A/N: Sorry for the wait. As for future chapters it might be a couple of weeks before I'm able to post again. But not to worry. I will. Eventually. Reviews are welcomed with open arms. Thank you for reading my story and thank you for all the follows and favorites. I'm humbled by the interest you're showing towards the story.

Chapter 12.

Beca should've known better than going to the after party after the taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. She already felt a tingling feeling of soreness in her throat when she had her first glass of champagne and it seemed to only get worse when the night went on. Staying up late didn't do any good for Beca as the cold that had been just waiting to take over was now doing exactly that.

The next morning the DJ woke up her nose was blocked like never before and she felt like she'd been run over by a bulldozer. Beca groaned and burrowed her face in the pillow when she remembered she was supposed to meet Aubrey for a nutrition session in an hour. The blonde wouldn't jump up and down from joy if Beca cancelled their meeting less than an hour before it was supposed to take place. Beca told herself to pull herself together. It was too late to cancel anyway without having the blonde go ballistics. Beca had some breakfast and pulled on a fresh set of clothes before heading down to the hospital where Aubrey worked.

"Hey," Beca greeted with as much enthusiasm she could muster as she opened the door to Aubrey's office. She looked the blonde doctor in the eye and plastered a smile on her face. She had just a cold, no big deal. Maybe Aubrey wouldn't even notice. Okay, that was wishful thinking.

Aubrey stood up from her chair as Beca entered and frowned at the brunette when Beca sat down. Beca felt uneasy under the blonde's scrutinizing gaze. Maybe she wasn't putting as good of an act as she thought she was. As on cue Beca's nose started to run again so she reached for a tissue in her pocket and blew her nose on it loudly. Quicker than she thought was possible the blonde doctor had pulled on a pair of surgical gloves, stood next to her and yanked her head back. Beca felt the need to protest on the rate the blonde was going.

"Hey, what-?"

"Open your mouth. Say ahh." Aubrey instructed as she held Beca's head back and stuck a wooden stick in Beca's mouth to hold the DJ's tongue down.

"Waith, whath are you-?"

Aubrey had no patience for Beca. She was on a mission.

"Just do what I say Mitchell and shut up."

Beca had no option but to obey and she sat in silence as Aubrey examined her throat. Finally the blonde doctor pursed her lips and announced victoriously,

"I knew it. Your throat is sore and I bet your cheeks ache don't they?"

Aubrey threw out the gloves and returned to her desk where she started typing on her computer. Beca didn't know if she should feel happy or concerned about Aubrey taking such a pleasure of diagnosing her cold.

"How did you know? I was here less than five minutes."

Aubrey rolled her eyes from behind her desk and pointed at the framed diplomas on the wall.

"I am a doctor. But in your case a five-year old could've probably diagnosed you have an upper respiratory tract infection. Your tonsils are all red and I'm not even going to begin with your nose. How long has this been going on?"

Beca rolled her eyes in return and ignored the last question.

"Well what am I paying you for then? Shouldn't you like go all Gregory House on me or something? And I thought you're a nutrition specialist, not a, erm… throat doctor."

"For your information the word is respiratory specialist and I may have specialized in nutrition but I couldn't really call myself a doctor if I didn't know a good old-fashioned cold when it practically spits me in the face. Now if you're done with your rant I will prescribe you some antibiotics and send you home. No working or exercising for a week."

Beca wanted to yell in frustration. How was she supposed to take a one-week break in the middle of something that was proving to be the busiest time of the year for her? A week off because of a cold? That was ridiculous!

"But this only started yesterday! What if it goes away in couple of days? Don't you think a week is a bit excessive?"

Aubrey just shook her head. She could see the brunette wasn't happy with her decision. It wasn't that surprising that Beca was sick now when Aubrey thought about the ridiculously busy schedule the DJ seemed to have gone through during the past month. Beca's life was revolved around recording the album while doing gigs, interviews and meeting Aubrey and Chloe multiple times a week for exercise and nutrition advice. Beca's body was signaling that a break was in order.

"Beca, I know you're under a lot of stress because of your work and everything else. When you're really stressed your body's defense mechanisms go down and you're in a bigger risk of catching something like a cold. And you happened to get one. I can assure you that if you don't take care of this now it might go on for months in the worst case scenario. I wouldn't want that and I know you don't want that either. If it gets better faster, which I really doubt, we'll reassess your need for time off."

Beca of course didn't see it that way. She'd never taken time off from her music for something like a cold.

"But-"

Aubrey's eyes shot daggers as she let more authority in her voice.

"There's no but. You either rest it off now or you might risk your next gig. What is it going to be?"

Beca thought about it for a second. As much as she hated to admit it the blonde was probably right. She would call Bumper and the rest of her team and tell them they needed to change the schedule. They would manage somehow. Fortunately a set date for the record to come out was yet to be determined. She could have the album drop a week later if needed. Luke probably wouldn't be too happy to hear the news but then again he wouldn't want Beca working when she was sick if it could be avoided.

Beca thought about the other part Aubrey had mentioned. No exercising for a week meant not seeing Chloe for a week. A whole week without seeing Chloe when they usually met three to five times a week? That sucked. Beca didn't realize she had spoken some words aloud before she heard Aubrey respond.

"What about Chloe?

"I'll let Chloe know. I know she wants you to get well too. Now you need to get home and go straight to bed. Don't do anything stupid, just rest. I'll check in with you how you're doing later on."

xxx

Almost two weeks later

Aubrey was helping Chloe get ready for her date with Jessica. Aubrey had to admit she hadn't expected to go through her plan. Either Chloe was too thick headed to admit her ladyboner for Beca or then she was ready to look into some other options. Aubrey guessed the first. They hadn't touched the subject since their conversation two weeks ago and most likely wouldn't discuss it tonight either. The conversation was flowing freely and Aubrey didn't mean to ruin it by mentioning Chloe and Beca Mitchell in the same sentence.

"And then just I found myself telling Cynthia Rose that I would do the charity gala. She talked me into it in less than half an hour! I'm so excited and scared at the same time. The gala's in six months!"

Aubrey didn't miss the sheer excitement in the redhead's voice. Aubrey smiled at the light that ignited in Chloe's bright blue eyes when she talked about skating again. The blonde doctor hadn't realized before how much Chloe actually seemed to miss figure skating. They didn't touch the subject very often as Chloe usually chose to discuss most of the sports related matters with Cynthia Rose. It was only natural as the two had worked together for so many years in Chloe's career. Seeing her friend so happy was something of which Aubrey was very pleased and happy. She knew Chloe hadn't had the ending to her career that she wanted and had taken the break from figure skating to get over it. The fact that Chloe had agreed to appear in the charity ice skating gala was sure to give the redhead some extra boost in her routine-like life. Who knew, maybe she would even consider doing more ice shows if the gala went well. Aubrey knew Chloe would always have a place for figure skating in her heart and although her personal training career had picked up nicely there was no reason why she couldn't combine the two if she wished.

"Did you say which charity is it for?"

Chloe beamed at her best friend.

"It's this charity called Love is louder. It's a charity that deals with bullying, negative self-image, discrimination, loneliness and depression. All the proceeds of the gala go into supporting their nationwide campaign. Cynthia Rose told me the charity was founded by this Hollywood actress and some other parties. I always forget her name. Brittany something…"

The name 'Brittany' didn't seem to ring a bell with Aubrey either so Chloe tried another way. Her next words came out more as a mumble.

"You know, the actress that you always say kind of looks like me…"

Aubrey's face lightened up.

"Oh you mean your twin-separated-at-birth Brittany Snow?"

"Oh c'mon we don't look that much like. Brittany Snow. I should remember that by now. I'm pretty sure I'll meet her at some point."

Aubrey just sighed and reached for her phone.

"Chloe I'm telling you it will be like Katy Perry - Zooey Deschanel all over again. You two look ridiculously alike. For real."

Aubrey showed Chloe the results of her image search. Chloe just shrugged it off.

"I don't know. Sure she's got the same shade of blue eyes as I do but her hair is short and blonde and she's got a different build than I have. She's tiny."

"Whatever twin. I'm sure you'll create some confusion at one point. Are you going to be appearing in any of the posters for the event or anything? You should totally do a poster with her!"

A slight shade of pink colored the redhead's cheeks. She took a deep breath before looking at Aubrey again.

"Apparently apart from promoting the charity they're going to market it as 'Return of the American Sweetheart' to draw more crowd. I already told Cynthia Rose that I'm not sure how I feel about having a giant billboard with my picture and that phrase to go with it but it seems there's no stopping these marketing people. They're not going to change their plans just because I'm feeling embarrassed by seeing my face all over Los Angeles."

Aubrey squealed in excitement before she could stop herself. Chloe cringed at the blonde's high pitched voice. That voice could cut through glass.

"First of all wow. That is one awesome piece of news! Second, weren't you already a poster child at the time of the Olympics couple years ago? I remember seeing you in TV adverts for Team USA and stuff. How is this time so different? You're just going to see one familiar-looking face around the city for a couple of months. No biggie."

Chloe sighed as her shoulders slumped a bit. Her smile was almost sad.

"Everything is different. I've had a break. If the gala is being marketed as my comeback, people expect certain things. I expect certain things from myself. I have to deliver a memorable performance to get their money's worth. I don't want to let people down." This time, Chloe added quietly in her mind as she thought back to the events two years ago.

The Winter Olympics had returned to home soil after a long time. Chloe was featured as one of the athletes 'going for gold' in the home Olympics but ended up crashing that dream for both the general public and herself. Gold had been the only color for her. When she announced her retirement after the Games it had been easier to state that the main reason was the number and severity of injuries she'd suffered throughout her career. Deep down Chloe and the people closest to her knew that it had been too tough emotionally to bounce back from the debacle of the Olympic Winter Games.

"Chloe that was two years ago. Isn't it time to put that behind you already? Everyone knows that you were robbed of that gold medal. Now it's time for a fresh start. It's a new dawn, a new day and a new life."

Chloe felt a big smile spread across her features.

"You're the best."

"That's more like it. You'll be fine. There's still plenty of time to practice. I know you're going to be ah-mazing," Aubrey assured her friend.

Aubrey then checked her watch as she had no idea of the time. They were still good on time. She wouldn't let Chloe be late for her date with Jessica.

"You look really nice," Aubrey commented as she watched Chloe put her earrings on.

"Oh this is just something I threw on," Chloe replied modestly as she turned around one last time to check her appearance from the mirror. She still had mixed feelings about this evening. Ever since agreeing on this date two weeks ago her DJ client seemed to occupy more of her thoughts than her other clients in total. That was even though she hadn't seen the petite brunette in person for over a week as Beca had been sick with flu. Chloe felt sympathetic towards the DJ because she knew under how much pressure Beca was now that every day was supposed to count towards the release of her second studio album. It was really the worst time to get sick for Beca Mitchell. Not to mention her gig with Fat Amy was to take place in a week. Chloe must admit she had selfish thoughts about getting the brunette back on track and healthy again as she really wanted to see Beca's gig and witness the DJ in her element. That wasn't even mentioning the chance to get to see Beca outside their training sessions and for Chloe to go on a proper night out for the first time in months.

Tonight was another opportunity for the redhead to do something out of her weekly routine as Chloe was heading out on a date with Aubrey's colleague Jessica. Chloe still didn't feel too happy about the way her best friend had roped her into it but Aubrey didn't really leave her any choice. After riddling with guilt for two days after the date had been confirmed Chloe had decided that no matter what she was going to at least try and enjoy this night. It would provide a much welcomed distraction on her Beca Mitchell consumed thoughts of late. Besides this Jessica really sounded like an interesting person. Chloe couldn't but feel curious about a woman who successfully balanced her passion for sport and the demands of a professional career. They should compare notes.

Chloe was also determined to show Aubrey she was trying and based on the blonde's comment on her appearance she had succeeded so far.

"You don't think this skirt is too short, do you?" Chloe asked as she smoothed out her top-skirt combination.

"When you've got those legs going there isn't a skirt that would be too short for you honey," Aubrey smiled and smacked Chloe on the ass to emphasize her point.

"Ouch!"

"Seriously you could bounce a quarter off those things," Aubrey mused as she shook her hand that was still stinging from the contact.

"Maybe it's you I should take on a date after all," Chloe winked at her best friend and wiggled her backside at the blonde.

"Very funny Chloe. You're going to be late soon if you don't get going."

One glance at her watch told Chloe Aubrey was right. The redhead quickly grabbed her purse and car keys and exited the apartment after sending an air kiss to Aubrey who only rolled her eyes.

xxx

Chloe met Jessica Wright in the front of the new French restaurant, Chez Monique in downtown Los Angeles. Aubrey had described her colleague as a natural blonde beauty with a smile that would light up a room. Chloe had to say Aubrey's description rang true. Jessica was cute and Chloe could tell the blonde was nothing short of being 'Hollywood fit'. Jessica was wearing a dark red dress and high heels that left Chloe standing a bit shorter than the blonde although she was wearing high heels as well. The blonde greeted Chloe with a hand shake and leaned in for a slight brush of cheeks. Chloe returned the gesture, although a little awkwardly and then they entered the restaurant. The waiter led them to their table right away. Chloe felt a bit nervous at first as she really didn't know anything about the blonde sitting opposite to her.

It turned out Jessica was a soft-spoken, smart, career-oriented woman was very passionate about her sport and had a sense of humor that left Chloe feeling relaxed at her company.

In Chloe's current book of desirable qualities for dates or partners Jessica only had one big flaw, really. She wasn't Beca Mitchell. The way the thought washed over her like a wave just confirmed Chloe what she already knew. All the way through the date her thoughts drifted to Beca and what Beca would say or do if she was the one sitting opposite to her instead of the admittedly cute blonde. Jessica was a total catch but not for Chloe. She had a feeling they could make great friends. The thought cheered up Chloe who was able to look at their date from a different mindset right now. They could be just two friends having a dinner on a Saturday night. Chloe's thoughts drifted back to the moment at hand when Jessica began a discussion about their professional lives. They both shared some anonymous anecdotes about celebrity clients and their demands that sometimes were completely out of proportion.

"Sometimes it feels like my clients expect me to be at their service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I mean that would make sense if I was their personal pilot or chauffeur but I'm not. I have a right for personal life" Jessica mused and shook her head smiling. Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

"I couldn't agree more. It's like some people think I just sit home all day doing nothing when I'm not working with them. Usually the only time I have for sitting at home is during the weekend and even then some people have the decency to call me on my cell…"

As if on cue Chloe's phone made a loud beeping sound in her purse. The redhead realized that she'd forgotten to switch her phone off before the date.

"…some have the decency of calling my cell," Chloe repeated dumbfounded as she fished out her phone with the intention of silencing it and putting it straight back to her purse. Then she saw the words 'Beca Mitchell calling' appear on the screen.