Nurses."

"And exactly how do they resemble wolves?" Josie asked still lost.

"They come after you in a pack if you try to leave the hospital."

Josie's laugh quickly turned into a yawn, "I love you."

"I know," Brittany said quietly. Josie didn't hear because she was already asleep. Brittany smiled sadly, reflecting in the darkness that had become her world. New Years was a time for resolutions, wasn't it? One day, she thought, she'd find a way to be herself and also have Josie not feel like she had to protect her older sister. One day soon.

"Someday," Brittany swore aloud as though it would make it real. "I'll be the one protecting you."

Extra Scene (mostly because I could, this is not really related to the story though):

Lord Tubbington got up from where he had been laying waiting for his ward to fall asleep. Opening the door and leaving the room, he watched as a smaller female cat entered. As his fellow feline closed the door behind her, he took his usual spot over one of the nearby vents. Laying there enjoying the heat, he kept a weary eye open just in case that boy came back. Next time, there would be no warning.