Santana smiled as she studied the text message that Charlie had sent, it like all the others had been unprompted. It wasn't anything special, the texts were never long, and they certainly weren't romantic or filled with flirty emojis. They were just simple and straight to the point and she had no idea why she had expected anything differently.

See you tonight?

Santana traced her screen before quickly sending Charlie a thumbs up emoji, she wasn't sure if this was supposed to be their first date or not. But after Charlie's fight they were going to get some food if Charlie was up for it. She had found a nice little pizza place near where the fight was going on, and it seemed like that area also had plenty of food trucks. It was nice to plan these things out finally, and she suspected that taking Charlie out to a restaurant that she couldn't afford or justify in her mind was only going to lead to more friction between them.

"Text from your alpha?"

Santana immediately scowls and looks up at Tina, the new operating room nurse that had been assigned to her team. "I know my life is hot gossip around the hospital, but that really is none of your business."

Tina sighed, she had expected to be rebuffed like she was Santana seemed like she was the type of person who enjoyed keeping her private life private. "Come on when am I at least going to meet her? The other first years omegas and alphas have already introduced their mates. You should invite her to the next night out, so she can meet everyone."

"Pass," Santana said immediately. "Charlie's not really big on large groups of people."

Tina smirked, "So her name is Charlie, good to know."

Santana winced at her mistake, it had been a rookie move and now Tina knew something about what she was desperately trying to keep private. "It's new, and things are a bit fragile between us, so I'm trying to keep things between us for now. When we're on steady ground, I'll ask if she wants to come out drinking with us."

"Of course," Tina nodded, looking back at her paperwork and flashing a sly smile at Santana. "When we're better friends you can tell me about all the drama."

"That's not happening," Santana snapped as Tina pulled away and she shakes her head. She huffs and goes back to her paperwork when her nose twitches and her father slides up beside her. "Dr. Lopez."

Carlos sighed at his daughter's cold tone, "Mija."

"We're at work," Santana said as she signed the document and handed the file to the nurse at the desk. She immediately steps away hoping that her father gets the hint and leaves her alone. He doesn't, and she turns to look at him before motioning toward the stairwell so they could have a bit of privacy. "You don't get to ambush me at work. I don't want to talk to you or mami. You ruined my life."

"Santana, I never suspected that she would do this, and we still aren't talking. It's very difficult for me—"

Santana lets out a bitter laugh, "It's very difficult for you? It's been nearly seven months since my graduation, and Charlie and I have just finally started getting back on track. If she hadn't interfered, we would probably be living together now. If she hadn't interfered Charlie wouldn't potentially have to share custody with a garbage human being. She's not sorry about what she did, otherwise she would have said something when I got sick." She could even blame Charlie's violent reaction on her mother's machinations, if she and Charlie had never taken that break to begin with Charlie's insecurities would never have been at all time high, and she doubted that her mate would have forced herself on her. She wasn't going to dismiss Charlie's fault in all of this, but Charlie would never have slipped into a feral state if her mother had just let them figure it out. "I'm not forgiving her."

"Mija." Carlos pleaded.

"No, I'm finally at a place where I know with a bit of effort Charlie and I can figure it out. What do you think my mate will think if I just allow her to simply stroll back into my life. I would never be able to trust that she isn't saying anything negative to Charlie. I don't trust her anymore, and not only does she owe an apology to me, she also owes one to Charlie. Now if you'll excuse me I have a surgery, it's my last one for the day, and I want to start it early so I can go and get ready for my date tonight." Before Carlos can say anything to defend himself, she immediately turns around and leaves the stairwell leaving her father alone.

Carlos let out a deep sigh, if apologizing to Charlie was what was required to get his family back together, then he had no problem forcing Maribel to take that action. Yes he had kept things from his mate, but Santana was their daughter, and she had asked for his confidence. He had never once been disappointed in his mate, but he had thought about breaking their bond for a brief moment.

~ O ~

Charlie eyed the behemoth of a man that was standing in the ring across from her, and frowned slightly as she continued to stretch. She'd seen him fight before, he was quick for a man his size, she was quicker but he was probably stronger. The one thing that she had learned from doing this a few times, was that the longer the fight continued the less her chance of winning the tournament dwindled.

And even though she couldn't see her mate, Santana's scent cut through the smell of cheap booze, greasy food, and body odour. Santana's scent was both nerve wracking and comforting, she couldn't let Santana see her flat on her back getting knocked out by other alphas. Her mate needed to see that she was strong, above all else she needed Santana to acknowledge her strength. She didn't want any lingering doubts in her mate's mind that she was a gamma.

The bell sounds and she looks up and at her opponent once more, her arm outstretched so they could bump gloves. She adjusts her stance ever so slightly making sure that her chin was protected as they slowly circle each other looking for openings. She was the smaller fighter, her reach was tiny compared to her opponents, and she had witnessed this alpha tear other alpha's apart. She needed the fight to finish fast, but that didn't mean that she had to rush her attacks.

Her brow furrows as her opponent drops down and lunges at her, she imagined he was hoping to catch her off guard so that he could take her down, but she simply steps back before stepping into her next attack, putting all of her body weight in making sure that her knee connects with his jaw. The impact shook her body and she stumbles back as her opponent dropped like a entire makeshift arena goes silent as she blinked twice and immediately lunges to finish him off, throwing as many blows as she can in before she gets shoved off by the referee who drapes his body over her opponents.

Charlie immediately raises her fist and lets out a laugh, turning to the audience and her eyes falling on Santana who was sitting in the middle row. She's tempted to clear the ring and go up to her mate, but she didn't want to scare her, more than she already seemed to be. Besides she needed to get ready for her next fight.

~ O ~

Santana swallowed, feeling the heavy lump in her throat. It was ridiculous, that she was so riveted to the action, she had always thought of mixed martial arts as dumb alpha's beating the shit out of each other for a blood thirsty crowd. She wasn't wrong. Mixed martial arts was literally just dumb alpha's beating the shit out of each other for a blood thirsty crowd. And her mate was clearly one of the dumb alpha's that liked beating on other dumb alphas for a blood thirsty crowd.

Personally she found herself torn between competing emotions. Watching Charlie fight was both exhilarating and terrifying. It would be a lie to suggest that she hadn't gotten aroused watching Charlie knock out an alpha out that was far bigger than her. But it could have easily gone the other way, and she wasn't sure if she could watch her mate getting pounded on. She lets out a deep breath as Charlie gets led out of the cage, and focuses on the man that Charlie had just knocked out. He had the body and physique of a linebacker but Charlie had taken care of it like it was nothing. A sobering reminder of how dangerous her mate was.

"I can't believe you put all my money on Fabray. She obviously got lucky there and I've seen the other fighters no way she makes it past the second round. We both know why you're really putting money on her."

Santana turned discretely to look at who had just spoken, her eyes locking onto the beta who seemed to be annoyed with an omega. An omega who was staring at Charlie rather lustfully, and she immediately grits her teeth in annoyance, feeling a flash of possessiveness.

"I don't know why you're jealous, she's never actually agreed to be won, which is why all the omegas are bidding for a night with her. She's won several of these and even when she lost it was such a fight, there were so many omegas who wanted to nurse her back to health."

Santana struggled to keep her mouth shut, despite wanting to tear into the silly omega. Charlie was her alpha, sure things between them were a bit rough, but Charlie was hers. Santana hesitates for another moment longer, before simply deciding that they simply weren't worth her time. Charlie was her mate, and if she truly wanted it she knew that Charlie would come home with her rather than a thirsty omega. Still she would definitely press Charlie on what she had just heard.

The bell rings and some terrible over synthesized rap music begins to blare through the speakers, causing Santana's attention to shift back to the ring as she watches a fighter who wasn't Charlie walk out and she sighs, completely uninterested. She was only here for Charlie, she didn't actually want to watch a bunch of meatheads hit each other.

~ O ~

Charlie grimaced as her hand was raised, it had been a long night, and she was covered in her own blood. An errant elbow had caught her just below her eyebrow and had busted her open. She resisted the urge to rub at her eye, which had begun to swell. She looked and certainly felt like she'd just been in a fight. But she had just won ten thousand dollars and extra thousand for a knockout of the night. She wasn't sure if it was because of the knee to the face in her first fight, or the fact that she had kicked someone in the head in her second fight. It didn't really matter because she had won and as she pulls her arm away and wipes the blood from her brow she turns to search the crowd for her mate, and frowns when she can't see Santana at all.

She inhales deeply and while she can smell a bit of Santana's scent, she can mostly smell horny omega's more, and she immediately crinkles her nose, and sighs, feeling the familiar pit in her stomach. Maybe Santana hadn't been that interested in watching her fight—she should have chosen something else. She pulls away from the ref and slowly makes her way to the exit so she can get some air. The moment she pushes the door to the warehouse open she nearly bowls Santana over. "Santana?" She asks immediately, taking a few steps back to give her mate some space. She was carrying a rather large first aid kit. "What's that for?"

Santana reaches to touch Charlie's face, gently examining the wound, "Yeah, I thought so. You're going to need some stitches."

Charlie flinched away from Santana's touch, "I can't afford that Santana, and I wanted to spend a bit of the money that I won on our date. Dinner and drinks and whatever else you want to do tonight."

Santana shot Charlie a dull look and waved her first aid bag around, her papi was right and it was worth throwing into her car for emergencies. "You do remember that I'm a doctor right? You did get hit in the head pretty hard. I'll also run a basic neurological test on you to make sure you're not concussed."

Charlie made a face and took another step back, "I can just put some crazy glue on it or just get a sewing kit and—" Charlie stops talking as she notes the look of absolute horror on Santana's face. "I thought doctors weren't supposed to work on their mates?" Charlie questions trying to deflect.

"Are you scared of doctors?" Santana tilted her head and squinted at her mate.

"No!" Charlie insists immediately her cheeks flush which only makes her wound bleed more. "I'm not afraid of you and you're a doctor, I even like you." Charlie nods, like her denial was believable.

Santana blinked, before snorting, and opening her bag. Her father had insisted that she put some stickers and candy in her bag, in case she ever needed to work with children. She doubted that he could have predicted that it was her mate that would need it. "If you let me clean you up and stitch up that wound, I'll let you have a sticker."

"I'm not a child Santana!" Charlie huffs.

"I also have some candy," Santana continued as if Charlie hadn't said a word, tugging her mate along. This seems to shut Charlie up and she glances back to see Charlie smiling at the thought of getting some candy. "But you're not a child," Santana teases her.

Charlie mutters something under her breath but lets Santana sit her down somewhere and gently tilt her head up. "I don't want you getting in trouble Santana—"

Santana pressed her finger on Charlie's cracked lip gently. "This will be quicker if you just let me work in silence, it will hurt less too if you're not moving around."

"What's this going to cost me?" Charlie questions.

Santana rolled her eyes at the question and just started to work. She can't help but roll her eyes again when Charlie begins to flinch as she works. "You know, watching you fight was super sexy," Santana says as she works slowly. "You had all the omega's in here dripping for you."

"Don't care about them, all that matters is what you think."

Santana hesitated for a moment, the Charlie that she saw in the ring was completely different than the one out of it. Charlie looked comfortable in her own skin, she looked happy, and insisting that Charlie try and find something else to do for her own sanity, probably wasn't going to fly. "I'm not thrilled that there are omega's bidding on you like you're a piece of meat," Santana admits slowly as she finishes up, it was only 7 stitches. She opens her first aid bag and pulls out some wipes and some candy for Charlie. "Take one," she says, narrowing her eyes when Charlie sticks her hand in the bag.

Charlie puffs out her cheeks at this but takes one and hands the bag back to Santana. "I'm not interested in other omegas Santana," Charlie said as she took the wrapper off and put the lollipop in her mouth.

"I know that," Santana admits. Charlie could have had any one of them when they weren't talking to each other and she hadn't. For a moment she felt a flair of guilt, it wasn't as if Charlie didn't have any needs but she had waited and she needed to reward that. "Have you thought about going pro?"

"The only people who actually make money in MMA are the champions, getting on the undercard they'll probably be paying me less than what I made here and I would need to find a gym who would take most of that money anyway," Charlie explains. "The only reason that they pay so much here, is because I'm fighting multiple people a night and due to the fact that rich single omegas bid on alphas and bet on them."

Santana frowned at this, it was something to look into. "I didn't know that," she admitted after a moment. She would look into it, but she didn't want her mate fighting in some illegal underground fighting tournaments. "I do think it wouldn't take you long to be a champion though if you fought and trained like you do now. So think about it? If it's about the money I mean I know I'm not making much right now, but we can figure something out. It'll be safer, and less skeezy then fighting for a bunch of trust fund omegas. But enough about that, you promised me dinner and drinks Charlie."

Charlie's stomach growls at the mention of food, "I know a place nearby, it's not exactly the fanciest place—"

"I'm still on probation Charlie due to all my absences, and I spent the past 8 years living as a student, sure my parents help got me a car, and everything but like I'm not rolling in it like you think I am, and you certainly don't need to take me to the fanciest places. Just take me to the places you like. Honestly you've probably made more money than I have this year."

Charlie bites her inner lip, before wincing in pain and looking at Santana. She wanted to get Santana nice things. Most of the money that she had earned was split between Harper and paying back her father, but if she kept winning like she had, she would be able to finish paying off her dad in a few fights. She had planned to invest the rest into finding a gym and finding a place where she wouldn't have to fight a number of people in one night. "There's a pizza place and a burger place nearby the pizza place sells cheap shitty beer, the burger place has a bit more of a selection. I can eat anything."

"Will the burger place let you in when you're covered in blood?" Santana asks, nodding to Charlie's clothing and her face.

"I have a change of clothes, I thought ahead!" Charlie huffed, opening her gym bag and pulling out a black button up shirt. Her mother had dropped some clothes off for her this afternoon when she had mentioned that she and Santana had a date. She had also found a large tub of condoms in the bag, so she knew that at the very least her mom was in her corner. "Let me get changed and get paid and I'll come back out, should only be ten minutes or so."

Santana nodded and looked up to see that the omega that had been talking about trying to get in Charlie's pants was approaching them with a determined look on her face. She makes a snap decision and tilts Charlie's head up and kisses her deeply. It only lasts a few seconds and Charlie looks dazed when she finishes. "Hurry up," she says smacking Charlie's ass as she gets up.

Charlie blinks at this and looks at her ass for a moment before grinning and puffing out her chest and heading to the back with her gym bag. Her fighting had impressed her mate.

~ O ~

Waking up in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the day with a blinding headache was not new for Santana. What was new was waking up in an unfamiliar place alone. It's enough to cause her to open her eyes and survey her surroundings, hoping that she hadn't gone home with someone who wasn't her mate. She immediately sits up, as her memories from last night come rushing back to her.

Charlie had taken her to a burger place, where the food was just as delicious as Charlie had said it would be, and then they had stopped at a nearby bar, and she couldn't remember much of the conversation but she certainly remembered attempting to get Charlie to dance with her. Her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she remembers grabbing at Charlie crotch in an attempt to get her mate going, before ultimately getting sick all over her mate. After that the rest of the night was a blur, she wasn't even sure how she had gotten here. She had been in no position to drive, and Charlie as far as she knew didn't have a license to drive.

Her first priority was finding out exactly where she was, and then it would be to find her mate and beg for forgiveness, she wasn't sure what she'd been thinking, but from what she could remember from last night she had made her mate uncomfortable. She could only hope that they weren't back to square one. She immediately kicks off the blankets and exits the room, her stomach flipping as she enters the hallway. It takes her a second to place where she is and she relaxes, it was the Fabray's mansion. She'd been here before but she'd never been in Charlie's old room before, it didn't even smell like her, but that could be because of the lingering smell of bacon that permeated the air. Making her way down to the dining room, she's disappointed to see that instead of Charlie sitting with her family it was Rachel and Quinn.

"If it isn't sleeping beauty," Quinn said smugly as she piled some bacon onto Rachel's plate.

"Bite me," Santana grumbled in response, turning to look at Judy and Russell who were watching their interaction quietly. "I'm not quite sure what happened last night, but if I said anything or did anything inappropriate—"

"You're family Santana," Russell grunted, interrupting her. "Or at least you will be when you mate with Charlie. I suggest not throwing up on her next time. It doesn't exactly set the mood." He snorts at this as the rest of the family chuckles at her expense.

Santana blinked and looked at the ground hoping that it would open up and just swallow her whole. "Another thing I have to apologize for, where is she?"

"Harper was basically running all over the place so they walked to the guest house, it usually tires Harper out," Judy supplied. "She's probably sleeping, she was up all night waiting outside your door."

Santana swallowed, "I should head over there then, at least to apologize," she says taking her leave. Before she can go Russell cleared his throat and looked up from his paper.

"Before you go, I'd like to have a word. Quinn, Rachel the room please?" Russell said, shooting Quinn a look.

Quinn sighed and grabbed a plate and placed a few strips of bacon on it before grabbing the tray, "Come on Rachel, it's a beautiful day might as well eat outside."

Santana stared at the plate of bacon and then at Quinn, she had known that Quinn had a problem when it came to bacon, but the amount on the tray was bordering on absurd. "You should probably cut back on that."

"You're not my doctor Santana, and not all of this is for me. Rachel's been craving bacon lately and if I wanted to hear your medical opinion I'd ask for it."

"You can't afford my medical opinion," Santana shoots back immediately with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Rachel I know you're craving it but you should still eat it in moderation, that is not a normal amount of bacon. I know you're eating for two, but that is an absurd amount of bacon."

Rachel glanced at the tray for a moment before looking at Santana, and reaching for the plate that Quinn had put a pittance of bacon on, and picked it up. When Santana smirks at Quinn, she immediately places the bacon back on the tray and turns to her mate, "You're right it is a lovely day."

Santana rolled her eyes as Quinn stuck out her tongue at her, she really did hate her best friend sometimes. Still she waits until they leave before turning back to Russell and Judy, "I really am sorry for last night."

"This isn't about last night and this isn't the first time you've crashed at our house first thing in the morning," Judy responded, before taking a small sip of her tea. "We just wanted to touch base, your father called me the other day and asked if he and your mother could come over."

Santana froze, of course this would be her parents, "They do owe Charlie an apology, but even if Charlie accepts that doesn't mean that I have to. What she did was unforgivable." Her voice was firm, and she hoped that the answer was good enough. The last thing she needed or wanted was to offend Charlie's parents. She had a sneaking suspicion that Charlie would choose her over her parents, but she didn't want to put that to the test.

"I see," Judy stated simply and looked over at her mate.

Russell placed his paper on the table and folded it up, "Has she told you anything yet?" Russell asked, cutting straight to the chase. "We don't want to push, but it's an elephant in the room. She started avoiding us again after we found out. We—she needs to talk about it and if she doesn't feel comfortable doing it with us—" Russell sighed. His only conversation with his daughter these days were her handing him money. He didn't need the money or even want the money, all he wanted was for his daughter to be okay. He felt like a failure, he hadn't protected her when it mattered and thinking back on all their arguments when she was a teenager, everything she'd done had been a cry for help but he'd been too stubborn to see it. Judy had been right, they should have thrown her into therapy, he should have been more supportive. The guilt he felt was eating him inside, they had abandoned her, left her to her own devices for years, and he had no idea how bad it had gotten despite making sure to check as discreetly as possible.

Santana's shoulders slump, "We're finally working things out, and she told me that she didn't want to talk about it. I haven't pushed just yet, honestly the only people who know what happened are Charlie, the person who did what they did to her, and Mack. I'm not sure I'm comfortable repeating what Charlie tells me, but I will if I feel like you need to know." Santana hesitates for a moment, "Word of advice, she doesn't want to be treated differently, and just let her know that when she wants to talk about it you'll be there."

"Just give it time," Judy said with a sigh. It was all they could do. "She moved back home with us, she comes for dinner with Harper on some days, I know it might not seem like much but it's progress. And we need to support her for that." She looks up at Santana and smiles at her, "I want to tell you that you need to be patient with her, but sometimes Charlie needs a firm shove in the right direction."

"Right now I really need to make sure my mate isn't mad at me. I really messed up last night." With a small nod and a slight grimace Santana turns to leave, facing in the direction of her mate. One day they would both laugh about the time that she puked on her mate.

~ O ~

Charlie sipped on her energy drink as she stared at the box of pancake mix, reading the instructions. Today she was finally going to master making pancakes without burning them badly. Harper was currently sleeping in the living room, where she had fallen asleep watching Sesame Street. If this failed for the umpteenth time she wasn't quite sure what she would do, maybe she could introduce Harper to eggs and bacon. She pulls her attention to the small little pancakes that she had in the pan and scratches her cheek.

There's a gentle knock on the back door and Charlie looks up spotting Santana, who waved at her weakly. Taking one last peek at her pancakes, she moves quickly to the door and lets Santana in, before immediately returning to the pancakes. "You need a key," Charlie informs her mate, as she immediately heads back to attempt to flip the pancake. Unfortunately, the moment she manages to get her spatula under the pancake it tears in two. "Damn," Charlie muttered under her breath as she pulled the spatula back.

Santana bit her lip, unsure of whether Charlie was attempting to erect those emotional walls to protect herself once more. She didn't want to go back to where they had been before and she slowly approaches her mate who immediately looks at her. She immediately looks at the mess on the pan and the pancake mix and she rolls her eyes and immediately takes over. "Do you seriously not know how to make pancakes? Charlie the heat is far too high!" Santana said, turning the heat down just a bit.

"I wanted to have it ready before Harper wakes up!" Charlie insisted making a face as Santana practically shoves her out of the way and takes over.

"Low heat is far better than high heat, it's no wonder you're having trouble," Santana lectures, turning to look at her mate and flushing when she sees that Charlie is staring at her. "I can't remember much of last night, but what I do remember and certainly feel that I got super drunk and I was definitely very—grabby last night." She glances at Charlie once again, but she still can't tell what her mate is thinking. "Charlie you can't just shut me out," Santana pleads.

Charlie tilted her head, "I'm not, I don't understand why you're apologizing for that. You're my omega, my body already belongs to you. I'm happy that you find me attractive," Charlie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You said as much loudly last night."

It would be so simple to take Charlie's forgiveness and simply move on, but from what she could remember Charlie hadn't exactly looked comfortable and she didn't want to just let it go, she would prefer if Charlie didn't simply brush her behavior away as if what she had done was okay. "That's not—Charlie, all because we're in a relationship doesn't mean that I have a right to your body, and I can just make comments about it, and touch you in ways that make you uncomfortable."

"I was uncomfortable because you looked like you were about to puke and I really didn't want you to do it inside my pants when you were taking a look," Charlie responded. "I mean I wasn't wrong to be worried, but I am glad you didn't do it down my pants."

"I'm also terribly sorry about that," Santana adds immediately as she flips a pancake perfectly.

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, "I have a one year old, I'm used to the big three."

"The big three?" Santana asked.

"Vomit, poop and pee," Charlie explains. "You get used to it, I mean I would prefer if this was a one off due to you drinking too much, and yeah I'm not exactly thrilled that you threw up on me, but I'm not upset. I wasn't even going to bring it up Santana."

"You weren't going to bring it up?" Santana repeats.

"I figured out what was going on last night, and what you were trying to do. I know it's my fault that we're in this position so a bit of vomit and promising Quinn that I would stop avoiding her and work on our relationship, was really a small price to pay all things considered. Rachel on the other hand managed to get me to agree to free babysitting, that was the price for getting her and my mom to help you out of your clothes and into something new," Charlie explained.

"Of course they did," Santana rolled her eyes, of course Quinn would use this situation to her advantage. It wouldn't be Quinn if it wasn't. She begins to plate the pancakes and pours some more batter into the pan after making sure to spray it with cooking spray. "Okay, let's start from the beginning, what do you mean you figured out what was going on last night? And why is what I chose to do, your fault?"

"Alcohol is liquid courage, you said that much last night after your fourth shot—no it was definitely your fifth."

Santana shuddered, no wonder she felt like ass right now. Thankfully she hadn't been drowning her sorrows in whiskey, she always got weepy when she had whiskey. She needed Charlie to understand that what she had done was not okay, "If your body belongs to me, then does my body belong to you?"

Charlie opened her mouth and then immediately closed it, "No," she said after a moment of thinking about it.

Santana focused on the pancakes for a moment, she needed to put this in a way that Charlie understood. "Why didn't you take me home last night? I mean seriously Charlie, you certainly wouldn't have been the first and I honestly would have liked to wake up in your arms this morning."

"You were drunk," Charlie said plainly. "You were very drunk, I don't mind you grabbing at me Santana, you're an omega, it's different then if I were to do it, and you know that. Alpha's are biologically far stronger, and we're more prone to fits of violence. You grabbing at me and informing the entire world that you're very satisfied with what I'm packing is embarrassing but at the same time you're my omega."

Santana hesitated she did understand what Charlie was getting at, but she couldn't help the guilt that gnaws in the pit of her stomach. "I'm your omega," she states, finally turning so she can look Charlie in the eye. "But that doesn't give me the right to objectify you, or touch you when you don't want to be touched. It doesn't give anyone the right, all because I might be physically weaker than you doesn't mean that I can't respect your body. I'm apologizing because I didn't respect your autonomy, and I'm sorry."

After a moment, Charlie nods. "I'll tell you when you're making me uncomfortable."

Santana relaxes glad that they had managed to have this conversation without yelling or pulling away from one another. She finishes making another set of pancakes before finishing up the rest of the batter. With that done she finally looks at her mate, and frowns when Charlie doesn't meet her eye and looks somewhat distracted. She's about to turn to follow Charlie's gaze when something brushes up against her leg causing her to yelp and jump back.

"Ma!" Harper chirped at Charlie rather loudly, as she continued to toddle towards her ma.

"Oh shit!" Santana swore, letting out a breath as she touched her chest. It takes a moment for her to realize that she had just sworn in front of Charlie's kid and her eyes widened in shock. "Charlie I—"

It was at that moment, Harper tripped and spilled to the ground, immediately tearing up, as she hiccups and then begins to cry.

Charlie immediately crouches down in front of her daughter, helping her to the feet, and then picking her up when she raises her hands to be carried. "Oh no, do you have an ouchie?"

"Oh-sheet!" Harper hiccuped, clutching at Charlie's shirt, not noticing how her mother freezes and looks at her.

Santana's jaw dropped, it was her worst nightmare she had just managed to fuck up Charlie's kid. "Fu—Charlie I didn't mean to—she just appeared like a fucc—crap—like a gremlin," Santana sputtered, looking hopelessly lost.

Charlie bites her lip to keep from laughing, but she can't help the snort that escapes. It's enough to set her off as she begins to laugh, it's a full bodied laugh that has her near tears, as she uses one arm to support her from falling over from laughing so hard.

Santana blinks and stares at her mate and glances at Harper who looks slightly offended that Charlie is laughing so hard and she can't help but smile. Her mate was usually reserved, and while she had seen Charlie smile she'd never heard her mate laugh just like that. It's so free and open, and she wants to hear it more.