It's Comin' on Christmas
A/N – Here it is, last chapter. Thanks so much for sticking around and reading. And to you all that took the time to review, you're the best! I forgot the usual disclaimer, that I don't own anything you recognize. Also, the new character that turns up and the conversation comes from a movie called "Into Temptation" with Kristen Chenoweth. Thanks again!
Chapter 4
Chloe shuffled into her own apartment, her mood low even though it was Christmas Eve. Aubrey had finally told her that she had to get ready for her trip and so the redhead had reluctantly slipped from the blonde's spacious apartment. Aubrey had tears in her eyes when she hugged Chloe tightly, which made the other woman even more reluctant to leave.
For some reason, Chloe couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. She was missing something, she was sure of it.
Her shoulders were slumped as she stepped up to the mailbox in her building. She gathered the pile of letters from her box as she continued on to her apartment door, barely registering the titles and cards in her hand.
Until she spotted an envelope from the airline company. With a quirked brow, Chloe ripped into the envelope. Her eyes widened and her breath caught at the sight of one first class airline ticket home to Florida for Christmas. It departed in a few hours so she could just make it if she rushed.
There was also a note included and she quickly ripped it open.
"Chloe, you've made me happier than I have been in years. I'm so thankful I got to see you again. Please, don't ever think lightly of how happy you've made me these last few days. It has made our parting all the harder. You're everything that is good in this world Chloe Beale, don't ever change. Love always, Aubrey Posen."
The redhead frowned as she read the message. It read too much like a goodbye for Chloe to be comfortable with it.
Her phone chirping finally pulled her from her thoughts. She fished the phone from her bag and when she saw Jim's face flashing on the caller ID, she quickly swiped and answered the call, curious as to why the man who ran the shelter she volunteered at would be calling her on Christmas Eve.
"Chloe, it's Jim, you'll never believe it!"
"What?" Chloe returned in confusion. "What's going on Jim? Won't believe what?"
"An anonymous donor!" The man exclaimed. "Someone just gave us $750,000. Do you have any idea how many people we can help with that money?"
Jim continued to chatter excitedly but Chloe felt a sinking feeling her gut. Aubrey was supposed to receive $750,000 in her divorce settlement. It couldn't be just a coincidence that the shelter was receiving exactly that amount. The blonde's cryptic statements suddenly took on a whole new meaning.
She thought back over all their conversations and the nagging feeling that she had been missing something suddenly clicked into place. Chloe staggered and reached to brace herself against the counter in her kitchen as she quickly put the puzzle pieces together in her mind. She released a strangled cry and clasped a hand over her mouth.
"Oh God, no. No, no, no."
Chloe turned on her heel and immediately rushed from her apartment to the only spot she could think of. The bridge Aubrey had told her she loved so dearly.
xxxx
Aubrey sighed deeply from her spot on the bridge. She leaned forward against the stone ledge and turned her gaze toward the water below her. The water was reflecting back the soft glow of the moon and the streetlights from above. It was eerily calm, especially for what she was there for. It seemed almost anticlimactic, to have such a calm and peaceful ending to a life that had been filled with so much unwanted stress and tension.
Aubrey blinked rapidly against the tears she felt stinging her eyes. Not for the first time, she couldn't help but wonder what Chloe would think when she realized the truth. Aubrey felt her heart clench painfully at the thought of hurting the redhead. And she knew her death would in fact hurt Chloe. As much as Aubrey might try to convince herself that the redhead only thought she loved her, the blonde knew it was much more than that. For some reason, Chloe had chosen her.
Chloe had once again waltzed into her life and tried to force the blonde into thinking that she should expect to be treated with love and kindness. Only Chloe had ever made her question the lack of such love and kindness in her life.
She clenched her jaw, a frown furrowing her brow. She had been perfectly content to come to the end of her days until Chloe had turned up. The redhead had completely disrupted her plans.
"Hey…can you spare a buck?"
Aubrey snapped her gaze away from the peaceful water below her to the voice sounding behind her. A man stood, eyeing her with a lopsided grin. He was clearly homeless from his mismatched outfit and dirty appearance.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Aubrey replied.
"I said, can you spare a buck?" He returned, taking a step closer.
"You need a buck." Aubrey mumbled, almost incredulously.
"If you can spare it." The man replied, the crooked grin still plastered firmly on his face.
Aubrey quickly patted her pockets and frowned. She didn't even have her purse with her. She hadn't planned on crossing paths with anyone. "Shit…I'm sorry, I gave it all away." She muttered sadly.
"You did?" The man replied, still with his crooked grin in place. "That's ok."
Aubrey met the man's gaze with a sorrowful frown. Once again she had proven to be ineffective at comforting her fellow man. The man shivered once as he turned away from her to continue on his way.
"Wait!"
The man turned and eyed her expectantly. Aubrey stepped closer to him with a watery smile. "Here, take this. Maybe it'll help you keep warm."
She pulled the green scarf from around her neck and with a tender smile, closed the distance between the two of them and looped the material around his neck. "Merry Christmas."
The man's face split into a wide grin and he clutched the ends of the scarf in his hands. "Hey, thanks! You're a nice lady. Merry Christmas!"
Aubrey once again blinked away tears as the simple man wandered away, still clutching the ends of her green scarf in his hands. She turned and stepped back to the ledge to gaze over the stone railing into the water below her. A smile pulled at her lips at the thought of the homeless man she had just encountered. He seemed perfectly happy and she hadn't been able to give him a single dollar. But she had connected with him just the same.
She sighed as she once again leaned against the railing and gazed down at the water below her. Chloe once again popped into her mind. The redhead's smiling face was all she could see.
"What am I doing?" Aubrey whispered, the smile slipping from her face. "I'm wasting my time."
She cast one final glance heavenward as a soft smile again tugged at her lips. She finally felt at peace with her decision. She was ready to move on.
xxxx
Chloe frantically raced toward the bridge, ignoring the looks from the people she passed. Having only been to that park the one time with Aubrey, she was having trouble remembering exactly how to get to the bridge. Chloe came to a stop once she reached the park and prayed for some sight of the blonde. She saw a man shuffling down the sidewalk and ran toward him. When she approached, he smiled.
"Hi there, can you spare a buck?"
"Have you seen this woman?" Chloe cried, quickly flashing a picture of Aubrey on her phone.
The homeless man smiled widely and nodded. "Sure have. She gave me this scarf! Nice lady, pretty too."
"Oh God, where?" Chloe exclaimed. "How long ago?"
"She's just up on the bridge." He replied pointing over his shoulder. "I asked her for a buck but she said she'd given all her money away and so she gave me this scarf instead."
Chloe barely heard the man as she sprinted past him, desperate to reach the blonde. "Thank you!"
She ran until she broke through the trees and came to a stop on the very bridge she was looking for. It was empty. "No!" Chloe wailed, rushing to the bridge railing. "Aubrey!"
The redhead hoisted herself up onto the stone railing and gazed down into the murky water, half expecting to see Aubrey floating face down. She couldn't see anything other than the soft light of the moon and street lights reflecting back.
Chloe leaned further out over the ledge trying to get a view of the area under the bridge itself. She squinted and braced herself on one arm as she dangled over the side. She strained to lean just a bit further but when the leg bracing her kicked out from underneath her on the slick stone, Chloe's arm buckled under the sudden weight and her eyes widened as she tipped forward.
She barely had time to cry out before two arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back onto solid ground.
"Jesus Christ Chloe, you could have died! What the hell were you thinking? Are you ok?"
Chloe was trembling as Aubrey grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to steady the shorter woman. The redhead blinked rapidly as she tried to gain her bearings and finally gazed up at the worried blonde.
"Aubrey?" She muttered. "I thought…I thought you'd…you're ok!"
Chloe launched herself at Aubrey then, wrapping her in a bone crushing hug. Aubrey squeezed her back as tightly as she could manage and breathed a sigh of relief, the tension finally draining from her body since hearing Chloe desperately yelling her name and then seeing the shorter woman dangling from the side of the bridge.
"Chloe what are you doing out here?"
The redhead pulled back but didn't release the other woman, afraid to let her out of her arms. "I was looking for you! I thought you were going to jump, that you were going to kill yourself. God, Aubrey, why are you here? What is going on? Please tell me I was wrong, that you weren't actually going to jump. Please."
The blonde cringed. "Well…that was the plan. But I changed my mind!"
"Aubrey!" Chloe wailed, once again throwing her arms around the taller woman.
"It's ok!" Aubrey cried. "Chloe it's ok, I'm ok! I changed my mind, I swear!"
Chloe pulled away again and Aubrey's heart clenched at the sight of tears streaming from her blue eyes. "Damn you Aubrey Posen! What were you thinking? I'm so mad at you right now! But God, I'm so glad you're ok. Why would you even…What the hell Aubrey! Please, please tell me what's going on!"
The blonde nodded and lifted her hand to gently brush away the tears still leaking from Chloe's eyes. "You saved me." Aubrey said simply.
"What?" Chloe whispered brokenly. "I don't understand. Aubrey-"
"I wanted to die." Aubrey continued, squeezing the other woman's arms when she choked out another sob. "That was my plan, to jump off of the bridge and put an end to my miserable, lonely life. But then you showed up. And damn you…you had the nerve to make me think I could possibly be happy again, that maybe life could be good again. And even better that maybe I deserved for it to be! But I had made all these plans, cancelled everything, the paper, the cable, my phone. I even gave away a shit load of money and rewrote my will to leave everything else to local charities, your boarding school's scholarship program and the shelter included. But when I got here tonight…as shitty as I've felt the last few years…I felt even worse at the thought of leaving you, of hurting you. So you see? You made me want to live again. You saved me."
"Aubrey-"
"I know." The blonde interrupted again. "It's pretty fucked up-I'm pretty fucked up. And I'm so sorry…I never wanted to hurt you. I have a lot of work to do but I want to do it! It isn't enough that you kept me from jumping…I have to keep myself from jumping. And I want to…thanks to you."
A few stray tears continued to trail down Chloe's cheeks as she stared up into gray green eyes that made her knees weak. "I love you." She finally whispered. "I love you Aubrey and you scared the shit out of me."
Aubrey grinned sheepishly. "I love you too."
"You know we have a lot to talk about right?" Chloe asked softly. "You planned to commit suicide…you took active steps to carry it out. That's…heavy. We can't ignore that. I won't ignore that because I don't want to be without you Aubrey and I have to make sure you're ok."
The blonde nodded and pulled Chloe flush against her once again. "I know. I'm so sorry Chloe. I think I have quite a few therapy sessions ahead of me…but I promise, I'm kind of looking forward to a long, quiet life…as long as it's with you. But I totally understand if I've freaked you out and you need some space. I can work with that. But I'm telling you right now, I'm going to get my head on straight and then I'm going to fight to get you back."
Chloe choked out a laugh and nodded against Aubrey's shoulder. "I am freaked out. But mostly because I thought I'd lost you. Now can we please go someplace warm…someplace inside and off this bridge?"
Aubrey squeezed the woman in her arms as her voice wobbled. "Can we go back to your place? It's so much cozier than mine."
"Yeah." The redhead replied, finally stepping out of Aubrey's embrace. She laced their fingers together and finally smiled, albeit a wobbly one. "Let's go."
"Hey," Aubrey said, pulling the other woman to a stop after they had walked out of the park, mostly in thoughtful silence. "I have an idea. What do you say we see if we can't trade in your one plane ticket for two? We might even be able to still get a flight out tonight!"
Chloe's face split into a wide smile and she stepped closer to the blonde. "I love that idea. But…what do you say we trade it in for two tickets to go to Florida for New Years instead? I'd hate to ditch Ashley and our dinner plans, which you're now joining I hope. Plus…I honestly just want a nice quiet Christmas with you...I'm exhausted. What do you say? Want to cuddle on my couch and watch cheesy Christmas movies with me?"
"I'd love to." Aubrey whispered with a smile. "Merry Christmas Chloe. I…I'm happy. I really am happy."
"Merry Christmas Bree."
"Also, remind me to call on the 26th to turn my cell phone back on."
Chloe groaned but rolled her eyes at Aubrey's smirk. "Yeah, you're definitely gonna need that to call and make an appointment with a shrink."
Aubrey laughed and nodded. "Fair enough."
They stood gazing lovingly at each other in the soft glow of the Christmas lights and the world around them seemed to slow and stop.
"We're being almost as corny as the ending of one of those Christmas movies we're about to go watch." Chloe said with a chuckle. "All we need is for it to start snowing or to realize we're standing under mistletoe."
"We don't need mistletoe." The blonde replied with a cheeky grin. She stepped closer to the shorter woman and then closed the distance to bring their lips together. Chloe sighed contentedly into the kiss.
"Hey you found her!" A voice called behind them. "Thanks again for the scarf. Glad you found your person!"
Chloe and Aubrey both smiled and waved to the man in Aubrey's green scarf as he continued on his way.
"I'm glad you found her too." Aubrey whispered, finally tearing her gaze from the man's retreating form and smiling softly at the woman snuggled tightly into her side.
Chloe grinned and burrowed deeper into the blonde's embrace. "Me too. Come on, let's go home."
xxxx
Epilogue – The first Friday evening in December, one year later
Aubrey stood on the bridge, gazing out at the snowy scene in front of her. She tightened her grip on the cup of hot cocoa she had bought from a street vender, the hot liquid warming her hands even through her gloves. She took a sip and sighed in contentment.
The park was lit with Christmas lights and unlike the year before, soft snow was blanketing the ground instead of a cold rain falling.
"Ya know, I still feel a little sick to my stomach when I see you leaning on the railing like that."
The blonde smiled and turned to where Chloe was approaching, her hands buried in the pockets of her winter coat. Her red hair was loose but she wore a white knit cap on her head, her eyes sparkling.
Aubrey quirked a brow and shook her head. "I'm not the one who almost ended up in the river if you recall."
"Ha-ha." Chloe replied, rolling her eyes with a chuckle. She burrowed into Aubrey's side as the taller woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her head in greeting. "How was Dr. Peterson? Good session today?"
"Yep." Aubrey responded, smirking as the redhead took the steaming cup from her hand and took a sip before handing it back. "He says I may not even have to come back after the first of the year unless I don't feel ready quit entirely. But that it's a good idea to keep seeing him through the Holidays because…well you know."
Chloe nodded thoughtfully. "Good. And you're ok?" The blonde nodded with a smile but Chloe continued before she could make a sound. "And you'd talk to me if you weren't? Or at least tell me that you're not and then talk to someone?"
Aubrey's smile widened and she nodded again. "I promise. And I'm better than ok. I promise."
Chloe finally smiled and once again reached for her girlfriend's hot cocoa. Nearly a year had passed. Aubrey had been seeing Dr. Peterson, a therapist near her office, once a week every Friday. Chloe had even attended a few sessions to help deal with her own feelings of anger toward the blonde and accompanying guilt for those feelings of anger. It had been an interesting year.
Aubrey had sold her apartment and the two moved into a more reasonably sized place for the two of them. The blonde remained in her position at the law firm but had taken on a number of pro bono cases, penance of sorts. Chloe was still loving her job at the boarding school and together, the two were happily making a life together.
"Are you ready to go find a tree?" Aubrey asked, nudging the woman next to her gently.
Chloe smiled widely and clasped her hands together. "Yes! Oh my God, this is going to be so great! I want the biggest tree we can find!"
Aubrey rolled her eyes but allowed the redhead to grab her by the hand and pull her away excitedly from the bridge where they had agreed to meet before going shopping together for the perfect Christmas tree.
"We may need two trees for all the ornaments and decorations you've already bought." The blonde said with a smirk.
"Bree, you're a genius!" Chloe exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the possibility of decorating multiple trees. "We can do one ourselves and save the other to decorate when Beca gets into town next weekend!"
"Do alt girls even like Christmas?" Aubrey asked, still smirking. "She may hate decorating and that holiday stuff…which of course means we have to do it, if for no other reason to make Beca squirm."
Chloe chuckled and looped her arm through the taller woman's as they walked. "Oh sure, she'll be fine. Everyone loves Christmas…well, except for people who don't celebrate Christmas I guess…we'll just make sure we have plenty of booze to be on the safe side."
The blonde laughed and squeezed Chloe's arm, effectively pulled the redhead even closer to her as they approached the Christmas tree lot. "So who is this woman that she's bringing with her? What exactly do we know about her?"
Chloe's smile widened, both from the close proximity to Aubrey, and at the mention of her best friend's new love. "Well, she's German. Apparently they met at some fancy party. Beca was there with some other music bigwigs and was introduced to this woman. She's the lead singer of some German world class acapella group. And apparently, she makes you look about as aggressive as Jessica was in the Bellas. She's a total boss."
Aubrey snorted out a laugh. "Oh God, I can't wait to meet this woman. I can't picture Beca taking getting ordered around lying down."
"From what she's said, they do a hell of a lot of 'lying down'." Chloe replied with a smirk.
"Gross." The blonde moaned with a pained look. "Remind me to buy new sheets for the guest room."
Chloe laughed and bumped the taller woman's hip with her own. "No doubt they'll try to outdo us in the bedroom, honeymoon phase and all."
Aubrey lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, her competitive spirit blossoming. "They can try. But if you recall…I hate to lose and I'll be damned if I let Beca Mitchell outdo me at anything ever again."
Chloe's face split into a devilish grin. "I was hoping you'd say that…I'm looking forward to the competition."
The blonde narrowed her gaze and smirked at her girlfriend. She pulled Chloe flush against her, the redhead squeaking softly in surprise. She pressed their lips together and they melted into each other. Aubrey hummed in contentment and when they pulled apart, Chloe blinked, slightly dazed.
"God, you're good at that." Chloe mumbled.
Aubrey smiled widely and pressed her lips to the redhead's temple. "Hurry up and pick a tree or two so we can get home and…practice for next weekend."
Chloe felt a shiver of heat slice through her at the blonde's husky tone. "Yeah, yep that one is perfect." She said, barely giving the trees a glance. "Those two right there, let's go."
Aubrey chuckled and quickly paid for the trees, sternly ordering that they not be delivered until the following morning.
The End
A/N – It just wouldn't be Christmas without a cheesy ending. Plus I'm just a sucker for a happy ending. Happy Holidays folks and thanks for reading!