Beca sat down at her desk, trying to take in all that had happened in the last 24 hours. How did Chloe do it? How did she manage to figure her out so quickly?

Frankly speaking, Beca had spent most of her life mastering the art of distancing, of keeping people out and only letting them know about her only what she wanted them to know. It was what she did because it was what she had always done.

As a child growing up, having to deal with her parents' divorce and the disappointment of seeing two of the people she loved the most split in such a painful way, Beca had learned quickly what happened when you formed strong emotional attachments to people.

Having been shuttled between her mom and dad, bouncing from school to school and one home to another had taught her to keep people from getting too close. That habit, the habit of only letting people know the most superficial details about herself was never broken. Sure, she wasn't the most popular kid in school, but she did have friends. Except that none of them really knew her.

Funnily enough, as hard as it was for others to get to know the real Beca, it was usually so easy for her to know them. To most outsiders, Beca was oblivious to everything that went on around her that didn't directly concern her, when in actual fact, she had the kind of perception that one could only develop by being an outsider. She had an uncanny ability to read people quickly, easily, and fairly accurately. She based a great deal on first impressions, and while her opinions about people changed after more exchanges with them, her attitude often didn't.

She kept most people guessing about her, and about what she thought about others. She was generally cold, aloof, and distant, because it was the easiest way to keep people from really knowing her, a coping mechanism that she clung to for no other reason than the fact that it was a constant. Except with Chloe.

Chloe was an enigma she hadn't anticipated. She was so much more than what she appeared; bubbly and lighthearted but with the kindest heart she had ever known.

In any event, Chloe had managed to do something that no one else, not even Jesse or Stacie, had ever done before. She managed to break down Beca's barriers and catch a glimpse of what lay behind her typically cool exterior.

Why had she let her guard down? She felt exposed and vulnerable. Chloe's words today touched a chord deep inside of her.

She was confused how quickly it they got along, and how well the redhead seemed to know her, how easily she got past the 'badass alt girl' exterior.

What was it that gave her such insight? What made him enough of an outsider to be able to see through her.

Of course, Chloe was all parts friendly, warm and good looking. Really good looking. But Beca didn't want to allow her thoughts to go there.

She shook her head, trying to clear out thoughts about the redhead so she could focus on her work. It didn't happen. Every few minutes, she found her mind drifting back to her.

Beca trusted Chloe the way she trusted very few people. She had seen her at her lowest point, when she was most vulnerable, but instead of attacking her when she was weak, she was there to provide comfort. And she had.

Beca felt different when she was with Chloe. This sudden realization almost floored her. She couldn't think of anything more dangerous than that.

She looked at her watch and sighed. It was nearly 3pm. Beca had several appointments in the afternoon and couldn't allow her mind to wander anymore when she was supposed to be focusing on the problems of her patients.

When her third consultation ended just after 5:30, she decided to leave for the day and stop by her father's office.


Beca entered the open office door and found her dad busy at his computer. He looked up at the sound of her walking in and smiled.

"Becs!"

"Hi Dad," she replied with a grin.

She crossed his office to take a look at what he was working so intently on.

"Well, you're in an unusually good mood today," he teased.

"How's the testing going?" she inquired, ignoring his question.

"It's going pretty well. One of the test monkeys was suffering from an irregular heart rhythm and we decided to implant her first" he explained.

"So far, the device that we implanted seems to have worked, and she's never been better," he beamed as he showed her the graphs on his computer.

"Has she been suffering from any side effects?"

"Nope. Nothing other than those usually following a cardiac operation. We've been hooking her up to the ECG ever day and her heart's beating as steady as a metronome. Starting next week we're going to begin monitoring her heart rate with different levels of exercise to see how the chip on the device does with different types of exertion."

Warren Mitchell opened the spreadsheet on the data from the recent tests and allowed Beca to scroll through it.

"This is amazing, dad," she said, when she finished scrutinizing the data.

She caught a glimpse of the balance sheets strewn across his desk, mainly with budget projections listed in red numbers.

"If only the hospital was willing to give us the budget that we needed ..." she sighed.

"Don't worry Becs, we'll figure it out. We need about a hundred thousand more to complete the tests this quarter. I'll take a loan out from the bank if we need to…"

"Dad, you can't do that!"

"Becs, I know this project is as important to you as it is to me. I also know that you have been thinking of doing the same thing, so don't tell me otherwise."

"But that's different…" Beca whined.

"Besides, you shouldn't be too worried about it. With the results we are getting, we should be able to get additional independent funding by taking on another partner." Dr. Mitchell continued without missing a beat.

"Well, just promise that you'll talk to me before you do anything."

"Of course I will, Beca. We're in this together"

"Great. Well, I better get going. Jesse and Stacie invited me out tonight and I was hoping to get home for a shower first before meeting them."

"All right. Take care Becs. Oh, by the way, Sheila asked when you're coming over for dinner next. She was wondering if you were free tomorrow night."

"That's nice of her. I've got rounds in the ER tomorrow night. Maybe we could try for next week?" Beca responded. She hadn't seen Sheila in a while and it would be nice to catch up.

"Sounds good. See you tomorrow. Don't stay out too late!"

"Very funny dad." Beca smirked at her father before walking out his office.

As she was walking to her car, she decided on a whim to text Chloe to see if she were available that evening. 'I'm just asking her out because Jesse asked me to. It's purely platonic' she reasoned.

B: Hey. I'm planing to join Jesse and Stacie at Pete's tonight. You interested?

Two minutes later a text popped up on her phone.

C: Sure! That sounds like fun :) :)

B: Great. Need a ride? I'm headed home and can pick u up at 730

C: Perfect. See you soon!