DAY 19 - ONE LAST SONG BEFORE I GO

Prompt from FanFiction User 22-Ti: It's finally time for Beca to retire and she brings the Bellas back for "one more song."

Beca stood backstage waiting to be announced. She felt a soft, warm hand intertwine their fingers with hers and immediately knew, without looking, that Chloe was standing by her side. No surprise since she had been by her side for the past 35 years; 7 as her best friend, 3 as her girlfriend, and 25 as her wife.

"You're going to be great," Chloe whispered to Beca.

A shiver ran down Beca's spine; something that happened every time Chloe whispered anything to her. Every. Single. Time.

"I know," Beca said, turning to look at Beca. "I always do great when you're by my side."

"You're still such a cheeseball," Chloe said, blushing slightly. "One of the many reasons I love you."

"I love you, too," Beca said. "Are the Bellas ready?"

"You know them," Chloe said with a chuckle. "They're always ready."

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice came over the speakers. "Tonight only we have a very special evening for you. Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer, Beca Mitchell, will be performing for the last time right here on this stage."

The audience booed and several people yelled: "We love you, Beca."

Beca smiled at Chloe as the announcer continued.

"I'm glad I wore the waterproof mascara," Beca joked, causing Chloe to laugh.

"After a lustrous 28-year career, Beca is retiring," the announcer said. "So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I present to you, Beca Mitchell."

Beca put a smile on her face and went running onto the stage, waving and going right into her first song; the song that many say started it all for her.

Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race, a prettier face
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV
But today the way I play the game is not the same
No way
I think I'm gonna get me some happy

Chloe stood off to the side, watching as Beca worked the crowd as only she could. Her mind drifted back to the first time Beca sang this song.

Beca had finished the last line of the song and the audience went wild. When Beca turned toward the Bellas she ran straight into Chloe's open arms. They held onto each other as the rest of the Bellas joined in to hug them.

Chloe pulled back wiping the tears from her eyes. Beca started to get pulled in every direction. Chloe lost her in the crowd and was walking to meet Chicago as they had arranged earlier. As Chloe walked, she kept her head down, wondering if Beca was okay. It had to be overwhelming for her and she had to admit she was a little worried.

Chloe pulled up short when someone grabbed her arms to stop her. Chloe was surprised to look up and see Beca standing in front of her with tears running down her cheeks.

"Becs?" Chloe asked. "Are you okay?'

"Don't do it," Beca choked out.

"Do what?

"Don't go to him," Beca said. "Please? I'm begging you."

Chloe looked at Beca. "I don't understand. What's going on, Beca?"

Beca let go of Chloe's arms and wiped her eyes. She looked around and avoided meeting Chloe's eyes.

"Beca?"

"I love you!"

Chloe swallowed as tears stung her eyes. There they were. The three words she never thought she'd hear Beca say to her.

"I'm in love with you," Beca said, looking Chloe in the eye now. "I have been for a while and the thought of you going to be with someone else is killing me. If you have even an ounce of feelings for me, please give me a chance to prove that I can be what you need. Hopefully, be what you want."

Chloe didn't respond with words; she just grabbed Beca's cheeks and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

Chloe pulled back from the kiss. "I'm in love with you, too."

Beca smiled and pulled Chloe back in for another kiss.

They didn't know it at the time, but the Bellas were all looking on with smiles on their faces before quietly walking away to give them some privacy. To this day, she can't believe they managed to keep Fat Amy from yelling out something inappropriate.

Chloe wiped at a tear. She had been so lost in her memory that she didn't notice that Beca was already singing the song that helped them win the Worlds. Emily had written the song and Beca had produced it; it was actually the first song Beca produced.

Chloe suddenly felt someone standing next to her. She smiled at Emily as Emily put an arm around Chloe's shoulders.

"This is the song that put me on the map," Emily said. "I'm glad you and Beca convinced me to finish school and not accept the first offer that came my way."

"You've become quite the entertainer yourself since you graduated," Chloe said. "Oh, my gosh, what was it? Twenty-eight years ago? Are we really that old?"

"I'm the baby, remember?" Emily said with a cheeky grin. "It's been longer for you."

"Oh, hush," Chloe said with a laugh.

Emily laughed as well. She looked back to the stage and watched Beca for a moment. "She hasn't lost any of her energy, has she?"

"No, she hasn't," Chloe said with a smile.

"Mom?" Chloe turned to see her oldest daughter, Sophie, standing behind her.

"Everything okay, Soph?"

"Yeah," Sophie said. "I just wanted to watch Mama with you."

"Where's Kelsey?"

"She fell asleep," Sophie said. "Matt's with her and will bring her out later."

Chloe pulled Sophie to her and the look-alike mother and daughter had identical smiles on their faces and they watched Beca jumping around the stage.

Chloe looked down at Sophie and couldn't help but lose herself in the memory of finding out she was pregnant with her oldest child. She and Beca had only been married a year when they decided to start trying to conceive using IVF.

"You're sure about this, aren't you, Beca?" Chloe had asked an ashen-faced Beca. "You did say you wanted to have kids."

"It's a little late to be asking me that, don't you think?" Beca squeaked out. She cleared her throat and took a breath; she let out slowly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I do want to have kids with you, Chlo. I really do. I'm just scared shitless right now."

Chloe took Beca's hand in hers. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared, too. But, if I'm pregnant, this child will be so loved because we love each other so much and we will pass that love on."

"That was so-"

"Heartfelt?"

"Cheesy," Beca said with a grin.

"Says the biggest cheeseball in the world," Chloe shot back with a laugh.

"Way to ruin my rep, babe," Beca said. "Okay; freakout over. I'm ready. Let's find out if we're pregnant."

"Okay, here goes," Chloe said and reached for the pregnancy test.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked down. Tears sprang to her eyes immediately when she saw the results.

"I'm pregnant," Chloe said.

Beca whooped and grabbed Chloe to spin her around.

"Mom? Mom?"

Chloe came out of her reminiscing to find Dylan standing next to her, holding 2-year-old Dylan, Jr.

"Sorry, I was lost in my memories."

"It's okay," Dylan said. "I wanted to watch with the rest of you."

Chloe looked around and saw, not only her and Beca's family watching Beca perform, but all the Bellas with their families as well. There was hardly enough room for them all.

Beca thanked the crowd and the lights were lowered. Chloe knew what was coming next and moved to stand with her Bella sisters. She grabbed Aubrey's hand on one side and Ashley's hand on the other. Aubrey gave her a quizzical look and Chloe gave her a sad smile.

"As many of you know, I started singing in college with the Barden Bellas," Beca said. "Believe it or not that was thirty-five years ago. These girls became my family. Sadly, a few years ago we lost a much loved and highly respected member of our family. Cynthia Rose Adams joined the Air Force and was killed on a mission in the Middle East on June 15, 2022."

Beca paused and wiped a tear that ran down her cheek. She looked over to the side to see Chloe and the rest of the girls with tears in their eyes.

"I'd like to dedicate this next song to my Bella sister, Cynthia Rose, who we lovingly called CR," Beca finished.

It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again

Why'd you have to leave so soon, yeah?
Why'd you have to go?
Why'd you have to leave me when I needed you the most?
'Cause I don't know really how to tell you without feeling much worse
I know you're in a better place but it's always gonna hurt

Aubrey squeezed Chloe's hand as she turned to pull her into a hug. The rest of the Bellas joined the hug and they held each other until Beca finished the song. They pulled out of the hug, wiping their eyes.

Chloe could hear the catch in Beca's voice as she finished the song. Chloe caught her eye and smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"We love you CR!" Beca yelled into the mic as she looked toward the heavens.

The crowd cheered and many were wiping their eyes as well.

"It's almost time for us," Aubrey said, wiping her tears from her face.

"Why didn't you warn us that Beca was going to do that?" Fat Amy asked, wiping her tears. "Now I don't have time to fix my face."

The rest of the girls chuckled as they also wiped their tears.

"Being able to be a part of this is actually quite exciting," Flo said, sniffling.

"Well, we've been there from the beginning," Stacie said. "It's only fitting that we are here for the end."

"It's sad, but exciting at the same time," Jessica said.

Beca caught Chloe's eye again and winked at her as she waited for the crowd to settle down a bit. Once it was quiet enough to speak, Beca put the mic to her mouth and looked out over the audience.

"There is a reason why I chose to retire during the Christmas holiday season," Beca said. "It was twenty-eight years ago today that I signed my first recording contract with DJ Khaled right here on this stage." More cheers from the crowd caused Beca to pause. "The first song I sang tonight was the first song I sang solo after signing that contract. Well, I sang it almost solo. I couldn't not bring my family onstage to help me sing then and I can't leave them out of my final performance tonight. So, please put your hands together for the 2012-2014 Collegiate Acapella Champions and 2015 World Acapella Champions, the Barden Bellas!"

The crowd went wild; their cheers deafening in the standing room only Coliseum. Chloe led the Bellas onto the stage, stopping in front of Beca and giving her a quick kiss.

The Bellas lined up across the stage, with Beca and Chloe in the center. They had a great time singing some traditional Christmas songs. After finishing an acapella rendition of "Little Drummer Boy," Beca whispered for Chloe to get the kids and bring them out.

Beca had been on stage for over two hours and she knew the performance was coming to an end.

"Thank you," Beca said. "I want to thank all of you for your love and support over the years." Chloe came walking back onstage carrying their four-month-old granddaughter, Kelsey.

"You all know my wife, Chloe Mitchell." Beca kissed Chloe on the cheek as everyone cheered. "And, this," Beca said as she took Kelsey from Chloe is our newest grandchild, Kelsey. She's four-months-old and her mom is our oldest daughter Sophie."

Chloe grabbed Sophie's hand and brought her forward. "This is Sophie and her husband, Matt." The young couple waves and Beca handed Kelsey to Sophie. She then turned and took Dylan, Jr, from Dylan.

"And this handsome devil is our son Dylan's son, Dylan, Jr, or DJ as we like to call him. He's two. Wave to the nice people, DJ." DJ hid his face in Beca's neck causing her to laugh. "He's a little shy. These people right here, Chloe, Sophie, Kelsey, Dylan, and DJ are the reason I am ready to retire. I want to spend time with my kids and grandkids not to mention my super hot wife."

Chloe blushed as she kissed Beca and took DJ from her. Beca walked over to the side of the stage. "I've shown you only a small portion of my and Chloe's family. These are the rest of them." Beca waved at the group still standing in the wings. "Go over to your moms and grandmothers."

The group made their way to their moms and Beca walked back over to Chloe. She put an arm around Chloe's waist.

"These are our Bella sisters' families," Beca said. She looked at the group onstage and then to Chloe. "This is our family."

Chloe smiled and nodded as the crowd cheered and the group on stage stood, smiling; some the children were cheering as well.

Beca was now standing in the center of the stage again. "I'd like to sing one last song before I go. It's a song the Bellas know well and I hope they'll step forward and join me in singing it." She looked back to the rather large group on stage, and said, "The rest of you guys stay where you are."

The Bellas came forward and made a semi-circle around Beca.

"Jack, can you bring the table out, please?" Beca asked.

A guy came running onto the stage, carrying a small table with a bag sitting in the middle of it.

"Thanks, Jack," Beca said as she handed the mic to Chloe.

Chloe took the mic and looked at Beca; Beca didn't tell her about this part of her performance.

Beca reached for the bag and looked inside. She turned to Chloe and smiled as she pulled out a yellow cup. Chloe's mouth dropped open as she realized what Beca was going to do.

Beca put the cup on the table, upside down. She winked at Chloe as Chloe held the mic up close to her mouth.

Beca clapped and tapped the cup on the table. The Bellas were all smiles as Beca started to sing.

I got my ticket for the long way 'round
Two bottle 'a whiskey for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leaving tomorrow, wha-do-ya say?

The Bellas joined in, harmonizing with Beca.

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

I've got my ticket for the long way 'round
The one with the prettiest of views
It's got mountains, it's got rivers, it's got sights to give you shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Beca slammed the cup down the as soon as the last note was sung. The Bellas joined in another group hug as the crowd went wild again.

Once done, the Bellas gathered their families and started to leave the stage. Beca kept hold of Chloe's hand and looked out at the audience.

"This has been a wild ride," Beca said. "Lots of ups and downs, but I wouldn't have changed any part of it for the world. Thank you to my family for always being there for me, my producers for believing in me, everyone at the studio for all their hard work to make me look good. But a very special thank you to you, the fans. You've made me who I am and you all will forever be in my heart."

Beca held it together and managed to get the last word out before she let the tears fall. Chloe pulled her to her and held her. She wiped Beca's cheeks and kissed her.

"Thank you," Beca whispered.

"I love you," Chloe said.

"I love you, too," Beca said and kissed Chloe again. She turned toward the audience and bowed slightly as she waved to them. "Merry Christmas everybody!"

Many voices rang out with Merry Christmas as Beca led Chloe offstage.

The following songs were used in this fic:

Freedom '90 by Anna Kendrick and the PP3 Bellas Cast
See You Again by Charlie Puth
Cups/When I'm Gone by Anna Kendrick