Love and Dreams-Faberry

Chapter Sixteen

The four girls were spread around the living room enjoying a bottle of wine in front of the fireplace where a crackling fire burned brightly before them.

Quinn and Rachel were on the floor sprawled out on a thick bed of pillows and blankets. Santana and Brittany were huddled together on the couch; Brittany leaned back against the armrest with Santana between her legs leaning back against her chest. Brittany's arms were wrapped loosely around Santana's middle and the two of them chatted quietly.

"Santana, would you mind if I asked you something?" Rachel asked tentatively. She was lying on her back propped up on several pillows with Quinn's head resting against her stomach.

Santana shook her head slowly, knowing exactly where this was going.

Rachel chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "Why did you marry him? He doesn't appear to have many, if any, redeeming qualities and I just can't imagine why someone like you would marry someone like him."

Santana's eyes immediately sought Quinn's, who gave her an encouraging smile, then she craned around to meet Brittany's gaze briefly. She sighed. "He got me pregnant." She paused and laughed humorlessly. "It makes so much sense now that I think about it."

"What does?" Brit asked.

Santana sighed. "He was supposed to take care of the birth control, he told me I didn't need to worry about it, especially since the pill made me so sick. He probably skipped the condom so I'd become his stupid pregnant and barefoot slave or something."

"That sounds like something he would do," Quinn agreed.

"But you don't have a baby," Rachel pointed out. "Do you?"

Santana shook her head. "No. I got pregnant and he proposed. We just did it shotgun style. Then I lost the baby." She swiped at the tears streaking down her cheeks. "I was devastated by it, but part of me was happy. I'd just finished my first year of law school and I knew I'd never finish if I was pregnant. It sounds terrible, I know."

"No it doesn't," Rachel told her.

Santana shook her head. "He wanted to try again right away. Something about the way he was pushing made me go to my doctor and get some back up just in case he forgot again."

Santana's phone suddenly buzzed and she reached over to the side table to grab it, sliding it open to reveal a voicemail from Richard.

"Fuck that," she whispered as she deleted it without listening to it and tossed the phone back onto the table with a clang.

"What's up?" Quinn asked.

"Dick leaving a voicemail," Santana replied as she settled back into Brittany's embrace.

Rachel paused for a moment, her face suddenly scrunched up in thought. "Wait a minute. He came home early."

"Yeah," Santana agreed.

"So you never got to give him the papers," Quinn realized.

Santana shook her head. "Nope. But the plan is to walk into the hospital in broad daylight, when these bruises are really gnarly, and hand him the papers myself so everyone can see me make him squirm."

Quinn grinned instantly. "Can I watch? Please?"

Santana nodded. "Sure. We can stop on our way home."

"Really?" Rachel asked excitedly. She would have paid money to see him squirm.

Santana rolled her eyes. "I promise you guys can be there."

"Hey, San?" Quinn asked. She had been watching Brittany's fingers gently trace a few bruises on the Latina's arm and her curiosity was getting the better of her.