Glee 1. The Best of Us

**This is an Quintana AU story, and my first with that pairing. This will be fun and probably sparsely updated. I have 3 stories going already and this will be 4 so sorry about that. Anyway this is for Deb, you'd better be reading this or I'm gonna complain. **

Santana's POV

This was a fire. A goddamn fire, it was the last thing I wanted to be dragged out of my comfortable studio apartment for at 2 a.m. on a Thursday for. I thought about letting it go, I got the second call, but I easily could've let Frank Stone get it, and I still could be sleeping. But I didn't want him stealing my thunder, yes this was a fire, but I still got points from the captain for taking it as seriously as I did now.

I pulled into the parking lot and I was immediately told to park across the street by some rookie cop with wide eyes and a crew cut. I pulled out and parked across the street like I was told and grabbed my gun and badge as I stepped out onto the street and looked at the house fully for the first time since I arrived.

There was no apparent damage, at least not to the outside, but I could see a fireman coming out, carrying a fire extinguisher in his left hand. "Hey where are you takin that?" I asked him as we crossed paths.

"It's busted, the lady's kitchen is a mess, stove looks like it went through a goddamn hurricane." I nodded and let him go, that's all I needed from him. This seemed accidental, but with the sudden outbreak of arson in this neighborhood, I still had to double check.

I walked into the house, it was small but cozy, I could still see a few boxes in the corner of the living room. The woman must have moved within the past few months or something. The house was two stories, but I didn't hear any footsteps upstairs, so I figured everyone was downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, I was met by an array of people. 6 firefighters were standing around, making sure they cleaned up as much as they could and all the hazards were taken care of, and my partner Buddy McCray was leaning up against the threshold of the door watching. "What are you doing?" I asked him, walking over and standing next to him.

"Watching these chumps piss themselves over a kitchen fire." He muttered before patting my back. "The lady's in the next room, I figure she'd want to talk to a woman or something, just have her admit it was an accident and we can all get back to fucking our girlfriends." Two of the firemen shouted out a 'here here' while the other two shook their heads like they were damn annoyed.

"Don't you mean fucking yourself?" I joked as I pushed past Buddy and walked into the living room where a blond woman was sitting on the couch. She was biting her nails, I'm assuming it was by force of habit, and she was just staring out the window. It was daunting. I cleared my throat and sat down on the couch next to her. I figured my badge and gun might scare her, but if I got down to her level, where we could physically see eye to eye, then she'd be willing to talk. "Hi, I'm detective Lopez."

"I'm Quinn…Fabray." She looked at me for just a brief second before looking away. "I can't believe this is happening, I just moved in and-…I was only trying to make tea but the over mitt was near it and…I can be so careless sometimes." I rested my hand on the back of the couch and watched her struggle with her emotions for a few moments before speaking again.

"It happens to the best of us. I'm just here to make sure that this was an accident. Some kids have been going around setting fires." She nodded because I think she understood where I was coming from, that or she just wanted me to continue. "Do you feel okay staying here tonight? I can make arrangements and have you set up in a hotel."

"Yea I feel safe, it's a nice neighborhood." She said absentmindedly standing up and watching the firefighters in the kitchen.

"Ms. Fabray would you like to call someone?" I asked her. Her eyes immediately stuck me at that moment, as if the hazel had melted into a sugary sweet caramel and then been ignited by flames.

"W-what'd you call me?" I didn't answer because I thought I'd screwed up her name. She said _Fabray _right? Or was it something else? "No…you can't call me _ms. _anything, it makes me feel strange."

"Okay…Quinn." I took a step into the kitchen. "Hey guys finish up, the lady needs her rest. McCray get your ass back home and make sure you grab the donuts for tomorrow." Buddy gave me a salute before shaking Ms. Fabray's hand and telling her he's happy she's safe before he made his exit, including a side comment about how pathetic firefighters were.

"We're done here." Roco Rivers, the only firefighter I was buddies with said as he stood up and his crew waved and left without saying a thing. "Tell McCray he's got two strikes." He joked before he left the house as well.

"Thank you for everything." Ms. Fabray said as she walked me to the front door. "I'm such a total mess and-."

"Like I said, it happens to the best of us."

…

Quinn's POV

I could feel the rain soaking through my shirt. This is what I get for forgetting an umbrella and living in New York. Sometimes I hated living here. I absolutely found most of the people appalling, but then there were always people that I just couldn't get enough of and that's what made it worth the stay.

I was late though, and Rachel was going to kill me for holding her up from her rehearsal, and I knew she'd be overly passive aggressive and I'll be stuck apologizing for the next month. Well that or she'd be sitting on her living room floor playing with legos.

I didn't know what to expect when I used the spare key that Rachel had entrusted me with. I opened the door and Rachel was in the kitchen singing a song while Beth was sitting in her baby chair watching her as she cooked. I wish I could just take a picture of them, just to show Rachel how good she is with her god daughter. "Rachel, God I'm so sorry! Hurry hurry hurry, are you late?! Jesus Christ! It's all my fault, Mr. Bronstein kept me late in the office and-."

"The rehearsal was cancelled, so calm down." Rachel said as she walked over and gave me a hug. "We're having ravioli, and for my witty baby girl, veggies a juice." Rachel jogged over and pinched Beth's checks before she returned her attention back to the stovetop.

"You are such an angel." I told Rachel as I tore off my shoes and slumped down in my regular seat next to Beth. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably burn down your entire house, not just your kitchen." I just laid my head on the table because I wasn't entirely sure if I should retort or just agree with her. "I'm joking."

"Imagine if Beth didn't start crying right then-."

"Stop thinking rhetorically. You are both safe, that's all that matters." Rachel told me. I stood up and helped her set the plates while she divvied up the food. "So how was your day at the office?" Rachel asked once we finally got comfortable and began eating.

"Harrison is gonna make me pull out my hair, he's sleazy and such a prick. I hate my job." I told her truthfully.

"Quinn you're an artist, stop being miserable and keep up with your work. Please, I can't stand to see you like this anymore."

"What happens if nothing sells? I can't support a baby on leaded paint." Rachel was so persistent when it came to my job. Since I'd arrived she'd been hounding me about quitting and just going with my passion. But I had to think about Beth and I had to support her. "And who knows with Puck, he's on and off sometimes, and I'm not taking this to court-."

"When are you going to stop being so nice to him, he signed a contract on the child support agreement, and he can't renege. He's an adult too, Quinn." I knew she was right but sometimes I had to cut Puck some slack. He was running a restaurant buy himself it was a struggle and we both knew it.

"God I would kill for a drink." I said taking my last bite of the ravioli.

"How about tomorrow? While Puck has Beth for the weekend we could have a dinner party here." Rachel threw the best dinner parties so of course I was nodding before she even finished her sentence. "God I'm so excited!" Rachel exclaimed as she kicked her chair back and sprinted into her bedroom. I looked at Beth and picked her up, following Rachel's trail. "So I've got to go black cocktail dress, right?"

"Definitely." I told her as I bounced Beth on my hip.

"The real question is whether or not Kurt will be able to make it that could make or break my outfit." I knew why, and that was because Kurt and Rachel tried to match their outfits when they went out or had parties. It was sort of a tradition. A weird one, but also kind of adorable considering everything they've been through together. "What are you wearing?" Rachel asked me. I looked down at my raggedy jeans, damp blue t-shirt, and blue and white tennis shoes. I wasn't exactly Cinderella.

"Um…slacks and a button down?" I never got excited about this stuff like Rachel did. Dressing up wasn't my forte and I wasn't going to pretend it was. "Look I just want to drink."

"And you can but…you can also look hot too." Rachel grabbed my shoulders and stared at me intensely until her eyes lit up and she smiled. "You're going strapless." She said with a grin. "Oh and if your heels aren't at least three inches, I'm not letting you in here."

Rachel could be a handful.


	2. For Beth

**So Deb liked the last chapter therefore I have to continue right? Thanks for the favorites and follows guys, it especially means a lot from people who follow all of my other stories and are giving me a chance on writing Quintana. It also means a ton coming from Quintana shippers who may be reading my fics for the first time. **

Santana's POV

My days off were always relatively relaxing. I go for a jog, shower, and then go to the market to find something to cook tonight. I enjoyed cooking because it was fun and sort of therapeutic and didn't make me think about how dangerous my job was or how annoyed I was with my captain.

So now I was walking down the street with two brown paper bags filled with veggies, fresh fruit, beer, and steak. Today was going to be a nice day as long as no one decided to bother me.

I spoke too soon.

As soon as I spotted Buddy standing at the front door of my apartment with his finger on the buzzer I felt like I was going to break his finger off. What was he doing here on my day off? "Hey do you know what a day off means?" I asked him as I shoved the paper bags into his arms so I could open the apartment door and walk into the main hallway. "It means a day off from work, but more importantly a day off from you." Buddy followed me inside and onto the elevator. I held my key in my hand but kept my eyes on my partner. "I'm listening."

"It's Stacy-." I held up my hand, telling him to stop before he could even get to the details. He dragged his feet as we walked into my apartment. I reached into the paper bag and pulled out two beers. I tossed one to him and we both fell onto the couch comfortably drinking a little bit before we actually started talking again.

"What about her?" I asked him.

"She called yesterday…I dunno, she left a voice mail. She asked if I wanted to grab a drink or something tonight-."

"Bullshit." I told him shaking my head. "You wanna know how many times I've caught you crying over that chick? Too many, alright? Stay away from her." I warned him.

"Don't act like a saint-."

"This isn't about me." I snapped before he could make this too personal. I don't know why he came over here unless he wanted me to talk him out of seeing Stacy. That had to be the only reason.

"How many girls have you fucked this week?" Buddy asked as he kicked off his shoes and went on to his second beer.

"Counting your mom? 11." I joked.

"I swear I'll punch you." Buddy threatened.

"Do it asswipe." I dared. "You're such a fucking dick, why'd you ask that? I swear if Paddy Walsh is spreading rumors about me then I'm gonna kill him." It was hard enough being a female cop, let alone being out and Hispanic, I was a walking diversity poster, and a target. A lot of the guys had a hard time trusting me when I first started. I'm 26, and that means I'm young blood, but not naïve.

"I've been out to bars with you Lopez, every damn time I see you leaving with a girl." I tried to thin of a comeback quick, but decided it was no use in arguing when I knew he was right. "Is that your thing? Hit it and quit-."

"Look I'm not good with relationships." I told him honestly. "That's just the way it is, but you and Stacy…no that's more fucked up than I am." I added. I was about to ask Buddy if he wanted to stay for dinner, but a load banging on my door interrupted me. I stood up with my beer still in hand and walked over to open it.

I didn't even have time to say hi before Sugar came storming in. "Santana!" She yelped. I tried to calm her down before she walked into the living room, before she saw Buddy but it was too late. "Who are you? I thought you only fucked girls." Sugar said turning towards me.

"He's my partner, I'm a detective remember?" Sugar slowly nodded like I'd never told her that before.

"Oh right, I knew that." She said giving Buddy a wave before she turned back towards me. "I lost Skipper-."

"What?! What do you mean lost?" I asked her. "I thought he was trained." I was already grabbing my shoes and pulling on a thin jacket.

"Hey Buddy, I'll be back…if I don't come back in 10 minutes then let yourself out." Sugar led the way out and I followed closely behind. Skipper was Sugar's 35 pound beagle that I went and got with her when her father passed away and I knew she needed a companion. Sugar had Skipper's leash which she quickly handed to me. I looked at her like she was crazy, but she just grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her car that was parked on the street. She opened passenger's side door, grabbed a stack of papers, and shoved them into my hands along with the leash.

"What's this?" I asked her, fumbling with the papers and finally getting a good look at them.

"I have work, and this is your day off, I need you to go around with those flyers and see if you can find Skipper." I was actually starting to wonder if anyone understood the concept of a _day off_ anymore. I didn't have time to protest, Sugar was already pulling off, and there was nothing I could do except pass around the flyers.

I didn't know where to start. Our apartment building is around a lot of shops, but our community was pretty tight knit. Most of the people I was currently passing I'd seen on my run this morning. I went straight for this cute mom & pop grocery store on the corner and headed inside. "Hey Mrs. Bassani, I've got a few flyers for you, do you mind handing them around?" I asked. She was such a sweetheart, about 65 years old, and she was always at the counter no matter what. She knew all her costumers by name, and we'd sometimes gossip when I came over here to get my lunch meats, and fresh herbs.

"Of course sweetie, did that neighbor of yours lose her dog again?" I nodded as she took the flyers and examined them. "How does she get you to hand these things out all the time?" She questioned.

"It's because I love the dog more than her." I said with a smile. I didn't realize I was blocking someone's way until I heard the can of vegetables drop behind me. I turned around just to met the gaze of a very short and very flustered brunette carrying a large supply of food for, presumably, a party. "Oh…sorry." I bent down and picked up the can as well as grabbing some items from her hand and putting them on the counter so Mrs. Bassani could ring her up.

"Thank you." The brunette said with a beaming smile. A smile so cheerful, that I actually think I might have recognized it.

"Hey…don't I know you from somewhere?" I asked leaning against the counter. It was on the tip of my tongue. "No I've got this, I've seen you recently…you're Rachel Berry right? The actress." She seemed more than pleased that I'd recognized her and I was happy that I was paying attention at that production of _Les Mis_ otherwise there was no way I'd ever be able to pinpoint her name.

"Yes, are you into theater?" She asked.

"I sorta got free tickets from the squad." I said, but quickly added, "But you were amazing in _Les Mis_." I told her truthfully.

"The squad?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"Ms. Lopez here is a cop." Mrs. Bassani said as the starlet was paying. I sort of wished that I had my brochure from the production for her to sign, Sugar would lose it if she was here right now.

"Wow, I guess I'm honored then." Ms. Berry said shaking my hand. "What are those?" She asked eyeing the missing dog pamphlets that I was holding in my hands.

"Oh, my friend lost her dog. It's my day off but I guess I'm sort of on duty." I said with a small smile.

"Well good luck on finding her dog, I've sort of got a friend in crisis now too. I hope you come to another one of my shows, but again, thank you for your service to the city." I nodded and walked her out of the store, holding the door for her.

"Have a nice night." I told her as we parted ways.

…...

Quinn's POV

I called _911_ as quickly as I could. There was no hesitation. I know what hesitation does, I've seen my share of horror movies and none of those turned out alright. I just ran off my address and hung up the phone. I ran into Beth's room, picking her up and holding her in my arms.

I would protect my baby if it was the last thing I ever did. We'd been through a lot in the two years since her birth, she was my rock, she was the one perfect thing in my entire existence.

The knocking on the door was so loud that Beth immediately woke up and began crying. I tried to hush her but I knew it was no use, it was 3 am and she was probably cold. "Police!" Someone shouted on the other side of the door. I looked through the peephole and thought, just my damn luck, detective Lopez was standing there looking like she was about to break down my door. I pulled open the door and she immediately rushed in. Her gun was out and she told me to stay where I was so she could search the house.

It took her about three minutes to search the entire place, and by the time she came back, Beth had stopped crying and I was holding her as we sat on the couch. "Dispatch didn't have a reason for the call. Did you think someone was breaking in?" She asked me. If I answered yes then would I sound like a moron? I thought I heard someone walking around, I could've sworn…but apparently I was wrong.

"I heard something; I thought it was footsteps but…" She nodded look down towards Beth. She didn't say anything, so I picked Beth up and put her back in her bed. I returned and I caught detective Lopez looking at my stove. "I need to be more careful and maybe stop being so stupid." I added the second part not knowing what she would say.

"Maybe you should just not be _stupid_ at 3 in the morning." Her smile was captivating and it almost made me forget that it was the middle of the night. "You're lucky I was the one who got the call, most of the other guys on my squad would be pissed."

"I'm sorry about this; you should go, get some rest-."

"No, I'm not leaving." She said with a smile. "I could see it in your eyes that you're worried about staying safe tonight. So, with your permission, I'll sleep on your couch." She wasn't taking no for an answer and the last thing I wanted to say was no.

"I'll get you some blankets." She nodded and sat down on the couch. I went into my room, grabbed a large flannel blanket, and returned to the couch. "Why are you being so nice? Normal cops aren't like this."

"What's your daughter's name?" She asked blatantly ignoring my question.

"Beth, she's two." I said.

"Well…" She started. "I'm doing this for Beth."

**Review. Review. Review.**


	3. Don't Forget

**Deb is kinda famous now, huh? Anyway, I adore you guys, seriously, the reviews will keep me going. As some people said Quinn is pretty cute in this, and yes that's true, and that's how I like to write her. I enjoy that dynamic with her being adorable and Santana being sweet to her. Anyway, I'm done blabbing, enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

She left a note on the refrigerator it read: _Next time have an emergency at a decent time._ I didn't know about her sense of humor but I assumed she was actually just being lighthearted and that's what made me smile. I grabbed a banana and left my house. I was thankful that Sam said he could take Beth for the day because Rachel couldn't, and there was no way I was getting out of work today.

Working as a secretary for a big shot CEO wasn't awful, I mean most of the people walking around were men and pervs, but at least the pay was good.

I would have to call Puck tonight, he hadn't sent the check and he was a week late. I dreaded this call but I knew it had to happen so I'd just do it when I got home.

The one good thing about this job was that I had an hour long lunch, and the location was great because I could just step out of the building and I was surrounded by good places to eat. I was starving and I wasn't in a rush so I called up Kurt and asked him if he wanted lunch. Luckily he did.

"So I know this place, but…" I glared at him, there was always a _but_ when it came to Kurt Hummel. "You're gonna hate it."

"What do you mean?" I asked as we crossed the street with the large crowd of businessmen who were also on their breaks.

"It's sorta a cop hang out. I stumbled upon it a few months ago and I can't stop going there because the men in there are to dream for." I rolled my eyes and continued to let Kurt lead the way.

"So we're going to this place because you're horny?" I asked. Kurt just scuffed but he didn't even try and deny it. "Okay, but you're buying." Kurt giggled and took my hand as we entered into the eatery.

I was happy that the place wasn't packed, but that still didn't stop a few eyes from falling on me as we walked further. Kurt ordered for me, something delicious I hoped, while I looked around and saw the amount of loaded guns that were in this place. Kurt was practically peeing his pants as he silently stared at the two cops who just walked in, one of them was exactly his type. "Stop drooling." I muttered.

Our food arrived and just as I was about to take a bite of my sandwich I looked up and saw detective Lopez walking in with her partner at her side. She looked incredibly carefree and for the 3 millionth time in my life I wished I was invisible. "What's wrong?" Kurt asked just as I was spotted.

"You know this is a cop hangout, right?" Her smile made me blush, but her hand that trailed over my shoulders as she walked by made me feel amazing. She shouted something to a waiter and got a thumbs up, then she came and sat down at the table next to me. Her partner took the spot next to Kurt. "You're buying me lunch right?" She asked with a good-natured grin.

"Don't fall for her charm, tell her to fuck off." His name was Buddy, that I remembered. He was the one who helped me relax before detective Lopez came in and calmed me down completely. Santana. Her name is Santana. I think by now first names were in order.

"No I owe her; she's lost sleep because of me." Kurt and Buddy arched an eyebrow each but Santana just laughed. "Oh please you know what I mean." I added kicking Kurt under the table. "Santana and Buddy, this is my friend Kurt. He works for _Vogue _magazine." Kurt smiled at my introduction.

"Wow that's definitely impressive." Santana said. "And what do you do?" She asked turning towards me. I looked down at the table and blushed.

"Nothing even remotely as exciting as everyone else at this table." I told her truthfully.

"You have to tell me because as of now all I know is that you have a beautiful daughter and you like to set fires." I tried to hold back my laugh but I couldn't. Buddy was right, it was difficult not to fall for her charm.

"She's an artist." Kurt answered for me.

"No, I work in an office, I'm a secretary." I corrected.

"Don't listen to her; you should see her work, honestly." Kurt would not stop pushing the subject. And the more he talked about it, the more I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. It was embarrassing, Santana already knew I was struggling; she didn't have to know that I was a struggling artist.

"You didn't have to hide that." Santana whispered in my ear when Kurt and Buddy were talking. I looked right into her eyes and then looked away.

"It's not a glamorous lifestyle." I told her. She shrugged and lifted up the bottom of her shirt just enough for me to a see a scar on the side of her stomach. It wasn't just a scar, it was a serious injury that took a long time to heal. It must have been a bullet wound, I was sure of it.

"Neither is this." She said with a smile. Buddy cleared his throat and I realized that it was getting late and I needed to get back to work. I'm sure Kurt did too.

"We should get going." I told Kurt.

"Yea did you hear that, the civilians have places to be." Buddy said grinning at us. I could tell it was some sort of inside joke with the way Santana laughed and wrapped her arm around her partner's shoulder.

"Bye Ms. Fabray." Santana said as I paid my bill.

"It's Quinn." I reminded her. "Bye Santana."

…

Santana's POV

Patrol was probably the least exciting thing we could do. We had no open cases right now which meant we were basically looking for trouble. Who knew, by the end of the day we could have a case or maybe not. This was New York after all, things changed every second. "I need to grab something from the grocery. I'm starving, want something?" I asked Buddy as I had my hand on the car door.

"Get me some chips, sour cream." He shouted out the window. I nodded and walked across the street and into the grocery store. The chips were in the back and I just wanted a honey bun to satisfy my sweet tooth. Just as I was grabbing the honey bun I felt a tug at my pant leg. I looked down and there was a little girl, probably the only two year old I knew and recognized.

"Hi sweetheart." I said kneeling down so I could be at eye level with the little girl. "Where's your mama?" I asked holding onto her hand.

"Gettin cookies!" The little girl exclaimed with a smile. I smiled too and lifted the little girl up into my arms.

"Do you want milk to go with your cookies?" I asked her as I walked over to the glass door, opening it to grab an 8 ounce container of chocolate milk. "Let's go find your mommy, okay."

"Beth! Beth where are you baby?" The sound of Ms. Fabray's slightly panicked voice was both worrisome and cute. I could see her down the cereal aisle with her cart half filled, looking everywhere she could for her daughter. I walked up behind her, quietly until I was only a foot away from her.

"Did you lose something?" She spun on her heels and immediately flushed with embarrassment when she saw me holding Beth. "I'll take those, and this." I grabbed the cookies out of her hands and put them in her cart along with the milk and chips I'd grabbed.

"I looked away for a second…she's always so full of energy…and I-…" I pulled out my wallet as all of the items from the cart were being rung up. "Wait, what are you doing?" She grabbed my bicep as I was scanning my credit card.

"Hey I found your kid and I'm paying for your stuff, this way I've got two favors saved up." I said with a grin. "Have a nice day." I told the clerk. Quinn grabbed her cart while I still held Beth in my arms. We left the grocery store side by side and headed to her car.

"This is strange." Quinn said as she finished putting all of her groceries into her trunk. "She usually doesn't…she's normally so shy." I looked at Beth and she giggled and grabbed onto my shirt. "That's rare."

"Beth, make sure you take care of your mommy for me, okay?" I said lifting her off my hip and giving her to Quinn. "If you need anything then you know where to call." I smiled and gave Quinn a wink. "I can't promise you'll get me next time though." I intended on leaving it at that, I'd grabbed Buddy's snack and I had to get back to my patrol.

"Wouldn't it be easier if I just had your number?" Quinn smiled sheepishly and then looked down at the ground. "I mean there's such a huge possibility that I'll need you soon." I held open the back down so Quinn could put Beth comfortably in her car seat.

"I don't give my number out to civilians." I only said it to gauge her reaction. She leaned her back up against the car and bit her bottom lip. "I think I can make an exception though." I reached into her pocket and pulled out the receipt she'd just gotten for _my _purchases. I flipped it over and jotted my cell phone number down before handing the sheet back to her.

"I'll call if I'm in dire need of saving." She said pulling her keys out of her pocket. "Or if I need someone to buy my groceries."

"Call when you've got two favors to give." My grin grew. "Don't forget."


	4. Quit Your Job

**Parker88: **As always thank you for your reviews, you've followed just about all of my stories and for that I thank you.

**MsChloeMa: **They are cute aren't they?

**Skalice: **I won't disappoint Deb, but according to my Deb there are multiple Debs reading this, so to those Debs, I love ya all.

**Boringsiot: Thank **you Deb, Here's another quick update for you 

**Blueashke: **It gets cuter, I promise.

**Dayabieberxo: **Bethand Santana a building friendship right there.

Quinn's POV

"Excuse me?" I said practically spiting out my food as I spoke. I had been sleeping poorly, and I didn't have coffee this morning so maybe I'd heard her wrong.

"I said that you need a date for tonight." I knew that this was the third time that Rachel had repeated it, but I felt like I needed her to say it again. We'd been invited to this art show three months ago. Rachel and I had bought our dresses together, but at no time did she ever mention a date! I was going to puke or cry. Probably both actually.

"I'm out then." I said throwing my hands up. I would've thrown in a towel if I had one. "Why didn't you tell me I needed a date?"

"It was in the invitation." Rachel said.

"Fine, dibs on Kurt then-."

"Too late, he's taking Blaine and I'm taking Sam." Rachel explained. "Quinn there must be someone. Maybe Steven from work."

"Rae!" I explained. "If I bring Steve then he'll probably slip something in my drink. You know those guys I work with are all assholes. I can't think of anyone to bring." I said feeling utterly defeated. "If I show up alone people are gonna laugh at me, I'm already at the bottom of the social ladder Rachel, I don't need this too. You just go and have fun."

"Not a chance, I won't go without you." Rachel said. "Quinn you're gorgeous, anyone would kill to go with you."

"Not many people are knocking down my door." I deadpanned. "I'll just bundle Beth up and take her to the park or something. Or maybe we'll watch Spongebob…I love that damn show." I mumbled.

"You're going." Rachel told me.

"Maybe if I had a date." I said standing up. "But I don't."

…

I was just zipping up Beth's pajamas when I heard the doorbell ring. It was too late for a UPS delivery and if a Jehovah's Witness was at my door right now I would lose my damn mind. I left Beth in her bed, leaving the lights on and giving her a stuffed animal to distract her while I went to get the door.

I looked through the peephole only to see Brittany Pierce standing there. I was beaming and when I pulled open my front door we immediately wrapped our arms around one another. I hadn't seen her in a few months, she was on tour with her ballet company, and Kurt told me she wouldn't be back until next month. Apparently, she made an early trip back. "B! Oh my god! I didn't think you'd be back for awhile, god come in!" I grabbed her hand and started tugging her inside.

"Wait, before you think of settling down, I'm here to take care of Beth." Brittany said. I looked at her like she was crazy. Why would she be here just to babysit? Didn't she want to catch up?

"What? Why?" I questioned.

"Because you need to get dressed." My eyes went to the street. It was dark out and I hadn't noticed the figure standing in my driveway before. As they moved closer, I begun making out the silhouette of a woman. Once she stepped onto the porch, my face immediately lit up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked looking to Brittany wondering if she had something to do with it. Who was I kidding? Of course she did.

"Don't look at me, blame Rachel. I'm just here to see my earth-daughter." Brittany said sliding past me and going into the house. I could hear her running around and squealing as soon as she must have seen Beth. I just stood in the threshold of the doorway staring at her as she walked closer and closer. She was dressed nicely. Her nice white button up was accented perfectly by a black tie. She even had a thin blazer on. Her hair was tied back into a thin ponytail and she wore the smirk of someone who knew too much.

"Go get dressed." I had no idea how this happened. I didn't even have the guts to ask. Luckily, I'd just taken a shower and I only had to touch up my makeup. I told myself I had to go red with the lipstick; it would pop considering I was wearing a black dress. My heels were three inches and I wondered if Santana would care that I'd be taller than her when I wore them.

I decided it didn't matter because I had to hurry if I wanted to meet Rachel and Kurt there on time. I peaked in and caught Brittany sitting on the ground with Beth as they played with dolls together. "Are you sure it's okay for you to babysit?" I asked her. She must have been tired from her flight and all that dancing she'd been doing.

"You've got that absolute doll down there and you're worried about me? I don't think so, go and have fun." Brittany told me before she and Beth waved goodbye to me. I walked down the steps slowly. I didn't want to scare Santana off, I didn't even understand why she was here in the first place. She was facing away from me, leaning up against the railing like this was a goddamn movie. I cleared my throat, she turned around, and for a second I saw it in her eyes.

I'd taken her breath away.

"Wow." She said as we walked outside.

"Wow what?" I asked eyeing her black and red _Charger._

"You clean up well." She said with a small smile. We got into her car and she started driving without hesitation. Her GPS was on and ever once in awhile the automated voice came on and told her which way to go. "You sure you want to go in there standing next to a scrub like me?"

"Oh please." I said quelling her worries. "How much did Kurt pay you to come with me?" I asked. She laughed and I didn't understand why. It must have been Kurt, he was the only one who was with me and had met Santana before. Rachel must have told him I was dateless and miserable and he probably asked around at that cop handout.

"It wasn't Kurt; it was your friend Rachel." She explained. We arrived at the gallery, and it was even fancier than I anticipated. There were even photographers getting pictures of people as they entered the gallery. I didn't know if I was supposed to just keep my distance, because clearly Santana was only doing this because Rachel had probably begged. "You're gonna have to tell me what I'm doing." She reached out and grabbed my hand before we walked in. "This is your territory right?"

"Sort of." I didn't want to let go of her hand so I didn't. We walked in side by side and immediately my group of friends swarmed us.

"Did I pull through or did I pull through?" Rachel said wrapping me into a hug. "And you guys look cute together." Rachel whispered so only I could hear her.

"Save it." I muttered back flushing from the very thought of all this. Santana looked uncomfortable as all hell until Kurt pointed her in the direction of the drinks and she promised she'd back in a second so she could get us something. This was not a date, this was her doing charity work, and it was so damn embarrassing.

"Oh my god-!" Kurt and Blaine exclaimed in unison. I held up my hand to cut them off before they even started. There was no way I was going to let them shriek and squeal about how amazing Santana looked; it would make me feel nauseous.

"Come on Quinn, she's so-." Sam started but Rachel hit him square on his chest before he could continue.

"Boys out!" I demanded and Kurt, Blaine, and Sam were quick to scurry away. I waited until they'd left the room and went to the sculpture section of the gallery and then I turned to Rachel. "Why did you-?"

"You needed a date and I met her at a grocery store a few days ago. I didn't even know you knew her until I mentioned your name. She seemed willing, okay? And if I see that sexy ass smirk of hers one more time my panties are hitting the goddamn floor." Rachel and I laughed together and I was about to tell Rachel that she could take Santana home if she wanted, but I felt a warm hand on my hip as Santana snuck up and wrapped her arm around my waist and handed me a drink.

"You gonna show me around or what?" Her smile returned and I was more than willing to start our tour of the gallery in the photography section. That was actually my specialty so if Santana wanted to know about any of the pieces then maybe I could explain it to her. "So this is your scene?" She asked once the couple near us had walked over to the sculptures. Her arm was still around my waist and at this point, she didn't even seem to notice.

"More of Rachel's scene, but I get dragged along to things like this." She watched me for a second and nodded her head.

"The wine's good and the company is…decent." I nudged her shoulder and she cracked a smile again. "So Kurt said you were an artist but he didn't say what you did. Sculpting? Painting?"

"Actually photography is sort of my thing." I said sheepishly.

"Really? Ever get a model to do something like that?" She asked arching an eyebrow and nodding towards the photo of a nude model posing in nothing but heels. "I can't imagine telling someone that their requirement is to be nude."

"I've used models but the only person I've ever had pose nude is…well myself." Her hands went into her pockets instead of on my hip and for a second I thought I'd made her uncomfortable, and then I realized that it was because she felt like she might have been overstepping. "Self-portraits helped me learn a lot about myself." I didn't realize we were seated until Santana took my empty glass out of my hand and handed it to a waiter and grabbed us two more fresh glasses of wine. "Having Beth right out of college…it made me think a lot about changes. I couldn't be an artist-."

"Why not?" She asked skeptically.

"I couldn't risk it. If nothing sold then I'd be screwed."

"That's not a reason." She told me. "You didn't even try it to see if it could work out. You said you were a secretary. That doesn't seem right." I wanted to ask her why she became a cop, but that didn't seem right. She'd been there for me and now I at least owed her what she was asking. "You should quit your job."

"Now you sound like Rachel." I mumbled.

"Thank you." She replied.

"That wasn't a compliment." I said flicking her shoulder. "I thought cops were supposed to be sort of smart though. Quitting my job? Not your best idea."

"Well I for one wouldn't mind seeing you doing something you're passionate about." Her eyes always met mine and that's the one thing I wished would never change. She wasn't shy or ashamed of what she was saying. "Think about it." She said.

"I will." I promised.


	5. It's Not Chocolate

Santana's POV

The drive home was quiet, but we both knew there was nothing to say. Small talk was easy, but earlier I told her to quit her job and that was fragile ground. I could never tell if I'd overstepped with her. She was always calm and collected; I guess the only way to gauge anything was by the way her eyes burned.

I felt like I was in high school by the way my palms were sweating and I had no idea what I should say since we'd arrived. "You should probably get in there; hopefully your girl is asleep."

"Which one?" Quinn asked with a light laugh. I didn't know how to take it so I just smiled. I didn't realize Quinn and Brittany were more than friends. "Do you want to know the truth?" She asked with her eyes lighting up just enough for me to understand she wasn't going to take no for an answer. I nodded and turned off my car, realizing that I was going to be here for a little while. "Beth keeps bugging me about you. She hasn't stopped talking about the lady who bought her milk yet." I didn't think I could leave that deep of an impression on anyone. It warmed my heart to even think that any kid remembered me.

"That's sweet; I could buy her more milk if she wants." I said cheerfully.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Quinn asked with her hand on the door.

"You're pushing it with the favors." I joked.

"If you could just come in and say hi to Beth…" I was already getting out of the car and walking to the front door. That was hardly a favor. And besides, Beth was adorable. Quinn opened her front door and tiptoed down the hall and into Beth's room. I waited on the couch and when I saw Brittany exit the kitchen, I was actually startled.

"How was it?" She asked as she poked a straw into a _Welch's _juice box.

"Informative." I said with a smile. "How was babysitting duty?"

"It's hardly a _duty_ when it's with Quinn's little angel. I'll bet you had a harder job then me tonight." She said once she took a seat next to me. Quinn came in the room with a sleepy looking Beth in her arms. Beth looked around and when she saw me she immediately sat up, holding out her arms and I took her into my arms without hesitation.

"Hi girly." I said laughing as Beth played with my hair. "I thought you'd be sleepin."

"Mama waked me up; did you have fun at the museum?" Beth asked with so much enthusiasm that I thought my smile was going to crack my face in half. Quinn whispered something to Brittany and it was about me I could tell by the slight shift in Brittany's gaze, but I tried to ignore it.

"I had loads of fun with your mom. She's a very kind woman." Quinn sat down on the couch while Brittany came over and made goofy faces at Beth. I joined in and soon Beth was in a fit of giggles. "It's way past your bedtime baby doll, how about you let Brittany here take you to bed."

"No! I wanna stay out here with you!" I smiled pinched Beth's cheeks.

"The truth is I'm exhausted, and it's actually past my bedtime. I need a nap, but I promise Brittany will take such good care of you, you'll wish she could stay here forever." Beth wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a hug before Brittany lifted her up and carried her back to bed.

I turned around and gave Quinn a thumbs up. "Anything else your majesty?" Quinn jumped to her feet and stared at me with wide eyes.

"Oh god I'm annoying you, aren't I?" She opened her front door. "I don't want to hold you any longer than I already have. I'll send some money to the police department for you helping me out today-."

"Hey, I'm not a prostitute." I said wondering why she'd suddenly become a blubbering, flustered, shipwreck. "But I would like to remind you that you're about 4 favors in the hole." She pushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her back was against the threshold of the door and I was standing opposite of her. Half in the house, half out.

"I don't even know what I could…" She looked so uncomfortable that I grabbed her wrist and made her look at me. "I'm sorry, but you just make me feel-."

"Like a woman?" I joked. I had no idea what else to say. I didn't need Quinn explaining her feelings, this wasn't about feelings. This was me being nice to a citizen who needed a date. This was nothing else. Quinn was nice and sweet, but she was just like any other woman. Quinn went to smack my shoulder but I stopped her. "I had a good time tonight." I told her truthfully.

"Me too." What do friends do when they're saying goodbye to one another? With Buddy I just punched his shoulder, with Sugar I kissed her cheek because she insisted it was the French way.

But I couldn't just kiss Quinn on the cheek.

"And can I give you something before you go?" She asked quietly.

"Yea, is it chocolate? Because I have a soft spot for chocolate." I said patiently waiting and anticipating like a thank you note or maybe a bottle of wine.

"No it's not chocolate, it's-." _It's what?_ Were the words lingering on my lips. Those were the words that Quinn breathlessly took away when she pressed her lips to mine. I pulled back, the kiss lasted a few moments, but not long. And when I pulled away I could distinctly see the hurt in her eyes, the hurt I'd caused. "I'm sorry, I-."

"It's okay." I said shoving my hands into my pockets. "Sorry…I…um, I'm gonna go."

…

Quinn's POV

"That's it, I'm going into hiding." Brittany looked across Rachel's table at me and laughed. "You think this is funny?! Well it's not! I made a fool of myself." I ran my hand through my hair as Rachel came over with tea for all of us. We sat at the table comfortably, having our traditional Sunday brunch while Kurt and Blaine were at the zoo with Beth.

"You're being dramatic." Brittany said patting my shoulder. "You're acting like Rachel."

"Hey!" Rachel interjected. "Look it can't be that bad. You kissed her and she backed up, maybe she was just shocked? Maybe you should call her?"

"Or maybe I can go live over a rock. That would suite me just fine." I said taking a sip of my tea. "I mean I thought the moment felt right. She was joking around and honestly, I thought she was making excuses to stall."

"I'm still stuck on the fact that you kissed a girl, am I the only one surprised by this?" Brittany asked.

"I dated girls in college." I reminded her.

"I thought it was a phase." Brittany said with a shrug. "Call her." Brittany urged. "You already kissed her, what do you have to lose?"

"Hmm, maybe my dignity." I said sarcastically.

"I think that's pretty much gone." Rachel muttered. Sometimes I wish I had friends who weren't so blunt. "You guys looked so cute together. She had her arm around your waist, she drove you home, and came inside to say hi to Beth…come on, she's into you."

"You know what? Let's drop it." I said finishing off my tea.

"We're not dropping anything. How about you invite her to my show this weekend? It's a small off Broadway production; it'd be intimate and cozy-." I didn't want to invite anyone to anything. I messed up, that was it, and it wasn't going to change.

"Look, this convo is over. I have to get back to my place, Puck's coming over." I informed Rachel and Brittany. They both looked displeased, but I decided to ignore it. Puck had called last week, saying that he'd be in town and he wanted to check on Beth, so I decided to let him come over. His custodial agreement didn't mean that he could take Beth whenever he wanted, it just meant that I was in charge of when he could see her, and frankly I tried to keep it to a minimum.

Puck was a part of my past and Beth was a crucial part of my future. I was a mess, but I had at least half of my priorities set.

"I can call Sam up and get him to go with you." Rachel offered. I understood why she was asking. Sometimes Puck was aggressive, maybe even violent, but I knew I could handle him. I've been handling Puck for years.

"I can handle him." I promised her before I left her apartment.

**Thank you all for the reviews again, the amount of 'Quinn's cute' comments I've gotten is awesome because that's what I was going for. **


	6. It Wasn't Right

**Oh my next story is definitely going to be a quinntana one because you guys are awesome! Seriously, the reviews have been great and supportive. **

Quinn's POV

When I got home Puck's truck was already there. Truthfully, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with him, but I knew I had to. He needed to know that he couldn't just b.s. his way through life. This wasn't high school anymore. When he saw me his face grew serious and I was already annoyed. "Okay, what is it?" I asked him as I walked past him and opened my front door for us both.

"Where's Beth?" He said walking straight to her bedroom and turning to face me when he saw that she wasn't home.

"She's with Kurt and Blaine. I told you that when you called earlier. You might want to try and listen in the future." I hated scolding him, it made me feel much older than I was. Maybe it was the mother in me, but I did want him to be successful, maybe we weren't together anymore but I wanted him to be okay.

At some point I must have liked him, even if I was drunk when it happened, I must have liked him.

"Why are you acting like that?" Puck questioned crossing his arms over his chest. I realized I'd been making him feel sort of small since we walked in, but that was probably due to the fact that I just wanted him to leave. He sat down on the couch and I couldn't help but think of Santana, and how she sat there, how she slept there.

I should call her, right? No, she should call me. If I called, I'd seem desperate and that was the last thing I wanted, but I also wanted to explain myself. Santana was nice and excuse me for looking for a new friend in this city, especially when I was only stuck with my friends from high school. Not that this was a bad thing. "I'm not acting like anything Puck, I just…you haven't been holding up with child support." He looked up at me and sighed.

Puck really wasn't such a bad guy. He could be sweet and at least he was man enough to admit when he was wrong, but his one problem was that he never took anything seriously, and right now it was hurting Beth and I. "Quinn, it's a pool cleaning business-."

"That's an excuse, Puck. Excuses can't pay for Beth's diapers." I didn't want to be harsh, but I had to.

"I don't know what you want me to do." He was angry now, and it seemed like most of his rage was focused on himself. "I didn't finish college-."

"And that's supposed to be my fault? Is that Beth's fault too?" Puck was glaring and I just wanted to leave again. I should've listened to Rachel and called Sam over to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

"Why would you say something like that?" Puck questioned.

"Forgive me for forgetting how sensitive you are." I said before heading into the kitchen to get a glass of wine. It was about 10 hours to early to even be thinking of wine, but Puck made things so weird and unbearable that a glass would have to do. "You've got a week."

"Quinn-."

"One week, and then we're taking this to court, okay? You'll lose your visits and you'll still have to pay." If he thought for a second that I was joking his face didn't show it.

"What the hell happened to your stove?" Did he just dismiss what I'd just said? I just told him that he could potentially lose visits with his daughter and all he could think about was my stupid stove?! Yes, it's burned down, moving the hell on. Sometimes Puck could make me so angry I could just-.

The loud smash on the floor caused me to look up in surprise. It wasn't until I looked back down on the floor that I realized I'd dropped my wine glass on the floor.

I'm such a stupid klutz.

"It burned down, forget it." I told with a wave of my hand. "Please leave now." He shook his head and laughed.

"Quinn, you can't brush me under the rug." He looked so damn satisfied with himself and all I wanted to do was smack him.

"Fine I'm leaving then." I told him before turning on my heels and walking towards the front door.

I knew he was following me right away. He shoes sounded like goddamn machine guns against my hardwood floor and the only way to stop him would be to stop myself. That wasn't going to happen. I opened my front door and reached into my pocket for my car keys and just as I was about to take a step Puck tried to grab my arm.

Biggest mistake of his life.

I was turning to smack him when I tripped. Definitely on of the top ten mistakes in my life. At least it was only a three-step fall, although it felt like much more according to the throbbing in my arm. Could this day get any worse?

"Quinn, oh my god, are you okay?" Why yes of course it could get worse, Puck was here, and he was…was he calling the police?! I tried to push my body up, but my arm hurt way to badly to do so, and for some reason I just felt like taking a really long nap, and with the way my eyes closed, I think I was going to.

…

Santana's POV

"It's the same address as that one girl. What's with this chick?" I ignored Buddy because of two reasons. One, he had been bothering the shit out of me all day. And two, I was actually worried about Quinn. The thought did cross my mind that she'd just called 911 to see me, but then again she had my cell number so she would have no reason to do that.

I wondered if it was Beth that was hurt, that'd probably break my heart, and I'd feel pretty awful about the way I skipped out of here so quickly last night.

I walked over to the ambulance truck. Quinn was sitting there with her arm in a sling and a cut just at her hairline. What the hell happened here? "Quinn, are you okay?" I asked her. She looked up at me in surprise and then slight embarrassment. I told Buddy to take a hike and that I would handle things from here. He shrugged and asked if he could speak with the two EMT guys because they had been the first to arrive at the scene.

The scene of what exactly, we still didn't know.

"I…oh god, I just tripped down my stupid porch steps." I looked back towards the steps, I guess it was possible. A three-step fall could do some damage. I noticed the guy standing by a truck that was parked next to Quinn's car.

"Who's that?" I asked her nodding over to the man. Quinn stood up and looked to see who I was talking about.

"Oh, that's my idiot ex." She explained. I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek. People trip down the stairs all the time, but sometimes they're pushed. That guy looked strong, and he looked like a prick, maybe they'd gotten into an argument and maybe he got physical. It wouldn't be my first domestic violence call.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I asked her. I always gave victims the option to just be honest. Sometimes when asked twice people's whole stories would change.

"Yes, of course I am." She said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Okay, can I take a quick look in your place? Beth isn't home right?" I asked. Quinn nodded and even though I would've preferred it if she stayed where she was, she followed me inside and in the kitchen. My eyes immediately went to the broken glass and the wine that had spilled on the tiled floor.

That was suspicious.

Maybe the fight started here. Maybe Quinn got angry and said something to that man out there, maybe he hit her and she dropped the glass. She probably tried to run out of the house and then he must've pushed her. I surveyed the rest of the house, mostly as an afterthought, just to think through what I should do next.

I looked at my phone, I hoped to God that Buddy was smart enough to stabilize the scene and make sure that guy out there didn't even think about moving. I called him and held my phone up to my ear.

"Yea what's up?" Buddy said.

"Get that guy, the one who's standing in front of the truck…put him in the car." I told him. I hung up the phone and turned to face Quinn. "What's your ex's name?"

"Noah Puckerman." She said. "You aren't going to question him, are you? He didn't do anything." She did sound incredibly convincing, but my job was to question both individuals and I would do just that.

"Things do look very suspicious, and I know what you said, but I'm looking out for you right now. If he checks out then he checks out, but I have to be sure." Quinn looked frustrated but she nodded anyway. "Now let me check on this." I took a few steps foreword so I could look at the cut near Quinn's hairline. "You might need stitches. Did the EMT tell you that?"

"Yea and he also told me they might have to shave some of the hair around the cut…not gonna happen." Quinn said with a huff. I smiled and took a step back. "I'm a tough cookie, you don't have to worry about me." Except I was worried. She wasn't just some lady I'd helped out, we were beyond that at this point, but there were things we needed to talk about.

"About yesterday…" A slight blush covered her face and I pushed my hands into my pockets, shifting my weight to my heels and then my toes repeatedly.

"I'm sorry." She said with sincere eyes. Of course, she was sorry but that didn't make it right.

"It wasn't right." I said with a small shrug. Was I supposed to just come out and say it? This wasn't really about me or my morals, it was about hers. "Okay…do I actually have to spell it out?" I asked because she'd been looking at me for the past thirty seconds with a completely blank expression on her face. "I'm not here to help you cheat on Brittany, that's not right." When she ducked her head down I felt a sigh of relief coming on. Finally, she got why I was so apprehensive and distant.

And then she just started laughing.

"Okay…" I said extending out the word and arching an eyebrow.

"If you think I'm dating Brittany then you really aren't that great of a detective." Quinn said with a smile. "She's my friend, we've been friends since grade school, but…nothing more." Okay so I really, really, screwed that up.

"W-what…oh." Now I let out that sigh of relief and laughed along with her.

"So you uh…you pulled away because of…"

"Yea." I said with a slightly hopeful smile. "Yea…um, can we…god I can't speak right now." I said with a frustrated groan. "Coffee? Can I take you out to coffee later? As friends I mean."

"Yes, please any excuse for me to get out of the house I'll take." Quinn said with her hazel eyes lighting up again.

"Okay sure I'll pick you up then." I said before taking a step back like I was going to turn and head back outside.

"Wait!" Quinn said jogging over until she was right in front of me again.

"You believe me about Puck right? He's not…I mean, he's an idiot, but he'd never physically hurt me." Quinn assured me.

"I believed you the first time you said it." I confessed. "I'm just going to go out there and scare the hell out of him."

"Should I be worried?" Quinn questioned.

"Do I look like a scary person?" Quinn opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. There was my answer. "I'll call you when my shift ends."

**Also if any of you guys watch the following shows: Warehouse 13, Bomb Girls, Pretty Little Liars, Lost Girl, Chicago Fire, Law and Order SVU, and Glee (obviously), let's chat about these shows and fangirl over them together please. My tumblr name is: tryflashback, just search and send me an ask. **


	7. Swoon Worthy

**Don't we have so much to talk about? Lost Girl and it's awesomeness, Bomb Girls and it's awesomeness, and how about the Quintanna rumor mill? Too much drama to keep track of with Glee, so I'll just keep writing this.**

Santana's POV

This was going to be fun. That or I was going to get fired. I didn't like this Noah Puckerman guy and even though I was sure that he didn't physically hurt Quinn this time, that didn't mean I knew about what he might do in the future. He needed to know that I meant business and that he should just back down.

I could see Buddy leaning up against the hood of our car. I opened the back seat door and glared at Mr. Puckerman. I sat down in the seat next to him; he tried his best not to look scared. "Are you close with Quinn?" I asked him.

"We used to fuck so yes we're close." I was used to brash and disgusting language from all types of criminals, but this I wasn't prepared for. I smiled like I thought he was joking around and then I punched him in the face.

He was the type who had no respect for authority. "You can't do that." He said glaring at me and clenching his teeth. Handcuffs were a good look for this guy and I figured he'd been in them before.

"I just did." I told him forcefully. "Listen to me. You will stay away from Quinn, and if I see you around here again I'll bash your face in." I don't know why I was getting so defensive about this, but I wanted to make sure that he'd think twice the next time he came around here.

"Why do you care so goddamn much about her?" He questioned.

"Because I can."

…

"Sugar!" I yelled banging on her door. I didn't have time for this. I was supposed to meet Quinn in less than two hours and I wanted to at least make myself look presentable. Sugar opened her door and smiled at me.

"What is it?" She asked backing up so I could walk in.

"Did you steal my boots?" I asked her flat out, hoping she would be honest rather than try to weasel her way out of it. "Also remember that I can tell when you're lying, so just hand them over so I can go." Sugar rolled her eyes and waved me back towards her bedroom.

"Okay fine, I'll give them back. What's the special occasion though?" Sugar asked as she rummaged through her closet.

"Coffee with a friend." I replied hoping she would just let me leave it at that.

"A friend? I smell a little something more." Sugar said tossing me my boots. "Two rules, if you bring her home keep quiet, and if you don't you're an idiot."

"You don't even know what she looks like, what if she's a troll?" I asked as I pulled off my shoes and put on my boots.

"Santana Lopez hooking up with a troll, unimaginable." I followed Sugar back into her kitchen and took the glass of water I was offered. "What's her name? What does she look like?"

"Quinn and she's got this sort of…Grace Kelly thing going on-."

"A blonde! Is she hotter than me?!" Sugar asked causing me to laugh aloud. Sometimes Sugar was just too much. Her filter was missing, and she had this backwards idea that I befriended her because I was originally trying to get into her pants.

"No one's hotter than you dollface." I said kissing her on the cheek and hoping that was enough to keep her from asking any more questions. "I'll catch you later."

…

Quinn's POV

"I'm calling Sam." Rachel said promptly standing up and grabbing her phone. Brittany snatched it out of her hand and shoved it into her own pocket.

"Rachel, sit." Brittany ordered before coming over and wrapping me up in a hug. "I didn't think it'd be trouble, if I did then I would've kicked his butt myself. Anything we can do?" Brittany asked.

"Nothing, it's not a big deal…he's the one who called the ambulance in the first place. My wrist is fine, Puck and I are fine." Brittany didn't look convinced but she also didn't look like she wanted to push anything. "You guys didn't have to come over."

"Are you kidding? What kind of friends would that make us?" Rachel said before opening up my refrigerator door and pulling out a bowl covered in foil. "Plus I remembered that you had leftovers." Rachel said with a grin before turning and stopping short when she saw the stove. "…forgot about that." I rolled my eyes and headed towards my bedroom. I assumed Rachel would use the microwave as a last resort, but if I came back and she'd started a bomb fire in my backyard I wouldn't be surprised.

"Knock, knock." Brittany said quietly as she followed me into my room. I already had my outfit picked out, I just had to change. "Are you going out?" Brittany asked as she picked up my blue summer dress and looked at me.

"Just for coffee." I said.

"With Puck?" Brittany frowned and I immediately shook my head no.

"Actually I'm going out with Santana. She was the second on the scene today." I said before stripping down to my undergarments and grabbing my makeup kit. I felt eerily comfortable being half naked in front of Brittany, considering we spent four years in locker rooms together back in high school. "My hero." I said pressing my hand against my heart dramatically.

"Wow, I do believe that was a swoon I just saw." Brittany said before smacking my hands away before combing my hair for me.

"Well you did see her and she's definitely swoon worthy." I reminded Brittany. "It's just…Santana comes off as such an adult and there I am flailing around and tripping over my own feet and spraining my wrist." I looked down at my sling and frowned.

"Oh please, she came inside to say hi to Beth…she likes you. Now get dressed-." The doorbell rang and my eyes widened.

"Get the door before Rachel does!" I shouted practically throwing Brittany out of my room as I pulled on my dress. I put on my shoes, checked my hair in the mirror and bolted towards my front door.

"…and that's when we found out that Quinn was afraid of possums." I walked into the room to find Santana cracking a smile, Rachel rambling her ass off, and Brittany looking apologetic.

"Oh that's embarrassing." I mutter as I stand at Santana's side.

"More embarrassing then nearly burning down your house?" Santana asked with the smuggest grin I have ever seen. My first and only reaction was smacking her shoulder, which she took in stride. "Let's go." I didn't even pay attention to what Rachel said as Santana grabbed my hand and pulled me out towards her car. I was just reeling in the sensation of her warm hand intertwined with mine.

When she opened my door for me I blushed more than I should've, but lucky she didn't notice.

The ride was pleasant and warm, and Santana gracefully called me _klutz-buster_ in a joking manner when I almost tripped on the curb. When we were finally seated and had both ordered our coffee, I looked into Santana's eyes for the first time that night. "So…ahem, how was your _talk _with Puck?" I asked.

"Oh that…" Santana said shifting in her seat. I arched an eyebrow and smile.

"Oh god what'd he say about me? Was it embarrassing? Nope, don't answer that, of course it was, because everyone is out to get-."

"I punched him." Santana confessed with a small shrug. "It was unprofessional, but to be fair he deserved it." I was half appalled half enamored. "S-sorry."

"No don't be." I rushed to say. "He's an idiot."

"You've had an eventful day, huh?" Santana said as our coffee arrived.

"I don't mind adding a little spice into my life." Santana's smile grew and then I realized it had to do with the fact that she'd ordered a pumpkin spice latte. I thought about just never speaking again, to avoid putting my foot in my mouth, but decided that I had no choice.

"So you're friends? That whole group, you guys seem pretty tight." Santana said.

"This sounds crazy but…we all went to high school together." Santana nodded her head and smiled. "It's insane to think that we'd all end up here. I mean I figured I'd always hang with Brittany, I mean we've been friends since birth, and we cheered together-."

"Wait." Santana said holding her hand up. "You were a cheerleader?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" I questioned eyeing her over my cup of coffee.

"You were the type of girl that I loathed in high school." I said.

"Oh please, look at you. I assumed you were miss popular." I said resting my cheek against my hand. "Come on, let me guess. You look sporty…tennis?"

"Um guess again Regina George, I was an all state debater with a four year stint with the Academic Challenge team." That was ridiculously charming and adorable. My mind immediately went to a younger Santana, with plaid shirts and converse sneakers and I thought I was going to squeal aloud at any moment.

"Did you wear glasses?" I asked enthusiastically.

"Hey I still wear them!" She exclaimed. We finished up our coffee, going back and forth about our very different high school experiences. I found out that Santana actually grew up in Brooklyn and her mom was a dentist while her dad was a lawyer. I told her about some of my college experiences, she avoided the whole topic of college, and I didn't bother pushing her more.

We walked out to her car, laughing over the waiter who so clearly was flirting with Santana. As Santana drove, suddenly on a whim she went through the drivethru at _Dunkin Donuts_ and got us each a delicious cinnamon donut with frosting on top. "Donuts?" I questioned. "Typical." I joked, but Santana just ignored me and groaned as she took her first bite, explaining to me how yummy it was.

We arrived back at my place and I saw that Rachel's car was still there which meant that both Brittany and Rachel were still home. Santana opened the door for me and we slowly made our way up to my front porch.

"You should get some rest, this thing isn't gonna heal itself." She said running her finger along my bicep and stopping right at my sling. "It suits you."

"How's that?" I asked. I don't know why but my hand reached out and traced along Santana's collarbone. She didn't seem to mind, so I kept doing that, while waiting for her to respond.

"Because you have battle wounds." She said wrapping her hand around mine. "Remember when I said that we should be friends?" I nodded and watched as she gently pulled me closer to her. "That was stupid of me." Her lips felt softer this time, but that was probably because I was practically melting in her arms. Her tongue felt like it was screaming at me to completely let go. She ran her fingers through my hair and when her hands finally found their resting place on my hips, my moan was uncharacteristically loud, but Santana didn't seem to mind.

When I heard the front door fling open, I heavily debated punching Rachel in the face, because even though I had just pulled back, and even though I wasn't facing the door, and even though Santana's strong arms were wrapped around me, I knew for a fact that Rachel would be ruining a moment like this.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray! Are you honestly engaging in indecent activities right outside the front door?" I turned around and gave Rachel a glare.

"Check me out, I just landed a role on a soap as a bitter mother of a thirteen year old, I had to practice somewhere." Rachel said as Santana and I pulled away from one another. "You two did look pretty couple-ly out here for a _not date_ though. I mean considering your tongue-."

"I apologize for Rachel, she doesn't have a filter." I told Santana who only smiled in response.

"I know someone just like that." She said before awkwardly looking between Rachel and me. "I should get going." I didn't expect another kiss even though it was quick and I almost fell into her as she pulled back. "See you." She backtracked towards her car, as if she was waiting for me to say something else.

"Wear your glasses next time I see you!" I shouted after her. I could see her laughing as she got into her car, and I took that as a confirmed yes, before she drove off. "Pinch me." Which Rachel of course did harder than necessary. I smacked her arm and we retreated into the house. Brittany was sitting on the couch watching _Warehouse 13_.

"Hey." Brittany said patting the spot next to her.

"Thank you for not spying on me." I told her giving Rachel an annoyed glare.

"You kiddin? I got that kiss on film." Brittany said without even looking away from the TV screen. "So…when's the wedding?"

**You rock for reading. Now you should probably review.**


	8. HUA

**Spezeria26: **let's talk about all those shows, my tumblr name is Tryflashback, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**In honor of the debacle that will be Glee tonight, I wrote this chapter today. For true Quinntana fans, I respect your fandom, and I'm sorry that Ryan Murphy will probably mess with your emotions. But friendly reminded that I want all Faberittana fans to stay together.**

Quinn's POV

Is it possible for me to be more enticed by her right now? Probably not. She was alluring and mysterious, and I wanted to ask her out every night for the rest of my life. But I could barely manage to get the guts to even call her, let alone ask her out. "Okay, then I'll ask her to come to my show. I'll tell her that I want as many fans of mine as possible. And I'll just casually slip in that you'll be there." Rachel said with a shrug.

"Wait, does that sound too forward? I don't want her to think that I'm desperate-."

"Quinn, she'd jump at the chance to go out with you. She would literally like a homeless man's foot if it meant she could go out with you. Has she called?" Rachel asked.

"She called yesterday…but I sort of let it go to voicemail." Rachel smacked my arm, forcing me to continue. "I was nervous, and I was holding Beth, and you know that I struggle with multitasking." Now I just wanted to smack myself for being an idiot. Rachel grabbed my phone out of my hand and dialed, presumably, Santana's phone number. "Rachel, wait!" She was already running down the hallway before I could stop her.

"Santana….oh wow you answer the phone like that?" Rachel said with a giggle. "Anyway I was wondering if you want to come to my show tonight…yep another off Broadway production…_Lend Me a Tenor_…no, no I am not asking you out…Quinn is…" I tried to reach for the phone but Rachel ducked under my arm and sprinted back to the living room. "She's shy…I know it is cute…what color are you wearing?" I arched an eyebrow and chucked a pillow at Rachel's head before I slumped down on the couch. "So you guys can match silly pants…Quinn looks like a dime in blue…oh my gosh I know her eyes do look pretty…okay, pick her up at 7?" Rachel looked over at me and gave me a thumbs up. "Okay, see you at the show." I face palmed and waited to collect myself before I spoke.

"Why did you have to do that?" I questioned.

"Because I'm your friend." Rachel said with a grin. "Alright so hurry up and get dressed, also wear a black thong."

"What?! Did she say that?!" I would never have expected that from Santana. She seemed too sweet to be thinking only about sex.

"No, I'm saying that, you know just in case she takes you home."

…

"So why exactly didn't you want to ask me out yourself?" Santana asked as we walked towards the playhouse. She had a sly grin on her face and I wanted to wipe it clean off.

"I just…I can be a little shy when it comes to…dating." I said the word because I wanted to gage her reaction. _Dating_ was pushing it. We'd been out once, and that was just coffee, but Santana didn't seem too freaked out by the whole idea.

"It's okay." She said taking my hand. "No judging here." She assured me. "I'm just happy that Rachel asked." When we got into the theatre and scanned our tickets, Brittany and Blaine came over and waved to us. It was hard to miss the clear wink Blaine gave Brittany when he saw our hands intertwined. I blushed, but attempted to ignore them.

"Hi." Santana said giving Brittany a quick hug and Blaine a firm shake of the hand. "Are we all sitting together?" She asked.

"Yep, we'll show you the seats." Blaine exclaimed happily. I was slightly upset that Santana had let go of my hand, but it gave me time to exchange grins with Brittany who gave me a small squeal as we entered the theatre. We all sat down, Blaine, Brittany, me, and then Santana. We had really good seats, but that was due to the fact that Rachel was the star of the show.

I was so happy that Santana wasn't nervous around Brittany or Blaine, because she was personable and sweet and I loved seeing her like this. "I forgot to tell you something." Santana said after the lights began to dim.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"You look really good." She whispered in my ear. Thank god for the dim lights otherwise she would've seen how red my face had gotten.

The show was incredible. It was funny and a satire and I would pay 100 dollars to listen to Santana laugh like that again. A million times over. She got me a glass of wine during the intermission, and she spoke to me the entire time. Occasionally, whispering in my ear when she wanted to say something flirtatious. And boy was she a flirt.

When she show ended we rushed over to where the actors were to exit so we could meet up with Rachel. Blaine lifted her off her feet, and didn't allow any of us to get to her for a solid 3 minutes. "Amazing job Rach." I said giving my best friend.

"I know, but more importantly, take your date out for drinks." Rachel whispered. "Okay?"

"Okay." I said nodding my head. "Hey Santana, wanna grab a drink?" I asked her as Blaine and Brittany were stealing Rachel's attention.

"Yea sure…I sort of know a place."

…...

Santana's POV

The place I took Quinn was lively. It was for a crowd that liked to have fun, but weren't crazy. Tonight the pace was slow. Quinn and I sat at the bar; she had a strawberry daiquiri while I was on my second beer.

I wish I could tell her again, how amazing she looked tonight.

"Your friend Rachel she's quite the actress." I told Quinn.

"She's going to make it big." Quinn said with a prideful grin.

"And you?" I questioned. I hadn't gotten a chance to ask her about her job since the last time we'd spoken about it. Quinn took a sip of her drink and shook her head. "What?"

"I know what you're doing." She said resting her hand on my forearm. "And it won't work."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said with a grin.

"You're trying to get me to quit my job." Quinn said as she ran her hand down my arm. "I can't, it's risky, and I know I look unorganized and like a terrible mess but this is the one stable thing in my life."

"Wrong." I said outright. "You have two stable things in your life…Beth and your job. As long as you have Beth, nothing can go wrong." I assured her.

"You're so sweet." She told me before standing up and pulling me to a standing position. "If I ask you to dance, will you say yes?" I laughed and held onto her hands.

"Yes." We moved towards the middle of the floor, but as I was turning I accidently ran into someone. "Oh sorry I…" As soon as I saw him I stood there in shock. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Joey Sanders in the flesh." I shook his hand before he gave me a serious expression and saluted firmly.

"Stand down Sanders." I told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his _attention_ position.

"HUA, Sergent Lopez." His grin was contagious and I found myself laughing just a moment later. "I didn't know you were in New York." He said.

"Yep I moved here after…um this is my friend Quinn, she's an artist." I introduced. They shook hands briefly.

"She's cute." Joey said giving me a thumbs up.

"I don't need your approval Private." I told him.

"You asked for my advice a few teams while we were on mission." He reminded me. "You haven't been at any of the get togethers with the unit. We thought that maybe…" I gave him a warning glare warning him not to say too much. "Did you hear about Andy?" I didn't want to talk about this. Not here and not now.

"Later, private." I told him. "Now give me a proper salute soldier." We stood face to face saluting one another before we broke rank and gave each other hugs. I waved goodbye to him and took Quinn's hand leading her out of the bar. We didn't say anything, not until we got to my car, and I felt Quinn's eyes weighing down on me. "I guess I should explain that."

"Maybe." Quinn said as she rested her hand against my cheek. "I picked up the whole Army thing, but that's as far as I got."

"Would you settle for _it's a long story_?" I asked.

"If you don't want to tell me-."

"No, no, that's not it at all." I told her. "It's just that…" I took a moment to collect myself. "I wanted the night to end a little differently." I told her truthfully.

"And how's that?" Quinn asked searching my eyes for an answer.

"Like this." I rested my hands on her hips, pushing her back until I heard the light thud of her back against my car. Her eyes never left mine.

"Like what?" She whispered.

"Chances of Rachel interrupting us again?" I asked with my lips a few inches from hers.

"I'll go 39 percent." Quinn said with a giggle.

"I can live with that." I told her.

"Santana." She said, her hazel eyes flicking up to mine.

"Yea."

"Are you planning on kissing me anytime soon?" That was all the encouragement I needed. I pressed my lips to hers, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer. I kept my hands where they were, I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by touching her anywhere else. I wondered if she had a thing for my hair, because she kept running her hands though it.

She was incredibly sexy when she let me take control of the kiss. She loved it, I could tell by her quiet whimpers every time I gripped her hips tighter. I tugged at her bottom lip and finally let go, keeping the distance between us minimal. "Do that again." She whispered.

I kissed her again. Harder this time. More passionately. Her hands tugged at my shirt, as I felt her lip quiver between my teeth. "I should get you home." I told her finally taking a step back.

"Do I have to?" Quinn whined.

"Yes Ms. Fabray." I said with a wink.

"Can you do one more thing before you drive me home?" She asked with her puppy-dog eyes.

"Yes."

"Give me a salute." She said nervously biting her bottom lip. I laughed and raised my hand to my forehead firmly. She smiled and clasped her hands together. "That's so amazingly attractive."

"I'm here to serve."

**Review you amazing and wonderful people. And don't just think this army thing is a write off, it's going to play an important part in this story. **


	9. Santa

**I haven't updated in a while so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And for **Ryoko05 **here is more Beth and Santana interaction. Enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

"I told you, it doesn't mean she was lying." I reminded Rachel who was walking around my house with this look of entitlement on her face. It wasn't her fault, I suppose, she was trying to get into character while simultaneously trying to give me advice. This is why she was the perfect friend, always making time for me, even when sometimes I found it difficult to do the same for her.

Then again, I don't exactly know why I was so dependent on her relationship advice. She did date Finn Hudson once…but to be fair, so did I. "Yea but not telling you about being in the Army? That's huge…maybe something happened that she doesn't want you to know about." Rachel suggested with a shrug. Beth ran over and I scooped her up in my arms and bounced her on my lap.

"I doubt it, the guy she talked to yesterday seemed pretty happy to see her, so I think dishonorable discharge is off the table." I pondered the thought for a second. I'd only seen Santana in regular clothes, I've never even seen her police uniform because technically she was a detective, but imagining her in an Army uniform brought on something totally different.

Being overseas changed things. It made the stakes just that much higher, and even if it's something that happened in the past, I just wish that I could talk to her about it, and figure everything out. "And you should've seen her." I said thinking back to the few moments Santana spent with her fellow army man yesterday.

"What do you mean? I've seen her before." Rachel said before standing in front of the mirror in the hallway and practicing her faces for her read through today.

"No, I mean…really see her." Rachel turned around and arched an eyebrow my way. "Seriously, she was in her whole zone, using military lingo and standing straight up and everything."

"Sounds sexy." I covered Beth's ears and glared at Rachel. "What?" Rachel asked with faux innocence. "You know it's true." Well obviously I knew it was true but I didn't need her saying things like that in front of my daughter. "So what are you gonna do? I suggest asking her if she still keeps the uniform around and asking if she could give you a private show-."

"Rachel, shut up!" I warned her keeping Beth's ears covered. "And this won't even be a big deal until she decides that she wants to take me out on a date again." I said with a shrug.

"Why does she have to take you out?" Rachel asked.

"Because I asked her out last time." I told her before picking up Beth and going to get her some apple juice to drink.

"Correction, I asked her out last time." Rachel said with a smug look.

"Same difference." I muttered.

"You know we live in a society where it's okay for the girly-girl to ask out whoever she wants. You don't have to wait for her just because she carries a gun and could probably carry you around." Rachel said before going to my refrigerator and pulling out some almond milk that she'd stored in there earlier today.

"Horray for feminism." I said faking a smile.

"Admit it." Rachel said walking around me like she was the holder of all knowledge and wonder. Beth hopped off my lap and followed her around at her heels. "You are totally into that whole butch femme thing."

"I most certainly am not!" I assured her.

"You are! You want to be taken care of and pampered, and for her to do all the dirty work." Rachel explained.

"Is that wrong?" I questioned.

"No, especially since Santana seems like the type of girl to take care of your every need." Rachel said. "Let's just hope she doesn't just want one thing in return." I know Rachel was looking out for me but I didn't want to believe that Santana would ever act that way. I would act that way with her though, totally and utterly, and I think I proved that last night. I was willing to let her take me home, not only that, but I _wanted _her to. I've never felt like that with anyone, not even Puck.

"She's not like that." I told Rachel firmly. I heard a knock at the door and Beth was already running towards the front door before I could even stand up. "We'll continue this conversation when I come back."

"I won't hold my breath." Rachel mumbled.

…

Santana's POV

I don't know how or why I ended up at Quinn's house. It was spontaneous and definitely something I wouldn't do if I'd thought about it for more than 5 seconds. But last night changed things. She'd gotten insight into a part of my life that not many people knew about, and on top of that she didn't push things.

So I wanted to take her out, this time not for coffee, or to see a show, or go to an art gallery, this time I wanted it to be dinner.

I knocked twice and waited, I figured that if she didn't answer in the next five seconds that I was making a mistake and I should go back home. 5-4-3-2-1.9-1.8-. The door swung open and there stood Quinn with Beth in her arms. As soon as Beth saw me she started clapping her hands together and reaching out towards me. "Santana…hi." Quinn said eyes still wide in surprise and possibly anticipation. "Beth baby calm down." Quinn said trying to keep Beth from jumping out of her arms.

"Wait, it's okay." I said with a smile. I held out my hands and Beth latched on to me. "Hi there girly, how are you feeling?" I asked. Quinn took a step back and I walked inside with Beth in my arms.

"I'm feelin great! Are you staying over?" She asked looking at me with big bold hazel eyes. All I could think about was how she was going to look just like her mom when she grew up.

"If you want." I told her.

"Oh hello there Santana, we were just talking about you." Rachel said as she was scurrying out of the kitchen.

"Good things I hope." I said looking over Quinn who just blushed and gave me a warm smile.

"Great things." Rachel assured me. She whizzed by me, stopping to give Beth a quick kiss and to whisper something in Quinn's ear before she rushed out the door.

So now it was just Quinn and I. "So you were in the neighborhood?" Quinn asked from where she was standing behind me. I chuckled to myself and turned to face her.

"…yea." I joked. "Um…no I just…wanted to see you." She smiled and so did I. "Hey Beth, would you like to watch cartoons with me?" I asked setting her down.

"Yes please Ms. Lopez." She said with a grin.

"Just call me Santana." I told her.

"Ok San-…uh Sant-…Santa…" She covered her mouth with her hand concealing a smile. "How do you say it again?"

"Santa works for me kid." I told her. "I'll be in there in one second okay." She nodded her head and ran into the other room. I waited until I heard the TV come on and then Quinn walked over towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Thank you." She said squeezing me tighter.

"For what?" I asked.

"For being such a sweetheart." She said before pulling back. "Sorry…I don't mean to get all sentimental and mother like but when I see Beth opening up to someone outside of my close-knit group of friends it's really wonderful. And I know I sound dumb right now, and you probably wish I'd just shut up-."

"You should probably shut up." I blurted out.

"W-what?" She asked with a confused expression.

"Shut up…before I lose my nerve to ask you out." She bit back a grin and I tried not to cover my face in embarrassment. "I want to take you out, to a fancy restaurant, because Brittany let it slip that you like dressing up, and because I really want to see you dressed up, so will you go out with me tonight?"

"Beth doesn't have a babysitter." She blurted out.

"Blaine offered to babysit tonight, I called ahead and arranged everything. So if you reject me then I'm gonna look like a major idiot." I told her. She brushed her hair back behind her ear, looking at the ground like she was in deep thought. "Am I coming on too strong?" I asked weakly.

"No, God no." She said before grabbing the front of my shirt and kissing me without any warning. She kept her hands on my shirt, gripping my stomach lightly, when she pulled away she kept her eyes closed, kept her mouth open slightly, and the smile that formed after a matter of seconds was breathtaking. "You are so…" She didn't finish her thought, the joy that I saw in her eyes was enough to let me know that whatever she thought I was, was a good thing.

"I'm so…what?"

"Don't make me say it." She said running her hands over my shoulders.

"Ok." I whispered out.

"Do I wear my hair in up or down?" She asked suddenly as if she'd just fallen out of a trance.

"Whichever." I said following her down the hallway.

"Will you help me find what to wear?" She asked. I couldn't help but laugh. There was still a solid 4 hours until I planned on taking her out, I didn't realize that she'd be picking out her clothes right this instant. I was about to walk with her back towards the bedroom when I spotted Beth sitting on the couch.

"I would, but I've got a quick date with Beth." I told Quinn with a shrug. "And she looks like an angel." Quinn laughed and shoved me back into the living room playfully. "Hey so what are we watching?" I asked Beth. Without saying a word she crawled onto my lap and looked up at me.

"Whatever you want to watch Santa." She said with a grin. I flipped the channels until it arrived on _Animal Planet's _show _Too Cute_ and I smiled. What? I have a soft spot for adorable puppies and adorable kids, who could blame me.

"I wish I had a puppy." Beth said watching the beagle run across the screen.

"Well maybe your mom will let you get one someday." I told her.

"I think mommy likes you." Beth said after a long silence.

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Because she woke me up last night to talk about you." Beth said quietly.

"She did?" I asked skeptically.

"Yep and she thinks you're cute." Beth told me with a giggle.

"Hey, why are you laughing?" I said fake scolding her.

"Because only babies and puppies are cute not old people!" I rolled my eyes and lifted Beth up in the air.

"Did you just call me old?" I said spinning her around on my shoulder.

"You are old!" Beth said squealing as I spun her around.

"Take it back!" I told her.

"No!"

"I'll sneak you ice cream." I offered in a singsong voice.

"Okay." Beth said as I let her back down to the ground. "You're not old, you're really young Santa." I smiled and took Beth's hand.

"Now, let's go find that ice cream."

**Tell me what you think.**


	10. Red Velvet

**Sorry for the wait. I'm excited to tell you guys that just last week I heard a story from a woman who just returned from deployment in Afghanistan, and I plan on using a part of her story to tell this one. That'll come up later, but I just wanted to tell you all about that. **

Santana's POV

I had to make a quick stop at home. I needed to shower and put on something decent so I didn't look like a scrub next to Quinn. She made me close my eyes while I left her house, but she didn't let me leave without kissing me on the cheek. She was such an angel. I made it back to my apartment in fifteen minutes and I was pulling my shirt over my head when Sugar walked in and sat down on my couch.

"Hey." She said nonchalantly. I pulled my shirt back down and gave her a curious look.

"Uh…hi, what are you doin?" I asked taking my remote control out of her hands before she could even turn it on.

"Just hanging out." She said with a shrug. I knew her better than this, and she knew herself better than this. Something was wrong. I sat down on the couch next to her, listening to the water hit the tiles in the shower for a few moments before I looked at Sugar again.

"Is something wrong?" She stood up and walked into the kitchen, so abruptly that I forgot to even follow her.

"Why are you showering now? Do you have a date?" She asked clearly trying to avoid talking about whatever was bothering her. She was good at that; she was always good at that.

"Yea I'm taking Quinn to _Mom's Kitchen_…but you already knew that." I stood up and opened the pickle jar for her so that she could eat one of her favorite snacks. "What is this about?" I asked her quietly.

"I'm not gonna ruin your night. Go out, have fun…we'll talk about this later." One thing was certain, I knew Sugar. And when Sugar was concerned about something, then it was something important.

…

Quinn didn't stop asking me about where we were going the entire time. She even tried using Beth as leverage to get me to spill. When she got to the threats I couldn't help but laugh. "You're trying to interrogate the detective? What's next on your agenda?" I asked teasingly.

"Waterboarding." Quinn said with a serious expression. I parked the car on the street and rushed to the other side of the car to open the door for Quinn. She took my hand and pulled me towards the building. She was adorable when she was anticipating a surprise. I opened the door for the both of us and nodded towards the man who greeted us.

"Table for two, Lopez?" I told him yes and he led us towards the back of the restaurant. Quinn turned and gave me a warm smile as we were seated and handed menus. The restaurant was classy, and even if it was a little expensive, I still wanted to treat Quinn well. This restaurant was in all of the magazine, the chef was world renowned and Quinn looked like she was in heaven as our red wine was being poured.

"Is this a decent enough surprise?" I asked her.

"I'm gushing Santana." She reached across the table and grabbed my hand, pressing my finger tips to her arm. "And I have goosebumps! This is better than I could've hoped for."

…

Quinn's POV

The perfect dinner. The perfect date. I couldn't ask for anything better. She was so sweet, and she didn't mind joking around with me, or spending an hour just talking about Beth. She cared about her. She wanted Beth to be okay, and I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my evening with.

"Did I fail to mention how stunning you look tonight?" I nudged Santana's shoulder and she grabbed my hand and grinned.

"Stop telling me that I look beautiful…i-it makes me feel nervous." I told her truthfully. Santana continued to walk beside me wrapping her arm around my shoulder which made me feel like I was invincible. She kissed the top of my head.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Ready for what?"

"You'll see." We headed towards a small shop with a little hand made _open_ sign hanging in the window. When we walked in shelves filled with baking tools and ingredients surrounded us. The smells from the shop made my mouth water.

"Santana, sweetheart come here." Santana walked over and kissed both cheeks of the elderly woman who looked to be the owner. "God she's such a doll, Quinn, is it?" I walked over and the woman wrapped me into a warm hug. "You are stunning!" I blushed and looked back towards Santana who was pulling on an apron.

"Thank you ma'am." I said. "What are you doing weirdo?" I asked as Santana tossed me an apron.

"Follow me." She said grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the back of the store. I waved goodbye to the lady and she smiled and waved back. "Ready for the second part?"

"No…yes…maybe?" We entered the back room and Santana and looked back at me with a smile. I looked around the room and saw a fully functioning kitchen with mounds of ingredients laid out. "What's this?" I asked as she led me over to the countertop.

"Um…it's me letting you have a normal kitchen for a change." She laughed and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "And I thought we could have a little dessert. I mean only if you want." She teased. We cracked two eggs each and Santana rattled off the next few ingredients.

"We're making red velvet cupcakes?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And cream cheese frosting." She said with a grin. "You wanna get started on that?" I nodded and took the sheet of paper out of her hand. I grabbed a bowl and the ingredients and started mixing them together.

"So how did you know about this place?" I asked her.

"My neighbor, she worked here when she was younger, and when we're bored and want to eat ourselves into a coma, we get all of our baking ingredients from this place." She explained. "I didn't realize how much I loved cooking until I returned from Afghanistan." I nodded my head and told myself not to push the subject at all, she would tell me what she wanted to tell me.

I finished up the frosting and grinned at Santana. "Taste this and tell me if I should retire as chef or take my talents to the _Food Network_." Santana dipped her finger into the frosting and tasted it, letting out a moan of approval.

"God, I pass the reigns to you Ms. Fabray, teach me your ways." I dipped my finger in the frosting and held it up in front of Santana's lips. She licked the frosting off slowly and smiled. "Come on let's pour the batter.

She grabbed my hips and stood behind me, brushing my hair over my shoulder. "You're really going to make me do all the work?" I asked playfully.

"We I did pay for dinner so…yes." I laughed and poured the batter into the cupcake pan before putting them in the oven.

"You're sorta an idiot." I told her. "But at least you didn't ask for sex instead."

"Well I want that too." She said pausing before laughing. "Do you want to know what I want, Quinn?" I stopped pouring the batter and she stood next to me being sure to make eye contact with me.

"Um more frosting? A kangaroo? Immortality?"

"No." She said with a smile. "I want you, and not in the sense of like possession or anything. I just want to know that if I am craving popcorn in the middle of the night that you'll go with me to the movie theatre for we can watch some stupid RomCom at three in the morning and pay 10 dollars for a bucket of popcorn. I just want to know that if I need you, you'll be there." I looked into her eyes and smiled. She was sweet and kind, and I would totally watch a stupid RomCom with her at 3 in the morning because she was so totally worth losing sleep over. "I'm happy you nearly burned down your house because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this." She leaned in slowly and connected our lips together. It felt different than before, there was something behind the kiss that I couldn't quite understand. She pulled back and smiled like she was smiling for the first time in her life, like she was figuring something out in this exact moment. "I want to know everything about you."

"Everything?" I asked.

"Yes, everything." She responded. "When I'm around you I don't have to think. I don't have to pick you apart or pretend to be someone I'm not. It's different."

"Different is good." I said resting my hand against her cheek.

"Where have you been all my life?" She asked before wrapping her arms around me and lifting me up on the counter top. "I didn't think…I mean after I came back…I didn't think that I could ever find someone like you." Her eyes were so warm, that I couldn't look away. She kissed me again, this time her arms pulled my body close to hers, I ran my hands through her hair, and she groaned at the contact.

I pulled back from the kiss at the sound of the beeping from the oven. The cupcakes were ready. Santana pulled them out and set them on top of the stove. They looked delicious. "They look so yummy." I said practically drooling. Santana laughed and took one cupcake out and put the frosting on top like a pro. She held the cupcake out for me to take. I peeled off the paper and tossed it in the trashcan. I held it up to my lips and smiled. "Come on goober." She smirked and took a bite of the other side at the same time that I took a bite.

"I've truly outdone myself." She said before sneaking another bite.

"We've truly outdone ourselves." I corrected. "You're sorta good at baking…so how are you at cooking?" I asked curiously.

"I put iron chefs to shame, no big deal." She said with a wink. "And I can prove it to you if you want."

"Are you inviting me to dinner again?" I asked hopefully.

"You and all your friends. I'm having a get together at my apartment Saturday night, there'll be a bunch of cops there, a few friends, I'd be awesome if you could be there." She said with a smile.

"What about Beth?" I asked.

"Bring her, a few of the guys have kids of their own that'll be running around, I'd love for her to be there too."

"You're really good with her." I told her. "And you're really good with me. I like you a lot." I told her truthfully.

"I like you too." She whispered before leaning in and kissing me again.

"Santana Rosa Maria de la Naples Lopez!" We both turned to see the older woman standing there at the door. I immediately hopped off the counter and fixed my dress. "Didn't I teach you better?" She asked before walking over and turning off the oven. "Always turn it off when you're not using it or you'll burn down the place." She explained.

"Quinn's really good at that." Santana muttered. I stomped on her foot and she gave me an innocent smile.

"Now, go back to whatever you were doing." She said waving over her shoulder and exiting the room.

"_Rosa Maria de la Naples_." I said in a cheesy and overly girly voice.

"Stop it." Santana said.

"What? It's adorable."

"I am not adorable." She said firmly.

"Yes you are!" I told her before dipping my finger in the frosting and dapping it on her nose. "See…" I whispered before licking it off. "Adorable."

**Are they adorable or what? **


	11. Peach

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it as well. **

Quinn's POV:

"Do I look okay?" I turned and arched an eyebrow at Rachel who was busy smoothing out her dress as we waited for the elevator.

"Really Rachel?" Blaine asked with laugh. "I think it's safe to say that the only person Santana will be paying attention to is Quinn." I blushed and held onto Beth's hand to prevent her from running into the elevator which she did anyone, dragging me along behind her.

Unfortunately, and I use that lightly, Beth ran right for the floor buttons and hit as many as she could, even jumping at the end and managing to hit floor 5 in quite an amazing feat. I'd probably congratulate her on her impressive hops later, but right now the entire elevator groaned, and the loudest groan was probably mine. "Beth, honey, I've told you not to do that."

"Oh…sorry mommy." How could I be angry at that adorable face.

"Bethy-Boo come here." Brittany said picking up her _earth_ daughter and holding her, bouncing occasionally as we stop at every floor all the way up until the 14th.

"Were we supposed to bring gifts?" Kurt asked curiously as we exited the elevator.

"This isn't a birthday party." Rachel explained.

"And besides, if it were, we'd just wrap Quinn up and leave her at the door." Sam added before he knocked on Santana's door. I tried look annoyed but my façade quickly broke when Brittany bumped shoulders with me and laughed.

"Hi guys." Santana said with a big grin on her face.

"Eyes up Santana." Blaine chastised. "This is a family gathering remember." Santana scrunched her face up and huffed.

"I wasn't…I really wasn't even-."

"He's joking." I told her before grabbing her hand and pushing her into her apartment. Everyone followed, and quickly began mingling with the other guests. Beth and Brittany found there was to a playpen filled with four other kids Beth's age, while Blaine and Kurt walked around looking at all of Santana's art pieces that she had on her walls. Sam found his way to the food and he and, Buddy I believe his name was, started talking right away. "Nice place." I made an attempt at being casual, but her "apartment" was more like a New York City condo, Manhattan Style. It was huge.

"I do okay." She said with a smile. "Want something to drink? Eat? Sit on?" She asked as she lead me towards the kitchen. She poured me a glass a wine and held it out for a moment. "Did you drive? Because I can't allow you to drink if you're driving back home."

"Classic cop move." Buddy said snatching the glass out of Santana's hand and handing it to me with a nice bow. "It means she's got the hots for you." He whispered with a wink. I blushed and Santana chuckled before getting herself a glass of wine too.

"Nice get together Lopez." I turned around and spotted an Asian man with a charming smile. "One day I'm gonna know your secret about obtaining such nice digs. I mean this place is my dream home." He complimented.

"Don't flatter her." I barely even noticed the woman standing next to him, until she stepped over and grabbed a plate. "I'm Tina." She said giving me a smile. "And this is my idiot brother Mike."

"My name is Tina and I talk like this." Buddy imitated, doing robotic movements. "Ladies, Gentlemen and Babies, we've got the Feds in the house." He announced. A few guys holding beers in there hands turned around and laughed.

"Shut up Buddy." I heard someone shouted from a distance.

"What? I'm just sayin, Big Brother is always around." He said. Tina walked over and punched his shoulder before giving him a smile. It all seemed to be in good fun.

"You cops are weird." I told Santana.

"Hey, they're weird, I'm top notch." Santana explained. She put down her wine glass and held out my hand for her to take. "Let me show you something." She said pulling me along and away from the crowded room. We walked down the hallway and then made a left into Santana's bedroom. The walls were painted a light pastel blue, while the ceiling was white. She had a large king sized bed, with intricate wood furnishings. I was blown away again.

"You're taking me to your bedroom, it's a little early in the day for that." I told her. Her laugh was absolutely contagious, and we laughed all the way to her balcony door. She slide the pane open and we stepped out.

The view was amazing, breathtaking even. The street below us was busy but the sounds didn't interfere with our quiet moment alone. "This is the perfect thinking spot."

"I wish I had my camera." I said as I wrapped my arms around Santana.

"Bring it next time; I want to see you work your magic." She said with a grin. She leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. "Peach?" She questioned when we pulled away.

"Huh?" I think I was totally mezmorized by her eyes that I didn't even comprehend what she'd said.

"Peach? Lip gloss I mean."

"Oh yeah, I don't know I usually don't wear it but if it tastes weird-." She cut me off by kissing me again, and this time my arm immediately wrapped around her neck.

"Cough cough." We turned around just in time to see Buddy walking into Santana's room. "As much as I want you to get some ass Lopez, Sugar has arrived and she demands your presence right away."

"She's so high maintenance." Santana said with a groan. "You ready to meet the best friend?" She asked me.

"More than ready."

…

Santana's POV

Quinn eagerly followed me back into the common room. It took all of three seconds for Sugar to see us, rush over, and eye Quinn up. I gave Sugar a hug and kept my arm around her shoulder as Quinn smiled at us. "Sugar, this is Quinn. And Quinn this is my best friend Sugar. She lives right across the hall." I explained. They shook hands and Sugar gave me a beaming smile.

"Wow, she's stunning." Sugar said before wrapping Quinn up into a warm and apparently unexpected.

"Nah, I'm nothing special." Quinn said with a blush. Her eyes went to the ground and she pushed her hair back behind her ear. I reached out my hand and lifted up her chin.

"You are." I assured her.

"So Quinn what is it that you do?" Sugar asked enthusiastically.

"Secretary." Quinn said with a shrug.

"Sugar." I said getting my friend's attention. "She's an artist. She's just shy about it."

"No need to be shy, just do what you love." Sugar told Quinn. "Come here; let me get you something to eat." She happily ushered Quinn back towards the kitchen. I smiled and walked over to Buddy and Sam, who were talking about rockets or cheese or something ridiculous.

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?" I wouldn't really have the patience if they said no, so I just continued. "When's the right time to ask someone if they want to be your girlfriend. I mean hypothetically."

"Hypothetically?" Buddy said with a smirk. "You ask after you've gotten a lil somethin somethin, if you know what I'm sayin." I punched him hard in the shoulder and he had to grab the counter to keep from falling down. "Hey I'm kidding!"

"She likes you a ton Santana. When she picked Beth up from my place yesterday she told me all about the cupcakes and your date. She wouldn't shut up about it. I think that's enough of a reason to ask her out. There's no doubt that she'll say yes." I pondered it all for a moment. I hadn't been in a relationship since before the war, what did I know about any of this?

Screw it, I know I like Quinn, and that seems like enough.

"I'm gonna do it then." I said looking over at Quinn and giving her a small wave. "She's a damn goddess." I said as I turned back towards the boys.

"So you and Quinn haven't…you know?" Sam asked curiously.

"No…uh we haven't gone that far." I explained. "But I want to." I added getting a small nudge from Sam and a punch in the shoulder from Buddy.

"Hey Santana, do you want me to get the door?" Rachel asked from across the room. I shook my head no and excused myself before I walked over and opened my front door. I opened it, half expecting it to be my captain showing up late, but instead it was Joey Sanders, my former comrade, standing there with a bottle of wine. He had this grin on his face, that made him look like he was 12, and his eyes scanned the apartment before they landed on me.

"I head about the get together through the grapevine, and I know you're a cop now, but...I just wanted to hang out." I took the bottle of wine from him and welcomed him in. "So, you said you've been in touch with the other guys?" I asked.

"Yea, we have get togethers, once a month, you should come to one." He suggested.

"Hi…Joey is it?" Quinn said with a smile as she walked over towards us.

"Hi Quinn." He replied. "There are a million babes in here." Joey said looking around. "Who do I go for?" I smacked him across the back of his head.

"What the hell is your issue? Didn't you readjust to society you moron?" I asked.

"What? They're hot."

"Keep it down rookie, not everyone wants a piece of you." I assured him. "Let's break this open, big man." As I turned to see where I left the bottle opener, I heard a load thud, caused by Sam, who'd just hit his head somehow on the counter. He laughed immediately so I knew he was alright, but when I turned to see if Joey was entertained by Sam's absolute fail, he was on the ground covering his head and shaking like mad. "Sanders? Sanders, you alright…dude?" I lifted him up and practically dragged him out of the room, before everyone could turn to stare at us.

Once he got his breathing under control, and was able to actually stand on his own, he began wiping his eyes frantically. I grabbed his hands to stop him, but he smacked my hands away. "Don't." He said coldly.

"Don't what?" I asked quietly. "You didn't tell me about this."

"What am I supposed to say? Should I have said it in front of your girlfriend? Was I supposed to tell you that sometimes when I hear loud sounds I break down like a fucking pansy-."

"It's called PTSD." I reminded him. "And a lot of people suffer from it."

"But not you." He said looking me directly in the eyes. "Because you were always-."

"It happens to me too." I told him. "It happens when I least expect it, when those stupid alarms go off in school buildings. I don't scream or shake, but when I go home I drink myself into a goddamn coma because I keep thinking about fucking Afghanistan."

"How many of those people out there saw me?" Joey after awhile of us just standing there.

"A few…they don't get it though, no one does." I said. "This is a different world, everything here is messed up."

"You've got a bombshell in there, seems like this world worked out pretty well for you." Sanders said with a nudge.

"Yea well, she's the exception. She's my one exception."

**Review, lovely readers. **


	12. Is This Real?

**Longest chapter to date, here we go. **

Santana's POV

"Hey I can stay back and help you clean up." Buddy offered as he grabbed a half eaten bag of chips and two beers.

"You mean clean out?" I joked as I gave him a pat on his back. "No thanks." I assured him. "And next time you see Asian-Fusion tell Tina that she's not allowed to come in here talking about her free flights around the world. It makes us poor slobs look like mall security or something." He gave me a nod and a wink before he ushered most of the crowd out of the room.

I could see Quinn holding Beth and talking to her friends, she was smiling and they were laughing about something before they all, with the exception of Quinn left. Brittany was about to take Beth with her when I ran after them. "Wait, where are you going Beth? You better not be leaving without saying goodbye to me." Beth practically shoved Brittany away as she jumped down and rushed over to me. "Come here." I lifted her up and gave her a hug. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes, Santa, I had so much fun!" Beth said, I could see Brittany cock her head and mouth _Santa _to Quinn who just laughed. "Can we come over again mommy?" Beth asked Quinn.

"Yes of course." Quinn said with a smile. "Now, Brittany's taking you to the studio so you can watch her dance class. Remember not to cheer too loudly because Brittany has to concentrate." Quinn told Beth before lifting her out of my arms. "Now what do we say to Santana?"

"Thank you for having us." Beth recited with a smile. Quinn kissed her daughter's forehead and handed her over to Brittany.

"See you guys later." Brittany said before opening the door. "Or tomorrow morning." She muttered. I cracked a smile and Quinn blushed ferociously.

"Dear Lord." She mumbled before looking over at me. "Is Joey still here?" She asked as we heard water shutting off from the bathroom in my bedroom. It was just us, Quinn, Joey and I still here in my apartment. Sugar was across the hall, working on one of her layouts for her magazine.

"Yea, he's staying with a few friends though. He doesn't have a solid place to stay, so I'm gonna help him with that." I explained.

"Go talk to him." It was clear that she saw his episode earlier, and I didn't know how she felt about that. "I'll start cleaning up."

"No, don't you dare. Relax, I'll clean up myself. Just hold on." I headed back towards my bedroom and knocked on the door, eyeing him curiously as he sat on my bed, as soon as he saw me he jumped up, stood straight, and nearly saluted me.

"Sorry…just a-…habit." He sat back down and I joined him. "Do you remember the day when we were patrolling with Izzy? It was fucking pitch black like someone plucked out every goddamn star in the sky. Izzy was howlin or some shit, saying that he was going to bring the beasts out and when you asked him to stop he said no. And do you remember asking him why?" I looked over at him and then down at my feet.

"Yea."

"And what'd he say?" Joey asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Why are you bringing up old memories?"

"What'd he say Santana, tell me what he said." Joey pushed further. "I'm bringing it up because it matters. I'm bringing it up because one second after he said it he stepped on a fucking mine that blew his legs to hell and now he's in a mental hospital mumbling about yogurt and Nickelodeon cartoons because his fucking wife left him. So tell me what he said."

"He said that nothing mattered, because we were gonna all die out there anyway, and he could howl if he wanted to, he could fucking strip naked and howl because he was a dead man." I stood up and held out my hand for Joey to take. I helped him up to his feet and stared at him for a second. "Night and day soldier."

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It means leave what happened over there over there. Bringing up old shit won't change what happened-."

"Do you really believe that?" He questioned.

"Let me tell you what I know. I know that you're a good guy, you've got a heart of a lion, but I also know that I don't need this right now. I'm in a good place. That woman out there is something special and I don't need to reopen all my wounds to figure that out." He nodded his head and gave me a small smile.

"You're right." He said. "Um…" He cleared his throat. "A beer maybe, sometime soon, I'll call." We shook hands and then hugged before he left. I waited until he was out of my apartment and then I walked out to check on Quinn. She was washing dishes while humming some 80s song.

"What are you doing?" I asked her as I shut off the water and took the plate out of her hands. "I told you to relax."

"I was trying, but seeing Joey like that made me nervous and so I sort had to busy myself somehow. Plus, I really didn't want you to think that I was eavesdropping or anything, because trust is always sort of important to me and-." I kissed her so she would stop talking.

"Sorry you were rambling." I told her before lifting her off her feet and walking her over to place her down on my couch. I lifted her legs and sat down before placing them on top of mine. "And besides, I trust you." I told her before slipping off her heels. "Except I am fully aware that you wore heels all day just so people would think that you're as tall as me." She laughed knowing full well that she was caught.

"You're an amazing detective…wow that feels good." She purred as I began massaging her feet. "Are you trying to distract me?" She asked.

"Yes." I told her truthfully.

"From what?" She questioned curiously. "Stop that!" She said smacking my hands away and moving her legs off mine so that we were now sitting side by side. "From what?"

"I know you have questions about my deployment. I definitely know you have questions about Joey now. And I want you to trust me." I told her honestly. I had nothing to lose when it came to Quinn, I could put myself out there if I wanted, or I could hide away.

"We can start easy." She said before brushing my hair back behind my ears. "Why did you join?"

"That's supposed to be easy?" I asked with a laugh.

"Okay, okay…um when did you join?" She asked instead.

"When I was 18. My mom was livid. You should've seen her, she was speaking so fast that I could barely tell what she was saying. She tends to use Spanish when she's angry. I hadn't even finished high school yet and I was telling my parents that I was joining."

"What about your dad? How did he feel about it?" She asked. I could see it in her eyes. Every question was slow and calculated, she was curious but she didn't want to overstep.

"When I first told them he was silent, then later that night when I was out on the porch throwing rocks across the yard like the angsty freak that I was, he stopped me and gave me a hug. He said he was proud, he said he didn't expect it from me…not ever." It felt weird to think about this, to remember every sound from that moment, to remember the peppermint and cigarette smell from my father that meshed with my coconut and vanilla lotion that I was wearing that night. "I'd gotten into Columbia, full ride and everything…but I didn't want to be stuck."

"So this was your version of running away?" She asked.

"Yea." I said furrowing my eyebrows. "But I don't know what I was running from."

…

Quinn's POV

"Long day?" Rachel asked as I walked into my house. I gave her a curious glance, because as much as I loved her, Brittany was the one staying with me, not her.

"The longest." I said before taking off my shoes and sitting at my kitchen table. "Where are the B's?" I asked referring to Brittany and Beth.

"They're at a movie. _Brave_ I think." Rachel said with a shrug.

"Why are you at my house?" I asked flat out.

"Because I'm getting into character. My next role is a lunatic mother, I need a house not an apartment." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I rolled my eyes. "So continue, what happened after we all left?" She asked stopping everything she was doing and looking at me.

"Well Joey was still there." I started.

"Oh the guy who like freaked out? What the hell was his deal?" Rachel asked.

"PTSD, I think…I don't know, well they talked for a moment and then he left. Santana told me to relax and I sorta started cleaning-."

"Cleaning is your anxiety relief exercise." Rachel said with a smile.

"Yea and like I was a little nervous so I started cleaning and then she just picks me up, literally sweeping me off my feet and takes me to the couch where she gives me a foot massage." Rachel was squealing at this point.

"So you two had sex? I mean foot massages should always end in hot sexy Latini-fied sex." I blushed because honestly, Rachel was being a bit over the top.

"No…Rachel, no." I told her and she frowned like I'd just told her that her career was over. "We just talked."

"About what? Please tell me it was about sex."

"Rachel, what is with your obsession with sex?" I questioned.

"I need to live vicariously through you, it's not like I have guys knocking at my door." She said before smacking the table. I looked at her with a more than curious eyebrow arch. "Sorry, that was my _get on with the story_ smack of the table."

"Um we talked about her past; I mean just things about how she ended up joining the army and what she was like as a teenager. She's got such a story." I said with a smile. "I mean she joined the military at 18, her first tour in Iraq was at 19."

"First?" Rachel asked.

"3 deployments, each for months at a time, one full year." I explained. "I'm dating a real life American hero and when she tells me these things, I don't know what to say."

"She wants to hear about your past too, trust me." Rachel said before standing up and getting us both glasses of water. I was thankful that Rachel was hanging around here otherwise I probably would've found myself thinking about the bits of Santana's story that I know, and wondering about the rest. Or worse, I would've found myself back at her place telling her that I was ready for sex, which I wasn't. Not yet.

"Which part? The part where I was a selfish bitch who ruled the school and bullied everyone including you, or the part where I tried to convince myself that I was in love with Puck?" I joked.

"Both. All." Rachel said squeezing my hand. "I saw the way she looks at you, and Sam told me something really interesting that she said earlier."

"Interesting how? What'd she say?" Rachel stood and did a motion indicating that her lips were sealed.

"What? You can't do that! Why would you bring it up if you aren't even-." The doorbell rang and Rachel and I both exchanged looks. She looked please, and I'm sure I looked upset.

"Saved by the bell." She said before walking over and answering the door for me. I groaned and walked over towards the front door. "I didn't know you wore glasses." Rachel said just as I was rounding the corner. I looked to see who it was, and there Santana was wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a hoody. I didn't usually see her dressed so casually, not in blue jeans a least and never with a hood on. It was raining though so I understood.

"Yea, I wear them at night so I can see." She was about to take them off but I rushed ove rand stopped her.

"No keep them on." I told her as I pulled out my phone. "I like them." I told her.

"I'll just leave you two…" Rachel said giving me a wink before she headed back towards the guest bedroom.

"So what's going on? You couldn't stay away from me?" I joked as I pulled her with me towards the couch.

"There's that." She said before kissing me. She grabbed my hips and pulled me onto her lap. "Um I actually wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Yea, anything."

"We have fun together right?" She asked.

"So much fun." I replied with a grin.

"And do you think I'm cute?" She asked.

"Especially with those glasses." I tapped the lens and she laughed. She pondered something for a moment. She was an introvert, I wondered if anyone ever told her that. "Hey." I started. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No…" She said. "I just don't know how to…" Her eyes met mine again and even though the lens of her glasses I could tell she was sincere. "After earlier, I just can't keep casually dating you. Because this isn't a casual fling, it's not me trying to hook up with you…it's me wanting to date you, seriously." She held onto me protectively. "Will you be my girlfriend?" I was taken aback, dumbfounded even. I thought for sure that she was gearing me up to tell me that things weren't going to work out.

"Y-yes, of course yes." I exclaimed. "Is this real? Please tell me this isn't a joke."

"No joke." She promised. I pushed her down against my couch and straddled her hips.

"So now you're officer Santana Lopez, Quinn Fabray's girlfriend?" I asked before I kissed her lips.

"That's detective to you." She husked out before taking off her glasses and tugging me down towards her. Wearing a dress was the best and worst thing right now. Best because Santana's hands roamed over my thighs until they found a resting place against my butt, and worst because of the same exact thing. I didn't even know what I was doing until her hands slipped under my underwear and there was no longer any distance between her fingers and my bare ass. I knew I was moaning, I could tell by the way that she was smiling into every kiss and how she kept whispering for me to be quiet because Rachel would hear us, but I couldn't stop.

"You have the best ass in the entire fucking state." She told me.

"You like it huh?" I said wiggling the lower have of my body and eliciting a quiet moan from Santana's lips.

"Honey I'm home!" It was Brittany and I knew that Brittany was with Beth, so I practically fly off Santana and fixed the entirety of my outfit as they came into the room. "Beth, go grab your juice." Brittany said effectively blocking her view so she couldn't see me fixing my clothes. Beth ran into the kitchen, Brittany looked over at Santana, and I with her arms crossed over her chest. "Wow."

"Couldn't you ring the doorbell or something?" I asked.

"I have a key." She said dangling it in front of me just to prove a point. "I'm gonna take Beth to bed, she needs some rest and if she sees you, she'll go bananas." I mentally thanked Brittany for being my savior and turned back to Santana who was putting her glasses back on.

"Sorry about that." I said cringing at the thought of what would happen if Beth ever caught me in that position.

"No worries, I should get going. I have to be up at four for work." She kissed my check and squeezed my hand. "What do you say we go out for drinks sometime this week? Or something…anything really."

"I'm in, I love spending time with my _girlfriend_."

**This chapter was a bit longer but that was because I had a lot to get in. Last chapter had just about the least amount of reviews on any chapter. I don't want to sound weird, but I typically do this thing where I wait until a chapter has a certain amount of reviews before I start working on the next one, that's why there are different time gaps between them. So review? Maybe, please, maybe. **


	13. Monsters

**Holy reviews guys, you all rock. Seriously, even an encouraging word helps, even a discouraging but constructive comment helps, thank you all and enjoy. By the way, I'm not sure if I made the mistake of saying Beth was 2 earlier in the story, but she's actually supposed to be 3, minor thing but still.**

Santana's POV

"So I need you to be honest, you know that right Sugar?" She took the glass of wine out of my hand and turned off her television. She nodded before taking a sip from the glass and setting it down on her coffee table.

"I'm having wine, I'm always honest when there's booze involved." Sugar said with a small grin. "And besides I've been dying for you to get home so we could talk about your new friends." She paused and nudged my shoulder. "Where were you anyway?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"I was at Quinn's." I said with a smirk. Sugar jumped on me and grabbed my face. Screaming and pinching my cheeks like I was a baby. "Would you calm down? It's not a big deal, we just talked." I could feel my face heating up. Quinn and I _did_ talk, but we did a little more than that. "I asked her to be my girlfriend." I confessed with a smile.

"Oh. My. God." I grabbed Sugar's shoulders to keep her from grabbing me, or hitting my shoulders, or doing any one of her happy dances.

"And she said yes." Sugar wrapped her arms around me and squeezed, she squeeze me until I could barely breathe and then when she let go she was wiping her eyes and sniffling. My face fell. "A-are you okay?"

"Yea…sorry, I've just been waiting for this day for a long time. I mean you being serious with a girl, that's like a whole new world." I smiled and wrapped my arms around Sugar, holding onto her for as long as I could until she began moving again.

"So you're okay with her? I mean you got to talk to her, how do you like her?" I asked. As much as I wanted to be 100% confident with my choice to ask Quinn to be my girlfriend, I knew I had to go through Sugar to feel completely comfortable with the idea. I trusted her with everything, she was a _fluke _by a million standards, but she was my rock.

"She's different you know? I mean I wasn't expecting someone so well mannered, she's kinda out there, but in a good way. I asked her about art and she was talking a mile a minute and I didn't even want to stop her." Sugar said with a light chuckle. "And she's stunning, like really, it was hard to focus because _wow_."

"Every time I'm around her I feel like such a…dweeb." I ran my hand through my hair and looked up at the ceiling. "Sometimes I feel like I'm back in high school, like she's one of those cheerleaders and I'm just _me_." I laughed because I sounded ridiculous right now. Nothing like an adult, nothing like a full grown woman.

"It's okay everyone feels that way, sometimes." Sugar said in a reassuring tone.

"No, they don't…I mean maybe, but this is different for me. It's different because I left home at 18, and while I was overseas, everyone else was learning how to be in relationships, learning how to love and cry and I was learning how to-…" I stopped, mid-sentence, a part of me wanted to finish what I had to say, a part of me wanted to stop and take a walk around the block.

"Learning how to what?" She asked only because she knew the answer.

"To kill." I whispered, holding onto my own hands and trying not to remember anything from Afghanistan.

"Stop." Sugar said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "This isn't you, that's not what you are." Sugar looked at me and gave me a small smile. "You're afraid."

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you looking for a reason to screw this up? Because if you are, don't. Quinn's good for you, so just go with it." Sugar stood up and walked over towards her bedroom, I waited patiently for her to return, because I knew we had something else to talk about. She'd been avoiding her side of the conversation for a few days now.

She returned holding a teddy bear and she tossed it to me. "What's this junk?" I joked. We laughed, like we always laugh, after I say something dumb or joke about something she says, we laughed. And then she wasn't laughing and then I knew something was really wrong.

"Why did you join the army?" She questioned.

"What kind of bullshit question is that? I joined because I wanted to get out of my town." I told her, like I'd told her a million other times.

"I know, you always tell me about the cheerleaders and how boring and lame Ohio was but…if you wanted to get away then you could've just gone to Columbia right? So what made you want to drop everything and fight in a war?" What a loaded question…I mean where would I even begin? "This is the whole mystery thing right?"

"What mystery thing?" I knew I was caught, I'd been caught a million times and nothing ever got easier. This was the one thing that I didn't talk to Sugar about, it was the one thing that I didn't talk to anyone about.

"The thing that frightened you so much that you went across the world to fight monsters, Santana." I didn't like this, I didn't like how her tone changed, and how she called the enemy monsters.

"They're people too, you know? They aren't monsters-."

"They're fucking monsters to me." Sugar never swore, not really, and when she did it was normally in a joking manner. I didn't want to have this conversation, not if it was going to end poorly. I was having a pretty good day, a few downs, one great up, but if it ended with Sugar's face all twisted up and angry like it was now then that would ruin it all.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"My parents called." She said and then a moment later I could feel myself standing up and walking across the hall to my apartment because I couldn't deal with this right now. I thought I closed the door behind me but apparently I hadn't because Sugar was sitting on my bed next to me before I knew it. "They said that they wanted to talk to you…maybe see you." She said barely skipping a beat.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I told Sugar truthfully.

"You have to talk to them." Sugar said. "What do I say when they ask again?"

"Tell them that I can't, tell them I'm dead…it doesn't matter, all I know is I can't talk to them. Not now and not ever."

…

Quinn's POV

"So I wanted to talk to you about something." I told Santana as she was on her knees with her shirt sleeves rolled up, installing my new stove. I don't know why she insisted on doing everything. She even brought the stove in herself, and discarded the old one.

"Yeah?" She asked as she screwed one part into another and removed the plastic around the stovetop. She was so handy.

"Beth's birthday is coming up, but I have no idea what to do." She looked up at me with a smile.

"My baby girl is gonna be one year older? Four now?" She asked and I nodded. "What day is it?"

"The 10th." I told her. "I know I want to have it here, but I don't know if I should go with a bouncy house or clowns or-."

"Don't worry, I can take care of it." Santana said so nonchalantly that I almost absentmindedly agreed with her.

"What? No!"

"Yes." She replied with a smile. "I was the organizer of my junior and senior prom, you know. And really I enjoy doing stuff like this."

"Really?" I questioned. "No, you're just saying that because you're such a sweetheart." I told her. She stood up wielding a screwdriver, with some of the soot from the ground getting on her shirt and of course, she would smear it on her cheek. "Gosh you goober, you're all dirty." I told her. I snatched the screwdriver out of her hand and went over to see the next screw she was going to work on. I could do that.

"What are you doing?" She asked sneaking up beside me and leaning back against my new stove. I grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her forward. "Hey." She exclaimed as I practically dragged her into my bedroom.

"What? You were gonna get my new stove all dirty." I told her. She laughed and took the screwdriver out of my hands and put it in her back pocket. "Come on big girl." I said resting my hand against her stomach. "Take this off." I didn't even know if I was being flirty or stupid, but the grin on Santana's face let me know it was the former.

"You're the one who wants it off." She said with mischievous grin. "So _you_ take it off." I didn't know what came over me, I don't know why I shoved her against my dresser, and I was slowly taking off her shirt. It had something to do with the way she challenged me, it almost sounded like a dare and I could never bring myself to back down from a dare.

I could now say for sure that the biggest mistake of my life was wearing my new pair of boy shorts because from how aroused I was getting just by looking at her, I was for sure going to have to throw them away.

"Breathe." Santana whispered with a light chuckle.

"This isn't fair." I told her as I touched her abs; her bare skin was warm, but tingled under my touch. I avoided the scar just below her left rib, because I knew that there was a story behind it and I didn't want to force her to talk about it. "Look at your body."

"Sorry, I'm too busy looking at you." She said as she rested her hand against my cheek. "God your eyes." She said suddenly like a wave of emotion had overcome her and the only way she could get past it was to look at me. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful they are, truthfully, I've never seen someone's eyes look so amazing."

"Please stop, if you keep talking like that then my pants are going to go out the window and so will my dignity." I told her. She raised her hands defensively.

"Sorry, I'm…going to try and control myself." She looked back towards my bathroom. "Chances that I'll be able to shower here?"

"One hundred percent." I told her. "I'll throw this in the wash but it probably won't be done by the time you finish your shower." I explained to her.

"That's fine, I can just wear my jacket-."

"No!" I blurted out. She arched an eyebrow.

"Why not?" She asked but then she looked at me with a knowing expression. "Oh…so you just want to keep me around for my body?"

"Yes, that's the exact reason why I like you." I joked before pushing her into my bathroom.

…

So I had no idea when I was going to tell her. When she got out of the shower? When we were on our next date? Who knows? I just knew that things were sort of eating away at me, and I couldn't rely on anyone for a good answer to all of my problems.

The doorbell rang and the roll of my eyes could've put high school Quinn Fabray to shame. I slowly walked to the door, because honestly I was not in a rush to be interrupted by anyone.

Especially Puck.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him. Her smiled and touched my arm, presumably to see how well it'd healed and I immediately pulled away.

"Hello darling, I come bearing _child support_." He brushed past me and walked into the kitchen like he owned the place.

"Could you be any more of a moron?" I asked him, snatching the check out of his hand before he could wave it around anymore.

"What's wrong with you? Bad day?" He asked.

"Are you done?" I questioned. "No seriously, are you done because if you say one more word to me then I'm going to smack you." I told him.

"When'd you get this new stove?" He asked.

"None of your business pretty boy." Now to say that Santana looked hot was almost an insult to how unbelievably sexy she looked right now. She was wearing her black jeans, her belt, her bra and nothing else. She lazily ran a through her hair to dry it out. She dropped the towel on the kitchen table and crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought I told you to stay away." She said slowly approaching him. Yes Puck was taller, but Santana was definitely tougher, and she was not looking to back down.

"What are you living here now?" He asked.

"Puck, be nice." I warned him.

"Don't worry about it babe." Santana said wrapping her arm around my hip and bringing my body closer to hers. "You were just about to leave weren't you?" Santana asked him coldly.

"Yes he was." I said.

"Hey Quinn…" Santana glared at Puck for a moment before turning and whispering in my ear. "I think I hear the dryer, you wanna go check on my shirt?" I could tell she was acting incredibly possessive, and as much as I was an independent woman, I totally didn't mind. I nodded and I was about to walk away when she grabbed my hand and pulled me into a kiss.

And as much as I'd like to say that this wasn't our best kiss, I'd be lying because with her tongue inside my mouth, and her arm looped around my body forcing me to stay in place, I practically couldn't breathe when we pulled apart. I was speechless and Santana knew it, so when I was actually heading back to check on her shirt she smacked my ass, and it took everything I had no to turn around and slam her down on the table and do anything and everything I wanted to.

I understood she was in a pissing contest with Puck right now, and I also knew that she was going to win.

I waited about five minutes, just enough time for Santana to tell Puck off, and not enough time for her to smash his face in. When I walked back into the kitchen Santana was back to work on the stove and Puck was gone. "What'd you say to him?" I asked tossing her shirt towards her. She caught it and pulled it on in one switch motion.

"Some ethically questionable things." She said with a smile.

"The ass slap was questionable." I told her teasingly.

"Nah, that was all me, I've been waiting to do that for awhile." I nudged her and her grin just grew even more. "So this check." She said holding it up.

"So that check…"

"He may owe you, but you don't _need_ him. And that guy can go fuck himself." And before I could protest, before I could call out stop, she'd ripped the check in half and tossed it on the ground. She looked so satisfied with herself, so happy until she saw my face. "What?"

It was now or never. "I quit my job."

**I love you all, and thank in advance. Review.**


	14. Ice Cream, Checks, and Soccer

**Somehow these chapters keep getting longer and longer, and I have no idea why that is, but I'm hoping you guys think it's a good thing. I'd just like to address a few reviews.**

**Ryoko05:**I know what Santana did was incredibly rude, but I hope this chapter will address some of her motives and make it seem a little more forgivable.

**Gen58: **I'm sort of moving slow with the Sugar and Santana part of the storyline, I think it'll be a unique approach and something that isn't obvious in the slightest.

**Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"You what?" I asked slowly. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at the floor where I'd discarded the check that I'd just torn to pieces only a few moments ago. "Y-you quit?"

"Well you told me to, you have me the courage to follow my dreams, and you just…you ripped up the check and now I-."

"I'm sorry. God I'm such a fucking idiot…I'm sorry." I said utterly ashamed of my actions. Why did I always do this? I was overbearing, I was always trying to control everyone. It's because of my position in the army or maybe because I was a cop, and I was always trying to fix everything. I couldn't save the world, I learned that in Afghanistan. I couldn't save this city, I learned that on my first day in New York. And I couldn't save Quinn, I knew that now. "I do this thing where I make everyone around me my project, trying to make things perfect…I just didn't want him to have any control over you."

"He doesn't have any control over me." She assured me. "But the money is for Beth-."

"How much was it?" I asked pulling out my wallet.

"You're not paying for this." She said snatching my wallet out of my hands. "Like you said, I don't need anyone controlling me, protecting me, or paying for me. What happened, happened, and I can deal with it." Quinn assured me. "It's was kind of valiant in an _incredibly stupid I sort of want to smack you _kind of way." She held my face in her hands and kissed my cheek a moment later.

"You aren't mad at me?" I asked.

"No of course not." We both heard the door open and a cheerful Beth and Brittany coming in. Before I got the chance to apologize further Beth had latched herself onto my leg and started yelling something about ice cream. "She practically thinks you're a superstar. So much so that she doesn't even say hi to her own mom." Quinn said. Beth rushed over to her mom and gave her a big hug, as if trying not to disappoint her.

"I love you mommy." Beth said looking up at Quinn who bent down and lifted up her little girl.

"Hey Santana will you help me get something out of the car?" Brittany asked. I nodded and followed her outside, towards the trunk of her car. When she opened it and nothing was inside I gave her a curious glance, she took a seat on the ledge of the trunk and patted the spot next to her. I took a seat too.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked curiously.

"Promise me you won't hurt her." Brittany said suddenly. I could see that she was flustered and emotional, and I wanted to hug her or tell her it was okay, but I just sat there looking at her. "Promise me." She repeated.

"I promise." I told her.

"Puck hurt her, and I know you don't get it, I know that you wouldn't be able to understand…because you weren't there. She was a mess, she didn't know if she'd be able to finish school or even get a job. And he hurt her, badly, and if you do something like that to her then I'll…I won't ever let you near her again." I was surprised by Brittany's words. She was usually so quiet and sweet, so getting a threat from her meant something. I learned from work that I shouldn't take threats lightly, I guess I learned that overseas too.

"I wouldn't dream of hurting her, I'm not in this for any other reason than to be with her. She's wonderful, Beth is amazing, it's just…I don't need a reason when it comes to them." Brittany's smile grew and she wrapped her arms around me, I held onto her because I knew where she was coming from. I'd been in her footsteps before. I'd showed Sugar's dates my gun, I'd threatened them in the hallways of clubs, and I'd protected her without her even knowing it.

I respected Brittany, and I understood her.

"Santana!" Quinn shouted from the front steps. "Beth says she wants ice cream but she'll only go if you take her." Quinn said with a laugh. She spun around and said something to Beth. "Sorry, she says I have to call you Santa." Quinn rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"Oh ice cream, that sounds yummy." I said just loud enough for Beth to hear. She pushed past Quinn and ran outside towards me. I will never understand Beth infatuation with me.

…

"What kind of ice cream do you want Beth?" I asked as she held onto my hand. "I'm getting rocky road." I told her.

"I want rocky road too!" Beth exclaimed. I smiled. This girl was an angel. "I want that seat over there." She said pointing to a cozy couch that was placed near a window that was partially opened to the bustling streets of the city.

"We can sit wherever you want, but first, if I let you get two scoops you have to promise not to tell your mom." I held out my pinky and Beth took it, crossing over her heart and telling me that she would never tell Quinn that she got a double scoop.

I paid for the ice cream and took both our cones over to the couch, grabbing a few extra napkins for Beth on the way. We sat down side by side and I handed Beth her cone warning her not to make a mess because Quinn had already done enough washing today.

"So Beth, I saw your dad today." I didn't know how to approach the subject. I wanted to know how Beth felt about her father, I knew how Quinn felt, but I needed to keep my emotions in check when he's around because I don't know how Beth feels about him. It's not really my place to get in the middle of this family, Puck is still Beth's father no matter what.

"Hmm, was he nice to you?" Beth asked. I laughed because, really, what kind of 3 year old would ask something like that?

"Do you like him?"

"I don't really see him. Mommy says that I have a lot of fathers, like Sammy and Kurt and Blaine." I nodded my head in understanding while licking some of my ice cream off the side of my cone.

"So do you enjoy hanging out with Rachel?" Now I was just curious about what Beth had to say about Quinn's friends. I had my impressions, but the impressions of a child were always so honest.

"She talks a lot, but she let's me play on the stage when she's done practicing." Beth said with a smile. "If you're a cop why don't you have a gun?" Beth asked.

"I never bring my gun when I'm off duty or around you because I want to make sure you're safe." I explained to her. She nodded like she took everything I said as law.

"What do you think of me?" I asked her. It was stupid to even ask, she was 3, what was she going to say? I just knew that Beth was the most important person in Quinn's life, and I needed her honest opinion of me to make sure I was presenting myself right.

"I think you're cool." Beth said. "And you make mommy happy." She added shyly.

"Yea she makes me happy too." I said quietly.

"Were you sad before Santa?"

"Yea." I told her honestly. "I think I was." I didn't really know, after I came back I felt numb, but that didn't mean sad. It just meant I was afraid to face a lot.

I still am.

I hated thinking too much about anything, especially in this moment. I'd been so focused on things that happened in my past that I didn't notice the ice cream dripping from my cone. I looked down at my shirt and frowned. Leave it to me to be the messy eater.

"Santa! You spilled!" Beth exclaimed for the entire ice cream parlor to hear.

"Yes ma'am I do believe I did. Let's head back to your house, maybe I can get cleaned up there."

…...

Quinn's POV

They were already barging into my house before I could stop them, and it wasn't until Blaine mentioned something about a soccer game that I realized why Sam and Rachel were wearing opposing jerseys and sitting on opposite sides of the couch. Brittany of course sat in the middle and ate most of the food while Rachel was the loudest.

Blaine was never really that into soccer, but Kurt was and I guess that's why he went to Manchester last summer just so he could see a game, that was love.

"Where's my Betty-Boo?" Blaine asked me.

"Getting ice cream with Santana." I told him.

"You look…what's wrong Quinn? Something's up, you did that cute little nose twitch so I know something is up." How on earth was he able to read me that well. He might have been a friend since high school, but he had always been sort of on the outskirts of our group, up until he and Kurt started dating their sophomore year in college.

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?" I asked him.

"Of course, you can trust me, you know that." He placed his hand on top of mine and gave me a half smile.

"I quit my job." I told him, his eyes went wide. "I know, I know it's crazy and so…so-."

"So awesome!" Blaine said with a smile. "And so not something I would expect from you. I mean, no offense, Quinn you can be sort of a perfectionist at times, but when you're impulsive and passionate, you're a different person, better even." I didn't feel better. I felt terrified.

"What if I fail?"

"Quinn Fabray, single mother of one, failing? I don't think so." Blaine said with as much sass as Kurt normally brings to the table.

"I've got more to lose than just my dignity, trust me I could deal if it was just that, but I have to pay for groceries, Beth's preschool, and this house. I'm nervous."

"We could-." I could tell he was about to offer to help, financially at least.

"I'm no one's charity case." I warned him. "I can handle it…I'm just saying that if I go crazy and end up in my very own real life version of _Girl, Interrupted_ I'm going to need you all to raise Beth and make her into the next Hilary Clinton…or Maya Angelou, I'd settle for either."

"And people say Kurt is dramatic." Blaine said with a playful nudge. "I'm proud of you anyway, I mean focusing on art is something you've always wanted to do."

"If my dad knew about this he'd freak out." I said. "I don't really know how my mom would feel."

"Feel about what?" Kurt asked walking in and grabbing the bottle of wine that Santana had given me out of the refrigerator. He was always so casual when he was stealing stuff from me.

"About penguins and global warming." Blaine lied.

"Oh I see, you two have secrets now. Well you better not have told her about what you swore not to talk about."

"Oh come on why would I tell Quinn that?" Blaine questioned.

"I dunno, maybe she's had experience where there was a penis bitten and blood involved." I stood up slowly and uncomfortably.

"I'm now going to give up eating…forever." I said as I exited the kitchen, figuring that I needed to let Kurt and Blaine talk things over first. I plopped down on the couch between Sam and Brittany, because I figured if I sat next to Rachel then she'd probably end up screaming in my ear, or accidently punching me in the face because she has never learned to control her excitement. "I'm exhausted." I said before yawning and cuddling up next to Brittany.

"From what?" Rachel asked with an arched eyebrow. "I thought you stayed home today and Beth was out with Brittany…" She paused and walked over to the kitchen looking in the room and then spun on her heels to look at me. "Who fixed your stove?" She asked almost like this was some sort of interrogation.

"Inspector Gadget." I muttered and Rachel smiled and Brittany looked me dead in the eyes from just a few inches away.

"Aww." Brittany exclaimed.

"Aww indeed." Rachel replied.

"I don't get it. _Aww_, what?" Sam interjected.

"What the hell are we aww-ing about?" Kurt asked as he and Blaine finally joined us in the room. "Hon, do you know what we're aww-ing about?" He asked Blaine who only shrugged.

"I have no freakin clue so if someone wants to tell me, that'd be nice." I said waiting for a response.

"Santana fixed Quinn's stove." Brittany said with wide eyes. "How romantic!" She said dramatically putting her hand over her heart.

"So what'd she want in return?" Rachel asked, everyone looked at her, but I glared.

"Why does everything have to be about sex with you?" I questioned with a frustrated sigh.

"Because everything is about sex." Rachel said with a shrug. I knew what this was, and I appreciated it on a deeper level, but on the surface, I was pissed. Why didn't Rachel trust me with my own choices, it was like she wasn't even trusting me with my own emotions. It was unfair and I sort of wanted to smack her for it, but I also really needed it. She was right, I didn't want to get hurt like I did with Puck.

"Santana isn't Puck." I assured her. "She's sweet and caring and I don't need you to think you have to protect my heart."

"Quinn she didn't mean to-." Blaine started but I held up my hand to stop him.

"I know what she meant, but this is my personal life and if I want to have sex with Santana I will, and if I don't I won't. I don't need you shaming me or praising me for either choice." I knew what this was, it wasn't about what Rachel had said, it wasn't even about this moment. I'd learned about projection in my 11th grade psychology class and I knew that was the real issue. The way my father treated me about sleeping with Puck was something I probably never will get over, but there was so much guilt and shame placed on me that I never want to feel like that again. Especially if the guilt comes from expressing my admiration for someone else. It's my body and I can do what I want with it.

There was so much tension in the room and I really didn't want to be there anymore, especially with Rachel looking at me with those big doe eyes of hers.

The doorbell rang and I went to open it, Beth was in Santana's arms and Santana had a chocolate stain on the front of her shirt. "I spilled." She said with a light chuckle. "And this one is exhausted." Santana said and I could see that Beth was fast asleep as she walked inside. The soccer game was still on and Santana raised her finger to her lips to warn my friends not to yell as she told me she would put Beth to sleep before she came back out here.

I sat back down on the couch and waited patiently for her, I knew that Rachel had created some tension, but I wasn't sure if Santana could tell or not. Luckily it didn't take long for her to come back out and I could tell that she'd probably went to the bathroom and tried to get out the stain herself with no avail. "I should head back home." She said before glancing at the screen.

"No, come on stay." Sam pleaded.

"I would really love to stay and see Barcelona win-." Sam jumped up and gave Santana a high five while Rachel crossed her arms over her chest with a loud _humf _. "But I have to get up early tomorrow." I stood up and wrapped my arms around her neck.

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah." She leaned down and I thought she was going to kiss me, but instead she gave me a quick kiss on my forehead. I pouted and looked up at her. "Sorry, but your friends are looking at me like they're going to stone me to death." She whispered. I grabbed the front of her shirt and lead her over to the front door, out of the purview of my friends. "Did I walk into the something or what?"

"No, don't worry about it." I told her. "Call me tomorrow so we can figure out where we should eat." She nodded her head and leaned down to kiss me, this time on the lips. I felt her hands on my shoulders, my back, and then my backside. Of course. I giggled and pulled away. "What is your deal with my butt?" I asked playfully poking her stomach.

"Sorry next time I'll handcuff my hands behind my back." Santana said.

"Can I handcuff them myself?" I questioned flirtatiously.

"That's kinda kinky." She said with a smile.

"We can hear you!" Kurt shouted. Our eyes went wide and we scrambled to get out of the house so we could burst out into laughter outside.

"I'll be more careful next time." She said as she unlocked her door.

"You should be careful all the time." I reminded her before kissing her cheek and waiting until her car was all the way down the street. I returned to my house and just before I was about to go to the kitchen to grab an apple as a late snack, Brittany stopped me.

"Hey what's that in your back pocket?" She asked, and I reached into my left back pocket to check but nothing was there. "No your right." I reached back and pulled out a check with a sticky note attached to it. I looked at the note, which read:

_You're not my charity case_

_I'm not even trying to protect you_

_But this time I owe you one_

_And I know I made a mistake earlier_

_But don't hold that against me_

_I'm replacing what I took from you_

I stared blankly at the check; it had the same amount that Puck had given me earlier today. Santana had given me the money without even making me feel patronized or like a child. This was amazing, she was amazing, and this was something that I would never forget.

**Thank you for reading, tell me what you think. **


	15. Long Day

**You all are all amazing, reviewing like crazy and keeping me freshly motivated after each chapter. **

**Kali: **You didn't misunderstand anything, they were in fact talking about Santana's parents, and you'll see why later on.

**This chapter is very fluffy until it's not, with an unexpected appearance at the end.**

"Happy birthday my little angel." I whispered in Beth's ear as she stretched and reached up to wrap her arms around me. Her smile was contagious and so was her laugh.

"Mommy I'm almost as old as you!" She exclaimed before jumping out of her bed and running into the kitchen. I knew she could smell the chocolate chip pancakes from a mile away. Of course everyone stayed the night, I needed them to so they could set up all the decorations and the backyard. I didn't know what Santana had planned, but she said I could still get a clown, but she needed most of the space in the backyard for something else.

I kind of adored the mystery.

So I had to get Beth out of the house for a couple of hours. I decided on taking her to Coney Island, which was her absolute favorite place to go. I was the luckiest girl alive when it came to my friends; I mean they were all dependable, all so loving and caring. I just wanted to wrap them all up in my arms right now, but I was trying to hold it together for now.

Kurt and Blaine were treating Beth like an angel, just getting her anything she asked for, including chocolate chips and whipped cream on top of her pancakes. Brittany and Sam were in the other room making phone calls quietly, for the cake and something else.

Rachel was constantly touching her throat because of course she insisted on being the one to sing happy birthday to Beth, because her voice was astonishing, so of course I let her. It's not like I didn't know she was a diva.

I was leaning against the threshold of the door watching everyone and especially keeping my eyes on Beth. She was smiling and I wanted to keep her smiling all day. "You ready?" I asked Beth as she wiped off her face and gave me a firm nod. "You wanna go to Coney Island?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Beth said reaching up on the counter and grabbing my keys. I didn't really have time to say my proper goodbyes because Beth was dragging me outside before I could. She was just the cutest thing when she was excited about something. We got into the car, Beth in the back in her booster seat while I was in the front. "How come they're all staying back at home? They didn't want to come with us?" She asked as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Of course they wanted to come, but I wanted to spend some time with you. You know just us girls." I said trying to cover up the fact that I was a terrible liar.

"Mom?" Beth asked.

"Yes sweetie." I said as I got onto the highway. I enjoyed the drive to Coney Island, even if the traffic wasn't great. Beth was a great travelling partner because she never complained about how long things took, in that sense she was better than Rachel.

"How come Santa's not here? I thought she was a part of our family." I didn't turn around and look at Beth, but I wanted to.

"You mean like how Blaine, Kurt, Sam, Rachel and Britt are a part of our family?" I asked slowly.

"No…I mean…like how Santa is like daddy was only she's always around." Beth explained. I didn't know how to approach this. How could I explain to Beth, that Santana and I were dating? She wouldn't understand, and I'd bet she would just think we were friends.

"You know how we watched Snow White last week Beth?" I had to look into the rearview mirror to see her nodding her head. "And Snow had to wait for her prince charming to kiss her and wake her up?" She nodded again. "Well Santana is like my prince-."

"Only a princess, right?" Beth said.

"Yea so we're like two princess." I started. I tried not to smile because I sounded so stupid, but I think that Beth understood. And even if she didn't, we didn't have to discuss it now, not on her special day.

"So she kissed you and you woke up?" Beth asked.

"Yea, yes she did."

…

I didn't know what to expect when I arrived at my house. I didn't think that there would be a fire truck in my back yard. I didn't think there would be a bouncy house and an obstacle course in my front yard, nor a full stage, or a full on petting zoo too. I was speechless, I didn't even know what Beth was saying as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the backyard where most of the people were. "Thank you mommy! Thank you!" Beth said as she grabbed onto my hand and looked around.

Sam was the first one to come up to us, he had a party hat on and he was smiling so much that I nearly cried. "Hey birthday girl, would you care to join me in the bouncy house?" He asked as he held out his hand.

"Yeah." Beth said grabbing onto his hand and following him. I looked towards the fire truck, it was one of those fake trailers that firemen use to demonstrate to people how to get out of a house when there's a fire. I could see the long line of kids out front they looked so cute getting excited for a learning experience.

Rachel was on the stage with Blaine and Kurt setting up and I gave them a wave. There were all of the people I knew in this city and a few I didn't. I assumed there were firemen and police officers and possibly soldiers here too. I really needed to find Santana.

"Hey." I spun around and Santana was standing there with a shy smile on her face.

"You got a freaking petting zoo? You brought firemen here? I don't know what to say." I wanted to tell her that she was perfect, but how could she not know that? I stood on my tiptoes and pecked her lips. "Would you sue me if I was one of those embarrassing moms who goes around and films everything?" I said as I started to pull out my phone. Santana stopped me and turned me towards a cameraman who was filming Beth while she and Sam danced.

"Rachel hired him, says he can make this into the best home movie ever." Santana explained.

"So what should I do? If I just stand and watch then I'll probably end up crying." I confessed. She laughed and took my hand, bringing me inside with her.

"We can put the candles on the cake." She suggested. My jaw nearly hit the ground when I saw what the cake looked like. It was a three tier cake, Santana explained that each layer was a different flavor, red velvet, chocolate and vanilla. "I hope Beth is happy about her party." Santana said almost mindlessly as she placed candles on the top. I didn't know what she was doing until I say that she was arranging the candles in a way that spelled out _Beth_.

"Okay that's it!" I exclaimed as I was ready to throw in the towel. "You're perfect…just too perfect and if there's something that's terrible about you, something you're hiding then you have to tell me because if I find out later then I won't be able to take it."

"Hey, what is it? Where's this coming from?" She asked as she moved her chair closer to me.

"I can sense it, I can sense it from a mile away." I started. "Don't hurt me; please…just don't hurt me." She pulled me into a hug and for the first time in my life I actually felt safe in someone arms not vulnerable.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She promised. "So you can put down your walls okay? Just trust me."

…

Santana's POV

I don't think I've ever been caked out. I also am pretty positive that I've never witnessed a Broadway actress perform _Happy Birthday_ to a four year old on a stage erected in my girlfriends backyard. That was certainly one for the history books. By the time the party was over we were all completely exhausted and Beth had about 300 gifts just piled in her room and in the garage. I think she was especially fond of the bike that I'd gotten her, but maybe I was just being over zealous.

I was offered the opportunity to stay the night by both Quinn, who insisted the couch wasn't terrible and Rachel, who told me that Quinn actually wanted to snuggle with me tonight, but I denied both. I went downtown and sat down in this cozy bar, completely unaware of how or why I was there.

I ordered a beer and waited patiently for some kind of sign. Something to tell me why I ended up here on a Monday night when I could've been spending quality time with my girlfriend.

And then Joey walked in and I realized that I didn't just end up here on accident, I must have talked to him about meeting here. "You showed." He said quietly as he sat down next to me. No salute this time, and hopefully no tears.

"Yea, of course." I ordered him a beer and a shot and he gave me a big grin. "I found you a place, it's cheap and clean, but I'm not gonna tell you where it is unless you promise me you'll get help." He looked at me for a moment before downing his shot.

"Are you gonna take your own advice?" He questioned.

"I don't need-."

"What you need is to face it. Head on I mean. That's the kind of bullshit advice you'd always give us when we were over there. What's the big deal?" He asked. I couldn't tell if his voice was rising or I was just getting more buzzed. This situation was making me uncomfortable already.

"It's a big deal Joey. This isn't just something I can fix. It's my fault-."

"It is not your fault!" He said slamming his beer down on the counter. The bar fell silent, I fell silent. The bartender was going to ask us to leave in a moment, so I was already grabbing my jacket and heading out before he could say anything. "Did you hear me?" Joey asked as he ran after me. He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.

"How the fuck could I not hear you? You yelled it out." I wanted to grab him and shake him and tell him that I liked having my skeletons in the closet. That I didn't need everyone reminding me about what I'd lost and how much I'd changed. I knew I was going to change when I signed up for the army; I was tired of being me and being ashamed so I changed.

"Stop walking around here like a goddamn zombie then." He shouted.

"Leave me alone." I told him, wishing I could just close my eyes and get away from all of this.

"What do you want Lopez? Did you want to be the one in the body bag instead?" He questioned. I was done being here, I was done listening to him, but I couldn't leave. "Get it out, tell me why you avoided everyone who had your back when we were over there in hell. I know you hate me-."

"I don't hate you, you fucking prick." I told him grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

"Yes you do!" Joey said. "You won't admit it but you do." His eyes watered up, his lip began to quiver and I wasn't gripping his shirt anymore I was wrapping my arms around him and holding on for dear life. "It was you or him Santana, and I chose you."

…

I left Joey a sobbing mess, but when I walked into my apartment building, I made sure I looked presentable. I figured Sugar was in my apartment, she had a key and she always knew she was welcome. But when I opened the door Sugar wasn't alone.

The first thing that came to my mind was that I couldn't believe Sugar was ballsy enough to bring one of her dates into my apartment, but then when he turned around all I could think was _shit_.

This wasn't fucking happening.

This was a dream, more like a nightmare. I was still at Quinn's house, I was still at Beth's perfect party and she was blowing out the candles and begging me to share a slice of cake with her. I wasn't standing here, utterly speechless, staring at someone who I hadn't seen in 8 years.

I was lucky that he didn't say anything, because I knew I couldn't. Sugar looked between us, and I wondered how much he'd told her about our past, I wonder if she knew what happened. I heard her say something about leaving us alone because we had a lot to talk about, and I could feel her rest her hand on my shoulder before kissing my cheek and heading across the hall to her own apartment.

I nearly laughed because, really, how could we have a true conversation if neither one of us had yet to open our mouths? "You came all the way from Ohio, just to see me?" I asked him finally. I tossed my jacket onto the rack and watched him for a moment, trying to figure out if I could join him on the couch or if I should just continue standing.

"I left Ohio right after you did." He said. "Except I joined the Peace Corps, not the Army." He said before scratching the back of his head. "Should I not have come here? I didn't know how to approach this…I didn't even know you were back, I didn't even know if you were alive." I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.

"It's been a long day, Dave." I walked over and sat next to him on the couch. He was fumbling with his hands and it was like he was to afraid to look at me. "And if you force me to sit here and deal with everything at once then I'll go crazy."

"Hey…it's gone." He said suddenly looking at me.

"What's gone?" I questioned. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Your stutter." He said. "Remember?"

"Yea…god it used to take me ages to get through sentences and then right as I was about to join it just stopped." I explained to him. "Like a miracle or something."

"A lot of miraculous things seem to happen when it comes to you." He said with a small smile. I smiled too, looking at my friend, my only friend I had in high school.

"Like how I miraculously tripped on air and broke my arm freshman year?" I questioned with a smile.

"Yea, that was quite impressive actually. One of my biggest regrets is that I wasn't there to see that." I nudged him and he nudged me back. "I mean I regret other things too." He added with his eyes down.

"Me too." I told him without a second thought. "So…" I said trying to change the subject. "You can crash here, no questions asked as long as you make some of your famous omelets in the morning."

"I thought you said my cooking tasted like shit." He said.

"Yea, but I missed your shit cooking." I admitted. "And…I missed you."

**Now that you've read and reviewed it's time for you to head over and check out **HeartClenching's **story called **'_Heaven Sent'_ **it's also a quinntana story too and it rocks. **


	16. Safe

**This chapter is much lighter than the last one and sort of playful, in anticipation for what's around the corner. I won't give anything away of course. Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"So Sugar is like…who exactly?" Dave asked as we sat on my couch eating omelets and watching cartoons. I looked over and Dave and grinned.

"What the hell does that mean?" I questioned with a laugh.

"You know what I mean. We spent four years in high school together; you think I didn't see you checking out Emily Hawkins everyday? Come on, you got a thing with that Sugar girl? I mean she's cute, but she's not your type." I laughed because honestly I was a closet case in high school, how on earth would he have any idea what _my type _is.

"She's my best friend, has been since I came back from Afghanistan the first time. What made you think we weren't dating? She could be my type." Dave arched an eyebrow and I nudged him.

"Hey I dunno, maybe more has changed with you than I thought. But from what I remember, blonds were more your thing." I tried not to smile but Dave caught on quickly. "Oh shit, what's her name?" He asked snatching my plate out of my hand and placing it down on the table in front of us. I rolled my eyes and stood up, grabbing a light jacket and going to my safe and unlocking it.

"None of your business." I told him as I pulled out my gun and holster.

"Jesus you don't have to shoot me for asking a question." He said raising his hands defensively.

"Would you relax, I'm a cop and I have work." He stood up too and crossed his arms over his chest.

"This is crazy cool." He said with a smile. "Wait, before you go though…who's the girl? Come on, are you really going to keep it from me? Because let's get real here, I could ask Sugar, girl's got zero filter." He was right. Sugar would tell him in a second and she and him would spend the afternoon searching _Google _for anything they could dig up on Quinn if I didn't tell him now.

"Her name is Quinn." I told him.

"Oh that's all I get?" He questioned.

"Yep." I was about to leave and let Dave explore the city for a few hours but he grabbed my arm and stopped me. "Dude, what?"

"Why do you have a safe if you live alone?" He asked referring to the safe that I keep my gun in.

"It's a safety thing." I told him, but I didn't explain that I'd gotten it a few weeks ago. I got it to make sure that Beth was never around any weapons. "I gotta go, see you later."

…

"So does your girlfriend have any other friends? I mean there's that Rachel girl, totally hot but talks so fast I couldn't keep up. Then there's Brittany, yummy, fucking yummy right? Am I right?" Buddy asked hitting me in the shoulder until I responded.

"I've only got eyes for Quinn." I told him, he looked shocked and then he started laughing.

"Wow, you're a bullshitter, I always knew you were a geek but a bullshitter too? Come the fuck on." I smiled because I knew Buddy would give me such a hard time for this. "Is Brittany dating that Sam guy? Cause real talk I'd fight for her."

"Where are you getting this shit?" I asked putting the binoculars to my eyes and scanning the street again. "You're like 10 years older than her and she's out of your league."

"Alright, alright, just because you're getting some ass that doesn't mean you have to be rude to the poor innocent single people." I rolled my eyes, he was a hard ass in front of the guys, but he was such a drama queen when he was around me. He glanced over at me, grabbed a cigarette, and lit up. "Please don't tell me-."

"We're not getting into this." I warned him.

"What are you waiting for?" I looked at him. That was it? He wasn't shouting or nudging me or pushing me too much. He was just asking. He wasn't playful anymore, he was serious.

"I-…I don't know." I said shaking my head.

"You know." He assured me. "You're not gonna mess things up, you know that right?"

"It's not that." I told him. "It's not that." I repeated because I truly meant it. It was a lot more than just trying to keep this relationship safe. I needed safe because I was safeguarded, but Quinn needed safe for Beth and her heart.

There seemed to be a part of Quinn that wanted to see where the relationship was headed before we took that step, I respected that and I was okay with that. "Look sorry if I pushed any buttons."

"No buttons pushed, you're good man." I assured him. I brought the binoculars up to my face again, to make sure I wasn't missing anything. "But Quinn is really sexy." I said as I kept an eye on the apartment. "Like the sexual tension is gonna give me fucking hives."

"Like how much are you into this girl?" Buddy knew about most of the girls that I'd gone out with, we told each other everything.

"Like I'd let her top me, that's how much." I told him. He jaw hit the floor.

"Alert the media, the great Queen Lopez has fallen." He barely got to finish poking fun at me before I got a visual on the guy we'd been waiting for.

"Come on." I told him as I pulled my gun and bolted out of the car.

…

Quinn's POV

"You're making her cookies?" Brittany asked from where she was seated in my kitchen. "How sweet."

"Well technically Beth is making her cookies. It's our little thank you to her for her part in the surprise party." I explained. Beth of course was nowhere in sight, she mentioned something about how she wanted to pick out something nice to wear and I let her go. I was a little nervous that she was around Rachel too much and she might turn out to be a diva.

"She was such a rock star; she wanted everything to be perfect." Brittany said with a small smile of her own. "And I'm not trying to brag but she was doing a lot of lifting with the whole stage thing and what not, and she left me feel her arms. Can I get an amen?"

"Were you flirting with her Brittany? You flirt with everyone." I reminded her.

"I swear I just wanted to see how strong she was, nothing else." I trusted Brittany and I trusted Santana, so there wasn't really a true worry there. I just didn't want Brittany's flirtatious attitude to make Santana feel uncomfortable. "Look at you all ready to fight for your woman. So when are you guys going over to her place?"

"Um she gets off work at like 5, depending of course, and I wanted to go over there and make her something to eat and-…wait why are you asking that?" Brittany looked around the room, searching for something to focus on to avoiding looking directly at me.

"No reason." She lied. Her face was turning red and I had to rush over and sit down on her lap to keep her from running away.

"Who is it? What's his name?" I asked.

"Look it's not really serious right now, Q. And I just want to keep it on the down low." What that really meant was she didn't want to tell anyone because Kurt and Blaine would gossip, while Rachel would give whoever it was the third degree. I understood exactly where she was coming from.

"Fair enough." I told her standing up and walking over to the oven to take the cookies out. "But if you hook up with him, limit it to your room please." Brittany nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

"Oh look at my wittle angel!" Brittany said as Beth came into the room. She was wearing the cutest outfit. Floral dress, with black dress shoes, and Brittany was kind enough to pull her hair back into a braid. "Quinn you'd better dress up too otherwise Santana's gonna pay all her attention to Beth over here."

"But I want all the attention." Beth said. "Mom just wear that." I looked down at my duck t-shirt and baggy pajama pants.

"Yea wear that." Brittany said trying to cover her laugh.

"Whatever, I'm going to change into something bland. Brittany will you wrap the cookies up and explain to Beth that I'm dating Santana not her." I added the last part and Brittany nearly fell out of her seat laughing.

…

We got on the elevator with an older man, we was holding a heavy looking box and before I could stop her Beth had pressed all the buttons that she could. I looked at the man and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry." He didn't respond, he just glared at the buttons until it was his turn to get off. I'm pretty sure he was cursing under his breath the whole time.

I grabbed Beth's hand and we walked towards Santana's door, I knocked once but Beth got tired of waiting and started banging on the door herself. With the way she acts in anticipation of seeing Santana, it was like I never taught her any manners.

When a man opened the door I thought, well there's the last thing I expected. And then my immediate afterthought was, Jesus I'm at the wrong apartment. "I take it you're here to see Santana." I nodded my head and he backed up to let us both in. "She should be back soon, I guess she arrested some big deal guy today or something." Who the hell was this guy? Why was he wearing pajama pants and a tank top? And why was he lounging around in my girlfriend's apartment? "I'm Dave by the way." He held out his hand for me to take, and I shook it without really thinking. For all I knew he could be a burglar. A burglar named Dave.

"I'm Quinn and this is Beth." I set the cookies down on the countertop and turned to face Dave again. He looked sweet, almost like a teddy bear and he was waving at Beth who grabbed onto my leg and looked up at him with a sheepish smile.

"Quinn…oh…wait, you're blond!" I didn't know if that was a code word or I was just supposed to take it at face value. This could be some weird Army lingo, maybe Dave went overseas with Santana.

"Yes I am." I said slowly.

"No I meant because…hmmm, I don't even know how to say it without sounding like a creep so let's just forget I said it." Dave said. Just as I was about to ask him how he knew Santana she walked into the apartment.

Beth of course was so eager to see her that she reached up and grabbed the tray of cookies and handed them to Santana who looked slightly confused. "We made these for you. Thank you for making my birthday super special." Santana's smile was priceless and I kicked myself for forgetting to film her reaction. She bent down and gave Beth a hug before putting the cookies on the counter and giving me a warm smile.

"Dave, you're wearing pajama pants in the presence of these lovely ladies? Come on man class it up." Dave laughed and so did I. "Did he introduce himself at least?" Santana asked me.

"I caught his name but I don't know how he knows you." I explained.

"Wait hold on before you say anything, for a second did you think I was an Army guy?" Dave asked with a hopeful smile.

"I thought burglar and then a soldier, consecutively." I confessed.

"He's an old buddy from high school." Santana told me.

"Yea and although we're buddies she apparently leaves out very important details." Dave said giving Santana a quick glance.

"Details? Like what?" I asked.

"Please excuse me for being crass but you are a babe, which Santana conveniently left out of our conversation." I tried not to smile but I couldn't help it, a compliment is a compliment, and I thought Dave was pretty sweet.

"Maybe she was afraid that you'd steal me away." I said with an innocent shrug.

"When pigs fly." Santana muttered before scooping Beth up into her arms. "You wanna stay for dinner little nugget?"

"Yes Santa!" Beth exclaimed.

"Wait did she just call you Santa?" Dave questioned.

"It's sorta a normal thing." I explained to Dave. "And Santana, actually as a part of our thank you I was going to make dinner for you." Her smile grew. "Dave are you staying over?"

"I wish but I've got a meeting downtown that I need to get to, Peace Corps stuff. Thank you for the invite though." He said with a genuine smile. "I'll call you later we'll meet up for…apple juice or something." I laughed because, honestly, it was adorable how Dave was avoiding saying the word beer in front of Beth.

"Yea apple juice." Santana responded as she walked Dave to the door. He waved goodbye and then Santana let Beth watch something on TV while she watched me cook. "This was really sweet of you." She said.

"It's literally the least I could do." I told her. "And I'm sure it's topping off your day. A visit from Dave, catching a bad guy, and now dinner." She smile and pulled me in for a kiss. I was about to pull her closer when I felt something against my stomach. "Hey is that a banana in your pocket or are you really happy to see me." Santana arched an eyebrow and looked down. We saw her gun holster at the same time.

"Shit, I forgot." She said. She grabbed the gun and quickly, almost frantically unloaded it, and went over to a safe at the back of the room. I followed her and rested my hands on her shoulders.

"Santana, it's okay."

"No it isn't, I picked up Beth and I had a loaded gun on me. I am such an idiot-."

"You're not. You're a normal person. You haven't been around Beth for four years, you don't remember every little thing about how to protect or take care of a child. I don't expect that from you and you certainly don't have to expect that from yourself. It's a mistake and nothing bad happened, okay?" She sighed and wrapped her arms around me. "And…although you're super cute when you worry, I want you to have a nice day." I looped my fingers around her belt and tugged her towards the couch. "Take your shoes off, sit down and relax." Santana started tugging off her shoes and Beth began doing the same.

"She cracks me up." Santana said as she watched Beth mirror her movements.

"You've created a monster." I told her.

"I mean technically…" Santana grabbed my hips and pulled me down so that I was sitting on her lap. "You created her."

"Ha ha." I said trying to give her a stern look which immediately faded away when she was smiling at me. How could she wield so much power with just one stupid look? "Beth tell Santana that if she keeps trying to be funny then she won't get any more kisses tonight."

"Who?" Beth asked, she clearly learned from Brittany how to be cunning and passively annoying. And Beth always tried to get me to call Santana Santa for some weird reason and that's exactly what she was doing right now.

"Santa."

"But Santa is funny." Beth said with a grin.

"Bingo kiddo." Santana said before giving Beth a high five. I rolled my eyes and stood up so I could finish preparing the meal. Santana hopped up and followed me. "So does this mean I don't get any more kisses tonight?"

"That's exactly what it means." I said turning away from her.

"Oh come on! Just one?" She pleaded.

"Nope." I replied.

"Just one?" Now I had to turn around because I didn't want to miss Santana begging for a kiss. She reached for my hand and held it up to her lips, kissing my palm gently. She tugged on my hand and pulled me even closer to her. "Just one." She whispered against my lips.

"You can kiss my ass if you want." I joked.

"Well you know how I feel about your ass, so I'd probably go for that." I smacked her shoulder but she didn't stop laughing until Beth walked in.

"What are you two lovers doing?" Beth asked. Santana and I exchanged looks.

"Who taught you to say _lovers_?" I asked.

"Rachel." She said without skipping a beat. Of course, I thought to myself. Of course.

**Don't think I'm just going to let Dave go, he's still got a part in the story. Review please. Also who should Brittany's mystery man be? I already have my idea but maybe someone could sway me to take it somewhere else. **


	17. Bear

**You all are wonderful, so many reviews/follows/favorites it makes me want to cry. Anyhow, I've figured out who Brittany's love interest will be but that's not actually important to this chapter. Enjoy.**

"I can't believe I missed him!" I said as I dragged myself into the kitchen. Brittany laughed and I pulled out my portfolio and set it down on the table. It'd been over a month since mystery man had come into Brittany's life and we still had yet to meet him. Secretly I thought that Beth had met him before, she always knew more than she let on. Brittany had gotten a job at a local studio, she didn't know if she was going to go out of the country anytime soon.

Blaine and Brittany were still the only two people besides Santana who knew that I'd quit my job, and at this point it was actually hurting more than helping. I was literally going broke, and I didn't know what to do. I should've started selling my work before I quit to develop a market. I was too headstrong, I was overly confident and now I was screwed.

"And he spent the night? What the hell do you guys do in your room all night?" I asked her, she arched an eyebrow as I spread out my pictures.

"What do you think we do?" She laughed and watched me arrange my pictures. "It's six in the morning, why are you doing this now?" She asked.

"Because." I said with a shrug.

"Okay, what's wrong? Is it Beth? Santana…?" No Beth and Santana were perfect; it was me I had to think about. I didn't own this house, I was renting it, and truthfully I couldn't afford this months rent. This wasn't some other state either, I didn't get leniency at all.

"It's the rent money, I don't think I'm gonna be able to pay it off." I confessed quietly.

"I could pay this month-."

"No that's not fair; I couldn't ask you to do that. You're supposed to be a guest in this house." I told her. I didn't really like discussing money with friends, especially with Brittany. She would give me her left arm if it meant I would be okay, and I didn't want that right now.

"So maybe I'll be the temporary owner of the house then." She said with a thoughtful expression.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I mean…why don't you move in with Santana? I could rent your place for a few months, you could develop your market, make some money-."

"What? Literally that is the craziest thing I've ever heard in my entire life and Sam once suggested that we get tattoos on our faces." Brittany took a look at my face and then smiled.

"It's not that crazy." Brittany assured me. "And it wouldn't even be a big deal if you didn't have so much pride." I sat down and rested my face in my hands. "I think you kind of want to move in with her."

"The whole lesbian U-Haul thing is so not a stereotype I want to give in to." I started. "And besides Santana would probably have a heart attack if asked her if I could move in."

"More like she would be overjoyed." Brittany mumbled. "And besides, you've got two choices, I stay you go or we both stay and I pay." Why did she have to be so annoying? I looked down at my pictures. I was completely torn.

I could find a job, I could work anywhere and stay here, and that would probably result in me being miserable. Or I could focus on my passion and move in with Santana. It was worth a shot, I trusted her enough to know that she cares for me, so maybe she might say yes.

"How do I ask her?" I questioned.

"You probably don't even have to ask, she can read you better than even I can." Brittany said.

"It's because she's a detective, her intuition is astonishing." I started.

"Just say you want to have a nice diner at her place tonight. Explain the situation to her and just leave it at that. She'll say yes, I mean she only has one guest room so…we all know what that means." I rolled my eyes, I hadn't even thought of that. This was a terrible idea, I think someone was going to get hurt, and it was probably going to be me.

…

"When are you heading over?" Brittany asked as she tucked Beth into her bed. She followed me out to the living room. I was already dressed up, tight black dress and three inch heels, red lipstick and my hair down. It was just a mask though, I was a mess on the inside.

"In like five." I said as I checked my phone. It was buzzing like it had been for the past thirty minutes. I turned the vibration off and Brittany arched an eyebrow.

"Whoa, who's calling? Puck?" She ask as she snatched my phone out of my hand. "Or mama Fabray…" She looked at me with a worried expression. "5 missed calls? Quinn!"

"Look, I just don't want to deal with my family right now-."

"She's not your father, she cares a lot about you. Call her back." Brittany demanded as she held out my phone.

"One thing at a time." I assured her. "I need to take care of things with Santana." I started. "And seriously, what is with you suddenly becoming so bossy?"

"I'm not bossy; I'm just looking out for you." Brittany defended. "Anyway, go! Be sexy; make her beg you to move in. May the force be with you."

"Okay how much time do you spend with Sam?" I questioned.

"Way too much."

…

Santana's POV

When I heard someone knocking at my door I immediately arched an eyebrow. Dave was off in Uganda, he'd be there for about a month, and I was sort of excited that he was thinking of changing him home base from Ohio to New York. Sugar would never even consider knocking and she had her own key. So I walked over to my door, clad in sweat pants and my army t-shirt on while my glasses balanced on my nose. I kept them on because I couldn't figure out where I'd put my case and I didn't want to displace them.

When I opened my door and Quinn was standing there looking like a goddess I didn't know what to say. I'm pretty sure my mouth was actually approaching the floor at this point. "Hey." She said with the sweetest little laugh which made me just want to kiss her forever.

"Hi." I took a step back and watched her walk all the way into the kitchen. I couldn't keep my eyes off her body, she looked stunning. And I didn't even know what the occasion was. "Are we going somewhere?" I asked as she pulled a bottle of wine out and two glasses from the cupboard.

"No, but we do have to talk about something. And I figured if I dressed nicely then maybe you'd be too distracted to really hear what I'm saying." She poured two glasses of wine and handed me one.

"Do you need to get me drunk too?" I questioned as I took a sip of wine.

"I'm just adding plans A, B, and C together. Pulling a whole hail Mary attempt-."

"Look whatever it is; you don't have to freak out about it. Just talk to me." I hated when she got this nervous about anything, this must have been really serious.

"I don't even know how to start." She said as she leaned against the counter and placed her glass on the counter. I set my glass down next to hers and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Just start." I encouraged her.

"I think I made a mistake." I loosened my grip on her waist. That never sounded good, and it didn't sound good right now. "Not with us!" She said immediately. "I meant…" I searched her eyes trying to understand her, she looked like she was tearing up, but she was holding it together just for me. "I can't afford my house, I mean the rent, this month I'm not going to make it. Brittany offered to pay, but I can't let her do that because I'm so headstrong, and now I don't know what to do. She said she could rent the house for a couple of months and I could spend that time developing a market and everything. I tried to tell myself that I made a mistake by quitting my job but I know the only thing I want to do is be an artist and I know it's stupid, I know it's all stupid but I'm totally backed up against a wall-."

"Quinn." I said trying to hush her. "Quinn look at me." Her hazel eyes met mine. "I've got an extra bedroom-."

"No, I came over here with every intention of asking you to let me move in but now that I'm here I don't think I can intrude like this." I held her face in my hands and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You aren't intruding, we're getting serious here you know. And I know it seems kind of soon, and we're both kind of nervous, but come on, what do we have to lose? I want to see you happy, I want to see you doing what you love. So take Brittany up on the offer. Move in with me." When we started kissing everything felt right, I didn't know if it was the clothes she was wearing or the way she looked at me every time I pulled back.

I ran my nails down her thighs, I found myself lifting her up, and she immediately wrapped her legs around her body. I knew that we had waited to long as soon as she fell back against my bed. She was the sexiest woman alive, and I couldn't get enough of her. I was kissing down her collar bone her dress was already up around her waist when her phone vibrated from under her bra. I pulled back and laughed. "Really?" I questioned with an arched eyebrow. I pulled her phone out to see who was calling. "It's Rachel, you should take it."

Of course, I didn't actually want her to take it, but it could be anything. If it was about Beth then that was more important than anything. "Hey, Rach…what? Where? Did you call the police?" That put me on high alert. What was going on? "Rachel I don't care if no one is there! Call the police!" I rushed out of my room, opened my safe and pulled out my gun, holster and badge. As I rushed back into the room, Quinn was fixing her clothes and still talking on the phone. She covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "Someone broke into Rachel's house." I nodded and sent a text to Buddy asking if he could meet me at Rachel's address.

"Is she injured? Tell her get someone to come over and stay with her until we get there." I told Quinn. We headed out towards my car, Quinn was still on her phone and I reached into the glove compartment to pull out my police siren light and stuck it on the top of my car as we sped through the city.

"She said she's missing a few things, memorabilia from a couple of shows." Quinn told me as I pulled into a spot on the street by Rachel apartment. A police officer was already waiting at the door downstairs and I was thankful that someone was already there with Rachel. I flashed my badge and grabbed Quinn's hand, I wasn't in the mood for all the questions about bringing her with me.

We made it to Rachel's apartment and Quinn immediately went over to comfort Rachel. Rachel wasn't crying or panicking so that was a good thing. "Hey, what do we have?" I asked patting Buddy's shoulder.

"Apparently the prick took some ofher keepsakes from her shows, and some of her undergarments." My eyes widened a little. This was anything but a basic robbery.

"Alright let me take a look around." I said. Buddy and I looked through the apartment, making sure Rachel didn't miss anything. "It's weird what the dude took though. I mean I'm thinking crazed fan or stalker." I told him truthfully. I eyed a teddy bear that was placed on a chair in the corner of her room. "All famous people are sort of strange." I said as I picked up the bear. This was not good timing for Rachel, she was shooting scenes for a TV movie tomorrow she didn't need to be stressed out right now.

"What's that?" Rachel asked. I looked at the bear and frowned.

"Um, a teddy bear." I replied.

"I know but…I've never seen it before." Rachel said as she reached out and took the bear out of her hands. She shook her head and handed it back. Quinn walked into the room a moment later.

"Kurt and Blaine are begging for you to come over." Quinn said. "Does she still have to be here?" Quinn asked me.

"Um…did you get her statement?" I asked Buddy. He nodded. "This is just really weird." I said looking at the bear. I grabbed Buddy's pocket knife and flipped it open.

"Uh San, do I need to put you on psych watch?" He questioned. I rolled my eyes and cut open the bear, pulling out a small camera. "Um what the fuck?"

"It's a camera." I muttered. "Okay Buddy, do me a favor and take Rachel to Blaine and Kurt's apartment. Rachel you should pack enough for a few days just in case."

"Wait someone was spying on me?" Rachel questioned.

"Okay we don't know anything for sure. Whoever could've broken in might have just place it there. Buddy get a tech guy on this and take Rachel to her friends." The last thing I wanted was Rachel to be over thinking everything. She was safe and that was what truly mattered.

"Okay come on." Buddy said wrapping a protective arm around Rachel. Sure he could be such a moron sometimes but he was also a sweetheart. I waited until they left before I got down on my knees and started looking under Rachel's bed.

"Are you going to find who did this?" Quinn asked with a hint of worry in her voice. I couldn't answer definitively so I had to explain.

"It's not really my sort of case. I do homicide not robberies." I explained. "But right now I'm just trying to see if there are any more bugs hidden somewhere. There are a million more questions that I should've asked but I didn't think overwhelming her was a good idea." Quinn nodded.

"What are you doing here Lopez?" I looked up just in time to see Scotty McGuire walking into the room. He was one entitled asshole. His father was the ex-police commissioner that gave him his big name around here. I for one hated his guts, and I'm almost positive that he knew it. "Last I checked you were a _homicide _detective." He always seemed pretty bitter that I got the promotion over him, but it wasn't like robbery and being a part of the gang unit was a bad rep.

"The call was a personal one." I told him as I got to my feet and stood in front of him.

"I could tell by the way you're dressed." I could honestly just punch this guys face in and not feel bad about it at all. "So this one's personal, huh? You fucking the owner of this place?" I laughed because he was trying to get to me and although it was kind of working I was still a little more professional than him, even in my casual dress. "Well are you fucking her?" He asked eyeing Quinn with a smirk. I grabbed the front of his shirt and shoved him backwards, I felt like punching his lights out, but Quinn grabbed my arm before I could.

"I'm gonna wreak your face on day." I told him as I grabbed Quinn's hand and led her out of the room. "You should've let me punch him."

"And get fired, one of us needs a job." She said with a smile. "And as much as this all has been fun and exciting…I'm kinda shaking." She showed me her hand, which was indeed shaking. "This is too much drama for my little heart."

"Oh baby, I should get you home." I said wrapping my arm around her waist and giving Officer Byrd a quick nod as we left. As we walked towards my car I could feel the tension reemerge. "Is everything okay?"

"I was just thinking about how you only have one guest room." She confessed.

"Look there's no pressure." I assured her. "I cuddle, and there's also a couch. So seriously don't worry about that. Plus I don't know if I'd be comfortable doing that if Beth is a room over." I added.

"Who's _that_ loud?" Quinn questioned.

"You are!" I told her. "I mean if that's how you get with a little bit of grinding then-." She smacked my shoulder before I could continue. "Hey, I'm just being honest."

"You wanna get smacked again?" She asked playfully.

"Uh huh, maybe I kinda like it." She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me into the driver's seat while she went over to the other side. "Ready?" I asked her. She leaned over and gave me a quick peck on my lips.

"Yep." She said as she put on her seatbelt. "Hey! Put on your seatbelt too." She chastised.

"Yes, ma'am anything else?" I asked jokingly.

"Yea, can you use you siren so we can speed through traffic?" She asked hopefully.

"I may be a badass but I'm not a troublemaker." I assured her just as we were driving off.

**I really didn't want to make them moving in together just some average asking and saying yes thing, I think it helped that Quinn was sort of backed against the wall but also that she wanted to go ahead with the move in. Also I realized I've been neglecting Rachel, so she deserves a storyline too. Review. **


	18. Sky

**Thank you for all the reviews/favorites/follows, you guys are amazing. Things are starting to develop here, and I hope you guys will love it. Read and Review and most importantly enjoy. **

Santana's POV

"Do you want to go out with me tonight?" I asked Quinn who was lounging on her couch with boxes strewn everywhere across her house. Brittany was with Beth in the kitchen, showing her how to do this ridiculous dance move that I'd tried for a few minutes but then just quit and joined Quinn in here.

"Where to?" Quinn asked curiously. I finished wrapping Quinn's silverware in newspaper and put it in a box before tapping the box shut, and putting it on top of another one.

"Uh, I dunno if you'll really like it, that's why I'm a little worried about even asking." Quinn sat up and looked at me with curious eyes.

"Spending time with you, what's not to like? I mean if it's a cop bar or whatever, I don't care as long as Buddy doesn't hit on me when he gets drunk. That was a little weird last time." Quinn reminded me before she stood up and wrapped her arms around my neck. "What are you hiding?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No hiding, I just…I was going to hang out with some guys from my platoon, grabs some beers. I haven't seen them in awhile I guess." Joey had talked me into it, and truthfully, the only thing I wanted to do was back out. Seeing those guys would bring a lot of memories back, memories that I struggled to keep hidden.

"That kinda sounds like something you should be doing alone. I mean I don't want to impose on your whole group comradely and everything." Quinn looked sincere and I knew she was right. She wasn't trying to get out of this, she was just making sure that I had my space, and I needed space sometimes. But not right now.

"You wouldn't be imposing, most of the guys bring their girlfriends or wives, I just…I can't go without you there. It'll be too hard." I decided that right now, I didn't want to get into specifics, I just hoped that she'd understand where I was coming from. She smiled and gave me a quick peck on my lips.

"Of course I'll go, but I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt." She said as if it was some kind of warning. True, she never really did go out with me, wearing anything less than a dress, but now it was starting to get a little chilly and I completely understood why she was switching up her attire.

"You could wear a garbage bag for all I care." I assured her. "What time is the truck going to be here?" I asked.

"9 a.m. tomorrow, I tried to make today, but they were giving me such a hard time on the phone I couldn't even deal with it." Quinn shrugged and walked over and peaked into the kitchen. "They're still dancing." She said over her shoulder. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist looking into the kitchen to watch too. Brittany was doing a handstand while Beth looked up at her like she was an alien or something, complete and utter awe.

"You'd better not be teaching my baby to be a circus girl." Quinn told Brittany who did a roll and landed right on her feet with a grin.

"Maybe I'm teaching her to be a cheerleader." Brittany said winking at Quinn. "Or a ballerina, or one of those girls in music videos." Quinn wiggled out of my grasp and lifted Beth off the ground.

"Mom, how come you never talk about cheerleading?" Beth asked curiously. Brittany and I exchanged glances before sitting down at the kitchen table and waiting as patiently as Beth was, to hear Quinn's answer.

"Well…cheerleading was a long time ago, and a lot happened between all of that and now. I had fun, but it's never really on my mind that much." Quinn explained before kissing Beth's forehead and putting her back down. "Are you guys sure it's okay for me to head out now? I feel bad just leaving you on such short notice." Quinn said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"We'll be fine here, you know finishing the packing, watching TV, sneaking some ice cream." Beth's face lit up at the mention of ice cream. Quinn's phone began ringing in her pocket; it was the third time that'd happened since I'd been here. She shut it off and shoved it back into her pocket. "Is everything okay?" I asked her. "Is Puck bothering you?"

"No, no, it's fine." Quinn said with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing." I looked across the table at Brittany who was trying to be conspicuous about who she was texting but failing when Beth climbed up on her lap to see.

"I'll see you later though, after you check out those art venders?" Quinn nodded and kissed my cheek. "Do you want to meet me there, I've gotta make a quick stop at my place before I go to _The Barn_, you want the address?"

"Text it to me." Quinn said before grabbing her coat and tugging it on. "And if you get a chance to see who Brittany's texting tell me, I have a feeling it's mystery man." Brittany looked up from her phone and stuck out her tongue at Quinn. "Bye." I waved to Quinn as she headed to the front door and then I turned back towards Brittany and Beth.

"So when are we getting ice cream?" Beth asked immediately.

"I dunno, later probably." I told her. "So Beth, what do you to be when you're older? An artist like your mom?"

"Nope."

"What about an actress like Rachel, or a ballerina like Brittany?" I questioned.

"No." Beth said with a smile. "I wanna be a cop like you mom." I didn't know if I heard her correctly. I mean I was absolutely sure that I'd heard her wrong, until Brittany's facial expression assured me that I did not have a hearing problem. Beth had just called me _mom_, what was I supposed to do? "I'm gonna change into my play clothes." Beth exclaimed before she ran out of the room.

"W-what am I…" I didn't even know how I was supposed to respond. I had a feeling that I was supposed to do something. Should I tell Quinn? Should I call Quinn, should I talk to Beth, way too many questions were passing through my mind.

"She called you mom!" Brittany said as if I wasn't already aware of the fact.

"What do I do? This is bad."

"Or good, I mean you are around here a lot, and Quinn loves that Beth loves you, maybe Beth is just foreshadowing." Brittany suggested.

"Don't tell Quinn, I don't want her to think that somehow I'm scooting in too much on her life, that wouldn't be right." I explained. "It's just delicate, and I don't want to over impose, you know?"

"I get it you're-." My phone started ringing and I picked it up.

"Lopez." I said into the phone.

"Oh, I always forget you answer the phone like that. It's so cool. Anyhow, I was calling to see if you'd heard anything about the whole intruder situation." Rachel said into the other end of the phone.

"I don't know, McGuire's probably holding out on the intel, but I could check things out for you. You're still staying at Kurt and Blaine's right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for my new security system to be installed." Rachel told me.

"Okay great, is that it?" I asked.

"Look at you, over there trying to get off the phone so quickly. Do you have to get back to a certain someone?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Quinn's out actually, I'm just not one for talking on the phone that much." I told her truthfully. There was more too it, actually it used to be worse, I would avoid all conversation on the phone when I was younger. It was a real issue, especially when I was trying to get a job the summer before my senior year. I was such a wreak then, but it didn't get worse till a little later.

"Oh okay well then I'll let you go. Call me if something else comes up." I assured Rachel that I would before hanging up. When I put my phone back in my pocket I looked up and Brittany and she was smiling like a goofball my way.

"What?" I asked.

"You'd make a great mom, you know." I rolled my eyes and rested my head on the table. "Seriously, you're great with Beth. And you're sweet and kind when it comes to Quinn, as her best friend I completely and utterly want a happy ending for you two. And you know me, I'm never this sappy."

"As long as she's happy I'll do anything." I promised Brittany.

"Wow, talk about _princess _charming." Brittany nudged my arm.

"Hey now, what about you and your prince? Quinn's dying to know, it's hard to admit but I'm also incredibly curious. Are we going to find out who it is or what?" I asked.

"Soon." Brittany said with a smirk. "But until then you might want to talk to Beth about not calling you _mom_."

…

Quinn's POV

"You said you were going to wear jeans and a t-shirt." Santana said from in front of the bar. So I cheated a little and wore a sundress and a leather jacket, sue me. Sometimes I couldn't help myself when it came to looking nice for Santana, she did things to me, to my judgment.

"I slipped up." I said grabbing her hand and pulling her in for a kiss. "Are you nervous? I've never seen you nervous." Santana shrugged and looked down at her feet. "Okay I'm gonna stop giving you a hard time. Let's go inside."

To be fair, I wasn't expecting the cheers as soon as we walked in. I wasn't expecting four guys to lift Santana up and hug her like they thought they'd never see her again. I saw Joey right away, he waved me over as every single one of the 8 men that were sitting around the bar gave Santana a hug.

"They didn't think she'd show up, even when I told them she would." Joey said before handing me a beer. "Look at that, Rocky is about to cry." I turned around and saw a large African-American man with a shaved head and a rough around the edges look, holding onto Santana like he was never going to let her go. "He hasn't seen her in 7 years, he was with us for the first tour, but for the next two he was back here rehabbing his knee."

"What about these other guys?" I asked Joey.

"Andy, Pete and I have been with Santana on all three tours. Scooby, Chase, Buck, and Red were with us on our last tour together. We've all got roots in New York, Jersey and Connecticut, so it wasn't a big thing about coming here tonight." I took a sip of my beer, realizing that Joey was telling me more about Santana's past than Santana ever did. I was thankful for this insight, I was interested and curious. "Plus tonight's special." The guys finally let Santana go and she came over towards me with a beer in her hand.

"Wow what's her name, Lopez?" Rocky asked nudging Santana.

"I'm Quinn." I told him.

"Come on, how much did you have to pay her to go out with you?" Buck asked as he looped his arm around Santana's shoulders. "Because Lord knows she's too good for you."

"I guess I got lucky." Santana said with a smile. "But even if I didn't I could get any girl over you, that one crooked tooth of yours is gonna hold you back." The guys laughed and so did I, I never realized how good natured they would all be. Santana and I sat down, some of the guys stood though.

"I'm sure she acts all tough around you, but you should've seen her first day over there." Rocky said.

"Nah, not fair man, the first day is shit for all." Santana said.

"Lopez was just digging. Diggin all fucking day." Rocky stood up and pretended to dig. "Then at like 8, when it started getting dark, I started giving her a hard time about how she was trying to outshine us all. She called bullshit, and then when she finally finished and got in her foxhole bullets just started flying." Santana chuckled while Joey stood up dramatically.

"You should've seen Rocky, he jumped in that foxhole like his goddamn pants were on fire." Rocky nodded his head and gave me a smile.

"Santana was the only one who had all her gear and was ready to fire back." Rocky explained.

"Did you tell Quinn what we used to call you?" Joey asked Santana who shook her head no.

"O.R." Chase said with a small smile. "She was O.R. or _Crash_, you know like Ray 'Crash' Corrigan. He's a cowboy, fearless and everything." Chase explained.

"What does O.R. stand for?" I asked Santana.

"Old Reliable." Santana said shaking her head. "I hated that damn nickname."

"You loved it come on." Chase said. "Better than Flash Gordon." I nudged Santana and she tried not to laugh.

"Okay why on earth did they call you Flash Gordon?" I questioned. I was certain she didn't go around wearing gold trunks over tights, and I couldn't exactly imagine her being a blond, so the nickname had to come from something.

"Flash Gordon came back to life. They thought about calling me Jesus, but Red was offended." Santana explained. "I got shot once; they thought I was dead or whatever." I was concerned, was that where that wound on her stomach came from? I had always assumed it happened stateside, I didn't even think to ask about it.

"So...let's go outside come on." Joey said. Everyone finished off their beers, and then grabbed another before we went towards the back of the bar. Joey exited first, and then the rest of the guys, I grabbed onto Santana's hand and we walked out together.

"What are we doing back here?" I asked Santana as they all formed into a circle.

"Remembering someone." She said before kissing my forehead. "Guys I can't believe it's been three years, a lot has changed but my love for Skyler hasn't changed." Santana poured a little bit of her beer on the parking lot cement. "He was such a…cocky little fucker, I mean I hated his guts when I first met him. Then he ended up being my second half, he had to be, I trusted him with my life." The rest of the guys poured some of their beers on the ground.

"To Sky." They all said in unison.

"The only brother I've ever had." Santana said quietly. We had a moment of silence, a moment of silence for their fallen comrade, a moment of silence for someone I didn't even know. I still felt it though. I still felt the pain in Santana's heart just by the way she was looking at the ground. The guys slowly made their way back inside, Santana and I stood outside, her hand still gripping mine.

"Was he your best friend?" I asked quietly.

"More." Santana said with an almost bitter smile. "It's different over there, I trust Buddy with my life of course, but…with Sky it was different. He knew everything about me, my every motivation, my every facial expression, I can't explain it."

"I'm really sorry about your loss." I told her.

"Me too" She said as we began walking towards our cars. We tossed our beers and Santana made sure to walk me to my driver's side door. "I didn't bring you here to make you listen to my sob stories; I just wanted you to know about Sky. He was an important part of my life." I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you for telling me." I know she understood what this meant to me. I asked her to open up to me, to show me how much she did care about this relationship, and she was doing just that. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning, at your place…I'll be there with a big ass truck and Beth will probably be running around your place like a maniac." I told her.

"I love my little maniac." Santana said. "Have a safe drive, call me when you get home." I kissed her again and got into my car, driving straight home. As I pulled into my driveway I noticed an unfamiliar car in my driveway. Finally, I get to see Brittany's sweetheart. I parked and rushed inside, Brittany would be the type to throw a guy out the window just to avoid getting caught, but when I walked in Brittany was calmly having a laugh with the other person in the kitchen.

"Finally I caught you!" I shouted as I charged towards Brittany. When I made it into the kitchen I froze, I couldn't even breathe. This was not happening, this was worse than Puck showing up unannounced, this was worse than anything that I could even imagine. "Mom." I breathed out.

"Hi Quinn, honey, what's the deal with all of these boxes?"


	19. Be Honest

Quinn's POV

"Jesus mom, what on earth are you doing here?" I asked as I sat down at the kitchen table. Brittany made up some b.s. excuse to leave, I wish I could do the same, but there was no way my mom was going to let me out of her sight unless she got some answers. She sat down across from me and held onto my hand.

"That's how you greet your mother? I drive 8 hours to see you and that's what you're going to say to me." Clearly she saw nothing wrong with showing up uninvited, I figured that had to do with her upbringing. My mom was born in Birmingham, and deep down I could tell she always felt entitled, even after she divorced my dad she still felt the same way, I could tell because she kept his last name. She claimed it had something to do with the mortgage on her house, I think it had more to do with the perks she was still getting long after their divorce.

"Hi mom." She motioned for me to stay and I did. She was about to hug me when she paused mid-arm raise and sniffed my jacket and then my breath.

"You've been drinking." I didn't want to tell her that I'd hardly had that much to drink, and most of the smell probably came from Santana, and more specifically Santana's tongue. For some reason the taste of this certain vodka that she loves, always sticks on me after we kiss.

"I was out." I told her debating whether or not I could or should go into more detail. Now was as good a time as any to bring up Santana, my mom was already flustered and confused by all the boxes around her, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. How could I? My mom had no clue about what I'd done in college, and as far as she was concerned I've been with one guy, and that one guy is Puck.

"Honey." She began snapping her fingers in front of my face. "The boxes? You never said anything about the boxes."

"I'm moving." I covered her mouth with my hands so she wouldn't freak out and start yelling before I was even able to attempt to explain why. "And before you freak out, just listen. It's a financial thing, it'll be fine, I'm moving in with someone for awhile." She held her tongue but I'm sure she'll have more to say about it in the morning. "Don't you call or text before you-." And then I thought about all those calls I'd been getting recently from my mom and sighed louder than I needed to. "Crap."

"I tried to make it to Beth's birthday party, but Brittany, like the angel that she is sent me photos. And Rachel talked my ear off about how much Beth enjoyed her party." I smiled because although my mom can be completely wrapped up in her own world at times, she always had room for Beth and me.

"You should've seen her, my little one is growing more and more everyday." I told her with a smile.

"You're not telling me something." I chuckled and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Mom, where are you staying? I mean after tonight you'll need a hotel, and I don't want to have this conversation right now, I don't want to wake Beth." I told her trying to avoid the awkwardness all together.

"Are you seeing someone? Because I don't mind I just…Quinn, honey-."

"Tomorrow morning the moving truck will be here at 9, Beth will be restless so you two should have some family time together. I know she'll want you to take her to the park or something." I said as I peeled off my shoes and set them by the door.

"Well if you're going to avoid all my questions, then I guess you'll answer them tomorrow." She was more persistent than I was at times, and I didn't know whether I could truly be annoyed by it. "How's work been going? Can you at least tell me that?"

"I quit." I said trying to eliminate all the hidden worry that I hide behind those words.

"You what?"

"Quit, I quit a little while ago." My mom looked disappointed in me, but I didn't have to justify everything to her. "Art is what I want to do, so I'll do it."

"Your father-."

"Is a bastard, and if you dare say anything else about him in this house then you can find a hotel for the night." She knew why I was angry, I'd been angry at that man for years now, 4 years and 9 months to be exact, I didn't like hearing about him.

"The problem is that you two haven't talked." I shook my head no.

"That's not the problem. The problem is that he's a son of a bitch, and I couldn't care less if I never saw him again." I told her.

"You don't mean that-."

"Don't I? You remember what he said to me? Or are you busy making excuses for him? You're divorced; you don't have to be his keeper anymore." She looked hurt, but I couldn't even bring myself to want to apologize to her. "Forget it, let's talk about you mom. How's business?"

"Good enough to allow me a 10 day vacation here." She said with a smile. "So who's this person you're moving in with? Just tell me if it's a man or a woman."

"A woman." I told her and she smiled. I smiled too, only it was because I was trying not to laugh at her excitement. "And you'll meet her tomorrow, and you'll love her, I swear, she's the greatest." I didn't want to give too much away, I wanted Santana to tell my mom what she wanted to tell her about the army or being a cop.

"Well then let's have dinner tomorrow night then, it'll be fun." I couldn't deny my mother that, I could see it in her eyes that she really just wanted to be a part of my life again. And I was sure that it would be a lot of fun, up until I told her that Santana and I were seeing one another, then things might change for the worse.

"Okay, I'll ask her if she wants to go out or stay in, she's an excellent cook." I informed my mom.

"I'm happy for you." My mom said.

"Are you-."

"Of course, more than happy. You have great friends here, Beth is doing amazing, and you look so pretty right now. I'm proud of you Quinn. I know I didn't say it enough when you were younger but I am. I truly am."

…

Santana's POV

I knocked on Quinn's front door and when an older woman, with blonde hair, greenish-hazel eyes, and distinctive Fabray features opened the door, I was awestruck. "Hi, come in." She said with a warm smile. I walked in and Brittany came up to me and gave me a hug without warning.

"That's Quinn's mom, she's visiting, make a damn good impression." Brittany pulled away and smiled. "Ms. Fabray-."

"Judy, my name is Judy Brittany honey, I've been telling you that since you were 14." Judy said with a laugh. "You'd think she'd get it by now." She said looking right at me. "You must be Santana, I had to figure it out through Beth who apparently calls you _Santa_?"

"Yes it's true, I like the nickname though. I'm Santana Lopez ma'am." I held out my hand for her to shake and she gave me a hug instead. Not that I minded being around so many free hugs, but I did want to see Quinn at some point.

"Quinn's so secretive about everything, so I guess I shouldn't have expected anything differently when she told me about you. Would you like to have diner tonight? Quinn says she wants you to choose if we go out or stay in at your place." I smiled, secretly that meant Quinn wanted me to cook, I've learned that by now.

"To be fair I can be somewhat of a mystery at time." I told her. "And having diner at my place would be fine, I'd love to cook for the Fabray woman." Just then Quinn walked into the house with the movers. She told them to start in Beth's room and they did so.

"Hey." She said as she walked over and stood by me.

"Hi." I said giving her a warm smile. She looked cute, not in the sense that she was even trying to, but her flannel shirt and beat up jeans with some paint marks on them, let me know that she'd been in her garage painting, and that was so damn cute. "You didn't tell me your mom was visiting."

"No dear, I came unannounced, that's what all good parents do." Judy said as she pointed towards the backroom and Quinn nodded. "I'm going to check on them." Brittany followed Judy and Beth ran from the kitchen and started to head towards her room until she saw me.

"Santa!" She ran over and wrapped her arms around my legs.

"Hi Beth, why don't you go find Brittany so you two can go outside and play on the front lawn." Beth did as I told her too, and pretty soon Quinn and I were alone in the living room.

"Don't be mad at me." Quinn said in that rushed tone of hers that she always spoke with when she was nervous.

"What should I be mad about?" I asked.

"My mom doesn't know that you and I are seeing each other." Quinn said with a grimace. "I feel awful, but I don't know how to approach it and I don't want to-."

"Quinn, you don't have to rush into telling her. I'm not mad at you either, trust me it's not easy coming out. And I don't want you to force it because you think there's some sort of pressure from me." I assured her. "I'm just upset that I won't be able to kiss you as much for the next couple of days."

"Shut up." Quinn said nudging my shoulder. "Okay, kiss me now."

"What?"

"Kiss me before my mom comes out here." Quinn grabbed the front of my shirt and pressed her lips to mine. She pulled back after a couple of seconds and pulled me to my feet. "We need rules."

"Rules for what?" I asked her curiously.

"My mom's going to be asking you a million questions, I want to make sure you won't be uncomfortable."

"It's okay, don't worry seriously." I assured her. "What does your mom like to eat? Pasta, pizza?"

"Ravioli is her favorite." Quinn told me.

"Ravioli it is then." I said with a grin.

…

"The Army? Wow that must have been tough." Judy said as we sat at the table and ate. I didn't know if I should be thankful or not that Beth wasn't here. Thankful because she wouldn't slip up and call me _mom_, but not because there were so many questions being asked that I could've an occasional distraction from the little girl.

"A times it was." I told her.

"Mom, she doesn't want to talk about that." Quinn said giving me a small smile. I could tell that she was trying to protect me from the barrage of questions, and I was thankful. "She can be a little too nosy." Quinn said as she rested her hand on my thigh.

"It's really alright." I assured them both.

"So you're from Ohio too though? Wouldn't it have been something if you had known Quinn back then?" Yeah it certainly would've been something, it probably would have changed everything. "You would've been a good influence on Quinn, I think. All the yes ma'am and no ma'am stuff, I really admire it."

"My dad was a Marine so I was raised around all that discipline stuff." I explained. "But Quinn and I wouldn't have been friends, she's too cool for me."

"Oh please." Quinn said with a laugh. "She always does this mom; she tries to make me feel bad about hypothetical things. Don't listen to her." Quinn assured Judy who only smiled in response. I could tell that she liked me, Brittany explained how Judy would act if she didn't like me, and I hadn't seen any of those signs.

"When will Beth be here?" Judy asked Quinn.

"About 20 minutes." Quinn replied.

"Well I'd better get going soon, you two have some more unpacking to do, and I'd better start cleaning up this stuff." Judy picked up our plates and walked them over to the sink where she started washing.

"Wait, you can't do that. I'll take care of the dishes." I told her.

"You cooked so I'll clean." Judy insisted.

"Mom, you'll never win this one, Santana's too noble." Quinn said. "I'm going to unpack some more clothes; you two can share the responsibility." And with that Quinn was off to my room. I walked over and rolled up my sleeves and began helping to wash the dishes.

"Joining the army and then becoming a cop, how did you get so brave?" Judy asked after awhile.

"No, I'm not brave. Not in the slightest, I joined the Army because I was afraid." I promised her.

"Quinn's seeing someone isn't she?" Judy asked quietly. I knew she expected an honest answer, and I knew if I said _no_ then she wouldn't believe me for a second. "You can tell me."

"Yes, she's seeing someone." Why didn't Quinn stay out here? I needed her as a buffer right now.

"That someone is you, isn't it?" I nearly dropped the plate I was holding on the floor as I looked at Judy in shock. How could she know? When did I slip up? How did I slip up?

"How did you-?"

"It's the way she looks at you." Judy said as she continued washing the dishes. "A mother just knows I guess, that's what they say in movies right? A mother knows best." I dried my hands and leaned against the counter for a second watching her, trying to figure out what I could say.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She questioned. "For what?" It felt like anger, the tension in the room just made me feel like she was angry, but she wasn't.

"It's a lot to take in, me being a woman, your daughter dating a woman."

"It's nothing, you two being together doesn't bother me. How could it? I've seen my baby girl cry too much, and if being with you lets her smile, then how on earth could I ever find anything wrong with that?" That's what I wanted to hear, that's what everyone who's ever been an outcast, wants to hear.

"I guess you couldn't." I said with a small smile.

"How did you two meet?" She said as she finished drying the plates.

"There was a fire at her house, there had been some break-ins in the area and I got called up to check things out. She was scared for Beth, that's probably when I realized I wanted to see her again. She called a little while later, thinking that someone had broken in, I just…I realized I liked her early on." I explained.

"When did you realize that you loved her?" My looked down the hallway to make sure that Quinn was still nowhere in sight. This wasn't the conversation I wanted to have, this meant being too honest about things.

"I never said that-."

"You didn't have to, you don't have to." She said as she grabbed my hands.

"It's too soon to feel that strongly." I explained.

"You believe in love at first sight, don't you?" Judy asked me.

"No."

"Be honest." She encouraged.

"Yes." I told her truthfully.

"You'll tell her when the time is right." She said squeezing my hands. "You're gorgeous." She said pushing my hair back behind my ear. "Has Quinn photographed you yet?"

"No, I haven't had the pleasure of seeing her work." I told her truthfully.

"Oh you must then." Judy let go of my hands. "Quinn honey come here!" Quinn came out of my bedroom and entered the kitchen with a beautiful hint of worry etched onto her face. "Quinn, promise me you'll do a portrait of Santana."

"Of course I will mom." Quinn said.

"You'd be a terrible girlfriend if you didn't." Judy said and Quinn looked to me as if to say _did I just hear that right_. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were dating Santana. If I was dating someone who looked like a model, I'd flaunt them around everywhere."

"Mom are you sure you're okay with this?" Quinn blurted out.

"Quinn dear, of course I am." Judy said before kissing Quinn on the forehead. "Now, I should get going." She gave me a hug before smiling at the both of us. "Call me when you want me to come and take Beth out somewhere." She said before leaving my apartment.

"So I guess I can kiss you whenever I want then, huh?" I asked.

"I guess you can."

**Review Please.**


	20. Love and Intuition

**Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions. And seriously guys, the lovely reviews make me so happy. I love Quinntana fans so much, you all rock. Enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

"How'd you sleep?" Santana asked me as she looked over at me from she spot she was laying on in the bed. She was so cute, this is the happiest I've felt in a long time, waking up next to her was a blessing.

"Shhh, let me just live in this moment before I have to wake up." I whispered as I pulled the covers over our heads. "What time is it?" I asked her.

"5:53, I know it's early, I'm sorry for waking you." She said as she pulled me closer to her body and kissed my nose. Her strong arms wrapped around me made me feel so warm and cozy; I thought that maybe I never really did want to get up. "I have to shower soon." She said.

"No you don't." I muttered, feeling myself drifting back into a deep sleep. Santana pressed a kiss to my lips and slid out from under the covers before I heard her walk off. I heard the shower come on a moment later. I decided that I did want to get up, so that I could make something for Santana to eat before she went to work.

I was no Iron Chef so an omelet would just have to do. Luckily by the time I was done cooking Santana came walking out of her bedroom, all dressed and drying her hair still. She looked, in layman's terms, hot, and I was not shy about checking her out. "Like what you see?" She joked as she eyed the omelet. "Aw you shouldn't have."

I put the omelet on a plate for her and handed her a fork. "Eat up, so when you grow up you can be strong." Santana laughed and took the plate and fork and started eating.

"When are you gonna start working today?" I felt like dying. She said working. Not painting, not doing my hobby, she said _working_. It seemed trivial and stupid, but for someone to validate my passion meant the world to me. I wanted to kiss her, I wanted to tell her that I loved her, I wanted this forever. "Because if you want to be alone while you work then I could come by after work and take Beth to the movies or something." She looked over at me and smiled. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have omelet on my chin?"

"Nope, you're just perfect and it makes me feel sentimental." I told her. "And no, why don't you come home right after and I'll cook-." Santana laughed as she finished her omelet. "What?"

"You're not a domesticated woman. You don't stay home and cook and clean, that's not how I want this to work." Santana's smile faded and I knew she was serious. "And that's not you."

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" I asked. It was something I'd been holding on to since the night I'd found out she was in the army. It was something I needed to know for my own sanity.

"Nothing is wrong." She promised. "Why? What vibe am I giving off?"

"No vibes, I just…wanna make sure you're okay about this. I mean you are a cop, charity is like in your job description. Along with helping the helpless and being handy with handcuffs." She smiled, I knew she was picking apart everything that I was saying, and I was hoping that she would. I didn't know how to get into this conversation without just blurting out something stupid.

"Is this about the bed situation?" She questioned and all I could do was nod. "Okay I'm going to be honest, is that alright?"

"Yeah it's sort of what I was hoping for." I told her truthfully.

"I like you too much to force things with you, and yeah I want to go further, I'd have to be an idiot not to, but if us sleeping in the same bed makes you feel uncomfortable then I'm moving to the couch." I grabbed onto her hand before she could get too headstrong or impulsive about anything she'd just said. "Quinn I'm serious-."

"You're being the best girlfriend on the planet, but that's not what I want. What I want is for you not to be afraid of touching me too much or going too far, because I moved in with you. We're in that place where you don't have to walk on eggshells around me; I'm comfortable if you are." The smile that graced her lips made it impossible for me not to kiss her. She pecked me on the lips twice and then a third time as she was standing up. She grabbed her gun and holster before she headed towards the door.

"I love you." She said before leaving the apartment. The door closed and I stood there in silence. She popped her head back in a second later. "No, I didn't mean…I meant like platonic…I mean I did mean it but…I should say it better…and I should go." She closed the door again, and still I stood there in silence.

…

So she loves me? What am I supposed to say to that? How do I react? I love her too, obviously, but am I supposed to wait for her to say it again before I respond. She didn't look ready to say it, it felt like a Freudian slip, but I know she meant it.

That was all that counted.

Right now, I just decided that since Beth was gone I should actually get to work. The tarp was already under me to protect the floor from paint, and the canvas was in front of me ready for me to paint, and I turned on some music so I could just relax.

That was a part of my problem before, I was too serious about art. I was afraid that I'd end up homeless with a child and they'd take Beth away, or worse give her to Puck. If I just relaxed and worked it would come naturally. The strokes didn't have to be even, or perfect, they just had to find themselves onto the canvas.

I heard the door open and I smiled. "Hey babe, you're home kinda…" I trailed off when I saw Sugar coming in. "Oh sorry, hi."

"Hey, it's my fault I forgot that you were here, sorry." Sugar said as she looked over my shoulder at my artwork so far. "Impressive, who knew Santana would end up with Picasso." I grinned and went to the kitchen to wash off my hands so I could grab Sugar something to drink.

"So do you normally just come over here in the middle of the day?" I asked.

"Occasionally." She said with a shrug. "I mean…oh you're asking because you want to make sure there's nothing going on between Santana and I."

"I never said-."

"It's in the back of every woman's mind, trust me." Sugar said taking the glass of water that I handed to her. I sat down on the couch next to her. "Well I'm happy you're here actually."

"Me? Why?" I asked.

"I sort of need you to convince Santana to do something for me." I didn't like this, it made me slightly uncomfortable. I didn't exactly know the limits of their friendship, to be frank I didn't actually ask, so if there was something hidden in their past I wanted Santana to bring it up, not Sugar.

"What is it?"

"I'm flying to Ohio in about a week, to visit my parents, and I want Santana to come, but I know she'll freak out about it if I ask. I know, it's not fair for me to ask you, and I know that it's weird, but I really need this and I think she does too." Sugar said keeping her eyes on the coffee table in front of us. "She's stubborn."

"Trust me I know."

"And she's avoiding it-."

"Avoiding what? I'm confused, I feel like you both know so much about each other but I know nothing." I didn't mean to come off as frustrated but I did. "It's just I want…I need Santana to give her everything to me, because I can feel myself giving my everything to her."

"Then come with her, bring your daughter too, if Santana actually faces what happened then she'll feel more inclined to open up." Sugar said. "She's just complicated you know, everyone has secrets, and everyone has a past."

…

Santana's POV

I knocked on the front door of the 8th apartment that Buddy and I had gone to, still no answers, still no one willing to talk. "This is a bust, when do we call the Marshals?" I asked him.

"When we're dead, I'm not giving this case to anyone else." Buddy said as we walked back down the hallway. "You know how things are, after a shooting people close their blinds and hope we don't come knocking. But it happened in that alleyway at 11 pm, if no one saw anything then I'll fucking quit this job." We got onto the elevator and pressed the bottom floor button.

"The kid was 14, what the hell kind of world do we live in?" I questioned as we reached the bottom floor.

"The funeral's tomorrow, I'm thinking maybe our perp is sympathetic and might make a guest appearance." Buddy said. "But I mean you don't have to go."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because I think you've been to enough funerals in your lifetime." I didn't know how to respond to that so I didn't. As we were leaving the building, I noticed a doorman standing out front. I didn't recognize him, which meant we didn't speak to him on the way in.

"Did we talk to that guy?" I questioned as we reached the exit. Buddy shook his head no and I took that as my cue to approach the guy. "Hey, man let's talk for a second."

"I have a job to do, I can't talk for long." The man said as he continued to look out towards the street.

"Saturday night did you hear anything weird, see a kid leave at around 10?" Buddy asked.

"I saw Jonathan leave at around 10:50, he looked like he was looking for trouble. You know how it is, kids at that age, fucking around with the wrong guys." I nodded making a mental note of everything he said.

"Yeah I get it, so I guess you heard the gunshot then?" I asked.

"Yeah like 10 minutes later, but I was inside by then, I didn't want to run out there the shooter could've still been around." I nodded and glanced over at Buddy.

"How long have you been working here?" I asked him.

"5 years." He said with a smile.

"Have a good day Mr…" I waited for him to fill in the blank.

"Marcus, Marcus Green." Buddy and I both gave him nods before heading across the street.

"He's lying." I told Buddy as I put my hand on my gun. "We're going to walk back like we forgot something and then arrest him, okay?" Buddy didn't question it he just followed my lead. "Hey sorry Marcus, I left my notepad inside." I waited for Marcus to open the door before I slammed my weight into him and pushed him onto the ground. We had him cuffed and standing in what seemed to be an instant. "Marcus Green you're under arrest for murder."

"Wait, how'd you even know it was him?" Buddy asked curiously.

"His uniform, it says _Monte Park Apartments_, but this place is called _Mount Park_, and the time that he said Jonathan left was off. Plus, Marcus here said he'd been working here for 5 years, except it's only been open for 3." I shrugged like it was no big deal. "Any rookie would've caught it." I joked giving him a wink. "And…" I bent down, pulled the gun out of an ankle holster, and showed it to Buddy. "And this is a .38 caliber special, the same gun used to kill Jonathan." Buddy's mouth hung open as I took the fugitive away.

…

I walked into my apartment expecting Quinn to either be busy working or watching TV, what I didn't expect was for her and Sugar to be sitting on my couch laughing away ignoring the fact that I even came home. "This is beyond weird, like some strange alternate reality." I said as I walked over and slumped down in between them. "Hi." I said kissing Quinn's cheek before I gave Sugar a smile.

"You look like shit." Leave it to Sugar to bring all the honesty she had and dump it right there on the table.

"She looks sexy." Quinn corrected. "So Sugar and I were talking…" Quinn started and from that moment on, I knew I was in trouble.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to need a drink?" I asked. "I mean I just caught a murderer, can we talk about that instead?" Both Sugar and Quinn grabbed my hands simultaneously and looked at me. I felt like I needed to leave, to get some fresh air. If Quinn and Sugar talked, and they then wanted to talk to me, I think I knew what this was about.

And I couldn't handle it now. I stood up and opened the refrigerator, and for some reason my mind went back to the war.

_Flashback:_

"_You scared? They said we're supposed to be scared." I looked up and smiled at the clean cut and clean shaven guy standing in front of me. We were on a bus that was taking us straight from training camp to an airport and from there overseas. _

"_A little." I moved my bag so he could slide into the seat next to me._

"_So what are you getting away from?" He asked, I laughed because no one asked things like that, especially not to me. They figured because I was a girl, I didn't want to be in the war for the same reasons as them. "Family? Friends?"_

"_A little of both, you?" _

"_I read this book once, it's called _A Rumor of War_ and it was deep, I'm telling you deep as shit, but I came away feeling like if I didn't strap my boots and get out in the war then anything I wrote would be useless. I'm not trying to be a hero, just a writer." I could tell it was something personal, something he'd probably never tell the other guys._

"_Can I be honest?" I asked him._

"_Yeah."_

"_That's the dumbest fucking shit I've ever heard." He smiled and held out his hand._

"_My name's Skylar." His grin was crooked and goofy, and his buzz cut made him look like a boy who was lost and found his way into a uniform. He wasn't hardened or stupid like most of the guys around us. He wasn't cold, or dethatched or excited, he was just Skylar. _

"_I'm Santana."_

"_Do you have siblings?" He asked._

"_None…you?"_

"_Yeah I have one."_

_End Flashback._

"Why didn't you tell me?" I had no idea how I ended up in my bedroom, or why Quinn had followed me. Sugar was probably sitting out on the couch, worried and confused as to why I always just distanced myself from her when it looked like things would get hard. "You could've told me."

"And say what? That I met Sugar my first time on leave and we became best friends. Should I have told you that I promised her I would keep her brother safe? Or maybe I should've added that even now after these years I can barely look at her because all I can think of was how I watched her brother die and I couldn't do a thing about it?" It was stupid of me to attack Quinn, but I didn't know what else to do. How was I supposed to deal with this? How could I when I put it off for so damn long.

"You didn't have to hide that, not from me." She said. "Sugar wants us to go to Ohio to see her parents, they're having a vigil for Skylar, and they've been asking to see you for years. Even if you're afraid or ashamed or scared of what happened, that doesn't mean you can't help this people." Her hand felt cold against my cheek, and I sat down on my bed running my hands through my hair because I was far from ready to face this. "Do it for Sklyar, do it for Sugar, hell do it for me, I don't care as long as you go and visit them."

"I met them once you know…on before our second tour, we joked about how they'd adopt me into their family once we came back for good because Sky and I were so close." I shut my eyes and shook my head. "I'll go." I promised Quinn. "I have to, they're family too." Quinn wrapped her arms around me like she would never let me go. I could hear Sugar get up and leave the apartment, her intuition was strong and she must have known that we would need some time. I lifted my covers and got under them with Quinn, I didn't care that I still had my shoes on, I didn't care that she was the one wrapping her arms around me and comforting me because I was supposed to be the strong one. I held onto her hands and kissed them until I felt like I was falling asleep.

"I love you." Quinn said into my ear, she didn't know if I heard, but the way her heart was beating, she hoped that I did.

**Next chapter even more will be revealed about Quinn and…Brittany. Also there's the possibility of another flashback, but I won't say for who. Review por favor.**


	21. Hide and Seek

**So this chapter is filled with a lot. Enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

I was sitting at Rachel's dinner table. Beth was on my lap, Rachel, and Santana where in front of the stove laughing about some cheesy joke that Rachel had just told. Santana and I were leaving with Sugar tomorrow. I noticed that Santana was a little apprehensive about driving, so Sugar offered, she said she didn't mind, and it would be better if she was busy the whole time.

Tonight was a family night, we decided that we wanted to go out to eat, but we didn't want to spend any money, so we just came over to Rachel's. It was a good idea considering Beth would be spending some time with Rachel for the next few days anyway. Beth was staying over here tonight anyway.

"Help San set the table." I told Beth who happily got off my lap and walked over to Santana. She wrapped her arms around my girlfriend's leg and squeezed until Santana looked down at her and laughed.

"What is it lil munchkin?" Santana asked with a smile.

"Mommy wants me to help set the table." Santana winked over at me and handed Beth four spoons and four forks and they walked over towards the table. Santana set the knives down, and Beth reached to put the forks and spoons in the right place. "Can we eat now?" Beth asked. While Beth was pestering Rachel about the food, Santana walked around the table, fixed all the forks and spoons, and put them in the right place. I smiled as I watched her.

"You always make a big deal about where all the forks and spoons go. What's with that?" I asked her. She sat down next to me and looked over her shoulder at Rachel and Beth.

"When I was younger my mom taught me this dumb song to learn how to set the table. It always had to be perfect so every time I set the table I think of that song." Now I was intrigued.

"How'd the song go?" I questioned.

"It was dumb, seriously, like embarrassingly dumb." I grabbed onto her hand and looked into her eyes. I wanted to know, and she was going to tell me. "Fine, it was like _everyone knows: To the left of the plate is where it goes. After that the knife and spoon: To the right of the plate, we'll be using soon. Last are napkins and a cup, now our table is set so let's eat up!_" I tried to hold back my laugh, but it was no use, I was doubled over in laughter before I knew it. And pretty soon Rachel was joining me. Santana's cheeks flushed red, and I leaned over and kissed her shoulder, but she still looked kind of embarrassed.

"Again, again, again!" Beth clapped as she climbed onto her seat.

"You actually have a pretty good voice." Rachel said once we'd finally stopped laughing.

"I used to be in my church's choir." Santana confessed. "You know what, I'm gonna stop talking now, just so I won't embarrass myself anymore."

"Babe, come on, that's not embarrassing, it's cute." I promised her. "I learn something new about you everyday." I told her as we passed around the vegetables. Santana was about to say something when there was a knock at Rachel's front door. Rachel had both her oven mitts on so Santana moved the napkin off her lap and placed it on the table, before she got up to get the door. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, and me, being nosy, had to check to see who she was greeting at the door.

"Hey Rachel, someone ordered you flowers." Santana shouted back towards the kitchen.

"Beth go get Rachel's vase, it's in her room." Beth went to the back of the apartment towards Rachel's room, and just as Rachel was removing her over mitts some strange tension washed over the room. I looked towards the front door and saw flowers discarded on the hardwood floor, and I was immediately confused. Santana was walking backwards towards the us, but her hands were raising slowly.

I was so naïve. It was because I was raised in this secluded area, a place where nothing was out of place, and everything was always okay. It wasn't until I saw the gun pressed against Santana's abdomen that I realized something was wrong.

I stood up, but I didn't know what to do. The man who was holding the gun had a hat on, it was covering half his face, but he was thin, and not much taller than Santana. My heart fell, and I was so scared that I couldn't even move.

"What do you…?" I could barley hear Santana talking, but I knew she was saying something to the man.

"Sit back down!" He commanded. His voice was louder than I'd expected, but Rachel and I did as we were told. We had no choice.

"Okay, what do you want? Money? You want money?" Santana was calm, but of course she was. She was terrifyingly brave, and here I was too terrified to do or say anything.

"No, not money. Rachel, honey, I came for you." The gears turned in all of our minds. This had to do with the break-in a few weeks ago, it had to do with the camera in the bear. This man, with the gun, was Rachel's stalker. And he meant business.

"Hey man, Rachel doesn't like guns you know. Why don't you put that away?" I was even more terrified when I remembered that Santana's gun was in her glove compartment.

"Mommy?" I could see Beth standing down the hallway with the vase in her hand. Santana turned around and spotted Beth too.

"Honey go back in Rachel's room, now please." I was surprised at how strong I sounded, considering how weak I felt. The man spotted Beth too and was about to walk back towards her when Santana stepped right in his path.

"_Segura. _Wait I-." He swiped at her head, hitting her with the butt of his gun. Santana fell to the ground, but with the way the man's face fell I knew Beth had done as she was told. I looked down at Santana, I was already starting to stand up when the gun was pointed at me. Santana must have been knocked out for a few moments because when she came too, she shook her head and slowly got back up to her feet. She stepped in between the gun and me.

"Rachel, come with me." He said. He was sweating, and he took off his hat and tossed it on the ground. I could see his green eyes brighten at the very sight of Rachel, and I felt sick to my stomach. This man couldn't tell that there was anything wrong here, and that meant he didn't care if he hurt any one of us.

"Rachel don't move." Santana commanded. Santana was bleeding, that hit on the head must have cut her pretty badly because the blood was dripping down her face. "We can make this work."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear you anymore, Rachel, come with me, okay? Let's make this easy." It was so quick I didn't even register what was happening. Santana grabbed his wrist and slammed him back against the wall, the gun fell to the ground and Santana kicked it back, well out of his reach. She head-butted him twice, and then punched him before wrapping him up into some sort of inescapable head and arm lock.

Rachel called the police, and I rushed into Rachel's bedroom to get Beth. She was hiding under the bed. "Honey, are you okay?" I asked her pulling her out and wrapping my arms around her.

"I'm fine, I went under the bed when Santa said _segura_, she told me that every time she says that then we start to play out game of hide and seek. So I had to hide." There were a lot of voices coming into the apartment now, and I picked up Beth and walked out. The man was gone, I'm assuming he'd been arrested by now. Santana was sitting on a chair while an Paramedic tended to her head wound. She was talking to Rachel and I walked out and rushed over to see how they were both doing.

"Beth needs to go to Brittany's Quinn, it'll freak me out too much to have her stay here." Rachel suggested.

"You both are going to stay there." I assured her. Beth hugged Rachel without warning and I looked over at Santana. "What were you thinking?" I asked her. I know she was being brave, but she was also being crazy. She could've just as easily been killed.

"I was thinking that if I didn't do something, this guy was going to start shooting. I could see it in his eyes, he wasn't worth talking too, there was no hope in calming him down. So I took him down." I looked at the crooked smile of the female Paramedic worker.

"Can I take over?" I asked the woman. She was only putting on a bandage, over the quick stitches that she'd given Santana.

"Um…"

"Just say yes, she's not gonna stop bothering you about it until you say yes." Santana told the woman, before she shrugged and handed me the bandage. I kissed Santana's forehead and smiled. "It's only my job you know."

"I know." I replied as I put on the bandage. "But…you were really brave, you know. And you saved us and…I love you." It wasn't the first time I'd said it, but it was the first time that I was certain that she could hear me. I could see Beth and Rachel out of the corner of my eye, both practically bursting at the seams from joy.

"Quinn…" Santana grabbed onto my hand. "I love you too."

…

Santana's POV

"Those stitches look ridiculous." Sugar told me as I put her suitcase into the trunk. Quinn laughed from where she was sitting in the front seat. She'd called shotgun two days ago, so I didn't really have a choice but to take my seat in the back. Sugar got into the driver's seat and Quinn turned around and smiled at me.

"She looks cute." Quinn defended.

"I can't believe someone pulled a gun on you guys. If I was there, that asshat would've had another thing coming." I rolled my eyes at Sugar, if she'd been there she would've screamed and hid under a table.

"Suddenly you're a tough guy, huh?" I asked her as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Sugar remember the rules." I told her after a while of driving. Sugar looked at me through the rearview mirror and made a funny face at me and I returned the favor with a funny face of my own.

"What are the rules?" Quinn asked.

"I have to pay attention to the road at all times and I'm only allowed to go five over the speed limit." Sugar recited.

"Good girl." I joked.

"You have rules for her?" Quinn asked turning in her seat and looking at me.

"Well I did promise Skylar that I'd keep her safe, so…I should probably keep up with that." I said with a shrug. "And besides I'd like to get there in one piece."

"But I get so bored on long drives." Sugar said with a humph.

About 6 hours in, Quinn turned around and looked at me. "San, can you call Brittany and make sure everything's going okay with Rachel and Beth. I'm worried that Rachel will drive her crazy and Beth will be in charge of the house in no time if Brittany let's Rachel get to her." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Brittany's phone number. The phone was picked up after the first ring.

"Hello?" That was definitely not Brittany. That was definitely not a woman. And I could be wrong, but I was almost certain that I recognized that voice right away.

"Mike?" I asked slowly.

"Uh…oh…wait, you didn't call here. You didn't hear me. In fact, I'm not even here. You called and no one picked up." It was Mike? Brittany's guy was Mike Chang? Who would've guessed.

"Okay give me a moment, I'm in shock." I told him. "Well, okay secrets safe with me, but could you just make sure the girls are okay? Thanks." I hung up only to find hazel eyes staring at me.

"Did Brittany answer?" She asked.

"Sorta." I lied.

"Why didn't we bring the little one?" Sugar asked Quinn sensing immediately that I needed an out.

"She hates long car rides. She'd get too restless and probably drive Santana crazy." Quinn said.

"Well what about when you go visit your parents?" I asked her.

"We don't." Quinn said, and I immediately knew that there was something more to that. Maybe we'd talk about it when we got there.

"So what's the story with that? Your mom visited, but your dad didn't." Of course Sugar would want to delve deeper into the story. I could tell she was trying to help me out because I, of course, was just as curious.

"They're divorced…I mean there was always tension between them…I guess I sort of brought it out. Well not just me, I'm pretty sure Beth played a big part in it too."

_Flashback:_

_This was the last place I wanted to be. Back at home with my parents, trying to pretend that everything was alright, when it so clearly wasn't. What was I going to do? Drop out? That was plausible, people did it all the time, although not usually in college, this kind of stuff happens to high school girls. 16 year old wannabes with no morals and no futures. Not me. _

_This sort of thing doesn't happen to me. _

_Puck and I could get married. He was a nice person. I mean girls marry nice people, that's the way things were, it's how people ended up stuck with only one hometown for their entire lives. I could marry him and not love him, that's what everyone did. _

_Or I could just get this all over with._

"_Hi mom." I said kissing her cheek as I walked into my house. I could smell the roast beef as soon as I walked into the house. My mom smiles and let me roam around for a few moments._

"_This visit is unexpected, but we're both happy you're here. It was a nice excuse to cook a great meal." She said helping me take off my coat. I sat down in the living room and looked around some more. No changes. Not since I left at 18. _

"_Where's…" My father walked into the room. Like always his whole presence was so bold that I stood up. I hadn't seen him in awhile, he was away on business during my last visit. "Dad." He gave me a hug, one of those hugs that let me know that I will always be his little girl. _

"_Quinn, I'm so happy you're here. Let's go in the kitchen, your mom made us a nice meal." I cringed. Maybe because I'd been puking up breakfast for the past two weeks, or maybe it was because I was so nervous, but I felt like time was ticking and I didn't have a lot of it left._

"_I think I need to tell you guys something first." They both looked at me. I didn't know how to say it. It wasn't like college had prepared me to tell my parents that I'd royally fucked up. "You should sit down."_

"_Oh God, what is it?" My father asked. _

"_You're going to be upset." I warned them, even though I had no idea to what magnitude. "Please just sit-."_

"_Quinn, tell us now." My father demanded. I looked down at the ground, I didn't have any options, I had to tell them. They were my family._

"_I'm pregnant." I said closing my eyes are the words came out. I didn't want to see their faces, I didn't want to see the anger, the disappointment. I could feel it in the air, I needed to leave, this was a terrible idea. "Mom, dad-."_

"_Shut up!" My father yelled. "We're going to the clinic tomorrow, and you're getting an abortion." I knew he'd be upset, I knew he'd yelled, but I'd never thought he'd even suggest something like that._

"_Excuse me?" I questioned hoping that in my deluded state, that I'd heard something wrong. _

"_An abortion. You-." He repeated._

"_No, you unbelievable prick. Fuck you." I snapped at him._

"_Out! Get out of my house!" I could see my mom just sitting there, she didn't say a word._

"_Fine, I'm gone." I told him. "And you know what, I'm gonna love this child, and I don't care what you think. Say goodbye now, because I'm never coming back."_

_End Flashback._

"…and I never did go back." Quinn finished with a shrug. I didn't know what to say, that was awful, I wanted to find the guy and kick his ass myself. Imagining a world without Beth is miserable.

"I'm so sorry." I told her.

"I'm stronger for it, not reason to be sorry." Quinn replied.

I guess we were so quiet, so into hearing Quinn's story that I didn't even realize that we were pulling up Sugar's parent's driveway. I looked at the house as Sugar and Quinn got out of the car to stretch. It'd been a long time since I'd been here. Things had changed…everything had changed.

"You coming?" Sugar asked me as she poked her head into the back seat.

"Yeah…just give me a second."

**Up next, we meet Sugar's family. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. **


	22. Blondes

**Okay so ErosEternaGlee, this short update is for you. This will be a two part chapter, the first part being Santana's POV and the second being Quinn's. Thank you all for reading, you guys are amazing.**

Santana's POV

I didn't know what to say. God what the hell was I supposed to say? The looked the same, Mr. and Mrs. Motta hadn't changed at all. They still smiled with their eyes, they still held onto me so tightly, I was certain they wouldn't let go. Mrs. Motta held onto me even after Mr. Motta let go, he was helping with the bags, meeting Quinn too I guess. This felt right, truly right, I knew I shouldn't have stayed away for this long, I knew I should've come back a long time ago.

"I'm so happy you're here Santana. So happy." She was crying, she wasn't sad, but she was crying. "Can we go for a walk, before we get inside?" I nodded my head and we started towards the sidewalk. I hope that Sugar was making Quinn feel welcome, I'm sure Mr. Motta was bombarding Quinn with questions, he was just that type of guy. "You stayed away for a long time." I nodded, I stayed away for too long.

"I wanted to come back, I just…it was tough." I knew I didn't have to explain myself. Mrs. Motta was kind and understanding, she knew Sky's death was hard on me. "And the funeral, I wouldn't make it three seconds. Thinking about this place, your home…it reminded me too much of him. I'm sorry."

"You took care of Sugar, helped her get a job and a nice place in New York, that means the world to me. We always asked for visits, we just wanted to see you, we missed you." I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked out towards the open fields surrounding us. We were in no man's land as far as I knew. It was quiet though, I liked that. "And look at you, the last time I saw you, you had shorter hair, and that bandage over her neck and now…what on earth happened to your face?" I'd completely forgotten about the cut above my left eye.

"Nothing, I'm clumsy." I said with a laugh. "No worries mama M."

"So who's the girl?" We'd managed to make it back to the front of her house. I could feel my cheeks heating up, and I didn't even mind. Just thinking about Quinn made the butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"Wanna go in and meet her?" I asked.

"I want you to first tell me who she is." She sounded just like my mom right now, and that wasn't such a bad thing. Even after all these years she was trying to look out for me. I couldn't exactly complain about that.

"Her name is Quinn; we've been dating for a couple of months." I said. "She's…perfect."

"Oh let's go inside so I can embarrass you." She grabbed onto my hand and pulled me up the steps and into the house. There was a fire going in their fireplace, the aroma of lasagna made my mouth start watering, and I could see Quinn sitting in the kitchen laughing along with Sugar and her father.

"Oh they're back." Mr. Motta said grabbing a chair for me. I pulled up next to Quinn and sat down. "We were just talking about you Santana." I looked at Quinn and grinned.

"Only bad things of course." She said as she rested her hand on my knee. "Your favorite singer is Bruce Springsteen, huh?" I looked over at Mr. Motta and laughed.

"Did he tell you that junk? It was a faze, all the army guys listened to him, and I sort of got caught up in the frenzy." I explained to Quinn, who hadn't stopped smiling since I walked in here. I could tell that she was just happy. Happy to be here with me, and happy to see me smile.

"So I'm going to get the bedrooms ready…um Santana and Quinn do you want separate beds or…?" And the blushing returned. Quinn's nose scrunched up adorably and I nearly choked I was so embarrassed.

"Mom, oh my god!" Sugar said. "They live together." Which of course meant that we were sleeping together, according to Sugar's rational.

"Well take one room, or whichever is easier for you." I told Mrs. Motta. Quinn looked at me and pushed my hair back behind my ear. "So Mr. Motta is the service tomorrow?" He nodded and pulled the food out of the oven. Sugar started setting the table while Quinn went to go wash her hands.

"So she's a beauty." Mr. Motta said.

"The prettiest woman alive." I replied with a smile. "I told her I loved her you know."

"You did?!" Sugar shouted.

"Oh you're really in for it, huh? That's a move for the long run." He said with a laugh. I grabbed the bottle of wine and opened it pour five glasses on the table, one for everyone. "Sky always knew you'd settle down eventually. He said you were a sucker for a pretty blonde."

"Bullshit." I said trying call his bluff. "When did he tell you that?"

"In a letter, he sent a million letters back home." Sugar told me. "We know just about everything about you, he talked about you a lot. We still have the letter if you want to see."

"Maybe later." I said as Quinn came back into the room. "Hey." I said as we sat down next to one another at the dinning table. "Guess what."

"What?" She asked.

"I love you." Sugar was nearly bursting at the seams and Quinn's smile grew infinitely. I wanted to tell her that I loved her everyday for the rest of my life.

_Flashback:_

"_Aren't you gonna help dig Lopez?" I looked up at Sky and laughed. God he was ridiculous, I'd been working through the day on building this outpost. It had gotten well above 100 degrees, and of course Sky would make a big deal about having to work at night when the sun wasn't beating down on his face. _

"_I put my work in earlier asshole." He laughed and dumped some dirt on my shoes. I shook them off and shoved him backwards._

"_Fight, fight, fight." Joey cheered as he walked by. I took off my boot and chucked it at him, but he caught it and threw it back. "Hey Lopez, I'm going to get something to eat, you know how those kids from my school have been sending me chocolate and stuff, want something?"_

"_No, I'm good." Joey walked off and Sky continued working._

"_So why didn't you tell me you were into girls? I had to find out this late in the game? So lame." He shook out his hair and took off his shirt._

"_Oh Jesus keep that thing on." He laughed and tossed his shirt over by me. "And yeah I didn't tell you I liked girls for two reasons. One it's none of your business and two it's none of your business." _

"_Hmm…redheads?" I looked up at him and smiled. "Wait no brunettes?" _

"_Come on." _

"_Blondes? You like blondes? Who would've guessed?" He said with a chuckle. "So do you have a girl back home?"_

"_Nope, no one." I told him truthfully._

"_You need someone to think about at night." He said._

"_You don't have a girl." I reminded him._

"_I've got Angelina Jolie. We can share her." Sky could be such a moron sometimes. But that's why we'd grown so close. We were in no man's land, a place no morals, a place with no rights, but we had each other._

_And then the bullets started flying. I grabbed Sky's arm and pulled him down on the ground. The rest of the unit was firing back already. My gun was about twenty feet away. From the sounds of it there were about four Taliban shooting at our outpost. "How far away is your gun?" He asked me._

"_Like a mile, wait I'll get it." I told him._

"_No, we'll wait it out." Sky said. Joey was shooting about 30 feet away, I realized that if we'd built this outpost effectively and in the right amount of time then we would've have plenty of cover, but right now all we had was a few sandbags piled on top of one another. "I'm not gonna let you get killed, not until you find yourself a cute little blonde to think about at night." I punched his shoulder and jumped up quickly. Dodging all of the bullets that were coming my way, I grabbed my gun and started firing back. _

_It was a short firefight, only about 4 minutes, and then things went quiet. "Let us sleep you assholes." Sky shouted. I walked over and gave Sky his shovel back._

"_I'm sleeping, you're digging."_

_End Flashback._


	23. Pictures

**Lopezfabray: I was never in the army, although technically at 18, I'm old enough to join. I used to watch a lot of Army movies when I was younger, and bits and pieces of Santana's back-story are actually real life events that happened to someone I know who was in the Army.**

**As I promised, hopefully these were quick enough updates. I know they're a bit shorter than the normal chapter, but enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

With a hot cup of tea in my hands I continued to pace around the Motta's living room. I couldn't keep my eyes off the photos scattered and framed all over the room. Obviously, the Motta's care deeply about their children, _cared_ in Skylar's case. I found one picture of Santana and Sky, it must have been taken overseas somewhere, they were young, I could tell. I assumed that was their first time over there, Santana looked so young, she was still just a kid in that picture. Sky had his arm around her and she was looking at him like he was crazy, from the few stories that I'd gotten, he kind of was.

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing. I put the cup of tea down and pulled out my phone, answering it. "Hello." I heard shuffling on the other end, a laugh and then more shuffling.

"Hi mommy." I smiled listening to Beth giggle on the other end.

"Hi honey, what's going on over there?" I asked her.

"Britt's trying to show Raybear how to do a dance move." I smiled because of course they'd be doing something involving dancing or singing, that was a fact without fail with them both. "I just wanted to say hi." God my little girl was growing up. "When are you gonna be back mommy, I miss you and Santa."

"Tomorrow night or the next morning, I'm not sure yet." I told her.

"Can I talk to Santa?" I took a peak into the kitchen and Santana and Sugar were telling a story about Skylar, and the last thing I wanted to do was interrupt their moment of closure. This whole trip was good for all of them.

"I'm sorry baby, but she's busy right now. I'll have her call you." I said.

"Okay." I could sense the disappointment in her voice.

"Or maybe we can _Skype _tomorrow night?" I suggested hoping that would cheer her up.

"Yes! Okay mommy, go have fun with Santa, tell her I said hi." Beth exclaimed into the phone. I smiled brighter than I should have, I guess it was the feeling of finally finding someone so amazing, that Beth loved so much too.

"Okay, bye sweetie, I love you."

"I love you too mommy." She hung up first and I put my phone back into my back pocket. I walked back over to the picture I was looking at and picked up my tea mug. Everything felt right, even though I was in a stranger's home, it still felt true and real.

"That's not the only picture of them." I turned around and Mrs. Motta was standing right behind me. "Come on, I'll show you." I followed her towards the back hallway. As we passed the kitchen Santana gave me a smile and I smiled back so naturally, that I realized that was just the reaction I had to seeing her.

We went into Mrs. Motta's closet and she pulled down a box, and walked over to her bed. I sat down on the other side of the box. "What's this?" I asked. She opened the box and dumped the contents on the bed.

Pictures, it seemed like hundreds of them. It took me a moment to realize it was pictures of Sky and Santana, well mostly of their surroundings and portraits of them both. The camera work was impressive, even to me, and I did this for a living. "These are from their three tours together, Sky would send them home."

"Did he take these?" I asked. She held up a picture of Sky in full uniform staring up at the space in front of him. I don't think I've ever seen something so stunning. He looked so scared, so full of potential, but scared. It was written all over his face.

"Santana did." That was certainly something that she never mentioned. She never once said anything about how talented she was with a camera. "She used to take hundreds of photos, and send back as many as she could." I continued to look through the photos. Some were beautiful, some humorous, but there was a group of photos that just broke my heart.

"I wish I would've known him." I didn't want to cross the line, but I thought she'd want to at least know that.

"Oh gosh, you would've loved him. He was a goofball, honest to goodness he'd play pranks on everyone. The only thing he was serious about was writing, that and keeping Santana safe." I smiled to myself. "He would've been happy."

"Hm?" I questioned hoping she would explain more.

"He would've been happy that you're with Santana." She said before wiping her eyes and trying to put on a strong face for me. "Um, were you talking to someone on the phone earlier?"

"Yeah, my…daughter."

"Oh you have a little girl?" She asked holding onto my hands. I didn't know if I should be in shock or not, I guess it had to do with the way my parents treated me when they first found out that I was pregnant. God I wish Mrs. Motta was there for me when I was still a scared college student. "How precious."

"She just turned four a little while ago, you should've seen Santana she was such a-."

"Santana was such a what?" I turned around and saw Santana slowly walking into the room. She stopped and looked down at the photographs. "Wow you kept them." She picked up the picture I was looking at, it was Sky aiming a gun right at the camera. "I made him take out the bullets before I took this, you know how he could be mama M, such a klutz."

"His father told him that the Army might reject him for being such a klutz, but they took him." I smiled and stood up, wrapping my arm around Santana's waist.

"I don't know about you guys but I am exhausted." Santana said and I nodded in agreement. Santana helped put the pictures up in the box, while I put the tea mug back in the dishwasher. When I was walking back to Mrs. Motta's room, I was intercepted by a cheerful Santana. She lifted me off my feet and carried me back to our room for the night. She laid me down gently on the bed and jumped beside me.

"You're happy." I said.

"I am." She replied. "I'm happy I'm here, and I'm happy you're here. There's nothing better than this." I started blushing, and I had no idea why, it was just the way she was looking at me. Just something about the way I loved her. "Stop being so cute." She demanded, so I pushed my hair in front of my face and she wrapped her arms around me, and started kissing my neck until I couldn't hold in my laughter.

"Santana, stop!" I said playfully when I felt her start trailing kisses down to my collarbone. "The door is open." I reminded her. She looked at me and grinned.

"So close it." I smacked her shoulder and she got up herself and closed it. She turned around and jumped back on the bed beside me. We didn't start kissing again, instead we both rested our chins against our palms with our elbows propping us up. "What are you thinking about?" I asked her after a long silence.

"You." She breathed out.

"What about me?" I asked.

"Your eyes mostly, your beautiful hair, your smile…your lips." I leaned in for a kiss but she covered my lips with her finger. "Quinn, I love you too much and I want you too badly to let you do that." I must have looked confused because she continued. "Our lips can't touch until it's time, because I won't be able to stop myself otherwise."

"Just one more?" I asked.

"One." She kissed me sweetly, but kept her hands on my face. "Or two." She whispered before our lips met again.

"Three?" I asked hopefully.

"Now you're just getting greedy." She said with a laugh. "Let's get our pj's on." She said. I playfully tossed my shoes at her, both hitting her in the leg. "Ow." She said even though I knew I wasn't even close to hurting her.

"By the way Beth wants us to Skype her tomorrow." I told her.

"Oh Skype date with my baby girl." Santana said as she pulled on her pajama pants.

"I thought I was your baby girl." I said with a slight pout.

"Oh you are." She said with a grin. "I just have two."

**Read and Review. **


	24. Goodbye

**I hope this update was quick enough. I hope you guys like it. **

Quinn's POV

I woke up at 5 am, Santana was still out cold, every night she did this thing where she'd wrap me up in her arms and rest her head on my stomach. Every single night, we woke up like this. I don't know what it was about it, but it made me feel safe. "San baby." I whispered in her ear, she rustled and slowly opened her eyes. "I gotta go shower." She pulled her arms back and sat up. "No go back to sleep, I didn't want to wake you."

"No, I'm up." She said wiping her eyes and stretching. "What time is it?" She said in between yawns.

"5." I said as I stood up and went into my suitcase to grab what I was going to wear. I could see Santana groan and fall back onto the bed. Ever since we started living together, we'd switched modes. I was now a morning person, driving coffee by six and showering early just so I could start painting. Santana was a night owl, showering at night, and having late night conversations with me, even while I was half asleep. "Go back to bed, I really didn't mean to wake you."

"No, it's fine." She rolled out of the bed and stood behind me. "Go on and shower, when you come out, you'll be able to see my uniform." I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Okay." I was already pulling off my clothes before I reached the bathroom. I'd been giving Santana such a hard time about never showing me her uniform and now I was going to be able to see it. I took about a 10 minute shower cutting my normal time in half, walking out into the room only wearing a towel, because clearly my excitement was getting the best of me.

Santana was just putting on her boots. Her eyes met mine, and a grin spread across her face. "You gonna wear clothes today?" She questioned. I walked over and felt the fabric of her uniform, every badge and medal, was place perfectly on her coat. Her hat fit perfectly on her head and when she stood there in front of me, I could see the pride still lingering in her eyes. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing, you just look so valiant." She rolled her eyes and rested her hands on my shoulders.

"Valiant, huh? Gosh, come on put some clothes on." It took me another ten minutes to get dressed and when I came out Santana wasn't in the room. I heard movement from the kitchen so I followed the sounds. Santana was sitting down with a cup of coffee in front of her and one in front of the seat next to her. "Two sugars, one French Vanilla cream, just the way you like it." I smiled and sit down next to her.

"You put hazelnut cream in yours right?" I asked her as I took my first sip.

"You know me so well." She held open her hand and I took it. "I think I am ready to say goodbye. You know I missed the funeral and everything, but…saying goodbye for real will be good for me." I nodded.

"It'll be easier to talk about him. It'll be easier to talk about everything." I reached up and tapped the top of Santana's hat. "My hero." She laughed and dipped her head down like she was some sort of bashful teenager.

"We've got a couple more hours, what are we gonna do?" I asked her playfully.

"Drink coffee…go for a walk…watch Netflix on my phone." She suggested.

"Oh can we watch _Psych_? Please, pretty please." Santana was already nodding and we snuck off back to our room.

…

The service was beautiful, everything was so sincere, and everything said was so genuine. Sugar cried, and so did Mr. and Mrs. Motta, but Santana stayed strong all the way through. I guess the fact that she was there with him when he died made things easier right now. The worst pain for her was over, and now it was just about letting it go.

We held hands as we headed back to Sugar's car. Our things were already packed and in the trunk, the only thing left right now, were goodbyes. The hugs were long, the good wishes we like we were family, and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to leave. "You two take care, feel free to come back anytime." Mrs. Motta said.

"Please don't be strangers; Sugar will take you if you ever want to return." Mr. Motta said.

"We'll be back." Santana promised before getting in the backseat, while I got in the passenger's side. Sugar was already in the front, the look on her face screamed of _parents please don't embarrass me_. The actual goodbye was hard, even for me, as we drove away I could see them walking back to their son's grave, even in the distance.

I couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child and I would never want to imagine it. "Oh shit shit shit." I muttered as I pulled out my phone. Santana snuck her head between the seats and smiled.

"Isn't she cute when she curses?" Santana asked Sugar.

"Adorable." Sugar replied. "What has you all riled up buttercup?"

"We've got to Skype Beth." I reminded Santana.

"Well get back here." I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed into the backseat, falling onto Santana's lap. I scooted over so we were sitting side by side. Santana took my phone out of my hands and opened up Skype. "Does she know we're calling? Should we Skype Britt or Rachel?"

"Britt." I told her. She put in the call and within a couple of seconds Brittany's face appeared on the screen.

"Hi guys." She said in that bubbly tone of hers.

"Hi B, uh we promised Beth we'd Skype her, is she around?" Brittany nodded her head and called out Beth's name. As soon as she mentioned that Santana and I were on the computer she rushed over and waved at us.

"Hi mommy, hi Santa! You guys are in the computer!" She said with a laugh. "How come Santa looks all businessy mommy?" Santana laughed and I nudged her shoulder.

"Cause she's wearing her official uniform, you'll see it when we get home." I explained.

"Can I wear your hat when you get back?" Beth asked Santana.

"Yes, of course little nugget. And tomorrow we can go to the movies and get ice cream." I looked over at Santana and smiled. She had such a way with Beth, it was so easy for her to charm my daughter. Even easier for her to charm me.

"Hold on there, when were you thinking about asking me if you guys could do all that?" I asked. Santana looked at Beth and then they both, simultaneously, assaulted me when a rampage of _pleads. _They got to me in a second and I was agreeing just a moment later. "Okay fine you guys win. But when you come back you're both cooking dinner for me."

"We can manage that right Beth?" Santana asked.

"Right Santa." Beth replied with a thumbs up. "If you guys are in the back then is Sugar driving?"

"Yes I am, and I can't wait to see you too Beth. You mom said we could go doll shopping next week." Sugar shouted from the front.

"Yay!" Beth exclaimed. Brittany returned to give us a warm smile.

"What are you _yaying_ about Beth?" Brittany asked. While Beth explained why she was so happy Santana tried to make me laugh. I was especially found of her fish impersonation, it always made Beth, and I giggle like two little girls.

"So Beth, what would you think of my hair if I got highlights? You know like an ombre sort of thing, maybe auburn or something lighter." I could hear Sugar squealing in front.

"That would be so cool; can I come with you when you go?" Beth asked.

"Yes ma'am. Maybe we'll see if we can make Quinn get highlights too." Santana said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh what color?" Brittany and Beth asked in unison.

"Pink." Santana replied. I smacked Santana's shoulder and was sure to tell Sugar to stop laughing so hard. "Well Britt…Beth…we should get going, I've got a 5 hour playlist on my iPod and I want to make sure I can sing all the way through it on this ride back." Beth and Brittany waved goodbye and Santana and I blew them kisses. It was safe to say that was the best Skype call I've ever had. "Uh-oh." Santana said.

"What?" I asked.

"You and I are in the backseat together, I dunno if I can keep my hands to myself." Santana could be the biggest flirt on the planet. She wasn't discrete just sexy.

"Well you'd better learn how to. If you guys start hooking up back there then I'll vomit." Sugar said while giving us glares through the rearview window.

"She's only joking." I assured Sugar. "Or at least I think so." I put my phone back into my pocket and started climbing back up into the front seat. On my way up Santana smacked my butt and I responded by throwing my shoe at her.

We drove the rest of the way listening to Santana's 80s music playlist, with Sugar and Santana singing, and me shoeless.

…

Santana's POV

The banging on the door was giving me a headache, and it'd only been going on for a couple of seconds. "Who is it?" Beth asked chasing after me. I made it to the door and opened it, smiling as soon as I saw Buddy standing there with his street clothes.

"What are you undercover?" I asked him.

"Funny." He said playfully before waving to Beth. "Where's your other girl?" I let him in and Quinn waved to him from behind her large canvas.

"She's in the zone so make this quick. What's up?" I asked him. He looked down at Beth who was holding onto my leg and smiling. It was obvious that this was some sort of private matter otherwise he would've just said it.

"Hey Beth, can you go grab some pretzels for Buddy, their his favorite." Beth nodded.

"Sure mama." I froze, so did Buddy, the real question was whether or not Quinn heard her. I turned around slowly and looked at Quinn, yep she definitely heard.

"Uh Buddy, call me later, I gotta take care of this." He protested but he was out of the door only a moment later. Beth came running back in the room with a bag of pretzels.

"Where did Buddy go?" She asked curiously.

"Um he had to run, Beth can you go back into your room. I have to talk to your mom for a moment." Beth nodded and ran off to her room, while I walked over towards the couch and sat down. Quinn got the hint and sat down next to me. "I guess we should talk about that." Quinn nodded.

"Just tell me one thing first, is that the first time she's called you that?" Our eyes met and she immediately knew. "Santana-!" I grabbed onto her shoulders before she blew up at me. I didn't want to fight, especially not about this.

"She said it once before. I didn't know what to do, there aren't rules for it I just…I told her not to say it anymore. I didn't want you to think that I was somehow replacing you, or like you weren't doing enough for her because you are. You're the perfect mom; you're her mom, not me." Quinn was nodding, I needed her to understand.

"I'm not mad I just…I wish you would've told me." I agreed I'd made a mistake by not telling her in the first place. "It is cute though, I mean that she calls you that."

"It makes me feel old." Quinn whack me on my thigh and I started cracking up. "I was kidding!" I insisted.

"Alright troublemaker, come with me." Quinn grabbed my hand and lifted me up, pulling me into my bedroom. "Beth, go play in your room." I could see out of the corner of my eye Beth heading into her room. Quinn pushed me down on the bed and I watched her move around the room.

"I like where this is going." Quinn laughed and went into her nightstand, pulling out her camera a second later. Quinn pulled her bandana out of her back pocket and looked at me and smiled.

"Come here." She said beckoning me over.

"I am here." I said playfully. Quinn walked over and tied the bandana around my eyes. "Whoa, I really do like where this is going." Quinn laughed and took a picture. She pulled me back up to my feet and spun me in a circle. Once. Twice. Three times.

I felt dizzy but balanced after awhile. "Where are you?" She asked. I could feel the click of her camera; she was taking pictures right now.

"In our room." I replied, trying to listen to her footsteps to see where she was.

"What are you doing?" She asked me. I smiled.

"Trying to figure out where you are." Another click, and then one more right next to my face.

"Why? Don't you trust me?" She asked quietly.

"Of course I do."

"So trust me then." I didn't know what she wanted me to do, pose, smile, not. She just kept taking pictures, occasionally touching me and kissing my neck and shoulders. I felt comfortable for some reason, maybe because this was her passion, and she was mine. "You're beautiful."

"So are you, if only I could see you." Quinn lifted the blindfold over my eyes and tossed it on the bed. "Are you gonna let me take a picture of you?" I asked.

"Maybe later." She said before giving me the quickest peck on the lips.

"Hey, no kissing." I told her.

"I'm a bad girl." She said before winking over her shoulder. "You love it."

**Tell me what you think. Remember my tumblr is: bacon-lauren-tamsin. **


	25. The First

**All I can say is enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

I walked into the police station, I got plenty of stares, I could feel them, but I didn't care. I was hear for Santana, not anyone else. "Hey Quinn, I haven't seen you around your house lately. I heard you moved in with Lopez." I looked at Mike and frowned.

"Why have you been around my house?" His face went flush, I was no Santana Lopez, but I could tell when something was up. Mike grabbed his files and tried to speed off down the hallway, but I grabbed the back of his jacket. "Whoa there cowboy, wanna clue me in?" He turned around and shook his head no.

"I thought she told you." The gears began to turn, slowly, but surely, and I didn't gasp until I'd figured it all out on my own.

"You're the mystery guy?!" Some of the other cops turned towards us and Mike tried to hush me. "Holy…wait you thought who told me? Brittany or Santana?" I questioned curiously.

"Both." Mike said cringing. "I made Santana promise not to say anything-."

"I know she's valiant and respectful as hell you don't have to explain. I'm just surprised that's all." I said before holding up the bag of food I'd brought for Santana. "Is my girl around?" Mike smiled and pointed towards the back, where I think the community kitchen was. I'd only been to the station twice before, and I didn't really get a chance to look around.

I walked down the hallway and leaned against the threshold of the door, I could see Santana sitting in front of a laptop watching surveillance videos with one of the uniformed guys. She looked busy and I figured we wouldn't really have time to eat together anyway, but that was alright.

I understood that she had a very important job to do

"Lopez, your wife is here." One of the guys shouted before winking my way, I could've smacked him, but these were a bunch of guys, I didn't expect anything else. There Santana was, in the middle of a boys club.

Santana looked up and gave me a smile. "I'm going on break." Santana got up from behind the laptop and walked over, kissing me on the cheek so she wouldn't get crap from the rest of the guys. "Hey, did you bring me lunch? You're such an angel." She said taking the bag out of my hands and peeking in.

"You look busy, I just wanted to drop this off for you-."

"No we're gonna eat together." Santana grabbed my hand and led me towards her office, which was one of the biggest in the building with two walls and two windows; her view was about 15 stories up and overlooked the busy street beneath us. "Did you finish working on that landscape piece?" She asked me as she searched her desk drawers for Styrofoam plates. I opened up the Chinese food and fixed our plates while she took off her jacket.

"Yep, that's why I came over here for lunch. I figured Chinese food might be a little better than that street vendor crap you're always eating." Santana smiled and took a bite of her eggroll; she knew I'd had her made.

"You're so mean to me, it hurts." She could be so dramatic at times. It was the cutest thing in the world.

"So that one guy who called me your _wife_, what's his story?" I asked.

"He's a jerk, always pissed off because he didn't make Sergeant, dude's been threatening to go federal for the past year, but it's not gonna happen. Don't pay him any mind, sometimes we'll get in there and talk about our girls or whatever." She seemed so nonchalant, but she had me curious now.

"What do you guys say about me?" I asked.

"Uh…stuff…" I reached across her desk and smacked her shoulder.

"You'd better tell me. San, it'll make me too nervous walking through here." I explained. "Do you talk about my body with them? Ew, ew, ewwie."

"Babe I just brag a little, I don't talk about your body though, I don't want any of them checking you out when you come in. That's my job." We finished up our meal, talking about our days, Santana was a little reserved, but that's typically how she was when she was in work mode. Once she'd cleaned up everything I walked over and closed Santana's door and her blinds. "Whatcha doin?"

"Nothin." I said playfully. I straddled Santana's hips like it was nothing, like it was something I'd done my whole life. She loved this, she loved exhilarating things, she loved excitement, she loved when I just went out on a limb. "So that whole no kissing thing, are we really going to stick to that?" Santana laughed, she knew I was pulling every one of her strings every which way. "Don't you want to kiss me?" I asked her.

"Of course I do, but I have self control." She assumed me.

"Do you?" I questioned.

"Do you wanna go out with me?" She asked her eyes traveling up my body until our eyes met. "I mean I know my laugh is goofy, and my eyes aren't as golden and perfect as yours, but…I'm not such a shabby date."

"I'd love to." I told her leaning in until our lips were so close they were daring. "Where are you taking me?"

"Out." She could be so frustrating at times. "I'll take you somewhere nice." She promised before kissing my forehead. "But until then I've got to get back to work, before the guys start talking about how I've had you in here for an hour with the blinds closed." I got up and kissed both her cheeks and her forehead.

"You just make sure no one messes with that cute face of yours." I touched the cut above Santana's eyebrow and smiled.. "I don't like when people mess with my merchandise." Santana grinned at my words and kissed my hand.

"Tonight at 8." She said.

…

The dinner was like something out of a fairytale. She laughed at everything I said. Her smile made me feel alive. I wondered how I'd gotten lucky, a stupid fire had made me lucky. To be here with the woman I love, it was perfect. "You're perfect." I told her, everything about her blush made it even more true.

"Don't tell me that, it'll get to my head. I'll start to think I'm invincible." She waved the waitress over and asked for the bill.

"Maybe you are." Santana looked at me skeptically. "You survived four tours overseas. You've survived the streets of New York. You survived that maniac in Rachel's apartment. You are invincible, like superwoman-."

"Stop." She said as she paid the bill. "No more talk about me. Hey how come Beth isn't with us? Did she not want to come?" Santana asked.

"She's with Kurt and Blaine for the night, they took her to the ballet and she's staying the night." I explained. "Come on, let's head back, you've got that really good wine back at your place."

"Our place." She corrected as she took my hand and we left the restaurant. We took the Subway back to her place, I had no idea if we'd be drinking and I didn't want to risk driving if we had. There was something in the air, something so surreal between us, she kept looking at me.

Kissing me with her touch, undressing me with her eyes. When we made it back to the apartment, she was so quiet, that I could barely breathe. "What are you thinking about?" I asked her as we both sipped wine and looked at one another like we'd just met tonight.

"Nothing." She said setting her glass down.

"That's not what your eyes are telling me." I stepped closer to her and rested my hands on either side of her body.

"What are my eyes telling you?" She questioned.

"That you want me." The kiss was gentle, it was more about need than want at this time. It was more about feel than touch, and when Santana pulled back and our eyes met, we both knew there was no turning back.

…

Santana's POV

Her skin was like honey, everything I touched, everything I tasted, forced me to go back for more. I was pressed back against the counter, and then she was, and then I was again. Our lips finding every bit of skin, our tongues touching and tasting every pour from the neck up.

It was her dress hitting the floor, in one fluid motion, as swift and smooth as a dancer. I couldn't keep my hand off her, I didn't care if I was being dominant, she liked that, the sounds she made, no, she loved it.

We made it to the bedroom, she shoved me down on the bed, for that moment when I could just look at her body, it was like heaven. She let me look. She unclasped her bra and let it fall to the ground, she pulled off her panties and tossed them behind her. I finally understood what those pictures meant. I finally understood why she blindfolded me that afternoon. It wasn't for art. It was for her. It was so that she could watch me feel my own vulnerability, it was so she could see me for who I really am. In this moment I was doing the same thing, there were no blindfolds or cameras, but it was exactly the same.

Every breath she took, took my breath away.

I pulled my shirt over my head, and I could see it from the moment she saw the scar, she was drawn to it. I laid down and let her fingers touch it, I didn't mind. "Did it hurt?" She asked quietly. "Were you afraid?"

"I didn't feel anything." I told her truthfully. I flipped our positions so that I was on top of her. "If I go too fast tell me, if I hurt you tell me, if I-."

"Santana." Quinn whispered against my lips. "I want you right now, don't stop, I just…want you." I trailed her until I couldn't tell the different between her heartbeat and mine, my hand moved down her body until I could feel the heat of her against my fingers. I pressed my lips against her neck, when I entered her she whimpered, I thought for sure I'd hurt her. "Keep going." It wasn't like this was her first time, but it was our first time.

We were gentle, we didn't rush, I loved feeling her move against my fingers, against my tongue, she was beautiful in everything she did. She was breathtaking when she climaxed.

Afterwards we laid there, tangled up in each other's arms. Quinn was silent, I needed her to say something. "Hey…" I kissed her shoulder and pushed her hair out of her face. "You okay?" I asked.

"God I feel like an idiot." My heart constricted, did I make a mistake? Did I push her too far. She sense the worry in my eyes and smiled. "I meant…I should've let you fuck me on our first date." We looked at one another and laughed.

"We made love, we didn't fuck." I corrected.

"I love when you say _fuck_, it's so sexy." She joked. "I'm tired…" She said with a yawn.

"Did I wear you out?" I asked and she nodded right away.

"I love it though, the thing with your tongue…" Her smile grew. "You're just as ambitious in the bedroom as you are outside." I loved when she got in her mode of saying everything that came to mind.

"I told you, you were a screamer though, you didn't believe me before. The ringing in my ears is the proof for that." She rolled her body against mine and cuddled up closer to me. "I love you, Quinn."

"I love you too." She fell asleep with her hand over my heart. I fell asleep when I was certain that she was, and I was certain that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her in my arms.

…

I woke up to the sound of music and footsteps coming in and out of my room. When I finally did stand up and throw on some pajama pants to match my tank top, I saw Beth peeking into the room, before running off.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth before I went after Beth, who as it turned out was hiding behind Quinn who was in the middle of editing some of her pictures in front of her laptop. This was the first time Beth had ever hid from me and I was most certainly curious as to why.

"What's wrong with Beth?" I asked Quinn.

"Oh I told her to stop checking in on you, cause if she kept doing that then you're turn into a big angry monster and bite her little toes off." Quinn was such a perpetrator sometimes. I sat down and held out my arms.

"Beth, your mom was just playing a trick on you. Your toes will always be safe in this house." Beth smiled and rushed over and tackled me to the ground.

"Mama, how come mommy tricked me?" I looked up at Quinn was hiding her smile at what Beth had just called me.

"Cause she's a meanie head." I replied. I looked over Beth's shoulder at Quinn who was flicking me off. I stuck out my tongue at her and I was about to take Beth's shoe and throw it at her, when there was a knock at the door. I lifted Beth up into my arms and we went over to see who it was.

When I opened the door, Sugar and Buddy were standing there. "Hi, who should we talk to first?" I asked Beth.

Sugar wasn't exactly willing to wait. "Me first cause I'm coming to talk to Quinn. But you owe me earplugs." She said before patting my cheek.

"Earplugs for what?" Beth asked curiously. I'm sure I was blushing right now, so I just sent Beth back to hang out with Sugar and Quinn. I hadn't seen Buddy in a couple of days, and here he was standing in my doorway, like he'd been before. His eyes spelled out trouble.

"Hey ladies, Buddy and I are going to go for a quick walk, we'll be back." I told them.

"And when we come back, I'm gonna show you some boxing moves little one." Buddy said waving bye to Beth. We went into the elevator in silence. Walked through the lobby in silence. It wasn't until we'd made it around the block that Buddy spoke again. "Quinn was glowing-."

"Buddy, what is it?" I knew it was serious, I couldn't wait any longer. "You're in your street clothes, you look like hell, and you've come to my place twice."

"Maybe we should go back to the station-." We stopped walking, I couldn't handle this.

"Why-?"

"Because someone could be watching." He looked paranoid, he looked like half of the guys overseas when we'd been stuck in shootouts for hours upon end. I didn't have my gun on me, and I felt completely useless. "When you were out of town this guy came into the station, he was bad news-."

"Did the cameras catch his, what did he look like? Did you bring him-."

"He was spewing threats, his hood covered his face, San…I dunno, he seemed crazy but serious. I'm in my street clothes because I've been watching your place for the past couple of days." I ran my fingers through my hair and checked my phone.

"I'm gonna make Quinn and Beth stay with Brittany." I told him. "And uh…I'll go out and find this guy-."

"That's not rational. San-." He grabbed my arm before I could try and figure everything out myself. "They'll stay with you, you've got a gun, and you're not gonna let some punk intimidate you. We'll find him."

"I'm gonna worry about them." I said as we headed back towards my place. "I'll take care of it."

"Hey, no." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "We'll take care of it. I've gotta protect my little sis." I shoved him away as we walked into my apartment. "Beth come on, let me show you how to throw an uppercut." Beth ran over towards Buddy and they stood in the middle of the room.

"Kick his ass Beth!" Sugar shouted.

Quinn and I laughed. I sat down next to her and took the computer from her. "What were you two talking about?" Quinn asked.

"It's secret police business." Sugar whispered.

"Yup." I said. I went on Google and searched Quinn's name. A bunch of pictures of her in a cheerleading uniform popped up. "Jesus, do you still have this uniform?" I asked. Sugar smacked the back of my head.

"You are such a perv." Sugar said.

"I was curious." I defended.

"Santana go away." Sugar said trying to pull me up to my feet, I didn' budge. "Quinn and I were talking."

"About me?" I asked Quinn.

"About you know…" Quinn said blushing.

"Well I was present for _that_, but I guess I'll have to go over there and show Beth how to break someone's nose." Quinn grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed me passionately, so intensely, that I could feel everyone's eyes on us.

"Ewwie!" Beth said from where she was standing.

"Yeah I know." I told Beth jokingly. "So gross."

**I hope you don't mind a little drama, the romance was alright wasn't it?**


	26. Naughty and Nice

**I know I skipped out on adding Thanksgiving to this story, but I hope you all don't mind. This takes place a couple of weeks after the last chapter. Enjoy.**

Santana's POV

"You're the cutest girl ever." I told Beth as we walked down the street and headed towards a jewelry store. We were going Christmas shopping, I really liked how things worked with all of us. Quinn and I went out last week to get all of Beth's presents and I had a blast shopping for toys and clothes for her, Quinn told me I was the best _mama_ ever. Beth, Quinn, and Sugar went shopping for me apparently, yesterday, I was curious about how that went; Beth was pretty good about keeping secrets from me, especially when Sugar had bribed her with cupcakes. I got Sugar a couple of things, mostly clothes, because that's her thing, but I also threw in tickets to see Madonna and Lady Gaga in concert, my hope is that she'll take Quinn with her, they've grown to be pretty fast friends over these couple of months.

Which brings me back to Beth and I, shopping for Quinn. "What about mommy? You always say she's cute too." Beth said like she was waiting for me to prove to her that she was the cutest little girl on the planet.

"She's cute, but you're cuter." I told Beth with a wink. "So what are we gonna get for mommy?" I asked Beth as we entered the store and took off our knit caps at the same time. In fact, Rachel had made our winter hats for us, mine was red with a puffball, and Beth's was blue with a puffball, and every time I went anywhere with Beth I'd make sure we were wearing them. It was sort of our thing.

"Let's buy everything." Beth suggested as she walked over to the glass showcases and looked inside.

"I wish I could." I told her, kneeling down at her side so we could look at all of the jewelry at the same level. "Oh that's pretty." I told Beth, pointing to a rose colored infinity heart diamond pendant.

"It's so pretty." Beth said with wide eyes.

"Would you like to see it up close?" A woman asked. She was a tall brunette, she had one of those smiles that was easy to read, and her eyes were a bright blue. I stood up and nodded, I was almost certain that this was what I wanted but I needed to be sure. The woman opened the glass case and pulled the necklace out, setting it down in front of me, she moved over to my side of the counter and looked at it with me. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"I love it." I said setting my hand down on the glass. Moments later I felt something against my hand, and I realized it was the sales woman's pinky touching mine. I pulled my hand back and looked down at Beth who was desperately trying to look at the necklace, but she was too short to see. "Here ya go little nugget." I lifted Beth up and held her in my arms so she could see.

"She's so cute, is she yours?" The woman asked, as if Beth's blonde hair and green eyes, and light skin wasn't enough of an indication.

"No, she's my girlfriend's daughter." I told her. I didn't like the fact that she was flirting with me, I didn't like it even more considering she was doing it right in front of Beth.

"Oh so she's just your friend?" The woman questioned, with a hint of hope still left in her voice.

"No, I'm dating her, that kind of girlfriend." I explained. "How much is this?" I asked referring to the necklace.

"For you?" She said with a smile. "Nine hundred."

"And I'll take this diamond oval cuff bracelet and this heart halo drop earrings, please." She seemed upset that I was so obviously ignoring her advances, but the commission would make up for it.

"Whoa Santa! You're getting mommy all that?" Beth asked as I set her back down on the ground. "What are you gonna get me? What about this?" Beth pointed to a thirty-seven thousand dollar pair of earrings. I laughed.

"Maybe when you're older." I told her as I paid for the gifts I'd gotten for Quinn. I too my bag from the cashier and we started towards the door. When we made it there, I stopped and kneeled down next to Beth. "So what are we forgetting?" I asked.

"Our hats!" Beth exclaimed, as she grabbed her hat and held it up, I grabbed mine and held it up too. "You put on mine and I'll put on yours." We traded hats and I put on Beth's nice and snug, when she put on mine she covered up my eyes. I could hear her giggling and poking my shoulder.

"Alright goofball, let's go home." I said as I fixed my hat, and we left the store.

…

"Listen I don't care if God himself asked me to work that day, I'm not spending Christmas working." I told Buddy. He and I were waiting on a suspect in an assault to leave his house.

"Fine, but we're on for Christmas Eve, the boss isn't gonna let you get out of that." Buddy assured me.

"Whatever." I said with a shrug.

"So tell me honestly, how much did you spend on Quinn? One thousand, fifteen hundred?" He was always so interested in my personal life, I was tempted to ask him if he had a life of his own.

"Don't give me shit." I commanded. "I spent sixty-five hundred." Buddy nearly chocked on air as he stared at me.

"Have you lost your damn-…god, you are so in love. And you've got it so bad for her, it's hilarious. Shit, when are you gonna marry her?" Buddy asked with a laugh. "I mean you're basically already married, you're living together, you take care of her kid, she's making you her bitch-."

"Fuck off." I told him.

"So how was she?" Buddy asked after a long silence.

"If you think I'm gonna tell you a thing about sleeping with my girlfriend then you've got another thing coming." I said.

"Bull-fucking-shit, you wanna brag about it, just go ahead." A smirk spread across my face, of course Buddy was right, but I didn't want him to know that right away. "You two only had sex once?"

"That's correct."

"So how was it stud? Come on, I'm dying for details."

"All you need to know is that she's loud as hell, like that was the sexiest thing, no joke. Honestly we can't do anything with Beth in the same apartment, Quinn will wake her up." I told him. "And she was so damn good, every time I look at her I just think…fuck I want her so badly."

"Damn Lopez, you hit the jackpot." Buddy said with a smile.

"Don't I know it." I replied.

"So what are you gonna do? The guys want you for SWAT, you gonna take the position?" Buddy questioned. "You can't do all the same things you use to. Not with two girls depending on you."

"I won't do SWAT, I'll tell them to shove it, it's too much and too dangerous. I don't know I was thinking of working the desk for a bit." Buddy wasn't happy, not in the slightest. "Look-."

"We haven't heard from the guy and we haven't seen him, maybe he just disappeared. Maybe it was just some prank to freak you out." Buddy suggested. It hurt that I knew he was wrong, dead wrong. "It's still messing you up inside, I can see it."

"I don't like surprises; I don't like waiting, overseas it was different. Overseas I knew that they'd attack everyday, and we'd fight it out, but around 3 in the morning they'd stop, we'd both sleep and rinse and repeat. I hate this kind of battle, how can I take this guy down if I don't even know who he is?" I was just frustrated that was obvious, but I knew I had a point. I needed this guy to do something, and soon, because I couldn't stand waiting for him to hurt me.

"I'll go around the clock, if that's what you need I'll do it-."

"I'm not gonna ask you to do that so shut the hell up and let's catch this tweaker, so we can move on." I opened my pack of gum and popped a piece into my mouth. I could feel Buddy's eyes on me. "What?"

"You're pretty hot, like I'd tap." He said with a laugh, I rolled my eyes at his crude behavior. "I just don't get if that means that Quinn and I have the same taste in women. Can I ask her-?"

"You can't ask her anything. Only I can ask her things." I told him. "Check it out there's our guy." I said pointing ahead at our prime suspect. "The building he just came out of is a fucking breeding ground for prostitution and drugs, let's get him."

"We don't have proof."

"Well get it."

…

Quinn's POV

"Beth wants to go on your set tomorrow." I told Rachel who was listening to some creepy opera music on her couch. She was laying down on her back with a glass of white wine in her hand. "I think she's bored with watching me paint when she comes home from preschool. And it's not exactly like she can check out where Santana works."

"Why not? I'm sure they've got tiny little bullet proof vests hanging around somewhere." Rachel was so unfunny when she was drunk.

"Why are you drinking white wine?" I asked her.

"Cause Emma, that's the woman I'm playing, drinks white wine all the time, and I'm trying to get into character. This one is more difficult for some reason; I mean how can I play a bitch?" Rachel questioned drearily.

"That shouldn't be too hard." I mumbled. "Anyhow have fun drowning in wine; I've got to get home." I told her.

"Wait why? I thought Santana doesn't come home for another hour." I nodded and pulled on my shoes. "So what's with? Why are you running out of here like your pants are on fire?"

"Because I…need to be home when Santana gets there." I said shyly.

"You two are so annoying." Rachel said as she took another sip of her wine. "And by annoying I mean cute obviously. Oh I get it."

"You get what?"

"Beth's sleeping at Sugar's place tonight, which leaves you and Santana conveniently alone, how romantic." Rachel said dramatically. "Well don't let me hold you up, get out of her and get your girl."

…

Santana hated surprises, but I think she'd like this. I stripped naked and pulled on my red winter coat on. I made myself a cup of hot chocolate and waited for Santana to come home. I remember college, what that was like, making mistake after mistake, mostly with Puck. There was no romance involved, it was just mindless sex, with Santana I wanted every time to be special, passionate, heated. It was a beautiful thing knowing that she wanted and needed me; it was never just about just one of us.

Then again, we've only slept together once.

I heard the key in the door, and I crossed my leg over the other, watching as Santana enter the room. Her gun was still holstered on her hip, and it took her a moment to notice me sitting there sipping my hot chocolate. "Hey, what are you doing up so late?" She asked before kissing my cheek. "And you're wearing a…coat."

"I was cold." I said playfully before standing up and leaning against the counter. "Wanna change that?"

"Yeah." Santana grabbed onto my hips and pulled me towards her, our lips connected a second later. She must have had a rough day because the way she was grabbing me, it was like she needed to feel something good. She craved me. "My gun." She whispered before taking off her holster and putting her gun above the refrigerator behind some boxes of cereal.

"Let's go to our room." I said, I went to grab her hand but she turned me around and pushed me against the counter. "Right here?" I asked she moved my hair to the left side of my shoulder, and trailed kisses all the way down my neck.

"Yeah right here." She breathed out. She wrapped her hands around my body and started undoing the buttons of my coat. When she pulled my coat off and tossed it on the floor, I could practically feel the air being pulled out of her body. "Forget Christmas, this is the best gift ever." Santana traced kisses down my spine and then back up, her hands found there way to my butt, she squeezed before smacking my backside hard, twice.

"You are so naughty." I told her, she slipped her hand around my hip and moved it down further until her fingers grazed my clit. "San…" I already felt weak in my knees and she'd hardly touched me. She sucked on my neck when she pushed one of her fingers inside me, and then another. "Holy shi…"

"Speechless huh?" She whispered as she moved her fingers in and out, her pace was determinately slow, and I knew she was doing that on purpose.

"I hate you." I whispered out, trying to move my hips against her fingers, but she had me pressed against the counter and I could hardly move.

"Tell me what you want." She said. "How about this?" I didn't know what was happening until I felt cool metal against my wrists. Something wrapping around my left wrist, and then my right, then the metal tightening. Handcuffs. I was gonna cum, right then and there, if Santana moved her fingers any faster or slower I was going to lose it right now.

"Faster." I told her. She was holding on to the cuffs with her right hand, while her left two fingers moved inside me. She was a goddess with her fingers and when she turned me around and lifted my leg over her shoulder I felt like I was going to scream. She ran her tongue up my thigh but stopped before kissing my stomach. I felt like she was touching me everywhere but where I needed to be touched. "I fucking hate when you tease me."

"I fucking love when you talk dirty." She didn't give me a warning, she ran her tongue though my folds, that was it, that was how long I lasted until I came. She held onto me though it all, and once I finally started to come down from my high, she uncuffed me.

"That was amazing." I told her as I wrapped my arms around her neck. "Also I can't walk." She laughed and swept me off my feet, like she'd done so many times before.

"So beautiful." She whispered as she laid me down on the bed. She stripped until she was wearing nothing but her undershirt and underwear. "You make this face after sex, it's like…all hazy and cute. Where's your camera?" She asked. I pointed to the nightstand and she pulled it out. She snapped a picture of me, even though I was naked and my eyes were half closed. "I'll call this one _Post Sex Haze_."

"That's what you do to me." I informed her.

"You excited for Christmas?" She asked me.

"So excited." I mumbled.

"Wanna know what I got you?" That woke me up quickly.

"What'd you get me? Huh? What'd I get?" I asked as I practically jumped on top of Santana, who didn't respond except by laughing.

"My lips are sealed." Santana said with a grin. "You'll just have to wait and see."

**What'd you think? Review please. Also if you're interested in Pezberry, Faberry, or Brittana I've got three other stories currently going on right now so check them out if you want. **

**My tumblr: bacon-lauren-tamsin**


	27. Christmas Day

**Christmas time. Enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

We had everyone over; I practically had to hold on to Beth at all times to keep her from running over to her presents. We told her the night before that we'd open up gifts after we had a very early dinner, with all of our guests, and she whined so much that I'm pretty sure Santana snuck her a present last night. Which only made Beth adore her more. At this point Beth is a little less infatuated with Santana, and by that I mean she doesn't latch onto her at all times, just most of the time, but right now Beth was sitting in Santana's lap, eating off her plate while Santana pretended not to notice.

I hated being this far away from them, but Santana insisted that I be at the head of the table. She made such a big deal about it that I had to agree. I really enjoy the company though, Blaine, Kurt, Rachel, Sam, and Buddy were all in a heated discussion about clothes, while Sugar, Mike, and I seemed to be talking more and more about art and economics.

Santana and Beth were in their own little world. It was so innocent, Santana was so perfect with her. I was so grateful for spending my Christmas here with her. There's no where else I'd rather be.

"Earth to Quinn." Sugar snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Hm?" I asked her.

"I have to hop my plane back to Ohio to see my parents tonight. Thank you for having me over." Sugar said standing up and hugging me. Buddy stood up too.

"I have work." He said before wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up off my feet. I laughed as he sat me back down and I could see Santana shaking her head out of the corner of my eye. "Take care of her." Buddy said as he looked at me sincerely. There were hugs all around, as everyone slowly but surely made their way to the door. Some were going to see family; Kurt and Blaine were going to see friends in Jersey.

As they got closer and closer to the door I could make out Beth pushing Sam out. "Get out! Get out! Get out!" Beth was yelling. Santana was nearly doubled over and I managed to make my way to Beth to get her to stop.

"Looks like someone wants their presents." Sam said with a wave. "I bid you ado Princess Beth." A very moments everyone was gone and Santana, Beth and I were alone. Santana headed for the table to clean it off.

"Hey! You said I could open presents once everyone left." Beth exclaimed like it was the law. Santana looked over at me and smiled.

"Okay, your wish is my command." Santana said as she and Beth went over to our Christmas tree. I followed them and sat down on the couch, while Beth grabbed her first presents. When Beth was younger she'd slowly take off the paper, but now she just rips it to shreds. With paper flying everywhere, and Beth yelling out every little doll and books and toy she got, today seemed like the most exciting day on earth.

Santana had out her phone, recording Beth and occasionally pointing her phone to me, everything about this day felt so perfect and sweet. "Open the next one Beth." I told my daughter, looking over her shoulder in delight as she a brand new pink helmet to match the bike Santana had gotten her for her birthday. "Santana open yours you dork." Santana set her phone down and got on the floor next to Beth, moving boxes until she found her present.

Santana was slow and meticulous about opening her gift, and I could see Beth mimicking her from where she was sitting. She unwrapped all the paper and she was left holding a framed 12x16 photo in her hands. It was a photo of her, the one of the pictures I'd taken of her when she was blindfolded, the day that I showed her what vulnerability truly feels like.

"It's beautiful." Santana said before she smiled. "I mean it's of me but it doesn't feel like it's me."

"It's because it's one of the few times when you weren't in control. It's surreal isn't it?" Santana nodded. Santana got up and kissed my cheek.

"I'm gonna put this in our room, hold on." Santana started heading towards the hallway. "Open your present Quinn." She said over her shoulder. Beth immediately stopped what she was doing, grabbed my gift and shoved it onto my lap. She was sitting there watching me with so much interest that I couldn't help but be excited about my gift.

I began unraveling the bow, and then peeling off the paper, when I saw that it was a velvet box underneath I just knew I was going to love it. Jewelry was my best friend. And then I opened the box and I was blown away. A rose colored necklace, an oval cuff bracelet, and heart drop earring. I felt like I was going to faint.

"Mama and I picked those out for you!" Beth was quick to say. I could hear Santana come back into the room, and I could feel her eyes on me.

"Like it?" Santana asked. I set the box aside and rush over, jumping into Santana's arms. I kissed her until I couldn't breathe anymore, and she looked just as happy as I did. She was the best girlfriend ever. "Beth picked those out for you, did you know that?"

"No I didn't." Beth said simply, not wanting to take any credit away from Santana.

"Well you were my moral support." Santana told Beth who seemed to like that role just fine. Beth was running low on presents, but she was still happily sorting through them, Santana had retired to the couch next to me, with her arm around my waist holding me closer. "I love you." She whispered in my ear. I smiled at her.

"I love you too." I whispered back with a goofy grin. Every time I said that I felt like a teenager in love, because that's what this love was. Passionate, and true, so riveting and untouchable I could hardly stand it. Santana kissed my forehead and stood up. "What are you doing?" I asked her.

"I forgot my dumb gloves in Sugar's apartment, I'll be right back." Santana jogged towards the door and went across the hall. I sat down on the floor next to Beth.

"How awesome is this Christmas, huh?" Beth stopped unwrapping gifts and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"The bestest Christmas ever!" She said with a smile. "Is Santana gonna stay with us forever?" Beth asked quietly like she was afraid of the answer.

"Why do you ask that, honey?" Beth looked up at me and shook her head like she was afraid of sharing what she was thinking. "Beth tell me."

"Sammy and I were watching a movie and…a policeman got killed. That won't happen to mama, right?"

"Of course not baby." I kissed her forehead. "Santana will be safe, she's be safe just for us."

…

Santana's POV

The box was a lot lighter than I thought it would be when I picked it up. I carried it to Sugar's door and peaked inside, I smiled at what I saw. Quinn and Beth were going to lose their minds. I walked back into my apartment, Beth and Quinn were both looking at me curiously and I walked over and sat the box down on the table. "I wanted to introduce you guys to someone." I reached into the box and pulled out a beagle puppy.

I don't know who screamed louder, Quinn or Beth, but I knew for sure their excitement could not be measured. I sat the puppy down and he ran right up to Beth, jumping on her lap and trying to tug at her shoelaces.

"Get outta here." Quinn said squealing. "You got us a puppy, I think I'm gonna hyperventilate." I wrapped my arms around Quinn's neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Merry Christmas."

"What's his name Santa?" Beth asked as she ruffled the pup's hair.

"As of right now, I've been calling him John Doe." I said with a laugh. Quinn nudged my shoulder.

"You are such a cop." Quinn said with a grin. "We'll vote on a name." Quinn suggested. We all got on the floor and played with _John Doe_, for what felt like hours. I've never been happier in my life. I've never wanted to spend my life with another other people than Beth and Quinn. They were my family now.

…

"I don't understand how you guys can eat ice cream in this weather." Quinn said as Beth and I were just digging into our cups of ice cream as we walked down the snowy streets of New York. Beth was wearing her new coat, I was wearing my new gloves, and Quinn was wearing her new scarf. Once we'd walked _John _and tucked him away comfortably in his new cage Beth, Quinn and I decided to take walk.

"Get in the spirit babe." I told Quinn as I grabbed onto her hand and pulled her closer to me. "You are so cute when you're grumpy."

"I am not grumpy!" Quinn exclaimed.

"Mommy just wants to cuddle with you." Beth told me.

"We can cuddle later." I told Quinn with a wink. "But I wanted to take you guys somewhere first. If that's okay with you." Quinn looked down at Beth who, in true Beth style, put on her puppy dog face and pleaded along with me.

"You guys will probably always get what you want." Quinn said even though I knew she wasn't in the least bit upset about that fact. "You guys should just go off and live happily ever after." Quinn joked.

"That's awesome cause Beth and I love fairytales." I said. Beth wholeheartedly agreed and I could practically see Beth's imagination running wild. Sometimes I snuck in Beth's room to read her bedtime stories really late at night. Quinn didn't know about it, sometimes I even read stories in Spanish, which Beth adored, it was our little secret.

"Where are we even going?" Quinn asked.

"Patience is a virtue Quinnie." Quinn looked over at me and I could see the red tint of her cheeks. Beth looked up at her mom and began laughing.

"Quinnie!" Beth exclaimed grabbing onto her mother's hand and laughing. I smiled at the sight. We finally made it to the building, the steps leading up to the front door were long, but Beth was so energetic that Quinn and I both managed to follow her lead.

"Okay seriously what on earth are we doing-…" Quinn didn't finish, I don't think she ever would. As soon as we stepped inside the building cheers erupted, all eyes were on Quinn, the art that surround us were each examples of what makes Quinn so talented. There were at least a hundred people here, more through the exhibit, I had no idea how many people would show up, I never dreamed there would be this many. "Oh my god." Quinn pulled off her hat and looked around. Photographs, paintings, some of her old sculptures she did in college, all mounted and framed. "You did this? For me?" Quinn was on the verge of tears, I knew she'd been talking about art shows for months, I knew that it was her ultimate goal. She just wanted to showcase her talent, and since I knew a few contacts around New York it was easy to get the right artists, buyers, and sellers, to come.

"I wanted to do something special for you." I said with a small smile. "Now you, don't pay attention to me, pretend I'm not even here. These people want to buy your art, so go around and sell it." Quinn was practically speechless. "Beth come with me, we're gonna go talk up mommy." I lifted Beth into my arms, and with a few looks over my shoulder, I watched Quinn as people rushed up to her, praising her artwork.

"You made mommy happy." Beth said as she pressed her finger to my cheek. I turned and looked at the girl in my arms. "When I grow up I wanna be just like you Santa."

"Like me how? Like a…" I pondered for a moment. "Like a brunette?"

"No silly, a cop. I wanna catch bad guys and be strong." Beth said.

"You don't wanna be an artist like your mommy?" I asked Beth.

"No art is too messy." Beth said. She started playfully hitting my cheeks and laughing. "Will you teach me how to save people? And help people?"

"Yes ma'am, but only if you let me play four square with your friends." Beth nodded enthusiastically. "It's a deal then."

…

"This was the best day of my life." Quinn said. I was in the middle of brushing my teeth, but I could see her laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She looked so perfect there on our bed. I finished my whole nightly routine and got on the bed next to her, wrapped her up in my arms and just holding her for a while.

"You were perfect tonight." I told her truthfully. "And babe, you sold like half of your stuff, you're making bank."

"I feel oddly validated." Quinn said with a smile. "And exhausted, mostly exhausted. Wanna sing me to sleep?" She asked with her eyes closed. She was slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Like _Silent Night_? Or…_Do They Know It's Christmas_?" I suggested, Quinn's only response was a laugh, and cuddling up closer to me. "Goodnight Quinnie." I said playfully.

"Goodnight Sanni." She said nudging my ribs.

"Ow!"

"Shut up that didn't hurt." Quinn chastised.

"Are you guys fighting?" Quinn and I sat up and looking towards the doorway. Beth was standing there in her princess onesie with _John Doe _standing at her side.

"No of course not." Quinn said. "We were playing around."

"Can _John _and I sleep in here?" Quinn and I exchanged glances and nodded. "Yes!" Beth lifted the puppy onto our bed and they both climbed towards us.

"One rule though, kisses before we go to bed." Quinn said. Beth kissed her mother first and then kissed my forehead. _John _managed to walk over and climb onto Quinn, laying down like she was the perfect bed. Beth and I laughed before cuddling up next to one another, drifting off to sleep.

All I could think about was that this was the best Christmas ever, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

**Review please. If you want a little sneak peak into the next chapter then PM me or ask me on tumblr: bacon-lauren-tamsin. Thanks. **


	28. Emily

**This chapter is about the reason Santana left Ohio for the Army. Enjoy and Review please. **

Quinn's POV

"You guys got a puppy?!" Brittany questioned from across the table. A smile formed on Santana's face before I even answered. With Sugar learning to ski with Sam and Blaine out in Colorado, Santana and I had spent most of the day in bed. It was perfect. Scratch that and make it _unbelievable_.

Making breakfast turned into sex on the couch, watching a movie turned into sex on the floor, by the time we made it to the actual bedroom Santana and I were almost too tired to do much else. Then Rachel called and ordered a girls night out, and we both felt obligated to go.

"Yep." I said with a grin. "A nameless puppy at this point though, we've just been calling him John Doe for the past two days. So if you have any name suggestions-."

"Barbra Streisand!" Rachel blurted out.

"We are not naming our dog Barbra Streisand, Rachel." Santana said shaking her head. "And besides our dog is a boy." I could see Brittany pondering for awhile, all of the gears turning in her head. "Brittany's gonna come up with something good." Santana whispered to me.

"How about _Snow_?" I was already in love with the name as soon as it came out of Brittany's mouth.

"She's a genius, I love that name. Do you like it Quinn?" Santana asked looking for reassurance from me. "Cause if you don't like it then I don't like it either."

"I love it." I assured her.

"You two are so sappy and cute." Rachel said with a smile. "I'm gonna ask my director friend if he'd be interested in making a documentary about the perfect lesbian couple."

"Also ask him if you'd be interested in fucking off." Santana and Brittany nearly spit out their beer and vodka respectively at my comment. Rachel raised her glass and drank the rest of her wine. "You need to get laid."

"Do you have anyone in mind?" Rachel asked with a curious glance.

"No." I said with a cringe.

"No." Brittany added.

"I might have someone in mind." Santana said, Rachel nearly spilled Santana's beer when she slammed her hand on the table in excitement. "Okay I think you've had enough of that." Santana reached across the table and grabbed Rachel's wine glass and beer.

"Who is it, you've got me all excited." Rachel said.

"His name is Andy, he graduated from Yale, he's a sergeant at our department. He's a really great guy, funny, charming, you know tall dark and handsome." Santana explained.

"He's a cop?" Rachel asked. "Cops scare me." Santana smiled.

"Do I scare you?" Santana asked playfully.

"Sometimes." Rachel said with a shrug. "But…since you're awesome and I'm desperate so I'll take you up on that offer. But he better be the type of guy to pay for a meal on a date cause I'm not wasting 50 bucks if he's an asshole."

"No worries Rachel." Santana said before taking a look at her watch. "Shit."

"Oh no, you've got to leave now?" Santana nodded. "You are gonna be okay, right?"

"One beer does nothing for me, don't worry Quinn." She kissed my bottom lip and then my top one, and then both before she started walking towards the door.

"No kiss for me?" Brittany shouted after her jokingly. Santana didn't respond but I could see her shaking her head on the way out of the bar. "She is so hot."

"Brittany drooling over my girlfriend is my job." I reminded her. "And today was…wow."

"You had sex all day didn't you?" I began nodding before Rachel even finished her sentence. "She's sweet to you, she takes care of Beth, and she performs in the bedroom. I just want you to call your dad up and just present her to him and tell him to go fuck himself."

"Rachel you are so drunk." I said with a laugh.

"Whatever." Rachel said laughing even more. "Can we go and see the puppy?" Rachel asked.

"Of course." I said looking over to Brittany to make sure it was okay.

"Shotgun!" Brittany exclaimed before running out of the bar, with us close behind.

…

Santana's POV

Tonight was going to suck. That was a fact. There was no way that I could've had such an amazing day without my night being a total mess. In fact it started off shitty, Buddy called off sick, and I was too lady to follow up on anything so I ended up riding around looking for trouble.

As it turned out, trouble wasn't so far away. I spotted him and it didn't feel real. He was standing outside of the cop bar. _My _bar, leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. I pulled up near the curb and got out of my car. I ran over, I didn't even think I was thinking at this point, I just acted.

I grabbed his shirt and shoved him up against the wall. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." He brushed me off. "Killer." He started walking away and there was nothing I could do except follow him. It was probably better this way, getting away from the other cops, walking down a deserted street.

"Ryan, what the hell?" I wanted to yell at him, but I also wanted to hug him. This wasn't supposed to be like this, this wasn't even supposed to happen ever. This was the reason I left Ohio, and now it was all crashing down on me. "You don't know what happened, you don't fucking know!"

"I know you killed her-."

"You asshole, that was you with the threats?" I asked.

"I had to get your attention somehow, it's not like I could call. Obviously once you left you left it all behind-."

"You weren't there! You don't know shit about what happened, and I'm so fucking sick of everyone trying to pretend like they understand. We were kids, I was a kid, and I had no control over it. I had no control over anything." I snapped. I grabbed on to him, tighter this time, he wasn't getting away. He had to hear this, he needed to.

_Flashback: Ohio 8 Years Ago_

"_Go inside." Dave had been prodding me all night. I felt lost, things were different for him. Yeah, he was weird and kinda a loser like me, but he was also on the football team, and that made him an exception. For me, there were no exceptions. I didn't have friends, it was just me and Dave and that's it. "Seriously, just go. Get a beer, drink it and _bam_ milestone." _

"_Dave I-I d-don't…" I didn't finish my sentence because Emily walked outside, she was holding a red cup in her right hand and waving goodbye to one of her friends. Just as she was about to go back inside she spotted Dave and I sitting outside on the grass. _

"_Hi." She said she sat down next to us and smiled. "It's too loud in there." I nodded because I didn't want to embarrass myself by talking. Sometimes the stuttering was okay, sometimes it got worse. _

"_I'm gonna go get you a drink." Dave said patting my shoulder. I either wanted to kill him or make a shrine dedicated to him, I was uncertain at this point, all I knew was that I was at a high school party sitting next to my high school crush. _

"_You and Dave aren't like a…thing?" Emily asked. _

"_Uh no, just best friends." I said. I wanted to do a back flip for getting those words out without stuttering like a freak. _

"_You don't drink do you?" She questioned and I shook my head no. "Take a sip of this." She offered up her red cup, which I took and held for a moment of inner deliberation. "Come on, there's a first time for everything." I took a quick sip of the drink and nearly gagged. "How'd you like it?"_

"_I might need some acid to rid myself of the taste." I said before laying down on the grass. _

"_You are adorable." She said as she laid down next to me. "Which is weird because you never talk to me at school."_

"_If I talked to you in s-school your friends would laugh at me." I felt like I needed to go home, really truly needed to just leave. High school crushes weren't supposed to actually talk to you, that made things too real. _

"_Do you do that a lot?'_

"_Hm?"_

"_Stutter…we've been going to school together for like 12 years and I've never noticed." I shrugged, stuttering was not something I enjoyed talking about. "Do you do it because you're nervous?"_

"_I guess, no one knows, it's one of Ohio's big mysteries." I joked._

"_Wait you only do it sometimes?" Why was she so interested in my stupid stutter? It didn't make any sense to me. And on top of that, I was going to kill Dave for setting me up, it doesn't take someone this long to get a drink. "Sorry, sometimes when I focus on something I become overly obsessed and talk to much…"_

"_So you're obsessed with me?" I asked playfully._

"_Yeah pretty much." She sat up and looked down at me. "You've got to get out of here."_

"_What? This party? Should I go? Is something bad going to happen?" I asked all too quickly, I was already reaching for my car keys but Emily grabbed my hand to stop me. _

"_No I meant this town…I'm saying you have to leave this town." It was so sincere I felt like I was dreaming. "It's shit…like it sucks so damn bad, and people like me we try and fit in and be popular and then once we graduate we end up stuck here forever. Rinse and repeat, it's such a shitty cycle."_

"_I don't know where to go." I said honestly._

"_Go to Morocco, go to New York, join the goddamn Army. Just get out of here, you don't deserve to be stuck." She leaned down kissing me, it was so unreal that I kept my eyes closed even after. "Open your eyes."_

"_Sorry." I whispered out before opening my eyes. She looked down at me and ran her thumb over my bottom lip. "Why did you do that? I mean what was that?"_

"_I don't know." She blushed. "Was that not okay? Shit, it wasn't okay, was it?" I sat up and looked at her. "Say something."_

"_I think I wanted to kiss you…and I know it felt okay…so that's it, that's all. No more thinking about it." _

"_Be cuter, I dare you." The front door to the house opened and slammed shut. We looked to see who it was. Austin Parker, in all of his douchebag glory. Dave was right behind him as he wobbled over towards us._

"_Let's get the fuck out of here." He was talking to Emily, like she was his property._

"_Go fuck yourself Austin." Emily said standing up. I followed suit._

"_Why don't you save me the trouble and fuck me then?" Emily rolled her eyes and started walking towards the street. I followed her, and it was like fate or something ridiculous pulled us all towards my car._

"_Can you take me home?" Emily asked me._

"_Yeah of course." I told her. Dave was already getting into the passenger's side seat, while Austin got into the back. "I don't know where he lives, he shouldn't come with us. Look at him, he's really drunk." Emily grabbed onto my hand and gave me a smile._

"_Don't worry I'll tell you where he lives, it's probably that he come with us rather than have some idiot let him drive home tonight." She was right, and I didn't really have much of a choice. She got into the backseat and I got into the driver's seat. I started up my car and began driving, turning on the radio because I was afraid my stutter would come out again, and I was too nervous to speak much now. "Did you have fun tonight Santana?" Dave looked over at me and covered his smile._

"_Yeah I uh…tonight was fun." I replied._

"_Go faster!" Austin yelled from the backseat. "Come on!" _

"_Hey Austin, shut the hell up." Dave said turning around and pushing the unruly jock back in his seat. "He's such an asshole."_

"_See the world would be a much better place if everyone was like Santana." Emily said. I could feel her resting her hands on my shoulders from the backseat and a small smile crept across my face. Even though it was dark, and there weren't any streetlights around, I didn't feel too scared of driving tonight. I pulled my glasses out of the glove compartment and put them on. _

_I wondered if things would change from now on. And then things did change, for the worse. _

"_Jesus you're such a…" Austin grabbed onto the wheel, like he was trying to take over from the backseat. Dave pushed him away, but it was too late, the car was coming too fast, and the bridge was too narrow._

_The impact was the worst part, every noise possible happened at that moment, screaming the metal bending and churning and burning. _

_And then we hit the water. I felt trapped, we were goners. It was fight or flight now. I had no choice._

_End Flashback_

"…Dave was right next to me, he was unconscious, and I just panicked and grabbed him. He was my best friend. Austin was dead, and when I went back down for Emily she was too. You can't call me a killer for nothing, you can't call me a killer for being in the wrong place at the wrong time." I wiped my eyes, Ryan looked down at his feet.

"People thought you were drunk; why the hell didn't you just tell them what happened that night?"

"And say what. That the best night of my life turned into the worst? That Austin caused the crash, he was dead he couldn't defend himself, running was the only option I had." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked back towards the road behind us. "I went into the Army to forget that night, I thought nothing could be worse than war and I was right. A part of me just figured I'd end up dead anyway, then I wouldn't have to fight off the memories."

"I'm sorry." Ryan said. "I'm sorry for blaming you, you're right I didn't know the whole story, I just wanted someone to blame." I wish he could get that I understood. I understood blame and guilt and loss more than anyone. "Big city girl, huh?" He asked with a laugh. "And no more stuttering, you've changed."

"Yeah I guess I have."

"You living here alone?" He asked, we started walking back towards my car. A smile spread across my face.

"I'm actually living with my girlfriend and her daughter."

"Get outta here." Ryan smiled.

"I love it, I love them." I said as we reached my car. "Do you need a ride or something?"

"No I uh…look I shouldn't have done all that stuff just to get your attention. I thought if I forced you to face what happened then I'd find out something I didn't know. I was wrong. Losing a sister it's like-."

"Ryan, I know what it's like, it rips you apart. You want to take back all those petty arguments, all those times when you told them to shut up because all you want to hear is their voice now." I unlocked my car door. "Emily was…not who I thought she was. I wish…things were different."

"Me too." He said before waving goodbye. "Me too."

…

"Hello love of my life." I held out my arms, John Doe jumped up, and I bent down and picked him up. "Oh and hi Quinn." Quinn grabbed a pillow and chucked it at me. "What? I was joking!" Quinn grabbed my glasses off the coffee table and put them on. I put down John Doe and sat down on the couch next to her. "Those make you look so sexy." Quinn smirked.

"Oh really? They do?" I looked down at the pictures in her hand. They were the ones that were at the Motta house.

"What are you doing with those?" I asked her.

"The Motta family sent them today; I was just looking through them." Quinn said with a smile. "My artsy girlfriend is so talented."

"Can I talk to you really quickly?" I asked Quinn nodded. "I just wanted to tell you that the reason I joined the Army was because I was too scared to stay in Ohio. A car crash changed my life, I was driving, two people were killed…the whole town was focused on me and I couldn't stand it. So I ran." Quinn didn't say anything not right away. All I could hear was the light thumping from John Doe playing with my shoes.

"What I know is that I love you have a history, just like everyone has a history, and that's what makes you special to me." Quinn kissed my forehead. "I also know that you didn't have to tell me that but you did because you're an honest person." I sighed and laid down on Quinn's lap. "Baby, it's 6 in the morning, go to bed, you worked all night."

"But I wanna stay up with you." I said even though my eyes were already fluttering shut.

"You're so screwed, I'm gonna shave your head in your sleep." I smiled and Quinn started giggling. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Quinnie." I whispered before I drifted off to a comfortable sleep, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

**Up Next: Something you've all been waiting for.**


	29. New Year, New Start

**Thanks for waiting guess, I really hope you enjoy this one. **

Quinn's POV

"Quinn what are you doing?" Brittany asked from where she was standing, exactly opposite of me in the kitchen. The newly renamed _Snow _ was running around, trying to elude me, but I wasn't going to give up any time soon. I finally grabbed him and lifted him up in the air, giving him a kiss on his nose before reaching on the counter and grabbing a bow tie.

"Dressing him up, duh." I told Brittany who laughed and took a sip out of a wine glass filled with orange juice.

"I've never understood why this is your favorite holiday. Like Halloween or Christmas, those can be favorite holidays but New Years Eve? Come on, weird much." I ignored Brittany and tied the festive bow tie around Snow's neck.

"I like new starts, they make me feel determined and happy, don't judge me." I said setting Snow back down on the ground and checking the time. "People should be getting here soon…did you get white wine too? That's Kurt's new thing, remember." Brittany nodded and picked up the bottle out of the crate of many bottles filled with liquor to show me.

"Don't worry, I took care of all the liquor, Rachel's got the snacks, Sugar clearly covered the decorations." We both looked out into the living room which was covered in party favors, and streamers, balloons and everything else Sugar had bought. "And you and Santana have the food." I checked my watch again, it was 9 o'clock.

"Speaking of which she should be back…" The door opened and in came Santana followed by Sam and Mike.

"Guess who I picked up on the way in." Santana walked over and put all the groceries on the counter. We now had enough food to feed a militia, but I couldn't even focus because Santana looked so cute. She looked like she got in a fight with a snowman and lost. Her nose had a reddish hue, and when I covered her cheeks with my hands, they were freezing.

"You should've worn a ski mask out there." I joked. "Come on, let's get this snow off you." I pulled her into the guest bathroom and pulled off her hat, she tugged off her jacket.

"Oddly enough winter is my favorite season." She said as she shook all the snow off her body in a couple of rapid shakes. She pulled off her boots and gave me a smile. "All clean."

"You look adorable; I wanna keep you all to myself." I said as I held on to her fuzzy sweater.

"In this tiny little bathroom? It's a little small for some lovin'." Santana said as she moved closer to me.

"That didn't stop us before." I said before kissing. Santana pulled back as a laugh escaped her lips.

"That was a little different." Santana assured me. "Rachel and Sugar wouldn't leave, Beth was asleep in our bedroom, and you were so fucking horny that I had to do something about it." I blushed and pushed her playfully back against the sink. "What?"

"Nothing I just…am really happy that I get to spend my favorite holiday with you. Even if you are wearing my sweater." Santana smiled and leaned into another kiss, this one felt different, chaste, sweet, longing. I felt like I was missing something, or she was, we were interrupted by the knocking on the door. I could tell that Santana didn't want to open it, but she did anyway.

"Yes." Santana said.

Rachel and Kurt stuck their heads in the room, both their eyes going down to Santana's hat and discarded jacket. "Well, well, well, couldn't kept it in your pants for-." I tossed Santana's hat at Kurt head and he ducked under it. "Anyway, we were wonder two things, one is it kosher to start eating without our hosts present, and when should we wake up Beth?"

"We're coming now." I told them.

"Wanky." Santana muttered behind me, earning a hard nudge in the stomach from me. Santana grabbed her jacket and hat and followed me out into the living room. I didn't realize that Blaine, Sam, Buddy, and Sugar were already here. Sam and Buddy had already started on eating the wings so their was no use in telling them to wait on the pizza.

"I'm gonna go wake up Beth." Santana said. I walked into the living room and sat down in front of the TV next to Sugar.

"Hey there girly, big day huh?" Sugar asked me.

"Yeah, kinda, I hope Santana won't be upset." I said quietly. "I mean I know it is a big deal, for both of us."

"Are you kidding? She's going to be so happy, if it's even possible she'll love you even more." Sugar assured me. There was a knock at the door and I moved to get up, but Beth came running through the room still wearing her onsie pajamas, yelling _I got it I got it_ as she rushed towards the door.

Santana came running from Beth's room with and exasperated sigh. "I tried to stop her, but she kicked me." Santana said as she wrapped her arm around my waist. Beth opened the door and in came Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. I could feel Santana's grip tighten around me, I didn't know if she was shocked, angry, or excited. "Mom, dad." Santana walked over and engulfed them both into a hug. I could tell that some people were watching, others weren't trying to intrude so they pretended to watch TV.

Beth was looking up at Santana just begging with her eyes for an explanation. "What are you doing here?" Santana asked them with this adorable little grin on her face. The only thing I could imagine, was a younger Santana, wearing glasses, and smiling at her parents just like she was doing now.

"_Pregunta a su novia_." Mr. Lopez said with a small nod towards me. Santana looked over her shoulder and waved me over. I walked over and she took my hand.

"What'd you do?" Santana asked me.

"I may have invited one or two extra guests." I said before squeezing her hand.

"_Que hermosa! Ella es perfecta!_" Mrs. Lopez grabbed onto my other hand and gave me a warm smile. "Santana, you never told us how gorgeous she was."

"_Si, si mama soy un idiota_." I looked over at Santana and beamed, I don't know what was sexier, her speaking Spanish or her doing everything else.

"Hey!" Beth said nudging Santana's leg. "Who are they?"

Santana bent down and lifted Beth up into her arms. "These are my parents." Santana told her. Beth's jaw practically fell off her face.

"They're your parents! Can they play with me? Do they like ice cream?" Beth climbed out of Santana's arms and grabbed onto Mr. Lopez's hand. "Wanna see something cool?" Beth asked him.

"Of course sweetheart." Mr. Lopez said following Beth towards my mini art studio.

"That's Beth, Quinn's daughter." Santana explained to her mom.

"How precious, Quinn you should've told me you had a daughter, I would've bought a gift for her." Mrs. Lopez said with a smile.

"Watch out Quinn, if you think I spoil Beth, my mom does that times ten." Santana explained. "Mom I know that look on your face, don't even start-."

"Does Santana treat you right?" Mrs. Lopez asked me. Santana rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

"Of course she does, she's perfect to me." I told her.

"Does she spend enough time with you and your daughter? Sometimes she goes overboard when it comes to work, and thing like that."

"She spends more than enough time with me, I love her." I kissed Santana's cheek and her mom beamed. "Want me to get you something to eat?" I asked Mrs. Lopez.

"Sure." She replied already walking towards the kitchen, I was about to follow when Santana grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards her.

"What did I do to deserve someone so special?" She asked me quietly.

"You didn't have to do anything, it might help that you're so cute." We kissed, today felt so different between us. Everything felt ten times more intense. Buddy's cat calling forced us to pull apart and I grabbed on to Santana's belt buckle, pulling her towards the couch where I sat her down. "Relax, have fun tonight."

…

Santana's POV

This was so perfect, this might actually be my favorite holiday at this point. I loved having everyone around, especially my parents. I hadn't seen them for awhile, we'd talked on the phone on occasion, but Quinn went above and beyond here. I loved her so much, that why this whole night was going to be the best night of my life.

"Next year where gonna go and see the ball drop live." Blaine said.

"Maybe when Beth is like…18." Quinn said as she handed me a beer and sat down on my lap. "What do you think Santana?"

"Whenever you want to go babe." I told her. "Ten minutes until show time." I whispered in her ear. "You know how this is your favorite holiday?" Quinn nodded. "Well I have a tradition of my own, wanna join?" Quinn stood up and grabbed the front of my shirt pulling me up to my feet.

"Where to?" Quinn asked. I pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

"Bedroom." Quinn seemed more than happy to follow me and as soon as we walked into the bedroom Quinn pushed me down onto the bed. "This is not what I meant."

"Are you complaining?" She teased as she straddled my hips.

"I am complaining, complain, complain…see that's me complaining." I lifted her up and sat her back down on the ground. We walked out onto the balcony and looked out towards the street below. It was snowing and although I was wearing a sweater, Quinn only had on a long sleeve shirt. "Let me grab you a jacket." I went inside and grabbed a winter coat, holding it out for Quinn to pull on.

Quinn put on the puffy winter coat and I laughed at how adorable she looked. "Keep laughing, I'll beat you up later." She joked. "So what's your typically tradition? Freezing your butt off with an amazing view?"

"It's not actually a tradition; I just…want to start something new with you. Coming up here, starting the New Year up here alone with you." I grabbed onto her hands and kissed each one of them. "I didn't think that we'd ever make it here. When I first saw you, that night, you were flustered and I was just doing my job and then…"

"We fell in love." Quinn said with a smile.

"Time?" Quinn held up her countdown clock to the New Year, and I saw that we had 3 minutes and 37 seconds left. "Thank you for inviting my parents here, it means a lot to me."

"It was kinda selfish actually; I wanted to meet them too." Quinn explained. "They're sweet people, perfect people, now I know what made you the way that you are."

"A lot of things made me the way that I am." I told her.

"And I love that about you. I will never understand why there was any hesitation about me moving in with you." Quinn said. "I can be dumb like that sometimes."

"Not dumb, just nervous. We were both scared, we've been through so much in our lives, it's nice to finally crash land." I checked my timer, 30 seconds. "This year is going to be different, I can see it already." 20 seconds. "You, me, and Beth against the world." 15 seconds. "Quinn I love you more than anything." 5 seconds. I pulled her towards me and kissed her like I never have before. I wanted her to feel the fire, I wanted her to understand that this moment would change us forever. As I pulled back I reached into my back pocket.

"You're supposed to wait till midnight to kiss me goober." Quinn said laughing.

"I couldn't wait. I can't wait for a lot." I pulled the tiny velvet box out of my back pocket and kneeled in front of her.

"San what are you-."

"Don't speak, that's an order. It's my turn to tell you what you mean to me." Quinn nodded her head and let me to continue. "You changed my life. You changed the way I do my job, every time I think about us, I think that I don't even come close to deserving someone like you. But I have you, and I want to have you forever." I opened the box and showed her the ring. "Lucy Quinn Fabray, will you-."

"Yes!" She said without even letting me finish.

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'll marry you." I put the ring on her finger and smiled marveling at how it looked on her hand. "I'm so totally ready for a new year with you."

**Tell me what you think.**


	30. Happy Pox

**I know it's been like 20 years since I've updated, but I've been busy and hurt by major writer's block on this story. Either way I hope my readers are still around. Enjoy.**

Quinn's POV

"You haven't moved from that spot since I got up." I turned around from the balcony and looked at Santana; she was drying her hair and pulling on her pants at the same time. I had a feeling she was kind of late for work, but she didn't look like she was in a rush.

"This spot is important to me now; it should be a historical landmark." I joked. I held out my hand and looked at the ring again, a smile spreading across my face. "Do you have to go to work?" I asked with a pout.

"Yes, unfortunately crime stops for no one." Santana told me just as Beth and Snow came running into the room. "Hey you're up early."

"I know, guess why." Beth challenged to the both of us. I was completely clueless and from the looks of it so was Santana.

"I dunno, why honey?" I asked.

"Cause Mr. and Mrs. Santa are taking me shopping today!" Beth back out of the room and Santana and I exchanged looks.

"If she comes home with a million new things, I'm sorry, they can be like that." Santana apologized in advance. "What are you up to today?"

"Um eating breakfast, staring at the ring, cleaning, staring at the ring, painting, oh and…staring at the ring." Santana started laughing. "So have we decided what we're gonna do about telling people?" Santana walked over and wrapped her arms around me.

"How about you don't tell anyone, just wear the ring and see who notices." Santana suggested. "That'll be fun."

"You really think I should do that?" I asked her.

"Why not? Then you can find out which one of your friends is most observant, make a day out of it, it'll be something to do while I'm gone. It'll keep you from missing me so much." Santana added the last part dramatically as she pulled on her gun holster and kissed my cheek.

I followed her out of the room and into the living room where we found Beth, bundled up, and standing next to Snow a few feet from the front door. "Beth, what are you doing?" I asked her. She didn't turn around when she replied, she just continued staring at the door.

"Waiting." Beth said nonchalantly. Santana got her gun out of the safe and put it in her holster.

"I think she's drunk." Santana whispered in my ear as she walked past me and went into the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal for herself. "Beth, honey did you eat anything?"

"Yep." Beth said.

"Okay." I said shaking my head. "I think Beth is getting all of her weirdness from you." I told Santana who finished chewing before setting her bowl down.

"Be thankful she's acting like that." Santana started. "Because if she saw that ring she'd be bouncing off the walls happy. We'll tell her tonight though, when she doesn't have as much energy."

"It's a plan." The front door opened and in came Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. They smiled as soon as they saw Beth standing there. "Hi, Beth told us about your plans for today."

"Yeah, we're gonna go around the city, anywhere Beth wants." Mr. Lopez said.

"¿Como fue su noche?" Santana said as she walked over and gave each of her parents a hug.

"Santana don't speak Spanish in front of others, it's rude." Mrs. Lopez chastised.

"Sorry, how was your night?" Santana corrected.

"It was fine, how was yours?" Mrs. Lopez asked us.

"It was…fine." I said with a blush. "Um…I'm gonna head over to Rachel's to see what she's up to." I walked over and kissed Beth's forehead. "Bye sweetie."

"Bye mommy." Beth said.

"Bye Santana." She smiled and waved goodbye to me, as I was leaving I realized how happy I was. Of course I knew that before, but now reality was starting to set in. This was real, Santana and I were going to get married, it wasn't just some fairytale moment it was better, it was everything I've ever wanted.

…...

Rachel was in a special, kind of mood today, I could tell something was up, but she was so stubborn I knew I wasn't going to get anything out of her. "Rachel what are you doing?"

"I'm pissed, can't you tell?" I rolled my eyes and grabbed an apple out of Rachel's refrigerator taking a bite and waiting for Rachel to speak up. "Well not actually obviously, new role What's up with you? You're practically glowing."

"I had a really great night." I said with a grin. I kept my hand in my pocket, I didn't know if I was ready to tell her about the proposal, I know she'd freak out but that would be enjoyable, we could both freak out together.

I wanted that moment.

"God how good was the sex? You look like you just won the lottery." Rachel said with a grin.

"You said Brittany was coming over right?" I asked Rachel who slowly nodded. "Then I'll just tell you how my night went when she gets here." Rachel arched an eyebrow but didn't look too far into it. "What I can tell you is that I feel great. Seriously, everything in my life is falling into place. The puzzle pieces fit, the planets are aligned." Rachel glanced over her shoulder and gave me a sympathetic look.

"Quinn, honey, you don't have to convince me." Rachel assured me. "What is it? Something's bothering you."

"It's just…" It's just that nothing was bothering me. Not really at least, everything was perfect, but there was always the thought of my father. He was always in the back of my mind, I wondered what he thought of me. I wanted to know, but then again I didn't. I just wanted him to meet Santana, for him to see how much my life has changed, to see Beth growing into my precious little girl.

I wanted him to see that he couldn't break me, even though he tried all those years ago, I was still standing.

It's every girl's dream to have the approval of their father. I guess I wasn't an exception to that.

"Do you want me to call Santana?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind zooming over here and talking if that's what you need."

"No, she's at work…and her workplace is serious. Guns, people shooting at her all the time-."

"Well yeah, that might as well be in her life description, she was in the army after all." Rachel took a seat next to me, and rested her hand against mine.

"I think I'm just realizing that I kinda…I don't think I…I…"

"Quinn, I can't help if you don't finish a sentence." Rachel said quietly.

"I don't want her to be a cop. It scares me, you know? Like I know she's good at it, I know she's tough and strong, but if she were to ever get hurt…" I couldn't finish that thought.

"Have you talked to her about this?" Rachel questioned.

"Of course not, how can I? It's something she's passionate about, it would be like her telling me to stop painting. I can't, and I know she can't. But it doesn't stop me from worrying sometimes. Beth calls her mom too, she's a part of my life, Rach, she's a part of us, and I wouldn't survive is she ever got hurt." I explained to Rachel, who would probably be the most understanding of my friends, besides Blaine at least. She could be dramatic, but she was also rational.

"Talk to her, tell her how you feel." Rachel advised. "She'll understand, I'm not saying she'll quit on the spot, but at least she'll know how you feel about it."

"I think I'll talk to her later." There was a knock at the door, and I guessed it was Brittany. Rachel got up and answered the door, Brittany walked in and immediately headed for the refrigerator. She was wearing her workout gear, with her earphone hanging around her neck. "Hi Britt, what's up?"

"And why are you stealing my food?" Rachel asked as Brittany grabbed all the ingredients necessary for a very large sandwich.

"Working out always makes me hungry and horny, so unless either one of you wants to hook up, I'm gonna eat my weight in turkey and cheese." I laughed, but Rachel looked more concerned about the amount of food Brittany was planning on consuming. "Unless Santana would be down with a threesome." Brittany joked.

"Well she does like blondes." Rachel added with a chuckle.

"You guys I…" My face started burning red, I'd thought up every possible way to go about this. Last night, I was practically writing speeches, but now I didn't know what to say. "Last night…"

"Last night what?" Brittany asked with a smile. "Holy shit!" Brittany dropped the plate she was holding and it smash on the ground. In that moment it felt like the loudest thing in the entire world. Brittany's eyes were glued to my hand, and I knew that she knew, Rachel was still stuck in no man's land.

"Holy shit, what?" Rachel asked us.

"Santana proposed." I held up my hand and Brittany and Rachel rushed over to check out the ring. "It was so perfect guys, we were up on the balcony, and she just…she just popped the question and I didn't even let her finish, because I'm a giant idiot and…" I stopped myself from rambling. "Santana and I are getting married!"

Both Rachel and Brittany wrapped their arms around me, tight, all of us shedding tears of joy, all of us understand how beautiful this moment was to me. "I'm so happy for you." Rachel said.

"Me too." Brittany squealed as she pulled back. "Shit that ring is gorgeous, it must have cost a fortune." Brittany stared at the ring and then looked up at me. "Just for the record, I called it."

"You called what?" I asked, Rachel went into the other room and came back with her purse in hand.

"She said that Santana was going to pop the question, we've had this bet going since like October. Everyone's in on it, margin of error being plus or minus three days. What's the interest rate? How much do I owe you?" Rachel asked Brittany.

"One hundred and thirty seven dollars." Brittany said with a big grin.

"Wait, you guys had a bet going about my relationship, and neither one of you thought to tell me?" I asked them.

"Obviously not, there's no fun in that." Brittany told me. "And besides, I think you win out in the end. You get to marry the girl of your dreams, I think that's a pretty big payoff."

"Guys I'm happy." I told them. "Really, genuinely happy. I thought that maybe I'd only feel that way when I was working, that used to be my safe space, my one true happy place. But I feel that every day, every moment when I'm with her. How is that possible?"

"Magic?" Rachel suggested.

"Maybe." I whispered. "I wanna marry her right now."

"You could, you know. Marry her right this moment, if you wanted to." Brittany said. "What did Beth say when you told her?"

"She said _I haven't told her yet_." I braced myself for the disappointment from Rachel and Brittany. "I don't know how."

"How about you use various words from the dictionary." Rachel suggested sarcastically.

"She's gonna go nuts, she'll probably have a heart attack or something." I said with a smile. "Beth is gonna lose it absolutely. I'll probably have to sedate her, I don't really wanna do that."

"How about you have Santana tell her?" Brittany asked. "I mean you guys will be sharing vows soon, so you could share this responsibility. Or you could do the right thing, and tell her together." That seemed like a better idea.

"She's gonna be so happy." I said. "I'm already so happy."

…

Santana's POV

I opened the door to my apartment and was immediately met by a warm hug from Beth and a very excited Snow, running around in circles. My parents were sitting on the couch surrounded by toys that they'd bought for Beth. "Mom, dad, why did you buy all that stuff? You're spoiling Beth and Quinn is gonna throw a fit."

"But you spoil me and mom doesn't say anything about it." Beth interjected.

"She's so smart, she's just like you." My mom said.

"Well she's just like Quinn, I don't know if you know this but Beth's not actually my biological daughter." I reminded them, Beth didn't seem too happy about the comment. Beth walked over and kicked me in the knee, it was so unexpected that I actually fell to the floor.

"I am your daughter!" Beth told me. "Mommy says we're a family." Once I composed myself, I lifted Beth in the air and kissed her nose.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean it that way. Of course, you're my girl." I assured her. "I love you more than the moon."

"And the stars?" Beth asked hopefully.

"And the stars." I said with a smile. Just as Beth was about to run down a whole list of things I loved her more than Quinn came home. "Hey Quinn, how was your day?"

"Great, what about-…holy toys." Quinn said eyeing the gifts my parents got Beth.

"Quinn." I set Beth down and approached her slowly. "Babe, come here." Quinn looked at me strangely before following me. I walked into the bathroom and Quinn walked in with a confused expression.

"San what's wrong?" Quinn asked. I grabbed her shoulders and made her face the mirror.

"Babe, you've got chicken pox." I told her, the shock that followed made our perfect day, not so perfect anymore.

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Glee, Drama, Romance