Chloe entered the Residual Heat offices before anyone else - as usual. She easily beat even the other assistants in. She loved her job, loved the team she worked with. Sure, there were always going to be some struggles at work, but Chloe was easily able to overcome them and keep a positive attitude. Plus, what wasn't to like about the job? It paid well - more than enough to cover her small apartment and her basic expenses. It wouldn't be enough if she wanted to buy a house or start a family, but neither of those things were on the near horizon. She liked the other assistants who worked at the office: Jessica, Ashley, and Flo. The four of them met frequently to discuss work topics; they had also become close friends outside of work. Chloe liked working with her team of junior producers. Emily was a sweetheart who got along with everybody. She also was crazy talented and would probably jump to the performing side of things before too long. Chloe was sad about that impending departure, although she was happy about being able to hear more of Emily's music. Amy was bonkers, but super fun. She was from Tasmania and had a super-sized personality. Chloe often had trouble figuring out what stories that Amy told were real and which were made up. Either way, they always made the redhead laugh. Amy was fooling around with Bumper - the third junior producer. Truth be told, Bumper was the one negative element in Chloe's work experience. She even had developed good relationships with Stacie - one of the designers at the Studio - and Aubrey, who worked in legal. But Bumper… he was a self-absorbed dickbag. He used to dump everything on Chloe - even things that weren't her responsibility. She MIGHT have cornered him and threatened to send some information to the higher ups that Bumper didn't want released. Now he mostly behaved - content to shoot nasty looks her way.

Then there was Beca. Chloe was quite taken with the small grumpy brunette producer. They had become friends, despite Beca's attempts to fight that. Chloe now felt like she had housebroken a particularly irritable cat. The cat would sulk and hiss and spit when its owner would try to snuggle it, but it also didn't leave and would jump up onto the bed at night to lay close its owner. That was Beca. She might act like she didn't like Chloe's demonstrative nature, but she didn't walk away when she could have. And she hung around Chloe of her own volition. She even had gotten to the point where she would bring Chloe things - coffee, souvenirs from her trips, leftovers from a dinner she made. She always tried to downplay it."Itwould just go bad if I kept it all for myself.." But Chloe knew that Beca was actually being thoughtful in her own way. The longer they worked together, the more Chloe learned about her friend. And the more she had trouble keeping her feelings on the right side of the friendship line. She definitely had feelings for Beca - had for a long time. But Beca was straight, had a boyfriend, and seemed to be a prime candidate to flee if spooked. So Chloe kept those feelings buried as best she could.

Chloe followed her routine as she made the way to her office. She flipped on the lights, made sure the bathrooms were stocked, and checked the status of trash cans. None of those things were in her job description. She just wanted to get ahead of things in case something got missed; she would alert maintenance if she discovered anything off before any of the executives arrived. She knew she had saved someone's job on at least three occasions by catching an overlooked task before it was discovered by anyone else. She popped into the kitchen and got the coffee and hot water going. She restocked the snack baskets. Then she headed to the set of offices where her team worked. Before she flipped on the lights to the outer office, she noticed light coming out from under Beca's door. It wasn't uncommon for one of the junior producers to work late and forget to shut off the lights, but Chloe was sure that Beca left early the day before. The redhead strode to the door and tapped on it. She didn't hear anything, so she tried the handle. It wasn't locked, so she swung the door open and peeked inside.

Inside, Beca was curled up on the floor on a pile of jackets with one of her throw blankets pulled over her.(Thepoor girl got cold so easily that Chloe had bought her several throws to use.) If the reality of the situation wasn't concerning to Chloe, she would have squealed at its pure adorable nature. It reminded her of a chipmunk who had made a nest of leaves where it could bundle up during the chilly night. As cute as Beca appeared, Chloe knew that something was wrong if the producer was sleeping in her office. Chloe quietly walked over to the sleeping woman and got on her knees. She gently jostled her friend, whispering," ." The brunette jerked awake and looked around with wild eyes - her still sleepy brain trying to figure out where she was. Chloe attempted to calm her while helping her get her bearings." 's okay, sweetie. You were asleep in your office."

Beca took in the redhead in front of her and slowly examined the room with bleary eyes."Oh,hey Chlo." She yawned widely and rubbed her face."Thanksfor waking me."

Chloe nodded."Sure.I figured you would want to be up before anyone got here." Beca absentmindedly nodded in agreement."Iput the coffee on; I can get you some as soon as it is done."

"Thanks," Beca replied. She moved to get up. Chloe helped her collect the jackets and blankets - returning them to their normal locations. She noticed a suitcase situated behind Beca's desk.

"Do you .. uh … want to get cleaned up and situated?" Chloe prompted when she noticed Beca standing and staring at the wall with a blank tired look."Youcan meet me in the kitchen and I'll have some coffee for you." Beca nodded. Chloe left the office, pulling the door closed so Beca could collect herself and her belongings with privacy and dignity.

About fifteen minutes later, Beca sheepishly entered the kitchen. She looked fairly well put together: her makeup was done and she had changed into a typical Beca outfit(flannel,tank top, jeans, Air Jordans). Chloe held out a large mug of black coffee, which Beca quickly grabbed. The redhead chewed on the inside of her mouth for a moment, letting her friend take in some of the life-giving elixir. She then spoke up with hesitation."Um,Becs … I'm … guessing that something happened at home? Judging by you sleeping here last night."

Beca's face clearly communicated that she was in deep pain. She stared blankly for a few moments."Yeah,"she finally answered."Um… Jesse didn't … he didn't take things well when I tried talking to him."

Chloe feared the worst."Didhe … uh … did he hit you?"

Beca's eyes flew wide."No,no no. Nothing like that." She then cleared her throat and looked down at her mug."Notphysically. He was … just kind of an ass. I couldn't be around him."

The redhead evaluated her friend, her heart breaking that Beca was hurting. She had no idea what Beca had needed to tell Jesse, but she was disappointed that things went that poorly."Youcould have called me, you know. Not had to sleep on the floor."

"Uh … thanks … but, I … uh needed to be alone," Beca replied, keeping her eyes cast downward.

Chloe reached over and grasped her friend's hand, causing the brunette to finally make eye contact."Becs,you shouldn't have to be alone. It seems like you've had enough of that. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to do it alone."

Beca teared up, even though she tried to cover it up. Chloe saw it though."Thanks,Chloe." The producer's voice was thick and raspy."Iappreciate it."

"Are you planning on going home tonight?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know,"

"Well, no more sleeping on the floor," Chloe firmly declared."You'restaying with me … as long as it takes."

"Chloe, I couldn't…."

"None of that," Chloe rebutted."What'sthe use of having an extra bedroom if your friend can't use it when they need to?"

Beca sighed, knowing it was useless to argue when Chloe had her mind set on something." you. I'm hoping it will only be a short stay."