Thank you so much for your patience!

Icedragone - Hahaha totally agree with you on all accounts! Thanks so much for your support!

Wolvezzz - Thank you so much for your kind words! You are not alone with your perspective that Beca and Chloe are making a mistake. I hope you enjoy how it all plays out. Thanks so much for your support!

Guest (Nov. 28) - Thank you so much for your engagement, as always. I think your analysis of Chloe vs. Ryan is spot on and will continue to show in the chapters. Let's just say I am very much looking forward to the family dinner chapter. We'll see how school goes! Thank you so much for your support!

Guest (Dec. 8) - Thank you so much for your kind words! Yes, it is a messy situation all around and it's going to stay that way for a little while. Thanks so much for your support!

Guest (Dec. 29) - Happy holidays to you as well! Thank you so much for your patience and support!

Chapter 7

Kiara's spent a lot of her life feeling utterly exhausted – both physically and mentally. It comes with the territory of being sick. Oftentimes, the symptoms – the fatigue, the pain – is so overwhelming that it drains everything out of her. All the other times, just the reminder that she is living (if she can even call it that), is enough to put her over the edge.

But last night, which she spent restlessly tossing and turning in the giant bed of Beca and Chloe's spare bedroom – her bedroom – has left her feeling like she's been hit by a truck and has been awake for well over twenty-four hours.

Usually, when she wakes up like this, she'd settle for just trying to fall back asleep until Lena would come check on her at nine and bring her her medications and some painkillers. She'd sit beside her in bed, with Kiara laying her head in her lap trying not to let her tears of pain and frustration fall. Lena would run her fingers through her hair, whispering quieting reassurances for however long it would take Kie to either fall back asleep, calm down, or for the meds to kick in.

Those were simultaneously some of the best and worst times of Kiara's childhood.

But none of that is going to happen today.

Not when Kiara's been in this bedroom with splashes of green – a room so foreign to her – since last night after Kyle left her sitting on the end of mattress with anger pouring from her. She sat there, stock still, not moving when Beca and Chloe came in to say goodnight after she had spent the last few hours alone in the room. Once the door was closed behind them, though (another foreign feeling, as doors weren't allowed to be closed at nighttime at Lena's), Kiara changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, an emotional and stressful day weighing down her eyelids.

She crawled underneath the covers, the unfamiliar sheets scratchy against her skin. She can't even begin to describe the coldness, the loneliness, she felt being in that king sized bed in a room the size of two of Lena's bedrooms, when she's used to being in the closed quarters of her shared bedroom, her twin bed more than large enough and feeling like a warm hug every time she curls deep under the blankets.

Even being run-down and feeling like she couldn't keep her eyes open for any longer, sleep never came. Kiara's mind was far too busy running through the shit show that was that day, struggling to come to terms with the fact that she is in a complete stranger's house, knowing that tomorrow will be even worse with the arrival of a new school that Beca and Chloe so graciously told her about, away from her family, who she will likely never see again.

Kiara eventually fell asleep around three in the morning, her body winning the battle against what she wants, as per usual. But it wasn't restful in the slightest and around six thirty, with the busy city traffic waking her up, Kiara rolls over onto her side with a pitiful groan.

She blinks away the bleariness from her eyes, her head pounding and the pain in her chest radiating across her ribs. Her breathing is shallow because of the pain anything deeper would cause, and her entire body is craving to just sink and disappear into the mattress.

Kiara doesn't want to face the world.

She doesn't want to face her reality.

And why would she? Why would she want to leave this room and face the two people that ripped her away from her family, the two people that have single-handedly destroyed the plan that Kiara has been developing for the last year and a half.

The plan that was going to give Kiara exactly what she wanted, unlike the decisions that have been made for her for her entire life.

Why would she want to go out there and be reminded of the fact that she has to start at a new school today because Beca and Chloe don't have time to home school and because Beca and Chloe found a great school for you to finish out high school, which somehow makes up for the fact that she has to go to an actual school and sit in an actual classroom for seven hours, when she hasn't done that since she was in the first grade.

And, of course, all of these decisions have been made for her. Before she even got to the Penthouse.

Not that she exactly gave Beca and Chloe a chance to explain their reasonings. She wouldn't listen to them even if they tried.

A sudden increase of pressure in her chest makes Kiara flinch against her pillow, letting out a soft whimper of pain. The meds stopped working a while ago, but they're just supposed to pretend that there are nonsurgical options for her once the symptoms become too much.

Not exactly a great thought for six o'clock in the morning.

Gently massaging her chest, Kiara struggles to push herself up into a seated position, more than she already is. The good thing about the bed she slept in, is that it came with a bounty of pillows, allowing Kiara the ability to prop herself up without needing to ask Beca and Chloe for anything.

It takes everything in her not to burst into tears when she's finally sitting up.

Not even from the pain, just from the pure dread that she has for her current situation.

And really, how the hell did it fall apart so fast? This time a few weeks ago she was waking up at home, with Liv on the other side of the bedroom, and dreaming about her emancipation hearing that was due to happen in a few days. She was inches away from getting what she wanted – the freedom, the peace.

It's not even like it isn't her fault, either. If she hadn't gone to get Beca to sign the stupid piece of paper – which, apparently was a waste of time anyways – they wouldn't have even cared enough to do something.

It's Kiara and her big mouth – just like always.

She runs her hand over her face and back through her hair, a headache radiating from her skull. She got herself into this, she just needs to figure out a way to get herself out of it, too.

Before she has a chance to concoct that plan, though, a quiet knock on the door causes Kiara to jolt from her current state of self-pity. She winces at her body's protests, before lifting her eyes to the entrance of the bedroom, the doorknob already turning to reveal Chloe poking her head in.

The smile on Chloe's face is blinding.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I wasn't sure if you were awake or not."

Kiara tries to school her expression, tries to hide the pain sinking deeper and deeper into her body. She isn't sure if she's successful but considering how oblivious Beca and Chloe have been to her previous states, she wouldn't be surprised if it went unnoticed. "No, I'm—" she clears her throat, flinching once more, "I'm up."

Chloe hesitates before taking a few more steps into the bedroom. She's already dressed for the day, perfectly ironed pants with a sharp crease down the middle, a loose sweater hanging off her torso. Her ID badge is already clipped onto her belt loop. "Great… did you have a good sleep?"

Kiara doesn't even contemplate whether or not to lie. "Fine."

Chloe's grin brightens. "That's great! I'm glad you were able to get some sleep. I always have a hard time sleeping in new places." Kiara stares blankly ahead at her…foster mom?, but remains silent. It takes a moment for Chloe to recover. "Um, I just wanted to come in and make sure you were up…I have to head over to the clinic, so Beca's going to bring you to school in a little while. I'm so sorry that I can't bring you, too, I was really looking forward to—"

"It's fine."

Kiara's interruption catches the redhead off-guard, and it almost brings her the smallest bit of relief when she's met with a hesitant silence. "Well, still, I wish I could see you off on your first day… but Beca will be there to pick you up, and then we'll have dinner tonight. Does that sound okay?"

With heavy eyelids, Kiara gives a half-hearted, "Mhmm…"

Chloe perks up once more. "Wonderful. Is there anything I can help you with before I head out? There are towels in your bathroom and your uniform is all ironed… St. Agnes really is an amazing school; I think you're really going to like it."

Again, Kiara stays silent, until Chloe reiterates her question.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with?"

Finally, throwing Chloe a bone, Kiara repeats her favorite words. "I'm fine."

Kiara can see the desire in Chloe's eyes to try again. To say something that might create a situation where Kiara is asking for the redhead's help. But to her credit, and Kiara's extreme gratitude, she leaves the conversation to finish dying. "Okay. Well, you have my phone number – please call if you need anything, Kiara. I mean it."

Kiara gives her a tight-lipped smile, but remains motionless, not wanting to cause herself any more pain than she's already in.

Eventually, Chloe stops staring. She reaches out and grasps Kiara's hand, a genuine – yet obviously not too pleased – smile on her face. "Have a good day, love."

And with one more flurry of excitement, Kiara is left alone once more.

The throbbing and the tightness and the achiness come to the forefront of her brain once Chloe closes the bedroom door behind her. Once she no longer has to pretend. It takes everything in her power to look over at the clock, the time telling her she has an hour and a half to get ready before she is going to need to leave.

Slowly – very slowly – she pulls the covers back. She squeezes her eyes shut as she moves her feet off the mattress and to the soft, plush carpet on the ground. She takes a deep breath, gripping on to the bedside table as she hoists herself into a standing position, her chest screaming in protest and her head swimming almost instantly.

She isn't sure how long she stands there, how long it takes parts of her body to catch up with the rest of it. How long it takes the pain to subside enough for her to be able to open her eyes and make sense of her current situation.

But when she does, she shuffles across the bedroom to the bathroom with only minor complications. She leaves the brightest of the bathroom lights off to save her head but turns one of the dimmer ones on to save the rest of her body from tripping or knocking something over.

She almost cries out in joy when the steaming hot water starts pouring over her.

"Goddamn pancake." Beca hits the spatula against the edge of the sink, the half-cooked-half-liquid batter from the mess of an almost-pancake she just scrapped off the griddle falling onto the stainless steel. She mutters under her breath, looking around the kitchen with only slight exasperation.

She can make pancakes. Good pancakes at that. But for some reason, this morning, the batter isn't coming off the griddle, the pancakes aren't puffing up the way they normally do, and the breakfast that Beca had hoped to prepare for Kiara's first day of school – and first full day of living with them – is failing, miserably.

And it's not even seven a.m.

With only mild grumbling, Beca returns to the stovetop, pouring new batter over the griddle, and hoping that the resounding sizzle is a good indicator that she might be able to salvage at least one edible pancake.

"Woah. What's going on in here?"

Beca looks up at the sound of her wife's voice, Chloe coming from the hall with her work bag and jacket over her arm, her heels clacking quietly against the hardwood as she approaches the kitchen. She gently lays her things on one of the barstools, quirking an eyebrow in Beca's direction. "What happened to cereal?"

Beca huffs, watching the pancake like a hawk. "Would you want cereal for breakfast if you were starting at a brand-new school, with brand-new people, living with a brand-new family?"

Beca doesn't even need to be looking at Chloe to know exactly how her face softens. How her head tilts a little bit to the side. Her eyebrows pull together ever-so-slightly. "Bec… Lena said that she likely won't eat much in the morning."

Biting her lip while doing so, Beca moves the spatula under the pancake, before skillfully flipping it over on the other side. She almost cries out in joy when the cooked side is a perfect golden brown. "Well, she's only going to be getting, like, two of these things because the freaking…well, everything, isn't working today."

Ignoring her wife's qualms, Chloe comes up behind Beca and wraps her arms around her waist. She perches her chin on Beca's shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine, babe. Stop stressing."

Beca snorts. "I'll stop stressing when Kiara doesn't look like she wants to murder us every time she glances in our direction."

"She does not look like she wants to murder us."

Beca shrugs, turning briefly to meet Chloe's gaze. "She doesn't exactly look like she's happy to be here, either."

Lightly grasping Beca's hand, Chloe softens her voice. "Give it time, Bec. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours."

Beca knows she's right. Chloe's always right. She has always been able to talk the brunette down; make her see reason.

But it's hard not to feel the way she is currently feeling about Kiara's arrival – doubtful, worried, questioning her every decision – when the girl barely looked at them and went to bed an hour after she arrived at their home.

"Beca – stop worrying." This time, with a little more firmness in her voice, Chloe pulls Beca's attention directly to her. "It's going to be great. She seemed fine when I just went in there. You have two hours to get her to school. You'll meet with the guidance counselor and the nurse, and then you'll see her after school. It's going to be fine."

"Oh, as simple as that, huh?"

Chloe's eyes twinkle with mirth as she presses a kiss to Beca's lips. "Exactly. Simple."

Beca shakes her head, fighting back a smile. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?

Feigning hurt, Chloe's jaw drops open. She takes a step back. "Wow. Now you're trying to get rid of me?"

Beca takes the pancake off the griddle, nodding to herself at the final product. "You're distracting my culinary excellence."

Chloe can't contain her laughter. "Tell that to the pile of half-baked pancakes in the sink."

Before Beca gets the chance to respond, Chloe is once again pressing a kiss to her lips. She squeezes her hand in passing. "I should get going. I'll talk to you at lunch?"

Beca reciprocates the goodbye, but places an additional kiss on Chloe's belly, the swell hidden beneath her sweater. "I will talk to you at lunch. Have a good morning."

Chloe touches her fingertips to her lips, blowing her wife a kiss. "You, too. Love you."

"Love you!"

The door to the Penthouse closes behind Chloe with a soft click, and as soon as it does, Beca is left alone with the silence of the kitchen.

It's strange. Ever since last night, ever since Kiara officially moved in with them, it's like Beca's senses were instantly heightened. She lay awake all last night, listening for some sort of noise to come from Kiara's bedroom, and though nothing did, Beca heard every single creak of the floorboard. Every time the heat whirred to life.

She's never felt so alert in her life, and she doesn't know if it's because of Kiara, or because of Kiara's heart, or all of the above. But it was…strange, to say the least. For so long it's been just her and Chloe.

Then Chloe got pregnant.

And now, they have a sixteen-year-old in the house.

Kind of hard to wrap your head around becoming a mom overnight.

Down the hall, the sound of the bedroom door opening breaks Beca from her stupor. She strains her ears, listening closely to the sound of shuffling socked feet across the hardwood, until Kiara is coming around the corner.

The teen is already dressed in her uniform, and Beca has to keep herself from making any rash comments at how big the outfit looks on her, despite Beca already having purchased the smallest size. Her hair is still damp, hanging loosely around her face – her pale, tired face. She walks closely beside the wall, not so much leaning on it for support, but still close enough that she can grab on to it if need be. She clutches on to her phone in her other hand.

Beca, catching herself staring, forces a small smile on her face. "Good morning, Kiara."

Kiara seems to flinch at Beca's words, and she brings her hand up to rub at her face once she can no longer walk beside the wall. "Morning."

"How'd you sleep?"

She slides into one of the barstools, almost squinting her eyes in response to the lit room. "Oh, um…fine."

Beca nods, feeling the awkwardness that she's been feeling ever since first meeting Kiara – it seems to disappear as soon as Beca is alone, yet reappears in full force instantly when they are in the same room together – swells up inside of her. "Good…good."

Kiara remains silent, allowing Beca to glance around the room. "Oh! I um, I made some pancakes for breakfast. Do you – do you like pancakes?"

There's something about Kiara's expression that tells Beca that she isn't thrilled at the prospect, but when Kiara shrugs, Beca takes it as an affirmative.

"Great. Um, here…" she passes her the plate with the two measly pancakes. "Sorry, I had a little bit of a mishap with the griddle."

Kiara pokes at the meal with her fork. "It's fine. I don't really eat breakfast anyways."

"I can make you something else if you want."

Kiara shakes her head. "No, it's all good." She cuts a small piece of pancake off, chewing it slowly. "Um, could I have my meds?"

"Oh!" Beca turns to the cabinet with her medications that is locked per state requirements, missing Kiara flinching again. When she pulls out the bin, she can't help but stare at it like it's a foreign object. "Sorry, I don't remember which…"

Kiara takes the bin from her, skillfully picking out the medications that she takes in the morning. She takes them easily, before digging through for another bottle, and taking one from there, too.

When Kiara finishes, she passes the bin back, and pushes her plate away, too. "Sorry, I don't normally eat a lot for breakfast."

"Don't apologize, I just wanted to make you something for your first day of school."

Beca watches as Kiara rolls her eyes, but she doesn't say anything, and Beca can't help but struggle with keeping the conversation going.

"Is there…is there anything else I can do to help before we head out?"

Kiara shakes her head, the shadow of exhaustion starting to fall over her.

"Okay. We'll leave here in fifteen."

Thanks for reading and for your support!