A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favs, and follows. This is Chapter 2 and as a warning, this is a HARD T rating for this chapter. Italics are flashbacks, except when they're not. It's pretty self explanatory...hopefully. Enjoy!


Won't somebody come on in and tug at my seams?
Oh, send your armies in of robbers and thieves
To steal the state I'm in, I don't want it anymore

Basket Case-Sara Bareilles


Chapter Two: Basket Case

"Chloe? Chloe? Are you listening to me? Chloe?!"

Chloe could vaguely hear the voice talking in the distance as she ran her fingers over the glass screen of her iPad and put together the perfect mix on her iTunes queue. All of the songs reminded her of Beca and they would be the perfect thing to listen to later to get her through the long night. She hadn't seen the girl in over a month and she missed her terribly. The music wouldn't compensate for her body or her laugh or her conversation, but for now it would do.

She could hear the voice getting louder and dipping into her concentration, but for now she was trapped in a memory and her uncle could wait. This was far more important than a business discussion and as she added a Sara Bareilles track to the queue, she was catapulted back to that night that seemed like an eternity ago instead of a mere month.


"Really? A Sara Bareilles song?" Chloe questioned with a smile. "I thought that you were entirely too bad-ass for her slow jams. It's kind of different from your usual choice of David Guetta or Skrillex."

"I'm not musically shallow, thank you very much." Beca retorted as she rolled her eyes and pressed play on her iTunes screen. "I can listen to stuff other than dance music and besides, I've heard you and Aubrey sing Gravity too many times to count. It's addicting! Plus, she was in an a cappella group and that's kinda cool."

"Totes. She wasn't in a national championship winning group, though. She doesn't have the street cred that the Barden Bellas have." Chloe teased as Beca nodded coolly in agreement.

"Excuse me, Chloe?" Beca questioned sarcastically. "A two-time national championship winning group. We made ICCAs our bitch. They're probably not even going to hold the competition next year. They can just mail us the trophy and save everyone else the trouble of showing up and getting embarrassed."

"You're rather cocky, aren't you?" Chloe chortled as she shoved Beca playfully. "It's good though, because you are ridiculously sexy when you're like this. I like my Beca Mitchell with some swag. Let's see how long that lasts once you check out your final grades. Did the website load yet?"

"Yeah, it just loaded. The Wi-Fi in your building sucks. Hopefully the service will be better in the townhouse. You have no idea of how psyched I am to move in. Only two more months and then we can call it home. Okay, you should go first. I'm going to go and grab a bottle of water."

Beca thrust the Mac into Chloe's hands and jumped off of the bed, running to the kitchen and grabbing two bottles of water before returning to Chloe's room. Chloe was propped up on the pillows and was smiling brightly as Beca settled next to her on the bed and looked at her expectantly.

Chloe grinned at Beca and boasted "Straight A's! Bree's gonna be so jealous! She got an A- in one of her theory classes and when she saw her grades today, I swear she almost started to cry. Your turn!"

Beca took the laptop onto her lap and replied "Well of course you would get perfect grades, you bitch!" Chloe shoved her again and Beca kissed her cheek before continuing. "You're beautiful and smart and perfect, too. I'll be lucky if I even got one A."

Beca took a drink from her bottle as her grades started to load on the screen and once they came up, she was so surprised that she sprayed water onto the laptop and the bed. As Chloe started to laugh and reached for a towel, Beca smiled at the screen and said "Holy shit, I got an A! Well, I got 3 B's and 2 C's, but I actually got an A! My dad is going to be so happy when he sees this. Maybe he'll buy me the new keyboard that I've been asking for."

"Nice. You're twenty years old and you still expect to be rewarded for an A." Chloe rolled as Beca just shrugged. "Just think what you would expect if you actually applied yourself a little and got a few more of them. Your dad would have to take a loan out just to cover your demands."

"Shut up!" Beca exclaimed while shoving Chloe backwards onto the bed and closing her laptop. "Not all of us have an inheritance or a...well, a job. God, now I sound lazy! Anyway, he dragged me to this school so he owes me the occasional present. You should be happy that we're at least talking civilly and trying to have a normal relationship."

Chloe just smiled at the girl and Beca felt her heart melt. She looked down at her boots and said "We should go out and spend some of your big bucks, moneybags. It's too late now, but tomorrow you should take me out to somewhere nice for dinner. Somewhere with filet mignon and appetizers and the fancy wine that tastes disgusting, but sounds so sexy when you order it. What's that one that we ordered last time? It was awful, but I almost jumped you at the table when you ordered it."

"It was a Sauvignon Blanc, which is just a fancy name for a white wine." Chloe replied while smiling and slyly winking at Beca. "It wasn't too bad either; you just have crappy taste in booze. That's from a year of being Amy's roommate. I swear, every time I came over to your dorm room she was drinking cheap wine coolers or lousy beer. I'm surprised that you made it through this year with your stomach lining intact."

"I'm a good drunk. So, are we going or not?" Beca asked while grinning up at her girlfriend.

Chloe got a little quiet and stood from the bed, walking over to her nightstand and rearranging the items on it while she tried to avoid Beca's worried gaze. Beca refused to stop looking at her and after Chloe stepped away from the table and moved to her closet, Beca murmured "Chlo? Are you okay?"

Chloe sunk back onto the bed and stared down at her hands as she hesitantly explained her chance of emotion. "No, not really. I have something that I have to tell you and I know that it's going to make you mad, but I can't keep it in anymore. I'm…I have to go back to New York City to help settle my father's estate. My grandparents are going to help me sell his apartments and his cars and stuff like that, but they're making me stay for the summer. One of the stipulations of my trust fund is that I have to help out with the company and take over his position on the board of directors. They're not expecting me to quit school or do this as a full time thing, but they want me to take the summer and help out. I guess they want me to see where my money and my legacy come from."

Beca's mouth dropped open as she stood up from the bed and exclaimed "We had our whole summer planned! We were going to spend it together and go to the beach and to Florida to see your family. You were going to take me to Disney World and to Miami and now…you're just leaving and you couldn't be bothered to tell me. Don't go, refuse to go and do this." Chloe looked away and Beca knew that it was a lost cause. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she continued "You have no interest in running a business and they can't make you go. You just called me out on being childish but you're taking orders from them. You're 23; you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do."

Chloe shook her head as she stood too and said "If I want to keep going to school, then I have to go. That money is for my education and it's not like I have thousands of dollars just sitting around to pay for my tuition. I have to do this and I…I think that I have to do it alone."

"You don't want me to come with you?" Beca questioned with tears filling her eyes.

"I didn't say that. I love you and I love having you around, but it's not fair of me to expect you to just drop everything and sit in an apartment in New York while I'm busy all day at the office. You should be enjoying your summer and doing stuff that you want to do. Jesse's going to be here the whole summer for that internship and you'll have him to hang out with and it'll be…you'll be okay." Chloe's cheeks were red and her voice quivered as she tried to calm Beca down. "You can even visit and spend a few weekends with me, if you want."

"Don't tell me what I want. I just…I want you!" Beca exclaimed, looking down at her feet and heaving an angry sigh. "You're all that I want and now you're going to be gone. I… I have to go home for a little while and think about this. Good night, Chloe."


Chloe had finished adding songs to her queue and was about to turn off her iPad when a notification popped up on her screen. She tapped it and smiled when her Skype app popped up with a new message from Beca.

BMitch93: Hey, r u still in your meeting? :(

Chloe grinned and ignored her uncle, who was still trying to get her attention, as she typed her own message.

ChloeBUBella: Yep, it's taking forever! I'll call u when we're done. Love u.


Chloe had been in New York for exactly one week before she started to long for home. She hadn't gone this long without seeing Beca since the start of their relationship and it was killing her to be alone. Sure, they didn't see much of each other during their huge fight after Regionals, but it's different when you're angry with the other person. Now, she was hopelessly in love and she longed for Beca's presence in her life.

The apartment was huge and lonely and while she liked having some time to herself as much as the next girl, this was getting ridiculous. She had been working at the company for a week and when she wasn't at the office, she was over at her grandparent's house going over papers or wandering around Central Park and Times Square so she didn't go stir-crazy. It was all becoming too much and she was fighting herself from calling Beca up and telling her to come to New York. She had to be the better person though and as much as it hurt, she knew that Beca was better off having a normal summer.

As Chloe started to unbutton her crisp, button down shirt and shimmied out of her skirt, her laptop started to beep. She went over to it and grinned wildly when she saw that Beca was calling her over Skype. This had become their nightly routine and after a meeting from hell , this was the perfect cure for her bad mood. Chloe sat at her desk and answered the call, smiling as Beca's pretty face popped up on her screen.

"What happened to your face? Did you get some sun?" Chloe teased as Beca pressed a cold palm against her bright red face.

Beca nodded and answered "Yeah, Jesse and Aubrey took me to Savannah for the day. We walked around and went shopping and had a nice lunch. Someone forgot to wear sun block though, so now I look like a human tomato." Beca paused as Chloe's laughter filled her speakers and just let the beautiful sound wash over her. "I can't believe that she's leaving tomorrow. I'm going to have this whole apartment to myself and I've never wanted to admit this, but I'm going to miss having Aubrey Posen around. Can you convince her not to go to Indiana?"

"No, I can't." Chloe shook her head as she slid her shirt off of her shoulders. "She wants to fix things with her father and maybe a summer with Sergeant Asshole will make things better. God, I had such an awful day. I'm getting so tired of this business thing and I've only been here for a week. Imagine what I'm going to be like once August comes around. It's just so…boring!"

Beca grinned as Chloe slid her hair out of its neat bun and said "Nice bra. You look so good in black. Do you know what else you look good in? Nothing at all."

"We've only been apart for one week and you're already propositioning me for internet sex." Chloe laughed as she tossed her hair tie across her desk and shook her red waves out across her bare shoulders. "At least give me something to work with before I consider it. I'm in my underwear and you're fully clothed, so take it off!"

Beca laughed and pulled her t-shirt over her head and wiggled out of her jeans quickly before sitting back in front of her Mac and trying to keep a straight face at how awkward it felt. She shivered a little as her skin broke out in goose bumps and exclaimed "It's freezing in here! I think that the Ice Queen has the air conditioner set on 60. I'm going to turn into an icicle if I stay like this."

"Well, you'll at least be a super sexy icicle." Chloe winked as Beca wrapped her arms across her chest. "Now, what do you want to do with me? If I were there right now, what would we be doing? And, please, be explicit!"

Beca blushed and fumbled over her words as Chloe grinned sexily at her. As she was about to tell Chloe her best fantasy, the door to her room swung open and Aubrey strolled in. She was looking down at her cell phone as she walked into the room and said "Hey, I thought I heard Chloe's voice. Are you talking to her?"

When Beca didn't respond, Aubrey looked up from her phone and felt her mouth drop open when she saw Beca in her underwear and Chloe sliding her bra off on the laptop screen. She gagged a little and shouted "Oh my God! I'm leaving now."

Aubrey covered up her face with her hands and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her and breaking down into giggles as she walked into the living room. Beca scowled at the screen and was about to say something, when she heard Aubrey say "Jesse, don't go in there unless you want to see your best friend having sex. Over the internet!"

Beca could hear Jesse start to laugh and rolled her eyes at Chloe as the older girl allowed herself to laugh too. Beca reached down for her top and murmured "I love you and I miss you, but I have to go and kill Aubrey now. I'll call you later, okay?"

Chloe simply nodded at the girl and frowned as Beca smiled back at her and ended their conversation. She slid her laptop shut and closed her eyes as she imagined Beca racing to put her clothes back on and running out to the living room to tackle Aubrey. She could practically see Aubrey's red cheeks and hear Jesse teasing her and Beca's playful protests.

She felt a pang of sadness in her chest and as she slipped her nightclothes on and prepared for a night of watching bad TV movies, a single tear slid down her cheek. She was missing everything and it hurt more and more each day as her summer slipped by without her control.


Chloe finished sending her message to Beca and as she looked up from her table, she grimaced when she saw her uncle staring back at her. He shook his head slightly and she blushed before she tiredly asked "What?"

As she feigned a yawn, her uncle sighed and said "Nice. I was asking you for opinion on expanding our computer line into tablets. Since you've been enthralled with yours this whole meeting, perhaps you can give the board your opinion on this matter. You've been here for a month and I think that the rest of the board would love to hear your thoughts."

Chloe blushed and glared at him as she rose from her seat and tried to smile at the disinterested group of people sitting around the table. She didn't blame them for not caring about what she had to say and if she had her choice, she would never have anything to do with the company. She couldn't get out of it though and cleared her throat before she spoke "I can only speak for myself when I say that there's not a lot of room in the market for a new tablet. Apple has the majority of consumers and unless you're going to innovate, there's not much profit in this. You're just starting out and the technology will be expensive and you'll probably price yourself out of even being competitive. I think that instead of releasing a line to the public, you should specialize to a smaller market. Maybe make tables that are made for hospitals or construction sites. A technology that can make their jobs easier and be something that they can't live without. That's just my opinion though and it's not like I was a business major or anything."

Chloe managed a small smile in her uncle's direction and as she sat down, she was surprised to see that she had everyone's attention. She looked down at her hands and her uncle announced "That's a very solid point, Chloe. Specialization might be the key to a launch like this. Now, let's talk about what sectors we can target with a product like this. Chloe already brought up hospitals and construction sites, but where else? Schools?"

As the board started to brainstorm, Chloe got her uncle's attention and meekly asked "Can I be excused for a moment?" When he nodded, she shot out of her seat and ran to the bathroom, sinking to her knees in front of a toilet and groaning as she threw up. She was overwhelmed from talking in front of them and from actually doing a good job. She never wanted this and to find that she was actually kind of good at it scared her. She was becoming her father and had felt like this since she left Beca back in Georgia. It was getting worse with each passing day and as the bile escaped from her lips, she blinked back tears and desperately willed herself not to cry.

After a few moments of kneeling on the floor and composing herself, Chloe washed her hands and stepped out into the hallway. As she left the small bathroom, she was met by her uncle standing outside of the door. She blushed and shook her head as she wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand.

He frowned at her and softly said "Go home. You're sick and your head hasn't been in these meetings since you've arrived." He grinned at her and her face broke into a smile when she realized that he was serious. "Take the company jet and go home and see your girlfriend. I'll cover for you if my old man starts asking questions. Go before I change my mind and make you go back in there and talk some more. You impressed them and you have a knack for this stuff. Now, go home."


It was close to eleven o'clock at night when Chloe finally reached the apartment. She hadn't bothered to text Beca yet and as she knocked on the door, she prayed that Beca wasn't asleep yet. She stood there for a minute, biting her lip the whole time, until Beca finally heard her knocking and slid the door open.

Beca stood in the doorway and looked at Chloe's face, smiling in shock at the sight of her girlfriend just showing up here. She was definitely not expecting this and as she looked at her face, she also wasn't expecting to see the change in Chloe. Her face was pale and she had bags under her eyes and seemed to have aged in their short time apart. Her hair was longer and messy from the flight and her clothes seemed to hang on her body. She was holding herself up by the doorframe and Beca just shook her head as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

Chloe kissed Beca's neck as she hugged her and as her exhaustion dissipated a little and turned into adrenaline, she pushed Beca up against the wall in the foyer and kicked the door shut. Chloe was so tired that she practically hung on the smaller girl and Beca sighed as Chloe's weight made it harder to breathe. Something had changed in the time that they had been apart, but Beca couldn't quite put her finger on it.

They stood in the doorway for a few minutes, just enjoying having each other close, until Beca made the first move and murmured against Chloe's neck "I missed you so much. This is the best surprise ever. What do you want to do? We could watch some TV or talk or have sex or sleep."

"I just want to go to bed." Chloe yawned as she tugged Beca closer. "I want to feel you next to me and hear you breathing and I want your face to be the first thing I see when I wake up."

Beca smiled at Chloe and as she guided Chloe towards the bedroom, she wrapped a protective arm around her waist and whispered "Your wish is my command, Ms. Beale. Let's get you to bed."


When Chloe awoke the next morning, she stared down at Beca's sleeping body and felt overwhelming sadness. The same sadness that had been plaguing her for over two months now. It had started after her father died and as much as she had tried to hide it and put on a brave face, it was coming to a head. The last time she had felt this way was after her Aunt Claire died when she was a teenager and she walked around for weeks feeling like someone had kicked her in the chest. The pain had been overwhelming and didn't stop until she was sent to a psychiatrist and diagnosed with depression. She felt the same way now, but had prayed to whoever was listening to her to just let it go away. To let this trip back home restore her happiness and to let her feel something, strike that, anything again.

She had felt like her life had been painted over by some unknown deity in shades of gray and nothing made her feel anymore. She wasn't overly happy or angry or sad. She was just there and that was a scary place to be. She cried without control, sometimes when she was out in public or alone, and nothing seemed to make her happy anymore. Seeing Beca had been nice, but it didn't give her the high that she was looking for and as she stared down at her girlfriend, her heart ached as she tried to figure out how to get her life back. How to feel again and how to be present as the world skipped along.

She knew that she needed to talk to someone about this, but now wasn't the right time and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and go back to sleep. Her mind wouldn't shut off though and as she laid in the bed, she felt an overwhelming desire to just feel normal again. As she stared up at the ceiling, she let her hand snake down between her legs and to her center as tears filled her eyes. She knew that sex wasn't the answer to her problems, but she just needed to feel alive and maybe, just maybe, an orgasm would reassure her that she was okay and not completely shut off from the world.

It had worked in the past whenever she was sad and now…now she desperately needed it to give her something. It was different this time though, forced and impersonal, and as her fingers moved and her breaths became shallow, the pain didn't fade. Usually she had to fight with her hips to stay still as her precipice neared, but now she was fighting her eyes as her tears spilt over the edges and wound down her cheeks and slid into her ears and landed messily on the bed.

It was building though and as her eyes squeezed shut and her legs spread wider, the guilt grew exponentially. For doing this and feeling this way and for touching herself with Beca asleep next to her. The person that loved her the most in the world; who would do anything to make her feel normal again. To bring her back to the wonderful world of Chloe Beale; a world of laughter and smiles and joy. Out of her nightmare and back into the real world. Her saving grace, all wrapped up in a tiny body that was resting as she put her own body through a marathon.

The bed was moving now, shaking ever so slightly, and Beca was shaken out of her dream by the motion. At first she thought that Chloe was just turning in her sleep, but as she cracked an eye open and peered at her girlfriend, her blood ran cold. The tears were pouring down her face and one hand was thrust between her legs as the other was holding onto the sheets for dear life. Beca sat up quickly, frightened at the scene in front of her, and she touched Chloe's shoulder gently as she softly mumbled "Chlo? What are you doing?"

When Chloe didn't respond, Beca pulled the catatonic girl into her arms and replaced Chloe's fingers with her own, knowing how desperate she was. When she finally reached her peak, Beca covered her torso in kisses and held her as she came down from the high and started to sob. Her whole body was shaking and she didn't say a word as Beca held her and pulled her pants back on and just rocked her as she cried.

She had no idea what had brought this on or why Chloe was crying, but she figured that it had something to do with how she looked last night. Like a frightened child as she stood in the doorway and held onto the wall. Looking for something to pull her back into the land of the living and out of her sadness. Beca had been there before, feeling the same way after her parent's divorce, and wanted so badly to help Chloe. She wasn't letting her though and all Beca could do was hold her and whisper into her ear as she fell apart and eventually fell back asleep.

When Beca woke up again, Chloe was gone and simply left a note apologizing for needing to leave so soon. Saying that she was so embarrassed for this morning and that she just…she needed to figure out who she was and what was happening in her head and heart before she could see her again.


That evening, Beca sat with Jesse at a small restaurant just off of campus and watched as he chowed down on his messy cheeseburger. He ordered the same thing each time they went to small diner and as ketchup smeared onto his cheek, she couldn't stop herself from smiling a little. He grinned back at her as he popped a fry into his mouth and questioned her. "Are you going to tell me what's going on with you? While I appreciate the free meal and everything, a little conversation would be nice. What's up?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Beca brushed him off as she bit into the end of a chicken strip.

"No, you're not. You look like someone stole your favorite headphones and since I know for a fact that they're not missing, something else must be up with you. Is it a Chloe thing?" Jesse asked as he shook his head, already knowing the answer to his question.

"It's always a Chloe thing." Beca responded dryly after taking a sip from her milkshake. "I guess that's what happens when you're in love with someone. They become your whole world and I…I don't know what I'm doing. Do you know that she flew in last night?"

Jesse put his burger back onto his plate and said "No, I had no idea. Where's she at? Is she back at the apartment?"

"No, she left this morning. Something happened, something that I can't talk to you about, and she just left without saying goodbye." Beca hesitated, shaking her head and stopping herself before she disclosed too much to him. "I think that she might be depressed or something like that, but I can't reach out to her if she won't let me. She won't tell me what's bugging her and I just don't want to lose her."

Jesse took a drink from his glass of soda and offered "Maybe it's too hard for her to admit right now. Her dad died and people have a lot of emotions after something like that. Depression is one of them and I think that's one of those things that you have to accept for yourself before you can open up to someone. Maybe she's trying to convince herself that she's just sad or mourning and it's going to take her a while to see what's really wrong. You can't give up on her though. You can't push her into talking about it, but you can talk to her about other things and tell her that you love her and let her know that you're here and thinking about her."

Beca finished a chicken strip as her hunger turned into anxiety and softly said "How did you get to be so smart?"

"Unlike your C, I actually got an A in Psychology. It's easy, Bec. You love her and she loves you and for now, that's all you need." Jesse shrugged, as if this whole thing had a simple solution. "This situation is just for this summer and once it's over, you're going to live with each other and everything can go back to normal. You can keep a better eye on her and just be able to hold her when she needs you. This summer blows so much, though. I miss Aubrey and you miss your girlfriend and here we are, eating crappy food and bitching about our broken hearts. All of our friends are doing cool stuff and we're still here, partners in misery."

"Well, it could be worse. At least we have each other to be sad with. Are you done?" Beca asked as she finished off her milkshake.

Jesse swallowed his last bite of burger and said "Yep. So, do you want to come back to the Casa de Jesse and watch Pretty in Pink? You've never seen it before and I think that you'd really like it."

"As nice as that sounds, and you know how much I love Molly Ringwald, I think I'm going to go home and try to Skype Chloe. Maybe we can fix this and if we can't, I just want to hear her voice."

They both stood up from their booth and Beca kissed his cheek as he wrapped an arm around her back and led her to the register. He tickled her side and softly teased "Molly Ringwald and Chloe Beale, huh? You have a thing for red heads. What's next, Carrot Top?"

As Beca elbowed him in the side and he broke down into laughter, it felt like old times. Before girl problems and death. Before the accident broke them apart and love brought them back together. To a simpler time and at that moment, everything felt okay again.


As Beca fumbled with the door to Chloe's bedroom, the only thing on her mind was getting out of these clothes and sleeping for the rest of her life. She was exhausted and emotional and all thoughts of calling Chloe were put on hold as she stumbled into the room.

She didn't expect to see Chloe sitting on the bed when she opened it and as the door slid shut, Beca gasped and murmured "Chlo…what are you doing here? I thought that you flew back to New York."

Chloe looked down at her feet and managed a small smile as she replied "I did. I didn't have a meeting or anything today and I just laid around the apartment and thought. I thought about my dad and about you and about this morning. I thought about everything and I'm so sorry that you had to see that. I don't know what I was thinking and I guess I just wanted to feel something again. I've been in a daze since he died and I don't know how to get out of it. I haven't been happy in months and I don't know how to get that back. I'm scared, Bec."

"I know, Chloe, and I'm scared too." Beca empathized as she pulled Chloe in for a tight hug. "I think that you need to talk to someone again and maybe having someone hear you out will let you sort things out too. It can't hurt and it's already worked before, so why not try it again?"

When Chloe simply nodded, Beca smiled and said "Don't apologize or feel embarrassed for this morning. I understand now and I'm just glad that I was with you for it. So, are you going to fly back to Atlanta every night? I love sharing a bed with you, but that's a ton of money to waste on gas just for me."

"Well, you're worth it." Chloe lilted while allowing herself to smile for the first time in days. "Besides, I came here to tell you something." Chloe's face turned somber and Beca stroked her arm as she softly admitted "I think that I might be depressed again and I know that I need help, but I also know that pushing you away isn't the answer. I love you and I miss you and I want you to come back with me. Come to New York and be miserable with me. Please?"

"Yeah, I'll come with you." Beca answered while smiling. "I just have to pack my stuff up."

"Don't bother; I've done it for you." Chloe retorted while pointing at two packed suitcases at the end of the bed. "I've been here for a while and I just threw a lot of it into a suitcase, so don't be surprised if they're wrinkled or messy. We can fix them when we get there. Right now, all I want is you and I want to take you on that plane and bring you with me. I love you Beca and I'm not at home without you with me, so I'm taking you to New York and I'm going home for a little while."

Beca pulled Chloe in for a tight hug and as tears filled her eyes, she stroked Chloe's back and whispered "You're my home too and I'll go anywhere with you. I love you, Chloe Beale, and you're going to be okay. I promise."

And for the first time in her life, Beca actually believed the words that slipped from her lips. That she was strong enough to deal with this and had the capacity for love and patience. That Chloe was all that she needed and somehow made her better. That they were enough for each other, for now. That everything would be all right.


A/N: So that was chapter 2 and I really like where it puts the story. Chapter 3 is next and I've literally been dreaming about writing this for months. I have a spreadsheet that maps out the whole trilogy and this is listed on there as "Shit Gets Real." So interpret that title however you see fit...