''Phoenix, Snake!''
Santana raises an eyebrow as she notices Brittany and Press look up the second Sue Sylvester yells and turns to her best friends in confusion. ''Phoenix and Snake?''
Puck just shrugs his shoulders as he watches Brittany and Press sprint back to the penalty box after Sue told them something and chuckles. ''I have no idea, maybe a nickname?''
''But Phoenix?'' Quinn asks. ''That's a weird nickname.''
Santana turns back to the field as Olivia just nudges her, loudly shushing them and chuckles. ''Sorry Liv.'' She breaths out knowing the match is nerve wrecking with both teams yet to score in the last five minutes, she watches Emslie preparing to the corner kick and takes a sip of her water.
They all watch the ball soar high into the penalty area, noticing the beautiful curl towards the second goal post and gasp softly as the goalkeeper jumps out too early and hits Brittany with her fists seconds before the ball reaches them.
''Go!'' She hears Sue yell immediately as several teammates urgently wave the medic over, Santana stands up feeling the four sitting beside her join immediately and frowns noticing the crowd forming around Brittany after the referee gave the goalkeeper a red card.
''Not good.'' She breaths out as she watches Press take a towel to wipe red liquid off of her hands the concern clear on everyone's faces, she keeps her eyes on the field as four simultaneous hums reach her ears and bites her lip as she feels three warm hands on her back knowing they belong to her sister, Liv and Quinn.
She raises an eyebrow as she notices three players step forward offering a hand and glances at her friends, sister and sister in law as they all watch them help Brittany up noticing the white bandage around her head.
''Phoenix!'' She glances down at Sue hearing her yell and turns back to Brittany, she frowns as she notices her shaky thumbs up and shakes her head.
''She will continue?'' She asks in surprise.
''Britt is very competitive.'' Puck breaths out watching his best friend walk over to Press as she calls her over. ''I don't think she will pass up on the penalty kick just because she hurt her head.''
He holds up a finger and turns to the dugouts. ''Sue!'' He calls out knowing Brittany told her that he is her brother. ''How bad is it?'' He asks as she jogs over.
''Laceration and probably a mild concussion.'' Sue tells him. ''But she doesn't want to leave the field.''
''Deep laceration?'' Liv asks with an eyebrow raised.
''Don't think so Becky washed it out and wrapped it after applying a sterile gauze.'' Sue replies. ''Are you a doctor?'' She tilts her head as she hums and raises an eyebrow. ''And you are friends with Brittany?'' She asks again after glancing at the field noticing Brittany, Press and the referee disgust something.
''I am.''
''Can you check her out at home? Every single player has a medical kit at home but I think it's better if you do it.''
''I will.'' Olivia just breaths out as the group also turn to her, Santana sighs as Sue excuses herself the second the referee blows his whistle.
They all groan as the goalkeeper that just entered the field manages to push the ball out of her goal and frown as Press instead of Emslie runs to over to take the corner kick. ''I will kick her ass if she stands near the goalkeeper again.'' She snickers hearing Quinn's grumble and hums in agreement.
''No need to kick ass.'' She murmurs as they all watch Brittany join Emslie in the middle instead of near the goalpost, she watches Press take the kick frowning in confusion as Brittany runs out of the penalty box instead of towards the goal and blinks in surprise as she suddenly jumps up her back facing the goal.
Her jaw drops as she watches the blonde fall back with her right leg kicked out and just turns to the group in surprise as she kicks the ball towards the goal. ''No way.'' Puck and Olivia breath out in unison as thunderous cheers suddenly fill the stadium, Santana just shakes her head in amazement as Brittany jumps up right after she braced her fall and watches her sprint over to Press.
She watches her sprint back to her own half, smiling as the cheers continue and sits back down knowing the match is over. ''Remind me to thank her for allowing us to join the three of you.'' Olivia breaths out. ''This match was nerve wracking but amazing.''
''They can enjoy second place, if they win next week they will slide up to first.'' Puck breaths out as the referee blows his whistle.
''Don't they have to play against San Diego next week?'' Santana asks. ''They are rivals right?''
Olivia nods her head and scoffs. ''Yeah and it's about time someone kicks that bitchy captain leading San Diego off of her throne.''
Santana snickers turning to the field as the referee whistles twice signaling the end of the match and smile as the team jogs over towards the dugouts. ''Fucking amazing Phoenix!'' They hear Sue exclaim while they watch her pat Brittany's back, she smiles slightly as icy blue orbs lock on her own after Sue nodded her head to them telling her to shower at home and glances at the team knowing Brittany won't celebrate with the team.
''Let's go, I think she is dying to shower.'' She tells the four beside her as Brittany just walks towards the entrance leading to the changing rooms after high fiving her team and coach, she grabs her purse as they nod their heads and follows Puck to the exit leading out to the parking lot.
She follows him outside smiling as Brittany walks out at the same time and frowns noticing her slow pace, she bites her lip as she notices the pain in her eyes and raises an eyebrow as she holds her car keys out for Noah.
''Can you drive Noah?''
''You sure?'' Puck asks in surprise knowing he drove his own car because Brittany had to leave earlier.
''I am dizzy as fuck.'' Brittany breaths out. ''I can't drive.''
''You have a mild concussion.'' Olivia states with a soft sigh as they walk to the cars. ''Shower immediately after we arrive but don't wash your hair.''
''I need to wash my hair.'' Brittany breaths out frowning.
''You can after I wrapped the wound.'' Olivia reassures as they slide into Puck's truck, she turns in her seat smiling as she sees Santana sitting close to the blonde and locks eyes with Brittany. ''One of us can do it so the bandage will stay dry, but we need to make sure soap doesn't enter the wound.''
''Are you a doctor?'' Brittany asks in surprise, Santana chuckles as Liv just nods her head and turns to Brittany as she turns back in her seat to talk to Abi and Quinn.
''She works at my dad's hospital and is one of the best.'' She breaths out with a small grin. ''Liv knows what she is doing.'' She glances at the bandage and frowns. ''How are you feeling?''
''Aside from the throbbing headache, pretty good.'' Brittany breaths out, she smiles slightly as Santana eyes her bouncing legs and shrugs. ''I just sprinted around for ninety plus minutes, my muscles need a while to relax and a shower always helps.''
She turns to look towards the front as Santana nods her head still a bit unconvinced and clears her throat. ''Olivia?'' She smiles as she immediately turns her head to look at her and raises an eyebrow. ''I can still play next weekend right?''
''Yes you can play the rival game.'' Olivia tells her chuckling. ''You might have a throbbing headache the next two days and you need to rest, but after two or three days it should be over.''
''Awesome.'' Brittany breaths out sliding out of the car after Quinn parked it, she fishes her house keys out of the front of her back and walks into her house. ''I will take a quick shower.
Three hours later.
Brittany groans, smiling sheepishly as everyone immediately turn to her completely ignoring the movie they agreed to watch and just shakes her head. ''I am fine.'' She reassures.
''Headache?'' Olivia just asks with a knowing look, she reaches for her purse as she hums and grabs the strip of painkillers she always carries around for Abi's headaches. ''Can you take Triptans?''
Santana takes a pill Liv hold out and grabs Brittany's water bottle holding both things out for her.
''Hey B?'' Quinn asks as Puck pauses the movie, she smiles as she turns to her after swallowing the painkiller and tilts her head. ''Why does Sue call you Phoenix?''
Brittany chuckles leaning back against the couch and bites her lip. ''Sue gave all the girls with tattoo's a nickname.'' She explains. ''Press has a Snake wrapped around a sword, so she calls her Snake.'' She continues. ''Emslie has a tribal dragon so she goes by the name dragon.''
''You have a tattoo?'' Puck asks in surprise, Brittany nods her head and chuckles.
''Yeah.''
''Where?'' They all ask in unison, she laughs and rolls her shoulder.
''Starting on my shoulder blades but it goes down my spine to my lower back.'' She stands up as they all just look at her in surprise and turns her back to them, she slowly tugs her shirt up and shows them the rising phoenix with a red glow around it's wings, the tail curling down to her lower back and lines of black smoke rising up behind the phoenix.
''Holy shit.'' Santana murmurs with wide eyes hearing her friends and sisters echo it, she leans forward as she notices the tail curling around a sentence and tilts her head. ''And from the ashes, I will rise again.'' She reads out loud so everyone knows that it says.
''Damn that one looks awesome.'' Abi gapes. ''Does it mean something?''
''It has three meanings'' Brittany replies as she sits back down after lowering her shirt. ''The phoenix rising from the ashes symbols rebirth, the phoenix is an immortal bird that truly never dies but is born repeatedly through ashes and flames.''
''It just means that I moved on to a new chapter or well complete new life so to say and am prepared to take on every challenge landing in my path.'' She continues. ''I lost my sister which send me into a downward spiral, losing my best friend/brother because my birth-demons pulled me out of the country send me further down that spiral.''
''I had suicidal thoughts the first six months after losing the two most important people in my life, but I fought hard against them and just promised myself to move back to the States the moment I could and fight hard to take my life into my own hands again.''
She licks her lips as Puck just smiles sadly and blows out a breath. ''I got it right after moving to LA seven months ago so it's fully flying, the flying phoenix symbolizes triumph and celebration. I managed to pull myself out of the controlling household I lived in back in the Netherlands and build up a complete new life here, I had just opened my restaurant and entered second division soccer instead of amateur so that day was filled with success.''
''Lastly it's also a memorial tattoo.'' She adds with a sad smile. ''The tail has ten feathers sticking out, each feather ends in a rose bud because it was Em's favorite flower.'' She explains. ''It stands for the ten amazing years I had her in my life and we definitely enjoyed it to the fullest, the last three years she couldn't do much without crying from the pain every move caused but.''
She turns to Puck and smiles. ''Puck and I made sure we still distracted her which caused us to grow even closer.''
Puck nods his head in agreement and smiles. ''We were the three musketeers and everyone knew that Em would join whenever we did something with some old friends, the second it became clear that she couldn't join anymore we gladly passed up on every invite to spend the day with Em and it always ended in her drifting off with a big grin.'' He recalls.
''We were already best friends.'' He continues. ''But those last three years and watching Em lose a bit of fight every year really caused us to grow much closer and prepare each other for the inevitable.''
''What is your most cherished memory?'' Quinn asks curiously already knowing her fiance's but wanting to hear it from the both of them.
''The day we transformed the living room into a dance floor with a table of drinks and snacks.'' Brittany recalls grinning. ''Puck and I just arrived back home a bit earlier from our first dance and we decided to go together instead of our partners back then and agreed to leave after an hour and spend the evening with Em.''
She smiles as Puck laughs and chuckles. ''The second we arrived back home we both received a text and well our partners were not amused and dumped our asses.'' She turns to the girls as they just look at them in surprise and shrugs. ''We walked into the house and after the neighbor I asked to keep an eye on Em told me she had a bad day because she wanted to join us, we decided to transform the living room and spend our dance night dancing and joking around with her.''
''She was so happy but bumped that she couldn't dance.'' Puck recalls. ''Her legs lost function a few months before but before her mood could shift, Britt and I just looked at each other before walking over and picking her up.''
''We slow danced to three songs before she had enough and wanted to watch a movie and pig out, after ordering pizza and changing into PJ's we collapsed onto the couch and spend the whole night watching American Pie and just enjoying her bursts of laughter every time something happened.''
''The both of you sound like you don't mind your boyfriend and girlfriend dumping you back then.'' Liv tells them in amusement.
''Girlfriends.'' Brittany corrects with a small grin. ''And no we didn't mind at all, they used us for popularity because Puck and I were both quarterbacks of both football teams and expected to land in a hotel room with us after we wooed them.''
''We never planned on wooing them.'' Puck breaths out laughing. ''Sure they were hot and we did like them a bit, but our focus was entirely on Emily and we would have never left her alone for the night.''
''A bit.'' Santana breaths out snickering.
Brittany locks eyes with Puck and laughs. ''We both managed to date the head cheerleaders and only twins walking around the entire school.'' She tells them chuckling. ''We liked them as friends and well their dad was rich and they threw amazing house parties, but I had absolutely no romantically feelings for her back then.''
''Yeah I didn't have romantic feelings for her sister either.'' Puck breaths out. ''I was in it for the free booze.''
''Same.'' Brittany laughs out, she turns to Puck and raises an eyebrow. ''What is your favorite memory?''
''The same one.'' Puck, Quinn, Santana, Abi and Liv breath out in unison.
''Puck told us all about that minus the girlfriend part during a monthly BBQ night at our parents place.'' Abi tells Brittany as she raises an eyebrow in amusement. ''We heard many amazing stories and all hoped that you would find each other again.''
''And thank god we did.'' Puck breaths out grinning, Brittany nods her head in agreement and smiles lovingly.
''You ain't getting rid of me again Noah.''
''You are a pain in the ass sometimes.'' Puck tells her. ''But I don't want to lose you again either.''
''Says the biggest pain.'' Santana and Brittany breath out in unison, Santana laughs as Puck throws her a glare and shrugs. ''You know I love you Puck.''
''So the both of you dated head cheerleaders and twins?'' Liv asks with an eyebrow raised.
Brittany nods her head and laughs. ''Yeah we did and after they dumped us we agreed to ignore all other cheerleaders, they were quite stuck up and annoying.''
''Did you at least bang them?'' Abi asks bluntly, Puck laughs as Brittany almost spits out the water she just took a sip on and shakes his head.
''We were fourteen.'' He tells her chuckling. ''Banging someone wasn't on our mind yet.''
''Em was our priority.'' Brittany explains with a soft chuckle as they turn to Puck in surprise knowing boys normally start acting on their feelings around that age and shrugs. ''She was Puck's priority too so he often hung out with us instead of replying to a booty call from some desperate girl.''
''When did you have your first time?'' Abi asks with an eyebrow raised.
''Is this turning into a question game?'' Puck asks in amusement, he rolls his eyes as she looks at him and sighs. ''Seventeen, after prom with I have no idea.''
Brittany laughs as he turns to her and shrugs. ''Seventeen and I still try to forget it so I won't go into details.''
''I sense a funny story coming up.'' Santana breaths out laughing as she turns to her. ''Do tell.''
Brittany rolls her eyes as everyone snickers and huffs. ''Her parents walked in on us and ruined the mood, her god loving mom passing out still is the best thing that happened that night.''
''And yes that means she wasn't good at all.'' She adds as Puck just looks at her, she shrugs as they all laugh and takes a sip of her water. ''Her parents went to the same church as mine, so after they told them what happened I was grounded for three months.''
''What about the four of you?'' Brittany asks turning to the girls.
''Seventeen.'' Liv and Abi breath out in unison intertwining their hands. ''Yes first girlfriend, first time, first everything.'' Liv adds.
''That's awesome.'' Brittany tells them with a kind grin. ''It doesn't happen often that you find the complete package at a young age.''
''Sixteen and right after he told me that he was gay.'' Quinn breaths out as Brittany turns to her, she rolls her eyes as she covers her mouth to silence her laughter and throws her a glare. ''Be glad you are injured already.''
Santana chuckles as she hears Brittany's sweet laughter and turns to her. ''Seventeen.'' She replies before she can ask, she feels Abi immediately grab her hand and smiles sadly. ''He was my boyfriend of two years but we both agreed to wait until we were both ready and..'' She cuts herself off and bites her lip. ''Nine months later we welcomed Nic.''
Brittany nods her head squeezing Santana's free hand softly as she notices Abi holding the other and smiles kindly already having heard that Nicolas's dad past away. ''Someone once told me that, those we love don't go away.'' She tells her softly knowing everyone just listens.
''They walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near and still loved but also missed dearly.'' She continues. ''You might not see him but he will always be around and I heard you once say that Nic has his grin, I am sure he is looking on with the same grin proud to see his loves being successful in life and enjoying it the best they can.''
Santana sniffles and nods her head. ''Yeah I still feel his presence sometimes which sounds weird but every time something major happens in my life, his presence allows me to calm down and change my view on the situation.''
''That doesn't sound weird at all.'' Brittany breaths out. ''I have the same feeling and I know Em is near, she is there to calm me down before a match and I am sure she is near me at all times whenever I cook like she was when I cooked at home.''
''I agree.'' Puck breaths out with a sad grin. ''Whenever I make my pulled pork I feel her presence around me, she always loved to watch me make it and just sit beside the grill until it was done.''
''We might not see or hear them, but they are still here and the impact they made on our lives will forever be a part of us.'' He adds, Brittany gently tugs Santana in a hug as she sniffles and smiles as Puck stands up to join the hug.
Quinn turns to look at Abi and Liv as they notice Santana nuzzling her face against Brittany's shoulder and just nods her head as she sees their grin. ''I think it's time we somehow trick the both of them to spend a bit of time alone.'' She tells them softly. ''They need to talk and see that they both have the same feelings for each other.''
''Don't intervene.'' Liv warns her softly. ''They will act on it whenever the timing is right, intervening will cause them to pull back instead of open up.''
''Yeah every day they spend together will just fuel their feelings.'' Abi adds just as softly making sure the trio on the love seat won't hear them. ''Just do what you do now, hang out, talk and let them sit together everything will happen when they are ready.''