Her Smile Heals Me (part 18)
Friday, May 8, 2009
4:53 PM
"One bite."
"No," Santana said in protest.
"It'll help you feel better to get something warm in your stomach," Brittany told her, holding up a spoon in front of her face.
"I don't want it…I'll barf all over you."
Brittany laughed, "No you won't…but even if you did then it's worth a try…to feel better?"
Santana shook her head, pulling her blanket up over her shoulders and sinking further into her bed.
"Please…one bite…for me?" Brittany tilted her head in the cute little way that always made Santana melt then smiled widely, her blue eyes twinkling under the light of the lamp on Santana's nightstand.
Santana grimaced then opened her mouth like a baby bird, swallowing the yellow broth.
"Good, huh?" Brittany smiled broader, "My grandmother made it."
Santana rolled her brown eyes and nodded reluctantly, pouting only for emphasis so she didn't seem so much like a pushover in front of Brittany, "…yeah."
Brittany dipped the spoon back into the round thermos, pulling out another bite with a small piece of chicken and a piece of celery, "Another one?"
Santana opened wider this time and accepted the bite of soup then three more after that before holding her hand up, "Enough….thank you."
"Apple juice?" the blonde reached over and picked up a small green carton from the nightstand.
Santana leaned forward, straightening the tiny white straw before taking a long sip.
Brittany set down the juice box then held the back of her hand to Santana's forehead then over her temples, "You feel cooler…I think your fever is going down...how's your head?"
"Still hurts…," she answered.
"Then I should let you go back to sleep until your mom gets home," Brittany sniffed and grabbed a tissue out of the nearby box, wiping at her nose, "I put your make-up work on your desk…there's a test in English on Tuesday…maybe we can study this weekend if you feel up to it."
Santana turned over on her side and adjusted her pillow underneath her. "You sound stuffy…are you getting sick too?" Santana asked sympathetically.
"Probably…my throat's been scratchy all day," Brittany told her, leaning down to put one of her white sneakers back on.
Santana said sheepishly, "I'm sorry…I guess I got you sick, huh?"
The blonde straightened back up and looked at Santana with a warm smile, "Well, we have been swapping a lot of spit lately." She then leaned down to put on her other sneaker.
Santana was quiet for a second. "Britt…have you…," she trailed off.
Brittany finished tying her shoe then prompted, "…have I…what?"
"You aren't ever sorrythat we…kiss…are you?" she asked hesitantly, unsure if she wanted Brittany's answer.
The tall blonde shrugged, "Why would I, silly…I love being close to you." Brittany leaned over and kissed Santana on the cheek, "Get some sleep, ok? I'll call you tonight."
Brittany turned out the lamp then moved toward the bedroom door.
The young Latina released the air that had been caught in her chest, feeling a warmth move through her that wasn't caused by her fever. As she watched Brittany put on her jacket and pick up her red and black backpack off the desk chair, she smiled then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
6:41 p.m.
"One bite?"
Santana shook her head slightly.
"Honey, you need something in your stomach...to build up your strength," Brittany tried, "…just one bite…please…for me?"
Santana looked down, contemplating her body's internal protest against the look of extreme concern on the face of her beloved. She drew in a breath before opening her mouth to accept a bite of soup.
Brittany smiled as she eased a spoonful of broth that Quinn's mother warmed up into Santana's mouth. She didn't want to push her too hard so she put the spoon back in the oversized soup mug and sat quietly to see if Santana could hold down that bite. The blonde looked across at the brunette, their eyes locking for several seconds.
To Brittany, Santana looked older…definitely older than the eleven days since she'd last seen her…and she was several pounds thinner, but so was Brittany after not eating as much the last three or four weeks. The Latina had dark circles under her eyes, and though her brown eyes were still so familiar to Brittany, there was a change, a distance in them.
"Another bite?" Brittany tried, encouraged that the first one was successful.
Santana never broke her gaze but opened her mouth. It was clear to Brittany that she was just forcing herself through the motions.
A drop of broth rolled down Santana's chin, and Brittany reached up and wiped it away with the pad of her thumb. She set the soup mug on the side table next to the guest bed and took Santana's hands in hers. Brittany stretched out Santana's arms and inspected the exposed parts of her skin thoroughly, turning each of her arms slightly. Her heart hurt at how they were just skin on bone.
"What?" Santana said weakly, her brow furrowed.
"What did you do to yourself?" Brittany asked sadly, looking back up at her.
Santana shook her head slightly, not sure even she knew.
Brittany stared into Santana's eyes again as if she were trying to read them like tiny crystal balls, asking softly, "Drugs?"
Santana froze under the direct question then shook her head.
Brittany kept staring, trying to silently probe deeper into the last several days, until Santana broke eye contact and looked down.
Brittany sighed deeply. "Is that the truth?"
Santana closed her eyes, mentally exhausted. She remembered a lot of cigarettes and pot at first then a couple of pills here and a couple of pills there, but everything was a blur after that. Truth was she couldn't remember specifically what went into her body, and at the time, she could not have cared less.
Santana opened her eyes to see Brittany still staring. She was never able to lie to her so she shook her head.
Brittany drew Santana's hand up to her lips and kissed it several times, telling her, "You deserve so much better than some of the things you do to your body…but it's way worse what you're doing to your soul."
Santana's eyes glossed over with tears. "I hate it," she said with a raspy voice.
"Your body?"
"My soul."
Tears filled Brittany's eyes too, and she swallowed hard. "Well, we need to find a better way to protect you from yourself… because both are going to be with me for a long time," she confirmed.
Santana shook her head again, "You deserve better."
"You're right…," Brittany confirmed, "I deserve the best of you."
"I'm stuck so deep…in my head," Santana confessed softly, every word taking great physical effort, "I don't know how to get out."
"Then bring me inside…," Brittany told her, pulling her into a tight embrace and kissing the top of her head, "…cause I will never give up on you…I will never give up on us."
Santana took a deep breath, enjoying the comfort she always found in the scent that was uniquely Brittany.
There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," Brittany said.
The door opened partially, and Rachel looked in at them, "It's me…is that alright?"
Brittany looked back at Santana who nodded and smiled, sitting back against the pillows behind her.
"Come on in," she told the smaller brunette.
Rachel walked in and around the bed toward Santana, "I want to hug you."
Santana stretched out her arms to her, and Rachel bent over and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much."
Brittany could see the same look of alarm on Rachel's face that she felt inside.
"Dads send their love up…they're downstairs," she told her.
Santana smiled back at her. "I'll see them soon."
"Brittany…your presence was requested downstairs," Rachel told the blonde, "I'll be happy to sit with Santana for awhile."
"Oh, ok…then I'll be back soon," Brittany squeezed Santana's hand and leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
Brittany heard several voices coming from Quinn's living room as she stepped down the large staircase. "Somebody wanted to see me," she asked with slight confusion when she got to its bottom.
"Brittany," Mrs. Pierce stood from the couch and walked over to her daughter.
"Mom, I told you on the phone I was going to sleep here tonight," she told her, surveying the group.
She saw Quinn and Cate sitting on one couch and Rachel's dads sitting on the other. Judy Fabray was in a side chair with her knees crossed, and Mrs. Pierce stepped past a dark-haired woman who was seated in a chair that faced the opposite direction from the stairs.
"I know, sweetie…," she confirmed, "I'm here for a different reason…come sit please."
Mrs. Pierce took her daughter by the hand and pulled her toward the couches, motioning her to sit next to Quinn who scooted closer toward Cate to make room. When Brittany sat down and turned toward the dark-haired woman, she saw it was Mrs. Lopez.
"Wait a minute…this is an awful idea…Santana is so fragile right now," Brittany panicked, standing back up.
"Brittany…sit please," her mother instructed.
"Did you bring her here?"
"Yes…and I will tell you why…," her mother reached down to pull Brittany's chin up with her hand, "…look at me and listen…instead of getting angry."
"I trusted you, Mom…why would you do this," Brittany looked at the older Latina out of the corner of her eye, and Mrs. Lopez looked down at her hands in her lap, shifting uncomfortably.
"Because…not until you have your own child, Brittany, will you truly understand how their well-being is like your own blood coursing through your veins…," Mrs. Pierce explained, "…so I couldn't know that my child is alive and safe while another mother is scared and hurting…she deserved to know Santana had been found, so I called her."
"Brittany, I am not here to take Santana…I assured your mother of that before she told me any details…and I assure you of that right now, okay?" Mrs. Lopez interjected, "I brought her some of her things." She picked up a small duffle bag Santana always used for overnight trips and handed it to Brittany then she pulled out a cell phone from the purse at her feet, "And…will you give her this?"
Brittany accepted the bag and the phone, nodding.
"Brittany, I owe you an apology," Santana's mother said meekly.
The blonde teen looked down and shifted uncomfortably under the focused attention of everyone in the room.
"It was not right the way we treated you in our home…I am ashamed of it now," Mrs. Lopez paused, "I cannot speak for Santana's father…but I hope you will know that I am truly sorry."
Brittany could see the anguish in the face of Santana's mother, and her heart went out to the older woman. She looked up at her own mother and remembered her words of unconditional support when Brittany revealed how much she was in love with Santana. She wanted that same acceptance for Santana, and if forgiving Mrs. Lopez and trusting her at this moment was a step toward achieving that for her girlfriend then Brittany was willing to take that chance.
She stood up and moved toward Mrs. Lopez, bending over to hug her. "I accept your apology."
The older Latina squeezed her back tightly, "Santana is fortunate to have you in her life, Brittany."
"I hope so," she responded, straightening back up.
Mrs. Lopez wiped at her eyes with a crumpled tissue in her hand then pulled something from the front pocket of her skirt. "Brittany…I brought these for Santana…will you please give these to her?" she said as she handed photographs of Santana with Brittany to her.
Brittany slowly looked at the three photos, stopping on the one with the two of them at the top of the Empire State Building that Quinn had taken. They were so happy that day, having eaten their picnic lunch in Central Park then gone sight-seeing and with Quinn for her spontaneous haircut. The joy she saw on Santana's face in the picture brought tears to her eyes and a yearning to help Santana recapture that innocence.
She handed the photos back to Mrs. Lopez and said, "You should give them to her yourself."
There was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Come in."
"You really should eat something, sweetie…you're becoming skin and bones."
"I'm not hungry, Mom."
"David…I know this confinement is getting harder for you, but you can't just spend all of your time within these four walls."
"I like it in here," he told her, never taking his eyes off the television screen, and his fingers never missing the appropriate buttons on his video game controller, "it's like my cave…I'm hibernating."
"Well, you are not a bear, David so you could at least have the good manners to come downstairs for dinner…," she scolded, setting a plate of food on an empty spot of his desk, "…your father is becoming less and less tolerant of this behavior."
"I just need to be left alone…is that too much to ask?" he shouted, throwing down his game controller, "…god!"
"David, what is happening to you?" Mrs. Karofsky was taken aback.
Dave took a deep breath when he saw the look of fear on his mother's face. She was an attractive woman, though her face had become increasingly weathered over the last few years, but he knew he had seen her current look before…when his father raised his voice toward them.
A vivid memory flashed in his mind of a look of terror on Santana's face as he hovered over her on the ground. He shook his head hard to rid himself of it.
"Mom…I'm scared," he confided to her.
"Why? You have nothing to fear, sweetie…Thomas said it's only a matter of time before this atrocity is over and we can return to normal," his mother encouraged.
"Because…I'm never going to be normal, Mom!" he raised his voice again. Tears came to David's eyes before he realized the enormity of giving voice to his inner torment, "My life is never going to be normal…ever."
"What are you talking about?"
David looked up at his mother. He felt such anguish inside himself, but there was something that blocked everything he wanted to say. "I'm just so afraid of disappointing you…and Dad," he told her.
"Oh, David, honey…I love you," she moved closer toward the bed where he sat, putting her arm around his broad shoulders.
"No, Mom…you love who you think I am."
Quinn walked into the kitchen and found her mother filling the coffee maker with water.
"What can I do to help?" the young blonde asked.
"I've got it, sweetheart…you go entertain your friends," Judy assured her.
"No, I want to help you," Quinn reached over her mother's head to pull down a coffee cup, setting it on the counter and reaching back for another one, "…I think we should spend more time together."
Judy Fabray smiled curiously at her teenage daughter, "Oh…really?"
"Yes…perhaps we should go to lunch sometime this week?"
Judy paused, thinking of her schedule, "I have my weekly manicure on Wednesday…you should join me then we could have some lunch…and maybe go to that dress shop you love over on Nall Street?"
"You don't have to buy me anything for me to want to spend time with you, Mom," Quinn assured her, setting the collected coffee cups on the silver serving tray then turning to pull several spoons out of the utensil drawer, "…you've just really worked hard to be there for me over the last year…and I want to make sure you know I appreciate it…that I appreciate you."
Judy moved over by where her daughter stood and put her arms around her from behind, "I regret every day that I was too weak to stand up to your father when you came to us for help."
Quinn's green eyes filled with tears at the sudden memory of being disowned by her father the night she revealed to them she was pregnant. Her emotions took her by surprise as she stood there in the kitchen, in front of her mother.
Quinn was not prepared for her vulnerability to overtake her, because she'd fought for so long to push away any of these feelings she had from that night, from the whole past year. She never wanted to think about those parts of her past, because it hurt too much.
"But…I am so proud of what a strong young woman you have turned out to be...," Quinn's mother continued, "…so maybe I did do something right in raising you." Judy kissed her on the cheek then moved toward the coffee pot which had finished brewing.
"Thank you for saying that…but I'm not sure how true it is," Quinn said softly.
"Why would you say that, Quinnie?" Judy asked, "You've been through so much, but you've held it together beautifully."
"Because on the inside…I'm just as much a mess as Santana…I just hide it better," the younger blonde told the older one.
Mrs. Fabray turned back around and looked at her. "Do you wish you'd kept Beth?"
"Yes…and no."
"Quinn, if you have changed your mind…then I will help you fight to get her back," Judy assured her, "I don't care if we have to sell this house and live in a condo…I will do whatever needs to be done to support you."
Quinn walked over to her mom and hugged her tightly, "Thank you for that…but I know she's in a good home with someone who loves her…I'm slowly making peace with that…I just really wish I could see her sometimes, you know?"
"Yes, I know, sweetheart…and I can only imagine what you go through each day…," Mrs. Fabray confirmed, "You learned, at the very start, what the hardest lesson of being a mother is…sacrificing yourself, your wants, your needs…for those of your child."
"It's definitely not easy."
"No, it's not," her mother squeezed her again.
"Cate's adopted."
"Oh?" Judy said, pulling away to complete the coffee set up on the silver tray, "She seems like a lovely girl."
"She's helped me realize that sacrifices can be positive," Quinn said, wiping a tear from her eye with her fingertips.
Quinn watched her mother move the sugar server to the tray, thinking to herself…Okay, Quinn…it's now or never.
"Mom, stop…," Quinn put her hand on her mom's hand as she poured cream into a small server, and she turned Judy by her arm to face her, "I want to tell you something."
Judy looked at Quinn with a mixture of confusion and dread. "You're not about to tell me you're pregnant again, are you?"
"No, quite the opposite actually."
"Oh, thank goodness…," Mrs. Fabray sighed heavily, "…but...what's the opposite?"
"You'll be seeing a lot of Cate around here."
"Why, is Cate pregnant?"
"No, Mom…nobody is pregnant. Just please listen to me…this is hard enough already," Quinn pleaded with her mother, determined to push through the awkwardness spinning inside her head.
"Quinnie…is it your father? He's always had a bad heart. He may not want me to know, but you can tell me."
Quinn put her hands on each of Judy Fabray's upper arms to steady her mom's focus back on her. "I'm dating Cate, Mom…there, I said it…," Quinn let out a breath of air and a small laugh, the feeling of complete relief washing over her, then she continued with every thought from inside her head, "…she's wonderful and fabulous…and brilliant…and I'm just so happy that I met her…and…so…no, I'm not sure if that makes me a lesbian…I haven't quite figured that out yet…but yes, I'm happy…for once in my whole life…this actually feels right."
Quinn's mother looked at her with eyes the size of the saucers she'd previously set on the serving tray then she swallowed hard, forced a smile, and turned back to the center island of the kitchen, commenting, "That's wonderful, dear."
"You're just saying that…aren't you?" Quinn challenged.
"No, actually…I've been preparing myself for this exact moment for years," Judy turned and smiled tightly again, "I just always thought it would be your sister."
"Oh…well…," Quinn paused in total confusion, trying to think quickly if she'd ever missed any obvious clues, "…okay then."
"Grab the coffee, dear…," Judy said, picking up the silver tray with all the other necessary items, "…let's serve our guests."
Rachel sat quietly in a side chair she had pulled up next to Santana who was under the covers in Quinn's guest bed. The shorter brunette held Santana's hand, gently stroking it and humming to her different songs that came to mind.
She watched closely the blank face of the taller brunette who had recently become a sister to her. Rachel would have thought she was alone in the room if she weren't staring at Santana. She continued to hum, filling the silence, sadly noting there appeared to be no more fight left in the once fierce Latina who now sat motionless in the bed.
"Where are you?" Rachel stopped humming and asked, tears filling her eyes.
There was no response even though Santana's eyes were wide open, breaking Rachel's heart and causing her to lose control of her emotions. She reached up and turned Santana's head to face her, "Please Santana…we all want to help you…but none of us know how anymore."
Santana's dark eyes flinched, and she blinked.
"You hear me, don't you?" Rachel sniffed hard.
Tears emerged, and Santana nodded.
"I love you," Rachel assured her, bringing her hand up, kissing the back of it, then holding it to her cheek.
Santana nodded again. Rachel returned to humming, and Santana closed her eyes.
They sat like that for awhile until there was a soft knock on the bedroom door.
Rachel wasn't sure if Santana was asleep so she stood and went to open it, surprised when Mrs. Lopez was on the other side.
"Please don't take her," Rachel whispered with quiet desperation in her voice.
Mrs. Lopez shook her head and cupped Rachel's cheek with her left hand, "That's not why I'm here…I just want to look in on her briefly."
Rachel could see the sincerity in the older Latina's face. "She's not talking right now…so don't think it's you."
"Ok, dear…," Mrs. Lopez moved inside looking over at the bed, but she turned as Rachel started to leave the room and said to the small brunette, "Rachel…thank you…to you and to your fathers."
Rachel nodded and smiled then closed the door behind her.
Mrs. Lopez turned back toward the bed and moved cautiously, setting Santana's duffle bag she'd brought with her near the closet door next to Brittany's bag.
She then sat down in the chair near the bed, setting her purse at her feet and looking carefully at her daughter's serene face. Only a minute past before she lost all the self-restraint she'd held onto for the past four weeks, since standing firm as her husband forced Santana out of their home. She pulled her only child into her arms and held her tightly, sobbing.
"Mom?" the teen said in weak confusion.
"I'm here, cariña," Mrs. Lopez said as she gently rocked back and forth.
Santana innately shifted more into her mother's embrace, pressing her face further into her breast and starting to faintly cry.
"I am very sorry, Santana…," Mrs. Lopez told her, tenderly stroking her soft, dark hair, "…for so many things."
"Me too," Santana forced out of her head.
"No, no, no…you have nothing to be sorry for, my sweet love."
Santana pulled away slightly to look up at her mom, "I'm a disgrace."
Mrs. Lopez reached down to her handbag at her feet, pulling out a black compact mirror and opening it to hold in front of Santana's face, "Look here…do you know what I see?"
Santana turned her head, avoiding looking directly into her own image as she had done for nearly two weeks now.
Her mother turned her chin back to the mirror with her fingertips. "Look again…see right there?" her mother pointed at Santana's reflection in the small mirror, "My beautiful baby girl…who the nurse placed in my arms seventeen years ago."
A tear rolled down Santana's cheek as she looked down again.
"You were the most beautiful baby…a head full of dark, curly hair…smooth skin…and the biggest brown eyes I'd ever looked into…," her mother continued, remembering back, "…you were perfect then…and you are perfect now…and may God forgive me that I ever made you feel differently."
Santana leaned her head over on her mother's shoulder, more of her inner torment escaping through her tears. "Daddy?" she asked.
"Your father will have to answer for himself, Santana…I don't know how he feels…," Mrs. Lopez answered truthfully, "…he has always been able to separate himself from his emotions, to just turn them on and off like a switch…I don't know if it is because he is a doctor…or if that's what makes him such a good one."
On and off like a switch…Santana repeated in her head…that was exactly how she would describe her father. On and off like a switch…was exactly how she would describe herself. She took a deep breath, realizing that emotional tactic only led to one of two ways…either to rage, like with her father…or to madness.
"I know he has affected us both over the years, but I don't want there to be anymore distance between us, Santana," her mother told her, "I want to help you heal…I want us to work together for you to be healthy and happy again…I will help you however I can, ok?"
Santana nodded, believing her mother's words. She wanted herself to be better too. She had so much to say, but it was all locked inside her. She wanted to laugh again, to sing again, to find the joys she once felt. She truly wanted to break through the darkness that had swallowed her whole.
"I want you to do me one thing please," Mrs. Lopez asked.
"Okay."
"You are not physically well either…I want you to see your doctor…," she said bluntly, "…say you will go, and I will call first thing in the morning…yes?"
Santana nodded, "yes."
"Thank you…oh, thank you, Lord…that gives me such hope," Mrs. Lopez pulled her daughter toward her again for an embrace, looking upward toward her higher power, "I prayed so hard, Santana…so very hard…and God has seen fit to give me another chance as your mother."
Santana's thoughts of any god had been bitter since her rape so she wasn't as willing to offer praise to something unknown, but she knew her mother's beliefs were strong…and if that brought her strength during all of this then it was not worth challenging those beliefs now. Santana's thoughts instead went to the person who gave her strength…Brittany…and her heart fluttered.
"Brittany?" she asked her mother, unsure if her girlfriend was still at Quinn's house.
"She's downstairs…," Mrs. Lopez confirmed, adding sweetly, "…she is staying close by, don't you worry."
Santana pushed her body back up on her pillows, exhausted from all her recent physical exertion after days of near lifelessness.
"Which reminds me…I found these in your nightstand…I'm sure they mean a lot to you so I wanted to bring them," her mother said, pulling out the photographs of Santana and Brittany, placing them in her daughter's hands.
Santana looked at the one on top where she was kissing Brittany. She turned it over and read Brittany's message I love you a million times over! Britt, and Santana involuntarily smiled broader than she had in two weeks. She could actually feel the smile on her face, and it felt good to her…and she hadn't had to force it or will herself to do it…it just happened, on its own. It was just the tiniest pinpoint of light inside her pit of darkness, but it was light nonetheless.
"Thank you," she said aloud, still looking at the pictures.
Mrs. Lopez ran a gentle caress down the back of her daughter's head, seeing the smile on her face. Her voice broke as she acknowledged to Santana, "She loves you very much."
Santana smiled again, "She's why I'm alive."
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play…
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn…
And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around…
And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it's always darkest before the dawn…
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out oh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out oh woaaah
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah…
I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
Cause I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn…
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone
It's always darkest before the dawn…
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat
Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Well what the hell, I'm gonna let it happen to me…
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh woah…
Brittany kissed her mother goodbye and waved from Quinn's front door as she watched her and Mrs. Lopez walk to the blue Sienna and get inside it.
The tall blonde sighed deeply, the mental and physical exhaustion of the last seven hours suddenly overtaking her body. She was encouraged with how long Santana's mother spent upstairs with her, because it seemed to do both of them so much good. As angry as she was at her mom initially, Brittany was secretly very glad her mother went with her gut instinct on contacting Mrs. Lopez.
Brittany closed the front door and walked back through the living room, seeing Quinn cuddled with Cate on the couch, watching a movie.
"Goodnight," she told them as she passed and headed up the stairs.
"Goodnight, Britt…," she heard Quinn say behind her as she climbed the last few steps, "…let me know if you guys need anything."
Brittany rounded the corner and opened the guest room door, seeing Santana's silhouette on the bed in the moonlight. She closed the door gently so she wouldn't wake her then she stepped over toward the closet to take off her jeans and her t-shirt, removing her bra and pulling on a pink tank top to wear to bed with her underwear.
She stretched her long arms up then rolled her shoulders all around before popping her neck side to side to release some of the tension she'd felt all day in her upper body.
Brittany unscrewed the top to a half-empty water bottle which she picked up from the nightstand, taking a long drink. She then climbed into the bed and moved all the way across it to spoon up behind Santana, pulling her as close as she physically could.
Brittany was pleasantly surprised when she heard a soft "I love you, Britt" from Santana, but hearing those words were like hearing a beautiful love song from the Latina.
"I love you too, honey," Brittany whispered directly into Santana's ear before kissing her tenderly down the length of her neck, smiling when she heard a little moan escape from the brunette. Welcome back, Santana…Brittany internally purred, her lips curling into a satisfied grin…welcome back.
Author's note: The song at the end is Shake it Out by Florence + the Machine.