Jesse glanced around the airport, a grin on his face, expecting to see Beca, Connor, Rosie and Isaac waiting for him (because Connor had told him how he had painted a 'welcome home daddy' sign and Rosie had told him exactly how big his welcome home hug was going to be). But he couldn't see them.

Maybe it was because Beca was short.

(He would never say it- directly- to her face, but Beca hadn't grown a millimetre since they were at Barden. And Rosie had inherited her mother's height, much to Beca's dismay.)

So stepping out a little further, he glanced around for them, and when that didn't work, he jumped up onto an uncomfortable airport chair and scanned the room.

There was still no Beca. Still no kids.

"She's just running late", he said easily, plopping down on the aforementioned uncomfortable airport chair.

(Beca was either really early or really late. If they were five minutes early when she was designated driver, they would do another lap of the block to kill time. If they were four minutes early, it was 'shit shit shit we have to find a park shit shit shit'. There was no happy medium with his wife, and Beca knew it.)

After ten minutes, he began to worry. He called Beca's phone a dozen times, before giving up and starting to pace.

"Where the hell are they?" he muttered.

Five more minutes passed (where he phoned Beca another twenty four times), before he slumped back into an airport seat.

"Where are they?" he worried, biting his bottom lip.

"Jesse", a voice said, and Jesse's head flew up.

Standing in front of him was Donald, looking shaken.

"Donald! Where's Beca? Where are the kids? What happened?"

"Jesse, there was an accident", Donald said, trying to keep his voice still.

"Oh my God". Jesse's face paled, and he leapt up. "Are they okay?"

"We need to go to the hospital".

Donald was virtually silent the whole way to the hospital, despite Jesse talking off his ear, demanding to know how his children and wife were. He jumped out of the car before Donald even stopped it, bolting through the doors and running straight into Chloe.

"Jesse", she said, her cheeks streaked with tears. "Jesse, oh my God!"

She wrapped him in a hug and Jesse hugged her back, frantically looking around. "Chloe, where's Bec? Where are Beca and the kids?"

Chloe's body shook with silent sobs, as she shook her head. "Jesse, there was a car accident…"

"Chloe, where's Beca?" he demanded, and a nurse came out of a room with a clipboard.

"Mr Swanson?"

"Where's my wife and children?" he demanded.

"Your wife's okay", she told him, and Jesse's heart sank. "We've examined her and she's alright".

"And my children?"

The nurse bit her lip, and Chloe sobbed even harder.

Beca stepped into the hallway, her face pale and her eyes red. "Jess", she croaked.

"Beca, oh my God!" letting go of Chloe, Jesse rushed over to his wife, checking her over and wrapping his arms around her. "Beca, where are the kids?"

Beca shook her head silently.

"Your two sons died on impact", the nurse said, and Jesse felt his heart physically break. "I am so, so sorry".

"Connor and Isaac", he whimpered. "My boys…" tears running down his face, he turned back to the nurse. "What about Rosie, what about my daughter? Is Rosie okay?"

The whole story came out then, as Jesse stood there silently. A truck had ploughed through a red light, rendering Beca unconscious and Connor and Isaac lifeless. Rosie's body, in the middle of the backseat, hadn't suffered the blows Connor and Isaac had- but her tiny brain had copped the force of the impact.

Jesse, if possible, felt his heart break even more, as he saw the machines attached to his daughter. She looked so small, as she lay perfectly still on the hospital bed, the beeping from the machines the only indication that she was still alive.

"Oh, baby girl", Jesse whispered, taking her hand in his own. "Oh my Rosie… Rosie, Rosie, Rosie…"

The machines were the only thing keeping little Rosie alive. Jesse wrapped his arms around Beca and she cried into his chest, as Jesse gave the tiniest of nods.

"I love you, Rosie, so so so much", he whispered to her, as Beca clung to him a little tighter. "You're the prettiest angel up there".

He held her hand until the machine went silent, Beca shaking a little harder in his arms. Tears soaking into the top of her head, he held her.