You and Me Against the World

by KDanceWriteDream

For as long as Macy can remember, it's always just been her and her sister, Beca. They've been through a lot together: the death of their parents, their subsequent placement in foster care, and all of the horrors that followed. When they meet a perky redhead on their first day at a new school, will they be able to let her in? Bechloe/High School AU.

21. Chapter 21

Ah! Thank you so much for all of the support last chapter!

Okay, this chapter is a rough one. Please do not read through if any of the subjects in the content warning could be upsetting to you. There will be a summary at the beginning of the next chapter. Also, fair warning, I am not a doctor, police officer, or social worker, so those parts of the chapter are based strictly off of what I could find on the internet.

Content Warning: Child abuse, homophobia/homophobic slurs, strong language.

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Chapter 21

Flashback: 3 Months Ago

"So, Macy, your birthday is next week, right?" Camille stands over a pot of boiling noodles, stirring slowly as she addresses her youngest foster daughter. She loves this time of day when the two girls are home from school, her husband is home from work, and they all get to sit around in the kitchen and talk with each other.

Macy closes her book over slightly, looking up at the older woman. She's not old old, not like their first foster mom, Sharon, was. She's probably in her early fifties, and there are definitely more grays in her hair than the dirty blonde locks that are pinned up on top of her head. "Yeah, on Tuesday."

Camille turns around, grinning at the younger girl. "Do you want to do anything special?"

Macy shrugs, glancing at her sister, who's sitting to her left. "I don't know… I'm fine with anything really."

"Oh, come on, Mace, you gotta live it up for the big one-two." Tara sits sideways in her own chair, her back up against the wall as she looks down at the two other stools behind the counter. Beca always makes Macy sit in between the two of them when they're in the same room as Camille and Tyler. She doesn't trust Tara to keep her hands to herself, and she definitely does not want to have a discussion with her foster parents about who she's dating (it's none of their business, she had told her).

Macy smiles sheepishly in Tara's direction, before looking from Camille, back to Beca, who runs a hand tenderly over her curls. She remembers when Macy was still the little three-year-old running around the first floor of their house and face planting in the carpet. "What book is on your list for this year?"

Macy looks up to the ceiling, pretending to have to think about it, even though Beca knows that she's been waiting to tell her. Beca only buys her one book for her birthday a year; if she bought any more, they'd be too hard to transport. Macy can't wait until they don't have to move anymore so that she can start building up her own library instead of borrowing from everyone else's. "Emma by Jane Austen."

Beca quirks her head to the side. "Haven't you read that one already?"

"Maybe we should stop spending money on books and force her to actually do something that involves spending time with real people." For the first time in a while, Tyler speaks up from his position on the other side of the kitchen, leaning up against the counter and nursing a glass of some amber-colored drink.

Tara watches as Beca sets her jaw, stiffening in her chair as she listens to her foster father. Macy tilts her head down, averting her gaze to the floor, while her older sister takes her hand. "I think it's cool that Macy reads so much. I was never a reader."

Tyler glares at her. "Yeah, well, you aren't the one that has to deal with the social worker chirping in your ear about her not having any friends."

"Tyler, knock it off." Camille taps the spoon a few times on the pot, before turning her attention back to the kitchen. "Maybe we can go to the bookstore this weekend, Mace, and you can pick out a few that you'd like."

Macy gives her a small smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. The damage has been done.

Even though they've been here for over a year, Tyler's comments have been getting worse and worse. They can't get through one conversation without him making some snide remark about one of the girls – normally Macy – and it's like he can hardly bear to be around them. Camille does her best to buffer the tension, but it only works for so long. Then they get into an argument and Macy and Beca retreat to their bedroom. It's cyclical, and, quite honestly, Beca has thought about calling Meghan about it on more than one account.

Beca presses a kiss into Macy's temple, ignoring the eye roll that she gets from her foster father. "I'm going to go grab a sweatshirt. Do you need anything?"

Macy shakes her head as Tara pushes herself off of her own stool. "I'll come with you."

Beca throws a smirk behind her, Camille calling out, "Dinner will be ready in five, girls."

Making her way to the front of the house where the stairs are, Beca leads Tara upstairs to her bedroom. Besides Tyler, living at the Barry's isn't that bad. Camille seems to adore Macy, and they always have enough to eat. Lincoln isn't horrible and living here means she gets to still be with Tara. She only wishes that Tyler wasn't such an ass.

As soon as they get into the bedroom, Tara lays down on Beca's bed. She would love to know what Beca's bedroom would look like if it was actually her own room. She's asked her girlfriend about it before, about what she would put up on the walls and what kind of décor she would use. Beca just shrugged her questions off, saying that she would probably just have more pictures up, but other than that, she wouldn't answer.

Beca grabs a sweatshirt from one of her dresser drawers, only to turn around as see Tara making herself comfortable on the mattress. "Having fun?"

Tara props herself up on her elbows. "He really is a dick, isn't he?"

Beca plops down beside her. "You're just now figuring that out?"

"I'm sorry, babe." Tara rests her hand on Beca's thigh, comfortingly rubbing it back and forth. "At least Macy didn't start crying."

Beca scoffs, "Yeah, at least." She's had many conversations with her little sister about the things Tyler says to her. When they first moved in, it had been rough, and then it settled down for a few months. But, as the comments have picked up in frequency, she's been getting upset more and more. Beca had even been slapped at one point a few weeks ago because of what he said to Macy. Camille wasn't home and Tyler had gone on some rant about how if Macy wasn't so 'fucked up in the head' people her age would 'actually want to be around her.' Beca had gone off on him, holding a cowering eleven-year-old to her back, and he had slapped her right across the face.

But Tara doesn't need to know about that.

"Hey," Tara's voice is soft as she calls for her girlfriend's attention. When Beca turns her head, Tara gently cups her cheek with her hand, brushing a thumb over the soft skin. "Don't worry about him. There's only a year left until you turn eighteen, and then you can get out of this hell hole."

The corner of Beca's mouth quirks up in a forced smile, as the brunette rests her head against Tara's hand. "A lot can change in a year, T."

"Mmm… I know one thing that won't." She brings Beca's lips to her own, moving slowly in the same manner they always do, trying to bring Beca a small semblance of peace.

"Tara…," Beca tries pulling away, but not downright stopping the kiss. "T, the door is wide open."

Tara grins against Beca. "Okay. And?" She moves her hand to the back of her girlfriend's head and deepens the kiss.

Beca gets briefly caught up in the moment, savoring the comfort that her girlfriend's touch brings her. She lifts her own hand up through Tara's hair, parting her lips slightly to allow Tara's tongue entry, and just enjoying the fact that she can disappear from her life – even if it is only temporary.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Beca and Tara fly apart like they burned each other, both of them standing from the bed in surprise and looking at the man standing at the doorway. Tara's cheeks flush in embarrassment, but Beca's pale in comparison, a terrified expression appearing on her face.

Tyler runs an angry hand over his face, staring in disbelief at the two girls in his guest bedroom. His jaw locks as he practically growls. "Dykes. A fucking dyke is living in my house."

At Tyler's comment, Beca's hands start to shake, the brunette not even noticing that she has stepped slightly in front of Tara. She's seen the glint in Tyler's eye before. She's seen the way his body has gone rigid like it is now, and how his voice drips with such ire that it sends a chill down her spine.

He points a shaking finger at the two girls, glaring so intensely at them at his eyes start to bulge out of his head, and Beca isn't really sure which one of them he's talking to. "Get out. I want you out of my house, now."

As Tyler crosses the room, Beca bends her arm behind her back, searching for Tara like she has done with Macy so many times before. Her heart is pounding out of her chest, her palms sweaty and fear completely overwhelming her body. "Tyler, please, just calm down, I –"

"Calm down?!" He advances on them so quickly that by the time he finishes his first exclamation, he's bent over the shorter girls, raising his voice as he's mere inches from their faces. Beca can feel his hot breath on her skin. "I am so sick and tired of being told what to do in my own – FUCKING – house!"

It happens faster than either of them can possibly imagine. Tyler grabs a fistful of Beca's hair, yanking her to the side and as she lets out a yelp in return. He brings his knee up to her stomach, causing the short brunette to buckle over in pain, a sob getting caught in her throat.

Tara staggers backward towards the corner of the room, but it's not Tara that Tyler wants; that much is obvious when he doesn't even acknowledge the fact that she's no longer right in front of him. But, she's frozen. It doesn't matter that the blood is pounding in her ears, or that the pure terror that she is experiencing makes her want to throw up everything she's ever eaten. She can't move. She can't scream. She can't do anything as she watches her girlfriend crumble under the rage of her foster father.

---

Macy is just about to start setting the table when Camille asks Tyler to go upstairs and get her sister and Tara. She knows that they went upstairs to talk about just happened with Tyler saying she doesn't have any friends. She sees how Beca always looks after Tyler says something like that, and she also knows that Tara likes to do everything in her power to distract Beca from all things crappy in her life. Macy's glad that Beca has Tara in her life; she knows it can get lonely for her older sister sometimes.

She's putting out the first placemat when she hears Tyler starts to yell. Macy stills almost immediately, glancing over her shoulder as she watches Camille do the same. They listen as Tyler's yells get louder, and as soon as they hear a piercing scream resound through the house, both of them are running up the stairs.

Macy's face drops in horror as soon as she gets to the bedroom, a strangled cry coming from the back of her throat. "Oh my God! Stop! Please! You're hurting her!"

The eleven-year-old doesn't hesitate upon seeing her sister on the floor, Tyler bent over her as he continues to connect his foot with her abdomen, not looking like he has any intention of stopping. Beca has her arms over her head, trying to curl herself in a ball, as Macy launches herself at her fifty-something-year-old foster father. His hand connects with her face as he tosses her to the side like a sack of potatoes, causing hot tears to run down her face as she sits helplessly on the floor a few feet behind her.

"Please! Tyler, stop! Beca!"

Camille comes into the bedroom shortly following her foster daughter, and her screams join those of the crying girl on the floor, but Macy barely hears any of it. All she can hear are the string of words flying from Tyler's mouth as he punctuates each sentence with another kick. All she can hear is the sound of his boot connecting with Beca's soft skin, her cries of pain being the loudest of all.

Tara, on the other hand, can't hear anything. She can't hear Beca's screams of pain, or her little sister's screams of agony. She can't hear Camille trying to get her husband to stop, or the sound of her own heart beating out of her chest. All she can hear is the two-word phrase playing on a loop inside of her head: Get. Out.

The pure panic that Tara is feeling is enough to propel her forward. She stumbles like she's had too many drinks out of the bedroom, allowing her feet to carry her towards the front door of the house, nowhere near in the right mental capacity to think straight.

As soon as she is out of the house and onto the grass, Tara empties her stomach's contents onto the ground in front of her. Her stomach churns as she thinks about Beca, lying on the floor, completely powerless against her foster father. And the blood. God, there was so much blood coming from Beca's mouth.

She can still hear the screams coming from the Barry house as she pulls her cellphone from her back pocket, almost dropping it as her hands shake with fright. Her fingers shakily dial the three numbers, before bringing the device up to her ear.

"911, what's your emergency?"

Tara gulps, trying to form the proper words as her breath catches in her throat. She looks up at Beca's bedroom window, which turns out to be a mistake, because her stomach lurches again. She brings a hand to her mouth, stopping anything from coming up, and manages, "M-my g-girlfriend – h-her foster f-father, I –"

"Ma'am, I can't understand what you are saying. What is happening? Are you safe?"

"N-no, my, my girlfriend's foster father, h-he's –" So. Much. Blood.

"Okay ma'am, just stay where you are, I need you to stay on the line." The operator works quickly, doing her best to ping the location of the caller's phone. It takes a few minutes of her listening to Tara's heavy breathing before she gets her answer. "Ma'am, help is on the way. I need you to stay where you are and –"

Tara hangs up the phone, her feet moving before her brain tells them to, as she walks across the Barry's front lawn. She forces her fingers to find one additional contact, willing this one person to pick up.

"Hello, thank you for calling Fig's Diner, would you like to place an order for takeout?"

Tara runs a hand through her hair as she walks down the street, trying to distance herself from the screams of the Barry's house. "CR… I-I need CR."

"I'm sorry, may I ask who is calling?"

"I need to talk to CR now!"

There's some shuffling on the other end of the line, before the manager picks up the phone. "Hello, thank you for calling Fig's Diner, this is Cynthia Rose."

Despite the situation, Tara breaths out a sigh of relief. "CR, you – you need to get to B-Beca's house and –"

CR presses a finger against her open ear, blocking out the noises of the restaurant as she tries to identify the voice of the caller. She's only met the girl a few times, but by the sound of her voice and the context of what she's saying, she figures it out relatively quickly. "Tara? Is that you?"

Continuing to stumble down the street, Tara nods into the phone, her thoughts beginning – ever so slightly – to stabilize. "CR, you need to get t-to Beca's. I-It's not good and I-I can't –"

Fear blossoms inside of the older woman. She's grown to love the two Mitchell sisters, and she knows that things haven't been good at their foster home for the last few months at least. Beca has been quieter and Macy has been more anxious than normal. "Tara, what are you talking about? What happened? Where are you?"

"I-I got to go."

---

Cynthia Rose leaves the diner in a panic. She barely tells anyone she's leaving, simply running to her office, ripping open the filing cabinet with her employee files, and hastily looking for the address of her friend's house. She doesn't answer anyone's questions, she doesn't give anyone any explanations; all she can focus on is getting to Beca's house and figuring out what the hell is happening at this moment.

She peels out of the parking lot, narrowly missing an oncoming car, but not giving a single damn. She's lived in Atlanta all her life, and she knows how to navigate the streets, but she finds herself second-guessing her sense of direction as she heads into the suburbs. She vaguely knows where she is going – and would probably be much more confident if her head wasn't pounding with confusion and fear – but it's not her knowledge that brings her to Beca's house. Instead, it's the ambulance and four police cars that are parked on the front lawn of one of the houses she almost passes.

CR screeches to a stop in front of the mailbox. She slams the car into park, turns off the ignition, and climbs out of the car, sprinting around the back so that she can fully take in the scene in front of her.

A man is being led across the yard by three police officers to one of the cruisers parked in the driveway. Paramedics are loading a gurney into the back of the ambulance. An older woman is standing by the side of the house sobbing and screaming unintelligible nothings to anyone that will listen to her.

But, CR's eyes land on a figure off to the side. Another police officer is holding the arm of a very familiar little girl, prohibiting her from running in the direction of the ambulance, as hot tears stream down her face and she joins the yelling of the other woman.

CR's heart sinks as her feet start to carry her towards the chaos. "Macy!"

Macy turns her head in the direction of where her name is being called, only hearing that above the struggling police officer telling her to calm down. The recognition gives the girl enough power to yank her arm from her grasp, before sprinting across the yard and throwing her arms around the familiar woman.

CR allows the girl to cling to her body, her arms wrapping around her neck and her legs wrapping around her torso, starting to resemble a koala bear of sorts. CR holds her close, still franticly looking around and trying to figure out what is going on, as she runs a hand through Macy's matted curls, rocking her side to side as she sobs into her neck.

"Hey, hey, Mace, kiddo…" CR kneels to the ground, gently prying Macy's grasp off of her, as she searches her face for some sort of explanation. "Kiddo, you gotta calm down so that you can tell me what's going on. What happened?"

Macy's face scrunches again as another sob wracks her body. There's snot dripping out of her nose, and CR is almost certain that there's a faint outline of a bruise starting to form on the side of her face. She points in the general direction of the ambulance, her tears starting to fall even faster. "B-Beca… a-and and T-Tyler and h-he," she inhales sharply, trying to get an ounce of air into her lungs, but her breathing just becomes more labored.

CR tugs Macy back into her chest, holding her tightly like she's seen Beca do when the young girl starts to get panicked. "Okay, it's okay… We'll figure it out, Mace, it's alright. You're safe."

As the ambulance starts to pull out of the driveway, Macy looks over CR's shoulder onto the street. She starts to struggle against the older woman, knowing full well who is in that ambulance and that she is not with her. "No! Beca!"

"Sh… it's okay, Mace, it's okay. We'll go… we'll go meet her." CR holds on tight to the girl, knowing that if she doesn't, there is a very good chance that she will escape from her grasp and chase the ambulance down the road. Another sob escapes from Macy's mouth as she buries her head into CR's shoulder, not really knowing what else to do. "It's okay… breathe, Macy, breathe. You're okay."

Knowing that Macy probably won't calm down any time soon, CR simply lifts the girl with her as she stands. It doesn't take much effort, especially since Macy is doing most of the hard work in terms of holding on. She carries the young girl back over to the police officer. As soon as she's within earshot, she asks, "What hospital is that ambulance going to?"

The police officer glances back to where her colleagues are trying to calm the other woman. "They're going to St. Joe's, but I can't let you take her there."

CR raises an eyebrow, still rubbing a hand up and down Macy's back. "Excuse me?"

"She's a witness, we need to get her statement… we still aren't exactly sure what happened in there."

It takes everything in Cynthia Rose not to go off on the cop. "She's also an eleven-year-old girl. That was her sister in the ambulance."

The police officer pulls a notebook from her back pocket. "Are you related to these girls? Are you the one that placed the 911 call?"

CR shakes her head, noticing for the first time since she's been here, that Tara is nowhere to be found. Maybe she's in the ambulance. "I'm a family friend. Can we talk about this at the hospital? I really need to get her over there."

The police officer looks over CR's shoulder at her superior, and, upon getting a confirming nod, gives the same to the woman standing in front of her. "I'll just need your name and phone number in case we need to contact you. Someone will meet you at the hospital to take your statements."

Nodding her thanks, CR practically runs back over to the car. She has to pry Macy's grip off of her as she slides the girl into the back seat, which causes her to cry even harder. Once she's buckled in, Cynthia Rose gets in her own seat, before pulling away from the curb of Beca's foster home.

Between the traffic, her own fears, and Macy's sobs in the backseat, the drive to the hospital is even more distracting than the ride to the house. She continuously flicks her eyes up at the rearview mirror, checking in on the distraught girl in her backseat, her heart shattering every time she does so.

"We're almost there, Mace… We're almost there."

CR parks in the first open spot that she can find, grabbing her phone and keys from the cupholder before turning off the car. She hurries over to the back passenger door, helping Macy out, and not being at all surprised when she grips her hand so tightly that her little knuckles turn white. They head in the direction of the Emergency Room, CR trying her best to remain calm for the sake of the girl depending on her to keep it together.

Cynthia Rose makes a beeline to the nurse's station as soon as they are through the doors. "Excuse me?"

A young, blonde nurse looks up at her from the computer. "What can I do for you?"

CR takes a stabilizing breath. She honestly has no idea. "I'm uh… I'm looking for Beca – Rebeca – Mitchell. She was supposed to be brought here by an ambulance and –"

"Are you family?"

CR shakes her head but glances down at the sniffling girl beside her. Macy's breath is still rapid, her face incredibly pale except for the blotches on her skin from the tears. "No, but this is her little sister."

The nurse peers over the desk at Macy, before settling back into her chair and typing a few words on the keyboard. After a few moments of silence, her eyes flick back and forth across the screen. "Okay, she is here. Miss Mitchell is currently in the operating room –"

"—Operating room?"

The nurse nods slowly, slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Yes, she is currently in emergency surgery. I will have someone come out with an update as soon as possible, but other than that, I do not have any further information."

CR's head swims. Emergency surgery? Not for the first time and she's sure it definitely won't be the last, CR finds herself wondering what the hell happened. "Okay, thank you."

With Macy starting to cry again, her lip trembling and her breath continuing to hitch, CR brings them over to two empty chairs in the corner, giving them a perfect view of the nurse's station and a door that seems to lead to the other parts of the hospital. CR sits down first, before lifting Macy up onto her lap, her head finding CR's shoulder as the younger girl lets sobs overpower her once more.

---

It takes a half-hour for the police officer that CR briefly spoke to at the Barry's house, to show up in the waiting room. Even with the small amount of time that has passed, Macy hasn't completely calmed down. Her sobs have subsided into a mess of sniffles and hiccups, but she has yet to leave CR's lap. Cynthia Rose has just been staring off into the distance, not really sure what else there is to do.

The police officer cautiously approaches the two girls in the corner, recognizing them both almost immediately. She moves past the other family members waiting for updates on their loved ones, knowing full well that their stares are following her as she walks past them, before taking the seat next to the woman who introduced herself as Cynthia Rose. "Hello, I'm Officer Kramer…we met back at the house."

CR shifts slightly, not liking the way that Macy's grip has tightened around her at the sound of another voice. In any other situation, she would stick her hand out and greet the woman in a more professional manner, but one arm is wrapped around Macy, and the other hand is moving up and down her back in soothing circles. "Cynthia Rose."

The blonde officer gives her a small smile. "Would you mind if we went somewhere to talk? Just briefly so we can get your preliminary statements."

Besides the fact that CR really doesn't think they'll be able to get a coherent sentence from Macy for at least a few more hours, she definitely doesn't want to leave the waiting room in the event someone comes out with an update on Beca. "We haven't heard anything yet… the nurse said that someone was going to come out with some information."

"That's alright. I've already told the nurse that we'll be in the conference room. She'll send them back there if there's any news."

It takes everything in CR not to glare at the woman, who clearly is not going to take no for an answer. "Okay." She shifts slightly in her seat, trying her best to get a look at Macy's face. "Mace, we're going to go with this police officer for a few minutes."

Macy lifts her head, sheer terror written all over her face. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, and there's a nice bruise starting to gain color on her cheekbone. It makes CR's stomach churn with both anger and misery. "No – I don't…I don't want to, I –"

"Hey, Mace, it's okay. I'm going to go with you and the doctors know that we're going to be with her. They'll know where to find us if they need to."

The reluctance is clear in Macy's demeanor as she slides off CR's lap, only separating herself momentarily from her sister's friend until she, too, is standing, and Macy can press herself up against her side. The police officer leads them down the hall and into a conference room, closing the door behind them. CR takes a seat in one of the chairs and is about to pull another one over for Macy, before the eleven-year-old climbs back onto her lap, craving any ounce of comfort that the familiar woman can bring her.

CR doesn't object. She balances Macy on her knees, wrapping her arms around the girl's torso, and looking at the cop expectantly.

Officer Kramer pulls her notepad from her back pocket, trying her hardest not to scare either of the girls away. She can't imagine what they've been through – especially the younger one – in the last hour. "Okay, sweetheart, can you tell me your name?"

Macy's lip trembles, the form of the officer in front of her blurring with the onset of more tears. "M-Macy. Macy M-Mitchell."

"And how old are you, Macy?"

Macy gulps, trying not to remember that they had literally just been talking about her upcoming birthday a short while ago. "Eleven."

Both CR and the officer shake their heads in disbelief. She's way too young to be dealing with this. "Eleven. Okay. And your sister? She was the one that was in the ambulance, right?"

Macy inhales a sharp breath, her heart starting to race and her chest tightening. She doesn't exhale until she hears CR's quiet voice in her ear, sounding so much like Beca that it could almost have been. "Breathe, Mace… it's okay… just breathe."

When Macy opens her eyes, the police officer is still waiting for an answer. "B-Beca. Her name is Beca."

Officer Kramer jots this down. The prick they arrested hasn't spoken a word since being sent to holding, and his wife has been a blubbering mess. This is the most information they've gotten since arriving at the house. "How old is Beca?"

"S-she's –" Macy hiccups, still trying to calm her tears and her breath. "She's seventeen."

"Good, you're doing so good, Macy…" Officer Kramer nods to herself. She's been on the force for about ten years, and cases like these always make her wish that she went into something like accounting. She can still see the scene fresh in her mind; how it had taken two of her coworkers to pull the man off of the teen, how there had been so much blood on the floor and the screams of both Macy and the other woman were practically deafening. "Can you tell me about the man who was hurting your sister? Is he your father?"

Macy freezes on CR's lap, her mind completely shutting down as Tyler is the only face that she can see. She tries to control her breathing; the way CR is rubbing her back doing a good job of helping. She shakes her head.

Officer Kramer looks to Cynthia Rose for clarification. "He's not?"

CR runs her hand through Macy's curls. "It could have been their foster father… I think his name is Tyler. Tyler Barry."

The police officer turns to Macy, "Is that who it was, Macy? Was it your foster father?"

Macy bites the inside of her lip, closing her eyes and nodding, doing everything in her power to keep the tears from falling.

Making an internal note to herself to place a call with DCF, Officer Kramer continues her line of questioning. "Has your foster father behaved like this before? Has he hurt either you, or Beca, or your foster mom before?"

As her lip begins to tremble once more, Macy nods. "O-once. But he's always angry. A-and he y-yells a lot."

CR leans her head up against the wall in exasperation. She's not exactly surprised that neither Beca nor Macy told her the truth about what had been going on in their house, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

Officer Kramer writes this down too. "Do you know what set your foster father off this time around? Did he and Beca get in a fight?" When Macy falls silent, clearly not willing to answer this question, the woman tries something different. "What about you?" She brushes her finger over the spot on her own cheek, indicating the bruise on the eleven-year-old's face. "Did he hit you, too?"

Macy shakes her head, the exhaustion finally starting to settle in on the girl. "I tried to stop him. B-but I couldn't."

CR doesn't give the officer a chance to respond. Instead, she wraps her arms around Macy's torso, bringing her in close and pressing a kiss to her temple, completely amazed that the smallest eleven-year-old that she's ever met, tried to stop a grown man from beating the shit out of her sister. Macy turns her head into CR's neck, taking a shaky breath in as she nuzzles in deeper.

The police officer stares at the two girls sitting in front of her. "And Cynthia Rose, do you happen to know who placed the call to 911? The dispatcher said that she referred to Beca as her girlfriend. We've been trying to track her down but haven't been able to find her."

CR mindlessly runs her hand through Macy's curls, trying not to let the returning cries completely shatter her heart. "Um, Beca's girlfriend's name is Tara…Tara White. They go to the same school… But what do you mean you've been trying to track her down? She wasn't at the house?" CR knew that tonight was one of the nights that Tara was supposed to be over there for dinner; Beca had been stressing about it after school, just like she always does. When she saw Macy alone, she had just assumed that Tara was still inside. She wouldn't have run off, would she?

Officer Kramer writes down the name and shakes her head. "No, she had left before we got there."

---

Three hours later, CR's eyes are growing heavy. It's only nine o'clock, but with the pitch-black outdoors and the emotional toll of the day, it very well could be one in the morning. Officer Kramer left a while ago, promising that she would be back to get more extensive statements once Beca got out of surgery and Macy calmed down a little bit. Neither CR nor the youngest Mitchell sister were sad to see her go.

Now, sitting back in the waiting room with Macy's head on her lap and the rest of her small body stretched across one of the benches, CR can't help but get lost in her thoughts. The most prominent one, still being, what in the world happened at the Barry's that made a grown man attack a seventeen-year-old girl.

Macy hasn't given up any information, and they are still waiting on an update for Beca – even after CR has asked the nurse multiple times. The older woman just can't wrap her mind around it. She can't imagine what Macy saw this afternoon, and, by the look of the blank expression on her face as she stares off into the waiting room, she's sure that she isn't going to forget it any time soon, either.

Then there's the whole 'Tara' of it all. Again, it's not like Macy has said anything, but CR knows enough to be pissed. She knows that Tara was at the house. She knows that Tara knows what happened; not just because of the call she received at Fig's, but because of the fact that she called 911. And, worst of all, she knows that Tara left not just Beca, but Macy as well, in that dangerous situation. She didn't wait around for the police to show up, she didn't try to help Macy calm down – which CR knows is what Beca would have wanted her to do. CR isn't sure exactly what happened inside the house, and she has no idea if Tara was hurt as well, but the fact that she left Macy, especially, all by herself as she watched her sister get pummeled to death, is enough to make the manager never want to see the girl again.

CR sighs, continuing to work her fingers through Macy's curls just like she has been for the last few hours. This situation is so messed up it isn't even funny.

"CR?"

Macy's voice is so quiet that CR barely hears it over the chaos of the Emergency Room. There aren't a lot of people in the waiting room – and those that are, are silent – but with nurses and doctors running in between different bays, and various paramedics coming and going, it's loud enough to almost hide Macy's whisper.

The older woman glances down at the little girl, who looks so much younger and more vulnerable than the girl that she's seen so many times sitting at the counter at work. "What's up, kiddo?"

Macy doesn't move from where she's laying. She continues to stare off into the waiting room, her thumb rubbing the bracelet that's around her wrist. "What's a dyke?"

"What?" CR practically jolts from her position. She was expecting the girl to ask for a glass of water, maybe ask her to go harass the nurse again for an update. She was not expecting to hear that word come from her mouth. "What are you talking about, Mace? Where did you hear that?"

Macy can still hear her foster father screaming that word – amongst others – as he kicked a helpless Beca on the floor. It's been swirling around her mind since she first heard it, and, now, still not sure what's happening with her sister, it's the one thought she keeps going back to (well, second only to the thought that Beca could be dead, of course). She curls her body up tighter, frowning slightly when CR removes her hands from her hair. "That's what Tyler was yelling at Beca…what does it mean?"

"Um…" Shit. CR knows that Macy is a smart kid, but the way the question comes out of her mouth, is so innocent, that it is a crushing reminder that she is only eleven.

CR's never been the greatest with kids. She's the youngest in her family – she has one older brother and one older sister – and grew up with teens and adults around the house. She doesn't have any nieces or nephews or little cousins. She never was one to babysit the neighbors' kids, and she's never felt the desire to have some of her own. She just never saw the appeal. Yet, here she is, comforting a child who has wriggled her way into her heart faster than anyone ever has, and being posed with a question that she knows she can't mess up the answer to. She finds herself wishing – not for the first time since Tara called her – that Beca was here. She would know what to say to her baby sister. It's amazing and remarkable, especially considering that she's only seventeen herself, but she always does.

"CR?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear me?"

CR straightens in her uncomfortable chair, tapping Macy's shoulder as she does so. "Yeah, sit up for me for a second, kiddo."

Macy, reluctantly, pushes herself into a seated position, pulling her knees into her chest and turning to face CR. The older woman is rubbing her eyes, and then folds her hands in front of her mouth, before even making eye contact with Macy.

"Um…" CR starts again, mulling possible responses over in her head as Macy's big, dark blue eyes look up at her. The bruise on her cheek has finally reached its full potential, turning a nice shade of purple with a red tint to it. "Okay, so you know how Beca is dating Tara, right?"

Macy nods, but doesn't have the energy to respond.

CR's stomach churns as she tries to make this as simple to understand as possible. "And you know how Tara's a girl, and sometimes, people assume that only boys and girls can date?"

This time, Macy's eyebrows furrow slightly. She understands that Tara is a girl, and she understands that she and Beca are dating, but she didn't realize that people might have a problem with it. Why would they? It's not like it's any of their business. "No, not really."

CR sighs. This is not going to be easy. "Okay, so, some people believe that only boys and girls can date."

"Why?"

The question – despite the content of the conversation – brings a small smile to CR's face. "Because they're idiots and think they can control who other people love." Macy still seems confused, but CR continues. "Anyway, some people get really mad when they see two girls together, or two boys together, does that make sense?"

Macy shrugs, keeping her voice quiet. "I guess."

"So, the word you heard, is a really awful way of referring to a girl who likes another girl. It's a horrible word and only really mean people use it."

Even after CR's wonderful explanation, Macy still looks confused. It's not like Tyler knew about Beca and Tara – Beca wouldn't let either of them say anything, and she knows that Beca has told Tara on more than one occasion that they weren't allowed to kiss or hug or sit next to each other when they were around Camille and Tyler. "But… but Tyler was calling Beca that."

Not exactly sure what Macy is getting at, CR just nods, laying a hand on her knee. "Mhmm… and I'm really sorry you had to hear that."

Macy shakes her head, starting to get frustrated. "No, you don't get it. Tyler didn't know about Beca and Tara, so why would he call her that – that word?"

Well, clearly, he found out somehow. CR gives Macy a small shrug. "I don't know kiddo; I still don't really know what happened."

Macy's face pales slightly as she looks away from CR. "He was just so mad. I've never seen anyone look so angry before."

Not exactly meaning for her previous statement to convince Macy to start telling her about what happened – but also not complaining – CR keeps her voice low. "I'm sure that was very scary, Mace. I'm so sorry."

Tears start to swell in Macy's eyes once more. "And I don't even know why… there wasn't any arguing, it was just him yelling and then…then I heard Beca scream and…"

CR brings the girl back into her side. "It's alright, Macy, he's not here anymore. He can't hurt you or Beca again." She presses a kiss into the top of Macy's head, the girl shaking with a new round of sobs emerging. She's so absorbed with comforting the eleven-year-old, that she doesn't see the man in dark blue scrubs walking up to them.

"Excuse me, are you here for Rebeca Mitchell?"

Macy instantly pulls away from CR's hold, forcing her sobs to quiet down, even if the tears are still streaming down her face. "That's my sister. Is she okay?"

The doctor brings a chair over from another row and sits in front of them, CR straightening and Macy willing the man to talk faster. "Your sister is a fighter."

Both CR and Macy feel a small smile tug at the corners of their lips. Damn right she is.

"My name is Dr. Price; I was the one who operated on Rebeca –"

"—Beca, her name's Beca."

Dr. Price gives Macy a soft smile. "I was the one who operated on Beca. When she was brought in, Beca was unresponsive. We discovered that she had a large amount of internal bleeding due to the blunt force trauma to her abdomen. We tried to control the bleeding, but ended up having to remove her spleen, which had ruptured. Beca also has two cracked ribs in the bottom of her rib cage. It was touch and go for a while, but we were able to stop the bleeding, and stabilize her condition."

Macy lets out a relieved laugh, allowing CR to pull her into another hug. Through blurry eyes, she asks, "Can we see her?"

Dr. Price shakes his head. "Not yet. She's still asleep and she's currently in the ICU… we'll move her to another room in a few hours, and then you'll be able to see her."

Although disappointed, both Macy and CR nod at the doctor, the older woman taking the time to shake his hand and thank him, before they settle back into their seats. CR wraps Macy in her embrace, feeling the girl let out a breath of relief for the first time in hours.

---

The first things that Beca hears, are the beeps. The constant beeping of the heart monitor resounding through the room. She keeps her eyes closed, starting to take a deep breath, before instantly realizing that that is a mistake. She groans in pain, shifting underneath the scratchy fabric of the sheet, and wincing even further.

"Beca… Beca, can you hear me?"

The voice seems far away, or like Beca herself is underwater. She licks her lips, trying to swallow but quickly realizing that she can't do that either because her mouth is so dry. She shifts again, another burst of pain exploding in her abdomen, and causing her to whimper slightly, as the nurse runs a hand over her forehead.

"Beca, sweetie… can you open your eyes for me?" Slowly, slower than Beca has ever moved before, her eyelids part, finally looking up to see the nurse standing above her. "Hi, pretty girl, how are you feeling?"

Beca gulps again, closing her eyes once more and hiding against the blinding hospital lights. The grogginess and disorientation are very real, but she comes up with one word that perfectly summarizes how she's feeling. "Hurts."

The nurse instantly moves to the IV drip standing behind her bed. She administers some more pain medication, before turning back to the seventeen-year-old. "There you go, that should kick in soon."

As Beca continues to blink, trying to wake herself up, she forces out a question. "W-where am I?"

"You're at St. Joseph's Hospital. There was an incident involving your foster father… but you're safe, you're okay."

Beca inhales again, this time not noticing the pain as her mind starts to race, the events of earlier tonight starting to come flooding back. Her heart rate spikes as Beca finally forces her eyes open, looking directly at the nurse. "Macy, w-where's Macy?"

The nurse lays a delicate hand on Beca's shoulder. "Macy's fine. She's in the waiting room. She wasn't hurt."

"I need to see her… I need to see Macy."

"Okay, Beca, I need you to calm down for me, alright? I don't want you to tear your stitches and –"

Beca struggles against the nurse, "No, I need to see my sister!"

At the sounds of distress, a few more nurses come into Beca's ICU room, some helping to keep her still, and another one pushing a dosage of sedation that quickly causes Beca's eyes to close once more.

---

A little after midnight, a nurse comes over to Cynthia Rose and tells her that she can go up to Beca's room. After talking with Dr. Price, the exhaustion finally overpowered Macy, and she collapsed on CR's lap. She's been sleeping for the last hour or so, and CR has been forcing herself to stay awake, reading the subtitles on the news broadcast that has been playing on the television in front of her.

They haven't had any other visitors, which surprises Cynthia Rose slightly. She knows that, obviously, Camille and Tyler won't be coming, but the older woman has been waiting for maybe another police officer, or their social worker, or even Tara, to show up. But, for the last three hours, it's just been the two of them.

After the nurse tells her that they can go see Beca, CR does her best to carefully lift Macy as she stands. The girl is small enough that it really doesn't take much effort, but CR does not want to risk waking her. She needs to sleep, even if it's only for a couple of hours.

The walk to Beca's room isn't long, but with each step she takes, CR's heart starts to beat faster in her chest. She really has no idea what she's going to see, and she knows she has to remain strong for Macy… but Beca is her friend, too. She isn't sure she's going to be able to keep it together.

When Cynthia Rose had first met Beca, she knew there was something different about the girl. She had walked into Fig's with Macy's hand in hers and had sent her over to one of the open tables before approaching her at the counter. The short, five-foot-almost-nothing girl had walked right up to her and said, "I don't have a resume, and I've only ever bussed tables before, but I need a job and I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the best people you'll ever hire."

At first, CR was taken aback. She wasn't exactly sure what to say, and she was even more confused at the sight of the little girl that came in with her. She wasn't sure if she was her daughter – they definitely looked a lot alike – or what, but there was something about Beca (and not just her slightly cocky attitude) that made the manager give her an interview right then and there.

She hasn't regretted her choice for a single moment.

CR's heart sinks as soon as she lays eyes on the brunette. She steps into the room, the nurse leaving her alone, as she carefully examines the seventeen-year-old through tear-filled eyes.

Beca's even paler than she normally is, a mosaic of black and blue stemming from her chin and going up toward her eye. Her hair is tied into a careless bun on top of her head, and there's a cut on the corner of her lip. The gown and blanket cover the rest of her body (and the injuries), and, even though CR is certain that she's in pain, the way her eyes are closed, and her arms are resting at her side on top of the sheet, almost makes her look peaceful.

CR slowly shakes her head, "Oh, Bec."

Macy stirs in her arms, digging her chin into CR's shoulder as the older woman starts to sway side to side, trying to keep her asleep. She doesn't want her waking up right now – not when Beca isn't awake to comfort her.

When Macy falls still again, CR takes a few delicate steps into the room, carefully bringing a chair closer to Beca's bed. She sits down once more, using the hand that isn't keeping Macy from falling off her lap, to gently take Beca's hand in hers.

"What did he do to you?"

---

Hours later, when the first glimpse of morning light starts to stream into Beca's hospital room, the brunette starts to stir underneath her covers. The pain is still there, but the meds that the doctors have her on have reduced the pain to a dull ache that allows her to breathe – and move – ever so slightly.

Cynthia Rose, who has been dozing off and on for the better part of the early morning, wakes immediately, hearing the sheets crunch as Beca awakes from her medically-induced slumber. She sits up straighter, leaning forward while keeping Macy steady in her arms, and rubs the back of Beca's hand with her thumb.

Beca is squeezing her eyes shut, still attempting to wake up, when she feels someone's hand on hers. The touch gives her enough motivation to fully open her eyes. She blinks a few times, struggling to clear the fog out of her mind, when her gaze rests on the slumped form of her sister. "Mace…"

CR moves forward in her chair, shaking her head and trying not to flinch at the sound of how rough Beca's voice is. "She's okay… she's just sleeping." She moves her hand from Beca's, reaching for where a glass of water with a straw has been waiting, and gently guiding it into Beca's mouth. When she's gotten a sufficient amount of the drink, CR puts it back on the bedside table. "Better?"

Beca nods carefully, but ends up flinching at the motion, nonetheless. She keeps her head turned on her pillow so she can meet the hazel eyes of her familiar friend. She knows what happened last night, in fact, it's coming back in excruciatingly vivid details, but Beca knows for a fact that Cynthia Rose was not at her house last night. "Did… did Macy c-call you?"

CR shakes her head, keeping her volume at a whisper. "No. Tara did. I got to your house when they were putting you in the ambulance."

"Tara…" Beca's eyebrows knit slightly, "Where's Tara?"

Knowing full well that if Beca finds out that Tara left Macy alone with her foster parents, she will completely freak out, CR offers her a small smile. She'll tell her later. "She's fine… how are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"It hurts to… breathe, a little." Beca closes her eyes and gulps, before returning her gaze to Cynthia Rose. "What happened?"

"He ruptured your spleen… you had a lot of internal bleeding, and a few cracked ribs."

Beca snorts, only to flinch from the pain afterward. "Great."

CR should be relieved that Beca is at least trying to joke around, but the worry from yesterday and this morning has quickly returned to CR's mind. "Bec, what the hell happened last night?"

The brunette grimaces slightly, rolling her cracked lips together to bring a little moisture back to them. "He saw… me and T… kissing. Then he just… snapped."

Well, that explains Macy's question. "I am so sorry, Bec."

If Beca could muster up enough energy to wave CR's sentiments off, she would. Instead, she turns her attention back to her sleeping sister. Even from her position sleeping against CR's chest, Beca can still see the slight frown on her face. "Is she okay? Was she hurt?"

Cynthia Rose shakes her head. "She's fine. She was scared, but she's okay. She has a small bruise on her cheek from trying to get Tyler to stop, but she wasn't hurt."

The small amount of color that's in Beca's face drains immediately. "He hit her?"

"Bec, she's fine. It's just a small bruise. It'll probably go away in a couple of days."

As Beca blinks back tears, Macy starts to stir on CR's lap. The older woman readjusts her slightly, starting to rub her back again, as Macy slowly wakes. She rests her head on CR's shoulder as her eyes open, meeting CR's kind smile. "Good morning."

Macy groans, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, slowly getting her bearings. "Is Bec…"

"I'm right here, munch."

Any ounce of drowsiness that had been inhibiting Macy's ability to function practically flies out the window as the eleven-year-old bolts straight up. She almost falls off of CR's lap, turning around to face her sister, and not being able to stop the tears from spilling onto her cheeks. She pushes herself off of CR's legs and takes Beca's hand in hers. "You're okay?"

Trying to control her own tears, Beca nods. "I'm okay, Mace. Come here."

Macy doesn't have to be told twice. She climbs up onto the mattress and sinks into Beca's embrace, Beca ignoring the pain that is shooting through her abdomen as she holds her sister close. Macy sobs into her shoulder, clinging on tighter as Beca begins to rub her back and bring her hands to her curls, both of them relishing each other's company.

CR stands from her chair, her limbs tingling from lack of use. Catching Beca's teary-eyed gaze from over Macy's head, she whispers, "I'm just going to run to the bathroom and freshen up."

Beca nods, giving her a small smile, before pressing a kiss into Macy's curls. "You're safe, Mace… you're okay."

Macy sniffles against her older sister. "I thought you were going to die."

Beca's breath catches in her throat, "I'm so sorry, Macy." Not being able to handle the pain any longer, Beca carefully shifts Macy to the side so she can kneel on the mattress beside her. Beca takes a delicate finger to the bruise on Macy's face, brushing the surface of it, as well as wiping off a few tears. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

Macy shakes her head, tears still streaming down her face. "No. I'm okay. I promise." She sniffles, taking in her sister's bruised skin. "You got hurt way worse than me."

Beca doesn't hesitate with her answer. "Good. You shouldn't have tried stopping him."

Her breath hitches in her throat, blinking away a few more tears. "Did he find out about you and Tara? Is that why he was angry?"

The question catches Beca off-guard. She should have known that Macy would want to know as much about what happened as possible; she's always been an inquisitive one. But, right now, Beca does not have the energy in her to explain the newfound homophobic aspect of their asshole foster father. She reaches her hand out to take her little sister's, her eyes being drawn to the IV stuck in the back of her hand. "It's complicated, Mace."

Macy brings her gaze back up to her sister, a few more tears rolling down her cheek. "CR told me what a dyke is."

Beca's stomach lurches. "Don't say that word, Macy. It's not nice." She sighs, realizing that – whether she has the energy or not – she's going to be explaining to Macy what happened. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Is that what happened? Did Tyler find out? Was he angry?" She's been trying to figure out a reason for what happened all night long, but she hasn't been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Beca gulps, her abdomen continuing to throb. "Tara and I were kissing, and Tyler walked in. Yes, he was angry."

"So, he hurt you that bad, just because you were kissing Tara?"

Beca gives her a tight-lipped smile, shaking her head at her little sister. "No, I don't think that was all of it. Tyler was never very happy that we were staying with them. I think this just put it over the top and he snapped."

Macy thinks back to what CR said about some people not liking when two girls are together. She still doesn't understand it, but if this is what's going to happen if she stays with Tara, Macy isn't so sure if it's safe. "Is that why you didn't want them to know that you and Tara are dating?"

"Um… I don't think so. Maybe a little bit, but I don't think I ever expected him to get that upset over something like me and T dating." Beca can see the confusion all over Macy's face. Apparently, she's never read about something like this happening in any of her books. "I don't want you to worry about it, okay munch? It's over, it happened, but we're out of there now, right?"

Macy gives her a small nod, falling silent once more.

"Alright, come here then and give me another hug." When Macy curls into Beca's side, laying her head gingerly on Beca's chest, the older Mitchell sister wraps her arm around Macy, planting a kiss on her head. "I love you, Mace, more than you'll ever know."

---

The morning after Tyler's attack goes by pretty quickly. Beca's doctor and her team of nurses come in to check her pain levels and her incision site. They all tell her how happy they are to see her up and talking, but Beca knows that Macy is the happiest of all. She hasn't left her side in hours and is currently sleeping in the bed next to her, continuing to use her chest as a pillow. But Beca isn't going to complain. Not even a little bit. After last night, she needs to have her sister in her arms.

"Thank you for staying with her. You have no idea how much it means to me." Beca quietly addresses Cynthia Rose, her friend sitting in the chair next to her bed, staring at whatever soap opera is on the TV in Beca's room.

CR turns to face her, "Absolutely. I'm just sorry it happened." She taps her fingers on her jeans a few times, "Can I ask you a question, though?"

Beca nods, her hand still running over Macy's hair, the girl's breathing even and steady. "Sure."

"Macy told the police officer that this wasn't the first time Tyler hit you. Is that true?" Beca sighs, averting her gaze, which is enough of an answer for the older woman. "Bec, why didn't you say something?"

The teen scoffs. "It's not something you talk about, CR." She learned a long time ago that that was something that you don't go around telling other people.

"But Bec, you could've told me. You know that, right?"

Beca shrugs. She does know that she could've told CR; she's one of the only people that Beca considers to be a close friend. "I know."

"Good. Don't let it happen again."

The brunette smirks, knowing that there is a very good possibility that it will, but lets the subject drop. "Can I ask you a question now?"

"Shoot."

Beca glances at her sister to make sure she's still sleeping, before looking up at CR. "I didn't want to ask when Macy was still awake… but where the hell is Tara? Is she in the hospital, too? Did Tyler hurt her?"

CR's face drops. That girl has been the last thing on her mind since Beca woke up.

Beca immediately notices CR's change in demeanor, starting to feel the panic rise in her chest. "What? What happened?"

"I'm like ninety-nine percent sure she's fine. She's the one that called me and told me to go to the Barry's house."

"I know, you already told me that. But where is she? My phone is still at the house, so I haven't been able to text her." She had tried her hardest to make sure Tyler didn't go after her, but she became a little preoccupied before being kicked into unconsciousness.

Cynthia Rose sighs. She really doesn't want to be the one to break this news to Beca, but also figures that the truth is going to come out eventually. "She left, Bec."

Beca furrows her eyebrows. "What? What do you mean she left?"

"The officer that we talked to yesterday said that she left the house before they got there. She had called 911 and she called me, but she left the house."

A mixture of shock and downright fury blossoms in the pit of Beca's stomach. "Are you serious?"

CR shrugs. "I don't know exactly what happened, but the only person that Macy was with when I got there, was the officer. She never came to the hospital, and no one else saw her."

Beca takes a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm so that she doesn't wake up Macy, but the anger is evident on her face. It would have been one thing if she and Tara were at the house alone. But Macy was there. Macy was there, in that room, trying to stop the rage of a fifty-plus-year old man, and Tara just left her there. "She left Macy? She left Macy in that house?"

"I don't know for sure, and I can be totally off –"

"It doesn't sound like you're off, CR." Beca shakes her head to herself. This is what she gets. This is what she gets for letting someone in that close. "I can't even believe it."

---

It's mid-afternoon by the time Meghan comes rushing into the hospital. Her heels clack against the floor as she follows the sign in the direction of where she's pretty sure Beca's room is.

She had gotten the phone call from the police station early that morning. The only problem, is that she was across the country at a conference and couldn't get a hold of her coworkers, all of them stretched as thin as she is. Then, as she was making her way back to Atlanta, she has been on the phone with as many emergency placements as possible, trying to find a viable option. She feels terrible, but the nurses at the hospital assured them that a 'family friend' was with them, and that they would keep an eye on the girls.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Beca Mitchell's room."

The nurse looks at her over the top of her computer. "Are you family?"

"I'm their social worker." Meghan flashes her badge, as the nurse points her towards a room down the hall. "Thank you."

She hears their laughter before she sees the girls, Macy's giggle being distinguishable from miles away. Meghan doesn't get to hear it very often, but when she does, it makes her heart soar. She knocks lightly on the door, before peeking her head in.

Upon seeing Meghan standing in the doorway, the smile just about drops off of Beca's face. She hasn't thought about her the entire time she's been awake – simply relishing in the fact that Macy is beside her, and she is safe. Now, seeing her standing there, Beca's false sense of reality comes crashing down.

"Beca, I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to get here." The social worker makes her way across the hospital room, trying not to notice the way Beca seems to pull Macy closer into her side, and Macy averts her gaze almost immediately. "How are you feeling?"

Beca rubs her hand up and down the side of her sister's arm, the younger girl's breathing already starting to quicken. "I'm fine. We're both fine."

Meghan gives the girl a stiff smile, knowing that she is not getting all of the truth. She turns and extends her hand in the direction of an older girl that Meghan has never seen before. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Meghan Griffin, the girls' social worker."

CR extends her hand, shaking it under Beca's annoyed gaze. She's heard plenty of stories about this woman – and none of them are good. "Cynthia Rose. I'm Beca's boss at Fig's Diner."

"Ah. Thank you for staying with them, I appreciate it."

CR isn't sure if that statement is meant to dismiss her or not, but she remains in her seat regardless. "Of course. Happy to do it."

When CR doesn't get up and leave, Meghan spins on her heel and faces Beca and Macy. She approaches the bed carefully. "I'm incredibly sorry that you had to go through all of…that, girls. But I don't want you to worry. You're safe now, and you never have to see Camille or Tyler again, okay?"

Macy stiffens at the names of her foster parents, all the while doing everything in her power to block her social worker out.

"Beca, I'm going to go find your doctor, alright?"

Beca gives her a short nod, feeling instant relief once she's out of the room. She presses another kiss into Macy's temple. The poor kid always shuts down whenever Meghan is around. "It's okay, munch. She's gone." She goes to press play on the video CR was showing them on her phone but stops when CR starts talking.

"It took her long enough to get here," CR mumbles under her breath, but everyone else in the room hears it.

Beca shrugs, "We once didn't see her for six months straight. She dropped us off, and then we didn't see her again until it was time to move."

"Sounds like she is awesome at her job."

Beca snorts, "Doesn't it? Come on, finish showing us the puppy."

It's a short reprieve, filled with forced laughter on Beca's part and silence from Macy, before Meghan comes back into her room. She lays her bag on the corner by the door and pulls a chair on the opposite side of the room over to the other side of Beca's bed.

As Cynthia Rose sits back in her own seat, Beca eyes Meghan suspiciously, not liking the look on her face. Her lips are drawn in a straight line, and she's avoiding Beca's gaze.

"The doctor said you were really lucky, Beca."

Beca tries to read her social worker's expression, not liking how quiet she's being. She's seen the woman act this way before, but she can't put a name to it. Beca holds Macy closer against her side. "Yeah, I know."

"He said you should be ready to go home in a little over a week."

Beca's jaw drops slightly. This cannot be happening right now. Meghan has been here for maybe ten minutes, and she's already going to be talking to them about their new placement? Is she going to make them meet foster parents while Beca is lying in a hospital bed, too? "Meghan…"

At her sister's voice, Macy looks up at Beca's face. She can see the slight fear in her expression, which automatically sends her anxiety soaring. "Bec?"

Meghan watches as Beca wordlessly reassures her sister, before the teen turns back to the social worker. Meghan's stomach is in knots. It has been since she found their next placement. Well, Macy's next placement.

"We need to talk about next steps for you girls. You clearly aren't going back to the Barry's, and I've been looking at some possible placements…"

Beca narrows her eyes in Meghan's direction. It's been a long twenty-four hours. Macy is exhausted, she's anxious, and Beca knows that neither one of them are in a proper state of mind to be thinking about moving to yet another foster home. It's stressful, and they could both do with a little less stress in their lives right now. "Meghan, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Meghan pauses – which Beca takes as another sign that something isn't right. She purses her lips, keeping her voice as calm and reassuring as possible. "No, we can't, because Macy has to go to her respite placement tonight."

Meghan had made the difficult decision about ten minutes ago, after speaking with Beca's doctors and discovering that she will be in the hospital for – at a minimum – a little over a week, with the possibility of longer if she gets an infection or her incision doesn't heal. Macy can't stay in the hospital with her sister. It's just not possible. And, if she lets her stay in the hospital with Beca for even one more night, it will become too challenging to transition her to a temporary foster home. It'll only be for the amount of time that Beca is in the hospital, then, they'll go to another placement – their eleventh – together.

Macy is the first one of the other girls in the room to move. Beca is staring daggers at Meghan, the reality of her statement dawning on her. CR is flicking her eyes between her friend and this woman that they clearly despise. Macy's head is bent at a sharp awkward angle, her eyes focused on the crinkles in the tape that's holding Beca's IV to her hand. It takes a moment for the words to register in her brain, but when they do, she slowly raises her head, and looks at Meghan for the first time since she's come back into the room. "What?"

"Macy… we're going to –"

"—Meghan, stop." Beca tries to cut her off, tears starting to swell in her eyes, but Meghan continues.

"Macy, we're going to go to a nice family about an hour away –"

"— Meghan."

"—and you're going to stay with them until Beca gets out of the hospital."

Beca's face becomes red with frustration, "Meghan! Enough!"

Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. Fear takes over every aspect of Macy's demeanor, her breathing starting to quicken, her pulse starting to race. She tries to focus on the social worker, managing to squeak out, for the second time, "What?"

Beca answers before her social worker has a chance to. Macy is too volatile for this. She's been through too much in the last day. She's not going to be able to survive this. Hell, Beca is almost positive that she wouldn't be able to survive this on a normal day. "Nothing, Mace, just focus on me, okay?"

Macy's chest starts rising and falling in rapid succession. Tears blur her vision as she pushes herself up out of her sister's grasp, which allows her to turn her head back and forth between Meghan and Beca. "What are you talking about? Beca, what is she saying?"

Beca struggles to push herself up further on her pillows, her abdomen screaming in protest, but at this point, she doesn't care. "Macy, I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay?"

"No! What is she talking about?!" Her hands start to shake, a full-on panic attack starting to settle in the young girl – her second one in less than a day. "Beca!"

"Hey, hey, come here." Despite the pain tearing through her body, Beca remains as calm as she possibly can. She uses her hands to pull Macy back into her chest, holding her as tightly as she can. "Breathe for me, Mace… you need to breathe."

As Beca skillfully calms her little sister down, Cynthia Rose watches in awe. She's seen Beca do it before, but it never gets any less impressive. That kid is Beca's whole world, and people can see that just by watching the way they interact. She hesitantly addresses the social worker, who seems to be waiting for the right moment to start talking again. "Um…Meghan?"

Meghan tears her eyes away from the Mitchell sisters. "Yes?"

"I know I'm not licensed… but if it's only going to be for a week, Macy can stay with me. It's not a big deal."

Meghan gives her a small smile, but she knows it won't be possible. "How old are you sweetheart?"

CR furrows her eyebrows at the condescension in her voice. "I'm twenty-four."

"Unfortunately, you have to be twenty-five in the state of Georgia to even be considered a viable option for fostering. Macy will be okay; she's going to be staying with a lovely family, she can talk with Beca on the phone… it'll be over before she knows it."

Beca wraps her arms tighter around her sister as her breathing still struggles to return to a normal rhythm. She glares at the social worker, CR knowing full well that this is not going to end well. "She's not going to a foster home without me, Meghan. You're out of your freaking mind."

They've been in foster care for almost seven years. They've been through hell together. Ten different homes, eight different schools. Bullies, foster siblings, foster parents, the death of their own parents, and through it all, Beca promised to protect her. She promised herself, she promised Macy, and she promised their mother and father that she wasn't going to let anything happen to the younger girl.

Allowing them to be separated – for no matter how long – is the epitome of letting something happen to her.

"Beca, Macy cannot stay here with you in the hospital. It is not safe, and it is not legal. You will be discharged in a week, and then I will come pick you up –"

"—Meghan, it's not happening. You're not taking her anywhere without me."

"And then I will come pick you up and bring you both to a new placement."

Beca shakes her head, not being able to control the hot tears that have started streaming down her face. This cannot be happening. Macy seems to cling onto her tighter. "No. You can't. I won't let you."

For once, there seems to be actual sympathy on Meghan's face, but she doesn't cave.

---

"Is she eating?" The question comes out as a whisper, just like most of the things that come out of Beca's mouth recently.

It's been four days since she's seen her sister. Four days since she's held her in her arms. Four days since she's run her fingers through her long, chestnut curls. Four days since Meghan – quite literally – dragged Macy kicking and screaming from her hospital room, and all Beca could do was sit there and sob because of her God damn incision!

Beca has never felt so empty in her entire life. Her sister is living an hour away from her. In a house. With a new family. Without her. This isn't how this was supposed to happen. At all. And yet, it did.

CR sits in the same chair she always does when she comes in to visit her younger friend. She has been a God-send since everything went to shit. Every day since Macy's been gone, she has driven the hour-long commute to sit with Macy and make sure that she's doing alright. She's made the trip four times, but every night when she comes back to report to Beca, the news gets worse and worse.

CR keeps her voice quiet, thinking back to a few hours ago when she saw the most broken girl sitting in front of her. Macy barely even looked at her. "I brought her some fries from work… she didn't touch them. Elizabeth said that she ate some soup last night, but she couldn't keep it down."

Beca lays her head against her pillow, feeling yet another wave of tears threatens to spill over. It happens more often than not lately. She just doesn't understand why Meghan won't let Macy come visit her. The social worker claims it's because she thinks it'll make it harder on Macy. But Beca knows her sister. If she could just see her, she would be able to calm her down. "Did she say anything?"

CR shakes her head. Macy hasn't talked at all the four times she's visited, or when she connects the two sisters via phone. Macy has her sister's cellphone, leaving Beca to rely on CR to have access to hers. Neither one of them has heard her voice in days. "No. I'm sorry, Bec."

Yesterday was Macy's twelfth birthday, and it just about killed Beca to not be there with her. She called Macy three times, twice from CR's cellphone and once from one she begged off a nurse. Although she answered, Macy stayed silent during all three of the 'conversations.' By the end of the third one, Beca was on the verge of tears.

She is the one that did this to her little sister.

If she hadn't been with Tara, if she hadn't kissed her, Tyler wouldn't have seen them.

If Tyler hadn't seen them, he wouldn't have gotten mad.

If Tyler hadn't gotten mad, Beca wouldn't be in the hospital.

If Beca wasn't in the hospital, she would be with Macy right now.

It's her fault, and if Macy doesn't bounce back from this, Beca's never going to be able to forgive herself.

"How did she look?"

CR sighs, wishing, more than anything, that she could take her friend's pain away. "Tired. I don't think she's been sleeping." She knows that Beca isn't sleeping either. She had major surgery five days ago and if that isn't enough, she knows that she's been up late worrying about her little sister. "I read with her a little bit today, like you asked, and she might have drifted off for a little bit, but I'm not sure."

Beca runs a hand over her hair in frustration. She feels so…helpless. "Thank you, CR… for everything. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"Hey, what are friends for, right?"

---

Beca glares at her television in frustration. She was supposed to be back with Macy a week ago. That's what the doctors told her originally. That she would only be there for a week. That's what Meghan told them, and that's the date that Beca knows her sister has been holding on to. It's the date that she's been holding on to.

Then, her body decided to say 'screw those plans' and her pancreas became inflamed (not that Beca really understands what the big deal is), which added on another week to her stay. Two weeks. Two weeks without her sister, and now she has no idea when she's going to see her again. Because of the reaction of her pancreas, the doctor is worried about infection, and is threatening to keep her until the three-week mark.

So, Beca is lying in bed, not moving, because she does not want to risk anything that could lengthen the amount of time she has to stay away from Macy.

But, it's pretty hard to stay still when you see the devil incarnate standing at your hospital room door.

"Get out."

Tara flinches backward at Beca's harsh words, half-expecting it and half-wishing that her expectations hadn't come to fruition. "I'm surprised you're still here."

"Tara, I'm serious. You need to leave." Beca tries to keep her voice void of any emotion, but she knows she's slipping up.

The only thoughts that she's had about Tara during this whole ordeal, are ones backed by anger. Much to her surprise – and the surprise of Cynthia Rose – she doesn't miss her girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend now. Not really. Beca knows she'll never be able to forgive Tara for what she did, leaving Macy there like that. Especially considering what Macy is going through now.

"Bec, I just want to talk."

Beca shakes her head, keeping the rest of her body still. "I don't want to talk. I have absolutely no interest in talking with you."

Tara takes another step into the room, lacking the normal confidence and bad-ass persona that Beca has grown so used to. "Listen, I know you're pissed…"

"Pissed?" The word comes out as a growl from the bottom of her throat. "Tara, you left my eleven-year-old sister in a room with a guy who was clearly violent while he was beating the shit out of me."

"Beca, I was terrified. He – he was hurting you and I didn't know what was going to happen. I got out of there so I could call the cops and I called CR and –" She's been feeling guilty ever since it happened. When Beca didn't immediately return to school, Tara knew that it ended badly, and had just assumed that she and Macy had been moved again. But, when Beca still wasn't responding to texts, she called the hospital and asked for an update. She was shocked to find out that it had been over two weeks and Beca is still in the hospital recovering.

The bruises on her face have finally begun to fade, and they're now turning a nice shade of yellow, but all Tara can see on Beca's face is the hatred that she has for her.

"You were terrified? How do you think Macy felt?! You could have very easily grabbed her when you went running!" Beca scoffs, "And what about after that, Tara? Did you just think that we were going to get out of the hospital, and all would go back to normal? After, what? Not coming to visit? No checking in?"

Okay, so maybe Beca is being a little unreasonable. She knows how scary the whole situation was – hell, she was passed out for half of it – but the fact of the matter, is that Macy is her entire world. Beca doesn't care about the fact that Tara didn't try and stop Tyler from attacking her, in fact, she's glad that Tara didn't try to step in. But what bothers her the most, is that she didn't even try to take the eleven-year-old with her. Macy, sweet, innocent, Macy, had to stay there and watch the entire thing. She had to watch Beca's unconscious body be lifted onto the gurney and wheeled out of the house. She had to watch Tyler be taken down by multiple police officers. She had to be physically restrained by another officer because she was trying so hard to get to Beca all the while trying to calm herself down. It wasn't until CR got there, that Macy was actually safe.

And that was Tara's fault.

She probably endured more trauma because of the fact that Tara had left her alone, and Beca hated her for it. She hated Tara for doing it, and she has found that she hates herself for even bringing Tara into Macy's life.

Tara's face pales. "I'm sorry, Beca, I wasn't thinking straight. No one was thinking straight. I did what I thought was right."

Beca just shakes her head, turning her head back in the direction of the television. "Well, that's where you went wrong, isn't it T?"

---

Beca can't stop her foot from bouncing up and down in the front seat of Meghan's car. She's waited so long for this. Three weeks. Three weeks of not being able to see her little sister. It's been the longest – and hardest – time of her entire life.

According to CR, Macy isn't doing well. She finally started eating, after a brief intervention from Meghan and some over-the-phone persuasion from Beca. But she still isn't talking, and CR has said that Elizabeth, Macy's foster mom, has told her that she's been having multiple panic attacks every day. All Beca wants to do is wrap her sister in her arms.

She's healed – for the most part. The bruises on her face have faded enough that she can cover the rest of the discoloration with makeup. The bruises on her abdomen are still very prominent, but it's not like anyone's going to be seeing her naked, so, that takes care of that problem. Her incision is healing normally, her pancreas has decreased to its normal size, and Beca managed to beat any potential for an infection resulting in her missing spleen.

What hasn't healed, is the anger that she still feels in the presence of her social worker. She hasn't said anything to her in the almost hour-long car ride. Beca doesn't have anything to say to her. The only thing that Meghan has going for her right now, is that she kept good on her promise and found them a placement – together – and it just so happens to be on the other side of the city, so Beca and Macy are still near CR.

CR. Their only saving grace through this entire ordeal.

She has gone to visit Macy every single day since Beca's been in the hospital. She stayed with Macy for dinner to make sure she ate something; she's read to her for over an hour at a time. She made sure that Macy knew that neither Beca nor CR had abandoned her. If Macy is able to recover from this, Beca knows she will owe it all to Cynthia Rose.

Meghan turns down a side street, the name on the green sign matching the same one CR had told Beca about following her first journey to Macy's foster home. Her heart pounds in her chest even faster. She just wants to see her sister. Just look at her and make sure that she can see, with her own eyes, that she's okay.

As soon as Meghan pulls up to the curb outside of a smaller house on the corner, Beca sees her. She sees her baby sister, sitting on the front steps with her knees pulled into her chest, waiting patiently to see the familiar minivan.

Beca doesn't wait for the car to stop. She unlocks the door on her own, ignoring Meghan's half-hearted protests as she practically jumps out of the car. The brunette runs a couple of steps forward across the lawn, before stopping abruptly. The thought of, maybe Macy doesn't even want to see her, crossing her mind.

But, just as Beca pauses, Macy pushes herself off of the steps, and covers the distance like her life depends on it. Her little legs move faster than Beca has ever seen them move before, until she launches herself into her older sister's arms. Beca lifts her easily from the ground, Macy wrapping her arms around her neck and her legs around Beca's waist. She burrows her face in Beca's curls, inhaling the scent of the hospital shampoo and allowing herself to sob into her sister's shoulder.

Beca holds on tightly to her trembling sister's body. She has never felt so relieved, never felt so grateful, to have Macy in her arms. It takes everything in her not to sob herself, Beca simply rocking Macy side to side, and holding her as she cries, until the most amazing sound reaches her ears.

Macy takes a breath just long enough to whisper to her sister, "I missed you so much."