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.

Welcome back! This chapter has been a long time coming huh? Have fun, I know I did writing it! Also, can you believe we're on chapter 50?! 50! That's a lot, we're so close to the end!

Today in Fast Lane...

Letty and Santana take a trip downtown, the restitution plan is on the homestretch, and Santana senses something wrong regarding her girlfriend...

Thank you to everybody reviewing and whatnot – still, it always blows me away! I will see you again tomorrow for chapter five of six! :D

(P.S. To the guest reviewers out there who comment about how they don't like a particular character, I understand that not every part of the story will be to everyones tastes but please remember that this is my story first and foremost. A great deal of time and thought has gone into each detail, so if you are annoyed by a certain character or plot point just try and accept it and move on because I can assure you it is eniterly intentional – I do appreciate the signed reviews though, even if I can't reply. Also, remember folks, if you don't like, don't read. Before commenting, read the rest of what I have to put out first, then give me constructive feedback. Isn't that the point of writing a story?)

"You know S, everybody won't shut up about you and Brittany's big plan."

"Oh come on, it was only a passing comment."

"And you should know by now that my crew doesn't just let passing comments go. Once they notice something they latch on. Sometimes it can be a gift and a curse and in this case it's a curse."

Santana laughed as she joined Letty in taking a sip of her Corona, the two women perched on the porch steps of the house looking out onto the street as the sun set over Lima once more.

"We're sorry about that."

"Nah, forget about it. As long as you don't drag it out I'm fine with it."

"There's the thing, me and Britt have been talking and we figured that at least you could know. You are crew leader and all."

Letty raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at the younger Latina. "Are you saying I can know about your big mysterious plan?"

"If you want."

"Enlighten me."

"Me and Britt were thinking about a warm-up day. Obviously we can't tell you about what it involves as that would just ruin it, but we were thinking about getting everybody together and when I say everybody, I mean everybody; Kitty, Holly, Shelby, Abby, Kurt and Blaine included. We're all gonna be at Race Wars together, it would make sense."

"Ok, and what would happen on that day? What would we need?"

"Just your new cars. Me and Britt will handle the rest."

"Well, I trust you two enough that I'll leave the details a mystery but you're on cleaning duty with Abby if you disappoint."

Santana laughed, earning a chuckle from Letty in response as they took another sip of their beers, the two just letting the silence linger comfortably for a few moments before Santana broke it.

"I'll make sure not to disappoint."

"Good. On to other things, what's happening with my car?"

"The Equus?"

"Yeah."

"What do you wanna know?"

"When are you planning on stealing it?"

"I don't know, that's up to you. It's basically a normal steal, no need for fancy tools or anything. You did say old school."

"I did and I meant what I said. This is a classic grab and go, we can do it any time we want."

"Which is why I'm letting you decide when."

There was a brief pause, causing Santana to turn and look at the crew leader who had fallen silent. "Well, why don't we do it now?"

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

"Yeah, now!"

"As in get up off this porch, go downtown and steal a stupidly priced muscle car from a well-guarded police impound lot with no back-up whatsoever?"

"Yeah!"

This time it was Santana's turn to pause, the wheels turning in her brain before she smiled and stood up. "Hell yeah!"

Letty grinned too, standing up and bro hugging her. "Ok, you call Roz and I'll go tell our girlfriends we're going out for a drive."

Santana nodded. "I'll see you in a minute." She replied with a smile, already pulling her phone from her pocket. Having Roz on speed dial she waited for a few moments as the phone rang before the police chief answered. "Hey Roz, it's Santana. I have a favour to ask of you..."

"Ok ladies, end of the line. This is as close as I can get you without them recognizing my car."

"Thanks Roz."

"Yeah, thanks." Letty added as both her and Santana got out of the car. "We'll see you on the other side."

"I hope so. I don't want to hear you two got caught, especially because you decided to do this with no back-up and no crew."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. I probably shouldn't say this as you're the chief of police but I've stolen my fair share of cars in my day and Santana here probably has too. We'll be fine, we make one hell of a team, don't we Lopez?"

As Roz's eyes shifted to her Santana shrugged. "What she said. We'll be fine, I promise. This is the last car and we're on the home stretch for Race Wars."

Sighing Roz relented. "Fine, just make sure you both make it back in one piece. Also give me a call when the job is done."

Santana saluted her with a smile. "Yes ma'am."

Roz chuckled as Letty shut the passenger side door, the cherry red BMW then pulling away down the street and around a corner. Santana looked at the impound lot located just down the street and then at the crew leader. "I guess it's now or never."

Letty smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. "You're damn right it is. Let's go steal me a car."

The two women crossed the street and made their way up towards the main gate. Making sure to stay out of sight in the shadows Letty scoped it out.

"How are we gonna get in?" She wondered aloud.

Also scanning the area Santana spotted something. "I don't know maybe cut the barbed wire-"

Letty held up a hand to silence her, cutting her off mid-sentence. She then pointed to the gate. "I think we just found our way in."

"A tow truck?"

"Yeah, why not? Perfect cover."

"What about cameras? I spot two on either side of the gate. They'll spot us even in cover."

Letty examined said cameras and then turned to Santana with a smile. "You got Matt on speed dial?"

"Yeah, why-"

"Just call him up for me."

Deciding not to question her Santana pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled Matt's number. It only took two rings before his voice was coming through from the other end.

"Santana? You ok?"

"Yeah. I need your help with something."

"Ok, what?"

"I'll hand you to Letty, she's the one with the idea."

"Ok."

Santana then handed the phone to the other woman as she took over the role of lookout. "Matt, hey, it's Letty."

"Hey Letty. What can I do for you?"

"Me and Santana are at the impound lot but we need a way in. I figured as you're a cop you could help us with this."

"If you're asking me to arrest you-"

"Nah, it's nothing like that. I just need you to help us in, we'll handle the rest."

"So if I agreed to this what would you have me do?"

"Would you swing by the garage?"

"I could. What would you want me to do there?"

"If you grab a tow truck, I want you to use that emergency key I gave you and let yourself in. I want you to hook up the crew's Skyline and bring it here to the impound lot."

"I get it, trojan horse."

"Exactly."

"Ok, I'm on my way. Give me ten minutes."

"Great, see you then." She ended the call and handed the phone back to Santana with a smirk.

"Is everything ok?" Santana asked with a raised eyebrow, sliding her phone back into her pocket.

Letty nodded and went back to watching the gate. "Everything's great."

Ten minutes later, as promised, Matt pulled up a little ways down the street with the crew's shared black Skyline sitting on top strapped down.

"I did what you asked." He said as Letty and Santana reached the truck.

"Good. I just need you to drive us in and we'll do the rest."

"Look, I know you're stealing the Equus but are you sure about this? This is practically a suicide mission, just...you know...without the dying part."

Letty laughed. "Please, you make it sound like I haven't stolen a car before. Just because I'm crew leader doesn't mean I can't get down in the dirt and do the work alongside you guys. Anyway, I haven't been this excited in a while."

As Matt looked over at Santana for help she shrugged. "Sorry man. Normally you know I would usually be against something so crazy, especially without any back up, but I have to admit that the rush I'm getting from this is insane. Plus you know me and Letty teaming up can only lead to good things."

He sighed and massaged his temples. "Ok but if you two get caught this is entirely on you."

Santana nodded. "I know but we'll make it out. Just one more car and we can focus on Race Wars."

"Whatever you say. Why don't you hop in the car and I'll get you in."

The younger Latina smiled at her close friend. "Thanks Matt. I appreciate this."

"Yeah, yeah, just get in already." He replied, rolling his eyes as Letty and Santana made their way to either side of the Skyline.

"Wait, you do have the keys right?" Santana inquired.

Letty nodded, pulling her keys from her back pocket. "I always carry a copy in case of emergencies."

"Neat."

"I know, come on."

Letty unlocked the car and hopped up into the driver's side whilst Santana pulled herself into the passenger's seat. Once situated Letty lent over and popped open the glove compartment, pulling something from it.

"Here, take this."

Santana took the offered item and examined it. "A bandanna? Why do you even have these in here? Do I even want to know?"

"This is the crew's car. I keep these in here in case we need to keep a low profile. I like my crew to be prepared and safe. Just stuff it in your pocket, we might not even need them."

Santana rolled her eyes but did as she was told. Once she had done it Letty told her to get down and as soon as the crew leader had given Matt a thumbs up to go ahead she ducked down out of sight alongside her. This was going to be interesting.

They could feel the truck moving before it came to a stop and could just make out the muffled sound of Matt talking to the guard on duty at the gate.

"502, wet reckless. I need a 48-hour hold."

There was a pause, knowing that Matt was probably showing him his credentials before they heard the confirmation. "Out back. Any spot you can find."

When the truck started moving again they knew they were in. A few minutes later and the Skyline was being rolled off the back of the truck up against the wall of the impound lot. Matt tapped on the driver's side window.

"Ok, the coast is clear for now. There's about two guards on duty along with the one at the gate. After you get out of here I'll come back for the Skyline Monday morning and return it asap. Stay safe ladies."

Santana wanted so badly to thank him but had no choice to wait it out until he was gone so that she and Letty could put their plan into motion. She made a mental note though to thank him at a later time. Once they heard the truck leave, the sound dissolving into the distance, Letty sat up fully in her seat and scanned the area before getting out, Santana following.

"Ok, let's find this car."

She locked the Nissan and pocketed her keys, knowing that Matt wouldn't need them when he picked the car up again, and looked over at Santana.

"Pick a direction."

Deciding to go left she started walking and Letty followed, the two women walking side by side as they began their search.

"You know, it's funny."

Letty looked over Santana as they walked. "What is?"

"I've just got this weird sense of deja vu."

"From what? An impound lot?"

"No," She began, her eyes scanning the various cars. "It just feels like a lifetime ago that I was here picking out my car."

"Enlighten me. It's not exactly as if we're being listened in on."

"True. That day, a year ago, I came in here so against this whole undercover wheelman thing, and my car, my baby, was going to be sitting in here all alone and out of the action whilst I was forced to drive something that hadn't been cared for since it rolled off the showroom floor."

There was a pause as Letty considered what to say. "Do you regret it?"

Looking up and over at the other Latina she frowned. "What?"

"That day or the car?"

"That day, maybe just a little. I couldn't ever really hate it though. Had I not chosen to come back to Lima I would have never been given the chance to drive my dream car and I certainly wouldn't have met you guys, at least not the way I did. I never would have met Britt either."

Sensing the deeper emotional tint to her words when she mentioned Brittany Letty looked over at her. "I'm glad you don't regret it. Would you have changed anything though if you could, including getting shot?"

"Honestly? Apart from telling you guys from the get-go, no. I came here that day and found something that bonded me to your crew. You may believe it or not but that day unlocked everything for me when I drove that car out of this lot. This is where it began."

"And this is where it ends. Everything you, and we, did comes full circle when we drive my car out of this lot. You've made it up to us."

"But my job is far from done. I need to make sure you guys win at Race Wars. My job is far from over."

As a brief silence settled between them Letty glanced over at the other woman and it was as if something clicked within her. She couldn't pinpoint what it was but she was sure now more than ever that Santana's plan was one that was well worth following through and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"There."

Letty followed the other woman, whilst still looking out for the guards of course, towards the other side of the lot. "From here?"

"Yeah, I remember clear as day."

"So you're telling me you had a choice of your dream car, this beat up cereal box Nissan 240SX or a red RX8 that looks like it didn't want to come within a hundred feet of this place?"

Santana laughed as she looked at said RX8, the front bumper reminding her of what Cassandra had said to her. "I don't know if her credibility was any good that day but according to Cassandra it crashed into a cruiser on the way in. She said I was lucky all I got on my Nissan was popped tires."

"I guess you were. Did they replace them?"

Santana nodded as she continued to look at the two cars she didn't pick, a dusty matt black '10 Camaro parked in the space that her Supra once occupied. "Yeah, Matt says Roz tasked him with putting all new tires on. They even matched them right down to the brand and type as if they'd never been popped in the first place."

"Now that's a sign of good people."

"I know. I owe them. They weren't exactly easy to find in the first place. I can't imagine how hard it was for Matt and Roz to find them. Still, it got me back in my car quicker after I got shot. I didn't have to wait longer to get back behind the wheel."

"You didn't wait until you had healed fully?"

"Nope, I just got back behind the wheel as soon as I could. I couldn't wait, I didn't have a choice."

"I understand. I probably would have done the same."

"I know you would. Matt kept trying to get me to rest but I'm stubborn like that. Los malos hábitos tardan en morir."

Letty laughed. "Word to that hermana. You don't regret that either?"

"No. I needed to make it up to you guys. I didn't matter, you did."

Letty placed a hand on her t-shirt-clad shoulder. "You do matter. We may not have seen it at the time, probably because we were still angry, but I think we see it now. You matter Santana, at least to us."

She smiled in response. "Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"I know it does, that's why I said it. Now, if we're done soul searching you think we could find my car?"

"Of course." She grinned with a chuckle.

"Good, and there's just one more thing."

"What is it?"

Letty pointed to the Camaro. "That spot's lucky. Keep that Camaro in mind, I always wanted one to go alongside the Skyline."

Santana nodded as she took one last glance at said car as they started walking. "Noted."

"Hey, isn't that a sign?"

Santana followed Letty's gaze and saw the gate at the back of the lot. "Yeah, but I can't make it out from here. I'd need my glasses."

"Then let's get closer. I have a feeling though in my gut that we're heading towards the goldmine."

"Me too."

Letty smiled and they continued over towards the gate, not spotting any guards – yet. They ducked behind a pickup truck and Letty read the sign.

"Warning, authorized personnel only. High risk cars." She turned to Santana. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, I think so. The car is behind those gates."

"Exactly. Seeing as there's no guards let's hop the fence. First though, pull on the bandanna. There might be camera's, especially for the high risk cars."

"I know, I'm already on it." She replied, already pulling the black bandanna she'd been handed earlier from her back pocket.

Once they'd both suitably tied the bandanna's around their faces they made a run for the gate. Luckily there were no guards nearby so they hopped the fence easily and entered the second half of the lot, knowing that Letty's Equus was in there somewhere. They just had to find it first.

The two of them proceeded to carefully navigate the large collection of high risk cars which included Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's, Mercedes', and supercar alike. It was like a treasure trove of high performance cars all in one place. Letty just snorted at them as she scanned the lot for her car.

"What? What's got you wound up?" Santana asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"These cars, they're nothing."

Santana frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They mean nothing. They haven't been worked on, the hours haven't been put in under the hood, there's no life there, no..."

"Character?"

Letty nodded. "Exactly."

"I figured as much. Don't worry, the street racer in me is sneering at the 'given' power here. It's not earned, it's just there. You buy it right out of the box."

"Yeah, give me my Plymouth any day."

Santana chuckled just as she spotted something. "Hey, I think that's it."

Letty followed her gaze. "Where?"

Santana pointed. "Over there."

"I think you may be right. Come on, let's go see."

The two women made their way over to the car and it was indeed the one they were looking for. "Hmm hmm, this is definitely much prettier in person than in pictures." Letty hummed, talking a walk around the dark blue coloured car.

Santana nodded. "Take away the dust and this thing will look even better."

"I hope it does. I like the colour though, it's like the Camaro you picked up."

"Yep, real pretty. What do you say we boost it?"

Letty looked over at Santana with a grin on her face, holding up a closed fist. "I'm all in sister."

Santana bumped her fist with the other woman's. "Me too. Any ideas on how to break into this thing?"

Letty looked from Santana to the car and stepped up to the driver's side door. She took a quick glance around and before Santana even had time to react the crew leader was punching her hand through the glass, the window of the door shattering as she broke into it. Santana would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed by Letty's pure show of strength. Almost immediately though the car alarm started going off, Letty retracting her arm and turning to Santana.

"Ok Lopez, time to hot-wire this thing. Get in and get to work, we need to get out of here right now."

"How come I'm the one hot-wiring it?"

"I just broke the window with only my fist, it's fair."

Rolling her eyes Santana knew better than to argue with her on this, especially considering that they were now stood next to a car who's alarm was sounding – loudly. She wasted no time in snapping back into action though, immediately opening the driver's side door and brushing as much glass off the seat as she could given their situation. As Letty slid into the passenger side seat she watched the area around them as Santana got to work on hot-wiring the car so that they could get out of there.

"What's taking so long?" Letty fretted a minute later, Santana still not having gotten the car started and the alarm still going off loudly.

"I'm trying, I can't see shit in here. Give me another minute."

"We don't have another minute!"

"Clam your tits Ortiz, I think I've got it."

"Whoever you are come out with your hands up!"

Letty look down at the other Latina as one of the guards shouted into the lot. "You had better have it!"

"Ok, there!" As soon as she said it the engine sprung to life. She wasted no time in sitting back upright in the driver's seat and strapping herself in, Letty doing the same. Once they were both in securely she pumped the gas a few times and got ready to go.

"What are you waiting for, go already!" Letty urged from the seat beside her.

"Hold on tight, this is gonna get complicated."

Before Letty could even react Santana was racing out of the parking spot that the car had spent so much of it's life sat in. Now free it roared to life as Santana slid around a corner and into the path of a security guard. He held his gun up and pointed it right at them.

"Hey! Stop now!"

But she didn't. Instead she stood her ground and eventually the guard was forced to jump out of the way as she shot straight for the gate that lead into the 'lower risk' part of the impound lot. She didn't care for it and ran right through it, the gate crashing off it's hinges as she tried to keep a steady pace whilst maintaining control of a car that wasn't made for speed in such a complex and condensed area of space with lots of intricate turns. Somehow she managed it though, Letty mentally commending Santana on her continued calm under pressure as she tried her hardest to navigate the tight space of the impound lot, another guard jumping in front of them along the way. Then they saw it, the gate to freedom. Santana stared at it as if nothing else mattered and gripped the steering wheel tightly within her hands.

"Ok, hold on tight to something, this is gonna get a little bumpy."

Letty took no chances and did as Santana instructed, grabbing hold of the door and whatever else she could get her hands on as Santana pressed her foot down harder on the gas. The gate fast approached and any normal driver would have slowed down but Santana sped up. She'd had enough experience by now to throw away caution and she used that strength to push her forward. The car now hurtling forwards it wasn't long before they hit the gate and the both of them lurched forwards at the impact as they broke through it and hit the street. Santana's job wasn't done yet though. She willed herself and the car to become one and luckily for her she gained enough control to allow her to slide out wide whilst at speed. The very little traffic that was there blared their horns but she didn't care, instead pulling the Equus around until it was facing the right direction. It continued to slide in a precise way until it made it to the right side of the road and immediately slowed it down as they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Letty glanced over at Santana, still unsure whether to let go of the door or not. "Santana...that was amazing!"

Santana laughed as the adrenaline pumped fast through her veins. "I know!"

But their celebration and relief didn't last for long though. As expected two cruisers came rushing down the street behind them and they knew the chase was on. Santana didn't have any worries though, from just the tiny little bit of raw power she'd felt just then back in the impound lot she was excited to really stretch this cars legs and throw it into high gear. It was more than capable.

Looking up into her rear-view mirror and then over to Letty she smirked. "Wanna see what this baby can really do?"

Letty smirked just as menacingly. "You think they can catch up?"

Santana didn't even reply, instead throwing her foot down to the floor. The car lurched forwards but the sound of the engine roaring was enough to have them wanting more and more. The two cruisers, Dodge Chargers that were perfectly capable of keeping up to them, raced behind them on either side. Santana dodged traffic ahead as she moved into a busier part of the city, horns blaring as she rushed past them and the sirens loud behind them as the police put their own feet down to the floor in order to try and catch up. Santana spotted the intersection ahead and knew there would be problems. As expected she saw the traffic crossing and weaved herself onto the line that separated the two sides of the street. Not caring that the light was red she scanned the traffic moving from right to left for a suitable spot and before Letty could even think the car was lurching forwards with even more speed than before, the two of them being thrown into the throws of traffic as Santana tried not to get them killed whilst losing the heat after their epic escape from the impound lot. Luckily for her it worked though as she spun the car to a sharp left around the back of a VW Bug, it's driver obnoxiously blaring it's horn in annoyance as Santana once again slid a car that wasn't engineered to slide with a perfect precision that Letty knew only she and Brittany shared. She had to admit, if she hadn't been impressed by now she'd probably punch herself for not seeing Santana's raw talent at work.

As soon as they'd somewhat cleared the traffic Santana glanced up into the rear-view mirror and Letty peered over her shoulder between the seats to behind them to see how their situation had now changed. They could see the wreck of one of the cruisers but they still had another one on them.

"We've still got one. How do you want to play this?"

Hey eyes flickering from the mirror to the road in front of them and back again Santana's let the wheels turn in her head before answering the crew leader, in reality taking all of a few seconds. "We've seen what it can do in tight situations and handling-wise but if this baby is really going to stretch it's legs I want to see just how fast it can go, with your permission of course. It is your car after all."

There was a brief pause as Letty glanced over her shoulder once again at the remaining cruiser. She then turned back to Santana and gave her a slight nod. "Do it."

Not needing any other confirmation Santana put her foot down, easily weaving in and out of traffic as she let the high powered engine do exactly what it was made to do – perform. It was a pleasure to drive as it zoomed and sped down various streets, the drive smooth as they eventually lost the second and last cruiser. Santana was almost jealous. She didn't usually go for muscle cars but this one was changing her mind and she couldn't have been more happier that she'd chosen it for Letty, it was perfect.

Pulling up to the house Mia and Brittany were waiting for them already on the porch. They immediately stood up as Santana pulled the Equus in behind Tina's 350Z, killing the engine and getting out.

"I see where you two have been." Mia started, annoyed, as she and an equally irritated Brittany made their way down the path towards their girlfriends.

Letty shrugged. "What can I say? Spur of the moment."

"You told us you were going out for a drive." Brittany responded, an eyebrow raised in Santana's direction.

"But we noticed something was up when both of your cars were still in the driveway half an hour later." Mia added.

"Like I said, spur of the moment." Letty shrugged again. "But we're ok aren't we? We made it back and now we have a new car, see!" She grinned, motioning to the Equus she was stood in front of.

Mia raised her eyebrow once more, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest. "And that's meant to make me feel better? You stole a car from an impound lot Letty! You two could have been caught or worse! You know how bad the Lima police department wants to catch you in the act!"

"But we're ok." The Latina reiterated, knowing by the look on Mia's face that she wasn't going to be letting this go any time soon.

"That's not the point and you know it."

Letty sighed. "I know. Can you at least admire how good this car looks?"

There was a brief pause before she relented with a smile, earning one from Letty in return at the brief interruption of her annoyance. "I will admit, it is much prettier in person."

"See!" The crew leader replied excitedly, making her girlfriend chuckle.

Brittany looked over at Santana who had been the one to step out of the driver's side. "How does it drive?"

This time it was Santana's turn to smile. "Like a beast. It literally tore up the streets. Two cruisers got wrecked just trying to catch up to it. When Letty gets behind the wheel of this thing she's gonna decimate Race Wars and the streets afterwards for a very long time."

Letty rolled her eyes. "Oh please, come on, don't kid yourself Santana. I'm not the one who managed to slide it like it was a Japanese drift car, you're the one that did that. You don't give yourself enough credit. What she means to say is that she drove out of the lot at high speed and slid it out onto the street getting us out quickly without flipping it and killing us in the process. Then when we gained two cops on our tail she did it again in the middle of a busy intersection with traffic coming from both sides. I'm sure I will tear up the streets in this car but remember that she stretched it's legs. This thing is awesome." She grinned, patting the hood after addressing the two women now stood at the end of the pathway that led up to the house.

"Wait a minute, how did you get in?" Mia asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her girlfriend shrugged in response. "Trojan horse."

"When you say trojan horse, you mean you got towed in?" Brittany asked, already knowing her crew leader's tactics.

Letty nodded. "Exactly."

"What car did you use for this?" Mia asked, her gaze turning to the driveway where Letty's Plymouth was parked and the street where Santana's Supra was sitting behind Dani's Ford GT. "Both your cars are still here."

"Simple, I used the Skyline." Before Mia could respond she held up a hand. "Don't worry, Matt's gonna return it first thing Monday morning. It's not like any of us need it anyway."

"Oh, that reminds me, I need to text him and Roz to let them know we made it out safely with the car." Santana stated from beside her, already pulling her phone from her pocket.

The older Latina nodded as she made her way over to Mia. "Good idea. Let them know I appreciate the help. In the meantime, I have some making up to do." She said, wrapping an arm around Mia's shoulders and leading them up towards the front door.

Santana nodded and Brittany waited until they were inside to approach her. When Santana lent up against the front of the hood of the Equus, tapping away at her phone already, she stepped over to her and situated herself on her lap the best she could without interfering with her texting. It didn't matter anyway. Santana always accommodated her girlfriend, now being no different as she situated herself further onto the hood to accommodate her and wrapped arm around the blonde's waist whilst using just one hand to continue texting.

"Hi." Brittany greeted softly, pressing a kiss to the side of her temple and using a hand to brush away a stray strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face.

Santana responded by momentarily pausing her texting and looking up at her, leaning in to press a soft but slow kiss to her lips. "Hi."

"I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's ok." She replied, playing with her ponytail. "You're safe. That's all that matters. I knew you would do it anyway, even if I didn't know you were doing it at the time, if that makes sense."

Santana chuckled. "It does. I appreciate your faith in me. It's inspiring."

This time Brittany chuckled. "Then I feel honoured. Come here." She beckoned softly, cupping Santana's jaw and guiding her into a soft kiss that soon turned more fervent. "Hmm, I love your sweet lady kisses." She whispered when she pulled away, making sure to remain close as her girlfriend smiled at her.

"I love your sweet lady kisses too."

"Well, maybe you should finish that text and we should head home for more...private ones." She smirked, trailing her finger down the side of Santana's face.

Grinning Santana already started rapidly tapping the rest of her text to Roz and Matt. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

"I thought you'd say that. I'm already prepared."

The warm Sunday afternoon sun cascaded over and bathed both Letty and Santana in warmth as they inspected the car that Letty now had parked on the driveway behind her Plymouth. Currently everybody else, including their girlfriends, were out practising, with their current cars of course so as to not rouse suspicions, whilst they stayed back at HQ to talk modification for the Equus. Currently they both had beers in hand, the hood open and an open parts catalogue that had so many coloured tabs sticking out of the top only Santana would ever understand what it all meant. Then again she'd been using it a long time before she'd even put the plan forward to the rest of the crew. It had everything they needed and had ordered when it came to making these cars worthy Race Wars winners.

"Ok, so talking safety do you wanna install a roll bar in this thing?" Santana asked, looking up from the parts catalogue she currently had perched on her lap.

Letty nodded. "Of course. If I'm gonna be going at high speed in this thing, faster than you went last night, if I roll I don't want Mia seeing the zip go up on a black body bag afterwards."

"Point taken."

There was a brief pause as the conversation fell quiet, Letty catching Santana scribbling something into the catalogue out of the corner of her eye. "You know, I honestly never thought this day would come."

Santana looked up from where she had finished making a note of what roll bar to install into the car and to the woman next to her, frowning in her direction. "Care to explain?"

Letty shrugged. "All those months ago when you boldly walked back into the yard claiming you had a plan to repay us all for what had happened I didn't believe you."

"You didn't?"

"No but can you blame me?"

"No, I guess not." She sighed, lowering her head as she was reminded of how tense it was that day between her and the rest of Letty's crew.

"But you had the balls to do it and that means more to me than any damn restitution. You did it and proved me wrong, I'll admit that, but the fact that you even worked up the nerve to present it to us in the first place? That has my respect."

"Thanks."

"There's no need to thank me Lopez, you got the job done. Anyway, is there ever a time when you don't get it done?"

Santana laughed, taking a swig of her beer. "I think I'd beg to differ."

"Stop doubting yourself, you did it."

"Yeah, tell that to Cassandra and Puck. Race Wars is the true test."

"After putting life and limb on the line to get everybody else but yourself a car? Race Wars is a walk in the park for you."

"I'm risking life and limb again against the woman that nearly killed me over a damn car. I'd say everything pales in comparison."

"Oh how you doubt yourself. You risked everything, including your life, to steal cars for a crew that had no intentions of ever forgiving you, possibly even hated you at the time. You did the impossible and I know you can do it again. Just take a moment now, after getting every car on your list, to admire your accomplishments. It's not every day a person can say they stole eight cars in the space of just a few months in the way that you did. You pushed every limit, broke every one of us down, and weaselled your way back into our lives. You even won Brittany back and made her happy again, which I never thought would happen. There's a lot that you've accomplished. All I simply ask you to do now, among other obvious things," She said, motioning to the Equus and it's open hood and then the parts catalogue. "Is take a moment and realise that you did what you set out to do and went above and beyond every limit you could have ever imagined. You did it and you did it in style sister. Be proud, this city has never seen anything like it and probably won't ever again."

When she'd finished Santana studied her quietly before responding after a pull of her beer. "What made you all sentimental with your words all of a sudden?"

Letty shrugged her shoulders but her eyes never once left her new car. "I can be when I want to, but it's rare when I choose to. This is one of the only occasions where I feel like it's necessary. Ask my crew and they'll say it's rare too, I'm not one to go around giving sentimental pep talks, just ones that get you itching to get behind the wheel and prove something. You on the other hand, you're one of those people who deserve it right now. Plus it doesn't hurt that Mia's been trying for forever to get me to show more emotion towards the people close to me."

Santana chuckled, not missing the way that her chest constricted a little at the mention of being considered as one of the people close to Letty considering what they'd been through between one another. "And is it working?"

"I'd tell you fuck no but Mia has a way of worming her way under your skin to get the job done. I love her for it but when she turns it on me I can't help but feel terrified."

This elicited a full laugh from Santana, Letty joining her in turn. "It's the look isn't it?"

"Britt got one?" She grinned with a raise eyebrow.

Santana nodded as she took another gulp of her beer. "Oh yes."

"Well then, to persistent girlfriends and sexy cars. May they forever be plentiful and within our reach."

Santana laughed again but met Letty's raised bottle with her own, the glass clinking together before they both took shared gulps to seal the deal. "Word to that sister. And thank you."

"For what?"

"Telling me to take a different view. Sometimes I need someone to tell me to sit back and relax, I'm always itching for the next fight."

"I understand, me too. It gets us into danger more times than we can count but I'm happy to help. Any time you need a kick up the butt you know who to call."

Santana grinned as she raised her bottle to her lips. "Duly noted."

As a comfortable silence befell them again Letty took a moment to study the woman next to her as much as she could without being noticed. She could tell a sort of weight, a fraction of it at least, had been lifted from her shoulders. It was enough to have certain wheels turning in her brain at the thought. Maybe Mia's reasoning's that night a few weeks prior were now a little closer to coming to light.

Santana rolled out from under the RX8 and got up off the creeper that she'd been on for the past hour or so. Wiping her hands on a rag that was resting on the side of the open engine bay she studied the car until her hands were clean, or at least, clean enough. Brittany had been out that afternoon racing with Rachel, Quinn, and Mia whilst she stayed back at the house to talk to Letty about the Equus. When Brittany had brought the RX8 back telling Santana that she'd put it through it's paces the Latina knew that more than likely it would need a check up under the car and the hood. And she'd been right. There were a few things that had come loose here and there and a few very minor things that needed replacing but she didn't mind. She had expected it, the reason being that in their lead up to Race Wars their sheer will to win would mean throwing their all into their practices, especially an intense precision session with Quinn and Rachel. Obviously they couldn't do it in their new cars as that would spoil the reveal for Race Wars, but right now if it meant that them, any one of them, was improving (if that were even possible) she didn't mind replacing a few things like spark plugs here and there. It wasn't as if Brittany had blew the engine out, not that she wasn't close to it though. A few more hours on the road of doing vigorous driving and sliding about like she knew her girlfriend had been, tires from drifting wouldn't be the only things she'd be replacing.

Speaking of girlfriend's though, she frowned when she remembered the look on Brittany's face when they'd arrived home, a stark contrast from the woman she'd seen when she'd come back from racing earlier that evening. It only served to fuel Santana's curiosity and now with her mechanical job done it was more fuel on the fire and she couldn't help herself when she slipped into girlfriend mode. After lowering the car back down onto the bricks of their shared elaborate driveway, closing the hood and locking it up, she made her way into the house and to the kitchen. After her hands were clean and she had a cold drink in hand she travelled over to the living room where Brittany was laying on the couch.

"Hey, I'm all done. Room for one more?" She asked, catching the blonde's attention.

Looking up and over at her girlfriend Brittany smiled and sat up, allowing Santana to situate herself on the couch beside her. "Of course."

When Santana was comfortable, her legs sprawled out over the entirety of the couch cushions, Brittany made herself comfortable in between her legs and on top of her, her head resting on her chest. Letting out a content sigh when she finally felt herself become comfortable she felt Santana's hand come up to comb through her hair, one of her favourite feelings on the planet.

"Comfy?" The Latina chuckled, looking down at the woman resting on top of her.

"I'm in heaven." She mumbled, curling herself more into Santana's warming embrace when she felt the woman's other arm come up to rest around her waist.

A comfortable silence came to rest itself upon them but Santana could tell there was something up. When it came to Brittany she always knew and now was no different. So, taking a deep breath she voiced her concerns aloud.

"Britt? Are you ok?"

The head on her chest never moved from it's spot where it was watching TV. "Yes."

Frowning despite the fact that Brittany couldn't see it Santana continued. "I know that's not true, what's wrong babe? You know you can tell me anything right?"

There was a brief beat of silence that lingered between them before Santana felt Brittany nod against her chest. She also felt a thumb caressing back and forth over the spot on her stomach where her gunshot scar lay beneath her t-shirt. She knew that meant that there was something heavy on her mind and this was something the blonde was probably not willing to admit aloud, only further confirmed by what came out of her lips next.

"I know, it's just...I don't think I'm ready to tell you, or anybody for that matter – just yet. I can't explain it...I just need time to think about it ok?"

Her fingers never ceasing their combing Santana nodded. "You aren't breaking up with me again are you because I don't think I could handle it again."

She felt Brittany's chuckle reverberate throughout her chest. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just something personal, that's all, something that's all me."

Santana nodded again. "Ok, but I'm here when you're ready ok? Even if you're not and you don't tell anybody, I'm always gonna be here for you."

"Thank you, I know." She responded, pulling her head up off her chest and angling her head up so that they could kiss. "I'll tell you eventually, I just...need some time first to figure some things out."

"Ok, I understand." She smiled, pressing a kiss to Brittany's forehead before it came to rest upon her chest once more.

She'd let it go for now and wait until Brittany was ready. She couldn't deny she was worried for her girlfriend though.

TBC