"Oh," Beca says, unsure of what she should say next, "um…"

"Okay." Chloe says, sounding much more sure of herself. "Hang on a second."

Before Lucy or Beca can protest, she's moving down the hall, into their bedroom. Lucy looks up at Beca, as the moment drags on. Beca knows she needs to say something, she just has no clue what that should be.

"We can probably get that stain out."

Lucy looks at her, wide eyed before turning her attention down to the floor.

"I mean, um…"

"Alright, sweet girl. I brought you some comfy pants and some other supplies." Chloe announces, coming back into the hallway.

She is holding an overwhelming amount of stuff. Beca wonders what half of it even is. She steps back, gladly, allowing Chloe to take lead on this situation. Her mouth is suddenly dry, taking in the look on her sister's face.

"Can I come in?"

Lucy hesitates, for just a moment, before stepping aside and letting Chloe in. She leaves the door open, but Beca doesn't follow. Instead, she settles for leaning against the wall just outside; arms crossed over her chest, biting on her lower lip.

"I didn't know what to do." Lucy's voice is a near whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. We'll get you all situated, okay?"

Beca already knows the look Chloe has on her face; the look she has whenever she's dealing with Lucy. It's a quiet comforting patience. Despite the fact that Chloe is hurt by what Lucy did, despite the troubles they're facing, she knows there will never be a time that Chloe will deal with Lucy with anything other than a gentle hand. She takes her time, walking Lucy through putting on a pad and then moves over to the sink to soak the pants in cold water.

Lucy is sitting on the closed toilet lid, holding her stomach. She doesn't look up, or speak, or move. Beca pokes her head in after a few minutes of silence. She walks over and bends down in front of Lucy, resting her hands on her thighs. She taps her knee to make her look at her.

"Come on, let's go to the couch." Her voice is quiet, more relaxed now.

Lucy lays her head on Beca's lap, once she's sitting.

"What doesn't feel good?" Beca asks, quietly.

Chloe watches the interaction. How, even when Beca doesn't know what to do, she's still somehow exactly what Lucy needs. The way Lucy grips the fabric of Beca's sweater, and uses her eyes as much as she uses her words, shows the connection they share.

"My stomach and my back."

Chloe already had the heating pad warming up, she places it gently on Lucy's stomach. She covers her with the fluffy blanket from the back of the couch. Lucy has seen both of them in this same position, from time to time, but she never really thought about the fact that the time would come for her too.

"That should help." Chloe says, the warmth is back in her voice.

Lucy already knew how much she missed it, but it still gives her chills. She closes her eyes, suddenly too tired to keep them open. The past two days of non-stop stress, drip off her shoulders. Beca's fingers work their way through her hair, pulling her curls apart, until her breathing evens out and she's asleep.

"Poor thing." Chloe says, from her standing position.

Her arms are crossed over her chest, and her mouth is in a straight line, but Beca knows she really means it. She knows there is a lot of anger, lingering around yesterday's events. She knows there's a lot more talking to do and bigger feelings to deal with. But it's the moments like these, the completely ordinary moments, that ground her. They remind her this is their life and there will always be a chaotic mix of both ordinary and extraordinary.

"She can't catch a fucking break."

"I mean, we all knew this was coming."

"But did it really have to be today?"

Chloe leans over and kisses Lucy's head.

"It could explain some of her reaction."

"You sound like an old-timey doctor. Insanity caused by menstruation."

"It could happen. You get pretty crazy when it's your time of the month."

Chloe smirks. Beca reaches out to try and swat her arm but she can't reach her.

"I thought kids were supposed to get easier as they got older?"

"Whoever told you that is a big fat liar."

Beca laughs, it's breathy and soft, but it helps them both to relax.

"What do we do about this?"

Chloe chuckles, mostly out of pure helplessness, and shakes her head, "I have no idea." She shrugs. "We just talk to her, I guess. Answer any questions she has."

"God, I hope she doesn't have questions."

"Stop it."

"No, I'm serious. I hope she sleeps until tomorrow morning and we can send her to school and let the nurse handle it."

Chloe fights her hardest not to smile but Beca gives that stupid grin that she loves and she laughs.

"You're terrible."

Beca looks down at her sister.

"God, I just love her so much. I really don't know if my heart can handle it."

Chloe has heard Beca say 'I love you' to Lucy a million times but when she says it now, it holds something resembling disbelief, almost like she's realizing that love for the first time. Chloe takes a seat next to Beca. She rests her head on her shoulder and intertwines their fingers.

"And she knows that."

"Thank you for saying that."

"It's true."

Beca rests her cheek on Chloe's head. It feels like a million years ago that they last had a moment this still. Their days move so fast, and are filled with so much, that they all begin to blend together after a while. Beca is thankful that she's able to slow it all down, right now, even if it only lasts five minutes.

Lucy sleeps much longer than either of them expect her too. They have their meeting with the potential photographer, and decide ultimately not to hire him, and make dinner, all in the time it takes for her to wake up.

She shuffles into the kitchen. Her eyes are squinting against the light and her hair is a wild mess on the back of her neck. She stifles a yawn and takes a seat at the table. They both can tell she is uncomfortable. Beca places two ibuprofen on the table next to her plate; which she takes without a single argument.

"Did you have a good nap?" Chloe asks, putting a bowl of broccoli in the center of the table.

Lucy nods. Beca already knows there are a million thoughts rushing around her head. Questions and concerns, and no matter how uncomfortable it may make her, she will sit at the table until they address them all.

Dinner is filled with idle chatter, about school and wedding planning. Lucy doesn't eat much and Beca wonders if it's because of her period or all of the stress she's been under recently, or maybe both. She makes a mental note to make another appointment with Stacie.

"I'll take your plate, baby." Chloe says, taking Lucy's plate to the sink.

Once she sits back down, the air shifts. Lucy knows what's coming and it's a conversation she was hoping to avoid. She's embarrassed, even though she knows she shouldn't be. She picks at her napkin, just to have something to focus on.

"Scout." Beca says.

"Can we not make a big deal out of this, please?"

Beca puts her hands up in mock surrender, "Okay. But were you just not going to tell us, or?"

Lucy finally looks up, her eyes moving quickly between Beca and Chloe.

"I didn't want to say anything, you guys are already mad at me. I didn't want to make it worse."

"We're not mad at you." Beca says.

Lucy looks up and gives her best 'oh please' look.

"Okay, we're still pretty mad at you."

"But we're never so mad that you can't come to us when you need us." Chloe says.

Lucy finally lets a single tear drip down her cheek.

"What are you thinking, Lou?"

"Does this mean I'm not a kid anymore?"

"What?" Beca asks, genuinely confused.

"Getting your period is like a grown up thing, isn't it? So can I not be a kid anymore?"

"Lucy, you're twelve, you're not going out tomorrow and starting a career and paying taxes. Even though, you probably could."

Lucy's expression stays sad and Beca moves over to the empty chair next to her.

"Listen, this is normal. It doesn't change anything. It's just something you'll deal with every month now."

"For the rest of my life?" This time her question is aimed at Chloe.

"Well, probably the next forty years or so."

"Forty years?" Her eyes widen.

Both Chloe and Beca give a sympathetic look.

"I know, people with vaginas really get the short end of the stick." Chloe says.

The use of the word 'vagina' makes Lucy's cheeks blush, but she laughs when she notices Beca's cheek turning the same shade.

"Are people gonna, like, know?"

Lucy's features scrunch up and she wraps her arms around her stomach again, but it seems like its to comfort herself, rather than due to any pain she may be feeling.

"Not unless you tell them." Beca says, "But I really want you to know, this isn't anything to be embarrassed about. I promise."

Lucy nods but it doesn't convince either Beca or Chloe that she believes it.

"I wish my mom was here."

Beca leans over and kisses her temple, before saying quietly, "Me too."

She leans back and gives a gentle laugh.

"She would definitely be much better at all of this stuff than I am."

"You're doing better than you think."

Lucy gives a smile, a half-smirk, much like their father's and it calms Beca's nerves. She hadn't noticed how much adrenaline was coursing through her body, until it dissipated. She takes Lucy's hand in her own and pulls her up from her chair, into a hug.

"I love you, kid."

"Love you more."

Chloe walks around the table and joins the hug.

"Chloe." Lucy pretends to groan but can't get it out fully before it's overtaken by a giggle.

"What? I felt left out."

"Beca?"

"Hm?"

Beca's eyes barely open, when she hears her sister's voice, breaking through her sleep. She can't see anything through the dark but she can sense her close to the side of the bed.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late."

"No, it's okay, what's wrong?"

She sits up and flips on her bedside lamp. Lucy is standing even closer than she thought, with one arm wrapped around her torso, the other behind her back.

"Can I have some more medicine?"

"Uh, yeah. Are you crampy?"

"My back hurts really bad." She says, almost breathless.

"Okay," Beca climbs out of the bed, Lucy follows her into their bathroom. "Here take two of these."

She hands her the medicine, then opens the cabinet under the sink to grab the heating pad.

"Let's get you back to bed."

Lucy follows her down the hall and climbs into her bed. She lays on her stomach so Beca can lay the heating pad on her lower back. She sighs, in nearly instant, relief. Beca runs her hand through Lucy's hair. It's become much darker with the lack of sun and she wonders if it will ever be as light as it was when she was in Georgia.

Georgia. She's been thinking non-stop about the conversation she and Chloe had the other night. Her parents' house is still there, sitting, vacant, like a shrine to their old life. Even though they can't see it, they all know it's still there. Empty.

"We could go back to Georgia."

"Like permanently?" Beca asks, with one lifted eyebrow, from her side of the bed.

"Maybe, or for a while at least. It might help her."

"Or it could make everything a whole lot worse."

"But we won't know if we don't try it. And honestly, after the day we've had, I don't know if things can get much worse."

Chloe stops. She knows those words sting, she felt it as soon as they left her mouth.

"That came out wrong. Beca, I'm not unhappy, I just-"

"No, I know. I know what you meant. It's just, we left there because we thought the reminders would be too much, right?"

"Yeah, but it seems like the reminders just followed us here. There's no possible solution where Daniel and Sheila aren't all around us. So maybe being closer to them, instead of further away, might help."

"I don't know."

Chloe takes Beca's hand in her own and runs her thumb over her knuckles.

"We don't need to make any decisions tonight, or tomorrow, or even this week. It's just something to think about, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess."

Beca watches Lucy's eyelids bounce open and closed, fighting sleep like she always does. She scratches at her scalp, and keeps her own breath even, to remind Lucy that in this moment, together, they are okay. No matter how many questions are in both of their heads, none of them need to be answered tonight.

Chloe pushes the door open to Lucy's room and leans against the doorway to watch them sleep. Lucy is laying on her stomach with the heating pad, no longer warm, resting on her back. Beca has one hand behind her head and the other tucked under Lucy's pillow.

She looks between both of their faces; sleep shielding them from the toughness of their world. She wonders if either of them are dreaming. She observes Lucy's face, she thinks that she might look a little different today, but then again it might just be in her head. She loses herself to these thoughts for so long that she doesn't notice Beca's eyes blink open.

When she speaks, her voice is raspy, the way it only is in the morning.

"Hi beautiful."

"Good morning," Chloe says, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed so she can whisper, "is she okay?"

"She needed some medicine last night, apparently she gets backaches like I do. So I decided to come and sleep in here in case she needed me again."

Chloe smiles, the cheeky way that Beca pretends to hate.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just…" She shakes her head slowly, "I love the way you are with her. I can't wait to see you with a baby in your arms."

Beca feels like her cheeks might blush again but she pushes it off because she can't wait for that either. Despite the overabundance of anxiety that the thought of having a baby brings her, she imagines it can't be any harder than what they're already doing.

She pulls on Chloe's shoulder to make her lay down in the space next to her. She rests her head in the crook of her neck and kisses the bare skin there, chastely, before saying,

"I can't wait either."

Chloe smiles, a beaming, bright, smile and grips Beca's arm. She wants to laugh, when Beca pokes her side, but she doesn't want to wake Lucy up. Beca's hand comes to rest, flat, on Chloe's stomach.

"I also can't wait to see you pregnant."

"Can you guys stop being gross in my bed, please?" Lucy asks, pushing herself up onto her elbows.

Almost all of her hair is out of its ponytail now, hanging in front of her eyes.

"It's our house, we can be gross wherever we want." Beca shoots back.

Lucy flops back onto the mattress, pushing her pillow aside and pressing her hands into her temples.

"How are you feeling this morning, sweet girl?"

"Kind of sick."

Chloe climbs over Beca so she is next to Lucy. Lucy moves over and rests her cheek on Chloe's chest, listening to her heartbeat.

"We'll get you some medicine, and a cozy blanket, and maybe some chocolate chip pancakes, and you'll be as good as new."

"Mhm."

She looks like she could go right back to sleep but she rubs the heel of her hand into her right eye and asks,

"Is it always going to feel like this?"

"In my experience every time is a little different."

She rolls her eyes, "Great, I love surprises."

Chloe laughs, openly, and it makes Beca and Lucy laugh as well.

"I'll go get you some more medicine and start those pancakes."

As soon as Beca is out of the room, Lucy sits up, bringing her knees to her chest. She hasn't really known what to say to Chloe since the bus station. She's had a hard time looking her in the eye and she knows that just because she's being so nice to her right now, that doesn't mean she isn't still upset.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"I really am so sorry about the whole running away thing."

"I know you are."

Chloe moves to match Lucy's body language.

"Let's just try to move on."

"I think we all know we can't just forget about it. I messed up and I want you to know that I never want to do anything like that again. I want you and Beca to trust me again."

Chloe nods, "Thank you. We want to trust you too, so just…"

Chloe thinks over all of the thoughts she had the morning after they found Lucy at the bus station; only yesterday, even if it feels much longer. She scans through the harsh words that she hadn't wanted in her head, but found their way through anyway. She skims for the right thing to say, but she knows there are rarely any perfect words. So she settles for the closest she can get.

"So just keep trying to prove that to us. You're a kid, you're going to make mistakes and as your parents, or whatever it is we are to you now, we will be here to help you clean them up. So that's what we have to do now, alright?"

Lucy feels a huge weight lift off of her shoulders.

"How do we clean this up?"

"Apologizing was a good first step. Did you talk to Lincoln?"

"Mhm, she wasn't mad or anything. I still feel bad I tried to talk her into it."

Chloe's mind brings her back to the moment she stood in the doorway of Lincoln's apartment. She wonders what she does on the weekends, where she goes, if she's left alone, what she does for dinner. She grips the excess fabric of her sweatshirt in her fist and squeezes as tight as she can.

"I could have lost my only friend."

"Trust me, Lincoln needs you just as much as you need her."

"What does that mean?"

Chloe opens her mouth, unsure of what she should say, knowing it isn't really her place to say much of anything. Thankfully, Beca interrupts, coming into the room with medicine and a glass of water.

"I want all of that water gone, Lou." She says, before leaving the room again.

Lucy rolls her eyes, but she keeps a gentle smile on her lips, "She's so annoying."

"We're annoying because we care."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Lucy takes the medicine and looks back up, sheepishly, "Thank you for caring about me."

"It's not hard, sweet girl."

"Yeah, but still, thank you anyway."