A/N: Please keep those reviews coming! I love the lot of you :)

I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters

He stood with his back to the door of his office, and he checked his watch.

She was late.

He moved so he was sitting in the chair behind his desk and kept periodically checking his watch, huffing impatiently.

Eventually there was a knock at his door, and she entered.

She didn't look sheepish or nervous, considering she was late. She looked at him with a calm confidence, waiting for him to speak, without offering an explanation as to why she was later.

"Is it done?" He asked, tapping his pen against his desk.

"Not yet," she replied. "There's one more."

"Why isn't it done?" He asked, his voice still level, but with a hint of anger in it. "It wasn't a difficult task."

"Two soldiers refuse to leave her side," she said.

He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me guess, Posen and Mitchell?"

"I don't know their names," she said. The tone of her voice let him know she didn't care about their names. She didn't care about any of their names. "But I can't get to the last prisoner with them there. There's just no way I'll do it without being caught."

"I'll take care of it," he said. "Just make sure you kill her before she wakes up, understand?"

"What are you going to do?"

"We'll just start the plan a little early. Think of it like a trial run," he said. "You can go."

"Yes sir," she replied, turning to leave. As her hand touched the door handle, he spoke again.

"If you don't get this done... If anyone finds out what you're doing... It won't be pleasant for you, understand?"

"I understand."

"Guys, you're needed," Cynthia Rose said to Aubrey and Beca. "You too Chloe."

"Why?" Aubrey asked.

"Boston's called a meeting, he said every member of every team in the squad had to attend," she said.

"No," Beca replied. "We're not leaving her alone."

"Look, I think something bad is going down," Cynthia said. "From what I've heard, other squads have been called too. Chief Higgins is going to be there."

"But... But so far, she's lasted longer than anyone else," Aubrey said. "And I'm not saying it's because Beca and I have been here, but I don't want to risk it."

"I'll stay with her," Denise said. "I won't leave her side."

Aubrey and Beca still hesitated.

"Boss," Cynthia said, "I'm serious. We need to go."

Aubrey let out a shaky breath. "Okay," she said. "Denise, please don't leave her."

"I promise," she said.

Aubrey stood before bending and kissing Stacie's forehead.

"I love you," she whispered.

Beca squeezed her sister's hand before following Chloe and Aubrey out of the room.

Beca thought it felt odd to be going to a meeting again after all the drama of the last week. She almost felt good to be getting back to work.

When they arrived, they saw how serious the situation was. The room was packed with soldiers. They could make out the soldiers with blue stripes around their arms, that matched their own, that indicated they were part of Boston's squadron, Squad 260. But they could also see soldiers wearing bands of many different colours. Considering each squad contained an average of 250 soldiers, there was easily around 2,000 in here, along with several squadron leaders like Boston.

Chief Higgins was standing at a lectern in the lecture-hall style room. A large screen was behind him.

"Soldiers," he said, when the talking fell quiet. "There is a situation." He cleared his throat and clicked the remote in his hand. A picture of a nearby planet came on the screen. "It seems that several of our enemies have joined together, and are planning a mass invasion of Terram."

Pockets of muttered conversations broke out around the room.

"However," he said, his voice rising. "For some reason they are reluctant to attack our civilians, so they sent us a message. They wish to meet on mutual ground. We are sending more than enough of you, so this shouldn't be a problem. Eliminate them, and the return home. Good luck soldiers, you leave in 24 hours."

The murmured conversations were now louder. Faster. Panicked. Most of these soldiers had never seen real combat. They had dealt with it in small amounts while out on missions but what Higgins was describing sounded more like a battle. More like a war.

As the Bellas returned to their dorm, all eyes were on Aubrey, hoping she would give them one of her famous pep talks, or say something to ease their nerves.

"Get some rest Bellas," she said, before heading off to the medical bay. Beca went to follow her, until she felt Chloe tugging her arm back.

"What?" She said.

"Beca, your team could do with some words of encouragement," Chloe said quietly, glancing around at the worried faces of the Bellas.

"I'm no good at that stuff," Beca said. "And anyway, Aubrey's the boss."

"And you're second in command. I know you want to check up on Stacie, but you and Aubrey have both been so... blinkered lately, you've forgotten to be leaders," Chloe said.

"Can you blame me? How would you feel if Michael suddenly turned up out of the blue? Imagine finding him, like I found Stacie and then not knowing if he was going to survive," Beca asked, angry that Chloe was trying to keep her from being with her sister.

"I don't want to fight with you, Beca," Chloe said, her voice laced with hurt. "I just..."

"Just what?" Beca asked, sounding harsher than she'd intended.

"It doesn't matter," she said, impatiently wiping her eyes. "Go be with Stacie."

Beca looked like she wanted to say something. She looked torn between wanting to leave the room which was now full of Bellas staring at her, and wanting to hold Chloe and apologise.

"She's my sister," Beca said, her voice a little softer. "She's the only family I have left."

"You have a family here, Beca," Chloe said. "You always have."

Beca looked around at them before shaking her head slightly. "She needs me," she said. She left the room before Chloe could say another word.

"You okay there, Red?" Fat Amy asked.

Chloe nodded, jaw clenched as she tried not to cry. "I'm just scared," she managed to say.

"Yeah," Cynthia Rose said. "We all are."

Beca arrived at the medical bay and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding at the sight of Stacie still lying in the bed. Still alive.

Denise had been true to her word and hadn't left Stacie's side.

"What kept you?" Aubrey asked as Beca took a seat at Stacie's other side.

"I kinda had a fight with Chloe," Beca said, running a hand through her hair.

Aubrey looked up. "What happened?" She asked.

"She tried to get me to stay," Beca said. "Said the team needed me. That they needed some words of encouragement."

"Did you give them any?" Aubrey asked.

"Uh, no," Beca said, avoiding Aubrey's gaze. "Instead I reminded her of her dead brother and then left while she was crying." Beca put her head in her hands. "What have I done?"

"You need to go be with her tonight, Beca," Aubrey said.

"But, Stacie-"

"Stacie would want you to take care of the woman you love," Aubrey said. "You do love her, right?"

"Yes," Beca said, after a pause.

"Does she know?"

"I don't know. I haven't said it," Beca said.

"She's scared, Becs. You need to be with her. You need to tell her," Aubrey said.

"When she said that the team needed me... She was talking about herself, wasn't she?" Beca asked, feeling waves of guilt crashing against her.

"I don't know what's going to happen when we get to that planet, Beca. I don't think it's going to be as simple as Higgins made it out to be, not with all the weird stuff that's been happening. If this is our last night in Terram, you have to spend it with Chloe. Just like I have to spend it with Stacie," Aubrey said.

Beca nodded and she stood.

"Stacie," she said, softly. "If I don't come back... Or... Or if something happens... I love you, okay?"

Before she left, she went over to Gail.

"Gail," she said. "While Aubrey and I are gone, I need you to promise me that Stacie won't be alone for a second."

"Beca, I can't promise that-"

"Promise me," Beca said, her voice stern. "She's survived this far because she hasn't been alone. If she dies while we're gone... It'll be on you."

"Okay Beca," Gail said. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you," Beca said. "But... But only either you or Denise, okay? I don't trust anyone else."

Gail sighed, "okay."

She made her way back to the dorm to find all the other Bellas had gone to bed. She checked her room and found it empty. Of course Chloe wouldn't be there waiting for her.

She knocked on Chloe's door and heard the redhead tell her to come in.

"Hey," she said, approaching Chloe, who was perched on the edge of her bed.

"Hi," Chloe replied, not looking up.

"I'm really sorry for what I said," Beca said, sitting beside her and taking her hand.

"Beca, I'm really scared," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But I know that I can't go into battle without telling you how I feel. I love you."

"I love you too," Beca said. "God Chloe I love you so much. And I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow either, but I'll protect you. I promise, I'll keep you safe. You're... You're my everything."

"Beca," Chloe said, giving her a sad smile. "You can't promise me that."