Beca woke with a groan, her head throbbing painfully. This is why I don't drink, she thought bitterly. She bleakly opened one eye, and quickly helped herself to the rest of the water and some Advil. When she turned over, she found bright, blue eyes watching her.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked softly, lifting her hand to brush a stray hair out of her face.

"Hungover, but like the luckiest girl on Earth."

Chloe smiled. "So you remember what happened last night?" Beca frowned at the relief in her voice.

"Of course. How could I forget?"

"I don't know, Beca… You had quite a lot to drink." Chloe pointed out.

Beca sighed, giving Chloe an apologetic look. "I know, and I'm really sorry about that Chloe. I shouldn't have put myself in that situation or put you in the position to have to come and get me."

"You're lucky that Stacy was there before something happened. Why did you do it? I thought you were going home." Chloe wasn't angry, but she wanted to know that Beca wouldn't put herself in danger like that again.

"I promise, Chloe, I had every intention of going home when I left. But then I ran into this Treble and he threatened me and I was already feeling really down about the things my dad said and I just got really overwhelmed. It was stupid, but I just felt like trying to fight Jesse was pointless and –"

"Wait, what Treble?" Chloe was worried now, propping herself up on her elbow.

"I ran into one of the Trebles on my way home and he told me that Jesse was already released and that I would never win. I'm okay. It just freaked me out a little bit."

Chloe frowned and stroked her back comfortingly. "You don't have to worry about the Trebles. We'll fight them together."

"Together? Like… a couple?" Beca looked up at Chloe, her face unreadable.

"That depends…" Chloe said cautiously. "What do you want?"

Beca looked at her seriously, and Chloe felt her breath catch in her throat. "Chloe Beale… Will you be my girlfriend?" The smile that graced Chloe's face was absolutely priceless, and they both laughed happily has she sprung forward and hugged Beca tightly.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Knock, Knock, Knock.

"Beca! It's Chloe! Let me in!" Beca happily bounded across the room and opened the door, pulling her girlfriend into the room.

"Hello, girlfriend." Beca said as she pulled the red head into a short, but passionate kiss.

"Mm I love these types of hellos." Chloe murmured, before stepping back to take in Beca's appearance. "You look great!"

Beca nervously tugged at her sleeves, returning to stand in front of the mirror. "You think? It feels off."

Chloe loosely wrapped her arms around Beca's middle, leaning her chin on the shorter girl's shoulder. "You're beautiful. They'll love you."

"They don't have to love me, Chlo. They just need to believe me." Beca muttered, fixing her blazer for the millionth time.

"You nervous?" Chloe asked, feeling the tension in Beca's body and pulling Beca closer.

Beca sighed, relaxing into Chloe's embrace. It had been almost a year since the two girls had started their romance, but Chloe's touch still had a magical effect on her body, causing the stress to drain out in seconds. In truth, she was very nervous and understandably so; today was the day that she would finally be taking her case against Jesse to court. Throughout the year she had been working closely with Aubrey's father, building as strong a case as they could against Jesse's highly qualified lawyer. It was still a long shot, something Mr. Posen continued to remind Beca and Chloe, but they were confident that they had a decent chance. Now that they had come to the day, however, Beca felt as if all her preparation had equaled to sweaty palms and shaky legs, the exact opposite of the confident demeanor she was hoping to display.

Chloe seemed to sense this and she gently turned Beca around, looking directly into her eyes. "You've got this. You know what to say; you know that you're telling the truth. They will too." Beca nodded, pulling Chloe into a tight embrace. "It's going to work out for us. It has to." Chloe told her, ever the optimist.

The two met the rest of the Bellas at the courthouse, walking in like an army going to battle. Telling her friends had been difficult and emotional (there wasn't a dry eye in the room), and they had been nothing short of supportive during the process. She had even formed a close bond with Stacy who, as it turned out, was the 'friend' all along. Though Stacy had dealt with her assault very differently, throwing herself into sexual situations to feel a sense of control, she had been monumental in helping Beca overcome her intimacy issues with Chloe. Beca, in turn, had sparked an interest in Stacy, ultimately causing her to consider a career in victim's counseling, a decision that all of the Bellas supported whole-heartedly.

Court went exactly as Beca had expected, Jesse's attorney immediately calling attention to her less-than-clean record and 'bad attitude'. Beca fought the urge to roll her eyes, and instead delivered the answer that she and Mr. Posen had rehearsed. She stole a glance at the jury as she stepped down from the stand, and immediately knew that the outcome of the case had been decided. It came as no surprise to her when the verdict returned almost immediately, though Chloe was absolutely shocked and devastated.

"What?! How can they do this?" The other Bellas nodded in agreement, Fat Amy and Lilly whispering to each other intensely. Aubrey narrowed her eyes, making a note to talk to them later.

Beca merely shrugged, not nearly as affected as everyone else. "It's okay. Really." She clarified when she saw looks of disbelief from her friends and girlfriend. And it really was okay, at least in Beca's eyes. No, it wasn't fair, but if there was anything that Beca had learned in her life, it was that the world was not fair. Good things didn't always happen to good people and bad people weren't always punished for their crimes. The world was unpredictable like that, but if the world were predictable, then Beca wouldn't be sitting there surrounded by easily the strangest collection of friends to ever grace the Earth. She wouldn't be holding hands with the most beautiful girl in the world, and, frankly, Beca's relationship with Chloe meant more to her than some silly decision made by twelve people who judged her before they got a chance to meet her. Their opinions didn't matter, not in the long run. She was proud of herself for putting up a damn good fight, and not becoming the victim that other people expected her to be. She looked up and her eyes connected with Jesse's.

"I just need to do one thing." She said confidently, smiling when she saw Chloe nod in understanding.

"I'll be here." She said, squeezing her hand before letting her go.

Beca walked up to the defendant's table and stopped directly in front of Jesse. "Looks like I won." He said, looking up at her smugly.

Beca's gaze fell on Chloe as she replied. "No, actually you didn't. I just wanted to tell you that." Beca had no idea then how right she would ultimately be. Soon after the case, Jesse would drop out of Barden, unable to deal with the negative press surrounding him. Years later, she would find out from Benji that Jesse had dug himself into a deep hole of alcoholism and debt, pathetically crashing on their couches because he couldn't make rent.

Later that night, Beca and Chloe were lying in bed, tight in each other's grasp. Beca stroked Chloe's hair comfortingly, the red head still disappointed at the outcome.

"Beca?" Beca hummed, indicating that she was listening. "How are you really? It's just the two of us now; be honest." Beca thought carefully before replying.

"Free."

A/N: Well, that's it folks. This story was nothing like I expected it to be, but I hope you guys enjoyed it regardless. Thanks for going on this journey with me! I'll definitely be posting more Pitch Perfect stories in the near future, so keep an eye out for those. Thanks for all the support! It was more than I ever could have imagined. You're all wonderful!