Here we go: Beca's about to meet Chloe's family and Aubrey will learn a bit about Stacie's past. R&R and of course enjoy

14: Little Paradise

As Beca learned the following day, Goshen was very small. She was pretty sure Chloe showed her the entire town in a very short time. She couldn't deny the nerves she had knowing that she was very close to getting to meet Chloe's family. As if Chloe knew, she reached over and took Beca's hand. "Relax Beca. I promise everything is going to be fine."

Beca faced her and gave the best smile she could muster. "I'm holding you to that" she said and playfully punched the redhead's shoulder, the two laughing as Chloe carefully turned into a neighborhood. So this was it. This was the neighborhood where Chloe had grown up. Where she had ridden her bike and gone trick-or-treating. It seemed so...small and normal. Beca had no idea how someone like Chloe, with her exuberant take on life had been raised her. It didn't seem as if such a place could contain her spirit. Taking a breath, she asked "so, exactly what did you tell your parents?"

Chloe thought for a minute as she made a right, more houses, most single stories, some two stories mixed in as well. "I told them that I was bringing back the most important person in my life. Someone that I love as much as any of them and I hoped they would accept her and us."

Beca could feel a blush rising and she was glad Chloe was busy driving and not looking at her. "You said...her? And us?" she finally managed, daring a look out of the corner of her eye.

Chloe nodded. "I did. I have nothing to hide from my family." She made a hard turn and pulled into a driveway. The house was a two-story, the driveway smooth and even, the two car-garage was shut, a basketball hoop hanging from the top. Lots of windows, both up-stairs and down-stairs, all had curtains, some wide open, some closed. The front door was red, not shockingly so, almost a lighter shade of cherry. The house outside was white, the trimmings on the windows painted brown as well as around the rest of the house. Trees and plants were to the left of the front door, grass that needed a trim soon lined it all.

It all seemed so...normal. Again she just couldn't grasp how such a place had been where Chloe was raised. Chloe faced Beca as she shut off the car and took her hand. "Beca, I love you and I know we are meant to be together. I know it's crazy but I can't and won't deny how I feel. I know you're scared but believe me my family is going to accept you and us. They will if they want me in their lives." She nodded once and carefully kissed Beca once.

Beca had nothing to say just gave a soft smile and nodded before she kissed her back. She really didn't want to come between Chloe and her family but Chloe seemed to have such confidence that it was slowly starting to put Beca at an ease. "Ready" she finally said as she got out, meeting Chloe at the front of the car, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly but gently. Chloe flashed her a grin.

Before either could make a move to the door, it was flung open and two little forms, maybe no higher than Beca's waist came barreling out the front door, happy laughter and cries of "Chlo!" ringing out. Chloe laughed and Beca let her hand drop as they ran into Chloe who easily leaned down to hug them. Finally Chloe stood up and looked at the children, ruffling both their hair as she did so. "Gosh I think you guys got even bigger since the last time I saw you!"

The twins, both with light brown hair and hazel eyes just laughed and shook their heads. The door opened again and a young guy that Beca assumed was Chloe's brother came out, a grin a mile wide. They laughed and hugged each other tightly. When it broke, Chloe said "Beca, this is my big brother, Roger" she said who bowed and took Beca's left hand, softly kissing it once. "Sorry. He's a bit of a Romeo" Chloe said with a laugh and nudged him with her hip. He shrugged and Beca ducked her head a bit, her face a bit red. "And these are the twins, James and Sarah" Chloe said nodding to them. They smiled shyly and Beca returned it.

She took a step back and took in the three siblings. Roger was clearly the oldest and tallest, his hair a tad bit lighter than Beca's, as Chloe had said, his eyes a light green with specks of brown in them. He was dressed in tan shorts and a white collared shirt, tennis shoes on his feet. He had dimples when he smiled and a perfect jaw. James was dressed in denim jeans and a black Transformers t-shirt, black tennis shoes on his feet. He had a lopsided grin and hair that would not stay neat, always did some of it seem to be out of place. His twin had on a pale blue dress and sandals, they had the same hair and eyes, Sarah's hair longer though, nearly to her waist, James's short, it kicked up a bit in the back.

"Hey" Beca finally said, pulling on what she hoped was a good smile as she faced them. Chloe's family. Even though they didn't look anything alike, she could tell that this was a family that was close. "Um thanks for having me."

A loud voice spoke from behind them. "Oh no! Thank you for coming!" Everyone jumped, turning to see the voice that had spoken. Standing outside the front door was a tall, lean man with red hair and shocking blue eyes. And when he smiled, Beca knew that Chloe had been right. She was the spitting image of her father and then some.

"Daddy" Chloe said as she smiled at her, making his way closer. They embraced and again Beca had to look away, almost like an invasion of privacy if she watched. "So Beca this is my dad" she said and laughed softly. "I'm sure you knew that though."

Beca nodded. "Yes I kind of figured from the way you described him" she said and nodded again as she faced the man again.

"Tall dark and handsome?" he said making Chloe laugh and Beca couldn't help but grin. Yep it wasn't just the looks that they were the same. They seemed to have the same sense of humor to them as well.

"Yeah exactly" Beca said and snapped her fingers nodding. "That was exactly it and I can see she told the truth." There's a moment of pause before Chloe and her dad laugh.

"I like you already" he said and popped the trunk, starting to help with the bags. Of course Beca grabbed the case with her equipment and Chloe and her dad lugged the bags inside, the twins and Roger following.

Woah is the first thought that hits Beca when she steps inside. She knew it was big from the outside but to be inside is a whole other story. Upon first entering, you are greeted by a massive glass chandiler, under it sits a table that looks like something out of King Arthur's time, and to the left of it, a staircase, but not just any staircase, oh no. This one spirals, like something you would see in a fantasy movie like Harry Potter. The downstairs is painted a soft cream colored shade, the very top of the ceiling is painted a light blue and it surprisingly suits the cream colored well.

Chloe turns and smiles at her girlfriend. "Come on" she says as she grabs her hand and stops her so they are looking down a fairly narrow hallway to the left. "Down that way is the laundry room, Roger's room, and that door at the very end goes to the garage." Double doors that lead to the front yard are on the opposite side of the laundry room. Chloe waits a second before giving a gentle pull at Beca's hand.

"Sorry" she says and Chloe just flashes her a smile. "It's pretty big. Much bigger than I was expecting" she says as she gives the hallway one more glance before Chloe leads her down the right of it. To the right of where they enter, a kitchen, fairly standard with a bar wrapping around one end, four bar stools surround it. A table, this one round with six chairs around it, was off to the side, windows surrounded it, all with the curtains open, the late afternoon sunlight still shining through. Further down the wall, just past the last of the windows, were two double glass doors, identical to the ones down the left of the hallway, only bigger. The backyard was mostly grass, a huge treehouse in the middle of it, up closer to the house was concrete, a grill with a tarp over it, a table and chairs, a fire pit in the middle.

"Who built the treehouse?" Beca asked as she turned to find Chloe and her dad. It was truly a work of art if one could consider treehouses a work of art. It had stairs, a deck that wrapped around the entire thing, windows made of actual glass, and then way up at the very top, if one dare, a built in periscope.

"Ah why thank you" Chloe's dad said, taking a bow as he looked at the girls, Chloe just shaking her head as she took Beca's hand again. "I was an architect, once upon a time ago" he said and nodded, wisps of his hair falling over his eyes, he pushed them out of his eyes muttering "need a trim" as he sat down at the table.

"Did you do the layout for this house...um..." Beca bit her lip, suddenly realizing that she didn't have a name yet. "Mr. Beale? ..." she said a bit tentatively.

He winced. "Ouch. Makes me sound so old" he said as he shook his head. Beca could feel a blush rising but before she could apologize he said "please Richard, Rich, Ritchie. Anything but Mr. Beale makes me sound like my father. And yes I did draw up the plans for this house long time ago."

Before Beca could respond, a loud crash from up-stairs startled her, though Chloe didn't seem phased and her dad just sighed as he stood up. Seconds later, a door opened and a loud screech of "daddy! Jamie won't get out of MY room!" a heavy emphasis on the word my.

"It's still my room!"

"No it's not!"

With a sigh and shake of his head, Richard started for the stairs, muttering as he did so, though he chuckled and after letting her eyes take in the room one more time, Beca let Chloe take her to the stairs and then up them. Since they weren't exactly "normal" stairs Beca held on tightly to Chloe's hand but she didn't seem to mind, even giving a reassuring squeeze half-way up.

Upon reaching the landing, the up-stairs breaks off into two directions, one short, one long. Nodding to the short direction Chloe said "down there is a closet, my mom's study, and the master bedroom aka mom and dad's room." Turning on her heel she says "and this is as it's so affectionately called, the kid's hallway." Another crash, a howl behind a closed door and the voice of a father trying to calm it down. "Right. So, that was the twins room, apparently now it's just Sarah's" Chloe said with a half shrug that makes Beca chuckle softly. "And across from it is their bathroom, another closet, my room," she says as they keep walking. "And back on this side, two more guest bedrooms, one was Roger's, clearly it's now Jamie's, and a bathroom." She stops and looks at Beca. "So, you ready to run yet?"

Beca laughed. "See. I knew that's what this was. You just brought me up here to scare me off and so far it's not working."

Chloe laughs as she leans into Beca a bit, she seems a bit unsure and would take a step back but Chloe won't allow it. "Well good. I'd hate it if my plan actually worked" she teased and leaned in a bit, again, Beca taking a step back. Chloe stopped her and said "it's okay" She hesitates for a second before she nods and leans in a bit closer, Chloe meeting her halfway, softly she kissed her. It seemed like every kiss was better than the one before and Beca knew she would never get used to the tingly feeling that crept down her spine when it happened. "So" she finally said as she opened the door. "That is your room. I will let you get settled in" she said as she smiled at Beca who smiled back. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

Beca nodded and stepped inside the room just as Chloe's dad came out of the kid's bedroom. He smiled at Chloe who returned it and walked inside her bedroom, starting to unpack from her suitcase. She didn't have to turn to know he had entered her room. For a minute, neither speak. Finally, Chloe breaks the silence by saying "so...?"

He shrugged. "Chlo, so long as you are happy that is all I care about. And, if you love her as much as you say you do, I know I'm going to as well." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"And what did you tell the twins?"

"I told them that people loved in all kinds of ways, that the way I loved your mother was different from the way I love them but that it was all equal. I then told them that sometimes boys liked boys, sometimes girls liked girls, but that it was all equal so long as they loved each other. I told them that you were bringing home your girlfriend, that you two were in a relationship like your brother and Tanya's relationship and that they were going to be as respectful and good as when they came home last year."

Chloe was quiet for a minute as she continued sorting through her things, her brow furrowed as if in deep concentration. Finally she smiled and hugged her dad. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

He hugged her tightly and sighed softly. "Anything for you Chlo. You're my girl" he said as he rocked her in his arms for a minute before letting her go.

Aubrey hadn't really learned much about the cabin, just that it had been owned by Stacie's uncle for quite some time. The cabin itself was relatively small, two bedrooms, a kitchen with a small stove and microwave, a bathroom, and the living room area. Despite all of this, the cabin itself was very homey and she could understand how someone could enjoy being there. It was like escaping from the hustle and bustle of a big city.

While she may have not learned much, the first day she did learn how much Stacie liked to swim. After they had hauled their bags inside, Stacie had grabbed Aubrey's hand and led her down a small dirt path for about half a mile. It stopped at a dock that led to a lake. Neither of them were in their suits but she didn't seem to care-she jumped right in and for a minute, Aubrey, shell-shocked-had just stood at the dock before finally joining her. Aubrey had gotten out but Stacie had stayed in well past dark until finally, only after Aubrey had pleaded and insisted did she get out.

They spent the next morning playing a board game after breakfast before heading back to the lake, this time with towels, sunscreen and their suits. After a while, even Stacie had to get out, the two laying on their bellies as the sun warmed their skin. "So, what's the story?" Aubrey asked as she blinked against the sun, turning her head so she could see Stacie.

"What story is that?" she asked in a quiet hum, her eyes closed as she reluctantly opened them so she could see Aubrey.

"What about...this place. You said it was your uncle's? How did it become yours?"

Stacie is quiet for a minute before she says "my uncle, uncle Ben, was my dad's brother. Older by maybe ten years or so. He was kind of the black sheep of the family, he and my dad didn't exactly see eye to eye on, well, anything. He hated the city, hated it with a passion, cursed everything from pollution to crime to politics" she said which for some reason made the two laugh softly. Stacie took a minute before continuing. "Anyways, after another blow up with my dad, he declared he was going to live off the land and that's what he did. He packed up, scouted land, found this place, paid for it, built the cabin and lived out here until he couldn't take care of himself anymore."

There's a long pause after that, neither girl speak for so long Aubrey is certain that the other girl has nodded off. Finally she hears "even though my dad and uncle didn't get along, my uncle was very much a family man and he wanted to be around when his brother had kids. And he doted on us like crazy" she said smiling as she spoke. "It was my mother's idea to let us come out here during the summer. This was where I learned to swim. Right here." She smiled as she sat up, one arm keeping her propped up as she looked out at the water. Aubrey sits up as well, resting on her knees, she follows her gaze and reaches for her hand.

"Sounds nice" she says, sitting up so she can wrap an arm around her waist. Stacie leans back inside her arm, letting it cradle her. They lapse into another bout of silence, the sounds of mother nature the only ones for miles around. It was no wonder her uncle had picked such a place if he truly hated the city. This place was the exact opposite.

"Okay. Your turn." Aubrey raises an eyebrow as she looks at Stacie. "Come on. Spill with your own story." She shifts against her arm so she can better see her.

Aubrey sighs but nods once. "Well, my father was in the military, just like his entire family. I lost count of how many generations there were...My mother was a "Southern Belle" as they say, met my father at some debutante ball, apparently she wasn't interested in him but he wouldn't take no for an answer."

Stacie snorts. "Oh so that's where your stubborn self comes from" she says followed by a laugh and a nudge to her side. She smiles and kisses Aubrey once. "Go on" she says with a nod and gesture of her hand that says continue.

Aubrey shrugged. "They dated, about two years, married, moved to Connecticut, less than a year later, they had my oldest brother, two more boys, then me. I was a total surprise baby, even the doctors were surprised when I came to be." She shrugged and turned her gaze back out to the water.

Stacie nods and looks at her for a minute before she sits up and jumps into the water. It's a shock to her system at first but she adjusts quickly. Aubrey lays back down, watching Stacie as she keeps swimming. She nods off at some point, the warm sun and swimming from earlier doing her in. When she wakes, Stacie is laying next to her, also asleep, her hand has taken Aubrey's. She lightly kisses it, making Stacie stir but she stays asleep. She doesn't lapse back into sleep. Instead, she stays awake and for the billionth time wonders just what she did to deserve someone like Stacie.

And wonders just when she's going to wake up and find her gone. Like everyone and everything good in her life.