Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing lately!
Someone asked for this tidbit a long time ago - I hope that reader is still around (or comes back around). Please share your thoughts and leave comments - and let me know what else you would like to see. (And yes, I am working on a part 2 - or a response - to the last chapter - but it's not quite ready yet).
First Appearances of the Period Kind
It had been a very long week for them all. Dance practices and meetings on top of normal school and work – they'd only eaten together twice that week – something they normally tried to do most nights. So Beca was determined to get home in time for dinner that evening, and LA traffic was laughing at her. By the time she parked in her own driveway, her head was pounding. She took a pain reliever before getting out of the car, washing it down the dregs of her last cup of coffee for the day.
Entering through the kitchen, she was not surprised to see Vera and Poppy already sitting at the table – she knew she was almost late. "Hello, loves," she said, smiling.
"Welcome home," Chloe said, walking over to kiss her. Beca hung up her jacket and placed her bag near the stairs so she could take it up later before offering a hug and kiss to each of her red headed daughters. "Dinner is ready if you are."
"I am," Beca said, walking over to the sink to wash her hands. "Where is Bella?"
"She said she's not coming downstairs," Poppy responded.
Chloe looked at Beca, giving her a frustrated expression. "I already tried," she said, moving close to whisper. "She won't budge."
"What's wrong?"
"She won't tell me. She says nothing. She just wants to be alone. And she's not hungry."
"Damn it," Beca whispered under her breath. "We're supposed to have more than a year before they're actual teenagers. "I'll check on her after dinner. If she's being that stubborn about it, there's no use in making everyone else wait." Chloe nodded, briefly resting her head against Beca's shoulder before straightening up and moving dinner from the stove to the table.
"We have homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken."
"You should have told me earlier. I would have driven faster," Beca said, smiling. Poppy and Vera giggled.
Then Poppy looked warily at Chloe.
"Did you hide vegetables in it again?"
"You're going to have to try it and find out," Chloe told her. Beca took her first bite after they were all served and shrugged at Poppy.
"If they're there, I can't taste them." She then looked at Chloe. "Delicious. Thank you."
Chloe smiled. "You're welcome. I'm just glad we can finally sit down. This week has been crazy."
"Agreed," Beca said. She tried to forget about Bella sitting alone in her bedroom and instead asked Poppy and Vera about their weeks. They were happy to chatter on, sharing updates on everything from math scores to piano lessons. Once dinner was finished, Beca helped clear the table before making a pot of tea and carrying it upstairs with two mugs.
When she knocked lightly on Bella's door, there was no answer. Juggling the thankfully empty cups, Beca tried the handle and sighed. "Isabella," she said, her voice barely raised, "do not try my patience. It has been a long day. Unlock this door, please." She was thankful when she heard the soft click that meant she wouldn't need to go in search of the key.
She let herself into the room and closed the door behind her. She set the teapot on Bella's nightstand and poured a cup for her daughter, handing it to her before pouring her own. Bella hesitantly accepted it. She was sitting on her bed, curled against the headboard. Beca sat across from her, pulling her legs up onto the bed and leaning against the post at the end of the footboard. She sipped her tea quietly until her daughter spoke.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I doubt I do either," Beca responded. Bella looked at her questioningly and she shrugged. "There are a lot of things I don't like to talk about. You know that. But sometimes we have to. And you know, when I signed up for this whole mom thing, there were some moral obligations involved – so I can't just let you sit here and be anxious and upset without at least knowing why."
Bella rolled her eyes and Beca smirked. "There's my girl. What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Nothing," Bella huffed. "I just don't want to talk about it."
Beca paused and allowed her words to sink in. "You do see how those two things can't be true at the same time, right?"
"Mama," Bella whined.
"Alright," Beca relented. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't losing any brain cells as well. Come on, kid. Give me a break. It's Friday. Aren't we all supposed to be happy about that? Yay weekend?" Bella was silent. "Did something happen at school? Is someone bothering you?"
Eventually, Bella sighed. "Can you promise not to tell mom?"
"Absolutely not," Beca responded. "I'm quite happy to be married, thank you. I don't keep things from your mom – I can't start now. Anything you can tell me, you can tell her. I promise."
Bella rolled her eyes. "She's going to be excited and make a big deal out of it," she said, her voice annoyed. "And I really can't deal with that right now." Beca was puzzled for a moment until all of the pieces slid into place. Something she would be calm about and potentially commiserate with but Chloe would be more excited about. Something Bella didn't want to talk about or deal with.
Beca set her empty cup aside. "I take it your period started today?" She asked, softly.
"I don't want to talk about it," Bella said, angrily. Beca sighed and lay back on the bed, stretching out next to her daughter.
"I don't blame you. It's not the most fun thing in the world. But it's not a huge deal either. You're still Bella. Just a little bit more grown up."
"I don't want to be grown up," she said, snuggling into Beca's side.
Beca wrapped her arms around the little girl. "Me neither, love. Me neither. I'm not ready for that. But I guess we are. At least nature decided we were."
"Nature sucks."
"Sometimes."
They lay in companionable silence for so long that Beca almost fell asleep. Luckily, she was brought back from the edge when her daughter spoke. "Mama?"
"Yes?"
"I don't feel good," Bella said, her voice indicating that she was in pain. "No one said it was going to hurt."
"Oh, love. I'm so sorry. Where does it hurt?" Her description indicated she was having cramps in her lower belly and her lower back, which seemed incredibly unfair for someone's first period. Beca kissed her forehead. "Okay. I'll be right back. I'll get you ibuprofen. And a heating pad should help. Do you think you can eat anything?" Bella shook her head. "Okay," Beca acquiesced. "I'll be right back." She went into her bathroom to find the ibuprofen and to dig for a heating pad. She hadn't had a period since after she'd lost the baby after Vera and had a partial hysterectomy. And Chloe had never really had period cramps – so it hadn't been used recently. Eventually, she found it and dragged it out from beneath a bevy of towels.
She helped Bella take a half dose of the painkiller and got her settled with the heating pad, which she found immediately helpful. She kissed Bella again and said. "I'm going to let you rest. But you have to eat before bed. How about soup? A little later?"
"Okay," Bella agreed.
"Okay. I'll be back later. Let me know if you need me before then."
"Are you telling mommy?"
"Would you like to tell her yourself? That's okay too."
"No, thank you," Bella said. "Can you please tell her I don't want her to make a fuss?"
"She will not make a fuss," Beca promised. "Close your eyes. Relax."
She found Chloe in her office, grading papers. "Hi," Beca said, poking her head in the door.
"Hey," Chloe said, looking up and smiling. She removed her reading glasses and set them aside, along with caping the bright blue marker she was using to make stars and write words of encouragement for her kiddos. "What's up?"
Beca closed the door behind her and pulled a chair up next to Chloe. "Bella got her period today."
Chloe squealed and broke into a grin, causing her wife to smile. "And she knows you very well. She asked me to tell you that she does not wish to celebrate this or make a big deal out of it."
"Oh, Beca, it is a big deal! Our little girl – is a woman."
"No, she's not. She's 11. And nature has thrust upon her a ridiculous responsibility. So, if she doesn't want to make a big deal about it, we're not going to. She's pretty upset about it in general. And I think I was finally able to convince her that it's not a world-ending travesty; but she really doesn't want to celebrate."
Chloe sighed. "She is frustratingly like you."
Beca nodded. "I know. I worry about it every day."
Chloe put a hand on her cheek and shook her head, smiling. "I didn't mean it that way."
"I did," Beca responded. "You don't live in my head. It's a disaster in here. I don't wish it on anyone. Especially not one of my daughters."
"Oh, Beca," Chloe chided. She pulled her wife to a standing position and hugged her. "What am I going to do with you?"
"I certainly hope you keep me – because the receipt is long gone." Chloe laughed.
"Returns are not in the cards, darling." She sighed. "Okay. I will not make a big deal out of it, as you both wish. Can I at least talk to her?"
"Of course," Beca said. "She has cramps already – which seems exceedingly unfair. I gave her one ibuprofen and set her up with the heating pad. But I told her she had to eat something before bed tonight. She's probably not feeling up to what we had for dinner, but I was thinking noodle soup would probably work."
Later that night, while Beca spent time with Poppy and Vera, Chloe took a later dinner to Bella. Their middle daughter was curled up now in her reading chair, eyes glued to a book. "Hi sweetheart," Chloe said. Bella looked up and set her book aside.
"Hi mom."
Chloe put the tray with the soup on the table next to her and sat on the sofa. "It just came off the stove, so it might still be too hot."
"Thank you," Bella said. "I'm sorry, that I skipped dinner. I'm sure the macaroni and cheese was good. It smelled good. But I don't think I could have eaten it tonight."
"That's okay, honey. But you know, you can tell me that. I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me about your period."
Bella looked at her strangely. "Mom, I knew I could tell you. I just didn't want you to get all excited about it. And I knew you would – and you would make a big deal. And I didn't want to hurt your feelings when I wasn't excited too. I figured mama would be better at explaining."
Chloe smiled. She took Bella's hand and squeezed it for a moment. "Honey, you don't need to worry about hurting my feelings. And I know I'm not as calm as your mama can be, but I do know how to listen."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. I just want you to know that you can come to me, when you need things. I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Mommy." Chloe smiled. She hadn't heard that form of her name from Bella in a long, long time. She sat with her while she ate her dinner, and they talked about school that week, and the fun in the weekend to come.
Beca was still in her pajamas when she received a text message from her daughter. Mostly because it was six on a Saturday morning and the text had woken her. Their girls had their phones – but they were locked from 9PM until 7AM each day – except for emergency numbers – so they could use them to contact their mothers if they needed something. So it wasn't totally odd to receive a text from Bella at six… but normally she would just walk down the hall if she needed something. Beca knocked on the door and received no answer. When she entered the room, the bed was empty, but she saw that the light was on in the bathroom.
"Bells? What's up?"
"Mama, it's everywhere," she cried through the closed door. Beca looked back at the bed and realized what had happened.
"It's okay, sweetheart, it happens to everyone occasionally. I'm so sorry. In my experience, my second day was always the heaviest, so it was always kind of rough. But it's okay. Everything is cleanable or replaceable." She could hear her daughter still crying. "Bells, it's okay. I promise. Come on, why don't you get a nice, warm shower. I'll put a change of clothes in there for you – and I'll change the bed. Maybe you can sleep a bit longer."
"I have ballet at eight," Bella cried. "I can't wear my leotard with the underwear I have to wear with these stupid pads."
"Oh God," Beca said to herself, leaning her head against the door. "Sweetheart, do you have any other options in there?" She knew Chloe had stocked their bathrooms when they'd turned ten, knowing that eventually they would need the supplies and might not want to ask for them right away. But she wasn't sure what that included.
"What?
"Are there tampons in your bathroom?" Beca asked, blushing as she said the words. She knew that was ridiculous, but she had no control over her blushing and the things that made her do so.
"Mama, I can't use those," she said, her voice absolutely scandalized.
"You don't have to," Beca assured her. "But there are certain things that are a lot easier to do on your period if you learn how to use them. And trust me, I was really afraid to try them when I was your age, but when I finally did, I was really glad I did – because it made some things – like dancing and swimming – a lot easier." She knew her nerves were making her speak quickly, but knowledge didn't seem to be transferring into the power to stop it.
"I don't want to."
"That's okay," Beca said calmly. "That's a fine choice too. You can skip dance today."
"I don't want to skip dance!" She snapped.
Beca sighed and slid to the floor, her back against the door. She watched as Chloe entered the room, looking at her curiously. "Bella, it's your decision. You don't have to use the tampons. But you're clearly having a heavy day. It's going to be hard to get through dance class if you use a pad. It's okay to try them, if you want. But it's also okay to miss one dance class if you want to wait. I know yesterday was really hard and this doesn't make it easier."
She looked at Chloe and threw a hand up. "I can't believe I'm talking about this." She whispered.
"Me neither," Chloe whispered, grinning.
"Love, why don't you take a shower? You need to either way. It will give you time to think and decide, okay?"
She eventually heard a glum acquiescence on the other side of the door and held out her hand to Chloe, who pulled her from the floor. Beca pulled together two outfits – one for lounging around the house – and one for heading to dance class – and set them inside on the bathroom counter along with new underthings.
She and Chloe, both thankful to see the mattress hadn't been hit from the small mess, changed the bedding quickly. Once they finished, Beca pulled back the bedding and accepted a hug from her wife. "I know this makes you very uncomfortable," Chloe said, her voice a whisper. "You're doing a wonderful job."
"Thank you," Beca said. "They're growing up too fast. I should probably cry about it later."
"We can do that, if that would make you feel better," Chloe promised her.
"Mama?" Bella called again from the bathroom.
"Yes, love, I'm here. Are you okay?"
"I want to try," she said, her voice wavering. "But I don't know how." Beca lost all color and Chloe thought she was going to faint. Chloe took a step forward to take over but her wife shook her head and steeled herself, her hand braced against the wall while she breathed. "Sweetheart, can I go get mom? She's better at these things."
"No," Bella said stubbornly. "It's embarrassing." Why was it embarrassing to ask Chloe when she was at this moment asking Beca? Only an eleven-year-old with currently messed-up hormones could possibly know.
Beca threw up her arms and Chloe did the same, shrugging her shoulders and remaining silent. "Okay, sweetheart." She sat again in front of the door and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I can only tell you how it worked for me. Everyone is a little different, so you might have to investigate a little yourself and see what works for you." She walked Bella through how she learned how to insert a tampon, using words and descriptions she never thought she'd say aloud, let alone to anyone. It was quiet for several moments until they both heard Bella.
"Well, shit."
"Are you okay?" Beca asked. "And language," she added.
"Sorry," Bella responded. "It went in. It just surprised me."
"Are you okay? Does it hurt? It's not supposed to hurt if it's in right."
"I'm okay," Bella promised. "Thank you, mama."
"You're very welcome, my love. I'm going to get dressed." She looked at her watch. "You still have time. You can still lay down for about half an hour before breakfast if you want to. But you do have to eat breakfast. I'll see you downstairs." Beca and Chloe left the room, closing the door behind them. In their own room, Beca turned to Chloe, her eyes wide.
"How the hell did that just happen?"
"You did just fine, darling. Spectacular, even."
Beca put a hand to her chest. "I think I need, like, the whole day to recover."
Chloe put an arm around her shoulders. "You're not getting it, Mitchell. "Dance at eight. Piano at ten. Dinner reservations at six. Tickets for the symphony pops at eight."
"This is going to be a long day." Chloe nodded.
"We can do it."
Beca rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Chloe, I can't do that again. My brain almost exploded. "You have to talk to both of the other two when it comes to this. I call hair color."
"So we're doing all difficult conversations by hair color now?"
"Yes."
"You sure you want to do that? I still don't think that give you the easy hand. Sex. Boys. Girls. Dating. Date rape. Parties. Marriages. Pregnancies. And a whole lot of other things in between."
"We have to talk about all of that?" Beca asked. She started walking away from Chloe
"Yes, dear." She watched her wife crawl back into bed, far under the covers. "What are you doing?"
"Going back to bed," Beca said, her voice muffled by the luxurious duvet.
"Nice try," Chloe said. "I'll make breakfast. See you in twenty minutes."
Beca did crawl back out of bed a few minutes later and prepare herself for a very long day – and apparently a very long life full of conversations that were going to make her quite uncomfortable. While she wasn't thrilled about it, she was quite happy with all the parts in between, so she would show up, every time. Even when the conversation was likely to make her blush.
She did get a pass when it came to talking to Poppy about it because the redhead was as exuberant as her other mother would want her to be. She and Chloe went out for lunch, manicures, and pedicures. "That's what I didn't want to do," Bella told Beca when she found out.
"I understand," Beca responded. They returned to their quiet lunch with Vera and spent the afternoon at the music store – much more their speed.
Beca did have to step up again two years later when Vera came home, looking quite concerned. It was parent teacher night at her school and Chloe would be late, so Beca had taken off early to be there when the girls were brought home by Annie. Although there was some momentary confusion, the conversation itself was much easier than with Bella – Vera was uncomplicated and was not the least bit emotional about the situation. She was simply pondering the science behind reproduction. After assuring that she felt find and knew what to do, Beca put her on the phone with Stacie, and considered her job done. Dahlia was a totally different story for a completely different phase of her life.
Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to review, comment, and/ or let me know what least you're interested in reading from this universe. (No promises, but it does help to inspire - I have many idea possibilities, but they don't always come together until that last piece is in place). Thanks again!