This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Padra's Run, chapter 8.

"Take A Look"

2. Look Around

In their present time

Weeks ago, Santana had gotten a call from the animal clinic where Brittany worked, telling her that her wife had not shown up to work for three days straight. This had been news to Santana, who had been concerned over being unable to locate her. But then she'd realized where she would be, and she'd found her sitting outside the closed door of their deceased friend and roommate, needing to mourn her, trying to get past this twisted little fear of entering her room. She had told her how concerned she'd made her, and Brittany had apologized. In the end they had managed to enter the room, both of them together. Things had carried on as they should after that.

But then came another morning, and another call. It hadn't been three days, or even two, but still Brittany had not shown up for work, and they'd needed her, so the secretary was now trying to track her down. The way she'd told Santana, she had called their home and Brittany's cell phone before she'd called her, and no answer had come except Santana's. So she had tried herself, but like the secretary all she got were voicemails. She was already in her lunch break, so she had headed home to go see her.

Only when she had made it to their apartment, Brittany wasn't there. She didn't want to go off on a panic for no reason, but after one more round of calls had gotten her nothing, now there was nothing to stop her heart from going into overdrive. Brittany had said nothing that morning to indicate that she wouldn't be going to work, and after checking in with their friends, she still had nothing. As a last ditch effort, she had called Winger.

"You don't think someone took her again, do you?" he'd sounded slightly afraid that this might have been the case."

"I don't know, I'm just getting worried…" she could feel her breath harder to achieve.

"Hold on, I'm going to locate her phone," he had gone on.

"No, you don't need to…"

"Got it," he answered before she could tell him otherwise. "Uh…"

"What?" Santana asked, this close to chewing him out if he didn't tell her what he'd found.

"Well, according to this, she is at your building, she's just… Okay, she's on the roof."

"The roof?" Santana blinked. "I'll call you back."

There was no way it could be anything like… She went out of the apartment and took the stairs to the roof. When she had approached the door, she could see movement, but it wasn't until she'd pushed the door open that she saw what this movement was.

There was Brittany. And she was dancing.

After everything that had happened with the school in Boston, Brittany had just sort of stopped, like the experience had drained any sort of love she had for it. In the years that had passed, the only dancing Santana had seen her wife do was the kind that took place at parties and receptions, on the dance floor, the two of them along with everyone else. But this…

She'd almost forgotten how good she could be. She couldn't even hear the music, as Brittany was following a song with headphones on, but even then… She was a sight to behold. Maybe it was the relief to know she was alright, or the sight of her dancing, or the baby hormones, but she'd started to cry as she smiled… It was so much better than anything she could have expected to find.

Eventually Brittany had seen her there, and she'd stopped, pulling the headphones off her head. "What are you doing here?" she was surprised.

"The clinic was looking for you, they called me… again." Brittany went to get her phone, seeing all the missed calls and messages.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't…" she shook her head, but Santana only came up to her and kissed her, held her.

"When did you start doing this?" she asked, and at Brittany's confusion. "The dancing."

"This morning," the blonde admitted, bowing her head. "I woke up and it was all I could think about, I... I think I'm ready to start again," she revealed.

"Professionally?" Santana asked, and she got a nod.

"I thought about what happened to Quinn, how she had her whole life ahead of her, but she lost it in a second. And I thought about the baby, and what I'd want for him or her… I'd lost it, everything I loved about dance, after Boston and… I thought about that new little life we created, and the one Quinn could have had… I want to be able to tell our child that I did everything I was meant to do. And then I felt it. I hadn't felt it in years, but I did, and when I did… That's when I came up here," she smiled. "And now I know that's what I want to do."

"I love you…" was all Santana could think to say, looking at her wife and seeing that girl she'd fallen in love with, all those years ago. Brittany had beamed, looked down between them. Santana was barely starting to show, but seeing the roundness in progress was everything to the two of them.

"I swear I'll let you know where I am from now on," Brittany had looked back up to her.

"Look, if you ever need to be alone, I get that. But not being able to find you or even reach you… I already went through that, and that time you really were in danger…" Santana shook her head, on the verge of tears, and Brittany looked like she was ashamed for how she'd made her worry. "So just send me a message, anything, so I know what the situation is."

"I swear," Brittany looked her in the eye.

"Now there's a call I think you need to make, if you're serious about getting back into dancing," Santana had spoken with her head held high, and Brittany had needed a moment, but then she'd smiled, knowing.

"Sherry…" All those years ago, Sherry Weston had made her a promise, when she'd had to take back her offer to have Brittany join her dance company, to be there for her with whatever she needed. It may have been years, but if she knew Sherry the way she did, she wouldn't have forgotten her, or her promise.

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)