Brittany had been on cloud nine since New Years Eve.

It was almost as if something had fundamentally shifted within the blonde the moment their lips touched, leaving her forever changed. As the two women pulled away from one another, they could not help but quietly giggle like a couple of schoolgirls with shy blushes dusting their cheeks. Coming back to herself, Brittany stopped to gaze at Santana and felt her grin only grow as she watched the other woman look lighter than she had ever seen her. Suddenly filled with a rush of confidence, she abruptly blurted out, "Go on a date with me!" She had originally intended the statement to be a question, but the residual excitement from their kiss had gotten the better of her. Taking in the stunned expression the other woman was sporting, she rushed to amend, "I mean, will you please go on a date with me?"

Santana's eyes instantly widened in disbelief at the woman's words. Sure, she had partaken in her fair share of making out and hooking up, but she honestly could not recall the last time she had been on asked on a date, especially one that was not a thinly veiled pretense that was only used as an attempt to get into her pants. In fact, Santana could not help but wonder if she had ever actually attended a genuine date at all. Feeling a deep-seated need to ensure that there were no misunderstandings between them, the brunette tentatively clarified with a furrowed brow, "Do you really mean that?"

The mechanic held Santana's gaze as she gave her head a few eager nods, hoping to reassure the woman of her sincerity. For good measure, she verbally confirmed, "Yes, Santana. I would really, really like the honor of taking you on a date if that is something you would also be interested in."

Brown eyes continued to study her, almost as if Santana were watching for any hint of uncertainty from the blonde, and Brittany practically held her breath the entire time while patiently waiting to hear the woman's response. The room was so silent from the prolonged pause that all Brittany could hear was Santana's uneasy, shallow breaths as she mulled over the mechanic's proposal. Just as Brittany began to worry that she had rushed things too quickly, she suddenly heard Santana speak up with a firm, "Okay."

Brittany's expression immediately lit up, her lips splitting into a beaming grin as she quietly confirmed, "Yeah?"

"Yes," Santana replied with a slight quiver in her voice before she tacked on for good measure, "Please."

Brittany could not remember a time when she had felt so damn happy.

Over the course of the next few days, the pair agreed that Brittany would pick Santana up at her house the following Wednesday after work so they could have dinner at Santana's favorite restaurant, Breadstix. Brittany spent the next week-and-a-half stressing over what to wear and visiting all of the local floral shops until she had found the perfect bouquet to pick up for their date. Although she had done her best to be outwardly normal while at work and around the general public, Brittany had found it exceedingly difficult to not get completely swept away in the excitement of having a chance at dating her longtime crush.

That is, until she received a text from Santana the morning of their date.

From Santana: i cant

As soon as she saw the message, Brittany could not help but feel as if gravity had finally taken hold of her once more, sending her plummeting back down to earth. In the moments following the text, the blonde wracked her brain as to what had happened to suddenly change Santana's mind.

Had Brittany done something wrong?

Were they moving too fast?

Did Santana no longer feel the same way?

Had Santana realized that the mechanic was not as smart or as special as she had always believed?

Question after question raced through her thoughts, burying her further and further down under her own personal doubts. Reading over the message one more time, she suddenly noticed the inconsistencies with Santana's typical text patterns, which always included proper capitalization and punctuation. The realization sent her head reeling with even more questions regarding what might have happened, leaving her only knowing that things were not quite adding up.

There had to be some sort of explanation that she was just not yet privy to.

The blonde did not know how long she stared down at her phone, her right knee relentlessly bouncing with her ever-growing unease regarding the situation, when she was abruptly broken out of her thoughts by a soft knock at her office door. Glancing up, she found Allie standing there with a concerned expression as she informed, "Hey, Maribel Lopez is on the phone. She was hoping to speak with you if you have a second. She sounds pretty worried."

Pressing up from her desk, Brittany quickly moved past the woman and stumbled downstairs before the receptionist had a chance to react. Making her way behind the front desk, she found the phone line that was placed on hold and picked up the call. Doing her best to maintain an even tone, she called out, "Mrs. Lopez?"

"Oh, Brittany! Thank goodness," Maribel responded with the sound of her relief clear in her voice. "I have been trying to reach someone all morning, but Rachel is at work and Quinn has been in class-"

"What happened? Is Santana okay?"

Clearly doing her best to stay calm, Maribel answered, "I'm sure she is, but I haven't spoken to her since Sunday afternoon when I let her know I had checked into my hotel. I am away for a conference right now, and my office manager called me earlier today to let me know Santana had called out sick for the past three days, which is not normal for her. My bullheaded daughter usually forces herself to work even when she isn't feeling well, which only makes me worry more."

Finally finding the missing puzzle piece she had been looking for all morning, Brittany inquired, "Would you like me to drop by to check on her?"

"Please, if it's not too much," Maribal replied. "Even just running by there during you lunch break or after work would be enoug-"

"No, I'll go right now," the blonde abruptly stated, her nerves leading her to unintentionally cut off the other woman.

"Brittany, are you sure? I wasn't trying to interrupt your work."

"Yes, I want to make sure San is okay just as much as you do. Besides, I won't be able to get any work done until I know she's alright."

"Okay. Well, thank you for doing this. I can tell you where she keeps her spare key if she doesn't answer the door. Also, this is my cellphone, so you can just call me back at this number, okay? I can step out of the sessions at any time, so please don't hesitate to reach back out."

"Yes, ma'am. Will do."

"Thank you again, Sweetheart. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate you doing this," Maribel reiterated with gratitude clear in her tone.

"No need to thank me, Mrs. Lopez. I will call you once I know more."

"Okay, I will talk to you then."

Once the call had ended, Brittany returned the phone to its receiver and looked up to find Allie standing a few feet away. Not knowing how long the receptionist had been standing there, she informed, "Hey, I need to leave for a bit. Please let Kurt know once he gets back from the post office. Burt will be in charge until then." Doing her best to stay level-headed, she turned to move toward the garage to notify her lead mechanic when she felt a soft hand on her arm.

Looking back over to Allie, she heard the woman gently reassure, "I can tell them. You just focus on making sure your girl is okay."

"She's not- Um, I mean, we're not-" Brittany stammered before remembering that she had more important things to worry about than clarifying their relationship status. Instead, she took a deep breath and settled on responding with a simple, "Thank you, Al."

Having already assessed the levity of the situation, Allie answered without a hint of teasing in her voice, "You're welcome, Britt. Just be careful, okay? We're supposed to be getting more snow soon."

Brittany did not need to be told twice as she gave her head a sharp nod and ran up to her office to throw on her thick outerwear and grab her things so she could head out into the cold. It did not take her long to arrive at the same house she had found herself in front of back when Quinn was still in town. Upon her initial assessment, she noted that Santana's vehicle was not parted outside; however, the shop owner quickly figured that the woman could have simply parked it inside her spacious garage to keep it out of the snow. Once her truck was off, she slid out of the driver's seat and planted her feet firmly on the cement of the woman's driveway before taking off toward her front door. Giving the barrier a firm knock, she waited a long moment to no avail. She then slid her cellphone out of her pocket to call the marketing associate only to have it go straight to voicemail. Realizing she was out of options, Brittany dialed Maribel's number, which Allie had thankfully texted her after she rushed out of the shop without thinking to write it down. The line barely got past the first ring when it was answered.

"Brittany?" Santana's mother quickly asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, it's me. I knocked on her door, but she didn't answer. Her phone is also going straight to voicemail."

"Okay, just give me a second to step out into the hall," Maribel replied. The shop owner heard some shuffling on the other end of the phone before the woman continued, "Alright, are you standing at her front door?"

"Yes."

"Okay, look along the left side of the house. You will see a little black plastic container shoved into the ground that kind of looks like one of those termite bait stations."

Following the instructions, she soon shoved away freshly fallen snow to find the object in question and pulled it out of the dirt as she informed, "Alright, I found it."

"Good. A copy of her front door key should be inside it if you just screw off the top."

True to her word, Brittany soon found the spare key and took off toward the front door without a second thought. Upon entering the residence, Brittany instantly found the brunette in question curled into a tight ball on her couch with a thick blanket tucked tightly around her form. The mechanic couldn't help but suck in a quiet gasp at the sight of Santana looking so small. Initially, Brittany had thought the woman was asleep, but then she noticed the dazed look in her barely opened eyes as heavy breaths passed in and out from between her lips. Kneeling down beside her, Brittany gently combed strands of thick, sweat-ridden hair out from in front of the woman's face as she quietly called out, "San?"

The brunette sluggishly shifted unfocused brown eyes over toward her as she rasped out, "Briddy?"

Brittany's heart broke at the sound of Santana's voice, which had been slightly altered due to her stopped up nose. Forcing a smile, she gently greeted, "Hey, San. Your mom asked me to come check up on you after hearing that you were sick."

"Mm," Santana hummed out as she broke eye contact to slowly glance around the room before settling her distant gaze toward the far wall. It was then that Brittany noticed more sweat beading across her furrowed brow. "M'okay. Jus' feelin' a lil' under th' weather," Santana tried to assure with a light wheeze. Taking another labored breath, she added, "Jus' need some more rest, and I'll be better in no time."

"San, have you gone to seen a doctor yet? I can schedule an appointment and bring you in if you want-"

"No doctors," Santana refused with a sharp tone, which in turn sent her body into a sudden fit of coughs.

"But Santana, you-"

"I said no," Santana groaned as her teary eyes slid closed. Releasing a small whimper, the woman turned to bury her face into the couch cushion as she curled even further into herself.

Brittany could not help but feel a little helpless at watching the other woman working to regain her breath and instantly relented as she attempted to assure, "Okay, Okay. I understand. No doctors." Suddenly, she heard a loud voice calling out from the phone still clutched tightly in her left hand. Remembering that she still had Maribel on the line, the mechanic held the device up to her ear and responded, "Mrs. Lopez? Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you could please hand the phone over to Santana."

Brittany initially hesitated, not wanting to upset the brunette any further than she already had. Figuring that Maribel probably knew her daughter best, however, she softly grazed the back of her hand along the woman's covered arm and stated, "San, your mom would like to speak to you."

Brittany watched as Santana clenched her eyes even tighter but lifted her head up slightly to allow the blonde to slide the device under her ear before whispering, "Ma?" Brittany could tell that Maribel was softly speaking to Santana, but it was thankfully not loud enough for her to actually understand. Regardless, she was careful to not eavesdrop on the conversation. Whatever the older woman did say, however, appeared to affect Santana as her eyes began to well with fresh tears as she protested, "But I don' trus' them." There was another brief moment of listening to her mother's response before Santana added, "I know, but I can't risk goin' through that again." After a few more words from Maribel, the marketing associate seemed to relent as her shoulders dropped in defeat. Unable to hold back the new wave of tears, she answered, "Okay, fine. Jus' let us know when you have an appointment booked."

Knowing Santana had agreed to get checked out by a doctor, Brittany set out to gently coaxing the woman to sit up so she could start getting her ready to go. As soon as the brunette was sat upright, the blanket covering her form fell away to reveal the mechanics jacket Brittany had given her that night before leaving the bar. Feeling her heart clutch in her chest, the blonde reached forward and zipped up the jacket a bit before retrieving the thicker jacket she noticed hanging by the door.

While allowing Brittany to slide the second jacket around her frame, Santana quietly apologized, "'M s'rry I snapped at you."

"It's okay. That was nothing compared to how Lord Tubbington acts when he's not feeling well. Trust me," Brittany teased in an attempt to ease the woman's concerns, but Santana's expression did not change.

Refusing to meet her gaze, Santana grumbled, "That's not a 'scuse. You were jus' tryin' to help."

"San, let's just focus on getting you feeling better for now, alright? All the other things can wait."

"M'kay," Santana yields before releasing a loud sneeze. Keeping her hand covering her nose, she reached over to grab a tissue from off her coffee table so she could blow her nose before groaning out, "God, I must look disgusting right now."

"No, you still look just as beautiful as always," Brittany corrected with a small grin.

"Pfft, doubtful," Santana scoffed before releasing a few more coughs. After carefully wrapping a scarf around the woman's neck, Brittany reached up to slip off her beanie so she could slide it atop the woman's head. "No, Britt. Your ears'll be cold," the brunette weakly protested as she tried to halt the mechanic's motions to no avail.

"San, I'll be fine. We need to make sure you stay warm right now."

Not having the energy to fight her on the matter, the brunette allowed the woman to secure the knitted cap over her ears. She was just about to huff out a disgruntled sigh when a warm, calloused hand gently cupped the side of her face, unintentionally causing it to come out as more of a contented hum. She allowed the soft oscillations of Brittany's thumb across her cheek bone lull her into a lucid dream-like state until the quiet buzz of the blonde's cellphone broke their quiet silence.

Without removing the hand holding Santana's cheek, the mechanic lifted the device to her ear and answered, "Hey, it's Brittany. Uh-huh, yeah. Great, we will be there in about fifteen minutes. I'll text you once we're done. Alright, bye." Once the call had ended, Brittany turned her attention back over to the woman sitting before her and informed, "Your mom has an appointment scheduled across town at Dr. Thomas' office."

The blood slowly drained from Santana's face as she was reminded of what she had agreed to. Her hands began to shake with the fear of what was to come as her breathing noticeably picked up.

Noticing this change, Brittany dropped the device on the couch and brought her free hand up to gently hold the other side of Santana's face, hoping to help ground her as she assured, "Hey, hey. Easy now. I will be right there with you the entire time, and I won't let them do anything you don't want to do, okay?"

"P-promise?" Santana quietly whimpered.

"I promise, San. If they do anything you don't approve of, then we will leave with no questions asked."

"O-okay."

"Alright. Then, let's get you loaded up so we can get you back home as quickly as possible, yeah?"

"M'kay," the brunette quietly hummed out in a dejected tone.

After ensuring that Santana was safely secured in the passenger seat, Brittany darted around the back of her truck to hop up into the driver's seat and start inputting the address Maribel had texted her into her phone's navigation app. A little while later, she pulled the truck into the parking lot of the doctor's office. The blonde quickly assured Santana was comfortably seated once they were inside the waiting room. She then collected the woman's driver's license and medical insurance ID card before going to the front window to get her checked in, all the while keeping a close eye on the marketing associate. After she was provided the required paperwork to fill out, she slipped down into the empty chair located to the left of Santana. Looking over to the woman seated beside her, Brittany inquired, "Would you like me to try to fill out as much of this as I can for you?"

"Please. My brain is so foggy I can barely think," Santana quietly groaned as scooted in as close as she could, reaching up to curl her hand around the mechanics right bicep as she leaned her head down to rest against her shoulder.

Despite all the stress and anxiety she felt at seeing the marketing associate sick, Brittany could not help but smile at the motion as she quietly whispered, "No problem, San. Just relax and get some rest. I'll let you know what additional information is needed once I'm done."

"Thank you, Britt-Britt," Santana sighed out as she tugged the blonde closer and curled a little further into her side.

It took Brittany a little over ten minutes to work her way through the forms, and once done, she reached up to gently squeeze the woman's hand.

"Mm?" the brunette hummed without opening her eyes.

"Hey, there are just a few questions left. Are you up to finishing these up so I can turn them in?"

Blinking her eyes open, Santana groggily slipped the pen out of Brittany's grasp and readied herself to write as she asked, "M'kay, what's left?"

Brittany instantly began pointing out the remaining questions, all the while smiling softly at being reminded of their opposing dominant hands. After the forms were completed, Brittany slipped out from the grumbling woman's grasp with promises to be right back as she walked over to turn in the paperwork.

Santana was quick to slip a hand back around Brittany's arm as soon as she was seated once more, hoping to spend the remainder of their wait focusing on being close to the other woman and not her impending appointment. Unfortunately, she could not escape the matter forever, and eventually, the pair were brought back so one of the nurses could take her height, weight, temperature, and recent medical history before being seated within one of the exam rooms. Santana immediately insisted on sitting in the empty chair next to Brittany until it was her turn to see the doctor, her hands shaking as reality began to set in for her.

Sensing the Santana's nervousness, Brittany wrapped a strong arm around her frame and pulled the woman into her side. It did not take her long to notice that this appeared to be the correct choice as Santana quietly released an audible breath and relaxing into her hold. The pair remained that way, with Brittany slowly tracing her fingertips up and down the woman's upper arm, until the doctor eventually arrived, causing the marketing associate's body to suddenly stiffen.

Walking into the room with a file under her arm, a tall woman wearing nice dress clothes and a white coat greeted, "Good afternoon, my name is Dr. Thomas."

When Santana did not immediately answer the woman, Brittany stepped in to reply, "Hi, Dr. Thomas. I'm Brittany, and this is your patient, Santana."

"Ah. Well, it is nice to meet you two. I just glanced at your chart, Ms. Lopez, and it noted that you haven't felt well the past few days, correct?"

Picking up on Santana's growing uneasiness, Brittany supplied, "Yes, ma'am. She said she's had a pretty bad cough since Sunday. She also told the nurse that she's been running a fever since Monday evening, right San?"

"Y-Yeah," the brunette quietly croaked as she maintained a tense gaze on her shaking hands.

"Alright. Well, let's get you up onto the table and see what's going on, Ms. Lopez," Dr. Thomas calmly stated; however, Brittany quickly noted that she did not immediately move from her spot. Instead, the doctor remained at her spot near the door, clearly giving the two woman a wide birth as Brittany helped Santana stand. Assuming that Maribel must have alerted the staff to Santana's unease, the blonde supported Santana as she stepped up to sit onto the cushioned exam table. Santana maintained a death grip on Brittany's hand as she tried her best to maintain her composure, but the memories of waking up in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of her chest and having to face her own mortality suddenly flashed before her eyes, causing her breathing to involuntarily pick up. Picking up on the woman's rising anxiety, Brittany carefully switched hands so she could move a little closer to rub a soothing hand up and down the woman's back in hopes of calming her. Once Santana had seemingly calmed back down and gave her the okay, Brittany glanced over to where Dr. Thomas was still patiently waiting and gave her a nod to silently let her know that Santana was ready.

The medical professional slowly moved in close as she held up the diaphragm of her stethoscope, which she had preemptively readied in her ears. Dr. Thomas quickly listened to Santana's heart and carefully moved behind Santana to listen to her lungs. Just as she was about to press the diaphragm to Santana's back, the woman reached out to gently still Brittany's still moving hand, which was still rubbing Santana's back.

"Oh, sorry," the mechanic quickly apologized, not having fully realized that she had unintentionally disrupted the exam.

"No need to be sorry. You're just being a good partner," Dr. Thomas replied with a little wink and a kind smile as she went back to focusing on the task at hand, unaware of the surprised look on Brittany's face at the insinuation of her and Santana being in a relationship together.

Once Dr. Thomas was through examining Santana's ears and throat, she sat down and began recording her findings in Santana's chart as she informed, "So, it appears that you have a pretty bad case of the flu. I'm actually pretty glad you came in because your lungs sounded like they were well on their way to developing pneumonia, but I think we can hold it off with some antivirals paired with a strong antibiotic. I am also going to prescribe you a steroid to help take out some of that inflammation and a cough suppressant to help give you some relief."

"Thank you, Dr. Thomas," Brittany replied, knowing Santana had met her limit as the woman leaned heavily into her side.

"You're welcome. Now, I don't know if you are particularly interested in this option, Ms. Lopez, but there are also a couple shots I can give to help-"

"No shots, please," Santana tiredly grumbled as she kept her gaze focused on the floor in front of her, causing Brittany to protectively tighten her hold around the woman's waist slightly.

"Not a problem at all, Ms. Lopez. I just wanted to make sure I provided you with all of your options. Now, I am going to go write up your prescriptions real fast. I should have them over at the front desk shortly if you would like to head that way," Dr. Thomas said as she walked over to hold the door open for the two women.

Brittany then carefully helped Santana step down from the exam table and thanked the doctor one last time before slowly guiding the sick brunette to the check-out counter.

After spotting the pair, the worker behind the desk informed them, "I will be right with you. Just give me one sec," as she continues to rapidly tap at her keyboard.

"Alright, thank you," Brittany replied as a pair of arms wound their way around her waist from behind. Feeling the press of Santana's forehead along the center of her back, she brought a hand up to cover the other woman's, giving it a light squeeze as she told her, "Just a little longer and you'll be home, okay?"

"Mm," Santana quietly muttered in acknowledgement as she burrowed herself further into the woman's back.

Once Brittany had the doctor's scripts in hand, she assisted Santana in leaving the office and loaded her back up into her truck so they could pick up her medicine before heading back to the brunette's house. As the blonde pulled the seatbelt around Santana's form, she felt the woman's hot forehead press into the crook of her neck as she released a quiet sob.

Immediately snapping into action, Brittany moved to gently pulled Santana into her arms and attempted to calm her by rubbing her back as she reassured, "Hey, it's okay. We are all done. You don't have to worry about the doctor anymore."

"Thank you," Santana heaves as her exhaustion continued to take hold, preventing her from holding back hold back her emotions any longer.

Feeling the collar of her shirt grow wet, Brittany reassured, "You're welcome, San. I'll always be here whenever you need me, alright? Anytime, day or night."

Santana gave a brief pause out of hesitancy before she eventually commented, "That's a pretty big offer, Britt."

Burying her face into thick brunette locks, Brittany held onto the woman a little tighter as she clarified, "Well, I have pretty big feelings for you."

After the two had returned with Santana's medicine in hand, Brittany got Santana settled into the corner of her couch, taking a moment to tuck the thick blanket back around the woman, just as it had been when she had first found her. The mechanic then took an extra moment to ensure the woman was comfortable before questioning, "Are you hungry?" Watching Santana give a little shrug of her shoulder as her eyes slid close, Brittany continued, "When was the last time you ate something?" The woman give another wordless shrug, so she stated, "Then, I am going to go make you some food real quick. Be right back."

She then pushed herself up from the couch to head toward Santana's kitchen. Digging around in the back of her cabinet, Brittany eventually found a can of chicken noodle soup in the back of the brunette's pantry and heated it up before bringing the bowl over to the sick woman. Sitting back down beside the marketing associate's resting form, she informed, "Your soup is ready, San."

Santana slowly slid her eyes and blinked slowly before sitting up, but she quickly found herself too tired to fully sit upright. She watched as the mechanic carefully prepared a spoon full of soup, gently blowing on it and holding it out for the other woman to eat, and she couldn't help but smile tiredly at the action. "I can feed myself, Britt. Just give me a little more time," Santana teasingly insisted as she sluggishly unraveled her arms from under the blanket and pushed herself up the rest of the way. After getting comfortable, she held out her hands so she could take the food.

Chuckling at the woman's unending obstinacy, Brittany conceded, "I know you can still feed yourself, Silly, but you can't blame me for wanting to take care of a pretty girl when she's sick."

"Fair, but you've done plenty for me today. I have this one little thing covered," Santana assured as she carefully took the hot bowl of soup into her hands. Gingerly holding up a steaming spoon-full, she took a moment to blow on it before eating her first bite. Once done eating, Santana placed her empty bowl on the coffee table and moved to thread her fingers through the blonde's as she leaned back into her side, noting, "You know, this is not exactly how I imagined spending the day of our first date. Sorry I haven't been better company."

"What are you talking about? You've been so quiet! It's actually been quite nice," Brittany teased, earning her a nudge against her side.

"Shut up, you love talking to me."

Feeling her face break into a broad grin, she softly agreed, "I do."

The pair continued to sit in a calm, relaxing silence for a long while, both women finding themselves mentally and emotionally drained from the day. In time, Brittany found herself glancing around the living room, taking an opportunity to fully take in the room she did not have a chance to see when she had first arrived. As she scanned over Santana's various decorations and personal effects, she eventually caught sight of a framed picture of teenaged Santana and Quinn standing next to a giant trophy in their cheerleading uniforms and revealed, "You know, I almost tried out for the Cheerios freshmen year."

Santana sluggishly looked up in surprise and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, I was a pretty skilled dancer and had taken some cheerleading classes, so it felt like the next logical step. Unfortunately, practice was scheduled for the same time as shop class, so I was forced to choose between the two."

"Damn, that's a shame. You would have looked so hot in a Cheerio uniform," Santana lazily chuckled, the corner of her mouth pulling into a small, toothy grin as her face took on a dreamy expression.

"Uh-oh, did I just accidentally unlock that image for you?"

"Mm, maybe," Santana hummed out as she shyly bit her lip and turned to bury her face into the mechanic's shoulder, her hand momentarily gripping the other woman's tighter before relaxing once more. Rethinking her statement, she slowly pulled away from the woman to amend, "Actually, I change my mind. It's probably for the best that you chose automotive tech over cheerleading. You would have been too powerful as a Cheerio. Every single hormonal teen in McKinley would have been clambering over themselves at the sight of you in a pleated skirt."

Tilting her head to the side in question, Brittany could not help but playfully inquire, "Are you including yourself in that statement?"

"Oh, most definitely," Santana confirmed with a sharp laugh that turned into another fit of coughs. After settling back down, the corner of Santana's lip pulled into a gentle smile as she got a faraway look in her eyes. Resting her head back down on the woman's shoulder, she considered, "I bet we would have been best friends, though. We probably would have met at cheer camp the summer before freshman year, and maybe you could have even stayed in the same bunk house as Quinn and I. We could have been an unstoppable trio, spending all of our time talking in the halls between classes and then going to hang out each other's houses after school." Releasing a quiet sigh, she looked down at where her left hand was fiddling with the blanket covering her lap before tacking on, "And I probably would have still been secretly head over heels for you all the same."

"I would have, too," Brittany quietly shared as she eyed the woman's motions. With a little more thought, she clarified, "Though, I don't think I would have been able to hide my crush on you if we had been friends. I'm a pretty transparent person, so there's not really much use in me hiding anything unless there is a particular reason to do so."

Santana then glanced back up to look at the blonde in surprise, asking, "You think you would still like me if we had been closer?"

"Oh, I am certain I would, San. I don't think there could ever be a world where I do not fall for you."

"But you could have had pretty much anyone you wanted. Hell, you still could."

"Why would I want someone else when I already have my favorite person as a built-in best friend?"

Santana immediately broke eye contact with the blonde, casting her eyes back down to her blanket-covered lap as she nervously bit the inside of her cheek. Releasing a sigh, she admitted, "There are so many other people out there who are much more deserving of your affection."

"San-"

Snapping tired brown eyes back up to baby blues, Santana affirmed, "I'm just telling the truth, and not just because I was a shitty person in high school." Feeling self-conscious, she glanced away once more as she stated, "There are a lot of things you don't know about my past, Britt, and I'm terrified that you will look at me differently once you find out."

"Hey," Brittany eased as she dipped down slightly in an attempt to catch the woman's gaze once more. When Santana turned further away from her, the blonde squeezed their joined hands and assured, "Anything you may have done in the past will never change the way I feel about you."

"You don't know that," Santana stubbornly refuted with a huff.

"Yes, I do, San, and I can confidently say that because I know your heart," Brittany pressed on before pausing to see if her statement made any difference. When Santana did not budge, she gently traced her thumb across the back on the woman's hand as she noted, "We've all made mistakes we wish we could take back, but the most important thing is to learn from those experiences." Santana remained silent, but it was clear to Brittany that she was now crying. Trying to convince the woman that she was not nearly as bad as she thought herself to be, Brittany softly told her, "San, it is easy to see that you deeply regret whatever it is that happened. You wouldn't be so clearly sorry or even think twice about telling me any of this if you were truly a bad person. I know you are scared to let me in, and that's okay. We have all the time in the world to broach that subject, or you never have to even tell me at all if that would make things easier. Either way, I just need you to know that I will be here to patiently listen without judgement if you ever need someone to talk to about it, okay?" Slowly reaching over to thread the pinkies of their free hands together, she promised, "I swear that to you, Santana."

Suddenly feeling her exhaustion take back over, the brunette released a long breath and leaned back over to rest her head back down on the woman's shoulder. After a few long moments thinking over the woman's statements, she tightened her pinky in return and replied, "I believe you." Another brief silence passed between the two, both taking a moment to think over the days events before Santana spoke up once more. "You can definitely tell that you are a dancer, by the way" Santana tiredly teased, her soul feeling a little lighter as heavy eyelids slid closed, allowing the woman to slowly slip away toward sleep. "Just easily waltzing through all of my defenses like they're nothing."

Giving a little hum in thought, Brittany replied, "Well, I think that may just be because I am the foremost expert in the field of Santana Lopez."

"Hm, I think you might be right," Santana chuckled before humming out a quiet, "G'night, Britt-Britt."

"Good night, San. Sweet dreams."

"Mm, hope to see you there," Santana lazily sighed with a lopsided grin as she allowed herself to finally slip off into a calm, restful sleep.

Thank you all so, so much for taking time out of your day to read this chapter. I hope you are having a good time watching our girls making room in one another's lives as they continue drifting closer and closer together. Also, I just wanted to make sure to thank everyone who has followed, favorited, and/or commented on this story. Wild Hope is a story that I initially decided to continue solely because I wanted to see the story I had in mind come to fruition, but seeing people engage with this story really helps me stay motivated to keep writing it all down and not just let it remain up in my head. So truly, thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings about this story with me, and I hope to see you back soon for Chapter 10!

P.S.: I cannot believe the 10-year anniversary of the "A Wedding" episode just passed! I wish I could have had something ready in time to post this past Thursday, but life has been a little all over the place lately. Regardless, I am still so, so very happy to be a part of this wonderful fandom and to share this space with you all. It has and will continue to be one of my favorite things in life thus far.

Hope you all have a great day!