Chapter 2

As soon as the day broke, Chloe's eyes popped open. She glanced down and seeing Beca's bruised face reminded her of what transpired yesterday. She lay for a moment tangled up with Beca, listening to her steady breaths before she gently woke her up.

"Beca." She whispered. "We need to get up."

Beca groaned and buried herself further into the blankets, and into Chloe. Chloe would have giggled except she could hear the note of pain with the frustration in her groan.

She slowly and regretfully detangled herself, knowing she would never get the girl out of bed while still in mid-cuddle. Beca whimpered before turning over and peering at Chloe with one eye.

"I'm taking you to my parents, I want their physician to look you over."

Beca grumbled, she seemed to have a love/hate relationship with the elder Beales.

Chloe went to their tiny kitchen space and attempted to salvage the forgotten and now very cold supper from the night before. Beca walked in quietly and sat down, which was far more subdued than normal. She would usually come up behind Chloe and give her a kiss, wrapping her arms around her. She'd probably say something witty and sarcastic. Instead, they ate and headed out the door in a comfortable but odd silence.

When Mr. Beale saw what people had done to Beca he was absolutely outraged. He didn't like or understand their relationship, but he didn't stand for this behaviour either. He wanted to do something about it, to try to find these guys. But Chloe's elder brothers, who also worked for the firm, helped to calm him down. They helped him see that the best thing, their number one priority was to see that Beca got medical attention.

The physician was called for Chloe's... friend? Best friend? Partner? Chloe really still wasn't sure what her parents truly thought about the nature of their relationship, but at the moment it was not of the utmost importance.

Beca was still much more quiet than normal. She was not taking part in the Beale boys boisterous and witty conversation as she normally did while they waited for Dr. Conrad.

Chloe was extra attentive, on her feet the moment the brunette even twitched slightly. She got her everything she might possibly need, from food to water or tea, a cold cloth or a clean rag. Beca let her for a while but all the jumping around was getting on her nerves. Eventually she snapped at Chloe and told her the only thing she wanted was for Chloe to join her on the couch. She grabbed her hand and pulled her down. Mindful of the house they were in, and the eyes that might see. She simply gave her a warm, but very gentle hug. When the doctor came through the door Chloe was back on her feet again, trying to be of assistance in any and all ways possible, leaving Beca rolling her eyes.

The attractive brunette doctor looked Beca over. He fixed up the wound on Beca's head, complimenting how Chloe had taken care of it. Regardless, he replaced it with the much less rudimentary materials he had for it, giving her instructions on how to change the bandage.

While Beca had some quite impressive bruising, internal bleeding was ruled out. There wasn't swelling, which was a good sign. She didn't even have any broken ribs, definitely bruised, but nothing broken.

The doctor confirmed that Beca had a concussion. Bed rest would be the order for the next little while. No lights, no noises. He looked to Chloe to make sure she understood. Beca groaned hearing the orders. But the no-nonsense, very serious look she got from Chloe said everything.

Once the doctor left, Chloe put Beca into her childhood bed giving strict instructions to her mother about how to care for her, and not to give in to any puppy dog eyes. She went to the Mitchell bakery and informed them what had happened.

The Mitchell's were far less concerned about Beca and Chloe's relationship. They didn't really understand it of course. But associating with a member of the Beale household was far more than they could have ever imagined for their daughter. Whether that Beale was male or female, did it really matter?

They were concerned when Beca hadn't showed up for work that day, and when Chloe got them caught up they assured her Beca could have as much time off as she needed. Beca's one biological brother Michael (Mike) Cooke Mitchell, a few years older than her and rescued from the streets with her, was concerned as well. He just hid it far better between his joking around.

As Chloe walked from the bakery back to her parents home she couldn't help but look suspiciously at every young man she passed. Even when Beca got better, then what? What's to stop this from happening again? The times were getting more and more dangerous, and what could they do about it? She knew Beca wasn't going to let her keep her in the house for forever. And they did have bills to pay. They didn't want to live off of either parents funds forever. Chloe just didn't think she could bare to let Beca walk away. She would worry the entire time she was gone about her getting beaten up. Or worse.

When she got back home her father pulled her into his study. They discussed their options. Upon talking to his sons he didn't think that going after the boys, or even trying to find them, would work. Things like this happened all the time. If it were Chloe, perhaps. But Beca wouldn't have legal protection to be able to prosecute the attackers. Her father could see the tone of the legal system changing. By this point it was nearly unrecognizable. He couldn't promise they would be safe. He couldn't promise that nothing like this would happen again. Their conversation did nothing to alleive her fears.

Chloe got her parents chauffeur to drive them with their mortar vehicle, hoping it would cause less sensory overload for Beca than walking. Beca spent the ride with her face pressed into Chloe's shoulder, with Chloe's hand running through her chocolate locks. That itself was enough to inspire worry. Normally, given a ride in the motor vehicle with a chauffeur and all would cause Beca to be buzzing in her seat with excitement, and an onslaught of jokes about Chloe "growing up in the lap of luxury". She put Beca in bed, drawing the drapes closed, trying to block out the rest of the world as best she could.

Beca whined in the days that followed about having anything to do.

"I swear you payed off that doctor with your parents money just so you could cuddle me to death all weekend."

"Mmmm you finally guessed my evil masterplan. You're much brighter than you look." She teased, burying her face deeper into the squirmy girls neck. Beca scoffed.

While Beca complained, she wasn't able to complain too much. She did feel much more tired than normal. It was nice to get the extra rest and of course the Chloe cuddles made everything better. Not that she would be caught dead admitting to that. After a few days Chloe tried to help pass the time by reading to her. She went out daily picking up books from the library that she thought would interest Beca.

As the days passed Beca slowly got better. She started moving around despite Chloe's insistence she be careful. She helped out with dinner, even with the extra laundry Chloe took in for the extra money they needed.

Day by day the nasty bruises began to look a bit better. The gash on her head became less likely to burst open. And Beca herself was getting back to normal. Despite being locked in by a stubborn red-head.

Despite Beca's improvements she still didn't want to set her back or make things worse. So when one day she had a breathless brunette straddling her in bed with a playful glint in her eye she protested.

"Beca, no. We can't." Beca huffed and deflated, resting her head on her hands placed on Chloe's chest. She tilted her face up to meet Chloe's eyes, their legs tangling together.

"You're basically holding me hostage here Chloeee" she whined. "Least make it worthwhile!"

"I don't want to, y'know," She ran her hand through Beca's hair, ruffling it gently. "bang your head around too much."

When the physician gave Beca a clean bill of health about two weeks into recovery, Chloe had no excuse anymore. It was time they talked, really talk.

A/N: Honestly? This was SUPPOSED to be a one-shot. But even as I wrote the first chapter it was blatantly unfinished, and I had written nearly an entire chapter more before it had been posted. Thre overwhelmingly positive reviews pushed me to continue, even though I already have two Bechloe stories on the go already. There should be about... maybe 7 chapters? Of which all except for the next chapter is ready. I swear this was supposed to be a one shot. Opps? But Beca and Chloe from this universe have more to say. So buckle up cream-puffs.