Chapter 9
Brittany woke up slowly. She was still so tired. She lifted her head off Santana's chest and kissed her girlfriend softly on the cheek. "Good morning, beautiful."
"Good morning," Gabe said softly.
"Hey, how are you? Have you talked to your mom?"
Gabriel shook his head. It had been almost six weeks since the attack; three since he'd walked out of his parents' house.
"I'm sorry, Gabriel."
"I'm not. My father isn't a big loss. I … I don't know what's going on with my mother but Santana is my priority from now on. If they don't want her, I don't want them."
The kitchen staff brought in breakfast for Gabriel and Brittany.
"You know the drill, linda," Gabe said with a smile.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "I'll be right out." She got up and went into the bathroom and changed out of her pajamas and into clothes for the day. She brushed her hair and her teeth and went back out. She hadn't had much of an appetite but, apparently, Gabe, Quinn, and Mercedes had all come to an agreement about her dietary habits. So Gabe made sure she ate breakfast and at least ordered lunch. Quinn and/or Mercedes made sure she had dinner and ordered breakfast. She understood why they were doing it; they had a point, she hadn't been eating. That didn't make it any less annoying.
She exited the bathroom and sat at the table with Gabe. He had already started his breakfast. She took the lid off hers and picked up the fork and started pushing the food around before finally taking a bite of it. It didn't really taste like anything but she forced herself to eat a little more than half before giving up.
She moved to the calendar on the wall. Six weeks. She "X"ed out another day. It was February 16th: her birthday was in seven days. She sighed; the only gift she wanted was for Santana to come back.
"You okay?"
"My birthday is next week. I'll be eighteen, an adult. I was just thinking that all I want for my birthday is for Santana to wake up." A tear slipped free. It had been awhile since she'd shed any tears.
Gabe stood up and wrapped her up in a hug. "You know she wants to come back. She's a fighter; she'll come back to us. She's just tired and needs the rest."
Brittany nodded. "Yeah. I know. I just miss her."
"I know you do. Me too."
They stood there for a few moments before breaking apart. Gabriel moved to the table and handed Brittany the lunch menu.
"Humor me."
Brittany grinned and took the menu and began filling it out.
Xoxoxoxoxo
Gabriel left and Brittany was working on her homework; reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" out loud. She had actually read this book sophomore year; you'd think the curriculum would vary. The funny thing was, she was understanding more of it now. Reading out loud didn't allow her to be distracted by her own brain.
"Britt …" a raspy voice croaked.
Brittany's eyes flew to Santana and saw her eyes fluttering.
"Britt-a-ny …"
Brittany got up and moved quickly to Santana's bedside. "Santana? Baby? Can you hear me?"
Santana's eyes fluttered open and she smiled when she saw Brittany. "Are … you … okay?" Santana's voice was rough and dry from not being used.
Brittany moved and got a cup with a straw and water. "Sip this, baby, it'll help your throat."
Santana nodded and did as Brittany instructed, weakly waving it away when she was done. "Britt? Are you okay?"
Brittany kissed her forehead. "Better now that you're back," she whispered, reaching for the call button to alert the nurse.
"Can I help you?" a voice crackled through the speaker.
"She's awake! Please send the doctor in!"
"Britt," Santana's eyes fluttered, "did they hurt you? I tried to fight …"
"Shhh, baby, I'm fine. You fought so hard. They never touched me, I promise." She kissed Santana's forehead again.
Santana nodded. "Good."
The doctor came in and looked at Santana's chart. "Miss Lopez," he smiled kindly, "I'm Doctor Walden. Welcome back. You've been missed. Do you know what year it is?"
She coughed and tried to clear her throat. "It was 2012."
"Do you remember what happened?"
Santana nodded. "Yeah. Kyle and Kevin …" she trailed off.
"That's okay, Miss Lopez, no need to go over it," he said gently. "One final question and then I'll let you rest; do you know who this young woman is?"
A feeble smile graced Santana's lips. "That's my Britt-Britt," she answered and Brittany felt her whole face light up. She woke up and knew who Brittany was. Santana still knew that she loved Brittany.
The doctor smiled and nodded. "Good, very good. We'll let you rest and set up and MRI and a few other tests for tomorrow and we'll talk more tomorrow about what will happen next in your recovery. Get some rest, it's good to have you back."
The doctor left them alone.
Brittany held Santana's hand. "Do you need anything? Hungry? Thirsty?"
Santana nodded. "Thirsty …"
Brittany got the cup and held the straw to her lips "Sips, baby, you could upset your stomach if you drink too fast."
Santana took a few sips and then nodded to indicate she was done.
"How long?"
"Six weeks. You've been gone for six weeks." Brittany tried to hold back the tears.
"Hey, I'm here. I'm still here. I love you and I'm here." Santana smiled softly at her.
Brittany leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaning her forehead gently against Santana's. "I missed you, so much. I was so scared I'd never see you again; or that you'd wake up and wouldn't know who I was." Brittany sniffled.
"Britt … even if I didn't know my own name, I'd know who you were."
Brittany grinned at her cheesy girlfriend. "I love you. You should get some rest. I have to let everyone know you're awake."
"Everyone?"
"Well, Quinn, Mercedes …" Brittany bit her lip trying to decide if she should tell Santana about Gabe. "And Gabe."
Santana's eyes flew open. "Gabe? Gabe is here? Why? Does he know?"
"Shh … shhh … calm down. Yes. Gabe is here because he loves you. Quinn somehow got his number, the details on all of that are pretty fuzzy, and called him. He knows everything. It's okay, I promise. I wouldn't have let him near you if I thought he'd hurt you. There's so much we have to talk about but, honey, you need your rest."
"Britt, I've been resting for six weeks."
Brittany chuckled. "I'm not sure that's considered real rest. Close your eyes for me. I'll be here when you wake up."
Santana lifted her hand and stuck out her pinky. "Promise?"
Brittany eagerly linked her pinky with Santana's. "I promise."
Santana nodded and her eyes fluttered closed only to open again a moment later. "Britt?"
"Yeah?"
Santana puckered her lips and Brittany smiled as she leaned over and kissed her girlfriend properly for the first time in six weeks. It was soft and sweet and gentle and … perfect. Santana smiled and drifted off to sleep.
The door opened and Pam came in. "I hear she woke up?"
Brittany smiled and nodded. "She talked to the doctor for a few minutes, had a few sips of water, talked to me for a few minutes, then drifted back to sleep." Brittany kept her voice low so as not to disturb Santana.
"Excellent. I'm so very happy to hear that. If there's anything she needs, please call me."
"I will, thank you. I'm sure she's going to be hungry but, after not eating for so long, I'm not sure what she could or should eat."
"I'll check with the doctor and the nutritionist and we'll have something prepared for her."
"Thank you, again, so much, Pam. I don't know how we'd have done any of this without you."
"It's been a pleasure," Pam smiled. "When Mr. Motta told me I'd be the liaison for a seventeen-year-old girl, I have to admit I was nervous but you three, and Gabriel, have been wonderful to work with. No diva demands or craziness at three in the morning. It truly has been an honor."
Brittany beamed her full mega-watt smile at Pam. "We didn't want to take advantage." She sighed in relief. "I'm just glad she's awake. I know she still has a long recovery but … she's awake."
Pam smiled back at her. "I'll go see about her dietary needs and I'll talk to you later. Perhaps you can get some real rest now?"
Brittany nodded. "I think so."
From: Brittany
To: Quinn, Mercedes, Gabriel
SHE'S AWAKE! Well, I mean, she's asleep right now but she woke up and she knew who I was!
From: Quinn
To: Brittany, Mercedes, Gabriel
Oh, honey! That's amazing news! If she wakes up again, tell her I'll be there after school.
From: Mercedes
To: Brittany, Quinn, Gabriel
Oh, thank the Lord! I am so happy for you! I'll be by with Quinn. Give her our love.
From: Gabriel
To: Brittany, Quinn, Mercedes
I'm on my way back now, be there in twenty minutes! If she wakes up, tell her I love her. See you soon.
Xoxoxoxoxo
True to his word, Gabe walked through the door twenty minutes later. "How is she?" his voice was soft seeing Santana still sleeping.
"She was groggy and thirsty but pretty alert for the half-hour or so she was awake. I told her you were here. I wasn't sure I should but I didn't want to just spring you on her."
"No, I understand." Gabe nodded.
"You look tired. You could have gotten some more sleep; I'm not sure when she'll wake up again."
He shook his head. "No, I wanted to be here the next time she woke up. I want her to know I love her and I've got her back."
Brittany nodded in understanding and went back to her studies. It was a little harder now that she couldn't read out loud but she didn't care.
Santana had come back to her.