A/N: Thanks again for all the positive feedback!

Chapter 13 – Big Plans

Three Months Later

Beca nervously knocked on the door to Chloe's parents' house. She'd been there plenty of times, but this was a big deal. Chloe's parents greeted her warmly, but they were confused when they didn't see Chloe or Megan.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Beale," said Beca.

"For the last time, call us Lynn and Will," said Chloe's mom.

"Okay, Lynn and Will," said Beca.

"What can we do for you? Where are Chloe and Megan? Are they okay?" asked Will.

"They're fine," said Beca. "Chloe doesn't know I'm here."

Lynn and Will looked at Beca expectantly.

"I'm here because..." said Beca. She paused and swallowed hard. "I want to marry your daughter. Chloe has made me happier than I ever thought possible, and I love Megan like she was my own flesh and blood. Nothing would make me happier than to have your blessing."

Lynn started crying happy tears and Will cleared his throat a few times.

"We'd love to have you as a daughter-in-law," said Lynn. Both Lynn and Will pulled Beca in for a hug.

"Thanks," said Beca. "Mrs...I mean, Lynn, can you tell me Chloe's ring size? I think I know what she'd like, but I don't know what size to buy."

"Sure," said Lynn. "And, really, at this point, maybe you should just call us 'Mom' and 'Dad.'" She and Beca chatted a bit and Lynn assured Beca that Chloe would like the design she had in mind.

Beca went straight to the jeweler's and found a ring like what she had in mind. It would take a week to have it correctly sized, so Beca would have to wait a little to propose.

It was Friday, and Chloe had just put Megan on the bus. She took time to slowly sip her coffee and relax a bit before catching up on patient charts. This weekend, she and Megan planned to sleep at Beca's. She no longer had to pack an overnight bag as Beca had given Chloe a drawer and some closet space at her place. She always had extra towels for Megan and Chloe, and she had Chloe's shampoo and body wash in her bathroom. Chloe had done the same for Beca. They'd settled into a routine of sleeping over at each other's places on Friday. That was always a night in, and they occasionally had a date night out on Saturday. Beca's stepsister Emily was always happy to babysit, and Chloe's parents were usually willing if Emily was busy. Things had been serious between them for a long time, and Chloe felt like she fell more in love with Beca every day.

Chloe picked Megan up from school and chatted with the teacher. She told Chloe that she thought Megan might be ready for potty training, and she suggested some reading material about the topic. It was specifically written about training people on the autism spectrum. Chloe wasn't sure she agreed that Megan was ready for potty training, but she figured a little research on the topic wouldn't hurt.

Chloe took Megan home and put her lunch on her tray. The feeding clinic taught Megan how to feed herself. It was messy and she took a long time, but she seemed to really like being independent.

Once Megan was done her lunch and Chloe had cleaned her up (Chloe joked that she should just take Megan outside and hose her down), she put Megan down for her nap. She called her mother and chatted for a bit, mostly updating her on Megan. Her mom suggested Chloe try the potty training anyway, but Chloe wanted to do more research. She really didn't want the aggravation if Megan wasn't ready. Megan didn't seem bothered by having a wet or dirty diaper, so Chloe had a feeling that she wasn't ready yet.

Chloe read one of the books on potty training that the teacher loaned her. Some of it freaked her out a bit. There was a case mentioned about a man in his twenties who was on the autism spectrum who didn't want to train because he liked the feeling of soiled diapers. Chloe hoped that wouldn't be Megan's fate. She skipped the rest of that section and moved on to the chapter about young children. It listed signs of readiness, and Chloe didn't feel any of them applied to Megan. She decided to put the potty training goal aside for now. Maybe Megan would be ready later. She was only three and a half, and some typical children weren't trained at her age either.

Megan got up from her nap, and Chloe walked her to the park to swing. She didn't do this as much as she used to because she didn't want to run into Gail again. It had been several months since the incident, but Chloe was still sensitive about their conversation. Luckily for her, the park was empty this time. Megan enjoyed the swing, and Chloe helped her climb the ladder to the slide. It was a skill she'd picked up at the feeding clinic. She was a little unsteady climbing the ladder, but she loved going down the slide.

As they were walking home, Chloe got a text from Beca that she was home and they could come over anytime. Chloe and Megan got right in the car and headed to Beca's instead of walking into the house.

Beca nervously paced as she waited for Chloe and Megan. "This is silly," thought Beca. "You and Chloe love each other, and she's going to say yes." She thought to herself how it wasn't too long ago that she had been lamenting the fact that she hadn't been in a serious relationship in years, and now she was about to propose. It seemed even crazier that she was going to propose to someone with a small child, but Chloe and Megan had wormed their way into her heart. She couldn't imagine life without them, and she wanted to make them permanent parts of her life.

She had picked up the ring from the jeweler on her way home, and she had the ring box in her pocket. She kept restlessly fiddling with it in her pocket. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to relax so she didn't freak out Chloe or Megan.

Beca greeted the woman with a kiss, and her daughter with a peck on the head. Putting a smile on her face, she told them to come in.

"Dinner is in the oven. It should be ready soon," said Beca.

"Smells good," said Chloe. "What are we having?"

"I roasted a small chicken, and I made some stuffing to go with it. Is Megan okay eating that?"

"She should be. We just have to cut the chicken up really small."

"Would you like to cut it for her?" asked Beca.

"Yeah," said Chloe, bouncing Megan on her knee.

The oven beeped, and Beca took the chicken out. As she let it cool for a moment, she tried to calm her nerves. She kept her back turned to Chloe as she pulled out a little plate for Megan, trying to relax the expression on her face. Chloe was getting Megan's fork out for her. Alright. Taking a deep breath, Beca handed Chloe the plate.

Chloe sat Megan in her booster, and she gave Megan her plate of food.

Megan picked up her fork, and managed to get maybe half of the bite of stuffing in her mouth. The rest went all over her bib and tray. Chloe took Megan's fork and picked up what she could from the tray. She put her hand over Megan's and said, "Try again." She helped Megan guide the food into her mouth. "Good job, Megan," she said.

They always limited themselves to one glass of wine while Megan was awake, finishing off the bottle after she was in bed for the night.

While Beca picked at her food, she could feel Chloe's eyes examining her. "Everything okay, babe?" Chloe asked.

"Fine," said Beca quickly. She took a sip of wine and started to eat. She was still kind of nervous, so she barely managed a bite.

"You're sure you're fine?" asked Chloe.

"I'm sure. I promise. Just...a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I should talk to you." She felt her mouth go dry and she took another sip of wine.

Before Beca could say anything else, Megan flung a forkful of chicken off of her tray and onto Chloe's plate. Chloe laughed, and said "I'm amazed any of this food goes into your mouth. Let's try again." She helped Megan get another bite of chicken. "Chew your food," she said. Megan had gotten better about chewing food, but Chloe still reminded her.

Chloe turned back to face Beca. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Beca was about to speak when Megan started hollering, "Bec! Bec! Bec!"

Beca turned to Megan, and saw her holding her fork out to her. "You want me to help you?" asked Beca.

"Bec!" hollered Megan again. This time she banged on her plate, sending bits of stuffing flying.

"Okay, Megan," said Beca, laughing. At this rate, Megan would be in high school before Beca could propose.

Beca switched places with Chloe so she could help Megan more easily. She put Megan's hand on her fork, and put her hand over Megan's to help guide her through putting food on the fork and the fork into her mouth.

"Bec," said Megan, more calmly this time. She held her fork out to Beca again.

"Beca?" asked Chloe.

"Yes?"

"You wanted to talk to me..." said Chloe.

"Right. Let me just finish helping Megan," said Beca.

Beca guided Megan through a few more bites of food before encouraging Megan to take a few on her own. Megan managed the last few bites independently, only spilling a little of her food.

"Good job, Megan!" praised Beca. Megan smiled.

Megan said, "Nana, nana, nana."

"You want a banana?" asked Chloe.

"Nana," said Megan.

"I got it," said Beca. She cut a banana into small pieces.

"Here's your banana," said Beca.

Megan happily fed herself the banana pieces.

"So, Beca..."

Beca got up from the table, pulled the ring box out of her pocket, and got down on one knee. Opening the ring box, she took a deep breath. "I love it when you are with me and fill my life with love. I never knew that I would love you this much. You are the best part of my life. When you are with me, I don't have a fear of anything. And when you hug me, it makes me forget everything. Thank you for doing this much for me. I love you so very much." She paused for a moment, trying not to trip over her own words. "Chloe Beale, will you marry me?"

Chloe burst into tears and nodded, too choked up to answer her. Beca slipped a beautiful white gold diamond solitaire on Chloe's left ring finger. As she stood up, Beca pulled Chloe into her embrace. Their lips touched and parted, and they shared a passionate kiss.

"So, I have another question for you," said Beca. "I love Megan like I gave birth to her myself. Would you allow me to adopt Megan so she can be ours, instead of just yours?"

"You want to officially be her other mom?" asked Chloe.

"Yes, I would love that," said Beca.

Chloe smiled and turned to her daughter. "Megan, what do you think? Do you want Beca to be your Mama?"

"Bec. Ma-ma," said Megan. Beca was now crying happy tears with Chloe.

"Oh my gosh! That was her first two-word phrase EVER!" exclaimed Chloe.

Beca picked Megan up out of her booster seat. "I'd love to be your Mama!"

"Ma-ma," said Megan.

"I have to call my parents!" exclaimed Chloe.

"Well, they won't be totally surprised," said Beca.

"You talked to them?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah. I wanted their blessing, and your mom helped me with your ring size and design."

"Oh, Beca," said Chloe, tearing up again and giving Beca a kiss.

Chloe called her parents, and this resulted in even more tears from her. She called each of her brothers. They were excited but quick to tease her about soon becoming "the old ball and chain."

Beca called her dad, stepmom, and stepsister first. They were very excited. She also shared that they would soon officially become Megan's grandparents (or aunt, in Emily's case). Her father was delighted and insisted they all come over for dinner soon. She called her mom as well. Beca wasn't very close to her mother, but she knew her mother would want to know and be excited for her.

The two women put Megan to bed, and then they called a few friends to share the news. Jessica, Flo, and Aubrey each screamed in excitement about the news and happily agreed to be in the bridal party.

Once they were done phone calls for the evening, the two women headed to the bedroom to get ready for bed. As they were cuddling, Beca wanted to bring up one more thing.

"Chlo?"

"Hmm?"

"I wanted to talk to you about one more thing."

"What's up?" asked Chloe.

"I want to take your last name."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Megan already has it, and I'm not terribly attached to my last name. It's much easier to change my paperwork than both yours and Megan's."

"Okay. Beca Beale. I like it."

"Me too."