"I hate you!" Charlie spun around and stormed up the stairs. A few seconds later the sound of door slamming echoed throughout the house.

"I'm so sorry." Chloe told her guest. "She doesn't usually act like this." She went to follow her daughter but stopped when the guest grabbed her wrist.

"Maybe let her cool down a little bit." Beca looked up the stairs. "I remember just needing time when I was that age." She looked down at the food on her plate. "This is delicious by the way."

"Thanks." Chloe said while still looking after her daughter. Beca looked up the stairs as well, she remembered being the angsty teen that hated anyone and everyone that her dad dated after the divorce.

This was a bit different. Chloe wasn't divorced but rather her husband, Chicago, had died. On their first date Chloe had explained that Chicago's military platoon had been ambushed and destroyed three years ago. Chicago had managed to drag two of his team out of the desert before dying from his own injuries a few days later, earning him a posthumous silver star.

Now, three years later, Chloe had just started dating again and managed to meet Beca through mutual friends. They'd hit it off instantly, going on several dates and thoroughly enjoying each other's company. Her fourteen year old daughter, on the other hand, hadn't taken to Beca quite as quickly as her mother.

Beca had tried everything to break the ice with Charlie but to no avail. She'd tried connecting through music, that was a bust. Even Chloe had seemed surprised by that since her daughter was as much a music fan as she was. After that Beca had tried just about everything short of selling her soul but nothing worked. And if backstage passes to sold out concerts didn't work then Beca had no idea what to do.

They finished the meal, albeit silently. Beca could practically see the gears grinding away inside Chloe's head. "It'll be alright."

Chloe sighed over her spaghetti. "I know this is just her missing her dad but I don't know what else to do."

"Maybe I should go." Beca stood up from the table. "Give you two some time to talk."

Chloe looked like she wanted to protest but eventually conceded. "Okay," she stood up to give Beca a quick peck on the lips. "Text me when you make it home."

"Of course." Beca gave her girlfriend a tight hug before pulling away, leaving Chloe to deal with her angsty daughter.

The drive home filled Beca's mind with unhelpful thoughts. She really liked Chloe, her sunny personality and joy for life made Beca feel less lonely in the otherwise void of a work life. Plus there was the added benefit that she was the most beautiful woman she had ever met, but that was secondary to the other thing. She just needed to figure out a way to endear herself to Charlie, because if there was one thing she wasn't going to do was come be Chloe and her daughter.

She pulled into her driveway feeling exhausted from the long night. Once she was inside Beca plopped down on her couch to mull over her predicament. That's when she had what was probably the strangest idea she has ever had.

Pulling out her phone from her back pocket, Beca dialed a number she hadn't used in nearly five years. Waiting for the person on the other end was torture, she was already apprehensive about this but the wait was just making it worse.

"Hello Beca, this is a surprise." The voice of her step mother was strangely calm. The two weren't exactly friends but at the very least Beca didn't hate her any more.

"Hi Sheila. Sorry for calling so late." It was barely eight in L.A. so Beca was a bit ahead than Georgia. "I kinda need your help." Beca explained the whole situation with Chloe and Charlie, with Sheila listening patiently on the other end. Once Beca was done explaining there was a second of silence before Sheila started to laugh. "It's not that funny."

"Yes it is Becs." Sheila managed to control her laughter to talk. "I've heard that turnabout was fair play but this is just too good."

"Again, not funny."

"Oh come on Beca. You gave me hell for three years after I married your father. Let me enjoy this for a second." Sheila kept giggling while Beca tried not to roll her eyes out of her head.

"Can you help me or not? I really like this girl but I can't figure out how to connect with her daughter." Beca slouched into the couch while her brain worked overdrive. "I figured since you're not completely annoying anymore you would have some trick. What did you do that made me not hate you?"

"Well our situation was a bit different." Sheila's voice turned soft like she was being cautious. Beca couldn't really blame her, she hadn't exactly been the easiest step daughter. "You still had your mom so there was that. And I'll admit I didn't handle the situation very well, especially at the beginning."

Beca gave a small grunt in agreement. She remembered the first time she had ever met Sheila. A minor disagreement over their taste in music had spiraled out of control. By the end of the night Beca was calling Sheila step-monster and her Dad had grounded her for a month.

"But what happened that made me, you know, not totally despise you?" Beca tried to make it sound less brash but even she had to admit it was weak.

Sheila sighed on the other end of the line. "If I remember correctly, the first time you ever actually called me Sheila was that night I sided with you about going to college. Your Dad was trying to convince you to go, again, and you weren't having any of it."

"I remember that." Beca said thoughtfully. "You said that there were plenty of successful people who never went to college and that, as my father, he should have a little more faith in me."

"That didn't score me a whole lot of points with you father but it certainly thawed you out." Sheila laughed again. "And it didn't hurt that a few years later you were topping the charts and I had something to hold over Mr. PHD."

Beca laughed with her, they both knew how much her dad licked to be right. "So it was you siding with me that made me warm up to you?"

"Not really." Sheila chuckled. "You just got to find something that Charlie is really interested in and support it. Even if Chloe doesn't agree with it."

"But I don't want to get on Chloe's bad side."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained Beca." Sheila said. "You've got to decide if Chloe is worth the risk."

Beca was quiet for a second but she didn't really need to think it over. She knew that Chloe was worth any risk. "I think I might know what to do."

Beca knocked on the door in front of her with more than a little trepidation. If this backfired then she could kiss her chance at a happy ending goodbye. There was one stubborn part of her that was screaming not to do this. But, luckily, she'd learned to ignore that part of her a while ago. She wouldn't be dating Chloe in the first place if she hadn't.

"Come in?" A timid voice called out. Beca took a steadying breath before pushing open Charlie's bedroom door. Stepping into the teenager's room was like walking into a recruitment office on steroids. Everything was either Red, white, blue or camo.

Ever since Chicago's death Charlie had been determined to follow in her father's footsteps and join the army. Beca remembered Chloe talking about her daughter joining junior ROTC at her high school and expressing more than a little concern about her little girl pursuing such a dangerous career.

"Hey, mind if we talk?" Beca asked before closing the door behind her. She didn't know how long she had before Chloe finished making dinner and she wanted to get this done without being interrupted. When Charlie gave her a miniscule nod Beca let out a small sigh of relief. "So, a little Birdie told me that you want to go to West Point after high school."

Charlie looked up, confused by such a random topic from her mom's girlfriend. They'd never talked before about school, they'd hardly talked about anything. "Um, yeah. At least, I hope I can. It's a really hard school to get into."

Beca nodded along, she had done her research before coming up here. "I think that's great."

"Really?" Charlie looked even more confused.

"Yeah really." Beca scoffed and tried for one of her smirks. It helped a little to break the ice, with Charlie grinning a little too. "The army could use good people like you." She pulled out a letter from her back pocket. "I know you've still got a few years before college but I figured it couldn't hurt to get a jump on recommendations."

Charlie took the letter and opened it. The way her eyes lit up made Beca feel a small sense of hope that maybe she'd finally figured the kid out. "How did you get this?"

"Didn't your mom tell you how we met?" Beca asked.

"Yeah. Aunt Stacie's sleeping with your lawyer."

"I well…that…what?" Beca pinched the bridge of her nose to keep herself from stuttering. "That's not important. The thing is that Aubrey, my lawyer, comes from a military family too. Her dad's some high ranking muckety muck and I asked her if she could get his signature or something."

"This is a letter of recommendation from General Posen. I-I don't." She stood up suddenly and rushed across the room, pulling Beca into an incredibly tight hug. Beca was caught completely by surprise, so it took her a few seconds to return the hug. It took everything Beca had not to pump her fist in the air in victory.

Charlie pulled back when they heard someone clear their throat. They both looked to see a smiling Chloe in the door. "Supper's ready. Just thought I'd let you know." Charlie quickly ducked out of the room, heading down the stairs before questions could be asked. Meanwhile, Chloe shot her girlfriend a very curious look.

"What?"

"You know what." Chloe gestured with her head to the open door. "What was that about?"

"Oh you know," Beca shrugged her shoulders. "Just girl talk."

Happy 4th of July! Thank you to everyone who has served, is serving or will serve in the armed forces and first responders.