Author's Note: Thank you to everyone that has checked out my story so far. I want to especially thank those of you who have followed, favorited, and/or reviewed this story. It really means a lot to me.

Chloe may have held a cup of steaming peppermint tea and peeked out her window once to check the weather after loaning her shovel to Beca. Maybe she checked twice. That didn't matter. What did matter was that eventually Beca did come out of the house and shovel. After just a moment of shoveling, Chloe noticed her almost slip and fall, but she somehow used the shovel to catch herself.

Once she stood up straight again, Chloe noticed her straighten her shoulders and glance around to see if anyone noticed. When she stopped looking around after a moment, Chloe decided that Beca must have decided that she was in the clear because she adjusted an item, which Chloe was pretty sure was an iPod, and put it back in her coat pocket before simply going back to shoveling. Chloe's eyes lit up, and she bit back a small smile at how adorable the other woman was. After that, Chloe went back to making her dinner and made sure that she didn't check the weather any more that night.

It wasn't until she woke up early enough to shovel with the back-up shovel that she kept in her car that she realized two things. One was that her better snow shovel had already been returned and was propped on her porch by the front door. The second was that her sidewalk and driveway had already been shoveled.

Her smile continued to linger when she made her way to her parents' house for Christmas dinner that afternoon. Her mother instantly asked her why she was even more bubbly than usual. Chloe immediately told her mother about her kind mysterious neighbor and how, although she didn't know all of her neighbors, she was surprised that they hadn't met during the past six months that Chloe had lived at her house.

After listening intently, her mother simply chuckled and said that Chloe certainly had more than her share of holiday spirit. "Could you go share some of that with your brother?" she asked. Then, she added, "I can finish up the rest of the cookies."

"Thanks, Mom," Chloe replied once she finished icing the polar bear that she was currently working on. Her mother simply smiled at her daughter in reply, stopped stirring the ingredients that she had been mixing, and moved to take over Chloe's frosting duties. As Chloe turned to walk down the hallway, her mother was still frosting, and after a moment, the spoon resumed stirring the bowl of ingredients on the other counter by itself.

As Chloe approached her brother's door, she was able to hear music playing quietly in his room. "Jack," she called. "It's me." There was no reply, so she knocked. "Jack, can I come in? We both know that you're better off answering and saving both of us from that horror if I shouldn't actually come in…"

As she trailed off, the music shut off. Then, the door opened. Only seventeen years old, Jack was the youngest in the family. Having inherited his father's height and blonde hair as opposed to his mother's light red hair, he looked a lot like a younger version of his dad.

"What's going on?" Chloe questioned him as she poked at the splotch of purple paint on his cheek.

Jack just grinned in response before explaining, "I just finished a new painting. We can go tell Mom that I'm done with it. She'll be relieved that I'll be able to 'focus more on college applications' now."

"You haven't finished them yet?" Chloe asked as they began to walk back to the kitchen.

Jack groaned and looked at his sister, "Not you too. I'm feeling a little betrayed here."

"Sorry," Chloe chuckled.

"I'm almost done," Jack promised. Then, he added, "I have until February anyway."

Chloe nodded, "Any top contenders?"

Before Jack could reply, Chloe's father was handing her food to put on the table. She filed the question away as something to ask him about later. She already had enough questions that she needed to ask that night. She knew that she couldn't ask until just before she left, so she tried not to let it bother her until she reached the moment that she could ask. It occurred when she had already said good-bye to her father and brother, and she was talking to her mother while she gathered her belongings.

"Mom, where's Natalie?" Chloe asked.

Hazel, Chloe's mother, sighed quietly before answering, "She had to stay and work. Some new evidence came in on one of her big cases, so she and Jim are going to come visit sometime when they are both able to take some time off work. You know how busy they are with work, Sweetie."

Chloe didn't press her luck, so she just smiled before replying, "I know, Mom. Let me know when they're coming."

"Of course, Dear, and, oh," she paused and pointedly looked at the box that she had already placed near the door. She added, "I almost forgot to tell you that I made a new soap." Hazel smiled at her daughter as she shared her news.

Chloe grinned, "That sounds great. What is it?"

"Well, it smells like lavender, and it helps you concentrate."

Chloe raised her eyebrows and waited for her mother to explain more.

"Chloe, it's not far-fetched for everyone to believe as natural. Lavender is already known to enhance concentration and lower stress. I just…enhanced it a little," and she shimmied her shoulder slightly as she finished her sentence in order to emphasize her point. She smiled again at her daughter against as she handed the box of soap over. Then she added, "Jack made the labels for me."

A glance down at the white and purple labels was all Chloe did before she assured her mother, "They look great. I'll put them on the shelf at the shop tomorrow."

"Thanks, Honey. I appreciate your letting me sell these next to your flowers."

"It's not a problem," Chloe promised. She paused while she opened the door, "Merry Christmas, Mom."

"Merry Christmas, Dear."

The next morning found Chloe putting some of her best looking cookies on a plate before grabbing her hat, gloves, and coat to head across the street. She rang the doorbell once before she heard a, "Hold on!" come from somewhere inside the house. She fidgeted a little in the thirty or so seconds between hearing the voice, totally Beca, and when the door opened to reveal Beca in jeans and a purple plaid shirt that was open and revealed the black tank top underneath it.

Beca's mouth hung open a little after she opened the door, but no sound came out. "Hi Beca," Chloe greeted after beat. Then, the redhead smiled and held up the cookies with a, "These are for you."

Beca's eyebrow raised a little, and she asked, "What?"

"They're a thank you."

At this, Beca hesitated for a moment before shrugging noncommittally, and Chloe waited for Beca to deny shoveling her sidewalk. Instead, Beca admitted, "It was a thank you for the shovel."

"Well, thank you for the thank you."

Beca seemed to regain some of her courage at that and smirked a little, "That's ridiculous." The smirk changed to a smile when she added, "Thank you for the cookies, dude," in a softer tone.

Chloe couldn't help that her smile grew at Beca's word choice. Usually confident, her nerves betrayed her when her voice turned her statement into a question, and she ended up asking, "I'll see you around?"

Beca's earnest look as she replied with a simple, "Yeah," while carefully taking the cookies along with her blush when Chloe's fingers brushed hers made Chloe feel a little giddy.

After all the Christmas festivities, things went back to normal for Chloe. She worked and saw the usual people at the usual places. Aubrey, her best friend, was still going to be out of town for at least another week though, but that wasn't all that out of the realm of normal anyway. Aubrey owned a retreat where companies often brought their employees to bond.

She left to go to the retreat for work whenever it was booked. It was about a forty-five minute drive toward nothingness, and away from both Barden and Minneapolis, to get there. Although she spent a lot of time there, Aubrey didn't want to actually live that far from the city, so she commuted. Sometimes, she'd be gone for weeks. Her schedule varied a lot. One boss scheduled a retreat to begin on December 26th, so Aubrey went straight from her family's house to the retreat. Aubrey and Chloe were going to meet for lunch once she returned.

When New Year's Day rolled around, Aubrey was still at the retreat. Chloe woke up that morning pleased to note her distinct lack of a hangover. After a morning run on her treadmill, a long shower, and breakfast, she settled down on her couch and wrapped a warm blanket around herself. Once she found a marathon of America's Next Top Model, she settled in to prepare for it. After two episodes, her doorbell interrupted the marathon.

She opened the door to reveal a nervous looking brunette. Chloe breathed out, "Beca," before she thought of a million more impressive greetings.

Because it was cold, Chloe could see the little breath of air that Beca let out before she said, "Hey, Chloe. I just wanted to return this." With that, she held out the plate that had previously held cookies. After a beat, she nervously added, "I, uh, totally cleaned it and everything."

Chloe smiled a little at her and accepted the plate. "How were they?"

Beca fidgeted a little with her hands now that she no longer had anything to hold onto and breathed out, "Delicious," before clearing her throat and asking, "Do you want to go get a coffee with me?"

Cheerfully, Chloe leaned against her doorway and tried to not let her smile show in her words as she gleefully asked, "Is this a thank you for the thank you which was for a thank you?"

Beca looked stern for a moment as she suggested, "Let's not call it that."

Chloe laughed, "Come in while I get my coat."

Beca's eyes widened, and she took a small step back, "Oh, it doesn't have to be right now if you're busy."

Again, Chloe laughed lightly in reply and simply stretched out her arm to touch Beca's forearm. "Come on, it's fine." Beca nodded and followed Chloe inside the house. The redhead added, "Just let me turn off a few things and grab my coat," as she began to walk toward her television.

Chloe turned around to ask Beca about America's Next Top Model, and that's when she noticed where Beca's eyes had been focused. Chloe was fairly certain that the brunette had been checking out her ass. When her view changed, Beca's eyes immediately looked up to meet bright blue ones. Crimson was finding its way up her neck and onto her cheeks before Chloe even raised a questioning eyebrow.

"So what were you watching?" Beca squeaked out.

Deciding not to call the blushing brunette on anything, Chloe went with the change in conversation. "America's Next Top Model! Do you watch it?"

"Uh," Beca grimaced a little, "I don't watch television that much."

"What's your favorite movie then?"

"I really don't do movies."

"Hm," Chloe paused for a moment while she located her boots and hat. "Okay, not a movie fan. Remind me to introduce you to some good television shows anyway." With that, Chloe turned to wink at Beca before grabbing her purse and declaring, "Alright, let's go."

The start of their walk was pretty quiet at first. Then, Beca apologized, "I'm sorry. It's cold." She looked at the slightly red cheeks of Chloe and continued, "I should have offered to drive."

Chloe shrugged, "It's not a problem. We'll warm up once we're there." After a moment, she added, "You do realize that most places are probably closed on New Year's Day though, right?"

Beca smirked and seemed pleased with herself, "Actually, I do know a coffee shop that's open nearby." Chloe waited to see if Beca would continue her story, and after a moment, she was rewarded for her patience. "There wasn't any coffee in the house when I first arrived, so I found this place right away. It's had signs up for days about how it'd still be open today."

"How long have you been in town?"

"About a week," Beca answered as she pulled open the door to the coffee shop.

Mostly to herself, Chloe replied in a near whisper, "I was wondering how I would have missed you."

Beca tilted her head a little as if to better understand what Chloe had said, "What?"

Chloe laughed a little at herself, "Nothing." At Beca's imploring look, Chloe added, "I just feel like I would have noticed you if you'd been around longer."

The way that Beca rolled her eyes and turned to the cashier after Chloe's statement did little to cover up the brunette's smile. "Go ahead and order," Beca offered. After Chloe ordered a peppermint mocha, Beca ordered a coffee. Chloe reached for her purse, but Beca placed her hand on Chloe's. "I've got it," she assured her.

"You sure?" Chloe didn't move her hand, but Beca didn't either.

Beca shrugged, "It's just coffee."

Chloe wasn't really sure why those particular words made her stomach tense for a moment. Still, she smiled a little, even if it faltered for a second, and tried to joke, "It's a thank you for a thank you which was for a thank you."

Beca stepped a little closer to Chloe to whisper, "We really don't have to keep saying that." Chloe laughed.

When it came time to grab their drinks, Beca's hand hastily retreated from Chloe's as if she had forgotten how long it had been there. Once they headed for a table, Chloe commented, "Let's play a game."

Intrigued, but slightly wary, Beca questioned, "What kind of game?"

"Person A has to guess what a stranger's resolution was. Person B picks the stranger. If Person A doesn't have good enough reasons for the resolution, then Person A has to tell Person B something about themselves."

Beca shook her head, "That sounds ridiculous."

"Are you chicken?"

"What?"

"Chicken," Chloe supplied and wiggled her eyebrows a little at Beca.

Beca looked affronted. "I know what you're doing, Beale, and it won't work." Chloe smiled at the use of her last name, but she didn't interrupt as Beca continued, "That won't work to get me to play. I'm not five."

Chloe grinned, and she tapped her fingers on top of Beca's hand. "You're not five," she agreed, "but you're a chicken."

Beca bit her bottom lip for a moment before agreeing to play. "You're going to lose, and you should start."

"Fine," Chloe agreed easily. "Pick a person."

"Hmm," Beca glanced around the coffee shop. Finally, she selected an older couple in the corner. He was reading a newspaper, and the woman with him was reading a magazine.

"Alright," Chloe looked at them a moment. "Okay, okay, I've got it. Are you ready?" Smiling, Beca nodded. "His resolution is to go skydiving this year," Beca snorted at the one. Chloe added, "Also, since you didn't tell me which one you chose, I'll tell you hers too. She wants to work on her garden, so her resolution is to win the orchid growing contest next fall." Beca was grinning at her. "What?"

"I so win. There's no way that's what their resolutions are. You owe me two truths."

"That's totes what their resolutions are."

Beca guffawed, "I need reasons."

"Shirley told me so last month." Beca's eyes narrowed a bit at this, and Chloe looked a little sheepish. She explained, "Shirley comes into my flower shop a lot. That's her husband Frank. I was giving her some advice on the orchids a few weeks ago, and she talked about their resolutions and what would be different next year."

Beca looked incredulous, "You're a cheat."

Chloe looked a little hurt and placed her hand over her heart, "I can't help that I know what their resolutions are."

Beca's eyes narrowed playfully, "Do you know anyone else's?"

Chloe pointed at the barista and one more customer who was typing away in a corner booth. Beca arched her eyebrows and waited for an explanation. "Okay, okay. I may talk to some of these people, but there's definitely some that I don't know," Chloe promised.

Beca grumbled a little, "Fine, I'll pick one of them next time."

Chloe smiled at her, "Tell me the resolution for…her." With that, Chloe nodded toward one of the women sitting at the counter.

After assessing for a moment, Beca turned to face Chloe, "That's easy. She's trying to give up smoking."

"Reasoning?"

"She has a pack of cigarettes sitting on the counter next to her. Also, it's one of the most common resolutions."

Chloe grinned and propped her elbows on the table before excitedly leaning forward a little, "Well, I'm sorry to tell you that you're wrong. You owe me a truth."

"What?" Beca looked incredulous. "Do you know her too?"

"No," Chloe chuckled lightly. She moved her chair a little closer to Beca's side of the table and leaned a little closer to whisper, "First, the cigarette package is out in the open, and it'd still be in her purse if she was trying not to think about them." Chloe discretely pointed out the package. "Also, it's already open, and she would have thrown it away and had to buy a new one if she was trying to give up the habit." Sure enough, the cellophane was not around the box anymore.

Without further prompting, Beca sighed lightly and offered, "I'm a music producer."

"In Barden?"

Beca shrugged and finished her coffee. Chloe was just finishing her mocha as well. After her last drink, Beca elaborated, "Minneapolis, really. I'm working long-distance currently and commuting when needed."

Chloe wanted to ask about it, but she didn't want to probe. As it was, she was glad that Beca hadn't moved her chair farther away from her, so she instead tried to extend the conversation and asked, "Do you sing?"

"Oh," Beca stammered for a moment. "It's really about working with the music and having other people sing…I don't generally do the singing."

Chloe smiled reassuringly. "I get that. I just wondered if you also sang. I did a cappella in college," Chloe explained. She further explained, "It was all music with our mouths."

At that, Chloe noticed Beca glance down at her lips, "Right." Beca licked her lips and looked back up at Chloe's eyes, "That's a thing now."

Chloe grinned, "I bet that I could have convinced you to join the group too."

Beca chuckled a little at that as they stood up and put on their coats, "I kinda doubt that one, Chloe." Chloe raised an eyebrow at the challenge, so Beca explained, "I didn't really do group things in college. I mostly studied and worked." She shrugged, "That's all I meant."

Changing the topic because she had promised herself that she would do something, Chloe asked, "Can I see your phone?" as they walked out the door of the coffee shop.

Beca looked a little skeptical as she entered her passcode and handed her phone over to Chloe, but she didn't protest. Chloe merely smiled triumphantly at her before taking it and entering her phone number with the contact name Chloe with :-D after Chloe was finished, she glanced over at Beca who seemed to be watching the sidewalk for ice. The brunette glanced over at the redhead and smiled sheepishly before explaining, "I don't want us to trip." She pointed at her own cell phone before adding, "Especially since one of us isn't looking at where they're going at all."

"I trust you," Chloe declared before texting herself with Beca's phone so that she'd have her phone number too. She handed the phone back to its owner, "Now you have my number, so we can talk without either one of us having to go out in the cold first." Chloe grinned, "It also means that I can tell you when I get home safely."

"First of all, we are literally staying just across the street from one another," Beca stated. Chloe shrugged.

Before Beca could list a second reason, she paused to look at Chloe as the redhead bit back a smile and looked around. "We may already be at your house," Chloe explained. At that, Beca looked around and noticed that they had stopped walking and were, in fact, already in front of the house.

Beca glanced over at Chloe whose cheeks were red, probably from the cold. Beca mumbled, "You walked me home." The brunette's own cheeks turned a deeper shade of red after that, and she glanced at her shoes. It was probably the wind.

Chloe couldn't resist pulling Beca into a good-bye hug. She felt the brunette stiffen for a second, and she half expected the other woman to pull away. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to feel Beca's arms on her lower back after her initial hesitation. She couldn't resist the urge to murmur, "Thanks for the thank you," in Beca's ear before pulling away. She did note the smile on the woman's face before she turned around to head back toward her own house.