A/N: Just a quick note to thank everyone for sticking with this story, even though we all know how it ends.

Despite their best efforts, the week passed far more quickly than either of them would have liked, and because Stacie's mother had returned from her conference late Sunday night, Stacie had been braving the long bus trip home every night instead of staying with Aubrey.

Aubrey wouldn't go so far as to say she resented Stacie's mother – the woman had given birth and raised Stacie, after all – but her arrival really put a damper on the plans she and Stacie had made for Aubrey's last week in Pennsylvania.

So the only thing they managed to accomplish in Stacie's list of things to do before they broke up until the following summer was to tour Philadelphia and other nearby towns, which they did over the course of the weekend, checking out the usual tourist traps while also taking detours to places that only locals were privy to, which were mostly vintage shops and diners that Stacie swore by.

And if Aubrey often caught herself thinking how much fun it would be to have Stacie along to all the other cities she usually ended up in for her job, well, that was something she was keeping to herself for now.

She knew Stacie wasn't too amused by the fact that Aubrey was avoiding a standing invitation to have dinner at her house, but for some reason the logical explanation (excuse) that Aubrey wasn't ready to face the woman who had given birth to the woman she was sleeping with didn't pass muster with Stacie.

Or had been sleeping with, because their last week together wasn't allowing for a lot of one-on-one time for Aubrey and Stacie.

On the bright side, Aubrey got to focus on finishing her review and finalizing all the important documentation.

She wasn't sure if it had been a blessing or a curse, but Aubrey still thought it sucked that she was stuck in a series of conference calls and meetings on Thursday, which prevented her from taking part in the office party bidding their summer interns goodbye.

At least one of those calls was with Finance, who were reporting major gains from a recommendation she'd made on a previous project, which made a promotion likely in the near future. And a bonus. She would happily accept the bonus without the promotion. Promotions, after all, just meant more work.

She was bent over her desk, looking for the files on her laptop for her next call, when there was a knock on her office door – she was really going to miss having an office with a door – and she looked up to find Stacie hovering by the doorway.

Oh. One day she was going to have to learn to look at Stacie without automatically smiling at the sight of her. "Party's over?"

"Back to work, as they say." Stacie nodded. She entered the room, closing the door behind her, and walked up to the desk, placing a single cupcake on top. "Stole one for you."

Aubrey smiled at her. "Thanks."

Stacie glanced at the pile of work still on Aubrey's desk. "I'm guessing you don't have time to socialize?"

"Client call in seven minutes." Aubrey admitted. She briefly contemplated taking a bite of the cupcake, but quickly remembered she still hadn't found her files for reference.

Stacie pursed her lips, and tilted her head to study the blonde. "I have a question for you."

Aubrey didn't look up from her computer. "Shoot."

"How much trouble will you get into if a former intern kisses you in this office?"

"You're still an intern until the end of the day, you know."

"How much trouble will you get into if a soon-to-be former intern kisses you in this office?"

"So much." Aubrey chuckled, letting out an exclamation of discovery when she found her files. She lifted her gaze, and smiled faintly at Stacie's. "Would probably be worth it, though."

"It'll be the most dangerous game of Seven Minutes in Heaven." Stacie noted.

"And I'm not sure I'll be able to stop at just kissing." Aubrey admitted. She turned to the printer, and waited for her documents.

Stacie made a face. "I know. If you're frustrated, imagine how I feel." She glanced down at Aubrey's desk and sighed wistfully. "And that looks like such a sturdy table, too."

Aubrey laughed. "Maybe one day one of us will have a job where we can have sex on a desk and neither of us can get in trouble."

"I look forward to that day." Stacie told her.

Neither of them addressed the matter of why they were making plans for the future.

Stacie tapped her fingers, and then took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the deal."

Aubrey glanced curiously at her.

"Sex is so much more fun with another person. And I refuse to have to do it by myself if I have the option of doing it with you. So I made a deal with my mom, I can spend the night, but I have to head home tomorrow and you're coming for dinner on Saturday."

There was a long beat in which Aubrey's brain refused to cooperate, the joy and relief (and, okay, lust) at the prospect of having some alone time with Stacie (and, fine, sleeping with Stacie again) immediately replaced with the unbridled panic of sitting down and sharing a meal with Stacie's mother. With Stacie, but the fact remained Stacie's mother would be there as well.

"I'm gonna take that stunned silence as a sign of agreement, and I'm gonna go, I'll see you at your place tonight." Stacie told her. "Turns out I get an allowance for this job, and it isn't much, but for the fun of it, let's say dinner's on me." And with that, she quickly left the room, leaving behind the same stunned silence that had greeted her announcement.

Aubrey stared after her.

And for the first time in a very long time, actually wished she still threw up as a nervous reflex, because that kind of release had to be better than the panic that she wasn't sure would ever abate.

And it didn't.

There was a brief reprieve, those too-few hours of dinner and more with Stacie, but then morning came, and there was work, and when she had time to breathe, she remembered that she was having dinner with Stacie and her mom, and then the panic would return.

It's not that she was terrified of Stacie's mom – anyone who raised a person as great as Stacie couldn't be all bad – or that she felt like anyone would be able to see through her thin veneer of confidence and success and find the insecure ball of nerves that was Aubrey Posen on any given day. Surprisingly, it wasn't even that her relationship history with Stacie was almost entirely based on their sexual chemistry.

Stacie frowned at her, the two of them sitting in the front seats of Aubrey's company car, where Stacie had joined Aubrey after twenty minutes of Aubrey sitting paralyzed in the vehicle after she'd parked in front of Stacie's home. "Look, if you're this stressed out about it, you don't have to—"

"What if I'm not good enough?"

Stacie almost laughed, because Aubrey was smart, hardworking, and cared about Stacie, which was all that mattered to her mom, but then she caught the look on Aubrey's face, and realized that the statement went far deeper than just meeting Stacie's mother. Because it wasn't what if she doesn't like me or what if I make a bad impression, it's not even a what if she thinks I'm not good enough for you, which at least tied in with Aubrey's insistence that Stacie was the impressive one between them; instead it's what if I'm not good enough and Stacie understood that this was a very real concern of Aubrey's, something far deeper that Stacie was yet to understand, and it was enough to keep Aubrey in the car.

"But you're amazing; Why wouldn't you be?" Stacie queried back because she wasn't prone to giving empty platitudes, and was actually curious on how Aubrey perceived herself, beyond the obvious disappointment for things she'd done in the past year, and her loathing for her corporate self.

Because Aubrey's job included removing people from their jobs; or putting employees through training programs that determined whether or not they were put on the promotion track, stayed in their current positions through the next screening period, or they got cut from the employee roster. And she got paid really well for it.

And that was just the job, she imagined the perception of her personal life over the past year couldn't be much better, despite the fact that Stacie still thought pretty well of her.

And Stacie understood all that: she just didn't understand how Aubrey couldn't be good enough.

Aubrey didn't answer, and asked instead, "what happened to your dad?"

Stacie frowned.

"I just… it occurred to me, just now, sitting here, that this is something I feel like I should know. Because that's, like, basic information."

"How did you know I got into Georgia Tech?" Stacie asked, instead of answering.

Aubrey was confused. "What does that…"

"Out of curiosity." Stacie added.

Aubrey paused, gazing at her, before sighing. "Small things. But one time, you were having a bad day, and you said something like at least Barden was paying for you to suffer through their classes, because Georgia Tech had just wanted you to suffer."

Stacie paused and frowned, because that sounded like a totally random complaint she aired early on in her academic career in Barden, back when she was just a pretty face in her freshman class and nobody took her seriously. If she had still been tossing around the fact that she'd been accepted at Georgia Tech in her complaining, that must have been very early on. And if she remembered correctly, she'd even doubted that her complaint had registered with her then-Bellas captain. Stacie turned to Aubrey. "Why would you remember that?"

"I had a friend who went to Georgia Tech – actually, he was my Bella captain's boyfriend – and that's how he described his classes. Everything, really. He suffered them. Laura suffered dating him. And we suffered Bella rehearsals." Aubrey explained. "It stood out. Anyway, I knew you were on scholarship, and I put two and two together."

There was a long moment of silence, where Stacie considered the fact that Aubrey had remembered such a random fact about her, and the fact that a mere week earlier, Aubrey had bared her soul to Stacie and shared more than she had probably been willing to. With that in mind, Stacie broke the silence between them. "My dad died when I was eight."

"Oh." Aubrey frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it's…" Stacie glanced in the direction of her house's front door, as if her mom would know she was talking about her dad, and turned back to Aubrey. "They divorced when I was young… younger, and I guess they were staying together for the sake of the kid, because they got along a whole lot better when they weren't married anymore. But he got a job out of state, and wasn't around much anymore, and then one day his new wife calls up and told us he was in an accident."

"That's…" Aubrey had no idea what the appropriate reaction was, beyond sympathy. Was she supposed to be mad at the then-new wife? Was she supposed to be mad at the man who left Stacie and her mom behind? It was clear from the way Stacie hardly talked about her dad that the man had been important to her, more than just being her father, and Aubrey felt bad that her prying had forced Stacie to talk about him. "Sorry."

Stacie exhaled. "So that's that story."

Silence followed, but the brief confessional had eased some of Aubrey's nerves, and made Stacie consider the fact that Aubrey, who didn't have to do anything she didn't want to do (at least in her personal life), was willing to sit and have dinner with Stacie and her mom, and had wanted to know something Stacie never talked about because she thought it was basic information.

Stacie cut a glance at the blonde, who was staring at some point beyond the windshield. "You're really leaving tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately."

"Can I come see you?"

"I think it would be better if you don't." Aubrey turned, giving her a wan smile. "I might be less likely to leave if you do."

"Fine." Stacie pouted. She paused, and thoughtfully tilted her head to the side. "What are you doing on Valentine's Day?"

Aubrey laughed lightly, and gave her a skeptical look. "That's not exactly a holiday, Stacie."

"It's close to Presidents' Day, and it should be."

"I don't know." Aubrey shrugged. "Work, probably. If I'm in the City I'll probably marathon a bunch of romantic comedies."

"Or you can be in Georgia and we'll have some other kind of marathon."

Aubrey laughed. "Are you implying we'll see each other twice in one year?"

"Yeah, I know, right? Such a commitment." Stacie said dryly.

"I don't know, Stacie, won't you get sick of me?" Aubrey asked, her tone joking but the very nature of her question anything but.

"Come on." Stacie cajoled. "We'll be off the high of winning Regionals so the girls will all be too lazy to practice, and if I'm gonna get laid on Valentine's Day, at least you'll get laid, too." She poked Aubrey's arm with her index finger. "You know you want to."

Aubrey was giving it serious thought. "Does it have to be in Georgia? Barden's like a black hole during the winter months."

"I have my own room in the house." Stacie pointed out. "Anywhere else and you're paying for the room."

"Oh, am I?" Aubrey laughed.

"Unless you're not opposed to sex in a car?"

Against all her better instincts, Aubrey glanced briefly at the backseat, but then remembered this was a company car.

Stacie burst out laughing. "What kind of monster have I turned you into."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. February. It'll probably be just for a weekend, though."

Stacie grinned at her. "Worth it."

"And if I'm shelling out for a room, you better bring your A-game." Aubrey warned.

Stacie gasped in mock-indignation. "Are you saying my game can be anything less?"

"I'm just saying, I better not be disappointed."

"Disapp—" Stacie stopped herself, and glowered at Aubrey. "Oh, I'm gonna get you for that. You're in trouble now, Posen."

Aubrey laughed. "Promises, promises."

"So it's a date? You and me?"

"I'm just curious why you want a date on Valentine's Day."

"Don't flatter yourself. It's a date for Presidents' Day." Stacie reminded cheekily.

"My mistake." Aubrey retorted.

"Ready to meet my mom now?"

Aubrey visibly paled, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "You don't think she heard any of that, do you?"

Stacie laughed, before leaning over to give her a quick kiss. "You're such a dork." She opened her car door, and then walked over to Aubrey's side of the car to pull her out. "Come on, dork. Meet the woman whose daughter you've been defiling."

Aubrey groaned, even as she took Stacie's offered hand and let the taller girl lead her out of the car and pull her towards her house. "Why would you even say that out loud."

Stacie gave her a pointed look. "Have you met me?"

Aubrey made a face at her.

"Also it's true, and you are, and let's face it, total bragging rights."

"Not to your mother." Aubrey reminded. "She doesn't need to know any of that."

"Aubrey, I'm making you meet my mom on her invitation." Stacie retorted back. "She kinda already knows."

Oh, there's that nervous reflex.

Stacie noticed Aubrey's body suddenly jerk, the hand in hers tightening its hold, and she stopped to look at her in concern. "Are you gonna puke?"

Aubrey shook her head – because she really had made the (great, extreme, Herculean) effort to get that reflex under control – but she still kept her mouth covered with her hand, and took a minute to compose herself.

Not that it was easy to keep it under control, because Stacie's mom, while standing shorter than either Stacie or even Aubrey, was still a formidable presence, and even if she was warm and friendly and welcoming, she still also had the discerning gaze of a woman who didn't suffer fools.

Stacie mercifully mediated between her mom and Aubrey, and was mostly successful in her efforts, but even Stacie Conrad couldn't prevent her mother from making her go to the kitchen to keep their plates and get dessert. Shooting a sympathetic look towards Aubrey, Stacie did as ordered and disappeared behind the kitchen door.

"Aubrey."

Here we go.

Aubrey bit her lip, trying to control the nervous tick that usually appeared as a crazed smile, and turned to face the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman who—

—se daughter she was defiling.

Damn it.

"Long distance relationships are hard work, as I'm sure you know."

Aubrey sighed inwardly, because she did not need to hear that lecture. She knew.

"Stacie, she's…" The former Mrs. Conrad glanced in the direction of the kitchen, and sighed fondly. "She shows great signs of maturity, but she's also, in so many ways, still very young."

Aubrey figured it probably wouldn't bode well for her to agree, considering she was sleeping with said "still very young" woman.

"That, and you travel a lot for work, which I'm sure keeps you busy."

Aubrey had no idea in what direction the conversation was happening now.

"She thinks she knows everything, but she really doesn't." Stacie's mother looked at Aubrey. "You're both in for a lot of ups and downs, and God knows she's stubborn enough to have picked someone as difficult as she can get."

What? "I don't—" Aubrey started, but had no idea how to continue.

Stacie's mother gave Aubrey a look she was very well-acquainted with, having received it at one point or another from pretty much everyone she was close to, that kind of fond exasperation of someone who can't believe there was someone in their life so incredibly clueless; except this time the look was distinctly similar to Stacie's. "She likes the chase, and she won't make it easy for either of you, but we both know there's no reason why some of your frequent flights can't stop over in Georgia."