A/N: TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains mentions of eating disorders and suicide, both in quite a lot of detail.
Hey guys! The feedback and response to the last chapter was absolutely amazing! Thank you to each and every one of you! This one would have been up sooner but I'm currently halfway through a move and Rosie has been at work/revising so sorry for that! Hopefully now that I'm all finished at uni, most of my time will be put to writing now so expect the next chapter soon!
Until next time!
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It was the most incredible thing she had witnessed in all her 30 years of nursing, Nurse Kay knew for sure.
Since the previous week her mind had continued to drift back to that moment in Dr Brut's office, replaying it over and over again. Never in a million years did she think that two patients, especially one with a condition as debilitating as Beca's, would make such a strong connection to each other.
The kiss, the talking, the absolute bliss on both of the girls' faces in that instant was more than Nurse Kay could have ever imagined for them, and it made her inexplicably happy to watch the two girls progress together.
She watched them out of the Nurse's station window as they walked through the gardens hand in hand, Chloe leaning her head down to rest on Beca's shoulder. As Chloe turned her head to look back at the building she saw her chuckle, obviously amused by something Beca had said. There was a smile radiating so brightly from Chloe's face that Nurse Kay couldn't help but smile along with her.
Their happiness was infectious. She had even noticed a change in some of the other patients' demeanors in the last few days. There was something about the two girls which seemed to give everyone a little hope that everything would be okay.
Nurse Kay suddenly remembered the adorable event she had beheld a few days ago. On her morning checks she had quietly opened the door to Beca and Chloe's room, only to find that Beca was already awake.
The brunette had her headphones on and was oblivious to the open door behind her. The sight Nurse Kay was greeted with made her feel as if her heart was going to explode straight out of her chest. Beca was sitting up in bed, head bobbing along to the beat of the music, mouth lip-syncing the words, whilst she ran a delicate finger slowly across Chloe's face. She closed her eyes and it was as if she was trying to memorize every feature. It was a simple moment, but one so sweet and innocent that Nurse Kay felt as if she were intruding on something very personal.
Sights like this had not become uncommon and Nurse Kay secretly envisioned the day the Chloe and Beca would leave Barden Abbey together. She knew that when this day came, providing they had each other, they would both be fine.
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"Where are Chloe and Beca?" Dr Nicks questioned as he ran into the Nurse's station, breathing heavily from the sprint he had just done from his office.
Without looking up from her paperwork Nurse Kay replied, "They're out in the gardens. Why? What do you want with them?" The older woman found that she'd become rather protective of her two favourite patients, especially when someone wanted to interrupt their time together.
"I need them both here right now. That asshole Brut has done…" he drifted off, his head making its way into his hands.
"That asshole Brut has done what? Tell me. Now." She demanded, now firmly on her feet.
After a long pause Dr Nicks raised his head and looked Nurse Kay straight in the eye.
"He called Chloe's parents. He must have read her file and found out about how her illness was a partly a product of suppressing her sexuality…and how homophobic her parents are." He paused, regaining his breath quickly.
"So he called them. Spewed some bullshit about how she's involved in a worrying homosexual relationship with another patient and it's encroaching on her progress. They're demanding that she's moved to another ward, away from Beca. And that they're forbidden from seeing one another for the remainder of her stay here."
Nurse Kay could feel the anger bubbling up inside her. She couldn't believe that someone who was supposed to be a Doctor, someone who was supposed to help people, could do something like this. She daren't imagine what either of the girls would be like if they were taken away from each other. She couldn't help but imagine the worst.
Quickly she glanced out the window, immediately noticing the two girls sat underneath the willow tree next to the lake. Beca was showing Chloe something on her laptop and the redhead watched intently as Beca pressed buttons and clicked away. They looked so happy with each other. Nurse Kay saw Beca's mouth move and her stomach sank. She had to do something.
"We're going to Edward immediately" she said, her voice noticeably shriller than usual.
"Kay there's nothing we can do. Her parents are adamant that this is going to happen. And you know she's not well enough to leave yet."
"I have to try."
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Dr Edward Roach was the director of Barden Abbey. As much as Nurse Kay knew she must respect him, any politeness she had previously possessed was long gone by the time she barged her way into his office.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled at Dr Roach.
"Well hello Kay, good afternoon to you too," he replied.
Without a second thought Nurse Kay began her rant, "Firstly, whose stroke of genius was it to employ that psychopathic asshole to try and help Beca Mitchell? Secondly, how the hell did the aforementioned psychopath manage to access personal files of patients who weren't even his patients?! And thirdly, when did we start listening to the unreasonable demands of patient's families who clearly have no idea how to help them?!"
"Ah" he said quietly, picking up a pencil off his big oak desk and twiddling it contemplatively between his fingers.
"I assume in this case you are referring to Miss Chloe Beale? Am I correct?"
"Yes" she snapped back at him, still standing in the middle of the room with her hands placed firmly on her hips.
"I regret to inform you that's there's nothing I can do. I've tried. I've heard a lot about both Miss Beale and Miss Mitchell from you and Dr Nicks, and I fully understand that keeping them together is the best thing for both of them. But her parents are very insistent." A long drawn out sigh escaped his lips as he dropped his pencil and he paused for a moment to pick it up before resuming his speech.
"They are adamant that Chloe will be moved away from Beca for the duration of her stay and that they shall have no contact whatsoever in this time. While I would like to refuse them, we can't allow them to take Chloe out of our care, as that may be even more detrimental to her health."
"So you're just going to sit there and let it happen?" Nurse Kay shouted angrily.
"If there was anything I could do, I would be doing it. I think our best plan is to allow it to happen for now and convince them otherwise before either of the girl's illnesses worsens too much again. It's our only option."
Nurse Kay sat and contemplated it for a moment. She couldn't bear the thought of Beca and Chloe being separated but there was no other choice. She vowed that she would do whatever she could to show Chloe's parents how much of a positive effect Beca was having on Chloe. Maybe she could show them that all Chloe needed to get better was their acceptance of who she really was.
"So when is this happening?"
Dr Roach looked at the floor as he answered, "Chloe's parents will be here in two hours. Her things are being moved into her new room as we speak."
"WHAT? HAS ANYONE EVEN TOLD THEM YET? YOU CAN'T RIP THEM AWAY FROM EACH OTHER WITHOUT ANY WARNING."
Dr Roach slid his chair back before he said; "Well I thought I'd leave that to you."
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As Nurse Kay walked towards Beca and Chloe, who were still sitting happily under the tree, she couldn't work out how to bring herself to tell them.
Beca looked up as Nurse Kay approached and nudged Chloe to let her know they had company. Although Beca had spoken in front of Nurse Kay a few times now, both times had been when she thought she was alone with Chloe. It was at those times that she let herself relax the most and didn't over think everything.
Being her loud and bubbly self Chloe didn't mind doing the talking anyway.
"Hello girls," Nurse Kay said quietly. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she really had to try hard to keep tears from spilling over her eyes.
She smoothed her skirt down before sitting down on the grass opposite Beca and Chloe.
"I have something to tell you both. In all my years of nursing I have never seen two patients make such a fast connection. You two have done wonders for each other, and I truly believe that with each other's help both of you can recover from all of your problems. But…" She paused.
"But what?" Chloe asked quietly, a look of concern spreading swiftly across her face. Instinctively she grabbed Beca's hand and clutched it within her own.
"Chloe dear. I'm afraid that Dr Brut called your parents."
Immediately tears began to well up in Chloe's eyes. Nurse Kay noticed that Beca had frozen, her eyes as big as saucers, all apart from her thumb which was making small circles across Chloe's hand.
"He told them about you…and Beca. They're insisting that we move you to another ward. But I can assure you I am already doing everything I can to get them to reconsider. I plan on having a private meeting with them and telling them just how well you have been doing with Beca by your side. I will stop this."
For once, Chloe was silent. Tears were running down both the girls' faces as they stared into each other's eyes. Swiftly Beca lunged forward and wrapped Chloe up in her arms. They held each other for what seemed like hours before Nurse Kay spoke up again.
"Your parents will be here in an hour. I'm so unbelievably sorry girls, I really am. I'll see you inside. "
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The time that Beca and Chloe had together was not long enough. It never could have been long enough with what was looming over their heads. Internally Beca was already beginning to panic at the thought of not having Chloe close to her, but she didn't show it. Because whatever she was feeling, Beca thought to herself, Chloe would be feeling it 10 times worse.
When it came time to head inside they walked up to the porch together, fingers locked in a vice-like grip.
As soon as she walked through the door Chloe was greeted with the grim faces of her parents and they looked less than impressed that she was currently holding hands with another girl. The girl.
"Come on Chloe. It's time to go," her father's voice boomed out from across the room.
She turned to look at Beca momentarily. Her grey blue eyes were as filled with as much water as Chloe's own aquamarine ones were and as soon as they locked gaze tidal waves of tears began flowing down both their cheeks.
"Chloe. Now."
She threw her arms around the brunette's neck and clutched on to her desperately, gripping the fabric of Beca's shirt so tightly that she was in danger of ripping it off. Chloe heard her father's heavy footsteps crossing linoleum tiles, his big work boots clumping as he got closer. One. Two. Three. Four.
Suddenly Beca felt the warmth in front of her ripped away as Chloe's father grabbed her arm and yanked her away from Beca.
"No, no, no, no please Daddy, don't do this. I need her," Chloe shrieked, but her father paid no attention.
Beca watched Chloe be pulled out of the room by her father, her mother following suit.
She felt someone move in next to her and looked up to see Nurse Kay wiping her eyes with a tissue, but as she tried to focus the background began to blur. The tears were clouding her eyes and her mind was foggy.
As she sunk to the floor Beca could only form one rational thought.
'They took Chloe away. They took Chloe and now I'm alone again.'
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A/N: SORRY GUYS! But there's gotta be a bump in the road somewhere for them! Tune in next time to see how the girls deal with their separation