"You were right Quinn, a spa day was just what the doctor ordered," Charlie sighed as she rolled her shoulders. She hadn't realized that she'd been so tense. Though it certainly explained why her shoulders constantly ached . "So what next?"

Quinn rolled her eyes but smiled, Charlie never took time off. "We can surprise Rachel, you know you've never seen her perform on Broadway, I think it would make her super—" Quinn paused when Charlie's phone began to buzz. "Seriously?"

Charlie glanced at Quinn as she opened her phone, it was just a new email, "Some of the Surgeons are sending me their recommendations," Charlie stated. "You were right it wasn't the end of the world," Charlie opened her email app and raised a brow.

Quinn glanced over her shoulder, "I thought Dr. Lopez told you that she wasn't going to give you a recommendation letter."

Charlie blinked and turned to her twin, "Did you—"

"No, and as far as I know our parents didn't know about it, I don't think Rachel would have mentioned it to them either." Quinn shook her head. Charlie was an adult who could handle her own problems, and going in with the Fabray name would probably backfire. "Well this is what you wanted—what are you doing?"

"Deleting it," Charlie stated as she deleted the email, without bothering to read it. "I have other references, and I honestly don't want to figure out what her game is. I have an interview in Vermont, an interview in Maine, Colorado, and an interview with the Mayo Clinic. They might call, and I don't trust her to say nice things about me when they talk to her."

Quinn blinked, "That's actually pretty wise."

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, her contract was coming to an end in two months, and she could spend the rest of those two month's avoiding Dr. Lopez. She was going to focus on her job, and finding her soulmate, and simply being happy. "So I've never been to Broadway, do we have to dress up? What's her new musical about?" Charlie asked. "Also I think she deserves flowers, what's her favorite?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Are you really thinking of moving to Vermont?"

"Legalized weed. Of course I'm thinking of moving there," Charlie smirked. "Maybe with my soulmate. I mean now that I have time I can finally start looking for him or her. I'm honestly surprised that they haven't found me yet. I mean I thought it was someone from work, but the only people who are aging have already found their soulmate."

"Maybe it's someone in your building? I mean if you really want to find your soulmate, just ask Rachel for help. I'd give it fifteen minutes to a week."

Charlie snorted, "I'll think about it. I don't want to scare them off."

"Wise decision," Quinn agreed and bumped Charlie's arm gently. "What if you don't find them?"

Charlie shrugged, she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Then I'll get Rachel to find them. At the very least you can use that as a distraction to prevent Rachel from hounding you about starting a family. Not that you don't already use my situation for your advantage."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I don't want to be pregnant. I'll have to give up bacon! And Rachel doesn't want to risk it in case her big break in Hollywood is just around the corner."

~ O ~

Generally when she wrote a recommendation letter for anyone, they were grateful, and they sent a reply filled with their appreciation. Occasionally they stopped by her office for a chat, Sam Evans had Roderick Meeks had, but Charlotte Fabray hadn't. She hadn't even acknowledged her in passing. It was absolutely infuriating. She'd already gotten calls from prospective employers from both of them but she hadn't heard anything about Charlie's plans for the future.

It had been nearly two weeks, and she knew from the roster that Charlie had gone to a few interviews. She hadn't even discussed any plans with her, she was supposed to be her mentor. It was enough to make her blood boil, in frustration, and she was tempted to confront her.

"Found your soulmate yet?"

Santana narrowed her eyes as she looked up at Sebastian, he had a shit eating grin on his face, which meant that he knew something. "I've narrowed it down. What do you want Sebastian?"

"Guess who I just got a call from?"

"Don't care," Santana replied brusquely, turning her attention back to her patient records.

"The Mayo Clinic, they wanted to find out more information about Dr. Charlotte Fabray. Seems she interviewed with them last week and they were very impressed. I wrote her a glowing recommendation letter, actually a lot of the other surgeons have gotten calls about her. Hell, even Tina got a call. From what I hear she's got the interview in the bag." Sebastian smirked as he watched Santana's body go rigid. "They sounded rather enthusiastic on the phone."

With that Santana stood up and brushed past Sebastian, she hadn't thought Charlie would go to him of all people for a reference. And why hadn't she gotten a call? She was Santana fucking Lopez, she had turned down working for the Mayo Clinic. Mostly because she really didn't want to deal with Mercedes Jones. She stops at the nurses station. "Dr. Fabray?"

"Should be wrapping up a heart transplant in theatre three," Tina said, wincing at the murderous look on Santana's face.

Santana turned sharply and headed to theatre three, heading up the stairs so she could enter the viewing room. She had been in the room with Charlie performing her first heart transplant, and she had needed to step in several times so Charlie wouldn't kill the patient. In fact she had kicked Charlie out halfway through it, cause her hands had started to shake.

But instead of seeing a nervous hand wringing Charlie, she could only watch as Charlie completed the surgery without much fanfare. Her hands were as steady as they came. Her stitches were clean, and she seemed almost confident. It was a far cry from what she had witnessed only two years ago. Everyone had stated that Charlie was just as good as she was but she had never seen it, all she had seen was an overly nervous surgeon who was a liability. But watching her now, she saw what everyone else did. She glances at the intercom system and pushes the button as Charlie finishes up the stitching, the nurses could do that. "When you're finished and cleaned up Dr. Fabray, I expect to see you in my office."

Charlie turns to look up at the viewing room, spotting Santana standing there. Their eyes meet for a second and Santana is certain that Charlie rolled her eyes at her, before she turned her attention back to the patient and continued working.

Santana gritted her teeth, and inhaled sharply. If Charlie was going to be an ass about the whole thing then she would just confront her outside the confines of her office, and headed towards the exit to the theatre. If Charlie wanted to make their war public then she had no problem confronting her.

~ O ~

Charlie pulled off her surgical gloves and tossed them into the nearby medical waste disposal. It had been a rather tricky transplant, and she planned to talk to the family who was in the waiting room, before heading home. She had no intention of dealing with Dr. Lopez this evening, she'd get around to it. She only had six more weeks till she was free.

"As far as I am concerned you're still under contract, and I am still your direct supervisor."

Charlie froze and turned to see Santana standing by the door with her arms crossed a pissed off look on her face. She can immediately feel her anxiety rising at the confrontation, but she steels herself. "I understand that you wanted to see me, but I wanted to tell the family that the surgery went well."

"One of the nurses could take care of that." Santana snaps at Charlie, she was so used to Charlie flinching whenever she did but this time Charlie only stood up a bit straighter. "I expect—"

"I expect not to be yelled at work or threatened, or belittled. Clearly we don't always get what we want," Charlie interrupts. "You heard that I'm having a little success and you what? Want to get in on it? I worked my ass off, in spite of you. I didn't use your copy and pasted shitty reference letter, because I didn't trust you. I didn't trust you not to sabotage me like you've been doing since day one."

Santana scoffs, "Perhaps if I didn't think you were going to kill a patient—"

"No one has died on my table—"

"Yet," Santana sneered, ignoring the fact that they now have an audience. "A little bit of success is going to your head—"

"No realizing that you're nothing more than an cynical old bitch who will probably spend an eternity alone, because I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend the rest of their lives with you." The slap came like a crack, and Charlie's head snaps to the side.

A stunned silence fills the room as Charlie brings her thumb to her lip, and touches the blood. She pulls her thumb back and looks at it for a second, before she sees red and moves without thinking as Santana takes a step back.

Immediately Dr. Schuester has his arms around her waist, holding her back as a few of the nurses immediately step in between them.

"That's enough!" Dr. Schuester snaps loudly as Charlie tries to shove him away so she can let out years of pent up frustration on Santana. With a bit of effort, Charlie was deceptively strong, he managed to turn her around and push her hard against a wall as he turned to look at the nurses. "Get her out of here," he barks out, glaring at Santana.

Santana jerks her arm away before any of the nurses can touch her, and immediately spins around on her back foot, and storms out. Her eyes burned with hot tears of anger. If Charlie wanted her to be the damn villain she'd be the damn villain.