Chapter 7

It took a while for Beca and Chloe to disengage from an impromptu make out session. If it didn't freak Chloe out that Beca was literally steaming hot, then Beca was sure their kisses would've intensified until at least one of them slipped into second base. Or maybe not, but the reality was that they were two attractive, young adolescent women with a healthy dose hormones to spare so who knew.

"Ugh, everything's sticky," Chloe complained about their wet clothing as they made their way back to the cabin. That's where Maura was, and Chloe was convinced that Maura knew more about Beca's condition. Her aunt was, after all, a certified genius.

Beca spared Chloe a look, unsure of whether or not she knew what she just said. Deciding to play it up, she said in the most oblivious voice she could muster, "Well, I did get you thoroughly soaked."

"I know!" Chloe plucked at her jeans. Then, after a second, her head lifted up as if she realized what Beca had said. She smiled. "Maybe I should just take this all off."

"Or you could, you know, not." Beca huffed dramatically. "I swear, of all the people to get stuck with, it figures I get the exhibitionist."

"Or maybe I'm stuck with a prude," Chloe shot back playfully, bumping her shoulder into Beca's.

Beca chuckled, but otherwise decided to just drop it. Chloe, however, did not. "Seriously though, this is really uncomfortable," she said, awkwardly fumbling with her t-shirt before pulling it off. The problem with that was that Chloe didn't end up entirely naked, thus not overloading Beca's fragile mind when she was faced with a delicate looking navy bra and lean muscle tone.

Chloe was busy wringing out her shirt while Beca tried desperately to look elsewhere, except she was overwhelmed with... scientific curiosity. Yeah, it was totally scientific. She was desperate to know why she thought Chloe was so attractive, and the only way to discover that was to study her body in detail.

Which is why she did not see the low hanging branch coming. "Ow!" The branch hit her squarely in the face. Beca stood still as she held a palm to the painful spot above her right eyebrow. The spot slowly turned into a stinging burn. "Ow," she emphasised, looking at her hand to find blood.

Of course.

"What happened?" Chloe closed in the short distance between them and tilted Beca's face so she could take a better look at the cut, worry etched in her features. When she saw it wasn't half as bad as the trickle of blood would have them think, she glanced around. "Did you just walk into a tree?"

"What? No!" Beca protested vehemently. "What are these trees even growing? Razorblades? Because ow."

To her credit, Chloe didn't feel the need to laugh until Beca mentioned razorblades. "Do you have a first aid kit at the cabin?"

Beca nodded demurely, looking down at her bloodied hand with a grimace.

"Come on, let's get you back before you end up misstepping into a canyon," Chloe said, suppressing a smile.

Beca narrowed her eyes at Chloe in an as threatening manner as she could pull off (which, less face it, was more of a pout than a glare), but otherwise followed the amused girl.

Once at the cabin, Beca was reminded of why she didn't really want to return so soon. Stupid half naked Chloe dumbing her down.

"Oh my," Maura said, approaching the pair when she spotted them. She now wearing a simple light blue summer dress instead of, well, nothing. "What happened?" She purposely eyed Beca's face and then Chloe's semi-clothed state.

"I got into a fight with a tree," Beca said dryly, unconsciously touching her fingers to the cut. "Managed to get in a good hit with my face though."

The joke seemed to fly over Maura's head completely, seeing as her only reaction was to frown in confusion before proceeding to shoot Chloe a questioning look.

"She walked into a low hanging branch," Chloe explained even as she made her way into the cabin to retrieve the first aid kit.

"Oh, I get it," Maura exclaimed proudly. She sent Beca a smile, who wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "I thought perhaps you were using a colloquial expression I was not familiar with."

"Um, no," Beca hazarded.

Maura nodded her head, then asked out of the blue, "Why is Chloe wet?"

"Uh." Beca scrambled for an explanation that wasn't 'I dumped her in the lake' or anything else that would make her come across as an ass, because oh God, this was basically Chloe's second mom she was talking to. Chloe's scary second mom. "We slipped," she offered lamely.

"Found it!" Chloe called as she made her way over to the pair. She had tied her hair back in a messy bun while she was inside.

"Oh thank God," Beca whispered. Her shoulders, which she hadn't been aware had tightened due to talking to Maura alone, slumped slightly. When two pairs of eyes looked at her strangely, she quickly added, "It's starting to really itch."

While Chloe picked out the necessary items to clean the wound, Maura deemed it the right moment to start point out the obvious. "You're remarkably dry, however."

"Yeah, about that." Beca paused mid-sentence as Chloe tilted her head slightly to the side before cleaning all the excess blood from her face. She was used to Chloe handling her like intimately that, however, so she went on unhindered. "I've become really hot since this morning."

Chloe barely managed to swallow a snort before it escaped.

Beca narrowed her eyes at her and corrected herself, "My temperature has been abnormally high since this morning. Like, I was wet when I left the lake. And I don't really feel sick."

Maura tilted her head as she considered the symptom, not looking so much surprised as intrigued. "Have you experienced any other symptoms?"

"She's stronger than she appears," Chloe offered offhandedly, not deviating from her task. Beca shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an uncomfortable fashion as Maura kept looking at her. "Her scent has become more potent, too."

That earned Chloe a strange look from Beca. Since when had Chloe been sniffing her? Not that she hadn't been aware of Chloe like that, but it was a strange realization that someone was keeping track of her scent.

"Well, I can hardly make a proper diagnosis based on this data alone."

Chloe pouted at the older woman. "Maura," she whined in what Beca would admit was a cute fashion.

Maura took a deep breath and reluctantly continued, "However, if I had to hypothesize, I would say that your mitochondria have turned hyperactive as a sort of preparation process, taking in mind either reproductive or defensive purposes."

"Um." Beca took a moment to process what she said.

"Your iris sphincter muscles are constricting properly, but the increased pheromone secretion would indicate outward stimulus is involved. It is probable that another shifter has initiated this reaction," Maura glanced at Chloe, "so I believe it's reasonable to say that you only need to worry if you still experience these symptoms even after achieving an in-group relationship."

Beca opened her mouth to say something. She knew what the woman had said. She could even understand most of it. Except it was the speed and suddenness that took her off guard, leaving her standing there awkwardly.

"She's saying we should get comfortable around each other," Chloe concluded, lowering her hand. The cut had stopped bleeding and was tiny enough not to need stitches. All it needed was some disinfectant.

"So, what, we get to cuddle and my temperature drops?" Beca asked, mostly sarcastic.

"That's one way, yes." Maura nodded happily. "Though I would suggest an activity that's more focused on team building."

"O-kay." With the way she was advocating some sort of relation between her and Chloe, Beca was pretty sure Maura had turned from scary to terrifying in less than five minutes.

Beca winced marginally as Chloe applied the disinfectant.

"That being said, I was going to stay for brunch, but preparing and eating food can be an excellent bonding experience," Maura noted, shooting them both a winning smile. "I should leave you two be and let you enjoy the rest of your vacation."

Oh, thank the Lord. Praise Jesus, Beca thought, making sure that that particular thought didn't reflect in her body language.


Are you guys even still reading this? I'm getting significantly less reviews and it's making me think. You don't even have to tell me anything relevant to the story (or do, that's cool too), just let me know you're still reading this. Say hi. Or your favorite color.

This update was late because of the lamest reasons. The weather was crap, and I can't find my groove (for this particular story) if it's not raining sunshine. This fic is literally made of sunshine, hahaha. Also, it may have had something to do with getting roped into watching a telenovela.

ps. I totally BSed the doctor speak there.
pps. Team building? MORE LIKE UST BUILDING AHAHAHA-cough.
ppps. Did anyone notice the Teen Wolf tweet from Snow? Can you say, Moon Moon?

Cooties!Anon; I can't tell whether you're doing it on purpose now! xD