"Stacie. Drop the phone, we're starting." Chloe told Stacie as she passed the other girl on her way to the middle of their rehearsal space.

Stacie glanced at the screen on her phone one last time before she placed her phone in her bag and joining the rest of the Bellas where their chairs were gathered for rehearsals. She and her phone have been practically inseparable since Friday morning, when she had sent Aubrey her regrets that she wouldn't be able to leave Barden, even for a day, because the Bellas had to prepare two different backup performances for semifinals in the event one of their rivals used any of the songs in their pre-existing set, and Aubrey's response to the apology and explanation had been a blunt and succinct "K."

She knew it was unfair. She knew there was more to Aubrey's invitation than just revisiting the earlier nature of their relationship and hooking up in a hotel room out of state because Aubrey was in the region and Stacie didn't want to pass up an opportunity to spend a few hours with the other girl. She knew Aubrey wasn't pleased about Stacie being unavailable to travel, or the fact that the Bellas didn't have an arsenal of backup numbers readily available in case of an emergency, and Stacie was honestly a little ticked off about the fact that Aubrey wouldn't even confront her about it.

Stacie didn't know if reiterating to Aubrey the state of things with the Bellas' semifinals preparation as her reason for not traveling had been a major or minor factor in Aubrey's reticence to answer calls or messages, but ever since she told Aubrey she couldn't make the trip, Aubrey's text replies to Stacie's messages had been simple sentences that indicated very little as to how Aubrey may have felt about her plans for the weekend falling apart.

But Stacie had tried. She had attempted to help Beca to narrow down her shortlist of songs, she had offered to help Chloe simplify the choreography to their existing backup set and make it easier to master, she had even tried to bribe her fellow Bellas into extending their rehearsals to possibly offset weekend rehearsals, but had been denied. And she had tried to explain all of that to Aubrey through text messages, but Aubrey only responded to those with: "It's fine."

It wasn't, but Stacie didn't know how to fix it without flying to North Carolina and explaining everything in person, which was the very thing she couldn't do.

But Stacie's concern gave way to confusion when her inquiry as to how the beer and barbecue tour Aubrey had originally planned to go to went was answered with: "We didn't go. Drove north instead. How were rehearsals?"

"We"?

The only person Stacie knew who would be with Aubrey was the regional liaison who was shadowing Aubrey to meet the clients who had all grown accustomed to dealing with Aubrey. Aubrey had not previously indicated any kind of communication with the liaison, so to be taken into consideration in a response regarding her day?

Stacie barely held back the bitter jealousy that she wanted to unleash via text message questioning Aubrey about her choice of pronouns, because she didn't want to confront Aubrey when there was little to really confront her about.

And what was up north?

"Do we need to talk about this now?" Aubrey asked, and Stacie could practically imagine the annoyance all the way from Aubrey's end of the line.

"I want to know how your weekend's going." Stacie feigned nonchalance, hoping Aubrey wouldn't pick up on the fact that she was fishing for details. It was late on Saturday night, and the Bellas were staying in to finish their schoolwork in preparation for the full day of rehearsals they were scheduled to have the next day, and Stacie was just grateful Chloe wasn't in the room while she bore the brunt of Aubrey's annoyance during their phone call.

"My weekend that you couldn't take a couple of hours of to join me in?"

Okay, clearly Aubrey wasn't in the mood for some mild flirtation and coy queries. "Aubrey."

"Stacie. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd like to think I don't ask a lot from you. And I asked you for this one thing."

"And I told you why I couldn't go."

Aubrey exhaled, because they both knew that the part of her that was a Bella and had once been the captain of the Barden Bellas agreed with Stacie's reasons. "Fine. If you must know, my mom and grandparents live a few miles from Raleigh. I wasn't sure if I'd have time to really make the drive for the weekend, or if they could come down, so I didn't tell you. But I did, so I made the drive."

Stacie felt her heart drop at the admission, and every part of her wanted to go back in time and make sure she made the trip. Stacie had no idea her voice could be as faint as it was when she repeated, "Your mom?"

"And grandparents. And George."

Momentarily distracted from her remorse, Stacie allowed herself to be a little confused. "Who's George?"

"The dog."

Aubrey's dog, who she owned only by name and was under the care of her grandparents. Who Aubrey had wanted Stacie to meet. "If I'd known it was important…"

"Me asking you for something – anything – doesn't qualify as important?" Aubrey asked quietly.

"I didn't—" Stacie took a deep breath. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Aubrey replied. "How are rehearsals?"

"No, we need to talk about this. I really am sorry, Aubrey."

"You've said."

"Aubrey."

"What do you want me to say, Stacie? This mattered to me. I practically begged you to make the trip. I wanted to see you, and I wanted them to meet you, and…" the shaky breath Aubrey took reverberated through the line, and Stacie's eyes fluttered shut at the sound. "You have tickets to fly anywhere, and there are direct flights between Atlanta and Raleigh. I wasn't asking you to take a five-hour bus ride. I wasn't even asking you for the whole weekend. So I'm sorry if I'm not being very understanding right now."

"I didn't—"

"I have to go." Aubrey said suddenly, cutting her off.

Stacie opened her eyes, and glanced at the clock on her cellphone screen. "It's almost midnight."

"I know. Good night, Stacie."

Stacie sighed when Aubrey abruptly ended the call, and dropped her phone, uncaring of where it landed on her bed. She wasn't sure where she and Aubrey stood after that phone call, conflicted over the various factors of Aubrey having wanted her to meet her family, Aubrey obviously feeling bad with the belief that Stacie hadn't tried harder to make it to North Carolina, and her own feelings of being left out of so much of Aubrey's life, so much so that she hadn't even known Aubrey's mother and maternal grandparents lived in North Carolina or that her dog's name was George.

She didn't know why she hadn't known all those things, since she and Aubrey talked a lot, she knew Aubrey tried to visit her grandparents as often as possible and that her mother had relocated from Aubrey's childhood home to a town closer to her own parents, and she knew Aubrey made frequent visits to North Carolina, yet for some reason Stacie had never reconciled those things as being the same thing.

She knew she had blown it. Stacie wasn't stupid. Aubrey hadn't told her as much, but her disappointment and the way she had been reluctant to discuss their situation, not to mention the fact that Aubrey couldn't even stay on the line long enough to tell her she loved her, were all very telling.

And the worst part was that Stacie didn't know what to do.

She didn't know if she was supposed to call Aubrey, and risk having another stilted phone conversation or worse; or send a text message to test the waters and come off as being not quite so sincere if the best she could do was a text.

She couldn't talk to the Bellas because she didn't want to risk accidentally saying something that Aubrey may not be willing for the Bellas to learn about. She also didn't want her own feelings of slight resentment to come out; or for the part of her that loved Aubrey to come out and possibly imply that if they had a set of prepared numbers for emergency performances, they wouldn't be on the tight schedule they were now. If the Bellas were a little better at preparation and didn't rely so much on their natural talent, she could have gone to North Carolina for a few hours and have been the perfect girlfriend that Aubrey had obviously expected her to be.

She didn't know what to do or how to start apologizing, but she knew Aubrey, and she knew that the important thing was that she apologized.

Which was why she was surprised when she answered the doorbell on Monday afternoon before she had to go to her afternoon class and found Aubrey at the door. "Aubrey."

"Hi." Aubrey smiled weakly, and hesitantly held out a small bouquet of red and white flowers out to her. "I, um, wanted to give you these. In person. And say I'm sorry."

Stacie froze, holding the bouquet, and blinked blankly at her. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah, uh," Aubrey fidgeted, glancing behind her, and back at Stacie at the open doorway. "I was being overly sensitive. A little stupid. I hedged my bets and played it safe and it backfired. I shouldn't have been so cold. I was tired, and I was hurt, but that's no excuse for how I spoke to you on the phone. I'm sorry."

"Oh. Yeah." Stacie continued to stare at her in disbelief.

Aubrey took a deep breath. "Okay." She let it out slowly, and nodded. "I'm really sorry, Stacie. I wish I could change it, but—"

"I'm sorry." Stacie blurted out, cutting her off, which if she'd been thinking clearly probably wasn't the best idea, but she was internally panicking. "I wanted to go, Aubrey, I swear, but I couldn't. But I could have played hooky, I could have… I don't know, done something, anything, to have gone. But I didn't know, I didn't know, and I—" She stopped, and shook her head. "I would have done anything to have met your mom. And your grandparents. And your dog that isn't really yours." Stacie paled suddenly. "Do they hate me now? Do they think I'm a flake and some kind of vacuous girl who doesn't meet the family, because I-"

"I love you." Aubrey suddenly said, cutting off the rest of Stacie's panicked ramble, making Stacie once again stare at her in frozen silence. She lowered her gaze briefly before she looked back up at Stacie. "I didn't say it, the last time we talked, and it didn't feel right to just send it by text, or to call, because I wanted to see you, I wanted to look you in the eye and say it, and to tell you I'm sorry I didn't say it last time. It was petty, and it was mean, and I moved my meetings this afternoon to earlier this morning so I can come down to Barden, and tell you I love you."

Stacie figured she was well ahead of the curve for her class anyway and she'd done the readings, which was why she tossed the bouquet over in the direction of the stairs that overlooked their entryway, and grabbed Aubrey by her jacket to pull her close. She stopped short of their lips meeting to share, "I love you too," before closing the gap between them.

It was only after they had migrated from the entryway – making Aubrey send a silent apology to the Bellas who have come before for sins committed against the door, literally – to the living room when Aubrey finally wondered, "where's everyone?"

"Class." Stacie took hold of Aubrey's wrist to check her watch, and sighed. "And rehearsals in twenty minutes." She pecked Aubrey's lips as she asked, "Are you staying?"

"Can't. I have to be back for a full day of meetings tomorrow." Aubrey admitted, sitting up, and making Stacie move back to let her. She grabbed her shirt from the arm of the couch they were on and pulled it on. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

Stacie smiled. "I'm glad you are."

Aubrey paused her process of getting redressed to smile and give Stacie a quick kiss. "Me too."

"I'm sorry about North Carolina."

Aubrey smiled wryly. "Maybe next time."

"Should I just be glad that there's going to be a next time?"

That seemed to give Aubrey pause, and she frowned at Stacie. "Stacie, it's not like you wanted to leave me high and dry in meeting my family."

"You were angry."

"I was disappointed." Aubrey corrected. "I mean, yes, I admit, I veered towards anger for a few minutes, but it's not something worth losing you over."

Stacie smiled faintly. "Good. I'm glad." She shrugged, idly tangling the thin necklace around Aubrey's neck with her index finger. "I really wanted to meet George."

"Just George?" Aubrey teased with amusement, as she traced a line down Stacie's neck. "You do know he's the one that bites, right?"

Stacie chuckled, and leaned in to press another kiss on Aubrey's lips. "I can skip rehearsals."

Aubrey made a face. "I don't think that's the best thing to say to the girlfriend you couldn't ditch rehearsals to come and visit not two days ago."

Stacie smiled sheepishly, and nodded. "Walk me to the gym?"

Aubrey fixed her hair, sweeping it up into a messy bun on top of her head, and smiled at Stacie. "My cab's actually waiting, so… Okay."

"Seriously?"

"I kind of have to get to the airport soon." Aubrey admitted.

"So you're not sticking around to see how our set is going?"

"No." Aubrey shook her head.

"Why not?" Stacie pouted.

"Because on Friday night I want to watch your set and be your girlfriend cheering you on." Aubrey answered. "I don't want to be the Bellas' former captain analyzing changes you made and thinking about the songs you chose."

Stacie nodded, but couldn't help but note, "Beca said you could help with breakdowns."

Aubrey laughed softly, and shook her head. "Or I can watch you on Friday and focus on how talented my girlfriend is."

"Yeah?" Stacie asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I mean, sure, maybe she's talented, but how hot can this girlfriend of yours really be, anyway?"

Aubrey laughed. "Not really, but I love her anyway."

Stacie gasped in affront, pushing her away. "Take that back!"

"I mean, she's ridiculously smart, and really funny, but a bit of an eyesore." Aubrey continued as they both searched for their shoes.

"I put out! I just gave you orgasms!" Stacie protested.

"Good in bed, but good-looking? No."

Stacie pointed at her accusingly. "I'm never sleeping with you again."

"And so many useless threats." Aubrey added.

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I'm only sleeping with you because of the multiple orgasms, you know that, right?"

"I know." Aubrey replied flatly, picking up her bag from the foyer and leading Stacie outside. She had left her overnight bag in the car, but she wasn't about to leave her laptop bag unattended. She glanced at the car waiting for her on the curb, and turned back to Stacie, her expression losing her previous mirth to gaze seriously at the taller girl. "And you're very beautiful."

Stacie tilted her head slightly in question.

"I don't know if I tell you that enough." Aubrey said softly.

Stacie gazed at her, a little confused. "Why are you being weird?"

Aubrey frowned. "I'm not being weird."

"You wanted me to see you so I could meet your mom and grandparents? You ditch work to show up at my doorstep?" Stacie reminded. "We had sex where any of the Bellas could have walked in on us. And now there are spontaneous proclamations of love?" Stacie asked. "I took a total of two Psych classes because they're required, but I have watched a lot of TV, so I'm gonna ask, what's going on, Aubrey?"

Aubrey stared at her for a long moment, and then shook her head. "What are you… Nothing's going on."

"Are you sure?"

"Nothing more than usual." Aubrey assured her.

Stacie chuckled wryly as they walked to the waiting car. "What even is our usual, anymore?"

Aubrey gave her a weak smile. "I don't really know."

But of course Stacie couldn't help herself, and as the car moved closer to gym the Bellas used as their rehearsal space, she glanced at Aubrey. "Why did you say 'we'?"

Aubrey glanced at her questioningly. "Excuse me?"

"The other night, when I asked if you went to the beer tour, you said 'we' went up north. Who's 'we'?"

Aubrey furrowed her brow, confused, as she asked, "You mean Kathryn?"

"Kathryn?" Stacie echoed.

"Our liaison?" Aubrey reminded. "Her family lives in the same town as my grandparents."

"Oh. So you grew up together?"

"No." Aubrey shot her a look of utter confusion.

Stacie tapped her fingernails against the car door, and carefully regarded Aubrey. "Do you know her very well?"

Aubrey frowned, shrugging. "I've known her since Chicago. I guess we're friendly."

When she saw Aubrey frown, Stacie knew she had to start treading lightly, because the last thing she wanted was to ruin what they had spent the past hour fixing. Briefly looking out the window, Stacie bit back the rest of her questions, before she glanced back over at Aubrey. "Is she nice?"

"She's…" Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Forceful. Opinionated. She says they used to move around a lot, so she's always trying to prove herself, which hasn't always worked out. I won't say she's nice, but she can be if she really wanted to."

Stacie arched an eyebrow. "And was she nice to you?"

Aubrey scoffed. "I'm the key to making her job simpler and easier; of course she was nice to me."

"Do you like her?"

Aubrey exhaled, shrugging once more. "She and the rest of the regional liaisons are supposed to make my job easier, but so far clients haven't been so willing to no longer be in direct communication with Oversight for their concerns. The southeast has been the most reticent to the new system, and, I don't know, maybe it's because she's younger than our other liaisons – which is the same problem I had, and she's older than me – or they know she's a transplant." She glanced at Stacie, sighed, and admitted, "She's one bad deal away from losing this job, that's why they made me come up and reassure clients she really does have the full support of Oversight and Operations."

Stacie frowned. "That's terrible."

"I know." Aubrey agreed. "Now it feels like I'm responsible for her keeping her job, and…" she made a face. "It's one thing to have to fire an entire workforce when they're just numbers on a sheet; it's another thing when you have to work with someone and be part of the deciding factors on whether or not they get to keep their job."

Stacie realized at that moment that she really needed to start thinking these things through, because not only was Aubrey not just another person she was dating, a random hookup that lasted a little longer than expected; Aubrey had a life, and a job, and had expectations upon her that went beyond getting good grades or getting her next paycheck – companies relied on what she did, people and their jobs relied on her doing her job well.

And the only things she considered more important than all of that was to make sure she could look Stacie in the eye while she said her apology, and to tell her she loved her.

Stacie reached out, and squeezed Aubrey's hand. "I'll see you on Friday?"