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.
Update time peoples! I know I left it on a cliffhanger last week but who doesn't like a good one every now and again? Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this update and I have some really cool things planned from here on out. Peace!
As always, thank you to all my amazing reviewers and favers and followers! I appreciate all of the communication that we share with each other :D
"What's the situation?"
"Female gunshot victim, twenty seven years of age, name's Santana Lopez"
"Injuries?"
"Found with two gunshot wounds, one to the left shoulder and one to the left abdomen. We have a possible Bracial Plexus injury to the shoulder with a possible rupture of the spleen and further perforation of the colon. She's already lost a lot of blood on the way here and she's in and out of consciousness."
"And the gunshots?"
"No exit wounds so we're assuming they're still located in the body"
"Ok, get her prepped for surgery. If it's as serious as we think we need to act fast before the damage is fatal."
"Pick up, pick up, pick up. Letty!"
"What's going on? Why do you sound so rushed?"
"It's Santana"
"What about Santana?"
"She's delivering the car and after she picked it up she stopped talking to me. I don't know what to do Letty. We need the crew out looking for her"
"Ok, ok calm down. Give me five minutes and I'll get everyone up. Where do you want me to meet you?"
"The Racer's Edge"
"Ok, I'm on my way" Hanging up the phone she turned to the woman who was lying next to her. "Mia, babe, wake up"
"Huh?"
"We've gotta go. Crew emergency"
"Crew emergency? What for?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll explain when we're on the road"
Taking it as the best she was going to get Mia hopped out of bed, now far from any sleep she thought she may be getting back to. She joined Letty in getting dressed and she was pulling on her boots her girlfriend was already rushing out of the room as she pulled her jacket on.
Letty was immediately knocking on all doors and making herself known. "Everybody up! Crew emergency! Get your asses out of bed and dressed in five minutes. I want you in your cars ASAP!"
The others had no choice but to obey, all pulling themselves out of bed. They didn't protest like they usually would have due to the fact that it was a crew emergency and the best thing was to not question it and just do as Letty said. She had a reason for pulling them out and they would do whatever she wanted them to without question.
Now dressed and pulling on her own jacket Mia was rushing downstairs and out onto the porch. She watched as Letty cursed from inside her car, knowing that she was probably damning herself for being the one to always park on the driveway first. She knew it wasn't practical as crew leader to have her car so inaccessible in a situation like this but she continued to do it anyway. When this was all over Mia vowed to make sure she convinced her girlfriend to park on the street in front of the house instead, no matter how much convincing had to be done.
She was brought from her thoughts when Dani and Kitty rushed past her, the two blondes making a beeline for Dani's Ford which was parked in front of the house. Marley and Tina soon followed.
"M, move your Camaro"
"Already on it babe"
Mia watched as the two women rushed to their individual cars and as soon as the Camaro was out of the way from blocking the driveway Marley was already hopping out and joining her girlfriend in her Nissan. Brittany was next, the blonde already heading for her RX8 which was parked across the street without question. The last to exit the house was Rachel and Quinn and as Mia made sure to lock the house both women dashed for the blonde's Skyline. As soon as Mia had made it to Letty's Plymouth the other two cars that were on the driveway were already pulling out onto the street and before she even had a chance to buckle herself in properly Mia was being thrown forwards as Letty quickly reversed and threw her car forwards.
"Letty!"
Looking over the Latina's expression softened for just a moment, enough for her to reach her hand over and caress Mia's jaw. "Lo sentimos nena. I'm kind of in a rush."
Taking the hand she pressed a kiss to her palm, squeezing tightly for a few moments before letting it go and watching her girlfriend place it back on the steering wheel. Whatever it was that was an emergency had Letty on edge and that was never a good thing.
Shelby's head snapped up at the sound of engines pulling up outside. Both she and Holly watched as Letty jumped out of her Plymouth followed by the others. Soon enough they were all pouring through the front doors and making their way to the front desk where not only they waited but Blaine and Kurt did too.
"What's the emergency?" Letty asked, coming to a stop.
"Santana went dark about an hour ago"
"She just stopped responding?"
"Yes. I can't contact her, she's not picking up her phone and I don't know what to do"
"Ok. Please tell me you had a tracker on the R8?"
"Wait, what's going on?" Dani asked, her arms folded firmly across her chest.
"Yeah, what R8?" Quinn added.
Letty sighed, looking at Shelby for permission. When she got a nod she turned to the rest of her crew. "Today's delivery day for the prize for Race Wars. Santana and I were the only ones who knew about it and by the looks of it Shelby chose Santana but now it's gone wrong and we can't get hold of her, am I right?" She asked, turning back to the diner owner.
"Yes. The prize was an R8 that me and Schue spent months working on and we decided to choose from two people, Letty or Santana. Until recently it's been locked up tight in the middle of the desert where no one would even suspect of finding it but Puck made a move on the car and that's why he's in jail with the rest of his crew, minus Brody that is. Me and Holly moved it and I asked Schue what he thought was best and we both decided to move it sooner rather than later. Today was supposed to be delivery day but Santana went quiet not long after she got out onto the road in the R8. I haven't been able to contact her since"
"Wait, that emergency she said you had this morning wasn't something normal was it? She knew you were calling about the delivery"
Everybody's heads snapped to where Brittany was standing. "Britt, what do you know?" Shelby asked.
"She left this morning telling me that you had an emergency. I didn't ask questions and I thought she would have been back by now. I thought it was strange that she made a point of telling me she loved me when she left"
"In a normal way?" Quinn asked.
Letty frowned over at the blonde. "What do you mean?"
Quinn just shrugged. "Well, how did she say it? It should have just been normal when she told her"
"She-she hesitated as if it was hard to say" Brittany stuttered, feeling Kitty wrap and arm around her shoulders.
Nodding Letty turned back to Shelby. "Whatever it is we need to find out what's happened. Did you have a tracker on the car?"
"Yes but I didn't think to use it"
Seeing the terrified and embarrassed look on her adopted mother's face Letty steeled her own expression. "Hey, it doesn't matter. We all forget things sometimes so don't beat yourself up over it. Now, where can we access it?"
"I can from my car" Tina piped up.
Letty turned to the Asian woman and nodded. "Ok, get on it."
"Will do. Shelby, you got a number I can enter?"
"Sure"
"Ok everybody, to your cars"
20 Minutes later and Roz was watching as a Plymouth, a Skyline, a 350Z, a Ford GT, an RX8, a Jaguar and a Porsche pulled up. Knowing exactly who it was she was already prepared to deal with the people she had been watching for months.
Immediately Letty was already stalking towards her. "What happened here?"
"Calm down Miss Ortiz and I will tell you"
"How do you know my name?"
"I'm Lima Police Department Chief Roz Washington. How I know you isn't important right now but what is is that I've been waiting for you"
"You have?" Mia asked.
"Yes. This morning around an hour ago there was a shooting here that took place. There was one casualty and the assailant was long gone by the time I got here"
"Who was the casualty?" Brittany asked, fearing the worst but needing to voice the most important question.
Roz sighed, knowing that what she said next wasn't going to be easy. "The victim was Miss Lopez. She sustained two gunshot wounds and she's been rushed to the nearest hospital. I was the one who found her"
Without any control a sob ripped its way from Brittany's throat, the blonde already breaking down at the news her girlfriend had been shot. Watching as Rachel wrapped her arms around her best friend Letty turned back to the police chief.
"What was she doing here in the first place?"
"That I can't tell you, it's classified information, but I suggest you head over to the hospital. I was going to go there as soon as you arrived here. Please, don't ask questions, just head to the hospital."
Nodding Letty turned back to her crew, Brittany sobbing at the sight of the police cruiser in the warehouse with blood staining the side of it. "Ok people. Everybody get back in your cars. Rach, you drive Brittany. She's in no condition to drive right now" Rachel nodded. "Everybody clear?" More nods. "Ok then, let's go. Oh, and thanks"
Roz nodded. "No thanks needed, I'm just doing my job. I'll be right behind you"
With that Letty headed back to her Plymouth, Mia sliding in along with her. If it weren't for the situation Roz would have taken more time to admire the fact that Letty came across as a natural born leader, the loyalty of her crew the clearest it had been since she had started getting involved with the case. Now she knew why Santana had had such a hard time choosing what she really wanted. Instead she had been shot in the back, quite literally, for doing what she thought of as right. Shaking her head Roz watched as the crew pulled away and headed over to her BMW to follow them. Today was going to be a long day.
They had been waiting for what felt like days when in reality it was only a few hours. Everybody was crowded into a small waiting room together still waiting for information on Santana. They hadn't heard anything and the longer it went on the more nervous they each seemed to get. The tension was thick as Letty looked around the room, seeing all of the couples sat together.
Dani was sat forward in her seat, Kitty's hand on her knee as she too lent forward to match her girlfriend. Not letting her gaze linger too long she averted it to Tina and Marley who were sat next to each other, Marley resting her head on the Asian girl's shoulder. To her right Letty found Quinn and Rachel, the two women holding hands tightly. When she felt a movement beside her she looked down to find Mia tightening the grip she had on her arm, the younger woman having looped them together and resting her head on her shoulder. Her smile didn't last long though when she looked over and saw Brittany curled into Holly's side. She had known Brittany long enough to know that the blonde was barely keeping it together, although she had never seen her this bad. She had seen her get upset but seeing her now across the room, her eyes devoid of anything but sadness and red rimmed from crying, clinging to Holly as if she was a lifeline, Letty wasn't afraid to admit that it was scaring her. Brittany never acted like this and it's when she realized that maybe Santana really was the best thing Brittany had ever come across. The final person was Santana's grandmother, perched in a seat next to Shelby. She had been quiet the entire time but Letty wasn't stupid, she wasn't blind to the quiet yet intense fire that was flickering behind the older Latina's eyes. She had seen it so many times in Shelby (directed at both her and Rachel) and she could see it now, somewhat something of a mothers love that was burning deeply inside them and betraying them through the eyes. She knew they hadn't really had the best relationship since they had gotten back into town but Letty knew that right now Alma was intensely angry and saddened at the news of her one and only granddaughter fighting for her life. Differences were pushed aside and that passion flowed through everyone in the room, no matter what the connection to the woman in surgery was.
Though when the door to the room opened their heads all snapped up as the doctor came in trailed by Roz.
"I'm assuming you are all friends of Miss Lopez?"
"We're family" Letty corrected as they stood up, the others nodding in agreement at the term.
"Well then, if that's the case I have some news for you" She started, ignoring the polite correction in favour of wanting to deliver the news. "I'm Doctor Mizuhara. I was the doctor assigned to her case. At approximately nine 'o' clock this morning Miss Lopez sustained two gunshot wounds to the shoulder and abdomen. It required immediate surgery to make sure there was no internal bleeding to the spleen as the bullet could have ruptured it and killed her. Luckily it only caught the edge and we were able to stop the bleeding before it became critical. Her shoulder on the other hand was also non lethal. Luckily it didn't cause enough damage to be serious as it just missed the crucial nerves that operate the arm and muscles, but for now I think the best for her is to wait and see if it heals on it's own. The reason why I say this is because there is a very real possibility that it might impede muscle and nerve function and she would require further surgery to correct it and help it heal the way it's supposed to."
"So she'll live?" Quinn asked.
The Asian doctor nodded. "Yes but right now it's very critical. We've moved her to the ICU to give her time to recover due to the fact that when she was brought in she was in and out of consciousness and already lost a lot of blood. Our next steps are critical"
"Can we see her?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, but only one at a time. We've got her on pain medication to help her rest so she should be asleep for at least a few more hours"
"So we can go in now?" Mia inquired.
The doctor nodded but before they could start debating who went in first Letty cut them all off. "Before you say anything Santana's abuela gets priority. She'll still be there for us later. If that's alright with you though, Mrs. Lopez?"
Alma nodded, genuinely grateful for the thoughtfulness Letty had shared in her favour. "Thank you, that means so much"
"Lo sé. Tome su tiempo." She nodded. "We can wait just a little bit longer to see her"
The older woman nodded. "Thank you"
"Ok, so if that's all decided, follow me Mrs. Lopez"
Alma nodded to the doctor and quietly entered the room, not quite believing the sight before her of the woman she had practically raised. Santana was still and small in the massive hospital bed, her complexion pale as she lay asleep whilst the steady beep of the heart rate machine sounded quietly in the background noise. Wiping a tear away gracefully she made her way over to the bed, sitting down in the chair beside her and taking her lifeless hand into her own.
Shaking her head she sniffled. "Oh mija, what have you gotten yourself into now?"
The rest of the crew soon followed and although it may have seemed predictable that she go before anyone else due to the fact that she was her girlfriend, Brittany decided to go last, waiting for her turn patiently. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her, it was quite the opposite, but she knew she needed the extra time now that she knew the extent of her injuries to mentally prepare herself for what she might find behind that hospital room door. It terrified her but she had to do it.
She was brought fourth from her thoughts by a hand squeezing her shoulder and when she looked up Mia was smiling down sadly at her.
"Hey, you can go in now"
Reaching up a hand to cover the one on her shoulder she nodded, squeezing before standing up. Mia couldn't help herself when she hugged her but luckily Brittany didn't pull away, instead accepting the affectionate gesture from the other woman and using it as the last little bit of strength she needed to carry herself towards the room where the woman she loved was waiting for her, even if she was asleep due to the painkillers she had been administered.
Mia heard a whispered thank you as Brittany pulled away and watched as she exited the small waiting room, feeling a hand on her own shoulder. Looking up she smiled when she saw that it was Letty. "Do you think she'll be ok?" She asked, watching as Brittany turned a corner out of sight.
Letty nodded. "Yeah, she has us. She'll be fine"
Feeling a kiss to the top of her head she let herself melt into the embrace that her girlfriend was offering, sighing as she felt Letty's arms wrap around her waist. "I hope you're right."
Meanwhile, Brittany had stopped outside of Santana's door, not quite sure if she was actually able to do this. She knew that the moment she entered this would all become real. The fear struck at her heart but for some reason she wouldn't let it get to her, she couldn't. No matter what she was feeling she had to do this, had to see for real that Santana was at least breathing let alone shot. That's why she pushed it aside, willing to accept the truth about what had happened and took one last steadying breath before reaching for the door handle. With a firm grip she pushed the door open to reveal what laid before her.
Then the breath got knocked right out of her lungs.
Santana looked unreal in the hospital bed, almost way too small in stark contrast to the bed, tubes sticking out of her arms and hooking her up to machines. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was pale, Brittany just able to see the bandage that was covering her bicep and entire shoulder.
And that's when she found she couldn't move. She felt rooted to the spot, unable to stop the sob that ripped through her throat at the sight of the woman she loved so lifeless and vulnerable. A hand flew up to cover her mouth, muffling the sound of another loud sob, watching as Santana continued to breathe slowly as she lay asleep as if the world around her didn't exist. Still, Brittany knew she couldn't let it get to her, at least not for the moment so she steeled herself, tears running down her face as she made her way over to her slowly step by step.
Each one felt like a mile when in reality there were just a few but she managed it enough to come right up beside the Latina's bedside. Sucking in a shaky breath she felt her knees nearly give out, plopping down into the seat beside the bed and taking her hand. It lacked it's usual warmth but she decided to ignore it, instead focusing on the steady beep of the heart monitor on the other side of the bed. It helped her in more ways than she ever thought it would. It was what cemented in her mind that Santana was actually ok, was actually going to live, but it didn't stop the pain that coursed through her heart when she thought about how close she had come to losing her.
A strangled cry ripped free from her throat as her grip on Santana's hand tightened. She couldn't stop the sudden onslaught of pain that seemed to assault her from every side.
"Santana..."
It almost felt as if she was drowning until all of a sudden she felt the hand in hers grip back. Her head snapped up and to the face that had once been peacefully asleep to see eyes slowly fluttering open. A smile passed over her face at the sight of Santana awake, raw emotion clear as day on her face as she cried and chuckled in relief both at the same time.
"Don't cry" Came the hoarse response from the Latina, her hand still gripping Brittany's tightly.
Sniffling Brittany let out another chuckle as she wiped at the fresh tears with her free hand. "Sorry, I was just really worried"
Looking down at herself, still getting her bearings, Santana remembered Cassandra shooting her. She could feel the very faint throb of pain in her shoulder and side but decided to make the most of the fact that the painkillers weren't due to wear off just yet. Instead she looked back at Brittany.
"I'm in the hospital?"
The blonde nodded. "Uh huh"
When she felt a sharp pain run down through her arm she had to let go of Brittany's hand. "Britt, my arm..."
"Oh, sorry! Do you need me to get the doctor?
"No, it wasn't your fault. It just hurts trying to keep it holding yours"
Instead of responding verbally Brittany just nodded and instead decided to lean forward, sliding her hand underneath the tanned arm and bringing it up high enough for her to kiss the wrist to elbow scar that adorned one side of it. The simple action alone was enough to make Santana want to cry considering what she had done before she had got shot.
"Britt, I need you to get the others"
"But it's only one person at a time. You're in the ICU Santana"
"I know but I need to do something. Please, if they say no just get Roz Washington for me"
"The police chief that brought you in? She's in the waiting room with the others"
"That's good. Can you please just do this for me?"
"Ok" She said, nodding as she stood up. Pressing a soft lingering kiss to Santana's head she turned around to leave, taking one last look at the woman she loved before quietly clicking the door shut behind her.
She managed to gather everybody up, telling Roz what Santana had requested, and as if it were nothing she swayed the doctor into letting them all in the room at the same time. She didn't need to ask Santana to know what she was doing next, it was pretty obvious. It was probably best that she didn't waste any time but she couldn't help feeling that the stubborn Latina should have waited just a little bit longer after she had woken up to tell them the truth about what had been going on. Still, it was her decision so she followed them all down to her room and was the last one to enter, closing the door behind her.
Brittany took up the seat she had vacated not long ago and Alma took the seat opposite her, Santana also noticing Blaine and Kurt's presence as they hadn't been there when everybody had initially came in to see her. She put it down the fact that they were probably closing up their shops. She was grateful that they were there though.
"Hey Santana" Mia greeted, feeling Letty place her arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah, hey." Kitty smiled from her place beside Dani.
Before anybody else could greet her Santana couldn't afford to sit there and listen to all their verbal greetings and affections for her knowing what she had done so she took a deep breath, which probably wasn't the best idea, and when her coughing fit had died down she took a few moments to herself before speaking.
"Guys, I have something to tell you..."
"Do you really think it's a good idea in your state?" Holly asked from next to Shelby.
Not meeting their eyes Santana stared up at the ceiling. "No, but I don't have a choice. I need to get this out now before I chicken out"
"What is it Santana?" Rachel asked.
Taking a steadying breath and ignoring the pain from her gunshot wounds she steeled herself. "I'm not the person that you think I am. Back when I first came back to Lima my intentions were true, I was here to see my grandmother but I never made it off the expressway. Instead I hit a set of spike strips after the cops jumped me and I was brought into the police department. There I was given no choice but to go along with an FBI investigation into Puck. My job was to find a way to bring him down once and for all. I was then given a new car and sent on my way. My handler got me in and then I met you guys. The idea was that I was to join a crew as it was my best chance at getting to Puck so I raced like I was told to and I joined your crew in the process. Then I had to race against Puck's crew so that the police could eventually bring him in whilst gaining your trust. Once I had that I was to keep going until I found evidence to bring Puck down for good. In the meantime I raced Jake and as we all know he didn't make it to the end of the race. Then came the R8 and the information in it. My handler then kept pushing me until I got chosen by Shelby and lucky for her I was. I got picked, I left, I did as Shelby asked and then the moment I was in the car I contacted my handler. That's when I drove it in the opposite direction and down to the docks. There I handed over the keys and the duffel bag and I was free to go. Although I wasn't. I turned my back to get into the police cruiser and she shot me. Before I passed out she told me how she killed Jake, how she had been working with Puck, and how what I did was never to bring him down, it was just to get some information that would clear her name for something she did a long time ago. Her names Cassandra July and she left me for dead, or rather to suffer the aftermath of the mess I made from lying to you all about who I really was. Police chief Washington was in on it too, she just didn't know about Cassandra's true intentions"
There was a stunned silence in the room as everybody was left in shock, not knowing what to say. It was tense and quiet enough that all Santana could hear was the rapid pounding of her heart in both her ears and through her chest. This however was what snapped everybody else back into reality, the sound of Santana's heart rate monitor signalling the rapid increase of pace through faster beeps.
That's when Letty frowned, rubbing at her temples. "So let me get this straight; you lied to all of us, from the day we me you and then you used us to get what you wanted. Going after Puck wasn't just revenge for what he did to you was it?"
Santana shook her head at Letty. "No, that wasn't the whole story"
"Then please enlighten us"
"Cassandra killed Jake. She was the one that somehow caused his car to flip over and she let Puck blame it on me and I believed it. I believed I killed him but in reality she just wanted him mad at me so that he would make a mistake. We needed to push him but believe me I didn't know until this morning"
"Ok, so you continued on anyway until you were trusted with Shelby's responsibility and you stabbed us all in the back?"
"Trust me I didn't want to. I cried the entire way to the docks thinking about every single one of you. It wasn't easy but I thought I was doing something good. I thought I was doing the right thing only to get stabbed right back... or shot in my case"
"So our friendship didn't mean anything?"
Santana looked over at Quinn, her heart cracking at the sight of the broken and lost look on her face. "Of course it did! I've never had a best friend before and I didn't expect to find them through a situation like this, I promise! If there was one piece of good that came from all this it was bringing you and Rachel together"
"But you couldn't find it in you to tell the truth even after all we went through with Puck and what happened to Jake?"
Her head turned to look at the accusatory look on Tina's face. "I didn't know how to tell you the truth, I wasn't allowed to"
"So I willingly put my ass on the line for you?"
"Marley, I-"
"Save it"
"But-"
"Did you really think we were that stupid that we wouldn't understand if you told us Santana? I thought we were like family?" Rachel accused, feeling Quinn's steadying hand on her lower back.
"How could I? Cassandra had me backed into a corner the entire time"
"Doesn't mean you couldn't have told us" Shelby defended. "I trusted you with everything I had to deliver that car. We spent thousands of dollars perfecting it and you lost it in the matter of a few minutes. Gods knows where Cassandra is now with it"
It was at that point that Roz stepped into the conversation. "We're on it. We're waiting for her to bail Puck out"
"It's not the point" Kitty cut in. "She lied to all of us"
"Yeah, and now she has to deal with the consequences" Rachel added.
"I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to come back and visit my grandmother but instead I got lumped with doing all of this and now I have to pay for it whilst Cassandra goes free and takes all the rewards of the work I put in. I never thought it would feel like you were my family but it did and you are the best group of people I have ever met, every single one of you, I just wish we could have met differently"
"Doesn't change the fact that you lied to us Santana" Holly replied.
"I know but I was stuck between betraying an FBI agent who I thought was legit and a group of people I considered the closest thing to family I had ever had in my entire life. I didn't know what to do. Being undercover was one of the worst things I've ever had to do in my life and I would never choose it willingly"
"Do you regret being with me? Was that fake too?"
Santana and everybody else's gazes fell on Brittany who had yet to speak until now. "No, of course not! Everything we shared together was nothing short of the real thing. I love you, that was never in question, I never expected to fall in love and the only reason I continued to have faith in what I was doing was because you loved me. Those moments were real and even if I have to say it aloud you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't want to lie to you but by the time that I wanted to tell you it was too late"
The entire room was quiet at the declaration, no one quite knowing just what to say in response. That was until Dani piped up for the first time in the conversation, her anger clearly fighting to burst out of her.
"So you broke her heart anyway? You're a fucking bitch do you know that? I'm gonna fucking break your neck!"
Before she could lunge at Santana Roz was holding her back, Santana surprised to see the strength that the police chief possessed. "Cool it Harper!"
"Fuck this, let her suffer for what she did to us!"
And with that Dani stormed out of the room, Kitty glaring at Santana one last time before following her girlfriend.
"I agree, let her deal with the mess she made" Marley added, leaving moments later with Tina in tow.
"I really did think you were my best friend. Now I just guess you were just nothing but a phony lying ass-hole, just like everybody else in my life I thought was there for me" Quinn said, her voice thick with emotion, sadness and anger, wiping away a tear as she headed for the door.
"Quinn, ple-"
"Save it Santana. You've already done enough damage" Rachel added, leaving as well with Blaine and Kurt behind her.
"You betrayed us all Santana, and I hope for your sake that car turns up"
Holly shook her head at Santana and Shelby pulled her parter out of the room, a last few people left. Her heart was cracked and she knew that by the time the room had cleared out she wouldn't just be left with two gunshot wounds, she'd be left with a broken heart too.
"Don't ever think you're welcome in this scene again because if you set foot in it I will make sure that you never make any money ever again, let alone joining a crew. You broke our bond of family and trust Santana, and for that I don't think I can ever forgive you"
Letty immediately left the room and Mia shook her head at the helpless woman in the hospital bed, not giving her enough time to answer before she left with tears glinting in her eyes. "Santana, how could you?"
The final straw came from Brittany who had tears running down her cheeks, the broken look on her face finally shattering Santana's heart in her chest. She had hurt the woman she loved and there was nothing she could do to stem the pain that was pouring from her eyes. She had been the cause of this pain and there was nothing she could do but lay there in that bed and watch as the blonde she was in love with cry at the truth she had spilled. Whether she chose to believe her words or not was up to her but Santana knew that everything she had said about being love with her was true. She really did wish this could have gone down differently but it had happened this way and now all she could do was endure the onslaught of guilt that Cassandra had left her to live with.
Getting up without a word Brittany made her way towards the door. She found herself desperately wanting to stop at the sound of Santana's voice calling out for her but she couldn't. Her heart was hurting and the love she had once thought she had felt was now all in question. It's the reason she needed to keep going, the reality of the situation pushing her to follow after the crew she knew as family and leave the woman she thought she loved behind. Whoever said love was easy was a fool.
Hours later and Santana was passed out from the exhaustion. As soon as Roz had left Alma had stayed and comforted her granddaughter whilst she cried until she eventually passed out, which hadn't really been that long. Having been shot twice and telling everybody the truth just after she had woken up from surgery she had every right to be exhausted. It just meant that she would have to rest and recover a little before her doctor told her exactly what had happened to her.
The next morning Santana's doctor came around as soon as she was awake.
"Ah Santana, nice to see you awake this morning" She beamed, clipboard clutched in her arm.
"Hi"
"So, Roz here told me what happened yesterday and you'll probably want to know what's going to happen to you next"
"Yeah"
"Ok then, you sustained two gunshot wounds, you obviously know where. You required surgery straight away to make sure there was no internal bleeding and luckily there wasn't but it did nick your spleen so it will eventually heal on it's own, you just need to be careful and give it time. Your shoulder wasn't fatal but it did just miss the nerves that control it's muscle function so for now we're going to see if it heals on it's own too. As for now I think bed rest is definitely your best and only option for you to start the healing process and when you're well enough you can go home. I will say this though, your shoulder will require physio therapy but if it doesn't heal properly and the pain gets worse we'll need to make sure that it's not pressing down on those crucial nerves as you'll probably require further surgery to free them up. With that said if you're ok for pain medication I'll be making my rounds and I'll be back to see you this afternoon."
"Thank you doctor"
"My pleasure" She smiled at Roz as she shook her hand before smiling over at Santana's grandmother and her patient before leaving the room.
"Just great" Santana groaned, using her good arm to cover her face.
"It could be worse mija"
"She's right Santana. I think with all things considered it's a miracle you're still here so at least be happy for that. As for everything else we knew it would be hard but we didn't expect it to be with you in a hospital bed dealing with the aftermath. If it helps I've got all my available man power working overtime to find Cassandra but she's skipped town. Probably to let the heat cool off before she comes back to bail out Puck and the rest of his crew. Until then I've got a cop posted on your door around the clock. As per his request Matt Rutherford, who you know already, is gonna be here in about an hour to take the first shift. With Cassandra on the loose, especially with a gun, we don't know how lethal she's gonna be and I want you protected in case she does actually decide she's coming back to finish the job. In the mean time is there anything I can get you?"
Santana shook her head sighing. "No"
Nodding sadly Roz made for the door. "Let me know if I can get her anything" She directed to Alma who nodded in acknowledgement.
"I will"
"Good. I'll see you later Santana"
"Whatever"
When Roz had left the room Alma turned back to Santana. "What's wrong mija?"
"What do you think?" She spat.
Raising an eyebrow the elder Latina decided to brush her granddaughters attitude off to the side. "I know it's tough right now but don't push away the people who are still willing to be by your side. I haven't had the chance to say that what happened wasn't something I expected but right now I'm still here Santana. I'm still here whether you like it or not and I will be until you are better"
"But why?"
"Because we're family. I'm your grandmother and it's my job. After what happened eight years ago I'm not willing to make the same mistake twice. I'm going to stay by your side as long as it takes, even if you are sick of me by the end, but I'm not leaving. You can be angry as much as you want but right now the best thing is for you to rest and when you're allowed out of here you're staying in my house, under my roof, until you are a hundred percent. Do you understand me?"
She was just able to keep the smile threatening to cross her face at bay, only a little seeping out. Alma notice the slight movement but ignored it knowing that she had gotten through. "Sí abuela. Entiendo."
"Good, now eat the lovely breakfast they made for you and we can discuss rules for when you are released from here"
Rolling her eyes Santana reached for the bright red jello that was on the tray positioned over her lap. "Por supuesto. Lo que usted diga."
No matter how much she hated her current situation, she was just glad that she was on speaking terms with her grandmother again. It had been way too long.
It was night-time that evening when Santana had time to think by herself. Her grandmother had left not too long ago to step out and get some fresh air and some food. Meanwhile Santana was here alone and she was thankful for the five minutes of peace that she had found but it wasn't easy. She knew that her body would rather be sleeping but right now she was suppressing the need for pain medication in favour of some clear thinking time. She knew she would be out like a light so she was trying to ignore the throb of pain so that she could consider everything that had happened in the last two days. It wasn't the smartest move but it was needed.
Her head turned painfully to the side to see the city lights of Downtown Lima flickering outside of her window. It was the only real thing she could focus on whilst thoughts of what was going on buzzed around madly in her brain. There was a jumble and even so she still couldn't order them the way she had wanted. She had gone over them again and again and there were even thoughts from before this had all happened, fears and predictions made real. She hadn't counted on being in the hospital.
She now had to think about where she was going. The crew would never take her back and she didn't blame them, she would do the same thing. Then there was moving on from the only woman she had ever loved but that was the one thing she had deemed too painful to think about, at least whilst she had been awake. Knowing she had broken Brittany's heart she didn't know whether she could go on. Sure, she had her grandmother and in a way Roz, but nothing would ever compare to what she really felt when she had been with Brittany. It had seemed as though they had only really just discovered who and what they could be together when it was all ripped out from beneath them. It hurt her to her heart to know she'd never be able to tell her she loved her ever again and as with the rest of the crew if she and Brittany were in reversed positions she probably would have wanted nothing to do with her either.
That's why she considered the thought of leaving town. She had done it before and it had worked until that letter had arrived from her grandmother. Who's to tell that she couldn't do it again? Her life outside of Lima had been good, had been the life she had been sure of that she was supposed to live. Sure, she had an enemy but who didn't? At least she wouldn't have Puck and Cassandra breathing down her neck, she wouldn't have to think so much about every move she made and she could leave this all behind, all the trouble she caused and she would probably just be forgotten, just another memory deep down inside the backs of people's minds. She could live with that, or could she? Life was simpler when all she had to worry about was tuning her car for the next race and not worrying about strings being attached to every move she made. It was all she wanted to do; race.
Then she just had to come back and fuck her entire life up once again. As she lay in that hospital bed gazing emptily out of the window she swore this city had it out for her. It was here that she was born to a drug addict mother, parents who didn't care and left to be raised by her grandmother. Then she had grown up in Lima Heights Adjacent, the roughest part of the entire city where you were lucky just to make it home from school breathing and not riddled with bullet holes from a 187. Then she was knocked again when the one person she had and counted on didn't accept her for being who she truly was, cue leaving the first time. Then she came back and as soon as she hit that expressway she had been caught up in the whirlwind that was her home city once again, not having even been back for five whole minutes when the cops had started chasing her.
Bring it up to speed and that had all led to where she was now, laying in a hospital bed with two gunshot wounds and lucky to be alive, but that was the point wasn't it? Cassandra had done that on purpose, had made sure that she at least had a good chance of surviving so that she could watch from a distance and enjoy the mess that she had created for her. Then again if she left the blonde would have nothing to revel in, unable to take pleasure in her pain. Simply put it was the easy way out.
And that's what stopped her.
The easy way out. She could leave Lima, could try and resume the life she had left behind in another city in favour of facing all this pain and heartache she had caused but it wasn't the way. If there was one thing she had been taught in the past few months it was that she now had responsibilities. She had a grandmother who needed her and actually loved her for who she was and she wasn't about to let go of a relationship that had just begun to heal. She couldn't.
She couldn't let Cassandra win.
She couldn't let her have her way once again, she'd backed down and done everything she had asked for on more than one occasion over the past few months and after what she had done to her she was sure as hell not going to let her have the satisfaction of watching her life fall apart. That's why right there, feeling the painful after effects of what she had done to her body, that she would see things through. Running wasn't an option, not any more. She had done it once before but now she had a reason to stay, more than one in fact. She had her grandmother and she had to prove Cassandra wrong, that she was strong enough to face this like a woman.
It was going to be painful but she was sure as hell gonna try.
TBC