Chloe returning to the field had been without a doubt the best thing that had happened to Vampire Hunters Incorporated since they had taken down Gail. The gap that they had noticed whilst out and fighting the forces of the Other Realm had closed virtually immediately when Chloe stepped out of the door with them for the first time in months. They moved easier as a group, faster, sharper, they felt safer now that they were all together. It was like the old days, like they had first been when they'd first come together.
It was so normal, so ordinary (for them at least; nothing about their work or their lives was 'ordinary') and that was oh so very welcome after all the chaos that had been caused lately. They had spent Christmas busy as per usual, no further sightings of any of Gail's children but the whole situation seemed a little less terrifying now that they had Chloe back and that she had managed to take Veracity out all on her own. There was one less of them to worry about, and they were far from undefeatable.
They'd spent Christmas Day together as a family, a mercifully quiet day off at Thea's in the company of the Conrad clan (including Ellie), the Junks (invited by Thea and Ellie), the Mitchell's plus Kate, and Helena. It had a good day, a necessary day of simple normalcy and comfortable conversation, Vampire Hunters Incorporated so grateful to finally be able to enjoy spending time together without it being tinged with sadness or anxiety.
The new year brought about new cases, the team busier than ever as every spare moment was poured into finding Gail's children or trying to figure out what the hell their endgame would be. It was bothering them that they had twice come up against these women, twice been helpless to stop them if they wanted to kill them, and had twice been spared. None of them knew why, it didn't make any sense.
"I don't get it." Beca huffed, leaning back in her chair as she rubbed her eyes with her fingers, "How have we come up against them twice and ended up with so little information on them, y'know other than they're the spawn of unimaginable evil?"
"I don't know." Stacie shook her head, looking equally as irritated, "All we have is that they're Gail's children, they're some kind of witch/vampire hybrid, and they're as powerful as they are sadistic. That's it. It's not like with Gail when there were accounts and documents going back centuries, we're the first people that have ever come up against them. Are you sure you never came across them when you were with Gail?"
"Never." Chloe shook her head. It wasn't as difficult for her to talk about her time with Gail as it had been, but it still wasn't easy, "It feels like something I should've y'know? The sort of thing that Gail would show off but… I don't know, maybe I did and I just blocked it out or-"
"It's okay." Aubrey reached over and gave Chloe's hand a reassuring squeeze, "We'll figure it out. We always do."
"Yeah…" Chloe relaxed a little, an easy smile forming on her face that wouldn't have been there a few months earlier, "Yeah we do. Because we're awesome."
Her family chuckled fondly at her, each of them harbouring a secret sense of delight that Chloe was just her ordinary self again. Her easy smiles, her bubbly optimism, the glittering happiness that made her blue eyes shine brighter. Sure, Chloe was still a little quiet and some days her smiles were a little tighter, but on the whole? Their girl was back.
"Why don't we call it a night?" Stacie set the book in her hands down with a soft thud, smiling softly, "There's no point us sitting here hitting brick wall after brick wall, driving ourselves insane."
"Yeah you're right." Aubrey sighed softly, "No doubt it'll be another busy day tomorrow."
"You know when I signed up for this I didn't realise it would every night." Beca sighed dramatically, Aubrey rolling her eyes at Beca as they all got to her feet, "Does the Other Realm not need sleep? Is that what it is? Or do they just like stealing mine?"
"Oh yeah, because the entirety of the Other Realm has a vendetta against you and no-one else." Chloe giggled, nudging Beca affectionately with her shoulder.
They'd been getting closer again, Beca and Chloe. Stolen looks, soft smiles, subtle touches. All the things that used to be there before Gail burnt it all to the ground. But there was still this… wall, this defence put up that stopped it returning to what it once was. The wall was Beca's, Chloe wanting nothing more than to have Beca in her arms again like she used to. Beca had helped her through the worst months of her life, helped her when all she did was push everyone (Beca included) away. But for Beca, there was this block. She had lost so much, been in so much pain because she'd opened up her heart. Doing it again? Well that seemed like a really stupid idea.
"Hey, Gail had quite the reputation, who knows what kind of shit she was spreading about me?" Beca shrugged, smirking at Chloe a little.
Chloe shook her head a little at Beca, her fingers brushing lightly over the back of her hand. Beca pulled away a little, not enough that Chloe was worried that she'd really upset her, but enough so that Beca was putting a safe distance between them and the familiar action.
Before anything more could be said or any further attempt could be made to head upstairs and get some arguably well-earned rest, a frantic and loud knock came at the door. The four of them exchanged concerned looks, immediately on high alert; anyone knocking on their door after nine pm was never going to be here for a social call. Aubrey walked to the door, Stacie, Chloe and Beca close behind and primed in case whoever (or whatever) was at the door posed a threat to Aubrey,
What they found wasn't a threat but rather a very pale and shaking blonde woman, not much older than the team themselves, leant heavily against the doorframe. She opened her mouth to speak but winced instead, clutching her stomach as her legs gave way underneath her. Aubrey rushed forward with Beca on her heel, the two of them gently guiding the woman to her feet and supporting her between them as they made their way over to the sofa.
"It's okay." Aubrey's tone was soft and kind as she moved the woman's hair from her eyes, "We've got you, you're safe now. Can you tell me you name?"
"J-Jessica." The woman mumbled.
Stacie had been primed and ready when they had brought her over and was now holding her hands over Jessica to find out what was causing her to look so ill. There were no visible injuries to Jessica but something was clearly very wrong with her, something was killing her, slowly and painfully.
"Jessica, do you know who did this to you?" Aubrey pushed gently as she watched Stacie's hands glow orange and then purple, Stacie frowning.
"I- I did." Jessica swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't- I had to-"
Aubrey looked over at Stacie, sharing the same confused frown as Jessica whimpered in pain and discomfort. Her skin glistened with sweat and was a deathly pale, her bottom lip tugged between her teeth. Chloe and Beca could do very little at this point but watch on, ready to help in any way they could and of course equally concerned by the condition of the woman who had arrived at their office and had apparently inflicted this on herself.
"What did you do?" There was no reproach in Aubrey's tone, no judgement or anger, simply just concern and a desire to help in any way that she could.
"She was dying…" Jessica clenched her fists tight against the rising urge to pass out, "I couldn't just… let her."
Before Jessica could say another word she was interrupted by a loud cry of pain. What followed next caused Stacie to fall back in shock, eyes wide and hands shaking a little. The rest of her team were in a similar state of shock.
"What- what the fuck?" Beca mumbled.
Before them lay not Jessica but rather a brunette, looking as pale and as pain riddled as Jessica had. Jessica herself was no where to be seen, she seemed to have vanished into thin air only to be replaced by this stranger in distress before them.
"What the fuck is going on?" Beca's voice cut through the shocked silence once more, breaking the shocked awe that seemed to have frozen them all in place.
"I don't believe it…" Stacie mumbled, shaking her head a little as got back on her knees and turned her attentions to the young woman on the couch, "I- How? How did she even know how to…"
"I told her not to." The brunette grunted, "I told her… it was too dangerous. Undo it. Fix her."
"Fix what?" Aubrey looked at Stacie who was visibly shaking.
"Soul binding." Stacie whispered, still in shock, "I- this magic shouldn't exist, it doesn't exist, not where anyone can find it and use it, I don't understand…"
"What's your name?" Aubrey turned her attention to the brunette laid before them, understanding very little of what had happened still, Stacie's fear leaving all of them feeling uneasy. It took a lot to shake Stacie like this.
"Ashley." The woman hissed as her back arched against the pain running rife through her, "Just- just save Jess okay? That's all that matt-"
Another cry of anguish caused the form to shift back to Jessica, tears in her blue eyes as they flicked around the room.
"Where…? It happened again didn't it?" She whimpered, "Please you have to help. I- I can't lose her, not after everything… please."
"I'm going to do everything I can." Stacie nodded, giving Jessica's hand a gentle squeeze as she moved her own from over her, "We'll figure something out."
"What do you need from us?" A determined fire burnt in Chloe's eyes as Stacie smiled gratefully at her. Having her back really was the best thing that had happened to them in a long time.
"I need Aubrey to go and get some books from behind the barrier and then it's all hands on deck. Whatever you can find on soul binding I need it. How's your Latin?" Stacie smiled softly.
"Pretty good. What else do you think I've been doing in my spare time while you guys went galivanting all over New York without me?" Chloe grinned, shrugging slightly.
"Mine's passable too." Beca nudged Chloe with her shoulder, "You're not the only one who can learn a new language whilst dealing with Gail shit y'know."
Chloe rolled her eyes, giggling at Beca as they both headed for the table. Stacie quickly reeled off the titles that Aubrey would need and her attention once again turned to the woman in front of her. This was the second time that they had come across an ancient spell that should never been available to the general population, and with Gail's daughters still at large it couldn't mean anything good. Far from it in fact.
"Jessica, I need to know where you got that spell." Stacie smiled softly as she held her hand in hers, the other focused on using her magic to try and relieve some pain.
"T-this woman." Jessica sniffed, the tension in her body easing a little as Stacie's magic began to work, "Um, she- she said she could help, that there was a way I wouldn't lose her forever… what the hell use is magic if I can't save her?"
"I know how you feel." Stacie smiled softly, glancing over at her team hard at work, "There's so much I'd fix if I could. But you can't, some things, some awful things… even magic can't fix them. And I hate it, it's the worst feeling in the world when you realise that all this extra power that you have is basically useless."
"I love her." Jessica sobbed, the eyes of everyone in the room turning to her however briefly.
They all knew that feeling. That utter despair that came with knowing that you might never get to be with the person you loved ever again. The pain in your chest that came with not knowing that how to help them. That all-consuming, never ending, completely suffocating emotion that made all of this, everything they did, so much more difficult. And they knew what it was like to want to sacrifice everything, including themselves, for the sake of that person.
"I get it." Stacie smiled sadly, "I nearly lost the woman I love not that long ago, all the magic I had was being poured into saving… I don't even know how many people, but Aubrey was right there in front of me, in agony and I couldn't… I couldn't stop. I couldn't change tactics, I- I couldn't save her, not in that moment, not before I had stopped Gail. She never would've forgiven me. But I was so close to doing it. So close to saying 'fuck the world, I love her. I don't care anymore, I don't want to save the world, I just want to save her'."
Aubrey had looked up from the book in her hands, emotion sparkling in her eyes as they met Stacie's. A soft smile graced her lips as Stacie shot her a wink before returning her attention to Jessica. Aubrey had always known that she had struggled to continue chanting, but not that she had come so close, that they had all come so close to not defeating Gail, and in that moment she was never more grateful for Stacie's strength and her level-headedness and just… her.
"I couldn't let her go." Jessica wept as she rolled onto her side, curled up into a foetal position on the sofa, "It's so unfair. She was so ill and I- I just wanted-"
"It's okay." Stacie gently stroked Jessica's hair, "I get it. We all do. And we'll do whatever we can to save both of you but… this kind of magic, it's kept hidden for a reason. It's uncontrollable, it's unpredictable, it's just flat out dangerous. There are very few things the elders of both realms agree on, but this is one of them. There's every chance I won't be able to save both of you."
"You have too." Jessica squeezed her hand tighter, eyes wide and pleading, "Please… we have a whole life in front of us, we want- I want to see what's next."
"I'll try." Stacie promised her, "I swear I will try everything I can to help. But I can't promise anything, it'd be crueller if I did."
"I just want to be with her…" Jessica whispered, exhaustion from the pain and the sheer draining force of the spell starting to drag her into unconsciousness, her eyes fluttering shut, "I want our future. Not a lonely one on my own."
Stacie's nostrils flared as she pushed back the tears welling in her eyes, "I know. Get some rest, we'll figure things out. You just rest."
As Stacie watched Jessica fall into a fitful sleep her mind wandered to Aubrey and to their future. She couldn't help it, all this talk of love and of next chapters and doing anything to save the woman you loved, of course she would think of her soulmate. Stacie glanced over at Aubrey who was lost deep in the books in front of her, thinking of one conversation in particular that they'd had over Christmas.
Stacie stood in the back garden, wine glass in hand, arms wrapped around herself as she looked up at the night sky. A soft smile graced her lips as she felt her body relax in familiar surroundings; her mom's herb garden had always been a place of quiet solace for her. She needed the quiet right now, everything with Gail, with her daughters, with their regular job outside of the constant threat of evil incarnate, it was all so loud, she couldn't think straight lately. And there was a lot Stacie wanted to think about.
"Hey."
She turned to find Aubrey wearing a concerned look and holding another wine glass, this one with wine in it as apposed to the empty one in her hand. Aubrey offered it to her before wrapping her arms around her from behind, chin resting on Stacie's shoulder.
"Your mom said I might find you out here. Are you okay? You've been really quiet lately."
"I'm okay." Stacie nodded, leaning back into Aubrey and turning her head so it rested against hers, "I've just had a lot on my mind lately and it's hard to make any sense of it, what with us fighting evil on a near daily basis."
Aubrey chuckled softly, giving Stacie's waist a gentle squeeze, "Anything I can help with? Any of them about me that I can do something about?"
"Are you kidding?" Stacie shook her head a little, "They're all about you. About us."
"Oh?" Stacie heard the way that Aubrey's voice caught in her throat as the arms around her waist loosened, "Are you… having second thoughts about marrying me?"
"No." Stacie shook her head more determinedly as she turned to Aubrey, arms loosely draping around her neck, "No, never. I want to marry you more than I want to breathe Aubrey. I've just… just been thinking about that whole thing with Amy, all that stuff with Iz and the future that we saw..."
"I see." Aubrey breathed, relaxing a little as smiled at Stacie, "Me too. It's really hard to shake those images, and Iz… I can't imagine how difficult that was for you to relive that."
"I miss her." Stacie sighed heavily, "Especially now, with the wedding… I wish she was going to be there. But I came to terms with that a long time ago, and yeah that future, the way things ended up with Becs? I can't stop thinking about it, it haunts me but… it wasn't all bad. There's… there's this part that keeps running round and round in my head..."
"Our children?" A broader smile tugged at Aubrey's lips, "That little girl with your flowing brown hair and devil-may-care smile? I haven't stopped thinking about her either."
"Yeah?" Stacie beamed, tears forming in her eyes, "Because… I wasn't sure if you- you wanted to- to have kids…"
"I didn't think I did." Aubrey shook her head a little, "I know what monsters hide in the shadows, I know what evil waits to hurt people indiscriminately, and I never wanted to knowingly bring someone into all of it but… I saw her Stace." Aubrey bit her lip a little as she shook her head, "I saw a beautiful little girl that was all ours, I heard her laugh, heard her call me momma… how could I not want her?"
Stacie kissed her softly, pulling Aubrey as close to her as possible, "I want her too. All of them, I don't how many daughters we had but I want them all. With you. I mean… if it was possible I'd have them tomorrow Bree. We spend so much of our lives worrying about the Other Realm and the creatures within it, about evil and protecting humanity… is it wrong that I want a little something that's just for us?"
"No." Aubrey shook her head, "I know I do… but, I can't, not yet. I want to be married to you first, but more importantly I can't… I can't put anyone else directly in the line of fire of Gail's daughters, our kids they'd be a target I couldn't do that to them Stacie, they'd be so innocent and in so much danger…"
"It's okay." Stacie could see the early tell tale signs of Aubrey spiralling into a panic attack and she quickly set her wine glass down on the patio table, cupping Aubrey's face in her hands even as her heart swelled at how protective Aubrey was over just the concept of their children, "It's the last thing I want too. We don't have to rush I promise, if you want to wait until Gail's daughters are gone then we'll do that. It is enough for me to know that this is our future okay? To know that one day, you and I are going to be moms to the most beautiful kids. I love you Bree, I am yours forever, you know that right?"
"Yeah." Aubrey nodded, calm again as she leant into Stacie, "And I am so grateful for it. For you, and for everything that our future holds."
Aubrey looked up from the book in her hands to meet the gaze that was burning into her. She smiled softly at Stacie, not knowing exactly what was going through her head but knowing that the likelihood is that it was about her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't thinking about Stacie too, about what she would sacrifice to make sure that Stacie was okay. Aubrey knew that she would let the whole world burn tomorrow if it meant that Stacie would be safe, that she would lay down her life to protect her if that's what it took. Her whole world had changed the minute Stacie had walked through her front door and Aubrey had never looked back.
As her attentions fell back to the book in her hands she glanced over at Beca and Chloe, watching for a second as they sat closer than they had in months, her heart swelling a little. Neither she nor Stacie had missed the way they were closer lately, the way they would find any excuse to touch each other, the stolen looks across the room. It was only a matter of time before they found themselves together again, before the last of Gail's destruction was repaired. You only had to look at Christmas to know that.
"Have you seen them?" Aubrey murmured, nudging Stacie a little with her shoulder as she nodded her head in the direction of their friends.
Beca was laughing at something that Chloe had said, a beer in one hand as the other rested on Chloe's hip, her arm loosely around her waist. Chloe was grinning as she pressed her other hip into Beca's, an easy aura existing around them as they just melded into the cosiness of the holidays at Thea's.
"They're so cute." Stacie shook her head a little, grinning from ear to ear, "Do you think they'll get back together?"
"Without a doubt." Thea had joined them with a snort, also watching Beca and Chloe as they chatted easily with Ellie and Emily, "Seriously, if they're not already back together I'd give it a month, two at the most before they are."
"They're definitely not back together." Stacie mused, "They still sleep in separate beds and there's always this moment with the PDA that…"
Before she can vocalise it a look briefly crossed Beca's face that could be conflated with both fear and uncomfortableness before she pulled away from Chloe. Chloe said nothing but there was a definite glint of disappointment in her eyes as she did.
"Beca does that." Stacie sighed, shaking her head again, "What's going on with her?"
"She's finally processing two hundred years of pain and guilt, that's what's going on." Aubrey rested her head on Stacie's shoulder as she moved closer to her, "Of course she doesn't want to jump headfirst into anything right now, and certainly not with anyone as important to her as Chloe."
"I know…" Stacie sighed, "But still… they're meant to be together. I wish they could see that."
"They do." Thea grinned, "And like I said, it'll happen. Trust me."
Beca pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off a headache. They had been at this for a good hour now and having to put all her brain power into translating and then understanding the ancient tomes in front of her was starting to become really draining for her. She felt Chloe's foot rub gently against her calf and glanced over to find her looking at her with a concerned expression.
"I'm fine." Beca smiled softly, "Just a little headache that's all, it's all this Latin."
"Maybe you're just getting old." Chloe giggled as Beca scowled at her, "Are your eyes going grandma?"
"Dick." Beca grunted, a smirk tugging at her lips as she felt her heart twinge in the way it always did around Chloe lately; in the way it used to before the Gail of it all, "I'm gonna make a coffee, who wants one?"
There were murmurs of appreciation as Beca rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically, "God I wasn't actually offering I was just being polite… now I have to make you all a coffee."
"And I'm the dick?" Chloe giggled as Aubrey rolled her eyes at Beca, Stacie not even blinking an eye at Beca's predictable sarcasm.
Beca simply smirked as she made her way upstairs and to the kitchen. Once the kettle was boiled and Beca had assembled the mugs with the right amount of coffee and sugar for everyone she pulled out her phone, leaning against the kitchen side as she pressed it to her ear.
"Hey Thea, I know it's late, I'm sorry, everything's fine I swear. Well… it's not, there's this witch who's performed some kind of soul-binding spell that's in a bad way but we're all over it and Stacie definitely knows way more about it than I do. It's about that conversation we had at Christmas…"
"Yeah I remember. Have you given it some thought?"
"I want to do it." Beca nodded, chewing at her fingernail as she felt a sense of apprehension spread through her, "No… I need to do it. I- I need Chloe, I need to not be afraid anymore, and the only way I can do that is if we do this."
"Then we'll do it. I promise it will be okay, when have ever lead you wrong?"
"Good point." Beca smirked.
"What made you decide tonight?"
"Just… people do all sorts of crazy shit for love. Why should I be any different?"
It had taken another hour when Beca had rejoined them for the team to go through all of the books in front of them but eventually there was enough information for Stacie to find a solution. Jessica had regained consciousness about twenty minutes ago and managed to describe the woman who had furnished her with the spell, their hearts sinking as they realised the description matched Alice to a t. Something bigger was at a play here but right now their attentions had to be on the dying woman in front of them.
"Okay…" Stacie mumbled as she pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, "I think I can stabilise you. It's not a long term fix, but for now it's that or I release Ashley's soul from your body."
"No!" Jessica shook her head furiously, "No you can't."
"And I'm not going to." Stacie tried to soothe her, "But this magic that you used is ancient and we need more time than we have right now to find a way to separate you both so that you can both survive. But I'm going to have to bind Ashley's soul, she won't be able to manifest like she did before, it's too dangerous to not."
"Will… will I still be able to feel her?" Jessica whimpered, eyes tear filled and pleading as a wave of agony rolled through her, "Or hear her? I- I can't- it'd be like losing her anyway…"
"I think so." Stacie smiled softly, "I hope so… but I can't promise you that. I'm sorry, I really want to. But this is our only option, and I have to do it now."
"Do it." Jessica grit her teeth, nodding determinedly, "Whatever you need to do, just do it."
Stacie held her hands over Jessica, the rest of her team watching on as a purple light emitted from Stacie's hands and glowed in her eyes.
"Liga hanc animam tibi, liga eam, tene hic omni virtute tua. Liga hanc animam tibi, liga eam, tene hic omni virtute tua. Liga hanc animam tibi, liga eam, tene hic omni virtute tua."
Jessica writhed and whimpered under the spell, Stacie watching her with concern as she chanted. The last thing she wanted to do was cause this woman anymore pain, to rob her of the love of her life that she had fought so hard to save. But this was a new area for both of them, this was magic that hadn't been used in centuries for good reason, Stacie had no idea what she was doing, not really. This kind of magic scared her, it was so wildly unpredictable, how could she be sure she was protecting people when she didn't really know what she was doing?
It was only when Jessica let out a deep shuddering gasp and slumped into the couch cushions that Stacie stopped chanting, a tense silence falling amongst them as they prayed that it had worked.
"Ash?" Jessica whispered, the fear in her voice palpable as they watched her for any indication that it had worked. A grin broke across Jessica's face as she chuckled tearfully, her hand rising to rest over her heart.
Stacie let out a shaky sigh of relief, grateful that Aubrey had joined her and pulled her off the floor and into her arms. Thank god it had worked.
"Thank you." Jessica beamed up at Stacie, "I can't- thank you so much… I couldn't lose her."
"You're welcome." Stacie smiled softly, "Just… don't ever use that kind of magic ever again. I'm serious, no matter what the cost you cannot ever use spells like that ever again."
"I understand." Jessica eased herself into a sitting position, exhausted from the toll that the spell had taken on her but now pain and fear free, "I won't… you can't hear it but Ash is threatening me if I do." She giggled.
"Good." Beca smirked, "Here's hoping she keeps you in line."
Jessica left about half an hour after Stacie had saved her and Ashley, needing a little time to find her strength again and Thea had arrived to ask her a few questions. Her sudden appearance had surprised everyone but Beca, none of them aware of the conversation that Beca'd had with her earlier that night.
After she had gone, Thea turned to Beca with a grin, "You sounded like you wanted to do this as soon as possible so I figured I'd come right over."
"Do what?" Chloe frowned softly, concern radiating off her as she looked to Beca.
"Um…" A light blush spread across Beca's cheek, "This whole Gail thing… I guess know I'm not running from it, it all finally hit me and I-" Beca looked to Chloe with a sad smile, "I wanna be with you Chlo, I want it more than anything but… Evie, Celia, Harper, they're- they're haunting me, not literally, not since the farmhouse but I can't shake them and that means that I can't- I can't have you back. I want you back."
Chloe's eyes filled with tears as she reached out and took Beca's hand in hers, "I want that too. But I'll wait Beca, however long you need I'll wait, you don't have to do anything for me."
"I know." Beca squeezed Chloe's hand, "But I'm not just doing it for us, I need to do this for me too… I have been carrying all this shit for far too long now. So, Thea is going to do some kind of… spell thing and I'm going to confront my demons. Literally."
"Beca… that's intense." Stacie looked at her friend in concern, "More so than the farmhouse, you'll be reliving every moment of it, every awful memory."
"Yeah, I know." Beca nodded, running her hand through her hair, "Thea told me, she's explained it all to me. But I have to do this dude, I can't keep carrying all this around."
"I'm proud of you." Chloe gave Beca's hand another squeeze, "And just because you've done this doesn't mean that we have to get back together okay? Whatever you need, whatever you want us to be Becs it's okay with me I promise."
"Thanks." Beca gave her an emotional grin before letting go of her hand and turning to Thea, "Okay. Let's do this."
"We'll do it the basement where there's more space." Thea smiled softly, her heart warmed as it always was by the family in front of her.
Beca nodded, following Thea towards the basement. She stopped when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to find Aubrey pulling her into a tight embrace. Beca froze for a moment before returning it, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.
"We'll be right upstairs when you're done." Aubrey mumbled, "Take however long you need, just don't forget we love you okay?"
"Okay." Beca nodded, face hidden in Aubrey's shoulder to hide the tears welling in her eyes.
Aubrey eventually pulled away and Beca wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve as she followed Thea. The rest of her team watched her go, the mix of emotion palpable as they were left in awe of how strong Beca was.
"Alright." Beca sighed as she watched Thea start to pull the items she would need from her bag, "Here goes nothing."