Jaxson played on the plastic play-set that his parents just bought him. Beca watched from a lawn chair as he climbed up the built-in ladder to a landing that led to the slide. Before she left the last time, he could barely walk on his own. He always needed furniture or a helpful hand to guide him places. Now, he was climbing ladders and running around like he had been doing it for years.

"A penny for your thoughts." Chloe said, handing a bottle of water to her wife while pulling up a chair beside her.

"He's just gotten so big, it's crazy." She kept staring as he tumbled down the slide, giggling as he hit the ground at the bottom. "And you," she put a hand on Chloe's thigh and looked at her, "you are just so strong and independent, more than I've ever seen out of you."

She smirked, "I don't think so, but thanks babe."

"You are, you don't even need me here to hold the house down." Beca looked away and kept her hand to herself. She looked at the direction of her son, but didn't look at him, rather the tree behind him.

"I always need you here." Chloe began feeling upset, she didn't want her wife to feel like she wasn't important in their household.

It had been two weeks since she got home. Chloe would be lying if she said those two weeks were absolutely perfect. Don't get her wrong, she loved having her wife home. She was glad that she could share a bed with someone besides her son, and have an extra set of hands helping around the house. She wasn't glad about the mood swings and unintentional silent treatments and zoning out during conversations. Unfortunately, she had been dealing with for a few years and knew how to handle it.


"Hey Bec, does your dad know you're home?" Chloe said flipping through a magazine while sitting on their couch.

"Yeah I called him a few days ago. You know he and Sheila moved to Virginia?"

"No, why?" She set the magazine in her lap and turned around to watch her wife clean up some toys.

"He got a really good job offer at one of the colleges over there, and Sheila's company got moved or something." While cleaning the toys, she was oblivious to a Lego brick and firmly planted her foot on it, causing all kinds of swear words to leave her mouth. "The fucking Lego table is on the other side of the fucking room." Her face got red as she threw the brick in the table's direction, missing and hitting the wall. It bounced off and landed on the floor.

Chloe quickly stood up, placed the Lego onto the table and walked over to her wife, who was looking at her foot. "Why don't you go sit down and rest your foot, it looks like you stepped on it pretty hard." She tried placing a hand on the shorter girl's upper arm, but it was fiercely swatted away.

"I don't need to sit down, I need our kid to learn how to pick up his damn toys. Jaxson Avery Beale Mitchell!"

"Don't, he's sleeping." She tossed a few more Legos onto the table.

"I don't care." She barged her way to the stairs, but her wrist was forcibly pulled back.

"I said don't, he's finally sleeping in his own bed." There was fire in both of their eyes, Beca's more so than Chloe's.

"Fuck, fine then, you can step on all the Legos you want." She ripped her arm out of Chloe's grip and made a quick exit out of the back door. Chloe sighed, moving away some of the hair that hung in her face, just as Jaxson's cries rang throughout the house.

Outside, Beca took deep breaths. It was chilly but she didn't feel it through her t-shirt and sweatpants. It was quiet, with a few exceptions from the crickets and cicadas. She dropped her head and closed her eyes, immediately regretting her actions towards her wife. She loved Chloe with all her heart, and she vowed to never hurt her. She didn't physically cause pain, but she knew there was some emotional pain caused. With the windows open, she could hear her son's cries, the cries that she caused because of a stupid Lego. She gripped the porch's wooden railing and listened closely to her wife calming down the boy. Beca took a few more breaths before deciding to finally go inside.

By the time she made her way upstairs, Jaxson's cries had gone away and she found Chloe in their bedroom. She was changing into an over-sized t-shirt, faced opposite from Beca.

"I'm sorry, I should have never snapped like that." Beca leaned against the door frame, taking in the silence that encompassed the room. "I'm going to take a pillow because I think I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight." She crept into the room and gripped her pillow, but another hand stopped her from taking it.

"Don't sleep on the couch, it's not comfortable." Chloe sighed, looking at her wife. Within the minutes of their fight, Beca had visible signs of regret covering her face, and the redhead noticed that immediately. "He didn't mean to leave the toys out, he's just a year old."

"I know that. I don't know what happened, it wasn't me." She loosened the grip on the pillow, but Chloe didn't move her hand at all. There was another short silence before Chloe replied.

"We need a vacation or something. Being cooped up this house isn't good for any of us. We just need to go somewhere." She finally lifted her hand, only to stand up and move the comforter down on the bed.

Beca nodded her head, "We can go to my dad's. He said he has a good sized backyard for Jax to play in, and there's a couple of tourist things we can go do."

Chloe agreed, opening her arms for Beca to join her. She didn't even move the sheets back, she just wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her head in her neck. Chloe drew circles on her arm with her thumb and kissed her head before hearing soft snores from her wife.


There was 5 days between the fight and going to Virginia. Beca had easily gotten permission for a vacation, since she had so much leave time. Her dad was also thrilled for them to be visiting. He hadn't seen Beca in about four years, talked on the phone every few months that she was home, and Scott had not met his grandson yet.

The nearly 12 hour car ride went smoothly. Chloe drove most of the way as Beca slept most of the way like her son. They had an early start so they drove straight through and got to Tysons, Virginia in the evening. When they parked in the driveway, Beca immediately hopped out of the car and met her dad.

"Hey pop, how's it going?" She stood in front of him, his taller stature semi-towering her smaller one.

Scott smiled, "It's good, Sergeant Mitchell." He paused to look at his daughter, noticing all of the physical changes that happened over a few years. "So, am I allowed to get a hug from my daughter?" Beca grinned and opened her arms, which were quickly filled by her dad, who gave her a tight squeeze.

Chloe soon walked up with Jaxson, the little boy clinging to his mother's side when his grandpa came into view.

"I'm guessing this is the Beca look alike I keep hearing about." When Jaxson didn't move, Scott waved at him, but it just caused the toddler to stick his thumb in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, he's usually not like this." Chloe apologized, playing with the boy's thin hair.

"It's fine, we'll get use to each other. Come here." He stepped towards Chloe and gave her a tight hug as well.

After the reunion, they brought their bags in the house and got their things settled in their rooms. Scott had bought a crib and placed it in one of three guest rooms for him to sleep in. The little boy had yet to stay in his own bed for a full night, but his parents decided not to tell the excited grandpa. His parents, on the other hand, had the biggest guest room. As soon as stepping foot in it, Chloe flopped on the comfortable queen-sized bed.

"You're dad has great taste in furniture."

Beca laughed, "That's why it always took so long to get out of bed when I lived under his roof. My bed felt like heaven." She laid down next to her and let out a small moan. "Yep, just like heaven."

Chloe laid on her side and smiled at her, admiring how beautiful her wife looked when she had her eyes closed, looking as comfortable and peaceful as could be. "Have you talked to your mom at all lately?"

Beca shook her head, "Of course I called her when I joined the service, but the only thing I've heard since is she was traveling around California or something, and that was...right after basic." She finally opened her eyes and tilted her head in Chloe's direction. "Why?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking about how you always talk to your dad, but not your mom."

"I haven't lived with her since I was 14, and haven't had a full conversation with her since I moved. Honestly, I don't really care." She sat up and pecked her on the lips. "I'm going to get Jaxson and go downstairs. You coming with?" Chloe nodded her head and jumped off the bed, following her.


Beca sat on the steps of the porch, watching the sunset as she played with the seams of her long sleeve shirt. It was chillier than it had been the past couple days, but she didn't mind, it was better than the 90 degree temperatures in the Middle East. Soon, she heard the wooden door creak open and heavy footsteps walk up to her back.

"What are ya doin out here?" A male's voice asked.

"I don't really know. It feels nice out tonight, though." She was handed a mug with steam rolling out before the man, her dad, sat down next to her.

"Jaxson wanted hot chocolate. Well, Chloe and I more than him, really." He chuckled to himself and looked at Beca, who had not even cracked a smile. "How's it been, being home and everything?"

Beca shrugged, "It's fine, I guess. Chloe and I fought the other day, like really bad. She just, I don't know, she doesn't get it." She took a sip of her hot chocolate, ignoring how hot it was.

"Well Bec, no one gets it except you. You're the only one who has been over there and done what you have."

Beca sighed, knowing he was absolutely correct. "I just kind of want to make it up to her, y'know? I'm gone for months and then I'm a dick to her." She took another sip of her drink, this time her tongue registered that it was hot and she got burnt, but luckily she played it off well.

"Do some tourist-y things. I can take Jax for a couple hours while you two spend some time by yourselves." He patted her back, "Just go have fun."

Beca smiled at her dad, "Thanks pops." She gave him a side hug and stood up. "By the way, Jax doesn't like hot chocolate, he just likes the marshmallows." She started laughing as he scoffed, smacking his hand on his knee.


"Where are we going?" Chloe begged for the tenth time from the passenger seat.

"Quiet down, it's a secret."

"What if I have to pee?"

Beca gave her a funny look, "We've been driving not even 20 minutes. We'll be there in a couple seconds."

Chloe sat back in the leather seat of the car and watched multiple signs whiz by. She didn't get a chance to read any of them until Beca took an exit off the highway, slowed down, and entered a gate.

"Beca, what are we doing?"

"Can't you read the signs, Beale?" Beca smirked.

Chloe smiled back and wrapped her hands around Beca's arm that rested on the console. "It's Beale Mitchell to you." Beca faced her and actually smiled. "But seriously, what are we doing here?"

Beca put the car in park and unbuckled her seat belt. "Dad took Jax so we could do tourist things together, by ourselves. The first on that list is the Arlington National Cemetery. Of course, you would know that if you read the signs." Chloe gave her a dirty look before they both got out of the car.

They caught a shuttle bus at the last minute to go to the Tomb of the Unknown. Beca had only seen it twice, but the redhead had never seen it, she hadn't even been to Virginia before. They drove past a couple of memorials and hundreds, maybe thousands, of graves. Chloe tightened her grip on Beca's hand. She was sure they didn't pass anyone that Beca knew, but she couldn't be sure because Beca knew a lot of people. As they got to the shuttle station, they decided to see the nearby memorials first, then see the tomb.

"Look at that...thing." Chloe said, looking straight up the memorial and into the sun.

"It's a mast, you goof. It honors the people who died on USS Maine." She rubbed her eyes to adjust them from looking at the sun, then read the description that she hadn't seen before making her comment. After reading it, she walked to the Challenger Memorial, Beca soon following.

"I remember watching a 10-year anniversary thing on TV about this. I was 9 and my mom bawled like a baby when they showed the explosion." She bent down and read the poem that was engraved on the back. Beca had read it before, so she just watched Chloe. She watched how her eyes moved slowly to see every word, her head sometimes following along, how her straightened red hair blew in her face and she didn't care to move it, then eventually how her eyes glistened more than usual because she started to tear up.

When she was done and realized she actually started crying, she laughed at herself. "I don't mean to cry. It just got to me." Beca smirked as she wrapped an arm around her wife, rubbing her arm to let her know it was fine. They took quick glances at the Columbia Memorial and Iran Rescue Memorial before joining a group that was crowded near the Tomb of the Unknown.

Beca had only seen the Changing of the Guard a handful of times, but got more and more amazed each time watching it. They watched how the guards walked down the black carpet, took sharp turns, moved guns to opposite shoulders, all while doing it meticulously. This time, it was Chloe's turn to stare at her spouse. She watched the changing too, but she admired how Beca stood straight up and stared straight at them, not blinking or moving a muscle.

By the time the whole thing was over, Chloe was stunned, even if she watched Beca through half of it. "That was...have you ever seen that?" She questioned, holding Beca's hand as they tried to quickly separate from the crowd.

"A few times. I would love to do it, but it would never happen."

"Believe in yourself, babe." Chloe looked at her wife.

"I'm not in the 3rd Infantry Regiment. More like 5th Special Forces Group, 2nd Battalion."

Soon, they boarded the shuttle bus again, but this time they went to Section 60. For many young families there, it was a tough place to be. It is where the men and women who fought in the Middle East were buried. They didn't have a specific grave to go to, so they just slowly walked down the path until one of them caught Beca's eye.

She let go of Chloe's hand and turned to her left instead of walking along the straight path. Chloe just watched as she bent down to look at the headstone of someone she knew.

"He was on my first tour." She paused to sit down, crossing her legs in criss-cross-applesauce way, as Jaxson would say. Chloe slowly walked towards her so she could hear her speak. "He was in the same battalion as me, but ranked higher. The Iraq War was a bitch up until the end. About three months before we withdrew, we were checking buildings and all of a sudden there was an explosion. Jesse and I were together away from it, but we still saw it and heard the screams, his screams." She had hard eyes that didn't leave the engravement of his name. Chloe was now sitting the same way, but again had tears welling up. "We got him on a truck and he lived an hour or so, but his injuries were bad. I didn't know him that well, except his life was the Army." Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Iraq War were also engraved in the stone. Beca eventually snapped out of her gaze and looked at Chloe, whose lip was quivering. She didn't hear many stories, but this was definitely one she wasn't going to forget.

Beca wiped a few of the tears that rested on Chloe cheek and looked her in the eye. "I'm not going down like that. There's no way I'm dying without my family at my bedside when I'm a hundred years old."

That made Chloe choke out a laugh. She wiped a few more tears onto her sleeve and replied, "And I'll be a hundred and three, laying next to you." Beca smiled, stood up, and offered her hand to Chloe. She calmed down and they continued to walk around the cemetery, Beca making sure to avoid anymore tear-worthy stories.


"Hey, how was it? Where did you guys go?" Scott asked as they approached the porch, Jaxson already in Chloe's arms.

"It was good." Beca gave her wife a warm smile. "We went to Arlington National Cemetery, went to the zoo, and drove around the Pentagon, since you have to schedule tours 2 weeks in advance, or something." Chloe passed off the boy to Beca, who quickly placed him on her hip, allowing him to play with her hair.

"Thanks for watching Jax, it means a lot." Chloe gave Scott a quick hug before heading inside.

Scott faced his daughter with a smirk on his face. "You made her cry, didn't you?"

Beca nodded her head, "Oh yeah." Her and Scott laughed as they walked towards the house. "How was Jaxson?"

Scott shrugged, "I think we bonded pretty well."

"He cried most of the time, didn't he?"

"Oh yeah."


This was supposed to be posted earlier in the week, whoops. I just wanted to show Beca struggling with PTSD a bit, bonding with her dad, and the story she told Chloe. The ending to this was kinda bad, so I'll try to make up for that. Also, I've never been to Arlington National Cemetery, so if i messed anything up, my apologies. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Important note: I am not in the United States Army, nor do I have any close relatives in the Army. All of the information, such as ranks and bases, are based off of intense research. If I say anything wrong, please correct me, it would be very appreciated.