Translations at end of chapter.

Santana walked into Pierce Automotive early Tuesday morning with a messenger bag slung over her shoulder and two large white boxes held tightly between her hands, one carefully balanced atop the other. As she passed through the front entryway, the shopkeepers bell chimed and alerted the receptionist of her arrival. The brunette watched as Allie quickly looked up from the textbook she had been reading and greeted her with a bright smile, "Good morning, Ms. Lopez!"

"Please just call me Santana," the marketing associate chuckled out as she set the boxes down and slid the top container onto the countertop next to other one. Simultaneously opening them up, she offered, "Doughnut?"

"Yes, please!" the receptionist singsonged as she quickly looked over the selection and plucked a blueberry cake doughnut from the container. While wrapping the treat up in the napkin Santana held out for her, the college student nodded her head in the direction of the shop door and informed, "Brittany is out working in the garage, by the way."

"Perfect. I'll go find her once I drop these off in the break room," Santana replied as she closed the boxes and transported them to the rear portion of the building. As she passed back through on her way to the main part of the shop, she noted, "Feel free to let the other employees know that they can help themselves, okay?"

"Sure thing, Santana. Thanks for breakfast!"

"You're welcome," Santana reassured as she opened the side door, letting in the loud sounds of the tools and lifts.

Quickly shutting the door behind her, Santana began her search to find the shop owner as she weaved her way between a tire machine and the car in the first bay that was getting an oil change. She then carefully stepped over an air hose while moving around the truck that was being worked on in the second bay. It wasn't until the fourth and final bay came into view that she finally found the blonde she was looking for, who was leaned over the engine compartment of an SUV.

"Morning, Britt-Britt," the brunette called out once she was in earreach, unable to stop her eyes from trailing down the jumpsuit-clad form of the other woman as Brittany stretched her hand deep into the space between the engine and the radiator. Brittany instantly looked over at her with a bright smile, which only grew as she watched the other woman snap her eyes back up to meet hers.

"Good morning, San," Brittany replied with a cheeky smirk at having caught Santana's leering as she continued to reach down into the compartment. Suddenly, her expression shifted to one of excitement as she pulled out a single long bolt. "Finally," she sighed out in relief as she looked down at the part held firmly between her fingertips. Glancing back up, she found the brunette watching her with a questioning expression and explained, "I accidentally dropped this while trying to reattach the intake manifold."

"Ah, I see," Santana lightly chuckled. Throwing a thumb over her shoulder, she informed, "Well, I brought doughnuts if you would like to take a break once you're done. I already made sure to set aside the powdered doughnut with strawberry filling."

"Thanks, San! You're the best," Brittany replied happily as she threaded the bolt on the engine's manifold and grabbed a torque wrench to begin tightening it down into place.

"I try," the brunette teased with a nonchalant shrug before asking, "So, how has your morning been so far?"

"Well, we've been pretty slammed due to the early close time, and one of our mechanics called in sick, which is why I'm in here helping out where I can," Brittany grunted out as she gave the wrench one last steady pull, which resulted in in the tool releasing a loud click sound that let the mechanic know she had tightened the part to spec. Releasing her tension on the tool, she chanced a knowing glance in the marketing associate's direction, mirth dancing in her eyes as she added, "I promise I'll be cleaned up before the shoot, though."

"No worries, B. You have time," Santana reassured with a grin as she eyed the little smudges lining the woman's hands and arms. Figuring that she was probably distracting the shop owner, Santana informed, "Well, I'm going to go ahead and get out of your hair so you can focus on your work. I don't want to be the cause of you running behind."

Brittany narrowed her eyes at the other woman's insinuation that she was bothering her, stating, "Santana, you are more than welcome to stay and chat with me for as long as you want. That being said, I would also understand if you'd prefer to find somewhere quieter to hangout until I'm done. I think Kurt might be in his office if you want to go visit with him. You can also feel free to head up to my office if you don't feel like chatting."

Grinning at the woman's constant thoughtfulness, Santana answered, "I think I'll go bring that doughnut up to your office before someone accidentally takes it. I'm also pretty sure everything is ready for our meeting, but I'd still like review everything one last time just to be certain."

"Sounds good. Just give me about thirty minutes to finish up this job, and then, we will meet you up there."

"No rush. Take your time, Britt-Britt," Santana reassured as she turned to leave.

Walking into Brittany's office a couple minutes later with the powdered doughnut in hand, the brunette found that the couch was pushed back against the wall and that Brittany's desk had returned to its original location in front of the garland-clad window. Padding across the decorated room, she gingerly placed the confectionery atop the desk and made her way around the piece of furniture to stand before the large window she and Brittany had napped in front of just days before.

Smiling fondly at the memory, Santana turned and padded her way over to the couch. She then slid down onto the comfortable cushion and removed the messenger back from around her shoulder so she could take out her progress notes and work tablet to conduct a final review of the materials.

It had been a little over two weeks since beginning her partnership with Pierce Automotive, and Santana had insisted on holding a meeting to ensure that Lopez Marketing's initial round of advertisements met the shop's expectations. Santana also wanted to provide them with an opportunity to iron out any last details regarding their next bout marketing plans so she could make adjustments, if necessary.

The marketing associate had just completed reading over her notes when she heard the sound of footsteps and quiet murmurings heading up the stairs. As the two shop managers filed into the room, Brittany waved to Santana with a broad grin while Kurt gave her a wave and greeted, "Good morning, Satan."

The mechanic's body froze as soon as she processed his comment. Suddenly spinning around to face the man, she snapped, "What did you call her?" Both Kurt and Santana gave a little jump in surprise at the blonde's tone as icy blue eyes continued bore into the man.

"Hey, it's okay, Britt. He didn't actually mean anything by it," Santana tried to ease as she turned her attention towards the man to confirm, "Right, Kurt?"

"Y-yeah, Brittany. It's just a nickname I have for her."

"Well, I still don't appreciate you calling her that, especially while in a business setting," Brittany replied as she maintained a level glare towards her office manager, who was carefully flicking his eyes between the two women with an uneasy expression.

Santana's mind instantly thought back to the blonde comforting her after Nick's snide comments at the bar, and she could not help but smile at the woman continuing to defend her honor, even when it was one of their best friends. Seeing Kurt was about to relent, Santana cut in and said, "Brittany, it's really alright." When the shop owner did not immediately break her gaze, Santana tossed her work materials onto the empty spot beside her and pushed herself up from the couch to walk over to where the two stood. Gently gliding her fingertips across the soft skin of the woman's forearm, Santana reached down and slipped her pinky around the other woman's.

"Hey, look at me," Santana insisted as she gave a little squeeze of her digit. Once the blonde had relented and focused her strained blue eyes on her, Santana leaned in a bit to gently remind her, "Kurt and I have been friends for a really long time. He didn't mean anything hurtful by calling me that, and I promise I have called him way worse things. Please trust me on this."

Heaving a sigh, Brittany allowed her tense shoulders to relax as she replied, "I do trust you, San. I just don't like hearing misrepresentations of your character."

"Well, for you it might seem that way, but Kurt's history with me is very different than the one we share," Santana clarified. When Brittany dropped her gaze to the ground, she dipped her head down to meet the blonde's eyes once more, reassuring, "Hey, Kurt and I are way past those days. We're good now, which is why I don't mind him using that nickname. You have nothing to worry about with him, okay?"

"Alright," Brittany sighed out as she looked over to her office manager and apologized, "Sorry, Kurt."

"You're fine, Britt. I'll try to keep the name-calling to a minimum while we're in professional settings moving forward."

"Yeah, me, too," Santana added, figuring that she would hold herself to the same standard in order to hopefully smooth everything over between the garage managers. She then moved to give the blonde reassuring side hug as she looked over to Kurt, shooting him a little smile to let them know that everything was good between them. Once she was confident that the moment had passed, the marketing associate released her hold on the woman and moved to focus back to the matter at hand. Plopping back down onto the couch, she returned her notes and tablet to her lap in preparation of the impending meeting. Once the two shop employees were seated, she asked Kurt, "Did you get the email I sent with our current ad campaign schedule and plans?"

"I did. Here, Britt, I printed out a copy of you," Kurt said as he took a stappled packet and leaned over to hand it to his boss. Glancing back over to Santana, he inquired, "I believe your comments stated that the billboards will be up before the holiday season, correct?"

"Yep," the brunette confirmed with a nod of her head. "Thankfully, Tina said she will be able to start editing this evening. She also feels confident that she'll have the pictures ready to be delivered to the vendor by the end of the week. My mother has worked with this billboard company many times in the past, and she said they typically have a pretty good turn around. I've put in a rush order with them, so the billboards are expected to hopefully be up in the next week or so."

"Okay, good. I also saw the holiday giveaway posts on our social media pages," Kurt commented. "It seems that they've gained some traction."

"Yeah, there's been quite a bit of traffic on all of the shop's socials thanks to the giveaway and Britt's first set of instructional videos."

Her attention was then drawn back to the blonde as Brittany addressed her office manager, asking, "Kurt, do you think we can get some of the giveaway fliers to put up around the shop and to have available at the front desk for people to take with them?"

"Definitely. I'll print some out as soon as we're done."

"Great," Brittany stated before turning her attention back to the marketing associate. "Are there any updates regarding our deal with the carwash?"

Navigating to her work email's inbox, Santana found a response from the carwash regarding an email she had sent earlier that morning. Quickly reading it over, she noted, "So, it looks like they accepted the contract Quinn sent over last week and have provided a signed copy. Everything should be ready to go since you have already signed off on the shop's part of the agreement, so I'll start working on new promotional materials for both businesses first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, that's perfect. Were there any other updates or things we needed to discuss?"

Taking a moment to review her notes, Santana answered, "Not currently. I will start working on the next set of billboards in a few weeks, which will use photos of the garage that Tina grabbed before it was decorated. Hopefully by then, we'll start seeing things picking up for the shop."

"They already have thanks to you," Brittany reassured. "We all really appreciate the hard work you've been putting in to help us."

"All part of the job, Britt-Britt. I just want to make sure we keep this positive momentum going."

"With you at the helm, I have no doubt that we will," Kurt noted as he moved to stand up, adding, "You sent a copy of that flier over to us already, right? Since it sounds like we're pretty much done, I'm going to go ahead and start getting them printed."

"Yeah, it should be in one of the emails I sent early last week. If you can't find it, just let me know, and I'll resend it."

"Sounds good. Thanks," Kurt responded as he started making his way toward the door.

"We'll meet you down there in a minute, Kurt. I need to speak with Santana about something really quick," Brittany called out to her office manager as she motioned for Santana to hang back. Once the man was gone, the blonde looked over to the other woman and apologized, "I'm really sorry for my behavior before the meeting. I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable."

Santana felt her eyes soften at the apology as she stood up to make her way over toward the blonde. Leaning back onto the corner of the desk beside the woman, she stated, "Brittany, you didn't make me uncomfortable. Like I've mentioned, there's never really been an overabundance of people in my corner, but I am really grateful to have some really great people in my life that are willing to stick up for me when necessary, including you. Just remember that Kurt is one of those trusted people, too, okay? If I ever feel uncomfortable with a comment like that, just know that I can draw the line with him because he and I both share a mutual respect for one another."

"Yeah, I understand," the mechanic sighed as she looked down at her hand as her fingertips nervously drummed atop the desk's surface. "I just hadn't heard him speak to you like that before and was caught off-guard. I promise to let you be the one to set those boundaries in the future."

"I appreciate that," Santana replied as she gently cupped her hand under the woman's jaw, hoping that she could prevent the other woman from getting too in her head about the situation. It wasn't until Brittany looked up to meet her gaze that she each realize just how close they were to one another. Neither woman made a move as they continued to sit there, Santana allowing the pad of her thumb to gently trace along the same spot she had kissed just days before. Getting a little lost in the moment, she began to wonder what it'd be like to press her lips to that space again as she involuntarily leaned down ever so slightly to-

"Hey, Santana. Sorry, but can you resend that flier? I can't find the original email," Kurt suddenly called up the stairs, effectively bursting the bubble the two women had found themselves in.

Bolting back into an upright position, Santana quietly dropped her hand. Allowing her eyes to slide closed, she sucked a breath in a poor attempt to calm herself just as the full weight of what she was about to do hit her. "Y-Yeah, I'll get it right over," she called out with a slight waver in her tone. Releasing a shaky exhale, she quietly told Brittany, "I'm, uh, going to help him get those fliers printed." Standing up from the desk on uneasy legs, she stumbled over to the couch to retrieve her phone and briskly paced toward the room's entrance.

The shop closed for business a couple hours later, and Tina was already there to start preparing for the shoot as soon as their final customer had left the premises. Once the photographer had given her the go-ahead, Santana set out to help the woman remove the equipment from her car. She had just pulled out the woman's tripod and one of the lights when Tina asked, "So, I'm guessing Quinn has already returned to New Haven?"

"Yeah, she flew out yesterday morning."

"Aw, well I'm glad she got to come visit for at least a little bit. It was nice having her around again."

Carefully placing the equipment down on the ground, Santana replied, "I agree. Thankfully, she's supposed to be moving back sometime next summer once she graduates."

"Oh, great! That'll be exciting," Tina commented just as a van came barreling into the parking lot. The two women watched on through wide-eyes as the vehicle suddenly screeched to a halt in one of the parking spots. Giving a nervous laugh, the photographer quietly assumed, "I guess that must be the Pierces."

"Brittany? Brittany, honey," an older woman called out as she hopped out of the driver's seat and waved to the blonde, who had been talking to Kurt and Dave outside of one of the open bays.

Catching sight of the woman, Brittany started moving in the direction of the newcomers, who were all wearing sweaters that were similar to the one she had just changed into, and greeted, "Hey, Mom."

"Wow, this place looks really nice. You've done a really good job sprucing up the place," Mrs. Pierce commented as she moved to help a dazed Grandpa Pierce shakily step out of the back of the vehicle, who was clearly affected from the presumably rough trip over to the garage.

Briefly turning to look back at the decorated shop, Brittany shifted her gaze back toward her mother and replied, "Thanks, a bunch of us were up here a couple of days ago to put everything up so we could be ready for today." Glancing over to the two Pierce men, who were now standing side-by-side, she added, "Hi, Dad and Grandpa."

"Hi, Brittany," the two men said with the same cadence as they both waved at the woman in complete sync with one another. Santana could not help but chuckle at their involuntarily synchronized motions. Despite them looking nothing alike, that one fleeting moment was enough to give away their familial relation. Thinking back to the drives home from Pierce Automotive as a kid, Santana was reminded of the one time when her abuelo had mentioned that Brittany's grandparents had adopted their son when he was still an infant. With similar broad grins stretched across their faces, it was clear that their bond was much thicker than blood since even Grandpa Pierce's small mannerisms had found a way to be passed down to his son.

Ushering her family over to where Santana and Tina were standing, Brittany introduced, "This is Tina, our photographer for today, and this is Santana, who has been helping us out with marketing."

"Oh, Santana!" Brittany's mother excitedly cheered as she moved forward to pull the brunette into a strong hug. "Thank you so much for helping Brittany. It has been so nice to finally be able to see her start to relax again."

Caught completely off-guard and honestly having a bit of trouble breathing due to the bone-crushing hold the other woman had on her, Santana forcibly wheezed out, "I-It's really nothing. I'm just glad I could help."

"Mom, let her go. You're going to crush her," Brittany instructed as she lightly hit her mother on the arm to try to get the woman to release her grasp.

Realizing just how tightly she had been holding the woman, Mrs. Pierce quickly dropped her hold and took a small step back while apologizing, "Sorry, I am just really happy to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you over the years, and-"

"Alright, alright," Brittany cut in before the woman could continue. Trying to move on from the moment, Brittany introduced, "So, these are my parents, Whitney and Pierce Pierce." She then pointed in the direction of the older gentleman, adding, "And that is my grandfather, Gerald Pierce, but you can just call him Gerry."

"Hello, Santana. It's nice to finally meet you," the man commented as he reached his hand out to greet her, which she easily returned. Squinting his eyes briefly in curiosity, he noted, "You know, you look really familiar."

"My abuelo used to be a customer here. I came here with him a few times, so maybe you remember me from that? His name was Pedro Lopez."

"Oh, you're Pedro's granddaughter? Wow, you sure have grown. I remember when you were this big," the man noted with a bright smile as he held is hand up to indicate her height as a child. He then continued, "You're abuelo was a really good man. I was pretty torn up when I first heard about his passing."

"Yeah, I think we all were," Santana replied as she thought back to the kind and generous man that had been the only grandfather she had ever known.

"I completely understand," Gerald agreed. The man gave a short but meaningful pause before adding, "Well, it really is good to see you after all this time, and Brittany has kept me in the loop about all the assistance you have provided to the shop. This garage has been my life's work, so it really does mean a lot to hear everything you are doing to help keep this dream alive for us. Seriously, thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Pierce. I'm just glad to have been at the right place at the right time," Santana smiled as she chanced a glance over at the blonde mechanic, who met her with a warm grin and sparkling blue eyes.

It didn't take long for Tina to finish setting up for the first shot, and once she was ready to begin, Tina gave everyone a brief synopsis of her vision for the photoshoot, noting, "So, the theme for today is ever-popular From Our Family to Yours vibe, so we are going to get multiple shots with all of you together outside and around the shop. Any questions?" Whitney's hand instantly shot up in response. When the woman did not immediately verbalize her inquiry, Tina motioned toward her and asked, "Yes, Mrs. Pierce."

Lowering her arm, the older woman asked, "Is there any way you could photoshop Brittany's sister into the pictures? She had an important test today and couldn't be taken out of school."

"Mom, please don't make Tina's job harder than it already is," Brittany scolded. "Hailey probably doesn't even want to be on the billboards."

Trying to compromise, Tina said, "I'll tell you what. If you touch base with Hailey and she would like to be included in the pictures, then let me know, and I can see what I can do."

"Perfect!" Whitney replied as she allowed Tina to return to the task at hand.

It took a little over an hour to get all of the pictures Tina had in mind, both with the full Peirce family and some with just Brittany and her grandfather. Once they were done, Brittany allowed her family pack up to return home before asking Tina, "Hey, do you think I could also get a couple pictures with Santana really quick?"

The marketing associate, who had stood directly behind the photographer the entire shoot, suddenly spoke up, inquiring, "Me?"

Shining blue eyes shifted over to meet hers as Brittany noted, "Yeah, San. The past few weeks have been some of the most special times of my life, and I never want to ever forget it."

"Yeah?" the brunette questioned in a hopeful tone.

"Definitely," the mechanic reassured with a little nod of her head.

Knowing she could never tell the woman no, especially when she was looking at her with the most beautifully hopeful grin, Santana answered, "Alright, then. Let's do it."

Trying to hide her excitement at seeing the pair momentarily lost in their own little world, Tina replied, "I don't mind sticking around for a little longer either. Where would you like your pictures taken?"

Turning to take a good look at the shop behind her, the blonde brought a hand up to her chin in thought before spinning back around to respond, "Well, I think maybe a few out here in front of the shop would be nice. Oh, and maybe a couple up in my office?"

Tina gave the woman an inquisitive look, clearly curious as to why Brittany's office would be so special to them. Her curiosity only grew as she saw Santana trying her best to hide a bashful smile to no avail, but she decided to act like she didn't notice as she stated, "Yeah, we can do that."

"Score!" Brittany cheered as she began bouncing on her toes in excitement and motioned for the marketing associate to take the empty space beside her.

After another half-hour of picture taking, the women helped Tina pack up all of her equipment and watched as the photographer drove off. Santana was just about to make a comment about how late it had gotten when she felt her phone buzzing in her coat pocket. Spotting that it was her mother calling, she answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Santana. How was the photoshoot?"

"We just finished. Tina was able to get some great pictures."

"That's great, Sweetheart," Maribel assured before shifting the conversation to the real reason behind why she was calling. "Hey, I just got off the phone with your abuela and remembered our talk the other day. Did you ever get a chance to speak with Brittany about your abuelo's truck?"

Santana chanced a glance up at the woman before responding in a quieter tone, "No, I haven't, but I'll just grab some pictures while we're over there tonight and ask if she can look at them another time."

Feeling a gentle nudge at her side, Santana looked up at Brittany pointing at herself with an inquisitive expression as she mouthed, "Me?"

Santana gave a little nod of her head before realizing that her mother had continued talking. "Sorry, Ma. What was that?"

"I was just saying that we can try that, but I'm not really sure if photos are really going to give an accurate depiction of the true state of the truck."

"Well, that's the best we can do right now. She has had a long day, and-"

Suddenly, she noticed Brittany make a jerky movement from out of the corner of her eye and glance up to find the woman rolling her eyes. Furrowing her brow, she watched the other woman motioned for her to hand over the phone. Instantly knowing where this was most likely going to go, Santana released a sigh and gave her the device without protest.

"Hi, Mrs. Lopez. It's Brittany. I'm doing well today. How are you? Good, good. So, what were you hoping I could help you with?" the mechanic asked as she looked down at her feet, which were kicking around a small rock that had found its way to the middle of the paved parking lot. "Mhmm. Yeah, that would be no problem. Like Santana said, we just finished up at the shop. Would now be a good time to go by? Okay, great. I'll talk to Santana about getting Señora Lopez's address. Oh, it's really no problem at all. Yeah, hope you have a good rest of the day, too. Alright, bye."

Once the call was disconnected, Santana took back her phone while insisting, "You really don't have to do that. I can just take some pictures and text them over to you later."

Reaching down, Brittany took both of the brunette's hands in her own and held them in the space between them, her thumbs gently gliding across soft skin as she assured, "San, I want to do this for you and your family. It is really not a big deal."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, fine, but if she says anything rude or offensive, then please let me know so I can put her in her place."

Brittany immediately dropped their held hands and took a step back at the comment, which confused the brunette. Just as she began to worry what she had done something wrong, Brittany stated, "Santana, I really, really like you, but I can't in good conscience let you shove an old woman."

"What?" Santana practically shouted in surprise before realizing how her words could be misconstrued. She then clarified, "No, I didn't mean I was going to push her. I just meant that I was going to make sure she didn't make any weird comments." Noticing the guarded but moderately confused eyes that were pointed in her direction, she added, "In a strictly verbal way, I swear."

"I-" the blonde started to say before catching on. Heaving a sigh of relief, Brittany stated, "Okay, that is much more reasonable than what I thought you were trying to say."

Releasing a hearty laugh, Santana insisted, "I assure you that I wouldn't even stand a chance. That woman would have me on my ass in three seconds flat if I even dared to try anything like that."

"She would?"

"Oh, definitely. My abuela is like a chihuahua. She thrives off spite," Santana joked as she turned toward her car to leave, adding, "Plus, where do you think I learned how to fight?"

The two women found themselves standing on the front steps of Alma Lopez's residence approximately twenty minutes later. Knocking on the door, the pair waited for the woman to answer. A few short moments later, Santana's grandmother opened the door with a warm smile and pulled her granddaughter into a tight embrace, commenting, "Hello, Santana." Realizing there was someone else standing behind her granddaughter, she pulled away to inquire, "Oh, and who might this be?"

"Abuela, this is Brittany. She is Mr. Pierce's granddaughter."

"Ah, Brittany! It is so good to finally meet you," Alma responded as she pulled the blonde into her own hug. Pulling away, the older woman held the blonde at an arm's length and glanced over to tell her granddaughter, "Santana, ella es muy hermosa. Con razón que estás enamorada de ella."

Santana instantly baulked at her grandmother's comment as she chanced a glance at Brittany, who was staring wide-eyed at the woman with a blush dusting her cheeks. Rubbing a hand over her face in frustration, Santana informed, "Abuela, Brittany understands Spanish."

"O-Oh!" the older woman replied in a surprised tone as she shifted her gaze between the two women. Giving a nervous chuckle, she noted, "Well, at least it was something good this time, right? I've honestly said much worse remarks in front of people I thought couldn't understand me."

Taking a deep breath, Santana decided to not acknowledge her grandmother's statement as she asked, "Abuela, can we please just come in? Brittany is here to look at Abuelo's truck for you."

"Oh, of course! Follow me," Alma instructed as she waved them in and took off through the house with the two younger women in tow. Upon entering the garage, they found a vehicle that was protected by a durable fitted material.

Carefully uncovering the vehicle, Brittany caught sight of a shiny burgundy and white square-bodied truck and noted, "San, this is not exactly what I had in mind when you mentioned that your abuelo had an old clunker that time I changed your car battery."

"A what?" Alma practically yelled as she threw her hand over her chest. Snapping her gaze over toward her granddaughter, the woman scolded, "Santana, your abuelo is probably rolling over in his grave right now! You know he was obsessed with this truck."

"I mean, I don't know car lingo. How was I supposed to know that the word clunker had such a negative connotation?" the brunette muttered under her breath with a shrug.

As the mechanic continued to talk around the perimeter of the vehicle, she commented, "You can certainly tell he kept up with the maintenance of this truck. This an extremely well-kept Cheyenne, all things considered given its age. Even the clearcoat is in pretty good condition," she noted as she gently ran her fingers over the exterior surface of the vehicle. Glancing over to Santana's abuela, she requested, "Would it be okay if I checked out the engine bay?"

"Knock yourself out," Alma stated as she retrieved the keys from the hook located just inside the door and handed them over, adding, "I can also get the original title and vehicle information if you'd like. Pedro was pretty meticulous with all the paperwork for this truck."

"That would be perfect. Thank you," Brittany stated as she unlocked the vehicle and reached down to pop the truck's bonnet. Moving around to unlatch the hood, she lifted it up and excitedly noted, "Oh, wow. It looks to be pretty much all stock."

"I wouldn't doubt it. He was always pretty adamant about getting any parts he could from the original manufacturer," Alma confirmed as she walked back in with the aforementioned documents and handed them over to the blonde.

Once the prop rod was securely in place, Brittany carefully flipped open the paperwork and read it over, noting, "Okay, this is a 1974 Chevy Cheyenne K10, so we have four-wheel drive. It also looks like this is the shortbed model." Removing a flashlight from her coat's breast pocket, the mechanic carefully kneeled down to look under the vehicle. After a quick inspection, she asked, "Do you know if he applied undercoat to the truck? There's hardly any rust down here."

"Yes, he had it recoated every fall. My husband was very particular about rust-proofing this vehicle since it was apparently a known issue."

"Well, that is definitely going to help with pricing," Brittany assured as she stood back up and looked back at the older woman to ask, "Does it run?"

"It does, but I believe there are still some mechanical issues. I took it over to your grandfather after Pedro first passed to let him give it a once over. I couldn't afford to get the necessary repairs at the time, but I believe I slipped his recommendations into those files if you keep looking."

Locating a piece of paper that contained her grandfather's writing, Brittany quietly muttered to herself, "Okay, so Grandpa suggested new rod bearings, timing belt, head gasket, oil pan gasket, spark plugs, and fuel pump. The fuel gauge was stuck on full, so there's probably an issue with the fuel sending unit. The tires were starting to show some wear, and the brake pads were worn." She then opened the driver-side door and took a look at the dash as she retrieved her phone from her back pocket. Unlocking the device, she brought up a web browser and commented, "We're sitting at just over a hundred-thousand miles." After a few minutes of research, Brittany informed the other two women, "So based on what I am seeing online, I would probably estimate that a 1974 Cheyenne K10 in this condition would go for about seventeen- to eighteen-thousand, but you might be able to get as much as twenty-two-thousand for it if you make the necessary repairs. I can't guarantee how much it would cost to repair it since additional issues might be identified while tearing down the engine to replace the rod bearings, but that would be my general assessment so far."

"Well, that's certainly more information than I had before," Alma noted as she moved to take the mechanic's hands between her own. "Thank you so much, Brittany. You have no idea how much your help means to me. Now, how much do you charge for home visits like these?"

"No, no, Señora Lopez. I'm not charging you for today. Santana is already doing me a huge favor by helping me with my auto shop, so this is just a small way that I can help return the favor."

"Well, then can you at least stay for dinner so I can serve you a warm meal?"

"Oh, you really don't have to do that."

"Why not? Do you already have dinner plans?" the older woman challenged.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then, perfect! You have no other excuse but to join," Alma noted before reassuring, "Please, I insist."

Not liking the way the older woman was speaking to the blonde, Santana attempted to warn, "Abuela-"

"Hush, Santana. I'm talking Brittany right now," Abuela chided before turning her attention back to the other woman as her expression took on a look that was akin to puppy dog eyes. "It would really make my day if you would join us." Santana couldn't help but scoff at the sight, having already seen her grandmother do this act many times before in order to get her way. Not wanting Brittany to catch wind of her undermined tactics, the older woman instantly threw a wayward glare in her granddaughter's direction that effectively stopped the brunette from trying to interrupt the interaction for the time being. "Brittany, are you going to deny an old, dying woman her wish to feed such a lovely Good Samaritan who has been more than generous with her time and expertise?"

"I, uh- N-no?"

"Abuela!" Santana scolded her grandmother as she gently turned Brittany to face her. "Don't listen to her, Britt. She has diverticulitis, which just requires her to be on a low-fiber diet. She is not going to fucking die from it."

"Language, Santana!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry for swearing, but also, don't pressure Brittz here into staying for dinner if she doesn't want to."

"I was just trying to be nice," Alma tried to defend.

"Well, a perfect place to start would be simply accepting no as an answer."

"And a perfect place for you to start would be to-"

"I don't mind staying for dinner if you really want me to that badly," Brittany cautiously cut in as she nervously looked between the two fiery women, who were both participating in a staredown.

Hearing the blonde's response, Santana's anger suddenly lost its bite as she looked over at the mechanic and asked, "Are you sure? You really don't have to stay just to appease her."

"Yeah, it's okay. I hadn't really had time to figure out what to eat for dinner yet anyway, so I can stick around if she'd like. That is, as long as you are staying, too."

The brunette quietly chucked to self before confirming, "Yes, Britt, I'm not going anywhere. My mother and I have dinner over here at least once a week."

"Alright, good. Then, I'll stay, too."

"Fantastic!" Alma cheered before notifying the blonde, "You're actually in for a special treat, Brittany. I'm making my famous lechon asado and caparinias."

"Oh, I have had lechon asado before, but I don't think I've ever heard of caparinias."

Feeling that she should let the blonde know exactly what she was walking into, Santana leaned in to explain, "Abuela typically makes her lechon asado the Cuban way by marinating the pork in mojo criollo. She also likes to serve it with sautéed vegetables and fried sweet plantains. Caparinias are a mixed alcoholic drink my abuelo was obsessed with. I like to think of them as kind of like a margarita but way smoother. Instead of tequila, they use a Brazilian rum-like liquor made from sugarcane juice that is called cachaça, which makes the drink sweeter and less tart."

The blonde's brows raise in surprise, "Wow, those both sound really delicious."

"Good because you'll be having some tonight. Now, come on inside the house so I can finish cooking before it gets too late," Abuela concluded as she moved to return to the kitchen and complete the meal preparations. Her voice continued to drift in from the other room as she requested, "Santana, could you also please call your mother to see when she plans to get here?"

Rolling eyes, Santana slipped her phone out of her coat and began dialing her mother's number.

While Santana got her mother's expected time of arrival, Brittany set out to return the truck to its previous state by closing all of the opened compartments and replacing its protective cover once she was done. As Santana led the blonde back through the kitchen, she informed her grandmother, "Mom said she is about ten minutes away."

The brunette had initially intended on going to the living room so Brittany could finally get off her feet, but that plan quickly fell to the wayside once Brittany caught sight of all the family photos hanging the main hallway. Stopping to take a closer look, the blonde started to intently scan through all of the pictures until she found what she had apparently been looking for. Pointing to a photograph of a little girl that was standing between a younger Maribel and a man she did not recognize, Brittany inquired, "San, is this little girl you?"

Walking over to see the picture she was referring to, Santana confirmed, "Yeah, that was from one of the very few family vacations we took together. I don't really remember much of it. I think I was maybe six or seven?"

"So, this is your dad?" Brittany gently asked as she pointed to the man standing beside the younger brunette.

"Yep, that's him," Santana replied without elaborating further.

The blonde took a long, hard look at the man that she had gathered was no longer involved in Santana's life. At first glance, anyone would think that they were a perfectly happy family, with all three members sporting easy smiles as they waved to the camera. She could not help but wonder what could have happened to change that, but she quickly put an end to that train of thought, not wanting to accidentally piece together details that Santana was not quite ready for her to know.

As she continued to look through the old photos, Brittany spotted many other pictures of Santana throughout the years, which ranged from her grandparents holding her in the hospital after she was born to Santana competing in cheerleading competitions during high school. In addition to photos of the brunette, Brittany also caught sight of the woman's elusive father throughout his own life. Seeing the abundance of pictures of the man, it was easy for Brittany to assume, "Your abuela is his mother?"

"Yeah," Santana answered, knowing full well that she was giving the blonde a further peek behind the curtain. She wasn't sure if it was the security she felt while inside her grandmother's home or if it was simply by being in the blonde's presence, but she supposed the answer did not matter either way. In this moment, she felt okay with sharing these small yet pivotal details about her life as long as it was with the woman standing closely at her side.

"Is she still in communication with him?" Brittany continued to question as she stared down another picture of Santana's father, who wore a broad grin as he held up a large fish he had caught while out on a boat.

"No, I don't think Abuela has talked to him since shortly after my-" Santana absentmindedly started to explain before abruptly cutting herself off. Self-consciously folding her arms over her chest, she realized that she wasn't ready to go quite that far with the personal details. Looking away, she restated, "It's been a really long time since any of us have spoken to him."

Brittany knew the woman was not going to elaborate further regarding the source of the riff between Dr. Lopez and his family, but she was able to pick up on the faraway look in her eyes. Not wanting her to focus on potentially bad times in her life, Brittany reached her hand around to rest on the woman's hip and gently pulled her into her side as she quietly whispered, "You were a really cute kid, San."

That seemed to snap the brunette out of her haze as she quickly blinked her eyes a few times. Glancing up at the woman, she asked, "Yeah? You think?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course," Brittany insisted as she pointed over to picture of her Trick-or-Treating as a kid. "Look at this photo of you. Who were you even supposed to be dressed up as?"

"That year, I went as Uncle Jesse from Full House."

The brunette nearly jumped out of the woman's grasp as the blonde unexpectedly sputtered with laughter at her answer. Brittany was quick to pull Santana back into her side, however, as she went back in for another look, this time leaning in even closer as she concluded, "Yep, the absolute cutest!"

Happy holidays, everyone! I really hope you enjoyed this little gift I put together. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially when it all started to come together. If everything works out, I will hopefully be back really soon with the eighth chapter, which will be the Pierce Automotive Christmas Party. Thankfully, I'll be on vacation until Monday, so I'll have more time than usual to dedicate to writing. Anyway, please let me know what you think, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season if you celebrate.

P.S.: I just wanted to talk a moment to personally acknowledge that it has been just over ten years since posting my first holiday oneshot, I And Love And You. Despite all its flaws, I still really love going back every Christmas to reread it. Hopefully I can have some extra time next year to give it a little refresh or maybe even a follow-up chapter. Regardless, I really love that little fic, so I wanted to talk about it for just a moment.

Tranlations:

"Santana, ella es muy hermosa. Con razón que estás enamorada de ella." – "Santana, she is very beautiful. No wonder you're in love with her."