Author's Note: Hi everyone, I guess it's been forever. But I'm finally in a good place to really continue this story. I never abandoned it; I just didn't really know how to continue it at the time. But we're back now pitches! Let's get this show on the road!

My writing style has evolved a lot now, but I'm still getting back into the swing of things.

Chapter 10: Panic

Chloe's POV.

Needless to say, Beca following me to Eliza's grave was… shocking. I had no idea the little firecracker had even followed me the whole time, but it felt nice to talk to someone about my baby aside from my parents. Not even Aubrey knew about this, and she's known me way longer than Beca.

The drive back to the little Bella house was hard, I followed behind Beca in my own car, the radio silent on my end. Beca would have freaked out about that, since I never drive without some kind of music. I could just barely make out the back of Beca's head through her tinted windows, and I smiled sadly. I wish Eliza could have really met Beca… could have gotten to know the woman I've grown to l-… Okay, Beale, stop thinking, just slow down. I think, fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel.

I pull onto the side of the road when I get to my parent's house, and Beca parks as well, but doesn't get out right away. So, I walk over, little blue teddy bear clutched in my hands as I tap on her widow. She rolls it down carefully and looks up at me, her stormy blue eyes an ocean of emotions.

"Wanna come in with me? Meet my parents?" I gently ask, smiling down at her softly.

"I- I don't wanna intrude, Chlo." She whispers, almost too softly, I have to strain to hear her.

"It's okay, I talk about you all the time." I smile shyly and open the door for her, offering her my free hand. She shyly takes it after a minute and follows, never letting go of my hand, as if I were an anchor for her. We were slowly gluing the shattered pieces back together, but there were still too many holes, to many sharp edges that would probably never fade, but they could at least be smoothed out.

I take a breath as I walk up the path to the door and open it, quietly instructing Beca to take off her shoes and leave them at the door. She obeys, of course, and we make our way to the livingroom after I take mine off as well.

"Mom, Daddy, I'm back!" I gently call out, and my dad looks up from his newspaper, clearly surprised to see Beca beside me.

"Is that the munchkin?" He asks, arching a brow.

Beca turns bright red as she looks at me in shock, and I can't help but laugh deeply. "Yes, daddy, this is Beca." The munchkin in question awkwardly waves. I hug the teddy close to my chest and he sobers up lightly, arching a brow, as if silently asking if Beca knows, and I softly nod. He's surprised but says nothing on the matter. "Your mama's in the kitchen," he murmurs deeply, going back to his paper. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, daddy." I walk over and kiss his cheek lightly before leading Beca to the kitchen.

Beca's POV

I quietly grip Chloe's hand as she leads me to the kitchen. I smile softly, the house itself radiated so much Beale energy, you'd be an idiot to think this wasn't Chloe's home. I grin when I see Chloe's mom, red hair a lighter shade than Chloe's, almost strawberry blonde. I'm shocked when Chloe softly hands me the teddy bear, and I hold it as if it were alive, cradling it to my chest carefully, knowing how much it means to the redhead, watching her as she walks to her mom, hugging her tightly.

"Hi mama," she breathes out, tucking her head against her mom's neck. It made my heart ache a little, making me miss my own mom like crazy. I hadn't seen her in nearly a year, being so busy with the Bella's and the ICCA's, she didn't even know I was pregnant… god she was gonna kill me. I hug the bear just a little tighter, trying to ground myself from my growing panic, and I shoot Chloe a look, my breathing starting to pick up.

Chloe immediately notices, and kisses her mom's cheek, and quickly leads me to the hallway, gathering me up into her arms as she whispers in my ear. "Breathe, Becs, breathe..what happened, talk to me?" She murmurs gently, petting my hair, and I hug the bear closer to my chest, head tucked into Chloe's neck.

"My mom… she's gonna kill me."

"What are you talking about, Beca?" She pulls back just a bit so she can look into my eyes.

"She doesn't know, Chlo. I haven't told her… I haven't seen her in like a year. Like we text and everything but oh god she's gonna freak."

Chloe inhales sharply in shock, cupping my cheeks softly. "Easy.. I.. we'll fix this, don't worry, just breathe for me, okay?" She's trying to keep me calm, but my heart is pounding in my ears, I feel sick, my stomach is turning and the baby is upset, and I slam my eyes shut, digging my teeth into my lip to the bleeding point as I whimper.

Suddenly, arms, not Chloe's, I know her arms like my mixing board, are wrapping around me, the scent of beaches and sunflowers filling my senses as Chloe's mom cradles me against her, and her voice is filling my ears as she softly sings to me. "But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all, and if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before.." I let out a deep breath as I start to tap the rhythm onto the older woman's back, the words relaxing me as my eyes close. Because of course Chloe's mom would be able to relax me in a similar way to Chloe, and now I know where she got her beautiful voice from. Chloe's mom's voice was deeper, almost a little gravely with a hint of an accent I couldn't place, but it was still beautiful and deeply relaxing. My arm cradling the teddy bear eases as well, and Chloe very gently reaches between us to take it, making a quick trip upstairs to put it back in its rightful place.

Chloe returns after a minute, smiling when she sees I've calmed down, her mom now softly petting my hair. "It's okay sweetie, Mama Beale's got you," she smiles down at me gently, and I can't help but smile back. These damn Beale's and their infectious smiles.

In that moment, surrounded by infectious smiles and fire-like hair, I felt safe. I felt at peace. It felt like nothing could ever be bad again.

God, if only I knew how wrong I was.