Last chapter of this story everybody. It's been great. I thank everyone that has read this. It's been a journey. I've written this story for myself more than anything else. As this comes to an end I already have another story in the works. I uploaded the first chapter last week. Check it out it's called Undercover. Thanks and Enjoy.

Chapter 19

Brittany's POV

Spring

Today is my first official day back to work for the year. March seventeenth. It's not the earliest we've started in the spring but it's certainly not the latest. Last year we didn't start working until the first week in April. But that's the deal. My work is dictated by the weather. If it's warm winter and the snow melts early then it's back to work earlier. And if it's a harsh winter or the snow doesn't melt quickly it's April before we get going again.

I say official because I worked a few hours last week. We put the cover on the greenhouse so that Jerry could start the heater and warm it up inside. There was still some snow on the ground then and we had to shovel snow away from the sides of the greenhouse so we could secure the cover. But now, almost a week later, most of the snow is melted.

I've been doing my firefighter duties and going to almost every single page. Thankfully, it's been slow lately, only a couple of calls a week. In the winter when it snows there are always more emergency calls, car accidents mostly, so it's nice that the snow is gone and there are less calls.

Other than that a lot of my winter has been spent talking on the phone with Santana and spending extra weekends with her. Seeing as I didn't have to work I would travel to Northwestern every other weekend to visit her. We've spent more time together in the last two months than I thought was possible when this long distance thing started.

With me working full time again I wont be able to make my bi-weekly visits. That bums me out but it's only about two months before Santana is done with college. I don't know what her plans are for after college but I hope I will get to see her more frequently during the summer months. Maybe she will work at the restaurant again this coming summer.

"Hey San." I says eagerly as soon as I hear her pick up the phone. I don't even let her say anything before I start speaking. Sometimes I'm just so happy to talk to her. "How was your day? How was class?"

"Boring. Dull." Santana says in a monotone voice.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"No, Britt. It was. It was boring and dull. I can't wait until I am done with this stuff. I like school alright but it's the only thing I've been doing. I can't wait to get done with school and do something else." She complains.

"You've only got a couple more months. You can totally do it. I believe in you. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. Santana, you are smart and all sorts of talented. You'll finish college and do something that's worthy of your brains and talent."

Santana giggles at my little pep talk.

"I'm serious, babe."

She takes in a big breath. "I know you are, Britt-Britt. And thank you for believing in me so much."

"Your welcome but that's part of my job title. Super sexy girlfriend, awesome listener, caring and encouraging. But, also, I am to believe in you and everything you do. And I do with all of my heart, mind, and body." I say jokingly at first but with more seriousness towards the end.

"God, Britt, I wish you were here right now." Santana practically moans.

"Me too babe. Me too." I agree. "Next weekend though. I'll be there. You can quit concentrating on school for a day or two and we can concentrate on us. Maybe a little stress relief. I don't know. Whatever you want."

"That sounds amazing right now. I've had such a long week. I just want to go to sleep and not wake up for a whole twenty-four hours. Does that sound silly?"

"Not at all." I giggle.

Santana sighs over the phone. "I can't wait til the semester is over."

"Have you thought of what you are gonna do when you are done with school?" As much as it's Santana's decision, I want to know what she is thinking. It's not just her in this relationship and hopefully she takes that into consideration when she thinks about her future.

"I have."

"And?" I prompt eagerly.

She laughs. "I haven't made a decision yet. Well, not one hundred percent. I do have a few things in mind. I have to decide what I really want to do and then make my choice."

"And do I play into this decision?" There's a little flutter in my stomach. Nerves.

"Of course, Britt. You are a part of my life, a huge part of my life, and you are a part of any and every decision I make or will make. Don't think that I haven't taken you into consideration. I'll make my decision and then tell you what it is before I let anyone else know. We will go from there but, Brittany, I want you in my life. Know that." Santana says with such sincerity.

"Okay." I bit my lip. I don't know if that's what I wanted to hear. Yes, it's great to know that Santana is thinking about me when she thinks about her future but that doesn't necessarily mean that I am a part of that future.

"Don't be sad, Britt-Britt. Please. Trust me. Alright?"

"Alright. And I'm not sad just-" I don't know how to describe how I feel. "-I don't know." I sigh.

"Alright." She sighs sadly. "I have some homework that I need to finish before class tomorrow. I should go do that."

"Right. I'll let you go. I love you, San."

"Love you too, Britt."

"Bye. Love you."

Santana giggles. "You already said that."

"I wanted to say it again. I love you. I love you. I love you. I can say it as many times as I want." I say with a giggle.

"You sure can. And I love hearing it. And I love you. So very much. Bye Bye, Britt-Britt."

"Bye." I pull the phone away from my ear and hit the end call button. I look around the room before turning on the tv.

X

It's Easter Sunday. Not that that means a lot for me. I'm spending the day with my mom and dad. We aren't a particularly religious family so there's not going to be church or anything like that. It's more of just a family gathering. An excuse to get together and eat. Which I'll never turn down an opportunity to eat.

"Hey." I yell as I open the door to my parents house. "Mom, dad, it's me." I slip my shoes off and tiptoe into the kitchen. I don't see anyone in sight. "Mom." I yell again and then listen for her.

I hear some muffled noises that sound like they are coming from the basement. I go over to the basement door and put my hand on the knob to pull it open. I jump back when, before I can pull, the door pushes open.

"Hello, Brittany." It's my mom. She has an armful of potatoes.

"You scared the crap out of me. What were you doing in the basement?" She jiggles her right arm, the one with the potatoes cradled in it. "Right." My mom walks over to the kitchen counter and puts the potatoes on the surface.

"So, what new with you, Britt?" She asks and starts rinsing the potatoes in the sink.

"Where's dad?" I ask, ignore her question.

"He went to the convenience store. I forgot to get whipped topping for the pie. And quit trying to change the subject. Now what's going on with you. Spill." She points at me with a knife. Not in any sort of threatening way but just at me with a flick of her wrist.

I go over to where she is cutting the potatoes and start peeling them with her. "I've just been working. We haven't even been going for a month yet but we are busy as ever. The spring is always the busiest time of the year but this year seems busier than the last few. I'm not complaining. The busier we are the more money the company makes. And that's not a bad thing."

"The more money you make too." My mom adds.

"Yeah. Eric and I just finished with all the spring clean up jobs and yard work. Now we are digging trees and shrubs and plants and putting them in pots for sale. It's not my favorite thing to do at work but if we don't have any available plants we don't have any business."

"You work very hard. I know you love your job and all, but you can't do that for your whole life. Your body won't hold up."

"I love my job." I try and defend. I know what she is saying though. I understand that my job can be hard on my body. I'm young and in great physical shape now, but it won't always be that way. I'll get older and my body will too. But, I try not to think about that right now. I'm living in the here and now. I'm not going to worry about the future. If I need to make a job change at some point I will cross that bridge when I when I get to it.

"I know you do, Britt. So, what about that girlfriend of yours?" My mom does right from one thing to the next. That's how she is though. When she's finished hearing or talking about something she goes onto the next thing. It's like she has a list of things in her brain and checks them off one by one after she's finished talking about them.

"Santana. She's good. Well, she stressed with school right now but other than that she's good. She graduates in little over a month so hopefully she won't be so stressed then."

"What's she doing after graduation? Getting a job, I presume." My mom glances in my direction.

"Yeah, mom." I roll my eyes.

"That's good." That's another thing about my mom, she's very blunt and straightforward.

"Actually, Santana just told me the other day- it's sort of a secret- that she found a job for after school." I spill the beans to her. Santana told me that I couldn't tell anyone yet.

"Who's it a secret from- if you know and now I know." My mom turns to me and asks. She quirks an eyebrow and waits for an answer.

"Her family. She doesn't want to tell them yet." I explain.

"Oh."

Santana didn't tell me all the details yet but I am super excited about her new job. I'm so happy for her. Often times it's hard to get a job right when you get out of school.

I was really lucky finding my landscaping job. There was a bullet board at my school and there was a posting for a landscaping job. It was the only one on the board. It was the end of my first year and it was about to be summer. I needed a job because I wanted to move out of my parents house. I took the posting and called the number. Two days later Mary called me and told me I had the job for the summer. The day after that I started working. It was all very fast. I couldn't believe it at the time. But that was a few years ago. What was basically a summer internship turned into a fulltime job for me after another year of school and graduating.

"Well, then. What about you and her?"

"What about us?" It's my turn to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Is this a serious relationship? Do you- um -see a future with this girl?"

Do I? Honestly, the answer to that question is- yes.

"Santana and I haven't even been together for a year. That's not enough time to really really get to know someone. But at the same time I feel like I know her so well. I do see a future with her. We haven't talked about it too much. I think now that she's gonna be done with school we can start talking about the future more. I know that I want to be with her forever. How that comes about though, I don't know?"

"You really love her."

It's not a question.

"Yeah. I love her so much." I say with a sigh.

"Good. Then I expect grandbabies one day." My mom says like it's not a big deal.

"Mom." I shriek.

"What?" She looks at me like I said something completely ridiculous when really it was her who said something ridiculous.

I just shake my head. What more can I do? "Nevermind."

XX

We came in two separate cars. Santana, her brother, and I went in her car. Santana's parents and grandma went in their car. The place where the graduation ceremony is taking place is about fifteen minutes away from Santana's dorm. It's like this great big outdoor amphitheater.

It's all very busy and crowded. Lots of people aren't really my thing but I wouldn't miss this for the world. My girlfriend is graduating from college today. I'm so proud of her I can't describe it.

We are sitting in our seats. Robbie, then me, then Santana's abuela, then her mom and dad. All in a row.

Robbie groans next to me so I turn to see what the problem is. "Can we get this snooze fest on the road?"

I try not to laugh too much. It's funny cuz it's true. Graduations are exactly the most exciting thing on the planet. There's lots of long speeches and after that the long line of students get their diplomas. At least it's a nice day and it's not too hot or humid. It's not summer yet, but mid to late May can get very warm.

"Have a little respect Roberto." Santana's abuela scolds across my body. "Brittany, dear, don't listen to that silly boy. A graduation is a fine event."

"It is." I say mostly because I don't know what else to say. Robbie scoffs from my left. It's a little intimidating sitting between the two of them. I only met Santana's abuela this morning before we came over to the graduation.

The first thing the older woman did was look at me from head to toe a few times. I couldn't help but think she was judging me or sizing me up. The next thing she did was whisper something in Santana's ear that made her smiles her brightest smile.

I couldn't help but bite my lip in wonder as to what her grandma said to her. The oldest Lopez woman turned back to me. She grabbed a hold of my face with both of her hands. She looked straight into my eyes and stared at me for a few uncomfortable seconds. When the old woman spoke it wasn't what I thought she was gonna say. "It's very nice to meet you, Brittany." That was it. As simple as that. She patted me on the cheek with her right hand and then let go and stepped away from me.

I'm unsure as to the older woman's feelings for me but I feel like they can't be bad. She is sitting next to me. The woman is sort of a mystery to me though.

Throughout the ceremony Robbie makes all sorts of snaky, smartass comments. I giggle along with a lot of his remarks. It gives me something to do. I don't know any of the students who are crossing the stage getting their diplomas. They're on the M's in the alphabet. We are almost there. I gotta pay attention now.

I elbow Robbie in the ribs. "Stop it." I whisper to him. When I glance at him, he has his eyes scrunched together with a perplexed look on his face. "We gotta pay attention now." I nod towards the stage. He roll his eyes and shakes his head.

I'm about to say something else when something jabs me in the leg. It's my right leg so I turn in the opposite direction to see what it is. Santana's abuela has a stern, unapproving look on her face. She brings her index finger to her lips. "Shhhhhh." She then uses the same finger to point to the stage.

I turn to the stage. They are on the L's now.

I sit a little straighter in my seat and pay attention to the names as the students walk across the stage. I get a little shake in my leg the closer we get to Santana's name. Nervous, anxious, excitement, whatever you want to call it, it makes my leg bounce up and down, up and down.

When there's only one person before Santana I turn to Robbie with an unsure smile. He nods and smiles back.

"Santana Lopez." The announcer calls her name and Santana steps out from behind the curtain and starts walking across the stage to receive her diploma and shake hands with the schools big-wigs.

I jump to my feet the second after her name is announced. Robbie jumps up next to me. We both start yelling, and whooping, and hollering. Pretty much making any and as much noise as possible.

"Go Santana." I yell as she gets her diploma. She has a big happy smile on her face. I'm far away from the stage but I can tell she's smiling. Robbie and I continue to make noise as she walks across the rest of the stage. I chance a look to my right at the rest of her family. Her abuela is smiling and clapping. The same with her mom. Her dad sticks his fingers in between his lips and lets out a loud whistle, then continues clapping.

They announce the next graduate and we all cease our celebrating and sit down. I'm about to sit back and relax in my seat for the rest of the ceremony when I feel something on my right hand. I look down and Santana's abuela is wrapping her hand around my fingers. I'm surprised but try to keep the shock off of my face when I look over at the old woman. In her other hand she has a handkerchief and is dabbing at her wet eyes. I reach over with my left hand and cover our joined hands. I give her hand a squeeze in between mine. She looks up at me after see finishes wiping her eyes.

"Sorry." She whispers with an apologetic look.

"It's okay." I smile warmly.

I end up holding her hand for the rest of the ceremony.

Santana told us to stay in our seats, that she would come and find us when the ceremony was over. That's what we are doing now. I'm people watching. Robbie is slumped in his chair and has his eyes closed. Santana's parents and abuela are having some conversation about something or another.

A few minutes pass before I spot Santana. I wave to her with my left hand. She sees us and hurries over to where we all sit. I sit up a little straighter in my chair and wait for her. Santana stands at the end of the row. Her eyes scan the group of us momentarily before they connect with mine. I smile at her but her brow furrows. I mimic her and scrunch my eyebrows together. "What?" I mouth. She points.

Oh. Right. I'm still holding her abuela's hand. I smile brightly at Santana and shrug. Santana slowly smiles and looks between me and her abuela. Her dad stands up to give her a big hug and blocks my view of her.

Santana makes her way down the row hugging each member of her family before getting to me. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her in for a big tight hug. "I'm so proud of you." I whisper in her ear as she wraps her arms around my waist.

"Why were you holding my abuela's hand?" She whispers back.

I laugh a little. "Is that not allowed?"

"No." She shrugs against me. "I guess it's allowed." Santana pulls back from the hug and looks into my eyes. "I didn't expect it, I guess."

"Neither did I. We were just so proud of you and we had a moment, I guess. It was nice. I feel like we bonded." I tell her truthfully in a low voice so no one else can hear.

"Okay." She leans in for a kiss.

"Hey." Robbie shouts from behind me. "Quit hogging my sister, Brittany. It's my turn."

Santana rolls her eyes. "We'll talk more later." She says and lets me go completely to slip passed me and get to her brother.

After the graduation ceremony we load into the cars again. Santana drives us, following her parents, to some restaurant that I've never heard of. She promised that I would like it though.

Now, as I'm looking over the menu, I know that I will like whatever it is that I order. It's an Italian restaurant and Italian is one of my favorite types of food.

We all order, the food comes, and the conversation runs smoothly. I'm having a great time with Santana's family. The food is great. Everything is great.

Santana taps me on the thigh. I turn my head to look at her. She's biting her lip in apprehension. I nod and lean towards her. I place a kiss on her cheek and whisper in her ear. "Tell them. They've been waiting to know."

I lean back and Santana nods. She stands up from her seat and everyone at tables eyes go to her. She's been planning to tell her family her future plans at this graduation dinner for weeks now. I luckily already know what her future plans are. I smile proudly and listen to Santana's words.

"I have an announcement to make." Santana makes eye contact with each person at the table except for me. I already know what's happening. "I have made a some decisions about my after college plans. I have a job lined up that starts the second Monday of June. I will be in charge of running the business aspects of a small company."

"What kind of company? Where?" Robbie interrupts Santana's speech.

She narrows her eyes at him. "I was getting to that if you would just be patient. It's a equipment company slash hardware store. It's in Green Bay, which you all know is about a thirty minute drive from the house in Wisconsin. I plan on living at the house this summer, if that's okay with you guys."

Santana's mom and dad both nod their heads up and down.

"I will eventually find my own place to live but I want to get settled into my job first and save some money up. This means that I will be moving most of my clothes and anything else that I want from my room in Ohio. I'm really excited about this opportunity."

"Congratulations dear." Her mom says.

"She just wants to be by her girlfriend." Robbie comments with a smirk on his face. "And I don't blame her."

"Roberto." Antonio scolds. "We are very happy for you, Santana. We can pack some of yours things up from Ohio and bring them with when we make our first trip at Memorial Day."

"Thanks dad. That would be perfect." Santana smiles and sits down. I take her hand in mine underneath the table and she turns to me with a big happy smile.

XXX

I'm waiting in my truck and listening to my Meatload cd. I thought it was appropriate. I check the clock and the road every few seconds.

I'm waiting for Santana to arrive. I told her I would meet her at the house so that I could see her as soon as she got here.

She called me about a half an hour ago and said she was about a half an hour away. I immediately got in my truck and drove over to the Lopez house on the bay. She should be here anytime now. I have to try and stay patient while I wait. I thought about getting out of the truck and looking around the yard for something to do. Do some landscaping or weed pulling or something but then remembered that I was just here last week.

I'm so excited for Santana to arrive. It's only been about a week since her graduation and the last time that I saw her but it's seems like so much longer than that.

I came home and went back to work after her graduation but she was much busier than I was. After Santana graduated she packed up everything in her dorm room- which really isn't that much- and said goodbye to college. Then she drove to her families house in Ohio and packed up everything that she wanted from there. That's part of the reason that I am meeting her here today. She has her car full of boxes and clothing and whatever else. I told her that I would help her unload the car and bring the stuff in the house. It's not gonna be everything -it wouldn't all fit in her car- so her parents are bring the rest when they come in two days for Memorial Day Weekend.

And hopefully after that is done we can spend the rest of the night together. I get to greet Santana and help her out and we get to spend her first night back together. Sounds pretty good to me.

A car horn honks and pulls me back into the present. I look down at the clock. How long was I spaced out for? I look around quickly before jumping out of the truck.

Santana is pulling into the driveway. I can see her smiling and waving. I wave back and run over closer to her vehicle.

I wait a few feet away as Santana parks her car but as soon as the door starts opening I run over. I reach into the car and pull Santana out of the car and into my body.

"Geez, let me at least get out of the car." Santana giggles into my chest. I have my arms wrapped tightly around her. Her arms are around my neck holding onto me.

"I'm just so excited." I yell and spin around in a circle.

"Britt!" Santana squeals. "Put me down."

I spin around a few more times before setting Santana's feet back on the pavement. I hold her at arms length and look her up and down. She wearing relaxed clothes for driving but she looks absolutely beautiful.

"Britt, we saw each other like a week ago. What are you doing?" Santana asks. I raise my eyes up her body until I meet her own eyes. I smile and she smiles in turn.

"I know. I was just-" I can't help but look her over again. "-remembering." I pull her to me, gentler this time. I lift my hand to the back of her neck and slide my fingers into her hair. I pull her forward at the same time that she leans forward. Our lips meet for a sweet kiss.

Santana sighs into the kiss and leans all of her bodyweight against me. I have to take a small step backwards to keep my balance but I manage to hold both of us up. As she slumps into me our kiss breaks.

"San." I whine. I really wanted to get my sweet lady kisses on. She giggles and looks up at me through her eyelashes. She purses her lips and scrunches up her face so she looks really goofy. Also really adorable with her scrunchy face. I lean down and peck her lips, before kissing her nose quickly, then her forehead. She giggles and open her eyes and loosens her silly face.

"You're weird." I boop her on the nose.

"No. You're weird." She says back. She lets go of me and takes a step back. "Let's unload my car."

I just stare at her. She goes to the trunk of her car and looks over at me. Santana puts her hands on her hips and quirks an eyebrow. I don't know what's wrong with me. She's got me in a spell. She's just so damn perfect that I don't know what to do.

"Are you gonna help me or do I have to do all this myself." Santana motions to the car full of her belongings with one hand.

I flinch at her voice. "I'm coming." I say and start moving towards her. "I can get all the heavy stuff. You take the lighter things."

She smiles. "I was hoping you would say that." Santana leans over and kisses me on the cheek. "I love you and all your strong muscles."

I smirk a little. "Damn straight. Love you too."

Santana opens the trunk and points at a box. I pick it up and am surprised at how heavy it is. "What's in here, bricks?" I strain a little to stand up straight with all the weight.

She giggles. "Books." She walks next to me as we go to the front door. "That's the heaviest one. I had my dad and brother put it in the car for me. They get lighter after that."

"Good." If all the box were this heavy I would be dead by the time we were done getting everything into the house.

It doesn't take too long. Probably only ten or fifteen minutes to get everything from Santana's car into the house.

I look around the living room at all of Santana's belongings. It's not a ton of stuff but somehow still a lot.

She comes up next to me. "I don't want to have to deal with this stuff tonight." She complains quietly. I don't really want to have to deal with it either. I would rather spend my night with her then with her stuff.

"Let's go to bed." I say.

"I can't think of anything more perfect right now." Santana smiles her biggest brightest smile at me. I wrap my arm around her and start leading us up the stairs.