Epilogue XIII - Midnight Arrival

Chloe woke up with a start as the phone in her hand began to vibrate. She lifted her face off the pillow in her childhood bedroom at her parents house, wiping the line of saliva from the corner of her mouth. She must have dozed off while waiting patiently for Beca to call her. Beca. The redhead's stomach churned as she saw the woman's name across her phone screen and she answered the phone with a sleepy mumble.

"Mmbeca?"

"Chlo," Chloe sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes slightly with the palm of her hand as she wondered why her girlfriend was whispering, "can you let me in? I'm freezing."

The redhead furrowed her brow, turning her head to look at The Little Mermaid digital clock she'd been given for her sixth birthday. It was midnight. Crumbs had she been asleep for that long? Hang on…did Beca say something about letting her in?

"Beca…where are you?"

"I'm outside your house." Beca whispered slightly more urgently, clearly not wanting to wake the neighbours, "Will you come downstairs, please?"

Chloe slid off her bed and quickly dashed to her bedroom door, tugging it open and shuffling silently across the landing and down the staircase. Her heart soared as she saw the outline of a petite brunette woman stood outside the front door. She was here. Chloe scrambled for the door keys that lay in a bowl amongst all her brothers' car keys, then fumbled in the darkness to unlock the door. No sooner had she swung the door open her heart sunk. There, stood before her, was her girlfriend. But it wasn't her presence that broke Chloe's heart. It was the look on Beca's face.

She could immediately tell things couldn't have gone well with Mr Mitchell. Beca's deep blue eyes were glassy, her eyeliner uncharacteristically smudged and Chloe knew this meant that her girlfriend had been crying. It wasn't in Beca's nature to cry. Though to be fair the woman didn't really have anything to cry about, particularly since she and Chloe had finally got together. Plus there was now the added bonus of recently getting a small promotion at work which required her to seek out unsigned artists by attending various gigs for free. Something that both she and Chloe got to enjoy most nights that the redhead wasn't volunteering at the local theatre company in Brooklyn.

There were no words spoken and within a heartbeat of opening the front door Beca had flung herself into Chloe's warm arms. The redhead felt the chill from her girlfriend's pale skin but she didn't register it. Even five months into their relationship Beca wasone to initiate hugs or cuddles. She'd occasionally smooth her hand up and down Chloe's back if they were sat or laid together in private. She'd take hold of Chloe's hand if the redhead placed her hand on Beca's thigh while they sat together at a table in public. When she returned home after a long day at work she'd sometimes come up behind Chloe and snake her arms around the redhead's waist while the woman cooked their dinner. But Beca never initiated cuddles. Not like this.

"I thought you were staying at your Dad's for Christmas?" Chloe whispered into Beca's hair as she held the petite woman tightly.

"He's a jerk." She heard her girlfriend mumble into her neck and Chloe knew that tone. That was the tone Beca used when she'd had an argument with her father.

"He didn't take it so well huh?" Chloe said softly, releasing her grip so that Beca leant back slightly to look at her more clearly. She hated to see the brunette looking so vulnerable. Beca looked at her sadly, shaking her head slowly . Suddenly the light above them turned on and the two women jumped before the sound of footsteps could be heard descending the first few stairs of the staircase behind Chloe.

"Chloe what are-" Jerry Beale whispered down to his daughter but he stopped as he caught sight of Beca in Chloe's arms, "Beca?" The two young women turned to look up the staircase and saw Chloe's father swallow uncomfortably in the silence, clearly embarrassed that he may have interrupted an intimate moment between the two of them. But the silence wasn't there for long.

Sue Beale approached the top of the staircase donning a lilac dressing gown that appeared to match the silk pyjamas she wore underneath, "Beca?!" she whispered at her husband, wondering why he'd said the young woman's name in the first place. But her question was quickly answered as she looked down the stairs, past her husband, and her bright blue eyes quickly lay on her daughter and daughter's girlfriend. "Beca!" the woman whispered in recognition, a concerned expression on her face as she pushed past her husband and made her way down the remaining stairs, "Oh you must be freezing sweetheart. Come inside and let's shut this door." And Chloe watched her mother nudge the front door over before putting her arms around the two of them. Beca still had her arms around Chloe's waist, even in the presence of Chloe's parents, which was a sure sign that the brunette needed to be with her right now.

"Yeah." Jerry muttered as he reached the bottom of the stairs to join them, shutting the front door properly, "Try and savour the last of the warmth in this house Beca before Chloe lets it all out the front door." There was a sarcastic tone to his voice and Chloe rolled her eyes. He was a bit too precious when it came to letting the heat out of the house. But Jerry immediately straightened up as the three women before him turned to look at him, his wife and daughter glaring at his lack of sympathy for the short brunette who was clearly upset. So he simply sighed, "I'll go put the kettle on…" and began walking through to the kitchen at the back of the large house.

Sue dropped her arms down from the young women, smoothing a reassuring hand briefly across Beca's back before motioning for them to follow her. Chloe brought her arms down from Beca's shoulders and took her hand, which Beca squeezed tight. Another thing that was uncharacteristic. It was usually Chloe who squeezed Beca's hand, and it was usually when she was excited about something.

They followed Sue, who had led them to the kitchen, and Chloe led Beca to the island in the middle of the room. The brunette scrambled up onto one of the tall bar stools, and Chloe dragged one of the heavy stools across the tiled floor so that she could be sat directly next to her girlfriend. Meanwhile Sue had informed Jerry that tea wouldn't quite be the answer. The poor man turned the kettle off and pulled a massive carton of milk out of the fridge so that his wife could prepare some hot chocolate for the four of them.

"So, Beca…" Jerry began, leaning back against the work surface as he faced his daughter and daughter's girlfriend and Chloe felt herself grimacing slightly. What on earth was he going to say? "…Chloe said something about you telling your Dad about…well…you two." He said awkwardly, as though not wanting to upset the brunette any further.

Chloe looked at Beca nervously. She hadn't told her that she'd told her parents about tonight and what it meant for them as a couple. It was a huge deal. It was the difference between Beca keeping some family in her life and potentially ditching them all. And right now she feared that it would be the latter.

"Yeah, um…" Beca said with a pause, scrunching her nose up slightly as she she shook her head and stared down at her fingers that were currently entwined in Chloe's, "…he didn't really…uh…he didn't believe me."

"What bit didn't he believe?" Chloe found herself asking quietly.

"All of it, you know…like how we're more than just best friends and housemates…how we're in a serious relationship…" the brunette was beginning to sound more bitter as the speed in which she spoke became a little faster, "and I told him I was in love with you and that I wasn't messing about and…he said it was just a phase.

"What?!" All three of the Beale's cried out, slightly louder than intended considering the time of night. Chloe felt sick. Sure, they'd lived together for almost two years before becoming a couple, but living together whilst being a couple meant something. It meant more than just being a phase. Back home they shared a bed, they shared meals, they shared a Netflix account, they shared hopes and fears, they shared intimate companionship. They shared everything. This was so much more than just a phase. It was love.

"Oh I'd like to give him a piece of my mind!" Chloe heard her father grumble and she watched as her mother walked over to the island, sliding a tray with four mugs of hot chocolate into the centre. Chloe reached out and took her yellow mug with a black 'C' on it. Jerry had taken his red mug with a black 'J' on it, and Sue took her purple mug with a black 'S' on it. Beca knew the drill, taking the plain black mug that had always been her mug whenever she'd occasionally visited this house over the past four or five years. It was 'the guest mug' apparently. The kitchen fell silent as the adults nursed their respective mugs of homemade hot chocolate, sitting around one end of the island.

"So how did you get here Beca?" Sue asked kindly, trying to help ease the tension, "I can't imagine there were many flights from Atlanta this evening." Chloe took a sharp sip of her hot chocolate, listening out for Beca's response. Because it hadn't crossed her mind to ask her how she'd got here. All that mattered was that she was here. Chloe saw Beca shrug out of the corner of her eye.

"Nah I just…got a cab." The brunette mumbled, blowing the steam from the top of her black mug.

"That can't have been cheap!" Jerry chuckled, trying to lighten the mood and Chloe turned to her father, squinting her eyes slightly to tell him off and the man's smile quickly dropped. Now wasn't the time to be joking. Chloe knew Beca could afford it. Her recent promotion guaranteed it. To the redhead's relieve she saw a tiny smile appear in the corner of her girlfriend's mouth as Beca stared down at their hands that were entwined on her lap.

"Yeah well, it's worth it. I couldn't stand the idea of staying there while my Dad couldn't accept me…couldn't accept us..." Chloe felt a surge of warmth as she saw her girlfriend look up at Jerry and Sue Beale, who was sat opposite them, letting a soft smile spread across her face as she said, "you guys are better parents to me then my own parents are. Always have been I guess."

Beca was right, the Beale's always had treated Beca as though she was part of the family. There had been moments during the Barden college vacations when Beca would have an argument with her father about something and end up taking the two hour drive to The Beale's house. And on all but one occasion Chloe had been there when Beca had turned up. The one time that she hadn't, in Beca's penultimate year of college, Sue Beale had insisted Beca not wait in the car until her daughter returned from her summer job and the petite brunette had actually had a pretty nice afternoon helping the mother bake a cake because 'baking was therapeutic'. Sue hadn't pressed the young woman on details about why she'd turned up. She'd just engaged Beca in small talk until Chloe had returned home. And Chloe knew that Beca had really appreciated that.

"Beca, we'll always be here for you if you ever need us." Sue said warmly, a kind smile brushing on her face as her husband nodded in agreement, taking a slurp of the hot chocolate from his red mug. Chloe's heart skipped a beat as she saw Beca catch her eye. Her girlfriend was looking calmer already and it filled Chloe with joy that Beca being here with her, with her parents, in her parents home was almost like Beca's safety blanket. This was where Beca felt safe. And Chloe gave her girlfriend a wink, squeezing her hand in the process, which appeared to give the petite brunette the confidence for what she wanted to say next.

"So…um…could I stay here for Christmas?" Beca asked nervously and Mr & Mrs Beale both sat up straight, big smiles on their faces.

"Of course!" The parents exclaimed, their words echoing around the kitchen.

"We weren't expecting you to go back to your father's house!" Sue said.

"Absolutely not! No, you stay here for as long as you want kiddo!" Jerry added.

"Oh the kids are going to be so excited when they wake up and find out you're here!"

"Yeah you'll be the best present of all!"

And as her parents continued chatting away to them Chloe beamed at her girlfriend while the brunette's cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment at the attention. Chloe felt herself becoming a little giddy. She was about to spend her first Christmas with Beca!

Guys, seriously, I can't get over the speed of your reviews. I'm truly thankful! It definitely pushed me to chug this chapter out asap so thank you!

Eliley - dude, again you were hot on it when it came to reviewing the last chapter nice one! Don't worry, Sheila will come into her own at some point.. And yes, the Beale's LOVE Beca!

Megan - Bonjour! And Merci for the review (I'm sorry, that's all the French I know) and wow, thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a review in English. You are awesome!

Skyeze.10 - haha! Always a pleasure dude! I'm happy about it too!

Now then. Mystery Guest... I honestly don't know why I keep calling them epilogues either. It was something that occurred to me about 5 epilogues ago haha! But I suppose it's because the 'main story' was always meant to be just BeChloe's relationship being established and flourished while they were on tour? So now they've finished the tour it's kinda...the end of the main story? And I don't like doing 'sequel fics' because most sequel fics confuse me so...I figured I'd keep going but with epilogues. But thank you for the review and I'm pleased you're enjoying the story still!

bechloeorbhloe - hey! Welcome back! So pleased you're still loving the fic, that you love the idea for an 'm' rated version as well as more epilogues. And thank you for the compliments!

Laurathechef - hehe awesome, I'll add it to my list of 'm' rated scenes I'll soon begin writing...

xx