Chloe doesn't remember it until she finds it while she and Beca are packing: the letter from Beca's mother. She and Beca spend all their time together, so it's not like she would have had time to read it yet anyway, and she doesn't really want to hide what's in it from Beca, so she decides she's not going to open it until she has a chance to voice her concerns. She doesn't want to hide anything from Beca. She doesn't want to break the trust that Beca has given her.

Chloe sees Beca find her letter as well. Beca looks at it for a moment before sliding it in the front pocket of her suitcase. Chloe still can't believe that all Beca brought was that small suitcase full of clothes and her laptop bag. She can't imagine being able to go away for a few weeks with just that.

It isn't until Chloe goes to grab the Christmas presents that she realizes their plans aren't going to work. Between the Chloe's framed poster, Beca's new piece of art, and Beca's new piece of equipment, they weren't going to be able to fit those in their luggage. Chloe frowns. Technically, they could leave the poster and the artwork here, but that still leaves Beca's new piece of equipment that Chloe still doesn't know exactly what it is. And Chloe really wants to take Beca's artwork because she does want Beca to find that letter from the artist inside the frame.

She tries to think of her options. She doesn't think she has many, and those she can think of thus far aren't ones she likes.

Chloe walks back into Beca's room with Beca's new electronic in her arms. Beca looks up at her and frowns. Chloe thinks she's realizing what Chloe had just realized herself. That isn't going on the plane with them.

"Hey Becs," Chloe says as she places Beca's gift carefully on the bed.

Beca looks up.

"How do you feel about road trips?" Chloe asks.

It's late when Chloe wakes up. It's dark out, and Chloe looks around trying to see where she is.

"Hey sleepyhead," Beca says.

Chloe smiles at her girlfriend. "Hey, how long was I out?" Chloe asks.

"A while," Beca answers. "We've only got like a half hour left."

"Shit," Chloe says. "Why didn't you wake me? You didn't have to drive the rest of the way."

"I'm fine," Beca says. "I like driving, and you just looked so cute and peaceful."

Chloe tries to make Beca let her drive the last leg, even if it is only a half hour, but Beca refuses, citing that with so little of the trip left, it just makes sense for them to just continue until they get there. Beca for once wins out. Chloe even tries to pout, but Beca keeps her eyes on the road and Chloe's pout doesn't work if Beca's not looking at it.

The last thirty minutes fly by, and before Chloe knows it they're pulling into the parking garage for her parents' apartment. Not that you could tell it was just an apartment from the inside. Her father owns the building and of course they have the penthouse, which is really the top four floors.

Chloe directs Beca through the garage to a space close to the entrance which is marked 'Reserved for Chloe Beale.' Chloe was always baffled as to why she had a reserved parking spot when she'd never had her own car until recently.

"Just grab your laptop," Chloe says knowing Beca won't want to leave it in the car. "We'll get the rest of it later." Normally her father would send someone down to get their stuff, but it's a rental car, so they wouldn't be able to get into it anyway.

They make their way into the building and Beca marvels at the size of it, and they haven't even made it to the elevator yet.

"It's funny," Chloe says. "Dad's a lot like me, doesn't need the big houses or anything. He wouldn't have this place if mom didn't love the space. He says he wanted to get me a small little cottage he found, but mom insisted I have a nice big place they could visit if they wanted to."

Beca stops. Chloe watches as she gets a soft smile on her face and her hand unconsciously floats to her stomach. She looks over at Chloe and says, "Someday we'll have a small little cottage, through our own efforts."

Chloe pulls Beca in for a kiss, because her keep everyone at a distance girlfriend just implied that they would have their very own house together someday, and yeah, she loves that, and her.

"Ready?" Chloe asks when they break.

Beca nods. "I think so."

They get into the elevator and Chloe pushes the button for the twentieth floor. She's glad that they have the elevator to themselves, and she takes advantage of it by pulling Beca into a kiss. When the doors open, Chloe leads the way to a second elevator. Chloe types in her password into the little keypad next to the elevator and the doors open. They make their way to the twenty-third floor where Chloe's bedroom is.

The twenty-third floor is where all the kids' bedrooms are. It looks like apartments, but that's the way Chloe's father had designed it for when they had friends over. Chloe's room is 'apartment' two.

Beca puts her laptop down carefully and as soon as it's out of her hands, Chloe drags Beca to the bed. Despite having slept most of the trip, Chloe is still exhausted and she knows Beca is too. They fall asleep curled up together within a matter of minutes.

It's almost ten when Chloe wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on her door the next morning.

"Mmmm Go away," Beca mumbles, unconsciously moving so that her body is perfectly fit into Chloe's. Chloe chuckles and tightens her grip on her sleeping girlfriend.

"Come in," Chloe says as quietly as she can while still being loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear her.

Chloe's father enters her room.

"Morning daddy," Chloe says.

"Morning, kiddo," Chloe's father says. "What time did you get in?"

"Like nine or ten," Chloe says. "We were really tired, and just went right to bed."

"Well we're planning on heading to brunch at Niko's at eleven if you ladies would like to join us."

"Sounds perfect daddy," Chloe says. "I'll just wake up Beca and we'll be down before eleven."

Chloe decides to let Beca sleep a little longer, seeing as she was the one who had driven hours to New York. She moves to get out of bed, but Beca turns and grabs her, still mostly asleep and says, "Stay." Chloe smiles and curls up to Beca once more. She kind of loves how needy Beca has become, seeing as she wouldn't even call her at first.

Fifteen minutes later and Chloe knows they should get up. Just then, she feel Beca stirring. Beca turns over, while still remaining almost exactly where she is, so that she's now facing Chloe. Chloe can feel Beca's breath on her. Chloe smiles at how cute Beca looks when she's asleep, not that she hasn't noticed before. Beca's eyes slowly flutter open, as if she subconsciously knew that Chloe would have to wake her up if she didn't wake up herself. Her lips slowly curl up into a smile.

"This is the best view I've ever had when I've woken up," Beca says. Beca's smiling softly at her, her eyes filled with adoration. They lie there together like that, their hands intertwined until Chloe sees Beca's eyes widen. In an instant Beca is out of bed and running into the en suite.

Chloe's not far behind her, having had this happen many times. She hold Beca's hair back as she empties her stomach into the toilet. Her hand rubbing gentle circles on Beca's back. When Beca slumps back onto the floor, Chloe disappears, reappearing a moment later with Beca's toothbrush and toothpaste, knowing Beca won't feel better until the taste is completely gone from her mouth.

"Feel better?" Chloe asks. Beca nods. "It's almost ten-thirty. Dad wants us downstairs at eleven so we can go to brunch, do you feel up to it?"

"Yeah," Beca says. "Sounds good. Maybe I can get to know your family a little better."

Chloe smiles. She lets Beca take a shower first, though she definitely contemplates ambushing her shower again. She doesn't think Beca would mind as much this time around, but they haven't taken that step in their relationship yet and Chloe thinks if she ambushes Beca, she won't be able to help herself. She doesn't want their first time to be like that. She wants their first time to be special, something worth remembering. She knows that Beca doesn't even remember her first time, and it's not exactly something she's fond of thinking about, so she definitely wants it to be special for her girlfriend, but she also wants it to be special for her, because she's in love with Beca, and she wants to be able to take her time and show Beca just how much she means to her.

Chloe picks out her clothes as she waits for Beca to finish up in the shower. She picks out something nice, but still casual. It's a navy blue shirt with jeans that will make Beca's eyes pop when she stands next to her.

It's not long before they're both showered and dressed and ready to go. Chloe leads Beca back to the elevator and head down to the twenty-first floor, which is very much the main floor. It's where they entertain when they're in New York. She finds when they reach the living room, that only her father is ready to go, which isn't surprising.

Carrie and her mother walk in just as Chloe is pulling her girlfriend onto her lap. Chloe suppresses a chuckle as she thinks about how it's always the boys (minus her father) who are the last to arrive.

It's five after eleven by the time that they actually leave, which leaves her father slightly annoyed, despite the fact that their family is hardly ever on time. She thinks the next time she wants her family to be somewhere by a certain time, to tell them that they need to be there by a time earlier than they actually have to be there. She tucks that thought away for future reference.

Chloe introduces Beca to Leah, Joseph's wife, when she and Joseph enter the restaurant two minutes after the everyone else has been seated.

Niko's is a favorite of Chloe's. They have amazing food, and a buffet style brunch, but they're small and tucked away and not a place that the people her parents' often associate with would be caught in. But Chloe supposes that's because from the outside it looks dingy and dirty and like the type of place you might find a cockroach in your food, even if the inside is impeccably clean and nicely decorated with a peaceful and friendly atmosphere. But then, it could also be because a lot of the people who come round to her parents' penthouse are snobby and rich and would think that a place like this is beneath them.

Despite the awkwardness of Thanksgiving, this time around, everyone seemed to get along well. Joseph didn't seem as hostile to Chloe or Beca, though Chloe wonders if that could be attributed to the fact that Leah was with him this time, whereas she'd had to work through Thanksgiving and had sent him on his merry way to be with the rest of his family. She wasn't quite sure whether he was behaving now because she's here, or if he had been in a rotten mood then because she wasn't there. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Carrie is still taken with Beca, her make-up done similarly. Chloe suspects that Carrie is trying to be just like Beca, and she's both amused and disgusted by this thought.

Without the distractions of the household, Matthew and Connor seem to take more of an interest in Beca, who's the only person at the table they don't really know. They ask lots of questions and Beca answers them as best she can and honestly, though some questions she answers with a 'I'm not really comfortable sharing that' or a 'Sorry, kid, not telling' and even a 'That's a story for when you're older. Much older.'

The boys took everything in stride, momentarily fascinated with the newest member of the group, much like they had been with Leah years back. The rest of the family seemed content with letting the young ones do the questioning and absorbing the new information, though they occasionally added a comment or a question into the mix.

By the time they've finished brunch, Beca has declared that she won't answer any more personal questions for the duration of their stay. There's a small protest, but given the amount of questions Beca answered at brunch, Chloe thinks it's reasonable and backs Beca up. She gives Beca a peck on the cheek and declares that she's taking Beca to see the city. They disappear out the door and onto the streets, Chloe literally dragging Beca by the arm as she launches herself towards nowhere in particular determined to show Beca the best parts of the city.

Chloe drags Beca to a little store on 3rd and Park. It's so deep inside the building that if you passed over the sign on the narrow entranceway that leads to the store, as so many people do, you'd never know it was there. Chloe being the bubbly effervescent people person she is, is ever the observant one, and happened to notice it right away.

Chloe smiles softly as she watches Beca's eyes light up. Chloe frequents the store whenever she's in New York. It's an awesome music store that has everything from iPods to vinyl and everything in between. Chloe loves how the store never plays Top 40 hits and instead plays music that you probably would never discover if you hadn't walked into the store, thus broadening her wide array of musical knowledge.

There's a small room tucked in the back corner next to the employee's only door. It's like a little soundproof studio that's open to the public, and after a few minutes of Beca browsing, Chloe takes her hand and pulls her to it.

"Make something," Chloe says.

Beca sets up the sound board. She fiddles around with levers and buttons and other things until she's satisfied. She picks up and acoustic in the corner and begins to lay down a track. She soon moves on to other instruments until finally, she says "Chloe, it's your turn."

Chloe looks up, confused. She doesn't know how to use all this stuff. Sure she can do the guitar and the keyboard, but that's about it.

"You gotta sing for me," Beca says. She's grinning at Chloe. Chloe grins back. She's missed singing, and even though she's not exactly sure what Beca wants her to sing, she's excited to be doing it.

"What am I singing?" Chloe asks.

"Whatever comes to your mind?" Beca says. "Just listen to the track and go with your instinct."

Chloe stands in front of the mic that Beca has set up. She slowly lowers the headphones over her ears and listens to the music that her girlfriend has created. While she listened while Beca was recording each instrument, she had no idea how Beca had known it would all come together like it does. She thinks Beca must be a genius. She bops her head along to the beat and before she knows it, she's in the middle of recording a song. She hadn't even realized she'd started singing until she hears herself when Beca's track ends.

Beca ends the recording.

"That was amazing!" They both say at the same time when Chloe removes her headphones.

"I don't know how you do this, Becs," Chloe says. "You just went about doing your thing, and you've arranged all these different instruments to sound like a masterpiece, without even a moment to think about it."

"What about you?" Beca says. "I gave you a brand new track you've never heard before and you just came in like a pro and delivered an amazing song. Like, you didn't even listen to the whole track and you already knew exactly what to sing. You're just…wow. I don't have the words."

Both girls are blushing now. Beca puts on the headphones and listens to the track. She fiddles with it a little bit, recording small bits of instrumental pieces before fiddling with it some more, and Chloe watches, captivated by her girlfriend's passion and the way she looks when she's concentrating with the crease in her forehead and her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth.

Before she knows it, Beca's sitting back in the chair with a broad smile on her face. "Come listen," Beca says.

Beca puts the headphones on Chloe's ears and Chloe's eyes widen when she hears the completed track. "This is amazing, Beca," Chloe says.

As Chloe slowly fades back into consciousness, she rolls over to cuddle with Beca, only to find Beca's not there. She frowns as she opens her eyes. Chloe's disappointed to find that Beca's not in the room. She doesn't hear anyone in the shower either. She rolls out of bed and puts on some sweats before making her way down to the main level, hoping to find her girlfriend.

As the elevator doors open she hears the melodious sound of her girlfriend's laugh and she perks up. She finds Beca in the kitchen, flipping pancakes and talking with Connor, who has become rapidly fascinated with Beca in the past few days.

Chloe sneaks up behind Beca and wraps her arms around her girlfriend. "Morning," Chloe says. Beca turns her head as much as she can and kisses Chloe. "Morning," Beca says back.

"Ewwww," Connor says, covering his eyes. Beca and Chloe chuckle at him. Connor is only seven and still thinks that kissing is gross.

"Sorry, bud," Beca says. "How many pancakes?"

Connor holds up his hand, indicating he wants five. Chloe tries to stifle a laugh, but doesn't manage to do so. Connor frowns at her.

"How about we start you off with two?" Beca says. "And I'll make you more when you finish them."

Connor agrees and Beca makes to move, but Chloe holds onto her.

"Babe, they're gonna burn if you don't let me go," Beca says.

"Don't wanna," Chloe mumbles, but after a few moments she loosens her grip enough for Beca to get the pancakes before they burn. Beca puts two on a plate and hands them to Connor.

"You know," Beca says, "You kind of ruined my plans of bringing you breakfast in bed."

"I woke up and you weren't there," Chloe says. "I just wanted to be wherever you are, so I went looking for you."

Beca grins and leans in for another kiss.

"Ewwww," Connor says again. He doesn't cover his eyes this time, he just continues shoveling pancake into his mouth.

"In about ten years, I'm going to walk in on you kissing some girl," Chloe says. She pauses for a moment. "Or boy," she adds. "And I'm going to remind you of this moment right in front of him or her," she finishes.

Connor just smiles. "In your dreams," he says as he finishes the last of his pancakes and scurries off towards the living room where Chloe knows he's about to turn on cartoons, but not before mumbling "kissing is gross, I'm never gonna do it," under his breath.

Chloe tries not to laugh. She manages to hold it in until Connor's out of the room, and Beca's laugh joins hers seconds later.

"He's so cute," Beca says. "You're really going to remind him of this is you ever catch him kissing someone aren't you?"

Chloe nods. "It's my right as an older sister to embarrass the hell out of my siblings."

Beca laughs more.

"So, what do you think about ditching the ruined breakfast in bed idea, and we go get breakfast at this place I've been wanting to take you to?" Chloe says.

It's not long before Beca and Chloe have finished cleaning up the kitchen, gotten showered and dressed and manage to make their way out of the apartment. The place Chloe is taking Beca is a place that she's never shared with any of her family, whether or not anybody else in her family has found it, she hopes she'll never know.

Chloe drags Beca into the building, practically skipping as she calls out, "Uncle Sal, Aunt Vivian, I'm back!"

Sal and Vivian aren't actually related to Chloe, but Chloe views them as family, and as such calls them and treats them like family. They own the building. The first floor they've turned into the restaurant. It's called Kennedy's Place, after their granddaughter, Kennedy who was the one who told them they should start a restaurant. Sal and Vivian live on the second floor, and they rent out the apartments in the upper floors.

The restaurant doesn't actually get much business. It's quiet and peaceful and Chloe loves that. She used to come here and just read and nibble on all sorts of snacks that Sal and Vivian would bring her. Most of the regulars are just people who live in the building. Despite the fact that with the amount of business the restaurant brings in, they should theoretically be bankrupt, Kennedy's Place is open pretty much all the time. It closes randomly when Sal and Vivian feel like it, but since the Sal is an insomniac, they keep it open at all hours of the night.

Chloe introduces Beca to Sal and Vivian. She loves that they seem to get along. Sal cringes when Beca asks for an omelet with Bacon and Pickles, but assures her that he'll make her the best Bacon and pickle omelet she's ever had. Vivian just watches with a knowing smile. Chloe tells Sal to surprise her with something new, and Sal delights in the challenge.

Chloe grins as Beca moans with every bite of her omelet. Chloe's food was amazing, too, though she wasn't quite sure what it was. It tasted every bit as good as every other thing Sal had ever made her, and he'd made her quite a lot over the years. She didn't know what half of the things he fed her were, but she trusted him and he'd never made her something she didn't love.

"So," Beca says after she swallows the last of her omelet. She pauses to chug some apple juice before continuing. "Other than making an appearance at your parent's party tonight, are there any plans you have that I should be aware of?"

Chloe grins. She had almost forgotten it's New Year's Eve.

"No," Chloe says. "I just figured we'd disappear to the roof just before midnight."

Beca's eyes are sparkling with mischief and Chloe wonders what she's up to.

It's eleven o'clock and there's only one more hour left of the year. Chloe's dancing with Beca in the living room as the party her parents throw every New Year's Eve is thoroughly under way. Chloe's introduced Beca to a number of people she knows, though she doesn't really know them that well. As the song ends, Beca grabs Chloe and leads her away.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?" Beca says. Chloe knows Beca has something planned from the twinkle in her eyes. Chloe nods and let's Beca lead her to the elevator.

Chloe wonders where Beca could possibly be taking her. She doesn't think Beca's been in the city long enough to have special places like Chloe does, but maybe she doesn't know Beca as well as she likes to think she does. She deflates at the possibility.

Chloe eyes Beca warily as she pushes through the throng of drunkards and stops in front of the Empire State Building.

"Becs," Chloe says.

"Come on," Beca says.

Beca opens the door, which reads 'closed for maintenance' on it. A security guard approaches them and Chloe is sure they're about to get busted for trespassing or breaking and entering or something of the sort.

"Miss Mitchell," the guard says. "Miss Beale, please follow me."

Chloe is anxious. How did the guard know their names? What was he going to do with them?

"Relax, babe," Beca whispers into Chloe's ear.

It's quarter to midnight when they reach the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and Chloe looks around in wonderment. It had been decorated with strings of fairy lights and flowers and there was music playing and a clock counting down until midnight. A table with sparkling apple cider and two glasses, and what looked like chocolate covered strawberries.

"How did you?" Chloe says.

Beca grins mischievously. "I have my ways," she says.

Beca feeds Chloe a chocolate covered strawberry before pulling her close and swaying to the beat of the music. Chloe wants to tell Beca that she loves her, because she does, so much, but she wants Beca to say it before she says it again. Regardless, the words are on the tip of her tongue, ready to fall out at the drop of a dime.

She just barely manages to hold the words in. As it nears midnight, Beca feeds Chloe another strawberry, and pour some sparkling cider into the champagne flutes. Chloe takes the opportunity to feed Beca a strawberry this time, and she holds her girlfriend close as the countdown begins.

The kiss as the new year begins, and Chloe delights in the taste of a mixture of Strawberries, Chocolate and Beca. She doesn't want it to stop, but they're only human, and eventually they have to break for air.

"Best New Year's Ever," Beca says. Chloe hums in agreement.

New Year's Day wasn't too eventful for the Beale Clan. The adults, minus Chloe (and Beca) were all nursing hangovers, and thus left the functioning adults (Chloe and Beca) to watch after the younger children. Beca, wanting to bond with Chloe's siblings, decides she's going to take them out to do fun things. Beca is flabbergasted when all of the Beale's (Chloe included) admit that they've never been bowling.

Chloe's nervous. What if she embarrasses herself in front of Beca? With her siblings around to hold it over her for the rest of time? Beca seems to sense her discomfort because she comes over and squeezes Chloe's hand.

"You're gonna be great," Beca reassures her. "And if you're not, then I suck, too, so it won't matter."

Chloe smiles at Beca. When did she become so good at knowing exactly what to say?

It turns out Beca is right, anyway. Chloe is awesome at bowling. And Beca is terrible. Connor's pretty good for a seven-year old. He manages to get less gutterballs than Beca, but then how Beca managed to get so many gutterballs with them using the bumpers baffles Chloe.

Chloe can see her sister, Carrie (easily the worst in the group at bowling) trying to flirt with Beca. She's annoyed with her sister, but Beca is perfect as ever, managing to shoot her down without being mean. Of course, that means that Carrie still hasn't stopped flirting. Chloe rolls her eyes at her sister as she once again tries to get Beca to show her how to bowl better, to which Beca once again redirects her efforts to Chloe, who's easily the best at bowling in the group.

Matthew can hold his own at bowling. He's only eleven, but Chloe's sure, if he practices, he'll be an exceptional bowler by the time he's her age. They're having so much fun and Chloe wonders why they've never been bowling before. She wonders if her parents have ever bowled.

During their proclaimed last game of bowling, Chloe finally loses her temper with Carrie.

"Jesus Christ, Carrie," Chloe says. Her anger is clear in her voice, but it quiet enough to not rouse the attention of anyone not already paying attention to their group. "For the love of all things holy, Please stop flirting with my girlfriend. She's taken, and you're too young for her anyway."

Beca grins at Chloe, mouthing a thank you behind Carrie's back. Carrie on the other hand looks mortified, as if she thought she was being subtle.

Beca pays for everyone despite Chloe's protests. Chloe leads them to Dave and Busters so the kids can eat and play and so hopefully Chloe can get a moment alone with her girlfriend. It's a success when Chloe tells them they can go play after they've finished all their food. She's gotten them all cards to play with.

Connor shovels food into his mouth, finishing his plate first. Granted, being the youngest, he also had the smallest amount of food, but he had raced to the 'finish line' and is now leveling Chloe with a look that says 'I did what you wanted, now give me what I want. Beca chuckles at this and ruffles his hair, to which Connor scowls and Beca laughs more. Beca hands Connor the card and tells him to go have fun and not to talk to strangers as he runs off into the arcade.

Matthew finishes a few minutes later, and waits patiently for Chloe to notice. She does, but she kind of wants to see how long she can get him to wait. Two minutes later, Beca subtly elbows her, silently telling her to just give him the damn card already.

Carrie seems to be dawdling. Chloe knows she's still trying to get to Beca, and she knows that Beca's not interested, but she doesn't want to give Carrie the chance to think that Beca's interested. Eventually Carrie finishes her plate, but still lingers at the table. It isn't until Chloe points out a girl that looks an awful lot like Carrie's best friend Victoria, that Carrie asks for her card and takes off running. Turns out, it is Victoria, and Chloe knows they'll probably be bringing four kids back to the loft instead of three.

By the time they leave, all five of them, plus Victoria, have their arms full of prizes as they head back to the loft. Chloe's relieved that they're all exhausted. She knows Connor, and probably Matthew as well, will probably pass out within minutes of reaching their rooms. Carrie will take Victoria to her room, and probably be up all night talking. Chloe tries not to think about how they'll probably end up talking about her girlfriend.

It's nearing midnight by the time Chloe and Beca finally get to bed. They've been lying there silently, eyes closed, for nearly twenty minutes. Chloe thinks Beca's asleep, and she knows she's nearly there herself.

Suddenly she feels Beca, sweeping hair out of her face.

"I know I'm a coward for waiting until you're asleep to say this," Beca says. "But I think…No, I know I'm falling in love with you. It scares me though, because I swore I'd never fall in love, but then you came along, and I can't imagine my life without you anymore. One day, I'll even be able to say this to you when you're awake."

Chloe feels Beca settle back beside her, as her eyes pop open wide.

What do you think?