She was going to be okay.
The doctor that delivered the news said quite a bit after that, but those five words were all that Santana heard. Then she realized the doctor was looking right at her.
"She specifically asked for you, Santana." The doctor, who she had known for awhile since both her dad and stepdad worked at the hospital. Santana got up and followed the doctor down a hallway to a room. As soon as she entered, she smiled as she saw Rachel's face light up.
"Hey Tiny." She whispered.
"Hi San." The smaller girl said.
"How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I guess. My head really hurts though." Rachel admitted.
Santana laughed. "That's kind of to be expected Rach."
Rachel looked away.
"Rachel what's wrong?" Santana asked
"San, why…I mean, how come…Santana, why did Eric push me?" Rachel looked back at her sister.
"Nothing, Rachel. He didn't have a legitimate reason. It was stupid." Santana said.
"What did he say when you asked? And don't say you didn't ask him, because I know you did, because I know you, S." Rachel replied
"Because….he said it was because you joined Glee Club."
"But you don't believe him." Rachel said.
"Rachel, how many other people are in Glee Club with you?" Santana asked.
"Four. Why?"
"Eric didn't go after the other four. He went after you. And you happen to be my little sister. And I happen to have made an announcement at lunch telling people not to mess with you. Oh my god. This is all my fault! Rachel, I am so sorry. You must totally hate me for this."
"What? San, this isn't your fault!"
"Rachel, Eric doesn't exactly like being told he can't do something, so naturally he automatically thinks, 'I'm gonna do the opposite of what's being said.'" Santana replied.
"San. Santana listen to me!" Rachel yelled. Shocked, Santana quieted down. "San, this is not your fault and I don't hate you. I could never hate you." Rachel said.
Santana calmed down a bit, at least until Rachel said, "What do you think would have happened?"
"I think that you probably would have gotten slushied tomorrow for Glee Club. If I hadn't gone and said anything at lunch, it probably would have ended at the slushies. But I don't think anyone else is going to try anything, and especially not that extreme. Remember, I have Puck on my side. Oh and by the way, don't expect to be left alone at school anytime soon. Melody's already talking schedule change." Santana said, not caring about Rachel's protests.
The next day, Rachel was released from the hospital in the morning, but decided to skip school to rest. Santana thought about how to protect Rachel until she thought of the perfect idea. She quickly rounded up Finn, Brittany, Quinn, and Puck, along with a couple other senior football players, Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford. They were two of Santana's good friends. She also asked Melody and her friend Sam Evans, another freshman, if they wanted in. After she had that group assembled, Santana, Brittany, and Quinn all walked into the Spanish classroom.
"Mr. Schuester?" Santana said. The teacher looked up.
"Hi girls. Santana, how's Rachel doing?" he asked.
"She's out of the hospital. She's spending the day resting. For Rachel, that means watching re-runs of American Idol and belting out whatever song is being covered at the moment, sometimes claiming that she could do so much better, if only she was old enough." Santana smiled at the thought, knowing that there was an extremely high possiblitly that that exact scenario was occurring in the Berry household at that moment.
"That's good. Did you come to pick up her assignment? Its not that large, since its only the second day of school…" the teacher trailed off.
"Actually, no I didn't. But I guess I could since I'm here." Santana got momentarily distracted as she made a mental note to find out Rachel's schedule and get her homework. Then she got back to business.
"Mr. Schue, I have a list of students who wish to join Glee Club, myself included." Santana blurted out.
"Santana, every year you deface the sign up sheet for Glee Club."
"It's to protect Rachel. If one of us, me, Britt, Quinn, Finn, or Puck, is around Rachel at all times, she'll be safer. I'd prefer it to be me, but I know that I can't surround her 24/7, so I can live with one of my friends." Santana said, handing him the list. He looked at it. This would take them from having five members to having fourteen. The head cheerleader interrupted his thoughts.
"We're willing to audition." Santana said.
"Tell you what. You guys come to Glee Club tomorrow afternoon. We aren't having it today, because Kurt and Mercedes want to visit Rachel and I can't do anything with two people." The teacher said.
The girls nodded.
"Mr. Schue, can you like, not say anything about this to anyone? Especially not Rachel." Santana requested.
The teacher nodded. The cheerleaders left the room and informed everyone about what had happened.