N/A: I hope this chapter is easy to understand. If it's not please let me know. There's a lot of dialogue and thoughts. Also, I am not a cook at all so if the description of making turkey meat ball mentioned in this chapter is not right, I apologize.

Thanks everyone for reading this story. I'm very surprised at how easily this is flowing out of me. I guess Naya has that effect on me! ;-)

Enjoy!

Always Me & You

Chapter 3

Heather didn't have enough time to devote her full attention to her little "gift" – the letter. She made it home in time to her small apartment and cleaned it up first because it looked like a tornado went through it. As soon as she got home, her "clean up" mode took control and she ran around the house cleaning that, moving that to the right spot, and she even went as far as to clean her bedroom in case Naya wanted to change or something.

Then, she took out the letter and set it on her coffee table in front of her couch. After doing that she ran to the kitchen and prepared dinner for the two of them. She thought about what to make. Luckily she had gone grocery shopping the weekend before so she had the ingredients. She finally decided on spaghetti and turkey meat balls. She tossed the uncooked spaghetti into a big pot and started to cook them. Then she tried to pry open the marina sauce which took her awhile.

"Pop!"

'Finally!" she exclaimed. And she tossed that into the same pot. While that was cooking, she got out the premade turkey meatballs, placed each one on the pan and stuck those in the oven. Next, she attended to the table, getting out a checkered table cloth like they were dining at an Italian restaurant. The she got a candle, lit it and placed it in the center of the small breakfast table.

"Why am I doing? It's only Nay!"

She didn't really have time to think because she had to change. She ran up to her room again and took out an oversized pink tee shirt that hung off her right shoulder, a black belt, and black leggings. After she got dressed she looked at herself in the mirror and said, "Lookin' good, Morris!" and chuckled.

"Ding dong!"

Heather bolted to the door as fast as she ever did. She opened it up and saw Naya standing behind it.

"Hey u!"

Naya just stood there and took in Heather's beauty.

Say something quickly!

"Um, um, um," Naya stammered.

Heather smiled, but said, "You okay, Nay?"

"Yup," she said, her eyes still focused on only Heather's figure.

Just then Heather sniffed the air which smelt like something was burning, and ran away saying, "Crap! Come on in."

Naya followed her into the apartment. Threw her stuff on the floor and looked around the apartment. It was a place she had been to before many times, but this time there was something different about it. She thought about what it would feel like to be there all the time, not as a best friend, but as a lover and partner.

She looked down and saw the letter sitting in the center of her coffee table like Heather's most precious gift. She could tell that it still hadn't been opened since it looked perfect.

"Heather, did you read your letter yet?"

"Um, no," Heather responded, from the kitchen. All of sudden, Heather yelled, "Oww. That hurts!"

Naya ran over to her aid as quickly as possible, retrieved an ice cube out of the freezer, grabbed Heather's injured hand and applied the ice to the redden spot.

"Does that feel better," asked, Naya, with hope.

"Yea, it does. Thank you."

There was then a long period of comfortable silence between the two women. Naya held her hand within hers. They just let the ice melt over their joined hands and joined foreign excitement.

Then Heather broke the momentary paradise Naya was in by saying, "Dinner's ready! Are you hungry?"

Naya was more than hungry for both actual food and sexual attention.

"Yes, I am!"

"Well, have a seat," Heather said, as she pulled out Nay's chair for her.

"Thank you," as she sat.

"It'll be a minute. Hold on! So how was the rest of your day?"

"Peaceful...I took a nap" said Naya, and hoped that she wouldn't have to explain, "How was filming with Jane?"

"Um, it was cool. I actually told her about the letter I received."

"Oh, yea, what did she say about it?"

"Well, she like everyone else doesn't know who wrote it, but she did ask me one question, though…"

"Oh yea? What did she ask?"

"She asked me out of all the people that I know now, who would I like to receive a letter from?"

Naya sat silently for a moment and then asked, "Who did you say?"

"Um," Heather said as she was bringing the food to the table, "I actually said you. Is that weird?"

Naya smiled widely and responded, "No not at all!"

"But…"

Naya dropped the serving spoon when Heather said this.

"Why would you write me a letter? We're best friends so I'd hope you know you could tell me anything, right?"

"Um, yea," Naya responded, but thought, "Anything but this probably!"

"Well, after we enjoy this dinner, I'm going to read it, FINALLY!"

"Good for you."

"Would you care for some wine?"

"Oh, boy…you have no idea!"

Laughing, Heather said, "Ok. Here ya go. Enjoy! I hope you like it!"

Naya forked a piece of the meatball and spaghetti together put it in her mouth and said, "Simply delicious. But hot!"

"Sorry, but it's good?" asked Heather, a little surprised.

"Yea, it is. What you don't believe me?" questioned Naya. Truth be told, Naya was so in love with her that she would have eaten anything that was placed in front of her. But this was really, really good.

"No, I guess. I'm no Julia Childs…"

"You're much sexier…." Naya let that slipped.

Heather looked up at her best friend and grinned. Did she really say I'm sexy?

"Um, sorry!"

"Don't apologize, Nay, I liked hearing you say that to me!" said Heather and surprised both people at the table.

Naya smiled wholeheartedly.

They talked for a half an hour more, and then Heather began to get up. "Give me your…."

"Oh, no, Ms. Morris, I have dish duty. Just point me to your dish detergent!"

"Great, thanks! It's under the sink in the cabinet! You sure?"

"You prepared a great meal…the dishes are the least I can do!"

"Great! Then I can finally read the letter!"

"Oh ok, great!"

Well, the moment is here, Rivera…you better be ready!

"Wait…um, let me refill your wine?" Naya tried to stall.

"Yes please!" replied Heather. She happily held up her wine glass.

"There you go, my friend!"

Heather got up from her chair and started to walk to her couch.

"Heather…"

"Yes, ma'am," as she turned around.

"Oh, nevermind," Naya said, waving her hand away to mean 'go read your letter'.

Then there was a long period of time where the only sound that was made was the dishes Naya was washing being banged around gently in the sink.

Heather sat down, placed her glass on a smiley face coaster, picked the letter up tenderly between her slender fingers, sat back, opened it up, and started to read. First she started to read it with idle curiosity. But with each sentence she felt her heart melt.

"…my "songbird" if you will." I'm this person's songbird?

"I found the love of my life in you!" Wow!

"…the ALMA Awards…" Who do I know who has an ALMA Award? Wait…is this from her?

"You see, my life didn't start until I met you!" Oh, Nay…

"You "got jiggy" with my emotions and will always have the greatest fan of your life in me." Haha…she said 'jiggy', but wait…awwwww!

"If I know you like I think I do, you're probably thinking how am I so sure of my feelings?" Yes, I am thinking that.

" The moment that I finally realized that you had my heart simply was when you held my hand for the first time in my trailer when we were relaxing between scenes." Heather starts to cry when she reads this.

In the kitchen, Naya was trying so hard not to jump to any conclusions, especially negative ones. She has this bad habit of putting herself down before she lets the situation play out. Nevertheless, she is getting fearful with every moment that her blonde goddess doesn't appear in front of her.

Back on the couch, Heather is still crying softly as she continues to read.

"I want to feel your soft lips as we exchange kisses in real life and not for the show…" Wow. She loves me like that. What do I feel though? Can I do this? Of course I can…she's Naya "fucking" Rivera – awe-inspiring beauty and a heart of gold. Anyone would be beyond lucky to be loved by her! Heather felt herself blush with that thought.

"I want the honor of calling you, 'my girl!'" Aww, she wants me to be her girl.

"Can you make me the happiest woman alive by giving me the opportunity to completely love you?" I don't know.

Can we try just try, to create something that will last the rest of our lives?" Yes, we can.

"Heather Elizabeth Morris, I love you." Wow! She really does love me…how does she know my middle name?

"Always me & you…" Yes, Naya, always me & you.

Ok, that was one of the most powerful letters I've ever read and it was actually written for me. I feel humbled, honored, and desired. I have one hesitation that I need to talk to Naya about, I guess. What happens if we try to be a couple and it doesn't work. We read about failed relationships all the time, especially in this business. I'd be completely lost without her in my life. Can we risk it? Should we risk it? If everything she wrote to me is authentic and I believe it is we'd be stupid to not try. Right? Shit…what was that noise?

Naya dropped something and Heather heard her say, "Damn it!"

Now it was Heather's turn to go running to her side to offer assistance. Heather jumped up and ran to the source of the noise.

"Um, everything okay?"

"Yea, I broke a dish. Do you have shoes on?" Naya said, protectively.

Aww she's worried about my safety.

"Yes, flip flops! Let me get a broom!" Heather walks to the closet and retrieved the tool, "Ok, I'll clean…"

"No, it's my mess." Naya said and extended her hand to grab the broom from Heather. As she did this, Heather noticed that Naya was visibly shaking.

"OMG, Nay, are you alright?"

"Yea, it's the sound of the dish shattering that got me."

"You sure?" asked Heather, "Come with me."

"But… I should clean this."

"It can wait. I wanna talk to you. It'll still be the same when we come back."

"I'm sorry," Naya said, with a child's expression of guilt on her face.

Heather walked up to her and cupped her face in her hands. "Naya, don't worry about it."

With that Naya placed the broom against the counter and grabbed Heather's extended hand. Heather led her to the couch where the opened letter sat.

Heather let her sit down first, picked up the letter, and then sat down herself.

"So…"

"So…" Heather imitates Naya's comment which sounded like a question, but she knows it isn't.

"Can I ask what you thought?"

"Well, first of all, it was beautiful. I've never felt this loved before in my life. So thank you, Naya!"

Naya smiled, weakly, because she still couldn't read Heather's mind.

"You're very welcome. It came from the very bottom of my heart. I hope you know that I meant every word…You do, right?"

"Of course, babe!" Heather looked up after she said that. Naya smiled relieved and happy.

"I'm sorry because I don't know what to say next because I don't know what you are thinkin' and I don't want to interrupt. Maybe you should just talk and I'll go after you. Is that okay?" Naya said, nervously.

"Yea, that's cool. Um, okay. Your words melted my heart. I'm beyond flattered."

As she said that, she saw Naya lower her head and tried not to let her emotions show. Heather grabbed both of the Latina's hands firmly.

"Nay, look at me please?"

Naya did as she was requested to do. She never minded looking at Heather because she thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Naya, I love you," Heather started again and surprised herself with how easy that declaration came out of her mouth. She just knew that it wasn't the friendship type of love.

"I think I've always loved you I just didn't really know what it was. After reading your beautiful words, I can see how much you love me. My love for you is something that took me by utter surprise…good surprise though. My one and only concern is our friendship which I cherish everyday. I'm afraid that we'll lose that. And if that ever happened I simply don't know what I'd do. You matter to me, Miss Naya Rivera," said Heather as she smiled and continued, "Ok, so now what do we do? I wholeheartedly want to hear you say you love me and I want you to hear me say it everyday. But the friendship…"

"Ok, I gotta say something…" Naya interjected. "I love you Heather. I always have and you better believe that I always will. You are perfection in my eyes and in my heart. Anyone would be lucky to be your partner. And I want that person to be me. Wholeheartedly! I also am concerned about our fabulous friendship. If something ever happened to it, I would be inconsolable. At the same time, I truly believe that we owe it to ourselves to figure out what this is and what it could eventually be. I will never give up on you. I'll wait for as long as you need to come to a decision. Always me and you. Believe that when I say it. Can you consider it?"

"Yes, of course, babe, I'll do nothing but consider it," Heather replied.

"Okay I gotta clean up the dish…" Naya said as she started to get up.

Right then Heather reached over and pulled Naya into the most softest but purposeful hug ever. Naya got close to Heather's ear and whispered, "I love you more than you'll ever know!"

Heather felt herself start to cry again. Heather said, choked up, "I love you…"

With that the Latina smiled and hugged Heather tighter.

After the very warm embrace, Naya got herself up, still shaking a little but she tried to hid it as best as she could and walked back into the kitchen. They both didn't say a word. It was not done on purpose. Both the women felt that they said everything they needed to for the time being. It wasn't awkward at all, more serene and peaceful.

After she did that, Naya thought it would be best if she just left.

"Listen, I think I'm going to head out. I think that I've overwhelmed you and I just want you to really think about what we've said here tonight. I'd hope that you aren't weirded out. At the end of the day, I just want the opportunity to love and care for you, like in a romantic relationship," said Naya, still hopeful.

"I can only promise you, for right now, that I will wholeheartedly think about it. Like I said, I don't want to mess up our amazing friendship," replied Heather.

Naya walked up to her, and grabbed Heather's hands and said, "I totally get that, but I, honest to God, think that a friendship like ours makes a good foundation for a possible romance. I'm not trying to sway you, but, from the bottom of my heart, I think you and me could be extraordinary together."

With that Naya grabbed her stuff and started toward the door. Halfway in from the door, Heather pulled her into another hug, but this one had a message behind it. It simply meant that they'd get through this together.

When Naya got to the outside she turned when she heard Heather ask, "Naya…are we okay?"

"Yes, we're better than okay. We have walked up to the door of romance, my dear Heather. All we need to do is be brave enough to take each other by the hand and walk through it together."

Heather smiled.

"Hey, Hemo…"

"Yea, Naya!"
"Always me and you!"

With that Naya turned and travelled down the stairs, across the street, and into her car. She looked at Heather who was still standing in front of the door. Naya rolled down her window and yelled, "Remember, Heather, I sincerely love you." And with that she drove off. Heather stood there for an additional minute before she realized that there was a hint of coolness in the air. She then closed the door, and turned back into her apartment. She swore she could hear it echo because Naya brought so much life, love, and laughter to Heather's life. It was the first time since she has moved out there that she felt lonely. She looked at the couch where the most important conversation of her life had just transpired. She remembered all the things she said and all the things Naya had said. She finished cleaning up and even though the clock on the wall read, "10:30 pm" she felt so exhausted so she decided to turn in for the night.

Heather got into her pajamas and just lay in her bed, first staring up at the ceiling and then she turned over to face the part of the bed that was unused. She imagined Naya lying on that side, smiling at her with those big chocolate brown eyes that made Heather weak in the knees. She imagined feeling Naya stroke her blonde hair saying, "It's all right, Heather. I'm here…I'll always be here."

At that moment, Heather started to cry uncontrollably. She felt horrible for crying when her best friend and love of her life declared her love for her.

"She loves me…loves meeeee…she wants meeeeee!"

Heather's tears were starting subside as she felt sleep suddenly take over. She fluttered her eyes once, twice, and on the third time she was asleep. She slept on and off. Although it was intermittent the sleep was peaceful and revitalizing.

Across town, Naya too was laying in her bed. She was having trouble with falling asleep. "Will you love me unconditionally?" Naya asked Heather even though she knew that she was in the dark room, alone.

That question right there is the one question that Naya wanted Heather to say, "Yes…of course!" Naya definitely knows that you can't make anyone love you unless they are sure themselves.

"Can she love me at all?"

"What do I do if she can't? Do I distance myself? … Naya, no…you still are going to be her best friend. You promised that."

All these thoughts ran rapid inside her mind. She suddenly felt she wasn't enough for Heather. Naya got up and paced around her room, as she cried.

"Can I take it all back? No, Rivera, you can't. You don't even want to, do you? No, you don't. You love her and that's all there is to it!"

These words seemed to calm her down enough to go back to bed. Once she was under the covers, she tossed her head of black hair from side to side as she tried to find the most comfortable position. She rolled over and "saw" Heather lying next to her.

"This is only my imagination playin' with me!"

"She looks so gorgeous…Damn it mind…Turn off!"

She turned her head to the other side and began to breathe heavy. Pretty soon her eyes fluttered and within a second Naya was asleep.

Even though both girls lived on the opposite ends of town they dreamt about each other that night. They dreamt that they were just holding hands. Nothing more and nothing else. Both women had bright smiles on their faces during their dreams.

By the time the sun started to come up, they were happy and were stirring in their separate beds. Naya awoke first and sat up straight in her bed immediately.

"Heather…" she called out, since her dream was so very real. She was saddened to realize it was only but a dream.

When Heather woke up she immediately turned over in her bed expecting the gorgeous Latina to be lying next to her. She, too, was disappointed that it was only a dream. The dream, however, solidified to her what she needed to tell Naya that day at work in private. No distractions…no surprise visitors coming for an impromptu conversation. Just her and the girl of her dreams. But before she had that life altering conversation with Naya she wanted to talk to Jane about what happened. Heather was sure that Jane would understand. She prayed that Jane would give her a piece of advice that would make the decision Heather was thinking about making the right one.

Heather quickly got up and ready for work. She grabbed a cereal bar and ate it in the car on the way to the studio. On the way out of her apartment, Heather grabbed her most prized possession – the letter, folded it, and placed it in her jean pocket.

Upon her arrival, she dropped her stuff in her trailer and immediately sought out Jane. She first went to her trailer, but she wasn't there. Then she decided to go to the costume department. As she was rounding the corner Jane was coming in the opposite directions. They both walked right into each other.

"Owww," they both yell in unison.

"OMG, Jane, I'm sorry. You okay?"

"Sure, kiddo. No worries! You're here early. Um, why?"

"I'm here to see you actually. Do you have some time to talk? I –I –"

Jane could see the tears begin to form in Heather's eyes.

"No, no. Stop that. You'll make me start," Jane said, when she saw her younger co-star's emotions. "Follow me."

And they walked to Jane's trailer for a heart-to-heart.