Chapter 13: Bloe's Back

There were 10 days till nationals. Rehearsals were going well. Chloe and Beca still barely spoke but they were able to put their differences aside for the group. The group, however, was growing tense. They had barely been allowed any fun in a long time and they needed to relax. After much begging, Fat Amy finally convinced Aubrey to let them throw a pool party. She promised to shut it down by 11pm...meaning midnight-ish.

The morning of the party Chloe was up with Aubrey making breakfast for the bellas when Beca appeared.

"Morning." Chloe gave a hesitant smile.

"Morning." Beca mumbled back as she fell into a chair.

"What's with you?" Aubrey looked at a disheveled Beca.

"I just couldn't sleep last night." Beca rested her head on her hand. Chloe was working on the eggs and couldn't help but feel a little sad knowing how Beca used to always text her for help when she couldn't sleep.

"Do you want some coffee?" Chloe slowly turned around.

"Umm...yeah...coffee...coffee would be good." Beca sat up and nodded.

"Okay, just...it'll be a minute." Chloe fumbled around for the coffee grounds as she got the pot ready.

"Cool...I mean...no rush." Beca was talking with her hands like she did when she's nervous. Aubrey just watched the two interact awkwardly but didn't say anything to make it weirder. Once the coffee machine beeped, Chloe quickly poured a cup.

"Still take it with milk and a sugar?" Chloe asked as she got the sugar packets down from the cabinet.

"Yeah...that's uh...that's perfect." Beca nodded. Aubrey just shook her head and smiled.

That night, Fat Amy had set up a few coolers outside with drinks and two of her famous 5 gallon pitchers with whatever concoction she had produced on the small patio table next to stacks of multi-colored solo cups. The bellas were smiling and laughing, chatting up their guests. Aubrey felt a wave of tension released from the house and was glad she approved the party. Beca even made her way down without being coerced. She was pouring herself a drink when Chloe bumped into her.

"Oh, sorry." Chloe said quickly before realizing it was Beca. "Sorry." She said again more sincerely when she saw Beca taking a sip of her drink. Beca's eyes glanced down and saw Chloe holding a white souvenir cup from one of Howie's basketball games. She tried to hide feeling bummed that Chloe no longer held onto that yellow cup like she used.

"No worries." Beca nodded and left to find Amy.

Jesse showed up with Ben and even brought his guitar. They gave the party guests a mini concert with only half the Fox Trots. Everyone still seemed to enjoy it, aside from one party goer.

Beca sat alone in one of the patio chairs, close to the drinks, enjoying watching Jesse. There was a guy sitting across from her with a girl on his lap and he smugly comments, "I think homos should leave making good music to the normal people, ya know?"

Chloe was leaning on their fence and shot her attention to the guy who made the comment. She was angry but she then saw an angrier brunette slowly stand from her chair. Chloe had seen that look in Beca's eyes more than she'd wished. It was the look that said she wasn't backing down from a fight. She quickly moved to block Beca from stepping forward.

"Hey, Becs, let's just go inside, yeah?"

"You're defending this guy?"

"No, not at all! I just don't think we need another fight."

"He doesn't get to use slurs against one of my best friends, Chloe." Beca gently moved her aside. The blonde dude had slid the girl off his lap when he sense he was being discussed.

"You got a problem, midget?" He stepped over to her.

"You show up to other people's homes and use homophobic slurs, asswipe? That's my problem." Beca didn't budge.

"What's got you all sensitive? You a dyke or something?" He laughed and Beca just continued glaring. He looked her up and down with a disgusted look on his face. "If you're not, you should be. Doubt any normal dude would want to fuck you." He swiped his hand across her shoulder, brushing her off.

"Don't talk to her like that." Chloe instinctively stepped in and threw her drink on the guy. Jesse and Ben had stopped playing and were making their way over when the guy shoved Chloe, earning him a classic Beca left hook to the jaw. When she shook her hand off, she leaned over to try and tackled him.

"Beca, stop!" Chloe tried to pull her away as Jesse and Ben caught up. When they pulled him away from Beca, her and Beca's momentum made them stumble and fall into the pool. They both came up gasping for air, to see Jesse and Ben shoving the jerk out of the backyard to the street.

"Get your hands off me, fags!" He swung his arms in the air, getting another punch to the jaw from Jesse. He stumbled to the grass holding his chin.

"Get out of here, asshole." Jesse whispered furiously. The jerk just mumbled to himself and stomped to his car before speeding away.

Chloe wiped her hair out of her eyes and watched as Beca hung her head when she stood up in the pool. Beca stood still for a moment before slamming her hands on the edge of the pool and hoisting herself out.

"Beca." Chloe said gently and tried to stop her.

"I'm going for a walk!" Beca stormed out of the backyard, ignoring Stacie trying to hand her a towel.

"Beca, hey…" Jesse tried to stop her too but she maneuvered away and kept marching down the street.

Aubrey came outside in a frenzy and looked at Chloe, slowly getting out of the pool, accepting the towel from Stacie.

"What the hell happened?"

"Just another homophobic asshole. Classic bellas party." Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

"Where's Beca?" Aubrey folded her arms, knowing she had probably caused some sort of scene. When no one answered, Stacie sheepishly pointed toward the street.

"Does she look anything like you do right now?" She waved her hand up and down at Chloe, who just looked up at her with a 'what do you think?' stare.

"God help me." Aubrey huffed and went back inside to get her car keys.

She was driving slowly around campus with Stacie in the front seat, helping her look for Beca.

"I swear if she gets sick, I'm going to kill her." Aubrey gripped the steering wheel. "I take that back. I'm going to get her healthy again, bring her to nationals to help us win, and THEN I'll kill her."

"Cut her some slack, Aubrey. That jerk said some messed up stuff." Stacie scanned the streets through her window.

"What'd he say?"

"Something about her being a dyke and no normal guy would want her."

"Oh…" Aubrey's grip lessoned.

"And she was just sticking up for Jesse. I don't know how these losers keep showing up at our parties." Stacie shook her head.

"We should get a better screening process."

"Yeah." Stacie let out a smile. "I bet Fat Amy would enjoy playing the role of bouncer."

"You're not wrong there." Aubrey let out a little laugh.

"Hey, I think I see her!" Stacie pointed and Aubrey made a sharp right to get her. Aubrey stopped and Stacie jumped out before Aubrey could put it in park.

"Beca! Hey, you okay?" Stacie jogged over to Beca sitting on a bench by the big barden statue. She wrapped the towel she brought around Beca's shoulders. "Hey, you're shivering. Come on, let's get you home."

"I hate myself." Beca broke into tears and put her head in her hands. Stacie's eyes widened and looked at Aubrey for help while putting a hand on Beca's shoulder.

"Hey, don't say that."

"I do, though. I always fuck things up. Everything I do. I make everything worse for everyone, especially people I care about!"

"That's not true." Aubrey stepped over and sat next to her. "You've made the bellas better, Beca. And you know how hard that is for me to say."

"And how many times have I made huge mistakes to make your life worse, Chloe's life worse, everyone's life worse. And I know that I'm hurting people or screwing up; I see myself doing it but I can't stop. Its like I'm watching someone else. I hate myself..." Beca took a deep breath as she wiped her eyes.

"Beca, we all make mistakes. You can't let that get to you this bad." Aubrey whispered. "Look, come home before you get sick."

"Yeah, a nice warm shower and maybe some cocoa and you'll be feeling good as new." Stacie gave her a nudge. Beca just silently stood up and Stacie led her back to the car, rubbing her back. When she slid into the backseat Aubrey and Stacie exchanged concerned glances, never seeing this side of Beca. They weren't sure exactly how to help, but knew that they would at least be there for her.

The next morning, Aubrey shot up in bed and tilted her head like she was listening for something. Chloe looked over from her book, "What are you doing, weirdo?"

"I heard a sneeze. And I think a muffled cough." Aubrey threw her covers off. "She got herself sick. Shit, shit, shit." She started pacing around the room.

"Aubrey, calm down. You don't even know she's sick. Even if she is, its probably just a little cold." There was a muffled coughing fit that they both could hear and Chloe watched the ceiling until the coughing stopped.

"Get your medical stuff together." Aubrey snapped. "We gotta kick this ASAP."

"I don't think she's going to want me to take care of her."

"Fine, then just give me instructions, I'll do it." Aubrey clapped her hands rapidly. Chloe let out a sigh and got a thermometer, and a few other small things and gave Aubrey instructions.

"Temperature needs to be checked every 2 hours. If it gets above 102, we need to take her to the medical center. And if it gets to that point she'll be too weak to fight us. Make sure she's drinking something every hour. She needs to have something on her stomach, so crackers, light soup, toast, stuff like that. And we have some cold and flu medicine in the cabinet, don't give her more than the max dose. And make sure she has food first."

Aubrey nodded rapidly. And flew out of the room.

"Drama queen." Chloe shook her head and returned to reading.

Aubrey slowly entered Beca's room and eyed the bundle under the covers.

"Beca…?" She asked cautiously. "You feeling alright?"

"Aubrey, I'm sorry…" Beca's voice was scratchy and full of regret. Aubrey just closed her eyes, wishing she had been wrong.

"Don't be sorry. We'll get you back to 100% before you know it. I'll scare the sickness right out of you if I have to." Aubrey stepped by the bed when Beca rolled over with a light chuckle. Aubrey tried to control the look of disgust that came to her face when she saw Beca's pale and sweaty face. There was the slightest evidence of shivering under the covers as well.

"Here, let me take your temperature." Aubrey stuck the thermometer under Beca's tongue and then put the washcloth under the sink, soaking it with the coldest water it would get. She came back and pulled the thermometer out when it beeped.

"100.7." Aubrey stated flatly. Then tossed it in the trash and shook her hands in disgust while quickly washing them.

"Is that bad?" Beca croaked.

"It's not good, but its manageable. Here." She awkwardly put the cloth on Beca's head. Drink this water right here on your nightstand. I'll bring you some food in a bit, okay?"

"Kay. Thanks, Aubrey."

"Of course." Aubrey smiled slightly and went downstairs.

"She's sick. She's sick. What are we gonna -" She stepped into the kitchen where Chloe was already making some of their canned chicken noodle soup. "Oh, you beat me to it."

"Yeah, I felt guilty for not helping." Chloe shrugged. "So how'd she look."

"Gross." Aubrey sunk into one of the chairs. "She was pale and sweaty and it sounded like she swapped throats with a 50 year chronic smoker."

"Temp?" Chloe asked clinically.

"100.7. That's not too bad, right?" Aubrey asked hopefully.

"Mmm." Chloe shrugged. "With the speed of recovery you're hoping for we need to get it down quick. But don't worry, I'll help you. I mean, I'm premed right?" Chloe gave Aubrey pat on the arm for reassurance. Aubrey let out a breath, trying not to stress out. And really trying hard not to be frustrated with Beca, especially after her little breakdown last night.

"So you got her?" Aubrey looked up to Chloe nodding. "Thank you, I've got class in a little bit."

Chloe hummed to herself while she added her own special additions to the basic chicken soup, when Stacie walked in.

"Oh, you're actually tending the sick-o upstairs?"

"I mean, I'm premed, I feel like its my duty." Chloe took the pot off the burner and searched for a bowl.

"Well, I'm just glad you two are getting along better again. Especially after her breakdown last night, I think she could really use you." Stacie grabbed a spoon to try the soup.

"What breakdown?" Chloe tried not to sound to freaked.

"When me and Aubrey went to get her last night. Did Aubrey not tell you?" Stacie took a tentative sip. "Mmm...good job, Beale."

"Aubrey didn't tell me anything. What happened?"

"We found her like shivering in the middle of the quad just sitting on a bench. And when I got to her she just like burst into tears. Said stuff like she hated herself and thought she was a fuck up and only made things worse for people she cared about. I think it was a mix of the alcohol and the confrontation with that douche." Stacie shook her head.

"She said she hated herself?" Chloe felt her heart breaking for her friend. Despite the fighting and difficult stretch they'd been going through, she still cared deep down.

"Yeah. It was pretty messed up." Stacie nodded sadly. Chloe got the soup ready, gatorade from the fridge, and headed upstairs.

Beca rolled over when she sensed her door opening.

"Brought you something to eat. Its important you try to eat and keep drinking. How do you feel?" Chloe set the bowl of soup on the nightstand and pulled a chair over to sit in.

"Like shit." Beca shrugged and then went into a mild coughing fit. Chloe leaned back, subconsciously not wanting to catch the germs. Beca scooted over and sipped on the soup and let out an approving, 'mmm.'

"I haven't been sick since I was twelve. And I used to love being sick."

"Why?" Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

"It was the best. I got to skip school, wrap myself in a blanket and watch cartoons all day. And my mom would make this delicious peanut butter and jelly toast. But she'd always burn it just a little because she knew I liked it a little crunchy. And she'd even let me have sprite during a weekday. She'd bring it with ice cubes and a bendy straw and I swear it was like heaven's nectar. Oh, and she'd let me have not one, but two popsicles, since they made my throat feel better. Unfortunately I'm a bad liar, so everytime I tried to fake being sick, she figured it out quick." Beca slowly pulled herself up so she could sip on the soup better.

"Your mom sounds nice." Chloe leaned back, feeling comfortable having a civil conversation alone with Beca for the first time in awhile.

"She is. Too bad she married an asshole." Beca shrugged nonchalantly. Chloe stayed quiet, expecting further explanation.

"I take after my dad unfortunately." Beca lifted the bowl up to slurp the final contents, underestimating how hungry she was. "That was really good." She leaned back down to her pillow and closed her eyes.

"I don't think you take after your dad." Chloe whispered. Beca didn't respond, it seemed she was ready to go back into a deep sleep.

"Hey, Bec. Here's some medicine. You should take some in a bit now that you've had some food, okay?" She stroked Beca's hair briefly and gave her a gentle nudge. "You hear me?"

"Mkay, mom." Beca murmured. Chloe couldn't help but smile as she put a new cold washcloth on her forehead and quietly left the room with the empty dishes, taking one last glance at a peaceful sleeping sick Beca.

Chloe returned to the house a few hours later with a small grocery bag. She emptied the contents (bread, jelly, popsicles, bendy straws and sprite) when she saw Aubrey descending the stairs.

"Our patient is doing well, Dr. Beale. Fever's now 100.1. And I changed her washcloth Aubrey stated proudly, since she was actually really grossed out by taking care of sick people.

"Good." Chloe laughed to herself. "I'm going to make her some more food." She put the bread in the toaster, opened a sprite and poured it into a tall glass with ice and popped a bendy straw in it. After she tossed the popsicles in the freezer, she put the bread in the toaster one more time, watching it carefully. She carefully applied the peanut butter and jelly to the slightly burnt toast.

"Burnt toast, really? I know you've been having issues, but that seems a little mean to do to sick person." Aubrey reached for a sprite and was greeted by a friendly swat of the hand.

"Its actually something her mom used to do for her."

"Oh?" Aubrey cocked an eyebrow. "You buddies again, then?"

"Just being a good doctor." Chloe stuck her tongue out and headed upstairs with Beca's food and the blue blanket they'd always share on the couch.

"Aw, hey its my favorite nurse." Beca looked up when Chloe came in. "You're nicer than Aubrey. And hotter too." Chloe felt a shiver go up her spine and she froze for a second before realizing Beca was probably just a little doped up from her medicines.

"Well, thanks." She shrugged it off and giggled as Beca got excited over the food before her.

"No way! Burnt PB&J toast! And sprite! And the bendy straw!" Beca's voice got more excited as she saw each thing. She reached out and took a big sip before having a coughing fit.

"Whoa, killer." Chloe helped her lean back. "You're still sick, don't get too excited."

"Thanks, Chlo." Beca happily took a small bite of the toast. "I really am feeling better."

"You're welcome." Chloe felt a warmth in her chest hearing the nickname come from Beca's lips for the first time since... the incident.

"You really would make a sexy nurse." Beca said with her mouth full and gave her a wink.

"Too bad I'm going to be a doctor." Chloe playfully slapped her on the leg, trying not to blush. She stood up to leave before their nice moment got ruined somehow.

"Hey, wait…" Beca's voice sounded small. "Could you stay...please?" She looked up expectantly Chloe couldn't have resisted if she wanted to.

"Sure, Becs." She sat down in the chair. She stayed quiet until Beca had finished the toast and sprite.

"Want to watch some cartoons?" Beca leaned against her headboard.

"You sure you're not too sleepy?" Chloe couldn't help but feel endeared to this childish version of Beca, who just shook her head in return. "Okay then." Chloe grabbed the laptop and sat on the bed, back against the wall and Beca moved to join her. Chloe spread the blanket over the two of them

"Oh wait!" Chloe handed the laptop over and jumped up. Beca let out a little whine. "No, I'll be back. I just have one more thing for you."

She skipped downstairs and grabbed two popsicles out of the freezer with a goofy grin plastered on her face. Aubrey watched her and barked at her to wait before she ran back upstairs.

"Why are you grinning like an idiot like you used to? Is bloe back?" She tried to hide the excitement in her voice.

"You guys are dumb for coming up with that name." Chloe rolled her eyes. "But yeah, I think we're going to be fine again."

"Thank you baby Jesus." Aubrey exhaled as she fell back into her chair when Chloe was out of earshot.

Chloe handed Beca a popsicle, kicking herself for not finding out which specific type was her favorite. Beca's eyes went wide and she snatched hers from Chloe's hand.

"I forgot how great being sick was." Beca happily started licking her popsicle while still finding some cartoons to watch on her laptop. Chloe scooted over as close as she could, daring Beca to tell her to move.

"Hey, Chlo?" Beca asked sheepishly as she hit play. Uh oh...here it comes. Chloe thought. But instead she heard Beca's voice shake like she was nervous. "Can we be best friends again? I missed you…I've really missed you."

"Ugh! Me too!" Chloe nearly burst into tears and wrapped Beca in a hug.

"Okay, okay. Still not a fan of hugs, and I'm sick so watch yourself." Beca grinned.

"I don't care if I get sick. It'd be totes worth it." Chloe leaned her head on Beca's shoulder as they sat like kids watching cartoons and eating their popsicles. Chloe could swear it was one of her happiest moments in the bella house. "I've missed this." She whispered so lightly she wasn't sure Beca even heard her.

"Me too." Beca's head dropped to rest on top of Chloe's.

A couple days later, Beca had pretty much fully recovered, much to the relief of the bellas' fearless leader. She and Chloe were slowly working their way back to normal friends again. They sat on the couch together during movies or binge tv show watching. Chloe had started drinking exclusively from the yellow cup again. The bellas would exchange relieved glances every time Chloe and Beca had a pleasant interaction.

One morning, Chloe woke up and noticed an envelope sitting on top of her jewelry box Beca had made her. She rubbed her eyes and slowly opened up the envelope to find a note and a USB.

"I know it isn't much of an apology, but I made you a mix of mashups with Taylor Swift songs exclusively. I know how much you like her. And it doesn't take back how crappy I was to you, but if it makes you feel better I spent two nights in a row listening to Taylor Swift over and over again and that was borderline torture. I hope you like it. - Becs"

Chloe smiled widely as she hopped up to her laptop to plug the USB in.

"What are you all excited about?" Aubrey glanced over from her own bed.

"Beca made me a Taylor Swift Mashup Mix." Chloe found her headphones and couldn't wipe the smile off her face even if she wanted to.

"Bloe's back." Aubrey mumbled to herself, smiling as Chloe's head bobbed to the music.