By time they get back to Santana's apartment, Brittany is completely exhausted again. As she helps guide Brittany slowly up the stairs, Santana can tell that she is losing what little energy she had and is putting more and more of her weight on Santana's supporting arm. "Do you want to lie down, Britt?"

Brittany looks around, noticing that Quinn must have cleaned. She hesitates before replying; she doesn't want anyone to think she's unappreciative of them being here, but she's not sure she can stay awake. "Would it be okay if I took a nap? I'm sorry, I'm just really tired and sore."

Santana tightens her grip on Brittany's hand, hating that she can't get rid of her pain. "Britt, you don't need to apologize. Do you want me to lay with you?"

"I don't want to go by myself...but is that okay?" She looks at Santana's parents.

"Oh sweetie, don't worry about us. We need to run to the store and do a few things anyway." Maribel hugs both girls, and she and Antonio leave.

When Santana opens the door to her bedroom, it is obvious that Quinn was there. The note on her desk is probably the most obvious indicator, but her bedroom is also clean.

S,

Thought you guys might like some clean sheets when you got back, and then I couldn't stop. Love you and Brittany. If you need anything, I'm probably asleep, but don't hesitate to wake me up.

Q

Suddenly exhausted, Santana walks to the bed and pulls back the covers. It hits her how much has changed in less than 24 hours. "Can you help me take some of these clothes off?" Santana grabs a tank top out of her dresser, knowing that's what Brittany will want to wear. She helps her undress to her boxer briefs and the bandages still wrapped around her chest, then slips the tank top over Brittany's head before changing into a similar outfit.

With Santana's help, Brittany carefully crawls into bed and instantly feels more relaxed than she did at the hospital, even without the stronger pain medicine. As soon as Santana cuddles into her side and she feels the added warmth and safety, her eyes close. Santana is surprised at how quickly Brittany falls asleep, though she guesses that she shouldn't be. Brittany has been through a lot—last night and in general. Trying to push the thoughts out of her mind, Santana focuses instead on counting the freckles on Brittany's nose, counting her breaths, and making sure she brushes the hair out of her face if it falls. After she loses count of her breaths for the third time, she falls asleep as well.


Brittany shifting wakes Santana. She opens her eyes, thinking Brittany is already awake, but she isn't. A quick glance at her phone tells her that they were asleep for almost three hours. She's glad; Brittany needs it. She presses herself closer to Brittany's side, already missing the feeling of holding her in her arms. After a few minutes of watching Brittany, she starts to notice voices in the apartment, then a delicious smell. Remembering that her parents are here, she assumes her mother is cooking. Her stomach growls a little. Other than a small breakfast this morning, she hasn't eaten anything since their early dinner the previous night. Brittany ate even less this morning. However, she isn't going to wake her or let her wake up alone, no matter how hungry she is. Pressing a kiss to Brittany's bare shoulder, she settles back into watching the blonde sleep and trying not to think about what happened.

Not much later, Brittany starts to stir. First, her nose scrunches up, which Santana has a hard time not leaning up and kissing. Then, she yawns a little kitten yawn, which Santana thinks is the cutest thing she has ever seen. Trying to help her out of sleep a little more quickly, Santana presses a few kisses to Brittany's shoulder and cheek. "Thirsty," Brittany croaks. Santana turns to grab the water bottle she keeps by her bed and tips it to Brittany's lips. "Thank you." Then, Brittany pouts.

"What's wrong, baby? Can I get you something?"

"I don't like sleeping flat. It feels funny. Plus, my side hurts, and I'm hungry."

"I know, Britt. Maybe tonight, you can try sleeping on your good side? I think I have solutions for the rest, though. We have your pain medicine out in the living room, and Mami is cooking. Feel up for hanging out on the couch?"

"Yeah." She starts pushing herself into a sitting position, Santana helping her a little. As Brittany is still wiping the sleep out of her eyes, Santana throws on some shorts. She grabs a pair of sweatpants for Brittany and helps her into them. They walk slowly out towards the living room. At first, nobody notices when they walk in. Santana sees a lot of food on the counters—multiple pans full. Her dad and Quinn are watching football in the living room, and her mother, predictably, is occupied in the kitchen. "Where did all this food come from?" Brittany says exactly what she's thinking.

Maribel whips around and, seeing them, hurries over. She puts her hands on both of their cheeks and kisses them. "We went grocery shopping. I needed to do something, so I made you food for the week. You need good food to heal, and you're both too skinny anyways. Tonight's dinner is almost done. How are you girls feeling?"

"Hungry but fine." Other than her shoulder being a little tight and sore, Santana really does feel fine.

"Me too. Hungry and some pain."

Maribel nods. "Antonio, can you get Brittany her medicine?"

"I can do it," Brittany tries, looking around and hoping to see it laying out somewhere.

"Nonsense. We're here to take care of both of you. Let us do that, okay?" Brittany nods almost disbelievingly. She is so used to taking care of herself when she is sick that it still takes some getting used to. It might always. "Go sit down on the couch and rest, both of you."

Santana takes Brittany's hand and pulls her over to the couch, where there are already some pillows and a blanket set up. Brittany takes the medicine that Antonio gives her and tries to get comfortable, but she's having a hard time. Santana notices Brittany moving around. "What do you need, B?"

She continues to shift around for a few minutes before answering. "Can I lay against you? Every position hurts. Not if it hurts you, though. I can figure something out."

"Let's lean you up." Santana helps her lean forward, then squeezes in behind her.

Brittany leans back against her chest and sighs. "Perfect." It's the most comfortable she has been since last night. "I don't want to move again."

"We don't have to," Santana says quietly and gently kisses the back of Brittany's head.

"How are you guys?" Quinn asks as she sits lightly next to them, trying not to jostle Brittany.

"We're okay, Quinn. Thank you for cleaning the room," the blonde tells her.

"Yeah Q. That was awesome. Have my parents been driving you crazy?"

"You're welcome. And no, they're great. We're just worried about you two. I don't need to tell you this, but never ever again. Okay? Never walk home at night by yourselves. Please. Just—"

Santana can see Quinn is tearing up. "We'll be safer, Q. It's okay. The police are going to get those guys."

Quinn nods. Nobody wants to talk about this right now. She stands up and walks over to the table. "When we were out, your mom picked up this movie. She thought Brittany would like it and said you're too whipped for it to matter if you like it or not." Quinn smirks over her shoulder at the look on Santana's face.

"MAMI! I am not...I mean, I just love her, so...whatever, she...whatever." She can feel Brittany giggling slightly against her chest.

"Ow." Brittany pitifully holds her side.

"Let me get you some ice, Brittany," Antonio suggests. As soon as he returns with the ice pack, Santana holds it to Brittany's side. The ice really does help. Plus, the painkillers are starting to kick in. The house is warm and filled with noises, smells, and people that make her happy. Most of all, she's back in Santana's arms, which is the only place she ever wants to be.

"I love you," Santana whispers behind her.

"I love you too. So much."

Santana can't stop herself from smiling. She is so thankful that she can bring Brittany even a little bit of comfort. Readjusting the ice pack to cover another part of Brittany's injured ribs, she feels her sigh into her even more. A few minutes later, her mother announces that dinner is ready and that she will bring their plates.

Brittany sits up with Santana's help as Maribel hands her a plate. The action of bringing the fork to her mouth is uncomfortable, but holding the plate with the hand on her injured side isn't any better. She tries putting the plate on her lap, but the rice keeps falling off the fork before she gets it all the way to her mouth. Santana hears her little noise of frustration, and before Brittany knows it, Santana scoops all the food from her plate onto her own. Then, she holds it between them so that they can eat off the same plate.

Maribel watches and can't help but picture them in ten years. Santana taking care of a pregnant Brittany. Hopefully. She loves Brittany in a way she didn't know she could love a child that isn't hers. To know Brittany is to love her, though. She can't fathom how Brittany's parents treat her the way they do, and it breaks her heart that last night happened. "Your papi and I talked about it, girls, and I'm going to stay back from going to Puerto Rico. I don't want to be out of the country with everything that has happened."

"Wait, I don't want to ruin your plans. I'll be okay." Brittany hates that she might be an inconvenience to someone who has treated her so well.

"Honey, you're not ruining my plans. Antonio still has to go, because his aunt is getting surgery, but I'm staying. We've talked about it. I don't want them to arrest the people who did this to you and have you unable to get ahold of me because I'm not in the country. Plus, if I left, I wouldn't stop worrying the entire time, so it's better for all of us if I stay."

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you and Antonio." Brittany feels overwhelmed by how much the Lopez family cares about her.

"You won't ever have to find out, sweetie. We're going to leave tomorrow afternoon and take Quinn with us so she doesn't have to take the bus. If you're feeling up to it, I can come back down on Thursday and take you girls shopping or something fun."

"That sounds great, Mami. Thank you."

After dinner, they sit around and watch Tangled. Nestled into Santana, Brittany has a difficult time staying awake.

"Girls, we're going to get going. Brittany, you can take your bandages off when you take a shower, but don't put them back on afterwards. I also want you to try taking a few deep breaths. You can try lying on your injured side too. I know it will feel uncomfortable, but it will help with deeper breathing. A lot of times, broken ribs lend themselves to pneumonia and collapsed lungs, but you're young, so as long as you're careful, you should be okay. Still, at the first sign something is wrong, I want you to call me or go straight to the doctor." They can tell that Brittany is getting tired again, and to be honest, Antonio and Maribel are pretty tired themselves, so they head to their hotel after promising to be back for breakfast in the morning.

"Want to take a shower, baby?" Santana asks her.

"Will you come with me?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Santana lays a kiss to Brittany's shoulder before standing up and helping Brittany. Once they get in the bathroom, Santana starts the water, then pulls off all her clothes. Brittany can't help herself; she knows nothing can happen, but Santana's body is meant to be admired, and admire she will. "Put your arms out so I can take this off of you." Santana tugs at her tank top hem. Brittany does what she is asked and is left standing in her bandages and sweatpants, which Santana pulls down next.

As gently as she can, she removes the clip holding Brittany's bandages shut. Then, she begins to unwrap them. The more she unwraps, the more she wishes she could stop. Inch by inch of deep bruising is revealed to her. It makes her feel physically ill. By the time she pulls away the last of the bandaging, Santana can feel tears burning in her eyes. She did a pretty good job all day not thinking about what happened to them last night, but now, here it is, a giant reminder that someone had hurt the love of her life. She runs her fingers up Brittany's side, barely touching her skin. She needs to be strong for Brittany. Pulling away, she steps into the shower, then helps Brittany in.

Brittany can tell it bothers her. She can read Santana better than any book. "What's wrong, San?"

Santana just shakes her head and turns around, looking for the body wash. "Where the fuck is it?" She keeps turning until she sees it. When she grabs for it, it slips out of her hand and hits the ground with a loud thump. "Fuck! Just fucking—"

"Stop. Santana, what is wrong?" Brittany tries pulling Santana towards her to look at her, but Santana avoids her eyes. "Look at me, Santana." When she does, Brittany sees the tears coming out of her eyes. "Baby," she whispers.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to be strong for you, I really am. I'm sorry." The tears fall faster, and Santana's chest starts heaving with the effort of trying to keep it all in. Brittany pushes wet dark hair behind her ear and holds Santana's face between her hands. "I was s-so s-scared, Brittany." Then, she breaks down sobbing.

Brittany pulls her into her body, unable to stop herself from crying too. "I know, San. Me too. But we're okay now."

"But you're not! You're hurt, Brittany. You have stitches and terrible bruises and broken bones! He tried to touch you!"

"But he didn't." She pulls back to look into Santana's swollen eyes. "Santana, he didn't. You stopped it. You saved me. I'll be okay. We are both going to be okay. I promise." Santana nods and reaches up to wipe some of Brittany's tears away, then pulls her in for a kiss. They taste tears and find a kind of comfort that only they bring to each other. Brittany pulls away and places one more kiss on Santana's forehead. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Santana nods, sniffing back more tears. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"Feel better? Sometimes, crying helps."

"A little. Can I wash your hair?" Brittany nods and lets her. They finish up in the shower and walk back to Santana's room in just their towels. "What PJs do you want?"

"Just underwear."

Santana nods, grateful for Brittany's decision. "Have you been taking deep breaths?"

Brittany stops. She hasn't been thinking about it. She takes one and feels a stabbing pain. "Ow. I don't like that."

"I know, baby, but you have to." Santana hands her a pain pill and the bottle of water. "Want to try sleeping on your bad side tonight? My dad said it would help with breathing."

"What if it hurts?"

"It might. What if I lay on my side, and then you lay on your bad side, and I'll hold you? If it starts to hurt too bad, all you have to do is roll more on your back, and I'll support you to make it hurt less. Okay?"

Brittany agrees, mostly because it means sleeping in Santana's arms. She crawls into bed after Santana and slowly and very carefully lays on her injured side. It's uncomfortable and tight, but not something she can't deal with—especially when she feels Santana's warm, naked chest press into her back and an arm drape over her and a hand press to her chest where her heart is. "I love you."

"I love you too, Brittany."

"Sing to me?"

"Always." She softly sings "The Luckiest" into Brittany's ear as she feels Brittany's uneven breathing level out. After giving several kisses to the back of Brittany's neck, and several more whispered I love you's, Santana allows herself to fall asleep as well.