A/N: I'm feeling pretty good this weekend so how about another chapter?

Chapter 6

Aubrey was startled when her phone started vibrating in her hand. She had fallen asleep while scrolling through her Facebook newsfeed. She squinted at the screen trying to read the caller id. When her eyes failed to adjust enough to let her see the screen, she gave up and slid her thumb across the screen to answer.

She held the phone to her ear. "Hello?" Her voice was heavy with sleep.

"Aubrey."

She immediately shot up in bed. "Beca? What's wrong? Where are you?"

"Outside. Open your window."

The blonde was confused as she turned on the lamp and got out of bed to obey. She drew the blinds up and saw Beca standing in the pouring rain. She unlocked the window and slid the pane up as far as it would go.

Beca stepped forward and, without saying a word, immediately began climbing through the window. Aubrey helped her as she climbed down from the wooden desk that was situated right in front of the window. She shut the window before turning to look at the trembling brunette. Initially, she had thought the brunette was shaking from the cold rain. Now that they stood together in the light of her bedroom, she could tell the girl was sobbing. She gently pushed Beca down into the desk chair before kneeling in front of her.

The girl's hair was covering half of her face. That was how she missed it at first.

But as she brushed the soaked locks from Beca's face she gasped. There was an angry red handprint across the left side of her face. The girl's cheek was slightly swollen and starting to bruise.

"Oh my god. Beca, what the hell happened?" she brushed her fingers lightly across the forming bruise, quickly pulling away when Beca hissed in pain.

"He thought…I stole a…bottle…of…vodka…from him," the brunette managed between gasps for breath. She was trying desperately to get a grip over herself.

"Your foster dad?"

Beca simply nodded.

Aubrey was livid, but she made sure not to show it. Dealing with the bastard would come later; right now she needed to take care of Beca.

She took a calming breath before standing from her position. She pulled a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants from her dresser before coming back to the broken girl.

"Stand up, honey." She helped the brunette out of her shirt. Unfortunately, the rain had soaked all the way through her top to her bra. As Aubrey undid the clasp of Beca's bra and Beca let it slide down her arms, sex was the furthest thing from either of their minds. She slid the t-shirt over Beca's head and the brunette pushed her arms through.

She unfastened Beca's jeans and pushed them down her legs. The brunette stepped out of the pants and into the sweats as Aubrey held them out for her. She pulled them up the girl's legs as she stood.

She drew Beca into her arms. She held her for a moment before turning her towards the bed. "Lay down. I'm going to get some ice."

She returned a few moments later to find the brunette standing exactly where she had left her. By now Beca had managed to calm enough that she was only plagued by the occasional hiccupping breath rather than the all out sobs of a few minutes ago.

She set the dish-towel-wrapped ice pack down on the nightstand before approaching Beca. She placed her hands gently on her shoulders and nudged her towards the bed. When Beca sat on the edge of the mattress, she guided her to lay flat on her back. She picked up the ice pack and walked around the bed, climbing in on the other side. She urged Beca to turn towards her and gently placed the ice pack against her swollen cheek holding it there with her own hand.

They lay together, facing each other, their gazes locked in the dim light coming from the nightlight in the hallway.

"I'm sorry," Beca whispered.

"I know."

"I love you."

Aubrey smiled softly. "I love you, too."

She kissed her gently before pulling away and laying her head back down.

Beca eventually fell asleep, exhausted from the events.

Aubrey watched her as her eyes drifted shut and her breathing evened out.

"I love you, too," she repeated as she kissed the girl on the forehead before closing her own eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep.

When Elaine walked past Aubrey's bedroom on her way to the kitchen that morning, she did a double take. While not necessarily thrilled about the two sharing a bed, she was ecstatic to see the brunette. Aubrey had done nothing but mope for the past week, so it was good to see that everything had indeed righted itself.

In fact, she was so excited she automatically turned in her tracks and ran back towards the master bedroom. "Thomas, get up! Come on!"

The man only grunted before turning over and sticking his head under the pillow.

"Thomas, I swear to god if you don't get your butt up…" she left the threat hanging.

"Ugh. Fine. I'm up. I'm up. What's so important it couldn't wait until a decent hour?" he groaned as he stretched his arms above his head while sitting up.

Elaine looked at him in disbelief. "It's 10:00." She shook her head before grabbing his forearm and hauling him down the hallway. "Come on. You've gotta see this."

"You know, Sunday is my only day to sleep late. You'd think you could grant a man that simple pleasure," he grumbled as he was dragged down the hall. He was confused when they stopped outside Aubrey's bedroom. "Why do I need to see Aubrey?"

"Just look, you fool."

He sighed in exasperation before choking as he noticed there were two figures in the bed. "Why the hell is she in bed with my little girl?" he whisper yelled at his wife.

"Oh get over that for a minute. They're obviously wearing clothes. But look they're back together." Thomas couldn't believe his wife was so nonchalant about the scene before them.

"If that girl has defiled my baby…"

"Oh, shut up. You aren't going to do anything and you know it. You love Beca just as much as I do," Elaine smirked knowingly at him.

"Yeah. Yeah. Just go start the coffee," he grumbled good-naturedly.

After Elaine had walked away, laughing as she went, he stood in the doorway for a moment more. It was true. He had grown quite fond of the brunette. He smiled at the pair as they unconsciously moved closer to each other. The smile stayed in place as he went to join his wife in the kitchen.

When Beca opened her eyes, she was mildly startled at the closeness of the blonde's face to her own. Aubrey was still asleep.

She raised her hand and gently brushed the blonde hair away from the girl's eyes. She felt guilty when her eyelids fluttered open. That guilt was eased when the blonde flashed a loving smile at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay. You're much gentler about it than my dad normally is. He usually throws a pillow at me."

Beca chuckled before yawning. Aubrey saw the wince she tried to cover.

"Your cheek is bruised," Aubrey stated.

"No shit, babe. It hurts like hell." She hissed as Aubrey reached up and gently skimmed her fingers over the bruised skin.

"Why the fuck do you insist on touching it?"

Aubrey looked genuinely puzzled but also kind of amused by the question. "I really don't know. I just want to make it better but I honestly don't have a clue as to why I seem to think touching it will help."

Beca shook her head as she smirked. "If you really want to do something get me some more ice. And some pain killers."

Aubrey looked at the clock. "We should probably get up anyway. It's almost 11."

She rolled over and rose from the bed. She giggled as the brunette groaned and playfully tried to grab her arm to pull her back down.

As they shuffled into the living room, they noticed Thomas sitting in the recliner, cup of coffee in hand as he flipped through the TV channels. Elaine sat on the sofa, book open in front of her but she wasn't reading. Instead she bickered with Thomas.

"Would you pick something already? You're driving me crazy."

"Well there's nothing I want to watch on."

"Exactly, so just pick something and deal with it."

Elaine looked away from the television when she saw the girls had stopped between the hall and the doorway. "Morning, girls."

Aubrey had one hand behind her back. Elaine knew it was probably tangled with Beca's. The smaller girl was standing behind Aubrey, her head turned toward the floor.

Thomas looked away from the television. "Come sit down with us, girls. Keep her off my back." He gestured towards Elaine with his thumb. He managed to knock the pillow she threw at him out of the air before he spilled his coffee.

"We're gonna go eat first."

"Okay, there are pancakes in the microwave," Elaine told them as she picked up her book to resume reading.

When they were in the kitchen, Beca settled onto a stool at the counter while Aubrey went and fixed them each a plate and poured them a glass of orange juice to share. Before taking her own seat, she grabbed the bottle of ibuprofen from the cabinet above the stove and gave it to Beca. As Beca took some of the pain killers, Aubrey took an ice pack from the freezer and wrapped it in a towel. She handed it to Beca as she took to the stool next to her and they began eating.

"We need to tell them," Aubrey said as soon as they finished eating.

"I know." She took a deep breath before sliding off the stool. "Let's get it over with."

Aubrey placed their dishes in the dishwasher before grabbing the girl's hand and leading her towards the living room.

"Mama, Daddy," the blonde called their attention as they stepped into the room.

When both parents looked at the pair, Aubrey turned around to face Beca. She gave her a reassuring smile as they locked gazes. They held each other's gaze as Aubrey reached up. She gently brushed the brunette locks away from where they covered the bruised cheek, never looking away from the blue eyes.

Both Elaine and Thomas gasped as the injury was revealed. Elaine practically jumped to her feet and rushed to stand next to the girls. She grasped Beca's chin and turned the girl's face to look at the extent of the bruise. It was still swollen but not as bad as it had been the night before. The skin covering Beca's left cheekbone was a shade of bluish purple.

Thomas came to stand next to his wife, placing a hand on her back. He made eye contact with the girl before speaking. "Beca, what happened?"

Beca looked away as she answered. "My foster father."

Elaine led the girl to sit on the wooden coffee table as she sat in front of her on the edge of the couch. Thomas came to sit next to his wife and Aubrey took a seat on the table next to Beca.

"When did this happen?"

"Last night."

"Why?"

"He thought I stole a bottle of vodka from him."

"And you didn't?" Thomas trusted the girl but he knew that she had been just as upset as Aubrey this past week. Everyone has a breaking point.

"No. His wife drank it." A few tears slid down the girl's cheeks. Aubrey placed a hand on her back.

"Is this the first time something like this has happened?"

Beca nodded and Elaine sighed in relief. She felt a little better knowing the girl hasn't been in such danger this whole time.

She looked at Thomas, lost as to what their next step should be.

"Beca, we have to report this."

Beca's head whipped up at that. "No. No. Please, you can't tell," there was desperation in the blue eyes. "They'd make me move again. I turn 18 in two weeks. I can leave then. I can be done with it. Just please don't tell. I can't lose Aubrey. I can't."

She broke off in sobs, turning towards the aforementioned blonde and burying her face in her shoulder as she shook. Aubrey wrapped her arms tightly around the girl.

Thomas looked at Elaine this time. They held a silent conversation with their eyes.

Elaine spoke up. "Okay. Okay, sweetie. We won't tell." She placed a comforting hand on Beca's knee. "But we are not about to let you go back to that house. You're going to stay with us. Okay?"

Beca let go of Aubrey as she quickly nodded her head and fell forward into Elaine's arms. She let herself be comforted by the embrace only a mother could offer.