Since Amy had been approved by Vampire Hunters Incorporated, Beca had been more open with her family about how she was feeling. It was still a struggle to motivate herself, to feel like she was making any difference at all, but slowly and surely her team were helping her to find her confidence again. Chloe's progress hadn't gone unnoted either, she was still taking the potion to suppress her powers but since the moment on the roof with Beca she had also voiced her lack of fault to Aubrey and Stacie who had wrapped her in a warm and tearful embrace, bursting with pride and most of all hope for Chloe's recovery. Maybe it wouldn't be too long before Chloe could join them in the field again, be back where she belonged.
It was about a week and a half later when Aubrey got a phone call from Thea, in the process of making all of them a cup of coffee before they started their work for the day.
"Hey Thea, what can I do for you?" Aubrey grinned as she put the phone on speaker to keep her hands free.
"How is my favourite daughter-in-law this afternoon?"
"I'm not your daughter-in-law yet…" Aubrey chuckled affectionately with a shake of her head, stirring cream into Chloe and Stacie's coffee.
"Oh please, you're as good as!" Thea scoffed.
"So what can I do for you?" Aubrey rolled her eyes a little as she picked her phone up and held it to her ear.
"I have a vampire hunter in need of a consult, I've sent him to you guys, he should be there in a few minutes."
"Oh right, thanks." Aubrey held the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she took two cups in each hand and headed down the stairs, "What's the case he needs help with?"
"Bludniks, a particularly nasty strain of them that aren't just bothersome they're outright vicious. He has more details for you than I do, but there's a nest of them that need more than one person to deal with them, and who better to give him a hand than the best vampire hunting team in the business?"
Aubrey laughed softly as she set the coffees down, "Alright Thea, thank you. We'll see what we can do." There was a knock at the door, Aubrey looking up as she headed towards it, "That'll be him. I'll let you know how it goes."
"Of course. You guys be safe yeah?"
"Always." Aubrey promised as she hung up the phone, turning to the team who were looking at her slightly confused even as the knock continued at the door, "We have a case, apparently there's a vampire hunter that needs our help with some bludniks… where's Beca?"
"Oh she's just fetching me some mandrake root and thyme from the roof, I'm running low on stunning potions so I was going to brew up a few more." Stacie smiled nonchalantly, Aubrey nodding appreciatively as she opened the door.
As she turned to face the now open door, Aubrey's jaw dropped, a broad grin on her face, "Jesse?! What- what are you doing here?!"
"Hey Posen!" Jesse gave Aubrey a huge lopsided grin as he swept her into a hug, spinning her in his arms. Stacie and Chloe exchanged bemused if not quizzical looks at this uncharacteristic display from Aubrey.
"I can't believe you're here!" Aubrey was grinning from ear to ear as Jesse set her down, "I haven't seen you in years!"
"I know, I know, you know what it's like." Jesse shrugged his shoulders a little, "You start hunting vampires and all of a sudden it's been three years since you've had a day off!"
"Get a team, I swear it changed my life." Aubrey chuckled, leading him into the office.
"Yeah I heard! What happened to Aubrey I'll-never-have-a-team-because-they'll-hold-me-back Posen?!" Jesse scoffed good naturedly as Aubrey punched him affectionately in the shoulder.
"Yeah what did happen to her?" Stacie raised her eyebrow as Aubrey and Jesse reached them, Aubrey blushing slightly as she shook her head a little.
"Jesse this is Stacie and Chloe, guys this is Jesse we were in The Academy together, our first assignment was as partners in Prague. We go way back." Aubrey ignored Stacie's question with a good natured roll of her eyes as Jesse shook both of their hands.
"Oh right!" Stacie grinned, "Sorry, she said Jess a lot and I guess I always pictured you as a girl."
"Yeah she does that." Jesse laughed, "You're the Stacie that stole her heart right? She simpers over you a lot in her emails."
Stacie grinned as Aubrey blushed furiously, giving Jesse an affectionate shove, "I do not simper!" She exclaimed as Stacie walked around the table and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, kissing her cheek.
"You simper about to me to your old school friends?" Stacie asked, amused by the way Aubrey was blushing.
"Oh shut up." Aubrey mumbled, unable to keep the grin off her face as she leant back against Stacie.
"Hey, I'm not sure I got enough thyme but I can always grab mo- oh, hi." Beca had re-entered the room and was surprised by the new face in their midst.
An odd look crossed Jesse's face as his eyes found Beca, a pause in the conversation as he surveyed her. Before anyone could so much as blink, Jesse grabbed the front of Beca's shirt and tossed her over the table, Beca yelping as she crashed into a bookshelf on the other side before hitting the floor. Jesse followed her, dragging her to her feet and landing a hard punch to her jaw. Beca snarled a little as she raised her hands to defend her face, confused as to who this man was but reluctant to beat the crap out of him when he had seemed so close to Aubrey.
"Dude what the hell?!" She spluttered as a swift punch to her ribs caused her to crumple like wet paper.
Aubrey had recovered from her initial shock and was quickly at Beca's aide, dragging Jesse off her as he struggled against her. Chloe had joined them too, putting herself between Beca and Jesse as she helped Beca to her feet, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you okay?" She mumbled, looking Beca over as her bust lip and bleeding nose began to heal.
"Yeah…" Beca nodded, shaking a little, "Confused as hell, who are you?"
Her question was directed at Jesse who was still struggling furiously in Aubrey's grip, eyes ablaze with fury. He managed to snatch himself from her arms and went to swing at Beca again but Chloe quickly pushed Beca behind her, catching Jesse's wrist. Chloe might still be supressing her vampire side and with it her superhuman strength, but she was still strong and managed to hold Jesse back long enough for Aubrey to wrestle him away from them, putting the table between them as she glared at him, pinning him to the wall.
"I don't know what the hell that was about, but you do not start swinging your fists at a member of my team!" Aubrey's growl was almost primal as she glowered at her oldest friend, furious that he would come in here and behave like this.
"You're working with her?!" Jesse exclaimed, still furiously fighting against Aubrey as she held him firmly against the wall and away from Beca who was looking bewildered and angry at having been attacked for no reason, "Don't you know who she is?! What she did to my family?!"
"What? What're you talking about?" Aubrey frowned.
"Don't recognise me huh?!" Jesse screamed at Beca who was frowning as well, completely confused. She had never seen him before in her life, but now that he mentioned it there was something oddly familiar about his face, "Why would you? It's not like you cared when you were ripping her to shreds!"
"Dude what're you talking about?" Beca asked, stepping out from behind Chloe as her face creased in confusion.
"Tell her what my last name is!" Jesse bellowed, Aubrey's brow furrowing as she looked from Jesse to Beca. Why was that relevant?
"Swanson." Aubrey mumbled, "His last name is Swanson."
The colour drained from Beca's face as realisation hit her like a truck. That dark hair, those brown eyes…
"Evie…" Beca whispered, Chloe catching her as Beca's legs gave out under her, "You- you're-"
"Yeah!" Jesse spat, "My family has been hunting you for centuries, you've destroyed us in one single act! Do you know how many members of my family have gone mad, have gotten injured, have died trying to get justice for her?!"
"I- I'm so sorry…" Beca shook her head a little, in shock as she simply stared at Jesse, "I didn't- it was-"
"Let me go Aubrey!" Jesse snarled, "This is the whole reason I became a vampire hunter, my family deserves this!"
"No." Aubrey shook her head, still holding him tight, "You don't know anything Jesse. You don't know what happened, you certainly don't know Beca. Now you either calm the fuck down or I'm going to throw you out, do you understand me?"
"You're siding with her over me?!" Jesse squawked in disbelief, eyes wide, "You'd pick a vampire, a murderer over me?!"
"I'd pick my friend, the woman that saved all our asses taking out the greatest evil we've ever faced, my sister in a heartbeat over you, damn right I would." Aubrey's eyes blazed as she held him in place, Jesse staring at her incredulously, "Now calm the fuck down and let her explain, because it's not anything like what you think."
"I don't want to hear anything she has to say for herself." Jesse spat, "Just because you've been taken in by whatever bullshit she's been feeding you doesn't mean that I have to listen to it."
He stopped fighting Aubrey as she cautiously released her grip on him but didn't step back, keeping herself in his path to Beca. Stacie was stood nearby, fingers flexing in case she needed to intervene to protect Beca, Chloe helping the trembling Beca to her feet. Beca looked as if she had seen ghost, and indeed she had in a way. The more she looked at Jesse, the more she saw his resemblance to Evie. This wasn't happening. She couldn't get away from her ghosts as it was, and now here was someone who was still feeling the effects of one of the worst nights of her life even two hundred years after the fact.
"I think you should find someone else for a consult." Aubrey's tone was cold as she glared at Jesse.
"There isn't time." Jesse shook his head bitterly, "Believe me I'd love to go elsewhere, you're clearly not the person I thought you were… but these bludniks are out of control and they're camped out near a musical festival luring patrons into their caves and off the cliffs into the canyon. They'll kill them all if we wait."
"Fine." Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
She couldn't believe her oldest friend would be this narrowminded and ridiculous. Beca was a good person, his family had been deluded for years as to what had really happened, and here he was behaving like a thug. She didn't want him anywhere near Beca, but they couldn't let innocents die for the sake of a ridiculous feud that had no factual basis.
"I um… I don't have to go. I'll stay here and help Chloe." Beca mumbled, not meeting anyone's gaze as she sank into a chair next to the table.
"Absolutely not." Stacie frowned, both Aubrey and Beca looking at her in confusion, "You're a part of our team, there's no way we're going without you. It's bad enough we're down Chloe, we're not going without you too."
"I'm not-" Jesse started but quickly cut off by a glare from Stacie.
"You want our help? This is the way it is. Beca's part of our team, just because you want to ignore what really happened and behave like a prick doesn't mean you get to dictate how we operate." Stacie snarled, her eyes almost able to burn a hole in Jesse as she stared him down, almost daring him to argue.
Chloe winced guiltily as she stayed by Beca's side, ready to intervene again if necessary. Beca was in an impossible position because she still so afraid of the damage she could do that her leaving the office wasn't an option. She wished she was stronger, if not for herself than for Beca who really needed all the support she could give her right now.
Beca gave Stacie a small and grateful smile. She would never be able to describe how grateful she was that Stacie would defend her like that, but at the same time she had no desire to be around Jesse and his vendetta. Beca hated that not only had she killed Evie and destroyed the life growing inside her, but she seemed to have spread devastation through generations of Swansons. She had never wanted any of this for them. No wonder he was so angry.
"Let's get this over with." Jesse mumbled darkly, heading for the door and slamming it behind him. Aubrey shook her head with a mixture on anger and sadness.
"Beca are you okay?" She asked, frowning softly, "I'm sorry, I never made any connection between Jesse and Evie, I-"
"It's okay." Beca shook her head a little, sniffing softly, "Why would you? I didn't mean to cause you guys an issue, you um… you looked really close when I came in."
"Nothing is more important to me than the three of you." Aubrey put her hand on Beca's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "If he can't accept that then it's his problem. Are you going to be okay if you come with us?"
"Yeah." Beca lied, swallowing the lump in her throat, "Innocents to save come first, painful memories of the past can wait."
Although Beca chuckled softly, Aubrey frowned in concern, sighing softly as Beca pulled away and got to her feet, gathering her weapons. Stacie brushed her fingers across the back of Aubrey's hand as they shared a look, both of them concerned for Beca but knowing there was a job they had to do as well.
"They are never left alone together, no matter what." Aubrey mumbled to Stacie who nodded firmly, before turning to Chloe who was looking as worried as they were, "We'll keep an eye on her, try not to worry Chlo."
Chloe sighed softly as she nodded, watching Beca carefully, "I'll try."
Jesse had bristled the entire way to the bludnik's cave, sat in the front seat next to Aubrey in Stacie's place rather than in the back with Beca. It had left a tense and uncomfortable silence between them; you wouldn't be able to tell that he and Aubrey had once been incredibly close from the thick air of tension between them. Once they had pulled up outside the cave that Jesse had directed them to (his only verbal communication and done very snappily) the team piled out of the car, able to hear the sounds of the music festival in the distance as they approached the entrance of the bludnik's hideout.
"Everyone keep your wits about you, the bludniks won't hesitate to try and separate us." Aubrey's tone was hard as she looked back at them, only acknowledging Jesse because he would be fighting alongside them.
"Um, does someone mind explaining to me what a bludnik is?" Beca frowned a little, devoid of her usual humorous tone by the tense situation she found herself in.
Jesse scoffed something that sounded like 'unbelievable' under his breath as Aubrey glared at him. Stacie smiled softly at Beca, nodding.
"Bludniks are a bit like Will O' The Wisps, but instead of luring people towards good magic and things that would help them, bludniks lure humans to deadly situations in order to kill them."
"Lovely." Beca grimaced, shaking her head a little, "And so what, we kill the little fuckers one by one?"
"Not quite, that would take forever!" Stacie chuckled softly. She had decided to ignore Jesse's presence and focus on her team instead, and that made the whole mission far less tense for her, "They group together around a queen, sort of like bees do. If we take out the queen the rest of them will just disappear. Although it takes fire to kill a bludnik, so you're going to need to be extra careful today."
"Great." Beca mumbled, hesitantly taking the wooden torch from Stacie that she had lit with enchanted flame, "One of the few things that can kill a vampire is also the one thing that kill bludniks."
Stacie gave Beca's free hand a gentle squeeze, Beca giving her a grateful smile as she nodded determinedly. The four of them entered the cramped tunnels, torches gripped tightly in all but Stacie's hands as she flexed her fingers; elemental magic came in handy for situations like this, even if fire was her least confident skill. They stuck close to each other in the claustrophobic tunnels, Beca trying not to think about how much they reminded her of he tunnels under Gail's house that she had been kept in when she had first turned as her hands began to shake a little, the grip around the torch tightening to make sure she wouldn't drop it and accidentally set herself alight.
"This way." Jesse mumbled, trying to lead them to the left when they reached a fork in the path.
"No." Stacie shook her head a little, "The magical signature is stronger on the right, trust me."
Jesse snorted as he shook his head, "Yeah. Right. Anyway this is my case, and I say we go to the left."
"Oh for gods sake!" Aubrey exclaimed, "Will you put your bruised ego aside for one minute? Stacie is the one in-tune with magic auras, and if she says it's stronger to the right, then the right is where we're going."
"This is not about my ego, how dare you!" Jesse snarled, "There are footprints leading this way, tiny ones like the kind oh I don't know a bludnik might make?!"
"Okay." Beca held up her hand before Aubrey could bite back at Jesse, "This is why we bring a team, so that we can decide on the best course of action together-"
"Oh shut up." Jesse spat, "You think I'm going to listen to you? I'm going left. You guys do what you want."
Jesse stormed off to the left, Aubrey growling in frustration as she shook her head. This was ridiculous, was he really just going to ignore what was clearly the right choice just because he disapproved of Beca and her presence there?
"Come on." Beca muttered, hating how uneasy she felt but knowing that she probably deserved it, "Let's just… go his way for now and hope it loops back or something. We can't just leave him to wander through this cave on his own."
"However tempting it might be…" Stacie mumbled darkly, following Beca as she headed after Jesse.
Suddenly there was a rumbling crash from above their heads, Beca's quick instincts kicking in as she pushed Stacie out the way of the descending rubble before falling backwards, the rocks only just missing her ankle as she covered her head with her arms. In the commotion, Beca had dropped her torch and one she lifted her head again the tunnel around her was pitch black.
"Becs?" Stacie's concerned voice was muffled by the wall of rock and dirt in-between them.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Beca yelled back, rubbing her shoulder and wincing as she felt the bruise from where she'd landed on it. She'd heal in a few moments but it still throbbed, "Are you guys alright?"
"We're fine. I can't move this blockade, I think it's enchanted." Beca could hear the annoyance in Stacie's voice and it made her smirk a little, "Aubrey thinks if we take out the queen then the magic holding this blockade in place, but that means leaving you here. Are you okay with that?"
Beca swallowed hard. Was she okay being left in a dark tunnel that reminded her of the worst times in her life? No. But did she understand there wasn't any other option?
"Yeah, yeah it's okay. You guys go, sort these bludniks out-"
"What the hell did you do?!" Jesse's annoyed exclamation cut off Beca's reassurances to her friends as light began to fill the tunnel. Beca sighed softly, shoulders sagging a little. She had briefly forgotten that he was in this tunnel as well.
"Nothing. The fork in the path was a trap, we're stuck in here until someone kills the queen." Beca mumbled, running her hand through her hair as she turned to Jesse, tense as Jesse gestured the torch at her.
"Great. So I'm stuck with you, huh killer? Just great…"
Beca tried to swallow the lump in her throat as Jesse's words hit her harder than his fists had earlier. Her jaw clenched as she flinched back from the torch he was still holding towards her. This wasn't good. Not only was she trapped in a claustrophobic tunnel underground, she was trapped there with someone who made no secret about wanting to kill her. The amount of déjà vu she was experiencing would have been hilarious if it wasn't of such a dark period in her life.
"Jesse I swear to god, you hurt a hair on her head and I will make sure the rest of your life is a living hell!" Aubrey's voice may have been muffled but there was no hiding the frostiness of it and the sincerity of her threat.
Jesse glared at Beca for a moment, seeming to weigh up Aubrey's threat with his want to fulfil his family's sole goal over the last two hundred years. He sighed in irritancy and gestured with his torch free hand for Beca to lead the way.
"Let's find this queen so that I can get away from you as soon as possible." He snarled, Beca raising her eyebrow at him.
"You want me to go in front? Whilst you're holding a weapon behind my back?" Beca understood Jesse's anger, but she wasn't an idiot. The last thing she wanted do was walk on front of Jesse, it seemed like the most dangerous thing she could do right now.
"I'm not about to let a vampire walk behind me."
Beca realised Jesse had her there. She couldn't blame him for that, she certainly wouldn't want a vampire walking behind her if the situations were reversed. Sighing in defeat, she walked past Jesse and headed up the winding path that would lead them away from Aubrey and Stacie into the unknown maze of tunnels. Beca's hands felt clammy as she and Jesse walked in silence, trying not to let the flashing memories of events two centuries ago drag her into a complete breakdown. She hated that these tunnels were so similar, hated that she was stuck in them with yet another Swanson, hated that this felt like history repeating itself.
"What was that?"
Beca was almost thankful when Jesse's question dragged her from her spiralling thoughts. She frowned softly, looking around them.
"What was what?" She asked, turning to look at Jesse, concern began to flood her as she the strange and vacant look on his face, "Jesse?"
"This way." He mumbled, pushing past Beca with a barely a sideways glance, "It's this way."
"Jesse?" Beca frowned as she had to almost run to keep up with his hastened pace, noting how far they were getting from the blockade, "Dude, slow down, what it is it?"
Jesse said nothing as he seemed to turn down tunnels without a second thought until he and Beca find themselves on the edge of a huge chasm, Beca immediately pressing herself against the wall as her eyes widened. Jesse just stood on the edge of it, looking down into the abyss.
"Jesse, you have to step back." Beca could feel her anxiety rising into her throat as she watched him, hands shaking a little, "Look, I know you don't trust me, but if you stay there you could fall. Let's just… regroup or something and head back the way we came. Away from certain death."
"All the answers are down here." He whispered, Beca almost unable to hear him, "All I have to do is…"
Jesse took a step forward and over the edge without a seconds hesitation. Without thinking, Beca shot forward at lightning speed, grabbing blindly as she prayed beyond hope that she had been quick enough. As the claws on her left had dug into the soil of the edge of the chasm keeping her anchored in place on her stomach, her right unclawed hand closed tightly around Jesse's wrist. His eyes widened in surprise as the vacant fog cleared from his features and he looked towards Beca.
"Wh-what happened?" He stammered, Beca grunting as she tried to keep her grip on Jesse's arm but able to feel the fabric of his jacket starting to slip through her grip.
"Damn bludniks." She growled, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how she was going to pull him back up on her own without following him down into the bottomless pit, "Jesse, I need you to grab my arm, I can't- I'm losing my grip."
Jesse was in a state of shock as he dangled in the air, certain death below him and his worst enemy trying desperately to save his life. Beca could feel the soil under her left hand starting to give, knowing she only had a few moments before she would be falling too.
"Jesse, dude, c'mon, grab my arm!" She growled, shaking her head a little as she realised he was too in shock to be able to hear her properly. Beca knew what she had to do, but he wasn't going to like it, "Alright, I'm sorry about this man, it's really gonna hurt but I need a better grip to be able to pull you up."
With that, Beca let her right hand transform into its clawed state and sunk them deep into his arm. Jesse howled in pain as Beca put all her concentration and strength into hauling him up and out of danger. Just as her left hand lost is grip on the crumbling soil, Beca rolled away from the edge, Jesse following her as he landed to her left, now out of danger as he clutched his injured left arm to his chest. He was panting hard as he stared up at the rock above them, the realisation of how close he had come to death and who it was that had saved him crashing down on him.
"W-why did you save me?" He mumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position as he watched Beca go through the belt around her waist, looking for something specific.
Beca said nothing at first, finding the potion she was looking for and carefully tossing it to Jesse, her back pressed against the cool rock behind her as she kept herself as far away from the edge of the chasm as physically possible; she had never been a fan of heights.
"You were in danger, you needed me too." She shrugged, her still shaking hands clasped tightly together in her lap, "Besides… I wasn't about to let another Swanson die in a dark underground tunnel on my watch. That potion will heal the cuts on your arm, it could be a while before we get back to Stacie so she can heal them, you should use it."
Jesse stared at Beca in surprise and confusion. This wasn't the vampire he'd been brought up to fear and despise. This wasn't a monster. She was almost… human. He didn't understand it.
"I- Aubrey said that you and Evie, it isn't what I think it is… what did she mean?" Jesse frowned softly as he watched Beca's gaze drop to the floor.
"What, um… what do you know about me and Evie?" Beca mumbled sniffing softly as she twisted her hands together.
"That you were best friends. And that you disappeared after your twenty-fifth never to be seen again by anyone but her when you killed her for not wanting to join you and leave for Europe together. She didn't love you like you loved her and she was pregnant. You were furious with her for it and murdered her, leaving her in a ditch to rot." Jesse had a very difficult time keeping the anger out of his voice as his jaw clenched at the thought of what Beca had done.
Beca gasped softly, shaking her head as tears began to run down her cheeks, "They found her in a ditch?" She whispered, her eyes rising from the floor to look at Jesse. Jesse was taken aback by the look of pure sorrow and horror in them and simply offered a nod in response.
"That fucking bitch." Beca spat, running a hand through her hair, "Maybe a quiet death was too good for her… I didn't, I wouldn't have left her like that."
Jesse could see the sincerity in her features, the anger at the thought of Evie like that and it made his heart clench. Beca really had loved her… and there was more to this than he or his family knew.
"You know who Gail is right?" Beca asked, Jesse nodding again. Everyone knew who Gail was at this point, "She- she kidnapped me the day after my twenty-fifth birthday, lured me into her web with the promises of a better life than the one I had. They tortured me, turned me against my will, and then tortured me some more for three months before Evie found me."
The silence around them was deafening as Beca spoke, Jesse watching as Beca's eyes returned to the floor, tears rolling freely down her cheeks as she shook her head again.
"Gail knew she was there before I did, I was chained to the wall like a dog in a cell, I had no idea Evie had come for me until they burst in and pinned me down and Gail did this… mind fucking thing and convinced me that it was Evie who had brought me there and given me over to her. She let me loose an sent me after her, it was like a horror movie, like I was watching myself in the third person. I knew that Gail was full of shit, but I couldn't make my mind and my body listen to me… I swear they belonged to someone else, to her in that moment."
Beca was holding back sobs as her head fell into her hands, elbows resting on her knees that she had pulled tight to her chest. Inside her head, she was reliving every horrible minute in slow motion.
"I- I tried to reclaim control, I tried so hard man… but it wasn't until my claws had sunk into her, that it was too damn late to do anything that I was in control again. I never wanted to kill her, I swear I didn't. She- she was the love of my life, I couldn't- I did love her. I loved her so much…"
Beca lifted her head to look at Jesse, emotion making her eyes bright as Jesse sat in stunned silence.
"And she loved me too." Beca smiled sadly, wiping at her cheeks with the sleeves of her jacket, "We just waited too damn long to say anything to each other. She died in my arms, cradled to my chest, knowing she was loved. I know that doesn't make it any better for you, that it doesn't change a damn thing but… I did everything I knew to do to try and make it easier for her. I have never forgiven myself for it, and I certainly don't expect you to but… I didn't leave her in a ditch Jesse. I didn't kill her or her unborn child deliberately. I was Michael's godmother for Christ's sake, I adored her and her family but… I did kill her. And I get why your family would want me to pay for that. I can't blame them for it, I'd want the same thing."
Not a word was spoken for a few minutes as Jesse tried to process the information that he'd just been given. It had been told to him with so much sadness and anger and remorse that Jesse realised he had no reason not to believe it. How could his family had gotten it so wrong, driven themselves insane over their vendetta when they had so little reason to?
"Why didn't you stay with her?" He whispered, his eyes meeting Beca's as she winced a little, "After she died… why didn't you make sure that she got the burial she deserved?"
"I- I made her a promise." Beca felt her guilt gnaw at her more ferociously. It was an excellent question. She should have taken her with her, "I promised her that I would get out of there, that I would go and live my life free of Gail… I saw an opening to escape and I took it, but it meant leaving her behind… maybe- maybe I should have taken her with me."
Jesse pursed his lips a little, his mind racing. He wanted to be angry at Beca for what she had done, but seeing just how devastated she was by what had happened he couldn't do it. For two hundred years his family had hunted a murder, a monster… but this woman sat across from him wasn't either of those things. Jesse knew she hadn't ever been either of those things.
"I forgive you." The tension in his jaw eased as the smallest of smiles tugged at his lips, Beca's eyes widening in shock, "On behalf of the Swanson family, of Evie… of all of us. I forgive you Beca. You didn't do it, the person that killed Evie paid for it along for every other life she snuffed out the day you snapped her neck."
Beca's mouth opened and closed a few times as she was left speechless. With his words, Jesse had lifted a huge burden of her shoulders that she didn't even realise she was carrying. Evie's family forgave her. Evie's family finally knew the truth, that they had loved each other and that her death wasn't Beca's fault.
"Thank you." Beca finally managed to whisper, still dumbstruck, "I don't- thank you."
Before anything more could be said, a swarming mass of blue shot up from the chasm and made a beeline for Beca and Jesse. The two were on their feet in a instant, Jesse carefully pushing Beca behind him as he pulled a flare from his belt, his torch dropped when he had almost plunged to his doom.
"Shit. They look mad." He grumbled, holding the flare at arm's length as he swiped it through the air at the advancing bludniks, "Stay behind me, this flare isn't safe for you to use, it sparks all over the place."
Beca turned on her heel as she heard the same buzzing noise coming from behind them, swallowing the lump in her throat as a similar haze of blue advanced on her.
"Uh Jesse… there's more of them…" Beca mumbled, "Looks like I'm gonna have to risk the flare…"
"Dammit." Jesse snarled, turning so that Beca was still kept behind him as he swiped at the second haze of bludniks, "Not a chance, you heard Aubrey. I get you hurt and she'll kill me!"
There was a hint of humour in his tone as Beca shook her head a little, a smirk on her lips, "Yeah good point, I'm definitely more scared of Aubrey than I am these things."
Beca swiped her claws at them, knowing it would do very little but still determined to do something other than stand there as the two of them turned in a tight circle trying to hold them off as best they could. The bludniks swarmed and buzzed angrily around them, both Beca and Jesse finding themselves covered in tiny scratches and bite marks. One-on-one these bludniks would be fine, but in a swarm like this? They could do serious damage.
Things were starting to look dire as Jesse's flare burnt out, the two of them pushed closer and closer to the edge of the chasm as the swarm continued to attack them. Just as Beca teetered on edge, the swarm let out a unanimous screech and suddenly burst into flame, Jesse catching Beca around her waist as the action of her ducking away from it almost sent her toppling headfirst into the bottomless behind her.
"Thanks." She mumbled, trembling a little as Jesse carefully pulled them back from the edge before releasing her waist.
"I figured it would make us even." Jesse shrugged, grinning a little as Beca shook her head with a smirk.
"Does that mean that Stacie and Aubrey defeated the queen then?"
"I would say so." Jesse nodded, "Now we just have to somehow find our way out of here…"
"I can help with that." Beca rummaged through the potions on her belt again, pulling the familiar green vial from it as she put her hand on Jesse's arm, "Let's just hope they had the same idea… oh, and don't puke on me."
Aubrey paced back and forth outside the cave that they had all entered a few hours prior. She and Stacie had defeated the bludnik queen almost ten minutes ago now, and there was still no sign of Beca and Jesse.
"Two more minutes and then I'm going in to look for them." Aubrey shook her head, bottom lip caught between her teeth, "If he's hurt her…"
"Bree, look." Stacie nodded towards the entrance of the cave as Aubrey's head whipped around, a plume of purple smoke appearing as Beca and Jesse suddenly stood before them. Jesse looked a little green as he veered away from Beca who simply shook her head with a smirk, relieved that Stacie and Aubrey were waiting for them.
"Hey guys!" She grinned, "Nice job on the queen slaying, and just in time too!"
"Are you okay?!" Aubrey asked as she shot forward, immediately checking Beca over for any discernible sign of injury that had been inflicted by Jesse.
"I'm fine." Beca nodded, gratitude in her eyes as she took Aubrey's hands in hers as they continued to search her for signs of injury, "Really. We're good."
"Yeah." Jesse had recovered from the stomach churning caused by Stacie's transportation potion, "Beca saved my life and we had a long talk about what really happened. We're good."
Aubrey frowned slightly as she looked from Beca to Jesse and back again, still highly suspicious but also relieved that they did seem to be at ease with each other.
"Talked huh? So you no longer think I'm idiot then?" Aubrey raised her eyebrow, a cold look on her face as Jesse winced guiltily.
"I'm sorry." He sighed, Stacie signalling to Beca who nodded slightly and moved over to one side so that Jesse and Aubrey could have a moment in peace, "The way I behaved today, it was way out of line. I shouldn't have done it, any of it, and I'm really sorry. But I'm most sorry for not trusting your judgement enough to know that if Beca was working for you she couldn't be the things my family was saying that she was."
Aubrey nodded slightly, her look of cold irritation beginning to mellow a little, "After everything we have done together, the number of times that I have had your back, I can't believe you didn't trust me on this."
"I know." Jesse mumbled sadly, "You've saved my ass more times than I can count, tonight included. I do trust you. I just saw red and… behaved like an idiot."
"Yeah you did." Aubrey agreed, arms crossing over her chest, "But I'm glad you talked to Beca, that you heard her out. Because she's a good person Jesse, she might even the best of us."
"I think you're right there." Jesse nodded, a smile creeping onto his lips as Beca blushed a little, shaking her head.
"I'm not." She muttered, "But I try to be a good person. It's what Evie wanted."
Stacie wrapped her arm around Beca's shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze, "I think she'd be really proud of you and who you've become Becs."
"Me too." Jesse nodded, smiling softly as Beca who sniffed a little, an unsure glint in her eyes.
"Come on." Aubrey hated to be the one to break this moment up, but she could see the first glints of the sun's rays appearing on the horizon, "We need to get home before the sun rises."
They headed for the car, Aubrey and Jesse a little behind Beca and Stacie as she turned to him again.
"We're okay too." She whispered, "But if you ever pull a stunt like that again I'll have the Council strip you of your powers so quickly you won't know what's hit you."
Jesse nodded nervously, a lump forming in his throat, "I won't. Scouts honour. You're a scary woman Posen you know that?"
"I do." Aubrey nodded, smiling sweetly albeit a little threateningly at Jesse who chuckled and shook his head a little, relieved that he had his old friend back despite behaving like an idiot. He felt lighter than he ever had in his life, finally able to give his family the peace and the closure they deserved after so many years of pain and vitriol for a woman who in hindsight hadn't deserved it.
But at least it had come to and end. For both of them.