Fixes

11

A/N: I was able to squeeze in some time to write one more chapter!

Yes, I know I'm taking liberties with the timelines for Oscar nominations and the award show itself but, this is my world so, why the heck not, right?


Chloe was lying awake, with Beca sleeping half on her chest, staring at the ceiling and anxiously chewing on her bottom lip. She was more than willing to admit to herself that she was scared; not for herself, but for the love of her life.

Beca had come so far over the previous eight months and the vet was afraid that the latest news had knocked the wind so far out of her sails that she wouldn't be able to testify or…

"I can hear you thinking, Babe," came a slightly slurred voice.

Beca's sleepy, dark blue eyes, almost black in the dimness of the room were gazing at her. Chloe smiled a little.

"I'm just…" she sighed and shrugged. "Worried."

"I know… and I'm sorry, Chloe. I really am."

The vet frowned unhappily. "For what, Becs?"

"For dragging you into all this… ridiculousness." The brunette sat up and turned the nightstand lamp on, making them both wince at the sudden brightness. Then Beca wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged into herself. "Sometimes I think I should never have started this relationship with you. You had no idea what you were signing up for and maybe it'd be better if we didn't…"

Chloe swallowed hard. "Beca, stop talking please."

"But…"

The redhead lifted her hand. "Just stop."

Beca blinked surprisedly as her lover got out of bed and went to her bag to pull a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie on. "Chloe?"

"I need some air, ok?" the vet said calmly. "I need… I need to pretend that you didn't just suggest it's a bad idea for us to be together."

Tears welled in the younger woman's eyes. "Chloe… that's not… I'm just… if you wanted an out, I'd…"

"I SAID STOP!" Chloe yelled suddenly… shockingly… into the former quiet. She clenched her hands into her hair and then stormed over to the balcony doors to shove them open and step out into the cool dawn air. Then she slammed them shut behind her. After a long moment of hard breathing, she moved slowly to the balcony wall and leaned her palms on it, rocking back and forth as tears spilled down her face. "Calm down," she murmured. "Calm down. She's not leaving you. She's… she's scared. You're scared. It's all scary. Just breathe, Chlocifer. She's not leaving you. She's not leaving you. She's not."

Warm arms suddenly came around her from behind and Beca hugged her hard. "Never," she said fiercely. "I'm NEVER leaving you, Chloe. I just wanted you to be able to make the decision for yourself. I see now that that was REALLY fucking stupid of me. Like epically fucking stupid."

Chloe couldn't help but laugh, a slightly hysterical edge clinging to it as she wiped her face. "Well, it certainly wasn't your finest moment, Becs. I paid my soul for that ring you know." Her voice was shaky, but she was calmer and beginning to feel more centered.

The brunette moved the vet's hair aside and kissed the back of her neck, making her shiver a little. "I know we're in this together. We've been in this since the moment we first saw each other. So, can I have a proper hug? Because I love you so much, Chloe, and if I ever lost you, I have no idea what the hell I'd do."

The redhead turned in her fiancée's arms. "I GUESS you can have a hug," she mock-pouted.

Beca chuckled as she kissed the tear tracks on Chloe's cheeks. "Well, don't do me any favors," she teased gently and then melted into the vet's arms as they closed around her. "I'm so sorry, Baby."

"It's ok," the vet sighed softly. "I think… I think I just lost it for a sec. there."

"Understandably," Beca replied. "You've been so strong for me, Chlo, and I haven't done a very good job of making sure you were ok too."

"I'm sorry for yelling."

"Don't say that." The brunette smiled softly. "You're allowed to feel your feelings. If you need to yell, then yell, ok?"

Chloe smiled back. "Ok."

Xx

"What the hell, Swanson?!" Beca demanded as she yanked the hotel room door open. "Where the hell have you been and where's the protection you promised us? It's been hours!"

"I know," the detective said as he moved across the room and flopped down tiredly into an armchair.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You're about to tell us you've already caught him, right?" she said with a sarcastic edge.

Swanson pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out a deep breath. "Nope… and it's getting worse. Meyers killed a cop and took her service weapon."

"Did he... rape her?" Beca asked tentatively.

The look on the detective's face more than answered her question and she went to the bed and sat down on its end, shaking her head. "So, this isn't a hunt for a rapist anymore," she said slowly. "The next cop that finds him isn't going to just bring him in… and they'd be right, frankly."

Swanson looked down. "The order to take him alive has been given but…"

"She was one of your own. I get it." The brunette blew out a long breath. "So… what's next then?"

"Every cop in Atlanta is looking for him," the detective replied, straightening in his chair, then leaning forward. "Are you going back to Los Angeles today?"

Chloe got up and paced a little. "We were going to spend the day with Beca's family but I'm not sure if…" She paused and looked to her fiancée. "What do you think, Becs? Should we just go home?"

Beca shook her head. "Michael Myers doesn't get to control our lives for one moment longer," she said. "I'd like to keep to our plan, if that's ok with you?"

The vet nodded. "Sure. Detective, I assume our protection extends to anywhere we need to go?"

"Absolutely," Swanson replied. "An officer will tail your car in a cruiser and wait outside any location you stop at."

"Cool," Beca nodded. "Then Chloe and I will get ready to go to my dad's while you get back to catching this asshole."

Swanson smiled, please to see the fight hadn't left her. "Yes, Ma'am," he grinned and then headed out, leaving an officer outside the hotel room door.

Xx

Beca laughed softly as she and Chloe walked hand-in-hand down the hallway to the elevator, followed by their protection, a very experienced Officer Stacie Conrad. She was tall, willowy and alert… but Chloe kinda felt like a piece of meat around her. Officer Conrad had roving eyes and a persistent smirk that made the vet a little uncomfortable. She unconsciously reached for Beca's hand to lace their fingers together.

"What's funny, Babe?" she asked, surreptitiously looking back over her shoulder at the still smirking Conrad.

"Your mom," Beca replied with a grin as she waved her phone. "She's asking what size wedding we want."

"Uh oh," the vet mused. "That means she's thinking about a guest list and wondering who she can invite."

"Well, we did kinda give her carte blanche on a lot of it," the musician shrugged. "Do you care about who's there other than our immediate family and close friends?"

Chloe's lips pursed. "Um… who else IS there?"

Beca laughed again, bringing their joined hands to her lips to kiss her fiancée's hand. "You're so funny, Chlo."

"But…" the redhead blinked.

"Oh, you were being serious," the brunette added in dismay. "Babe, there are people like, my agent Benji and his boyfriend, a couple of folks at Disney and their partners… folks like that. Don't you have anyone you'd like to invite? Work colleagues, high school or college friends…"

To her surprise, Chloe shrugged. "Not really."

"But… didn't you have a lot of friends in high school and stuff? I mean we're going to be in Tampa so..."

Light blue eyes flitted away.

"Honey, what aren't you telling me?" Beca asked gently

The vet shrugged again. "Nothing. There's nothing I'm not telling you. I just… people weren't great to me in high school. I don't have any desire to see them again."

"Because of Maura?" Beca pressed a little.

"No… I just didn't drink or smoke or take drugs, so I was seen as the 'good' kid. I didn't exactly get invited to a lot of parties."

The musician mulled over that for a while. She wondered why Chloe had been seen like that. She knew how fun-loving and wild her fiancée could be and…

"Oh my G… Chloe, was… it was because of Tommy, right?"

Light blue eyes flitted away again, and the vet swallowed. "I could never just cut loose myself," she said softly. "Because I never knew when someone was going to call me to tell me he was running wild, needed a ride to the hospital… or was just plain dead. I guess that carried over a little when I was in college too. I felt tethered to my phone because I always expected a call to be bad news."

"So that punch really WAS a long time coming, huh?" the musician stated.

Chloe chuckled a little. "Yeah, it really was."

They stopped outside the elevator and Beca just hugged her fiancée until the car arrived to whizz them downwards. Officer Conrad's smirk was still firmly in place when she left them at their rental car and went to her own cruiser.

Beca adjusted the seat and started the engine as Chloe got her seatbelt on. "Don't you have friends from college or vet school that you might like to ask?" She pressed again as she pulled out into the city traffic and headed for her childhood home.

"I worked hard and stayed to myself," Chloe said after a long moment's silence. "A capella was my thing but I really only kept in touch with Aubrey. She's already coming."

The musician nodded. "Ok, Honey. If you're happy just to have family and close friends that's cool. I'll keep my guest list exclusive too. That's a showbiz term by the way." She winked exaggeratedly, making her lover roll her eyes.

"Funny, Becs."

"Hey, Siri, send Mo a message," the brunette instructed.

What would you like to say?

"Try to keep it under a hundred total. I'll send over mine and Chloe's guest list asap. Thanks, Mo."

Beca listened as Siri read her message back to her.

Ready to send it?

"Sure."

The drive to John's house took about thirty minutes. Beca and Chloe waited to get out of the car until Officer Conrad had pulled up behind them. As they met at the gate and Beca started toward the front door, the officer held out a walkie-talkie to Chloe.

"You love her," she said quietly. "And you want to keep her safe. I respect that. If you need me, hold this button…" Conrad demonstrated and the radio at her shoulder crackled. "And call for me." Her own voice echoed through her radio, and she let the button go. "I'll come running with my weapon drawn. Do you understand?"

Chloe swallowed but nodded. "Yeah," she croaked out.

"Good." Conrad turned to go back to her car but stopped a moment to look back. "You're a lucky woman, Beale."

"Don't I know it," the vet chuckled, finally feeling more at ease with the cop. Officer Conrad sauntered back to her car and settled in to wait as Chloe joined Beca at the door.

"What was that about," the brunette asked, frowning slightly as she rang the bell.

"Oh… I think Conrad and I came to an understanding." Chloe jiggled the walkie-talkie. "She gave me this to call her if we need her."

"She thinks you're hot, Chlo," Beca shrugged, not sure how she felt about that.

"Actually… no… it's you she thinks is hot. She told me I'm a lucky woman."

Dark blue eyes gentled. "Then she doesn't know what she's talking about. I'M the lucky one."

"Sap," the redhead snickered and Beca slapped her on the arm.

"Hey, I was trying to be romantic!"

Contrite eyes peeked back. "Sorry, Babe."

The grinned at each other as the front door opened to reveal a flustered looking StepMonster. "Beca! You got another Oscar nomination! Are you kidding me?! That's amazing!"

Beca smiled brightly. "Thanks, Sheila. It's exciting news." She tugged her fiancée behind her as she stepped into the hallway.

Sheila closed the door behind them and clapped her hands excitedly. "Looking beautiful as always, Girls! You trimmed your hair, Chloe?"

"Just a tad," the redhead replied. "It was getting a little shaggy." She jerked then as something hit her in the legs. Then she was on her knees, her arms wrapped around a grey pit bull who was enthusiastically licking her face. "Awwww... Macy... who's a good girl? Yes! Who's the best girl?!"

"Hey, Traitor!" Beca exclaimed. "I'm here too you know!" But she was smiling widely. She knew very well there wasn't a single animal in the world that didn't adore Chloe's energy... including herself.

"So, the Oscars are a month away?" Sheila went on. "Have you picked a dress or anything yet?"

"I'm hardly a celebrity but I've had some offers," the musician replied with a shrug. "It's early yet."

Chloe tutted quietly. Beca was way more modest than she should have been. "She's celebrity enough that the song was nominated before the movie even had its theatrical release... but SOMEONE doesn't want to believe it."

"Chlo," Beca scoffed.

"Bec," the vet replied, mimicking her and then sticking out her tongue as she got to her feet again.

Macy turned her attention to Beca then and frolicked around her as they made their way into the living room. As soon as the brunette was sitting, the pit bull jumped up into her lap and lavished the same attention on her as she'd lavished on Chloe. In fact, she was almost as big as Beca and the weight of her made the brunette groan and laugh. "It's good to see you too, Girl," she said as she hugged the dog close.

Sheila took a seat in an armchair while Chloe sat next to her fiancée and helped her get Macy down. "So, what made you decide to have the wedding in Tampa, rather than L.A.?"

"Well," Beca chuckled. "Chloe's parents have a really gorgeous house with some land and beautiful, mature trees. It's the perfect backdrop for what we want our wedding to be. It's going to be outdoors with a buffet meal where people can informally mingle and chat."

"Sounds amazing," the older woman nodded. "I can't wait to see it and to meet your family, Chloe. They sound pretty awesome."

"They're a handful," the vet grinned. "But I love them."

Just then, John wandered into the room, wiping his hands on his apron. "Hi, Ladies, didn't hear you come in. The steaks have been marinating all day and they're ready for the grill. How are you both?"

Beca got up and went to her dad to hug him. "Um… we have some bad news."

The man's face fell as he held her tightly. "What, what is it?"

Chloe cleared her throat softly. "Meyers escaped from the hospital during the night and has already murdered two people. There's a citywide manhunt going on now and we have an officer outside keeping an eye on us. Just in case."

John was shocked and his arms tightened around his daughter. "It's ok, Becs," he said. "They'll get him."

Sheila was wiping tears on her sleeve. "Asshole!"

"Yeah," Beca agreed. She'd never say it out loud, but there was something to be said about having your dad around when you were scared. She wondered if Chloe felt the same way, as close to Tom as she was. She glanced at her fiancée to find a wistful gaze to her blue eyes and got her answer. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, Baby?"

"You're walking me down the aisle, right?"

John's breathing hitched and his hold on her tightened a little more. "If that's what you want, Baby, I'll most definitely be right by your side."

"And you and Sheila should come to the Oscars with Chloe and me."

Sheila squealed and jumped up to join Beca and John in their hug. "OH MY GOD!"

Beca eased back from the flattening embrace and glared at Chloe, who was snickering behind her hand. "Good, but no talking to the press, ok?"

"Oh my God!" the older woman repeated. "What if Meryl Streep is there?"

The musician chuckled softly. "Meryl will most likely be there. The song I'm nominated for… she sang it in the movie."

For a worrying moment, the vet thought Sheila might pass out from excitement, but she managed to slow her breathing. Instead, she got up and started to pace. "What am I going to wear?!"

"I dunno," Beca said mildly. "But it better not be the same as what my mom is wearing!"

Xx

Beca was at the kitchen sink, rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Chloe was pottering around putting things away and wiping down countertops.

"Why haven't I met your mom?" the redhead asked, as she leaned back against the island and folded her arms across her chest.

"Because she's a bit crazy," Beca replied. "And she doesn't approve of my lifestyle."

Red-hued eyebrows shot up. "Your mom's a homophobe?"

Beca paused and pursed her lips. "I wouldn't say she's a homophobe," she said slowly. "It's more that… she didn't want the challenges of being gay for me. Growing up a lesbian is hard here."

The vet was quiet for a long moment but then she nodded. "I could see how older people might think that."

Beca leaned back against the island herself. "But… in a lot of ways, she's not wrong. The world still isn't kind to non-straight people." The vet nodded and moved to gently pin her fiancée against the counter. She smiled as Beca's arms closed around her neck and the vet grasped her fiancée's hips to press even closer. "Not everyone, gay or straight, is as lucky as we are to have found each other."

Chloe chuckled softly. "Doesn't it feel like we've been together like… ages?"

"Like an old married couple, you mean?" Beca laughed, dark eyebrows lifting. "Yeah, it kinda does."

Their foreheads met and then their lips, the kiss quickly deepening as Beca's fingers moved gently through her lover's hair. Chloe sighed and as her hips canted forward, she let her thigh slide between the younger woman's and press tantalizingly into her. "Mmmm… Do old married couples do this?" she whispered, her right hand closing around Beca's breast and caressing softly.

"God, I really hope so," the musician gasped. "But, as much as I don't want you to stop, I really don't want to give my dad a damn heart attack."

"He's outside cleaning the grill," Chloe murmured as she suckled on her lover's earlobe. "I could probably make you c…"

"But I'M not," Sheila interrupted quickly, snickering from her spot at the door.

All of Chloe's body parts quickly pulled back and she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she blushed a little. "Sorry…" She held up her hands. "Sorry."

"Don't be," the older woman said, completely unfazed. "It's nice to see you so happy together and so in love. It's always been my dream for you, Becs."

"It… it has?" Beca asked, surprise coloring her tone.

"Of course," Sheila replied as she poured herself a glass of wine and took a healthy sip. "I love you, Beca, and I want you to be happy. Don't you know that by now? I know I'm the StepMonster but… I kinda hoped we'd gotten past that."

"We have," the musician said gently, reaching out to take her stepmother's hand. "We really have."

"Good… now if you ladies want to engage in a little afternoon hanky-panky, feel free. Your old room is made up, Beca, and I can keep your dad occupied."

"Oh my God," Chloe stated. "You totes just sounded like MY mother."

"Really?" Sheila asked. "Well, that's good. It sounds like she and I will get along great. Let's hope Beca's mom can put our difference aside too."

The brunette snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. I'm bringing the shackles in case I need to lock her in the barn."

"Beca!" Chloe exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"Pshaww… I was just joking," Beca retorted. "Mostly," she added then with a wide grin.

"I'm still stuck on the fact that you two have shackles," Sheila said. "You're even more kinky than I thought!"

The three women were laughing when John wandered into the kitchen, untying his apron. "What's funny?" he asked, a smile lifting his bearded cheeks.

"You probably don't want to know," Chloe said.

"Sex stuff," he said, nodding seriously. "Got it."

That sent the three women into another fit of giggles, but Chloe startled then as the walkie-talkie in her back pocket suddenly came to life. Chloe, come in.

The redhead sobered immediately and pulled the device out to hold the button like Officer Conrad had shown her. "Chloe here."

Chloe, get Beca ready to leave. There's been a suspected sighting of Meyers in the area. We don't know if he's coming this way for sure, but I've been ordered to take you back to your hotel. Another officer will be here momentarily to keep an eye on Doctor and Mrs. Mitchell.

"Understood. Five minutes," the vet responded, then shoved the device back into her pocket. "We should go, Becs."

John and Sheila quickly hugged the girls in turn. "Go," the man said. "It's probably nothing but be safe, ok?"

"You too," the musician responded as she grabbed her purse and passed Chloe hers. "Love you, Guys."

Moments later, Chloe was behind the wheel of their rental car while her lover chewed anxiously on her nail. "It's gonna be ok, Baby. I promise." She glanced in the rearview mirror. "Conrad is right behind us."

And the determination on the officer's face, visible even from the car behind them, was the most comforting thing in the world to Chloe…

Since her dad wasn't there.

Xx

It was quiet and dark in the hotel room save for the breathy moans of pleasure spilling from Chloe's entire being as she came around Beca's fingers for the third time in a row. She was totally spent, and she grasped the brunette's wrist, holding her hand still. "Give up?" Beca grinned, nipping at her fiancée's breast and then nuzzling it.

"Fuck you," Chloe mock-pouted. "Remind me not to challenge you like that again."

Beca laughed softly. "You know you love it when I take charge."

Chloe bit her bottom lip, unwilling to admit defeat but knowing that what Beca said was absolutely true. Sometimes giving up control led to the best orgasms of her life.

Like tonight.

With Beca. Only ever with Beca.

"Huh."

What did that mean?

"Baby? You ok?"

"Yeah…sorry… just got distracted there for a sec. And yeah, I do love it actually."

Maybe she wasn't unwilling to admit defeat after all. Especially when the radiant smile on her lover's face made her heart leap in her chest just as much as her orgasm had.

They lay snuggled together for a long time, just quietly enjoying their closeness and Chloe was almost asleep when Beca quietly spoke.

"I'm scared, Chlo."

The redhead nodded and drew the younger woman closer, kissing the top of her head.

"Me too, Becs, but we're safe here. I promise."

And Chloe prayed to God that it was a promise she would be able to keep.