Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Good morning everyone! I thought we could do something a little different today. As you know there a thousands of soldiers out there fighting for our safety and doing an awesome job at it. A friend of mine told me about a program that's called 'Write a Soldier' and since we have a little free time left in the school year, I thought we could try it.“

Chloe Beale announced as she walked into her classroom of fifth graders. Twenty more or less interested faces greeted Chloe as she sat down behind her desk and smiled at her students.

A small brunette girl with long wavy hair and bright blue eyes was the first person to speak.

“Um, miss Beale, does that mean we just write letters?”

“Yes, Rachel. It's a rather simple concept. There are a lot of soldiers out there who would love to get some kind words via letter and this program gives them the opportunity to receive them. We only have to take a little time out of our day to write a small letter, but for them it means a lot if they know that what they are doing is appreciated. What do you say?”

Most of the children seemed to like the idea by the sudden excited chatter between them.

When most of them had calmed down, they got their paper out and started writing. Well, a few of them started writing, most of them stared at their empty papers with confused expressions on their faces. A little boy with dark hair and big glasses looked at Chloe and started speaking.

“Miss Beale? What do we write down? Who are we addressing in these letters?”

Chloe chuckled. “You can write anything you want, Marco. About your friends or your hobbies or the weather. It doesn't really matter. As to whom you are addressing, just keep it general. The letters will be sent to the program and they will distribute them to soldiers that are registered with the program. If you're lucky, you'll even get an answer.”

“Really? That would be cool!” Marco exclaimed and the other kids seemed to be excited about that as well.

“Yes I think so too. But don't feel obligated to write something. This is your choice. If you decided to not write a letter then please be quiet and do some homework so the other students can concentrate on their letters.” Chloe told them and when all of the kids got to work she pulled some papers out of her bag as well. She decided to use the time to grade the English test the second grade had written earlier that day.

May as well get started on that, she thought and got her red pen ready. Before she could start reading, the buzzing of her phone in her bag let her know that she had received a new message.

She looked up from her papers to look at her students. Normally she wouldn't even entertain the idea of checking her phone while in class, but they were all busy writing their letters and she was curious who would write her at this time of day, since most people she knew, knew that she was having a class right now.

She pulled her phone from her bag slowly and inconspicuously checked her messages.

Tom Montgomery (11:15 am)
Hey Babe. I'm really sorry about the other day. Please don't be mad at me. It was a one time thing and a mistake, please give me another chance. Can I come and talk to you? I want to explain myself. Love You!

Chloe read the text and rolled her eyes. The nerve of that man.

Tom had been Chloe's boyfriend for the last four years. They went to college together and got along pretty well. He was a good looking guy and treated Chloe well. She knew early on that she wasn't as into him as he was into her but he was nice and Chloe was tired of searching for the right person. She had been on a lot of dates in her college years but nothing special came out of it. When she had met Tom in her last year of college, they went on a few dates and he was charming and kind. Chloe was tired of searching and kind of settled with him.

Her best friends Aubrey and Stacie didn't like him but accepted him when Chloe told them that he would stay a while. These last few months Tom had wanted to move in together, but Chloe was hesitating. She knew that moving in together was a pretty big step and didn't want to do it when she knew that Tom wasn't the one for her. So she put him off every time he asked.

She distanced herself a little from him and of course he noticed. He asked her about it countless times but she always said that it was stress and work and family problems or whatever. She always had another excuse and Tom was growing pretty annoyed after a few weeks of that. So they fought. And then they made up. A few weeks later they fought again. And made up. That had been going on for the last few months and last Saturday, after another one of their fights, Chloe was furious and Aubrey and Stacie took her to a club to calm her down and have some fun.

That idea didn't go so well. They had been to the club for two hours and Chloe was having fun and not thinking about Tom. Until he came in and started getting hammered. They didn't notice each other until Stacie pointed him out to Chloe half an hour later. By that time he was making out with some blonde bimbo in the middle of the dance floor.

Normally, in that kind of situation you would walk up to your boyfriend and get him away from that girl and demand some answers. Maybe yell a little. But Chloe didn't do that. She just turned around, emptied her glass and stood up from the table Aubrey, Stacie and her had been sitting at. Aubrey and Stacie were already looking worriedly in her direction, but Chloe just went outside and called a cab. She told the cabbie her address and just sent one text to Tom's number. It's over. Was all she typed and then put her phone in her small clutch. She noticed that it was buzzing with calls and text from her friends, but she ignored them.

Aubrey and Stacie were too slow to catch her before leaving the club but drove to her apartment to see if they could console their friend. They tried texting and calling but Chloe ignored them.

They expected a crying ginger to answer the door but when they knocked on Chloe's door, they noticed that it was already open, so they went in. Chloe was just filling three glasses with some kind of alcohol and held them up for the girls to take. They watched her with baffled looks on their faces but took the offered glasses anyway. As soon as Chloe told them that she had kinda waited for a good reason to break up with him and that she wasn't happy in her relationship with him, the rest of the night was spent talking about Tom's shortcomings and that they, meaning Stacie and Aubrey, hadn't liked him anyway.

It had been a fun night, but Tom had tried talking to her for the last few days. She had ignored him, but decided to answer him this time since she knew that she hadn't been fair to him either.

Chloe Beale (11:22 am)
You don't have to explain anything to me. It's over and I'm fine with it. Please don't bother me anymore. I'll get my stuff from your place this weekend if that's okay.

“Miss Beale, are you texting?”

Chloe's eyes jumped from her phone to see twenty grinning students looking back at her with smug expressions on their faces.

The red head blushed, but grinned anyway. “I'm sorry. Yes I was. I guess I'm not the best role model, huh?”

Her students laughed at her and the girl who had asked the question in the first place, Rachel, spoke up again.

“No. You know the rule. I guess we're having cake tomorrow!” she said happily and the other students cheered.

Chloe chuckled but agreed. “I guess that's fair. Any particular wishes?”

When Chloe had started teaching this class, she was surprised by the amount of fifth graders who already had a phone and were frequently texting throughout the lesson. When she had reprimanded someone for the tenth time in one week, she established a new rule. Anybody that would be caught texting during class would have to bring a cake for the whole class the next day. The students laughed at her at first but when the first student was caught after the rule had been established and 'forgot' to bring the cake the next day, her fellow students had been pretty insistent that the cake was mandatory and that she better bring it the next day.

Since they were only fifth graders and nearly no one knew how to bake properly or had the means to buy ingredients, this rule had the added bonus of the students having to tell their parents that they had to bring cake to school. The parents asked why of course. And that question, or rather the answer to that question meant most of the time, that said students wouldn't have his or her phone with them in school for the next couple of days.

The students, and Chloe of course, grew to like the cake rule and nearly everyone had been caught once or twice during the last year. Some even brought a cake with them when they didn't have to. They just liked the time Chloe spent talking with them while munching on some cake at the beginning of some classes. So they kept bringing baked goods.

Chloe was really happy that her rule had been accepted so well and liked the time she spent with her students just talking while eating cake as well. She also noticed that most of her students were much more motivated after having cake. So she continued that little tradition.

Chloe herself had never been caught texting before, well until now that is.

She looked at the smiling faces of her students and grinned to herself as nearly every student shouted their favorite cake in answer to her question.

“Wait, wait, how about just some muffins? I'll bring blueberry muffins and some with chocolate chips, okay? And when I have the time to bake, you'll get a real cake, deal?”

Her students agreed and happily went back to writing. All except one.

Rachel was still looking at Chloe and had a look on her face that meant that she wanted to ask a question but wasn't sure she should.

“What is it, Rachel? You don't like muffins? Don't worry, I'll eat yours tomorrow so it won't be wasted.” Chloe teased a little and got a scowl in return.

“No, that's not it. And I want my muffin, don't eat it before getting here.”

Chloe laughed and promised to not eat it before coming to school tomorrow.

“So, you looked like you had a question. Go ahead and ask.”

“It's not really a question I guess. I was just wondering why you weren't writing a letter. I mean if it is such a nice gesture to the soldiers, you should definitely do it too.”

Chloe opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the affirmative chatter that brought out between her students.

“Well, I originally wanted to grade this papers now and maybe write a letter later, but if you insist, I'll write one now, okay?”

Her class grinned at her and went back to writing as soon as they saw that their teacher took a clean piece of paper out of her bag and started writing.

The rest of the class was spent in comfortable silence with only the occasional sound of twenty one pencils scratching on paper.

The bell rang a while later and the students deposited their letters on Chloe's desk when they left the room to have their lunch break.

Chloe had finished her own letter a few minutes ago and collected her student's letters so that she could send them away later that day.

She got all of her stuff, locked the class room door and went to the teacher's lounge to have her own lunch.

The red head put her stuff at her desk, grabbed her packed lunch and sat down next to her two best friends, who were also teaching at Barden elementary. Stacie was teaching sport and Spanish, while Aubrey taught mathematics and physics. Chloe herself taught English and music.

“Hey guys. How was your day?” Chloe asked when she sat down and opened her lunch box.

“Pretty good. Nobody injured themselves in my class today, so that's definitely a win.” Stacie told her with a wink.

Aubrey huffed. “Well, if that is your only indicator on if a class went well, then I think you have to think over your priorities again, Babe.”

Stacie looked at her girlfriend and pouted. “But Bree, we're at an elementary school. What is the worst that can happen? Most of my students like my classes because they actually still like running around. I think my classes are going very well.”

Aubrey shook her head. “Well if you say so. My classes went well, as always. What about you Chlo?”

Chloe had been smiling at her best friends for the last few minutes. She had thought they would make a cute couple as soon as she and Aubrey had met Stacie in college and when Aubrey finally accepted Stacie's countless offers of going on a date together last year, Chloe couldn't have been happier. Or more smug. To this day, when Aubrey was annoying her, Chloe still teased her with her 'I told you so's'.

“It was fine. I had an English test this morning in my second grade. And then in my fifth grade I suggested that thing you told me about last week, Stacie. The 'Write a Soldier' thing. They seemed pretty eager to write those letters and even made me write one too. It was a fun lesson.”

“Shouldn't you have been teaching them stuff?”

“Oh come on Bree, you know that I have the curriculum nearly finished for this year and we still have a few weeks. I could afford this one lesson.”

Aubrey wanted to say something about 'nearly' not being enough, but her girlfriend interrupted her before she could start speaking.

“That's awesome Chloe. I'll tell my brother that they are getting some letters soon then. You are sending them to my brother's base, right?”

Chloe chuckled. “Of course, that was always the plan. How is Luke by the way? Still happy in the army?”

Stacie nodded. “Yeah, he's really enjoying his time there. He said that he made some awesome friends and that he finally felt useful. I'm worried about him because it's still dangerous but I'm glad that he found something that makes him happy.”

Aubrey gave Stacie a short hug when she noticed that the smile had vanished from her girlfriends face. It came right back when the brunette leaned further into the embrace.

“You are so cute, I don't even know what to say.” Chloe mentioned at the sight before her.

“Shut up Beale. That reminds me, anything knew on the Tom situation?” Stacie asked.

Chloe sighed and closed her lunch box. She had only eaten half of her lunch but suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore.

“He tried calling and texting and even came over to my apartment but I ignored him. Well except for today that is. He texted me while I was in class and I had some time on my hands so I decided it was time to reply to him. I told him that I wasn't interested in his explanations, that I was okay with things being the way they are now and that I wanted to get my stuff this weekend. I haven't checked for a reply yet.”

“Good girl!” Aubrey replied. “Well except for the texting in class part, Chloe. You are the teacher, you have to act like one. You are a role model now. And haven't you established this rule about texting in your class?”

Chloe smiled brightly. “Yeah they caught me. I have to bring muffins tomorrow.”

Stacie grinned and high fived Chloe over the table.

Aubrey looked at them disapprovingly. “You really shouldn't text during class Chloe. Why are you encouraging her Stacie?”

“I'm just proud of her bonding with the students you know. It's important to know that grown-ups aren't perfect and that they don't have to be. Great job Chloe!”

Stacie and Chloe smiled at each other while Aubrey rolled her eyes. She was about to say more but was interrupted by the ringing bell.

She stood up and grabbed her bag from her desk. “Well, lunch is over. Get to your classes, don't be late!” She said as she quickly kissed Stacie on the lips and Chloe on the cheek. She was out of the room a few seconds later but heard a “Yes, ma'am” shouted after her. She smiled and went to her class.

“Well, I guess I should get going. You have a free period now, right Chlo?”

The red head nodded and waved goodbye to Stacie as the brunette went to her class.

Chloe thought about continuing grading the second grade's English test but pulled out the letter she had written earlier instead.

She pulled out her reading glasses and read over the letter again.

Good day Soldier!

I don't know whom I addressing and if you are a man or a woman but I'll just write down what I think. Firstly, good work on whatever you are doing! I don't really know anything about the army but since I can sleep safe and sound in bed every night I assume you are doing a great job of keeping us safe. So thank you!

My name is Chloe Beale and I'm an elementary school teacher. A friend of mine suggested this 'Write a Soldier' program to me and I have to admit I liked the idea instantly. I suggested writing letters to my fifth grade students and they liked the idea so we spent the lesson today writing letters. I originally hadn't really planned on writing a letter now but my student's caught me texting in class so I had to promise them muffins for tomorrow and that somehow led into me writing a letter along them.

Anyway, if some of your fellow comrades receive letters from my students, can you maybe ask them to reply? It doesn't have to be much, but my students were so excited about the prospect of getting a reply that I can't help myself and have to ask.

Also, I would be happy to hear from you. Or you know, if you don't want to reply that's fine too. I just wanted to express my gratitude for keeping our country safe.

Sincerely,

Chloe Beale.

Chloe nodded to herself as she read over the letter again and put it in an envelope. She used her free period to put all the letters from her students in envelopes too and made a note in her calender to drive by the mail office after work today. She was curious about what her students had written but knew that she shouldn't read the letters. So she pulled herself together and didn't read them.

The red head then used the last ten minutes of her free period to eat the rest of her lunch and mentally prepare herself for her next class.

Chapter Text

“Hey Mitchell, you got a letter!“

Beca was on her way from the work out room to the bathroom. She had spent the last two hours working out and was in desperate need of a shower. When she heard her name being called, she stopped walking and turned around to look at a brunette boy with a big grin on his face.

“What do you want Swanson? You know I don't get letters, don't try to play a prank on me.”

With that the small brunette turned around and continued walking.

“Wait Beca, I wasn't joking. You really received a letter. Why did you never tell me that you registered with the 'Write a Soldier' program as well? We could have totally exchanged ideas.”

Beca frowned. What was he talking about? “It's Mitchell to you, ever since I managed to get promoted before you.”

“Don't be like that. I've been calling you Beca since I met you six years ago and I will continue to do so. Also you are younger than me. And I know that you secretly like me. There is no use in pretending otherwise.” Jesse grinned and finally handed over the letter. “Here's the letter. Can I read it after you are done with it?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “No you can't. And I didn't register with the program. I don't know why my name was on the list. Do you know who is in charge of the program?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah, I think it's Captain Harris. So if you haven't registered with the program you should probably go and talk to him.”

“Well, I'll pay him a visit after my shower then. Thanks for bringing this to me Swanson. Even if it was some kind of misunderstanding.”

“No problem.” Jesse grinned. “And it's Jesse, how many times do I have to tell you? So, if you don't want the letter, can I read it?”

Beca held the letter a little tighter in her hands. “No. Nobody will read it. I'll get it back to Captain Harris and we'll sort this out. And didn't you just tell me that you were part of the program two minutes ago? Read your own letter.”

Jesse pouted. “But I already read mine.”

Beca turned around and continued walking in the direction of the showers. “Sucks for you. Wait for the next one.” She waved her hand over her head to say goodbye and rounded the next corner.

“But it takes so long!” Jesse shouted after her.

Beca chuckled. Jesse never lost his positive attitude. It was one of the things she admired about him. They had been in the army together for the past six years and had been in some tricky situations. They always made it out on the other end but not everyone was that lucky. And yet, Jesse never lost his smile even when his friends lost their lives.

She wished she could be a little more like that but after all these years she thought it just wasn't in her personality.

They had met when they enlisted together. They both came from Atlanta and sat next to each other during all the introductory speeches. Jesse had leaned over to her and made jokes about the other people sitting around them. At first Beca tried to ignore him but when she let a small laugh slip after about two hours she had sealed her fate. Jesse never left her side after that and made a great effort in gaining her friendship. Which he eventually did and Beca was glad for that. Not that she would ever tell him about that.

Beca had always been a recluse. She didn't exactly go out of her way to avoid people but meeting new people and making friends had always been hard for her so she mostly just avoided the issue altogether. She was happy to spent her time alone making mixes, working out or hanging out with her mom. She loved music ever since her mother gave her her first piano lesson. They had spent hours making music together and Beca treasured those memories more than anything.

Her mother and her had a great relationship for as long as Beca could remember. They were best friends when Beca was little and spent a lot of time together. They had some rough patches as any family had, especially when Beca's father left them for another woman when Beca was twelve, but they always apologized to each other and their relationship came out stronger than before.

Since Beca didn't have many friends during high school, the death of her mother two weeks before her graduation hit her extremely hard. It was sudden and unexpected. Her mother had been coughing and complaining about a cold for about three weeks when suddenly she just collapsed. Beca called an ambulance but they couldn't do much for her in the hospital. She died a few hours later.

They doctors told Beca what caused her mothers death but she couldn't really remember anything except for it being a lung disease. She had been in shock and couldn't grasp the fact that her mother had just died. Just like that. Without any warning. The hospital called her father since she was technically still a minor even if her eighteenth birthday was coming up in a week.

She was numb the whole way back to her father's house and it didn't get better. Beca didn't really talk to anyone and spent her time in the guest room of her father's house making mixes and surfing the net. It was there that she got interested in the army. She took a few days to mull over the idea of enlisting but every day at her father's house strengthened the idea of going to a place that would be far away from her dad. He didn't ever do anything to her, apart from leaving, but their relationship couldn't be repaired. Most of it was because Beca didn't want to repair it. He had made his decision and she made hers.

It had been a hard few weeks. The funeral was held one week after her mother's death and she finished her last couple of exams and got her high school certificate one week after that.

After that she packed a few things from her old house and was on her way to the army three days later. She hadn't talked to her dad since. He had sent her birthday cards and wished her merry Christmas. She never responded. He tried calling but she never took the calls. Some people might say she was acting foolish and that she should mend her relationship with her dad since he was her last living family. But Beca simply didn't want to. He hurt her and he hurt her mom. It wasn't an accident, it wasn't a coincidence, he just chose to leave them. So Beca chose to leave him. Simple as that.

Beca arrived in the bathroom and took a quick shower. When she was clean and had put on new clothes she made her way to Captain Harris' office. She knocked shortly and after he called that she could come in, she did.

“Good Morning Sir.”

“Ah, good Morning Lieutenant. I was wondering when you would show up.”

Captain Harris was a man around sixty. He kept his head bald and was still in excellent condition. His uniform fit him in all the right places and he had a pair of stylish glasses on his nose. He smiled at Beca when she took a seat in front of his desk.

“You expected me, Sir?” Beca asked a little confused.

He chuckled. “Yes Beca, I did. I guess you received a letter?”

Beca was frowning now. “I did. I thought it was some kind of mistake? I didn't register with the 'Write a Soldier' program.”

“Oh, I know. I wrote your name on the list.”

“Um, why would you do that?”

Captain Harris leaned back in his chair and sighed. He looked Beca in the eyes when he spoke next.

“You can't continue your life like this. I've known you since the day you enlisted and in all that time I haven't seen you call anyone or receive any letter. It's like you have no other personal connections other than the people on this base. Who you also treat like acquaintances and colleagues. Which they are but would it hurt you to make a friend? I know you have Swanson but one friend isn't enough. I'm worried about you.”

Beca's confusion had quickly turned to anger.

“With all due respect Sir, this is none of your business.”

Captain Harris look hardened.

“It is when it affects the way you do your job.”

Beca clenched her finger's tightly around the arm rests of the chair she was sitting on.

“It doesn't affect my job. I have always put the job first.”

Walter Harris closed his eyes for a moment.

“And therein lies the problem. You always put the job first. Before your own health and life. You've become increasingly reckless over the past year and it puts your team in danger too. Or don't you remember the times I had to visit you in the hospital?”

“I didn't do anything wrong! And my team is fine! I saved them!” Beca was angry now. How could he accuse her of putting her team in danger? She took bullets to save them and everyone came home safe.

“Calm down Beca. I know that but what about the next mission? If you're saving them and then die in the process, who would lead them back? You are their Lieutenant, you have a responsibility to be there for them. Don't put your life on the line if it can be avoided.”

“But I thought it was my job to risk my life. Even the damn pamphlet said something about protecting the American citizens with my life. And now you want me to stop?”

“I don't want you to stop, I want you to start cherishing your own life more and avoid the situations that will put you in danger if you can. From the reports I have gotten from your team, there were a few situation where you could have gone a safer route but you didn't. You took the faster one.”

“I was trying to save people! Where is the problem with that?!” Beca was now standing and staring daggers at her Captain.

“Take it easy. Sit back down. Now.”

Beca did, reluctantly. She couldn't understand why he was accusing her when all she did was what she was supposed to do.

“I don't know what I did wrong sir.”

Harris smiled. “I know. And that is one of the problems. You are one of the best soldiers I have seen in my time and you've only been here for about six years Beca Mitchell. You are doing a good job and you know it. But there is something that you still need to learn. And I put your name on that list to make that happen. To let other people teach you what you apparently didn't learn here. I did this to help you, not to inconvenience you. Please just read the letter and reply to the person who sent it. It's all I ask. Receive a letter every once in a while and reply to them. See where it leads you.”

Beca wasn't happy. She had no intention of making friends and didn't see a point in starting some kind of letter friendship with a stranger.

“And if I don't?”

Captain Harris' smile widened. “I can't force you but I would be very disappointed if you didn't even try.”

Beca groaned. “Oh please, you know how I hate disappointing you.”

Harris had been her Captain for the last six years and they formed a bond not unlike a father daughter bond. Harris didn't favor her in any way but Beca would come to him if she had a problem. They never talked about it out in the open but both appreciated the dynamic of their relationship.

“Just read it and reply? That's all?”

Captain Harris nodded. “That's all.”

Beca resigned herself. Why bother fighting over this, she knew she would do it in the end if he asked her to. “Fine. But just for the record, I don't like this.”

He smiled. “I know. But it will help you, I'm sure of that.”

Beca sighed. “Okay then. I guess I'm off to read this damn letter then. See you later Sir.”

Captain Harris nodded. “Yes, see you later Lieutenant Mitchell.”

Beca quickly went back to her room and lay down on top of her sheets. Why did he make her do this? What was the point? She knew that what he was talking about was partly true, she had been a little reckless in the past months, but it got the mission done and nobody died. She didn't see the problem. Deciding that thinking about it any longer won't give her an answer, she took the letter from her pocket and looked it over.

On the back of the letter was the senders name.

Chloe Beale.

Huh, a woman then. I wonder why she would write to a Soldier.

Curiosity got the best of her and she opened the letter to read it over.

Good day Soldier!

I don't know whom I addressing and if you are a man or a woman but I'll just write down what I think. Firstly, good work on whatever you are doing! I don't really know anything about the army but since I can sleep safe and sound in bed every night I assume you are doing a great job of keeping us safe. So thank you!

My name is Chloe Beale and I'm an elementary school teacher. A friend of mine suggested this 'Write a Soldier' program to me and I have to admit I liked the idea instantly. I suggested writing letters to my fifth grade students and they liked the idea so we spent the lesson today writing letters. I originally hadn't really planned on writing a letter now but my student's caught me texting in class so I had to promise them muffins for tomorrow and that somehow led into me writing a letter along them.

Anyway, if some of your fellow comrades receive letters from my students, can you maybe ask them to reply? It doesn't have to be much, but my students were so excited about the prospect of getting a reply that I can't help myself and have to ask.

Also, I would be happy to hear from you. Or you know, if you don't want to reply that's fine too. I just wanted to express my gratitude for keeping our country safe.

Sincerely,

Chloe Beale.

An elementary school teacher? She must be an older woman then. But she said that her students caught her texting. Older people aren't that into texting are they? Huh, I guess I have to ask her. And what is that about the muffins?

Beca had to admit that she was intrigued. She would have to ask Jesse if he maybe received a letter from one of Miss Beale's students. Or is it Mrs Beale? So many questions.

The brunette Lieutenant wasn't happy that her Captain essentially forced her to write letters to strangers but she had to admit that this Chloe Beale sounded nice and friendly. Beca assumed she could have gotten a worse letter and decided to formulate a reply. Even if it was just to say thank you for the letter. And for thanking her that she could sleep well at night.

That was all that Beca wanted from enlisting anyway. Protect the American citizens. And if it meant being far away from her father, all the better.

Chapter Text

It had been exactly ten days since Chloe had proposed the ‘Write a Soldier’ program to her students and they had written their letters. Her fifth graders had been excited to write the letters but had been even more excited as soon as replies had begun to arrive at the school.

Each morning, Chloe’s class would wait with bated breaths until Chloe came into the room. And each morning Chloe smiled at her students and started handing out letters.

Over half of her students had already gotten a reply and the others waited impatiently for their own responses.

They always took ten minutes in the beginning of each class to read the letters out loud so that everyone could enjoy them.

Chloe didn’t let it show but she was as excited as her students by the prospect of getting a reply. She wondered who had gotten her letter and if maybe that person had told their comrades to write answers to her kids. She should thank that person, even if they didn’t reply. That would be the polite thing to do.

This morning however, Chloe was late. She assumed she caught some kind of cold because she had been vomiting and had felt awful all morning. But she already felt a little better and didn’t want to call in sick. Since she had spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom though, she only had two minutes left to get into her classroom and she was only just arriving in the parking lot.

Deciding to forgo the teacher’s lounge, she went straight to her classroom and arrived only two minutes late.

“Sorry, I’m running a little late. Good Morning everyone. Why don’t you get your homework out and compare it with your neighbor’s? I’ll just rush into the teacher’s lounge and see if more letters have arrived. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Chloe rushed back out of the room and arrived two minutes later in the staff room. When she opened the door to the faculty room she was met with the sight of her best friend slaving over some test corrections.

“Bree? What are you doing here so early? I thought you don’t have your first class until 11 am?”

Aubrey turned around and smiled at Chloe for a moment, until she caught sight of the redheads pale complexion and her rumpled clothing. She stood up and hurried over to her best friend.

“Chloe, what happened? You look like a ghost. Are you sick?”

Chloe sighed deeply and put her jacket on her chair. “I think so. I haven’t been feeling well today but it got better. I didn’t want to call in sick because the kids are always so excited when they receive their letters. But now I’m late and I haven’t checked the mail. Let’s talk over lunch break, okay? I shouldn’t leave my students unattended for too long, right?”

The redhead was about to check if there was any mail for her and her students, when Aubrey stopped her and put her hand on the other woman’s forehead to check if she had a fever.

“Hm, you don’t seem to have a fever. But if you feel bad, just go home and sleep it off. There is no use in you infecting your students or the other staff.”

“No, it’s okay. I already feel much better, don’t worry.” She found two letters in the Mail and was happy to notice that one of them was addressed directly to her. She put the two letters in her bag and started walking to the door. “Let’s talk during lunch. I have to hurry back to my class.”

Aubrey looked at her skeptically but let her go. “Okay, but if you don’t feel better during lunch, I’ll send you home.”

“Yeah, yeah, see you later Bree!”

Chloe had only been absent for about eight minutes but her class had already completely forgotten about their assignment and were chatting happily with each other when she arrived in her classroom.

“Guys, please stop talking. Did you compare your homework?”

Chloe saw some of her students nodding but most of them looked guiltily in another direction.

“That’s what I thought. Marco, you got a letter. Since the others didn’t do what I told them to do, it is your decision if you want to share your letter with the class or not. But we’re not reading it now, even if you decide to share. We’ll discuss your homework first and if we have time left we’ll talk about it. Not any earlier.”

Most of the students looked even more guilty now and Rachel lifted her hand into the air.

“Yes Rachel?”

“Are you alright Miss Beale? You are looking really pale.”

Chloe smiled at her reassuringly. “I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m already feeling better. So now, let’s discuss your homework.”

After that, the lesson went without a problem. Every single one of Chloe’s students hated disappointing her and decided to make it up by participating a lot during this lesson. That meant that Chloe finished the topics she had planned to discuss in this lesson 10 minutes early, even when she didn’t start directly at 8 am.

“Well, I’m proud of you guys. This lesson was really good, thanks for participating so much. So, Marco. Did you decide if you wanted to share your letter?”

The small boy with glasses nodded. “Yes, if the others want to. Everyone read theirs till now, so why not?”

Chloe smiled at her student. “That’s nice of you. Well, then. Come up here and read your letter to the class.”

Marco grinned and finally opened his letter. It felt like the letter had been burning a hole in the table for the whole lesson and he couldn’t wait to read it.

He took a deep breath and started reading as soon as he stood next to Chloe’s desk.

Hi Marco!

My name is Jesse and I was very happy to receive your letter! You know, we get letters from our families and also some compliments from people that we meet coincidentally but knowing that a complete stranger decides to just write a letter to anyone and compliment them on their work is great. I'm really grateful for that, it means a lot to me and to my comrades as well. So thank you.

And please thank your teacher for me too, since she had this awesome idea in the first place.

So, let's move on to your questions:

As you could probably already tell by my name, I'm a guy.

I'm 24 and have been in the army for six years now.

Yes, I've been in some very dangerous situations during my time in the army, but in the end it was worth it because I saved lives. And that is my biggest motivation for joining the army.

Yes, I've found good friends here. The thing about being comrades in the army is that you make friends for life. You depend on each other and you have to trust in each other and in your superior to make the right decisions. It's hard in the beginning but worth it in the end.

Of course I still talk to my mother, what a question. It's not like we are locked away. I call her at least once a week and get my weekly dose of 'I am proud of you my son' from her. We have a very good relationship.

As for your interest in the army, why don't you wait with that until you are about to graduate high school? You are only 11 and still have a lot of time to figure out what you want to do with your life. But if you happen to have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

I would be happy if you'd continue to write me. I love getting letters and replying to them.

I have to get going now, my best friend and superior (as she likes to remind me) is staring at me from the other side of the room. I think I'm in trouble.

Stay safe and thanks again.

Jesse Swanson

Everyone was silent for a moment but then cheered loudly. It was an awesome letter and Marco was already thinking about other things to write Jesse. The guy seemed nice and he wanted to continue this friendly letter correspondences. He turned around to look at his teacher.

“This is so awesome Miss Beale! Thanks for suggesting this.”

Chloe smiled brightly at him and shooed him back to his seat.

“Thanks. See what can happen if you reach out to people? You start to make great friends in life.”

Just then the bell rang to signal the end of class.

“Well guys, no homework for today but don't get used to it. See you tomorrow.”

The red headed teacher packed her things and continued on to her next class. Nothing interesting happened the rest of the morning and Chloe was glad when the bell rang to signal lunch.

Her nausea had left her and she was feeling pretty much normal again.

She went into the staff room and saw Stacie and Aubrey already sitting at Chloe's desk munching on their lunches.

“Hey Chloe. Are you feeling better? Bree told me you weren't feeling so well this morning?” Stacie asked, concerned that her friend was sick.

Chloe grinned at the brunette, sat down at her desk and got her lunch from her bag.

“I'm already feeling better, almost back to normal. It must have been some 24 hour thing or something.”

Aubrey looked at her sceptically. “Are you sure? You were looking pretty pale this morning.”

Chloe reached over the table to squeeze her best friend's hand. “I'm fine Bree. No need to worry.”

The blonde held her calculating stare for another ten seconds but broke out into a grin after that. “Thank god. No offense, but I won't be the one taking care of you the next time you are sick. I swear you turn back into a four year old child. It's exhausting.”

Chloe lightly slapped Aubrey's arm. “Hey, I resent that! And you know you can't help yourself. You'll always come to my rescue, even if I'm whiny and gross. You love me too much.”

Aubrey sighed deeply. “True.”

Stacie smiled at the playful banter between her two best friends. Aubrey was her girlfriend and Stacie considered Chloe to be one of her best friends but the two of them had a connection that nobody was able to touch. It had bothered Stacie in the beginning of her relationship with Aubrey but when she got to know both of them better and was witness to their relationship, she quickly smothered her light jealousy. She had accepted that a small part of Aubrey's heart would always belong to the ginger but that didn't lessen her love for Stacie in the slightest. In fact, Stacie could say with certainty that she not only gained an awesome girlfriend in Aubrey but with her an awesome best friend who knew her girlfriend better than she probably knew herself.

“Babe? Are you okay?”

Stacie was startled out of her thoughts by her girlfriend's worried tone and her searching eyes.

The brunette smiled. “Yes, just lost in thoughts. What were we talking about?”

Chloe decided to cut in then. “I was just telling Bree what an awesome idea this 'Write a Soldier' program had been. My students love the replies they are getting. Why didn't you come up with this idea sooner?”

Stacie mock scowled at the redhead. “Hey, I only got one awesome idea a month and my last one was already used up by the awesome toy I ordered online and hmmmphh...”

The hand of her girlfriend was pressed tightly onto Stacie's mouth to stop her from talking. “I think that's enough Stacie. No need to air private things at work, okay?”

“Bwuut idss chwooeee.”

Chloe giggled and finished her salad. Aubrey rolled her eyes but took her hand away when Stacie started licking her fingers. “If you want to talk to her about that, please do it at home. Not at work. We're professionals, aren't we?”

Stacie smiled brightly and gave her girlfriend a thumbs up. “Sure thing sweetie.”

“Don't call me that. Can we maybe change the topic now? Weren't we talking about the letters? You wrote one too, right Chlo? Have you gotten a reply yet?”

Chloe nearly choked on the sip of water she had just taken. The letter!

Quickly pulling her bag over to herself she searched through some binders until she found the letter she had put in there that morning.

“I nearly forgot! I've been waiting for ages for this thing to arrive and now I completely forgot about it. Man, I am so excited. Who do you think answered?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Calm down Chloe. You will see it when you open it. Come on, what are you waiting for? Do it and then read it to us, we're curious.”

Chloe snorted. “More like nosy. You've asked me if I've gotten a reply every day for the last week. Why didn't you just write letters on your own?”

Stacie shrugged. “Maybe we will. Now open that damn thing.”

Chloe grinned and quickly opened the letter. She decided to read it first before announcing every word to her two best friends.

Hi Hello Miss Mrs Beale?

Um, I guess I should thank you for your letter. I'm sorry, I don't really know if you are a Miss or a Mrs? Since you are a teacher I guess it's Mrs? Anyway, I got your letter and it was nice of you to sent it.

I am a woman. Since you asked. My name is Beca Mitchell, I'm 24 and I'm a Lieutenant, if you're interested in that.

I'm sorry if this is awkward, I really don't know what to say but I promised my Captain that I would reply, since he kind of forced me to take part in this program, so....

Well, you said something about muffins in your letter? I don't really get it, but maybe you can explain it to me? Only if you want to of course.

Thanks for appreciating what I do, it's always good to hear it.

So... I asked Swanson Jesse (my best friend here, but don't tell him that) what to write and he told me that I should just write down what goes through my mind.

That's crap advice if you ask me. Oh! You are a teacher I probably shouldn't swear around you? I'm sorry, I didn't want to offend you or something. Anyway, you probably aren't interested in this weeks crappy crap I'm sorry uugh... What I meant to say is that you probably aren't interested in this weeks dinner in our cafeteria and since that is what was going through my mind right now, Jesse's advice is bad. That's what I wanted to say.

Um, you asked me to tell the others to reply to your students but it wasn't even necessary. They all loved your student's letters and I think everyone has already replied or is still writing.

So, thank you for suggesting this, the men at this base are really appreciating it.

Yeah, so, what is it like, being a teacher? Do you like your students? I only have my own experience in school but based on that, I would never want to be a teacher. How long have you been one? I guess since you were texting in class, you aren't that old?

Ugh, I'm bad at this. Sorry for that. Well, I would like it if you replied but don't feel obligated or something.

Read from you later (or not)

Best wishes... Sincerely... Greetings ...Good Bye

Beca Mitchell

Chloe couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable awkwardness of Beca Mitchell. She was intrigued why her Captain would force her to take part in the program and decided to ask Beca in her next letter.

“Chloe, can you please just read it to us? I'm dying over here.” Stacie whined when Chloe read over the letter a second time with a huge smile on her face.

With a mischievous smile on her face, Chloe folded the letter back together and put it back in the envelope. “Nope. It's my letter, it has my name on it, so only I get to read it. Secrecy of the post and all that.”

“You can't be serious! Come on Chlo, please!” Stacie was leaning halfway over the table now and tried to snatch the letter out of Chloe's hands. The redhead quickly folded the letter and put it in her pocket.

“Seriously Chloe? You know how she gets when she doesn't get what she wants. Please just let her read the letter.” Aubrey tried to convince the ginger.

“Nope. You can write your own letters. Beca is mine.”

“Beca, huh? So it's a woman. Is that short for something?” Stacie tried to get more information out of Chloe but the redhead just shook her head and smiled when the bell rang.

“Hah! Saved by the bell bitches!” Chloe shouted and ran to the door.

“Don't swear at work, Chloe! How many times do I have to tell you that?!” Aubrey shouted after her best friend.

“Sorry Bree! I have to get to class!” Chloe called over her shoulder, already half out of the room.

Stacie and Aubrey looked at each other when their friend was gone. “What is up with her? Why won't she tell us what the letter said? You think it's something kinky?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. “I don't think so. They don't know each other. Would you write something suggestive in a letter to some stranger.” When Stacie got a contemplating look on her face, Aubrey quickly waved her hands between them. “No, forget that I asked. I almost forgot who I was talking to.”

Stacie pouted. “I'm not that bad. You know that I love you. I wouldn't flirt with anyone, except for Chloe, while we're in a relationship.”

Aubrey raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “While we're in a relationship? Do you want to tell me something?”

Stacie's eyes widened. “No! Don't twist my words like that. I'll always love you okay? But I have to hurry to class, so see you later?”

Aubrey smiled. “I know, I know, I love you too. Now hurry up, I'll see you later.”

Stacie grabbed her bag, leaned down to drop a quick kiss on Aubrey's waiting lips and was gone a few seconds later.

Aubrey smiled to herself and slowly grabbed her own bag. When she caught sight of the clock, her eyes widened and she quickly followed her girlfriend out of the staff room. She power walked to her classroom and arrived just in time. Pheew, made it. That would have been so embarrassing if Chloe or Stacie found out that I was late when I'm always preaching that punctuality is extremely important.

The rest of the day went well for all three women.

Chloe couldn't wait for the end of classes. She was itching to write a reply to Beca's letter and hurried home after her last class had ended. She arrived at home, warmed something up in the microwave and sat down on her couch to formulate her answer to Beca. She gnawed on her pencil in thought for a moment and then started to write.

Dear Lieutenant Mitchell... or can I call you Beca? :D

Chapter Text

It had been five days since Beca had sent her awkward letter to Chloe Beale. She had rewritten that thing at least five times but when it didn't get better no matter how many times she started a new letter, she just chose her first draft and sent it off. She hoped it hadn't scared Chloe away.

She really hoped the other woman would answer. Beca didn't really know why, but something about writing letters appealed to her.

Maybe it was the fact that she had time to think about what to say, well write, before talking to someone or maybe it was because she didn't need to look at anyone face to face.

Anyway, she thought that writing letters could maybe help her develop how to act in social situations. She knew how to be a leader and a subordinate in the army, but when it came to mindless chit chat or meeting new people she was always at a loss about what to say.

She couldn't remember ever being this bad at it during her high school years but maybe that was because nearly everyone had been acting a little awkward?

She didn't know and didn't really care either.

Beca had tried talking to her Captain again about the letters. She didn't want to stop writing and receiving them, but she wanted to know what he expected to get out of her letter correspondences with a stranger. He had repeated the same things he had told her a few days ago. That she still hadn't learned something and that he hoped she would learn it through these letters.

Beca wasn't happy about it, but backed off eventually.

The brunette Lieutenant had been relaxing in her bed, back to her headboard and knees bent, balancing her precious laptop on top pf them while music was blasting loudly out of her headphones, when Jesse found his friend.

“Hey Beca.”

Hearing something despite the loud music, Beca lifted her head and found her friend smiling down at her with a DVD case in his hands.

She rolled her eyes, didn't bother to mute the music and simply stated “No.”

The loud whine in the back of Jesse's throat went unnoticed by the brunette girl as the rap part of “No Diggity” by Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen started playing through her headphones and she started bobbing her head to the beat.

Noticing that Beca wasn't listening to what he was saying, Jesse sat down next to her and grabbed the headphones from her head.

An indignant “Hey!” crossed Beca's lips as she glared at a widely smiling Jesse.

“Come on Becs, just one movie! I promise you will like this one.”

“I doubt it. I haven't liked any of your movies before.” Beca replied dryly.

Jesse's shoulders fell a little but he still had a determined glint in his eyes.

“I know. You are strange like that. But I'm going to change your mind, you'll see.”

“But I don't want to watch a stupid movie Jesse, I just had an idea for a new mix. If I don't get to work right now, I'll forget the idea.”

Jesse rolled his eyes. He was pretty proficient at it, after all he had been learning from the best for the last six years. “You have a brain like an elephant, you won't forget it. And you called me Jesse! If that isn't a sign of approval I don't know what is. And if you promise to watch it until the end without falling asleep on me, I'll give you a present.”

Beca perked up a little after hearing that.

“A present? Did you raid the vending machine again and got me the last package of oreo cookies or something? Because that would be sweet and all but I could live without that. And I didn't call you anything other than your name, Swanson.”

Jesse snorted. “Yeah, right. I know you love me. And no, I didn't get you cookies but now that you mention it, I should have brought snacks with me. Do you have some? We can eat it while we watch the movie.”

“I haven't even agreed to watch it with you, what makes you think I'd share my snacks with you? For the record, I don't have any but even if I did, I wouldn't have shared them with you. You always come in here and demand that I spent time with you. What if I have more important things to do?”

Another snort. “No way. The only thing you do in your free time is mixing and listening to music. You wouldn't do anything else if I didn't come in here and pester you occasionally.”

The brunette boy snatched Beca's laptop from her knees and put the DVD in.

Beca protested a little longer but stopped when she noticed that Jesse was ignoring her.

If she was honest with herself, she did enjoy the occasional movie night with Jesse. Since she didn't have any other friends here, she was feeling quite lonely and Jesse was always there to counter that feeling.

She knew that it had been her own fault. She had erected high walls around herself and most of her comrades had given up on trying to climb them after a few weeks. Everyone except for Jesse, who had just walked through the walls as if they weren't even there and had settled his tent right in the middle of her courtyard. At first, Beca had been overwhelmed, she didn't really know what to do about it.

Ignoring him hadn't worked and shouting hadn't worked either. So after about four months, she resigned herself to the fact that he would stay right where he was. In time, she learned to appreciate the camaraderie he offered.

Noticing that she wasn't really watching the movie, Jesse nudged Beca in the side with his elbow 10 minutes into the movie.

“Ow!”

“You have to watch it, otherwise you won't get your present.”

Beca scowled. “I don't want your stupid present. What are we even watching?”

Jesse grinned. “Up!”

Furrowing her brows at the strange title, she decided to look at the screen. There she saw an old man cleaning a window while looking at an old woman. “Is this an animated movie?”

Jesse looked at her. “Duh!”

Beca scowled again. “Why would you think I like these kind of movies? I'm not a child anymore.”

“You don't have to be a child to watch animated movies. In fact, most people I know love watching Disney movies.”

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Well, I don't.”

“How would you know? Have you seen this one?”

Beca just continued staring at Jesse stubbornly.

“Right. Please give this a chance.”

Beca sighed and relaxed a little. “So this is a Disney movie? I think I watched Mulan when I was younger. I guess that one didn't suck as much as the other movies I've seen.”

Jesse's grin returned. “Well, it's not exactly Disney, but it's Pixar and Disney bought them a few years ago so it's basically the same.”

“... right. Why do you know this stuff? Are you expecting to be part of a quiz show in the future?”

The brunette boy started to pout. “Don't be mean. And I read the Wikipedia article, sue me. Now will you shut up and watch it with me?”

Beca exhaled deeply. “Will you at least tell me what it's about so I can pretend to have watched the movie when you undoubtedly quiz me on it later?”

“Sure! A young Carl Fredrickson meets a young adventure-spirited girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a lost land in South America. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Carl remembers the promise he made to her. Then, when he inadvertently hits a construction worker, he is forced to go to a retirement home. But before they can take him, he and his house fly away. However, he has a stowaway aboard: an 8-year-old boy named Russell, who's trying to get an Assisting the Elderly badge. Together, they embark on an adventure, where they encounter talking dogs, an evil villain and a rare bird named Kevin.”

“... you actually read the Wikipedia article. And remembered it. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disturbed right now.”

“Shut it. And it was a summary on IMDb. I'll press play and you'll have to at least pretend to watch it, alright?”

Beca grumbled her consent and decided to at least look at the screen.

90 minutes later, Beca was surprised that she had actually watched the movie. It hadn't been awesome but she wouldn't say it was terrible either.

Jesse turned around when the credits started rolling and looked at her expectantly. “So?”

Cue Beca's blank stare. “... What?”

Jesse cried out in frustration. “Did you like it? Good god, why does everything has to be like pulling teeth with you?”

Beca scowled again. “It's not. And the movie was okay.”

“Okay?!” Jesse exclaimed. “What do you mean okay? It's such a cute story, it's better than okay.”

Beca held up her hands in a defensive gesture and shrugged. “I liked the grumpy old guy.”

Jesse put his head in his hands. “Of course. What was I expecting? I'll just go and share my grief with Benji. He at least pretends to understand me.”

He grabbed his DVD from Beca's laptop and got up from her bed.

“See you later Beca. Just know that you made me very sad tonight.”

Beca rolled her eyes. She knew that he was joking and trying to get a reaction out of her, but she couldn't help but feel a little bad at his despondent expression.

“Come on Jesse. I admit that it didn't suck as much as the other ones you've made me watch.”

“That doesn't really make me feel better, but I'll take it.” Jesse said and started walking out of the room. Before the door had closed behind him, Beca remembered something.

“Hey! What about my present? I watched the whole thing without complaining too much.”

Jesse turned around, a smile on his face. “I nearly forgot. Here, this was in the Mail for you today.”

He handed Beca a white envelop and chuckled at the brunette girl's wide eyed expression. Before he could move out of the way, Beca had regained her bearings and punched him in the arm.

“Dude! I've been waiting for this thing forever! Are you telling me you've been sitting on this the whole time we've been watching that damn movie?! I could have read it ages ago!”

Jesse's chuckling got louder. “Calm down Beca. Yes, I've been sitting on this letter the last two hours, literally and figuratively. But I didn't know you would be so enthusiastic about it. I seem to remember having to persuade you quite hard to even read the first one.”

“Well, everybody likes receiving letters. Now get out of here, I want to read this.”

“Yeah, yeah, have fun with that. Chloe seems nice.”

Beca gaped at him for five seconds until she exploded.

“You read my letter?! How could you? Have you ever heard about the secrecy of the post? I can't believe this! Do you have no respect for my privacy at all? I really didn't expect this from you.”

Jesse couldn't help but guffaw at the outrage he saw on his best friend's face. She had jumped up from her bed and stood in front of him, bright red in the face, hands gesticulating wildly.

“What are you laughing at Swanson?!”

“Calm down Becs. I didn't read your letter, I promise. I just tried to be funny.”

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest again and glared at him.

“Right. Try harder next time. So you are saying you haven't read my letter? How do you know Chloe's name then?”

“It's on the back of the letter. She wrote her name and mailing address on it. You know, so the post knows where to return it if it can't be delivered.”

Her scowl deepened. “Don't make fun of me. And now go away before I decide I need a training session with you right now.”

Jesse gulped. Sparring with Beca was never fun. She gave it her all every single time and despite her small frame, she always won. Not only against Jesse but against every single member of their team. Before she became their leader, Luke had been the best at hand to hand combat. Now even he had trouble getting hits in when he would spar with Beca.

Jesse always left those sessions with more bruises than actual skin that wasn't discolored. Not that she was aggressive or something. She just didn't held back when she thought they could handle it.

She always pointed mistakes out to her sparring partner, so they could improve and never hit someone when they were down. He learned a lot during those lessons, but that didn't mean he liked them.

“No, no, it's alright. I'll go. Have fun with your letter.” he shouted over his shoulder, already half way out of the room.

Beca chuckled. Hah. That works every single time.

She closed her door firmly and went over to her bed to make herself comfortable.

She turned the letter over before opening it.

Barden High School
Miss Chloe Beale
250 Marriot Drive
Atlanta
Georgia

A Miss then. So she isn't as old as I thought, Beca thought as she quickly opened the letter and started reading.

Dear Lieutenant Mitchell...

Or can I call you Beca? :D

Thank you so much for answering my letter, I was really happy when I received your reply. And don't worry, your letter was a little awkward but I thought it was cute.

To avoid future awkwardness, just call me Chloe. I'm not married and therefore a Miss. I'm 26, so I don't think I'm that old. I'll just tell you a little about myself, alright?

I've grown up in Atlanta with my parents, Claire and Andrew and my brother Nathan. My mom is a cook and my dad is a business person.

He worked in a firm for a few years, but fifteen years ago, my parents decided to open their own restaurant where they have been working together ever since. It's going very well and I love going there since it's only about ten minutes from my school. I often just drag Bree and Stacie over there during lunch.

Oh, you don't know who I'm talking about. Well, Aubrey Posen has been my best friend since we met in elementary school and she glared a bully into giving me back my chocolate bar in my first week there. She is an awesome friend.

We met Stacie in college. Stacie Conrad has quickly become our other best friend and she and Aubrey are actually dating. They are so cute together!

We are teaching at the same school and I couldn't be happier to have my best friends by my side.

I love teaching! I've been a teacher for two years now and I haven't regretted it a single minute. There are always hard times but you get over them.

You asked about the muffins, so let me tell you a little tale. When I got my first class I was surprised to see how many of my elementary school kids already had a phone and were using it regularly. Even during my classes. When it got too much I established a new rule that everyone who had been caught texting or playing on their phone would have to bring a cake or muffins or something like that to school the next day. Since all my kids are still children and most of them had no idea how to bake, this rule had the added effect of them having to tell their parents why they had to bring cake. So it was win win win situation for me. Firstly, I didn't have to talk to their parents, they had to confess that they weren't paying attention themselves. Secondly, I didn't even have to enforce the rule, the other students who wanted cake did the job for me. And thirdly, I got cake, yay!

Anyway they caught me texting during class a few days ago and so I had to bake them some muffins. I only establish rules that apply to everyone. But I didn't mind it, it was fun.

So Jesse is your best friend? What is he like? I'd really like to know since I assume he is the one that sent a really cute letter to one of my students.

Since we are on the topic of letters, I can't thank you enough for all the replies my kids have been getting. They are over the moon every time one of them gets a reply. I know I shouldn't just thank you but please pass on my thanks to your comrades. I'm really grateful to them.

Oh and don't worry about swearing. I have to admit I do swear a lot if there are no kids around. It just comes so easily sometimes, I can't help myself, but I'm working on it.

I'd really like to continue this correspondence with you if you don't mind. I liked your letter and want to know you better.

So who are you, Lieutenant Beca Mitchell?

What did you mean when you said your Captain kind of forced you to write letters?

What is it like being a woman in the army?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Goodbye (It was so cute how you crossed out all the other farewells! :D)

Just Chloe

Chapter Text

“Oh sweetie, it's so nice of you to visit.” an older woman with blonde hair, streaked with a few silver strands, said as she opened the front door and enveloped her red headed daughter in a big hug.

It was Saturday and Chloe had decided to visit her parents after going grocery shopping.

“Uff, mom, I can't breathe.” Chloe mumbled into her mom's shoulder. Claire Beale let go and beamed at her.

“Sorry dear. I'm just so excited to see you. How long has it been? Three weeks? You should definitely visit more often.”

“I will, sorry mom. I've just been super busy. And I think I caught a bug last week, I had to stay home for two days but I'm fine now. How are you and dad? Where is he by the way? And where is Nathan?”

Claire finally led her daughter into the living room of the house and motioned for her to sit down on the couch. She went into the kitchen and prepared some coffee. When she was finished she came back and handed Chloe a steaming cup.

“Here you go. I'm glad that you are feeling better, but you could have called, you know? I would have cooked you something nice. Andrew is at the hardware store I think. He said something about nails, I don't really remember, I was vacuuming. He's been spending the last few days in the garage, I think he is working on something again. I didn't ask, you know how he is when he thinks you show even the slightest interest in his hobby. I didn't have that much time to spare.” Claire laughed and winked at her daughter who grinned back. “But he should be back soon. As for Nathan, I think he is meeting some friends. We picked him up yesterday from the train station and he said he misses his friends from High School. He said he made a couple of other good friends in college but he said it isn't the same. I didn't want to pry so I didn't ask for details.”

Chloe sipped at her coffee. “Yeah he mentioned that to me too. But he will find other good friends, I'm sure of that. How have you been mom? How's the restaurant going?”

“Oh, everything is fine, don't worry dear. And the restaurant is going great, we can't complain. Now enough about me, what about you? How is Tom? What about Aubrey and Stacie?”

Chloe sighed. She knew she couldn't hide her break up with Tom forever. Her parents had liked him but were always a little reserved around him, so maybe it wouldn't be such a surprise to them. Taking a deep breath, Chloe just got it over with.

“I broke up with him.”

Claire looked at her daughter with wide surprised eyes. “Really? Why?”

Chloe shrugged. “I don't know if you had noticed but I wasn't really happy with him. He was a nice guy and I liked him but he wasn't the one. I knew that from the start. These last few months he had been asking me to move in with him but I didn't want to. I didn't want to make that kind of commitment when I knew that it wouldn't last. So I found excuse after excuse why I didn't want to move in with him because I was too scared to tell him the truth. I didn't want to hurt his feelings but my excuses only led to arguments. And a few weeks ago we had another one and Bree and Stacie took me dancing at a club that night. I saw Tom making out with some blonde on the dance floor and decided to end things with him. The sad thing is that I was rather relieved that he gave me an excuse to break up with him. I'm a terrible person, aren't I? For stringing him along for so long?”

Claire enveloped her daughter in another hug and stroked her hair.

“You are not a terrible person, Chloe. You could have talked to him as soon as you realized but from what I understand you wanted to give you two another chance. Or at least you wanted to be sure that breaking up with him was what you wanted. And let's be honest sweetie, if he was a hundred percent committed to you, he wouldn't have cheated like that.”

Chloe relaxed into her mother's arms and enjoyed the comfort the other woman provided.

“I guess you are right. But I wouldn't call making out with someone on a crowded dance floor cheating.”

Claire rose an eyebrow. “Do you know what happened after that?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, I just left the club and sent him a text to break up with him while a cab took me home.”

The older blonde shook her head. “A text message? Really? I thought you knew better than that. Anyway, not the point I was trying to make. He could have done anything after you left the club. I doubt he read your message while still dancing with that girl. And 'making out' counts as cheating in my book. Also, I have to confess that I saw it coming.”

Chloe sat a little straighter and looked her mother in the eyes. “What? How?”

Claire snorted. “You thought that I wouldn't notice that my only daughter wasn't as happy as she wanted others to believe? Give me some credit, I'm your mother.”

“Huh. Why didn't you say something sooner?”

Claire shrugged. “You are old enough to make your own decisions. And it wasn't like he was hurting you.”

“Well, it wasn't all bad you know. I think I was happy with him at first. But as I got older, I just didn't want to settle for 'okay' anymore. He has been a big part in my life but I'm not really sorry to see him go. At least as a boyfriend. I hope, in time, we can learn to be friends again.”

With one last hug, the blonde stood up and took Chloe's hand to pull her into the kitchen.

“Enough about that. I can see a little distraction is in order. How about I show you how this great new recipe I found online is made? I tried it last week and it tasted really good. You are staying for dinner, right?”

Chloe laughed. “Of course. Your food is the best.”

Claire grinned. “That's what I like to hear. Now tell me about Aubrey and Stacie. And School! We haven't talked about your job in a while.”

Chloe smiled brightly. “It is so awesome that we can work together like that. I know I've said it a thousand times before, but I really love it. And Bree and Stacie are so cute together. They've been together for a year now, I can't believe how fast time went by. They are so good together, I can tell that Bree has relaxed a lot since Stacie is there to calm her down. Their anniversary is coming up, I'm sure they will let me help plan it. It's going to be so much fun.”

Claire laughed. She loved seeing her daughter like this. Full of positive thoughts and happy feelings.

“I'm glad that things are working so well for them. You really have to bring them around more often, I miss them. Promise me you'll come to the restaurant with them sometime next week for lunch? My treat.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You don't have to bribe us to come to the restaurant. You know we all love your food.”

The older blonde chuckled. “I certainly hope so. How are classes going?”

Chloe smiled while she chopped some carrots. “It's going very well. My students have been behaving like angels these last few weeks, especially my fifth grade. Ever since Stacie had the brilliant idea for my class to take part in a 'Write a Soldier' program , they've been behaving perfectly.”

“Oh? How did she come up with that? It's a nice idea.”

“Stacie has a brother who is in the army. His name is Luke and when she spoke to him on the phone he told her about this program since he and most of his comrades are already part of it. She liked the idea instantly and suggested I propose this idea to my students since I'm mostly done with my curriculum for this year. And it's only a few weeks left until summer break. I thought it couldn't hurt. My kids could learn more about the people protecting them and our country and Stacie assured me that every soldier liked getting letters.”

Claire put the meal in the oven and sat down next to her daughter at the kitchen table. “Sounds like it's fun for the kids. Did you take part in it as well?

The redhead beamed at her mother. “Yes! I've already gotten a reply and sent another letter. Best idea Stacie ever had.”

The older blonde raised an eyebrow. Her daughter seemed awfully happy over one simple letter. “So who is it you've been writing to?”

“Her name is Beca Mitchell and she is a Lieutenant. She seems very nice, I'm very happy that she replied to my letter. It was so cute how you could actually tell that she was nervous through the letter. Cutest thing I've ever read.”

“So you like this Beca?”

“Of course! Well, I don't really know her and I've only gotten one letter from her, which only had about 402 words, well subtracting the crossed out words it's more like 391, but I think we could make great friends.”

The older blonde smiled at her daughter. “You can tell she was nervous from the letter? And did you count the words or something? Or was that a random estimation? Awfully precise if you ask me.”

Chloe blushed. “I read that letter a time or two so I have a rough estimation how many words there were. I'm an English teacher you know? Words are kind of my thing.”

Another raised eyebrow from the blonde. “So if I happen to come across this letter and just happen to count the words, the number would be about 402?”

Chloe's blush brightened. “...Maybe.”

Claire laughed. “You are so cute sometimes sweetie.”

The ginger grumbled at that. “Am not.”

Claire only continued laughing and patted her pouting daughter on the head. “Sure, if you say so. Now, do you have that letter with you? I'd really like to know if it is as awkward as you make it out to be.”

Chloe continued pouting. “I'm not your dog, don't pet me like one. And no, you don't get to read my letter. Beca is mine.”

“Possessive, huh? Must be someone special then. And all because of 402 words. She must have really left a mark. Come on, let me read it, I'm curious. And don't think that I haven't noticed that you didn't deny having the letter with you.”

Chloe glanced nervously in the direction of her purse that still lay forgotten next to the couch in the living room.

“I'm not possessive. And I said that it was a rough estimation! Don't read anything into this. I just like the idea of writing letters to a stranger, who doesn't know me and won't judge me on anything other than what I write down. It's refreshing.”

Claire saw the serious expression on her daughter's face and backed off a little. “Sorry, I will stop with the teasing for now. But can I read the letter? I promise I won't comment on it unless you want me to.”

Chloe contemplated this for a moment but then gave in and rose from her chair to fetch the letter from her purse in the living room. She had always been pretty honest with her mom and didn't want her mom to think she had some kind of big secret.

“Here you go. But please keep any comments to yourself. You've teased me enough.”

The corner of Claire's mouth twitched but she managed to keep a straight expression as she nodded at her daughter. Chloe noticed the barely contained amusement on her mom's face and rolled her eyes as she handed over the letter.

The blonde took the letter and raised an eyebrow as she saw the worn paper. It looked like it had been unfolded and folded together a lot of times. She smirked at her daughter, who was blushing again by now and started reading.

Chloe watched her mom attentively as she read Beca's letter. The smirk on her mom's face wasn't subsiding, in fact, it seemed to be getting bigger the longer she read. She finished reading, smirk firmly in place, folded the letter back together and then gave it back.

She took her cup of coffee, that had long since gone cold, and started sipping.

Chloe couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. “And?”

“And what?” Claire replied, looking out of the window.

Chloe threw her hands in the air. “What did you think? I know that you have something to say to me. I know that expression.”

“I promised not to comment and I proud myself in keeping my promises most of the time.”

Chloe groaned. “You could have chosen to keep your promise when you told me you wouldn't pick me up at 12 am at prom. You could have saved us all a lot of embarrassment. Now is really not the time to keep your promise.”

Claire chuckled as she remembered that night. “That was so great. You should have seen your face when you realized that it was me that was walking towards you. Priceless. And that poor boy looked like he would wet himself when I caught you two making out in the corner.”

The ginger slapped her mother lightly on the arm. “It wasn't funny. Michael never called me again you know? You could at least have left out 'the talk' you gave him. He was mortified when you handed him the condoms.”

Claire only laughed louder. “What can I say? I didn't want to be a grandma at 42. That would have been a little early, don't you think?”

Chloe sighed. “Yes I'm sure that would have inconvenienced you. Can we change the subject now?”

“You started it.”

The redhead rose an eyebrow. “Really?”

Claire shrugged. “You did. But now that you allowed me to comment on the letter... can this girl be any more awkward? Or any more adorable. I just want to give her a big hug. It was so cute how she didn't know what to write down and crossed out some stuff. When you two meet up, you'll have to introduce us. I can only imagine her reactions in person when this is how she writes her letters. You'll let me keep reading, right? She sounds interesting.”

“As I already said, these letters are mine. Get your own pen pal. I can give you the address to their base. It's actually in Georgia as well, that's why the post is pretty fast. And what do you mean 'when we meet'? I get one letter from her and sent her two, why do you think we will be meeting anytime soon? Or at all?”

“I know you will. Come on, I'm your mother you have to let me read them. In case she turns out to be some kind of psycho and will kill you when you two meet. I have to read the letters to check that out. I don't want you to get killed.”

The redhead rolled her eyes again. “Mom, I'm 26. I can take care of myself. And you've seen too many horror movies.”

“Whatever, just do what I say. But you've been writing for two weeks now, why did you only get one letter?”

Chloe shrugged. “Don't know. Maybe she is busy or something. I've checked the school mail for a response every day. There wasn't one yesterday.”

“Then what about today? You know that he post delivers on Saturdays as well? And why do you have the letters delivered to school? Wouldn't it be easier if you tell her to sent the next ones to your apartment?”

“... I haven't thought about that. I should really tell her that. And I think I just remembered forgetting some papers on my desk at school. I should get them, I need them first thing Monday morning.”

Claire's ever present smile turned into outright laughter. “Oh sweetie, you are so NOT subtle, I don't know where you get that from. Hurry up and see if you got a letter and then come back for dinner. It's nearly finished and Andrew should be home soon. And don't forget to let me read it when you come back!”

Chloe rolled her eyes again as she stood up and picked up her purse.

“Shut up. I really forgot something. I'll be back in half an hour, okay?”

Still chuckling, Claire enveloped her daughter in another hug. “Alright. See you soon sweetie. I hope the trip is worth your gas money. Just imagine driving all the way over there just to discover that the mail box is empty.”

“I'm picking up papers!” Chloe shouted as she left through the front door.

“Right.” was Claire's muttered reply as she watched her daughter climb into her car and drive off.

Chloe arrived at Barden Elementary school ten minutes later and was thankful that she had kept her keys to the school in her purse. She parked in one of the designated parking spots for teachers and went into the school. Thankfully she knew the code for the security alarm and quickly disabled it as she went in.

She decided to head to the teacher's lounge first to find some papers she can show her mom later. Both of them knew the real reason she came back to school but that didn't mean that Chloe had to admit to anything.

She unlocked the door to the staff room and searched her desk for some fitting papers. Luckily she still had a test to grade so she quickly snatched the papers and left the staff room. She locked the room again after snatching the keys to the mail box from the desk of the principal's secretary and went outside.

She hurried over to the mail box and was greeted by a handful of letters when she opened it. She browsed through them quickly and let out a quiet squeal when she saw one with her name on it. She turned it over to confirm that it was in fact a letter from Beca and not some parent. When she saw that it was from Beca, she smiled brightly as she put the rest of the letters back into the mail box and locked it up again.

The redhead returned the key, locked all doors and reset the security alarm and got back into her car.

As soon as she sat down she couldn't wait any longer and opened the letter.

Hello Chloe,

you can call me Beca, if you want to. Thank you for answering me even if my first letter wasn't the best. I really didn't know what to write, so sorry again. I hope this one will be better but I'm not making any promises.

You really don't have to thank me for my letter, I think I'm starting to like this exchange. And now I noticed that I thanked you for your letter as well. Can we just skip the thanking part? It makes me a little uncomfortable because it implies that I did something nice for you. And I don't really see it like that. Umm... where was I going with this?

Well, anyway, your family sounds nice. It must be great to have such a good cook as a mom, right? Um, I have noticed that you didn't say anything about your brother other than his name. Am I allowed to ask more or was that a hint that I shouldn't pry? I'm sorry I really don't know, just pretend I haven't said anything.

It's nice that you can work together with your best friends, they sound nice from what you have written so far. It was nice of Aubrey to save you from the bullies in elementary school. But isn't it really hard to keep a friendship so strong for such a long period of time? It must have been what, about 20 years now? I can't even imagine that.

I'm glad that you have found a job you are enjoying so much. I think it makes life better if you do something you enjoy doing.

Your cake rule sounds awesome. I think I would have liked having a teacher like you. And be honest, you just invented the rule because you wanted cake, right? That's what I would have done.

If you don't mind me asking, what was so important that you texted during class? If you do mind, just ignore my question.

Yep, Jesse is my best friend. But I mostly call him by his last name, Swanson, to annoy him. I know that it irritates him even if he says he knows that I'm only saying it because I love him. And I do. But I never told him that. I don't know why I'm telling you this if I'm honest. I don't want to bore you, but expressing feelings is hard for me. I think you have guessed from my previous letter that I'm a little socially awkward (or a lot, depends, who you are asking). And it's hard for me to make friends. But I like having friends and I was so glad when Jesse didn't give up on our friendship when I was ignoring him.

Well, he is 24 as well and we met when we both enlisted at the same time. He is a rank below me and I frequently remind him of that to get a rise out of him. It's fun. He is friendly and open minded. He gets along with almost everyone he meets and has a ton of friends. I don't know why, but he always comes back to me even when he has so many other friends to chose from. I'll be eternally grateful for that, because otherwise I would be pretty much alone.

Uh, I didn't want to ruin the mood, sorry. Anyway, I think you two would get along great.

Again, you don't have to thank me for talking to my comrades. As I already said they all liked the letters and replied of their own. I've passed your thanks on and they all send their greetings and thanks to you for suggesting this idea to your students.

Thank god you aren't bothered by swearing because I have to confess that I swear kind of often too. Never without a good reason, of course ;D (And if there isn't one, I can always come up with a good one)

I'd really like to continue this as well, I like the idea of talking someone that doesn't know me and won't judge me.

Now on to your questions: (I've kind of been following your letter from the top to the bottom so I won't miss anything while I'm writing this. Is that weird? Forget the question, it probably is. Well, on to your questions...)

You have no problem with asking the hardest question first, huh? Who am I. Well, I've been thinking about that question for the last few days (that's why it has taken me so long to reply) and I had to admit to myself that I don't have an answer. I can tell you about my job and about my dislike of movies. Or that I like music very much. Or that my childhood was okay. That I don't talk to my father anymore and that my mom died six years ago. But all of that is only part of who I am and those are experiences that made me into the person that I am today. And I don't know what to say about that person. So I'm sorry but I can't give you an answer. I think you'll just have to paint your own picture? I don't know, I guess you'll have to continue to ask me questions and maybe you'll find me along the way? If you do, would you be so kind as to lead her my way? I would really like to meet her and ask her some questions.

Uh, now you probably think I'm insane or mentally unstable. I've been talking about me in the third person... I wouldn't blame you if you stopped writing to the insane lady (but I hope you don't).

My Captain asked me nicely (I hate to disappoint him) to take part in this program after he had already written my name on the list. I had your letter in my hand and went to him to ask him if it was a mistake. I didn't want to take someone's letter away from them and wanted to return it. But he said that there was no mistake and that your letter was indeed mine. I have to admit that I was against the idea at first because I didn't get why he would do that (I still don't to be honest) without my consent. He told me that I had to learn something that I hadn't learned in the army and that writing to you would help me. I guess we'll have to wait and see. But I'm glad I decided to reply to your letter.

Now, what is it like being a woman in the army. Well, it has been hard at first, I won't lie, but I convinced everyone that I am not worse at doing my job just because I am a woman and now they treat me like one of them. I lead a group of men and they don't question me in critical situations. I've proven my worth and so have they. But I think I am maybe the wrong person to ask that kind of question. I don't socialize much and I mostly interact with the others (apart from Jesse) during official times. Briefings and missions. Sometimes in the gym.

To sum it up, I can't complain they all treat me well. And from what I know, the few other women in this base have nothing to complain either.

I'd really like to hear more about your friends and family? If you don't mind telling me of course.

Have you ever been to interesting places? Summer holidays are coming up, right? Do you have a vacation planned?

Goodbye

Just Beca :D

Chapter Text

Jesse had noticed that his best friends mood had become much better over the last few weeks. Ever since the brunette girl had started receiving letters from Chloe, Beca had started smiling a lot more than before and actually talked to some of the other guys.

He thought it had started when Beca went to the common room and told everyone that her pen pal was the teacher of the class that had written letters to nearly all of them and told them thank you from Chloe.

Their comrades told her that no thanks was necessary and to thank Chloe for coming up with the idea. They had all talked a little more about their letters and somehow they bonded over them. Or something like that, Jesse wasn't sure, but he didn't really care either. As long as Beca seemed a little happier, he was happy too.

He had asked Beca to let him read Chloe's letters a few times, but she had refused every time. Jesse was extremely curious about the person that had managed to get Beca to open up, even if it was just a little bit, with just a few words in a letter.

The brunette boy even chose to go and see Captain Harris personally to thank him for his idea to get Beca into the program. The older man just smiled as Jesse thanked him and told him to keep an eye on Beca. Jesse readily agreed and continued with his day.

He had held his curiosity back for a few days, but when Beca had gotten the second letter from Chloe and had walked around with a bright smile for everyone to see for a whole day, he decided to snoop around a little.

Jesse started by asking his comrades if any of the kids in Chloe's class had said anything about her, but everything he got from them was her last name and the fact that Chloe was apparently an awesome teacher.

He was about to give up when he stumbled upon Luke in the common room and decided to ask the older guy if he knew anything.

“Hey Luke, I was wondering, do you know anything about Chloe Beale? She's the teacher that proposed the idea of writing to us through the program to her class of fifth graders.”

Luke Conrad, a tall good looking blonde guy, was sitting in a recliner at the edge of the room and was reading a book. It looked like some kind of thriller from where Jesse was standing. As soon as he heard Jesse approaching, he closed his book and gave Jesse all of his attention.

“Sure. I know her, she's best friends with my sister. What do you want to know?”

Jesse's mouth dropped open and a bright smile started creeping onto his face.

Jackpot! he thought as he eagerly pulled another chair over to Luke and sat down next to him.

“Well, you know how Beca has been getting letters from Chloe?”

Luke tried to hide his smile. He had an idea where this conversation was going. Stacie had called him a few days ago and ranted to him about the fact that Chloe wouldn't let them, meaning herself and Aubrey, read any of the letters she had gotten from Beca. She had tried to get him to tell her about Beca but he had decided to respect Beca's privacy and only told her general stuff about her. Her name, age, rank and the fact that she was a very good Lieutenant.

Stacie had tried to get more information out of him, but the blonde had refused.

Beca had saved his life more times than he wishes to remember and even if she was a recluse and a little socially awkward, he still respected her a lot. He would even call her a friend.

So he had told Stacie that Beca was a good person and that he wouldn't tell her anything else.

His sister had given up on the questions after a few more minutes of pestering him for information. She had respected his decision but that didn't mean she wouldn't try again.

“Um, Luke? Did you hear me?” Jesse asked when Luke didn't respond to him and was staring into nothing with a small smile on his face. Luke was startled out of his thoughts by Jesse's words and send the younger guy an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about a phone call I had with my sister a few days ago. To answer your question, yes I know that the two of them have been exchanging letters.”

Jesse groaned when Luke didn't say anything else. “Come on dude, you have to give me more than that. It's hard enough getting Beca to talk, I don't need this from you too. Can you tell me about Chloe?It's just that Beca has been really happy since she started this correspondence with Chloe and I want to know more about her.”

“I will tell you the same thing I have told my sister when she called me about information on Beca. I respect Chloe's privacy, so I will only tell you some general stuff, okay? If you want to know more, you'll have to ask Beca or maybe Chloe herself.”

Jesse smiled. “That's fine. You are a good friend Luke. And since you know Chloe personally my fears have already diminished a lot. So, what are you willing to tell me about her?”

“Well, her name is Chloe Beale, she is 26 and an elementary school teacher, as you already know. My sister Stacie met Chloe and Aubrey, who is my sister's girlfriend, in college. Chloe and Aubrey have been best friends for forever and Stacie was lucky enough to be added to their group quickly. The three of them are working at the same school and enjoy it very much. Chloe is a good person and I consider her a friend of mine.”

Jesse let out a deep breath and grinned at Luke. “Thanks man. I'm glad you think she is a good person, I was worried Beca would get hurt down the line. As nice as this writing letters business is, you never know who's on the other end and if that person will drop you like a hot potato when they get bored with writing letters. Thanks for talking to me. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of her? I'm mighty curios and Beca told me she didn't want to know what Chloe looked like, although I think that's a lie. She said something about the anonymity of writing to a stranger. I didn't really get it.”

Luke leaned back in his chair and thought about it. One the one hand it would be an invasion of privacy but on the other hand, he thought Beca and Chloe would get along great if they ever met. Stacie had told him about Chloe's break up with Tom and he knew that Chloe had had a girlfriend in high school once. He didn't know about Beca but he thought they would make a cute couple. He knew that he was getting ahead of himself but he was a sucker for a good romance story.

He loved reading romance novels but since some of his comrades had found him reading them, they had started teasing him. Not maliciously, but it did annoy him. So he had grabbed a book cover from a thriller he had read some time ago and always put it around his books when he was reading out in the open.

The teasing had stopped after a while but Luke continued using the cover just in case.

Making up his mind, the blonde guy sat up straighter and fixed Jesse with a serious look.

“I'm going to show you a photo of Chloe I have on my phone, but in exchange you have to send me one of Beca. My sister has been begging me for a picture of Beca but I always told her I didn't have one. Which is true. If I show you a picture of Chloe, it would only be fair if Stacie got to see one of Beca, deal?

Jesse looked around a little uncomfortably.

He didn't really want to invade Beca's privacy like that, even if he was already doing a good job at doing exactly that by talking to their comrades about Chloe. But he was curious and he thought Beca wouldn't mind along the line. He had a feeling that Beca and Chloe would at least become good friends. There was something special between them, even if they have never spoken face to face.

“Okay, but I'm trusting you to only send that picture to Stacie, alright? I don't want Beca to think that I've been handing out her picture to everyone.”

Luke smiled. “Awesome.” He got his phone out of his pocket and searched through his pictures for a moment.

When he found one he liked, he motioned for Jesse to come closer. Jesse crouched down next to Luke and looked at a picture of three girls. They were sitting at a table in a backyard of a house and were smiling into the camera. The table they were sitting at was filled to the brim with salads, bread, sauces and grilled vegetables and meat.

“That was a barbecue we held at my parents house last summer. The brown haired girl is my sister Stacie and the blonde next to her is her girlfriend Aubrey. The redhead on the other side of Stacie is Chloe.”

Jesse's eyes widened as he took a closer look at Chloe. She was undeniably beautiful. Her bright blue eyes were shining and the smile on her face was mirrored in her blue orbs. Her striking red hair framed her face perfectly.

“She is beautiful.” Jesse commented, still looking at the picture.

Luke nodded. “She is. And her heart is just as beautiful as her face. If you talk to Beca, please make sure she isn't playing Chloe. I can tell that there is something going on even if both of them don't know it yet. I love Chloe like another sister, I don't want to see her hurt.”

“I will. Don't worry Luke, Beca isn't like that.”

Luke sighed. “I know. But better safe than sorry. Say Jesse, you are awfully impressed with Chloe's looks. You are not trying to win her for yourself, are you?”

Jesse blushed bright red and punched a grinning Luke lightly in the shoulder.

“Shut up dude! Yes, she's pretty, beautiful even, but she's Beca's. Even if they don't know it yet. And I thought I told you that I wasn't looking for a relationship after my last break up? I'm in no state to start a new relationship, even if it was with someone available. And just for the record, I can admire someone's beauty without wanting to be in a relationship with them.”

Luke was laughing loudly by the time Jesse had finished his argument.

“I was joking Swanson. I was just teasing you, relax.”

Jesse glared at Luke. “Not funny dude. Just for that, you have to send me the picture. It would only be fair, since I'm going to send you one of Beca. And I can always use some incentive for Beca. Who knows when it will come in handy. “

Luke rolled his eyes. “Don't be mean to her. But sure, I'll send it to you. Can you send me one of Beca now?”

Jesse nodded and searched his phone for a suitable picture. The brunette boy grinned when he came across a series of selfies he had forced Beca to take with him. He chose one where he was making a funny face and was pinching Beca's cheek to get her to do the same. But she was scowling at him and her hand was already halfway to her face to slap his hand away. Beca looked beautiful in that picture, even if her expression promised some kind of retaliation.

Jesse sniggered as he remembered Beca's ten minute lecture about never pinching her cheeks again because it reminded her of her childhood and her aunts who had constantly done it to her because they thought Beca looked cute. She had hated it with a passion and had made it very clear to Jesse that pain would be in his future if he ever did it again.

The brunette boy toned down his snigger to a grin and showed the picture to Luke.

“Is this one okay? I think it captures her personality quite well.”

Luke broke out into a snigger as well as he looked at the picture a little closer.

“It's awesome. I'm sure Stacie will appreciate it.”

They boys exchanged the pictures and continued talking to each other a little more. They had been kind of friends before, but hadn't really spent much time together. But since they seemed to have a mutual goal, they found out that they got along rather well. They boys laughed and talked for the rest of the night.

Beca's daily routine had changed slightly ever since she had started writing to Chloe. It now included a walk to the mail box right after breakfast before heading to the gym. She enjoyed the letters and was eager to hear more from her... friend? She didn't really know if she could consider them to be friends, but Beca already felt more comfortable with Chloe than with most of the people in her life.

This morning was a little different though. She was called to meet her Captain right after breakfast, who told her that she and her team, as well as three other teams would be deployed to Syria in two days. Captain Harris couldn't give her much details, he didn't know how long they would stay, only that they needed to assist some troops who had suffered some injuries during an attack.

Beca normally liked the opportunity to help people and she didn't mind being the one on the front lines but she knew that some of the members of her team had been looking forward to a little more down time.

She sighed deeply and left her Captain's office. She found the members of her team still at breakfast and asked them to meet her in a meeting room after they they had finished eating,

Her team, including Jesse and Luke, had looked at each other knowingly and put the the rest of their breakfast down. No one was hungry anymore.

They put their empty trays in the designated spot and walked to the meeting room Beca had spoken of with somber expressions on their faces.

When all of them had arrived, Beca sent them a grim look.

“Captain Harris has told me a few minutes ago that we will be deployed to Syria to assist on a base that has suffered injuries during an attack from the IS. I know that another mission wasn't planned for the next couple of months but they need the people. We will leave in two days. The duration of the trip is unknown so pack everything you might need and be ready for pick up. Any questions?”

Nobody said anything so Beca continued.

“Good, I don't have any more information as of right now. We'll be debriefed once we'll land in Syria. Dismissed.”

Beca's team left the room until only Beca and Jesse were left.

“This sucks.” Jesse mumbled as he watched Beca staring into space.

Beca snapped to attention at Jesse's words and glared at her friend.

“It does but we don't question decisions made by our superiors. We'll do what we are ordered to do, that is our job. Do you have a problem with that, Swanson?”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Relax Beca. I didn't mean it like that and you know it. I just thought that we would have a little more time here.

Beca relaxed a little and sighed. “I know Jesse, I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed.”

“Don't worry, I understand. Want to watch a movie tonight? It might help you unwind a little.”

Beca's glare returned. “Your damn movies always manage to elevate my blood pressure, so no thank you.”

Jesse grinned and started walking out of the room. “ That's what I thought, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“That's never going to happen!” Beca shouted after him and heard his laughter as he made his way down the hall.

Beca shook her head but smiled a little to herself. Jesse always managed to make her feel better, even if it was just a little bit.

She sighed once again and made her way to the mail box. Maybe a letter from Chloe would elevate her mood. Beca quickly searched through the letters and smiled brightly when she found one with her name on it. She hurried back to her room, sat down on her bed comfortably and opened the letter.

Hello Beca!

Of course I want to call you Beca, it means we are friends now! Sorry, but you are stuck with me now :D

You know, I'm guarding your letters with my life. My best friends have been trying to read them for weeks now but I managed to keep you to myself! Well, your letters. Mostly at least. My mom managed to talk me into letting her read them but I just can't say no to her. She totally likes you and said you were adorable! I think so too by the way. Your letters are like a mirror of your personality. I don't think I have ever read a letter that reflects their writer's personality so well. And I studied English so I've read a lot of letters ;D

Sorry for getting off point there for a bit, I'm just happy about your last letter. Thanks for opening up to me like that, it means a lot to me.

Oh, I haven't even noticed that I kind of skipped Nathan in my last letter. Of course you can ask questions! If I don't want to answer something, I'll say so. Don't worry about asking the wrong questions, I promise I won't be offended. The same goes for you, if I ask anything you don't want to answer, just say so.

My brother is going to college. He finished high school last year and he was not really happy leaving his friends behind, but I'm sure he will adapt. He loves music and basketball. I urged him to do something with music like I did in college but he hasn't really decided on anything.

I was in an a capella group during college and it was the best decision of my life to become part of that group. I made life long friends and wouldn't change anything that happened, the good and the bad things.

I'm drifting off topic again, sorry ;P

Yeah, my mom is awesome. And it's definitely a good thing that she can cook so well. We often cook together, it's fun and I have learned a lot from her.

Aubrey is the best. I'm so thankful that she decided to stand up for me all those years ago. And keeping the friendship was never a chore with Bree. We luckily went to the same schools, the same college, the same a capella group and even work at the same school now. We did have times where we wouldn't talk to each other for a month or two because we were super busy but our friendship was never in question. We just picked up where we left off as soon as we had more time.

Well, I love cake. So that might have had something to do with my rule, but you can't prove it! I happen to think it's a completely acceptable rule to keep my students in line :D

The reason I texted is kind of long winded. I'm trying to keep it brief but I can already tell that this letter is going to be a long one, so you better sit down somewhere :)

In my last year of college I met a guy named Tom. He was nice and we got along great. It didn't take long until we started dating and we have been together for the last four years. Well, more like we were together for the last four years. I broke up with him a few weeks ago. I had been thinking about it for a while and when I caught him making out with some blonde bimbo on the dance floor at a club I stormed out of there, called a cab and sent him a text that I was breaking up with him. And please, don't say anything about the text message thing, my mom has already looked at me disapprovingly.

Anyway, I was in my class a few weeks ago and I had just told my students about the 'Write a Soldier' program when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I was curious who would write me when everyone knew that I had classes and since my students were busy writing letters, I decided to check my phone.

It was a message from Tom. He apologized and wanted to get another chance to talk to me. I told him that it was over and that I was fine with that. That's when my kids caught me. Well, we got to eat cake the next day so who am I to complain? ;D

Aw, Jesse sounds like such a good friend. I'm glad you have him, Beca. And don't think that you'll be alone someday. You are stuck with me, remember? I'm not going anywhere.

Hmm, my questions. I haven't really realized that asking someone who they were was a pretty difficult question. I just expected that people would define themselves by their jobs, hobbies and family. But you are right, that isn't all there is to a person. I'm excited to find Beca Mitchell and I'll be happy to show her your way once I've found her :D (Expect a lot of questions from me ;P)

I think I like your Captain! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Or well, writing. Be sure to thank him for me :)

I'm glad that your comrades respect you and that you are getting along with them.

Of course I will tell you more about my family and friends. I love talking about the things I love.

Well, I talked about Nathan already and outlined my mom and dad a little. I think I'll just tell you about Stacie and Bree. They have been together now for almost a year and their anniversary is coming up next month. I'm going to help them plan it, it will be awesome.

As you already know, Bree has been my friend for a long time. When we arrived at college, the a capella group immediately caught our attention and we auditioned. We thankfully made it in and had an interesting three years. It wasn't easy, but we managed. Our captain, Alice, wasn't too fond of neither Aubrey or me, but she graduated at the end of our third year and we both became co-captains of the Bellas (That's the name of our group) in fourth year. A lot of new people auditioned that year and that was where we met Stacie.

She had been in college for as long as we have, but we never met each other. She decided to do something new for her last year so she decided to audition for the Bellas. She got in of course, she has an awesome voice, along with some other girls who had become like family for me in that last year. I love all of them.

Stacie and Bree got along very well from the start even if Stacie would constantly challenge Bree's authority. I thought they would get together sooner, the UST was unbearable sometimes, but they sure took their time. Well, they are together now, so I'm happy :D

Hm, I don't have any plans for the coming vacation, apart from some day trips. Maybe something will come up, I'll see.

Hm, interesting places I have been. I've only ever been out of the US once, and that was a trip to Venice with my parents when I was 18. I of course wanted to stay home like any 18 year old girl who would be forced on a two week vacation with their parents but my parents made me come with them. In the end it wasn't that bad, I met a girl named Alina and we had a great two weeks. I don't know if it is appropriate to point this out now, but I swing both ways if you know what I mean. Alina wasn't just a friend, we had a summer fling and it was fun. But I never talked to her again after we got home. The city was nice too, even if it smelled like fish nearly everywhere :D

So, now my promised questions (I'll start with the easy ones :D):

Favorite Color?

Favorite music?

Best childhood memory?

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?

If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?

How do you spend your free time?

What are you most afraid of?

What is your most embarrassing moment?

If you were president, what would be the first thing you would do?

How would your friends describe you?

What was the last picture you took with your phone?

Have you ever danced in the rain?

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?

If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which would you choose?

Are you wearing socks right now?

I think these will take you some time to answer ;P Don't worry, we'll discover who you really are soon enough. I have a lot more questions, but I'm saving them for future letters :)

Talk to you soon!

Chloe :D

Chapter Text

Stacie had just ended her call with Luke, who had told her that he will be deployed to Syria for the next few weeks or months. He didn’t know the duration of their stay either.

He had told her that she shouldn’t worry about him and that he had a surprise for her. He had told her then about his talk with Jesse and promised her to send her the picture as soon as they got off the phone.

“Is everything alright Stacie?” Aubrey asked her girlfriend who was sitting quietly in the kitchen. Aubrey had left her alone during her phone call with Luke but when she couldn’t hear anymore talking (the walls were very thin in their shared apartment), she decided to see what Luke wanted, since he had just called two days ago. Normally Stacie and Luke would talk about once a week, so for Luke to call back so soon probably meant that something unexpected had happened.

“Stacie?”

Stacie shook her head for a moment and sent a fake smile in the blonde’s direction.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I wasn’t paying attention.”

Aubrey’s urge to roll her eyes was very strong, but she managed to control herself. Of course she hadn’t been paying attention, that’s why she had asked if everything was okay.

“What did Luke want? Is everything okay?”

Stacie’s eyes filled with tears as sobs started making their way out of her mouth. “He’s being send to Syria in two days.”

Aubrey’s eyes widened and she hurried over to her girlfriend to envelop her in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry to hear that. But Luke is a strong guy, he will be fine.”

Stacie continued sobbing into Aubrey’s shoulder.

“I know but there is still a risk. I know that it was his dream to join the army and I can see that he is happy with his decision but I can’t help but worry. At least when he is on the base in Georgia he will get help if he injures himself while working out. Out there, help isn’t so readily available if something goes wrong.”

“I know. But have faith in him. It’s not his first deployment; he knows what he is doing.”

Stacie only nodded and snuggled deeper into her girlfriend’s arms. “I’m more worried about the other people not knowing what they are doing and catching him in the cross fire. But thanks Bree, for calming me down.”

“No problem. Are you alright now?”

Stacie nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I won’t stop worrying but it won’t help anyone if I just sit here and cry.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each others company, when a noise alerted them to a new message on one of their phones.

“I left mine in the living room, it must be yours babe.” Aubrey said and reluctantly moved out of the hug. She had been enjoying that and wasn’t pleased to be interrupted.

Stacie’s eyes still looked a little puffy around the edges but at least she had stopped crying. The sound of her phone reminded her about the other thing she had talked to Luke about.

“Oh, that must be the picture!” she said excitedly and grabbed her phone from the kitchen table.

Aubrey’s left eyebrow rose an inch. “What picture?”

Stacie looked at her girlfriend with a mischievous smile one her face. “I may or may not have persuaded my brother to send me a photo of Beca.”

Aubrey’s right eyebrow joined her left and her eyes widened. “You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t. I know that you are curious, but Chloe won’t be happy with you. It looks like you’ve been snooping around in her life behind her back.”

Stacie snorted. “As if you are not curious. You’ve been trying to get her to let us read the letters just as much as I have.”

The blonde blushed bright red. “That’s not the point!”

Stacie hummed distractedly while she busied herself with downloading the picture. A few seconds later she tapped on her screen and the picture of Jesse and Beca Luke had sent her showed up.

The brunette’s eyes widened and she let out a small squeal. “Oh my god, she is so cute!”

Not being able to control herself any longer, Aubrey rushed over to Stacie’s side and grabbed the brunette’s arm to get her to move the phone closer to her face.

“You really should be wearing your glasses babe.” Stacie remarked as she saw her girlfriend squinting her eyes at the screen.

“Shut it Stace. Who’s the guy in the picture?”

“Apparently that’s Jesse, Beca’s best friend. At least that’s what Luke told me.”

“Are you sure they are just friends? They look really comfortable with each other.”

Stacie shrugged. “I don’t know, that’s what Luke said. She’s cute, right? And she looks kind of tiny next to that Jesse guy.”

Aubrey nodded. “She is, even though she could lay off the eyeliner a little bit. Now that you mention it, she is kinda small. Like a hobbit or something.”

Stacie slapped her girlfriend lightly on the arm. “Don’t be mean Bree. You don’t know her. For all you know, she could be kneeling or he could be standing on a step.”

The blonde shrugged while rubbing her arm and sending her girlfriend a hurt look. “That hurt, you know? And I’m not being mean, just stating facts. But she does look a little… I don’t know… grumpy? That scowl sure looks like it’s made a home for itself on her face from all the time it’s spent there.”

Stacie rolled her eyes. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I think she looks… well not exactly friendly but I’m sure she is a nice person. Luke said she is a good Lieutenant.”

“Yeah, sure. So what are we doing with it?”

The brunette looked confused for a moment. “Huh? What do you mean? It’s a photo, what can you do with it?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you went through all of that trouble to get the photo without planning to do anything with it? That’s kind of disappointing, just think about all the possibilities. We, meaning you and me, are going to have a little fun with our favorite redhead.”

Stacie’s confusion quickly turned into a large grin. “I like the way you think Posen. So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, first…”

Chloe’s week had been terrible. Well, it could have been worse but it also could have been much better. Nothing had worked the way she had wanted it to at school and when she had finally sorted everything out on that front, she came home to find Tom waiting for her.

She had thought that he had given up by now; she hadn’t answered any of his text messages over the last few weeks and she had thought that she had been pretty clear that they were over when she had picked up her things from his place.

Chloe was already cranky and tired when she had come home and just wanted a hot shower, some comfortable clothes and her bed. She slowly made her way up the stairs of her apartment building until she reached the fourth floor where her apartment was located.

Her building had an elevator, but of course on the one day she wanted to use it, an out of order sign had greeted her on the steel doors.

She had grumpily turned around and started climbing the steps. Having finally arrived on the fourth floor, she had rounded the corner and stopped suddenly.

Tom was leaning against the wall directly next to her door.

She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and started walking over to him.

Hearing her steps, he looked up and greeted her with a bright smile. “Hey Chloe.”

“Hey Tom.” Chloe replied flatly and stopped in front of him. “What do you want?”

He looked a little sheepish and tried to sound apologetic. “I wanted to apologize to you again. Can we talk?”

Chloe mustered him for a moment. He looked a little ruffled and like he hadn’t gotten much sleep the past few days. “I told you everything when I picked up my stuff. You cheated on me, I ended it. End of story. Now get out of my building.”

Tom came closer to grab her hand but she quickly took a step back. Getting the hint, Tom also took a step back and leaned against the wall again. “But I didn’t really cheat on you Chloe. I was drunk and I was dancing. Yes I kissed her, but it was a mistake. All I want is you. I’m sorry, tell me what to do to make this right.”

“Tom, you were a good boyfriend. You are a good guy and yes you made an error in judgment but I can forgive you for that. I already told you that I wasn’t so sure about this relationship before that night. I had my doubts for a while now and I’m sorry I haven’t told you but I wanted to be sure before I said anything. I really loved you but I don’t think we have a future together. At least not as a couple. I’d like to be friends with you, you were a part of my life for so long, but I can understand if you can’t or don’t want to do that. I’m sorry Tom, but we’re over.”

Tom deflated visibly and let out a loud breath. “So there is no chance of us getting back together? You don’t love me anymore?”

Chloe took two steps forward and hugged him tightly. “Of course I love you. But I’m not in love with you anymore, I’m sorry. There is no chance of us getting back together, please accept that.”

Tom hugged her back tightly. “I’ll try. I really love you Chloe. I’m sorry for the way I acted and I hope we can be friends in time. Not now, but I’ll sort myself out and then maybe we can meet for a cup of coffee? Just to talk. We were good friends before we got together, I don’t want to loose you as a friend but I need time.”

“I’d like that. Goodbye Tom.”

Holding on for a moment longer, Tom finally let go of her and made his way down the hall. “Goodbye Chloe. I’ll call you for that coffee as soon as I’m ready.”

Chloe smiled at his retreating form and with a last wave in his direction, she opened her apartment door and vanished into the darkness that greeted her inside.

That had been yesterday and although Chloe thought she had made the right decision, she still felt a little guilty. He had looked so sad when he told her goodbye.

Today was Friday and Chloe had no plans for the weekend apart from grading some papers and preparing her lessons for next week. She thought about visiting her parents or Stacie and Aubrey but didn’t really feel like it. She wanted to relax on her sofa for two days and watch trashy television while eating take out and ice cream.

She had done her grocery shopping and was just making herself comfortable on her sofa when her front door was opened. Chloe was greeted by the sight of her two best friends and scowled in their direction.

“I gave you that key for an emergency, you know. If something isn’t on fire and nobody has died, please leave me alone. I’m really not in the mood.”

Stacie halted in her approach but Aubrey was having none of it. She closed the door behind her, hang her coat up on the hook next to Chloe’s front door and pulled Stacie over to the living room. She sat herself down on one side of Chloe and motioned for Stacie to take the other side.

“What’s got you in such a bad mood Chlo? I know you always love it when we visit, so spill.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m not in the mood Bree. Of course I love it when you guys visit but I was planning on doing a whole lot of nothing this weekend. I already planned which ice cream I was going to eat tomorrow and which hoody I would wear. Don’t ruin my plans.”

Aubrey sighed deeply. “Awesome, thanks for ruining my plan, Chloe.” The blonde muttered flatly.

The redhead lifted an eyebrow in intrigue. “What plan?”

“I was trying to make fun of you and make you work for something you wanted but now it looks like I have to use it to cheer you up. And it was such a good plan. You suck, Chlo.”

Stacie was laughing now. “Yeah Chlo, she spent an hour thinking about all the different possibilities and the best plan of action. She made a flow chart and all that.”

Chloe now looked even more confused than before. “What are you talking about? What do you have that I want?”

“apictureofyourgirlfriend.” Aubrey muttered with a pout on her face.

Chloe leaned her head to the side, not having heard that correctly. “What was that?”

Stacie was still laughing. “She said ‘A picture of your girlfriend’.”

Still confused, Chloe tried to figure out what they were talking about. “My what? Did you hit your head? I’m not in a relationship right now. Remember Tom? Last time I checked he was a guy.”

Aubrey groaned loudly. “Gross! I was talking about your little hobbit of a penpal.”

“Beca?”

The blonde leveled her confused redheaded friend with a flat stare. “No, the other girl you have been obsessing over these last few weeks. Of course I mean Beca!”

Finally catching on, at least on the important part of this confusing conversation, Chloe’s eyes brightened excitedly. “You have a picture of Beca? Show me!”

“No. First you tell me why you are in such a bad mood.”

Chloe ignored her and turned to Stacie. “Show it to me? Please!” She looked at her brunette friend with puppy dog eyes and pouted a little.

Knowing that her girlfriend was weak against that look from Chloe, Aubrey quickly cut in. “Don’t you dare Stacie! If you even twitch a muscle towards your phone before she has told us why she is in such a bad mood, I’ll cut you off for a month.”

Stacie’s eyes widened dramatically. “You wouldn’t!”

“Try me.” Aubrey replied flatly.

Chloe huffed between them and stood up to move over to the kitchen. “Do you guys want something to drink? I want a beer.”

“Chloe, what is wrong? You tell us everything. And get me one of those as well.” Aubrey asked Chloe’s retreating figure.

“Me too!” Stacie piped in and they watched as Chloe came back with three beers a minute later and sat down between them again.

“It’s nothing guys. I’m just in a bad mood. Work was exhausting this week and then the thing with Tom yesterday. I’m not feeling happy right now, it’s nothing specific. I’ll be back to happy Chloe on Monday, don’t worry.”

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Chloe nodded and opened her beer bottle. “Yes. Don’t worry guys, I’m just feeling down. I’ll be okay next week.”

Knowing the signs when the redhead was lying and not spotting any, Aubrey chose to believe her.

“Okay then. But you can talk to us, remember that.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I know. Now show me that picture, woman!”

Aubrey grinned slyly. “I thought you didn’t want to know what she looked like? Something about the anonymity being refreshing.”

“I wasn’t thinking when I told you that. Now give it to me!”

Aubrey hesitated for another second but eventually relented. If it would elevate Chloe’s mood, then she should have it.

“Stace? Show it to her.” Stacie grinned and grabbed her phone out of her back pocket. She quickly searched for the photo and gave Chloe the phone as soon as she found it.

Chloe quickly grabbed the phone and held it closely to her eyes.

“Oh my god, she is so cute! She looks adorable, doesn’t she? Not to mention beautiful! With that scowl on her face and those captivating ocean blue eyes.”

Stacie sniggered as she watched her friend looking at the picture. The redhead’s eyes were shining brightly in excitement and her feet wouldn’t stay still, jumping up and down in an unheard beat. “Should we leave you alone with the picture for a moment?”

Not moving her eyes from the picture, Chloe swatted in Stacie’s direction lightly and was met with the other girl’s arm. “Shut up Stacie. But she is beautiful, isn’t she? And is that boy Jesse?”

Stacie and Aubrey rolled their eyes. “Yeah, yeah the hobbit looks nice.” Aubrey muttered.

Chloe’s eyes quickly fixed themselves on her blonde friends face, glaring at her. “What are you calling her?”

Stacie was still sniggering. She loved it when Chloe and Aubrey bickered, it was always so amusing to watch.

“Calm down Chloe, I’m just calling it the way I see it. And from what I’ve seen from this picture, there’s not much to see in the vertical department.”

“Bree! I can’t believe you! You don’t even know her and you are already calling her names and insulting her? For all you know she could be kneeling or the other guy could be standing on something.”

“If she were kneeling she would have some weird proportions.”

Chloe groaned loudly. “Can you just shut up? Stacie, make her shut up please?”

Stacie nodded, still grinning. “Let it be Aubrey. Didn’t we already have this conversation? No talking about people you don’t know. It’s rude.”

Aubrey pouted but remained silent.

“And yes Chloe, that is Jesse. Luke sent me the picture and told me. They are in the same team or something.

Choe’s eyes widened. “Luke knows Beca?!”

Stacie looked at the redhead confusedly. “Yes? He said they were friends.”

Chloe squealed loudly and grabbed her phone from the small couch table in front of them. “I’m so going to call him now and ask him for details.”

Stacie quickly grabbed Chloe’s phone out of the redhead’s hands. “No you don’t. Luke’s busy right now. He’s being send on another mission and they are departing today I think.”

The redhead’s outrage quickly turned to concern. “I’m sorry Stacie. Are you okay? I know how hard you take it every time he is being deployed.”

Stacie shrugged but happily accepted the hug the redhead was offering her. “Bree calmed me down already. I’m still worried but I’ll be fine.”

After a few minutes of silence, the redhead piped up again. “Um, Stacie?”

“Hm?”

“Didn’t you say that Luke was on the same team as Beca and Jesse?”

“…Yes.”

“Does that mean what I think it means?”

“… Probably.”

“… Damn.”

“I guess you’ll find out in her next letter?”

Chloe’s eyes dropped and her shoulders slumped.

Aubrey chose that moment to wiggle her way back into the conversation by embracing Chloe from the other side.

“Don’t worry Chloe. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Stacie. Well, I don’t know Beca or Jesse but since they’ve been in the army for a few years now they probably know what they are doing. They will be fine. And Beca will write to you, I’m sure of that.”

“But what if she isn’t? Going to be fine I mean. Or writing to me for that matter. I’ll be worried sick the whole time. Stacie, did Luke tell you that he would call you? And if he does, do you mind asking him if his team is okay?”

“Of course Chloe. He usually tries calling me a few times when he has access to a phone. I’ll ask him.”

“Thanks.”

The rest of the night was spent talking and watching trashy television shows. They had a lot of fun but Chloe's happy personality wasn't shining as brightly as usual. Aubrey and Stacie made sure to remind Chloe of her promise of feeling better on Monday and told her good bye late in the evening.

Saturday and Sunday were spent exactly the way Chloe had planned them. She did a whole lot of nothing and was only interrupted by a phone call from her mother asking her if she had gotten another letter from Beca. Chloe had rolled her eyes as she told her mother that she hadn't gotten one yet. Claire loved those letters nearly as much as Chloe herself did and couldn't wait for more words from that adorable girl that had stolen her daughter's heart with only a few splashes of ink on a paper.

Chloe talked to her mother for about half an hour about nothing important but quickly got back to her 'schedule' once her mother had ended the call.

On Monday morning Chloe was feeling much better and went to work extra early to get some things done. And to see if a letter for her had arrived at school. She still hadn't told Beca to write to her home address, because she was kinda distracted and forgot in her last letter.

She was about half an hour early and slowly sipped on a cup of coffee as she got her things ready for her first class and then went to the principals secretary to see if the post had already arrived.

It had.

After a short conversation with the secretary Chloe hurried back to the teachers lounge and swiftly opened the new letter from Beca.

Hey Chloe,

I think I'll start with the bad news first. Earlier today my Captain told me that me and my team are being deployed to Syria in two days. Today is Wednesday by the way. I don't know when this letter will reach you, but I assume I will already be gone by the time it does. I don't know how long I'll be gone but I'd like to continue writing to you when I have the time. I don't know how busy I'll be, but I'll send you a note with an address as soon as I arrive wherever we are staying.

I'm sorry to start this with such a heavy topic but I thought you should know. And I wanted to get it out of the way once I start going through your letter, that thing was filled with questions :D

Anyway, I'll send you a letter as soon as I can.

First things first, I'm glad you consider me a friend. I don't have much of those and I really appreciate it. I consider you one as well if you had wondered. A friend I mean. Um... well... yeah.. so why are you guarding my letters? I mean I like that you consider our conversations kind of private and it would really be nice if they could stay between us (well and your mother apparently) because I kind of write very personal things in here and I don't want the world to know about them? I don't know, if you want you can show them to your friends, I can't stop you, it's just... well... whatever... do what you want I guess. Don't worry, I won't be mad either way :)

Um, I guess it's nice that your mother seems to like me? I'm usually pretty bad at first impressions so maybe it won't hurt that she already likes me before meeting me. I mean not that I'm assuming that I will ever meet her but... you know, I'll just shut up now.

Your brother sounds nice. And he will find his place in the world, I'm sure of it. He still has lots of time.

A capella, huh? Sounds pretty lame. I mean, why don't you sing in a band if you want to sing? Instruments are way cool. But I guess I shouldn't judge, I don't know much about a capella. Well, not much is maybe a little exaggerated, I don't know anything other than it's music without instruments. Do you want to tell me about it? What was it like singing the instruments? What kind of songs did you choose? And did you only sing one song at a time or were you doing mash ups?

Um, I'm sorry about jumping over the Tom thing, I'll come back to it, but 'your mom looked disapprovingly at you'? That was the only thing she did when she found out you broke up with someone over text message? I don't really get into much social situations and stuff but even I know that breaking up over text message is a no go. You should really go and stand in a corner for a minute to think over your behavior :)

Just kidding, it's your decision how to break up with somebody but I thought you were the person to talk through troubles and stuff. Anyway, next topic.

So Tom. Are you okay with the break up? I mean, you said you were fine, but are you really? I mean he was part of your life for 4 years, it must hurt to let someone like that go? I don't really know, I've only been in two relationships in high school and they were kinda short lived. One was three months long and the other only lasted two months.... Here I go, telling you personal stuff again. I don't know how you do it, you are not even here!

I'm sure I mentioned that somewhere already but I'm really glad you have such good friends in Aubrey and Stacie. They sound really nice.

Your vacation sounds nice. I've never been to Venice, it is worth a visit? I heard it will someday sink into the ocean again, should I go there before it does?

I don't know if I should tell you or why I'm even considering telling you this but since you told me yours, I'll tell you mine? Ugh, that sounded awful, forget I wrote that. I would erase it but I don't have the time to write this letter again so I'll just leave it there. Please ignore it. What I wanted to tell you is that I am gay. Not that it matters or anything but since you told me you were bi I thought you should know. That I don't judge you I mean. I know a lot of people who do so I don't broadcast it but I thought you should know that I'm okay with it. Or something like that...

On to your questions then!

I'll go chronologically through them so you won't be confused (and I won't miss one) :D

My favorite color is black. Jesse tells me it isn't really a color so if I had to chose a real color I would choose blue.

Oh, don't get me started on my favorite music, I will definitely miss my flight if I get started on that. Short version: I like all kinds of music. As long as the underlying structure of a beat and melody is good, I'll listen to it.

Oh lord, best childhood memory? I don't know, I had an okay childhood. If I had to choose the best memory I guess I would choose the one when I was five and my dad, mom and me went to an amusement park. We had tons of fun and they had a massive water slide. I think I spent the whole day on that thing and forced one of my parents to come with me every time. It was awesome.

I haven't really traveled to a lot of places, I've only been in the USA and the places the army has sent me. If I had to choose where to go I think I would choose Norway. I always wanted to see the Northern Lights in person. I know it's pretty cold there but I think the beauty of nature will make up for it. As for why, I guess it's just something I've seen in a kids movie once and I thought it was awesome.

Um, five possessions... A compass, my glasses, a stuffed bunny I got when I was two named Mr. Bunny (don't judge, I was two!), a hair tie and if you can call a human a possession I guess Jesse? I think it would be pretty lonely without him, so I plan to keep him :D

I don't have much free time. But if I manage to get some time off, I guess I wander? I don''t know how to explain it, I love just walking around. It doesn't need to be anywhere specific like a park or something, I just like being on the move and seeing new things. Everything fascinates me, architecture, nature, people (from afar), animals. I just like watching the world go by. It's relaxing. Other times Jesse forces me to watch movies. I don't always hate them but most of them are pretty bad. But he likes them so I indulge him most of the time. Not without complaining loudly of course :D

I'm afraid of a lot of things. But I think being left alone is my worst fear. A lot of people have left me already and I can't bear to loose more. That's one of the reasons why I'm sometimes reckless during missions, but I'm only doing that to save people. Let it be my team or locals, it doesn't matter to me. Every life matters and you should aim to save as many as you can during your short time on earth. (Oh man, I'm getting all philosophical on you. Sorry, I think my brain is really tired right now. But you really have a lot of questions! And, let me tell you, they aren't easy to answer...)

I don't have an embarrassing moment. I'm always in total control of myself... (at least I wish I was)

World peace! Well, I would aim for it, but I think the first thing I would do is play hide and seek in that big ass white house. It looks enormous from the outside and I'm sure there are tons of hidden rooms. You could spend weeks exploring all those rooms!

Grumpy but loyal.

Um, I think the last picture I took with my phone was actually a screen shot. I was browsing through the net and somehow I always land on cat pictures... And that one black and white one was really cute... So I took a screen shot to save it for my background... kind of boring, huh?

Actually I have. Not really danced but during one of my former missions it had begun raining for the first time in months and everybody just got out of their tents and looked up into the sky. I was moving around a bit as the rain got harder, I just assume it means I danced :) It was an incredible feeling, you should try it.

I'm normally avoiding elevators just in case something goes wrong and it's good training to always use the stairs. But if I should choose someone to be stuck with I think I would chose someone who isn't afraid of narrow spaces, went to the bathroom shortly before being stuck with me and manages to distract me from the fact that we're trapped in a small metal box. I couldn't name someone specific but some of my friends would be nice. (Since I have only two, that list is kinda short)

I don't really watch tv shows, but Jesse showed me Xena a few months ago. It's a pretty old show and it was kinda ridiculous but it looked fun. Wearing those old school costumes and walking through the beautiful landscape of New Zealand wouldn't be so bad I think. But I would stay clear from the fighting. If I had to be stuck I would want to relax.

… Are you seriously asking me if I'm wearing socks? I don't know what you will get from that information but as a matter of fact, I do. Happy now? (You are kinda weird... in a good way... but still weird)

You know what? I finished all of your questions, so I think it will only be fair if you tell me your answers to those questions as well. Feel free to leave out the sock one, I don't really want to know :) Or tell me if you want to...

Yeah, I think I went over everything. I'll send you my new address as soon as I can so you can answer all those questions you dumped on me ;D

Um, I have another thought but feel free to refuse. I know that letters from the war zone take a lot of time to reach the US and I kinda want to hear from you. So would you mind if we talked over the phone a time or two? I don't want to pressure you I just thought it would be nice. Feel free to say no though, it's your decision. Just send me your number with your next letter if you want me to call. Or don't send me your number, I'll get the hint. Anyway it would be nice to hear from you soon :)

Beca

Chapter Text

May 18th, 2015

Hey Chloe :)

So, this is just a short note so that you can send me your next letter. The address is on the envelope.

We've been here for a few days now and everything is pretty calm. One thing I can tell you about this place is that it's hot. It really is and I hate the way that I'm constantly sweating. It's gross but I can't do anything about it. Well, except for taking regular showers but that's not possible either. Water is kind of valuable here.

Well, I don't want to complain too much ;)

I hope to hear from you soon.

Beca

May 26th, 2015

Hey Beca!

I'm glad that everything seems to be going well over there.

First things first: Of course I want to talk to you on the phone! My number is 404–XXX-XXXX. Call anytime you want :)

For the sake of honesty I think I should tell you that I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to you at first. Don't get me wrong I really like you and I consider you a good friend, but talking over the phone is a little different than writing letters. I love getting your letters and the fact that I can just go back and reread all of them. So I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but then I thought that I'd really like to hear your voice. So please call me :D I'm waiting.

But that doesn't mean these letters will have to stop right? I'd like to continue writing and receiving them. I hope you want that too.

Well, I'm not exactly guarding your letters. It's just that I kinda want to keep them to myself? I don't know. My mother managed to 'convince' me to let her read them so they aren't exactly between the two of us anymore, but you know, I tried. And I won't let anybody else read them until you give your permission, so don't worry.

Why are you bad at first impressions? My first impression of you was rather good :) My mom loves you and I'm sure you will meet her one day. The thing I said a few paragraphs back? About not knowing if I wanted to take our friendship to the next level? (that sounded terrible. But you know what I mean!) I decided that I want to meet you someday. We are living in the same state, so it shouldn't be that difficult. Only if you want of course. But I'm awesome, so why wouldn't you want to ;D

A Capella IS cool! Don't hate it when you haven't done it before. I will make sure to show you once we'll meet. (See? You don't even have a choice anymore ;D)

I can already tell this letter is going to be veeeeery long. As to your questions, I don't sing in a band because it would kind of limit me to one thing. In a capella you learn to do a bit of everything. I can be the beatboxer (not as well as Lilly, but I can do a little bit. She's the beatboxer of the Bellas) or do some background harmony or be the lead singer. In a capella you have to be able to do everything (at least a little bit). I don't just want to be the lead singer or the drummer. It's hard to explain, I just love it. I'll show you when we meet :)

Aubrey was the captain of the Bellas and she mostly chose the songs. Before she took over as captain, things were a little difficult with the former captain. Well, I don't want to bore you so let's just say we only sang songs from the 80s which were performed by women for our competitions. But we sang other stuff in our free time.

We sadly never performed any mash ups. But now that you are suggesting it, it sounds like a great idea. Well, those times are over. We still meet up sometimes, but we aren't competing anymore. Everybody has stuff to do with their careers and some of them left Atlanta. But we are all good friends.

… It is really bad if my mom looks disapprovingly at me, you know? Don't make fun of it. But I took ten seconds out of my day and stood in a corner and thought about it, alright? Happy now? ;D

Tom. Well, I think I'm alright. I mean, of course it's hard. For both of us. But I do believe that it was the right decision. I don't regret it.

Do you want to tell me about your relationships in high school? I'm curious what kind of people you look for in a relationship. You seem like a hard person to get to know. I didn't have a problem connecting with you at all ;D

Venice is beautiful. You should definitely visit one day. The architecture is breathtaking. And the people are really friendly. Take me with you, okay? I want to go again!

I'm glad you told me Beca. But it really doesn't matter to me. I like you as a person. I don't judge people on their sexual orientation (would be pretty hypocritical of me, right ;D). We should totally exchange stories once we'll meet. I'm interested in how you deal with women. I've made the experience that women are a little more difficult to understand in relationships.

Question time! (I'll answer the one's from before, it's only fair, but I do have some new ones as well ;D)

My favorite color changes a lot. I had a phase where it was a bright pink and then a while where I likes a light green (the color of grass, not those washed out pastel tones). I think at the moment, my favorite color is a dark blue, like the ocean ;D

(I just noticed I use a LOT of emoticons. I'm sorry, just bear with me... I like to get my feelings across as well :D See? I don't even do it on purpose. They just appear at the end of a sentence!)

Hm, favorite music. I think I like Taylor Swift the best at the moment. But I do listen to a lot of other stuff as well. You'll have to show me some good music when we meet, alright? You seem like a person who knows what they are talking about.

Best childhood memory, well, I think it was the day my brother was born. I was seven and really excited to get a little brother. I had a phase where I thought that my parents will only care about the baby and not me anymore but that thought was quickly wiped away once I held him in my arms for the first time. He opened his small eyes a little and as soon as he saw me he smiled at me. I loved him instantly. I still cherish that moment today.

Now you have to tell me which movie you saw that made you want to go to Norway. I looked it up online and it looks breathtaking. My first thought was something like the Maldives because of the beaches and the translucent water, but I wouldn't mind going to Norway either.

Five possessions. Well, now I know what you mean. My questions were quite hard... Okay, so I would take my glasses as well, a photo album, you have a good point with the hair tie. It would come in handy, wouldn't it? I think I'll take that as well ;) And a bracelet Bree got me in elementary school. I've worn it everyday since. It means a lot to me. And lastly, something to write? I don't think I could live without a pen and paper. (I use a lot of my free time just writing down stuff that comes to my mind. Just little stories of my life that were interesting. It's not a diary exactly, just moments to remember... yeah, well, kinda childish, hmm?)

Next question!

I spend my free time mostly with my family and friends. And writing I guess. I still like to sing so I do that as well, but that's more of a thing I do simultaneously with writing or I get Stacie and Aubrey to sing one of our a capella songs with me. It's fun.

Your wandering sounds interesting. Have you seen interesting stuff when you did it? Want to tell me a little about that?

I'm sorry for asking such a hard question. I thought you would just answer snakes or spiders or something like that. But I'm glad you told me. You do know that I won't ever leave you alone now, right? And I like that you save people, but please be careful okay? Your life matters just as much as theirs does.

As for me, I have an irrationally big fear of clowns. I don't know why, maybe it was all those horror movies or the really bad make-up, but I just can't stand them. Come to think of it, I didn't like them as a child as well. I should probably ask my mom about that some time :D

Well, if you won't tell me your most embarrassing moment, I won't tell you mine either! ;D I'll give you a hint though, it was still during college and a LOT of alcohol was involved.

I really wouldn't want to be the president. So much responsibility, you know? But I think I would maybe do something for the poor? I don't know, I guess one can have pretty big ambitions, but if it were so easy to do it, it would have already been done. Maybe do something for children's education. I don't know.

World peace? You don't start small, huh? I like your hide and seek plan though. Maybe I'll bring my students and we'll all play? Sounds like a lot of fun.

Bubbly and dedicated. I guess loyal as well, but that was your answer. I already stole the glasses and hair tie ;D

The last picture I took was a selfie with Aubrey and Stacie. We make it a habit of doing one every few months. It's fun to see them next to each other after a few years. We started that in college and are still doing it.

Cats are not boring Beca. I think it's cute and really, it isn't your fault that you end up there every single time. They are just everywhere. You couldn't miss them if you tried. So not boring at all. I like them as well ;)

No I have never danced in the rain. But I'm sure to try it as soon as possible!

Aw, you would get stuck in an elevator with me? How cute! I would totally get stuck in an elevator with you too, Becs! But you do make a good point with the toilet. I think we should both prepare before being stuck in an elevator. I'll bring the snacks :D

I have to confess that I have a weird fascination with medical dramas. I would definitely want to be trapped in Grey's Anatomy! But not as a doctor or patient. Maybe an unimportant bystander that somehow always ends up where all the action is :) I definitely want to meet the cast though! Or well, the characters. Since if I would be trapped, I would have to interact with the characters and not the cast. I would definitely warn them about that damn plane if I'd arrived in a season before that happened. And I would definitely save George from that bus.

I think you probably never watched Grey's Anatomy, right? It's awesome, you should definitely try it.

Yes, I am very happy that you are wearing socks ;D I don't at the moment. Just so you know :)

Sooo, I finished all of them! (This letter is seriously turning out to be a novel)

I have some new questions. Not so many as last time, don't worry ;D

Do you feel like children should be sheltered from unhappiness?

What question do you hate to answer?

How do you start a conversation?

What did you do for your last birthday? And when is it? ;)

Have you ever taken dance lessons? Who would you want to dance with? (Just to let you know, I'm an excellent dancer)

Glass half full or half empty? Or is the glass just malformed?

What do you think Victoria's secret is?

Is it better to beg forgiveness or ask permission?

If you could read minds, whose would you want to read?

What do you believe I am thinking right now?

Sooo, I think that's enough for now ;)

Please stay safe and answer as fast as you can. Or just call me. I'm worried.

Chloe ;)

June 3rd , 2015

Chloe was enjoying the first few days of the summer holidays. She still had stuff to do but it was a little less stressful when she didn't have to prepare her classes.

She had just come home from a spontaneous ice-cream meeting with Stacie and Aubrey which was always fun. She thought about visiting her parents but after a look at the clock – it was 3.30 pm – she decided to wait until her parents were both home.

She was about to make herself comfortable on her couch and catch up with the book series she had been reading for the last three weeks when her cell phone rang.

She furrowed her brows at the unknown number but quickly got excited when she noticed that it was a call from out of the country.

It had been a few days since she had sent Beca her letter and she couldn't wait for the time when the other girl would call.

Chloe quickly snatched the phone from her couch table and answered.

“Hello?”

“Um, is this Chloe?”

Chloe beamed. She was sure it was Beca on the other line. “Yeah! And you're Beca, right?”

“Right.”

Since Beca didn't seem to know what to say, Chloe took charge.

“Well, hello! I'm glad you called.”

Chloe heard a small chuckle over the line. “Yeah, hello. Sorry about that. I just didn't really know what to say.”

“It's okay. So, how are you? Everything going well over there?”

“I guess. It's still pretty hot but I'm starting to get used to it. Nobody got injured, so that's good as well. Oh, that reminds me, Luke told me to say hello to you. After kind of forcing me to finally call you.”

Chloe laughed. “That sounds like him. Please say hello to him from me as well. Was there a reason you didn't want to call? It was kind of your idea.”

Beca sighed. “Yeah, sorry. I wanted to talk to you. Still do. But as soon as your letter arrived two days ago, I suddenly didn't know what to say. I've been debating with myself a lot until Jesse and Luke just dialed your number and put the phone in my hand.”

“Well, I'm glad they did. Does that mean they are listening in on our conversation?”

A muffled “Of course!” and an “Obviously.” was heard through the phone and Chloe started to chuckle.

“Hello to you two then.”

“Go away Jesse! You too Luke! This is my phone call!”

A short shuffling was heard and then Beca's voice could be heard over the phone again. “I don't care that you are the reason that I finally called, go away and let me speak with her!”

Half a minute later, Beca seemed to be back. “Sorry about that. I told them to go away. We can talk now.”

“It sounds fun over there.”

Beca groaned. “No it's not. They both are a pain in my ass. Anyway, enough talk about them. How are you?”

“Oh, I'm fine. The summer holidays have just started so I have a little more free time than during the school year. It's been relaxing.”

“Sounds nice. So, Chloe, about the letters. I really don't want to stop writing them. So, how about we just keep writing them and talk occasionally over the phone?. You said so in your last letter, but I want to make sure.”

“Of course. Oh that reminds me, can you maybe sent your next letter to my home address? I won't be in school every day over the summer and it would be easier if you just sent them to my home.”

“Sure. The address was on your last envelope, right?”

“Yes. I'm sorry but I just have to ask. You have a lovely voice. Over the phone anyway. Please tell me that you use it for something different than barking orders? Singing maybe?”

“Everybody sounds terrible over the phone Chloe. And I definitely don't have a 'lovely' voice. And I don't really sing. Maybe a few tunes here and there but nothing big.”

“No, your voice sounds really nice. Well you definitely have to sing for me once we'll meet.”

Beca groaned. “I guess subtlety is not your strong point? I don't even know how many times you said 'once we'll meet' in your last letter. Pretty confident, huh?”

Chloe smiled. Beca sounded exactly like she wrote the letters. “Of course! We're friends, so of course we'll meet someday. I'll make sure of it. Unless you are totally opposed to the idea, then I won't force you.”

Beca snorted. “Yeah right. I don't mind. I'd be happy if we could meet once I'm back in the states. You write awesome letters, sound nice over the phone, so I have to make sure you look as nice as you sound.”

“I sure do! Just ask Jesse or Luke. Jesse was nosy so he asked Luke for a photo.”

“WHAT?! Jesse! Get over here!!”

Chloe laughed out loud as she heard a mumbled “But you just told me to go away...” through the line. She was content to sit back and listen to them argue.

“Do you have a photo of Chloe, Jesse?”

A muffled “Um, kinda.” was his response.

“Why?”

“I wanted to know. And I knew that Luke knew her.”

“And you haven't shown it to me?! Why?”

“You never asked?”

“That's not an excuse! Show me!”

Chloe thought it would be time to say something. Calls from over seas can't be cheap.

“Um, Beca?”

“Oh, sorry Chloe. What is it?”

“Maybe he can show you the photo later? This call can't be cheap and I don't want to cripple your bank account.”

Beca laughed. “Don't worry, that won't happen so fast. But you are right. I'll have a talk with him later.”

“You do that. How late is it over there anyway? The time difference must be a few hours.”

“Yeah, 7 hours. So it's 10.42 at night. We wanted to wait until you were probably home to call.”

“Thanks. But it is kind of late for you. I really don't want to keep you from sleeping.”

“You aren't keeping me, I called you, remember? But yeah, I think we should wrap this up soon. I'll definitely call again. But I don't know when I'll have the time.”

“Don't worry. Focus on your job so nobody will get hurt.”

“I will. Thanks Chloe. So, it was nice talking to you.”

Chloe chuckled. “Likewise. I hope I'll hear or read from you soon.”

“You definitely will. Goodbye Chloe.”

“Good night Beca. Oh, and by the way, you look so cute when you scowl into the camera.”

“.. what? I look cute when.... JESSE!”

The redhead laughed loudly as the line went still.

Beca sounded like an awesome person. Chloe only hoped that everything went well overseas.

June 11th, 2015

Chloe woke up pretty early and decided to start the day with a good cup of coffee and the newspaper.

She put on her robe and started the coffee machine. She slipped on some slippers and made her way to her mail box.

She got the newspaper and a few letters. While she was walking up the stairs of her building, she flipped through the letters. Bill, Invitation, Bill, Bill, Letter from Beca!

Chloe's mood improved hugely and she walked a little faster up the stairs. She hadn't heard from Beca since the last phone call and was happy to receive the next letter.

The redhead closed her front door behind her and got her cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to start reading the letter.

Before she could do more than open the envelope, her phone rang next to her on the kitchen table.

It was another unknown number but the last call was from Beca, so she assumed it was her again.

“Hello?”

“Chloe?” That definitely didn't sound like Beca.

“Yes? Who's this?”

“It's Jesse...”

Chapter Text

“Hello?”

“Chloe?” That definitely didn't sound like Beca.

“Yes? Who's this?”

“It's Jesse...”

“Oh. Hey Jesse. Is everything okay?”

“Well, not really, that's why I am calling.”

Chloe was starting to get worried. There was really only one reason why Jesse would call her instead of Beca.

“Is Beca okay?”

“Well...”

“Jesse! Is Beca okay?!”

“No. But she's alive.”

When Jesse didn't continue speaking Chloe was getting annoyed. “What happened Jesse? Why are you even calling me when you are not talking to me?”

Chloe heard a loud sigh over the phone and prepared herself as best as she could for his next words.

“I'm sorry Chloe. It's just, I've been awake for nearly 48 hours now and I'm still a little shocked. I know that the two of you have become good friends and I thought it would be best to let you know what happened. I don't know when she'll be able to write the next letter and I didn't want you to get worried.”

The redhead immediately felt guilty for the way she had been talking to Jesse. She just couldn't wait much longer to find out what happened. It sounded like Beca was hurt.

“I'm sorry too Jesse. Can you please tell me what happened?”

“Well long story short, she was shot.”

“What?!”

“The base we're staying at got attacked two nights ago. Our team had some time off and we were catching up on some sleep when we heard the commotion outside and decided to investigate. We were just a few meters from our door. I still don't really know what happened. There were guys in our camp that just shot at everything that moved. Benji, he's another guy of our team, was just in the bathroom and didn't have a weapon on him. We always have some weapons near our cots so all of us grabbed a weapon except for him. Becs is always looking out for us so she gave him her weapon so he could defend himself and decided to crawl back inside our room to get a new weapon. That's when the guys found us. We had been hearing the sound of fired guns for a few minutes now and knew that something dangerous was going on. I don't want to bore you with the details, but they found us and all of us started shooting. Beca must have heard the commotion and came running back. She only had a small gun on her and took nearly all of them out. It seemed like everybody was down but one of them must have been able to move after being shot because he managed to fire two more shots before falling unconscious. Chloe it was terrible. I was standing next to Luke and the bullets were heading straight towards us. It was like in those movies where everything seemed to be going in slow motion suddenly. I was absolutely sure that that would be the last moments of my life but as always Beca came and saved us. She jumped in front of us and took a bullet to the chest and to the leg.”

“Oh my god!” Chloe's eyes had turned watery shortly after the story began and was crying silently by now.

“We immediately put pressure on the wounds and Luke and Benji went and searched for help. Those guys must have been the last ones because everything was silent after Beca had gotten shot. I had never been so scared in my life. She was just lying there and there was so much blood. I've been in a few dangerous and terrible situations but it's always different when its your best friend's blood that is coating your fingers. Benji and Luke came back with help and the doctor managed to stop the bleeding for a while. He managed to get the bullet out of her leg but the one in her chest was too close to her heart. He said Beca would die if he tried to remove it in the field. So we called a helicopter and flew her to a hospital. I insisted on going with her but Benji and Luke weren't allowed to come. There was too much to do at the camp. I'm calling from the hospital right now. Beca's surgery just ended and we're waiting for her to wake up.”

“Oh my god, Jesse. Will she be okay? And are you and the guys okay?”

Jesse sighed deeply. “The doctor's aren't sure. They said the wound on her leg isn't that bad and that it should heal in a few weeks. It was just a flesh wounds and luckily didn't hit the bone. She needs to go through some physical therapy to get the full use of it back but that shouldn't take too long. They are worried about her chest wound though. They couldn't even say if she would wake up. The bullet nicked her heart. The doctors removed it and patched everything up but they didn't know if she would have some lasting issues from it.”

Chloe's tears had now turned into loud sobs and sniffles. “Jesse...”

“I know. I'm sorry that I can't give you better news. But I thought you should know. And I'm sure you would have heard about it eventually since you are friends with Luke's sister. I know that we don't know each other but I wanted to tell you before you found it out from someone else. I know how much you mean to Beca. She would have wanted me to call you.”

“Thank you Jesse. Are you okay though?”

“Not really. I'm not really injured, a bullet nicked my arm but it got stitched up and should heal in a few days. No big deal. The other guys are fine. But I can't seem to get my mind to shut off. I've been awake since the attack happened and stayed by Beca's side to ensure nothing happened to her but I haven't been able to relax and calm down. I'm sorry for telling you all of this. I'm just so worried.”

“Don't be sorry Jesse. You can talk to me if you want. We don't know each other but there is no reason why we can't get to know each other better. Have you called your family or someone that can help you with this? It always helps me to talk to my friends and family.”

“Um, well. I do everything I can to shield my mom from the dangerous side of my job. She of course knows what can happen but I try to tone it down for her when we talk on the phone. My old high school friends wouldn't understand and I'm not as close to them anymore. My best friend is Beca and I can't talk to her now.”

Chloe heard how Jesse's voice broke at the end and heard him trying to subdue his sobs.

“Let it out Jesse.”

That's all she had to say before he started crying for real, asking her why this had to happen and why Beca had to be so stupid to save the day every single time. He would have happily taken the bullet himself if it meant that Beca would be fine.

Jesse cried for about ten minutes until he calmed down enough to speak without his voice breaking.

“I'm sorry for that Chloe. But thank you for listening.”

“Don't be sorry Jesse. I'm here if you want to talk. Sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger.”

“Yeah. Listen, I have to go soon and I still have to get an official statement from the doctor's about Beca's condition. I'll call you if I have any news, okay?”

“Thank you Jesse. Get some sleep soon, you need it.”

Jesse scoffed. “Yeah, if I manage to fall asleep. Talk to you later Chloe.”

“Good bye.”

“Bye.”

The insistent beeping of the dial tone accompanied Chloe for the next ten minutes as she sat at her kitchen table and looked at the letter from Beca she had gotten from the mail box earlier this morning.

She couldn't believe what Jesse had just told her. Beca had been shot and they didn't know if she would wake up again.

Chloe traced the return address on the back of the letter and prayed to anyone who would listen that this wouldn't be the last letter Beca would send her.

After staring at the letter for another five minutes the redhead started feeling stupid and just opened the letter. She carefully extracted the piece of paper from the envelope and smoothed it out on the table in front of her. Then she started to read.

Hey Chloe :)

So, I'm kind of writing this letter after I got off the phone with you. Well, after I had a TALK with Jesse. I can't believe he asked Luke to get a picture of you and didn't show me. I know that I could have asked you but I was unsure about that as well. You know that thing I told you why I was unsure about calling you? Knowing how you look would have put you out of the position of a 'stranger'. But I now realize that that was a stupid reason. You've become a lot more than a stranger to me over these past months.

I'm glad that Jesse showed me your picture. You are beautiful Chloe. I don't know if I have ever seen such a big smile on anyone else. You just look so happy, I don't know how you do it. Maybe you can tell me once we'll meet? (See what I did there? ;D)

Jesse showed me the picture he sent you of me. I'm not amused. He could have chosen a dozen different ones but he had to chose the one where I look like an unfriendly bitch? I assure you that I look way friendlier in person :D

I don't want to bore you with work stuff but I'll just give you a quick update. Everything has been pretty quiet so far. There's not much to do for us out here but we have to guard the base even if it's boring some times. Jesse, Luke and Benji have been trying to invent a new card game but they suck at it. They've gone back to poker after getting confused about all the different rules they made up. Anyway, I'm hoping this deployment will be a quiet one and we can come back without trouble. I have a little time off after this deployment, so I thought I could maybe visit you? Only if you want of course. We can talk about it after I come back.

Sooo, say hello to your mom from me? Hm, if she's reading this I can probably do it myself. So, (this isn't weird or anything...) hello Chloe's mom. How are you doing?

Um, yeah. That was... yeah. Whatever.

I've been bad at first impressions my whole life. I've always been kind of an outsider and people always judged me on the clothes I was wearing and on the look on my face. I wasn't trying to be mean, my face just looks like that! I hate my resting bitch face...

Anyway people always assume things and don't take the time to get to know me. Not that I want people to want to get to know me. I'm pretty happy with just my friends.

You are really going to make me try this a capella thing, aren't you? Why do I have a feeling that I don't have a choice in this matter....

I love your long letters, so don't worry. Write as much as you like, I always love reading your words.

I hope you are not lying to me. I'm totally going to ask your mom if you really stood in a corner for ten seconds. If she doesn't know, I'll just make you do it again ;D

I'm glad you're okay with the Tom thing.

You really want to know about my high school relationships? I don't want to bore you so I'll just keep it short. I had my first girlfriend when I was 16. We were in the same English class and got on really well. Her name was Lauren and we quickly became good friends. She was different from me, more open and her attitude was a lot more positive than mine but I liked hanging out with her anyway. We knew each other for three months when we got drunk one night at a party and started making out in the bathroom. I can already picture you laughing at me at how cliché that is, so get it out of your system now ;D

Anyway, we got together after then. She wasn't really sure if she liked women or was only curious and that was the problem. We got a transfer student three months after we got together and Lauren quickly fell for him. She didn't even have the decency to break up with me before throwing herself at him. My classmates told me he was hot but I was just not seeing it. I mean he was 16. He still had a lot of growing to do before I could consider him aesthetically pleasing. We obviously didn't remain friends after that. It was hard but I managed.

My other relationship was nothing to write home about (Hehe... it's getting late here, my brain is coming up with all these bad jokes... sorry ;D). I met the girl when I was 17, she was kinda hot, we made out for a while and then decided to end it. It was a mutual decision, so I'm not hung up about that.

So, those were my relationships. After that, I met people in a bar occasionally but that was just fun. Nothing serious.

What about you? Were you in a serious relationship before Tom?

Already planning a vacation together, huh? You must be really sure that we'll still like each other once we'll meet. But I would be happy to take you to Venice with me. You can show me all the sights :)

You want to talk about women with me? Okay... we'll get back to that once we'll meet.

You should really be careful if you are asking me to show you music. I won't let you go for a week until I changed your musical preferences for the better ;) (I just noticed that I suddenly use emoticons as well. I'm totally blaming you for that. You have a bad influence on me D:

I can't believe I am telling you this but when I was a child my mom sat me down and we watched Balto together. I loved the bears and the northern lights. I've wanted to visit it ever since then.

Writing stuff down to remember them later is not lame Chloe. Don't let anybody tell you that. They are probably all jealous because they don't have anything to remember the little moments by so they forget them. Which is kinda sad. I think life is made up of little moments. Sure there are big moments that stand out and would never forget but the small things are what hold them together. Those are the things that make a moment into a story and make a journey worth taking. In my opinion anyway ;D

I've seen many things during my walks. I was on vacation one time and there was a beautiful beach. I grabbed a hat and a bottle of water and just started walking down the beach until I've reached the end. The weather was beautiful, the waves were soothing and every once in a while I saw a family playing in the sand or people having fun in the water. Nobody paid me any attention and I just observed them. I wouldn't call it interesting but that experience has always stayed with me. I'll tell you about some other stories later :)

I'm just going to ignore all the sappy feelings behind my fear and say thank you. And I'll try to be careful. After all I have something to come back to now, right? I still have to teach you about music! ;D

World peace! You've got to aim high to achieve things ;P Let's all play hide and seek together, it would probably be lots of fun. (I feel like I've dropped ten years of age since I started writing to you... and all those emoticons... what are you doing to me?!)

Yep, never seen Grey's Anatomy. Jesse tells me it's like a million episodes long. I guess I'll never have the time to catch up on it ;)

Shall I buy you a pair of socks so you won't feel left out? I feel like you have a weird fascination with them and you shouldn't be deprived of the great experience of wearing them. I'll get you a pair when we meet.

Seriously, where do you get all of your questions? Man, I really have to think about the answers, this is turning out to be quite the thinking experience.

Yes and no. I think children should be sheltered from unhappiness but at the same time I think they should at least learn about it so they appreciate the fact that they are happy more. There are so many unhappy people in the world, I don't want the people that are happy to not appreciate the gift that life has handed them.

It changed. I used to hate the question 'What do you want to do with your future?' but after I joined the army I started dreading the question 'Are you okay?'. I mean, I'm pretty sure everyone hates that question and even if someone isn't okay, they wouldn't just blurt it out if somebody asked. At least in my opinion. And I hate the people that ask the question out of obligation. 'Are you okay?' - 'No.' - 'That's great... wait what?'... People don't expect you to answer honestly so most of them get thrown when you answer honestly. If you don't want to know then don't ask.

Um, hi?

I haven't done anything for my last birthday. I hate to celebrate it and I'm happy that nobody makes a big deal out of it here. (Well, nobody except for Jesse, but I'm working on it...) It's on August 9th... When is yours?

I've never danced in my life. And I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. So I'm happy that you are a great dancer but don't expect anything on that front from me.

Hm, well obviously the glass must be malformed but I'm usually pretty pessimistic. So to be truthful, I'll probably have to go with half empty... You are totally a person who's glass is always overflowing with rainbows and glitter, right?

Um, they have lingerie that makes your breasts look awesome? I don't really know... I've never shopped there. What do you think Victoria's secret is?

I know that you should ask for permission first but sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness instead. It depends on the situation but I'd like to believe that I'm a person who asks for permission. But I'm really not... What about you? You are probably always asking for permission in case you do something wrong?

That one is a hard question. I don't really know who's mind I'd like to read. I would say one of my friends but do I really want to know what they are really thinking about me? Maybe my Captain's. He's really confusing sometimes... what about you?

You are probably laughing at me right now. Or you are thinking about who's mind you'd like to read. Maybe you are hungry? I know I am.

Soo, I'll call you soon, okay?

Stay safe.

Beca :D

Chloe read over the letter a few more times until she was sure she had memorized every single line. She still couldn't believe that Beca was lying in a hospital bed somewhere, fighting for her life. She had sounded so positive in the letter.

The redhead was reminded about the time when her buzzing phone told her she had a new message. It was from Stacie.

Stacie Conrad (11:50 am)
Hey Chloe, you want to grab lunch? I talked to Luke earlier today...

So Stacie knew. Chloe debated with herself but wasn't in the mood to stay cooped up in her apartment for much longer. So she got ready and headed out to meet Stacie fifteen minutes later.

It had been two days without any news from Jesse.

Chloe had talked to Stacie, Aubrey and her mom over these last two days and all of them convinced her that Beca would be fine and she should just wait until Jesse called.

She was feeling anxious anyway and never went anywhere without her phone. She hadn't even gotten started on her work for the summer. It was really convenient that Chloe didn't have any classes to teach over the summer. She wouldn't have been able to concentrate on them.

Chloe had just gotten home from her mom's place when her phone rang with an unfamiliar number on it. She hurried to answer the phone, back tensing painfully, expecting bad news.

“Hello?”

“Hey Chloe, it's Jesse.”

“Hey Jesse. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Beca woke up a few hours ago. She is out of mortal danger. But she needs to go back to the U.S. for another surgery. She's sleeping a lot. I only got to see her for a few minutes but she was already scowling at the nurses so I think she will be fine.”

Chloe felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. It felt like she could finally breath again after the last few days.

“Oh thank god. Thanks for telling me Jesse. Do you know which hospital she is being send to? I'd like to visit her.”

“I think it's actually in Atlanta. That's where you are living, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Um Chloe, there is actually another thing I wanted to ask you. It's kind of a favor.”

“Oh?” Chloe rose her left eyebrow in confusion. “What is it?”

“Well, it's not so much a favor for me but for Beca.”

“What is it? I'd do anything to help.”

“Well...”

Chapter Text

“Um Chloe, there is actually another thing I wanted to ask you. It's kind of a favor.”

“Oh?” Chloe rose her left eyebrow in confusion. “What is it?”

“Well, it's not so much a favor for me but for Beca.”

“What is it? I'd do anything to help.”

“Well...”

“Just tell me Jesse. I'd do anything to help.”

“Well then. You are a teacher right?”

“Yes?”

“And you don't have any classes over the summer?”

“No, just some stuff that needs to be done. I'll have to go to the school a few times but I can do most of my work from home.”

“Um, that's great. Listen, how much has Beca told you about her family?”

Chloe furrowed her brows. What was he getting at?

“Um, that her mother died six years ago and that she doesn't talk with her father. That's about it. She's really private about her family.”

“Yes, I know. That's good, you know the gist of it. Well, she doesn't have any other family. At least none that she knows of. Both of her grandparents already passed away and there was an aunt on her dad's side but they haven't spoken in like 20 years. So the only person she really has left is her father. And she really doesn't like him. She would hate me if I asked him what I am about to ask you. So I'm just gonna blurt it out. Beca has to have surgery in Atlanta and after she is released from the hospital she needs some kind of supervision. It's not 24 hour care or something but the doctor said it would be best if someone stayed with her or at least checked up on her once a day. If there wasn't anyone who could check up on her she would have to remain in the hospital or move to one of those facilities where there would be people to help her. I know Beca and she hates hospitals. She would hate it even more if she had to move into one of those 'nursing homes' – her words, not mine – while she recovered. I would come home and help her myself but I'm not allowed to. We still have a mission to finish.”

Chloe was silent for a moment, processing everything Jesse had just told her.

“So, you want me to move in with her? Did I get that right?”

“No! Sorry, that's not what I meant. I wouldn't ask you to do that. I think you are a nice person and Beca likes you but you two haven't even met yet, I wouldn't expect that of you.”

“I would have done it, you know?”

“What I meant to say was.... Wait, what? You would have moved in with a stranger for an undetermined amount of time because you've exchanged letters?”

Chloe chuckled, not really sure where that last sentence had come from. Jesse was right, Beca was a stranger but she still would have done it to help her. She was sure her parents and friends would have had something to say about that.

“I guess I would. I don't know, I don't really want to talk with you about my reasons but I would have helped her without thinking about it twice. So, do you want to tell me what you wanted to ask me now? I'm getting kind of curious over here.”

“... You are a strange one, Chloe Beale. Anyway, as I said before, her father is out of the question, so I asked my mother to check in on Beca once a day as soon as she is released from the hospital. The problem is that she will go on vacation for two weeks in a few days so she probably won't be there once Beca will be released. She offered to cancel her vacation but I don't want her to. I tried to think of another way but I couldn't come up with anything. Could you maybe check in on Beca for the first few days until my mom comes back? You won't have to do much, just check if she's still there and takes her meds. Half an hour a day tops. I would really owe you one Chloe.”

“I said I would do anything didn't I? It's really no problem. Your mom shouldn't have to cancel her vacation, I'll check in on Beca for as long as she needs me to.”

“Really? I mean, you said you would but there are a lot of people who just say that but don't mean it. I'm glad you are willing to help, and I really feel bad about asking but I couldn't really think about another option. Thank you very much Chloe. I'm sorry to cut this conversation short, but I have to go. I'll call you with some details in a few days?”

“It's no problem, honestly. You can call me anytime.”

“Thank you. Really.”

“Sure. Now go and do your job, Swanson.”

Chloe heard a small laugh over the line. “Yes, ma'am. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye.”

The call ended and Chloe just looked into space for a moment.

Well. That was not what she had expected. She got up and prepared a cup of coffee for herself, sat back down and took a sip. It was scalding hot but she didn't notice.

It wasn't Jesse's question that was bothering her but her unusual and completely honest answer that she would do anything for a girl she didn't really know. Maybe she was getting in too deep and should slow down a little. Going from exchanging letters to 'I would do anything for her' – and she really meant it – was a little extreme, even in her own opinion.

Chloe sighed and quickly typed two texts of 'She's awake and mostly fine.' to her two best friends before calling her mother.

“Chloe? Did something happen? You haven't even been gone for two hours.”

“Hey mom.”

“What's up? Is Beca alright?”

“Yeah. That's why I am calling. Jesse called me a few minutes ago and told me that she woke up. And that she is out of mortal danger. But she still needs to come home and have surgery here in Atlanta.”

“That's great! I'm glad she woke up. I expected you to be screaming your joy and not sound like it has been raining for the past week. She was all you could talk about these last few days, what happened?”

Chloe picked up her cup of coffee and moved to her living room to sit down on the couch. She grabbed a pillow, pressed it to her chest and put her feet on the couch, bend at the knees so they would keep the pillow from falling down. She put one hand on her knees and continued holding the phone to her ear with the other.

“Nothing happened. Jesse just asked me a favor and I agreed.”

“And you regret that now?”

“No! It's not that. I'm just a little worried about the way I responded.”

“So?”

“So what?”

“Oh, come on Chloe, you called me. You obviously want to talk about it.”

“Well... so here's the thing. Jesse told me that Beca needs to have surgery in Atlanta and that she needs someone to check in on her regularly after she has been released from the hospital. He asked his mother to help him since he can't come home soon enough but she has a vacation planned. So he asked me to check in on her for the first few days until his mom comes back from her vacation.”

“And you don't want to do it anymore?”

“No, mom, please let me finish! That's not what I meant.”

Claire chuckled a little at that. “Calm down sweetie. I promise I won't say anything until you are finished.”

“Sorry. So, I don't have a problem with checking in on her. The problem is that before he even told me what he wanted I told him I would do anything for her. And I meant it. I don't even know her and I would drop anything to help her out. It's a little extreme, don't you think?”

“Am I allowed to talk now?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yes. So, am I weird?”

Claire started laughing loudly. “Oh honey, of course you are weird. Have been since the day I gave birth to you.”

“Hey!”

“You know it's true, don't deny it.”

“Okay okay, you win, but am I weird for attaching myself to a person I haven't even met face to face?”

“Let me ask you a few questions, sweetie. Do you know her name?”

“Um, yes? Obviously...”

“Know her age, occupation and interests?”

“Still a yes...”

“Do you talk to her regularly, about anything that comes to mind? Do you know stories about her childhood and know her friends? Not personally, but you know about them?”

“Yes...”

“You know what she looks like?”

“Yeah, from a picture, as you well know, since you practically ripped my phone out of my hand when I was about to show it to you.”

“True, but not important right now. You've talked to her on the phone, you know more about her than about most of the friends you have. Except for Aubrey and Stacie but those two are special. If she was a different person than she made herself out to be in her letters you would have found out by now, either by her making a mistake or during your phone call or from Jesse or Luke. So I'm telling you that you two are friends and friends help each other. Even when they haven't seen each other face to face before. And I don't think there is anything wrong with it. You would do anything for Aubrey and Stacy as well. And you don't really have to worry because I'm coming with you when you first meet her so we can check if she's okay”

“Wait what? No no no no no. There is no way you are coming with me. I'm 26 years old! I don't need my mom to come and check out the people I want to spend time with.”

“I like her too, so I'm coming. I want to meet her as well.”

“But not on the first day! I'm planning on visiting her in the hospital before she gets released anyway, to make sure she is okay with me coming to her house. You can meet her when she has the means to run away from you.”

“You are mean Chloe. But I will convince you otherwise, just you wait. Do you have anything to say about the other stuff I just said? Or did I just waste 10 minutes of my life?”

Chloe rolled her eyes – again. “No you didn't waste them. If you put it like that, you can say that we are good friends. And I would help good friends with anything. And that doesn't change because we haven't met face to face yet. Thanks mom, I got a little overwhelmed there.”

“No problem sweetie. But are you sure you two are just 'good friends'?”

“Mom! She is in the hospital, recovering from life threatening injuries! This is not the time to suggest something like that!”

“I'm just calling it how I see it. But I can be patient. Things will happen and you two will fall in love and I think I need to go to the attic and air out my old wedding dress. I think it will be needed sometime in the not so far future.”

“I don't even know what to say to that. I can't believe you right now. We haven't even met yet!”

“That's not a reason. You don't need to see each other to fall in love. You know as well as I do that you fall for personality not looks. Even though Beca is a cute one, so you don't have to worry about her not looking up to snuff.”

“Mom! I'm 26 years old! I'm not having this conversation with you!”

“You're acting like you are 14. So deal with me treating you like a 14 year old. Anyway, what I was about to say is, do you know Barbara from my yoga class? She met someone on one of these online dating portals. They exchanged messages for a few months, finally got the guts to meet each other and now they are already living together. You don't need to see someone to get to know them or to like them.”

Chloe put her left hand in front of her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose gently while releasing a not so silent sigh. “How do you even know about this? You are nearly 50 years old. You shouldn't know about this stuff.”

“Chloe Beale, did you just call me old?!”

“Um, no? You know what? It's fine. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing before I called. Let's talk about this some other time. Or not at all.”

“I was joking. But yes, let's talk some other time. Call me once you have more information on Beca. When she will get here, which hospital she will be at and where she lives.”

“I will. Thanks again mom. I love you.”

“Love you too sweetie. And don't think so much. Enjoy the free time you are getting, but don't let your work sit there until the end of summer. You know you will regret it if you do.”

“Yes, I know. Talk to you soon, mom.”

“Bye.”

Chloe hung up the phone, decided to get another cup of coffee and started unpacking her work on the kitchen table. Better start early, who knows how much time I'll have once Beca is out of the hospital, she thought and got to work.

It had been one day since Beca had first woken up and she was still pretty tired. She talked to some doctors and she thought she saw Jesse, but she wasn't sure. The rest of the day had been spent sleeping until some annoying nurses came in and woke her up this morning. Being her usual sarcastic and rude self and not really knowing where she was, she snapped at them quite rudely. They were a little surprised but weren't bothered by it. Beca assumed they had dealt with their fair share of injured and rude soldiers.

She was just trying to get to her chart that has been clipped to the end of her bed, when the door to her room opened and her doctor came in.

“Good Morning Lieutenant Mitchell. How are you feeling this morning?”

“Morning. Um, I don't really know. Everything is numb but I guess you've hooked me up with some good pain killers since I'm pretty much covered in bandages. I know you've been here yesterday but I can't really remember what you said. Do you mind repeating it?”

“Of course not. It's good that you are not in pain, I can guarantee you that you will notice once the pain killers start wearing off. Please press the button for one of the nurses once that happens. Your injuries are not a joke, please don't try to tough the pain out. It won't work. You'll fall unconscious as soon as the pain killers are completely gone.”

Beca looked at him with wide eyes. “That bad, huh?”

The doctor nodded gravely. “Yes, that bad. So to answer your question, first, my name is Dr. Hemidi. I was one of the doctor's operating on you as soon as you were brought in. You've got some scrapes and bruises but that is to be expected. You were shot twice, once in the leg and once in the chest.”

Beca winced as a memory of the sharp pain that had immediately formed once the bullets had hit her came to the front of her mind. “Ugh. Yes, I remember. Not a pleasant experience.”

“Indeed. So we extracted the rest of the bullet from your right thigh without much problems, the bullet didn't hit any major artery. The doctor on the scene did a good job removing most of it. It did hit you in the muscle though, so you can expect some serious physical therapy to get back to a hundred percent. What we were worried about was the bullet in your chest though. It nicked the heart and we only managed to patch the wound up. It was difficult to remove the bullet since it's location is right by your heart. We'll send you back to the States to have another operation to repair the damage since we don't have the right equipment here. We already talked to the hospital in Atlanta and they are expecting you. We are just waiting until your body's circulation system stabilizes itself a little more.”

“You want to send me back to the States? But my mission isn't over yet.”

“Let me be clear, Lieutenant Mitchell. You are lucky to be alive and you are in no condition to fight in the next several months. There is nothing you can do here. Do your team a favor and recover as fast as you can, but you can't do that here.”

Beca was a little surprised by the stern voice the doctor suddenly used but she knew he was right. There was nothing left for her to do here.

“You're right, I'm sorry. Do you know if my team is alright?”

“They are mostly fine. Some minor injuries, nothing serious. One of your guys was here yesterday, I don't think he has left the hospital since you were brought in.”

Beca exhaled loudly, relieved that her boys were fine. “Thank god. How long do you think it will be until I'll be going to Atlanta?”

“You are doing fine today, so probably tomorrow or the day after that. Depends on your condition and the available planes.”

“Okay, thank you doctor. Was there something else?”

“No, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'll come back in a few hours and check up on the wounds so that the bandages can be changed.”

“Thank you. Would you happen to know if Jesse is still here? And would you maybe be able to send him in if he is?”

Dr. Hemidi smiled at Beca and nodded. “I can do that. I'm sure he is still around.”

Beca gave him a grateful nod and then closed her eyes for a moment until the door to her room opened again.

“Beca? Are you awake?”

The brunette girl opened her eyes and smiled tiredly at her best friend. “Of course. Come on in Jesse.”

Jesse did just that and closed the door behind him, choosing to sit in a chair that was sitting next to Beca's bed. “How are you doing? I'm so glad to see you awake.”

“I'm fine. You know me, I'll be up and running before you know it.”

“Becs, I'm serious.”

Beca laughed a little. “Me too. I'm so high on pain killers I don't feel a thing. So I'm fine. For now. I'm a little tired but I guess that is to be expected.”

“Yeah it is. Well, it's good that you're not in pain then.”

“Yeah. So, how are you doing? What about the guys?”

“We're fine, don't worry about us. Did the doctor tell you about Atlanta?”

Beca nodded. “Yes. I'm not happy about it but I know that it is necessary. He says I'll go either tomorrow or the day after that.”

Jesse nodded. “That's good. The sooner you get out of here the better. The doctor's seem competent but I just don't like it here. It's best if you recover far away from all the action.”

“Hm. I would rather stay but I understand that I can't.”

The two of them were silent for a few minutes, comfortable in the knowledge that the other one was alive and mostly okay.

“I talked to Chloe.” Jesse suddenly blurted out.

“What? Why?” Beca asked confusedly.

“Um, I didn't know if you would wake up at all and if you were able to write a letter anytime soon, so I didn't want her to get worried.”

“Wait, so you called her and told her I got shot and you weren't sure I would make it?”

“Well yes, but before you get mad, I already called her again and told her that you woke up and that you were out of mortal danger.”

“So you talked to her twice?”

“Um, yes? I'm sorry if I have overstepped any boundaries here but I thought she deserved to know since you two are good friends and she would have found out from Stacie because of Luke. I wanted to inform her before she got some rumors.”

“Relax dude, I'm not mad.”

“I'm really sorr... Wait, you're not?”

Beca chuckled lightly but quickly stopped when she felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. “Of course not. I'm glad she knows that I'm okay, I wouldn't have wanted her to hear it through some rumors. So thank you.”

Jesse rose his eyebrows in surprise. “I did not expect that. But I would keep your thanks until you hear what I asked her to do.”

“Jesse. What did you do?”

“Well, the doctor told you about your surgery in Atlanta, right?”

Beca nodded, eyes slightly pushed together in suspicion.

“Well, they told me that your way to recovery would be a long one but that you didn't need to stay at the hospital the whole time. But you weren't allowed to be alone either so I asked my mom to check up on you once a day as soon as you are released.”

“Go on.” This wasn't so bad, Beca thought. She quite liked Mrs. Swanson.

“The problem is, she has a vacation coming up and she probably won't be there when you are released. And you hate your dad and all your friends are here in Syria. So I asked Chloe to cover the first few days until my mom comes back from her vacation. That way she can still go and you won't have to stay in the hospital for longer than necessary.”

Beca closed her eyes in defeat. “Jesse. Do you really think I want to meet her looking like death warmed over? Or that I want her first memory of us meeting to be about her taking care of me? Seriously Jesse, what were you thinking?”

Jesse steeled himself, preparing for a long discussion. “I was thinking that you hate your father and hospitals and that it was the best option. I'm sorry if you don't like it but Chloe already agreed and I'm sure she won't be deterred easily. And weren't you the one who told me not to care so much about my looks?”

“Well, but I'll look terrible. And I don't want her to see me that weak. I'm supposed to be a Lieutenant.”

“You still are, Beca. And I'm sure she won't judge you by your injuries. You're not giving her enough credit.”

Beca sighed. “Yes, I know. Okay, let's do it your way. If I have the choice between Chloe and my father, you don't even have to ask.”

“Wait, really? I thought you would be upset about this.”

“I'm not. I'm just not happy with it but I'm tired and can't change it so why should I bother? I'm sure I'll have something more to say once I'm off these pain killers and have a clearer mind.”

“Good for me then.” Jesse smiled. “I'll let you rest then. You need your sleep to get better.”

“Thanks Jesse. Say hi to the guys from me alright? And be careful with the rest of the mission.”

“I will and of course we'll be careful. Good night, Becs.”

“Night Jesse.” Beca mumbled and was asleep as soon as the door closed after Jesse.

Chapter Text

Today was the day. Today was the day she would finally meet Lieutenant Beca Mitchell.

Chloe had talked to Jesse again over the phone and he had told her all the details about Beca's arrival plan. Beca had arrived in Atlanta three days ago, had her surgery two days ago and was finally out of the intensive care unit today.

The moment Beca had arrived in the city, Chloe had grown restless and her mother and her friends had to tell her countless times that it wasn't time to visit her yet. The best moment would be after the surgery and after Beca had time to recover a little bit. Chloe grudgingly accepted that the argument had some good points but she didn't like waiting.

So she had woken up this morning at 5 am, ready to start the day and meet Beca. Since her mother would pick her up at 2 in the afternoon (she hadn't managed to convince her mom not to come along), her waking up early had no other purpose than to give the ginger something to do. She had been restless all night and only slept an hour or two before waking up. Falling back asleep had been a hard task.

Chloe had cleaned her apartment as best as she could and washed all of her clothes. She had talked to Aubrey and Stacie, trying to distract herself from thinking about meeting Beca. But the ginger felt as if the time had moved very slowly.

It was now 1:45 pm and Chloe was standing in front of her house, nervously waiting for her mom to pick her up. She had spent the last two hours in her closet, trying to pick out the perfect outfit for visiting Beca. After debating with herself for a long time, she finally decided on a light and navy blue checkered sun dress and some white striped wedge shoes with ankles buckles. She completed her outfit with a gold necklace that her mom had given her to her eighteenth birthday. She left her hair open, her fiery red locks dancing in the light summer breeze that blew past her.

After ten minutes of anxious waiting, Claire Beale's silver Ford pulled up in front of Chloe's house and the redhead jumped into the passenger seat eagerly.

“Hey mom!”

“Hey sweetie, that's a cute dress. It really fits you.”

“Thanks mom.” Chloe replied and gave the older woman a quick hug.

“Trying to impress someone?”

“It hasn't even been a minute since I got into the car. Why are you always implying that I like Beca?”

Claire chuckled and started driving in the direction of the hospital.

“Because I know how you react whenever we are talking about her. And I know you. And I like teasing you, that's never bothered you before.”

Chloe sighed and leaned back in her seat, trying to relax during the twenty minute drive to the hospital.

“It doesn't really bother me, but I'm not sure how I feel about her yet and I feel like you are trying to shove me in a certain direction. I want to go into this without any expectations. We'll see what will happen once we'll meet. Maybe we'll be good friends, maybe I'll like her as something more. I agree with you, there is definitely some potential but I haven't made up my mind yet. And there are always at least two people in a relationship.”

Claire took one hand from the steering wheel and grabbed her dughter's left hand, squeezing it gently.

“I'm sorry Chloe, I wasn't trying to influence you or anything. I'll stop with the teasing for now if that's what you want. And yes, we will have to consider Beca in this too. How about we just meet her today and I won't imply anything about you two as a couple? I know it's none of my business anyway, but just from reading her letters and from seeing your reaction to them, I know that you two have something special.”

Chloe hummed in agreement. “Thanks. Why don't we get back to the other argument? WHY are you insisting on coming along? Even if there will be an 'us' sometime in the future, I doubt meeting my mom while she's lying in a hospital bed and not being able to run away is the best way to.”

“But I want to meet her!”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Mom, you're whining.”

The older Beale woman started chuckling. “I know. Let's make a deal. You'll go in first and talk to her for a little while. I'll drink a coffee in the cafeteria and when I'm done, I'm coming to her room and I'll introduce myself, okay?”

“That's probably the best deal I'll get with you.”

“Damn straight.”

Chloe sighed deeply and agreed. “Okay then. Let's do this.” she mumbled to herself and breathed deeply a few times to calm herself down.

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course! I mean, what if she doesn't like me when she sees me? What if we don't know what to say to each other? I don't want her to get a bad impression of me.”

Claire chuckled. “Don't worry Chloe, she'll love you. Everybody who meets you loves you.”

“That's not true, there was this one time in eight grade....”

Claire interrupted her daughter before she could continue speaking. “You accidentally tripped that boy and he fell into a pile of dog shit. Of course he didn't like you after that.”

“Well... there was this one time where...” Chloe trailed off into silence.

Her mother rose an eyebrow, waiting for her daughter to continue speaking. “Go on...”

Chloe thought hard but there was nothing that came to mind. “Okay, I give up. Most people I meet like me. So Beca will probably like me too, right?”

Claire nodded. “Right. Now put your game face on, we're here.”

“What?!” Chloe screeched and looked out of the window to see the parking lot of the hospital. “I'm not ready yet! How is my make-up? What about my hair, do I need to brush it again?”

Claire laughed loudly at her daughter's frantic behavior and tried to calm her down. “Chloe, stop. You look absolutely beautiful, there is no way Beca won't like what she sees. Get out of the car and talk to the girl.”

“But...”

“No buts. Get going.”

Chloe mumbled something under her breath but got out of the car at her mother's insistence. Claire locked the car and the two of them made their way to entrance and then to the reception area. There was an older woman, she looked to be around 60, with mouse gray curly hair and small glasses that rested on her pointy nose, sitting behind the desk and typing on a keyboard.

“Hello, can you tell me which room Lieutenant Beca Mitchell is staying in?”

The woman behind the desk rose her head and smiled at Chloe and Claire. “Hello. Just a second...” she typed Beca's name into her computer and lifted her head again. “She's in room 204. Just take the west wing and take the stairs or the elevator to the second floor. If you take the elevator, move to the right when you exit it, the room is on the right side of the hallway. If you take the stairs, just continue walking straight through the hallway until you find the room on the right side.”

“Thank you.” Chloe and Claire smiled at the woman and turned around to walk in the direction of the stairs. Just before they started walking upstairs, Claire stopped her daughter with a hand on her arm. “Wait a second Chloe. The cafeteria is that way. I'll drink a coffee and then I'll come to Beca's room. I'll give you about half an hour, okay?”

Chloe nodded and hugged her mother for a moment. “Thanks. I'll see you later.”

“Go and get the girl!”

“Mom!” Chloe screeched and turned her wide eyes to look at her mom. “You promised!”

Claire was laughing loudly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and wiped away a stray tear. “I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself. The look on your face was priceless! But I'll behave now. No more comments of that sort for today.”

Chloe glared at her mother halfheartedly but quickly turned around when a small amile threatened to overwhelm her face. “Not funny. I hope your coffee tastes like monkey piss.”

“Oh, I'm sure it will. Hospital coffee is always bad. Now go, Beca's waiting.”

“She doesn't even know that I am coming today!”

“Well, she's probably bored. Go and entertain her.”

Rolling her eyes at her mom one last time , Chloe took the stairs to the second floor and quickly found the room with a big 204 printed to the side of it.

She stopped for a minute to take some calming breaths and then knocked on the door.

A tired sounding “Come in” was heard and Chloe pressed down on the door handle and opened the door.

Taking a last deep breath, Chloe stepped into the room. The first thing she saw when she entered were drawn curtains and a hospital bed. A small brunette girl was sitting in the bed, laptop on her lap and headphones around her shoulders, looking at her with wide eyes.

“Hi!” Chloe said with a bright grin on her face, her nervousness having disappeared the moment she had laid eyes on the brunette.

Beca was gaping at her, not sure she was really standing there. “Um, Chloe?”

Chloe nodded eagerly and came closer to Beca’s bed, until she reached a chair, sat down next to the little brunette and put her bag down.

“Yeah. Hi!”

Beca started chuckling a little. “Yeah, you said that already. So, what are you doing here?”

“I like greeting people, so, hi!”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Sure you do.”

Chloe smiled, glad that Beca didn’t seem so nervous anymore. She tried to look a little closer at Beca but it was pretty dark in the room. “Why are the curtains closed?”

The small brunette shrugged. “It was too bright. I couldn’t really see the stuff on my laptop.”

“Well then, good thing you don’t have to look at that thing while I’m here.” Chloe said, stood up and opened the curtains widely.

As soon as the light hit Beca in the face, she closed her eyes, scrunched up her nose and put her arms in front of her face. “Dude! Warn a girl next time, you nearly blinded me!”

Chloe rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, standing in front of the window. “Don’t be so dramatic. Sunlight is good for you. It’ll help you heal.”

Beca lowered one arm slightly and squinted at Chloe with one eye. What she saw caused a surprised ‘woah’ to leave her mouth.

Chloe moved her head to the side slightly, a questioning look on her face. “What?”

“Nothing!” Beca said hurriedly, trying to avert her eyes from the vision that was Chloe Beale. The bright sunlight framed her body perfectly, accentuating her fiery red locks. The blue sun dress she wore made her eyes that more noticeable and the small smile painted on her lips made Beca want to return it.

“Are you sure?”

Beca nodded. “Yes. Now, do you want to answer my question? What are you doing here?” Quickly noticing the way her words sounded and the way Chloe’s smile slightly fell, Beca quickly continued speaking. “No, wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just wondering why you are here. I really appreciate it.”

Beca released a quiet sigh when she noticed Chloe’s smile return. Phew, crisis averted, she thought. She had the feeling that a sad Chloe Beale would be hard to deal with.

“I thought I would visit you before barging in at you at home. Jesse talked to you, right?”

Beca nodded. “Yes, he did. But listen Chloe, you don’t really have to come and check up on me. I’m fine. I can take care of myself and I don’t want you to drive over to my apartment every day. That’s a lot to ask.”

“Nonsense.” Chloe said and sat back down in the chair she had vacated earlier. “I’m happy to help. You are my friend and if my friends need help, I’ll help them. You would do the same for me.”

Before Beca knew what she was doing she nodded. “I would.”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose, her eyes widened and her mouth opened a little in surprise. “Wait, really? I know what I just said but you know, it was kind of meant as a filler, something you’re supposed to say when talking about helping friends. I didn’t expect you to answer.”

Beca grinned at Chloe’s surprised rambling. “I know. But I really would have done the same.”

“Oh, okay then. I’m a little surprised you are not making a fuss about this. You seem like a very independent person.”

“I am. But I don’t really have a choice. I don’t want to inconvenience you, but I’d hate it even more if I had to stay in the hospital for months. I thought about it hard while I was still in Syria and I can’t ask my father and Jesse’s mom will be back from her vacation in two weeks. Since I have to stay in the hospital for another week, that makes roughly one week you’ll have to come and check up on me. I can live with that, even if I don’t like it.”

“You thought about that really hard, huh?”

Beca scowled. “Yeah, make fun of the bedridden girl who just had surgery. I see how it is, Miss Beale. Being all nice and things in your letters and now that we’re seeing each other for the first time, your real face shows.”

Chloe started laughing at the little pout on Beca’s face. “Exactly. That was my evil plan all along. Getting you here, unable to run away and then I’ll make fun of you for as long as I want to.”

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled in Chloe’s direction. The older girl just laughed. “You are so cute.”

The little brunette’s eyes widened. “Dude! You are not allowed to call me cute! Especially not now! Have you taken a good look at me? I’m wearing a gown, I’m pale as fuck, I have huge bags under my eyes and my hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in a week. Which is because it hasn’t. It’s disgusting.”

The redhead only grinned widely at Beca. “A week huh? That IS pretty disgusting.”

“Hey!”

“Seriously Beca, you’ve just had surgery. You nearly died. You are allowed to look a little exhausted. How did that go by the way? Everything okay?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I was wondering when we would get to that part. I hate repeating myself and I swear if you ask me how I’m feeling more than once a day, I’ll kick you out. So, the surgery went fine. They kept me in the ICU for two days to monitor if my heart was working okay. They moved me to this room earlier today and they said that if everything continues healing like they expect it to, I can go home in about a week. But only if I have someone to check in on me once a day.”

“Does it hurt?”

“I’m not feeling a thing.” Beca grinned and pointed at the IV that was stuck in her right hand. “They are giving me the good stuff.”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose again. “You are high?”

“As a kite.” Beca giggled and smiled at Chloe.

“But you were behaving normal just a minute ago.”

Beca shook her head. “Not really. They increased the dosis only five minutes before you came. Apparently it takes a few minutes for it to work properly. I’ve been high since the moment I woke up after the surgery. Believe me, if I weren’t I wouldn’t be able to talk to you.”

Chloe scrunched up her nose. “Why?”

“I would be way too nervous. But I don’t really care what I’m saying right now.”

“Is that so?” A small grin started creeping on Chloe’s face.

“Uhuh.” Beca said and nodded her head.

“So if I asked you some questions right now, you’d have no choice but to answer truthfully?”

Beca furrowed her brows and looked up at Chloe cutely. “Why would I lie to you? You’re Chloe. I don’t need to lie to you.”

The older girl’s smile widened. “Awesome, so...”

Before Chloe could finish speaking a knock at the door interrupted her.

Beca looked at Chloe with confusion in her eyes. “Did you bring someone with you? Because I don’t really know anyone around here.”

Chloe bit her lower lip and looked at the tiny brunette carefully. “Um, that’s probably my mom.”

Beca’s eyebrows rose. “Your mom? What is she doing here?”

“Well, she wanted to meet you.”

“Oh. Well then, let her in, I love meeting new people!”

“Um, no, you don’t.”

“Don’t be like that Chloe. I like meeting new people when I’m feeling like this.”

“You will regret this. As soon as you’re off your meds, you will hate me for this.”

Beca shook her head. “I won’t hate you but I’ll probably want to crawl under a rock and die, but who cares about that right now, let your mom in!”

“Just remember that you agreed to this.” Chloe told the high girl before moving to the door to open it and let her mom in.

“Hey mom. How was the coffee?”

“Terrible. I had to eat a piece of cake to get rid of the bad taste.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I can imagine what a hard task that must have been.”

Claire nodded gravely. “Exactly. Now, let’s go in and let me meet Beca.”

The young redhead sighed but turned around and showed her mom into the room.

“Um, this is my mom, Claire Beale and this is Lieutenant Beca Mitchell.”

The older Beale woman smiled brightly and put her hand forward for Beca to shake. She would have hugged the girl but she had just had heart surgery, Claire didn’t want to aggravate any injuries. “Hello dear, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve read all of your letters, it feels like I’ve known you for months now.”

Beca quickly shook the older woman’s hand and smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you too, ma’am.”

“Oh, good god, please don’t call me ma’am. That makes me feel older than I really am. You can call me Claire.”

“Okay then Claire. I’m Beca. Thanks for coming to see me. It was starting to get boring before Chloe came.”

“No problem dear. So, how are you feeling? Everything okay?” she asked and sat down in the second chair that sat next to Beca’s bed. Chloe sat back down in her original seat.

“Eh, I’m fine. But please don’t ask me how I’m feeling every few seconds. I reeaaaaally hate that.”

Claire furrowed her brows. “You are acting kind of odd. Not what I had expected after reading your letters.”

Beca giggled shortly and smiled brightly at Claire. “They are giving me the good stuff here. I’m sure I’ll be mortified as soon as the meds begin wearing off.”

“Oh. That explains it. But I guess you aren’t in pain then?”

“No, I don’t feel a thing.”

Claire nodded slowly. “That’s good. But why are you so coherent? You are talking normally and you don’t seem like you won’t remember things when the meds wear off. You almost seem normal.”

Beca shrugged. “That’s just how alcohol works for me. I guess the same can be said for pain killers. I was always able to remember everything I did and said. And I always start talking when I’m drunk. I know that I won’t like what I said when I’m sober again but that has never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do while I’m high or drunk.”

“So you’ve been high before? Drugs?”

“Of course. I’m 24, who hasn’t been? But I don’t make a habit out of it. And only the light stuff. Nothing serious.”

“You are awfully honest for a supposedly closed off member of the military.”

“Why should I lie to you? You’re Chloe’s mom. I can be honest to Chloe, so I can be honest to you.”

Claire rose an eyebrow and looked at her daughter. Chloe just shrugged. “She’s going to hate the way she talked to us as soon as she is off her meds.”

Claire nodded. “I have no doubt about that. Let’s use the opportunity and ask her some questions!”

“Mom! That’s totally not fair to her!”

Beca was listening to the two of them and agreed with everything they said. She just didn’t care at the moment. “Didn’t you want to ask me a question earlier, Chloe? Why would it be unfair if your mom asked me some?”

Chloe sighed deeply and put her hands in front of her face. “You agreed to this Beca. Please remember that you agreed to this when we’ll see each other the next time.”

“Of course I agreed to this. Why wouldn’t I? I like your mom.”

Claire chose that moment to speak up again. “Aw, thanks sweetie. I like you too. Now, on to my questions. Do you like exchanging letters with Chloe?”

Beca nodded eagerly. “Yes. It’s awesome. I really like getting to know her better. And she always asks such random questions. It’s fun.”

“So you like her?”

“Of course!”

“That’s good to hear.” Claire said with a small smirk.

“Mom! You promised!” Chloe said loudly, trying to get her mom to stop asking Beca weird questions.

“Calm down Chloe, I’m keeping my promise. I’m just asking her some harmless questions.”

“It was a bad idea to let you come here with me.” Chloe grumbled and leaned back in her seat.

Claire ignored her sulking daughter and continued asking Beca questions. “So, when was your last relationship? You are single right now, right?”

“Mom! You know this already!” Chloe hissed to her mom but was ignored again.

Beca thought for a minute. “A relationship or just sex?”

“Oh my, you are really honest. Let’s go with both.”

“Well, yes I am single at the moment. My last relationship has been a few years ago, I was still in High School. As for sex, well you know, I don’t meet many new people. At least when I’m at the base here in Atlanta. But there is always someone nice when I’m on a mission. Takes a lot of the stress away. As for how long it’s been, I think about four months now? Shortly before I started writing the letters to Chloe.”

“Interesting” Claire muttered under her breath. “Just one last question, Beca. What happened with your father?”

Before Beca had the time to open her mouth to answer, Chloe jumped up from her seat and glared at her mother.

“Mom! This is private stuff! She’ll hate me when she realizes what she has told us.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. Beca doesn’t mind, do you sweetie?”

Beca just shook her head. “Not at all. I like talking to you guys.”

“See? She’s fine with it.”

“No. Mom, I love you, but enough is enough. Your teasing is fun most of the time but Beca can’t defend herself right now. You’ve met her now and asked your questions. Either you’ll stop this now or I’ll kick you out.”

Realizing that her daughter was serious, Claire Beale’s smile vanished and she nodded. “I’m sorry Chloe. I’ll go and wait in the car, take as long as you like. It was nice meeting you Beca. Sorry for the questions, I had no right to ask you stuff like that.”

Not really getting why Claire was leaving, Beca just nodded and smiled. “It was nice meeting you too, Claire. Will you come and visit me again?”

Claire nodded, stood up shook Beca’s hand again. “Sure. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it while you’re still in the hospital, but I’ll definitely visit you once you are at home.”

“Great. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.” Claire said to Beca and then turned around to look at Chloe. “I’ll see you in the car.” She said and left the room.

Chloe and Beca just looked at each other in silence for a moment until the redhead released a loud sigh. “I’m sorry Beca. I know you don’t really mind right now, but it was wrong of my mom to ask questions like that.”

Beca shook her head. “It’s okay. I will probably mind once I’m off the meds but I don’t think it will be as bad as you think. I would have told you that stuff if you had asked. Even without the medication.”

“Even so. My mom shouldn’t have pried into your private life.”

Beca only shrugged and tried to hide a yawn that was threatening to escape.

“You seem tired.”

The brunette nodded. “I am. This is the longest time I’ve been awake since the surgery. But the doctor said it was normal. My body needs sleep to heal or something like that.”

“Then I think I’ll let you sleep now. Do you have a phone here? I’d like to talk to you again soon. But don’t feel obligated to talk to me or anything. I kind of feel like we have surprised you and I can’t quite tell if you really like us or if it was just the pain killers talking.”

“It wasn’t the medication. I really like you and your mom. I think I have my smartphone around here somewhere. Just a second.” Beca turned around to get to the small roll container that stood next to her bed. She winced slightly when she turned her upper body around, the feeling of the stretching scar not a pleasant one. She opened one of the drawers and got her smartphone out.

“Found it. I can remember thousands of codes for the army but my phone number just doesn’t want to stick. Why don’t you tell me yours, I’ll type it in and send you a text?”

“Sure.” Chloe answered and told Beca her number. As soon as she was finished, she heard her phone vibrate in her bag that was lying next to her chair.

“Thanks. I’ll get going then. Sorry again for the crazy first meeting. Why don’t you text me when you are bored? I hope you’ll don’t ignore me forever once you realize what we have been talking about.”

The small brunette nodded happily. “I won’t ignore you Chloe. You are way too pretty for that.”

Chloe immediately blushed bright red and started wringing her hands in a nervous gesture. “Ehm, thanks I guess. You can tell me how pretty I am when we see each other again, okay? I think I’ll be able to visit you again this weekend. Let’s talk about the details for your release from the hospital then, okay?”

“Sure. Thanks for visiting me, Chloe. I knew you would be nice.”

The redhead smiled and grabbed one of Beca’s hands to squeeze it shortly. “No problem. Please text me soon.”

“I will, bye Chloe.”

“Bye Beca.” the ginger haired girl said, picked up her bag and left Beca’s hospital room.

Phew, that was something, she thought and started walking to the parking lot. I need to have a serious discussion with mom…

Chapter Text

Beca Mitchell (9:46 am)
Um , hey. I’m not sure what to say other than I’m sorry. I’d like to crawl under a rock and die but I think that’s not an option, so I’ll just pretend nothing ever happened and ask you how you’ve been?

Chloe Beale (9:50 am)
Good Morning Beca! Yesterday was fun, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry about my mom though, she shouldn’t have asked some of those questions :/

Beca Mitchell (9:51 am)
I answered them, so it’s on me. I just hope you’re not running away screaming now. That’s not how I imagined our first meeting to go…

Chloe Beale (9:52 am)
Don’t worry about it. It’s definitely an interesting story we can tell later on. And I’m fine, thanks for asking. What about you?

Beca Mitchell (9:54 am)
If you say so. I’m just trying to forget that ever happened. I’m fine I think. They lowered my pain medication considerably and my chest stings when I move around too much but otherwise I’m fine. They are taking good care of me here.

Chloe Beale (9:56 am)
I’m glad. I don’t like it when you’re in pain. What are you up to today? :D

Beca Mitchell (9:56 am)
Nothing important. Jennifer said we’ll be starting with light PT today. We’ll see how that one goes.

Chloe Beale (9:57 am)
Jennifer?

Beca Mitchell (9:57 am)
Oh, she’s my nurse. She’s been taking care of me these last few days…

Chloe Beale (9:58 am)
Is she nice?

Beca Mitchell (9:58 am)
I think so. I mean, I’ve been high these last few days so I’m not too sure. But I remember her being nice and flirty. Don’t know why though.

Chloe Beale (9:59 am)
Flirty? Why would she flirt with you? You are a patient…

Beca Mitchell (10:01 am)
I don’t know. She’s just always touching me and making some flirty comments. I’m not looking my best at the moment so I doubt she’s serious. And I can’t walk so she has to help me walk… Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m probably just making these things up. She’s not flirting with me…

Chloe Beale (10:02 am)
Are you sure? Because I don’t really like the idea of this nurse flirting with you when you’re too high to defend yourself…

Beca Mitchell (10:03 am)
Woah, stop right there Chloe. I’m not helpless and she didn’t do anything. Calm down. I think I was just imagining things, can we please talk about something else?

Chloe Beale (10:04 am)
… okay, sorry. What do you want to talk about? :)

Beca Mitchell (10:04 am)
Um, I don’t really know… we can ask each other questions? That worked well in our letters…

Chloe Beale (10:05 am)
Okay! Let me think of something, um, okay, so this is a hard question, but you already told me that I don’t have a problem with asking the hardest questions first, so: Are you going back once you are healed?

Beca Mitchell (10:06 am)
Of course. Why would you think this is a hard question?

Chloe Beale (10:06 am)
But WHY? You nearly DIED! I mean, I guess I know that you like your job and you are doing a great job but you’ve already been injured so much. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in the army?

Beca Mitchell (10:07 am)
No offense Chloe, but this is really none of your business. I love my job, it’s everything to me. I thought you got that through my letters. And yes, I plan on staying in the army. For as long as they’ll have me. Do you have another question? I’m done talking about this.

Chloe Beale (10:08 am)
But it’s so dangerous… Fine, I’ll stop. I don’t want to argue with you :) Hm, do you know when you’ll get out of there?

Beca Mitchell (10:08 am)
Thanks… Um, I think sometime next week.

Chloe Beale (10:09 am)
Great! I’ll pick you up :D

Beca Mitchell (10:10 am)
You don’t have to do that. I’ll just take a cab.

Chloe Beale (10:11 am)
No way! I’m happy to pick you up. Um, I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have some stuff to do… talk to you later? I’m not sure I’ll be able to visit you again before next week, but I’ll text you constantly ;D I don’t want you to get bored…

Beca Mitchell (10:12 am)
I guess arguing would be a waste of my time, huh? Well, I don’t want to keep you, so do what you have to do I guess. Don’t worry, I won’t get bored, I have Jennifer ;D See you sometime next week! :)

Chloe Beale (10:12 am)
…

Beca Mitchell (10:12 am)
;)

It had been a few days since their first text conversation and the two of them had been talking to each other everyday since. They texted, they talked on the phone and Beca even wrote a short letter once. They got along great and liked how easy their conversations were. Beca was still nervous about properly meeting Chloe, but she felt save and comfortable behind the screen of her phone.

Chloe was currently sitting at her kitchen table, working on her school work. Chloe wanted to finish all of it before she picked up Beca later today, because she planned on staying with her. Not that Beca was aware of that fact yet. But what was she going to do? Chase her on her crutches?

The redhead had talked to her mom about her behavior after visiting Beca and the older Beale woman seemed to understand where Chloe was coming from. Chloe had asked her to not come with her when she picked up Beca today and Claire had argued a little but eventually agreed. But she would come to Beca’s house tomorrow. Chloe knew she couldn’t convince her mom to leave them alone for a while, so she took what she got.

Chloe had talked to Aubrey and Stacie and they wanted to meet Beca too. She would have to talk to the little brunette about that later today.

Two hours later it was finally time to pick Beca up. Chloe was a little nervous, but not as nervous as last time. She and Beca had talked a lot while the smaller girl recovered in the hospital and Chloe was confident that their second ‘first meeting’ would go well.

Well, it would go well if Jennifer wasn’t there. Beca had talked about the young nurse a few times and Chloe couldn’t help but feel strange whenever she was mentioned. She had talked about that with Stacie and Aubrey and they told her she was just being jealous, but the redhead didn’t know what she would be feeling jealous over. She did like Beca, but feeling jealous over a nurse was not reasonable. Deciding not to think over this matter any longer, Chloe put her work to the side, took her purse and went to her car.

She arrived at the hospital a little while later and parked her little red Ford. She had been driving her car since her second year of college and hadn’t bothered to buy a newer model. She could afford a better car now, but this car had accompanied her for such a long time that she wasn’t willing to leave it behind just like that. It wasn’t new, but it was working and it was hers. That was enough for her.

She went up to Beca’s room and knocked lightly on the door and went into the room after someone, probably Beca, told her to come in.

Chloe expected to find Beca sitting in her bed, doing something on her laptop or playing a game on her phone, but Beca didn’t seem to be doing any of those things.

Some blonde haired girl with white jeans and a white t-shirt was sitting next to Beca on her bed and the two of them were laughing and the blonde was leaning on the small brunette’s shoulder.

“Good morning.” Chloe greeted with a clipped voice and narrowed eyes.

Beca’s smile widened as she greeted the redhead. “Hey Chloe. I’m ready to go, just give me a minute.”

“Hm.”

Chloe’s weird reply made Beca look up from her bag that was sitting on her lap. Chloe was standing in the doorway, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyes narrowed.

“Are you okay Chloe?”

“Fine.” She answered quickly but Beca still had the feeling something was wrong.

That was when the blonde girl finally decided to speak. “Oh, I’m Jennifer, Beca’s nurse. It’s nice to meet you.” She stood up from the bed and went over to Chloe to shake her hand. Not wanting to be rude, Chloe shook her hand, and send her a –very brief- smile. “Hello.”

“You’re here to pick up Beca, right?”

Chloe nodded. “Yes, I’m sure Beca will be glad to be out of here. She really doesn’t like hospitals.”

Jennifer raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Is that so?” She turned to look at the little brunette who was still sitting on her bed, watching the other two girls warily. “I thought you quite liked this hospital.”

Beca’s eyes widened as Jennifer and Chloe were looking at her expectantly. “Um, you know, I don’t like hospitals…” Chloe was shooting a proud smirk in the blonde girl’s direction. “But, this one wasn’t so bad.” It was Jennifer’s turn to smirk at Chloe who was now wearing a frown on her face. “Um, can we go now?”

Chloe’s smile returned but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sure. Do you need me to help you?”

Beca opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Jennifer who was already grabbing the brunette girl’s shoulders and helping her up. “I’ve got her. You can take her bag.” She said to Chloe while motioning to Beca’s bag that was still lying on her hospital bed.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed even further. “Shouldn’t I be the one helping her? It will be me who’ll be helping her the next few weeks after all.”

Jennifer waved her off. “Don’t worry, she can walk on her own. And she has my number if she needs help with anything. I’ll be happy to drop by a few times and help her with stuff. Changing her bandages, helping her in the shower….”

“Okay!” Beca suddenly had enough. “I don’t really know what kind of game you two are playing but it’s enough. I want to get out of here, so let’s go. Thanks for your help Jennifer, but I can walk on my own. Give me those crutches. And Chloe, it would be nice if you would help me with my bag. Now let’s go!”

Jennifer and Chloe were looking at Beca with surprised expressions on their faces but did as she said and followed her to the reception area where they picked up her discharge papers. Jennifer followed them until they reached the front doors of the hospital.

“Okay Beca, remember what I told you and if something’s wrong, you can always call me. You have my number.”

Beca nodded and only stiffened lightly when Jennifer used the opportunity to hug the small brunette. Beca’s hands were busy with the crutches so she really had no choice but to stand still and wait until it was over. Well, she could have started hopping away but that would have been rude.

“Thanks for the offer, Jennifer. I’m sure everything will be fine though.”

The blonde girl smiled widely and kissed Beca on the cheek. “No problem, it was my pleasure. See you in two days for PT!”

“Okay! We have to go now, thanks for your help Jennifer, good bye.” Chloe said quickly and turned around to start walking to her car. Beca thankfully started following her immediately.

Chloe had parked as close to the entrance as possible so they didn’t have to walk far. They didn’t talk as Beca sat down in the passenger seat and Chloe put Beca’s bag and her crutches on the backseat. She walked around the car and sat down in the driver’s seat.

She searched her own bag for a moment and got her phone out. She opened the google maps app and gave it to Beca. “Can you type in your address?”

Beca nodded and did just that. She gave the phone back to Chloe who clicked it into some kind of attachment that was sticking to her windshield.

When everything was working okay, Chloe started the car, turned the radio volume up and started driving. After a few minutes of silent driving, Beca had enough.

“Okay, what was that?”

Chloe looked at her briefly but quickly turned her eyes back to the road. “What was what?”

“That thing with Jennifer. You two were acting really strange. Like children fighting over their favorite toy.”

The redhead shrugged. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Oh come on! What were you doing?”

“It was nothing. I just don’t like her very much.”

“I could see that. But why? You don’t know her.”

Chloe shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sorry for acting weird, okay?”

Assuming that Chloe won’t tell her why she acted so strange, Beca mumbled a quiet “I’ll get it out of you one day” and looked out of the window.

Chloe smirked. “I doubt it. Hey, I was wondering about one thing. I assumed you would be feeling totally awkward today after the last time we met, why are you acting so normal?”

Beca put her left hand in front of her eyes and whined. “Why would you do that? I was feeling fine until you said something. I think the confusion over your behavior distracted me enough to forget about the fact that I embarrassed myself in front of you the last time we met. But now I’m feeling awkward, thank you very much.”

Chloe smiled widely and chuckled. “Aw, I’m sorry. But I was looking forward to your awkward stuttering.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon enough. I’m already getting nervous.”

Grinning widely, the redhead took the next exit and drove through a small settlement of houses. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be a mess when I need to help you with your bandages and with taking a shower.”

The small brunette blushed brightly and send a small glare in Chloe’s direction. “I can shower on my own, thank you very much.”

Chloe snickered. “We’ll see. I think we’re just around the corner, where should I park my car?”

Beca showed Chloe to a free parking space in front of her house. Well, in front of her apartment building. She had been living on the second floor for six years now. She had moved here right as she had turned 18, a few days after her mom’s death.

Parking the car quickly, Chloe got out and grabbed the crutches from the back seat, moving to help Beca out of the car. The small brunette smiled gratefully at her and took the crutches from Chloe.

They slowly moved towards the front door, greeting Beca’s doorman and moving on to the elevator. Which had a big sign in front of it, stating that it was out of service due to technical problems.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Beca huffed, already breathing hard. Beca had been in great shape during her deployment to Syria but the past weeks of inactivity and the strain her heart and lungs had suffered from her injuries had caused her stamina to drop significantly.

“Which floor do you live on?”

Beca groaned. “The second.”

“Can you make it up the stairs? I can carry you if you’re too exhausted to try.”

Beca’s eyes widened. “No way. I’ll make it. The only reason I’m still using the crutches is because they told me in the hospital to give my leg a few more days of rest. I can hobble around without crutches but if I’m jumping around too much my chest gets tight and I’m trying to avoid that.”

Chloe looked at her skeptically as they made their way to the stairs. “Are you sure?”

Nodding quickly, Beca tried the first few steps on her own. She managed them, but jumping up each step was not as easy as Beca had expected it to be.

“Why don’t you try it with one crutch and the handrail? When I broke my leg once, I found it easier to move up and down the stairs that way.” Chloe suggested when Beca struggled with the eighth step. The small brunette looked at her for a moment but then shrugged and gave Chloe one of her crutches. Her free hand was now firmly clasped around the handrail. She tried jumping up the stairs like this and found out that it was indeed easier than using both of the crutches.

10 minutes later – which felt like an eternity to Beca – they finally arrived in front of her apartment door. Beca told Chloe to grab the key from the front pocket of her bag and open the door. She did and the two of them went into Beca’s apartment.

Chloe looked around for a minute, taking everything in. “It’s cleaner than I expected.”

The small brunette looked at her offended. “Just because I haven’t been living here these last few months, doesn’t mean it doesn’t get cleaned. My neighbor, Mrs. Turner, comes over here once a week to clean it.”

Smiling, the red head started exploring the rooms. It was a small apartment, just two rooms and a kitchen, a small bathroom and a narrow hall.

Beca went into her living room to sit down on the couch while Chloe went through her apartment shamelessly. “Go ahead, look at everything; you haven’t been in my underwear drawer yet.” Beca mumbled under her breath while she watched the older girl going through her things, opening drawers left and right and touching everything.

Chloe stopped for a moment to look at Beca with a mischievous smirk on her face. “Oh, I wasn’t going to go through your bedroom but now that you suggested it, I’ll be going there next.”

Beca’s eyed widened. “No! I mean, why don’t you sit down for a while and watch some TV? I mean, you could also just go home, I’ll be fine for today. You don’t have to stay here any longer than necessary.”

Not bothering to stop her snooping, Chloe tried to say the next words out of her mouth as nonchalant as possible. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”

Furrowing her brows, Beca looked at the other girl confusedly. “Um, what?”

Not interesting in finding more of Beca’s candles, Chloe turned around and sat down next to Beca on the couch. “I’ll be staying here for the next few days. It would be a waste of time to drive over here everyday, stay for a few hours and then drive back home when I’ll be talking to you, texting you or bothering you anyway. So I’ll be saving gas money and time by just sleeping on this awesome couch for the next few days.”

Beca’s eyes had widened significantly the longer Chloe had talked. “Dude! Like… what? No! I mean… you can’t just stay here! The couch is very uncomfortable, trust me, you don’t want to sleep on that.”

Chloe turned her head slightly, so her wide blue eyes looked deeply into Beca’s. “Please? I mean, I understand if you don’t want me to stay here, I am still a stranger after all, but I really want to?”

Cursing the effect of those bright blue eyes under her breath, Beca quickly shook her head. “That’s not it. I mean, yes, technically, we’ve only met each other once before and I’ve been kind of not myself then, but I think we know each other quite well. And I consider you a good friend of mine. Because of the letters. We wrote. To each other.” Beca’s words got quieter the more she talked, the happy look in Chloe’s eyes creeping her out a little. “Dude, what?”

“You consider me a good friend?”

Beca scoffed. “Of course. I’ve told you that.”

Chloe shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s different hearing it from you in person.”

Beca just shrugged. “Right.”

“So, what do you want to do now?”

“Um, I think I want to shower. Get the hospital smell off my skin. Hey, wait, we weren’t finished with that discussion. You can’t stay here.”

Chloe pouted. “But why? We are friends now, right? And friends have sleepovers. And they help each other if they need help.”

Beca’s arms were gesticulating wildly. “But… no… Why do you even want to stay here?”

“I want to help you. And I’m cheap. I want to save gas money. I want to save the earth by not contributing to the climate change, I’m lazy, your couch is comfortable, I’m feeling tired all of a sudden… I can go all day if you want. Or you can just accept that I am staying here. It won’t be forever, don’t worry. Only until you’re better.”

Beca was gaping at her like a fish. “But…”

“Deal with it.”

The small brunette groaned loudly and put her hands over her eyes. “Okay, fine! Just remember my warning, you’ll feel terrible in the morning if you sleep on this couch.”

Chloe grinned widely. “No problem, I’ll take my chances.”

Rolling her eyes, Beca stood up from the couch and went into her bedroom, Chloe following her closely.

“I’m still waiting for awkward Beca, you know?” Chloe said while Beca tossed her some clean clothes she intended to wear after her shower.

“She’s on vacation.” Beca mumbled deep in thought, trying to pick out the tank top she wanted to wear. Picking out a black one, she turned around and looked at Chloe. “I’m going to have a shower now. You can chill on the couch? Or something. I’ll be quick, don’t worry.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m not ten you know? I know how to entertain myself for half an hour. Take your time, I’ll be in the living room if you need help. I guess you can get into the shower on your own? If not, I’d be happy to help.” She said with a wink.

Blushing brightly, the small brunette tossed her crutches to her bed, grabbed the clothes Chloe had been holding for her and hobbled into the bathroom, closing the door behind her firmly. “I’ll be fine!” she shouted through the door.

Chuckling quietly, Chloe went into the living room and turned on the TV. She was feeling quite proud of herself for the way she had ‘convinced’ Beca to let her stay the next few days. Hearing the shower turn on in the bathroom, Chloe leaned back in the couch and tried to relax a little.

When Beca closed the door behind her, the first thing she did was lean back against it and sigh in relief. The day had been exhausting and it wasn’t even 4 pm yet. That second ‘first meeting’ with Chloe was going better than she had expected. She had expected to not get a word out and stutter unintelligible things to the other girl but she had been surprisingly calm and collected. She suspected it had something to do with the weird fighting Chloe and Jennifer had been doing earlier. That had really caught her off guard. It had seemed like Chloe had been jealous, but why would she? There was no way a girl like Chloe liked her in that way and Jennifer had just been nice. Well, the kiss on the cheek had been a little over the top but otherwise she had acted the way she had always acted around Beca.

Deciding not to think about it any longer, Beca hobbled over to the toilet and sat down, slowly starting to undress herself. The sweat pants she was wearing were no problem, she just slid them across her hips and they fell down on their own. Her socks were a little bit trickier, but she managed to kick them off after a little bit of wiggling around. The t-shirt she was wearing was a little harder to get out of. Her chest was stinging painfully when she tried to lift her arms higher than her shoulders, so she had to stretch the shirt as wide as it would go and slowly mover her arms and head out of it.

When she was finally sitting on the toilet with just her panties on, she started the slow work of getting the bandages off her leg and chest. The one on her chest wasn’t wrapped around her torso or anything, there was just a big piece of white gauze taped to the middle of her chest where they had sliced her skin open to get to the bullet and repair any damage that had been done. Beca slowly peeled off the gauze on her chest and leg and stood up to look at the scars in the mirror.

There was an angry red line of approximately five inches running down vertically between her breasts. Right next to the line on the left, there was the small round scar where the bullet had entered her body. Beca leaned forward a little, softly prodding at the red skin around her scars. The doctor had taken the stitches out two days ago, claiming that the wound was healing nicely. But he also told her to not move around too much to keep the wound from reopening.

Not overly happy with the new additions to her already quite extensive collection of scars but not overly bothered by them either, Beca just sighed, kicked her panties off and went into the shower.

The warm water flowing down her skin felt quite nice and Beca took the time to just relax in her own shower and calm herself down. It had been some hectic weeks and she was glad to finally come home. Well, not exactly home since she didn’t spend much time in her apartment, but she was surrounded by her own things and that did a lot to relax her.

Washing her body went reasonably well although her back was proving to be difficult, but she managed. The body wash she was using irritated her scars a little, but it was just an uncomfortable feeling that went away when she washed it off. Washing her hair was a little trickier. Since she couldn’t lift her arms high enough without aggravating her chest too much, she had to lean down and carefully shampoo her hair while bending over. It was strange but it was working so Beca didn’t complain. Too much. A few curse words were escaping her, but other than that, showering went surprisingly well.

She carefully dried her body with a towel and put her panties on. She was about to slip into a fresh pair of sweat pants when she remembered that she had to dress her wounds again. Jennifer had shown her how it was done so could do it on her own, but she had left her bag in the living room. Where Chloe was probably going through her drawers again.

She sighed deeply in defeat, snatched her towel and held it in front of her chest before opening the bathroom door.

“Chloe?”

“Yeah? Do you need help?”

“Not really, but can you maybe bring me my bag? My bandages and gauze are in there and I need to re wrap my wounds.”

“Sure.” Chloe said and stood in front of Beca 15 seconds later.

Chloe eyed Beca’s towel clad form interestedly and held out the arm that held Beca’s bag. “Here you go. Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Noticing the way Chloe was watching her made Beca blush brightly and she quickly grabbed her bag. “I’m good, thanks!” she said and quickly turned around, stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

“You do know that your towel was open in the back, right?” Chloe asked the closed door in a teasing tone.

A muffled ‘Shut up!’ was her only answer and the redhead made her way back to the living room, grinning as she plopped back into the couch.

She didn’t have to wait long until Beca came out of the bathroom again, dressed in a blank tank top, gray sweat pants, no socks and wet hair. She was drying her hair with a towel while she hobbled over to Chloe, sitting down next to her and putting the towel on the backrest of the couch to keep her hair from making it wet.

“Feeling better?”

Beca nodded. “Yeah. That hospital smell is really not my preferred brand of perfume.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that. I don’t like the hospital smell either. So, did you manage to wrap your wounds okay?”

Nodding, Beca touched the white pad of gauze that was peeking over her tank top. “Yes, it worked quite well. I just put some cream on it and taped the gauze on top of it.”

“You would tell me if something was wrong right? I mean, that’s kind of why I’m here. The scars don’t look infected, right? You’re not feeling dizzy or something?” Chloe asked worriedly. The big piece of gauze reminding her what she was supposed to be doing here.

Beca smiled. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Thanks for doing this. You don’t have to, you know. You can always just go home, I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Stop it. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.” Chloe said and put her hand on Beca’s arm. Noticing the younger girl stiffening up, she tried to mover her hand off the brunette’s arm nonchalantly.

“Okay. So…”

Chloe giggled at the awkward silence and decided to help Beca out. “You want your laptop?”

Beca nodded eagerly. She had been working on some good mixes while she had to stay in the hospital and a specific song had been sitting in the back of her head for the whole day. She really wanted to start working on the song but she thought it would be rude while Chloe was there, so the nodding turned into a shaking of her head.

“Um, no. It’s fine, but thanks for the offer.”

Chloe looked at her in puzzlement. “Why? You are always doing something on that thing. Well, at least that’s what you told me. I thought I might finally get the chance to see what you are doing on it.”

“Um, I don’t want to be rude. So, if someone is visiting you you probably should talk to them. Or at least do something with them.”

The redhead giggled. “I don’t really care.” The smile that had been painted on her face was fading slowly. “You really don’t want to tell me what you are doing on your laptop, huh?”

Beca’s eyes widened as she saw the dejected look on the other girl’s face. She really didn’t want to hurt Chloe’s feelings but telling her about her mixes seemed way too personal for her. Yes, she considered Chloe her friend, but she had deliberately not told Chloe about her mixes. Beca was sure Chloe would insist on listening to them and that was way too embarrassing for her. She wasn’t very good, she was just playing around with the songs and the software. Nobody had ever heard her stuff and Beca intended to keep it that way.

“Please?” Chloe asked again, trying to put her puppy dog eyes to good work.

“Ugh!!” Beca tried to look anywhere but at Chloe, but the redhead’s gaze was demanding her attention. “Fine!” Beca huffed and crossed her arms in front of chest. As soon as she had finished the movement, she regretted it. A sharp pain cursed through her chest and she gasped, immediately removing her arms from her chest.

Choe’s pleading eyes turned worried immediately and she turned her body so she was sitting sideways on the couch. “Oh my god Beca, are you okay? You didn’t rip anything, did you? Do you need something?”

Beca closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she had calmed down a few seconds later, she opened her eyes and looked at the redhead. “Calm down Chloe, I’m fine. That was a stupid move but you learn from your mistakes I guess. And no, I don’t need anything and I don’t think anything ripped.”

Looking at her skeptically, Chloe took one of Beca’s hands in her own. “Are you sure? Why don’t we just check really quickly?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. I would notice if something had ripped open.”

“I’m not backing off with this one. It’s your health we’re talking about.”

Rolling her eyes again, Beca huffed but relented. “Fine. You’ll see, everything is fine.” She slowly started peeling the edge of the gauze on her chest away, slowly revealing the long red scar. Chloe had moved closer to sit right next to Beca, staring down her shirt intently.

Noticing the direction Chloe was staring in, Beca stopped her movements. “Um…”

Chloe nudged her shoulder lightly, trying to get her to keep going. “All the way Beca. I can’t see if the end of the scar is fine.”

“But… but you’re staring right down my shirt! And I’m not wearing a bra!”

“Oh, I noticed. And I’m really glad you can rock the no bra look.”

Beca’s eyes widened, she let go of the gauze and moved away from Chloe. “Dude! Oh my god! You weren’t seriously staring at my boobs right now, were you? Oh my god, you even commented on it! You can’t do that!”

Chloe was just giggling at the bright blush that adorned Beca’s cheeks. “That’s where your scar is, so of course I was staring at your boobs. Not everyone can go without a bra and still look good. I’m impressed. Considering your size, I thought you would lack in the chest department, but I’m glad you aren’t. What are you, a C?”

Beca’s blush had spread over her whole face by now and had started creeping down her neck and she was sitting at the edge of the couch, hands shielding her face from Chloe’s amused gaze. “Oh my god, I can’t believe we’re talking about this. And I’m 24, so of course I can still go without a bra.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, that was a compliment. And you don’t want to know how many people I’ve met in college who were younger than you and should definitely never go without a bra.”

A suffering whine escaped Beca’s throat as she tried to stir the conversation to a different topic. “You need some stuff if you want to stay here, right? Why don’t you drive to your house before it gets dark.”

“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.” Chloe laughed. “But that isn’t a bad idea. I’ll drive home before it gets dark, but I still have a few things I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Beca lowered one of her hands and tried to determine if it was safe to come back out of hiding.

“Yeah, so is your scar okay?”

Beca nodded quickly. “Yes, don’t worry.”

Chloe rose an eyebrow but chose to believe the smaller girl. “Okay, I’ll believe you on that. The next thing I wanted to talk about is, that my mom and Stace and Bree want to meet you.”

“Um….”

“They are really nice. And I told my mom to hold back on the questions. It will be fine, I promise.”

“I’m bad at meeting new people. They tend to dislike me.”

Chloe was grinning now and shaking her head. “No way. I like you just fine. And my mom likes you too. I’ve told Aubrey and Stacy so much about you, I'm sure they will like you too, don’t worry.”

Beca sighed deeply. “I guess you’re not letting me get out of this, huh? And knowing the way you think, I guess you already have the perfect meeting planned?”

Chloe’s grin widened. “Of course! I don’t want it to be fancy and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, so I thought we could have breakfast here tomorrow morning? Just a nice cup of coffee, delicious fruit and great people. I think it would be fun.”

“Ugh, really? You sound so old when you suggest to meet up over breakfast. Why don’t we just sleep in and order a pizza in the evening?”

Chloe slapped Beca’s arm lightly. “I happen to like meeting up for breakfast and meeting early leaves the whole day open for more fun stuff. And we can still order pizza in the evening.”

“Fiiiiine! But I don’t have anything in the house. Well, I think there is an old glass of nutella somewhere, but I doubt you guys would want to eat that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pick some stuff up when I go and get my stuff from my apartment.”

Beca was still sitting as far away from Chloe as the couch would allow and watched her with wary eyes. “Okay, thanks. I only have one question. Well two, but whatever.”

“Shoot.”

“You planned to stay here all along, right?”

“Yeah.” Chloe grinned at Beca widely and her eyes sparkled.

“Why didn’t you bring your stuff with you then? It would have saved you some of that precious gas money you were talking about earlier.”

It was Chloe’s turn to blush, although hers was much lighter than Beca’s full body blush from earlier. “I kind of forgot the time this morning. I was a little nervous so I was doing some work for school and before I knew it, it was already noon and I had to go.”

Beca was staring at her unimpressed. “Right.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I was in a hurry.”

“Whatever.” Beca said but Chloe could make out the small grin on her face.

“Okay then!” Chloe said and stood up from the couch. “I’ll be going then. You have my number if there are any problems. I’ll be gone about two hours I think, so try to stay out of trouble until I come back, okay?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I’m not a child. And I should try to stay out of trouble ‘until’ you come back? What about after that?”

“I’ll join you of course!” Chloe answered and winked at Beca.

“Um..” Beca’s eyes were wide again. What the hell had she done when she had agreed to let the redhead stay here? This could only end in disaster, she already knew it.

“So, I’m going then. See you later Becs!” Chloe said and moved over to hug the small brunette. Beca was too lost in her thoughts to resist or tense up so she just told her a quick ‘See you later’ when Chloe left her apartment.

Feeling tired all of a sudden, Beca fell back into the couch and let out a loud groan. Chloe Beale would cause her to die of embarrassment, she could already tell.

Chapter Text

Beca had just started to wonder what was keeping Chloe so long when the redhead walked through the door to the brunette's apartment two hours later.

“I'm back!“ she called, as she wrestled two shopping bags, a small suitcase and her purse through Beca's front door.

“Hey.“ Beca called from her seat on the couch. She was sitting in the middle of the couch, legs outstretched in front of her, feet resting on the couch table, laptop on her lap and headphones around her shoulders.

Chloe walked into the living room and put her purse and suitcase on the floor before she made her way into the kitchen to put the food she bought into the fridge.

“I don’t really know why so many people have to go to the store when I’m there. I mean, seriously, I just wanted a few things and it looked like any person over 55 in a five mile radius decided to do their weekly shopping today. It took me forever to pay for things.”

Beca had put her laptop away and had followed Chloe into the kitchen. She was standing in the doorway and was smirking at the redhead. “Well, if someone had decided to go with my plan of ordering pizza in the evening you wouldn’t have had to go through that.”

Chloe just rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, I want to have breakfast tomorrow. And I already told my mom, Bree and Stacie to come over at nine.”

Beca’s eyes widened. “In the morning?! Dude!”

Chloe chuckled lightly at Beca’s horrified expression. “Shall I call them and tell them to come at six? I did it once with a friend from college. We wanted to meet up but our schedules didn’t match so I suggested meeting up before work and it was awesome.”

The horrified look on Beca’s face only seemed to grow as Chloe talked. “You are not human. Who gets up at six in the morning if they don’t have to?”

The redhead shrugged. “Technically I got up at five. I still had to shower and put some plates on the table before my friend arrived at six.”

Beca closed her eyes for a moment. “You are not normal Beale.”

Chloe had finished putting the food in the fridge and was now leaning against the counter as she looked at Beca. “Why are you so against getting up early? I thought you were in the army? I thought getting up early was like the law or something.”

Beca sighed and opened her eyes again, watching the redhead’s beautiful smiling face. “It is. And I don’t have a problem with it if I have something to do. But you wouldn’t catch me awake before ten if I didn’t have anything planned. I like my sleep very much.”

“So? Where is the problem? We’ve got something planned in the morning so you need to get up. Simple as that.”

Beca groaned. “Nooo. I mean things that can’t be rescheduled to a better time. Like two in the afternoon. Or, you know, not at all.”

Chloe started pouting and looked at Beca with big sad eyes. “You don’t want to meet my friends?”

“Ugh! That’s not what I meant. I already agreed to this stupid breakfast meeting so whatever.”

Chloe’s pout immediately vanished and she grinned brightly. “Great! Now, are you sure you are a lieutenant? Manipulating you is way too easy.”

Beca huffed. “Only because I let you. And I’m not in army mode right now.”

“You can pull the switch just like that?”

“No, not like that. But I’ve had enough time in the hospital to revert back to Beca. I normally take a few days to switch between Lieutenant Mitchell and Beca.”

“Oh?” Chloe rose an eyebrow. “So there’s two of you?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “I’m not schizophrenic. But I act differently in the army from what I would do at home. So me being bothered by waking up early is something Lieutenant Mitchell would never say out loud. Anyway, enough about me, let’s talk about something else. And let’s get comfortable, I don’t want to stand around in the kitchen any longer.”

Chloe followed Beca back to the couch and the two girls made themselves comfortable.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

Beca shrugged. “I don’t know. You’ve kind of taken the initiative in our conversations up until now.”

Chloe thought for a moment but had to agree in the end. “Yeah. Um, sorry? I didn’t mean to take charge so much. But I was nervous and it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“It’s fine. I don’t really mind. And just for the record, I’m kind of glad you’re staying here. I wouldn’t have ever asked you to do that for me, but I do get lonely when I’m alone at home. Another reason for all of my accumulated vacation days. I think I could take four or five months off by now on vacation days alone.”

“Don’t you have any other friends? I mean apart from Jesse.”

Beca shrugged. “Not really. I mean, yes, I had friends in high school, but those were the kind of friends you hang out with because you have nothing better to do and circumstances threw you together. I’m not in contact with any of them anymore. I don’t talk to my dad, my mom is dead, the little family I have doesn’t like my job or my sexuality. Which leaves Jesse. And the boys from my team.”

“That sounds lonely.”

Beca shook her head and grinned. “No, I actually prefer it that way most of the year. And I have you as a friend now as well, right?”

Chloe beamed. “Yeah! Wanna watch a movie?”

“Not particularly.”

“Want to show me what you are doing on your laptop instead?”

“Ugh, fine. What do you want to watch?”

“Do you have any DVDs?”

Beca shrugged. “Um, let me check. I’m not sure, maybe Jesse left some the last time he was here.”

The little brunette stood up from the couch and made her way to the cupboard next to her TV. She opened it and searched through some papers and found three DVDs.

“Um, I found these, but I don’t really want to watch any of them.”

Chloe eyes widened. “Oh my god, those are awesome!”

“Nooo.” Beca whined. “Let’s just watch cats on Youtube or something. Please?”

“You can’t say no to Titanic, Pretty Woman or Finding Nemo. All of them are in my Top Ten list. We have to watch one of them.”

“But… They are boring.”

Chloe lifted an eyebrow. “Have you watched all of them?”

“Yes! Jesse made me.”

“Did you pay attention?”

“… yes.”

“Really? What's the name of the blue fish in Finding Nemo?”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Really? How would I know? It's been ages since I watched it.”

Chloe grinned brightly. “Great! Let's watch it again.”

The brunette was about to protest again when the happy look in the redhead's eyes changed her mind.

She huffed deeply. “Okay. If it makes you happy, we can watch this stupid fish movie.”

Chloe playfully glared at Beca. “It's not stupid. You'll see, once you pay attention, it's actually a good movie.”

“We'll see.”

The two of them made themselves comfortable on the couch after Chloe put the movie in and pressed the play button on the remote.

Chloe immediately snuggled up to Beca, who stiffened shortly but relaxed a few moments later. The taller girl looked at Beca questioningly but Beca only rolled her eyes. Taking that as permission, Chloe grinned and snuggled even closer to the little Lieutenant.

They watched the movie and Beca had to admit to herself that it wasn't as bad as she had expected. She wouldn't tell that to the redhead though. After the movie was over, the two of them decided that they were tired and wanted to go to bed. Beca fetched a pillow and some blankets for Chloe before saying good night and closing the bedroom door behind herself. She brushed her teeth and then quickly buried herself under her blankets. She was asleep ten seconds later.

When Beca awoke to the sound of clattering dishes from her kitchen the next morning, she looked at her bedside table with squinted eyes to see that it was only 7.30 am before she groaned loudly and put her warm blanket back over her head.

A few minutes later, a short knock sounded at her door. “Beca?”

Beca groaned loudly. “Go away!”

Chloe giggled and opened the door. “Come on, get up. We need to get ready.”

“No. I still got an hour and a half. I need ten minutes to brush my teeth and get into some decent clothes. Let me sleep until then.” Beca answered, voice muffled from the blanket.

“But I already made coffee.”

Beca hesitated for a moment but then pulled at the blanket until the top of her head and her eyes were barely visible. “Coffee?” she asked as she looked at Chloe who was wearing a bright pink tank top, black running shorts and sneakers.

Chloe grinned. “Yeah, if you get up and help me set the table, I'll let you sleep for another half hour while I'm going on my morning run.”

Beca's eyes widened. “Morning run? You don't know this area, it's too dangerous for you to go alone.”

“You aren't exactly in a position to accompany me Beca.”

“Well... “

“Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll just run for half an hour.”

“Take your phone with you, okay? Call me if something happens.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I'll take it with me. I'll be back in half an hour, okay? You can sleep until I get back and we'll set the table after my shower.”

Beca sighed and slowly stood up. “No, I'm awake now. Might as well get dressed and look if my apartment is clean enough to entertain some guests.”

Chloe rose an eyebrow. “How come you weren't bothered about that when I came over yesterday?”

Beca shrugged. “I assumed you would only drop me off. Staying over was your idea. I thought you could deal with any kind of consequences resulting from that. That reminds me, how did you sleep?”

Chloe's smile vanished and she groaned. “Don't remind me. You weren't lying when you told me that the couch was uncomfortable. I think I would have slept better if I had slept on the floor.”

The little brunette smirked. “Told you so.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, don't be so smug about it. I'll be on my run, time's running out, see you later.”

“Be careful!”

Chloe smiled at Beca and left the girl's apartment.

35 minutes later Beca's front door opened, revealing a panting redhead, soaking wet from head to toe.

Beca was sitting at her kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and typing something on her phone. “Hey Chlo. I was about to call you. Did everything go okay?”

Chloe groaned and didn't come closer, choosing to stay at the front door. “It was fun until I tripped while trying to feed a duck at the pond. I fell in.”

Taking a closer look at the redheaded girl, Beca started laughing loudly. “Oh my god, really? You even have duckweed in your hair.”

Chloe huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “Yeah, laugh at me. It's not my carpet I'm ruining with disgusting pond water.”

Beca was still chuckling but went into her bathroom and fetched a towel for Chloe. “Here, hurry up and take a shower. We've got 45 minutes until your mom and Stacie and Aubrey will be here. I already set the table, you can take your time in the shower.”

Chloe smiled in thanks and quickly went to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Chloe came out of the bathroom, hair perfectly styled, make-up done perfectly and towel tucked around herself tightly.

Beca was just taking a sip from her third cup of coffee that morning (she was nervous, okay? And tired...) when Chloe walked to her suitcase and dropped her towel.

Beca's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her coffee. “Dude! I can see you!”

Chloe turned her head around and smirked at Beca. “Well, I forgot to bring my clothes to the bathroom. And you've got the same parts as me, relax.”

Beca was blushing brightly, hands covering both of her eyes. “You can't just run around my apartment naked.”

Chloe rolled her eyes at Beca's prudish behavior. “I'm dressing myself right now, relax.”

Beca waited another 2 minutes until she squinted through her third and fourth fingers and nearly jumped backwards when she found Chloe sitting directly in front of her, fully dressed and smirking.

“Woah! Don't sneak up on me, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“You'll live.” She took the time to look Beca up and down. “Nice. How did you manage to get into your jeans?”

Still blushing, Beca glared at Chloe. “You are impossible, you know that? Why do you insist on embarrassing me at every opportunity? And for your information, it took nearly fifteen minutes, but it worked.”

“Because you are so cute when you're embarrassed. And I think you would tell me if it really bothered you.”

“Well, yeah, but it's really making me feel uncomfortable. And I'm not cute.”

“You are. Don't try to deny it.” Before Chloe could continue talking, the doorbell interrupted them. She looked at Beca expectantly. “Ready?”

Beca sighed. “Not really. Let's do this.”

They both got up and went to the front door. Beca was deliberately hanging back so Chloe opened the door.

“Mom!” The redhead immediately hugged her mom tightly.

“Hey sweetie. Good to see you.”

“You too.” Chloe said as she let go of her mother and immediately wrapped her arms around Aubrey's neck. “Bree! I have missed you!”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “We've talked on the phone yesterday, Chlo.”

Chloe shrugged. “Doesn't matter. I still missed you. I'm glad you two could make it.” She wrapped herself around Stacie next, who was standing slightly behind Aubrey. “Stace! I'm happy to see you!”

Stacie chuckled. “Yeah, I'm happy too. How was your first night together?” she asked and winked in Beca's direction, who was staring at her wide eyed while getting a famous Beale hug from Claire.

“Stop it.” Chloe said playfully and ushered the three women into the apartment. Claire seemed satisfied with the duration of the hug she had given Beca and smiled widely at her. “Beca, dear, how are you? My daughter isn't causing you any problems, right?”

Beca was still a little surprised by the hug she had received but cleared her throat and straightened her spine. “I'm fine, Mrs Beale. And no, Chloe is a nice house guest. Well, except when she is dripping dirty pond water all over my carpet or running around naked.”

All three guests turned around to look at Chloe with raised eyebrows. The redhead blushed brightly. “I fell into the pond okay? And I forgot to bring my clothes into the bathroom with me.”

Stacie snorted. “Right.”

“Anyway, why don't we sit down at the table? Everything should be ready.” Chloe said and shot a dirty look in Beca's direction. The brunette just smirked.

All five of them sat down at the dining table in Beca's living room. Beca cleared her throat. “Well, thanks for coming I guess. My name is Beca Mitchell, it's nice to meet you.”

“We know who you are Beca.” Stacie said. “Chloe has told us a lot about you. And Luke told me some stuff as well. Oh, and I'm Stacie Conrad, just call me Stacie.”

“Nice to meet you. You're Luke's sister, right?”

The brunette nodded. “Yeah. He really respects you.”

Beca smiled wistfully. “He's a good man.”

Chloe decided to say something before the mood turned glum. “He's great! Now, let's start eating okay? I'm hungry from my run.”

“You went running today?” Claire asked while everyone started piling they plates with bread and fruit and other food.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. And then I fell into a pond.”

Aubrey rose an eyebrow. “Really?” She turned to look at Beca. “I'm Aubrey Posen, nice to meet you.”

Beca nodded. “Nice to meet you as well.”

Chloe chuckled. “Now that we all know each other, how are you mom? Everything okay at home?”

Claire nodded. “Yes, everything is fine. Your dad is working and your brother is still at college. I believe the semester is over, but he said he wanted to stay a few more weeks because of some friends.”

“Oh? So he finally made some friends?”

Claire nodded. “I guess so. That's what he told me but I didn't ask any questions.”

Chloe rose her eyebrows disbelievingly. “You didn't ask him? Are you sick?”

Claire chuckled. “That's not nice. And no, I'm not sick but I thought I should leave him alone for a while. Let him figure out what he wanted on his own.”

“That's nice. I wished you had given me the same freedom.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “You don't need to complain, everything turned out great.”

Deciding to change the topic, Aubrey looked at Beca. “So Beca, how are your injuries? Everything okay?”

Beca nodded. “Um, yeah, the doctor's did a good job. I need to be careful for a few more weeks and do some physical therapy. I should be fine.”

Aubrey nodded. “That's good to hear. How long is Chloe going to stay here?”

Beca shrugged. “I don't know. She kind of invited herself over. It's really hard to say no to her.”

Stacie snorted. “Don't we know it. When she pulls the puppy dog eyes out, nobody is save.”

Beca nodded gravely. “Yeah. It's awful. She even made me watch a movie.”

“You don't like movies?” Stacie asked.

“It's not that I don't like them, but I don't find them particularly interesting. I get bored easily and stop paying attention.”

“Huh. That's a problem. Chloe loves movies.”

Beca shrugged. “Well, she has to deal with it as long as she is staying here. But she could always just go home. I really don't want her to waste her time here.”

“Beca, I already told you that I'm fine with staying here and looking after you for a while. I like spending time with you.” Chloe said while she was munching on a tomato.

Stacie and Claire cooed in the background.

“Yes I know. And I'm glad you're doing this for me.”

“No problem.”

“So you're in the army Beca?” Aubrey asked.

“Um, yes, I'm a Lieutenant.”

“How old are you?”

“24.”

“So you started pretty young then?”

“Yeah, right after high school when I was 18.”

“You didn't want to go to college?”

Beca shrugged. “Not particularly. It could have been interesting but I'm happy where I am now.”

“But it's so dangerous. I just think a safer job would be better. For you I mean.”

Beca had stiffened considerably and looked at Aubrey. “Yes, my job is dangerous but I love it. I wouldn't give it up for anything. I don't care about the danger.”

Aubrey sat back in her seat, holding her hands up in defense. “That's okay with me, I respect your opinion. I didn't want to offend you.”

“None taken. I get this question quite often.”

“Okay then.” Stacie chimed in. “Why don't we talk about something different. Beca, Chloe told me about your nurse, Jennifer. Do you like her?”

Chloe blushed brightly as Beca looked at her suspiciously. “Um, yeah, she's nice.”

“You'll see her again tomorrow? At your PT appointment?”

Beca nodded and turned to Chloe. “Nice of you to talk about my schedule to everyone.”

Chloe shook her head. “No, listen, Stacie just asked me how it went yesterday and I told her about the hospital and what Jennifer said and then Stacie asked if you would see her again and, yeah.”

“It's fine I guess. Why do you want to know?” Beca asked Stacie.

The tall brunette grinned brightly. “Oh, I just wanted to know when to expect a jealous phone call from ginger over there.” She pointed at Chloe who was shooting daggers out of her eyes at her friend.

Beca turned to look at Chloe. “Jealous? So you were jealous yesterday! I knew it!”

Before the conversation could continue, Aubrey stood up and cleared her throat. “Does anyone want another coffee? I'll go and make some fresh coffee.”

Beca stood up carefully as well. “You don't have to do that Aubrey, you're a guest, let me go and make a new pot.”

Aubrey shook her head. “It's fine. You should rest your leg a little more, right? I don't mind it.”

Beca hesitated for a moment but then sat back down when Aubrey disappeared into the kitchen.

Chloe was just opening her mouth to say something when the ringing of her phone interrupted her. She pulled her phone out of her jeans and looked at the caller ID. She looked up at the table with an apologetic look in her eyes. “I'm gonna take this but I'll be quick. Beca, can I use your room?”

Beca nodded. “Sure.”

Chloe left the table, which left Claire, Stacie and Beca alone at the table. They looked at each other awkwardly. “What do you have planned for today Beca? Anything interesting?” Claire asked.

“Um, nothing. I mean, I can't really go outside. I'll be relaxing I guess. Nothing interesting.”

Aubrey came back into the living room with a fresh pot of coffee. “Where did Chloe go?”

“Her phone was ringing. She's taking the call in my room.” Beca answered.

“Who was it?”

All of the women shrugged.

Aubrey sat back down and poured fresh coffee for everyone. A few seconds later Chloe returned, her happy smile from earlier exchanged for a grim look.

Everyone noticed that something was wrong with the redhead. “What's up sweetie? Everything okay? Who was that on the phone?” Claire asked.

“I'm fine, it was nothing. Can I get some fresh coffee?”

Aubrey poured her some fresh coffee but looked at her friend suspiciously.

Before anyone could question the redhead further, she was already talking about her plans for the rest of the summer.

Nobody wanted to ruin the good mood everyone was in so they decided to question the redhead later.

The next two hours were spent in comfortable conversation, all of them having a great time.

After Chloe and Beca had said goodbye to Claire, Stacie and Aubrey, the redhead and brunette fell into the couch, feeling exhausted.

“They hate me.” Beca said miserably.

Chloe turned her head to look at Beca. “What gave you that idea? My mom loved you before she even met you and Stacie and Aubrey like you too. I'm sure of it.”

“But they asked so much questions and they didn't like all of my answers.”

Chloe snorted. “Of course they didn't like all of your answers, everybody has different opinions. But they like you, believe me. I think it went well. Did you have fun?”

Beca shrugged, snuggling into the couch and hugging a pillow to her chest. “Um, I think I was too nervous to have fun. But I like your mom and your friends. They seem like real genuine people.”

Chloe nodded. “They are. I'm glad that I have them.”

“You should be. You are lucky to have a family like that.”

Chloe smiled and relaxed further into the couch. “What do you want to do today?”

Beca groaned. “Nothing. Let's just sit here and relax for a moment okay? People are exhausting.”

Chloe grinned and nodded. “Okay.” She grabbed her phone and opened her Candy Crush App. She'd been stuck on Level 608 for the last few days and she really wanted to beat it.

Chapter Text

"Beca?"

"Hm?" The small brunette asked, lying on the couch with her eyes half closed while Chloe was watching a movie.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

Chloe sighed. "You really aren't interested in watching movies, huh?"

"Not really. But I don't mind that you like them. I'm comfortable here and I like spending time with you."

"Thanks, I like it as well. But it doesn't feel right that I'm watching a movie and you're just sitting there. Want to talk?"

Beca rolled her eyes. "We are talking."

Chloe glared at the small girl next to her. "Not what I meant. I meant the way we talked in our letters. About random stuff. I liked that."

Beca nodded. "Me too. Do you have a question in mind?"

"What would you do if you won the lottery?

"What kind of question is that? That will never happen."

"Just humor me."

Beca sighed. "Fine. Um, I guess I would buy a house. I'd put some of the money in a saving account and give the rest to charity."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Really? You wouldn't buy anything with it? And you'd give it away to charity? Don't you have any dreams that could become reality with money?"

The small brunette just shrugged. "I don't know, I don't need much. And I make enough money to buy the things I need. So I'd like to think that I'd give most of it to charity."

"Huh. You really are a good person. I didn't expect that."

"Hey!" Beca looked at the other girl offended.

Chloe couldn't help it and giggled at the cute look on Beca's face. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Sure you didn't. What about you? What would you do with the money?"

"Hm, I think I would buy a new car, treat Stacie and Bree to a vacation and give a little to my brother. My parents make enough to live comfortably. A house sounds nice, but I don't know. I'd definitely buy a dog."

"A dog? You like them?"

Chloe nodded quickly. "I love them. But I don't think it's fair for me to get one since I don't have enough time to care for him. But if I'd won in the lottery I'd be able to reduce my work hours so I could care for him. And if I had any money left after that I'd probably buy some stuff for my school. Better learning materials, maybe renovate some of the classrooms, I don't know."

"That's nice of you."

"Isn't it? That's because I am a nice person."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Hey!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're nice, got it. So do you have more questions?"

"Of course I do. There is so much I still don't know about you. Can you solve a rubik's cube?"

"How do you come up with all of these questions? Seriously, you're so weird. But yes, I can. The guys showed me how and now I'm faster than them."

"Really? I always lose interest in it quite fast so I have never finished one."

"Huh. Well, it's good to pass the time. I have a question for you as well. Have you ever had any brushes with the law?"

Chloe grinned. "Yeah. It was during college at one of our competitions. Some of our girls were fighting over a trophy with some guys and I wanted to stop them. I ended up with part of the trophy in my hand and the other part had smashed a window. Everyone ran away so I was the only one standing there when the police arrived because I was so shocked. I stayed in jail for a night until my parents got me out of there in the morning."

Beca's eyes had widened. "You've been to jail? Damn, it seems like I need to be careful around you. Wait, you totally stole all of my hidden money when you searched through my drawers, right?"

Chloe nodded seriously. "Yeah. I could have saved me the trouble though, you really don't have much money hidden away. I only found some dollar bills in some of your bags. You probably forgot about them."

"Yeah, probably true. Well, there is not much money for you here, but you can try some of my neighbors. The fire escape in front of my window leads to a few other apartments, you could try your luck there and see if they left a window open."

Chloe nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll do that later. What's the longest you have ever grown your hair?"

Beca only stared at Chloe. "What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously?"

"What? That's an important question."

"Yeah. Sure, it is. Well, the longest I have ever worn my hair was in junior high school. It went to the middle of my back but it took so long to dry it after showering so I decided to cut it off. I had it shoulder length for my high school years and then I cut it even shorter once I joined the army. And as you can see, this messy style hasn't seen a pair of scissors in month." She pointed at her chin length messy waves.

"I like it. Messy suits you."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Yeah, thanks. Hey, I just remembered that you wanted to introduce me to the world of a capella. Do you want to do that now? Do you have videos? I could really use a good laugh right now."

Chloe scowled at Beca. "Don't be mean. And yes, there are videos but I'm not sure I want to show them to you. You don't respect a capella."

"Um, well, I'll try? Come on, show it to me Chloe. I want to see what made you happy."

Chloe couldn't help but smile at that. "You are smooth, Mitchell, I'll give you that. And it's working, congratulations. I have a few videos on an external hard drive at home so I can't show them to you now but we uploaded some on Youtube. Can we use your laptop? I'm too lazy to get mine."

"Sure."

Chloe grabbed Beca's laptop from the couch table and put it on her lap. She opened the browser and youtube and searched for the videos of the Bellas performances.

"Oh, found one. Um, before I show it to you, I should probably tell you that Aubrey gets sick when she's nervous. She's a stress puker and she puked everywhere during one of our performances. It's pretty embarrassing for her and I won't show that video to you, but it will probably show up in the recommended videos."

Beca nodded slowly. "I get it. Everyone deals with stress differently. I won't comment on it."

Chloe smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks. So, this one was a video of the sign in my third year of college. We hadn't met Stacie yet at the time."

The redhead clicked play and a video of a bunch of girls dressed in some kind of blue flight attendant costumes singing ace of base's 'The Sign' started playing.

Beca couldn't help but grin at a younger looking Chloe dancing to a pretty awful choreography.

"Are you laughing at me?!"

Beca snorted. "No, I'm sorry. But you really look cute in that little outfit. And that choreography was awful."

Chloe rolled her eyes but had to agree. "It was, wasn't it? But I had lots of fun singing and dancing. Things got really interesting a year later. Wait a second, I'll show it to you. Here,these are the new Bellas. That's when Stacie joined."

The two of them watched a performance of the new Bellas performing another version of 'The Sign', this time however, 'Eternal Flame' and 'Turn the Beat Around' were mixed into the song. When the song ended, Chloe looked at Beca expectantly.

"Um..."

"Did you like it?"

"... Your voices sounded good together."

Chloe deflated visibly and lowered her eyes. "You didn't like it, did you?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean I really like your singing voice and you guys did some pretty good harmonies. I'm just not overly fond of the song choices. They all seem kinda old fashioned to me."

The redhead sighed deeply. "I know. I wasn't a fan of the songs either but Aubrey insisted. And we had fun, that's the most important thing, right?"

Beca nodded quickly, happy that she had apparently not insulted Chloe too much. "Yes. Why didn't you change the songs a little? Sing something from this century?"

"Aubrey didn't want to. Bree and I weren't treated very well by the old Bellas and when they graduated, we became captains. Aubrey was obsessed with being better than the old Bellas and she thought the only way to do that would be to sing the same songs in the same outfits but be better than them. We never won the championship but those girl became my best friends."

"That's what matters most Chloe. You found people who are willing to stand next to you in those horrible outfits and embarrass themselves doing some lame choreography on stage."

Chloe scrunched up her face and slapped Beca's arm lightly. "Hey!"

Beca snickered at the affronted look on Chloe's face.

"We weren't that bad."

The tiny brunette just looked at her.

"... Okay, we were terrible."

"No you weren't, your songs were."

"I got it, okay? Are you finished making fun of me now?"

Beca nodded but couldn't help it and continued to smile.

"Now that you've seen my past, show me what you are doing on your laptop. Please?"

Beca thought about it for a moment but agreed eventually. Chloe wouldn't let it go anytime soon and Beca wanted to get it over with. "Fine. Give me that." She said and grabbed the laptop from Chloe to set it down on her own lap. She opened a folder labeled 'Mixes' and scrolled a while until she found one that she was a little proud of.

"So, I'm kind of a wannabe DJ. I mix songs together. But I'm not very good at it."

Chloe's eyes had widened and she smiled brightly. "That's so awesome! Can I listen to it? Just one song?"

Beca nodded and clicked play on a file that was labeled as 'Titanium/Bulletproof'. Chloe listened closely to the song while Beca watched Chloe. She hadn't cringed yet, so that was a good sign, right?

Chloe squealed as soon as the song was finished. "Beca!! This is amazing! I love it!"

"Umm, thanks? I know that it's not very good, you don't have to pretend. But it's fun so I've spent a lot of my time mixing random songs together."

"No Beca, it's really good! Believe me, I've heard some mixes over the time and yours are really great. I think you could really make a career out of this, you seem to have a good ear for music."

Beca rolled her eyes. "You've only heard one song."

"I don't need to hear more. You are awesome."

"Right."

"You can't take a compliment, can you? Anyway, can I listen to another one?"

"... I knew you would ask. You know what? I don't care, here, listen to whatever you want." She pushed the laptop with the open folder over to Chloe who grabbed it excitedly and started scrolling through the different songs quickly, trying to decide which one she wanted to listen to first.

Beca just leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment.

The brunette lieutenant jolted awake suddenly when she registered a hand shaking her shoulder. She looked up to see Chloe smiling down at her.

"You fell asleep, Beca. Why don't you head over to your room and sleep in your bed? Trust me, you don't want to sleep on this couch."

Beca groaned but nodded slowly. "Yeah, good idea." Beca carefully stood up from the couch and hobbled over to the bathroom.

"Do you need help with your bandages?"

Beca shook her head. "No, I can do it. I'll change them quickly, brush my teeth and then I'm going to bed. I'm really tired."

Chloe grinned. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Oh, before I forget, I left something for you on the kitchen table." Beca said quickly and vanished into the bathroom.

Chloe stared at the closed bathroom door in confusion for a moment but quickly turned around and walked over to the kitchen table. What she found there, immediately painted a big smile on her face. A letter. Beca had written her another letter.

The redhead immediately opened it and started reading it hungrily.

Hey Chloe

So this is kinda strange, writing to you when you're sleeping on that uncomfortable piece of sh... furniture that I call a couch in the other room. But as you probably noticed, I'm not so good with words.

I don't know why, but I can't express myself properly so I thought continuing to write to you was a good idea. You told me that you like exchanging letters as well, so I hope you don't have a problem with it.

So, I'm currently lying in my bed, staring out of the window every once in a while at 3 o'clock in the morning. I woke up after a few hours of sleep and my mind won't shut up so I decided to start writing this letter.

Thank you. For helping me out and for staying with me. You really don't have to do that but I guess you've made your decision. And I'm grateful for that. I really enjoy your company.

I'm terrified of meeting your friends in the morning. Just so you know. You'll probably read this letter sometime after breakfast and if I gave it to you, I probably haven't died of embarrassment. That's good right?

Oh, you definitely have to tell me what you were doing with Jennifer earlier. It looked like you were acting jealous and she was too, but that can't be, because you two have nothing in common to act jealous about. I really don't get it. Would you be so kind and explain it to me? Please?

I think it was your turn to write me a letter, but I'll just send you two to remind you of it :D

If I remember correctly, I asked you about Tom, right? I think we were on the topic of relationships and I asked you if had been in any serious relationships before him?

And I distinctly remember asking you when your birthday was, so tell me!! :D

Let's continue with the random questions, okay? I think that was a good way to get to know each other.

So, first question:

Are you a good cook?

Can you juggle? I can't by the way. And I don't really know why I should learn it. But can you do it?

How much spam email do you tend to get in a week?

As a kid, were you ever frightened of a monster under the bed or in the cupboard?

Can you play chess?

Are you a bad loser?

Do you need to write things down to remember them?

How many hats do you own?

If evil-doers invaded the USA would you rush to the battlelines to defend the motherland or hide in a box?

Would you ever want to learn how to fly?

Do you love or loathe Harry Potter? (Think carefully on this one, the answer may be the turning point in our relationship, muggle!)

If you were famous, would you want a statue or a building named after you?

Do you talk to yourself?

Okay, I think that's enough for now :D Don't ask me how I come up with this strange stuff. I just do.

Um, so. I know that my couch is super uncomfortable. I would never offer this to you in person, but I think I can write it down. If you want, I can share my bed with you. It's big enough for two people and I don't want you to get back problems from the couch. I know that this is weird since we don't know each other that well, but I thought I would offer. Just come into my room in the evening if you want to take me up on it. But please don't comment on it, that would be embarrassing. If you don't want to, that's fine too, just forget I wrote anything.

I would like it if you wrote me back, even if we are seeing each other every day for the next few weeks. Writing is easier for me than talking.

I hope you aren't regretting your decision to stay with me already.

Anyway, I'll try to go to sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be very exhausting. I hate meeting new people. (But I'm sure your friends and mother are nice)

Good night or something.

Beca

Chloe read the letter twice before she turned around to look at Beca's closed bedroom door. Should she really take her up on her offer? That question got answered very quickly when she thought about the way she had slept last night.

She was really happy that Beca wanted to continue writing letters to her and she has no problems writing her back. She loved to have something tangible to remember it later.

Chloe looked at the clock on the wall in the kitchen and saw that it was just past ten pm. She decided that was a good time to head to bed and she wanted to catch Beca awake.

The redhead took her sleep clothes to the bathroom and quickly changed and brushed her teeth. When she was finished with that, she carefully opened the door to Beca's room.

"Beca?" She whispered quietly.

"Come in." Beca said drowsily and patted the mattress next to her. Chloe carefully tiptoed into the room and slid into the bed quickly.

She exhaled deeply as soon as Beca had given her part of her blanket. "Much better than the couch."

Beca snorted. "Yeah. I told you so."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks."

"No problem."

They quietly lay next to each other for a few minutes when Beca decided to talk again. "Chloe?"

"Hm?"

"Who was that on the phone this morning?"

Chloe remained quiet for a few minutes and Beca was just about to turn around and try to sleep, when the redhead answered.

"It was Tom. He was drunk and wanted to get back together. He begged me to come back to him."

"He was drunk that early in the morning?"

"Yeah. Maybe he was still drunk from yesterday, I don't know and I don't really care."

"So you don't want to? Get back together with him?"

"No. I'm fine with the way it is now. Tom belongs to the past."

"Did you tell him that?"

"Yes."

"Was he okay with that?"

"Of course not."

"He won't try anything drastic, right?"

Chloe snorted. "Oh please, Tom is a teddy bear. He is harmless."

"If you say so. Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just worry about yourself for now, okay? You need to get better."

"Yeah, yeah, I will. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem. I'll try to get some sleep now, alright?"

"Yes. Good night Chloe."

"Night Beca."

Chapter Text

The first thing Beca noticed the next morning was pain. Her chest felt really tight and she couldn’t breathe properly. She was breathing heavily, trying to get enough oxygen into her system. She opened her eyes and looked around, trying to find the source of her pain.

What she saw calmed her down a little, but the pain still didn’t go away. Chloe’s head was lying on her chest, her red hair spilling over Beca’s shoulder and her left arm thrown over Beca’s middle. Beca would normally welcome such a sight, but her chest was hurting badly.

“Chloe?” She whispered, trying to wake the redhead up.

“Hm?”

“Chloe … wake up, you’re … hurting me.”

Chloe’s eyes opened quickly and as soon as she noticed that she was lying on top of Beca, she jumped up immediately and put some distance between them.

“Oh my god Beca, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I tend to snuggle when there is another person next to me and I didn’t think about your injuries last night. Please say something.”

Beca tried to calm her breathing down and sat up a little, right hand pressed onto her chest. “It’s … fine. I … just need … a minute.”

Chloe nodded and watched the other woman worriedly.

A few minutes later Beca’s breathing had calmed down and she smiled at Chloe. “I’m fine. Don’t look so worried.” She took her right hand from her chest to comb through her hair, but before she could make contact with her head, Chloe screamed.

“You’re bleeding!”

“Huh?” The little brunette looked at her hand and saw that it was stained red with her blood. “Oh.”

“Oh?! OH?! Beca! Get up, we need to take care of that. I’m so sorry, I should have just slept on the couch.”

Beca rolled her eyes but followed Chloe into the bathroom. “Relax dude, I’m not dying. It’s just a little blood, the worst that could have happened is that some of the stitches ripped open.”

Chloe stopped in front of the sink and looked at Beca expectantly.

“What?”

“Get rid of the top Beca. We need to see if something ripped open.”

“I distinctly remember us having this conversation two days ago. And you blatantly used the opportunity to check out my boobs.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sorry, now get rid of the top. I want to know how bad it is.”

“I can do it myself. You don’t have to stay.”

“Yes I do. Now get to it before you bleed out on the bathroom floor.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

“I’m not kidding.”

“Ugh, fine.” Beca grumbled a little but carefully lifted her arms to get out of the black tank top she had been wearing while she slept. When Beca couldn’t get her arms high enough without wincing in pain, Chloe wordlessly moved closer to her and carefully lifted the tank top over Beca’s head. The little brunette gave her a small smile in thanks and looked down at her bandages and crossed her arms in front of her breasts.

They were spotted with red bloody spots but the bandage hadn’t completely bled through.

“See? Just a little blood, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m so sorry Beca. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know Chloe, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I hurt you.”

“Yes you did but it was an accident. And it’s fine now, it doesn’t hurt worse than yesterday. I’ll be fine.”

“We need to change the bandages.”

Beca nodded. “Yes. But I can do it on my own. Please?”

“I promise I won’t look, I just want to help you. Sorry for teasing you the other day.”

“I’m just not comfortable being naked around people. I’d really like to do it on my own. I’ll call you if I need help, okay?”

Chloe sighed. “Okay, but the moment you can’t get the bandages on properly or if you can’t get dressed without it being painful, you call me, deal?”

Beca nodded. “I will. Can you maybe get me some stuff to wear? I think I’ll take a shower to get rid of the blood and I don’t want to hobble back into my room and get clothes or worse, get blood on them.”

Chloe smiled at her sadly. “Sure. Just a second.”

The redhead left the bathroom only to come back with Beca’s clothes a minute later. “Here, I hope I got everything. You call me if you need help, okay?”

“Yes, I already agreed to that. And thanks.”

“No problem.” Chloe said and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Beca sighed and looked into the mirror. The bandages that covered her scar had turned red in a wobbly vertical line. She sighed and started peeling it off.

“Huh, it’s not as bad as I expected.” Beca mumbled as she looked at the blood smeared scar in the middle of her chest. She took a wash cloth, dipped it in water and carefully dabbed at the wound, trying to get rid of the blood.

When it was reasonably clean, Beca took a moment to study the scar. Most of the surrounding tissue was irritated and red but the scar itself looked okay. She could make out the places were it had ripped open a little but they were small enough to heal without new stitches.

She quickly undid the bandage on her leg and stepped into the shower, getting rid of the rest of the blood. Showering still took a lot of time and careful maneuvering but Beca managed to do it. She was showered and dressed again 45 minutes later and stepped out of the bathroom to find Chloe lounging on her bed and typing something on her phone.

“You’ve been doing something productive, huh?”

Chloe turned around and looked at Beca who was standing in front of her with another pair of sweats and a dark blue shirt. “It’s early. I don’t need to be productive. Did everything go okay?”

Beca nodded as she sat down on her bed. “Yeah, it was tricky but I managed.”

“You could have asked for help, you know?”

The small brunette rolled her eyes. “Yeah I know, but it worked out okay. I don’t like having to depend on someone.”

“I get it. But don’t hesitate to ask.”

Beca only groaned.

“What are your plans for today?”

The small brunette shrugged. “I guess we need to go and get some groceries. And I have my session with Jennifer in the afternoon. Apart from that I’m free to do whatever.”

“Jennifer, huh? Are you excited?”

"Ugh, not that again. It’s physical therapy, why should I be excited about that? It will hurt and it will show me exactly what I can’t do at the moment. So no, I’m not excited. But it’s necessary.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought about that. Sorry for asking. I’ll take a quick shower and after that we can go grocery shopping?”

“Sure. Take your time, I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”

Chloe giggled and disappeared into the bathroom.

Beca took the time to walk into the kitchen and make a pot of coffee. A good day needed to start with a good strong coffee, otherwise she would be cranky and nobody wanted to see that.

As soon as the coffee was done, she poured herself a cup, put an empty cup next to the pot for Chloe and sat down at the kitchen table. She wasn't really hungry and didn't particularly want to make breakfast, so she just sipped her coffee and decided to ask Chloe if they could just get something on the way.

The tiny brunette was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her cell phone ring. She groaned when she realized that she had left it in her bedroom, but she stood up and slowly walked over to her bed and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Becs, it's Jesse."

"Hey, what's up? Everything okay in your part of the world?" Beca asked and sat down on her bed, back resting against her headboard and legs stretched out in front of her.

Jesse chuckled. "Yes, don't worry. Everything is quiet. How are you doing? What's it like living with Chloe?"

"I'm fine. My chest still feels tight and I'm not that steady on my legs yet, but it will get better. I'm having PT this afternoon, so that should help a little. And I'm not living with her. She's just staying over until your mom can make it. But I'm really grateful that she is doing this for me."

"I'm glad you're doing okay. We were really worried about you."

"I know. But I will be back as soon as I can."

"Yeah. We'll be happy to have you back. But don't rush anything, your injuries are quite serious and I don't want to see you back in action when you're still hurt. So take your time. It's time that you finally got some vacation time. Even if it's forced."

Beca rolled her eyes. "I don't need a vacation. But it's nice that I can sleep in a little."

"I bet. I can't even remember the last time I could sleep for as long as I wanted to."

"You visited your mom two months ago and told me that you slept through the first two days."

"See? Two whole months ago! I can't even remember what it was like."

"Right."

"What? It's true!"

"If you say so."

"Aw, come on Becs, be nice. You didn't answer my question though. Are you getting along with Chloe?"

"That wasn't your question but fine. She's nice and we're friends. It's nice to have someone around when I'm at ho... Oh my god! Chloe!"

"What? Beca? Hello?"

"You can't just walk around naked! I already told you that!"

"What do you mean, I've seen it before? That's not the point! Please get some clothes on, you're making me uncomfortable!"

"Yes! And it's my bedroom, can you warn me next time? Okay, scratch that, there won't be a next time. I'm enforcing a new rule. You have to take your clothes into the bathroom with you every time you take a shower. You are not allowed to leave that room with less than two articles of clothing on, got it?"

"No! Socks don't count as two articles! Get dressed!"

"I don't care if you think I'm a prude. My apartment, my rules."

"Um, Beca? Are you still there?"

"Jesse? Oh my god, you totally heard all that, right?"

"Yep. What's going on?"

"Ugh, Chloe is awesome but she's really annoying me when she just walks around my apartment naked without any warning."

"Why is that annoying? Chloe is hot."

"Not the point!"

"It's not?"

"No! Can we talk about something else please?"

"Sure."

"What?"

"What? I thought you wanted to change the topic?"

"Yes but I thought you would come up with a topic."

"Nope. Okay since we don't seem to find a good topic, I'm hanging up now, okay? Calling you is expensive."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Talk to you later Jesse. Be careful."

"Always. Get better soon. Bye."

"Bye."

Beca sighed as she ended the call. She missed her best friend and her boys.

"Everything okay?" Chloe asked as she walked back into the bedroom, fully clothed this time.

"Yeah, it was just Jesse. I miss that loser."

Chloe snorted. "Sounds like it. So, want to get the shopping out of the way?"

The small brunette nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The two women walked down the stairs (well, carefully hobbled in Beca's case) and quickly drove to the closest supermarket. Chloe took a shopping cart and slowly followed Beca, who was using her crutches through the aisles.

"Okay, what do we need?"

"Huh?"

Chloe chuckled. "I asked you what we should buy."

"Oh, sorry. Um, well I don't have anything in the house. So we probably need everything. Food, drinks, snacks, washing powder, toilet paper." She shrugged. "Everything I guess."

Chloe looked at her with wide eyes. "You really haven't been here in a long time, huh?"

"No. And when I was I only bought stuff for a few days because I haven't stayed here for more than a week in a long time."

"I can't really imagine that. Isn't this your home?"

Beca shook her head. "No, my home is in the army. This is just a place I go when they force a vacation on me."

"Huh. Well, why don't we make it your home for the next few weeks then? What do you need to make a place feel like home to you."

Beca rolled her eyes but smiled anyway as she and Chloe slowly walked through the aisles and put stuff in the cart. "Home is not a place Chloe. It's a feeling."

"Aww!" Chloe exclaimed and hugged Beca from the side. "This is so cute! I didn't expect you of all people to be so romantic and cheesy."

"Chloe, let go of me. I can't balance on these damn crutches and you're going to make both of us fall." The redhead quickly let go of the frowning Lieutenant.

"Oh, sorry. But I couldn't help myself. That was some of the cheesiest stuff I have ever heard. Even if you're right. But I really didn't expect something like this from you."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's true."

"Beca? Is that you?"

Beca and Chloe turned around to see an elderly woman, who was wearing a nice dress with some flowers on it, walking over to them with a big smile on her face.

"Mrs Turner, hello. Thank you for keeping my place clean. I would have come over to your place in the next few days. But as you can see, I'm not that mobile at the moment."

Mrs Turner, an elderly woman with short stylish gray hair and friendly brown eyes smiled at the small brunette. "I'm glad to see you, Beca. But what happened to you? You look terrible."

Beca smiled. "I'm fine now. Small incident at work. But I'll have to stay at home for a while to recover so you don't need to come to my place for the next few weeks."

Mrs Turner shook her head. "Nonsense dear, you can't clean while you're hurt. I can come by and clean if you want to. I have done it for years, it's no problem."

Beca opened her mouth to say something but Chloe interrupted her before she could say anything.

"Sorry to interrupt, but my name is Chloe and I'm staying with Beca until she is better, so I can clean. You don't have to go out of your way."

Mrs Turner chuckled. "It really isn't a problem. It's nice to meet you Chloe." She held out her hand and the redhead shook it with a smile. "Are you her girlfriend?"

Beca's eyes widened and both girls blushed. "No! Um, sorry, but Chloe and I are just friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You two just seem so comfortable around each other so I just assumed it."

Chloe smiled. "No problem."

"Well, I have to get going girls. Have fun with your shopping and don't hesitate to ask for help. And you're both invited for coffee this weekend so I expect you to be there." The older woman said sternly, eyes twinkling playfully.

Beca grinned and gave the older woman a thumbs up. "Yes, ma'am!"

Mrs Turner laughed and disappeared behind another aisles after she told the girls another good bye.

"So that was your neighbor?"

Beca nodded. "Yeah, she is great."

"Yeah, she seems really nice. So we'll be joining her for coffee on the weekend?"

Beca smiled. "Apparently. She'll hunt us down if we don't show up so we shouldn't even try to get out of it."

Chloe furrowed her brows. "Why would we want to get out of it?"

The small brunette shrugged. "I just assumed you wanted to. Having coffee with my neighbor isn't part of your job description."

"If you say that one more time, I'm going to hit you."

Beca's eyes widened. "What? What did I do?"

"You said that helping you out was a job. Which it isn't. So please stop talking like that. I like helping you and it doesn't feel like work. I'm just hanging out with you and open the occasional door for you. No big deal."

"Okay, sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Fine." Chloe smiled. "Okay then. How about we finish this shopping trip and get some breakfast? I'm getting hungry."

Beca nodded. "Yeah, good idea."

The two girls put some more stuff into their cart and quickly paid for them. After that they went to a small bakery and each got a coffee and something to eat. They drove home and Chloe insisted on carrying the shopping bags on her own. Beca was stubborn and tried to carry one bag while she fought with the crutches and the stairs but she gave up after a few minutes and grudgingly hobbled up the stairs without the shopping bag.

She pouted as she walked through her front door and sat down on the couch heavily, crossing her arms in front of her while Chloe walked out of the apartment a few times as she carried the bags up the stairs with a smile.

"Aw, come on, don't pout, you can carry the bags as soon as you're better." Chloe said as soon as she had all the bags on the kitchen counter.

"I'm not pouting. But I'm sick of not being able to do anything."

"I know. But it will get better soon. Just a few more days, okay?"

"Since I have no other choice I'll simply have to deal with it."

Chloe grinned. "Yup. Why don't you go and change while I put the groceries away? We'll have to get going soon if you don't want to miss your appointment."

Beca frowned and looked at her watch. "Time sure flies fast. I didn't expect it to be this late already."

"Yeah, shopping and breakfast took longer than I thought."

The small brunette nodded and went into her bedroom to change her clothes while the redhead put the groceries away. Ten minutes later they met at the front door and made their way down to Chloe's car again.

"Man, I really have to start paying you some gas money. You can't just drive me wherever I need to go."

"It's not a problem Beca. Get in, we don't want to be late."

Beca nodded and sat down while Chloe started the car.

"So, when do I need to pick you up again?" Chloe asked as soon as she stopped her car in front of the main entrance of the hospital.

"Um, I think Jennifer said something about two hours. So around five?"

Chloe nodded. "I'll be here. Do you need help or can you make it in on your own?"

Beca scowled. "I can do it."

The redhead laughed. "Sorry for asking. See you in two hours then, alright?"

Beca nodded and smiled at Chloe. "Thanks. See you later." With that, the small brunette made her way out of the car and hobbled over to the entrance. Chloe watched her for a few seconds but caught her creepy behavior quickly and started the car again. She really didn't like leaving Beca alone with Jennifer.

Two hours later, Chloe was at the hospital again, waiting for Beca to come outside. She only had to wait a few minutes until Beca - and Jennifer - came outside.

Jennifer was hovering over Beca, trying to help her but she only made things awkward for Beca who was trying to avoid the blonde woman.

"Beca." Chloe shouted as she saw the two women. Beca turned her head and looked at Chloe with a relieved expression on her face.

"Chloe, hey. Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem." The redhead said as she walked closer to Beca. "Hello Jennifer."

"Hello. Are you picking her up? Again?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Again. I live with her so that's the least I could do."

Jennifer scowled at Chloe and turned around to look at Beca. "Okay then, see you at our next appointment. Tale care Becs."

She hugged Beca and walked back into the hospital.

Chloe looked at Beca incredulously. "Did she just call you Becs?"

Beca shrugged as the two of them walked over to Chloe's car. "She just suddenly started calling me Becs. I don't know why she is doing that."

"Did you tell her not to call you that?"

"No? Why?"

Chloe groaned. "Really? You are really oblivious."

Beca frowned at the older girl as they got into the small car. "Why? Can you please tell me what's going on now? I have a feeling I missed something. Again."

Chloe just shook her head. "No, everything is fine. Here, I wrote you another letter, want to read it?"

Beca narrowed her eyes at Chloe. "You are changing the subject."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Want to read it?"

Beca scowled and snatched the letter out of Chloe's hands. She quickly opened it as Chloe started driving.

Hey Beca :D

I'm so glad you want to continue writing letters, I really love them. And honestly, you don't need to thank me so often. I like being here and I like helping you. It's not a problem.

Awww, you were terrified of meeting my friends? Don't worry you did great :D Did you like them? I know that you said that they were nice but I'm not sure. You're always so honest in your letters, so it would really calm me down if you just answered the question honestly :) Oh, I just realized what this sounds like. I didn't mean to imply that you aren't honest when we talk face to face, sorry. You know what? Just forget I wrote that.

I'm really sorry for this morning Beca. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll sleep on the couch again tonight, I don't want to injure you again.

I'm writing this letter while you're at your appointment with Jennifer and I'm sorry but that girl really annoys me. Sorry. And no, I won't explain to you why I don't like her :D You need to find that out for yourself :D

Okay, time for your questions!

Sooo, serious relationships. Well, I had a boyfriend for eight months when I was sixteen. His name was Brian and we had a few classes together. He was cute, with his messy black hair and really intense blue eyes. We got along great but we decided it was better if we remained friends. We still talk from time to time. Then there was Christian. I dated him for about a year but he cheated on me with some flirty cheerleader. I caught them in his room. Broke it up pretty quickly after that. Then there was Tom.

My birthday, huh? It's on March 9 :)

Yes I believe I am a good cook. Mom taught me a lot and her cooking is amazing, I hope some of it has rubbed off on me. If you want I can cook something for us sometime soon. That way you can see for yourself :) Can you cook?

I could do it when I was a child. But I haven't done it in ages so I don't actually know if I can do it now.

... What? XD Where do you get your questions? But since I am a nice person I am going to answer you anyway. I think between 10 and 20? Depends on the week I guess.

Of course! And what do you mean 'as a kid'? I'm still scared if something rustles in my closet. Or if a door makes a noise in the middle of the night. I never let any part of my body hang over the side of the bed because there is a small chance a monster from under the bed will grab an arm or a leg and drag me down. Better save than sorry!

As a matter of fact, I can. My granddad taught me how and I can play it okay I guess. He totally destroyed me every time we played but it was still fun. Can you play chess?

I hate to admit it but I am. I always give it my all and when that isn't enough I get pretty pissed off. Mostly at myself but the people around me tend to get an angry look or comment from me. So yes, I am a pretty bad loser. What about you?

I don't need to but I still do. Just in case.

Um, do caps count? The one you wear when it's cold? I have about five hats and three caps for cold weather...

I won't lie, I'm scared of a lot of things. So as much as I would like to say that I would rush out there and save people, I'll probably hide in a box because I'm too scared to do anything. You would probably go out there and be bad ass, right?

In an airplane? No, too much responsibility. There are people who are qualified for stuff like that, they don't need me. I do like flying though.

I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!! Seriously, who doesn't? I have read the books a million times. Bree, Stace and I have regular Harry Potter movie marathons. We could do one at your apartment? Oh my god that would be awesome. Wait... You don't like movies. What about the Harry Potter ones?! (Now you need to be careful what you say! If you hate on HP movies, we'll have a problem!)

No, never. That would be so strange, I don't think I'd want that. It would be way too embarrassing.

Well, sometimes. But I think everybody does that, so don't judge me! D: That's perfectly normal!

So, now I get to ask you some random questions! :D

Have you ever cheated on a test?

Do you always wear identical socks?

Have you ever waked into a wall? I have. It was painful!

Where do you like to go to on a first date?

Do you have a favorite mug?

Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

Have you ever been scuba diving?

Okay, it's time for me to pick you up from PT so I'll end this letter for now :D

Talk to you soon! :)

Chloe

Chapter Text

The rest of the evening was spent with Beca relaxing on the couch, fiddling with her mixing software while Chloe sat at the kitchen table and did some of her summer work. She asked Beca to let her listen to her progress every half hour while Beca grumbled and accused her of procrastinating before she gave in and showed her work to Chloe. That process was repeated until Beca decided to go to sleep a few hours later.

"I'm going to catch some sleep Chloe." Beca said as she carefully stood up from the couch.

Chloe lifted her head to look at her with a confused expression on her face until recognition lit up her face. "You're going to sleep?"

The small brunette rolled her eyes. "Yes. Don't even think about sleeping on the couch, I don't want to be responsible for your whining tomorrow if you sleep on that thing."

"I wouldn't say anything."

Beca snorted. "Yeah, right. You would just look at me with those puppy dog eyes and awkwardly rub your neck. I would feel guilty all day so why don't we save us the trouble and sleep in my bed."

Chloe raised an eyebrow and smirked at Beca. "So that's what this is. You are just trying to get me into your bed."

The small brunette rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the light flush that had crept onto her cheeks. "I already had you in my bed. It was nothing special. It was kinda painful to be honest."

Chloe playfully widened her eyes and gasped. "That hurts Becs. I really thought we had something special going on. And don't even joke about that, it was traumatizing. I thought I really hurt you."

"Traumatizing? I was the one with the pain. Anyway, I'm going to sleep now and you'll better be in bed soon."

"Or?"

Beca sent her a nasty look as she took a step towards her bedroom. "I'm too tired to think of something. But it will be something bad. Don't test me."

The redhead snorted. "Okay okay, I'll be there soon. I just want to finish this one work sheet."

Beca nodded and walked off. Chloe remained sitting on the couch and grinned to herself. Beca was so cute.

Chloe continued working on her work sheet for another half an hour until her yawning convinced her to call it a day and crawl into bed. She quickly changed her clothes and brushed her teeth before she slid into Beca's bed. The brunette was already asleep, arms stretched everywhere. Chloe chuckled softly and carefully put one of the brunette's arms on Beca's stomach.

Beca moved around a little but didn't wake up as Chloe lay down next to her and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

The girls had nothing planned for the next day so they lounged around at home and had fun. Chloe spent a few hours on her summer work while Beca mixed but they found the time to just sit on the couch and talk to each other as well.

Beca couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to the redhead. They never ran out of topics to discuss and everything just felt comfortable. Beca never really had this kind of relationship with anyone. Sure, she had dated a few people but this easy atmosphere was something Beca had only ever experienced with Jesse.

But even Jesse was different. He strictly sat in the 'friend' department while Chloe kinda didn't fit into any of her prefabricated compartments. She just overshadowed everything and made room for herself in all of them.

Beca didn't really know what to do with that. She knew she liked Chloe. She would even go as far as to say she really liked her. And she was pretty sure Chloe liked her as well. If she had read the signs correctly - and she was pretty much positive that she did - Chloe had been acting jealous whenever she saw Jennifer. And Beca was kinda happy about that. It meant that Chloe was at least interested in her.

She was scared what that would mean though. Even if she didn't think about all the different ways a relationship could fuck up their friendship, there was always her job.

She doesn't spent much time at home. A few weeks a year if Jesse or someone else forced her to take her vacation days. But even if she did take all the days she could, it would still remain a long distance relationship. And she wasn't sure she wanted Chloe to deal with that. Not to mention the constant fear of deployment and possible injuries.

Dating a member of the military was hard. A lot of relationships hadn't survived the hard reality of war. And even though Beca was fairly certain that theirs would - if it ever came to that - she didn't want to be the reason for Chloe's happy smile turning into a worried frown.

She knew that she should probably talk to Chloe about this. Give her the chance to discuss things and maybe find a way. But Beca was scared that Chloe would just brush over all of her concerns and say that it will work out if she told her. Chloe is a person who would sacrifice everything for a person they loved and Beca was scared that - if they ever got to the point where they would utter those three words to each other - Chloe would lose herself while she tried to shoulder the heavy emotional burden of dating a Lieutenant.

So she thought that staying friends was the better option. It physically hurt Beca to think about never having the opportunity to kiss those rosy lips and to never wake up with the redhead in her arms, but she didn't know what else she was supposed to do.

There was a silent whisper deep in her mind that told her to give up her job with the army and do something less dangerous. But the last 6 years have been the best of her life and she really loved her job. She wouldn't forgive herself if she abandoned her team.

She sighed deeply as unseeing eyes stared at the open screen of her laptop.

Beca twitched when a warm body suddenly sat down next to her and peered at the screen.

"Hey."

Beca smiled a little and returned the greeting. "Hey."

"What are you working on?"

The small brunette shrugged. "Nothing. Just thinking."

"Oh? Want to talk about it?"

Beca closed her eyes and leaned her head back into the couch. "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Chloe looked at Beca with a concerned expression and furrowed her brows. "Are you in pain?"

Beca shook her head. "No. I'm fine."

Chloe wanted to ask if she was sure but thought better of it. Beca didn't look like she was in pain, just really sad and thoughtful. "I'm here if you want to talk, alright?"

The other girl nodded and send her a small smile. "Thanks. How is your work coming along?"

Chloe grinned and snuggled a little closer to Beca. "It's going well. I managed to get a lot done yesterday and today. But I'm done for today. I need to drive back to my place quickly because I forgot some stuff. Do you want me to get some take out on the way back here?"

Beca looked at her watch and saw that it was a little after 5 pm. She smiled at Chloe and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. Chinese?"

Chloe giggled and nodded. "Great choice. Are you going to be fine for an hour?"

The small brunette rolled her eyes. "Yes. I think I'll manage to sit still for an hour. Maybe I'll even get started on your next letter. Don't worry so much about me."

"Awesome! And I can't help it. But I'll try to tone it down a little. Sorry. So, I'll see you soon, okay?"

Beca nodded and waved goodbye as Chloe grabbed her keys after she put on her shoes and vanished through the door.

Chloe was content. Staying with Beca was easy and their friendship only grew every time they turned their heads to smile at each other. She hadn't felt this comfortable around a lot of people in her life and she cherished every second she could spent with her special people.

She loved spending time with Aubrey and Stacie and she enjoyed the time she had with her family. She didn't think anyone could make a home in Chloe's heart that quickly, but Beca had managed. The small brunette only had to smile at Chloe once and everything was lost. She had a firm grip on Chloe's heart and the redhead wasn't sure if she should count herself lucky or if she should be worried at the intensity of her feelings. A small part in her brain told her that it was a little early to consider a new relationship, that her break up with Tom hadn't been that long ago, but that thought was quickly buried under a mountain of pictures of a smiling brunette.

The moment she laid eyes on Beca, she knew that Beca was special. She is such a strong person and so easy to get along with. She is extremely loyal and knows exactly what she wants. Her awkwardly cute behavior whenever she is nervous is such a stark contrast to the persona she built for herself in the army. Chloe really loved the way Beca's different behavior in different social situations contradicted themselves but managed to fit together seamlessly at the same time.

She had thought about Beca a lot these last few days. She knew that she liked her and if she was honest with herself, she wanted to have something more than friendship with her. But she wanted to wait until Beca was completely healed before she broached the topic. She wanted Beca to have the option of storming out of the apartment or just slam the door in her face if she felt like it. Also, she didn't want to make things awkward while Beca still needed help.

Chloe suspected Beca knew exactly why she was acting the way she was whenever Jennifer was mentioned. Beca is very intelligent and even if she's acting a little awkward in some social situations, she can read people surprisingly well. She probably had some training in the army, for interrogations and stuff.

But Chloe liked their little game of 'why are you acting so weird' and 'I'm not telling you'. It was fun and Chloe wanted to make sure Beca had as much fun during her medical leave as she could. The brunette tended to think too much and often spaced out.

She liked their friendship and had no problem waiting for a few weeks until she talked to Beca. Until then, she resolved to have as much fun as possible and try to make her little brunette friend blush as often as possible.

Chloe arrived at her apartment in record time and quickly took the stairs to get it over with. She'd rather spent the evening cuddled on the couch instead of getting a few more clothes. She only brought one pair of work out clothes with her which is why she missed her run today. She was itching to check out some other route tomorrow and she needed clean clothes for that.

She rounded the corner on her floor and stopped short as she saw the person standing in front of her door, pounding the piece of wood as if it would move out of the way if he just hit it hard enough.

The redhead immediately noticed that Tom was drunk. And a drunk Tom was not a rational Tom. She turned around to move back downstairs - she really didn't want to deal with him today - when he saw her and shouted her name.

"Chloe!"

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before she turned around to look at her ex boyfriend with a small fake smile on her lips.

"Oh, hey Tom. What are you doing here?"

He moved closer to her until he stood directly in front of her. Chloe could see his dilated eyes and the light flush on his cheeks.

Tom reached out and pulled her into a strong hug. The redhead was a little uncomfortable with that but she didn't say anything as she hugged him back quickly and moved out of his range a second later.

"I wanted to talk to you Chlo."

"You are drunk."

Tom smiled. "Nah, I only drank one beer, it's fine. Can we talk?"

Chloe sighed but nodded. "Sure. But let's go inside okay? I don't want my neighbors to gossip behind my back."

Tom nodded and followed her dutifully as she opened her door and led him into her apartment.

"Where have you been?"

"Huh?" Chloe turned around to look at Tom after she had closed the door. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been in front of your door for half an hour. And I've been here yesterday as well. Where have you been?"

Chloe snorted. "It's none of your business. But I've been helping a friend. What do you want Tom? I don't have time for this."

Tom narrowed his eyes. "You mean Aubrey and Stacie?"

Chloe crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No. What do you want?"

"Do you have a new boyfriend?" Tom narrowed his eyes and glared at her.

Chloe scoffed. "No. If you don't tell me what you want we can cut this meeting short and I'll kick you out."

"I want to get back together with you. I'm sorry, I was drunk and didn't think clearly. It will never happen again."

The redhead sighed. "Tom, come on, we've talked about this. We're over, I don't want to get back together."

"But we were great together! Come on Chloe..." He was looking at her with big pleading eyes and took her hands in his. "I'm really sorry. I love you."

Chloe freed her fingers from his and took a step backwards. "I already told you that I don't want to get back together. I love you but I'm not in love with you. I want us to be friends, I thought you agreed to that."

Tom started getting angry and clenched his fists and ground his teeth. "That was before I knew what it would be like to live without you. Why don't you want to get back together?"

"I already told you. And now calm down."

"It's because of someone new in your life, right?"

It was Chloe's turn to get angry. She threw her hands in the air and glared at him. "No. There is no new guy, I already told you! If you don't want to talk about something else, I think we're done with this conversation."

Tom took a menacing step forward until he stood directly in front of Chloe who's back was pressed into her front door. "Whose shirt is that?"

Chloe furrowed her brows and looked down to see her shirt. It was one of Beca's plaid shirts. Chloe had put it on in the morning as soon as she had found it. It was extremely comfortable and she was seriously reevaluating her wardrobe choices. She needed to get herself some of those awesome shirts.

"I borrowed it from a friend. Please leave. You are drunk and I don't want to have a conversation with you like that."

Tom pressed her to the wall and glowered at her, holding her arms tightly to her body. She struggled a little, but his grip was pretty tight.

"Tom! What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Why are you lying to me? That is a man's shirt!"

"It's not! Girls can wear plaid too! And now let me go or I'm going to scream!"

"Admit that you're seeing someone new and I'll let you go!"

"I'm not seeing anybody! Last warning Tom, let me go this instance or I'll call the police!" Chloe was panting by now and she was sure her arms were going to bruise. Tom's grip was heavy and the crazy look in his eyes didn't fill her with confidence that he will do what she asked of him.

He shook her lightly and looked closely at her neck, trying to find some evidence to disprove her claim of not having a new lover.

Chloe had enough and started struggling a little more seriously. She took a deep breath and was just opening her mouth to scream when Tom's right fist hit her on the left side of her face. Her head snapped to the side and the breath she had taken to scream vanished out of her body in a quick swoosh. Her cheek bone and eye started pulsing immediately and she quickly put her hands on the throbbing part of her face.

Tom had let go of her the moment he realized what he had done and looked at his hands incredulously.

Chloe took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes to glare at her ex boyfriend.

"Go." She hissed quietly and opened the door behind her.

Tom looked at her with wide apologetic eyes. "Chlo..."

"Don't." She spat and curled her right hand around the door knob tightly.

He took an uneasy step towards the open door but stopped when he stood in it and turned his head to look at Chloe again. "I'm sorry Chlo, I..."

"I don't want to hear it. Go. And don't come back here. We're done." She hissed calmly and started closing the door, effectively shoving Tom out of the door. Once the door was closed and the lock was put in place, Chloe slid down with her back to the door and put her head in her hands and pulled her knees up to her chest.

She couldn't believe what had just happened. Tom had hit her. He had actually hit her with his fist. She never thought he would be capable of something like that. He had been such a great boyfriend, mostly attentive and he even sent her flowers every once in a while. They had talked about everything and had been good friends.

Her breathing became labored when the first drops of salt water hit her hands as she sat on the floor of her apartment with a throbbing face and broken heart. She didn't want to get back together with Tom but she had really wanted to stay friends with him. He had been a big part of her life for the last few years and she was sad that his actions had made staying friends impossible. Chloe didn't tolerate violence. She didn't care if it was the alcohol or some other reason, she wouldn't forgive him for this.

Chloe remained sitting for the next ten minutes, crying to herself softly, until the throbbing in her cheek made her stand up and check her face out in the bathroom mirror.

She carefully lifted her left hand from her face to examine the damage.

"Shit..." She mumbled to herself quietly as she looked at the bruising and swelling that had already started framing her left eye and cheek bone. She used one of her fingers to softly prod the swollen flesh but a sharp sting of pain told her not to touch the left side of her face anytime soon.

Chloe opened the faucet and washed her hands and carefully washed away the tear tracks on her face.

She sighed deeply as she looked at herself. There was no way she could hide the evidence of what had happened. Beca would freak out. Scratch that, her mom would freak out. Not to mention Aubrey and Stacie.

A soft sound alerted her to an incoming text message. She sniffed once and took her phone out of her jeans pocket. She slid her finger over the screen to see who had messaged her.

Beca (18:25): Chloeeee... Where are you? Food!

Chloe couldn't help but smile at the message. She didn't want to keep Beca waiting but she didn't know how she could explain her face to the small brunette.

The redhead decided to quickly grab a bag and put the things she originally wanted to get inside. Then she took a deep breath and messaged Beca back. Procrastinating wouldn't change the fact that she would have to face the brunette sooner or later.

Chloe (18:33): Sorry, I'll be there soon! I'll just grab dinner and then I'll be back. Half an hour, tops!

Chloe looked at the mirror again and tried to comb her hair in a way that would hide part of her face. She hoped the people at the Chinese place wouldn't pay much attention to her.

She grabbed her bag and headed to her car. Thankfully Tom had taken the hint and didn't wait for her anywhere. She quickly drove to the Chinese place she frequently visited and got some food. She didn't really know what Beca liked but she got her favorites and some stuff she figured anybody liked. Luckily no one seemed to notice the way Chloe was hiding her face so everything went well and she was back in her car after about ten minutes.

The smell of the food made her stomach growl and she really hoped that she could eat a little before Beca inevitably freaked out. She sighed again and drove to Beca's apartment.

She had taken Beca's keys so she let herself in when she stood in front of Beca's apartment door.

"I'm back!" She shouted and deposited the food on the kitchen table. She shrugged out of her jacket and started getting forks for the both of them. She didn't know about Beca but she had never really gotten the hang of chop sticks so she preferred a good old fork.

"Food!" Was the only answer she got as Beca peeled herself out from the couch and hurriedly hobbled to the kitchen. She quickly sat down and opened the bag with the food.

"What did you get?" Beca asked excitedly and opened every single one of the containers. "Oh! I love this! Very good choices Chloe! We'll share everything, right? I'm really hungry so I'm going to dig in. What took you so long?"

Chloe smiled and sat down next to Beca, praying that she wouldn't see her face while her own head was stuck in a take out container. She grabbed one of the containers and started eating as well.

"Of course we'll share. And I'm sorry that I'm late." Quickly thinking about an excuse she hoped Beca didn't pay her much attention. "My neighbor was outside when I arrived and we talked a little. I forgot the time. But I'm back now so I hope you didn't starve for too long."

Beca turned her head around and gave Chloe a grin. "It was nearly too late but I think you made it just in time." She was about to get back to her food when she noticed something and looked at Chloe again. "Hey, did you change your hair style?"

Chloe's heart sank into her stomach and she quickly filled her mouth with delicious rice. "No, why?"

"You look different." Beca said as she moved closer to look at the older girl. When she got close enough she managed to make out a little red and purple peeking out under the redhead's hair. She put her food down at the table and turned her body until it faced Chloe.

"Chloe. What happened to your face?"

Chloe's eyes had widened and her pulse was beating wildly in her veins. Shit. She knew that Beca would see her face eventually but she really didn't want to talk about what had happened. Sadly, it didn't seem like she had much of a choice.

"Nothing."

Beca narrowed her eyes and lifted her right hand to brush Chloe's hair behind her ear. The redhead didn't move a muscle as Beca uncovered the red and dark purple bruising on the left side of her face.

As soon as Beca saw Chloe's face she drew in a harsh breath. Her eyes were wide and she carefully retracted her hand from the other girl's face.

"Chloe..." She breathed quietly.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Chloe mumbled as she turned her face so Beca could only see the uninjured side.

"Who did this to you?"

Chloe shrugged. "Nobody. I walked into my door."

"Bullshit!" Beca shouted and the sudden loud noise nearly made Chloe jump out of her skin.

Seeing how much she startled the redhead, Beca took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Sorry. But please don't lie to me. I know what kind of injuries a fist can leave behind. And your face... That definitely wasn't a door. Who hit you?"

"Beca, please. It won't happen again."

"No Chloe! This is serious! You need to go to the police!"

Chloe shook her head. "No. He didn't mean to."

"He?! Who was it? Chloe!" Beca was vibrating with barely controlled fury. Who in the world had the audacity to hit the most beautiful face she had ever laid eyes on? She was going to hunt down this fucker and introduce him to her two best friends, she thought as she clenched her fists tightly.

"It was Tom. But Beca, calm down please. He won't do it again."

"You don't know that!" Beca exploded and was already two steps out of the room when Chloe managed to grasp that Beca had stood up. "Where is he Chloe? I'm gonna make him wish he had never been born!"

Enough was enough. Chloe was flattered that Beca liked her enough to avenge her but fighting violence with violence was not a thing Chloe condoned. "Beca! Stop it! It won't happen again because I'm not going to see him again. I don't accept violence in any form and he went too far tonight. I told him that we're over and that we won't see each other again. It sucked but I'll live. Now sit down and eat your food. And if you so much as think about hunting him down, we'll have a problem, got it? He is my problem and I dealt with it."

Beca stood inside the kitchen and stared at Chloe. "But he hurt you!"

Chloe sighed. "I know. And I won't forgive him for that. But it has nothing to do with you. It will be gone in a few days."

Beca's shoulders slumped and she went back to her seat. "I don't like you getting hurt."

The redhead smiled. "I know. I don't like being hurt either. But it happened and there is nothing you can do to change that, okay?"

Beca slowly nodded and grabbed the container she had eaten from when she first saw Chloe's face. She put food in her mouth but she had suddenly lost her appetite. She was about to push the container away to stop eating when a surprisingly stern glare from Chloe urged her to continue eating.

They ate in silence and when they were done, Beca got up from her seat and fetched some kind of frozen vegetable and a kitchen towel. She put the bag of frozen peas inside the towel and handed everything to the redhead.

"Here. Put that on your face, maybe it will stop your face from swelling too much."

Chloe smiled at her in thanks and put the cool bag on her face.

"Why did he hurt you?" Beca asked after a few minutes of silence.

Chloe sighed. "He thought I was in a new relationship. Because I haven't been home much and because I was wearing your shirt."

Beca's eyes widened. "It was my fault?!"

"No. Come on, it was his fault. I told him I wasn't in a new relationship but he didn't believe me. He wanted to get back together and I told him no. And he was drunk. It happened but I'm fine."

The small brunette scoffed. "Your mirror would say otherwise." She mumbled as she put the empty containers in the trash. "Want to watch a movie and then head to bed?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "You're suggesting a movie? Voluntarily? Are you sick? Do you have a fever?"

Beca rolled her eyes and grinned at Chloe. "No. But I thought you would want to do something relaxing for the rest of the night and I know that you like movies."

The redhead couldn't help but smile at that and nodded. "That sounds nice. Do you want to watch something specific?"

Beca groaned and headed to the living room, closely followed by a smiling Chloe. "I don't really care. Just tell me what movie to put in and I'll do it."

"Aw, you're so cute. But I don't really care. Just anything to make some noise. I'm pretty tired so I'm sure I'll be asleep in fifteen minutes anyway."

Beca shrugged and grabbed a random DVD case and put the movie on.

The two girls made themselves comfortable and started the movie. Before the movie started playing more than three minutes, Beca groaned.

Chloe turned her head to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just getting comfortable and remembered that I finished your letter. I am currently debating with myself if it's worth getting up to get it or if I'll just give it to you tomorrow."

A bright grin appeared on the redhead's face and Beca knew then that the decision had already been made for her.

"Now! Please, I want to read it!"

Beca grumbled a little but stood up again and fetched the letter from her bedroom. "Here you go." She said as she gave the letter to Chloe and fell back into the couch to make herself comfortable.

Chloe's smile hadn't diminished in the slightest and she eagerly started reading her newest letter.

Hey Chloe :)

So, I'm eagerly awaiting the Chinese take out, hurry up, I'm starving :D

Yeah, meeting new people is scary. And of course I like your friends. They are great and so is your mom. Don't worry so much :D

Again, it's fine. It was an accident and nothing really happened. I'm fine and if I'm not, I'll tell you, deal?

You are so mean! D: why won't you tell me why you don't like her? She is really nice once you get to know her.

We definitely need to cook something together soon! We even bought all that stuff yesterday so let's not waste it and cook together tomorrow, okay? And well, I can cook the basics. Nothing fancy but it's enough to keep me alive :D

Yeah, I can play chess. I sometimes play with Jesse or online. But just for fun. Want to play a game instead of forcing me to watch all those awful movies? XP

Hm, I don't think I am. I don't particularly like losing but if it was a fair game, I'm giving credit where it's due. But if someone starts cheating, they'll get an earful :D

Well, I would at least try to save people. I would be scared as well but that never stopped me from doing what's right. If there ever is an invasion you'll come to me and I'll keep you safe, deal?

Oh thank god! I don't think I could have looked at you the same if you told me you didn't like Harry Potter. And the movies are fine. The books are way better but I have to admit that the directors did a good job. Some were better than others, but all in all, the movies are great. And don't take it the wrong way but whenever someone (Jesse) makes me watch more than one at a time, I'm falling asleep faster than you can say Wingardium Leviosa. But you can do your movie marathon here if you want. But don't blame me for falling asleep halfway through, I warned you. XD

Time for your questions! :D

Well, of course I have. I think I don't know anyone who hasn't looked at their desk mates work sheet even once during a test. But I don't make a habit out of cheating. I like to accomplish things on my own :)

Um, no. I don't always wear identical socks. But since most of my socks are black, it doesn't really matter because you can't tell that they don't belong together :)

No, I have never walked into a wall xD I think there is a story there, want to enlighten me? Please?

I know exactly what you're doing there Beale ;D I won't answer that question, you have to ask me that in person :D

No, I don't have a favorite mug. But I guess you do? Let me guess, it's one with a cheesy message written on it, right?

Yep, I even owned a motorbike when I was younger. I sold it about a year after I went to the army. It's a great feeling, you should try it.

Scuba diving? Sadly no. But I want to try it, it sounds awesome. Let's go together?

We've been talking so much over the last few days, it's hard to think of any new questions...

Is it criminal to wear socks with sandals? Just a small suggestion from me: It is! D:

Have you ever made someone cry?

Do you believe in destiny, fate or free will?

Okay, I think that's enough for now :D

But seriously, hurry up with the food! I'm dying over here D:

See you soon :)

Beca

"You play chess?!" Chloe asked excitedly after she had read the letter twice.

Beca jumped a little at the sudden loud noise but nodded her head as she registered the redhead's question. "Yes. Want to play?"

Chloe eagerly nodded her head and put the wet towel with the melting peas on the couch table. "I'd love to. I haven't played in a while though."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Beca said with a wink as she fetched the chessboard. It was a beautiful wooden one with hand carved chess pieces.

"They are so beautiful." Chloe breathed as she inspected the pieces.

Beca shrugged and grinned. "Ready to lose?"

Chloe snorted. "You wish! Bring it on!"

The rest of the evening was spent playing some intense games of chess with Beca winning every single game. After about three hours Chloe decided to regroup and get some sleep. Maybe she could concentrate better when she wasn't so tired and when her face wouldn't hurt so much. The two girls went to bed and immediately fell asleep.

Chapter Text

When Beca and Chloe got up the next morning, their mood was pretty subdued. Chloe's face looked even worse than the day before, part of the purple bruising having darkened until it nearly looked black.

It hurt. Chloe was trying to conceal her pain but Beca had dealt with a lot of injured people before and knew the look of pain in people's eyes they couldn't cover up.

"Fuck that guy. What the hell did he do? He must have punched you with his whole body..." Beca grumbled as the two sat at the kitchen table and ate some cereals.

"Beca." Chloe said sternly, trying to stop the brunette before she started ranting.

"I'm sorry but honestly? I'm pissed. You look like Halloween has come early and you're in pain. That dude had no right to lay his hands on you."

Chloe sighed. "I know. And I'm not making excuses for him. But he is my problem and I dealt with it. Please don't get involved. You're still hurt."

"I hate that I can't do anything..." Beca grumbled as she played with the Froot Loops in her bowl.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You'll be in top form again in no time. And I wouldn't have let you deal with this if you were healthy either. So relax and use your energy to heal your body. It needs it."

The brunette groaned. "I knooow. But I don't like it. How do you feel?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Great. Never been better."

Beca glared at the redhead. "Sarcasm. That's my forte, be honest with me instead."

"It hurts. My whole face is burning and it's swollen so I can't keep my left eye open fully. I look horrible and I made plans to see my mom today. I can't show up looking like this, mom will call the police and dad will get his rifle. So, I'm great, thanks for asking."

Now it was Beca's turn to roll her eyes. "Right."

The redhead sighed. "I'm sorry okay? This whole situation sucks and it's making me cranky. I don't know how to explain this to anyone. They are going to freak out."

"It's okay. I know it's hard but you can't keep this from your family. They'll find out eventually, don't you want to be there and calm them down? And I'm still saying you should go to the police."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "I've made my decision. But I guess you are right, I should talk to my parents."

"Want me to come with you?"

The redhead raised her eyebrows. "You want to?"

Beca shrugged and got up to put her bowl in the dish washer. "I guess so. I mean, if you need some support, I could come with you. But it's your decision, I don't want to intrude or anything."

"Thanks for the offer. I think that might be a good idea. Having you around might stop them from storming out of the house the second they see my face."

Beca grinned. "Well, I probably can't stop them physically but I have an awesome authoritative tone I could use on them. Works like a charm on most people I've encountered."

Chloe chuckled. "Great. Please keep that in mind. Why don't you hop in the shower while I call my mom and tell her we're coming? Or do you need some help?" She added with a sly wink.

Beca groaned. "You are such a pervert. I can't wait for Susan to release you from your babysitting duties. Hopefully I won't feel like I will be molested in my own apartment any second."

"Oh shut it. You love it and now get out of those clothes. We have plans."

"Yeah yeah." The brunette mumbled as she made her way to the bathroom.

Chloe smiled for a moment before she remembered where she was heading in a little while. She sighed and quickly cleaned the kitchen before she sat down and called her mom. She normally loved visiting her childhood home but she had a feeling that today wouldn't be as much fun as usual.

A little over an hour later Chloe and Beca arrived at Chloe's childhood home. They parked in the driveway but Chloe just continued sitting in the driver's seat of her car.

Beca looked at her with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you ready?"

Chloe shook her head. She had tried using a little make up to conceal the darkness of the bruises on her face but Beca had told her that it didn't work. Her face still looked like a paintbrush had fallen into the darker spectrum of the color palette and had painted a wild expressionistic painting on the left side of it. "No."

Beca took one of Chloe's hands in hers and gave it a light squeeze. "Don't worry, it will be fine."

"Yeah. But they are going to be so upset."

"That's normal. You're their daughter. Of course they will be upset."

"I'm just nervous. I feel like I have failed somehow. I always thought I would never be one of the people who were beaten by their significant other. And now here I am."

"No Chloe, don't think like that. You haven't failed and this could have happened to anyone."

"But it happened to me. I thought I knew him better than that. I never thought he would be capable of something like that. We've been friends before we even got together."

Beca sighed. "I know. But it isn't your fault. Alcohol can change a person."

"If you say so. Come on, let's get this over with." The redhead said and finally exited the car. She grabbed Beca's crutches from the backseat and handed them to the other woman as soon as she had managed to crawl out of the passenger seat. Chloe had offered to help her but the small brunette had insisted on doing as much on her own as she possibly could. And getting out of a car was possible. It just took some maneuvering and time.

When both of them were ready, they stepped in front of the front door and rang the doorbell.

Claire Beale opened the door with a wide smile on her face that completely vanished the moment she laid eyes on her daughter. She gasped loudly and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "What happened to your face?!"

Chloe chuckled. "Hi mom. Yeah, about that..."

The redhead trailed off, not knowing how to start this conversation. Beca decided to step in and distract Claire for a moment. "Good Morning Mrs Beale."

Claire's smile returned for a moment as she looked at Beca and gave her a quick hug. "Good morning Beca. And it's Claire. I've already told you that." She said with a playful stern glare.

Beca grinned. "Of course. Can we come inside? These crutches are not as comfortable as they look."

"Oh! Of course, come on in." The older woman said and made room for Chloe and Beca to walk into the house. Chloe shot Beca a grateful look as they walked into the living room.

"Do you two want something to drink?" Claire asked from the kitchen, already rummaging through a few drawers.

Beca and Chloe shared a look. "Two coffees would be great mom." Chloe told her mom as she made herself comfortable on the couch next to Beca. "Where is dad?"

"He's at the hardware store." Claire answered as she walked out of the kitchen with three mugs in her hands. "He should be back in a little while. Coffee will be ready in a few minutes." She sat down in an armchair next to the couch and looked at Chloe with a serious expression on her face. "Please tell me what happened to your face sweetie."

"Um..." The redhead chuckled nervously as she searched for the right words to start this conversation. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you I ran into a door?"

Beca nudged her shoulder and Claire just stared at her blankly.

"Right. Thought so." Chloe said with a heavy sigh. "Well, the short version is that I was getting some clothes from my apartment yesterday and Tom was waiting for me. He wanted to talk, said he wanted to get back together. I told him no and he got angry, accused me of some stuff and hit me. I kicked him out. Yeah, that's about it. But don't worry, I won't see him again. And it's not as bad as it looks."

"Chloe..." Claire whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, I'm fine. It sucked but it happened. I can't change it now. The bruises will be gone soon, calm down."

"Calm down?!" Claire asked hysterically, stood up and began pacing in the living room. "He hit you! That fucking son of a bitch better starts running now, if I get my hands on him, he'll wish he had never been born!"

Beca couldn't help but grin at the outrage on Claire's face. She shared a look with Chloe who was trying hard to keep her face from showing her amusement. The small brunette leaned over to Chloe so she could whisper to her. "Your mom really has a mouth on her. But she shouldn't insult his mother, I'm sure she is a respectable woman and didn't have anything to do with the fact that he became a jerk."

Chloe was biting her lips by now, trying not to burst out laughing while Claire was still throwing insults like 'I knew that the guy was stupid but I didn't think he would be such an imbecile and actually do something' and 'I really wasn't born with enough middle fingers to show that asshole how I feel about him' around.

The redhead couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. "Mom!"

Claire stopped pacing for a second and looked at the two women sitting on her couch who were smiling widely. The older woman crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. "You know that I'm right sweetie. Why are you laughing? This is serious, we should go to the police."

Chloe sighed. "Mom, I dealt with it. I'm not going to the police. I already had that discussion with Beca, I'm not having it again with you."

"But why? He should be held accountable for what he did."

Beca knew better than to open her mouth and agree but she was nodding along as Claire made her point. Chloe noticed it and sent her a glare.

"Mom, I've known Tom for forever and I don't want him to get in trouble over something like this. I won't forgive him and I won't see him again but I don't want to get him in trouble with the police. I've made my decision, please respect that."

Claire sighed deeply and sat back down. "I'm not happy with it. But I guess it's your decision. I'll still rip him a new one if I ever see him again."

Beca snorted and Chloe had to suppress a grin as well.

"I have to say, I'll be stealing some of those insults Claire. You have a colorful vocabulary." Beca said with a grin on her face.

Claire smirked. "Well, feel free Beca. And do me a favor and kick him if you ever see him."

Beca grinned. "Sure. I don't know what he looks like but I'm sure Chloe will point him out for me."

Claire nodded. "Great." She stood up. "I'll get us those coffees."

Beca and Chloe looked at each other. "Your mom is awesome."

The redhead grinned. "Yeah. She's great. I honestly thought this would be worse. She took it surprisingly well."

"Well, you haven't told your dad yet, don't relax too soon."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Beca. "Great. Thanks for that."

"No problem."

Claire walked back into the living room with a full coffee pot and filled the mugs with the steaming hot beverage. "Here you go. Milk and sugar is on the table if you want any. How are your injuries Beca?"

"Um, good. Everything is healing the way it should and it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

Claire nodded. "That's good to hear. Were they able to tell you when you would be fully recovered?"

"They weren't able to give me an exact date but they said it could be a while. I mean, the injuries will be healed in a few weeks but I have to continue going through PT since a lot of my muscles atrophied while I was in the hospital. It works different for everyone so it could be only a few more weeks or a little longer than that."

The older woman nodded. "I hope you'll be back on your feet soon. But don't rush it with the PT, you should use this opportunity to rest up before you go back to your job."

Beca's smile faltered around the edges. "I want to get better as soon as possible. I won't rush into things and go back before I'm completely healed, but I'm not comfortable leaving my team alone for longer than that."

Claire was surprised by the firm tone Beca used to talk about this but she was even more surprised by the vanishing smile on her daughter's face and the tightening around her eyes.

"I didn't mean to ruin the mood, sorry girls."

"Don't worry Claire, you didn't."

Claire wasn't completely sure she believed that but decided to drop the subject, since she could hear the key in the lock of the front door and wanted to talk to her husband before he saw his daughter. "That must be Andrew, I think it will be best if I talk to him before he sees you sweetie. We'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Sure mom. Take your time."

Claire nodded and hurried to the front door to take Andrew straight into the kitchen to explain things.

"Do you think he will be mad?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah. Not at me of course. But I think he won't take it well. He's not a violent person so I doubt he will hurt Tom but he will be very angry."

"What about Aubrey and Stacie?"

Chloe groaned. "Please don't remind me. I'm hoping I can avoid seeing them until the make up does it's job right and covers the bruises completely. They will freak out if they hear about this."

"You can't hide this from them Chloe."

"Why not? I don't want them to worry about me."

Beca snorted. "They love you. Of course they will be worried. And do you really want to risk upsetting them further by not telling them about this? They are your best friends and I'm pretty sure they will be hurt if you keep this from them."

Chloe sighed and fiddled with the cup in her hands. "I know, but Aubrey will freak out and hunt him down."

"I'll join her and keep her from killing him." Beca said with a smirk on her face.

The redhead glared at her. "Not helping."

"Sorry. But I really think you shouldn't keep this from them. But whatever you'll decide, I'll support you, got it?"

Chloe smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

Beca smiled as well and was just about to refill her cup with more coffee when a ginger haired man came rushing into the room with wide eyes and a worried expression on his face.

"Chloe!"

"Dad!" Chloe said and immediately stood up to hug her father tightly.

"Are you all right sweetie?"

The redheaded woman nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I'm worried about you."

Andrew moved back a little until he could look at his daughter.

"Oh Chloe..." He mumbled as he inspected the damage done to her face while Chloe looked at the floor. She couldn't look him in the eyes, afraid the concern and hurt in his bright blue eyes would make her cry again. She didn't want to do that again, she had shed enough tears for that asshole.

"I'll be fine dad. This sucks and it hurts right now but I dealt with it. Please don't make a scene. Mom already freaked out, I don't need you to do the same."

"But..."

"No, no buts. Don't even think about doing anything. Things will be back to normal and I won't see him again."

Andrew sighed. "It hurts me to see you like this. I don't want anybody hurting my little girl. Ever."

Chloe smiled sadly and hugged her father tightly once more. "I know dad. Believe me, I don't like being hurt either but if you go off and do something stupid because of it you'll get in trouble and I don't want that. Can you please let this go?"

Andrew closed his eyes for a moment and hugged her even tighter. "If that is what you want, I won't do anything. But I can't promise anything if I see him again somewhere."

"Thank you."

"No problem, I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

Beca sat on the couch, cup of coffee in her hand and watching Chloe's interaction with her dad. She was glad that Chloe had managed to calm him down pretty quickly. He seemed like a nice guy and the redhead had only positive things to say about him.

She felt a little sting in her heart as the situation in front if her reminded her of her own broken relationship with her dad. She hadn't talked to him in six years and she didn't think they could repair the damage that had been done over the years.

"Beca?"

The small brunette jumped a little as her name brought her out of her memories. "Yeah?"

"I'd like to introduce you to my father. This is Andrew."

Beca smiled and stood up, hand outstretched for Andrew to shake. "Hello sir, nice to meet you. I'm Beca Mitchell."

"It's nice to meet you Beca. My family has told me a lot about you. And there is no reason to call me sir, Andrew is fine. How are your injuries?" Andrew replied as he shook the small brunette's hand firmly.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"So, my daughter tells me you are in the army?" Andrew asked as everyone took a seat again.

Beca nodded and began answering all the questions Andrew had regarding her job. She was happy to talk about the nice things the army had to offer, more often than not the dangerous side overshadowed the benefits of having a job with the army of the United States of America.

All of them talked for the next two hours, having fun getting to know each other. Beca was surprised how comfortable she felt with the Beales and Claire and Andrew seemed to like her, if she judged the appreciate glances they sent Chloe every few minutes correctly.

Chloe was just happy that everything went well with the whole Tom thing. She was glad that she had told them after all and smiled at Beca gratefully as she was telling them about all the mischief Jesse and her - but mostly Jesse - had come up with over the years.

"That was not as bad as I had expected." Beca told Chloe as they made their way back to the brunette's apartment later that afternoon.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I was glad that they let things go so quickly. Thank you for coming with me."

"No problem. So have you thought about telling your friends?"

"Chloe sighed. "Yes. I think I will tell them. But I will call them tonight. I'm not up for another visit today. I don't want to see their hurt expressions when I tell them."

Beca nodded understandingly. "I get it, I'm just glad you decided to tell them."

"Me too. Ugh, I'm exhausted. Can we just go home and chill on the couch for the rest of the day?"

Beca couldn't help but smile. Home? Chloe had called Beca's apartment home after only living in it for a few days. Deciding not to say anything about it, the brunette nodded. "Sounds good. Why don't we relax for a little while before we cook dinner together?"

Chloe beamed at her. "Great! I'm looking forward to it."

After arriving at Beca's apartment a little later, Beca showed Chloe some of her newest mixes on her laptop and even let her try her hand on mixing herself. The redhead picked up the concept surprisingly fast and was enjoying herself immensely.

In the evening, the two of them cooked dinner together. It was fun for both of them, they talked about nothing specific, enjoyed each others company and had a great time.

Shortly after dinner Chloe excused herself to Beca's bedroom to make a call to Aubrey and Stacie. Beca had asked her if she wanted company during the call but the redhead decided to do it alone. She had told Beca that they would do the dishes as soon as she was done talking to her friends but after she had been gone for ten minutes, Beca got bored and started on the dishes without Chloe.

She finished twenty minutes later and decided to head to the living room. She had just sat down and was debating what she should do now when Chloe stepped into the living room.

"Hey, how did it go?"

Chloe shrugged and sank into the cushions next to the brunette. "Well, as good as expected. I had to calm down Aubrey for ten minutes before she even listened to me. Stacie was angry as well but she was a little calmer. I explained everything that happened and I think I got them to sit tight and not do anything stupid. We will see how that turns out I guess."

"Well, that's good I think. Do you think they will freak out again when they see you in person? I mean hearing about it is different than seeing it with your own two eyes."

Chloe shook her head. "It will be fine. Bree forced me to accept a face time call so they already saw my face."

"Um, that's great?"

Chloe smiled. "Yeah. She will calm down soon. She just doesn't like seeing me hurt."

"Like every person in your life Chloe. Nobody wants to see you hurt. But okay, what do you want to do now?"

Chloe shrugged. "We still have to do the dishes. And please, whatever we do, let's do that here. I'm not in the mood to go out again today."

Beca chuckled. "Sounds good to me. About the dishes, I already dealt with them, so that's out of the way."

"Beca!" Chloe exclaimed and swatted her on the arm.

"Ow! Dude, stop it! I'm hurt!"

"You are fine, don't be so dramatic."

"Well, yes, but why are you so violent woman?"

"I'm not. But you did the dishes without me after I told you to wait for me."

"I was bored! And I didn't want you to deal with it after that phone call. Today must have been pretty draining for you."

"Well, yes, but that's not the point. You should have waited for me, I would have helped you." Chloe replied with a pout on her face and arms crossed in front of hr chest.

Beca looked at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Why the hell are we fighting about who is washing the dishes? We both hate house work."

Chloe couldn't help but laugh as well. "True. Okay, thank you for doing them on your own. But the next time we'll clean up together."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. Now let's do something fun."

"Do you want to play another round of chess? I swear I'll beat you this time."

Beca smirked as she pulled the board that had been sitting on the coffee table over to them. "You're on. But you are a hundred years too early to beat me."

A few hours later they were finally tired enough to go to bed. Chloe didn't even try to sleep on the couch, she just followed Beca into her room and picked up the clothes she had been sleeping in.

"Do you want to brush your teeth first?"

Beca nodded. "Sure, I'll be quick."

"Do you need help with your bandages?" The redhead asked with a big grin before Beca had closed the bathroom door.

The brunette only looked at Chloe blankly. "No." She shut the door a little harder than she should have, which made Chloe's grin widen even more.

"You're no fun Beca!" She yelled.

"I'm plenty fun!" The brunette answered through the closed bathroom door.

"I haven't seen any of that!"

"Are you challenging me right now?!"

"And what if I am?"

Beca was silent for a moment and Chloe was starting to worry that she had said something wrong when the bathroom door opened and Beca walked out of it with a scowl on her face. "I'm plenty fun. Just so you know."

Chloe snorted. "Really? How so?"

"... I am!"

"Very convincing argument Becs."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Shut up and go into the bathroom."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes! Now go!"

"You could have told me that you wanted some alone time you know?"

Beca furrowed her brows. "Alone time?"

Chloe smirked. "Uhum. How long do you need me to stay in the bathroom?"

"What?" Beca looked at the other girl confusedly until the girl's raised eyebrows clued her in on what Chloe had been talking about. "Chloe! What the hell?! No! That's not what I meant and you know it! Gah, you are so perverted, I can't believe you!"

Chloe had started laughing the second Beca's face had shown that she had understood what Chloe had insinuated. "Oh my god you should have seen your face! Priceless!"

"Chloe! Shut up! It's not funny!"

"It is! You are such a prude Becs."

Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm not a prude! I just don't talk about this stuff."

"This stuff?"

Beca groaned. "You'll be the death of me. I'm going to bed now, this conversation is over." She said, flopped down onto her side of the bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Chloe was still laughing. "Can I join you?"

Beca groaned again. "Don't make me kick you out!"

Chuckling slightly, Chloe finally decided to leave Beca alone and went into the bathroom to quickly change her clothes and brush her teeth. She turned the light off and slipped into bed next to Beca. She stayed still for a moment but the uneven breathing of the other girl told her that Beca was still awake.

"Becs?"

"What." Beca said flatly, not turning around to look at Chloe.

"Good night." The redhead said and leaned over to press a kiss on the brunette's cheek. What she didn't expect was Beca turning her head in her direction just in that moment. Their lips met and their eyes widened. They stayed still for a moment, not wanting to acknowledge that anything out of the ordinary had happened until Chloe pulled away.

"Um, sorry." She mumbled and turned around.

Beca's eyes remained wide open as she stared at the ceiling for the next few hours, thoughts running around her head wildly.

Chapter Text

Beca woke up the next morning feeling more tired than she had when she went to bed the night before. Her thoughts had kept her awake until the early hours of the morning when she fell into a fitful sleep, only to wake up two hours later when the bright rays of sunshine started dancing across her face.

She blinked a few times and tried to go back to sleep but her mind decided it was time to wake up and assaulted her with the memories from the night before.

Chloe had kissed her.

It had been accidental, she was sure, but it didn’t change the fact that their lips had been pressed together for a few moments.

She carefully put her fingers on her lips, trying to be quiet so she won’t wake the other occupant of the bed. If she closed her eyes she could still feel the ghostly feeling of Chloe’s lips on hers. They had been incredibly soft and Beca longed to feel them again.

She sighed softly and turned her head to look at the clock when she was met with beautiful deep blue eyes watching her. Jumping a little from surprise, she scowled at Chloe who just grinned in return.

“Hey.” Chloe whispered.

“Morning.” Beca grumbled and closed her eyes again.

“Tired?”

Beca grumbled again and turned her back to the redhead.

“Becs?”

“Hm?”

“Can we talk about last night?”

Chloe could feel Beca tense up for a moment before she forced herself to relax her muscles. “What about?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “You know what about. I want to apologize. It was an accident and I didn’t expect you to move your head but I’m not sorry it happened.”

“It’s fine. It was an accident.”

Chloe put her hand on Beca’s shoulder and tried to turn her around but the brunette resisted. “Becs? Can you please look at me?”

Beca sighed but turned until she lay on her back and looked at Chloe expectantly.

“Um, well. So, like, we kissed. And um, it wasn’t bad?”

Beca raised her eyebrows questioningly and couldn’t help the smirk that materialized on her face. “Was that a question?”

Chloe scowled and hit Beca’s shoulder lightly. “Stop it. This is hard enough as it is. Please shut up and let me talk?

Beca nodded.

“So, um, I liked that kiss. Did you?”

“Yes, but Chloe…”

“Can you please let me finish Becs?”

Beca sighed but nodded.

“Okay, so, if you hadn’t noticed, I like you. You are a great person and I feel really comfortable with you. And that kiss, I wanted to kiss you the moment I met you in the hospital but I thought it would be weird so I didn’t. And..”

“Chloe, please…”

“No, let me finish Becs. Please.”

Beca stayed quiet.

Chloe took a deep breath. “Beca, I like you. And I think you like me too. I was wondering if you maybe wanted something more with me. Like, a relationship. Because that would be cool with me and my mom has basically already planned our wedding and I don’t want to pressure you but I haven’t really felt this strongly for anybody before and could you please say something before I say something really embarrassing?”

Beca put her fingers on Chloe’s lips to shut her up, then closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts.

“I like you Chloe. You are funny, intelligent, passionate and incredibly beautiful. But I can’t let you throw your life away like that. I work for the army. My job is dangerous; I will be home only a few weeks a year. I could try to talk to you daily but that won’t work if I’m deployed somewhere. Do you really want to live in constant fear that something might happen to me? It’s not fair to you. I can’t let you do this.” Beca whispered the last words as she smoothed a few stray hairs from Chloe’s tear stained face.

The redhead grabbed Beca’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “But Becs, you can’t throw your life away either. Why won't you even try? Maybe it will work until you get out of the army.”

Beca tensed up and pulled her hand out of Chloe’s. “What do you mean ‘get out of the army’?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought that you can’t do that forever, right?”

“And why not?”

Twitching nervously, the redhead tried to get Beca’s hand back, but the brunette moved backwards, out of her reach. But she was still in the bed, looking at her. Chloe took a deep breath and tried to explain what she had meant.

"I mean, don't you want a family? And a home? I can only imagine how stressful being in the army must be, I just thought you'd want a break from that. Someday."

Breathing in deeply, the brunette tried not to snap at the beautiful redhead. "I know you don't know what it's like in the army, so I'm trying not to feel offended by what you just said. But you have to understand that this job is my life. It was hard for me to find something I wanted to do for the rest of my life when I was in high school and when the opportunity with the army came along, I decided to try it out. It was the best decision of my life. My team is my family and I don't really miss a home. I haven't had one of those long before I joined the forces. And yes, it can be stressful but someone needs to do the job. I don't mind being that person. I'm reckless and try to save everyone, I know that. People tell me that all the time. That's why I can't let you do this, you'll ruin your life. I don't want that Chloe. You're an amazing person and I don't want to hold you back."

Chloe's face was filled with tears by now but she tried very hard not to break out into sobs. When it didn't seem like Beca would continue talking, Chloe jumped at the brunette and crushed her into a tight hug.

"I can't convince you to see it my way, huh?" Chloe whispered into the brunette's neck.

Beca took the opportunity and returned the hug just as tightly as Chloe was holding onto her. "No. I'm not saying I will be with the army forever, but nobody knows what the future holds. But for now, I don't want to be the person that keeps you from living your life freely."

Chloe nodded slowly. "Okay. But I'll be waiting until you change your mind. So, friends?"

It physically hurt Beca to move her head in a nod but she did so anyway. Feeling the motion, Chloe couldn't help but let the sobs that had been threatening to break loose for a few minutes escape. She grabbed Beca even tighter and took in a few deep breath, committing the brunette's scent to memory.

Beca was trying to soothe the weeping redhead with soft whispers and soft motions across her back and over her hair but she'd rather just join the other girl in her sorrow over something that didn't even have the chance to see the light of day.

A few minutes later Chloe seemed to have calmed down enough for her breathing to sound normal again. She was still gripping tightly onto the other girls body, laying on top of her by now. She had no intention of leaving this bed and Beca's arms anytime soon. She knew that - if she left - there would never be a situation like this again, where she could just enjoy the other girl's presence in this way.

"Becs?"

"Hm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Beca sighed. "You really think that's a good idea? I don't want to make this worse than it already is."

Chloe moved her head backwards a little until she could look Beca into the eyes. "Please? Just once? I'll never ask again. I just want to know what it's like."

The brunette didn't have the strength to say no to the beautiful girl on top of her who was looking at her with pleading bright blue eyes full of tears, so she nodded once.

Chloe smiled sadly and closed the - albeit short - distance between them and pressed her lips onto Beca's. She just stayed there, savoring the moment and enjoying the feeling of the girl under her. She didn't move her lips much, just a few nips and strokes here and there. She kept her mouth mostly closed, not wanting this kiss to turn into anything else than the goodbye it was supposed to be. Beca matched her movements and obviously knew what Chloe was intending with the kiss because she let her lead and kept the kiss as chaste as she could.

After a few more moments Chloe separated their lips and moved her head back into Beca's neck. "Becs?"

"Yeah?" Beca whispered, still reeling from that kiss that had stolen her breath and was perfect in every way.

"I'm just gonna stay here for a while, okay?"

"Fine with me." The brunette murmured and wrapped her arms around the redhead again tightly.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?"

Chuckling lightly, Beca shook her head lightly. "No, I'm fine."

"Good. But you need to tell me when something hurts. I nearly forget that you are injured pretty badly with how you are always acting."

"Chloe? Shut up."

The redhead smiled and closed her eyes, trying to imagine waking up like this every day for the rest of her life. She knew that it was just a fantasy, a dream that will never come true but dreaming about something she desperately wanted sounded like a better option than thinking about reality.

The two girls stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each others company, not talking, just breathing.

They eventually got up when Chloe couldn't ignore her full bladder any longer and their phones told them that it was time for Beca's next PT appointment. They got ready and downed a cup of coffee each before starting the drive to the hospital.

"Do you think they will mind that I didn't shower this morning?" Beca asked a few minutes into their drive, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Chloe giggled. "You're fine. I'm pretty sure they've smelled worse before."

Beca playfully widened her eyes and gasped. "Are you implying I stink?!"

"Well, I'm not implying anything. I'm just glad I don't have to be in your company for the next few hours."

Beca playfully slapped Chloe's arm and huffed angrily. "I bet Jennifer will appreciate my presence a lot more than you do."

A small pang went through the redhead's chest but she ignored it and chuckled softly as she parked the car in front of the hospital. "I'm sure she will. Now get out of here. I have plans."

"What? Plans without me? How rude!"

Chloe rolled her eyes and grinned at the brunette. "Yep. Do you need help or can you make it on your own?"

"I can make it. Thanks for driving me. Have fun with your 'plans'."

"I'm just visiting Bree and Stacie, nothing exciting. I'll pick you up in two hours?"

Beca nodded and finally got out of the car. She grabbed the crutches from the backseat and smiled at Chloe. "See you later."

"Be good!" Chloe shouted as she began driving away only to be met with Beca giving her the finger as she looked in the rear view mirror. She chuckled for a moment but her mood quickly turned somber again as she remembered what had happened that morning. She appreciated Beca trying to lift the mood but she really didn't want to joke around at the moment.

She had sent Aubrey a quick message earlier, asking to come over today and the blonde had replied that they would be happy if she would stop by.

The redhead arrived at her friends apartment around twenty minutes later and rang the doorbell. The door was opened nearly immediately and she was pulled into a tight hug by her two best friends.

"Chloe, hey. How are you?" Stacie asked as she let go of her. Aubrey was still hanging onto her ginger best friend. "I'm fine Stacie. How are you?"

"Is your face still hurting?" Chloe slowly raised her hand to her face, having totally forgotten about the bruise still adorning her beautiful face. Aubrey let go of her then and mustered her best friend closely.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. I actually forgot about this for a moment there."

"You forgot about this?! Chloe, this is serious. That guy hit you. In the face." Aubrey said, clearly agitated.

Chloe shrugged. "I'm fine. Really. But can I talk to you two about something else?"

Stacie nodded and led Chloe into the living room and to the big couch taking up most of the space in the room. The three women sat down on the comfortable couch and stared at each other for a moment.

"What's going on?" Stacie asked with a worried expression on her face. Chloe looked sad and defeated, a look she hadn't seen on her friend's face often.

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. "It's about Beca."

Stacie and Aubrey looked at each other, not knowing what was going on. "Is she alright?" Aubrey decided to ask when Chloe didn't elaborate on her statement.

The redhead choked a little but nodded as her eyes filled with tears. She didn't let them fall though. She knew that Beca had made a rational decision and that she hadn't turned her down. Not really. She had told her she liked her too. Which was a small comfort but didn't make it hurt any less.

Aubrey moved closer to Chloe and wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her. "What's going on? Please tell us, you know that we hate it when you are sad."

Chloe sniffed but nodded. "Yeah, sorry. It's just that... life sucks you know? I finally find somebody who is everything I ever dreamed of and more and stupid circumstances keep her away from me. It's not fair."

"Um, I assume something happened with Beca? Do you want to start at the beginning?" Stacie asked as she shared a worried look with her girlfriend.

"Yes, I'm sorry. So yesterday evening..." Chloe recounted the events of the evening and morning she just had in great detail and didn't leave out her emotions while she was at it. This was a way for her to deal with things and if a few curse words and annoyed hand movements helped her, her friends weren't going to stop her.

Around fifteen minutes later, the redhead dropped her hands in defeat and fell back into the couch, just looking at the coffee table in resignation.

"I'm sorry Chloe." Stacie said and squeezed one of her hands tightly. She had moved closer to the ginger when she had told them what had happened and the three women sat nearly on top of each other now.

Chloe chuckled mirthlessly. "It's no ones fault. It's just the way it is."

"But why won't Beca even consider leaving the army? I don't understand." Aubrey asked, a little angry at the small brunette on her best friend's behalf. Chloe couldn't really be angry at Beca so Aubrey was going to do it for her.

"I don't know Bree. But I could never ask her to leave her job for me. The army is her life and I can't ruin that for her. Much like she can't ruin my life for me, even if I don't consider dating her 'ruining my life'."

"I get that but still. She's hurting you with this." Aubrey mumbled as she hugged her best friend again.

"It's fine. I'm sure this isn't easy for her either."

"So, what now?" Stacie asked worriedly.

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you aren't thinking about continuing to live with her, right?"

The redhead furrowed her brows. "Um, why not? And I'm there to help her recover. I can't just abandon her now."

Aubrey snorted. "It sounds to me like the midget can take care of herself."

Chloe frowned at her blonde best friend. "Aubrey, be nice. She didn't do anything to you. She didn't really do anything to me either. It's just a shitty situation in general."

"Yes but still. Chloe it will hurt every time you look at her. Do you really want that? Isn't a little distance to gain perspective the better move now?" Stacie asked.

Chloe sighed. "Probably. But I can't just leave her alone now."

"Didn't she tell you something about her best friend's mother helping her out?"

"Oh. Yeah, she said she would be back from her vacation this weekend."

"See? You won't leave her alone then. I think you can survive another one and a half days with her and then you can move back home when Jesse's mom is able to help her out."

"... but I don't really want to leave her alone. She's still Beca. My friend."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "We didn't say you should never see her again. But snuggling with her in her bed is over now, got it?"

Chloe glared at the blonde. "I know. No need to point it out for me."

"Chloe, we're saying this to help you." Stacie added.

"I know. It's just hard." She glanced at her watch and sighed. "And I should get going. I need to pick Beca up in half an hour."

"Are you sure you are okay?"

Chloe nodded. "I will be. Thanks for listening to me." She said and hugged her friends again tightly.

"We are happy to help. Call us if you need us." Stacie told Chloe as they accompanied her to the door.

"Thanks guys. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

The brunette and blonde nodded and watched as Chloe vanished around the corner. "What are we going to do about this Bree?" Stacie asked as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriends waist from behind.

The blonde shrugged. "We'll see what happens. Maybe have a little talk with Beca if things don't go the way we want it to."

Stacie chuckled. "We can't threaten her to stay here."

"You never know until you try."

"Aubrey!" Stacie exclaimed while she tried to suppress the urge to laugh at the determined face of her girlfriend.

"Just saying..." Aubrey said and moved back into the hall, Stacie following behind her closely.

Physical therapy had been terrible today. Beca couldn't concentrate and snapped at Jennifer whenever the woman tried to help her or encouraged her to try it 'one more time, you can do it!'.

She had been grumpy and moody since the moment Chloe had left her at the hospital entrance. Jennifer had tried to joke with her, make her laugh and - if she interpreted her actions correctly - even flirted with her to elevate her mood. Nothing had worked and when Beca refused to continue with the exercises, Jennifer had stopped therapy and sat her down. To talk about things. The small brunette had refused to tell her what was going on and after fifteen minutes of 'everything is fine!' and 'don't you have better things to do?!', Jennifer gave up and send Beca home early. She told her to 'feel better and call if she wanted to reschedule this wasted session'. As if Beca would even think about adding more sessions than she already had to go through. Contrary to popular believe - and what she always told Chloe - these sessions hurt. Not just physically, although that was bad enough, but they drained her mentally. She wanted to get better as soon as possible but her body refused to do what she told it to do.

So she was grumpy, pissed, sore and tired when she carefully sat down in a chair near the entrance of the hospital. She quickly looked at her phone and saw that she had half an hour to kill until Chloe would pick her up.

Enough time to get some clarity.

The small brunette pressed speed dial number 1 and waited until the call connected.

"Hey Beca!" Her best friend cried as he answered the phone.

"Hey dude, what's up?"

"Oh, not much. We're getting on a flight home in a few hours."

"What? Really?" Beca asked disbelievingly. She had never been on such a short mission before.

"Yeah. They said something about 'enough people' and 'taking care of our leader'. I don't really care to be honest, I'm just happy we're coming home."

"Home? The base?"

Jesse chuckled. "No, home. We decided to use some of our vacation days. The boys are visiting their families and I'm going to visit you. Isn't that great?"

"Um, why are you visiting me?"

"Well, I decided to help you out a little so my mom doesn't have to drive out to you. She said she'd still come but I didn't want to burden her with you if she doesn't have to. I'm sure you are a terrible patient."

"Hey! Watch it!"

"You are! You are terrible when you are healthy, I don't even want to know what Chloe's dealing with while you are hurt."

"I'm behaving myself perfectly, thank you very much!"

Jesse couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "That's probably because Chloe is the one taking care of you. How's that going by the way?"

"Um..." Beca stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the situation to her best friend.

"Beca? Everything okay?"

The small brunette sighed and sank back into the chair. "Not really. I need your help with something."

"Oh?" Jesse asked and listened as Beca recounted the events of last night and this morning.

"Do you like her Beca? Really like her?"

"Yes." The brunette answered without hesitation.

"Why don't you give it a try then?"

Beca groaned. "Dude, I told you about my reasons. I can't burden her with my job."

"So the only problem standing between the two of you is the army?"

"Yes, but..."

"So you would give this a chance if you had a normal job?"

"Yes, but..."

"Chloe wants to give this a try?"

"Yes, but..."

"She is a good kisser?"

"Yes, bu.... Jesse! Stop interrupting me and listen to me dammit!"

"I am Beca." Jesse said seriously. "The way I see it, you have a damn good opportunity to get something you really want. Do you really think you are going to run into a girl like that ever again in your life? And she is single right now. She won't be forever. And most importantly, SHE. WANTS. YOU. This might be the best thing that has ever happened to you. I know how you feel about the army Becs. But don't you think you have served the country for long enough? It's time to live your life now. I don't want you to continue losing yourself in your job. You deserve more than that."

"It isn't that easy Jesse." Beca sighed. "The army saved me. Gave me a purpose. I owe everything to them."

"No Becs, you don't. You did your duty. It's time to let go and live your life. Tell me, if Chloe was in danger but the army told you you have a mission and let the police handle the situation, would you leave her?"

Beca scoffed. "Of course not."

"So you would go against orders?"

"Well...it won't hurt anyone if I resolve the situation with Chloe first and go on my mission after that."

"You don't know that. The delay could cause an accident or maybe there are too few soldiers if our team isn't there and they'll get hurt."

"Oh come on, is this one of those moral things where I have to decide if one life is worth more than a hundred?" She groaned.

"No, not really. But if you want to go with it, feel free. What I meant was that you would disobey an order for Chloe."

"I wouldn't call it disobeying. More like... postponing."

"Beca."

"Ugh, I know. And I get what you want to tell me with this, but what else am I supposed to do? I'm not good at anything else."

Jesse snorted. Loudly. "Of course you are Becs. Your music is amazing. Why don't you try to do something with it?"

Beca scoffed. "Yeah, because setting foot into the music industry is so easy. I would starve before I made enough money to buy myself a sandwich."

Jesse groaned. "Why do you have to be so difficult? You are on medical leave for a while. Try it out, gather some information and see if the music business is something you are interested in. You don't have to make a decision right now."

The brunette remained silent for a few moments. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to see what the industry can offer me. But what am I supposed to do about Chloe?"

"Be her friend. I wouldn't rush into anything with her before you are a hundred percent sure what you want to do. But don't keep her out either. That only creates drama."

"Sooo, don't kiss her but tell her what's going on?"

Jesse laughed. "Yeah, that sums it up. I have to go now but I'll see you in two days, okay?"

"Okay, thanks. Wait, why are you on your cell phone? You are not supposed to have any reception down there?"

"You are asking me this now? After talking to me for half an hour? And remember, you called me."

"Yeah, but I don't understand? How?"

"We are staying in some building in the city before we get on our flight tomorrow. The reception here is quite good because some politicians are only a few streets away. I didn't really ask any specifics. I'm just happy I can call people now."

Beca snorted. "You would be. Anyway, thanks dude. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, bye Becs!" Jesse said excitedly before hanging up the phone.

Beca smiled for a moment, grateful for the happy boy that stayed by her side to matter what. Even if she wished he would go away and leave her alone more often than not. Right this moment, she was thankful for his advice.

After a few minutes of quiet thoughts, it was time for Chloe to pick her up so Beca started making her way outside. She only had to wait a few minutes until Chloe's car stopped in front of Beca.

Beca smiled and climbed into the car. "Hey." She greeted with a smile.

"Hey" Chloe answered, a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. "How was therapy?"

Beca groaned. How was she supposed to tell her temporary roommate about it without mentioning the other topic Jesse had said she should avoid? And why did it look like Chloe had been crying?

"Ugh, let's not talk about it for now. How was your visit with Aubrey and Stacie?"

"Fine."

Oh. One word answers. Beca had never done well when those were directed at her. Dammit. Looks like she needed to have another chat with Chloe.

Chapter Text

After the two women arrived at Beca's apartment, Beca immediately went to the bathroom to take a shower while Chloe went into the kitchen to prepare some lunch. She thought about what her two best friends have been telling her earlier and decided to just come out with it and tell Beca she would move back to her apartment once Jesse's mom got here. She didn't want to, she really didn't, but the sharp sting of hurt she felt whenever she looked at the small brunette told her that she couldn't keep staying here.

"Hey." Beca mumbled as she sat down at the kitchen counter - wet hair in a messy bun at the top of her head - and thankfully nodded to the redhead as she bit into the sandwich Chloe had prepared for her.

"Hey. How are your injuries?" Chloe asked as she slowly ate her own sandwich. She hadn't been in the mood to prepare an elaborate meal so sandwiches needed to do.

"A little irritated from earlier but fine otherwise."

Chloe frowned. "Earlier? So it did hurt you when we cuddled this morning? Why didn't you say so? I specifically asked you if I was hurting you."

"No, you were fine. You didn't hurt me. I meant at PT. We were doing some difficult stuff and I was distracted so I didn't pay much attention."

"Distracted? Should I ask why? Or did Jennifer wear her scrubs particularly low cut today?"

Beca nearly choked on her sandwich as she lifted her eyes to stare at Chloe who had her eyes closed and a hand pressed to her forehead. "Ugh, sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

Beca chuckled carefully, not knowing what exactly was happening so she decided to tread carefully for now. "It's okay. Um, are you jealous? Cause you don't need to be if you are. I was actually thinking about you and our talk and was in a bad mood because of what we talked about and Jennifer was a little mad at me for that so she even kicked me out early..." Beca stopped as she felt Chloe's hand on her arm.

"Becs. Stop rambling, I'm fine." She sighed. "But yes, I was jealous and out of line. Sorry about that comment. I shouldn't have mentioned it."

Beca put her own hand on Chloe's hand that was still resting on her arm. The moment the redhead felt Beca's hand on hers though, she flinched and moved backwards, sitting on her hands to keep them from moving where they clearly wanted to be.

Hurt flashed through the brunette's eyes and she looked down at her half eaten sandwich. She suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore.

Chloe had seen the look and couldn't help but feel for the other girl. "I'm sorry Becs. But I can't casually touch you anymore, even though I want to. You made it clear that we can't be together for now and I respect that decision. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt every time I look at you."

Beca lowered her eyes and stared at a dirty spot on the kitchen table. "I know. I'm so sorry Chloe. But you have to understand that I do want to be with you. And I talked to Jesse earlier on the phone and he asked me all these questions about what if things were different and stuff and I need to come to terms with it. As far as I am concerned the only thing standing between us is my job. And that job has been everything to me for so long. I need some time to think and decide what I want my future to look like. I don't want to string you along but I need some time to think but I also need you to know that I do want this. If you still want me that is."

Beca hadn't looked in Chloe's direction once while she had given her speech and was surprised to feel one of Chloe's fingers lifting her chin until she looked into watery blue eyes. "I do want this. You. And I understand that you need time. I told you this morning that I would wait and intend to do that. But Becs, I don't expect you to give up your job for me. I know how important it is for you. Please don't decide this based only on me. If the only reason you would give up your job for is me, please don't do it. You will resent me for it one day. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a year but you will some day. And I don't want that. And if I can help you in any way, please tell me and I'll come back here and help you."

"Wait, come back here?" Beca asked, panicking just a little bit at the thought of the redhead leaving her just like that.

Chloe sighed. "Yeah. I can't keep living here. I'll stay until Jesse's mom comes but after that I have to go back to my apartment. We both need some time and space to think and I don't think sleeping in the same bed is helping us do that. I won't abandon or leave you, you can call or text me any time and I'll come over. But I need to do this, Becs. For me."

Tears had been gathering in Beca's eyes for a while now but the last few sentences had made them fall without asking for permission first.

Seeing Beca trying to wipe away the tears that just kept on coming, nearly broke Chloe's heart. She knew that this talk was incredibly hard for both of them. It would be easier if they didn't have any feelings for each other. But since both of them had admitted to liking each other, this looming separation was even more difficult than it would be otherwise.

"I'm sorry Becs." Chloe whispered helplessly as she watched the small brunette try - and fail - to get her emotions in check.

"Please don't apologize so much if I am the reason that we are even having this conversation. It's not your fault." Beca mumbled as she tried to control her tear ducts.

"It's not your fault either Becs. This is just a shitty situation but we can work through it. I believe we can."

"How can you be so sure? This whole situation seems pretty bleak to me."

"It's overwhelming right now. Not bleak. I refuse to let this ruin our friendship. I believe that every kind of relationship can be saved if people talk about things and work through stuff. There are always arguments that seem impossible to argue against, but I don't think we are facing one of those. We managed to come to the understanding that we both like each other, right?"

Beca nodded hurriedly.

Chloe let out a short breath of relief. She hadn't really doubted what Beca had been telling her but a tiny part in the back of her brain had been wondering. "Good. We want to be together. We can face everything standing in our way together. If you want to that is."

The brunette nodded again, happy that Chloe seemed to want to work through this with her. The redhead had kept on telling her that she would wait but nobody had ever waited - or stayed for that matter - for long after there was an argument.

"Yes. I do want that Chloe. And I understand that you need some space. Hell, I probably need it too. And I'm sorry for being such a mess. So much for being a strong Lieutenant, huh? I must look pretty pathetic to you, crying the moment things don't go the way I want them to."

Chloe stood up and pulled Beca up into a tight hug. "You are not pathetic. I want to cry as well, but I cried so much earlier when I was with Bree and Stace that I don't think I even have enough fluids in me to generate tears. This is hard on both of us. Cry all you want, god knows I'll be crying again soon enough. And I expect you to comfort me when I do."

Beca chuckled dryly. "Um, okay. Sorry again. Not that I'm complaining, but didn't you say something about not touching me anymore?"

"Shut it Mitchell and let me have my hug. I'm making the rules so I can bend them however I want to."

Beca brought her arms up to hug Chloe tighter. "As I was saying, I'm not complaining."

The two of them stayed like that for a few more moments until Chloe moved backwards, leaving Beca's arms. Both of them immediately felt cold after that.

"You want to finish that sandwich Becs?"

Beca shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry anymore. Thank you for making it though."

"No problem." Chloe said as she quickly threw the sandwich in the trash and put the plates in the sink. She turned around and saw that Beca was still standing there, just staring into the air. "Becs?"

"Hm?"

"What do you want to do today?"

The small brunette shrugged. "I don't know. Do you even want to do something together? Because I wouldn't be mad if you wanted to go home. I understand."

"No, I don't particularly want to be alone. And I'll go home once Jesse's mom gets here, not a second before that."

"Um, okay. I'm glad. I think I might have missed you a tiny little bit if you went home immediately..."

Chloe couldn't help but grin a little. "I love how much of a softie you actually are."

"Am not. I'm badass." Beca pouted.

"Sure you are." Chloe giggled. She knew that the situation was far from resolved but she had immediately felt ten pounds lighter as soon as they had stated what they wanted and cleared out the air a little. She still wasn't in the mood to joke around but she couldn't help herself when she was with the brunette. "Soo, want to mix? Watch a movie? Play chess? Go on a walk? Wait, scratch that, we are not going anywhere with your injuries and my face."

"You know what? A walk actually sounds really good. I could use the fresh air."

The redhead looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure? Doesn't your leg still hurt? Not to mention your chest if you move too much?"

Beca rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. And there is a park only a few hundred meters away. I don't think it's that far. I can make it. If you are comfortable with that? I know you don't want people to see your face."

"I'll be fine, I can just cover my face with make up. And some fresh air sounds great if you are really okay to walk that far?"

"Don't worry, we'll find that out soon enough." Beca said and went into the bathroom to get some water on her face. She wasn't comfortable with showing the whole world that she had been crying. When she was done she went to her bedroom and found Chloe there. "Hey, I'm done, your turn. Although, for the record, you don't need any make up to look beautiful. Bruises or not."

Chloe rolled her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom. "Yeah, no. But thanks I guess."

Beca smiled and quickly changed into some clean sweat pants and a warm shirt. It was pretty warm outside but she had been feeling quite cold ever since her surgeries. She was just trying to tie her laces when Chloe came out of the bathroom, looking as if nothing ever happened to her face.

"You need some help with that?"

"Well, I don't need it but would you? It's pretty exhausting bending down like that. You have some awesome make up skills by the way."

Chloe giggled and sat on her heels in front of Beca to quickly tie her laces. "Thanks. There, all done. Let's go?"

"Thanks, yeah, let's go." Beca said as she stood up from her bed and they made their way to the front door. Beca stopped next to her crutches and looked at them disdainfully.

"Don't even think about it."

"Huh?" Beca asked, trying to sound as if she didn't know what Chloe was talking about.

"You are taking them with you and you will be using them. If you don't we'll come straight back here."

"But Chloe... they make me look like an invalid."

"No they don't. They make you look like you were in an accident. Which you kinda were. Well, I guess since those assholes meant to shoot you, you can't really consider your injuries an accident, but still. You'll be using them, don't even try to argue."

Beca deflated a little and sighed. "Fine. But I don't like it."

"Duly noted. Now let's get out of here, the sun is calling."

"Yeah, yeah. Are you always this bossy?"

"Only if you don't do what I want you to do. Now move it."

Beca decided to keep her mouth shut and moved out of the apartment, waiting while Chloe locked it.

"Beca! Chloe!"

The two women turned around and saw Beca's neighbor, Mrs Turner, walking towards them.

"Mrs Turner, hello, how are you?" Beca asked as she mentally chastised herself for forgetting that they were supposed to get coffee at the elderly woman's place.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking Beca. How about you? Are your injuries getting better?"

The small brunette nodded. "Yes, thanks for asking. I'm sorry for not coming by earlier for that coffee. We had a lot going on."

"Nonsense dear, it's fine. I know how busy you young people can get. But the invitation still stands. If you two want to drink a cup of coffee with a nagging old woman, you're welcome to come over."

"You don't nag. You're much too distinguished for that. Do you have time right now? We were just going on a walk. You're welcome to join us and we can have that cup of coffee after that? Only if you're free though?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, dear. Would that be alright with you Chloe? I don't want to intrude."

Chloe smiled and shook her head. "You aren't intruding, I'd be happy if you joined us."

"Well then, thanks for the invitation. I'll just grab my jacket and be right back."

"Great. I'll start on the stairs okay? I'm not as fast as I used to be." Beca mentioned playfully and pointed at her crutches.

Mrs Turner laughed and turned around to go back to her apartment. "Don't I know it. I was on the track team in my old days. Don't worry girls, I'll catch up to you downstairs. Maybe I'll give Jeff another call, those elevators need to be fixed as soon as possible."

"See you downstairs." Chloe called as she took one of Beca's crutches and watched her jump down the stairs one by one.

When they arrived downstairs, they moved outside and waited for Mrs Turner in the sun. It was a nice day out, only a small breeze in the air, playing with the leaves of the trees.

"Sorry for not asking you before I invited her. But I felt really bad for forgetting about that coffee invitation. She does so much for me, I didn't want to be rude."

Chloe smiled and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh summer air. "It's fine, I don't mind. She seems like a nice lady."

Beca nodded. "Yeah, she is."

A few minutes later, Mrs Turner showed up and they started their walk in the direction of the park.

"Are you sure you're not hurting yourself, dear?" Mrs Turner asked after about a minute of silent walking.

Beca nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm supposed to exercise a little anyway. I don't want my muscles to atrophy any further than they already did. I'll stop if something seriously starts hurting."

"If you say so, dear. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"

Beca tensed up for a moment which didn't go unnoticed by the older woman.

"It's alright, you don't need to tell me. I was just curious, you know how it is, once you're over 60, everything seems to become interesting. And I need some new stories to tell when I meet my bridge club next week." Mrs Turner winked as they walked at a slow pace.

Beca sighed. "It's fine. I got shot and had to had surgery. Now I'm getting physical therapy to get back on my feet, so to speak."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that dear. You got shot in the leg?"

Beca nodded. "Yeah and in the chest. That one hurt way more than the one to the leg."

Mrs Turner stopped walking and looked at Beca with wide eyes. "You got shot twice? And to the chest? Isn't that terribly dangerous?"

Beca and Chloe had stopped walking as well. "Yeah, it was very dangerous. But I am fine now."

"I believe you, but why would anybody shoot you? And twice for that matter?"

Beca rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You do know where I work, right?"

"Yes, but still. I didn't realize it was this dangerous. Are you going to make a full recovery?"

Beca nodded and everybody resumed their walking. "Yes, but it will take some time. I'll probably be home the whole summer before I can go back some time in the fall."

"I don't want to pry but did you just say you want to go back? Is it worth getting killed over?"

Beca's mood quickly turned dark as she continued walking, not making eye contact with either of her companions. "Yes."

Having noticed the brunette's mood, Mrs Turner stopped talking but send a look in Chloe's direction. The redhead just shook her head.

Mrs Turner wisely changed the topic, she didn't want to ruin the beautiful day. "So, Chloe, dear, I don't really know much about you. How did you two meet?"

Chloe smiled. "We actually got to know each other by sending letters to each other. I'm a elementary school teacher and a friend of mine recommended taking part in a 'Write a Soldier' program. I thought it would be a good idea for my class. They liked the idea and made me write a letter as well. I was really lucky that my letter was given to this little ball of sunshine." Beca rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as she remembered the first letter she had gotten from Chloe.

"Oh, how romantic. You two were pen pals and now you're good friends." Mrs Turner stopped speaking but it sounded like a question so Chloe decided to answer it.

"Yes, very good friends. I'm very happy that I got to meet her."

"Me too Beale." Beca mumbled as they made their way into the park. The walk had taken them about ten minutes and Beca had gotten tired. Luckily there was a free bench not far from the playground where a few children were running around, laughing and building sand castles. She looked longingly at the bench but didn't want to be the one to suggest sitting down.

"That's so sweet you two. I'm glad you two met. Why don't we head over to that bench over there? I'm getting tired." The older woman suggested as she saw that Beca was starting to struggle with her crutches.

"Great idea!" Chloe said as she too saw that Beca was looking a little winded.

Beca just nodded and they made their way over to the bench and sat down. Beca sat in the middle, much to her annoyance. She liked the option of nearly falling off the bench to have enough space between herself and other people.

Mrs Turner patted Beca's knee for a moment to get her attention. "I'm sorry dear, I didn't want to ruin your day with my questions. Just forget I ever said anything and enjoy your day?"

Beca sighed. "It's fine. It's just a touchy subject, but it wasn't your fault."

"Still, I'm sorry." She looked at Chloe next. "So, an elementary school teacher? Do you like it?"

Chloe nodded happily. "Yes, it's amazing work. You get to see a child develop and see their personalities form. I love helping them with finding out what they want to be or what interests them. They look up to me and ask me questions about the world. It's the best job I could have picked."

Mrs Turner smiled as she listened to the redhead describe her work. It wasn't often that you got to listen to someone who described their work with such passion. "I'm glad that you are happy. What about a significant other? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? You don't look like someone who would be single for long."

Chloe playfully narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Noticing Chloe's playful tone, Mrs Turner started chuckling. "I just meant that a beautiful girl like yourself must be getting offers left and right. So? Anybody special?"

Chloe looked at Beca for a moment but the small brunette was busy watching the children play and didn't seem to pay them much attention. "No, not at the moment. I broke up with my boyfriend a few weeks ago though. Still dealing with that I guess."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you doing alright?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, he cheated on me so I was the one who broke up with him. And after the thing he did a few days ago, I'm even more sure that I made the right decision."

Deciding to get involved in the conversation, Beca mumbled a "damn right you did" under her breath.

Mrs Turner looked from one girl to the other questioningly. "Am I allowed to ask or should I just get on with the conversation?"

Chloe was just about to reply when a voice interrupted them.

"Chloe?"

All three women turned around to see a tall, handsome looking guy in his late twenties looking at Chloe guiltily.

The redhead's mood quickly turned sour. "Go away Tom. I don't have anything to say to you."

Beca perked up at the name and narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. "Tom? That is Tom?"

Chloe grabbed Beca's arm as the girl was making moves to stand up. "Yes, but he has to go now. Don't you?" She asked Tom icily.

"Chloe please, I want to apologize. I don't really know what happened the other night. I was jealous and totally out of line. I promise it will never happen again, please forgive me."

Chloe sighed and stood up to face her ex. "I don't forgive violence. You know that. I don't care about your reasons or your apology. We are over and I don't want to see you ever again."

"But Chloe, you can't just throw away all those years we had together. We love each other. Just give me another chance."

He moved closer to the redhead, but she put up a hand trying to stop him. "That's not love, you don't hit the people you love. I don't like repeating myself, please leave me alone. We are done. Please respect my decision."

"Wait, are you saying this young man hit you Chloe?" Mrs Turner asked as Tom was busy thinking about a reply.

Chloe nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't want to involve you in my drama but yes, he did. And now he wants to apologize."

Mrs Turner turned around to glare at Tom. "Is that right young man? Did you hit her?"

Tom gulped but nodded. "Yes ma'am, but it was an accident, I'm trying to apologize and make amends. Maybe you could try talking to her? She's clearly not listening to me."

Beca had been glaring daggers at the young man since the moment he had announced his presence but refrained from saying something because Chloe had been shooting her these looks that told her to reign her anger in. She couldn't help but scoff at the question the man had asked her neighbor though.

Tom heard her and looked at her for the first time. "And who are you? Do you have something to say to me?"

"I would love to. But Chloe doesn't want me to, so count all your lucky stars and leg it out of here." Beca ground out, still glaring at the man.

Not used to being talked to like that, Tom's anger quickly spiked as he glared at the brunette girl as well. "Who gave you the right to talk to me like that? I've never seen you before."

"Nobody. I just don't appreciate the way you treat women."

"And how would you know how I treat women?" Tom asked, clearly getting annoyed.

"Saw it first hand." Beca said as she motioned to Chloe's face.

"Beca..." Chloe tried to calm Beca down but the small brunette wanted to blow off some steam and the despicable man in front of her chose a great time to ruffle her feathers.

"No Chloe. He hurt you and now he's trying to make it less of a big deal than it fucking was."

"Who the hell are you?" Tom asked again, clenching his fist in agitation.

"My name is Beca, not that you need to know that. And now leave before I'll make you."

Tom couldn't help but laugh. "Make me? You don't look like you could even reach my shoulders, not to mention make me do anything."

Beca bristled under the condescending glare Chloe's asshole of an ex send in her direction. Not wanting to remain sitting any longer, Beca finally stood up and moved in front of Chloe, trying to shield her from Tom's vile presence. "I won't say this again, Chloe asked you to leave. Now go."

Seeing Beca's limp, Tom crossed his arms in front of his chest and grinned at her smugly. "You can't even walk correctly at the moment, I'm not scared of you. I'm not leaving until I talked to Chloe some more."

Noticing Beca's body getting even more tense, Chloe put a hand on the smaller woman's shoulder trying to calm her down. "I said everything I wanted to tell you Tom. I'm not asking you to leave again. I don't have a problem calling the police if you don't go now. I'm sure they would gladly help us resolve this situation, seeing as we are at a kids playground."

"But why won't you even talk to me? Do you have a new boyfriend? Were you cheating on me?"

"Oh my god Tom!" Chloe said exasperatedly. "I wasn't and am not cheating on you! And even if I was, it wouldn't be your business anymore!"

Tom narrowed his eyes, looking at her suspiciously. "So you haven't kissed anybody in the last few weeks?"

Chloe quickly glanced in Beca's direction but decided to lie for now. Nothing good would come out of Tom knowing that little detail. She was just about to tell him "no, I have not." but he interrupted her as he glared angrily at the small brunette standing next to her. "You! She kissed you?!" He roared as he took a step closer to the three women.

Chloe jumped and involuntarily took a step backwards while Beca stood her ground, not being intimidated by his behavior.

"No. But even if she did, why do you care? She told you it was over. Accept it and move on."

"Liar! I saw the look she gave you just now! I've seen the way she has been looking at you since the moment I started talking. You forget that I was her best friend before we got together."

Beca lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Fine. Yeah, we kissed. What are you going to do about it?"

That was the wrong thing to say, both Chloe and Beca noticed that a little too late though. Tom roared loudly and tackled Beca to the ground harshly.

"Beca!" Chloe screamed as she quickly grabbed Mrs Turner's hand and pulled her a few feet away. She wanted to help the brunette but she didn't know how. "Tom! Let go of her right now!"

Tom was pinning Beca to the ground, putting pressure on her chest with his forearm.

Beca was trying to topple him off of her but he had a tight grip on her and he was heavy. That wouldn't be a problem normally but she really wasn't a hundred percent healthy and her strength had suffered a lot over the past few weeks. "Dude! I can't breathe!"

"You kissed my girlfriend!"

"She is not your girlfriend!"

Tom pressed even harder into Beca, trying to get his point across. "Chloe belongs to me! Do you understand me?!"

Beca wheezed, her chest was hurting terribly but she couldn't let him keep talking like that. "She belongs to ... no one, do you ... understand me? Get your ... head out of your ... ass and start treating women ... with respect."

"You are hurting her Tom!" Chloe screamed again as she tried to push him over. He just glared at Chloe. "This is your fault Chloe. I'll let her go as soon as she agrees to leave you alone."

"Tom! Are you insane! She is injured! You can't just pin her to the ground, she can't breathe!"

Tom scoffed. "She was talking fine just a moment ago, don't be so dramatic." He turned back to Beca, telling her again to leave Chloe alone. When he didn't get an answer, he was starting to get a little worried. He was angry, yes, but he didn't want to seriously hurt anybody. "Hey, are you listening to me?" He shook the small brunette a little but he got no reaction.

"Um Chloe? I think something is wrong." He said as he moved off of Beca. The small girl didn't move when he let her go.

Chloe immediately went to Beca's side and tried to wake her up. "Beca? Beca, can you hear me? Wake up!" The redhead shook Beca's shoulders carefully but she didn't get a reaction. She quickly checked Beca's chest and saw that she was thankfully still breathing but she also saw a lot of blood. "Shit!" She cursed. "Somebody call an ambulance!"

"An ambulance? Come on Chloe, she's fine. Maybe she fainted from fear or something." Tom tried to calm Chloe down.

Unshed tears had gathered in Chloe's eyes as she glared angrily at her ex. "She was shot in the heart just a few weeks ago! She nearly died then! So excuse me for freaking out when you fucking sat on her and pressed into her chest which is bleeding now!"

Tom paled considerably and gulped. "I didn't know that..."

"Of course you didn't! That doesn't matter though! You don't tackle people to the ground just because you don't like what they are saying!"

"I'm sorry Chloe..."

"Don't even start with that now! Just go and leave us alone. You did enough damage."

"But..."

"She said you need to go young man. I suggest you listen to her." Mrs Turner said icily.

Tom looked between the two women and decided to go. "I'm sorry Chloe. Please tell me if she is going to be alright." He mumbled as he quickly made his way out of the park.

"Oh my god." Chloe choked as she sat next to Beca and held her jacket to the smaller woman's chest. "Have you called an ambulance?"

Mrs Turner nodded. "Yes dear, they told me they would be here any minute now. Let me see for a moment."

Chloe reluctantly lifted her jacket from Beca's chest until Mrs Turner had taken a look. "It doesn't look too bad, the bleeding has already slowed down. Calm down dear, she will be fine."

"How do you know that?"

"I was a nurse for a few years. Didn't work out for me but I picked up a thing or two along the way."

Chloe nodded, looking worriedly at the other girl. "I'm so sorry Beca." She whispered as she heard the sirens of the ambulance approaching.

"They're here, Chloe. Let them do their work, alright?" Mrs Turner pulled Chloe away a few feet until the paramedics could do their job. They asked what happened and Chloe told them tearfully. They nodded and started loading Beca into the ambulance.

"Can I go with her?" Chloe asked desperately as the paramedics were preparing to take Beca to the hospital.

"Are you family ma'am?"

"No, but please, she is really important to me."

The paramedic looked at her for a moment with compassion in his eyes and then nodded. "Get in. We need to get moving."

"Thank you!" Chloe exclaimed and quickly turned around to Mrs Turner. "Thank you. Will you be okay going home alone? I promise to keep you updated."

"Yes, don't worry about me dear. Be strong, okay?"

Chloe nodded and moved into the ambulance. The paramedic followed her in and closed the door.

"Let's go!" He shouted to the other paramedic in the drivers seat. The quickly drove away, Chloe sitting in the back of the ambulance, holding Beca's hand and hoping that Beca just passed out from the pain and that nothing serious was going on.

Chapter Text

„Chloe?“

„Mom...“ Chloe mumbled as she tried to hide her labored breathing from her mother.

„Is everything okay sweetie?“

„No...“ the redhead said as she wiped away some of the tears running down her face and pressed her phone closer to her ear. The doctors had told her to wait in the waiting room while they took care of Beca. She had sat down in an uncomfortable plastic chair and immediately dialed her mother's number. She knew she should probably call Jesse but she thought it would be better if she had some more information before she did that. She didn't want to alarm him if nothing was wrong.

„What happened? Are you injured? Beca?“

Chloe couldn't help but let a sob escape as a new wave of tears hit her face.

“Chloe! Please tell me what's going on, I'm starting to worry.”

“It's Beca. We're at the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“Tom happened.” Chloe spat angrily. “We were on a walk with Beca's neighbor, a nice older lady, when he showed up and started apologizing again. I wanted him to go away and told him so repeatedly. I guess Beca got mad that he didn't get the hint and started telling him to leave as well. He asked me if I was cheating on him and I told him no but then he asked me if I had kissed anyone recently and I couldn't help but glance at Beca, because just the question brought back some memories...”

“Wait, you kissed Beca? When was this?” Claire asked with barely concealed excitement.

“Oh. You don't know about that. Yeah, we kissed last night by accident and long story short, we kissed again this morning as a kind of good bye.”

“Woah, wait just one second. What do you mean good bye? You two could be so good together! Do I need to come over and talk some sense into you two?”

“Mom, this is between us. Please let us deal with it on our own.”

“Sorry. Get on with your story please. But we will be talking about the kissing again, young lady.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Tom must have noticed my look because he accused Beca of kissing me and she told him she didn't kiss me but he didn't believe her. She eventually told him that we did kiss and he got so angry he tackled her to the ground. Mom, she's still injured, and she had open heart surgery not long ago! I was scared shitless when he sat on her and pinned her down.”

“My god, is she alright?”

“I don't know! She passed out and there was blood and we called an ambulance and now I'm in the waiting room at the hospital and don't know what to do!”

“Calm down sweetie. Do you want me to come and keep you company?”

“Would you? I don't know how long it's going to take them. Maybe it's nothing bad. Maybe she just fainted from the pain.”

“I'll be there in twenty minutes. Don't worry, I'm sure she will be fine. Just sit tight and I'll be there soon, alright?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. See you soon, mom.”

Chloe hung up the phone and just sat quietly for a few moments. She thought about calling Aubrey but she knew that she would just keep on crying if she had to tell the story again, so she decided to just wait quietly until her mom came. She felt a little bad for wanting her mother there but there are just some things she didn't want to deal with on her own and she needed the comfort of her mom.

She jumped every single time a person in a white lab coat rushed past the waiting room and deflated each time when they didn't stop to talk to her. Tapping her foot nervously, she tried to distract herself with one of the countless magazines lying around in the waiting room, but she really wasn't interested in the latest celebrity gossip. Half a lifetime later – at least that's what it felt like for Chloe – her mom walked swiftly into the waiting room and embraced her daughter tightly when she jumped into her arms.

“Are you okay sweetie? Any news on Beca?”

Chloe shook her head and let go of her mom reluctantly. They sat back down, Claire holding on to her daughter's hands tightly. “No, they haven't come out to talk to me yet. And I'm not really sure they will, seeing as we aren't related or anything. I just hope they do since I came in with her.”

“I'm sure they will keep you updated honey. Did you call the police earlier?”

The redhead bit her lip guiltily and shook her head. “No. I was so busy worrying about Beca that I completely forgot about it. I don't really want to get him in trouble but I think he went too far this time. Hitting me is one thing, but tackling a girl he doesn't even know to the ground because he didn't like what she had to say is quite another.”

Claire nodded. “You need to call them, Chloe. I disagree with you on the part where you think hitting you is okay but you definitely need to call the police on him now. Beca could be seriously injured. Are there any witnesses?”

“Yeah, Mrs Turner saw the whole thing and I'm sure some of the parents – and children unfortunately – at the playground must have seen something as well.”

“Then go and make that call right now. We don't want Tom disappearing somewhere. I'm not sure the boy is smart enough to hide for long but I don't really know for sure.”

“Mom!”

Claire just shrugged her shoulders. “What? He isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, you have to admit that.”

Chloe couldn't help but giggle at that analogy. “Well, no, I can't. But still, he was my boyfriend for a long time. Please don't speak too badly about him. I really loved him.”

“Past tense. That's good.” The older woman nodded her head approvingly.

“Mom!” Chloe exclaimed with a small smile on her face.

“Sorry. So, do you want to make that phone call now or do you want to tell me about you and Beca making out?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I'm going to make that call. I'll be out for a minute, keep a watch out for the doctors?”

“Sure, sweetie. I'll stay right here.”

“Okay, thanks.” Chloe said and left the waiting room. Claire smiled a little and was about to make herself comfortable with one of those dreadful gossip magazines (she secretly loved them), when a man in a white coat stepped into the waiting room.

“Beca Mitchell?”

„Yes! Here.“ Claire said and walked over to the stressed but friendly looking man who looked like he was in his fifties.

“Are you family, ma’am?”

“No, she doesn’t have any family in this area. But my daughter is friends with her and they were out on a walk together when this happened. Can you please just tell me if she’s alright?”

“Well, I’m normally not allowed to give out any information to non-family members or an emergency contact but seeing as she’s mostly fine, I think I can make an exception. She’s awake and doing well, I can show you to her room if you want to see her.”

“Thank you doctor, but I have to wait for my daughter to come back. She’s calling the police at the moment. Can you just give me her room number? We’ll go see her as soon as my daughter is back.”

The doctor nodded and gave her the room number. With a short goodbye, the doctor left and Claire returned to her chair. She only had to wait around 5 minutes until Chloe came back into the waiting room.

“Hey mom, any news?”

“Actually, yes. Beca’s doing well and we can see her if you want to?”

Chloe smiled widely and nodded excitedly. “Yes, please!”

Claire chuckled. “Thought so.” The two of them started making their way through the long halls, trying to find the right room. “So, what did the police say?”

“They said they’re going to bring him in for questioning. They’ll also talk to Mrs Turner and they want to talk to me and Beca later if she’s up to it. Maybe they’ll want to talk to you too seeing as you’ve seen my face and know him as well. But they assured me that he won’t get off lightly if all claims could be proven to be true.

Claire nodded her head. "That sounds good. I think there are enough witnesses to prove what he did."

"I hope so." Chloe said as they finally arrived at the correct room. She knocked on the door lightly and opened it when she heard a soft 'come in' through the door.

"Hey." Beca said when she saw Chloe and Claire walking into her hospital room.

"Hey." Chloe greeted with a smile as she approached the small brunette sitting in a hospital bed. "Can I hug you?"

Beca chuckled. "Of course. Come here." She said and opened her arms expectantly. Chloe just grinned and gave Beca a careful hug.

"Hey Claire. Nice to see you again." Beca said while Chloe was still holding on to her.

"Hello Beca. It's good to see that you are doing well. What did the doctors say?"

The redhead finally let go of Beca and moved a step backwards. "Yeah, good question. Are you alright?"

Beca nodded. "I'm fine. My scar got irritated by the pressure and a few stitches ripped open, not a big deal. Since it wasn't completely healed, it started bleeding a little but the doctors stitched me up again. There will be no lasting damage, I'll just have to leave the stitches in a few days longer than originally planned."

Chloe let out a relieved sigh. "Oh thank god. I was really worried. Is that why you passed out? The torn stitches?"

Beca shook her head a little sheepishly. "Not exactly. I must have hit my head when your dick of an ex boyfriend tackled me to the ground. It didn't help when he started shaking me. But I'm fine, the doctors told me it was just a mild concussion and I should be fine in about a week."

"You have a concussion?!" Chloe exclaimed, eyes wide open and filling with tears.

"MILD concussion. Really, it's not a big deal. I've had quite a few of them before. They told me I could leave as soon as they filled out all the paper work. So in a few hours I would guess."

"Thank god." Chloe said as she sat down in a chair next to Beca's bed, took one of Beca's hands in her own and squeezed it gently. "Although I do think that a concussion is a big deal, even if it is a mild one."

The small brunette rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I know how to handle this, so it's really not so bad. Now, tell me, what happened after I passed out?"

"I was really scared when you stopped moving Becs. Tom must have noticed something wrong because he tried to get a reaction out of you but you weren't responding. He let go of you after that and I send him away while Mrs Turner called an ambulance. I'm really sorry about all this Becs. It's all my fault, if Tom hadn't seen me, nothing of this would have happened."

Beca lightly squeezed the redhead's hand as she saw that she was on the verge of tears again. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I promise you that I am fine. And it really wasn't your fault. Tom did those things, you didn't have anything to do with it. You couldn't have done anything to change things and I don't blame you. Please don't feel guilty about this, I'm fine."

Chloe nodded and willed back the gathering tears in her eyes. "I still feel guilty though. You wouldn't even know him if it hadn't been for me, but I know where you're coming from. I'll try not to blame myself."

Beca smiled and squeezed Chloe's hand again, trying to comfort the other girl. "What happened after that?"

Chloe squeezed back thankfully and sniffed once. "I accompanied you in the ambulance and was told to wait for any news. That's when I called mom and she reminded me that I had to call the police."

Beca nodded. "Did you call them already?"

"Yeah, just before I came in here. Was that okay? I would have asked you first but I didn't know how long the doctors were going to take."

"It's good that you finally called them. Did you tell them about your face as well?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes. They are starting an investigation and will bring him in for questioning."

"Good. I assume they want to talk to us as well?"

"Yes, as soon as you're up to it."

"We can go as soon as I am released. I prefer getting this done before I get home and sleep for two days."

Chloe chuckled. "We can do that."

Beca smiled brightly. "Great."

"Beca?" Claire asked when it seemed that the other two women were done talking for the moment.
The small brunette turned her head to smile at Claire. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're doing okay and I'm going to leave you two alone soon, but could you answer me a question first?"

Beca looked from a grinning Claire to an eye-rolling Chloe confusedly. "Um, sure?"

"Mom, stop it. We can talk about this some other time."

"No way sweetie. So Beca, you kissed my daughter?"

Beca's eyes widened and she started shifting uncomfortably. "Um, kinda."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Kinda?"

"Um, yes. Yes I did."

"And will you be kissing her again?"

Beca quickly shook her head. "Nope."

"Why not? Is she a bad kisser?"

"Mom!" Chloe exclaimed affronted.

"No! Of course not!" Beca said quickly, trying to get the situation under control again.

"Why not then?"

"Um, no offense Claire, but I really think this should stay between Chloe and I until we figure out what we are going to do."

Claire sighed. "I know, you're right. But I really think you two could make each other happy. You are a great person Beca. Never forget that."

Beca smiled. "Thanks Claire."

The older Beale woman grinned and stood up from one of the chairs in the room she had been sitting in. "Feel better soon Beca. I'm going to get going. I don't want to bother you any longer."

"You're not bothering us." Beca quickly added.

Claire laughed. "No, it's quite alright. I'll see you two some other time, okay? I'll call you soon sweetie."

Chloe nodded and hugged her mom tightly. "Okay. Thanks for keeping me company mom. It really helped."

"Don't mention it. See you two later!" Claire said and left the room.

Chloe and Beca looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing a second later.

"Your mom is awesome. A little scary and not afraid to ask the hard questions, but I quite like her."

"I'm glad to hear that. Although I'd prefer it if she minded her own business sometimes. She has a bad habit of meddling in my life if she thinks I'm making wrong decisions."

Beca chuckled. "She did let me off the hook when I asked her to, so I think she knows her boundaries."

Chloe sighed. "Yeah, I really love her. Are you really alright?" She asked, looking at the smaller girl with a concerned look on her face.

"I really am. Don't worry so much Chlo, I'm tougher than I look."

"I know. I was just really scared."

Letting out a deep sigh, Beca crossed her legs and turned to look at Chloe with a serious expression on her face. "Chlo, this is the exact situation I talked about this morning. This feeling of worry you experienced today? Not knowing if I am alright? You would feel this a lot if we actually were in a relationship with each other. I don't want you to have to go through this constantly."

"I know." Chloe mumbled as she tried to keep her eyes dry. "And I know where you come from. This whole situation just sucks."

"Yeah, it does. But we will think of something right? I promised Jesse I would check out the music scene while I am on medical leave. And who knows, maybe they'll take me and maybe I'll actually have fun. I'm not saying I will leave the army but I'm open for other options."

"Really?" Chloe asked excitedly, jumping up and down a little in her seat.

"Yeah. I don't know what will happen but we'll see I guess. Oh, did I tell you that Jesse's going to visit me?"

"No!" Chloe exclaimed, still smiling at the brunette. "When? Is he getting a vacation or something?"

Grinning widely, Beca nodded. "Yeah, the whole team is taking their vacation days to spend a little time with their families and Jesse said he'd visit and stay with me for a while. He didn't want to bother his mom when he could check up on me himself." She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that was still plastered on her face.

"That's great Becs. You really miss him, huh?"

Beca shrugged. "Just a little. But don't tell him I said that!"

Laughing loudly, the redhead just shook her head. "I probably won't."

Beca narrowed her eyes and scowled at Chloe. "Probably?"

Chloe just grinned and the two talked about everything and nothing while they waited for Beca's release papers to be completed. They made their statement at the police station a few hours later - they told them that they would notify them if there were any news on Tom - before finally getting back to Beca's apartment. They had been gone all day, it was already quite late when they made their way up the stairs. Beca insisted on making a short stop at Mrs Turner's door to tell the older woman that everything was alright. Mrs Turner fussed a little over Beca, offering to help with anything she could and hugging Beca more times than she had the whole time the two of them had known each other. That may have had to do with the fact that Beca normally didn't hug people she barely knew - or anyone really - but she told herself that the older woman deserved some reassurance after what she had seen in the park earlier.

Beca and Chloe finally arrived at the brunette's apartment around eleven pm. Beca immediately made a beeline for the couch and sank into it gratefully with a loud moan of appreciation. Chloe chuckled a little to herself and got rid of her shoes and jacket before making her way to the kitchen to get an apple. She didn't really have an appetite the whole day but her stomach was telling her to eat something before she slept. "Becs?"

"Yeah?" Beca answered, exhaustion clear in her voice.

"Do you want an apple or something? I know it's late but I'm quite hungry."

"No thanks. I just want to sleep for a whole week."

Chloe giggled as she walked back into the living room with her apple in her hand and sat down next to the brunette on the couch.

"Why don't you get up and get ready for bed then?"

Beca groaned loudly and closed her eyes as she let her head fall on the back of the couch. "I don't want to move ever again."

"Fine with me." Chloe said and made herself comfortable while she munched on her apple. Well, as comfortable as she could on this couch.

Beca opened one eye and looked at Chloe skeptically. "Really?"

Chloe snorted. "No. Get up and brush your teeth. You can sleep in a real bed after that."

"But Chloeee..." Beca whined, looking at the redhead with pleading eyes.

The redhead chuckled as she finished her apple and wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Ew, do you do that all the time?" Beca asked with a scrunched up face.

"No, but these are going into the washing machine as soon as possible. It doesn't matter if I get them any dirtier."

"Suit yourself." The brunette said and closed her eyes again.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Chloe threatened, already half out of her seat.

"Sure." Beca scoffed, expecting the redhead to bluff.

She squeaked loudly when she felt arms around her back and under her knees. Opening her eyes widely, she started trashing around wildly. "Let me down! You're gonna break your back!"

Chloe scoffed as she hoisted Beca up, Beca's flailing stopping the moment she put her arms around the redhead's neck tightly, holding on for dear life. "Seriously dude, put me down! I can walk on my own."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes! Now let me down!"

Chloe giggled and put the small brunette back on her feet. Beca crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled at the taller girl. "Was that really necessary?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe grinned. "Nope. But it was fun."

"Ugh..." Beca groaned as she made her way over to her bedroom. "I'm going to brush my teeth." She mumbled as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Chloe's smile quickly vanished as she went into Beca's bedroom to gather her stuff and put it on the couch in the living room with a heavy sigh. She really wasn't looking forward to sleeping on it another night. The first one had been enough to convince her not to be cheap with the next couch she bought.

After changing into her sleep clothes quickly, she grabbed the blanket she had used the first night she had slept over at Beca's and eyed it critically. Just as she was about to put it on the couch, small footsteps alerted her to someone stepping into the room.

"What are you doing?" The small brunette asked her with a confused expression on her face.

Chloe turned around and smiled at Beca sadly. "We talked about this. I can't share your bed anymore."

"But... you can't sleep on that thing."

"Well, what am I supposed to do? The ground doesn't look any more comfortable than the couch."

"No, come on, we're adults. We can share a bed. I promise to keep my hands to myself. But I can't just let you sleep here. Or you can have my bed and I'll sleep here. It's no big deal, I've done it before."

Chloe shook her head. "I'm not letting you sleep here. You just got out of the hospital. And it's not that I don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself, I don't trust myself to do the same."

"I don't mind it. You can snuggle with me if you want to. Just don't sleep out here."

Chloe gritted her teeth. "You're not helping. Please don't say stuff like that. I thought we came to the conclusion that there would be no more touching?"

Beca shrugged her shoulders. "You came up with that rule. I don't mind touching you. Or you touching me."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Stop it. And don't pin this on me. We agreed on this."

Beca sighed. "I know, sorry. But really, what is one more night going to change? I refuse to let you sleep on this couch. If you won't sleep in my bed, I'll keep you company out here."

"Don't be ridiculous. You need your sleep."

"You need it too."

"Bree told me not to share your bed anymore."

Beca raised an eyebrow. "So Aubrey is behind all of this? Want me to call her and make her tell you you are allowed to sleep in my bed? Purely platonic of course?"

Chloe sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Nobody is behind this other than myself. My heart hurts every time I even look at you. I wouldn't sleep even an hour if we shared a bed."

"That may be true and I don't want you hurting but you can't even keep your eyes open at the moment. You'll be asleep in seconds. I could even wait until you are asleep until I get in there with you. I just don't want you to sleep on this piece of crap and I'm not taking no for an answer." She told the redhead with a raised eyebrow and a serious expression on her face.

Chloe stared at Beca for a moment but let out a huge breath of air when the small brunette wouldn't budge. "Fine. I'll brush my teeth and I'll sleep in your bed. You better be right about me falling asleep quickly. Otherwise I'm moving out here in the middle of the night."

Beca rolled her eyes but grinned at Chloe. "Sure."

Rolling her eyes again, Chloe walked to her purse and grabbed a piece of paper. "Here." She said as she held it out for Beca to take. "I wrote you another letter while you made your statement at the police station."

Beca smiled. "You remembered all of my questions?"

Chloe chuckled. "Of course not. But I had your letter with me."

"You had it with you?"

Chloe blushed a little as she made her way into the bathroom. "Shut up Mitchell. I carry all of your letters with me in my purse. Don't make a big deal out of it." She said and shut the bathroom door behind herself.

Beca grinned as she turned off the light in the living room and went to her bedroom, making herself comfortable on her side of the bed. She unfolded the piece of paper Chloe had given her carefully and started reading with a smile on her face.

Hey Beca :)

So, I'm sitting in this dark police station, waiting for you to finish your statement; I thought it would be a good time to start replying to your letter. The last few days have been so busy, I didn't really get a minute to just breathe or even attempt to think about my reply.

I'm so sorry about Tom. This is all my fault. You keep telling me that it's not but I feel incredibly guilty. It nearly broke my heart, seeing you laying on the ground unconscious. I was so scared I would lose you before I really got to know you. You've already been hurt so much and I keep on adding to that pain. I'm really sorry, I hope you can forgive me one day.

I just wanted to tell you that I had a really great time on our walk today. Mrs Turner is really nice and I enjoyed the fresh air.

I'm still sad about our conversation this morning but I understand where you are coming from completely. I won't force you to make a decision, I'll just wait patiently until you figure out what you want to do. Just for the record though, I do have a friend that is a pretty decent producer here in Atlanta. If you want me to call her and arrange a meeting, just say so. I want to help you as best as I can. That won't change when I go back home. I know I told you this earlier but I really hope you know you can call me for anything. I will come over anytime you want.

I'm glad Jesse will be here to keep an eye on you once I go back home. You get in way too much trouble.

Phew, glad I got that off of my chest. I'll get to your letter now :)

You better tell me if your injuries bother you, alright? Now more so than ever. I'm really worried about you.

Well, I think we already resolved the Jennifer situation ;D

I really enjoy our chess matches, let's do that more often :)

I have faith that you will grow to like those movies just as much as I love them.

Um, well there is a story about me walking into a wall. It's not really funny and pretty short but if you want to hear it, here it is. When I was around twelve I sneaked into my parents room one day and searched through my mom's make up drawer and decided to try applying it. A friend of mine had shown up at school with make up on her face earlier that week and everybody told her she looked great so I wanted to try it myself. I had never worn any make up before so it looked pretty ridiculous. When I was nearly done, I somehow poked myself in the eye with the mascara. A few eyelashes had ended up in my eye and I was looking upwards trying to blink them out of my eye while I was walking towards my parent's bathroom to get a better look in the mirror. Needless to say, I judged the distance wrong and ran straight into the wall next to the bathroom door. I hit my head and fell back on my ass. My parents heard the commotion and walked into the room, finding me sitting on the ground, one hand on my head and the other around my eye, trying to get the eyelashes out. They laughed at me for a solid hour. After that my mom showed me how to apply make up correctly though. It was pretty great.

Yes, I do have a favorite mug. Don't judge me! I'll show it to you when you visit me at my place one day ;D

Ugh, nope, I don't do motorbikes.

Yes! I'd love to go scuba diving with you!

Well, it sure doesn't look great but I'm all for freedom. So if someone wants to wear socks in sandals, they are allowed to do that. I don't judge them on their lack of fashion sense.

Yeah, I have. Mostly my brother. But a few exes as well. But I try to avoid it. What about you? I'm sure you have made some of your team cry, right, you big bad army Lieutenant?

I'm a firm believer of free will, but I can't help but think that some things are destined to happen. Do with that whatever you want :D

Hm, let me think about a few questions for you...

Would you like to be a big celebrity?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What was your last dream about?

Are you proud of yourself? Small hint: you should be, because I am.

It seems like you are wrapping up your interview, I'll stop for now. I'm eagerly awaiting your reply.

Talk to you in a minute xD

Chloe xoxo

Beca had finished reading the letter just as Chloe came out of the bathroom and slipped into the bed next to Beca with a considerable distance between them. Beca snuggled into her pillow and put out the light.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?" The redhead breathed, already half asleep.

"It really wasn't your fault, don't worry too much. Sleep well."

Chloe smiled a little to herself and reached over to grab Beca's hand giving it a light squeeze. "Thanks for saying that. I'll try, you too Becs."

Nobody said anything about Chloe still holding on to Beca's hand, both of them breathed out deeply and fell asleep quickly, glad this day was finally over.