Trigger warning there is death. But I don't really delve to deep into that.

Life as we know it...

2008

"Rachel, I don't think this is a good idea." I said into my phone as I smoothed out my dress and examined my hair and makeup.

"What do you mean? This is the best idea that we've ever come up with." My best friend replied, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I heard Quinn in the background laughing and commenting about something that she was watching on TV.

"No, it's not actually. This girl was supposed to be here an hour ago, and there's no sign of her." I flopped down on the stool that was sitting in front of my vanity, and switched my phone to the other ear. "This is what I get for agreeing to go on a blind date with one of Quinn's friends. I should've known better."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Came Quinn's voice from somewhere in the background.

"Uh, B you're on speaker phone."

Rachel chimed.

I shook my head. "Oh thanks for telling me now Rach."

"Sorry B." Rachel said with laughter in her voice.

"Britt, I'm gonna call her and see where the hell she is. Should've been there by now."

Quinn yelled.

"Oh, you think?" I say a little louder so that she could hear me. "What are you guys getting into tonight?" I said now talking to my best friend.

"Well, hopefully, eachother." I grimaced at her words. "As soon as we can get you two love birds situated, we'll be on our marry way."

"Okay, one that was TMI, and two you guys don't have to worry about us. You can go and have fun. I'll wait a few more minutes and if she's not here. I'll go to bed." I shrug.

"Well we want to worry about you. We really want this date to go well. Quinn and I are convinced you two would be good for each other."

"

Whatever you say, you're only ruining your night."

"We're not ruining anything. We-"

"Brittany, she said she just pulled up to your front door."

Quinn blurted out effectively cutting Rachel off. " Have fun, but not too much fun." She sounded closer to the phone now.

I was just about to reply when I heard a soft knock on my door. "Alright, she's knocking now. I have to go."

We say our goodbyes before I hange up. I give myself a once over in the mirror one more time before shuffling to the front door. I took a deep breath and swung the door open.

There in front of me I was met with a brunette about two inches shorter than me leaning on the hand rails to the stairs with a cocky grin on her face. "Well, hello there sexy."

I scoffed and placed my hand on my hip. "You're late."

"I had... affairs that I needed to tend to first. I didn't want any interruptions while we're out tonight." She said smoothly... too smoothly. She held out here hand and flashed me a breath taking smile.

"Yea, well you could've called... or text me. That was rude and inconsiderate of you for not doing so." I said I stepped over the threshold, while placing my hand in hers.

"Yea, well I'm sure we can think of a few ways for you to punish me for it later tonight." She winked before pulling me down the stairs.

"Wait are you implying...?" There was no need for me to finish my sentence we both knew what I meant. She looked over her shoulder at me and gave me a shy smile and shrugged the other shoulder.I sntached my hand out of hers stopping both of us in our track. I felt anger flare, who does this girl think she is? "First you show up late and then you imply that we're actually going to have sex later?"

A cocky smirk spread across her face. "I didn't say anything about sex, but uh I'm sure we can arrange that... If you'd like." She did a small pivot and continued to walk forward leaving me staring angrily at her retreating figure. It took a moment for me to regain my composure and and follow behind her.

"I'd never in a million years want to have sex with you, Santana!" I spat out angrily as I caught up to her.

"Hey, a million years is a long time Brittany, you never know what could happen." She replied matter of factly. We've only spent all of three minutes in each others' company and I knew for a fact that I didn't like Santana. What was Quinn and Rachel thinking when they set me up with this girl? Hell, what was I thinking when I agreed to be set up with her.

I let out an exasperated sigh, not bothering with a comeback to her last remark. I just followed behind her already knowing in which direction this night was heading.

"Well, are you ready?" She looked at me with that stupid smirk on her face. I hate it when she smirks at me. It's so annoying.

No.

was on the tip of my tongue but, instead i gave a small nod and looked to where she was standing. She looked at me expectantly and I stared back at her confused. "Wait, where's your car?"

"Uh, right here." She pointed to the motorcycle in front of her.

My eyes widened in shock and horror. No, she can't actually be serious. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, wow, I thought Rachel said that you were smart?" I was taken aback by her comment, and honestly I was offended. "This is a motorcycle." She stated before she walked over to it and grabbed the helmet off of it and began to put it on.

"Well any blind man would be able to see that, that's obviously a motorcycle Santana." I spat. "What I meant was, you can't actually be serious, can you?"

She looked at me for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "As serious as a heartattack. Now hop on before I pull off without you."

"Santana, I am appalled! You expect me to get on a motorcycle? Those things are dangerous for one, two there's only one helmet that you didn't even offer for me to have, and three I'm wearing a dress."

Santana looked at me through unamused, bored eyes. "Are you done?" I scoffed at her rudeness. Never will I ever listen to Quinn or Rachel ever again. "Okay, sure they aren't safe, but, hey, I'm not dead."

"Oh, yea, way to ease my nerves." I reply.

She let her helmet covered head fall into her hands. "Aye dios mio." She didn't bother looking back up at me. "Okay, Brittany. We don't have to ride my bike, but this is the only means of transportation I have. So if you prefer we walk we can do that."

"Um, no. I'm not walking in this dress and these shoes." I said pointing down to my feet at the six inch heels I was wearing.

Santana drug her eyes down the length of my body and stopped at my feet before slowly bringing them back up to meet my eyes once more. "Well no one told you to wear that."

I threw my hands up before letting out a sigh. This can't possibly be happening. This is obviously Rachel and Quinn playing some type of prank on me. WIth that thought in my head I began to laugh a little, not missing the confused look on Santana's face, which made me laugh even harder.

"Hey, Barbie, you want to tell me what you're cracking up about?"

This is a joke. This has got to be a joke. There's no way they'd set me up on this blind date in seriousness. "W-wait, did you j-just call me Barbie?"

"Uh, yea?" I burst out into another fit of laughter. Definitely a joke. Santana tilted her head to the side and now was staring at me with a worried expression. "So, Quinn didn't tell me that you were... uh... crazy."

That was enough to get me to stop laughing. "Hey! I'm not crazy." I said defensively.

"Wow, mood swings." Santana said raising her hands in defense.

I crossed my arms and stared at her with what I could only imagine to be some sort of repulsion. While she just stared at me through a blank expression. We kept up our staring game for a few more moments before she began to shake her head. "Listen, we obviously aren't hitting it off well and you don't seem to be so interestedin anything I have to say." Did I hear... sadness? In her voice. "... I think this night has basically ended before it even began."

She actually sounded... sincere when she said that. So much to the point where I almost wanted to protest and tell her no. I'm interested in what you have to say... you're just being a douche and we can still do something.

She took off her helmet before letting her long black hair fall past her shoulders. She smoothed the top of it down and stepped a little closer to me stretching her hand out and offering me a smile. Not a smirk, but an actual genuine smile.

I was kind of stunned for a moment and I wasn't sure if it was at the gesture or that fact that I'm just now noticing the fact that she's actually quite... beautiful.

"Listen, it was nice meeting you. Really, it was nice even though things are clearly not going to work out between us." She said as she cleared her throat. I felt a small smile break out across my face. She almost seemed shy? Or nervous?

I finally remembered that she still had her hand outstretched and I automatically began to shake it. "Yea, nice meeting you." I said as I dropped the handshake.

"We now know never to trust our friends when it comes to them trying to set us up on blind dates." She let out a small giggle and stuffed her hands in her pocket kicking a small pebble that was sitting by her foot. I'm not even sure why, but in this moment I found her to be kind of adorable.

I tilted my head as I wondered where this Santana has been before now. I like this version of her. She's actually tolerable. "I guess our best friends don't know us so well after all." I say light heartedly. But, I was beginning to see why they wanted us to go out in the first place.

Santana looked up at me and smiled and mirrored her. But in the midst of our leering her phone began to vibrate. She grabbed it out of her pocket and smiled before she accepted the call. "Sorry, I'll just be one moment." She excused herself. I gave her a curt nod as she began to talk to whoever was on the other line.

"Hey, you! What are you up to?" I was never one to eavesdrop but, the tone in her voice, the way she talked to the other person on the line got me interested. I could hear a reply but I couldn't make out what was said. But I did know that it was in fact a female on the other end. "Oh. Well, I just need to wrap a few things up really quickly, won't take long, and I'll be over in a few minutes." She hung up the phone before I could think of something to make it seem as if I wasn't just eavesdropping.

When I met her eyes, that stupid smirk was back in place and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Who was that?" I questioned.

"Booty call." She answered simply. A part of me thought she was joking but by the way she was rushing to put on her helmet and jump back on her bike, I knew she wasn't.

"Seriously? I'm your date for tonight and you're leaving me for some 'booty call'?" I said in disgust.

"Wow, never pegged you for the jealous type." She said as she started the engine.

"You're impossble. You know that. This has got to be the worst date I've almost been on."

"What?" She looked at me through her helmet. "I couldn't hear you over the engine."

"Fuck this." I mumble as I turned and began to walk back to my apartment. What a moron.

Behind me I could hear her motorcycle taking off into the distance. Never again will I listen to Quinn or Rachel. I said to myself in anger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2012

I looked over at my clock through sleepy eyes. 2:36 a.m. Who the hell is calling me at this time of night... morning? I rolled over and sntached up my phone seeing Quinn's name flash on the phone. I quickly tap the green button and answer. "Quinn, this better be-"

"Brittany! Oh my god! It's Rachel! Rachel... she's... I'm here... hospital."

My eyes widened and my heart sank as I shot up to a sitting postition. I could definitely feel my breathing begin to pick up as I started to hyperventilate. "I-is she okay? How is the baby?"

Quinn couldn't speak I couldn't make out anything she was saying. She was obviosuly overwhelemed... and crying. "Quinn, calm down!" I practically yelled. I needed answers, everything was making me nervous. I was visibly shaking. "Just calm down and tell me, if Rachel's ok... is the baby okay?"

I was quick to hop out of my bed and throw on a pear of sweats and a tank top with a pair of slippers.

"Brittany... okay... she's okay." Quinn manage to choke out. I could make out some shuffling on the other end and I could distinctly hear Santana's voice. There was a pause and I grabbed my car keys running out the door straight to my car.

"Brittany?" Came Santana's smooth voice.

"What?" I say fed up with her already and all she's done so far is said my name. I was now pulling out of the parking lot and on my way to the hospital now.

"Damn, babe I thought you would be more happy to talk to me." She said cockily and I could just see the smirk on her face. It made me grimace.

"Santana cut the bulllshit how is Rachel? What's going on? Why is Quinn crying? Is the baby okay? Why are you guys at the hospital?"

"Whoa calm down, one question at a time. Isn't this usually where you come to have a baby?" Santana asked and I slammed on my breaks as I was just about to run a red light in my hurry to get to the hospital.

"S-she... she's having the baby?" I let out a breath that I'd probably been holding since I got the phone call. A wave of relief washed over me and was replaced with a sense of happiness and excitement. "She's okay?" I choked out as I felt a knot begin to grow in my throat and tears begin to cloud my eyes.

"Yea. She's fine Brittany." There was a moment of silence as I was taking that information in and sitting at a now green light. "Hey, are you okay?" She questioned softly.

"I'm good."

"Good." There was another moment of silence and I finally took my foot off the break and kept on my way to the hospital. "Oh, and by the way the baby is already here. She's been here for like ten minutes now."

"And you guys are just now calling me?" I question. I was supposed to be there before the baby came. I am the best friend of the mother after all.

"Don't feel bad I just got here. I haven't even seen the baby yet. When I got here I saw Quinn struggling on the phone with you much like she did with me and I thought you might have been scared out of your mind like I was because she wasn't really giving you any info. She was just kind of cry and choking out words. So to save you from the heart ache I thought I'd let you know that everything was okay before I went in and saw her."

"Oh wow look at you being selfless for once. Proud of you Santana." I said as I made a right turn and merged onto the highway.

"Yea well I'm going to head in now I'll see you when you get here." I hung up the phone without saying goodbye and let it all sink in. Rachel and Quinn's baby is here. I huge smile broke out on my face as I did a little happy dance in my seat. I was so excited.

I road in silence the rest of the way. Once I finally made it, I parked my car and just as I was about to get out my phone began to vibrate. Once, then twice signalling that I had two text messages. I saw the name 'idiot' flash on my front screen and I rolled my eyes. What could Santana possibly be texting about. We're literally about to see each other.

I tapped on the texts and couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. It was a picture of a tired looking Rachel smiling down at her new baby with quinn kissing her on her head. I placed my hand over my heart as I saved the image.

I clicked out of that one and went to her second text and it was another picture. But this time it was a picture of Santana holding the sleeping baby as she made a funny face into the camera. She'd obviously taken this picture herself. I could see Quinn and Rachel in the corner of the picture not paying her any attention, just lost in their own little world. I looked to the text that was written below the picture 'Izzy came out the womb a little early just so we can have a selfie sunday!'

I couldn't help the laughter that came after reading that. It was funny to me. So funny that I actually saved the picture and was still laughing about it as I walked into the hospital and onto the elevator.

Santana and I haven't ever really gotten along since the time we met five years ago until now. But, she has her moments where I actually think she's a decent person, and she actually is... at times. But she always has a way of reminding me that she isn't so great.

Right now though... she's actually alright.

As soon as the nurse directs me to the room where my bestfriend is I feel the tears swell up in my eyes as soon as I see Quinn holding the baby and Rachel smiling up at them adoringly. Santana is off to the side taking more pictures on her cellphone, both of the brand new family and herself.

"Oh my god." I utter and all eyes snap to where I'm standing. "She's finally here." I say as I walk over to Quinn.

"Yea she came out kicking and screaming." Rachel said with a chuckle in her voice. I walked over to my best friend and gave her a hug. She wrapped her arms around me limply. As happy as she looked I could tell that she was worn out after the birth.

"You should rest." I say quietly.

She smiled and gave me a nod. "I know. I'm just so happy to finally meet her... We went with the name." She said. I studied her for a moment before I let out a loud squeal followed my me covering my mouth in embarrassment.

"Whoops sorry." I say sheepishly. "Did I wake her?" I said looking over to Quinn who was rocking the baby and humming soft lullabies to her.

"Good luck with waking her, that baby sleeps like a rock." Santana said from behind her phone that was pointed directly at me.

I scrunched my face up at her. "You better not be taking picture of me, creep."

"Barbie is fiesty. I like that." She said looking at her phone before looking back up at me. "And for your information, I'm not taking pictures of you...anymore. I'm video taping."

"Ugh! Stop it! I look hideous right now!"

"These are memories!" She fired back in defense. I almost wanted to laugh at her comeback. I was half expecting her to insult me further, like she always did, but she didn't.

"Hey, you two stop it. Can you guys just relax? It's Isabella's birthday." Quinn chastised. I looked over to her smiling completely forgetting about Santana and her weird obsession to capture every moment.

"I can't believe you guys went with Isabella to be her name." I gushed to Rachel and she put on a lazy smile and nodded her head.

"Yea, me either. I thought for sure you guys were going to go with my name." Santana said as she took her seat still pointing the camera in my direction and I stuck my tongue out at her and she copied my childish behavior. "Ava would have been the perfect name for her."

"Yea well, you win some and you lose some." I retort with triumph in my voice.

"You guys are worse than two bickering children." Rachel commented.

"She started it." Santana said.

"What? How did I start it?"

"You always start it!"

"Guys! Shut up!" Quinn broke in. "Brittany do you want to hold her? You haven't even introduced yourself to her properly. You'd much rather argue with Santana about nothing."

I felt my cheeks heat up as Santana snickered in the background and I made my way over to Quinn taking the baby from her.

The first thing I noticed about baby Isabella was that she was a little bundle of perfection. Who would have thought that my best friend Rachel Fabray and her wife Quinn Fabray could make something so utterly perfect. So beautiful, so tiny. I smiled down at her as she began to stir in her sleep, trying to move her limbs that were tightly wrapped in her blanket. I leaned down giving her kiss on her forhead and whispering 'I love you' to her.

The next day Rachel's room was filled with family members and close friends that had come to California at the arrival Isabella. I had spent the night there so I left that day, so that everyone else could have the chance to meet baby Isabella Fabray.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2013

"Happy Birthday dear Isabella! Happy birthday to you!"

The crowd sang around the now one year old toddler. She was smiling and clapping and she probably didn't have the slightest clue about what was going on but she was being an amazing birthday girl thus far.

"Blow out your candle." Rachel cooed. But Bella simply began to wiggle around in her highchair. Knowing that Bella wasn't going to blow out her single candle Quinn leaned over and blew it out herself and the crowed erupted in cheer full of 'yays' and 'good job Isabelle'.

Rachel removed the candle out of the cupcake that I'd made especially for Bella, and the one year old immediately dug in. She ate the cupcake with her hand smearing it all over her face.

"Brittany I think she loves the cupcake you made her." Rachel says to me and I give her a smile and a thumbs up. SHe looked back down to Bella, who was making quite the mess now. "Wow." Rachel said. "She eats just like her mom."

Quinn slaps her on the shoulder playfully as everyone shared a laugh. "Im only kidding." Rachel says and kisses Quinn.

I looked around at the party that was currently being held in Quinn and Rachel's backyard. There was a lot of people here. The crowd was mixed with familiar and unfamiliar faces and not to mention a lot of toddlers and kids ranging from 5 to 8. Rachel said there was a lot of kids in ther neighborhood that knew Bella. But how does a one year old make friends with an eight year old?

"Okay, is everyone else ready for cupcakes?" Quinn said looking excitedly to the group of kids. They all screamed and cheered. "Alright follow me!" Quinn lead them to the table that I'd decorated with cupcakes earlier.

"Smile for the camera." Came Santana's obnoxious voice as she held the camera in my face. I turned my head refusing to look and shoved it away.

"Izzy is going to think you are so lame when she gets older and watches this." Santana comments.

"No, she's going to think you're creepy for always videotaping everything."

Santana drops the camera and fakes being hurt. "You always call me creepy, to be quite frank with you that hurts my feelings." She lies.

I look at her through unamused eyes. "Oh really?" I say as I fold my arms and she brings the camera back up and aims it at me again. I look at everything except her. I stare at all the parents standing around some talking some greeting Rachel and Bella who is still in her highchair eating messily and some over at the dessert table helping Quinn pass out cupcakes to all of the children.

"No, now just say something to Izzy and I'll leave you alone."

"Promise?"

"You have my word."

"That isn't much." I retort and she flashes me an annnoyed look. "Okay, okay." I said holding my hands up in surreneder. I take a deep breath and look into the camera. "Bella, today's your first birthday and I couldn't be more proud of my favorite year old. You're smart for your age you know and you're quite cute... When you're not keeping me up half the night when I babysit you." I smile and shake my head. "Happy Birthday Bella. I love you!" I kiss my hand and blow it into the camera. Santana quickly drops the camera again and pretends that she caught my kiss. She smiles cockily and pretends to put it in her pocket before bringing the camera back up.

"Hey, give that back!" I say. "That was for Isabella."

"Sorry, I took it. You'll just have to give her another one." Santana said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"No, you're a thief. You'll just steal that one as well."

"No, I won't. Besides don't act like you weren't blowing that kiss to me." She said with her signature smirk in place, and I had to walk away. I hate that stupid, cocky smirk. "Hey, where are you going?" She called from behind me.

"I did your video... Now leave me alone." I called over my shoulder as I walked up to Rachel and Bella.

Bella instantly smiled when she saw me and began squirming and holding her hands out for me to pick her up out of the highchair. "Alright calm down Bella." Rachel cooed as she removed the little table and began to unfasten the seatbelts. I smiled as Bella squirmed out trying to help Rachel take her out of the seat but not really helping at all.

"Brittany, she's really trying to get to you."

"She loves me." I say smiling at Bella.

"I see... Do you mind taking her and getting her all cleaned up. I mean she's going crazy for you to hold her." Rachel said picking Bella up but Bella still had her arms outstretched to me even with her mother holding her.

I playfully roled my eyes and took the toddler. "Of course I don't mind." I carried Bella back into the house and up to her room. Once we were there I put her down and she began walking around as I searched for her another dress to put on.

I grabbed a few baby wipes just so that i could give her a quick wipedown and so that she wouldn't be sticky from all of the icing that she got everywhere.

Once I turned around Bella was sitting on the floor looking up at me with big brown eyes. My heart melted as I joined her in sitting. I took off her soiled clothes until she was in nothing but a diaper and I began to clean the icing off of her. Once I was done with that she gave a small yawn and started to rub her eyes.

"Aw, Bella are you tired?" She didn't answer. She merely fluttered her eyes close before slowly opening them again. I watched her try to fight sleep for a few more moments before gently taking her into my arms and walking back over to her dresser and pulling out a onsie.

I dressed her before lying her down in her oversized crib. One would think that as soon as I laid her down she would have went straight to sleep. But she didn't to my dismay. She began whining. Not crying just whining. I rubbed her head soothingly which didn't appease her. "What's wrong Bella?" I cooed. She just continued to whine. "Shhh." She whined for a few more moments before she outstretched her arms sleepily. I smiled knowing exactly what she wanted now.

I kicked off my shoes and crawled into her crib. It wasn't the first time the toddler wanted to use me as cuddle buddy. Bella has never liked falling asleep alone, or waking up alone. She always needed that constant warmness of another human being. I balled up in her crib, it may have been oversized for a one year old, but definitely too small for a 26 year old such as myself.

I'll only lie here until she falls asleep. I say to myself. I'll get up and go back downstairs as soon as she close her eyes. I say again, and I don't even notice myself drifting off into a peaceful slumber along with bella.

XXXXXXXXXX

When I wake up I can no longer hear music coming from the back yard or children laughing and screaming. I pick my head up trying to figure out where I am and notice all the stuffed animals in the room. I let my head fall back down realizing that I must have fallen asleep with Bella. I dropped my hand over my face as my other hand began feeling around searching for a baby that wasn't there."Bella?" I question and I could feel my heart rate skyrocket as I looked around at the empty crib.

I immediatly hop up leaving my shoes and taking notice to how it is now dark outside. I run down the stares nearly falling as I miss the last step. But I quickly regain my balance and stop as I'm met with the sight of Santana sitting on the couch in the living room watching cartoons with Bella, who was dressed in nothing but a diaper.

"Oh, hey Brittany, you're finally awake!" Quinn came walking past me and into the kitchen where Rachel came peaking her head out of.

"Oh good! We have something to tell you!" All of the fuss caused Santana to turn and look at me.

"Izzy, look who finally crawled out of your crib." Santana said to Bella but the toddler was to engrossed into her cartoon.

"How long has she been awake? How long have I been asleep?" I question.

"She's been awake for about two hours and you've been alseep for about four hours." Rachel said. "You guys missed the rest of the party."

"Well... we were tired." I defended.

"No big deal." Quinn said motioning for me to come into the kitchen with her and Rachel. "Santana, come in here, and bring Isabella."

"You don't tell me what to do with my life." Santana said carrying Bella around her neck. "Isn't that right Izzy?" Bella only smiled and squealed happy to be up so high.

I looked at her worriedly. "Santana be careful." I said. "Don't drop her."

"I won't." She replied. "Okay, Brittany is here. What did you two want to talk to us about?"

"So..." Rachel drags out as Santana and I look from her to Quinn expectantly. "You two are our best friends." Quinn agrees with her wife by nodding her head. "And you guys are great with Isabella, and we see how much you love and care about her."

"So, we've decided to ask you to be her legal god parents." Quinn finishes for her. My face breaks out into a smile and Santana is smiling just as big.

"Of course! I'll be her god parent!" I say first.

"Yes, I'd love to be Izzy's god mom!" Santana says as she begins to dance with Bella still sitting on her shoulders.

"Santana, take her down. I don't want her to get hurt." I chastise.

"Sorry, Brittany we can't hear you! We're too busy having fun, something you wouldn't know how to do." She replies as she strains her neck to smile up at the baby.

Before I could give my snarky remark Rachel cuts in. "We know that you two don't really get along, but we're hoping that if, in the event that something were to ever happen to both Quinn and I you two would be able to step in and take care of our precious munchkin."

"Of course we would be able to do that." I assure them by myself since Santana left the conversation and was now back in the living room playing on the floor with Bella. "But, nothing is going to to happen to you." I say looking from Rachel to Quinn. "So we won't ever really have to step in."

"Yea, we know." Quinn said. "We just want our baby to have two loving god parents."

"Well, you chose the best." I state. Even though Santana and I have our differences and we can't stand each other most of the time. There's two things we have in common. One, we both love our best friends. Two, we both love Isabella and are willing to do anything for her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2014

Life has a funny of way of showing up at your door and kicking you right in the face when you least expect it. Or at least that's what I was thinking when my phone rang at seven p.m. on January 6 2014. It was Santana. She was crying. I'd never heard Santana cry before. It was painful listening to her try and choke out words on the other end of the phone as I tried to get her to calm down.

For a quick second I wandered why she called me to cry to and not Quinn. After all Santana and I barely talked to each other outside of whenever the four of us were together. We barely even liked eachtoher. But the pain in her voice never made me question her out loud.

"B-Britt... Brittany... th-they're gone." Three words. Three words she managed to choke out in a sob. Three words that would change the rest of our lives.

"W-who's gone?" I ask quietly afraid of the answer. Afraid of what was going to be said next, and just overall afraid.

I heard another heartbreaking sob leave her mouth. "Qu-Quinn... R-rachel." I shook my head as my phone slipped out of my hand and met the floor. Tears falling from my eyes and pain like nothing I've felt before over took me.

In the back of my mind I was saying no this is all just some sick twisted joke Santana is playing on me. I just talked to Rachel and Quinn no more than eight hours ago. They told me how they were going on a long overdue date night tonight. So this couldn't be. I'd just spoken with them this morning.

"Brittany?" I hear Santana's broken voice calling from inside of my phone. I slowly take a seat on the floor, feeling like I can't stand any more. I wipe away a few tears and tell myself once more this isn't true. It's not real.

"Santana... tell me... t-tell me you're joking." I plead.

"And what kind of joke would this be?" She cried. "I-I wouldn't..." I let my face crumple as I began to cry freely now letting the weight of her words overpower me.

"But, I-I just talked to both of them th-this morning." I try to reason.

"Brittany, we have to go get Isabella from the police station."

My heart, then, completely shattered. Realization sunk in that poor Bella would never have her parents. She would never see them again. She was only one year old. How could she lose both of them at such a young age?

I began to shake, my body racking with sobs.

"Brittany, I know." Santana said in an attempt to comfort me. "I-I know." She said again this time sounding more broken. "B-but we have to g-go get the baby... Sh-she needs us."

I let out another sob before nodding my head, and it was silly because it's not like Santana could see me. So I found it in me to speak again. "I-I'm on my way."