A/N – Thanks for reading. This will be four parts. Again, I don't own anything you recognize!

Chapter Two

Aubrey exhaled a shaky breath as she stepped up to Chloe's apartment door. She glanced down at her outfit, hoping she hadn't opted for too casual. She had chosen to go with form fitting jeans and a green v-neck top. The blonde knocked softly on the door and then began to nervously fiddle with the bottle of wine in her hands. The door quickly swung open and Chloe stood smiling widely on the other side.

"Aubrey, come in!" the redhead exclaimed, ushering the taller woman in. "I'm so glad you came."

The blonde felt her breath catch at the sight of the other woman. Chloe was barefoot and wearing a blue shirt that made her bright blue eyes even more prominent. She was beautiful.

"I…uh, I brought this." Aubrey said, holding out the wine.

"Oh this is great, thanks! Dinner is in the oven, I hope you like salmon…oh God, I totally should have asked what you like to eat. I can order a pizza or something if you prefer."

Aubrey couldn't help but feel her own nerves ease slightly as Chloe suddenly seemed flustered. She smiled again. "No, no salmon is great. I hope you didn't go to too much trouble."

Chloe smiled in relief and motioned for the blonde to follow her further into the apartment. Aubrey followed and glanced around at her surroundings. The apartment was cozy and tidy. The paintings on the wall were bright and cheerful and very 'Chloe'. Aubrey already liked the homey feel to the redhead's apartment.

Dinner passed with Chloe doing most of the talking. Aubrey laughed as she told stories of her childhood. Chloe was the youngest of four and the only girl so the scrapes she got into following after her big brothers kept Aubrey chuckling. They finally retired to the living room with the bottle of wine and dropped onto the couch.

"Sorry, I've done most of the talking." Chloe said rolling her eyes. "I tend to get a little carried away talking about my family…they're great. What about you Aubrey? Tell me about your family."

Aubrey sighed and dropped her gaze into her wine glass. Chloe sensed the shift in mood and scooted closer slightly.

"Well," the blonde began, surprised at how willing she was to open up about her family, "my mother died when I was ten. I'm an only child so that left me with my father. He died a few years ago too. He was a colonel in the army and not exactly warm and fuzzy. He loved me, I know that, he just wasn't comfortable showing it. So I was sent to boarding schools and he was very strict. But honestly, I think I function better with structure and rules. I like to think that makes me a better agent."

Chloe had turned more to face Aubrey as she spoke and when the taller woman finished with a slight shrug, the redhead reached and placed a hand on her leg. "Aubrey, I'm really sorry. Every girl needs her mother…and her father too for that matter. I didn't mean to bring up a painful subject. But thanks for telling me."

Aubrey smiled and glanced back to the shorter woman. "Thanks for asking. I…I'm not very good at volunteering information, especially about myself. But I don't have anything to hide and you can ask me anything you like."

"Ooh, I'll remember that." Chloe replied with a wink, relieved when Aubrey laughed. "Have you always wanted to be in law enforcement?"

Aubrey shrugged again but was still smiling. "At my first boarding school I was made hall monitor. Turns out I was pretty good at catching people breaking the rules. Didn't make me very popular with the other kids but I was good at it. And now, I love it. I love feeling like I'm doing something to find justice for victims and their families. It's tough, long hours, and crime scenes are never easy, but I love it."

"Aren't you ever scared? Do you like, arrest people and bust into bad guys homes and all that?"

The blonde found herself turned more towards Chloe so they were facing each other. "Sure, I get scared. But I don't ever go in by myself. Beca, my partner, she drives me crazy but I know she's looking out for me. Just like I'm looking out for her. We're a pretty tight group. It's kind of like the family I never really had."

Chloe once again smiled sympathetically and reached to drop a hand to the blonde's knee. Before she could speak again, Aubrey smiled. "And what about you? Have you always wanted to be a barista? How did you end up at Bellas?"

The redhead looked confused for a moment before she chuckled. "A barista? Oh I'm not just a barista. I own Bellas, it's my shop."

"What?" Aubrey exclaimed. "No way! I just assumed some lady named Bella owned it and for some unknown reason left out the apostrophe. That's impressive! I had no idea. You're always there though so I suppose it makes sense."

"Yep," Chloe replied with a smile. "It's my place so I figure I should be there to make sure things are going ok. Jesse is great, I couldn't ask for a better manager, or friend, but at the end of the day, it's my name and my place and I can't expect someone else to do all the work. And Bellas, well I got the name from a group I sang with in college. The Barden Bellas."

"You sing too?" Aubrey asked. "A singing business owner. You're quite impressive Chloe Beale."

The redhead smiled and shrugged. "Well I'm not saving lives and risking my own on a daily basis but…I'm happy. I like my life."

"Good." Aubrey said quietly. "You're kind and sweet and funny. You deserve to be happy. Even if you can't seem to get my coffee order right."

Chloe barked out a laugh and leaned in closer to the blonde as if to emphasize her point. "I am trying to broaden your horizons and give you an appreciation of the finer things in life!"

"Like sugar rushes and diabetes?"

"Like flavor and the flair of coffee creations!"

Aubrey found herself laughing and leaning closer to the redhead as well. As their laughter faded, the pair found themselves mere inches apart. Aubrey swallowed thickly as she lost herself in the deep blue of Chloe's eyes. The redhead smiled shyly and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

"So…I have to ask you something." Chloe said softly. "Are you really an FBI agent or is that just a story you tell women so that you can conveniently disappear once you get bored."

"You-you're worried about me getting bored?" Aubrey stuttered incredulously. "I'm the boring one. I go to work and then I go the gym and then I go home. Some days, I get coffee. And some days I really mix things up and I go for a run instead of the gym before I go to work. So I don't think you have to worry about me getting bored and disappearing."

Chloe pursed her lips. "You didn't answer my question. Are you really an agent?"

Aubrey chuckled as the redhead fought to keep a grin from her face. "I give you my word that, I, Aubrey Posen, am an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations."

"Prove it."

The blonde laughed again and nodded. She pushed herself up from the couch and quickly retrieved her bag. She pulled her badge out and handed it to Chloe as she dropped back onto the couch next to her.

Chloe smiled as she eyed the badge and accompanying ID. "Ok…well this seems legit. So I guess I can trust you."

"Oh I'm very trustworthy." Aubrey replied with a grin. "They don't just give a badge to anyone ya know."

Chloe laughed and nodded as she handed the badge and ID back to the blonde. "Fair enough."

Aubrey sighed when she glanced at the clock on the mantle. "I…don't really want to but I need to get going. We have an early meeting in the morning about an ongoing case...So I should head out."

"Ok." Chloe replied softly as the two rose from the couch. "I had a great time Aubrey, I'm really glad you came over."

"Me too." The blonde said with a shy smile. "I'd like to see you again…but only if you want to that is."

The redhead smiled sweetly when Aubrey grew flustered. She reached for the blonde's hand and stepped closer to her. "I'd like that. I like you Aubrey, I have since you first came into my shop."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Chloe whispered. "In fact…I messed up your coffee order on purpose…hoping you'd come back up to the counter to talk to me."

Aubrey's jaw dropped in surprise as Chloe grinned sheepishly. "You…really?"

Chloe nodded.

Aubrey squeezed Chloe's hand and before her mind had time to catch up to her heart, she stepped closer and pressed her lips to the redhead's in a tender kiss. With her free hand, Aubrey reached to cup Chloe's cheek when they broke apart, their foreheads still pressed together.

Chloe smiled widely and covered Aubrey's hand that was still cupping her cheek. "Best first date ever."

Aubrey chuckled and nodded. "Definitely."

The redhead tilted her head and once again brought their lips together before dropping her head to the taller woman's shoulder. Aubrey pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm really glad you gave me that cup of sugar and diabetes."

Chloe laughed as she squeezed the woman in her arms.

xxxx

Aubrey fought a yawn as she settled into her desk chair. As much as she had wanted to stop for coffee that morning to see Chloe again, the meeting about the murders was important and she couldn't be late. She and Beca had been put in charge of coming up with a sting mission of sorts. They were to scope out the train situation and see if anything broke in the case.

It was a big deal for the pair, especially Beca as this would be her first lead of any kind. Aubrey glanced over her shoulder to gage her partner's mood since hearing the news when her eye caught something out of place on her own desk. She quirked a brow at the sight of a manila envelope. It was addressed to her but had no return address.

She opened the envelope and pulled out a simple post card. I haven't forgotten.

Aubrey narrowed her gaze at the note and flipped it over for some further clue as to what the message meant. Seeing nothing, she shrugged and simply dropped it into a drawer and reached for the file still open and waiting to be solved.

xxxx

"Hey you." Chloe said warmly as Aubrey joined her on the park bench.

The blonde smiled as she passed one of the two hotdogs in her hands to the redhead. "Hi."

The pair had been dating for a few weeks and each was excited for every opportunity they had to see each other. They were keeping the relationship fairly casual but every time they met, Aubrey found herself opening up just a bit more to Chloe.

"Oh my god, you're the best." Chloe said, taking a bite of her lunch.

Aubrey chuckled at the sight. "You're easy to please. Good to know."

Chloe shrugged and took another bite. "I know people say they're gross but I love hotdogs. My brother bought me a hotdog toaster once, it was the best thing ever."

"A hotdog toaster?" Aubrey asked laughing. "That's a real thing?"

"Damn right it is!" Chloe exclaimed. "So good!"

Aubrey draped her arm around the redhead's shoulders, just because she felt like she could and just because she wanted to. Chloe hummed in contentment and scooted in closer.

"Did you see the news this morning?" Chloe asked.

"Um, yeah. Yeah I had it on while I was getting ready this morning." Aubrey replied, unsure where the sudden topic shift was headed. The shorter woman suddenly seemed deep in thought.

Chloe nodded finally, chewing another bite of her hotdog. "There was a story on there, about a police officer shooting a guy after he pulled a gun on him during a traffic stop."

"Oh." Aubrey said softly. "I must have missed that one."

"I know he probably didn't have a choice…I mean the other guy drew a gun on him. His dashboard camera caught the whole thing on tape. But I'm sure he still hated to have to do it. Shoot that guy I mean."

"Yeah, I'm sure he did."

Chloe finished off her hotdog and gazed out over the park. A young couple was sitting on a blanket sharing a picnic while kids laughed and ran. Another woman was playing fetch with her dog. "Have you ever had to? Shoot someone I mean."

Aubrey sighed and removed her arm from around Chloe's shoulders. The day was warm but she suddenly felt a chill. "Once." She replied.

Chloe turned to look at her in surprise. She reached and took the blonde's hand in her own.

"It wasn't long after I became an agent." Aubrey continued. "We were taking a guy in and he pulled a gun. He shot and killed one of the agents and I just happened to be the one to get the first shot off. It was crazy, we weren't taking him in for a violent offense or anything. We didn't expect him to pull a gun. But he did. I killed him. I wish that I hadn't had to but…His name was Myles. Myles Jones."

"I'm glad you did." Chloe insisted. "Because you're here with me now and I'm glad you are."

Aubrey turned and met the redhead's gaze as the shorter woman scooted closer to her. Chloe smiled at her before she dropped her head to the blonde's shoulder.

"Me too." Aubrey whispered as she pressed a kiss to Chloe's head.

xxxx

Aubrey clenched her jaw as she helped secure the wiring around the small woman's chest. "Are you sure this is how you want to do this?"

Beca smiled, nervously the blonde thought. "Yep, I'm totally ready for this."

They had continued working on the train theory for the last few weeks and finally thought they had a possible lead. They had gotten passenger registries and been able to cross check the victims' trains and come up with a match. A salesman.

They pulled the man's record and it was clean. Nothing more than parking and speeding tickets. As well as a wife and two kids.

And so, they decided to plant bait on the train to see if they could draw him out. Much to Aubrey's dismay, Beca had volunteered to be the bait. The blonde hated the idea, Beca was too new. Sure she was a good enough agent but she wasn't experienced enough. And something could go wrong, she could be hurt. But Aubrey kept telling herself she wasn't concerned with that, just the case being botched.

"Relax Abe, I'll be fine."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "How many times to I have to tell you not to call me that?" She muttered. "Ok, well, here we go."

"Here we go." Beca replied, staring back at the taller woman. She buttoned her shirt to finish concealing the small microphone.

"There's nothing to worry about." Aubrey continued. "We'll have people in position at every stop ready to jump on the train and we'll have one in the car behind you. And we'll be listening the whole time so if anything even sounds off we'll be right there to back you up."

Beca chuckled. "I know Aubrey, I got it. I helped come up with this plan remember? Relax, it'll be fine."

The blonde nodded finally and the rejoined the team. Beca drove alone to the train station and purchased her ticket for the 4:45p.m. train. Three of the victims had been a train at the same time and according to their search on Mr. Salesman, he took this same train at least three times a week.

Beca squared her shoulders as she boarded.

"Talk to me, what do you see? Are you alright?"

The brunette rolled her eyes as Aubrey's voice same through in the ear piece hidden in her ear. "Didn't I tell you to relax Abe? I'm fine. And I'm just getting on so I haven't seen a fucking thing yet. Now leave me alone and don't blow my cover."

Beca wandered through the train cars, seemingly looking for the perfect seat. She wandered until she saw him.

"He's here." She muttered under her breath as she dropped into a seat, never losing a visual on her target.

"Ok, keep me posted." Aubrey responded.

The train rolled through two stops and the man never moved. Until an attractive woman walked up the aisle past him. A few seconds after she passed, the man too rose to his feet and made his way up the aisle behind her.

"Shit, he's on the move." Beca whispered, quickly following him.

She followed him all the way to the train car with the restroom. She sighed in frustration as he slipped into the men's restroom. The woman continued on her way toward the dining car without a care in the world.

Beca deflated slightly. "False alarm I think, he's just taking a piss."

She turned on her heel, looking for a nearby seat to keep an eye on him when he came out and just happened to catch the eye of one of the other passengers. His gaze sent a chill down Beca's spine. The look on his face indicated he knew exactly what she was doing there and who she was. And her gut told her that she knew exactly who he was as well. He quickly stood to his feet and took off at a sprint in the opposite direction.

"We're after the wrong guy!" Beca exclaimed, quickly setting off after the man. "He's here, he's running!"

"Beca?" Aubrey cried on the other end of the wire. "Beca what are you talking about? What's happening?"

"He was using the salesman! Requesting backup, we just left the Union City station." Beca replied, still chasing the man down the narrow corridors. The train turned slightly and the brunette briefly lost sight of the man. When the tracks straightened back out, he was still nowhere to be seen.

"Shit!" She exclaimed.

She drew her pistol when she realized she had entered an empty car meant for oversized luggage. There were plenty of places he could be hiding. Beca slowed her pace, careful to check behind each oversized box and bag.

She turned just in time to catch a glimpse of the man lunging for her.

xxxx

"Stop that fucking train!" Aubrey screamed at the railway station master.

She and the rest of her team had rushed to the stop after Union City. When they flashed their badges the man put up little argument.

"Beca?" Aubrey yelled.

She hadn't received a reply from her partner but could make out what sounded like a struggle through the wire Beca was wearing. Before the train had even come to a complete stop, Aubrey and her team rushed onto the train, guns drawn. The team split, quickly scouring each car.

When Aubrey rushed into the luggage car, she stopped abruptly. A man was face down with Beca handcuffing his hands. She had a knee firmly between his shoulder blades and when the man tried to roll or buck her off she applied more pressure.

"That is for the fucking black eye you gave me you asshole!" Beca hissed as she once again burrowed her kneecap deeper into the man's back.

Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her partner, relatively safe and sound. Suddenly, Bumper Allen, the agent stationed on the train with Beca as backup came rushing into the car, coffee stains on his shirt.

"And just where the hell have you been?" Aubrey hissed. "She could have been killed!"

The agents took the man into custody and Beca stepped closer to the blonde with a smirk on her face. "Aw Aubrey, you were worried…I'm touched Abe."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and holstered her weapon. Between Bumper and Beca, she wasn't certain she could control her actions if she didn't put the weapon away.

xxxx

"Oh my God, I would have been so freaked out!" Chloe exclaimed.

Beca shrugged and reached for her beer. "All part of the job Chlo, all part of the job."

Aubrey rolled her eyes at her partner's bravado. She smiled though when Chloe burrowed closer into her side and placed a hand on her thigh.

"Seriously, I don't know how you guys do it!" The redhead continued.

The killer, and he did in fact turn out to be the killer, had been taken into custody and fairly promptly confessed to all of the killings. He provided details that only the killer and the Bureau could know. They were simply awaiting the DNA results to be certain he was indeed a match to DNA left on the victims.

"So really, you weren't scared at all?" Jesse asked. When Beca had invited Chloe out to celebrate, and see the new couple with her own eyes, the redhead had insisted her friend come along.

Beca smirked. "Nah, no time for that. I had to get my guy. I suppose I might have had a small brief moment of panic when he almost clobbered me in that baggage car but…I managed."

"Badass." Jesse said, looking thoroughly impressed.

"Thank you sir." The brunette replied, raising her drink to clink against his own glass.

Aubrey smiled as Chloe turned slightly to glance up into the blonde's face. "You are careful aren't you?" Chloe asked quietly.

Her stomach flipped pleasantly as she gazed down into Chloe's brightly blue eyes. She nodded before dropping a kiss to the shorter woman's forehead. "I promise." She replied, just as quietly.

When Aubrey turned her gaze back to the others at the table, she found Beca smiling back at her. The blonde cleared her throat and reached for her own glass and raised it. She was feeling generous. And happy.

"Really Beca, you did a great job today. You caught the bad guy pretty much all on your own."

The brunette looked surprised at the recognition. Her smile widened and she too raised her glass toward the blonde's. "Well, you did come up with a pretty kick ass plan."

"That Bumper obviously ignored. How in the hell did he even getting into the FBI?"

The friends laughed and continued to drink until late in the evening. Chloe finally yawned widely.

"Sorry." She mumbled with a chuckle. "Early shift at the shop this morning."

"Yeah, man am I glad I don't have to open tomorrow." Jesse said with a wink.

Chloe groaned and glared at the man in mock anger. "Yeah, this has been great but I'd better get going. I've got to be up in a few hours."

"I'll walk out with you." Aubrey said, lightly rubbing Chloe's back. "The Chief gave us a few days off but I'll get going too."

Chloe nodded and smiled. The two slipped from the table, Beca and Jesse electing to stay behind for another drink. The pair walked outside, hand in hand, to their cars.

They stopped at Chloe's first and before the blonde could say goodnight, she pulled Aubrey in and crashed their lips together. The kiss was hungry and needy and Aubrey moaned into it. She found herself backed up against the redhead's car with Chloe's body pressed against hers snuggly.

When they finally broke apart, both were panting slightly. "That was…wow." Aubrey said, slightly dazed.

Chloe didn't respond other than to throw her arms around Aubrey and hold her tightly. The blonde wrapped her own arms around Chloe as the shorter woman seemed reluctant to let go. It was only when she noticed the redhead's shoulders trembling slightly that she realized Chloe was crying.

"Hey, what's-what's going on? What's wrong?"

Chloe sniffled and finally reluctantly loosened her grip on the taller woman. She hiccupped and Aubrey couldn't help but smile affectionately.

"Come on Chloe, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

The redhead swiped at her tears and dropped her gaze in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess. But hearing about today, that whole killer on a train thing and knowing you do that every day…just freaked me out a little. I really like you and I don't want you to get hurt."

Aubrey felt her heart flutter at Chloe's words. "I really like you too Chloe. And you don't have to worry, most of my days are nothing like today! Honest! Most days I sit behind my desk and just try to piece together bits of info and evidence. I promise I'm safe and careful. Promise."

Chloe gazed up into Aubrey's green eyes and finally nodded, but not before hiccupping again. "I think I might be drunk. But that isn't why I said I really like you or that I'm worried about you getting hurt. I mean that, sober too. How are you not drunk?"

Aubrey laughed and brushed a kiss against Chloe's temple. "I know better than to try to keep up with Beca drinking. I only had two. What do you say I take you home? You're in no shape to drive Miss Beale…I could arrest you ya know. And then I'll swing back by for Beca and make her help me get your car back to your place so you have it in the morning."

"You'd do that for me?" Chloe replied, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. "Not the part about arresting me…that would either suck or be totally hot."

Aubrey laughed and nodded. She felt her cheeks flush at what she could only imagine Chloe was insinuating. So far their relationship had progressed to fairly heavy make out sessions but they hadn't actually made it to sex yet. Both agreed to take things slowly but drunk Chloe was putting a lot of ideas into Aubrey's head.

She pulled Chloe to her side and steered her back toward her own car. "Alright you, let's get you home."

Chloe simply burrowed deeper into Aubrey's embrace in response.