A/N - Evening all! Just a cheeky update for you all. I know some folks are a little confused about what's going on so please be rest assured, I have it all under control. Honest! This chapter is a little bonkers, and again, is a two parter so if it doesn't feel like it's finished, the second half will be up soon.

Thanks to my beta, for all you do and thank you to everyone for reading along x

.oOo. Chapter Twenty Two .oOo.

"Good morning." Chloe said, forcing a bright smile as she approached the reception desk of the mediation centre that Aubrey had suggested she visit. She'd arrived at least half an hour earlier for her scheduled appointment, nervous and feeling slightly timid of the reaction she might get from Beca again. She'd woken that morning with a headache that just wouldn't shift and an ache in her gut that she couldn't explain.

'Be less Chloe.'

That thought had sat with her all weekend. She knew Aubrey meant well when she had said it, knowing her friend wouldn't intentionally say anything to upset her. Aubrey had a way of explaining things to Chloe that no one else could and she knew, deep down, it was because Aubrey was the only person to really get her. She saw behind the Hollywood movie star façade and the good fortune and wide circle of friends. She knew Chloe meant well at everything she did but, as Aubrey had pointed out to her just a few days beforehand, she had received everything in life on a silver platter.

'Be less Chloe.'

She'd spent the whole of Sunday wondering what it would be to live in Beca's shoes. By the evening, she'd confidentially worked out that she had absolutely no idea how to begin imagining it and vowed to work on herself. She knew she was generally well liked but as the day wore on, she began to doubt everything around her. By the time Monday came around, she was so on edge that she nearly cancelled her own meeting but instead, had showered and dressed in record time and had left the house almost an hour earlier than she'd meant to collect a take out coffee. She wasn't sure if having caffeine when she was already jittery was a good idea but as she pulled up to the drive thru window, she figured it also couldn't make anything worse.

'Be less Chloe.'

Although it was obvious that the server recognised her, she was grateful there wasn't much interaction other than to hand over her coffee in a double cup and thank each other. She was starting to doubt how real her life was and if there was a way for her to turn back time and start over again. She'd spent hours, replaying everything in her mind and while, deep down, she knew she wasn't a terrible person, she knew she'd acted like one over the past few months.

"Hello, and welcome to the Smith-Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger Institute Of Mediation And Positive Thinking." The cheery receptionist's pleasant voice cut into her daydream.

"I've got an appointment this morning at ten o'clock, with John Smith. My name is Chloe Mitchem." Chloe said politely, tucking some loose hair behind her ear, thinking to herself that she probably should have tied her hair up rather than leave it loose, as she was less likely to fiddle with it.

"No problem, I can see your appointment in Mr. Smith's calendar. Can you sign in here, please?" The receptionist asked, pointing to a small tablet screwed to the front desk. Chloe read the small sign on her desk that said her name was Claudia.

"Yes, of course," Chloe said, quickly tapping in her details. "Do you know if Miss Rebeca Mitchell has arrived for the same meeting?"

"I'm afraid I don't have her checked in yet," Claudia said, after checking the screen in front of her. "But it is still early."

"Yes, of course. I thought traffic was going to be bad…" Chloe trailed off, not quite knowing why she was babbling to the receptionist so much. The receptionist smiled at her, unaware of the situation.

"This is for you," Claudia said, laying a visitor badge on the top of the desk. She pointed to a small waiting area to the left of the double doors that Chloe had come through just a couple of minutes beforehand. "If you'd like to wait over there, Mr. Smith will come and collect you. Please help yourself to coffee and let me know if there's anything you might need to make your wait more pleasant."

"Thank you very much," Chloe said politely, hitching her purse onto her shoulder and nodding to the receptionist.

She walked over to the bench seats that formed a squashed diamond shape and sat down. The table in the middle of the room was littered with magazines and glossy supplements and she internally cringed slightly when she saw at least three of the covers contained her picture. One of them was taken just a couple of weeks ago when she was picking up a few groceries and looking a little worse for wear after the couple of bottles of expensive Merlot that she'd shared with Aubrey the night before.

She found her mind drifting, wondering if Beca enjoyed wine as much as she did. Or if she didn't, what her favourite drink was. She didn't know her favourite food, or if she liked movies or... as she thought about it some more, anything about her at all anymore. She held onto the memory of how Beca treated her in the hospital and how they'd discussed music more than anything else. Chloe's head dropped a little as she thought how she'd never really taken the opportunity to get to know Beca, as a person, rather than just someone to communicate with over Jessie.

She began to wonder, as the minutes clicked by and her coffee began to wear off, if Beca would even show up that day.

It had taken everything she had in her not to reply to every one of Beca's texts. She felt guilty about making her wait for a response, but she knew Aubrey was right. She'd sent Beca the email, inviting her to the mediation meeting, and hoped for a reply but as yet, she still hadn't received one. Aubrey had typed the email out, not allowing Chloe to put her usually whimsical charm into the wording, citing the reason for that as it needed to remain professional sounding. Although she couldn't give Chloe a good enough reason why, when her friend had questioned her.

Chloe crossed one knee over the other and flicked a stray piece of cotton off of her jeans. She'd opted for casual that morning, not in the mood to play dress up or wear business attire. She'd chosen an outfit similar to the one she wore on the day she'd met Beca for the first time since the news had sunk in that their daughters had been swapped. She felt that without Ms. Davies being there, they might have had a better outcome and she wondered, in the back of her mind, whether it was because she'd also dressed casually and came across more on Beca's wavelength.

She hated herself for having those thoughts now, wondering if it was that kind of thinking that made it obvious to those around that it was assumed that she thought quite highly of herself. She had never intended to come across like that to anyone because, deep down, that wasn't her.

Chloe cleared her throat and checked the time of the small clock on the wall. She still had twenty minutes to wait and was getting antsy. She didn't want to touch the magazines as she couldn't be bothered to read more fake news about herself. So far that month, as Chloe had been a little absent around town, there'd been rumours that she had entered rehab for drug abuse... but there'd also been rumours that she'd been abducted by aliens, run off to join a cult that worshiped goats and, her personal favourite, that she was undergoing therapy for tax evasion of all things.

"Mrs. Mitchem?"

"Yes?" Chloe's head snapped up at the sound of her name.

"Hello, I'm John Smith, co-founder of the Smith-Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger Institute Of Mediation And Positive Thinking. I'm actually the brains behind the whole outfit, which is why my name comes first!" John said, holding out his hand for Chloe to shake. "That, and because I'm a man, I am more superior."

He chuckled at his own joke as he smiled at Chloe.

"I must say, you are much prettier in real life." He continued. "I expect you get by on your looks alone, is that right? I'm right, aren't I?"

"Umm-"

"-Shall we head upstairs to BED?"

"Excuse me?"

"BED. It stands for Bugbear Evaluation Department. You have a bugbear, a problem, that you've come to us for and we are the ones who will sort it out for you once you are evaluated." John over explained, smiling so wide it looked painful. He held out his hand to his side, indicating away from the seating area. "Shall we?"

"Umm, yes. Sure." Chloe said, rising to her feet and following John as he headed towards the elevators beyond the reception desk. "Has Miss Mitchell arrived yet?"

"I don't know. Was she driving herself here today?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, you know women," John said, pausing to press the call button for the elevator. He looked over towards Chloe's confused face. "What I mean is, women are bad driver's so she's probably late because of that. You know statistically, women are more likely to have a car accident on a Wednesday afternoon at four, than they are at becoming doctors. Did you know that?"

"No. Is that real?"

John turned and smiled as the elevator doors opened.

"After you." He said politely, stepping in behind Chloe as she passed him. "My colleague, Gail, will wait for the other party to arrive."

"Okay, thank you. And Gail... is she one of the other co-founders?"

"Yes, she is. She's on her fourth marriage but we've stopped adding her names to the company name now. Changing the logo every two years gets expensive."

Chloe sided eyed the man with whom she was sharing a lift, wondering what on earth Aubrey was on to have recommended this man, and the company, to her.

"After you've met with myself and Gail today, you can speak with Claudia on reception to book any follow up appointments."

"I understand," Chloe said simply, thinking that as long as she could get through the next couple of hours, she didn't actually have to come back.

"And how long have you known Mrs. Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger?"

"Oh, you can call her Gail. Everyone here is on a first name basis, except me, 'cos I'm a man and therefore, more important." John said, his manner friendly, but his word choice was strange.

Chloe narrowed her eyes a little.

The elevator stopped on the ninth floor of the building, and the doors opened to reveal a waiting area which consisted of a couple of rows of wooden lockers, a water machine, and a statue of John made out of matchsticks, bubblegum, and moss of all things. Chloe was beginning to feel quite hot and made sure she noted where all of the emergency exits were, should she feel the need to leave suddenly.

"We will be in room three today, Mrs. Mitchem. If you would like to get undressed, and leave all of your belongings, shoes, and purse in one of the lockers and wait for me here, I'll go ahead and get the room ready."

'Undressed?'

"Sorry, excuse me, did you say undressed?" She blurted out as John turned away.

"Why yes. We can't conduct a mediation meeting if you are wearing a jacket for example. We find things like sleeves a terrible distraction, especially for a woman."

'He means your coat, get it together Chloe!'

"Thank you." She said, hoping that no one else had heard her ask such a strange question. He nodded briskly to her once, before turning and leaving her in the second waiting area.

She quickly chose a locker and laid her purse inside. Opening it, she reached in for her phone, checking there were no messages from Stacie, before switching it to silent mode. She'd left the institute's number for Stacie on the fridge in case of an emergency but she also knew Stacie was more than capable of dealing with most problems.

Shrugging her thin summer jacket off, she pulled out the coat hanger inside the locker and threaded it through the arms, making sure to line up the creases of the sleeves with the hard plastic. Wondering why she was doing that when there were better things to be worrying about, she reached down to slip off her sandals and placed them in the locker.

She noted that there were spa style slippers for her to wear so dropped them to the floor and pushed her feet inside, closing the locker door and turning the small plastic key to keep it locked, slipping it into her pocket for safety. She turned to look around the room, her eye catching a couple of landscape pictures and a hand drawn picture that John himself had done when, judging by the caption, he was in second grade.

Chloe shook her head, trying to rationalise her thoughts as this whole place confused her. She wondered what Beca would make of it. Thinking of the brunette made her left eye twitch and she wrapped her arms around herself to stop her hands from shaking. She was just contemplating taking a cup of water when a door popped open to her right and John's head appeared through the gap.

"Would you like to come in?" He asked.

Chloe nodded and made her way over, entering the room which, to her surprise, was nothing like she expected. Aubrey had told her nothing of what happened when she'd been there. She'd anticipated that the room would be stark, clinical almost, with simple seating and generic furnishing and some insipid music playing in the background.

Instead, the room was much cooler than she'd imagined a room in California could be, very dark with just a couple of soft lights near to a small set of steps which lead to a circular seating area that was filled with cushions, bean bags, and plush throws and smelled like a winter's evening.

Chloe took a deep breath, instantly finding the scent calming. She recognised cinnamon and the smell of buttered toast as John closed the door behind her.

"Please, make your way down to the comfort zone." He said, indicating a path for Chloe to take with a small flashlight. "Find a place to sit and make yourself comfortable. I'm just going to see where Gail is."

"Thank you." She said, walking to the short staircase and carefully took the five steps downwards. She felt it was similar to when she stepped into her hot tub, but instead of soft bubbling water, there were soft furnishings everywhere. She found it difficult to walk on the spongy surface in the dim light and stumbled slightly, falling into one of the beanbags. She decided not to fight to move anywhere else and just sat where she landed.

The room was cold so she reached out for one of the thick fleece blankets that were stacked around the top part of the room, laying it over herself easily. She leant back and soon found herself cocooned. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply as she still tried to work out what the rest of the smells were.

She could feel herself relax for the first time in a few weeks and was fighting against a quick power nap when John slipped back into the room, the light from the waiting area illuminating the walls for just a moment. Chloe could just make out the posters on the wall showing the classic motivational slogans that she always thought were quite tacky.

"Can I get you anything?" John asked as he kicked off his shoes by the door.

"No, thank you. Has Miss Mitchell arrived?"

"Not yet." John said, making his way down the steps. He pulled out a small tablet from his back pocket before he took a seat opposite Chloe.

"Okay. If she doesn't come-"

"-My colleague Gail, will be here shortly."

"If Miss Mitchell doesn't show up..." Chloe tried again. "... what does that mean?"

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head over. We can spend some time with you but if the other party chooses not to come, there isn't much we can do. We'll give you some exercise to use to aid communication but she would need to want to do this for desired results." John said simply and Chloe nodded, chewing on her lip for a moment.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened, revealing a pretty blonde woman in the doorway.

"Ah, this is Gail," John said, by way of indication.

"I think we should make a start John," Gail said, entering the room. She made her way towards the cushiony pit and, instead of taking the stairs, jumped down to take a seat near John. As she did, the distinct sound of material tearing flitted across the room.

"Is it me, or are those skirts just not working anymore?" John asked, looking at her bemusedly.

"You're walking the line, John. A skirt rip can be refreshing, yet displeasing to the eye." Gail said in response before looking over to Chloe. "Hi, I'm Gail."

"Hi. Chloe."

"Nice to meet you."

"And you."

"Shall we make a start?" Gail said, clapping her hands together a couple of times. Chloe nodded, disappointed that Beca had chosen not to show up. She settled back under the blanket and rested her head on a heart shaped pillow.

"So, welcome again to the Smith-Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberger Institute Of Mediation And Positive Thinking. We began this venture about ten years ago when we understood there was a gap in the market for people who needed to learn how to communicate with each other. It can be lovers, friends, married-for-a-decade couples, or co-workers. Sometimes, there is no conflict but the beginning of a conversation just can't happen and we're here to assist with that. As Miss Mitchell has declined the invitation to attend, we will start with a few basic questions to get to know each other. How does that sound?" John asked.

"That's fine. I'm sorry Miss Mitch-" Chloe began.

"-Firstly, we don't apologise for how the other person feels. We have little control over a person's feelings unless we intentionally seek to hurt them. Okay?" Gail said, running her finger under the wide bracelet she wore on her wrist.

Chloe nodded.

"So, firstly, how are things today?" John enquired.

"In what way?" Chloe asked, looking between them both. "Do you mean, how do I feel about things or how is my day going? Are my kids okay with their babysitter, or how is work?"

"You tell us," Gail said, reaching over to the tablet in John's hand and tapping on the screen.

"Well, I want to get this situation resolved. At this point, Miss Mitchell is my number one concern after my daughters."

"And why is that?"

"I believe that I am partially to blame for her being unhappy."

"Because of the court case outcome?" John asked, looking at the screen in front of him.

"Yes."

"And why do you feel like this?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm, we have a problem here," Gail said, sucking a little air in between her teeth. She turned to John. "Let's try this a different way."

"You're right Gail."

"Chloe, your life has obviously turned upside down in the last few months."

"Yes, that's true."

"How are things generally at home?"

"Surprisingly good. Mostly. Although my daughter, Jessica, has only been home for a very short space of time and yes that has brought forward some challenges, in some ways, I feel a little bit like my old self again. I've got back into running recently."

"That's good. Is it compensating for something?" John pondered, more to himself than anyone in the room.

"My running?" Chloe asked and John nodded. "No, I don't think so. I run to keep in shape, to get out in the fresh air and have some time to myself."

"Well, that's great." Gail said. "Running and moving does release those feel good endorphins."

"So, it's not to avoid... Gail, I think something is wrong with this program." John moaned, pushing the tablet into Gail's hand as the screen flashed a couple of times. "Well, that's a problem."

"You just touch the one button." Gail snapped, taking the gadget from him and tapping the screen furiously.

"No, no, I have to do a lot of buttons," John said, reaching over and touching the device.

"You big klutz, you've switched it off. Why did you touch it? I'm in charge of the tablet in future," Gail said, smacking his hand away.

"Ha! You just make sure that the light's on."

"No, I fix your mistakes. I..." Gail started to whine but she was interrupted by a sharp knock to the door. "... yes?"

The door to the waiting area was pushed open and a head appeared, framed in a halo of light, looking slightly more than frazzled.

"Riccardo?"

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr Smith... Gail but..." The young secretary's head disappeared for a few seconds and the group could hear furious whispering in the waiting area before he reappeared. "I've got Rebeca here and she says she was invited to come here by Mrs. Mitchem and she was late as her car broke down on the way here."

"Did you explain the clinic's rules to her?" John said, his voice a little colder than before.

"Yes, of course."

"Once we start, we don't care for interruptions." John sneered. "We can't have women turning up at all times of the day and night. It's distracting to us men folk."

"I know that sir, but she's demanding to be let in. And I'm not sure if she'll take no for an answer."

John and Gail exchanged glances before they both turned towards Chloe, waiting for an answer to the unasked question.

"Oh. Um, yes, please... let her in." Chloe said, shifting from her comfortable spot and smoothing down her hair in a move that wasn't lost on Gail.

John nodded towards Riccardo and he looked so relieved that Chloe wanted to laugh.

"Thank you, thank you, she will be in shortly." Riccardo gratefully sighed, ducking back out of the room, leaving the door to shut with an audible pop.

Chloe could hear Beca talking in the waiting area before she heard the banging of a locker door and furious whispers between the two outside. She smiled to herself, grateful that Beca had decided to come along, willing to give this another chance. She found the ache in her chest lessen as the seconds ticked by.

"Excuse me a moment," Gail said, standing from her position and clambering up to the main part of the floor, flashing both John and Chloe a quick view of bright pink underwear. She walked to the door and opened it slightly, before reaching out and grabbing Beca by the arm, pulling her through with such enthusiasm that Beca nearly fell over.

"My goodness, you're tiny," John said, unashamedly. "In my opinion, small women are like children; they should be seen but not heard."

Beca's confused and questioning eyes shot to Chloe in the darkness, finding them just as the light from the doorway disappeared. Chloe took that as a good sign, that she'd look for Chloe in amongst her brief confusion.

"Take a seat over here, Beca," Gail said, pointing to a spot where she'd have to face Chloe. "And welcome."

"Um, yeah, sure" Beca said, almost falling down the steps. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"We find the truth comes out better when it's harder to see reactions."

"That's weird," Beca said, finding a place to sit. "And why is it cold?"

"We didn't pay the heating bill." John deadpanned before winking at Chloe in what she felt was a move to get him on her side. "We do this so people feel comfortable."

"By making them freeze to death?" Beca snarked. In the soft lighting, Chloe could see that Beca's arms were dotted with goosebumps.

"There are blankets to wrap around you, so you can feel the comfort envelope you," Gail explained theatrically as she flung her arms around herself. She took a seat next to Beca, who visibly flinched then moved up a few inches.

"So Rebeca, we were-" John began.

"-Um, it's just Beca."

"... we were talking before you got here-"

"-Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm late," Beca said, fiddling with the hem of her tee shirt. "My car isn't really reliable."

"... before you got here about what we are hoping to achieve in these sessions."

"Actually John, we hadn't gotten that far." Gail reminded him.

"Oh." John said, looking confused.

"A quick run down of the rules." Gail started. "We do not tolerate bad language or belittling personalised attacks or remarks directed at us or each other. We do not appreciate raised voices and gesturing. Our aim is to help but we cannot solve this situation for you. The work has to come from you."

"I guess we'd best leave now then Chloe, eh?" Beca smirked, trying to make light of their last meeting. She was nervous and her attempt at humour didn't seem to go down very well. She cast her eyes over to Chloe who was staring back at her, wincing at her comment.

"Perhaps you should leave the jokes to the men?" John said.

"Yeah, sorry. I'll... sorry." Beca stuttered out. She looked back at Chloe who wouldn't meet her eye. "Sorry, Chloe."

"It's okay." The redhead whispered, suggesting everything was not all right.

"I do care about doing this," Beca said quietly.

"And why is that?" Gail asked.

"I want to... I dunno, make it work."

"Make what work?" Gail posed the question.

"Us." Beca gestured between herself and Chloe a couple of times.

"Is there an 'us'?" Gail said, using quote marks.

"I mean, we've got the girls to think about," Beca explained.

Chloe looked up under her eyelashes and saw the strain on Beca's face.

"So, my understanding is that between you, there are three girls who currently live with Chloe. Beca is mother to one, but raised a different child."

"Correct," Chloe said, watching Beca as she nodded along.

"And why have you two come to us today? Do you despise each other enough to-"

"-I don't despise her at all." Beca interrupted.

"I think you'd best remind Beca of the rules, Gail," John said, smirking at Chloe.

"Rules? I thought we just went through the rules... you know, about the no yelling. I didn't raise my voice."

"It was on the check in sheet," Chloe said quietly. "No interrupting each other as we speak. Holding thoughts until the other has finished talking."

"Oh. Sorry." Beca said, her face pinking up. In her hurry to not miss too much of the meeting, she'd just skipped reading the terms and conditions and signed her name.

"Let's start again." Gail said. "Beca, you'll work with me and Chloe will work with Mr Smith."

"Okay." Beca said.

"Sure." Chloe mumbled, looking at John.

"Well, my group of not men, I shall begin with the questions. Being the man, I should go first."

"John, a change of pace could not come soon enough here for these two. This is not a great way to start their session."

"Agreed Gail. This number is like an elephant dart to the public's face."

Beca shot Chloe a look as if to say 'what the heck' and found Chloe looking equally as bemused as she was. She had been in there for almost ten minutes and it seemed like nobody had started saying anything of help yet. The whole meeting so far seemed uncoordinated and as if the two instructors had no idea how to manage the meeting.

"Chloe, do you trust Beca?" John asked, earning him a side glance from Gail.

"She saved my life once. That garners a level of trust, I guess." Chloe said, shrugging her shoulders.

"But not in the sense of friendship?" Gail motioned with her hands between the two of them.

"I barely know anything about her, if I'm honest. Aside from the basics, I mean."

"And Beca?" Gail asked.

"No, I don't trust her," Beca ignored Chloe's flinch as she spoke.

"Can I ask why?" John asked Beca.

"Why should I?" Beca shot back. "She said I saved her life once... which, yeah, is true but because of that I fuc... because of that, my life took a different direction."

"And do you feel you could trust her in the future, if we continue to work together?" John said, looking towards Gail.

"I mean, I want to. She's going to be raising my kid."

"And Chloe?"

"I think trust is such an overrated word. I trusted my husband but he left me down. Beca hasn't actually ever let me down, not really. Yes, conversations are hard, emotions are high but this is new territory for us all." Chloe said easily.

"I kinda did let you down," Beca added.

"Go on." Gail prompted when Beca didn't continue.

"I mean, in the beginning, after we first met up. I didn't exactly take ownership of the situation on my side and didn't answer messages or send pictures or gifts for Alex or anything."

"Yes, but now, I understand that it was hard for you. I pushed you, assuming you'd be like me and keen to build up a friendship but in reality, I think you were trying to protect yourself and take time to process it all at your speed."

"No, I was being an asshole." Beca gave a light chuckle before noting the glare from John. "Sorry."

"Chloe, do you love Beca?" Gail asked, randomly.

"Um-" Beca blanched.

"-Wow, that's a tough question. I don't know her. But I will say that I love her for raising Jessie. She's done a wonderful job."

"Thanks." Beca mumbled.

"Beca, how does that make you feel?"

"I don't know."

"Well, do you love her?"

"Dude, this is like the... sixth time I've met her." Beca retorted.

"So, that's a no."

Beca nodded, unable to say the words.

"And why is that?"

"Why is what? Why don't I love someone I barely know? I don't love you either."

"Hmmm."

"What's hmmm?" Beca asked.

"Is it time for a talking exercise?" John asked Gail, not answering Beca.

"Yes, I think so. Is it me, or did we just take a left turn into snooze-ville?" Gail said.

"Yeah, and we parked in a lot where they do not validate," John responded.

Beca looked over towards Chloe and mouthed 'what the fuck?' this time and Chloe ducked her head to avoid laughing out loud, looking back up again to see Beca shrinking away from Gail a little more.

"Chloe?"

"Yes."

"Five things you like about Beca. Go." John said.

"Huh?"

"Quickly. You've got fifteen seconds."

"Five things I like about Beca? Um, she's feisty, um... smart, great Mom... um, takes no crap... um... stands up for herself."

"And five things you don't like about her? Go." John pushed.

"Oh jeez, um... she's... um... she's...-

"-Cold, standoffish, rude, snarky, and reluctant." Beca interrupted, recalling her eighth grade report card.

"Beca, no interrupting." John glared.

"What's the point of this exercise?" Beca asked. "To make us feel even more uncomfortable?"

"To open up the start of conversations, hopefully," Gail explained.

"I don't understand. We need to be discussing the girls here, not finding out why we dislike each other."

"Ah ha! So you do dislike each other." John said, putting one finger in the air. "One point to Team Chloe!"

"There's teams now?" Beca mumbled. "Well, if we're scoring points, tell me Mrs. Mitchem, what don't you like about me?"

"Beca, I..."

"No, come on. Why are we here? You want to talk to me... let's lay it all out in front of these strangers so we can move on."

"Do you want to move on Beca?" John asked.

"I want more than one hour every two weeks with my kid. That's all I want!"

"So, you harbour resentment towards Chloe?" Gail asked.

"No, that's not what I'm saying."

"What are you saying Miss Mitchell?" Chloe asked quietly.

"Call her Beca."

"She told me not to." Chloe said.

"Did you?" Gail turned to Beca.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm an asshole, and because I could," Beca said defiantly. She watched as Chloe took a deep breath and felt herself deflate a little. "Look, I want Chloe and I to have a civil and rational conversation about the girls, but I need to move forward, not dwell on the past."

"But Chloe has some issues that she needs to discuss," Gail explained.

"No, not really. I want the same as Beca." Chloe said.

"No, you don't," John said. "What you need is vocal exercises."

"Why?"

"To loosen up your vocal cords so you can talk."

"But we are already talking." Beca said.

"Think of it as exercising the demons within."

"Oh trust me, you do not want to go there with me." Beca smirked.

"Why not Beca? Are you-"

"-I'm not doing this." Beca said, suddenly standing up. "Chloe, I'm sorry, but this isn't helping. I promise I'll call you and we'll sort things out between us."

"Miss MItchell, please..."

"Call me Beca. I was being a..." Beca glanced over to John who was itching to raise his hand again in an effort to score a point for his team. "... an idiot."

Beca sat down again, not wanting to give the weirdo on her left the satisfaction. She saw a flicker of relief come across Chloe's face.

"Okay, we'll play a game instead of vocal exercises." John said, nodding towards Gail in a habitual way that was making Beca want to punch him in the face. "I'll say a word, then Chloe, you have to say the first word that comes into your mind, then Beca, it will be your turn, then back to Chloe. Make sense."

Both girls nodded.

"Okay, so tree..."

"Green." Chloe said.

"Leaves."

"Bonfires."

"Death."

"Whoa..." John said. "That went pretty dark, Beca."

"Hi, welcome to me." She deadpanned in response.

"Okay, moving on. Water."

"Ocean." Chloe said.

"Sharks." Beca continued.

"Attack."

"Court."

"Lawyers."

"Hatred."

"Again, Beca with the dark side."

"I didn't know there were rules of what I could say." Beca mumbled.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Gail said, giving both Beca and Chloe more to think about as neither of them could understand the benefit in what they were doing.

"I think that just about wraps us up today." John said, checking the time on his watch. "If you speak with Claudia on your way out, you can fix up a future date for the second session. I suggest in three months' time. Gail?"

"Yes, that sounds perfect." Gail said, smiling broadly. "We'll leave you two alone in here for a couple of minutes so you can think about all we've talked about and you are free to leave whenever you are ready."

Beca looked blindly around the room as John and Gail stood up and followed each other to the door, Gail holding the door open for John to walk through first.

"What just happened?" Beca whispered to Chloe.

"I honestly don't know." Chloe muttered in response.

"I'm so confused."

"Me too."

"I'm gonna go."

"I think that's wise. I can't believe this program worked for my friend. She recommended it to me."

"Some friend." Beca laughed and Chloe's eyes lit up at the lightness that appeared in Beca's eyes as she giggled.

"Yeah."

"How much do I owe you for this?"

"Nothing. It's on me."

"Come on..." Beca implored.

"No, seriously. I'm not sure that I'll be paying the bill as I don't think we achieved anything."

"No, I just feel even more muddled." Beca said, getting up and holding out her hand to pull Chloe from her pile of cushions. Chloe grasped Beca's hand and allowed herself to be hauled up.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Look, I'm sorry I was late this morning. My car... died on Freemont and I had to walk the rest of the way. It was further than I thought."

"Oh don't worry, you didn't miss anything." Chloe said kindly, causing a small smile to appear on Beca's mouth as she climbed the short set of steps and made her way towards the door.

"So, I'll see you downstairs to make another appointment?"

"Yes, sure."

"Unless you have time for a coffee now?"

"Coffee?"

"Um, yeah. Unless you don't... forget I asked." Beca said, blushing a little as she held the door open for Chloe. They both blinked a little at the harsh light in the waiting room as they walked towards their lockers.

"No, a coffee would be lovely. Sorry, I was just surprised you asked."

"Well, this place is quite far from home so I think it would be a waste of time if we didn't actually talk about something while we're here."

"Agreed! I'm just going to run to the ladies..." Chloe said, feeling the effects of her early morning start and overload of caffeine. "... so can you wait for me in the lobby downstairs?"

"There's a coffee shop just next door, shall we meet in there?" Beca explained. Chloe didn't remember seeing it on her way in that morning but knew she was in a funk when she'd arrived so wasn't surprised that she'd missed it. "What will you have?"

.oOo.

A/N - I know, I know but 'the point' of it will be explained in the next chapter!