Thea's head whipped up from where she was applying the antidote they had made to Jesse's back as a loud, thundering crash came from the cave. Her stomach dropped as a cloud of dust shot from the entrance. They were still in there… someone had to go in and help them, it didn't look like the cave would be standing much longer and they were all still inside. She had to get in there.

Thea started to run towards the cave entrance but Tony was just as fast as his mother, quickly wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her back.

"Let go of me." Thea grunted, Tony's grip around her waist tight as he shook his head.

"No, you can't go in there mom." Tony's voice cracked a little, hating that they were still in there too but unwilling to let Thea go running head first into whatever danger was waiting in the caves still, "Look, I hate it, but it's too unstable. We have to wait."

"How can we wait?!" Tears started to slip down Thea's cheeks as she struggled against Tony, "They're in there alone, there's no magic in there with them, if they get stuck or trapped, how are they going to get out?!"

"They always find a way mom." Tony mumbled, trying to reassure himself as much as his mother, "Always. We just have to wait."

Thea shook her head as she sank into Tony's embrace, biting her lip as they felt the ground beneath their feet shake again. Thea hated feeling like this, hated feeling helpless and without her magic, hated that she couldn't protect her family. She wanted her magic back, wanted to actually be able to make a difference for a change. Thea hadn't been able to save Sam, save her grandson, stop them from kidnapping Stacie, she had to stop being so useless.

"I'll go in." Helena was fastening a weapons belt around her waist, face set in a hard line as she threw her hair into a ponytail, "I'll get them."

Before anyone could even begin to try and dissuade Helena from what would surely be a suicide mission, Thea gasped sharply, clutching at her chest as she dropped to her knees. Tony followed her to the ground, eyebrows knitted together in concern as he watched Thea start to glow, her breathing erratic as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Mom?!" Tony put his hand on her shoulder, tears rolling down Thea's cheeks as she panted in pain, grass beneath her hands gripped tightly, "Mom, what is it, what's wrong?!"

"I- I-" Thea couldn't take a full breath, trembling as something rushed through her with a frightening, burning speed, "F-Fabien?"

Tony's head looked from his mom to the spot where her gaze was fixed, his breath catching in his throat as a familiar capuchin monkey sat on the grass about two feet away from them. Air entered Thea's lungs at last as she spluttered, holding her arms out for her familiar who chattered excitedly, bounding into her arms.

"I missed you…" Thea croaked as Fabien put his arms around her neck, nuzzling into the side of her face, "I'm so glad you're back."

"Does this mean your magic is too?" Tony could feel hope swelling in his chest as Thea stretched out her shaking hands, a tearful chuckle passing her lips as purple light sparked between her fingertips.

"Yeah…" Thea nodded, "Looks like it…"

Tony pressed a soft kiss to the crown of Thea's head, hugging her tightly as he grinned broadly. Thea had her magic back, everything was starting to fall back into place. Did this mean that they had won? Had they saved Stacie and stopped Khalida? Was it finally over?

There was another loud rumble, the ground shaking more furiously than before, all eyes snapping to the cave entrance as a huge cloud of dust and debris flew out of out, burying the onlookers in a dusty haze, eyes burning as they coughed and spluttered. Thea rubbed at her eyes, squinting through the haze in the desperate hope that Aubrey, Stacie, Chloe and Beca had made it out. Because if they had still been in there when that amount of rubble came down…

The ground shook again, a loud crashing sound accompanying another thick dust cloud, Thea waving her hands as she tried to clear it. Her magic wasn't as strong as it had once been just yet, but the cloud started to thin nonetheless. She squinted through the haze, eyes desperately searching for any sign that they were okay, that they weren't buried under the cascade of rubble that had just collapsed over their heads.

Her heart leapt into her mouth as she saw someone stumble forwards, collapsing to the ground as they clutched their leg, something tumbling from their arms as they did. Thea ran forward, Helena on her heel finding Chloe trying to drag herself over to where Aubrey had fallen from her arms.

"Chloe? Hey, you're okay." Thea gently put her hand on Chloe's shoulder, helping her wipe the dust and dirt from her eyes as Chloe gritted her teeth against the pain in her leg.

"Bree…" Chloe bit her lip, "Is she okay? I didn't mean to drop her, is she alright?"

Helena was at her daughter's side, gently brushing her hair from her face before she pressed her fingers into the side of her neck as she took her pulse. There was a tense pause for a second, but eventually Helena let go of the breath she was holding as she nodded, lifting her head to smile softly at Chloe.

"She's okay. She's unconscious but she's okay."

Chloe let out a sigh of relief, sagging a little as a tear slid down her cheek, "Thank god… this boulder broke my leg when it fell, I didn't think I was going to get us out of there in time… where's Becs?"

Chloe looked around her, feeling panic start to swell in her chest as she searched for Beca and Stacie, "She was right behind me, where is she?!"

She tried to get up, Thea gently pushing her back to the ground again as she shook her head, "We'll find her Chloe, but you can't get up on that leg."

"No." Chloe struggled to get up again, "No she had Stacie, we have to find them, they-"

"A little help?"

Chloe's heart soared as Beca's voice cut through the air, able to make out her silhouette as the dust cleared around them, not minding one bit as Thea got up to go to Beca's aide. They'd done it… they'd gotten out, they'd managed to navigate the maze of collapsing tunnels just in the nick of time. It had been far too close a call, but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that they were safe.

It was over. They'd won.

There was blood trickling down Beca's forehead as Thea approached her, Warren on her heel, both of them looking concerned as Beca's legs looked ready to give out underneath her, someone held tightly in her arms. No, not somebody…

"Stacie?" Thea gasped tearfully as she reached Beca, brushing her daughter's hair from her face as her eyes took in the battered and bruised form that Beca was cradling against her.

"She's okay." Beca mumbled, grateful for Warren who was helping her to stay upright, a kind smile on his face, "Um… her hands are kinda burnt, I think it was all the magic that she was channelling, but she'll be okay right, you can heal them?"

"Here." Michael gently slid his arms under Stacie, taking her from Beca who now sagged gratefully against Warren, exhaustion weighing heavily on her, "I've got her Becs, we'll take a look at her."

Beca nodded a little, wincing slightly as Thea threw her arms tightly around her, sniffling as Beca embraced her back.

"Thank you." Thea whispered tearfully, "Thank you for getting her out of there."

"Of course." Beca shrugged a little, "She saved our asses in there, hell, she saved the whole damn world, no way I was leaving her behind."

Thea cupped Beca's face in her hands as she pulled away, slipping her arm around Beca's waist as she gently helped her in the direction of where Chloe was sat on the floor, still clutching her leg as she gave Beca a watery grin. Beca silently thanked Thea for helping her, sensing her eagerness to go to Stacie's side again, grunting a little as she dropped onto the floor next to Chloe, burying her face in her neck.

"We did it…" She mumbled, Chloe pressing a kiss into the top of her head, "Well… Stacie did it, but we helped."

"Yeah we did." Chloe giggled, expression tight as Beca looked up at her with a soft frown, gaze falling from her eyes to her leg and wincing.

"Chlo… that's really bad, you should let someone look at it." Beca gently rested her hand on Chloe's leg, Chloe gasping sharply, teeth gritted.

"It's fine." Chloe shook her head, "Vampire healing, remember?"

"Chloe, there are limits y'know?" Beca raised her eyebrow, "The bone is sticking out of your leg, if you just leave it, it's not going to heal properly."

"Wha-?" Chloe turned her head, paling a little as she realised just how badly her leg was broken, "Oh… I um… I really should get that looked at, huh?"

"Yeah." Beca nodded, resting her head against Chloe's, "I'll help you up, I just need a minute."

"No need." Jessica grinned, setting a bag on the floor next to Beca and Chloe, "You guys have done more than enough, we'll come to you."

"Oh, hey…" Beca smiled softly, Chloe's head nestled in the crook of her neck as Jessica rested her hand on her broken leg, "When did you get here?"

"Helena brought me and Amy to help out." Jessica shrugged a little, a bemused smile on her face, "Amy's… interesting."

"That's one word for it." Beca chuckled, stroking Chloe's hair as she whimpered at the pressure Jessica was putting around the snapped bone.

"Alright Chloe…" Jessica smiled sympathetically at her as Chloe bit her lip, "I'm going to have to realign the bone, it's really going to hurt, I won't lie to you."

"I've got you." Beca adjusted her body a little so that Chloe's back was flush with her front, holding her hands in hers as Chloe whimpered a little in pain, "You can do this."

"Ready Chloe?" Jessica looked up at her, Chloe nodding firmly, jaw clenched tightly, "One… two… three!"

Chloe cried out in pain as Jessica pulled her leg back into place, Chloe squeezing Beca's hands as tight as she could, tears running down her cheeks. Beca shushed her softly, kissing the top of her head as Jessica wrapped Chloe's leg in a tight bandage and handing her a potion.

"Here, take this." Jessica pressed it into Chloe's hand, "A little pain relief until your healing powers kick in."

"Thanks…" Chloe smiled weakly, slumped into Beca as she quickly took the potion that had been handed to her, relaxing a little as it took effect, "Oh that's so much better…"

Beca kissed the top of Chloe's head, grinning as they sat on the ground wound in an embrace, grateful that this was finally over. They were both exhausted, it had been an exceptionally long and trying few days, but it was done now.

"We should check on Bree and Stace." Beca mumbled into Chloe's hair, Chloe nodding softly as her arms pulled tighter around her waist.

"In a minute." Chloe smiled softly, head still resting against Beca's shoulder, "I'm comfy…"

"Okay." Beca chuckled, kissing Chloe's head again, "In a minute."

Helena was by Aubrey's side, gently brushing her hair from her face as her brow creased with worry. Upon further inspection, Aubrey's hands were a little burnt, nowhere near as bad as Stacie's but still undoubtedly painful, and there was residual bruising around her face, as if someone had healed her just enough to be able to carry on.

She hated seeing her like this, ever since Gail had torn her way so violently into their lives, Helena had an incredibly difficult time separating her daughter from the vampire hunter that went out and fought evil. It used to be so easy, it was her job to send her out there just as it was Aubrey's job to fight them, but now? When Helena had been chained up in that dungeon, helpless and waiting for whichever vampire wanted to have a turn with her next, all she had been able to think about was never being able to see her daughter again. There were many, many things wrong with her former marriage to her ex, but Aubrey had quite possibly been the only good thing to come out of it.

Helena had spent so many years seeing Eric in Aubrey, so many years pushing her away and focusing more on her as a vampire hunter than as a daughter, she had so much to make up for. That's why Aubrey had to pull through, she had to make this right, had to show Aubrey that she did love her, that she could fix things between them no matter how long overdue it was.

"Aubrey?"

Helena was pulled from her thoughts as she saw Aubrey's eyelids flutter open, smiling softly at her as Aubrey swallowed thickly.

"M-mom?" Aubrey winced as her hands throbbed when she tried to raise them to rub away the fuzzy feeling in her head, "What… where am I?"

"Outside the caves." Helena rested her hand on Aubrey's shoulder, "You're safe, it's over."

"Stacie." Aubrey started to sit up, wincing at the sharp stabbing pain in her ribs that joined her hands, looking blearily around her, "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's okay." Helena nodded, trying to convince Aubrey to lie back again, "You all got out of there in one piece, you did it."

"I need to see her." Aubrey shook her head as she stumbled to her feet, Helena catching her as her legs went out from underneath her, too weak just yet to hold her weight, "I need to make sure she's okay."

"I'll help you." Helena soothed her gently, steadying Aubrey against her, "Take a minute to find your feet, I've got you."

Aubrey smiled softly as she leant against her mom, trying to force strength back into her legs. She had to make sure Stacie was okay, it didn't matter how tired she was or how much her hands hurt, she had to make sure that Stacie knew she was here and that she didn't wake up alone and think she'd left her again.

"I'm okay." Aubrey mumbled, "Let's go, where is she?"

"Over here." Helena wrapped one of Aubrey's arms around her shoulders, one of her own around her waist as she slowly walked her over to where Stacie lay, her family around her as Aubrey was helped to sit on the edge of the cot next to her.

"Her hands…" Aubrey's eyes welled with tears as she bit her lip a little, "They must be hurting her so badly, can you heal them?"

"Eventually." Michael rested his hand on Aubrey's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, "There's still a lot of residual magic in the wounds that's stopping us from healing them right now, but we're about to dress and bandage them now."

Aubrey nodded a little, wincing again as she ran her fingers through Stacie's hair, Thea frowning in concern as she dragged her eyes from Stacie for a moment.

"Aubrey? You okay?"

"It's nothing." Aubrey sniffed a little, shaking her head even as Thea gently reached over and took her hand, turning it over to inspect Aubrey's own burn wounds, "They can wait."

"Absolutely not." Thea frowned deeper, "They look nasty Aubrey, they need treating."

"She's right." Beca smiled softly as she rested her hand on Aubrey's shoulder, her and Chloe having joined them a few seconds ago, "We stopped an apocalypse Bree, if now's not the time for some R and R, I don't know when is."

Aubrey scoffed a little, a wry smile tugging at her lips as she leant back into Beca, "You make a good point…"

"We're going to take you all back to the Academy in a few minutes." Helena watched as Tony started to gently apply a burn salve to Aubrey's burnt palms, feeling the tension ease out of her shoulders a little seeing her daughter's injuries be seen to, "It'll give you guys a safe space to heal up and rest while we make sure the threat is over and it's safe for you to return home again."

"Resting sounds really good right now…" Beca groaned softly, "Who knew stopping an apocalypse would be this exhausting?"

"I mean… pretty much everyone would I think Becs." Chloe raised her eyebrow a little, weight on her good leg as Beca shot her a playful glare, turning around and wrapping her arms around Chloe's waist.

"Why are you being mean, I'm tired and kicked a lot of ass today…" Beca grumbled, Chloe giggling as she embraced her tightly.

"Sorry baby." Chloe pressed a kiss to her temple, "Let's get you a nap."

Stacie groaned softly as her head pulsed painfully, eyes slowly starting to flutter open. Where was she? Had it all just been a dream, was she still with them? Had Aubrey actually rescued her? Aubrey… where was Aubrey?

"Stacie?"

Stacie turned her head, starting to feel panic swelling inside her as she tried to figure out what had happened, where Aubrey was, if she had even been there to begin with.

"Hey… hey it's okay sweetheart…"

Stacie's eyes found her mom smiling tearfully at her, grunting in pain as she tried to move her hands, panic getting stronger as she realised that any attempt to move made pain surge through them.

"M-mom?" Stacie's eyes filled with panicked tears, "Aubrey. Where's Aubrey?"

"Shh…" Thea gently pushed her back down onto the soft mattress underneath as Stacie tried to get up, "She's just over there, see?"

Thea gently directed Stacie's attention to a sofa at the end of the bed, Stacie visibly relaxing as she found Aubrey asleep on it, tucked under a blanket, her hands bandaged. Aubrey was here… she'd rescued her, they'd saved the world, and now they were…

"Where am I?" Stacie turned her attention back to Thea, swallowing hard as Thea stroked her forehead, hair brushed from her face.

"The Academy." Thea's tone was soft as she cupped Stacie's cheek in her hand, "You're safe now, it's over Stacie."

"It's over?" Stacie's voice broke a little, tears starting to run down her cheeks, "I- I don't have to fight anymore?"

"No sweetie." Thea shook her head, gently wiping away Stacie's tears, "All you need to do is rest now, okay?"

"I meant to come with you…" Stacie was starting to sob a little as Thea softly shushed her again, "I had a plan, I swear I did, they were just so fast and I-"

"Stacie it's okay." Thea soothed her, "I know you did, it doesn't matter now, you're home and you're safe, and that is all that's important."

Stacie was still sobbing as Thea continued to stroke her hair, trying to comfort her as Stacie winced again, her gaze turning to her hands as she tried to move them again and felt them sharply throb.

"What… my hands…"

"They'll be okay." Thea reassured her, "We're just waiting for the last of all that magic to fade from them and then we can fix them up properly."

Stacie could feel herself starting to slip under her exhaustion again as Thea stroked her hair, sobs starting to calm as she relaxed into the mattress. It was over, they had rescued her and taken down Khalida, Alice and her sisters were all gone, they couldn't hurt her anymore…

"I'm sorry Stace." Thea whispered, Stacie's attention pulled to her mom again, frowning a little at her, "I put you through so much after Iz died, I was so cruel to you, I… I should never have behaved like that, I'm so sorry."

"Mom…" Stacie winced as she managed to lift her hand and rest it on Thea's, "I forgave you for that a long time ago, Iz had just died, you weren't dealing with it properly, I know you didn't mean it."

"It wasn't okay." Thea shook her head furiously, "I'm so sorry Stacie, I'm going to be a way better mom from now on I swear, especially with your dad gone, I-"

"Stop it." Stacie frowned heavily, wishing her hands weren't so painful so she could comfort her mother properly, "You're an awesome mom, I love you, where is this coming from?"

"That night on the lake…" Thea sniffed hard, brushing Stacie's hair away from her face, "It- it wasn't an accident. It was Gail."

"Oh…" Stacie swallowed thickly, "I- I know. They told me… it um, it makes sense. Doesn't wake it suck any less, but it makes sense."

"I spent so much time blaming you needlessly for an accident, and if I could've just gotten my head out of my ass for two minutes, I might have been able to see things for what they really were and stopped all of this from happening." Thea used her free hand to wipe her tears from her cheeks, conflict written across her face.

"Oh mom…" Stacie's expression softened, her own eyes brimming with tears, "You couldn't have stopped Gail… we barely managed to do that and there were four of us. And the rest of this? It was my destiny or whatever, you really think you could have changed that?"

"Maybe…" Thea smirked a little as she stroked Stacie's cheek, "I should have told you about the prophecy Stacie. Your dad and I… we just wanted to protect to you, after Iz died we didn't think that it mattered anymore, that it applied anymore because you were just you. You were already carrying so much, why make it worse?"

"I get that." Stacie sniffed softly, "And honestly? Nothing you could have said would've changed anything mom. I would've still come to get you, prophecy or not, you're still my mom."

"You're so much like your dad." Thea chuckled softly, "He'd have said and done exactly the same thing, and he'd be so proud of you Stacie. You saved the world…"

"I had a lot of help." Stacie mumbled, it growing harder and harder to keep her heavy eyelids open as her eyes flicked to Aubrey, watching her sleep, "I couldn't have done it without her mom, or Beca and Chloe… are they okay?"

"Yeah." Thea nodded, "They're next door, exhausted but otherwise they're completely fine."

"Good." Stacie sighed softly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as her eyes closed again, "I'm glad."

"Get some rest sweetie." Thea pressed a soft kiss to Stacie's forehead as she drifted off to sleep, breathing getting deeper, "God knows you've earned it."

Beca lay on her back, staring at the ceiling and wishing she could fall asleep. She had bever been this tired in her life, after everything that had happened in the last few days it was no wonder she was. But still, try as she might, Beca couldn't switch her brain off. Yes, Alice and her sisters were gone at last, but Gail might have more kids out there, more of them waiting to hurt her and her family, waiting to make sure that she knew that she would never be free of Gail and the stranglehold she'd had on her life for over two hundred years now. It wasn't fair… she wanted to be free of them, but how could she? How would she ever know if she was really free of them?

"I can hear you thinking." Chloe mumbled, lifting her head to look worriedly at Beca, "What is it?"

Chloe was curled into Beca's side, her head previously resting on her shoulder as she draped herself over her. Chloe had been drifting in and out of consciousness since they'd laid down, leg now almost healed and leaving her utterly drained, but Beca's audible mental spiral kept dragging her out of sleep.

"It's nothing." Beca shook her head, gently running her fingers into Chloe's hair, "Go to sleep Chlo, you've earned it."

"It's not nothing." Chloe's frown got deeper as she turned Beca's head to look at her, "Don't do that Becs, don't shut me out, not now. What's bothering you?"

Beca huffed as a tear slipped down her cheek, her eyes locked with Chloe's as she felt a familiar sense of comfort wash over while she drowned in the shades of blue that gazed back at her with so much love and concern.

"I just… I want to be happy about today Chlo." Beca sniffed, "We stopped an apocalypse for gods sake, I should be happy but… I can't do it. I am terrified of that future Amy showed us, I don't want that for us but I can feel it happening, I can't shake the idea that there's more of Gail's kids out there, hiding in the shadows, waiting for us to feel comfortable and safe again before showing up to tear it all apart again, I-"

Beca was starting to sob as Chloe pulled her closer, shifting their positions until Beca's head was buried in her chest, hers in Beca's hair as she shushed her gently, stroking her hair and holding her as tight as she possibly could. Beca's body began to shake with the force of her anguish, clinging desperately to Chloe as she tried to find any scrap of comfort she could in the arms of the woman she loved. She was never going to feel safe, never going to know what peace felt like all because of one witch and her perverted obsession with her. Even now, with Chloe wrapped around her, Beca couldn't feel peace or comfort or anything that would get her mind to quiet. She would never be free of this.

"Becs, it's going to be okay, I promise." Chloe whispered into her hair, tears welling in her own eyes as she pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I'm not going to let us have that future, I promise you I'm not."

"You can't stop it." Beca wept, "I've been fighting it for so. Long. Chloe, two hundred fucking years of the same shit and I'm still running from that bitch and all the pain she causes me, I can feel her Chloe, I can feel her laughing at me because she knows I'm never going to be free of her."

"You are Beca." Chloe tightened her embrace.

"You don't know that." Beca shook her head bitterly, "You can't possibly know that Chloe, I don't want to do this anymore, I'm so fucking tired of it."

"I know baby." Chloe sighed softly, untangling herself from Beca as she lifted her head to look at her, "I know you are. But I do know that you'll be free of this. I've got something to show you."

Beca frowned a little as Chloe stiffly got up, her body aching and exhausting from the events of the day, but not caring in this moment. This was far more important than her aching body.

Beca pushed herself into a sitting position as Chloe rummaged through her bag, watching her curiously, knees pulled to her chest. What did Chloe have that she thought was going to make any of this any better? Because unless it was some kind of magic wand that would take them back in time to erase Gail from existence before she could bring about so much damage, Beca didn't see how Chloe could think she'd be free of her.

Chloe rejoined Beca on the bed, the worn leather book that Helena had given her before she had left the Council's weapons store in her hands, smiling softly at Beca and brushing her hair behind her ear.

"I've been doing a bit of work for the Council, y'know off the books?" Chloe started, Beca's eyes fixed on the book in her hands, "Helping them to clear out all of Gail's stuff that's still cluttering up the place, it felt like the least I could do…"

Chloe shrugged a little as she passed the book to Beca, watching as Beca's shaky hand stroked the spine, chewing her bottom lip as Chloe pressed her forehead into her temple, "We found this in her things. Apparently witches all have these blank notebooks, they use them to record their own spells and stuff, some of them use them as a journal, but they only have one. Apparently it never runs out of pages as long as the witch needs it. Anyway, Gail's is sort of a journal, there's a lot of really awful stuff in there, a lot of things about you that are… sickening. But it's also an immaculate record of every twisted experiment and attempt she ever made to create children."

Beca opened the notebook with trembling hands, eyes skimming page after page as she quickly flicked through it, every mention of her name in the blur of pages making her stomach twist. It really had been a demented obsession, she was in so much of this, why had Gail been so hellbent on making her life a misery like this?

"Becs…" Chloe gently turned Beca's head to look at her, smiling softly at her, "I have read that awful thing from cover to cover, I have learnt so much that I could never ever want to know, but listen to me when I say this. Gail made six children, my doppelganger self and Alice, Calamity, Serenity, Charity and Veracity. The rest were failures and abominations, nothing ever came of them. Alice was pure Gail, made a few days before we took her down, and yes, she'd perfected the spell to make more, but we stopped her before she ever had that chance."

"Wait…" Beca mumbled, tears welling in her eyes again as she turned her attention back to the journal, flicking through to the end and reading the final words of the woman that had ripped her apart so many times.

'Alice is perfect… how I've longed for something so perfectly me, so beautifully evil and twisted. I see why these pathetic creatures feel the need to keep perpetuating their own existence, the thrill I get seeing something born of me, something that could carry on my legacy… it's indescribable. I have to rid myself of these irritating insects and that pesky little twin that slipped my grasp last time, but once I'm done… god I can't wait to have more of them. We'll bring this damned universe to its KNEES.'

"It- it's over?" Beca whispered, looking back to Chloe who nodded softly, "I- I don't- Gail's really gone this time… I'm free…"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded again, emotion swelling inside her as she cupped Beca's face in her hands, "It's all over Becs, I swear it is. I wanted to be able to show you this so you'd know… you don't have to fight anymore, don't have to keep looking over your shoulder, don't have to do anything but finally start to enjoy your life. You get to be happy now Beca."

Beca was sobbing again as she launched herself forward into Choe's arms, the two of them tumbling back onto the bed as Beca pulled Chloe into a deep kiss. It was messy and desperate, but Beca hoped it would still communicate the level of love and gratitude that she was feeling right now. Chloe had found this for her, she'd sought out answers so that Beca could finally know that her long war with Gail was over. Chloe had done this for her, it was Chloe that had freed her from Gail at last, and Beca knew that she would never be able to explain how much that meant to her, even if she had eternity to do it.

"Thank you." Beca mumbled against her lips as she pulled back just a fraction, "Chloe you- you have set me free, you know that? You broke the curse, you lifted the veil, you unlocked the shackles, I- I love you so fucking much Chloe Beale."

"I love you too." Chloe beamed, running her fingers into Beca's hair, "You don't have to thank me for this Beca, you deserve this, after having to fight for so long, you deserve to know you don't have to do it anymore. You deserve to be happy now."

"I am." Beca nodded furiously, "I have you Chlo, how could I not be happy? You are the love of my damn life, and it's been so long, and so lonely, but you're here now and I… I never want to lose you again. I don't want anyone or anything but you."

Beca sat back, straddling Chloe's waist as she reached under the collar of her shirt and pulled out the chain that the engagement ring she had given Chloe so long ago hung. Swallowing thickly, Beca slid it free of the chain, Chloe watching her with eyes full of tears, hands shaking as she looked up at Beca in awe.

"Marry me Chloe?" Beca sniffed, smiling down at Chloe as she held out the ring, "Put this back where it belongs, say you'll marry me, spend the rest of our immortal lives as my wife? I love you, I really fucking love you Chlo and I don't want you to spend another second not knowing how much."

"Oh Becs…" Chloe grinned tearfully, nodding furiously as Beca slid the ring back onto her ring finger, "Of course I'll marry you baby, there's nothing I want more."

"I love you."

Beca dipped her head again, capturing Chloe's lips in her again, both of them forgetting how exhausted they were, how draining the last couple of years had been, forgot every horror, every tense moment, every heart-breaking moment of isolation. None of that mattered, not anymore. All that mattered was that it was over, that they could finally be happy, that happiness was no longer this fleeting thing. It was real, it was permanent, it was allowed. They were free, at long last they were free to be happy.

"I love you too." Chloe beamed, her cheeks coated in a mix of hers and Beca's tears, "I love you with everything I have and everything I am Becs."

Beca simply kissed her again, knowing she didn't have the right words to describe what she was feeling right now. She wasn't even sure the words existed to describe how she was feeling right now, that there would ever be the words to describe this moment to anyone else. But that didn't matter, no-one else needed to know how she felt right now because Chloe did, Chloe knew how much she loved her, how grateful she was for her, how she needed her as much as she had once needed to breathe.

"It's over Beca." Chloe whispered in her ear as Beca sank into her, wrapped around Chloe as she kissed her neck, "It's over, you never, ever have to worry about Gail and her offspring again. They can't hurt you anymore."