Beca's blood began to boil. What the hell did her parents to do her? Or worse, make her do. Tears came to Beca's eyes. She walked over to Amanda and lifted the girls head.
"You are safe here, Amanda," Beca said. "You do not have to pay anything or do anything to stay here. This is your home for as long as you want. No strings. I promise you will be safe and you will never have to see or talk to you those people again. Do you understand?"
Everyone watched the scene unfold. Each angry at what they imagined the Matthews' did to both of their daughters. Amanda wiped the tears from her face and gave Beca a real smile.
"Yes," Amanda said and grabbed Beca around the waist and hugged her.
Beca hugged Amanda back and kissed her on temple. She pulled back and gave Amanda a smile.
"I'm hungry," Beca said. "Who's cooking tonight?"
"I am," Mama B said. "I have something special planned for our last night here. Chloe, Denise? Would you two mind helping me with dinner?"
"Sure," Denise said without hesitation.
"I'm in," Chloe said. "But, first I need to talk to Beca."
Chloe grabs Beca's hand and leads her out of the kitchen. Beca gives a quick, "we'll be back," as she is pulled by Chloe. Chloe walks through the living room, up the stairs and into her bedroom. As soon as Beca clears the door she finds herself being pushed against it. Chloe's lips are on hers before she even has time to think about it. It takes her a couple of seconds before she starts kissing Chloe back. They break apart when breathing becomes an issue.
"Holy shit," Beca says breathing heavily. "Not that I'm complaining, because I am most definitely not, but what was that for?"
"For being the most wonderful human being on the planet," Chloe said leaning back in for another kiss.
"Chloe. Chlo?," Beca said trying to get Chloe to stop for a minute.
Chloe pulls back and looks at Beca.
"The way you were so authoritative just now," Chloe said. "And how you showed such compassion and kindness to Amanda. It was so hot."
"Maybe you're just horny," Beca said without thinking.
Beca sucked in a breath. She gulped and looked at Chloe.
"I didn't," Beca stammered out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that."
"That's okay," Chloe said with a smirk. "But, I think you're right."
Chloe gave Beca another quick kiss and pulled away from her. Beca just stood there with her back against the door and a dazed look on her face. Chloe laughed.
"Babe," Chloe said. "You're going to have to move so I can go help my mom with dinner."
"What?," Beca asked. "Oh, yeah. Right. Dinner. Help your mom. Okay."
Beca didn't move. Chloe stood there with a smirk on her face and looked at Beca.
"Oh, right," Beca said and pulled herself away from the door.
Beca opened the door and slowly followed Chloe out. She took a couple of deep breaths before she made her way down the stairs. The two made it back to the kitchen to see everyone still milling about talking to Amanda.
"Okay, anyone who isn't helping me cook, get out," Mama B said.
Everyone but Chloe and Denise left the kitchen. Beca walked over to Denise.
"Hey," Beca said. "Would you mind sleeping in my room tonight? I figure that way Ashley and Amanda can be together. Lily told me she was going back to her place after dinner."
"Sure," Denise said.
"We'll figure out the new bedroom situation after everyone is gone tomorrow," Beca said. "I have some ideas that will still allow everyone to have their own rooms."
"Sounds good to me," Denise said.
Beca went over to Ashley and Amanda and told them of the sleeping arrangements for the night. Amanda thanked Beca again. Beca's phone rang and she excused herself to take the call.
"Hey, Pierce," Beca said. "What's up?"
"We have one mad woman on our hands here," Pierce said with a laugh. "She's claiming that you told her you were going to drop the assault charges against her and that you owe her some money."
Beca chuckled. "Actually, I told her I would see that she gets what she deserves. And, I think she deserves to spend at least the next 3 years in jail and to lose both her daughters."
"I figured it was something like that," Pierce said. "I'm going to check our laws and see if I can charge he with disturbing the peace. She has got one shrill voice and won't shut up."
"Want me to come down there?," Beca asked.
"No," Pierce replied. "Just wanted to let you know. She's been screeching something about suing you. Not sure, but I have a feeling she'll find someone to take that case. Just be careful."
"Thanks," Beca said and hung up.
Beca shakes her head. The audacity of that woman. After the way she treated her two daughters, she deserves to rot in jail. Beca goes back to the living room. She gets down on the floor to play with Emily.
It was a little over an hour later when Chloe asked Beca for some help. Beca went into the kitchen and was asked to put the extra leaf in the dining room table so everyone could sit together. Beca did as asked and Chloe and Denise set the table. Beca helped so they finished quickly. Then Chloe and Denise brought in a two big pans of lasagna, a large bowl of salad, and some garlic bread. Mama B called everyone to dinner. They all hurried in and took a seat around the table.
Chloe poured water and iced tea for everyone before joining the group. Mama B passed around the salad and everyone helped themselves to the lasagna and garlic bread. Beca noticed that Amanda hadn't put anything on her plate yet and was just looking down at it. Beca picked up her plate that was already filled with food and walked around to where Amanda was sitting. She picked up Amanda's empty plate and placed the full plate in front of her. She then walked back, took her seat, and started filling her plate.
Everyone watched this but no one said a word. They didn't want to embarrass or upset Amanda. They just continued eating and talking like nothing happened. Amanda looked around and noticed that no one said anything about her full plate, or about what Beca did. She smiled slightly and started eating. She was going like living here.
Chloe smiled at Beca and mouthed "so hot." Beca blushed and was paying very close attention to the food on her plate. She heard Chloe let out a breathy laugh.
Dinner was done and Beca and Charlotte volunteered for clean up duty. Beca was rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher while Charlotte was putting what little was leftover away. They chatted while cleaning up.
"How are classes going?," Beca asked Charlotte.
"Good," Charlotte responded. "I only have two more finals and then I'm done for the semester. I am so ready for the summer break."
"You know you're welcome to come hang out here any time," Beca told her. "You can swim in the lake, or take the jet ski out. Or just do nothing. I'm sure the girls would love having you over."
"Thanks, Beca," Charlotte said. "My sister is lucky to have found you."
"I feel like I'm the lucky one," Beca said. "I not only found the person who is, I believe, my soul mate, but I gained a real family as well."
"I'm happy for you and Chloe," Charlotte told her. "I know my mom and dad love you. I'm glad you're part of the family."
"Thanks," Beca tells her. "Listen, I don't want to overstep here, but if you find you need help with your tuition, or books, or anything for school, let me know. I'd be happy to help you out."
"Wow," Charlotte said. "Thanks. I know my mom and dad have been struggling but they still managed to pay for my first year so I didn't have to go the student loan route. I was going to get a student loan this year to keep them from having to stretch themselves too thin. I think I'd like to take you up on your offer. Only, I don't want to tell my mom and dad. They already feel like you've spent way too much helping Chloe and the girls. I'll just tell them I got a loan, if that's okay with you."
"That's fine," Beca said. "I don't want to make them feel like I'm throwing my money around to show them up. I just have so much. My grandparents were very well off and taught me that you should always help those who are less fortunate. So, do whatever you need to do. I'll back you up."
"Thanks," Charlotte said. "You don't know what a load off my shoulders this is."
Beca and Charlotte finish cleaning up in the kitchen and head to the living room. Charlotte grabs her purse and walks over to her mom and dad.
"I'm going to head out," Charlotte said. "I have a final tomorrow and I need to get some studying in."
"Good night, sweetheart," Mr. B tells Charlotte. "We'll see you on Thursday to clean out your dorm room."
"Night, baby," Mama B tells her, giving her a hug.
"Thanks you guys," Charlotte says. "I love you."
"We love you, too," Mr. B says.
Charlotte walks over to Chloe who is holding Emily and tickling her.
"Good night, you two," Charlotte says giving Emily a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
"We'll walk you out to your car," Chloe says.
Chloe walks out with Charlotte. Beca walks over to where Denise, Amanda, and Ashley are quietly chatting.
"Hey, Amanda," Beca said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing great," Amanda says. "Denise and Ash were just telling me all the things you've done for them. Thank you for taking such good care of my sister."
"She's my sister, too, you know," Beca says with a smile. "Just family helping family."
Denise and Ashley grin and jump on Beca. Beca pretends to hate it and they all end up laughing.
"You guys are nuts," Beca tells them.
Chloe comes in. She laughs when she sees Beca being held on either side by Denise and Ashley. She hands Emily to her mother and hurries over and joins the group hug, her knees jamming into Beca's thighs.
"Hey," Beca shouts. "Boney knees, Beale. Boney knees."
"My knees are not boney," Chloe says indignantly. "They are just right."
"Whatever you say, Beale," Beca says with a laugh.
Chloe gets up and Ashley and Denise pull back from Beca. Amanda yawns and stretches.
"You getting tired, Amanda?," Beca asked.
"Yeah," Amanda says. "I've been up since about five this morning. I'm so ready for bed."
"Come on," Ashley tells her. "I'll show you where you're sleeping tonight."
Ashley leads Amanda to the stairs.
"I'll get your bag from the car," Beca tells Amanda walking over to the door. "I'll bring it up for you."
"Thanks, Beca," Amanda calls down to Beca.
Beca gets Amanda's bag and brings it in the house.
"That's all?," Chloe asked.
"Yep," Beca said. "This is it."
"I see another shopping trip in the very near future," Chloe says with a huge smile. "And this time, Detective Mitchell, you are coming with us."
"Yuck," Beca said.
Chloe puts her arms around Beca's shoulders, looks at her and pouts.
"Really, babe," Chloe whispers getting closer to Beca. "You don't want to go shopping with me? To watch me try on clothes. I could use a new bikini or two."
Beca gulped and looked at Chloe. Chloe looked back with a smirk on her face.
"I hate you," Beca said.
"No, you don't," Chloe said. "You love me, 'cause I'm awesome."
Beca just shakes her head and laughs.
"I'm going to take this up to Amanda," Beca says. "I'll tell her about the shopping trip."
Beca came back down a few minutes later. She goes over to Chloe and Denise.
"Amanda finally agreed to the shopping trip," Beca said. "I mean she barely had one outfit in that bag of hers. I thought maybe we could go on Tuesday or Wednesday, if that's okay with you two."
"Why not tomorrow or Monday?," Chloe asked.
"Well, I figure everyone would want to hang out for a bit tomorrow," Beca said. "You know, since your folks, Jesse, and Altman will be moving back to their own places at some point tomorrow. And I have a physical therapy session on Monday, and want to go talk to my Captain after."
"Oh," Chloe said. "Then let's do Tuesday. Amanda really does need some clothes. In the meantime, she's about your size, maybe you can find her something to wear until we go shopping."
"I'll check for some stuff in the morning," Beca said. "Amanda and Ashley were both tired and getting ready for bed when I went up."
"Speaking of bed," Chloe said. "I think I'd better get the munchkin to bed. She's being awfully quiet and I can see she's really tired."
"Need some help?," Beca asked.
"Nope," Chloe said. "I'll take care of it."
"Can I put her down?," Mama B asks. "I won't get the chance for a little while and I want to take advantage while I can."
"Okay, mom," Chloe said.
Chloe walks over to her mother and gives Emily a kiss on the cheek.
"Love you, munchkin," Chloe tells Emily.
"Wuv you, mama," Emily says.
Beca walks over and give Emily a small hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, baby girl," Beca tells her.
"Wuv you, Bec-bec," Emily says and yawns.
"Night night, baby," Beca says as Mama B takes Emily and heads upstairs.
"I think I'm going to go help tuck Emily in," Mr B says and heads upstairs.
"You girls want something to drink?," Beca asked Denise and Chloe. "I think I have some wine. Or beer if you prefer."
"Beer sounds good," Denise tells her.
"Me, too, please," Chloe says.
Beca goes into the kitchen and comes back with three beers. She hands one to each of the girls and pops the top on hers. She takes a drink.
"Ahh," Beca says. "Cold and refreshing."
The three girls sit and chat about the summer and different day trips to take with Emily. Mama B and Mr. B come back downstairs about 15 minutes later.
"She fell asleep in about 5 minutes," Mama B told the girls. "I just wanted to make sure she was really asleep before we left her."
"Thanks, mom," Chloe said.
"That looks good," Mr. B said eying the beer. "Want one, dear?"
"Yes, thank you, honey," Mama B says.
Mr. B goes to the kitchen to get their beers.
"How long have you guys been married?," Beca asked.
"Twenty-five years this July 3rd," Mama B answered.
"Wow," Beca said. "I hope I'm as in love after twenty-five years as you guys are."
"As long as you have patience and forgiveness in your heart," Mama B says. "You will be."
Mr. B comes back into the living room and all the girls watch him as he opens the beer for Mama B before handing it to her.
"What?," he asks. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Beca smiles. "I was just admiring how in love you two are."
"I've got the greatest wife in the world," Mr. B tells her. "It's not that hard to love her like I do."
"Oh stop," Mama B says blushing and smacking Mr. B on the arm.
"I speak the truth," Papa B says and sips her beer.
"Well," Beca says. "As far as I'm concerned, you guys are goals."
"I'll drink to that," Denise says holding up her beer towards Beca in a toast.
Beca taps her can against Denise's and takes a sip. The beers are finished and Mama B and Mr. B decide to call it a night. They head upstairs for bed. Denise soon follows leaving Chloe and Beca alone.
"I think I'm going to go to bed, too," Beca said.
"Me, too," Chloe says.
"I need to make sure everything is locked up," Beca said. "So, I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," Chloe says. "Good night."
"Good night, Chlo," Beca says. "Hey, are we okay? I mean, I don't want you to be mad at me because of what I said, you know, about being horny. I am totally on board with taking things slow. I don't know why I said it, it just slipped out. I'm sorry if it came off weird."
"Beca, it's fine," Chloe said. "You've been very patient and I do appreciate that. I'm not sure when I'll be or sex, but, believe me, when I am you'll be the first to know."
Beca smiled and gave Chloe a quick kiss.
"Thank you," Beca said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Chloe said.
Chloe gave Beca another quick kiss and headed upstairs to her room. Beca checked to make sure everything was locked up. She stopped by the surveillance room to speak to Jesse. Beca told Jesse about the called from Sargeant Pierce and both had a good laugh. They chatted about everyone going back to their own places the next day.
Upstairs, Chloe had put on her pajamas and was in the shared bathroom brushing her teeth. She looked in the mirror. "I still look pretty good," she thought. She finished brushing her teeth and walked back into her room. She checked on Emily and laid down in her bed.
"I wonder how long Beca is willing to wait for me to be ready for sex," Chloe thought. "Sex is a big part of any relationship. It shouldn't be that hard. Beca is not Luke or Tom. She means so much more to me. I don't want it to be sex just for sex's sake. I want Beca to make love to me. Her kisses are so hot, I don't know how I've been able to restrain myself from going any further. Maybe I'm scared. Scared that I'll think about Luke or Tom when I'm with her. I love her so much and I want to be everything she wants or needs. She's so caring about my feelings. I know she'll be tender and gentle."
Chloe furrowed her brow. "I want Beca," Chloe thought. "I want her in every way that you want someone who loves you and who you love. Now, I just need to figure out how to get past the heavy petting sessions we've had lately and go for the home run. Oh God, did I really just think that. Whatever. I don't want it to be a really big deal. I want it to just happen naturally. Next time we're making out, I'll let it go farther than before."
Chloe smiled as she thought of her plan to seduce Beca Mitchell. She fell asleep with the smile still on her face.
Beca completed her nightly ritual of locking up and headed up to bed. She quietly entered her room and saw that Denise was already asleep. She got her pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. She brushed her teeth and looked at herself in the mirror. She still felt bad about what she said to Chloe.
"I know Chloe said it was okay and even joked about it," Beca thought. "I know I'm more than ready to move our relationship to the next level. I mean Chloe is beautiful and amazing. Who wouldn't want to be with her in every way. I'll just have to be patient. Chloe will be ready when she's ready and not a minute before."
Beca turned off the bathroom light before opening the door. She quietly went to her bed and crawled under the covers. She thought about Chloe in the next room and smiled. It so going to be worth the wait was the last thought that went through Beca's mind before she went to sleep.
Beca woke a few hours later. She had heard what sounded like a door closing. She sat up and listened. She could hear someone going down the stairs. She sat for a moment, not sure if she should get up and check to see who it was.
"Maybe someone's sick," Beca thought.
She decided to check it out and quietly got out of bed and left her room. She quietly walked down the stairs and saw the kitchen light on. She heard someone moving around the kitchen. She walked in seeing Amanda at the counter pouring cereal in a bowl. Amanda jumped off the stool, knocking it over, when she saw Beca. Her eyes wide with fright.
"Whoa," Beca said. "It's okay. I heard a noise and was just coming down to check on it."
"I, I, I'm sorry," Amanda said. "I was, um, hungry."
"That's okay," Beca said. "I could use a little something myself."
Amanda had not moved. Beca walked over and put the stool upright. She went to the cupboard and got herself a bowl. She sat at the counter and poured cereal in her bowl.
"Lucky Charms," Beca said. "Good choice. These are my favorite."
She reached over and grabbed the milk and poured some on her cereal. She then poured some over the cereal Amanda had poured for herself. She set the milk down and looked at Amanda. Amanda looked down at the floor and started walking over to the closet where Beca kept the mop and cleaning supplied. Amanda had reached for the door knob.
"What are you doing?," Beca asked looking confused. This caused Amanda to stop.
"I got food without permission," Amanda said quietly. "I need to be punished."
"Fuck," Beca said throwing her spoon across the room.
Amanda flinched but did not move. Beca stood up and walked over to Amanda. She lifted Amanda's head so she could look at Beca. Amanda was crying and had a scared look in her eyes. Beca's heart was breaking.
"Amanda," Beca said quietly. "In this house, if you are hungry, you eat. If you are thirsty, you drink. You are welcome to anything that is here. It is as much yours as it is anyone else's."
Amanda's tears fell faster. Beca just pulled Amanda to her and held her.
"What the fuck did those people do to you?," Beca mumbled.