Peeking through the window, Chloe watched on as Beca wrapped up her physical therapy session with some weight lifting. The workouts to build up her upper body strength already paying off.
As she gazed around the room, she took in the fellow soldiers around her wife. Men and women fighting their way back to physical fitness in a bid to get back to real life.
There were people who had lost limbs or varying degrees of bodily function from war wounds that would never heal. It broke her heart and yet left her in awe at the same time.
Whenever she watched someone falter, she felt a sense of pride well up inside of her when she saw them try again. It was that fighting spirit, that soldier mentality. Those people had been put through hell and they still kept fighting.
Chloe often wondered just how strong the human spirit really was. She knew how delicate it could be, God knows how many times she had shed tears hearing stories of people who just couldn't keep going, but then she witnessed the flip side of that.
The side that compelled someone to keep going even when it felt like giving up would be easier. People like her wife. She would never ever judge someone for taking their own life because she understood the all too real reality of feeling so lost, feeling like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, that you just couldn't keep going.
It terrified her. She could still recall the struggles Beca had faced with her own mental health, the struggles she faced now and she was forever grateful that they were in a position to be able to give her the help and the resources she needed to keep fighting.
But not everyone was so lucky and that thought alone plagued a part of Chloe's mind. How people who risked everything could so easily be forgotten.
Even though Beca was adapting to a new way of living, there were still struggles that needed to be addressed, scars and wounds that needed healing. Therapy had been a god send.
The facility provided all its patients with group and one on one therapy where they could talk through their pain. One on one therapy offered then the privacy of offloading the things they weren't comfortable discussing with fellow patients.
While group offered them the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings amongst a supportive group of people who understood exactly what the everyone was going through. Because they had all lived it, survived it and were learning to heal from it.
The only person who could ever truly understand the weight a soldier bears, was a fellow a soldier. It was the difference between being empathetic and sympathetic to a situation.
People who never served could sympathise with the situation a soldier found themselves in post war, but only a fellow soldier could empathise with the situation because they shared that experience.
When this had been explained to Chloe by a therapist she herself was seeing that specialised in working with families and spouses of soldiers, at first she had been put out by the statement.
How could anyone suggest that she couldn't empathise with her own wife's history and struggles?
But the more the therapist unraveled and explained the life a soldier leads the more Chloe understood it.
It wasn't that she couldn't empathise with her wife, she could, on so many deep and intimate levels. What she couldn't do was empathise with the soldier in her wife. Because the truth was, Chloe didn't share those experiences with Beca.
She wasn't there on the frontlines experiencing those fights, those losses. She didn't have to make the difficult choices Beca had been forced to make or carry out the actions Beca had been forced to carry out to survive.
That was the difference. Chloe had to learn to separate her wife from the soldier to better understand the needs of both.
That meant understanding that sometimes, Beca would need to seek out a fellow soldier to have certain conversations or to offload certain feelings or thoughts that were bottled up.
It wasn't about keeping Chloe out of the loop or feeling like she couldn't talk to her, she could. It just meant that sometimes there were certain things Chloe just couldn't understand and Beca needed to speak to someone who could.
That was where group therapy came in. It offered soldiers the opportunity to share those experiences in an understanding environment.
The facility also conducted weekly group sessions for spouses to give them an outlet to discuss their journeys and to offload their thoughts and feelings with people who were on that same journey.
Those sessions had been a god send for Chloe, and Beca fully supporting her decision to attend made it easy for her to be able to share some of the things she had bottled up over the last several months with people who had been in her position.
As much as she adored the support of her friends and family, she needed that opportunity to talk to someone who was in her position, who was also trying to rebuild their family to adapt to a new way of life.
It began to feel like the weight on her shoulders was beginning to lift. They were healing. It was slow, but she could feel all the tension and stress easing little by little, day by day.
The fact that the girls were thriving now that they had more frequent access to their Mama was also showing its rewards. They were more settled again now that they had structure and routine back in their lives.
It definitely was proving beneficial to Beca as those visits reminded her to keep pushing and keep working on her recovery. She still had her days of doubt and of trying to overcome wounded pride, but it was lessening the more she had something to focus on.
Having that goal, that desire to get home to all of her girls, kept her moving forward even when she felt like languishing in self-pity. She couldn't do that to her girls, she couldn't be that parent who gave up on them because they gave up on themselves. She couldn't be that wife.
Not when she had promised them that she would always be there, that she would always come home.
Healing themselves as individuals had laid the foundations for them to begin healing as a family, and now, Beca and Chloe were focusing on working to heal and strengthen their relationship as wives.
They both knew that Beca's limitations would take time to adjust to and that as optimistic as they were that they could overcome any hurdles, there would be challenges. It was only natural that they would worry about what the stress and strain of that would do to their marriage.
So they talked about it and decided they would make use of the therapist at the centre for some couples therapy. Not because they needed to fix something that was broken, but so that they could develop methods of communication and understanding to cope with what lay ahead.
There were so many unknowns for their future, they didn't care about trying to control them, they simply wanted to prepare themselves with the tools to meet those unknowns head on with a renewed sense of belief and trust in their relationship.
The only thing they knew for sure, was that their lives would never be the same again. There was no going back to how things were before everything happened. It just wasn't possible. They could only move forward and that was their goal.
They were living in a time zone that was spilt in two. Pre-war and post war. Everything that existed pre-war had been demolished. They were in the rebuilding phase heading for that post war world. And Chloe and Beca were both eager to create the best life they could with the hand they had been dealt.
As Beca finished with the weights, Chloe stood back from the window and waited for her to exit the gym, smiling at a nurse who passed her by. When the doors opened and Beca emerged, she approached her wife and leaned down,
planting a kiss on her lips.
"Babe don't I'm disgusting," Beca groaned, pulling back and wiping the sweat from her brown away with the back of her hand. Chloe just shook her head in an 'don't care' manner and kissed her again.
Beca grinned as pulled back and then gestures down to her lap.
"Your carriage awaits m'lady," she joked and Chloe smiled.
This was a recent habit of Beca's that Chloe was slowly growing to love. Frustrated with not being able to hold her wife's hand while they wandered about the centre, Beca had taken to encouraging Chloe to sit in her lap. At least for short distances.
It had been a little awkward at first. Chloe was still hesitant, afraid of hurting Beca somehow, and Beca had to adjust to the fact that, even with the full weight of her wife in her lap, she couldn't feel it. At all.
But then Chloe had wrapped her arms around Beca's neck, and that had settled both of their worries. Because they could physically feel and touch one another.
It was one of the reasons Beca had been pushing herself during her strength and conditioning rehab. She quickly came to realise that having to push and wheel herself around all day could quickly tire a person out.
It hadn't been a major thought of hers when she had been in the hospital as there wasn't much leeway for her to manoeuvre around freely. But at the centre, she became very familiar with how life would be back out in the real world.
She had two young kids, both at that age where movement and play were high up on the agenda. Beca didn't want to be the parent who couldn't do either of those things because she was tired. And she definitely didn't want to be that person who had to rely on someone to push her around.
She wanted her independence. More than that, she wanted Chloe to be able to maintain her own independence rather than becoming some pseudo carer. That was a big deal to Beca. A goal she was working towards every day.
Taking her seat in Beca's lap, Chloe wrapped her arm around her wife's neck and gave her a quick peck on the lips, and then Beca proceeded down the hall towards her room.
Once inside, Chloe stood up from her "carriage" and made her way towards the kitchenette, grabbing two mugs down and putting some tea bags in each, dangling the strings over the side. She set the water to boil and then removed her handbag from over shoulder and hung it up on the coat rack on the back of the door.
Beca meanwhile, grabbed some fresh clothes from her closet. Nothing too strenuous to put on, just a pair of sweatpants, a t shirt and some fresh underwear.
"You okay to chill while I grab a shower?" Beca asked, as if Chloe had never spent time alone in her room. The redhead just rolled her eyes.
"Yes Beca. Between the tv and the mountain of books and magazines you've accumulated I'm sure I'll find some way to amuse myself," she replied, the sarcasm heavy in her tone, a symptom of having been married to Beca Mitchell for so long.
"You need any help?" Chloe asked, knowing Beca still wasn't 100% adept at climbing in and out of her chair. Beca glanced down at her lap for a moment, biting her bottom lip in thought.
Her pride still struggled to accept help so willingly but she was getting better at knowing her limits and realising that it was okay to ask for help, and Chloe was getting better at asking first and giving Beca the choice rather than just assuming she needed it.
"Can you just help me with the switch into my shower chair?" She asked, hands resting on the wheels of her wheelchair which now had added glitter customisation thanks to Riley.
Chloe responded with a small 'of course' and followed her wife into the ensuite. With more than a bit of effort, Beca managed to completely strip herself of her clothes with just a little bit of help from Chloe, and then once she transitioned into her shower chair, the redhead exited the room and made herself comfortable at the table next to the large bay window which offered plenty of light.
There was a stack of neatly tidied magazines and newspapers nestled to one side, some old, some new, some left behind by the countless visitors Beca welcomed on a frequent basis.
The art wall, as they had taken to calling it, next to Beca's bed had grown exponentially, and not just thanks to Riley and Charlie. For weeks Beca had been receiving art work from school kids as a thank you to the men and women who had served their country.
Chloe beamed with pride every time she would read the messages on the back. To see how much kids had been inspired by people like her wife. But that had only been the tip of the iceberg.
A few weeks ago, Chloe had made the decision to return to work, at least part time which the school had been more than happy to accommodate. Upon returning to her classroom, Chloe had been greeted by a mountain of envelopes, all addressed to 'Captain Beca Mitchell'.
Her students, a rag tag group of academics and delinquents, had taken it upon themselves to write letters to Beca to express their gratitude for her service. They had arranged something similar for other local soldiers, but having the relationship they had with Chloe as their teacher, they felt a special connection to one particular soldier.
Needless to say Chloe had been overwhelmed by the gesture and it guaranteed her students no homework for at least a week so it was a win win.
As if that wasn't enough, Chloe's brothers, along with Jesse, Aubrey, their partners and their many friends, had created a new social media challenge to up the ante on the 22 Push Up Challenge.
The 22,000 mile challenge. They were challenging locals, and the wider nation, to walk, run or cycle every day to cover a total distance of 22,000 miles. The goal? To raise vital funds for suicide prevention and mental health organisations as well as rehabilitation programmes for injured soldiers.
The challenge quickly grew in size and it didn't take long to draw the attention of many notable celebrities and prolific sports stars willing to participate and donate to the cause.
Serious cash was being raised, the kind that would help change lives. Chloe often brought Riley and Charlie on bike rides and mini hikes, documenting their journeys on her social media.
The challenge had even given Beca a boost of motivation. She and her fellow soldiers, had taken to doing laps around the fitness gym, inspiring other soldiers to do the same.
In a weird way, the challenge had created a sense ofcommunity and unity that many felt had been missing for a long time. People who once stood on opposite sides of the political aisle found themselves laying down arms and extending their hand to help.
It seemed to be a silver lining in a world that had been lacking any sense of colour for a long time. It gave Chloe hope that at some point, they would find a way forward towards a better place for everyone.
"Chlo, can you help me," came Beca's voice from the bathroom.
Standing up, Chloe walked inside the ensuite, helped Beca towel off and transition back into her chair, before leaving the room again for her to change.
Whilst she waited, she finished making their tea and returned with both cups to the table she had been sitting at. Beca eventually emerged looking refreshed after her shower.
Wheeling herself over to the laundry basket, she deposited her sweaty work out gear and then joined her wife at the table, locking the wheels on her chair before picking up her cup and taking a sip of her tea.
"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to this decaf crap," Beca muttered, her face scrunched up to clearly show her distain for the offending beverage.
"Yeah well it's better than the alternative," Chloe replied, with her arms crossed and resting on the table before her.
Beca had been advised to cut out all highly caffeinated drinks from her diet, at least for the foreseeable until her heart had time to properly heal and adjust to the ICD she now lived with.
It was a small price to pay to avoid any sort of arrhythmia but it was yet another thing that reminded Beca of her situation. She was getting better about it, cracking jokes every now again, but it still hurt in a way.
She used to be fighting fit, literally, but now she had so many routines and regimes she had to adhere to in order to prevent her body from crapping out on her. It was ironic really.
"Yeah, I know, it's just a lot sometimes," Beca mumbled.
Chloe nodded and gave her wife a reassuring smile. Knowing that in that moment Beca just needed to air out her frustration and let it pass. Noticing the time on the clock on the wall, Chloe stood up.
"You ready to go?" She asked, and Beca nodded, placing her half empty cup down and unlocking her wheels. She pushed herself back and then turned, heading straight out the door.
They had couples therapy, one of the few activities they were able to participate in together. There were also days where Chloe could participate in rehab to learn more about Beca's needs and how to help, and the centre encourages patients and and their families to engage in sports days to bring back some familiarity of their lives.
They would play basketball, football, badminton and various other games. It was amusing to watch and it gave everyone a boost.
Family sports days were always Beca's favourite. She loved getting to have her girls involved and finding and adapting to the news they could play and have fun together. Something which had been a big concern for her.
But she was finding with time she was getting used to it and Riley, as young as she was, was also adapting to how she could still play with her mother and was very considerate of the situation.
Chloe had explained everything to her daughter in the simplest way possible. Mama's legs didn't work anymore so they all had to find new ways to do all the stuff they normally did, just in a different way.
When they would take walks, Riley would latch onto the handle to the back of her Mama's chair so they could walk side by side. When they would read together, Riley would climb into her Mama's lap.
Riley would even "sneak" sweets into the back pocket of her Mama's chair to cheer her up. Both Beca and Chloe were well aware of this, but they found it too charming to let on that they knew.
Charlie, who was now standing, had taken to using her Mama and her chair as a prop to help pull herself up, and a few times had even used her as a support to take her first steps. She was so close, they could feel it, and Beca was hoping that she wouldn't miss them.
Strolling down the corridor, they turned into the therapy wing. An entire wing dedicated solely to rehabilitating the mind and soul. Beca and Chloe has been to a couple of sessions together already to get to know their therapist.
With each session they became more and more comfortable, making pleasant small talk with Dr. Walker as they eased inside the room. Chloe taking her seat next to the arm of the sofa, Beca wheeling her chair up beside her and locking her wheels in place.
Beca didn't really want the bother of having to be helped onto and off the couch every session, so she stuck to sitting in her chair. Chloe took the initiative of sitting next to the arm of the couch whichever end Beca parked so they could be next to one another.
It still took some getting used to, being near one another but as physically close as they normally would've been before Beca's injury. However they were adjusting and at least this mean Chloe could reach over and hold Beca's hand.
The first time they had met Dr. Walker, Beca had cracked a joke about the irony of the name considering her situation. Dr. Walker of course had taken it in good humour, she was used to it having worked with soldiers for many years. There was an easy rapport between them and the doctor so it was easy to relax.
"So how have you guys been? Everything been going well since our last talk?" Dr. Walker asked as she picked up her pad and pen from her desk and took a seat in the armchair across from the couple.
Chloe looked to Beca with an optimistic smile and nodded her head.
"Things are going good. We've been using those communication techniques you taught us and they seem to be really working."
Beca nodded her at what her wife said though her response was somewhat more hesitant. As much as she had improved in opening up she still got anxious having to actually speak about her internal feelings out loud.
"Yeah, it's, it's been good. I'm still working on the whole wounded pride thing but I think it's getting better. I've been using those breathing techniques you told me about to deal with my off days. I'm still up and down but, I think it's better?"
She said, turning towards Chloe with a questioning look as if seeking validation that her own thoughts on the matter were right. Chloe smiled at her and nodded.
"You've definitely improved," she replied, her tone nothing but genuine. Because it was the truth. Beca had vastly improved in terms of talking to Chloe as opposed to shutting her out or allowing her frustrations to be directed at her wife.
It was a learning process, one they were tackling together. Dr. Walker nodded her head, an encouraging smile on her face as she acknowledged the two.
"That's great to hear. There will always be good days and bad days. The fact that you're acknowledging it and taking responsibility and accountability for how you react in those bad moments, shows that you're making progress. Both of you."
For the 45 minutes, the couple discussed their week, talked through the lessons they had learned in the previous session and how they were benefiting from them and discussed any little wobbles they'd encountered along the way, Dr Walker taking notes as usual.
"And Beca how do you feel about returning home and integrating back into society?" Dr. Walker.
It was a big question, a loaded question, one that she had been ruminating on for a while now.
"Honestly, a little overwhelmed," she replied, her voice wavering and Dr. Walker stopped writing and regarded her for a moment.
"And what exactly do feel overwhelmed about?" She asked and Chloe regarded her wife, staring at her intently.
Beca gazed down at her lap, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to gather her thoughts and process them in a way that made sense.
"This place, the centre, it's safe here. Everything's..." she trailed off trying to a way to describe what she was feeling in a way that made sense.
"This place, it's like a bubble. Everything's familiar, easier. But, the outside world, it's a whole new place to me now and I worry about how I'm going to fit it to it now that I'm different," she sighed, instinctively reaching up and wiping away the tear that threatened to fall.
Chloe squeezed her wife's hand, trying to offer some form of comfort but she was afraid of saying the wrong thing so she looked to Dr. Walker for guidance. The doctor leaned forward resting her hands around her crossed knees.
"Beca, believe it or not, what you're feeling is totally normal. In fact I would be surprised to find a single soldier in this centre that doesn't feel the same way to some degree or another," Dr. Walker offer with a sympathetic smile.
Beca gazed up at her as if slightly sceptical, but when she saw the look on Dr. Walkers face she seemed to relax within herself.
"You are having to make monumental adjustments, not just physically but mentally. This journey is one of constant adjustment. Step one started when you woke up in that hospital. Step two was when you arrived here and Step three will be waiting for you when you leave."
Beca seemed to nod her head in understanding but Chloe could see that the idea of facing into further adjustment was daunting to her wife. As it would be for anyone.
"Hey, we got this remember. Team Mitchell, always," Chloe encouraged, giving Beca that smile that told her, somehow, everything would be okay.
Dr. Walker seemed satisfied that Beca's worries had been quelled and after placing one more note alongside her other notes, closed up her leather bound notepad and sat forward.
"I think we've covered enough for today. Anything else you would like to ask before we finish?" she enquired, removing her glasses and placing them on the small table next to her armchair.
Chloe and Beca glanced at one another for a brief moment as if gauging what the other was thinking. A subtle nod of the head from Beca gave Chloe the confidence and reassurance to ask the next question.
"Actually yeah there is something. I mean not that it's a top priority right now or anything but, it's just, when we want to get, you know, intimate," Chloe started and Dr. Walker seemed to understand where it was leading to before Chloe even finished.
"You want to know if it will be possible for Beca to react," she asked knowingly, and both women nodded.
"You'll be glad to know that yes, it will be possible for you to get turned on. However, it will take some time and some experimentation. It'll be like your first time all over again. But if you're both prepared to be patient and communicate what does and doesn't work, in time you'll find your intimacy again."
This seemed to ease the mind of both women and they smiled at one another as the thought of intimacy started to become a reality again.
Beca was still adjusting to having to train her bladder and her bowel to work to a schedule. Something she found embarrassing in the beginning until she had been rightfully reminded by her brother in law, in not so subtle terms, that everyone does it.
The comment seemed to do the trick as Beca eventually realised that, it was true. Everyone did do it. She was just having to acclimate to being able to do so without having the urgency signal pinged to her brain to let her know ahead of time.
It was during this particular debate that she queried her body's ability to feel physical satisfaction, which eventually led to a lengthy discussion with her wife. It wasn't so much her own needs she was concerned about, but she didn't want to be that person who deprived Chloe by refusing to have sex.
Chloe had been adamant that it wasn't a big deal, there were plenty of ways for her to get off. But Beca knew her wife better than that. It wasn't about "getting off" for Chloe, it was about the physical and more specifically, the emotional connection between her and Beca that she craved most.
Chloe was a deeply emotional person, she reacted strongly to the feelings more so than the physicality of the act. Chloe had often told Beca back when they first began sleeping together that while she could get off pretty easily, the stronger the emotional connection she shared with her partner, the more mind blowing the orgasm.
That was when Chloe explained the difference between making love and having sex. She could do without having to have sex, but that intimacy of sharing a connection with someone, those moments of complete and utter vulnerability but yet at the same time feeling completely safe, that was what Chloe needed.
And Beca knew this, she knew Chloe needed that intimacy back in her life. Which was why she was so worried about not being able to give that to her.
Hearing Dr. Walker tell her that they didn't have to lose that, that with time they could get it back, eased a worry in her mind.
With their session officially over, Beca and Chloe thanked Dr. Walker and existed her office, making their way back to Beca's room to enjoy the lunch Chloe had pre-prepared for them the night before.
It was peaceful, they enjoyed casual conversation before taking a stroll around the gardens before Beca's next PT session.
Just as they were really beginning to enjoy themselves, a flash of a camera caught Chloe's attention, and when she gazed up, she saw red.
Across the way, wandering through the gardens, was Vice President Mike Pence, a posse of suited government officials, along with a stream of photographers and news crews capturing every moment.
Pence shook hands with some of the soldiers that happened to be in the area, soldiers who believed in respecting the flag and the president and honouring the American way. Because that's patriotism to some people.
Not Chloe. Because the flag didn't stem the blood flew of the many fallen soldiers, the anthem didn't soothe the nightmares that haunted them in their sleep, And the President sure as hell didn't give a damn about the people who would be hurt by his lack of concern or care for anyone other than those who would help continue to line his pockets.
Pence may not have been the President, but he was a puppet on the strings of the morally corrupt, a man who would rather strip people of their rights and freedom, than have to live in the discomfort of a world that clashed with his own personal and religious views.
Chloe's heart seemed to drum wildly in her ears as she watched Pence approach them, the look of a man who wanted his base to know how much he cared about their countries soldiers.
"Chlo, Chlo I don't wanna talk to him," came the shaky voice of her wife next to her. As she glanced down she could see the knuckles on Beca's hands turning white as she gripped tightly to the wheels of her chair.
Before either of them could do anything, Pence had descended on them and was now gazing down at Beca, his hand outstretched for her to shake as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by cameras.
"I believe you Miss, are the fearless Captain that committed a great act of bravery, something I'm sure our country is incredibly grateful for," Pence said, his hand still outstretched. Beca refusing to meet his eye. In that moment Chloe's defensive instincts kicked in.
"Really? Is that why our president couldn't be bothered to come here himself today?" She asked, her tone cutting at every nerve she could reach. Pence seemed to falter for a moment before the PR training in his brain kicked in.
"President Trump would've loved to been here today but unfortunately he's busy helping to strengthen our security forces so that this happens again," he replied. A smarmy smile on his face as if he just danced his way of a tricky situation. But Chloe wasn't having it.
"What? Too busy to even show his face to the people he's supposed to be enormously grateful to? The people that put their lives on the line? The men and women who were put in that situation to begin with because of his failures as a president?"
Just as Chloe was getting really wound up an aid nudged on Pence's arm and made som excuse about how they had to keep moving, having become aware of the fact that they were being filmed by people around the grounds on phones.
Then, from somewhere within the hustle and bustle of the media train and the tension between Chloe and the Vice President, the small but yet steady voice of Beca Mitchell broke through to grab everyone's attention.
"I dedicated my life to the US military. I fought every war, every enemy that was put in front of me. I put my mind, body and soul into protecting this country, protecting the people that I love."
As Beca spoke, the grounds became eerily quiet. Even the cameras had stopped flashing long enough to pay attention.
"My government, the people that are supposed to care so passionately about their military, ordered my squadron into a suicide mission, knowing there was every chance we would die."
As Beca continued to speak her voice grew louder, strained somewhat from the strain of trying to suppress her rage.
"I had to call my wife to tell her that I love her because I thought it was going to be the last time. I had bullets that our country built and sold lodged in my lower back and chest. I'm never going to walk again. I had to have an implant put in my chest so my heart doesn't crap out on me and you think thank you is enough?"
Pence's team grew anxious as the weight of the crowd seems to grow and suppress their ability to make a hasty exit. The cameras were still rolling but it wasn't catching the kind of footage the had been aiming for.
"I fought for my country so that our commander and chief could hide in a bunker like a coward while families across this nation lost loved ones. Everybody at this centre has spent months trying to rebuild their lives and all you've got is thank you?!"
Chloe watched on as her wife continued her attack. Tears welling in her eyes as Beca's tone took on a more impassioned lilt.
"YOU'RE THE REASON WE'RE HERE! We gave you everything and you took everything from us and for what? More bloodshed? More graves? How many more soldiers, people on the streets, have to die before you stop thinking about me and start thinking about we?"
The group of media heads became increasingly uncomfortable as they became painfully aware of the fact that they would not be leaving the centre unscathed, and Beca was far from done.
"You think you can waltz in here with your fake handshakes and false narratives and con people into thinking you're about the people and the military? YOU SIGNED OUR DEATH CERTIFICATES! You sent us into that mission like we were nothing."
At that, Pence had the decency to bow his head in shame as heat flushed his cheeks, the gravity of the situation weighing down on him as the tension in the air seemed to turn to one of anger, one that was directing its way at him and his associates.
"So no, I don't accept your messages of gratitude and I sure as hell won't be accepting any medal of honour from a President who cared more about saving his own ass than protecting his country. So while you're here Mikey, you can take back the copy and paste letter your administration sent me and shove IT and the medal up your cowardly ass!"
Cheers erupted around the grounds as the countless onlookers that had gathered applauded Beca's speech. Chants of 'lock him up' deafening the retreating public figures as some Trump supporters tried to soften the blow as they left. But it was a futile attempt.
As Beca puffed out a large breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, Chloe leaned down and kissed the hell out of her.
"What was that for?" Beca asked breathlessly as Chloe pulled back just enough to be able to gaze into her eyes, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Stress relief," she winked, earning a chuckle from the brunette who tilted her head up for one more kiss before they retreated back inside.
****Two Weeks Later****
After becoming an overnight viral sensation, to say Beca was exhausted by all the attention would be an understatement. It felt like every time she left the centre with her family to go on a day trip she was stopped by countless people thanking her for her service and for sticking it to the powers that be.
The clip had been broadcast all over social media and every major news channel across the country. Fox News of course tried to downplay the gravity of the situation however the reaction from veterans towards the government was already harming Trumps campaign.
The damage had been. His polls were slipping, there was little damage control that could be done. His base of course were steadfast in their support, they always would be. Because admitting they were wrong was not something they were prepared to do.
But Beca decided she didn't care anymore. She wasn't going to waste her energy trying to change the minds of people who refused to even engage in a conversation or debate.
Instead she focused on her family and the time she was now able to spend with them outdoors. Being able to come and go from the centre and participate menial daily tasks like helping Chloe with grocery shopping or taking the girls to the park had done wonders for her mental wellbeing.
Sure they're we're instances where reality cams crashing down, like meeting an entrance that didn't have a ramp, or having to ask for help to reach things that, to most people, weren't all that high up.
Those moments would set Beca back a bit, but she always tried to find the positive so as to keep her head in a good space. Getting down on herself was going to change her situation. She needed to adapt to the world around her just like she'd had to adapt to various different environments while in the army.
This day in particular was a bit out of the blue. Chloe's dad had called the girls to ask if they would be interested in taking a little trip. Meredith was going to take the girls and give Chloe and Beca the chance to escape for a couple of hours.
John was light on the details, only mentioning that it was a surprise and that they would see what was in store when they got there.
So they found themselves bundled into John Beales Range Rover and on the road early in the morning.
Chloe pestered her father at various moments as they drove through the city, but John wasn't giving anything away. Until Beca copped the route he was taking and her curiosity peaked.
"Are we going to the lake house?" She asked, receiving nothing but a grin from John through the rear view mirror.
Chloe caught the exchange and squinted her eyes suspiciously. Something was up, and she knew by her fathers demeanour that whatever it was, it was big.
A little over half an hour later John pressed the remote to buzz the gates open and drive down the familiar driveway Chloe was so familiar with.
When they came into view of the lake house all seemed relatively normal, until Chloe started to notice small changes. There was a short ramp now placed to the side of the steps to the front door, and Chloe's heart swelled at the sight.
As they drove around the back, it became quite clear that a few alterations had been made to accommodate a wheelchair user. The back footpath down to the dock, which used to be styled like stepping stones, has been replaced with a smoother surface.
The steps down from the back deck to the fire pit had also been ramped. The swimming pool and hot tub been alters with extra hand rails and support systems to accommodate Beca being able to get in and get out.
The tennis court, which had rarely ever been used had been replaced with an enclosed home gym and a children's play area with its own tree house.
The dining area, which used to sit upon the grass, was now in a new designated area that had been paved off, next to the BBQ and Pizza Oven.
As the car finally came to a halt, Chloe climbed out and looked around as John helped Beca from the car into her chair. The lake house was still the lake house, but it not accommodated her families new needs, and Chloe got emotional as she gazed out over it.
Beca tolled up next to her and took her hand, Chloe gazing down and beaming at her with tears welling in her eyes. John stood back and watched them for a moment before finally interrupting.
"If you think this is great wait till you see the inside," he replied as he made his way towards the back of the house.
The women looked at one another before following John. As they approached the house they noticed that the old back door had been knocked out and replaced with a much larger double system that opened out onto the deck, opening up the inside kitchen and dining area to the back yard.
As they made their way inside, the marvelled at the new updated features. The design was modern yet homely and everything was open and low enough that Beca could easily manoeuvre around at her ease.
There was a large living area with a built in plasma in the wall to back left of the space just before the hallway, and to the right, was original probability staircase layout, but with a newly installed lift to next to it.
Oh and on the tour went, every single room having been altered, but what really caught Chloe and Beca's attention, was the fact that two of the rooms had been designed specifically for Riley and Charlie, their names on placards outside their doors.
"Okay what's going on?" Chloe finally asked as they arrived back into the kitchen having lost what little patience she had left. John simply grinned at her as he tucked his hands into his trouser pockets.
"Well you spent so much time worrying about what was being done with the house for Beca coming home that I decided to put you out of your misery and show you," he replied.
Chloe stood there, brow furrowed and mouth slightly parted as if the words weren't making sense. Beca gazed between her wife and her father in law equally as confused.
"I'm sorry I don't think I'm following," Chloe said as her father walked out onto the open deck out that back and peered out at the lake.
"This place, the house, it's yours now," John said as he gazed down at both women watching the shock etched on their faces.
"Your mother had been talking about selling up and buying something smaller now that we're both retired. Your mother didn't want it to leave the family so we figured, why not keep it in the family."
"Dad," "John," Chloe and Beca said at the same time, both overwhelmed at the gesture. But before they could turn the offer down he raised his hand to stop them and continued.
"No one in this family has more history with this place than you two. You were engaged on that dock," he said pointing towards it before pointing towards a large oak tree by the lake.
"You married under that tree. You have roots here, real roots and we know how much this place means to you both," he smiled as he saw the memories flooding back for both women.
"This was only ever summer home for the family, but to you it's more than that. It is your home. It's where you belong. You'll still be close enough by the high school to continue working but just far enough outside the city to live in peace."
Chloe and Beca gazed at one another, gripping one another's hand as Beca turned to her father in law.
"John I really don't know what to say," Beca said and John shook his head.
"You don't have to say anything. You've given everything for this family, your country, it's time we did something for you."
Chloe finally couldn't contain herself anymore and launched herself at her father, hugging him tightly as the tears finally fell.
"Thank you," she murmured against his shoulder before eventually stepping back.
"Now don't think we won't still be descending on this place every chance we get. It wouldn't be a real summer without a Beale family trip to the lake house," John joked, though both girls knew that he was also serious.
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Beca said though a smile.
Just then John jumped a little as if he just remembered something and pulled an envelop from his pocket.
"Oh one more thing. That lump sump I offered you both as a wedding present that you turned down, I decided to invest it in a couple of start ups in your name and it made a nice littler return. I think you'll find it will comfortably cover the girls college education and some other things."
Beca furrowed her brow and opened the envelop, pulling out a cheque from inside. At the side of all the zeros, Beca's eyes bulged from her head.
"Are you kidding me?" She asked, the shock more than evident in her tone. Chloe lifted the cheque from her wife's hands and almost choked on the figure before her.
"25,000,000 dollars!," she exclaimed and John nodded.
"All in your name. I trust you'll invest it wisely."
And Beca gazed out at the lake house and then down at her lap, laughing a little at Johns words as she remembered a conversation she'd had with Chloe a couple of months back when she first entered the centre and what they would do with their future.
Gazing up at her wife, Chloe smiled knowingly, obviously having had a similar train of though and Beca grinned up at John.
"Don't worry, that money's gonna make a real difference."