"God what are they teaching you down there Charlie? For fucks sake stop relying out on your right, bring out the left I know you've been hiding some destructive power in those fists. And the hell are you doing? Your hip isn't going in! Step in and give it a quick one-two."

Charlie hopped back and exhaled slowly, her body weaving quickly as she eyed Noah from where she was standing. Even if she was technically supposed to be taking it easy, she was going to keep her skills razor sharp until her next fight. It didn't hurt that this helped keep her mind off things.

"I saw your last fight, wasn't that impressive." Puck lied as he took another swipe at Charlie's head. She was finally fighting smarter, no more rushing in and hoping that her chin would hold against an onslaught. He was thrilled that she had finally managed to translate all that anger and frustration that she felt into her fighting. She hadn't made a single mistake, she hadn't rushed in either. "Alright combination from body to face," Puck lectured wincing as he felt the heavy blow to his spleen, he barely had the wherewithal to dodge the blow to the face as he landed on his ass and looked at Charlie. "Have I mentioned that you seriously need to get laid?"

"Many times, in fact that's your advice for all my problems. Want to fight better? Go get laid. Should I go pro? Get your dick wet and then make a decision." Charlie mimics badly causing Puck to laugh.

"Have you seen your mate? If I were you I'd be having as much sex as humanly possible. I wouldn't leave the bedroom. Hell why are you here? You should be out there wooing your omega so you can have sex with her. You know bed breaking sex that makes it impossible for her to walk straight for a few days. You need to be celebrating not in here working your ass off."

Charlie rolled her eyes she really didn't know why she was friends with the unmatted omega, though he certainly smelled different. "I did celebrate, with Harper. We went to a really nice steakhouse together, just the two of us. After we got home we watched movies with popcorn and ice cream till Harper fell asleep and then I put her to bed. It was a good night."

"A sexless night." Puck muttered. "There's a reason you're stuck in the middle of the pack. You need to fuck your cares away so that you can focus on each fight. You've got too much," Puck gestured to her head, "stuff going on in there."

"Better than you. We all know there's nothing going on in there." Charlie snarked playfully.

"That's not what Sam says."

"Sam?"

"My new mate." Puck grinned. He almost forgot how long Charlie had been gone. A lot had changed since then.

Charlie smiled and extended her hand helping Puck up. "Good, you deserve finding your mate. Now you can stop hitting on anything with a pulse."

"Never." Puck laughs at his dramatics before looking at Charlie. "You need to fix whatever is broken between you and Santana. I know how I said just find another omega to put your dick in but—don't. Don't do that. Fix it with Santana."

"Let's go again," Charlie said letting go of his hand.

"No, you're going to go over there with flowers and chocolate and whatever other bullshit that Santana likes and you're going to say you're sorry and then you're going to let her yell at you and then you're going to have makeup sex." Puck lectured.

"That's not happening." Charlie responded simply. "She's already moved on and more importantly she's happy, so—" Charlie stopped talking for a moment and tilted her head, before snapping her head back to Puck. "I thought you said she stopped coming to the gym when I stopped showing up?" she hissed at him before jumping out of the ring.

"She has—oh god please don't tell me you're running away from her." Puck winced there was nothing more unattractive than a cowardly alpha.

"Of course not," Charlie hissed grabbing her bag and running a hand through her hair. Puck narrowed his eyes at her causing her to hesitate for a moment as the door to the gym opened and Santana walked in. The sound of her heels clicking against the ground forced Charlie to turn to her. There was nothing terribly wrong with wanting to make sure that she looked presentable in front of Santana. There was no way this new alpha was in as great as shape as she was in. "Santana." She greeted immediately forcing what she could only hope was a flirtatious smile onto her face. "Did you rethink dinner?"

"No." Santana sighed and grabbed Charlie's arm pulling her towards the locker rooms. "We need to talk."

"Have fun." Puck called out. "I'll give you two some privacy to work things out! Remember what I said Charlie."

Santana glances back at Puck for a moment before flicking her eyes to Charlie who merely shrugs like she has no idea what Puck is talking about. Whatever, this was important and she at least owed it to Charlie to give her a heads up. She pushes open the door to the locker room and shoves Charlie inside.

"Well if you just wanted to skip dinner and just have me naked—" Charlie trails off as Santana shoots her an unamused look. She sighs and moves to take a seat on the bench. "Fine, if you're not here for sex and you're not here to let me take you to dinner then why are you here?"

Santana sighs. "I fucked up." Charlie simply quirks her brow in surprise, the only indication that she processed Santana's rapid confession. "My mom recently found out why I broke our bond the first time we tried. She got it in her head that your father needed to know."

"What?"

"I thought it was time she knew. She's been pushing me with Dani and blamed you for leaving, I needed her to back off and realize it wasn't entirely your fault." Santana rushes to explain. "I didn't tell her everything, just enough so that she'd get the idea."

"Why haven't you mated with your new alpha?" Charlie asks bluntly, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her until she knows what she's dealing with. It matters, if she has a shot with Santana still, she's going to take it. If Santana was gossiping just for the sake of it—then there would be hell to pay. It's weird, she realizes with a start, the almost soothing influence Santana has on her even without the bond.

Santana cringes. "I don't believe that's any of your business anymore."

"It is if it makes you tell your mother anything about me." Charlie retorts. "So what is it—is she ugly? There's no way that she's as strong as I am. She's got to be ugly."

"She's not ugly." Santana counters right away. Dani was hot, super-hot, and maybe if she had met Dani before Charlie had ever been in the picture, then things would be different.

Charlie smirks. "Okay, what is it then? Is she a loser? She's got to have—"

"Stop. It doesn't matter."

"There's got to be something wrong with her." Charlie presses, aware that Santana's growing more and more agitated by the second. "Does she—"

"She's not you." Santana blurts out, curling her lip up in distaste at the confession. She just needed Charlie to stop. She refuses to take the words back, even when Charlie grins smugly.

"I see."

"Not that it changes anything." Santana crosses her arms over her chest. "I like Dani, and Dani likes me. I don't have to chase after her just to convince her to spend time with me, and I certainly don't have to worry that one mistake will torpedo our entire relationship."

Charlie frowns at the accusation. "But you want to be with me."

"Of course I wanted to be with you, you're my mate, Charlie. And whether you believe in that shit or not, it matters. Well, at least I thought it did."

"Santana—"

"Look, I just wanted to give you the heads up so you weren't taken off guard. I tried to convince my mom to keep her mouth shut, but she's a goddamn know-it-all."

Charlie frowns. She hadn't ever wanted her father to know, but suddenly that threat seems to pale in comparison to the idea that Santana might walk out the door and not look back. She bites her lip, chewing on it. She shouldn't be the one to apologize. Santana had lied to her. It wasn't some simple mistake, it had been her life. "Have dinner with me," she repeats again looking at Santana.

"Charlie." Santana sighs. "You don't get to do this anymore. I'm with Dani now and there's nothing you can say or—"

"I missed you." Charlie interrupts watching as Santana's mouth snaps closed. "I missed you, every single day I thought about you and I'm sorry. So please, have dinner with me."

Santana stared for a moment, Charlie's voice had been quiet and rather demure for her. "You can't just walk back into my life and just try and pretend that everything between us is okay. That you didn't leave me alone and I talked to Quinn you left Harper too. I can't deal with that Charlie. I need stability in my life, I need to know that my partner isn't going to just up and disappear on me. I need to know that my partner isn't going to freak out on me and right now—Dani might not be you, but I trust her more than I trust you."

"I'm your mate."

"It doesn't matter, you showed me that it didn't matter. I'm sorry but I don't know what to tell you," Santana responded. In a few months Charlie would leave New York and that would be it. She would be able to mate with Dani without this terrible feeling guilt. She didn't have anything to feel guilty about. "I need to be a priority, I told you this and I think that part of the reason you're so adamant about this working is because there is another alpha in my life."

"That's not—"

Santana held up her hand, "If you think about it then you're going to realize that it's at least partially true. So like I said I just came here to make sure that you were aware that your father is going to know. I owed you the truth and this is it. I'm sorry, I know how important this was to you. But I have to get going I have a surgery scheduled in half an hour and I still need to scrub in." Santana pulls back despite the growing urge to comfort Charlie who had a lost look on her face. "I'll see you around I guess," she mumbles before taking a step back and turning around. She needed to get out of here before she did something stupid.

Charlie watched her step closer to the door and blurted out the question before she could stop herself. "And this Dani? She makes you a priority?"

Santana stops but doesn't turn around. That fact alone gives Charlie hope. Maybe this whole mess can be salvaged. Maybe she still has time. "She tries." Santana admits stumbling forward aware that Charlie's eyes are on her the whole time. She finally makes it to the door and pulls it open.

"Choose me."

The words cause Santana to finally turn around and look at Charlie, it's a mistake to look at her and she takes a step towards her for a split moment. That face, the pleading it was nearly too much. She practically needs to tear her face away and she quickly stumbles out the door, "Goodbye Charlie." She begins the long walk back to her car and she know she can feel everyone's eyes on her. She ignored it, just like she ignored the fact that if Charlie just came after her she'd break so easily. Which was why she was both grateful and irritated that Charlie hadn't asked again.

~O~

Harper eyed her mom carefully before finally reaching over to hold her hand, "You okay mom?" Her mom usually asked her a million questions about what she had learned about in school that day and she wasn't used to her being this quiet. When her mom doesn't answer right away she frowns and tugs her mom's arm. "You don't have to leave already do you? You just got back!"

"No, I'm not leaving yet. I promised three months Harper and I meant it. I'm not taking any last minute fights or anything, I'm just thinking about stuff." Charlie admits smiling at her daughter.

"Uh-oh," Harper mumbled and looked away when her mom turned to look at her.

"What do you mean 'uh-oh'?" Charlie demanded stopping and pulling her daughter to a stop too.

"Well the last time you thought said that you decided to see what would happen if you mixed kool-aid with eggs and ham to see if you could make green eggs and ham. I don't know why you didn't just use food coloring." Harper reminds her mother trying not to smile. "You really need to take cooking lessons from grandma."

Charlie grumbles at her daughter, "You're lucky you're still cute," she mumbles and Harper laughs. Charlie swallows for a moment and studies her daughter poking her in the cheek. "You're still cute," she mumbles mostly to herself. "Maybe if you ask Santana to dinner for me, she'll say yes."

Harper crinkled her nose. "You want to use me to help you get a date with Santana?"

"Yes? I mean you still like Santana right?" Charlie asks after a moment, crossing her fingers and hoping that Harper said yes.

"Yeah I do, but I thought that you were super mad at her." Harper eyed her mom.

"It was a misunderstanding," Charlie informed her daughter dismissively and Harper gives her a suspicious look before nodding. "So is that a yes to helping me score a date with Santana?"

Harper grinned at her mom wanting to agree with her immediately but pausing and patting her mom's hand. "I can't be your wingman."

Charlie blinks, "Wingman? Who the hell taught you about—Puckerman." She was going to murder him.

Harper nods and smiles at her mom still patting her hand gently. "I want to help but you probably shouldn't be hiding behind your omega daughter to help you get a date. You're an alpha mom."

Charlie groans, "When did you get so smart?"

"I've always been smart," Harper laughs before tugging her mom to the door. "You'll see 'cause my report card is coming out next week." She's about to say something when she notices Russell Fabray standing outside their door. "Pop-pop!" Harper pulls away from her mom not noticing the look on her face as she launches herself towards Russell who immediately wraps her in a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"

Russell hugged his granddaughter and was about to pick her up when Charlie's voice rang out. "Careful dad, I'm not carrying you to the ER if you throw your back out."

Russell rolls his eyes, "Your grandmother has a book club tonight, so I've come to take you both out to dinner and maybe do something fun as a family."

Harper crinkled her nose, but looked at her mom who had opened the door for her. "Can we?"

"Yeah, go get washed up and change out of your uniform," Charlie says casually dismissing her daughter who didn't seem to notice as she raced inside, leaving her alone with her father. She sighed and turned to her dad who was watching her closely. "Santana said that—" She cleared her throat, "that you know."

He nodded, her normally strong and almost overbearing father looking almost impossibly small. "I do."

"So let's hear it." Charlie waves with her hand, mentally preparing herself for the onslaught. What could he possibly say that she hadn't already said to herself? It would hurt more hearing it from someone else, especially from her father, but better to get that out now then to do it once Harper was around. She was a terrible alpha, weak and incompetent. It was a marvel that Harper had turned out as awesome as she did.

But Russell surprised her. Instead, he wrapped his long strong arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. Charlie tried to pull away, only for him to continue to hold her for a few seconds. "I'm so sorry." He breathed, clinging to her like if he let go she would float away.

"I—what?" Charlie pulled away successfully this time to get a good look at her father. All of the looks of hate and disgust that she had expected were missing.

"I let you down. As your father and as the alpha of this family."

Charlie frowned this wasn't what she was expecting and she didn't like it. She would rather he yell at her, and tell her that she was a failure as an alpha. "No I was—"

"You aren't weak Charlie, I failed you. Something terrible happened to you and I—you felt like you couldn't come to me and tell me. I'm your father even when you're a hundred years old, I'm still going to be your alpha and it was my job to protect you. I didn't. I couldn't protect you and I couldn't avenge you. You didn't have to do this all by yourself."

"I'm an alpha. I should have been able to—"

"No. You were a child and you are an alpha who is smart and capable of taking care of her family." Russell assured. "I'm sorry I didn't see it before."

Charlie glanced around the room for some sort of inspiration as to how she was supposed to respond to that. "Um, it's okay."

"Who was it?"

"Sorry?"

"Give me a name." Russell ordered, his voice lower and more threatening than she had ever heard.

Charlie swallowed taking a step back, "It was years ago and—it doesn't matter anymore. I'm over it." The lie sounded obvious even to her own ears and she flushed in embarrassment. Only her father could make her feel like a child again and she wanted to go hide under her bed. She didn't want to be dealing with this now. This was all Quinn's fault.

"A name." Russell repeats, even if he was several years too late he needed his daughters and his family to know that he would always have their backs. "Charlie."

Charlie swallowed and looked away, "It was my soccer coach—Sandy Ryerson," she admits after a moment. It's the first time that she's said his name in years and immediately she feels sick. The memories flooding back to her.

Russell frowned for a moment thinking back, it would explain why she had stopped playing soccer and her irrational hatred of all betas. He barely remembered the coach, he had thought the man had always been a bit odd and flamboyant. He certainly didn't seem like the type to be interested in women—he stops and looks at Charlie for a moment, suddenly understanding. She had probably been the only girl at that camp that was different. Of course his girls had never been ashamed of their bodies, it wasn't as if it was rare but it made sense that he would target Charlie. "I'll kill him."

"No," Charlie said immediately putting her hand on her father's arm. "No. You're not going to kill him. Harper needs her grandfather and mom needs her mate and Quinn needs someone to suck up to. I am not taking my daughter to visit you in prison." She exhales slowly. "I'm okay more or less, I'm okay. You don't need to avenge me, you don't need to do anything."

Russell frowned, "He ruined your life and I was too busy thinking that you were simply rebelling and falling in with the wrong crowd. But—"

"Look at my life dad, I have an amazing daughter and I have a job that I like most days out of the year. I make decent money now that I've gone professional, and yeah things could be better and yeah my sanity when I was younger was a bit touch and go for a moment but I'm okay. I've been okay ever since—" Charlie quieted down. Ever since she had met Santana she hadn't had a single nightmare. She hadn't had any of her bad days. "Ever since I met Santana."

"A good omega will do that for you," Russell said looking at her. "Why do you think I've been on your case to find one?"

Charlie frowns for a moment, she was quickly realizing that. She turns her head to Harper who had finally returned. "I know, but Harper won't help me get a date with her."

Russell raised a brow, Maribel had made it abundantly clear that she wanted Charlie to step aside and let her daughter be happy with Dani. "You planned to use your daughter to get a date?"

"She's still cute and Santana likes her, I'd be an idiot to not use that to my advantage."

Harper tugged on Russell's arm, "I told her that she shouldn't hide behind me if she wants to impress Santana."

"I agree, you should listen to your daughter Charlie," Russell informed his daughter, smiling when Harper grinned and poked Charlie in the side. "Don't worry though, we'll help you brainstorm ideas to win back Santana." Russell smiles.

"Does this involve kicking this Dani's ass?" Charlie grumbles.

"I wouldn't, she's an assistant district attorney," Russell informs her. "I can however have a file on my desk tomorrow about her so we'll know everything about her."

Charlie nods, she needed to know everything about this Dani person if she was going to win back her Santana.