In an empty hut, the sky darkening for the night's arrival, Brittany was laying in her bamboo bed trying not get sick all over herself in front of this caring person she swore she'd never met before.

Santana was kneeling beside her bed, removing some leaves from Brittany's arms with a gentleness Brittany never would have associated with the evasive and hard girl she'd just been with earlier that day. In fact Brittany has never had anyone care for her in a way that made her feel so important.

"It doesn't sting does it? Because I can probably find another ointment that feels better." Santana asked ask she peeled away the oily leaves from the rash patches on Brittany's skin. "This one works the fastest though."

Brittany stilled Santana's arm and waited until she was looking up at her.

"It's fine. It's more than fine." She smiled and rubbed her thumb along Santana's knuckles. "You really don't even have to be doing what you're doing kind of fine."

Santana averted her eyes as Brittany started recognizing a soft blush crawl up her neck.

"You are here to help us, so we're here to help you."

"Well thank you." Brittany cringed at the cramping in her stomach, making Santana pull her hand back like it was her touch that was causing the pain. Brittany recovered after a few short seconds and replaced Santana's hands in her own. "Your hands are warm. They make me feel better."

Warm hands slackened under Brittany's grip and they just sat there, suspended in time, looking at one another, each silently wondering what this pull was that had them feeling so at ease in the moment.

It had all started earlier that afternoon.

Brittany was impatiently waiting for the return of the guys in her group. They had gone up river to speak with a neighboring tribe about gaining access to that portion of the river. Brittany and Rebecca were made to stay behind since the other tribe didn't deal politics with women.

Brittany was absentmindedly drawing a backwards Zorro symbol in the ground with a stick while she talked with Rebecca about going to the river the next day. She was concerned about the safety of anyone going in the water for research purposes and Rebecca was explaining to her about rubber gloves and fishing pants when Chuck came storming into the hut, tossing his pack to the ground with a grumble.

"I just don't get it! Why won't they just let us do our work and help figure out what's up with these damn eels?!" Chuck griped. "Do they not want to have safer waters?"

"I take it the meeting with the other tribe didn't go so well?" Rebecca asked.

"Psh. That's an understatement. We didn't even get to explain what we were going to do." Louis answered. "They got one look at us and turned us down."

"It really isn't a surprise. We were aware that the other tribes might not be willing to work with us." Stan said.

"So what are we supposed to do? Sneak back at night or something and investigate the area when no one is around?" Chuck asked.

Brittany immediately thought about the Caipora and the warning that they shouldn't go off on their own. Then her mind wandered to Santana sitting next to her, telling her not to worry. A small smile stretched its way across her thin lips as she wondered what Santana was doing and if she was wearing her bracelet.

"We can't do that. They'll be expecting something like that and will attack us without hesitation." Stan answered. "We'll just have to work around it; find another way."

"This is bullshit!" Chuck yelled. "I gotta go take a walk or something."

It was then that Rebecca handed him a photo of a plant called the Uncaria tomentosa, or Cat's Claw. It was used for healing in the tribe and Rebecca had been interested in studying it. She told Brittany and Chuck to go look for it. Brittany knew it was a ploy to get Chuck's mind off of the meeting with the other tribe, but she really didn't mind the distraction.

Brittany and Chuck had been searching for the plant for 20 minutes with no luck. Rebecca had told them where they could find it, but Brittany was starting to wonder if it had been legitimate at all.

"I think she sent us goose chasing." She said while crouched next to a bush, picking various flowers, and putting them in her satchel.

"Huh?" Chuck asked as he stared at the picture in his hand like it would somehow show him where the real thing was hiding.

"Maybe we should ask someone from the tribe if they know where it is." Brittany suggested, ignoring Chuck's confusion. "Maybe Santana can help us."

"I'm not so sure your new best friend is actually friendly enough to help us, Britt."

"She's nicer than you think." Brittany defended.

"I think she's meaner than you think."

"Who mean?" Both Brittany and Chuck turned to face Pacon and Santana walking towards them.

Santana was staring at Brittany, her stoic face painted burgundy and her hair tied up in braids. She looked stunning and fierce and Brittany just stared right back, unsure what to do or say. Her eyes trailed down Santana's body. She was wearing a short loin cloth and a shirt made out of some type of white, thin fabric that didn't cover up much. Hanging on one of her wrists was the bracelet Brittany had given her the night before, only it was bound to her skin with a black leather strap.

"Well hello there, Santana. You're looking quite beautiful today." Chuck said as he looked her up and down.

Brittany forced her eyes back up to Santana's face and saw nothing but discomfort there. Santana had shot her eyes to the ground and turned her body towards Pacon, obviously trying to hide herself from Chuck.

"Eyes off gringo." Pacon reached towards Santana and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest.

"No worries, bro. I didn't mean anything by it; just trying to pay your girl a compliment."

Pacon just clenched his jaw and looked back over towards Brittany. "Did you need help? You look lost."

Brittany took her eyes off of Santana completely, with such reluctance she wasn't sure how she'd managed it, and told Pacon they were looking for a plant. She handed him the picture and watched as Santana leaned over Pacon so she could see it. She opened her mouth to speak, but then shook her head instead. Pacon looked at her and lifted his shoulders. Brittany watched the way they interacted and the way they could hold a conversation without words. She must've been staring too hard or long because her eyes started to burn, so she looked away.

It was clear to Brittany that Santana didn't want to spend another minute in their presence. She was tense and avoiding eye contact. It made Brittany both angry and sad. Sad that Santana didn't want to spend time with her, and angry that Chuck had probably been the cause.

"We can help." Pacon spoke up.

Brittany whipped her head back towards them with a bright smile. She thought for sure that they would say no. Her smile faltered, though, when she saw the irritated look on Santana's face.

"No. We can't. We have to go, remember?" Santana crossed her arms across her chest and gave Pacon a pointed look.

"It can wait, Santana. You just show them where it is."

Santana sighed, but relented and showed them that the Cat's Claw was actually higher up in the trees, crawling up the trunks. Pacon and Chuck took the opportunity to compete over who could get to the plants first, leaving Brittany and Santana on the ground.

Brittany was squinting against the sunlight that was streaming through the tree branches as she tried to watch them. The sun seemed brighter to Brittany in the Amazon, everything seemed a little more here. When Brittany looked back down, Santana was already watching the side of her face. She didn't even need peripheral vision to feel the stare of Santana anymore. After only a couple of days it seemed to become a sixth sense; being able to feel when Santana was watching her.

"You know, with the pretty way you're dressed today, you'd think I'd be the one staring at you." Brittany said as she side eyed Santana.

Santana quickly averted her eyes, but her smile couldn't be forced all the way off of her face.

"You like what I'm wearing today?" Santana asked before looking back at Brittany. It was the first time she had looked her in the eye since that comment Chuck had made.

"Very much. You look like a warrior princess." Brittany said, her giddiness coming out in the way she bounced on her heels and playfully swiped at one of Santana's stray braids.

Santana tucked the braid back behind her ear with a shy smile. "Pacon and I were on our way to go hunting."

"Is that like, a date?" Brittany asked with a tilt of her head.

"A date?" Santana furrowed her brow and she looked back up at Pacon.

"Yeah you know like dinner and a movie, but like in the amazon maybe you hunt your dinner first?"

"I know what a date is, Brittany. Why would you think Pacon and I were going on a date?"

"Because you're like, you know, dating?" Brittany struggled to find her words. "You're together, right? I mean you seem like you're together and you're both so... I don't know, I just – I thought…"

Santana covered Brittany's mouth with both hands to silent her.

"Pacon is my friend; only my friend." Santana said with finality and removed her hands from Brittany's mouth revealing a lazy grin.

"Did you really just do that?" Brittany quirked her eyebrow.

Santana's eyes widened as if she'd just realized what she'd done. She took a step back and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I crossed a line. I didn't mean-"

It was Brittany's turn to cover Santana's mouth with her hands and she could tell by the crinkle in the corner of Santana's eyes that she was smiling. "I was kidding. Relax." Brittany slowly pulled her hands back, letting them ghost down Santana's arms before she pulled her hand up and inspected the bracelet she was wearing. "I was wondering if you'd wear it."

"Hmm?"

Brittany lifted Santana's wrist higher and dangled it in front of her face.

"Oh. Why wouldn't I wear it?" Santana sounded offended that Brittany would think otherwise.

Brittany chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged before asking, "What's this, wrapped around it?" as she dragged a single finger across the leather strap until she hit skin and peered back up.

Santana cleared her throat. "It's um, it's so it won't fall off." Santana mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed. "I didn't want to lose it."

If a smile could power a city and make birds sing then the giant smile Brittany was wearing would do both.

Santana smiled back at her for a second longer than she normally would and then her face returned to its usual, hard expression. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Brittany watched her do this a couple times, patiently waiting for words to be released from the prison she knew Santana must usually keep them in. Until finally, "Do you… do you date?"

Santana's face scrunched up and she rolled her eyes at herself. "What I mean is, do you have someone who you date?"

Brittany thought about it. She wasn't dating anyone at the moment, but then again she was really far away from home. She went out on a date with a boy a couple weeks before she left Gainesville, but it was just for fun and a free meal. She kissed a girl in a changing room at the mall a few months before that, but she wasn't sure if that was a date or not because they were friends.

"No. I'm not dating anyone right now." Brittany settled on.

"Oh okay." Santana nodded her head and looked back at Pacon and Chuck who were now trying to pick the most Cat's Claw, each swiping the plants away from the other in the process. "Why not?" She asked as she looked back at Brittany who hadn't taken her eyes off of her.

Just then Pacon landed right in front of them with a thud, a huge grin on his face, and a handful of Cat's Claw.

"I won. Amazon warrior always win against white American." He said triumphantly and looked up at Chuck who was struggling to climb down the tree.

Santana immediately unpeeled her eyes from Brittany the moment Pacon landed and shifted away from her. Brittany noticed, but didn't think much of it. Pacon startled her too.

"Great, can we go now?" Santana asked with an impatient huff.

"Yes, yes Santana. We go now." Pacon rolled his eyes at his friend before shooting a smile at Brittany and handing her the plant. "For you, Cinderella."

Santana made a sound of disgust and ripped the plant from Pacon, shoved them into Brittany's hands, and pulled him into the forest.

Brittany really didn't understand that girl one bit, but it didn't matter how much she confused her, she liked her. She liked her more than she knew she should.

An hour later and Brittany found herself laying down with a pounding head, an upset stomach, and itchy arms. Rebecca was leaning over her and checking her temperature.

"Hey Marcus, is Brittany allergic to anything?" She asked.

Marcus frowned as he watched his daughter in pain, "Not that I know of."

"Well I think we can safely say she's allergic to Cat's claw. Looks like she's having a reaction."

Rebecca gave Brittany some Benadryl with the promise that she would feel better in time. There wasn't much else they could do for the rash, not having anything stronger or that Rebecca knew would help with such an unfamiliar plant. They left Brittany to sleep it off while they went to dinner, hoping that she would feel better in the morning.

It wasn't long before Brittany was roused from her sleep by the sound of someone walking towards her. She assumed it was her dad coming back to stay with her so she didn't bother to open her eyes, until she felt soft hands lifting one of her arms and placing something on it.

"Santana?" Brittany croaked.

Santana didn't jump at the sound, but she did look a little startled. "I thought you would be sleeping." She said as she laid Brittany's arm back down. "Did I wake you?"

"Um sorta. What are you doing?"

"I heard you were sick." Santana answered quietly.

"Okay… " Brittany drawled out, confused as to why Santana still had her hand over her arm.

Santana looked at Brittany and then down and her hand and it clicked. "Oh." She said removing her hand and reaching beside her. "Chuck told me that you were allergic to the Cat's Claw, so I brought these." She said lifting up the leaves. "It's a remedy we use here to heal the rash. And this-" She handed Brittany a cup with some foul smelling liquid in it. "-is for your head and your stomach."

"Oh." Brittany tried to sound more thankful, but she was still a little unsure. "I have to drink this?"

"Yes. It tastes bad, but it will make you feel better quick." Santana assured her.

Brittany plugged her nose and drank the medicine in one gulp, coughing when she was done.

"You're right. That did taste bad."

"You'll see I'm also right that it will make you feel better too though."

"Thank you, Santana." Brittany smiled, despite the grit still sticking to her lips.

Santana stopped her ministrations on Brittany's arms and looked up at her. "Don't sweat this." She said with a shrug.

Brittany held back a smirk and laid back down against her pillow, allowing Santana to finish what she was doing.

"You talked to Chuck?" Brittany asked after a few moments.

"Yes."

"Voluntarily?" Brittany through a smile.

"Only to ask where you were. You weren't at dinner with everyone."

"You're not usually there either." Brittany pointed out.

"No." Santana said simply and lifted Brittany's arm, inspecting her work and making sure it wasn't too uncomfortable. Brittany thought she might be trying to distract her with her gentleness on purpose to avoid talking about why she was never at dinner. It was working, plus she really didn't want Santana to have another mood swing. She was quite content with this version of the other girl.

After Brittany told Santana that her warm hands made her feel better, Santana hadn't moved from her spot once. Even when she was applying the leaves on her other arm she made sure to do it one handed as to not pull her hand away. Brittany wasn't lying, it did make her feel better. The sensation of Santana's hand in hers and the way she was taking care of her made her feel so relaxed that she fell asleep before Santana could even finish.

Brittany woke up early the next morning. Rebecca had taken one of the cots, letting Brittany have the bed to herself. She stretched her arms above her head and that was when she realized that the leaves were still plastered to her skin. She carefully peeled them away, revealing healthy skin. She moved her head from side to side; her headache was gone too. In fact she felt better than she had since she'd gotten to the forest.

Santana healed her.

Brittany reached for her watch that she hid in one of her shoes on the ground (keeping it safe from any wandering monkey paws) and saw that it was just before 6 am. Knowing her father and Chuck, she knew that they wouldn't be headed for the river for another couple of hours, giving her enough time to try out her theory about the eels.

She quickly and quietly got dressed, made sure not to wake anyone up, left a note saying she was going for a walk around the tribe and rushed out of the hut. The sun was just about to rise by the time Brittany had made it outside. It was still that peaceful moment before the animals and people come back to life from the night and the air was still a bit chilled. It was beautiful. Brittany stood there for a second, just soaking it in, until she heard the cracking of a stick a few yards away from her.

She looked over to see Santana coming over to her with a bucket in one hand, and rubbing her eyes with the other. Her hair was still in braids, but they weren't as smooth as they were yesterday. She was walking like she was still half asleep and Brittany giggled at her as she approached. Instead of awkwardly standing in front of each other wondering what the other was doing up so early, Brittany lunged into Santana's arms.

Santana for her part stood stock still. One hand was still lifted to her face, while the other was gripping onto the bucket for dear life.

"Thank you so much Santana! You should be a doctor!" Brittany exclaimed as she pulled back.

"Umm… you're welcome." Santana's words were still slurred from sleep, or from shock. The hug definitely seemed to wake her up, though.

"You're not a morning person huh?" Brittany asked through a shy grin.

"Not really, no."

"Then why are you up so early? The sun isn't even up yet."

"I always get up early to get water from the river."

Brittany thought it was weird that Santana got up early every day and yet she still seemed so groggy, but she didn't push it. Some people just aren't morning people.

"I'm on my way to the river too, you want to walk together?" Brittany asked.

"There aren't many different ways to the river, so I guess we sorta have to."

Brittany looked down with a pout on her face. Maybe she should wait a few minutes to go to the river, since Santana didn't really seem like she wanted company. "Oh. Well I guess I can wait a few minutes if you want to walk by yourself."

"I didn't mean it like that. I was- I'm not good with joking around this early." Santana said, placing her hand on Brittany's shoulder to get her to look up. When she did Santana gave her best smile before running her hands down Brittany's arms and lifting them up to inspect them. "You feel all better?"

Brittany didn't answer right away, even though she was bursting to thank Santana again. Instead she waited for Santana to look back at her before crinkling her eyes in an appreciative smile. Santana looked pretty, even in the mornings, maybe especially so.

"I feel much better, thanks to you." Brittany finally said when Santana returned her smile.

Nothing else was said before they started heading towards the river. They had already been walking for a few minutes before Santana stopped in her tracks and looked at Brittany with a confused look on her face.

"Wait. What are you going to the river for all by yourself?" Santana asked.

"I'm not going by myself; I'm going with you."

"You know what I mean, Brittany." Santana said with a playful eye roll. "How come you're not going later, with everyone else?"

"Well…" Brittany started walking towards the river, not wanting to stand still and watch Santana's face as she told her the theory she came up with. "I was talking with Rebecca yesterday and I thought that maybe the eels are like Pikachu."

"A pika what?"

"Pikachu. It's a Pokemon." Brittany look over at Santana and saw that she still wasn't getting it. "It's a cartoon thing, nevermind. Anyways, I thought maybe they could get worn out. Like, use up all their electricity."

Santana nodded her head in understanding, so Brittany continued.

"So, I'm gonna throw rocks and sticks in the water and try to scare them so they use up all their electricity before my dad and the others go into the water."

She paused; silently waiting for Santana to say something, maybe about what a stupid idea it was or tell her that it won't work like Rebecca did. When the silence persisted she looked at Santana and saw that she was still nodding her head.

"I mean, it's worth a try I guess." Santana said. "I can help you if you want?"

Brittany eyes lit up and grabbed onto Santana's free hand and swung it back and forth.

"Yes! I would love help. I know it's probably silly, I just don't want anyone getting hurt if I can help it."

"It's not silly, it's smart." Santana pulled her hand back from Brittany's when they reached the water's edge and turned towards her. "Bravery isn't always about being the strongest or fighting the best, it's about not being afraid to come up with ideas, no matter how silly they might seem. I think you're very brave for trying to keep people safe, Brittany."

Brittany leaned in and gave Santana her second hug and whispered 'thanks' in her ear.

When they pulled apart they both started looking for things they could throw in the water. Santana found a bunch of sticks and Brittany started tossing a few rocks in the water, trying her best not to hit any of the fish.

"So, can I ask you a question?"

Santana narrowed her eyes at the water as she splashed it with a tree branch. "It depends on the question."

"How come you speak better English than everyone else? Well, except for your uncle."

"I've lived with my Uncle almost my whole life and he taught me a lot of it." Santana answered nonchalantly.

"So, that's it?"

"Well, my mother speaks very good English too. She teaches it to some of the children in the tribe. She taught me so that I could help her. It's good to know more than one language."

She wanted to ask more about Santana's mother. She was beginning to think she wasn't real, since she still hadn't seen her, but by the way Santana was fidgeting she could tell she didn't want to talk anymore about it.

Brittany picked up a smaller stick and poked Santana with it before splashing it in the water and throwing it in. "I wish I knew another language."

"Yeah?" Santana asked, poking her with her wet tree branch causing Brittany to laugh and back away from her. "Maybe I teach you my language?"

"Really?! That would be so cool!" Brittany clapped.

"Good." Santana smirked, splashing some water at Brittany's feet.

"Hey! You're gonna get eel electricity on me!"

Santana laughed and splashed her feet with more water. "You should be more concerned with me splashing up a snake or a Candiru at you!"

"A what?"

"Candiru. It's a tiny fish that can swim up in you. I heard about a man who peed when he was bathing in the river and one swam right up his penis. They had to chop it off." Santana said grimly.

Brittany covered her mouth with her hands, muffling her gasp. "You wouldn't really splash one of those on me, would you?"

Santana began laughing again. "No, of course not!"

Brittany joined in her laughter, but kept a close eye on the water, making sure she didn't get splashed again.

"Do you always travel with your father to help people like us?" Santana spoke up again.

"No, this is my first time. I'm going to be graduating next year and my parents thought it would look good on college applications."

"Oh okay. You live with both your parents? How come your mother didn't come?"

"My mother come here? Yeah right!" Brittany scoffed. "She doesn't like camping further than the backyard! Plus she had to stay home with my little brother."

"Little brother? You have the perfect American family then huh." Santana's voice was a little on edge.

"Far from perfect, but I guess. I mean a lot of my friends have divorced parents." Brittany thought about it and tilted her head. "Don't most of the families in your tribe have a mom, dad, and kids?"

"Yeah." Santana said and looked away.

"Where… I mean can I ask where your dad is?" Brittany asked hesitantly, just above a whisper.

Santana bent up to pick up another stick and threw it into the water more forcefully than the others. "You can ask." She said as she tossed in a couple of rocks. Brittany waited, knowing Santana would continue when she was ready. "I don't know. He um, he wasn't a part of the tribe."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He's not even Amazonian. He was um…" Santana faltered and stared hard at the rock in her hand. She looked at Brittany and shook her head. "I've never had to tell anyone this before, everyone in the tribe – everyone I know – already knows."

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No." Santana moved an inch closer to Brittany. "I do. I want to tell you lots of things that I've never had to tell anyone before and it's strange. I mean it is strange right? Because we hardly know each other, but it doesn't feel like that."

Brittany moved an inch closer to Santana. "It's not strange. Some people just click, that's all. We just fit, like when I met my first cat. I saw him at the animal shelter and I didn't even have to pick him up. He just looked up at me and I knew that he was my cat."

"Yeah, okay." Santana nodded, her head bouncing up and down like she was still trying to work out the puzzle of her and Brittany's sudden "clickness".

"So, your dad…" Brittany prompted.

"Right. Si. My father was visiting with a group kind of like yours I guess. More like explorers though. He and my mother, they fell in love or something, shit, I don't know, but then my mother got pregnant with me. He was supposed to stay or my mother was supposed to go, I think. He just left though. My mother said she woke up and he was gone with the rest of his group." Santana picked up a stick to throw into the water, but instead it dangled next to her side. "He only had to wait another month and he would have met me."

Brittany could feel the sadness coming off of Santana in waves to the point where it was almost stifling. She moved closer towards the sadness with her arms outstretched, ready and willing to suffocate in it with Santana.

The stick Santana was holding dropped to the ground and she put her hands in front of her. "No."

Brittany stood still and her mouth drew downwards, "Santana…" her voice cracked.

Santana dropped her hands and a single, thick tear rolled down her cheek. Defeated, she let Brittany close the distance between them and pull her into her arms.

They stayed like that for a moment. Santana refusing to let another tear spill, refusing to wrap her arms around Brittany, and refusing to let her weakness take her any further than letting Brittany comfort her for just that moment.

They broke apart when they heard Brittany's name being called in the distance. Neither of them said anything, but they both knew the moment was over.

Marcus was the first to appear through the trees. Brittany whispered to Santana that they would talk more later, then ran up to her father to explained to him that she was helping Santana, but when she looked back at the river, Santana was gone.

"Guess she had to get the water back…" Brittany said as Armando and the rest of the group caught up to them with gear ready for eel catching.

Sorry that took SOOO long! I rewrote this chapter 3 times and I'm still not thrilled with it.

I tried to make the Cat's Claw as close to correct as possible, but I may have added allergic reactions and stuff like that for the benefit of the story.

Anyways, I hope you liked it and sorry again for making you all wait so long! I hope the flow didn't feel too funky.