A/N: Another short bridge chapter.
Two bridges because the chapter that's coming up will probably be obnoxiously long and one bridge chapter would have been obnoxiously long.
Xoxoxoxoxoxo
Chapter 70
Xoxoxoxoxoxo
Brittany's POV
The six friends walked back to Santana and Quinn's apartment. After the plan had been made, they recaptured their earlier camaraderie. They laughed and joked as they made their way down the street.
Brittany, despite having no idea what the man looked like, kept her head on a swivel as they walked. She searched every car, every doorway, for anyone who looked like they didn't belong; who might have Santana's eyes.
They reached the apartment without incident, as Mike had predicted. The six of them tramped up the stairs and got settled in the living room with drinks, soft music in the background, and easy conversation.
Brittany sat with an arm around Santana and could feel an occasional tremble in the Latina's body. She'd been quiet, even for Santana. Brittany glanced at her girl and noticed she was pale and sweaty. The blonde dancer excused herself and went into the kitchen, returning a moment later, and handed Santana a pill and a bottle of water.
"Please take this?"
She knew she'd been right about Santana freaking out when the Latina took the anti-anxiety medication without even a token protest.
Santana relaxed into Brittany's embrace and Brittany could feel the girl calming down. She kissed the top of the brunette's head and whispered a soft, "I love you."
Santana turned toward her and smiled slightly before cuddling deeper into the blonde.
They'd been chatting for about half an hour when Santana finally spoke.
"I want to thank you all," her voice was quiet, "I mean, I've never had anyone other than Quinn to rely on. Not that Quinn isn't awesome, I just mean, it's only ever been Quinn. I knew she'd help with this situation. I figured Brittany would and I hoped Daniel would." She turned her gaze to Mike and Lily. "But … you two? You had no reason to offer help. I just met Lily, what? Two hours ago? Three? And Mike, after what happened a couple of weeks ago … I can't even find the words to tell you how much this means to me." She paused, swallowing.
"I've never had friends. Or a family, for that matter. Since last September, I've been embraced in a family and have found a family of friends. It's humbling and awesome. So, thank you, all of you. I don't know what I'd have done if you weren't here."
"I told you," Daniel grinned at her, "you're not alone anymore. I may need that bail money after tonight, though, since Quinn's spoiled my fun of needing help hiding the body." He winked at the Latina, who giggled.
"Yeah, okay, I've only known you a couple of hours but I like you. You're smart, funny, and witty as hell." Lily grinned. "I'm glad to help in anyway I can."
Mike shrugged. "Britt loves you. She actually never shuts up about you," he grinned at the blonde, "that alone makes you important to me. But, like Lily said, I like you, too. You're a lot of fun to be around. So, yeah, you're not alone."
"Thank you, really." Santana smiled.
Brittany hugged her close and mouthed a "thank you" to Mike who simply smiled and nodded.
They talked for a bit longer, turning to less serious subjects.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
They followed the plan; Lily, Mike, Daniel, and Quinn had all left and Brittany pulled Santana close as she prepared to follow them.
"I love you. You lock this door as soon as I'm out and I'll call you as I walk down the stairs. Lock yourself in your bathroom if you have to. I'm with you. You're not alone, honey, we're all right down the street. I promise," she offered Santana her right pinky, "pinky promises can't be broken, right? That's what you told Olivia."
Santana wrapped her pinky around her girlfriend's. "Right." She smiled softly. "I love you. Thank you for getting that pill for me earlier. I didn't even think about it but it definitely helped." She leaned up for a soft kiss. "You be careful."
"I will be and I will be back here as soon as Daniel and Mike have him under control."
"Just make sure they do. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I need you to do something for me."
"Anything, you know that."
"If he shows up and has a weapon, keep Daniel and Mike away. You, Quinn, and Lily, too. Call the cops and let them handle him. I'll be safe in here. He's never owned a gun but he does have access to an array of scalpels. I don't want anything to happen to any of you because of me."
"I can only promise that I'll try. If he has a gun, we'll figure something out." Brittany leaned down and captured Santana's lips in a tender kiss. "Be safe, my love, please? Don't do anything crazy."
Santana nodded. They hugged one more time and Brittany was out the door listening for the tell-tale sound of the deadbolt sliding into place.
She hit speed-dial 1.
"Hey, baby," she could hear the smile in Santana's voice.
"Hey," Brittany walked down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, "I miss you."
Santana laughed. "I miss you, too. I'm turning off the lights and going to the bedroom."
"Good. Lock that door, too. Then the bathroom. If he's gonna shoot his way in, make him work for it." Brittany was a lot more worried about that possibility than she wanted to admit.
"He's not going to do that, Britt. I'm about ninety-nine percent sure of that."
"Okay." She rounded the corner and found Quinn, Daniel, Lily, and Mike all watching the Ring feed on Quinn's phone. "I'm with the group. We're there in minutes. I'm here with you. Okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay, Britt. I'm really not alone anymore."
"No, you're not."
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Daniel's POV
He could hear Brittany talking to Santana. Lily, Mike, and Quinn were quietly chatting as all five of them kept an eye on the Ring feed. To say Daniel was furious would be a gross understatement; he hadn't been kidding when he said he'd kill the man.
"How long do we wait?" Daniel asked. He was willing to stay there all night if necessary but, like Brittany, he didn't like the idea of Santana sitting there alone.
"Forty-five minutes," Quinn spoke up. "I'm willing to bet that Julio will show in less than twenty, though. He'll wait to see if any of us come back but he'll be too impatient to wait for very long."
Daniel nodded.
Seventeen minutes later, a man appeared on the Ring feed.
"That's him," Quinn's voice was strained.
"You still coming, Mike?" Daniel asked.
Mike nodded. "You know it."
Daniel heard Brittany warn Santana that Julio was there as the five young adults moved back toward the building that housed Santana and Quinn's apartment. They could hear pounding and Julio yelling in Spanish. So far, it didn't appear that he had a weapon.
"How you wanna do this?" Mike asked Daniel.
"Pretend we're talking about … shit … what season is it? I only follow the football team," Daniel laughed.
"Baseball?"
Daniel nodded. "Okay, just make stuff up about the pitchers or some batter's average. Just two guys talking sports. He doesn't know us and may not even recognize us from earlier. Might just assume we live in the back apartment."
The reached the door and the yelling was clearer now that they were closer. Daniel nodded to Mike and they entered the building.
