Beca and Chloe's relationship blossomed alongside the flowers and leaves of the spring, the blissful domestic routine they already had only mellowing more as they sank into each other and the feelings they no longer had to hide. That first night they had stayed up all night talking, curled up in each other's arms, fingers in hair, lips brushing over lips. In the month that followed, Beca and Chloe moved slowly into a relationship, finding there was very little distance to cover really after spending the last year getting through one of the roughest patches of their lives. Still, there was ground to cover, and they were doing it comfortably so, except for one thing that was really bothering Beca.

"Dude will you please stop laughing at me and help?!" Beca tossed the ball that she and Stacie were passing back and forth during one of the latter's PT sessions a little harder than was necessary as Stacie giggled helplessly at the furious shade of red that Beca had gone.

"I'm sorry, it's just adorably funny!" Stacie grunted a little as she caught the ball, grin wicked as she teased the ever reddening Beca, "How would've thought that badass Sergeant Beca Mitchell would get all awkward talking about sex?"

"Piss off." Beca grunted, running her hand through her hair as she shook her head, lip pulled between her teeth, "I'm serious Stace, I really need your help…"

Stacie's expression softened as she sat next to Beca where she had sunk to the floor, her back pressed against the wall and her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry, I can see this is bothering you." Stacie pressed her shoulder into Beca's a little, "Talk to me Becs, what's the problem?"

Beca sniffed softly as she lifted her head, "God it's so stupid… Chloe and I haven't… done anything, we're taking it slow but…" She sighed heavily.

"It's good that you're taking it slow." Stacie nodded, "For both of you, you've been through a lot in the last year, and with the Chicago of it all, it makes sense."

"It's not Chloe that's taking it this slow." Beca shook her head, "It's me… she um, she keeps wanting to take it further than teenage make out sessions, and so do I but… I- I can't, y'know, do it with this thing on because it's heavy and awkward and that really kills the mood." She smirked a little as she patted her prosthetic, "But… no-one's seen me without my leg since I left the hospital… I- I'm scared that she'll see me without and- and she's not going to think that I'm attractive anymore…"

Beca was a bright shade of fuchsia as she mumbled out the last of her problem, eyes fixed firmly on the floor. An awkward silence hug in the air for a moment as Stacie crossed her legs underneath her, making sure she wasn't leaning against Beca so that she wouldn't feel crowded.

"I get it." Stacie nodded softly, glancing at Beca, "Look I've never made any secret to you about the fact that Bree and I have a very… physical relationship, of course we're more than that, we'll have been married for five years this year. Since I got out of the hospital we've… struggled. There are days I can't even look in a mirror Becs because all I see are the scars and my missing arm, everything that reminds me that I'm no longer the woman I once was. So I get it, I get why you're hesitating, I get how you're feeling."

"How um…" Beca sniffed, looking to Stacie with a soft smile, "How did you get past it?"

"Honestly?" Stacie sighed a little, "I'm not sure I have. But I'm trying to. And Aubrey she… she's been incredible, she has this way of making me feel beautiful and necessary even when I'm at my lowest. We just… did it. More than once I might add. For a very long time…"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Beca chuckled, shaking her head as Stacie winked at her.

"You love her, right?"

"Yeah." Beca nodded, running her hand through her hair, "Yeah I really do."

"And she loves you." Stacie grinned, "It'll be okay Becs. You just gotta make the leap. You have to trust Chloe and… just do it."

"I do trust her." Beca smiled warmly at just the thought of Chloe, "I um… I really love her Stace. It's ridiculous, I'm an ex-soldier, a badass, and yet around Chloe… I get all soft and mushy. It's kinda gross."

"Oof." Stacie laughed, "You've got it bad Mitchell… I've never known you be soft for anyone."

"Oh shut up." Beca smirked, giving Stacie a gentle shove, "Like you don't dissolve into a puddle every time Aubrey so much as glances in your direction."

"Hey, I'm whipped, I admit it!" Stacie held up her arms defensively, "But it's cute seeing you simpering over someone."

"I hate you." Beca mumbled darkly, still smirking as she gave her another shove.

"Yeah, I hate you too." Stacie laughed, slinging her arm around Beca's shoulders and giving them a squeeze.

Later that night, Beca leant against the doorframe to Chloe's bedroom, watching as Chloe returned from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. Chloe grinned at Beca as she noticed her, a slight brush spreading across her cheeks.

"You okay?" Chloe asked, "I thought you'd gone to bed?"

Beca shrugged a little, smirking, "Yeah but… then I remembered that you were in here, all alone… and I wanted to change to that."

Beca pushed herself off the doorframe, walking over to Chloe and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in, the other cupping her cheek as she kissed her softly.

"That okay with you?"

"Definitely." Chloe nodded, smile beaming as she leant into Bec, her hands resting on either side of her neck.

"I… I'm ready Chlo…" Beca mumbled, her lips brushing against Chloe's, "I was talking to Stace earlier and… yeah, I think I'm ready for this."

"Should I be concerned that you come back from hanging out with Stacie wanting sex?" Chloe giggled, Beca rolling her eyes a little, "You're sure? Because we don't have to Becs, I will wait as long as you need me to."

"I know." Beca rested her forehead against Chloe's, "But I want this. I want you, all of you. It's just- Chlo no-one has seen me without my leg, not like this. I just don't want you to look at me and…"

Beca pulled back a little, biting her lip, but before she could pull away completely Chloe's arms quickly wound around her waist and kept her close.

"Beca I think you're beautiful." Chloe smiled softly, "This won't change that. It's not like it's a surprise that your leg is missing, I know it is. I promise you, this isn't going to change a damn thing, certainly not how much I love you."

Beca's nostrils flared a little as she cupped Chloe's face in her hands, "What did I do to deserve you Chlo, huh?"

"Short of being a hero and saving my life you mean?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, turning her head to press a kiss into the palm of Beca's hand.

Beca simply rolled her eyes in response, shaking her head a little. With slightly shaky hands, Beca moved them down from Chloe's shoulders to her hands, taking them in hers and gently pulling her to the bed. Chloe moved easily with her without hesitation, grinning as Beca quickly and effortlessly pulled her towel from her and tossed it across the room, her lips seeking Chloe's. Chloe connected them as she slowly pushed Beca back onto the bed, her hands starting to lift Beca's top over her head.

Beca sat forward a little, the two of them only disconnecting long enough for Beca to pull her t-shirt free. Chloe's hands splayed over her ribs as her tongue pushed into her mouth, Beca running her hands into Chloe's hair. Chloe began to kiss down Beca's jaw and neck, grinning against her skin as Beca let her head fall back against the pillows to give her better access. She spent a long time kissing over Beca's throat and chest, making sure that she knew that she thought she was beautiful, that she loved every single inch of her, every freckle, every curve, every blemish.

It was as she reached the top of Beca's sweatpants that Chloe stopped, lifting her head to find Beca looking at her with eyes full of love and lust. Chloe smiled softly at her.

"How do you want to do this?" She asked, moving herself so that she was over Beca, hand cupping Beca's cheek, "Do you want me to take it off? Or I can leave whilst you do it and come back when you're ready?"

Beca leant up and captured Chloe's lips in her own, unable to put into words just how grateful she was to have her in her life or how much it meant to her that Chloe was so diligently making sure she was comfortable.

"Um… if you could just… sit here a second." Beca pulled away, her forehead pressed against Chloe's.

Chloe nodded a little, moving so that she was sat next to where Beca was lay on the bed. She had expected Beca to leave the room and come back, but instead Beca got off the bed and undid the drawstring of her sweats with slightly fumbling hands, letting them drop to the floor. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked up towards Chloe, her heart pounding in her chest as a sense of vulnerability began to grip her. Yet, as her eyes met Chloe's, Beca felt it start to melt away because that look in Chloe's eyes… it wasn't disgust or repulsion or disappointment… it was love, lust, unbridled longing for the woman stood in front of her.

Beca moved slowly back onto the bed, her back to Chloe for a moment as she sat on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath before she unfastened her prosthetic, sliding it from the stump and resting it carefully by the bedside table. As she did, Chloe's hands rested gently on her shoulder, a soft kiss pressed into the top of her head as Beca leant back into her.

"Are you okay baby?" Chloe whispered, "Do you still want to carry on?"

"Yeah." Beca nodded in response to both questions, looking up at Chloe adoringly as she reached a hand back to rest on her neck, "Thank you Chlo. For just… not making a big deal of it."

"Of course." Chloe smiled down at her, "It isn't a big deal Becs. It's just a leg."

"It's just a leg." Beca agreed, turning in Chloe's arms to press a kiss to her lips, pushing her back on the bed as she straddled her waist, "And you'll see that I don't need it to make you feel incredible." She smirked against Chloe's lips as Chloe giggled helplessly underneath her.

They spent hours lost in each other, in fingers and lips and tongues, in love and lust and want. Beca forgot all about her leg and her hang ups with it as she immersed herself in Chloe, in the smell of her shampoo and the feel of her skin against hers. It felt like they had been crafted to fit together, as if this moment had been etched in the stars for eons, neither Beca nor Chloe quite able to comprehend just how perfect this was. All the pain, all the heartache, all the uncertainty of the last year suddenly seemed to just melt away into a singular feeling of bliss and contentment to be here in each other's arms. It was the safest, happiest place in the world.

It was two am when Chloe and Beca finally stopped, a panting mess of tangled bed sheets and tousled hair, Chloe curled into Beca's left side with her head on her chest, her hand splayed over her stomach.

"Woah…" Beca mumbled, a lazy smirk pulling at her lips as her fingers ran slowly and rhythmically through Chloe's flame red hair, "Okay, yeah, that was worth the wait…"

"Oh definitely!" Chloe giggled, looking adoringly up at Beca, "You're quite the casa nova aren't you?"

"Only for you Beale." Beca grinned at her, a soft kiss pressed to Chloe's lips, Beca able to taste the latent remainder of their night's activities.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Chloe spoke again, softer this time, barely above a whisper, her fingers ghosted over Beca's hip.

"Can I touch it?"

Beca tensed slightly as a lump formed in her throat again, looking down first at Chloe and then at the remainder of her left leg.

"Yeah." She mumbled, nodding a little, "Yeah I guess…"

Chloe's fingers extended slowly, tracing gently down her thigh until they reached the stump of Beca's leg. Beca let out a shuddering breath as Chloe's fingers moved along the scar that reminded Beca that she had lost something so fundamental to her at the hands of callous and cruel men that had torn her life to shreds. And yet, as Chloe's fingers brushed gently across it and tears welled in the corners of her eyes, Beca felt a sense of healing wash over her. Yes, they had taken her leg, scarred her mind, robbed her of being able to serve, but if they hadn't then Beca would never have met Chloe. She wouldn't have been here when Chloe needed her the most, she wouldn't be here now in her bed, feeling wholer and more loved than she ever had.

"Becs? Are you okay?" Chloe frowned, retreating her hand as she turned to look at Beca, moving up the bed to cup Beca's cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb.

"Yeah." Beca nodded, smiling softly at her, "Yeah I- I've never been better. Ever. I love you Chloe."

"I love you too." Chloe pressed her lips gently into Beca's, nudging her nose with hers, "I didn't mean to upset you… I'm sorry."

"You didn't." Beca shook her head, "I promise you didn't. It- um, it's dumb but… I dunno I guess I'm kinda thankful for not having my leg anymore? Because it meant I was here… I am here… with you. I'd really love to have both my legs, don't get me wrong, if I could get it back tomorrow I would but… I'm also really glad that all that shit lead me here to you…"

"It's not dumb Beca." Chloe shook her head, emotion sparkling in her own eyes as she stroked Beca's cheek with her thumb, "I'm really glad that you're here too. I'm glad that you weren't deployed with Chicago this time, I'm glad that I was so ill that I needed you here to protect me and Emma from it all… because now I have you, and I'm so happy and so in love with you I-"

Chloe paused for a moment as she pushed back against the welling emotion inside her, sniffing softly as Beca watched her intently, "I wish we hadn't been through so much pain to get here. I wish that Chicago was here and that Emma could get to know him, I'm not grateful that he's gone… but if my reward from the universe for getting through all of that pain and suffering is you? Then I'll take it."

Beca shook her head a little as her nostrils flared, another tear slipping down her cheek. She rolled onto her side, fingers running into Chloe's hair as she rested her forehead against hers.

"You really are perfect Chloe." Beca whispered, "Truly perfect. I'm in complete awe of you, all the time. I love you so much, I need you to know that. Tonight… if you hadn't already changed my life in more ways than I can wrap my head around, you certainly did tonight."

Chloe gently kissed away the tears on Beca's cheeks before capturing her lips in hers once more.

"Stay here tonight?" Chloe mumbled against her lips, "Just… stay?"

"I was going to ask to stay." Beca grinned, "I don't want to go anywhere. Not now, not ever."

"I can live with that." Chloe giggled.

The months seemed to blend into each other as Beca and Chloe fell further and further in love. Neither thought it was possible to do so, but every day they proved themselves wrong. Beca moved out of the spare room and into Chloe's with her a little under two weeks after their first time, wanting nothing more than to end and begin every day with Chloe in her arms.

That was precisely how they found themselves on a rainy Wednesday morning in late spring, Beca's fingers running through Chloe's hair as Chloe sighed happily against her shoulder.

"I love you." Beca mumbled sleepily, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Chloe's head, "Almost as much as I love quiet morning lie ins…"

"I want to be mad at you for that, but I so cannot argue right now." Chloe giggled, nuzzling into Beca's neck as she draped her legs over hers.

"I love Emma, I really do, but not having her here these last couple of days? It's been so nice…" Beca grinned.

Emma was in Florida with her grandparents, not for the first time since Chicago had died. Chloe had insisted that Jack and Belinda were as much a part of Emma's life as possible, and so about every month, Emma would either go to Florida with them or they would come and stay in New York, always for at least three days and up to a week. Chloe had been an anxious wreck the first time that Emma had gone to Florida, but with Beca by her side to reassure her and take her mind off things, she managed to make it through the weekend okay.

This time, Emma was with them for five days, having left with Belinda on Monday. Beca and Chloe had made the most of the rare time to themselves, going on dates outside of the house, staying up to watch movies, staying in bed until late afternoon.

"I know." Chloe hummed, fingers tracing patterns on Beca's stomach, "I'm thinking of enrolling her in preschool for September, what do you think?"

"Yeah, I love that idea." Beca nodded, "I think she would too. She's so smart already, imagine how far ahead she'll be by the time she gets to kindergarten."

"I was looking at the application forms last week…" Chloe looked up at Beca, intertwining their fingers, "It's all the standard stuff you'd expect, family history that sort of thing. But there's a bit where it asks for emergency contacts, and obviously there's me but they want two so I figured I'd put you down as the other?"

"Oh. Yeah, yeah that works." A grin spread across Beca's face as she felt her heart swell. Chloe wanted her to be Emma's emergency contact.

"Great!" Chloe beamed, pressing a soft kiss to Beca's cheek, "There's- there's a box that asks what your relationship is with Emma… I um… I don't know what to put."

"Um…" Beca's brow furrowed a little, "Yeah I guess 'mom's girlfriend' feels weird, and the box isn't big enough for 'that chick that lives with us and helps out as best she can'."

Chloe giggled as she kissed Beca's cheek again, "You're such a dork. I was thinking… what about 'mom'?"

Beca's eyes were wide and full of emotion as her head whipped around to look at Chloe, "M-mom? Me? Really?"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, biting her bottom lip a little, "Only if you wanted to? Because… Beca you've been her mom since almost day one. You've changed her and fed her and nursed her when she was sick and kissed her boo boos. You love her as much as you love me, maybe more so… anything other than mom just feels like it's not enough."

"I- I don't know what to say." Beca whispered, tears brimming as she leant her forehead against Chloe's, "Are you sure? I don't… I don't want you to think I'm trying to replace Chicago, not with you, not with Emma. Of course I love her, how could I not? But I'm not trying to worm my way into her life either…"

"I know, I know you're not." Chloe gently moved Beca's hair from her face, "Emma's really lucky because she's had three parents who adore her and she's only eighteen months old. She loves you Becs, don't think I haven't heard her call you mama and you redirect her to me. You don't have to do that, of course she sees you as her mom."

"I'd love to be her mom." Beca beamed, "I really do love her Chloe, I've loved her ever since I first met her, she's a great kid. They're not gonna ask weird questions about it right?"

"Probably not." Chloe shrugged, "But… if you adopted Emma they wouldn't need to."

Beca's eyes widened again as her grin got broader, "So- so it'd be like she was mine? Ours?"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, brushing her nose against Beca's, "Only if you want to, there's no pressure to Becs, honestly. It's just a piece of paper, you me and Emma, we all know you don't need it to be her mom. But if you wanted, I'd be more than okay with it."

"I- I'd really like that." Beca bit her bottom lip as a tear slipped down her cheek, "I'd love to be her mom, officially. Thank you Chloe."

"Thank you Beca." Chloe shook her head a little as she pressed her lips into Beca's, "For being her mom even though you didn't have to, when I wasn't capable of being, and even when I was. You are incredible with her, I will never be able to thank you enough for the way you look after her, the way you look after both of us."

"I would do it all over again a heartbeat." Beca mumbled, "You never have to thank me for it, you're my whole world Chloe Beale, you and Emma. You're all I want, all I need… I love you so damn much."

"I love you too." Chloe grinned, kissing Beca deeply as she pulled her into her, "And I know you said I didn't have to thank you but…" She let her hand trail slowly from Beca's hip to her inner thigh, a coy smirk tugging at her lips, "I've thought of a really great way to do it."

"Well I'd be an idiot to say no wouldn't I?" Beca chuckled breathily.

They decided to share the news first with Jack and Belinda who dropped Emma a couple of days later. They were over the moon and full of happy tears, and when Emma had been informed that Beca was going to be her mama from now on she had careened forward with her little hands outstretched straight into Beca's arms with a delighted and excitable "MAMA!" which had caused Beca to burst into tears herself.

The paperwork was quickly put in motion and within two months Beca's petition was granted by the courts. She was now legally, as well as emotionally and mentally, Emma's mom. A party was thrown to celebrate, Stacie and Aubrey joining Erica, Ryan, Jack, and Belinda to congratulate Beca and Chloe. It was a huge milestone for all three of them.

"Dude I can't believe you're a mom now." Stacie grinned, her arm slung easily around Beca's shoulder as Beca scoffed indignantly. Chloe was deep in conversation with Erica and Belinda on the other side of the room, Beca enjoying the opportunity to catch up with her friend in a situation that felt so wonderfully normal.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Beca raised her eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Stacie defended herself a little too quickly as Beca's raised her eyebrow higher, "Really, I don't mean anything. It's just very grown up of you that's all, it's weird."

"You're a mom too y'know?" Beca rolled her eyes, "And a whole year younger than me, what are you not a grown up?"

"Not in the slightest." Aubrey chuckled, wrapping her arm around Stacie's waist as she kissed her cheek, "But Bella loves her all the same."

Stacie pulled her face at Aubrey as she leant against her, glancing over to where Bella was playing with Emma, both of them blissfully ignorant of the adults in the room as they engaged in a game of cops and robbers (Emma was arguably too young to really grasp the concept but was more than happy to charge around after Bella). She grinned at the sight before turning back to Beca, her expression a little watery.

"So we're gonna be soccer moms together then?" Stacie quirked her eyebrow, "Cutting oranges for the soccer team, making catty comments from the side lines about the other moms, sneaking a flask of wine in to make it more exciting?"

"Make it scotch and you're on." Beca smirked, catching an eyeroll from Aubrey.

"I think I'll take Bella to her soccer matches if she has them." Aubrey mused, "I have a feeling the two of you will make enemies out of the entire PTA before the first match is over."

Beca shrugged a little with a smirk as she sipped her beer, "Yeah probably. But who needs them?"

"Here here!" Stacie beamed, earning a poke in the ribs from her wife, "Oh c'mon Bree, with a mini Mitchell running around we won't be the only ones pissing off the PTA."

"She's not." Beca shook her head fondly, "A Mitchell I mean, she's a Walp, always will be."

"You didn't give her your surname when you adopted her?" Stacie frowned, more in curiosity than anything else.

"No." Beca frowned a little, "Why would I? It's not my place to push my name on her, yeah I'm her mom now but she doesn't owe me anything because of that. If she wanted to take it further down the line, that's up to her, but right now? She's Emma Beale Walp, same as she's always been. And I love her with my whole heart. That's all that matters."

"Becs…" Stacie grinned, her eyes glassy from the tears she was holding back, "That's beautiful man…"

Aubrey was barely able to smother a sob as she clung to Stacie a little tighter, beaming from ear to ear. Beca looked at her in alarm, eyebrows raised.

"Dude are you crying?!"

"God dammit…" Aubrey grumbled, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hands, "These damn hormones are lethal, and then you had to go and say something so heart-warming and cute…"

"We're um… we're trying for another kid." Stacie pulled Aubrey into her side a little tighter, kissing her head as Aubrey hid her face in embarrassment at her emotional outburst, "Bree's going through the round of hormones before implantation so she's a little all over the place."

"Guys that's awesome!" Beca's eyes were full of excitement, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"What and take the focus away from you becoming Emma's mom?" Stacie snorted, "Please. Besides, we already have Bella, us having kids is not news. It was always part of the plan, even before I lost my arm it was going to be my last tour. And seeing how good Bella is with Emma? We want that all the time."

"You two are amazing parents." Beca smiled warmly, "Bella's really lucky, and this new kid will be too. I'm coming to you two when I need parenting tips."

"Dammit Mitchell!" Aubrey hid her face further into Stacie's neck as Beca chuckled a little.

"Sorry Bree."

When everyone else had left and Emma was in bed after insisting that both mama and momma tucked her in, Chloe pulled Beca to oneside, pushing her up against the wall and kissing her passionately. Beca was caught by surprise but quickly melted into her, running her fingers into her hair.

"I heard what you said to Bree and Stacie." Chloe mumbled once she broke apart for air, her forehead rested against Beca's, "About Emma always being an Walp, and about how you loved her and that's all that matters."

"Oh." Beca blushed a little as she grinned at Chloe, "That. I meant it y'know?"

"I know." Chloe nodded, her voice thick with emotion, "Marry me Beca."

"What?!" Beca squeaked, her eyes as wide as saucers as her heart began to pound her chest. Had Chloe just-?

"Marry me." Chloe repeated, tucking a lock of Beca's hair behind her ear as eyes glittered with tears, a soft smile on her lips, "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, to Emma… I want you to marry me, to be with me, with us forever. Will you?"

"Yeah." Beca nodded, breathing shakily as she cupped Chloe's face in her hands, "Yeah Chlo, of course I will."

Days blurred into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, Beca and Chloe wrapped in a happy bubble of domestic bliss. There were big moments over the two years that followed Chloe's proposal, but mostly the time passed in a love filled and happy haze of kisses and nights in and family picnics in the park.

Six months after Chloe proposed they got married in a simple and quiet afternoon appointment at the courthouse, attended by no-one but Stacie and Aubrey. Neither of them wanted a big fuss after all the drama and insanity of the last two years, and whilst both Jack and Belinda, and Erica had been surprised at the sudden news that they had gotten married without telling them, no-one begrudged them of it. Emma had been delighted at the news that her mom's were getting married, and whilst all other wedding traditions had been ignored, Emma was allowed to be the flower girl, having the time of her life as she tossed rose petals at her mom's feet as everyone who watched on cooed and fell a little in love with her.

Emma had started preschool the very next week, barely looking back at her mothers as she had gone charging in, lunchbox clutched tight in hand. Chloe had shed a tear or three as Beca hugged her tightly, reassuring her that Emma was just excited to start school and that come two pm when they picked her up she would come flying back into their arms. Beca had been right, Emma almost knocking Chloe off her feet as she lept into her arms and told her all about her first day, proudly waving the finger painting she'd done for all to see.

Aubrey gave birth to her and Stacie's second child, a little boy, three months after Emma started preschool. It was with quiet awe that Beca and Chloe had met Alfie Conrad-Posen as he lay fast asleep in Stacie's arms, Aubrey asleep in the hospital bed next to them as her wife sat nearby.

"Oh he's gorgeous…" Chloe whispered, tears in her eyes as she knelt in front of Stacie, stroking Alfie's head gently.

"Isn't he?" Stacie mumbled, her eyes not once leaving the sight of her sleeping son.

"And you thought you wouldn't be able to hold him." Beca grinned, sat on the back of Stacie's chair as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "Look at him Conrad, he knows he's the safest kid in the world. I told you it would be okay."

Stacie leant back against Beca a little, still not looking up from Alfie but moving her hand to give her arm a gentle squeeze, "Thanks Becs. Although I'm not making a habit of proving you right, that feels like a dangerous precedent to set."

"It definitely is." Chloe giggled quietly as Beca looked feigned a look of outrage.

They were happy. Ridiculously, blissfully, ignorantly happy.

Of course Chloe still had her days when she found her anxiety welling up for no discernible reason, or her mood got so low that she didn't want to leave her bed. Beca would always be right there by her side, to hold her when she couldn't stop shaking, to mumble soft reassurances in her hair when Chloe's mind became overrun with dark thoughts, to look after Emma when Chloe just needed a little time to herself.

Beca too occasionally found herself struggling, her night terrors seizing hold of her or her hip seizing up at inconvenient moments like when she was supposed to be running errands or walking Roxie or playing with Emma. When she woke in a cold sweat, tangled in their bedsheets in a panic thinking she was trapped once more Chloe would wake up almost immediately and catch her failing arms, pressing herself into her until Beca's breathing evened out and she sagged into the mattress in tears as Chloe gently kissed her face and stroked her hair until Beca was calm again. When her hip became too much for her, after a gentle chastisement for pushing herself too hard which was usually the case, Chloe would settle Beca on the couch or in bed with painkillers and pick up the slack where needed.

But these occasions were few and far between and dwindling in number as time went on. Most of the time they were happy and content, hopelessly in love and relieved to find themselves in the grips of a normal, functioning relationship and life. There were many things they were proud of in the last two years, but none more so than the 4831 Project.

They had sat with Stacie, Jack, and Belinda, wanting to do something to honour Chicago, the man that they all loved so dearly and the squad that had been lost alongside him. It took a lot of logistics and late nights trying to figure out exactly how to carry it out, but eventually it was settled that the so named "4831 Project" (the number assigned to Stacie and Beca's platoon) became a rehabilitation centre based out of New York to support veterans and their families after the return home and especially after injury and/or death in the line of duty, each one of them taking on a vital role to get it up and running.

Beca worked as she had always wanted to as music therapist for vets with PTSD, showing them how music, whether they played it themselves or simply listened to it, could help instil calm, how base lines could help regulate breathing and heartrate in the event of a panic attack, how by listening to it you could simply clear your mind when it was loud and full of dark and dangerous thoughts.

Stacie had gone back to college, taking classes in physiotherapy and psychology, now working alongside some of the physios that had helped her and Beca with their recoveries to provide free physical rehab for veterans with traumatic limb amputations that would otherwise be unable to access it.

Aubrey became the inhouse legal council, helping families of veterans that had passed deal with their affairs, made sure that life insurance companies paid out what the families were owed, helped to arrange payment plans and budgets for veterans and their families that had mounting hospital bills and medical costs on their return. All her services were provided at a heavily discounted rate, and sometimes for free, Aubrey's priority helping families that were in the position she had almost found herself in, that her mother had been in when her father died in the line of duty. Jack would often work with Aubrey, helping families cut through the jargon used by military officials so that their families could understand what was happening with their loved ones, to help them through the trauma of loss as painlessly as he was able to.

Chloe ran workshops, often with Belinda or Beca, for families of veterans coping with loss. She taught them music, ran cooking classes, organised barbeques in the summer. They were the most popular service that they ran, Chloe not only helping individual families but also creating a large web of support for them all to rely on when they needed the support. Emma and Bella were frequent features of the workshops that Chloe ran specifically for kids, happily integrating with their peers and providing the grieving families with a little light at the end of the tunnel; their children would be okay eventually, one day everything would become far less painful than it was now.

Benji Applebaum also offered a free counselling service three afternoons a week, a completely voluntary departure on his part, insisting that it was the least he could do to honour Sam. The families of the other members of Squad 4831 also volunteered their time, running various workshops alongside Chloe and branching out the military wives' choir that Chloe and Aubrey had first met at years ago.

It was their pride and joy, Beca and Chloe both blown away by the centre's success, by the generosity of people's time and money given so freely to support it. In the entryway to the centre was a memorial, the names, ranks and photos of every member of the squad who lost their lives displayed proudly and with love along with a quote; a phrase that Chicago had said to all of them on many occasions over the years:

"No matter where we go or what we see, we'll always have a home in the hearts and the minds of the people that we love the most. That's the secret to immortality."

It was a typical Monday evening for Beca and Chloe, making dinner in the kitchen as Emma sat at the table, legs swinging happily as she busied herself with her colouring book. It baffled both Beca and Chloe that she was almost four years old, growing into the perfect and beautiful combination of both Chicago and Chloe: his dark hair and nose, her brilliant blue eyes and easy smile for anyone that crossed her path.

"Momma?"

"Yes my love?" Chloe beamed as she looked up from the stove, Beca making both of them a cup of coffee.

"Will you tell me about daddy?" Emma's expression was one of curiosity and simple innocence.

Chloe and Beca shared a look of surprise and mild apprehension. They had never once tried to hide the fact that Chicago had existed or that he was Emma's dad from her, but this had been the first time that she had ever directly shown any interest in him. Chloe turned off the stovetop as she and Beca joined Emma at the table, her hand clasped tightly in Beca's as it shook slightly.

"What made you ask about him?" Chloe's tone was warm, as was her expression.

Emma shrugged slightly, "We were talking about family at school. I said I had two mommies and a daddy, and Rachel said that it wasn't possible to have three parents and then she said I was a liar because she'd never seen my daddy…"

"I never liked that Rachel." Beca grumbled, an eyebrow raised, "She's a little b-i-t-c-h."

Chloe elbowed her pointedly but her eyes were full of amusement for her wife for moment, "Well Rachel is wrong Em, you can have three parents."

"I know." Emma smiled cheerily, "Tommy B has two mommies and two daddies because his parents are divorced. Is that why I don't get to see daddy?"

"No sweetie." Chloe shook her head fondly, tears starting to form in her eyes as they always did when she talked about Chicago. She still missed him a lot, "Your daddy… he um…"

"He died Em." Beca smiled softly as she gave Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze, Chloe's head resting gratefully on her shoulder, "Do you know what that means?"

Emma nodded, "Mr Frazzles died last week and Miss Junk said that sometimes things happen and people stop being there, but that doesn't mean that they're gone because we still love them."

"Mr Frazzles?" Beca mumbled, looking to Chloe in confusion.

"The class hamster." Chloe explained with a soft giggle.

"Oh, right. Of course." Beca chuckled, "She's right Emma, people are never really gone when you love them. But your dad, he can't be here in person anymore. I know he would be so proud of you, he loved you so much."

"What was he like?" Emma was still swinging her legs happily, not tainted by the sadness of loss that her mothers were.

"He was so funny." Chloe grinned, shaking her head a little, "He was my best friend since I was your age and he always made me laugh."

"He was kind too." Beca mused, "And you knew if you ever needed him he'd always make time for you to help you out."

"Do you miss him?" Emma tilted her head, "Is that why you look sad when you look at the photos on the fireplace?"

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, "Yeah I miss him a lot. We both do." She turned to Beca who nodded, pressing a gentle kiss onto the back of Chloe's hand, "But it's okay, just because we miss him doesn't mean that we don't like talking about him."

"How did he die?"

Chloe took a deep shuddering breath, feeling Beca's hand tighten in hers as she pressed herself into Chloe's side. How much were you supposed to share with an almost four year old? Emma was smart for age, but she was still just a child.

"You know that I used to be a soldier, and Auntie Stacie did too?" Beca smiled softly as Emma nodded, expression one of pure childlike curiosity and innocence, "Your dad did too. That's how I met him, he was my commanding officer. You know Auntie Stacie is missing her arm?"

Emma nodded again. Neither Beca nor Stacie had made any secret about their injuries to the kids, knowing that it would help all of them understand the differently abled better as they went about their lives.

"The accident that caused her to lose her arm… is the one where your dad died." Chloe sniffed softly, reaching over with her free hand to squeeze Emma's, "He died being a hero, like he always was."

"Oh." Emma looked a little taken aback at this, legs still swinging as she looked at her mothers.

"Are you okay kiddo?" Beca asked, giving Chloe's hand another squeeze before she got up and squatted next to Emma, gently moving her hair from her eyes, "I know it's sad, it's okay to be sad about it."

"Did… did he love me?"

"Yeah, yeah of course her did." Beca nodded furiously, "He loved you so much before you were even born. Your dad used to call me all the time from Iraq to tell me how excited he was to meet you."

"Okay." Emma nodded, grinning once more, "That's all that matters."

"Yes it is." Beca agreed, pressing a gentle kiss to Emma's forehead, Chloe beaming at her daughter. She really was her father's daughter.

"So daddy was a hero? Like Batman?" Emma's tone was excitable as her eyes glittered.

"Oh yeah." Beca laughed, "He saved me more than once, swooped in and scooped me up in his arms and out of danger."

"Cool!" Emma grinned, looking back at Chloe as she squeezed her hand.

"Do you know what the most heroic thing your daddy ever did was? He brought us mom to look after us and to love us when he couldn't be here to do it himself." Chloe glanced at Beca who gave her a warm and emotional smile, gratitude and love making her eyes sparkle.

"That one's my favourite!" Emma beamed, giggling happily as Beca plucked her from her chair and peppered kisses over her face, squirming as it tickled her.

"Mine too Em, mine too..." Chloe got to her feet, her arms easily enveloping both Beca and her daughter.

Beca said nothing as she looked at Chloe, settling instead for a deep kiss as she leant back into her embrace. Chloe didn't need her to reply. She knew it was Beca's favourite too, that no matter how much they missed Chicago, they were never not grateful for the family that he had helped them build.

A family made of little hands and big hearts.