Charlie stared at her mother's coffee machine that was in front of her, it looked like it had come from a spaceship, and she's unsure which button to press. She already owed her parents a few thousand dollars and she didn't exactly have a way to pay them back. Adding a fancy coffee machine to the bill was not something that she particularly wanted to pay for. She glances at Santana who was leaning against the kitchen island watching her, and flushes.

"You don't have any idea how to use that do you?"

"It's different from the one I remember, and I don't want to break it," Charlie admits, pulling back as Santana moves towards the device. She watches quietly as Santana operates the machine, pushing a button. The machine begins to work and she can't help but look amazed.

Santana glanced up at Charlie, and rolled her eyes, it was a coffee machine. The coffee machine that she and Quinn had helped Judy set up last Christmas. "Quinn's my best friend, I've spent the night a few times," when Charlie visibly bristles, she can't help but smirk at the jealousy that crosses Charlie's face. She doesn't bother to correct the misunderstanding, Charlie had already stated that she didn't want to mate, and she was not going to just let that go easily, baby brain or no.

"Thanks," Charlie mumbles when Santana hands her the mug, taking a sip and simply enjoying the quiet.

"So, where is Harper?" Santana asks after a moment. The house was quiet and she was surprised that Charlie had the house to herself. "Did your parents kidnap your baby?"

"Dad went out earlier to get a car seat installed in the car, so that they could take her shopping. Mom said that she didn't have anywhere near enough clothes, or bibs, or pacifiers. Quinn and Rachel said that they'd swing by my place to pick up some clothes."

Santana tilted her head, well that explained why Charlie was wearing what she had been wearing before. "You know Rachel will probably snoop in your things, right? And then try and organize everything for you, without your permission because she doesn't understand boundaries." It was actually something that they had in common, minus the cleaning.

Charlie shrugged, that would probably be helpful. She couldn't bring Harper back to her place, it wasn't fit for a newborn. "I don't have a lot of things, and if she wants to clean my apartment then I don't have to stay here and rely on my parents."

"What's wrong with relying on your parents? Quinn still relies on your parents, they pay for her tuition and her apartment. And now that she's mated to Rachel, she's getting her hands on her trust fund," Santana points out. When Charlie frowns, she shrugs in response. "Quinn and I have been friends since freshman year, I'm like her only friend Charlie. Of course I know about her trust fund, it's not like Quinn hid it. Your parents bought her a Benz for graduating university, Quinn's not telling them to take it back."

Charlie looks away for a moment, "Quinn isn't a disappointment," she says finally. "The only reason my father is trying to help is because they both know that I have no idea how to take care of a baby. I'm sure they think that if I leave with her now I'll sell her for meth or something."

Santana snorted, before realizing that Charlie seemed to be serious. "I mean you're skinny but you're not on meth are you?" Charlie's teeth and her skin seemed fine.

"No," Charlie said after a moment. Perhaps if she lied, Santana would realize what she already knew. She was a shitty alpha, and she'd be better off with someone in the same tax bracket or at least someone who paid taxes. But, she really was a shitty liar. "I do other drugs though, that's why I got kicked out. That and I got expelled again."

"For shitty weed?" Santana questions.

"For putting a beta in the hospital," Charlie replied, as she turned her attention to the sounds coming from outside. Either her parents or Quinn and Rachel were back. "I'm not who you dreamed your mate would be Santana, I'm damaged. I'm not particularly bright either, you would be better off with someone else."

Santana rolled her eyes and dropped her voice, "You don't know me, and you have no idea what or who I want. I'll decide whether you're a worthy alpha to mate with, not you. Fucking alpha's always thinking that they're hot shit, newsflash: you aren't."

Before Charlie can respond, the front door opens, ending their conversation as she moves to see her daughter. What she doesn't expect is numerous bags, from different stores on the front step, and her father making a beeline towards the car.

"What are you doing? Come make yourself useful and help take the bags inside. We've got more stuff being delivered today," Russell informs his daughter as he grabs more bags from the trunk.

Charlie eyed the bags and then her father, "I thought you said you were going to buy her a few new outfits," she said as she grabbed the bags and brought them inside. "And where's Harper?"

"In the car with your mother, she was an angel this morning, didn't cry once. Slept the entire car ride over," Russell informs Charlie, as he grabs the rest of the bags and brings them into the house, pausing at the entrance. He could smell the thick scent of pheromones in the air. "Rachel and Quinn back yet?"

"No," Charlie mumbles. "Santana's here though."

Russell looks up and spots Santana leaning against the wall and nods towards her, before looking at Charlie. "Santana's a close friend of Quinn's, she's also going places, don't screw it up."

Charlie's cheeks burn in embarrassment and she keeps her head down as she puts away the bags, "Yes sir," she mutters under her breath, she can't look up at Santana or anyone she just needs to focus on getting Harper back in her arms.

Santana raised a brow, her opinion of Charlie had been shattered with that rather spineless display. Quinn had made it seem like her twin sister was feral and wild. Charlie was the exact opposite, and it was a massive turnoff. Perhaps Charlie was right and they weren't meant to be, the sex would probably be vanilla as fuck. "I just stopped by to give Harper a present. I need to head back, I need to study for my last licensing exam."

"I'm sure Harper will love it," Russell says with a pleasant smile on his face. He turned to look at Charlie for a moment, he wasn't quite sure what had happened but he needed to have a conversation with her. Santana was off limits, the last thing he needed was Maribel making his life difficult because Charlie had managed to fuck up Santana's life.

Santana nodded at Russell as she brushed past Charlie, not bothering to spare her another glance as she grabbed her purse. "Mind telling Quinn to give me a call when she gets back?"

"Of course," Russell promises, stepping aside for her. "Don't forget to say bye to Judy, I'm sure she'll be disappointed that you aren't staying for longer, but we're all hoping you do well on your exam."

"Thank you, and I will," Santana says, not bothering to stop and look at Charlie, though she can feel Charlie's eyes on her, instead she just walks down the stairs, and heads over to the car in the driveway and waves at Judy.

~ O ~

"I'm pretty sure that I told you that I didn't approve of this," Quinn stated as she flopped onto Santana's couch and looked at her best friend.

"I was certain I told you that I didn't approve of you mating with Rachel. Since when do we listen to each other?" Santana shoots back, passing Quinn a glass of wine. "Speaking of the hobbit, where is she?"

"With Harper. I think I'd be jealous if Harper was an alpha. She's not even like a week old and she's already managed to wrap everyone around her little fingers," Quinn sighed. "I'm worried that Rachel will think that now is the right time to have a little one of our own, but I still have to finish my MBA, and other courses—and Rachel is still auditioning right now, it won't be a good look if she gets pregnant right away."

Santana makes a face, the last thing she needed was more babies in her life. Babies ruined everything. "I didn't call you here to talk about it. I called you here to bitch at you for getting my hopes up. I thought you said that Charlie was feral."

Quinn tilted her head, there were quite a few things to unpack in Santana's statement, and she's not sure where to even begin. "Feral alpha's are dangerous Santana. The only reason Charlie's not rotting in prison is because dad paid the family of the beta she put in the hospital. He also made several large donations to the school—basically he covered it up Santana. They got into it because she snapped at mom and I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back as they say. Mom's always defended Charlie, always tried to play the peacekeeper and she snapped at her. Dad beat her, like it was the most violent I've ever seen my father. Even as an alpha it was fucking terrifying. There was blood everywhere, fuck I still have nightmares of that night."

Santana snorted in disbelief, "Look, you and your family might see Charlie as feral, but all I see is a wounded animal, and it's like the unsexiest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. You know I practically threw myself at her today, and she went on about how she isn't good enough or some shit. If I wanted to fuck a beta, then I would have fucked a beta. But Charlie's not even a beta, she's more—" She stops when Quinn lets out a low warning growl.

"The only reason that Charlie hasn't been kicked out again, and the only reason my parents haven't attempted to separate her and Harper, is because they hope that the years have mellowed her out. Look, I know that the media portrays these sort of romances as a good thing, but you don't want Charlie to be feral, you want her to be the person she was before she lost her fucking mind."

"What's with alpha's attempting to tell me what I want and what I need. Your sister tried that earlier today when she told me to go find a more successful alpha. As if Charlie couldn't take care of me, the moment we mate she gets access to her trust fund doesn't she? And I've seen your bank account, and your portfolio. She doesn't need to work."

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose, it wasn't as if she had shown Santana her bank account. Santana had been bored and had decided to snoop one day and she'd been busy signing the documents that her dad had given her, it was the only reason that Santana even had an inkling of how rich she was. Of how rich her family was. "After Charlie got kicked out, dad went scorched earth. The only reason that there are still pictures of her in the house is because my mother put her foot down. I honestly don't think she has the trust anymore. My dad disowned her, my parents talked about her as if she was dead, if they ever talked about her. I mean they'll probably set up a fund for Harper, but Charlie will never see a dime of that money and she'll never be in charge of that money because at the end of the day my parents don't trust her."

Santana scoffed, "She's my mate Quinn, she's not going to hurt me. Hell I practically threw myself at her, and she rebuffed me, and fed me with all this woe is me crap. She's not a danger to me."

"This isn't a movie Santana, or a television show. All because you're her omega, doesn't mean that you're safe. All it's going to do is take one bad day, maybe she gets a bit rough, and you don't think anything of it, and it slowly escalates, and she chips away at your self-esteem. I love my sister, and you're my best friend. If Charlie was the Charlie that I knew growing up, I'd want to know why the two of you haven't mated yet. But that version of Charlie's been gone for a really long time Santana. I hope she comes back and she can be the person I know will be good for you, but realistically people don't change."

"Except by all accounts she did, you just said that she did and you don't know why and your parents don't know why. Look, I'm certainly not going to spend my time chasing after an alpha who doesn't want me, even if she is my mate. I have more self-respect than that. When she gets her head out of her ass, and asks for me you can tell her where to find me. Until that time, I'm going to enjoy being single. I mean she turned me down, fuck probalby would have been the best sex she's ever had."

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Gross."

"Please, what's gross is walking in on you and the hobbit naked on the couch, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. Missionary is boring Quinn. I had to invest in mind bleach for that, and I still have recurring nightmares," Santana laughs when Quinn shoves her. "I almost feel sorry for Rachel, almost."

~ O ~

Charlie's eyes watered as she changed the dirty diaper, moving slowly like her dad had shown her. She was still awkward at cleaning up the mess, but she managed to get Harper clean and toss the dirty diaper in the can that her mother had gotten for her. She finishes up and smiles at her daughter, gently rubbing her small hand. "Did you have fun with your grandparents?" She asks her daughter, who just stares at her sucking on her pacifier.

Charlie's smile fades slightly as she studies her daughter. Harper wasn't supposed to exist, and with her dark brown hair, she shared more of Mack's features than hers. But that didn't matter, Harper was hers, and she'd do everything in her power to protect her and provide for her. "I just need to pay them back Harper, and it'll be you and me, always." She didn't know much about parenting but she did know that she wanted her daughter to be happy and feel loved. She picks Harper up and takes her to the rocking chair that her parents had bought, and gently begins to rock her.

"I met my mate today," she whispers to her daughter. "Her name's Santana and she's beautiful, and smart and she's going places." Charlie explains to her daughter, she doesn't get a response, but it's been so long since she's talked to someone, and actually said what she felt. Hearing about Santana, and what she did made her feel proud, it was an odd sensation but her omega was amazing. "I wanted to be selfish, and make her mine, so you'd have a proper family you know," she whispers to Harper. "You need a good role model for an omega, and I'd rather you be like Santana than me or Mack, we're both damaged. But I don't think Santana wants to be your mom, and I can't force that on her. Maybe one day I'll find someone who loves you just as much as I do, and we can be a family. You deserve that. A proper family, and we'll have a nice little home. I'll keep you safe from all the bad people out there."

Harper begins to fuss and Charlie's eyes widen, when she realizes there had been a harshness in her voice that she hadn't intended. "I'm sorry," she coos gently. What happened to her, would never happen to Harper; she'd make sure of it.