I just wanna apologize for the wait. Here's a quick filler for what's to come. :) I'm going to start updating more often and hopefully I can finish this piece up this year.

With BIIFs coming up, the girls were in work mode. Every practice they pushed harder than the last. States were in full view and the motivation of the team was extra high. The amount of drive that was coming from the team as a whole was indescribable and Coach Sue was more than impressed.

After over using her shoulder, Santana decided to take it easy. She wanted to be 100 percent for the BIIF tourney because she didn't want to let the team down. There was no way they were gonna make it this far and she wouldn't be able to help.

Brittany had helped Santana through it all. Coach Sue had Santana off the field for a few days and it was killing her. But Santana knew that it was for a purpose and that in the end, it was for the best of the team.

The first for the BIIF tournament was going to be against Kohala, and the team felt like they had it in the bag.

Santana's recovery was going extremely well and finally, she was ready to get back on the field. She was extremely nervous though, she hadn't really thrown a ball.

The girls had just finished school and were all heading to the field. Santana and Brittany were already there, they had just gotten back from Waimea. The doctor's appointment Santana had was good, her doctor told her she is cleared to go back to practice.

The team started to warm up on the field now. Santana was still in the dugout, kind of hesitant. Yeah she had been throwing tennis balls and it was a different from a softball.

"Baby?" Brittany walked back to the gate leading into the dugout. "It's okay babe. You got this."

And with that, Santana slid her glove on her stepped out onto the field. In total, she was out of practice for almost two weeks. Because her injury was so fresh she was even more scared. It was a lot more than just her ankle this time. This was the whole reason she was catcher in the first place.

Rachel ran up to her and stopped her. "Hey you don't need to push yourself too hard okay?"

"Yeah I know. But I got it." They continued walking out to where there was a spot for them to warm up.

Rachel threw to Santana and she caught the ball. She went into her glove and held the ball in her hand. The ball felt good. No matter what time of year it was, Santana usually threw the ball at least twice a week.

"Cmon San. It's okay." Rachel was doing her best to encourage her.

Santana threw it back, and she felt a little pain run down her shoulder. But she didn't say anything. She didn't need anyone knowing that she was still sore, and that she probably needed to sit out a couple more days. She wanted back in, and she felt like this was the only way to do it.

"I'm good I'm good. Let's warm up."

For the past couple of weeks, Brittany felt like her and Santana were getting a lot better. Their communication was way better now, and it was like it was a whole new relationship.

It was like Santana's shoulder was recovering and so was their relationship.

Brittany had been working with Santana almost every afternoon with elastic bands, tennis balls, everything the doctor had recommended to get her back on track.

Santana had gone more into depth about how she felt when her dad went on deployment but Brittany still felt like she was hiding something from her. She didn't feel like it was something big, but it was still something.

One specific night in question, Brittany had gone to take a shower and when she came out Santana had fallen asleep with her phone in her hand. The page open on the screen said West Point Academy. Santana had brought it up before, but Britt didn't really know what it was. Or understand really. She just took her phone and placed it on the nightstand.

Today was the day. It was the first BIIF playoff game of the tournament. Santana was doing good at practices lately, secretly icing her shoulder with Holly after practice. She was sore, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle. Granted she hadn't thrown at 100% yet, but she didn't want to risk not playing at all. Everything was riding on this game and if they lost they would have to win a game the next day against either Konawaena or Kealakehe.

If they won, this would be their ticket to states.

"Alright guys this is it. Win this and we're off to states!" The girls were amped up.

Kohala wasn't a hard team, but with everything that was riding on this game, the nerves were high. They knew what they had to do, all they team had to do was execute.

The girls had a home field advantage, and with that was a large sized crowd that they hadn't seen in a while. Honoka'a sports as a whole was doing extremely well this school year and the softball team was keeping the momentum going with the wins they were getting.

The captains had their meeting at home plate with the captains from Kohala and the umpire, and with that the game started.

Everything was running smoothly. No errors, nine hits total. By the fourth inning the score was 5-1 with the dragons leading.

"Two outs runner on first!" Echoed through the field.

Santana's shoulder was doing alright, she hadn't thrown to second yet which she was hoping she could avoid. But not for long. Rachel winded up, and threw a fastball on the outside of the plate. The batter swung but didn't make contact and the runner took off for second. Once the ball hit Santana's glove, she hopped up and threw to second. And that's when she felt it. A sharp pain from the top of her shoulder and halfway down her to her elbow was sore.

"OUT!"

Santana started jumping up and down, shaking off whatever she could. But it was too late, and Rachel spotted her.

"Hey hey what happened?" Rachel was trying to get Santana's attention but it wasn't working. "San."

Santana's mask was still on, and she was walking back to the dugout. She threw her mask on the ground and walked straight to Holly.

"Take your gear off and sit down. I told you, you should've sat this one out kid." Holly had a bag of ice ready for her.

When Santana looked up she saw Brittany looking at her. She mouthed the words I love you and it hit Santana in the heart. She felt defeated. Like she was letting her team down. For the past couple days Santana had been debating on telling Brittany about her shoulder but she didn't want to hear the truth. All she wanted to do was play but she may have jeopardized that by not resting a few more days.

"I know but I really wanted to get out there." Santana's head hung low. "I should've listened. Now I'm gonna let the whole team down."

"You didn't. If it were any of them, they would probably do the same thing." Holly had the bag of ice wrapped on her shoulder now and Santana felt some relief. "Now, you're gonna sit out the rest of the game."

Santana nodded slowly. She walked back to the dugout, and sat next to Kama. She ran her hand through her hair, and let out a sigh.

"San it's okay. We gonna do this for you." Kama held out her fist, and Santana bumped it.

Coach Sue had gone to the umpire to talk about position switches.

"I'm gonna need these." Brittany was kneeling in front of Santana reaching for her shin guards.

"Wait what?"

"I'm catching the rest of the game. Don't worry, I'll make you proud." Brittany shot a grin at Santana as she unhooked her guards from her legs.

"I didn't know you catch, babe. That's.. pretty hot."

"I used to catch for batting practice back in Oklahoma but I hated it. But when I brought it up to Coach Sue she said it would be a really good idea. So i'll do it because it's for the team."

Santana handed her catchers helmet to her girlfriend who slipped it on with ease. "Wish me luck." She whispered and ran onto the field.

Brittany looked like she was a natural. She flinched whenver the batter hit the ball but nothing ever got by her. Not that Rachel's pitches hit the ground that often. We got this, Santana thought to herself. She always knew that the team could do it without her, she just didn't want it to happen that way. She wanted to be on the field with them. Playing. But instead she was selfish and wanted what was best for her rather than the team. If she had just rested a couple more days, she wouldn't be in this position.

But there was no use pondering the past now. What mattered was she was there for her team even if she was in the dugout. So she got up off the bench and stood next to Coach Sue who was leaning up against the fence.

"Lets get it! You guys got this." Santana yelled out to the field. Even if she couldn't play, she would still be there for them.

The rest of the game went semi-smoothly. Kohala had gotten a small boost of confidence since Santana was sitting on the bench. She was always one of the hard hitters for Honoka'a. By the end of the 7th, the score was 5-4 Honoka'a. Kohala rallied top of the 7th and almost made a comeback but the girls held it down.

And now they were on their way to states.