To: mel-kung, Heya2evver, 4Eva4Naya - Thank you guys so much :)
To: r e l - I appreciate you as a reader a lot!
A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Here's some action. This is un-betaed, mistakes are made by me. R&R please :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.
Feeling the warm sun rays on her cheek that was chilled by the cool night air, Santana was beginning to awaken. The sound of laughter was slowly registering in her mind as her eyes slowly opened. It wasn't the laughter of the familiar people in her house. It's a little more childlike, a little higher in pitch. Stretching her hands over her head, the Latina yawned before sluggishly climbing off her bed.
"Britty!" Was the first thing Santana heard as she opened the door of her room. Her childlike laughter brought a smile to her face even before she saw Beth. The way her goddaughter called Brittany warmed her heart as well. "Stop! It's tickly!"
Giggles echoed the apartment as Beth squirmed under Brittany's fingers. Brittany stopped tickling the girl and asked, "Who's the best?!"
"Beth!"
"Really?" Brittany moved her fingers again, causing Beth to burst into pleas again. "Who's the best?!"
"Britty!"
Satisfied with the response of the young blonde, Brittany removed her hands from Beth's side and allowed the child to catch her breath from all the laughing and squirming.
"Why are you bullying my ahijada?" Santana asked with a glint of playfulness as she loomed over the couch. The sourness of the previous night had dissipated along with the night and she's beaming at the duo on the couch.
"Madrina!" Beth yelled and she stood up on the couch. Santana easily scooped the little girl into her arms from behind the couch. "Good morning!" Beth yelled into the ears of the Latina, causing her to jerk her head in shock.
"Beth, what did mommy say about shouting?" Santana reminded Beth about Quinn's usual lectures.
"Sorry. Bueno días." Beth softened her voice and greeted Santana in Spanish.
"Bueno días, Beth. Why are you here?" Santana's eyes flitted over to Brittany who shrugged lightly.
"Daddy said he have to run some errands and I was supposed to spend the day with daddy today. But it's okay, Beth got to spend the day with madrina."
Right then, Evan shuffled out of the room rubbing her eyes. Brittany chuckled at the sight before leaning over the couch to whisper to Santana. "Is she always like this?"
"More or less," Santana bent a little to reply Brittany in a hushed voice while keeping Beth steady in her arms. Slowly, she lowered Beth and watched the girl run towards Evan and hugged her legs.
"GOOD MORNING!" Beth yelled, again. Evan jumped a little from the loud greeting and stumbled a little. The annoyed expression of hers was replaced as quickly as it appeared when she saw that it was Beth who woke her up a little too loudly in the morning. She smiled and picked Beth up. "Good morning to you too, little devil."
Noticing the absence of another brunette in the apartment, Santana raised an eyebrow. "Where's Rachel?"
"She went with Puck when he came to drop Beth off."
"Really?" Something was up, but Santana can't pinpoint what. Normally when there's a mission or sort, Rachel would be paired with Santana. Though this time, however, Santana wasn't aware of anything that was happening. Rachel was called but not her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance at being left out of whatever was happening but soon returned to her cheerful demeanor since her goddaughter was here and she won't let this small incident ruin her mood. "Whatever. You guys want to go out for breakfast?"
"YES!" Beth shouted and Evan jerked her head back in the same way Santana did when the little blonde yelled.
"Beth!" The three older women echoed, causing Beth to shrink into the arms of Evan's arms. "Sorry,"
They burst out laughing at Beth's hyperactivity. Evan passed Beth to Brittany before heading to wash up. Santana lingered behind a little longer, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she tried to come up with ways to apologize to Brittany for her outburst. A grin stretched across Brittany's face as she watched the Latina pace around in turmoil. Knowing what Santana was thinking, she stood up and went up to the Latina. Santana's eyes widened when she saw Brittany before her. Without a warning, Brittany leaned forward and pecked Santana on the corner of her lips. "Morning."
"M-morning." Santana stuttered. That wasn't how she planned to apologize. She wasn't expecting this and certainly didn't expect Brittany to brush off her outburst yesterday so easily. She was having this scenario in her head where she would take Brittany's hand and look into her eyes. Show her how sincere she was and how apologetic she was for yesterday, lean forward and kiss her good morning. "I-"
"It's okay." Brittany smiled. "I'll meet you guys in half an hour? I need to head home and change into fresh clothing." She joked.
"Okay," Santana dumbly nodded as she watched Brittany head for the door. Her mind was yelling at her to do something but her body wouldn't budge. It wasn't until Brittany was about to close the door that Santana snapped out of her stupor. "Brittany, wait!"
Brittany turned and was caught off guard when Santana's lips crashed onto her. "See you later." The warmth of her breath pelted against pale skin. Brittany nodded and slowly backed away from the door with a goofy grin on her face.
They took a drive down to the Manhattan beach where they settled into Uncle Bill's pancake house. The gentle sea breeze blew against them. Brittany was wearing a checkered shirt with the hem of the shirt tied in a knot, leaving her belly button exposed, with a pair of short denim shorts. Santana opted for a striped sleeveless shirt that hugged her figure, with black shorts.
During the whole meal, an uneasy feeling lingered in her chest at the thoughts of being able to enjoy the peaceful morning with her family.
"Santana?" Brittany's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Both Evan and Brittany was looking at her with a worried expression while Beth was oblivious to the tension between the three. Santana pressed her lips together into a smile. Deciding that Santana wasn't going to tell them what was on her mind, they dropped the topic.
"BEACH!" Beth yelled as she ran barefooted towards the sea with Evan chasing after her. Santana chuckled at the sight and Brittany smiled. After their hands brushed by one another for a few times, Brittany weaved her fingers together with Santana's. The Latina smiled but her eyes was fixed on Beth and Evan who were running along the fine sand.
"How is it?"
"Not good."
"No shit, Sherlock." Quinn barked. She was getting irritated by Artie who wasn't providing the information she needed. "What are they planning?"
"Attack, beach, water, fire."
Quinn narrowed her eyes at the skinny man before her eyes widened in realization. Rachel was quick to catch on as she stood up abruptly. "This is not good. They're going to attack Santana by using the element she's weakest against which is water."
"It's not only the fact that she's weak against water.." Quinn paled. "She can't swim."
By the time Quinn finished her sentence, Jake was already out of the room with Sebastian behind him.
"Tina, location update of Santana."
"Manhattan beach."
"Fuck."
"Hey, I'm going to the washroom." Santana said, earning a nod from Brittany.
The uneasiness was gnawing on her. She figured that maybe walking away from them for a little while might ease the feeling. She glanced over her shoulders and saw the trio smiling at each other and thought, maybe it's just my imagination.
"Hello." A man appeared before her. "My name is Ronald."
Santana tried to side step away from him but another man stepped up. "And my name is Donald."
The Latina clenched her jaws in annoyance. Another man lunged at her from behind, "And my name is Merald."
"It's not nice to ignore people, lady." The three of them echoed as their physical form start to distort. Water flowed visibly along their physical form before three streams of water made its way towards Santana.
Fuck, Santana muttered before taking off on her heels.
Unseen, Hunter smiled smugly as his ability worked.
With the three gaining on Santana, the Latina tensed her muscles and took one last step before launching herself into the air. Her raven black wings extended from her back as she soared. "You can run, but you can't hide."
Jake was literally barking at his pack as they run on fours towards the Manhattan beach with Sebastian sprinting alongside them. Off a distance, Sebastian saw the raven wings that he haven't seen in ages. Santana only revealed her wings when things got serious. "Damn."
"Who are you?" Santana snarled.
"If you must know, I am 037."
Her muscles tensed painfully from the exertion. Bullets of water whizzed past her as she dodged them. The constant dodging merely drained her of energy as she tried to counterattack, but to no avail.
"Tia?" Evan stopped fooling around when she caught sight of Santana in the air. She looked around the beach and realized that nobody was paying any attention to whatever was happening in the air. It was as if everyone was oblivious to the fight happening. Her heart raced as she panicked.
Following Evan's gaze, Brittany froze as well. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight. "Do something!" Brittany nudged Evan who was trembling.
Even though Evan had been training with Santana, she haven't had a chance to actually fight with somebody, let alone someone who Santana couldn't handle. Paralyzed by fear, she stood frozen on the spot.
"Fucking hell." Santana panted. Her body couldn't keep up with the rapid rate with the- whatever it is. The speed that it was shooting shots of water at her was enough to pass off as a fucking bullet. She winced in pain as one of the water bullets pierced through her shoulder blades. Blood spluttered out of her wound as the impact pushed her back a little. No way in hell would she be able to keep up unless she transform. Satan Soul
Tail began to emerge from her back but the transition was too slow. The accelerated shots of water went through her onyx wings, sending her plummeting down into the waters below.
"SANTANA!" Sebastian shouted at the sight of his friend falling.
"EVAN!" Brittany's voice seemed to break Evan out of her frozen state. She brought her hands up and tried to slow Santana down as she fell. While Evan's hand trembled from the stress her hand was dealing with by manipulating the air around Santana, Brittany tugged off her shirt and dived into the water. Beth was crying at the scene that was foreign and scary to her as she watched her godmother fall.
You're doing great, Evan. I'm slowing down but it isn't helping. But your skills are getting there. Santana thought as she felt descend slow down.
"See what I meant when I said unstable is good?"
"Yes sir."
"Our job is done. Retrieve 037."
"Your wish is my command."
Bubbled gurgled out from her mouth as she plummeted into the water. The air was shocked out of her lungs from the impact. She could feel her lungs burning for air. Blood was oozing out of her wound as her vision blurred. The bubbles of air rising and her hair splayed everywhere in the water. The tiny ray of sunshine remaining as her body sunk. She knew too well what it meant when her body hit the water. Her eyelids slowly drooping close as her conscience started to slip.
"You're not going to give up, are you?"
"I don't know. I feel like I can't do this anymore."
"Are you going to give up?"
"No."
"Then what are you doing?"
"I don't know."
"You're hopeless."
"Shut up. Like you're any better."
"I'm just waiting for you to die, or surrender yourself to me."
"In a million years."
"Don't speak so soon, young lady."
"I know myself."
"If you say so. What are you planning to do?"
"I don't know."
"That's why I said, give up."
"Never."
Sebastian dived into the water after Brittany. Taking a lungful of air, Brittany dipped her head into the water and began swimming down. She circled around underwater for a few seconds before spotting the black wings. With a few powerful strokes, Brittany neared Santana. She wrapped an arm around Santana's waist and started making her way up. The weight of Santana tugged her down, slowing her ascend. The oxygen in her lungs were running low from spending a little too long under water.
Thankfully, another arm circled her waist and Santana's. Sebastian came between the duo and accelerated their ascend. Brittany took in large gulps of air the moment they hit the surface. Santana lay lifelessly in the arms of Sebastian as he back paddled while holding Santana's head above the water surface. Brittany slowly made her way back to shore.
Upon reaching the sandy shore, Sebastian began performing CPR. He felt for the brunette's pulse before placing the palm of his hands on Santana's chest and began to press down repeatedly, trying to pump the water out of the Latina. After 15 compressions, he was starting to give up. "Come on…"
Jake and his pack had surrounded them. Brittany was watching helplessly beside Sebastian as he tried to resuscitate the Latina. Evan was holding Beth who was bawling her eyes out.
30 compressions later, Sebastian stopped.
"Why did you stop?" Brittany asked, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Come on, keep trying."
"It's no use, Brittany."
"Why?"
"Stop." Sebastian choked out.
Enraged, Brittany pushed Sebastian away and repeated what Sebastian did for the past few minutes. She pinched Santana's nose and leaned down to give a rescue breath and started pumping at the chest again. "Wake up."
"Brittany.." Sebastian tried again. His voice weak from his broken resolve.
"Wake up,"
"Brittany, stop." Sebastian reached for Brittany and pulled her away.
"I SAID WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Brittany slammed her balled fist against Santana's chest.
Santana sat upright abruptly as water spewed out of her mouth. She spluttered and choked as the salty sea water ejected themselves from her system. Before she could even brace herself for it, Beth ran into her, followed by Evan. "Sanny! Tia!" She fell back against the sand with the two crying girls on her. "hey.."
Brittany bit her lower lips, refusing to let anymore tears fall. Her skin was beginning to tear from the force. She watched the two girls hug Santana, refusing to interrupt their moment. Sebastian, however, threw himself onto Brittany and crushed her in his arms. She gasped in surprised but began giggling along, relieved that Santana was alright. Jake's pack relaxed when their alpha slumped onto the sand and whined out of relief.
Santana slowly pushed herself off the sand and sat Beth and Evan up. She flinched from the sting of her shoulders. Blood was still oozing out of her wound and her wings were in a battered state. She slowly retracted her wings, her face contorted in pain. When she saw the disheveled blonde beside her, her heart contracted in pain.
"LOPEZ!" Sebastian lunged at Santana and hugged her.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sebastian apologized as he pulled away from the injured guardian.
"I brought Marley!" Sam appeared with the doctor.
Marley frowned at the sight of the injured Latina. Santana gave an awkward smile at the doctor who started examining her wound. "I'd need to get you cleaned up first."
Slowly, Santana raised onto her feet and began making her way towards the washing area. Jake and his pack stood guard outside the area, scaring anyone trying to enter the area away. The water that ran down the Latina's body was dyed red by her blood that was flowing out of her wound like an open tap. Brittany paced around outside the area as Santana get patched up by Marley.
Santana hissed in pain when Marley applied medication to the wound on her shoulder-blade. "Wings."
The Latina resisted until Marley pressed down against her injured shoulder. "FUCK! OKAY FINE!" The wings sprouted in a matter of seconds and Marley rolled her eyes at the childish guardian.
"Your wings are almost as good as a chicken feather and you're trying to hide it from me?"
"It's no big-" Santana tried to play it cool but Marley jabbed her finger against the wound on the wings. "FUCK!"
Jake growled defensively at the sound of Santana's scream, causing the pack to cower in fear. Sebastian shook her head at the sight and Brittany bit her nails. The blonde had told Evan to bring Beth to buy an ice cream or something to prevent the young blonde from hearing all the profanity coming from the guardian's mouth.
When Marley stepped out, Jake immediately went up to her. "She's fine, don't worry."
He sighed. His pack relaxed a little at his slight change of demeanor. Brittany side-stepped away from the duo and entered the washing area. "San?"
The torso of the Latina had been wrapped by blood stained bandages. Brittany's brows furrowed in worry as she approached Santana. "Hey,"
"How are you feeling?"
"Alive, I guess?" Santana joked.
Brittany sighed. Santana was trying to play it cool by joking the seriousness of the situation away. Feeling the emotions crashing down on her, Brittany collapsed onto Santana. Her fingers sank into the delicate flesh of the tanned guardian as fresh waves of sobs overcame her. Santana gritted her teeth from the pain her mortal caused her when she dropped onto her, thankful that her clenched jaws couldn't be seen from the blonde's view. She held onto Brittany tightly, glad that she was still there, in her arms.
She held the blonde in the arms for a few minutes, letting the emotions pour from her. All the unsaid relief and fears. "I'm sorry."
Brittany pulled back and looked into brown orbs with bloodshot eyes. Her lips quivered.
"I'm sorry for scaring you like this. I'm sorry for being the reason to why you're crying. I'm sorry that you felt so scared because of me." Santana swallowed the lump in her throat as her own emotions threatened to crash. "But I'm not sorry that I'm alive and that you're in front of me."
Brittany bit her lower lips in habit again. The already damaged skin was bruising. Santana brought her hand up and ran her thumb across the bruised skin. "Stop doing that."
The blonde forced a smile and tried to laugh the tension away. Santana locked eyes with glistening blue as she ran the pad of her thumb across pale skin, erasing the trail of tears that had been trickling with tears.