Day 1 - My Middle Name is What?

Summary: While helping to look for Christmas decorations, Beca and Chloe's 5-year-old daughter, Sarah, finds her birth certificate showing her unusual middle name. Beca and Chloe then have to explain how they came up with the middle name for her.

"Chlo?!" Beca called down from the attic. "Where did you put the stockings? I can't find them."

"They're in a box in the back left corner," Chloe yelled back. "Next to the old trunk that belonged to my grandpa."

"Okay," Beca said. "Thanks!"

Beca went to the area of the attic where Chloe said she could find the stockings. She moved a few things and found them.

"Aha!" Beca cried out in triumph.

"What's this?" Sarah asked, startling Beca, who had forgotten Sarah had been helping her look for the decorations.

"What's what?" Beca asked, holding a hand to her chest

"This," Sarah said, pointing to the trunk

"Oh, that," Beca said. "That's an old trunk that used to belong to your great-grandfather. Mommy's grandfather."

"Did I ever meet him?"

"No, baby," Beca said sadly. "He died before you were born."

"Can I see what's in there?" Sarah asked.

"Why?" Beca asked.

"There might be something fun in there," Sarah said, shrugging. "And, maybe I'll learn something about my great-grandfather."

"We'll have to check with mommy," Beca said. "It's technically her property."

"Beca! Sarah!" Chloe's voice rang out. "Dinner's ready!"

"Okay," Sarah said. "I'll ask mommy at dinner if we can look in there."

"Fine," Beca said, standing and grabbing the stockings. "Let's get washed up for dinner."

~~ 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2022 ~~

Chloe had agreed they would let Sarah check out the trunk. They had been so busy getting ready for Christmas that it slipped their minds. It was now Christmas Eve, and Sarah had begged to look in the trunk. That is why Chloe was now standing with Beca and Sarah, looking down at the trunk. Sarah was excited to see what treasures she might find inside.

"I haven't looked inside this thing in years," Chloe said as she knelt to open the trunk.

The hinges creaked, and dust flew around as Chloe lifted the lid.

"Oh, wow," Chloe said, coughing as she waved the dust away from her face.

"Can I see?" Sarah asked, trying to see past her mother.

"I'll hold the lid open," Beca said as she moved behind the trunk and held the lid so she could see over the top.

"Thanks, babe," Chloe said, moving her arm down to grab a book from the trunk. "You'll love this, Sarah. It's a photo album of pictures of mommy's family, including your great-grandfather and great-grandmother."

"Ooo, I wanna see," Sarah said, reaching for the album.

"Wait," Chloe said, holding it away from Sarah. "Let's take it downstairs so we can look at it together."

"Okay," Sarah said, looking in the trunk. "What's this?"

Sarah pulled out an envelope and opened it. She then pulled out a sheet of paper and started reading it.

"Sarah Ajala, ugh," Sarah started to read but stopped when she couldn't figure out how to pronounce the next word. "Mommy, what's that word?"

Chloe looked to where Sarah was pointing and chuckled.

"It's Ajalafecs," Chloe said. "This is your birth certificate, and Ajalafecs is your middle name."

"Ajalafecs," Sarah repeated, enunciating each syllable with a furrowed brow. "What kind of name is that?"

Beca started laughing.

"We made it up," Beca said.

"I had nothing to do with it," Chloe exclaimed.

"Okay," Beca said, chuckling. "I made it up."

"Why?"

"Because we couldn't decide on what middle name to give you," Chloe said. "So, we had to get creative, and that's what your mama came up with."

"Mama," Sarah said, looking at Beca. "How in the world did you come up with that name?"

"That's a hot cocoa and cookie type story," Beca said, chuckling at Sarah standing with her hands on her hips. "Let's go downstairs, and I'll tell you the story of why your middle name is Ajalafecs."

"Can we do it now?" Sarah asked.

"Don't you want to see what else is in the trunk?" Chloe asked.

"No, thanks," Sarah said. "I want to hear about my middle name and then look at the photo album, if that's okay?"

"That's fine," Chloe said, standing and brushing dust off her jeans. "I'll make the hot cocoa and get the cookies."

"Yay!" Sarah exclaimed.

Beca dropped the lid of the trunk with a thunk, creating another stirring of dust.

"I'll meet you in the living room," Beca said as they started for the steps. "I have to grab something before I come down."

"Okay," Chloe said.

~~ 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2022 ~~

"Sarah, come with me to the kitchen so you can help with the cocoa and cookies," Chloe said as she made her way to the kitchen. "You can also pick out which cookies you want to leave for Santa."

"Okay, mommy," Sarah said. "Can we leave Santa some hot cocoa, too?"

"Hot cocoa doesn't taste very good once it's cold," Chloe said. "Let's leave him some milk like we usually do."

"Okay," Sarah said as she knelt on the stool at the counter. "I'm giving Santa a stocking cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, and a, um, gingerbread man."

"Excellent selection," Chloe said. "Santa has a good variety to choose from."

"Are you girls ready?" Beca called from the living room.

"Just a minute," Chloe called back. "The hot cocoa isn't quite ready."

Beca set up the chalkboard she had carried downstairs so Chloe and Sarah could see it from the couch. She placed a few pieces of chalk and an eraser on the small shelf and then stood waiting for Chloe and Sarah.

"Hot cocoa is ready," Chloe said, carrying a tray with three mugs of cocoa on them.

"I got our cookies," Sarah said, carrying a plateful of cookies.

"I'll take one of those," Beca said as she took a mug of cocoa and set it on the coffee table in front of where she stood.

"What kind of cookie do you want, mama?" Sarah asked, holding the plate out toward Beca.

"You choose for me," Beca said.

Sarah set the cookies on the coffee table, took two chocolate chip cookies, and placed them next to Beca's cocoa.

"Thanks, sweetie," Beca said. "Why don't you go sit by mommy so I can get started?"

"Okay, mama," Sarah said, sliding the plate of cookies across the table to where she would be sitting.

Chloe set Sarah's cocoa on the table and reached for a cookie.

"I think we're ready," Chloe said, looking at Beca. "Go ahead."

Beca took a bite of a cookie and washed it down with some cocoa. She set the cup down and looked at Sarah.

"Okay," Beca said. "First, I want to say how excited your mommy and I were when we found out she was pregnant with you."

"We weren't the only ones," Chloe said, smiling at Beca.

"You're right," Beca said, smiling as she turned to look at Sarah. "Your grandparents were equally excited once we gave them the news."

"As were your Bella aunts," Chloe added.

"Right again," Beca said.

"Okay, so everybody loved me before I was even born," Sarah said. "I get it. Can we get back to my middle name, please?"

"She is definitely your daughter," Chloe said with a laugh.

Beca glared at Chloe, squinting her eyes as well; Chloe smirked.

"Anyway," Beca said. "We found out you were a girl, and the first thing mommy said was she wanted to name you Sarah after her grandmother. I was fine with that and asked about a middle name. That's where things got, um, heated between us. Mommy wanted to use my grandmother's name as your middle name, but I didn't like the way it sounded."

"What name was it, mama?" Sarah asked.

"Mildred," Beca said, grimacing as if tasting something bad.

Sarah scrunched her nose, saying, "So my name would have been Sarah Mildred Beale-Mitchell? Sorry, mommy, but I don't really like that name."

"Neither did I," Beca said. "That's why we kept trying to figure out whose name we could use. And that's when your aunts got involved."

"What name did they want you to use?" Sarah asked.

"It depended on who you asked," Beca said, chuckling. "Your Aunt Brey came to us first using the best friend card and suggested we use Aubrey. I vetoed that one immediately."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Because your mama and Aunt Brey didn't get along very well when we were all Bellas together," Chloe said. "So, there was no way she was going to accept using her name."

"And I didn't like the way Sarah Aubrey Beale-Mitchell sounded," Beca added. "Your mommy argued with me for a week before she finally gave up because she knew I wasn't going to budge on it. After that, the rest of the Bellas threw their names into the mix. We couldn't pick just one because that would have caused a big fight with everyone. So, we decided we'd use them all."

Beca picked up the chalk and turned to the chalkboard.

"So, we started with your name," Beca said and wrote Sarah at the top of the board. "Then, there was Aubrey, Jessica, Ashley, Lily, Amy, Flo, Emily, Cynthia, and Stacie."

"Are you saying I was going to be named," Sarah took a deep breath, "Sarah Aubrey Jessica Ashley Lily Amy Flo Emily Cynthia Stacie Beale-Mitchell?"

Beca laughed when Sarah finished.

"Yes, but besides the fact that it was a lot of names for someone as tiny as you," Beca said. "We couldn't fit them all on your birth certificate."

"She means the people down at the Records office wouldn't allow us to give you nine middle names."

"That's true," Beca said. "And, once they told us that, I decided we should shorten it."

"Okay," Sarah said, looking at the names on the board. "But I still don't see how you got Ajalafecs for my middle name."

"Hold on, I'm almost there," Beca took the eraser and erased everything but the first initial of all the Bellas' names from the board so that all that was left were the letters AJALAFECS. "Do you see it now?"

"Oh," Sarah said with a big grin. "I still have all nine of my Bella aunt's names, only not their full names."

"Exactly," Beca said. "And, if you want to change it when you're older, we'll support you."

"I think I'll keep it," Sarah said. "I like it, and I'm pretty sure that no one else in the world has the same middle name as me."

"I'm sure you're right about that," Chloe said. "Come on. It's getting late, and we still have to set out the cookies and milk for Santa."

"Okay," Sarah said, running over to Beca. "Thank you for my middle name, mama. I really do like it."

Beca hugged Sarah and kissed the top of her head. "You're welcome, sweetie. Now, let's get you to bed so you'll be asleep when Santa comes."

"I have to help mommy put out the cookies and milk for Santa," Sarah said, rushing toward the kitchen.

"Make sure you put chocolate chip cookies on the plate," Beca said, following Sarah to the kitchen. "I have it on very good authority that Santa loves chocolate chip cookies."

"I know," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "You remind me every year."

"Here are the cookies," Chloe said, handing the plate to Sarah. "Beca, will you take the milk?"

"Sure," Beca said, taking the glass.

The small family walked out of the kitchen. Sarah walked straight over to the designated "Santa's Cookie" table and set the plate down. Beca set the milk next to the cookies and looked at Sarah.

"Let's get you to bed so Santa can come."

"We'll both tuck you in," Chloe said. "And I'll read you the Night Before Christmas."

"I, Sarah Ajalafecs Beale-Mitchell, approve of that idea," Sarah said as she took both Chloe and Beca's hands and led them up to her room.