Santana was sitting in a small café, leaning her chin in the palm of her hand, boringly looking out of the window. She had a meeting, which she was hoping wouldn't last long. She had lot things to do. Just a few minutes ago she's got a call phone from Kurt, he said in front of him was the envelopme in which were results of Mr. Walcott's autopsy. Finally she could start to develop strategies to defend Quinn, so she couldn't wait to go at her office.

"Ms. Lopez." Santana looked away from the window and throw a glance at the man who sat across from her at the table.

"You took your time, Fetus face." She said calmly.

"Can you at least once being polite?" The man sighed.

"Oh, I am right now." She smirked.

"Whatever, uhm, should we order first?"

"You wish. I'm not going to have breakfast with you, Hudson. Come on, straight to business, I have lot things to deal. Besides, I don't know how long you can stay on a dry land without water. And I have no idea where I can get a giant aquarium and I definitely don't want to call Berry to tell her that her Willy won't be dribbling a ball with his nose in exchange for fish anymore." The Latina answered droningly.

"When you stop being mean, Santana? Is it the reason why you didn't want to meet in your office? Because otherwise people would hear that the great Santana Lopez can't be civil."

"Oh no, Finnocence. I just don't want to have my office stinking like a fish market." Santana stated matter-of-factly. "So, spill it, what's your offer? "

"Right. It's simple, your client pleads guilty and I'll make sure she'll get a minimum prison sentence."

The brunette snorted, "You've got to be kidding me. If I let it happen, she'll get at least 10 years."

"No, I'm not kidding." Finn said blankly.

"Do I look like an idiot, Hudson?"

"Come on, Santana. You know you can't win this time. Convince her to take this offer, otherwise you will lose and I'll get a more severe punishment."

"You'll get? Puh-lease, Finn." Santana laughed. "This deal is beneficial only for you and the government."

"Santana, I know you're the one of the best lawyers, but even you can't save her from jail. Any lawyer will tell you that."

"Why now, Finn? Where have you been when my client got her arraignment? Hmm, let me guess, you were there at court as well, but she hasn't had a lawyer, so you have decided there was no need in your offer. She was an easy meat, wasn't she?" Santana told him. "Well, thank you for your offer Mr. Hudson, I'll see you in the courtroom." She stood up and walked towards the exit door.

Santana stormed into the elevator, cursing the morning traffic. She has about thirty minutes before Quinn's arrival and she had to study the papers which Kurt got from the police.

As soon as the elevator reached her floor she almost ran to Kurt.

"Good morning, Santana." The guy greeted cheerfully.

"Morning, Kurt. No time to talk, that moron Hudson, ugh, why we can't discuss it by the phone. What he was hoping for?" She mumbled quickly more to herself. "Where is it?" She asked, running her hand through her hair.

"Right here." Kurt gave her the envelope and Santana quickly made her way to her office.

She was reading the report, occasionally muttering curses under her breath when her work phone rang.

"Santana-" Kurt's voice came over the loudspeaker. "-Ms. Fabray-Walcott is here."

"Perfect."

A few seconds later Kurt opened the door, offering Quinn to come in.

"Hello, Santana." The blonde greeted.

"Morning, Quinn. Take a seat, please." Santana stood up, pointing to the chair in front of her desk.

"Ladies, do you want something? Coffee? Tea?" Kurt asked politely.

Santana looked at Quinn, waiting for her answer. "Uhm, no. Thank you." The blonde answered.

"I'm okay, thank you, Kurt." The Latina looked back at Kurt. He nodded mutely and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, let's start, shall we? I have some news to tell you. First things first. I had a meeting with the prosecutor assigned to your case. This is the usual procedure when the prosecutor is offering you a deal." Santana put her hands on the desk and continued, "I took the responsibility to reject his offer."

"Okay…may I ask you what he has offered?"

"Yes, sure. Terms of the deal lies in the fact that you have to plead guilty, and they will give you a minimum prison sentence. That, of course, is not an option."

"How long, uh, how many years?" Quinn asked quietly.

Santana sighed and looked into her eyes, "10 years for sure."

Quinn nodded and pressed her lips together while she was thinking, "Are you sure? I mean, I'm ready for-"

"Don't even go there, Quinn. I thought we have already talked about it. I will do everything in my power to defend you." The brunette said sternly. "If you need it, I can recommend a good therapist. It's totally okay to seek help from a doctor." The Latina assured her.

"No-no, I'm fine. It's just so weird." The woman mumbled, looking down at her knees.

"It could happen to anyone, Quinn. And it's not easy to cope with this situation. So if you need a help, just let me know, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Santana. I feel like you treat me as, uhm, I don't know like I'm a child."

"Oh, I will wipe your snot, if I have to." The lawyer smiled and winked.

"I don't think it's written in your contract." Quinn chuckled.

"No, it's not." Santana agreed. "Anyway, let's continue. You have already met the prosecutor and judge when you were at court." Santana paused, seeing that Quinn has a question.

"Uhm, are they…good?"

"Well, frankly, I don't care who could be the prosecutor. I've met Hudson in the courtroom a few times…uhm, he knows his job and considering the fact that your case is not easy at all, I'm pretty sure he will be able to play his cards right. As for the judge, Ms. Jones is strict but fair. If you ask my opinion, there is no one else better than her. So yeah, it's totally good news. Do you have other questions or we can continue?" Quinn shook her head. "Perfect. I've got the autopsy report earlier. They haven't found any particles of human tissue on your husband's body. I think it's a completely bullshit. I saw marks on your neck, so there had to be something under his nails. But, anyway, there is nothing we can do about it." Santana sighed heavily. "The report revealed that your husband had traces of alcohol in his system at the time of his death, though. It says an alcohol concentration it the blood exceeding 2.0 per mile. Questions?"

"No." Quinn answered simply.

"Good. Since I'm your lawyer it's in your interests to tell me the whole truth. I need to know everything what can help me to defend you." Santana said gently.

"Okay."

"How often did your husband beat you?"

Quinn bit her lip and looked away.

"Quinn, I know, it's hard to talk about it, but-"

"It has been happening from time to time. Recently, Derek used to beat me more often. But nobody knows about it. I've always lied, telling it was some accident." The blonde interrupted Santana, still avoiding eye contact.

The Latina paused a few moments before asked, "So there is no one who can confirm your words?"

"Brittany knows me too good. And she always gave me that suspicious look if I was telling her I sprained my foot or bumped into a table. She knows that I'm always very collected and definitely can't be called clumsy. Actually, you can tell it about her. I mean, she's not clumsy I would even say that she's pretty graceful. It seemed she lives in her own world, and sometimes Brittany can be so airy-fairy." Quinn smiled and shook her head, remembering the incidents that happened to her best friend. "Well, one day she didn't let me off the hook, she literally pressed me against the wall. And, yeah, I told her. I remember she was furious, you see, Brittany is very protective when it comes to me."

"I've noticed." A soft smile appeared on Santana's lips.

"Yeah… But, yet, she had never acted like she was around you. Believe me, Santana, she's the most radiant person in the world. And things that she have said to you, I'm sure, she didn't mean to-"

"Oh, stop it. It's not what we're talking about. Moreover, it's between me and Ms. Pierce, so, please, just stop." Santana said sternly.

"Sorry. Anyway, I told her the truth a year ago or so, but-"

"Wha-wait, hold up!" The Latina stared at her in disbelief. "A year ago? How long it lasted, Quinn? And why you haven't done anything?" Santana's eyes were wide open.

"Uh, it has happened the first time that year when we moved to New York. Brittany found out the truth about a year later, she insisted that I should go to the police, but how could I do that, Santana? He was my husband. He was always so sad and kept telling this would never happen again. One day though, Brittany dragged me to the hospital, I mean she threw me over her shoulder and carried to her car. We've got a medical report, but I made her promise that she wouldn't go with it to the police." Quinn said with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn." Santana looked at her sympathetically. "I guess I need to talk to Ms. Pierce then." She said musingly.

"This meeting will not be easy."

"It's my job." Santana answered calmly.

"Santana, may I ask what is your strategy?"

"Oh, yes! Sure. I'm not going to convince the judge and jury that you have mental disorders. First, it's not the truth. Secondly, I doubt that your life will be easier if they will put you in the nuthouse…and I'm sure they will do this if we decide to go that way. Believe me, the government never let you go just like that. So I'm going to convince it was self-defense." Santana told her.

"Can you do that?" Quinn whispered.

"I'll do my best." The brunette answered confidently, looking straight into her eyes. Seeing Quinn nodded, she continued, "We haven't list of the prosecution witnesses yet, but I guess one of the detectives will be in the courtroom, maybe even both. Was there anything noteworthy in your conversation with Detective Berry or Karofsky?"

"Uhm, no. Detective Berry only asked me some questions, but nothing unusual. I mean, nothing that I haven't seen in the movies."

Hearing this, Santana raised her eyebrows.

"Uh, is it bad?"

"No-no, not at all." The Latina answered amused. "Okay, Quinn, I have to remind you that you shouldn't discuss your case with anyone. It's important. No interviews or little talks with some strangers who can give you their sympathy. No contact with the prosecution witnesses as well. Got it?"

"I got it." The blonde assured, eagerly nodding.

"Perfect. Now I need to set the meeting with Ms. Pierce, as soon as possible. Please, talk to her and let me know when she will be ready to meet me."

"Will do."

"Thanks. Well, if you haven't any questions then that's all for today." Both girls got up and Santana reached the door, opening it for Quinn.

They said goodbye to each other and the blonde left Santana's office.

It was about half an hour from the time Santana told Kurt to not disturb her. She needed to focus on Quinn's case and there was no way she could do that if someone will always distract her. Realizing she was reading the same sentence for the fifth time, Santana decided to take a break. She took her glasses off, put them on the desk, closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ease eye strain. Santana sighed as she heard her iPhone buzzed. She waited a few moments before she opened her eyes and picked up the phone. She got a new text message from Holly.

Lunch? - Holly

The brunette looked at her wristwatch and only then realized it was the lunch time. She immediately felt her stomach growled and remembered the she hasn't even had breakfast today.

Yes, please! - Santana

A few moments later her phone buzzed again.

Awesome, the same place. - Holly

15 minutes later Santana walked into a small restaurant where they used to have lunch. The Latina looked around and spotted the tall blonde was sitting at one of the tables.

"Ugh, finally! I thought I would die from hunger, waiting for you." Holly exclaimed too dramatically.

"Oh, please, Holly. You're like a camel, can live a month without any new food in your system. Your two humps aren't that big as camel's though." Santana smirked.

"Shut up, they're okay." Holly chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Let's order, shall we?" She opened the menu.

The waiter came up to them a few minutes later, ready to take their order. Both women said what they wanted and settled into easy chat while they were waiting.

"You look tired." Holly noticed.

"Yeah, you know, I started to work on the Quinn's case, so…" Santana trailed off.

"Oh, are you nervous?"

"It's just another case, why would I?" She tried to play it cool.

Holly narrowed her eyes, "Is that so?"

"Ugh, fine! Maybe this case a little more complicated than the others. I want to help her, Holly, but I'm afraid there will be so many pitfalls. I mean, the trial didn't even start and they already try to hide something." The Latina sighed heavily. "But I'm really glad that Mercedes-"

"Oh, she'll be the judge? That's great!" Holly interrupted her excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess I have no reason to doubt in the validity of the decision of the court now."

"Hey, you can do it." Holly smiled encouragingly. "And if you need to break a couple of glasses to appease your anger, my bar is full of these things." She winked as smile formed on Santana's lips.

Finally the waiter came back with their order and girls silently began to dig into their food. Taking the first bite, Santana realized how starving she was.

"Whoa, looks like you haven't eaten for a week." Holly teased, seeing her friend had a big appetite.

"Shut up, it's my first meal for the day." The Latina mumbled.

"I see. You always forget that you need to eat when you start working on the case." Her friend answered. "I guess I have to look more closely after you."

"Thanks, mom." Santana rolled her eyes.

Holly just grinned toothily. "There is something else I want to talk about." Santana nodded, so Holly continued, "The Chicago premiere on Broadway is a few days away. They say there a new cast and choreographer. I really want to see it."

The brunette licked her lips, thinking. "I don't know. I'd love to, but I have a lot of work now. Besides, I heard the premiere will be in the same day as the first sitting session of the court."

"Please, Santana." Holly pouted and the Latina was looking at her ridiculously. It was really weird to see the blonde with this expression. Maybe, Holly thought she looked adorable, but Santana barely suppressed laughter. "The last time we was watching-"

"The Lion King." Santana interrupted. It was her favorite musical on Broadway. She didn't care if it was childish, because the choreography was amazing. And she tried to go to watch it every time she had the chance. And of course, she was dragging Holly with her.

"Exactly. But it's over…like three months ago!"

"Okay-okay. But I do not agree on anything, except for VIP seats, you know."

"Pft, there is no way I was going to sit in the mezzanine." Holly playfully rolled her eyes as Santana chuckled.

Little did they know that they'll see the certain blonde on the Broadway stage.

A/N: Probably this chapter is a bit boring, but since I want to do the court thing I couldn't cut it. Anyway, I hope I'll make it up in the next one or two. The first courtroom scene, Broadway and some Brittana interaction. ;-)

Also I've got some similar messages about Brittana. Didn't want to write the same thing to everyone, so I'll answer here. Guys, if you think that Santana will always snap at Brittany and Brittany will snap back, that's perfect. That's exactly what I want. I need to build up this tension between them and there is no way I can do that by one chapter. So please, be patient. Thanks for all your opinions and for reading. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Here or on tumblr. :-)