You Live, You learn, You Love

A/N: Hey! So here's the start of a new AU Brittana fic. It's is going to have a little more drama and angst than most of my other fics, but for you fluff lovers (like me) there will still be plenty of fluffy Brittana moments. I don't know if anything in this fic will be triggering for anyone. I don't think it will get too dramatic or angsty, but just to be on the safe side, I thought I'd give a heads up. Hopefully, it will be a good balance for everyone.

Chapter 1

The middle of June was Santana's favorite time of year. School always let out the third week and she loved summer. This year, the only plans she had was to relax and have fun before senior year started. She was lying in bed, in-between sleep and awake when her mother came into her bedroom the first day of summer break.

"Mija, it's almost noon." Maribel said. "It's such a pretty day out; you should be out doing something, not wasting it lying in bed."

Santana rolled over towards her mother, yawning and stretching. "I was up late last night."

"I know. I heard you in here laughing." Maribel said with a chuckle. "At first I thought you were having a sleep over with Quinn, but I didn't see her car in the driveway when I got up this morning. What was so funny?"

"I just watched a couple of movies." Santana said and sat up. "Quinn was going to stay over, but her sister came into town for the night, so she stayed at home."

"Hmm, well that was probably for the best. What are your plans for today?" Maribel asked.

"Quinn and the guys are coming over in a little while to hang out by the pool and then she and I are going to hang out with some of the girls from the squad."

"That sounds like fun." Maribel said. "Just remember that the boys-"

"Stay down stairs and out of the bedrooms." Santana said cutting her mother off. She knew the drill.

"Good." Maribel said with a smile. "Are you spending the night here or at Quinn's?" Maribel asked.

"Probably at Quinn's." Santana said pretending to look at her phone so she wouldn't have to lie to her mother while looking her in the eye.

The 'hang out with some of the girls from the squad' plan was actually a party at Puck's uncle's house, which meant there would be alcohol, and she and Quinn would end up spending the night there with their boyfriends. She knew if she told her mother that, she would disapprove and wouldn't let her go.

"Okay then. Just be sure to be safe while you're out tonight. It's supposed to rain."

Santana nodded and looked back at her mother with a smile. "I will Mama."

She didn't plan to be driving much that night anyways. Once she got to the party and had a drink, she was going to be there for the rest of the night. After she lost her father to a drunk driver a few years ago, she was against anyone drinking and driving.

"Alright. Well I'm off to work." Maribel said and kissed Santana on her forehead.

"Wait you're going in now?" Santana asked confused and looked at the clock again. Her mother was an ER nurse and her shifts were usually from seven to seven.

"Yes." Maribel sighed because it was her day off and she had been looking forward to it. "A few nurses called in sick and apparently the ER has been busy today so they called me in for overtime. I'm working from one to one today."

"Ugh, that sucks." Santana said.

"Tell me about it." Maribel said rolling her eyes. "Call my cell if you need anything."

"Okay." Santana said and she watched her mother leave the room.

After a few more stretches, Santana got out of bed and walked the short distance down the hallway to her bathroom so she could to take a quick shower to rinse off her body and brush her teeth. When she was finished, she typed out text messages to her boyfriend Marcus and Quinn to let them know that she was awake and that they could come over whenever they wanted.

By the time that she was finished eating breakfast, or rather lunch considering the time; she heard a knock on the front door. She opened the door and saw Marcus standing there.

"Hey." He said and leaned in to give her a kiss on her lips.

Santana returned the kiss, but when Marcus went to deepen it, she pulled back. "Hey." She said with a smile and opened the door further so he could come in the house.

"You look great." He said as he looked her up and down in her black bikini.

"Thanks. It's a new suit."

"It's nice. Am I the first one here?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Then come here." Marcus said and pulled Santana into his arms. "I think we should take advantage of any time to ourselves that we can get since I'm going to be gone for the whole summer."

"Umm, I don't think now is a good time." Santana said and Marcus pouted. Santana quickly pecked his pout, causing him to smile again. "I don't think it's a good idea to start anything right now. You know my mom's rule about you being in my room and I feel bad enough that I already lied to her today about spending the night with you at Puck's party. She thinks I'm spending the night at Quinn's."

"Okay. You're absolutely right, as always." Marcus said and released her from his arms. "I can't wait for tonight though. It's been a while since we've had the whole night to ourselves."

"I know. Coach worked us so hard the last few months that I've hardly had time for anything." Santana said grabbing her sunglasses and a bag from a table by the back door and led him into the yard to the pool. "Plus, Quinn and Mike will be here any minute and I really don't want to be in the middle of something when they show up."

"You know, I still can't believe that Quinn's dating Chang." Marcus said with a little chuckle and took off his white t-shirt, showing off his muscular torso. "Don't get me wrong. Mike's my boy, but they just seem like such an odd couple."

Santana rolled her eyes, because they were a little odd, but Santana liked Mike and Quinn together. "I think it's great that she's dating a nice guy after Puck cheated on her with anything that would give him attention."

"Okay, that's true." Marcus said with a nod. "What Puck did was so wrong. I told him that was messed up too. I would never do that to you."

"I know you wouldn't. You're a nice guy too."

"You know my mom or sisters wouldn't have it any other way." Marcus said. He had grown up in a house with a single mother and four older sisters, so he quickly learned what was acceptable and what wasn't when it came to girls.

"Oh I know." Santana said with a little laugh. She knew his sisters and mother well.

She met Marcus in second grade and since then they were there for everything in each other's lives, including when his father left in third grade and when her father died freshman year. Along with Quinn, he was her best friend. They were really close, but when Marcus asked her out on a date a few months ago, she was surprised. She had never thought about him in any other way than a friend, but after thinking about it, she couldn't find a good reason not to give him a chance, so she agreed to a date.

When they went out on their first date, Marcus, being the sensitive guy that he was, laid everything out on the table by telling her that his feelings for her had changed from just friends to romantic the summer before freshman year. The loss of her father and his shyness had held him back until he couldn't hold in his feelings anymore.

Santana thought about that, and in the time that Marcus had been hiding his feelings for her, she had dated or slept with a few guys, but she didn't have any feelings for a single one of them, and she knew they didn't have any feelings for her. They mainly used each other to improve their social status and reputations at school. She knew Marcus would be different though. He had actual feelings attached to his attraction to her. She cared deeply for Marcus, she just wasn't sure that it was more than friendly, but she thought if anyone was going to be the right guy for her, it would be him, so she decided to give dating him a chance.

They had been together about three months, and Santana had to admit that he was the best boyfriend that she had ever had. They had a lot of fun together, but she also had to admit that something seemed off. She knew that whatever was off was with her though, because Marcus was everything that a girl wanted in a guy. He was smart, handsome, and genuinely caring, but even with all of that, Santana still didn't feel much when they kissed, or on the few occasions that it happened, slept together. She felt more with Marcus than she had with any other guy, which was saying something since she felt nothing before, but it still didn't have that spark or passion that people spoke about when they talked about sex. She thought that maybe she was still trying to transition from seeing him as a friend to seeing him as a boyfriend, so she thought if she gave her relationship with Marcus more time it would get there.

"Hey guys!" Quinn and Mike said when they came through the back door of the house.

"Hey." Santana and Marcus said at the same time.

"I'm so glad its summer! No Coach Sylvester, I can sleep in every day, and I can lay out as much as possible." Quinn said setting her bag on a lounge chair next to Santana.

"You need to lay out, you're kinda pasty." Santana teased.

"She's right, girl. You're like a ghost." Marcus said with a little chuckle.

"It's glaring." Santana joked and pretended to block her eyes from the 'glare'.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Quinn said in a huff. "You're Hispanic, Marcus is black, and Mike is Chinese; you all have natural tans. I'm Irish; we don't tan well. I'll have to sunbathe all summer just to get a little golden."

"I like your creamy skin." Mike cooed and kissed Quinn on her cheek.

"Thanks." Quinn said flashing Mike a smile.

"Ugh, stop being mushy." Santana said and threw a towel at Quinn.

Quinn caught the towel and stuck her tongue out at Santana before turning back to Mike. "Can you help me put some tanning oil on my back?" She asked in a sweet tone.

"Sure." Mike said and happily sat down next to Quinn on her lounger.

"You need any help with putting on any oil or lotion?" Marcus asked with a smile.

"Umm, yeah. Thanks." Santana said. She hadn't thought to ask him to help her. She reached into her bag for a bottle of low SPF lotion to give to him.

"I can't wait for tonight." Quinn chirped and Mike hummed in agreement as he rubbed oil on her back and shoulders.

"Yeah, it should be fun." Marcus said.

"Puck said he stocked up on the liquor and his cousin got him a keg too, so it's going to be nuts tonight." Mike said. "We should make sure we get our rooms before everyone gets drunk and takes them."

"Oh you best believe if there is no open rooms, Snixx is going to show up and kick some people out." Santana said snapping her fingers. She wasn't playing around. "I am NOT sleeping on the floor or the couch in the living room with a hundred drunk asses."

Everyone chuckled at Santana.

"I love it when Snixx comes out." Marcus said rubbing Santana's shoulders with lotion. "As long as it's not directed at me." He added at the end.

"See that Chang, Marcus knows to stay on his girl's good side." Santana said.

"I have no intention of getting on Quinn's bad side. She has the power to cut a bitch with just a look." He said.

"It's a gift." Quinn said with a smirk and leaned back to give Mike a peck on his lips. "So anyways, I know we talked about riding together tonight but I didn't bring my clothes with me. My mom was being a pain about me and Mike having dinner with her tonight, so we have to go home first, so we'll just meet you at the party." She said to Santana.

"My mom told me to come home before I go out tonight too, so I didn't bring my stuff either." Marcus said. "I can come back and pick you up afterwards though."

"No, it's okay. I'll just meet you there." Santana said with a flip of her hand. Marcus' house was actually closer to Puck's uncle's house, so it didn't make sense for him to come back for her.

She didn't mind driving on her own.

-()-()-()-()-

Later that night, when Santana left for the party, she was running behind. She texted Marcus and Quinn to let them know she was going to be late before she ran from her house to the car in the rain, cursing the whole way. It had been raining for a few hours, but it started after everyone had already left her house to go back home from hanging out by the pool. She had an umbrella, so her dress and hair wouldn't get wet, but her strappy heels did nothing to keep her feet dry. As she got in the car, the rain started to lessen and by the time she got to the end of her street, the rain had stopped completely.

"Of course, now it stops raining." Santana muttered as she wiggled her wet toes.

She drove through the streets of Lima, and as she passed the hospital, she felt a pang of guilt, remembering the lie that she told her mother. She shook herself to get rid of that feeling and started to sing along to the radio to distract her mind as she drove to Puck's uncle's house who lived in a rural area north of Lima.

She was in her own little world as she drove down the dark two-lane road, but she was taken out of her thoughts when she saw the car a quarter of a mile in front of her suddenly swerve into the other lane. It caused the car that was coming the other direction to veer off the road and into the tree line.

"Holy shit!" Santana yelled as she watched it happen.

She saw the car that caused the accident swerve back into their own lane, but they didn't stop, they kept going.

"Mother fucker!" Santana yelled and she was momentarily torn as to what to do…follow the car to get the license plate number so she could turn them in for causing and leaving the scene of an accident, or stop to help the person in the car.

In a split second, Santana made her decision. She parked her car on the side of the road and threw her keys in the passenger seat. She turned on her flashers and grabbed her cell phone before she exited the car. She looked to make sure there was no traffic, and she didn't see any coming in either direction. She couldn't even see the brake lights of the car that caused the accident anymore. It was pitch black. The only reason that she could see the wrecked car was because the taillights were on, as well as the one headlight that didn't break from the impact. She called 9-1-1 as she ran across the street and into the grass towards the car. Her stiletto heels sunk into the wet ground, but she didn't care, she just ran to the car as fast as she could.

"9-1-1, please state your emergency." The operator said.

"I just saw a car on State Road 115 cross into the other lane and it caused a car to run off the road and into the trees. The other car didn't stop, they just left."

"Okay, where are you on 115." The dispatcher asked.

"Um, just a few minutes south of U.S. 30." Santana said as she came up to the car and looked inside the broken driver side window to see a blonde girl unconscious in the seat, covered in glass and blood running down her face from a cut on her forehead. Santana's concern and already heightened adrenaline spiked after that. "I can see a girl in the seat and she's hurt! The airbags didn't deploy. She has a bad cut on her head and she's passed out!" She said with urgency.

"I'm dispatching emergency medical personnel to your location right now."

Despite the front of the car being smashed in by a tree, the engine was still running. Santana opened the door to the car and the overhead light came on. She reached inside to turn off the engine as a precaution. She wasn't sure if anything would happen, but she had seen enough movies to worry about it catching on fire.

"I turned off the car." Santana said adjusting the phone in-between her head and her shoulder. She took the girl's wrist in one of her hands to check for a pulse and she held the other under her nose to see if she was still breathing. "She's breathing, and she has a pulse, but she's passed out."

"Okay, that's good. Do you have a description of the car that caused the accident?"

"No!" Santana cried. "It was too dark and too far ahead of me to see its license plate or what kind of car it was."

"That's alright. What direction was it going?"

"North, towards U.S. 30." Santana said and then she got mad. "They could've gone in any direction. They're going to get away with this aren't they? What if they're drunk and they hurt someone else?"

"Miss, I've already dispatched five patrol units. Two are coming to you and the other three are going to fan out north of your location and look for anyone driving suspiciously." The dispatcher said and it made Santana feel a little better.

Santana, who hadn't taken her eyes off the girls in front of her, looked around her and she couldn't see anybody coming their way. "How long until an ambulance gets here? She needs help now."

"They're about seven minutes out."

"Shit!" Santana spat, realizing that was probably an accurate estimate because they weren't close to town. The girl's wound was bleeding badly and Santana didn't know what seven minutes would bring them. She took one last look at the girl and then started to run back to her car. "There's a lot of blood. I have a first aid kit in my car. I'm going to get some gauze and hold it to her wound to try to slow the bleeding until they can get here."

"Yes, do that. Just check the wound to make sure there isn't any glass in it before you put pressure on it and be careful about moving her because we don't know if she has any other injuries."

"Okay." Santana said pulling up the lever beside her driver side door to pop the trunk.

She grabbed the large, custom first aid kit that her mother had made, and she silently thanked her for making sure that she had one as ran back to the car. She went to the passenger side and sat in the seat, putting her phone on speaker and placing it on the dashboard so that she had the use of both of her hands. Her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding in her chest, but she managed to open three packages of thick gauze pads. She looked at the wound and didn't see any glass on the surface, so she gently placed the three pads on the girl's forehead, never thinking to use the latex gloves that were in the kit, and applied pressure to the gash.

"How's she doing?" The dispatcher asked after he heard the rustling on the line calm down.

"About the same I think." Santana said looking around. "Her right foot is caught between the brake and accelerator and her left wrist looks swollen."

"I'll send a message to let them know."

"Come on, come on, come on." Santana muttered. Time seemed to slow to a stop and she felt as if the ambulance would never come. She still hadn't seen another car since the accident happened. "Come on, you have to be okay." She pleaded.

As Santana sat there, she just looked at the girl. Her white t-shirt and face were covered in blood, and she couldn't stand to see her like that, so she reached into the kit, and pulled out two more gauze pads. With her free hand, and her teeth, she opened the seal on a saline bottle and poured the solution on one of the pads in her lap. She didn't even care that it was getting on her dress. She wiped the girls face and neck clean with the wet pad, and then dried it with the other one. She threw the dirty gauze pads on the floor of the driver's side.

She looked at the girl again, and with the gash on her forehead covered by her hand, she saw that the girl's face was mostly untouched. She only had a few tiny nicks from where the glass had hit her when it broke.

"God, she's beautiful." Santana whispered, noticing that the girl was close to her own age. "Come on, you have to wake up. You have to be okay." She muttered over and over again to the girl, and after a few minutes, she started to stir.

"She waking up." Santana called out to the dispatcher and she was happy to see movement from the girl.

"Try to keep her calm and don't let her move."

When the girl opened her eyes, she looked right at Santana with her worried face, her once perfect hair blown about haphazardly, and blood on her hands and yellow dress, and she smiled at her.

"Is this heaven?" The girl asked and it surprised Santana how calm she was considering she had been in a serious accident. "Are you angel?"

Santana let out a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a relieved sigh, and she took the girl's hand into her own. "No, you're alive, but you're hurt. Try to stay still. Help is coming."

The girl closed her eyes, but after a few long moments, she looked at Santana again and tried to tighten her grip on her hand, but she was too weak, so Santana did it for her. "Are you sure you aren't an angel. You're so pretty."

This time Santana did laugh. "You're going to be okay, we're going to get you to a hospital soon. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl blinked a few times, but just looked at Santana as if she didn't know what to say.

"My name is Santana. Can you tell me your name?" She tried again.

The girl smiled lazily. "That's a pretty angel name."

"Thanks. I'm sure you have a pretty name too, can you tell it to me?"

"I'm thirsty." The girl slurred and tried to sit up but Santana stopped her.

"Hold on, sit still for me." Santana said and looked around. She saw a bottle of water on the floor by her feet. "She's thirsty; can I give her some water?" She said to the dispatcher.

"Yes, but don't give her too much."

The girl's eyes opened wide at hearing the dispatcher's voice. "Who's that? It is God?"

Santana tightened her grip on the girl's hand to help calm her. "It's the 9-1-1 dispatcher. They're getting you help."

"Three minutes or less and Lima Fire and Rescue will be there." The dispatcher said.

Santana slipped her hand out of the girls, but as soon as she did, the girl found her strength and grabbed Santana's wrist, holding on tight. "No! Please don't leave me! I don't want to be alone." She yelled panicked.

"I'm not going anywhere." Santana said in a soft voice to try to calm her. "I just need to let go for a couple of seconds so I can get your water bottle so I can give you a drink."

"You promise you aren't going to leave me?" The girl asked with the saddest eyes Santana had ever seen. It pulled at Santana's heart and made it drop into her stomach, and at that moment, she knew she would do whatever the girl wanted if it helped comfort her.

"I pinky promise." Santana said and hooked her pinky with the girl's.

The girl searched Santana eyes for few moments before she nodded and let go of Santana pinky, but she put her hand on Santana's upper thigh so she could still touch her.

Santana stretched to reach the water bottle without removing the pressure that she had on the girl's forehead. It was an awkward angle, so she had to use her foot to move it closer to her so she could grab it. Her shoes were muddy from walking around in the wet grass and some of the mud got on the bottle. She grabbed the saline solution and squirted it over the bottle so the mud would rinse off. She put the bottle between her knees, opened the bottle with one hand, and then she lifted it to the girl's mouth.

"Careful now. Don't move your neck too quickly." She said and the girl tilted her head a little and Santana poured a little water in her mouth.

The girl swallowed hard. "More please."

"Okay, just a little bit." Santana said and poured a little more water in her mouth before she set the water bottle in the cup holder and took her the girl's hand again.

"Thanks." The girl drawled and her eyes were drooping. "I'm sleepy."

"Hey you have to stay awake for me." Santana said and tightened her hold on her hand.

"Just a quick nap Santana, and then we can frolic through the clouds with the unicorns."

Santana didn't know what to say to that, so she just decided to play along. "Okay, we can play with the unicorns, but you have to stay awake so we can do that. Can you tell me your name?"

"You're so nice…and pretty. I really like you. Can we be friends Santana?" The girl said sounding woozy and she closed her eyes, but Santana shook her hand and she opened them again.

"Of course we can be friends. I like you too." Santana said and then she thought the girl's injuries were causing her to have a hard time focusing on what she was asking her. "Hey," Santana said softly, releasing their clasped hands, and lifted her hand to the girl's cheek. She rubbed it with her thumb. "Can you look at me for a second? Can you look me in the eyes?"

The girl lifted her heavy eyes and looked at Santana. They stared at each other intently for a few moments, and when Santana was sure that she had the girl's attention, she asked her again. "My name is Santana and you're my new friend, but I don't know your name. Can you tell me your name please?"

The girl just gave a tired smile and nodded. "Brittany…Pierce."

"You're name is Brittany? That's a really pretty name." Santana said with a smile. "Can you tell me where you're from?"

Brittany nodded, but before she could tell Santana, her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side.

"Brittany." Santana said but she didn't get an answer. "Brittany." She tried again. "Brittany!" She said more urgently and lightly shook her hand, but Brittany wouldn't open her eyes.

-()-()-()-()-

A/N: Whew, so that's the first chapter. Like I said in my first author's note, this fic will have a little more drama than my other fics, so I hope everyone likes it so far. If you get a chance, please send me your thoughts. I love seeing your feedback. I hope to be able to update this fic every two to three weeks.

Also for those of you reading my other ongoing fics, I'm almost done writing the update to High Frequency Romance: Glimpses, so keep an eye out for that!

I'd like to send a huge thank you to my beta naynay1963 for all of her support. I had a few options for the title that I was considering, but they weren't quite right, so she helped me out by channeling Alanis Morissette, which I think turned out to be the best.

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Glee' or any copyrighted material or products that are mentioned in this story.