Epilogue?

A/N: Not sure this is really an "epilogue" … more of a bunch of scattered remnants to tie up this part of the story. Epilogue seems to suggest an end and there are at least two more parts to this story: Dreams Come True & Dream Thieves and Guardians.

And, once again, it ended up much longer than I'd anticipated. Damn characters.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Chapter 18 – Shipshewana, IN/Lima, OH (February 20 – 28)

February 21

The wedding had lasted into the wee hours of Saturday morning; by the time Brittany and Santana had said their goodbyes and made their way back to the hotel, they were just able to remove their dresses and fall into bed.

Their wake-up call came at seven-thirty; Santana grumbled and groused as Brittany bounced out of bed. Everyone was meeting back at the barn by nine to make sure everything was cleaned up for Tom and Daisy, the old couple who owned the barn,

Brittany got out of the shower to find Santana still curled up in the bed. She smiled softly; Santana wasn't exactly a morning person but she was always extra difficult the day after a party – whether she'd had too much to drink or not. Brittany was convinced that Santana was an introvert with some extrovert traits; large groups of people wore her out and Brittany usually found her hiding somewhere after about four or five hours. Brittany was actually surprised that Santana had made it through the entire wedding and reception without a break.

Of course, that would explain why she was so exhausted this morning.

"Baby," she said gently, sitting at the side of the bed and running her hand softly up and down Santana's bare back, "come on, we have to get going. Everyone is going to be there, we don't want to be late."

Santana whined a bit as she started shifting and making movements to get up. "Briiiiitt, we haven't even had married lady sex yet."

Brittany laughed and kissed her lightly on the temple. "I promise, we will have plenty of time for that later but we have to go make sure the barn is cleaned up; I don't want to take advantage of Tom and Daisy's kindness."

Santana grumbled a bit more but finally got out of bed. She smiled at Brittany and kissed her softly on the cheek as she walked to the bathroom. "Morning, wife," she whispered, emphasizing the word wife.

Brittany smiled brightly. "Good morning, wifey." She bounced on the balls of her feet. They were married!

Santana chuckled as she entered the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

They arrived at the barn a little before nine; the others trickling in around them.

There wasn't much to do; the caterers were already there, clearing the tables, chairs, and heaters, and picking up and removing the trash.

The Glee Club carefully packaged up the stained glass windows and put them in Sam's car; he had promised to return them on Monday.

The tulle and fairy lights were boxed up and put in Santana and Brittany's car; Santana had no idea what Britt's plans for the tulle were but she knew Britt had a stash of fairy lights because "you never knew when you might have a fairy light emergency, like, what if we need to make a fort out of sheets and pillows, San?". Santana grinned at her wife. Then grinned wider as she thought about the fact that … THEY WERE MARRIED!

Tom and Daisy came out around eleven to say hello. They smiled at the girls.

"Hope everything looks okay," Santana told them, "I think we've gotten everything out."

"It looks wonderful dear," Daisy said. "Thank you for allowing us to join the festivities yesterday. I don't think Tom and I have danced so much in years."

"Oh, we were glad to have you. Thank you so much for letting us do this here. It meant a lot to my mother-in-law."

"You're welcome." Tom looked at her thoughtfully. "If you don't mind some advice from an old man," he started.

"Of course," Santana wasn't sure what a man who'd gotten married before homosexuality had been declassified as a mental disorder would have to tell her but she was willing to listen.

"When things get difficult … and they will get difficult … remember how you felt yesterday. Remember why you fell in love in the first place. I've been married fifty years and I still don't know much about women but I know this; if the only reason to say something is to hurt your wife, don't say it. It's tempting, in the middle of an argument, to say something hurtful to 'score points' but, in the end, it's not worth it. When a couple argues, nobody wins; you either both win or you both lose because it's not you against her, it's the two of you against the world, against the situation. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine." He smiled kindly. "Of course, watching the two of you yesterday, I think you'll be fine regardless. Not sure I've ever seen anyone look at another person the way you look at your bride; except for when she looks at you." He winked and Santana giggled.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. She knew his advice was sound. She'd always hated fighting with Brittany and never felt like there was a winner; Tom had just put that into perspective for her.

"Come on now, Tom, enough of your prattling," Daisy said with a smile and a shake of her head, "I'm sure these young folks have better things to do than listen to us talk about marriage." Daisy hugged Santana briefly. "You'll be fine, dear. You and Brittany …" she shook her head. "Never thought I'd meet anyone who could love someone more than I love Tom … until I met you and Brittany."

Santana felt her cheeks warm at the sentiment as the older couple walked back to their house.

Fifty years. 2065. Seemed like a lifetime away and yet Santana knew it would be gone in an instant. She looked at Brittany and smiled. It would still be the best instant of her life.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 21 – 22

They spent a few hours wandering around Shipshewana, checking out shops and what there was to do before going back to the hotel.

Brittany lied down on the couch and flipped on the Hallmark channel; cheesy Valentine stories seemed like fun. Santana curled up on top of Brittany, like a cat in a beam of sunshine, and promptly dozed off as Brittany ran long fingers through raven locks.

They spent the remainder of Saturday and Sunday in their hotel room; making love, ordering room service, and napping … all on a shuffled loop; order food, eat, nap, make love, nap, make love, order food … etc. By the time they fell into an exhausted sleep Sunday night, Brittany had more than made up for Santana having to get up early Saturday.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 23

They got up early on Monday and met Kurt and Blaine for breakfast. As it turned out, they didn't have to tell the guys they needed a marriage license; it became evident as soon as Burt signed Santana and Brittany's. They looked at each other and decided that February 20 would be their anniversary because that was the day they'd committed to each other but they'd go to the county clerk and the courthouse on Monday to make it legal. They asked Brittany and Santana to join them as their witnesses and Brittany had quickly agreed not even giving Santana a chance to object.

After their "wedding" Kurt and Blaine were going back to Lima but Brittany and Santana were spending another night in Shipshewana to celebrate Britt's twenty-first birthday on the twenty-third.

They spent the day doing whatever Brittany had a mind to do; farm animal petting zoo, buggy rides, barn quilt tour. They went into a few different shops and Santana bought Brittany whatever Britt expressed even the slightest interest in, including a beautiful hand-crafted Amish quilt in dark grays and light blues. Brittany fell in love with it and Santana couldn't/wouldn't refuse her.

They got back to the hotel and Santana smiled at her wife.

"Good birthday?"

Brittany grinned. "The best. I had the best party! Best gift? My wedding band."

"Brittany …" Santana said in that impossibly sweet and small voice that she only used with her wife.

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's neck. "I love you, Santana. I am so, so happy right now. I don't ever want to forget this feeling." She leaned in and kissed her wife slowly, sensually.

Santana returned the kiss with the same ardor, leading Brittany to the bed to finish the birthday celebrations.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

February 24

They pulled up to the Pierce household around one in the afternoon and were surprised to see cars lining the street. They grabbed their bags and walked into the house to a chorus of "congratulations", "welcome home"s and "happy birthday"s. A party.

Brittany sighed. She knew Santana was still recovering from their wedding. She looked at her wife, who had a smile on her face (a smile that only Brittany could tell was forced). Santana smiled at Brittany (a small, but real, smile) and took their bags to their bedroom. She frowned as she passed the spare room; the door was closed and, upon testing the handle, locked. She shook the thought away, squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and went back out to the party.

Brittany was by her side in an instant. "I'm sorry, honey, I had no idea they were planning this." She whispered quietly in Santana's ear.

Santana smiled. "It's okay, Britt. It's your twenty-first birthday, of course they want to celebrate." She wasn't up for a party but she wouldn't put a damper on things … for Brittany's sake, she'd suck it up.

Brittany smiled and kissed her softly on the temple. "I love you. You don't have to stay long. Make a break for it after you've eaten."

Santana laughed. Brittany was something else; she knew Santana so well.

They made the rounds of the party together, at first. When they separated, Santana went into the kitchen to find something to eat. She found Brittany's Grams puttering about.

"Santana!" Grams hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy to see you. The wedding was beautiful. The two of you were exquisite. It was generous of you to share your day with those two young men but, honestly, they may as well not have been there for all the attention I paid them." She chuckled lightly, then smiled softly at Santana. "I am so very happy the two of you got married. You weren't kidding last Thanksgiving."

Santana laughed. "I wasn't taking any chances. I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. No reason to wait."

"Good." Susan nodded. "Now I don't have to worry about some … boy … showing up and just being with Brittany because she's beautiful. You see her. You always have." Susan hugged her again and exited the kitchen, leaving Santana alone.

She quickly made herself a plate of food, grabbed a diet cola out of the fridge, and slipped down the hallway to their room. It really was their room now. She closed the door, set the food down on Brittany's desk, and changed out of her jeans and into a pair of comfortable sleep shorts. She settled onto the bed with her food and her tablet.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

When Brittany went looking for Santana two hours later, she smiled as she found her bride sound asleep with an empty dish and a half-drunk bottle of diet cola on the nightstand. She put away Santana's tablet, placed a blanket over the sleeping Latina, grabbed the plate, and turned the lights off as she left the bedroom.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

February 25

Brittany and Santana sat in the spare room at the Pierce's and opened their wedding gifts (Whitney had told Britt yesterday that she'd locked the door because, even though they knew and trusted everyone, why leave it open to temptation; Gramps had caught Puck trying to slip a gift into his uniform Friday).

As they opened them, they wrote out the thank you notes; they didn't want to leave it until they came back from their honeymoon. In the Bahamas. Courtesy of … Sue? Santana shook her head – it was too much to process. They'd decided to take the honeymoon in March; figuring this would give them enough time to make arrangements for school and an apartment and whatever else once they got back. They'd have April, May, and part of June to get settled (assuming they were able to start in the summer session).

They were opening the cards when Brittany stopped.

"Um … San?"

Santana looked up.

Brittany handed her the card she was holding.

Santana took it and opened it; inside was a cashier's check for twenty-five thousand dollars. Santana's jaw dropped. They didn't know anyone …

"My father."

"Your father."

They said at the same time. Santana frowned.

"It doesn't make any sense, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we already forgave him. He left this in the box, anonymously, before we forgave him. He wasn't using it as a bribe or a thank you?"

Brittany nodded.

"Like Sue … sure she brought my abuela but then she asked for a 'favor' – like we could say no. But my father …"

Santana grabbed her phone and called her mother.

"Hola, mija. How are you? How is Brittany? The wedding was lovely, bebe."

"Thank you, mami. Um … is papi there?"

"Hm? Yes, wait a moment."

Santana heard her mother call for her father and a moment later the man was on the line.

"Hola, mija. Yes, the check is from me."

"How did you know … ?"

Raphael chuckled. "I just assumed that is why you called. I left it before the ceremony. I … I had not planned on talking to you or Brittany that day. I thought I would slip quietly away and you would have never even known I was there. But, then, I saw you smile and I realized that my pride was stopping me from being part of my daughter's life. The money was always meant for your wedding, mija. Use it to defray whatever costs you have left or to replenish whatever savings you may have used. Or use it for a car or a house … or whatever you deem necessary. It's not a bribe, there are no strings attached to it. The money is yours. It's money I should have used to pay for things during the planning."

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you, papi."

"Don't mention it, mija. We'll see you when you get back, eh?"

"Definitely." She hung up the phone and shook her head, quickly filling Brittany in on what her father had said.

Brittany smiled. "Looks like he really did want to reconcile."

Santana smiled as she wiped away a tear that slipped free. "I guess he did."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 27

It was late; they were lying in bed quietly, Brittany lying on Santana's chest, the Latina playing with the blonde's hair when Brittany suddenly broke the silence.

"Have you heard from either NYU or Columbia?"

Santana shook her head. "Not yet, I hope something will be waiting when we get back from the Bahamas. Why?"

"Well, it's not a big deal, I guess. I mean … " Brittany fell quiet, trying to order her thoughts as Santana waited patiently.

"So I sent something back to MIT the week before the wedding. When I checked my email earlier today, there was a note from them. I had mentioned that I'd be living in New York and they reached out to NYU and Columbia. Both universities are willing to give me a part time teaching position in exchange for working with their math department on … whatever." Brittany rolled her eyes. "I'd be able to take classes as well."

"Britt, that's great!"

"Yeah. Um, I'd really rather go to Columbia if we can, though. Columbia is offering less money but … the position within the math department comes with an apartment. So we wouldn't have to worry about rent, just utilities and regular living expenses. Columbia also offers health insurance that, since you're my wife," Brittany grinned, "you'd be eligible for as well. That means you wouldn't have to work. You could focus on school and if the opportunity for an internship opens up you'd be able to take it without having to worry about if we can afford it or not."

"Britt … that sounds amazing but … you can't shoulder the financial burden on your own."

"I'd rather you be available if an opportunity comes up … I mean, look at Quinn and France. I mean … I don't want you to go to France but if a chance comes up I don't want you to be afraid to take it because we can't afford it."

Brittany shrugged. "You get a stipend from your trust every month. I get a decent check from MIT once a month, plus that French company is still paying me AND, I've got that big check from Univision. Not to mention Queso Por Dos is making bank along with views on the original Fondue for Two episodes. People love seeing our story unfold. Speaking of which; I was thinking,"

"Okay."

"I think, if it's okay with you, we should have one bank account. I mean, the trust fund is separate but like, one account for our living and household expenses. I want to deposit the Univision check into your trust fund and maybe be able to transfer money from the household account into it if we get an influx we don't need right away."

"Are you sure, Britt? I mean, I already put your name on the trust. You have complete access to it but are you sure you don't want your own account? Like in case you need to buy Lord Tubbington a sweater or something?"

Brittany laughed. "I thought about this. Let's say we have three accounts; yours, mine, and a joint account. We each put the majority of our money into the joint account and keep a little in our own accounts for … I dunno … personal expenses. So there's three hundred in your personal account and one hundred in mine. Lord Tubbington needs to go to rehab again and I need another two hundred dollars. Do you really think you wouldn't give me the money? Or that I wouldn't come to you and say 'San, I really need two hundred dollars'."

Santana was quiet for a moment. "No. You're right. I'd give you the money without question. And I'd hope you would come to me for anything that was troubling you."

"Exactly. So what's the point of trying to keep track of three bank accounts plus the trust when we can just do one and the trust."

"That's fine with me, Britt. We're married. Whatever I have is yours. You need to take care of the finances thought, genius." Brittany could hear the grin in Santana's voice and felt herself flush with pride and embarrassment. Santana always made her feel that way when she called her 'genius'.

"Yeah. I'll just need you to give me whatever receipts so I can keep track of what's going out."

"Maybe have a ledger on the desk I'm sure we'll have? That way all I have to do is slip the receipt inside so that it doesn't get lost or blown off the table?"

"That makes sense. You're sure you're okay with all of this?"

"Britt, you're my wife. I am so okay with all of this. Being married means sharing stuff like this; blending our lives. Our finances are just one part of that life. It makes sense for us to put it all together."

Brittany leaned up and kissed the underside of Santana's jaw. "Good. It made sense to me, too, but I didn't want to just assume you'd be okay with me knowing your spending habits."

Santana laughed out loud. "Like you don't already?"

Brittany grinned. "Okay, fair point."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before drifting off to sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 28

They were packed and ready to leave in time for their four a.m. flight. This time, Raphael joined Mirabel in driving them to the airport in Columbus. Since they had cleared out Santana's room at the house, Santana and Brittany had spent the night in a guest room. Santana's mother promised that their room would be refurnished by the time they got back from the Bahamas; she was beyond thrilled that Santana and her father had made up. Now her grandchildren would be able to stay with her as well as Whitney.

Santana had just laughed when her mother voiced that thought. "Mami, it's going to be a few years. I have school and we need to be settled into our careers."

Mirabel just waved off Santana's protest. She would have grandbabies; that was the part she focused on.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They were seated on the plane, waiting to leave Columbus for New York. From New York, they would catch a flight to the Bahamas. A month of sun, sand, and sex … lots and lots of sex.

They were seated in first class and the flight attendant handed them two flutes of champagne.

They toasted each other and their marriage then shared a sweet champagne bubble kiss; each having the same thought:

We're finally married. This amazing woman is my WIFE.

Xoxoxoxoxo

A/N: so, there it is. The next installment will be Dreams Come True (The Only Dream That Matters will be incorporated into the longer fic – it needs to be adjusted to account for the events in Where In the World Is Brittana? but the broad strokes will remain the same). I am not sure how long before that one is ready. I have an AU that is close to completion so I may finish that one first.

Side note: I am not sure I will cover the Bahamas in Dreams Come True. Let's face it: sun, sand, and sex pretty much covers what Brittany & Santana will be getting up to on their honeymoon. Unless inspiration for some sight-seeing or whatever strikes, Dreams Come True will probably pick up in May of 2015.

Another side note: About Santana being an introvert. It struck me a bit ago that Santana exhibits quite a few introverted traits (some of them I share with her) so I went with it. I know that, after a holiday (or any big get together) I'm exhausted for a couple of days; my social battery drains to nothing leaving me mentally wiped out. So, I gave Santana the same … quirk?

Hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for indulging me :)