"When are we going to meet Mikey's father?" Artemis asks as she smiles at her great grandson as he floats in the air screaming in delight and waving his hands, "You should have invited him for Thanksgiving."

Frannie watched her son carefully, she knew he was safe and her grandmother would never drop him but she still felt that uncomfortable thrill about his safety. "His father is deep in the rainforest. I think. I'm not actually sure where he is right now and I really don't care."

"Trouble in paradise?" Judy questions, poking Mikey's belly button and causing him to giggle as he does a barrel roll in the air.

"He wants to get married," Frannie scoffs at the very idea. She expects everyone in the room to be just as horrified and disgusted as she feels at the idea of settling down, but she instead just gets strange looks from her mother and grandmother. "He's a hippy."

"I understand, but from what I know about your father's parents—doesn't that community believe in free love? Who is to say that you can't keep your—harem on the side? Mikey deserves some stability."

"Michel," Frannie says in a biting tone, turning to look at her grandmother who looks at a loss for words. "You don't honestly believe that I should marry the guy who got me pregnant, because Mikey needs a strong male role model, or whatever."

"You should probably marry Joe, because he's the only one who wants to marry you?" Charlie grumbles as the sliding back door opens and she comes hobbling inside.

Frannie opens her hand, only for her portal to break apart as Charlie's eyes glow, "Seriously?"

Charlie sticks out her tongue and makes a face at Frannie, "I'm not wrong."

Artemis clears her throat, and looks at her granddaughter. She would definitely be looking into this Joe, to see if he had what it took. "Do you love him?"

"He's the father of my child, of course I do, but I'm not in love with him, and he's rather traditional when it comes to romance. I'm not ready to share my space with anyone other than my son, and I certainly don't want to stop having fun." Frannie said, raising a brow and trying to dump Charlie into the deepest depths of the ocean, only to be blocked again. "You little shit!"

"Language!" Judy snaps at Frannie covering Mikey's precious ears. "Where's your grandfather?"

"He threw his back out and is currently laying on the swing, the ice is for him but it would probably just be easier if grandma moved him and dumped him on the couch or the floor." When her grandmother gives her a look Charlie opens her mouth to reveal a gap where her molar should be. "He knocked out a tooth."

"Charlie, you're off to see Santana's parents tomorrow, you can't go to their house looking like you got into a fist fight. What are they going to think?" Judy lectures, aghast, her face would be a swirl of colors tomorrow. "Frannie, get Brittany."

Charlie's eyes glow and her face slowly begins to return to normal and she scrunches up her face a bit and rotates her jaw, "I'm fine. And you don't have to worry about Santana, parents and grandparents adore me."

The confidence in which Charlie announces this causes everyone in the family to turn to one another, "Sure dear, did you decide what you're getting them?"

Charlie narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean? Santana just told me when to show up."

"And what were you planning to wear?"

"I know how to dress to impress Frannie."

"No, you don't," Frannie disagrees immediately. "Did Santana give you any sort of indication how formal things were going to be? Who was going to be there? What was on the menu?"

"She told me what time to be there and I said cool," Charlie responds.

"Have you asked her out to prom yet?" Judy asks.

"She's my girlfriend, why the hell do I have to ask her out to prom, she wants to go so we'll be going," Charlie grumbles, she had no idea why her family was giving her the third degree. When her mother, sister and grandmother exchange looks, Charlie grumbles under her breath. "I thought we were talking about Frannie."

"We were, but I think that a family intervention is needed, I'll call Brittany and Quinn to see if they're available. Someone needs to save you from yourself," Frannie said, smirking at Charlie's discomfort.

"There's no need to call Britt and Quinn. I don't need them to tell me that Santana's going to break up with me because I already know she's going to break up with me. She doesn't get it, and I don't know how to explain it to her without coming off as a condescending prick. The more I intervene, the more eyes will be on me and given my history with the superhero community, it's going to affect Santana. I can't make it easy for her, because she wants to earn it, and that won't help her. So, honestly please stay out of it until I can figure out how to fix this on my own."

"That's mature of you," Judy says in a pleasantly surprised tone, "You should still bring flowers for both Santana and her mother, and a lovely and expensive bottle of wine Charlie. Take something from your grandparents' wine cellar. The older the better."

Artemis rolled her eyes, they did have some very expensive vintages, but if it was for her grandchildren she didn't mind losing a bottle or two. "This family doesn't run from things Charlie. Do you love her?"

Charlie sighs, "Yeah, but I know that isn't enough sometimes."

"That's true, but if you and Santana are meant to be then you will be, you're both young and you're in different stages of your life. Santana's ready to go to university, something that you've made abundantly clear that you don't want. You're already earning money, you're making adult decisions and carrying the weight, and you have someone who wants to share that load with you."

"She can't. Santana needs the Inter-High far more than I ever did, and she's not ready."

"You weren't ready," Frannie points out. "But you rose to the challenge—you need to allow Santana the same opportunities."

"You don't think she's ready either, but we both agree that one day she will be. And it might be sooner than we all anticipate. She burnt me back at the combine, that's never happened before."

Frannie blinked at this, taking in that new information. It was more important than ever that she controlled the training of Santana Lopez, then she could retire and focus on making sure her son was capable.

~ O ~

"It is a shame that she's not a man," Alma Lopez stated as she continued the prep for tomorrow's festivities.

"If Charlie was a man, half the school would have been impregnated by now. Even if that wasn't the case, she would probably have multiple children by now, Charlie doesn't seem like the person who would follow safe-sex if she had a dick," Santana responds flatly. "But she is what you want, she's successful, and powerful."

"Well, at least she can take care of you."

Santana rolled her eyes, and got swatted for the rudeness. "I don't need her to take care of me. You didn't raise me to be taken care of, you raised me to earn my own money and be independent. Charlie being wealthy, doesn't change the fact that she's a condescending asshole."

"Don't be stupid Santana, the girl has connections and can make your career easier. Everyone does it, networking is important and you have someone who will stand atop of the mountain," Santana's abuela frowned, Santana was being foolish once again.

Santana sighed, "They're already saying that I'm using her, they're calling me a Jezebel online, whatever the fuck that means. My feelings don't matter. The paparazzi follow Charlie non-stop and they write all these stories about her and who she's seeing. And right now it's me, and they don't give a shit about me. They think I'm just some deadweight, and even though it's Charlie she doesn't come out and say it, but I know I'm not good enough to stand beside her. And that's the thing with Charlie, the people love her and anyone who stands beside her—no one is going to be good enough. We probably aren't endgame, she'll find someone else more powerful, hotter, and someone who is ready to fight beside her and help her shoulder the burden."

"Bah, who is this person that's better suited to her than you?" Maribel asked, running a hand through her daughter's hair. "You need to talk to her and let her know how you feel, mija, Charlie is many things, but she is not a mind reader—I mean she isn't is she?"

Santana snorted, she could only imagine the damage that Charlie would cause if she could read minds. "No she can't read my mind, and I have talked to her, and nothing has changed. She does love me, I know that and I mean Charlie tried to remain friends with Dani, so it's not like she'll just abandon me. And she'll be able to coach the team again, I mean it'll be brutal but this time her coaching won't affect our relationship."

"If you are meant to be you're meant to be Santana. You are young, and you're both still trying to figure out who you are. You'll get there."

"This would have been easier if she was a man," Alma throws in.

"Mami," Miguel snaps at his mother.

Santana rolled her eyes, "If Charlie was a man, then she probably would have knocked up Dani and I'd have to pretend to like the spawn of that unholy union. Not to mention that I'd have to play nice to whatever dumbass Charlie knocked up, because Charlie wants a billion kids."

~ O ~

'Firefighters are still trying to put out the blaze that seems to be raging out of control, we have various superheroes on the scene evacuating the nearby buildings. No one knows what started this fire, but this inferno has been almost impossible to put out. The death toll is unknown at this point, the governor has declared it to be a state of emergency and is asking all heroes with water based abilities and any abilities that can help to make their way to help contain this fire.'

Russell frowned ever so slightly as he muted the video on his phone, it was New York after all. "Seems Frannie's going to be having a busy night tonight," he muttered under his breath before looking up and smiling at his daughter as she approached the table, an annoyed look etched on her face. "I'm only here to be supportive."

"No, you're here because Mulligan's Steakhouse has your favorite things in the world, excellent steaks and your favorite whiskey."

"Bacon wrapped asparagus, as an appetizer to the mashed potatoes and T-bone combo," Russell corrects. "I came to support you if I was only here for the food I would have brought along someone who would appreciate it."

"Charlie—"

"Your mom. She loved places like these."

Quinn this was not a place that she saw her mom enjoying, at all. "How did you manage to convince mom to marry you?"

"Your mother loves trying new steakhouses with me, it was our thing before you and Charlie came along. She was a big foodie, you know how much she loves to cook and entertain Quinn, and she loved going to steakhouses, and these diners. I liked the drink, she liked the food, and we had fun with it. Everytime we went to a new place, we'd find the best rated steakhouse and try it. Some were amazing and some were—it's very easy to mess up a good steak."

There was a hint of sadness in her father's voice as he reflected on his relationship with her mother, "And you fucked it all up."

"I did, and your mom she fought so hard, she wanted me to be better than I was, and I just couldn't be that," Russell smiles at Quinn. "I do love her more than anything else, and maybe once you guys are off saving the world or destroying it, we can try again. I've started going to therapy, not sure if it'll make a difference. But maybe one day, I can be faithful."

"It shouldn't be that difficult to not cheat on your wife."

"It really shouldn't be, shouldn't you be with your team, you're going to sectionals. That's a big deal right?"

"Hardly, Sue showed us the score cards, we barely came in first, it was too close for her so we're doing double practices. I have no idea how effective that will be, the girls are exhausted. Honestly I have half a mind to bribe Charlie to whip the team into shape."

Russell wrinkled his nose at the very idea, "Quinn, I know you don't like most of the girls but don't you think that might be a bit—sadistic even for you. Your sister doesn't understand what normal human beings are capable of. She knows I haven't seen the inside of a gym since my early twenties and she gave me some obscene workout regime," Russell said, flicking to the text to show Quinn.

"100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and a 10 kilometer run—dad this is doable, I mean it'll be difficult and it'll be like hell the very first few days but once your body adapts, you'd be fine. I mean that's basically a warm up dad."

"You are not normal," Russell insists, letting out a laugh. All the women in his life always made him feel so inadequate.

"Start with 10 push ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats, and jog around the block. It's a big block and do that until that's easy. Then push yourself. Build a foundation. I promise it will get easier." Quinn paused for a moment and then let out a laugh. "Charlie was right, Linda is a miracle worker."

~ O ~

"You really like her don't you?"

Charlie looked at her mom from the mirror, "I do and I know she's going to break up with me, and I know that's going to wreck me. I can't lash out, I just have to hold it in and be better. I can't just abandon her because my feelings are hurt, and that's going to suck but I need to be better."

Judy sighed and entered her daughter's room, clearing the distance between them and wrapping her youngest child in a tight hug. "That doesn't mean that you shouldn't close yourself off from the world again. I'm your mother and I'm always going to worry about you, especially when you do incredibly dangerous things. But I know you're going to be a hero, I just want you to promise me that you will be kind, and just. And remember that you're a Fabray and a July, always make it look effortlessly easy."

It's an olive branch of sorts and Charlie sighs and looks at her mom, "I should be home in time for dinner."

"Well, I'm doing a turkey and a ham this year, and if you don't hurry back I can't promise that there will be any food for you. You know how it gets when we have a full house, Rachel and her fathers will be stopping by, you can bring Santana if you want." Charlie nods, and Judy smiles and turns her daughter around so she can fix her clothing. "After Christmas we're going to start getting ready for your prom, the three of us will start shopping immediately. You'll need something tailored of course, I've already been circling a few looks that I think would look good on you—"

"Mom!"

~ O ~

"Are you sure you don't need any help dear?" Artemis asked her daughter who was flitting across her kitchen doing a million things at once.

"The prep was completed last night, we've got pounds of potatoes that are ready to be mashed. I mean I think we might have too many potatoes. I've got a vegan dish ready for Rachel, I was thinking of a vegan lasagna. I certainly have the ingredients to make something else, maybe I should check real quick to see. The twins won't notice if I make some vegan dinner rolls will they?"

"As long as it looks and smells like bread, they'll eat anything," Lawrence comments with a laugh. "Just make sure that Mikey has plenty of his cereal and cheerios. The boy loves his cheerios."

Judy nodded, they had plenty of cheerios, Frannie had given her the heads up about that, and now that he was crawling it wouldn't be long now till Frannie started training him little by little. It was going to be a family affair. "Has anyone heard from Cass? I mean she's usually here, and I was expecting Shelby. She's been so good for Cass, she just needed to find the right person to settle down with. You don't think they eloped do you?"

"She hasn't texted me to let me know, so I figured if she is coming she's either flying, taking a train, or she's not coming. I mean New York is currently a mess right now, I spent most of last night sending AI's with water based abilities to that inferno. People think that some AI just snapped and murdered a bunch of people. Or it was an accident, it'll suck if it was an accident though." Frannie grumbled as she placed Mikey down in his bounce baby. She smiles as he immediately begins to bounce and gently rubs his hair, the dark brown locks which she hoped would lighten with time.

Judy shook her head, it wasn't that big of a deal, she couldn't remember the last time that there had been substantial leftovers from a Thanksgiving dinner. "We do have some time before things get a bit hectic and if Cass doesn't want to come—"

The ring on the doorbell followed by some heavy pounding causes Artemis to sigh, "She's here."

Lawrence grins and immediately heads to the door and opens it for his daughter, "Cass! It's good to see you, but it's generally good manners to let people know that you're going to be attending events," he lectures, pulling her in for a hug. He pauses, he was so used to her smelling like a brewery, but her eyes are clear and she looks good. "But things are a bit hectic in New York, I saw the news. Where's Shelby?"

"Broke up," Cassandra mumbled under her breath, pushing her father away. "Where are the wonder twins?"

"Quinn will be back with Russell in a few hours, she had a cheerleading competition. Charlie is having an early Thanksgiving with Santana. I imagine she'll show up when the Lopez's are out of food. Brittany's meeting Mike's parents, so it's just Judy, your mom, Frannie, Mikey and myself right now. If you want to spar with Charlie it might need to be tomorrow morning."

Cassandra tilted her head ever so slightly before nodding, "I've been doing some work in AA, and I wanted to talk to you and mom about it. I got some good advice about confronting my demons and all that, so I just wanted to put it all on the table."

Lawrence smiled and ushered his daughter inside, even if it was painful he was sure that this was the beginning of a healthier relationship, this time they would listen and do whatever it took to help Cassandra.