A/N: Hey buddies, here's chapter 4!
Also, sorry if some of you find these chapters too short. I don't really pay attention to the word count, I just write until it feels like the chapter has come to a natural end (or I have a good cliffhanger) and sometimes they can be a bit short, sometimes they're longer. It's just how I work. I try not to make them too short but if I try and cram more words in, the writing gets sloppy and you all deserve quality over quantity so that's what I aim for :)
I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters
"Can you help me, please?" Beca asked, arriving at the free clinic, clutching her stomach.
"Kid, you should be in a proper hospital," a slightly stunned nurse said, helping Beca into a wheelchair.
"Are you going to drive me?" She asked, squeezing her eyes shut as the pain threatened to overwhelm her.
After what seemed like hours of screaming and pain, a tiny, crying, baby boy was placed in Beca's arms.
She gasped slightly as she looked down at him. He stopped crying immediately, and focused his familiar brown eyes on her.
"Hey buddy," she said, her voice a whisper.
"Does he have a name?" The doctor asked.
"Sam," she said, not taking her eyes from him.
His eyes had never left hers. It was almost like he could sense how scared she was. How little she knew what she was doing.
Her fear and overwhelming love were battling inside her as if to see which one could suffocate her first.
The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll be fine," she said. "Can we call anyone for you? Your parents?"
Beca shook her head. "There isn't anyone," she said.
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?"
"No," Beca said. "I kinda ran away from home."
"I have to go and make a call," she said.
She had a bad feeling.
"I've contacted a social worker," the doctor said when she returned. "She's going to talk to you about your situation."
"Is she going to try and take Sam?"
"No," the doctor said, not entirely convincingly. "She wants to help you."
She waited until the doctor had left her to get some rest, before she threw her clothes back on. She pulled her bag onto her back and wrapped Sam up in a blanket.
"Let's get out of here, buddy," she said, kissing his forehead.
She made a break for it.
She was half-way home when fatigue and worry and began seeping in.
Sam had started crying, and she was in a fair bit of pain.
She stopped walking and sat on a bench, trying to stop Sam from crying.
What am I doing? she thought. I can't bring him home. I don't know how to change him. Feed him. I can't do anything. What kind of life can I give him?
She looked down at the face of her son.
"I have to take you back," she said, tears splashing down her face. "I can't keep you."
You're shoe's untied, buddy.
Can mama do it?
Beca crouched down on the sidewalk. "Mama can do it," she said to herself, as she tied his shoe.
Thank you.
Mama's got wet jeans now. Beca gestured to the wet circles on her knees. Sam giggled
She kissed his cheek before standing again, taking his hand as they carried on walking.
When Beca asked what he'd wanted to do that Sunday morning, he said to go to the park and then go for a burger. The fact that it was raining made him want to go out more.
As he held her hand, he went out of his way to jump in every puddle, laughing every time.
"Chloe, it's raining, can you walk a little faster?" Aubrey said, as they headed for the diner which served their favourite hangover food.
"It's not my fault your car broke down, so now we have to walk," Chloe said, clutching Aubrey's arm as they walked under their shared umbrella.
"But it is your fault that you walk like an old lady," Aubrey said.
"'Bree, is that Beca?" Chloe said, pulling them to a stop, a few feet from the diner.
"You see her everywhere, you're obsessed," Aubrey said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, wait, that totally is Beca. With a child."
Beca entered the diner and she and Sam sat in one of the booths in the corner. She took off his raincoat and pulled a towel out of her bag, quickly drying off his hair so he wouldn't catch a cold.
Looking good buddy.
He giggled, running his hands through his damp hair and spiking it up. He took off his glasses, which had steamed up when they walked into the warm diner, and tried to dry them on his jumper.
Beca heard the tinkle of the bell above the door that let her know other people had entered the diner, but she ignored it.
Instead she smirked at her little boy, and took the glasses from him, cleaning them properly before putting them back on his face.
Very handsome.
He giggled again.
"Hi Beca," Chloe said. Beca's head whipped around, and her eyes were momentarily wide from shock. Sam followed her eye-line and looked at the two women.
"Hi," Beca said. Sam instinctively clutched her arm. He had always been a little apprehensive of strangers. She turned to him.
It's okay buddy. They're nice.
He looked at them, chewing his lip in the same way Beca did when she was nervous.
"This is my son, Sam," Beca said, a hint of resignation in her voice as her personal life was finally exposed. "Do you guys want to join us?"
Hello, Chloe signed to the little boy still clutching Beca's arm. Sam seemed a little surprised she could sign so well. I'm called Chloe, I'm teaching your mom sign language. Is it okay if my friend Aubrey and I sit with you?
Sam turned to Beca who smiled and nodded at him. He nodded at Chloe.
I'm called Sam. He held out his hand, and Chloe shook it. Aubrey did the same.
"So," Chloe said, as they sat across Beca and Sam. "I take it we've just met the reason why you're in our class. And why you work two jobs."
"Yep," Beca said, ruffling Sam's hair as he looked at the menu. "All for him."
The waitress came over and they all ordered. Beca ordering a burger and fries for Sam, with a coffee and a juice. Chloe ordering pancakes and bacon, and Aubrey ordering a salad.
"You're not ordering?" Chloe asked Beca.
"I finish his leftovers," she said, pulling his colouring book out of her bag along with some crayons, stopping him from getting bored and restless while they waited for their food. "His eyes are way bigger than his belly."
"He's so cute," Chloe said. "How old is he?"
"Five," Beca said. "He's a little shorty though, like me." Sam tugged on her sleeve and pointed to his colouring.
Good job, Sammy.
He grinned before he carried on, his tongue sticking out of his mouth through concentration.
"So you must have been really young when you had him," Aubrey said. Chloe shot her a look.
"Uh, yeah, I was sixteen," she said running a hand nervously through her hair. "And I've basically raised him on my own ever since."
"It seems like you've done a really good job," Chloe said, giving Aubrey another furious look.
"How come it's taken you this long to take a sign language class?" Aubrey said, slightly unaware she might have been coming across as rude.
"Aubrey!" Chloe said. "Why are you giving her the third degree?"
"What? I'm just curious," Aubrey said.
"It's okay," Beca said. "I taught myself how to do it. I didn't have a babysitter, and I didn't want to spend the money on classes. My social worker advised me to take your class to tidy everything up. So I did."
Once their food arrived, the conversation got a little less serious, and Beca felt herself relax again.
Chloe watched with a smile as she interacted with her son. Beca seemed more happy and comfortable than she'd ever seen her.
She watched how, every so often, Sam would tug at her sleeve, and she'd take a fry from his plate and eat it. Sam seemed to be acutely aware that his mother wasn't eating, and he wanted to fix it.
I'm full, he signed with a few fries and half a burger left.
Not too full for ice-cream though, right?
I think I have room for ice-cream.
Good, Beca laughed, finishing his food.
"Can you guys watch him for like a minute while I use the bathroom?" Beca asked.
"Of course," Chloe replied.
I gotta go to the bathroom. Will you look after these nice ladies for me?
He nodded.
Can I see your colouring in? Chloe asked him, leaning across the table.
He nodded again and picked up the book from the seat, handing it over.
These are very good, Aubrey signed, actually impressed by how meticulously he coloured within the lines.
Sam watched them for a few minutes.
Which of you does my mommy have a crush on?
Both women froze.
What was that? Aubrey signed.
Aunt Stacie said mommy has a crush on her teacher. He looked at them both again. I think it's you, he pointed at Chloe, who immediately blushed.
Aubrey had to stifle a laugh.