A/N – This chapter is dedicated to my muse, EllowynTinuviel – seriously could not have got this done without her!

Thanks to everyone for all the reviews, they're the best part of my day : )

When morning eventually rolled around it was the sound of Rachel's phone that shook the two girls from their sleep. As the loud beeping echoed around the room the smaller girl let out a frustrated groan, she hated not getting her full eight hours and after an emotional draining night she felt even more exhausted than normal. With a quick yawn Rachel sat up in bed and scanned the room for her phone, spotting it on the bedside table next to her she hopped up and scrambled back onto her own bed.

She could feel Santana's eyes watching her as she scanned through the text message from her Dad and as she tossed her phone back on the side she could feel the mounting tension in the room. In the stark light of day she knew that her friend would more than likely be panicking and thinking of ways to rebuild her tough exterior so Rachel decided to act fast and not let the progress of the previous night get lost under the Latina's defences. Santana needed a friend and Rachel was determined to be it.

"So…I'm thinking it's time for one almighty breakfast." Rachel beamed as she casually hopped up from her bed and made an attempt to tame her manic morning hair. Turning to face Santana she held her breath to see just what the other girl was going to do.

Santana knew it was pretty much fight or flight time and with a deep breath she bit her lip as she made her decision, "I can have bacon right?"

Rachel giggled in relief as she nodded, "You can have all the bacon you can eat, just keep it away from me."

"Deal."

After that the tension seemed to more or less vanish and the two girls, fuelled by their hunger, quickly got ready and exited the room. By the time they had made it to the nearest diner Santana was trying to persuade Rachel to let her pay.

"All I'm saying is you paid for the room last night so I should at least get breakfast."

Rachel giggled as she gave her friend a mischievous grin but before she could make any of the jokes floating around in her head Santana beat her to it, "And yes I know exactly how that sounded."

"Good to know." The smaller girl nodded as she opened the door for Santana and ushered her through, "But I still insist on paying."

Santana scoffed as she dug into her pocket to grab her credit card, waving it around she stated, "One Dad issued credit card complete with guilt money. It might not be a lot but I'm pretty sure I can stretch to breakfast. Besides, I kind of owe you after I lumbered you with all my shit last night."

Rachel shook her head as she slid into her seat in the booth, she waited until Santana had taken her place opposite before she argued, "You didn't lumber me with anything and you definitely don't owe me anything. I may not exactly be an expert on friendship but I'm relatively sure that listening and being supportive is a major role of being a friend."

Santana shrugged as she glanced down at the menu, she still felt awkward knowing that Rachel knew all of her secrets. She wasn't big on trust but last night she had thrown all of her trust into a girl she had pretty much tormented for most of high school and she couldn't help the thought that Rachel Berry now had a huge chunk of power over her. Santana was having a pretty hard time believing that Rachel wanted to be her friend and a voice in her head kept screaming at her to run away, to deny anything had ever happened.

Rachel frowned as she watched the emotions playing across the Latina's face. The other girl was normally intensely guarded but Rachel didn't need to have a lot of experience to know what she was thinking. Reaching across the table she gently tugged on one of the tanned hands that was now clutching tightly at the menu, "I know this is difficult Santana but I meant what I said last night. I want us to be friends, I'm not trying to trick you or…use you."

"You promise?" Santana asked wearily, she was more familiar with people using her for their own devices than offering friendship.

"I promise." Rachel replied solidly, "So, let's have breakfast and I can list the many reasons why bacon is yucky."

True to their word, Santana ordered the most bacon-filled sandwich she could convince the poor waitress to get and once the food had arrived Rachel proceeded to list the many reasons why she would never eat it. At one point she even drew a cartoon pig on a nearby napkin which only received a smirk from the Latina as she drank the last of her coffee and doodled her own rasher of bacon next to said pig, much to Rachel chagrin.

When all the remnants of breakfast had been cleared away and Santana had paid the bill, the two girls gathered their things together and headed back outside. The day was pleasantly warm and Santana allowed herself to smile as she felt the sun beating down on her while they wandered around town with no particular destination in mind. They were simply happy to chat mindlessly as they walked off their breakfast.

"Isn't your house around here?" Rachel asked suddenly as she came to an abrupt halt.

Santana frowned as she looked around, she had been so lost in her conversation that she hadn't noticed they had strayed into her neighbourhood, "Yeah…it's right up there."

Rachel nodded as she looked up the road Santana was gesturing to but she didn't say anything.

"Do…do you wanna see it?" Santana asked hesitantly. She was normally pretty uncomfortable in her own house so she had no idea why she was offering to show it to Rachel, Santana normally avoided being home as much as possible but part of her wanted to let her new found friend see the place she was supposed to call home and she knew that at this time of the day it would definitely be empty.

"Okay." The diva replied simply, a small smile tugging at her lips. She knew Santana was trying to let her guard down and she felt proud to be the one she was opening up to.

It only took a few minutes to get to Santana's house and looking up at it Rachel thought it looked a lot like any other family home. It was an attractive two-story house with a big front yard and a bright blue door and from the outside no-one would ever think it was anything but normal, children were playing in the street and in the house opposite a couple were busy gardening. Rachel didn't murmur any of the usual pleasantries one would generally give when visiting a friend's house, she figured Santana wouldn't want to hear it so instead she followed the Latina as she fished her keys from her pocket and unlocked the front door.

"Home sweet home." Santana muttered as she let the door swing shut behind them, the click of the latch echoing around the silent house.

Rachel didn't know what to say so she settled for giving her friend a smile as she glanced around.

"I doubt anyone's home." Santana continued, throwing her jacket over the banister of the staircase, "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

As Rachel followed Santana from room to room she had to admit it was a beautiful home but that something just felt…off about the whole place. Maybe it was the lack of photographs or the fact the sofa looked as though it had barely been used, maybe it was the unsettlingly sanitised show home look to each room or that it was completely quiet. Santana's voice was the only sound echoing around the lifeless home as she unenthusiastically led them around. As they headed up the stairs Rachel desperately hoped for the sound of a clock or for one of the children that had been outside to start laughing or shouting but it was as though the house was stuck in its own black hole.

Santana paused as she looked at the door in front of her, she made a habit of staying away from this particular bedroom but as her hand rested on the door she gently pushed it open and stepped inside, "And this…was Yara's room."

Rachel felt her eyes widen as she gazed around the room. In the middle was a large double bed with an array of stuffed animals and pillows neatly organised, a wardrobe and chest of draws sat facing it and the walls were plastered with photos and posters. It looked like the average teenage room, from the assortment of cosmetics lying on the bedside table down to the pile of books on the floor by the bed. Of course that wasn't the part that was making the singer so shocked and uncomfortable; the room looked as though it was frozen in time.

Rachel found herself speechless as she watched Santana picked up a framed photo from the chest of draws, with a sad smile she offered it to the singer.

Looking down the diva was met with the smiling face of a girl not dissimilar to Santana; she was younger of course and seemed to be wearing a letterman's jacket of some kind. Rachel felt her chest tighten at the thought of someone so young being killed in such a reckless and tragic way and looking up she whispered, "She's pretty."

"Yeah, she was." Santana mumbled, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of grief, resentment and guilt. Taking the picture back she returned it to its previous position, "It's one of the last photos my Mom took of her."

With a final shrug Santana turned and mumbled, "Come on, I'll show you my room."

Rachel was more than glad to get out of the bedroom; everywhere she looked Yara's smiling face was reflected back at her – a stark juxtaposition to the girl stood next to her. Not sparing another glance the singer followed Santana out of the room and into the one next to it.

"Your parents let you paint your walls black?" Rachel asked in surprise, not stopping to think her words through. The only thing she could think was that her own fathers would never agree to something so dark and depressing.

Santana shrugged, her own eyes roaming her room, "They didn't really care."

Rachel nodded, trying to avoid the awkward tension that arose from her question. As she took in the rest of her friend's room she had to admit that once you got past the initial gloominess of the paint it was the warmest and most welcoming place in the house.

"You have quite the decorative flair." Rachel said confidently as she admired the picture hanging on the wall above Santana's bed.

"Thanks, I guess." Santana replied, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as she watched the singer wander around her room. It seemed more than a little surreal for the other girl to have made it into her inner sanctum but she was surprisingly glad to hear the compliment.

Santana never really knew why she went to such effort to make her room look like her own, after all she was barely there, but she figured it made it a little easier on the nights she did end up staying at her own house. She was always hyper-aware of the room next door to hers, with its bright walls and happy pictures, that she needed her own room to be a reflection of her personality even if she was hiding her true self away. Her parents never strayed into her bedroom so it had become the one place in the house she could be herself even if she couldn't seem to shake the lingering sadness of the house.

"You own Rent?" Rachel asked suddenly, drawing Santana's attention away from her thoughts and back towards the smaller girl who had now moved on the gaze at her extensive movie collection.

Santana had to laugh at the surprise in the other girls voice, "I'm in glee club aren't I? There are some musicals that I like."

"I had you down as more of a horror kind of a girl." Rachel said with a grin as she gestured to the wall of horror DVD's, "So, what other musicals do you like?"

The taller girl rolled her eyes as she wandered over to stand by her friend, she had a feeling Rachel was about to propose some kind of epic movie night and she was actually more than okay about it. Pointing from case to case she began, "You make fun of me about this and I will kick your ass; Chicago, Grease, Hairspray and obviously The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Rachel's eyes widen as she clapped her hands together happily, "Can we watch one now? Please?"

Santana had to laugh as she nodded and received an excited squeal in return, "I get to pick though."

It turned out that picking a DVD wasn't tough at all, especially when one became two and then three and soon enough the whole afternoon had swept past in a blur of songs and laughter. Santana couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun. At first it had been a little awkward, they had sat side-by-side on Santana's bed among an array of snacks and drinks the Latina had fetched from the kitchen and both girls were very aware of how bizarre the situation was. The day before they were barely on acquaintance terms and now they were spending the day together but by the time the last notes of All That Jazz had played out the two were happily sharing a bag of chips and arguing playfully over which pizza place to order from.

It was only when Santana was in the process of changing DVD's and the sound of the front door slamming shut rang through the house that their bubble was broken. The Latina felt her shoulders sag as she instinctively listened out to the sound of footsteps and the first clinking together of bottles as the alcohol cupboard was opened. The noise cut through her like a knife and any happy thoughts she had been having evaporated, turning to Rachel she saw her friend watching her intently and in a quiet voice she explained, "My Mom's home."

Rachel nodded, part of her was waiting for the sound of footsteps clambering up the stairs and a happy burst of energy as Santana's Mom came sweeping into the room to see her daughter but she knew that she would be waiting for that scenario for a long time, and that Santana had probably been waiting most of her life for it, "What does she do?"

"She works for a law firm doing some administrative thing, I'm pretty sure she hates it but she just wants to be out of the house, both my parents do." Santana replied dully as she switched off the television and shuffled back over to the bed where she sank down on the edge with her back to Rachel, "My Dad's a doctor, he works every day he can. Neither of them are around much, I doubt my Dad would even recognise me if he saw me."

Rachel sighed as she reached out to place a comforting hand on Santana's shoulder.

"I wish I was exaggerating but it's true." The Latina continued, her throat tight as she choked on the words, "After Yara was gone it was like neither of them could bear to be in this house, they avoid each other as much as they avoid me. We haven't spent any time together since she died, I stay with my grandparents in Puerto Rico every holiday because I can't fucking stand to be here. We haven't celebrated Christmas in years, it all just stopped; Christmas, Easter, birthdays…"

"Have you tried talking to them about it?" Rachel asked tentatively.

"It's no use; they don't want to hear it." Santana mumbled as she wiped away a few stray tears as the sound of a glass smashing cut through the room followed by a loud barrage of angry Spanish, "I don't want to be here, we have to go."

Rachel nodded quickly, her own eyes stinging with tears as she watched Santana's defeated form rise from the bed and grab a jacket. As she followed Santana out of the room and down the stairs the singer couldn't help the curiosity that was rising up at the thought of actually seeing Mrs Lopez. She figured Santana was pretty set on getting out of house without dealing with her mother but as they made it to the hallway Rachel cast a quick look towards the kitchen where she could hear the older woman moving around.

Santana noticed the other girl's attention wavering and she realised what her friend was thinking. A wave of anger rose up within her as a voice in her head mocked her, what if Rachel thought she was just being dramatic about her family or what if worse, she was starting to think of her as some kind of charity project? Before Santana could say anything to sabotage her new fledgling friendship the kitchen door swung open and Mrs Lopez appeared. Santana blinked in surprise before turning to Rachel to gage her reaction.

The first thing that hit Rachel was the family resemblance; Santana had clearly inherited her good looks from her Mother. Both Lopez women had the same dark, flowing hair and smouldering eyes and Rachel was a little jealous of the genes that could make one family so beautiful. But as Mrs Lopez came a little closer it was easy to see the tiredness in the older woman's face and the sadness she was trying to mask. She imagined the older woman had been quite the untamed beauty in her day, but had been left empty and heartbroken.

"Hola Mami." Santana said her voice quiet as she tried to get her mother's attention.

"Santana." Mrs Lopez stated, the glazed look in her eyes enough to let the two girls know that the drink in her hands was the not the first of the day.

Santana sighed, she missed the days when her Mom called her San or Ana but there were no nicknames anymore. Shaking off the nostalgia Santana gestured to her friend, "Mami this is Rachel Berry…from glee club. Rachel, this is my Mom – Marianna."

Rachel flashed Marianna her winning smile as she extended a hand to greet the older woman, "It's nice to meet you."

Marianna offered a small smile in return as she turned and made her way back into the kitchen leaving Rachel's hand hanging awkwardly in mid-air. Santana frowned at the rudeness, she had expected her mother to at least attempt some form of polite conversation but instead she was headed straight back to the liquor cabinet to refill her glass.

Santana didn't know if it was because she needed to make a point but she found herself following her Mom into the kitchen with Rachel trailing behind her, maybe she just needed someone else to see how her parents were to prove to herself that it wasn't all in her head. As she watched her Mom pouring another drink she tried again, "Rachel is the lead singer – she's really good, awesome actually."

"That's nice." Mariana replied distractedly as she took a sip.

Santana could feel her spirits slipping even further and with a defeated shrug in Rachel's direction she turned to leave the kitchen. It had been a stupid idea to think that her Mom might actually pretend to care if someone else was there.

"Santana's pretty awesome herself." Rachel said suddenly, her eyes focused on the older woman as she willed her to make some kind of acknowledgment of her daughter, "Her version of Valerie was phenomenal this year and she wrote a great song for Nationals."

Marianna nodded but clearly had no interest in replying as instead she slid down onto one of the stools surrounding the breakfast bar and toyed idly with her glass.

"I invited you to that, remember?" Santana tried, gritting her teeth as she tried to control her anger, "I told you it was going to be my first solo in a competition…that Mr Schue and the rest of the group believed in me enough to let me sing lead."

Marianna let out a quiet hum, her eyes focused downward at the table, "I'm sure it was fun."

Santana baulked, her Mom couldn't even muster up the energy to fake a compliment to humour her. It was bad enough the older woman had never even seen her perform – never seen her do the one thing she loved to do. Santana felt her fist clench as she spat, "You would have known that if you'd turned up."

"Work is busy, you know that."

Rachel closed her eyes as the dull words echoed around the kitchen. She couldn't believe how easily Mrs Lopez was blowing her own daughter off, she couldn't even apologise for not showing up to competition. It wasn't as though the older woman was out rightly mean but it was obvious that she had no interest in talking to Santana about anything. Rachel risked a glance at her friend; she had been expecting an outburst of epic proportions with some ranting in Spanish and probably a few angry hand gestures.

Instead, the younger girl seemed to deflate and with a small nod she mumbled, "Yeah…right. Come on Rachel, we should go."

Rachel felt her jaw drop at the scene, the way Santana had simply accepted her mother's neglect as inevitable and the way Mrs Lopez barely reacted at all. The next words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, "That's it?"

Santana frowned as she glared at the smaller girl, "What were you expecting? A fucking welcoming party?"

Rachel shook her head, "No…but I don't understand…"

"Oh, I'm sorry - you don't understand?" Santana snapped sarcastically, some of normal temper flaring back into life, "Let me spell it out for you, I'm not perfect like Yara was. Therefore my Mom doesn't give a fuck, did I not cover this earlier?"

"Don't talk about her like that." Marianna said suddenly, her eyes meeting her daughters as she slammed her glass down.

Santana scoffed as she crossed her arms and glared back at her mother.

"She died San, you can't-"

"I know that!" Santana exploded, angry tears pooling at the corner of her eyes, "I fucking know that okay, but I didn't die Mom. I'm right fucking here and I…you don't even see me. I'm your daughter too and I need you. I need my Mom but you don't even care."

And there it was, the thing Santana had been wanting to tell her Mom for years but had always been too afraid. Taking a deep breath she felt Rachel edging closer to her side in what she could only assume was moral support; she resisted the urge to cling to the other girls arm and instead focused on her Mother's reaction. She was waiting for anger, sadness maybe even some hate towards her either way she desperately needed to see some kind of emotion that was for her.

Marianna was quiet for a moment before she stood from her place at the table, with a shake of her head she turned her gaze away from her daughter, "I…I can't deal with this right now…"

"Mom…" Santana whispered brokenly, as she took a step forward, "Mom please-"

"No." Marianna whispered her face devoid of emotion as her feet were already propelling her away from her daughter and out of the kitchen.

Santana tried to hold back her tears as she watched her mother leave but she knew it was impossible. As the sobs began to wrack her body she felt Rachel move to draw her into a hug and with a jerk she pulled away from the smaller girl as she shouted, "Leave me the hell alone!"

She didn't stop to think as she slammed past Rachel and headed for the front door, she didn't know where she was going but she knew she needed to get out of her house as fast as possible. She only made it to her car before she collapsed her back leaning heavily against the door as she fell to the ground.

"Santana, wait!"

The sound of Rachel's voice drifting over to her wasn't enough to make Santana pick her head up from where she had buried in against her knees as she curled herself into a ball, "Go away Manhands, for fucks sake."

Rachel hesitated before sliding down next to her friend. She knew Santana was going to yell at her, she knew she was going to call her names and try to make her leave but if Rachel was anything, it was stubborn and Santana was not about to get rid of her that easily.

"I said, fuck off." The Latina repeated, but the anger had quickly faded and been replaced by a new sense of desperation, "Go away, leave me alone just like everyone else does."

"I'm not going anywhere." Rachel replied firmly as she shuffled closer to the girl until they were sitting side-by-side.

Santana sobbed as she moved her head to stare at Rachel, "Please. Rachel, I can't…"

As the Latina's words were lost to her tears Rachel found she didn't need to hear her friend to know what she was thinking. Leaning over she abandoned all reservation and pulled the crying girl into a hug, her arms wrapping around Santana and pulling her against her chest. She felt Santana fight for a moment before falling into the embrace and Rachel knew that despite the initial anger that all her friend wanted was for someone to show her some affection and to be there for her.

"I'm not going anywhere." Rachel repeated fiercely as she felt Santana gripping at her top, "I'm right here."

Rachel felt her own tears begin to fall as the other girl sobbed against her chest; Santana had been abandoned by so many people who were supposed to care for her that the singer wondered how she was still able to cope. Rachel may have had her own troubles but she always knew her Dads would be there for her. They had watched every single thing she had ever performed or competed in since she was a little girl, they held her when she spent hours crying over Shelby's rejection. They helped her wash the slushy stains out of her clothes while respecting her decision to deal with the bullies at school on her own terms. They treated her with nothing but love and respect even when her flamboyant diva tendencies spiralled out of control, they always knew what to say and what she needed to hear. Rachel knew she wouldn't have been able to survive without their support and the idea of going it alone like Santana had been made her chest ache with sympathy.

Rachel held Santana until her tears began to fade, the light of the afternoon disappearing along with them and edging them into the early evening. As the temperature began to cool the singer shuffled back slightly to look down at her friend, "Come on, we can't stay out here all night."

"Where are we going?" Santana replied, her voice hoarse as she used her sleeve to wipe her face.

"Back to my house."

Santana shook her head adamantly, "No. No I'm not-"

"It's okay, my Dads are having dinner with friends." Rachel interrupted, knowing the other girl was not going to like the idea of having to see her Dads again, "We'll have the house to ourselves."

"And when they get back?"

The singer shrugged, she didn't exactly know how her Dads were going to feel about Santana being in their house. She knew beyond a doubt that they felt guilty about what they had inadvertently said to Santana but that didn't guarantee they would be happy about her staying with them.

"I'm not going where I'm not wanted." Santana stated darkly, her eyes dropping to the ground, "I might as well stay here."

"I want you." Rachel argued, her cheeks flushing at her choice of words as she added in a fluster, "I mean….I…I want…at my house. I want you to come with me to my house."

A small smile flickered briefly across the Latina's features, she tried to ignore how cute her friend looked – she knew that would only lead to trouble, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay but I'm exhausted so we're taking my car and if either of your Dads are there then…I'm gone."

Hoisting herself up from the floor Rachel grinned and offered a hand to Santana who rolled her eyes as she let the smaller girl tug her to her feet.

When Santana had fished her keys out of her pocket she slid into the driver's seat and let the engine roar to life. She loved listening to the hum of the car and as Rachel slid in next to her she allowed her body to relax a little. She didn't exactly know how the hell the rest of the evening was going to play out and she was pretty sure Rachel's Dads were going to freak out when, or if, they saw her but for some reason with Rachel by her side she wasn't as worried as she would have been.

Reaching out the Latina took the diva's hand as it stretched out towards the dashboard, and lacing their fingers together she murmured softly, "Don't touch the CD player."

"No fair."

Laughing at the pout that appear on her friends face she pulled away from the curb, her hand still locked with the diva's as they left the shadow of the Lopez house.