Chapter one: Napping? Napping.

Beca was tired.

To be fair, Beca was always tired these days. Not a, sleepy-student-who-stays-out-all-night tired either, more of a 'all-I've-done-is-go-to-one-lecture-and-I-needed-a-3-hour-nap" kind of tired. As she lay in bed, slowly waking herself up from said nap, all wrapped up in a onesie, duvet, and cheap IKEA blanket, she once again thanked her lucky stars that she was studying English, with a mere 4 contact hours a week, compared to her best friend Chloe's 25 gruelling hours of Chemistry.

Reaching to grab her phone from her bedside windowsill to check the time, Beca sighed. 15:04. She had exactly 26 minutes to get out of her warm onesie-duvet-blanket-nest, put on some real clothes, and be on the top floor of the student union building for Bella's rehearsals.

26 minutes. She could do this.

Maybe.

28 minutes later

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Beca yelled, running into the huge room on the top floor of the student union, laptop bag falling off her shoulder and sheets of music slipping from her hands as she skidded to a stop.

"I'm so, so sorry, I was just-"

"Napping?" came 9 voices, in unison.

"Napping," Becca finished, hanging her head.

"Well, you're only three minutes late, which is pretty impressive considering you probably didn't set an alarm! Now get up here and teach us the incredible setlist we know you've created for us," Chloe said, grinning as she skipped over to Becca and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the front of the room. Embarrassment forgotten, Beca began handing out the sheets of music she had brought with her.

"So it starts with…"

"That mix is awesome, Becs," Chloe said, as she and Beca stood side by side, both covered in a light sheen of sweat and rooting in their bags for water bottles.

Becca grinned, glad that the overall tomato-character of her face hid any additional blushing that she would vehemently deny was occurring at all.

"Thanks. We've got Regionals in the bag this year, Beale. Again," she said, smirking at the memory of the last 2 years of Bella's winning the Regional part of the annual Varsity acapella competition.

"Again," Chloe agreed, before draining the last drop of her water bottle and watching Beca do the same, "Thanks to one, teeny tiny, but definitely awesome DJ," she finished, booping Beca on the nose.

"Really, Chloe?" Beca whined, scrunching her nose and going to punch Chloe gently on the arm.

"Worth it!" Chloe squealed, skipping away from Beca's approaching fist and grabbing her bag in one movement, "Just to see your srunched-up-boop face!".

Beca sighed, shook her head, grabbed her bag, and ran to catch up with the other girl, linking their arms and hip checking her.

"Yeah well Beale, only for you. Anyone else boops me and it's a firm jab in the ribs for them, and no scrunchy-boop face," Beca replied, looking down again, this time being grateful that she was wearing a high-necked exercise top. She was pretty sure even her neck was blushing at this point.

"that's because you love me," Chloe sang, slipping her arm down Beca's and linking their fingers, swinging their joined hands between them.

"Whatever, Beale," Beca muttered, completely unable to hide the smile on her face as she looked down.

Chloe squeezed their hands once, before reaching for the light switch, and plunging the studio behind them into darkness. By this point, the other Bella's had of course all left. No one needed to wait around to watch their oblivious captains flirt with each other.

Later that evening, having walked home together, cooked together ("Pasta, again Beca, really?" "We're students, Chlo, pasta is acceptable 6 nights out of 7 these days,"), and started a water fight over the washing up ("You splash me one more time Chloe Beale and I will end you"… "That's it!"), Chloe and Beca snuggled on their tiny green and white striped sofa, covered with yet another IKEA fleece blanket. Chloe and Beca were on the tiny sofa, with Fat Amy, Stacie and Emily sitting on cushions on the floor on front of them, all staring at the laptop on the coffee table in front of them. Beca could barely keep her eyes open.

"Hey, Becs?" Chloe whispered, as she felt the brunette's head slip off her shoulder in sleep for the 4th time that evening.

"Mhmmhm," Beca made an indistinguishable noise, lifting her head and opening her eyes.

"What's going on, Becs?" Chloe whispered again. Fortunately the sound of Buffy enthusiastically fighting with Kendra was covering the sound of their soft conversation.

"Nothing Chlo, why?" Beca replied, head up now, eyes focused straight ahead, as if she had any idea what was going on, on the laptop in front of her.

"You've been so tired all the time. You're sleeping through your lectures, those naps before Bella's practice… And I know you hate movies but I also know you love Buffy," Chloe replied, her anxiety for her friend creeping into her voice.

"I'm fine Chlo," Beca reassured her, eyes still not moving from the flashing screen in front of her, "I've just been a bit run down recently. I'm fine, promise," she turned, then, giving Chloe what was supposed to be a reassuring smile before turning back to the laptop again, the light reflecting off her face somehow empahisising the fact that she was in no way paying attention.

"Hmph," Chloe huffed, quietly. Realising that she wasn't getting anything out of Beca that evening, she too returned her attention to the screen. And when Beca fell asleep on her shoulder again, Chloe slipped her arm round the other girl, allowing her to settle more securely on her chest, playing with her hair as the rest of the episode played.

"Hey Becs, what's what on your arm?" Chloe asked, or attempted to ask, given that there was a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, and toothpaste slowly dribbling down her chin. With her other hand she pointed to the small puncture mark in Beca's elbow, surrounded by a tiny bruise.

"Oh, this?" Beca asked, similarly unclearly as her mouth was also otherwise occupied. Communal tooth-brushing was an important tradition in the Bella's household, particularly given the fact that there was only one bathroom.

"Oh, I errr, donated blood yesterday, that's all," Beca said, clearly now as she spat out her toothpaste and rinsed her tooth brush.

"Night Chlo!" she said as she rounded out the bathroom without giving Chloe a chance to say goodnight, leaving her staring after Beca, slack jawed, toothbrush in hand, not noticing the toothpaste until it dripped on her foot. Beca HATED needles. Chloe had been trying to persuade her to donate blood for as long as they had known each other, and Beca had never done it because she said needles made her faint. What the hell was going on? Chloe was worried about Beca, but if (as Chloe suspected) the mark was from having a non-voluntary blood test, Beca must be worried about Beca, and that scared Chloe even more.