Chapter 13

Gabe got to the hospital at six the next morning; just in time to make sure Britttany and Santana ate breakfast. He kissed them both on the cheeks and wished Brittany a good day at school.

"Gabe …"

"Santana …"

They both laughed.

"Go ahead," Gabe said, "what's up?"

"Brittany's birthday is next week. I want to do something for her. A small party or something. Quinn and Mercedes picked up the gift I wanted to get for her but I want to make sure she has something special. It's her eighteenth."

Gabriel nodded and was just about to respond when Pam walked in.

"Good morning," she smiled at the siblings. "Mr. Motta called me last night. He heard about what happened at physical therapy yesterday and he's concerned for your welfare. He wants to move you to a private rehab facility. It will be easier to secure and easier to monitor people coming in and out and your …" she cleared her throat, "Dr. Lopez won't know where you are and will have no reason to visit that facility."

Santana nodded. "When would I leave."

"Immediately. Mr. Motta has already arranged everything. We'll contact the Pierces and I'll meet with Brittany, Quinn, and Mercedes when they come by this afternoon. There's already transportation ready so all we need to do is gather everything together."

"Okay." Santana grabbed her book bag. Then she looked at the pile of work on the desk. "Um …"

"I'll get someone in here to box it all up for you," Pam chuckled.

"Thanks."

Everything was quickly gathered up and put into the SUV that would take them to the rehab facility. "A woman named Jenah McPherson will meet you there. She'll serve in the same capacity as I have. Ace23 will also be there. Good luck, Santana. It's been a pleasure getting to know you and your friends and brother." She smiled warmly.

Santana grinned back. "Thank you for taking care of Brittany for me. Thank you for everything you did."

Pam nodded and closed the door, patting it to let the driver know it was time to move out.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Once they got to the rehab facility Jenah McPherson introduced herself. She was a young woman; probably early twenties, red hair that fell in curly waves to her shoulders, creamy skin with a riot of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and emerald green eyes that tilted every so slightly upward giving her an almost cat-like appearance. They reminded Santana, vaguely, of Brittany's eyes.

"Hi, you must be Santana and … Gabriel?" She extended her hand.

Santana and Gabriel shook it in turn. "Gabe, please," he said.

She nodded and smiled. "Come on, I'll take you to your room," she said leading the way as a nurse wheeled Santana down the hallway. "Mr. Motta said we were to accommodate you in any way possible. He made sure we understood your needs as far as your room was concerned and I think we've got everything but, if not, please let me know and I'll take care of it."

They came to a large room that was obviously meant to house two people but there was only one bed. A desk with a chair was against the wall and a rectangular table with four comfortable desk chairs around it was under the large windows. There was a couch and several comfortable looking chaises. A door led to a full bathroom and the closet was spacious. In one corner sat a small refrigerator with a bowl of fruit and, again, a cooler with ice.

"This looks better than great," Santana smiled at the woman.

"Excellent. Meal service is provided in the dining hall and, of course, your guests are welcome. I was told there were three other girls?"

Santana nodded. "Brittany, Quinn, and Mercedes will be here once they get out of school. Um," Santana hesitated for a moment, "Brittany is going to want to accompany me to my physical therapy appointments. Will that be okay?"

"Perfectly fine. We'll get a schedule set up. Is there anything else you need right now?"

Santana hesitated. "Um …" she sighed, "I think Britt and I both need to talk to someone."

Jenah tilted her head. "Someone?"

"Like a counselor." Santana shifted uncomfortably; this wasn't something she was really down with. She hated talking about her feelings and stuff but … she'd been having anxiety or panic attacks or whatever and both she and Brittany had been having nightmares. She'd also been having flashbacks.

Jenah nodded her understanding. "Of course," her voice was kind, "I can get that set up for you. Do you want to do them together or separately."

"I think, the first one together. Maybe give the counselor a feeling for what happened and sort of see us together? I think?" Santana was uncertain.

"That sounds like a good idea. Next week? Or do you think you need it sooner?"

"No, next week is perfect. Oh, and, can you please get a female counselor? I'm not sure I cold handle talking to a dude about all of this."

"Of course. I'll take care of that for you. Can I help you with anything else?"

"Actually," Santana bit her lower lip and frowned in thought, "is there, like, a conference room or something that we can rent or borrow or something?"

"We have the activities room. What do you need?"

"My girlfriend's eighteenth birthday is the twenty-third and I was hoping to have a small party for her. Gabe and I were talking about it earlier but I wasn't sure we could do something like that here."

"Absolutely. I'll reserve the room for you and make sure food, beverages, and cake are provided. All you need to do is decorate and get the guests here. What time?"

"I'm thinking around 4? I want to surprise her but it's Saturday and she'll be here all day with me and I don't think I can pretend to have forgotten it all day. Um, where, exactly, is here? I mean, Pam kinda came in and scooped us up and we drove here … not sure I know how to tell people to get here."

Jenah chuckled and handed Santana a business card with the name, address, and phone number of the facility on it.

Santana grinned at the woman. "Thank you."

"Of course, if there's anything else, my number is on that card."

Santana nodded her thanks again and Jenah left. While they'd been talking, all of the things from the hospital were brought in and organized. Santana immediately grabbed up her backpack and checked the side pocket, relieved to find the ring box still there.

"What's got you all worked up?"

Santana pulled out the box and handed it to Gabe. "Brittany's birthday present. And, no, it's not an engagement ring," she rolled her eyes.

Gabe laughed and opened the box. "Santana this is beautiful."

"I saw it just after Christmas and had planned to get it for her for her birthday but then the attack happened so I asked Quinn and Mercedes to pick it up for me. You think she'll like it?"

"I think she'll love it."

"It's a promise ring," she said softly, "a promise to love her to infinity."

"It's beautiful, San, she's going to love it. Especially coming from you."

"Hey. I just remembered, before we got swept away here you were going to say something when I started to ask about a party for Brittany."

Gabe rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah." Gabe seemed hesitant to say what was on his mind.

"Gabe? Just say it." Santana prodded nervously.

"Mami was waiting for me yesterday when I left the hospital. She wanted to talk. We went to dinner and we talked for hours. She left Jorge. She wants her children back and asked if I'd talk to you."

Santana swallowed thickly. She wanted her mother back, she did. But … what if this was a trick? What if … she just wanted to finish what Jorge tried to do and get her away from Brittany?

"Hey, I know what you're thinking but … I listened to her and … I think you should hear her out. I had no idea about her life and everything. Some stuff, I don't know if she'll tell you because, honestly, I don't know think she'll want to hurt you like that. Jorge was a bigger bastard than either of us ever knew." Gabe looked Santana directly in the eyes. "I think you should give her a chance but it's your choice. I won't force it on you."

"You accepted what she said? You think she's really left him and wants to really be our mother again? You believe her?" Her voice was small, like that of a child. She hated it but she felt it.

"Yeah," he said softly, "I do believe her. I also feel a little sorry for her and I'm a lot impressed by her. Give her a chance, I think you'll be surprised."

Santana nodded. "Okay. Tell her she can visit me here tomorrow during the day. I don't want her here while Brittany is here, just in case. If … if she's honestly trying then, maybe, I'll invite her to Brittany's party. No promises, though."

"Fair enough."

"Okay. All that's settled, I'm going to text Britt and let her know the change of address so she doesn't freak out when she gets to the hospital."

She grabbed her phone and typed in a quick message.

From: Santana

To: Britt-Britt

Hey, baby, just wanted to let you that I got relocated – by Sugar's dad and the hospital to keep me safe – so I'm not at the hospital. Pam will fill you in when you get there this afternoon then you can come right here. Can you just give Quinn and Mercedes a heads up? Love you

Twenty minutes later Santana's phone lit up.

From: Britt-Britt

To: Santana

You're safe, though, right? This wasn't something Dr. Lopez pulled? It was really Pam and Mr. Motta?

From: Santana

To: Britt-Britt

Yes. I am safe and sound and I can't wait to see you later.

From: Britt-Britt

To: Santana

Whew. Okay good. I love you and I'll see you later, baby. ;)

Santana smiled and then looked at her mountain of work. Gabe laughed as she sighed and started in on it.