Chapter 10
(All)
The day before Thanksgiving, Emily and Aubrey headed to Beca and Chloe’s for a long weekend of food and friendship. The four of them worked together on food preparation, before ordering dinner.
“Any luck on selling the house?” Chloe asked after they settled into the living room with hot cider.
“Actually, I have someone interested. We’re waiting on some paper work, then a closing date.”
“And after that? Do you have a new place lined up?”
“We’re hoping to this weekend,” Emily replied. “We have to run out to see someplace not far from here on Saturday morning.”
Beca grinned. “Sounds like it’s coming up roses for you two. That’s great to hear.”
“Well, look at you,” Emily said. “How many tracks have you recorded now?”
Beca waved it off. “Not that many. And none are your songs yet!”
“Like I said, give it time. Just keep kicking ass.”
“Give us a show, love. Sing us a song or two,” Chloe coaxed. Beca resisted a bit at first, but finally conceded. Fetching her laptop for the music, she sang all three songs she had recorded. Her partner and friends cheered, Chloe pulling her into a deep kiss when she returned to the couch. “You are extraordinary, Beca Mitchell.”
Beca blushed and waved off the effusive praise. “It’s just a few songs, it’s not that spectacular.” Their protests grew, and she finally gave in and accepted a group hug. “Thanks, guys. It’s good to know I have at least a few fans.”
***
Chloe and Aubrey were up early the next day to get the turkey started, both promising to return to bed and their partners. When Aubrey climbed back in bed, Emily shifted closer and wrapped an arm snugly around her. “Much better,’ she murmured sleepily. “Good thing I like turkey or I wouldn’t have let you up.”
Aubrey chuckled. “If you didn’t like turkey, we’d be making something else, love. But I’m back, so don’t worry about it.” She claimed a soft, lingering kiss, reaching for Emily’s hip as she leaned into it.
“I think I’ll worry about it till we move into a new place together. Every minute is important.” She snuggled even closer. “They’ll still be important after, but… you know what I mean.” She yawned.
Aubrey smiled warmly and reached out to caress her cheek. “I do know what you mean, babe. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Bree.” She arched to stretch her back. “Think they’ll care if we start some coffee?”
“Nah, at this point it’s probably expected. Unless they beat us to it, of course.”
They were the first up and about, so Aubrey set about starting a pot of coffee, sitting in Emily’s lap to wait for it to finish brewing. Emily slid a hand into the pocket of Aubrey’s robe.
Beca and Chloe emerged while they were waiting. “Oh, good,” Chloe yawned, “you started.” She sat down and Beca crawled into her lap.
Emily looked at them. “You okay, Becs?”
“She’s not a morning person, but she said she couldn’t go back to sleep.” Chloe ran her hand through Beca’s hair softly.
Aubrey got up and poured for all of them and started a second pot before sitting. By the end of the first cup, Beca felt a little more human and sat up a bit. When the second pot had been poured, Chloe asked, “So what do we want for breakfast?”
“Bacon,” Beca answered immediately.
Chloe kissed her cheek. “Yes, bacon. How about eggs?” They all agreed, and Beca moved to a chair so Chloe could cook.
Once everyone had been fed, Chloe sent Beca and Emily into the living room. “We’ll bring you lattes, and after that, you can look for the good plates in the closet.”
Beca looked at Emily as they sat. “I didn’t realize we had good plates.” Emily laughed at that.
“I don’t know if Aubrey has good plates or not, myself. Guess I’ll find out next month.”
“Yes, I do. But I’ll dig them out early.” Aubrey handed them each a mug and kissed Emily’s forehead. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty to do. Relax while it’s our turn.” She breezed back into the kitchen.
Beca turned to her friend again. “I don’t know about you, but I’m cleaning the kitchen after we eat.”
Emily nodded vehemently. “Definitely. They don’t need that after cooking a big meal. We got this.” She reached for a fist bump.
Soon enough, the good plates had been located and Chloe had them in the dishwasher. The four of them danced an intricate dance around the kitchen as two cooked and two set the table before retreating again.
When it was ready, dinner was spectacular. There was way more food than necessary, but Chloe would make sure most of it got eaten, one way or another. They took their time, talking and joking almost as much as they ate. When she was satisfied they were done eating for a while, Beca shooed her partner and her best friend out of the kitchen so she and Emily could clean.
In the living room, Chloe propped her feet on the coffee table. “That went really well,” she observed. “I think Christmas will be easier.”
Aubrey nodded and sipped her hot cider; it was Beca’s new favorite winter drink, so Chloe kept some warm whenever Beca was home. “Yeah, now that we’re practiced, we just adapt it to my kitchen, which is easy.”
Chloe looked over at the blonde. “Excited about moving?” she asked.
“Excited and half a dozen other things. This is absolutely the right thing to do, but part of me is still nervous. I mean, what if…”
“Stop, Bree. You’ve already gone through the what if scenarios, haven’t you?” Aubrey nodded. “And you still made the decision. Has that much changed?”
“No, things have only gotten better.”
Chloe smiled at her. “It’s normal to be nervous, Bree. Just don’t get caught up in it. Find a place, sell the house, and settle into cozy domesticity.” She grinned as she gestured to the apartment at large.
Aubrey returned the grin and nodded. “You’re right. Emily and I are meant to be together, and this is part of it.”
“Just be sure to allow time for adjustment for both you. You have a few changes going on at once. Don’t let the initial bumps in the road discourage you.”
“Thanks, Chlo. That really helps.” Aubrey settled into the loveseat just as Beca and Emily came in. Beca sat next to Chloe, draping an arm over her shoulders and kicking her feet up as well. When Emily approached, Aubrey caught her hand, kissed it, and drew her down into her lap, wrapping her arms around her.
Emily ran a hand through golden locks. “Everything okay, love?”
“Right now, everything is perfect.”
***
When Beca woke up Friday morning, she knew something was wrong. She didn’t feel right and couldn’t get warm. After a cough tore at her throat, she reluctantly reached over to wake Chloe. “Chloe. Babe, something…” She was cut off by another cough.
The ginger started moving. “Becs, what’s wrong?” she mumbled as she tried to wake up. Her answer was another wracking cough, and the sound snapped her awake. “Babe?” she asked, sitting up.
“Cold. Can’t get warm.” The brunette snuggled down under the comforter.
Chloe put a hand to her forehead. “Jesus, you’re on fire. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Stepping into slippers and slinging a robe over herself, she left the room to collect remedies and supplies. When she returned, she sat next to Beca. “Here, take these for your fever.” She handed over two pills and a bottle of water. She ran a hand through Beca’s hair. “We’re gonn have to make a trip to urgent care. If this is bronchitis, you don’t want it to turn into pneumonia.”
“Goddammit.” Beca sighed and rested her head in her hand until another cough came along. “Aubrey and Emily will probably want to leave, but make sure they know they’re welcome to stay. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s weekend.”
Chloe kissed her cheek. “You relax. I’m getting tea and toast for you while we wait for them to wake up.” As Chloe left, Beca dragged a pillow over her head. She was bad at being sick; always grumpy and snappy and generally miserable. She figured this would be a helluva trial for Chloe. She resolved to bite her tongue as much as possible.
The ginger soon returned with the promised sustenance. She had started the coffee for their guests while she made the tea for Beca, who was stoically crunching through her toast. Chloe knew that look; Beca was angry, probably at herself, and that wouldn’t help anyone. “Becs, it’s okay. You had no control over getting sick. No one will be mad.” Beca just nodded, and Chloe stifled a sigh. It would be a while before Beca would accept any comfort. Standing, she got dressed for the day and quickly brushed her hair. By the time she was done, she had heard the guest room door open. “I’ll go explain what’s up and see what we’re going.”
In the kitchen, Aubrey was just sitting in Emily’s lap with her coffee as Chloe entered. “Beca still sleeping?” Aubrey asked.
“You’re dressed already,” Emily observed. “What’s going on?”
Chloe sighed as she sat with her own coffee, then explained the situation. “We know you’ll probably want to head out, but Beca was insistent I make sure you know you don’t have to go.”
Aubrey looked at Emily, who shook her head. “We’ll stay, at least till you get home with answers.”
“And we can help out for the rest of the weekend,” Emily added.
“But you have an apartment to look at,” Chloe protested half-heartedly. In truth, she would appreciate the help, but she didn’t want to interfere with their plans.
Emily waved off her protest. “And hour or two at most. We’ll come back after.” She caught the redhead’s gaze. “Please let us help? You guys are family.” Aubrey nodded her solemn agreement.
Chloe looked at each of them, then nodded. “Thanks, guys. But it may be a rough few days.” She finished her coffee and stood. “Help yourself to more coffee, food, whatever. We’ll be back as soon as possible.” She returned to the bedroom, where Beca had piled the entire comforter on top of her after finishing her tea and toast. “Babe? You ready to head to the doctor?”
“Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
A couple hours later, they were home with antibiotics for Beca’s bronchitis and Chloe had Beca tucked in on the couch. Aubrey made them breakfast sandwiches while Emily sat on the loveseat with her guitar, playing quietly, and Chloe sat next to Beca. She thanked Aubrey for breakfast, glad that their friends had wanted to help. Beca had barely spoken since leaving the urgent care, and she had a feeling that was for her benefit. She had seen Beca snappish and grumpy with a cold; this could be considerably worse.
With breakfast done, the dishes running, and lattes for all, they got comfortable in the living room, Chloe trying to keep the conversation light. Beca quietly chimed in on occasion, but mostly just listened. She felt horrible and would have liked to throw something, but she knew that wouldn’t actually help. By early afternoon, she excused herself to the bedroom for a break. Sitting on the bed, she pulled the blanket around her and zoned out, trying not to think about anything, especially being sick.
She had no idea how long she’d been there until the door opening caught her attention. “Becs?” came Chloe’s voice. She went over to stand in front of her partner. “I thought you were sleeping. Have you been sitting here all this time?” She crouched down to be closer to eye level.
“How long has it been?”
“Two hours. Becs, are you okay? Is something else happening?” Her voice was laden with concern. She silently cursed herself for not checking on her right away.
The brunette ran a hand roughly through her hair. “I’m just… I’m a really bad patient when I’m sick. I say things I don’t mean and I’m just miserable. I didn’t want to snap at one of you, but I didn’t mean to disappear like that either. I’m sorry, Chlo. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She pinched at the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezed shut as she fought with the irrational emotions stirred up by her illness.
Chloe shifted to sit next to Beca and gathered her into her arms. “It’s okay, babe. Being sick sucks. Aubrey and Emily said they’d stay the weekend to help out, but they would understand if you’d rather not have company.”
Beca shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. I just… I need another minute.”
“Take all the time you need. I love you.” Chloe kissed her forehead, and the gesture after her words broke the dam on Beca’s emotions. Chloe felt the first few hot splashes on her neck and gripped her partner tighter. “I’ve got you, Becs. I’m here,” she murmured as she stroked her hair. After several minutes, the tears stopped and Beca sat up wiping her eyes.
“Sorry. I get emotional when I’m sick,” she explained. “I’ll be good for a while now.”
“Are you sure? We were gonna order dinner and I came to see what you wanted.” Chloe gently brushed away a stray tear.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Whatever everyone wants is fine; you know my favorites. I’ll be out in a minute.” Laying a hand on Chloe’s jaw, she kissed her softly. “Thank you, babe.”
Chloe smiled warmly. “Whatever you need, Becs, I’m here.” She went back to the living room and their guests. “She’s good with whatever, so how about pizza?” Aubrey and Emily agreed easily, and Chloe called in the order while she grabbed sodas from the fridge. By the time she returned, Beca, in pajamas and a heavy robe, had rejoined them and was quietly talking shop with Emily.
After dinner, Beca seemed to be in higher spirits, enough that she joined in the request for more guitar, which Emily happily provided. Much as she enjoyed the music and the company, the bronchitis was kicking her ass and by 9, she was in bed for the night.