Lost in the Lights

Chapter 11

Santana's jaw drops when she sees those two players tackle Brittany to the turf. The crunch of bodies colliding is engrained in her memory and pulls an audible gasp deep from within the brunette. Santana knows that Brittany wears all sorts of padding and protection under her uniform but when she sees the quarterback motionless on the ground, her heart plummets.

The next thing Santana knows, she throws down her pompoms and runs for her life out onto the field.

Santana can faintly hear Quinn calling after her but it doesn't slow her down one bit. She has heard stories about concussed players and broken ribs and punctured lungs and whatever else could go wrong on the field. She can't just stand on the sidelines and watch this happen in front of her eyes; she has to get to Brittany, she has to make sure she's okay for herself.

She's bound to be breaking some kind of rule, but she doesn't give a shit about that – not when Brittany's just lying there.

There's already a crowd of players gathering around the quarterback and Santana pushes past Puck and Karofsky before sinking down to her knees next to Brittany's head. The blonde's eyes are closed and there's this pained expression on her face. Santana is so used to seeing Brittany as this invincible, gorgeous girl that it breaks her heart even further to see Brittany hurting like this.

She leans over the quarterback, trying to blink away the tears starting to well in her eyes.

"Brittany," Santana urges, awaiting some kind of movement, "Are you okay?"

Santana can feel someone trying to pull her away but she blindly pushes them off of her.

"Santana, let the Trainer look her over."

The voice belongs to Quinn, but Santana's not moving until she sees the blues of Brittany's eyes again, even if that means one of these assholes has to throw her tiny body over their shoulder and haul her away.

She's not moving until Brittany does too.

The Trainer crouches down on the opposite side and Santana eyes him up and down.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Santana questions bitterly.

The Trainer looks surprised by the question, "This isn't my first rodeo, kid."

"That doesn't mean you know what you're doing," Santana bristles.

"Santana," Quinn chastises with another tug on the brunette's arm, "Let him do his job."

"What?" Santana huffs, "Who knows what kind of medical experience he has? He could be a drop out for all we know!"

The Trainer scowls at her, "I'm right here."

"And?"

The Trainer shakes his head and continues his examination.

The longer Brittany keeps her eyes squeezed shut, the more worried Santana becomes.

She thinks about every moment, every word she has said to Brittany over the past couple of days, and she doesn't want them to be the last Brittany hears. She doesn't know if she's being dramatic here or what, but in this moment it feels like her whole world is falling apart.

"Britt," Santana begs, her voice cracking as she does, "Come on."

This time, Brittany's slow to blink but her eyes open nonetheless. She looks to the Trainer before she settles on Santana. There's a surprised and confused look on her face before it turns into a sly smile.

"Did you just call me Britt?"

Santana's lips part for the right thing to say but she fails to find the words. She's just relieved that Brittany's eyes are open and she's talking. The Trainer takes over and Santana pushes to stand before she rounds on the players that surround them.