The next few weeks between Rachel and Santana seemed to get better and better. Each time Samantha would leave to do the show, Santana would come over and hang out with Rachel. Though she needed a lot less help than the first week, it was nice to have Santana around. Rachel really felt like they were true friends. It was no longer awkward to be in the same vicinity of her, it was actually enjoyable and they had a lot of fun even if all they did was watch movies, take walks, or run small errands for the apartment.
It had been nearly a month since Rachel's injury and with Santana coming over almost every day it was no surprise when Sam walked in at night to see the woman there with her friend. Tonight was no different. Santana sat on the couch with the TV on, legs stretched out and resting on the coffee table, Rachel having dozed off was lying with her head in her lap.
Hearing the keys in the door, Santana turned her head and watched Sam walk into her apartment. She silently lifted a finger to her lips to let her know to be quiet as her roommate was asleep.
Samantha just nodded, dropped her keys on the table near the door, and then sulked her way through the apartment.
"How was it tonight?" Santana asked softly, lifting the remote to turn off the television.
"Fine" Sam mumbled, taking off her jacket and hanging it the coat rack "I miss Rachel. Her understudy is good but the dialogue is so forced. It sucks."
Santana nodded, looking down at where Rachel lay in her lap and smiled "Yeah well she's pretty much one of a kind. I can only imagine what trying to replace her is like, even if temporarily."
"Oh what would you know, you've known her for, what, two months?" Sam's tone was an annoyed one as she kicked off her shoes.
"Whoa, hey, no need to be rude. I realize you had a bad night but that doesn't give you an excuse to lash out at me."
"It has nothing to do with tonight" Sam snapped back at her. She stood now near the back of the couch, her hip resting again the couch on the end where Rachel's feet were, her facing toward Santana "I want my best friend back. You've been hogging all of her time."
"Whoa" Santana shook her head, glancing at the sleeping girl before looking back to the one standing near her. She had to remember to keep her tone down even though she was being attached right now "I am doing no such thing. I am just trying to keep her company while you're out doing your job, that's all."
"All she does is talk about you. About what you watched last night or how you two walked to the corner market and got fruit, or how you hate puzzles but every time she does one you end up helping out. It's infuriating. We used to hang out, have inside jokes, laugh together and now it's all about you."
"You have her for the majority of the day, Sam. I'm not trying to invade. I thought I was being a good friend coming over to kill her boredom. You know all she talks about is how she wishes she was out on that stage with you, how she misses bantering with you, adlibbing things on stage with you, having makeup fights backstage with you. Sounds to me like you are still very much her best friend so you better check yourself."
"Don't tell me to check myself. She was mine first. You just want her now because she keeps telling you no."
Santana clenched her jaw and had to glance at Rachel to keep herself from jumping up and snapping at the girl. She pulled in a deep breath and lifted her eyes slowly back to Sam, keeping her tone level but determined "She and I have worked through that. I will have you know I haven't actively pursued her since the night I invited her to dinner and she showed up with another woman. Everything after that has been completely out of friendship. I did what she wanted, I agreed to be friends, and that is all I have done. So you need to calm yourself down, go to bed and get some rest, then wake up tomorrow and realize you've just had a bad day before you say something you'll really regret."
"My biggest regret was inviting you into my home. I should have known you would use this injury to weasel your way into her heart."
Santana sighed. She looked back to Rachel, lifted her head so she could gently slide out from under her, before settling her back down. She watched Rachel stir, but she did not wake.
Santana stepped around the couch, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her coat and pulled it on her arms before looking back to Samantha "I am going to pretend this conversation never happened. You had a bad night, I get it. You're taking it out on me because you aren't as attached to me so if you piss me off there's no real love lost between us. But I like you, Sam. You're Rachel's best friend and if I want to hang with her, I have to know you are going to be in her life. I don't want it to be weird with us, so I am leaving. Get some rest, calm yourself, and tell Rachel I'm sorry I didn't wake her up before I left but I will see her tomorrow."
Before Samantha could say anything else, Santana opened the door and quietly slipped out, shaking her head as she left the apartment building a little confused as to why Sam had lashed out at her.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Santana never told Rachel about the night Sam came home and chewed her out. She didn't want to cause problems between the roommates and if truth be told, she was sure if it came down to it Rachel would choose Sam over her anyway. It was easier to just let it go and forget it happened.
It was nearly a week later and Santana had only been over to the apartment once since that night. She told Rachel she had a lot of work to do, which was true, but she could have easily done the work at Rachel's place with her laptop. But it gave her an excuse to give herself some space from Rachel and not make Rachel think she had done anything wrong. Hopefully it would help Sam calm down from whatever high horse she was riding.
Santana sat in her kitchen now, going over a few things on her laptop, looking at different papers and what not when she looked up at the clock and realized it was nearly one in the morning. Deciding to call it a night, she had just shut down her computer when her buzzer went off.
Perking an eyebrow, she moved to her speaker, wondering if perhaps someone was drunk and looking for someone else in the building and pushed the wrong call button. "This is Santana" she pressed the button and spoke cautiously.
"San" A sob came through the speaker "It's Rachel" she gasped. She was crying hysterically.
"Rach, shit, come up" Santana buzzed her in then opened her door, moving down to the elevator to wait for the cart to reach her floor to greet her friend.
It took a minute or two, but finally the doors opened and a crying Rachel stepped out and wrapped her arms around Santana "I….Sam…yelling at me!" She wailed through heavy sobs.
"Shhh, hey, calm down. Let's go inside." Santana whispered, helping the hysterical girl down the hallway toward her place. She led her inside and shut the door. "Alright, take a breath Rach. What happened?"
Rachel's face was bright red, her cheeks tear stained and soaked as her tears continued "Sam…really mad at me….don't know what….she was yelling." The story was hard to make out as Rachel took deep breaths between her wailing tears.
"You're not making any sense. Come here." Santana guided the girl to one of the stools in her kitchen and sat her down. "Let's take this off, get you relaxed." Santana knelt near her, helping her to undo the buttons of her jacket before slipping it off her shoulders. "Take a few breaths."
Rachel nodded, wiping at her eyes as she took in long pulls of air, trying to calm herself down. She trembled in the chair and the tears continued to roll as Santana hung up her jacket then locked the door.
Returning to her friend, Santana sat on the next stool and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder "Alright, let's try again. What happened?"
Rachel took in a few deep breaths to calm herself and find her voice. She swallowed and when she spoke her voice was soft "I went out to get a few things" She started, taking a deep breath again "When I got back…"She bit her lip and shook her head, tears starting all over and when she opened her mouth again she sobbed out instead of any real words.
Santana frowned and stood from the stool and went over to Rachel's jacket "You need to calm your nerves. Did you bring any pain pills? Those will relax you."
Rachel shook her head quickly, her mouth opening to pull in gulp after gulp of air as she tried to calm herself but every time she thought about what happened she went into hysterics again.
Santana moved away from her jacket then and opened a cupboard in her kitchen. She pulled out a bottle and a small glass before moving back over to Rachel. She poured her a small shot, setting the bottle down and handing it to her "Here, take this. It's going to taste like Hell but it'll relax you a bit."
Rachel nodded, trusting her friend, and took the shot of alcohol. She immediately coughed, her face scrunching in displeasure and she set the little cup down "What was that?" Rachel asked through a soft sob.
"Tequila" Santana said with a shrug.
"Tastes like gasoline." Rachel mumbled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and taking another breath.
"Maybe, but you'll feel all nice and warm and relaxed in a minute or two."
Rachel nodded and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to get her composure. She knew if she couldn't tell Santana was happened she wouldn't be able to offer any sort of help to her.
Santana watched her friend for a few minutes, her hand resting against her back and rubbing it softly, trying to soothe her.
After a minute or two, Rachel looked up and nodded "I think it helped." She said with a smile.
Santana laughed, shrugging slightly "Yeah well it has that effect. Now, what happened?"
Rachel gripped the little shot glass in her hand and looked at her friend "I came home after running an errand and Sam was there." She took a deep breath, feeling tears coming on. She quickly grabbed the bottle and poured herself another shot and took it, wincing at the burn before licking her lips. "Just in case" she said with a laugh.
Santana smiled, but wouldn't interrupt.
"Sam was there" Rachel continued with a sigh "and she was so mad."
"What about?" Santana asked softly, hoping their conversation the other night was not the cause of it.
"She said she went to put in her monthly rent check and the landlord told her she was already paid in full."
Santana nodded her head a little bit, but didn't speak. She wished her bills were paid every time she went to put a check in.
Rachel looked at Santana as if expecting her to say something and when she didn't, she nodded slowly "She went off on me saying I should mind my own business and she is not your charity case, too…" She trailed off, biting her lip as she looked at her friend.
Santana perked an eyebrow, moving her hand to point at herself "Wait, she thinks I paid your rent?"
Rachel bit her lip, nodding. "She went off. She was furious."
Santana shook her head quickly, holding her hand up in a stop motion "No. It was not me."
"I told her…" Rachel took a deep breath, biting her lip as she felt it tremble again. She licked her lips and poured another shot for herself and took it.
"Whoa, slow down" Santana said softly.
"I told her" Rachel wiped her mouth with her hand "That you didn't do it. That you wouldn't do that."
Santana laughed softly "No shit. I mean, don't get me wrong I thought about it, but after your hospital bill I knew you'd freak on me if I paid your rent, too. I value our growing friendship more than that. You're too stubborn to let me help so I stepped back. I would step up and help if you asked, but I knew you'd never ask."
Rachel nodded her head, wiping as a few stray tears ran down her cheek. She took another deep breath and gripped at the little shot glass she still held "She was so mad. She said all these horrible things about you. I've never heard her say anything really bad about someone. I mean, we used to talk crap on Julie all the time, but nothing as hateful or hurtful as these things…"
"Hey, it's alright" Santana rubbed her back, shrugging a shoulder "I've been called everything in the book. I definitely don't let it get to me."
Rachel nodded and took another deep breath. She looked up to Santana and some tears slipped free "She said so any bad things."
"Rach, I don't care. Did she hurt you?"
Rachel shook her head and wiped a few tears "No, she just yelled a lot. And insulted you a lot. And insulted me a few times, but they were kind of sideways insults that were attached to the insults about you."
Santana bit the inside of her cheek and nodded "I can understand where she is coming from. She has trust issues with me and suddenly her rent is paid. I think I would snap, too." She stood up now and went to the fridge, grabbing herself a water bottle.
Rachel poured another shot and took it when Santana wasn't looking, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her body finally felt a bit warmer and a bit more relaxed.
"So when you said you didn't know or whatever, I am assuming she freaked out on you?" Santana asked as she moved to sit back down, taking a drink of water.
Rachel nodded her head "I told her I didn't think it was you. Then she called me an idiot. She was like well who else would it be? When I told her I didn't know she said I was so blinded by you that I couldn't see you were still playing me, or something. I was in tears by then. She was demanding I stop seeing you and demanding I tell you to take your money back and never try to butt into our lives ever again."
Santana nodded as she sipped. None of this was a surprise.
Rachel looked at her friend with a sad look on her face. She was taking all this harshness so well but Rachel still felt bad about it. "Are you upset?"
Santana shook her head "Nope. Kind of saw it coming."
Rachel nodded, sighing a little as her chin dropped and she stared at her feet.
"Don't worry about me. Are you alright now?"
Rachel nodded and looked up at her friend "I think so" she squeaked out as tears over took her again. She took a few breaths but she lost herself to sobs again.
"Hey, it's alright" Santana whispered, rubbing her back.
"I've never seen her so mad. I was so scared!"
"I know" Santana whispered softly "She will cool down, I promise."
Rachel nodded but kept crying. She turned and laid her head on her arm against the counter top, crying softly.
Santana sighed and got up, leaning over to kiss the top of her head before she walked out of the kitchen toward her laundry area "You'll stay here tonight!" She called back as she disappeared into the room.
Rachel lifted her head and took a swig right from the bottle. She made a face as her mouthful of tequila burned her throat. She almost gagged and shook her head before taking another little sip.
Santana walked back out with a tshirt and shorts for her friend, giving her a smile "Let's get you into some pajamas. We can eat ice cream, watch a movie, and talk about it."
"You have a movie?" Rachel asked with a smile.
Santana laughed, nodding her head a little bit "I went and got a few you suggested. You know, just in case you ever came over to hang out."
Rachel grinned and stood up off the stool. She stumbled and nearly fell over, squeaking as she grabbed onto Santana.
"Whoa! Hey. How much of that did you drink!"
Rachel looked over at the bottle then up to Santana with a smile "Enough to relax!"
Santana laughed and rolled her eyes "Leave it to the light weight to take my words literally."
Rachel slipped her arms around Santana's waist and let the taller girl lead her to the bathroom to change.
"If you didn't do it who did?" Rachel asked as she changed in the small bathroom, the door cracked so Santana could hear her if she fell over.
"I have no idea. But I have a theory."
"Who is theory?" Rachel mumbled as she slipped out of her jeans.
"No, a theory. I think I know."
"Oh" Rachel nodded and walked out of the bathroom now, giving a smile to Santana as her hand wrapped around her arm "I a listening."
"Well, the morning after your injury I walked in to give you breakfast and you were crying on the phone. I turned to leave you alone and I heard you say daddy. I heard you saying something about being scared about losing your part and what if you became a homeless bum because no one hired you on Broadway again."
Rachel giggled softly "That's silly. It's just a rib."
Santana nodded her head, moving with the girl up the stairs one by one then turned and guided her toward the bedroom "I know, but you were on pain meds so I can't blame you."
Santana pushed the door open and helped Rachel to the bed. Rachel crawled up and plopped onto her back, sighing softly "So you think my dad did it?"
"It's worth a shot" Santana shrugged, kicking off her shoes and wiggling out of her jeans before crawling into the bed next to Rachel with just her shirt and panties on.
Rachel rolled over and laid herself against Santana, giving her a hug "Thank you for relaxing me and not paying my rent."
Santana smiled, shaking her head a little bit as she held her close "I didn't do anything. You were the one sneaking shots when I wasn't looking."
Rachel grinned up at her friend and giggled "I was trying to relaxxxxx!" She drew the word out.
"Obviously." Santana grinned. She had to admit a tispy Rachel was pretty entertaining.
Rachel sighed and settled against her friend. She was quiet for a really long time and Santana had thought she had passed out. Then she lifted her head and looked at Santana "I'm sorry Sam doesn't like you."
"I told you, it's no big deal. I can just keep my distance for a while, let her cool off."
Rachel shook her head, her face turning into a very dramatic frown "Don't do that I like you."
"I know, but we can hang here."
Rachel nodded a bit and sat up more "I get to go back to rehearsals soon and I want you to come see me in the play."
"I'd love to" Santana said with a grin as her fingers ran down Rachel's back.
Rachel smiled at her happily and batted her eyes as she looked at her friend. She was quiet but kept her eyes on her friend for a long time. After a moment, she lifted her hand and touched Santana's cheek "You're very pretty did you know that?"
Santana perked an eyebrow and looked at Rachel trying not to laugh "You're drunk."
"No" Rachel shook her head quickly. That made her dizzy and she almost fell over. She grabbed Santana and giggled as she straightened herself where she was now sitting instead of laying down "Okay I am drunk but I think you are pretty when I am not drunk!"
"Thank you" Santana said softly, her hand on Rachel's back in case she went to topple over again "I think you're very pretty when you're not drunk too." She laughed, smirking a bit.
"What about when I am drunk?" Rachel pouted over dramatically.
Santana smiled softly, lifting her hand to push some hair off her eyes "You're beautiful no matter what."
Rachel blushed and hid her face in her hands. She giggled softly then peeked through her fingers before dropping her hand on Santana's leg. She was grinning ear to ear and staring at Santana again.
"What?" Santana asked with a smile.
Rachel shook her head and just smiled, not taking her eyes off Santana.
Rolling her eyes, Santana gave her friend a little poke in the side "Stop."
Rachel giggled and flinched away from the poke but didn't stop staring.
"Rach, you're giving me the creeps!" She laughed out softly.
Rachel giggled, crinkling her nose as she scooted closer to her friend now "I was just thinking" she finally whispered.
"Hmm about what?" Santana asked softly, sure that whatever gem drunk Rachel thought up would be entertaining to say the least.
"About…" Rachel tapped her chin and looked to the side, giving a cute little shrug and giggling again. She looked back to Santana then suddenly leaned forward in a quick motion and pushed her lips sloppily against Santana's.
Santana's eyes went wide and she put her hands on Rachel's shoulders. She pushed off gently, pulling back so their lips parted "Rachel what are you doing?"
"Kissing you!" She said with a giggle and leaned over again, now practically crawling on top of Santana to try and push her lips together again.
"You're drunk" Santana whispered, keeping her distance from the girl.
"I am not" She whispered softly "I want you."
"Rachel" Santana whispered, shaking her head and giving a little push so the girl rocked back to sitting. She now sat on Santana's waist, having moved over her completely in her attempts to kiss her.
"Santana" Rachel whispered, biting her lip as she looked at her friend. She started to move against Santana now, grinding her ass against Santana's waist.
"Rach" Santana closed her eyes, her hands moving to Rachel's hips to try and stop her movements.
Rachel moved her hands down and grabbed Santana's wrists. She pulled them off her body and slid them along her stomach and over her chest, trapping Santana's hands over her breasts. She let out a soft moan and rolled her head back.
"Rachel stop" Santana whispered, though her words trembled. Her fingers quaked and her stomach was burning with the fire of desire.
Rachel shook her head and opened her eyes, giving her lips a slow lick as she started to caress her own breasts using Santana's hands "It's been a month. I can have sex now. The doctor said so."
"No we can't" Santana said with a shake of her head, trying to pull her hands away "You're drunk."
"I'm horny" She whined, pushed her hips now against Santana's as she leaned over again. She dropped her hands away from her own chest and started to let them roam over Santana's body.
"Rachel" Santana moved her hands and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her so she sat upright again. "Stop it."
"Santanaaaaa" She gave her best sexy moan and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and off her body in one swift movement. She chewed her bottom lip gently and looked at Santana with her best sexy gaze and started to wiggle her hips against Santana's again.
Santana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She shook her head a little and put her hands on Rachel's waist to stop her. "Rachel!" She snapped her eyes open and looked at her firmly "Stop it right now!"
"Oh are you getting mad? Are you going to spank me?" Rachel wiggled her ass again, licking her lips slowly.
"Jesus" Santana whispered and took another deep breath. She had to steel her nerves and swallow her desire. She felt heat tingling in her thighs and lower stomach and her hands were trembling but she had to stay strong.
"You like that, don't you?" Rachel mumbled as she leaned over once more, grinding her hips into Santana's as her bare chest pressed against Santana's shirt and she tried to press her lips to her mouth.
Santana's entire body trembled. She let out a moan as Rachel's lips pressed against hers and her tongue moved into her mouth. She could taste the stale flavor of tequila against her tongue. She felt her hands tremble as they moved off Rachel's waist and over her ass, cupping it and pulling her down so she grinded against her more fully.
"Mmmm" Rachel purred against her mouth, letting her body writhe against Santana's.
Santana let her tongue roam now into Rachel's mouth, returning the kiss for the first time. Her heart was beating and her entire body was on fire. She could feel her need filling her from head to toe.
Rachel giggled as her hips pushed into Santana's again, now with more purpose as she dove one of her tiny hipbones right against Santana's core.
"Oh god" Santana mumbled into her mouth. A shiver shot through her spine and she let out a moan. She took a deep breath and re-focused. Her eyes came open and her hands stopped, grabbing Rachel's shoulders and pushing her again "Oh god! No! Rachel, stop it!"
Rachel squeaked and giggled, but tried to lean in for another kiss.
"No, damn it!" Santana didn't want to get rough with her, but she had to now. She grabbed the girl and flipped her over, pinning her to her back. "No." She said firmly, pushing her into the bed so she would stay put before she quickly crawled off and turned her back, taking a breath and trying to regain herself.
"Come baccckkk" Rachel whined from the bed.
"Rachel, no!" Santana turned around and pointed at her. "You're going to go to sleep. I am going to go sleep on the couch."
"Santana, no!" She cried out softly, pouting now.
"Stop it" Santana went over to the bed and pulled the blankets over her chest, covering her now completely "Go to sleep. We can't do this like this."
Rachel blinked a few times, looking wide eyed like she was going to cry again.
Santana sighed, her heart was still beating and she was trembling a bit where she stood but she had to stick to her decision. "Go to sleep. You will thank me in the morning."
Rachel folded her arms in a huff and shook her head, watching Santana walk around the bed toward the door "You just lost your chance!"
Santana shook her head and looked at her "If that's the case then fine." She dipped her head and walked out, closing the door behind her.
Rachel gasped and threw a pillow at the door "I hate you!" She screamed toward Santana.
Santana stood near the top of the steps, gripping the railing as she trembled and took a few deep breaths. Rachel would never know how much strength that took to walk away from but if that really had been her only chance, she was happy she had said no. It just wasn't worth it to her.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Hey sleeping beauty" Santana whispered as she snuck into the room the next morning, a cup of coffee in her hand.
Rachel groaned a little bit, rolling over in the bed and as soon as the sun hit her eyes she pulled the pillow over her head.
Santana laughed and moved to sit near her on the bed, setting the coffee near her head on the side table "How you feeling?"
"What happened?" Rachel mumbled, her voice was groggy and her throat was dry.
"You helped yourself to my tequila last night." Santana said with a smile, rubbing her back lightly.
Rachel groaned and rolled to her back. That was when the sheet came down and she realized she had no shirt on. She blinked and sat up, grabbing the sheet and pulling it over her chest. She looked down at herself, then up at Santana, her eyes wide as saucers as she looked at the girl "Oh my god, did we have sex?" Panic rose in her voice as she tried to piece the night together.
Santana laughed very softly "No, we did not. Not for lack of trying on your part, though."
Rachel put a hand on her mouth, her eyes shifting about as she thought things over for a moment. She looked at Santana and whispered "I tried to have sex with you?"
Santana nodded her head a little bit.
"Oh my god" Rachel whispered softly "How much did you let met drink!"
"I gave you one shot to calm your nerves. You took two more that I know of. Then you told me that you were sneaking drinks behind my back, so I don't know."
Rachel put her hands on her face, shaking her head a little bit. She looked up at her friend, horrified "I am so sorry! That is exactly why I don't drink, I become…"
"Horny?" Santana asked with a smirk.
"No!" Rachel said quickly.
"You told me last night you were." Santana laughed, reaching out now and handing her the coffee she had brought her.
"I did?" Rachel asked her head shaking as she took the coffee. "Oh my god, I am so embarrassed."
"Don't be. You were a very lovely drunk. Graceful and eloquent, even while trying to seduce me."
"What happened?" Rachel asked softly as she sipped "I mean, why didn't we? Did I pass out?"
Santana shook her head slightly.
"Did I get sick!"
Another shake of Santana's head.
Rachel perked an eyebrow "Then what stopped us?"
"I did" Santana said softly.
"You?" Rachel sounded a little more surprised than she meant to and immediately shook her head "I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to sound so shocked."
"Yes you did. It's alright. But, yes, I stopped you."
Rachel laughed softly as she took a sip, giving Santana a smile "Was I at least convincing?"
Santana smiled "Very much. You took off your shirt and everything."
Rachel blushed softly "So maybe I get a little slutty when I drink." She shrugged, laughing softly.
"It was sexy, don't get me wrong. You told me the doctor said it was alright for you to have sex because it had been a month. Then you climbed on top of me, put my hands on your tits, started wiggling your little ass and hips into me, and stuck your tongue in my mouth."
"I did not!" Rachel gasped.
Santana laughed a little "Added in a few 'Santana please's and even a 'I'm horny!' just in case I didn't get it."
"Oh my god. I am never drinking ever again." Rachel mumbled as she took another drink off her cup. She shook her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Trust me, Rachel, you weren't that bad. Like I said, you weren't like sloppy or messy, just really insistent."
"I'm still embarrassed." Rachel whispered softly.
Santana shrugged a bit, leaning over to kiss her forehead softly as she stood up "Consider it forgotten. Until I need a really funny story to get back at you with for something really funny you will tell someone about me. Then it's fair game."
Rachel laughed and gave a nod "Fair deal."
Santana gave her a wink and moved toward the door "I am going to go make you some breakfast, alright? Stay here, enjoy the coffee, and call your dad."
"My dad? Oh my god, did I call him drunk!" She sounded even more horrified than about having hit on Santana the night before.
"No. I would have said yes to sex before I let you call your dad drunk. But, I think he's the one who paid your rent so you might want to ask him."
Rachel nodded quickly "Oh, right, right. Thanks."
"No problem. I'll give you a few minutes while I finish up breakfast, alright? So take your time."
Rachel nodded and took another sip. Before Santana walked out, she looked at the door "Hey San?"
"Yeah?" She paused at the door.
Rachel gave her a sweet, genuine smile and nodded "Thank you."
Santana shook her head "That's what friends are for."
Rachel shook her head and this time emphasized the words "No. Thank you." Her eyes widened and she motioned to herself without a shirt on before looking back to Santana, silently thanking her for stopping them the night before.
Santana gave her a smile "Any time, babe." She gave her a wink and walked out of the room to finish breakfast, leaving Rachel to recover and call her dads.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
It was a week later that Santana stepped into Rachel's apartment for the first time since the night that Sam had come home and gone off on her. She was dressed in one of her tight cocktail dresses, strapless and hitting just across her thighs. She had a pair of tall leather boot heels on and a matching leather jacket on. In her hands, she held a small pot of flowers with a little card that said 'good luck.'
She stood near the kitchen as Rachel got ready. Despite what the doctor had told her, Rachel had healed a lot faster than expected and she was making her return to the stage that night and Santana would be there, front row center, cheering her on.
"Rachel come on! They do make up at the theater, remember!" Sam called out as she grabbed a water from her fridge.
Santana laughed a bit, giving her a smile "She has to look good when she walks back in so people actually mean it when they say it's good to see her."
Sam shrugged, shaking her head a bit "Even if she looked like shit people would be glad she was back."
"That's probably true. Even looking like shit she outshines most people."
Sam nodded, taking a drink of her water before she looked over at Santana. She sighed softly and set down her water "Hey look, I wanted to apologize."
Santana shook her head a bit and gave her a little side smile "It's alright, don't even worry about it."
"No. I was a real bitch to you." Sam said softly.
Santana shrugged but didn't argue.
"And when I thought you had paid our rent, I flipped. I thought you were trying to buy her love or something. I thought you were trying to buy my friendship. I don't know. I had been going through something with my family and was just in a bad place."
"It's cool" Santana said with an honest nod "We all get down from time to time."
"It doesn't make it right." Sam said as she picked up her water and took another drink "And to be honest, I am glad Rachel has a friend she can count on if anything really horrible did happen and, god forbid, we did need money or something else."
Santana gave a little nod "She would never ask."
Sam nodded at that "No shit. But it's still nice to know you'd be there."
Santana shrugged a bit "She is a good person, she deserves good friends and I am happy she has had you to call family since moving here. She speaks the world of you. The night you yelled at her about the rent really tore her up so I am glad to see you two figured it out."
Sam nodded slowly and her fingers picked at the wrapper of her water for a moment before she looked back to the girl "Did you ever tell her about the night I chewed you out?"
Santana shook her head quickly.
Sam smiled a little, nodding as she took another drink.
Just then Rachel walked out and looked at her two friends with a bright, excited smile. "Alright who is excited for the play tonight!" She was practically bouncing out of her shoes.
"Me!" Sam said with a smile, giving Rachel a quick hug.
"Me!" Santana said with a laugh. She stepped close to her friend and offered her the small potted flower she had brought "Good luck tonight."
Rachel smiled, taking the flower and giving it a smell. "Mmm, gardenia."
Santana shrugged "I figured white went with everything."
Rachel nodded, giving her friend a smile "Thank you."
Santana nodded and motioned to the door "alright, let's get this show on the road!"
Rachel squeaked and clapped, grabbing her jacket and throwing it on before heading out the door. Santana held it open for her then Samantha before she would bring up the rear.
Before passing through the door, Sam stopped and looked at Santana with a genuine smile on her lips "Thank you for not saying anything."
"Not my place." Santana said with a nod, giving her a pat on the back as the girl passed by. She pulled the door shut and they were on their way to Rachel's triumphant return.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Guys did you see me! It was like I never left! I felt so alive!" Rachel was bouncing up and down in her dressing room after the show. She hadn't stopped smiling since receiving a nice round of applause after the show for her return.
"You did great, Rach. God it felt good to have you back! I didn't have to try to be funny." Sam smiled at her friend, wiping off some of her makeup.
"Since when are you funny ever? You know it's all me." Rachel chirped with a happy little grin.
"Har har har" Sam rolled her eyes, throwing a cotton ball at her.
There was a knock at the door and both girls chimed in with a "come in!" at the same time.
Santana opened the door, peeking her head in "Are we decent?"
"Yep" Rachel said with a smile, going over to her friend as she stepped into the room fully, giving her a tight hug "Did you see me? Wasn't I so good?"
Santana laughed, nodding her head "As great as ever, Rach. Like you never left."
"See! I told you!" Rachel hopped back over to her vanity and plopped down to remove her makeup.
"Like you were born to do it" Santana said with a smile, leaning against the wall opposite where the girls sat taking off their makeup.
The girls fell into silence for a few minutes as the girls cleaned their faces and changed back into their normal clothes.
"Let's have a party!" Rachel said suddenly, turning in her seat to look at Sam "Invite a few people over for some drinks. In celebration of tonight!"
"Drinks?" Sam perked an eyebrow "Since when do you encourage drinking?"
Rachel glanced at Santana who was trying not to laugh before looking at her friend "I just meant, you know, have a gathering. I assumed there would be drinking for those who enjoy it."
"Uh huh" Sam kept her eyes on Rachel for a moment before shrugging and pulling her hair up "I'll text Ricky."
Rachel clapped, looking at Santana "You're coming right!"
Santana smirked, nodding her head a little bit as she tried to fight her laugher "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Awesome" Rachel gave Santana a wink, the two of them laughing to themselves as Sam went to work on inviting people.
"Ricky said he would bring a few people." Sam said after a minute "So, let's hurry up and get out of here and stop by the store to get some booze before people come over."
"Let's go!" Rachel bounced out of her chair happily. They gathered their things and the three of them set out toward home, making a few stops to prepare for what would be a memorable night.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.