Hey guys, so I just found out that you could see how many people viewed each chapter and 399 people viewed the last chapter and only 6 people reviewed so…please please review. I don't care if it is in a different language, I just want a response from you guys. So now onto the next chap.
Santana stood anxiously by the rose bushes. She was fidgeting with her fingers, tugging on the ends of the of her black hair. She was standing in the back of the garden, waiting for Rachel. They had originally agreed to meet in front of the commissary, but Santana had come up with a better idea.
It was early, six-thirty or so. Surely no one would see them in the garden this early, Santana hoped no one did. She couldn't afford to get caught. She lifted her head up in time to see a giddy Rachel Berry, skipping her way over. Santana couldn't help but watch her as she made her way over. She noticed that her hair that was usually parted in the middle was neatly combed to the side, with her bangs clipped back with a yellow barrette. Santana smiled at her even brighter smile, grinning at her sweater which had an owl on it. She looked cute. But most of all Santana noticed the small scar on her forehead just below her hairline, about the size of a thumbnail.
The Latina scolded herself for staring. Damn, I got to stop doing that.
"Hey, San!" Rachel cheerfully greeted.
Santana raised an eyebrow. "San?"
"Well, you called me Rach yesterday. I wanted to give you a nickname, too." Rachel pulled on her sleeve sheepishly.
Santana put a hand on her patient's shoulder. "Hey, you can call me whatever you want." She smiled down at Rachel in reassurance.
After a moment of silence, Rachel smirked at Santana.
"So, you feel like informing me on why we're out here so early?"
"Well, as you know, today's my day off and I really didn't feel like wandering around here all day."
"I don't see how this involves me…"
Santana laughed, "Well, seeing as it is a wonderful day, I felt it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Santana smirked, pausing, "I am taking you out today."
Rachel's brown eyes grew big and wide. "O-out?"
Santana gestured beyond the garden gates, "Out."
Clearly overwhelmed, the small brunette covered her mouth with her hand before jumping up and down, giggling. Rachel then grabbed Santana into an embrace. The taller girl cautiously wrapped her arms around the other, almost smiling, her heart started racing at the sudden touch. It felt…good.
All too soon, Rachel let go of Santana, leaving the girl's arms empty. Still, Santana smiled down at her, not wanting her embarrassment to show.
Rachel shook her head. "San, thank–"
Santana stopped her, not wanting the girl to get emotional. "Don't mention it, Rach. Now let's get out of here before someone catches us and ruins my brilliant plan."
"What if someone notices I'm gone…?"
Santana shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we return."
Santana had never seen someone smile so big.
It didn't take long to get Rachel past the gates. After their meeting in the garden, Santana went back inside, waving goodbye to Olivia on her way out the door. Once outside, Santana rushed to the garden gates, letting Rachel out into the real world for the first time in eight years.
It was something Santana had never seen before. She watched Rachel as she slowly walked down the sidewalk, taking each step with caution, as if she had spent many months at sea, finally touching the ground again.
I guess she is in a way…
Santana took her hand, smiling in reassurance and Rachel laughed.
"Let's go!"
The two girls ran around the corner stopping at a bus stop.
"I've never been on a bus before." Rachel said, excitedly.
"You haven't?" Santana asked.
"I don't know…I can't remember!" Rachel laughed, causing Santana to go in a laughing fit with her.
The bus soon came, with an ecstatic Rachel pulling Santana in by the arm. The two scurried all the way to the back of the bus, situating themselves in the second-to-last row. Santana let Rachel have the window.
Rachel's face was instantly glued to the window as the bus drove away as she watched the institute become smaller and smaller. She looked at everything, her eyes bright and wide. She took in every detail of everything around her, like she was in a whole other world. Santana quietly observed from the seat next to Rachel. It was like seeing a child experience Disneyland for the first time, seeing things that they never knew were possible. Santana grinned.
Rachel let out a sigh of content, turning from the window for a moment. "Santana, where are we going?"
"Hmm, what do you mean?" Santana replied, coyly.
Rachel giggled. "What I mean is, we're out, but we're on a bus, so that means we are going somewhere."
Santana smirked, "If I told you, my surprise would be ruined. You'll just have to wait until we get there."
Obviously not hearing the answer she wanted to hear, Rachel stuck out her lip, making a pouty face.
Jesus, that's cute…
"Oh, no! You're not getting it out of me that easy. No, we're going to play a game so you aren't distracted." She said, purposefully interrupting her thoughts.
Rachel's brown eyes lit up. "What kind of game?"
Santana thought for a moment. She usually hated silly car-ride games, but she figured Rachel would get a kick out of them. After all, this whole endeavor was for Rachel.
"How about… I Spy?"
Rachel made a face. "What's that?"
"You've never played I Spy before?"
"I don't know."
Rachel's voice then became serious. Santana didn't know what to do. She felt as if she was always saying the wrong things in front of Rachel, making her think about her accident.
After an awkward silence, Santana cleared her throat, and began to speak again. "Well, it's pretty easy. All you do is look for something that you see, and say whatever color that is, like 'I spy something red' and then I have to guess what it is."
Rachel nodded. "I think I can do that…"
"You wanna go first?"
"Um…you can go first."
Santana laughed and looked around herself, until she landed on something. "Okay, I spy something orange."
"Uh, is it that sign over there?" Rachel pointed outside to a construction sign on the sidewalk.
Santana smiled, "Yes," she lied.
Rachel jumped in her seat, clapping for herself. "Yay! Okay, okay, my turn…um, I spy something…green." She finally settled on a color.
Santana looked at her surroundings, scouring for something green. There was a green book sticking out of some kid's bag, there was a green sticker in the front of the bus, and there was, of course, the grass outside the moving vehicle.
"Is it, that kid's book?"
The shocked look on Rachel's face told Santana that she was right, but Rachel was stubborn. "No.."
Santana gasped, pointing at Rachel. "Liar! That was totally it!"
"No, it wasn't!"
"Oh, yes it was!" Santana, screeched, poking Rachel in the shoulder.
Rachel giggled and the two girls couldn't contain their laughter. They only stopped to control themselves when the bus driver told them to "quiet down back there."
"Okay, you go." Rachel urged, still giggling.
Santana stopped her laughter and was all of a sudden focused on Rachel's face. It looked smooth and was blemish free, her cheeks pink. Her nose was large and prominent, but it suited her. And then there was the scar. What was it from? How long did she have it? Did she know that she had it? It was just another thing that stumped Santana. This girl in front of her, she was so…mysterious. She was her own slew of oxymorons. Her smile was so bright and inviting, yet she became reserved when something about her memory was brought up. She had this child-like personality that was all her own, but she seemed more mature than anyone Santana had ever met. She was so sure of herself, yet so unaware of who she was.
"Brown. I spy something brown."
Rachel tapped her chin, humming. "Brown, eh? Well, let's see, is it that tree over there?"
"No." Santana's gaze never left Rachel.
"That soup can?"
"No."
"My shoes?"
"Nope."
Rachel huffed. "Well, what is it then?" she said, giving up.
Santana gulped, her breath somewhat uneasy.
"Your eyes."
The ones Santana was staring into, the ones in question, blinked. She wanted to know what Rachel was thinking. She had to know what she was thinking.
When Rachel hadn't said anything, Santana turned away slightly, feeling immensely more awkward. She cleared her throat. "Um, I'm sorry, that was…uh, that was weird." She apologized, shaking her head.
Why the hell did you say that? Now she probably thinks you're some creep.
Santana grabbed her black Jansport. She prepared for this trip, bringing some small games, magazines, music and some food she smuggled from the commissary when they obviously oblivious staff weren't looking. The Latina pulled out a stack of cards and waved them in the air. She needed a change of subject.
"C'mon, I'll teach you how to play Go Fish."
They spent the majority of the bus ride playing card games and listening to music. They talked. They talked a lot. They talked about music (which consisted of Santana trying to persuade Rachel to listen to something other than show tunes), they talked about Santana's old school, and her family. They didn't talk about Rachel's family. They didn't talk about her illness. They laughed. They laughed a lot. Santana never realized Rachel was so funny. Everything they talked and joked about ended with a laughing fit and a threat to be thrown off the bus. They just…clicked. The longer they conversed, the stronger the feeling in Santana's gut became. And of course, she ignored it.
Four hours later, the bus came to a stop.
"This is us." Santana informed, urging Rachel to get up?
"Where are we?" Rachel asked, looking around.
"We're in Aurora."
A brow was furrowed. "Why are we in Aurora?"
Santana responded by merely pointing out the window, smirking.
Curious, Rachel whipped around, following her finger. When she saw it, the small girl gasped. She turned back to face Santana again, her expression full of excitement and unbelief.
"No way!"
Santana laughed, "Yes, way. Now come on, slow poke." But Santana didn't have to tell Rachel twice, for she got up from her seat and ran out of the bus faster than Santana could say anything else. She followed her out.
Santana stepped off the bus, looking out at the crowded parking lot for Rachel. She spotted her across the way, staring up in awe.
"Santana, what is this place?"
"It's called Six Flags. It's an amusement park."
"Well it sure does look amusing." Rachel reassured.
The two girls set off for the entrance and Santana paid for their tickets. When she left for the Institute, she took all her cash that she had stashed under her bed with her that she had gotten from the stolen things she had pawned. That's what she and Puck did. They kept the good stuff , and pawned the rest.
They got inside and Rachel took in all the business and excitement, her persona filled with awe.
"So, what do you want to do first?" Santana asked her from behind.
Rachel turned. "What do you mean?"
Santana gestured to all the rides, waving her hands around. "I mean, which ride do you want to go on first?"
Rachel's eyes grew wide. "We're going to go on those things?"
"They're fun! You'll love it."
"Are they safe?"
Santana laughed and reached out for Rachel, gripping each of her elbows lightly, her fingers tingling at the touch.
Since when did she become so touchy?
"Rach, they are perfectly safe, and a shit load of fun. And we're going to ride them because that's what we're here for. To have fun, right?" Santana smiled down at Rachel.
And Rachel smiled back. "Right.
The two girls raced each other to the nearest ride, a rollercoaster called the Roar. It was a huge contraption made entirely out of wooden planks. Santana glanced over at Rachel, who was biting her lip nervously. They watched as the current riders screamed above, the tracks moving from side to side and the wood cricketing.
"This sure doesn't look safe…"
Santana rolled her eyes playfully, dragging the girl onto the rollercoaster. The employees strapped them all in and they were ready to go. The car jerked forward and it slowly began creeping up to the top.
"Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god…" Rachel chanted as they got closer and closer to the top. She closed her eyes in terror.
"Hey," Santana called softly, "look at me."
Rachel peeked one eye open at Santana, then the other.
"I'm right here." Santana looked right into her eyes.
Rachel nodded, slightly incoherent, then returning her gaze forward t focus on the fall below. They got closer and closer and then the car fell right down the steep track.
Rachel screamed, grabbing Santana's hand immediately.
They whipped and twisted and turned, going up and down and around while every screamed and laughed, all except Santana who remained focused on the five warm fingers on top of her hand.
The ride came to a stop and Santana quickly shook off her flushed look. They got out of the car and Santana looked down at Rachel expectantly.
Rachel remained quiet until a megawatt smile came across and she began clapping her hands together.
"That was amazing! Not just amazing, it was exhilarating!" Santana laughed at Rachel's wild hair.
"See, Rach. I told you there was nothing to worry about."
"I must do that again!"
Throughout the day, Rachel was introduced to a whole slurry of firsts. Apart from her first roller coaster, she went on Bumper Cars for the first time and ate her first cotton candy.
Rachel's knees were currently bent, her eyes squinting in concentration. They were at one of the game stands and Rachel was attempting to knock down a pyramid milk bottles. She motioned her hand back and forth before eventually chucking the ping pong ball at the bottles (while also making a cute grunting noise), and the top three fell down to the floor.
"I did it!" Rachel congratulated herself.
The sleazy guy from inside the tent chuckled. "Close, but no cigar. Sorry, sweets."
Rachel frowned. "But I knocked over the bottles…"
"You knocked over some bottles, not all of 'em. To get the prize, you gotta hit all 'em."
Rachel crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You just said I had to hit the bottles. You never specified that I had to hit all of them."
"Well, toots, I'm tellin' you now that you had to hit all of 'em! Now, either go to the end of the line or beat it." He chuckled, wheezing. His hair was slicked over in a oily comb over and his breath reeked of garlic.
"Now look, Grease Face," Santana stepped in front of Rachel, her bitch face on, "let's get this straight. You don't talk to her like that again, or you'll face the wrath Miss Snix here, at trust me, you don't want that. I have razorblades hidden in my hair." Santana warned the guy, gesturing to her luxurious black mane. "And we aren't leaving because it's my turn. Give me the ball."
The guy eyed Santana as if he were determining whether she was for real or not, but he ultimately handed Santana the ball without another word.
Smart guy.
The Latina snatched the ball from his sweaty hands and turned to concentrate on the bottles ahead. She squinted with one eye, perfecting her aim, and thrust the ball in one swift throw, hitting the center of the pyramid, sending all the bottles to the floor.
Santana smirked at the dude, "I win."
He grunted. "Yeah, whatever. Just what do you want?"
She turned to a stunned Rachel, "Which do you want, Rach?" She gestured toward the wall of prizes.
Rachel smiled, "For me?"
"For you."
Rachel clapped happily and scanned over the wall. "Let's see…ooh, Santana, I want that one! That stuffed carousel horse up in the corner." Rachel said, pointing to it.
Santana nodded to the guy, "You heard the lady."
He grunted and reluctant grabbed the stuffed animal, chucking it at Rachel, hitting her in the face. Santana flipped him off before picking the carousel horse from the ground, handing it over to Rachel.
"Are you okay? That guy was a jerk."
"I more than okay, Santana that was amazing! Where did you learn to throw like that?" Rachel asked incredulously.
Santana just shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "I used to be a pitcher for softball." She hated people knowing she used to play softball. It was embarrassing and the stereotype didn't help her either.
Rachel opened her mouth to reply, but the words never left her mouth. She didn't have a chance to before a voice was to be heard screaming, "Duck!" followed by Rachel getting struck by a flying Frisbee. The Frisbee caught Rachel off guard, causing her to fall backwards into the fountain they had been standing next to.
"Oh, my god, Rachel!" Santana screamed. She ran over to the edge of the fountain, reaching her hand out for Rachel to hold on to, but Rachel didn't notice. The small brunette wailed and screaming, kicking and splashing, making water go everywhere.
"Santana!"
Santana bent over the fountain and grabbed Rachel by the waist, pulling her out of the fountain, drenched. Rachel coughed up some water, wrapping her arms tightly around Santana. Santana returned the grip, feeling Rachel tremble, and noticing all them people stare at them. She couldn't help but realize how strange this looked; two girls sitting on the concrete, one dripping wet, having a panic attack, while the other one holds them helplessly.
"Is she okay?" A middle aged woman asked them, concern on her face.
"Uh, yeah, she's just afraid of water." She didn't really know of Rachel was afraid of water, but her accident involved her falling off a bridge into a river, and by the way she was acting now, Santana had a good feeling that she was afraid of water.
Santana rubbed her back slightly, not knowing what to do, and after a while, Rachel slowly sat up, her eyes red from the tears.
"You okay, Rach?"
She was still trembling, but gave a small nod.
Santana pulled out her phone from her bag. It was almost four o'clock and they still had a four hour bus ride to catch.
"It's getting late, are you ready to go?" Santana asked gently.
Rachel nodded again and Santana stood up, helping Rachel up on her feet, her wet carousel horse in her arms.
The two soaked girls, one slightly more than the other, exited the park and made their way over to the bus stop where they waited fifteen minutes for their bus to come. They sat in the back row of the bus, far away from the curious eyes of those watching them. As soon as they sat down, Rachel fell asleep. Santana had sat there listening to her iPod, when Rachel's wet head slowly fell onto Santana's shoulder.
Santana froze. She looked down at the slumbering girl, seeing how peaceful she was. Her panic attack must have made her exhausted. Santana felt awkward. She didn't want to wake Rachel up by moving her head, but having her there made her skin tingle again.
She couldn't do this. She knew what the feeling was. She had felt it before. However, this time was different. Rachel wasn't just anyone, she was her patient. Her living, breathing, smiling, singing, fragile, patient. She just couldn't think about Rachel like that. Rachel can't remember half of her life! It'd be like taking advantage of her.
But mostly, she couldn't be with someone after…
Don't you dare think about her, Santana. You swore you were going to get over it.
Santana shook the thoughts out of her head. She had to stop herself from thinking about it, it was too soon.
For the rest of the bus ride, Santana thought about Rachel's panic attack. She thought about what she must have been feeling, or if any memories and resurfaced the moment she hit thought water. Santana figured she'd hear about it at their next therapy session.
The bus arrived in Lima at ten 'til eight. Santana hesitantly shook Rachel's shoulder, attempting to wake her. "Rach, wake up, we're here," she whispered.
The small diva slowly rose, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. When she took her hands away from her face, she looked up at Santana, smiling softly and sadly.
"Ready?" Santana asked her.
Rachel only nodded. "As I'll ever be."
They got off the bus and walked in the dark around the corner up to the garden gate.
"Stay here, okay? I'm going to go in and let you back in." Santana instructed her.
Rachel laughed. "Put me back in the dungeon."
Santana walked in the front doors of the institute, the smell of crazy still in the air. Olivia was at her desk and greeted Santana.
"Have a good day off, Santana?"
Santana smiled genuinely back. "The best."
She walked swiftly past the front desk and proceeded down many hallways until she reached the garden. She checked to make she no one was out there, then went up to the back gate, letting Rachel in. They traveled back inside and casually walked up to Rachel's room.
Rachel ran right in and flopped face first on the bed. Santana closed the door behind her and gave Rachel her now dry stuffed carousel horse back to her. Rachel took it graciously and put it on her pillows with the rest of her stuffed animals.
"Rach, you want something to eat? I think the kitchen's still open." Santana asked.
"Nah, I'm still full from that pretzel we shared." Rachel replied.
Santana smiled at the memory and sighed. She grabbed her backpack and walked towards the door.
"Well, I think I'm going to head to bed so, I guess I'll – "
"Santana, wait!" Rachel interrupted, calling out to her.
Santana turned and Rachel stood up approaching her. She wrapped her small arms around the Latina's waist and hugged her.
They stepped apart and Santana noticed Rachel's eyes watering.
"Thank you, Santana. Thank you so much. Today… this was seriously the best day I've had in a long time. Probably the best day of my life. It felt so good to be outside of these walls…just thank for letting me feel free again."
Then, without Santana expecting it, the tiny brunette pushed herself up onto her tippy toes and kissed her cheek. It was only a quick peck, but it was enough to leave Santana flushed and speechless.
"I, uh, um, you're welcome…I'll see you tomorrow then, Rach." Santana stuttered, then bolted out of the room. Santana fast-walked all the way back to her room, slamming the door behind herself. She leaned up against the door and face-palmed.
"What the hell…"
That night Santana tossed and turned trying to think of anything other than Rachel, but to no avail, all her thoughts kept returning to the same thing.
Santana Lopez had feelings for her patient.
So that was the chap! I know it took a while, but I was in my school's fall play so I was super busy with that as well as AP test and blah blah blah. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW. They make my days so much better! Thankss
-Katie.