Imagining Tigers

Chapter 11:

We were still sitting on the couch with Alice on my lap being an excited giggling mess.

"I don't think you can dance in those." Brittany said as she stood up, gesturing towards my clothes. I could feel little Alice start playing with my shirt but my eyes were glued on the tall blonde that was heading towards the kitchen. The living room and the kitchen were in the same room so I didn't have to follow her to reply.

"I don't think I can dance in anything." I mumbled rolling my eyes and Brittany chuckled while opening the fridge, her back to me. I found it weird that Alice was so quiet and didn't giggle when Brittany laughed so with difficult I took my eyes off of the blonde and glanced down to see why. I found her practically undressing me. She was unbuttoning my shirt but apparently I was too busy staring at Brittany to notice it. My eyes widened and I blushed out of embarrassment at my realization. This kid would be the death of me. "What are you doing?" I whispered at her and frowned. She giggled and I took her little hands away from my shirt and started buttoning it up again.

"Nooo!" She whined causing Brittany to close the fridge and turn to us with two bottles of water in her hands. She saw me buttoning my shirt and arched an eyebrow. Her blue eyes lingered on my chest, effectively causing my blush to deepen. Little Alice didn't go much down so only a little too much amount of cleavage was visible. Then she glanced at her daughter and shook her head. Alice hopped down and started running around the couch.

"I'm sorry." She told me and put the bottles on the table, coming near the couch. "Ali!" She said sternly and the little blonde came and stood in front of her. "That was bad." She told her and looked at her pointedly while putting her hands on her hips. I knew I had to feel bad for the little blonde, it didn't bother me that much. But I didn't think Brittany would appreciate it if I didn't let her scold her daughter. So I just stayed there and watched Brittany being intimidating and hot. Little Alice pouted and hugged Brittany's leg, mumbling 'sorry'. She started playing with her mother's tiger tattoo and I was actually jealous of the little blonde at that moment. Brittany sighed and glanced briefly at me before looking at her daughter again and crouched down so they were at the same level. She grabbed her arms and looked around her face. "Are you breathing ok, baby?" She whispered to her. Only then I remembered that the little blonde had a heart problem and noticed that she wasn't breathing easily and when it was silent I could hear her wheezing. Alice shook her head and Brittany pouted at her.

"Is she ok?" I asked as the blonde took her daughter in her arms and came to sit on the couch next to me.

"Yeah." She sighed. "The surgery caused damage in her lungs and sometimes she can't breathe properly when she's running or dancing or whatever, but it's nothing to worry about." She shrugged but she was still sad. I tilted my head to the side and looked at her questioningly. "It's just that if she wanted to dance professionally she wouldn't be able to do that if she stays like that. Or do anything that requires physical exhaustion." She said sadly. "Doctors are monitoring her and if this keeps happening she might need another open heart surgery. But she'll be fine if the surgery is successful." She added and smiled weakly at me to let me know that she was fine. What if the surgery is not successful? I wondered but I didn't ask. I pretty much knew the answer already.

"But she only ran around the couch a couple of times." I whispered frowning.

"Yeah but we are tired, aren't we, baby?" She asked her daughter while tucking the little blonde's hair behind her ears. Little Alice nodded.

"Cause mommy let us dance till late." The little blonde said and Brittany nodded.

"And then mommy woke us up reaaally early today." She said and looked at me. Alice giggled and I smiled, nodding in understanding. The night before was the last night before the decision announcement for the trial. Brittany probably wanted to spend as much time with her daughter as possible. I was about to say something but my phone starting to buzz interrupted me. I winced at them apologetically and grabbed it from my bag to answer. It was Marley.

"Yes." I said.

"Ms. Lopez, I'm so so sorry." Marley apologized. I rolled my eyes at her insisting calling me 'Ms. Lopez'. She was probably only two or three years younger than me and it made me feel weird. I wondered what she was apologizing for.

"What's wrong?" I asked frowning and glanced at Brittany and saw that she was watching her daughter playing with her fingers.

"You have an appointment in thirty minutes." She started and I groaned. Brittany turned to me and arched an eyebrow and I winced at her. "I was about to call you when the phone started ringing and then I totally forgot." She said quickly. I could hear her shuffling around and a phone ringing in the background. I sighed. She was probably drowning in work. "I'm so so sorry." She apologized again.

"It's ok. I'll be there in twenty." I said and hang up. I turned to Brittany.

"You're a very busy woman, aren't you?" She teased me and I chuckled.

"Hey, I don't know if you've heard but I'm a pretty awesome lawyer." I replied teasingly back and it was her turn to chuckle.

"Yeah, I've heard." She shrugged and I smiled at her. I stood up and grabbed my bag, Brittany stood too. I turned to look at the little blonde in Brittany's arms and found her pouting at me.

"Stay." She told me and I pouted back. I couldn't stand seeing any of the two blondes in front of me sad. I turned to Brittany and she gestured for me take her daughter from her so I did. Little Alice leaned her forehead on my cheek.

"We're gonna dance next time, I promise." I told her softly and pulled back to watch her nodding slowly. Her hands were playing with my hair falling over my shoulders. She was still sad though and I looked at Brittany frowning. She smiled her perfect smile at me.

"She likes you." She shrugged and I arched an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I don't understand why either." She said teasingly and shook her head. I rolled my eyes at her and smiled. She stepped closer to us, causing my heart to start beating faster inside my chest. She was looking at me with an unreadable expression, her eyes falling to my lips every now and then. But she cleared her throat and took her daughter from me again, not before Alice placing a kiss to both of my cheeks. "Say bye to Santana, sweetheart. You'll see her soon." Brittany told her daughter but I could see the disappointment in her eyes this time. She didn't want me to leave as much as I didn't want to leave. Little Alice mumbled 'bye' and I smiled at the both of them before leaving. I hoped 'soon' would be really soon.

…

The time I spent on Friday with Brittany and Alice put me in a good mood. Apparently the little blonde had taken a liking to me and the feelings where definitely mutual. I liked anything that was related to Brittany. Although 'like' is not a word that made justice to what I was feeling. I noticed that Brittany was so carefree only when she was with her daughter and that made me want to make the blonde happy all the time even more. I felt like she was letting me in and knowing that I helped Brittany keep her daughter and seeing her being so happy put a smile on my face for the rest of the weekend.

What made my smile waver though was Brittany wanting us to be friends. I knew my feelings were deeper than simply liking her but I would ignore them as long as she wanted us to be friends. That didn't mean that I would let it go completely though. It scared me because I had never been into anyone so much. But it didn't scare me enough to make me give up on this. Whatever this was.

It was Monday and I was in my office working on a case when my phone buzzed and I grabbed it to open the text message.

From Quinn: Wanna come over for dinner tonight? Mike and his friend from the dance studio will come too.

Hanging out with Quinn and Mike might get my mind off of Brittany. Plus, a blushing Quinn around Mike is always a pleasant sight. They were dating now so that was even more amusing.

To Quinn: Sure.

…

I knocked on Quinn's apartment door and waited for her to open. After work I went home and changed out of my work clothes before coming here. The door opened and Quinn smiled at me before giving me a quick hug.

"Come in!" She said a little too cheerfully making me arch an eyebrow at her. I stepped in and turned to her as she was closing the door.

"What did you do?" I asked her immediately and she smirked at me.

"Nothing. Why would you think that?" She asked innocently but I knew her too well to know that she wasn't sincere.

"Q." I said warningly and she chuckled.

"Nothing bad, I promise." She said and pushed me in the living room. I huffed at her and then turned to face the living room to find Mike and a brunette sitting on the couch.

"Hello, Santana." Mike said as he stood up and gave me a quick hug. I smiled at him and then turned to the brunette as she was standing up too.

"Hi, I'm Liz." She said and extended her hand. "Actually it's Elizabeth but please call me Liz." She added smiling as I was shaking her hand.

"Santana." I told her and smiled back. I couldn't deny that she was really beautiful with green eyes and pale skin. She held my hand for a moment longer, making me notice her charming smile and her appreciative eyes all over my body. I pulled my hand back from her grasp and I turned to Quinn with a glare and she smirked at me. So, this was what she had planned. She set me up with this Liz. Don't get me wrong, she was beautiful and hot having a dancer's body. But she wasn't Brittany. And Quinn didn't know that I had eyes only for a blue eyed, blonde haired woman. Or she did and that was why she was setting me up. But I doubted it.

…

We were sitting on the table, Quinn and Mike on one side and Liz and I on the other. We just started eating the food that Quinn cooked when Liz spoke up.

"So, you're a lawyer." She said and turned to me, trying to start a conversation with me. I forced a smile and nodded.

"And you're a dancer." I stated and she smirked at me, crossing her legs and turning more towards me.

"Yeah, I work with Mike." She shrugged and nodded towards him. Just then it occurred to me that she was Brittany's employee. That made the whole thing even more awkward.

"But I'm so better than you." Mike said back jokingly and Liz scoffed.

"We don't even teach the same kind." She said frowning but I could tell it was playful.

"I still teach the advanced classes." Mike shrugged and took a bite of his food. I turned to Quinn and saw that she was looking at him like he was the Eighth Wonder of the world. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, cause you're Britt's favorite." Liz shot back and smirked. Quinn looked at me questioningly but I ignored it. The conversation taking place was more interesting. Probably Mike and Liz didn't know that I knew Brittany.

"Just because she's the owner doesn't mean she can do whatever she wants." Mike frowned and Liz arched an eyebrow at Mike. "Ok, maybe she can." He admitted and held up one hand in defense. "But I teach them cause I'm an awesome dance teacher, not because I'm Britt's favorite." He smirked and Liz rolled her eyes.

"Or because you are." She retorted back.

"Hey, you'd teach the advanced classes too if you'd take a hint and stop flirting with her." He said pointedly and smirked and I narrowed my eyes. Liz is flirting with Brittany?

"I'm not flirting with her!" She said loudly in defense and glanced briefly at me. Mike rolled his eyes, like they had this conversation a hundred times.

"You should just get over it already." Mike mumbled. "It ended so many years ago." He added and Liz looked around nervously. This conversation was starting to make things awkward. Apparently Liz and Brittany dated at some point. I frowned. That meant that Brittany was at least bisexual. And she told me that her last relationship was with Sam four years ago. So, Liz was before Sam.

"Brittany owns the dance studio?" Quinn finally asked, changing the uncomfortable subject and breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yes. I thought I told you that." Mike said and grabbed her hand. Quinn shook her head. "Oh well, she does." He shrugged. Quinn turned to me and arched an eyebrow. I shrugged smiling. Apparently she didn't know that Brittany owned the dance studio.

After that we ate in an uncomfortable silence. Mike obviously didn't know that Quinn was setting us up, otherwise he wouldn't say that Liz and Brittany dated at some point and that Liz still had a thing for the blonde. I didn't know what Liz's deal was. If she was still flirting with Brittany then she still wanted her, and who wouldn't? But why come here if that was the case? I decided that I really didn't care about her as long as Brittany didn't reciprocate her feelings. I'd have to find out, for my sanity's sake. After all this time that I had known Brittany, she was still a mystery to me and she kept surprising me. But I wasn't sure if this time it was a pleasant surprise or not.

After we ate Quinn stood up and started cleaning the table. I rushed to help her so I could speak with her in the kitchen, where we would be alone.

"Seriously, Q?" I asked once we were in the kitchen. Quinn put the plates she was holding on the counter and turned to me as I was putting the plates I was holding in the sink.

"What?" She shrugged. "That was fun. You should've seen your face, San." She smirked at me and I arched an eyebrow. "Priceless!" She exclaimed and laughed out loud. I frowned.

"So, you did this for fun?" I asked in disbelief and she shrugged again.

"Yeah, I knew she has a crush on Brittany. The whole studio knows that. I just didn't know that Mike was gonna spill it so soon." She said and chuckled like it wasn't a big deal. "What's the problem anyway?" She wondered and I looked at her with an incredulous look. Unsurprisingly, my problem wasn't that she set me up with someone who already had a crush on someone else.

"You knew she has a crush on Brittany and you didn't tell me?" I asked and frowned and she frowned too.

"Why would I-" She started to ask but then her eyes widen. Oh shit, I thought and regretted my question. She obviously didn't know about my crush on Brittany but now she definitely does. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed and I glared at her.

"Just don't make a big deal." I frowned and she smirked.

"Now I wasn't expecting that!" She said, smirk still on her face and I rolled my eyes. "Oh man, this is so much fun!"

"It's not even funny." I mumbled and started to walk back and out of the kitchen. But she grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned to look at her and saw her face softening and a sympathetic smile appearing on her face, reminding me why I loved Quinn so much.

"It's serious, isn't it?" She asked knowingly and I shrugged looking away. I had definitely never felt like this before for anyone. "Oh San." She sighed and I could tell that she was about to ask me more about it. But I didn't even know what was going on and I didn't know what to tell to Quinn. So I spoke up to distract her.

"I think I heard Mike calling your name." I said, although I didn't hear Mike at all. She widened her eyes and left me to go in the living room.

"You'll tell me everything later." She said over her shoulder and I shook my head at her retreating form before following her.

We decided to put on a movie and we ended up watching 'Just Go With It' with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Mike and Quinn cuddled on the couch, making things between Liz and I even more awkward, if that was possible. I glared at Quinn but she just smirked at me before turning more towards Mike who had his arm around her. Liz and I sat really close to each other on the other couch but I focused my attention on the movie and rolled my eyes every time Adam Sandler glanced at Jennifer's boobs not so subtly. I didn't notice Liz shifting closer to me on the couch and her voice near me startled me.

"I'm sorry about earlier." She started whispering before continuing. "Mike's exaggerating."

"No worries." I whispered back and glanced briefly at her before returning to the movie. I really didn't care about it. I cared more about what Brittany was feeling.

"Hey, I really like you. Do you think we could hang out some time?" She asked me then and I tried my hardest not to roll my eyes. I turned to her.

"I don't think that's a very good idea." I whispered. The last thing I needed was to hang out with Brittany's ex, who apparently still wanted her. She nodded in understanding and smiled weakly at me. I knew it was unfair of me to not like her but I couldn't help myself. Maybe I was a little jealous too but I wouldn't admit that any time soon.

After the movie finished I left Quinn's apartment with the excuse that I had to work in the morning. But only Quinn caught up with the fact that I wanted to leave from that awkward tension that was surrounding us.

I went home, showered and got ready for bed. I couldn't help but think about Brittany and Liz. I wondered if anything was going on between them but from what Mike said, probably it was nothing. I still had to make sure though so I decided to find out from Brittany herself.

A.N.: Hey, thanks for your reviews. Let me know what you think!