Note: There is talk throughout the story of a character's death.


"I haven't had a drink since my wife died," Beca told the pretty bartender before she downed the glass of whiskey she'd been staring at the last hour, "until now."

She put the glass down on the bar with a bang and waved at the bartender to give her another. The bartender hesitated but poured the drink. Beca sat and looked at it.

"How long had it been?," the bartender asked. "Since you're last drink."

"Four years, three months, and two days," Beca told her. "It was our third anniversary and we had wine at dinner to celebrate. She died the next day."

Beca downed her drink and slammed the glass down on the bar.

"Give me another, bar-, um," Beca stumbled over her words. "Bar person."

"It's Aubrey," the bartender said as she poured her another. "And, I think this will be it for you."

"Whatever," Beca said taking the drink in her hand. "I'll just go to another bar and another until I forget who I am and how shitty my life is."

"Why don't you tell me about your wife," Aubrey said wiping the bar in front of Beca. "It's really slow tonight and I'd like to hear about her."

"Her name is Chloe," Beca said. "And she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She had red hair and these eyes. My God, her eyes. They were a blue that could only be matched by the blue of the clearest blue sky you can imagine. She was sweet but could cut you in half with her words if you crossed her."

"She sounds lovely," Aubrey said. "Where did you two meet?"

"We met in High School," Beca said. "She was the most popular girl in school and covered all the cliches. She was head cheerleader, captain of the girls volleyball team, and smart. So smart that she was the Salutatorian of our graduating class."

Beca set the still full glass down and ran her hands through her hair.

"We were total opposites," Beca continued. "I was the broody alt girl, with tattoos and too many piercings who kept to herself most of the time. At the beginning of Junior Year she told me she liked me and asked me out. I resisted at first. I mean, no way was this beautiful, popular girl interested in plain old me."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Aubrey said. "I've seen several people, men and women, checking you out since you've been in here."

"Thanks," Beca said and picked up her drink. "I have a feeling if you two knew each other, you'd be best friends."

"She does sound a bit like my best friend," Aubrey said. "So, when did you finally say yes to a date?"

"Well, Chloe was persistent but I kept saying no," Beca said. "And then we were paired for a science project. The project took us three months to complete and somehow during that time we started dating. I'm still not really sure how it happened, but it did. We continued to date the rest of Junior and all of Senior Year."

Beca pushed the glass of whiskey away from her but grabbed it back and left if in front of her.

"We applied to all the same colleges," Beca said. "I told you she was our class Salutatorian. Well, I was the Valedictorian. I beat her out by like 3/4 of a point. No one really knew how smart I was until the Valedictorian was announced at a special assembly. Chloe actually kissed me in front of the whole student body and asked me to be her date to the Senior Prom. That's when I knew we were forever. We both got in to most of the schools we applied to. We chose Barden because they had the best music program and the best art program. It was a good fit for both us."

Beca stopped and looked down at the shot of whiskey sitting in front of her. She picked it up and downed it in one gulp.

"I proposed over Christmas our Senior Year at Barden," Beca said. "She said yes and we decided to get married the day after graduation. We had both already accepted jobs in L.A. and decided we wanted to move to L.A. as a married couple."

"I just realized," Aubrey said. "You're Beca Mitchell. You produced Justin Timberlake's album like four years ago."

"That's right," Beca said. "It was the last one I ever did. After Chloe died I-"

Beca wiped a tear from her eye and looked at her empty glass. Aubrey saw her look at the glass.

"Are you driving?," Aubrey asked.

"No," Beca said. "I took a cab here. I swear."

Aubrey poured another whiskey for Beca and Beca took a sip from the glass. She set it down on the bar.

"The day after graduation," Beca said. "We went to the courthouse and got married. We moved to L.A. the next day. We were happy and in love. Oh, don't get me wrong, we did have our fair share of fights but we always made up and our love was stronger for it. We could never stay mad at each other."

"Hey, Stacie," Aubrey called out as a new bartender joined her.

"Hey, Brey," Stacie said as she looked at Beca. "You look familiar. Have you ever been here before?"

"Nope," Beca said and looked down at her drink.

"Can you excuse us, Stace," Aubrey said. "We're in the middle of something."

"Sure," Stacie said and walked away.

"Sorry, about that," Aubrey said. "My shift is over in an hour and Stacie will take over when I leave."

"Maybe you'd, um, like to get a cup of coffee," Beca said. "When you're shift is over."

"I'd like that," Aubrey said and smiled.

"But first, let me finish my tragic love story," Beca said with a sad smile. "So we can talk about happier things over coffee."

"By all means," Aubrey said. "Please continue."

"Okay," Beca said. "Where was I? Oh, yeah. We'd been in L.A. for about a year when I was asked to produce Adele's album '21'. It was a major hit and I got calls from Taylor Swift's people, Selena Gomez, and Justin Timberlake. I was starting to make it. Chloe was doing great, too. She was working in an art gallery and had a few shows. She sold quite a few of her paintings. We were becoming the couple to watch. The next year found us buying our first real house and talking about having kids. We talked about adoption and IVF. Chloe wanted to try IVF first and be the one to carry the baby. She couldn't wait to be pregnant."

Beca stopped and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"The day after our anniversary dinner," Beca said. "We had both taken the day off since we knew we'd be celebrating. Chloe woke up before me and said she had to run some errands and she'd be back after lunch. What she didn't tell me was that she had a doctor's appointment to check to see if she was pregnant. She didn't want to tell me and get my hopes up. It was our third try because the other two didn't take. She was on her way home when some jerk who drank his lunch that day ran a red light. He was drunk and going about 70 miles an hour when he hit her. They said she died on impact."

At this point, Aubrey and Beca were both wiping tears from their eyes. Aubrey handed Beca some napkins to wipe her face.

"I didn't know she was pregnant until the coroner's report was read during the trial," Beca said. "I was devastated and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to take a drink. The guy that killed Chloe was charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. It took almost a year for the case to get to trial. The judge sentenced the guy to 7 years in jail. I found out he was released today for good behavior. He barely served half his sentence. And, that's why I'm here now, drinking for the fist time in 4 years, 3 months, and 2 days."

Beca shot back the last of the whiskey in her glass. She held it in her hand before gently placing it on the bar. Aubrey removed the glass and put a bottle of water in its place.

"Thank you," Beca said and opened the water.

Aubrey's shift was over and Beca had finished the bottle of water. They walked out together and Aubrey said there was a diner about a block from the bar. They walked in silence to the diner and were seated. They both ordered coffee.

"So, tell me about you," Beca said. "Why are you a bartender?"

"It pays the bills," Aubrey said. "I used to be a lawyer. I got burnt out fast and early, so I quit. I walked into the bar the day I quit and applied for a job a few hours later. I actually enjoy it most of the time."

"Is that what you want to do?," Beca asked. "What's your dream job?"

"You'll laugh at me," Aubrey said.

The waitress set their coffees in front of them and both girls mumbled a thank you.

"I won't laugh at you," Beca said. "I promise."

"I want to run a camp," Aubrey said. "Not just a regular camp. It would be more like a retreat. When I was a lawyer our firm went to one to learn team building and other things to help motivate the employees and make the firm better. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and thought I'd like to run a place like that."

"Wow," Beca said. "That sounds ambitious."

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy," Aubrey said.

"I don't," Beca said. "As a matter of fact, I now someone how has a retreat like you're talking about. It's called 'Lodge of the Fallen Leaves' and it's not too far from here. I can call and see if he has any openings if you want?"

"Seriously?," Aubrey asked her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Seriously," Beca said with a laugh. "I'll call him tomorrow. Are you hungry? I could go for some breakfast."

Aubrey said she was hungry and they called the waitress over and ordered breakfast and more coffee. Aubrey and Beca sat and talked for several hours. Beca found herself smiling and laughing. Something she hadn't really done a lot of since Chloe died.

"Oh, my gosh," Aubrey suddenly said. "The sun's coming up."

"Yes, it is," Beca said and smiled at Aubrey. "You know, after hearing that the guy who killed Chloe was out of jail already, I felt like I'd hit rock bottom and the only thing I could think to do was to get drunk. That's how I ended up in your bar. I'm glad I did because this is the first time since Chloe that I've felt a connection to someone else."

"I have to admit," Aubrey said blushing. "I feel a connection to you, too."

"Would you want to go out with me?," Beca asked looking at Aubrey. "On a real date. Dinner, maybe a movie or something."

"I'd love to," Aubrey said.

Three years later, Beca Mitchell is back at the top of the music world having produced Beyonce's latest album. She had called her friend, Jesse, and got Aubrey an interview at his retreat. Aubrey not only got the job but is now the Manager of the 'Lodge of the Fallen Leaves'.

Beca woke up and pulled her wife closer to her. She kissed her on the shoulder and Aubrey smiled.

"Good morning to you, too," she said.

"Happy Anniversary," Beca said.

"Oh, my gosh," Aubrey said turning to face Beca. "I totally forgot it was today. How did you remember?"

"I remember," Beca said giving Aubrey a kiss. "Because it was the day that I met you. And you have been my rock ever since. I can't believe how I went into that bar feeling like I'd hit rock bottom, and came out with someone who fell in love with me as much as I fell in love with her."

"What do you love about me?," Aubrey asked with a smirk.

"Everything," Beca said and Aubrey smiled. "But, just to name a few. I love that you can handle my crazy work schedule. I love how you fangirl over the artists I work with. I love how sexy you look barking orders at the retreat. I love that you are secure enough in our our love that you let me remember Chloe on the special days I had with her. But most of all, I love how gorgeous you look pregnant."

Aubrey crashed her lips into Beca's and kissed her with all the love and passion she could. She straddled Beca's lap and put her hands behind Beca's neck. Beca put her hands on Aubrey's hips and leaned in for another kiss. They finally broke the kiss and Aubrey laid her forehead against Beca's.

"Of all the bars you could've gone to when you felt like you'd hit rock bottom, I'm glad you walked into mine," Aubrey said.