I'll Defend You If You'll Defend Me?

3

Summary: Becky Jackson is trying to survive high school the best that she can. While Santana Lopez is struggling to accept herself and be proud of the person she has become. Can these two people become friends and help each other succeed?

Pairings: Santana Lopez and Becky Jackson. Other pairings: Rachel Berry and Santana Lopez. Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez. Also other characters have small parts.

It's important to note, that I do not have Down syndrome, but I am "different". I know what it feels like to feel unworthy at time and like no matter what I try to do it's useless.

I hope you enjoy!

~ Santana ~

After our little hug broke we all sat down in silence. We looked to each other and kind of awkwardly smiled.

Then Brittany shot up.

"Whoa, who gave her an instant shot of caffeine?" Becky asked shocked.

Both Quinn and I smiled at that comment.

Brittany didn't seem to get the joke because she excitedly asked, "So San, who are you gay for?"

"Britt, I'm gay for me," I said and then realized what I just said.

Brittany had a weird expression on her face.

I followed up with, "First that's kinda wanky. I meant that I came out for myself and my self esteem…"

"If on Monday morning, your dream girl walked up to you and said, 'Santana, I want you,' that dream girl would be…" Brittany asked.

"RachelBerry," I mumbled very quickly.

"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you?" Quinn asked.

"RachelBerry," I repeated again a little louder, but at the same speed.

"I'm sorry! I thought you said, 'Rachel Berry'?" Becky asked.

"I did," I whispered.

"RuPaul?" Becky asked.

"Yentl?" Quinn asked, smirked, and shook her head.

"A Cat Getting Its Temperature Taken?" Brittany asked.

I looked down and played with my fingers.

"Yess!" I screamed after finally getting enough courage.

All three of them looked at me in disbelief.

"Why her?" Becky asked sincerely wanting to know.

"Well, um, she different…"

"That's for sure," Quinn said and my head shot up. I stared her down. "I'm sorry, go ahead."

"She's beautiful, but she doesn't know it yet," I continued, "She's driven and she knows that she's gettin' out of here after graduation. She's beautiful…"

"I hate to point out the obvious, but you said that already," Becky pointed out.

"Yes, I know," I said and smiled in her direction.

"Yay!" Brittany jumped to her feet and then jumped up and down.

"Seriously, you guys need to cut down her caffeine intake," Becky said and rubbed her forehead in between her eyes.

Brittany caught onto what Becky meant and said, "Hey!"

The smile remained on her face as she looked at the smaller girl.

Quinn laughed and then got serious. "Ok, Santana is this just a passing thought or do you actually like Man-…Rachel?"

"I truly like Rachel," Santana said and smiled. Then I stared into the distance with a dreamy expression on my face.

"Oh boy," Quinn said and chuckled.

"So…how can we help," Becky offered and the other two smiled and looked to me.

"Yeah, San, this'll be fun!" Brittany exclaimed as she jumped again.

"Um, I dunno," I started to say. "I kinda want to do most of this on my own being it's my 'first time' and all."

I looked at all of their sad expressions and then I said, "Ok, maybe you could figure out with me, when and how to tell Rachel how I feel. I want it to be special and memorable for the both us…"

Then there was silence as we all started to think.

"I got an idea?" Becky asked, but looked lost in her thoughts.

"Yes, the floor is yours," I said and smiled.

"Tell her in a note," Becky asked.

"Um, good idea, but don't actions speak louder than words?"

"Good point," she said and looked sad.

"Keep thinkin'," I encouraged.

"I got something," Quinn volunteered, "but it may work."

"Yes, Ms. Fabray," I asked.

"Why don't you sing to her? Write her a note, like Becky said and slip it into her locker. Be vague," Quinn said.

"Yeah, don't tell her who wrote the note. Just say, 'Meet me in auditorium after school today!'?" Brittany suggested.

"I don't want to frighten her," I said as I stood up and walked over to my window.

"Put a smiley face in the note," Brittany offered like it was the simplest option in the world.

"You and your smiley faces," Quinn said and smiled at Brittany.

"What? It's the best way to show your emotions especially when you're not there to physically show them," she responded with a smile.

"You're so smart," I said and hugged her.

"I know…I'm a genius!"

I then took out a piece of paper and wrote, "Dear Rachel, Please meet me in the auditorium today after school! :-)"

Then I tore it out of my notebook and folded it. I wrote her name on it. I set it aside and smiled at my three friends.

I took a few seconds to congratulate myself on that part, and then panic set in.

"Oh, crap," I yelled as I realized, "What the heck am I going to sing to her? And how?"

"Ok, ok, calm down," Becky said.

"I think I know the perfect song…" Quinn jumped up and ran to my laptop.

"What is it?" I asked.

She didn't say anything.

"Quinn, what's the song?" Becky asked.

Nothing.

"Q, what is it?" Brittany asked this time.

"Geez, guys, patience much?" Quinn finally said in response.

Then we saw her enter the song into Google and the search engine immediately came up with a ton of options. She clicked on the right one. She looked at it. I wanted to see it better so I basically pulled her out of the seat.

"Hey," she yelled.

"Sorry," I replied not really sorry, but she understood.

I sat down and read the lyrics.

I smiled widely when I was done reading.

"Quinn, you're awesome. This is the perfect one for her. Thank you," I yelled and threw up my arms.

"Now on the show, it was done as a duet, but you can totally pull it off," Quinn said and patted my shoulders.

"I'll see if Brad is available on Monday to play guitar," I said.

I hooked up my printer cable to my laptop and clicked print in the Internet browser.

"Perfection," I said and smiled as the piece of paper shot out of my printer. "Glad it's only Saturday. I have plenty of time to practice and memorize the lyrics."

"You're gonna do great. I'm sure," Becky said and smiled.

"I just wanted to say thanks to you all for accepting me and for being my friend," I said as I got up from the seat. I put the lyrics down and pulled Quinn, who pulled Brittany, who pulled Becky into another hug.

"You're welcome, San. You're the most important person to me. Sisters before misters," Brittany said. In the moment I knew that she meant it so I didn't have to worry about it.

"Britt's right," Quinn said.

"Thank you for accepting me into this little family," Becky said.

"No problem," Santana said and smiled at me while we were all in the hug.

~ Rachel ~

When I walked into school on Monday morning, I went straight to my locker as usual to get what I'd need for my first few classes. I opened the locker on the first shot, which usually doesn't happen often for me.

It's going to be a good day! I thought.

As I opened the locker door, a piece of paper fell out of it. I bent down and picked it up. I unfolded it and read what it had to say.

I blushed and looked around to see who might write me a note. Then I folded the paper again. I tucked the note into my notebook and walked to class.

I didn't know that the person who wrote the note was watching me from around the corner of the hallway. I just walked away with a huge smile on my face.

Finally the day was over! I deposited my books and picked up the ones I'd need for homework. Then I made my way to the auditorium as instructed. When I entered the large room, I saw one microphone stand in the center of the stage with a spotlight shining down on it.

"Hello?" I screamed.

Nothing.

Then I saw Santana Lopez walk out onto the stage.

She motioned, with her hand, for me to take a seat so I did.

~ Santana ~

"Hi, Rachel," I said into the microphone.

"Hi, Santana, how are you? What's going on?"

"I'm good…um, nervous…how are you?"

"I'm good, why are you nervous," she asked.

"Cuz I have a surprise for you. And I'm not sure how you'll react to it."

"Oh," was all she said.

"I'm just gonna do it now, if you don't mind," I said and took big breathe.

"Go for it," she said and smiled.

"Okay, I hope you enjoy it."

Then Brad came out from behind the curtain with a stool and his guitar. He sat down, looked at me, and I motioned to him to begin to play.

I started to sing.

There's no music, no confetti
Crowds don't cheer, and bells don't ring
But you'll know it, I can guarantee
When the right one comes along

I opened my eyes and saw her staring intently at me.

What they're thinkin', what you're feelin,
You no longer have to guess
All those questions are finally put to rest
When the right one comes along

Every single broken heart will lead you to the truth
You think you know what you're lookin for
Til what you're lookin for finds you

In a cold world, it's a warm place
Where you know that you're supposed to be
A million moments full of sweet relief
When the right one comes along

I raised my arm half way up in the air and began to belt it. I found the courage and it added power to the performance.

Every single broken heart will lead you to the truth
You think you know what you're lookin' for
Til what you're lookin' for finds you

I made intense eye contact with Rachel who was sitting there with her mouth hanging open in shock. She looked so beautiful in that moment. Well she looked beautiful all the time, but you get what I mean.

It's so easy, nothin' to it
Though you may not believe me now
But I promise honey you'll find out
When the right one comes along

All that changes is only everything
When the right one comes along

After the song ended she jumped to her feet and started to wildly clap and whistle for me. Brad half bowed, but before he left, I nodded my thanks and he smiled. Then he quietly left the stage and the room.

~ Ben Jacob Israel ~

I was walking down the hall to get to the newspaper classroom to get the next day's paper ready. I heard singing so I obviously thought it was just Rachel Berry. I enjoyed listening to her sing so I got close to the door to listen. This time, however, the voice was a different, but strong voice so it couldn't be Rachel's. I decided to open the door slightly. I was floored to see the person behind the magical voice.

"Santana Lopez is singing, but to who," I whispered to myself.

I noticed a head sticking up from a theater chair.

Could that be? Nah…is it? I thought.

Once the song was over the mystery person jumped up and whistled.

"Wow!" I whispered a little louder. I immediately knew who's voice that was.

I then whipped out my camera and, with the flash off, took a few snapshots of the scene.

Then I listened like a good reporter would do.

~ Rachel ~

"Why did you sing that song to me?"

"Well, Rachel," she said as she descended the stairs and walked to me, "I have a major crush on you. I bet you didn't know that."

My face blushed and I said, "That's right Santana, I didn't know that. I hate to sound rude, but I thought you were straight. And dating Puck."

"No, I'm not dating that douche bag," she said and half smiled.

"Oh," I said and looked down.

She picked up my chin with a few of her fingers and had me look into her chocolate brown eyes. Then she said, in a whisper, "I'd like to take you out….If you'll allow me."

It was then that I saw the absolute truth in her eyes and that scared me.

"Um…Can I think about it?"

~ Becky ~

I was walking to the gym to talk with Coach Sylvester when I spotted JewFro leering into the auditorium. I remembered that today was "the" day for Santana. Getting very angry, I tiptoed up to him and stood directly on his side. He was so into eavesdropping that he didn't sense me at all.

When he finally looked away from the auditorium, he was startled and jumped back.

"Becky," he said and put his hand on his chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, nothing," he lied.

"Are you eavesdropping on Santana," I questioned.

"No," he said quickly.

"Don't lie, Jacob, it isn't right!"

"Ok, ok, yes, I was," he said.

"Why?"

"Because our co-head Cheerios captain has just sung something to Rachel Berry or as I call her, 'Hottest Girl in School'. This is going to be epic," he said as he got excited.

"Um, no it's not, and ya know why," I said and started to get angry.

"Why?" he asked mockingly.

"Because you are going to forget this happened! Gimme your camera! I'm gonna erase the photos you took and forget…this…happened," I said as I made sure that my point was crystal clear.

Then I found the three photos and tried to delete them. I think I did, but I can never be totally sure since these digital cameras are so tiny.

"No! I promise I won't do anything," he pretended.

"Are you lying to me again, Jacob? Cuz if you are then I'll have to tell everyone how you nearly cream your pants every time Quinn Fabray is on top of the pyramid. I'll also let it slip that you have a shrine dedicated to her with inappropriate pictures and sayings on it."

He seemed to cower in fear when I said this.

"So do we have an agreement," I said.

"Yes, Jackson, we do," he said, "But why are you standing up for Santana?"

"Because I can, deal with it!"

He just smiled dumbfounded. Then he hunched his shoulders and continued his walk with his head hung down.

I started to walk away proudly and swayed my hips.

I turned around and yelled, "Don't piss me off, Israel!" then I continued to walked away.

Once I rounded the corner I got out my cell and texted Santana.

TO SANTANA: Heads up, JewFro knows something, but not a lot. I tried to stop him. Not sure if he'll listen to me. ~ Becky

~ Santana ~

"Yea, sure, I guess I understand," I said and hung my head.

"Santana, while I totally appreciate the sentiment and find that your performance was wonderful, I'm still a little iffy as to the motivation behind it. Is…this…um, a prank?"

"God, no, Rachel, it's not. I can assure you of that," I said.

"Oh, okay…"

"You still don't believe me, do you?"

"Honestly, no, I don't," she said sounded apologetic.

"Rachel, it's okay," I said as I boldly took her hands into my own. She smiled at me and then went to say something, but I interrupted her.

"What can I do? What can I say to make you believe my intentions are honorable," I asked genuinely.

"Walk with me to my car," she said. She would be late and her fathers would begin to worry if she didn't get home soon. We grabbed our stuff, which was in the front row.

"Sure, It's a start," I said. I boldly dropped her hands to put my arm on her shoulders as we walked out of the auditorium, out of the hallway, and eventually out of the school together.

"Hey, I don't know if this would matter or not, but know that I blew off cheerleading practice to sing to you today. Coach is gonna kill me, but you are worth it!"

She chuckled and smiled. My heart melted.

"That's sweet!"

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Absolutely," she said.

"May I…um…"

"Yes, Santana," she encouraged.

"May I pursue you a little," I asked.

"Um, sure, I guess. No one has wanted to so I don't know what that'd look like," she said honestly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure either, but it's kinda exciting to me," I said and smiled.

We got to her car and she unlocked it. Then she turned around and I was standing right behind her. She twirled around, bumped into me, and almost fell. I caught her and held her in my arms. She wrapped her arms around me. I think she was shocked because I was. We stood there in each other's embrace. I desperately wanted to kiss her on her lips, but thought it might be too forward. Instead I opted for kissing her cheek. I kissed the lowest part of her cheek as close to her lips as possible. When my lips made contact with her skin, I felt the electricity.

God, I can't wait to kiss you, Rachel! I thought.

All of a sudden her cell phone rang.

Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter…Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter…Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade

"Excuse me," she said shyly and grabbed her phone, "Hello?"

I took a moment to look around and noticed that there were only half a dozen cars still in the parking lot. I was looking around not because I was a coward…no, because I wanted people to see Rachel Berry in my arms. She actually was still in my arms despite the phone call. After realizing this, I let her out of my embrace. Immediately I felt cold and I longed for the next time I'd have the chance to do that.

She hung up and said, "I gotta go, Santana, but thank you for singing to me and for all that you said. I would like to get to know you too. I look forward to seeing what you do to surprise me."

"Ok, no worries. I gotta think hard about this. I may not surprise you every day, but please know you're never too far from my thoughts. Maybe I can walk you to class once in awhile…"

"But we don't have the same classes," she pointed out. She then went into her backpack, pulled out a notebook and pen, and scribbled something onto the paper. She tore it out and handed it to me. I looked down and smiled at her. She had written down her number.

"You're worth it," I said and smiled brightly at her again.

She leaned up slightly to kiss me on my cheek. She kissed me at almost the exact same area I kissed her. It might have been an inch higher, but I wasn't complaining.

"See you tomorrow," I said as she got in her car.

I slammed the door once she got in and said, "Drive carefully!"

I watched her exit the parking lot and watched as her car disappeared from sight.

Then I walked to my car. I pulled out my cell phone to put her number into it, but I found a text message from Becky.

"Oh, boy," I said as I read what she texted. I wasn't as furious as I thought I'd be. I felt calm like this was bound to happen no matter what. I felt at peace with the idea so I sent out a text.

TO QUINN: Would it be Cheerio's/social suicide if I let JewFro interview me? Gotta win Rachel, but I don't really know how. I'm up for the challenge. Thoughts/questions/concerns?

In a mere second, I got a text.

TO SANTANA: Don't do anything yet. We'll talk. On my way cuz we gotta study for the test too.

Then I replied to Becky's text and said, "Thanks for looking out for me! Fill u in later or tomorrow. ~ S"

I threw my phone back on the seat and drove home.

Second Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is called, "When the Right One Comes Along". It is sung byClare Bowen with Sam Palladio. They are from the hit television show called "Nashville".