A/N: Ugh, I noticed how many typos and errors I had in the last chapter. I'm so sorry. I've been having a difficult time editing lately. I apologize. I hope this one is better. Thank you for your continued support.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee. I only like to read and now, write about it. :)
Santana is woken up by kisses on her forehead. This is the way she's always meant to wake up. One of the few ways she actually wakes up with a smile on her face instead of a grumpy caffeine deficient mess. She slowly opens her eyes and sees Brittany with a smile on her face. She is kneeling on the floor at the edge of the bed; bright blue eyes welcoming the morning. She has obviously finished washing up and is done with the bathroom before waking up her "not so morning welcomy" girlfriend.
"Good morning, beautiful," Brittany says in a soft tone.
"Morning," Santana says as she puckers up for her good morning kiss, which Brittany happily obliges.
"You have 30 minutes to get ready, is that okay?" Brittany asks after they part.
"Yeah, I'll get up now," Santana breathes out and slowly drags herself out of bed.
Once Santana is ready, the girls head out to the coffee shop so Santana can get her fix. Brittany gets a phone call and decides to take it outside while Santana waits in line. The people of Los Angeles really love their coffee, she thinks to herself. I belong here, these are my people. She reaches the front of the line and orders her regular and a hot chocolate for Brittany, along with two croissants.
"It's nice seeing you this early in the morning," a voice from the other side of the counter states.
As Santana puts her card back into her wallet she looks up and Dani is standing there with her hands on the counter smiling at her.
"Oh hi, yes. I'm going to work with my girlfriend today and it's pretty damn early for me for sure but I'm excited to see my girl in action," Santana replies while she grabs the paper bag filled with the croissants and waits for the drinks to be made.
As Dani pours her coffee, she's clearly disappointed, "No wonder you didn't call me."
"Call you? What do you mean?" Santana asks with a furrow of her brows.
"Last time you came in, I wrote a note on your cup," Dani says as she slides a sleeve on Santana's cup and hands it to her.
"Did you? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even see it. What did you write?"
"Oh nothing, just thought –" She pauses to think while she finishes adding the milk to the hot chocolate and gives it a stir, "I just thought we could be friends or something. You look new in town and I thought I could show you around."
"Yeah, friends is cool. I'm down to have friends," Santana says with a smile keeping her end of the conversation open so as not to mislead Dani in anyway. Santana looks out the glass door and sees Brittany still on the phone; she turns back to face Dani. "I was hoping she would come in so you can meet her too, but I guess she's still tied up." Dani seems great. She seems nice but Santana knows they probably won't be friends. She already has a hard enough time keeping up with the friends she already has and she knows she won't even be here much longer, but that doesn't mean she has to be so blunt and rude about it – she's trying to be a nicer person.
"Here's my number, feel free to call me if you're bored. If your girl is too busy or something. If not, you know where to find me," Dani says with a wink.
"Umm… okay. Yeah, sure thanks! See ya," Santana says as she takes the paper with Dani's number on it and slips it into her jean pocket knowing for a fact that she won't be calling her anytime soon. She grabs the bag and two drinks and heads out the door.
Once she pushes the glass door open Brittany is there with folded arms; one hand gripping her cellphone and a serious look on her face.
"I got you a hot chocolate and a croissant for later," Santana notices the seriousness of Brittany's face, "What's wrong? Who called?"
Brittany looks down at the cup being handed to her and grabs it while exhaling a breath, "Nothing, that was just Vic telling me about some moves he wants to work on. Who's that?"
"Who's who?"
"That girl behind the counter making googly eyes at you. That same girl that was all up in your space last time we were here."
"Oh that? The barista? That's Dani. She figured out that I'm kinda new around here so she offered to show me around town," Santana says with a shrug.
"You mean she offered herself to you," Brittany mumbles.
"Woah – woah – woah there Britt. What are you talking about?"
"She was obviously flirting with you, San. The way she looks at you, I even saw her slip you her number." Brittany turns to look at her. The seriousness portrayed in Brittany's eyes were something Santana saw seldom of. Her eyes speak for her so often, and it's usually filled with happiness and positivity. Now, it's filled with concern and confusion.
"She – well, she did, but that's so I could contact her if I wanted her to show me the city," Santana takes the folded paper out of her pocket and throws it out in the nearest trash bin. "It's not like I was really going to call her anyways, and the flirting? She's – no. I don't – I don't even know if she's gay."
"Does she know you are?"
"Of course she does – " Brittany's huff cuts her off. Santana grabs a hold of Brittany's arm to stop her from walking, "Britt, stop." Brittany looks at their arms and her eyes are full of concentration, like she's thinking deeply about something. "Of course she knows I'm a lesbian, I told her I had a girlfriend, that's how she knows."
Brittany looks up at her, her eyes more relaxed than they were not 20 seconds ago. "I'm sorry, San. I'm sorry I got that way, she's just. I mean, she's pretty and stuff and you see her often since they have the best coffee and she always seems to be there." She looks down at the floor.
Santana stands on her tip toes and gives Brittany a kiss on the cheek. Once Brittany looks up, she gives her another kiss on the lips. "Brittany, I didn't fly two thousand miles to meet her or make new friends. I don't go to the coffee shop to see her. I don't tell her I have a girlfriend to make her jealous. I came here for you, I get coffee for me and hot chocolates for you, and I tell her I have a girlfriend because I – because I have you and you're all I want. Just you. I don't have to get coffee here anymore, I'm sure there is good coffee elsewhere."
Brittany gives a small smile and nods, "Yeah, I know," she begins to shake her head again as if to shake out all the negative thoughts. "I'm sorry I acted like a crazy jealous monster. I don't want to be that person who doesn't want their partner to have friends. You don't have to stop coming here. Their coffee is good and so are the hot chocolates, and pastries. I'm just overreacting."
"It's no big deal, Britt. I really don't care if I see her again."
"No, you're right. It's no big deal meaning I don't mind us coming back, but she better not hit on you again. Your hot ass is mine," Brittany says with a wink.
Santana wraps her arms around her girlfriend, "I'm sorry again. I should probably be more observant. Usually I'm busy looking at the baked goods in the glass case or thinking of how cute you look when you're drinking your hot chocolate to really pay attention to what others are saying or doing. But I guess the free coffee she gave me was a dead giveaway; I just thought it was a nice gesture, didn't think anything of it."
Brittany rolls her head towards Santana and stares at her with an obvious expression on her face, "Seriously, she bought you coffee and you didn't realize what her intentions were?"
Santana shrugs and looks down, "I'm sorry – I didn't think – I didn't realize – wow, I'm sorry Britt," her eyes go wide as if she just had her mind blown, "I guess, I guess I didn't care enough to think about it? Damn, you must think I'm so stu –"
"Don't say it," Brittany says seriously.
"Sorry."
"Stop apologizing, baby. I understand, I do," She sighs and thinks, "I really do like their hot chocolate. Let's go there together next time."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Brittany links their fingers together and kisses Santana's thumb before giving her a warm smile.
The girls walk into the studio and greet a few members of the cast and crew. Everyone loves Brittany and now most of them love Santana too. They all think they look super adorable together and most of them tell them so. Well, almost everyone. As they walk towards the back of the studio they notice that breakfast was catered today. The table is full of donuts, bagels, fresh fruit, cereals, breakfast loaves, and granola. Brittany grabs herself a bowl of granola and some fruit for Santana. They sit on the seats situated in the back so Santana is out of the way during filming. They chat about what stunts Brittany was supposed to do today and what they were going to do after she was done for the day.
"Brittany! You're up!" A girl calls out from outside the door on the side of the building.
"I gotta do an outfit fitting now, can you hold this? You can grab whatever you want from the breakfast line, it's open to anyone in the studio," Brittany says as she hands Santana her cup and turns to head towards the doors where they have a trailer set up for hair, make-up, and wardrobe.
Santana sits there sipping her coffee and eating her fruit while scrolling through her phone. People are bustling around moving lights and sets. The director is talking and pointing at spots on the floor to be marked and the camera crew is shuffling around to get into proper position.
"Hey, Santana!"
Santana looks up at the man in front of her, "Hey, Vic. Are you in Brittany's scene today?"
"I am, but I'm only in the background. Brittany is doing all the hard work today. How are you?"
"I'm good," Santana replies, "Not used to waking up this early, but I'm good."
"Feel free to grab some more coffee over there on the table if you're still tired, or even some food. You may be bored until the action actually starts, which won't be for another hour or so," Vic says as he motions towards the breakfast buffet.
"Are you sure? I don't just want to help myself if I don't work here."
"I'm positive. Everyone here knows you're here with Brittany. Whenever anyone brings in a guest or significant other, they fill themselves on whatever free food we have, there's always a lot."
"Thanks, I think I will."
"No problem, I should check on my wardrobe now too. It's nice seeing you again, Santana."
"You too, Vic."
Vic leaves out the doors Brittany had left through a 20 minutes ago and Santana heads towards the table and pours herself another cup of coffee.
"That coffee is for employees only and you're not cast or crew."
Santana knows exactly whose voice that is and a fury of animosity rises in her body as she turns around.
"Cody, so nice to see you again," She says with as much of a smile as she can muster.
"You can't take that coffee," Cody spit out bitterly.
"Says who?" Santana questions him with a tilt of the head.
"Says me," He grabs Santana's wrist; the one holding the cup and coffee splashes over the edge.
"Let go of me!"
"Put it down!"
"What the heck is going on here?" A voice behind the two announces, "Cody, what the hell are you doing? Let go of her!" Cody lets go just as Brittany pulls him away. She's wearing a dark pink tank top, a leather jacket, blue jeans, and converse shoes. Her hair is done up in a high pony with a braid on one side. Cody looks between the two of them and storms off. Santana puts her cup down and quickly picks up a napkin and wipes down her wrist from the spilled coffee. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Santana mumbles as she cleans off her bracelet that the coffee seeped into.
"What happened?" Brittany asks as she takes another napkin and wipes the spill off the table.
"Nothing. He didn't want me having any coffee, apparently. He said it's for employees only." She scrunches up the napkin and tosses it into the trash.
"That's a lie, Santana. Everyone knows everything on this table is for anyone here. He's just being a jerk, I'm sorry," Brittany says as she throws her napkin into the trash as well.
"Don't be, and I know. Vic told me the same thing when you were changing. I figured he was doing it, just because. Don't worry about me though, you need to get to work, I think those guys are waiting for you," Santana nods over to a group of 3 men and another woman standing in a semi-circle looking over at Brittany as they talk.
"Oh, they're just waiting for me to do the group stretch. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine, Britt. Don't worry about me."
Brittany gives her a tight lipped smile and grabs her hand giving it a squeeze before letting go and heading towards the group to start their stretches. A few moments later, Vic, Cody, and Jason join the group. Santana looks at her coffee. She's suddenly not in the mood for coffee and dumps it into the trash. She sits down on the chair, crosses her legs, and watches as everyone keeps themselves busy.
Brittany is stretching out her hamstrings chatting with the other girl and Vic while Cody and Jason are talking. Brittany and her group are doing some shoulder stretches to finish off before they start walking through the choreography. Brittany first does a little battle with the other brunette that's around her height but has a larger build. Then she does running side kick towards another man (Santana has already forgotten the name of) and a back kick towards the other guy holding a knife - a fake knife. Santana had made sure she asked Brittany about any weapons they could possibly be using on set and Brittany had to promise that all of them were fake and safe. After that kick Vic was in the background fighting another taller, bigger man that ended up pushing Vic back into Brittany. As Brittany stumbled backwards the girl sweeps her from behind where she falls off a platform of about 5 feet and into Cody's arms - who is supposed to be playing the part of her weaker sidekick with a heart of gold. Then she's attacked by Jason. They walk though their moves a few more times before the director calls for the stage to set up and the lights and cameras to be in place. The actors and stunt men and women get their makeup and wardrobe touched up while all that is happening.
Brittany walks by Santana and winks while reaching out her hand. Santana grabs it and their fingers linger before Brittany is dragged away by her teammates. After Brittany leaves out the doors, Santana notices Cody and Jason talking. Hands on their hips and glancing over at the director and at her at times. She shakes her head and goes back to scrolling through her phone.
Moments later, Brittany comes through the doors all fresh again. She jogs towards the Latina and gives her a quick peck on the lips before heading over to the set. Santana smiles at the gesture. She's falling more and more for Brittany every day and she has no idea how that's even possible.
Brittany, Vic, and a few other people are stationed on top of the platform. Cody, Jason, and another other guy are stationed at the bottom. The setup looks like a warehouse with crates and boxes lying everywhere. Ropes, and chains hanging from the ceiling. Concrete flooring with yellow lines.
"Quiet on the set!" The director calls out and everyone is silent. "Action!"
Those on top of the platform start moving. Brittany runs towards the brunette (Jan) attacking her with a right hook which Jan ducks under and throws a backfist at Brittany. Brittany blocks it while countering the attack with a side kick and a spinning hook kick to the head and the girl falls down. In the background, Vic is throwing punches at a larger man. Brittany runs and does a jumping side kick and kicks down the man with the knife.
"Cut!" The director calls out. "Let's do that one more time. Stuart, make your fall more exaggerated when Brittany kicks you and make sure you drop the knife this time."
Stuart nods and they continue. They do this a few more times before the director is satisfied.
Brittany continues and (fake) punches a fallen Stuart in the head a few times before standing up. Just as she's about to pick up the knife and heads back towards Jan who has found her balance again, Vic gets knocked into Brittany.
"Cut!" Vic grabs Brittany's arm and pulls her back towards him quickly, just before Jan sweeps her. "Cody! Jason! Pay attention! What the hell is going on?" The director yells at the two boys.
"Sorry," Cody says. "I'm ready."
"Fine, let's take it from head punch, Brittany are you ready?"
"Yes sir!" She says with pep.
Everyone resets themselves to their previous spots.
"Action!"
Brittany throws some head punches and stands up to pick up the knife and is on her way over to Jan when Vic gets pushed back into Brittany, Jan sweeps and Brittany falls off the platform.
Santana covers her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Cody leans in and catches her.
"Cut!" Everyone looks over to the director except Santana, she's watching her girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend. Cody is hanging on to Brittany tightly and Brittany is slowly trying to out of his grasp. "Cody, please look more urgent, like you're not expecting the fall."
Cody nods and Brittany climbs back on top of the platform.
"Ready. Action!"
They do this scene a few more times. The director getting more and more frustrated at Cody's lack of urgency and energy. He calls for a 5 minute break and Brittany grabs some water while a makeup artist touches up and fixes her hair.
5 minutes later and after a conversation with the director, Cody looks more ready. Jason to his far left eyeing Santana for a few moments while Brittany, Vic, Stuart, Jan, and a few others get set. Jason is saying something to Cody but he just waves him off looking frustrated and semi-zoned out again.
"Action!"
Vic stumbles back into Brittany and Jan sweeps her from behind. Brittany falls off the platform and just as Cody is about to jump into action...
"Cody!" Jason yells.
Cody turns his head just for a split second.
As if it were slow-motion in Santana's eyes. She stands up and reaches a hand out as if she could catch her. Brittany lands on her side with a loud thud on the concrete and for a moment, everything is silent. "Brittany!" Santana screams out and rushes to the set.
"Cut!" The director yells out and everyone rushes to the blonde on the ground.
Vic and the few others on the platform jump off and rush to make sure she's okay. Santana gets to the crowd of people and the first thing she does is shove Cody to the side.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Brittany says as she turns and lies on her back. "Just give me a couple of minutes."
Once she turns around, Santana notices a bright red mark on Brittany's left arm from the impact. "Oh my God, Britt," Santana says as she kneels down next to her girlfriend.
"I'm okay, San. Really."
"Okay people, let's give her some space," a couple of first aid attendants come through the crowd. And everyone disperses except for Santana, Cody, and the assistant director.
One attendant checks Brittany's pulse and skin for any signs of shock and the other checks for any broken bones. Santana's own heart is racing with panic and anger at Cody and Jason. They ask Brittany some questions about pain and to make sure she didn't hit her head, which luckily, she didn't. She was able to sense something was wrong so she was able to catch herself and turn her body so she could catch her own fall as best she could. She would definitely have some bruises and sore muscles later on in the evening. Brittany sits up and Santana's there to support her. Vic comes back with a bottle of water and a towel for Brittany.
"Everybody, take 15," The director calls out. "Cody, Jason, I need to speak with you."
Santana glares at Cody as he gets up to leave with the Director and heads out the doors. "15 minutes? You're not going to do that again, are you?" Santana asks Brittany and then looks up at Vic. Vic and Brittany make eye contact and he bites his lower lip before patting Brittany on the shoulder and leaving the two girls alone. "Britt? Please don't tell me you have to do that again."
"It's part of the job, San. I'm okay," Brittany hesitantly makes eye contact with her girlfriend. "It's what I do."
A single tear runs down Santana's face, "No," she shakes her head, "Please!"
Brittany runs her thumb over Santana's face, wiping the tear drop away, "I'll be okay. I promise. This is the last shot, so once we finish this, we can go back to the hotel."
Santana shakes he head, "I can't watch. I don't… I don't trust him to not do that again, Brittany." Santana's eyes are pleading.
Brittany gives a shrug and shakes her head. She doesn't know how to make her girlfriend feel better, she understands the dangers of her job but she also understands that it's hard to watch the person you're with put themselves through these kinds of dangerous situations. This is why her Mom didn't want her career to be in stunts.
Just then, the director walks in with the two boys on either side of him. Brittany attempts to stand when they walk towards her and Santana quickly jumps on it and helps her up. The director stops to talk to his assistant and then walk the boys out towards the dressing room.
The assistant director walks towards Brittany and calls over Brian and Drew – stunt doubles in training.
"I'm sorry about that, Brittany, it never should have happened. Both Cody and Jason have been asked to leave the studio immediately. We can't have that type of carelessness happen here on our set. That was incredibly unprofessional and irresponsible. Brian here will take over Cody's position and Drew will learn Jason's choreography and do the fight set with Brittany afterwards. Drew, why don't you go over to the choreographer in the blue shorts over there and learn the set, it shouldn't take too long."
Drew nods and jogs over to meet with the choreographer. During this time, Santana's arms are folded over her chest not knowing what to think. Yes, she's glad those two boy are fired. She's glad Brittany doesn't have to work with Cody or Jason anymore. But she still doesn't want to watch Brittany fall off the platform, again. She doesn't think her heart can take it after seeing what she saw.
Santana runs her fingers lightly against Brittany's arm – that's still marked bright pink from the fall. "Britt, I think I'm going to step outside for a bit, is that okay?" She says not taking her eyes off her girlfriend's arm.
Brittany gently grabs a hold of Santana's hand and looks at her own arm in understanding then nods, "Go ahead, San." She takes Santana's hand and brings it to her lips kissing her knuckles gently. Santana looks into the bright blue eyes and gives a small smile; appreciating her girlfriend for not getting mad about her leaving the set.
Santana begins to walk towards the door while Brian gets used to catching Brittany by first lifting her to get used to her weight then catching her half a foot at a time, standing on padded blue mats a few crew members have brought out. Santana is half way to the doors when Cody comes back from the dressing room wearing his street clothes and carrying a backpack. She can't help but glare at him, shooting daggers out of her eyes and pinning them right between his.
He shakes his head at her, "Fucking dyke," he says directly to her and is about to walk past her but Santana steps right into his path.
"What did you call me?"
Cody glares back at her and walks past her, bumping into her with his shoulder causing her to stumble backwards. Right away, Santana grabs the back of his collar and pulls him back hard and he stumbles. "Don't fucking touch me, if you know it's good for you," he grumbles out.
"Are you fucking kidding me? You put Brittany's life in danger and then bitch about the consequences? Grow up, Cody!"
"You're the one who put her life in danger," he scowls.
"What?!" Santana shouts, outraged.
"If it wasn't for you, she would still be with me, and none of this would have happened."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me. You guys are done. Finished. A long time ago. You need to get over it!"
"The bitch got us fucking fired!" Santana hears a voice from behind. She turns her head, Jason is wearing a green vest and a baseball cap, also carrying a backpack. "You made Brittany unfocused," Jason says to Santana with his arms across his chest.
"You made him drop her!" Santana screamed out, pointing at Cody. This time catching the attention of most of the cast and crew members.
"That ought to teach you a lesson about messing with my homie's girl," he says under his breath, but loud enough for both Santana and Cody to hear. "Teach both you bitches a lesson," he adds. The rage that's boiling in Santana's chest couldn't be kept in any longer; she winds up to slap him when Cody grabs her wrist from behind. Jason leans in so his face is only about an inch away from Santana's and shakes his head and smiles, "nuh uh, little cunt. You're not gonna lay a hand on m–"
Jason gets cut off when Brittany appears out of nowhere and pushes his face to the side roughly. She grabs a hold of the collar of his shirt with one hand, "Don't you fucking talk to her like that again," she says calmly as a warning but her body and eyes are not showing any signs of calmness. It's showing anger and fury about to explode. Her muscles tense with fire.
Cody pushes Santana to the side causing her to lose her balance and fall. Her palms hitting the floor forcefully. Brittany turns around quickly swinging her right arm and nailing Cody just on the side of his left eye, he quickly covers it as it starts to water.
"Hey!" Jason calls out and grabs Brittany by the waist just as she was about to approach Cody to give him more of what he deserved.
Brittany lifts her head back quickly smacking the back of her head against Jason's nose. He quickly lets go of her to hold his nose as blood begins to stream down. She turns around and front kicks him with her heel right in the stomach as he stumbles back. She grabs him by the neck, sticks her leg behind his, and trips him backwards; he falls to the ground with a thump. She straddles him, her right leg pinning down his left arm. She reaches up with her left hand and holds down his neck firmly, then winds up a tight fist. Just as she's about release all her fury to his face, someone grabs her arm. She snaps her head to look behind her and suddenly stops. The anger and rage inside of her rapidly subsides as she sees Santana standing there behind her, holding her right arm with both of her own. She turns to look at where she last left Cody and she sees Vic holding him back his left eye quickly turning into a mixture of purple and reddish-brown. Santana pulls on her arm and Brittany quickly stands up to hug her tightly.
"I'm so sorry," Brittany murmurs into Santana's hair. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Brittany releases their hug and check Santana's palms.
"I'm fine, Britt."
Two security guards come rushing in through the doors and stop when they see the mess of people, bloody and bruised. The director points to both Cody and Jason and they get escorted out.
"What the hell happened?" The assistant director asked, "And why didn't you stop when we asked you to, Brittany? We could've handled it more professionally."
"They provoked me and were threatening and harassing Santana. There was no way I would let them do that and… and… when did you try to stop me?" Brittany asked with her face all scrunched up.
"Brittany, all of us were calling for you to stop pretty much right after you ran off in the middle of our conversation," he says.
Brittany looks at Vic for confirmation and he nods sympathetically.
Brittany turns her head to look at Santana who has her arms still wrapped around her right elbow. Santana nods as well, "I heard them right after Cody pushed me over, but you were so enraged and moving so incredibly fast that I couldn't stop you until… well until you paused for those few seconds," Santana validates softly as she runs one hand up and down Brittany's forearm.
"I'm sorry," she looks at Santana then at everyone else standing around her, directing her gaze at Vic then at the directors, "I'm sorry," she repeats louder.
The assistant speaks up, "Brittany, I think we should call it a day. We'll give you a couple days rest while we work on Drew's choreography. We will shoot a few other scenes with Michelle first." (Michelle being the person Brittany is doubling for).
"No, no. I can… I can get this done today, sir," Brittany assures him and takes a step forward.
"I have no doubt that you can, Brittany, but I think it's best for all of us to calm down a little bit. A lot has happened today, especially to you and we think you can use the break."
"A break? Are you… are you firing me?" Brittany asks as tears begin to well in her eyes.
He takes a few quick steps towards the blonde and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Oh no, no, no, Brittany. Of course not. We understand your situation and we just want to give you a few days of rest. And also, if either Cody or Jason decides to file a law-suit against you – we can say we have disciplined you with suspension from the film. When, in fact, you deserve a rest and to heal up," he says the last part a bit quieter.
Brittany nods and looks back up at everyone, "I'm sorry again for losing my cool, I just –" she looks over at Santana, "I just couldn't watch them do that to her and my body just took over. It was in defense mode." She looks back at the rest of the people who were still lingering around and have yet to go back to work, "So… I guess, I'll see you…" she trails off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.
"We'll see you Monday, Brittany. This gives you a few days plus the weekend to relax. Go for a massage or something. Put something on your bruises."
Brittany looks down at her arm and notices that it's starting to turn blue in the middle with a ring of pink still around the edges. Her thigh also bruising up and her hip feeling a bit of a dull pain. She nods, "Thank you." Then she turns to Santana, "I'm going to get changed and then we can go, okay?"
Santana slides her hands down Brittany's arm and links their fingers together, "Okay."
Brittany turns towards the doors as their fingers slowly break apart. As soon as Brittany is out the door Vic approaches Santana as the rest of the people disperse.
"Are you okay?" Vic asks.
"I'm fine. Just maybe a little bruising on the palm and my right knee. Nothing compared to what Brittany went through," She looks down at the small bruise by the bottom of her palm. "It was scary what happened to her."
"You mean the fighting?" Vic asks.
"I mean the falling," She looks up into his eyes. "She could've hurt herself more. She could've hit her head. She could've broken a bone. She could have internal bleeding," her own words bringing fear into her own heart.
"She's going to be fine, Santana. Your girl is strong."
"I know, but… but she's still my girl," she looks towards the doors Brittany had just left through.
"She loves you, you know?" Vic says and Santana snaps her eyes back up to meet his. He's looking her directly in her eyes confirming the seriousness of his words. "I've never seen her so protective of anyone. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her that angry, ever. Even when she's acting. I can see it when she looks at you, it's totally different than the way she has ever looked at anyone else."
Santana's lips pull upward just slightly and she looks down at the ground to try to control her blush, then looks back at him, "I love her too." Then suddenly, realization hits, "but I haven't told her yet, so, shh!" she puts her palms up as if she was trying to contain the secret.
Vic chuckles and makes a motion to zip his lips shut. He looks up and nods for Santana to turn and as she does, she sees Brittany walking towards her in the clothes she walked in with and she smiles, knowing what Vic is thinking that moment. Love. She told someone she loves Brittany and she feels so good about it, giddy actually. "That look," Vic whispers in her ear. Santana focuses in on Brittany's eyes and she sees it too. The look of love is in there and it's calming, comforting, and it feels so right. She nods for Vic but not taking her eyes off of her girlfriend.
"Whatchu guys talkin' about?" Brittany asks as she approaches them and links her fingers with Santana's.
"Just how awesome you are," Santana says as she goes on her tiptoes and kisses Brittany on the cheek.
"Well, duh," Brittany says as she brushes off her shoulder.
"I'll see you next week, Brittany, you better rest up. You're going to be sore for the next couple of days," Vic says as he steps forward.
Brittany steps in and gives Vic a one armed hug – not letting go of her girlfriend. "Yeah, I can feel it starting to ache already, I can't wait to get back to our room and just lay there.
"Take care, Santana."
"Thanks, you too, Vic."
Vic gives Santana a hug as well, catching her by surprise. Then she wraps one arm around him as well, the way Brittany did. They say their goodbyes and take a taxi back to the hotel – Santana's idea of course. While Brittany insisted she was fine to walk, Santana wanted Brittany to start relaxing as soon as possible. On the ride back to the hotel, Brittany slides down in her seat so she can rest her head on Santana's shoulder. They sit there in silence as Santana thinks of ways to tell her she loves her. She's terrified but she knows it will be worth it.
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