A/N: As promised another Sunday afternoon and another chapter is up. Hopefully this one has been worth the wait. As always I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to favourite this story, follow it, follow me, leave a comment or review or just read it. You are awesome and I keep writing for me but for you as well. All reviews are greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year. Enjoy!
Jesse couldn't stop laughing because Amy couldn't stop cracking jokes and neither of them were helping. Beca kicked herself internally because her original idea was to do these individually but thought hey why don't we all get together and do the video shoot. That was a bad idea. Her friends were having fun which was nice but she was trying to get something done and was making no progress. She set up the shot again hoping that this time they could all get through it without doubling over in a fit of laughter.
"Okay Amy, another take and can we be serious this time?" Beca asked hopefully.
"Fat Amy, serious?" Jesse snorted loudly.
"I can be serious you kangaroo testicle," Amy shot back.
Beca herself couldn't help but crack up at that one and the horrified look on Jesse's face didn't make it any less funny.
Amy did as Beca asked and put on her best serious face as Beca filmed. Being Amy of course some jokes still slipped in but being Amy they were funny and they worked. Beca wanted this to turn out as naturally as possible. After Amy had finished she moved on to Jesse and then Stacie and finally Benji who had turned up a little late. Beca's dad had sent her a short clip to include as well after she told him about her idea. Once she was satisfied with the footage she had she moved on to the editing stage.
Beca wasn't sure exactly how this would turn out or more importantly how it would be received or if it would actually be received at all. She could tell Aubrey felt bad for her but she was always on Chloe's side and if she didn't think it was a good idea she wouldn't give Beca's project to her friend.
The brunette worked through the night editing. She wanted to include music at the right parts and more importantly the right music. She wanted to put the clips in just the right order. She wanted everything to flow and be perfect. If this was going to work it had to be perfect and this had to work. Beca figured this was her last chance. If she couldn't convince Chloe to give her a chance after this then any shot she had with the red head was blown.
It was early in the morning and Beca was sipping her fifth or was it sixth cup of coffee as she finished up. She burned her finished video onto a DVD and sat back in her chair. She had downed far too much caffeine throughout the course of the night to be exhausted but she knew it would hit her soon enough. Beca took the DVD with her and climbed into bed, a short nap couldn't hurt.
When Beca awoke from her slumber she couldn't believe her eyes when she looked at the clock. She had failed to set an alarm and now it was after 5PM. To say she had overslept was an understatement. She wasn't expected at work but she did have something important to do. She was going to give her finished work to Aubrey today and request that she pass it along to Chloe. She could only do that though if she could get to Aubrey's office before it closed for the night. It was after 5:15PM already and Crystal Realty closed at 6PM sharp. It would take her at least 20 minutes to get there so she needed to leave like 5 minutes ago.
The brunette pulled on something half decent and practically flew down the steps and out to her car. She could speed just a little if she didn't see any cops around and hopefully she would make it on time. Sure she could just wait until tomorrow but Beca didn't want to wait any longer. She had spent enough time waiting and hoping and she was tired of it. This was her chance and she was going to take it.
She pulled into the parking lot of Crystal Realty at 5:57; make that 5:58PM. Beca hopped out of her car with the DVD in hand and ran towards the door. Locked.
"Damnit," Beca shouted far too loud in a public place.
She slumped down on the sidewalk and wondered if her clock was too slow or if they always locked the door before closing or maybe if they had taken the day off. In any case the door was locked and Beca couldn't get in. Beca waited though knowing that if Aubrey was still inside she would have to come out this way. She had been here enough times previously to know that this was the only way in and out of the building.
Sure enough after waiting for about ten minutes she heard the door unlock. Based on the voices she could hear Beca knew that Aubrey wasn't alone but that didn't matter much to her. She would just give her the DVD; ask her to pass it along to Chloe and leave.
"Hey," Beca called as Aubrey and her co-worker walked to their cars.
Aubrey looked down to see Beca standing just outside the building and she wasn't even surprised.
"I was wondering when I'd see you again," Aubrey said smiling.
Beca was glad she didn't seem annoyed. This might go over better than she had originally thought.
"I brought something for Chloe. I would really appreciate if you would give it to her. I made it for her. If you can get her to watch it I'll owe you big time."
Beca held out her hand and passed the DVD to the blonde woman before her. The co-worker who she was with sensed that this was something personal and bid Aubrey a quick farewell and headed to their car alone.
Aubrey studied what she had been given briefly.
"It's a DVD," Aubrey said very matter of fact-ly.
Beca just nodded. "Please ask her to watch it. I thought it might help change her mind and get her to give me another chance."
"I'll do what I can," Aubrey offered, "you can obviously tell how stubborn she is though. I can't promise anything but I'll put in a good word for you."
"Thank you Aubrey. You don't really have to do anything for me but you've been really patient with my…err stalking."
Aubrey chuckled, "I think you're a great person Beca and I know Chloe likes you and you make her happy. I want her to be happy and even if she can't see that you'd be good together, I do."
Beca resisted the urge to hug the other woman feeling it might be a little weird. She hoped Aubrey would be able to get Chloe to watch her video. She had made sure to scrawl her phone number on the DVD itself just in case. She left the parking lot with a smile on her face and she was hoping for what would at this point be a miracle.
Aubrey didn't bother to knock when she arrived at Chloe's place and found the door open. She let herself in and found Chloe and her young daughter asleep on the couch. Not wanting to disturb them she made her way into the kitchen and put on the kettle for some tea. She sat and sipped and helped herself to some left over cookies from Chloe's workplace and let her friend nap. Chloe was exhausted most of the time and any chance she had to sleep at the same time as Thalia was golden.
It had been about an hour when Aubrey finally heard some movement from the next room. Chloe was awake and stretching as she walked toward the kitchen presumably because the light was on.
"You really should leave your door locked," Aubrey said, smiling at her still very sleepy friend.
"I think I'll be okay if people only come in to make tea and eat my baked goods," Chloe laughed.
"How long have you been here?" she asked her friend.
"About an hour. The two of you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to bother you."
"Well thank you for that. I worked a double shift yesterday and I certainly was tired. Thalia's been sick so when she fell asleep during the movie it was a blessing."
"I brought dinner by the way, it's in the fridge; Chinese food from your favourite place and macaroni and cheese for Thalia. Don't ask me why a Chinese restaurant sells mac and cheese, presumably for kids like yours."
Both women laughed, it was an odd combination but it worked for them.
"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Chloe cooed as she wrapped her arms around Aubrey and pulled her in to a tight hug.
"Many times, and I love you too; hence the Chinese food. I brought you something else too," Aubrey pulled the DVD out of her purse and handed it to her friend.
"What's this?" the red head questioned the DVD with a phone number written on it in perhaps the worst chicken scratch she had ever seen.
Aubrey was hesitant but decided to be truthful. "It's from Beca, she made it for you."
Chloe's jaw dropped slightly, "seriously?"
"Seriously," Aubrey nodded, "and please watch it. She probably worked really hard on it and she really wants you to see it. Just watch it, that's all I ask."
Chloe considered things for a moment before speaking. She had no idea what was on the DVD but she knew exactly what its purpose was. It had to be another attempt to get Chloe to give her a chance and after her talk with Greg she was at the very least more open to that idea now.
"Okay," Chloe agreed, "I'll just bring Thalia to her room to lay down and I'll watch it. I want you to stay with me though."
Aubrey agreed silently nodding at her friend. She grabbed the DVD and moved to the living room. She sat and watched as Chloe picked up her little girl and carried her off to her bedroom. Thalia must have been feeling pretty awful, she didn't even wake as Chloe moved her. The Thalia Aubrey knew was a constant ball of energy; always up to do something fun. She hoped she would feel better soon especially since she knew how much Thalia being sick upset Chloe.
"I'm ready," Chloe spoke up when she re-entered the living room.
Aubrey pressed play as Chloe sat down, she had queued the DVD up while she was waiting for her friend.
On the screen Chloe could see Beca looking as beautiful as ever. The brunette's smile made her heart ache, she hadn't realized until this moment how much she actually missed Beca. Life had gotten in the way and her staunch beliefs that she couldn't be in another relationship or that Beca wouldn't like her if she knew the truth had clouded her brain. She couldn't see that smile and not remember how much she had enjoyed being on that boat with Beca. She thought back to all the time they spent getting to know one another and to every time she had seen that smile previously. It hurt to see Beca smile and know that over the last few months she had been the reason Beca wasn't smiling as much anymore.
"I was going to start by saying you're probably wondering what this is all about but I know you know what this is going to be about. All I want is a chance and I'm hoping this will convince you to give me another one," Beca's voice could be heard coming out of the tiny speakers on Chloe's old television set.
Chloe watched and listened as Jesse and Stacie and a few people she didn't know talked about how great Beca was and how Chloe should give her a chance. They told funny stories about Beca and told of all her great qualities. They asked Chloe to open her heart and give their friend a chance. By the end of it all Chloe had laughed and cried and did both simultaneously when Beca's blonde friend Amy was on screen. She could tell these people really cared about Beca and that more importantly Beca really cared about her. No one would go through this much trouble for someone they didn't really care for, at least that's what Chloe figured.
"So?" Aubrey said expectantly as the video finished and the credits were rolling.
"So what?"
Aubrey gave her a stern look, "are you going to give her a chance or what?"
Chloe wiped a tear from her cheek; she had to give the other woman a chance after that.
Chloe nodded, "yeah, I will. Watching that made me realize how much I miss her Aubrey. I'm still nervous but there's no harm in calling her right?"
"Exactly and conveniently that chicken scratch on the DVD is actually Beca's number," Aubrey smirked at her friend.
"Of course it is. Hopefully I can make it out."
"If you can't I'm sure she'll be at my office for a follow up visit in the coming days. I'll get it from her then if needed."
Chloe just smiled. She had mixed feelings, she was nervous but she was also excited. She wanted to see Beca again but she still wasn't sure how she would react. She would have to tell the other woman the truth about her life. She would have to tell Beca about her crappy job and crappy apartment and most importantly her amazing daughter. There was a lot she had to tell Beca about and if Beca liked her now there was no guarantee she would still be interested when Chloe told her all of this. She tried to push those thoughts from her brain and just think about the positives. She would be seeing Beca again as soon as she could work up the nerve to call her.
Beca was splayed across her couch, her laptop on the table and the remote in her hand. She had been flipping channels for over 20 minutes and she still hadn't found anything good to watch. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting. It was finally Saturday and it was the middle of the afternoon. There was never anything good on in the middle of the day on a Saturday. She settled on an infomercial where the middle aged lady simply could not organize her cupboards without some sort of container set that could stack together. She always laughed at the part where a seemingly endless supply of containers came flying out at her when she opened her cupboard doors. She always told Jesse that infomercials were like a bad sitcom and she loved them.
Since it was Saturday she had nothing to do and she was just waiting for Jesse, Stacie, Fat Amy and Benji to come over for game night. It had gotten somewhat awkward for her in recent years as Fat Amy would occasionally bring a date and Benji often brought his girlfriend Anna to game night. She hated being the odd one out even if they did their best not to make things awkward for her. She hoped that tonight Fat Amy was flying solo so at least she wouldn't be the only single person. Fat Amy was in a years long on and off relationship with a guy named Bumper who could only be described as a colossal douchebag but last she heard he had left for LA to sing backup on John Mayer's new CD.
"Hey," Beca said jovially as she opened the door to greet her friends a few hours later.
"Hey short stuff," came Amy's customary greeting.
"No Bumper tonight?" Beca asked hopefully.
"No, that muffin and I are done. I'm the fabulous crispy top part and he is the mushy bottom part that's only good sometimes when you're really hungry and you want to eat the whole muffin."
Beca just nodded and pretended to understand what Amy had been blabbering about as she had done many times over the years. She loved Amy but sometimes that girl said some weird things. Game night was no exception; Amy's responses were always hilarious whether it was trivia or some other kind of guessing game. Amy could even make Settlers of Catan hilarious and that was part of the reason Beca loved her; because Jesse and Benji insisted on playing it every time they got together.
As the night wore on she had been enjoying her friends' company so much that she hadn't even thought about Chloe, which was rare these days. She had given Aubrey the DVD days ago and hadn't heard back. She resolved to go into Crystal Realty on Monday if she didn't hear from either of them and that would be that. If Chloe said she wouldn't watch it or didn't want to see her this thing between them or lack thereof was done. She couldn't keep doing this and she was ready to move on or at least she would tell herself she was ready to move on. She would find out for sure on Monday but for now she would keep playing games with her friends.
The rules to the games they were playing became less and less important the later it got and the more they had to drink. Soon they were all just lying on the floor and reminiscing about old times. They had known each other since college so there was always a fun story to tell even if it had been told a hundred times before.
It was late when Beca heard it but she was sure that her phone was ringing. She climbed over the now sleeping bodies of her friends to find it. She looked around and tripped over things in the dark and hoped that the ringing wouldn't wake her friends. It had been a few minutes and she clearly missed the first call but the phone kept ringing. Beca reached under the couch and then between the cushions. When she finally found the damned thing behind the couch it had stopped ringing for a second time. Two missed calls from a number Beca didn't recognize late at night; damnit.
She hoped they would try her one more time but the phone didn't ring again. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she call the unknown number back or just wait and maybe they would try again. Maybe it was a wrong number and it just took them a while to realize. Different scenarios flitted through her mind but she wouldn't let herself think about the one she wanted most. What if Chloe had finally decided to call her; what if Chloe had finally decided to call her and she missed it? No, she wouldn't let her mind go there. Beca walked to her bedroom and tried not to think about it. It was so late now that whoever it was could wait until morning. If they didn't call her back she would just call them. She wrote down the mystery number on a post-it and stuck it on her mirror before crawling into bed. She would call that number in the morning and hope for the best.
