A/N:

Sorry for the long wait everyone. Life tends to happen at the most inopportune moments, including my laptop crashing and not having the money to replace it right away. Luckily my hard drive was salvageable so I didn't lose the other chapters I wrote. Here is the next instalment.

Many of you expressed more dialogue between the characters. I hope this gives you your fill. As I mentioned before though, this is building. I can understand that many stories jump into relationships almost instantaneously without any real story. I can tell you I'm not that kind of writer. Attraction can happen when meeting someone but I don't believe that actual relationships happen within two days of meeting someone. Just my take but to each their own. In my story, Beca is hard to get to know. She doesn't talk much and when she does she needs to completely trust that person. That's what makes her so mysterious to Chloe. Also, the fire service is very personal for me. I have a lot of family and friends on the job and I'm training my ass off everyday to be the best firefighter I can be. Part of this story reflects mine as well as my friends experience in the academy as well as experiences doing ride-a-longs. This is what the fire service consists of. While you may not completely understand the reasoning for the little details in the story and why I go so in depth with some of it, it is for the benefit of the story so that you understand what they are doing and not just... here is this character and this character... lets have them make out and fuck and be done with it. That's a one shot and believe me this will be longer then that. So for the stories sake and my own sanity, because the one thing I can not stand is a story where you have no idea what the hell is going on, I will be adding as much detail to it as possible. That being said, let's move forward.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed and favorite the story as well as the few who have personally messaged me. You guys are all awesome! Keep them coming!

Chapter 4

Their cardio workout consisted of going up and down the tower about 20 times with a 45 pound weight plate and doing all sorts of calisthenics like squats, sit-ups, lunges, etc on every floor the whole way down. After, they chose to roll out the large tractor tires and continue with box jumps and sledges before finishing with a five mile run around the downtown area.

"How long have you been on the department?" Chloe asked, sucking in air as she chugged a gracious amount of water.

"Since I was 18. I got hired on right out of high school." Beca said, she too, catching her breath and taking a drink of water.

"How old are you now?" Chloe asked taking a seat next to the brunette at her spot on the bleachers.

"25."

"What made you want to join?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Beca stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you avoiding the question?" The redhead countered.

"Just ones that are personal."

"Umm… is there any other kind? Most people talk about their personal lives, especially when they are trying to get to know someone."

Beca studied the probie for a moment before looking back out towards the Grinder. "My mom. She was a firefighter. One of the first actually. It's what I always wanted to do even as a little kid."

Chloe smiled. She sensed that Beca didn't want to go more in depth about the subject so she answered her own question to take the light off of Beca.

"Me too. Well it was my dad who inspired me to become a firefighter. He was a big teddy bear even though he could scare everyone with how tall and buff he was. He even had the typical firefighter mustache." Chloe laughed out at the memory.

Beca smiled. "He seems like a great guy. Is he still on the department?"

Chloe sucked her lips between her teeth and shook her head. "He passed away when I was 15. He was diagnosed with lung cancer."

Beca's domineer changed instantly. "I'm so sorry Chloe."

"It's ok. I know that he's not hurting anymore, I just wish he was here to see me now, ya know?"

Beca didn't really know how to handle the situation. She wasn't good at feelings let alone sharing them with other people and she certainly wasn't good at the comfort part. All she could really do was listen, even if it was slightly uncomfortable.

"So where does Aubrey fit into all that? I'm guessing you're the older one?"

Beca laughed at that. "Yeah, she's a year younger. To tell you the truth I'm not always certain why she joined. I never really asked. We just sort of did everything together."

"She looks up to you." Chloe smiled.

"What do you mean?" The brunette asked quizzically.

"It's obvious. She adores you, Beca."

Beca thought about what Chloe had said. She and Aubrey were closer than most siblings. They did almost everything together growing up and she knew she would do anything and everything for her sister.

Chloe could tell that Beca built walls around herself that made it hard to get to know her. She also knew, just in the short amount of time that they actually had the chance to have a normal conversation, that the brunette didn't like sharing personal details. The things that she did share were vague and left a lot for interpretation but she sensed that Beca was someone who didn't trust easy. Chloe wanted to get to know her lieutenant on a more personal level but she discerned that that would require pealing back the layers.

"Do you like ice cream?" Chloe asked after Beca didn't say anything in response.

Beca turned her head, eyebrow raised, and a dumbfounded look on her face. "Uhh… yeah why?"

Chloe giggled. "Come on let's go. I know a great little place not too far from here."

Beca shrugged and the girls gathered their gear bags and headed over to Beca's truck. The drive was spent in a comfortable silence as the girls listened to music, Chloe only speaking to give directions.

Once they arrived at their destination, they hopped out of the truck and walked up to the small establishment that was tucked away in a small ally surround by little mom and pop shops. Beca opened the door and let Chloe enter before following the redhead to the counter. A woman behind the counter had her back turned and was washing some of the dirty dishes in the sink.

"Be with you in just a minute." The woman said over her shoulder, not fully glancing back to see who was there. She turned off the water and shook her hands down towards the sink before grabbing a hand towel and turning around.

"Hey Mom." Chloe said with a smile. Beca didn't even have to hear Chloe because she was the spitting image of the woman behind the counter right down to the fiery red locks to the ocean blue eyes.

"Sweetheart! What a nice surprise." She said as she came around and wrapped Chloe in a hug before turning to look at the brunette. "And who is your friend, dear?

"Mom, this is Beca. Beca, this is my mom, Mary."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Beale." Beca said with a shy smile as she held out her hand to the older woman.

Mary Beale was nothing if not like Chloe and bypassed the hand offered before wrapping the brunette into a hug as well.

"It's nice to meet you, dear." She said with a bright smile. Beca tensed at the sudden contact. If Mrs. Beale caught it she didn't show it. "Please, call me Mary."

As Mrs. Beale moved back; she smiled at her daughter and raised a questioning brow. Chloe rolled her eyes and shook her head at her mother's antics. Any girl that Chloe introduce to her mom, aside from Stacie, she assumed Chloe had a crush on. Come to think of it Stacie was on that list for a long time until she finally realized Stacie and Chloe's friendship was strictly platonic.

"I'm guessing you are a Cookies 'N' Cream kind of girl, am I right, Beca?"

"How did you know?" Beca asked surprised.

"Intuition. I've been doing this for a long time." Mary laughed at Beca's raised eyebrows. "Usual sweetheart?" She turned to Chloe.

"Thanks, Mom" Chloe smiled as she sat down at an empty table.

"I've never heard of this place. How long has it been here?" Beca asked as she looked around the establishment.

It was filled with patrons, surprising to Beca because she thought she knew almost every business in Barden.

"About ten years. My parents started it up just before my Dad got sick. They loved it. When Dad wasn't on shift he was here running it with Mom."

Chloe's Mom sat a bowl full of Cookies 'N' Cream in front of Beca and handed Chloe a cone full of her favorite ice cream.

Beca snorted a laugh. Mary raised a brow and Chloe sat dumbfounded as she went to take a bite of her ice cream but didn't get the chance to pull her mouth away. Beca looked between the two still snickering.

"Of course your favorite ice cream would be Rainbow Sherbet."

Chloe giggled as she finished the bite of her ice cream while Mary just smiled at the two.

"You girls enjoy." Mary said with a smile before returning to the counter.

"This is really good!" Beca stated as she pulled the spoon from her mouth, examining the bowl.

Chloe smiled, "It's homemade."

"Serious?" Beca asked surprised, taking another spoonful of the delicious dessert.

"Mhmm." Chloe replied as she took another bite of her ice cream. "I made that batch that you're eating now."

"Beautiful and talented." Beca said before she realized what came out of her mouth. Fucking word vomit.

Chloe blushed at the comment but realized that Beca hadn't meant to say it out loud. She didn't want the brunette to feel embarrassed so she quickly replied.

"It's really easy. Come on, I'll show you."

Beca followed Chloe back behind the counter and through the kitchen door. They washed their hands in the sink before Chloe pulled some ingredients down off the shelves.

"Ever had ice cream in a bag?" The redhead asked as she pulled milk from the fridge and a bucket of ice from the ice machine.

"Nope." Beca said as she pulled herself up on the counter closest to the work station Chloe chose.

"This is the simple version of what the machine does." The probie said as she handed Beca a large ziplock bag and poured in some ice and salt.

She handed Beca a smaller bag and added milk and vanilla extract.

"Alright put the small bag into the large bag and make sure the ice surrounds it." Beca did as instructed before Chloe continued.

"Ok, shake it up until I tell you to stop."

After about five minutes, Chloe had Beca switch so she could take over. Another few minutes passed before the redhead stopped and handed the bag back to Beca.

"Take the small bag out and open it up." Chloe instructed as she grabbed two spoons from the drawer. "What do you think?"

Beca thought for a moment as she ate the concoction. "Not bad. Not as good as the Cookies 'N' Cream but not bad." The brunette finished with a teasing smile.

Chloe laughed. "Again, this was the quick version." The real art is in the slow churn."

"Well pardon me. I'll remember that for next time." The lieutenant joked.

Chloe stuck out her tongue but smiled at the banter. She was glad that Beca was finally starting to loosen up a little. They chatted ideally for a few minutes as they finished the small amount of ice cream in the bag.

"You know, if you weren't a good firefighter, I would tell you that you missed your calling." Beca teased.

"Shut up!" Chloe laughed out as she smacked Beca's thigh with the back of her hand. "You think I'm a good firefighter?" Chloe asked shyly.

"Well based off the call we had yesterday, I would say that you have the potential to be a great one someday. That was rare. To have a fire for your first call, you handled yourself really well. I didn't have to babysit you, some slight instruction maybe, but all in all you did good. I can tell that this job means a lot to you, as it should, and I know that you take this seriously. I was surprised to see you and Stacie out there training an hour after you got off shift."

"That means a lot to hear you say that." Chloe smiled.

"Just keep up the good work and you'll do fine." Beca said, a small smile as she did.

About that time the revolving door opened and Mary walked back to grab a new carton of ice cream from the freezer. She smiled at the two, not missing the quick reaction of Beca and her daughter jumping apart from the close proximity they were in.

"Sweetheart, could you write down Pistachio on the "To Make" board please?"

"Sure, Mom." The redhead said as she cleared her throat.

Beca cleaned off the counter and put away everything they had used. Once everything was clean, Chloe and Beca headed to the front.

"We are gonna head out Mom." Chloe said.

"Ok, honey. Beca, you come back anytime, alright?"

Beca gave a small smile. "I will Mrs. Be-. I mean Mary." The brunette stopped herself as Mrs. Beale raised an eyebrow.

"Be safe. Love you, Bug." Mrs. Beale said to Chloe as she and Beca exited the establishment.

"Your Mom is nice, I can see where you get it from." The lieutenant said as she opened the door to her truck so Chloe could hop in.

Chloe smile appreciatively, both at the compliment and the gesture.

"You're not so bad yourself. You're a lot different outside of work. I mean, not that you're mean or anything. I meant… I mean-"

Beca laughed. "Chloe relax. I know what you meant. You're right; I can be a hard ass because that's what I'm supposed to be. I can laugh and joke the same as everyone else. But at the end of the day, my job isn't to be your friend. I'm your leader and my job is to make sure that you, Stacie, Unicycle, Bumper, and everyone else at that house comes out of a fire alive."

"I know that. Just know that I'm happy and grateful for the opportunity to serve under you. You're a great teacher and I wanted to say thank you for today. Helping me train and everything and also for hanging out." Chloe finished,

"You're not gonna get mushy on me are you?" Beca joked.

Chloe smiled. "If I had any more of that ice cream, I would throw it at you."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. This was just kind of a filler/start of a friendship. It will progress so hold on to your shorts. If all goes well and I get good feedback, you can expect another chapter sometime in a few days. Chapter is already written and ready to go so comment and let me know what you think! =)