Chapter 35 – Hawaii

A/N: I'm pretty sure there will only be two more chapters; this one for Hawaii, then a final one for Lima/New York.

But, then, I thought this whole story was only going to be fifteen chapters.

So, there's that.

Xoxoxoxoxo

They had discussed what they wanted to do in Hawaii and decided that they'd stay on Oahu instead of island hopping. There was plenty they wanted to do and see in and around Waikiki and Honolulu so there was no reason to bounce around.

They checked into the the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort just after noon on January second; Santana knew the time difference between Ohio and Hawaii was going to mess them up for a couple of days so they planned to spend the first two days lying on the beach.

It was on their third day that Santana sheepishly approached Brittany.

"So, um, I know we said no Christmas gifts …"

"Santana …"

"No … it's not a Christmas gift. It's not. It was supposed to be your birthday gift but then I realized that you'd probably be able to use it way before then so …"

She held out a package covered in shiny, bright pink "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" paper.

Brittany narrowed her eyes as she took the present from Santana.

When she opened it, her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped open.

"Oh my god! Santana!"

Inside was an underwater camera along with the accessories.

"I bought it for your birthday but then realized that we're going to be snorkeling and stuff so," she shrugged.

Brittany set the box down and pulled Santana in for a tight hug.

"I love it. I love you. This is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it. I know how much you like taking pictures and video; that one does both stills and video. The guy at the shop said it's the most recommended model."

"You're something else."

"Something good?"

Brittany smiled softly. "Always."

xoxoxoxoxoxo

They had talked about what they wanted to do and they both wanted to learn how to surf and hula dance so they signed up for lessons in both and spent a week learning how to surf in the morning and taking hula lessons in the afternoon.

They went surfing almost every morning and attended as many luaus as they possibly could because each luau offered different entertainments. One of their favorites ended up being the Rock-a-Hula buffet and they went back several times in the over three months they were there.

They went snorkeling in Turtle Canyon which made Santana really glad she'd given Brittany her gift early because Britt was almost giddy with excitement filming the turtles and other sea life.

They took a day tour of Circle Island and Waimea Falls and spent a day at Pearl Harbor.

They booked things to surprise one another; Santana booked a catamaran cruise for Friday night fireworks as their Friday date night the first week there and Brittany scheduled them for a sunset dinner and a show cruise.

Santana booked a dolphin watch cruise that also included turtle snorkeling on a boat with kayaks and a water slide and Brittany countered with an hour long helicopter tour.

They went parasailing and rock climbing. Took submarine scooter tours, swam with dolphins, and even went shark diving. They took a tour of "Hollywood" movie and television sets.

It was different from Europe; Europe seemed to be jam packed every minute, Hawaii was more relaxed and laid back even though they kept themselves busy.

Xoxoxoxoxo

On February 22nd, Santana told Brittany she had a surprise for her.

"We can only do this on a Saturday and, since your birthday is tomorrow, I figured this would be a nice early gift. Dress comfortably, wear comfortable shoes because we're going to be walking a lot."

Brittany's face lit up when they got to the Honolulu Zoo just before ten.

"Why can we only do this on Saturday? I mean, the zoo's open every day, isn't it?" Brittany's nose scrunched in confusion.

Santana grinned. "Yeah but you can only do a twilight tour on Saturdays. So we'll be getting a tour after the zoo closes, seeing some nighttime routines and seeing some animals just waking up. I just thought you'd enjoy that."

Brittany hugged Santana tightly. "This is AMAZING! You're amazing!" She squeal-hopped causing Santana to giggle.

They spent the day wandering the zoo; Brittany snapping dozens of pictures and Santana happily following along. The zoo closed at three, the grounds closed at four, and their tour started at four-thirty. Santana decided that they'd leave at three and have a late lunch at one of the restaurants in the area then make their way back to the zoo in time for their twilight tour.

By the time they got back to the hotel, they were both tired and a bit footsore so they went to the pool and hot tub and relaxed for the rest of the evening, eventually having a late dinner at eight-thirty before crashing for the night.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

On February 23rd, Santana woke up early and ordered room service. Then she slipped back into bed and started sprinkling kisses all over Brittany's face.

When Brittany started to giggle Santana sang happy birthday in a low, husky voice.

Brittany sat up, beaming at Santana.

"Happy Birthday, baby," Santana kissed her sweetly on the lips.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"That's breakfast." Santana jumped off the bed and went to answer the door, letting the waiter wheel in the cart and set the dishes on the small table in the room.

"Come eat, birthday girl."

Brittany squealed when Santana lifted the lid to reveal her breakfast; chocolate chip pancakes with sliced, chocolate-covered strawberries, and whip cream.

They ate breakfast in companionable silence until Brittany finally broke.

"What are we doing today?"

Santana laughed. "Dress comfortable again."

Brittany pouted but Santana remained unmoved.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany grinned as they got out of the cab at the Waikiki Aquarium just as the doors were opening.

"San … you're too much."

Santana laughed. "We have to leave here by three … dinner reservations are for four-thirty but I figured if we don't get it all in, we can come back again."

"You're perfect."

"Only for you."

xoxoxoxoxo

After leaving the aquarium they headed back to their hotel to shower and change.

They got into the elevator and Santana pushed the button for the rooftop; Brittany looked at her.

"It's funny, we've done a bunch of luaus and never even checked to see if there was one in our hotel." She grinned as the doors opened.

They were greeted with leis as they checked in and led to their seats up front. Santana had opted for the VIP tickets for Britt's birthday; she also talked to the organizers about making sure Britt was chosen to participate in the pre-dinner hula lesson on stage. She smiled brightly as she watched Brittany shine on the stage. It didn't matter the dance; Britt's body was made to move and they'd already taken several hula lessons (which, if Santana was honest, Britt only needed one).

They enjoyed their meals, the drinks, and the entertainment and were both tired, sated, and happy as they made their way back down to their room.

As they got ready for bed, Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist.

"Thank you, Santana. This whole weekend has been amazing." She kissed Santana's shoulder as Santana leaned back into her.

"Good birthday?"

"Amazing birthday." She smiled softly. "If you had told me last year that I'd be spending this year's birthday with you in Hawaii, I'd have thought you were crazy. I'm glad I'd have been wrong."

Her smile fell a little.

"What's wrong, Britt?" Santana turned in her arms and linked her hands behind Brittany's neck.

Brittany hesitated and bit her lower lip, lowering her eyes.

"Hey … it's okay, whatever it is."

Brittany sighed. "Last year," her voice is just above a whisper, "I was with Sam. The year before, I was with you. The year before that, I was with Artie." She lifted her eyes to Santana's. "I'd really like it if we could spend next year's birthday together."

Santana leaned up and caught Brittany's lips in a tender kiss.

"I don't know the future but I do know this: I will do everything I possibly can to make that birthday wish come true, I promise." She smiled softly at Britt.

"I think I can live with that."

Brittany drew back and took Santana by the hand, leading her to the bed. "I think I have one more birthday wish you could help me with."

Santana grinned and was more than happy to grant it.

Xoxoxoxoxo

A few days after Brittany's birthday they spent the day relaxing on the beach, had an early dinner in the hotel restaurant, and decided to call it an early night.

Brittany had been complaining about a stomach ache and had mostly just pushed her food around on her plate and Santana was a little worn out so they went back to the room and Brittany changed and crawled into bed.

"You need anything, babe?"

"No. Just not feeling great; my stomach hurts, I've got a headache, I'm a little nauseated. I hope I'm not getting sick." She smiled wryly. "Maybe I just need to poop."

Santana laughed and moved over to where Brittany was sitting on the bed and felt her forehead.

"You're a little warm, Britt. Let me get you some acetaminophen and a cool cloth while you get into bed."

Santana got the meds and the cloth and came back into the room; she gave Brittany a bottle of water along with the pills and, after she took them, had her lie down and placed the cool cloth on her forehead.

"I'll be right in; just going to get ready for bed."

"San, it's early, you don't have to …"

"I'd rather be in here," Santana interrupted, "I can read just as easily in here as I can on the couch in the sitting room. I'll be right back."

When Santana came back in, Brittany was curled on her side facing away from her. Santana took the cloth and flipped it over, settling it over her temple so it would cover at least part of Britt's forehead.

She turned off most of the lights and climbed into bed with her tablet. She bent her knees and set the tablet against them to read while she used her right hand to gently rub circles on Brittany's back. Every twenty minutes, she got up, rinsed the cloth with cool water and brought it back in.

Around nine-thirty Brittany started shivering so Santana covered her with another blanket; then she was sweating so she threw it off herself. Then she was flying out of bed and into the bathroom with Santana right on her heels.

Santana quickly put Brittany's hair up in a messy bun so she could rub Brittany's back.

"It hurts San. It hurts so much." Brittany was almost in tears.

"Your stomach?"

"My side." She hunched over the toilet bowl again.

Santana felt her forehead; she was definitely running a fever.

"Show me, Britt."

Brittany put Santana's hand on her right side. Santana pressed lightly and Brittany yelped in pain.

"Britt, I'm going to call down for the doctor."

"San …"

"Britt, I'm not a doctor but I don't think this is the flu. I'm afraid it might be your appendix and I'm not willing to take a chance with your health."

Brittany nodded and rested her head against the bowl of the toilet.

"I'll be right back."

Fifteen minutes later the hotel doctor came in and found Brittany still in the bathroom. He took her temperature (101.6), asked her a few questions, and palpated the area around her abdomen which caused Brittany to yelp and whimper.

He called down to the desk and told them to get an ambulance.

"It's her appendix, isn't it?"

The doctor looked at Santana. "I can't be certain without an x-ray but, yes, that's my opinion. I want to get her to the hospital so they can either rule it out or take it out."

Santana nodded. She grabbed one of their (many) souvenir tote bags and threw in a pair of sweats, two hoodies, a t-shirt, a pair of cotton pants, and a clean pair of underwear; she wasn't sure how cold the hospital would be or what Britt would want to wear to come back in. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans, put her bra back on, and put a t-shirt on. By the time she was done, the doctor was letting the paramedics into the room.

She started following them and one of them tried to stop her.

"Ma'am, unless you're family …"

"Gonna stop you right there. I'm the only family available right now but that doesn't matter because I'm her health proxy and she wants me with her."

"San … don't leave me." Brittany called out, right on cue.

The paramedic nodded and Santana followed them.

"I'm right behind you, Britt, not going anywhere."

xoxoxoxoxo

The ride to the hospital was quick and they were ushered into a room as soon as they arrived; apparently, the hotel doctor had called ahead.

A nurse came in and began asking questions.

"I can answer any questions you have but can she get her x-ray done?" Santana tried to be pleasant and contain her irritation. "She's in a lot of pain and if it is her appendix it needs to come out before it bursts and we have a bigger problem on our hands."

The nurse looked taken aback but nodded and hurried off to find someone to take Brittany to x-ray.

Twenty minutes later it was confirmed that Brittany's appendix needed to come out.

"I'll be waiting for you when you come out, sweetheart. I promise." She linked her pinky with Britt's. "It's gonna be fine. They do this all the time."

Brittany's eyes were wide with fear but she nodded slightly. "Okay."

She looked at one of the orderlies. "Make sure they give her an anti-emetic; the anesthetic will make her sick otherwise."

The orderly nodded his understanding.

Santana kissed her forehead and they wheeled her out.

"Miss? You can wait for her in the surgical waiting room on the third floor. They won't bring her back down here. She'll go from surgery to recovery to a room upstairs."

Santana looked up at the nurse, barely registering that the woman had spoken.

The nurse smiled kindly. "Surgical waiting room is on the third floor. The doctor will come out to talk to you there when they've finished."

"Oh, okay," Santana nodded.

Xoxoxoxoxoxo

When she got to the third floor she checked in with the nurse there who pointed to a light up board with numbers on it. The nurse gave her Brittany's number (which was kind of pointless since Britt was the only patient in surgery at that time of night) and told her updates would be posted there and the doctor would come talk to her when the surgery was finished.

Santana sighed and went to the waiting area. She tried to sit but couldn't. So she paced. She checked her phone. It was just before eleven … so it was five am in Ohio. No point in calling Whitney; she'd just wonder why Santana wouldn't wait until surgery was done or, at least, until a more civilized time of the morning. It's not like Whitney could do anything. Still … Santana wished they were home so she wasn't alone in the hospital waiting room.

She called Maribel.

"Mija? What's wrong?"

"Um … Britt's in surgery. They're taking her appendix out and … I just … I'm alone and I wanted to … or maybe needed to … talk to someone." Santana felt stupid.

"Do you need me to come there? I can be on the next flight."

Santana shook her head. "No, Mami. By the time you got here, Britt will back at the hotel resting. Thank you, though. I'm just here alone and was feeling jittery."

"I understand. You know this is routine, right? They do hundreds of these, if not thousands, every year."

"I know. I guess I just needed to hear it."

"I understand. Have you called the Pierces?"

"No. No point. Whitney … she tries … but she's not really motherly. She'll say something about it being the middle of the night and there's nothing she can do and why didn't I wait until morning or when Britt was out of surgery or something."

"I see. Okay, mija."

They talked for another fifteen minutes and, once they hung up, Santana felt better.

An hour later, the doctor came out to talk to Santana.

"Everything went fine. She's in recovery now. I'll take you back." He led her back to the recovery room; Brittany was the only one there.

"Thank you," she mumbled, immediately forgetting he was there as she hurried to Britt's side.

She took Brittany's hand and looked her over; she was a little pale but otherwise looked okay.

"I'm here, Britt, you can wake up as soon as you're ready."

xoxoxoxoxo

Three hours later, they were on their way back to the hotel with strict instructions to not do anything strenuous. It would take the anesthetic around forty-eight hours to work its way through her system and she should take short walks to rebuild her stamina. The doctor wanted to see her in a week if they were still in Hawaii.

"Couch or bed, Britt?"

The doctor had recommended Brittany sleep at an incline, instead of flat, just in case she had any pain in her shoulders from the anesthetic.

"Couch. Wanna sleep on you." Britt mumbled.

"Okay, baby."

Santana got the couch set up for them to sleep on and Brittany lied down between Santana's legs, her back to Santana's front, her head on Santana's chest.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany bounced back fairly quickly from the surgery and they were able to take longer walks after a couple of days. The doctor still wanted her to limit her activity but she could lie on the beach or the next to the pool and could go swimming for short periods of time.

Hawaii turned out to be a lot more expensive than they'd anticipated. Of course, they hadn't earned any free rooms or extra spending money in Hawaii like they had in Europe.

Santana frowned as she looked at her "I'm irresponsibly traveling with my girlfriend" allowance. If they stayed until April 22nd, like they'd planned, she was going to have to dip into her savings.

"What's wrong, baby?"

Santana looked up at Brittany. "I was just realizing that Hawaii has ended up being a lot more expensive than Europe. My allotment of funds is almost gone; I'm going to have to take some out of my trust."

Brittany frowned in thought. Then she shrugged. "So why don't we leave early? I mean, we've been here, like, eighty days already. I'm okay going back to Lima for a few weeks to regroup before going to New York … I mean, if you are?"

Santana nodded. She knew it was the most responsible and reasonable choice but …

"What are you thinking?"

"That once we leave here it's back to the real world of responsibilities and," she grinned at Brittany, "doing stuff that only matters to people less awesome than us."

Brittany laughed. "Yeah. It's gonna be hard going from being with you 24/7 to only seeing you, maybe, a few hours day." She smiled fondly at Santana. "But it's all only temporary, honey. Once the nonsense that is 'Funny Girl' dies down, I can 'show up' in New York and we'll be on the hunt for our own place."

Santana nodded. "Yeah. That makes the most sense. That's why you're the genius in this relationship."

Brittany blushed and ducked her head, smiling shyly.

Lima, here they come.

Xoxoxoxoxo

A/N: This ended up way longer than I'd anticipated because I'd forgotten Brittany's birthday. Santana, very loudly, reminded me and threatened to "go all Lima Heights" on my ass if I didn't fix that IMMEDIATELY. So I had to fix that.

Then Britt got sick.

Seriously? Do these two have nothing better to do than mess with my plans? (okay, so, the plans are pretty rough … but, still.)

Oh, yeah, I know that (normally) an anesthesiologist would talk to Brittany ahead of time to ask about allergies and anti-emetics and whatever but, damn, this chapter was already too long and I really didn't want to write another half-page of dialogue that nobody cared about. ;)