Disclaimer: I don't own Glee but I did think up the storyline :)

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. It means so much to me to hear all your thoughts. One person who reviewed asked me about how I was going to handle Brittany's therapy. I have decided that I am going to do time jumps when it comes to the therapy sessions so you won't see every single therapy session she attends or the story would go on forever but you will read about what has happened in previous sessions when I do write about Brittany's therapy so that you know how Brittany is progressing. On another note. Heather is in episode 20! :D So excited to see her back in Glee again after her not being in it since 101 :) Anyway here is the next chapter!

Chapter Fifteen

Therapy had been going well. Brittany liked talking with him and telling him what has been going on in the day and even though it was a struggle getting through the hard stuff when he mentioned it, she tried her best to answer. They hadn't come across the topic of her brother just yet and she was glad. She didn't want to talk about Zack just yet but they did talk about the relationship with her parents and with other friends and teachers. It was nice to talk to someone who didn't know her and even though in the back of her mind she was worried about what they thought about her, she was glad she was talking to someone. Talking to someone without someone else telling her to or pushing her. It was all because she knew she needed to. Santana had been great throughout the whole process. She made sure she had someone to talk to when the sessions finished and if she wanted to Santana would just sit and listen to her whilst she talked. Well it wasn't quite at the talking stage but she liked calling it talking because it sounded weird when she said signing. Talking sounded a lot better.

Unfortunately for Brittany her parents had found out about her going to therapy and tried to get her to talk about it. She stopped going home as much as possible and usually stayed either at Santana's or Rachel's to avoid her parents. Since her first stay at Santana's, she had gotten another bed in her room so she could stay over without someone sleeping on the floor. Brittany found it convenient and even though she insisted on taking the single bed, Santana always gave her the double. They were currently sat on a wall facing the school on their lunch break. After Sam took her to the cafe during her lunch break a few weeks ago, Brittany found that she preferred being away from school so Santana went with her off school grounds. They never went far but it was far enough for them not to be on school grounds.

"You know I never realized how big the school was before sitting here." Santana observed looking at it with her hands on the wall beside her legs. "Just seems...bigger from here."

Brittany nodded in agreement. "Things look different from different angles. So from the car park it probably doesn't look that big but from this angle where you can see the extra building behind the front of it, it will look bigger."

Santana nodded and turned to Brittany with a smile on her face. "You are so smart."

Brittany smiled back and shook her head. "I just know things people don't care about."

"You now that is pretty awesome." Santana said looking at her with her hair falling to the side. "Knowing things that other people wouldn't know is like a gift from where I'm standing. Like the other week you told me when you look at stars it's like you are looking back in time because the light from the star takes millions of years to reach Earth, so when you look at any star, you are actually looking how it looked thousands of years ago. To me, that's interesting."

Brittany blushed looking at the floor. "Well I really like space. I think it's really interesting and people don't appreciate it enough or the planet we live on. If people stopped and looked around, they'd notice that life is a beautiful thing and it's a gift we shouldn't take for granted."

"See? That right there is why I like you so much. You have been through so much and you still see good in things. You believe and see things that other people don't, but that is what makes you so special."

Brittany smiled. It was true what Santana said. She did believe things like magic and she saw things like nature which others didn't but she liked it. She didn't want to be like everyone else. Why should she? Every person is unique and everyone has different things they believe in so if believing in magic and magical creatures makes her weird then so be it. She'd rather be a weirdo who believed things like unicorns than be someone who spent their time inside not noticing how beautiful the world actually is. It was a shame really but it happens.

"Well I just think that people need to get out more. Our generation stays mainly indoors and I think it's time that people got out an experienced the world." Brittany stated honestly standing up turning to face Santana. "Will you explore the world with me San? To see why it is so beautiful?"

Santana looked up at her and smiled. "I would love to Britt."

The both of them looked at one another lovingly then blushed looking away smiling. They walked back to the school walking inside. By the looks of it they were just in time since they bell just rang whilst they walked to their lockers. Brittany liked it because she had finally settled in at the school. Santana and Rachel always sorted anyone out who got too close to her or touched her accidently even when she said it was fine. Quinn and Sam turned out to b really good friends. They all sat together in their free periods and it was nice to finally have some real friends. She mainly spoke to Santana and Rachel about her therapy sessions but when Quinn and Sam asked, she happily told them about what had been going on. The pair of them had gotten better at sign language but she still had to sign slowly for them to understand. Brittany got her things out of her locker whilst Santana waited when someone came up to her that she didn't know. She looked at her confused.

"Brittany could you come with me please?" The lady asked her. She looked weird. She had ginger hair and her clothes looked like they had come from the century before this one. She looked at Santana and silently asked her to come with her. Santana nodded knowing what Brittany was asking and walked with her following the guidance councilor. Santana didn't like her too much but she walked into her office anyway. Brittany walked in and felt her eyes widen as she saw her parents sitting there. She stood behind Santana not wanting to go near them.

"Brittany you don't have to hide behind your friend. Come and sit down." Her mother told her but Brittany shook her head staying behind Santana. She tried avoiding them as much as possible but obviously they had other plans.

"Brittany do you know why you are here?" The guidance councilor asked. She only knew she was the counselor since she had a certificate on the side for it.

"She can't speak." Santana told her making sure not to move from where she was since she knew Brittany was staying behind her out of trust for her. "I'll tell you what she wants to say."

Brittany looked at Santana and smiled thanking her. She looked at the counselor and shook her head.

"They're worried about you. Apparently you haven't been going home."

Brittany shook her head. "They keep bothering me about my counseling sessions when I don't want to tell them. I don't even know how they found out."

The counselor nodded whilst Santana repeated what she had said. "But don't you want to go back home to your parents and talk about it?" She asked smiling.

Brittany shook her head again. "No. They haven't cared before now and the only reason they care is because they know that I'll be able to talk again through counseling."

Her mum shook her head when Santana repeated what she had said. "That s not true. We care about you!"

"Brittany of course we do. You're our daughter." Her dad insisted smiling looking at her. "We love you and we want to help."

"Then help by not trying to touch me and force me to tell you what happened at my therapy sessions." Brittany signed looking at them. "You're not helping me at all by doing that."

Brittany's mum sighed looking at her. "We just want to help."

"I know. Just give me space and time and I will tell you." Brittany assured her parents. "I won't tell you if you don't give me space."

Her parents nodded which made her sigh in relief once Santana had told them what she wanted to say. It was great that Santana could be there for her like that and be happy to help her. She sometimes felt like she was bothering her but Santana always told her that she wasn't which was a relief so she stopped trying to feel guilty about it and just went on with it. She watched as her parents stood up but what surprised them was that they turned to Santana.

"I just want to thank you for looking after our daughter. I know Rachel does but to know that Brittany has someone that supports her and helps her as much as you do is a relief. Thank you." Brittany's mom said then walked out of the door followed by her dad. She was shocked to say the least but she was happy. Her parents were going to stop trying to force her to tell them what had been going on at therapy. She turned to Santana..

"Thank you for doing that."

Santana nodded turning to her. "It's alright,. Come on lets go. We have lesson to get to."

Brittany nodded in agreement walking out of the office. It was nice seeing as everyone else was in lesson so all they had to do was get to lesson without Brittany fearing of someone touching her. That was the problem with having a fear of touch. She couldn't let anyone touch her at all. She was surprised she could be around Santana so closely without freaking out but Santana was different. She was the reason she wanted to do therapy and come out the other end being able to touch her. She wanted to be her girlfriend so bad but before she could do that, she had to get through the barriers first.

"What you thinking?" Santana asked walking towards their classroom.

Brittany shrugged in reply. "Just about how much I want to get through this therapy and be able to finally hug you and kiss you."

"Yeah?" Santana asked happily. "I can't wait either but you know I would wait forever if I had to, don't you?"

Brittany nodded smiling. "Of course but I want to do this for me. No one should live like this."

Santana nodded in agreement. Brittany was right. No one should live the way she has been. No one deserves to live in fear and she knew Brittany had a past she didn't like talking about. It was understandable why she didn't like talking about it. Who would? Brittany looked at the Latina and smiled. She would get through this.

Brittany, Santana and Rachel were currently sat in Lima Bean. School had finished so they decided to just hang out together. It was nice to hang out together and Brittany liked having the both of them around her so that she was able to talk about anything that she felt like. The both of them hadn't told Rachel about their attraction for one another but she didn't think it was ay of her business. She didn't find out about Quinn until a couple of weeks into her relationship and before they even got together, Rachel hadn't even told her that she liked Quinn. So in her opinion, it was hers and Santana's business and it didn't need to involve anyone else.

"So how have things been?" Rachel asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"Things have been alright. My parents appeared at school today." Brittany answered looking at her cup of tea. "They were apparently worried because I wasn't going home."

"Are you kidding?" Rachel asked snapping her head up. "What happened?"

"I translated what she wanted to say to her parents." Santana said looking at Rachel. "She asked me to go so I did."

Rachel nodded. Even though she couldn't be there she was glad Santana was or god knows what would have happened. But she was glad that she could trust Santana to look after her best friend. She knew she always could but reassurance and proof was always nice. Brittany looked at Rachel and smiled.

"They understood and actually left which they never usually do." Brittany continued from what Santana had been saying after putting her drink down. It was hard to sign and hold a cup at the same time without getting the drink everywhere. "And I know it isn't related to that but therapy has been going well too. I mean I'm not at the talking stage yet but I will get there."

"That's great Britt. Do you think you will be able to talk and touch people soon?" Rachel asked taking a sip of her drink looking at her.

Brittany didn't know how to tell her. How was she meant to tell her best friend she had touched someone else and not her? Wasn't that like betrayal or something along those lines? She didn't want to disappoint her best friend but then again she hoped she would be able to be happy for her. Well she hopes so anyway. Brittany looked at Rachel and nodded.

"I hope so."

"Well I can't wait to see you finally be able to talk to people again." Rachel went on with a smile on her face. "It will be nice for you to be able to speak instead of having to sign. I know it can be frustrating for you."

Brittany nodded in agreement. She was right. It was frustrating that people couldn't understand her and she had to rely on only certain people but she knew that those certain people would always be her friends no matter what happened throughout life. She knew the people she had now were the people she could count on and that meant the world to her. It didn't matter how long she had known a person. What mattered to her was who was there when she needed them and who wasn't. It was times like that when you find out who your real friends are and Brittany knew exactly who they were.

"I know but the way I see it is the people who are around now are my real friends. Because it doesn't matter how long someone has been there; what matters is who was there when I needed them and I think I can safely say who I can trust and who I can't." Brittany explained putting a smile upon her face. "You can only trust a certain number of people and I know who those people are to me."

Santana smiled taking a bite out of the cookie she had on the table. She offered some to Brittany but she declined not wanting any so Santana shrugged eating the rest of it. It was nice to be able to hang with her best friends without any interruptions.

"I agree. I go by the saying never trust anyone but then it changed to never trust anyone apart from the ones who can prove themselves." Santana agreed finishing her cookie taking a sip of her drink. "It is a harsh life lesson to learn but you've got to learn it at some point so why not now?"

The girls both agreed nodding their heads drinking the drinks they had in front of them. The three of them had become close lately and even though Brittany hadn't talked about what had happened in her therapy that much, Santana and Rachel understood and never put pressure on her to tell them. Brittany liked that about them and it was one of the reasons why she trusted them. She knew she replied on them a bit too much but she would get over that. It was high school and she felt like the two of them protected her in more ways than one. She was grateful and she would pay them back somehow. She just had to figure out when and how she was going to do that.

"You okay Britt?" Rachel asked looking towards her. Brittany nodded in reply snapping out of her thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Britt I told you to stop thinking about me." Santana smirked looking her way. The blonde blushed with a smile on her face looking at her drink.

"Sorry I couldn't help myself." Brittany replied with a smirk on her face looking up at her. "You are just floating through my mind constantly."

Rachel looked between her two friends confused. We're they actually...flirting? She could tell that Brittany had a crush on Santana but she didn't know Santana felt the same. Did they? She knew Brittany wasn't going to take the next step until her therapy sessions had got further into the situation but still. They were practically having eye sex across the table. Very uncomfortable.

"So..." Rachel began cautiously after clearing her throat, "have you both got something to tell me?"

The both of them looked at her surprised. They had completely forgotten about Rachel being with them but what were they meant to say? 'You should probably know Rachel that we both have a crush on one another and we intend to be girlfriends once I have got the ability to touch people and talk?' Yeah that would not go well at all. Rachel was protective for one so she didn't want her threatening Santana no to hurt her or something. Brittany shook her head drinking the rest of her drink until it was empty. Great, now she didn't have anything to do to distract herself from telling Rachel what was really going on. Rachel looked at the two of them.

"Okay something is going on and I'd rather you told e instead of hiding it."

Santana sighed. "Okay fine. Brittany and I...we kind of like each other." Santana confessed looking down at the table.

Rachel looked at the both of them for a few minutes in shock. She knew Brittany liked Santana but now she liked her back? When did that happen? Could she really trust Santana to look after Brittany?

"Rach, please don't do that." Brittany pleaded looking at her.

"Don't do what?" Rachel asked even though she knew what Brittany was talking about. She did this even when people tried to be Brittany's friend. It was only because she was protective of her. She didn't want her getting hurt by anyone and she'd stop her getting hurt as much as possible.

"You know what. You're thinking if Santana is good enough for me but she is. She's been supportive of me and you know it." Brittany signed looking at her. "You can't think of anything bad about her because there isn't anything bad to say."

Rachel sighed nodding. She was right as per usual. Brittany didn't like her acting like this and even though she didn't either, she had to. Brittany had been hurt before and she hated seeing Brittany's face when people had pretend to be her friend just to embarrass her.

"I know I just care Britt. You know what happened in fifth grade." Rachel reminded looking at her. "I don't want that happening again."

Brittany smiled. "I know but you can't protect me from everything. I trust Santana and I know you do too. Deep down you know she won't hurt me."

Santana smiled. "You trust me?"

"Of course I do silly." Brittany grinned. "You've proved I can trust you and I know that I can. Rachel just needs to believe it now."

Santana looked at the blonde smiling at her. She was glad that she did trust her. It was nice to know because she trusted her too. She enjoyed spending time with her and how much she was childlike. It was rear to see someone with such a love for childlike things such as the other day when they went to the pond and fed the ducks. It was something she wouldn't usually do but because it was Brittany, she did. The three of them looked at the time then decided to get up and leave the cafe since each of them had plans for the evening. They all left the cafe and went their separate ways to their own homes.

Brittany was laying in bed doing her homework. Sam had given her work to do to improve on her writing. She knew she didn't have very good writing since she was dyslexic but she did try her best. Her parents had left her alone after talking briefly to her when she came in. They definitely seemed to be trying since they had told her they were planning on taking sign language classes so they could talk to her. It meant a lot to Brittany because sign language wasn't exactly easy to learn. They had learnt the basic hello and they knew what thank you was but that was it. Brittany knew it was a start but it didn't get the relationship between them very far. She looked at her work and sighed.

"My writing still isn't that good." Brittany thought to herself putting her pen down.

"Need some help?" A voice asked. Brittany looked up and smiled seeing her dad there. It was nice for him to come up since they didn't usually speak. She nodded and let her father come into the room who sat on the edge of the bed looking at the work she was doing. "Still struggling with your writing?"

Brittany nodded getting a pen and paper out writing down and showing her dad. "Yeah but I am getting help at school."

Her father nodded and looked at her work. "Well you seem to be doing well so far." Her dad observed reading through it. " But you have gotten better since I last saw your work. I'm glad you are getting help with it that me or your mother can't give you."

Brittany smiled and nodded writing something else down showing it to her dad. "I know. I'm glad you are both trying though. That means a lot to me." Brittany looked at him smiling then grabbed her paper writing something else down as she thought of it lifting it up. "I love you both and things have been hard without you."

Her father looked at her and smiled. "We love you both too and we are going to start being here for you more."

Smiling she looked at her father. After her brother died her parents distanced themselves from her, but to know that they were trying was amazing. She was glad she would be able to finally get their support without them pushing her and by her seeing the way her dad was acting now, she could tell he wasn't lying to her.

"Thank you." Brittany said with a smile.

"You're welcome." Her dad answered looking at his daughter with happiness. "I know your mom and I need to work on a few things but we are trying our best. We want you to be able to talk to us but since we know how you feel about your therapy sessions now, you can come to us when you are ready."

She nodded and wrote down in her notebook showing her dad. "Don't worry you'll know when I am ready."

Her dad nodded. "Okay. Well I will leave you to do your homework. Me and your mom are always here for you."

Her dad walked out of the room closing the door which left Brittany with questions running through her head. Why were her parents trying so hard? Did they actually care or did they just want her to talk? Brittany knew they were just being genuine people so why should she judge them? She didn't know how to think of it all from her therapy to the situation at home, but at least she was trying to get better and grow her confidence. She looked on her bedside table and looked at the picture of her brother. His full name was Zack Daniel Pierce. Daniel was after their grandfather which now she thought about it she really had to contact. He had been sending her messages to go and see him, but she was scared he would think she was weird or broken.

Brittany sighed and put her book down walking to the window looking outside. She looked up at the stairs then had an idea. She opened the window and climbed out walking onto the window sill climbing up onto the roof. It was a beautiful night and to her, it allowed her to feel closer to nature and the night sky by actually being outside. Hoe scientists were able to understand the night sky and nature without going out much was beyond her. She sat down and looked up.

"Why is everything so complicated?" Brittany asked herself laying down looking at the sky. "My parents are trying but I doesn't know if they mean it, I haven't gotten any better since my therapy sessions and all I want to do is be with Santana but I can't. Seriously, life sucks."

Looking up at the stars and the sky made Brittany think. Her brother was up there and someday she would be able to join him. She knew right now wasn't the time for that but whenever she thought about him, she always remembered his smile. She was doing better though because she used to think about him all the time and it did upset her a lot, but now she had changed that sadness to happiness since Santana was the one who took over her thoughts. She sighed happily and put her arm underneath her head watching the stars shine. One day, if she can't do dance, she would love to study the sky. Physics, which this stuff fell under, was one of the classes she was passing at the moment since she was interested in it. She just found it so fascinating. She smiled and closed her eyes enjoying the night breeze. Tomorrow was another day but right now, she was going to enjoy this moment.

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