By now, Aubrey was frantic.

"It should not have taken this long to find her!" she said shrilly, once they had exhausted every option. Chloe had not been found in the planetarium, on the bleachers in their football field, at the gym, at the rehearsal studio, or at their favorite diner. Having run out of places to look, Aubrey now had nothing to do and no more delegations to give. In short, she was at a loss and panicking.

"Aubrey, just take a breath, okay? Chloe's a big girl, and she'll be back soon. Don't wor-"

"You don't understand!" Aubrey broke in, near tears.

"Chloe always goes to one of her spots to calm down. She hasn't come back, and I haven't been able to find her. She hasn't called or showed up anywhere. This is wrong."

Fat Amy went to gently pat Aubrey's back, but the older girl wrenched away to expel her wretched anxiety in the toilet for the second time. Once her stomach was so empty it hurt, Aubrey let the toilet lid close with a slam and leaned back against the opposite peach-colored wall. Reaching to rip free a small portion of toilet paper, she spit into it with distaste and wiped around the edges of her mouth, hating herself.

Aubrey reflected on that fact while she found herself alone for the moment, and let out a cold, humorless laugh. She had been hating herself since she was a child, never accomplishing enough to earn her father's smile, never able to outrun her mother's mistakes, never able to accept less than perfection and yet never quite reaching it. Letting her head fall back to rest on the wall, she practiced a breathing technique that was meant to help calm her nerves. She had learned it from Chloe.

In a huff, she gave up and let the back of her head fall to bang against the wall again. It hurt, but not enough to distract her from the terrible feeling that clawed its way through her gut. She had gotten sick not just from anxiety, but also from that awful feeling of knowing. It was rock hard and cold as steel, this feeling, and she'd only experienced it once before, as a young girl in the hospital while she waited to be allowed in to see her mother.


The doctor had told her that she'd have to wait, when she first asked to go in. The accident had been bad, he'd explained. Her mother didn't look quite the same as she had before, he said. He was very kind, but the tremble in his voice and his knotted brow turned Aubrey's small, childish heart cold. When an hour later that same doctor came to ask if she knew where her father was, she stood and looked him directly in the eye.

"When can I see my mom?"

"I'm so sorry, honey..."


Slowly standing, Aubrey splashed some cold water on her face and forced herself to take slow, measured breaths. "It doesn't mean anything," she told herself, knowing she was a liar. The heavy pounding of feet flying up the stairs made her legs shake. It was all she could do to turn the doorknob for and accept the cell phone Jessica held out to her. Her face was white as a sheet. Aubrey didn't want the news.

"Who is this?" she asked in a stranger's voice, light and airy. Instantly, she recognized the voice of the newest treble.

"Aubrey, hi. Benjamin Applebaum. I found Chloe and she was really banged up, so I brought her to St. Thomas's. Please get here soon. Someone hurt her bad, Aubrey."

St. Thomas Medical Center was about a ten minute drive from campus. Jessica, Stacie and Fat Amy all piled into Aubrey's car with her, while the rest of the girls flagged down a cab and followed.

"Ben said he would meet us at the door to show us where her room is," Jessica murmured, and was met with silence from Aubrey. Stacie leaned in to whisper to Jessica, obviously trying not to set the older girl off by pulling her into the conversation.

"Did he say anything about finding Jesse?"

When Jessica shook her head no, Stacie sighed and said, "He might even be with Bec-"

"Say that name, Stacie," came a sudden and ferocious growl from the driver's seat, "and I will stop this car right here for you to get out."

A deathly quiet pervaded after that statement, none of the girls daring to even look at each other until they reached the hospital. After parking and making their way toward the door, it became quickly obvious that no one was waiting for them.

"I don't understand. He said he'd be down here..."

Jessica trailed off, glancing nervously at Aubrey. She, too, had been silent since her outburst in the car, and continued on that tack. Sweeping through the gleaming lobby, she stopped at the reception desk, the other girls trailing behind.

"I'm here for Chloe Beale. She was brought in not too long ago."

After a few minutes and a warning from the reception nurse, they were finally able to get a wing and a room number. As Aubrey swept toward the elevators, not sparing a glance back, Stacie called to her and volunteered to stay behind for the other girls to lead them to the right room. Aside from the receptionist again reiterating that Miss Beale was receiving no visitors, she was met by heavy, echoing silence. As soon as the rest of the girls arrived, she filled them in.

"Chloe is in room 660, across in the north wing. The police are still there I guess, not letting anyone in to see her. Please guys, be careful with Aubrey. Any mention of Beca might send her over the edge. I think she blames her for this happening to Chloe."

"What happened to Chloe?" asked Lilly. Denise, who was closest to her, repeated the question.

"We don't know what happened. Apparently someone hurt her, but we don't know how or why."

"Who the fuck would do that to Chloe?" asked Cynthia Rose, unconsciously rolling her shoulders as if loosening up for battle. Beginning to walk toward the elevators, the other girls murmured their agreement. Coming up to room 660, the group of girls guessed they were headed toward the right room when they saw a police officer speaking very sternly and quickly to an increasingly agitated Aubrey. She nodded, said something more, and turned to stride quickly down the hall. Stacie approached the police officer, who sighed and held up a weary hand.

"I'm sorry ladies, but until my partner receives the victim's statement, no one is allowed in to see her. No. One."

Immediately dropping her eyes and focusing on her fidgeting fingers, Stacie's voice was low and hoarse when she spoke, as if her throat was too constricted to speak.

"Oh, officer, we only want her to rest. We're just so scared and worried for her. She's our sister," she said, a small sob escaping her throat.

Hooking his thumbs behind his gun belt, the barrel-chested cop raised his eyebrows and affected a look of wearying patience. When Stacie shuffled her feet, effectively shrinking the gap between herself and him, his expression froze and his eyes focused on her more intently.

"She's our best friend, and we don't even know what happened!"

At the sound of another strangled sob, he raised his eyes to the group. Seeing teary eyes and confronted with a massive wave of estrogen, he shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Look, ladies. I am not at liberty to discuss the nature of Miss Beale's injuries. I really can't unless you are immediate family."

When all the girls paled and Stacie's hands flew up to her face, his expression softened.

"Why don't you girls sit down? The worst of it is over, and from what I understand, all the young lady wants is to see her friends. My partner is nearly finished taking her statement. You'll have to clear it with hospital staff, but at that point you'll be free to see her. Her injuries aren't permanent. That's not to say she's out of the woods."

Solemnly nodding, Stacie laid a gently hand on his arm and whispered a thanks, while the girls filed around the corner to the waiting room. They met up with Fat Amy and Jessica, who caught them all up while hugs were going around.

"Ben was taken in for questioning, but Chloe explained that he was the one who found her and brought her here. They let him go, but he wasn't allowed to come back until they spoke with her more. I don't know where Aubrey went. That cop told her she wasn't allowed in, and she walked away. I don't know what else she was asking him, but she wasn't happy with it."

Several minutes later, another police officer stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She looked wary. For a few moments, she talked with her partner, who nodded grimly.

"This is the third one, Rhodes. You know what this means."

"We aren't the ones to declare this a serial," Officer Rhodes warned, putting a comforting hand on his partner's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking. All we can do is give Barney our report, do our job and hope to God he does his. I'm sorry, Kris. You know this is as far as we can go."

"Yeah. Until this happens to another girl, or they take the violence a step further. What then, Andy? How do you ignore something like this and go home and sleep at night?"

When officer Rhodes merely shrugged his shoulders, she sighed, and took a heavy step towards the waiting room. The young woman seemed to believe she already had a friend waiting to see her, so Rhodes informed the nurses that their questioning was over. Meanwhile, his partner went to inform the waiting room in general that room 660 was again open for visitors.

The officer named Kris raised her brow slightly in surprise when she saw the waiting room was full. They all seemed to turn their heads in unison, fear etched on every face. It was encouraging for Kris, though only slightly.

"Are all you ladies here for Chloe Beale?"

She was met by stifled sniffles as every one of them stood expectantly. Never one for much tact, she huffed out a breath and prepared herself to say her next sentence as quickly as possible. Before she could, Fat Amy cut her off with a "What happened?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss her injuries with anyone but her immediate family," came the automatic response.

"Are we allowed to see her now?" came a bitter voice from the hallway. The officer turned and, upon recognizing Aubrey's acerbic tones, sighed.

"Yes, though she is tired. I'm not certain how willing to talk she might be..."

Her voice trailed off and she threw her hands up, letting them drop to her side again. By the end of the sentence, she was standing alone, all the girls having already moved en masse to Chloe's room. Following their trail, she motioned to Officer Rhodes that they should go.

"Hey, Chlo'..."

Aubrey walked over to Chloe's side, her voice thick with tears as she reached out to touch the back of her hand. Chloe smiled softly and began to fidget with the edge of her blanket as the rest of the Bellas shuffled in to the room awkwardly. Moments ago, all she wanted was the support of these ladies. Now, with all those nervous eyes on her, she just wanted to be alone. Aubrey was speaking, sniffling, begging to know what happened and if she was okay. Finally, Stacie broke from the group and walked around to the other side of the bed, reaching down and enveloping Chloe in a tight hug.

"You're not a freak show, honey," she whispered softly, so none of the others could hear. "We love you and we're here for you. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Remember that."

Chloe nodded and fiercely hugged Stacie back, finally beginning to sob. The sound was heartbreaking and full of shame, causing Aubrey to cease her questioning. The rest of the girls were taken aback for a moment, but each one of them moved cautiously forward and laid a hand in comfort and support somewhere on or near Chloe.

When the racking sobs finally subsided enough for her to begin to breathe normally again, she wiped her face and pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes so hard, spots began to dance behind her eyelids.

"I.. I was.."

This must be what Aubrey felt like, when so much shame and fear mixed into a sick ball in this pit of her stomach at the thought of admitting the truth. She was going to be sick, she knew it. Focusing only on breathing for several moments, she started again, slower and more quietly. She had just been pried of every detail she could remember by the cop that had just been in there.. she didn't want to have to talk about it again. But these girls deserved to know.

"I.. h-he made me.. I don't know who he was. I thought it was Aubrey actually, or one of you.. he hit me and forced me to.. I can't.. I just can't."

Chloe buried her face in her hands again and brought her knees up to her chest, shaking her head so hard the bed rocked. Another wrenching sob ripped its way up from her chest, and she was inconsolable for several minutes. Even after her wailing cries faded to sniffling hiccups, she refused to remove her hands from her face. There was no way she'd be ready for the horrified looks from the people she'd come to count as family. These girls surely would feel too ashamed to be around her, too awkward and too disgusted. They were begin to avoid her, they would abandon her because of how tainted she'd become. She was that girl, now.

Finally, Aubrey's soft, large hands wrapped around her wrists and gently brought her hands from her face. Instead of disgust, her pond green eyes were full of concern. Turning to look at the rest of the girls, Chloe saw the same expression on all their faces. None of them had backed away. None had turned to go. They reached out to her, some holding hands, some gripping the rail on the side of her bed. They all looked as if they were terrified of losing her.

After a few moments, she broke into a peal of laughter and, confused, the girls looked at each other before noticing that Lilly had begun to play with Chloe's toes through the blanket. Looking up with her face completely serious, she stared for a moment before going back to playing. Ashley giggled, sending them all into a small fit of laughter. Once they were able to get control of their mirth, Chloe wiped her eyes and looked lovingly at this strange, dysfunctional group of girls.

"Thank you," she said with feeling, and immediately everyone relaxed, Chloe letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. So nothing had changed. These girls were still there, and still cared about her. That meant so much. Though, there was one face she couldn't help but notice had been missing. Locking eyes with Stacie for a moment, she silently asked what she dare not mention with Aubrey around. When Stacie gave an imperceptible shake of her head, Chloe understood all she needed to know.

Beca was gone.