DAY 22 - TEMPORARY HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Prompt from FanFiction User Hetwaszoietsals: Beca and Chloe as foster parents celebrating the first Christmas with their foster child(-ren) who never experienced Christmas before.
A/N: I was asked to do more on Beca growing up in foster care (from Day 18-Something That's Mine). I decided to combine that idea with this one. I hope you enjoy it.
It was the day after Thanksgiving, and Beca and Chloe were decorating the house for Christmas. Beca was working on the tree. She smiled as she placed the ornament that Chloe had given her last year for their first Christmas together in the same spot as the year before. She smiled and took a deep breath. She couldn't get over how much like Christmas the tree smelled.
"Hey, babe," Chloe said coming up behind Beca and wrapping one arm around Beca's waist and holding out a wrapped box with the other. "Merry Christmas."
"What's this?" Beca turned, so she was facing Chloe.
"Open it," Chloe said.
"It's not Christmas yet," Beca said with a grin. She had a feeling she knew what the gift was.
"I know," Chloe said. "But, you need to open it now so we can both enjoy it."
Beca took the gift and ripped the paper off. She opened and smiled because inside was another ornament with The Mitchells 1st Christmas - 2019 etched on it.
Beca smiled. After hearing of Beca's experience growing up in foster care, Chloe wanted them to become foster parents and give some children a happy home, even if it was temporary.
When they checked into becoming foster parents, they found that even though they were in a committed relationship, they could not be foster parents together. They could if they were single and not living together or if they were married.
So, Beca and Chloe got married in early March. They knew it was fast, but they also knew that they wanted to be together forever.
Their wedding was a small affair at the Courthouse, but they wouldn't have changed it for the world. The newlyweds immediately filed to become foster parents. After four months of home checks, interviews, classes in parenting, and a bunch of paperwork they became licensed foster parents.
They had their first foster child back in October. The girl was fourteen and had run away from her previous foster parents. Child Services had located an aunt who wanted to take the girl in but needed to keep her somewhere safe until the aunt could get to LA to pick her up. So, she was only with them for three days. Beca made sure the girl was shown love and care in those three days. She also talked with the girl about her own experiences in foster care. Both she and Chloe enjoyed the time they had together and missed the young girl when she left them.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Chloe's voice brought Beca out of her revery.
"Just thinking about this past year," Beca said with a smile and kissed Chloe. She turned toward the tree holding up the ornament. "Where shall we put it?"
"Put it near the first one," Chloe said. "Every year we'll add to it and make a chain of our Christmases together. We'll call it our Christmas Chain of Love."
Beca laughed. "How long have you been holding on to that little chestnut?"
"Since the day I ordered it," Chloe said with a giggle.
"I love it," Beca said and kissed Chloe. "And, I love you."
Beca placed the ornament on the tree a few inches to the right of her first ornament.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
A week later, Beca and Chloe were awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call. Beca sleepily reached for her phone and managed to answer it.
"Hello?" Beca's voice is raspy from sleep. She clears it and tries again. "Hello?"
"Hello," a voice said from the phone. "This is Tracy Daniels from Child Services."
"Oh, um, hey, Tracy," Beca said sitting up and more awake now.
"What is it?" Chloe whispers.
Beca put the phone on speaker. "I'm sorry to bother you so late, but we have an emergency, and you're the only couple who isn't fostering anyone right now."
"Okay," Beca said. "How can we help you?"
"We have three small children that we need to place in a home tonight," Tracy said. "We don't have any room in the group homes, and most families are already housing too many children."
"Bring them over," Beca said without hesitation as she looked at Chloe. Chloe smiled and nodded.
"Are you sure?" Tracy asked hesitantly.
"Tracy, this is Chloe," Chloe said. "Bring them here."
"I'll be there in twenty," Tracy said as if holding back tears.
"We'll see you then," Beca said and ended the call. "You get the guest room ready for them, and I'll make the coffee. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. We can figure out something better in the morning."
Chloe headed for the guest room, and Beca headed for the kitchen. Chloe quickly changed the sheets on the bed and joined Beca in the kitchen.
"What do you think happened?" Chloe asked as she sat at the kitchen table.
"I don't know," Beca said. "Tracy will fill us in when she gets here."
Beca grabbed three coffee mugs from the cabinet and poured coffee for her and Chloe. They waited quietly, and both jumped when the doorbell rang. They both got up and hurried to the door.
Chloe opened the door to find Tracy carrying an infant boy who may have been nine or ten months old. She was holding the hand of a girl that couldn't be much more than three. Standing next to them is another girl who looked to be about seven.
Chloe immediately took the boy from Tracy and ushered them all inside. Beca stood there as memories of the many times she was dropped off at another foster home flooded her head. She shook her head to clear the memories.
"Let's get them to bed," Beca said.
Tracy nodded and followed Beca and Chloe toward the stairs. The oldest child looked around with wide eyes. She stopped in front of the Christmas tree and stared at it.
"Why do you have a tree in your house?" the young girl asked.
"You take Tracy and those two upstairs," Beca quietly told Chloe. "I'll bring her up in a few minutes."
Chloe nodded, and Tracy whispered, "Her name is Sophie."
Chloe and Tracy moved to the stairs, and Beca walked over to the girl and knelt in front of her. "Hi, my name is Beca. Tracy tells me your name is Sophie."
"That's right," Sophie said. "I'm Sophie. Where did you take Emily and Dylan?"
"My wife, Chloe, took them up to put them to bed," Beca said.
"Okay," Sophie said and turned toward the tree again. "Why do you have a tree in your house?"
"That's our Christmas tree," Beca said.
"Oh," Sophie said. "We don't do Christmas at our house."
At first, Beca thought she was kidding, but seeing the look on the child's face, Beca knew she was serious.
"Well, we celebrate Christmas in our house," Beca said. "Is that okay?"
"Yes," Sophie said. "It will be nice for Emily and Dylan."
"What about you? Don't you want Santa to bring you something?"
"Daddy said there is no Santa," Sophie said. "And that's why we didn't get presents."
Beca was a bit taken aback and didn't know what to say.
"Um, how about I take you up to bed, and we can talk about it in the morning? Okay?"
Sophie nodded, and Beca reached out her hand, letting Sophie decide whether she would take it. Sophie slowly placed her hand in Beca's and let Beca lead her upstairs.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Beca, Chloe, and Tracy were sitting at the kitchen table, cups of coffee in front of them.
Tracy folded her hands in front of her on the table and leaned forward slightly. "We were called to the home because their father killed their mother and then himself."
Chloe grabbed Beca's hand as tears came to her eyes. "Did, um, did they-." Chloe took a breath.
"Did any of the kids see him do it?" Beca finally asked the question.
"We don't think so," Tracy said. "A neighbor called the police, and they found the kids asleep in another room. That's when they called me." Tracy looked at the couple. "The house was filthy and disgusting. The children were dirty and hungry. The neighbor who made the call had me take them to her house, and she fed the two girls some cereal and managed to get some milk into Dylan. She also helped me clean them up."
Tracy took a sip of her cold coffee and looked at Beca. "Honestly, when I knew we would need to find a place for them tonight, you were the first ones I thought of. Having heard of Beca's experiences in foster care, I figured you'd be able to talk to Sophie in a way she would understand. The other two are too young and won't understand what happened until they are much older."
Beca nodded. "I'll do my best."
"That's all I can ask," Tracy said with a small smile.
"What are their names?" Chloe asked as she wiped away a tear.
"We found birth certificates for all three," Tracy said. "Sophie just turned seven. Emily is two, and baby Dylan is ten months old. I'll have some paperwork for you in a few days with more information on them. We'll look for any family they may have, but I doubt we'll find any. I, um, was hoping you'd be able to keep them until after the holidays. We're really busy this time of-"
"No problem," Beca and Chloe both said.
"We'll keep them as long as they need a place to stay," Chloe said, and Beca nodded.
"Thank you," Tracy said and let out a breath. "I'd better get going. I have a diaper bag in the car for Dylan and a car seat I can leave with you. They didn't have much in the way of clothes, but I have some in a bag for them."
"I'll walk out with you and grab the stuff," Beca said. She looked at Chloe and told her she'd be right back.
Tracy handed Beca the diaper bag and bag of clothes. She also grabbed a car seat to leave with Beca.
"Do you need me to help you with those?"
"I got it," Beca said. "Thank you, Tracy."
"Thank you," Tracy said. "Both you and Chloe. I know you asked to have one older child to foster at a time, but I think these kids need you."
"It's fine," Bea said. "We can manage."
"Okay," Tracy said. "Tomorrow's Saturday but I have a feeling those kids will be up early, and you guys should get some sleep. I'll call tomorrow to check in."
"Goodnight, Tracy," Beca said and went back to the apartment.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Chloe woke the next morning and reached for Beca only she wasn't in bed.
"Babe?" Chloe called out and then heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. She got up and put a robe on and went to see what was going on.
Chloe stopped when she got to the door of the kitchen. Beca had all three kids with her and was doing a fine impression of Julia Child while making bacon and potatoes.
Chloe came up behind and kissed on her shoulder. "Morning, babe. Why didn't you wake me when the kids woke up?"
"You're pretty," Sophie said looking at Chloe.
Chloe smiled and hugged Sophie. "Thank you. I think you're pretty, too."
"Hug?" Emily said and raised her arms toward Chloe.
Chloe hugged Emily and kissed her on top of her head. Emily grabbed Chloe around the neck so when Chloe stood, she had to bring Emily up with her. She held Emily and Emily started running her fingers through Chloe's hair.
"Pwetty," Emily said.
Dylan started babbling and waving his arms. "Good morning, Dylan." Chloe kissed him on top of his head. "Who wants milk?"
"I would like some, please," Sophie said.
"Milk," Emily said.
"Coming right up," Chloe said and sat Emily back in her seat.
"We need to do some shopping," Beca said. "We'll need groceries and some clothes for the kids."
"Maybe we can get Stacie or Aubrey to come over and stay with the kids," Chloe said.
"No," Beca said shaking her head. "They've barely been with us for twelve hours. I don't want to leave them with someone they don't know. I'm going to call Stacie and see if she'll do the shopping for us. We'll make her a list and everything."
"That sounds like a good plan," Chloe said.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
After breakfast, Beca called Stacie. Stacie and Aubrey showed up an hour later. Beca answered the door and found not only Stacie and Aubrey but some guys carrying boxes.
"A neighbor of ours has a little girl who is too old for a crib, so she gave it to us for you," Stacie said. "There's also a high chair and a car seat still in the truck."
"Wow," Beca said. "That was nice of her."
"We told her about the three kids, and she wanted to help," Aubrey said.
Beca was teary-eyed as she led the guys to the spare bedroom so they could leave the stuff.
"We can put the crib together for you if you'd like," one of the guys told Beca.
"Really? That would be great."
"Our pleasure," the guy said and started taking the pieces out of the box.
Beca told them where to set it up and was walking out when Stacie came in with a brand new baby monitor.
"This is from Brey and me," Stacie said. "Sort of baby shower gift."
Beca laughed and placed the box on the dresser. "Thanks. You guys are the best."
Beca and Stacie went back downstairs. Chloe and the kids were in the kitchen with Aubrey.
"The guys are putting the crib together for us," Beca said as she walked into the kitchen.
"That's great," Chloe said.
"Do you have a list of things you need?" Aubrey asked. "Stacie and I thought one of you should go with one of us and do the shopping," Aubrey said. "The other will stay and help with the kids."
"We have two lists," Beca said. "One for the grocery store and one for clothes and other stuff. Chlo, why don't you and Aubrey do the shopping? Stacie can stay and help with the kids if that's okay with her."
"I'd love to help with the kids," Stacie said with a smile. "I can't wait to get to know these little munchkins." She tickled Emily's tummy causing the toddler to giggle.
"We have stuff for lunch so we should be good for a while," Beca told Chloe. "I have some cash in my wallet. Take it and my credit card with you."
"Okay," Chloe said and went to get Beca's wallet. She grabbed her keys and phone and headed back downstairs.
Chloe kissed Beca and then went around the kitchen table and kissed the three kids. Emily grabbed hold of Chloe and didn't want to let go.
"No leave," Emily cried causing Chloe to tear up.
Chloe held on to Emily and looked her in the eye. "It's okay, Em. I'm just going to the store with my friend, Brey. I'll be back. I promise. Okay?"
"Back," Emily said and sniffled.
"Yes, I'll be back," Chloe said blinking her eyes to keep the tears from falling.
"Hey, Emily," Beca said standing next to Chloe. "Chloe always comes back because when Chloe makes a promise, you can believe her. Okay? And, while she's gone, you get to play with me and Sophie and Stacie. Won't that be fun?"
"Yeah, Emily," Sophie said. "We can play. It will be okay."
"Tay, Soph," Emily said. Emily kissed Chloe's cheek and hugged her neck. "See later?"
"Yes, I'll see you later, Emily," Chloe said as she handed Emily to Beca.
"You okay?" Beca mouthed and Chloe nodded her head.
"We'd better go," Chloe said and wiped her eyes. "We have a lot of shopping to do."
Aubrey smiled and wrapped an arm around Chloe's shoulders and led her out the door.
"That was the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Stacie said. "How about we watch a movie?"
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Beca and Stacie fed the kids lunch and then put the two youngest down for a nap. Beca put a baby monitor in the room with them.
"Sophie, are you tired?" Beca asked the young girl. "You can take a nap if you want.
"I'm not tired," Sophie said.
"Let's go watch another movie," Beca said and walked with Sophie back downstairs.
A couple of hours later, Emily could be heard crying through the monitor. Sophie jumped up and ran upstairs with Beca and Stacie following close behind.
"It's okay, Emily," Beca heard Sophie say as she walked in the room. Sophie was hugging Emily while Emily cried. "It's okay. Daddy and mommy aren't here. It's okay."
Beca and Stacie stood in the doorway with tears in their eyes.
"I'm going to go fix everyone a snack," Stacie said and left the room.
Dylan let out a cry and Beca went to the crib to pick him up.
"I can do it," Sophie said.
"It's okay, Sophie," Beca said. "I got Dylan. You take care of Emily. I think she's still scared and needs her big sister."
Sophie turned to look at Emily. Emily sat on the bed with tears still in her eyes. Sophie walked over to her and hugged her again. "It's okay, Emily. We're okay."
Dylan laid his head on Beca's chest, and Beca asked the girls if they wanted a snack. They both nodded, and Beca led them out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen.
"Hi, girls," Stacie said. "Are you ready for a snack?"
"Yes, please," Sophie said.
Stacie placed a plate in front of Sophie and Emily while Beca grabbed a bottle of milk for Dylan. They sat around chatting while Beca fed Dylan.
"Are you excited about Santa Claus coming?" Stacie asked Sophie and Emily.
"Who Santa Cwaws?" Emily asked
"He's not real, Emily," Sophie said.
Stacie looked at Beca with a WTF look on her face. Beca just shook her head.
"Santa Claus is real if you want him to be," Stacie said.
"What he do?" Emily asked looking at Stacie.
"On Christmas Eve, Santa brings toys for all the good little girls and boys."
"Santa Cwaws brings toys?" Emily's eyes are wide as she listens to Stacie.
"That's right," Stacie said.
"But, they are only for the good girls," Sophie said matter-of-factly.
"I good girl," Emily said looking at Stacie. "I get toys?"
"I think Santa will definitely be bringing you toys," Stacie said and smiled at Emily.
"When?" Emily was getting excited now.
"In ten days," Beca said with a smile. She leaned over to whisper to Sophie, "You'll see, Sophie. Santa is real."
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
When Chloe and Aubrey finally returned from shopping, they found Beca, Stacie, and the kids watching The Little Mermaid.
Beca jumped up as soon as she saw Chloe bringing in bags. "Brey's still at the car. We need some help bringing in the rest of the stuff."
"I'll go," Stacie said. She put Emily on the sofa and went to help Aubrey.
Emily immediately got down and ran over to Chloe, but her hands were full, so Beca picked Emily up and followed Chloe into the kitchen. Beca gave Chloe a quick kiss, and Emily reached for Chloe. Chloe took her and Emily just put her arms around Chloe's neck. Chloe held her and kissed the top of her head.
"How'd everything go?"
"Fine. I hope you got diapers. We only have a couple left."
"We got everything on our list and some things that weren't on the list," Chloe said. "We were well prepared for older kids. Having an infant and toddlers was a bit unexpected."
When Chloe made a move to go back to help bring in more bags, Beca stopped her.
"You stay here," Beca said with a smile. "I don't think Emily's done hugging you."
Chloe just smiled and followed Beca into the living room. She went to the sofa and Beca left as Stacie came in with more bags. Chloe told her to put them in the kitchen.
Sophie watched everything that was going on around her. She looked at Chloe and Chloe grabbed her in a hug.
"Let's finish watching the movie," Chloe said, and Sophie sat next to Chloe.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
A few hectic and chaotic days later, Beca came home late to find Chloe asleep on the sofa with Emily and Sophie. Dylan was sitting in his car seat and started waving his arms and legs and giggling. Beca grabbed the car seat and took Dylan into the kitchen with her to keep him from waking the girls.
Beca set the seat on the counter and went about preparing a bottle for Dylan. She was startled when she heard Chloe yell. "Dylan?! Oh, my God!"
Beca rushed into the living room to find a frantic Chloe standing with her hand on her head looking around.
"Beca, he's gone!"
"No, baby, no. He's in the kitchen with me," Beca said pulling Chloe into a hug. "He's okay."
"I'm sorry," Chloe sniffled. "I woke up, and he wasn't-. I got so scared."
"I know," Beca said. Beca noticed Sophie holding Emily and both staring at them with wide eyes. "It's okay girls. Chloe was just scared, but she's okay now."
Beca pulled back from Chloe. "Why don't you go finish feeding Dylan, and I'll take the girls up to bed."
Chloe nodded her head and went over to Sophie and Emily. Emily flinched a bit, but Sophie remained stoic. Chloe kissed both their heads.
"I'm sorry I scared you," Chloe whispered. "You have a good sleep, okay?"
Sophie nodded, and Emily just watched Chloe. Chloe kissed Beca and went to the kitchen. Beca heard her talking to Dylan.
"Come on, girls," Bec said. "Let's get you into bed."
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Chloe put Dylan in his crib and went to her room and immediately walked into Beca's arms.
"Are you okay?" Beca asked as she held Chloe.
"I know it's stupid," Chloe said. "But, I really was scared when I didn't see Dylan when I woke up."
"It's not stupid," Beca said. "You care about them."
"I do," Chloe said. "We've only had them for a few days, and I already love those kids so much."
"I know," Beca said. "I love them, too."
Beca led Chloe to their bed, and they both laid down. Chloe put her head on Beca's chest, and Beca held her.
"We need to make this Christmas special for them," Beca said. "I've already shopped for a bunch of stuff that's in my car."
"I've got some things for them, too," Chloe said. "I can't believe they've never had Christmas before."
"Let's get a small tree so Sophie and Emily can decorate it," Beca said. "And we can get one of those gingerbread house kits to make with them. And get their pictures taken with Santa. And definitely have presents under the tree for them. I want Sophie to know there really is a Santa Claus."
"I love how passionate you are to give them a good Christmas," Chloe said.
"I want them to feel like I did when you gave me my first real Christmas last year," Beca said quietly.
Chloe kissed Beca and hugged her tighter as they fell asleep.
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Beca and Chloe took the kids to see Santa at the mall. They stood close by to hear what Emily and Sophie asked Santa to bring them.
"You're not really Santa," Sophie said looking at the white-bearded man.
Beca and Chloe looked at each other. Beca was worried about the man and Sophie getting into some sort of argument until she heard Santa speak to Sophie.
"You're right," Santa said. "Santa is just one person. He can't be at every mall or Santa's village, so he hires us to dress like him and take pictures with all the kids. The real Santa can only be seen on Christmas Eve."
Chloe wanted to kiss the man. Sophie looked like she was considering what Santa said. Both Beca and Chloe's eyes widened in surprise when Sophie leaned in and quietly whispered something to Santa. The man looked over at Beca and Chloe.
"I can't promise anything," Santa told Sophie. "But, I'll let Santa know what you asked for."
After the kids had their pictures taken with Santa, Chloe led them over to the photographer to pick up their photos. Beca hung back, and Santa told her what Sophie asked for. Beca had a tear in her eye when she met up with Chloe and the kids.
"You okay?" Chloe asked quietly.
"I'll tell you later," Beca said.
Later that night, Beca and Chloe were lying in bed. "So, what did Santa say Sophie wanted for Christmas? We should make sure it's under the tree so she'll believe in Santa, and Emily and Dylan will grow up believing, too."
"She asked Santa to make us her new mommies."
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Tracy sat across from Beca and Chloe at their kitchen table.
"Are you sure you want to pursue this?" Tracy asked. "We've located a grandmother, but she is much older and said she couldn't take the children. She is the only relative we've located. So, they will remain in foster care and available for adoption."
"We are," Chloe said with conviction. "We've talked about it, and we definitely want to adopt them."
"We love those kids," Beca said. "And we have the means to take care of them. Chloe and I want kids and have decided we want these kids as our own."
"Good," Tracy said and smiled. "It will be a process, and luckily since you're already fostering them, they can stay in your home while we get through the adoption process. We will have to wait six months before we can start, and after that, it will probably be another six months for the adoption process to be completed."
"So, they could officially be ours by Christmas next year?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, they could," Tracy said.
"Do you foresee any issues that might keep us from adopting them?" Beca asked, not wanting to get her hopes up quite yet.
"No, I don't," Tracy said. "Their parents are both deceased. The grandmother we found said her son was an only child, and she didn't have siblings, so there are no aunt, uncles or cousins to look for. The mother was an orphan and had no relatives. We haven't uncovered any information to refute this. They are eligible for adoption."
Beca let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "So, can we tell Sophie we're going to adopt her and Emily and Dylan?"
"I think it's safe to do so," Tracy said. "I have to say; I'm glad you're doing this. Experience tells me that they would most likely be split up with Dylan and Emily being adopted quickly. Sophie is older and will mostly like age out."
"We are not going to let that happen," Chloe said. "They will be together, and they will be with us."
Beca smiled. "You heard the lady. Let's do this."
Tracy smiled and nodded her head. "Let's do this."
~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~ ~25 Days~
Three days before Christmas 2020, Beca and Chloe stood before a judge and signed the adoption papers for Sophie Marie, Emily Anne, and Dylan Robert Mitchell. Sophie had the biggest smile on her face, and the family hugged each other. Aubrey and Stacie were there to witness everything and cried happy tears with the entire Mitchell family.
They left the Courthouse and went to lunch to celebrate. Emily asked if they could see Santa while they were out. Beca and Chloe agreed, and they went to the mall.
When it was their turn, Sophie sat on Santa's lap and gave him a big hug.
"Did you want to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?" Santa asked.
"Nope," Sophie said as she got down off Santa's lap. "I already got everything I wanted. Tell the real Santa that Sophie Mitchell said thanks!"
Later that day, Chloe and Beca handed Sophie a wrapped package. She took it and looked at them.
"Open it," Chloe said with a smile.
Sophie opened the gift. She smiled when she lifted it out of the box.
"I know just the spot for it," Sophie said.
Sophie, with Chloe's help, placed the new ornament on the tree next to the one that said, The Mitchells' 1st Christmas - 2019. She stepped back and smiled as she read, "The New Mitchells' First Christmas - 2020. Beca, Chloe, Sophie, Emily, and Dylan."