Winter was always her favourite time of the year. The cold breeze, the smell of cinnamon and coffee as she walked to the office every morning; there was nothing better. Today was bittersweet. Snow was falling gently outside the large bay window she sat by, sipping the hot coffee in her hand. It was the first snowfall of the season and she was alone. For the first time in two years, Beca Mitchell wasn't sharing this moment. It felt wrong.

She looked down at the laptop in front of her, focussing solemnly on the background. It was strange. Beca looked at the picture, her dark hair was worn in the same style it was in today, her eyes held a special spark as she looked down and the miniature version of herself, who was poking tongues at the camera phone. She smiled sadly. Her daughter, Emily, was spending the weekend four hours away at her paternal grandparent's house with her father.

It was the first time Emily's father had made an effort in nearly a year. He was always too busy. It was that reason that their relationship had failed in the first place. They'd been married for barely a year when Emily came along. Two-point-seven kilograms of perfection. She'd been two weeks early, impatient, Beca would say. From the start Emily had looked much like her mother, for a few months, it seemed like she may have had lighter hair, like her father, but Emily had other ideas. She was the perfect image of her mother, from her sable hair to her blue eyes.

Beca's thoughts were slowly dragged away from the image with the wafting aroma of fresh coffee. She looked up, seeing the red haired barista sliding into the booth across from her. Confusion clouded Beca's features as she noted the two latte glasses in the woman's hands. One was pushed across with a raised eyebrow, "You look down."

Beca smiled, knowing that the smile didn't reach her eyes and hoping the woman wouldn't notice, "I'm all right."

The woman across from her let out a soft noise, somewhere between a snort and a chuckle, "If you're going to fib to me, I'll take my coffee back."

Beca took a deep breath and sat back, "This is going to be the longest weekend I've had in a while."

"Good thing I have time then," she answered with a smirk. "I'm Chloe."

Beca tried to look surprised. Truth be told, Chloe was part of the reason Beca continued to visit regularly. She was like a breath of fresh air after a rough day. Maybe it was the smile. Or the eyes. Figuring the silence had gone on long enough, Beca gave Chloe her name, failing to give a last name, just in case.

Chloe winked, "See, that might have been nice if I didn't already know your name…"

"I've been coming here once a day for the last month, surely you haven't memorised my face…"

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh? So you're a creep then?"

Chloe grinned, "Just an avid music lover who may be familiar with your work. Depending on whether or not that's creepy…"

Beca laughed, Chloe's face flushed slightly, "Totally not creepy. Though, it does make me curious as to why you aren't fangirling over there…"

Chloe let out a chuckle. She was trying so unbelievably hard not to fangirl over the woman in front of her. She'd been a massive fan of DJ BMitch since her college days, not that she'd ever shared that with any of her friends, who were more interested in boys and competitive a cappella. When she had first seen Beca spin a club near their college, she was shocked to see a tiny brunette behind the tables. Then Beca had disappeared for a few years, working as a producer for a large Indie label in LA, occasionally releasing a song featuring a new and upcoming artist. Beca was a star maker. Every time a DJ BMitch song can out, you could be assured that the artist featured would have a stellar career. At least, that's what Chloe had noticed. "Believe me, I'm trying so hard to act normal."

"You may squeal. One squeal only and you save this booth for me every Saturday…"

"Oh come on! That's worth at least two squeals and a signed boob."

Beca nearly choked on her coffee, Chloe was definitely a huge fan, if she knew about the DJ's boob signing days. "Chloe? Really? Second base on the first date?"

Chloe blushed, "We're off topic. Talk to me, DJ."

Beca's bravado failed under Chloe's gaze, "Today is the first day in a long time that my daughter has been away from me and I'm not ok with it. I thought I was. I'm not."

Chloe's face softened slightly, the mirth behind her eyes being replaced with something akin to concern. She knew about Beca's daughter, Emily, mainly from following the DJ's Instagram and Twitter posts. The two were always together, which kept Beca out of the tabloids after a nasty spat with some paparazzi who had scared poor Emily to tears.

Beca watched as her new companion slid from the booth and returned behind the counter. She was curious about Chloe. First, she'd been completely drawn in by the megawatt smile and baby blues. Now that Beca had met her outside of ordering her usual coffee, her personality was outshining her gorgeous exterior. She was in trouble.

There was a hushed conversation between Chloe and the other barista, before Chloe reached into the cabinet. She returned to the booth brandishing two cake forks and a large chocolate brownie.

"Chloe…"

"What? Please don't tell me you're a health nut? And even if you are, this seems like the type of occasion that only one of my brownies will fix," Chloe answered with a smirk.

A smile tugged at the corners of Beca's mouth, "Not a health nut. Just worried about your job security when your boss finds out you've been shouting pretty girls coffee and chocolate."

Chloe's smirk transformed into a full smile, "Pfft, my boss? I am the boss, thank you very much. So start talking before I decide to eat this entire thing."

Beca nodded, she hadn't really spoken to anyone since Ryan had walked out on her and Emily two years ago. Even her best friend Jesse barely knew the full details. But somehow, Beca found herself spilling everything to Chloe. Starting with her divorce with Ryan.

"At first, he'd been spending more hours at work, blaming a new position for the two hour change in roster. Eventually he just stopped calling, coming home well after hours, some nights smelling of beer, others of perfume. I just ignored it. Figured he was coming home to me anyway…"

Her own schedule was hectic enough. Between raising Emily, working full time and keeping house, by the time Ryan got home, Beca was beyond exhausted. At first she'd blamed herself for his leaving.

After a year parenting Emily on her own, with Ryan making excuse after excuse not to have Emily visit, Beca gave up. It was clear that Ryan wanted nothing to do with Beca or their daughter so she packed them up and moved east. It had been easy for her to find a job. She had built herself an amazing reputation in the LA music industry. So she easily managed to work from home for the first few weeks before landing a position at a large studio. She ended up taking on a nine to five, so that she and Emily could settle into their new home. A week ago, she'd taken on a new position, higher paying, maybe the odd weekend shift, but still doable.

She'd been recommended this café by her friend Jesse and had stopped by on her first lunch break and had stopped by every day since. Mostly for the coffee. Sometimes just to see Chloe's smile, as creepy as that sounds.

It had been late Wednesday afternoon when Ryan had called. She had just stopped by for her midday caffeine fix. You're not busy this weekend are you? Beca had stupidly answered with a no. Good, mum and dad miss Emily and it's time she comes home for a visit. Beca had been so shocked by his statement that she'd gone along with it and told Ryan that if he was able to collect Emily on the Friday afternoon and have her home by Monday morning, then it was fine by her. She regretted her decision the second she'd hung up, but he was still technically Emily's father and so long as he was on her birth certificate, then he had rights.

"Surely, he can't come waltzing back in after twelve months and demand a weekend?" Chloe queried. Beca had only just realised that sometime during her story, Chloe had moved seats and was now squished into the booth beside her, nudging the brownie closer.

"Unfortunately, because of my stupidity he can. There is no custodial agreement, so Ryan has full parental claim over my daughter," Beca sighed. She'd been stupid to think that that was the end of it; that she and Emily could spend the next ten to fifteen years, free of her neglectful ex. Thankfully she'd had the brains to give Emily her last name. Let's face it, Emily Mitchell was a much cooler and slightly more appropriate name that Emily Hardon. Chloe had chuckled in agreement at that statement.

"Tell me about her," Chloe asked, nudging the computer screen and smiling at the background, "She's so happy."

"She is. She always has been. She's very smart, too smart for her own good some days," Beca added with a smile. "Do you take this much interest in all your sad patrons?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Only the pretty ones. But you're right, I do need to help. Poor Stacie is going to lose it soon. She always grabs her boobs when she's stressed." Sure enough, when Beca followed Chloe's gaze, the leggy brunette behind the coffee machine had one hand tucked under the opposite arm as she steamed milk.

"I knew I liked her…"

Chloe flicked Beca with a napkin, "You know I have to tell her that right? It's, like, best friend code." She stood up and began clearing the empty plates and glasses, while attempting to push the twenty dollar note back at Beca. She gave Beca a shy smile as she walked off, "Stay as long as you'd like, ok?"

Beca leaned back into the booth feeling a lot lighter than she had half an hour ago. She was definitely going to add at least a twenty to the tip jar.