A/N: Aaaand here is chapter 10! Like I promised, this one's lighter than the last chapters.

The next two or three ones might be a bit of a rollercoaster, not yet sure on that. But the next 3 'Death and Beca' chapters are gonna be a little heavy for sure…

…also [SPOILER] we don't get to hear CR's idea for their little project, but it's going to come up in the next few chapters for sure (mostly because I'm still trying to figure it out myself :P)

Oh, and someone asked why the Bellas would engage in a petty bet while Beca's fighting for her life… I'm expressing my rationalization for that here

I originally planned for something between 14-17 chapters but I kinda' liked featuring some of the Bellas in their own chapters, so it might stretch to somewhere between 20-23 chapters… the last one will be the epilogue for sure (or will contain the epilogue)

So hang in there with me guys!

Thanks so much for the reviews and continuous support!

I don't own pitch perfect.

They were all playing the waiting game. The "will Beca's condition improve or worsen" game. All the Bellas were betting on the "improve" side, with none of them betting on the "worsen".

And maybe that's why Cynthia Rose ended up decking one of the Treble's in the face when he asked how the Bellas intend to win the Worlds without Beca.

Okay, so maybe she might have taken it the bad way. He could have meant "what if Beca was still in recovery during the worlds", right?

But that was a heavy what if.

That's the thing, Cynthia Rose doesn't like that what if. She wanted to focus on the positive what if only. The "what if Beca suddenly wakes up this moment" what if. The "what should we do to make her see how much we support her for a speedy recovery" what if.

The "what if we lose her" what if and anything related to that is tucked somewhere within the deep recesses of her mind.

The thought popped up in her head, yes, but she doesn't like it.

No, not one bit.

And clearly the sentiments were shared by the other Bellas too. Even when there was a part of them that knew the other possibility, the negative "what if".

Betting on something incredibly stupid as Beca meeting the actual personification of death was a little bit out of this world, and betting on her confessing her feelings for Chloe was a bit of long stretch, but that was all they could do. And Cynthia Rose knew that.

They had to cope somehow,

And all they could do is look towards a positive future, one that doesn't include the other inevitable possibility, just so that they can move.

So was it selfish? Yes, absolutely, without a doubt.

Highly illogical? That's true too.

But human? Definitely.

Why? Because it hurts. It hurts so much to be reminded that there are some things we can't control, some outcomes we can't erase. And it hurts, to lose someone who you never even knew could mean so much to you, whether it be a loved one or a friend.

So sometimes, when we're grasping at straws, we tend to side with the irrational

Sometimes, at the face of tragedy, we don't always have a logical mind.

We revert back to wishful thinking, to selfish dreams, and we cling onto the impossible because maybe, just maybe, the impossible would happen.

Some stay stuck in a standstill, not being able to move forward, some accept the pain of the result they try to avoid, the negative outcome, others pray to whatever deity they believe in, and others… they cling onto that impossible hope.

Because aren't all humans a little selfish sometimes?

So that's why they're focusing on the tomorrow they want to happen, that was the only thing they could do to still move forward.

And if that tomorrow never comes, then they'll just have to face the storm together.

But for as long as there is hope, then that's what they'll focus on.

And as for the bets, it's not about winning. It was about focusing on the thought that Beca would wake up soon, and she'd get a shot at happiness with Chloe.

It was their way of fighting. It wasn't much, and didn't make complete sense, but that was all they could do.

So that's why Cynthia Rose found herself gathering the Bellas in their rehearsal space some time after lunch. Amy had just left with Jesse to go see Beca and relieve Jessica and Ashley from their duty. The two other Bellas planned to catch up to their emergency meeting as soon as possible, but Lilly already had Ashley – or was it Jessica? – on FaceTime while the other one was driving so that they don't miss much.

"Alright guys! So you know how our captains are still out of commission, and how we're all counting on our resident badass DJ to be waking up soon, right? I was thinking, it would be nice if we did something to show how much we actually appreciate Beca."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Emily immediately piped up.

"So Legacy, let's start with you then, any ideas?" Stacie asked, jumping in the conversation.

"Well, I was thinking, we can perform the song – " Emily started to say before Stacie decided to cut in.

"Other than performing your song. You know, something that won't remind Beca of the Worlds yet, when she wakes up, or performing, so that she can focus on getting better first."

Emily was about to say something when she felt her phone buzzing. "Hold that thought." she said before her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear.

"What's up Legacy?" Cynthia Rose asked.

"We are so dead." Emily replied, holding her phone up to the rest of the Bellas so that they can read Amy's text.

CODE GINGER! RED FOUND OUT ABOUT THE BETS! VOLUNTEERED SWANSON AS TRIBUTE. WILL CHECK J'S STATUS LATER N UPDATE YOU ALL. IT'S PROBABLY TOO LATE FOR ME, BUT SAVE YOURSELVES, ESPECIALLY LEGACY. SOMEONE NEEDS TO LIVE TO TELL THE TALE…

The next five to ten minutes or so were spent in utter panic before Stacie decided to call Aubrey, who had decided to bunk up with the Bellas in their house while Beca was still in the hospital so that she can be near enough to respond to any Beca or Chloe related emergencies.

Everyone agreed that this qualifies as one.

"Alright, Bree's on her way to check on Chloe and hopefully calm her down if she's all on edge about it." Stacie declared just before Jessica and Ashley came bursting through the doors of the rehearsal space, ending the FaceTime call.

Cynthia Rose tried to take command of the situation after that.

"Legacy, you were saying?"

"Oh, right, I was thinking we can probably start planning for the Worlds with Aubrey's help. Get Chloe to make some progress academically speaking. Find some of Beca's good mixes to send to her boss in her internship, I heard from Benji who heard from Jesse that she's been having a hard time with it, you know. We have to remind Beca about everything that makes her awesome and at the same time. Check off some of her worries on her list."

"That is actually a good idea, good job Legacy." Cynthia Rose said, giving her approval.

"I can take care of Chloe's lack of scholastic achievements. It's no big problem." Jessica volunteered.

"And I think both Legacy and Lilly are up to the challenge for Beca's internship worries." Stacie chimed in and Lilly said something about hacking the DJ's computer… or possibly something like she's already hacked it and that she already has the files… no one's ever really sure what Lilly says…

"Cool, I'll talk to Aubrey about the World's then." Ashley said.

"Let me help with that. I'm part of the international students organization and a lot of them are acapella fans, I'm sure they can help us scope out and gather information from our competition." Flo jumped in.

"I thought you were going to say something about sometime another remotely unconnected thing happened to one of your relatives." Ashley replied. "But I do appreciate the help." she then added as Flo was about to actually jump in with one of her usual anecdotes.

"Well that pretty much takes care of everything, unless you have any other ideas CR? It's not fun to have no assignments."

"This isn't 'Mission Impossible' Stace." Cynthia Rose replied. "I do have an idea of sorts, if you'd help me."

"Cool, what's it about?"

"Well, since we're already busted and hence all bets are off, I figured we can do something to help Beca and Chloe along in the romance department?" Cynthia Rose asked and Stacie immediately shouted her approval.

Before the two started formulating a plan and bouncing ideas of the Bellas, Emily got a series of text messages. "It's from Amy again." she said, turning her phone over to Stacie who showed the message to the other Bellas.

Fearless Leader has handled the situation! I REPEAT! FEARLESS LEADER HAS HANDLED THE SITCH! Treble X is alive. I'M ALSO ALIVE!

…Chloe demands the pool money though…

BECA N DEATH BET = A GIFT FOR OUR TINY DJ

BLOE BET = WHOEVER GETS IT RIGHT GET's 10% of POOL MONEY + RED AND SHORTY GETS TO GO ON A DATE SPONSORED BY US

Be thankful you didn't get to hear her sad "If that even happens…" speech

It would pull on your heartstrings and use that as instruments for sad accompaniment music :'(

She does thank us for supporting them ;)

…Aaaand we're punished with extra rounds of cardio for practice when they resume for "corrupting" Legacy :/

I blame you for getting in on the bets Legacy, you should've known better

AMY OUT!

"Well then, at least we get to live another day." Jessica commented.

"Not with the extra cardio." Ashley complained.

"Ugh! Why does she insist on calling them 'Bloe'! It should be Bechloe!" Stacie groaned.

"That's what you're focusing on, Stace? Really?" Cynthia Rose looked at her amused.

"Guess that takes care of the 'romantic gesture plan'." Emily added.

"Wrong Legacy! We can handle the date when it happens. But we can at least do something special for those two when Beca's in recovery." Stacie argued.

Cynthia Rose smiled, they certainly clinging on to that tiny spark of hope. "I think I have an idea."