One Too Many
14: Few Things Between [Epilogue]

"You've got this, okay?" Beca's hand was wrapped tightly around Chloe's; the redhead's laboured breaths almost silent within the busy labour room. "I believe in you Chloe."

Through gritted teeth her girlfriend spoke. "Where the fuck is she?" The sweat pooling on Chloe's brow clung to the strands of red hair which had fallen in front of her face. "You text her two hours ago!"

"Chloe she's in New York, she'll be here as soon as possible."

"Get Stacie to fucking phone her!"

Beca held Aubrey's hand as the blonde slung her arm around the brunette's shoulder, trying to hold herself up. Chloe placed a kiss on the blonde's cheek as the rest of the Bellas continued to celebrate the end of their performance, Beca couldn't help but blush as soon as her two favourite pairs of lips connected with her cheeks, the red heat rising up her cheeks like the fire pooling at the pit of her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Aubrey simply nodded at Beca's words, the freshman exchanging a look with Chloe. "Your knee must kill."

One of Aubrey's slender fingers brushed a strand of hair out of her line of vision. "I'm trying not to think about it." Beca nodded in understanding as she squeezed her girlfriend's hand. "I just want to rest it."

Chloe was certain a few strange looks were cast their way as they assisted Aubrey off the stage, where the trio were engulfed by a group hug Fat Amy had initiated. The pure looks of joy shared between the women were ones of pride and accomplishment – even if they had lost the ICCAs, Beca was certain they'd still remain a team.

"I appreciate the sentiment, guys, but I need to sit down." As soon as the blonde began hobbling over to their seats, Fat Amy grabbed her, slinging the captain over her shoulder.

Fat Amy winked at Chloe and Beca, "I've got you twiggy, your girlfriends need to lift weights more often."

Beca scowled. "Thanks Amy."

Stacie was pacing up and down the waiting room outside the ward where Chloe was in the middle of delivering the trio's first child. The leggy brunette's phone was in hand, the same voicemail message making her want to pluck her hair out strand by strand.

"This is Aubrey Mitchell; sorry I can't get my phone right now – please leave a message."

Fat Amy looked at Stacie. "Why isn't she answering?" Stacie's shrug did nothing to assist the four other people sitting in the waiting room (Jessica, Emily, Luke and Cynthia Rose); her deflated expression leading her to fall into one of the chairs. "Damn, I thought she was heading home tonight anyway."

Jessica – who had been scrolling through her phone for a chance to discover where the missing blonde was – looked up, "The Olympic Team is in Rio still, their flight was delayed."

Stacie ran a hand over her face. "I refuse to be the person who tells Chloe that – she's gonna flip."

Beca stopped as she walked towards the vending machine. "Tell Chloe what?"

Luke cleared his throat. "We don't need Chloe knowing that the Olympic Team is still in Rio, your wife with them."

Chloe's smile was as bright as ever as she watched the 'new' Bellas perform for Barden's graduating class. She couldn't help the few tears that fell from her eyes as Beca and their friends pranced around the stage on the football field, making music from their mouths.

"Remember that group of misfits in September?" Chloe glanced to her right, her hand automatically tangling with Aubrey's at the sight of the blonde's eyes; the green in them unmistakable. "Look at them now."

Chloe hummed in agreement, "remember that injured track player in October?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow, silently asking the redhead where this conversation was headed. "Look at her now; Miss Valedictorian."

"What can I say? You've managed to shape most of us into the people we are today."

Chloe smiled at that, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder, relishing in the smell of Aubrey's shampoo. "We couldn't have done it without her though."

Beca herself was using the performance to blow off steam, trying new artists, styles and tempos to bring a third dimension to The Barden Bellas. She'd also suggested they clean the Bella house up, make it more friendly, more welcoming. Chloe had jumped at the idea, promising some of the next year to finish off the last small pieces – she was staying to get her teaching qualification. Everyone in that Bella house, however, knew Aubrey was apprehensive about changing how the house looked. Despite the end of the A Capella season being a successful one, Cassie was still lurking among the alumni.

'I'm leaving for California.' Aubrey had announced one evening at dinner, an announcement that neither Chloe or Beca knew anything about. 'I've been offered a coaching job by the U.S Track and Field association.'

The secret had caused a small rift between Beca, Chloe and the blonde for a couple of days before Cynthia Rose had to explain to the first two that Aubrey had only kept it a secret because she didn't want to take away from Chloe's news of managing to graduate and Beca's announcement of an internship at Residual Heat records for her senior year.

But now Chloe couldn't be anything but happy. She had graduated, Aubrey had graduated with honours and already held a permanent position (even if they did have to look into a long distance relationship), and Beca had made The Barden Bellas a nationwide success with the use of Jessie J, Rihanna and Bruno Mars.

"I will miss this place." Chloe whispered into Aubrey's ear, "now go and nail that speech."

Chloe's eyes bore into Beca's skull in the few short moments between the doctor's instructions for her to push. "Where is she?" Beca's chance to answer was cut off by Chloe's screams of pain, and the talk of the baby's head.

"She's getting a flight directly here." Ashley looked at Beca from her place at the end of Chloe's bed, "but Rio's a troubled city…"

"If she is in Rio right this second and not on a plane – I swear to fucking God Rebecca Mitchell."

Ashley's quiet snort was masked by more shrieks of pain coming from Chloe's mouth – the redhead grabbing Beca's hand and holding it tight. Ashley looked up, "I think Chloe's re-thinking her decision to let you marry Aubrey instead of her." Beca looked at her girlfriend, the force and pain of labour puling every glowing fibre from Chloe's happy body.

Their relationship was a weird one, and with Aubrey's past, Chloe had previously decided it would be better if the blonde were to get married to Beca; since it would be the one thing she'd dreamt of since she was a little girl. Beca still chuckled at the thought of her attorney trying to fight for the chance for the three of them to get married – it was a slim chance to begin with, and the newbie's strategy couldn't have been worse planned, but even with the outcome of a married couple and Chloe still being their girlfriend, it worked.

(Luke, being the lawyer of the gang, disapproved of this method greatly, as he'd always proclaimed.)

"If they're found not guilty I will personally shoot myself in the face." Luke tapped his pen against his notebook as they waited in the hallway outside the courtroom. After years of silence, Tobias Posen's violent habits toward his youngest daughter had finally been revealed – the collection of photographs Luke had asked maids and nannies to take over the years had led to numerous counts of assaulting a minor and causing irreversible bodily harm when it came to the first altercation Aubrey had experienced with the stairs. Then, every Bella who had been inside the Bella house that day reported their counts of what happened when Cassie turned up un-announced and proceeded to push Aubrey against the wall.

Luke, who was not the most orthodox lawyer on the planet, had also pushed for a settlement of $3,000,000 towards the hospital fees and physiotherapy costs for Aubrey after the second altercation with Cassie. He also brought a contract as evidence, Tobias Posen's signature a testament to his views on his daughter – a document that made Aubrey change her last name and never contact the family again in return for $100,000.

"I will too." Beca scowled, still toying with the notebook in her hands – a cartoon version of Tobias and Cassie having been stabbed with a pencil throughout the final day lying on the page.

Chloe's attention was instead focussed on the silent blonde sitting on the bench. "Bree?"

"I'm fine… What if they get out?"

"Cassie is being stripped of her license, she's such a stuck up bitch." Luke smiled, taking his little sister's hand. "If they get out, their name will be ruined – are you guys still going through with what you decided?"

Beca nodded, taking a seat on the floor in front of the bench. "I don't want her to have to live with that name for the rest of her life. Aubrey Mitchell sounds so much better."

The headlines that night made all three women smile in their sleep.

'Homophobic Corporate Giant Convicted of Child Abuse, Hate Crimes and Failure to Comply. Lawyer Daughter Convicted of Intent to Disable.'

Beca smiled at the small bundle of pink blankets in her arms, their daughter's pink face calm and resting. Chloe had fallen asleep as soon as Beca had taken Emily from her, and the rest of 'The Gang' (Amy's name) had quietly snuck in to meet their aca-niece.

"She really is beautiful." A hushed voice said from behind Beca as a U.S.A Olympic Jacket quickly covered her eyes. Beca almost got scared as a piece of material was draped around her neck. "She looks like you baby." Aubrey took the jacket back, slinging it in the general direction of Beca's bag.

Beca looked at the object around her neck as Aubrey took her first opportunity to meet their daughter.

"I told you you'd get back to the top."

Chloe stirred from her spot on the bed, the red, white and blue jacket making her rub her eyes. "Bree?"

Beca smiled, connecting her lips with Aubrey's. "Nope. That's Aubrey Mitchell, Gold Medallist in the Women's 1500 metres."

As Emily stood in front of her mothers, at the gate of the Bella house, she smiled. "I'm going to crush this."

Seeing Emily knock on the door was a reminder of the fate that brought them together. One too many times they'd almost been thrown away.

("Beca, it's called trash can not trash can't!")

Fin.

Author's Note: I'd just like to thank every single one of you for never giving up on me, or this story. I know you'd have expected it to go further, but I can assure you this was the point where I wanted to end it.

This story is almost a year old, and in that year it's gained: 55 Reviews, 62 Favs and 176 Follows - Thank you so much!

I don't know whether or not I'll make a series of one shots about their lives together, with Emily, but at the moment this is a stand alone.

Review with your thoughts about whether or not I should make this a universe.

Look, I set out in April to write a 5 chapter fanfic with about 25 Follows (my average at the time); I never expected to see myself in December 2015 looking at the amount of people who loved my work and enjoyed how I wrote it, crafted it, and planned it out. I know that Triple Treble's relationship at Barden wasn't touched upon, but my intent had always been for the epilogue to have major events in it as opposed to having to justify time skips between graduation, labour and Emily going to Barden. Every single one of you who has read through all 14 chapters of me growing as an author will understand some of the turbulent times my life has been through this past 8 months, all of which is channelled into this fanfic.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

ReadWriteFangirl.