Something's not right. Santana knows that much, but she can't quite figure out what exactly. She's wandering the hallways of McKinley but no matter which way she goes, she doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. All she keeps finding is more and more hallways. The fact that every single one of these hallways is completely deserted isn't helping matters. There's a voice in the back of her brain that is trying to tell her something, trying to give her the heads up on something, but no matter how hard she tries she can't seem to understand it. She needs to find Brittany. If she can find Brittany then everything will make sense, right? Everything will be fine if she's got Brittany at her side.

She starts to walk faster but when she rounds the next corner she only finds another empty hallway. Soon she's running, but still only finds more hallways. She's starting to give up when she rounds another corner and collides straight into someone's chest. "What the..."

She's totally about to go all Lima Heights on whoever wasn't quick enough to move out of her way, but when she looks up into the face of Finn Hudson, the words die in her throat. For some reason he seems taller, or maybe it's her that's shrunk. She feels like she can't breathe, she just wishes she knew why. She backs away from him, not liking the smirk that is playing on his lips. As she takes another step back though she bangs into somebody else and she spins around to find the corridor is no longer deserted. In fact it's now full with people. The Glee Club are there. So are the Trouble Tones. And Cheerios. The football team. But even worse is that it isn't just students and teachers that crowd the hallway. No, her family are all standing there too. Her Mami and Papi. Her Abuela. Also Aunties and Uncles, distant cousins she hasn't seen in years. She doesn't understand why they'd all be in Lima, let alone at her school.

She turns back to Finn and immediately wishes she hadn't. He's still wearing that stupid grin and she wants desperately to knock it off his face, but she finds she can't move.

"Hey, Santana."

The words cut through her. She's heard them before, she knows she has but the memory of them is hazy for some reason, though she thinks it really shouldn't be.

"Why don't you just come out the closet?"

No, no, this can't be happening. Finn keeps talking but the words no longer make any sense to her. She somehow manages to spin around, her eyes immediately searching for her parents, her Abuela, but she regrets it when she finds their faces are twisted with disgust, horror, disappointment. She quickly searches the crowd, looking for that flash of blonde hair that will tell her that everything will be okay, but she can't find any trace of Brittany.

An arm wraps around her neck and she's pulled back against a solid chest. She struggles to break free but she can't. They're too strong. Finn. It has to be Finn. It's confirmed when his voice is suddenly whispering in her ear. "I think you're a coward. But it's okay. I'm going to help you. I'm going to make sure that everybody knows exactly who you are, what you are." There's a flash of metal in his other hand, and she starts to fight harder, but all it does is make it harder to breathe.

Finn laughs. "It's okay. I know what I'm doing. I am the hero after all. And I'm gonna start by showing everyone who you really are inside."

She can't do anything but watch as he lifts the knife and plunges it into her chest...

She jerks into a sitting position, her heart throwing itself against her ribcage, and she finds she still can't breathe. Her hand automatically reaches for her neck, checking for arms that might still be strangling her, but she finds nothing there.

There's movement beside her. "Santana?"

She starts to calm down as her eyes adjust to the dark and she realises she's in Brittany's room, in Brittany's bed. With the blonde lying next to her. She's about to tell Brittany she's fine and to go back to sleep when she's hit by the sudden need to vomit.

She's not even sure how she manages to make it to the bathroom, but she's so very thankful she does, and immediately she's hunched over the toilet. She can't even remember the last time she ate anything, but her body doesn't seem to care and is still determined that she throw up every last bit of her stomach contents. She's still heaving when she hears footsteps as Brittany enters, kneeling down behind her and holding her hair back.

Eventually her body agrees to co-operate and she's able to pull back. She shifts so she's sitting with her back pressed against the bathtub, draws her knees up to the chest and closes her eyes.

She hears Brittany moving around the room, then the sound of water running, the toilet flushing. She feels a hand gently touch her arm, and then Brittany is trying to guide her to her feet. She doesn't have the energy to fight her, but doesn't have the energy to be much help either, so it takes Brittany some struggling to get her standing and when she does, she has to wrap an arm around her to stop her from just sinking back to the floor again.

Brittany moves her hands so they're resting against the sink, and when she seems sure that Santana can support her own weight, she walks away. She's back in seconds though, her arm once more sliding around her waist. "San? Here, take this."

She opens one eye slowly to find Brittany trying to push a glass of water into her hands. She takes it gratefully and rinses her mouth out. She doesn't dare drink any though, just in case she can't keep it down, she really doesn't want to spend the rest of the night lent over the toilet.

Once she's finished, Brittany makes her sit down on the edge of the bath. She then picks up a damp cloth from somewhere and places it against Santana's forehead. "You're red hot."

"I'm fine." Santana tries to swat her hand away, but Brittany just grabs her arm with her free one to stop her.

"You're not fine."

She closes her eyes again and just lets Brittany continue.

"Was it that nightmare again?" Brittany's voice shakes slightly, as if she doesn't really want to know the answer. "The one you kept having last summer?"

Her eyes snap open. "No." Brittany doesn't look like she believes her, and maybe a touch hurt that she'd lie to her. Santana sighs and removes the cloth from Brittany's hands, then drops it into the sink. "Yeah. Kind of anyway." She reaches out to take hold of Brittany's hands with her own. "It was different this time."

"Different how?"

"More Finn, less you. It sucked, but whatever." She shrugs, hoping that if she at least acts like it's no big deal, Brittany might just take pity on her enough to pretend that it isn't. For a moment, she thinks her ploy isn't going to work, but then Brittany just tugs on her hands.

"Come on, let's get you back into bed. Maybe we can get another couple of hours sleep before we have to get up for school."

Santana shakes her head. She doesn't think she could get back to sleep if she tried, that nightmare is still too fresh in her mind, and she has no plans to revisit it any time soon, and if that means not sleeping for a while, then whatever it takes.

Brittany bends down slightly and studies her. "Is that a no to sleep or to school?"

"Both?" She had meant sleep, but she's not exactly looking forward to having to step foot inside McKinley High either.

"Wouldn't you only be in more trouble if you don't go in tomorrow?"

Brittany's right, of course she's right. "Guess I can always hope they suspend me for slapping Finnocence."

"They can't do that, can they?" Brittany looks worried and she wishes she hadn't said anything, even though she suspects that might be exactly what happens. "It was like self-defense. How can they punish you for it? It's not fair, it's just not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Britt." She hadn't intended for the words to sound so bitter, especially when it only makes Brittany start to cry. She pulls herself to her feet and leads Brittany back to the bed. Even if she doesn't plan on sleeping, there's no reason for Brittany not to. She climbs onto the bed and lies down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Brittany does the same beside her. It only takes a few seconds for Brittany's hand to reach out in search of hers. Santana takes hold of it, lacing their fingers together.

They lie in silence for a while until Santana can't handle it any longer. "Would you be pissed if I said I really needed a cigarette right now?" Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Brittany turn her head to look at her and is surprised to find the usual disapproval isn't there.

"Only if you aren't going to share."

Brittany never smokes when she's sober, and Santana suddenly regrets bringing it up, but she's craving nicotine. She needs something to take the edge off and it's either that or alcohol. Or there's a couple of other things that would work but she knows Brittany wouldn't stand by and let her do either of them.

She crosses the room to search her purse for the carton of cigarettes and lighter, and then walks over to open the window. She's stopped by Brittany placing a hand on her arm though.

When she raises an eyebrow, Brittany just shrugs. "Can we go sit on the porch instead?"

She nods and lets Brittany hold her hand and lead her downstairs. They've both snuck out of Brittany's house enough times to know exactly which floorboards to step over to avoid waking anyone else up and are soon safely outside.

Santana walks over to the front step and sits down. It isn't quite so dark any more, the sun will be rising soon, which means she doesn't have long before she's forced to face what her life has now become. She lights a cigarette and hands it to Brittany, then lights one for herself. Brittany sits down beside her and takes a small drag, coughing slightly as she does so. Normally Santana wouldn't be able to resist teasing her a little about how she still hasn't been able to master the art of smoking, but it doesn't feel right to do that right now.

"Are you really worried about going back to school?" Brittany keeps her eyes on the ground.

"I hadn't really thought about it til now. I was too busy freaking out about having to tell my family."

"When are you going to?"

Santana takes another hit off her cigarette. "I don't know. Not yet. I can't face them yet. I just can't."

Brittany places a hand on top of hers. "I'm so proud of you, you know?"

"Why?" She turns her head and frowns, not seeing what she's done that could possibly have made Brittany proud of her.

"For not pushing me away. For not fleeing town when I bet that's all you wanted to do last night."

She drops her gaze. The thought had crossed her mind, and if she'd been sure that Brittany would have gone with her, then she'd currently be hundreds of miles away from Lima.

Brittany squeezes her hand until she looks at her again. "And hey, my parents know now. So that's half the job done, right? And that wasn't too bad."

"Apart from the part where your dad told us he's heard us having sex, you mean? No, guess it wasn't. I just wish I was sure my parents would be as cool about it as yours."

"Maybe they will be."

"Maybe." She doubts it though.

Brittany lifts her hand to her lips and kisses her knuckles. "Thanks by the way."

"For what?"

"For talking to my parents with me."

Santana just shrugs. "Like you said, we do this together, right?"

"Right."

"Today is gonna suck though. Like really suck."

"I know."

"And Britt, I can't promise that I'm not going to freak out, or push you away at some point, but I can promise that I'll try not to."

"Okay. And how about I promise not to let you push me away?"

Santana slides closer to her and rests her head on her shoulder. "Sounds good to me."

They sit like that until the sun has come up. The house is still quiet when they go back inside, though a quick glance at the clock tells Santana it won't be for long. She rubs at her forehead. "I'm in serious need of caffeine if I'm going to get through today."

"Well you know where the kitchen is." Brittany stops at the bottom of the stairs and turns around to gently push her down the hallway. At Santana's incredulous expression, Brittany just leans in and kisses her cheek, then shoves her again. "What? You know I don't know how to make coffee."

"Why do I think you use not being able to do something as an excuse to get out of things you don't want to do?"

Brittany grins at her. "Because sometimes maybe I do." She kisses her again, on the lips this time. "I'm still not making you coffee though." She bounds up a couple of steps to avoid Santana's arm that tries to snake around her waist to pull her back to her. She laughs. "I'll be in the shower if you need me." Then she's gone before Santana can even begin to argue with her.

Santana groans. "It's too early for this, Pierce. Too early." She stumbles through into the kitchen and maybe she doesn't try to be as quiet as she could be as she goes through the cupboards and starts to make a pot of coffee. Maybe she'd get just a little bit of satisfaction in waking up the leprechaun. She wonders just how much trouble she'd be in with Brittany if Irish woke up to find her standing over him with a kitchen knife. Probably a lot. She's still trying to decide whether it's worth it, when she hears footsteps heading towards her. She looks up to find Jeff entering the room, yawning and rubbing at his eyes. She immediately finds guilty, not having planned on waking Brittany's parents up.

He stops when he sees her and frowns. "Didn't expect you to be up so early. Normally nothing can wake you in a morning. I know that because of all those times my daughter decided bouncing on the bed was the best way to try and wake you up. Not that it ever worked. It woke everybody else in the house up but that's when I knew Santana Lopez can sleep through anything." He leans against the counter, yawning again. "So what does get you out of bed so early? Or do I not want to know?"

"Couldn't sleep." He doesn't question her on it, and she's grateful for that. When the coffee's ready she pours him a cup and places it on the counter in front of him.

"Thanks." He watches her, his head resting on one hand and she knows he wants to ask her something.

Once she has her own coffee, she slides onto one of the stools and stares at him. Eventually she gets tired of waiting for him to speak. "What?"

"I was just wondering if you were planning on telling your parents today?"

"Oh." It's only just hit her that they might not want her hanging around their house all the time now that they know the truth about her and Brittany. "I wasn't. I just need..." She looks down at the cup she's cradling in her hands. "Don't worry, Mr P. It's cool. I won't come back here after school. I'll go home." She doesn't want to, but this isn't her house, and she'll respect their wishes. She won't risk doing anything that would lead to them banning Brittany from seeing her.

"What?"

She risks glancing up and finds Jeff looks lost. She needs him to know that she understands. "If I'm in the way, then..."

"Santana, you're not in the way. You know you're always welcome here, and I'll personally be offended if you don't come over after school. That wasn't why I was asking."

"Then why?"

"You're worried about telling them. And I'm worried about why you're worried about telling them."

"They're my parents." That should be reason enough, shouldn't it?

He takes a drink of his coffee. "Was Brittany scared of telling us?"

Santana's not sure what he wants to hear, so decides to go with the truth. "A little I think. Not as much as I was about telling you. Brittany, well, she's always been a hell of a lot braver than I am, you know?"

He smiles softly at that. "Yeah, she's a lot braver than all of us."

"And besides she was so sure that you guys would be okay with it."

"But you don't think your parents will be?"

"That's the worst part. I really don't know." She can feel her eyes starting to water and blinks desperately to try and get them to stop. "I think I'd actually be able to handle it better if I knew for sure that they'd kick me out. Least I could plan for that then. But not knowing? Not knowing sucks."

"I don't think you're giving your folks enough credit. Even if it takes them a while to get their heads around it, I don't see how they'd be willing to lose you over it. You're their daughter."

"You say that, but it happens all the time. Parents disowning their kids because they're gay. So why wouldn't they throw me out?"

"Guess you won't know until you tell them. But I reckon they just might surprise you."

"And what if you're wrong?"

He straightens up. "Then it's their loss. And if the worst does happen, then you come over here and tell me, and I'll go over there and try to talk some sense into them. And if that doesn't work, well guess you'll just have to move in here until they do come round."

She's not sure she heard him correctly. "Wait, hold up, you'd let me live here?"

He looks at her like she's crazy. "We're hardly gonna see you out on the streets, are we? Besides you practically live here half the time anyway. And with that Flanagan boy living in the basement, we may as well be running a halfway house as it is, so what's one more?"

She slides off the stool and is hugging him before she even realises she's doing it. She doesn't know which of them is more surprised and embarrassed by her actions, so she just as quickly pulls away, gesturing towards the door. "I should go get ready for school."

She stops in the doorway though and turns back to him. "Mr P?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He just waves her off and goes back to his coffee, probably worried she might hug him again if he says anything else.

She goes back to Brittany's room to find her sitting at her desk, drying her hair. She looks up as Santana enters, pouting slightly. "I thought you were gonna come join me? Did you really choose coffee over your hot girlfriend? Your naked, hot girlfriend? Your wet, naked, hot girlfriend?"

Okay, so maybe now she's regretting that decision a little bit, well more than a little bit. She sinks down onto the bed, letting her back hit the mattress. "Your parents are awesome, like totally awesome."

"Well duh. They have to be to have raised me."

She props herself up on her elbows, and rolls her eyes, even though Brittany just might have a point there. "I mean it. They have no reason to give a shit about what happens to me. I'm not their kid, but they are so fucking awesome that..." She trails off, wiping at her eyes as she starts crying again.

Brittany moves to sit next to her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her head against her chest. "Hey, my parents love you. And they love you because you're awesome, not because they are. The sooner you realise that there are people other than me that care about you, Santana, the sooner you'll realise that you can get through this. We're all going to do everything we can to make sure of that."

Santana doesn't bother trying to stop herself crying now, just sinks deeper against Brittany. Maybe just maybe she might be able to do this afterall.

"You look after that girl, Brittany. I get the feeling everything's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

That was what her dad had told her this morning when he'd pulled her aside as she and Santana were leaving for school, and those words have been swirling around her head ever since. She'd been hoping that her dad would turn out to be wrong. Afterall Santana had seemed to be doing okay this morning, apart from that one nightmare and the throwing up anyway, and the bursting into tears, but she hadn't seemed to be a complete wreck. But the second they'd pulled up in the parking lot, the fear had been back in her eyes, and she'd been quiet, distant, and had flinched and pulled away every time Brittany had gone to touch her. So Brittany had backed off and given her space. She had wanted to go with Santana to see Principle Figgins, but Santana had insisted she'd be fine and that she really didn't need Brittany to hold her hand. So now she's sat in the library with the rest of the Trouble Tones while they wait to find out Santana's fate. Mercedes is in grumpy Mercedes mode and Brittany can't help wondering if Coach Sylvester has banned Tots from the cafeteria again. The other three Cheerios have been very quiet, as if they have no idea what to say to her. Brittany thinks she really should learn their names at some point as she didn't quite believe Santana when she had insisted that their names were Things One, Two and Three. It seems rude to ask at this point though. And Sugar? Well Sugar is Sugar, and is openly pushing to take over Santana's parts in their numbers for Sectionals. Thankfully she doesn't have to waste her energy on stopping that, as Mercedes has made it clear that will only happen over her dead body. Something Sugar probably doesn't have a problem with but Brittany's sure Mercedes can take care of herself.

She's not really been listening to the conversation for a while now, she's just sitting staring at her cellphone, hoping Santana will text her soon, but when Santana's name is mentioned, then they have her full attention.

"If they suspend her, then that's us screwed for Sectionals." Mercedes sighs and rests her head in her hands. "Like seriously screwed, you guys."

Thing Two leans forward, keeping her voice low as she asks, "Do you think that was Hudson's plan? To sabotage us by getting Santana suspended?"

"Oh please." Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Have you met Finn Hudson? He's too dumb to come up with anything as sneaky as that."

Thing Three doesn't look convinced. "But what about that girlfriend of his? Maybe she put him up to it. I've always thought she was an ambitious little freak. Maybe this was her revenge on Santana for making her life hell for all these years."

"Rachel might be ambitious, but she would never do that." Mercedes shakes her head. "This was Finn being Finn is all."

Sugar frowns and sighs. "I still don't get it. I don't get what Finn did."

There's groans from all around the table, and everyone looks to Mercedes to deal with this. "You know what Finn did. He outed her. In a crowded hallway. And now..."

"I know that, but I don't understand what the big deal is."

When Brittany snaps the pencil she'd been playing with in half, everybody turns their attention to her, and she wonders if they'd forgotten that she was even in the room. She turns to Sugar, trying her best to imitate Santana's death glare, and is satisfied when Sugar edges her chair back away from her slightly.

"I only meant, was it really a secret? Because if so it had to be like the worse kept secret ever. You two were so obvious about it that I didn't even know it was a secret. So why did Finn even do it? If everyone already knew anyway?"

Nobody answers her. Brittany guesses that none of them know why. She thinks it's because Finn Hudson is a homophobic dick, but she keeps that thought to herself.

Mercedes tries to change the topic of conversation. "Doesn't matter why he did it, we just need to focus on kicking their asses at Sectionals."

"Which is exactly what we're going to do." They all jump a little at the sound of Santana's voice, none of them having seen her approach. She glares at Sugar who immediately jumps to her feet and allows Santana to take her chair. She sits down and Brittany has to fight to stop herself from reaching out to take hold of her hand.

Mercedes raises an eyebrow. "Tell me that means Figgins didn't suspend you."

"Oh please, like he'd dare. You don't mess with the top bitch at this school and Figgins knows it, girl. And we are so on for Sectionals. We're going to beat New Directions so hard that I actually feel a little bit sorry for them."

Something in Santana's eyes tells Brittany that isn't the full story, but she doesn't dare question her in front of the others.

If the look Mercedes shoots her is anything to go by, it looks like she believes Santana about as much as she does. "Let's not get too confident. Just because it doesn't look like they're got any songs together yet, that's when they're more of a threat and we all know it."

Santana rolls her eyes. "I suppose nobody is better at halfassing a performance than they are."

"Yeah, well we're going to beat them by being better rehearsed and not letting ourselves get distracted by any drama. So I want everyone to keep out of trouble, starting with y'all getting to class." Mercedes folds her arms and looks pointedly at Things One, Two and Three, who are immediately on their feet and leaving the room. As soon as they've gone, Mercedes turns her attention back to Santana. "So what really happened with Figgins?"

Brittany tenses, waiting for Santana to lash out, but it doesn't happen. Instead she just sinks down in her seat, clasping her hands together on the table in front of her. She keeps her eyes down, not looking at any of them. "Finn lied and said that I didn't slap him."

Brittany doesn't get it, doesn't understand why Finn would suddenly choose to help her. "Why?"

Santana only shrugs, and Brittany wonders if she doesn't know, or if she simply doesn't want to say.

"I'm guessing there was a catch?" Mercedes asks.

"He wants us all to join the Glee Club for their lesson of the week."

"Which is?" Brittany really doesn't like the sound of this.

"He didn't say, and I really didn't want to know."

Sugar had been hanging back, and Brittany had forgot that she hadn't left with the rest of the Cheerios. Now she takes one of the empty seats. "Wait, so Hudson is blackmailing you? And you're just going to let him?" She turns to look at Mercedes. "And we're not going to do anything about it?"

Santana growls, "Listen, Sugar Snap, what do you expect me to do? If I get suspended then I miss Sectionals and I've worked too damn hard, we've all worked too damn hard to throw that away. So if that means I have to sit through a Musical After School Special on how violence is bad or whatever, then I'm gonna suck it up." She points first at Sugar, then at Mercedes. "And so are you two, or else I'll be going all Lima Heights and ends you both."

Sugar nods towards Brittany. "What about her? How come she doesn't get threatened with violence?"

Santana scowls. "Because Britt's my girl, and I already know she's got my back."

"Damn right I do." Brittany decides to risk placing a hand on top of Santana's, and whilst Santana does flinch a little, she doesn't pull away and instead gives her a grateful smile.

Mercedes is shaking her head. "Santana, we all have your back. And not just because we need you on the Trouble Tones."

Sugar sits forward a little in her chair. "Yeah. If you want me to take care of Finn Hudson for you, I will. Because I could totally take him in a fight."

Santana raises an eyebrow, and Brittany gets the feeling she just might be considering taking Sugar up on that offer. Brittany squeezes her hand to get her attention, and when she looks at her, she shakes her head. "No."

"But Britt, she offered. Wouldn't it be like rude to turn down her help?"

"No."

Santana sighs. "Sorry, as satisfying at it would be, guess it's a no."

Sugar looks almost as disappointed as Santana does. "But..."

Mercedes cuts her off. "She said no. Besides we've only just avoided having one of our team suspended, I don't think we should be pushing our luck."

Santana tilts her head to the side, and studies Sugar. "Although, it wouldn't be a massive loss if she didn't compete, would it? It's not like we ever let her sing."

Mercedes leans back to look at Sugar now as well. "That is true, but we would need a replacement. Doesn't Coach Sylvester kinda owe you anyway? This whole thing is pretty much her fault as much as it is Hudson's, right?"

"Right, so I'll just get her to loan us one more Cheerio to make the numbers up and we're sorted. And they'd be better at dancing than Sugar anyway, so I see no bad in that scenario."

Sugar is biting her bottom lip, her head swiveling back and forth between Santana and Mercedes as they talk. "But that's not fair. It's my group! You can't perform without me. You can't."

Mercedes can't stop from laughing any longer, and even Santana is grinning by this point.

Brittany just shakes her head, reaching out to poke Santana in the side. "Stop it. You're being mean."

Santana tries to dodge away. "Okay, okay. We'll play nice. Right, Wheezy?"

Mercedes laughs again. "God, you are so whipped."

That stops Santana from smiling. "Am not."

Sugar clearly doesn't want to miss the chance to gang up on Santana, now that no-one is picking on her. "You totally are."

Santana glares at Mercedes, but it doesn't have any effect. "Brittany, will you tell them I'm not?"

Brittany considers lying, but the truth is so much more fun. "Oh but honey, you kinda are."

Santana lets out a huff and pulls her hand away from Brittany's, folding her arms across her chest. "That's it! You're all going on my list."

Brittany glances over to the other two and shrugs. "Don't worry. It's a really long list. It'll take her ages to get to us."

"I hate all of you." Santana sinks lower down in her seat, clearly sulking.

Mercedes smiles softly at them. "We love you too, Satan. And I meant it when I said we were on your side. You just let us know what you need, yeah?"

Santana shifts awkwardly and Brittany knows she has no idea how to react. Brittany moves her chair closer to her, so she can slide an arm around her and Santana gives in at pretending to be mad and rests her head on her shoulder. "We'll get you through this, San. You can count on us. We promise."

A/N: I had been planning on keeping this fic to one chapter per episode, but the show glossed over so many important things in I Kissed A Girl that it looks like it's gonna take me a few chapters to cover everything I want to for that episode.

Huge thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far. It really helps to know what's working and what's not.