Chloe spent several restless nights contemplating the situation with Beca. Seeing the brunette again had sparked her love for the woman, but the redhead was struggling to get past the abruptness of how their relationship had ended. The pain she'd felt over the last months was intense and embedded deep within her. While Beca was spending regular time in traditional therapy, Chloe depended on conversations with Aubrey to try to sort out her emotions.

Aubrey emphasized how Chloe needed to be the driving force behind her own recovery and take charge of her feelings. "I can't make the decisions for you pal. All I can do is be here and support any decision you may make."

As the week marched on into the next weekend and the next week, Beca was respecting Chloe's wishes by not intruding into her space by asking for more time together. The soldier had apologized which was her goal. The rest, if there was to be anything else, was left up to Chloe. And nearly two weeks later, Chloe decided to explore her emotions. She didn't want to be wondering 'what-if' several years down the road.

[To Beca: Hey Becs. Hope work is treating you well.]
[To Chloe: Chlo! Things have been going okay. How've you been?]
[To Beca: Good, thanks for asking.]
[To Beca: I was wondering what you were doing Saturday after group?]
[To Chloe: No group this weekend, and I'm free. What's up?]
[To Beca: I know you aren't the fondest of movies, but I don't think I'm ready for public yet. So I thought I'd see if you were interested in suffering through a movie or two with me?]

Beca was glad the redhead couldn't see the hope and excitement on her face. As much as she despised movies, she'd suffer through it in a heartbeat to spend time with Chloe.

[To Chloe: Sure! How about my place this time?]

The women decided to get an early start in the mid-afternoon. Delivery for dinner and Chloe would bring the movie snacks.

Going into Saturday, Chloe was increasingly anxious about again spending time with Beca alone. But the thought of being with Beca in public felt even more difficult. A quick trip to the store allowed her to pick up some of their favorite movie snacks and some new ones she'd discovered over the last year. She also picked up a variety of beer which she knew would go well with the pizza Beca would inevitably order.

The conversation was surprisingly comfortable between the pair, and Beca was able to stay awake through the movies and shows they watched. As expected, Beca ordered a pizza. Despite the copious amounts of candy and snacks they ate, they were also able to polish off an entire large pizza between them.

After they ate, Beca began to rub her left leg, massaging the area right below her knee. "You okay?" Chloe was concerned that Beca's leg was bothering her.

"Yeah, but do you mind?" Beca motioned to her leg.

Chloe told her to do what she needed to do to be comfortable, and Beca disappeared into the bedroom. When she emerged, she was on a pair of crutches, wearing shorts. She had removed her prosthesis and had a thin knitted cover slipped over the stump on her lower leg. She sat on the couch and laid the crutches on the floor.

"Sorry. Sometimes my leg needs a break." She reached for an afghan resting on the back of the couch and went to hide her leg from view.

"You don't have to do that, Beca. It doesn't bother me to see." Chloe made sure Beca could see her eyes and know that she was being honest. She glanced back down at the brunette's missing limb. "Does it hurt?"

Beca shook her head. "The leg itself, no. Sometimes I still get flashes of phantom pain where the rest of it used to be though. Messes with my head some, but I've gotten better in dealing with it."

Chloe moved from the chair to the couch next to Beca. "May I? Or is it rude to ask?" Beca shook her head and removed the cover from her stump. Chloe cautiously reached out and gently touched Beca's leg, cupping the stump in her palm and examining the ropey scare where doctors had stitched the flaps of skin back together. When her curiosity was satisfied, she moved back to her chair. And the two started another movie.

Chloe woke with a start and realized she wasn't in her bedroom. She must have fallen asleep during the last movie because she was curled up on Beca's couch with a warm fuzzy blanket tucked around her. Beca had also tucked a pillow beneath her head and made sure her cell phone was within reach. She checked the time and decided that she had no business heading home at three am. She might as well spend the rest of the night on Beca's couch. The redhead hoped Beca had kept some of her pajamas since she didn't think she could comfortably fall back asleep in her jeans and t-shirt.

Chloe quietly crept into Beca's bedroom and opened the drawer where she used to store her things. The brunette was undoubtedly a creature of habit and hadn't moved a single thing. Using the light on her phone, Chloe found her favorite pair of pajamas and went to the bathroom to change.

Seeing herself in the mirror wearing the yellow pajamas with the blue duckies made her chuckle. Beca had always teased her about this pair of pajamas and her hedgehog slippers. Chloe quickly brushed her teeth, removed what was left of her make-up, and left the bathroom.

As she tried to sneak back to the couch, a noise stopped her. Beca sounded like she was whimpering, crying almost, as she thrashed in the bed. The noise was heartbreaking. Chloe thought maybe Beca was reliving the explosion in which she had lost her leg or some other horrors of the war. Then she heard the whispers.

"No. Please. Please don't leave me, Chlo. I'm so sorry. Please. I need you. Come back. I'm sorry."

Tears immediately sprung to Chloe's eyes as she walked to Beca's bed. The soldier was drenched in sweat from the dream her mind was ensconced in. She made a split-second decision and eased down to sit on the bed, touching Beca's shoulder gently. "Shhh, Becs. It's okay. I'm right here." She rubbed up and down on the brunette's arm.

Beca shoved the redhead's hand away before grumbling. "No. I don't want you. I want my Chloe. Please. Bring my Chloe back. Tell her I love her. I need her."

Chloe leaned over and wrapped her arms around Beca. "Shhh Becs, it's okay. It's Chloe. I'm right here." She brushed Beca's hair with her hand and laid her head on Beca's shoulder.

After a few moments, Beca calmed down and fell into a deep slumber. When Chloe was sure the captain was asleep, she eased off the bed and went back to the couch.

The next morning, Beca woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. She shuffled out to the kitchen. "Hullo," she gruffly said as she poured a cup of coffee. "Thanks." She lifted the cup to Chloe in a mock-cheers before taking a sip.

"Good morning. Thanks for letting me sleep here Beca. You didn't have to do that."

"I couldn't exactly wake you up and kick you to the curb, now could I?" Beca snatched a piece of cooked bacon. "I see you found your god-awful pajamas." She grinned at Chloe.

Chloe wasn't sure if she should address what she'd heard in Beca's bedroom. Maybe she'd talk to Aubrey before bringing it up with her ex. Whatever she had heard and messed with her head, and Chloe wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

Over time, the two women spent more time getting to know each other again – Chloe learning about the psyche of war injuries and Beca working on rebuilding Chloe's trust. Days turned into weeks, and soon, they had been on good terms, as friends, with each other for several months. Chloe still hadn't addressed Beca's dreams. And since they had not spent the night in the same house again, there was not an opportunity to do so. Their interactions had been limited to innocent dates, a movie or two, and take out.

One afternoon, the pair were sharing a colossal, triple scoop banana sundae. "Hey, Chloe. I'm going on a retreat next weekend – three nights." While the redhead would never admit it out loud, she knew immediately she'd miss being able to see Beca. She'd gotten used to having her back in her life, even if just as a friend. "It's kinda like an extension on therapy," Beca explained that some of the soldiers going had injuries while others didn't. One thing they had in common was they each suffered some PTSD.

Beca then explained it was a family retreat to help spouses and significant others deal with what their soldier was experiencing. "Ummm I know we aren't together." Beca sputtered and was stumbling over her words. "I just thought that since we seem to be on good terms right now that you might be interested in going."

The soldier slid a pamphlet across the table. "They've already assigned me a two-bedroom cabin, so there's no pressure. Or I can get you a separate cabin… Anyway, look it over and see if it's something you might be interested in." When Beca finally got herself to stop talking, she about kicked herself for her word vomit. Now she knew that Chloe surely wouldn't come.

Chloe slid the pamphlet back across the table, and Beca's heart fell. She knew Chloe might reject her but had hoped she'd at least consider it. When the redhead said, "I'd be honored to go," Beca's grin stretched across her face.

"Don't feel like you have to talk in the sessions or anything. But I think it'd do you, well both of us, good to hear from other people."

Rather than going home, Chloe went by Aubrey's house and told the blonde about the retreat. Aubrey explained what a commitment the time would be. "This will either be the beginning of you both healing and either moving away from each other – or towards each other. Are you going to be okay if this process guides you to let go of Beca?

"I love her Bree. As badly as she hurt me, I've never stopped loving her. You know this." Chloe thought for a minute. "But yes, whichever direction this weekend takes me, I'm ready to move forward."

The extended weekend retreat was unusual for Chloe, to say the least. There were several types of group therapy sessions – survivors only, significant others only, mixed. Also, there was couples' counseling and individual counseling by request. The service members like Beca had been in on-going therapy, and while they received some benefit, the retreat seemed more designed for their support system of loved ones to understand their service member's experiences better.

During the first night, despite the separate bedrooms, Chloe was awoken in the middle of the night by Beca's whimpers. While hearing her had always been in the back of her mind, she had forgotten how painful it was to hear Beca cry out for her. She went in for a short period to try to calm the captain before returning to her bed.

The next day, Chloe requested a private counseling session for herself. She gave the therapist a brief background of her and Beca's situation then explained the dreams the captain had been having. "I don't know what to do for her. She seems to be hurting so much, and I can't stand it. I can't stand not doing anything."

They talked about the things Chloe would and wouldn't be comfortable with doing. When Chloe admitted that what she wanted most was to curl up in bed behind Beca and hold her all night, the therapist asked her why she didn't do that.

"I don't know how Beca would respond."

"Weren't you the person hurt in this situation? If Beca is calling out for you in her sleep, don't you feel she'd appreciate the comfort? If what you want most is to comfort her, you should think about that."

Chloe talked through her feelings for a bit longer before it was time for lunch.

The second night, Chloe couldn't sleep at all. She was afraid she wouldn't hear Beca in the next bedroom and that the tiny captain would spend a restless night battling her dreams. When the redhead heard Beca thrashing around in her bed, Chloe grabbed a bottle of water and headed to the other bedroom. She was going to try another tactic.

"Hey. Becs, wake up." Chloe gently shook Beca, who was startled awake. "You had a bad dream. I brought you some water."

Beca twisted the cap off and guzzled down the bottle in one drink.

"You okay? What were you dreaming about?"

Beca shrugged before letting herself fall back to the bed. Her eyes were closed, and Chloe could tell that the woman would soon be back to sleep. Chloe went back to her room and didn't hear anything else from Beca's the rest of the night.

On the last full day, Chloe had heard so many stories from both soldiers and family alike that she was beginning to get a much stronger understanding of Beca's actions in the hospital over a year ago. The knowledge didn't ease her ache but knowing made it possible to bear. Many of the other loved ones seemed to be moving towards their acceptance as well. Chloe also felt the retreat was bringing her and Beca even closer together.

On this day, Beca and Chloe had a couple's session. The therapist was the same who Chloe had talked to the day before but didn't give any indication she was going to have them address the dreams. Chloe was surprised when the therapist simply gave them time to talk in a safe environment.

"Here's your chance, Chloe. Ask Beca any of those questions that have been in your mind over the last year since her accident."

Chloe looked at Beca then down at her hands in her lap then back at Beca. The gold chain she'd been seeing was peeking from beneath Beca's t-shirt. The jewelry itself didn't bother Chloe; she was curious, though. Obviously, Beca wasn't going to bring it up, so she decided to ask. She pointed towards Beca's shirt. "The chain? What is it? You've never worn jewelry the entire time we dated."

Beca looked like she was going to cry. She gulped before continuing. "Ummm Stacie brought it to me in the hospital. The day after I had you leave." She began fiddling with the chain as she looked down. When she finally looked up, at Chloe, they locked eyes as Beca pulled the chain from beneath her shirt. Hanging on the chain was Chloe's engagement ring.

Chloe gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. She reached for a tissue and began to dab the tears leaking from her eyes. She reached over and touched the ring with her finger, clasping it in her fist before letting go.

"I never stopped thinking about you, Chloe. I told you. I knew I made a mistake the moment I sent you out the door. But you were with me. Always. Without you, I would never have made it to where I am today."

Right then and there, Chloe made her decision.

Chloe went to bed that night, fully expecting Beca to have her night terrors again. The redhead knew what she wanted to do, what she had to do. She couldn't let Beca suffer anymore. The moment Beca's whimpers started, Chloe quietly padded into the other bedroom.

She eased herself under the covers next to Beca, whispered comforting words into her ear, and stroked her hair until Beca had fallen completely asleep without the dreams. This time Chloe didn't leave. Her arms were wrapped around Beca, holding her in a safe, dream-free cocoon.

The next morning, Chloe felt Beca stir. The brunette was still in Chloe's arms and had a confused look on her face when she rolled over to look at Chloe.

"Chloe?" Beca cleared the sleep from her throat. "Chloe, why are you here?"

"Because I love you."