'You're such a dork, Lopez' Santana thought to herself, pushing herself to maintain her pace on the elliptical machine.

She had been working out for nearly an hour, but had yet to really get going. Cardio was pretty important for stage performances, and so Emma made sure that they had at least two hours for that a day. Santana liked working out anyway, so it wasn't a problem, her colleagues however, tended to chafe at the directive a bit more.

For example, Mercedes was on a treadmill next to her, going at nearly the minimum speed, reading a script that someone had sent her. She tended to think that she did most of her exercising on stage, and didn't really need to work beyond that. Mike Chang, one of the lead male characters, and head of the ensemble dancers, felt he'd done enough, and was lounging on a weight bench nearby, flipping through the channels on the TV. Rachel had declined to join them, she usually chose to work out in her own personal gym because of her "particular sensitivities to unpleasant odors'. Normally Santana would have argued, but it meant not having Rachel around for a few hours, so she was all for it.

Today, she was going at full tilt, desperate to do something with her mind and body that didn't include worrying about hosting Saturday Night Live, and that day was fast approaching. Her agent had spent the better part of the last weekend (on Emma's direction) making sure that this engagement would in no way affect her Broadway performance, and then convincing Emma (on Santana's direction) to give her an entire week off from the show. This had been less successful, and Santana was looking at five full days off (her longest vacation in a while) that would take her from the end of the Wednesday matinee until Sunday, and then Monday she'd always had off.

And she would need it. The day of the host dinner had finally arrived, and she only had one more show, and then it was on to Saturday Night Live glory. In only a few short hours, she would be wining and dining with the cast that made her laugh every Saturday. She felt like she might vibrate right out of her skin, she was so excited, but she obviously couldn't tell anybody that. She was Santana Lopez after all.

"All you've gotta do is play it cool. Don't think about how this is all you've wanted since you were 16. They should be happy to meet you! You're Santana Lopez, Star of stage and the small screen. They're going to be be eating out of your hand."

Santana had been talking under her breath, but she heard a chuckle beside her.

"Giving yourself one of your patented Santana Lopez pep talks, huh? I remember that from opening night of West Side. I thought you were going to pass out."

Santana laughed in spite of herself. Her very first show (one that Mercedes had worked on as well), was a roller coaster ride from funding to production. It was then that she found out how invaluable her working relationship with Quinn was, and how amazing a person like Emma could be when it came to keeping the trains running on time. As much as she bristled against the constant pull from the two of them, she had nothing but respect for their insights.

"Yeah, well, there's nothing nearly that serious going on. That night was the start of my entire Broadway career. This is just another day."

"Oh, you can fool everybody else, San, but you can't fool me. I've known you too long for that."

"Yeah, well, I mean, I guess I'm a little excited. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to lose it or anything, but yeah, I mean, it'll be pretty cool."

Mercedes laughed again. "Fine, I think that might be all I'm going to get from you." She turned off the treadmill, folding up her magazine, and tucking it into her gym bag. "Well, I'm going to go get freshened up for the show, I'll see you later?"

Santana nodded quickly, jumping down from her own machine. "I think I'll head out too. There's something about being the last in the gym that just makes it super creepy. I'd rather be in the theater all alone than here."

"Well, that's no surprise, you love that drafty old building, even though I'm always telling you that it's awful."

"Hey, the Edgar has personality! You don't get that in a lot of the new places. Too slick."

"Less ghosts, you mean."

Mercedes dodged Santana's swat, laughing.

"Don't even joke about that, Mercedes! We do not need some vengeful spirit getting us into trouble. Especially when I'm about to start getting ready for SNL this week."

Santana had just dropped her water bottle into her bag when the door to the gym slammed shut, startling her. She looked up and saw Rachel sprinting towards them.

"And just like that, the bad luck has started."

Rachel gave Santana a look, but couldn't wipe the worry from her brow. She held up her phone insistently.

"You don't know how right you are, Santana. Look at this! As soon as I saw it, I had to get down here right away. I know how terrible the reception is, and I couldn't risk a text."

Santana peered closely, taking the phone from Rachel's hands. "Berry, you're freaking me out, okay? What the hell- Holy shit."

Mercedes walked closer to them, while Santana stared at the phone screen intently.

Rachel could barely contain herself. "It's Hapa. Blaine Anderson's place? Apparently, last night it got shut down for a health code violation, and it's expected to be closed until the end of the month!"

"Oh no, no, no, no." Santana moaned, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "This can't be happening, this can't be!"

"Well, maybe there's something else to be done. Just go with your back up place." Mercedes said, patting Santana gently on the shoulder.

Santana's eyes went wide. "Back up place? I don't have back up place."

"Are you seriously telling me that as important as this whole thing is to you, you didn't bother coming up with a Plan B?" Rachel asked.

"No, troll, I didn't, and now isn't really the time to rub it in my face." Santana snapped.

"I get it Santana, but that was kind of a bad idea on your part." Mercedes added. She rolled her eyes at Santana's glare, and continued. "But, at this point, what can you do? So, what's the plan?"

"I don't know, 'Cedes. There's no way I'll be able to get a reservation for like twenty five people at this point in the city at any kind of restaurant that actually is not terrible."

Santana sank to the floor. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Okay, San, just breathe, just breathe. Put your head between your legs." Rachel cooed, rubbing Santana's back gently.

"What the hell am I going to do? This whole thing is ruined." Santana could feel her voice hitch, but the feeling of helplessness was so deep in her chest, she couldn't help it. She could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes, and a few dropped from her lashes before she could stop them.

There was a moment of hopeless desperation in the air, but after a moment, Mercedes spoke up excitedly.

"We don't need a restaurant! We have a place that we can use."

"What do you mean?" Santana sniffled.

"Remember I was telling you about the producer that I'm working with on my new album? Sugar Motta, you've heard of her, right?"

"Yeah, a little, Mercedes, but I hardly think this is the time to be name dropping-"

"No, no, Santana, she's got this gorgeous place on the Upper West Side, and she says she never uses it, and it's HUGE, and she said if I ever wanted to hang out there, or have friends over, just give her a call! And you should see it Santana, it's like something out of MTV Cribs. It's got this incredible foyer, and like a huge fish tank, and an amazing kitchen, and dining room, and even a room for karaoke!"

"Wait, I don't get it-"

"What Mercedes is saying is that you can hold the dinner there, Santana."

Santana brightened for a moment, but then faded again. "That's a great idea, but I don't have any food. What am I supposed to feed them? Take out?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "Well, unfortunately, I don't think I can miss this afternoon's show, otherwise I would treat you to one of my famous vegan masterpieces-"

"Pass."

"Buuut, I happen to know a couple of people in the crew that can help you."

"The Shining Twins?"

"Be nice, Santana."

Madison and Mason were twins, and though they were always cheery and upbeat, there was definitely something a little unsettling about them, especially when they were finishing each other's sentences. Mason was an understudy for one of the ensemble parts, and could sing and dance well enough. Meanwhile, when he wasn't waiting in the wings, he was helping out Madison who was asn assistant to the lead tech on the production. It was a role with a little more respectability, and Madison seemed to thrive on the tiny bit of seniority that it gave her over her twin.

Luckily for Santana, she was just out of their earshot when she voiced her insult, and tried to put on her best smile as she approached.

"Just hear me out, Santana." Rachel said, pulling her closer. Santana nodded and Rachel continued, gesturing towards both of the twins in turn.

"I was just talking to Madison and Mason the other day, and they explained that when they first finished high school, they had been exploring their love of fine dining. And that took them to South America for two years learning all about Chilean cuisine."

Santana perked up. "Really?"

Madison nodded. "Yep, our mom is from Chile, and she taught us everything she knew. We don't cook that much anymore, but we like to throw dinner parties from time to time, and we get rave reviews."

"See? You could have them do the cooking, and it'll be just like a restaurant. I already messaged them, and they said they'd be happy to do it, but they just have a few requests."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Well," Mason began. "I want to have at least ten shows in the next two months where I get to perform. Our parents are coming from back home, and I want them to see me actually singing and stuff."

"And what else?"

"Speaking of parents, we're going to need some tickets, four total, but for whatever shows we want." Madison added.

"Is that it?" Santana said suspiciously.

"And one more thing." Madison said sheepishly. "There's this creepy tech who keeps cornering me, and asking to sniff my hair. I want him on a different schedule or something."

Santana cocked her head. "That one doesn't even need to be a request, consider it done."

"What do you say?" Rachel asked. "I mean, it's not like you have much of a choice."

"I guess not." Santana said with a sigh. "You two are in. Do you need anybody else, or anything else?"

Madison stuck out her hand to shake Santana's, and shook her head with a smile. "Nope, Mason and I work best when it's just the two of us. We will also need your credit card, for supplies, and the key of the place where we're doing the cooking. What's the budget?"

Santana didn't hesitate. "It's got a limit of twenty grand, but I doubt you'll need that much. Go crazy. Within reason, of course. I'll get the info about the place from Mercedes."

"Sounds good to us."

"And if you really manage to pull it off, I'll give you twenty shows in four months, and ten tickets to use whenever you want."

"Seriously?!"

The twins nearly jumped up in excitement, and each shook Santana's hand again. She took out her wallet, pulling out a heavy, black credit card, and pointed it at each of them seriously.

"I'm counting on you two. Don't screw this up."

They seemed to salute in unison, and Santana nearly did a double take.

"You can count on us boss!"

They took the card, and scuttled off, leaving Rachel and Santana in the hallway.

Santana sighed again. "Okay, now I've just got to explain why they're not here to the rest of the tech staff."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be alright. We've learned a valuable lesson here, Santana: never be without a Plan B!"

Santana smiled in spite of herself, putting an arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"Yeah, dwarf, tell me about it."

\

Brittany had to admit that the abrupt change in venue for Santana Lopez's inaugural Host Dinner left her wondering about how good of an event this was going to be. But once she had gotten out of her Uber and in front of the building that housed the place, she was quickly gaining confidence.

The place was swanky.

She had ridden with Tina, since they had come from 30 Rock, and could hear a gasp from the other woman as they stepped onto the curb. She pulled down her skirt, and rearranged her jacket, smoothing out the sides.

"You really should stop fussing with that, you look awesome. I mean, literal smoke stack. If I were Santana Lopez, I would start humping you the moment you came through the door." Tina offered.

Brittany ducked her head to hide the flash of color that flooded her cheeks, closing the car door behind Tina, and offering her arm. While Tina had chosen the tallest heels in her closet, Brittany had opted for the most contour hugging dress she had, paired with a cute half jacket and bright pink Vans. Her hair was curled, and piled in a messy bun on her head. She didn't want to sound too full of herself, but she agreed with Tina. And, honestly, she'd dressed that way on purpose. She wasn't necessarily trying to seduce Santana Lopez, but if she saw her and just happened to fall in love, all the better. It would just end up being a happy coincidence.

She approached the door with Tina on her arm, and smiled at the doorman who opened it wide.

"Wow, how'd you know we weren't just some randos from the street." Brittany said jokingly.

"Ms. Lopez gave us a detailed list of who to look out for, Ms. Pierce. Straight ahead to the elevator, and up to the penthouse. You'll know where to go from there."

Brittany smiled and waved goodbye, leading Tina through the halls.

"The penthouse, holy cow, Brit, this chick is loaded." Tina said.

"I definitely don't remember this from any of her interviews. I thought she still lived in the Bronx."

"I guess she's moving on up like the Jeffersons."

They both laughed at that, but once they'd stepped out of the elevator to the penthouse, there really wasn't else they found very funny. Whatever they were expecting, this wasn't it. The place was less like an apartment, and more like a castle. Brittany didn't think she'd ever seen so big a condo in all of New York City. Relaxing music wafted down from the built in sound system, and before they could even blink, there was a class of champagne in their hands. A rather pale young man with strikingly black hair smiled at them, and led them to another room.

"Welcome, Ms. Pierce, and Ms. Cohen-Chang. Ms. Lopez will be with you in just a minute, if you'll have a seat in the drawing room."

"Drawing room?" Tina mouthed to Brittany, behind the young man's back.

Brittany just shrugged, and took a seat on one of the luxurious chairs, sitting primly on the edge.

The man left, and it was just the two of them, so Tina crossed the room, looking closely at the fish tank that seemed to take up most of the space.

"This is incredible. This tank has got to be like two stories high."

Brittany only mumbled in reply. Her mind was already a few miles away, honestly. The invitation had said arrive at eight o'clock, but she had been worried about arriving on time, so she'd made Tina leave early, and now it was only seven forty-five, and they were the only ones there, and she hated it. If there was one thing Brittany couldn't stand is when you're trying to put the finishing touches on an event, and someone shows up early. It was like she was trying to come off as a gigantic dork to Santana.

She looked around the room, and while she had to admit there was definitely an air of impressiveness to it all, it really didn't strike her as Santana Lopez. They'd never met, and Brittany never claimed to have any special insight into the woman, but she'd read more than enough interviews to have a distinct feeling of her personality, and the garish displays of wealth that were now surrounding her didn't feel very authentic.

A few moments later, voices from the hallway came towards her, and she stood quickly to greet them.

"If you'll just wait here, Ms. Lopez will be with you in a moment."

The man from before led her castmates Alex and Mickey into the room, and Brittany gave them a quick hug before following him out into the hallway.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't catch your name."

He turned and smiled. "Ah, that was my fault. I'm Mason, I work on Santana- I mean, Ms. Lopez's show. I'm just helping out tonight."

"That's sweet of you. I was just wondering if you could point me in the direction of the little girl's room."

"Sure. It's right around the corner, first door on the left. I'll show you." He went to walk down the hall, but the ding of the elevator indicated more visitors. "Sorry, do you think you can find it? I'm supposed to be showing people in."

"No problem. I'm sure I can get there. Thanks!"

Mason scurried off and Brittany made her way down the hall. To be honest, she wasn't at all sure that she could find the bathroom. She had a terrible sense of direction, and the place was huge after all. She turned around the corner that she was pretty sure Mason had indicated, and looked around carefully. There were several doors, and Brittany started opening them all. One seemed like a weird dining room, and she couldn't resist going around to take a peek. There were several golden records hanging from the walls, and she just had to take a closer look.

She walked towards the records and frowned when she got up close. Instead of mentioning Santana Lopez and all the fantastic work she'd done on Billie the records seemed to be for someone named Sugar Motta. Brittany's frowned deeper. She knew that name, but she couldn't remember where. She went to reach for her phone, but cursed to herself remembering that she'd left it on the table beside the couch. She began walking, noting the titles on all of the records. Some of them she'd actually heard of before, they were dance and party songs that got a lot of radio play. But who was Sugar Motta to Santana Lopez? Maybe they lived together? Santana didn't seem like the kind of person who needed a roommate.

Brittany shook herself. The thought had made her a little sad, and she'd had no right to be. She never even met Santana before to start being jealous of her hypothetical girlfriend. Suddenly, a commotion from a nearby door caught her attention. She walked slowly to the door, pushing it gently open a crack. Inside, a woman who looked almost exactly like Mason was putting the finishing touches on a plate. Beside her was a figure that Brittany would have known anywhere.

It was Santana Lopez.

She was standing near the plates, practically wringing the towel she held in her hands to shreds. Brittany smiled softly. At least she felt a little bit better knowing that Santana was as nervous as she was. She tuned in to what they were saying.

"Do you think this is enough, Madison? I can run to the shop down the street and see if they have any finger food or something."

Madison laughed as she ladled some sauce onto one of the plates. "Nah, I think we're good. I think you should go out there and meet with your guests, have a glass of wine or something. Relax. We've got it."

"Relax? Yeah, I don't think so. I'm practically freaking out. Mercedes said she was going to be here after the show was over, and I'm getting the feeling that she's going to be late. Plus, Sugar's fish tank is giving me the creeps. I couldn't relax if I wanted to."

"You've gotta do something, because you pacing back in the kitchen is not helping me finish any of this any faster."

"Fine." There was a bit of a whine in Santana's voice, and Brittany smiled at the sound of it. "I'm going to go splash some cold water on my face, re-apply my foundation, and go kick some ass."

"There you go! You've got it now. Break a leg."

Brittany was happy Santana had found her confidence, but before she could make any significant decisions about her next move, she realized that Santana was marching towards her with confidence. She only had time to take one step back before her shoes snagged on the ornate Persian rug, and she tumbled ass over tea kettle to the floor.

"Oh my god, Brittany!" Santana yelled, rushing forward.

Brittany was fine, of course, one of the first things she'd learned when she'd studied dance was how to fall, but the familiarity with which Santana had said her name unsteadied her for a moment.

She stood up quickly sticking out her hand. "Santana Lopez, I presume?"

Santana's smile was wide and tight, and Brittany was worried that she'd screwed up more than she thought, but Santana finally took her head, and shook it delicately.

"Hi, yes, hello. I'm Santana Lopez, and you're Brittany Pierce, right? I, uh, I recognized you from the show. From Saturday Night Live, I mean, of course. Though, I'm sure you've been on other shows too."

Santana felt the alarm rising in her chest more and more as she pumped Brittany's hand. At first she'd been startled. A little weirdness was fine when one was startled. But she felt herself babbling on and on, and she could feel her good first impression slipping away. Thankfully, Brittany disengaged her hand, and gestured towards the wall.

"I was just looking for the bathroom, and I noticed all these gold records. These are amazing!"

Grateful for the change in subject, Santana nodded happily in agreement.

"Yeah, they're Sugar's. Sugar Motta. She's my friend Mercedes' friend. Well, they're not really friends, they just know each other. Sugar produced Mercedes last album."

"Obviously!" Brittany said, smacking her hand to her forehead. "That's where I know the name Sugar Motta! I just got Mercedes' last album, and I was going over the production team. Not that I normally do that. I mean, I do normally do that because I'm into, like, knowing who all came together to make an album. Cause it's really a team effort, you know?"

Brittany wished it were possible to take words that had already been spoken and stuff them back into her mouth. Her normal ability to speak casually with everyone (something that had come in really handy when Hillary Clinton had appeared on the show), seemed to be failing her at the moment, and she wasn't sure why. It probably had something to do with the slinky strapless dress that Santana was wearing. One that accentuated all of her best qualities and had a slit nearly up to her hip. Her hand had been straightened, and was curled off to one side, looping into the nape of her neck. Brittany felt her throat become dry all of a sudden, and she cleared it, desperate for something else to talk about.

She noted a flashing light out in the hallway, and pointed with purpose. "Hey, what's that?" She grabbed Santana arm, and hurried out into the hall, towards the pulsating lights that were glinting off of a nearby wall.

For her part, Santana was just happy to be involved, and getting dragged around by one of her favorite (and let's be honest, most attractive) SNL castmates was a dream come true. Santana was just figuring out Sugar's place, herself, so their destination was as much a surprise to her as it was Brittany.

They stepped through the partially open door, and seemed to go to another world.

"It's a karaoke room!" Brittany said in awe, doing a quick, graceful turn to take it all in. She spotted a console and ran over, pushing a few buttons before Santana had even fully taken it what was happening. "Oh my god, they have so many songs, we have got to do some!"

Santana hesitated. On one hand, she was already having more fun than she'd been having all night. The stress of throwing this party reminded her why she didn't do it, and her idea of of a nice night out was taking a six pack of wine coolers to Mercedes' place and watching Drag Race until they passed out on the couch. On the other hand, Mason had ducked in a little while ago and told her the guests were arriving in droves. She had a responsibility to meet them, didn't she?

As if reading her mind, Brittany reached out a microphone to her, and smiled invitingly. "Don't worry, we'll do one song, and then head out. Just one, I promise."

There was a strange touch of familiarity in her voice, though Brittany tried to hide it. It warmed Santana, and she found herself nodding and smiling before even giving it a second thought. She took the microphone, gripping it in her hand tightly. She felt as nervous as she'd been on opening night of her first high school performance. Like there was so much riding on this, and so much to lose, but also so much to gain. She was on the precipice of a great moment here, she could feel it, if only she could figure out the exact best way to land.

"I've found the perfect song, too!" Brittany said, snapping Santana back to reality.

The music started, and Santana could tear her eyes away from the way that Brittany moved.

Oh don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me

I said you're holding back

She said shut up and dance with me

Her voice started strong, and Santana smiled. She loved this song. She was finally able to pull herself out of the trance that she'd been in, and she did a little twirl herself, joining Brittany on the next lines.

This woman is my destiny

She said oh oh oh

Shut up and dance with me

Brittany reached out her hand, and Santana took it, dancing and swaying along with the music.