Santana grunted as she grabbed her heavy rucksack off the conveyor belt, and slipped it on before turning to look at the busy airport. It had been two long years since she'd stepped foot on US soil, but her contract with MSF had expired, and she hadn't signed up for another one. Two years of sharpening her skills in war zones, and disaster zones had been difficult. She had missed her fancy sleep number bed, she had missed buying expensive booze—and working with the latest medical technology.

She had no intention of staying in the states for an extended period of time, this was merely a small break before she signed yet another contract with MSF. It should be enough time to check in with a few old friends, and perhaps—check in on her soulmate. She had every intention of keeping her promise, Charlie would never see her again but she needed to make sure that her soulmate was happy and thriving in her absence. Charlie deserved it so even if it hurt, she wasn't going to try and interfere, especially if Charlie was dating someone else.

Adjusting her rucksack on her shoulders so it was more comfortable, she grabs her carry-on and makes her way to grab a ride to her hotel. Her first call would be to Mercedes to check in with how her soulmate was doing, but as she's making her way through the crowd she pauses when she spots a television that is currently playing the news and comes to a complete stop when she spots a familiar face, that causes her heart to cry out both with joy and sorrow. She wanted to be with her soulmate, she wanted to get to know Charlie but her soulmate had rejected her.

She hadn't been expecting to actually see her soulmate, and she takes a few steps towards the television ignoring people who shoot her annoyed looks. Sure enough the chiron on the bottom of the screen has Charlie's name on it, and she feels the pride swell in her chest, even as she wondered what she had missed in the two years she'd been gone.

Charlie actually looked nice, and she wasn't in surgical scrubs as she talked with the news anchor with a smile on her face. From the ease that she was talking, it was clear that Charlie had become a consultant in their time apart. From what she knew of Charlie's financial state, it was probably a good thing that she got a consulting gig, it was good money. It was clear that Charlie was flourishing without her and if all she could do was cheer from the sidelines then that was what she was going to do.

~ O ~

Dr. Jones sighed, one of these days she would be able to get a handle on her paperwork, but at this point it seemed like a pipe dream. The moment that she found a suitable replacement, she was going to step down from her position and enjoy having free time again. She wouldn't have to manage the various egos, she wouldn't have to create schedules or have numerous meetings with the hospital's board. What she wouldn't give for a vacation, preferably somewhere with nice beaches and men waiting on her hand and foot.

She smiles as she leans back thinking of all the drinks that she could have when there is a firm knock on the door and before she can even say come in or look up to see who it was, the door to her office opens and Santana Lopez saunters inside as if she still worked here.

"Missed me Wheezy?"

Mercedes groaned and placed her pen down, "I was pretty sure you were stranded in a war torn country."

Santana shrugged but there was still an amused smile on her face as she prods Mercedes, "Were you worried about me?"

Mercedes rolls her eyes, "No," she answers truthfully before finally giving Santana her attention. "I haven't thought about you since your soulmate quit on me after you abandoned her. Do you know how much paperwork the two of you caused me? I've got PTSD from all the bullshit the two of you put me through." Mercedes scowled, "You two were made for each other."

Santana's smile faded in an instant, "What?"

"PTSD, you're a doctor who was in a war zone, I'm sure you've seen some things," Mercede repeats herself.

"Not that, what do you mean Charlie quit."

"You didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't know—I wouldn't be here, wait you let her out of her contract? What about her signing bonus?"

Mercedes sighed, all this could have been discussed over a phone call, now she was the messenger and judging from Santana's increasing agitation, she was about to get murdered. "She paid it back, the only nice thing I can say about her is that she at least waited until I found her replacement before leaving."

"She couldn't afford—"

"Her family is wealthy, I mean do you know anything about your soulmate other than she's your soulmate?" Mercedes asks, tilting her head to the side.

Santana immediately glances away, she didn't know anything about Charlie, at least nothing that she hadn't already known. "I know plenty about her."

"You read her resume, congratulations you did the bare minimum required to effectively mentor someone," Mercedes responds dryly. "Look Charlie left this hospital a few months after you left, it wasn't because you left. It was because you asked me to lie for you. I doubt she would have left if you had just told her what you were doing and why."

"I told her—" Santana began clenching her fists.

Mercedes held up her hand, "You know what, if you hadn't left you two would probably be together by now. I didn't even tell her that you had left. She went to your apartment with pizza and beer, and found someone else living there. You probably would be aging right now if you had just stayed. But you ran away like a coward, and now you're here about to yell at me for what? I didn't want to lose a surgeon of your calibre, but I had Dr. Fabray who I truly believed would rise through the ranks and take my position, so I could retire to a beach somewhere. Her skills just needed a bit of work, something you could have helped her with."

"She didn't want me," Santana snapped. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to have your soulmate reject you? Of course you don't, you're eighty years old and you look eighteen," Santana snapped.

Mercedes rolled her eyes, years ago that insult would have hurt but she wasn't hurting for company. She dated just fine, she loved and she lived. She wasn't desperate to grow old and die, like Santana was. She would be happy with the direction her life had taken if she wasn't burdened with all this endless paperwork. "Santana, you bullied her for her entire residency, and she took it. She took everything you dished out for years. And you couldn't even last a year of her brushing you off? I mean come on, she needed to see you in a new light and the moment that she did, and went to talk to you maybe work it out—she finds out that you're missing. It's like you're actively sabotaging your relationship with your soulmate."

For once in her very long life, Santana was speechless and she closed her eyes. "Do you know—"

"Of course I do, it's not like she dropped off the face of the earth like you did. She's in New York with her family, she's currently working at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, but not as a surgeon from what I understand."

"She's not a surgeon?"

"She's still a surgeon, that's not going to change, as far as I know she's keeping her education current and doing difficult surgeries when she isn't working for the medical device company that she works for, plus she's consulting. She's been busy and quite frankly she's flourished without you. I can't imagine she'll be happy to see you," Mercedes points out and hesitates when Santana deflates a bit. "So for once in your life be patient, because you owe it to her, and be yourself. As prickly and as that is."

Santana was quiet for a moment, before she exhales. "Can I call in another favor?"

"You already owe me twenty," Mercedes replies with a roll of her eyes. This would be more paperwork. "At the rate you're racking this up and if you are successful you're probably going to die before I come and collect. I do want to point out that you're Santana Lopez, if you want a job at the same hospital just go to HR, they'll hire you on the spot."

"I know that, I was going to ask if I could borrow your place up in New York until I get a place for myself. I hate staying at hotels. I'll pay market rate."

Mercedes groaned, "Fine."

Santana relaxed, she could certainly do this.