A/N: I apologize for the both the delay and the brevity of this chapter. I have finally gotten settled out here in Africa, but work is very busy and it's been hard to write. I wanted to give you guys something to close out this story though, so here you go. As always, I am willing to work on a specific one-shot (for any of my stories) if there is a request/prompt, but I ask for patience since it is so difficult for me to find time to write lately. I hope you guys enjoy this short chapter, thank you for your many kind reviews and follows/favorites.

August 2017

"Santana."

I turn to the sound of Brittany's voice and instantly freeze in shock. My best friend is standing next to my abuela, a nervous smile on her face. I look back and forth between them quickly, uncertain of what exactly is happening right now. I open my mouth to stammer out a greeting, but my grandmother holds up a hand to silence me. She looks at Britt, who nods and steps out of the room, Rachel following quickly behind her.

We stand in silence for a long moment, studying one another. We haven't been in the same room in five years. She has hardly changed at all, it seems. I wonder if I look different to her now.

"You look beautiful, querida," she finally says, her voice as certain and steady as ever.

"Thank you," I whisper automatically. My throat is tight with emotion and the many things I want to say to this woman who still means so much to me, even after all this time. "What are you doing here?" I finally manage to choke out.

My abuela glances down for just a moment before looking up into my eyes once more. "Your fiancé and your friend Brittany came to see me. Quinn brought an invitation to your wedding and asked that I give my blessing. We talked for a very long time. Quinn told me about your life here in New York and about your music. She told me…she told me how much she loves you, Santanita. As we spoke it dawned on me that I am missing out on your life, on the woman you have become, and I realized that I didn't want to miss anything more. So I am here to watch you marry the wonderful girl who came to show me what I was missing, to offer my sincere blessing, and to ask your forgiveness for not seeing that, gay or not, you are still my granddaughter."

My grandmother's eyes brim with tears, despite her steady voice. She holds herself stiffly upright, as if to show me that she is not ashamed to admit that she was wrong all along. Her tightly clasped hands, however, indicate her nerves. She is afraid I will reject her presence here, just as she once rejected me.

Words fail me when I open my mouth to speak, so I simply walk forward and fold my tiny grandmother in my arms. She squeezes me back carefully, not wanting to mess up my snug wedding gown. After a long moment, my abuela leans back and pulls out a tissue to dab at her eyes with a smile. I smile broadly back, still in disbelief that she's even here.

"Well, I better go so you can finish getting ready," abuela says, taking my hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. "I'm proud of you, nieta. And I love you very much."

"I love you too, abuelita," I reply with a smile, then watch her walk out the door. Brittany and Rachel return as soon as she exits, their smiles as wide as I've ever seen them. I shake my head at them. "How…when? You convinced her to come?!"

"Welllll, Quinn really did. She asked me to join her for moral support in case things didn't go so well. You should have seen her though, San, she was just…steadfast, and strong, and incredibly persuasive. It was impossible not to see how much she loves you," Britt explains earnestly, her eyes watering as she recalls the memory.

I'm completely speechless, touched beyond words that Quinn not only face my grandmother for me, but that she made a point of reaching out to Brittany as well. After the disaster of the wedding invitations, Quinn and I agreed that we needed to re-boot the Unholy Trinity. Knowing that they did all of this together makes me feel like we've never been stronger. I look up and blink rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

"Hey now," Rachel chides jokingly as she dabs at her eyes with a tissue, "don't go messing up your make up."

I laugh lightly and look to my best friends. "You guys are…the best friends I could ever hope for. I am so lucky. Thank you for being so amazing."

Rach and Britt wrap me in a quick group hug and we all smile excitedly at eachother when it ends. "Ready to go get married?" Rachel asks, taking one of my hands in both of hers and clutching it to her chest.

"Absolutely," I respond immediately, "let's get this show on the road!"

My best lady and maid of honor squeal happily, then release my hands to gather up all of our bouquets and lead me out the door.

I follow as if in a dream, ready to make it come true.

"I do," she says, her green eyes shining with unshed tears and unbridled joy. I can't believe she's finally, officially, forever, mine. Her hands tighten around my own, a gentle squeeze that conveys her excitement.

"And do you, Santana Lopez, take Quinn Fabray to be your lawfully wedded wife, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." I say the two most meaningful words in history around an enormous grin that I couldn't undo if I tried. Quinn grins broadly back to me, releasing one of my hands briefly to quickly swipe a tear from her eye.

I barely hear the officiator as he speaks, completely caught up in the beauty of the woman I get to spend my entire life with, until he finally says, "You may now kiss the bride…s," to chuckles from our gathered family and friends.

Quinn and I smile too, and I can feel my heart pound as she looks into my eyes and leans towards me. I have kissed her countless times over the course of the past 3 or 4 years, but it is not lost on me that this one will be a huge first for us as a married couple. My eyes fall closed as her soft lips finally reach mine, and I do my best to store this memory away forever. Quinn is my wife. She's mine forever.

The moment ends too quickly, but as we separate my eyes find the prettiest hazel-green I've ever seen and I know that the overwhelming joy I am feeling is shared by my new wife. We turn to face our loved ones, who stand and clap for us, every face smiling and my mother's tear streaked. Quinn reaches down to take my hand and we each take our bouquets back before we start back down the aisle.

My eyes connect with my abuela's. She stands next to my father and nods proudly as we pass. I squeeze my incredible wife's hand by way of thanks. I still can't believe she managed to get my estranged grandmother to not only return to my life, but to give her blessing for our wedding. Quinn glances at me with a grin that can only be described as ecstatic and tightens her hand around mine in response.

We burst through the church doors like giddy children headed outside for recess. Quinn squeals when I stop suddenly and pull her back to me for a long kiss in the warm sunlight. Behind us our small wedding party whistles and hoots. My wife leans against me for a long moment after the kiss is over, almost reluctant to break away and start the party we've planned for months. With a low sigh and a long look, she finally turns to lead me down the stairs to our waiting limo.

Kurt stops us to ensure we are properly seated without damaging our dresses, then directs the rest of the wedding party into the limo. Quinn and I each chose two people to stand beside us. Brittany and Rachel for me, and Kurt and Mercedes for her. As soon as the doors are closed, champagne is passed around and Brittany speaks up.

"Okay, so since you guys are going to have your maids of honor speak at the actual reception, as Best Lady and Best Man Kurt and I would like to take a moment while we drive to make a quick toast. All I really have to say is that I love you guys so much and I'm incredibly happy that you both have found someone that I completely approve of. Also, you guys are the hottest brides ever. Happy wedding day! Okay, Kurt you go."

We all laugh and raise our glasses before turning to Kurt, who is, predictably, battling tears.

"Umm, just give me a second. I'm okay…I'm okay. Whew. Okay, here goes. At one point in time, neither of you would have voluntarily spoken to me in public. And yet, here I am, standing in at your wedding, watching you pledge your lives to one another. I will be forever thankful that I've had the great fortune of learning what fierce, loyal friends you both are. I am so fortunate to have watched you girls come together and prove, day after day, that love truly conquers anything. You are both beautiful, generous, amazing women, and I know your life together will be an absolutely incredible journey. I love you guys."

We raise our glasses with teary eyes, mouthing "thank you" before sipping our champagne. Quinn turns to give me a gentle peck.

"I love you," she says quietly to me with a small smile.

"I love you, too," I respond, holding her gaze for a moment before turning back to the group. Rachel is rapidly blinking and looking up to keep the tears from falling on her face. "Jeez Rach, get it together, we still have like a thousand pictures to take!" I tease with smile. She rolls her eyes at me and grins.

"You know how emotional I get with mushy moments. It's obviously Kurt's fault!"

Kurt snorts as he refills his and Mercedes' glasses. "Please Rachel, "dramatic" doth not equate to "emotional," your tears are completely your own doing," he chides jokingly.

Brittany deftly redirects the conversation to prevent a response from Rachel, and I have to hold back a laugh when she winks in my direction as Rachel huffs. Not a second later Mercedes figures out the radio and we're all energetically singing along with 80's rock music.

As adept as I am at wearing heels for hours, we've danced for so long I'm on the verge of going barefoot. I sit for the first time since the DJ announced our presence to kick the party off. I feel immediate relief in my overworked feet, but realize quickly that my dress is (not all that surprisingly) too snug for me to reach down and take my torturous shoes off. Just as I feel the frustration begin to rise, Rachel appears from the heavens above to help me out.

"Oh my God, thank you, you're a lifesaver!" I tell her without a hint of sarcasm.

"Not at all, I'm your maid of honor, this is what I'm here for!" Rachel pulls off my second shoe with a little effort and hooks both of them on her fingers. "I'll put these in your dressing room so we don't forget them later."

I grab her wrist as she begins to head off. Words fail me when I try to express my thanks, so I just stand up and wrap her in a quick hug. She smiles like she understands perfectly what I'm trying to say and whispers, "You're welcome, Santana," before walking off to the dressing room. I watch her go for a moment, then turn to look for my wife.

I spot her laughing with my parents and her mother. It is impossible on any given day not to see how incredibly beautiful she is, but today she is absolutely radiant. Her smile brings butterflies to my stomach, and I marvel once more that this girl who has pushed and pulled me for the better part of a decade has somehow fallen in love with me.

Quinn's eyes search even as she continues to talk, and soon enough she finds me. The slight smirk/smile, the shining hazel-green eyes, the happiness on her face…it doesn't take much for this woman to reach the deepest parts of my heart. We move towards each other as if on instinct and in a moment my bride is in my arms. We sway slowly to the music, oblivious to our surroundings.

"Finally took your shoes off?"

"Yes! It was torturous, I couldn't take it anymore."

"I never thought I'd see the day that a pair of shoes would defeat Santana Lopez, but I have to say I'm kind of glad. It was weirding me out, having you tower over me once I took mine off."

"You just like being taller, you jerk."

Quinn smiles at that and kisses my cheek before raising her hand and spinning me slowly beneath it. "How'd you guess?" she asks lightly when we come back together.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the never ending competition that is our life. It's okay though, I don't mind you having an inch on me."

"Inch and a half."

I shake my head and laugh lightly. "We're going to argue over that half inch for the next 70 years or so, you realize that, don't you?"

My wife leans back in my arms and looks me in the eye, the laughter in her eyes evident. "I'm looking forward to it, oh beautiful wife of mine," she says with a teasing earnestness that brings a grin to my face. I kiss her on impulse. It's a happy, laughing kiss that makes my heart soar.

"I love you, Lucy Quinn Fabray."

"I love you too, Santana, so very much."