A/N: I can't tell you how much it means to me that all of you have favorited/followed this story. Seriously, I can't even understand it. I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to continue this; I know you're all probably angry with me. I recently rediscovered my motivation.

A Matter of Miserable Time

"Are you worried, Mami?"

"No Santana. I told you that I'm not afraid of this cancer."

"It's not that." Santana bit her lip. "Are you worried that you might never get to meet your grandchildren?"

Angelica smirked at her. "Do you and Brittany have something you want to tell me?"

Santana cracked a smile. "No Mami. But… aren't you worried about the things you could miss?"

Angelica shrugged as much as she could while lying prone on a hospital bed. "I didn't miss anything Santana. I got to raise you, and I got to see you love Brittany. I have a husband who loves me very much, and who I love dearly. I've never wanted for anything in life."

Santana dropped her gaze. Her mother put a hand on her chin, raising her head again. "I do not worry about these things Santana, and neither should you. I'm sure I will be just fine." Angelica tried to sit up to get closer to her daughter, but her face went pale, and she slumped back against the bed.

Santana rushed closer. "Stay still Mami. You need to rest. It's too early for you to be trying things like this."

Angelica sighed. "You're right."

It was silent for a few seconds. "Are you hungry? Do you want more soup?"

"I don't think I could eat anything, even if my stomach was strong enough to hold it."

Santana frowned. "You need to eat Mami; you've got to keep your strength up. You're still healing from the surgery. The sooner you get better, the sooner you can come home."

Angelica smiled softly. "Home. I never realized how much I missed my bed until last night."

Santana laughed. "You miss your bed? I slept in a chair all night. My neck is killing me."

Mrs. Lopez laughed. "I am sorry about that. You should have just gone home."

"And left you here by yourself?" Santana scoffed. "Never. Plus, I hear that hospitals can get pretty scary at nighttime. I wouldn't want you to be scared, now would I?"

Angelica shook her head, but she was smiling. "Estas loco, Mija."

"Love you too Mami. Now where are Dad and Britt?"

At that precise moment, the door opened, and Mr. Lopez and Brittany came in, determinedly looking away from each other. Brittany was still reeling from the awkward way Mario had ended their conversation.

Santana saw the expression on her father's face, and said quickly, "Britt, do you want to get some breakfast?"

"I would love some." Brittany said, relieved.

They made a hasty retreat from the room. "What was up with you and my dad? You were acting all… weird."

Brittany groaned. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Santana slipped a hand into Brittany's, and bumped their shoulders together. "Come on Britt; it's bothering you. You can tell me."

Brittany looked like she didn't want to say anything for a few seconds, but then she sighed. "I found him yelling at Doctor Reid just now. She wants to start the chemo, and he's really angry. He thinks it'll just make your mom sicker."

"That's what chemo does. It makes you sicker before it makes you better."

"Well I know that, and he knows that, but… I just think that he's scared. It's sort of a lot to deal with, you know?"

"Oh believe me Britt, I know." Santana said bitterly.

"I didn't mean it like that. You know I didn't."

Santana sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just on edge. My neck hurts from sleeping in that stupid chair, and I'm hungry, and tired, and worried…" She trailed off as they entered the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry San." Brittany whispered.

Santana just shakes her head. "It's got nothing to do with you. It's all me."

Brittany grinned wryly. "Why does it feel like this is a really badly planned breakup speech?"

This got Santana to laugh, and Brittany visibly relaxed at the sound. She'd missed Santana's laugh more than she cared to admit. "I love you B."

"Love you too. Now what looks good? Cold oatmeal or Jell-O?"

They glanced at each other for half a second before they said, at the same time, "Jell-O."

~SB~SB~SB~SB~

"Do you think it's safe to go back in?" Santana whispered from their position outside her mom's room.

"Maybe we should do one more lap around…"

"Sounds good. I'm game." Santana turned around and led them off down the hall at a leisurely pace. "You know this place isn't so bad when no one's around." She said softly.

Brittany made a noise of affirmation and started swinging their hands back and forth between their bodies.

They turned a corner to see an old woman scooting across the floor with the aid of a walker. She was grumbling under her breath, something about bathrooms and metal hips. Brittany smiled at her back.

"What are you smiling at?" Santana asked, her voice hushed in the quiet halls.

"Her." Brittany whispered back.

"Why?"

Brittany shrugged. "I don't know. I think old people are cute. I wanna go talk to her." Brittany said, releasing Santana's hand and skipping off down the hall.

"Britt!" Santana tried to call after her, but it was to no avail. Brittany wasn't listening. Santana knew that Brittany just… was this way. It was the way she'd always been. She was always Brittany: happy, bubbly, cheerful, willing to talk to anyone Brittany.

Santana had tried to explain to her that not everyone was like that, that not everyone was pure and innocent, that some people didn't like other people just walking up to them and striking up conversation, but Brittany didn't really understand.

People used to tease Brittany for being off in her own world. They called her stupid, and ditzy, and retarded. It made Santana's blood boil. But Brittany always told her not to worry about it. She said that it didn't bother her, that she wasn't confused, it was everyone else.

The worst part was that Brittany wasn't stupid, had never been stupid. She just wasn't that great at school. That's fine, to each her own, but Santana hated that she was the only person who seemed to be able to see that Brittany was truly, deep down inside, a genius.

It used to frustrate Santana that Brittany couldn't take care of herself. She always felt responsible for her girlfriend.

Once she moved in with Brittany, and saw how she was by herself, and with her family, she realized that her girlfriend had been right, all along. It wasn't that Brittany couldn't take care of herself, because she was an adult and could do just fine on her own. She just knew how much it meant to Santana to feel like she was protecting her. Santana hadn't even realized she was possessive and protective until Brittany pointed it out to her, but since then, she's had trouble forgetting the fact. Brittany loved it about her; Brittany loved everything about her, and often Santana was left wondering why.

She worried about Brittany constantly, but she didn't have to. Brittany wasn't confused, she wasn't stupid. She was off in her own world, like she always said.

Santana was jealous of that world sometimes. All that existed there were the things that Brittany felt. All she knew was love, and compassion, so unlike Santana herself, who had been raised in a house of discipline and insults, a world of masking one's true feelings.

It took a lot for Brittany to break down Santana's walls.

So yeah, maybe Brittany lived in her own world, but it was a damn fine place to be stuck, in Santana's opinion.

She hurried to catch up with her girlfriend. Brittany had struck up a conversation with the old woman with the walker in the time it had taken Santana to watch her, and think about how amazing it was that Brittany still had this childlike innocence about her.

Brittany was smiling at her. She held out her arm, offering to lead the woman back to her room.

"Oh aren't you just the sweetest thing." The woman said, smiling hugely up at Brittany, who towered over her frail, stooping figure. She looked ancient.

"Santana!" Brittany exclaimed, her eyes flitting up to meet her girlfriends'. Santana smiled. Fifteen seconds they'd been away from each other, and Brittany looked up and… Santana swore it was like seeing her for the first time. It always felt like this.

"This is Mrs. Perkins. Mrs. Perkins, this is my girlfriend Santana."

Mrs. Perkins turned slowly, and looked Santana up and down. Santana smiled at her. It was a regular smile, the smile of a woman who was used to love, with no hint of the fear and anger so prominent in her high school self. "Hello. It's very nice to meet you."

Mrs. Perkins beamed back at her. "Well aren't you two just adorable."

Brittany laughed and Santana blushed. "Thank you." Santana nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. She may be kinder now than 4 years ago, but that didn't change the embarrassment she felt whenever anyone stared at her like that. Like she was something special. She was only used to seeing it come from Brittany.

"We have some time; we can come back to your room with you… maybe we could talk a little?" Brittany suggested even as she began to lead Mrs. Perkins (softly, gently, guiding) off in the direction she had been headed.

Mrs. Perkins looked like she was about to cry. Santana was a little worried she would. "I would love that, dear."

Brittany walked slowly to keep up with Mrs. Perkins. She reached behind her and grasped Santana's hand with her free one. Santana smiled and kissed her on the cheek as her steps fell into line with the other two women's.

Usually Santana didn't like walking slowly. Living in New York, if you walked slowly, you got hit by a car. It wasn't hard for her to transition to the New York life, because Santana had been raised in a house where her father and grandmother told her, "Walk like you have somewhere to be. If you don't actually have anywhere to be, then why are you walking in the first place?"

It made sense to Santana, at the time.

Walking with Mrs. Perkins, even at her snail's pace, strangely wasn't bad for Santana. She didn't feel flustered or anxious like she usually did. It was actually kind of nice. There were so many things to see when you paused long enough to look.

They got back to Mrs. Perkins' room, and Brittany helped her over to her bed. There was only one chair in the room, which Santana took, assuming that Brittany would just sit on her lap.

She didn't. Instead, Brittany perched herself on the radiator, leaning her back against the window.

Santana raised an eyebrow, but Brittany waved her off, mouthing 'later'.

Mrs. Perkins smiled happily between them. "So where are you two from?"

"We're from here." Santana said softly. "Born and raised in Lima. But right now we're living in New York."

"Oh? What are you doing up there?"

"Santana's going to college at Columbia." Brittany said with a proud little smile on her face. "And I'm dancing in the city."

Mrs. Perkins sat up a little straighter and clapped her hands together. "Oh my! You're a dancer? I was a dancer, too!"

"And you're not anymore?" Brittany asked. Mrs. Perkins shook her head. "Why not?"

"Old age, dear. Old age and one bum hip, at least. We can't all live out our dreams forever."

Brittany made fleeting eye contact with Santana from across the room, and the way she looked at her, after such a loaded statement from someone so wise, turned Santana's stomach in an uneasy way. She didn't dwell on it.

"Where did you dance?" Brittany asked the old woman kindly.

"Oh me? I danced all around, wherever anyone would take me. I did a little stint in Paris, for a few years." Brittany's eyes widened. Mrs. Perkins shook her off. "Oh it sounds much more glamorous than it was."

"Are you kidding? That's incredible! You danced in Paris."

"Only for about two years." Mrs. Perkins said, blushing slightly. "I have to say, ballet was my forte, back then."

"Oh wow. You were a ballet dancer in Paris."

Mrs. Perkins laughed. "Well what about you? What's your dream?"

"Oh… I don't know…" Brittany said, scuffing her feet against the ground.

"Come on, you can tell me." Mrs. Perkins prodded.

"Well…" Brittany said, "I guess New York is my dream. Broadway, maybe. But if that doesn't work, all I really wanna do is teach. To kids who wanna learn but never really could… I don't know."

"You seem embarrassed." Mrs. Perkins said, leaning back in her bed. "Why are you embarrassed? You shouldn't be. That's a wonderful dream to have, worthy of anyone's time, I think."

Brittany raised her head, smiling shyly. "You really think so?"

"Of course! A dance teacher, what a lovely way to spend your life!" Brittany smiled and turned her head to look out the window, biting her lip thoughtfully. "How about you, Santana? What's your dream?"

Santana seemed startled by the question. "Me? Well… I'm studying to be a lawyer."

Mrs. Perkins laughed. "A lawyer? That's wonderful. How did you pick it?"

Santana shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just like to argue."

Mrs. Perkins laughed. "Find the job you're best suited for, I always say."

Santana laughed too. "That's the general idea, I suppose. Did you always want to be a dancer?" Santana asked, leaning forward slightly, now engaged in the conversation.

"Oh heavens no. When I was a girl I wanted to be a nun." Both Brittany and Santana laughed at this. "Now don't dismiss it. Becoming a nun was a very popular thing back then."

"So why the sudden change of heart?" Brittany asked.

"They told me that I couldn't ever have a boyfriend." Brittany and Santana laughed again. Mrs. Perkins shuddered comically. "Don't even get me started. Well that was the deal breaker for me, anyways. I was out of there faster than you can say 'grand jeté'."

Brittany laughed so hard she almost cried. Santana grinned from ear to ear. "You're an incredible person, Mrs. Perkins. I hope you know that."

"Oh I do dear," she said, winking at Santana, "but it doesn't hurt to be reminded a few more times."

"So where's your family Mrs. Perkins? Where's your husband?"

She smiled sadly at Brittany. "Oh, my dear Richard passed away about five years ago."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Santana said.

"That must have been terrible." Brittany added.

"It was, and I miss him dearly. But I'll be with him eventually, and that thought alone has kept me going. As for my children, well… they all live out of state. My son is very busy with his law firm, and my daughter owns her own business. I do miss them, though. I sometimes wish my grandchildren would visit. They're such a breath of fresh air. They bring life back into this dusty old woman."

Brittany looked sad, which in turn made Santana sad. She hated seeing Brittany sad. "We'll visit you, Mrs. Perkins." Santana said suddenly. "Every day that we're here, we'll make sure to stop by and see you."

"Oh that's very sweet of you, dears, but it's really not necessary-"

Brittany held up a hand, effectively cutting her off. "No buts. We're doing it. We like talking to you, Mrs. Perkins. It won't be any trouble for us. In fact, I think it'll do us a bit of good. It gets tiring being stuck in one of these little rooms all day by yourself."

Mrs. Perkins once again had tears in her eyes. "My week got brighter the moment I met you girls. You've made me feel so much better."

Brittany stood up from her spot by the window and walked over, grasping Mrs. Perkins' hand. "I'm so glad to hear it. You cheered us up a fair deal, too. We'll be back tomorrow. I can't wait to talk more about dancing with you."

"Neither can I. Goodbye, dears." She said as Santana and Brittany both bent down and hugged her goodbye.

They left Mrs. Perkins' room and Brittany closed the door softly behind her. She and Santana stood there for a few seconds, before Santana turned to her and kissed Brittany determinedly.

Brittany made a noise of surprise in the back of her throat, but quickly molded herself into Santana's embrace.

Santana pulled away finally, reaching down and slipping her hand into Brittany's.

"What was that for?" Brittany asked, her head still reeling from the kiss.

"You're amazing, you know that? I don't think I've ever been more in love with you than I am right now."

Brittany smiled. "I like helping people San, you know that."

"I know. Te amo Brittany."

"I love you too. And it's so hot when you speak in Spanish."

She led Santana back to her mother's room, the hospital echoing with the sound of her resounding laughter.

~SB~SB~SB~SB~

"I just wish there was another option." Mario said, his head resting in the palm of his head. His wife reached over and touched his arm.

"But there isn't." She said evenly.

Mario kept his head down. He didn't want his wife to see the tears brimming in his eyes. He wanted to be strong for her.

"You are too much like Santana." Angelica said softly, a smile in her voice. Mario raised his head. "You are both so afraid for me. I am not afraid of this, Mario. I don't want you to be, either."

"But how can you say that? How can you expect me to not be afraid?"

"Do you think I would go and die on you, mi amor?" Angelica shot him a pointed look. "I am much too stubborn for that."

Mario laughed a teary, water-filled laugh, and bent his head and kissed her hand. "What would I ever do without you?"

Angelica scoffed. "You're going to have to wait a long time to figure it out."

Mario smiled. "I do hope so, dear."

There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in!" Angelica called.

Brittany poked her head around the door. "We brought you a visitor, Angelica."

Mrs. Lopez sat up straighter in her bed, sudden excitement coursing through her. She's missed people. Having her family here has been wonderful, it truly has, but seeing the same faces day in and day out can be trying on anyone.

Brittany pushed the door open and entered the room, followed by her sister and a tall man that Angelica didn't recognize.

She visibly brightened. "Katie! Oh come here, let me see you! It's been so long!"

Katie bustled in, all bright smiles and youthful energy, and the somber mood of the entire room seemed to dissipate into nothing. "Mama Lopez!" She exclaimed, swooping in to claim most of Angelica's body away from her husband in a tight hug. "I can't believe I haven't seen you recently! You're looking young and as beautiful as ever."

"Oh stop it." Angelica blushed, swatting Katie away. "You're flattering me and it's not going to get you anywhere. I don't have any pie for you."

Katie frowned in a comically large way. "My day is ruined! And here Brittany told me that all I had to do to get some of your famous cooking was come down and say hello."

"Speaking of hellos." Angelica pointedly looked away from Katie's face and towards the strange man in the room.

"Oh yeah! Angelica this is Tyler. He's a friend of mine from school."

Angelica eyed the teenage boy up and down, and Santana couldn't stop a little ghost of a smirk from pulling at her lips. Her mother was giving Tyler her best 'Lopez disapproval' look. Santana knew this look. She had perfected it in high school. It was two parts annoyance and one part 'I'm bored with you'.

Tyler, however, took it all in stride. He pulled his hands from behind his back where he had been clutching a bouquet of flowers, and Santana saw her mother visibly soften. She was always an easy woman to woo.

"Here you are Mrs. Lopez. I thought you could use a little something to brighten up the room with."

"Seriously where did she get this guy?" Santana whispered quietly into Brittany's ear. Her girlfriend just shrugged.

"Why thank you, Tyler, was it? That's very, very kind of you." She made pointed eye contact with Katie. "You're such a gentleman Tyler, I'm sure you're treating our Katie right?"

"Oh, no I'm… I mean I'm just…" He blushed a deep shade of red, but Katie just rolled her eyes next to him.

"We're friends Angelica, I told you that."

"Right, like Santana and Brittany are just friends."

"Hey!" Santana exclaimed from over by the door, but Brittany shushed her.

Angelica smiled and winked mischievously.

~SB~SB~SB~SB~

"So do you like them?"

"Like who?" Tyler asked Katie distractedly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"The Lopez's."

"Oh yeah, of course. They're great people. But the dad is a little bit… I don't know… intense?"

Katie sighed. "He's always been that way. It's gotten worse since Angelica was diagnosed. Actually… it's been worse since Santana left home."

"You never told me what happened there."

Katie shrugged. "It's not really a great story to tell. Neither one of them likes to talk about it that much. Basically Brittany and Santana had been sleeping together since they were sophomores. At first it was just sex and all, and like, gross, my sister was such a slut," (she said this with an amused smile on her face, so Tyler assumed she was just kidding), "but then… I don't know, somewhere along the way it turned into more. I don't know who fell in love with who first, or when it happened… probably the first day they met. They're that sickening."

Tyler drummed his fingers nervously against the steering wheel. "I think it's kind of sweet that your sister's so in love."

Katie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling widely. "Sweet is one way to think about it. Nauseating is another."

Tyler, because he couldn't see her, frowned and asked, "You don't like their relationship?"

Katie snorted. "Are you kidding? I like Santana more than I like Brittany."

"It just seems like you-"

"I tease them all the time, yeah, but they tease me back. And I've never met two people who deserve each other more than Santana and Brittany do. I honestly don't know what would have happened if they hadn't gotten back together."

"They broke up?"

"No, no nothing like that. They just went through an awkward stasis phase, where they were both with-someone-but-not-really but then also still in love with each other… it was a mess."

"And all this made her father tense?"

Katie sighed and her good-natured smile slipped from her face. "I wish that's all it was."

It was silent for a few long, tense moments. "Do you wanna-?"

"Santana told her dad she was in love with Brittany right before they graduated. She probably would have done it sooner, but… her dad's always been kind of firm about things, and a little strict. He also hasn't always been around a lot; he hasn't always been there for her, because he spends hours working at the hospital and saving random strangers. I think Santana took it personally. You know, distant parent and all. They never really connected or shared any information with each other until she came out to him senior year."

Tyler bit his lip. "And what happened? After she told him, I mean…"

Katie's jaw clenched, the residual anger of this memory triggered reactions in her even now. "He threw her out."

Tyler almost crashed the car. "He did what?"

"He told her she had to pick between her family and Brittany. She chose Britt."

"I just… wow, that's…"

"I know, crazy right?"

Tyler blinked and had to shake his head a few times. They were currently sat at a traffic light that absolutely refused to turn green. "They were that in love?"

"I honestly still can't quite believe it happened the way it did. I mean, for the whole time I had known Santana before that, she was just an angry, scared, confrontational… bitch, for lack of a better word, and you know I hate that word." Katie said with a shrug, "and then to have her parents threaten to take away everything that she's ever had, ever known away from her just for loving someone?" Katie shook her head. "I can't believe Santana had that much courage."

It was silent between them for another good stretch of time. "I had no idea." Tyler half-whispered.

"About my sister and her awesome girlfriend? I know, it can be a bit surprising at times, but-"

Tyler shook his head. "No, it isn't that. It's just… I'm in for it, aren't I?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Usually when a guy is trying to impress a girl's family, all he has to worry about is the mother and father and older brother. But you, Katie Pierce, you have two families. I don't know how I'm going to survive this."

Katie bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile. "So you were trying to impress them, were you?"

"You think I buy flowers for just anyone?" Tyler teased.

"You bought flowers for me."

"I was trying to impress you." Katie made a little noise of sudden comprehension. "Did it work?" Tyler asked, still with humor in his voice.

Katie waited a full twenty seconds until Tyler had pulled up in front of her house, put the car in park , and pulled the keys out of the ignition before she leaned across the center console and kissed him firmly on the lips.

Tyler grunted in surprise but soon let himself melt into the surprising show of affection. Oh yeah, it had worked.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, and I make no money off of these stories.