Chloe woke up just after the sun rose, filling her room with light. She blinked against it, annoyed that she had forgotten to close them the night before. It was when she shifted to roll away from the light that she remembered who was in the bed with her. She carefully turned, trying not to disturb the sleeping girl next to her.

She was a little surprised they both seemed to sleep well after Chloe laid down with her. She was facing Beca now and frowned at the bruises that were healing on her face. The stitches in her hairline looked painful and Chloe let out a breath, feeling the anger rising again, knowing that Becas accident wasn't really an accident. She slept so soundly next to her, her breathing even, her features soft and peaceful.

The older girl could feel herself becoming emotional. She didn't deserve this. No one did, but in Chloe's eyes, Beca especially didn't deserve it. She was so kind and caring. She did her best to be the best girlfriend she could be for Jesse, and how does he repay her? He didn't deserve her. He never did. Chloe had always known Beca deserved more. She also knew that she wanted to be the one to give her everything she deserved.

She blinked rapidly, broken from her thoughts as the girl who she was currently staring at began to stir.

"Chlo?"

"Hey, good morning." Chloe said softly, adjusting a little to see her better.

"Morning. Thank you for staying with me last night. I hope it was okay."

With a sad smile, Chloe reached over and moved a few stray hairs off Becas face. "Of course. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded. "Once you were here. I didn't want to be alone." She said looking down.

"I'm always here, Becs. Always."

Beca let out a small breath and closed her eyes. Chloe watched for a moment, before she realized Beca was silently crying.

"Hey, shh, its okay." Chloe said and moved closer, carefully pulling her into her arms. She pressed into her eagerly and allowed Chloe to comfort her.

XXXXXX

"Em?"

Stacie slowly walked up the staircase that led to the third-floor bedroom. It had remained empty and untouched since the police left the day Jesse was found hiding in the closet. She reached the top, still holding the banister and looked to see the youngest Bella back in the closet, cleaning up the things that had fallen off the shelves.

"Hey Em, need any help?" She asked walking in. Emily turned and shook her head.

"No thanks. We got the clear to clean it up, since Jesse was arrested. I didn't want Beca to eventually come home to a big mess and reminder that he was here." She said as she picked up one of Becas boxes of CDs and put it back up on the shelf that she had reattached to the wall. She was sporting a nice bruise on her back, from being thrown into it just days before.

Stacie slowly sat on Becas bed, reaching up and smoothing out her pillow.

"How are you doing?" She asked and Emily leaned back against the door frame. Stacie watched her, knowing the girl was struggling. She had grown close to Beca and knowing she had been kidnapped and nearly killed was weighing on her. She hadn't seen her yet and was nervous for when the time came.

"I feel like… this could have been avoided." She said, dropping her head. "I feel like there were signs. Including Friday when he-" Her breath caught, and she cleared her throat as tears flooded her eyes. "When he picked her up."

Stacie listened, feeling the anger and guilt building inside her own chest. She too felt it could have been prevented.

"We had plans. We had talked about it that morning, and I knew nothing had changed. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't say anything. I should have spoken up. If I had just said something maybe that would have given her a chance to stay. Maybe he wouldn't have taken her and maybe…" Her voice trailed off and Stacie watched, her eyes hot and tear filled as Emily angrily wiped her own eyes.

"If I hadn't stayed silent, this wouldn't have happened. He never would have hurt her." She said, her voice filled with venom as she pushed off the door frame and continued cleaning up the closet.

Stacie watched for a moment before standing up and walking in, stopping her and pulling her into a bone crushing hug. As if it was all she needed, Emily broke down, holding Stacie tightly as she cried hard into her hair.

"It isn't your fault." She said. "Jesse did this. He chose to do this and whether he did it this weekend or next, plans or not, he was going to do it. And that is no one's fault but his own." She said.

"No one blames you, Beca especially."

Emily pulled back, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "I know. I know that." She nodded. "I just… Jesses in jail and Beca is hurt and can't even come home. I just can't believe this is happening."

"Me either. But we have to try and be strong for her."

She felt Emily nod as she continued to silently cry, not letting the older girl go just yet. That was when Stacie looked up to see Flo and Jessica standing at the top of the stairs. Both looked just how Emily did. Tired and worried. They missed their friend and they all felt some amount of guilt over not seeing the signs and protecting her. Stacie gave them a sad look and stretched out her arm for them to come join the embrace. Soon, all four were standing just outside Becas closet, holding each other tightly.

XXXXXX

Aubrey leaned back in her desk chair, grabbing her coffee cup and bringing it up to her lips as she read over the email pulled up on her laptop screen. As much as she didn't want to be back at her office, she had a job to do and a deadline to meet. She had been so proud of herself, for earning a double major in Business and architecture. She quickly landed herself a job at a top company in Atlanta and from there she found out how much she loved historic home renovation. It didn't take her long to open her own business dedicated solely to the restoration of old homes. Usually homes that once belonged to very important people a century or two before she was born.

Just before the news of Becas accident she had signed a contract to fully restore an eighteenth-century manor that would take at least two to three years. This would be her oldest property as well as her biggest. She had been going over the blue prints all morning, memorizing the structure of the home by heart.

She was halfway through her email, sipping her coffee when her office phone rang. She leaned forward, setting her cup down and picked it up.

"Hello, this is Aubrey."

She listened for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face and she leaned back once more.

"Stacie, you have my cell number. You were texting me an hour ago, why do you insist on calling the office to talk to me?" She asked, her tone light and playful.

"My company gets plenty of calls thank you very much. We are in no need of you calling fifteen times a day to make our numbers look good. Also, we have no need to keep records of incoming calls." She laughed.

She wouldn't admit it, but she loved when Stacie would call her at work. And she did often. It was no secret that the two were very much into each other and had been for quite some time. However, they were both extremely busy with Stacie finishing up her senior year at Barden and preparing for grad school. Aubrey had been working seventy hours a week since she opened her own business and was rarely available for outings with her friends let alone a steady relationship.

"How are you? How are the girls?" She asked, scrolling through the rest of the email and marking it to come back to.

She listened, her face falling. She knew they were all upset and worried for Beca. She could hear the sadness in Stacie's voice and wished there was something she could do to help her feel better. She was fully aware though, that the only thing that would help is knowing Jesse was in jail, for good. Knowing he wouldn't be able to hurt their friend ever again.

She spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with Stacie as she mapped out all the things, she needed to do in the next week for work to start on the manor. By the time she hung up, it was well passed seven that night and she rubbed her hands over her face before logging off her computer and leaving her office.

XXXXXX

When Aubrey returned home, she walked into the kitchen to find Beca at the table, Chloe's laptop in front of her, and headphones over her ears. Something was simmering on the stove and it smelled wonderful.

She set her bags and the multiple tubes holding the blueprints she was studying down on the center island as Chloe walked in.

"Oh, hey Bree. How was work?" She asked as she walked over to the stove and began to stir it whatever was in the pot.

"Productive." She smiled, opening the fridge in search of the bottle of wine she had been chilling for the last few days.

"How are you guys?" She asked as she found it and set it on the counter.

"Good, just making some dinner. Beca is working on a paper for one of her classes."

Aubrey leaned against the counter as she poured herself a glass of wine. Beca hadn't noticed her yet and she took that opportunity to look her over. Her black eyes were already healing, and she carefully typed with her two broken fingers.

"How is she?" She asked quietly.

Chloe sighed as she busied herself with chopping celery. "She seems okay. She didn't talk much today. Mostly stayed focused on the work she was sent for her classes. She is anxious to find out what happens with Jesse. I guess he didn't see a judge today, we didn't get a call."

Aubrey looked down into her glass, swirling the red liquid. "Well, that's one more guaranteed day in jail, so I'm okay with that."

"Same." Chloe said, glancing sideways as Beca took her headphones off and looked over.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in. Hi, Bree." She said and slowly stood up.

Aubrey smiled at her as she carefully made her way over to them. "No worries, how are you?"

" A little tired, but okay. Trying not to fall behind." She motioned to the laptop.

"Well, I hope you both like soup, because I made a big pot of it." Chloe said dropping the celery she just finished cutting into the soup.

"What kind?" Aubrey asked, setting her glass down and opening the cupboard to get out some bowls.

"Buffalo chicken chowder." Chloe said taking the bowls from her and Beca peeked into the pot.

"Smells good." She said. "Thank you."

"It's a good comfort soup. A little spicy but really good."

She filled a bowl and handed it to Beca. "Can you manage to get that to the table?" She asked.

"It's a twisted ankle, not a broken leg." Beca smirked jokingly as she turned and walked back to the table with her bowl.

Chloe was just about to reply with a sarcastic comment when she heard a startled cry and then a crash.

She turned around to see Beca had tripped and was sprawled on the kitchen floor, her soup bowl shattered.

The younger girl flipped around quickly; her eyes filled with fear.

Aubrey and Chloe were both hurrying over to her, their faces the picture of worry, but all she could see through blurry vision, was an angry Jesse rushing at her. Her head felt light, and her body felt heavy as she tried to get away from them.

"No, please! I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" She cried, realizing there was nowhere for her to go, she threw an arm up to protect her face.

Aubrey and Chloe had both stopped as soon as she spoke. They were fully aware she was seeing something they weren't.

Chloe dropped down to the floor as Aubrey backed up to grab something to clean the spill with.

"Beca, its me. It's Chloe." She said slowly. "You're safe, no one is going to hurt you." She said, her voice shaking. She had never seen Beca, or anyone for that matter look the way Beca was now.

Beca had backed herself up against the table chairs, her eyes unfocused, her breathing hard. She was trying to understand what Chloe was saying. Chloe. It was Chloe, not Jesse.

She had seen him, as soon as she turned around. She had seen him coming at her, and he was angry. She had broken a bowl and wasted food. Where did he go?

By the time Beca's breathing evened out, and her eyes focused, Aubrey had cleared away the spilled soup and broken glass.

"Beca? Can you hear me?" Chloe asked softly. "You're safe, you are at our house, and you are safe."

She met Chloe's eyes and then looked over to Aubrey. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break it. I tripped I think." She said, her voice low and slow.

"It was an accident. And the bowl was cheap. Plenty of soup left as well. Everything is okay, Beca. Are you hurt?"

She blinked a few times and focused on her body, then nodded. "My ribs hurt, and my hand." She said lifting her hand and looking at her splinted fingers.

"Do you need a doctor?" Aubrey asked as she slowly joined them on the floor.

She shook her head. "No. Maybe just the pain killers they gave me?"

Chloe stood up, getting her the medicine and a glass of water. Aubrey smiled gently at Beca and the younger girl returned it softly.

"Can I help you up?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes, please?"

Chloe was walking back over with the medicine as Aubrey carefully helped Beca to her feet and into a chair.

She took the medicine and wiped the few tears that had fallen.

"Thank you both. For everything. I know that was a lot, and I don't even know what happened. You don't have to do this. You have jobs, and lives. I don't want you to have to deal with whatever that was."

"Hey." Chloe said, dropping down to kneel in front of her. "We aren't dealing with anything. You need to heal, in more ways than one and there is nowhere else you should be, than right here with us. We love you and we want you here. Okay?"

Beca looked down and nodded slowly. "Okay."

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the delay in updating! Drove from the east coast back to the west coast and have been getting settled! Please please review? I have changed the story line quite a bit. Well, my head did, I just write whatever comes out when my fingers touch the keys lol