It was afternoon. The sun shone brightly on Beca as she walked over campus, a smile on her face. They had slept most of the day away, not answering any messages or calls, not registering that there was a world outside the four walls of Chloe's bedroom. Beca had only left so that she could shower and change before heading over to Jesse's - to tell him. Parting from Chloe had been ridiculously hard probably because they both knew that things would get difficult and ugly before they would see each other again at practice - to tell the Bellas. Beca tried not to think about how much her life would change today, how often she would have to come out.

Coming out. It was a strange concept, absurd in a way but obviously necessary in a world that pushed people who were different to the sidelines. You had to declare your inclination, you had to say who you loved if it wasn't someone of the designated sex. Absurd, Beca thought again, if it hadn't been for the fact that it was Chloe who she loved. Who wouldn't want to declare a love like that?

Chloe. Beca laughed into the afternoon sunshine as she pulled the door to Baker Hall open, almost running headlong into some fellow students, apologizing but laughing some more because it was a beautiful day.

When she opened the door to her room, however, her smile died on her lips. Her mother sat on her bed, looking at her. She wasn't very happy with her daughter, that much was clear, and Kimmy Jin looked over at her roommate equally unamused.

"Hey, mom," Beca greeted and pulled a face. "Listen, I'm sorry... I wanted to call you but time kinda got away from me... I..."

"Time got away from you?! Honey, we were sick with worry until Jesse told us that he got hold of you last night and that you were with Aubrey and Chloe." Her mother said and got up from the bed. "You haven't answered your phone all day! I know how difficult things are right now but... you could have at least called or texted or whatever to let us know that you were okay! Damn... I..." Grace turned away from Beca and stared out the window, ignoring the very displeased look of Beca's roommate who was rather annoyed at the family drama that was happening around her.

"Mom, I'm really sorry. Can we... could you maybe wait for me on the quad. I would like to shower and change... and I have to talk to Jesse later but first... I wanna tell you something," she said and touched her mother's arm. Grace looked at her, sighed. She took her daughter's face in both her hands, shaking her head at her.

"Alright... though... well, Justin called earlier and he told me that he would come get me tomorrow morning." She sighed again. "So little time," she said.

"I'm sorry that it has been... such a draining visit. I... I'm gonna come visit soon, you know that," Beca promised her mother. Grace nodded.

"I know. Make it quick, I'll be waiting downstairs," she then said and left her daughter's dormroom.


Not even half an hour later, Beca exited Baker Hall freshly showered and changed, her hair pulled up because it was still mostly wet. She was typing a text to Chloe, that she was going to talk to her mother before going over to Jesse's and that she missed her. A small smile crept back onto her face when she wrote it although she felt incredibly sappy for doing it. But she also felt it and feelings... well, they probably shouldn't be kept in, bottled up. She had done that for too long already, without even realizing it.

Grace was sitting on a bench watching some students practicing quidditch on the lawn. She looked a little bewildered at the young people when Beca joined her.

"This is..."

"Don't overthink it, mom. It's fans doing their thing," Beca told Grace and smiled a little. Her mother answered her with a sad one of her own.

"I'm sorry that...," she started saying but was interrupted by the buzzing of Beca's phone in her jeans.

"Sorry, this is...," she smiled as she read that it was a text from Chloe, "...Important," she finished.

Say hi to ur mom from me and that I will take good care of u, always. ;) I miss u 2. Can't wait for practice and telling the others. They'll be so happy for us! I 3 u. xxxxx

A small laugh worked it's way over Beca's lips and she bit her lower one to keep some of the emotions in. Exchanging love vows via text was indeed sappy and incredibly happy-making.

"Beca?" Her mom pulled her back into the moment.

"Sorry, just Chloe saying hi," she told Grace who lifted an eyebrown. "What?"

"That smile was from a simple 'hi'? That girl has magic powers I wasn't aware of yet," Grace smiled.

"She does," Beca laughed which earned her another raised eyebrow and a questioning gaze from her mother. "You were right, I'm in love with her. And she with me and... we were together last night and... it was..." Beca blushed. "Amazing."

Grace opened her arms without saying a word and Beca fell into them, clinging to her mother for several minutes. It was so good to feel this kind of acceptance, the affection, the love. Not that she had doubted that her mother would ever give these willingly but she still felt them because she hadn't completely found them in herself yet. There were still a lot of questions, doubt, and insecurity. These things didn't right themselves overnight, no matter the amount of care that was put into healing. But a beginning had been made and Beca found that her mother's acceptance was another big step on her way to finding herself. And she was grateful.

"Thank you, mom," she whispered before sitting back again.

"I love you so much, angel," Grace carressed her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too," Beca answered and smiled.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Well, there's not much to tell," Beca answered a little evasively.

"Oh, now that doesn't sound so amazing, then," she teased and Beca blushed some more.

"Mom!" she warned and Grace laughed.

"Sorry, sweety, just... I'm happy for you because... well, being with someone for the first time can be... it's something that'll stay with you, probably forever and I'm glad it was... good!" Beca tried to suppress the happy grin that erupted all over her face but to no avail: she burst out laughing with her mom, despite the blush that so resiliently stayed on her face.

"It was," she said when she calmed down. "Chloe is... patient and loving, caring beyond any words... and, holy God, she's magnificent," Beca said reverently, her eyes shifting out of focus for a moment then coming back to her mom's who simply smiled. Beca shook her head, trying to push those distracting thoughts of Chloe's magnificence to the back, though she knew they wouldn't stay there long.

"About last night, though. I'm sorry, I just left. I... what you said about the phone call, about me talking about Chloe... it just hit me then, you know. Everything. That I felt happy when I was with her, no matter what we were doing. That she made me smile the most all day. That I fell asleep to things we had talked about, and woke to things I wanted to talk to her about. And that I had... ignored those feelings, pushed them aside. Even before the finals, even before I sang to Jesse and kissed him... I was so blind before, so determined to stay that way." Beca shook her head over herself. Grace squeezed her shoulder.

"These things aren't easy to admit to, honey," Grace comforted her daughter. "You did the best you could, I'm sure of that."

"Not quite. I mean, I could have just listened to you when you told me..."

"No, angel, no. I was completely out of line. I wish I hadn't said anything, maybe you wouldn't have built... a resisting wall. Maybe you would have let Chloe closer if there hadn't been a voice at the back of your mind telling you that... your feelings for her might be more than platonic. Really, I..."

"Mom, it's okay. Stop apologizing. I think I needed the time, though I could've done without the drama. I... I'm so sorry about Jesse. He's... such a great guy and I'm gonna break his heart..." Grace once again opened her arms for her daughter and Beca sank into them.

"I'm sorry for him, too. He's a really nice boy."

"Yeah, but I have to tell him." Grace nodded and let go of Beca again. The younger woman pulled her feet onto the bench and crossed her arms over her knees. "I can think of a million scenarios, a million choices I could have made where the outcome wouldn't have been that I break someone's heart. I mean I hurt Chloe at the finals, and now I'm doing the same with Jesse. It shouldn't have been that way... if it hadn't been for you and Aubrey, I would probably still be in denial," Beca contemplated.

"Why Aubrey?" her mother asked and Beca turned to her.

"She read me the riot act after she picked me up at dad's. She... had been in a similar situation like me and... she screwed up. So, she told me to go for it, to tell Chloe how I felt. Ironic that it had to be her... my favorite frenemy. She's really amazing," Beca told her mom.

"Yes, and very protective of her friends. I have talked to her, too," Grace said and her daughter looked questioningly at her. The tall woman sighed. "Please, don't be mad. I wanted to know where you and Chloe stood, and whether someone might have noticed something between you two... someone beside me."

"What did she say?"

"That you were friends, nothing more. I think she thought that I wouldn't like it if my daughter turned out gay... that I was worried that Chloe might... influence you... I couldn't make her understand that I just wanted you to be happy. I guess it shows how wound up the discussion about coming out is, how some parents justify their inability to love their children when they love someone of the same sex... I... Aubrey is really protective of you guys, probably of all her friends. I like her," she added and smiled at Beca. The small brunette laughed.

"She's aca-amazing," she told her mom and Grace nodded. They sat quietly for awhile watching as the quidditch players packed their things and left the lawn. "Did you talk to dad about... me?" Beca then asked and looked over at her mom. Grace nodded.

"A little... not about you and Chloe, though he wanted to know more after my... outing you," she groused, unhappy with how she had behaved the evening before. Beca had some regrets of her own on that regard:

"Well, I was the one who mentioned Chlo. I put it all in motion."

"Hardly," Grace disagreed. She might have elaborated why she was to blame, only to have Beca argue that point again but Beca prevented this line of conversation:

"What did you talk about?"

"I told him a little about the girl he had left, about me losing control of... everything. The night... the night I came home drunk at 3 a.m. to find my daughter crying on the front steps of our house because her babysitter had just left her and...," Grace swallowed at tears that threatened to fall. "... her thinking that her mom had died because she wouldn't come home."

"Mom, that was... over 8 years ago. You took your last drink that night, you... cleaned up your act, as they say. Why did you have to tell dad?" Grace looked at Beca with loving eyes, reaching out and cupping her cheek.

"Because he had to know. He can't hope to understand you... to be close to you again without knowing what you've gone through. What I put you through. I should have told him back then, he was pretty angry after I told him last night," her mother told her.

"He would have taken me away from you," Beca said and Grace nodded.

"Yes, he would have and I would have lost my angel. I only started calling you that after that night, remember?" Beca nodded. "Because you saved my life that night, you saved both our lives. An eleven year-old child... who has grown into an amazing woman. Aca-amazing?" Her daughter laughed but nodded at the expression. "Aca-amazing. And beautiful. And brave and strong. Talented. I'm so proud of you today... I mean I'm always proud of you but... today is a special day." Grace leaned forward once again and enveloped Beca in another hug.

"Yeah, and it's far from over," the small brunette sighed. Her mother let go of her again, looking at Beca questioningly. "I will have to talk to Jesse and then... we will tell the Bellas at rehearsal, Chloe and I, that is... that we're together," Beca swallowed, she seemed more nervous about that second conversation than the first.

"Don't you want them to know?" her mother asked.

"Sure, I do but... I mean, Chloe thinks that they gonna be all excited and happy and all that... I don't know if they will. I mean being gay obviously isn't the issue here - CR is and the girls know that Chloe likes girls, too. It's... I'm not sure they'll like us together. We'll be their captains next year. With Aubrey there was always this... combination of... bad cop, good cop. Aubrey would challenge us, Chloe would hug us. They worked so well together. I'm not even sure whether I can be a good captain, I'm not a natural leader..."

"Whoa, honey. I didn't know you to be such a worrier about stuff like that. You're gonna be fine. From what I've seen, those girls love you and they already accept you as their leader, their spokesperson. You stood up to Aubrey about changing the routine, remember?"

"Yeah, but that...," Beca wanted to argue but Grace interrupted her:

"No, no. You didn't see them looking at you. They admire you, they look up to you. And Chloe... they love her and she loves them back, it's so obvious for someone who looks at it from the outside. They'll be thrilled about you and Chloe, I'm sure." Beca tried a small smile. She wanted to believe this but it was difficult. Even though, she knew that all these things about the Bellas were true, she thought they would be thrown by the news. About her being... gay?... and about her and Chloe being together... she herself barely understood what was happening, how could they?

"Well, I... I hope you're right." She looked at her phone to see how late it was. Almost five. She would have to leave for Jesse's if she wanted to make it to rehearsals on time. "I have to go now. Jesse's probably already wating. I texted him when I left Chloe's and told him I would come right over."

"It's gonna be okay," her mother tried to encourage her but she shook her head.

"It's going to be bad," she said. "But I have to do it. When is Justin gonna be here tomorrow?"

"He said something about 9 - 9.30 a.m. Knowing him, he'll be here at 8.59 sharp," she smiled over the punctuality of her ex and friend.

"Then I'll come over to the B&B at 8. We can have a coffee together. Maybe Chloe wants to come, too," she mused.

"That would be wonderful. I would really like to see her once more before I leave. And maybe she can stay with us for awhile when you come stay with me?"

"Maybe... we'll see. She wanted you to know that she's going to take care of me," Beca rolled her eyes over the sentimentality but couldn't help the smile it warranted. "She wrote that in her text," she explained and Grace laughed.

"She's such a sweetheart." Beca stood up from the bench and Grace mirrored the move. She pulled her daughter to her for a last hug. "You're doing the right thing," she told Beca.

"I kinda know that... it's still scary, though. But it makes me happy, too," she said a little sheepishly.

"And that's the most important thing to me," Grace said and kissed her on the top of her head. Then she let go of her and they parted, Beca smiling despite herself, Grace from the depths of her heart.