Longest one yet! Enjoy.

I'm really glad I didn't let Brittany sleep on the couch. I hardly got any sleep yesterday because the thing is so damn uncomfortable. I only have a few weeks with it so I guess that's part of the reason why it's so stiff.

"Ow!" I wail.

"Sorry." Natalie says, then continues massaging my back. "You feel so tense. Loosen your shoulders." She pats my arm and I roll my shoulders back, sitting up straight.. "You can't keep sleeping on the couch Santana. It's only been two nights and you're already in pain."

I'm about to correct her and say it has been one night but I keep that little fact to myself. "Yeah. I'll probably have to buy an air mattress or something."

"How's Brittany?"

"Better. I think...I mean, she seemed better yesterday."

"That's good."

"Mhm. But Adam and Jax went over to my place last night and Adam made it clear how unhappy he is about Brittany staying with me."

"What did he say?"

"He thinks she's trying to start up something with me again now that she's single."

I worry when Natalie doesn't comment on it and I make sure to reassure her nothing is going on between me and Brittany. "She isn't though. She really is going through something and needs help."

"If you say so."

I twist around on my chair to look up at her. "You don't believe me?"

She slides her hands off me and leans back against the mixing table. "I believe that that's what you believe. But I don't know if I believe Brittany's intentions. Adam might be right."

"I know that it might seem that way, but Brittany really does need help/"

"And you can't tell me with what?"

"Not yet. But as soon as she wants to tell people about it, you'll be the first one I tell."

She purses her lips and looks down. "Alright," she says, settling with my answer.

My new coworkers walk into the room and Natalie gives me a kiss on the cheek before waving goodbye and exiting through the door..

"Hi, you must be Santana." A tall dark man shakes my hand. I nod. "I'm Robert and this is Lee."

He points at a shorter and younger guy next to him.

"Nice to meet you guys." I say.

"Ready to get started?" Robert asks.

"Yup." We take our seats at the mixing table and as they start it up I pull out my phone and quickly text Brittany.

You okay?

Not too long after, she replies. Yes. Don't text while you're at work. :)

I smile and put my phone away. It's stupid, but that smiley face makes me think that she might be feeling better.

After work, I manage to find the Italian restaurant Brittany loves and pick up some dinner there. I get home with a smile and can't wait to surprise her with it. "Britt! I brought dinner." I enter the kitchen and set the food down on the kitchen island. "Britt!"

A moment later Brittany shuffles into the kitchen. She's kind of dragging her feet as she walks and doesn't look too enthusiastic when she sees our dinner.

"It's Italian," I say cheerfully. "From the place you like. Are you hungry?"

She shrugs and drops herself on one of the kitchen stools.

"You okay?"

She nods.

I don't know why she's so sad. She seemed to be okay last night and even today when I texted

her earlier. I set a plate with food in front of her and take a seat next to her.

She looks down at her plate and picks at the spaghetti with her fork.

"It's alla Carbonara. Your favorite, " I say and stuff my mouth with a forkful of pasta. I watch her from the corner of my eye as she twirls some spaghetti with her fork and brings it up to her mouth.

"I brought us dessert too if-"

"Can I just have that instead?" She asks before she puts the food in her mouth. "I shouldn't be having cravings anymore, but I really want something sweet."

"Um.. Sure." I pull out a small plastic box from the take-out bag and hand it over to her. "I got Cannoli, is that okay?"

She opens the box and picks up one of the desserts. "I've never had one before."

"Really? They're really good."

She takes a huge bite from it and swipes her finger at the corners of her mouth.

"Good?" I ask as I get up to serve myself a glass of wine.

"Mhm."

"Want some wine?"

She looks at me and chews quietly as she sets the Cannoli down.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She waits until she's done chewing and then says, "I just keep thinking about the baby. Like, how

I would be so hungry and probably done with my spaghetti by now if I hadn't- … I'd be saying no to your wine right now," she says sadly.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. It's not your fault." She shrugs. "It's just stuff I think about."

I set my glass of wine down and approach the counter. "Is that why you're sad?" I ask and slide my hand over hers.

"I was just really excited about having a baby."

"I'm so sorry Britt." I want to tell her she will have other opportunities, but I think that sounds kind of cold hearted.

She turns her hand over and holds mine. "These are really good," she says, picking up her Cannoli with her free hand.

"Told ya." I give her a small smile.

For the following two weeks, Brittany's moods are all over the place. It's as if she's still pregnant. Some days I come home and she's somewhat happy like when Jax and Adam visited and other times she's sad and locks herself in my room all day trying to hide her sobs.

She hasn't really gotten out of the apartment at all. The only time I've seen her go out is two days ago when she offered to go down to the lobby and pick up my mail. Her boss over at the dance studio knows about her situation and gave her some time off so she's not dancing anymore either.

I work most of the day so I only get to see her in the evenings. We have fallen into a little routine. I come home, make dinner or order in, ask how she feels, she shrugs, we eat in silence, then she goes back to my room and I watch tv or read a book in the living room.

But today is Saturday and I'm so glad I get to sleep in. Work has been less hectic, but I think seeing Brittany so unhappy has been stressing me out.

I put off getting an air mattress, but the couch isn't as uncomfortable anymore. Or maybe I just got used to it being so uncomfortable. It's 10am when my phone goes off and I groan as I slap my hand around the coffee table trying to find it. When I get a grip of it, I bring it up to my ear and give a very sleepy, "Hello?"

"Santana, you're still sleeping?" Natalie has this way of judging you but making it sound like she's not. I think it's because she never raises her voice when she does it.

"It's Saturday," I answer with my eyes still closed.

"Which means you should be out enjoying your day off. Get up so I can take you out to breakfast."

"I don't wanna."

"Santana. C'mon."

I groan and sit up, finally opening my eyes. "Fine. I'm up."

"Good. Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?"

"Twenty."

"Okay, but you have to be ready Santana," she warns.

"I will."

"You always say that. Aren't you embarrassed to be known as the girl who's always late?"

"If you keep talking I'm going to need more time."

"Fine. Twenty minutes. Be ready."

"Kay. Bye."

I drop my phone on the coffee table and fight the quilt off me. I pad my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth but peek my head into my bedroom on the way and see Brittany sprawled over my bed, blonde locks covering her face.

Once I'm done in the bathroom, I try to be really quiet as I change into some clothes. Brittany is a super light sleeper so I'm surprised she doesn't wake up when knock over one of the pictures frames on my dresser.

Natalie picks me up and drives us down to a cafe in Venice Beach. She's telling me about how her brother is a total asshole for cheating on his girlfriend and I really want to pay attention, but all I'm thinking about is Brittany.

I'm pretty sure she's been to this beach before. It's the quirkiest place I've ever been to so she must love it here.

"Don't you think?" I hear Natalie ask.

I blink my eyes a few times. "What? Sorry, I spaced out."

"Are you still asleep? What time did you go to bed last night?"

"I don't know. Pretty early."

She narrows her eyes, not convinced. "Are you done eating? I'll drop you off home so you can continue your hibernation."

I pick up the last strawberry slice on my plate and pop it in my mouth. "I'm done now." I give her a smile which quickly turns into a frown.. "Ow!" I snap my hand up to my cheek.

"What's wrong?"

"My tooth. It's been bugging me for days."

"Is it a cavity?"

I massage my cheek. "Probably. It hurts so much! I'd be surprised if I don't need a root canal by now."

"Ouch." Natalie winces. "I'll take you to my dentist. He's great. Want me to make an appointment for you?"

"No, that's okay. I'll be fine."

"Santana. Stop being a baby. I'm going to call today. We'll go after work on Monday, okay?"

"Fine."

When I get home, the whole place smells like coffee and waffles.

"Oh, hey. You're back," Brittany says from the kitchen. Her hair is still damp from showering and she's wearing some of the clothes Jax and Adam picked up from Liam's place after I begged Adam a million times to go get them for her.

I walk into the kitchen and smell the scent of my shampoo. I love Brittany, I really do. And I would continue loving her even if she turned into the stinkiest person on earth. But god am I glad she decided to shower. It's been days since the last time she's done so and she was beginning to reek of sweat.

"You made waffles?" I ask, inspecting the kitchen.

"Yup. You want some?"

"No thank you. I just had a huge crape."

"Oh. Did you go out with Jax and Adam?"

"No, I went with my friend Natalie." I explain while I help her clean up the kitchen.

"You guys hang out a lot huh?"

"Um..Kinda, yeah. We work together so.."

We clean in silence. Brittany places all the ingredients back into their shelves while I wipe down the counters. I know she wants to ask more about Natalie. She's one of the most curious people I know. She's probably biting her tongue right now, trying to hold back from asking more about her. But I don't want her to ask anymore. I don't want to have to explain what Natalie and I have so I make sure to swerve away from the topic.

"Hey, I was in the room earlier today and I knocked over a picture frame. I'm so surprised you didn't wake up."

"I was awake," she states.

I throw a dirty paper towel in the trash and turn to look at her. "You were?"

She smiles. "Yeah. I'd been awake."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," she giggles.

"You creep! You were watching me all that time? I undressed in front of you!"

She puts the milk carton back in the fridge and closes it. "San, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

I narrow my eyes and tilt my head. "Don't do it again. Perv."

Brittany chuckles and leans against the fridge. "You're looking a lot flabbier these days. Kinda like when Lord Tubbington went on a diet and lost all that weight."

I look down at myself. "No I don't. I look better than ever."

"Hmmm..I don't know. You used to have abs."

"I have abs." I lift my shirt up until it reaches my underboobs and poke my stomach. "See?"

Brittany raises an eyebrow and inspects me. "Hmm." She reaches over and pokes my stomach. "No. You're definitely losing tone."

"No I'm not! Let's see your stomach then Ms. Dancer." I step towards her and try lifting her shirt, but she slaps my hand playfully.

"Stop it!" She laughs.

"C'mon. You must be the fucking Hulk if you think I'm flabby." I reach for her shirt again, but she holds my wrist down.

"No. Stop it!"

She runs into the living room and she throws herself on the couch, her long legs outstretched in front of her as defense.

I grab her by the ankles and try shifting her legs away from me. "Move your giraffe legs out of the way!"

"No!" She yells between laughter. She pushes her feet against my stomach, making me stumble back on to the recliner. "Stay!" She says, pointing one of her feet at me.

"I'm not a dog!" We both laugh.

"No, you're more like a well trained lioness."

"Ha. ha. You're feeling better, aren't you?"

"Yeah." She sits up, her smile fading."I don't think I'll ever stop being sad about what happened, but I think it's time for me to stop moping around. I'm sorry I've been such deadweight.

"Don't say that. You should be able to deal with it however you want."

"Well either way I'm done. I called the studio to let them know I'll be back on Monday."

"That's great, Britt. Does this mean you're ready to tell people?"

"Yeah. I guess so. But don't tell anyone. I want to be the one to tell them. Well I mean, the only people you would tell are Jax and Adam, but I want to tell Jax."

"Okay. That's fine."

"Is it okay if I stay a few more weeks? Just until I find a place of my own."

"Yeah, of course. You can stay as long as you want."

"Thanks. I'll start sleeping on the couch though. And don't try to fight me about it because I already decided on it."

I sigh.

It's sad to think in a few weeks she'll be gone, but I knew it'd happen sooner or later. I just don't know what our relationship is going to be like after she moves out. She'll probably want to continue being friends. I want to be her friend, but I know I'm always going to want more. Natalie's idea of thinking of myself as a friend trying to help her and nothing more was a good one, except it was easier said than done. In the time that's she's been here, I haven't been able to separate my feelings. Yes, I need to move on, but I think to do that I need to accept the fact that I'm never going to fall out of love with her.

"What are you thinking about?" Brittany asks.

I hadn't realized I was staring at the floor.

"Oh, nothing. I- My tooth has been hurting."

"Your tooth?"

"Yeah. It's been really bugging me." I roll my tongue back and slide it along my molars.

"Oh let me see." Brittany jumps off the couch and sits on the armrest of my recliner. "Open," she directs.

My eyebrows pinch together. "What? No."

"I wanna see. Open your mouth." She grabs my chin, but I pull away. "San! Let me see! Just open your mouth. Pleeeease."

I groan and tilt my head up, opening my mouth.

"Wider," she says.

I smirk. "Wanky."

She giggles and places her hand under my chin, tilting my head back. "I don't see anything."

"Eh dah toh whon."

"The top?"

I nod and she hunches down to get a better look. "Oh! I see it! It's a little white speck! I think it's a wisdom tooth."

She tries poking at it with her finger, but I lean back and shut my mouth closed. "Brittany!"

She laughs. "I just wanted to feel it."

"It's a tooth. It feels like any other." I say and rub my cheek, feeling the pain coming back.

"Okay! Grumpy!" She leaves my side for a minute and comes back with an ice pack. "Did you know the Tooth Fairy secretly puts those teeth in our mouths to make us wiser?" She says, holding the ice pack to my cheek. "That's why they're called wisdom teeth. And that's why I'm so wise. Because I still have mine."

I smile and shake my head. It's been awhile since I've heard one of Brittany's theories.

"Are you gonna go to the dentist?" she asks.

I try to hold the ice pack myself, but she swats my hand away.

"Yeah. I'm going on Monday."

"I can take you. You're going after work right? I'll drive you."

"Actually, Natalie already offered to go with me. She's taking me to her dentist. He's supposed to be really good. Thank you though.." I take the ice pack from her and stand up. "Do you mind if I take a nap? I'm so tired."

"Why would I mind?"

"I- I just...Will you be okay here? Or maybe you want to go out or-"

"Go nap San. I'll watch tv." She gives me a tiny smile. "Oh and I changed the bed sheets so they're nice and fresh. I know I got kind of smelly. Sorry."

I laugh. "Just a little, but it's okay. Will you wake me up in a few hours?"

"Yup."

"Okay Santana." The dentist says, looking at my x-rays. "So one of your wisdom teeth is peaking through your gums. It's coming out at an angle. See that?" He asks pointing his pen at the scan. "That's why it's been hurting so much."

"So can we pull it out today?"

He chuckles. "We can, but I suggest we pull all four of them at once."

"All four? Why? Only one of them is bothering me."

"True, but the other three will come out eventually and the bottom right tooth is also set at an angle so it will hurt just as much."

I sigh. "Well, can we do it today then?"

"Sure, but you'll have to take it easy for a while. This would be an oral surgery so there might be some swelling and bleeding for a few days."

"Swelling and bleeding? I can't go into work like that."

"I suggest you schedule some time off work. Just a few days and come in on a Friday so that you'll also have the weekend to recover.

"Okay. I'll see if I can try to get some time off." I stand from the dentist chair. "Guess I'll see you next week doc."

"What did he say?" Natalie asks on the way to her car.

"It's my fucking wisdom tooth. And he said I should get all four pulled out."

"Sounds horrible but trust me, it's better to do it that way. That's what I did."

"Yeah well I still need to see if I can get a few days off at the studio." We're about to get into her car when I notice a Starbucks across the parking lot. "Hey Nat, I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get a drink. Want anything?"

"No, I'm good. I'll wait in the car, kay?"

"Okay."

I cross the lot to the cafe and immediately order their tallest, coldest cappuccino. When they call my name, I pick up my drink and bump into an idiot on my way out.

"Watch it!" I bark.

"Santana?"

I have to literally look up because the guy is as tall as a damn sequoia tree. "What- Finn?"

"Hi! How are you?" He gathers me into a huge, asphyxiate, bear hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"What the hell are you doing here? Where's Berry?" I look around trying to find the midget.

"She's back in New York still."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm back from deployment. It's only for a month, but I came to visit Puck."

"Oh right. He lives here."

He nods with the same goofy smile he has had since high school.

"But why aren't you in New York with Rachel? Did you guys finally get sick of each other? I haven't talked to her in a while, but I think she would-"

"No, no. We're still together. She's going to meet me here for the reunion. You're going right?"

"No? What reunion?"

"The Glee reunion Rachel planned."

I roll my eyes. "Of course."

"Didn't you get her email? She she said was going to send it out to everyone." His eyes shift to the side in thought. "Or maybe she told me to do it..."

"I'm sure she sent them out. I just haven't checked my email."

He smiles. "So you'll come then?"

"Yeah. I'll see if Britt wants to come too."

"I thought...You guys broke up? I mean, that's what Rachel told me."

"Yeah, we did." I nod. "But we're still friends."

"Oh! Okay. That makes sense. It was always obvious you guys were going to always be together one way or another."

My brow shrugs. "Yeah...So when is this going down?"

"Uh...August fourrr...? Or fourteen. I'm not really sure."

"It's okay. I'll check Rachel's email." I smile at him. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but it was actually nice seeing you again Finn."

"You too." He wraps his arms around me again, lifting me an inch off the ground.

"Okay." I say, wiggling out of his embrace. "I'll see you in a few weeks okay?"

"Yeah! See you!"

I walk back to Natalie's car in a hurry, trying to escape the Californian sun.

"What took you so long?" Natalie asks.

"I ran into a friend."

"Oh? You have friends?"

I narrow my eyes at her. "Yes, I have friends. He's a friend from high school. Apparently there's going to be a reunion.

"Are you going?"

"Don't know. Probably. I hate to admit it, but I miss the losers from high school."

"Britt! Guess wh-" I close my apartment door and freeze when I see Brittany bent over in her skin tight yoga leggings. "What are you doing?"

"Stretching?"

"Why?

"Because I just gave a class and I feel like I need to stretch more." She explains. Her head is peeking between her legs as she talks and it's very distracting so I move to the couch.

"Guess who I ran into today."

"Ummm...Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"Russian or American?"

My eyebrows scrunch. "We don't know any Russians."

"Ah! so American?"

"Yes. American."

"Does he have big ears or a small chin?"

"Finn. I ran into Finn."

"Oh," she straightens up and takes turns stretching her arms over her head.

"Yeah. He's home from the Army for like a month or something so he's visiting Puck right now. Isn't that crazy?"

"Mhm."

"He said Rachel is organizing a Glee reunion. Have you gotten any emails from her?

"Yeah. I got one."

"About the reunion?"

She nods as she chugs her water.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I thought you had gotten it too."

"I haven't checked my email, but we're going right?"

"I don't know. I don't think I am." She picks up her yoga mat and rolls it up.

"What? Why not?"

"I just don't want to. I'm going to take a shower." She says and then leaves to the bathroom.

"Brittany. Wait!" I follow her and swing the bathroom door open without a warning. "Why don't you want to go? Don't you want to see everyone?"

"Meh." She strips down to her underwear.

I somehow manage to cease my leering and ask, "Can you just stop undressing for a second?"

"I need to take my clothes off. I'm going to shower."

"I know, but just tell me why you don't want to go. You're the one that said you we're going to be friends with them forever."

"I just don't San. Please get out or I'm going to get naked infront of you."

"You need to have a reason. You can't just say 'I don't want to.'"

She lets her hair loose from its pony tail.. "My underwear is going off now," she warns.

"Just tell me why." I insist.

Brittany hooks her thumbs around her panties and begins shimmying out of them.

I grunt in annoyance and leave the bathroom, not giving myself a chance to peek at her naked body.

I really can't understand why she doesn't want to go to the reunion though. It's obvious there's a reason, but she doesn't want to tell me. Last time I checked, she loved everyone in Glee Club. She had even mentioned wanting to go to Mike and Tina's wedding. And according to my source during the year of 2013, Rachel, she became close friends with them when she repeated her Senior year.

I'm sitting in the living room, watching tv, when Brittany finishes showering and tries to sneak her way into my bedroom.

"I know you're done showering," I inform her from my place on the couch.

I hear the door click when she closes it and I give her some time to put some clothes on before I go knock on it. "Brittany, I'm coming in."

"I'm getting dressed." I hear her say.

"It's been like fifteen minutes. What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed.."

I decide to take my chances and open the door a tiny bit. I push my head through the gap and see Brittany laying on my bed, fully dressed, her back against my pillows and her laptop on her lap.

"Will you tell me why you don't want to go to the reunion?" I ask, sitting indian style next to her.

"I already did."

I roll my eyes and lean towards her, getting a glimpse at her computer. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking up what's going to happen to you after you get your wisdom tooth pulled out."

"What do you mean? Nothing's going to happen."

"Well, you're not going to be wise anymore. That's a given." She turns to me and gives me a playful smile.

"I'll always be wise," I say, matching her smile. "What are you really doing?"

"Just trying to find out what's it going to be like after so that I know how to take care of you."

"Britt, you don't have to do that."

She shrugs. "You did it for me. That's what we do. We take care of each other."

I feel my heart warm up. "Well I might need some help. I'm getting all four pulled so..."

She turns to look at me with widened eyes.. "You are? When?"

"Ugh, yes. I have to make an appointment for it, but I'm guessing it'll be soon."

"I'll drive you this time. Your... friend.. hasn't offered to take you again has she?"

"Not yet, but-"

"Okay good. Tell her not to worry. I'll be taking you. And I'll also be your personal nurse so let her know she doesn't have to check on you or anything."

My pulse quickens at the thought of Brittany taking care of me and I get goosebumps. .

She notices. "Are you cold?" She runs her hand up and down my arm.

"Y-yeah a little." I clear my throat. "Hey! You're not getting off that easy."

"What?"

"Tell me why you don't want to go to the the reunion."

"Look," she begins, looking back at the computer screen. "It says your cheeks might swell. You're going to look like a cute little chipmunk." She giggles.

"Brittany."

"Fine." she sighs and closes her laptop. "I don't want to go because they're not nice."

"Who? The Glee Club?"

She nods.

"What are you talking about?"

"They weren't nice to you when you came out. Specially Finn. I don't like him."

I'm confused. Brittany had never mentioned her dislike for any of them. "Are you serious?"

She nods again. "He's really mean and selfish. Rachel can be the same way sometimes. I guess that's why they like each other."

"Well...I can see why you don't like them, but what about the rest?"

"I like them. Well some. I like Tina and Mike. Artie and Sugar too. They were really nice to me during the extra year I stayed at McKinley, but even they weren't too helpful when Finn forced you to come out. None of them were. That's why I couldn't care less if I never saw any of them again."

"But Britt, that was a long time ago. People change. I mean, just look at me. I changed a lot during high school. Maybe they've changed during these past years."

"I don't know. Maybe...I guess it'd be nice to see them, but not Finn. He's a big jerk. He forced you to share a part of you that you weren't ready to share and then he just fixed it by singing that stupid song and everyone thought it was enough...Even you."

"You didn't?"

"Of course not," she quickly replies. "It should have been a lot more than a sorry song." She takes a minute and seems to be thinking about something. "He treated Kurt the same way and got away with that too. All he had to do was apologize so that he could go on and be even meaner to you. He's such a hypocrite and no one ever told him how much of a douchebag he is. They all just praised him instead."

I'm left in awe by Brittany's revelation. I had no clue this was the way she felt about our friends.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? Like during high school?

"You seemed to be content with Finn's apology so I just let it go. I didn't want to start any problems between anyone. Specially between you and me."

"It wouldn't have been a problem Britt. You should have told me."

She sighs. "Sorry."

I take a deep breath. "We don't have to go to the stupid reunion okay?"

"No. You should go. I'm sure they'll want to see you."

"I won't go if you don't."

Her lips press together in disapproval. "Santana. Just go, okay?"

"Nope. I'm not going." I lay down on my side and snuggle against one of my pillows. "It's nap time." I say and close my eyes but snap them open when I feel her shifting next to me. "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for nap time."

She turns her back towards me and reaches for my arm, draping it over her rib cage. "Is this okay?"

I swallow. "Yeah. It's okay."