AN: Basically, I was reading my old stuff, and read stitches and was like what if they met earlier, like what if Santana and Charlie met the day that Charlie returned home with Harper in tow. And I thought they'd be younger, and probably a lot dumber and things would probably be 20% more toxic. Then I was like lets raise that toxicity by a bunch and then see how things will go. So what you're going to see is a toxic mess, and Charlie crossing quite a few lines. This is a hard M for one scene.
Song: Anywhere away from here - Rag'n'Bone man feat P!NK
Disclaimer: The usual
"I don't understand why we have to go to this. You know how I feel about Russell Fabray. I just know we're going to spend the entire night arguing over politics," Maribel Lopez complained as she adjusted the bottle of wine that she was carrying. Why they had to buy an expensive bottle of wine for one of the richest men she knew was beyond her, Russell would probably make a cutting comment and she'd have to resist the urge to shove him.
"Rachel and Quinn mated a few days ago. Judy and Russell are throwing a party for them because you know how Judy always has to make things a spectacle of things. I don't see what the big deal is. It's free food, free booze. All we have to say is our congratulations and schmooze it up." Santana smirked, the Fabray's always made a point to hire some of the best caterers for any of their events.
"I don't know why they're throwing a party," Maribel grumbled. "I'm sure Rachel and Quinn both just want to spend time with one another, away from prying eyes."
Santana rolled her eyes and pressed the doorbell; she doubted that Quinn and Rachel cared if there were prying eyes or not. She had caught the two of them numerous times over the past two months that they'd been together. Really, she was far more impressed that Rachel and Quinn had managed to wait two months to mate. Honestly, it was admirable. When most people met their mates it all usually happened within a few days, or in the case of her parents: within half an hour of locking eyes on one another. It was mainly Rachel who had insisted that she wanted to get to know Quinn before they attempted to bond. At least she wouldn't have to listen to Quinn bitching about how hard it was to not try and mate with Rachel anymore. She honestly doubted that she would have that much self-restraint.
"Mi amor, it's not if you haven't planned for the day when Santana finds her mate," Carlos laughed and flashed his mate a cheeky smile when she huffs at him, "We should be happy for Quinn and Rachel. They have their whole lives ahead of them. Who knows, maybe soon they'll have a little one running around that one day they'll have to throw a mating celebration party for too."
Santana made a face, "God, I hope not. Babies are awful, and if they have a child together it would be this weird lizard hobbit hybrid, which is gross. I'll lose my only friends to parenthood, and you know how it took for them to get used to me. Do you actually think Quinn or Rachel will go clubbing with me when they have a lizard hobbit baby at home?"
"Shouldn't you be studying for your USMLE's instead of going out to the club? Mija, these exams—" Carlos started, only for the door to swing open, and he turned to see Judy. "Judy, hello. Congratulations."
"We brought wine," Maribel added, offering the beverage to Judy.
Judy nodded appreciatively, "Thank you, this is a lovely present, I'll be sure to have it opened for dinner. Rachel and Quinn insisted that they wanted this event to be rather intimate, something akin to a family and friends dinner. I, of course, objected, but Quinn's putting her foot down. It seems she doesn't want this to stretch out for longer than it has to. Personally, I believe that she's only insisting because you all won't be as offended when she cuts the party short."
"I'll be offended," Santana smirked, getting a small laugh from Judy. She pulled away from the parental units and headed towards the backyard. She was giving up precious study time to be here, so she'd be damned if she didn't get to feast on fancy food and guzzle down super expensive wine that she couldn't afford on someone else's dime. It doesn't take long to find Rachel and Quinn, who were practically dry humping each other on the covered deck.
Santana audibly gagged, "You know, my mom thinks that you two want privacy so you two can fuck, but isn't it funny that the two of you degenerates don't care if you have an audience?"
Quinn groaned as Rachel pulled away from her and she shot a withering look at her best friend. She personally had no idea why they were even friends. They'd been in their first year biology class and Santana had strut in and informed her that they were friends now because she smelt better than all the other alphas in class. Quinn kind of understood., For an omega, Santana smelled good and part of her was scared that Santana was her mat. But then she met Rachel, who smelled even better than Santana did, and the rest was history.
Quinn felt utterly cockblocked, "I didn't want to invite her, why is she here?"
Rache nipped at Quinn's jaw and cooed, "You insisted that we invite Santana and her parents, it's a celebration Quinn and you couldn't do this without your best friend."
"Awe Quinn, I didn't know my mom was your best friend. I'll have to tell her later," Santana grinned when Quinn flipped her off, "I know you guys are now in the baby making business, but promise me you'll wait until after I graduate. I don't want to be some schmucks godmother while I have hangovers on a near daily basis."
Santana settled in a spot near Quinn and Rachel, who reluctantly had to pull away from each other now that they truly were with company.
Rachel let out a laugh, "We've been super careful, so no children yet. I know you like to make Quinn uncomfortable, Santana, so I'll let it slide since we both know that you would've known the minute you walked back here. It's the one perk of being an omega."
At Santana's distentereted groan, Quinn chirped, "What about you?"
"What about me?" Santana questioned, looking at her nails. "You know how vain I am, the world wouldn't be able to handle another me. Also, you know how I feel about tiny snot goblins. I know we've been over this, but I will never consider babysitting until the time when I can corrupt your child, and even that's a maybe."
Rachel shook her head, "We know where you stand on children, Santana. Quinn was asking how you are. It's been a couple of months since you broke up with Brittany. You two seemed happy, and we hoped that you two would have worked."
"Brittany is a beta, it could never be a thing," the smile on Santana's face had long since faded, "She's already moved on anyway; she's dating this fourth year med student who is going to be a pediatrician. Dating someone from my med program was not expected, for sure."
"Brittany also wanted like a hundred kids," Quinn reminded her, "You should be glad you dodged that bullet."
"I loved what I had with Brittany, but we didn't want the same things. I want to meet my mate, but I barely have any time to take care of myself, you know? I have my board exams to study for, I have electives that need to get done, and I have to start interviews for my residency. I feel like I'm behind. At least my dad is helping with my interviews, but I genuinely don't have time for a relationship. I do however have time to swipe right every other night," Santana grinned at Rachel's discomfort and laughed, "It's not like my mate is going to come through that door."
"Probably not," Quinn agreed, nudging Rachel gently to try and make her smile.
Santana nodded and turned her attention to where the adults had gathered and were chatting away, happily. She frowned for a moment and glanced back at Rachel and Quinn. It seemed like the party had already and Rachel would probably disappear, and she wasn't really in the mood to deal with the parents ganging up on her, about finding a mate. "
She leaned back in her chair, "So, do I finally get to meet your sister tonight?"
Rachel paused, she knew that Quinn had a sister, but there were no pictures of her in the Fabray household. Russell and Judy certainly never brought her up, and if Santana didn't know her then she hadn't been around for a very long time. It was her and Quinn's only sore subject, and Rachel was surprised Santana brought it up so casually. She had once tried to get Quinn to organize a meetup but the mythical Fabray never showed up. Even in that moment she could feel the pain that Quinn felt at the mention of her twin.
Rachel gently rubbed Quinn's arm, "Did you invite her?"
"No," Quinn frowned and looked over to her parents, who were idly talking with guests, "Charlie never shows up to these things. I mean I did text her to let her know that it was happening, but I think she'll stay away because she doesn't want to get into it with our parents. I'm sure she sends her regards."
"Who knows she might show up tonight," Rachel said gently, even if she didn't really believe it.
"Yeah. I wouldn't mind if she shows. Honestly, I wouldn't mind not being the only disappointment here," Santana half joked.
As far as she knew Charlie was an alpha just like Quinn. Even if Quinn disapproved, it would be nice to have an alpha on speed-dial to scratch that itch. It helped that she liked the way Quinn smelled, so she could put her money on her identical twin sister smelling damn near the same.
"Says the future surgeon," Quinn scoffed. "No one here thinks you're a disappointment."
Santana glanced at everyone gathered at the party and grimaced. She was the only person here who hadn't found who they were fated to be with and while she would never admit that she was jealous, being there hurt. She was happy for her friend and her mate, but honestly she'd be even happier if she found her own.
~ O ~
There was something sobering about holding a newborn baby. She can't help but marvel at the fact that she's barely bigger than a bag of sugar. Tiny toes peek out from her pink blanket, and her little hat which is slowly falling off, revealing a mess of brown curls.
Charlie tilts her head slightly, "Harper," she says gently repeating the name that Mack had given her, it fit. She leans in and inhales deeply smelling the baby in her arms. Even though she was a few days old, she still had that new baby smell, and more importantly she could tell that this baby was hers. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Mack, but they hadn't spoken since their failed attempt to mate nearly a year ago.
Their failed mating attempt had been the only thing that she could remember from that night, she wasn't even sure why she had attempted to mate with Mack that night. She was damaged goods, but it had been a party and Mack had smelt nice and the booze and the drugs had probably made it seem like a good idea at the time. She didn't even particularly like Mack, she had just been someone that she partied with on occasion and slept with when she had nothing better to do. Still, she was happy that Mack had found her soulmate after what she had experienced through her.
Charlie looks at the bag that Mack had given her and then looks around her crappy 1 bedroom apartment and frowned, she didn't know where to put the baby. Her couch was gross, and her coffee table was covered with bottles and cans of booze that were either empty or in the process of being emptied. There was also a massive bong, and her grinders that were filled with weed all over the table. Her bedroom wasn't much better and her kitchen was basically ground zero bacteria. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done dishes, cleaned or vacuumed her place.
"Okay, I can do this. She's just a baby, I'm an alpha. We just know what to do," Charlie mumbled. She could flip the gross cushions and then place Harper down for a few minutes while she cleaned the place up a bit. Then she could check to see what was in the bag. She turns her attention to look back at Harper only to see that she was finally awake and was staring at her. Charlie blinks, Harper had her eyes. "Hi?" Charlie says gently, as Harper's bottom lip begins to quiver and she scrunches up her face.
She immediately flinches as Harper begins to scream, wailing with all the might in her little body. Charlie hesitates and tries to rock her, but it only causes the baby to scream louder. Mack had said that she had been classified as an omega, maybe she could— "Shush." Charlie says firmly, smiling when Harper stops crying for a split second. She puffs out her chest proudly, parenting clearly wasn't so—
Harper opens her mouth again and begins to wail, her face scrunched up as she cries.
"Okay! Okay! Bad idea," Charlie said rocking her as best as she can. At least Mack had taught her how to hold her before bouncing. "I'm sorry! Do you need food? A diaper change?" Charlie asks only to get nothing more than tears and screaming back. "Come on Harper," Charlie pleads as she lifts her daughter to do a quick sniff check. She wasn't even sure how to change a diaper, all she knew was that babies took milk. She was sure she had some milk in the fridge. She immediately heads to her fridge and opens it, and manages to grab the bottle of milk and opens it. Immediately gagging at the putrid smell that is coming from it. The action only causes Harper to scream louder. "I'm sorry!" Charlie repeats, tears pricking her eyes.
She had long known that she was a failure as an alpha but not knowing how to care for her daughter, only cemented the fact that she was an absolute shit alpha. She didn't have a real job, she just fought every couple of weeks at an underground fight club, to pay for the apartment and her booze and drugs, using whatever was left for food and bills. Her daughter deserved better from her and she would be better, and if that meant heading back home with her tail tucked between her legs, then she would do it. Harper had already been abandoned once and she would stand by her daughter no matter what. "Okay Harper, let's introduce you to your grandparents," Charlie whispers to her daughter who is still screaming.
~ O ~
Santana gently dabbed at her lips, befriending Quinn had definitely come with perks and eating fancy food and drinking expensive booze was one of many perks. She looked over at Judy who was finishing up her dish as well, "The meal was amazing Mrs. Fabray," she said politely.
Judy beamed at Santana, "Thank you, I hope everyone saved room for dessert. I do hope that you'll take as much as you can, it's only me and Russell right now and if it doesn't go I assure you that he'll eat it all."
"Judy," Russell groaned, though he smiled when his mate shot him a look. He knew that she cared about him but there was nothing wrong with eating cake.
"Just pack it to go mom, me and Rachel will take some home," Quinn said immediately. "Throw some in for Santana as well, or she'll stop by and raid our fridge when she gets bored and hungry."
Santana rolled her eyes, "It happened once, because I forgot to go shopping for food. In my defense I was in the middle of finals," she huffed.
"Santana," Maribel sighed, shaking her head.
"I regret nothing," Santana said childishly crossing her arms over her chest. Her nose twitches and she glances back at the house for a moment. Whatever Judy had gotten from the caterers smelt absolutely delectable.
"Do you need any help?" Hiram asked as he moved to stand up.
"Sit down Hiram," Judy chided gently. "I can certainly manage a cake and some pudding—" Judy pauses immediately and turns to her house, as the sound of a baby's cry fills the air. The lights that had been switched off in the house suddenly turn on and Judy immediately looks to her husband.
Almost immediately all the alphas that were around the table get up, moving to protect their omega's as they approach the house. Santana rolled her eyes at the display of alpha's and hopped out of her own seat. There was a child crying whoever had broken into the Fabray house was probably not an existential threat.
"Santana." Carlos stresses immediately reaching for his daughter.
Quinn darts inside the house quickly, before anyone else can do anything and before Rachel can process what she's doing. As much as she loved her father, and the rest of the adults in her life they weren't exactly young anymore and protecting omega's was a young person's game. She comes to a complete stop when she spots the blue hair, who is struggling with a large jug of milk and a bottle. "Charlie?"
Charlie turns to look at her twin, as she rocks Harper who is still screaming. "Quinn, help," she begs her twin. "She won't stop crying."
Quinn stares at the child in her twin's arms and then looks at her twin, before turning back to the child as the other alphas enter the kitchen. "I—what?" Quinn asks as she stares at the child with a dumbfounded expression on her features.
"Charlie?" Russell frowned as he looked at his wayward daughter. He hadn't seen her since he had kicked her out years ago when she had dropped out of high school. "What are you doing?"
"I think she's hungry!" Charlie snapped getting frustrated. Harper wouldn't stop crying and no one was helping. They were just standing there, like they were stuck. There was a baby clearly in distress and they were absolutely useless.
Judy appears immediately. The alphas immediately part for her and she takes one look at her daughter and the screaming baby in her arms, before glancing at the spilt milk on her usually spotless island. "Charlie, dear—what are you doing?"
"Feeding her," Charlie said as she tried to screw the top of the baby bottle on.
"Charlie you can't feed a baby cow's milk," Judy informed her youngest, immediately moving to take the crying child from Charlie's arms.
Charlie immediately lets go, giving her mother Harper, as she takes a step back and looks up, finally realizing that she had just crashed one of her parents' dinner parties. Her fists clench and she turns to look at her father, a defiant look in her eye.
Quinn finds her mind first and she looks over at Rachel for a moment, who was watching this unfold near the door. "Charlie—please tell me you didn't kidnap a baby."
Charlie flicks her eyes to her twin, and shoots her a confused look. "Wha—"
"Don't say another word," Russell hisses at his youngest daughter. "She's the District Attorney." Judy had been the one to insist on inviting Maribel and Carlos. This was her fault.
"But—"
"Not a word!" Russell barks out, causing the newborn who had been settling to start wailing. He flinches when Judy shoots him a look. "I'm trying to save our daughter from—"
"She's blood." Judy blinks and looks down at the infant in her arms. "You're mated?"
Charlie clenched her fists tighter, and looked away, she didn't want to see the look of disappointment on her mothers features. "No. Mack, she just—Mack just gave her to me. This afternoon. I didn't even know she was—you know. Harper—that's her name, started to cry and I didn't know what to do, so I came here. I'll leave but I don't know how to—I don't know how to protect her."
Disappointment flashes through Judy's eyes for a moment before she looks down at the baby in her arms. It was her granddaughter. This wasn't the worst thing that Charlie could have done, she had been sure that she was going to get a call from the police one day that her youngest child was either in jail or dead. A baby was something that they could deal with as a family. She looks up past Charlie, "Carlos, I'm sorry to ask this of you but can you check her over please."
Carlos nods as he takes a step forward, he doubted that there was anything wrong but it certainly didn't hurt to check. "Of course Judy."
Charlie immediately turns to the voice and takes a step forward, blocking his path to her daughter and narrowing her eyes at him. It was instinctive, and it causes Carlos to pause and look at her.
Maribel lets out a low growl ready to defend her mate, when Judy rolls her eyes. "Charlie dear, he's a doctor. He's not going to hurt her, and you can watch," Judy shook her head. Russell had been the same way when the children were born. It was a good sign that Charlie instincts as an alpha had kicked in but right now she needed to suppress them.
Charlie looks at her mom and then back at Carlos who gives her a patient look and her shoulders slump and she immediately takes a step back, feeling like an idiot. She had just tried to posture up on an omega, one who was trying to help her. "I'm sorry."
"It's normal to feel anxious and you don't know me," Carlos said gently.
Judy carefully hands Harper over to him, and turns to look at Quinn. "We're going to need supplies. Diapers, formula, bottles, clothes, toys and well furniture for the baby. We donated all of your baby things years ago."
Charlie frowned at this and she tears her eyes off Harper for a moment to look at her mother, "I'll pay you back, I promise."
Judy shot a pointed look at her husband who made a face. She kept staring at him until he cleared his throat. "Charlie, it is our duty as grandparents to spoil our grandchildren and that baby is our first grandchild. This is nothing." Russell said, causing Charlie to turn to him. He can't read her expression, it's been years since he's seen her, but he hopes it's the right thing to say. "We'll make sure she's safe—"
"I'll pay you back, sir." Charlie repeats immediately, she was an alpha it was her duty to take care of her child. This was just a loan until she could pay her parents back and get back on her feet.
Russell's eyes dimmed, they weren't strangers. Charlie was his daughter, maybe he had been too strict, maybe throwing her out of the house was a mistake, but she had been uncontrollable. The drugs, the violence, he hadn't known what to do. Charlie had refused to get help, it wasn't as if he hadn't kept tabs on her. "Very well," he says finally despite the look that Judy is giving him. Their relationship had been shattered and he doubted that there was anything that he could do or say to fix it. "There will be interest on this loan."
"Russell," Judy snaps at her husband. Charlie needed to stay, she was finally home and this would only drive her away again. Now more than ever they needed to be a family, and they needed to get to the bottom of why Charlie had turned out the way she had. She could still see flashes of her sweet baby in Charlie despite the walls that she had erected. If Charlie needed help now was the time.
"Yes sir," Charlie nods.
"We'll iron out the details later," Russell finishes turning his attention to Quinn who had already pulled out her phone and was ordering everything. "Get one of those mobiles, maybe with stars or something."
Quinn looked up at her father and nodded, she snuck a look at Rachel who immediately moved towards her. This was not how she envisioned this meeting would go. "I guess we're aunts now," Quinn mumbled and gently kisses Rachel on the forehead as she looks over at the tiny baby in Carlos's arms.
Rachel nodded, "It also looks like Santana might be joining the family," she murmurs quietly into Quinn's ear as she hugged her.
Quinn immediately turns her attention to look at her best friend, and nearly drops her phone. She recognized the look on Santana's face, she'd seen it before on Rachel's, and the laser focus that Santana had on Charlie could only mean one thing. She sneaks a quick look at Charlie who was razor focused on watching Carlos as he inspected her niece. "Shit," Quinn mutters under her breath. This was not good.