A/N: Home stretch! I'm thinking between 3 & 6 more chapters (1-2 for Jagged Little Tapestry, 1-2 for What the World Needs Now, 1-2 for A Wedding).

In trying to figure out the timeline: Homecoming is the weekend of October 4th. So the OGs show up around the 2nd, on the 3rd they do their initial recruitment with the Unholy Trinity/Artie doing PROBLEM on the 3rd and then the bonfire is on the 4th. (Oh, and I have no idea where I came up with October 4th as homecoming.)

The proposal would be the following week; Rachel and Kurt would introduce the new members to the "theme" on Monday. Proposal (Hand In My Pocket/I Feel the Earth Move) on Tuesday. Head Over Feet/Will You Still Love Me & Becky's attempt to sing with Tina and Quinn is on Wednesday. Thursday is a no sing day and Friday would be You Live, You Learn/You've Got a Friend. (Basically October 6 – 10).

I'm going with What the World Needs Now is October 10 – December 1.

Then A Wedding will be December 1 – February 28

The next story: Dreams Come True will cover (roughly) March 1, 2015 through March of 2019 (The Only Dream That Matters happens in Fall of 2018)

The "anniversary reaction" or "anniversary effect" is a real thing. How Brittany feels is how I have experienced it ... it sucks.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Chapter 10 – Lima, OH (October 2 – October 5)

They arrived in Lima late in the evening on October second. They had agreed to meet Rachel in the auditorium the following morning to surprise Kurt and decide how to best approach the problem at hand.

The fact was not one of them knew what the hell they were doing.

And yet.

By the time the bonfire started on Saturday, they had managed to recruit four members. It wasn't enough to compete. But it was a start.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany walked into the bedroom, hair still damp from her shower, and smiled at a sleeping Santana; she was sitting up, glasses sliding down her nose, tablet loose in limp hands. Brittany slid the glasses off Santana's face and removed the tablet, setting both on the nightstand.

"Honey, wake up." She gently stroked Santana's cheek.

Santana's head snapped up. "Huh? What? What's going on?"

"You fell asleep reading. Come on, lie down, get comfy."

Santana yawned and slid down until she was lying flat. Brittany turned the overhead light off and made her way back to the bed, slipping in next to Santana. Santana turned toward her and kissed her softly.

"Sorry, Britt, didn't realize how tired I was."

Brittany smiled and kissed her back. "It's been a long couple of days. Courtney wants to go to the Motocross track in Delphos tomorrow. We're gonna leave around seven."

Santana groaned and Brittany laughed. "I'm just letting you know; you don't have to come with us. I just didn't want you to wake up to an empty house."

"Oh. Thank you. Where are your parents? Did you tell me?"

Brittany shook her head. "No, they left a note saying they were going to Columbus for a couple of days and to drop Court off at Jessica's tomorrow evening. We'll probably get back from Delphos around two or three, she can shower at the track then I'll just drop her off on the way back."

"What are they in Columbus for?"

Brittany shrugged. "Dunno. The note didn't say and mom didn't pick up the phone."

Santana pulled her close. "You okay?"

"I just … I hate when they do this. I know Court'll be fine at Jess' but … damn … they're her parents they shouldn't just dump her off without any explanation. I mean, I guess I'm glad they didn't just take off without making arrangements for Court but they didn't talk to me or let me know. We could handle Courtney for a couple of days. Sometimes … I just wonder if they even think about me at all."

"Oh, sweetie. We didn't really give them a timeline of how long we're in Lima for or what our plans were … maybe they just didn't want to put you on the spot or take advantage of us or whatever."

"Maybe. A conversation would have been nice."

"I love them … but … parental isn't the first word that comes to mind when I think of Mama and Papa P." Santana gave Brittany a sympathetic look. "Grams and I talked about it at Thanksgiving last year. They love you, you know that. Your mom just never knew what being a mother meant and your dad just kind of trails along in her wake accepting that what she's doing must be the right thing to do."

Brittany nodded. "I love them. Sometimes, though, I wish I had parents instead of friends."

Santana cuddled her close. "We both could have done worse." She paused, considering. "Could have done better."

They were silent for a few moments and Santana thought Brittany had fallen asleep until she asked, almost inaudibly, "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me … we'll do better."

"I promise." Santana knew they hadn't really talked about having kids. Hadn't had a serious discussion about them but she knew Brittany wanted them and she wanted them with Brittany.

Brittany sighed softly in contentment and slipped off to sleep safe in Santana's arms.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany kissed Santana gently and smiled as the Latina grumbled. "Just wanted to let you know we were leaving. I love you and I'll see you later."

"loveu" was the muffled response.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Santana woke up around nine-thirty and stretched. She vaguely remembered Britt waking her up before she left. She knew Britt and Courtney would be gone until after two so she decided to call her mom and see if she was free for brunch.

After agreeing to meet at eleven-thirty, Santana jumped in the shower then dressed casually in faded jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a red hoodie. She put the engagement ring box in the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie, grabbed her phone, her wallet, and her keys and headed out to meet her mother.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Maribel POV:

Maribel Lopez watched as Santana walked into the restaurant and smiled to herself. She looked good. Happy. Healthy. Healthier than she'd have expected after being on tour with nothing but fast food on the menu. She stood up and embraced her daughter.

"Hola, mija, you look good."

"Hi, mami. Thank you. We ate out a lot but we found a balance of exercising and finding healthier choices at the restaurants we ate at." She smiled.

They sat down and the waitress came to get their orders and bring them coffee. The girl smiled flirtatiously at Santana and Maribel had to stifle a laugh at her daughter's complete lack of response. Maribel watched throughout brunch as the waitress tried, in vain, to flirt with a completely oblivious Santana.

Maribel watched as Santana animatedly told her about 'life on the road' and where they went and things they did. Santana was nervous about something but it seemd different from the anxious nerves she had when she came out; these seemed more like excitement nerves.

They talked over brunch and several cups of coffee before Maribel finally had to ask.

"Santana?" She looked seriously at her daughter.

"Yeah?"

"What has you so nerved up?"

"How … ?"

"I am your mother. I may not have been exactly attentive but I still know you and your mannerisms. So? What's going on?"

Santana bit her lower lip and smiled shyly. She reached into the front pocket of her sweatshirt and extended her hand to Maribel. Maribel took the item from Santana's hand and gasped as she saw the red velvet ring box.

"Mija?"

Santana's smile grew and she nodded at the box.

Maribel opened it and gasped again. "Oh, mija, it's so beautiful. When?"

"I'm hoping by the end of the month but definitely by the end of the year. By this time next year, I want Brittany to be my wife."

Maribel felt her eyes well up with tears as she closed the box carefully and moved around the table to embrace her daughter.

"Oh, mija, I am happy for you!"

Santana chuckled nervously. "She hasn't said yes."

Maribel sat back down and handed the box back to Santana, who tucked it right back into her pocket. "She will. If I am certain about nothing else, I am certain about that. That young woman loves you unreservedly, unconditionally. It's a rare thing." She paused, she was happy for Santana and she believed she and Brittany were perfect for each other but …

"Mami?"

"Santana," she struggled to find the right words. She didn't want to upset Santana or have her think Maribel was not being supportive. "I love you. I love Brittany and I am so, so happy."

"But … ?" Santana's eyes were wary and Maribel could see her closing herself off.

"Don't, bebe, don't pull back. There isn't a but … exactly … there's a concern. I believe in you and Brittany. I have no doubt about the two of you. My concern is more about your futures. Have you talked about what you're going to do? Where you're going to do it?"

Santana nodded in understanding. "I have an idea of what I think we should do but, no, we haven't talked about it in depth yet. When I figure out when I'm going to propose I'm going to initiate the conversation to make sure that we're on the same page about what we want and where we'll go." Santana pauses for a moment. "I know we're young but I just don't see the point in waiting five or ten years. In five or ten years, I want us to be settled in our careers, maybe own a house and be ready to start a family. If we wait to get married, then everything just gets pushed back and we start our family much later than I think is smart."

"Why? I mean, why would you have to wait?"

Santana thinks for a minute. "I know that we can live together. We've been doing it for sixteen months but that's all been in a bubble of sorts. Living together without being married is different. I've seen it. People live together for five years and get married and divorced in two." She frowns, trying to figure out exactly what she's trying to say. "I'm twenty. We get married in the next year and I'm twenty-one. We then can spend five or six years just being married. Working through the stuff in the real world that we didn't have to worry about the past year-and-a-half. That means we'll be ready to start a family when I'm twenty-seven or eight. We can't just … have a baby. There are things we'll need to look into, money will need to be saved, procedures that may take two or three tries. If we get married when I'm twenty-seven, we won't even be thinking about kids until we're in our thirties because I want to be married for a few years before we have children. I don't think I want to risk that. If it takes two or three years to get pregnant …"

Maribel finally understands. "You want to be younger to make sure that there is less likely to be complications."

"Yeah. I know we could just live together but … I don't see the point in waiting at all. I know I'm going to love her forever." Santana shrugs. "I've dated men, I've dated women." She shakes her head. "I've loved Brittany since I was thirteen. I shook her hand and left my heart in her palm. I once told her I worked my ass off to get over her but I never did. I thought I did but I didn't. I realized that I could never give my heart to anyone else because it didn't belong to me anymore. There's this song. It's weird, I know all these random lyrics but have no idea how I know them, why I know them, who sings them, or even the name of the song. The line that keeps circling my head is: but those dreams move on if you wait too long. I don't want to wait too long and miss my window. I don't want Britt to get tired of waiting, you know?"

Maribel nodded. "How do you know she won't propose?"

Santana smiled softly. "It's my turn to take the risk. I mean, I don't think it's much of a risk but … Britt was the one who took a chance on kissing me to, hopefully, get us back together." She nods. "So, I think she'll wait for me to make the next 'big move', you know?"

"I see."

"Mami … it's not like I don't have plans. I know what I want to do and I'm pretty sure Britt will be with me. The thing is … it doesn't actually matter. If I want to go to New York and she wants to go to LA we'll talk about it. Figure out what makes sense for both of us. It doesn't matter what we do because we're going to do it together regardless." She frowned. "Does that make sense?"

"It does. I am so, so happy for you, mija. Please don't think I'm not or that I don't support you. I always thought she was good for you as a friend; as a partner, she's perfect for you. I'm a mother," she smiles at her daughter, "we worry. It's what we do."

Santana laughed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned. "It's dead, dammit. What time is it?"

Maribel checked her watch; she knew she could check her phone but she preferred her watch; it seemed less rude to look at a watch than to constantly be checking a phone. "It's a bit after three." She watched as her daughter's face fell.

"I've gotta go. Britt's probably home and I didn't even leave a note or anything; I didn't think I'd be gone this long. Can I see your phone to text her?"

"I don't have Brittany's number, mi corazon."

Maribel watches as Santana groans and begins to panic. "Go. I will settle the bill and talk to you later."

Santana hurriedly stands up and kisses her mother on the cheek. "Thank you, mami, te amo."

"Te amo, tambien, mija."

Maribel smiles and shakes her head as Santana hurries out of the restaurant. She signals the waitress to bring the check and smiles politely as the young woman looks a bit crestfallen at the fact that Santana was no longer at the table. The girl does manage to be polite.

"Can I get you anything else, ma'am?"

"Just the check, please."

The young woman hands her the bill and hesitates a moment. "Was that your daughter?"

Maribel nods as she looks over the bill. "Yes," she smiles at the young woman, "it was."

"Um … is she single?" The young woman blushed furiously as she asked the question.

Maribel chuckled. "No, she isn't. She hasn't truly been single since she was thirteen. She asked me to brunch to tell me she was going to propose to her girlfriend."

The young waitress' face fell. "Oh." She sighed. "Lucky girl. The good ones are always taken." She smiled slightly as she took Maribel's payment.

"Keep the change. And, don't worry," she patted the young girl's hand, "your forever is out there." She smiled kindly as she stood up to leave.

The waitress smiled a little broader. "Thank you, ma'am. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Maribel nodded and headed toward the exit. She would enjoy her day today. She would figure out what to tell Raphael once Santana proposed.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

Santana hurried into the house and put the keys on one of the hooks beside the door.

"Britt? Baby? You home?" She glanced in the living room and saw it was empty so she continued on down the hallway. She walked into their bedroom and found Brittany sitting against the headboard, phone gripped tight in her hands, her arms wrapped around her knees, and tears staining her face.

Santana hurried over and pulled Brittany into a tight hug.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She gently stroked her hands over Brittany's back and held her close. "What happened?"

Brittany pulled back and the hurt in her eyes took Santana by surprise. "Where were you? You weren't here, you weren't answering your phone or texts."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Santana didn't understand why Brittany was so upset but she was determined to make her feel better no matter what. "I forgot to charge my phone last night. I went to brunch with mom and I just lost track of time. I thought I'd be home before you." She gently wiped the tears from Brittany's face. "I'm sorry, baby."

Brittany shook her head. "I don't know why I'm so upset. I mean … you weren't here and you weren't answering and, all of sudden, I got so sad. Like I was never going to see you again."

Santana felt her stomach drop. "Oh, Britt. Do you know what yesterday was?"

Brittany shook her head, looking a bit confused.

"It was October fourth. Two years ago, yesterday, I walked away from you and I stopped answering your calls consistently and stopped texting regularly."

Brittany frowned. "But … that was two years ago? Why would I be sad about it now? We made up and everything."

"I didn't learn a lot in my classes at Louisville but, one of the things that stuck with me was something called 'the anniversary effect'." She sighs and thinks for a moment. "The mind forgets but the body remembers. You expected me to be here when you got home and I wasn't; your body 'remembered' me walking away and then you couldn't get me on the phone. All of that just, sort of, reminded you that this happened before and what it meant." Santana smiled sadly. "Last year we were in the UK so the date passed without either of us recognizing it; we were together and having fun. I'm so sorry, Britt."

Brittany shook her head. "I get what you're saying but I don't think you have to apologize for something you have no control over."

"But I do have some control. I should have made sure my phone was charged. Or left you a note. Or … something. We need to send mami your phone number."

"Baby, you couldn't have known this would happen. Neither of us was thinking about the date yesterday." She smiled wryly, "I'm actually fine now; it's like, I figured it out and I'm okay." She hands Santana her phone so she can program in Maribel's number.

Santana quickly sends her mother a text from Brittany's phone then looks back at the blonde.

"Good. I'm glad you're okay now." She gently stroked Brittany's cheek. "You look exhausted, though. Let me change and we'll take a nap then we'll order pizza and watch a movie. What time do we have to be in the choir room tomorrow?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Ugh. Early to bed tonight, then, too. I'll be right back." She kissed Britt gently on the forehead and went into the bathroom.

She looked around; where was she going to hide the ring until she could put it back in its hidey-hole in the closet? She finally decided to just leave it in the hoodie pocket; she wasn't going to wear it tomorrow so she hung the hoodie on a hook on the back of the door then hung her jeans over it. That should do until she had a chance to re-hide it.

xoxoxoxo

Song referenced is Billy Ray Cyrus - Could've Been Me

A/N: The "anniversary reaction" or "anniversary effect" is a real thing. How Brittany feels is how I have experienced it ... it sucks.