A/N: Okay so this is a super short fill to a prompt over at the Glee angst meme on livejournal that seriously distracted me from my intentions to write more of Your Past is Never Far. The prompt was basically Brittany's behaviour being explained by a medical condition (but a lot more eloqently worded). I just want to point out that being able to use the "always reliable" wikipedia does not make me in any way a doctor, so I'm sorry if this is completely inaccurate. Also, I am pretty much ignoring some canon stuff.

A Word

Oligodendroglioma, a word so big that even someone like Rachel Berry who is an over achiever, or Santana Lopez whose doctor father is constantly speaking in medical jargon, or even Will Schuester who is a teacher, would be expected to stumble on it. So the fact that Brittany can pronounce it, or at least used to be able to pronounce it before her ability to pronounce even the simplest of words became sketchy at best, means something. Of course no one but her parents even knows that she can (could) pronounce this word and maybe that's why it takes everyone so long to figure out that something is seriously wrong with the blonde. Certainly, if they knew that she could pronounce a word with eight vowels, two l's, two g's, two d's, and a handful of other letters without even flinching they would have been more concerned when she forgets which hand is her left, or when she can't remember what her middle name is, or when she doesn't know the second half of the alphabet, or when she believes in a magic comb and then Santa Clause without pause. Certainly, if those things still hadn't caught their attention, then flags would have been raised when she turns to Santana one day at the entrance to the school and asks where they are, or when she forgets every single word to the song they're practicing and when Rachel yells at her she just covers her ears, or when one day at lunch she opens and closes her mouth several times before simply pointing at the apple in Quinn's hand and nodding in agreement when Quinn asks if she wants it, or when after that she points more than she talks and it becomes fairly apparent that she doesn't know most of their names. Yes, if they had known she could pronounce that ridiculously long word then it certainly would not have taken them until the day that she has a seizure in the middle of Glee rehearsal to realize that something is seriously medically wrong with her.

Oligodendroglioma, a word that manages to shatter the hearts of eleven kids in an instant. Their reactions are mixed when they first find out in the hospital waiting room. Finn can't get past the first syllable of the word so he just keeps repeating it over and over again (maybe if he can pronounce the word it won't be so scary). Oddly, Kurt's the one who throws the magazine he's holding, with surprising strength, clear across the room (why shouldn't he be mad? people he cares about are dying or almost dying all of the time), while the people who everyone expects to react violently, namely Puck and Santana, don't react at all (if she just keeps texting, god knows who since everyone she knows is here, or if he just keeps tapping his fingers in a rhythm that sounds strangely like the Super Mario Brother's theme, then it's not real right?). Quinn starts giggling and her giggling causes both Mercedes and Sam to start full on laughing (because really how did they not see this coming? a cricket stealing her jewellery and reading to her didn't give it away?). Rachel tries to chastise the three (yelling at other people is a sure fire way to make her feel better, right?) but it's hard to continue when Quinn bursts into tears and it becomes impossible when, at Quinn's tears, Mike starts full on sobbing (because he might be a guy but that doesn't mean he can't cry). Artie moves to leave the room (nothing good ever happens in a hospital, he should know, plus the smell is making him sick) but he stops himself when he hears the words that leave Tina's mouth. Tina manages to be the first to get over the shock and what she asks is how they're going to fix Brittany (because Brittany's going to be just fine, hospital's fix people right?).

Oligodendroglioma, a word that Brittany learns for the first time when she is eleven. With it, Brittany learns all kinds of other words too (MRI, brain tumour, frontal lobe, brain biopsy). Brittany's parents learn even more words, but they decide that, at eleven, Brittany is too little to hear them (cognitive decline, slowly progressing, incurable, median survival rate of 17.5 years after diagnosis). They also learn that, since the tumour is very small and located near a very critical part of her brain, the best thing the doctors can do for the time being is to treat her symptoms. Since at eleven, besides the slight shift in her personality, her worst symptom is headaches, having Oligodendroglioma mostly becomes a waiting game. A scary waiting game where what you are waiting for is for your brain tumour to get big enough that surgical resection and chemotherapy become required courses of action, but a waiting game none the less.

Oligodendroglioma a word that Brittany used to be able to pronounce and that the rest of the Glee kids all now can. They stand by her through brain surgery (all of the guys, even Kurt, who claims he can't rock that look, and Mr. Schue, who thinks Sue Sylvestor might die from elation at the news, shave their heads) and chemotherapy (Rachel creates a colour coded chart to ensure that one of them can be there with Brittany every time those chemicals get pumped into her veins. No one says anything when Santana ignores the schedule, shows up at every appointment, and doesn't complain once when getting vomited on practically becomes part of her daily routine).

Oligodendroglioma, a word that, once Brittany returns to school, everyone pretends that they don't remember. They also pretend that they don't remember that the doctors only managed to resect part of the tumour or that the chemotherapy shrunk but didn't eliminate it. They pretend that they never heard the words incurable and that if Brittany only makes it to the median survival rate than her life is more than half over. Yes, they pretend they forget all of these things and instead focus on the fact that Brittany hardly has to point anymore, that her hair is growing back, and that they have never seen her smile as brightly as she does when they insist that she be in their number for Regionals even though they have to re-choreograph it so that she can be sitting through most of it. Yes, they pretend that Brittany is indestructible and instead help her focus on living. Besides, New Directions has been known to beat the odds and Santana will kick anyone's ass who suggests differently.