12 Years Ago, January 2011
The summer went by much too quickly. And before they knew it, Santana was off to Louisville. The girls couldn't meet up all together, so Quinn and Brittany got their goodbyes separately.
Brittany woke up the morning she was set to leave with a pit in her stomach. She rolled over in her bed, to see her best friend sleeping soundly. They had tried to pull an all-nighter, but it didn't work out and they ended up falling asleep around 4 am.
Brittany rolled back onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. So many thoughts were going through her mind. Today was the day that her best friend was leaving for college. And yeah, sure. Leaving for college isn't comparable to something like leaving for a deployment with the Army or completely moving countries. It was nothing like that. But the most time the girls spent away from each other was when Brittany went to Australia during the summer of sophomore year for two weeks. And since then, it's been them together all the time.
Santana began to wake up now, going into a stretch before turning over. Brittany quickly closed her eyes. She didn't know why she did that, but it was something that she had always done since she was younger.
She felt Santana turn towards her, all of a sudden- there was no movement. Brittany could feel Santana's eyes on her, she knew she was looking at her. A soft sniffle was heard before the bed shifted and she was gone. Brittany slowly opens her eyes once she hears the bathroom door close.
Brittany got off the bed and headed into the kitchen. She stopped at the sink, looking down. She went to take a deep breath, but it just felt like the feeling in her stomach was getting worse.
"Britt?" Brittany jumped a little, startled by her friend's voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Santana walked over, taking a seat at the counter.
Brittany turned to see her eyes a little red. She didn't question it; it wasn't something that they were ever going to speak about.
"Today's the day, huh?" Brittany didn't know what else to say. "How are you feeling?"
"I honestly don't know how I'm feeling." Santana answered. "I have this weird; I don't know. I don't know how to describe it."
"Same." Brittany replied. She didn't know how to describe the feeling in her stomach other than it was like she was hungry, but she didn't want to eat. "Playground?"
"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea."
The girls walked over the playground, and each took a seat on one of the swings. They swung in silence for the most part. Santana only had about an hour until she had to meet up with her dad and they'd make the drive to Louisville together.
"San?"
"You don't have to say anything, Britt. I- " She stopped. "I know."
They got off the swings and walked around to the other side of the playground where there was a jungle gym.
They looked at each other before taking off, climbing up to the top. Ever since they were younger, they'd fight to sit at the very top and in the beginning- Santana would win every time. But as they got older, Brittany became faster, and it started to become challenging for Santana.
But today, Brittany let her best friend win. Because why wouldn't she want her to leave on a high note right? She'd have the seat the top, once Santana left for school.
As they sat at the top of the jungle gym, a silence fell over them once more. The cool breeze that encircled them was nice, with the combination of the sun warming them up. A textbook perfect morning in their definition of the phrase.
"I'm going to miss you, San." Brittany finally said. "I know Q is still here for another week but what is it without you, you know?"
Santana was at a loss for words. She knew today was going to be hard. And time was running out.
"I'm going to miss you too B. Remember, just a phone call away, okay? Always." Santana said as she put her arm around her best friend. "I'm always going to be here for you no matter what."
Brittany nodded. "And the same goes for you."
Santana held her pinky out. "Never above you."
"Never below you."
"Always beside you."
The girls locked pinkies. Almost immediately after, a car horn sounds, and Santana turns to see that it's her dad.
"Come on mija, we have to get going!" A trailer was attached to her dad's truck. "We have to stop and see your abuela before we go."
Santana looks over at her friend, who already had tears falling from her eyes. Santana gently wiped them from her face. She placed her forehead gently on Brittany's.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll text all the time and skype when I'm done with practice." Santana pulls Brittany in for a hug. "Do you want a ride home?"
They released from their hug and Brittany wiped her face more. "No, I'm okay. I think I'm going to hang out here for a bit longer. I want to gather myself before I get home, I don't want my mom asking me if I'm okay."
Santana pulls her in for one last hug before climbing down the jungle gym. Before she walks away, she stops and turns towards Brittany. "I love you, B."
"I love you too San. Have a safe trip, okay? Text me when you get there." Brittany was doing her best to keep it together at this point.
"You know I'll text you once I get in the car." Santana smiled before she walked over to the car and got in the backseat. Before driving away, she gave Brittany a small wave and then the Lopez family drove off down the road.
Brittany was left with her thoughts, and the silence that surrounded her. She looked up to the sky, to try and stop the tears from falling but it was too late. She cried for about ten minutes before wiping her face and heading back home.
12 Years Ago, April 2011
A few months had passed since Brittany's best friends left for college. She had been attending the community college near Lima for the time being. It was alright but she felt lonely without Quinn and Santana.
Their texts were becoming less frequent, being that Santana had started softball conditioning and Quinn was busy studying with her friends who happened to own a yacht, so she was never on her phone. And that left Brittany. She had classes three days a week and worked in between those days.
Brittany had made some new friends at school, but it just wasn't the same. One of the girls she hung out with, had joined the Army national guard. It seemed fun, and at this point Brittany really needed a change of pace. She felt stagnant, and on most days, she would just go to school, come home, and lay in her bed. She didn't have any motivation to do anything.
In the 8th grade, Brittany and her classmates had attended a job fair. It was a voluntary school trip, so Brittany and Santana had their parents sign their permission slips and they went to see what it was all about. One of the booths was for the Army. It was intriguing to Brittany. But Santana and Brittany's parents didn't like the idea of her joining the military, so she hadn't thought about it since.
Except for them taking the ASVAB test to get out of class during senior year. Yeah, she thought about the military then also. But that was just for fun, and the girls had no intentions of enlisting at all. They had their sights set on Louisville.
But now, the idea of joining the Army didn't seem all that bad. Her scores on the practice SATs she was taking wasn't even close to what she needed to get into Louisville. Her hopes had been shattered every single time she would see her results. It was to the point that she was not motivated to even try to take the actual test.
Brittany called Santana the night before she was set to swear in.
"B, are you sure about this?" Santana said as she was stretching. Conditioning was insane, but she was having fun.
Partially, Santana felt guilty. She was living the college life that she and Brittany spoke about their entire lives. College parties, school pep rallies. It was so awesome, and she wished that Brittany could've been there to experience it all with her. There was so much she wanted to share with her best friend, but she felt like she couldn't without making her sad.
"I'm sure. I promise. I'm picking a good job, and it's something I really like." Brittany said, excited. "I get to take pictures and stuff, S. And it's going to force me to be less shy because I'm going to have to interview people too. This is good for me."
Truthfully, this was the happiest Santana had seen Brittany in the last few months. She had a conversation with Quinn one day and they had talked about how sad Brittany had been since they left. They were sad too, of course- but they were also having a good time in college. They shared that with each other because they were having similar new experiences.
"As long as you're sure and you're happy Britt that's all that matters to me." Santana laid down on her bed. "But hey, it's getting late, and we have weightlifting in the morning. Imagine. Me? Lifting weights?"
Brittany laughed, because she knew better than anyone how much Santana hated lifting weights.
"I know. I bet you try to hide in the cardio section huh?" Brittany said before bursting into laughter. "Which, never works by the way."
"Hey now. It works sometimes." She answered. "Call me tomorrow after you finish your Army thing?"
"I will."
"Damn. You're going to be a whole Soldier huh?" Santana said. There was a sparkle in her eyes, something Brittany hadn't seen since- well. That day during the summer of junior year.
"Not until I graduate from basic training, San. That's still a way away." Brittany explained. "Get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Love you, B." Santana adds before hanging up. "I'm proud of you."
"I love you too San. And I'm always proud of you. Even if you tryna hide on the stair master. Bye."
Brittany's focus shifts back to the fact that she would be enlisting in the Army tomorrow.
12 Years Ago, June 2011
It's hot. Nearly 100 degrees, and it wasn't even 0700. Brittany was about a quarter way through the twelve-mile ruck march. It was the last graduation requirement she had, and she just wanted to get it over with.
Basic training was a new experience. It wasn't anything that she was expecting but it was fun, nonetheless. Particularly high on her list was rappelling, the platoon obstacle course competition and at the very top – shooting. Brittany had never shot a weapon before, and during basic training they were all issued a M16. It was long, heavy. But so much fun to shoot. She shot expert on her first try. A nearly perfect score 38 out of 40 targets hit.
But right now, she was currently trekking up a hill with 40 pounds on her back. This was it. The final item to cross off the list and it would be smooth sailing from here on out.
The company would take breaks every few miles, and it was about that time, so everyone took a knee to drink some water from their canteens.
Oklahoma at this time of year was excruciating. Not to mention, it was one of the hottest summers in the history of the state. They were only four miles in, and she was sweating through her uniform top.
Because of the temperature, their company were told that they would be using their patrol cap (pc) instead of their helmets which was honestly a blessing. Because 12 miles with that heavy helmet on would've been horrible.
Brittany took a knee and took a good swig from her canteen. She took her pc off and took a picture out from the pocket inside. Before the ruck, she had placed the pictures in her pc for motivation. One was a picture from softball season of Quinn, Santana, and herself. Along with that picture, was her favorite picture of her and Santana. They had gone to the beach and spent nearly all day there.
It had a special meaning, but before she could get too lost in her thoughts they were off again. So, she slipped the pictures into the pocket and put her pc back on. And they were off.
At around mile 11, Brittany had started to fall behind. Sweat had been getting in her eyes, she was had been completely sweat through her uniform top at this point and she felt disgusting from head to toe.
"Let's go private! You got this. Keep going." Drill Sergeant (DS) Sylvester was yelling from behind her. "Don't you let me catch you! Pick it up!"
And at that moment, Brittany heard them.
Let's go Britt! Come on!
It was as if they were standing right next to her. Quinn and Santana yelling. Just as they did when she would be running bases.
Brittany found her second wind, and she began to take off.
The finish line was in sight, and once she crosses her the end her platoon helps her take her rucksack off.
Her back immediately felt relief and she took a seat next to one of her friends. She was tired.
"Pierce, take your top off dude." One of the girls told her. "And here. Drink this, it's Gatorade."
Brittany took the cup from her as she slipped out of her uniform top. "I'm fucking disgusting."
"We all are, don't worry."
After a small ceremony to congratulate the Soldier's on the final milestone of basic training, they were allowed to call their family and friends to let them know that they would be graduating.
Brittany called her parents first, letting them know that she finished strong. They were proud of her which made her happy. They weren't really on board with her enlisting, but it was a decision that she made, and they were supportive regardless.
"Call Santana, Brittany. She's waiting."
And with that, Brittany hung up with her parents and clicked on Santana's name.
"B?" She said, as if she were just waking up from a nap. "I wasn't sure what time your ruck march started, so I stayed up last night."
Brittany smiled, knowing that all throughout basic training, Santana did her best to keep up with what she was doing. There was a Facebook group page that belonged to the battery she was in, and Santana followed it immediately. She never told Brittany that she had done all of that.
"How was it?"
"Miserable, not gonna lie. My feet feel like they're going to fall off." Brittany answered, tired. She leaned back on the wall behind her. "I can't believe you stayed up all night for this."
"I'd do anything for you, B. Your letter didn't really say what time you'd be doing it and so that's why I loaded up on redbulls and prepared for an all-nighter."
The girls talked for a few more minutes before their time was up.
"Tell Q for me, will you?" Brittany told her. "Thank you, San. For being here."
"I told you, Britt. Always. And I meant that. Now go rest, I know you're going to be sore later." She told her. "And hey, I'm proud of you."
Brittany chuckled, knowing that she was already sore. "Thank you. And I'll be fine, I'm a Soldier now huh? Love you San."
"Love you too Britt. Bye."
Santana smiled, remembering the conversation from a few months ago. She unlocked her phone and went on Facebook, scrolling through the pictures of sweaty Soldier's until she found the one she was looking for. Brittany looked sweaty. Disgusting. And yet Santana had never been more proud. It made her happy. She saved the picture in her phone before putting it down and going back to sleep.
12 Years Ago, November 2011
This was it. Advanced Individual Training (AIT) was complete, and it was graduation day.
AIT was an additional 21 weeks on top of the 10 for basic training. So, all in all, Brittany had been away from home for 31 weeks. Nearly 8 months.
Brittany excelled in her job. She always had a knack for editing pictures. Taking them not so much but with practice, she became great at it.
Graduation was within the hour, so Brittany had already changed into her ASUs. She looked slick. Her uniform was dry cleaned and press. Beret shaped perfectly, something she was proud of. She had put a lot of time into it. Before stepping out of her room, she took a selfie in the mirror and sent it to Santana and Quinn. Graduation day! Her caption read.
Both Santana and Quinn were extremely proud of Brittany. She had been so lost the first few months after they left that they didn't know what to do. They saw the light from within her disappear. And it was scary. The Brittany they knew was slowly fading away.
But when Brittany would talk about the Army, there it was. The light started to become brighter. And as much as they didn't want her to join the military, they knew that this was the answer for her right now.
Brittany cleaned up her room, brought her bags downstairs and attended the graduation ceremony. She was the distinguished honor graduate, an award given to the Soldier with the highest GPA in the class. Brittany was extremely proud of herself. Here, she was able to shine. To show that she wasn't just a shadow behind Quinn and Santana. Not that she ever thought that (she did from time to time), but this was all her.
Once the ceremony was over, she headed to the airport and was on her way home for a week before heading to her duty station.
Santana and Quinn were still at school, in their first semester of their second year and it was finals, so they couldn't come home early. So, she made the best of her leave and was headed off to Fort Carson in Colorado.
It was nice being home, but Brittany was more excited for the things to come. She was going be stationed a state she's always wanted to visit. Which, from what she had heard while she was in AIT, was one of the best duty stations to get. Brittany knew that there were big things in store for her. And boy, was she right.
AN: Happy May 1st! Last update for a few days while I go on vacation. I have the other chapters written, they're just waiting to be published. :)
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