Thanks for reading! I wanted to thank everyone who suggested the name for the flour baby. I had something else in mind, but the one I chose was too good an idea to pass up. I appreciate all of the reviews, and kind words. I also want to get a shout out to all the fic writers, artists, and others who are keeping Brittana alive through the fandom. You da real MVPs! Follow me on Tumblr for more Brittana goodness, drabbles and faster updates on future stories. Thanks!

Getting to know Mike wasn't all that weird. Brittany had spent a long time not trusting him, but now knowing Santana the way that she did, she could see the things they had in common. They were more alike than even they would probably have wanted to admit. Mike was quiet in a way that Santana wasn't, still, while Santana had that energy bubbling underneath her skin all the time. It's one of the things that Brittany really loved about her, but she could see why Mercedes had been attracted to Mike. Honestly, she was just glad that Mercedes had found someone that she really cared about, and who cared about her. The drive over was downright pleasant, though she was really worried about the team (both the cheerleading squad and the mathletes), but she figured she'd leave the worrying to Santana, and try to focus on the issue at hand.

In what had to be the world's most perfect timing, her phone dinged just as she was stepping into the department of mathematics, and the distinctive ringtone (as well as a a fluttery feeling in her stomach) told her all she needed to know about the sender.

Baby Mama: Good luck, Britt! You don't need it, but I wanted to say it anyway. 3 3 3

Brittany smiled to herself and fired off a quick message of her own.

B. Pierce: Thanks! I'll never turn down some good luck, especially from someone as hot as you. Give our little girl a kiss for me!

Brittany stuck the pocket back on her phone as she reached the classroom that was holding the members of her team. As the door opened, she noticed their downcast faces, and couldn't miss the opportunity to cheer them up.

"What's going on, McKinley?!" She yelled, pumping her fists excitedly.

Upon seeing their Captain, the whole room burst into a flurry of activity, with everyone rushing to greet her. Brittany had to wiggle herself out of Lauren's arms before she was crushed/hugged to death, but she patted her arm encouragingly.

"Good to see you too!"

Ms. Griffin pushed her way towards Brittany. Her smile held a hint of uncertainty, as she grasped Brittany hopefully.

"I thought you said you weren't coming back? I thought you couldn't make it? That's what you said on the phone."

"I know, Ms. G, and I'm sorry about that. There was some confusion about our scheduling, but we got it figured out, and here I am! Santana really took one for the team, so I owe her big time."

Missy smiled widely. "We all do! We were already waiting for the death knell without you to lead the way, Britt."

Brittany turned serious and faced her classmates. "You guys have gotta be kidding me! You are awesome, and have been getting better and better every game! I don't doubt that you could have totally killed this thing, even if I wasn't around."

"I'm sure we could have, but I'm glad we didn't have to." Matt said.

Ms. Griffin picked up her dry erase marker and moved towards the board. "Well, there's no need to think about that now, because we've got Brittany back and we're ready to go. Let's do some warm ups, we want everyone bringing their A game if we're going to beat Dalton. "

"They're no joke." Dave offered with a grimace.

"No, they are not. But Brittany is right. The team is not just about her. Every single one of you has something important to bring, and every one of you is vital to our success. It's all of us together that make a team, and that's how we're going to take this championship. Together."

Everyone cheered at that, and they turned to focus on the numbers that Ms. Griffin was writing on the board. Brittany shifted in her seat a few times and tried to bring her attention to the board, but her mind kept slipping back to Santana. Was she recovering from chugging Sue's Cleanse? Had she stopped throwing up? What about Mercedes? Was she doing well with Santana and Jane, all by themselves? She had completely phased out when she felt a pinch in her side.

"Ouch!"

"Get your head in the game, Pierce." Whispered Lauren. "You'll see your girlfriend soon enough."

Brittany smiled, batting at Lauren softly. "All right, all right, fine. I'm focusing."

She turned back to Ms. Griffin, but a part of her head was still across town, hoping that everything was going well.

\

Jane and Mercedes had done their best to prop Santana up against a wall, and she was not doing a terrible job running the Cheerios through their paces. But more than concentrating on their moves, there was general pandemonium about the scheduling fiasco. Sue was nowhere to be found, no one had seen Brittany in what seemed like forever, and now there was a non-Cheerio running around trying to be Santana's eyes on the ground.

"How are you feeling, Santana?" Mercedes asked, while they both had a free moment in between wind sprints.

"I'm better. I can finally breathe without that burning sensation between my lungs." Santana answered, her voice losing a bit of that raspy quality that had shown up on account of all of the vomiting.

"Good. What do you think? How do they look? All I know about cheerleading is what Brittany would fill me in on from time to time. But Britt always made whatever she did seem flawless."

"Yeah, she does that." Santana said, a faint smile on her face.

"Well?" Mercedes began.

"Oh, yeah." Santana snapped herself out of the reverie. "Well, we look ok. Honestly, since I'm out of commission, and Brittany isn't here, we can't really practice like we'd like, but when she and Mike get back I'm hoping we can really bring it together."

"Are you going to be able to do it, Santana? I mean, you're not exactly at 100%. Can you really flip and climb to the top of the pyramid and all that stuff? In your condition?"

"Oh please. I once went to Nationals with the stomach flu and had a personal high scoring performance. I can push through the pain. That's never been a problem. I just need to make sure that we're all where we need to be."

Jane, who had been standing guard at the front door, looking for Sue (or any other dangers that might once again derail their plan) rushed towards them.

"Santana-" She breathed, her eyes wide in alarm.

"What's-"

Before they could say anything else in way of explanation, a voice rang out from across the room.

"Santana!"

Sue approached them, her face red with rage. Becky followed closely behind and gave Santana a wary look.

"Where is Brittany?"

Jane took a step forward. "Coach, she had to run and-"

"Enough of this! I'm not accepting your excuses, and I'm certainly not accepting your pathetic attempts to keep me from knowing what's going on. No one farts on this squad without me knowing about it. Do you think I started this team yesterday? Do you know how long I've been doing this? Since before you were a twinkle in your mother's eye. And now you think you're going to pull a fast one on me?"

"Coach Sylvester-" Mercedes started. She took a step forward.

"And what in the hell is she doing here? I've told Pierce time and time again I don't want to see her loser friends hanging around my squad, bringing down the competence factor every time they open their idiot mouths."

At this point, the conversation descended into chaos. Mercedes, incensed at the insult shot off a few choice remarks of her own. At the same time, Sue ignored her outright, and demanded to know the location of her co-captain. Jane was doing her best to try to calm the scene, and Becky wouldn't stop giving Santana the evil eye.

Santana thought to Brittany, who was probably now kicking ass at Mathletes. She thought about cheerleading practices together, taking their flour baby on walks in the park, late night homework study sessions. She thought about how off the rails this whole thing had gotten. She thought about how much she would miss Brittany if things went awry. The only thing keeping Brittany at WMHS was the Cheerios. Santana knew that. She couldn't let her lose that. She clenched her teeth.

"Enough!"

Everyone stopped to look at her, the surprise evident on their faces.

"Look, she's not here because I sent her away."

The stares continued, and Mercedes' eyes went wide in alarm.

"I tricked her, okay? I've been trying to get rid of her all day, and she finally took the bait. I figured if she wasn't around then you'd have to put me in charge. I was trying to get her out of the way."

"Santana-" Jane started, but Santana held up a hand.

"Brittany had no idea what was going on. She was just trying to help." She looked at her watch. "She'll be back any minute, and we can start really preparing. I'm sorry, Coach, okay? I just figured if you saw how good I was at handling things without her around, you'd have to make me head cheerleader."

Sue didn't bother to hide her skepticism. "So, you're telling me that's what's been going on all day? So, Roz was a part of this?"

"No, Roz didn't know either. It was just me. I did it. I managed to move everybody around. And, yeah, it was a shitty thing to do, but now I'm sick and the jig is up. I can't do this without Brittany."

Sue eyed her up and down. "And what exactly do you get out of admitting it now?"

"I knew how much trouble I would be in when this all came out. I figured I'd get out in front of it a bit. Look, I never meant for things to go this wrong. I'm sorry."

By now, the room had completely focused on the conversation happening between the co-captain and her coach, and everyone's mouths dropped open in surprise. No one had ever heard Santana apologize for anything before. Especially not to Sue, with whom she seemed to share a pretty adversarial relationship.

Sue managed to hide her surprise and turned her head quickly. "Fabray!"

Quinn sidled up quickly to Sue, and couldn't hide the smirk on her face. "Yes, Coach?"

"You're going to finish warming up the girls. Santana, you and your friends get Brittany back here as soon as possible. If she doesn't make it back here for the finals, they will never find the body. As for the rest of your deceit, I will deal with you later."

Santana turned to go with Jane and Mercedes on her heels, but turned when Sue began to speak again.

"Oh and Lopez?"

"Yes Coach?"

"It will not be a pleasant experience. Trust me."

Santana swallowed audibly, and lead her friends out the door. Sue wasn't one to make threats lightly. She didn't know what was in store for her, but she could only hope that she'd have the use of her legs when it was all said and done.

She kind of doubted it.

Jane looked at her watch. "They should be back any minute. I hope it's good news. I mean, they would have texted us otherwise, right?" She looked from Mercedes to Santana. "Right?"

Mercedes shrugged. "I dunno, Jane. Maybe. But we have bigger fish to fry." She turned to Santana. "Sue is going to murder you. You know that right?"

Santana gave a shrug of her own. "What's done is done."

"What you did. Just now. For Britt. Santana, I can't believe-"

"Just drop it, okay? I did it and I'm glad, but that doesn't change the fact that Sue is going to grind me up and feed me to stray dogs. I'm dead. I'm so dead."

There was a disappointment in Santana's voice, and Mercedes longed to comfort her in some way. She wasn't sure if it was because of the way that Brittany felt about her, or what. She settled for a hand on Santana's arm.

"We'll figure it out."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Hey!"

Voices from down the hall caught their attention. Brittany and Mike ran towards them, waving wildly. Jane was right, of course Totally Irrational! had won. They were unstoppable with Brittany on their side. Santana tried her best to smile.

"Do not say a word to Brittany about all of this. Either of you." She hissed out the side of her mouth.

"But, Santana-"

"Not a word, Jane. Just try to think happy thoughts."

Brittany bounded over, and barely taking a moment to see if they were clear, nearly jumped in Santana's arms.

"We did it! We won! I was going to call you, but I thought I would tell you myself-"

Brittany caught herself as she looked into her girlfriend's eyes. Santana was smiling, sure, but the smile was one that she hadn't seen in a long time. It felt plastic and stiff.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. " Santana said, wrapping her arms around Brittany. "I'm so proud of you, Britt."

The others came and congratulated Brittany on her win, Mike standing close to Mercedes, and putting an arm around her shoulders. The stood for a moment longer, the feeling of joy that Brittany had brought with her muted and muffled in the unnamed fear that seemed to sweep through the group.

Santana pulled herself away from Brittany and walked back towards the Cheerios' practice room, not bothering to try and draw out the conversation any further.

Brittany reached out a hand to her, but she was gone. She turned to Mercedes, fitfully.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Mercedes grimaced. "You should ask her that, Britt. We'd better get back out there before Sue sees us again. I doubt that would go well. C'mon, Mike."

With that, she took Mike's hand, and led him down the hall, waving to Brittany and Jane as she went.

Brittany only watched her leave, and was about to question Jane when she was almost shoved aside by a firm shoulder to her back.

"Get to warming up, Pierce. I don't want a single misstep out there or your ass is grass."

Sue didn't bother slowing, but marched into the room, and Brittany had no choice but to follow. She only hoped that she would get to the bottom of all this soon.

\

Of course, they performed without a hitch. Quinn was oddly triumphant, but it seemed like they'd really gotten away with it. But for the rest of the day, Santana definitely wasn't her normal self. And every time Brittany tried to ask about what had happened, Santana only shut her down. It wasn't harsh or angry, it just seemed defeated. They drove back to Lima in almost complete silence, the only thing breaking the mood was the playlist that had lifted their spirits so much earlier. With Santana in such a bad mood, Brittany didn't bother trying to cheer her up. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she didn't feel right leaving things the way they were. She had to know what happened.. Santana dropped Jane off, and parked in front of Brittany's house for a few moments, resting her chin on her hand that was propped on the console in between them. After a few more minutes of sitting quietly, Brittany spoke up.

"You're doing it again."

"Huh?" Santana said, breaking out of her reverie.

"Your leg, San. Your leg won't stop bouncing. You're nervous."

Santana looked down at her wiggling appendage and stilled it immediately. "Um, no, it's fine."

"Why don't you just tell me what happened? You've got to trust me, Santana. What's the point of us being together if you don't trust me?"

There was a hint of desperation in Brittany's voice, and she didn't bother hiding it. She didn't want Santana thinking that she had to spend the rest of her life figuring out problems on her own. That's why they were together. So, they could work together.

Brittany moved over in her seat a little so she could reach Santana more easily. She put her arms around her the best she could, and nuzzled her gently with her nose.

"Whatever it is, it's best if we can tackle it together."

Santana took a deep breath. She wanted to tell Brittany, of course she did. But that wouldn't help her with Sue, and it would only make Brittany depressed. But then again, not telling wasn't really working out either. She sighed again, but kept silent.

Brittany tried another tactic. "Anyway, you know I'm just going to call Mercedes as soon as I get into the house, and she's going to tell me. So, either way, I'm going to know. But, I'd rather hear it from my girlfriend. Even bad news sounds good when it's coming from you."

Brittany gave Santana her sweetest smile, turning up her face so she was close enough to kiss, and she could almost feel Santana melt.

Santana leaned forward slightly and placed a gentle peck on Brittany's lips. "That's not fair, you know." She said, moving her head back against the headrest.

"What?" Brittany responded mischievously.

"You know I can't resist you when you look at me like that."

"Like what?" Still the innocent act.

"Like that."

Brittany smiled, pressing her lips against Santana's cheek. "Like this?"

Santana turned her head away and looked out the window. "Sue figured it out."

A gasp. "Figured what out?"

"Not everything, but enough. She- She knew you were missing, and she knew something was up. I couldn't hide it anymore."

Brittany sat back in her seat with a thud. "But she didn't say anything to me. Why didn't she-"

"I told her it was all my fault. I told her that I had tricked you to try and get you out of the way so I could become head cheerleader. I told her that I got rid of you."

There was a moment for Brittany to digest this new information. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, unlocking it and pressing buttons.

Santana turned and gazed at her with a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Sue. I'm setting her straight. I'm not going to let you take the fall for this, Santana."

Santana lunged across the seat, grabbing the phone, and stabbing at the "End Call" button before the call could connect.

"Santana!"

"I can't let you do this, Britt! I'm sorry, but I can't." Santana opened her car door, and rushed outside, still holding Brittany's phone to her chest.

Brittany had no choice but to follow, and rushed up the road after Santana.

"It's not right, Santana. You can't go through this by yourself. I won't let you, okay? I wouldn't have let you take the blame for something if it wasn't your fault even when we hated each other. It's not right."

She held out her hand for the phone, but Santana shook her head fitfully, sitting down on the curb in front of Brittany's house. "Britt, it's too late, okay? Even if you told Sue the truth, she probably wouldn't even believe you. She knows how much of a good person you are, even though she doesn't appreciate it. And she knows me. She knows this is exactly the kind of thing I would do."

"Santana, she's not just going to murder you. You'll probably get expelled. Your scholarships, Santana, all of your hard work! The honor roll. Everything you worked to get. We can't let Sue take that away from you. I will tell her it was me. The worst she can do is send me back to my old school. I'm not much a student anyway, Santana. I can do math wherever, but your parents will kill you if anything happens At school. They'll absolutely kill you." There was a desperation in Brittany's voice that made the hair on the back of Santana's neck stand on end. She grabbed Brittany's arms gently to get her attention, and pulled her down to where she was sitting, nearly into her lap.

"Nobody is getting expelled."

The conviction with which she spoke made Brittany pause.

"What? How can you know, San?"

Santana didn't know. But, she couldn't let Brittany panic. "Look, all I know is that next year we'll be seniors, and Sue's not going to get rid of one of her two star cheerleaders over something silly like this. A captain at that! No, she's going to do something horrible. Something vile. But she won't get Figgins to expel me."

Brittany sighed, leaning her head on Santana's shoulder. "Then what are we going to do?"

"We're going to wait it out. Even if I do get kicked off the Cheerios, even if I do get expelled, you only live about half an hour from me, Britt. I could still come by and see you every day."

Brittany gave a shuddering sigh as she fought back tears. It was ridiculous, of course, Santana was right. It wasn't as if they would never see each other again. They lived in the same town. But there was a lot at stake, and she couldn't imagine asking Santana to give up so much for her.

"Even two months ago if someone told me that you were getting expelled, I would have jumped for joy. I would have thought that my nightmare was over." Brittany sighed deeply. "I can't believe we wasted so much time hating each other. I don't regret very much in my life, Santana, but I regret that."

Santana gave Brittany a quick kiss, and then nodded, leaning her cheek on the top of Brittany's head. "Me too."

They sat there for a moment longer, and heard the door close behind them. Footsteps signaled one of the smaller Pierce's walking their way, but they didn't budge, content to just sight by each other until Belle Pierce made her way around where they were flopped down on the curb and squatted in front of them.

"What are you two doing?"

Brittany left her head on Santana's shoulder, and sniffed a few times, to clear her throat. "Nothing. Just being sad."

Belle inched a bit closer. "Why are you sad?"

Santana opened her arms, and Belle walked towards her. Brittany moved over a bit so Belle could fit into Santana's lap. "We've got a problem, and we're not sure how to deal with it."

"Daddy always says when you have a problem and you can't solve it, you should always go to somebody you trust for help."

Santana looked at Brittany, meeting her eye. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"How about…" Brittany started, standing up. "We go get some ice cream in the meantime. To help us think?"

Belle was out of Santana's lap in the flash, jumping from one foot to the other in excitement. "Can we really?"

Brittany laughed, taking her sister's hand. "Of course. Let's get out here before all the little kids are begging to come along."

They practically skipped to Santana's car, but she caught the glimpse of sadness on Brittany's face. Santana knew that Brittany's mind was working at a furious pace, trying to find a way out of this. But she just wasn't sure if there was another way. She sighed, getting her her feet, and putting on her best smile.

"I guess we're going on an ice cream run!"

Brittany winced. She thought she'd seen the last of Santana's fake smiles, but it seemed that she wasn't done just yet. She finished buckling her sister in the backseat, and slide into the passenger side.

"Do you think I can get back my phone, San?" She said, holding out her hand.

Santana hesitated for only a moment before handing the phone back to Brittany. "Britt, you've gotta promise me you won't do anything, okay? We'll only make this worse by shifting the blame around. We've just got to ride it out."

"I promise I won't call Sue, Santana. Okay?"

Santana smiled again. This one was a bit more genuine than the last one, and Brittany had to be glad for small favors.

"Okay, Britt. Thanks."

Of course, Brittany had said she wouldn't call Sue, but she hadn't said anything about going to see her.

She spent the rest of that Saturday with Belle and Santana who came back and spent game night with the Pierces, and then somehow got roped into Sunday Mass with the Lopezes. She didn't really care for church, but Maribel and Antony Lopez seemed ready to let bygones be bygones, and included her in as much stuff as they could. So, she showed up and tried to be a good sport, even though half the time she'd stop listening to the prayers and just get lost in Santana. The little things she did when she wasn't paying attention, or the way she'd look up at the stained glass windows, and the light coming down from them would reflect off her face and into her eyes. Every so often Santana would catch her staring and the smile that would take over her face would be free of worry for a few moments. Then, Santana would look away, and her brow would furrow, bringing her thoughts back to the trouble at hand.

That Sunday night they'd stayed together as long as possible, dreading the next day, when Sue (having had the rest of the weekend to figure out the best way to make Santana's life a living hell. Finally, after an hour or so in the hammock, Antony had come down and said that it was time for Brittany to go home, because it was a school night. Santana had driven her home, and didn't let go of her hand the whole time. Then, they stood on the front porch of Brittany's house, holding each other close until the rattling of the blinds told them that Whitney and Pierce were standing by, letting them know their time was up. They parted miserably, and Brittany waved goodbye, watching Santana pull away from the curb.

The next morning she texted Santana to tell her not to bothering picking her up, and without waiting for a reply, got her mom to drop her off at school about an hour early, and hopefully long before any other students would get there. She got to Sue's office, and was relieved to see the lights turned on. Bursting in, she rushed into Sue's office, but stopped short when she saw who was in the chair.

"Quinn? What are you doing here?"

The question came out as a demand, and a tone that Brittany had never felt the need to use with the other cheerleader. But Quinn knew something, or maybe she knew everything, and Brittany was sick of screwing around with her.

A small smile spread across Quinn's features. "Welcome back, Pierce. I figured that you'd be making an appearance, well, either you or that bitch of a girlfriend of yours, and I wasn't disappointed.

"Where is Sue?" Brittany asked suspiciously.

"Well, you know better than anybody that Sue normally gets in at this hour for her daily pom pom inspection. But, I told her I'd take over for her. Let her sleep in to celebrate our victory on Saturday."

"And why would you do that?"

"I have a proposition for you."

Brittany scoffed. "You lost, Quinn. Get over it. Whatever little plan you had in mind failed, and though there's bound to be some blowback from, you know, all this, Either me or Santana will be sitting at the top of the pyramid, when this is all said and done. You can count on that. And trust me, Sue won't believe a thing you say against her two star Captains."

Honestly, with everything going the way that it seemed to be going, Brittany couldn't really find it in herself to gloat, but to her surprise Quinn didn't seem very defeated, sending a chilly smile Brittany's way.

"Do you know how long the Fabray's have been cheerleaders, Pierce?"

"Why would I know that?"

Quinn ignored her question. "Three generations! When great grandma Babs first came home in a custom made Danville High sweater, it has been the goal of every Fabray girl to climb to the top of the pyramid and prove herself worthy!"

Brittany's eyes went wide. "Are you telling you your family has been cheerleading for, like, 80 years? That actually is a super long time. My great grandmother wrestled goats. It's kind of a family tradition too, so I know what you're talking about-"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Not the point, Pierce. The point is that I'm not going to be upstaged by the two of you. You, Brittany, who couldn't find her own ass with two hands, and Santana who, quite frankly, doesn't have the quiet dignity of a cheerleading captain."

"Why is everybody talking about my ass all of a sudden?" Brittany really hoped that Quinn would get to the point. Really she was hoping she could distract Quinn long enough for Sue to get in.

Quinn balked. "For three years! Three years, Brittany, I've had to listen to Judy Fabray make snide little comments about how it would have been nice to include my head cheerleader announcement in the family Christmas card, and how I'll never be able to find a boyfriend on the bottom of the pyramid, unless I'm into one of those 'new teenage boys who tweeze everything down there.' It just will. Not. Stop."

Quinn, stood up and was around the desk in a flash, and began slowly advancing on Brittany, keeping the finger pointed in her direction. Stabbing at the air with every syllable.

"And don't get me started on how disappointed she was that the squad went "all ethnic" But I sat through it, I took it because I knew that at some point the blonde walking Aspergers poster child and Ms. Chiquita Banana meets Azealia Banks would finally tear each other to pieces, and I would be the only one left standing. I'd be the only one that Sue could turn to."

Quinn took a few more steps forward, and though Brittany wasn't feeling particularly threatened, she thought it best not to antagonize Quinn any further. She looked down and saw a bag in Quinn's hand that she hadn't noticed before. She looked around frantically. She suddenly wished very much that she hadn't decided to come to school with no backup. She may not have been afraid of Quinn, but she wasn't stupid enough to underestimate Quinn. She might not be very active, but she was like a viper lying in wait. She would sit back and when it was all said and done, she wouldn't hesitate to destroy you.

"Look, Quinn-"

"And then low and behold! You two start getting along! I know all about your little project, and I know all about your canoodling. So pathetic, Brittany, sleeping with the enemy. How long was it before you rolled over and showed your belly to her? I get it, she's got a nice ass, but that's no excuse."

At the mention of Santana, Brittany stood a little taller. "Wait a second, Fabray, if you've got beef with me-"

"Don't you get it? I won't be free of you until I take matters into my own hands. I've tried time and time again to sabotage you, but you don't get the hint. So, I'm going to have to try a more direct approach."

Quinn held up the bag and shoved it at Brittany, who brought her arm up in front of her face. After a moment she brought her arm down.

"Here. Open it. You'll want to see what's inside."

Brittany met Quinn's gaze, and carefully reached for the bag, taking it from her. Quinn nodded, and Brittany unzipped the large duffel, and was confronted with a blinding view, the inside awash with white.

"What-" She reached into the bag at a small piece of paper that bore the word 'All purpose'.

Brittany brought one hand up to her mouth with gasp. "No. No, no no. Quinn, you didn't."

"After your little victory on Saturday, I made a trip out to Santana's car. It was beyond easy to jimmy the lock and get inside. I'm only surprised you two haven't made a bigger stink about it being missing. Good luck finding a replacement by the time health class rolls around."

Brittany could barely hear Quinn's words. Tears flowed down her cheeks, running rivulets through the flour that had transferred from her hand to her face.

Their baby.

It wasn't just the grade, and the fact that Roz would let Sue know that they'd failed the assignment. That baby represented just how far she and Santana had come. She represented every good moment that they'd had since they met. She had brought them together in ways that Brittany couldn't even appreciate. Quinn's destruction meant that Santana's sacrifice was for nothing. They'd still both be off the Cheerios. Everything was going to shit, and there didn't seem to be anything she could do about it.

"Well, have fun at the bottom of the pyramid, Pierce." Quinn said, smiling, as she made her way out of Sue's office.

Brittany grabbed her arm, leaving a streak of flour there, and hung on tightly. "This isn't over, Fabray."

Quinn laughed. "Yes it is."

\

Brittany wasn't sure how she found herself back in the Cheerios locker room with the bell for first period ringing in her ears. She still had the duffle bag in her hand with the remains of her and Santana's project. Sitting on a bench near her locker she could only alternate between gazing sadly into the remnants of the flour bag, and sniffling softly, trying to best to keep the flour off of her uniform. She desperately struggled, trying to come up with a plan. She couldn't just replace the bag, she knew that was a nonstarter. Coach Roz had written down all the barcodes in an attempt to keep them from destroying the bag, and trying to replace it with another one. She thought about going to talk to Roz, but with the JBL catastrophe from earlier in the month, she didn't dare. There was no way Roz would give them another chance. That was it, they were both sunk. Santana's sacrifice had been for nothing. She didn't have much of a choice. She'd have to go to Roz and Sue and convince them to take the burden off of Santana. There was no way Brittany could let her take the fall for the whole thing. Especially when it wasn't her fault. Especially, when Brittany knew how important academics was to the Lopezes. Her parents wouldn't kill her if Santana made an F in health. It wouldn't be the first class that Brittany had failed, but Santana's parents… They demanded more from her. And Santana demanded more of herself. She would never be satisfied with that blemish on her record.

Brittany let her fingers sift through the flour, and pulled out some shredded remains of the bag, holding it close to her chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." She whispered, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.

Around the corner the door burst open. "Brittany?"

Santana raced towards Brittany's locker, but when she saw the condition her girlfriend was in, she stopped in her tracks. She had been on her way to first period when she saw that snake, Quinn Fabray, laughing wildly with some of her friends, a patch of flour on her arm told Santana all she needed to know, and she raced to the most obvious place to find Brittany: the locker room.

Santana took a small step closer. "Say it isn't so, Britt. Tell me she didn't do it."

Brittany couldn't meet Santana's eye, and her face crumpled into a frown. "I'm so sorry, Santana."

Santana rushed to the bench, and looked into the bag. Looking away, she reached for Brittany, holding her close. "This is all my fault! I was so worried about Sue over the weekend, I totally forgot about the baby. I'm the worst parent in the world. What kind of parent forgets about their kid?"

"It was my fault too, Santana. I got caught up and forgot about her too. And we were so close, only one more day."

"It's not even the assignment anymore, Britt, you know? She was like, I dunno. She was like our little baby."

"Yeah."

The took a few more moments to look into the bag, and Santana released herself from Brittany, and zipped it up.

"What do we do now?" She asked quietly. She knew the roadblocks they'd be facing as well as Brittany did. There wasn't a simple way to replace the bag, and she knew it. It looked like they were out of options.

"I can't let you take the fall for this, Santana. I just can't."

"Brittany-"

"No, Santana. Your parents want you to maintain your GPA, and I know how important it is to you. I'm going to talk to Sue and Roz, and I'm going to take the fall for this one. I can't let you do it."

Santana took Brittany's hand. "Britt, I can't ask you to do that! If you're expelled because Sue is feeling particularly vindictive, the Mathletes will be without their captain, and I know how important that is to you."

"The Mathletes are going to be fine. They are actually really good, Santana! And they want me around, but I don't have to be. I mean, it's not like my old school had a team, but still."

Brittany's voice faded to a near whisper, and Santana pulled on her hand gently, bringing her closer.

"I guess we both want to protect each other"

Brittany gave a sad, half smile. "It really is the mark of a good relationship."

"Fine. We'll go see Sue and Roz, together. We'll explain everything, and maybe, just maybe, they won't band together and roast up like stuck pigs."

Brittany laughed again, a bit more genuine now. "I guess it's worth a shot."

Santana pulled Brittany in for a hug, and without a word, took her hand, leading her out the door. The hallways were empty, but they made their way straight to Sue's office first. They knew that she would more than likely be the most difficult to deal with and it was probably best to go ahead and get her out of the way. They approached the door with a quiet caution and were surprised to see it wide open, Sue sitting at her desk.

"Ah, the scissor sisters, come in. After hearing about your little confrontation with Fabray, we've been waiting for you." Sue said, taking her feet down from the desk.

Santana almost replied, but a quick squeeze of Brittany's hand dissuaded her. Much to their surprise, sitting across from Sue, was Coach Roz.

"Roz? What are you doing here?" Santana said suspiciously.

"Sit down, tits for brains. You too, Elmira Fudd. The adults are talking now."

Dumbfounded, and vaguely terrified, Brittany and Santana sat down across from Sue as Roz sighed and got to her feet.

"Ladies, do you know why I assigned this project?"

There wasn't a sound before Sue spoke up. "Not a rhetorical question, ladies."

"To teach us responsibility?" Brittany said hopefully.

"To keep us busy until midterms?" Santana quipped.

"Since you two first started going to school here together, it's been a living hell for most of the teachers, and all the of the students. Most of our time was spent trying to keep you all from turning each other whatever colors of the rainbow, and locking each other in panic rooms. We've had to get the locks to the maintenance rooms changed twice, and the locks to the roof changed eight times!"

"Hey, my parents footed the bill for at least three of those-"

"I am not finished talking, Santana Lopez!" Roz shouted.

Santana looked down meekly at her lap.

"You two were a menace! We haven't had a peaceful moment since you two started this petty rivalry, and I'm pretty sure that Principal Figgins started losing his hair because of it!"

Brittany fidgeted nervously in her chair.

"The band geeks are fighting with the soccer team. The lacrosse squad is beefing with the AV Club. And I have no idea what's going on between the Spanish club and the after school cooking class, but from what I saw on the school security cameras last semester, it was not pretty. You've torn this school in two."

"Not to mention what those stupid glee kids are getting into. Don't think I hadn't noticed your little dalliance with the dark side and one Will Schuester, Brittany Pierce." Sue broke in.

Brittany had no idea where this was going, but she didn't dare interrupt. Anyway, Roz was right. They had done a lot more harm than good at the school with their fighting, and they hadn't really done anything to help.

"The point is since you started this project, do you know how many fights we've had having to do with Lopez supporters ganging up on Pierce People? Do you know how many times we've had to break up an impromptu protest arguing for the free and legal use of violence against supporters of one side or the other? Do you know how many times we've had to pay professional cleaners to get vinyl out of a lunch table, or deer urine from out of a row of lockers?"

Santana, not sure if she was supposed to answer or not, decided to err on the side of being proactive. "Um, none?"

"That's right! None. Not once. No fire trucks ungluing people from the ceiling or janitors grumbling about having to find a way to dispose of 127 three tiered birthday cakes. No having to untangle literally hundreds of kites from light fixtures or trying to lure prairie dogs out of the cafeteria. It's been pure bliss."

"Not to mention that my Cheerios have been looking better than ever this season."

"The point of this assignment wasn't to waste time or teach you anything as silly as responsibility. The point was just to get you to sit quietly somewhere and stop causing a ruckus. And, by god, it worked."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "So, what does that mean? Quinn destroyed our flour baby, Coach Roz."

"I could give two flying flips about that thing. Here's what I know: You two can get along. You did get along. Now, get along for the rest of the semester, and I don't care if you fired your flour baby out of a t-shirt cannon, you will get an A in my class."

They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Brittany smiled widely. "Are you serious, Coach Roz? We can totally do that."

"Fine with me." Santana seconded.

They made to jump up from their chairs, but a voice stopped them.

"Not so fast doublemint twins."

Santana rolled her eyes. "That one doesn't even make sense, Sue. I'm Afro-Latina and Brittany is white. We look nothing alike."

"Santana, I think it's best you don't antagonize her." Brittany said out the side of her mouth, grabbing Santana's hand and squeezing tightly.

"Listen to your girlfriend, Lopez."

Santana swallowed loudly. "Yes, Coach. Sorry, Coach."

Sue glared. "There is the matter of you two trying to pull a fast one on me at regionals. You lied, you manipulated an underclassman, and most importantly you wasted my time, not to mention my good throwing eggs. You threw up on Becky, though that was mostly hilarious. And one of the bottles of my patent pending Sue's Miraculous Body Cleanse is missing. A $24.99 dollar value."

"Coach, we're really sorry about-"

Sue held up her hand for silence. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Pierce."

Brittany clapped her mouth closed.

"Here's what I'll tell you: Nobody messes with Sue Sylvester. Nobody."

The two girls nodded, defeatedly.

"So, here's what I'm going to do. First off, you're both on shower duty for the rest of the week. I want to be able to see my reflections in those shower heads every morning."

"Yes, Coach."

"Next you're going to alternate as my umbrella holder for the rest of the month."

"Yes, Coach."

"Finally, Brittany, you're out as co-captain of the Cheerios."

This caught them by surprise, and Santana moved to take a step forward. "Now, wait a minute, Sue-"

"And Quinn Fabray is taking over her spot. Brittany will take over as our new dance coordinator, and help with choreography. You'll be Captains with Quinn, Santana."

"After all she did to us? It was her fault-"

"It was your fault for lying. You better be glad I didn't can the both of you. You've managed to do better with her helping out than we've done all year, and that's why I'm even bothering to keep you around. Now, do you really want to make a stink about it?"

Brittany had a tug a bit more firmly on Santana's arm, but she finally took a step back.

"No, Coach." They said in unison.

"Now, get out of my office before I have Becky come in here and throw you out. I think she's still gunning for you, Santana. Would you like to deal with that?"

Santana shook her head, and turned, following Brittany out the office. They made it down the hallway before Brittany stopped, wrapping her arms around Santana, and kissing her on the cheek.

"We did it!"

Santana kissed her back, but didn't return the enthusiasm. "Britt, you still lost your spot."

"San, I never wanted to be a Cheerios' captain. You did. Quinn does. And I'll finally get to focus on the dancing, like I've always wanted. Plus that means I'll have more time with the Mathletes. Sue totally did us a favor!"

Santana looked up at Brittany carefully. "Are you sure? Cause Britt, this is a big deal."

"I'm sure." She said firmly. This is what I wanted since the beginning! I can't wait to tell Ms. Griffin. She's going to freak!"

Brittany bounced a few more times until Santana caught her enthusiasm, and returned her smile.

"I guess this is probably the best result we could have asked for."

"Yes!" Brittany settled down, and wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders. "And best of all, at the end of all this, I got you."

She planted to soft kiss on Santana's lips.

Santana smiled, returning the kiss. "And I've got you."

\

The lunch room was in disarray. There were kids yelling, silverware clattering and people shoving as they tried to make their way through the busy cafeteria. Brittany sat at the table, eating french fries, trying to ignore a story Tina was telling about how she knew this music box she bought at a yard sale was haunted because of the way it would sometimes start playing when she hadn't wound it up.

"It just doesn't make sense, Tina." Artie countered. "I've seen a lot of ghostly phenomenon, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were just dealing with some energy spikes."

"I'm telling you guys, I know a guy. He wants to come over for a seance, and I just need like ten people for it to be a success!"

Mercedes sat next to her, as bored with the conversation as she was, every so often stealing a fry from Brittany's plate as she scrolled through her phone. Neither of them were feeling too much into communication, so they simply sat, side by side, each in their own little world. It was because of this distraction that they didn't notice the voice around them stop until it seemed that almost every single person in the cafeteria was looking at them, silent, mouths open in confusion.

A throat cleared behind them. "Um, mind if we sit here?"

Brittany and Mercedes turned to find Mike and Santana standing there, hands shoved into their pockets, looking bashful. Brittany could barely control her happiness. She moved away from Mercedes, grabbing Santana by the arm, and pulling her close on the bench, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Mercedes did the same with Mike, and even stole Brittany's plate of fries, feeding him a couple for good measure. The cafeteria seemed to relax as they sat down, and within a few moments, things really seemed to be getting back to normal.

After a moment Kurt spoke up. "Britt? Hon? What's going on here? Am I hallucinating or did you just invite Santana Lopez to sit at our table?"

Brittany smiled. "Yep, Kurt, Artie, Tina, this is Santana Lopez. My girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah, and Mike and I are going out as well." Mercedes added.

"Are you kidding me?" Artie hissed, as if he were keeping some kind secret. "You hate Santana!"

Santana glared at him, but Brittany only laughed. "Not anymore, I guess." She kissed Santana on the cheek in an effort to get her to loosen up. It didn't work.

Santana cleared her throat again. "Look. I probably did some really messed up stuff to you all-"

"Probably?" Kurt huffed.

Santana sighed. "Definitely, okay? I know I definitely did, but I want to make it right. And, I guess, I want to apologize. I've learned that Brittany is a pretty amazing person, and if she's friends with you all, you must be pretty awesome too. So, I want to start over. I really want to try this time, and do this right? Can we give it a try?"

The small group looked unsure, but Brittany waggled her eyebrows at them, and they broke into smiles.

"We'll try. For Brittany's sake, I guess." Tina said. "But no more jokes about dim sum, or fortune cookies."

"Fine, Chang, I'll only joke about kim chee and plastic surgery, okay?"

Tina thought for a moment. "Only if I get to joke about tacos and sombreros."

Santana smiled and shook her head. "Deal."

Meanwhile, Kurt had moved closer to Brittany. "You have got to tell me how this all happened, Britt. What have I been missing?"

"I'll fill you in on our next girls night, Kurt." Brittany laughed, leaning her head on Santana's shoulder.

"You're doing great." She whispered into Santana's ear.

"Yeah, right, I'll have to remember this moment when you're apologizing to all of my friends. Well, all of them except for Berry. Every prank you ever did to her was well deserved."

Brittany laughed, and then got quiet. As their friends picked back up the thread of their conversation, she relaxed. This might work after all. After years of the fighting, the backstabbing, the awful pranks, they might all actually be able to get along for good. Yet something else was niggling at the edges of her mind.

Santana nudged Brittany with her nose. "What's wrong, babe?"

Brittany sighed. "I was thinking about our baby. She was so precious. I miss her."

"It's ok, Britt. She lived a good life. We took her to tons of places, and I know she enjoyed it."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They lingered for a moment longer.

"Did you ever come up with a name for her?" Santana asked.

"Yeah, I was thinking Sugar."

"Sugar? For a flour baby?"

"Yep. Sugar Beyonce Adele Lopez Pierce."

Santana laughed. "Holy cow. That's perfect."

"Yep."

Santana reached for a soda can sitting on the table.

"Let's raise a glass to Baby Sugar Lopez Pierce. Gone, but forever in our hearts."

Mercedes and Mike enthusiastically cheered, while the others took a more half hearted view of the celebrations, but still raised their drinks in the air.

"Thanks for raising Baby Sugar with me, Brittany. You'll be a great real mom someday."

Santana felt her face getting hot. She certainly didn't mean to imply anything. But now her head was full of visions of Brittany holding a little bundle. One with jet black hair, and coffee cream skin. She buried her face in Brittany's hair, and could feel the laugh coming from beneath her.

"You'll be an awesome mom too, Santana."

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand, and rested her head on her shoulder as they turned their attention back to the table.

\

EPILOGUE

1 year later

The doorbell rang and Santana raced down the stairs, skidding across the hallway in her socks and nearly colliding with Antony Lopez as he stood, rifling through the mail.

"Suave, Santanita. You know how I feel about you running in the house."

"Lo siento, Papi. The door is for me."

Antony reached for his daughter's arm as she rushed by. "Your mother said you got some mail, Santana. Is it what I think it is?" He could barely contain his excitement.

Santana smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I think so. But we all wanted to do it together, and Brittany's waiting so... "

Her father brought her in for a hug, and mirrored her smile. "No matter what, Santana, your mother and I are proud of you. Of all the work you did over the last year, and everything else. Te amo, Santana."

"I love you too, Papi." She returned her father's hug, and then wiggled out his arms. "Now, I've gotta go answer the door, or there will be hell to pay."

Her father gave her one last squeeze, and let her go, and like a slingshot Santana was standing at the front door. Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob.

"Santana."

"Quinn."

They stared at each other for a moment, their lips set in firm lines, their brows furrowed. Suddenly a voice shrilled behind Santana.

"Quinnie!"

Santana was nearly bowled over as a small (but getting bigger!) dark haired blur whizzed past, colliding with Quinn as it landed in her arms.

Quinn's face seemed to light up as she hugged Santana's little sister. "Selena! Did you miss me?"

"I did! Santana said we might not see you until after spring break, and I was super sad 'cause we're going out of town, and I didn't know-"

Santana gingerly tugged Selena out of Quinn's embrace, and placed her on the ground with a thump. "That's enough, kid. We've got some really important stuff to handle."

"Then Quinn can play with me?"

"That's really up to her, Lenita."

Selena looked up to Quinn with big eyes. "Please, Quinnie? Just for a little while?" She whined.

Quinn smiled and nodded. "Sure. We'll practice your handstands while Brittana make out on the hammock again when they think we're not looking."

Selena scrunched her face. "Ew! I really like Brittany, but I hate it when you two make out."

"Then you'll have to make sure to nail all of your handstands then, so we won't have to see them."

Selena giggled and scurried away, and Santana put her arm through Quinn's.

"We'd better hurry before my Mom tries to corner us next."

"I thought we were doing this at your house so we wouldn't get as many interruptions." Quinn laughed, letting Santana lead their way upstairs.

"Well, how could I know my family would suddenly decide that this was the day they wanted to spend every minute stalking me?"

They reached the door, and as Santana led them in, Quinn was ambushed again. This time the shape was decidedly blonder, and taller, but it still wasted no time nearly bowling Quinn over in excitement.

"Quinn! We've been waiting for you. We were too nervous to even make out."

Quinn cocked an eyebrow as she endured Brittany's embrace. "Really?"

"Well, not entirely. But, we didn't get far, so you should feel confident touching anything in this room." Santana said with a wry smirk as she closed the door.

"Very funny, Santana. As if I would have felt confident touching anything in this room, ever."

The three girls made themselves comfortable, and a strained silence took over the room. Santana's leg bounced against the mattress, and Brittany reached across, rubbing soothing strokes down her arm. They exchanged a smile, and looked over to Quinn, who was now gnawing viciously on her thumbnail.

Santana took a deep breath. "D-do you guys think it means anything? That I only got mine today?"

Brittany shook her head quickly. "No way! It's probably just, you know, the way they send them out."

"But, Britt, your last name begins with P, Quinn is F, I should have gotten mine second."

"That would be true, but it's not based on last names."

"It's not?"

"No, actually, it's a pretty complex algorithm involving zip codes. I was doing a project on this last year-"

Santana collapsed, burying her face in a pillow. "And that's why you got in, and I'll spend the next four years driving Selena to karate practice, and selling hot dogs for a living."

"Babe, selling hot dogs is a noble service that the community needs. You love those hot dogs we get at the park."

Quinn cleared her throat. Brittany and Santana were surprised to see she was standing next to the bed, and with a wave of her hand, pushed Brittany aside. Sitting down in between them, she pulled an envelope out of her pocket.

"Or, we could just open our letters and find out if we got in or not."

Brittany nodded, and went over to Santana's desk, grabbing two envelopes, and bringing them back over. They were a crisp white with the logo for the Ohio State University logo emblazoned in bright red letters on the front. There had been a lot of schools, but they had applied together. They figured they didn't want to lose the friendships they had found so late, so quickly. But all of them getting a full ride to the same school seemed like a long shot. Brittany handed Santana her envelope, and held her own close to her chest. She sat down, and took a deep breath.

"On three, okay?"

The other girls nodded quickly.

"One…"

Brittany noticed Santana's hand shaking, and grabbed it over Quinn's lap, giving a quick squeeze.

"Two…"

Quinn placed her free hand on top of Brittany and Santana's, hoping she could add some good luck of her own.

"Three!"

There was a quick movement, and the tearing of papers, and then silence.

Brittany was the first to react. "Yes! I got in! I'm already accepted into the mathematics program! I'm going to be able to start research almost as soon as I get on campus! I guess that letter Ms. Griffin wrote did a lot of good."

"I got in, too! And a scholarship for cheerleading! Now I don't have to worry about my parents freaking when I tell them I want to study drama instead of education like they wanted me to. I can finally do what I want!" Quinn pumped her fist in the air and did a little dance.

Finally, Quinn and Brittany looked at Santana.

Brittany reached out a hand slowly. "Santana? What does yours say, babe?"

She quickly pulled her hand back when she saw unshed tears in her girlfriend's eyes. "San?"

Suddenly Santana's face broke into a smile. "I got in! I got in, Brittany! Pre law! And the scholarship, too! I made it!"

She barely had time to react before Brittany had tackled her on the bed, and was covering her face in kisses. Quinn dived on the both of them, wrapping them in tight embraces. After their celebrations, the laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"We did it. We're going to college together, can you believe it?" Santana breathed.

"Of course I can. We all worked hard this year. We all were there for each other. We paid our dues. We earned this." Quinn said with some conviction.

"I couldn't have done it without you two." Brittany said, sitting up and smiling down on them.

"And you won't have to." Santana leaned up and kissed Brittany on the nose.

Brittany hopped off the bed, and pulled Santana to her feet. "I've gotta call my parents. And Mercedes. She's going to flip."

"Did she get into that performing arts school that she wanted?" Quinn asked, getting up from the bed herself.

"Yep! She got into the singing program, and Mike's doing dance! They're both so excited. We're proud of them." Santana said.

"Well, I'm going to call my parents. They'll probably want to take me out to dinner or something when they think I've gotten into a prestigious teaching program." Quinn smiled grimly.

"Quinn, they'll appreciate you or not, but you're not alone in this. Not anymore, okay?" Santana took Quinn's hand and looked her carefully in the eye. "You've got a place here, and at Brittany's house. And it's not the same as having your parents, but we'll do the best we can. We love you."

Brittany nodded, while trying not to get too choked up, and when that failed, simply hugged Quinn as tightly as she could.

"Thanks, guys."

"I'm going to go tell me parents, and Selena. They're going to flip."

"I can't wait to see their faces." Brittany said, finally finding her voice.

Quinn led the way and Brittany grabbed Santana's arm, kissing her as they made their way down the stairs.