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The sheer fact that Chloe was in the hospital for the holidays was just a complete disaster. She was missing all of the decorating of the house that she loved so much and she couldn’t blast holiday songs as loud as she wanted to. Of course she did try to but a nurse was fairly quick to come into her room and tell her that it unfortunately was not allowed. Chloe pouted about it for the rest of the day despite understanding why she couldn’t blast every holiday song known to man while in the hospital. Being in the hospital was just not somewhere she wanted to be around the holidays. Sure, she appreciated the nurses and doctors that tried to make it seem like the holidays but she was really missing her own traditions with the Bellas.
If it wasn’t the sheer lack of Christmas that was driving Chloe Beale up the wall it was the fact that Beca was doing a really poor job at answering her phone. Usually she’d answer very promptly especially since the car accident that put her in the hospital in the first place but today she’s been really slacking. And it’s kind of driving Chloe insane because there’s only so much entertainment she can get from a hospital bed and she’s kind of started to rely on Beca’s relatively constant messages to fuel her entertainment levels. So, yeah, she was kind of annoyed and restless because of the other girl not answering as frequently as she’s gotten used to.
Chloe hates going to sleep at the hospital. It doesn’t feel right to her. Everything is just a little too bland for her liking and she feels like she has so much energy. Plus, of course, the sounds of the machines constant beeping doesn’t make it too easy. Yeah, you get used to it eventually but still sometimes it gets on your nerves. So all of this added together means that Chloe usually doesn’t get to sleep until very late at night but at least she’s gotten used to the nurses constantly walking in at night because waking up constantly was a pain. Now that she’s used to it though she can easily make it through a whole night without waking up.
Realistically Beca hated ignoring Chloe’s texts especially under these circumstances. But she just knew that if she was talking to Chloe all day the truth was easily going to slip out and she honestly couldn’t risk that. So as hard as it was to do Beca tried to space out all of her replies for the day making sure that no fluid conversation was able to be established.
“Sheila, hey,” Beca talked awkwardly into the phone as she wandered down semi familiar hallways. “I’m here.”
“I’m at the nurse’s station, honey. Just come find me,” she replied leaving Beca barely anytime to mumble out an “okay” before hanging up. Beca knew that Sheila was working but still she expected a little more direction than that. She managed to locate the nurses station moments later and saw Sheila typing away behind the desk.
“So, have I ever told you how absolutely fantastic it is that you’re a nurse?” Beca starts off leaning across the desk with a smirk that she knows will lighten the older woman up. They had their bumpy roads in the beginning but recently they’ve really started to hit it off. She kind of had the redhead to thank for that because somehow she gives the best advice and having her around makes it far more tolerable to actually bond with Sheila.
“You haven’t. Now let’s get this job done, yeah?” Sheila questions with a nod towards Beca’s overly large backpack. “You have everything you need?”
“Yep,” Beca chirped turning in the direction that Sheila was heading. “You still have the little tree right?”
“Of course,” Sheila laughed. “How could a tree go missing under my watch?”
“Very true. So, I’ll set up here and you’ll bring the little tree round when you can,” Beca decided stopping in front of the room she’s grown uncomfortably familiar with over the past couple weeks.
“Will do and good luck,” Sheila smiled with a pat to the younger girl’s shoulder. Beca took in a deep breath before slowly opening the door to the redhead’s room.
Once inside Beca carefully peaked around to make sure there were no unforeseen obstacles that might get in her way. Next she made sure that Chloe was definitely asleep and okay, maybe she should have done that first but oh well. Only when she was certain that she was in the clear did she put her bag down and slowly unzip it to get the contents of the bag sorted.
Beca was quick to empty the bag but once that job was done she stared at the pile of decorations before her slightly overwhelmed with the job at hand. Fairy lights, streamers, a snowman, presents, candy canes, and a gingerbread decorating set were scattered across the table just waiting to be put in their appropriate places. Maybe Beca should have put a little more thought into implementing this plan considering the person it was for was sleeping in the very room that needed decorating. She took one more deep breath before grabbing the streamers and tape to start this long night.
//
“Kiddo, how’s it going?” Sheila whispered as she walked into the room wheeling a small cart in front of her. “Oh, wow.”
“Is it too much?” Beca mumbled from where she was looping candy canes onto a swirled streamer.
“Not at all,” Sheila replied with a smile. “Here’s the last piece of the puzzle.”
“Thank you,” Beca responded with a smile of her own. She took the small white tree and positioned it on the bedside table. Beca then grabbed the three presents she had wrapped to put them under the tree. Sheila stood in awe at the gesture of the younger girl just watching her as she added the final touches to the room.
“It’s really sweet, Becs,” Sheila interrupts the quiet that had fallen over them. “She’s going to love it so much.”
“Yeah, I think she will,” Beca mumbles quietly. She offers her step mom a content smile that is quickly returned with a hug from the other woman. Beca really should have seen that one coming.
“Let’s get you some coffee now that you’re done,” Sheila offers. “You’re gonna need it since you’ve been up all night.”
“You know me so well,” Beca chuckles as she follows the older woman out of the room. The entire walk to the cafeteria is spent talking about why it took so long for Beca to decorate the room and all the close calls she had throughout the decorating process. Chloe may be a heavy sleeper but Beca was really clumsy and sometimes things like practically falling flat on your face because you tripped over a roll of streamers can cause a person to stir in their sleep. One day this would make for a really good story and of course Chloe would never forget it either.
//
What Beca wasn’t expecting was for Chloe to cry. And when she says she wasn’t expecting it she means that the possibility didn’t even cross her mind once throughout the entire planning process. But within minutes of Chloe waking up to Beca’s masterpiece she’s crying.
“Please don’t cry. Chloe, we both know I can’t handle tears at all,” Beca rambles reaching for Chloe’s uninjured arm. “
“They’re happy tears, Becs. This is amazing,” Chloe mumbled in between wiping the tears off her face. “This is so sweet.”
“I mean, you’re welcome,” Beca mumbles awkwardly.
“Thank you so much,” Chloe squeals pulling the younger girl towards her with her good arm. Beca successfully catches on to the redhead’s plan and goes in for the hug that she knows the other girl wants to give her. “You’re literally the best person ever.”
“You’re welcome,” Beca responds with a laugh.
“I’m never going to forget this,” Chloe decides looking around the room with pure joy. “I need you to get my phone right now! I need to document everything.”
“Okay, relax, Chlo. It’s not going away any time soon,” Beca laughs but hands over the other girl’s phone.
“No. Everyone needs to know how amazing you are right now,” Chloe explains bopping up and down in the hospital bed as much as she was able. “I love you so much and everyone needs to see how amazing you are.”
“Okay,” Beca agrees because how could she deny someone like Chloe. The simple answer is that she can’t and she never would. She loves this girl more than she ever thought possible. And seeing her like this makes her so incredibly happy inside. The situation may not be ideal but it’s going to be a day worth remembering. “And I love you too.”