This chapter was a request. It's also an introduction to another original character. I hope you guys enjoy!

Chloe is surprised when Beca isn't in the bed next to her when she wakes up. She rubs the heel of her hand into her eye and breathes in deeply through her nose. She smiles when she hears giggling outside the door, followed by a harsh shushing sound that is no doubt Charlotte. When the door cracks open she closes her eyes and pretends to still be sleeping. The bed shifts, there's shuffling of the sheets, and clinking dishes and she can picture the looks on all of the girls' faces; the gentle smile on Lennon's that's there more often than not, the fierceness in Charlie's eyes, warning her little sister not to mess anything up, and the agonizing anticipation on Maggie's little features. It's quiet for a moment until, it's really not.

"Happy Birthday, Mommy!" The girls yell.

Maggie launches herself onto Chloe and wraps her body around her like a koala.

"Thank you, babies. You did all of this for me?"

She winks at Beca. They do the same thing for her every year but the girls are always delighted at how "surprised" she is with her breakfast in bed.

"Uh huh." Maggie answers proudly, as if she had anything at all to do with it.

"Wow, it looks delicious."

If she were being honest, it looks like a disaster. Beca is a big believer in the motto "you live and you learn" which means she lets the kids have a very hands-on approach with most things. The waffles are crumbled into a mushy pile on one side, the orange juice is dripping down the glass and the bacon is half cooked, but she loves it all anyway. There are homemade cards from each of the girls on the tray as well; that's always her favorite part.

She picks the first one up, it's from Maggie It says 'Happy Birthday, Mommy' in Beca's handwriting on the front with colorful splotches of pain all over it. The inside simply says 'Love, Maggie' in the three year old's messy scrawl, backwards 'E' and all. She kisses Maggie's head and picks up the next one. It has colorful squares and something she assumes is supposed to be her on the front. The inside says 'Happy Birt day, Mommmy! Love Charlotte' with big snowflakes all over, despite the fact that it's July.

She picks up the last one. It has pink and maroon dahlias drawn on the front; they're her favorite. It simply says, 'Mommy' on the front. When she opens it she's surprised to see quite a bit of writing in very neat penmanship.

'I love my mom because she is kid. She makes Mama smile and she makes me laugh. I like that I look like her and Mommy says she does too. I love my mom for lots of reasons but most because she loves us. Happy Birthday, Mommy. Love, Lennon, Age 8'

Chloe blinks the tears back and looks at each of the girls.

"I love them so much. Thank you, babies."

"You're welcome." Lennon says.

"Mommy, we got you something else too." Maggie says.

"Shut up." Charlie says, always one for a good surprise.

"Hey," Beca says, "be nice to your sister or get out. It's Mommy's day and she doesn't want to listen to you fighting."

This seems to quiet her. She just slumps back down on the bed. Beca couldn't blame her fully, Maggie had woken them all up obscenely early today. She bends down and gives Chloe a kiss.

"Happy birthday, baby. I love you."

"Thank you. I love you too. Where's your card?" She asks, a teasing tone in her voice.

"I figure I'd give you something better than a card later." She lowers her voice.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm."

"What is it?" Maggie asks, and both women are reminded their children are in the room and they would like to preserve their innocence.

"Her present, remember?" Beca says, giving a quick look back to Chloe who is doing her best to stifle a laugh.

"Oh yeah, you're gonna love it, Mommy."

"Okay monkeys go get dressed. I already pick out your clothes, Mags, so don't try to pull anything, young lady." Beca says.

Lately Maggie has been adamant about not wearing underwear. Beca blames Chloe because that kid is all her wife, weird quirks and all. The girls all leave the room and Beca turns to her wife.

"So how does thirty-five feel, grandma?"

"You can't be mean to me today. It's a birthday rule."

"Hm, I don't think I ever learned that one."

She steals a blueberry and pops it into her mouth. Chloe pushes her shoulder before leaning over and kissing her again.

"Thank you for putting up with our little weirdos all morning."

"I figured I can take that bullet once a year for you." She answers cheekily.

"And thank you for putting up with me for another year."

"No thanks necessary, babe."

Chloe pushes a piece of hair away from Beca's face and stares into her eyes. She remembers a time, that feels like a lifetime ago, when Beca could barely make eye contact with her. Now she gets to hold her, kiss her, and share her whole life with her.

"And I love our children, but I don't think I can eat this."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I already made you another plate, it's in the fridge, coffee's made too. I'm gonna go make sure they haven't killed each other yet."

Chloe laughs and watches her leave the room; damn does she make bedhead look good. She gets herself up, showered, and dressed because apparently Beca has a big day planned. When she makes it to the kitchen, Beca and the girls are cleaning, with the exception of Maggie who is sitting at the counter coloring.

"Hi baby, you look beautiful."

Chloe has decided on one of her favorite flowly, floral sundresses. It's brutally hot outside, especially in the city where the heat always seems to sit stagnant and make everyone miserable.

"Mommy, we match." Maggie says, she stand on her chair.

She is wearing a dress very similar to Chloe's and the little straps of her bathing suit are sticking out.

"We do. Sit down, angel." Chloe helps her sit to avoid another fall from the freaking stools, "So what's the plan for today, Bec?"

She takes the coffee from her wife, now it's ice at the realization of just how hot it is.

"We're going to Jess and Ashley's."

"I know that."

"Then what's the question?"

Beca was always annoyingly good at keeping secrets.

"Girls, we're leaving in fifteen. We need to go get Aunty B."

Beca is bagging up a bunch of food and triple checking that they have everything the girls could possibly need. The truth is, she has several surprises today, and she's more excited than she would ever admit to anyone. Beca was never big on birthdays, or any holidays, before she met Chloe. Growing up her and her mom would go out to dinner to celebrate before her mom had to go back to whatever job she was working at the time. Her dad would send a card with some money in it, simply signed '-Dad' and that would be it.

When she told Chloe all of this she looked utterly devastated. She swore from then on, birthdays would always be as big of a deal in their house as Christmas or Thanksgiving. Beca was a little scared at first, overwhelmed that she would have to compete with the parties of Chloe's childhood, but that passed as soon as she saw the look on her face when Beca surprised her with breakfast in bed; and so the tradition continues.

They herd the girls into the car and drive uptown to pick up Hanna, or Aunty B, as the girls call her, is Beca's younger sister. The nickname was something that was solidified when Lennon was little, she couldn't say "Hanna" it came out more as "Bana" and it just kind of stuck. Beca's younger sister. Due to their parents' divorce, Beca and Hanna didn't see much of each other growing up and didn't become close until Hanna started at Barden, during Beca's junior year. Chloe was a huge part of the rekindling of their relationship. She's just as much a sister to Hanna as Beca is, and they have become very close in the past fourteen years. When they pull up to the large, very posh apartment Beca asks,

"Hey Len, can you ask the doorman to buzz Aunty B, please?"

She talks to Chloe to distract her. Lennon does as she's asked, she's the only one of the kids that knows about surprise number one. Hanna tells them she'll be right down. A couple minutes later, Chloe's car door whips open and before she can react she is wrapped in warm arms. If the blonde hair getting in her mouth wasn't a dead giveaway to who it is, the familiar perfume would be.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?"

"You only turn thirty-five once, Chlo. I couldn't miss this."

Aubrey and Beca have long since buried the hatchet. It quickly became clear that both of them would do anything for Chloe and that was reason enough to form their own friendship. Beca was actually the one who played a huge role in getting Aubrey through her miscarriage four years ago and Aubrey has helped Beca with planning work events more times than she'd care to admit.

"Hey Bec."

"Hey, you made it."

Aubrey hugs Lennon to her side and smiles.

"Where's Uncle Henry?" Charlie asks.

"He had to stay at home and work."

No one was surprised when Aubrey married Henry Irving, the hotshot lawyer; he is clean cut, from a prominent family. They were a little surprised when they met him. He is goofier than anyone ever thought Aubrey could tolerate but he's done his best to mellow her out.

"Where's my sister?" Beca asks.

Hanna walks out of the building and tickles Lennon from behind with her free hand.

"Calm down, I'm here. It's not my fault you tasked me with getting a million things for today. Which you could have come up and helped me with, by the way."

"You can stand to work out those noodle arms." Beca says, getting out of the car to open the trunk.

"Yeah, like you can talk."

Beca scoffs and hugs her sister. It has been a little while since they have seen each other. They both have demanding jobs; Beca, of course, a music producer and Hanna works as a DNA analyst for the New York City Police Department. She's one of the youngest in her field, and very successful, which unfortunately means very little time for socializing.

They all climb into the car and drive an hour, just outside of the city. Ashley and Jessica's house, now just a summer home since their move to the city, is a beautiful piece of property on a small lake. Beca, Chloe, and the girls have spent weeks at a time at the house over the years and sometimes it feels more like home than their place in the city. Jessica and Ashley married soon after Beca and Chloe did and they all bonded over being the only married Bellas, and of course being the only Bellas in New York. Not to mention, Charlotte and their son Atticus have a bond none of them can understand.

The car ride is full of chatter. Chloe and Aubrey catch up while Hanna gets the girls all worked up. Beca doesn't understand how she can see all of the horrifying things she sees all day and still be so bright and cheerful, but she's thankful for it; she's glad her girls have their aunt in their lives. When they pull up to the house, it's time for surprise number two. Beca leads Chloe to the door that leads to the backyard. Chloe startles only slightly when there's loud shouts.

"Hey Red."

"Hi Chlo."

"Happy Birthday."

All echo through the yard.

"Clearly we didn't coordinate what we were going to say." Stacie says, standing amongst all of the other Bellas.

"You're all here." Chloe says, not bothering to stop her tears this time. She can feel Beca's hand on her back and Maggie against her legs. She rushes over and hugs each and every one of them. She's shocked Beca was able to get them all here at the same time, and without her suspecting anything nonetheless. Cynthia-Rose pulls her into a hug while Amy yells something about MILF's. Lilly, although still strange, had some sort of epiphany, or as she puts it exorcism, after their tour with the USO and actually talks. She says something to Hanna that widens her eyes and no one dares to ask.

Jessica and Ashley are in full on hostess mode and only pause to give Chloe a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Flo and Emily gush over Maggie which she loves. The whole yard falls into a specific kind of chaos that only the Bellas could be responsible for. After chatting for a while Chloe takes a seat in one of the canvas camping chairs. She gratefully takes the glass of rosé from Hanna, already halfway done with her own beer.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome birthday girl. My sister and nieces treat you right today?"

Chloe scoffs, Hanna knows that in the Beale-Mitchell household birthdays are like a sport.

"Of course, and I can only assume you had something to do with all of this." She gestures around them.

"Beca, me, Jess, and Aubrey. It was a team effort."

"Well, thank you."

"Any time. You deserve it all, you know," Her tone gets a little heavier, "after all you've done for all of us, everything you've done for Beca. There's no way we could ever repay that. But this," She copies Chloe's gesture, "I guess it's a good start."

Chloe is about to say something but she's interrupted by Lennon rushing over to them.

Aunty B, will you come in the water with us?"

She looks deep in thought for a second.

"I guess I could squeeze you in."

Lennon laughs and Hanna chases her toward the water. She picks Maggie up and pretends to toss her in on the way. Chloe feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to Aubrey who is already taking Hanna's seat.

"She seems good."

"Yeah, she does." Chloe agrees.

There was a time, between her masters and PhD programs, when Hanna hit a really rough patch. Lennon was two, Beca was pregnant with Charlie. She refused to complicate Beca's medical issues further with stress. She didn't know who else to turn to so she talked to Chloe, who talked to Aubrey, who talked to Stacie. Soon enough she had a little army of Bellas knocking down her door, trying to help; which they did, Aubrey's too stubborn not to.

Although their time at Barden never overlapped, they became friends during the retreat, the USO tour and even closer a little further down the road. Chloe is lucky enough to be close to her biological family, but she knows a majority of the Bellas weren't that fortunate. This found family is something special and she knows that too.

"She told me you helped arrange all of this."

"Organization is my gift. The Mitchell girls, not so much. They would've been lost without me."

"Hey that's my wife and sister you're talking about."

"So you know better than anyone."

"God, I miss you."

"I miss you too. I'm here for a week though, so we have plenty of time to catch up. But right now," She says getting up from her chair, "I need to get my hands on those kiddos of yours."

She smiles and walks over to the water, leaving Chloe once again to observe everyone that has gathered just for her; and wonder how the hell she got so lucky.

Hanna walks up behind Beca and leans against the doorway.

"She was definitely surprised," There's a smirk on her face, it never really seems to leave, "and you were worried she would suspect something."

Charlie and Atticus come and jump on her back. She yells, bringing them outside to see everyone. She is the Baby Bella, except for Stacie's daughter who is actually named Bella. But the girls took her under their wing, especially Stacie, and they have formed their own kind of sisterhood. Beca watches Chloe and her daughters greet all of the Bellas for the first time in a while. It's been a couple years since they've all been together but they've seen them individually sporadically quite often.

"Bec-ah!"

Beca turns to be face to face with Jesse. After their breakup things stayed surprisingly amicable between them and they work together a lot, despite the fact that Jesse and his wife live in Los Angeles. She wraps him in a hug.

"You made it in one piece?"

"Barely." He scoffs, he hates flying almost as much as she does.

"How's Felicity?" She asks, she likes Jesse's wife, what little she knows of her.

"She's good. About to pop."

"And she let you come? When I was pregnant with Charlie I barely let Chloe out of my sight."

"Her mom is with she isn't due for another month so I think we're good."

Beca grabs two beers and hands one to him. They both stand in the doorway.

"I told you."

"What?" She asks.

"I told you we were going to get married and have aca-children. I just thought it was going to be with each other."

"Your crystal ball was a little blurry back then, huh?"

He shrugs, "I guess so." There's an extended pause but she can feel his eyes on her, "You look happy, Bec."

"I'm happier than I've ever been."

"Mama," Charlie calls to her from the edge of the water, "come swim!"

"I thought you didn't swim."

She shrugs, stepping outside, "I can't say no to the kid."

The rest of the day is filled with laughter, food, swimming, a couple scraped knees, and the company Chloe has missed for years. It's getting dark and the bugs are starting to come out. The kids don't seem to mind, they're playing soccer on the far side of the yard while the adults sit around the fire drinking.

"Okay babe," Beca says to Chloe. They are wrapped up together in one of the camping chairs. Chloe cranes her neck awkwardly to look at her, "are you ready for your gift?"

"What? Beca, you've already done so much."

"Yes, but I've had lots of help, especially with this last part, so it doesn't count."

Chloe gives her an incredulous look but gets up when Beca pats her leg.

"Girls, you ready?"

Lennon's head whips around and her smile takes up her whole face.

"It's time?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Everyone goes inside to the large living room. There's a piano and a couple stools. Chloe quirks an eyebrow.

"Mommy, sit here." Maggie instructs before she climbs onto a stool.

Beca hands Chloe a small gift, "Open it."

Chloe feels butterflies in her stomach but she isn't sure why. She unwraps the paper to find a CD. The cover is a black and white picture of the back of the girls. They're standing on the balcony of a building in the city, over their shoulder you can see the Statue of Liberty.

"What is this?"

There's gentle pink cursive lettering on the bottom "LACJMK". The girls' initials.

"My New album, I finally finished it."

Chloe looks stunned, she had no idea Beca had even been working on an album of her own. She turns it over to read the track list: Here Comes the Sun, Danny's Song, True Colors. They're all lullabies that they've sung to the girls since they were babies. Except one, the very last song is one she's never heard of.

"Baby, this is incredible."

"Do you want to hear my favorite?"

Chloe nods. She can already feel tears glazing her eyes. All three girls are on a stool now, Beca takes a seat at the piano. She starts with a bouncy melody and a short intro before Lennon starts to sing.

"I'll tell the world,

I'll sing a song.

It's a better place since you came along, since you came along."

Charlie joins her and their voices fit together like they do this all the time.

"Your touch is sunlight through the trees,

Your kisses are the ocean breeze,

Everything's alright when you're with me."

Maggie's little voice, slightly off-key, joins in on the last few lines.

"And oh, you're my favorite thing.

And oh, all the love that you bring."

The girls stop and Beca's voice, much smoother and more elegant, rises above the chords.

"It feels like I've opened my eyes again.

The colors are golden and bright again.

There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong.

It's a better place since you came along."

Beca looks up and right into Chloe's eyes that are now swimming in tears. She whisks a couple off of her cheeks but doesn't break the contact. Maggie hops of her stool and climbs into her lap.

"I see the whole world in your eyes,

it's like I've known you all my life,

you just feel so right.

So I pour my heart into your hands,

it's like you really understand, you love the way I am."

The girls sing the last part with Beca and Chloe is almost certain her heart is going to explode inside her chest.

"Well it feels like I've opened my eyes again,

and the colors are golden and bright again.

And the sun paints the skies and the wind sings her song.

It's a better place since you came along."

Beca's hands stop on the piano and the only sound in the room is Chloe's sniffling. She wipes the tears away and Beca moves to kneel in front of her. The rest of the Bellas disperse and talk quietly amongst themselves to give the family a little privacy.

"You didn't like it?" Maggie asks.

"What?"

"You're crying."

"No, Angel, I'm crying because I loved it so much." She looks to Beca, "It was beautiful."

"I can't take all the credit. The girls helped me write a lot of the words."

"You did?" Chloe fiddles with Charlie's hair.

"And then I just watched you with them and the rest just fell into place."

Chloe kisses Beca, a deep, passionate kiss. The girls giggle. Beca reaches over and tickles Lennon's side without breaking the contact.

A while later, they are in the car. Hanna and Aubrey decided to stay and leave with some of the other girls in the morning. So it's just Chloe, Beca, and the girls. All three are passed out in the backseat. The car is quiet, the radio is on but the sounds of the other cars easily drowns it out. Beca rests her right hand on Chloe's thigh.

"Did you have a good birthday?"

"It was the best day ever."

Beca smiles, "Good. Just don't expect me to top it next year. I'm done."

Chloe giggles, but the sound causes Maggie to stir. Thankfully she doesn't fully wake up. She rubs her nose and mumbles,

"Happy Birthday, Mommy."

Chloe reaches back and smoothies her hair. She whispers, "Thank you, Angel."

The song used in this chapter is Better Place by Rachel Platten. I do not own it or claim to own it. But everyone should listen to it because its Bechloe AF.