Whoever said that time heals all wounds, was talking out their ass as far as Santana was concerned. She had hoped that just giving Charlie as much space as she could would show the younger woman that she respected her boundaries. It was difficult, they did live in the same building. Every interaction that had happened in the three months since Charlie had declared that she wanted nothing to do with her, had been strictly professional. And it hurt.
For over two hundred years all she had ever wanted was to meet her soulmate. She had wanted to age with her soulmate and maybe start a family together. She had wanted the life Brittany had managed, a family, grandchildren, and a person who loved her unconditionally.
The whole thing would be comical if it wasn't so painful. She had wanted a soulmate so bad and had become so jaded and bitter waiting that when her soulmate had come along she had treated her horrendously. She had crossed the line from being critical to simply bullying her soulmate, and she really couldn't blame Charlie for wanting nothing to do with her.
And the cherry on top of this shit sundae was that she'd been forced to watch Charlie work. She had always prided herself on her surgical skills, but Charlie—Charlie had the potential to surpass her. If she had taken an interest in Charlie's education, and had actually done her job to mentor Charlie then she was certain that Charlie would have surpassed her ages ago.
She wasn't even sure how to begin apologizing to Charlie. Not that she believed that Charlie was going to forgive her, let alone forget about the seven years of hell that she'd been put through. But she'd given Charlie three months to calm down, so hopefully she'd be a bit receptive to an apology.
Swallowing her pride, had never been one of Santana's strong suits, but she was currently standing outside Charlie's small office, watching her soulmate work. Charlie hadn't noticed her yet, as she wrote something in a patient's chart. Taking a deep breath, Santana knocked on the open door and watched as Charlie looked up with a smile on her face which immediately faded when she realized that it's just her. "Can I have a moment of your time—Dr. Fabray?"
"I have a consultation soon," Charlie replies, her tone cold. When Santana doesn't budge she closes the file that was open on her desk. "I thought I was clear, that I don't want to go to dinner with you or start a relationship with you."
Santana winces at her tone, but steals herself. "I know. I actually wanted to stop by to apologize." Charlie narrowed her eyes and before Charlie could interrupt her apology, she quickly continued on. "I—I was wrong. I treated you poorly. I've been reflecting over my actions over the past three months, and I realized that I wasn't critical, I bullied you and I failed in my duty to be your mentor. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I did want to apologize for my behavior. I went too far, and during these past three months I've actually paid attention to your work, and how you interact with your patients and I realized that I was also incorrect over my assessment of your skills."
Charlie bristled, "Are you being serious right now?" She asks as she tosses her pen onto her desk and stares at Santana, disbelief on her features.
"My apology—"
"Is fucking bullshit. You did the exact same thing after you refused to give me a recommendation. That's when you figured it out isn't it? Or at the very least began to have suspicions that I was your soulmate. You probably decided that you wanted to hedge your bets." Charlie points out angrily. When Santana glances away she knows that there is a kernel of truth to her accusation. "So what is it now? You realized that I'm far better than you thought and you want to tell people that you trained me? Or is this a shitty attempt to get me to go out with you?"
"No. I'm not trying to apologize to get something out of you," Santana insists, despite Charlie scoffing at her words. "Do you have any idea how old I am?"
Charlie shrugged, she figured that Santana was on the older side. "I don't see what that has to do with—"
"I turn 235 in a couple of months. I've been waiting for you—for my soulmate for 217 years. That's not an excuse, it's not even a reason. It's difficult to watch everyone you love grow old and die. I don't really have anyone left and I've been by myself for over a century. When you walked in looking so young—I got annoyed, especially when I noticed you had begun to age. It wasn't fair and I lashed out at you. I was cruel and I'm sorry. There is no excuse, there is nothing that I can say that will take your pain away. All I can say is that I want to be there for you moving forward, at your pace."
If Santana had hoped that her words would change Charlie's mind she was mistaken when Charlie picked up her folder. "I have a consultation soon."
It was a harsh dismissal but Santana nods and takes her leave. The ball was in Charlie's court now, and all she could do was wait for an opportunity to prove to Charlie that she would be better, or hope that Charlie was willing to give her a chance. "Thank you for your time."