A/N: Time jumps are going to start happening. Yeah, I think this is almost done.

Brittany's birthday is February 23rd.

Ok, being honest … not sure about this chapter. It seems a little contrived … the characters insist that it happened this way but … I dunno.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February 2015

Brittany's POV

Chapter 52

As January melted into February, Santana and Brittany found a new routine. They still managed to have lunch every day and both were finished by noon on Friday so their weekends started early.

The rest of the week, they made what time they could between classes and labs and Brittany working at the photo studio. She no longer needed the money but she was learning a lot from Keith so she stuck with it. Same thing with the projects she was still getting from MIT; she liked the challenge so she kept working on them.

Overall, they had plenty of time together; a lot of it may have been spent studying in the library but they were together and that's all either of them really cared about.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Brittany was sitting on Santana's couch, waiting for the Latina. She kept turning her phone on and off, staring at the picture she'd received, from an unknown number, fifteen minutes ago. Santana was late and the picture was of her and a girl. The girl had her head thrown back laughing, her hand on Santana's shoulder, and Santana was smiling. Brittany's smile. The one Santana only smiled for Brittany. She kept staring at it, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Something was off but … she sighed. She didn't want to accuse Santana of anything but … who was this girl? Why was she touching Santana like that? Why was Santana smiling her special Brittany smile?

The door opened and she heard Santana rushing in.

"Hey, babe, sorry I'm late. Weirdest thing happened. Let me get the oven pre-heated and change and I'll tell you about it. Do you need a drink? I've got beer and I bought you some orange soda."

"I grabbed one of the sodas," Britany said, hearing the oven beep as Santana set the temperature.

Santana bounced into the living room and dropped her backpack on the love seat. She skipped over to Brittany and kissed her softly. "Happy Birthday, baby." She said, smiling her Brittany smile.

Brittany couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you, love."

"I'll be right out." Santana hurried into her room, coming back out moments later in yoga pants and one of Brittany's sweatshirts.

She settled next to Brittany, leaning on her her head on Brittany's shoulder. "Have you had a good birthday so far?"

"Better now."

Santana turned and smiled. "Good." The over beeped, letting them know it was at the right temp and Santana bounced up and hurried into the kitchen, coming back out a few moments later with a bottle of water.

"The enchiladas should take about half an hour. You want rice or refried beans or rice with beans?"

Brittany thought about it. "Rice with beans?"

Santana grinned. "I was hoping so, the beans have been soaking so I just need to cook them up with the rice in a about twenty minutes so everything is ready at once. Okay, so, weirdest thing happened today," she leaned back into Brittany. "I was packing up my bag after my last class, thinking about you and trying to remember if I had everything I needed for dinner and whatever and this girl comes over to me and starts talking to me like we've been friends forever. I'm not even sure what her name is. Cara? Carly? Carrie? Something like that, I think?" Santana waved her hand as if the girl's name wasn't important.

"I wasn't really listening because I was too busy thinking about your birthday dinner. I don't even know why she kept talking because I was obviously not listening. But, whatever. Then she asked me if I wanted to go grab a coffee, which made me smile because it made me think of you and the first time you asked me out."

"For a beverage of your choice because not everyone likes coffee."

"Exactly!" Santana giggled. "So then … and this is where the weird gets really weird … she laughs like I said something hilarious but it was that fake laugh people do when they're trying to flirt? You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Okay, so she does that laugh, head thrown back and whatever and puts her hand on my shoulder and says 'so does that smile mean yes?' And, I blanked. I had no idea what she had asked me because, um, I was thinking about you and the first time you asked me out. So I looked at her and realized I was thinking about that because she asked me out for coffee. So I told her it was my girlfriend's birthday and I had plans but nice talking to you, see you around. And then, as I'm walking away, she's like 'wait, you have a girlfriend?' I looked back at her and said yeah and I'm running late for her dinner.

"Is it me or was that encounter weird?" Santana pulled back again and met Brittany's eyes. "I mean, really?"

Brittany laughed and pulled Santana into a tight hug. "I love you."

Santana giggled. "I love you, too. Is there a particular reason why?"

"Because you are amazing." Brittany pulled out her phone and turned the screen on, showing Santana the picture.

Santana paled. "Britt … I swear … I didn't, I wouldn't …"

Brittany kissed her to stop the panic Santana was gearing up for. "I know. I knew it when I got the picture. I kept looking at it, trying to make sense of it. And then you came in and just told me everything. Explains the picture perfectly. I kept wondering why she was laughing while you were smiling your special Brittany smile. Now it makes sense." Brittany smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You're amazing."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Santana's brow furrowed and she was deep in thought.

"What's going on up there?"

"Brittany … that was a set up. But … who? And, more importantly, why? I mean, what's the point? To make us fight? To break us up? Again … why?"

Brittany had been wondering the same thing but, before she could voice it, there was a knock at the door. Santana got up and answered it and came back into the living room with Aubrey following her.

"Oh, hey, Britt. Happy Birthday," the younger girl smiled. "I'm glad you're here. There was something weird going on in the music wing and I wanted to give you guys a heads up. There was a woman or maybe a girl. I'm not sure how old she is, she's wearing a really big hat with her hair tucked into it, huge sunglasses that take up most of her face and a long, wool coat. Anyway, not the point, the point is she's offering fifty bucks to anyone willing to flirt with Santana and another fifty to anyone who's willing to take a picture of it. Apparently it's part of some 'candid camera' thing but … I dunno, when I heard her talking, it just sounded weird."

"When was this?" Brittany asked.

"It was just after my one-ten class. So about two-fifteen. I'd have come earlier but I had class until four-thirty."

Santana frowned. "Thanks for letting us know, Aubrey. Britt got one of those pictures sent to her phone, makes it look like I'm cheating on her."

"I knew it sounded off! What the hell?" Aubrey's voice rose an octave. "Why would someone do something like that?"

Brittany's jaw tightened. "Susan."

"What?" Santana gaped at her. "Why … oh, fuck her."

Aubrey's face was a mask of confusion.

Brittany sighed. "The woman who gave birth to me, Susan." She turned toward Santana. "Bitch is getting ready to make her play."

Santana nodded. "Aubrey, Susan is not a nice woman and is looking to fuck with Britt. If you see her again, call campus security, please."

Aubrey nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry, guys."

"No, thanks, Aubrey. You gave me information I really needed to have so I can be ready for her. Otherwise, she'd have surprised me and I would have been stuck reacting. Knowing she's here, I get to plan and act. So, really, thanks."

Aubrey nodded and stood up. "I'm glad I saw her then. If you need any help, let me and Declan know, okay? I'll give him, Jamie, and a few of the other norms a heads up to be on the lookout for her."

Santana stood up with her and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, so much, Aubrey. This means so much to me."

"Hey, you two have been really cool and … I mean, you're our friends. We've got your back."

Brittany grinned at that. "Thanks, Aubrey. That means a lot to me, too."

Aubrey smiled and Santana walked her out of the apartment. Brittany heard Santana go into the kitchen and rattle a few pots and pans.

Santana came back into the living room. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Fuck her. I'm not letting her ruin your birthday. We'll deal with her when we have to and not worry about her until we do."

Brittany smiled broadly. "I love you. You are one in a million, Santana Lopez, and I am pretty sure I'm the luckiest girl on the planet to have you in my corner."

Santana sat on Brittany's lap and kissed her deeply. "Always, my love."