"Touch ID or Enter Passcode" Chloe read aloud to herself holding Emma's phone in her hand. Chloe lowered the device as she returned her gaze to the ocean. She reached for the steaming mug of coffee in front of her bringing it to her lips and blowing the liquid before taking a sip.
Beca opened her eyes slowly while reaching for Chloe but frowned when she came up empty. Opening her eyes confirmed that she didn't just miss, Chloe wasn't in bed anymore. She looked to the nightstand to see the time. 10:37 am. A breeze through the bedroom caught her attention. Beca rolled over to see the French doors that lead to the balcony open. Beca smiled seeing Chloe sitting, with her back to her, at the small table with her feet propped up on the railing staring at the ocean.
Beca sat up and reached for the blue and grey cable knit blanket that rested at the foot of her bed. She wrapped it around her shoulders holding it closed and walked out to the balcony. She leaned down and placed a kiss on the left side of Chloe's neck. "Morning" she whispered.
"Good morning" Chloe replied turning to meet her lips to Beca's.
Beca reached down for Chloe's mug stealing a sip of her coffee. "Mmm. That's good."
"How did you sleep?" Chloe asked sweetly.
"Good. You?" Beca asked taking another sip before handing the mug back to Chloe.
"Great." She smiled.
"What are you doing?" Beca asked noticing a rose colored iPhone sitting on the table.
"I was trying to unlock Em's phone." Chloe answered sipping the hot beverage then placing the mug on the table and reaching for the phone. She had seen Emma open the phone with the passcode in the past and knew it consisted of the pattern crossed but there were too many options to just keep trying. "Any idea about the passcode?"
"Um" Beca thought quickly. "Q's was something like 'I Love Emma' or something close to that."
"Those aren't even numbers babe."
"I know that" Beca teased, "but the code is the letters or something."
"That's too many numbers."
"Then I don't know Chlo." Beca said giving up quickly. Truth be told, she was not at all curious what was on the phone and dreaded finding out. She wasn't ready. "I'm gonna go shower and then call Stacie."
"Stacie? Why?" Chloe asked.
"I want to tell her about us and Finley so she knows that's my priority for a while."
"Are you going to talk to her about producing?" Chloe asked.
"Maybe, I haven't decided. I'm not really concerned about work at the moment."
"Are you going to ask her about what happened at the hospital that night?" Chloe asked.
"Um" Beca paused. She wanted to but she was hesitant to bring it up and see Stacie upset again. "Maybe. It just depends how the conversation goes." Beca placed a kiss on Chloe's head. "What are you doing today?"
"I was going to try to get this open but I'm not having any luck. I wanted to pick up Fin and then maybe meet up with Aubrey for lunch. I need to tell her about all this."
"How about this" Beca offered, "I'm going to shower. You can run over and pick up Fin and then we can go up to the agency together. I'll see Stacie and you can see Aubrey and then we can all go to lunch."
"Okay." Chloe agreed having already showered. "I'll just change"
"Why?" Beca teased. "I think you look hot in my t-shirt."
"I do look hot in your t-shirt but I should probably wear pants to go pick up Fin. I doubt Steve and Lucile would appreciate it if I showed up in a shirt and my thong."
"I think everyone can appreciate you in a thong Chloe."
XxXxXx
"Wow" Stacie said with a breath.
"I know" Beca replied sitting back after explaining the story to Stacie.
"So you and Chloe are going to adopt Finley?" Stacie asked slowly letting it all sink in.
"Well" Beca's eyebrows scrunched together before explaining her and Chloe's decision.
XxXxXx
"You're kidding me?" Aubrey said quickly.
"No Bree. I'm not kidding" Chloe replied holding the baby in her arms.
"How are you going to do that Chloe? For serious?"
"Beca and I are doing it together."
"That's even worse Chloe" Aubrey argued.
"Why would you say that?" Chloe asked.
"You're a movie star Chloe." Aubrey stated as if it were to most obvious fact in the world. "A movie star that I have several scripts for" she picked up the stack of booklets and dropped them on the desk. The sound woke Finley from her nap causing her to cry.
"Nice" Chloe replied with a stern look in Aubrey's direction before softening her eyes down towards the baby. "Shh shhh shhh" Chloe whispered bouncing the girl in her arms. "It's okay. Auntie Aubrey is sorry, she wasn't thinking." Her eyes shot up to Aubrey's again, "She's just jealous. She probably needs a nap too."
Aubrey rolled her eyes and sat down behind her desk.
XxXxXx
"Legal guardians for now. We can decided about making it more much later." Beca tried to explain.
"I – I don't know what to say Beca. I was not expecting this." Stacie was obviously in shock, Beca could see it.
"It's ok Stace, really. I mean we were not expecting that when we went to the will reading but it just feels right."
"Yeah Bec but how are you going to do it? All I hear Aubrey talking about is all the scripts that Chloe is getting and how many people are wanting to take a meeting with her. And we haven't even talked about what you want to do yet."
XxXxXx
"So you're just going to ignore it all Chloe?" Aubrey argued.
"Not ignore it Bree. I'm just making the right decision."
"Are you serious?"
"Dixie Chick serious" Chloe teased.
"You can't just quit Chloe"
"It's not quitting Aubrey. I'm still going to work. I'm just not going to work as much. Beca and I" Aubrey rolled her eyes playfully trying to hide the growing smile. Even though she was giving Chloe a hard time about it, she knew it's what her friend wanted and she was going to support her as long as she was committed to the decision, which Chloe was. "We are going to do it together. She's up in Stacie's office talking to her right now. We want to be there for Fin. We want to give her the best life possible and we are going to do it together."
"So what's next for you too?" Aubrey asked.
"Well, we talked last night about buying a house of our own. So that's our next step." Chloe explained.
Aubrey clapped her hands quickly, "I love real estate shopping."
XxXxXx
"I don't want to perform anymore" Beca answered.
"I thought you loved performing." Stacie argued.
"I did. With Q but without her" Beca breathed, "I don't want to do that. At least not anytime soon. I want to produce."
"Okay"
"So, can you help me do that?
A knock interrupted them. "Come in" Stacie called.
"Hey" Chloe sang walking into Stacie's office followed closely by Aubrey.
"Oh my goodness. Give me that baby" Stacie said walking towards Chloe and Fin. Stacie cradled the baby and placed a kiss on her head. "Oh, those eyes" she whispered.
"I know. They turn more brown everyday." Chloe replied as she sat down next to Beca and placed her hand on Beca's leg giving the brunette a wink.
Stacie stood with the baby slowly swaying her body from side to side. It was the first time she had seen Finley since the accident.
"Stace?" Beca asked calmly seeing the tears forming in the tall woman's eyes.
"It's okay. I'm okay" Stacie said lightly rubbing her nose to the baby's.
"Stacie" Chloe said pulling Stacie's eyes to hers. "Can you tell us what happened at the hospital? With Q and Emma."
Stacie took a deep breath and blew it out through pursed lips. She sat in a chair across from Beca and Chloe. Aubrey took a seat in the other chair next to Stacie who still cradled the baby. Fin in her arms was comforting. "Well" She swallowed. "I got the call from the police and I rushed to Cedars. I tried to call you Beca but"
"I know. I'm sorry Stacie" Beca apologized.
"When I got there, the police were waiting for me. They told me what happened and that Quinn didn't make it and then a doctor came over and asked who I was and then told me I should contact Emma's family that she was in surgery and in pretty bad shape. I didn't know what to do. I just sat there for a while and waited. The doctor came back a little while later and told me that Emma didn't make it out of surgery. Then a lady from the hospital brought me to a room and told me what would happen next and she gave me Emma's bag." Stacie choked up at the memory.
"She called me because she couldn't get a hold of you" Aubrey continued. "So I went to the hospital."
"Once Aubrey got there, I knew I needed to tell you and I knew you two were probably together. So I went to your house." Stacie finished.
"So the hospital gave you Emma's purse?" Chloe asked.
"Yes. I guess the police went through it at the wreck. That's how they got my name. My business card was in Emma's wallet." Stacie explained. "They thought I worked with her."
"What about Q's stuff" Beca asked.
"I don't" Stacie tried to answer. "I'm not sure."
"We should contact the police department." Aubrey offered. "They can probably tell us what happened to it."
"I can tell you it wasn't on Quinn because we got everything in her pockets and on her body." Stacie added.
"Did you see her body?" Chloe asked.
Stacie nodded quickly. She fought the tears at the image that ran through her head as the frown grew on her face. Everyone knew she was not ready to talk about that yet.
"Quinn's phone?" Beca asked.
"No" Stacie answered. "It wasn't on her."
"It has to be in the car" Chloe jumped in.
"The car" Beca whispered realizing she hadn't even thought about the car. "What did they do with Quinn's car?"
AN: Tell me what your thinking...