Chapter 1: It's a marathon, not a sprint
Santana has just arrived at the hospital to visit her gran. Her gran has just come through an operation but is still recovering in hospital. She had to undergo an angioplasty since developing atherosclerosis as a result of smoking for many years. The procedure was carried out on her leg to widen the narrowed arteries supplying blood to her legs.
"Hey, how are you?" Santana asks while going over and hugging her gran.
"I'm not getting any better Santana" Alma sighs.
"What are you talking about, the nurses seem to think you're doing great" Santana frowns.
"Oh what do they know" Alma sighs while shaking her head.
"Considering they work in the medical industry then I hope they know a great deal" Santana states.
"They can't wait to get you out of here and it doesn't matter how. Whether it's healthy or in a bag, they're just happy to get rid of you" Alma states.
"I think you're being a little pessimistic, that can't be true" Santana sighs.
"I'm not joking Santana, it's true" Alma says seriously.
"What exactly have they said that makes you say that?" Santana asks.
"It's not exactly what they say, it's how they say it" Alma replies. "Plus they're not shy in telling me I need to quit smoking."
"I'm not surprised, you're in here because of smoking. I mean I'm not about to sugar-coat this either because it's serious" Santana shakes her head.
"The only pleasure I get in life now is smoking" Alma sighs.
"That's not true" Santana says while taking a seat next to her. "Look I know you felt it comforted you when grandpa died but it really is doing more harm than good."
"Can we not talk about me right now, let's talk about you" Alma smiles.
"But…"
"No Santana, we're changing the subject so what's going on with you?"
"Not much. Still working at a job I absolutely detest" Santana sighs. She hoped once she graduated from university then everything would fall into place but it really hasn't. She graduated a year ago and still can't get a job in the field she wants.
"At least it's money Santana" Alma reasons. "I don't want you giving up just because you don't like it. Once you find the right job then you can quit but you're not going to leave without another job to go to."
"I know" Santana nods, slightly annoyed. She's getting fed up with everyone getting on at her about jobs but she can't force someone to hire her if they don't want to.
"So apart from work, how is everything else?" Alma asks.
"My life is fine" Santana shrugs.
"Any nice boys in your life yet?"
"No, not yet" Santana rolls her eyes. "I'm not looking for anyone right now."
"Santana I'm not getting any younger and I'm clearly not in the best of health at the moment but I want to see my only granddaughter get married so there better be someone on the horizon" Alma states.
"I'm only 23 though" Santana states.
"Almost 24 actually and age doesn't matter, you're my only granddaughter so I want to see you happy" Alma tells her.
"But…"
"No buts Santana, please tell me you're looking to settle down soon" Alma says annoyed.
"Well…"
"Santana, please tell me there will be someone soon."
"Uh…"
"Stop hesitating, I want a straight answer" Alma scolds.
"Ok fine, I didn't want to say anything because it was so early but yes there is someone" Santana lies. She can see how desperately Alma wants this so she figures the best thing to do is to lie right now.
"Oh thank goodness" Alma says while clutching her chest in relief. "You nearly gave me a heart attack because I thought you really were going to tell me you had no plans to settle down any time soon."
"No-no, there is someone" Santana states. She has no idea what she's going to do now but right this second she has to make her gran happy.
2 months later
"Morning!" Quinn says cheerfully as she walks over to her desk at work.
"Can we have a little less cheer please, it's too early in the morning" Santana groans from her own desk. The two of them are high school best friends but once Santana finished college and was struggling to get any kind of work then Quinn put in a good word for her where she works.
"Someone got out of the wrong side of bed this morning" Quinn teases. "What happened, a bad night?"
"I had the worst date ever last night, it really was a date from hell" Santana groans.
"Do you mean the person or the date itself was awful?" Quinn asks.
"Both" Santana replies. "He was an arrogant pig who couldn't stop talking about himself and get this, we had dinner in a sushi bar" she rolls her eyes.
"And you hate sushi" Quinn shakes her head.
"Right" Santana nods.
"Maybe you just need to take a break from dating then and wait until after the holiday period. I mean I know it's not ideal being single at Christmas but your head will be fried with all these dates you've been on in the last 2 months" Quinn states.
"No Quinn, I can't be single much longer" Santana sighs.
"Why not?" Quinn asks.
"I promised my grandma she'd see me happy before she dies and judging by her current mood and health, she's convinced she won't be here much longer so I need to find the one really soon" Santana sighs. "I really thought she was going to pull through so I thought I'd have plenty of time to find someone but now she's got me worried."
"Santana finding the one can't be rushed" Quinn replies.
"I know but I need to at least try since this was her only wish" Santana sighs.
"Perhaps you're not meeting anyone you really like is because you're forcing it. You're looking far into the future that you're not giving people a chance" Quinn reasons.
"Trust me, that's not it. All the guys just seem to be idiots" Santana sighs again.
"You just need to give them time. Get to know them and then judge how well you think you'd be together. If you only ever judge on first dates then it's not an ideal evaluation because lots of people are probably really nervous so their first impression isn't the best" Quinn replies.
"I don't know" Santana shakes her head.
"I've been on my fair share of crappy first dates but the person you're really destined to be with will become clear whenever you take the pressure off. You just need to relax and try and pick a decent guy from the get go so the date has half a chance of being ok" Quinn says.
"Do you think I'm maybe picking the wrong guys then?" Santana asks.
"Yeah" Quinn nods. "Just think clearly before you ask someone out."
"Wait a minute…" Santana smiles. "Why don't you just pick someone for me, that way I don't overthink who to go out with?"
"I don't know Santana" Quinn says hesitantly.
"Oh come on Quinn, you've always been a good judge of character so just pick someone for me I might like" Santana states.
"I don't think I should be involved with this Santana" Quinn sighs.
"Please help me" Santana almost begs.
"Santana…"
"Please" Santana smiles brightly.
"Urgh see that look, it gets me every time…if you weren't my best friend Santana I might seriously kill you" Quinn groans.
"Does that mean you'll do it?" Santana asks happily.
"Look I'll speak to Artie and we'll see if we can come up with some dates for you" Quinn says giving in.
"Thank you, you're the best" Santana smiles while hugging Quinn.
It's been a few days since Quinn agreed to find her some dates so tonight is the first night and Santana is meeting a man named Max that Artie knows. Quinn gave Santana Max's number so he texted her to tell her where to meet him. Just as Santana is pulling up to the address she is instantly regretting everything.
"A diner?" Santana says aloud to herself in her car. "It's a first date and he wants to meet in a frigging greasy old diner" she shakes her head. She isn't one to judge usually but this is really not something she wanted for a first date. It seems slightly cheap to her. She is just about to text Quinn about it when someone knocks on her car window.
"Are you Santana?" the man smiles.
"Uh…yeah" Santana replies while rolling the window down.
"I'm Max" he smiles.
"Oh" Santana nods before getting out of the car.
"Shall we head inside?" Max asks.
"Sure" Santana smiles. Max is kinda good looking and he seems nice enough so she's decided to go along with the date right now even though she really doesn't want to go to a diner.
"So are you hungry" Max asks.
"A little bit" Santana replies.
"Well I'm starving so let's go" Max says while leading the way into the diner. Once they get inside Max picks the table they'll sit at and then a waitress comes over with some menus for them. They look at them for a few minutes in silence before Max decides he's ready to order. "Are you done looking at the menu?"
"Yeah" Santana nods while closing her menu. The waitress comes over shortly later.
"Hi, what can I get you both?" the waitress asks.
"I'll have the barbeque chicken burger please and can I get a bottle of water" Max replies and the waitress writes that down.
"And for you?" she asks looking at Santana.
"Just coffee for me please" Santana replies.
"That's all you're ordering?" Max asks.
"Yeah, there's not really anything else on the menu for me" Santana replies.
"Well what would you have eaten?" Max asks.
"Something a lot healthier than anything here. Everything on the menu is either fried or greasy or it's just desserts and right now I don't want any dessert" Santana replies. She doesn't want to seem stuck-up but she didn't think going to some greasy diner is the best idea for a first date.
"Ok so just the coffee, water and the burger" the waitress asks to clarify.
"That's it" Santana smiles.
"Ok well if you need anything else my name is Brittany so just give me a shout" she smiles and takes the menus away.
"Thank you" Santana smiles politely back.
"I'm guessing diners aren't your thing" Max says breaking the silence.
"Not really, sorry" Santana replies. "I usually prefer to eat a little healthier but I don't judge anyone who does like diners because each to their own. Some people I dated in the past didn't like it when I went to a really healthy place either so I understand."
"I like to eat healthy to but this is one of my favourite places to eat so I thought it might be nice to come here" Max replies. "If the date goes well then you can choose where we go on the second date."
"Let's just focus on date number 1 first" Santana says nervously.
"Ok" Max shrugs. "So how long have you had your car, I couldn't help but notice it was a little tired looking?"
"Well I have had it a while so I guess it has seen better days" Santana replies. "What do you drive?"
"A Mercedes" Max replies. "I did have a BMW but I traded it in once I got bored of it."
"Oh" Santana nods.
"If you've got the money then why not use it, you know?" Max shrugs.
"That's true I suppose" Santana replies.
"Here's your order" Brittany smiles while placing their order down on the table. "Can I get either of you anything else?"
"Could I just get a glass of water please, I need something to drink but the coffee will be too warm right now?" Santana asks.
"Of course" Brittany smiles before leaving to get Santana some water. "There you go" she smiles again placing the glass in front of Santana.
"Thank you" Santana smiles.
"If you need anything else, just let me know" Brittany replies and then leaves.
"So what is it you do Santana, Artie didn't mention what it was?" Max asks.
"I work for a TV provider but it's like in the customer helpline department so I deal with technical issues and complaints. They'll phone me up with a problem or complaint and I need to deal with it whether that's by guiding them through how they can sort it themselves or sending out an engineer to fix the problem" Santana replies. "I did graduate college with a degree in finance but I haven't landed a job in that area yet."
"I see" Max nods. "So you basically sit on a phone all day talking to people?"
"I guess you could say that but it's not as simple as that" Santana states. "It's not like I'm gossiping all day, I actually do help people and sort out their problems."
"Ok" Max nods again.
"What about you?" Santana asks.
"What do I work as?" Max asks and Santana nods. "Take a guess" he smiles.
"You look like you like to work out so personal trainer maybe?" Santana guesses.
"Nope" he shakes his head.
"Can you give me a hint?" Santana smiles.
"Nope" Max smiles back.
"Well can you at least tell me if you went to college or not?" Santana asks.
"Ok fine, I didn't go to college" Max replies.
"Ok so it's something you don't need a college degree for" Santana muses. "What about having your own business, do you do something like that?"
"Not exactly no" Max shakes his head again.
"A builder maybe?" she asks.
"A builder, no" Max laughs.
"I just thought you'd need to be quite fit to lift lots of heavy things" Santana shrugs.
"I suppose you might but no, I'm not a builder" he replies.
"Is it anything to do with your physique? Like you're not just an office worker who really likes to work out are you?" she asks.
"Not an office worker and yes it has something to do with my looks" Max says.
"I'm struggling, I don't know" Santana groans.
"Come on, take another guess" Max states. After going back and forth and not getting the right answer, Santana gives up.
"I give up, just tell me" Santana sighs.
"I'm a model, duh!" he laughs. "Come on, it's really obvious."
"Is it?" Santana frowns. I mean she knew he was good looking but she doesn't know how it's that obvious.
"Yeah, if you had these looks wouldn't you be a model?" he asks.
"If I had your looks I would be very concerned considering I'm female" Santana states.
"No but if you were as hot as me wouldn't you want to be a model?" Max asks.
"Ok you're starting to walk a very thin line here" Santana says getting slightly annoyed. "I may not be a model but I wouldn't say I'm not as hot."
"Yeah but you aren't…no offence" Max states.
"Um…offence taken actually" Santana glares.
"Has anyone ever approached you or told you that you should be a model?" Max asks.
"No" Santana shakes her head.
"Ok then you're clearly not as hot as I am then" Max shrugs.
"Brittany!" Santana snaps suddenly.
"Is everything ok?" Brittany asks slightly annoyed with Santana's tone.
"Sorry I didn't mean to snap at you, I just wanted your attention" Santana says. "Look could I please get the check for my coffee?"
"Um…sure" Brittany says confused. "Just the coffee?"
"Definitely just the coffee" Santana says while glaring at Max.
"Ok no problem, I'll get that for you" Brittany smiles.
"Actually can I just pay over at the counter, the less time spent with this jerk the better" Santana states while standing up.
"Sure" Brittany nods.
"Wait, are you leaving Santana?" Max asks confused.
"What do you think?" Santana asks.
"What happened, we were just talking" Max states.
"Look if you can't see how you've offended me then there's no point in continuing the date" Santana replies.
"All I said was that you're not as hot as me. It's hardly that bad" Max shrugs.
"Actually telling a girl they're not hot on a first date is bad" Brittany states. "It's really not a great way to start."
"Whatever" Max says while rolling his eyes.
"Come on, I'll bill you for that coffee" Brittany says to Santana and they both walk over to the counter. Santana not saying another word to Max.
"I know it was hardly a crime what he said but why would I want to keep dating a douche who thinks he's hotter than me. I want someone who likes me as much as they like themselves, you know?" Santana says.
"I know what you're saying" Brittany smiles. "You don't want something who treats themselves better than they treat you."
"Exactly, anyway what do I owe you?" Santana asks.
"Two dollars 50 cents it is" Brittany replies.
"There you go" Santana says handing the money over to Brittany.
"I take it you're not in a rush to see him again?" Brittany laughs.
"Not really, no" Santana laughs.
"He's hot looking I suppose but that's probably the extent of it" Brittany says.
"Yeah" Santana nods. "I mean initially I felt he was judging me slightly about my car and where I work but I thought that was just because I came across slightly conceited at the beginning because I'm not a fan of eating in diners. The more I think about it though, I think he was just judging me anyway because I wasn't the same as him."
"There's bound to be someone else out there so I wouldn't worry about it" Brittany smiles.
"I hope so" Santana smiles back. "Anyway I should go now."
"Hey, have this on the house" Brittany says while handing Santana a cupcake. "Call it comfort food to compensate for your bad date."
"No that's not necessary but thank you" Santana smiles.
"I made it myself" Brittany smiles.
"Did you really?" Santana asks.
"Honestly I did. Sometimes the manager lets me sell some of my own stuff to make some extra cash" Brittany replies.
"In that case at least let me pay for it" Santana says taking her wallet back out.
"Honestly it's fine" Brittany smiles.
"I insist so tell me how much you charge for them and I'll take two" Santana states.
"Ok well they're 2 dollars each" Brittany replies.
"Ok, here are your 4 dollars" Santana smiles while handing the money over.
"Thank you" Brittany smiles.
"Anyway I really should be going now" Santana says. "I promised my roommate I would tell her all about my date but she's out of town tonight so I'm going to need to phone her."
"Goodnight then" Brittany smiles.
"Actually where is my phone" Santana says just realising she hasn't seen it since she left home. She starts frantically looking through her bag. "Crap, I can't find it" she Santana sighs. She begins emptying the contents of her bag out.
"When did you last have it?" Brittany asks.
"At home…actually no it was in my car" Santana replies.
"It must be in your bag or your car then" Brittany says. "Do you want me to help you look for it?"
"No it's ok, I don't want to take you away from your work" Santana replies.
"What kind of phone is it?" Brittany asks.
"It's an iPhone" she replies.
"And does it have a cover on it?" Brittany asks.
"No I…oh I found it!" Santana screeches happily. "Sorry that was loud" she says laughing.
"It's ok" Brittany smiles. She doesn't know why but she just thought Santana was so adorable there.
"Anyway now I'm going so goodbye Brittany" Santana smiles.
"Bye" Brittany smiles and then Santana leaves.
A few minutes later Brittany goes to serve another table when she notices a wallet similar to Santana's sitting on the side of the counter.
"Crap, Santana must have forget to put her wallet back in her purse" Brittany sighs.
It's the next day and Santana has just arrived at work. She goes straight over to her desk clearly not in a happy mood after last night's crappy date. She really doesn't know how she's going to find the perfect one.
"Morning" Quinn smiles while placing her things at her own desk before going over to Santana.
"I hate you Quinn" Santana mumbles with her head buried into her hands.
"What, why?" Quinn asks confused.
"Um…because of last night" Santana says while lifting her head up to look at Quinn.
"Oh the date Artie and I set you up on, how was it" Quinn asks.
"Fucking awful Quinn" Santana sighs while shaking her head. "He was a complete ass because we barely got far in the date when he proceeded to tell me that I wasn't as hot as him so I could never be a model."
"I am sure he didn't mean it" Quinn brushes it off.
"Quinn you know how I am, I don't want someone who doesn't think I'm hot. I like a guy who likes me as much if not more than himself" Santana sighs. "I can't change who I am so if they're not into me enough then I don't want them."
"Sometimes you have to adapt a little. I don't mean anything major but if you're so set in your ways then guys might not like that either" Quinn points out.
"Look it doesn't matter because Max really wasn't the one so let's forget about him" Santana states.
"Ok" Quinn nods. "So what are your plans now?"
"I have no idea Quinn. I need to find the person I'm going to marry before Christmas and it's freaking me out because the more dates I go on the more it gets worse" Santana sighs.
"Santana finding the person you want to marry shouldn't be a rush, you need to be really serious about them" Quinn states.
"I know but my grandmother isn't getting any better and I promised she would see me get married. Therefore I need to find this person before Christmas so we have time to be together before we marry" Santana says.
"Finding the perfect person is a marathon not a sprint Santana. You really can't rush it, like I just said you need to be serious about someone first" Quinn says.
"I'm her only granddaughter and I promised her she'd see me get married. I can't break a promise like that Quinn, I just can't do it to her" Santana replies.
"Surely if you talk to her and let her know that you haven't found that someone yet then she'll understand" Quinn reasons. "Perhaps she'll be content with just knowing you're happy with a guy but not quite ready to get married. Like there's no reason to rush the married part is there?"
"Um…it's not as easy as that" Santana says nervously.
"What do you mean?" Quinn asks confused.
"Look I just need to find the one Quinn, that's the bottom line and it needs to be done for Christmas" Santana sighs.
"Christmas isn't that far away though" Quinn mentions.
"I know and that's why it's freaking me out" Santana groans.
"Look just explain you're not ready for marriage yet but you are happy to find the one and be happy with them" Quinn says.
"Like I said, I can't do that" Santana sighs.
"But why not, I mean…wait" Quinn says taking a pause. "She does know you're still single right?"
"Not exactly" Santana admits embarrassingly.
"That's why you're rushing, because she thinks you've already found the one" Quinn states, realising it all makes sense now.
"I've got myself into a mess and I need to fix this before she finds out I haven't found someone yet" Santana sighs. "You need to help me Quinn."
"I will but someone just said our manager is coming so we need to do some work first" Quinn states.
"Ok but we're talking about this at our lunch break" Santana replies.
"Ok" Quinn nods.
XXX
Quinn and Santana are sitting having lunch together trying to decide what to do about Santana's situation when she suddenly realises something.
"Oh shoot, I think I left my wallet in that diner last night. I'm going to have to go there" Santana sighs.
"Are you sure?" Quinn asks.
"Yeah because I haven't took anything out my bag since last night at the diner and my wallet isn't here and I had it at dinner last night to pay for the coffee" Santana replies.
"Well do you want me to come with you?"
"No it's ok, just cover for me if I'm not back in time. I'll be as quick as I can" Santana says while hurriedly gathering her things.
"Ok" Quinn nods and then Santana rushes off. As soon as she reaches the diner she runs inside. She doesn't care if she looks stupid or is out of breath, she just wants to get her wallet before her lunch break ends.
"You're Brittany right?" Santana asks as she approaches the diner.
"That's me" Brittany smiles.
"I don't know if you remember me or not but I was here last night" Santana says.
"It's ok I remember you" Brittany smiles. "Who would forget someone as beautiful as you?"
"Um…" Santana doesn't know what to say.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It was really unprofessional of me" Brittany says feeling embarrassed.
"It's fine, honestly" Santana smiles. Even though she was surprised, she did still appreciate the compliment.
"So did you want a coffee or are you here for something else?" Brittany smiles while wiggling her eyebrows.
"I did leave my wallet here, didn't I?" Santana laughs.
"You might have" Brittany smiles again.
"It should have my driver's licence in it so you'll know it's mine" Santana says.
"I did happen to check the wallet to see who it belonged to and there was a driver's licence in it. Although the photograph of the person didn't look nearly as good as you so I'm not sure it is yours" Brittany smiles.
"I never photograph well" Santana admits.
"Well Santana, I wouldn't exactly say that" Brittany smiles.
"I was just about to ask how you knew my name but it's on my driver's licence isn't it" Santana smiles.
"It certainly is Miss Lopez" Brittany smiles again.
"Do you want an award or something for knowing my name?" Santana teases.
"No but a thank you wouldn't go amiss" Brittany says while waving the wallet in the air.
"Sorry, I should have said that first so thank you Brittany for keeping my wallet safe" Santana smiles.
"Don't you want to check it before thanking me, I might have swiped a 20 or something" Brittany smirks.
"It's fine, all I had was change and my bank card so there isn't any paper cash in there" Santana smirks back.
"Dammit" Brittany groans. She wanted to tease Santana but obviously it won't work if she had barely any money in her wallet. "Anyway there you go" she smiles while handing the wallet over.
"Thank you, you're a life saver" Santana smiles gratefully.
"So can I get you a coffee or something before you go?" Brittany asks.
"I better not because I need to be back at work really soon" Santana smiles.
"I'll put it in a to-go cup if you want" Brittany replies.
"Ok fine" Santana smiles. "My weakness really is coffee so you might as well get me a cup."
"One coffee coming right up" Brittany smiles before quickly making Santana some coffee and handing it over to her.
"I must rush back to work now before my boss notices I'm gone but thanks again for keeping my wallet safe" Santana says while leaving money on the counter for the coffee. "Keep the change" she smiles and then dashes out the door.
XXX
It's 6pm and Brittany is just about to finish her shift when someone sits down at the counter. She turns around about to tell them another waitress will be with them soon since she is finishing when she realises who it is.
"Santana, what are you doing here?" Brittany asks slightly surprised.
"I'm not entirely sure. I've just finished work and it's my day off tomorrow so I really should be partying it up but for some reason I was really craving good coffee and somehow I just ended up here" Santana smiles.
"Well I am sure I can help with that" Brittany smiles while getting Santana some coffee.