CHAPTER 1

THWACK!

Beca jerked in agony, grunting as the belt met her back once more. The skin over her lower back was beginning to tear and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

"What's wrong?" The guard chuckled as he circled the soldier's dangling body. "You had so much to say earlier."

TWACK!

Chloe was woken by the sound of her wife's soft groaning. Lifting her head from Beca's chest, she soon discovered that the brunette was soaked with sweat. The redhead watched curiously as her wife began to squirm and struggle in her sleep. This wasn't the first time she had woken up to this. It had been happening on and off since Beca came home from Afghanistan. It wasn't until recently that the redhead noticed it happening more and more often.

Every night was the same.

Beca would have a mysterious bad dream that she'd refuse to talk about and shrug it off as "another stupid nightmare" that was "No big deal, seriously."

Chloe would only nod and plant a kiss to Beca's clammy cheek, knowing there was something she wasn't telling her.

Dark blue eyes snapped open, darting around the moonlit bedroom before eventually landing on sympathetic lighter ones.

Chloe watched patiently as realization flashed across the former soldier's face. She was home. She was safe.

"Baby, you're soaked…" Chloe cooed, taking in the brunette's clinging top and glistening skin.

"It's a little warm in here tonight," Beca shrugged, placing a hand to her chest to calm herself.

Chloe decided not to mention the fact that it was December and the temperature was below 40. She was careful to avoid the question she wanted to ask. She'd learned her lesson the first time she asked Beca about her nightmares. The smaller woman snapped in very un-Beca-like fashion. Chloe spent the greater half of the night watching as her wife fought an invisible force in her sleep.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked instead.

"I'm fine." Beca exhaled, settling back into the pillows as Chloe hovered over her.

"No medicine? Are you feeling ill?"

"NO, Chloe…"

"Do you at least want some water? You must be thirsty-"

"I said, I'm FINE. Can you just drop it?" Beca's voice had an edge to it, this time. Typically, this was the point where Chloe would shut up and lay back down, pretending not to notice her wife's racing heartbeat against her ear.

She thought she'd try her luck tonight.

"Beca," Chloe swallowed, ignoring the pang in her chest over the way Beca was speaking to her. "I wish you would talk to me…"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Beca's voice raised as she began to lose her patience. She just wished Chloe would leave it alone. "I just had a bad dream and right now all I want to do is go back to sleep, so can you shut up about it before I go sleep on the couch?"

Chloe only nodded, biting her lip as she felt her eyes sting. Beca's face softened, and for a second, Chloe thought she was going to give in, but she just shook her head and mumbled an apology.

"I don't mean to yell, babe. I'm just…really tired."

"I know," Chloe yielded, snuggling back up to her wife.

But Chloe wasn't convinced, not even in the slightest. She knew Beca and she knew there had to be something more going on. A small part of her believed that Beca knew it too.

The Next Day-

BARDEN ELEMENTARY

Chloe wandered through the pods of desks, watching as her students worked on their Christmas projects. As tired as she was, she couldn't help but smile at the children's excitement as the produced multiple variations of crayon, glitter, and paper Santa Clauses.

"Look, Mrs. Beale! I gave Santa a motorcycle!" One boy exclaimed, holding his paper high for her to see.

"I see," Chloe grinned at the indistinguishable red stick figure and bicycle. "Santa's going to be delivering presents in style this year."

"Mrs. Beale! Look at mine!"

"Mrs. Beale!"

"Ooh! Mrs. Beale! I drew Olaf!"

Chloe moved across the room to grab a broom and dustpan. "Hold on to those and bring them back tomorrow so we can finish, okay? We've only got a few minutes so we should probably start cleaning up."

The next few minutes were spent picking up broken crayons, sweeping glitter, and throwing away crumpled up bits of paper. By the time everyone had finished cleaning their areas and washing their hands, the bell rang, signaling the end of school.

Chloe made sure to move out of the doorway as all the children rushed for the door. The last thing she needed, was to get trampled this close to Christmas.

"Don't forget to get your permission slips signed and turned in by Thursday!" Chloe reminded her students with a smile as she waved them goodbye. "See you tomorrow!"

The art teacher's smile dropped the moment the last 6-yr old exited the classroom. With a sigh, she made her way over to her desk and plopped down into her chair. She ran a hand through ginger waves and let her eyes close as she enjoyed the luxuries of silence and FINALLY being off of her feet for the first time since 8am.

Between getting everything together for the kids' trip to Disney world, and everything with Beca, Chloe was exhausted.

"Long day?" A familiar voice brought Chloe out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and turned towards the doorway. She wasn't surprised to find Aubrey watching with an understanding smile.

"Kind of," The redhead admitted. "It probably doesn't help that I haven't been getting much sleep lately, either."

Aubrey frowned, stepping into the classroom. "Why not?"

Chloe began to massage her temples as she had an internal debate over telling Aubrey about Beca's behavior lately.

As if she could read her friend's mind, the blonde pressed on. "Is it Beca?"

"How-?" Chloe's brows furrowed in confusion as she let her hands fall to her lap.

Aubrey closed the door and approached Chloe's desk, taking a seat on the corner as she smiled sympathetically. "Jesse told me she hasn't really been herself these past few weeks."

Chloe huffed. "I'll say..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Taking a breath, Chloe reminded herself that she can trust Aubrey. There's no harm in telling her. She might even be able to offer some advice. "Beca's been having nightmares every night for the past two weeks or so... I feel like it might be the same nightmare, but she won't talk to me about it and she gets SO angry when I ask her about it."

"..."

"And sometimes she'll just, like, zone out...like she'll go to another world completely. I can't even recognize her in those moments."

Something crossed Aubrey's face and it worried Chloe. "What?"

"Nothing," Aubrey shook her head, reassuringly. "What else have you noticed?"

Chloe thought for a moment. "She's a bit jumpy. Every now and then I'll go to touch her and she'll jump away from me. It's been difficult trying to get her in a romantic mood. I never really know what to expect."

"Chloe..." Aubrey started, a knowing frown on her face. "I think she needs to talk to someone."

"That's what I've been trying to tell her, but she's so STUBBORN. You know how she can be." Chloe rolled her eyes affectionately.

"I'm sorry…" Aubrey closed the distance between the redhead and herself, bending slightly to pull her into an embrace. "Are you guys still trying for a baby?"

"You know, it's funny…for the longest, we've tried and just couldn't get pregnant. Now, it's finally working..."

Aubrey squealed, squeezing her friend excitedly. "Oh my God, Chloe! I'm so happy for you! I know you've been trying since last year."

Chloe pulled away, wiping her eyes quickly. Aubrey couldn't help but notice how somber Chloe seemed.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be more excited about this." Aubrey frowned, watching as Chloe took a breath and lowered her gaze to the polished tiles.

"I haven't told Beca."