*I know, boy do I know. I hate that it has taken me so long to update! I just made a cross country move two weeks ago though, and the preparation, time with friends and family, and settling in took up the majority of my free time. I'm so glad to be back though and am ready to continue on with the story. Thank y'all for sticking with me on this. Your reviews provide so much encouragement and it makes me want to give my best work. So for those reviewing, I thank you, it's such a treat to hear your thoughts.

Bekah-Thanks for your endless support.


Bill Swanson was a creature of habit. Every morning, without fail, he rose at 5:30am and headed into the kitchen for his morning cup of coffee, the news, and the paper. Regardless of where he was, whether at home or on vacation, routine was routine. And after twenty some years of waking at the same time every day, he didn't even need an alarm, he woke right on time every day.

Today was no different. Opening his eyes, Bill got up out of the bed and made his way into the bathroom. After preparing for the day, he tied his robe and put on his slippers before making his way down the stairs. Julie, as usual, wasn't even phased in the slightest, and slept right through it.

At 5:30 in the morning, Bill certainly wasn't expecting to see anyone, so when he found Alex on the couch playing with her ipad, in the complete dark, he was completely startled.

"Hi Pop!"

"Shit!" He gasped, as his hand flew to his chest. "Alex, sweetheart, what are you doing up right now?!"

Alex sat on the couch, fully dressed, with her backpack on. "You said a bad word, and I'm waiting to go to school!" She announced, with the excitement of any young child on their first day of school.

"I have an idea." Bill said as he bent down to get on her level. "I'll get started on breakfast, why don't you go wake up Mommy and Daddy."

Alex shrugged. "Okay Pop. Oh, I don't need breakfast though!" As she ran off to head upstairs, Bill turned toward the kitchen to find a carton of organic chocolate milk, a case of oreos, and powdered donuts sitting out on the table, crumbs everywhere.

Alex stood at her parents closed door and knocked. As she stood there, she listened for any type of noise, but heard nothing. She decided to knock once more, and again she was met with silence. Figuring twice was enough knocking, she pulled down on the handle and pushed the door open slowly.

The master bedroom was blanketed in darkness. On the giant, king sized bed, Alex could see Beca on the right side, fast asleep. Jesse's head rested against her shoulder, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. Being the considerate person that she was, Alex decided against waking her parents and instead stood, staring and waiting for them to wake up on their own.

After patiently waiting for several minutes, Alex smiled when Beca finally shifted in her sleep, moving against Jesse. Subconsciously, Jesse tightened his arms around Beca before their bodies relaxed once again.

But even in her sleep, Beca could feel herself being watched. Something was not right. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter and open. The very first thing she saw was Alex's face, two inches from her's, staring at her in the dark.

Beca screamed, loudly, as she jumped up in bed, startled and terrified. Not expecting her mother to wake up screaming, Alex began to scream as well. Jesse's eyes shot open at the sound of so much screaming and bolted upright. Beca's hand was clutching her chest as she tried to regain her breath. Alex stood next to her, crying. Seconds later, Julie and Bill came running in.

"What's wrong?!" Julie yelled, thinking someone was being murdered in their sleep by the sound of all the screaming.

Jesse put his head in his hands. His entire family was in his bedroom before the sun even rose, and as he had just been in the middle of an intense dream in which Beca got over her fear of having sex while guests were in the house and was riding him hard and fast, he had to pull the covers up over himself to hide his throbbing erection. Though given the fact that his daughter and parents were in the room, he deflated relatively quickly. Any hopes of having sex of any kind with Beca was now a distant dream.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wasn't expecting the 5:30am wake up call. Somebody" Beca said, turning to face Jesse. "Though I wont say who, thought it would be a great idea to watch Poltergeist before bed the other night. Waking up to my daughter's face mere inches from mine was just slightly terrifying." She explained as she lifted Alex onto the bed and tried to console her.

"Wow Jess, that's some tent ya got pitched there." Julie acknowledged causing Beca to try and stifle her laughter. Jesse's face turned eight shades of red as he begged to be struck dead right then and there.

"What can I say, that's my boy. We Swanson men got it and know how to work it. Ain't that right son?" Bill chimed in. Jesse had never felt more horrified in his life.

Bill and Julie had always been open with Jesse and Amanda about sex from the beginning. They used the proper terms for their anatomy, and gave the kids many age appropriate talks throughout the years. Jesse thought back to being a thirteen year old boy and hearing his mother throw around words like 'ejaculation' and 'masturbation' like it was nothing. And he could still hear her voice drilling into his head the importance of not being selfish.

"Men and women are different when it comes to sex." Julie began to explain.

"Mom, please, please stop. I am literally begging you." He would plead as they were in the car, aimlessly driving around, Jesse literally had nowhere to go. It was, no doubt, all a part of his mother's master plan.

"Jesse, sit up straight and listen to me. I know it's embarrassing, but I will not have you growing up uninformed or getting unrealistic expectations from the internet. Now listen, a man, is like a microwave, you press a few buttons and he's ready to go. Think of a woman as an oven. She needs time to heat up. Don't be expecting to just dive in becuase you're all set and ready to go."

Jesse sighed heavily as he stared out the window.

"Are you listening to me?" Julie asked as she momentarily took her eyes off of the road to glance over at him.

"Girls need time to warm up. Got it." He repeated, letting her know he was taking in what she was saying.

"You be gentle with her, she is not some toy at your disposal. You check in with her, make sure she's doing okay, you ask anytime you want to do something. If she says no, that's it, end of discussion. No means no. If she's had too much to drink and can't tell you yes or no? That means no. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. One last thing. Take your time. Sex is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Touch, kiss, caress, make sure she is enjoying herself just as much as you are. Sex is not just for you, she needs to get something out of it too."

After she was silent for a few beats, Jesse turned and looked at her. "Please tell me we're done?" He questioned hopefully.

Julie glanced over at him. "For now at least."

As a result of the many conversations his parents threw upon him, by the time Jesse lost his virginity at seventeen, he had a pretty good idea of what he was doing. And though he was grateful to his parents for their many talks, he really didn't want to be having any type of sexual conversation with his parents and daughter in his bedroom at 5:30 in the morning. To be honest, he really just wanted to crawl under the covers and hide from embarrassment. And then, to add insult to injury, Alex piped up.

"A tent? Where? I don't see one. Are we going camping?" Alex questioned as she looked around the room for the aforementioned tent her grandmother had mentioned.

Beca chuckled. "No baby, we're not going camping. Listen, I'm sorry I scared you. But what are you doing up this early?" Beca asked as she rubbed her back.

"It's the first day of school." Alex answered, sniffling.

"Sweetheart, school doesn't start for another three and a half hours." Jesse informed her as he rubbed his eyes."

Finally getting a chance to take a good hard look at Alex, Beca couldn't help but smile.

Beca should have known that Alex would be excited about school. She had insisted that they go to the mall and pick a few new outfits to choose from for the first day. After much deliberation and a full fashion show, complete with accessories, Beca and Alex finally decided on her outfit for the first day of preschool. A flowing magenta dress with blue and yellow flowers around the neckline, and a pair of white leggings to go underneath. It certainly wasn't an outfit Beca would have chosen for herself, but Alex adored vibrant, bold colors. Beca tried her best to let Alex be her own person, even if that meant wearing pink.

However, laying in bed, Beca now realized that Alex had not put on the outfit they had picked out the week before. Beca looked her up and down, shaking her head.

Alex wore a pair of neon green tights with white polka dots, a plum purple corduroy dress, and a brick red, long sleeved shirt. Her black tap shoes completed the outfit.

Looking up at her daughter's face, Beca saw the dozens of hair clips, and what appeared to be a sticky blue substance in her hair. Her face was covered in chocolate.

"Baby," Beca sighed. "Why aren't you wearing the outfit we picked out last night? And what is in your hair?"

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "I changed my mind, I don't want to wear that outfit. And it's toothpaste."

Beca knew they were in for an eventful morning. It was nearly twelve thirty in the morning when she finally walked through the door, and close to one o'clock by the time she collapsed in bed, completely exhausted. Alex was going to need a bath, breakfast needed to be made, and the BMW was overdue for an oil change.

Beca told Alex a bath was in order, and she was ready to get out of bed, when Jesse placed his hand on her back.

"Hey, you had a long day yesterday. Why don't you sleep in for a few more hours, I'll take care of getting Alex ready." He offered, knowing he needed to take his mind off of things completely. Telling Alex he would help her in just a minute, he headed into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face.

"And this is life with just one child, just you wait..." He mumbled to himself as his reflection stared back at him.

Beca hadn't had her eyes closed for longer than five minutes when her phone started buzzing with text messages.

Letting out an audible groan, she opened one eye and blindly swatted for her cell phone on the bed side table.

"If this is Mark telling me I have to come back in, I am going to lose my shit." Beca grumbled. In Mark Lazazzero's world, every minor thing was an emergency and required Beca to rush into his office frantic and out of breath. One morning, Beca, sick of running up and down hallways multiple times a day, finally had to sit down with Mark and explain to him what an emergency actually was.

"Beyonce' being blocked out of the studio? That's an emergency, you call me. Harry Styles needing Fiji water instead of Ice Mountain? Not an emergency, call Damien."

Picking up her cell phone, half asleep, Beca saw the message from Amy.

"Shawshank, what positions did you and hottie with a body use when you were pregnant with little butt?"

"Amy, seriously?! I am not about to tell you how Jesse and I had sex when I was pregnant! Especially not at five thirty in the morning." Beca complained to herself.

Jesse came out of the bathroom right as the words escaped her mouth. He looked over at her and groaned.

"Please, please for the love of all things holy do not mention sex right now. You have no idea how intensely wound up I am and how much I need you right now."

Beca smiled, feeling guilty for not giving into him. "I'm sorry, stopping, right now. Try and focus on that time I was pregnant and accidentally threw up all over you."

Jesse paused momentarily and scrunched up his face in disgust. "Oh...oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder."

Beca chuckled and settled back into the covers.

As long as she lived, Beca swore she would never understand her friend's needs to discuss their sex lives with each other. She was just about to text Amy back and go tell her to 'Google it' like everyone else when another text message came in from Ashley.

"Please help me I'm dying."

Beca's eyes went wide for a second. Before she had any time to react, another text message flew in.

"Either that or I'm pregnant. I can't really tell the difference anymore. My head has been stuck in this toilet bowl for the past four hours now. I'm vomiting, sweating profusely, and I just want to cry."

Beca sat up and sighed as she plugged in Amy and Ashley's numbers for a three way call.

"I hate both of you so very much right now." Beca informed them when both girls picked up.

"I know, I know it's early, I'm sorry." Ashley apologized, her voice scratchy and pained. Amy was a whole lot less apologetic.

"Well I'm not! I have needs! And this belly is getting in the way of those needs. I've tried multiple different positions-"

"Please spare us the details, I'm already puking my guts out." Ashley whined.

"My man may not be the most attractive, but at least he's a rock star in the sack." Amy defended.

"And mine isn't? You certainly don't hear me complaining about a lack of sex. Though I could be having a lot more if I wasn't spewing vomit every twenty minutes and dealing with sore breasts that feel like somebody pounded them with a meat tenderizer."

Amy sighed. "Just wait until he goes to suck them and ends up with a mouth full of milk. Poor boy couldn't wash his mouth out fast enough."

"Okay, enough. Ya know, as the first one out of you weirdo's to get knocked up, I had to navigate through my entire pregnancy with no one to look to for advice, and I managed just fine. Amy, one word, cowgirl. If that doesn't work, doggy style. Ashley tell Mike to run out and get you some ginger ale and saltines. Any other questions, call Aubrey! I am no longer the only one who has been through this before. Goodnight!"

Beca hung up the phone and immediately set it to silent. She officially had the weirdest friends and didn't need to hear about anybody else's sex life for the rest of the day.


Jesse stood in the doorway of Alex's bathroom and stared, eyes wide.

He didn't even know where to begin in terms of cleaning up. Alex's pajamas had been thrown on the bathroom floor, though the hamper was less than five feet away. There had to be at least a half a tube of sparkly blue toothpaste strewn across the counter top. All of her drawers were opened wide, and there were hair ties, clips, and bows of all colors on the floor, along with a purple liquid. Seeing the empty bottle of mouthwash, he connected the pieces. Glancing back over at the sink, he found her hairbrush lying in the middle of the sink with the water still running.

Jesse Swanson was speechless.

Turning around to look at Alex, he tried to figure out how someone so small could make such a massive mess.

"Alex?" He questioned.

"Yeah Daddy?" She answered sweetly.

"Why is there mouthwash all over the floor?" He had so many questions, but this seemed like a good place to start.

"Oh, it's okay. I just dropped my toothbrush in the toilet on accident, so I put it in my bottle of mouthwash. But then I couldn't get it out, 'cause my hand is too big. So I had to dump it out. Don't worry, I got the brush out." Alex explained, not even batting an eyelash.

Jesse looked down at her and sighed. Alex smiled brightly up at him.

"Daddy, don't be sad that I can take care of myself and don't need your help anymore. I can't drive a car yet, so, I still need you for that." Alex said as she wrapped her arms around Jesse's legs.

He couldn't help but laugh. If he didn't laugh, he was going to cry.


The Learning Station Child Development Center in Fairfield, Connecticut was a welcoming yet massive facility. In fact, it just happened to be Fairfield's largest preschool. With sixteen classrooms serving children ages six weeks through five years, the school accomodated close to two hundred children. Though it may have been a larger school, Jesse and Beca both were highly impressed with the curriculum, the level of security, and the individual attention each child received. Beca and Jesse would be emailed four developmental observations of Alex each month, they were sent home a daily report of Alex's day, and they also would have weekly phone conferences with the teacher to discuss Alex's progress and learning goals. Not to mention, both the director and the assistant director seemed to know each family by name. It was a very warm and inviting place, and Beca and Jesse immediately felt at ease.

"Come on Mommy, let's go!" Alex insisted as she pulled Beca by the hand. As much as she wanted to, Alex couldn't open the door. A key card issued to each family was needed to unlock the door and enter the building.

Beca pulled the plastic card from out of her wallet, and slid it through the electronic scanner. The light changed from red to green and a click was heard. It was then that Jesse opened the door and the three of them walked in.

"Good morning Jesse, Good morning Beca!" Michelle, the center director warmly greeted from her desk. She got up out of her chair and came around to shake their hands and welcome their family. Bending down to Alex's level, she smiled brightly.

"Hi Alex, do you remember me?" Michelle asked, knowing it had been about three weeks since she had met her. Alex nodded her head in response.

"Miss. Michelle." She spoke, smiling shyly.

"That's right. We are so excited to have you here with us today for your first day. Miss. Barb and Miss. Kelsey have a ton of fun things planned for you, I'm sure you will have a great day."

Alex smiled and said thank you before looking up to Beca and Jesse. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road already!" Alex insisted, causing the three adults around her to laugh.

They thanked Michelle and began to make their way down the hall to Alex's classroom, the Magical Monkey's.

Beca couldn't understand why she was feeling so emotional as she and Jesse walked Alex down the hall, it wasn't a feeling she was expecting. She kept reminding herself that it was only preschool and it was only three days a week. It wasn't like Alex was heading off to college, it was a six hour preschool program.

But still, her stomach was in knots. How was it they were here already? How had four years flown by so quickly? It seemed like just yesterday Beca had been nine months pregnant and complaining about back pain and swollen ankles. And yet, somehow, in the midst of middle of the night feedings, endless diaper changes, six thousand viewings of Frozen, stomach viruses, and potty training, Alex grew up. No longer was she dependent on Beca for her every need. Alex could walk, talk, feed herself, dress herself, go to the bathroom by herself, and entertain herself. Well, at least on most days. Today had proved to be a bit different.

Until she became a mother, and held Alexandra in her arms that very first time, Beca never knew it was possible to love someone so much. Suddenly everything seemed to be happening at lightning speed, and she wanted nothing more than to freeze time for just a minute. Gone was the baby who for weeks would only sleep curled up against Beca's chest. Gone was the infant who clapped and babbled any time music was played around her. Gone was the toddler who could play hide and seek for hours and who squealed with delight any time she found Beca or Jesse. Here in the moment was the beautiful, spunky, happy preschooler who saw nothing wrong with growing up and moving on to bigger and better things. Suddenly it felt as if Beca was going to blink and Alex would be telling her they needed to run to the store for tampons. All too quickly she knew she would be in Alex's room, holding her as she cried, and comforting her over her first heartbreak. Suddenly, time was slipping through her fingers, and she was powerless to stop it.

"Hey, you okay?" Jesse asked, taking Beca out of her thoughts and bringing her back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She assured him. Jesse of course knew better and squeezed her hand slightly. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy task for her.

Arriving at the door to the Magical Monkey's classroom, Alex pressed down on the handle, and the three of them walked in.

The open, inviting room was brightly painted in a nice shade of teal and filled with children quietly playing at different stations. A row of wooden cubbies lined the side of the room, each labeled with a Monkey displaying each child's name.

In the back of the room, several children played in the dramatic play area, which contained a play kitchen and a bin of dress up clothes. There was a table for coloring, a table with brightly colored lego's, and on the carpet, three boys played with trains and train tracks.

"Well good morning Alex! We are so happy you're here." Barb greeted as she got down to Alex's level. An older, thin woman with a golden blonde bob, Barb had been teaching Pre-K at The Learning Station for twenty years. Full of experience and creativity, she couldn't imagine working any other job. Kelsey, the second teacher in the room, couldn't have been any older than Beca or Jesse, but she was gentle, sweet, and had an impressive education that more than made up for her lack of experience.

Barb walked Alex, Beca, and Jesse over to Alex's cubby where she could hang up her backpack, lunchbox, and sleeping bag for nap time. As Alex was putting her things away, a young blonde haired little boy wearing an orange polo shirt, beige pants with a tiny little belt, and a fedora made his way over.

"Hi! My name is Parker St. James. What's your name?"

Alex looked over at the little boy who had just introduced himself. "Alex Swanson."

The young boy smiled. "Hi Alex Swanson! Do you want to build lego's with me? I need to make a castle so the crocodiles can't eat the prince and princess." He explained. Alex shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure." She replied, not seeing anything better to do. And with that, she walked away from Jesse and Beca, hand and hand with Parker, and over to the lego table.

Beca watched from the cubbies as the two children played sweetly together. Parker split up the legos as evenly as he could and chatted happily as Alex helped him build the castle. There were no tears, no clinging to legs begging them not to leave, there was no scene whatsoever. Alex walked in the room like she owned the whole damn place and didn't look back. She hadn't even said goodbye.

"Alex!" Beca called out. Alex momentarily stopped playing with the legos and looked up.

"What?" She asked, her sparkling blue eye's staring back at Beca.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Beca asked.

"Oh, yeah." She said, as if the idea had completely slipped her mind. Alex walked back over to where Jesse and Beca were standing by the door and wrapped her arms around Beca's neck as her mother picked her up. Beca hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go. Planting a kiss on her cheek, she placed her back down on the floor.

"Do you remember what we talked about?" Beca asked.

"The golden rule. Always treat others the way I want to be treated." Alex replied, causing her parents to smile.

"That's right. Make sure you share with your friends, and play nicely. We'll be back to pick you up after nap, okay?" Jesse explained. Alex nodded her head.

"We love you." Beca reminded her. Alex hugged them both once more.

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy." She stated, before turning around and heading back over to the lego's with Parker.

Beca and Jesse walked out the door, and closed it behind them. Peeking through the windows, Beca watched for a minute as Alex continued to play, not at all phased that her parents had left.

Sighing, Beca took Jesse's hand in her's as they turned to walk down the hall.

"We need to make sure our next kid isn't so clingy." Jesse joked, smiling at Beca who laughed and shook her head.

"Seriously, I practically had to rip her off of me."

"We're gonna be okay." He reminded her as his brown eyes connected with her blue eyes.

"Yeah." She confidently answered. "We will."

Just then, Beca's phone began to vibrate in her pocket. Grabbing it, she looked down to see who was calling.

"Hey." She answered, her voice sounding unsure.

"Hey, do you have any time to stop by today by chance?"