Charlie fidgeted, she should have made Santana give Riley this conversation, she was bound to mess it up and Riley was going to hate her. And she would be an absolute failure as a mother. She watches as Riley colours and takes a sip of her drink. "You know I'll always love your mom, right?"

Riley stops coloring and looks at her ma like she's grown another head, "Yeah."

Charlie nodded, this was going well, all things considered. "I just want to ask how you feel about me seeing people? I've been feeling a bit lonely and your grandma has been trying to get me to meet new people. If you're not comfortable with it, that's okay."

"You're lonely?" Riley said picking up on just that.

Charlie hesitates for a moment before nodding, "I know I have you, but I also had your mom, and when I was sad, she'd give me candy, and she'd hug me and tell me everything was going to be alright. And when she was upset, I did the same for her," she hoped that the words she was using were the correct ones. She should have made sure that Santana was nearby so she could give her the thumbs up for this conversation. "I miss doing that for someone, and I miss someone doing it for me."

Riley's brow furrows at this and she leans back in her chair and looks at her ma, "You can marry Santana," she says finally before going back to coloring.

Charlie blinked at this, "What?"

"You can marry Santana," Riley repeats slowly and louder as if her mother was hard of hearing.

This time it was Charlie's turn to stare at her daughter as if she was the crazy one, "I can't marry Santana Riley."

"Why?" Riley said looking at her.

"Because!"

"You said that's not a reason," Riley reminded her.

"Adult reasons," Charlie tries again, cursing the fact that she was trying to get Riley to think for herself.

"You also said that's not a reason," Riley said with a shake of her head. "Do you think that Santana is pretty?"

Charlie stared at her daughter, this felt like a trap. She looked so much like her mother, that she was weary of answering truthfully.

"I think Santana is pretty," Riley informs her mother.

"I think Santana is pretty as well," Charlie finally settled on, her cheeks flaming up. She really should have made Santana have this conversation with Riley. Santana probably wouldn't have been tricked by a seven-year-old.

"Santana does fun stuff with me like mom used to, and I like Santana a lot. Do you like Santana a lot?" Riley said staring at her ma.

"Riley, even if I liked Santana a lot, I'm a lot older than her and she works for me, I can't date her. If I ask, she might feel uncomfortable and she might not want to work for your grandma anymore. Which means she'll leave," Charlie explained. "I don't want her to leave."

This surprises Riley, "I don't want Santana to leave," Riley bites her lips.

"Santana will have to leave eventually Riley—"

"No!" Riley shouts, loudly as tears begin to form in her eyes. "I don't want Santana to leave."

Charlie flinches, Riley was about to throw a tantrum, this was not how she had expected this conversation to go. "She's already looking for another job Riley, and she has a girlfriend—"

When Riley screams, and throws her colored pencils onto her table, Charlie moves to hug her tightly but Riley shoves her back. Charlie winces, she had definitely fucked this up. Still she picks up Riley's colored pencils, she'd just need to let the tantrum run its course.

~ O ~

"Since when did Riley take naps?" Santana asked as she got a bottle of juice from the fridge and looked at where Charlie was in the process of making her famous burgers. As far as she knew Riley had outgrown naps ages ago.

"Since I tried to have the conversation with her about me dating and she insisted that I marry you. And when I explained that I was far too old for you, and hitting on you might make you uncomfortable and want to leave, it made her upset." Charlie explained as she formed the patties. "I then tried to explain that you might want to leave one day, you have a girlfriend right now and I know you're looking for jobs, and I realized that none of us have prepared her for the inevitability."

"What?"

"I feel like you could have handled this far better than I could have," Charlie said unhelpfully. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I told you this."

Santana ignored Charlie for a moment, she didn't quite understand how a simple conversation about Charlie had involved her in any way. Or why Riley thought that they should get married. "I wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon, I was just hoping that we could work something out, if I got another job." Santana explained rubbing her forehead. "And for the record, I don't have a girlfriend. I have someone that I have fun with, Dani's not interested in a relationship, just a good time."

"So, you'll sit her down and explain this to her?" Charlie asked hopefully.

"We'll sit down and explain it to her; you clearly need supervision when it comes to talking to your daughter about feelings and things."

"I'm pretty sure I stated this before this disaster happened," Charlie reminded Santana.

"I'm not sure Riley will make it to adulthood, if you're left alone with her," Santana said with a roll of her eyes as she began to peel some sweet potatoes. "She needs to learn common sense from someone."

Charlie scowls at Santana she finishes making a patty and grabs some more meat, "How many burgers do you want?"

"One. Like a normal person," Santana shook her head. "Riley will have one like a normal person as well. A child sized one, not one of the massive hunks of meat you call burgers."

Charlie scowled, but made the burger a bit smaller, she's quiet for a moment. "Do you want something more serious?"

Santana glances at Charlie, "I mean sure if the right person came along. Dating is exhausting, always having to put your best foot forward. But I started seeing Dani so you'd get out of the house and find someone. Dani is nice enough, she's not exactly a bastion of maturity though."

"I remember being that young, I wasn't a bastion of maturity either." When Santana snorted, she looks over at her. "I wasn't."

"You aren't now," Santana reminds her. "And I think Dani is a year older than you."

Charlie blinked, "You're dating an older woman?"

"I'm seeing an older woman," Santana corrects. "The sex is better."

"I—" Charlie clears her throat. "You didn't need to worry about me, I eventually would have figured it out."

Santana doesn't say anything right away, she just studies Charlie carefully for a moment. It was time to be forward, because if she left it to Charlie, she would just avoid it until it was too late. "Is it me?"

"What?"

"The other day you said you had feelings for someone, but it would have been inappropriate to pursue. I'm asking you if I'm the person it was inappropriate to pursue?"

Charlie stared at Santana, "Riley is my world, she's the only tangible link left of Frida." she says finally. "And Riley loves you. She got upset that you were leaving her and I don't think she can handle another parental figure leaving her."

Santana nods, "She's a good kid. And you're a good mom, I know this is difficult for you, and I know that talking to her about this sort of thing is hard. But you're the only parent that Riley has and she could never hate you, that comes when she's a teenager and wants to date and you tell her no." Santana bites her lip. It was a risk but Charlie had avoided answering her question. "I like you," the words are simple. "And if you ever made me uncomfortable, I'd just rat you out to you out to your mother. I have her on speed dial, you know."

Charlie licked her lips, "It's really not appropriate for me to date Riley's nanny, even if I want to."

Santana flicked the skin of the sweet potato away from her, "That's bullshit. We're both adults and no one cares if we're dating. Your family loves me. I already know your daughter, who by your admission loves me. We can make this work. One date, and if it doesn't work then it doesn't work. We can find someone to look after Riley for an afternoon or night, if we really wanted to."

Charlie chews the inside of her cheek, "I'm too old to go clubbing."

"You are," Santana agreed. "Don't worry I'll take care of it."

"Take care of what?"

"The date," Santana informs Charlie, and smiles.

Charlie wrinkled her nose, "If anyone asks you seduced me," she says with a sigh.

"Accurate." Santana said as she heard Riley making her way down the stairs. They would table the discussion for now.