At seventeen-years-old, I was told that I would have to undergo open heart surgery to correct my insufficient mitral valve. Up until that point, the heart valve had been unable to close all the way, allowing for the backflow of blood into the left atrium of my heart and causing a lack of oxygen to the rest of my body. As a result, I started experiencing the shortness of breath and lightheadedness I had first noticed in the months before.
The doctors on my case almost immediately started a round of tests to see if they could locate the source of my heart problems upon my arrival at Lima Memorial Hospital. All the results, however, were inconclusive.
The doctors knew that a great pressure had somehow been exerted on my heart, causing the chordae tendinae that once held the valve shut to become damaged, but they couldn't quite pinpoint how that came to be. It wasn't like I had high blood pressure or a history of diseases that could cause mitral regurgitation. On paper, I seemed to be as healthy as could be.
And that's how I came to realize the real source of my problems.
For the first time in my life, I started to regret the research I had done regarding time travel. I scorned myself for ever thinking I could move through time without any repercussions and lamented the fact that I had spent the vast majority of my life working on this one project. All the time and effort put into it just seemed like one big waste.
And in that moment of weakness, I forgot the strikingly beautiful woman I had met during my travels. I failed to remember her charming smile and the warmth I had once found in her dark brown eyes. Without the memory of a promising future, I became a shell of my former self.
Due to the nature of the procedure, the doctors at Lima Memorial Hospital eventually decided to have me transferred to the Cleveland Clinic to undergo the operation. Once we had gotten there, I was introduced to a new team of specialists who were more experienced in how to treat cases such as mine. One in particular would even go on to help remind me what it felt like to have hope.
In the days proceeding my surgery, the main doctor on my case would occasionally drop by my room to see how I was recovering. Once I was strong enough to get up out of bed, he would join me on my slow, tedious walks around the hospital floor when time permitted. The man also took the time and sit down to just simply talk to me, especially about the doubts and fears that came as a result of my situation. Whenever those topics came up, he would assure me that things would get better; that I would go on to leave a long, healthy life.
The best thing of all this, in my opinion, was the fact that I was being shown the exact same compassion that he showed to every single one of his other patients. He was a doctor who genuinely cared about the health and well-being of the people in his care, and I unfortunately never had the chance to properly tell him just how much that really meant to me.
"Oh my gosh, I am so glad that is over," I sigh out in relief as we exited through the front doors of the doctor's office hand-in-hand.
"Me too. I think we can both rest a little easier now that all your results came back fine," Santana commented happily as she brought her free hand over to hold my arm just below the elbow, lightly running the pad of her thumb over the Band-Aid that covered the area they had drawn blood from. "Does it hurt?"
Shooting her a reassuring smile, I lightly shook my head and replied, "Nah, I barely even felt anything. It'll probably be a little sore afterwhile, but I'll manage." Leaning over, I buried a firm kiss into her hair out of thanks. San had been so supportive since learning about my past health issues and had gone above and beyond to make sure that I was okay throughout this entire ordeal.
"Okay, well are you sure you still wanting to go over to my parents' house tonight? I'm sure they'd understand if you were too tired to join them for dinner," the woman beside me asked for the hundredth time that day, not that that I minded. I knew that she was just concerned about me.
Squeezing her hand I answered, "Yes, of course I'm sure! I'm actually really excited to meet them, so don't worry about it."
"I know, I know. I just wish they would have changed the day of their cookout so you wouldn't have to be put through so much in one day. I mean, the build-up to your doctor's appointment was hard enough. Now, you'll also have to deal with my hardheaded dad, who is probably going to give you a hard time about dating me," she explained as we reached the point where we had to split up so we could go to our respective sides of the vehicle.
Sensing that she was in need of some assurance, I responded, "Honestly, it's okay. I don't mind answering his questions. I understand that he only wants the best for you, so I'll just have to do my best to show him that I can at least try my darnedest to be just that."
"You don't have to try to be anything, Britt. You're already that and so much more," Santana stated as if it were the truest thing she had ever said. "I just don't want him to intimidate you."
"Hey, stop worrying so much. Everything is going to be okay, I promise," I tried to reaffirm, but she immediately opened her mouth to object. Deciding to cut her off before she even had the chance to speak her doubts, I added, "And if he doesn't like me, then I'll just have to find a way to change his mind."
Giving me a soft smile, she asserted, "Baby, it's impossible not to love you."
"Well, then it looks like we have nothing to worry about."
She stared at me in thought for a long moment before another smile finally started to pull at her lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"See, I knew you'd see things my way," I teased, giving her a quick peck on the lips before turning around to head towards the driver's side of the vehicle. "Now, come on. I want to freshen up a bit before heading over there."
Santana was tense the entire trip over to her parent's house, only speaking up when it was time to give me the next set of directions. After parking my car in front of her house, I got out and walked around to meet her on the passenger's side only to find that she was still inside the vehicle.
Chuckling quietly to myself, I opened the door and held out my hand, silently reminding her that we were in this together. It took a minute for her to take me up on my offer, but once her hand was in mine, I gave her an encouraging grin and helped her out of her seat.
The the trip up the driveway was slow, which was mostly due to Santana moving at a snail's pace. She also didn't immediately knock upon our arrival at their doorstep. Instead, she just stared out in front of her as she tried to ready herself for whatever was about to transpire. Sensing that she was going to need another little push, I assured, "It's okay, San. Everything is going to be just fine."
"I know, B. I'm sorry," she apologized as she glanced over to me with a weak smile.
"No need to be sorry. I just wanted to remind you."
Her lips widened into a grin as she replied, "Thanks, Baby." Looking back at the door with newfound determination, she reached her hand out and rapped her knuckles against the wooden barrier.
We stood there in silence for a long moment when we heard the click of a deadbolt and turning of the knob. The door proceeded to swing open to reveal a tall, middle-aged gentleman, which I assumed to be Santana's father. Then, I actually took the time to take in his features and felt my entire body abruptly freeze.
"Hey, Pumpkin!" the man greeted as he rushed forward to pull Santana into a tight hug, completely oblivious to both me and my sudden revelation.
"Hey, Daddy!" she chuckled out in return. As soon as she was released from his grasp, Santana motioned towards me, causing the man to look over in my direction. His frame instantly stilled as soon as he caught sight of me, just as I had done a few seconds earlier. "Dad, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Bri-" Santana tried to introduce, but she was quickly cut off by the sound of her father's voice.
"Brittany Pierce?" he asked curiously as his wide eyes stared right back into mine. My name was left hanging in the air as we both tried to grasp what was going on. All the while, I could see Santana nervously glancing between the two of us from out the corner of my eye.
"H-Hi, Doctor L-Lopez," I eventually managed to stutter out as I stared up at the man I hadn't seen in years.
"Oh my goodness, it really is you! Wow, never in a million years would I have guessed that you were Santana's Brittany," the man stated with a laugh as he gave me a pat on the back. "It's really good to see you, Kiddo. How have you been?"
"I-I'm good," I stammered, still a little caught off guard by the situation.
"Fantastic! So, I assume you still live in town."
"Yes, sir. I actually moved back right after colle-" I began, but my reply was suddenly cut off by Santana's voice.
"I'm sorry, but is anyone going to explain to me what the hell is going on? How do you two know each other?" she asked in a confused tone.
Taking it upon myself to tell her, I tentatively informed, "Your dad was my doctor after I got transferred to the Cleveland Clinic."
There was a slight pause before she spoke up again. "Wait a second. You mean he-" she faltered as she realized what I had just insinuated.
"Yeah, San. He was one of the doctors that performed my surgery," I finished for her, causing the brunette to shift her gaze to her father.
"Dad?" she questioned as she looked to him for further confirmation, only to find a terse nod from the man in response. "Oh my God," she gasped, covering her mouth as she continued to shift her gaze between us and process this new bit of knowledge. Suddenly, she tookd a few steps forward and wrapped her arms around the man, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug as she mummbled into his chest, "Thank you, Dad. Thank you so much."
"Oh, Mija, it's okay. Ms. Pierce here was the one who did most of the work. I was just there to help get her back on her feet," Dr. Lopez cooed as he ran a comforting hand up and down her back. "And by the looks of things, I'd say she's doing a pretty good job taking care of herself since the last time we met."
Pulling away slightly, Santana informed, "She has!" The brunette then quickly glanced over to me to make sure it was okay before letting him know, "We actually just got back from her yearly check-up. They gave her a clean bill of health."
"Well, that's great to hear," he told her as he shifted his focus to me. "I'm glad that it doesn't seem to be giving you as much trouble anymore."
"Thank you, sir."
"Not a problem," the man responded with a smile as he added, "Anyways, let's all go inside so I can introduce you to my wife." Ushering us into the house, Dr. Lopez lead us into the kitchen and motioned to a woman standing by the sink, slicing potatoes. "Brittany, this is my wife, Maribel. Hun, it turns out Brittany here was one of my patients, oh, about-" He turned back to me, asking, "How long ago was that? Six or seven years?"
"It was ten years this month, sir."
"Goodness! Has it really been that long?"
Letting out a light laugh, I answered, "Yes, sir. I suppose it has."
"Well, isn't that something. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, by the way, Brittany," Santana's mom replied. Taking a moment to wipe her hands on a kitchen towel, she made her way over to us with her hand held out for me to shake. "We've already heard a lot about you."
"Oh?" I questioned in surprise as reciprocated the gesture, briefly sending San a fleeting glance from out of the corner of my eye. "Mostly good things, I hope."
"Only good things, Dear," the woman stressed, causing in her daughter to shoot me a cheeky grin. "Oh, and I hope you like burgers and homemade fries."
"I sure do, Mrs. Lopez."
"Great, then why don't you come help me get everything on the grill while Mari and Santana finish prepping the fries," Santana's father insisted as he walked over to the refrigerator, glancing back over at me as he opened it to grab a drink. "Beer?" he asked, holding one out for me.
"Sure, thank you," I replied. Taking the beverage from his hand, I popped open the top and slipped on the hugger he had handed to me.
After grabbing a can of his own, he closed the appliance door and walked across the room towards the food sitting out on the stove. Momentarily shifting my gaze over to San, I noticed a surprised expression on her face. Silently asking if it was okay that I follow him, she slowly nodded while still maintaining the uncertain look in her eyes.
Apparently, this wasn't a thing that happened very often.
Once the man had the foil-covered pan in his hand, he turned back to give me a smile and nodded his head at the door I assumed led to the backyard, which I quickly opened for him to walk through. Shutting the door behind us, I continued to follow him towards the large propane grill located in the far corner of the spacious wooden deck.
"So, Brittany, I'm curious. Did you ever take up dance again?" Dr. Lopez suddenly asked before taking a long pull from his beer can and setting it down on the small lawn table next to the barbecue pit. "If I remember correctly, you were still considering it the last time we spoke."
Feeling my eyes widen in surprise, I answered, "Wow, you have a really impressive memory."
"Yeah, it's kind of what got me through med school," the man chuckled with a shrug.
"Ah, I see. Well, I guess we can't all be that lucky," I teased before answering his previous question. "And no, I never went back to dancing after my surgery."
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. After everything that happened, I just really needed to do something different, which was what originally led to me seeking an occupation in the medical field," I chuckled.
"Ah, yes, I forgot that Santana had said something about you being a veterinarian. How are you liking that?"
Unable to stop the wide grin spreading across my face I answered, "I love it. It's a really fulfilling profession."
"Yeah, I can certainly image why. A lot of stress can be put on doctors of any nature, but being able to help patients go on to live happy, productive lives is something that I've truly come to treasure during my time as a surgeon," Dr. Lopez stated, giving me a meaningful look before shifting his attention over to the pit. "Anyways, let's get this patties on the grill before the our girls come out here and start complaining," he joked as he lit the fire on the grill.
"Oh, I definitely don't want any of that. I'm not sure about your wife, but Santana does not mess around when it comes to her food, especially when she's hungry."
Flashing me a bright smile, the man replied, "Well, you know what they say. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch.
Since we had opposing dominant hands, San and I sat to where we could hold hands under the table, just like we always did. As we ate our meal, the two older adults took turns sharing stories from Santana's childhood that were always sure to be followed by bouts of laughter, though San didn't seem to find them quite as funny as the rest of us.
The atmosphere turned out to be not at all what I had originally expected, much to my delight. It was carefree and relaxed and basically everything I could have ever hoped for. As the night continued to wind down, however, my girlfriend began to notice how tired I was starting to get and insisted that we head home so I could rest.
"It was really nice to see you again, Brittany," Santana's father stated after walking us to the door.
"You, too, Dr. Lopez," I replied as I reached out to shake his hand.
"Please, call me Carlos."
"Yes, sir."
"And enough of that sir business. It makes me feel old," he added with a teasing grin. "Anyways, we'll hopefully be seeing you again soon. Maybe on Christmas Eve?"
"Actually, we're supposed to be spending Christmas Eve with her family, but we might be able to drop by on Christmas Day?" Santana replied, glancing over at me to make sure it was alright.
Nodding my head, I answered, "Christmas Day is good for me."
"Great, I'll be looking forward to seeing you then."
"You, too, Dr. Lo-Er, I mean, Carlos?" I returned with a quirked brow, my statement coming out as more of a question.
Letting out a boisterous round of laughter, the man gave me a firm pat on the back as he told his daughter, "I like this one. You need to keep her around."
Santana looks at him with a stunned but giddy grin as she replied, "That's the plan."
"Good," he responded before shifting his gaze back and forth between us. "Now, you two take care of yourselves, and I'll see you at Christmas!"
"Alright, see you then," Santana called over her shoulder as she slipped her hand into mine and began leading me back to the car.
The drive back to her house was mostly silent as Santana stared out the window. Despite her being in deep thought, I could tell that Santana was extremely pleased with how the evening played out, especially after she darted out of the car and started dragging me in the direction of my front porch. As soon as we were inside, I heard the door close behind me and instantly felt my back slam into the wall behind me. The only thing that registered after that was a pair of soft lips crashing against mine as I was pulled into a searing kiss, which I immediately responded to.
"Holy jamma lamma! This is so hot," I airily mumbled between labored breaths a minute or so later as Santana began hastily pressing a trail of wet, open-mouthed kisses across my face.
"I cannot fucking believe how easy that was. My dad never likes anyone I bring home," she whispered into my ear before her lips descended down my neck to nip at my pulse point.
"Yeah, but that's different. We already knew each other before tonight," I tried to reason, but she was having none of it as she pulled away to look me square in the eye.
"Don't care. It's still amazing," she responded, placing her hands firmly on my hips. "You're still amazing."
"Whatever you say, Babe," I conceded as I reached my hands up to gently cup both sides of her face, tracing her jawline with my thumbs as I returned her steady gaze. We gradually leaned in for another kiss, but this time, it was no longer rough or rushed. Instead, our touches became softer, more careful.
Feeling the brunette start to fiddle with the hemline of my shirt, I helped her gently remove it and watched as her eyes scanned my upper body, suddenly stopping on in the middle of my bra-clad chest.
Tracing her line of sight, I noticed her gaze trained on my scar, just like the first time she had seen it. I remained completely still as she slowly brought her hand up towards the jagged line of skin; her finger tips hovering just above their destination as she looked up with a questioning gaze.
"It's okay, San," I quietly assured, swallowing dryly as I felt her slowly began tracing her fingers up and down the puckered skin. She stayed close like that for a long time, only stopping her movements to lean down to place a light, loving kiss to the scar.
"Come on, Babe. Let's get you to bed," she suggested as she looked back up at me with a devilish smirk and pulled away, slowly slipping off her own t-shirt as she continued to saunter backwards in the direction my bedroom.
I woke up the next morning to find my favorite sleeping beauty wrapped up in my arms; her messy head of hair tucked securely under my chin. Releasing a contented sigh, I gently pressed my nose and lips into the disheveled tresses as I pulled her further into me, trying to get as close as possible to the woman. Just as I was about to close my eyes and fall back asleep, I felt my girlfriend stir slightly before rolling over to face me.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, cracking my eyes open slightly to look down at her.
"Mmm," Santana grumbled as she scooted forward to bury her face into my chest.
"I'll take that as a yes," I tiredly chuckled as I brought my hand up to gently run my fingers through her hair. "You got some serious bedhead this morning, Babe."
"Mhmm, I kn'w."
"Don't worry. I find it super sexy," I teased, fighting back the smile threatening to break out across my face.
Pulling back, she snapped her eyes up to mine and narrowed them into a sleepy glare. "Liar," she rasped out, causing a loud laugh to erupt from my throat. Not finding my joke the least bit funny, she pushed herself away from me and moved to the other side of the bed.
"Aw, come on, San. I was just kidding. Come back," I plead as I reached out towards her.
"Nope," she simply threw over her shoulder as she flipped over to face away from me.
"But Baby-"
"Not listening."
"Santana," I whined as I crawled over to where she was, only to find the other woman covering her mouth with one of her hands as she shook with muffled laughter. "Hey, you jerk! That's not funny."
"Look who needs to lighten up now," she shot back as she sat up to kiss me. "All forgiven?"
"No," I answered sternly.
Pressing another peck to my lips, she asked, "What about now?"
"Nope," I refused in a voice that was just as firm as before.
And then there was another.
Feeling my shoulders start to relax, I responded, "Nu-uh."
And another.
"Nada," I stated with an exaggerated shake of my head.
And another.
"Empanada," I giggled out, putting extra emphasis on the last half of the word.
Pulling away to look at me with a knowing smirk, Santana concluded, "Okay, now you're just being silly."
"What would ever give you that idea?" I inquired as I leaned down to press our lips together once more. "Hm, I think you're actually getting really close to being forgiven now. Maybe if we just keep-"
Already knowing my train of thought, Santana slid her hand behind my neck and pulled me into a searing kiss. We continued getting our mack on, as Santana liked to call it, until air became an issue. Pulling apart, we proceeded to gasp for air with content smiles spread broadly across our faces.
"I love you, Britt-Britt," the brunette proclaimed breathlessly, causing my heart to flutter for all the right reasons.
"I love you, too, San. More than I have ever loved anyone else in this world."
"Couldn't agree more," she replied with an affectionate grin. Suddenly, I watched her happy expression shifted to one of uneasiness. Sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, she momentarily worried it between her teeth before asking, "Hey, Britt?"
"Yeah?" I questioned in curiosity.
"I know this will sound really weird, but do you think I could maybe listen to your heart? You know, like with your stethoscope? I've always been really curious to hear what it sounds like."
Relaxing a bit now that I knew that's all she was worried about, I assured, "Yes, Babe. Of course you can. Do you want me to go get it?"
"No, I can do it," she said as she threw back the covers and hopped out of bed. "It's on the desk in your office, right?"
"Hopefully," I distractedly answered with a lopsided grin as I watched her pull the discarded top sheet off the end of the bed so she could cover herself up.
Realizing what I was doing, she rolled her eyes and replied, "Alright, I'll be right back."
As soon as she left the room, I flopped onto my back and began thinking about the previous night's activities. To be honest, I had always been secretly afraid of what would happen when we got to that point in our relationship.
Now, don't get me wrong. I had absolutely loved being able to share something like that with Santana and would never even dream of regretting it, but that didn't mean I wasn't scared. Why? Because she still had no idea about what I knew about our future, and when it did come time to tell her, I didn't want her to think I had been trying to take advantage of her or her trust. In fact, that was the absolute last thing I wanted.
"What's got you in such deep thought?" Santana suddenly asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.
Snapping my gaze over to her, I responded, "Oh, nothing. Just thinking."
"About?"
"Me and you," I answered truthfully, though I knew I would have to changed the subject fast to prevent her from asking questions. Giving her a smile, I inquired, "So, you ready?"
"Yeah, I think so," she responded as she slipped on the stethoscope and prepared herself for what she was about to experience.
"Uh, Babe," I suddenly called out.
"Yeah?"
"You have it on backwards," I chuckled, causing her to quickly reach up to flip the device around before replacing the earpieces into her ears.
Looking back over to me, she asked, "Better?"
"Much better. Now, come sit down so you can listen," I said as I patted the spot beside me.
Slowly, she slid onto the bed, awkwardly holding the chestpeice up in the air as if she were unsure what to do next.
Reaching up to grab her hand, I pulled it under the covers so I could bring the diaphragm of the stethoscope over to rest somewhere between my fifth and sixth rib near my left mid-clavicular line. "How's that? Do you hear it?"
"Mhmm," she hummed out in concentration, adjusting it slightly to so she could listen to it better.
"You hear how it's kind of like a lub-dub sound?" Watching her nod in response, I continued, "What you're hearing is my left AV valve, also known as the mitral valve. The lub sound is from the valve closing while the dub sound means it's opened. Back before my surgery, the doctors could also hear a loud swishing noise between them, which is how they found out about my murmur."
"So, no swishing means it's completely closed?"
"Well, there may be a little leakage, but it definitely is no where near what it was before."
San looked up at me for the first time since my little lesson began, staring at me for a long moment as she continued to listen to the repetitious sounds coming from inside my chest. I just continued to lay there with a small smile, letting her observe the beating of my heart without anymore interruptions. Then, without moving her hand, Santana slowly leaned down to pull me into a loving kiss that I couldn't help but reciprocate.
Author's Note:
Hello there! Thank you all for taking the time to read this update. To be honest, I really loved writing this chapter, despite its imperfections. I especially loved getting to take out my physiology book so I could get all the heart stuff right. Haha.
Anyways, I hope to see you all next time!
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