Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

A/N 1: I'm hereby fixing the atrocious writing of Chlic this week.

English is not my first language so if you find mistakes, be warm and welcoming, as always. :)

Happy reading!

xxxx

You're My Person

"At last my love has come along. My lonely days are over and life is like a song. At last the skies above are blue. My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you."

Having left her ex-husband at The Waterhole, Chloe Brennan entered the house that she shared with her girlfriend and Jane, the blonde feeling wave after wave of hot anger course through her body, but was trying to put on a brave, happy face for her housemates.

Nic's chipper voice greeted her from the kitchen island where she was peeling vegetables with her mother, "Hi, Babe."

Walking over, Chloe rested a gentle hand on her girlfriend's waist and accepted her soft, chaste kiss hello, "Hi, my love."

Nic leaned her head back onto Chloe's upper chest, their height difference letting the redhead perfectly nestle into her love's body, "Did you get everything done? Sorry you had to work so late. It was kind of my fault, wasn't it?"

Frowning, the blonde kissed Nic's temple, "Well, you were the reason I had to catch up tonight, but it was totally worth it."

The redhead was tense. Chloe had noticed it immediately when the younger woman had leaned back into her arms. Her muscles were tight, her body high strung, and Nic was peeling the potatoes way more forcefully than necessary.

The two women had been out of sync ever since Hendrix had announced the return of his father, Nic having been way too enthusiastic and reassuring that everything was just fine, and Chloe worried about stepping on her girlfriend's toes while at the same time being anxious about her ex-husband's impending arrival.

Looking over Nic's head at her mother, she found that Jane was staring right back at her, the older woman's kind, understanding smile warming her heart, "I'm just going to the bathroom real quick. Be right back." With that, and a gentle squeeze of Chloe's upper arm, the older woman left the kitchen.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm the raging storm inside her, the blonde wrapped her other arm around her girlfriend's waist as well, her hands immediately going to her swollen, pregnant belly, "Hey, Baby?"

Nic hummed in acknowledgement, so Chloe continued, albeit antsy at the possible reaction her next question might elicit, "Do you think we could talk after dinner? Just you and me?" When the younger woman's head whipped around and the blonde saw the panic in her girlfriend's cerulean eyes, she was quick to soothe, "It's nothing serious. Just reconnecting and talking on our couch instead of at the pub with five hundred other people around. You and me. Okay?"

The redhead was not convinced, her voice shaky, "Are you… are you breaking up with me?"

Hot tears prickled behind her eyes when she heard how tiny Nic's voice had become, so she took her lover's face in both hands and kissed her slowly, but deeply, "I am not. I promise you. Okay?"

After a longer stretch of silence, Nic finally nodded, "Okay."

Pressing another series of pecks to the smaller woman's plush lips, the blonde tried a soft smile, "Let me help you peel… the vegetables, not your clothes."

Still a little jittery, Nic forced a grin onto her face, "Always in the gutter, Brennan. What am I gonna do with you?"

Settling beside her girlfriend with another peeler, the blonde bit her lip, "I have several ideas. But business before pleasure."

xxxx

As soon as they had finished dinner, Nic jumped up to clear the table, Chloe following closely behind her and pressing a soft flutter of kisses to her lover's neck, delighted at the tiny shudder she elicited, "Hey, why don't you sit and let me do the dishes? You were up on your feet at Harold's all day."

Looking up at the taller woman over her shoulder, the redhead plastered a smile onto her face, "I'm fine, Chlo."

The blonde sighed in defeat, "Alright, I'll dry."

Jane was watching her daughter's and Chloe's interactions from the dining table, the older woman replaying the conversation she had with Nicolette earlier that day when the redhead was vigorously scrubbing the counter at Harold's. She knew that her daughter was not as okay as she let on, the younger woman always having been one to stay in her own head to deal with things, but instead of solving them, she tended to catastrophize. Jane had noticed Chloe's urge to have a talk, so the older woman rose from her chair, "Why don't I give you guys some space and go over to Paul's and Terese's place?"

Turning around, Nic immediately started protesting, "Mom, what about the movie we were going to watch? Why would you want to leave? There is no need."

Jane gave her daughter a gentle smile, "Yes, there really is. See you later, girls."

xxxx

Half an hour later, Chloe and Nic were sitting across from each other on the couch, the blonde watching her girlfriend forcefully chew her tongue and the inside of her cheek. She grabbed a pillow and placed it in her lap, wriggling her hands silently for the redhead to give her her foot.

A grateful smile made its way to Nic's face, the smaller woman doing what she was asked, and groaned softly when her love's thumbs dug into the sole of her foot for the first time. After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Nic gradually relaxing under Chloe's touch, the blonde cleared her throat.

Sky blue eyes flew open again, the relaxation gone and the tongue back between Nic's teeth, her tone all business, "So… what did you want to talk to me about?"

With a slow, unhurried stroke along Nic's sole, Chloe tried to ease the tension, "Okay, let's see. I have two conditions for you. Number one. This is an open conversation from both sides." Nic tried to pull away her foot, but Chloe held on tighter, raising a pointed eyebrow at her lover until she relented with an eyeroll, "Number two. You do not, under any circumstances, get mad at me."

Nic muttered under her breath, "Sounds promising."

Chloe's fingers tickled up the younger woman's shin, "Nic, please?"

The redhead huffed, "Fine."

Smiling, the older woman continued to massage Nic's foot, anxious to take the next step in this conversation, but deeming it necessary for them to move forward and past the awkwardness that had been firmly settling between them in the last few days. Hence, Chloe took a deep breath, "Pierce approached me at The Waterhole."

Realizing that Nic was about to jump up to pace, the blonde gently tugged at her leg, "Rule number two, Baby. Well, and one, actually. Will you let me finish, please?"

Suppressing a frustrated groan, Nic gestured for her lover to continue, making Chloe snort, "Thank you. He actually already brought this up yesterday when we were having coffee. Said that we're not good for each other and rushed things. Tried to badmouth you."

Nic started fiddling with the rings on her right hand like she always did when she needed to channel her nervous energy, swallowed hard to fight back the impending tears, but kept her tone snarky, "Oh, what a shocker!"

Chloe frowned but shook off her irritation and continued, "He approached me again today with the same song, saying that we're only together because I was grieving at the time. Just like he and I got together when I was grieving for my relationship with Elly."

Raising her chin slightly in defiance, Nic prodded, "Did Mr. Big Mouthed Know-Nothing have anything else inept to say?"

Chloe shook her head, "No. I didn't let him, but I thought you should know this. How about you? Did you talk to him?"

Licking her lips, Nic smirked, "I did, but it's fine. I don't know how many times you want me to tell you that. The Wet Muffin is no threat to me and I don't care what he has to say."

Chloe suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, "Well, from your and Jane's behavior, I can tell that you two talked about him. Did he say something to upset you?"

Throwing her arms up in agitation, the redhead brushed her girlfriend's question off, "I told you that there is nothing he could ever hurt me with. I'm fine."

Nic turned to get up from the couch, but Chloe was faster and knelt down in front of her and between her legs, the blonde's arms outstretched next to her girlfriend's thighs, "That's the thing, Nic. I don't think you are fine. Please, Baby. Talk to me. Let us work through this together. Don't let him get to you."

Heaving a deep sigh, the redhead looked up to rein in her tears, but eventually gave in and helped Chloe up and back onto the couch across from her, "He came to Harold's yesterday. Aaron told him about the Necklace Gate back in November. So Pierce accused me of hooking my claws into you, manipulating Dipi into making me the manager, and basically said that I was just a rebound for you. That we will never last and that I am delusional for thinking that we have a strong, solid relationship."

The smaller Nic's tone got, the angrier Chloe became, rage pulsing through her veins like hot lava, the waves threatening to consume her. Taking a few deep breaths to calm the storm and to not choke on her fury, the blonde scooted closer to her girlfriend on the couch, "Nic… I am so sorry." The younger woman was very obviously trying to shake off her anxiety, Chloe having learned to read her lover like an open book in the last few months, so she took the redhead's hands into her own, "Can I say something?"

A light snarl was back in Nic's voice, "Keeping you silent and making sure you were obedient were his M.O.. They are, however, not mine. As you know. So go ahead."

Chloe could see in her girlfriend's eyes that she immediately regretted her harsh tone, making her smile, "I just had the feeling, from what went down in the last two days, that we both were talking about our relationship to others more than we were talking to each other. People were talking to Pierce, I was talking to Pierce, you were talking to Pierce… or more like, he was talking to us… Aaron was talking to Pierce and to me… I thought that you needed our date today, but I was only partially right. I needed it just as much, even though Pierce called. Then, you were talking to Jane… but the two of us, who actually are in this relationship, did not talk about this situation at all. So I wanted to change this. Turn the tables, so to speak. Because Nic, you are my everything and what we feel, how we see this relationship, is the only thing that counts. I want to know what you're feeling. What you're really feeling, always. And I want you to know what I am feeling. I want us to talk through things - the way we always have. I couldn't live with myself if I ever gave you the feeling that I want to be with anyone but you."

Hot tears were now pouring down the redhead's cheeks, the younger woman letting out a desperate sob, "I'm so scared of losing you, Chlo. You are so kind and thoughtful, always so sweet and concerned about everyone else's feelings. You wanted to get ahead of the potential awkwardness, and I pretended that I was fine with you seeing him. Yes, I was jealous, but that wasn't the reason I told you it was okay for me to see him when in reality, it wasn't. I said it because you wanted to do the right thing and there is nothing more important to me than supporting you and your decisions. The fact that he pounced on the opportunity to boycott our relationship only confirmed what I thought he would do, but I still pushed through. I'm so far from perfect, Chlo, and I know that I come across as harsh at times, as rash and overly emotional. I'm impulsive and sometimes bitchy, but you, Chloe Brennan, are the most important person in my life. And I would do anything for you and anything to protect what we've built. I let him get under my skin, I let myself doubt everything we have because I tend to catastrophize everything, but I am trying to keep my cool. Also, I know that there is a lot of 'I' and 'me' here, but-"

A soft finger on Nic's lips silenced her, and Chloe smiled, "You're rambling, my love."

Chuckling, the redhead continued, "I'm sorry. My point was that you guys have history. You were married to each other and I have to try to put my personal feelings aside here. You married him. You shared a life together. I have been in love with you ever since the moment you walked into The Waterhole and plucked that dart from the board when I couldn't reach it. Having kept a lid on my feelings for so long, it was a dream come true when you told me you felt the same. And most of the time, I have to pinch myself when I think about that. Being yours was never something I expected, and I'm still learning what that means. I just hope that you can live with me working on my impulse control while my pregnancy hormones are running wild."

Chloe cupped Nic's face in both her hands, "I can. You are the most important person in my life and I never expected to be yours either. I already told Pierce this yesterday, but it is essential that you know this; that you are unequivocally sure of it. You're my person, Nicolette Stone. We're good. We are rock solid. And I love you."

An expression of pure shock was etched onto Nic's face upon hearing those words, her mouth agape and sky blue eyes wide, "You do?"

Chloe laughed, "Yes, I do. You doofus. I know that I waited way too long to say this, but I love you. I lo-lo-loooove you. With all my heart and everything I am."

Leaning over, Nic sealed the blonde's lips with a gentle, but deep kiss, "I love you too, Chloe Brennan. So much."

A dopey smile crinkled Chloe's eyes at the corners, "Of course you do."

Raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend, Nic huffed out a laugh, "So the smartass is back in town?"

Chloe grinned, "Oh, look. The pot is calling the kettle black."

Intertwining their fingers, Nic now grinned back, "Well, I think you forgot about rule number three when it comes to our conversations, then."

The blonde's eyebrows rose to her perfectly coiffed hairline, "Oh, yeah? And what is that?"

Crawling over to her lover on the couch, Nic planted both her knees firmly at either side of Chloe's waist, causing the blonde to recline. The redhead braced herself on the armrest while straddling the other woman's slim waist, and smirked, "Rule number three… I'm always right."

Before the blonde could shoot back with a snarky remark, however, Nic was kissing Chloe passionately, the older woman's hands on her thighs and gradually wandering up to the hem of her dress. Tongues were dancing, soft I love yous being exchanged, and when Jane walked back through the front door, she tip-toed her way past the sofa and into her bedroom, leaving the two women on the couch - happily wrapped up in each other, finally content and on the same page.

xxxx

A/N 2: Thank you for reading.

The quote in the beginning is taken from the song At Last by Etta James.

And in case you're wondering, their first meeting with the dart Nic couldn't reach was a nod to April's BTS comments the other day. They originally shot the first meeting with Nic not being able to reach the last dart and Chloe plucking it from the board, but it was cut. :)

Drop me a kudos or a review, if you feel inclined.

Until next time, my lovelies. :)