Aubrey was back in New York by Monday morning. Stacie would have preferred Aubrey's resignation to be effective immediately, for Aubrey to spend more time in Georgia so they could figure out the extent of the damage effected by Stacie's reaction to Aubrey's resignation and Aubrey's response in return. Yes, they've talked it out, and kissed and made up, but Stacie wanted to make up for her initial reaction, and she couldn't do that if Aubrey was thousands of miles away.

Stacie wanted Aubrey around so she could help Aubrey with her mild but increasing trepidation over her impending unemployment, and would have preferred them to be together so they could figure out how it would affect their relationship. She wanted to be there and help Aubrey figure out what she would do next, what came after; to be there for Aubrey while she recovered from the loss of the job she had held onto for so long.

Stacie didn't know what would be next for Aubrey, but Stacie would have preferred it if she could find out first hand alongside Aubrey.

Because aside from Aubrey's professional life, Stacie also didn't know or could have predicted what was in store for her in terms of her relationship with Aubrey the moment Aubrey quit her job, but Aubrey being even more busy than usual and having even less time to travel to Georgia or any neighboring state were not part of any of Stacie's expectations.

But apparently Oversight was intent on maximizing the time left in which they still had Aubrey, even though they kept her in New York for the time being.

"But I miss you," Stacie playfully whined, on the phone with Aubrey, while she watched from her seat at the bleachers as her fellow Bellas warm up for rehearsals, their final one before they boarded a plane for New York for the ICCA finals.

"You'll be in New York in two days," Beca reminded from her seat two benches down from where Stacie was sitting, making Stacie lament the fact that she had nothing nearby that she could lob in Beca's direction.

"I'm seeing you soon," Aubrey assured her. "And would you believe I'm actually going to be in New York for the ICCAs?" She added a fake gasp at the end, exaggerating the surprise.

Stacie rolled her eyes, as if she wasn't amused, and remarked, "You're ridiculous."

"You're ridiculous," Beca retorted.

"Shut up, Beca." Stacie told her.

Beca glanced over her shoulder to look at Stacie. "Put a little more pitch in saying that and it'll be just like having Aubrey around."

Stacie glared at her, and told Aubrey over the phone, "Can you hang on? I'm just gonna go kill our captain."

"Won't that mess with your choreography?"

"We'll manage."

"And if you're talking about Beca, you won't hear any complaints from me, but you should know that I don't do conjugal visits." Aubrey warned.

Stacie groaned. "Kill my fun."

Beca snorted. "See? You don't even need to have Aubrey around." She yelped when Chloe, who was passing by, hit her with some rolled-up sheet music. "Ow!"

"Be nice." Chloe warned, taking a seat beside Beca to listen to the mix Beca was working on.

Beca pouted, rubbing her shoulder. "I am nice."

"So how's work?" Stacie asked Aubrey, knowing it was safe to ignore Beca now that Chloe was around. "Why do they keep pushing back your last day?"

"Because I don't have a replacement and I have to delegate my work to several different people." Aubrey replied.

"That sucks."

"It really does." Aubrey agreed. "And it's not like I'm actually getting anything done, meantime."

Stacie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm stuck here when I could be working on any of my other projects," Aubrey replied dryly. "And as for this job, it's amazing how much work you can't get done when nobody wants to talk to you."

"Are they being mean to you?" Stacie asked.

"They think I'm meaninglessly quitting my job," Aubrey confided. "And I haven't come up with a good answer for my exit interview."

Stacie furrowed her brow. "Just one?"

"What?"

"You said you haven't come up with a good answer," Stacie pointed out. "Singular. What question don't you have an answer for?"

"My future plans," Aubrey explained. "Like, both in the immediate future and long-term. It's like the company's way of washing their hands off you, once you leave."

"I thought you did have plans," Stacie reminded.

"Yeah, but none of those are really long-term, and if I can't give them a good long-term response, they could send me endless amounts of email for trainings and seminars I should look into during my unemployment."

"So?"

"So it's sad and pathetic when you used to be one of the people approving the list of names who'll get those emails and then start getting them yourself." Aubrey replied.

"So come up with a plan."

"I'm trying, but until something incredible happens, freelance consulting doesn't count."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Then change your email address."

This time, Aubrey's gasp of indignation was real. "I've had the same email forever."

"Babe, you're weird." Stacie told her. "And boring. Remind me why I date you?"

"I can buy you alcohol." Aubrey deadpanned. "And I didn't want anything too embarrassing for my email address. Those things are like tattoos."

"Email addresses are free and you're still weird." Stacie returned. "And does that mean you won't find it hot if I get a tattoo?"

There was a pause, and then Aubrey asked weakly, "Like where?"

Stacie's smile grew, because she honestly loved how easy it was to get Aubrey. "Probably somewhere only you'll get to look at."

There was an audible whimper, and a scolding, "You're evil."

"You love me."

"I have to get back to work now," Aubrey grumbled. "See you on Friday."

"Tell me you love me." Stacie pouted.

"I love you."

"And we get there on Wednesday," Stacie reminded.

"And I don't get time off work until Friday," Aubrey returned. "Besides, you need to concentrate on the ICCAs."

Stacie scoffed. "Unless one of us vomits all over the front row, we have this in the bag."

"I don't love you that much."

"Yes you do."

Yeah, she did. "Then save your energy for the celebration."

Stacie perked up. "Victory sex?"

Aubrey laughed. "You're ridiculous. But I have a conference call now, so I'll see you soon."

"I need a yes or no on that victory sex, Posen." Stacie pressed.

"You're awful. I love you. And I really have to go."

"You owe me victory sex, Aubrey!" Stacie said loudly, just in case Aubrey was already ending the call. She ignored the curious looks her friends threw in her direction. And then, a little more softly, she added, "I love you too."

"I'll call you later." Aubrey said, clearly amused, as she ended the call.

Stacie dropped her phone into her bag, and looked up at her fellow Bellas, who were all still looking at her. "What? She has an apartment, it's not like we're going to have sex in our hotel room." To budget their funds, they had agreed to only get three rooms – since the maximum number of people the hotel allowed to share a room were four – which meant no matter how the arrangements turned out, Stacie would still have to share a room.

There was a moment's pause, before Fat Amy called out, "Not it!" and quickly followed by her fellow Bellas, sans Stacie, with Beca going last.

Beca frowned at Chloe beside her, who hadn't alerted her to what was happening, before muttering to her friends, "You all suck."

Stacie, who had started making her way down the bleachers to start rehearsals, smiled brightly at Beca, and teased, "We'll try to keep quiet, but I can't make any promises; We all know how much Aubrey likes to yell."

Chloe laughed, but Beca only scowled at them. "I hate you both."

Stacie liked to tease, but she had already resolved to avoid having to resort to using the shared hotel room for any private moments with Aubrey; she didn't know what Aubrey's plans were once she was officially unemployed, but she knew for certain that trips to see each other would be greatly diminished – unless Aubrey pulled a Hail Mary miracle – and Stacie wanted to maximize their time together when they had it.

And by maximizing their time together, she definitely meant avoiding any interruptions from the Bellas. Sure, they've been impressively good at not interrupting, but Stacie wasn't risking it, and Beca had already nearly walked in on them once too often.

Besides, Stacie really didn't want Aubrey around Chloe once Denise dropped the bombshell that Aubrey had gotten her a job, and had already agreed to start as soon as her graduation documents were cleared and submitted to the company, consequently negating Chloe's plans for a major tour with the current set of Bellas.

And while Aubrey had insisted that she couldn't get away from work to see the Bellas before the finals, that didn't mean Stacie was willing to wait.

The good-looking guy who answered the door to Aubrey's apartment gave her pause, especially considering he was only wearing a towel. "Um. Hi?"

He looked at her blankly. "Yeah?"

Stacie glanced at the apartment label, confirming it was the right one, before she ventured, "Is Aubrey home?"

He frowned for a bit, trying to figure out a reason for her presence, before understanding set in and his expression cleared. "Oh! You must be the girlfriend! Yeah, hey, come in."

Stacie obediently did just that, but was careful to give him a wide berth. "So is Aubrey…?"

"She and Marti went to pick up dinner." He reported. "She didn't say you were coming over, though."

Stacie quirked an eyebrow. "So you just answer your door like that all the time?"

He laughed. "The only people that Guy lets up without buzzing first are Marti and Dan, and they've both seen me naked."

Stacie frowned. She knew Guy was the doorman of Aubrey's apartment building, Aubrey had introduced him to Stacie when she had first come to visit, but she didn't know what to make of this guy's assertion that people who dropped by the apartment were familiar with his current state of undress. Especially since Aubrey said her roommate was super monogamous with his childhood sweetheart, and Dan didn't particularly ping as gay.

"Me and Dan go to the same gym," he explained, as if reading her mind. "Before he went boho. Anyway, uh, make yourself comfortable, I'm just gonna go put clothes on before this gets more awkward."

"Too late." Stacie's brow wrinkled, and she queried: "People don't come here?"

"We try to avoid it?" He shrugged. "You're the only one who's ever come over with a standing invite, if that helps."

"Just a little."

"I really got to go change now."

"I didn't see you last time I was here." Stacie couldn't help but note. She hadn't been bothered by his absence when she had visited, but she had also wondered on the reasons for it.

He paused in his retreat, and turned back to her. "Aubrey kinda made a big deal about you coming over, and negotiated to make myself scarce."

"It's your apartment."

"And she doesn't ask me for anything, so I figured I owed her." He shrugged, as if to expound on his answer, but he was interrupted by the front door opening, and Aubrey entered with a brown-haired girl in tow.

There was a definite pause as the two new people took in the scene before them – a very attractive girl talking to a half-naked guy, both of whom were dating the newcomers – and it was the brown-haired girl who broke the silence.

"You really need to stop answering your door in a towel," she told him in exasperation.

"You're here!" Aubrey exclaimed, either ignoring or oblivious to her roommate only wearing a towel, and set aside the takeaway food she was carrying to make her way toward Stacie.

"I'm here!" Stacie agreed happily. "And now you are!"

Aubrey shot her a confused look, making Stacie explain, "You said you were heading home, so I figured the time between that text and you getting home. But you weren't here."

"We went to get dinner," Aubrey explained.

"I noticed," Stacie nodded. "I have to leave early tomorrow, though, the Bellas have the stage first thing."

"Dress?"

"And tech."

Aubrey nodded thoughtfully, before she once more cracked a grin and noted, "I can't believe you're here."

"I couldn't wait to see you," Stacie said honestly.

Aubrey couldn't help the goofy grin she was giving Stacie, but she wondered aloud, "Won't the Bellas miss you? Aren't you meeting sponsors tonight, or something?"

"They'll manage," Stacie shrugged. "Sponsors only ever want to talk to Chloe and Beca, anyway."

"Their loss." Aubrey declared. She angled Stacie to face the other people in the room. "Babe, this is Marti, Special Ed teacher and in the running for Most Patient Woman Alive. Marti, this is Stacie, one of your competition for the title."

"Nice to meet you, Stacie. And please feel free to ignore how inept my significant other is."

Stacie smiled, and winked at Aubrey. "I'm used to inept."

"That's not flattering," Aubrey told her.

"I love you." Stacie said quickly, giving Aubrey a bright smile.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but turned to give Stacie a quick kiss, which Stacie didn't hesitate to deepen, cupping her cheek and pulling Aubrey closer.

"You're aware there are other people in the room," Aubrey's roommate pointed out.

Aubrey broke the kiss with Stacie to glance over and frown at him. "Why are you still not dressed?"

"You were making intros, I didn't know I could leave." He said defensively.

Aubrey turned back to Stacie, and indicated her roommate with a tilt of her head. "And that's Wes."

Stacie had to grin. "Ah. Strange naked guy has a name."

Marti glanced over at her boyfriend. "She's tagged you as Strange Naked Guy. You should get dressed."

He didn't hesitate to follow the instruction, disappearing behind one of the doors and leaving the three women alone.

Marti turned to face Aubrey and Stacie, took one look at them, and declared, "You know what? I think we're gonna leave you guys alone."

"You don't have to do that," Stacie said.

"We can make fun of him," Aubrey agreed. "You don't have to leave."

"I'm going to give him a hard time about making Stacie uncomfortable, it'll be awkward," Marti told them.

"Oh, psh, I'm fine," Stacie dismissed her concern with a wave of her hand. "I've seen a lot of naked people."

"Stacie wouldn't hold back, she'll tell you if she's uncomfortable. Like she said-" Aubrey began before she paused, and turned to frown at Stacie.

Stacie seemed to catch on that she'd just disclosed something not necessarily good, and she smiled weakly at Aubrey. "I love you?"

Aubrey sent her a wry look.

"You guys are cute. But I want to give him a hard time, and can't really do that if I'm going to watch the two of you be cute." Marti admitted. She glanced at her watch, and then at the food she was taking out of the paper bags she and Aubrey had brought in. She pursed her lips.

"You want to take everything?" Aubrey asked.

Stacie tugged on her sleeve.

Aubrey glanced at her, knowing exactly why Stacie was trying to get her attention. "I will cook you dinner."

Stacie grinned, appeased. "I love you."

Marti laughed, and shook her head. "We'll pick something up. You two enjoy."

"What are we picking up?" Wes asked, returning to the group.

"Our dinner."

He glanced at the table full of takeout, confused.

"You've made Stacie uncomfortable, they get the food."

"Oh." He frowned. "Sorry?"

"You should be." Marti smiled at Aubrey and Stacie. "Have a good night, you two."

"We're leaving?" He asked blankly.

"Have fun." Marti told the other women as she steered herself and her boyfriend towards the door. "Use protection."

"We will." Stacie assured her. "And you too. It was nice to meet you, Marti. 'Bye, Strange Naked Guy."

Wes still looked confused even as he and Marti disappeared behind the closed front door.

Stacie waited for a beat after the door closed behind them before she turned to Aubrey. "They're cute."

"We're cuter."

"Oh, definitely." Stacie agreed, wrapping her arms around Aubrey's neck. "But he seems a little without; what could you possibly be working on with him?"

"He invests and develops software and applications." Aubrey told her. She gave Stacie a look of bemusement. "And you're one to talk about people turning out to be more than they appear."

"But I'm special," Stacie pouted stubbornly.

Aubrey smiled, pressing a series of kisses on Stacie's lips until she stopped pouting. "I love you. And I love that you're here."

"Even if I'm ditching Bella duty?"

"Oh, I'm not happy about that," Aubrey shook her head. "But if they let you skip, how can I argue?"

"And there are nine other Bellas." Stacie added.

"Don't push it."

"Okay," Stacie quickly acquiesced. She smiled at Aubrey, and waggled her eyebrows. "So how opposed are you to letting the food get cold?"

Aubrey grinned, which was all the response Stacie really needed.