Chapter Text
When Beca started at Barden University there were many things she objected to; not being able to move to L.A., having to join an extracurricular club, her a cappella captain being up her ass all the time. But by the end of the year, none of that mattered. She’d found her place in the world, she’d found a family, she’d found her person. Chloe was perhaps the most unexpected part of life at BU, a ray of sunshine that had somehow snuck around all of Beca’s walls and defences and into her heart. As the academic year drew to a close and the Bellas won the ICCAs, things only seemed to be going up.
And then the bomb hit.
There was no warning, no evacuation order, nothing. Just a blinding white light, a thunderous explosion, and devastation. Florida was practically levelled, ground zero for the a-bomb, but Georgia hadn’t escaped unscathed, not by a long shot. When the bomb had landed on the border it had laid waste to a large portion of the state and almost the entire East coast of America was put on lockdown to contain the fallout. They were left to fend for themselves, the city of Atlanta falling into mob rule as basic necessities became harder and harder to come by. Gangs formed, territories were carved up, and everything basically fell into chaos.
The Bellas had been together when the bomb hit, one last party before Aubrey graduated and moved to New York for law school. For the first time Beca found herself thankful for Aubrey’s natural gift for leadership as she took the reigns, found the Bellas somewhere safe to camp out, organised their supplies and rations, determined to get them all through this alive. Chloe’s pre-vet programme came in very handy as she quickly learnt to apply her skills to humans, helping to treat various injuries and illnesses that came with post-apocalyptic life. Beca had perhaps surprised all of them the most; no-one had doubted that Beca was scrappy when she had to be, or that she would defend them with her life, but maybe the Bellas had underestimated just how scrappy Beca was. Under Aubrey’s guidance, Beca had become a quick firearm study (almost frighteningly so) and went out on almost every scavenging mission to defend her family.
All the Bellas sported more than a few scars, run-ins with various factions and gangs as well as the general hazards of a post-apocalyptic world leaving none of them unscathed. Chloe now sported a long scar on her cheek as a reminder of a particularly nasty run-in with a gang that controlled the area near the hospital. Chloe had needed medical supplies and they had launched what they thought would be a relatively straight-forward scavenging mission. It had ended with three men on top of Chloe, a knife pressed deep into her cheek and about to be torn apart if Beca hadn’t blown the head off one of them, the others scattering quickly. It was the first time Beca had been forced to kill someone and she was in no hurry to do it again, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would do it again if she had to. Especially if it meant saving Chloe.
It had a long two months, but things were showing no sign of easing up. The Bellas supplies were starting to run dangerously low and an attempted ambush on their territory had left Stacie badly injured and at risk of infection.
“Atlanta’s almost entirely cleared out.” Aubrey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to stave off the stress migraine that seemed to plague lately, “We’d need to go to the centre of the city for supplies. How long will our food supplies last?”
“Two weeks at the most.” Ashley checked the list in front of her again, “And that’s if we eek them out.”
“Medical supplies are running low too.” Chloe ran a hand through her hair, “I’m trying to keep on top of this infection Stacie’s developing without burning through what little we have but…”
Aubrey winced a little at this, guilt gnawing at her at the mention of Stacie’s current condition. Stacie had put herself between Aubrey and the short burst rifle aimed at her by one of the attempted ambushers. It had been a small, desperate trio but they had snuck past the initial defences and caught Aubrey unaware. She should have seen them coming, it was her fault.
“There’s no choice. We have to go.” Beca mumbled.
There were nods and murmurs of agreement from all the Bellas. Aubrey sighed heavily and sat forward in her chair, “Alright… Beca, CR, Lilly, we’ll leave at sun up. We should only be gone for a couple of days. Chloe you’re in charge until I get back.”
Chloe nodded, heart clenching as it always did when she knew that Beca, that any of them, were going out there. The Bellas dispersed, Aubrey’s team for tomorrow moving of to prep for the mission, the others moving for the cots in the corner.
Once Beca had packed her weapons and ammo she went over to were Stacie was lying. Her stomach twisted as she set next to her friend, taking her clammy hand in hers; she hated seeing Stacie like this, it seemed so alien that a woman so full of life and fire was now weak and barely conscious.
“Hey Stace.”
“Shortstack!” Stacie mumbled, eyes opening a little as she smiled softly, “Is it your turn to baby sit me again already?”
Beca chuckled a little as she gave Stacie’s hand a soft squeeze, “Not yet, Fat Amy’s actually next on the schedule. But I’m heading out in the morning, and I wanted to check on you before I did.”
“You’re gonna be careful yeah?” Stacie frowned a little, swallowing hard.
“Of course.” Beca grinned, trying to push back against the fear that Stacie might not be here once she got back.
“Is Bree going?” Stacie asked, sweat beading on her forehead as her eyes began to drift shut again.
“Yeah. We’re gonna have to go into the centre of the city, it could be a few days.” Beca carefully moved some of Stacie’s hair from her face.
“Bring her back to me.” Stacie whispered, “There’s things I need to say. Just not when she’s about to go out there… I don’t wanna be a distraction…”
“You got it Stace.” Beca smiled, emotion making her voice thick as she held back her tears, “Get some rest okay? I want you back on form when I get back.” She joked weakly.
Stacie slipped into unconsciousness again, Beca running a hand through her hair as she got up. There was someone else she needed to see before she left, someone who’s photo she kept in her inside jacket pocket. Beca stepped outside into the cold, spotting Chloe’s fiery hair easily against the nuclear winter snow. She stood and looked at her for a moment, her only solace and happiness in the midst of all this terror and fear.
“You shouldn’t be out here without an escort.” Beca smiled softly, winding her arms around Chloe’s waist from behind and chin resting on her shoulder.
“Sorry, I just wanted some air.” Chloe pressed herself against Beca, hands resting on the arms wrapped around her waist.
They stood for a moment in their embrace, eyes closed as they blocked out everything else that was happening around them. Chloe turned in Beca’s arms and rested her head against hers, a traitorous tear betraying how afraid she was for her girlfriend.
“I wish you didn’t have to go…” Chloe whispered, “Every time you leave, I’m terrified you won’t come back.”
“I know. But I have to go Chloe. We need supplies, Stacie needs medicine… but I always come back to you.” Beca tucked Chloe’s hair behind her ears as she smiled at her.
“Promise me you’ll be careful?” Chloe pulled Beca closer to her, “That you’ll be safe?”
“I promise.” Beca brushed her lips over Chloe’s, “I love you Chlo.”
“I love you too Becs.” Chloe kissed her with all the love she could muster, something to tide her over until she returned to her.
As the sun rose, Chloe watched as Beca, Aubrey, CR and Lilly headed out of the base, leaning on the doorway as she fought back her tears again. She hated watching the scavenging teams leave, never quite sure if they’d return or what state they would be in when they did. Beca looked over her shoulder, pausing for a moment before running back to Chloe, pulling her into a deep kiss by the front of her jacket.
“Wait for me love.” Beca mumbled as she pulled back, “I’ll come back to you, just wait for me.”
Chloe nodded, too overwhelmed by her tears to say anything, cupping Beca’s face in her hands for a moment before Beca stepped back, squeezing Chloe’s hands tight in hers before returning to Aubrey. Chloe watched until the scavenging squad was long out of sight, hands running through her hair as she headed back inside.
Chloe waited.
She had waited three days with no word from any of them.
She had waited a week as news came in about a riot in the centre of the city five days ago.
She had waited two weeks when Aubrey, CR and Lilly stumbled back through the door, badly wounded and with all the supplies they had set out to get, but without Beca.
“She saved us…” Aubrey mumbled as Chloe bandaged her arm, “They were advancing on us and she… she told us to go. She said she was right behind us…”
Chloe had waited a month as the Bellas recovered from their injuries and scraped through surviving.
Chloe had waited four months as Aubrey’s father managed to get word to them about a bunker big enough to house all of them with steady supplies and a constant supply of clean water. In North Carolina. Three hundred and eighty-five miles from here. Away from where Beca asked her to wait.
“I can’t go.” Chloe shook her head, “When Beca comes back I’ll come join you.”
“Chlo…” Aubrey sighed softly, putting her hand on her shoulder, “It’s been four months. I- I don’t think she’s coming back.”
“She is.” Chloe insisted, shrugging her hand off as she tided and organised her medical supplies, “She promised me.”
Aubrey opened her mouth to argue with Chloe, hating that she had to give up on the scrappy brunette, but she couldn’t keep all of them waiting for the tiniest chance that Beca would come back to them, nor did she want to leave Chloe behind. She was interrupted by Stacie, Beca’s heroism meaning that the antibiotics she needed had arrived just in time. Stacie looked shocked, tears in her eyes as she looked from Aubrey to Chloe and back again.
“Chloe. You need to come and see this.” Stacie shook her head a little as Chloe frowned, pushing past Stacie as she headed outside. Aubrey looked confused as she followed her, Stacie gripping her hand tight.
Chloe walked past the Bellas who were all stood around in disbelief, heart pounding in her chest as she tried to figure out what was going on. She looked around her, frowning as she couldn’t see anything at first.
And then she saw her. Still a few feet away. Not yet quite back to her. But definitely, irrefutably, heart-stoppingly… Beca. Chloe stood dumbfounded for a moment as she watched her trudge through the snow, arms wound tightly around herself as she staggered forward.
She was actually here. Beca was here. She came back to her. Just like she promised she would.
Chloe couldn’t wait any longer, running forward as tears streamed down her cheeks. Beca looked up as she heard the sound of pounding feet, taking a deep shuddering breath as she saw the familiar red hair that she had missed so much. Beca started running too, the best she could on her trembling and weak legs.
Chloe swept Beca into arms, sobbing into her shoulder as she lifted her off her feet. The force and speed of the embrace caused them to spin to keep their balance. Beca sank into the loving arms of the woman she loved, sobbing too as she buried her face in her hair.
Home. She was home.
“I knew it.” Chloe choked out between her sobs, “I knew you were coming back.”
“Always baby.” Beca’s voice was rougher than it had been four months ago, betraying some of the struggles of the last four months, “I’m always coming back to you.”
Chloe gently lowered Beca to her feet, pulling back so she could take a proper look at her. Beca was covered in bruises and cuts in various stages of healing, her nose was broken, her eye was black. She was worryingly thin, unsteady on her feet, and…
“Oh my god…” Chloe whispered, fingers reaching out to brush over the visibly forming baby bump.
"Chloe I-" Beca started, the cold temperatures starting to get to her as she shivered furiously, tears running down her cheeks as she averted her gaze.
"I don't care." Chloe cupped Beca's face in her hands, "I mean I do, of course I do, especially if someone hurt you but... it doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that you're home, you came back to me. Everything else can be figured out later."
Beca let out a loud sob as she clung to Chloe again, legs giving out as the adrenaline left her system. Chloe held Beca tight as she carefully lifted her bridal style into her arms, carrying her out of the snow and cold and into the shelter. Beca was still sobbing as she buried her face in Chloe's neck, clinging to her as if her life depended on it. Chloe could feel her heart breaking at how broken her girlfriend sounded.
The Bellas immediately crowded in as Beca was laid carefully onto her cot that hadn't been touched since she left. Beca held tight to Chloe's hand still as she shrank back a little, shaking from the cold and exhaustion.
"Alright guys, back up, come on." Aubrey smiled softly at Beca as the Bellas did just that, "I'm glad you're home Mitchell. It's not been the same without you here to annoy me."
Beca smirked a little as Chloe gently slid her hand from hers and went to retrieve her medical supplies so she could start tending to Beca’s wounds, “Apocalypses make you soft Posen.”
Aubrey shook her head as she chuckled a little, sniffing slightly as she fought back her tears, “You’re an ass. But I missed you.”
Aubrey leant forward and hugged Beca less tightly than she wanted too, Beca shocked at first but quickly returning the embrace. One by one the Bellas took turns welcoming Beca back until it was just Stacie left.
“You’re looking a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Beca joked, eyebrow raised.
“Can’t say the same for you Becs.” Stacie laughed, taking Beca’s hand in hers as she sat on the edge of the cot.
“Charming.” Beca smirked, shaking her head, “I’ve kinda been through hell, I’ve not had the time to worry about my hair.”
Stacie saw the dull exhaustion and glint of unease in her friend’s eyes, feeling her heart clench. God only knew what Beca had been through in the last four months that had left her like this.
“You’re home now Beca. It’s a little less hellish here.” Stacie winked, giving Beca’s hand a tight squeeze.
Beca brushed away a tear on her cheek with her other hand before resting it on her stomach with a soft sigh. It really had been a hellish four months, Beca barely managing to make it back here. But thoughts of Chloe and the life growing inside her had spurred her onwards, brought her back home, had got her to keep her promise of returning. And here she was, home again with her family, with Chloe.
Chloe returned at that moment with her med bag, a soft smile for her girlfriend as she sat on a chair next to her. Stacie squeezed Beca’s hand tightly before getting up.
“Need me to get anything?” She asked Chloe.
“I was going to go back for the drip stand but if you could grad it that would be great.” Chloe smiled warmly, pulling a saline bag, cotton swabs, anti-bacterial spray, and a selection of bandages and gauzes from her bag, “And an ice pack for her nose and eye.”
“Coming right up.” Stacie grinned.
Once Stacie had brought them and left the two alone, Chloe inserted the saline drip into the back of Beca’s hand before she gingerly felt the bridge of her nose, frowning slightly.
“I’m going to have to realign this Becs, and it’s really gonna hurt.” Chloe smiled sympathetically as Beca’s jaw set.
“Okay. Do it.” Beca nodded, hands clenched tightly into fists as she braced herself. There was a loud crack as Chloe quickly pulled Beca’s nose back into place, Beca hissing loudly as pain exploded across her face.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Chloe mumbled softly, picking up the ice pack and pressing it gently to Beca’s face so it was soothing both her nose and eye, “There, that should help numb the pain and bring the swelling down.”
“Thanks Chlo.” Beca smiled at her, left hand keeping the ice pack in place, “I missed you so much…” Her voice cracked as tears began to pour down her cheeks.
“I missed you too.” Chloe picked up Beca’s other hand and pressed a kiss to it, “But I waited for you, I knew you were coming home.”
“I love you.” Beca whispered, squeezing her hand tight in hers, “I love you so damn much.”
“I love you too.” Chloe couldn’t contain the tears that slipped down her cheeks as she rested her hand on Beca’s baby bump, “I love both of you.”
Beca choked on a sob as Chloe climbed onto the cot next to her, careful not to pull the drip out of her hand as she pulled her into her arms. She gently stroked Beca’s hair as she cried into Chloe’s shoulder, relief, exhaustion and a profound hollow sadness flooding out of her. Chloe shushed her quietly until Beca had finished sobbing, breathing deepening as Chloe realised she’d cried herself to sleep.
“Oh my love.” Chloe whispered into her hair, “I love you so much. I’m never letting you go again.”
The next morning Beca was sat up against her pillows, Chloe by her side as Aubrey filled Beca in on what she’d missed.
“So this bunker…” Beca frowned softly, “It’s big enough for all of us?”
“Yep. Including Beca Jr.” Aubrey grinned, “And once we got there, they’d be no more scavenging, no more hunting, just living.”
“That sounds kind of amazing.” Beca smiled softly, “And a place that I can actually keep this one safe.” She mumbled, hand resting on her stomach.
“Do you think you’ll be up to travelling soon?” Aubrey asked, a gentle smile on her face.
“Yeah. I’ll be okay.” Beca nodded.
“She needs another forty-eight hours of bedrest.” Chloe frowned, “And I’m not just saying that as her girlfriend.”
“That’s fine.” Aubrey nodded before Beca could protest, “It gives us time to pack up this place and load the cars.”
“Cars?” Beca raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah.” Aubrey smirked, “Things have really changed around here Mitchell, we’ve upgraded.”
Beca laughed softly as Aubrey gave her leg a gentle squeeze and got up, going to instruct the Bellas through the process of clearing the shelter out. Beca turned her head to look at Chloe, giving her hand a squeeze.
“I love you.”
“I love you too Becs.” Chloe beamed, “This bunker is our best chance at something resembling a normal life in the midst of all this mess.”
“I know.” Beca smiled softly, “I wanna give this kid the best chance I can. This isn’t how I imagined us starting a family y’know but…”
“You’ve thought about us like that?” Chloe asked quietly, emotion sparking in her eyes, “About our future?”
“Yeah. More in the last four months than ever. It kept me sane thinking about you and what our future might look like.” Beca rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
“Me too.” Chloe admitted, “Waiting for you all these months, I was thinking about what our life could look like after all this is over, when we could have a normal life again.”
“Marry me?” Beca looked up after a quiet pause, “When all this over, when it’s safe again, will you marry me?”
Chloe beamed widely, tears slipping down her cheeks as she took Beca’s hands in hers, “Yes Becs. Of course I will.”
Beca grinned as she gently pulled Chloe to her and into a deep and loving kiss. Maybe things would work out eventually. Maybe this bunker in North Carolina was their way out of all of this terror and uncertainty. All they had to do was get there.