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freedomseeker91 · 4 years

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Anon requested a little something for Veteran’s Day on the BMSH series so I threw this together. Apologies I know it’s late but I’ve been so busy with work. Hope you like it.

Chloe’s body thrummed with excitement as she pulled up to the centre on what was officially Beca’s last day. After months of rehabilitation and massive strides in her recovery, she had been deemed fit to finally return home.

Home.

The lake house, the place Chloe had spent the last few weeks organising and sprucing up so that it had hers and Beca’s personal touch all over it. She still couldn’t believe what her parents had done. What her family had done.

Her brothers had all agreed to it, knowing that the house meant more to Chloe than it did them. But it was still a massively generous gesture from her family. They could have easily agreed to sell it and split the profit between all of the siblings.

But they didn’t want that. They wanted the house to remain in the family. More importantly, they wanted Chloe and Beca to have it. They felt like they owed a debt of gratitude to Beca, and this was their small way of saying thank you.

If converting the lake house and gifting it to them would make their lives that little bit easier, then as far as they were concerned, they were happy to do it.

Parking their new Chevy Traverse SUV in the wheelchair parking bay, Chloe climbed out and hit the lock button. She admired the vehicle for a moment as she stepped away, still amazed by its accessibility.

It had been her sister in law who had made her aware of the BraunAbility company, and with Beca’s need for something much more accessible than their old SUV, they made the decision to purchase the Chevy.

It was exactly the mode of transport they needed. It had plenty of space for Beca to manoeuvre freely in her wheelchair while also retaining seating for their daughters, and in time, it offered her the option of driving again thanks to its removable front seats.

The Chevy was structured to allow for people who could use traditional foot pedals to operate it, which meant the Chevy was adaptable to both Beca and Chloe. It was freedom on four wheels.

Walking into the centre, Chloe was acutely aware of the vibe in the place. It was Veterans Day, and to say the atmosphere was a mixed bag of emotions would be an understatement.

While some soldiers and their families were participating in tributes, some weren’t quite ready to engage in the day just yet, but that didn’t mean the gravity or the weight that it carried was by any means passing them by.

The memory of their recent battle was still just a little too fresh in the mind for those in the middle of their recovery. The fact that they themselves were now veterans of the US military, it was a conflicting feeling.

Because to many, they didn’t feel like their time was done. They didn’t feel like their service was up. Their minds were still very much on that battlefield serving their country.

And then there were people like Beca. People grappling with the finality of it all. Her service was over. She would never again serve her country on the frontlines, never again wear her uniform, at least not in any active capacity.

Her service was now merely another chapter in the history book. A footnote in the meaning of Veterans Day. Beca had always commemorated the day in some capacity, but on this day, her feelings about it were different.

She realised she wasn’t ready to acknowledge it. Her battle wounds were just too new. Her mental scars still healing. She didn’t feel like a hero, far from it. Until she could reconcile her past with her future, she didn’t think she would ever be ready to acknowledge the day and what it meant.

It was heartbreaking for Chloe, knowing the conflict her wife felt about it all. Because to Chloe and their family and friends, Beca was very much a hero. The sacrifices she had made, the battles she had fought. There was a reason why Veterans Day existed and it was to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices of everyone with the courage and selflessness to serve and protect.

It wasn’t so much about the countless wars, it was about the personal bravery of the men and women who wore the uniform. But Chloe could also understand the conflict her wife felt because she felt it too.

The idea that one day a year these sacrifices should be acknowledged when the truth of it was, they should be acknowledged daily.

It didn’t seem right people making thankful posts and declarations of gratitude to mark the occasion when there were service men and women now living on the streets. It didn’t seem right that the proper facilities weren’t in place to protect those who had lost their lives to the battle going on inside their own mind.

Every day Chloe thought about what could be done, she and Beca both. They wanted to help somehow. They wanted to find a way to use their knowledge both as a soldier and a soldiers partner to somehow help those going through the same thing get to the other side and see the light again.

To help those men and women integrate back into society in a way that made them feel like they weren’t somehow left behind. That was their current goal, the one they had settled on once it became clear that Beca was returning home, and they had ideas. Ideas they hoped would soon become a reality.

Upon entering Beca’s room, Chloe glanced around at the now vacant space. It looked like a regular room without any personal touches. They had begun moving all of Beca’s stuff home over the course of the week.

The mountains of books and magazines had been left behind for someone else to make use of at the centre, but all of the cards, letters, artworks that had been sent to Beca, had been carefully packed away into storage boxes to keep them safe.

Chloe knew there would be times when her wife would seek them out just to read again for encouragement, so she stored them in their new walk in closet where Beca could easily access them whenever she needed a dose of motivation.

Hearing the faint sounds of Chloe’s footsteps, Beca turned her chair away from the window, her last bag perched on her lap, a small smile on her face that was laced with a hint of apprehension. Chloe just smiled back with a look that told her everything would be okay.

“Are you ready to go?” She asked.

Beca gazed around the room one last time, inhaling a deep breath to settle her nerves. This was it, once she wheeled herself out of that room and out of the centre, she would be back outside in the real world. Outside of the bubble she had known for the last several months.

She was scared, or course she was. Sure, she had been going on day trips and working her way up to it, but she always returned to the centre, her safe space. But this time, once she left, she wouldn’t be coming back.

However, one look at her wife, her rock, and she saw that glimmer of hope, the anchor that kept her grounded through all of life’s storms, and in that moment, she knew, that somehow everything would be okay.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

With one last look around the room, Beca wheeled herself out into the corridor, Chloe keeping in step right beside her as they said their goodbyes to all the staff they met along the way.

They had already thanked everyone that had supported and guided them throughout Beca’s recovery, and made a generation donation to the centre so that it could continue its efforts to heal soldiers. But even through all of this, it didn’t feel like it would ever be enough to repay them for the work they did.

Once outside, Chloe pressed the necessary buttons on her key fob and they both watched as the side door on the SUV opened up and a mechanical ramp began to extend out and lower to the ground. Beca glanced up at her wife.

“Okay even I can admit that’s pretty cool.”

Chloe chuckled at her and grabbed the bag from her wife’s lap as Beca wheeled herself up the ramp and positioned herself in the passenger side where Chloe had already removed the detachable passenger seat.

Locking the wheels on her chair, Beca pulled the seatbelt around herself and clicked it into place. Chloe deposited the bag on the back seat and retracted the ramp and closed the side door before hopping into the drivers’ seat.

“You good?” She asked as she strapped on her own seatbelt and turned on the ignition. Beca just nodded and with one last look at the centre, they headed for their new home.

In what felt like no time at all, they were pulling up at the lake house, and within seconds, Beca could feel that overwhelming sense of peace washing over her. The same one she always got when they would visit, only this time, they were no longer visitors, they were residents.

Wheeling herself down the ramp of the truck, she followed Chloe inside the house and instantly began to notice all the little personal touches that hadn’t been there before. The picture frames and throw blankets that were originally on the couch of their old house.

The artworks that Riley so diligently worked on every other day that hung up on the fridge. Her guitar perched on its stand in the corner of the living room. Even vases of their favourite flowers were dotted around as they would’ve been in their previous home.

However, Beca did observe one thing, something that was based more on intuition than what she could physically see.

“Chlo, have you stayed here at all since the move?” She asked glancing up at her wife who was stood by the island in the kitchen.

Chloe shook her head and crossed the distance that separated them, perching herself in Beca’s lap.

“I’ve been by to move stuff in and organise our things but, it didn’t feel right moving in without you. I wanted our first night here to be as a family.”

“But the girls...” Beca started but was cut off by a kiss.

“Will be here soon. Your parents are dropping them off in a couple of hours. They just wanted to give you time to settle in before the mini tornadoes burst through the house,” Chloe said, arms wrapped around her wife’s neck.

Beca pecked her on the lips and wheeled her way into the middles of the space, turning her chair 360 degrees as they took in their surroundings.

“Home,” Beca said and when she locked eyes with Chloe, the redhead smiled softly and replied.

“Home.”

True to their word, Jack and Diane Mitchell appeared two hours later with Riley and Charlie. Riley burst into the house at break neck speed, her grandmother behind her and dashed over to her mother, hugging her for dear life before Beca picked her up and perched her on her lap.

Chloe beamed at the sight and then a moment later, Jack appeared in the space, his youngest granddaughter taking slow unsteady steps next to him, her hand wrapped around his pointer finger for support.

That had been one of the newest family milestones. Charlie had begun walking. Whilst in the middle of one of her last rehabilitation sessions, Beca’s miniature had stood up and crossed the small space to her Mama, both parents watching on stunned into silence before cheering her on.

She was still a little unsure on her feet and needed some support when walking any distance greater than a few feet, but seeing her stand up and take those first steps had been such a moment of pride for the whole family.

Upon seeing both her mother’s, Charlie’s face lit up as she stumbled over her steps trying to get there quicker. Beca wheeled herself closer chuckling as she went.

“Slow down Bub, you’re running feet haven’t grown in yet.”

When Beca was finally close enough, she lifted Charlie up until both girls were now propped on her lap.

Chloe thanked her in laws who had taken up residence around the kitchen island and poured them both a coffee.

“My parents are coming over in a little while for a visit. You guys should stay and have dinner. I made lasagne earlier and there’s plenty for everyone,” she offered.

Diane grinned at her and was more than delighted to accept the invitation before three sets of eyes landed on the woman beaming from ear to ear with her most treasured possessions sat upon her lap.

The vision made Chloe’s eyes well up with pure joy. Everything could’ve ended so differently. But it hadn’t. They were together, all four of them, just as it should be.

That evening the family enjoyed their first meal in their new home, both sets of grandparents deciding to leave later in the evening to give the family some alone time after helping clear up.

Jack had taken the opportunity while they were there to thank John and Meredith profusely for what they had done for their daughter and John simply shrugged it off, reminding them the Mitchell’s, all of them, had served their country in more ways than one. No amount of money would ever repay that debt.

By the time their parents had left and the girls had been put to bed, Beca was exhausted, mentally drained from the day. It had been a big day, for all of them, and they knew the fatigue would fade soon, but for now they were happy to just relax and recharge.

As Beca wheeled herself into the living room and flicked through the channels to find something to watch, Chloe came strolling in from the outside deck and gestured for her wife.

“Hey Bec, can you come out here for a sec?” She asked and Beca raised her brow in question but followed regardless.

Once they were outside, Chloe led them down the paved pathway to the dock on the lake and when they finally reached it Beca noticed Chloe untangling what looked like some sky lanterns from one of the pillars. Chloe approached her wife somewhat hesitantly, the two lanterns in hand before stopping in front of Beca.

“I know you said you didn’t want to participate in any Veterans Day activities today and I completely understand and respect your reasons for wanting to sit this one out,” Chloe started as Beca just listened.

“But I also know how much that family meant to you and I don’t want what happened in the past to taint that. I also don’t want to ever forget or ignore the sacrifices that they made, that YOU made.”

Beca swallowed thickly, Chloe’s words weighing on her because she was right, those fallen soldiers were her family, the soldiers still serving were her family, and as much as she didn’t feel like acknowledging the wars she had fought after everything she had been through, she couldn’t bring herself to block out the gravity of the situation.

Sacrifice took bravery and immense courage. It took having the selflessness to put the safety of others before yourself.

Veterans Day wasn’t about winning or medals or any of that stuff, it was about the personal sacrifice one person makes for the preservation of many.

Beca could admit that after her last efforts on the frontline she had been disenfranchised by the military and wondered if it had even been worth it. Her physical and mental scars and the pain she felt too recent and too consuming to see past the hurt she felt.

But Chloe was right, people had sacrificed so much and it didn’t seem right to not acknowledge that somehow.

She wasn’t ready to metaphorically stand and salute the flag. She wasn’t ready to fully engage in any Veteran’s Day activities or memorials. But maybe she could do something small, something just for her to let her fellow comrades know that she would never forget them and that she was always thinking about them.

Beca wheeled herself forward and gently accepted one of the lanterns, allowing it to rest on her lap for a moment as she gazed down at it. Chloe could see Beca’s internal cogs turning as she battled with herself so she reached down and took her wife’s hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“This isn’t about war Bec’s. Its not about politics or any of that stuff. It’s about honouring your family. The one that brought you back to me.”

Chloe felt a little teary eyed and choked up as she spoke. While she had always been uncomfortable with the idea of war and Beca serving, she was always grateful to all those who served. Because without their service who knew where they would end up.

And she was immensely grateful for whatever serving in the army had reinforced in Beca to make her this incredibly strong, incredibly selfless person. The kind that made Chloe proud every single minute of every day.

“I want us to remember those soldiers. I want to remember the people who risked everything and asked nothing return. I want to honour them.”

That was the final bit of encouragement Beca needed to let go of whatever was holding her back. They both lit up their lanterns just as the sun had finally set beyond the horizon and released them into the night sky.

As Chloe settled in her wife’s lap, her arm wrapped around Beca’s shoulders and their heads resting together, they both sent up a silent thought for those who had been lost and those who continued to serve.

In the middle of the silence, Chloe heard a sniffle and glanced down, meeting Beca’s tear stained face. She frowned and sat up, her hand coming to rest on the back of Beca’s neck, gently caressing it.

“Babe...” she cooed softly, as Beca inhaled a deep stuttering breath.

“I don’t like feeling like this. I served my country. I gave so many years to the uniform and I just feel angry all the time. It just feels like such a waste.”

Chloe shook her head and cupped her hands either side of Beca’s neck forcing her to look at her.

“No, don’t you dare say that. What you’ve done was not a waste. Beca you risked everything because you believed you could make a difference, because you believed that we could all be better and do better,” Chloe replied her heart breaking at the sight of the tears rolling down her wife’s face.

“You saved so many people. Whether you believe it now or not the fact of the matter is, to so many people, you’re a hero.”

Beca glanced down at her lap, shaking her head as Chloe forced her to look back up.

“You’re MY hero. Babe I watched you stare death in the face, you put our family above everything else, you were prepared to die for us and not for a single second did I see you doubt that decision.”

The memory of that day, of seeing Beca jump into action do anything to protect them knocked the wind out of Chloe. It still took her breath away. To see someone who loves you that much they are will to die for you, there weren’t enough words to describe what that felt like.

“Bec’s you saved our family and so, so many others because of how selfless you are. Even when you doubted why you were serving you never lost sight of doing things for others. That’s what it’s all been about. That’s what this day is about.”

Leaning down, Chloe pressed a deep lingering kiss on Beca’s lips until she slowly began to feel her wife reciprocate and then she leaned back and began to wipe away her tears.

“Our family and our friends are safe because of you. Or country is safe because of you and so many other brave men and women. And whether you acknowledge that or not I will never, EVER forget that. Our daughters will never forget it. And we’ll never forget the ones who served and are still severing.”

Beca sniffled as she listened intently, the thought of her daughter eliciting a small smile and this made Chloe smile in return.

“So Captain Mitchell, whether you like it or not, until you’re ready to face it, me and our daughters are gonna carry the weight of this day for you until you’re ready to be a part of it. Because we love you, and we are so, so proud of you and because we know that one day, you will be able to face it. It’s just gonna take time, and when you are ready, we’ll be right by your side.”

Beca nodded her head a little and glanced up into Chloe’s eyes, swallowing around the lump in her throat and leaned up, pressing her lips against Chloe’s, feeling the salty taste of her tears mixed in with the sweet taste of her wife’s lip balm. When she pulled back, she wiped at her eyes.

“God, this was supposed to be a happy day and I’m crying like an idiot,” Beca chuckled as Chloe reached up and stopped the movement of her hands before cupping her face in her own.

“These tears, show how much you care,” Chloe sighed gently as her thumbs stroked softly back and forth over Beca’s cheeks.

“That’s not something you should ever be sorry or embarrassed by.”

Beca nodded and leaned forward as her wife pressed her lips against her forehead. With one last glance up at the night sky, they noticed that the lanterns were almost out of sight, and once they vanished, they made their way back inside the house.

After Chloe had checked on the girls, they both made their way to the master bedroom and took a long hot shower. Chloe basking in the feeling of joy and familiarity at having her wife with her.

It was different, mainly because Beca was perched on a shower chair, but it still didn’t take away from the moment. They made it work. Finding new ways to old routines.

The one thing that was definitely new, were Beca’s new war scars. Chloe had seen them here and there in the beginning when she had been helping her wife bathe from her hospital bed, but she’d never really gotten the chance to really see them.

The scar on her stomach, the one Beca had referred to as a “flesh wound”. The vertical scar along her wife’s lower back and spine where they had attempted to correct her paralysis in vain.

And then of course there was the one down the middle of her chest, the one that literally saved her life. The one Chloe was most familiar with. The one that never failed to knock the air out of her lungs because of the reminder of how it all could’ve been so different.

Beca’s heart still wasn’t 100% healthy, and it more than likely never would be. They had accepted that and were both aware that the former soldier would have to adhere to a strict monitoring programme with a cardio team to highlight and prevent any potential problems or complications.

But it was beating, and for now, that was all Chloe cared about. She couldn’t think about the what if’s anymore. Time was too precious for that. Instead she chose to focus on the present. Her family was whole and mostly healthy and she was going to savour every single moment with them.

Having finished their shower and changed into some sleepwear, Beca tackled the transition into their new bed for the first time. Luckily John and Meredith had sourced out a bed that was perfect for both she and Chloe’s needs.

Half the bed was motorised to adjust to Beca’s requirements. Whether it was to help sit up in a more comfortable fashion or to adjust her leg position to encourage circulation and prevent blood clots.

There was also a pulley system that could be pulled around from the head of the bed so that Beca could pull herself up and out of the bed and into her chair.

With a bit of manoeuvring, and some serious upper body strength, Beca managed to navigate herself from her chair to the bed with little to no help from her wife.

Chloe did help her lift her legs into a more comfortable but for the most part, Beca’s months of rehabilitation had helped her through.

Grabbing the remote from the nightstand, Chloe clambered into bed next to her wife and snuggled up close, flicking the tv on to some mindless reality show to get lost in.

Beca wrapped her arm around her wife, Chloe’s head snuggled just in the crook of her neck and she inhaled deeply. For a moment she got choked up. She never realised until just that moment how much she had missed this.

Just being in bed with her wife, being able to hold her close and just be. No worries, no fears of deployment, nothing. It was just them now, and their daughters, and a future of endless possibilities.

Chloe’s hand came up to rest over Beca’s chest, the gentle thrum beneath her fingertips soothing her in ways she hadn’t felt in so many months.

This was home.

And Beca felt it too, the feeling of everything falling into place. It didn’t matter where they lived, it didn’t matter if they were surrounded by a million people or if they were completely alone, as long as they had one another and their girls, they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

“I’ve missed this,” Chloe sighed, her fingertips tracing up and the the path where Beca’s chest scar lay beneath her tshirt, before reached across and wrapped it around her wife squeezing her tight. Beca smiled as she pressed a kiss to the top of Chloe’s head.

“Me too. More than I thought possible,” Beca mumbled, using the arm wrapped around her wife to pull her closer. After spending months sleeping in a bed alone, she wanted her as close as possible and she never wanted to sleep any other way again.

When Chloe drifted off to sleep, Beca flicked off the tv and picked up her phone from the bedside table, opening her message app to Aubrey and rereading the last text she had received but hadn’t been able to read properly due to Chloe being in her presence.

Aubrey: Everything in place for this weekend. Family and friends notified, Chloe and the girls dresses picked up by me today, rings collected by Jesse today. Operation Vow Renewal is a go

Beca sent a quick thank you message to Aubrey promising to call her tomorrow before opening her notes app and reading over some of the words she had managed to jot down for her vows.

There was so much to say, too much, and yet none of it would ever be enough. But once glance down at Chloe and Beca knew that it didn’t matter, because Chloe would feel it, like she always did, and that was enough encouragement for Beca to try.

With one last glance at the few sentences she had added to her speech, she locked her phone and placed it back on the table, hunkering down for the first peaceful nights sleep she’d had in a long time.

#Bechloe #Pitch Perfect #FanFic #Bring My Soldier Home

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