AN: So, this chapter was tricky to write down because I didn't know where to start. I knew I wanted certain things to happen and I wanted to do some exposition and finding a way to jam everything into one chapter was fucking difficult. This is how it turned out. Sorry if you got bored halfway through and couldn't make it to the end. I'd love to hear your opinions, people. Thank you for dropping by. I hope you're doing alright.
Also, sorry for typos.
Edit: break lines signify a relatively long time jump whereas the /*...*/ means the events happen close in time.
Jesse stood in the restroom of a gas station in the middle of nowhere behind his sister who was bending so he could dye the hair she couldn't see.
"Jesse, it's not rocket science, just wear the fucking glove and dip your hand in the thing and put it on my hair."
"You know, you could go bold from this, right?" He was reading the instructions that his sister neglected to follow.
"No, I won't. I've dyed my hair at home plenty of times. I wouldn't have asked for your help if there were more mirrors in this place. Now, get cracking my back hurts," she complained. He grabbed the plastic glove and tried to cover all the hair she missed.
"I still don't get why you're doing this now?" He mumbled as she washed the dye off her hair.
"Because I've had it with people mistaking us for a couple. It's the worst kind of cockblocking."
"And dying your hair dark would make people stop confusing us for a couple?" he snorted.
"Hopefully." She sighed. "'Cause while we very much look alike having blonde hair tends to throw people off."
He nodded slowly as he watched her squeeze the water out of her hair as she eyed herself in the mirror. "This turned out alright," she said, pleasantly surprised with the shade of brown of her hair.
He had to agree but he was going to save his opinion until her hair was dry. "I still think you could have waited until we made it to Vegas."
Sarah really wanted to go to a casino and try her luck and Jesse didn't see a reason why they shouldn't do it—she did agree to a lot of his brilliant ideas.
He watched her run a hand through her damp hair trying to style it a certain way before taking the basketball cap he had on his head and wearing it.
They hitched a ride with a trucker headed to Las Vegas and made to Sin City late in the evening.
"Don't be cheap." Sarah glared at her brother once he handed her a dollar to put in the slot machine. He rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket to pull more change. "I'm not giving them more than three dollars," he told her as he handed her the money.
"It's people like you that give Jews a bad name," she grumbled, taking his hand and placing hers over it so they would pull the leveler together after she put the sum of money into the machine.
"Makes us rich," Sarah mumbled as she pulled the level down.
Jesse watched the symbols rapidly roll and then looked away as they slowed down only looking back when he heard the sound the slot machine made when it hit jackpot and had to blink when he saw the number seven on each of the reels.
Never in his life would have thought that a day that started with him helping his sister dye her hair in a shady gas station restroom would be the same day he and his sister would hit jackpot.
"Beca, I know you're hiding behind the bar." Beca grimaced at the voice of her friend, realizing how lazy it was to hide behind the bar and cursing herself for not picking a better hiding spot.
"I wasn't hiding," Beca said as she stood up. "I dropped my phone." She shook the phone.
"Right, well, get your arse in a bikini."
Beca groaned. "I don't wanna go, Amy. Besides, who's going to keep an eye on the bar if we both head out?" she knew she sounded like a little girl whining and didn't really care.
"Tarzan arrived for his shift, we can leave."
Beca glanced behind her friend and felt a little embarrassed for whining like a child in front of Kyle also known as Tarzan: He liked to show off his very toned and tanned physique and would walk around half naked all day long and had shoulder-length hair hence the nickname.
"Why do you hate the beach so much?" Tarzan was asking as he pulled the t-shirt that was on his shoulder and wore it. "I was just there. You could use a tan. It's disturbing how pale you are." He frowned, eyeing her.
"I. Don't. Tan," she told him what she had been telling him and everyone that told her she looked ghostly. "I get sunburn."
"Well, that's a shame." He shook his head, walking towards the bar.
"Beca, if you're not wearing a bathing suit in five minutes it won't be hard to make you," Amy warned. "I'm sure Tarzan wouldn't mind helping me."
Beca glared at Amy, who was smirking at her before she tilted her head to look at Tarzan, who had just stepped behind the bar.
"You won't do such thing," she told him.
He sucked in a deep breath. "I wouldn't mind undressing you at all actually." He winked earning an eye roll from the brunette.
"Four minutes," Amy said in sing-song.
Beca slapped his hand away when he slipped a finger under her tank top pulling it just to mess with her. "Fine," she grumbled and began making her way towards to the entrance of the bar where Fat Amy was standing.
"How much liquor will it take for you to let your inner dingo take the wheel and mate with our mate?" Amy asked, subtly nodding at the bar.
Beca made a face. "Now that you've put it that way, never." She unlocked her phone when it chimed with a text. She swiped to read it seeing that Benji sent her an attachment.
Benji: 'Look what I found.'
She arched her eyebrows reading the headline of the article that Benji screen-captured.
"Holy shit," she chuckled.
"What?" Fat Amy asked, peeking to look at the screen. "Siblings win 8.58 million dollars after betting 3$ on a slot machine," she read out loud and found out for herself.
"I know the winners," Beca told her. The article was a couple of weeks old, she and Jesse hadn't been talking much, well at all really, not since the Bellas won the ICCAs, which was more than two months ago.
They hadn't been talking but it didn't mean they weren't friends anymore.
/*...*/
Things got a little crazy but nothing Jesse couldn't handle.
It was a little weird to know that their bank accounts were loaded. It was all surreal, aside from the occasional conversation about what they planned to do with the money, they didn't really discuss it.
"Thanks," he thanked the bartender who he learned her name was Amber once she placed his drink in front of him.
She smiled politely at him and went to serve another customer.
"Jess," Sarah called, nudging her brother. He tilted his head to look at her as he brought his pint of beer to his lips.
"I think she likes you," she told him.
"Who?" He furrowed his brow, placing the drink on the bar.
"Amber," she told him. "She keeps stealing glances at you. Do something about it," she urged.
He glanced at the woman behind the bar currently pouring beer into a pint and really looked at her. Okay, she was pretty.
"You've relentlessly flirted with her ever since we got here and she doesn't seem to mind it. Do you really think it's a good idea for me to hit on her?"
"She likes dude."
"She told you?" He tore his eyes away from Sarah to look at Amber yet again.
"No, I can always tell with these things. Like, a sixth sense," she explained.
"Then why waste your time?" he questioned.
"She's fun to flirt with." She shrugged.
"You got this, Tiger!" she whispered yelled, squeezing his forearm.
He scratched the itching beard that he grew during their trip and he didn't plan to shave until he was back in Atlanta—he sort of wanted to see how long it would get because he never really grew a beard.
"Where are you off to?" he asked, looking away from Amber to look at his sister when she hopped off the stool.
"I have to pee," she told him then patted his shoulder before she walked away.
He sucked in a breath and decided to give it a shot but, unlike his sister, his goal wasn't to get laid, he was fine having an interesting conversation.
"Is that a tree on your arm?" Jesse mumbled, eyeing the ink on her inner forearm he noticed.
Amber paused shortly before glancing down at the tattoo on her arm. "It's the Cedar of Lebanon," she told him.
"Does that mean you're Lebanese?" he wondered.
"Mostly," she replied. "There's some French and Italian on my mother's side."
"It's nice," he complimented, his eyes still on the tattoo.
"Thanks," she smiled at him. "Got any tattoos?" she wondered.
"Nope." He took a sip of beer. "I'm not good at making decisions where the outcome is permanent," he shared with her. "But if I were to get a tattoo it'll probably be the word tattoo in a foreign language."
She let out a small laugh before she rested her forearms on the bar, leaning against it as she faced him. "Where would you get it?" she asked.
"Where do you suggest I get it?" He took a sip from his alcoholic drink as he watched Amber give it a little thought.
"Right here." She lightly poked him in the forehead.
"I can make it work." He shrugged. "But you can't really rock facial ink unless you get a teardrop, too. So, I guess I'll be getting that as well." Keeping a straight face was a little difficult when she let out a reserved laugh yet again.
"You got yourself a mustache," she told him when he caught her looking at his lips.
He used the back of his hand to wipe the foam then tilted his head to look at Sarah as she sat down next to him.
"Tequila shot and keep 'em coming, please," Sarah said as she drummed her fingers to match the beat of the song on the jukebox.
"This bar is like a men's locker room." The older Swanson sighed. "Which is why I'm gonna drown my sorrows." She shrugged. "I'm counting on you to talk me into drinking enough water."
Jesse wanted to roll his eyes because Sarah was being dramatic but he didn't, he patted her shoulder instead. "I got your back."
"Where's the closest motel?" Sarah wondered as Amber placed a shot in front of her.
"Three blocks from here, across from the gas station," Amber told her as she reached into her back pocket hearing her phone ring.
The bartender brought her phone to her ear and stepped back to speak on the phone.
Sarah grimaced swallowing the shot then tilted her head to look at her brother who was running his index around the rim of the pint. "Do you have condoms or do you want me to go buy some for you?" she spoke in a voice only Jesse could hear. "Jesse, don't look at me like that," she added when he shot her a glare. "You need protection, she's sexy as hell but STIs aren't."
He glanced at Amber then did a double take once he saw the hard expression on her face. Sarah followed his gaze. "Is everything okay?" Sarah was the one to ask once Amber hung up and cursed under breath.
"No," she replied, resting her hand on the bar while she ran a hand through her hair. "I have to be somewhere but I can leave the bar, I'm supposed to close."
"Can't you just tell your boss you have an emergency?" Sarah questioned, Amber didn't say it but it was clearly an emergency.
Amber shook her head.
"Well, is there something we can do to help?" Jesse wondered.
"No, thank you." She looked down her phone and it wasn't long until she brought it to her ear. Soon, she was talking to on the phone and five minutes later a woman they learned her name was Emma stepped into the bar to cover for Amber.
"So, what are you doing in town?" Jesse heard Emma ask his sister whom he had convinced should replace Tequila with water not too long ago.—she was flirting with the bartender and liquor was making her choice of word not very appropriate.
"My brother and I are backpacking across the country," Sarah informed, nodding at Jesse. "We started off in Georgia and so far been to Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, and now Idaho."
"How long have you been on the road?" Emma wondered.
"Two months," Sarah answered.
They wouldn't be able to cover all the states but they sure planned to visit the states they had never visited and wanted to check out.
Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Jesse pulled it surprised to see that Beca texted him. He swiped to unlock it and reply to her text message.
Beca: 'How many unnecessary things did you buy so far, Mr. Millionaire?'
Jesse: 'I'm offended that you think I'll buy stuff impulsively now that I can. Financial analyst, remember?'
Beca: 'Right, you are a Jew*. My bad.'
Jesse: 'Tiny racist snuggle bunny is your newest nickname.'
Beca: 'Fuck off.'
Jesse snorted reading her reply before sending out a text.
Jesse: 'How did you know?'
He had just hit send when Amber got back and wasn't alone, she a child with her.
Beca: 'Benji showed me an article he came across about your big win. What were you and Sarah doing in Las Vegas?'
"Get behind the bar," Amber was telling the girl she brought with her.
Jesse looked up from his phone and watched the kid do what Amber asked her to do then watched Amber step out of the bar again.
He got up after her when he heard a car pull over in front of the bar followed by the sound of a very violent slam of the door. He wouldn't have gone to see what was up if he didn't hear yelling as well.
It was hard to follow what the man that was yelling at Amber about but it was very clear that he was up to no good. Jesse didn't want to physically make the man leave but when he saw that he was about to lay his hand on Amber he immediately rushed to stop him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Jesse asked, tightening his grip on the other man's forearm before he pushed him away.
Jesse wasn't fond of violence and avoided it at all costs, he really didn't want to fight and hoped that talking it through would do it.
"Who the fuck are you?" He pushed Jesse in the chest.
"Just leave us alone, Chad," Amber pleaded.
"Why, so you'd fuck Jim?" He let out a humorless laugh. "Reed told me! Well, guess what, bitch? Not on my watch."
"Oh my fucking god!" she exclaimed. "We broke up six months ago. You left us, remember?"
"I'm your daughter's father." He stepped forward again and bumped into Jesse who stood right in front of Amber. "My daughter who you won't let me see," he said behind greeted teeth.
"Oh, now she's your daughter? If I remember correctly the night you left you said something about me being a cheating whore who's forcing you to raise someone else's kid."
"I wasn't thinking right when I said that." He paused, glancing at Jesse. "Let's just go home and sort things out in private."
"If you want to see Theresa, we can figure something out when you're sober. But, we're done, Chad."
Jesse kept his guard up and was ready to react accordingly when he saw the way Chad tensed up.
"This isn't over," he said, stepping back.
"He really shouldn't be driving," Jesse commented watching Chad start his truck.
"He'll be fine," Amber mumbled, rubbing her temples. "Um, thank you," she said meeting his gaze.
Jesse nodded curtly and followed her back into the bar.
/*...*/
"Beca," Tarzan yawned, stretching on the bed. "Are you leaving?" He rubbed his eyes as Beca slipped on her shorts.
"Yep." Beca picked up her t-shirt and was about to wear it when her phone chimed with a text. She went to grab it from the nightstand where it was charging.
Jesse: 'Backpacking across the country. Vegas was a stop.'
Beca: 'Are you still on the road?'
Jesse: 'Yep. Should be back in Atlanta in a couple of weeks.'
Beca glanced at Tarzan when she felt his eyes on her: she wouldn't hear the end of it if Fat Amy knew that she had been hooking up with the bartender that worked at the bar owned by Fat Amy's family the whole summer.
"Why not stay over?" he asked. "It's late," he added, noting that it was midnight.
"I have to pack," she answered.
Jesse: 'What you doing up? It's pretty early for you.'
"Can't you pack in the morning like a normal person?" he yawned, pushing himself up, then climbed out of bed.
Beca checked him out as he wore his boxers.
"It takes me forever to get my sleeping on track when I stay here which is why I'm tricking my body into thinking I'm back in the States before I even get there."
"What time is it in America?" he asked as he walked into the en-suite bathroom attached to her bedroom.
"It's eight AM Eastern Standard Time," she sighed.
Beca: 'It's actually midnight where I am.'
Jesse: 'You're Down Under?'
Beca: 'Yep. I've spent most of the summer here but I should be on American soil in a couple of days.'
"When is your flight?" She heard Tarzan ask as he walked back inside the room.
"Eleven-fifty," she answered.
"I'm going to miss you," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.
"No, you won't," she mumbled, tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. "In fact, you will forget all about me in like a week tops." She looked at phone feeling it vibrate in her hand.
Jesse: 'Spending quality time with your mom?'
Beca: 'Among other things.'
Jesse: 'Such as going to the beach, riding kangaroos and trying not to get bitten by some venous bug?'
"Hey, I was using that," she complained when Tarzan took her phone her hand and put it on the nightstand.
"You're wrong, you know?" he was saying as he picked her up and sat her on the bed. "You're unlike any girl I've ever met, I won't forget about you." He climbed on top of her.
"And you're a really hot dude that rarely ever gets put in his place." She ran a hand up his torso as he nuzzled her cheek. She tried to destroy his confidence at every possible occasion because he was too confident and needed someone to bust his balls and he was very into it.
"Dude, stop staring, it's weird." She playfully slapped him. "Either do something or move so I can leave."
He smiled at her then leaned in, kissing her. "Tell me, why did you move to America?" he asked, pulling away to bury his face in her neck.
"That's one random question," she mumbled, running her fingers up his back before then resting a hand on the back of his neck.
"We never really talk. You just insult me then have sex with me." He moved from her neck and placed kisses along her jawline before he found her lips, pecking them. "You're leaving tomorrow so we're going to get to know each other tonight."
"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief to which he nodded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna leave now." She tried to push him off of her but couldn't for obvious reasons.
"If you don't want to answer that particular question, here's another one." He paused. "You and Amy, how did you become friends?" he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear and ignoring the death glares she was shooting him.
"She scared off a group of kids that wouldn't let me play on the slides when we were four," she fondly recalled. "Then told me she picked me to be her best friend. I said okay, assuming that's how friendships work because I didn't have friends."
"Aw, now I wanna see what you looked like when you were four," he smiled, rolling off of her then pulling her into his side, his smile growing bigger when she snuggled up to him. "How did you maintain your friendship when you left to live in America?" he wanted to know.
She closed her eyes once he started stroking her hair. "It's not like we grew up in the Middle Ages and couldn't keep touch. Besides, I visited." Beca looked forward to visiting her mother in Australia solely because she'd get to hang out with Fat Amy.
"Must be cool that she got accepted to the college you go to." He looked at her when she hummed in response.
"Beca, are you falling asleep?" he asked.
"No," she replied.
"You're definitely falling asleep." He chuckled. "What about your genius technique to avoid jet lag?"
She groaned and opened her eyes.
"Who's dropping you off at the airport tomorrow?" he wanted to know.
"Mom." She paused to yawn. "I really need to leave. I haven't packed a single thing."
"Your flight isn't until noon, you'll have plenty of time in the morning," he reasoned. "I'll come and help."
"No, Amy might drop by."
"Remind me again why we're keeping our relationship a secret from Amy."
"This." She motioned between them. "Isn't a relationship." He frowned in response. "You said it yourself 'I insult you then fuck you' how is that a relationship?"
"It's not a very healthy relationship but it's still a relationship." He shrugged to which she rolled her eyes.
"Fat Amy will relentlessly make raunchy jokes which I'd rather not hear," she answered his question and sat up.
"I like her jokes. They're quite hilarious." He rested his weight on his elbows.
"You won't find them that funny if you had to sit next to her on a fourteen hours flight," Beca mumbled before pausing to yawn again.
"You're too tired to pull an all-nighter." He noted. "Let me fix you a cup of coffee, it might help."
"Thanks." She watched him get up and took his hand when he extended it.
/*...*/
Jesse took a hesitant sip of coffee, fearing it would burn his tongue, and was glad it didn't taste like shit despite its cheapness. He scratched his beard as he looked through the available newspaper on the counter of the small diner, enjoying the quietness.
"Jimmy, I barely slept last night and need to feel alive, do something." Jesse glanced up hearing the familiar voice of Amber.
"You got it, A," Jimmy replied. "Want something to eat with it?"
"Uh, I'll have a cupcake or bagel." She shrugged and sat down.
"Would doughnuts work?" Jimmy ask.
"Sure," she nodded.
"Morning," Jesse greeted gaining her attention.
"Good morning," she said back, lifting her sunglasses over her hair. "You're still in town," she noted.
Sarah left with Emma and wasn't up yet. He couldn't exactly go anywhere without her nor could him barge into her room and wake her up when she had Emma over.
"Should hit the road by noon," he informed as he brought the coffee to his lips. "I overheard you saying you barely slept, is everything okay?"
"Chad didn't come back if that's what you want to know," she mumbled. "I just couldn't sleep." She sucked in a breath.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked. "I'm a good listener."
She took some time before she spoke. "I don't think it's good for Theresa to be in the middle of everything going between her father and I. So after a night of thinking I decided to send her to stay with my sister."
"Why send her away? Why not move, too?"
"I can't move."
"What's stopping you if you don't mind me asking?"
"Thanks," she smiled at Jimmy when he placed a large cup of coffee in front of her.
"Chad got into a car accident and both he and Tree had to get surgeries. Amber is stuck with the medical bills since the asshole decided to bail," Jimmy answered for her and received a glare for oversharing. "Life here is pretty cheap so saving up money should take less time than it would if A lived somewhere expensive."
"How much debt do you have?" Jesse carefully asked.
"Around fifty K, right, A?" Jimmy answered yet again oblivious to Amber's annoyance with him.
Jesse wanted to help. It felt weird, though, he didn't know how to offer to help and not sound like a jackass.
"I can loan you fifty thousand dollars," he finally said, failing to find the appropriate words to tell her that he could give her the money. "Interest-free," he quickly added.
"In return for what?" she countered.
"I won't ask for anything from you but I hope you'd either pack for two or just stay here. Separation wouldn't good either one of you." He sipped his coffee.
"The loan, over how many months will I have to pay it back?" she asked after giving it some thought.
He took a moment to the mental math before he gave her an answer. "Would 833 bucks for five years work for you?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
/*...*/
Beca was really tired and was doubting her ability to go through with her plan. It was still early when she walked into the house, her mother wasn't up yet. She began making her way to the kitchen to brew some coffee because the coffee she drank five hours ago at Kyle's was wearing off and she needed to up the caffeine levels in her blood.
"Flatbutt." She heard the very familiar voice of Fat Amy say as soon as she entered the kitchen.
"Jesus Christ, Amy!" Beca jumped. "You startled me."
"Sorry," Fat Amy apologized not sounding very apologetic.
"What are you doing here? It's still early."
"I woke up craving donuts and since the best donuts are Gordon's and you live near Gordon's I figured I'd just come share them with you." She paused to swallow. "Where were you?" Fat Amy asked holding the box of donuts in Beca's direction.
"Early morning walk on the beach," Beca lied instantly. "Did you let yourself in?" she grabbed a donut.
"Yes, your mother isn't up yet. I didn't want to wake her up." Fat Amy leaned against the counter. "So, early morning walk on the beach, huh?"
"Yep." Beca walked to the coffee machine to set it up. "Want some coffee?"
"I want to know why you smell like male body spray," Amy said then paused to sniff her friend. "Armani?" She smirked at Beca who was running a hand through her hair. "Such a familiar smell. I wonder where I smelled it before." Fat Amy made a show of tapping her chin.
Beca rolled her eyes as Amy brought the donut she had in her hand to her mouth.
"I haven't slept and my head hurts, cut to the chase and let me have it, Amy," Beca sighed, tilting her head to look at Fat Amy.
"You haven't slept," Amy echoed, snickering.
"I told you about the thing I do when I'm about to go back to the States which by the way you will regret not giving a shot," Beca told her, knowing exactly where her mind went.
"Fine." Fat Amy paused. "I will try not to make too many jokes until we're in America and you've slept but I have one question—"
"—If it's about his dick then forget about it," Beca interrupted.
"Oh c'mon, Beca."
"Nope." The brunette shook her head, pulling her phone from her pocket to avoid eye contact.
She quickly tapped on the messaging app icon to reply to Jesse's text from the night before where he mentioned some very stereotypical activities.
Beca: 'You forgot surfing, wrestling crocodiles, having barbies, and drinking foster.'
She was surprised by how quick his reply was.
Jesse: 'For real, though, how often do you get to hang out with kangaroos?'
Beca: 'Well, over the summer two kangaroos walked into the bar I hung out at on two separate occasions.'
Jesse: 'Do you have pictures?'
Of course, she took some pictures when kangaroos showed up. She sent him a few where Fat Amy was handling the situation. She gave the kangaroo food, that's how she handled it. Kyle had struggled until she showed up and made the animal leave with food.
Jesse: 'I need to visit Australia.'
"Oh, Jesse, how about this one." Jesse tilted his head to look at Chloe's phone when his head it up then took the beer she handed him and brought it to his lips.
"It's nice," he mumbled against the bottle.
"C'mon, it's more than nice. It's perfect and exactly what you said you want. Look there's even a pool." She went over the pictures provided by the owner of the house.
"Send me a link. I'll look into it later." He set the beer on the counter and went to check the steak cooking in the oven.
Chloe beamed at him then e-mailed him the link to the webpage then sucked in a deep breath. "Smells awesome, Jesse," she told him.
He chuckled, pulling the steak from the oven. "You're just hungry."
"What?" he asked when she frowned, pressing a hand against her back. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I think I am." Chloe nodded.
Jesse eyed her briefly then set the steak on the kitchen island while the redhead when to set the table.
"Jesse!" He heard her shriek from the dining room and exited the kitchen in a hurry to see what was up. He didn't have to ask, the pool of water on the wooden floor was enough of an answer.
"Jesse, I can't be having her now, not when her dad is in a different time zone!"
"Chloe, breathe. It's gonna be okay," he spoke gently as he walked towards her. "It's early labor, you won't be giving birth until like twelve hours from now." He had done his homework about pregnancy ever since Adam called him and asked if he could stay with Chloe once he was off the road since he had to leave for work and didn't want Chloe to be alone so late in the pregnancy.
"Active labor should last between three to five hours. A flight from London to Atlanta takes eight hours. We'll tell Adam and he'll get on the first flight he finds." He ran to the living area and reached for his phone, dialing his brother's phone number.
"You tell Adam while I go get something to clean the floor then get you something to change into—or just shower…" he sucked in a breath to stop with the rambling. "I'll go run the shower while you talk to Adam," he finally said.
"Okay," Chloe agreed, accepting his cellphone.
His brother was meant to be away for a week consulting some company based in the UK that was facing financial problem yet Jesse so far had spent three weeks with his sister in law. Jesse, of course, didn't mind keeping the redhead company, running errands, doing chores, giving foot rubs, and cooking—They mostly ordered take out but he cooked either when he felt like it or Chloe craved something. He loved Chloe and wouldn't even think about leaving her alone so late in the pregnancy.
/*...*/
"I expect you to move into the house by Sunday, we'll talk about practice sometime next week. The annual initiation party is being held by the empty pool, all the other teams will be there. The Trebles are rivals, they're a bunch of competitive idiots so don't start anything when they try to provoke you tonight. The high notes are our unofficial drug dealers. The BU Harmonics are very passionate about Madonna and polo t-shirts… I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Have fun and be safe," Beca told the newest additions to the team; Flo and Fat Amy who both happened to be exchange students.
"I thought you weren't going to stop talking," Fat Amy noted as the Bellas began making their way out of the room headed to the initiation party.
"Shut up," Beca retorted. "Being a captain is weird."
"Well, you're the captain, not the group's mom." She threw an arm around Beca's shoulder as they began walking, heading out. "And not because if you take all this off." She gestured at her friend's face. "You'd look like a teenage boy." She paused. "You know, with a physique like yours you'd be perfect for the Jump Street Program," she noted.
"You do realize that Jump Street was just a TV show, right?"
"No, it isn't," Fat Amy scoffed.
Beca tilted her head to look at her, needing to see her friend's face because she couldn't tell if the new Bella was joking.
"They rebooted 21 Jump Street with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill," Fat Amy reminded and Beca just shook her head.
"Hear that, Beca?" Fat Amy said, bringing a hand to her ear for emphasis once they reached the party. "That's the dance floor calling my sexy fat ass," she continued.
"Own it," Beca smirked as Fat Amy began walking backward.
Fat Amy did a curtsy then swiftly turned on her heels, leaving Beca by herself.
Beca went to get a cup of beer and smiled when her eyes met Benji's who waved at her as he began walking her way, sporting a maroon sweater and grinning from ear to ear.—the cape was nowhere in sight, she was thrilled he took her advice and stopped wearing it.
"Just so you know, if this goes missing, it wasn't me that took it," Beca told him as she felt the fabric of the sweatshirt to which he laughed. "It's gonna fun beating you," she added as she brought the red solo cup she just filled with beer to her lips.
"No, it's gonna be fun to beat you," he countered, grabbing a cup to get beer as well.
"So, now that you're a member of the self-proclaimed "bad boys" of A Cappella will start going by Ben?" Beca asked, smirking at the boy who rolled his eyes, a habit he picked up from her, in response—she was rubbing off a lot on him, she didn't know if she should worry or be proud.
"How many did you add to the group?" he asked as they took a seat on the edge of the empty pool.
"Just two," Beca answered. "Fat Amy who you met on Moving Day and Flo, that girl doing a backflip," she nodded at Flo as she stuffed her hand the pocket of her sweatshirt to pull her phone when she felt it vibrate.
Jesse: 'Hey, Bec. Call me when you see this.'
She hadn't heard his voice in months, they just texted now. Beca cleared her throat as she brought her phone to her ear, ignoring the feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The phone only rung once before he picked up. "Hey, Becs," he answered the phone in a rush. "How are you doing?" he asked, she could tell he wanted something and was just being polite.
"I'm doing alright. I'd ask how you're doing but you're clearly not calling because you missed my voice, so, yeah, what's up, dude?" She heard him sigh and frowned, starting to worry.
"So, you know I'm staying with Chloe since Adam is away for work," he began to say. "She's in labor."
"Shit," Beca mumbled. "Sorry, I mean, great. That's great. Your brother's still away?"
"That's why I'm calling you. He found a fight and should get here around Four AM. By then Chloe would be in active labor and could even have given birth. I can't leave her side."
"You want me to pick Adam up from the airport," she figured.
"I'll ask someone else if you can't—"
"No, dude, of course, I can pick Adam up." She just had to get a hold of a car, she'd go to her father if he was in town—Dr. Mitchell and Sheila were away for the weekend.
"Thank you so much, Beca. I owe you."
"Yeah, big time," she sarcastically replied to which he chuckled.
"Hey, Benji, you know anyone who would loan me their car?" Beca asked upon hanging up.
He thought about it briefly then shook his head. "Who are you picking from the airport?"
"Jesse's brother." She took a sip of beer, trying to think of something to get a hold of a car, and then briefly recounted her conversation with Jesse to Benji.
"Why don't you just take the Bellas' bus?" he suggested.
"That's a good idea, except I'm not licensed to drive buses. But Amy is." Problem solved, sort of. Beca had to convince Amy to drive all the way to Atlanta in the middle of the night and play chauffeur for the Swansons.
/*...*/
Childbirth was scary and amazing and so many other adjectives that contradicted each other. Jesse was exhausted but nowhere near as Chloe. She pushed a child out of her lady parts, his niece, and he saw it. It made his heart swell and stomach flip at the same time.
Chloe fell asleep waiting for Adam to arrive and Jesse had been staring at his cellphone, waiting for Beca to reply to his text asking for updates.
He lifted his head when he heard a knock and felt a wave a relief when he saw Adam.
"Congrats, man," Jesse mumbled, hugging him tightly.
"How is Chloe? Was the delivery okay? Were there complications? Where's my daughter?"
"Chloe is fine, just tried. Yes, the delivery went well. No, there's none. Your baby is super healthy. The nurse said she'd bring her in like half an hour for Chloe to nurse," Jesse answered as he broke the hug. Adam nodded then tilted his head to look at Chloe before he made his way to the bed where she slept while Jesse let himself out.
"Hey," he greeted, finding Beca in the hallway.
"Wow, you look awful," she mumbled eyeing him.
"Is it the beard?" he asked, walking towards her. He was going to shave eventually. It was just that there was no need to have a shaved face.
"Have you tried braiding it?" she questioned him as he stopped in front of her.
"No, not yet," he answered, grinning at her. It was great seeing her. He missed her a lot yet never made an effort to go see her. He was almost sure that his tiny feelings had faded and meeting her would either confirm or deny that and he wasn't ready for the latter.
"Thanks, Becs." He threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled into his chest, hugging her and resting his chin on top of her head. "I really owe you."
"Just pay for breakfast and we're even," she mumbled against his chest, her arms wrapped lowly around his waist. "Mine and Amy's that is. She drove us here."
"Is your driver's license suspended or something?" he asked, pulling his head back while still holding her.
"I don't have a car and the only vehicle available was the Bellas' bus, and unlike me, Amy is licensed to drive buses."
"Well, where is she?" he wanted to know.
"Having a date with the vending machine downstairs," she informed.
He snorted, "C'mon, let's go get some actual food." He pulled away from the hug, yet kept his arm wrapped around her shoulder.
"Um, how are Chloe and the baby?" Beca asked as they began walking towards the elevator.
"They're well." Jesse shrugged then pressed the button to get the elevator. "It was a long night and thank god it's all over," he sighed.
"Oh, poor you. You had to be supportive of your sister in law who gave birth which I hear is easy peasy lemon squeezy," Beca deadpanned as they stepped inside the elevator.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Beca arched an eyebrow when she found Jesse staring at her.
"Nothing." He smiled at her and pressed the ground floor button. He was glad to see her. And gladder to know that the feelings he had developed faded.