It's the smell of freshly brewed coffee, waffles and what she could only imagine is an obscene amount of bacon that's sizzling in the pan. She stretches happily, glad that she had agreed to take this vacation with Charlie. It had been years since they'd rented out this 'cabin' on the lake. It had been cheaper back then and it was the cheapest thing that they could both afford at the time.
She had no idea why they kept coming back, but it just seemed to be their thing. There little oasis away from the bustle of the world. It was the closest she could be to nature, without actually camping. More importantly it was just them, and being here with Charlie showed that she trusted her completely. She was back to the person that she loved. Yes, Charlie still went to therapy and she was now volunteering with other veterans and she went to a support group, which was difficult, but she was Charlie. The Charlie who enjoyed making her breakfast in bed after a night of rather vigorous love-making.
She yawns and stretches, her toes curling around the thin sheets, and she smiles. From the sounds of it, Charlie was making plenty of food for another day of pure sex, they could spend the next week hitting the trails and doing other things together but the first couple of days were non-stop sex. "Don't forget the fruit!" she calls out smiling when she hears a laugh and more sizzling, probably the eggs. She yawns and gets up heading to the bathroom so she can brush her teeth, and then crawl back into bed so Charlie could pamper her and get her back in the mood.
As she finishes using the bathroom she grabs her glasses from the nightstand and the book that she had brought along with her. She probably wasn't going to get much reading done but if she could get a few pages in, then that would be great. Charlie would probably end up taking a nap at some point.
It's only a few peaceful moments of reading quietly before she realizes that the kitchen has gone quiet and she looks up to see Charlie standing there balancing a tray, which had fresh flowers in a small vase on it. "Seriously Charlie? You really don't have to try that hard to get laid," Santana teases, but the smile on her face freezes when she sees that Charlie looks like she's about to have a panic attack. She'd only had two since she'd been home and she kicks off the sheets to get out of bed. "Charlie—"
"I'm fine, I just—this is more nerve wracking than I thought it would be," Charlie mutters mostly to herself as she takes a deep breath, and approaches the bed slowly making sure to not spill anything and she places the tray across Santana's lap, and looks at her expectantly.
Santana raised a brow at Charlie, she looked a little pale, and it troubled her. "Charlie are you okay?"
"Yes, I made all your favorites," Charlie managed nodding towards the tray but Santana didn't look down at her. "San—I'm fine now eat."
"I've been eating Charlie," Santana sighed. She wasn't stressed anymore and Charlie seemed to watch her like a hawk when they ate together. She shakes her head and looks down at the tray to pick up a fork and knife when she notices the ring box sitting on the tray beside the flowers and looks up at Charlie. It certainly explained her nerves. "Oh."
"Oh?" Charlie blinked, she hadn't asked yet and she drops to one knee, despite the fact that Santana hadn't exactly sounded enthused at the concept of marrying her. She swallows, "Santana Lopez, would you do me the honor of being my wife? I love you; I love you more than anyone else and I—"
"Yes."
Charlie looked up at Santana who was staring at her, her eyes sparkling there were tears and she moves to brush them from her cheek. "Yes?" She questions.
Santana nods, and looks at Charlie nodding. "Yes." She repeats.
It's like the crushing weight of being rejected disappeared in a second, and Charlie sits on the bed and reaches for the box and opens it revealing a simple engagement ring with a center diamond stone, that was between two other pear-shaped diamonds. With her hands shaking she slips the ring onto Santana's finger. It looked like it belonged there, and very soon it would mean that Santana was hers. To love and to cherish and to protect. She leans in and kisses Santana gently, but the kiss becomes more intense until the vase spills onto the bed forcing her to break away. "Shit, should have thought this through better."
Santana smiles, "Food first and then—" she trails off and watches as Charlie grins and steals some bacon off her plate. She loved this woman and they had probably already been through the worst with one another, and they had gotten through it as painful and as hopeless as it had seemed. They would get through anything else life through at them together.
