She was almost at the nine month mark. At eight months and three weeks pregnant with Swanson baby number two, Beca was well and truly over it. She couldn't see her feet (although she knew they were still there because they hurt), her back hurt, her boobs were swollen and she spent her day running (read: waddling) after an energetic two and a half year old. Beca wanted more than nothing to hold her baby in her arms.
Plain and simply, Beca was over being pregnant.
"When baby comin'?" Molly wanted to know, as she climbed up onto the lounge beside her (Beca ordinarily didn't encourage days of television, but it was raining and she was pregnant and if Mickey Mouse could keep Molly quiet for twenty minutes, then she'd take it).
"Soon, baby girl", Beca said tiredly, running a hand through Molly's loose curls (she was too tired that morning to fight Molly into pigtails or braids- Molly wasn't having it, and Beca didn't care). "I know, Mummy wants to meet the new baby too".
"I a big sister".
"You are a big sister". Beca kissed the top of Molly's head, relishing in what she knew would be the last few days with just her baby girl. "I love you".
"Love you Mummy". Molly leaned against her mother and Beca breathed in the gentle scent of baby shampoo and her baby girl.
"There's my favourite girls", Jesse called, coming into the room with a grin. "Hey baby, hey baby girl". He dropped kisses to the tops of their heads respectively, before pressing his hands to Beca's stomach. "How's bub treating their mama today?"
Beca put her left hand on her stomach, feeling the thunder of kicks against her inside. Just like Molly had, the baby knew its father's voice. "Good", she said tiredly. "But their mama wishes bub would hurry up and get here".
"Me too", Molly said quietly, her eyes not leaving the television screen for a moment.
"Me three", Jesse agreed, and Beca rolled his eyes at her husband's cheesiness.
"Jesse!" Beca called, gripping her stomach and shuffling down the hallway to their bedroom. "Swanson!"
"What's wrong?"
"Get your ass out of bed". She smacked him with a pillow (because why was he sleeping when he had done this to her?).
"It's midnight", he said in confusion (clearly a mistake on his behalf).
"Well I'm sorry, I'll go and give birth to your child downstairs then, will I? Jesus Christ!"
Jesse leapt out of bed, gathering up the small pile of things he had packed in Beca's fifth month of pregnancy (because he never knew when they'd need to go to the hospital- both hers and Molly's bags were packed). "You go and get in the car, I'll get Molly. No wait!" he grabbed her arm, gently guiding her towards the stairs.
She rolled her eyes. "Go and get Molly, I'll go down to the car".
"Be careful!" he shouted.
Running down the hallway with his arms full, he ripped off Molly's blanket (the chilly winter air hitting her bare feet and making her shiver in her sleep), before gently lifting her out of the bed.
"Daddy?" she mumbled.
"Shhh, its okay", he whispered, making sure to grab her Bellas scarf (because she took the tatty thing everywhere) before heading down the stairs. "We're gonna go to Aunt Aubrey's and Uncle Michael's, and you're gonna have a sleepover!"
She put her head on his shoulder, still fighting sleep. "Mmm".
He found Beca in the passenger seat, her seatbelt already on, her knee bouncing in anticipation.
"How are you?" he wanted to know, once Molly was strapped in and he was reversing the car out of their driveway.
"It's not so bad right now", she said carefully. "I called Chloe- she's meeting us there".
She was surprisingly calm. Calmer than she thought she would be. Then again, she had already done it once, and while she was terrified, she was not nearly as scared as she had been when she was in labour with Molly.
Jesse reached Aubrey and Michael's house in record time (making Beca scream the whole way, because clearly the guy didn't know the road rules), screeching to a stop outside. Unbuckling Molly and carefully lifting her out, he tossed her backpack into the car seat before lifting the whole thing out (he realised as soon as he unhooked it from the anchor point that it would have been easier to give them the seat from his car, instead of unstrapping the seat she used every single day, but what was done was done). Running up the driveway he poked the doorbell twice before proceeding to bang on the door (making Molly jolt- he felt bad for scaring his daughter, but Aubrey wasn't answering).
"Jesus Christ, I'm coming!" Aubrey bellowed from inside, and Jesse stopped his pounding. "Who the hell's coming over now?" Aubrey wanted to know. "It's midnight!"
The knocking continued as she made her way down the hallway, swinging open the door to find Jesse standing there.
(The Treblemaker was the last person she expected.)
"What the hell?" her eyebrows furrowed, as Jesse shoved Molly at her, the two and a half year old ninety five percent asleep and thoroughly confused.
"Aunt Bee", she mumbled, wrapping her arms around Aubrey's neck and sleepily resting her head on her shoulder.
"What's going on?"
"Beca's bringing your niece or nephew into the world right now", he said hurriedly, throwing Molly's backpack at Michael (who appeared just in time to catch the pink thing flung at him) before dumping Molly's car seat on the veranda. "I seem you recall you saying that you'd watch her when we went to the hospital?"
"Oh my God!"
"We should come too!" Michael turned around to pluck the car keys off the hook, and Jesse held up his hand.
"No, no", Aubrey protested, before Michael could get ahead of himself. "We'll be there first thing in the morning. Want me to call everyone?"
"Can you? Chloe knows Chloe's meeting us there and said she'd call everyone but I don't know who she's calling". Jesse shrugged, and Beca leant on the car horn.
"Swanson!" she called. "Let's get this show on the road!"
"Go, go, give me a niece or nephew!" Aubrey pushed Jesse out the door and he leant over to peck a kiss to her cheek, before kissing his daughter.
"Thanks guys! We owe you! Bye Molly, be good!"
"Good luck Beca!" Michael hollered from the doorway, and Beca waved in acknowledgement. Grinning widely, the two closed the front door, Aubrey still cradling the sleeping child in her arms.
"Let's put her to bed", Aubrey decided, and Michael picked up her little pink backpack, following Aubrey towards one of their spare rooms. The one they went into had pretty pink sheets on the double bed and a flowery doona- and while Molly generally curled up in a sleeping bag when she spent the night at their house, the bed was hers for the night. Michael pulled the blankets back and Aubrey settled the little girl onto the mattress, right in the middle to reduce the chances of her rolling off the side.
(Despite being in a 'big girl bed' for over six months, Molly Swanson was just like her father and a restless sleeper. She could fall asleep curled up against the wall, and wake up hanging onto the bed with one arm. Every night before they went to bed, Beca and Jesse would roll her back to safety, but they still kept Molly's soft bear mat from when she was a tiny baby beside the bed- padding the fall if she did tumble out. And she had, more than once.)
"She's so beautiful", Aubrey said quietly, as she pulled the blankets over the sleeping child, brushing her hair back gently.
"I want one", Michael said suddenly, and Aubrey looked at him, her blue eyes wide. "Want to have one of those?"
She nodded wordlessly, too scared to speak.
"You want to have a baby?" he checked and Aubrey wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips to his. Michael chuckled, taking her reaction as a yes. "Not in here, Beca would kill you if she found out we made her child a cousin in the same room as her sleeping kid".
"I can take her", Aubrey almost scoffed.
"Not when she's hyped up on pregnancy hormones", he reminded her.
(Aubrey had seen Beca cry once the entire time the tiny brunette was at Barden, but when she was pregnant she cried once a day.)
"The contractions are about seventeen minutes apart", Beca told the doctor, as Jesse helped her up onto the bed. "They're not too strong yet".
"Stacie's on her way", Chloe reported, coming into the room and pressing her ear to Beca's belly. "Hey there little baby! Ready to come and meet the world? Ready to come and meet Aunt Chloe?"
(Beca swore, the way that Fat Amy and Chloe acted around her, strangers would think that it was their baby living in her womb.)
"Do you want an epidural?" the doctor asked Beca, and she shook her head firmly.
"No".
She could do it. She had gone drug free with Molly, she was determined to do the same with that baby boy or girl.
"Are you sure?" Jesse wanted to know, and Beca nodded.
"No, I don't want an epidural. I don't want to drug my baby".
"You are the worst person in the entire world", Beca hissed, squeezing Jesse's hand so tight he was about ninety percent certain she broke a bone or two. "Why did you do this to me? What did I ever do to you?"
"I'm sorry", he said sincerely (because what else could he say).
"I swear to God, Swanson, if you even touch me again-"
"Never again". He nodded.
"I don't like you", she spat. Turning to Chloe, she shot the redhead daggers (leaving Chloe to wander what she had possibly done. She had been supportive and held her hand and not made comments about whether or not Beca was sure she didn't want drugs. Beca had made it plain and clear that no drugs were to enter her system). "Chloe, it hurts!"
"I know, Bec, I'm sorry".
"You don't know!" she growled. "I don't recall you ever pushing a fucking watermelon out of your vagina, now do you? How about you try and squeeze a watermelon out of your nostril?"
They didn't know what to say.
(She felt bad for yelling at Chloe, but she didn't feel bad for yelling at Jesse. He had done this too her, essentially it was his fault she was in pain.)
Aubrey woke up to the sound of a very disorientated two and a half year old. Stumbling out of bed, she made her way down the hallway to find Molly curled in the big bed, rubbing her eyes and calling out for her parents.
"Aunt Bee?" her sleepy eyes widened in surprise.
"Hey baby", she said gently, sitting on the end of the bed. Molly climbed towards her, wrapping her arms around her neck and seeking comfort. "Did you have a good sleep?"
"Where's my mummy?"
"Mummy and Daddy are at the hospital with Aunt Chloe", she told her truthfully. "That's where we're gonna go after breakfast, too- because Mummy's gonna have the baby! You're gonna be a big sister soon!"
"Big sister?" Molly yawned and Aubrey nodded enthusiastically.
"Mummy's gonna have the baby".
"Baby in Mummy's tummy", Molly reminded her (she loved to put her hands on Beca's outstretched abdomen, and feeling her baby brother or sister kick). "I play?"
"Yeah, you can play with your baby brother or sister- but not straight away. Babies need lots of sleep".
"So does Mummy". Molly nodded emphatically. "Daddy says 'Mummy likes sleep' and Mummy sleeps and then Mummy's happy!"
(Aubrey would have sold her husband to have had a video camera at that moment.)
"Why the hell is the phone ringing now?" Beca grouched, throwing her head back onto the uncomfortable hospital pillow.
At eight centimetres dilated, she didn't want the phone to be ringing. She didn't want people to be near her. She was in pain and she was tired and her boobs hurt. Everywhere hurt and Jesse thought he was helping, but he wasn't.
(And she had screamed that at him multiple times, the poor guy. She felt bad, but once again it was his baby that she was pushing out of her vagina. And Jesse had a huge head which he had clearly passed onto his children.)
"It's Aubrey", Chloe reported, letting go of Beca's hand to answer.
(Beca let her, because Aubrey was in charge of her child and if Aubrey was calling there was a chance that there was something wrong.)
"Any news?" Aubrey didn't wait for Chloe to speak, as the phone connected.
"No, there's no baby", Chloe said tiredly.
(She and Jesse were exhausted; she couldn't even imagine how Beca was feeling.)
"Okay, well, Molly just woke up, we're getting dressed and then coming to the hospital, alright? How far along is she?"
"Not far enough", Beca grouched, letting go of Jesse's hand and crossing her arms grumpily over her chest.
"I'll see you when you get here", Chloe said, before setting the phone down.
"Jesse, I'm tired", Beca told him bluntly, gripping the railing of the bed with one hand (so hard her knuckles turned white). "I'm tired and in pain and what did I ever do to you? I swear to God, Swanson-" her words were cut off as another contraction hit her and she screwed her face up in pain, biting back a curse word. "This baby has your stupid big head".
"You said that about Molly".
(He regretted it the moment he said it, with the daggers shot his way.)
"She had a big head to. Your kids take after you and your stupid big head!" she smacked him in the chest and Jesse went to pull back, but she grabbed him. "Don't you dare leave me!"
"I am never going to leave you".
And by the look in his eye, she knew he meant it.
"Finally!" Fat Amy stood up from the hospital chair, as Michael (with Molly sitting cheerfully on his shoulders) and Aubrey came into view. "Donald said I wasn't allowed to go to the vending machine again until you guys got here".
"I come?" Molly wanted to know, as Michael swung her down.
(Molly knew that if her aunt went off to the vending machine, there was a chance of her getting a packet of lollies or a chocolate to share. And Fat Amy didn't make it a secret that she bribed her niece.)
"You just ate breakfast!" Aubrey protested.
(Aubrey and Michael had set wholemeal toast soldiers and a soft boiled egg in front of Molly for breakfast and the two and a half year old had demolished it, asking for a second piece of toast please- she had her mother's appetite. For a tiny girl, Beca ate like a horse.)
"Any news?" Michael wanted to know.
"No, we haven't heard anything yet", Tom shook his head and Aubrey sighed, falling onto a chair.
"How long has it been?" Benji wanted to know, and Donald glanced at the clock.
"Aubrey?" Lily looked at the blonde, and Aubrey shrugged.
"Molly arrived a little after midnight- eight hours? Maybe a bit longer?"
"Jesus", Stacie whistled. "Molly was six, imagine how many more death threats Jesse's had thrown at his head?"
(They had seen pregnant Beca in action, and had heard all the stories. She was a hormonal mess, in her own words.)
"Poor guy", Donald almost chuckled. "I heard a rumour that Beca's going drug free again".
(Stacie and Fat Amy visibly winced.)
"It's so weird that there's gonna be another baby", Cynthia Rose said, and Tom nodded.
"Molly slotted right in, so will this baby", Benji pointed out, as Molly used his leg as a slide (despite the fact that Molly's pink backpack held colouring books, pencils and a baby doll, she was more than happy playing with her aunts and uncles).
Michael glanced at Aubrey, the two exchanging words without speaking.
"Molly and this baby might not be the only ones, for much longer", she said quietly and Tom let go of Molly's hand in surprise.
"You're pregnant?" Fat Amy squawked, and Stacie's eyes grew so wide they almost fell out.
"You're knocked up? Aubrey Posen's knocked up?" she started to giggle.
"Gotta say, never saw that coming", Cynthia Rose said, and Tom chuckled.
"No, I'm not pregnant. We have decided to start trying, though".
"Yeah, it's time to give Molly and bub a little cousin". Michael smiled warmly at Molly who grinned and wrapped her arms around her uncle. "Besides, who wouldn't want a kid running around? It's like having a little mini best friend who worships you!"
Benji just started, unsure how to process the words he had just used to describe his goddaughter. "I don't even know what to say", he said finally- even Fat Amy was speechless.
"You're ten centimetres dilated", the doctor told her, and Beca propped herself up on her hands.
"Thank you Jesus freaking Christ. Let's get this show on the road, then! This kid is not staying in there any longer!" she forced a smile onto her face, and Chloe pushed back the sweaty strands of hair back. "Swanson, did you hear? No more babies. This is the last one".
"Yes dear", Jesse said loyally.
"But the baby isn't coming".
Everything that Jesse was feeling melted away, as he looked at the doctor in panic. "What do you mean?" he stuttered.
"We need to prepare you for a caesarean".
"What?" Beca's eyes grew huge. "No!"
"Mrs Swanson-"
"No, no, no. I want to push". She screwed up her face in pain as another wave of contraction washed through her and sucked back the scream that she wanted to let out. "I don't want a C-section". She shook her head firmly; eyes wide with panic, and Chloe took over.
"Beca, sweetie-"
"No, no, no!" tears gathered in her eyes and she shook her head wildly.
"Beca, we need to", Jesse said gently, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm gonna be there the whole time, alright? I'm not leaving you".
Beca Swanson was a strong woman. She had piercings (granted, she didn't wear them, but she had them). She had tattoos (that Jesse traced over when they were lying in their bed, making her shiver). She had endured a six hour, drug free labour with their first child. She could handle pain.
But the thought of a caesarean scared the hell out of her. She had heard of the complications. She didn't want that.
"No". She grabbed Jesse's shirt, pulling him closer towards her. "No, please".
(He had never seen that look on her face before and that look alone was enough to make him slap the doctor for scaring his wife. As long as he lived, he never wanted to see that look on his wife's face again.)
"Beca, come on", Jesse said, shaking her out of her thoughts. "It'll be okay. I'm gonna be right there, okay?"
She just nodded tearily, and the doctor nodded, preparing to wheel her bed out of the room.
"Good luck, Bec". Chloe pecked a kiss to her cheek, hugging her softly. "Go and bring my goddaughter or godson into the world, alright? I love you".
"Love you too", Beca choked out.
Chloe hugged Jesse quickly and he pecked a kiss to her cheek.
"Thanks for being there, Chlo".
"Wouldn't miss it", she assured him, as he left to scrub up for the operating theatre.
Jesse clutched Beca's hand and she squeezed it tight, closing her eyes and trying to focus on something else. It didn't hurt (she couldn't feel a thing) but if there was one thing she didn't want, it was her stomach sliced open.
"Are you okay?" he wanted to know, the look on her face making him panic.
She nodded wordlessly, and he squeezed her hand a little tighter.
He could hear a variety of different medical terms, not knowing what even one of them meant. But what he did understand was the first cry of a newborn baby.
"it's a boy!" the baby was held into the air, squirmy and covered in stuff that Jesse didn't even see, and the pair gasped.
"Oh my God!"
"Oh, Bec, he's gorgeous!" Jesse pressed his lips against hers, not tearing his eyes off their baby for a moment.
Wrapped in a blanket, the baby was handed to his father and Jesse bounced him gently, to soothe his wailing (it seemed their baby boy, just like his big sister, had inherited his parents' pipes).
"Hey beautiful boy", Jesse cooed, holding the baby in his arms. Beca, tears running down her face, reached out to touch her son, a grin spreading across her face.
"Hello! Hello Zachary!"
"Zachary Thomas Swanson", Jesse said, looking at her for confirmation. "He's so cute, Bec! We make beautiful babies".
"Last one", she murmured, and Jesse kissed her forehead gently.
"Last one. I love you".
"Love you", she mumbled, her voice barely audible.
"Beca?"
The next minute and a half was a blur. He heard panic on the doctor's voice, saw his baby boy plucked out of his hands and was escorted out of the room without an idea in the world what was going on.
"Beca!" he shrieked, as the door closed behind him.
"It's alright", a nurse assured him. "Your wife is going to be okay-"
"What the hell happened? She was fine!"
"She lost a lot of blood, the doctor just wants to stabilise her and for that to happen-"
"That's my wife in there! I need to be with my wife!"
(The doctor didn't understand what was at stake there. He promised to stand by Beca through thick and thin, and right now she was strapped to an operating table and he wasn't there. He was essentially breaking a promise to his wife, and that was not what he did.)
"Mr Swanson, your wife is going to be fine-"
"How can you say that?"
"Jesse!"
Seeing Chloe come down the hallway was too much for him, and his voice broke.
"Chloe-"
"Oh my God, what happened?"
"She- she-"
Chloe guided Jesse to a seat, helping him sit down and rubbing his back comfortingly. "Jesse, Beca's tough", she reminded him. "She's a fighter- she's not going to give up on you".
"She looked so pale!"
"Beca's almost see-through", the redhead joked (they had been out for dinner once, and Beca had asked Jesse to describe her. Jesse, with an ear to ear grin on his face, had blurted out 'awkward, pale and very, very small'. She had been outraged, but as the night wore on, she realised that what he said was the absolute truth). "Jesse, you're not going to lose her. She just gave birth to a beautiful baby-" she paused, realising she didn't even know if she had a niece or a nephew.
"Boy", Jesse supplied. "Zachary".
"She just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and has a gorgeous two and a half year old daughter. Beca's not going to give up on that". She rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing him gently. "She promised".
"Beca's sleeping", a nurse told him, coming out of the room. "Would you like to properly meet your son?"
Jesse nodded and Chloe smiled at him, giving him a slight push. "Go and meet your baby boy".
Jesse followed the nurse, to where his son was in the nursery.
"Seven pound, three ounce, fifty centimetre long Zachary Thomas Swanson". Jesse smiled, as the nurse placed his son in his arms. "Hey there baby boy… you're so beautiful. Just like your mummy and your big sister. I love you so much, Zac, Daddy loves you so much".
"He's gorgeous", Chloe said in a whisper and Jesse refrained himself from jumping with the newborn in his arms (he hadn't even realised she followed him). "He looks just like you".
"Beca got her mini Jesse", Jesse almost chuckled. "Chlo-"
"Hey, she's gonna be okay". Chloe squeezed his shoulder gently, before dropping a kiss to Zachary's forehead. "Hey there baby boy. You're so lucky, being a part of this family. We love you so, so much already".
"Chloe!" Aubrey jumped up and Molly grinned.
"Aunt Chloe!"
"Hey sweetie!" Chloe wrapped her arms around Molly, kneeling down to properly embrace her goddaughter.
"So, what happened? Boy or girl? Or was it twins like Donald thought?" Fat Amy demanded, and Chloe plopped down in a chair.
(Donald would have never said it to Beca, but she had started to show earlier in her pregnancy with that baby than with Molly.)
"It's a boy", she said finally, and that was all that she said.
And that was what scared them the most. If Chloe was keeping quiet, then there was something she was holding back.
She was so pale. The way she was laying on the bed made her seem even tinier than usual, and that scared the hell out of Jesse. Not even the beautiful baby boy in his arms could hold his attention- he was focused on his wife and nothing else.
"Come on Bec", he whispered to her sleeping form. "Come on, I can't lose you".
"Hey there Hilary Swank from Million Dollar Baby", Jesse said with a grin; as Beca's eyes fluttered open. "Want to meet your son?"
"Son?" she said blearily, her eyes adjusting to the light and her head fuzzy.
"Zachary Thomas, time to meet your mummy". Standing up; he moved closer to the bed, the baby in his arms. Zachary was nestled against his chest and at the sight of the newborn, Beca felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Oh my God, he's beautiful".
"We make beautiful babies", he agreed with a grin, his lips meeting hers. "I was so scared, Bec, I almost lost you. You lost so much blood- you're still so pale-"
(He was rambling, and sounded more like her than himself.)
"But you didn't". She reached out, taking her son from his father's arms with her own shaking limbs and cradling him gently. "Hey there baby boy".
(The fear she saw on Jesse's face was like nothing she'd ever seen before. For as long as she lived, she never wanted to see that look on his face again. He had almost lost her, and she had almost lost him. Neither of them was ever going to be put in that situation ever again.)
"Does everyone know?"
"I don't know how much Chloe's told them, so I'm going to say yes". He shrugged, hopping up onto the bed beside the mother son pair (he didn't care that he was half hanging off the bed, he wanted to be with his family). "If I go and tell them, are you going to be okay?"
She nodded uncertainly. "But don't go bringing them all in".
(She was paler than Jesse had ever seen her, and he could tell just by looking at her that she wasn't up to seeing their entire family.)
"Molly?" he questioned and Beca nodded.
"Just Molly".
Jesse felt his heart swell as he stood in the hallway, looking into the waiting room. Their entire aca pella family were sitting there, waiting to hear of the arrival of their newest member. He knew that both his parents and Beca's were on their way (because Chloe had called them), but at that moment all that mattered was their family being there.
"Hey", he called, and Fat Amy leapt up.
"Jesse!" she all but bellowed.
"Daddy!" Molly called excitedly from where she was bouncing on Stacie's lap. "Daddy!"
"Hey there big sister", he said brightly, holding out his arms. She flew towards him, pigtails bouncing, and he scooped her up, holding her a little tighter than usual, breathing in the smell of baby shampoo that lingered in her curls. "Guess what?"
"What?" she grinned at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I miss you! I sleep at Aunt Bee's and we have soldiers for breakfast!"
"Oh, I missed you too! Guess what, Molls? Mummy had the baby".
"Baby?"
"Yeah, Mummy had the baby! It's a little boy; you've got a little brother".
Molly's grin grew even wider, and she squeezed her father tight. "Brother? I a big sister?"
"You're a big sister", he confirmed, laughing at her cuteness (as Cynthia Rose and Donald cooed at her innocence).
"Name?" Aubrey coughed. "Chloe didn't tell us a fu- freaking thing".
(Despite Beca's continuous use of profanities, she had told them in no uncertain terms that she would murder them if they were to swear around her daughter".
"Zachary Thomas Swanson", Jesse reported, shifting Molly to his hip and rubbing her back. "He's beautiful".
"Awww", Stacie cooed- but she knew there was something he wasn't telling her. "How's Beca?"
"Yeah, how's Beca?" Benji wanted to know, and Jesse swallowed. "Is she okay?"
"It was tough", he admitted. "Chloe-"
The redhead shrugged. "Wasn't my place to say, Jess, I wasn't sure on details".
"She went drug free again, but he wasn't coming and started to go into distress. His heart rate dropped dramatically and she needed an emergency C-section", he said, taking a seat and holding Molly with shaking arms. "She lost a lot of blood-"
"Oh my God!" Stacie's eyes filled with tears, and Aubrey reached out to squeeze Jesse's hand. Donald wrapped his arm a little tighter around Lily and Chloe gulped, willing herself not to cry (because she had cried hard enough waiting for the little boy to come into the world).
"Mummy 'kay?" Molly said in concern.
"Yeah baby, Mummy's okay. Mummy's a tough cookie".
"She's okay?" Fat Amy's bottom lip quivered with emotion, and Jesse nodded, pulling out his phone.
"Want to see a picture of your nephew?"
They crowded around, cooing at the little boy.
"He's so cute!"
"He's beautiful!"
"Oh my God, congratulations!"
"God, you two make good looking kids".
"Can we meet him?" Lily whispered.
Jesse looked around, his heart sinking at the reaction he knew he was going to get. "Not right now", he said softly. "Beca knows you're all here and loves you insanely for it, but she's really not up for it. Later today?"
Aubrey nodded understandingly, squeezing Jesse's shoulder. "You tell earspike we'll be waiting for the all clear".
"You're going to wait here?"
"Of course we are!" Cynthia Rose said in surprise (she didn't even know why Jesse found it necessary to ask). "He's beautiful, congratulations".
"Yeah, send Beca our love".
"Tell Shawshank to hurry the hell up and perk up because we want to meet our godson!"
"Nephew".
"Hey, you got godfather last time, why don't I get a chance?"
"You've gotta be a man to be a godfather".
"It's just a title".
Molly laughed, waving and blowing kisses to her aunts and uncles. "Bye!"
"Molly, give your baby brother a kiss for Aunt Stacie", Stacie called.
"I will!" Molly nodded enthusiastically.
"That my baby?" Molly motioned to the bundle in her mother's arms, before struggling to climb up beside her. Jesse hoisted her onto the bed before sitting down beside her, looking in wonder at their new family of four.
"This is our baby", Beca said softly. "This is Zachary".
"Hi Zacky", Molly grinned. "I hold him? Please?"
"What do you think, Molly?" Beca wanted to know.
"Love him", she said quietly. "Mummy, I stay at Aunt Bee's".
"I know, did you have fun?" she handed the baby to Jesse, who cradled him gently and motioned for Molly to move over.
"Yeah… I miss you, Mummy".
"I missed you too". Beca smiled at her daughter, as Jesse helped her to support the newest Swanson.
"What do you think, Molly?"
"He small".
"He is small; he's very small, isn't he?" Jesse agreed. "You know what? You were even smaller!"
"No", she giggled.
Beca nodded in confirmation. "You were, Molls".
She bent down, smacking a soft kiss to her brother's forehead, and Jesse's heart swelled in his chest.
"Love him, Mummy". Molly looked at her mother with Jesse's dark eyes and Beca wanted to melt into a puddle on the bed.
Because she loved them too. She loved them so much it hurt.