A/N: Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy :)

This chapter's song is 'Soon Goodbye, Now Love' by Tom Rosenthal.

Beca awoke to the startling realisation that her boss was waiting to hear a reply regarding the proposition he had posed to Beca the day before. Beca was expected to leave Chloe in the hospital whilst she jetted off to New York for 3 weeks with her boss – or else she would lose her job. Beca looked around the room, wanting to think about anything but the proposition laid before her. She looked to the corner of the room and saw Aubrey asleep on a small blue sofa, a bag of clothes knocked over by her feet. Beca sighed, standing up and sorting out Aubrey's bag for her, grateful that the blonde was here. Needing to talk to someone about her dilemma, Beca shook Aubrey gently awake and sat beside her on the sofa.

"What do I do?" Beca began before she explained to Aubrey her problem. Beca told her all about how her managers where annoyed about how much time she had been taking off to look after Chloe and how she felt bad that all her unfinished work was being passed onto her assistant. Beca told Aubrey about how she loved her job – it was exactly what she wanted to be doing – but how there was no fun in making music when all she could think about was Chloe. Finally, Beca explained how her boss had offered her a deal, either she go to New York for 3 weeks to work on a big project with him and the rest of the producing team, or she quit her job.

Aubrey took a moment before replying, factoring in everything Beca had told her before giving her opinion on the matter.

"Honestly Beca, I think it's a no brainer: you should go to New York." Aubrey said, "You love your job – you said it yourself – you can't give that up, Chloe wouldn't want you to. I'll take time off work whilst you're away to look after Chloe so don't worry about her. And besides, it will give you a chance to have some time away from everything that's going on with; I know that you only want to be there for her, but Beca, you have to think about yourself – her cancer is taking a toll on you as well. This will be good for you, it will offer a distraction and think about it Beca: you're being offered a trip to New York to work on a big music project – you may never get an opportunity like this again. Let yourself have some fun and don't let Chloe hold you back because we both know that it's the last thing she would want to do to you." Aubrey finished, taking Beca's hand and smiling supportively.

Beca nodded slowly when Aubrey had finished, thinking about everything Aubrey had said.

"I'll ring my boss now." Beca muttered, still not sure whether she was making the right decision as she dialled his number and waited for him to pick up.

"Beca?" came her boss' deep voice.

"Hi, Daniel." Beca answered quietly, looking anywhere but Chloe's unconscious form as she spoke to her boss. "I… I've made a decision regarding the trip to New York: I'm coming – the trip sounds great."

"That's brilliant news, Beca. Our flight for The Big Apple leaves tomorrow evening, I'll get my PA to send you the details now." He replied, before bidding Beca farewell and hanging up. Beca immediately felt her phone vibrate with the texts from Daniel's assistant listing the details of the trip, but she didn't bother to look at them because she couldn't take her eyes off Chloe.

Aubrey didn't say anything as Beca went and sat back in the chair at Chloe's bedside. Beca took Chloe's hand that didn't have an IV in and rested her head on her free hand. Aubrey and Beca sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the monotonous, steady beep of the machine monitoring Chloe's heartbeat.

"Do you want me to go home and pack for you?" Aubrey offered after a while, knowing that Beca wouldn't want to leave Chloe's side in case the redhead woke up whilst she was gone.

"Yes please." Beca replied, so grateful for the blonde's continued help and support. "Don't worry about packing any of my music equipment, but anything else would help so much." Beca said, standing and giving Aubrey a hug. Despite how much Aubrey and Beca had butted heads in college, Beca now considered Aubrey one of her best friends – she didn't know what she would do without her. Aubrey squeezed Chloe's hand gently, hoping the redhead would wake up soon, before she left the hospital to go and sort out Beca's stuff.

Beca didn't leave Chloe's side for hours. She just sat in her chair, making simple music mixes with an app she had on her phone and never letting go of Chloe's hand. A nurse came into the room at noon to check on Chloe, and offered to get Beca some food. Beca wasn't really hungry, but she knew she should eat. She felt bad making a nurse, who had so many important jobs to do, get her a sandwich so at long last she left Chloe's side and wandered slowly to the hospital café.

Beca quite enjoyed her walk around the hospital. She grabbed a surprisingly nice toastie from the café in the hospital and read a newspaper as she ate her lunch. Despite herself, Beca was actually looking forward to the trip to New York the next evening. She knew that she would miss Chloe more than words could describe, and she would spend every minute of every day worrying about her, but Beca's dream had always been to go to big cities like LA or New York to make and produce music, and Aubrey was right in saying that Chloe wouldn't want to be the person to hold Beca back from living her dreams. Beca walked at a leisurely pace back to Chloe's room after her lunch, not really in any rush to see Chloe unconscious and relying on masses of antibiotics to keep her lungs working. When Beca made it back to Chloe's room she simply walked across the room and sat right back in the chair she'd been sitting in before, resuming the mix she had been halfway through.

Although Beca had moved onto producing, and even recording music, she still enjoying making mixes. It reminded her of her college days, when she would make sets for the Bellas and how she would spend hours making a mix to show Chloe, knowing the redhead loved hearing everything Beca made, especially the mixes that included her 'lady jam'. Beca was about to start on another mix when she noticed Chloe stirring.

Chloe coughed quietly, steaming up the oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose, and furrowed her eyebrows. The heart monitor stuttered a bit as Chloe woke up, but resumed its normal rhythm when Chloe opened her eyes sleepily and looked over at Beca with a smile.

Beca carefully lifted the oxygen mask off Chloe's mouth and rested it under Chloe's chin so the redhead could talk.

"Genies are real." Chloe whispered, her voice scratchy and weak.

Beca frowned, not sure if she'd heard Chloe correctly.

"What?"

"Genies are real." Chloe repeated. "When I passed out at home, I wished that I would get to see you again, and I am looking at you now, so genies must be real."

Beca shook her head and laughed in dismay, this was the Chloe she knew: speaking nonsense and believing in fairy tales even in her twenties. Beca squeezed Chloe's hand and smiled when the redhead replied with a feeble squeeze back.

"How are you feeling?" Beca asked, not taking her eyes off Chloe's beautiful face.

"I've been better." Chloe mumbled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The breath caught in Chloe's throat and she broke into a weak fit of coughs. Beca quickly slipped the oxygen mask back over Chloe's mouth and nose, telling Chloe not to talk. Chloe opened her eyes sheepishly and nodded in agreement, trying to hide how much pain she was in from Beca.

Chloe's chest and head hurt like hell, she knew she could probably ask a nurse for more painkillers, but she didn't want to let onto Beca how bad she felt. Instead, Chloe just focused on Beca's concerned eyes, thinking about how cute Beca looked when her eyebrows were furrowed with worry. The bright lights overhead hurt her eyes and sleep threatened to pull her under, but Chloe kept looking deep into Beca's eyes, thanking whatever genie granted her the wish that she would get to see Beca's eyes one more time.

Beca let Chloe fall back asleep for another hour, knowing that she needed the rest and thought about how she would tell Chloe that she had to leave for New York the following evening. When a doctor came in to check on Chloe, the redhead woke up again but was no more talkative then the last time she had been awake. The doctor slipped the oxygen mask off Chloe's face and tucked it under her chin, just Beca had done earlier, before asking Chloe a few questions. He asked her if her vision was impaired, and if she could remember what happened. Chloe was able to give simple answers to both, but faltered when the doctor asked her whether she was in pain. Chloe didn't look at Beca as she admitted to the doctor that yes, she was in a lot of pain and yes, she would like more pain killers. Beca swallowed the lump that formed in her throat as Chloe admitted this and squeezed the redhead's hand gently, wanting to offer any comfort she could. Chloe squeezed gratefully back as the doctor moved the oxygen mask back onto Chloe's face and told her that he would get a nurse in to come and adjust her meds. Beca noticed Chloe struggling to stay awake, and decided that she needed to tell Chloe about her trip to New York now, before the redhead fell asleep again, because Beca didn't know how long it would be till she woke up again.

"Chloe, listen. There's something I need to tell you." Beca said as a kindly nurse fiddled with Chloe's various medications, upping the redhead's already significant dosage of morphine.

Chloe didn't say anything – she didn't have the strength to lift the oxygen mask off her face – she just turned her head towards Beca and listened.

"You know that my boss has been getting annoyed with me because I've been spending so much time off work, and how he's been threatening to fire me? Well yesterday, just before I got the call from Amy telling me what had happened to you, my boss made a deal with me. He told me that he wouldn't fire me, so long as I proved my commitment to my job and accompanied him and a few other people from the studio on a trip to New York. I spoke to Aubrey about it, and we both think it would be best if I went – I can't afford to lose my job, and this is one of the best opportunities I've ever been offered, I can't pass it up. I'll be gone for 3 weeks, and Aubrey's taking that time off work to come and look after you; but Chloe, say the words, and I won't go. I don't want to leave you in this state, and if you want me to stay, then I will." Beca finished, her elbows leaning against Chloe's bed and her eyes looking right into Chloe's.

Chloe's eyebrows furrowed with effort as she tried to lift her hand to move the oxygen mask from her face, but she was too weak. Beca noticed, and so moved it for the redhead, nervous about what Chloe was going to say.

"Of course you have to go, Beca." Chloe mumbled, "You'll have a great time, and I'll be fine; please don't feel guilty about leaving me."

Beca nodded. "Okay, but let's talk on the phone every day – I don't think I'll be able to stay in New York for 3 weeks if I can't hear your voice each day."

"I love you." Chloe smiled as she drifted back to sleep, the strong painkillers already taking effect and pulling her under.

"I love you too." Beca replied, slipping the oxygen mask over Chloe's mouth and nose, feeling more resolved than she had in a while.

Chloe was okay – she had woken up, she had talked and she had laughed. Beca was going to New York – she was excited, she was nervous and she was worried, but she was certain that this was what she wanted, and Chloe supported her decision. Beca smiled, taking Chloe's soft, warm hand and kissing it gently as sun streamed through the window across the room and lit up Chloe's beautiful face.

'Soon goodbye but now love.

Draw the oceans, make a wave,

I know nothing more than you…'