Not as fluffy as the last few, but an incident important to tell. Let me know what you think.

Medication, Fights, and Little Ears

"How long are you going to avoid me?" Chloe asked, standing in the doorway of Beca's studio. Beca, seeing her in the small mirror she kept for just this purpose, turned around to face her. She shifted her headphones to rest around her neck.

"What did you say?" She asked, dispassionately.

"How long is this silent treatment going to last?" Chloe asked.

Beca frowned at her. "There's no silent treatment. We're talking right now. We talked at dinner. What do you need?"

"I need to know when you're going to stop being angry with me."

Beca raised her eyebrows. "I'm not angry. I'm upset – and confused – and distraught. And most of it has to do with me, not you," she said, with a wave of her hand and a pinched expression. "Don't worry about it."

Chloe closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. She sighed before opening her eyes and speaking again. "I know you're mad because I won't discuss medication for Bella – "

Beca's eyes darkened. "We really shouldn't get into that right now," she said, eerily calm. "We don't agree. And the subject is still fresh." Bella had a doctor's appointment three days before where her pediatrician suggested starting her on anxiety medication. Beca has questions. Chloe said no, unequivocally.

"I need you to talk to me!"

Anger surged through the calm she'd tried to embrace. "And I need you to listen! And stop thinking you know what's best for everyone!"

"Excuse me?" Chloe yelled. "I'm allowed to have an opinion when it comes to the health of my own daughter."

"So am I," Beca growled. "And I'm sorry – but you can't possibly understand what she's going through."

"I know! I know! I can't understand. I don't understand. Stupid Chloe, always missing something."

"For God's sake, that's not what I'm saying and you know it!"

"It certainly seems –" Chloe's turn to yell was interrupted as Beca flew from her chair and into the hallway, following a small pair of feet down the stairs. She caught up with Bella and Poppy on the second-floor landing, stopping them both from going back to their rooms. Bella's cheeks were stained with tears and Poppy looked terrified.

Beca's heart broke as she realized everything they'd heard. "Oh, my loves. I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have been yelling. I'm so, so sorry." She held out her arms and Bella sank into them, crying harder. Poppy remained standing a foot or two away, watching her mothers carefully.

"Are you and Mommy getting a divorce?"

"What?" Beca asked, looking up at Chloe, who was now standing on the bottom stair behind Poppy. "No," she said, eyes on her wife. "Of course not. Grownups argue sometimes. That doesn't make it right – but no one is getting a divorce. We just need some time to sort things out." She reached for Poppy again and this time, the older of the twins moved in to hug her. Beca hugged them tightly, making and keeping eye contact with Chloe over their heads.

Once the tears had slowed, she pulled away enough that she could see their faces. "I'm so sorry that you heard us fighting. We shouldn't have been doing that. But I promise you, it's going to be fine."

"It is," Chloe said gently, kneeling down to hug both girls. "We love you so, so much." After a few more minutes of quiet reassurances, they each took a twin back to her own bedroom. Beca took Bella, who really wasn't giving her a choice with her spot-on impression of a clingy baby Koala.

Once in her bed, Bella still wasn't letting go. Beca extricated herself from her daughter and tucked the child under the covers. "Love, it really is okay. I promise."

"I'm sorry," Bella whispered, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

"Why in the world are you sorry?" Beca asked. "My love, you didn't do anything wrong."

"You and Mommy never fight. Now you're fighting because of me."

"Oh, honey. That's not your fault," Beca insisted. "Your mommy and I disagree on a few things – and we've come across one of them. We'll be fine – we just need to talk about it – more calmly. It is NOT your fault." Beca wasn't sure that her daughter was adequately convinced, but after ten more minutes of talking, she'd done all she could. After another story and a song, Bella eventually drifted off.

After Bella was asleep, Beca checked on Poppy, then Vera. Her smallest redhead was wide awake. Her eyes popped open when the door creaked open. Beca smiled and walked in. "What are you still doing awake, bug?"

Vera didn't answer – but Beca saw in her shining eyes that she, too, had overheard the fight. Beca talked to her and cuddled with her. It took another half an hour before she was asleep and her mother could slip from the room.

Beca went directly to the kitchen, knowing Chloe would be there. She was. And she was baking. She baked when she was upset, or nervous, or sad.

"Can we talk?"

"I believe I asked you that same thing earlier this evening and I was told no."

"I was wrong," Beca said. "And I'm sorry. Please." Chloe left her cookies in their current state and made tea before taking it to the living room to sit in front of the fire her wife had made in the otherwise dark room.

Beca accepted a cup and they sat quietly, staring at the flames. She eventually took a deep breath before breaking the tense silence. "We can't start crap like this," she said decisively. "We've always found a way to get through things without arguing in front of them. No argument is worth a repeat of that," she said, nodding toward the stairs. Chloe nodded silently, clutching her teacup. "I went through a lot of trauma when my parents spent years arguing before their divorce. I promised myself I would never do anything like that to my kids," she added.

The brunette studied her wife. "Why does it bother you this much?"

"There are so many chemicals –"

Beca shook her head, interrupting Chloe. "No. I know you've done your research. I know it's not 100% safe, but it's in some cases better than the symptoms. Why are you so against trying? I know you – this isn't normal. This isn't just because of chemicals – or a few hippy articles or conspiracy theory websites. What is going on?"

Tears streamed down Chloe's cheeks but she remained silent for a long time. After what seemed like an eternity, she set her cup aside on an end table and stood, walking to a shelf that held their photo albums. One – bright pink, of course – was one Chloe had created of her own life when she was a young woman. She picked it up and carried it back to the sofa, opening it in her lap. The inside of the front cover had an opening that showed a grinning picture of a baby Chloe facing outward. Chloe pulled open the flap and removed two pictures. One, Beca recognized as the one that faced outward on the cover. The other, she'd never seen before. Chloe handed it to her and she studied it. At first, it seemed normal. Chloe, about ten years old, grinning in a posed family photo with her mother, father, and brothers.

Beca almost asked what she was looking for before she made a startling discovery. Chloe. Her dad, Ben. Her mom, Lydia. Brothers. Alex. Jason. Beca touched the third boy's face and looked at her wife for an explanation.

"That was Teddy," she said, wiping away tears. "He was our oldest brother. He was ten years older than me." Beca sat silently, giving her the space to speak when she could. "He died less than a year after this picture was taken. He suffered from anxiety – and college was too much – he started taking an anti-depressant. About six weeks after he started taking the new drugs, he killed himself."

"Oh, Chloe," Beca said, devastated. "I'm so sorry."

Chloe nodded. "It was awful. It took a long time for my parents to be okay again. I spent a lot of time being as cheerful as possible, trying to make them feel better. They blamed themselves for what happened. I blamed the pills. He was Teddy before them. The few times I saw him after – he was like a zombie. Then he was gone."

"Oh, honey. I am so sorry." Beca said, hugging her and pulling her close. They sat in silence for a bit until Chloe's tears stopped. "Drugs aren't perfect," Beca told her softly. "And what happened to your brother – that's horrific. But that was almost thirty years ago. Those were the early days of SSRIs. They know so much more now – "

"I can't, Beca. I can't be waiting every day for something bad to happen. She's so little. There has to be another way."

Beca sighed. "Okay," she said, softly. "We will look into alternatives. But Chlo, if they don't work – " She paused. "We can't let her suffer. Because she is, right now."

"I know that," Chloe said, sharply. "It's just – there has to be something else. Something less drastic."

"We'll look into it," she promised. "I'll call Dr. Jo's office in the morning."

"Thank you." In response, Beca dropped another kiss and hugged her closer.

Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts or what you liked. It is always appreciated! And you can always tell me what other incidents from this universe you're curious about or would like to see. No absolute promises, but I am already working on a few that were suggested by readers.