Extended Summary: Santana and Brittany are happily engaged and starting a family. But when Santana gets deployed overseas everything takes a turn for the wrong. She's missing, but when she's found five years later, what will happen when she returns home?

Hey everyone! I'm glad to finally be getting this out there, I've had this idea for a long time and I can't wait to share it with all of you. I wanted to wait until I finished Love Always Finds a Way and When Love is Home before I put this out there. And if you haven't read them, please do!

And this might seem familiar to an older fic, but I have no intention of copying their work or ideas. This is completely my own work.

Hope you enjoy!

And a huge thank you to my amazing beta, treecklove!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.

Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, North Carolina

2012

Santana and Brittany walked hand-in-hand through the airplane hanger at Fort Bragg. As they neared closer to the other families, Brittany's grip tightened and Santana looked over to see a tear run down her cheek.

They stopped in a semi-unpopulated area and Santana dropped her duffle on the ground. It made a noise they both hated to hear.

Santana faced her beautiful fiancé and grabbed her other hand. "Everything's gonna be fine. I'll be home in no time to meet our boy." Brittany chuckled and gave her a sad smile.

"You're still convinced it's a boy?" Santana knelt down and kissed the fabric over Brittany's stomach. She was four months pregnant, but it barely showed.

"I'm gonna miss you so much baby. Take care of mommy yeah?" She rubbed her thumb over the warm surface and then stood back up and embraced Brittany. Brittany's head rested on her shoulder and she started crying.

Santana fought as hard as she could against the tears that threatened her eyes. She let out a shaky breath and stroked Brittany's toned back. She ran her hands up and down trying to soak in how much she was going to miss the feel of it.

When Brittany's breathing calmed, she pulled herself back but left her arms around Santana's neck. She was just about to say something when the overhead intercom came on. "Five minutes until boarding, repeat five minutes until boarding."

Her head turned back to Brittany and she gave her a brief smile. They really didn't need to say much. There was nothing much to say. Santana was being deployed and there wasn't much either of them could do about that. They had been lucky that Santana had been able to choose when she wanted to take her leave because of the baby.

Santana's fingers ran over the ring she had put on Brittany's finger over a year ago. And Brittany's found hers. Santana withdrew her hands for a moment and slipped her own off and held it between them. Then she grabbed Brittany's right hand and slipped it on her ring finger.

"Hold on to that for me. I don't want it getting lost or messy." Brittany faintly nodded and looked down at it.

"I love you so much Britt. I promise I'll be back…" Brittany nodded again and pulled Santana back into her body.

Santana didn't want to let go, but she heard to padding of boots echo in the hanger and knew it was time for her to leave. She pulled back and kissed Brittany with as much passion as she could. She tried to put as much love and reassurance into the kiss as possible. When she pulled back, she leaned over and picked up her duffle off the ground and then stroked Brittany's moist cheek one more time before moving her hand to the baby. "I'll see you later, soon." It wouldn't make sense to anyone else right away but Brittany understood.

"I'll see you later, soon. I love you…" With that Santana threw her bag over her shoulder and started walking towards the larger crowd of other soldiers who were loading on the buses outside of the hanger. Just before she got on the bus, she turned back and offered Brittany a wave and smile.

Brittany waved back and put one hand over her stomach. It was going to be a long five months waiting on the love of her life to return back home. But they had done it before and she knew they could do it again.

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Santana tiredly settled into her medical tent and started filing all the papers that had accumulated on her desk. Being the head company medic was a very stressful job, but she liked what she did. She liked helping people and saving lives when needed.

The flap of the tent opened and she didn't need to look up to know who it was. "Master Sergeant Lopez I have a letter here that says you need to go eat at mess with one Staff Sergeant Puckerman." Santana shook her head and kept working on her papers. He approached her desk and leaned on it casually. His knuckles landed on a folder just as Santana was about to open it. "Come on Lopez."

"I've had enough of your shit Puckerman. We've only been here two months and you're driving me crazy. Now leave. I have work to do." He laughed and she finally looked up at him. Noah Puckerman had been a very good friend of hers for a couple of years now. They had met at Bragg when Santana was stationed there two years ago. He was very much attracted to the Latina, but knew she was happily with Brittany, who he was also very much attracted to. He flirted with both of them relentlessly but it was all in good fun.

"So harsh. You really hurt my feelings. I'm getting tired of your rejection." Santana leaned back in her chair and chuckled at him. His hand was over his heart and he was comically frowning.

"You'll get over it. Now what is it that you really want?" He smirked, not surprised by her forwardness.

"I have an envelope for you. Mail came and I knew you would be busy so I brought it to you." He reached into his lower cargo pocket and pulled out a large tan envelope. It was folded in half and he straightened it before handing it to her.

Santana reached out for it but he snatched it into the air. "Give me the fucking envelope Puck." He smiled and finally handed it to her. She grinned ear to ear seeing it was from Brittany. "Thank you"

"No problem. Just get some chow soon okay. Mess is closing early today." She nodded and sat back in her chair. She tenderly opened the crumpled envelope and pulled out the contents.

Brittany always sent her a letter and then usually included a few pictures of whatever she was doing or of their friends. She had always said it was better to put words with pictures and that's why she hated reading books without pictures.

Santana opened the paper she knew held the message and started reading. Brittany explained that everything at home was fine and that she had gone to her doctor's appointments and everything with the baby was fine. She didn't want to know the sex without Santana so she said they would just have to wait, but that was okay because she loved surprises. The last paragraph was always what Santana read over and over again because she knew that it was what Brittany spent the most time on.

Every day without you feels like a marathon. It's like I'm running a race alone. But I know that when I reach the finish line you'll be there. And this time, we'll have an extra piece of us there too. I miss you so much all the time. The house is so quiet and our bed feels so cold. But I know everything will be fine. I just want you home.

I love you so much Santana. I'll see you later, soon.

-B

P.s. There's a special picture in there this time. I wanted you to see (him?)

Santana didn't read the last line a second time because her excitement made her reach straight for the white envelope that contained Brittany's pictures.

She ripped the top and scattered them on her desk. The top one made her halt all her movements. She took it in her hand slowly and smiled gracefully. It was a sonogram from Brittany's six month check-up. And even though it was just a picture, it wasn't. It was their baby. Their baby. Something that they created together, with a little help from a donor.

She ran her thumb over the baby's head and down the length of the photo. It was precious. A tear swelled in her left eye and she wiped it away before it could fall. She placed the photo next to her letter and looked through the others. They were all of Brittany and a few of them contained friends. When she finished looking at everything her cheeks hurt from grinning and her chest hurt from the separation of Brittany and herself.

She loved her job, but this time or anytime when she was away from Brittany hurt. It was a feeling of incompletion that she had never felt any other time or for any other person. Every ounce of her ached for Brittany.

Santana took a second to refocus herself and then carefully placed all the items back in the large envelope and walked over to her personal cabinet where she put all Brittany's letters and inserted them with the others. They skyped and emailed too of course, but there was something about the letters that made them more special. It was probably the fact Santana could see Brittany sitting at their kitchen table pouring her heart into her message. The way she would bite her bottom lip as she tried to think of what to write next, and the cute little grin she did when she sighed off each one of them. Or the way she took her time placing the items carefully into the envelope and meticulously writing Santana's address on the outside. Or the way she kissed it before handing it to the postman at the base's post office because she didn't trust just anyone handling it. Santana could think of hundreds of things that made them special. But the real reason they were special was because she loved anything Brittany did. Because she loved Brittany.

After some chow in the mess hall, Santana went back to her tent and resumed her work. A few soldiers came by complaining like usual. She treated their attention disorders with a simple valium and told them to get some rest. She hated to be cold about their feelings, but she wasn't a shrink. She was just a medic. She was just as lonely and lost as they were. Most of the time she felt like something was wrong with her too, but it was just the feeling of her heart being where she wasn't. It was home. With Brittany.

Just as she laid herself down on her cot and turned out her lamp, Puck came bursting through the flaps of the tent and turned on the lamp. Santana threw her legs back over the edge of the cot and stood up. She gave him the questioning look and he grabbed her ruck off of a shelf and threw it at her. "We're moving out. Location's been compromised. Pack whatever you need and I'll help with supplies. Don't worry about the exterior pack up. Captain wants us moving in fifteen." Santana nodded in confirmation and immediately began packing her personals and all her clothes and equipment. Puck started packing all the medical supplies for a field-ready bag and excused himself so Santana could change into her uniform.

Once she slapped her medic ID on the Velcro shoulder spot, she grabbed her things and exited her tent. All the soldiers in nearby tents scrabbled to get dressed and get all their stuff together. The security team was going in and out of every tent trying to get them to hurry.

Santana went straight to her assigned vehicle and loaded her supplies. Puck helped her inside and their truck was the first to leave. She had no idea where they were going and she didn't ask.

An hour later, they were in the middle of a ghost town. They set up brief camps inside of the authorized buildings and waited on the rest of the troops to arrive. Santana hated this part of her job. It's not that she wanted to go to war or anything, she just hated waiting around. It made her feel useless and to her that was the worst feeling.

Just as the other trucks and vehicles made their way around the bend, there was a loud explosion. One of the trucks shot up in the air and flipped. It was engulfed in flames and the truck behind it didn't have enough time to swerve and ran straight into it. Santana saw the men inside try to bail, but it was too late and the flames reached the gas tank and caused another explosion. The other following trucks slammed on breaks and men started exiting their vehicles.

Santana saw all the soldiers around her dive into the scene. She reached into the truck and grabbed her medical ruck. Puck was right by her side and they started running towards the flames. And then there was the sound of popping. It sounded like firecrackers going off and in the night it looked a lot like it. But when Santana witnessed a man fall to his knees clutching his severed throat, she knew they weren't fireworks, they were bullets.

She rushed to the man as he fell on his back and knelt beside him. Puck was still next to her, he was clutching his weapon waiting to protect her. She tried to pry the man's hands away so she could see what she needed, but he wouldn't release his grip. Santana looked to his name tag. Hudson. And then to his rank. Lieutenant. "Lt. Hudson I need you to let me see your wound." He seemed to relax at the sound of her stern voice and she was able to see where the bullet went in. Luckily it had gone out the other side, but now he had a bleeding artery. She quickly put pressure with a heavy gauze and looked at him in the eyes. "Keep your eyes open Lt. Hudson. Everything's gonna be just fine." His breathing was becoming thick and Santana saw the blood boiling in his mouth. He didn't have long.

She was about to grab something to comfort him out of her bag when Puck's rifle went off next to her. It was then that she realized they were still under fire. Puck grabbed her collar and pulled her away from the dying lieutenant. They moved around the other side of a truck and Puck pulled out his side pistol and handed it to her. She silently took it and positioned herself to move.

Her heart was beating out her chest as she followed Puck's every move. She had trained just like anyone else, but she was so used to the office part of this job, she seemed to forget how it was done. And her lack of knowledge scared her more than getting hit.

Puck moved over to where most of the other soldiers had gathered and leaned over to talk to whoever. Then he leaned back and spoke to Santana "They have us surrounded. We're gonna hold off as long as we can…" Santana was waiting for the 'but' and nodded when it didn't come.

And they did. They held off until their supplies ran out and they were surround by Iraqi Taliban. Santana was scared out of her mind and clutched her chest pocket where she kept her baby's picture and Brittany's. She closed her eyes as they snatched her up, laced her wrists with a zip tie, and dragged her over to one of their trucks. She had no idea what would happen to her. She knew Puck was next to her, but that no longer held hope of safety. Everything wasn't fine and Santana wasn't sure if it was going to be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So have you heard from that guy, the one you were talking to last week?" Brittany sipped her tea and looked across her kitchen table at her best friend.

"No. I told him not to call me anymore." Brittany frowned and took another sip.

"Quinn, why would you do that? I thought you really liked him." Quinn raised an eyebrow expecting Brittany of all people to know the answer.

"You of all people should know why." Quinn was a very matter-of-fact person. She was sympathetic but kept her walls strong. She reminded Brittany a lot of Santana when they were younger and still in high school. Santana had always been guarded and only ever dropped her walls for Brittany.

"Well then why do you work at a place and associate yourself with men you know are gonna leave?" Brittany set her cup down on the table and leaned back in her chair. She rested her hands over her baby bump and rubbed it slowly.

"Why do you?" Quinn shot back and crossed her arms. She was in a very defensive mood today and it wasn't doing much for Brittany's feelings. She was already miserable because Santana wasn't around, on top of the fact she hadn't heard from her yet. She always called the day after she received her letter. It had been three days since the postman called and told her that the shipment had landed.

"I was with Santana long before she was in the army. It's been a hard life for both of us, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." Quinn's expression and posture relaxed as she saw how composed and at ease Brittany was with her decision. True love really did exist. Those two were a prime example of that.

They sat in silence for a couple more minutes and Brittany stared at her phone. She hadn't been able to stop since not hearing from Santana. She just needed to hear her voice. She needed to hear she was okay.

"So when are you two getting married? Everyone has been talking about it since you got pregnant." Brittany smiled and shook her head. She couldn't stand the army wives at this base. They were always spreading gossip. Sometimes it was worse than high school was.

"We had decided on a date before we got pregnant. But then we found out she was deploying the day I found out I was pregnant. We decided to wait until she gets back and things settle down. But we're not in a hurry." Brittany tried to keep a brave face talking about it. She wanted more than anything to be called Santana's wife, but it wasn't happening for a while.

Quinn was about to say thing in return when the doorbell rang. It shouldn't have scared Brittany, but it did. For some reason it didn't feel right. She slowly got up from her seat and walked down the stretch to the doorway. She could hear Quinn's soft footsteps behind her. Her hand rested on the knob and she looked through the peep hole.

She froze and her heart seemed to stop. There were two men dressed in their formals, standing with their hats under their arms. The one man had a flaccid expression and the younger, taller man with dark hair let out a nervous breath. Brittany had seen this in those movies, like the one with Mel Gibson. She couldn't think of the name but it didn't matter. Nothing could compare to all the emotions that hit her as she saw the sight before her eyes.

The tears started pouring and she slowly looked back at Quinn. The shorter blonde approached her side and helped her open the door. The two men straightened and the older man cleared his throat. Brittany saw the melancholy in his eyes.

"Ms. Pierce?" Brittany somehow managed to nod. "You're listed as the emergency contact for Master Sergeant Santana Lopez, is that accurate?" Brittany nodded again and her lip started to quiver. Her legs felt weak and she leaned more into Quinn, whose arm was around her waist. "There was an attack on Sgt. Lopez's location and all the troops in the area are now MIA. Including Sgt. Lopez." Brittany let out a cry and shook against Quinn. Her best friend held her firm and let her cry against her. The two soldiers stood there watching her weep and when the older one turned to leave, the younger one stayed behind and helped Quinn get Brittany inside. He offered to help with anything they needed and promised to keep them updated.

Brittany didn't sleep at all that night. She held her phone tightly against her chest. Quinn stayed with her, but there wasn't much she could do for her.

Santana was missing. How was Santana missing? Where was she? Is that why she didn't call? Brittany starting crying after asking herself too many questions her nor anyone else had the answers to.

Santana promised her everything would fine. Everything had to be fine. It just had to be. She would see her later, soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Five years later… 2017, Fayetteville, North Carolina

Brittany wiped her hands on the towel next to her and finished packing a PB&J into a small tin lunch box. A laugh came from down the hallway and she looked up to see her son running into the kitchen. He looked behind him and a tall figure grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder. She smiled and picked up the lunch from the counter. "Come on Jacob, you're gonna be late for school." The little boy was put down and rushed to his mom to give her a hug. She handed him his lunch box and kissed his forehead. "I'll be there to pick you up okay?" He nodded and turned to get his book bag that was ten times too big for him.

The taller figure came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you after work." Brittany nodded and they walked out the front door. She watched him help Jacob into the car and smiled at how precious her son was.

She watched the truck pull out of the driveway and sighed. She wouldn't admit her life was perfect, but it was better than it had been in a long time. There was one thing missing and today was a painful reminder of that.

Instead of throwing herself the usual pity party today typically brought, she decided to be productive and clean house. She was vacuuming when the landline rung and she stopped to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Is this Brittany Pierce?" A woman's voice came from the other end.

"This is she." Brittany slipped a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ms. Pierce, I'm calling in regards to Master Sergeant Santana Lopez." Brittany's heart dropped and she felt like there was an elephant sitting in her chest. She couldn't respond but the woman continued "Her and many of the other soldiers were liberated from a prison camp today in Iraq. She's going to have to stay overseas for a while for further processing and evaluation. But you were the only person listed on her emergency contacts. We'll advise you when further steps have been taken."

"Thank you…" She barely whispered out. She dropped the phone from her hand and slid down the wall to sit of the floor. Tears immediately started pouring from her eyes and she wailed out, almost screaming. It wasn't so much a sad cry. She was happy wasn't she? Santana was alive. Santana was alive. That's all she could repeat to herself. Santana was alive…

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I hope you liked the first chapter of this fic! I'm excited to post more and I hope you guys will respond well to it!

PLEASE REVIEW! I really like reading your opinions and thoughts about my work. But don't hate.

Stay tuned for another chapter soon, but I'm not promising weekly updates. I'm really slammed with school and stuff so be patient with me!