"Your daughter is in the garage," Maribel stated simply as Carlos finally made his way downstairs and made a beeline to the coffee maker.
Carlos paused for a moment, his hand on his mug before he poured himself a cup and looked at his wife after taking a long sip. "Why is she my daughter? And why is she in the garage? Doesn't she have her own place?"
Maribel shrugged her shoulders, "She's doing medicine things and we agreed that when she was doing medicine things she was your daughter."
"You can't still be sore about the fact that Santana chose to go into medicine instead of becoming a lawyer, I thought we agreed we'd support her in anything she chose to do," Carlos said, trying to keep the smug smile off his face.
"I support her, I simply disagree with her choice of profession. I'm her mother, I'm allowed to be disappointed she didn't follow in my footsteps." Maribel replied flicking Carlos who finally does shoot her smug pleased grin. "She would have made a fantastic lawyer."
"She would have," Carlos said, rubbing her wifes back. "You'll have another shot, when we get grandchildren."
Maribel huffed, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Santana was adamant that she didn't want children, and she had yet to meet her alpha which meant there wasn't even a chance of an accident grandchild. She's about to make a comment when there's a loud crash that comes from their garage. The loud noise is enough to get them both to turn towards the garage, where Santana is cursing in spanish. "She's your daughter," Maribel reminded him before turning back to her coffee and breakfast.
Carlos sighed and headed to check on his daughter, perhaps now was a good time to get her to clean up all of the stuff that she had dumped in the garage, because it was free storage. He opens the door and pokes his head into the garage, noting that several boxes had fallen but Santana was busy pushing them out of the way so she could get back to the whiteboard she was writing on. "Trying to figure out a difficult case? You haven't brought out that board since you did your first USMLE exam."
Santana turned to look at her father and spotted the cup of coffee in his hand and made a beeline for it, hopping over overturned boxes and swiping his cup before making her way back to the board. She takes a sip and turns back to the whiteboard. "Something like that. Where's mami?"
"Kitchen, apparently you're my daughter when you do medicine things," Carlos smiled at his daughter and swiped his coffee back from her. He takes a look at the board. "Anosmia?" He asked reading off the board, it was the only thing written on it and he looked at his daughter. "What's the case."
Santana bit her lip, if she mentioned that Charlie was her soulmate to her parents, they would get into her business. "An alpha doesn't have the appropriate response when meeting her mate for the first time." Santana finally stated and looked at her father. "By all accounts the alpha in question is a healthy adult, but has shown no interest towards the omega, at least no sexual interest."
Carlos paused for a moment and turned to look at the board before looking at his daughter, "And you're certain that the alpha in question is the mate."
"The omega in question is certain," Santana replied looking at her father. She'd never been more certain of anything in her life, Charlie was her mate.
"Is the alpha in question mated? Like fully mated?" Carlos asked, that would certainly explain why they weren't reacting.
"No, the alpha doesn't have a mate," Santana said looking back at the board.
Carlos looked at his daughter, "Are there any omega's in that alpha's life?"
Santana was about to scoff at that when she pauses, Harper was an omega. "There is, but—"
"But?" Carlos presses, but Santana immediately clams up. "Santana, you know I can't help you if you don't give me all the information."
Santana hesitated, she didn't know much about her mate, not really. Quinn rarely talked about her, but what she did know was that Charlie had been kicked out years ago. She couldn't imagine that Russell of all people had kicked out Charlie without a very good reason. Not to mention Charlie as far as she was aware didn't have a high school diploma, and had avoided talking about what she did for a living, which probably meant that while she may have a job it wasn't impressive in the least. Her parents would probably never approve, especially since Charlie had a child. Still her father was rather progressive all things considered, he might be more understanding than her mother— "The alpha has an omega child."
Carlos immediately put two and two together, and stared at his daughter. "Are you certain."
Santana glanced away, "It fits, Quinn's always smelt the best even if she smelt wrong. I know she feels something, because when I flirt with her she reacts, if her ears turned any redder—" Santana sighs and looks at the board. "Please don't tell mami."
Carlos was quiet for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, "Alright."
Santana turned to look at her father, he had agreed rather quickly to hide this information from her mother. "You—approve?"
"I'm not sure yet, I don't know her and from what I've heard, and what I've seen I would be lying if I told you I wasn't worried. She seems feral. But, what I've also seen is that even if she doesn't have the first clue how to take care of a baby and truthfully if Judy hadn't insisted that she stay I would have called CPS immediately, but she has the right instincts."
"She does." Santana agrees, glad that her father was keeping an open mind. She turns back to the whiteboard. "She has a child."
"She's bonding with that child right now. That's why she's not acknowledging you."
"I know," Santana licks her lips. Asking Charlie to consider giving up the child had crossed her mind, but she didn't want to be with an alpha who was willing to abandon a child. "All I have to do then is wait till the new baby smell wears off, and she'll probably be back to normal right?"
Carlos suddenly froze, as it suddenly clicked that he should have never promised to hide all this from his wife. There was a baby involved,a responsibility that Santana would have difficulty navigating. "Santana, please don't rush into anything."
"I know," Santana said immediately. "Fuck."
~ O ~
"Where's your sister?"
Quinn looked up from where she was smothering her pancakes and bacon with maple syrup. "I think she stayed up all night just watching Harper," she answers her father with a shrug. "I took Santana home after midnight, and when I got back Charlie was still up just you know staring at her. She was in the same position when I checked on her this morning."
"Harper certainly has a pair of lungs on her," Rachel said with a yawn. They'd all been woken up to Harper's cries at 3 am, it had taken nearly an hour for her to get back to sleep. "Do you think that your sister will let me give her singing lessons? It's never too early to start Harper's love of musical theater."
"You can certainly ask her," Quinn said as she took a bite, and looked over at her father who had been rather quiet as he ate his breakfast. Despite the fact that their mother was fussing over him, she could still feel the tension between the two of them. They had argued last night, and possibly into the morning about what to do about Charlie. It felt like high school all over again.
Judy cleared her throat, "I'll go let her know that her breakfast is on the table, it's been a while and with everything going on she's probably forgotten what time we eat breakfast."
"Judy—"
"Harper is our granddaughter, our first granddaughter you can't just—"
"I'll go get her," Russell interrupts his wife as he gets up. He wasn't some monster, Charlie had finally come home and maybe now that she was here, they could finally get her the help she needed. He needed to be firm, if Charlie wanted their help she'd need to get her GED and get a job, so she could support Harper. However, if Charlie wanted to go to school and to get a degree he'd support her financially as well. Hopefully Charlie was willing to put her pride aside so that they could help.
Judy hesitated, the last time Charlie and Russell had been in a room together Charlie had been physically thrown from the house. It had been the first and last time Russell had ever put his hands on their children, and she couldn't blame him. They needed to start mending that relationship, and as much as she wanted to supervise they needed to relearn how to talk to one another. "Alright."
Russell nodded at his mate and got up to go and check on his youngest and his grandchild. He had yet to hold her and he had been unsure how to even ask her if he could. He sighs mostly to himself, he had so many questions for Charlie. But he would need to wait until they were at least on speaking terms again. He makes his way up the stairs and heads towards Charlie's old room, and stops at the door where he watches Charlie attempting to clean up a dirty diaper. She's fumbling around with the sticky bits trying to get them to stick when he decides to help out. "Do you want me to do it?"
Charlie turns to look at her father, "Do you know how to change a diaper?" she asks him.
Russell snorted, "Of course I do. You and Quinn seemed to be in sync when it came to pooping sometimes and your mother needed an extra set of hands." He moves closer and grabs another diaper. He quickly inspects the workspace before ushering Charlie to step aside so he could put a diaper on his grandchild. "Do you know how many times you and Quinn attempted to pee on me? Every single time I changed your diaper, never with your mother of course, always with me," he lets out a laugh. He was sure that they had done it on purpose, alpha children were always such little shits.
Charlie nodded and watched her father work, he's not as quick as her mom had been, which made it easier to follow the steps involved. "Thank you, for letting me stay tonight. I just need to clean my apartment and I'll be out of your hair."
Russell doesn't say anything immediately as he makes sure that Harper is dry before putting on the diaper and reaching for her new onesie so he can put her into something adorable. Perhaps he should call a photographer so he could hang her picture up in his office. "My company is hiring a mail clerk, I doubt it pays much but far more than minimum wage."
Charlie blinked and tore her eyes off Harper so she could look at him, "What?"
Russell smiles at Harper, and makes a funny face at her as he dresses her. "It's been eight years Charlie, and you have a daughter. Your mother and I have—we discussed it. You and Harper can live in the guest house until you're financially stable. The only three rules I have is that you have a job, you get your GED, and no drugs or alcohol. I understand that Harper's existence is a bit of a shock, and by the time you're stable you'll be more comfortable in being her parent. Also this will allow us to easily see our granddaughter."
Charlie swallowed and turned her attention back to Harper, it was certainly a lifeline. She didn't exactly have any job prospects lined up, at least not ones that would allow her to easily support Harper, and she wasn't even sure how she could work and put food on the table for Harper either. She would need to pay someone to watch her. She'd seen how expensive diapers were and even if she got the reusable ones, she didn't exactly have a washer and dryer in her building, nor the space to put a crib or changing table in her place. Taking her parents up on the offer was the smart thing to do, but she was an alpha. She was supposed to provide for her family and Harper was her family. "I—"
"Think about it before you say no, really think about it. You need help right now and that's fine, and as much as I'm certain this hurts your alpha pride, this isn't about just you anymore. You have to put Harper's interest ahead of your pride."
Charlie nodded, and focused on Harper, "I should get a bottle ready for her, she's probably hungry."
"She probably is, it is breakfast, your mother made pancakes and bacon, and she is expecting you at the table with Harper. She—we've missed you. And it would be nice if our family could have breakfast together." Russell said as he finished getting Harper ready and looks at Charlie who still looks uncertain.
Charlie took a moment and looked at Harper who was sucking at her pacifier staring at her father. "I can stay for breakfast."
A pleased smile appeared on Russell's usually stern features, "Good. Your mother will be pleased." He immediately picks up Harper, deciding not to ask for permission and begins to coo at her.
~ O ~
Santana sighed as she looked at the dumb teddy-bear that she had bought for Harper, she wasn't quite sure if it was age-appropriate, but right now Charlie was bonding with Harper, which meant that she needed to put in an effort even if she wasn't exactly a fan of babies or children. "Okay, Lopez, you've got this," Santana murmurs mostly to herself as she reaches for the doorbell. She pauses before she pushes it and instead chooses to knock on the door, hoping that someone was home and had heard her knock.
She peers up at the Fabray mansion and shakes her head slightly, it was weird to think that she'd been to her mate's home a million times before she'd met her mate. It was even weirder that she'd seen pictures of her mate as a child and a teenager, it felt like she had known Charlie for her entire life. Santana inhales deeply and smiles at the warm comfortable scent of her mate, which appeared to be closeby. Almost immediately she flicks her eyes to the window to check her appearance before straightening up when the door opens.
Charlie rubbed the sleep from her eye, while yawning and freezes when her brain finally processed that the person that had knocked had been Santana, and that she had been sleeping in just a sports bra and boxers. She hopes that her body had been on autopilot and she'd thrown on clothes, but a quick glance down informs her that she hadn't put on pants or a shirt.
Santana tilted her head, as a smile slowly spread across her face as she stared at her mate. "I honestly thought it would take me longer to get you down to this much clothing. At least I can see what I'm—" Santana blinked when Charlie shut the door in her face. "Seriously?"
"What are you doing here?" Charlie asks, raising her voice so Santana can hear her. She needed pants, where the fuck were her pants?
Santana grinned, deciding that she found it amusing that her mate had gotten flustered. "I brought a gift for Harper, and I came to see you."
"Why?"
Santana paused, the smile slipping from her face. "You really haven't figured it out yet? Your body certainly has if what I saw was any indication."
Charlie's eyes widened and glanced downward for a second before looking at the ceiling, wishing that the ground beneath her would open up. "I really don't know what you're talking about."
Santana sighed and reached for the door, and tested it before smiling and opening the door, Charlie had just closed the door, she hadn't locked it. She looks at her mate who quickly backs away and lets out a rather pathetic growl in an attempt to warn her away. It was obvious from how her breathing had picked up and from the rather large tent in her boxers that Charlie at least subconsciously knew who she was. "You can smell it right?" Santana asks as she enters Charlie's personal space.
Charlie inhales deeply and her eyes contract and she can feel the primal heat starting to build deep within her stomach and her hips practically buck. Still it takes her mind a moment to cut through the fog of pheromones as it suddenly clicks. "You're my mate."
"Got it in one," Santana responds, a pleased smile stretching across her face. She had certainly noticed that hip thrust, it had been hard not to. She bites her lower lip and moves to wrap her arms around Charlie's neck, but blinks in surprise when Charlie stops her, gripping her arms and stopping her from doing as she pleased. She grinned, she was certainly okay with letting Charlie be in charge.
"Santana, I'm sorry, but we can't." Charlie replies, taking a step away from her, to put some distance between them. Being near Santana made her head foggy and she really wasn't sure that her parents or Quinn would appreciate walking in on her having sex with Santana.
Santana frowned, before taking in her surroundings, "You're right, I think our first time should certainly be in a bed—" she trails off when Charlie doesn't look at her. "What exactly do you mean we can't?"
Charlie glances at Santana as she wills her body back under control, and swallows, feeling a lump in her throat as her body fights against any attempts to calm down. "We can't mate Santana, I can't be your mate. I have Harper to think of. I'm not going to abandon her."
Santana opened her mouth and then closed it, she wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "What?" When had she asked for Charlie to abandon her daughter? They could mate and figure it all out later. She could be like Harper's cool aunt or something, and just spoil her. Like they didn't need to make this fucking difficult.
Charlie takes a deep breath and exhales through her mouth, an alpha was supposed to be in charge, but even with that knowledge she had a feeling that attempting to throw her weight around would end badly for her. "She's already been abandoned by Mack. I can't abandon her. Besides, you deserve a good alpha who can provide for you."
Santana saw red, "Excuse me?" What type of regressive shit was that? She didn't need a bloody alpha to provide for her, she was going to be an orthopedic surgeon.
"I'm a fuck up Santana, I'm sure you heard the stories from Quinn. You're going to be a surgeon, you're going to be someone important and if I'm your mate I'll only drag you down. I mean I'm a highschool dropout who has like 27 dollars in her bank account. I refuse to be a burden for my—" Charlie stops talking when Santana holds up her hand, and she flinches at the dark look on her face.
"We're not having this conversation while you have no pants on," Santana interrupted, her tone was even despite the disappointment and displeasure that was etched on her face. Her excitement at meeting her mate had soured, she had thought that Charlie was feral. She didn't quite understand why Charlie was ruining it, today was supposed to be one of the happiest days in the world for her. She was supposed to be having her clothes turn off, and having the best sex of her life right now. Instead her mate was being—she shakes her head, this might just be baby brain. It was probably a thing and Charlie probably had it, she just needed to be a patient, because Charlie was the most attractive woman she'd ever seen, and judging from the tent in her pants it would be worth it to wait.
