A/N: Hey everyone! So this is my longest story so far. I really hope you like it. As for the Staubrey story (don't worry I didn't forget about you), the Beca nightmare story and the person who requested more Frankie and Callie, my spring break is coming up and I am hoping to get those stories finished and published very soon. Thank you all so much for reading and once again thank you for the lovely comments and reviews. They definitely inspire me to keep writing and are very appreciated. Enjoy the story! I also recently started a bechloe related tumblr where I'm intending to make those text convos they may or may not relate to this universe. So feel free to follow me and talk to me on there if you want! My username is you-call-it-a-dude
Beca grunted and groaned as she and her brothers-in- law lugged cases of beer, soda and coolers into the house from the car and garage. Tomorrow is Frankie's first birthday party and Beca took advantage of Caleb and Will staying at their house for the weekend, while Chloe took advantage of Catherine by having her help bake some extra desserts. The party was only intended to just be their family, Stacie and Aubrey and some friends from work, but when Frankie's birthday became the topic of their Bellas group chat a few months back, they were surprised when all the Bellas (as well as Jesse, his wife, and Benji) all wanted to fly out for their daughter's birthday. They never would have expected all of their friends to fly to New York, but when they both received nine flight itineraries in their emails not even a week after the invitations were sent out, they couldn't help but cry in excitement. They also realized just how many birthdays they would have to fly out for when their other friends (besides Amy) jumped on the baby train. Figuring out who would stay where was a complex all on it's own. Chloe wanted to avoid having people stay in hotels as much as possible. After arguments with parents and long discussions with Aubrey (and cluster headaches for Beca and Stacie) it was decided that Chloe and Beca would take Chloe's siblings and brother- in-law, Aubrey and Stacie would take Jessica, Ashley, Flo, Lilly and Emily. Jesse, his wife, and Benji, Bumper, Amy and their son, CR and her wife, Chloe parents, Beca's mom and step-dad as well and Sheila and her dad would all stay at a nearby hotel.
To be honest, the brunette was more than a little nervous about her dad actually showing up. He has seen Frankie a total of zero times. He would either cancel his trips out to them or just refuse to come in general. Nobody could figure out why he didn't want to come see her, but it got to the point where Sheila has made numerous trips up to New York without him because she loved seeing her granddaughter. This time, though, he was here. She knows that because her step-mom sent her an update when they made it to their hotel earlier that evening. She set down the case of beer and placed her hands on her hips. She looked around the family room, feeling self-conscious about her house all of a sudden.
"You alright there, sis?" Caleb asked as he stacked his case of beer on top of the one Beca just set down.
"Oh, yeah. I'm just," Beca waved her hand around and shrugged her shoulders. "y'know?"
"No, not really." Caleb laughed and patted Beca's back before making his way back to the garage. The brunette leaned against the wall and stared at the floor in a daze for a moment before Chloe's voice brought her out of it.
"Becs, someone wants to say goodnight." Beca looked up and was greeted by her smiling daughter, waiting patiently for Beca to grab her. Beca plucked her from Chloe's embrace and pulled her into her chest, planting a kiss on both of her chubby cheeks.
"Goodnight, my princess. I will see that cute face of yours in the morning!" She said excitedly, tickling under her chin and making the baby giggle. "I love you, Franny. Sweet dreams." She whispered softly into her daughter's ear, chucking when she saw her eyes start getting heavy. She handed her back over to her wife and the redhead planted a kiss on Beca's lips.
"Will you be done with bringing stuff in soon?" Beca nodded and rubbed the back of Frankie's head.
"Yep. Just going to bring the tables and chairs into the yard and I'll be right up."
/
Beca groaned when her alarm went off at 8:00am the next morning. The party was set to start at 2:00pm and she had to put up the tables and chairs, buy ice, buy balloons and pick up the cake. When she realized that her wife wasn't next to her, she shot out of bed. She made her way towards Frankie's room and saw the door was wide open. She quickly made her way downstairs and can hear her (now) one-year old giggling away in the kitchen. She walked in a saw Frankie sitting in her chair, giggling at the faces Caleb was making at her. Chloe was by the stove making pancakes and Cathy and Will were most likely still asleep. Beca made her way to Frankie quietly and tickled her sides, making the baby jump then giggle loudly.
"Happy birthday, princess!" Beca said, planting kisses all over her face. "My baby is one." Beca said to herself with a slight pout on her face. Chloe waltzed over with a cut up pancake and placed it on Frankie's tray, then kissed Beca's pout away.
"It's okay to cry, Bec. I already did." Chloe kissed her cheek once more before returning to the stove to finish making pancakes.
"My baby can't be one already!" Beca cried out, holding Frankie's cheeks with her thumb and middle finger. The baby squirmed and pushed Beca away, wanting to eat her breakfast. "See! She's already being rebellious and pushing me away, Chlo!" Chloe laughed and set the plate full of pancakes on the table.
"Relax, Bec. She just wants her food." Chloe sat down and tugged Beca's arm so she would sit as well. "Caleb, go wake Cathy and Will, please?"
/
After breakfast everyone began preparing for Frankie's party. Will and Caleb set up the tables and chairs in the backyard while Chloe and Cathy began putting up decorations. Beca had the task of running all over the city to pick things up. After picking up the birthday cake, a shit load of pink and white balloons, and many bags of ice, the brunette finally pulled into the garage. Cathy and Chloe were already waiting in there when Beca arrived. They grabbed the balloons and cake and went their separate way; Cathy to they yard with the balloon and Chloe in the house with the cake. Beca grabbed the bags of ice and made her way to the back patio where the coolers were set up. She slammed the bags of ice on the ground to break it up a little and began laughing when she heard Frankie giggling. The baby was sitting on the patio in her pack 'n' play, watching intently at what everyone was doing around the yard.
"Do you think it's funny when I do that, Franny?" Beca picked up the bag of ice and slammed it on the ground again. Frankie pulled her pacifier out of her mouth and threw her head back in laughter. Beca tore open the bag and dumped the ice in the first cooler. She placed all the beers and alcoholic drinks in the first cooler. She repeated the process with the second bag of ice, her heart swelling when Frankie laughed herself to the point where her face was turning red. She then tore open the second bag and poured it in the next cooler, filling it with cans of soda and juice pouches.
"Beca!" Chloe practically screeched from inside the house, catching the attention of Beca, her brothers- in- law and even Frankie, making them all turn their heads to the patio door.
"Uh oh. You've been summoned, Bec." Will said jokingly as he unfolded a metal chair. Beca stuck her tongue out at Will and picked up Frankie from her playpen.
"Come on, kiddo. If I'm going down you're coming with me." Beca opened the patio door and made her way into the house, looking for Chloe. She finally found the redhead frantically cleaning the kitchen…again. "Seriously, Chlo? We cleaned the house yesterday. Why are you cleaning again?"
"Because we have a bunch of people coming over and this house needs to be spotless! Did you fix the bed when you woke up?" She asked as she scrubbed the counter tops.
"No? I didn't realize the party was being held in our bedroom."
"Fix it!" Chloe shouted. Making Beca and Frankie jump.
"Okay, you nut. I'm going." Just as Beca was heading upstairs, Cathy walked into the kitchen.
"I'll take her, Bec." She said as she grabbed Frankie. "She can help put together goody bags."
/
Beca came back downstairs fifteen minutes later. She ended up getting sort of side tracked and ended up just laying on the bed for the first five minutes. When she returned into the kitchen, everyone was around the table making goody bags. Well, Chloe and Cathy were. Caleb and Will were eating candy while Frankie crawled around the kitchen, occasionally making her way to Chloe for a lick of a lollipop. Beca's entrance caught her daughter's attention as she was pulling herself up to have some of the lollipop. The baby turned her head and there was a loud thump of it hitting the table. There was a collective gasp coming from her in-laws.
"Don't look at her. " Beca whispered. "If you look at her she'll cry. Just ignore her." All eyes averted away from Frankie as she pouted and rubbed her forehead. When she began crawling about the kitchen again, the tension in the room dissipated. The brunette took a seat at the table and eyed all the goody bags.
"There's only going to be like six other kids, babe. Why are you making ten-thousand goody bags?" Beca asked, picking up a packet of M&M's and tearing it open. Frankie heard the sound of it being opened and quickly crawled her way over to Beca and pulled herself up. "Scram, you mooch. You can't have any of these." Her daughter started patting Beca's leg and the brunette tossed all the M&M's into her mouth and picked up the baby, setting her on her lap. She grabbed a cherry lollipop and unwrapped it then held it in front of Frankie's mouth.
"Beca, she had one already and she didn't even finish it." Chloe said as she tied together a goody bag and placed it on the pile.
"Yeah, but she doesn't have this one!" Beca said as she kissed Frankie cheek. The baby giggled around her lollipop, making a trail of sticky, red drool fall onto Beca's hand. "Gross." The brunette fell a slight tug on the stick of the lollipop and she looked down to see Frankie trying to bite it. "Aye! I'm going to take it away if you bite it. So, I'm still waiting on the answer to why we have so many candy bags." Beca reached forward for another piece of candy, but Chloe smacked it from her hand. She opened her mouth in shock and gestured to her brothers- in- law who were digging into candy as well.
"If you must know, they're for the Bellas."
"Whyyyyy do they need one…or like fifty?" Beca asked, pulling the lollipop out of Frankie's mouth when she felt her biting it again. The baby cried and reached for it, but Beca ignored her and gave her a pacifier instead.
"They all flew out here. The least we can do is give them candy, Bec."
"Yeah, yeah. Because seeing their niece and us isn't enough of a treat. Got it."
/
At around 12:30pm, everyone went their separate ways so they could shower and get ready. Chloe told Beca to shower first because the brunette would be dealing with the caterers when they brought the food in about an hour. Apparently Beca was taking too long in Chloe's opinion because twenty minutes into her shower she heard the bathroom door open. She wiped off the shower door and saw her wife and daughter walking towards her. She opened the shower door and they both stepped in.
"Hi chunky monkey! Look at those chubby thighs," Beca said, tickling her daughter's thighs, then moving up to tickle her tummy. "and that cute little belly!" Frankie giggled and began kicking her feet, spraying Beca with water. "Hey! You splashed me! I'm gonna get you!" Beca began tickling Frankie's sides and she squirmed while she laughed. She pulled away when she noticed Chloe was starting to struggle with holding a slippery, squirming baby. "Okay, okay. Playtime is over. I already washed myself and stuff so if you want I'll wash her and you can do what you've gotta do." Beca said, taking the baby from Chloe and moving over a bit so Chloe can get under the water more.
"Thanks, baby." She planted a quick kiss on Beca's lips and stood under the showerhead. She handed Beca the baby shampoo and Frankie's little sponge and looked at her questioningly when she the brunette began to sit on the floor of their shower. "What are you doing?" The redhead asked as she began washing herself.
"It's easier this way." Beca sat cross-legged and sat Frankie on her lap. She washed Frankie and her hair quickly, but efficiently, while Chloe finished up washing her hair.
Once Chloe finished up, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself up. She grabbed Frankie's panda towel and wrapped it around the baby when Beca held her up. She grabbed the baby and headed to the bedroom and Beca scrambled to get herself dry.
/
Beca was rushing around the bedroom, trying to finish getting ready within the next fifteen minutes. She was running more than a little behind because Frankie, being her cute self and rolling around on their bed, distracted her. She couldn't not stop and play with her for a bit while Chloe got their outfits together.
"Beca, the caterer just called me. They're five minutes away." Chloe said, putting her phone down and returning to brushing Frankie's hair and putting it up into little pigtails. Beca was the one that was supposed to be ready first, but how Chloe managed to get herself and Frankie ready before Beca even had her pants on was beyond her. Chloe was wearing a flowy, white sundress that Beca could've sworn made her fall in love with the redhead all over again. Frankie had on a white onesie with the word 'one' in gold written across it, a pair of pink frilly shorts and had two bows clipped onto her pigtails. Beca was pretty sure she was dying of cuteness overload (but she always feels that way when it comes to Frankie). Beca had on a purple plaid shirt with a pair of ripped jeans that Chloe desperately tried to talk her out of wearing because it was hot outside (to which she responded 'that is why there are holes in them').
"Shit! Okay, I'm going!" Beca stumbled out the bedroom door as she slipped on her shoe. She quickly made her way downstairs, grabbing the key to the back gate on her way down. Just as she opened the front door, the caterer truck pulled into the driveway. A young man stepped out of the passenger side with a clipboard and made his way to Beca.
"Mitchell?"
"That's me." The man waved his hand and the man in the driver's side stepped out and made his way to the trunk. He pulled out three metal trays and handed them to the other guy, before going back to the trunk and pulling out three more. "Yeah, just follow me." Beca lead them to the back gate and unlocked it. She pushed the door open and led them through the gangway to the backyard. The men placed the trays on one of the tables and left through the gate. Beca decided to leave the back gate unlocked since the party was set to start soon and she knew Aubrey, Stacie and whatever Bellas were staying with them would arrive at exactly 2:00pm. Beca began taking the trays and placing them on the wire tray holders they had set up on the designated food table. Just as she was placing the last tray in, she heard the gate open and suddenly there were arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight.
"Beca! I missed you!"
"Legacy!" Beca turned around and embraced the taller girl. "Dude, it's so good to see you. Where are the others?"
"They're getting stuff from the car. I was supposed to be helping, but I saw you and got excited."
"Emily! You were supposed to be helping!" Aubrey shouted when she came through the gate, holding a little cake box. The rest of the girls followed behind, carrying multiple gifts for Frankie.
"Oh God, guys. I hope at least some of those are clothes."
"Nope!" Jessica, Ashley, Flo, Emily and Stacie shouted collectively. Beca just groaned and made her way to the girls and gave them all hugs.
"Where's Lilly?" Beca asked as she looked around the yard. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around the see the girl right behind her. "Oh, shit. You scared me." Lilly just shrugged and pulled Beca in for a hug.
"Where are Chloe and Frankie?" Asked Aubrey. "And where do you want me to put her little cake thing?"
"You can go stick it in the fridge. They should be coming down soon." Just as Beca answered, Chloe came out into the yard holding a very excited, and very cutely dressed Frankie. "Just kidding. They're here." All the girls squealed and made their way over to them, essentially shoving Beca aside. Beca rolled her eyes at the fact that even though Aubrey and Stacie just saw Frankie two days ago; they always greet her like they haven't seen her in months.
Beca cocked her head to the side and watched Frankie interacting with her aunts. She laughed at the faces Emily was making at her, looked confused when Flo started speaking Spanish to her, she gave Jessica a high five, and she pursed her lips and blew a raspberry trying to copy Lilly's beat boxing. It made her sad to think that her tiny human wasn't going to be tiny for much longer. She had spent all day trying to avoid thinking about this because it actually broke her heart. She was so thankful when Chloe called her name, breaking her out of her daze.
"Becs, will you bring the mini cake to the fridge please?" The brunette nodded her head and grabbed the little box from Aubrey. Before she could walk away, the redhead grabbed her by her arm and pulled Beca into her and whispered in her ear. "If you keep holding in your emotions your going to burst, babe." Beca pulled back and furrowed her eyebrows.
"I'm fine." She said, her voice cracking in just the slightest. She nodded her head towards Frankie, who was sitting on Ashley's lap, giggling wildly as she bounced her. "Since you now have a free hand, you wanna light those little fuel things under the food to keep them warm?" Chloe placed a soft kiss on Beca's lips.
"Sure, Bec."
/
By 2:45 almost everyone has shown up. Of course Amy made an entrance when she came in, but Beca and Chloe knew it wouldn't be right if she hadn't. They were also very alarmed (and a little concerned) when Bumper followed behind her, dragging a very large box over to where the gifts were. Beca was amazed at how polite Amy's five-year old son, Jasper, was. The brunette could tell Amy was relieved to see Jasper interacting sweetly with Frankie because the couple just revealed they were expecting another baby. Chloe's parents and Beca's mom and step-dad all came in one car. Jesse, his wife Maya, and Benji all came together as well. Beca once again panicked when she saw another large box being toted to the gift area.
At 3:00pm everyone began eating and chatting. There were a few kids running around the yard that Beca had no idea who owned them, just that they belonged to some of Chloe's friends. Beca and Chloe tried to get Frankie to sit in her high chair to eat, but the baby decided that Jesse was who she wanted to eat with. And even though she had her own plate of food, Beca kept catching her stealing pasta off of Jesse's plate (she swears that she can see Maya's ovaries exploding at the sight of Jesse with Frankie).
/
Chloe sat at a table most of the Bellas and Cynthia's wife, Amelia. They chatted idly, just catching up on each other's lives. During this round of 'pass the baby', Frankie was sitting on CR's lap, very intrigued with her hair. The baby would also lean over and admire Amelia's nose ring. The redhead watched her wife anxiously walk around the backyard, making sure everyone had a drink or ate enough food. Beca's step-dad, Gary, did his best to get the brunette to sit down and relax, but it was no use. Chloe knew Beca was nervous for her dad to show up. Just as the redhead was about to get up to talk her wife down, Beca's mom, Kim, stood up and led Beca inside.
A few minutes later, Chloe was pulled from her conversation when she heard the back gate open. She looked up to see Sheila, by herself, bringing the gift over to the table. The older woman made her way to Chloe with a slight frown on her face and Chloe knew that Arthur wouldn't be showing up. Chloe stood up and greeted Sheila with a hug.
"I really tried." Sheila said apologetically. "I for sure thought he was coming. I got him all the way out here and just as we were leaving he started being hateful. I wish I knew why he was doing this. I'm very sorry and also very embarrassed."
"No, please don't be sorry. Can I get you a plate of food? Something to drink?" Sheila shook her head and sighed.
"I think I'm going to go say hello to Beca first. Is she in the house?"
"Yes, just go on in." She offered Sheila a small smile as she walked through the patio doors and into the house. Chloe plopped into her seat and sighed loudly, catching the attention of Aubrey and Frankie. The baby fussed and reached out for Chloe, who grabbed her and sat her on her lap. Frankie sat back against Chloe's chest and began to wiggle her toes against the plastic tablecloth.
"Everything okay?" Aubrey asked, leaning over to press her forehead to Frankie's. The baby responded by putting her hand on the blonde's cheek to hold her there for a moment.
"No, not really. Beca's dad isn't coming. I know she wasn't particularly excited to see him, but she'll be crushed. Sheila just went in there to deliver the news." Both girls looked up when they heard the patio door open. Sheila and Kim walked out, chatting with each other. There was no sign of Beca though.
Just as Chloe was starting to get worried, the brunette emerged. She grabbed a beer from the cooler and made her way to where Jesse and Stacie were talking. She set her beer down on the table then walked over to Chloe. She grabbed Frankie from the redhead without a word.
"Bec-"
"I'm fine." The brunette said as she started walking away. Chloe puffed out her cheeks and sighed.
"I guess now would be a good time for cake, don't you think?" Aubrey shook her head and stood up.
"C'mon. I'll help you get everything."
/
Beca overheard Chloe mention something about cake so she stood up and dragged Frankie's highchair over to the table she was sitting at and set the baby inside of it. She gave her a pacifier to keep her from crying and left the baby under the watchful eye of Stacie to help Chloe and Aubrey. She made her way into the kitchen and helped Chloe pull out other desserts from the fridge while Aubrey unboxed Frankie's mini cake. The redhead gripped Beca's waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
"I love you, Bec. I'm sorry about your dad."
"I love you, too. And it's fine. Really. We don't need him." She placed a quick kiss on Chloe's forehead and pointed to the tiny cake Aubrey just set on the counter. "So how mad would you be if I shoved Frankie's face into that?"
"Very mad, Rebecca! Don't do it!" She punctuated the sentence with a swat to Beca's butt.
"Ow! Okay I wont!"
/
After about what felt like 50,000 photos, everyone finally sang 'happy birthday' to Frankie. Frankie danced during the song and Beca prayed that somebody recorded it. Chloe and Beca helped blow out the '1' candle perched on top of the tiny cake and they waited patiently for Frankie to dig into it, but she seemed confused.
"You can eat it, Franny. Just…go for it!" Beca grabbed Frankie's handed and rested it on the cake, but all she did was pull away. "Well, that's embarrassing." Just as Beca was about to give up, Frankie slammed her hand on to the cake and grabbed a handful of it. She immediately extended her hand out to Beca to try and share it with her. Beca felt relieved when she saw the flash of somebody's camera taking a photo of that moment cause she knew it was cute. The brunette let Frankie press the cake to her lips, before pulling away and licking her lips. "Mmm! Are you going to share with mommy too, Frankie?" The baby gasped and quickly moved her hand towards Chloe to share it with her. She did exactly what Beca did and then thanked her daughter by kissing her cheek.
"You eat it now, cutie pie!" Frankie stared at her hand for a moment, squeezing the cake between her fingers, before she just went for it and stuffed it into her mouth. Everyone cheered and clapped and Frankie smiled brightly. Chloe stood up and began to cut the bigger cake they had set on the table. Aubrey was helping by scooping ice cream on to the plates and Stacie was in charge of making sure everyone had a spoon. Beca sat and watched Frankie go back and forth between playing and eating her cake. Beca felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Cathy holding a bottle of that milk and formula mixture Chloe started Frankie on not too long ago. Beca took the bottle and handed it to Frankie, who eagerly began drinking.
"Slow down, little one. You're going to get a tummy ache. I know you don't need anymore sweet things, but how about some ice cream?" Beca leaned forward and tapped on Aubrey's back.
"What's up, Beca?" She asked as she handed a plate over to Stacie.
"Can I have a plate with just ice cream, please?"
"Sure thing." Aubrey quickly grabbed a plate from the small pile between herself and Chloe. She put a scoop of each vanilla and chocolate ice cream on the plate and handed it to Beca. A moment later, Stacie stretched back and handed her a spoon.
"Thank you!" Beca set the ice cream on Frankie's tray. She tried to give the baby a small spoonful of chocolate ice cream, but when she turned her head away Beca just assumed she was probably full. The brunette started to eat the ice cream herself and began to notice that every time she would bring the spoon to her mouth, Frankie would lean forward with her mouth open and try to take it. "So you want my spoonful of ice cream, but not your own?" Beca scoffed and fed Frankie her spoonful. "You're just like your mother. Always stealing my food."
"I heard that!" Chloe shouted as she continued cutting the cake.
/
At around 7:00pm, Chloe decided it would be a good time for Frankie to open her gifts. The redhead grabbed two chairs for Beca and herself to sit on. She let Beca keep Frankie on her lap because she knew the brunette would be neglectful of the cards taped on to each gift. Aubrey dutifully stood next to Chloe with a sheet of paper and a pen so she can write down who got Frankie what, while Stacie stood by Beca to hand the gifts over to them. They started opening the cards only gifts. They were mostly from their work friends and contained 'Babies 'R' Us' gift cards or just money in general.
The first real gift Stacie handed her came from Emily. It was a personalized 'Lost My Name' storybook that Chloe was almost ready to read right that second. The next gift came from Flo. It was a little LeapFrog oven that came with plastic food and its purpose was to teach counting and shapes. Flo's mother also sent a handmade dress for Frankie from their hometown. Jessica bought her a mini inflatable ball pit that had various Disney characters on it, as well as a bag of 50 extra balls for the ball pit. Benji got her a cute little shopping cart that came with plastic fruits and vegetables and he also bought extra plastic foods for it as well. Ashley bought her a big bag of building blocks and table for Frankie to build things on. They all held their breath when it came to opening Lilly's gift. They sighed in relief when they saw the girl bought Frankie a cute, plush, rocking horse and one of those sit 'n spin toys that Beca was very eager to get her butt on. Sheila bought Frankie a beautiful pair of earrings after the girls expressed their desire to get Frankie's ears pierced after she turned one. Next came a gift from Caleb. He bought her a plastic mini record player that Beca absolutely loved. Will and Cathy bought her a walker toy that could be folded into a bike.
Beca and Chloe started getting real nervous when they saw that the gifts they had left to open were all HUGE boxes. They weren't so much concerned about how much space these things would take up (well Chloe was), but about how much was spent on their daughter. They all already spent so much to even be there and have all already gone above and beyond. The next box Stacie lugged over came from Beca's mom and step-dad. They first opened the big bag that came along with it and revealed about ten outfits. Next came the box and it was an outdoor sandbox. Chloe's parents bought her about a dozen more outfits and a big outdoor playhouse (that Beca internally cringed at because she knew she would have to build it at some point). CR and her wife bought a cute red wagon that came with a little hood. Next up was Amy and Bumper's gift. Beca could've sworn Stacie almost gave herself a hernia trying to lug that heavy thing to them. They opened it to reveal a beautiful wooden mini kitchen that Chloe admitted was almost nicer than their own. The second to last gift came from Aubrey and Stacie. It was a Little Tikes Princess Horse and Carriage car. Frankie, who had been quite silent throughout the gift opening process, immediately leaned forward with a serious face and placed her hand on top of the box as if to say 'Don't touch it, it's mine'. She even got slightly angry when Stacie slid the box over so they could open the last gift.
"Alright, Jesse. As per your weird request, we are opening your gift last." Jesse smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at Beca and Stacie shoved the biggest box of the night in front of her.
"I promise you're going to love it, Bec."
"Wait, I thought this was a gift for Frankie?" Chloe interjected.
"Oh it is. You'll see what I'm talking about when she opens it." Chloe shot a confused look to Maya who sent an apologetic look her way.
Beca tore off the wrapping paper and it revealed a plain cardboard box. She scoffed and rolled her eyes at her friend, who handed her his keys so she could cut open the tape on the box. She cute the tape at the top, opened the box and gasped loudly.
"Dude! Holy shit this is so awesome!"
"Bec, what is it?" The brunette stood up and handed Frankie over to a confused Chloe. The brunette eagerly began to tear apart the box to reveal a black, two-seater battery operated Range Rover. "Oh no."
"Oh yes! Frankie is going to look so rad riding in this. Don't you think, Chlo?" She turned back to look at her wife, who was sporting a disapproving look.
"Yes, Frankie will look cute in it. Only Frankie, Rebecca. I don't need you breaking anymore of her toys."
"That Thomas the Train toy was broken before I sat on it!" The brunette shouted defensively. "Can we put her in it? Right now?" Beca reached for the sleepy baby that Chloe was cradling in her arms.
"Bec." Chloe said sternly.
"Fine. Another day." She turned to face the rest of the guests. "Thank you everyone for the gifts. They are so amazing. Also, there's like a bunch of food and alcohol left so please eat and drink more." Beca turned and began to help Aubrey and Stacie clean up the wrapping paper on the floor.
"I'm going to go change her diaper, Bec. I'll be right back." Chloe said as she made her way into the house. Beca nodded in acknowledgment.
"Hey, Shortstack?" Beca turned around to see Amy holding her sleeping son in her arms.
"What's up, Amy?"
"Little guy here fell asleep, but Bumper and I aren't quite ready to leave just yet. Can I lay him down somewhere?"
"Oh, gosh. Of course you can. Follow me." Beca brushed her hands off on her jeans and led Amy into the house. "Do you want to put him in a bedroom upstairs or…?"
"Uhhh, if you've got a couch down here, that'll work just fine." Beca contemplated letting Amy put Jasper in the family room, but it was right by the patio door and she didn't want the noise to wake him.
"How about the living room? Just so the noise doesn't wake him?"
"Yeah, Yeah that works." Beca pointed Amy in the direction of the living room and pulled a blanket from the linen closet. She followed behind Amy and laid the blanket over Jasper and soon as she set him down. "Thank you. Ya know, I don't think I've told you this yet, but you're a real good mom." Amy wrapped her arm around Beca's shoulder and Beca wrapped an arm around Amy's waist.
"Thank you, Amy. That really means a lot." The squeezed each other briefly before heading back towards the yard with their arms still around each other. They ran into Chloe and Frankie, who were just coming down the stairs. She put a pair of pants and socks on Frankie because it was starting to cool off a bit. She also took her pig tails out and brushed her crazy hairs down with a bit of water.
"Hellooo, ladies. What's going on here?" Chloe asked, adjusting Frankie on her hip.
"Jasper fell asleep and Beca here showed me a spot to set him down. I've been dying to get ahold of that cutie all night though, may I?" She extended her arms out and Frankie immediately leaned forward to be held by Amy. She grabbed the baby and placed a kiss on her head. "You're a friendly one, aren't ya? Just like your mommy over there." Stacie popped her head in from the patio.
"Oh there you guys are! Chloe, some of your work friends are leaving and were wondering if they could take some food home?" The redhead perked up and immediately rushed into the kitchen, pulling out aluminum foil and large Ziploc bags.
"Yes, absolutely! Shall we?" She asked, pointing her hands in the direction of the door to let Amy and Beca head out first.
/
By 9:30pm all their work friends were long gone and it was just the Bellas, the three Trebles, and their family. Jesse helped Beca bring all the gifts inside (and Chloe couldn't help but laugh at how Beca stared longingly at that Range Rover), while everyone else helped Chloe straighten up the yard a bit. After Chloe assured them that they helped enough, they all gathered around the table and started laughing a joking around. Majority of them got hungry and helped themselves to more food. Frankie was sitting comfortably on Beca's lap, playing with one of the plastic apples that came with Benji's gift. She was listening to the conversations going on around her. Chloe got up and went on to the patio to get herself and Jessica a drink. She was using the bottle opener they had tied to the railing to open their beers when she felt a presence next to her.
"She's a really good mother, isn't she?" Chloe froze. She didn't have to look up to know who was talking. She had no clue how he managed to get through the gate and up on to the patio without being spotted, but he somehow did.
"She's a fantastic mother, Dr. Mitchell." She said harshly, refusing to look up at him.
"You've known me for a while, Chloe. You know you can call me Arthur."
"No, Dr. Mitchell. I don't think I can." She set the beers down and made her way into the house, silently hoping he would follow her in before Beca spotted him. She felt relived when she heard his footsteps behind her.
"I- I brought her a gift." He set an unwrapped book on the counter. Chloe eyed it. Frankie already had that book, but whatever. It was something.
"Sheila already got her a gift, but thank you."
"I know she did, but I thought I should buy Francesca something else too." Chloe's head snapped up.
"You don't even know her fucking name?!" Chloe shouted. Arthur put his hands out and defend himself and began to back up. "Why are you here? Huh?!" Chloe was losing her shit and she was losing it fast.
"Sheila t-texted me that she was going to be taking a cab back to the hotel soon. I thought I would come by and pick her up instead."
"Yeah?! Well you should've come when you were supposed to! You should've come a damn year ago when she was born! I don't give a shit if you see your grandchild. In fact, she's better off without you, but for some reason Beca cares and you keep disappointing her!"
/
Beca was well aware that Chloe was just supposed to get two beers, but she seems to have disappeared. The brunette shrugged her shoulders, assuming that her wife just had to use the bathroom or something, but when she heard faint yelling coming from inside the house she started getting concerned. She stood up with Frankie still in her arms and looked around for a moment. She decided it would be best to not bring Frankie inside if Chloe was arguing with someone. She handed Frankie off to Emily because the taller girl practically jumped out of her seat when the brunette jokingly asked 'Okay, who wants her?' She cautiously made her way inside and followed the yelling to the kitchen. She saw Chloe going off on her father. She smirked a bit before realization hit that her dad was there.
"What's going on?" Beca asked, stepping into the kitchen and eyeing her dad. "I thought you were coming."
"Well, Sheila said she was going to be taking a cab to the hotel and I thought I would drop by and give a gift to Francesca."
"Francine!" Beca and Chloe shouted in unison.
"You know what? No. You should've come sooner and I'm not going to let you ruin the rest of the night. You somehow transferred your title of 'shitty father' to 'even shittier grandfather'. So I'll tell Sheila you're here. You can leave through the front door." Beca said calmly as she exited the house to tell Sheila her husband was there.
"I'll show you the door." Chloe led Arthur to the front door, being mindful of sleeping Jasper. She so badly wished she could slam the door in his face, but settled for flipping him off. She saw an embarrassed Sheila coming from the backyard. She waved goodbye and blew a kiss to her, mouthing 'thank you' before the woman got into the car. She shut and locked the door behind her. She quickly checked on Jasper before heading into the kitchen and throwing the book into the garbage.
/
By 11:00pm just about everyone was gone. Chloe's siblings helped clean up the rest of the mess before heading to sleep. They had plans to get breakfast with both their families tomorrow before their flight left tomorrow afternoon. As for all their friends, they all managed to turn this trip into a mini vacation. Because Frankie's birthday falls during the summer, they were all able to get the time off and spend time together in New York. They made plans to meet for dinner tomorrow night where they would discuss further plans for the next two weeks.
Beca yawned as she finished getting Frankie dressed in her pajamas. Chloe stopped into the room after changing her clothes to see if Beca wanted her to lay Frankie down, but the brunette wanted to spend some time with her before they went to sleep. Chloe knew Beca was due for some alone time with Frankie to sort of let the whole 'my baby turned one thing' sink in. Chloe had one of those moments while Beca was with the caterer. She hugged and kissed her baby and essentially bawled her eyes. Chloe quickly gave Frankie a kiss goodnight before leaving the room. Beca sat down on the glider and cradled Frankie in her arms, softly running her finger down the bridge of her nose.
"I can't believe you're one, pretty girl." Beca whispered, tears already threatening to spill over. "I'm going to tell you a secret. I was so scared that I would be a horrible mom. I mean, don't get me wrong I know I suck sometimes, but I think I'm doing all right. Don't you?" She briefly looked down at her daughter, whose eyes were starting to shut. "I mean you're healthy, you're definitely happy and most definitely loved." She pulled Frankie into her chest a little more and pressed her lips against her cheek. "Please stop growing." She whispered choking back a sob. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't stop thinking about how one day she won't be able to cuddle Frankie this much, how they won't have their bath time routine, or how one day Frankie wouldn't need her anymore. She would grow up and be gone. She knew she needed to get out of there before she started to ugly cry. She gently laid the sleeping baby in her crib and made her way out of the room. She shut the door behind her and quickly covered her mouth to silence cry she let out. She got her shit together a few minutes later and entered their bedroom. She saw Chloe sitting up in bed with a pout on her face and tears running down her cheeks. Beca quickly stripped out of her clothes and into her pajamas and hopped into bed. She and Chloe wrapped their arms around each other and soothed each other in silence until they fell asleep.
/
Chloe woke up to an empty bed at 7:30am the next morning. She stood up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she made her way to Frankie's room. The door was open and she peeked in to see the crib empty. As she was making her way downstairs, she heard a loud thump followed by Beca saying 'shit'. When she finally made it downstairs, a sight she did not expect to see greeted her. Beca was sitting in the driver's side of the black Range Rover, still in her boxers and a t-shirt. Frankie was strapped in the passenger's side wearing just a white onesie that Beca didn't even bother to button up after changing her diaper. The brunette was wearing her black Ray Ban sunglasses while Frankie donned a pair of Chloe's dramatically round cheetah print sunglasses that took up her whole face. It seems that the loud thump Chloe heard was Beca crashing into the wall. The brunette froze when she saw Chloe enter the room.
"It's not what it looks like." She said defensively.
"Oh, it's not huh?" Chloe slowly pulled out her phone from her shorts.
"We were just testing it out…"
"Is that so? And the sunglasses?" She nonchalantly opened up the camera on her phone, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"It was sunny in here."
"Oh. I see. I see." She paused for a moment before holding up her phone. "Smile!" Chloe snapped the picture before Beca could do anything to stop her. The picture came out perfectly. Beca wasn't smiling or anything (nothing new there), but Frankie was looking directly at the camera with a big toothy grin, her cute little face being overtaken by the big sunglasses.
"Whatever! We're outta here! C'mon, Franny." Beca reversed the tiny car and dramatically drove past Chloe. Frankie turned in her seat and waved to her mother as they drove out of the room. A few moments later there was a loud crash and something sounding quite expensive hitting the floor.
"It was already broken!"