“We're gonna be late if you don't hurry!” Santana urged Brittany, rushing down the hall to the choir room. Coach Sylvester had held them late once again, probably because she knew Scheuster was on the warpath about everyone being tardy so often. Brittany was sauntering down the hall, brushing her hand against the lockers and saying a counting rhyme to herself as she walked.

“Britt! Now! Maybe you don't care, but I do. If I get in trouble with Mr Schue, he might not write the letter of recommendation I need for college, so even if you don't hurry for your own sake, can you do it for me?” Santana snapped at her girlfriend, losing her temper again, then feeling bad for it.

Brittany stopped and looked at Santana. She saw no reason to hurry, it wasn't as if anyone cared if she was there in Glee or not, but she decided to do it for Santana. Hitching her book bag a little further up on her shoulder, she took a few quick steps and her toe caught on her shoelaces....and she went flying down the hallway, skidding head first into a wall. Santana was there in an instant, shouting to her girlfriend......but Brittany was out cold.

Blaine was hurrying from another direction. He had stopped at his locker to get some sheet music and came around the corner at a quick pace, stopping in his tracks as he saw Brittany stumble and go skidding. He was there almost as fast as Santana and held her back with firm gentle hands.

“Wait, sweetheart. We need to see if her neck is hurt before you move her, okay?” Blaine asked softly. Santana melted into Blaine's arms a little while Blaine dialed the emergency number on his cell phone. The halls were empty because it was after school and all the students who were still there were in extracurricular activities. Kurt and Puck rounded the corner, missing Blaine in Glee and coming to look for him.

“Oh, no...what's happened?” Puck asked as Kurt landed on his knees beside Santana and Blaine.

“Sssshhheee...” Santana began, then took a deep breath. “We were running for class and she slipped. When she fell, she skidded against the wall and she's been unconscious ever since,” she finally got out, then looked around for Puck, who had vanished.

A second later, Puck was running back, Sue Sylvester in tow. She was the first person he encountered and instead of explaining, he just grabbed her wrist, pulling her along until she saw someone on the floor. Shannon Beiste was right behind, having seen Puck grab Sue's wrist and drag her out of the gym.

“I called an ambulance,” Blaine said as Sue knelt beside Brittany, tenderly moving her fingers under Britt's chin to find her pulse.

“I can feel her pulse and it's very strong. Did she hit her head when she fell or when she went into the wall? How fast was she going when she hit the wall?” Sue kept asking, her hand patting Britt very gently on the back. “Come here and talk to her, Santana. She'll rest easier if she can hear your voice,” the coach advised. The students looked at Sue, she was showing a side that nobody had ever seen of her before, with the exception of Kurt, and they were surprised. Santana was holding Britt's hand in hers, begging her to wake up when the EMT's came down the hall.

They put Brittany on a backboard after applying a neck brace, strapping her down tightly, and let Santana and Coach Sylvester ride in the ambulance. By this time, a crowd had gathered and several teachers were there, asking the students to go home, they would get more information in the morning.

Kurt drove Blaine and Puck to the hospital where they waited, eventually seeing Brittany's parents enter the corridor. Kurt went up to them, “Dr. Pierce, Brittany is in the room right ahead on your left. Santana and Coach Sylvester are with her. I'm here if you and Mrs Pierce need anything.”

“Thank you, Kurt. It was so kind of you to come and wait for Britt. I'll be back in a few minutes to let you know what we can find out.” The optometrist smiled at Kurt, knowing him from a few times when Kurt brought some needy children to his office...Sam's brother and Blaine among them.

An hour later, Santana came out to the waiting room, Dr. Pierce at her side. They explained that when Britt fell, she hit the top of her head on the brick wall and it compressed a vertebrae in her neck. It wasn't bulging or herniated or anything and rest should fix it in about four to six weeks. In the mean time, Britt would have to wear a neck brace and rest a lot. The friends could go in and see her for a few minutes before she went to sleep and she would probably be released in the morning.

“Brittany, honey, how do you feel?” Kurt asked, taking her hand in his as she lay pale and shaky on the bed.

“I'm okay, but I feel funny. My toes and legs are all tingly, but the doctor said I would be okay, it would feel funny for a while,” she smiled at Kurt, squeezing his hand. “I could hear you talking to Santana, but I couldn't talk, I don't know why..?”

“You were kind of stunned, then you passed out I think,” Blaine told her. We're glad you're okay, honey.”

Brittany looked at Blaine, taking in the stress that was very evident across his face.

“I think you need to rest, too, Blaine Warbler. You need to let Kurt hold you close the way Santana holds me. It always makes everything better.” She smiled at Blaine, then turned to Puck.

“Thank you for getting Coach Sylvester, Puck. She told me you came and dragged her down the hall to me. I think she said she was going to sue you for touching her. Better hide from her, Noah, she means business. But I like her, too.”

“You're right, Britt, she is a good person to know, but I'll watch out, okay?” Puck asked for agreement.

“Okay, guys, goodnight,” Britt finished, closing her eyes for a minute. They took this to mean it was time to go, so everyone left – except Santana and Brittany's parents.

“Poor Brittany. I don't know how that could happen...just a fluke accident. You never know when something like that's gonna happen. Makes you want to cherish the people you love even more, every day, doesn't it?” Puck said, looking at his friends as they gazed at him in astonishment. This was just not something they were used to hearing from Puck's mouth.

“You're right, I hadn't thought of that. Makes me want to go home and hug my parents,” Lauren said, rubbing Puck's back in a comforting gesture.

They were all sitting in Grandma Sofia's dining room: Puck and Lauren, Blaine and Kurt, and Santana. Brittany was home, but resting and Santana needed a few minutes to herself since she had been with Brittany for two days now.

“Your friend, she is doing okay now?” Sophia asked Santana.

“Yes, she has a bruise on the top of her head and she had a bad headache for several days, but she is getting better all the time. The doctors say all she needs is rest. Thank you, Grandma Sofia,” Santana took the old woman's hand and squeezed it gently. The old woman smiled at her. She knew that Santana appeared to be very gruff and mean, but actually had a heart of gold, and Sophia knew the kind of life a young child endured to develop such a shell.

On Sophia's other side, Blaine was sitting, holding her other hand and smiling. He was very attached to the woman, to say the least, and had bared his soul to her several times. She held some of his deepest secrets, knew some dark things about him and where his mind went during one of his PTSD spells, but she kept those secrets and never flinched when he told her the bad things. She just held on to him, accepted him unconditionally, and that was something not everyone had in this life. He was grateful.

“Kurt, Lauren, you come help me in the kitchen, right?” Sophia asked, getting up from her chair and finding Kurt's hand gently supporting her. She smiled at him, thinking how much he resembled his father. Burt was just such a boy and had grown into a shining example of a man.

They walked into the kitchen and Sophia gave each of them dishes to set on the table, spoons, forks, glasses, napkins, and all the things for a nice dinner. Then she had Kurt help her getting out the beef roast with mushroom onion gravy and some dinner rolls. Taking the meat from the pan, Sophia added a cup of water to the drippings in the bottom of the pan, then handed the fork to Lauren to stir the flour into a cup of water, making a paste before adding it to the drippings. Sophia sat down in a chair she kept there, but got up when she needed to.

Kurt put the potatoes in the mixing bowl, adding cream and salt before mashing them. They smelled heavenly.

“How did you make these?” Kurt asked, curious about the scent.

“I peeled, chopped, and cooked a celery root until it was soft, then added it to the potatoes along with a bit of onion juice and a clove of garlic. It's the celery root that gives it the fresh smell. Here, taste," she said and then held up a spoon with a bit of the mash on it. Kurt obligingly took the bite and was amazed.

“Oh, Grandma Sophia, this is wonderful, so delicious,” Kurt enthused, enjoying the bright smile that reached Sophia's eyes at the kind words. All the food was set on the table and the young people began to fill their plates: green beans with almonds, candied carrots with butter, sliced fresh tomatoes from Lauren's garden. They all chatted with each other as they praised Sophia's cooking.

This is what Sophia lived for now: making people happy. She had enough heartache in her life and just wanted her last few years to be full of hope for this new generation of children to grow into happy, healthy, worthwhile adults. She thought they had a good start with the ones sitting right here at her table.

It was only a week later and Brittany was back at school, doing fine as long as she took it easy. She had to take a leave of absence with the Cheerios and sit out of Glee, but it didn't seem to bother her too much. Santana or one of her friends was there for her and she would sit, arms around one or another of them, and cheer for the choir as they got ready for their next competition.

One day as Britt entered the choir room, she noticed Santana wasn't there. Kurt saw that she looked a little lost and nudged Blaine, nodding at Britt. He called her name, placing a chair between them as Blaine reached out a hand to direct Britt into the chair. By the time class started, Brittany was leaning on Blaine, his arm supporting her and Kurt's hand was holding hers in her lap. Santana had sent Kurt a text asking him to look out for Brittany because she had an appointment that day.

Santana stepped into Dr. Pierce's office. She had been here several times, had even had her eyes checked here. That was the first time she had met Brittany, when they were about seven. One of Santana's teachers had sent her name in as a child that might need glasses and couldn't afford it. Dr. Pierce had worked with the Lion's Club in getting glasses for underprivileged kids and was glad to help this young girl, who was the same age as his own little princess. As it turned out, Santana didn't require glasses, but she had been a little frightened of what they were going to do in the exam room and Dr. Pierce had called Brittany in to hold her hand and show her there was nothing to be afraid of. They had been best friends ever since.

“It's nice to see you, 'Tana,” Dr. Pierce greeted her. “You know Sophia Suder, don't you?” he asked, gesturing to the woman sitting on a soft chair beside Brittany's mother.

“Yes, hello, Grandma,” Santana said, more curious.

“Santana, we don't have good news, and we wanted to talk to you about it. We're waiting for one more person,” he said, as a knock was heard at the door and Mrs. Lopez came in.

“Mama?” Tana said, as chills ran up her arms and down her back.

Tana's mother sat down next to her, placing an arm around her daughter. Santana looked at the people sitting in the office and knew something very bad had happened.

Dr. Pierce sat across from Tana and took her hand in his.

“Do you remember when Brittany fell a few weeks ago and hit her head? Well, in being careful in his diagnosis, Dr. Ewing took some CatScans of her head to make sure there were no broken or cracked vertebrae. There wasn't any damage caused by the fall, just some bruising and she will be fine as far as that aspect is concerned.” He took a deep breath, looking into Santana's liquid brown eyes, seeing the tears gather. He could see that she knew it was bad news, so he hurried to tell her, knowing from years of being a doctor that knowing what you're up against is better than not knowing and having your imagination fill in the blanks.

“She has a tumor. In her brain,” he said, and jumped as Tana's hand squeezed tightly in shock and hurt his hand. She didn't say anything, just looked into his eyes, begging him to tell her it was going to be okay, that it was benign, it was a mistake, it wasn't happening.

“I have to go,” she said, getting up to leave, to run...but her mother stopped her, arms suddenly in a vise-like grip around her daughter.

“No. Stay and listen. Brittany will need you, my baby, and you must stay and learn how to help her,” Mrs. Lopez said.

“You're right, Mama,” she said and looked at Dr. Pierce expectantly. It was Sophia that answered, however.

“Santana, the reason we are all here is because we love you. We know you and Brittany have something special between you, and we acknowledge that. I know it has been hard for you, coming out when it wasn't your choice, having the McKinley bullies turn on you when you were at your weakest point, when you could have denied it, shoved the truth into a box and lived as though it had never happened, you stood by Brittany because you knew she needed you.

“Time and again, you have shown us, all of us, that you are a strong person that will not let injustice stand. When Blaine was rescued from his imprisonment, you stood by him, you put yourself in danger to rescue someone that needed your strength. Now, once again, we are asking you to be strong. Brittany doesn't know what is wrong with her. She will need you more than anyone else has ever needed you, Santana, and we are asking you if you can do this. Can you stand by her in the hardest thing she has ever had to face?” Sophia asked.

“I think you have known for a long time that there is something 'special' about Britt,” Mrs. Pierce began. “You might have wondered about us, why we didn't do anything when we saw her grades slipping, why we didn't seem to notice that she was making less and less sense. Why she would say such strange things...like accusing her cat of stealing her schoolbooks or believing Rory was a leprechaun. Well at first, we thought it was just her joking. She has always been a touch naïve – still believing in Santa, or the Easter bunny. But it continued. We took her to a doctor to see if there was something we could do...and she has been on some medication, but it wasn't working.”

“Last week, she told me that dolphins were just gay sharks. We all laughed, but it upset me. I love her, and I saw there was something terribly wrong. I'm so sorry I didn't say anything. I didn't want to believe it,” Santana dropped her head, ashamed of herself.

“Don't blame yourself, we all noticed and it took this accident to make us take action,” Dr. Pierce said.

“We know the tumor is in a good place – if there is such a thing. We don't know if it is cancerous, but we need to have a biopsy done. It will be frightening for her, they'll have to shave her head and drill into her skull. She will need you, Tana,” Britt's father continued.

“I'll be there. Can I tell Blaine, Kurt, and Puck? We have a bond after the whole ordeal Blaine went through, and I know they will be there for her,” Santana begged. She was willing to do anything for Brittany, but having her support in place would help her and Britt through it.

“Yes. Let us tell Brittany first, tonight. We want you to be there when we tell her, if you can,” Mrs. Pierce asked.

“Of course, I'll be there...” Santana said, then buried her head in her mother's shoulder and held on as her mother stroked her back.

“Blaine?”

“Ah...Tana? Is that you? What's wrong?” Blaine asked.

“What makes you think anything is wrong?” Santana said in her bitter tone, overcompensating as she realized how vulnerable she sounded.

“Because you always call me 'Prince in the Tower' or 'Kurt's Prancing Pony', or 'Hobbit'. If you're calling me by my name, I know something is not right. Now spill.”

“Can I meet with you and Kurt for breakfast tomorrow? I know it's Saturday, but I need to speak with you,” she said.

“Where and when? You know we'll be there,” Blaine answered, getting a bit worried when Tana didn't elaborate further.

“Puck's house, 8 a.m. See you there.”

Santana came into the Pierce's house as soon as Mrs. Pierce opened the door. She went into the living room and sat on the sofa, Brittany's parents sitting across from her. Brittany skipped down the stairs, a big smile spreading across her face when she saw Tana waiting for her. She grinned and sat on Tana's lap, smiling at her parents.

“Brittany, I came today to talk to you about something. It isn't a happy thing, but I am going to be with you the whole time, okay?”

And they told Brittany about the possibility of what could happen, why they had to do the biopsy, and all the details. Britt took it pretty well, considering, and Santana kept her composure. The surgery was scheduled for Monday morning and Tana had been excused from school to be there.

“Come in, Kurt, Blaine,” Sophia said when she answered the door. She waved her arm towards the dining room and Kurt recognized that Sophia was most comfortable with the crisis of life if she faced them over a table loaded with comfort food. Kurt often felt the same way and recognized a kindred spirit when he found one.

“Hey, guys,” Puck said, gathering first Blaine then Kurt into his arms for a bear hug. They didn't know the reason Tana asked them to come, but they all felt the veil of fear in her voice when she called them last night. One look at Sophia and Kurt realized she knew already and he nodded at her when no one was looking. She nodded back, a sad look on her face.

Santana rang the bell and Puck went to get her, coming back into the dining room with his arm around her. It looked like he was physically holding her up.

She sat down between Blaine and Puck, her head low and tears dried on her cheeks.

“I'll get right to the point. I need you. When Brittany fell, they did a c-scan to see if she broke something. She didn't. But they found a tumor in her brain. Monday they are doing surgery to see if it is cancerous. They'll shave her head and drill a hole in her skull to access her brain. They will do the biopsy and look at it, then if it is something they can operate on, they will probably do it right then. I can be with her when they take her in and when she wakes up, but I need you to be with me for the hours while they operate.”

She sat still, having told them everything they needed to know, and now she felt stiff and cold. Blaine started to put his arms around her, Kurt reached over to put his hand on her, but Puck picked her up and pulled her into his lap, surrounding her with his strong arms and she buried herself into him, only now crying and sobbing.

“We'll be there, baby, we'll take care of you...” Blaine crooned, using the words Kurt always said to him, knowing how much they helped.

Sophia came in from the kitchen, a small glass in her hand.

“Santana, honey, take this,” she directed, placing Tana's fingers around the glass. She drank it in one shot, gasping a bit and looking up at Sophia in thanks. Puck could smell the burned odor of the whiskey.

They stayed with Santana, Kurt finally calling her mother to ask if she could stay with them that night, and Mrs. Lopez agreed, hoping her daughter would get the love and support she needed. It hurt her that Tana's friends were of more comfort than she was, but she recognized that a girl in her teens, with all the social pressure that Santana was under, naturally went to her friends. She knew Kurt and Blaine and liked them, she even liked Puck once she had gotten to know him, and prayed Tana would find the strength to be there for Brittany.

An hour later, all four of them were lying on Puck's bed. There wasn't much room in spite of it being a king sized bed, but they lay like so many puppies, all intertwined as they talked about Brittany and all their memories of her over the years.

“Oh, my god. This sounds like a wake! She isn't dead yet!” Santana yelled, and they all realized that it was beginning to sound like that. It was very late and they fell asleep, all tangled together. Blaine and Puck fell asleep first, and Kurt moved next to Santana and took her in his arms, the way she had done for him when he was grieving over Blaine being lost to him.

“I know I can't guarantee anything, but I do believe she will be okay. I am usually the pessimistic one, always looking for the worst thing that will happen, but I don't feel that way this time. You helped me keep my sanity when Blaine was gone, Tana, and I owe you. You know I will be there every step of the way. We have each other's back, Tana. And I love you, sweetheart.” Kurt kissed her cheek as she wept and sighed into his chest. She hadn't noticed it, but Kurt had changed over the past year, he'd built muscles and he felt so strong holding her. She snuggled deep into him and whispered, “I love you, too.”

Kurt smoothed her hair from her eyes and began to sing very softly, so as not to wake the others:

Oh, why you look so sad?

Tears are in your eyes

Come on and come to me now

Don't be ashamed to cry

Let me see you through

'Cause I've seen the dark side, too.

When the night falls on you

You don't know what to do

Nothin' you confess, could make me love you less

Puck woke up and began to sing with Kurt, then Blaine joined in, too:

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you

So, if you're mad, get mad

Don't hold it all inside

Come on and talk to me know

Hey, what you got to hide?

I get angry, too

Well, I'm a lot like you

When you're standing a the crossroads

And don't know which path to choose

Let me come along

'Cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you

And when the night falls on you, baby

You feelin' all alone

You won't be all alone

You won'

t be on your own

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you

Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour

And I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you....

“I love you guys...” Santana said, amazed that they all loved her so much, that she had the capacity to love them all, and she no longer felt alone in this.

“Do you think she'll be okay?” Blaine asked Kurt the next day as they walked through the park, hand in hand because they were alone in the trees and nobody was near.

“I do. Of course, I could be wrong...I felt like my mom would live forever and I was wrong then, but this doesn't seem like the same thing at all. I hope you were okay with me holding Tana that night,” Kurt asked, a little afraid of the answer. He had seen the way Blaine looked when he saw Santana in Kurt's arms.

“Yeah, I did feel funny about it, you know, but I also know there was no reason to be jealous. I trust you with everything, Kurt, and I know you would never cheat. It wasn't anything sexual, it was more like I was unhappy that someone could be made to feel better by your hands. I'm not sad you did it, I'd have done the same thing if I could have given her some respite, but it wouldn't have been the same thing.”

“I understand. I have to tell you something, though, baby. You won't like it, but it happened and I don't want you to ever doubt me, so I want you to know.” Kurt said. Blaine shrunk within himself, knowing whatever it was, that he would rather not know, but the not knowing might hurt more than the knowing. He sighed and nodded his head at Kurt.

“When you left, when I couldn't find you...Santana came over. I was devastated, wasn't eating or sleeping, and my dad took me to a doctor because I had lost so much weight. I just didn't care anymore.”

Kurt hesitated. He certainly didn't want to cause Blaine any more pain or chase him away again, but somewhere inside he also needed to tell Blaine that what he did was devastating. “Well, Santana found out and she came over. I hadn't even bathed myself in weeks. She shaved me, then stripped me down and started a shower......I guess she really didn't trust that I could cope with something as basic as a shower because the nest thing I knew....she had...she had taken off her clothes as well and stepped into the shower and washed me from nose to toes.”

Blaine just stared at Kurt and Kurt wondered if it was the realization that he could not function without Blaine, or if the shock of his boyfriend naked in a shower with an equally naked girl stirred up some sort of jealousy. He wasn't going to ask, so he continued.

“She put clean linen on the bed and made me lie down. She held me all night, Blaine, and I think she saved my life. I didn't care anymore because I thought you were gone, but she made me take care of myself, she made me realize I had to keep living because you would come back. I owe her, Blaine. And I might never be able to repay her, but I can try.” Kurt finished, tears in his eyes as he brushed them out. Blaine stopped, looked at Kurt and held out his arms.

“Well, then, thank god for her, baby. I will never leave you, but thank God Tana was there and saved you for me,” Blaine said, taking Kurt by the neck and bringing his face close to kiss him.

“They all did...Puck, Lauren,.......Brittany even came one night. They stayed with me every night until you came home, baby.”

Blaine closed his eyes, his reaction to Kurt's explanation caused so many emotions to stir around in his brain. He tried to feel out if he was jealous – that all these people were so ready to help Kurt out, that Santana had basically taken over his devotion to Kurt's welfare for the time he was gone. Blaine sat with his eyes closed, holding Kurt tightly as he thought it over. He might even be a tinge jealous that he had spent so many agonizing hours all alone while Kurt had support every minute - but he knew that was something he had brought on himself, not something Kurt instigated and it would never have happened if he had stayed home with Kurt where he belonged. He found himself melting into Kurt's embrace and uttered the words that were the most true: “Then thank God for them.”