A/N: I am so here for the whole Emily is Bechloe's love child idea, and this is my slightly angsty twist on that. We are starting off in the past and then we'll flash forward, this will be heavily based on canon and take place mostly along the Pitch Perfect 2 timeline. As always any feedback is greatly appreciated. If you have a moment to leave a review or comment or send me message on Tumblr (shesamarshmallow) it would make my day. Thanks for reading.

Chloe almost can't believe her eyes when the breaking news banner flashes across the screen. The 11 o'clock news normally isn't her thing but when there's nothing else on she'll watch it. She doesn't know if she's grateful to have caught it or would have preferred to live in blissful ignorance for a few more hours. Flight 6790 from Paris, France to Atlanta, Georgia crashed landed in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 57 minutes ago. Chloe sat in stunned silence as the anchor relayed the details. The plane, the blonde woman said had caught fire before it landed; no survivors are expected. She inhales sharply as the tears begin to fall. She doesn't know how to tell the 11-year-old girl currently sleeping upstairs that her parents are dead.

She had promised Emily as she tucked her in earlier that night that her mom and dad would be there in the morning. They were supposed to be. Emily wanted to go to the airport to meet them but their flight wasn't scheduled to get in until 4AM. Chloe told her to get some sleep and they'd all have brunch together tomorrow. She made feeble attempts to wipe the tears pouring from her eyes with her sleeves but they just kept falling. This couldn't be real; plane crashes only happened in movies, not to real people, at least not to real people that Chloe knew. Her head was throbbing, all the crying already giving her a headache but she couldn't will her legs to move. She pulled the blanket she had tighter around her chest and bit her tongue, trying as hard as she could not to cry out. The last thing she wanted to do right now was wake up Emily.

Katherine and Barry Junk had gone away to Paris to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, leaving their young daughter Emily in Chloe's care. Chloe's parents had been best friends with the Junks since before she was born. Chloe's father knew Barry in college and reconnected with him when they realized they were members of the same country club. Chloe can still remember the day her mother told her that the Junks were having a baby girl and that she would have a playmate. There's a 7-year age difference between Chloe and her aunt Katherine's daughter but Chloe has always loved playing with little Emily all the same. Once she got old enough Chloe was the only person the Junks trusted enough to babysit their daughter. She spent evenings with her when their parents went out and whole summers with her when hers had to work. A week with Emily when her parents took a vacation was nothing out of the ordinary, except that they always came back. Chloe didn't know how to tell Emily that last week when she hugged them goodbye at the airport would be the last time she would ever see her parents.

Chloe wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and crawl into Emily's bed and hold her. Right now though she needed to let her sleep. She knew it would be Emily's last good night for a while and she couldn't bear to break the news right now. She laid her head down on the couch, she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep but she needed to lie down. Her phone would ring soon enough, she knew that much. Her parents would be calling when they heard the news, and Aubrey and Emily's grandparents she supposed. They were probably all sleeping right now but they would hear soon enough. A fiery plane crash in the Atlantic wouldn't escape their notice when they awoke, and they were all the kinds of people who watched the news over breakfast. If she was right then she had at least 7 hours to lie awake on the couch before she had to talk to anyone. She needed those 7 hours because the hours and days that were coming were going to be anything but silent.

Her head hurt worse than the night before when she was jerked awake by the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. She had managed to fall asleep, but it couldn't have been for anymore than half an hour. She didn't feel at all rested, more like she had been punched in the head and the stomach. She rubbed her eyes roughly and took a deep breath. She had hoped she was just having a nightmare last night but Katherine and Barry weren't home and she knew they never would be again. It took her a few seconds to register that arms were wrapping around her, her eyes barely open. She wrapped her own arms around the young girl, who if she was being honest was almost as tall as her, even at 11.

"Good morning Chloe."

"Good morning Em," Chloe replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Chloe felt like a coward, unable to speak up and tell her the news before she asked.

She winced when Emily looked up at her expectantly, "where are my parents?"

She was still smiling at Chloe and Chloe felt like she was being stabbed in her already broken heart. She was still hopeful that she was going to get to see her mom and dad for the first time in 10 days. She thought they were around somewhere, just waiting for her to get up. Emily's world was still in one piece and Chloe was about to shatter it. The words were caught in her throat as she stood just staring down at Emily. She started crying again before she could even get a word out and she hated herself for it. In front of her stood an 11 year old who just lost her parents and she can't stop crying, she has no right to be the one in pain right now.

"Chloe what's wrong?"

The look of concern and panic that flashes across the young girl's face is another stab in the heart. She just needs to tell her. It is never going to be an easy thing to say and her reaction is never going to be different. Her whole world is going to come crashing down either way.

"The plane that your parents were on…." Chloe stopped mid-sentence, unable to continue.

She could see Emily's eyes start to fill with tears. She may be only 11 but she is far from stupid. She can see tragedy written all over Chloe's face.

"It crashed baby and I am so, so sorry."

Chloe's words confirm her worst nightmares. Her parents aren't coming home, ever.

She knew it was going to be awful but nothing could have prepared her for the pained scream she hears next. She reaches out her arms to catch her as Emily crumples to the floor. Chloe forces herself to stop crying, it isn't her turn to cry right now. She needs to be as strong as she can for Emily. She has lost two people she has known since she was born but Emily has lost her parents, the two people she loves most in the world. Chloe lifts her onto the couch and wraps her arms around her tight. She sits silently and just holds her as she cries. There is nothing she can say right now that will even make a dent in the excruciating pain Emily is in. She just lets her sob into her chest. She would tell her how sorry she is again but it seems woefully inadequate; as if feeling sorry for her means anything. She would probably punch anyone who told her they were sorry she lost her mom and dad in the face.

Chloe stops watching the clock after three hours, there's no point. She'll stay like this as long as Emily needs her to. The sobs haven't stopped racking her small frame since they sat down. Chloe just rubs soothing circles on her back, even when she knows they are doing nothing to soothe her. Chloe is startled when her phone starts to ring. She glances over at the caller ID, not sure if she should attempt to answer it. She sees her mother's number and knows that she should but moving doesn't seem like an option. She misses the call, and the next one and the next one after that. Clearly her mother isn't relenting, and of course she can't blame her. If her best friend had died she would be calling to check on her daughter too.

She moves Emily as gently as she can and helps her to lay down on the couch. She props up her head with a pillow and covers her with a blanket. She sits down on the available cushion, next to Emily's head. Chloe rests one hand on Emily's shoulder in an effort to let her know she's still with her. She reaches for her phone and dials her mother's number. She picks up immediately. Chloe thinks of leaving the room to have this conversation but she doesn't want to leave Emily and she doesn't see a point. Emily already knows what they're going to talk about.

Her mother is crying when Chloe picks up the phone. Of course she is, her best friend is dead. She asks how Chloe found out and if Emily knows. She asks if Emily is okay and Chloe does her best not to laugh. Of course she's not okay, she just found out she lost everything. Chloe wouldn't blame her if she were never really okay again, she's not sure she would be if she lost both of her parents at 11 years old. She's 18 now and she still can't imagine losing her parents. Talk quickly turns to who will take care of Emily now. Chloe hadn't really thought about it, not yet anyway. She was too devastated last night to think clearly and today she is more concerned with how Emily is dealing in the moment. She's 11 though, the issue of who is going to take care of her is pretty important.

As far as she knows Katherine and Barry were both only children and she knows Emily's paternal grandparents both died when she was young. Katherine's parents are retired and live somewhere in Europe. They spend most of their time travelling, she's heard from Emily about their adventures everywhere from Copenhagen to Budapest. They send her postcards and she displays them all over the walls in her bedroom. They fly her out to visit them for two weeks each summer and Skype her every other weekend. Chloe has only met them once when they were visiting the Junks stateside. She imagines they will be the next to call her. She doesn't know what to say when they do, she is sorry for their loss but that feels too cliché.

The next week is filled with painful conversations in hushed tones because everyone other than Chloe is walking on eggshells around Emily. She can't really blame them; there is no easy way to deal with a child who has lost their parents. You feel sorry for them, even if your pity makes them feel even worse. Emily hates the way people have been looking at her. She took the week off school but there have been people around the house, neighbors visiting with casseroles, distant relatives whom Emily has never met, friends of her parents from the country club and even a local priest. Emily doesn't want to talk to any of them and Chloe keeps them at bay, it's the least she can do for the girl.

Her grandparents fly in for the funeral, they thank Chloe for being with Emily, as if she would be anywhere else. She took the week off school, skipping classes and rehearsal with the Bellas was a no brainer. She's not sure she could even focus if she did go; she's still devastated, for herself, for her parents and especially for Emily. This is where she needs to be. Chloe sits in the back of the church with Emily who lays in her lap and cries. It's all too much for her. She helps her sneak out the back door without anyone noticing when she can tell she just can't take it anymore. No one asks questions, Emily can do whatever she wants; she's the one who lost her parents.

They sit up against the brick wall outside. Emily pulls her knees to her chest and puts her head down. She's not crying anymore, Chloe figures she's cried herself out at this point. The week has been emotionally exhausting and if this is what Emily needs right now she's happy to sit with her. Chloe reaches her arm out and wraps it around the young girl's shoulders. She doesn't say anything; she's here for whatever Emily needs.

"Chloe," she speaks up after a few minutes, "I don't want to go to Europe."

Chloe isn't sure what to say, her grandparents must have talked to her about living with them. The Junks' lawyer had been talking to them the day prior at the house, it makes sense that they would have wanted her grandparents to take care of their daughter.

"I already lost my parents, I don't want to lose everything else too. I don't want to leave my school and my friends. I don't want to leave Atlanta or my home. I want to go to Barden when I get older and be a Bella, I've always wanted to be a Bella just like mom."

Chloe presses a kiss to the young girl's temple, it is the first time Emily has really talked to her about her feelings since she told her about her parents' death.

"I don't want to lose you."

She says it so quietly that it's almost a whisper and she's crying again as she says it. Chloe hadn't even thought about that yet. She can't pick up and move to Europe if Emily goes to live with her grandparents. Her whole life is here too, just like Emily's. Her parents, her boyfriend Tom, Aubrey and the Bellas, her a capella group. She couldn't leave them and she's already in her second year, she wants to graduate from Barden. Not seeing Emily on a regular basis though? Chloe can't even fathom it. Emily has been a constant presence in her life since the day she was born, Chloe's mother even took her to the hospital to see her that day.

"You won't," she promises, even if she doesn't know right now how to keep that promise. Stockholm hasn't stopped being almost 5000 miles away from Atlanta.

She's nervous as she sits across the table from Emily's grandparents. They're supposed to be talking about plans to get Emily ready to move to Sweden. They need Chloe's help to tie up loose ends here, notify Emily's school, arrange to have her stuff shipped, and every other little detail that hadn't yet come up. Emily doesn't want to go though; she has made that very clear. The night of the funeral she cried herself to sleep in Chloe's arms. She has become accustom to sleeping in Emily's bed with her when she won't let her go. She hasn't been able to sleep alone since her parents died.

"I don't want to move to Sweden," Emily says, more bluntly than Chloe has ever heard her speak.

She's normally shyer and more nervous, unsure of herself. She knows what she wants though.

"Honey," her grandmother starts, "I know it will be hard to adjust but you'll like it there."

Emily shakes her head, "My life is here. My parents are gone but the rest of my life is still here. I want to keep living in this house; it was our home and it's still mine. I don't want to have to leave my friends and everyone I love. I don't want to leave Chloe."

Emily's grandfather Richard looks over at Chloe when she says this. He's used to hearing about Chloe, Emily talks about her on their Skype calls all the time. He just hadn't realized how important she is to Emily.

"Em," her grandmother says, her voice is almost pleading. "You can't stay here alone, you're so young."

Chloe has been quiet, letting Emily tell her grandparents how she feels. Now she needs to speak up though, she owes it to Emily.

"I can take care of her Mrs. Junk."

Her grandfather is the one to speak next, "I don't doubt that dear, but you're 18. You have your whole life ahead of you. You don't need to be tied down with a child this early."

"I know that it won't be easy Sir but I love Emily. She has lost so much already; I don't want her to lose everything she has here. I wouldn't offer if I wasn't serious. I want to."

Her grandmother sighs and Chloe gets it. They have lost their only child and Emily is their only grandchild. She gets that she would feel guilty about leaving her here and not bringing her home with them. This is Emily's home though.

"Okay," she says, nodding her head as if to reassure herself that she is doing the right thing.

Leaving your 11-year-old granddaughter with an 18-year-old college student probably seems absurd, but Emily will be in good hands.

"We will open up a bank account for her, her parents have setup a trust as well but she can save that for the future. We'll make sure she has everything she needs. We will fly in when we can and fly her out to visit on school holidays."

"She's safe with me," Chloe assures them, "I've got her."

Emily gets up to hug her grandmother and it's the first time Chloe has seen her smile in over a week. She's missed that smile.

After she hugs her grandparents, presumably for agreeing to let her stay in the U.S., she runs over to Chloe.

"Thank you."

She pulls Emily up into her lap. She'll be taller than Chloe soon but that doesn't stop her from being the little girl Chloe has always known.

"Anything for you Em," she smiles at her.

She'll deal with the reality of the fact that she just agreed to take in an 11-year-old kid tomorrow. For now she'll settle for just watching Emily smile at her with relief in her eyes.