**Disclaimer: There's this thing, called creative license, and it is used heavily through out this chapter. I have absolutely NO hate against the state of Wyoming, I in fact have never been to Wyoming. I can pretty much guarantee that the way I've described the state of Wyoming is nothing at all like what it is. I'm sure it's a very beautiful state. However, for this chapter, I decided to have a little fun. My deepest apologies to any of my readers if I happen to bash your state.**

Also worth noting, in GMET, Chloe met her husband, Luke, who had just moved from Georgia to Connecticut for Law School. I completely wasn't thinking when I chose the name, forgetting that people might confuse him with Luke the station manager. If this was a movie, Scott Eastwood would play Chloe's Husband.

Bekah, you're amazing, thank you for never giving up on me.

Enjoy everyone, and please be sure to review, I love hearing from each of you!


This was not how he was supposed to respond. In her head he was sympathetic, calming, and said all the right words. Because he was Jesse Swanson, that's what he did. He said all the right things, made Beca feel safe, and always had a plan, always had an answer.

In reality, he was cackling away, right in her ear.

"Jesse!" Beca hissed. "This is so not funny!"

Pacing back and forth, Beca glanced out the window. It was nothing but flat land for miles and miles. Off in the distance, tumbleweeds blew across the plains as the wind begain to pick up and a crop duster flew over a field of corn. Where they even still in the United States?

To say that Laramie Regional Airport was small was a complete understatement. For starters, Delta was the only airline that even flew passengers to and from. The airport had five gates, and were lucky if they saw thirty flights throughout the day. The building was a one story structure with one ticket counter, a rundown McDonald's, a scarcely stocked Magazine Store, and a generic coffee shop. Beca could see every part of the airport from where she stood. It had been a four and a half hour flight from New York to Wyoming. With the time change, it was 9:30 in the morning, and their flight to LA wouldn't leave until noon. Factoring in yet another time difference, the girls were scheduled to touch down at 2pm. Having been in three different time zones in one day, Beca's mind could barely keep up. At this point, time was irrelevant.

"I'm sorry." Jesse apologized, trying to compose himself. "I'm just trying to picture you and Stacie in Wyoming...It's not working. Can I get a selfie of you guys by a tractor or out in a corn field or something?"

His laughter continued in her ear, and she briefly considered hanging up on him.

"Hey, here's a fun fact!" He chirped up again. "Did you know that the city of Laramie has a population of 31,814 people and the entire state of Wyoming only has 584,000 residents? Bec, New York City has like...8 million residents!"

Beca took a seat and glanced over at Stacie, who was reapplying another coat of makeup. She smacked her lips together as she looked in her compact mirror.

"Yeah, here's my own fun fact, when I get home, I'm going to take your list of fun facts, and shove them up your ass!"

Stacie glanced over curiously. "I thought you guys weren't into anal?"

"I'll make this my one and only exception." Beca huffed.

Jesse finally seemed to settle down as they talked about how things were going in New York, plans for when they returned home, and how much they already missed each other despite the fact that Jesse could be a royal pain in Beca's ass. Jesse was headed out the door and off to a meeting when she had called. Having arrived at his location, he told Beca that he loved her, and reminded her to take plenty of pictures.

Hanging up the phone, Beca released a long sigh. She and Stacie were stranded in the middle of nowhere as they waited for their flight to arrive. Pulling out her laptop and figuring she could at least get some work done, Beca soon came to find that there was no wifi available in the airport. She closed the computer in defeat and crossed her arms against her chest.

A chime came in from above, signaling someone was using the intercom system. Beca glanced up at the sound.

"Paging Brian Williams, Brian Williams to gate four please."

The security guard passed by, riding his segway.

"Oh for God's sake Earl, there's twenty damn people in the entire place, I don't even know why we have the intercom system, just use your outside voice!" He chastised.

Raising her eyebrows, Beca found herself totally confused and out of her element.

"Ugh, this is awful, there's not even a bar for us to pass the time in." Stacie complained as she exaimed her nails. "What the hell are we supposed to do for the next two and a half hours?"

"Y'all could go to Hank's."

Beca and Stacie both looked up at the sound of a man's voice.

Across from them, sat a gentleman dressed in blue jean overalls, a plaid shirt, and a straw hat, shelling peanuts, presumably waiting for a flight.

"I'm sorry?" Beca questioned.

"Hank's." He repeated, not bothering to look up. "The bar across the street. Been there since...what's it been now, bout fifty or sixty years I guess."

"It's, um, it's 9:30 in the morning." Beca pointed out. Surely the man had just lost track of time. He laughed a deep bellied laugh.

"Oh honey, Hank's never closes. That crazy old man lives at the bar. He got married in that bar. Matter of fact, his late wife, Bessie, delivered one of their son's on the pool table. He might not be up, but the bar will be, I can damn near guarantee it." The man said as he dropped peanut shells onto the floor.

Beca turned to look at Stacie. Places like this could not seriously exsist. It was the stuff of movies. What the hell kind of backwoods had they been dropped into?

"Bec, if were stuck in Wyoming for the next two and a half hours, we should at least get drunk."

Beca agreed. Gathering their belongings, the girls thanked the man, and made their way out of the airport.


They weren't even sure it was open at first as they stared at the small, dilapidated building in front of them. The overgrown weeds surrounding the area, blew forcefully as the wind picked up around them. The shutters, badly in need of a fresh coat of paint, hung loosely almost entirely of their hinges. Not a single car was parked in the dirt parking lot, and Bud Light cans had been scattered about. The place looked like Mayberry, and Beca fully expected Opie to go walking by with his fishing pole and tackle box at any moment. She told herself that if Barney Fife was sitting at the bar when they walked in, she was going to get on the first plane out of Laramie; she didn't care where it was going.

Beca rarely wore heels. As she looked down at her sleeveless, maroon colored top and dark wash jeans, she wished at this point that she had gone with her original choice of footwear, flats.

"Why do I have a feeling were going to regret this?"

"Only one way to find out." Stacie insisted as she grabbed Beca by the hand and pulled the door open.

The four men at the bar all turned in their chairs and stared as the wind loudly slammed the door shut behind the girls.

The inside of the bar wasn't fairing much better than the outside. Beca caughed and waved her hand in front of her face as she tried to adjust to the smoke filled haze. In the middle of the room laid two worn, well used pool tables, both of which were missing balls and covered in beer stains. A jukebox, pinball machine, and an ancient Pac Man arcade game lined up in the back. Hank Williams Jr could be heard echoing off the walls of the nearly empty bar.

Beca and Stacie had never felt so out of place in their life.

Standing behind the bar, an older gentleman, who had to be pushing nearly eighty some years old, cleaned a beer glass.

"Can I help you ladies?"

Making their way over to the bar, peanut shells crunched beneath the soles of the girls heels. Stacie cleared her throat as she whipped her loosely curled, honey brown hair behind her shoulder.

"Yeah can we get two cinnamon toast crunch shots and two angry orchards?" She asked as she handed over the company credit card. It was Mark's screw up that the girls were even in Wyoming in the first place. The least he could do was cover their bar tab.

The bartender laughed heartily at their expense. What started as a chuckle, quickly erupted into full blown laughter. The four men sitting around the bar soon joined in. Beca and Stacie looked at each other curiously, not catching on as to what could possibly be so funny.

"Ya'll must not be from around here." He finally answered after he managed to compose himself.

Stacie, Miss. Queen of fashion, looked down at her outfit. From the sunglasses to the clothes all the way down to the shoes, every piece on Stacie's body was a designer label. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever gave that away?"

"Well, for starters, we don't serve liquor, and we don't take credit cards. But..." The man leaned over the bar and lowered his voice. "For twenty bucks, I've got some mason jars of moonshine out in the back of my trunk."

Stacie stood there as she pressed her lips together and thought the offer over in her head. Beca's eyes widened as she glanced between Stacie and the bartender.

"Uhh, the angry orchards will do just fine, thanks." Beca cut in as she handed the man a twenty dollar bill.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" She hissed to Stacie as the man turned his back and reached into a refrigerator.

"Becs, I'm pretty sure I'd drink everclear at this point. I need something strong!" Stacie whispered.

Beca pulled her cell phone out and quickly sent Jesse a text.

I have somehow landed into some fucked up backwoods twilight zone. Some dude just offered Stacie and I moonshine...in a mason jar...from his trunk! The only thing this place is missing is some hillbilly strumming a banjo.

In the chair next to them, sat a young man who couldn't have been much older than them. In a pair of blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt, he looked harmless enough. Looking over, he smiled and tipped his hat before spitting chewing tobacco juice into his beer can.

Beca and Stacie both smiled nervously before simultaniously holding up their left hands and pointing to the rings on their fingers.

Beca felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see a text from Jesse.

All it contained was three crying laughing emoji faces. He was so dead when and if she got home.

It was about to be the longest two and a half hours of their lives.


"I can't believe you let that man give you square dancing lessons!" Beca laughed as the girls made it off the plane and into LAX.

"Hey, when in Rome..."

After a rather interesting experience at Hank's in which Stacie had allowed Mr. Chewing Tobacco to teach her how to square dance and the girls had gone through four beers each, Beca had never been more thrilled to be in California than she had at that moment. The people of Wyoming had been more than friendly. Albeit weird, but friendly none the less. And they certainly did their best to try and make the girls feel welcome. However, the hustle and bustle that the Los Angeles Airport provided was a most welcome sight as watched the hundreds of people running about trying to get to their various locations, the dozens of well recognizable fast food locations, and the many 'free wifi available' signs scattered throughout the airport. The intercom system continuously went off as announcements were made and passengers were paged. It was like they had stepped back into the twenty first century again.

After quickly grabbing the cinnamon toast crunch shots the girls had been craving in Wyoming, they headed down to baggage claim to grab their luggage.

Making their way down the escalator, Stacie immediately caught sight of the big hot pink sign with 'Mitchson/Conrad' written in bold, black, block letters. She immediately burst into laughter at the sight as Beca rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I hate it when he combines my last names."

Stacie laughed. "I mean, in his defense, the man has no patience, and Mitchell-Swanson is a lot to fit on a sign."

They made their way over to the sign that was being held by a five foot two Indian man in a business suit, with a huge smile on his face.

"Ladies! Ladies! So good to have you in Los Angeles! My name is Krishna, it's so nice to meet you both. Tell me, how was your flight?" He asked as he took their bags and escorted them out of the airport. Beca and Stacie simply looked at each other.

"It was definitely interesting." Beca replied.

The sunshine felt amazing on her skin. With the temperature at a comfortable 72 degrees and a slight breeze, the weather was absolutely perfect. After a crazy morning of flights, mishaps, and time changes, (Beca still wasn't sure what the exact time was.) it felt good to finally be in LA and to have the evening ahead of them to relax.

A commotion could be heard from a few gates down as the girls made their way to the car. People were screaming out questions, flashes were going off intensely, and security was trying desperately to get the situation under control. Beca stopped for a second and looked over at the scene, unable to make out who was coming through.

Krishna shook his head. "Celebrities, LAX is full of them. You get used to the chaos of this airport after a while."

Beca nodded her head, feeling once again beyond grateful to get the best of both worlds. Beca got to be apart of the music industry, which had been a lifelong dream, and yet, she had total anonymity. Music producers had huge roles in the industry, but unless you were Pharell, the average citizen would have no idea who you were if they saw you walking down the street. And that was exactly how Beca liked it.

In the parking garage, a black sedan beeped as the car was unlocked and the trunk popped. Placing their bags into the trunk, Krishna shut it and got into the driver's seat as Stacie and Beca slid into the back seats and buckled their seatbelts.

Krishna buckled his seatbelt, turned the car on, and put it into reverse before turning his head back to face the girls.

"LA traffic can be a little crazy, but there is nothing to worry about, I assure you we will all arrive in one piece!"


Both Beca and Stacie flew forward as the car screetched to a halt in front of the Beverly Hilton.

"Welcome to the Beverly Hilton!" Krishna cheerfully exclaimed as he put the car in park and turned back to face the girls.

Beca clutched at her chest as she tried to regain her breathing and waited for the dizziness to fade. Had she known they were going to be taking a ride on Aerosmith's Rock'n Roller Coaster, she never would have taken the shot back at the airport.

The girls had watched in horror as Krishna's rode rage had turned the sweet and tiny man into a version of the hulk with a mouth that had the ability to make a truck driver blush. As they swerved in and out of lanes, Krishna rode people's bumpers, laid on the horn, and flipped people off left, right, and center. His speed, combined with the constant stop and go, had both girls so dizzy, they briefly considered getting sick into their handbags. Beca had never been a very religious person, but it hadn't taken long before she was praying under her breath and begging Jesus to take the wheel.

As they stepped out of the car, Beca and Stacie were both completely worn out and thanking God for the land beneath their feet.

After checking in at the front desk, the girls headed up to their room. Much to their surprise, Mark, having felt guilty for screwing their flight up, had called and upgraded the girls to a deluxe suite. Upon entering the room, a fresh fruit basket, several bottles of wine, vouchers for massages, and a heartfelt apology note greeted them. After a long and exhausting morning, their posh home away from home for the next several days was more than welcomed.

After unpacking and getting settled in, Beca sprawled out on her bed and called Jesse to let him know they arrived safely while Stacie settled for a bubble bath in the oversized soaking tub. The girls were due to meet with their up and coming artist for dinner that night at seven, but for now, they had plenty of time to relax.

After hanging up with Jesse, Beca laid in the bed, alone with her thoughts.

Beca had felt uneasy leaving for Los Angeles without speaking to Chloe. She and Stacie had both tried to reach out to her, thinking she would have liked to join them on their trip. Though the girls would be busy with work quite a bit of the time, they both had agreed that Chloe would have enjoyed a mini vacation at the beach. But all of their calls had gone unanswered. Beca had left several messages on her voicemail, as well as with Luke. And in the event that Chloe didn't want to actually talk, she sent several text messages. Every attempt to contact her went unanswered. Picking up her phone, she decided to try one last time. This time, calling Luke.

"Hello."

His thick southern voice pierced through her ear. Living on the East Coast for the past five years did nothing to erase his accent. Hearing Luke speak, it was like he never even left Georgia. He had answered the phone so quickly, Beca was momentarily rendered speechless.

"Hello?" He repeated, waiting for a response.

"Luke, hey, it's Beca." She quickly answered.

"Oh...hey Beca."

His voice was timid, and on edge. He had to know that Beca was getting sick of being dodged, of phone calls and text messages that always seemed to go unanswered.

"I was just wondering if I could talk to Chloe. I'm starting to get worried. I haven't seen her since that brief encounter at Stacie's like two weeks ago. I've tried calling, left a whole bunch of messages..."

Luke sighed, and Beca could feel the lump return to her throat as she tried not to let her emotions get the best of her. She just wanted to talk to her best friend and help her through whatever it was that was going on.

"She's uh, she's actually in the shower right now."

Beca shook her head, feeling beaten down and frustrated. "Stop, just...just please stop making excuses for her. Have you even told her that I've been calling?"

Luke became very defensive. "I've delivered every one of your messages!"

"Look, I'm...I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't keep things from her." Beca almost whispered. "It's just that she hasn't returned any of my phone calls and honestly, I don't know what I've done to set her off. I miss her, Alex misses her, she won't stop asking about her."

Beca and Luke sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes. If he was honest, Luke wasn't exactly sure what he could tell Beca that wouldn't make Chloe turn on him. Chloe had made it very clear that she did not want anyone other than Luke to know what was going on. Hell, he was barely speaking to Chloe at the moment. At this point, they were more like roommates than husband and wife. The last real conversation they had had was several days ago when they discussed what they needed from the grocery store. If he was completely honest with himself, he was tired of feeling alone in this marriage. He wasn't angry at Chloe, he was angry at the situation. But Chloe pushing him away, pushing everyone away, sure as hell wasn't helping things.

"Luke?"

Luke shook his head. "Yeah, sorry...I'm here."

Beca sat on the bed, trying to make sense of everything. "I'm really sorry to keep bothering you, the whole situation just has me on edge. I just want to know what's going on. If I've done something to upset Chloe, I want to know so I can fix it."

"You're not a bother Beca, you're Chloe's closest and most valued friend." Luke assured her. "She holds you very close to her heart."

"I'm not so sure about that these days." Beca admitted as she whiped the tears from her cheeks. She hated that she was one of those people that cried when the anger and disappointment became too much to handle. "Will you just tell her I called...again?"

Luke sighed. "Of course, I'll let her know."

"And Luke?"

"Yeah?"

Beca blew out a breath as her tears brimmed and continued to spill out. "Can you tell her that I love her? And...that I miss her."

"It'll be the first thing I tell her Beca, I promise."

Luke hung up the phone and rested his hands on the island. Angrily, he looked around the kitchen for something, anything that he could throw. Glancing at the empty glass next to him, he picked it up and slammed it to the ground in a fit of rage, watching as the glass shattered instantly, sending shards outward in every direction. Leaning his back against the island, he ran his fingers through his hair as he fought against the tears. Everything around him seemed to be shattering, and he felt helpless to stop it. The problem they were facing wasn't going to go away anytime soon, and in the meantime, it was tearing apart countless relationships.

In the living room, just a few feet away, the 28x36 framed picture mocked him. Chloe, wrapped up in his arms in that stunning, pure white, strapless wedding dress. They were both smiling as they kissed. He remembered every detail of that day, and how he was positive he had never seen his wife looking more beautiful than she had on that day.

Luke Barnes and Chloe Beale were married on September 19th, 2014. In a garden ceremony, on a beautiful fall evening, they pledged to love each other and walk through life together in front of one hundred and fifty guests.

Her breathtaking light blue eyes, the very first thing Luke had noticed about Chloe, were so filled with love, hapiness, and hope. Her lush red hair was made even more vibrant when paired against the white dress. He couldn't have imagined a more beautiful woman, and his heart swelled with pride on that day, knowing she had chosen him.

With Luke working his way through Yale Law to become a criminal defense lawyer, and Chloe working as an interior decorator, the young couple had a beautiful life ahead of them. Together, the possibilities seemed endless.

Taking another sip of his beer, Luke glanced over at the small desk sandwiched between the refrigerator and the pantry door. The cause of so many fights stared straight back at him.

Half a dozen prescriptions were lined up, various sticky notes were scattered with different reminders, and papers had been haphazardly tossed aside. If there was anything Luke wanted to smash, it was those pills. He wanted them gone, wanted this nightmare they were walking through to be over with already. He wanted to unscrew each cap and watch with great satisfaction as every pill spilled down the drain, never to be seen again. He wanted to tell Chloe he loved her, and that he would make everything better. He wanted to tell her that she was enough for him, he didn't need anything else. He wanted to take a two week vacation with her and never leave their hotel room. He wanted to feed her breakfast in bed, shower with her, worship every inch of her body, he wanted to let her know it had only ever been her. It would always be her.

He wanted.

He wanted.

He heard her footsteps against the stairs as she made her way down. It wasn't long before Chloe made her appearence in the kitchen sporting a white robe complete with a towel around her head. She glanced over at Luke, pressed up against the island, drinking a beer, then cast her eyes down to the shattered glass on the floor.

"What happened?" Chloe asked with absolutely no emotion.

Luke looked over at her, wanting to say everything and yet nothing at the same time. He shook his head. "It's nothing, I just accidently dropped the glass. I'll get it in a second, just don't come near it."

Chloe nodded as she grabbed a glass and poured herself some water. The tension between the two was overwhelmingly aparent with neither knowing the right words to say.

At last, Luke spoke up again. "Hey Chlo?"

"Yeah?" She answered. Chloe was exhausted, he could hear it in her voice, he could see it in her face. Chloe Barnes, the beautiful, optimistic, cheerful, vibrant woman he had fallen madly, deeply in love with all those years ago, had vanished. The stress had taken its toll on her. It stripped her of her joy, her happiness, her optimism, and her love for life. What remained, was a young woman who had become jaded, heartbroken, and depressed. A woman who had closed in on herself, and shut the world out.

"Beca called again."

Chloe sighed. "Okay, thanks."

Turning on her heel, Chloe began to make her way back upstairs to head to bed.

"She told me to tell you that she loves you, and, she misses you."

She stopped in her tracks, her back still facing Luke. The words cut straight through her. She missed Beca too, and she wished that life could just go back to way it was in college. She missed the parties, the competitions, the late nights staying up and laughing with her best friends. But the past was in the past, too much had happened, too much had transpired. It was too late to go back.

Luke twiddled his fingers, so unsure of whether or not to continue talking. But damnit, he was hurting, and he wanted her.

"Chlo?"

"What?" She whispered harshly. He could hear the heartbreak in her voice, and knew she was crying.

"I miss you too."