My hellish graduate semester is over! Now onto the next semester! Hopefully this means I will be able to post at least a little more regularly. Thank you all for your patience, reviews and favorites. It means the world to me that you guys like this fic! And holy moly it's an amazing time to be alive in the fandom! I CAN'T WAIT FOR FRIDAYYY! :D

Chapter 4

Tuesday seemed to be Brittany's day for speed workouts and Santana kept finding a reason to be at the track that day. Santana held late practice and spent time in her office, so it only made sense for her to get a work out in beforehand.

The cross country team had just gotten out to the track and started their warm up. Brittany was standing next to Unique.

Santana made her way down the bleachers and onto the track.

"Volleyball, you're late." Brittany smiled at Santana and started to slowly jog around the track. Santana joined her.

"If you're going to join our track workouts, the least you can do it be on time. We don't tolerate tardiness." She bumped Santana's elbow with her own. "That'll cost you an extra 800 after practice."

"Ohhh a little rematch from the last time?" Santana smiled at her. "I'm down for that."

Practice went pretty much like their usual speed workouts. Brittany set the pace with her lead runner, Marley, and the other girls knew the splits they had to hit. Santana thought it was cool that the other girls could pace off of each other. She didn't understand much about running, but she was starting to pick up these subtle things.

Santana ran with the number 2 and 3 girls, the girls she cut from her volleyball team. They were nice enough to her and running seemed to be better suited for them; the coordination they lacked on the volleyball court was nowhere to be seen when they were on the track. The three of them ran a few paces behind Brittany, which Santana thoroughly enjoyed. She felt she had a better view. And she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep up with Brittany and Marley the whole practice.

Santana was definitely in shape, but Brittany gave them a good workout, pushing them to run a faster split each time. This was good for Santana's competitive edge. Brittany was a great coach in Santana's eyes; the girls loved her, she was passionate about the sport and really knowledgeable. Plus, she was totally hot in spandex shorts and a tank, so Santana thought it was a win-win.

Brittany and Marley finished their last lap and cheered on the rest of the girls to the finish line.

"Great practice, ladies! I think you're all more than ready for the first meet this Saturday. I know I can't wait!" The team went over to collect their bags, drink some water and stretch out.

Santana had a feeling the team wanted to watch this little "race" that was about to go down.

"You know, it's really unfair we're doing this after practice? Aren't you tired?" Santana was huffing and puffing. She liked to think she was in great shape, but somehow Brittany always managed to leave her out of breath. Not all entirely from the running.

"You're not chickening out, are you? Brittany challenged. "I had to warm you up first." She didn't wink at Santana, but the sparkle in her blue eyes told Santana she wanted to.

"No, never." Santana shut her mouth and put on her most determined face.

"Unique, you know the drill." Brittany handed her the stopwatch. "It'll be an 800. That's two laps. Call out the splits." She smiled at Santana.

Last time they raced, Santana didn't finish that far behind Brittany. Santana had always been super competitive and wasn't going to go down without a fight, even if she had the feeling Brittany was just playing with her.

Unique blew the whistle and they were off. They rounded the first curve of the track, with Britt in the lead and Santana right on her tail. They started the first straight away and Britt called over her should, "Better than I thought." Santana could have sworn she saw Britt smile at her.

But before Santana knew it, Britt took off. Santana tried to keep up the pace, but Brittany was long gone, running much faster than last time. Santana kept going, but it was pointless. Britt was crossing the line by Unique and starting her second lap before Santana was even at the final straightaway of her first lap. She picked up her pace slightly; there was no way she was getting lapped on an 800.

But from across the track, she could take in Brittany's form. Her body was made for running. Her long legs stretched out over the track and it looked like her feet barely touched the ground. Her strides were long and strong and her arms pumped fast, moving her around the track. She crossed the finish line when Santana still had half a lap to run. Santana was more shocked than mad; she sprinted her way back to the starting line and finished the fastest 800 of her life. Brittany seemed to have a way of getting Santana to chase after her. Faster and faster each time, Santana thought to herself and smiled a little.

Britt was huffing and puffing, genuinely tired from that fast 800 she just ran, but she smiled and gave Santana a high five, lowering their hands, but not quite letting go.

"You took it easy on me last time, didn't you?" Santana managed to puff out.

"Yeah, couldn't have me smoking your ass the first time. I was afraid you'd never come back." She smiled at Santana. "And I wanted you to come back."

A small moment passed between the two of them. Santana was aware that Brittany was still holding her hand and she wanted to say something; she wanted to tell Brittany she wanted to be there. Hell, she had made it part of her schedule to come to Brittany's Tuesday practices. But she just stood there, breathless and smiling.

By the time Santana thought to do anything other than smile at Brittany, the rest of the team ran over and Brittany dropped Santana's hand.

"Holy shit, coach. You're fast. Reallyyyy fast." Marley was flabbergasted.

"All the better to make you ladies faster. You'll get there." She smiled at Marley and winked at Santana. "Let's jog a cool down mile."

Santana expected groans from the girls, but everyone just followed Brittany, asking her questions about her collegiate career and when she started running.

Santana joined them, not sure who this perfect stranger was, but hoping to find out soon.

The week passed pretty slow.

Santana didn't really see Brittany much after Tuesday. Except for a small note Britt pushed under her office door, "Hope that didn't hurt your pride too much. –B" with a little packet of icy hot, Santana hadn't seen or heard from Brittany and didn't want to admit it, but she missed her. Santana also might have kept that note from Brittany in her wallet.

Santana noticed the van keys were gone when she got to campus, so Brittany must have taken the team out to a trail for practice. Santana missed the hustle and bustle of them in the hallway outside her office. It was too quiet without them.

Saturday morning was Santana's first away match. She arrived at the school early to meet her team and catch the bus. Their usual travel bus was parked in the parking lot, but there was a very unhappy Sue Sylvester standing by it.

"What are you doing here, Sue?" Santana wasn't too articulate this early in the morning.

She just shook her head irritated. "The idiot van driver called me this morning. He has the flu and cancelled on us. You're going to have to share the bus." Sue almost cringed, waiting to hear Santana's wrath.

Santana's eyebrows raised. "You mean to tell me, that the best team at this college has to share their bus with another less champion-like team!? This is ridiculous, utter insanity." She rose her hands and looked around at the empty parking lot, hoping to catch an innocent bystander. "What te-…"

Santana was cut off by a very chipper and bouncy blonde ponytail coming out of the gym door and heading to the bus.

"Good morning, everyone!" Brittany had her arms full of stuff but she looked just as put together and graceful as ever in black yoga pants and a white coaching polo, even at 6AM.

"Homemade protein shake for you. It's a special blend." Brittany handed Sue a container before the athletic director could even speak. Surprised, Sue eyed the cross country coach suspiciously, but took the drink. She didn't like ass-kissers, but she craved a strong protein shake before 7am.

"And a coffee for you." Now that Sue was distracted, Brittany fully faced Santana and handed her a large Dunkin Donuts coffee. "I didn't know how you took your coffee. So if you want sugar, you can find me on the bus." Brittany casually winked before she walked past them both and boarded the bus.

Both Sue and Santana were dumbfounded. Santana couldn't do anything more but shrug her shoulder and mumble, "No problem, Sue, we can share the bus."

Sue walked away back into the gym sipping her shake, resolutely calmer than she was a few minutes ago.

"So who knew we'd be so lucky and get to share the bus today? It's huge on here!" Santana followed Brittany onto the bus, but it was like walking into a buffet line. Brittany had set up a bunch of different bagels with spreads and little cartons of juice on the front seat. "Brought some breakfast. Cross country runners are big eaters. There's enough for your volleyball girls too."

Santana just sat in her usual front seat near the bus door, which happened to be across from the food Brittany brought. It was still too early for her to digest anything, but that didn't stop her stomach from growling at the delicious smell of fresh bagels.

Sugar came crawling onto the bus, looking as rough and tired as Santana felt. Without missing a beat, Brittany handed Sugar a coffee.

"Magic fairy, she is…" Sugar mumbled under her breath, grabbed a blueberry bagel, and flopped down into the seat across from Santana. She curled up and fell asleep within minutes; Sugar had never been a morning person.

One by one, the volleyball and cross country teams showed up. They were a little surprised to see Brittany there, and even more surprised because she was so chipper. The girls were overly excited about the bagels and the bus was louder than ever before. No one seemed to be mad about sharing.

Mercedes and Unique seemed to hit it off and were even sharing the back row of seats. Santana looked around, shocked to see the teams intermingled between the seats.

Maybe Sue was onto something with this 'Pride Rocks' thing.

Santana didn't want to think more about it; it was too early and she couldn't process seeing Brittany today. This whole thing caught her off-guard. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. Mr. Barclay, the replacement bus driver, had dealt with Santana before. He knew the best way to deal with her was to leave her alone. She barely talked to him and they got along that way.

Brittany greeted him when he got on the bus and held a full blown conversation with him. She laughed at his bad jokes and complimented him on his grandkids pictures. When he was set to go, Britt sat herself down in the seat next to Santana and for the first time in all her years of playing and coaching, Santana didn't mind someone sharing the seat with her.

The bus arrived at the competing school in an hour and a half. Brittany nudged Santana awake. Brittany put Miracle into the bus DVD player at some point and the movie just ended. In the midst of the bus ride, Santana must have laid her head on Britt's shoulder and fell asleep because she found it there now. Brittany jumped out of her seat, "Hope everyone's pumped up now! I know I am!"

Santana was really cold once Britt got up. She needed to stop this and get herself together.

Sugar smirked at her from across the aisle.

"I didn't think Santana Lopez shared her bus seat with anyone." She mocked Santana.

"Don't start with me, Sugs. It's still early." Santana popped a munchkin donut in her mouth and stomped off the bus.

The teams wished each other good luck and parted ways, volleyball inside the gym and cross country to the expansive field that was the start line.

Brittany was super excited to be here. She had never run at this university, but they all felt the same. The smell of the grass, the other teams setting up their areas. Brittany missed competitive running. She made a mental note to sign up for a 5K or marathon ASAP, even though she knew it wasn't the same as this. She missed the comradery of collegiate athletes.

The team led her to their usual area and they helped her sit up the tent. "Stay out of the sun and stay hydrated. It's going to be in the 80s today. Men's race is first so you have plenty of time. I'm going to check in and get our packets; then we can walk the course as a team."

Marley took the freshmen and showed them the bathrooms and locker rooms, while Brittany went to pick up the race packet.

She went over to the green and gold registration desk. "Good morning, how can I help you?" An overly excited college student sat behind the registration table.

"Hi, I'm here from Albright College. Just want to pick up my packet."

"Sure thing. Here it is, right on top! Bibs and pins are inside along with the course map. Good luck!"

The coach in line behind Brittany laughed and whispered, "Wow, she's really happy to be here today."

Britt smiled, "Yeah, for a college student to be that awake on a Saturday morning is almost unheard of. I'm Brittany from Albright." She held out her hand.

"Dana, from Elizabethtown. Pleasure." The woman shook Brittany's hand firmly, never breaking eye contact. It didn't matter that Brittany wasn't the coach last year; she knew Etown was the team to beat in the conference.

"Good luck today, coach." Brittany smiled at Dana and started to walk away.

"Same to you, Brittany. Hope to see you around."

Brittany brought back the packet and handed the girls their numbers. "We're the first school alphabetically in this invitational, so we have numbers 1-6." She handed them pins to secure the race bib. "Let's head out and walk the course."

The team walked, checking the course for advantages. "Use the momentum from this downhill to get you across that field. And don't get stuck at this corner. Also, keep an eye out for these holes. We don't want any twisted ankles." Brittany only continued to impress the girls with her knowledge of cross country running.

The men's race started at 10AM, but since they didn't have a guy's team, they weren't concerned. Brittany led the girls in a warm up jog around the campus.

With 10 minutes to go, she made the girls line up at the starting line. "Ok, this isn't a bad spot. We almost have a straight shot to that cattle chute. Remember what I said; go out fast so you don't get stuck in the back." She made the team do a few high knees and butt kicks to stay warmed up.

"Coach, I can't do this." While the team was doing a short sprint, Marley was back at the line and looked like she was about to cry.

"It's ok, Marley, breathe. Calm down." Brittany pulled Marley behind the starting line and away from the teams starting to line up. Brittany didn't realize that Marley was a runner that got anxious at the starting line. Some of Britt's previous teammates would have slight panic attacks similar to this before they raced.

"Marley, listen to me. Close your eyes and breathe. I want you to picture the race right now. You're going to get out there and stick with the fastest girl. Don't even think, just follow her. And listen to me. I'll be cheering for you every step of the way." Brittany felt Marley's grip on her arms loosen slightly. She made a mental note to not have Marley line up until the last possible moment. While Britt loved the feel of standing at the starting line before the race, taking in her competitors and checking off the people she was going to beat, she knew people who were deathly afraid of it and only came at the starters last call.

As a coach, Brittany was still learning. The starter was getting in place and calling all teams to do the same. She ushered Marley back to the line with the rest of the team. "Huddle up, fast. Ladies, just run your race. It's the first one, so no pressure. We'll go from here. See you out there!" She smiled at them, especially Marley. Brittany took off away from the starting line so she could get in a good position to see the beginning of the race. She also had Unique set up at certain parts of the course she knew would be helpful to have a cheerleader. She saw her team huddle up and heard them yell a soft, "Lions". Another thing they'd work on later.

She heard the starter yell and the gun went off. Girls were headed straight for the cattle chute. She was happy to see Marley had listened to her and went out fast. She tucked herself right behind the first runner and easily cleared the mass of people trying to push through the tape to the next open field.

"That's it, Marley. Stay with her." Britt screamed at the top of her lungs and smiled.

Brittany loved all sports. She loved the excitement and the crowd, the experienced athletes, the madness of it all. But she really loved cross country races. There was something crazy about people running around fields and through mud puddles and across wooden bridges that she absolutely admired.

She ran every inch of the course to make sure she cheered her team on as much as she physically could. She was even pleased to see other coaches that were as into it as she was. They all looked crazy with their clip boards and stop watches dangling from their necks and she loved every second of it.

Her team was doing well. There was about a half mile left of the race. There was a massive pack of girls, which held the majority of Brittany's team. Then there were a few stragglers at the front of the pack and Brittany was super proud to see Marley kept her spot in 2nd place.

Britt found a good spot near the finish line to cheer for her team. As the first place girl and Marley rounded the final corner to the finish line, Brittany saw Marley make her move. She sprinted past the girl and took off. "That's it, Marley! GO!" Britt went crazy and started half jumping, half running closer to the starting line, bumping into Unique who was also screaming for Marley.

The girl on the other team was shocked and Brittany was pleased to see that she ran for Etown. She tried to catch up to Marley, but Marley was too far ahead. Her head coach, Dana, ogled Brittany, but Britt was too busy screaming for Marley to notice. Marley crossed the finish line a good 7.6 seconds ahead of the Etown runner and scanned the crowd for Brittany. Marley started toward her and Britt caught her midair in a jump hug, both of them so excited.

"Coach, I came in first place!" Marley couldn't believe it.

Brittany put her down, "I knew you could do it, Marley. You just have to believe in yourself!" She put her arm around Marley's shoulder and led them back to the finish line. "Now come on. Let's go cheer for the rest of the team!"

Both Brittany and Santana were quiet on bus ride back to school.

Santana's team had been undefeated in the tri-match; she expected nothing less from them. She was tired from being up so early that morning and exhausted from coaching, but so proud of her girls.

Brittany was also on Cloud 9 with her 3rd place team trophy and Marley's 1st place medal. The bus was buzzing with the girls' chatter and everyone reminiscing about the events of the day. The girls seemed to be making plans for the evening, involving parties and dancing, so Brittany and Santana zoned out of that conversation. No one slept on this bus ride back, except for Sugar; it was still far too early for her.

When the bus was close to school, Brittany casually asked Santana, "So, were you planning on going to the school's carnival this weekend?"

Santana looked up, surprised. All the coaches had to volunteer since it was a fundraiser for the sports teams. Santana waited until Brittany signed up so that she could see what time she signed up to work and casually be there at the same time.

"Ugh, yeah. Er, I'm actually volunteering tonight." Santana mumbled.

"Oh really? Me too! What stand are you at?" Brittany was genuinely excited.

"I'm going to be at the food tent actually." Santana tried not to roll her eyes at herself.

"No way! That's what I signed up for too! Great!" Brittany clapped her hands together.

"See, I asked Kurt to come, but he's afraid of clowns. And heights. And I want to ride the Ferris wheel, so you'll have to be my partner then." She looked giddily at Santana, who just nodded her head.

"Sure, we're only volunteering for a few hours. That'll give us plenty of time for rides and games later."

"Perfect, it's a date!" Brittany smiled at a shocked Santana.

"Can't wait."

Santana hadn't expected her plan to work this well or that Brittany would not only be there at their scheduled time, but excited to spend the rest of the night with Santana. Santana was not mentally prepared for this.