Nearly two weeks had gone by since Charlotte had come out to her father. That evening, he had appeared to be okay with the news. As okay as he could reasonably have been expected to be, at least. But since then, since telling her that he needed some time to take it all in, Charlotte had heard nothing from him.

"He'll contact you when he's ready," Sonya had repeatedly assured her. By now, those assurances were starting to wear pretty thin. Charlotte couldn't understand what was taking him so long to do whatever thinking he needed to do. She had been tempted to call Ric herself, but had convinced herself that it might not be a good idea to try and force the issue. Ordinarily, she never went any more than a few days without talking to him, and she missed him greatly.

"Your dad's calling!" Sonya called out from the living room.

Blessed with a couple of days off during the hectic build up to Wrestlemania, they were at Charlotte's house, enjoying the chance to chill out and unwind. Charlotte was in the kitchen, making coffee. She hurried towards the front room, meeting Sonya half way. Charlotte's phone was in her hand, vibrating and flashing to indicate an incoming call.

"Here," Sonya said, a big smile on her face.

"You're thinking this is good?" Charlotte asked as she took the phone.

"Absolutely, now answer it, quick!"

Charlotte slid the green phone icon across the screen to answer the call. "Hi, dad," she said brightly, hoping it didn't sound forced. The initial tone of his voice would tell her a lot about what was on his mind.

"Hey, sweetheart," Ric said. He sounded no different than any other time he called. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Really good," Charlotte replied, walking back into the kitchen while Sonya retreated to the living room to give her some privacy.

"That's great," Ric said. "Listen, I was wondering, if you're at home, if you wanted to come over tonight? Meghan is going out with your brother, so we'll have a chance to talk."

"To talk? Uh, yeah, I'm at home. So, sure, I can come over," Charlotte said, glad that she only lived a fifteen minute drive from his place. "Give me an hour to get ready."

"Sure. And bring Sonya with you, if she's there?"

That was the best thing Charlotte could have heard. It sounded a lot like her dad had managed to find acceptance of her relationship, and possibly that Sonya was going to get the 'hurt my daughter and I'll kill you' speech. Given the alternatives, Charlotte was more than happy with that. She had to be careful not to jump to conclusions, though.

"Sure thing, dad. We'll be there," Charlotte promised.

In the end, Charlotte and Sonya arrived at the Flair house in just under and hour.

"Thank you both for coming over," Ric said as he showed them in.

"I'm so happy to see you," Charlotte said as they hugged briefly.

"Thanks for having me over," Sonya said.

"Don't mention it." Ric gave her a peck on the cheek in greeting.

They walked through to the living room, where Ric offered drinks. Charlotte requested wine, needing a hit of alcohol to boost her confidence. Sonya said wine would work for her, so Ric went and fixed it for them.

"Char, can we talk in the kitchen?" Ric asked after handing out the drinks.

The request did not come as a surprise to either Charlotte or Sonya. During their discussion after his call, Sonya had said to expect exactly that, and that she wouldn't be surprised if she had a chat coming her way as well. So long as it led to Ric giving his blessing to their relationship, it was all good.

"Of course," Charlotte said. Getting up off the couch, she picked up the TV controller off the coffee table and gave it to Sonya. "Find something to watch, honey," she said.

"Will do," Sonya said, hiding a smile by sipping her wine. The use of the word honey had been quite deliberate, she was sure.

Without commenting on it, Ric went through to the kitchen, Charlotte walking close behind, carrying her glass of wine.

There was a small breakfast table in the kitchen. Ric took a seat at it, and after closing the door, Charlotte sat opposite him.

"I missed you," she offered, referring to their extended period without phone calls.

"I missed you too, Char. But I needed time to get my head around things."

"And how did that go?" she asked, feeling nervousness again.

Ric smiled. "I love you. You're my daughter. The happiness of all my kids is what matters the most to me in the world. I don't want you to ever doubt that. Having said that, I do have questions."

"I understand that," Charlotte said reasonably. "Trust me, I know this was a huge shock to hit you with. Honestly, it was a shock to me when I found myself having feelings for Sonya. When she kissed me as a part of our storyline and my heart missed a beat, it was kind of scary at first. When we made eye contact and my stomach fluttered, I didn't understand it. But dad, both of us know the reason those things happen. It's love. Love does that to a person."

"So you're sure it's love?" Ric said. "This isn't you seeing what it's like to be with a woman?"

"Absolutely not," Charlotte insisted. "I love Sonya. You know I've been married twice, and I never felt what I feel for her with either of those guys. I thought that was true love back then, but no. Now I understand what it feels like to really love someone. Sonya means the world to me. I would do anything for her, and I know she would for me. Once news of our relationship goes public, I know I'm going to get hateful comments from idiots about it. I know I'm going to be judged by some people based solely on my sexuality. I don't care, dad. I love Sonya, and nothing is going to stop me loving her. Nothing."

Ric looked a little taken aback, but in a good way, by what had turned into something of a rant, and by the depth of feeling that it had contained. Good, Charlotte thought. It had been a rant that she had needed to get off her chest.

"I was going to ask more questions," Ric said after a moment. "Now, I don't think I need to. You made it abundantly clear what Sonya means to you, and with that being the case, I'm happy for you. Really, I am. But I need to hear from Sonya as well. Two people have already hurt you deeply, Char; two people who claimed they loved you. I don't want that to happen again."

"Sonya loves me. She will have no problem convincing you of that, trust me."

Ric nodded. "If she does, and at this point I hope she does, I'll be happy to support you both. I can't pretend I totally understand it, but like I said, what I want most of all is for you to be happy."

"I know you do," Charlotte said sincerely. "Do you want me to ask Sonya to come in?"

Ric downed his glass of fruit juice – his health prevented any alcohol consumption these days. "Yeah, could you? I promise not to grill her too hard," he added with a crooked smile.

"Bull," Charlotte said with a smile and a short laugh as she got up.

Charlotte walked through to the living room, finding Sonya trying to look relaxed in front of the TV.

"You okay?" Sonya asked, quickly getting up.

"Yeah," Charlotte smiled. "I told dad exactly what you mean to me, and he took it well. He'd like to speak with you."

"Of course." Sonya kissed her girl on the lips, not letting on that she wasn't particularly looking forward to this. For Charlotte, though, it was worth it. It was more than worth it.

"Love you," Charlotte said softly.

"Love you too, Queen. Even if your dad kicks my ass." With a parting smile, Sonya headed for the kitchen.

"Hey," Sonya said openly when she walked into the kitchen. She pushed the door closed, but it didn't quite catch in the frame.

"I know this is awkward," Ric began as he gestured for Sonya to take the seat opposite him.

Sonya sat down, clasping her hands around her wine glass. "No, it's understandable that you want reassurance from me."

"I do," Ric said with a nod. "I've seen Charlotte badly hurt by two different men, physically as well as mentally by one of them. I can't sit by and let her get hurt again, in any way. Getting into a relationship with you, she's really putting herself out there in the open. She can't do that if a month from now you're going to decide this isn't for you after all."

"That's not going to happen," Sonya said, looking him right in the eye and leaving absolutely no room for doubt in her voice. "This is the real thing, Ric. I love Charlotte, and she loves me. She's told you that herself. It feels like the forever kind of love to me; the kind of love where you grow old together and share everything along the way. I want to be there for all of the best moments in her life, to enjoy them with her and to celebrate them with her. I want to be there during all of the downs that are bound to happen in life, to be her rock she can always count on. I understand and admire the fact that you want to protect her, but Ric, you have nothing to fear from me. I promise you that."

Slowly, Ric nodded, appreciating what he had heard. Over the past few minutes, he had been left in no doubt what Charlotte and Sonya meant to each other. He saw that they did love each other, there could be no doubting it. Convinced of that, who was he to stand in their way?

"Charlotte!" he called out, standing up.

It only took Charlotte a matter of seconds to enter the room. When she did, there were tears in her eyes. "Sorry. You didn't close the door properly, and I could hear what you just said, Son."

Sonya got up, but it was Ric who spoke. "I'm happy for you both. Really, I am. I can see that you love each other and how much you mean to each other, and that's good enough for me. Come here."

Ric spread his arms and Charlotte walked into them, tears flowing at her father's acceptance.

"That means you, too," Ric said to Sonya. "You're a part of the family now."

Sonya joined in the three-way embrace, tearing up herself at the fact that Charlotte was crying happy tears. "Thank you, Ric. This means so much to me."

"You're assuming being a part of this family is a good thing."

Due to the heightened emotions of the moment, all three of them laughed louder and longer than the joke merited.

A/N: Happy new year everyone, and thank you to those who left a review on the previous chapter.

Next time, it's Wrestlemania 35! Sonya is taking on Ember Moon for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Time for you guys to predict a winner. Leave your prediction in a review! Anyone who is correct will get a shout out.