Glee 1. Chapter 1

**So this has been bugging me since Finn outed Santana in the hallway and I needed to get it out there. When I started it I had only intended it to be a brief story and it kind took on a life of its own. Enjoy.**

After watching the video Santana was stunned, she couldn't believe that what was happening was real and not some horrid nightmare. The tears appeared in her eyes and started running down her cheeks before she could register that she was actually crying. When Sue offered her apologies it snapped Santana back into reality and at the same time made her realize that her entire life was about to collapse at her feet.

"I haven't even told my parents yet!" She yelled through her sobs and she ran out of the room leaving all three adults with very sad, guilty looks on their faces. Santana ran down the hallway and without knowing quite how she ended up there, she found herself outside the room the Troubletones used to practice. She fumbled with the door handle and when it opened she rushed inside and startled all the group members who were running through their number once more before the mash-up. Without saying a word and still crying pretty hard, Santana found Brittany and just as she felt Brittany's arms around her she collapsed into her girlfriend's embrace. Brittany thankfully caught Santana before she hit the floor and she gently picked Santana up and led her to an empty chair next to the piano. The blonde held the Latina in her lap and rocked gently back and forth trying in vain to calm Santana down. Santana was trying to say something but her crying made it impossible to hear her. Brittany waited until the tears slowed down and the sobs had become whimpers.

"Santana, baby, what happened?" She brushed the hair out of Santana's face and looked her dead in the eye which started the tears all over again. Brittany looked at Shelby with a desperate look on her face and she was met with an equally confused face. Shelby stood up from the bench and suggested that the team all take 20 and that they would meet up in the auditorium before the performance was set to begin. This cleared the room of everyone except for Santana, Brittany, Shelby and Mercedes. Shelby sat down on the other side of Santana and put her hand on the girls shoulder only to have it cause Santana to jump.

"San, it's ok baby, its just Ms. C, she's not gonna hurt you." Santana looked at her girlfriend and then back at her teacher. "Sorry." Shelby shook her head and offered her a sad smile, "not apology needed, I'm just concerned about what has you so upset. Can you tell us what happened?"

Santana's lip quivered like a baby before it starts to scream so Shelby jumped in, "or maybe you could just tell Brittany. Mercedes and I will go get you some water and you talk to Brittany." Santana nodded and so the teacher and Mercedes walked into the adjoining office and made themselves busy for a few minutes. Santana started telling Brittany everything that had happened and when she got to the commercial it took all her energy to not continue crying. She finished her story and when she looked up she saw unshed tears in Brittany's eyes and she immediately felt bad, "Britt I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, don't you dare apologize to me; you did nothing to deserve this. I know that you act tough and mean to keep people away from you and this time it blew up in your face, but I don't care if you insulted his mother's cooking, Finn had no fucking right to do that to you and now look at what has happened. I'm pissed at him Santana, not you, never you." Santana had never seen Brittany mad before, let alone this level of pissed off. "I was asking for it Britt, I'm mean to practically everyone, karma is probably getting back at me."

"First off, I don't know who Karma is, second, you have changed a lot in the last few years Santana. You used to treat Rachel and Kurt terribly, we both did, and now we're friends. People have in incredible ability to change and grow Santana and you have. Sure you still have some heat to you, but that is what makes you you. You can let people in without being seen as weak Santana."

"Not after this, everyone is going to have a field day. McKinley high's resident bitch gets outed to all of Ohio, I can see the headlines now." Santana held her head in her hands and let out a frustrated laugh. Shelby and Mercedes walked in and before they could say anything Santana spoke up again, this time without looking up for the floor. "Was he right?"

"Was he right about what baby?" Brittany looked confused.

"When he was yelling in the hallway, Finn, he said that I was scared because you might not love me the way that I love you. You love me right?" For the next 15 seconds Brittany forgot that her teacher and friend were standing in the room and grabbed Santana's face and kissed her hard. Neither one of them moved or broke away until air literally was an issue. Brittany held Santana's face in her hands and forced her to look at her. "I'm only going to say this once so I need you to listen to me and never forget what I am about to say. I LOVE YOU. I love everything about you, even the things that drive me nuts; I love your body, your smile, your voice, the fact that you sing off key in the shower just because you can, that you order scrambled eggs even though you hate them because you know the ones with the yokes make me sad for the baby chickens, I love that you steal the covers in the middle of the night, I love that when I'm sick you sleep next to me and rub my back till I'm asleep, I love how protective you are of me, I love it when you get jealous when people look at me, I love that you still have the stuffed animal you got when you were born, I love waking up and seeing you next to me and perhaps most important, I love that when you are hugging or kissing or having sex, that nothing exists outside of that moment because it's like time stands still for us. I love you and don't you ever, EVER let fucking Finn Hudson or anyone else tell you differently." Santana was stunned and incredibly touched; she nodded and kissed Brittany again before pulling away and brushing away the tears from her cheeks.

"I love you too Britt Britt." Brittany smiled and stood up, holding her hand out for Santana to take it. Santana took the outstretched hand and they walked over to where Shelby and Mercedes were standing. Mercedes looked at her teammates, "we can cancel if you want."

"No, give me ten minutes to clean up my face and change and we'll be there. Finn has taken everything else away from me today, that last thing I'm gonna do is give him one more thing that brings me joy." Santana headed to the bathroom with her dress in hand and as she left the room Shelby turned to Brittany, "is she going to be ok?"

"Eventually, but right now she's heartbroken and terrified and I'm so mad I could spit."

"Just don't kill Finn until after we perform, ok?" Shelby offered. Brittany looked at her teacher, "you guys were listening to our conversation weren't you?"

"Heard the whole thing, Santana was technically yelling so it's not like we were trying to hear it. Look Brittany I promise you when this is over I will help you deal with Finn properly, but for now try to control your temper ok."

"He deserves to have his ass kicked."

Mercedes jumped in, "yes he does, but right now Santana needs you to be the level headed one. We are all behind you guys and you have everyone's love and support so you just focus on winning this mash-up and we'll deal with Finn tomorrow, deal?"

"Deal?" Santana returned and to her credit, she looked flawless, like nothing had happened. She looked sad, but her face showed no signs of crying and for that Brittany was thankful, San hated it when people could see her emotions etched on her face. "Are we ready ladies?" Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and all the women filed out the room and headed to the auditorium. The girls all took their place on stage and Shelby took a seat next to Will. Before the music stared she leaned over to Will and whispered, "the second this over, you and I are going to talk about how lucky Finn Hudson is to still be breathing." Will nodded and leaned back in his seat as the lights went up. The performance was flawless and Santana killed her solo, but everyone could see that the Latina was struggling to hold it together though almost no one knew why. It was very clear something was wrong because Brittany looked like she was about to cry herself when the lights dimmed. When the music faded away Santana flew off the stage and was in Finn's face.

"What did you say to her?"

"I said I thought you were great."

"You're lying." Santana was pissed and the hurt feelings were bubbling up as she yelled at Finn.

"No, he literally just said that." Rachel tried to interject.

"What, did you tell her too?"

"Santana." Will tried to warn her to let it go for now, but the fire had been lit.

"The whole school already knows, and you know what, they don't care." Santana jumped down his throat, "not just the school you idiot, EVERYONE." Before Finn could even try to defend himself Santana's hand was already headed for his cheek. The slap cut through the silence in the auditorium like a knife through butter. Santana seemed shocked that she actually did it, but she wasn't sorry it happened. Before everyone had recovered from the shock Santana ran out of the room. Finn started yelling about being assaulted but Brittany appeared at his side instantly and pushed him back into his seat.

"Don't you dare, don't you fucking dare try and make this her fault. You spineless excuse for a man, you are supposed to be our captain and you thought it would be ok to betray her like that?"

"Brittany she was calling me all these names and I just wanted her to get a taste of her own medicine, it's not like everyone didn't already know you two were a thing." Brittany smirked and got in Finn's face, she could literally smell the gum his was chewing. "I don't care if the Pope knew we were dating Finn, that doesn't give you or anyone the right to out her in the middle of a crowded high school hallway." That whole room gasped audibly, but before anyone could speak Brittany continued. "So she called you names and insulted you, you know that is how she acts. And yes, she took it too far and perhaps she deserved to be punished, but not by you and not like this: I don't care if she insulted you mother, you had no fucking right to do what you did, NONE. Because of you, by this time tomorrow the entire state of Ohio will know that Santana's a lesbian because you felt she deserved a taste of her own medicine. I hope you are fucking proud of yourself." Finn stood up and tried to apologize, "Brittany, I have no idea what is going on, but I never meant for this to happen, I'm sorry it got out of hand." The look that came across Brittany's face could have turned Finn to stone.

"You're lucky she only slapped you and you're equally as lucky that I am not a violent person or my fist would have left an imprint on your cheek. I'm going to go find my girlfriend and I'm going to hold her while she cries herself to sleep tonight and when she wakes up I'm going to kiss her and tell her that everything is going to be ok, even though I'm not sure it will be ok. I never thought you would do something so hateful, after everything that Kurt went through, you were the last person I thought we had to worry about when it came to telling people. She has to tell her parents now, unless she wants them to see it on TV first. She has to tell everyone in her life before she is ready and if anything bad happens to her the blood is on your hands because you had the power to end this before it began." Brittany turned to leave and before she completely talked away she turned back to Finn, "and Finn, one last thing; you couldn't have been more wrong. In the hallway when you said that she was a coward and that I didn't love her the way that she loved me…she is my soul mate and with every beat of my heart I love her more and more." And with that Brittany left the room and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room that eventually got broken by Kurt.

"What was she talking about? What the hell did you do?" Finn explained what happened in that hallway to everyone, but as he finished Mercedes jumped in and explained to everyone about the commercial that would ultimately out Santana to all of Ohio. All the color drained from Finn's face; he didn't know about all of that and all of a sudden he felt like he deserved the stinging pain on the left side of his face and so much more. Rachel looked like she was about to explode and so did Kurt, but Rachel started yelling first.

"I'm so disappointed in you, what made you think that doing that would be a good idea?"

"Rach, I'm sorry, I had no idea it would turn out like this. She just got me so mad, I didn't think it through."

"Don't apologize to me Finn, matter of fact, don't talk to me right now. These people are our family damn it, we all started off hating each other, bulling each other but somewhere along the way we realized that all we have in this world is each other; families don't hurt each other like this Finn. You owe Santana an apology; at the very least you owe her that. Not that I think it will help smooth things over, but it's a start." Finn knew Rachel and Kurt would be mad, what he wasn't expecting was to have Mike grab him by his shirt and get in his face.

"You are fucking unbelievable. You walk around saying how much you're a man and how you want to make something of yourself and how we are all friends. Newsflash man; men, real men don't betray their loved ones that like. Real men don't attack their friend like that. Everyone in this room has been called a named by Santana, but hell that is how she communicates; it's her fucked up way of saying she loves us. She calls me other Asian all the time and she calls Sam Trouty Mouth and you know what, it makes us laugh and smile because she had to take the time to come up with the nickname. I'm going to go make sure my friends get home safely, you should start thinking about how you are going to make this right." Mike let go of his shirt and walked away with Tina in toe. Everyone left one by one, leaving only Will, Shelby and Kurt in the auditorium with Finn.

"I don't know how to make this right Mr. Shue." Finn looked at his teacher with a few stray tears in his eyes. The two teachers looked at each other before Will offered the only piece of advice he had, "Finn, I can't promise you that there is anything you can do to make this right, sorry isn't going to cut it this time."

"I didn't mean for this to happen, what if her parents throw her out, or she gets sad and tries to kill herself, I have to do something." Shelby touched Finn's shoulder, "Finn I think you've done enough, right now we sadly just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. Do you boys have a ride home?" Kurt nodded, "my car is in the lot, we carpooled this morning." Both teachers left the room and soon it was just Finn and Kurt.

"Go ahead and let's get it over with." Finn looked at Kurt.

"What are you talking about Finn?"

"Aren't you mad at me, why aren't you yelling?"

"Finn, there has been enough yelling today and besides you already know how I feel about this kind of thing, I don't need to tell you twice. Besides, judging by the text I just got from my dad, there will be plenty of yelling when we get home, I figure you could use a break. But for the record, you really need to think before you speak. I know you didn't mean for this to blow up into something this big, but it did and now you have to deal with the consequences, that's what being an adult means; owning your mistakes and then never making them again. Come on lets go home." Both of them left the school and drove home in silence and when they pulled up to the house Kurt killed the engine and they both sat there.

"Waiting here isn't going to make it any better Finn."

"I know, I'm just scared."

"Yeah, well think of it this way, how scared do you think Santana is right now and she has a hell of a lot more to lose, so get your ass out of this car and get in the house." Finn stepped out of the car and grabbed his backpack and as Kurt unlocked the door he turned to his brother, "I'm mad at you right now and I'm ashamed of what you did, but eventually the anger will pass, I may hate you right now, but you're my brother and I love you." Finn smiled and opened the door. Both boys were met by their parents sitting in the living room clearly waiting for their sons to return home. Burt stood up from his chair and without saying anything else he pointed to the couch, looked at Finn and said, "sit." He did and Kurt sat down next to him and without a word Burt put something in the VCR and hit play. When the commercial was done rolling Kurt looked like he was going to cry and Finn looked like he was going to be sick.

"Well, for someone who had so much to say last week you sure seem quiet now." Burt was beyond pissed off. "After everything you learned and everything you saw your brother go through, you turned around and became one of the bullies."

"I don't know what to say."

"Well you know what neither do I, because I never thought I would have to ground one of my children for publicly outing a 17 year old girl; there is no handbook on how to deal with this." Burt took a deep breath and continued, "your mom and I talked about it and we agreed that clearly regular grounding isn't the way to go, that won't teach you anything. Instead, I called a local PFLAG group and they said they always need new helpers for when they work with teens at the youth center in Columbus that caters to LGBTQIA youth."

"Wait, when did they add letters?" Finn was already lost, but Burt continued, "until graduation you will spend every Saturday volunteering with those people, maybe then you can learn that not every family is like ours, some of those kids have been through hell and they have something to teach you. So go, learn from them, see that the people you seems so keen on making fun of have something special to offer this world. You can go up to your room now; I will come get you when dinner is ready." Finn and Kurt both stood up and turned to leave, "oh, and Finn, don't ever make me feel this ashamed of you again, you have so much to offer the world, I'd hate to see you waste it by being a hateful person." Finn nodded and slightly went up stairs. Before he closed his door he turned to Kurt and said, "I kind of wish he had just yelled at me, saying he was ashamed felt way worse."

"Take this as a chance to learn Finn, that is all you can do now. I'm going to call Blaine, I'll see you at dinner."

While all that was happening at Casa de Hummel, Santana and Brittany were driving to Brittany's house. Santana insisted that she couldn't go home, at least not tonight and even if she felt like she could go home, she didn't seem to want to let Brittany out of her sight. Both girls knew that tomorrow was going to be exhausting and borderline traumatic so they wanted one more night where they could pretend that everything was perfect. They pulled up in front of Brittany's house and sat in silence in the car until Brittany got out and opened Santana's door. "Come on baby, let's go home."

Santana got out of the car and grabbed her bag before following Brittany into the house. Something smelled good the second they opened the front door so Santana assumed that Brittany's mom was in the middle of cooking dinner. Brittany yelled out that she was home and soon her mom came around the corner drying her hand on a towel. "Hey sweetie, can you go pick up your sister from soccer practice?" The second she finished the question she saw Santana standing next to her daughter and when she took in the teenager's appearance she yelled upstairs for her husband. "James, James, go pick Kelly up from soccer practice, dinner is going to be ready soon." Mr. Pierce appeared in the living room a second later, "I thought Brittany was going to go get her?" James looked at Brittany, but then saw Santana standing close to her with her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep herself from losing her composure.

"Never mind, I'll be home in 15 minutes." With that he grabbed his coat and keys and walked out the front door. Brittany's mom walked over to the girls and grabbed the bag from Santana's hand, "Britt, sweetie why don't you put this upstairs in your room and get ready for supper while Santana and I will get started on dessert."

"But mom, I think I should…" Her mother stopped her before she couldn't continue, "honey its fine, Santana and I can manage without you for a few minutes." Brittany looked at Santana just to make sure, "it's fine babe, I'll be fine." She didn't realize she had called Brittany babe in front of her mother, but at that point she didn't have the energy to keep up the lie. Brittany retreated upstairs and Santana walked into the kitchen still wearing her black dress from the performance. "What can I do to help you Mrs. P?"

"First off, you can call me Jenny like I've been telling you to since you were 15 and second, I think the question is what can I do to help you?"

"I'm fine." It came out as a whisper and the tears in her eyes betrayed her words. Jenny sat down at the table next to Santana and put her hand on top of the teenagers'. "Honey, I hope you don't take offense to this, but you don't look fine, you look sad and scared. You know you can tell me anything right? Santana shook her head, "I can't, it's not safe, you'll get mad at me, everyone else is mad at me." Santana was already crying, but she was trying hard to hold it back; it wasn't working. Jenny brushed the tears away from Santana's eyes and stroked her cheek with her thumb, "honey, listen to me, I promise you, on my life that you are absolutely safe in this house. No one is gonna hurt you as long as you're here, I promise you that and you can tell me anything I promise you it isn't going to be a bad as you think." Jenny offered Santana a small smile and at that Santana lost all her resolve and broke down crying again. Jenny stood up and let Santana wrap her arms around her waist. She cried for a while before saying over and over again how much she loved Brittany. Jenny laughed a little, "is that what you're upset about, you think I'm going to be mad because you love Brittany? Santana please I knew you would end up dating when you two were six years old and held your wedding in our backyard. It's ok sweetie, we love you and Brittany just like we always did, you'll never lose us." This of course made Santana cry harder and Brittany chose this moment to come back downstairs. She looked at her mother for some kind of explanation. "Did she tell you?"

Jenny nodded, "she told me how much she loved you and I said that I already knew that." Brittany went over to Santana and asked her, "can I tell her what happened?" Santana nodded and Brittany gave her mother the sparknotes version of what happened. When she was done Brittany herself was in tears and Jenny was at a loss for words. She led the girls into the living room and returned to the kitchen only to turn off the stove and oven. Before she went back to the girls she called her husband, "honey, change of plans, something bad happened at school and both of them are in tears, take Kelly for pizza and take the long way home please." She finished her call to her husband and went back to the girls. Brittany had managed to calm Santana down enough so that they were cuddling on the couch and Santana was silent.

"Santana honey, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You know we can sue them right, you're a minor they can't use your image without consent and there are millions of other things we can charge him with."

"It airs tomorrow; we'd never make it happen in enough time to get it stopped."

"What can I do to help you right now?"

"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to go home." All of a sudden Jenny felt like she was talking to a child who woke up from a bad dream, only this time the bad dream didn't stop when Santana opened her yes. "Of course you can stay here. You can stay here for as long as you want, you know that. Tell you what, let's get you two fed and you can snuggle in Britt's bed and watch movies till you fall asleep ok?" Santana nodded and smiled, "that sounds wonderful, thank you." They all ate and cleaned up the kitchen before the girls went upstairs and climbed into their PJ's and then into Brittany's bed. Jenny started one movie before going downstairs and seeing her husband and youngest daughter walk through the door, "mommy, mommy, Daddy said Sanny was here, is she here?" The ten year old ran up to her mother who smiled, "yes honey she is here, but Santana had a really bad day at school, so Brittany is gonna take care of her and you need to stay out of her room ok."

"Yes mama. Can I watch TV down here then?"

"Yes, but finish your reading first, ok?" Jenny and her husband spent the next few hours trying to think of ways to help Santana and they were coming up empty. It was getting late and they ultimately decided to call it a night and pray that tomorrow wasn't too painful for Santana. Brittany's alarm started to blare around 6am and without opening her eyes Brittany searched for her phone to make the sound stop. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around Santana who was starting to shift a little bit, clearly having been woken up by the alarm. "Want to join me in the shower?" Brittany kissed her cheek and Santana nodded her head and dragged herself into the bathroom and followed Britt into the hot water coming out of the shower. They both showered in silence and just as Brittany was about to turn off the water Santana stopped her and pulled her in so that they were hugging under the stream of water coming from the shower head. Brittany didn't question it; she knew that this wasn't about anything sexual, Santana needed to feel close to Brittany. They both knew that today was going to suck and that by the end of it Santana was going to have to face some very hard truths.

When Santana let go Brittany shut off the shower and got them each a towel. They dried off and got dressed and when their hair and makeup was done they went downstairs where Jenny was setting breakfast in front of her youngest daughter. Kelly looked up and ran full speed into Santana, "Sanny, Sanny, you're here; mom said you were sad and that Brittany was gonna make you feel better. I scored two goals at soccer yesterday." Santana couldn't help but smile, "you did, well they aren't going to be able to stop you in your game next week."

"Will you come to my game?"

"I wouldn't miss it."

"Are you sad still?" The ten year old really did think the world of Santana and she didn't want her friend to be sad ever, she was a lot like Brittany in that respect.

"I'm still a little sad, but Brittany made me feel much better."

"Did she kiss it and make it better?" Santana smiled, "yeah kiddo she did." Santana sat next to the ten year old and poked at the food Jenny sat in front of her. She forced herself to eat something, but after a few bites she just couldn't do it anymore so she excused herself and went into the living room to make sure her backpack was ready for the day. Brittany finished eating and joined her on the couch.

"You ready?"

"I'm terrified of what is going to happen today Brittany, what if I can't do this?"

"Then you let me help you; that is what a partnership is babe. Two people who love and respect each other, helping each other through the hard times. You don't have to so this alone and you won't be, I'm right here with you and so are all our friends and my family. Today is gonna be hard, but you're the strongest person I know and you are stronger than anything they can throw at you." Santana kissed Brittany and stood up from the couch, "let's hit then." The girls piled in the car and after dropping Kelly off at school they made their way to the senior parking lot at the high school. Santana stood outside the car and took a deep breath before she grabbed Brittany's hand and started for the door. She knew the commercial hadn't aired yet, but she figured that by noon it would be out there and so knew to be prepared for anything. They grabbed their books and Santana walked Brittany to her first class and to Brittany's surprise Santana kissed her before she walked away. The Latina smirked, "no point in hiding it if everyone knows right?" She met up with Quinn for their first period class and they settled into seats in the back to the classroom.

Quinn passed Santana a note that read: _I tried to call you last night, how are you holding up? Is there anything I can do to help you or Britt?_

_I turned off my phone and stayed with Britt last night. For now we are ok, but things might get messy and I just need to know that my friends are behind me._

_I know I've been distant lately, but I love you both and I don't give two damns who you love, if you're happy then that is enough for me._

_I'm happy, I mean Britt makes me happy._

_Then I'll wear my best friend is a lesbian t-shirts. Also I will destroy everything Finn loves if you want me to._

_He isn't worth it; I don't want to think about it right now._

_I hear for you, we all are, just remember that. _Santana smiled and focused back on the teacher for the rest of the class period. Without spending too much time actually listening to what was happening in her classes, Santana eventually made through to lunch and then fifth period. Brittany had this class with her and Quinn so at least she wasn't alone. The teacher lectured and showed a brief film that if nothing else ate up some time. When the bell rang for the last class of the day Santana parted ways with Brittany and Quinn and went to her locker to grab her history book. When she closed her locker there was a hockey player standing next to her.

"Excuse me." Santana tried to push past him but he snaked his arm around her waist and held her close. "Not so fast baby, I saw the commercial online, I bet I can help you with your problem."

"My problem is that some jock is molesting me and won't let me get to class."

"I know you're a dyke, but I can fix that." He kissed the base of Santana's neck and a whole new level of panic rose up in her. She started to fight back, but he was stronger than she was. She was about to scream when all of a sudden she felt herself get dropped to the floor. When she looked up she saw Puck holding the hockey player by his throat against the row of lockers and Mike was standing right behind him.

"I'm only gonna say this once stick boy, you touch her again, you come near her, you think about her, I will break you in half and bury in two different states. And don't think I can't or that I won't. You go back to your crew and tell them that if any of them so much as thinks about hurting her in any way, they will have to deal with me and I will not restrain myself twice, now get the hell out of my sight before I change my mind." He let the boy go and Santana could see a bruise form at the boy's neck as he ran off down the hallway. Mike kneeled down to check on Santana, "you ok Santana?"

It wasn't until she heard his voice did she full understand what had happened, what could have happened and then it hit her, the commercial was out there and this was just the beginning. She started to cry and Puck was quick to pick her up and even though she was standing on her own she was crying into his chest and leaning all her weight against him. "It's never gonna stop Puck, my life is over, everyone is going to know and I didn't want them to know, not like this." She continued to cry into his shirt and Puck had a look on his face that was a cross between anger, fear and sadness. He looked up at Mike and he simply nodded and that was all it took to send Mike running down the hall to get help. He returned minutes later with Mr. Shue in toe. Will pointed to choir room and without saying anything Puck picked Santana up bridal style and carried her down the hallway. He sat down on the floor of the room and let Santana finish crying.

"You want me to go get Britt for you?" Santana nodded and Puck looked up at Mr. Shue who left to go find her. "They are never gonna touch you again, ok, I promise you that, I'll kill them first. I'm gonna protect my girls, all of us are. I know I can't make this better, but I'm determined to make you feel as safe as I can when you two are at school."

"You're a good guy Puck." Santana managed to smile and even laugh a little. When the door opened again Brittany rushed in and fell to her knees next to Santana. Mr Shue had explained what had happened and Brittany was already upset. "I'm ok Britt, Puck and Mike stepped in and saved me." The blonde smiled at their friends and both boys looked rather proud, like they felt they had done something meaningful. Brittany turned back to Santana, "we can go home if you want."

Santana shook her head, "and give Finn the satisfaction of thinking that he ran me out of my own school, fuck that. I have songs prepared for today and I want to stay. When I leave here today I have to have some really intense conversations mostly with my parents and right now I want my last few moments of peace to be here with my friends."

"You want to stick it to Finn." Brittany smiled knowingly.

"Well, maybe a little." Santana smiled. "Now come on I need to go change and fix my make up before glee starts. The girls left the room and got changed out of their Cheerios uniforms. They returned and sat in the front row and Puck and Mike each took a seat on either die of them, making it impossible for Finn to be close to them once class started. The final bell rang and about five minutes later Rachel walked in and offered Santana an apologetic smile and then took a seat behind the Latina. One by one everyone showed up and by coincidence Finn walked in last and you could feel the tension level rise immediately. Finn took a seat in the very back row and didn't say a word, he knew better then to try and say anything right now.

Will stood up in front of the class and started them off, "look guys I asked Shelby to let the Troubletones join us this afternoon because I think in light of what happened yesterday we needed a reminder that regardless of what group we are in that we are still family. Now I wanted to let everyone do their own thing today and Brittany and Santana asked to go first so Brittany why don't you go first." Will sat down next to Shelby and Brittany stood up in front of the piano. "I found this song last week and I knew I wanted to perform it at some point and with everything that happened today and yesterday I think it fits perfectly. If you can't figure out what it's about then you're dumber than I am and that's saying something." Everyone smiled and Santana mumbled under her breath that she wasn't stupid but the music started so she let it go and listened as Brittany started to sing.

I have heard it said so many times, "Love is blind"  
So why are you staring?  
You say that love is all we need, well  
Does that apply to me?  
'Cause I have found someone  
That I think is beautiful  
And I have fallen in love  
And I'm telling you  
She  
Means everything to me  
She  
Makes me feel nothing else matters  
Not even what the world thinks of me

They told me when I was a little girl, "Love's a pearl -  
You're lucky if you find it,  
So share that precious beauty with the world,"  
Now suddenly they say I've got to hide it  
But I have found true love  
And there is nothing you can do (Brittany pointed at Finn and the boy looked terrified.)  
Just try and stop me, just try and stop us  
Good luck to you, 'cause

She (Brittany stood right in front of Santana and sang the next part right to her)  
Means everything to me  
She  
Makes me feel nothing else matters  
Not even what the world thinks of me  
(She...she...she...)

Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her to the center of the room and while she continued to sing the couple started to dance.

It's simple as can be  
I love her, she loves me  
This is what everybody dreams of  
There's nothing to be afraid of, there's nothing to be afraid of, after all it's  
only love  
'cause  
She  
Means everything to me  
She  
Makes me feel nothing else matters

As the music faded away Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana. It wasn't hot and heavy, but it was the most beautiful thing anyone in that room had seen in a long time. Everyone applauded and brushed the tears from their eyes and while Brittany took her seat Santana stayed standing. I have two things to say or sing rather so I guess just bear with me. She nodded to the band who started the first song.

It's hard to listen to a hard hard heart  
Beating close to mine  
Pounding up against the stone and steel  
Walls that I won't climb  
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep  
You think that you're gonna drown  
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep  
With all this rain falling down

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud  
Rain

Its hard to know when to give up the fight  
Two things you want will just never be right  
Its never rained like it has to night before  
Now I don't wanna beg you baby  
For something maybe you could never give  
I'm not looking for the rest of your life  
I just want another chance to live

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud  
Rain

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud  
Rain

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
When I'm still alive underneath this shroud

Rain, Rain, Rain

With tears running down her face she signaled for them to start the next song and she started in immediately.

Every time I see your face  
My heart takes off on a high speed chase  
Now don't be scared, it's only love  
Baby, that we're falling in

I can't wait till tomorrow  
This feeling has swallowed me whole  
And know that I've lost control  
This heart that I've followed  
Has left me so hollow  
That was then, this is now, yeah you have changed everything

Every time I see your face  
My heart takes off on a high speed chase  
Now don't be scared, it's only love  
That we're falling in  
I would never do you wrong  
Or let you down or lead you on  
Don't look down, it's only love  
Baby, that we're falling in

I'm standing in your driveway  
It's midnight and I'm sideways  
To find out if you feel the same  
Won't be easy, have my doubts too  
But it's over, without you I'm just lost, incomplete  
Yeah you feel like home, home to me

Every time I see your face  
My heart takes off on a high speed chase  
Now don't be scared, it's only love  
That we're falling in  
I would never do you wrong  
Or let you down or lead you on  
Don't look down, it's only love  
Baby, that we're falling in

All those nights I stayed awake  
Thinking of all the ways to make you mine  
All of those smiles will never fade  
Never run out of ways to blow my mind

Every time I see your face  
My heart takes off on a high speed chase  
Now don't be scared, it's only love  
That we're falling in  
I would never do you wrong  
Or let you down or lead you on  
Don't look down, it's only love  
Baby, that we're falling in  
Don't be scared, it's only love  
Baby, that we're falling in.

"Look everyone, the commercial aired a few hours ago and shit has already hit the fan and when I leave here today I am going home to come out to my parents because I don't want them to see it on TV first. I have no idea what the outcome of that is going to be but what I do know is that I love this girl with all my heart and soul and no matter what happens today I know that I will always have her in my life. I don't care if I lose everything else in my life as long as I still have her to call my girlfriend and maybe one day I can call her something different." Brittany blushed and as Santana sat down she gave her kiss on the cheek and the two girls snuggle closer together.

"Alright guys, that's it for today."

"Mr. Shue, can I have a moment of everyone's time?" Sam raised his hand and Will nodded and let the boy have the floor. "I know you guys aren't in our group anymore, but we wanted Santana and even Brittany to know that no matter what happens we are here for you both and we love you and at the end of the day love can survive anything." All of New Directions, save for Finn of course, stood up and joined Sam as the music filed the room.

(Sam)

So, so you made a lot of mistakes  
Walked down the road a little sideways  
Cracked a brick when you hit the wall

(Sam and Puck)  
Yeah, you've had a pocket full of regrets  
Pull you down faster than a sunset  
Hey, it happens to us all

When the cold hard rain just won't quit  
And you can't see your way out of it

(All)  
You find your faith has been lost and shaken  
You take back what's been taken  
Get on your knees and dig down deep  
You can do what you think is impossible  
Keep on believing, don't give in  
It'll come and make you whole again  
It always will, it always does  
Love is unstoppable

(Puck)  
Love, it can weather any storm  
Bring you back to being born again  
oh, it's a helping hand when you need it most  
A lighthouse shinning on the coast  
That never goes dim

(Puck and Artie)  
When your heart is full of doubt  
And you think that there's no way out

(All)  
You find your faith has been lost and shaken  
You take back what's been taken  
Get on your knees and dig down deep  
You can do what you think is impossible  
Keep on believing, don't give in  
It'll come and make you whole again  
It always will, it always does  
Love is unstoppable

(Mike and Tina)  
Like a river keeps on rolling  
Like the north wind blowing  
Don't it feel good knowing  
Yeah

(All)  
You find your faith has been lost and shaken  
You take back what's been taken  
Get on your knees and dig down deep  
You can do what you think is impossible  
Keep on believing, don't give in  
It'll come and make you whole again  
It always will, it always does  
Love is unstoppable

(All)  
Love is unstoppable  
So you made a lot of mistakes  
Walked down the road a little sideways  
Love, love is unstoppable

Santana stood up and surprised everyone by letting them give her a group hug. Tears flowed and I love you's were shared and soon Santana knew she and Brittany had to go home and literally face the music. After shooting a look at Finn, they both made their way to the car and headed for Santana's house, knowing that what waited for them there was going to change everything.

**Ok so I apologize for the length but it always made me mad that it was handled the way it was so I fixed it. If you guys want I can make it a two shot and show Santana's parent's reaction because we also were robbed of that on the actual show. Let me know in reviews.**


	2. Didn't They Say We Were The Lucky Ones

**So I was so moved by the response I wanted to get this chapter up today. Hope everyone likes it.**

When Brittany pulled up in front of the Lopez's house she killed the engine and both girls starred at the front door like it was going to eat them. Santana leaned her head against the headrest and after taking a deep breath she opened the door and stepped out of the car. Brittany walked over to the other side of the car and rubbed Santana's back, "you want me to go in with you, we can do it together?"

Santana smiled and shook her head, "no, I have to do this on my own, if they take it poorly I don't want you hurt by anything they say."

"But that means you have to hear it by yourself." Brittany looked like a sad puppy.

"Britt, look you never know maybe they won't be mad, but it's going to be emotional and I need to do this for myself."

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself." Brittany crossed her arms and pouted. Santana rubbed Brittany shoulders and smiled, "I know, I need you close by too, wait for me out here and I'll text you and tell you to either come in or to start the engine ok?" Brittany nodded, "I love you."

"I love you more. No matter what happens, you and I aren't going to change. I mean it Britt, nothing will ever change how much I love you." After kissing Brittany on the cheek Santana walked to her front door and slowly opened it. Her heart started beating faster and she felt like she was going to throw up. "Mom, dad, you guys home?" It was a dumb question really, both cars were in the driveway, she knew they were home, but she held onto the fleeting hope that maybe they were still at work.

"In the kitchen Santana." Damn it. Santana turned the corner and saw her mother in the kitchen chopping veggies for dinner and her father was digging for something in the freezer. "Honey is Brittany coming over for dinner, if she is I need to go pick up some more meat?" Santana tried to speak, but no words came out. Her mother looked up from what she was doing, "Santana, honey, did you hear me?"

"Can I talk to you guys for a minute, it's…it's important?" That urge to throw up was getting more and more intense. Her father and mother shared a concerned glance and turned to Santana, "you have our attention sweetheart." Her father offered a reassuring smile that was supposed to urge Santana to continue talking.

"So, something happened last week at school I didn't think it was a big deal, but now it is and I think I need help, like adult help because I can't do this by myself and please don't hate me." Santana started ranting and her parent became more concerned. "Please tell me you aren't pregnant?" Her mother pleaded. "I not pregnant, kind of the opposite actually."

"Santana take a breath and tell us what is going on." Her father always was the voice of reason. She took a deep breath and began, "someone overheard me and Finn fighting in the hallway and they told their uncle what they heard Finn say about me and the guy is using it in a campaign commercial to beat Coach and Mr. Hummel in the political race. The commercial showed my picture and exposed me and now everyone knows and I wanted to tell you guys before you saw it on the TV. Please don't hate me, please." Santana was crying and holding herself in an effort to sooth her fears, but it wasn't helping. Her father walked over to his daughter and even though his hands were still cold from being in the freezer he placed them on his daughter's shoulder, "Santanita, look at me." She refused to meet her father's eyes. "Santana." This time he wasn't asking and she looked up and saw an intense look of concern etched into her father's face, "Santana nos puede decir nada. Si alguien le duele lo que necesitamos saber." She nodded and took one more deep breath, "You're going to hate me."

Her father looked hurt, "you are my child, I could never, ever hate you, now you tell me right now what did that commercial say about you."

Santana wasn't sure where the sudden burst of courage came from, but she managed to choke out in a fairly confident voice, "it said that I'm a lesbian." Santana searched her parent's faces for signs of anger or shame, but she couldn't get a read on them or their feelings. "Is is true?" Her mother finally asked. Santana looked at her mother and nodded, "yes, yes it's true, I…I'm gay. Please don't kick me out; I couldn't stand it if you hated me." They all three stood there in a stunned silence until Hector Lopez placed his hand on Santana's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. She promptly started sobbing into her father's chest and begging over and over again for them to not hate her. He pulled Santana back enough so she could see that his eyes were full of tears too.

"The day you were born and they put you in my arms I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest; I never thought it was possible to love another human so much, let alone one that I just met. I promised you right then and there, that no matter what you did, no matter what you wanted to do with your life that I would always protect you, always love you because you were my daughter, my precious angel and this, this does not change that promise Santana. You will always be my baby girl even when you have babies of your own and I will love you and whoever you share your life with until the very day my soul leaves this earth."

Santana was crying and all she could say was, "so you don't hate me?" Her father held her against him again and through his own tears said, "I love you with all my heart." They both stood there for several minutes, simply crying. Santana was overwhelmed with what was happening, but she just wanted her father to hold onto her and never let her go. Eventually her mother placed her hand on Santana back which caused her to turn to her mother. "Parents don't hate their children Santana, at least not good ones; that's not how parenting works. This may not have been what we thought your life would be like, but we love you just the same, besides we like Brittany, she seems to be the only thing in this world that makes you happy beyond all reason."

"How'd you know about Brittany?"

"Honey, give me a little credit, I'm not blind and I'm not stupid. She can calm you down just by looking at you. I always knew you loved her I just didn't know you were in love with her. Now we do and we can start inviting her to family functions as more than Santana's friend Brittany."

"Santana, not to put a damper on this, but that commercial has me concerned. You're a minor and what they did was against the law. I'm going to go call our lawyer and have this sorted out."

"Daddy, it's already aired."

"Perfect, then we sue him for defamation of character, even though being gay is hardly an insult to your character and anything else I can think of and settle out of court and pad your college fund. I've told you before Santana, no one fucks with my family, let alone my baby girl." Her father headed for the den, but before he disappeared completely he turned back to her, "oh and you can tell Brittany she can come inside now." Santana looked out the kitchen window to see Brittany standing exactly where she had left her. She pulled out her phone and punched out a text and a few second later Brittany was ringing to doorbell. Jessica Lopez laughed and left her daughter in the kitchen and went to the front door.

"Hey Mrs. Lopez, can I come in?"

"Brittany why did you ring the bell, you haven't rung our bell since you were 8 years old?"

"I forgot, I got nervous. You're not mad and Sanny right?"

"No honey, we aren't mad at her at all and we are going to take care of this whole mess with the commercial, ok don't you worry." Brittany walked into the kitchen and saw Santana sitting at the table and it was clear she had been crying. She quickly wrapped her girlfriend up in a hug and kissed her. "You said it was ok, why are you crying."

"I'm just really happy Britt Britt, just deliriously happy." Brittany smiled, "I like it when you're happy." Jessica stood in the kitchen and wondered to herself how she never saw it before, they were soulmates. "Alright girls, come help me with dinner alright. Brittany how about you call your parents and invite them to dinner too."

"What about my sister?"

"Baby she meant to invite your whole family over for dinner." Brittany smiled and took out her phone to call her mother. They spent the next hour making dinner and laughing about silly things and for the first time in the last 24 hours, Santana felt completely happy and at peace. The Pierce's arrived and the two families shared a beautiful meal together and when it was over Santana invited Brittany to spend the night, an invitation she happily accepted. The next morning they got ready for school and happily ate breakfast. They arrived at school and Santana didn't really care about what might happen because of the commercial she was too happy to care about what could maybe happen. The day went by without incident; she received a few sideways glances, but she ignored them. Finn went out of his way to avoid her, which she actually appreciated; she didn't have the energy to deal with him. When it came time for Glee/ Troubletones practice Santana asked to again have to two groups be together. She stood in the center of the room and waited for everyone to arrive. When everyone was there she jumped right in.

"I can't thank you all enough for what you have done the last few days. I was terrified and I still am when it comes to school, but I know I have all of you. I know that you guys are wondering what happened with my parents and really do appreciate all the phone calls and texts, checking on me last night. I apologize for not returning of them, but it was a very emotional day and Britt and I needed to process it together." Brittany stood up and grabbed Santana's hand before she continued talking. "I went home yesterday and I came out to my parents and even though there were a lot of tears and crying, they were ok with it and they told me that they loved me and that they supported me and Brittany." The whole group breathed a sigh of relief and some of them cried while others clapped and whistled. "Anyway you guys, this is just the beginning of this whole coming out process, but at least I have my family and my Glee family behind me. As long as I have you guys and Brittany, I know I can handle anything, no matter how unpleasant. So I threw together two songs one for all of you guys and one for Brittany. And before I do them I have one more thing to say." She walked over to Finn and stood in front of him. "Are you going to hit me again?"

"No, but if I did you would deserve it. Relax; I'm not going to hit you again. I know you never meant for any of this to happen with me being outed on public access TV and the internet, but the thing is what you did had consequences, **has **consequences in my life and I'm the one that has to deal with them, not you. Your life didn't change at all, mine got turned upside down and is still up in the air. I'm sorry for the things I said to you, I was out of line, but you're dumber than wet hair if you thought this was a good way to get back at me. You acted like a child and I really expected more from you. You got fucking lucky that so far nothing has happened to me that is emotionally damaging and you're just as lucky that so far my family has stood by me and loved me. This could have easily ruined my life and all because you wanted to get back at me. I hope it was worth it, I really do."

"Santana I know saying I'm sorry won't fix this…"

"Say it anyway."

"What?"

"Ask my forgiveness, say you are sorry for what you did, because yes it won't fix anything, but it will show me that deep down you aren't a completely soulless ass, that maybe one day I can move past what you did and forgive you."

"I'm so incredibly sorry for what I did and for the fact that what I did snowballed into this whole mess. I don't expect to be forgiven, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry and I'd do anything to make it right."

"You know what Finn, maybe one day we can move past this and be friends again. I appreciate the apology and maybe when I stop feeling hurt I can forgive you and we can put this behind us. But that is going to take some time so don't push it." The teen boy nodded and sat down feeling a little relieved at least she knew he wasn't a terrible person and the hope of one day being forgiven made him smile and hope that he could do something to speed up that date. Santana cued the music and launched into the first song.

Let it go,  
Let it roll right off your shoulder  
Don't you know  
The hardest part is over  
Let it in,  
Let your clarity define you  
In the end  
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made  
In these small hours  
These little wonders,  
These twists & turns of fate  
Time falls away,  
But these small hours,  
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,  
Let your troubles fall behind you  
Let it shine  
Until you feel it all around you  
And I don't mind  
If it's me you need to turn to  
We'll get by,  
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made  
In these small hours  
These little wonders,  
These twists & turns of fate  
Time falls away,  
But these small hours,  
These small hours still remain

All of my regret  
Will wash away some how  
But I can not forget  
The way I feel right now

In these small hours  
These little wonders  
These twists & turns of fate  
These twists & turns of fate  
Time falls away but these small hours  
These small hours, still remain,  
Still remain  
These little wonders  
These twists & turns of fate  
Time falls away  
But these small hours  
These little wonders still remain

Both clubs and their teachers clapped and stood up for Santana's performance. The girl smiled and blushed, "it's like I said I couldn't have survived these last few days without my family. I love you all and thank you. This next song is for Brittany. I know the next few years are going to be amazing and that even in the hard times you will always be the best thing that ever happened to me. You make my life beautiful baby and without you, well, I'd be miserable. You make my life worth living Britt and I can't wait to see how our future plays out." The music began and Brittany already had tears in her eyes when Santana started singing.

_Didn't they always say we were the lucky ones.  
I guess that we were once, babe, we were once,  
but luck will leave you cursed, it is a faithless friend,  
and in the end, when life has got you down,  
you've got someone here that you can wrap your arms around.  
_

Santana held out her hand and Brittany took it and both girls started to twirl around the room as Santana continued to sing.

_So hold on to me tight,  
hold on to me tonight.  
We are stronger here together,  
than we could ever be alone.  
So hold on to me,  
don't you ever let me go. __Brittany shook her head, she wasn't ever going to let her go.  
__  
There's a thousand ways for things to fall apart,  
but it's no ones fault, no it's not my fault.  
Maybe all the plans we made might not work out,  
but I have no doubt, even though it's hard to see.  
I've got faith in us, and I believe in you and me._

So hold on to me tight.  
Hold on, I promise it will be alright.  
Cuz it's you and me together,  
and baby all we've got is time.  
So hold on to me,  
hold on to me tonight.

There's so many dreams that we have given up.

_Santana gestured to the rest of the Glee club and Brittany smiled as she sang…_

_Take a look at all we've got,  
and with this kind of love,  
and what we've got here is enough._

So hold on to me tight.  
Hold on, I promise it will be alright.  
Cuz we are stronger here together,  
than we could ever be alone.  
Just hold on to me,  
don't you ever let me go.  
Hold on to me, it's gonna be alright.  
Hold on to me tonight.

They always say, we were the lucky ones.

When the last note died Brittany kissed Santana and the whole room erupted in applause. Santana buried her face into Brittany's shoulder and cried softly, not because she was sad, but because she was deliriously happy.

**Even though I have graduation and final coming up I may make this a series of one shots. Like do Graduation day for them, then college, marriage, children etc. Let me know in reviews.**


End file.

Glee, Hurt-Comfort, Romance