A/N: Well, well, well, a Christmas fic from me. Who'da thunk?!

Chapter 1

Chloe blinked disbelievingly at her boyfriend, Tom, mouth slightly agape as she shook her head. They were standing outside their favorite coffee shop, hot chocolate in hand, surrounded by trees covered in twinkling lights and peppered with slow-falling snowflakes.

"Please... don't do this," she choked out, throat closing around the words. "It's a week before Christmas!"

"I know, Babe," Tom replied. "But better to break up now before the new year, don't you think? Give us both a fresh start!" He smiled smugly. "I'm staying here in New York for Christmas, so I'll tell my parents we won't be coming to Markham after all." Tom leaned in and kissed Chloe on the forehead. "It was fun while it lasted, ChloBear. I mean… I'll always remember how hot the sex was... but it was never going to last, not with my big dreams and plans." He grinned at her, then turned and walked away, leaving her standing there in the freezing cold, hand clenched around her to-go cup.

Chloe watched him go in a complete daze, then dropped her cup into a trash can and slowly trudged back to her apartment. She'd been dating Tom for three years and she suddenly got why he always seemed to change the subject when she asked him if they could move in together. She was sure now that he'd never really loved her; that it had never been the TRUE love she'd thought it was.

"Stupid… I'm so stupid," she muttered as she climbed the stairs to her third-floor home. She fumbled her keys in her trembling hand and dropped them, then burst into tears, pressing her forehead against her front door as the ache in her chest almost took her to her knees. "Sooo fucking stupid," she sobbed.

After a few moments of deep breathing, she managed to retrieve her keys and get herself inside. She pulled off her beanie, running her hand through her red hair, and then took off her coat to hang it on a peg by the door along with her scarf and purse. In the kitchen, there was a bottle of red wine, a gift from the owner of one of her patients, on the counter and she poured herself a large glass to gulp it back and then pour another.

Christmas was Chloe's absolute favorite holiday. For the last three years, she'd spent most holidays in Tom's hometown of Markham, Montana, because she didn't have any family of her own with whom to spend them, but she always made sure to decorate her own space for Christmas, even if Tom repeatedly told her it was a waste of time.

"Looks like I'm going to be spending this year alone," she murmured to herself as the tears came again, running her mascara down her cheeks. She sipped her wine this time and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until she found a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie and settling down to watch. She couldn't stop crying though and ended up drinking two whole bottles and eating two large bars of dark chocolate before falling asleep on the couch, more than a little drunk.

Xx

Luckily, Chloe's phone battery hadn't died overnight, and her alarm allowed her to make it to work on time, albeit with a pretty bad hangover.

"Morning," she said to the group of vet techs who were having their morning meeting, forcing a cheery tone even though she pretty much felt like dying.

"Morning, Doctor Beale," they replied.

They were all wearing Santa hats and it made her genuinely smile as she passed them and ducked into her office. She shucked her coat from over her scrubs and changed from winter boots into sneakers so she could start her day, but before she could even sit down at her desk, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, heart sinking as she realized it was Tom's mother calling. She decided to answer though and swallowed hard to remove the hoarseness from her throat.

"Hi, Kate," she said as she flopped into her chair. "Merry Christmas!"

"Oh my God, Chloe. I just spoke to Tom. I can't believe he broke up with you so close to Christmas."

Chloe swallowed again as tears welled in her light blue eyes. "Yeah… I'm… still trying to process it myself," she replied, wiping at them with her sleeve. "I… it was such a shock."

"He also told us that he's not coming for Christmas this year so… John and I talked. You're like family, Chloe, and we want you to still come to spend the holiday with us."

The vet didn't know what to say for a moment. Then she shook her head. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't think that's such a good idea, Kate," she said, rubbing her nose. "I'm not sure I'll be very good company."

"Are you kidding? It's a great idea! There's no way John and I are letting you spend Christmas alone. Now, you already have your plane ticket, so the decision has been made. We'll pick you up from the airport like we always do."

A small smile lifted Chloe's lips and she found herself nodding in relief. "Ok," she replied. "Thank you. I'll be there."

"You're family, Chloe, and we can't wait to see you. Bye!"

"Bye, Kate."

The redhead leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. At least this year, she wouldn't be spending her favorite holiday alone.

Xx

Other than the kid kicking the back of her seat and wailing for half of it, the flight to Montana wasn't that bad and, true to their word, Kate and John were waiting for her curbside when Chloe wheeled her case outside into the cold.

"Hey, Guys," she grinned as she received a hug from each of them. "I really appreciate your picking me up. I could have just gotten a cab."

"You're family," John reminded her. "We wanted to pick you up." He took her case and loaded it into the back of the car as Kate and Chloe got in to warm up.

"How are you doing, Honey?" the older woman asked sympathetically.

The redhead smiled in reply and shrugged a little. "As well as can be expected, I guess," she said. "Have… um… have you heard from Tom since we last talked?"

"No," Kate frowned. "I haven't. And I haven't told him you're here for Christmas either."

"Oh," Chloe said quietly, pulling her beanie off and stuffing her gloves into it. "I guess it's better that he doesn't know. It'd probably be awkward."

"Maybe," Kate agreed as John got into the car and slammed the door. "Now let's get you home and get a sandwich into you. You look as thin as a rail." John lifted an eyebrow at her. "Not you, Dear. Chloe, have you been eating?"

"Um… yes… I…"

But Kate had already moved on to a discussion about what they were going to have for dinner. Chloe just smiled and closed her eyes. It felt good to be there.

Xx

It was three days before Christmas, and Chloe had offered to finish decorating the family tree since Kate and John both had to work. She'd found the last couple of boxes of decorations in the attic, and she was humming a Christmas song as she ambled into the kitchen with them, but she suddenly froze as a loud crash made her jump and she realized the pot of stew that had been bubbling on the stove was missing.

Then she was moving again as pitiful whimpers sounded out from behind the island. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed as she rounded the counter. "Where did you come from?" She crouched next to a fluffy-coated Golden Retriever and realized it must have pulled the delicious smelling pot down off the burner. "Shit," she muttered as she checked the animal for burns, but luckily, she didn't find any. "I think you got lucky, Sweetie. You must have jumped out of the way, huh?"

Then Chloe jumped again as a new voice sounded out. "Dude! What the hell?!"

"Oh… um… hi. I take it this is your dog?" the redhead said as she looked up… only to be captured by dark blue eyes in a beautiful face.

"Shit, yeah," the woman said as she stepped over the mess on the floor and crouched next to the now happily panting dog. "Are you ok, Dude?" she asked, running her hands over the animal's snout and then looking at the rest of him.

"He's ok. I made sure," Chloe replied gently. "He was smart enough to stay out of the way as the pot fell."

"You're sure?" the woman asked worriedly, pushing her dark brown hair back from her face.

"I'm a vet," Chloe replied with a smile. "I'm sure. What's his name?"

"Oh, sorry," the woman replied a little sheepishly. "I'm Beca Mitchell, the niece, and this is Dude."

"Dude, huh?" Chloe chuckled. "That's cute. I'm Chloe, Tom's girlf…" She stopped and shook her head. "Ex-girlfriend and friend of the family."

Beca nodded. "When I rescued this guy as a puppy, I couldn't come up with a name that suited him so I kinda got into the habit of calling him Dude. It stuck."

The redhead nodded and then got to her feet, brushing Dude's fur off her clothes. "It's nice to meet you and Dude, Beca. You're John's brother's daughter, right?"

"Yeah," the brunette replied. She straightened too and Chloe noticed for the first time how petite she was. She was dressed in a t-shirt, skinny jeans and Converse sneakers… the opposite of Chloe's blouse, slacks and low heels. Beca also had several ear piercings that were kind of edgy and attractive at the same time, the redhead thought. The brunette gazed back at her for a long moment, then cleared her throat. "I should clean this up," she said. "And go to the store to replace the ingredients." She frowned unhappily. "You don't happen to know what the ingredients were, do you?"

Chloe looked around and quickly spotted a small box on the counter. "Kate keeps her recipe cards there. I'm pretty sure we can find what we need." She lifted the lid and thumbed through the cards, pausing as she scanned one, then took a picture of it with her phone. "Yeah, this is it. How about I go to the store with you?"

"You don't mind?" Beca asked from behind the island as she scooped up potatoes, vegetables and meat with paper towels and popped them into the trash can. "I'm not the best cook in the world."

"Of course not," Chloe beamed. "But I'm going to need some help with finishing the tree when we get back. You up for that?"

Beca offered a little grin and nodded as she finished cleaning up Dude's mess. "I think that can be arranged."

Xx

"He's always been a bit of a dick when it comes to women," Beca said as she parked her truck outside the grocery store. "Tom's kinda selfish."

Chloe didn't say anything for a long moment but found she couldn't exactly refute her new friend's words as she thought back on their three years together. "Mmmm."

"You'll probably find a number of women have some stories to tell around here," Beca went on, somewhat oblivious to her new friend's introspectiveness.

"I don't think I want to hear them," the redhead murmured, tears welling again. She wiped impatiently at them and shook her head. "Ugh, damn, I keep ruining my makeup."

"I'm sorry, Chloe," the brunette winced, kicking herself internally. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok," Chloe replied. She pushed the door of Beca's truck open and jumped out. "Not your fault. It's all just still a little raw."

They worked through finding the groceries with companionable chat and then headed back outside to put them in the back seat of the truck. It was freezing and Chloe pulled her coat closer around her body as a chilly wind raised goosebumps all over her.

"Want to visit the Christmas market, get some coffee?" Beca suddenly asked. "I think we have time before we have to get back to the tree?"

"Sure," the redhead smiled as they began their stroll. "So what brings you to Markham? Just visiting for the holidays?"

The brunette nodded as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "Dude and I are on a road trip. We live in Los Angeles normally. I work for a record label there."

"Wow, you're a long way from home," Chloe smiled.

"Yeah," Beca agreed. "But Kate and John wouldn't forgive me if I hadn't stopped by for Christmas on my way to Boise."

"What's in Boise?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Potatoes," Beca deadpanned, making her friend giggle softly. "No, I'm visiting an old friend from college. I was going to surprise her, same way I'm going to surprise Kate and John."

"Oh, they don't know you're here?" the redhead asked. "That's awesome. They're going to be so thrilled!"

"What about your family?" Beca asked then. "I was wondering why you'd come here when you and Tom are broken up."

Funnily, Chloe had wondered the same thing while lying in bed the night before her flight. "I don't actually have any family," she said softly. "I grew up in the foster system. I guess you could say the Mitchells adopted me, since I've spent every holiday here with Tom for the last three years."

"I see," The brunette nodded. "I…"

"BECA EFFIN' MITCHELL!"

Beca stiffened as she reluctantly accepted a woman into her arms for a very brief hug. "Hi, Stace."

"You look amazing," the taller woman added, holding the petite brunette at arm's length. "LA's been good to you, huh?"

"Can't complain," Beca shrugged. Then she suddenly remembered that Chloe was standing next to her. "Stacie, this is Chloe Beale. Chloe, Stacie Conrad, an old friend of mine."

Stacie laughed softly. "More than just an old friend," she winked. "Beca and I dated for a while. Good to meet you, Chloe."

"Good to meet you too," the redhead replied, then looked at her friend with raised eyebrows, immediately noting her discomfort.

Beca shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked on her heels a little. "Well, we should go. It was good to see you, Stace."

"You too, Beca," the taller woman replied. "Let me know if you're free some time for… drinks or…" She winked again and Beca blushed just a tad.

"Merry Christmas," the brunette said, then began walking again.

Chloe joined her, a smirk on her face. "The one that got away?" she teased lightly.

"The one I thankfully got away from," Beca replied with a little eye roll. "She's… intense."

"I could tell," Chloe grinned. "Since you couldn't get away from her fast enough."

"Shut up," the brunette chuckled. "Or I won't buy you any coffee."

The redhead's grin just widened, and she gently squeezed Beca's hand before letting it go again. "Oooh, you're so scary." The smaller woman bumped shoulders playfully with her and then held the door open for her as they entered the coffee shop and looked at the menu board. After a moment, Chloe looked at her friend to find her just staring at her with an incomprehensible look on her face that, for some reason, dusted the vet's cheeks with a blush and made her smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked softly

Beca looked down awkwardly. "Just…" She shrugged again. "Trying to figure out why my cousin broke up with you. He is truly an idiot."

The redhead giggled a little. "Beca Mitchell, are you flirting with me?"

But the brunette just shook her head with a smile. "No, Ma'am. I wouldn't dare."

Xx

"Oh my God! Beca!" Kate exclaimed in joy as the younger woman hugged her hard. "What a wonderful surprise! I'm so glad you're here!"

"It's so good to see you, Aunt Kate," the smaller woman replied. "How have you been?"

"Very well, Darling. I see you've met Chloe."

"We met over a minor dog incident," the vet chuckled. "Don't ask, it's all good."

"I didn't want to assume," Beca went on. "But I was hoping I could stay a few days?"

"Of course, My Darling!" the older Mitchell exclaimed. "Stay as long as you want. You can have Tom's room."

"Thanks, Aunt Kate. I appreciate it." She looked at Chloe then. "Guess we should be getting back? We've got stew to fix and a tree to decorate."

"Indeedy," the redhead replied. "See you later, Kate."

Beca guided Chloe out of the candle store Kate owned, with a hand on her back and as they walked back to the truck, the redhead found herself admiring the planes of the brunette's face. It wasn't the first time Chloe had found a woman attractive; she considered herself bisexual, but her heart was feeling fragile, so she just took a deep breath and looked away. She needed some time to heal, not a rebound roll in the hay.

"… hay roll."

Chloe blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Beca lifted an eyebrow. "I asked if you'd like to take a Christmas hayride?" She pointed at the flyer Chloe had missed the first time. "It's tomorrow tonight."

"Oh cool," the redhead nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like fun." She sipped on her coffee and waited for Beca to unlock the truck before hopping in and shivering as the brunette closed the door behind her. It was a short ride back to the house and it didn't take long for them to remake the stew and set it to cooking on the stove out of Dude's reach this time. The dog lay peacefully on the floor by the fire as Chloe got the rest of the decorations from their boxes and sent her friend up the stepladder to hang ornaments on the top of the tall tree.

"Suuuuure," Beca teased good-naturedly. "Make the short person climb the ladder."

"I'm barely two inches taller than you are," the redhead replied with a grin. "Quit your complaining."

"So mean," the brunette bantered back, making Chloe gasp in mock indignation and press a hand to her chest. Then she grabbed for Beca's hips as the brunette wobbled on the ladder, steadying her with a little giggle.

"Whoops, careful. I gotcha."

"Thanks," Beca breathed as her friend let go. "That could have been fatal."

"Couldn't let you fall, you promised me a hayride," Chloe softly replied. "Wouldn't want to miss that spiked eggnog."

"I know, right?! Ok, I think that's it." Beca made her way carefully back down the ladder. "Looks nice, huh?"

Chloe stood next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist companionably as they gazed up at the tree. "Looks awesome, Becs. Thank you."

The nickname spread warmth through the brunette's chest but she slowly extracted herself from the embrace, clutching the back of her neck awkwardly. "I'm… going to freshen up for dinner," she said. "Be back shortly."

"Ok," the vet replied with a smile. "Seeya." As Beca disappeared upstairs, Chloe watched her go with a big goofy grin on her face, then headed for the kitchen to check on the stew.

Xx

It was close to nine and the night was cold and crisp. Chloe settled her beanie and scarf tighter around her as she took a seat on a low hay bale in the back of a horse-drawn wagon and stretched out her legs. Beca settled next to her, holding two cups of eggnog and she handed one over as her friend made grabby hands at her.

"Thanks, I need the alcohol," Chloe chuckled. "Christmas decorating is hard work."

"You mean supervising while someone else does the decorating?" Beca teased back, thinking of the long day she'd spent up on the roof and on various ladders with her Uncle John, setting up his annual light display. To be fair, Chloe had kept them fed and watered with a constant flow of hams sandwiches and hot chocolate, as she called out gaps in the light strands and missing bulbs. The redhead slapped her playfully on the shoulder then beamed a grin at her as she took a sip of her eggnog. "You doing ok?" Beca asked then. "I know the last couple of days have been tough."

"Yeah," the redhead replied. "It's been challenging dealing with all the memories, but I'm actually ok." She paused then. "How about you? I'm… sensing that maybe there's more to this road trip of yours than you've mentioned?" She bit her lip anxiously, hoping she hadn't overstepped.

"You're pretty perceptive," the brunette nodded after a moment of indecision. "It's not a big deal… Just… I needed some time away from people."

"Mmmmm," Chloe nodded. "Did something happen?" She put her hand on Beca's, squeezing gently. "Beca, I know who you are and anything you say stays between us, ok?" Chloe had known all along that Beca Mitchell was a famous music producer, but she'd wanted the brunette to feel at ease in her hometown, so she hadn't brought it up until now. She waited for those gorgeous dark blue eyes to turn her way. "I promise I'm not going to spill your secrets."

The brunette nodded. "I've been in the business since I finished college," she said. "I love what I do, but sometimes I… I just need to get away from the camera flashes and expectations. It's been a long thirteen years." She sipped her own eggnog, then looked back at Chloe. "I'm just getting out of a relationship too," she added. "A bad one. One might even say abusive."

"Oh, Becs," Chloe breathed. "I'm so sorry."

The smaller woman shrugged. "I reached the end of my rope, packed some stuff and left a week ago. Didn't even leave a note. And my phone's been off ever since I told my boss I'd be out of pocket for a while." She chuckled softly then. "But you know what? I'm happier than I've been in a long, long time." She looked down and realized Chloe was still holding her hand. "And I'm really glad I met you."

"Me too," the redhead replied. "It's been nice to have someone to hang out with."

Their eyes met and held, and Chloe felt slightly breathless. But then their connection was broken when a family, with three small children and a tiny yappy dog, climbed into the wagon with them.

"Hi," Beca smiled as the kids looked at her with shy, brown eyes.

Chloe was busy playing with the dog, who was jumping all over her and licking her face. "We should have brought Dude," she said then. "He could have made a new friend."

"Yeah," the brunette chuckled as the owners recalled their pet and Chloe leaned against her, resting her head on her shoulder as they leaned back against the wall of the wagon. Then the horse moved, and the wagon jerked, sending the redhead practically into her friend's lap.

"I'm so sorry," she said, blushing furiously as she realized she'd inadvertently put her hand on the other woman's inner thigh to catch herself.

Beca grinned and leaned in closer to her. "If you want to feel me up, you just have to ask," she teased, making Chloe blush even harder.

"Beca, there are kids," the redhead admonished gently. "Let's keep it PG thirteen, ok?"

The smaller woman held up her hands in surrender. "You're right. I'm sorry."

They sat together then in companionable silence as the wagon trundled along the streets, lit with Christmas lights and festively decorated trees. A speaker was playing Christmas music and Chloe sang along absently as her twinkling blue eyes took in the sights around her. Then she looked down as fingers intertwined with her own and squeezed gently. "You ok?" she asked as Beca just looked at her.

"Yeah... just... thanks, Chlo, for listening earlier. My ex and I have a lot of mutual friends, so I didn't really have anyone to talk to who I thought would believe me."

"I didn't do anything," the redhead smiled. "Just lent an ear."

"You did more than you know," Beca replied, then looked away awkwardly, but she didn't pull her hand back and Chloe made no attempt to disconnect them. In fact, she may have even covered their joined hands with her free one... but only because they were both cold...

Right?