A/N: Here it is guys. The ending to my first long piece. It's been one hell of a ride, going through tons of writing blocks and having no motivation. But this is it. To everyone who has reviewed, favorited and given me inspiration. A big shout out to Candice because she went above and beyond being amazing to help me with this story. Alright, review, and enjoy :)

Brittany's POV

I must've been tired because I woke up in the same position as I was in when I was praying. My neck didn't want to even move. It was painful. I slowly lifted my head up and started to stretch. The sun was peeking through the blinds of the living room window. I walked over and pulled on the drawstring. The sunlight felt so great on my skin. I watched as the newspaper boy rode by and threw my paper in my driveway. It was pretty much like any other morning, I'd sit and read the paper on the kitchen counter. Usually Quinn would have the coffee going by the time I woke up but since she wasn't home, I've had sort of a caffeine withdrawal. Whenever I would make my own batch it wouldn't be as good as Quinn's, and no where near as amazing as Santana's. I skimmed through the newspaper and found nothing that interesting. AJ was still asleep so I decided to go out and grab a fresh cup at the coffee shop down the street.

When I got down there, the line was non-existent. I walked in and was greeted by the worker at the cash register.

"What can I get for you today?" She smiled and I smiled back.

"I think I'll try something different today. Could I get a medium caramel macchiato?" She nodded as she wrote my order on my cup.

"Would that be all?"

"Yeah I think that's all." I reached into my purse to get my wallet out.

"No worries. It's on the house." I was surprised.

"Are you sure?" She smiled.

"Yes. I don't have it in my heart to take money from such a beautiful woman." I could feel myself sort of blushing.

"Well thanks."

"Have a great day." She waved as I walked over to the end of the counter to get my drink.

"I'm sorry about her, she can be a bit up front about things." I chuckled.

"It's no problem. Honest."

"Here's your caramel macchiato." I grabbed off of the counter and turned and headed towards the door. As I walked through the entrance, a man held the door open.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Have a good day." And he proceeded to walk inside. I was definitely having a good day. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a brunette of familiar stature walking the opposite way. That isn't Santana. I kept telling myself that. I shook it off and turned to walk away I bumped into someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." I looked up and realized that it was Puck.

"Well if it isn't Brittany S. Pierce. Or should I say, Brittany Lopez." I literally jumped and hugged him. It's been over three years since I've seen him. Puck had been stationed in Japan since we graduated from high school and then was deployed to Afghanistan. I didn't think he'd be home so soon though. He stood there looking sharp in his Marine dress uniform with a huge grin on his face.

"How have you been? I'm sorry I couldn't come home for Santana's funeral. I know that I should've been there for you."

"It's alright, Puck. Don't worry about it okay? I've been surviving. Time has been helping." We walked over to a table and sat down. "How have you been? I didn't think you were going to be home for at least another seven months.

"Oh well you know, things change and I was sent home. No biggie though. I had to come home and see my favorite girl."

My friendship with Puck had grown during our senior year. We got really close and talked all the time. About nearly everything. Especially Santana. He was like my go-to guy for advice and anything else. We sat and talked for hours. When I looked down at my watch again, I realized it was almost 5:30 at night.

"Oh man. It's getting late. I need to make sure AJ is alright. You wanna just come to my place?" He stood up and nodded.

"I would love to. I haven't seen your guys house before." We drove over there and saw that the lights were on.

"Oh wow. I think Quinn got discharged today!" I locked my truck and ran into the house. Puck followed behind me. As I opened the front door I saw the blonde in the kitchen making dinner.

"Hey Britt!" I ran up to her and hugged her.

"I'm really glad you're home."

"Oh and look at this. Looking good Puckerman." He stood in the doorway with his hat between his arm and his side.

"Why thank you. You're looking good yourself." She smiled. "And considering what you just went through, you are glowing."

"Same ol' Puckerman, getting the lines in." He laughed. "There's enough here for everyone if you guys are hungry. I made hamburger helper."

It felt like old times. Just sitting around. Talking, laughing and having a good time. I hadn't felt this happy in a long time. I've tried to surround myself with friends but everyone was always busy.

"I'm beat. I'm gonna head up stairs." Quinn got up from her chair and hugged the both of us.

"Thanks for dinner, Q. It was great. I haven't had great food like this since.. Since.. Well you get my point. A while."

"It was my pleasure. How long are you in town?"

"Just for the weekend. I have somewhere I need to be once the weekend is over." Quinn looked excited.

"Well maybe you should make some time for me and we can hang out together this weekend?" He nodded.

"Of course. You got it." She turned around and walked up stairs. "So Britt. There's something I've been meaning to ask you all day."

"Okay yeah. Shoot." He looked like he didn't know how to word it. Like he was hesitating.

"Well okay. So I came here this weekend just to talk to you. It was something that happened to me while I was deployed."

And at that moment, I knew what he was going to say.

"Santana visited me. It was weird though. I know I wasn't sleeping or anything, she just appeared."

Afghanistan 9 Months ago

I was doing guard duty at the east gate. It was around 1:30 in the afternoon. I had been sitting there for over ten hours now and drank at least a gallon of water. It was hot as fuck here, and staying hydrated was important.

"Hey Johnson I'm going to go and use the latrine. Be right back." He nodded and I walked down the stairs and out of the tower. I turned the corner and saw a tall brunette walking. I shouted over to her. "Hey female. You can't be out here dressed like that. You have to be in uniform."

"Well I'm sorry, Sgt. Puckerman I didn't know the rules applied to me." She turned and I realized that it was Santana. I stood there in shock.

"What the.." She laughed.

"I get that reaction from everyone I've visited. I'm sort of getting used to it." I walked over to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've come to talk to you. I need you to do something for me. It's really important and you have to do this. You have to promise me that you'll do exactly what I tell you okay." I nodded. I knew regardless of whatever Santana was going to ask me, I was going to do it. For one, she was dead. And two, Brittany was one of my good friends and I was one hundred percent sure that it was something to do with her.

"What is it San?"

"SGT PUCKERMAN! It's an ambush!" My heart started racing.

"I know you have to go so I'll make this quick." She stepped closer to me and whispered into my ear. I nodded and ran back to the tower.

"I have to do what she asked of me." She looked confused.

"But what are you gonna do? You sure you weren't just imagining things? I mean, you were in the desert for a while."

"It wasn't a hallucination or a mirage or anything, B. I'm telling you the God honest truth." I could tell he was being serious then.

"Alright. So what I want you to do, is lay on the couch." We walked into the living room and I layed down on the couch. "Now, get comfortable." I started snuggling into the couch.

"Okay. So now, take off your shirt." I looked at him and he started laughing. "I'm just kidding. Close your eyes and relax."

I closed my eyes and my mind started racing.

"Concentrate on my voice okay. Now, think back to the last time you and Santana were together. I know it may be hard, but just give this a try okay." My mind wandered back to me dropping Santana off at the airport before she left for Boston. It was always hard for me to see her go for any amount of time so of course I was sad. "Okay. So tell me what's happening."

"Alright. So, I'm pulling up to the curb and she's getting her itinerary out. I park the truck and sigh. She tells me that it's going to be okay and that she'll be back in no time." The memory played like a movie. "I got out and made my way around to help her get her things from the bed. I hugged her and looked into her eyes and told her that I loved her. She answered me with I love you more, as always. Then she kissed me."

"That's it. Okay stop. Now, remember how it felt to kiss her. Remember how it made you feel." It made me feel on top of the world. I then heard a beeping sound.

"What's that?"

"No don't open your eyes Britt. That's nothing. Concentrate on me. Now what happened a little after that."

"She hugged me again and told me that she was going to miss me. Her hand then caresses my face and she goes in to kiss me one more time." I could feel her warmth. Like her hand was actually touching me.

"We're almost done Britt." The beeping got a little louder. "If there was one thing that you want at this very moment, what would it be?"

"I want Santana back."

"Okay Britt. Wake up." I tried opening my eyes but it was like they were glued shut. I kept hearing Puck say wake up. My arms didn't want to move. Nothing did.

"It's okay Britt. Wake up." His voice was fading out now, and the beeping was getting louder. Was I dieing? Did he put something in my drink to kill me? No that's a ridiculous thought. My eyes opened a little and the brightness of the light caused me to squint. I felt someone grab onto my hand.

"Baby? Oh my God. Britt it's me." The voice seemed kind of faint, I thought I was dreaming. I finally started getting feeling back into my limbs. I squeezed the hand that grabbed me to feel a familiar warmth. Then I felt a hand run touching my face. "Baby, it's me. San."

San? This must've been a dream. I must be dead or something. That's the only logical explanation. Either that or she was visiting me again.

"San?" I sounded all weak. Which was surprising, because I felt fine like ten minutes ago. Talking up a storm with Puck.

"You don't know how worried I've been." My eyes finally opened all the way. I was laying in a hospital bed with all sorts of chords attached to me. As I looked around, I saw heaps of flowers and cards sitting on the table. I turned to the left and saw her. Santana was looking at me, with tears falling from her eyes and a smile breaking through. "I don't think you know how unbelievably happy I am to see those beautiful blue eyes again."

I went to touch my head and it was wrapped with gauze. She grabbed my hand and pulled it away from the bandages.

"We were at the airport. You were dropping me off. You walked around the truck to get in when a car hit you. The ambulance came and rushed you to the hospital in critical condition. When you were finally stable, the doctors told me that I was allowed to come and see you. The only thing was, you were in a coma. They didn't know how long or even if you'd wake up. At first, your vitals were bad. But the days went on and they got better. Which gave me hope. I never gave up on you, Britt. I never left your side."

"So you aren't dead anymore?" She looked at me. "Where's Quinn? Rachel? Puck?"

Her face immediately changed. "Baby, Puck was killed in a fire fight in Afghanistan."

"What? When? How? How long have I been in a coma?" The thought of me being in a coma blew my mind. This entire time, I thought Santana was dead. But in reality, I was the one that was on the brink of death.

"Baby you've been in a coma for almost six months." Six. Months. What the fuck? "Puck was killed a little after your accident."

I started to cry, and she held my hand tighter and then kissed it.

"I was going to tell you, but I didn't want it to be the first thing I told you when you woke up." I heard a knock at the door and saw Quinn and Rachel standing there.

"May we come in?" Santana motioned them to come over and they walked into the room hand in hand.

"You guys are still together?" They looked at each other, and smiled.

"Yes. Did you expect us to break up or something?" I laughed.

"No it's not like that. It's.. It's well. Just never mind. It's a long story, and I rather not talk about it." They pulled two chairs up to the bed and they caught me up on everything that had been happening since I was in a coma. I felt like I missed so much.

After a week of observation, the hospital finally discharged me and allowed me to go home. We pulled into the driveway and I saw a bunch of cars parked outside. I got out of the truck and slowly made my way up the driveway. Santana locked the truck and ran over to me to hold me up. I hadn't walked in a while so it was taking me a minute to get used to it again. I heard a bunch of talking inside the house.

"You didn't, babe." San shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't. They did." She opened the door and everyone was there. I told everyone hi, and sat down in the living room. We all ate, drank and had a good time. Santana stood up with her glass and cleared her throat.

"I would like to make a toast. To my amazing girlfriend. I don't know what I'd do without you babe. I'm glad that you're here with me, with us today." She held her glass up and then drank from it. And everyone proceeded to do the same.

After everyone went home that night, Santana took me upstairs and we layed in bed together. The feeling was amazing. It was everything I was aching for. We cuddled and kissed. And kissed some more.

"San I need to tell you what I dreamt about while I was in a coma." She cuddled into me and I told her everything. From her funeral, to Quinn almost dying. Especially what happened with Puck. Being in shock was an understatement. Her face said it all.

"You know I'd never leave you, baby." She kissed me.

"I know you wouldn't. And you didn't. I love you."

3 Months Later

Life was great. Santana and I were back to our busy lives. It was a good feeling. My life was back to normal. Quinn and Rachel came around all the time and we double dated everywhere. I wasn't taking anything for granted anymore. Now that I knew what it felt like to lose San, I wasn't going to waste any time. Tina survived her cancer, and Mike opened his dance studio. Of course I was there nearly everyday, my love for dancing had carried over from my dream. Santana was impressed by my dancing. She was completely mesmerized every time I stepped on stage. Even if it was only practice.

We got a puppy, and of course named him AJ. He went everywhere with us. Everything from then on came so naturally. Santana and I were living it up. If there was one thing I knew, it was that I was one lucky girl. It was like, my heart was yearning to see Santana again. It wasn't going to let me give up no matter what. I considered Puck my guardian angel, since he was the last person I saw before waking up. I credit him for waking me up. Because really, he did. I pray every night now. Even though I don't go to church, my experience has definitely made me believe that there is some higher being out there who's looking out for everyone. Santana and I are currently living in Northern California. Life feels like it's at it's peak for us. She's become a CEO for her own law firm which was amazing. I'm so proud of her. We're expecting our first child as well. None of us is pregnant if that's what you're thinking. We found a child in an adoption agency and we're currently going through the interview process. It's an exciting, new beginning for us. The mother carrying the baby told us that the doctors said she was having a baby boy. She gave us permission to pick out his name And so of course, we found the perfect name.

Noah Michael Lopez.