Jesse's speed slowed considerably as he once again reached the quad. He was trying to think of what to say to Beca when he unexpectedly turned up at her door. She probably wouldn't want to see him given everything that has happened, nor did he think she would expect him to care about what happens with her. He went over everything Chloe had said to him, trying to see if he could possibly pinpoint whats causing Beca to be AWOL. She'd mentioned Beca saying that she wasn't feeling too good, but Beca wasn't the type to let a little cold stop her from going about her day to day life. The only other indicator that Chloe had mentioned was about Beca's dad pushing her; he knew they had a rocky relationship but had things escalated now? Was this the reason for withdrawing herself from existence? He realised that his feet and traced the familiar oath to Beca's dorm without him realising and now he was standing outside her door.

Jesse took a deep breath and raised his fist, pausing momentarily before giving the door a few sharp knocks. "Beca?" He called out but he went unanswered. He was about to raise his fist again when he realised that there was the faint sounds of music creeping through the door. He leaned forwards and pressed his ear against it and he could make out that it was the unmistakable sounds of one of Beca's mixes playing. Jesse almost smiled before he realised that Beca was in her room, and that she was ignoring him. She must of known he was outside, because as he called through the door again (this time a little louder) he noticed that the music had been turned off and silence was now filling the room behind the closed door.

"Beca, I know you're in there. You've turned your music off so I know you can definitely hear me. Open the door please, we need to talk..." Jesse waited for a few seconds but there was still no sound coming from beyond the door. He was getting a little angry now and he'd had enough. "Beca if you don't open this door I will go and find Kimmy-Jin and make her open it for me and we both know your life will be hell living with her after that." Jesse didn't know why he had said that, he knew he didn't have the courage to do that and there was a good chance Beca knew it to, but it was worth a try. Jesse was just about to pound on the door again when he heard Beca's faint voice float through the door.

"There's no need for you to do that, Nerd, the doors unlocked. You can come in if you feel you really need to." There was a slight breathless edge to her voice that Jesse didn't like.

It took Jesse a minute to gather his thoughts before he turned the handle to Beca's door and let himself into her room. He entered with caution, not sure what mood she was in but as he turned to face her he stopped dead, shocked by her appearance. She was sitting on her bed, feet out in front of her and her back propped up by pillows. She had numerous cuts and bruises over her face and neck, some serious enough for stitches. Her left wrist was in a brace and there was a lone crutch by the head of her bed and Jesse took that to mean that she had some sort of injury to one of her legs.

"Beca...?" He started but couldn't finish his sentence. He pushed the door closed behind him and lent with his back against it. Jesse didn't know whether he should go over to her or stay where he was and it seemed that Beca wasn't sure on what he should do either. He watched her as she closed her laptop and placed it on the bed next to her and as she tried to moved herself from her seated position. It was when Jesse saw her wince and gasp in pain that he walked over and knelt in front of her.

"Beca, what happened? Talk to me, please." He placed his hand over hers and he noticed how her braced one was balled to where her ribs were. He waited for what seemed like hours before she turned her hand under his to grip it. She was looking at him now, her breathing a little ragged signalling that talking was going to be an effort.

"Got hit by a car." He noticed that she tried to smile at him but it seemed that she just couldn't muster it.

"What? Beca when did this happen? How did it happen? Why didn't you tell... anyone?" He still had her hand but the palm of his other was now resting against her cheek, his thumb rubbing gently over one of her bruises. Any anger, frustration and annoyance he had felt towards her had evaporated now and all he felt was concern. He didn't care how long it took, he wouldn't leave her until she'd opened up to him and told him what he needed to know.

"About four days ago, after I left the station, I literally passed out in the path of an oncoming car. My phone got as banged up as me and I'm still waiting on a replacement and as you've probably guessed, moving isn't exactly easy, hence the not contacting anyone. I only come back here this morning anyway so I haven't seen anyone... only you." She looked like she was going to cry, and the Beca Mitchell Jesse knew never cried. "To be honest, I didn't even think anyone would notice I wasn't around. I mean, the girls are super busy; Aubrey's practically got them rehearsing day and night since they're getting to go to the finals. I don't exactly have any other friends in this place... I pushed the only person who truly meant something to me away and I thought... thought I'd screwed it up for good."

Jesse stopped stroking her cheek and let his hand fall away from her face. Had she just admitted that he meant something to her? Had she actually volunteered her personal feelings up on a silver platter? She had looked at him then looked away again, a little hurt when he moved his hand away from her. Obviously she must be thinking that she'd gone too far and was pushing him away again, Jesse had to do something, make her see that she'd done the exact opposite.

"Beca? Beca look at me." He pulled her chin up and she was forced to make eye contact with him. "If you think I stopped caring about you, I didn't. You really think I didn't notice you missing? We may not having been talking but hell Beca, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Believe me, I tried but I just couldn't. You deserve all the blame here, okay? You apologised but I refused to listen, I pushed you away and I regretted it but it was too late to take it back... I screwed up to, Becs. I convinced myself that you'd finally succeeded in finding a way to avoid me completely and it hurt, hurt to know that I'd made you feel like you had to. When Luke said that he hadn't seen or heard from you I knew there was something wrong, you wouldn't give up working at the station, no matter our... situation." He smiled softly at her. There were tears gathered at the brim of her eyes that were threatening to spill over. He continued, keeping his tone soft. "I gatecrashed Bella's rehearsal trying to find you."

Beca's eyes widened. "You what?"

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, I fully believe you now when you say she's a bitch. I swear the girls looked ready to drop. I put her in her place though," he grinned at her, getting a small one in return. "Even Chloe told her to stop; I think you've influenced them Becs."

Beca laughed but he saw she regretted it instantly. She gasped and gripped his hand harder as pain radiated through her damaged ribs. It took a few minutes before the pain died down enough for her to move. "You okay, Beca?"

"I need to take something for this pain, I can't take it any longer. My dad dropped me off and is coming back later but he has my meds and I can't call him. I was doing okay when I was leaning on the bed, I just need to get back in that position and then I'll be fine."

"Let me help you?" He held his breath waiting for her to reply. He was sure she would say no, demand that she could manage on her own, not that would make a difference, he was going to help her whether she liked it or not. Beca seemed to know that already because she glanced at him, thought for a moment let out a sigh and said the opposite of what Jesse thought.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay."

"You'll let me help you?"

Jesse could tell Beca was trying her best not to laugh at him again. "That is what yes usually means." He grinned. He had missed her. More than missed her. He was still a little upset about what happened and he could tell she still wasn't feeling good about it but talking more about that could wait for a while. He took majority of her weight (not that that was a lot!) and gently lifted her up enough to place her legs back on the bed. She winced and gasped a few more times in pain and stiffened when he went to move her legs back into the position she was originally in.

"I've got you, Beca." He whispered lightly to her as she moved his hands back to hers. "Relax and the pain wont be so bad, okay?"

She nodded but it took her a few minutes to regain control. When the pain seemed to have settled she smiled at him. "Thanks, Jesse."

"Anytime Becs. Listen... Do you want me to go find your dad and get your meds? You shouldn't have to spend the next few hours in pain if you don't have to. I can get us something for dinner and we can continue with moviecation?" He was hopeful... and it was showing. Beca seemed a little scared to him.

"You don't have to do that, Jesse. I don't deserve you being nice to me, I know that and I don't expect you to. I wont be surprised or offended if you just want to leave."

"No, Beca. You're not doing this again. I'm not letting you push me away again, especially when you need me. Your dad will be in class now right? I'll just go get your meds and pick us up something from the canteen. I won't be long and you can even pick the movie!"

Beca's feeble attempt to throw something at him just made Jesse laugh harder. He soon stopped though once he saw pain flash across Becas face.

"Sorry, Beca. I'll be gone an hour tops. Here," He handed over his phone to her. "If the pain gets worse or you needed something phone Chloe or one of the girls. See you soon. Becaw!"

He left her room, but not before giving her another wide grin. They still had a long way to go but things were looking up, and one thing was for sure - he definitely wasn't going to let her push him away again.


Not sure I'm entirely happy with this chapter, but let me know what you guys think!