Brittany hates the thick, still, air of the desert. It's like breathing in steam.
She sets up her cot and unpacks her minimal personal items like the picture of her and Santana on Halloween.
It's her first day on duty but she already misses the Latina. Brittany would trade the warmth of the desert for the warmth of Santana in a second, no a millisecond. The blonde always realizes how attached she is to the woman she loves when she's deployed. The distance and danger make her re-evaluate her life several times a day and it always comes up that Santana is her rock, her song in times of sorrow.
When she's briefed on the mission she learns it's her good friend Trey Boggs that's imprisoned in a house on the outskirts of a deserted town.
Brittany goes back to her cot distraught and tries not to think of the things they're doing to Boggs. But she's determined to get him out. She's not giving up.
Brittany lays down and rests while she can with the hustle and bustle of the army post around her and the desert heat laying thick upon her skin like a blanket.
She loops her fingers around her dog tags and grips them as she runs her fingers over the engraving of her name and information. Brittany then reaches in her pocket for the trinity necklace that matches Santana and Quinn's and runs the pads of her fingers over it.
Brittany's eyes soon get heavy and she dozes off determined to get back at all costs.
xxxx
Santana and Ky are sparring at Mo's listening to music and getting into a groove. But Ky seems a little distracted. When she's so unfocused that Santana can hit her in the head with the sparring pad, the Latina decides it's time to stop.
"What's going on Punisher?"
Ky un straps her gloves and looks to the ground. "I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff." She says sitting on a mat nearest her.
Santana sits down next to her. "What kind of stuff?"
Ky looks everywhere but Santana. "Army stuff. Like do I have to join too?"
San's eyes widen. "Ky you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
The blonde picks at the wraps on her hands. "What if I kind of want to. I mean it runs in the family ya know?"
"I think before you consider it you should talk to Brittany." Santana advises.
Ky nods and stands up. "Can I leave early today I have a big math test to study for?"
Santana nods and sends a tight smile her way. No way in hell does she want Ky to join when she gets older. She doesn't even want Brittany there.
Santana stands up and runs laps since she can't hit anything with her broken hand while Ky hits the showers because she has her own fight to get ready for. She has to win the next three to get into the championship and so does Quinn.
Quinn's at Sue's gym right now working on her Judo and grappling and Santana swings by there after dropping Ky off at home.
She can't find Quinn anywhere in the gym so she checks the locker rooms and is greeted by Quinn's pale ass and Shay's tits.
She coughs to get their attention and Quinn frowns deeply when she sees her, "She just got back from her gig."
San smiles. "Uh huh. What happened to training?"
Quinn chuckles. "Blame Shay. I was all ready to go out there when she just sex pummeled me." She shrugs and looks back at her girlfriend. "I couldn't resist."
"Sex pummeled?" Santana says with a laugh. "I like that."
She turns to her own locker and stuffs her bag in after taking out her supplies and has trouble with the zipper because her cast gets in the way.
"Need help with that?" Quinn chuckles and San gives her the finger.
She finally gets it and sits down to strap weights on her ankles and torso.
"Later losers." Santana says as she stands up and begins a slow jog but slips on water and falls on her ass.
Quinn and Shay both laugh and point at her and she sputters to get up slipping even more and getting her cast a little wet.
"Ass holes." She mumbles and leaves the room.
Quinn eventually stops laughing and looks at Shay. "I have the best sister ever."
But San is still within ear shot and smiles and embraces the warm feeling she gets when Quinn says things like that.
xxxx
Dom and Ky are tall now and Santana swears there's something in the water that made them grow so much. At 21 she feels kinda old too but they are tall as hell.
Dom is nearly Santana's height at 5'5" and Ky isn't far behind.
She plays football with them and Quinn in the Pierce backyard and run to ward off the bite of the fall air.
The younger two decided they would try to beat the older two and with Santana's dominant hand broken it's a likely possibility.
But Dom seems a bit wobbly and it concerns Santana so she stops the game and looks into his red eyes. His pupils are dilated and her anger flares.
"What are you on?" He doesn't answer. "Tell me or so help me god…" She trails off and goes into a tangent in Spanish.
"Idranksometequila." He spits out quickly and Quinn comes over now and lifts his chin to look in his eyes.
"You're fuckin' drunk Dom?" Quinn looks at Ky. "Did you know about this?"
The girl's eyes widen at Quinn's tone and she shakes her head. "No, I swear."
Quinn walks over to Ky and looks into her eyes. They're normal and she pats the girl on the shoulder before getting back to Dom.
"Where'd you get this tequila?" Quinn spits out getting in his face.
"It was in the kitchen."
Santana speaks now. "So you took my tequila and got drunk? You're still a kid, D. And addiction runs in the family I don't want you getting into that shit."
Dom just shrugs apathetically and a flash of something comes across his eyes. "Whatever." He whispers and brushes past San and Quinn and back to the house.
Santana rubs her temple stressed out and Quinn puts her hands on her hips confused.
Quinn waves the smaller blonde over. "What's going on with him? You're in the same grade are his friends pressuring him or something?"
Ky shrugs. "I really don't know. He only hangs around me but he does seem a little off."
Santana contemplates for a second and then gets and idea. She turns to Q. "Remember what my Abuelo did to my Papi when he caught him drinking?"
Quinn smirks devilishly. "This is gonna be hilarious."
xxxx
Brittany prepares for the extraction in the tent on her cot. She packs extra MRE's for Boggs and in the event they get stranded like last time, she'll have food.
As she straps on her bullet proof vest and Velcro's things accordingly a fellow soldier approaches her.
It's a younger woman at around 19 and she has brown hair and striking blue eyes.
"Can I help you with that." She purrs at Brittany and points to the Velcro strap she missed.
Without getting an answer the soldier grabs the strap near Brittany's hip and attaches it before leaving her fingers there a bit too long.
Brittany coughs awkwardly and backs away. "Thanks." She looks at the girl's name patch. "Connolly."
The girl licks her lips and gazes into Brittany's eyes. "Anytime." She turns to walk away and switches her hips. Brittany doesn't look. She's no Santana. Connolly turns back around. "And you can call me Steff."
Brittany nods unimpressed and continues on with what she's doing. In the background she hears the girl huff and internally smiles to herself that she pissed her off. She doesn't want anyone but Santana and that's a fact. You can't not want something that courses through your veins.
When Brittany is all geared up she goes to the helipad on base and climbs into a Blackhawk helicopter. She outfits herself with a grappling rope and attaches it to one of the hooks on the wall of the copter.
Brittany loves repelling out of copters even more than sky diving because she can start and stop herself falling and suspend herself in the air under the moving helicopter and drop herself exactly where she plans.
Plus she doesn't like doing that awkward tuck and roll thing when landing from a plane.
The helicopter lifts off and the team of 6 plus two pilots heads towards the drop off site.
Brittany looks around at her fellow rangers. Some she knows some she doesn't but she knows she can trust them with her life.
The Blackhawk gets to the spot after about 45 minutes of flying and hovers over a roof.
The CO gets out first and another person repels down with him.
Brittany is next and she slips gloves on and weaves the rope through a clip on her side before leaning out of the copter backwards, pushing out, and dropping onto the roof with the others.
She shoulders her rifle when she gets her bearings and follows the group into the door on the roof.
There's two men in the stairwell and they shoot at them but Brittany takes both of them out swiftly and the CO nods his appreciation at her and then motions for her to take point and lead the group.
At the bottom floor they come to a locked door so a fellow soldier puts an explosive on the hinges and knocks it in.
Instantly they're swarmed with enemies and Brittany ducks behind a turned over metal table.
She peaks up and takes out two guys but gets grazed by a bullet on her shoulder and winces in pain.
Brittany checks the blood flow and notices it's slow so she's fine and keeps fighting.
Once all the enemies are dealt with Brittany finds a vault that's locked and laces it with C-4 and blows it to pieces.
Behind the door a man throws a flash grenade and it blinds the 6 soldiers but not enough for them to get killed.
Brittany only takes out one this time as the team takes out the rest and she runs towards Boggs amidst the hailstorm of bullets as the other soldiers cover her.
She assesses Boggs' wounds and he isn't looking good. His face is puffy and beaten in and his shin bone is broken and sticking out of his skin, not to mention he looks like a skeleton.
Britt whips out Santana's switchblade that she keeps with her at all times and cuts the ropes on his hands free and unloops Trey from the hook on the cement wall.
Brittany stands up and from adrenaline alone she's able to pick up Boggs and place him over her shoulder.
She runs with him up the steps to the meeting point at bullets fly and her team protects her from the onslaught of enemies.
Brittany finally gets to the top and she feels like her lungs are going to explode but she refuses to give up and let her friend die.
"I got you T. Don't worry. I got you." She keeps repeating and makes it to the helicopter where Boggs is put on a backboard and laid on the floor of the Blackhawk.
Brittany climbs in and behind her are the 5 other soldiers. The copter lifts off as bullets ding the sides and Brittany kills one last man as they ascend into the air.
She crawls over to Boggs and puts his head in her lap. She finally catches her breath and smiles at him.
"We did it." Brittany smiles.
Boggs coughs and winces. "You did it."
xxxx
According to San's Papi's story he was caught drinking around Dom's age and his father didn't like it at all.
So he gave him a bottle of liquor and told Alex to drink it. He got so sick he didn't drink again until his senior year in high school.
San's hoping it has the same affect on Dom.
She walks up to him as he sits on the couch with Quinn and hands him a bottle of tequila.
He looks at her like she's nuts so Quinn explains with an evil smirk. "We can't make you do anything so if you want to drink do it in the house."
Little does he know he won't be drinking again after tonight.
He smiles and chugs some of the bottle and winces like any inexperienced drinker would and Quinn giggles off to the side and nudges San. "So good." She whispers so Dom can't hear.
The boy then pats them both on the knees and stands up with the bottle. "I'm taking this party upstairs."
Santana nods and when he's gone they both burst into a fit of laughter. "I can't wait."
About two episodes of Pretty Little Liars later Quinn hears Dom puking in the upstairs bathroom and she runs up to check on him.
She feels bad but she also tries not to laugh as this was what they were going for. Quinn bends down and rubs his back.
"Not feeling too great?"
He shakes his head and heaves into the toilet again. "Feels…like…I'm gonna die."
Santana comes upstairs and with a smirk puts a cool rag on the back of her brother's neck and kneels down next to him along with Quinn.
He finally stops throwing up and lays his head down on the cool tile of the bathroom. "I'm never drinking again."
And when those magical words are spoken Santana winks at Quinn and they know it's mission accomplished.
xxxx
Brittany goes to the medical tent to visit Boggs and smiles when she sees he looks a bit better with all the blood cleaned off and his broken leg set and put in a cast.
Boggs waves her over and Brittany rushes to his side and hugs him gently not to disturb all the leads coming out of the man.
"You saved my life Pierce. I owe you everything."
Brittany scoffs. "You know I didn't do that alone."
"No." Boggs shakes his head. "But you're the only one who ran and carried my ass out of there even though I weigh at least 50 pounds more than you."
Brittany waves him off and changes the subject. "How are you feeling?"
Boggs smiles through the pain. "Peachy." He points to his leg. "They had to set my leg without Morphine because we ran out. That was fun." He chuckles dryly. "I'm coming on your plane, we leave in three days."
Brittany stands up straight, shocked. "We've only been here a week and a half."
Boggs shrugs. "It only took that long."
Brittany smiles just thinking about surprising Santana when she gets home. And she won't miss Halloween this year. That's an extra bonus but just to be in the same country as Santana is a colorful way of living.