A/N: I've kinda fallen in love with this story, so here's the next chapter!

The cold was like a punch to Beca's gut as she stepped out into the early morning air. The sun was barely up, casting short shadows around her as she descended the steps and stood at the bottom, looking left and then right. She didn't know where to go but she just knew she had to get away from Chloe Beale.

She could already feel it… the beginning of an attachment… and her anxiety when she'd gotten into bed the night before had sent her into a panic attack so bad that she'd thought she might actually be having a heart attack. But, after a long time of just breathing through it, it had finally eased, and she'd fallen into a fitful sleep full of explosions and helicopters and beautiful women with red hair who held her close and kissed her.

So, she'd fled. It was the easiest thing to do. She didn't owe Chloe anything, nor did Chloe owe her anything… so no harm, right? She looked back over her shoulder one last time at the apartment building, and then picked a direction to walk in.

Beca had four dollars and thirty cents in her pocket. It was enough to get her a hot dog and she filled a bottle from the free water fountain in Central Park. She'd have to try to make more money later. Then she remembered the twenty-dollar bill hidden in her sock and it sent her into a tailspin all over again.

Chloe.

Fucking Chloe.

Things had been… not ok… but close to it for her the last week or so. She'd mostly had enough to eat, had found somewhere relatively warm to sleep and had managed a couple of showers by sneaking in the back door of the Y where the lock didn't latch properly. Relatively speaking, she'd had it made. Yet, when she looked down at her thin frame, balanced on one real and one prosthetic leg, the bitterness at her situation made itself known all over again.

Fucking Chloe.

Now Beca remembered what it felt like to have a full belly, a warm bed and someone to talk to.

Fucking Chloe.

Sighing to herself, the brunette stopped into a bodega and bought herself a rare treat, Miss Vickie's salt and vinegar chips. Her favorite. She wondered if Chloe liked them too.

Fucking Chloe.

Beautiful, kind and amazing Chloe.

Beca was licking the salt and vinegar from her fingers when she suddenly realized she was crying, and she rubbed her eyes impatiently on her sleeve. Chloe had made her feel seen, if only for one evening. Chloe had made her feel human.

And now she hated Chloe for it.

Xx

Sunday, Chloe had stayed in her pajamas all day trying to read a novel, but her mind kept wandering to Beca Mitchell.

Monday morning, over her morning coffee and then in the shower, Chloe had spent the whole time wondering what she'd done wrong; wondering why the beautiful brunette had run like that.

On her way to work, Chloe spent the whole time watching out for Beca. She made sure to walk past the spot where they'd first crossed paths, but it was empty.

Through three meetings, Chloe had barely paid attention, instead thinking about how she could find the younger woman again. Maybe she could hire a private investigator?

At lunch, while she absently chewed on a chicken wrap, Chloe realized that Beca probably wouldn't want to be found and, by hiring an investigator, she'd probably be invading her privacy. Then she was so frustrated, she decided to take a walk. She exited her building, blowing off a meeting with her right-hand man, Jesse, and walked toward Central Park. Despite being so near to the famous landmark every day, she rarely walked there, preferring the quieter, smaller park near her home, but today, for some reason, she was drawn there…

Only to be floored when she found none other than Beca Mitchell, standing on a low wall, performing an upbeat song while playing along on her guitar. The redhead swallowed. Beca had the voice of an angel and she stood behind some bystanders to listen, while being careful to not give away her presence. She didn't want to spook the brunette and make her run from what might be her regular performance venue.

As the song wound down, people started to throw coins and various bills into her guitar case and Beca smiled her thanks to each person. Chloe thought she had a beautiful smile and for some reason, she wanted to see more of that. Throwing caution to the wind, she strolled to the brunette and sat on the wall, watching as she plucked the coins out of her case and stuck them in her pocket.

"You missed out on some pretty epic pancakes this morning, even if I do say so myself," Chloe began.

Beca didn't look at her, didn't acknowledge her presence at all, in fact.

"I was going to make eggs too, but I guess you had somewhere to be." She saw Beca's throat bob in a deep swallow but ploughed on anyway. "You should have taken the leftover Chinese food. It's pretty good, even when it's cold.

THAT engendered a reaction. "I told you, Lady, I'm not a damn thief," Beca stated with a scowl.

"It's Chinese food, not gold bullion," the redhead replied mildly. "I wouldn't have minded."

The brunette whirled around. "What the fuck do you want from me, Chloe? Why are you playing this game with me?"

Suddenly, the pieces started falling into place in Chloe's mind and she nodded a little, looking down at her hands. Her breath fogged the air as she thought about her answer.

"I get it," she said slowly. "Trusting that someone wants to help you, just because they think you're worth it, is hard for someone who's been through what you have. So, I'll leave you alone, Beca. You have my business card and my address. If you're ever in trouble… or if you just want to talk… I'm around, but I'm not going to pressure you into something you don't want." And with that, she got up and walked away, leaving a stunned brunette staring at her back.

Beca shook her head disbelievingly. Fucking Chloe Beale. Yet a part of her wanted to go after the redhead, to apologize… just to do anything to talk to her again. She slammed the lid of her guitar case and then kicked it for good measure, muttering under her breath as she gathered up her gear and went after the woman she was beginning to see as a new friend.

"You're infuriating!" she yelled, standing right in the center of the sidewalk and making people detour around her.

"Not the first time I've heard that!" Chloe yelled back, still walking.

"Stop walking for fuck's sake!" the brunette yelled again as she struggled to follow.

To the redhead's credit, she did. She stepped out of the flow of foot traffic and waited for the smaller woman to catch up. "I don't expect you to trust me after one day," she said. "But I'm pretty sure that inviting a homeless person to stay in my apartment overnight deserves some kudos," she stated. Then she remembered Aubrey's words. "Stranger danger an' all!"

Ah. Straight talking. Beca could get behind that. "Right, because every homeless person is a thief, right?"

Chloe crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Or maybe an axe murderer? I haven't decided yet. Maybe it's not just a guitar you have in that case."

After her initial surprise, Beca spluttered out a delighted laugh. "Jesus, Chloe, you're even more twisted than I thought." It brought a spark to her dark blue eyes that made a smile rise to the redhead's face too.

Chloe nodded then. "I have to get back to work, but I'll be home tonight at about six to microwave the last of the Chinese leftovers. Come or don't come. I don't care."

"Fuck you, Beale!" Beca responded, but she was still smiling.

"Right back atcha, Mitchell," the executive replied, looking back over her shoulder as she walked away.

Beca chuckled softly as she headed back to her spot in the park. Fucking Chloe. But this time, she let herself feel the burgeoning affection. Maybe Chloe Beale wasn't actually as bad as she'd thought.

Xx

It was late in the afternoon when Chloe's phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID before rolling her eyes and jabbing the answer button. "Mom," she said. "Hey."

"Hi, Chloe," Alice Beale said. "I just wanted to check in with you. Are you going to Martina's wedding next month?"

Chloe felt a moment of panic as she brought up her calendar on her MacBook and looked at it. She'd promised her cousin she'd go and then promptly forgotten about it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it there, added by her faithful assistant.

"Absolutely, it's on my schedule," she replied with a smile. "I wouldn't miss it."

"And how are you, Dear?" her mother asked.

"Super busy. I just closed a big deal so I'm celebrating tonight."

"You and your boyfriend?"

"Mom," Chloe sighed. "You know I don't date men anymore, and no, I'm not seeing anyone right now. I have a friend coming over tonight for Chinese and wine."

Alice sighed. "I just don't understand why you broke up with that lovely Jackie."

There was silence for a long moment. The redhead still hadn't told her mother about what had gone down with her ex, but she knew she'd have to now.

"Mom," she said quietly. "I broke up with Jackie because she was beating me, abusing me… and I just couldn't take it anymore." Her mother's gasp brought tears to her eyes, and she rubbed at them as she sniffled softly.

"Why didn't you tell me, Baby? I could have come to New York."

"You hate New York, Mom," Chloe let out a watery chuckle. "It's ok. I had Aubrey and Stacie… and I didn't want you upset, you know? Not with your heart condition." She looked up as she realized Jesse was hovering outside her office door. "Listen, Mom, I'm sorry but I have to go. I'm needed for a meeting. I'll call you later in the week, ok? I love you."

"I love you too, Chlo," her mother replied, then hung up.

Chloe beckoned Jesse into her office. "What's up?"

Jesse Swanson, Beale Advertising's Chief Operations Officer sighed as he dropped into her guest chair. His tie was loose, and his top shirt button was open, which was never a good sign. "We lost Gimbol. I've just been on the phone with them but they're not budging. They got a better offer from Franklin."

Chloe sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How," she asked evenly. "Did Franklin undercut us?"

"I don't know," Jesse replied, rubbing his hand through his short, dark hair. "But we just can't match. We'd take a loss. I've had Frank go over the numbers three times."

"Dammit," Chloe whispered. "Ok, look, thank everyone for their work and just let it go. I know it's disappointing, but we won this weekend and I'm proud of us all. Seems like we're just too small as of yet to take on someone like Gimbol."

"Ok," Jesse said with another sigh. "I'll let everyone know."

"Get each person on the team a hundred-dollar gift card. Just because we didn't win the bid doesn't mean they didn't work their tails off."

The COO smiled and nodded. "Cool. Thanks, Chloe. That'll help soften the blow." He got up, closed his top button and tightened his tie. "Later."

Chloe smiled. "Oh, hey Jesse, ask Joan to come in when she has a sec, will you?"

"Sure," Jesse replied as he headed out the door. A moment later, Joan was bustling into the room, eyebrows raised.

"What's up, Boss?"

"My cousin's wedding," the redhead said.

"I meant to talk to you about that. You need flights, right?" Joan said as she pulled up their corporate travel partner's site on her tablet. "Business class, I assume. On your personal card?"

"Please," Chloe confirmed. "I need to be there the night before the wedding and come home the day after."

Joan paused and looked at her funny. "It's home. Don't you want to stay a little longer?"

"Believe me, I'll have had more than enough family time by the time I leave," the executive replied, rolling her eyes.

"You got it, Boss. I'll add the flight details to your calendar when they're confirmed. Joan smiled and then headed back to her desk.

Xx

It was close to six-fifteen when Chloe got home and she was worried that Beca had come and gone but, to her surprise, she found her friend sitting in the lobby, chatting with Charles.

"Oh, good evening, Miss Chloe," he said as he scurried to open the door for her. "I was just having a very interesting conversation with Miss Beca. She's a veteran like I am."

"Hey, Charles," the executive replied, walking past him with her eyes locked on Beca's.

The brunette got to her feet, a tentative smile lifting her lips as she saw Chloe come toward her. "Hi," she said softly as Chloe's arms surrounded her for a hug.

"Hey," the redhead replied, just as softly. "Thanks for not standing me up."

Dark blue eyes rolled. "Like I had a choice." But Beca squeezed her friend back. "Thanks, Chloe."

Chloe wasn't sure what she was being thanked for, but she went with it, easing back with a big smile. "So, I kinda lied," she said. "I binge ate the rest of the Chinese yesterday, so we'll have to order something fresh tonight."

"Actually," Beca said. "I think I'd really like to try those eggs and pancakes you told me about, if that's ok?"

Chloe's smile just broadened. "I think that can be arranged." She picked up Beca's guitar case and led her to the elevator. "How was your day?"

"It was good actually," Beca nodded. "I made some money, and I had a pack of my favorite chips. So that was a win."

"Miss Vickie's salt and vinegar are my favorite," Chloe mused, almost to herself, but when she looked back at her friend, her eyebrows drew together. "Why do you look like I've just solved the mysteries of the world?"

"Because those are my favorite too," the brunette croaked. "That's weird, Chlo."

"Nice coincidence. Now I know what to get for our movie snacks in the future." The redhead saw slight apprehension cross the younger woman's face. "Hey," she said. "Whether you come here or not is completely your choice, Beca. If you don't want to do movie nights…"

"No…" Beca interrupted softly. "No, I do… I'm just…" She looked down. "This is… It's been a long time since I've had a… friend."

Chloe wanted to fist pump the air in triumph but managed to just smile instead. "Awesome." They exited the elevator and ended up in Chloe's kitchen with Beca sitting at the island. She was rubbing her leg a little and the redhead noticed. "Everything ok?" she asked as she poured them both a glass of wine.

The musician nodded. "Yeah, I was just on my feet for a long time today. My prosthetic is irritating my leg a little."

"Would an Epsom Salts bath help? You're welcome to use the tub any time you want."

Beca felt sudden fear rise in her chest, but she shoved the feelings down and nodded. "Yeah, it'd help, but I don't want to be any trouble, Chlo."

Chloe was able to read between the lines. Too much trouble means you don't get to come back. "You're no trouble at all, Beca. Listen, why don't you take a bath and I'll run your clothes through the washer and dryer. That way they'll be good for the rest of the week?"

Beca swallowed hard. "Are… are you sure?"

"Of course, I wouldn't say it if I wasn't, Becs. Take your bath and the eggs and pancakes will be ready when you're done."

Beca nodded and slipped down off her stool, but then she hissed with pain and her legs almost buckled. Luckily, Chloe was close and managed to catch her. "Here, let me help."

"I don't need help," the brunette groused unhappily but she didn't exactly argue when Chloe wrapped an arm around her waist and supported her on the way to the spare room. She grabbed Beca's bag from the entranceway as they passed and set it down on the bed. Then she helped her friend sit down and knelt to unlace her boots.

Tears were welling in Beca's eyes as she watched the redhead treat her with infinite care and she couldn't help but reach out to touch her hair, pushing it back from where it had fallen down her forehead. Light blue eyes lifted to look at her and Chloe's lips curved into a smile. Then she went back to her task, easing the boots off Beca's feet and taking her socks off. Then she sat back on her heels. "I'll let you handle your pants," she said. "Not that I'm in any way opposed to undressing beautiful women."

Beca laughed softly as a blush caressed her cheeks. Chloe thought she looked even more beautiful with the heightened color. She got up and smoothed her hands down the front of her slacks. "I'm going to run the bath and get you something comfortable to wear for when you're done. Then I'll help you in. Be right back."

A few minutes later, Chloe waited outside the bathroom door as Beca stripped off the rest of her clothes. She'd removed her prosthetic and her leg was already beginning to feel better. "Ok, Chloe," she said softly, then waited as the redhead came in. Chloe didn't close her eyes this time and she felt nothing but sympathy for her friend when she saw how thin she was; how pronounced her ribs and hip bones were and how scarred the skin of her back was. "Not real pretty," the brunette whispered, arm covering her breasts self-consciously.

Chloe stopped in front of her, shaking her head. "Not true," she replied. "Your body tells a story, Beca; a story of service and bravery and misfortune. To me, you're beautiful. Inside and out." She left it at that, sensing the brunette's discomfort. "Come on, let's get you prunin'." Chloe helped Beca into the bath, being careful to support her as she lowered her scarred leg into the water and hissed with pain. "It'll pass soon," she whispered, seeing the tears well in Beca's eyes. "I've got you." And then Beca's arms were around her, holding on to her desperately, until the stinging eased, and she was able to sit, fully relaxed against the back wall of the tub. She inhaled and released a deep breath, then smiled with a little nod.

"Thanks, Chlo. Feels better already."

"Good," the redhead replied. "I'm going to start breakfast for dinner. Yell if you need anything." Chloe left the bathroom, crossed the bedroom, walked up the hallway and had made it all the way into the kitchen before her tears came and she cried quietly as she mixed the eggs and pancake batter. Beca had been through more than she could have even imagined.

Xx

"Nooo!" Beca laughed as Chloe threw popcorn at her. "I just mean that few sequels are better than the original! I'm not dissing your favorite movie."

Chloe scowled and threw more popcorn at her, then laughed as the brunette caught some of it in her mouth. "I think I might need to rethink this friends thing if you don't like Harry Potter."

The vet shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I NEVER said I don't like Harry Potter, Chlo. Do you need to get your hearing checked?" She reached over and flicked the redhead's ear.

"Hey!" Chloe exclaimed, swatting at Beca's hand. "Get off!"

"And I might have to rethink this friends thing if you don't like horror movies," Beca went on.

"I do so like horror movies!" the executive exclaimed indignantly.

Dark eyebrows lifted. "I hate to break it to you, Chloe, but Hocus Pocus isn't a horror movie."

The redhead's mouth dropped open as a scandalized look settled on her face. "Rude!"

"Better close that mouth or you might catch flies."

Chloe suddenly felt outmatched. Beca's wit and wicked sense of humor were out in full force, and she absolutely loved it. So, she smiled and, making a bold move, scooted over on the couch to lean against her. "Ok, you win. How about we watch something neither of us has seen before?"

For a moment, Beca tensed, but then she relaxed and took a breath. "Ok," she agreed. "Do you have Netflix?"

"Sure do!" Chloe started the app and a few minutes later, they were settling down with their glasses of wine to watch the movie. As the credits began, Chloe looked at her friend, realizing she was looking right back. "You're staying tonight, right?" she asked simply. Beca just nodded, holding their eye contact. "Good."

Xx

Tuesday morning, Chloe woke to a strange noise, and she sat up in bed in alarm, but then she chuckled as she realized what it was. Beca was apparently in the kitchen. She looked at the clock and groaned. It was almost time to get up anyway, so she pulled back the bedcovers and padded barefoot out into the kitchen to find the younger woman pottering around, making coffee and toasting bagels. A container of cream cheese was sitting on the counter with its lid already off.

"Morning," Chloe said as she rounded the island and went to the fridge. For a long moment, Beca didn't say anything, and Chloe looked at her, eyebrows raised. "You ok? Did you sleep ok?"

Beca was so busy looking at the expanse of creamy skin that was Chloe's legs, she barely even registered the questions. The redhead was only wearing a long t-shirt and panties. "Uh… yeah," she said, clearing her throat. "Like a log actually and good morning to you too."

"What you got planned for today?" the redhead asked conversationally.

"Busking, probably," Beca shrugged. "Not sure yet. How about you?"

"I have a meeting with some investors today, actually," Chloe said brightly. "I'm trying to grow the business, so I'll need to charm their socks off."

"No problem," the brunette smiled. "You have charm in spades, Chlo. Besides, an advertising business that's actually profitable is hard to find in these times, especially with the price of oil and real estate the way it is today."

Chloe leaned against the island counter, head tilted as she looked at her friend. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," Beca quicky spread cream cheese on a bagel and handed it to her friend. "When business costs go up, like the price of gas, sales and marketing budgets normally go down to maintain a profitability margin on current sales, which means advertising is one of the things to be scaled back. The fact that your company is making money, just shows how good you are and how well you're managing your pricing structure. You have a pretty awesome sales team."

Chloe nodded slowly as she chewed. "I do, don't I," she said, a little in awe. Then her eyes returned to her friend. "Where have you worked over the course of your career?"

"I worked on the sales team at Bradley Finch. Then I worked in marketing at Hashii. Then after that, I worked in sales at Franklin…"

"Wait… Franklin?" Chloe said, holding up her hand. "Are you familiar with their business model?"

The brunette frowned in confusion. "Well, I'm familiar with the business model they had three years ago when I worked there. I doubt it's changed all that much though."

The redhead moved closer to her friend, face serious. "I just lost a contract to them... our third in two years in fact," she said. "And my team doesn't know why. Beca, come work for me. Your knowledge of Franklin's business model could help us understand why we lost the bid and could show us how to course correct."

"But…" Beca still looked confused. "Chloe, I have nowhere to live and nothing to wear to a job like that."

Chloe took the veteran's hand and squeezed it gently. "Stay here with me until you get back on your feet. I don't know why I didn't think of this before now. We can get you a few business outfits to wear and get you back into the workplace. You're under no obligation to stay with Beale if you don't want to in the future, but I think we could really support each other in this."

Beca was shaking now. "Are… are you serious, Chloe, because if you're messing with me…"

"I'm not messing with you, Becs. Please believe me. We can do this. Maybe not win back the contract I lost but… maybe we can stop losing to Franklin."

Apprehension bubbled up in Beca's chest again, but she nodded. "Ok, I'll come work for you, Chloe, but… you know about my PTSD, right? And I don't want to let you down."

Gentle fingers lifted Beca's chin, and her eyes met light blue holding nothing but belief in her. "I'm aware and if things get overwhelming, come and talk to me, ok?"

And in that moment, Beca had an overwhelming urge to kiss the beautiful, kind and generous woman who was standing so close to her, they were almost breathing the same air. Instead, she just nodded. "Ok, I will. I promise."

"Awesome!" the redhead exclaimed. "Let me make a couple of calls and then we're going shopping!"

Xx

Beca had given up looking at the price tags on the clothes Chloe was picking for her after the redhead had explained that this was her signing bonus.

"Look, Becs, here's the deal. I know you hate people doing things for you so how about this. The clothes are your signing bonus. Beale will pay you a salary of course, but I'll take some of your net for rent and utilities at my place. The rest is yours. How does that sound?"

In truth, Beca felt like crying with gratitude but instead, she smiled and held out her hand. "Deal."

"You haven't asked me what your salary will be yet," Chloe chuckled as she shook it.

"Whatever it is, it'll be that amount more than I make now," the veteran replied with a shrug. "Plus, it's not like I have moving expenses or anything."

"Oh, we're making homeless jokes now, are we?" Chloe teased.

Beca shrugged. "If I can't, no one can."

A few hours later, with bags full of new business wear, pants, jeans, tops, underwear, shoes, sneakers, makeup and a new leather jacket looped over their arms, the two women made a stop at the Apple store. Chloe bought Beca an iPhone and an Apple Watch then snuck in a pair of AirPods as a gift for later. Her reward was a chaste kiss on the cheek, and she swallowed guiltily as it affected her way more than she felt it should have.

"I don't know about you," the redhead said as she cleared her throat. "But I think we need to celebrate. I'm taking you out for dinner tonight."

"Chloe, you've already done more than enough," Beca said softly. "You don't have to."

"I want to," the executive smiled. "The last four days has brought me so much, Beca, and I want to celebrate."

The brunette nodded. "The last four days has changed my life, Chloe. Because I met you."