This fic is set in the same universe as Why Are You Here, Bechloe Week 2019, not too long after Bechloe attended the residential retreat.
Beca, a captain in the U.S. Army, lost the lower part of her left leg after an explosion in Afghanistan. During her initial recovery, she unfortunately alienated Chloe, her then-fiance, with her harsh words and attitude. Upon Beca's return to active duty, she did everything she could to get back into Chloe's good graces. Through time, lots of effort, and even more counseling, Beca was able to earn Chloe's trust.
While the two are only testing the waters of re-establishing their relationship, both women take strides towards getting back to where they were before Beca left on her last deployment.
[To Beca: Are you ready? I'm coming up the stairs] Chloe was excited to take Beca on a day of fun.
Beca opened the front door just as Chloe reached the porch. "Morning, Chlo. You know I have today off, right? And you are making me get up this early." The soldier was trying to act grumpy, but that wasn't quite happening. She accepted a quick kiss from the redhead.
"Happy Veterans Day, Beca. You know you're my favorite veteran, right?" Chloe leaned over and gently kissed Beca's cheek again for good measure.
"Technically, I'm active duty and not a veteran yet, but I get your point. And thank you. So why am I up this early? The parade doesn't start until later this afternoon. I don't even have to report to my unit until 1430, that's 2:30 pm," Beca teased.
"I know military time, silly. Come on, Becs, let's go get breakfast."
The pair drove to Denny's, one of the chain restaurants in the area. Chloe ordered bacon and eggs while Beca ordered a Build Your Own Grand Slam. "Let me guess, you're just going to have some of my pancakes," Beca teased. "I'm so getting some of your bacon."
When the check came, Beca snatched it from Chloe's fingertips. "My treat." After looking at the total, the soldier was confused. "That's not enough, Chlo. That's less than half what it should be."
"Nope, it's right." Chloe grinned. "Today's Veterans Day, and your meal is free."
Beca felt uncomfortable yet didn't say anything since it was only breakfast. Instead, she tipped the server the amount her breakfast should have been.
Next, Chloe drove Beca's truck to the shop where they got their vehicles serviced since Beca needed an oil change. While they waited, they walked over to the coffee shop next door. Of course, Beca's coffee was free. Chloe began to chatter how she wanted to get ice cream next since they had a promotion, too. However, when they returned to pick up Beca's truck and found out her oil change was half off, she couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Chloe! This isn't what Veterans Day is all about. We can't drive around all day, snagging free food and discounts. I know these companies only want to honor the military, but … the day's more than that. Veterans Day honors all of those who have served the country in war or peace — dead or alive — although it's largely intended to thank living veterans for their sacrifices. I don't need free stuff; a simple thank you will suffice."
Beca realized her words came out a little more sharply than intended when Chloe's face fell, and her eyes began to water. Her heart clenched as she realized she'd done it again - hurt Chloe when she was only trying to be supportive. The redhead silently drove Beca's truck back to the house and left the soldier without another word.
Fuck, Beca thought to herself. Why do I keep doing this to her? She finally trusts me again, and I keep finding ways to fuck it up. Knowing she couldn't change her words now, Beca went inside to get ready for the parade.
In light of the pandemic, the base's community was having a special Veterans Day parade. This year, the parade was happening in reverse. The public would be front and center in the celebration as it transited to a drive-by celebration. Vehicles would drive along the traditional route and pass by dozens of stationary military vehicles, helicopters, and other military-related displays.
The event was planned to start with an M3 37mm anti-tank gun firing blank shells, followed by patriotic music broadcast through an FM radio station. Active duty companies would be in formation and do limited marching drills as the parade progressed. Veteran groups would also line the streets.
While she usually kept her prosthetic covered with her standard uniform, she'd gotten permission to modify her BDU's so that the artificial limb was in full view. She'd been an advocate for all injured active-duty soldiers to do the same. Beca approached several veteran organizations and asked if their disabled vets would show up in full force. She wanted to bring to light the physical toll war took on the military. What could be more powerful than a whole block of men and women in wheelchairs and with various hand, arm, and leg prosthetics?
She hadn't meant to snap at Chloe. Still, for Beca, this was what Veterans Day was about - honoring the military for their sacrifices. While free food and discounts were excellent, she couldn't let the focus slip from what was important to her.
The set up for the parade was incredible. Community members were lined up in their vehicles waiting to go through the military displays. Of course, the kids would miss being able to climb on the equipment and having a face-to-face interaction with their heroes. But this was the next best thing. Beca's unit was going to be doing in-place drills. She'd bark out orders to put her soldiers through their paces within a confined area. A marksman unit would be shooting blanks with their weapons, and there was even a mock battlefield.
At one point, Beca heard someone shout out her name. "Captain Mitchell!," followed by a series of hoots and hollers. Then she heard her favorite voice. "Captain Mitchell - my favorite soldier." Breaking formation, she put her unit at ease and looked at the cars passing by.
Quickly spotting Aubrey's bright red convertible, she saw Chloe and another friend, Stacie, sitting on top of the back seat. They were holding decorated signs with messages to Beca. Aubrey's car was festooned with red, white, and blue ribbons and balloons. Beca's heart swelled with love and pride. She brought her unit back to attention and saluted Aubrey and the other nearby passing cars. Seeing the effort Chloe and her friends had gone to after Beca had totally blown the morning gave her faith that maybe she hadn't lost Chloe's trust again.
After the parade, Beca made her way back to her truck when she saw Chloe, Aubrey, and Stacie sitting on the tailgate, all wearing masks. She dug hers out of her pocket and put it on before rushing over. Beca knew her broad grin was reaching her eyes as she greeted her friends. "You guys are awesome. Thanks for your support."
"Thank you for your service, Captain," Aubrey replied.
"Yeah, we wouldn't live in a free country without you doing what you do, pipsqueak." Stacie always liked to tease Beca about her stature.
"Careful, Stace. I have a big weapon!" She then turned her eyes to Chloe. "Hey."
"Hey, back." Aubrey and Stacie quietly slid off the tailgate and made themselves scarce.
"Umm, I'm sorry for the way I acted this morning. I, uhhh, well today means a lot to me. I think some people just miss the point." Chloe nodded. "Shit. I didn't mean to snap at you, Chlo. I know your intentions were good."
Chloe stepped towards Beca, placing her hand on the soldier's arm. "I understand, Beca. Honestly, I just wanted to honor your sacrifices. I'm sorry I went about it all wrong."
"No, no, no. It wasn't wrong. I'm just a grouch."
Chloe clasped her hands in front of her and swung back and forth. "I, well, we," she motioned to Aubrey's car, where her friends were, "have a surprise for you." She waved to her friends, and they started bringing things over to the bed of Beca's truck.
"Guys, what's all this?"
"My company has been making bags for the homeless," Aubrey spoke up. She explained the bags had a bottle of water, snacks, tuna and crackers, hand wipes, chapstick, and socks, among other things. "Chloe came by to talk, and I called my boss to explain what I wanted to do. He agreed, and here we are." Beca's confused expression showed she still didn't understand.
Stacie rolled her eyes. "For an officer, you are dense sometimes. We are taking these personal care bags to some homeless encampments and look for veterans to give them to."
"And I went to a lot of places on my Veterans Day list and got these." Chloe opened a large envelope stuffed full of coupons." She explained that once she dropped Beca off that morning, she visited all the places on the list and spoke with the manager. "After I told the restaurants what we were doing, they loaded me up on free coupons for meals."
She gave Beca a cautious smile as she waited for the soldier's reaction. "All the managers assured me the vets would always be welcome regardless. They said they'd even package the food to go if the vet was uncomfortable being inside."
Beca ran her hand through her hair. "Damn guys, I don't know what to say."
Chloe wrapped her arms around the soldier. "You don't have to say anything. This is our way of saying we appreciate what you and our military does for us every day."
After Beca changed into an Army shirt and shorts, the women all piled into Beca's extended cab truck. They headed to one of the camps that was known to have a lot of homeless veterans. Before they got out of the truck, Beca gave each of them a box of disposable masks. "It's not enough, but it will help."
"How do we know who to give stuff to," Aubrey asked.
Beca scanned some of the people huddled around fires and walking around the area. She pointed at one guy with a cap. "Him. His hat says what unit he was in and where he served." She pointed to another man. "His BDU shirt still has a name tag and unit patch. Most surplus stores remove those before distribution. I bet that's his actual uniform."
Chloe paired with Beca leaving Aubrey and Stacie together. They pulled their own masks up and went to work. As the two pairs moved among the people, everyone but Beca was amazed at the sheer number of vets living on the streets.
Beca squatted next to one guy. "3rd Infantry Division, eh?" The guy just grumbled as he looked at her. "That's my unit. Captain Mitchell, Bravo Company." She offered her hand. He sat up a little bit and glanced at her prosthesis before shaking her hand and saluting her.
"Nice hardware." He motioned to her prosthesis.
Beca chuckled. "It was a bitch to earn." That comment seemed to loosen him up a bit. She continued to visit with the veteran a bit longer.
"We brought you some supplies." Chloe offered the gallon zip lock baggie. "Hope there's some stuff we hope you can use in there. Oh, and some coupons for free food."
"Those places don't let people like me in," he scoffed.
Chloe assured him that the managers would accept the vets as long as they followed COVID protocols. She then gave him a few masks. He thanked Beca and Chloe, and the redhead responded as she had with every other person they'd talked to. "No, thank you. We appreciate your service and sacrifices."
After visiting just two homeless camps, the women had run out of prepared bags. Chloe had collected a lot of food coupons after she'd dropped off Beca that morning, so they gave extras out after they ran out of supplies. Exhausted, the four went back to Beca's. The friends' moods were somber, none of them really talkative. Today had been draining as they realized the extent of the homeless problem among veterans.
When Chloe, Aubrey, and Stacie stood to leave, Beca grabbed Chloe's hand. "Stay? Please?" Beca desperately wanted to make another apology for her earlier outburst. "I'll take you to pick up your car later."
After Stacie and Aubrey took their leave, Beca asked Chloe if she minded if she took off her leg. "I've worn it a long time today, plus we did a lot of drills during the parade." She excused herself to the bedroom to remove her prosthesis, change into more suitable clothes, and get her crutches. When she returned, Chloe had brewed some tea and was waiting for her on the couch.
Beca started out with an apology for the way she had reacted that morning. "Our veterans are faced with so many issues. Free food and discounts are always appreciated, but so much more is needed. Housing, healthcare, mental health services." The pair talked longer about the trials veterans face. "Chloe, thank you so much for what the three of you did today. That means more to me than you know. That embodies the spirit of Veterans Day. I think you finally get how I feel about Veterans Day."
Chloe snuggled up to Beca. "Thank you for your service, Beca, and your sacrifice."
A/N: I know this is a day late, but yesterday, Secretnerd18 mentioned that she's surprised that with the number of military AUs in the fandom, that there aren't ones on Veterans Day. So here's my contribution to the honorable holiday. A grand thank you to all who have served and the sacrifices made by you and your family. You are appreciated more than you know.