AN: I'm alive! At least I think I'm alive. Sort of, you see when I decided to go on vacation, I bet you all thought I sat on a beach somewhere and sipped on cold drinks and did summer fun activities. You were wrong. I don't really know what a vacation is. I don't, because while I was 'on vacation' I decided that I was going to start another story and finish it completely before I posted it. Well that didn't quite happen. The story is almost done though. Honestly it should have been finished weeks ago, but I may have maybe started co-writing two fics, worked on my other chapters, etc. I just haven't posted. I'm still not posting, not quite yet. But think of this as a preview, you know how in books the author puts the first chapter of their next project up and you can all read and judge and get excited. This is what this is. When this fic is finished you will get a chapter up every day. So there will not be any more stops or anything of the sort. You can wait until it's finished of course, but I really do enjoy reading reviews, so I do hope that you take the time to read and review each chapter.

That being said some of you will recognize the original premise from this first chapter from another popular fandom, which I may or may not start writing fanfiction for. I'm busy so we'll see. But this story isn't that story. It just sort of begins like it. So, assume that I know what I'm doing and hope that I manage to finish the last 5-10 chapters (It was meant to be 30 might end up being 35 chapters). Relatively soon so we can all go back to our regularly scheduled programing. Because if this is successful, the next fic that I try and do like this which is finished before I post will probably be a choice between a faberry piece and a pure Chartana piece. Well those are the ideas kicking around in my head who knows, you might actually have a choice between something else by the time I finish.

Anyway let's get on with it, so here is the preview and the first chapter.

Summary: Once upon a time, in a land far away there lived a Queen and her knight. They loved each other very much and a baby was conceived, unfortunately for the queen and the princess the knight got lost and it took years to find her way back home. This is that story.

Song: Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so don't sue me.

Charlie pushed open the door to her apartment carrying a simple white bag and kicked off her work boots. It had been yet another long day but she had managed to get it done. She hated working in the winter, but everyone had emergencies, and having your pipes freeze and burst was one such emergency. She couldn't wait for the summer. At least then she wouldn't be cold all the time. She walked past her home phone, and eyed the messaging machine. Five messages. More than she had received last year. She didn't even know why she had the damn thing, no one called her but it made her internet package and television package a bit cheaper so she had one. They had thrown in a free phone with it.

She placed the white bag from the bakery on her island and moved through her rather bare apartment and sighed. She should probably decorate. The guys at work were insisting that she should be a bit more sociable, but she liked the emptiness. There wasn't really anyone to impress, maybe one day she'd paint it something other than white. But she was just leasing the place and once the lease ran out she'd simply have to find somewhere else. She never stayed too long in one place. She hadn't in years. She moves to the fridge and she pulls out a near beer. She moves back and places the beer on the counter and pops the top tossing it in the trash. She moves to wash her hands before she opens the box to look at the single cupcake. Charlie smiles at it and opens the bag wider to pull out the birthday candle that she had picked up at the bakery. She pushes it into the top of her cupcake and then lights it with a match. She watches the candle burn for a moment thinking about her wish for a moment she traces the inside of her wrist. She closes her eyes and blows out the candle.

Nothing happens and she sighs as she looks around her empty apartment once more. She pulls the candle out and is about to eat it when there is a sharp knock at her door and Charlie sighs, not wanting to deal with Quinn. She hadn't gotten her a present and she didn't particularly want something that she was never going to use. Charlie puts the cupcake back down on the island and opens the door to her apartment and glances around before a small cough forces her to look down. "Uh—hi?" Charlie asks the child that is currently standing at her door bundled up in winter clothes, and a gigantic floppy hat.

"Are you Charlie Fabray?" The girl asks, looking up at Charlie with hazel eyes.

"Uh—yes?" Charlie says still confused as to what was going on. "Who are you?" She didn't really do children. Yes she had a niece but she generally gave children a very wide berth and already she wanted to slip away and close the door in the kids face. She looked too similar to someone that she had loved and lost.

"My name is Isabela—but everyone calls me Bela. I'm your daughter." Bela smiles at Charlie who stares back at her blankly. She hums and ducks under Charlie's outstretched arm and made her way inside the apartment.

Charlie blinks at this, the shock ebbing away. "Wait—what? Hey—kid—what are you doing?" Charlie manages to get out. She's still very much in shock. She turns around and closes the door, unsure of how to handle this situation. There was a strange child in her apartment and she didn't want to be called some sort of pedophile. Maybe she should leave the door open. The kid was clearly insane. She opens the door just in case.

Isabela spots the cupcake on the counter and grabs it, and takes a bite of it. She grins because her mom won't let her have this much sugar, like ever, and she loves the savory taste of bacon, it's actually a bit of a surprise. "Thith ith really good!" She says to Charlie.

Charlie blinks twice and tilts her head at the child who was eating her only cupcake. She frowns ever so slightly, she couldn't remember inviting the kid in to eat her food. "I don't—have a daughter," Charlie says. "Look, where are your parents? Are you lost?" She reaches across the island to stop the child who had invaded her house from drinking her near beer and moves to the fridge to get her a bottle of water and hands it to her.

"Ten years ago, did you date my mom, Santana Lopez?" Isabela asked and watched as Charlie's body tensed for a moment. She smiles, "I told you, I'm your daughter!" She says cheerfully taking another bite of Charlie's cupcake.

Charlie turned to look at Isabela for a moment studying her, walking into her apartment like she owned the place. Taking her food like it was hers. How could she have possibly missed it? But the truth was she was positive that Santana didn't want anything to do with her. "Look—kid, I'm not your—I'm not your mother." She was rewarded with Isabela staring at her like she was an idiot. It was such a familiar gaze that she actually nearly balks under it. "What do you want from me?"

Bela takes another bite of the cupcake chewing on it slowly as she eyed her mother, "I want you to come home with me," she says at it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Charlie stares at the kid who is claiming to be her daughter who is smiling at her with that floppy hat and the scarf and she frowns ever so slightly. She wasn't doing this, "I think—I need to call the cops," she says slowly moving to go grab her phone. The police would know what to do with a strange kid who thought she was her mother. She vaguely remembered the Dr. Seuss book of the baby bird asking random things if it was its mother. She wondered if that was the case here.

"I'll tell them that you kidnapped me," Isabela said finishing off the cupcake and looking for another watching as Charlie froze. Isabela smiles smugly, "I'm a kid so they'll believe me and I can cry really well."

Charlie twitched, with her history with Santana, and her personal history the cops might actually believe the kid. She wanted to bang her head against the wall, she was being blackmailed by a child. Held hostage and all she had really wanted today was to celebrate her birthday in peace and go to bed and go to work the next morning. She didn't want to go to prison. "Well we definitely know who one of your mother's is," she mumbles and reaches for her keys.

Isabela smiled at the fact that Charlie was doing what she wanted. She quickly follows her other mother. "Can we get more cupcakes for the drive?" Isabela asks, still slightly hungry. "It tasted like bacon and that's my favorite thing in the world."

Charlie eyed the strange kid and closed her eyes, of course it was. She was quiet as they headed down to the garage and she opened her truck for Isabela, she frowns and looks at the kid who is much shorter than she is. "Do you need one of those chairs?"

"I'm ten, not five!" Isabela says crinkling her nose at Charlie and giving her another look like she was an idiot. Charlie opens the door for her and Isabela realizes it's pretty high off the ground and she looks at Charlie expectantly.

Charlie sighs and hoists the kid into the seat, she should probably ask more questions but this was weird even for her. She watches as Isabela puts on her seatbelt before closing the door and moving to the other side. She could already hear the death march in her head. She was going to be arrested and thrown in prison on her birthday. All she had wished for was a bit of happiness, she didn't want her life to be turned upside down. She settles into her seat and puts on her seat belt, and starts the engine turning on the heater. "Where are we going?" Charlie asks after a moment.

"Philadelphia, I took a bus to get here and I found your address on the internet." Isabela informed Charlie. "Can we get something to eat though?"

Charlie sighed, "Fine we'll stop at McDonalds and you can get a happy meal," Charlie says and she's met with a look of disgust on Isabela's face. "Of course you don't like McDonalds." She says shaking her head.

"Can we go to Panera?" Isabela asks giving Charlie her most innocent look that always worked most of the time on her mother.

"Fine," Charlie says with a sigh. It was a two hour drive to Philly maybe if she was eating she wouldn't talk and she could try and figure things out.

"Sweet, now we can talk about how you're the savior!" Isabela says reaching for her backpack.

"What?" Charlie asks turning to look at Isabela who has pulled out a book.

"You're the savior, you're supposed to save my mom. She's been really sad lately. You're supposed to save her and make her happy again and give her a happy ending." Isabela said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't worry, we'll come up with an amazing plan and we'll find mom her happy ending! We should start going over the plan!"

Charlie stared at her Isabela for a long moment this was going to be a long three hour drive.

They had done this routine a million times, Isabela was ten and she knew better than to talk to strangers, she had taught her the stranger song. But she was just ten—she could have been taken by pedophiles. "I want a fucking amber alert and call in the fucking coast guard. Look on the goddamn sex offender registry and tear down their apartments! Who knows how long she's been missing," Santana said. Today was not the day for this and she needed to find her daughter before she cracked. She had been late, this was her fault but she had needed to go to the hospital for some tests which hadn't been good and she had come home to find her daughter missing.

"Santana you need to breathe," Dani said calmly looking at her ex-girlfriend. She still didn't even understand why Santana had broken things off, but it was recent and she had thought that things were good between them. "We'll find her. I've already got half the force out looking for her, trust me we are cracking skulls. We'll find her." Dani reached forward and rubbed Santana's arms gently.

Santana jerked her arm away from Dani. This wasn't the time to rehash their recent arguments. "Bela. Is missing Dani I just want my daughter home and back. She was supposed to be with Brittany, I just had a few appointments!" Santana said her composure breaking. She had always thought that it happened to other kids not her.

"Santana, we'll find her. I promise," Dani promised. "She's important to me as well, remember?" Dani said as her radio crackled to life. "What was she wearing?"

"Her school uniform, oh god that's practically like pedophile bait." Santana said her mind was going to all sorts of dark places. She barely heard the roar of the old truck pulling up into her driveway and she turned to look at the beaten up red pickup truck that just pulled into her driveway. Santana watched as one of the doors opened and she heard the sound of feet hitting the ground.

"Mom!" Isabela said as she moved into view and paused when she saw Dani and finally noticed the squad cars. "What's going on?"

Santana took one look at her daughter and practically rushed over and wrapped her arms around her tightly practically squeezing the life out of her, "You had me worried sick," Santana says and turns to the truck again ready to thank the person who had brought her daughter back to her. The smile and grateful look disappears and it warps into one of horror as Charlie steps out of the car and fixes her jacket in the cold winter air. "You. What the hell were you doing with my daughter?" Santana snaps, watching as Charlie flinches.

Dani moves immediately, "Hands against the truck!" She says, Charlie complies and she quickly pats her down before grabbing her by the arms and pulling them behind her back so she can cuff her. "You fucked over the wrong person." Dani hisses as she begins to Mirandize Charlie.

Bela stared and pulled away from her mother and glared at Dani. "Stop it! You're messing it all up just like you messed everything else up!" She says angrily towards Dani. "I went to go get her so she could make my mom happy! She bought me Panera and gave me a cupcake that tasted like bacon. Let her go! She's weird, but she's my mom!"

Dani freezes and looks at Charlie who hadn't been resisting and had mumbled that she understood her rights. Dani turns to look at Santana her jaw going slightly slack, was this why they had broken up? "This is Bela's mom? You mean the drug addict?"

Santana pales for a moment and looks over at Bela who looks slightly confused. Hopefully she doesn't quite understand just yet, she had never told Bela. "Bela you need to go inside now." Santana says firmly. She couldn't handle all this not today. Not after the news that she had just gotten. Santana pushes Bela towards the door and looks at Charlie who still hasn't really looked at her, her blonde hair covering her face. "Dani let her go."

"Are you sure?" Dani asks and frowns when Santana nods. She grits her teeth at this and grips Charlie's writs again accidentally making the cuffs too tight causing Charlie to hiss out in pain. Dani smirks pleased with herself and undoes the cuffs before she shoves Charlie forward towards Santana. She places a hand on her gun just in case. You never could tell with these drug addicts.

Charlie rubs her wrists and looks at Santana for a moment and then at Isabela and then at Dani, she could tell that she wasn't really wanted. "Look—I'm just dropping off the kid. I'm going to go back to New York now," Charlie said pulling away and moving back to her truck.

Bela frowned at this new piece of information. "You can't go! You're the savior you're supposed to give my mom a happy ending." Bela said forcefully close to throwing a tantrum as she moved to go to Charlie again. She feels her mom grip onto her arm holding her back. "You're my mother—"

Charlie tensed for a moment at that, she wasn't a parent. She wasn't much of anything really, and she turns to Bela, she really didn't want to break the kid's heart or anything. "Look kid—" Charlie begins rubbing her wrist.

"Isabela I said inside now. We'll talk about how you ran away and nearly gave me a heart attack," Santana snaps at her daughter who huffs but doesn't argue and storms inside. Santana watches until she sees the door slam shut and rolls her eyes. Her daughter was a little drama queen and she didn't understand where she got it from. Santana turns to Charlie who is looking past her for a moment towards the door and she frowns. "Are you high?"

"No." Charlie's curt answer came. She just wanted to go home, and pretend that none of this that happened. She was really good at denial and this was far too much for her. "Look I better get heading home. You should probably talk to her or something." Charlie says and reaches for the door handle to her truck.

Santana sighed and rubbed her hands, asking her was fair. The last time she had seen Charlie—she shivers and she wonders if it's because it's freezing or because that memory had bothered her to no end. But she had needed to force Charlie to hit rock bottom. Santana exhales. "She's yours—I couldn't you were an addict and I refused to—"

"No." Charlie says not turning around. "No. She's not mine." Charlie says the words come out before she can think about them. But she's too much of a fuck up to have that type of responsibility.

Anything that she felt for Charlie evaporates as she stares incredulously at her ex-girlfriend. "Do you honest to fucking god think I cheated on you? Me?"

"Yes—I mean I don't know—but I honestly don't want any trouble with you or your cop-girlfriend here. I swear she just showed up at my door, I was just getting back from work. All I know she's not mine and I should probably get back. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and it'll be after midnight by the time I get back." Charlie says as she opens the door to her truck and slips into it. She can't look at Santana as she says these words she knows she can't.

It hurts, even though she had expecting Charlie to duck out of the responsibility. It hurts more than she could ever imagine and she was sure she was over her ex-girlfriend so this betrayal, the idea that Charlie thinks that she cheated hurts more than she can bear it. She hadn't been the one to torpedo the relationship. It was Charlie's fault. "Charlie she's yours."

"Prove it," Charlie says finally turning to look at Santana, swallowing as she met her eyes and saw the hurt etched on her face. Even after all these years that was all she was good for. She just needed to get home and pretend that this never happened. To not look back, this was just a very large blip that didn't change anything. Charlie quickly turns back to her car and fiddles with her keys slumping a bit.

Santana's anger returns but it's much more subdued. "Fine leave. It's better that she doesn't know you."

Charlie nods, it's the words she's looking for the ones that absolves her of all her sins. "Yeah, you're right." She doesn't say anything more she doesn't say goodbye she just gets in her red truck and slams the door and pulls out of the driveway and practically speeds away.

Santana slumps deflating as she watches the car speed off, she wants to say something but there's nothing that comes out. Come back, is one of them but Isabela's safety is her number one priority and she needs to be a parent right now. Which means throttling her daughter for pulling such a dangerous and reckless stunt. Something could have happened.

"What a bitch." Dani says and watches as Santana turns on her.

"What the hell were you thinking bringing that up in front of Bela? She's ten, she didn't need to know that her mother is a drug addict!" Santana hisses at Dani.

Dani raises her hands defensively. "It was the truth! And you should be worried, who knows what the hell she could have picked up from her. You should check her bags, kids pick things up all the time. Or what she was exposed to. Just like it's the truth that she's a bitch. Who doesn't claim their child? The way I see it you and Bela are better off without her in your life. Drug addicts just sort of suck the life out of the people around them and they destroy happiness." Dani exhales a bit and looks at Santana who is thinking about what she just said. "Look Santana, I have some friends in the NYPD say the word and I can make her life miserable. She's an addict which means she probably has some drugs—if you're ever worried about her influencing Bela in anyway. Just say the word."

Santana frowns she can hear the slight jealousy in Dani's voice and an eagerness to please. She hadn't seen or talked to Charlie in about ten years. She didn't even have time for Charlie's drama in her life to begin with. But she wasn't going to punish her. "She's Bela's other mother. So no. Leave her alone Dani. Look it's been a long day and I need to go throttle my daughter and do some damage control. I'll call you—thank you. Thank the police department as well for me." Santana says and pulls away from Dani ignoring the fact that he face fell. Today just wasn't her day. Santana walks back to her old house and sighs a bit as she sees the front curtain shift. She opens the door and watches as Bela is giving her an annoyed look.

"Dani chased her away! She was supposed to stay and help you find your happy ending mom!" Bela said angrily. Or be her mother's happy ending. She had taken a two hour bus ride and used her Aunt Brittany's credit card to pay for a taxi to Charlie's place.

Santana sighs, "Bela." She says firmly and Bela's anger dissipates at least for now.

"Is she—did she really do drugs?" Isabela asks and frowns. Drugs were bad, her mom had told her so. They ruined people's lives.

Santana sighs this isn't the conversation she wants to have with Bela, she had planned to tell her daughter when she was older but time wasn't on her side these days. But she's still far too young to understand. "Bela," Santana repeats. "It's complicated," she finally manages to get out.

Bela frowned, she hated when adults said that like she couldn't understand some basic things. "You told me that you loved her! More than anyone!" Bela says angrily. "So uncomplicated it!"

Santana sighs, "I also told you that she broke my heart Bela, that isn't just an easy fix. Besides I love you. You're my happy ending. I have a beautiful daughter, who I love very much and I'm happy with you."

"She's your happy ending!" Bela said stubbornly. She had seen her mom and she'd been sad and she really didn't like Dani at all. They fought all the time. And Charlie was nice to give her a cupcake and she had taken her where she had wanted to go. She had even stopped at a rest stop and bought her some candy and waited outside the door for her in the bathroom. Even though she said she really didn't need to.

Santana bit her lip, not quite sure how to tell her daughter the truth. "Look Bela—Charlie—" She sighs not quite sure how to put it. But Bela is obsessed with fairy tales right now and she bites her lip. "For some people there is no happily ever after Bela. I think Charlie falls into that category." Santana said gently. But Bela frowned at that information, not quite being able to process it. She blamed Disney.

Bela frowned, "Everyone deserves a happy ending and she was really nice to me!" Bela said before turning around and storming upstairs.

Santana groaned, today was not her day. She sighs, between Isabela, Charlie, the hospital she just couldn't catch a break. She wants a drink and smirks for a moment at the thought of drinking away today's events before pausing and realizing that she's supposed to be furious with her daughter for putting her through hell. It was going to be a long week.

AN: So, welcome to Unwritten which is coming soon. Don't worry once this fic is finished we'll get massive updates for nearly all my stories. So please review. I like reviews. I missed the reviews and the PMs, probably why I've been lounging about lazily for the last little bit.