A/N: Alright gang? For what it's worth I was listening to The Oh Hello's when writing this chapter. Particularly their songs 'The Lament of Eustace Scrubb' and 'Wishing Well'(*)

Epilogue XVIII - Central Park

There was a nice light breeze drifting between the trees in Central Park which turned the first of September in New York City from a potentially boiling day, into a hot yet acceptable one. Chloe Beale slowly wandered along the path, her right hand entwined with Beca's left, her left hand holding tightly to a pink lead. And on the end of that lead was her puppy. Her beautiful, excitable, inquisitive, affectionate, adorable puppy. Her Alba.

It had been a challenging yet enjoyable six weeks since they had picked her up. It turns out raising a puppy wasn't quite as easy as Chloe had always imagined it to be. It wasn't enough to be kind and gentle with it and hope that it would behave because you were nice. No, the puppy still had accidents, still chewed almost everything in sight, and yet looked up at both her mother's with those big eyes that immediately made Chloe and Beca forgive her.

Chloe glanced to her right, watching Beca grin down at their puppy while Alba tugged on the lead to investigate a wrapper that had been dropped by one of the park benches. Beca's attitude towards Alba had taken Chloe by surprise. The brunette had spent so many years screwing her nose up at the thought of having a dog that Chloe thought it would take a long time for the woman to warm to their little ball of fur. But in reality, Beca adored their puppy almost as much as she did.

"Oh that would be so lovely!" Chloe exclaimed happily, holding her phone to her ear with her left hand, her right busy moving a mug to the Nespresso machine to make her girlfriend a coffee. This was her morning routine. She was always the first to get up and enjoyed being able to take Alba out for a short walk around the block before coming home and making Beca a coffee to slowly wake the brunette up before work. What wasn't her normal routine was a phone call from her mother so early in the morning. But Chloe didn't mind, she loved speaking to her. "I'll check with Beca that she hasn't got a gig to go to that night but if she doesn't then we absolutely must go for dinner!"

"Oh she doesn't have a gig on that night sweetheart," Sue Beale said down the phone to Chloe, who furrowed her brow slightly.

"Okaaay and you know that how Mom…?" Chloe began to query, but her mother merely chuckled at her suspicion.

"I texted Beca yesterday afternoon because I was struggling with Spotify and she called me to help. Did you know I can share my playlists with anyone I want? I just have to email them!" Sue said enthusiastically as though she had just experienced a piece of the future. But Chloe was unimpressed.

"Mom, Beca was at work yesterday! What have I told you about contacting her during the day?" This wasn't the first time Sue had contacted Beca about something small that could wait until the evening and Chloe had a funny feeling it wouldn't be the last, no matter how many times the daughter warned her mother not to interrupt her girlfriend at work.

"She was taking Alba for a walk and she called me!" Sue protested cheerfully, and Chloe rolled her eyes, allowing a small smile to creep onto her face.

"Hmm…lucky you…"

"So your father and I will be with you about 4pm next Wednesday. You're sure work will let you finish early?" Sue said and Chloe's smile broadened.

"Oh totes. They're pretty good like that."

"And you're sure it's okay we sleep in your spare room overnight?"

"Mom of courses it is! Definitely. Absolutely. You never need to ask!"

She loved that her parents liked to come up to New York and visit. And she loved that her parents loved Beca and Beca loved them. Her mother and girlfriend often texted back and forth every couple of days or so; Sue usually with a question about the music industry or technology, Beca usually with an answer. Jerry Beale was a little more reserved when it came to contacting Beca, but when he did it was often with a financial article he'd found online that he thought the brunette would find interesting. Which, to Chloe's surprise, Beca always did. Then there were the slightly more mortifying times when Sue or Jerry would text Beca a photo of Chloe when she was a baby or young child which Beca loved…

"Right, I'll catch up with you in the week then Mom." Chloe said as she began making her way through the apartment to her bedroom.

"Righto sweetheart, have a lovely day, and send my love to Beca and my grandpup please!" Sue chimed back with affection.

"Will do Mom," Chloe giggled in a quiet voice, "Love you lots."

Chloe nudged her way through the bedroom door as she ended the conversation with her mother, and stopped in the doorway. Her heart soared at the sight before her. The early morning light from the bedroom window trickled around the room and touched upon two lumps sprawled in the large Queen-sized bed. One was her girlfriend, the other her puppy. Each morning, after she had taken Alba for a little walk, Chloe would make her girlfriend a coffee while allowing the puppy to scuttle through to the bedroom and howl until Beca caved and scooped her up onto the bed to snuggle. At first the brunette had strongly objected, insisting that they needed to set out some boundaries for their dog or she would end up misbehaving. But that was three weeks ago and Chloe had simply ignored her protests every morning.

The wearing down had finally worked. Now, laid out before her, was a pyjama-clad Beca, tucked up under the bedsheets, her bed hair smushed at all sorts of angles, laying on her right side as her left arm curled around the small body of their white Labrador puppy. Alba meanwhile, was laid out, her back against Beca's chest, head lolling on Beca's upper right arm that was stretched along the width of her side of the bed. Both were fast asleep.

Chloe silently pulled her phone out in front of her, found the camera option, and bit her bottom lip as she pressed the button that would take the photo. She jumped as a loud noise sounded from the device that indicated that a photo had been taken. To her embarrassment both Beca and Alba jumped out of their sleep and blinked over at her. Despite Beca's frown at the redhead's action, Alba merely wagged her tail in recognition of her mother's return to the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Beca grumbled as Chloe reached down and placed her coffee on the small nightstand beside the bed with a smile. She loved how grumpy Beca was in the mornings.

"You two were just too cute to not take a picture!" Chloe teased, a light giggle slipping out of her mouth as she heard Beca groan while she pulled her left arm from around their puppy and up to her face. Alba, having essentially been set free from the comfort of her Mama's arm, scrambled up to her little feet and began wagging her tail at Chloe who bent down and scratched behind her ears. Chloe's cooing soon turned into a long giggle as Beca let out an "argh!", Alba's tail accidentally hitting her in the face over and over while the puppy enjoyed Chloe's fuss.

Beca's grumpiness immediately dissipated as she held her left hand to her face to protect it from Alba's tail, laughing as the puppy turned quickly and bundled into her, licking her face enthusiastically.

"Okay OKAY!" Beca chuckled, scooping the puppy up and rolling onto her back, "How about we give Mommy some room huh?"

Chloe still loved the way Beca called her 'Mommy' when referring to her in front of Alba. The redhead slid her jeans off, pulled off Beca's hoodie that she'd chucked on before leaving the apartment earlier, and slid into the bed, pulling the sheets over her lower body just as her puppy scrambled into her lap, smothering her with licks to her chin.

"See you DO love snuggles with Mommy and Mama, don't you!" Chloe cooed affectionately at the puppy who had now trailed her feverish licking to behind the redhead's ear, causing her to giggle once again.

"You spoil that puppy, you know that right?" Beca muttered rhetorically but Chloe turned to beam at her, unsurprised by the broad grin that was on her girlfriend's face despite her tone of voice.

"Oh you LOVE it!" She said, reaching out, pulling her girlfriend's hand to her lips and placing a chaste kiss on her palm. Beca quickly rolled her eyes but had no time to react to the quirkiness of the action, because Alba had remembered there was someone else in the bed other than Chloe, so scrambled back over to Beca excitably.

Okay so they'd had a few behavioural issues. The usual problems that Chloe had expected and Beca had read all about, such as toilet training (thank goodness Beca had bought that crate), and the nipping (but Alba had had no idea how sharp her little teeth were, and after looking up some advice videos on YouTube Chloe and Beca had just about trained their puppy out of nipping) had all been manageable. The crying and howling in the middle of the night had been unbearable but Beca had assured Chloe that Alba would eventually stop, which after ten sleepless nights she did.

The big issue however, that neither Chloe or Beca had anticipated, was how much Alba would chew. She chewed everything! From clothing and shoes, to the corner of their little sofa, from books and magazines to the tv remote. Beca had even had to replace the screen of her iPhone because she'd accidentally dozed off one Sunday afternoon with the puppy and her phone resting on her stomach. And the thing was, neither Beca or Chloe stayed mad with Alba for long. Which was probably a good job because last week had really been the last straw for both women.

"Okay, don't get mad." Chloe said quickly as she dashed from the kitchen while Beca walked through the front door of their apartment. She saw the brunette pause and squint with a suspicious expression.

"Well that's something a girl always wants to hear the moment she gets home from work" Beca said sarcastically, a slight grin appearing in the corner of her mouth as she shrugged her jacket off and hung it up on the coat peg beside her. "What would I be getting mad at?"

Chloe swallowed loudly, a sharp exhale leaving her mouth before screwing her face up slightly, "Remember how we agreed that we should keep the baby gate locked at all times whether Alba was in her crate or not?"

"Yeeeeaaahhh?" Beca replied suspiciously, looking directly at Chloe as though trying to read her mind.

"And remember how I told you that I definitely knew how to lock it?" Chloe's heart began racing a little faster as she heard Beca let out a little groan, bringing her hands to her face, pushing back her brunette hair as she put two-and-two together and realised what Chloe was about to say. Chloe had been the last person to leave the apartment this morning. They had been locking the baby gate that stood in the doorway of the kitchen as a way of keeping their puppy in just one room to prevent any havoc, a tip that Beca had read in the book she had bought before they had picked Alba up.

"Oh God, what did she do?"

Chloe bit her bottom lip. She wasn't going to lead with the fact that Alba had left three different piles of poop around the apartment, or that the puppy had peed in two corners of the lounge. Or that she'd managed to knock over the half bottle of Old Mercury beer that Beca had left on the coffee table which she had licked all up and consequently puked on the welcome mat that Beca now stood on. Chloe wasn't even going to bother mentioning that Alba had somehow got into the bathroom, chewed a bottle of the redhead's favourite shampoo and unraveled not one but two rolls of toilet paper, spreading shreds of it all around the bathroom and hallway. Chloe had fortunately managed to clean up all of those messes as best as she possibly could and so far it seemed unnoticeable. Thank goodness she had had the sense to close both the bedroom doors this morning! No, the thing that she needed to confess was something she knew wouldn't go down too well with her girlfriend.

"Alba kinda found your converse…" Chloe said quietly. It had been a shock to the redhead when she had returned home a couple of hours ago. Not the smell of wee or the sight of poop, not the trail of toilet paper or patch of puke that she'd almost stepped in. No, it had been the terrifying trail of red fabric and mauled shoelaces that had lead to the rubber soles that had once been Beca's favourite pair of converse trainers. The soles that had laid in Alba's crate, the Labrador puppy having clearly found some sort of comfort in having them there with her.

She watched as Beca took a deep intake of breath then growl slightly under her breath, and Chloe suddenly felt very guilty. It was all her fault. All of it. She'd been the one who had forgotten to check if she'd locked the baby-gate properly not Beca. Beca who had been so amazing letting them get a dog in the first place. Who had read and prepared as much as she could before they got their puppy. Who had stuck religiously to "doing the accounts" every week so they could afford to keep Alba while having enough money for themselves. And this was how Chloe was repaying her. By giving their puppy the space to maul her favourite pair of footwear.

"Where is she?" Beca grumbled and Chloe stepped aside, nervously motioning to the kitchen, and her girlfriend didn't look at her, instead walking past her towards the kitchen. But Chloe furrowed her brow as Beca stopped in the doorway. "Um Chlo…seriously where is she?"

"She's in the kitchen." Chloe said, but her stomach knotted when she approached the brunette and saw her gesture at the baby gate that hung open. Chloe uncharacteristically swore under her breath as she met her girlfriend's eyes, Beca raising her eyebrows. Fortunately a slightly amused smirk appeared in the corner of Beca's mouth as though she couldn't believe her girlfriend had left the gate open again.

Suddenly Chloe felt her blood go cold as a loud "yap" sounded from the back of the apartment. It was a specific yapping noise that Alba only made when she had found something to chew and seemed to tell it off while she chewed. And that noise had come from their bedroom. Chloe glanced at Beca who was already glaring at her, and the redhead followed her girlfriend as the two women dashed to their bedroom. They both silently prayed that they hadn't given the puppy too much time to trash the main room in their apartment that they valued.

Beca reached the doorway first and froze, before quickly turning on her heels and holding her hands out to stop Chloe. The redhead felt her heart jump into her throat as she saw the look on Beca's face. The woman was no longer annoyed that was for sure.

"Okay don't get mad…" Beca said, and had Chloe not been terrified about what state their puppy was in right now she would have giggled at her girlfriend repeating the very words she'd said to her when she had arrived home from work just minutes ago. Chloe noticed Beca wince before taking her hand and leading her into their bedroom. The redhead couldn't help the cry of dismay that left her mouth as her eyes landed on their puppy. Or more specifically her favourite wireless hair straighteners that were currently being gnawed to death by their puppy.

"Alba no!" Chloe shrieked as she strode towards the dog, stooping down and immediately plucking what was left of the straighteners from Alba's grasp. These were her favourite straighteners! The best she'd ever had! She couldn't afford to replace them! Chloe could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she inspected the damage. There was no fixing them, the plastic coating proving that with the way it hung off the hot plates of the device.

"Chloe, I know this looks bad, but…" Beca said as she began to approach the redhead but Chloe was devastated.

"Beca these were my favourite straighteners!"

"I know…"

"They were a gift from Mom and Dad a couple of years ago!"

"I know, I know…" Beca said, bringing her hand up to stroke Chloe's upper arm as a form of comfort.

"They're wireless!" Chloe exclaimed loudly, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. She hadn't meant to shout but she was in so much shock. How could she have been so stupid to leave that gate open for a second time that day? She heard Alba patter over to her and let out a little whine as she sat at her feet.

"Look, Alba didn't mean to do it. See, she's really sorry!"

Chloe followed Beca's hand that had gestured to the puppy sat at their feet, looking up at them with big puppy-dog eyes, knowing that in some way she was in the wrong. But in an instant Chloe forgave her. Because Beca was right, Alba hadn't meant to do it. She was just a puppy. And it had technically been Chloe's fault for leaving the gate open.

That little fiasco had led Beca and Chloe to discuss and agree that it wasn't good for Alba to be left alone for the few hours of the day that Chloe was out at work. It was also agreed that while Chloe (and probably Chloe's colleagues) would love to have Alba in work with her, the coffee shop policy was that no animals of any kind were allowed onto the premises. The couple decided that Beca would have Alba with her instead – the perks of having her own office space and studio. So for the past week Beca had been taking Alba into work with her, ensuring that she took plenty of photos to keep Chloe updated, and Chloe had been meeting Beca at her work to pick Alba up and take her home once she'd finished working at the coffee shop each day. Since starting that routine, Alba had seemed far more settled and it guaranteed that Chloe would return home with their puppy to the same state of apartment that she had left.

"Oh my god she's adooorable!" came a familiar voice as Chloe and Beca approached the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park. Striding towards them with a broad grin on her face was Chloe's dearest friend, Aubrey Posen. Chloe immediately noted just how well the blonde looked. Dressed in a pair of small denim shorts, a light flowing t-shirt and a large summer hat, the blonde beamed at the three of them but focused mostly on the puppy. This was perhaps the best she had ever seen her, and Chloe had known the woman for almost ten years.

Aubrey crouched down to greet the white Labrador who tugged excitably on the little pink lead until she reached the woman's open arms. Seeing Aubrey here was not a surprise though. They had arranged to meet her last week when she had texted Chloe completely out of the blue informing her that she was travelling over to NYC for twenty four hours. Naturally Chloe had been surprised that it was for such a short period of time, but her surprise had been short-lived the moment Aubrey mentioned that the reason for the brief visit was because the only time Staci would be in the country that month would be for twenty four hours, over the first of September, at a photo shoot in Central Park.

Aubrey stood up straight and pulled Chloe then Beca into tight hugs before they began slowly walking deeper into the park.

"So, Aubrey, you mentioned you're here to see Staci?" Beca said with a grin and Chloe beamed at the blonde who wore a coy smile as she looked down at Alba. Aubrey really did look happy.

"Um…yeah she's in London over the next couple of weeks then Paris a couple of weeks after that so we thought why not catch a few hours together in NYC before she has to leave in the morning."

Chloe couldn't imagine ever having to live like that. Having Beca work away while she stayed at home, carrying on with her life as best as possible, counting down the days until they were reunited again. She'd spent the first four years that she'd known Beca, pining for her. That feeling of unrequited love had made it feel as though she'd been a million miles away from the brunette, even if she'd been stood right next to her. Chloe didn't want anything remotely like that to happen again. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Beca.

"Speaking of…" Aubrey said brightly and Chloe snapped out of her daydream to see a leggy brunette model striding over to them, a broad smile on her face. Chloe realised this was the happiest she'd ever seen Staci look too. The woman reacted much like her girlfriend had, immediately crouching down to fuss the Labrador puppy who scrambled to get as close to Staci's chin so she could lick it.

"My God guys, an apartment and now a puppy? When are you gonna propose, huh Beca?" Staci said with a chuckle as she stood up straight and greeted the petite brunette with a hug. Chloe swallowed loudly, smiling in embarrassment as she saw an awkward expression on her girlfriend's face and the redhead felt for her. They'd had this discussion with Fat Amy a few months ago, who had appeared out of nowhere one day at the coffee shop that Chloe worked at while Beca had happened to be visiting on her lunch break. Fat Amy had asked them who would end up doing the proposing and while both Chloe and Beca had initially been reluctant to think about it, a fifteen minute discussion with the Australian had uncovered the decision that it would be Beca who would probably end up proposing to Chloe. A decision that Fat Amy had subsequently put on The Bella's WhatApp group, which had sent the other Bella's into a frenzy.

"Um…I um…it's good to see you Staci." Beca answered awkwardly as Staci let out another chuckle before giving Chloe a tight hug.

"Get Beca to propose, get married, then get some Aca-Babies on the go yeah? Auntie Staci wants a troop of mini-Bella's to pass her advice on to." Staci grinned as she gave Chloe a mischievous wink, revelling in the way that Beca now hand her hands up to her face in embarrassment. Chloe let out a small giggle, shaking her head slightly as if telling Staci off for how naughty she was being.

"Believe me Staci, our children will not be getting advice from you!" Beca warned, but her cheeks flushed slightly as the model let out a teasing squeal, lunging towards her to jab her in the side with a big grin.

"Did Beca Effin Mitchell just admit that she and Chloe Jeffin Beale will one day have children?!" Staci teased rhetorically and now it was Chloe's turn to bring a hand to her face in embarrassment glancing to her left at Aubrey who winked at her, clearly thrilled at the committed relationship her best friend was in. Beca and Chloe hadn't talked about having children much, but they had talked about it, which was more than the redhead ever thought she'd get when she'd first started dating Beca. It was in their future, they knew that. But Chloe knew it would be a few years yet. For now their puppy was taking up enough of their time, affection and Beca's money.

It was now Aubrey's turn on the 'Staci-affection-line' and Chloe's face broke into a broad smile as she watched both Aubrey and Staci take off their large summer hats with their left hands, and hold them either side of their faces. Chloe heard them kiss, but couldn't see it from beyond the hats. It was funny seeing Aubrey and Staci together. Like, together-together. But as the two placed their hats back on their heads with broad smiles on their faces, Chloe's heart soared. She loved seeing how happy Staci appeared to make Aubrey, the eldest watching in adoration as the model bent down again to interact with the puppy.

"Um, Stace, what's with the hats hiding your kiss?" Beca asked curiously, but Staci merely shrugged, not taking her eyes off Alba once as she spoke.

"There's paparazzi about today. They've been following me a lot recently... At the moment there's two in the distance to my right" the other three women looked to Staci's right but couldnt see anything, and Chloe realised they must be as good at hiding as she'd always heard paparazzi were, "and one swigging a coffee to my left, pretending to be a tourist." And sure enough, there was the guy Staci was describing. Short, rotund, with an odd combination of thick clothing for a hot summers day, a bucket hat, and a large 'tourist' camera round his neck, sipping from a coffee cup. Had Staci not pointed him out, Chloe would have definitely assumed he was a tourist. NYC was full of them, each looking more peculiar than the one before. "We're trying to keep a low profile in case the paps catch on to us being a thing and sell the story to a newspaper."

"I don't think I could handle the reaction my father would have to finding out about us from the newspaper or one of the neighbours." Aubrey added and all four women fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts about the sobering reality of Aubrey's family. Chloe had never met Mr Posen, but she'd heard plenty about him over the years that she'd known Aubrey. The blonde had a valid reason to be cautious, Mr Posen was strict and military, and this was possibly the first time the two women had been out and about together away from the safe bubble that had been The Lodge of Fallen Leaves. Chloe couldn't begin to imagine how terrified Aubrey must be on the inside, despite her current cheery disposition.

"Right, well I'm starving! Lunch anyone?" Staci exclaimed, breaking the silence as she stood up straight, and Chloe furrowed her brow with an amused grin while handing the lead to Beca who held onto it with her right hand, jerking slightly as the labrador tugged towards a nearby tree.

"Are you allowed to have lunch?" She asked as they began walking, "I mean, you're halfway through a photoshoot..." Chloe took Beca's left hand again, entwining their fingers as the friends made their way down the path. Aubrey linked her arm with Chloe's before Staci took hold of the blonde's hand.

"Are you kidding?" Aubrey chuckled, "Staci doesn't miss any meal!" And Chloe smiled, surprised by this little nugget of information about Staci, with whom she didn't know a lot about. She was still trying to get used to hearing Aubrey talk animatedly about the brunette. Aubrey had never really talked animatedly about anyone before and so Chloe could tell just how much the blonde had fallen for the leggy brunette.

"I'm changing the face of modelling one burrito at a time." Staci added, and the women laughed as Alba led the way, scrambling after a pigeon that had dared to cross their path.

Thank you all for the patience in waiting for this chapter to be uploaded :)

Shout out to the Tumblr lot who have patiently waited for this chapter since I mentioned on there last night that I would have it uploaded within a couple of hours but I didn't... I actually fell asleep! Sorry!

Don't forget your homework gang: Watching 'The One (Acoustic)' by 'Kodaline' on YouTube and getting used to the way it sounds. Don't worry so much about the look of the video, just the music :) it'll benefit you in a couple of chapters time..

Skyeze.10 - Ahh thank you so much! Glad you loved it :)

Guest - Your review has been such a conundrum to me lol! No idea what you mean by 'AND' but...thanks? haha!

LauratheChef - Aww thanks dude!

Jerkasauras13 - (brilliant name btw). Thank you so much for your review! So pleased it made you smile :) and you're making me blush with your compliment. Thank you!

Miisa - Hello! Welcome! Thank you SO much for your kind review. And wow as if you've cried and laughed during - is it weird that I'm totally honoured that this fic has done that? I am absolutely continuing. Of course I am! Hope you enjoyed this update :)

Next chapter...I think we should get Sue & Jerry over to NY ;)

(*)For those of you who have watched the movie Table 19 you'll recognise the song 'Wishing Well' as the instrumental is used throughout the movie)