A/N: Hey, so I'm going to apologise for the inevitable number of typos in this chapter and probably the next few to come because I broke two fingers at a volleyball game at the weekend and so it's kind of hard to type. Thanks for reading, please review fav and follow :)
This chapter's song is 'A Thousand Years' by Tom Rosenthal.
"Missing?" Beca grumbled, still grotty and hung over from the night before.
"I've phoned all the Bellas, they haven't heard anything from her; I've called her brother, he's heard nothing… I can't think where she could be!" Aubrey cried, blaming herself entirely for this whole ordeal.
Aubrey had stormed out the night before after her argument with Chloe, and when she had returned an hour later to apologise, Chloe hadn't been in the flat. Chloe's car was still in the parking lot, there was no note indicating where she might be – Aubrey was beside herself. She had tried to phone Beca over and over, hoping the brunette would have some insight on the whereabouts of Chloe but Beca had been out partying. Alone all night, Aubrey's guilt and worry had simply ballooned and by morning, she was ready to send out an FBI search party.
Aubrey alerted the police that Chloe was gone that morning, but the issue clearly wasn't their priority and they just mumbled that they would call Aubrey if they heard anything.
"I'm such an idiot," Beca sighed, still on the phone to Aubrey, "if I hadn't been off my face last night I might have been able to help, I'm so sorry Aubrey."
"What are we going to do? Chloe didn't take her phone so we can't track her and no-one's seen her, she could be anywhere…" Aubrey despaired.
"Have you tried calling the hospital?" Beca asked, biting her nails and trying to offer any solution to the problem they were no faced with.
"Yeah that was one of the first places I tried, she's not been admitted to that hospital or any others in the area."
Beca shook her head and sighed, her heart pounding with worry. Chloe was out there somewhere, sick and with no-one around to help her if anything went wrong. Aubrey had looked in all the places Chloe would usually go if she was stressed or worried, but there had been no sign of her. Beca was at a complete loss of what to do.
Beca only realised how long she had been on the phone to Aubrey for when her boss came knocking at her hotel room door.
"Beca? Are you in there?" he called from the other side.
"Yes, sorry Daniel. I'll be there in a moment." Beca groaned, pinching between her nose and bidding a reluctant farewell to Aubrey.
Beca couldn't concentrate at work. It was one of the most important days of the project – the day when all the aspiring and hopeful artists would record their songs. Her boss and colleagues kept asking for her opinion on the music – all valuing her input – but Beca was barely able to give more than one-word answers. She kept checking her phone for updates from Aubrey and nearly lost her mind when she was told she wasn't allowed to have it in the recording studio because of the possible interference it would cause with the mics.
Her boss was constantly asking if she was okay or whether she needed a time out, but Beca never told him what was going on. She didn't want to be that person who always moaned about her problems and she didn't really want to talk about what was going on. Spending so much time away from Chloe had caused Beca to build back up all the walls around herself that meant she rarely spoke to others. She kept to herself and her demeanour was placid and unperturbed, despite the ocean of woe and stress that was thrashing inside her head.
Aubrey's day was just as bad as Beca's, only she didn't have work to distract herself. Aubrey had taken 4 weeks leave from work for 'personal' reasons so that she could look after Chloe whilst Beca had gone but so far Aubrey had sat with Chloe in hospital for two weeks before fighting with her and then driving her out the flat. Aubrey could only think about the worse case scenario. There was no hope in her mind as she thought about the prospect of never seeing her best friend again.
Aubrey thought about all the times Chloe had been there for her: when she had thrown up at Lincoln centre, when she had graduated, when she had bought 'The Lodge of Fallen Leaves' and started her business… Chloe was one of the best things that had ever happened to the blonde, but all Aubrey could think about was how badly she had let Chloe down.
At a time when Chloe had been feeling vulnerable and conflicted, Aubrey had stormed out the flat in a strop, as if her situation had been more difficult than Chloe's. Aubrey would never forget the moment she had returned to the flat and realised Chloe wasn't there. She wouldn't forget the feeling of her heart growing heavier and heavier with each unsuccessful phone call regarding Chloe's whereabouts.
Aubrey spent the entire day phoning and texting various people, hoping for the smallest bit of insight on Chloe's whereabouts to no avail.
Aubrey sat on her temporary bed in Beca's room late that night, praying to anyone that would listen that Chloe was okay when she heard the front door creak quietly open from across the flat.
Aubrey leapt up from where she sat and raced into the front room, her heart swelling with a mixture of emotions when her eyes fell upon the person who had entered the flat.
Chloe. She looked pale, feverish and tired; her face was streaked with tears and her thinning, short hair was windswept; she shivered where she stood and didn't meet Aubrey's eyes but she was here, and she was alive.
"Oh Chloe…" Aubrey breathed as Chloe sank to the floor and Aubrey wrapped her arms around the redhead's trembling form.
The pair stayed like this for what could have been minutes, hours, days – it didn't matter – they were simply breathing in the reassurance of each other's presence. Eventually, Chloe mustered enough strength to stand and drag herself to the sofa where she turned to face Aubrey.
"What happened? Where have you been?" Aubrey asked gently, taking Chloe's ice-cold hands in her own. The blonde could see that Chloe was chilled to the bone and unmistakably feverish, but she knew that Chloe needed to talk before she would allow Aubrey to do anything to help her.
"I… I left the flat to look for you – I wasn't ready to let that argument go but I just walked too far and got lost. It was really dark and I got really tired but I walked all night – I wanted to find you or the flat or somewhere I knew. I should have taken my phone or some money or something… but I didn't think I would get lost in the city I live in… When the next morning came I still had no idea where I was, but it was light and stuff so that was better. I just asked a few people where I was and how to get back to our street and after walking around all day… yeah, I managed to find the flat. I'm so stupid… this is all so stupid…" Chloe buried her head in her hands and let waves of pain and despair roll over her body, the comforting touch of Aubrey the only thing keeping her grounded.
"It's not stupid Chloe, it's not." Aubrey repeated over and over until Chloe gradually began to calm. Despite what the pair's argument had been about, Chloe allowed Aubrey to address the situation regarding Chloe's fever; the blonde fed Chloe some soup, accompanied by a glass of water and some fever tablets, along with all the medication she had to take for her leukaemia. Then Aubrey waited outside the bathroom as Chloe had a long, hot shower to try and warm her chilled body. Unfortunately, Chloe was still shivering after the shower and so Aubrey lead the redhead to bed and lay a couple of blankets around her after. Aubrey then lay cold flannel across Chloe's forehead in the hope of bringing her fever down. It wasn't long until Chloe fell asleep, her body still tense and cold.
Aubrey sat on the bed beside Chloe and smiled sadly at how she slept, like she usually did, with her eyebrows upturned slightly, as though she were confused. Still looking affectionately at her friend, Aubrey pulled out her phone and called Beca to tell her the news. Aubrey knew Beca would answer, even though it was very late, because Beca had been by her phone all day just waiting for the slightest bit of news.
"Aubrey?" Beca answered quietly, her voice a heart-breaking mix of hope of worry.
"She's home." Aubrey whispered, a knot forming in her throat. She had tried not to cry in front of Chloe, not wanting to add to the miscellany of emotions the redhead had clearly been battling with, but she couldn't stop the tears of relief and pent-up emotion that slid silently down her face.
Aubrey could Beca's sigh of relief from her side of phone and there was a moment of silence before Beca said,
"Is she okay? Can I speak to her?"
"She's asleep," Aubrey explained, "she has a fever and she's obviously quite weak – she's been walking around the city for twenty-four hours – but I think she'll be alright. I'm monitoring her fever and stuff but I don't think it's anything worse than that."
"I wish I was there. I've only got a day left at the recording studio and then a day of travelling, but I just feel so separated from her… I can' stand to think of her wandering the streets all night." Beca said, her voice breaking slightly – it was clear she was crying. Beca's words sent a pang of guilt through Aubrey, she was still blaming herself for Chloe going missing, and she knew Beca wasn't blaming her, but Aubrey couldn't help but sense a bit of an accusative tone in Beca's voice. Beca and Aubrey spoke for a little while longer before Aubrey had to hang up and text everyone who was worried about Chloe that she was home and safe. She also had to alert the police, though she didn't bother to hide the annoyance in her voice as she told them that they had been no help and that she wouldn't trust them with anything.
Chloe slept for most of the next day and was only awake long enough to eat some more soup and to have her temperature checked. Beca called again in the evening, hoping to speak to Chloe only to hear that she was asleep. When Chloe awoke again the day after that, she wanted to speak to Beca, but Beca was already on the plane and she couldn't get through to her.
Aubrey had to leave Chloe at the flat when she went to go and pick Beca up from the airport because Chloe was still too weak to go out, so all Chloe could think about whilst Aubrey was out was Beca, and how much her heart yearned to see the small brunette.
When Beca and Aubrey finally arrived home, Beca had to take a minute before entering the flat to calm her racing heart. Chloe. She was finally going to see Chloe again after 3 weeks of being apart from her. Beca turned the handle to the flat door and opened it, peering inside and her dark eyes meeting with Chloe's crystal ones. Their eyes locked and there was a moment of complete stillness as the pair breathed in the sight of each other after their time apart. They burst out of their trance a moment later and both rushed forwards, meeting in the middle of the room and colliding. They kissed fiercely, holding onto each other as though their lives depended on it and only broke apart when they began to run out of breath.
"I love you." Chloe breathed, her breaths ragged with passion.
"I love you too." Beca whispered, thinking that there was not a sight more beautiful than the one that stood before her: Chloe Beale - rosy-cheeked and here, safe, alive.
'A thousand years, I've got time, I've come a long way.
A thousand years, I've lost time, I've come a long way.
A thousand years, I am life, I've come a long way…'