"Fuck", Fat Amy spat, as Benji and Jesse came back into the house. Jesse stomped down the hallway towards his bedroom, as Donald got down shot glasses and a bottle of vodka.
"This is what we all need", he informed them (their best ideas were alcohol induced).
"I can't believe you two knew", Stacie seethed, sending daggers at Donald and Benji. "I mean, that' something you share! Text it, even! 'Hey Stace, just letting you know Aubrey's knocked up, I'm warning you to prevent Beca getting her heart ripped out of her fucking chest'! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"When did you find out?"
"The fourth", Benji mumbled, as Fat Amy glared at him.
"Well this is just great", she said sarcastically. "What are we going to do with Operation Jeca now?"
"It's still at thing", Donald said confidently. "We've just to work around this little kink".
"This is hardly a little kink, Donald. This is a big kink".
"Look, Memphis is staying here next week", he protested. "That's obviously going to get Beca here. We'll just have to corner them into soaking. They have to speak, they've got a kid".
"I think the only way that she's going to speak to him now is if Memphis drowns".
"What?" Benji said, shocked. "Why would you say that?"
"That's the only reason they're still friends, Benj, for their kid's sake. If Beca hadn't gotten pregnant they would have left this all at Barden and we wouldn't have a situation like this".
"Is she even pregnant?" Stacie wanted to know.
"What kind of sick bitch fakes a pregnancy?" Donald wanted to know.
"Stacie, you should look into this", Fat Amy said brightly. "You're a lady doctor".
"What?" Stacie baulked.
"What, so you're happy to get all up in Beca's bits but not Aubrey's?"
"Beca's not a crazy bitch".
(Fat Amy said that like Beca had thought it was a good idea. Beca had kept her legs firmly closed.)
"Beca was pregnant", Fat Amy said slowly and Donald laughed.
(Beca had been a crazy bitch.)
"No, that's where I draw the line", Stacie put her hand down on the table.
"So you'll support Operation Jeca but you won't have a look and check if Aubrey really is pregnant?""
"This is officially the least comfortable I've ever been with you guys", Benji commented and Donald laughed.
"They'll work it out", Donald predicted. "They're Jeca, they have to".
When Jesse came over to pick up Memphis the next afternoon, Beca barely acknowledged him. she kissed her kid goodbye, reminded her to be good for her daddy and uncles (she said nothing about Aubrey, she didn't care what kind of crazy stunts the five year old pulled around her) before turning on her heel and marching back into the house.
"You really screwed up this time", Stacie commented, as Memphis scrambled into the backseat.
Jesse shook his head sadly. "I know, Stace".
"You better get your ass into gear and fix it".
"I am, I will".
"Bye Aunt Stacie", Memphis called, waving from her car seat.
When Beca's phone rang late on Tuesday afternoon, she was surprised to see Jesse's name light up on the screen. And then she was concerned, because Jesse was in charge of their kid, and something could be wrong.
"Is Memphis okay?" she barged on, without even stopping for a greeting.
"Yeah Mama, I'm okay", the five year old sighed down the phone.
"MJ?"
"Yeah. Hi Mummy".
"Hi baby- what's wrong? Is Daddy okay?"
"Daddy's sad this week Mum", she complained. "He didn't eat his Froot Loops with me and he didn't even wanna watch Frozen last night and I watched it BY MYSELF".
(Beca missed the days where 'myself' was 'byself'. Those days had made her laugh. Aubrey wasn't ruining her life in those days.)
"Kiddo, Daddy's busy with the wedding. As much as he wants to he can't just drop everything to play".
"I know. But he promised he'd watch Frozen with me and he didn't. He broke a promise, Mama. And crazy Aubrey keeps talking about that dumb baby even though Uncle Benji asked her not to. And I miss you. So I wanna come home. Can you come and get me?"
Beca glanced at the clock. "Memphis…"
"Daddy won't even know!"
"Memphis Jae, I'm not abducting my own kid".
"No Mama, only bad guys and aliens do that".
Beca bit back her laughter. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah".
"Who's at home, baby?"
"Just Daddy and me".
"Alright, I'll come around and get you. Get your backpack ready, okay?"
"Everything alright?" Stacie said from the armchair, as Beca grabbed her car keys off the kitchen counter.
"I'm going to get Memphis".
"Is she alright?"
"She wants to come home, she's sick of Jesse's shit too".
"Want me to come?"
"No, it's alright. I'm just getting my kid and coming back here".
Nothing was ever that simple in their life. Beca should have known better.
Beca knocked quietly on the door, chuckling to herself as Memphis pulled back the curtains beside the door. Peeking out, she broke into a grin.
"Mama!" and she ripped open the door, throwing herself at the older brunette.
"Hi baby", Beca greeted, kissing the top of her head. "I'm just going to tell Daddy you're coming home with me, okay, and then we're going to go home. Are you all ready to go?"
"My backpack's in my room".
"Okay, well we'll go and get that and then tell Daddy where we're going".
Memphis held on a little tighter to Beca's hand as she lead them down the hallway, chatting, but not with the same enthusiasm as she usually had.
Once Memphis had her backpack on her back, they turned back down the hallway, running smack into Aubrey.
"Beca!" she said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you until the weekend".
"Surprise", Beca mumbled, feeling her blood pressure rise at the sound of the blonde's voice.
"I don't really think that's appropriate", Aubrey contradicted. "I mean, with the wedding being so close and all, I don't think Memphis should leave".
"Well, since she is my kid, you know-"
"Our kid, Beca". Aubrey smiled sweetly. "After the wedding, we're family".
Beca bit down on the inside of her mouth to prevent herself from saying something she'd regret in front of Memphis.
"Baby, can you go and play in your room for a minute?" Beca said to her daughter, and Memphis sighed, clearly wanting to watch the showdown.
"Fine... but DON'T go without me, Mum!"
"Okay", Beca promised, as the little girl headed back down the hallway. Glaring at the other woman, she felt no need to hold back once her daughter was out of earshot.
"One, you have a lot of nerve to speak to me like that. Memphis is my daughter and will never, ever be yours. Two, you will never be a part of my family, got it? And three, if you weren't pregnant-"
"Beca, don't think I'm not onto you. Jesse isn't leaving me for you, get on with life and move on".
"Yes, because I trapped Jesse into a relationship with a child".
"Are you that desperate you've resorted to making up lies?"
"I don't know, are you that desperate to get a man you've resorted to getting pregnant?"
"Oh that's it-"
"Beca!" Jesse said in surprise, leaning against the doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"Memphis called me, she wants to go home", she informed him. "Hey MJ", she called, and Memphis appeared in the doorway.
"Can we go now?"
"Aw MJ". Jesse knelt down a little, hugging his baby girl, his heart breaking. Before Aubrey came into his life, Memphis fought Beca when it was time to go home. "Are you sure? You don't want to stay here for a bit longer?"
"I wanna go to Mummy's house", the five year old said firmly and Jesse sighed.
"Okay".
"What's going on?" Benji wanted to know, opening the front door and walking through to the kitchen. "Hey Becs- MJ, where are you off to?"
"I'm goin' home Uncle Benji. Mama came to get me".
"That's a shame, Uncle Donald and I wanted to know if you wanted to see a movie with us tonight", Benji said, picking the first thing he knew would keep the five year old entertained. "Movie and dinner, how does that sound for tonight?"
"Can I?" Memphis looked at Beca. "Wait, Uncle Benji, after can you take me home?"
"Of course I can".
"What's going on?" Donald wanted to know.
"We're going to the movies Donald", Benji said cheerily, nodding at Beca and Jesse (the former sending daggers at the two of them. She knew what was going on, she hadn't been born yesterday).
"We're goin' to the movies", Memphis said, taking Donald's hand. "And then we're gonna go to Mum's house".
"Have fun baby". Jesse blew Memphis a kiss and the little girl hugged her mother quickly.
"Bye guys", Donald shrugged, picking up Jesse's car keys and leading the way out the front door.
"Jesse, sweetheart, is it really a good idea that she goes back to Beca's?" Aubrey tried. "With the wedding so close-"
"Aubrey, she wants to be with her mother".
"But-"
"I'm going", Beca announced, picking up her own keys.
"Wait, Beca-"
"You heard her Jesse, she was just leaving".
"Aubrey!" Jesse said, exasperated.
"But Jesse-"
"No, Aubrey!" Jesse snapped, startling both women at how angry his tone was.
"Well I'll just go to my mother's then", Aubrey huffed, heading towards the door and ignoring the small smirk on Beca's face. "Jesse-"
"Nope". Jesse shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. Beca and Jesse were met by the slam of the front door, before Jesse grabbed Beca's arm. Leading her into the lounge room, he plopped down on the lounge.
"Look, I know you want nothing to do with me, and I get that, but I want to explain this to you. I owe you that much, Bec".
Beca glared, fuming.
"Just hear me out, and I promise, this is it. You don't have to hear from me again. I mean, apart from Memphis".
She could tell his expression was genuine. She had known Jesse Swanson for a long time, and she could see the genuine hurt etched in his eyes. She wanted desperately to hate him, like she claimed to, to remember all the misery and nights she spent crying. But the pounding love in her chest overtook all the other emotions.
"Fine", she mumbled, joining him on the couch (making sure there was a good distance between the two of them- they both knew what could happen if they got too close.
"Bec, I am so so sorry for keeping this from you, and sneaking around. I never ever meant to hurt you and it kills me knowing that I have. If I could take all this back I would, I'd take it all back in a second. I was trying to tell you, but each time I did I got interrupted, and Aubrey telling you herself was downright low, believe me, I threatened the wedding in front of everyone. She went off in a sulk to Chloe's and no one saw her for the rest of the night- they weren't complaining, either. I'm so sorry you had to find out that way- sorrier than you'll ever know".
He was only inches away from her, getting closer as the words spilled from his mouth.
"You humiliated me in front of everyone, Jesse", Beca said coldly. "You broke my heart in front of our entire family".
"I know, Bec-"
"I don't think you do! You made me look like a complete idiot, trowing myself at you and then the two of us kissing at the bridal shop, the whole time knowing you've got a baby on the way! You just kept leading me on!"
"I wasn't leading you on!"
"Bullshit!"
Jesse sighed, frustrated as he tried to tell the brunette the truth, while she interrupted him the whole time.
"Look, what I did was horrible-".
"It was".
"And hiding the truth from you was cruel-"
"Yep".
"And the two of us kissing at the bridal shop was completely inappropriate-"
"IT WAS".
"But out of everything I lied about, I never once lied about loving you".
"Ye- what?" Beca's eyes grew huge, as she took in what he said.
"Beca, I never once lied about how I feel about you. I love you, I always have and I always will".
At that moment, Beca wished she had an off button for her heart- she was sure Jesse could hear it thudding away inside her chest.
"Why are you doing this?" she wanted to know.
"Because she's pregnant, Beca". Jesse sighed heavily.
"Why?" she wanted to know. "We broke up. We didn't stay together when Memphis was born!"
"Bec, we were different", he tried to justify. "We were so young; things were never easy for us! You said so yourself, Memphis was the best thing that came out of our relationship. Maybe if we hadn't had a baby, we would have stayed together-"
"Now you're blaming OUR KID? Do not bring Memphis into this, she's an innocent bystander! She had no choice! She is the best thing that's ever happened to me".
"No! I couldn't trap you Becs. You were so full of dreams, and I was weighing you down. I didn't want to ruin your life, Bec, or Memphis's- she was just a baby!"
"We tried! And you didn't ruin my life- you are now. You're ruining my life by marrying her!" Beca stared, ignoring the tears that were running down her cheeks (why the hell did Jesse bring out every single emotion in her? She didn't cry around other people! She hadn't cried until she met him).
"Bec, I can't do what I did to Memphis to another kid. It isn't fair. Memphis is perfect, but her life isn't". He shook his head in disgust. "I can't shuffle another kid around like I do to her".
"Jesse you don't even love her!" Beca cried. "Do you?"
Jesse stumbled over his words, trying to choose ones that wouldn't dig him into an even deeper hole.
"That pause, right there. That's your answer. Jesse, I am begging you, please please please don't do this. Don't throw your life away".
"I've never loved anyone more than I love you", he mumbled. "But I just can't hurt anyone else, Beca".
"Except yourself", she said innocently. "Because that's who you're going to hurt if you go ahead with this".
Jesse squeezed his eyes shut.
"Jesse, please don't marry her just for the baby", she said, staring him until he opened his eyes. "There are other options, but if you go ahead with this, you throw them all away".
"Did you mean what you said the other day?" Jesse wanted to know. "When you said I was the biggest mistake you ever made, your biggest regret? That Memphis was the only good thing that came out of our relationship?"
"How can I, when I can barely stay mad at you?"
"Do you hate me, Becs?"
"No". Beca shook her head firmly, her eyes meeting his. "Do you love me, Jesse?"
"Yes". And he pulled her close, her arms snaking around his neck.
