Epilogue IV - Sue Beale

Sue Beale had come from a large family, was the youngest of the six children that Jack and Alice Richmond had had, and the only girl. Her five older brothers had been boisterous boys growing up, and hands-on macho-men during their teens and adult years. Sue Beale had been able to use her position as the youngest Richmond child and only girl to her advantage. She'd had plenty of opportunity as a teen to pick any guy she wanted. The friends of her brothers desperately wanted to date her. The older brothers of her friends desperately wanted to date her. But throughout high school she had only ever had eyes for one boy. The guy who sat at the back of the classroom, rocking back in his chair, making the class laugh with his various impressions of teachers and classmates. He scored high grades in every test despite his apparent lack of engagement, and the young Sue Richmond could do nothing more but grin at him in awe.

It wasn't until their senior year that Jerry Beale had finally asked her out. And the rest, as they say, was history. They had got married when they were eighteen, had their first son by the time they were twenty and their youngest child by the time they were twenty eight. Her mother had told her she was crazy to be having another child, telling her she was doomed for boy number four much as she had been. But the moment she heard the tiny wail of the newborn she just knew it was a girl. They named her Chloe, after her grandmother.

Sue Beale turned her attention from the television in the corner of the lounge over to the couch beside her and her husband. There, sprawled out on the couch, phone ever present in her hand, staring at the TV, was her beautiful daughter. Her Chloe. Her pride and joy (not that she would tell her sons that). From the moment Chloe had been born Sue had felt a bond with her unlike any bond she had ever felt. Maybe it was because she was her only daughter. The daughter she had craved so much. Or maybe it was because she knew how it felt to be the youngest daughter, with several older brothers. Or maybe it was because she knew the struggle of growing up with ginger hair and the stigma that so often went with it. Her childhood had flashed by and Sue couldn't believe that her baby girl was soon to be turning twenty eight!

She watched as her daughter glanced at the screen of her phone, let out a tiny sigh, then resumed her attention on the TV. Chloe's expression was serious, unusual for the woman who had always been a very bubbly character, and Sue could tell that her daughter's mind was on something else. Or rather someone else.

Almost as though he had been reading her mind, Jerry Beale piped up beside her, "What's Beca up to this evening then Chlo?"

Sue paused with baited breath as her daughter glanced down at her phone again, before twiddling the device between her fingertips, not looking over at the older couple, "Um…I'm not sure really. She'll have had a really busy day at work, especially as it's her first day back in six weeks. I just hope she's eaten something substantial for dinner..."

The young redhead glanced at her phone, this time unlocking it to look at something with a slight frown. Sue knew her daughter was waiting for some contact from Beca. It wasn't unusual for the twenty seven year old to mention her best friend. From the moment Chloe had met Beca six years ago she had talked about her at almost any given opportunity to her parents. Beca did this. Beca said that. Beca would like this. Beca would like that. Sue knew her daughter hadn't realised she did it, and the mother had made sure to not brooch the subject of whether Chloe had a crush on her best friend. Mostly because it was glaringly obvious. She didn't need to ask. It was a mother's instinct to just know.

Suddenly she saw her daughter's face light up as her phone chimed and Sue Beale knew Beca must have finally contacted Chloe. Her heart soared, seeing the look of sheer joy on her little girl's face. She had never seen her react that way before. Chloe had of course been a very smiley and enthusiastic child, particularly when she had been given presents or taken for surprises. But her face had never opened out into the smile that was currently on her face as she eagerly texted back. Sue glanced to her right, at her husband who had been looking at their daughter with a grin. He gave her a small wink before resuming his focus on Chloe and Sue joined him as their daughter's phone began to ring.

"Ah, speak of the devil. I'll be right back!" The youngest Beale chirped as she bolted up off the couch and skipped out of the lounge with a broad smile, answering the phone with an airy "Hey!"

"Say hi to Beca for us!" Sue found herself calling out to her daughter who was ascending the stairs with a short giggle, presumably going to her bedroom.

The mother turned back to her husband who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, "I've never seen her that happy before" he admitted and Sue had to agree, she didn't think Chloe had ever been that happy before, "Your mother's going to freak when she finds out." Jerry quipped, giving her a nudge and Sue tutted, rolling her eyes. The thing was, he wasn't wrong.

It hadn't been a huge shock to Jerry and Sue when they had settled down last Friday, in their kitchen at home, and heard their daughter declare her love for her best friend. It had been more of a shock to see her so drunk that she could barely stand herself upright. No matter how old Chloe got, she would always be their little girl.

"The Barden Bella's are now live. What does that even mean?" Sue Beale furrowed her brow as the notification popped up at the top of her iPad screen. She and her husband had just sat at the kitchen table together ready to look through The Bella's Twitter feed to find out how their final performance of the European Tour had gone. She saw her husband shrug before he reached out and pressed the bar that had appeared at the top of the screen. The screen suddenly changed to Instagram and the couple jumped as the sound of cheering was sounded from the device. The picture caught up with the audio and from what they could make out from the video that was currently streaming live, it appeared that their daughter was just breaking away from a kiss that she had been giving Beca on the lips!

The parents could tell from the unstable camerawork and the way their daughter appeared to be swaying that The Bella's were indeed having a very good night. They watched as Chloe giggled loudly, took a swig of what they hoped was water, then tried to place the glass down on the work surface beside her. They watched as Beca lunged to grab the glass just before it fell to the floor. Then before they knew what was happening their daughter had thrown her arms around the neck of the petite brunette exclaiming loudly that she loved her. Declarations of love were not unusual for Chloe when she had had one too many to drink, her parent knew that all too well.

Sue noticed the way Beca awkwardly patted Chloe on the back and felt for the girl. She knew her daughter was quite overwhelming with her affection, and that Chloe had mentioned on a number of occasions that Beca wasn't one for being overly affectionate at the best of times, least of all on a night out. The Beale's watched as their daughter gasped, looking at Beca, her hands on her shoulders as she slurred loudly, "Beca I'm so sorry! We're supposed to be keeping us a secret! The others can't…can't know that we're…you know…dating!"

And with that bombshell Sue Beale found her heart lurching slightly. Not because her daughter was dating another woman. She'd been wondering for several months now if Chloe and Beca had been dating. Why else would her daughter have wanted to drop everything and move to New York with the young woman if she didn't harbour some sort of feelings for her? No the thing that appeared to shock Sue the most was that her daughter hadn't told her, instead doing so publicly. She thought that the bond that they had was so strong Chloe would have at least told her first.

"Oh my God" she heard her husband mutter under his breath before catching the eye of his wife and looking at her. They'd talked about the possibility of their daughter dating her housemate. They'd both agreed they'd be okay about it as long as Chloe was happy. But Jerry was clearly just as shocked to be finding out this way as Sue had been.

The parents resumed their attention on the screen in time to see Beca affectionately pulling Chloe's hand from her mouth and holding it over her heart. Suddenly Chloe had spun in Beca's arms to face the camera (and presumably the rest of The Bella's behind it), holding her hands up in the air and yelling, "Beca and I are dating and she's my girlfriend and I'm her girlfriend and I love herrrrr!" And The Beale's, overwhelmed with joy at how happy their daughter seemed, grinned as they noticed Beca reach out and grab hold of the glass beside them, ensuring she kept a good hold of Chloe, before saying patiently "Alright you, come on, have some more water please."

Sue wasn't surprised to see Chloe swoop in and kiss Beca again on the lips before sipping some more water. She remembered how besotted Chloe had been with her first boyfriend when she had been a teenager. The boy hadn't lasted long, overwhelmed by the over-protective nature of Chloe's older brothers who, despite living away from home due to college and life respectively, had made extra efforts to make his life a misery. Her sons had insisted their little sister had been far too good for him, something that both Sue and Jerry had secretly agreed with, but had never revealed.

Sue looked at the iPad screen, a soft smile on her face as she saw just how happy Beca seemed to make her daughter. At how well she took care of her, even if there was a high chance she was drunk herself. And she knew that should they ever pluck up the courage to tell them that they were in a relationship, both she and Jerry would welcome Beca into their home with open arms.

"We'll even if my mother does freak because her only granddaughter is a…lesbian" Sue felt the need to whisper the word for some reason, "...it doesn't mean that we have to make a big deal about it."

"Definitely not. I like Beca." Jerry said with a shrug as he stared at the TV.

"I like Beca too." Sue said, also turning her attention to the TV. She did like Beca. Always had. She had first met the young woman when Chloe had been in her fifth year of college, the first time she had retaken her senior year. She had of course heard a lot about Beca, Chloe having gushed about how she had saved The Bella's and led them to winning the ICCA finals. She hadn't prepared herself for how heavy the young woman's eyeliner would have been. Nor for the amount of piercings she would have in her ears. Nor how awkward she seemed when greeting them at the sorority house she shared with their daughter and the rest of The Bella's.

This girl was far from the type of girls that Chloe had ever been friends with. And she could have never predicted back then that four years later her daughter would up-sticks and move miles away to start a new life living in New York with her. Nor could she predict back then that two years after that Chloe would end up in a romantic relationship with the petite brunette. Or maybe she could have? Because she'd seen it from the moment Chloe had first introduced them. Sue knew her daughter better than anyone else. There had been this way that her daughter had looked at Beca. A look she had never seen Chloe give anyone since her short infactuation with her very first boyfriend several years before. A look she had never seen Chloe give anyone since. Sue's daughter had been besotted with Beca from day one and the mother had hoped, from the moment she had first met the brunette, that she wouldn't one day break her little girl's heart.

Naturally she had been worried when Chloe had persuaded them to let her move to New York so that Beca could continue her journey to become a music producer. Worried because it was Beca's dream, not Chloe's. It would be so easy for Beca to get a promotion or new job that required her to move to another part of the country or even the world, leaving Chloe behind in New York with an expensive rent and potentially a broken heart.

Yet while this had been a fear of Sue's during the first few months that her daughter had lived away, the moment she and Jerry had seen, over FaceTime, Beca returning home one evening with a bouquet of flowers for their daughter before the two women went out to Chloe's theatre kids' opening performance at a local theatre. Well, Sue had immediately felt relieved. That had been the proof that Beca was a woman who, in whatever capacity, would care for her daughter no matter what. As it stood, it appeared that Beca made her daughter very happy indeed. And this knowledge made Sue Beale very happy, if not slightly sad that Chloe didn't feel confident enough to tell them herself that she and Beca were dating.

...

An hour passed and movement could be heard from upstairs. Jerry shuffled his position on the couch slightly, sitting up as their daughter skipped back into the lounge, diving back onto her favourite couch with a light sigh. There was a noticeable change in her expression. A broad smile remained on her face as she stared at the TV screen but as Sue Beale looked at her daughter she could tell the woman was daydreaming, evidently replaying the conversation she had just had with Beca in her head, her smile broadening further with each thing she remembered.

"How's Beca?" Sue heard her husband ask, his tone trying to be so casual that it almost came off as teasing. Fortunately the young redhead hadn't noticed, glancing down at her phone as it chimed, and letting out a small giddy chuckle before saying happily, "Yeah she's good. She says 'hi' back by the way, and is sorry she's not going to be able to come down here this week."

"I bet she is…" Jerry mumbled teasingly under his breath and Sue jammed her elbow into her husband's ribs causing him to let out a small chuckle. Chloe appeared to be too busy texting to notice, and Sue could tell her daughter was probably texting Beca thanks to the broad grin on her face.

I think at this rate I'm going to change this fic to being updated every other day or something because I can't frikkin stop writing hehe!

Thanks to those of you who are still sticking with this fic. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these epilogues. Hope the 'snappiness' of them are okay :)

I won't be able to update for a couple of days due to work but there'll be one come Friday.

xx