Fast Lane Chapter 17: Impromptu Challenge, a glee fanfic

As much as I would like to own them, all the characters of Glee belong to Fox – I own nothing. All the characters of The Fast and the Furious belong to Universal Studios, I'm just borrowing some of them. All writing belongs to me.

Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this update. I know it's a lot longer than last weeks but I think I'm getting back into the swing of things again. Anyway, I haven't really had time to finish reading through the last few parts of the chapter so bare with me as I'll have a better look later on next week but just know that if I do spot any mistakes I will change then before next week.

A special shout out to Blueskkies (aka brittanaluv over on Tumblr) for spreading the word about this story and make sure you go and follow them if you wanna have lots and lots of amazing Brittana stuff all over your dashboard, you won't be sorry, trust me!

To top off this authors note, thank you to all my new followers and reviewers, here's to another update and thank you for your continued love! :D

"Yes, I know abuela. Recuerdo perfectamente bien."

"Yes but-"

"Abuela, I may have been gone away for a while but I remember what to bring to dinner. Yes, I know, I can't forget the galletas and cupcakes. I will make sure that they are my top priority before I come over."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, abuela, I'm sure" She laughed, a genuine smile pursed on her lips.

She had been having a conversation for about twenty minutes as she watched the sun come up, sat out in the backyard at the picnic table due to the fact that she couldn't sleep. Well, she did, she just seemed to have one of those mornings where she woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. She had opted to let Brittany stay sleeping in the bed that they now shared (nothing of the explicit kind) and headed down to the kitchen to grab some coffee. When she looked outside whilst lent up against one of the counters she had a feeling that the weather would be warm later in the day so she padded outside opting to watch the sunrise whilst she waited for the rest of the crew to get up.

That's how she ended up here half an hour later on the phone to her grandmother, the older Latina calling her due to the fact that she was always an early riser herself, attempting to call her granddaughter in the hopes that she get her to come to dinner, something they hadn't really gotten a chance to do since Santana got back into town. Then again, work and other things really weren't all to blame. Part of the reason why they 'hadn't had the chance' was because Santana had purposely made up excuses as to why she couldn't be there. She knew it was wrong when her grandmother was really trying hard to fix things between them but part of her couldn't forget what she had done and it was holding her back from accepting that Alma really did want to change. Her current situation didn't help and the longer this 'operation' went on she felt more and more trapped. She wanted to be on good terms with the woman who had practically raised her but she was in a hard place, a place she was starting to see wasn't all that pretty.

Still, no matter how much she hated it she was using it as a cover for her real life, the real reason why she had come back to Lima in the first place. Part of her couldn't help but think about how things would have been if she hadn't encountered Cassandra the day she got back into the city, how the healing process between grandmother and granddaughter would have been much smoother and probably a lot faster than it had been in reality, but things were the way they were for a reason. Santana just hoped that she would find out that reason soon because it was getting harder and harder to pretend in front of her grandmother and her crew that she didn't live a second life.

This is what she thought about as she hung up the phone, agreeing to come over for dinner at the end of the week. Putting her phone down in front of her and taking a sip of her now-luke warm coffee she felt that underlying guilt in the pit of her stomach start to well up and wash over her. However, she felt it disappear as if it was never there the moment she felt a familiar warmth snuggle into her side, a head resting on her shoulder as blonde hair came into the corner of her vision and an arm looped through hers as she rested her elbows up on the table she was sat at. Feeling a kiss pressed to her cheek she turned her head towards the other person and pressed a loving kiss to the top of the blonde haired beauty.

"Good morning" She whispered against her hair, letting her lips linger for a few more moments before letting her chin rest on top.

Brittany squirmed happily and curled into her girlfriend even more at the kiss, tucking her head into the crook of the Latina's neck as they shared warmth. "Hi. I brought you coffee"

"You did?"

"Yup"

"Good, 'cause mines cold" Santana replied, pushing her old cup away and watching as Brittany pulled away to hand her one of the mugs she had brought out with her. "How are you up? I didn't wake you up did I?"

The blonde shook her head as she took a sip of the steaming hot liquid in her unicorn decorated mug which had her name written on it. "No, I just seemed to wake up when my body realised you weren't there for me to curl into"

Santana raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her own drink. "Is that so?"

"Hmm, you know it's funny"

"What is?"

"Ever since we started dating I can't seem to ignore the fact that when you're not around I kinda miss you"

"You do?"

The blonde nodded as she lowered her mug and clutched it in her hands. "Yeah"

Undercover or not Santana couldn't deny the fact that Brittany was being completely serious and it made her feel warm inside. That familiar warmth she had felt growing rapidly the more time they spent together everyday. It was the feeling she had started to resign to herself she would never experience and that's what made her situation even harder. She was pretty sure she knew what it was that was happening to her but she wasn't quite ready to admit it to herself. That was something that she needed more time to dwell upon but right now she was happy to be content with the fact that she wasn't the only one feeling it. Brittany was special, she could just feel it.

At the sudden pause after she expected a reply Brittany pulled away to study the Latina's face and found nothing but a wide grin staring right back at her. Santana let out a breathless chuckle before leaning in. "Me too"

When their lips pressed together softly warmth enveloped the both of them before they pulled away, Brittany letting Santana rest her head back on top of hers as they focused their attentions back to the sunrise that was just starting to bloom right in front of them.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that their peaceful silence was broken by the back door opening and a sleep-ridden voice called to them.

"What the hell are you two doing out here this early? It's not normal"

Without pulling away completely Santana and Brittany pulled back just enough so that they could peer back over their shoulders to see Dani stood half-in, half-out of the back door clad in nothing but bare-feet, a pair of boxers and an oversized Def Leppard shirt, her hair sticking out and ruffled as if she had literally just stepped out of bed, which she probably had.

Before either woman could reply to her comment they watched as an arm snaked its way around her waist as Kitty appeared behind her new-ish girlfriend. "Sorry guys, she's just woke up and hasn't had coffee yet. Come on D, inside"

Santana laughed as she watched Kitty push the blonde street racer back inside the house, calling to her retreating form as she followed her in. "Don't worry Kitty. Just make sure she doesn't end up like that all day"

"Duly noted"

When Kitty had disappeared completely Santana turned back to Brittany who was smiling at her. "What?"

"I suppose we'd better head inside too so we're not late for work" The blonde replied, resting her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder, pressing a soft kiss there.

"Yeah, I suppose so"

Pressing another soft kiss on Brittany's head she sighed, standing up. It was going to be a long day.

"Letty, we have a problem"

10 Minutes later and Letty had grabbed Santana, Dani and Quinn to head over to Holly's shop. Blaine looked up in relief as he and Holly watched Santana's Supra, Letty's Plymouth, and Dani's Ford pull up. Moments later all four women were heading in through the front door.

"Speak to me Blaine" Letty demanded as she headed straight for the front desk.

"I got a call"

"From who?"

"Mike Chang"

"He wanna race?"

"Yes"

"I feel a 'but' coming" Quinn said, crossing her arms as she stood next to Dani.

"And you would be correct. Mike wants to race and usually I would say ok and set up a date but he made it clear that that's not what he wants"

Letty frowned. "So he wants to race but he doesn't? That doesn't make sense. Get to the point Blaine. It's been a long day and my brain is still stuck in work mode"

Nodding, he knew exactly what she meant. He had spent enough time with her over the years to know that when Letty got into work she really did, immersing herself in it because she loved it. That meant at the end of the day she sometimes couldn't get herself out of that mindset and now was the perfect example of one of those times. Her brain was stuck on mechanics and until she found a way to calm down, which usually included an ice cold beer and Mia or driving, she needed him to get to the point before she punched something out of frustration.

"He wants us to meet him at the docks as soon as possible. Probably now"

Santana decided it was time to cut in. "Why?"

Blaine shrugged. "He wants to race, but he won't tell us unless we're face to face"

"I will never understand why Puckerman picked such stupid fucking drivers for his crew, but if he wants to meet I guess we'd better go. Come on guys, let's go. Anderson, you're rolling with me."

As soon as Letty gave the order and turned around to leave the other women started following almost immediately without question. Nodding at Holly Santana turned around to leave too. "Bye Holly"

"Bye Santana. Good luck girls, and be careful"

"We always are" Letty called back, her form retreating out the front door and already jumping into her car.

Holly watched on, shaking her head as Santana slid into her Supra, Quinn getting into Dani's Ford. When they pulled away behind their crew leader she sighed, hoping to God that this wasn't a set up. Things were already tense and they didn't need Puck pulling any stupid moves on his rival crew so close to Race Wars. She'd give them an hour and if they weren't back before then she'd head out herself. Knowing Letty didn't want any interference, as much as she loved Holly and Shelby, Holly was still willing to lend a hand if it ever came to that. She just hoped it didn't.

When they arrived at the docks not too long later Puck and Mike were already waiting for them leant up against their cars, arms crossed over their chests trying to look menacing but they were anything but to Letty as she stepped out of her Plymouth, the others following suit as they got out of their own cars.

Dani pushed the aviators she was wearing up on her nose as she stepped up beside Quinn, all of them ready to get this over with before it became a situation they really didn't want to be involved in.

"Ok, we're here. What do you want?"

Puck laughed as he stood up, hooking his own pair of sunglasses on his shirt. "Where's the love Ortiz?"

Deciding to ignore his ignorant attitude the Latina crew leader turned to the man stood beside him. "What did you want Chang?"

"I want to race"

"Yeah, we get that." Dani cut in.

"What's the problem with doing it the normal way?"

"I wanna race now"

Letty let out a breathless chuckle as she shook her head in amusement. "Are you serious?"

"Yes" Mike replied back, his face nothing but completely serious.

"We haven't done that for a long time"

"No shit Fabray. You in or not?" Puck asked, turning his attentions from the mentioned blonde back to Letty.

It was a few moments as she decided, Letty sharing a look with Blaine where he replied with a shrug, before she turned back to her rival. Sure, she didn't like being bombarded by the sudden request but the street racer core deep down inside her was itching to accept the challenge. Sometimes it was better to just let go and do things differently and right now with them taking Puck's cars she decided it was a good idea to go with her gut instead of the small voice in the back of her head.

"Fine. When and where?"

Puck let a cunning smile plaster itself across his lips at the acceptance of his offer. "Deadfall Junction. One hour"

With that he turned around and Mike followed his lead, smirking at Santana as he got his way before getting in his Impreza. Puck pulled up beside them and grinned over at Santana, pointing his finger at her.

"Bring your pink slips Lopez"

Brittany frowned as Santana entered the room that they were now sharing as if she were on an important mission. She and the rest of the crew had received a call from Letty to head back to the house and meet them there. Now she was watching as Santana rushed to change out of her work clothes into fresh ones.

"Baby, are you ok?" She asked, leaning up against the door frame and crossing her arms over her unicorn t-shirt-clad chest.

Grabbing a pair of blue jeans that were in a drawer cleared out especially for her she nodded over at her girlfriend who was watching her carefully. "Of course"

"Ok, but why are you rushing to get changed?"

"I'm driving tonight"

Brittany's frown only seemed to grow as she walked over to the bed to sit down on it, continuing to watch as Santana then pulled on a clean black v-neck shirt. "You are?"

"Uh huh. I think you'd better get ready too" She advised, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling on her black Nike's.

Brittany decided to follow her advice and with a kiss to Santana's cheek she got up and grabbed a pair of white and blue Air Jordan's she had been meaning to put away earlier but never got around to. When she was done tying them up she looked up from her place at the end of the bed to see Santana pulling on her hooded leather jacket and matching beanie. That's when the Latina locked eyes with her as she held her car keys in her hand.

"You ready to go?"

"Uh huh. Just let me grab one thing"

Santana nodded and waited for Brittany to finish, the blonde pulling on a beanie of her own before bounding up to her and placing a brief kiss to her lips. "Let's go"

"Ok so the plan is set. Santana and Quinn are gonna head to the top of the canyon and get ready so Brittany can start the race and we'll meet you at the bottom. Everybody clear? Ok, let's go"

Following Letty's orders the crew dispersed, Brittany hopping into Santana's Supra before the Latina followed closely behind Quinn's Skyline to where they were supposed to go.

When they all arrived at the canyon Santana headed on up to the top whilst Quinn dropped off Rachel with the rest of the crew where they were setting up the finish line. The blonde stopped her car and waited patiently for Rachel to exit, her brow creasing confusion when the other woman made no move to exit the vehicle. Looking over to her girlfriend she raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Rach?" Rachel did nothing but smile at her. "Rach, speak to me. You're starting to freak me out"

After a few tense moments later Rachel couldn't hold it any more and let out a loud laugh, her humour growing more and more when she saw Quinn's confused face.

"Oh, you should see your face!"

Seeming to snap out of her shock Quinn shook her head, a pout plastered across her face as her girlfriend continued to laugh. "If you're quite finished I actually have a race to start"

Rachel seemed to sober up a little at this and as her laughter died down she reached across the center console so that she could press a kiss to Quinn's cheek. "I'm sorry" She whispered, trailing another kiss lower down on her cheek towards the space where her neck met her jaw. "I was just messing with you"

"Yeah, well, your messing seems a lot like it's one-sided"

"I'm sorry." The brunette husked, Quinn feeling a little of her control slipping as Rachel trailed a set of moist kisses down her neck to where her t-shirt blocked the rest of the way. "I'll make it up to you"

"Hmm..." Quinn hummed right back, that last little shred of self-control breaking free and telling her that as much as she enjoyed the feeling of Rachel's lips attached to her neck she had a job to do and there were a lot of people surrounding her car. Not necessarily were they watching them in particular but the fact was that she had to go – now. "Rach..." The other racer continued her assault without even batting an eyelash, too caught up in the feeling of appreciating her girlfriend to care. It was only when Rachel bit down slightly on the soft skin of her neck for the purpose of leaving a physical reminder of presence that Quinn took back her control, no matter how much she wanted things to continue. "RACH!"

Startled out of her stupor by the raising of Quinn's voice she pulled back, Quinn internally groaning at the sight of Rachel's lips slightly swollen and wet from her assault on her neck. "Sorry" She blushed, her cheeks blushing a deep crimson in embarrassment.

Smiling sweetly at her complete one eighty in attitude Quinn reached up and cupped her girlfriend's chin, making her look at her in the eyes. "Babe, don't worry. As much as I was enjoying it I have a job to do"

"I know"

"How about I make you a promise?" Rachel seemed to perk up at this, making Quinn chuckle as she continued to hold her chin. "How about we continue this later on when there aren't so many people around?"

"I like the sound of that"

"I knew you would" And with that Quinn pulled her in for a sweet kiss before Rachel smiled and got out, finally allowing the blonde to start her journey up to where Santana was probably already waiting for her at the start line.

Speak of the devil.

"Fabray, what's the hold up?"

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes she picked up her walkie talkie that was resting in her cup holder. "Don't worry, I'm on my way up now S."

"Cool, just get your butt up here quickly. I wanna be able to get this thing over and done with"

"I hear you. I'm on my way"

Santana waited patiently as she rested up against the side of her Supra, Brittany stood next to her. Quinn had arrived five minutes ago and now all they were doing was waiting for Mike and Puck to arrive. They didn't have to wait long as Mike soon appeared, lining up next to the Supra at the start line whilst Puck passed the Latina with the window of his Charger rolled down.

"Good luck on the turns Lopez"

Santana and her fellow crew members frowned at his statement as he let out a laugh before speeding away, the three women sharing a look of confusion as soon as he was out of sight. Shaking her head Santana knew it was probably best if she kept that statement close to the front of her mind whilst she raced. Him saying something like that put her on edge. If she had learnt anything in the past few months it was that if Puck said something like that to you you had to watch your back. Not that she didn't anyway but she made sure to be extra vigilant during this race. She was pretty sure Mike wasn't afraid to share paint if he had to in order to make it down to the end of the canyon first.

Focusing back on the situation at hand she watched as Mike strutted up to them. "What's up Lopez?"

Rolling her eyes Santana crossed her arms, deciding to ignore his question in favour of asking her own. "Are you ready to race?"

He shrugged. "Depends, is that tin can of crap that you call a Supra ready?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and standing up straighter.

"You really think that's gonna handle these corners better than my Impreza can?"

"I beat Rory who was in a Mustang didn't I?"

He nodded. "Yes, but he wasn't in an equally matched car. This time it's much more of challenge and unlike against the rest of my crew I don't think your luck is going to be worth anything on a course like this"

"If I seem to remember the last line you faced me we beat your ass, right Quinn?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, so maybe you shouldn't be so convinced you have the upper-hand"

"Whatever. Just know that I'm going to be walking away with that Supra tonight after I cross the line first"

Knowing that Santana's anger was rising, her competitive side starting to make an appearance, Brittany decided that it was better to kill the situation before it turned into something Santana would regret later on. She wasn't thinking straight and if she had learnt anything in the short span they had been dating it was better to stop the Latina before a conflict had any chance of fully blooming and that included now. So, grabbing her girlfriend's arm she lead her around to the driver's side of her car whilst Quinn dealt with Mike. When she saw that Mike was getting into his car Quinn nodded over at her signalling that she could have a few minutes to calm Santana down before she had to start the race.

Turning back to the Latina in question she found anger etched into her expression, forming what seemed an unbreakable frown in her brow. "Santana, look at me" It took a few tense moments but she did as she was told, looking up into her blonde girlfriend's eyes. "That's it. Listen to me, you've got this"

"But-"

Brittany pressed a finger to her lips to stop her from talking any more. "No, I don't want to hear it. You've got this Santana"

When she felt a kiss pressed to the side of her left temple Santana felt her anger instantly dissolve. Regardless of whether she was undercover or not she couldn't deny the fact that for the first time in her life she had found someone who managed to wash away her anger with just the simple press of her lips. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and felt her body sag a little, Brittany knowing that she had effectively managed to stop what could have become a very sticky situation.

Rubbing her hands up and down both of Santana's jacket-clad biceps she smiled. "You've got this"

She didn't know what else to say, she couldn't find the words. When she thought about the race at hand the only thing came to mind was that Santana had this, she just had to make her believe it.

"Come on, let's get ready"

Santana slid into her car and as she was buckling up her race harness Brittany leant in the open window. "Don't worry, you've got all your bases covered. Your cars may be equally matched in the type department but he can't drive his as well as you can yours. If I know anything from working on this Supra and driving with you it's more than capable at decimating his Impreza on this course. Remember, he can't drift, at least not as well as you. He only slides. I know you still have some practising to do," She winked, making the Latina laugh "But you're good enough to blow him out of the water. Just remember to time it right and slide out fast."

Santana couldn't do anything else but smile at the Blonde's advice, the information a fresh change of pace from the usual off-handed and random comments she would usually make around the shop and the house. It was refreshing to have someone who believed in her so much, no matter how much she didn't believe in her own abilities. She took comfort in the fact that her girlfriend believed in her enough to give her a pretty convincing pep talk, and believe her, it was pretty convincing. Enough to just to make her believe it.

"Thank you" She smiled genuinely, watching as the blonde stood at her door blushed.

"I'm just doing my job"

Without saying anything more Santana lent up, indicating she wanted something that Brittany instantly identified. The blonde smiled at her as she lent in the window slightly, kissing her and deepening it a little before pulling away, a huge grin still plastered across her face.

"Now go and do your job"

Both cars roared loudly as Quinn got ready to get the race under-way. A radio clutched in one hand she talked for a few moments with Blaine before lowering it and coming to stand in between both cars. Sharing a look with Brittany who was leant up against Quinn's Skyline at the side of the road Santana quickly turned back to her dashboard and reached forward, quickly tapping at the screen of her in-car entertainment. Moments later a heavy rock song streamed through her powerful speakers from her connected iPod.

Head high, protest line
"Freedom" scribbled on your sign
Headline, New York Times
Standing on the edge of a revolution

Quinn raised her arms, both cars roaring their engines loudly in anticipation. Brittany watched anxiously from the sidelines and saw the determined look on Santana's face, internally patting herself on the back that her words had seemed to get through to her. The racer inside her clawed deep within her at the anticipation of waiting for Quinn to start the race. She didn't have to wait long before Quinn finally did, the blonde falling to her feet signalling the start. Brittany felt the rush of air hit her as both cars passed her and made a beeline for the first corner of the track, everything up to Santana now to win and collect another set of keys to add to their growing collection.

Hey, hey, just obey.
Your secrets safe with the NSA
In God we trust or the CIA?
Standing on the edge of a revolution

Yeah, we're standing on the edge of a revolution
Revolution, revolution, revolution

Santana felt the heavy beats of the song pump through the seat of her pants even though she was rushing around the first turn at high speed. She could feel the heavy thump of the chorus as she stayed a little behind Mike. She had initially slowed to go in slowly and come out fast and therefore given Mike a slight lead but it wasn't long, not by a long shot. She knew that he had opted to go in fast, meaning he would have to come out slow and just as she expected she had an opening which she took the moment it presented itself to her.

Handling the next two turns was easy, Mike determined to keep up with her but holding himself back by approaching the corners wrong every time. It was sure to be his downfall and Santana had a feeling she knew how this race was going to go, she just had to keep up her strategy around the tight curves and bends of a track that was unrelenting. A track that if you fell off the edge you wouldn't walk away with just scratches, you wouldn't walk away at all.

Ignoring this all Santana was focused on was making it around the turns and putting some space between her and Mike. She hoped it would give her an edge, at least enough to get her to the end first but he was relentless. He had seen too many of his fellow crew members lose to this nobody and as Santana put the pressure on Puck's crew as they lost more and more cars he was unwavering in his assault to stay right on her tail.

The heavy rock song continued to inject heavily into the cabin of the Supra as she slid slightly around a relatively tame corner which she knew lead to a sort of straight that would undoubtedly decide who was probably going to win. Undeterred by this she continued, momentarily glancing up at her rear-view mirror to see Mike right behind her, the Impreza's nose so close it could have touched her if she let it.

No, we won't give up, we won't go away
'Cause we're not about to live in this mass delusion
No, we don't wanna hear another word you say
'Cause we know they're all depending on mass confusion
No, we can't turn back, we can't turn away
'Cause it's time we all relied on the last solution
No, we won't lay down and accept this fate
'Cause we're standing on the edge of a revolution

Mike wasn't going to let it faze him though. Grinning he shifted up a gear and swerved slightly to the right, too fast for Santana to block him from attempting to pass. This resulted in the Asian street racer coming up right beside her, Mike laughing as her as she looked over at him momentarily. She shook her head but knew that if she didn't reclaim first she would be in big trouble. So, she shifted up a gear and gave the car more power allowing the nose of the Supra to edge forward a little. Mike had the same idea and naturally did the same, the two cars thundering towards the next corner at a pace that surely would have killed them if they kept it up.

Knowing that this wasn't an option Santana reluctantly shifted down a gear, allowing Mike to take the lead around the corner. She knew it was the smart way to go but the racer deep down inside of her screamed for her to speed it up to take back her top spot. Then Brittany's voice entered her head and she knew more than anything the best way to win this race was to play it smart, not aim for being in first the entire way down. She was happy to follow that mindset if it worked, she just hoped to God that it actually did.

Wall Street, common thief
When they get caught they all go free
A brand new yacht and a finders fee
Standing on the edge of a revolution

Same shit, different day
Can't keep fed if I can't get paid
We'll all be dead if the shit don't change
Standing on the edge of a revolution

Yeah, we're standing on the edge of a revolution
Revolution, revolution, revolution

She felt her adrenaline rush through her veins as she approached the next turn, by far the tightest one they had both encountered since the race had started. As she slowed down a little to save herself from crashing she watched as Mike struggled, his speed too fast for a corner so precise. She had studied every bend and turn of this canyon track and she knew that as soon as this turn was cleared you were thrown into another one just as complex and hard to navigate. Three more corners came after this and she knew that this was where it counted.

We'll all be dead if this shit don't change
Hey hey hey hey

As the song continued to pound heavily and loudly she saw the split second opening and threw her car into a massive slide, turning it in tight to the inside of the bend as close as she could. She used the momentum of the drift to snap the car in the opposite direction, sliding towards the next corner and as she did Mike attempted his own drift. It was sloppy, she had to admit, but the menacing grin on his face said otherwise as he allowed his car to get so close that he bumped into the side of hers.

Brittany watched from the race start with baited breath as Mike seemingly continued to push her girlfriend more and more. She knew he was attempting to throw her drift out and run her off the edge of the cliff to the rocky canyon below but she knew, even if the view was limited through the dashboard cameras, that Santana was skilled enough in drifting that she could hold it. She just had to make sure she did before she was thrown off balance for good.

Knowing that Brittany was indeed watching this Santana grit her teeth as she continued to keep the drift, the slight straight enough room for her to clear his car a little to throw her own into another drift to tackle the last tight turn. It was the last extreme bend of the track of and she had to get it right.

As Mike edged closer to tap her on the back left bumper in attempt to pit her she suddenly threw the Supra into a fully blown slide, Mike seemingly in shock as she smirked at him, drifting easily around the turn tightly to the center. This was enough to put her back in first and stop any attempt of his that he had planned to try and stop her and she snapped her car back in the opposite direction to hit the last corner, definitely not as extreme but she felt like showing off a little just to spite Mike.

She didn't need to drift it but after an intense few moments of driving she let herself enjoy the feeling of taking the lead by sliding around the corner with an ease that made Brittany smile even watching her through her dashboard camera. When she finally pulled out and powered through the next curve she let herself enjoy the music as she handled the next two obstacles before she hit the second and last straight of the canyon.

What do we want? We want the change
And how're we gonna get there? Revolution
What do we want? We want the change
Standing on the edge of a revolution

When she saw the next corner she knew exactly what she was going to do so she let her body take control, shifting up into a higher gear and spiking the speedometer, smiling as she glanced at all of the gauges that formed the outside of her dashboard as they flickered in the same way. She was ahead and she knew that if she could speed around this without losing control she had six turns left before the end.

Brittany and Quinn watched as Santana approached the turn at high speed and Brittany nearly had heart failure at what happened next. Deciding to live a little dangerously and give Mike a taste of his own medicine to prove she really was better than him she reached to her right as her eyes never left the road, her hands automatically finding the little compartment just south of the handbrake, pressing a button quickly and in a matter of seconds she pressed down on one of the built-in Nos buttons on her steering wheel.

Her car lurched forward and using the last few split seconds she had to try and regain some semblance of control she used it to give her the slight angle she needed if she was going to pull the bold move off. The world outside of the car seemed to disappear as she slid around the corner at high speed, something Brittany never would have attempted, drift queen or not. The blonde felt her heart stop at the sight of her girlfriend through Mike's dashboard camera, the Supra drifting as if it was put on the earth to master that corner, nowhere else in the world but there.

She felt the air refill her lungs as Santana pulled out of the turn and head for the next, her heart beating as if she was in the car with her whilst she was driving. She made a mental note to berate the Latina later for nearly scaring her half to death. Luckily she wouldn't have to wait too long as Santana sped through the next turn, the Latina yelling in celebration as adrenaline pumped through her veins and her heart thumped loudly in her chest, which even over the music she could hear. Luckily it wasn't too loud as she heard Quinn's voice cut through both the loud rushing if blood in her ears and the music, making her grab the radio she had strewn on her passenger seat.

"Santana!"

"Q, what's happening?" She asked, watching her rear-view carefully as Mike sped up to keep her on her toes.

"We've got cops converging on the race end and start. I've radioed Blaine down at the finish and Britt and I are on our way down now"

"Cool"

"Good luck"

"Thanks"

Her heart only seemed to speed up at the possibility of potential cops and the thrill kicked in as she approached the finish line. Her music continued to pump hard as she handled the last two bends and watched as Mike sped around the last corner right behind her.

She kept her gaze glancing from her rear-view and to the road as she rapidly approached the finish line, already seeing the fast approaching lights of the people waiting to the sides. When she felt Mike nudge the back of the Supra just a little she knew now was the time to bring out the last of her boost. Taking one last glance up at her mirror she focused back onto the finish line and pressed down on the other button she hadn't pressed earlier.

The blue Supra lurched forward in a pure burst of speed and although it wasn't as impressive as when both buttons were pressed in the current situation it was enough to put her over the line first.

What do we want? We want the change
And how're we gonna get there? Revolution
What do we want? We want the change
Standing on the edge of a revolution

She felt relief flood her veins as she finished in first place but as she was about to stop Blaine's voice cracked through the radio, pulling her out of her winner's haze.

"Santana, cops! Keep going!"

She didn't question it and kept going, her heart nearly freezing as she rapidly swerved to avoid and oncoming collision with a police cruiser that was heading straight for her.

"Phew!" She breathed out in relief, wiping her brow with her free hand as she glanced up at her rear-view mirror to see Letty and Quinn not far behind her.

She narrowly avoided another cruiser and as she swerved onto another street she weaved in and out of traffic in an attempt to ditch the cruiser that had started following her. When she had done a full circle her radio flared to life in her lap once more, this time a voice she hadn't expected.

"Santana, slide right!"

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

Santana decided it was probably better to do as she was told as the other woman knew what she was doing and immediately pulled on the handbrake, sliding the Supra to the right. She desperately fought for control whilst keeping her eyes attached to the cruiser that was still behind her and out of nowhere an orange and black Camaro flew straight into the back left of the police car. Marley sent it flying and Santana snapped the car to the left to get back on track as she watched in her left wing mirror as the police car slid from side to side to regain control before it was too late, eventually being hit by and oncoming bus at the last minute.

A few seconds later and Marley came up behind her, a slight bump in the front of her hood but nothing that couldn't be fixed by Quinn back at the shop. It had been a close call but the brunette had come through and helped her out. She guessed that she had been one of the last ones to come out from the canyon road and been in the right place at the right time. She had taken the opportunity to take out the attacker and it got Santana to make a mental note to thank her and maybe offer up a friendly race with her on a day where they weren't being rushed. She had a funny feeling that Marley had a lot more to her than she let on.

Back to the situation at hand she heard said brunette through her radio as she pulled up beside her Supra. "You ok San?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Hell yes! I live for that stuff man!"

"Good for you. Thanks for that"

"Just doing my job. Tina just got a text, we're heading back to the house. We're gonna pick up the Impreza tomorrow"

"Cool"

"Yeah, I'll follow you back"

"Fine by me"

Ten minutes later and Santana found that she and Marley were the last ones to arrive back at the house, everybody else probably inside due to the fact that all of the lights were on. As Santana parked up behind Brittany's RX8 she turned to see Tina and Marley stepping out of the orange Camaro.

"Wow, seeing it up close you got a pretty good dent there. You think Quinn can fix it?" She asked, pocketing her car keys and nodding to the dent in question.

Marley just waved a hand in dismissal. "Please, it's Quinn we're talking about. She can fix anything. Trust me, it's not the worst dent I've ever got. In fact, it's one of the very small ones"

At that moment Tina decided to inject herself into the conversation, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "Trust me, it's not. That Camaro's seen much much worse. Do you know how many inter-coolers we've been through in the last year?" Santana shrugged.

"I probably don't wanna know"

The Asian woman let out a loud chuckle just as the front door opened. "No, you really don't"

"Santana!"

Santana looked up at the sound of her name and smiled when Brittany run down to her. Marley and Tina just smiled at the other couple as they clasped their hands together and headed on inside to give them some privacy.

The Latina let out a chuckle as Brittany tackled her, her flexible body being caught easy as she wrapped her arms around her neck and her legs tightly around the shorter woman's waist.

"Hey Britt"

"You're ok!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"That drift was stupid!"

Knowing what she meant by that she slowly lowered her down until she was stood on her feet again, keeping her arms securely around her waist and their fronts flush together.

"You loved it" At the smirk Brittany rolled her eyes. She shook her head and rested their foreheads together for a few silent moments, her eyes closing before she lent her head forward the few inches between them, closing the distance and pressing their lips together slowly and softly.

It was a nice change of pace from the hectic evening they had had but as much as Santana wanted to continue to just stand there and revel in the feeling of Brittany's lips against her own she knew she had business to take care of inside. So, pulling away she smiled and pressed a kiss to the blonde's forehead before stepping back and clasping their hands together, giving them a slight tug to get Brittany moving and leading her up the path and inside the house where everybody else was waiting.

As she had expected Letty was there, beer in hand whilst stood next to Mia and Blaine. "Good work S" The older Latina smiled, raising her beer in appreciation.

"Yeah, that was an intense race" Mia added, Quinn entering the hallway and handing both Santana and Brittany beers of their own.

"So what happens next?" The winner asked, taking a sip of her cold drink.

Letty shrugged in response. "We go and pick up the car tomorrow morning. I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm for Mike to keep it for one last night"

"I guess so. I wanna get a good look under the hood though before we put it in storage"

"What for?" Rachel asked from her place at the bottom of the stairs, Quinn's arm wrapped securely around her shoulders.

"He definitely did something to it since the last time we raced"

"But how? We only raced him a few days ago" Quinn frowned.

Santana just shrugged at the blonde. "I don't know. All I know is that he had something serious put under the hood as an attempt to try and win. Whatever it is I wanna get a good look at it."

"Yeah, here's to hopes that Puck doesn't pull it out of the damn thing before we get a good look at it" Dani injected, now also becoming part of the conversation.

"Whatever it is we'll probably find out tomorrow. As for now get a good night's sleep. We've got work in the morning"

At Letty's commanding closing statement everybody started to disperse. With a kiss to the top of Brittany's head Santana led the blonde upstairs close behind Rachel and Quinn. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Santana felt her heart rate increase as she pulled up into the yard of Puck's garage behind Letty, Quinn and Dani. The last time she had been here she had been nearly beaten to death, in and out of consciousness as a bag was thrown back over her bloodied head and she was dragged out over the rough concrete, hitting every sharp rock on the way before being thrown back into the van that had brought her there. The next thing she remembered was Brittany holding her in her lap.

Now, she was fully conscious, her girlfriend sat in the passenger seat clutching Santana's free hand with both of her own. When she felt a soft kiss pressed to her knuckles she was brought out of her deep thoughts, smiling when Brittany smiled reassuringly at her. To thank her she lifted her hand up and pressed a kiss in return to Brittany's knuckles, the blonde smiling and brushing her thumb back and forth across the back of a tan hand.

With a comforting squeeze she waited for Santana to put the car in park before leaning over and giving her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "You can do this" She whispered before sliding out of the car before Santana did the same.

Quinn came up on Santana's empty side and along with the others, including Blaine, they made their way to the entrance of the garage.

"Puckerman, we're here for the pink slips!" Letty called out, catching the immediate attention of the crew members milling about the garage.

At the sound of his name Puck reluctantly stopped what he was doing. Panting he pulled away and grinned at the person he had seemingly just been enraptured in, maybe a little too much so. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand he stepped back and pulled his jeans up, grinning as he exited his office whilst pulling the zipper up and re-fastening his belt.

Letty rolled her eyes at the obvious implication of what he had just been doing and decided to focus back on the task at hand, making this as painless as possible and collecting the pink slips to their new car so that they could get out of there as soon as possible. She really didn't want Santana to be there longer than she needed to be.

"If you say so. You know, if you had called ahead and told us that you were coming over I would have tidied up the place" He winked, his eyes flickering down to the blood stains on the floor that were positioned near the mouth of the garage. He let out a laugh at Santana's tensed up appearance and turned back to Letty and Blaine.

If Santana wasn't so tense she would have heard Dani growl from beside Brittany but the only thing she could focus on was that spot, her blood stained into the concrete, obviously a jab from Puck by not cleaning it up. It was as if he wanted it there like a sick reminder of almost taking her life in return for taking his brother's. She was just aware enough to feel Brittany's hand slip into hers, the blonde's squeezing tightly and managing to bring her out from her darkening thoughts long enough to see Mike hand over the keys to the Impreza that was parked a few feet away from them next to Brody's Corvette.

As soon as the keys were placed in her hands she turned away, heading straight for her car. As soon as she reached her Supra she turned to Brittany was quickly catching up to her and she threw her the keys.

"Here, take it for a ride"

Before the blonde could reply the keys were thrown to her and she was watching Santana peel off out of the yard and back onto the street, speeding off exceptionally fast. Dani shook her head from her place beside her. If anyone understood what was happening it was her.

"Don't worry Britt, she just needs to cool off. You know, like I do"

She nodded in response just as Letty caught up to them. "Come on guys, let's get this back to the shop"

Santana sighed as she sat at the picnic table in the back yard. The day had been long, just as she had expected and she had come out here to think and be alone away from the rest of the crew, needing a little time to breathe to herself. When Brittany had saw this she had debated back and forth whether to give her her space or go out there and offer up her comfort. In the end she decided to offer her services as her girlfriend and exited through the back door, sitting down next to the Latina who was completely silent as she looked out at the city night skyline.

Instead of pushing her Brittany decided to let her speak on her own terms and waited in silence for Santana to gather up the courage to speak first. When she did she felt her heart clench tightly in her chest.

"You know, I thought I had moved past what they did to me. I thought I had buried the fact that they had nearly killed me in that garage but seeing it today brought it all back. I nearly died there Britt and they didn't even have the decency to clean up my blood which was stained into the floor. When I saw it all I could think about was the fact that it was there, taunting me, reminding me forever that they nearly damn well killed me all for the sake of getting their revenge of taking a life by accident. And I keep asking myself this question..."

The blonde knew exactly what she was about to say, something she had hoped Santana would never say. "Santana, don't-"

"No, I have to get this out." Brittany nodded silently and a silent moment later Santana continued. "What if I was the one that was supposed to die that night Britt? What if Jake was the one that was supposed to watch me crash and then see me die? Maybe I deserved it"

"Santana, don't say that! You never have and never will deserve that. I know it nearly killed you afterwards but you were supposed to be here. Jake didn't deserve to die, and I would never wish that on anybody, but I think you were sent to be here with me and the crew for a reason."

She didn't know what else to say. It was a hard thing to reply to, your girlfriend saying that she deserved to be the one that died in a fiery car crash in someone else's place. It wasn't something she was prepared to reply to, not even with all the time she had had since it had happened to formulate a well planned answer. Instead she reached up and initiated contact for the first time since she had come outside, grabbing Santana's chin and turning her to face her.

"Santana, look at me"

Reluctantly doing as her girlfriend commanded the moment she looked into her eyes she felt all of her walls that she had built up crumble at her feet as if they were made of nothing but dust. She felt hot tears burn at her eyes and as she kept her eyes locked with Brittany's just for a second longer she felt everything just give way beneath her. Every defence she thought she had evaporated as she fell forwards into Brittany's awaiting arms, a sob tearing through her throat and bubbling out as she finally let everything go. Every pressure she had felt since she had gone undercover and the pain of every lie she had formulated and endured released into the forms of muffled sobs, Brittany's surprisingly warm arms coming up to wrap around her shoulder's as she held her close to her chest.

The blonde felt her own heart clench more painfully than ever before at the sound of Santana's pain, doing the only thing she knew how to do better than anything else, even drifting. Santana seemed to keep all of her emotions bottled up all of the time, never once having expressed any apprehension or fear since they had first met. Now, to be met with the Latina finally releasing all of the pressure that had steadily been building deep within her Brittany felt a relief of her own, happy to be the one that Santana turned to, even if it did make her own heart hurt at the sight of sound of her girlfriend in pain.

All she could do was hold on as tightly as possible, never once showing any sings of letting go.

Song used: Nickelback – 'Edge of a Revolution'

TBC