Epilogue – 3 Months Later

Chloe's movements are slow, methodical almost, as she takes carefully turns the car around the corner. The entire time they've been driving, the only sound in the car has been the low volume of the radio, but no one has spoken. Not that the redhead is entirely surprised; it's been a relatively quiet morning to begin with. Neither Beca nor Macy spoke very much during breakfast, and Chloe is almost certain that they left an hour earlier than planned, just so they could get past the nerves of their trip.

Chloe gives Beca's hand a light squeeze from where it lays on the center console, the brunette's gaze focused on looking out the front windshield. Although Beca reciprocates the gesture of comfort, she doesn't glance over at Chloe, too lost in her own world. Macy isn't much different, sitting in the backseat and staring out the side window, running her finger over the bracelets on her left wrist in worry.

This Saturday-morning excursion was Macy's idea. Chloe wasn't there when the younger Mitchell sister had asked Beca, but according to what Beca told her after, it was almost as though Macy was afraid to put the words out into the universe. Later, they learned that it was something that she's been talking about with Dr. Hansen, the therapist Macy has faithfully been meeting with once a week since that first appointment back in February. Not that Beca would have ever said no to Macy's request, but it did make the older brunette a little more reassured that a licensed professional was supportive of the idea.

Which is why, two weeks later, after some research and multiple phone calls to Meghan, their old social worker, Chloe is driving the Mitchell sisters an hour away from their apartment, towards the cemetery that Amelia and Warren Mitchell were buried in almost nine years ago.

It's only when Chloe parks the car in one of the smaller lots to the side of the entrance, does Beca let out a soft sigh. She runs her thumb over the back of Chloe's hand, before turning around to face her little sister. "We're here, Mace."

Macy nods absent-mindedly, keeping her eyes focused on the world outside of the car. The vast sea of raised stones surrounded by grass and flowers and flags causes her heart to pick up its pace. After talking to Dr. Hansen about it, she had thought this was going to be a good idea. All last night and the entire morning, though, she's been second-guessing her decision to ask Beca to actually bring her here.

But, here they are, for the first time in nine years. There's no going back now.

Without saying anything, Macy unbuckles her seatbelt and slides out of Chloe's backseat, causing Beca to face her own fears, and climb out as well. When Chloe doesn't move, Beca's eyebrows furrow, and she freezes. "You coming?"

Chloe gives her a small smile. "You guys go ahead. I don't want to intrude."

Beca shakes her head. "You'd never be intruding. Come on, I want you there."

"You sure?" Chloe's expression softens, looking around Beca to where Macy is standing further away, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "What about Macy?"

Beca gives her an incredulous look, tilting her head slightly. "Chlo, come on. Did you really think we just asked you to come so we didn't have to take the bus?"

At that, a small laugh escapes from Chloe's mouth, and she turns off the car, exiting to stand next to her girlfriend. Beca takes her hand almost instantly, the pair walking over to where Macy is staring off into the wide expanse of the cemetery.

When Macy asked her where their parents were buried a few weeks ago after her appointment with Dr. Hansen, Beca quickly realized that she had no idea. She refused to talk with Meghan or anyone from DCF about their parents' death after it happened; plus, she was ten, so who knows if they even would have given her any substantial information. Really, neither Macy nor Beca wanted to talk about their parents with anyone associated with the foster care system, even when they were going through the grieving process.

Then, all of a sudden, Macy was asking her this question that she had no idea how to answer, and she quickly became ashamed of the fact that she had no idea whether her parents were cremated or buried or if they were at some random location hours and hours away from where they previously lived. Beca had tried to ignore the guilt that came along with this, but when a few days later, Macy asked her if they could go visit them, the older Mitchell sister quickly learned that this situation was not going to disappear.

So, she called the one person who might have some semblance of an idea as to where their parents ended up.

Luckily, despite Beca's lack of information, Meghan had a surplus of it. She simply had to go back through the Mitchell sisters' files in order to figure out where their parents were buried. The social services agency has been partnered with a nonprofit that provides burials for people who either can't provide one or can't afford it for years. Amelia and Warren were recipients of that service, and the social worker told Beca that their parents were only a half hour away from their childhood home.

With Chloe pressed into her side and Macy walking only a couple of feet away from them, Beca leads the group towards one of the back plots, closer to the roadside than a lot of the other sites on the property. The sun is beating down on them, making this uncomfortable situation even more uncomfortable due to the almost unbearable heat. This summer has been hotter and more humid than what Beca ever remembers the summer being like in Georgia, but both Chloe and Macy have assured her countless of times that this is normal.

Taking a deep breath, Beca brings them over to a far corner by a rusting fence. Her eyes scan the ground until she finds two stone plates lying flat in the grass, exactly where Meghan said they would be.

The three girls stand over them, Beca's eyes instantly becoming misty as she reads the words engraved in the stone, cut grass distorting the words ever so slightly.

Amelia Rose Mitchell (1975-2012)

Warren Edward Mitchell (1974-2012)

Without a word, Macy kneels down in front of them, delicately brushing the grass trimmings off of the two markers. A small smile appears on her face, Macy lowering her voice to a whisper. "Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy."

Beca's breath hitches in her throat, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she gratefully sinks into Chloe's hold, the redhead's arm wrapped around her waist, laying her head on Beca's shoulder.

"I don't know if you can see me, but it's Macy. Beca's here, too. And Chloe. Chloe is Beca's girlfriend. She's pretty awesome."

Beca glances over at said awesome girlfriend, tears swimming in Chloe's eyes as she watches Macy with extreme concentration. The brunette presses a kiss into her temple; she couldn't have said it any better herself.

"I uh… I'm sorry we haven't come to see you before now. It's been kind of crazy since the accident."

Beca takes a deep breath, her voice almost getting caught with emotion as she speaks up from behind her little sister. "Hey, Mace, we're going to go wait over by those benches that we passed, okay? You come get us whenever you're ready."

Macy barely turns to acknowledge her sister's statement, but as soon as Beca sees a brief nod, she starts to bring Chloe back toward a bench that is in the shade of a large tree a few feet away. As much as she wants to stand there to support Macy, she also wants the girl to be able to say whatever she needs to say, without being influenced by Beca and Chloe standing over her.

"You doing okay?"

Chloe's question comes only moments after sitting down next to each other, their hands still wrapped in the other's, eyes never leaving the small girl sitting on the ground a little ways away.

Beca nods. "How could I not be when she's acting like that?"

Chloe snorts, shaking her head. "You're entitled to feel however you want to feel. I know she sort of sprung this on you, and it's not like you've ever really shown interest in coming to see them before." They've had this same conversation multiple times in the last few weeks, especially after Beca woke up in the middle of the night after being mentally assaulted with images of her parents' death. Chloe has been watching her carefully, making sure that she isn't just retreating into her own memories and fears with the trip getting closer and closer.

"I mean, I've told you before that I've always been worried about what they would think about everything that happened. What they would think about me. It was easier to ignore when I didn't know they were buried here. Now, it's like…they're here and it makes it all a little bit harder to avoid."

Chloe tightens her grip on Beca's hand, telling her the same thing that she's told her countless of times before – just as she promised she would. "They'd be so proud of you, Bec. They don't have any reason not to be."

And Chloe means it with every fiber of her being. Besides everything that Beca did for Macy during their time in foster care and everything she's done in the last year, Beca continues to defy the odds stacked against her.

After the ICCA finals, Beca called Keegan Parker, the producer that approached them after their set – she would've been stupid not to. As promised, she set up an appointment with him at the recording studio that is only twenty minutes away from the apartment by bus, and since then, she has been working as an intern for the label. A paid intern, nonetheless.

It truly was just a stroke of luck, because Beca never considered sending anything related to her music out for labels or recording studios to listen to. Which is why, when she met with Keegan, she was even more surprised when the man told her that he wanted to take her under his wing and see what else she is capable of. The best part about the whole arrangement, besides getting to do something she actually enjoys (and, as Chloe so frequently tells her, is brilliant at), is that it is a nine-to-five job (most of the time), and while the pay isn't spectacular, she only needs to pick up shifts at the station a few times a week. Much to both Beca, Macy, and CR's dismay, Beca did resign from Fig's, but they still go there often enough so that they don't miss each other too much.

It's been two and a half months since Beca started working at Residual Heat, and she's already learned so much about the production process, recording, and just the music industry in general. She can most definitely see herself pursuing this path as a career in the future, and it's all because of Chloe.

Chloe has been doing pretty well herself. She finished her first year of college on the Dean's List, her passion for teaching only intensifying as she registered for classes for the fall. That, combined with the Bellas winning the Finals, made her year end on a high note. Alice relinquished the pitch pipe to both Aubrey and Chloe, and with one final plea to maintain at least a little bit of the Bellas' tradition, she left their lives forever.

The only thing that made the beginning of Chloe's summer even better, was Beca inviting her to move into the apartment with her and Macy. It was kind of spur of the moment, occurring only after Chloe spent a week straight living out of her backpack in Beca's bedroom. They had been lying in bed one morning, neither one of them wanting to get up, and the question fell from Beca's lips before she could stop them. Macy enthusiastically agreed, and while Chloe isn't sure if she'll stay at the apartment in the fall or if she'll move into the Bellas' house with the rest of the girls, she is whole-heartedly enjoying living with Beca and her little sister. It's been a perfect glimpse of what their future will be like, and Chloe wouldn't have it any other way.

Macy talks with her parents for close to forty-five minutes before standing from her position on the ground, wiping her palms on her bare legs, and slowly walking back over to Beca and Chloe. The corner of her mouth tugs upward as she sees her sister and the redhead sitting as close to each other as physically possible, the two of them engaged in a whispered conversation, despite the fact that no one else is around.

As cheesy as it sounds, the younger Mitchell sister feels infinitely lighter after sitting down and having a discussion with her parents. The parents that she tried for so long not to think about because of the pain their memory caused. She's been talking with Dr. Hansen about them a lot, which is why the older woman suggested coming to see them. While Macy was originally terrified, she fell into a comfortable state much faster than she thought she was going to and found herself telling Amelia and Warren everything – the good, bad, and ugly – about the past eight and a half years, as though they were sitting right in front of her.

It was kind of liberating, having that opportunity, and Macy knows that she'll be asking Beca to visit again, without a doubt.

When she's within a few feet of the bench, Beca looks away from Chloe, smiling at the sight of her sister. "All set, munch?"

Macy nods, wrapping her arms around herself, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Yeah, I think so."

Beca looks the younger girl up and down, trying to figure out where her head is at. But none of her usual signs are there. She isn't wringing her hands together; she's isn't playing with her bracelets. There's a small smile on her face, and from what she can see, her breathing is normal. There's almost an aura of peace surrounding her, and it makes Beca calm down as well.

She pushes herself off the bench, pulling Chloe up with her, and reaches out her free hand for Macy to take. She does, without hesitation, and the trio starts walking off in the direction of the car.

But as the distance between themselves and where their parents are buried grows greater, something begins to tug at Beca's heart. She isn't quite sure what it is – maybe guilt, maybe sorrow, maybe a little bit of longing – but whatever it is, it causes Beca's navy blue orbs to start swimming in a thin layer of tears as she shifts her gaze to the ground in front of her.

Beca tries to ignore the feeling. She tries to push it away, but the tightness in her chest worsens, and before she knows it, her feet are refusing to take another step further, and she drops both Macy's and Chloe's hands.

They both turn around, confused expressions on their faces as they eye Beca. "You okay, Bec?"

Beca forces herself to nod, glancing briefly behind her at the place they've just left, before facing them once more. "Um, yeah… I – can I meet you at the car in like five minutes?"

Small, knowing smiles appear on both Macy and Chloe's faces, before Chloe nods. "Of course. Take as long as you need."

The older brunette doesn't move until her sister and girlfriend are continuing on their path to the parking lot. Once their backs are to her, she takes a deep breath, trying to relieve some of the pressure in her chest, before starting to walk back to the gravesite.

Beca loses all of her confidence as soon as she's staring down at the two marble plates. Her throat tightens and her heart rate quickens while she tries to figure out what she's doing.

She runs her hands over her hair, gripping the roots to try and get the pain to distract her from the thoughts swirling around her head. They aren't even self-deprecating thoughts. They're just her trying to figure out what's going on and what she should do.

Finally, after what feels like an eternally long internal battle, Beca does the one thing she can think of doing. She sits down in front of the two stones and folds her legs underneath her, just as she watched Macy do when they first got there.

The grass is itchy against her legs, and her thighs are sticky with sweat from the summer heat. But even that mild discomfort is enough to help Beca stabilize her racing mind, and soon enough, her voice emerges in the silence of the cemetery.

"Um… hi. I uh… I don't really know what I'm doing here, but uh… it's been a while."

Beca lets out a humorless laugh, tears burning at the back of her eyes.

"I don't really know how this works; if you can hear me or see me." She thinks for a second, staring at where her hands are folded together on her lap. "If you can see me, see us, I'm sorry for everything that you saw Macy go through. I tried to give her the most normal life possible, but it wasn't always the easiest. But um… she's doing better now. We're doing better now."

The corners of her mouth tug upwards, the brunette starting to get lost in her own thoughts.

"I got custody of her last summer. I know you guys probably wanted us to get adopted by another family, but it just wasn't in the cards. I think this is the best thing for us, though. It works, and I'd do anything for her. It wasn't easy, but we made it this far. And she's happier now, happier than she's been in years. So am I."

A single tear rolls down her cheek, Beca's mind becoming plagued with pictures of her parents, memories that she's tried so hard to ignore over the years.

"I did what you asked me to do, Dad. I protected her with everything that I have. I'll always protect her with everything I have. I've kept that promise, and I swear to you that I'll never break it."

A soft breeze blows through her hair, sending shivers up her spine. "Mom, I think you'll be happy, too; I started playing music again. I know it took me a while to get back into it, but it feels so good to be doing it again. And you were right. I think I'm going to be able to make a career out of it. At least, that's what Macy and Chloe keep on telling me. But I am starting to believe it, too."

At the mention of the redhead, Beca's smile widens. "I'm not sure how much Macy told you about Chloe, but we've been dating for over a year and a half. She's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, guys. I wish you could meet her, and I wish she could meet you. She's this bright ray of sunshine and this completely out-of-this-world human that just makes everything better. She makes me feel more alive than I've ever felt before. She's my best friend and the love of my life… I know that for a fact."

"I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I'm going to ask Chloe to marry me. And when we do get married, I'm going to make sure she has everything she wants in life, because that's what Chloe is for me… she's been my saving grace over the last two years and I am going to spend the rest of my life making sure I repay her for everything she's done for me. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure that she's as happy as she makes me."

Beca's heart swells at just the thought of growing old with the redhead, and with what the future holds.

"And one day, we're going to have kids – and I'm pretty sure Chloe wants a whole house full because she comes from a big family – and when we do, I'm going to tell them all about their Gramma and Grampa. I'm going to tell them how their Grampa was the biggest nerd I ever knew – well, besides their aunt – and that he could make anything school-related fun and interesting. I'm going to tell them how their Gramma was the reason that I love music so much and the reason why I can do what I do. We'll make sure that they know all about you."

Beca takes another deep breath, gripping her hands together. "But most of all, I promise that I'm never going to forget you guys. I'm never going to let Macy forget about you. I know I've done a crappy job of it so far, but now that we're on our own, it's so much easier to remember the good memories. It's so much easier to talk about them. Just know, that even though we didn't come to see you, or we didn't really talk about you, I never stopped thinking about you two. I never stopped thinking about what you would want me to do with Mace. I never stopped thinking about what you two thought about how we were acting or what was going on. And God, I hope you're as proud of the girl that Macy has grown up to be as I am, because she's truly remarkable."

Saying all of that feels as though a weight has been lifted from Beca's chest. She lets go of her hands, bringing her fingers up to wipe the fallen tears off her face, before finally making eye contact with the names on the stones in front of her. "I love you guys so much, and I miss you more than you'll ever know."

Slowly unfolding her legs, Beca pushes herself back into a standing position, shaking out her limbs as they tingle from the first movement in a while (far longer than the five minutes that she promised Chloe and Macy). Before she leaves, though, she whispers one more sentiment into the air. "We'll come visit again soon. I promise."

Like Macy, Beca feels lighter as she distances herself from the gravesite, navigating the paths of the cemetery with ease. Her heart is calmer, her emotions in check, and there's even a smile on her face as she approaches the car, where Chloe and Macy are leaning up against the side standing next to each other.

These are her girls. Her happiness. Her reasons to live. Her reasons to die. She'd do anything for either one of them, and she'll stand by that promise for the rest of her life.

Upon seeing her sister getting closer, Macy waits patiently for her to be within arm's reach, before wrapping her in a tight embrace. Beca quickly reciprocates it, no words needing to be exchanged between the two Mitchell sisters as they hold each other there, simply letting the emotions of the day settle around them. Beca plants a quick kiss on Macy's head, which isn't going to be possible for much longer if she keeps on growing.

When they separate, Beca moves on to the amazing redhead standing beside them. Beca, too, wraps Chloe in her arms, their hearts beating to the same rhythm against their chests, each of them gaining immediate comfort from the embrace. Beca gives her a chaste kiss on the cheek, looking from Macy, to Chloe, before smiling at both of them.

"Let's go home."

The End

Wow! It's kind of hard to believe that this summer-quarantine project turned into this little universe with all of you amazing readers. I am so grateful for each and every one of you; I love reading your thoughts and predictions and reviews and PMs. It's always nerve-wracking putting your work out there, but it's the best feeling in the world to have people respond positively to it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sticking with me through You and Me, and now It Takes a Village. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

That being said, I have been working on a third part for the series :) It's going to take place about eighteen years in the future (Beca and Chloe will be 36) and will explore their life as parents. This one, I think, is going to have a little bit of everything. Of course, it's going to have fun and fluffy Bechloe + family moments (it will also definitely have drama and angst). We'll get to see how everyone else in the series is doing, including what Macy's up to and what Aubrey and Stacie and the rest of the Bellas are doing with their lives. There will be laughs and smiles and tears and maybe some chapters that you're going to hate me, but I hope you follow along for the next edition. I'm really excited for you to read it.

Just so I can get all of my thoughts organized and ready for starting another multi-chapter fic (especially since I think this one will have longer chapters, closer to the length of the You and Me chapters), I will publish the first update exactly one week from today. But, because you are all amazing, I have included the first 600 or so words of the first chapter following this incredibly long A/N. Then again, if you don't want a cliff-hanger, I would suggest waiting until the full chapter is posted.

Haha anyways - thank you again so much for all of your support for It Takes a Village. I can't wait to hear what you guys thought of the epilogue and the preview of the third installment - Let Us Love You. I look forward to seeing you all again next week! Thank you so much :)

Let Us Love You, Chapter 1

18 Years Later

The steaming mug of tea is hot against Beca's hand, the heat from the glass serving as a nice distraction from the ache that's been in her chest all weekend. Really, she should have known it wouldn't have been easy. She should have known that this time, like the others, was going to be just as painful – if not more so – than the first two. But this time… it happened so suddenly. They hadn't had a chance to process it. Hadn't had a chance to prepare.

The thirty-six-year-old makes her way up the stairs of their home, the place that nowadays seems to feel more empty than Beca ever thought it would. With each step, she gets closer and closer to the closed bedroom door that she's been distancing herself from for the last two hours. Not that she's wanted to distance herself from it. It just about killed her to step away. She knew she needed to, though. Chloe needed her space.

That was two hours ago. Two hours ago, when their front door closed and Chloe had collapsed in Beca's hold for a solid ten minutes, the brunette simply running her hands through Chloe's loose curls and whispering quiet sentiments that she knew meant nothing to her wife in that moment. Chloe's tears hadn't stopped falling when she separated herself from Beca's arms and mumbled something about wanting some time to herself, before walking briskly upstairs and closing the bedroom door behind her.

The same bedroom door that Beca finds herself staring at right now. She takes a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst – because, yes, seeing Chloe in pain, is by far one of the hardest things for Beca to witness – before knocking lightly on the door. She doesn't wait for an answer, assuming that she probably isn't going to get one, before slowly pushing the door open with her shoulder.

Her heart just about shatters when she takes in the scene in front of her.

Chloe has tucked herself in the far corner of the twin bed, her head leaning up against the wall, eyes closed to the world. A small sweatshirt that was left behind is being clutched in her hands, holding the piece of clothing to her chest as though willing the little boy to be in it instead.

"Chlo?"

Slowly, Chloe opens her eyes. From the tears, her red-rimmed eyes are even more blue than normal. As soon as she sees Beca standing in the doorway, her lip starts to tremble. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, no… none of that." Beca crosses the threshold immediately, trying her best to avoid glancing around the much emptier bedroom, before placing the tea on the bedside table. She climbs up beside Chloe just as quickly, delicately pulling the redhead into her side. Chloe practically melts into her wife's hold. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

The silence that follows is welcomed by both women, only the occasional sniffle coming from Chloe as they sit in each other's company. Because really, what else is there to be said? After ten years of marriage and almost nine years of dating prior to that, both Beca and Chloe have come to learn the intricacies of each other's quirks and movements. Zero words need to be exchanged in order for them to understand what the other is saying or feeling. It amazes some of their friends at times, the fact that they can have an entire conversation with just a simple gaze or a laugh. The fact that they can be in each other's presence and have a mutual understanding that they might just need a hug or the comfort of the other's arm around them.

But right now,… sitting in this bedroom, it's more shared grief than anything. Something that Beca wishes Chloe never had to experience, and Chloe vice versa for Beca. The only thing that makes it better, is that they aren't alone in this state of despair.