DISCLAIMER: The "Pitch Perfect" screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I guess the last "double stuff" chapter wore out my muse because she just returned from her mini-vacation to Club Muse.
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough
"Enemies are often former or potential friends who have been denied - or think that they have been denied - something." - Idries Shah (Reflections)
Aubrey doted on Stacie during the brunette's lengthy recovery; something that did not go unnoticed by Beca and Chloe. The perky redhead thought it was wonderful, but Beca was strangely annoyed.
One morning, during the third week of Stacie's recovery, after Aubrey went to care for her patient, Chloe watched Beca grumble and rip her toast in small bits. She internally debated whether to leave Beca alone or inquire what was bothering her best friend. Chloe decided to finish her breakfast and then have a talk with Beca.
"There…all done," Chloe announced as she placed her last washed breakfast dish in the drainer with a comedic flourish.
She turned around to check on Beca's progress and found her best friend still had a sullen look on her face. All the toast was…toast, scattered on the plate in bird-sized pieces. Chloe made a mental note to take it outside for the birds.
"Beca?" Chloe asked as she sat down at the kitchen table.
Beca looked through Chloe, completely lost in thought. The patient redhead waited for a response. After a minute, Chloe had enough.
"BECA!"
Beca shook her head to clear it and glared at Chloe, "What?"
"I was talking to you, but you ignored me," Chloe explained, suppressing her irritation.
"Huh?" Beca uttered.
Chloe's seemingly endless patience finally ran out. She swiftly stood and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Beca dazed and confused.
"I would go after her if I were you."
Beca incredulously stared at Stacie, who just smiled at her confounded friend.
"Beca, go after Chloe and apologize," Stacie urged.
Two ticks later, Beca bolted out of her seat and ran after Chloe.
"What was that all about?" Aubrey asked as she entered the kitchen with a tray of empty dishes.
"The children were fighting," Stacie laughed and smiled at the dull pain in her side.
"Is it better?" Aubrey asked, doing her best to keep the concern she felt out of her voice.
Stacie smiled at Aubrey and lifted up her shirt, "It seems to be."
The now flustered blonde huffed, quickly swatted Stacie's hands, and pulled down the brunette's shirt.
"Thanks to your awesome nursing, I can probably go on a much-needed supply run soon," Stacie happily announced.
"But not by yourself, okay?" Aubrey urged.
"Of course not. I think the little spitfire needs one more than our dwindling supplies do," Stacie laughed.
Aubrey grimaced and agreed, "Yes, she's been rather…"
"HELP!"
"THAT'S CHLOE!" Aubrey screamed.
Stacie and Aubrey ran towards Chloe's cries for help. They arrived at the chicken coop the same time as Beca. Stacie looked at Beca and opened her mouth to speak, but Beca shook her head.
"WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!" Chloe yelled and pointed towards something outside the fence.
"Chloe, stop yelling," Stacie ground out, trying not to yell herself, "You're going to attract them."
Chloe immediately placed both hands over her mouth, shutting herself up. Stacie looked out in the direction Chloe was pointing earlier and saw a young man leaning against a tree. He was dressed in bloody military fatigues. She watched his movements in order to determine if he was friend or foe.
"Why aren't you doing anything?" Chloe whispered next to Stacie.
"Chloe, his uniform is covered in blood. We don't know if he's only injured or been bitten," Stacie answered.
She turned to Beca, "Beca, go get my scope."
Beca ran into the house, grabbed the scope from Stacie's backpack, and ran back outside. She handed it to Stacie, avoiding eye contact with Chloe. Stacie decidedly ignored the tension between her two friends. She looked through her scope and checked for bite marks first. There were no bite marks on any of his exposed skin. She then checked his eyes, which were still human. Lastly, she checked his attire and holster. His sidearm was missing and the color of the blood on his fatigues looked old.
"He looks okay to bring in," Stacie announced and turned to Beca, "Beca, you and I will go get him. He's close enough we won't need to suit up. Grab the wagon, Ethel, and my machete."
Beca ran to prep for the retrieval.
Aubrey placed her hand on Stacie's arm, "Let me go instead. You're still healing."
"Thanks for the offer, but I need you here with the sniper rifle as back up, just in case things go sideways," Stacie instructed.
Aubrey nodded her head and walked in the house to retrieve the sniper rifle.
Stacie turned to Chloe and instructed, "Chloe, since we don't have a secured medical facility, you're going to have to throw one together. Use the small locked room in the basement. I think the survivalist built it to be a holding a cell. Throw a couple of the workout mats in there, along with an extra pillow and blanket," and handed her the key.
While Chloe was busy putting together a makeshift triage, the others proceeded with the retrieval. When Stacie and Beca arrived with the wagon, the young man was unconscious, making the process safer for them, but physically straining for Stacie. They loaded him into the wagon and quickly returned to the compound. After they rolled the wagon into the basement, they realized they had another problem to figure out. They did not have any men's clothes, so Stacie was elected to strip him down to his underwear before placing him in the makeshift bed. She silently hoped he was wearing the standard military green undershirt and matching boxer briefs. She breathed a sigh of relief he was. Stacie gathered the bloody uniform and dumped it in Beca's arms. She instructed her to wash it and hang it inside to dry. Beca nodded and headed to the laundry room.
Chloe handed Aubrey the tray of medical supplies. After an external examination, Aubrey confirmed he was not bitten. Since he was unconscious, she would have to wait to check for internal damage. Stacie decided they would watch him in shifts until he regained consciousness. Chloe was up first, so Stacie handed her the taser gun with explicit instructions to use it first and ask questions later. After securing a promise from Chloe, Stacie left and locked the door on the way out.
Four hours later, Aubrey, followed by Stacie and Beca, arrived to relieve Chloe. Aubrey suspected Chloe would not want to leave the patient, so she brought her a dinner tray. "John Doe," as they decided to call him, was still unconscious. Stacie suggested Chloe go eat dinner in the kitchen, but she declined. Aubrey offered to stay with Chloe, so Stacie and Beca left. The tender-hearted redhead finished her dinner and left Aubrey to her four-hour shift. Two hours later, Stacie went to check on Aubrey.
Aubrey looked up from her book and asked, "Has it been four hours already?"
"No, I couldn't sleep," Stacie answered.
"Did you re-injure yourself?" Aubrey asked.
Stacie shook her head, sat down next to Aubrey's chair, and leaned against it. As the two young women stared at the unconscious young man, realization dawned on them both at the same time.
"We should secure him down," they both said in unison.
Stacie scanned the small room and confirmed her earlier suspicions when she spotted a heavy chain embedded in one of the walls with a shackle on the end.
"Earlier today, I told Chloe I thought this room was built to be a holding cell. I was right," Stacie pointed to the chain.
She stood, pulled out the room key from her pocket, and tried it on the shackle. It opened, so she placed it around the young man's ankle and locked it.
"Now I feel much better about leaving you alone with him and we can keep the door open," Stacie said.
Two hours later, Aubrey shook Stacie awake, kissed the sleepy brunette on the cheek, and left to get some much-needed sleep. By the time the kiss registered in Stacie's sleepy brain, Aubrey was long gone.
"Awww…crap," Stacie muttered and flopped down in her chair.
