Santana had been on her phone for the last several minutes, rebooking their return flights.
However, Brittany's mind was elsewhere. She leaned forward in the car to look higher out of the windshield. Low-hanging clouds covered the tips of the mountains that were swiftly approaching, obscuring her view of the top. Her parents' little cabin was in there somewhere, and their view off the side of the mountain would be amazing at this time of year. The trees would be greener than ever, the wildflowers in full bloom. It would be beautiful.
"Brittany?"
The blonde blinked and leaned back in her seat. "Hmm?"
Santana chuckled before speaking. "You didn't hear anything I just said, did you?"
She laughed again at the sheepish grin Brittany gave her.
"Your daydreaming is a force to be reckoned with. If I could have your attention for just a moment, Ms. Pierce, then I'll let you get back to it."
Brittany felt her cheeks warm as her blush deepened, finding it really cute that Santana was teasing her so openly.
"I was saying," the brunette pressed on, her smile still reaching her eyes, "that our travel arrangements are made, and I'm going to have to stop and fill up the car before we get on those mountain trails."
Brittany nodded. "That's a good idea. Damn, I should call them and let them know we're coming." She started digging through her purse for her cell phone. She had no idea how the notion to call them had escaped her for this long.
Finally, her fingers brushed over her phone, and she snatched it up and dialed her parents' home number. After a few seconds, she heard her mother's voice and automatically smiled.
"Hey Britt," Mrs. Pierce chirped. "How's my favorite daughter?"
"Hey Mom, whatcha doin'?"
She listened to her mom chatter for a few minutes about cleaning the house and what she planned to cook for dinner.
"Anyway, your father should be home from work soon. He'll be sad he missed your call," her mother said with just a hint of reprimand, as if Brittany should know to call when both of them were home.
"Mom, I think he'll get over missing the call. Santana and I are coming to see you guys!"
Santana's grip tightened on the steering wheel, and Brittany could see her knuckles growing whiter. She reached over and let her hand rest reassuringly on Santana's leg.
"What? That's great, honey! We can't wait to meet her. When are you coming down? I'll have your father pick you both up from the airport again."
Brittany smiled excitedly. She loved surprises.
"Well, actually, we're already here," she said as she checked the ETA on the GPS. "We'll be there in about an hour! You might want to make some extra food for dinner."
"Oh! I guess I'd better! What made you decide to come down?"
"We'll explain when we get there. It wasn't exactly planned on our end either. Just wanted to give you a heads up!"
Brittany spent another minute wrapping up the conversation, and when she finally hung up, Santana was pulling into the last gas station they'd see for a while.
"You really think this is a good idea?" she asked nervously as she parked the car and turned it off.
"They'll love you. I know they will," Brittany said with a smile before picking up Santana's hand and giving a swift kiss to her knuckles.
Santana returned the smile but it seemed halfhearted and wary.
"They will. Trust me."
She nodded, this time with perhaps a little more confidence, and got out of the car, credit card in hand to pay for the gas.
Sitting there in the car, Brittany realized the inevitable would happen when Santana met her parents. They were nice people, but they would most definitely play 20 questions (or 50) if Brittany didn't intervene. At that moment, Brittany realized that was probably what Santana was most nervous about. She didn't want to have to tell the story of losing her family all over again.
"Shit," she whispered to herself.
Realizing that talking to herself wouldn't get her anywhere, she slipped her phone into her back pocket and got out of the car as well. She answered Santana's questioning look before she could ask. "Gotta go number one!" she called over her shoulder, feeling like a moron, but she heard Santana's answering laugh and smiled. Stepping inside the gas station and walking around a stand full of gum and candy, she made sure to keep Santana in her line of sight (just in case she decided to come in too) and redialed her parents' number.
Her mother picked up more quickly this time. "Forget something?"
Brittany paused, unsure of how to say "don't ask my girlfriend family questions" non-awkwardly.
"Er…sort of. Listen mom, Santana is pretty nervous—"
"To meet us?!"
Brittany understood her surprise. Mrs. Pierce did not think of herself or her husband as intimidating people.
"It's…complicated."
"Complicated how?" her mother asked, still confused.
Brittany sighed and figured she might as well just blurt it out.
"Mom, Santana lost her entire family the day she graduated law school. It was a car accident, and I think she still blames herself a little."
She heard her mother gasp. "Oh my…that's awful. Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Brittany frowned. She honestly hadn't had much chance. Everything had been happening in such a whirlwind recently.
"I'm sorry, but I wanted to tell you before we got there. Just try not to ask her too much about her family, okay? And tell dad not to also. I want her to feel comfortable."
"Of course not, sweetie. We won't say a word. Thanks for telling me."
Brittany nodded as if her mother could see her. She checked out the gas station window. Santana had already finished and was sitting in the car, waiting.
"I gotta go, Mom. I only told Santana I was going number one."
With her mother still laughing, she hung up and made her way back out to the car, trying to arrange her face as if she hadn't just been talking about Santana.
"Feel better?" Santana asked, her grin still in place on her lips, as Brittany settled herself back in the passenger seat.
"Er…much," Brittany said awkwardly. "Ready to go?"
Santana's smile grew at the blonde's apparent embarrassment. She turned the key in the ignition and gave Brittany a chaste kiss to her cheek before shifting into drive and getting back on the road. In just a few minutes, they were winding their way up the tight curves of the mountain roads.
Santana wasn't saying much as she drove, and Brittany would have enjoyed the serenity if she hadn't known that Santana was extremely nervous.
"Tell me what you're thinking," the blonde said after a few minutes. They probably only had about 30 minutes left until they arrived.
Santana sighed. "I'm thinking I'm still glad we decided to come here to get the truth," she said quietly.
Brittany waited for the rest.
"But Grace made me so sad. I feel so bad for her. Even though I knew all along that Maggie was probably gone, to hear it aloud, and especially from Grace…I feel like I lost her too." She gave a quick glance in Brittany's direction before looking straight out the windshield again. "I know that probably sounds stupid."
It was Brittany's turn to sigh. It didn't sound stupid at all.
"Reading her old journal made you feel something again. After so much time shutting out emotions, her story brought them back to you. I don't think it's stupid to feel loss, knowing that the person who wrote it is gone," Brittany said seriously.
"I hope she was happy."
Brittany nodded. She hoped that too. "It's all we can do."
They drove a few more minutes in silence.
"Grace lived her whole life alone."
Looking out the windshield, Brittany frowned. It was such a profoundly simple — but profoundly sad — sentence.
"But you won't." Brittany said it softly, almost too softly for Santana to hear.
"Because I have you."
It was so very close to a question.
"Because you have me," Brittany responded, louder this time. No hesitation. No question.