Thanks for the reviews, I hope you all keep enjoying the story! From here on the things get pretty interesting ;)


Chapter 4: Unchained melody.

That day they spent it quietly at home. Chloe rarely spend so much time at home, usually out at excavations, explorations, and other stuff. They were sitting on the sofa together that afternoon, Beca sleepily supporting her cheek on Chloe's shoulder, while the redhead was observing some photographs of some columns and taking notes about them. Beca was almost asleep when the doorbell rang and Beca moved her head up, glaring at the door with a tired frown. Chloe went towards the door.

"Who is it?" Chloe asked in Hindi.

"Jamie!" a voice was heard. Chloe nodded and opened the door. She kindly hugged a man that entered the house, both smiling and being all friendly with each other.

"Jamie, this is my friend Beca, she just came visiting." Chloe said from behind Jamie, a tall brown haired man with stubble and green eyes, while he stared at Beca. Chloe mouthed to Beca to keep lying, which she gladly did because she had a bad feeling about that guy "Beca, this is my friend Jamie, he's an archeologist too, I wanted his advice with something that isn't my area of expertise."

"Nice to meet you." Jamie said moving a hand towards Beca with a polite smile. Beca squeezed his hand.

"The same. My apologies for not standing up, I actually have a cold and you know, barefoot, I don't want to touch the cold floor." Beca explained, not wanting to reveal she had a bad ankle after having been told she had to lie to the guy. Chloe seemed relieved and smiled at her.

"It's okay, understandable. So what brings a non archeologist American here?"

"As Chloe said, I came to visit her. I actually travel a lot, just for pleasure, and I missed my buddy." Beca winked at Chloe.

Before Jamie could keep talking, Chloe intervened.

"So, Jamie, it'll be just a quick thing." Chloe took some papers and put them on the small table. Beca stayed in the sofa observing from afar, and saw Jamie walk towards Chloe staring intently at her ass, which made Beca's blood boil, but she bite her tongue. Jamie stood beside Chloe with a hand on her back, almost on her ass, and Chloe shifted standing straighter, uncomfortable. They were murmuring for a bit and then Chloe turned around "Very good, thank you. You can go now."

"Oh, you're kicking me out?" Jamie chuckled.

"Jamie, a good friend just spent the night in a plane to see me, we'd love to have some women time doing women stuff, and she doesn't even know you to be comfortable around you." Chloe said without giving it a lot of importance.

"Alright…" Jamie shrugged looking at her ass again.

"Jamie, stop it." Chloe's voice suddenly was all but kind, which was new to Beca "It's not of gentleman to stare like that at ladies."

"I'm sorry Chlo, but you know I can't help it, you're so hot…" Jamie smiled standing very close to Chloe eating her breasts with her eyes.

"Jamie…" Chloe said in a threatening tone "Go. And don't call me that."

"But you liked it the last time…" Jamie said by her ear, suddenly grabbing her ass. Chloe pushed him back but before she could do anything else Beca was on her feet, pulling Jamie by the hair and almost throwing him against the door "Hey!" Jamie pushed Beca away.

"She told you to go." Beca stated firmly, killing him with her eyes "So you go." Jamie looked once at Chloe, and then nodded and left.

"Thanks." Chloe said after looking the door.

"No need, but what the hell was that Chlo?" Beca asked furious.

"Once I slept with Jamie." Chloe explained "It was long ago, but he always tries something when he sees me. He's an specialist in an area I really needed an specialist for, and I didn't have another chance, but I never call him unless I'm with somebody I know can prevent things from happening. So thanks a lot Becs."

Beca let herself fall on the sofa again, sighing and relaxing.

"What was that about lying?"

"He tends to get very talkative while drunk, which he gets often." Chloe explained "And you never know who hates American soldiers and will come looking for blood if they heard here lives one."

"I see." Beca nodded.

"Are you mad?" Chloe asked sitting beside her, concerned.

"Mad? Of course not Chlo, I could never be mad at you." Beca smiled squeezing her knee "I just hated that he grabbed you like that. You're not somebody else's sexual object. I just hope this is not the kind of loneliness you were talking about because you know…" Chloe looked at her starting to smile and Beca rose a hand "You have like ten f…" Chloe started laughing and pushed her playfully.

"Oh my God Beca, fuck off!" Chloe laughed her ass of, and Beca grinned at her. Maybe she just liked to see her laugh.

Beca decided to have a bath before going to bed. When she was going back to the bedroom, dressed with a pajama Chloe lend her, she heard voices inside the room and she looked from the doorframe. Chloe was knelt on the floor, her elbows on the bed, her hands intertwined, and her forehead supported on her hands.

"God, I know you can't be everywhere, but please, protect Beca, Aubrey, Jesse and dad, and let them be happy and whole forever. Don't worry about me, instead of taking care of me, help Beca find her family and please, let that be a good family like she deserves, and please, please God, don't let me without a father. I need him, he's my whole family, and I can't lose him too. I'd die." Beca had knelt too, by the doorframe, with her eyes closed and her hands intertwined on her lap. She wasn't religious -that she knew of- but she found herself supporting Chloe's decisions "I don't want professional success. I don't even need money so much, or a better home, better clothes, I don't even need to see my father again. I just need him to be okay, and my friends to be okay too. And if you have to take a life… please, please take mine. I'm not as awesome as they are, and they're strong enough to go on without me, which I'm not. Please Lord. Amen."

"Amen." Beca said too. When she looked up, Chloe was looking at her like a deer caught in headlights.

"Don't you laugh. Don't mock." Chloe said looking sad. Beca frowned entering the bedroom.

"Why would I do any of that, exactly?" Chloe shrugged.

"For being an adult who believes in a being that is beyond us and we can't see?" Beca looked serious.

"Yeah, no, I still don't see the funny part. Sorry Chlo."

"You… you don't think I'm ridiculous?" Chloe stared at her. Beca looked surprised.

"Ridiculous, you? You? That question is as ridiculous as I've seen you get Chloe. Believing is only natural, and by the way, thank you for wishing me good. Chloe…" Beca sat on the bed "You're the most wonderful human being I can remember, and even in America I doubt I'll meet someone half as great. So no, I think you're many things, but ridiculous is not one of them."

"Don't let her get close to me again granny." She heard herself so sharp, like if she was a kid, a really young one.

"Don't worry sweetie. I won't let her harm you." The old woman said hugging her. She was so tiny compared with the woman. She sure wasn't older than nine years old.

"No! Granny! No!" she had never heard a kid yell with so much distress in her life, and checking that it was herself caused her so much pain and confusion. Suddenly she felt so incredibly sad. Like the saddest she had ever felt, it was like she was broken inside. She opened her eyes and saw a grave "Why did you leave me alone granny Jude?" she sobbed. Somebody heard and slapped the back of her head as her wet eyes focused on just one line.

'Jude Geraldine Fanning (Snow) - February 6th 1912 - June 30th 1999'

"Granny Jude." Beca breathed out waking up in the dark, breathing heavy. She took some painkillers from the bedside table and swallowed them and then looked around. Beside her Chloe looked like a starfish, splayed on her front with her mouth partially open, snoring softly. Beca smiled and moved closer, not moving much to avoid the pain, but enough to grab Chloe's hand. She stroked it with her thumb and soon, she was asleep.

That January 9th, after five days basically sleeping, Beca felt she needed some pure air, so Chloe lend her some clothes, and the four friends got together in New Delhi. Beca's head was much better, but Aubrey still wouldn't let her read, do math, Sudokus, or basically any mental efforts. Her ribs were better, but she was still really careful. Aubrey had brought her some kind of corset that was like an elastic bandage around her ribs, to keep them from moving too much and heal in the wrong position, and that helped her. Her wrist was still bad, but her ankle seemed much better thanks to Aubrey's recommendations and care, so she took of the bandage and walked carefully, although they went to places mostly by car. Her back seemed much better, slowly healing, and her other cuts were already closed and forming scabs.

The four friends were going out for lunch at a place in front of the Yamuna River, with views of the biggest, most amazing buildings Beca had ever seen, whose story Chloe and Jesse explained to her, and she was fascinated as they waited for their lunch sitting in some tables outside, enjoying the sun since the wind was chilly. Beca was enjoying Hindu food.

"I'll go in twelve days." Beca said suddenly. She wasn't even planning on saying that, she was just lost in her thoughts and her mouth worked on its own, but once she looked up and saw her friends' shocked glances at her, she decided to go with it.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"I'll be almost new in twelve days. I mean, look at me, five days ago I was more dead than alive, and now I'm walking around like nothing happened." Beca shrugged "Chlo, I can't wait much longer. My family, whoever they are, they probably buried an empty coffin already, and I have too much questions to wait much longer. The only reason I'm waiting so far is because I'm happy here and besides, I know I wouldn't stand such a long trip right now. And what about your father? The longer we wait the worse for him." Chloe looked down, Jesse seemed understanding, and Aubrey sighed "I love being here with you guys, and I've already promised Chloe I will very gladly be back. But I have important things to do before taking a vacation."

"That's right." Aubrey smiled "But now focus in getting better. We'll be here whenever you feel like weird languages and lack of money." Aubrey joked and Beca smiled.

"Yeah." Jesse chuckled "Oh, I'm gonna miss you shorty." Jesse waved Beca's hair and she smiled.

"I'll miss this too." Beca chuckled and looked at Chloe, who had the shadow of a smile in her face as she contemplated her food, before snapping out of her thoughts and attacking the plate again. Beca bit her lip and elbowed Chloe playfully.

"Hey!" Chloe frowned with a fake pout rubbing the arm where Beca's elbow had hit.

"I can't wait to hear what kind of adventures your father has been living to not be able to contact you." Beca said with a tiny smile. Chloe smiled a little and shook her head.

"I know you won't find him alive." Chloe whispered.

"Ah, don't be so negative!" Aubrey frowned.

"I'm not being negative Aubrey. I'm being realistic and preparing myself. He's been dead for weeks, I know that. I just hope somebody got the mind to bury him with my mom and brother." Chloe's shoulders slumped and she supported her cheek on her hand, playing with her food.

"How can you be so sure?" Jesse asked "Is that your damn gut feeling?"

"It's not a gut feeling Jesse. Is an emptiness inside that came out of the blue weeks ago after that night I was super sick and never went away." Chloe sighed "It happens every single time someone close dies, and if we're all alive here, it must be him. There's nobody else waiting for me in America, I'm not that close with anybody else anymore. I can feel it inside there's something dead and gone forever, like other times I've buried family. I'm just gonna work my ass off so I can get the money to go back and make sure they haven't thrown his body in a common grave, and visit my mom, brother and grandpas. I'm the only one who can bring them flowers or at least a bit of conversation now, I know that."

"Well, let's hope you're just sick and melancholic and he's alive and, I don't know, his daughter is an Indiana Jones, maybe he's too deep inside." Beca refused to fall from her optimism. Chloe gave her a bittersweet smile.

"I really hope you find him alive Beca. I really want you to be right."

But from that day on, as Beca got better and better, she saw Chloe get more and more low. Many times she would catch her quickly rubbing her eyes before looking at her, and they seemed permanently glassy. Her smile never reached her eyes, and she was always busy. If she wasn't taking care of Beca, she was tidying the house up or working. Aubrey and Jesse started worrying about her too, but they knew the only thing Chloe needed is for someone to tell her what had happened to the little spark of hope she had left shined brighter or completely extinguished, somebody to end her anguish of the helpless uncertainty. That was probably what was killing her the most inside, that she couldn't do anything to end her suffering except work and pray she had the money enough one day to fly back to Colorado and pay her father a nice grave or if he was alive, pay herself a new heart because her anxiety and anguish was killing her slowly in a way she doubted she could ever recover even if Mr. Beale was alright. Alive or dead, the fate of Chloe's father was definitely going to send her back to the States for a while, so Jesse and Aubrey started getting ready too for whatever happened.

Beca rushed herself and pushed herself harder to get better, not being able to stand seeing Chloe like that. She knew Chloe wanted her to go and give her news at the same time she didn't want to let Beca go, so Beca knew she had to take the initiative and rip the bandage. Plus, the slow return of her own memories was starting to make her anxious too, although lately the realistic dreams about her past were being substituted for new dreams, real ones, some a total nonsense -cartoons involved- and others were with her new friends and the places they took her to from time to time.

Sergeant Mitchell had now been in Delhi for thirteen days, and until then, she had only grown closer to the small group of friends. Jesse sometimes went with her to pick some stuff from the market, while Chloe and Aubrey were busy; the archeologist would always find interesting things to satisfy her curious mind. Aubrey and Beca would sometimes go on walks talking about anything and everything, and Beca discovered Aubrey had some kind of hidden humor, even if she seemed quite serious at first. And above it all, Beca loved the sense of home and comfort Chloe gave her, even if the redhead wasn't shinning as much and was always exhausted. Beca was feeling much better. Her head was now completely fine, her back was starting to form scars and grown new, reddish skin, her ankle was completely fine, and her wrist was getting stronger every day. Plus, her ribs had healed completely. She was anxious to go back, and she didn't see the reason to wait. Even if her regain of memories had stopped, that only meant, according to Aubrey, she had to be careful and prepare herself to manage a new rush of memories anytime, since anything could trigger them and they could get really overwhelming, mostly memories more graphic about what she had been through all the wars, and they had a certain idea already that Beca's life hadn't been exactly easy. Also, Beca's days had been amazing so far and a lot like holidays, and many nights she joined Chloe to pray or read the Bible.

So that January 17th, Beca decided she would go back to America the following day. Chloe had gifted her with a tiny notebook with a soft, leather cover, where Beca wrote down every tiny thing she remembered, and secretly, she started writing down everything about Chloe. She wrote that her full name, as Chloe confessed her one night, was Chloe Isabelle Beale, she wrote her birth date, March 9th 1989, she wrote her father was Roger Beale and was a doctor, and that her mother was Amanda Giselle Beale and had been a counselor, she wrote that her brother was Michael Skylar Beale, and that he was a Leo like Beca herself, which Chloe found cute. She wrote where Chloe had lived as a child, and the 'coordinates' of her family's graves, she wrote her University name and random facts about the Bellas, she wrote Chloe's address in India, cell phone number, and the same with Jesse and Aubrey, among other things. For Beca, it was the proof Chloe had existed, not only in her mind, but that she had smelled her scent, ate her food, slept in her bed, and seen her work too many nights. Beca knew once she was in America, everything else would look like a very good dream and she wanted to make sure she remembered Chloe was real and was waiting for her.

She let Aubrey and Jesse know she was leaving in the morning that afternoon, and they said they promised to pick them up early in the morning so they could all go with her to the Army building -that Beca swore she didn't, and at the same time she was sure of where it was- and stay with her until she had to get into a plane. Aubrey also promised she would take care of the medical talk so Beca would never have to fight a war again, which now scared Beca deeply, because she had forgotten every bit of her training. She was lucky what she learned in school engraved better in her brain.

"Still working?" Beca got out of bed to pick a glass of water up and discovered Chloe hadn't joined her in bed yet, so she went to the living room. She wasn't even surprised with the fact Chloe was still working, sighing against the pages she was looking.

"Yes." Chloe smiled tiredly. Beca smiled and got into the kitchen. After ten minutes, when Chloe was already pretty sure Beca was back to sleep, Beca emerged with a couple cups of tea and sat beside Chloe.

"Are you still investigating the Ashoka pillars?" Beca asked. Chloe had immersed herself in the investigation of Ashoka pillars, some pillars around India and part of Pakistan that, according to Chloe and Jesse, had been built following orders of king Ashoka with edicts on them, and Chloe had found something weird in one and would not drop it.

"Yes." Chloe nodded and leaned back stirring a little "It's fascinating and exhausting all at once."

"Why don't you come to bed?" Beca asked "This will still be here tomorrow."

"I can't Beca, the sooner I end the sooner I have something to tell some museum in America so they pay me and I can go back."

"And so your plan is passing out from exhaustion?" Chloe sighed and shrugged "Come on, at least let me rub your shoulders, I can see they're bothering you." Chloe nodded and leaned forward moving her hair away from her back. Beca put her hands on Chloe's shoulders and started massaging them, feeling a ton of knots under her hands "I have something important to tell you Chlo." Beca commented casually after a few minutes in silence.

"Mm?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning."


Guest chapter 3 . Feb 12

I love your writing but i just want to say that it is impossible to take a road trip from India to Pakistan because of their strained relations, but since this is all au, i guess it doesn't matter.

Oh, of course it matters. I saw on the Internet apparently there's only one road from India to Pakistan, and that's the one I wrote about, although being the Internet, you never know for sure.

lauren chapter 3 . Feb 11

You are in my fav writers right now. Thank you so much and update soon

Thank you so much Lauren, I'm glad you like it!

Guest chapter 2 . Feb 8

Dude this is great so far.

Thanks, good to hear that!

Guest chapter 2 . Feb 5

I love your fanfics so much! Please, update soon

So great! Yeah sure I'm trying to update more often!