A/N: Okay, very long time. A lot of things going on in my life, but it is what it is. Anyway, chapter is short mostly because I don't know where else to go with the chapter.

Ch. 39: Lost For Words

Sue Sylvester's camp for Cheerios was known as the summer of hell…at least for the most part. Coach Sylvester ran a tight ship when it pertained to her cheerleaders. She asked for perfection when it came to her routines. If one person fell out of step, everyone suffered.

Everyday her Cheerios were expected to run 10 miles. However, the cheerios had a choice on how the 10 miles were completed. Some Cheerios decided to split the miles in half, 5 miles in the morning and 5 miles at night. Other decided that they wanted to get the 10 miles done right away (this option was less desirable). The most popular option was completing the miles sporadically throughout the day.

Besides running the 10 miles, the Cheerios were to spend 2 hours of their day going over their routines as a group. That was normally done after breakfast. Other than that, the days were pretty open when it came to activities. The number one rule that Sue Sylvester had was no singing.

Many of the camp's activities that could be chosen were: Swimming, volleyball, archery, cooking, canoeing, an obstacle course, rock climbing, basketball, the game room and the movie room.

So far this summer, Lucy and Amanda were pretty much attached to the hip. The only time they weren't was when Amanda chose to cook for a few hours and help out in the kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During those times, Lucy spent time with Sara.

*Friend to a Stranger*

Lucy and Amanda enter their cabin after running 3 of their 10 miles for the day. They had already gone over the routine for the day.

Amanda lies on her bed with a yawn.

"I keep telling myself that I won't ever come back to this place, but I always do."

"Same here," Amanda replies as she sits up in bed. "Being away from our family sucks, but when we get back we look really good, especially with all the running that we do."

Lucy nods her head in acceptance. She misses her family like crazy.

"It seems like we're missing things."

Lucy watches as Amanda pulls out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Are you finally going to write my sister back?"

A flash of guilt crosses Amanda's face. Over the past month, Beth has written a letter to her every week. She's received 4 letters from Beth and Beth has received 0 letters from her.

"I don't know what to say. From the letters it sounds like she's having a great time. Her first performance is in a week and I'm going to miss it. I didn't think it was going to be this hard being away from each other."

"Write that," Lucy says with a shrug. "I just think my sister just wants to hear from you. You love her, right?"

"With all my heart," Amanda says quickly.

"Then write to her. We are here for two more weeks. When we get back it's the annual Cheerio and McKinley Titans football party and then it's the start of the new school year. In her letters to me, Beth keeps asking about you. She may think you're pulling away and to be completely honest, I think that's exactly what you are doing."

Amanda huffs and gets up from her bed.

"I don't need your input," Amanda looks at the clock on the wall. "I'm late. I need to head to the kitchen to prepare lunch." Amanda stomps out of the cabin leaving the unfinished letter behind.

Lucy groans as soon as Amanda leaves. She was worried about Amanda. The first week at camp all Amanda talked about was Beth. By the second week, Amanda was talking less about Beth. As time went on, Amanda spoke less and less about Beth.

Amanda spent most of her time in the kitchen cooking. Other times, Amanda hung out with the other Cheerios who managed to smuggle in some alcohol. That's what worried Lucy the most. Alcohol and Amanda just don't mix. They never had. With Beth around, Amanda had no desire to have any. Now that they haven't seen each other in over a month, Amanda was falling into old habits. But she didn't want to mention it to Beth, although, maybe it would be a good thing.

Lucy pulls out a piece of paper and begins writing her weekly letter to Beth and her parents. She really hated Sylvester's rule of no cellphones or computer.

*Friend to a Stranger*

Amanda entered the kitchen with a sigh of relief. On her walk over she had thought a lot about what she was feeling. Her relationship seemed to be suffering because of their time apart. Beth has done everything she can to communicate while away, but Amanda couldn't put what she wanted to say on paper and it was killing her. She loved Beth with everything she had.

Beth seemed to be doing just fine on her own and she was showing interest in things that she never had before. Amanda's greatest fear was that after the camp was over and she went home, that Beth wasn't going to need her or love her anymore. So on reflex, Amanda was starting to distance herself from her girlfriend. She knew she was doing it. She just didn't know how to stop.

"Lopez, you're late. Get a jacket and let's start prepping for lunch."

The camp's head chef, Victor Samuelson was Amanda's favorite person at camp. When she had first gotten here Victor sought her out immediately. Victor had told her that he wanted to see if she had the talent her mother had. As it turned out, she did.

At first, Amanda was hesitant to cook in the kitchen. She didn't believe she had any skills. When she was younger, she and her mamí would spend Saturday afternoons in the kitchen cooking and baking. It was something to bond over. Her mamí would praise her all the time, but Amanda just thought that's how mothers were. She thought parents praised their children whether or not they were any good.

Despite the rushed movements in the kitchen, Amanda always felt calmness inside of her. It was the same calmness that she heard her mamí talk about all the time. She wasn't sure what she was going to do after high school, but she had a feeling that she would be following in her mami's footsteps. And she was okay with that.

Amanda goes to the hook to grab her jacket and walks over to Victor who was busy peeling potatoes for lunch.

Victor Samuelson was a tall man in his late thirties. He had blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. Over time, Amanda learned that Victor had gone to culinary school. He lived in New York, but spent his summers in Ohio. He had a wife and small child and that he worked with her mami in New York for a year before venturing out on his own. Apparently, her mami gave him the courage to do so.

Victor looked over at Amanda with a frown.

"What's got you down?"

Amanda looked up from her task of cutting the peeled potatoes.

"I haven't written Beth yet, and she writes to me every week. I just don't know what to say. Give me a basket full of ingredients and I can make a dish, but give me a pen and paper and I got nothing."

Victor stopped his peeling and looked at Amanda.

"Why don't you write your letter like you would make a dish? Take it one step at a time or in this case, sentence."

Amanda gives Victor a smile. "That could work." Amanda resumed peeling the potatoes and thought about what she was going to write about.

*Friend to a Stranger*

It was the first time in two weeks that Beth and the cast had gotten a day off. Rachel had told everyone that they deserved it. Opening night was in a few days, Friday night to be exact. The show runs for 3 weeks. Monday thru Friday there was only one show while Saturday and Sunday there would be two, a matinee show and then the regular night show.

Most of the cast decided to spend their day off alone whereas Beth and Kacey chose to spend it together. Their friendship has grown closer since Beth took over the part of Mimi Marquez.

Currently, Beth and Kacey were in the living room. Both were seated on the couch and both had two wireless controllers in their hand. They were playing PlayStation 3 and were currently playing the newest Call of Duty game.

"No, no, no…Come on, move!" Beth jams the buttons on the controller.

Next to her, Kacey is smirking. He presses one button and it's all over.

Beth hisses in her seat. "Damn it, I hate this game."

Kacey chuckles at his friend and goes back to the main menu.

"We can play something else if you prefer."

Beth shakes her head vehemently. "Nope, I'm gonna beat you at least once. I swear," Beth promises.

Kacey smiles and sets the game up again. He enjoyed playing games with Beth. She never wanted to give up. If he had been playing with his sister she would've given up after the first round. And that wasn't fun at all.

It took another half hour of playing Call of Duty before Beth managed to kill Kacey's character. Afterwards, Beth quit and she and Kacey settled on watching television even though nothing was really on.

"How do you feel about the musical? Do you think that everyone is ready for opening night?"

Beth turns her head from the TV to face her friend. She felt pretty confident with herself when it came to the musical. She knows that she has the musical numbers down pat. The only thing she's worried about is the actual acting."

"I think that things are going well. I know that everyone has the musical numbers down, but running through lines seem to be the hard part…for everyone."

"We aren't horrible though and we still have a few more days left of rehearsals. I think we're going to be alright," Kacey says with a small smile.

"I guess we will find out, won't we?" Beth responds with a smirk.

Kacey pauses the game and turns to his friend.

"I'm freaking out. During the rehearsals the only people watching are our cast mates. It's going to be different opening night."

"You won't be the only one nervous, but we've run through our lines a lot and there shouldn't be any reason why we won't have a great opening night," Beth states reassuringly.

Kacey shakes his head with a smile. "Why are you always the voice of reason?"

*Friend to a Stranger*

After her time in the kitchen, Amanda changed into her swimsuit and grabbed a towel to head to the lake. Lucy had told her that was where they were going to meet.

Amanda laid out her towel and plopped down.

"You write your letters yet?"

"Just mailed them," Amanda responds.

Inspiration for her letter to Beth came to her on her break in the kitchen. Amanda also returned a letter to her parents.

"Good," Lucy says with a smile. "My sister will be happy."

"My parents too, I'm sure they've been waiting for a response from me."

"Response to what?" Lucy asks as she applies more sunscreen.

"My moms want to have a baby."

Lucy whips her head around at the announcement.

"Are you serious?" Amanda nods her head. "Well, what did you say?"

*Friend to a Stranger*

After a long day at work, Santana walks down the driveway to collect her mail.

"Bill, bill, bill…oh my god," Santana looks down at the letter from Amanda. Santana rushes into the house. "Brittany! It's here. She responded!"

Brittany walks out of the kitchen. "What does it say?"

Santana opens up the letter quickly. She and Brittany were hoping for one particular answer.

Santana looks at Brittany with tears in her eyes.

"She gave us her blessing."

Brittany rushes into her wife's arms and kisses her endlessly.

Santana and Brittany are going to have a baby.