"Fucking Kelsey" Beca mumbled as she maneuvered through a crowded terminal in Minneapolis International Airport with her messenger bag thrown over one shoulder and the dog carrier in her other hand. When she asked Kelsey to book her the next flight home and she didn't care what airline it was or any other details other than it would take her to LA and allow her to carry Marco Polo on the plane, she didn't think she would end up with a connection in Minneapolis of all places. But none of that mattered, she had told Chloe that she would be home in 8 days and that expired 5 days ago. When she called and told her pregnant wife that she would be a few days longer the redhead didn't take it well. In fact, she only started talking to her again a couple of days ago. Beca left her a message this morning right before she boarded her fight home from London but hadn't heard from her since. She held the phone up in front of her again to look for any incoming messages but there weren't any. Beca continued to weave through the people apologizing for bumping into them with the plastic dog carrier as she hustled to make her next flight. The one that would finally bring her back to her family. Beca could see the gate number ahead of her. She heard the flight attendant announce the final boarding call.
"Shit" Beca said to herself as she picked up the pace into a slight jog. "Hold on Poe" she said as she looked down at the carrier in her left hand. "Sorry. Sorry. Move please" Beca said as she continued to brush past people. She was determined to not miss this flight and she would not be close to missing it if she didn't have to find a small patch of grass outside the airport for Poe to relieve himself. All she wanted was to be home with the two most important people in the world and all that separated her from that was 30 or so yards. "Sorry, shit. I'm so sorry" she continued.
Finally she made it. In front of her stood a perky brunette. "Good morning." The attendant greeted Beca as she bent over to place the dog on the floor. She reached into the side pocket of her messenger bag and retrieved her boarding pass. The flight attendance scanned it. "Have a great flight" she wished. Beca bent down to grab the dog carrier and walked down the tunnel to the last plane she planned on taking for a while. After quickly finding her seat in business class, Beca arranged the carrier on the floor next to her. She bent down to check on her little travel companion who popped his head up when she smiled at him. "Almost there bud." Beca whispered as she stuck a finger through the caged door. He smelled and licked her finger before dropping his head back down on his paws. Beca sat back up in her seat. She fastened her seatbelt and prepared for take-off. "Four more hours" She breathed.
XxXxXx
"Chlo?" Aubrey yelled as she entered Quinn and Emma's Santa Monica house.
"In here" Chloe called back her voice trembling.
Aubrey by passed the wet spot on the floor towards the direction Chloe's voice came from.
"Aunt Awbwrey" Fin screamed happily as she ran into the blonde's arms.
"Aubrey?" The sound of Jesse's voice boomed through the house. Aubrey turned back towards the front door to see her husband standing in the doorway. "Where is she?" Jesse asked.
"In here" Chloe's voice said again sounding more strained.
Jesse and Aubrey both entered the downstairs guest room looking for Chloe.
"Mama go potty" Finley said as she pointed towards the bathroom.
Jesse and Aubrey found Chloe sitting in the tub with her hands on either side of her large belly. "Hey guys." Chloe greeted.
"How far apart are you're contractions?" Aubrey asked as she knelt down next to Chloe.
"Like 10 minutes maybe?" Chloe asked. "And they last for like 30 seconds or so and it's not as painfully as I thought it would be." Chloe smiled.
"Oh honey" Aubrey said shaking her head, "they will be."
Chloe looked at her friend with scared eyes but Aubrey missed them as she turned to Jesse. "Did you get a hold of Beca?"
Jesse shook his head. He looked at his phone again. "I called and it went straight to voicemail and I texted her but my message hasn't been delivered."
"She's flying home" Chloe said quickly as a new contraction began to building in her stomach. The wave lasted 28 seconds according to Aubrey who made sure to time it from start to finish.
"Why did you get in the bathtub?" Aubrey asked after Chloe's breathing returned to normal.
"I don't know. I wasn't sure what else was gonna come out." Chloe cringed.
"Okay" Aubrey said as she held her hands out for Chloe. "You and I are going to the hospital. Jesse you go to the airport and get Beca. I'll call Jess so she can meet us at the hospital to watch Finley." Aubrey game planned on the fly.
Jesse approached Chloe and helped her step out of the tub. He walked the redhead to Chloe's car that had Fin's car seat already set up. "Don't worry Chloe. I'll get her to you as soon as possible." Jesse said with a smile as she helped the redhead into the passenger seat.
"Thanks. I think she comes in on an American Airlines flight at like 1:30." Chloe said as she tried to recall Beca's voice message from the morning.
"I'll find her. Don't worry. Drive safe" Jesse said as Aubrey closed the back door and was just about to get into the driver's seat. She nodded at him. He watched as they backed out of the driveway and headed in the direction of the interstate. He pulled his phone back out of his pocket. 12:24 pm. He jogged over to his SUV and sped off quickly in the direction of LAX.
XxXxXx
Beca banged her head against the seat impatiently as the airplane crawled toward the airport. She reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. She quickly switched out of airplane mode and watched as the device searched for a signal. The plane stopped abruptly, rocking Beca in her seat. She slipped the device into her pocket as the sound of unclicking of seatbelts and travelers preparing to de-plane forced her into action. She quickly gathered her belongings and the family pup so that she wouldn't be forced to wait as the rest of the passengers rushed down the aisle.
After making it out of the tunnel and into the terminal Beca couldn't keep the smile off her face. Finally home, she thought as she maneuvered her way to baggage claim to collect her suitcase. Just after passing security Beca was welcomed back to LA by a swarm of paparazzi and flashing lights. She tried to keep her head down and keep moving but a small crowd of autograph seekers were starting to follow her. "Welcome back to LA" Beca mumbled as she placed Poe on the ground at her feet. A marker was shoved in her general direction quickly and she went to work, signing pretty much anything that was in her immediate vicinity. Mostly adult voices were calling out questions from all directions as she smiled and signed. She would reply with a simple thank you when she received a complement on her work or her family. She kept all the answers to questions generic as she had learned over the years. Never divulge any information about where you're going, when you're going to be there, who you're going with, how long you're going to be there and so on until the event has passed. Then post pictures. A small voice cut through the grown ones.
"Hi Beca" the little girl called.
"Hi Sweetheart" Beca returned as she crouched down slightly to be closer to the child who held out piece of paper that looked like just came out of her mother's purse.
"I like you're music" the small voice said softly.
"Awe, thank you." Beca smiled earning a smile from the blonde girl who Beca judged to be around 7 years old. "This won't do" Beca said as she looked at the white paper that had been torn off of some sort of pad. Beca pulled her pair of white Beats from around her neck. She signed the side of the right headphones and wrapped them around the little girl's neck. Beca winked and then stood to look for the girls parent who was not too far way. Beca watched as the parent approached and mouthed a thank you to the star as she gathered up her daughter and left the crowd quickly.
"Becs!" Jesse called out as he saw Beca stand up from the middle of a gathering group of people.
Beca turned as she heard Jesse's voice. "Hey" She said with a wave. She was happy to see him. He cut through the bodies finally making his way to his friend.
"We have to go" Jesse said quickly as he picked up Beca's carry-on bag.
Beca grabbed the dog carrier and followed Jesse. "Hold up Jesse, I checked a bag as well" Beca said from behind Jesse as she walked quickly, still being followed by some persistent photographers.
"Let's just get to the car first. We don't have time right now." Jesse said over his shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Beca asked.
Jesse continued walking towards the exit. "Jesse" Beca said loudly wondering why she didn't have time to collect her things.
Jesse stopped and turned towards his best friend. He didn't want to announce that Chloe was in labor while a group of people were following them but it seemed that maybe he didn't have much of a choice. "Beca please, I paid some guy 20 bucks to watch my car."
"Why would you do that?" Beca asked. "Where's Chloe?"
Jesse stepped forward. He watched Beca watch him out of the corner of her eye as he moved towards her ear to whisper, "Her water broke a couple of hours ago. She's at the hospital with Aubrey. We need to go." He pulled back.
Beca's mouth hung open slightly and her eyes were wide. She was definitely not blinking and he wasn't sure she was breathing.
"Becs" He said softly, "we need to go." He added a smile. He turned back toward the front and began moving again. Jesse checked over his shoulder and was relieved when Beca had followed him. Her expression hadn't changed but at least she was able to follow directions.
XxXxXx
"Have you heard from Jesse?" Chloe asked. She had just finished undressing and Aubrey was helping her close her hospital gown. She let her best friend help her into the hospital bed just in time for another contraction.
"Just breathe" Aubrey said soothingly as she rubbed her hand on top of Chloe's belly. After about 20 seconds the contraction passed and Chloe's breathing returned to normal.
"Beca?" Chloe asked.
"Nothing yet" Aubrey replied just as a nurse came into the room.
"Hello. Oh my God." the nurse stopped suddenly. "You're Chloe Beale. The actress." She said slightly confused. "I'm sorry, I was looking for a different Chloe. I'm so sorry." The nurse said as she picked up the chart that was placed on the table to try to figure out the mix up.
"Chloe Mitchell?" Chloe asked.
The nurse looked up and nodded. "Has someone done this before? I'm so sorry Miss. Beale, I'll get this figured out right away."
"No, that's me. Mitchell is my married name." Chloe explained.
"Oh. Of course, I'm so sorry. My name is Lorie by the way and I love your movies. I can't believe it's really you. My daughters are so in love with you. I really hope you make another movie soon." The woman smiled. "So, I need to see how far dilated you are. Would that be okay?" She asked nervously as she pulled on the blue latex gloves. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Mitchell. I just made it weird right?"
"It's nice to meet you Lori. I'm Chloe." The redhead introduced herself. "And no, it's fine." She bent her knees to allow the nurse to make her assessment. The nurse made a tent with some extra dressings and looked down between Chloe's legs.
"About 4 centimeters." The nurse said as she laid the long gown back down over Chloe's feet.
"So about how long?" Chloe asked trying to get a gauge on how long this could last.
"Oh sweetie. It's gonna be a while." The nurse said as she reached for a large plastic cup that she had already filled with ice chips and placed it on a nearby tray. "Try to just settle in. I'll be back soon." Lori said with a smile.
XxXxXx
Jesse tossed Beca's bag in the back seat of his car as Beca stood outside the passenger side. He grabbed the dog carrier and placed it on the floor board of the back seat before opening the passenger door. "Get in." He instructed as he tossed his key fob into the middle cup holder. "I'll go grab your suitcase. What does it look like?" He asked.
"Um" Beca said as she climbed in the car. "It's a hardside greyish case with houndstooth design. It has my initials on it." Beca recalled.
"Okay. Wait here." Jesse instructed as he ran back in the airport toward baggage claim.
Beca sat as she replayed Jesse's words over and over again. She repeated them aloud, "Chloe's water broke a couple of hours ago. She's at the hospital." She whispered. "Her water broke." Beca looked out the window for any sign of Jesse. "She's having the baby" Beca said loudly as the shock was quickly being replaced with the realization that her wife was in labor. "Shit!" Beca yelled. "What the fuck am I doing sitting here?" She asked herself. She looked over to the driver side and then back toward the airport. Without any sign of Jesse, Beca hopped over the center console and into the driver's seat. "Wait here." Beca huffed as she repeated Jesse's instruction. "Fuck that" she said as she pressed the ignition button and threw the car into drive.
XxXxXx
"It's Jesse" Aubrey announced as she picked up her vibrating phone from the tray near Chloe's bed. "Hello?" She said after hitting the green phone icon. "Did you get Beca? Are you on your way?"
"Yeah, about that" Jesse said as he stood outside of LAX where he left Beca sitting in his car. He looked from side to side hoping Beca was asked to move the car and would be back at any moment but that hadn't happened in the 30 minutes he's been standing there so he figured it was time to call and update Aubrey. "I had her and I kind of lost her." He admitted.
"You what?" Aubrey questioned. Her tone caught Chloe's attention, her bright blue eyes now burning a hole in Aubrey's forehead. Aubrey turned away from Chloe to continue.
"Well not lost her, I mean she is probably on her way to the hospital. I think. I mean, I'm sure that's where she is." He rambled quickly.
"Aca-scuse me?" Aubrey said desperately.
"I found her in the airport. I took her to the car and it was all going great. I went in to get her luggage and when I came back out she was gone. In my car. Sssoooo" Jesse trailed off waiting for Aubrey's reaction.
"Well, have you tried to call her?" Aubrey asked quietly.
"Call her?" Chloe asked with a high pitched voice. "What's going on?"
"If I had spoken to Beca then I wouldn't be calling you" Jesse answered honestly. "She's not answering her phone."
Aubrey huffed.
"I'm going to get a cab and head over to the hospital. I'll keep trying Beca. Just try to keep Chloe calm." Jesse said as he threw his hand up to stop an upcoming taxi.
Aubrey disconnected the phone and turned to face her best friend.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked.
"Just stay calm Chlo" Aubrey said sweetly as she approached the anxious redhead.
"Where is she?" Chloe asked trying not to lose her temper.
"Um well" Aubrey began.
"Mama!" Finley called loudly.
Chloe looked around Aubrey at her daughter in the arms of her wife. She let a visible sigh of relief.
"Hey baby" Beca said as she stopped next to the hospital bed. She bent down and captured Chloe's lips. Chloe reached up and pulled Beca closer by the back of her neck. Beca pulled back from the soft kiss and smiled.
"You're here" Chloe whispered.
Beca nodded.
Their moment was broken up by Chloe flinching away in pain.
"What's wrong?" Beca asked quickly looking from her wife to Aubrey.
"She's having a contraction." Aubrey said with a roll of her eyes. "That's what happens when someone goes into labor. And I can't believe you left Jesse" Aubrey squinted her eyes.
"Sorry" Beca said with a smirk. "He's a big boy, he'll figure it out."
"Hello!" Chloe said loudly.
Beca snapped back around.
"Pregnant lady in labor here" she said as she motioned to her belly trying to breathe through the pain.
Finley dropped her head into the crook of Beca's neck.
"What's wrong munchkin" Beca said as she nuzzled Finley's head.
"Mama got a owie?" Finley pouted.
"Kind of bug" Beca answered with a smile. Chloe also smiled at her daughter's concern as her contraction passed. "The baby is coming soon." Beca tried to explain.
"And it hurts a little bit baby but I'll be okay" Chloe said as she reached up for Finley's hand that was dangling by her side. The toddler sprung forward out of Beca's arms and towards her mom.
"Woah" Beca said as she struggled to keep hold of Finley.
"It's okay" Chloe said as she reached up for Fin. "Come here love bug." Chloe helped guide Finley down to lay half way on her as the little girl wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck.
"Kisses" Finley whispered in Chloe's ear and placed a kiss to her mother's cheek.
"Hello" Lori said as she walked into the room. She pumped the hand sanitizer twice and rubbed her hands together as she approached Chloe. "She's beautiful" the nurse said looking at Finley.
"Thank you" Chloe replied with a smile.
"How are you doing?" Lori asked.
"Um, okay I think. The contractions are getting a little more painful but don't seem to be coming any quicker." Chloe answered.
"Well, it could take a while dear." The nurse replied.
"Hi" Beca piped up. "When can she get the epidural?"
"Lori, this is my wife Beca" Chloe introduce "and this is our daughter Finley."
Lori nodded, "well I'd prefer to wait until she's a little further dilated but she can have it whenever she wants."
Beca looked over to her wife. Chloe shook her head. "Not yet."
"I don't want you to be in too much pain." Beca said sweetly.
Aubrey laughed from behind her. "Just wait."
Lori patted Chloe on the foot. "I'll check back with you in a bit. If you need anything just hit the call button." She instructed.
As Lori left the room, Jessica walked in with Jesse behind her.
"Thanks a lot B" He said as he stood next to Aubrey.
"You were taking entirely too long." Beca answer. "But thanks for coming to get me."
"How about I take this one to the cafeteria and see if they have any ice cream." Jessica said as she reached over Chloe's bed rail for Finley.
"Good idea." Chloe said feeling another contraction building.
Beca was by her side quickly as Chloe reached for her hand. Once she found it she squeezed down hard.
"Mother fucker" Beca said loudly as she felt her bones being crushed together under Chloe's grip.
"That's a bwad word" Finley said as she looked back at her mom's while Jessica carried her out of the room.
9 HOURS LATER
"You look tired" Chloe said the second she had relief from the pain she was in.
"Don't worry about me baby." Beca replied. She was exhausted. It was coming upon 24 hours that she had been awake. "How are you? Did the epidural help?"
Just as Chloe was about to answer another contraction hit her full force. They were coming quickly now and the nurses who had changed shifts were in the room the entire time.
"Here you go" Aubrey said as she walked back into Chloe's delivery room with a cup of coffee for Beca. "Jesse said that Fin went to sleep as soon as he got her home." Aubrey updated the couple. "And he said now we probably have to get Brady a dog, so thanks for that."
Chloe smiled as she gritted her teeth and worked to breathe as evenly as she could.
"Chloe, I'm going to take a look okay?" A nurse asked.
Chloe nodded as her hospital gown was raised over her knees. The nurse popped her head out and looked at Beca. "Wanna have a look?"
Beca's face paled. She looked at Chloe who looked just as scared. "Don't" Chloe whispered. "I've read that it's gross."
Beca looked back at the nurse and shook her head. "No thank you."
The nurse giggled and returned back under the sheet. Once she re-appeared, she pulled the gown back down and patted Chloe on both knees. "I'm going to page the Doctor." She said with a smile. "It's time."
"I love you" Beca said as she bent over the hospital bed. She placed a kiss to Chloe's sweaty forehead. "You're amazing." She praised.
A few minutes later a tall blonde doctor walked into the room. "Hello Ladies. I'm Doctor Pollard and I'm going to be delivering your baby tonight." She greeted.
"Hi. Beca" Beca said as she reached her hand out to shake the doctor's hand. "This is my wife Chloe."
"Hi Chloe. Let's take a look shall we?" Dr. Pollard said as she pulled on sterile gloves and sat down on a stool at the foot of Chloe's hospital bed. The nursing staff flipped up the leg stirrups and help Chloe place her feet on the braces. "Okay. Looks good. Do you feel like you're ready to push?"
Chloe nodded.
"Okay Chloe. Take a deep breath and then push really hard." She instructed.
Beca pulled the back of Chloe's hand to her lips just as the redhead pushed with all her strength. After a couple of seconds she fell backwards on the bed, exhausted.
"That was great Chloe but I need you to do it again." The doctor instructed from between Chloe's legs.
Chloe shook her head no but propped herself up and prepared to follow the doctor's instructions.
"Okay, here we go. Deep breath and push hard." Dr. Pollard said.
Chloe did as she was told, the groans turning to a muffled scream.
Beca held Chloe's hand tightly and tried her best to encourage her wife but was struggling seeing Chloe in so much pain.
"I'm sorry, I can't" Chloe cried as she laid back on the hospital bed again. "I'm sorry." She said with tears in her eyes.
"I know Chloe but this is not the time to stop. You are so close, just a couple more really good pushes and you're baby will be here." The doctor encouraged. "Beca, do you think you could climb behind Chloe and help to hold her up and giver her something to push against?" The doctor suggested.
Beca looked from the doctor to the bed. A nurse helped her move the arm rail down and Beca climbed up and straddled Chloe from behind. Chloe's hands found themselves gripping tightly on Beca's knee's as she pushed her back into Beca's chest. Beca pulled Chloe's hair from her left shoulder and leaned forward to whisper in her wife's ear. Aubrey moved closer to the hospital bed taking Beca's place.
"You got this Chlo" Beca said softly. "You can do it."
"Okay Chloe, push hard." Dr. Pollard instructed.
Chloe pushed as hard as she could.
"Good Chloe. And again. One more time"
Chloe took a breath and bared down as hard as she could. She couldn't hold back the scream that came from her mouth. At least she thought it was her scream. She was pushing so hard that everything else faded away. She could see the doctor and nurse's working between her legs but didn't hear anything they were saying. She could feel Beca's breath on her ear and Aubrey's hand on top of hers. Before she realized what was happened the pain was substantially less and the pressure between her legs that felt like it was ripping her apart was almost bearable. She could feel Beca's arms tightening around her chest as she allowed herself to lean all the way back into Beca's chest, letting her head rest on the brunette's shoulder. Then she heard the scream again but this time she knew it wasn't her.
"Congratulations." Dr. Pollard said as she approached with a squirming baby wrapped in a white blanket with blue stripes. "Here is your little boy."
"A boy" Beca whispered as the baby was being placed on Chloe's chest.
AN: Thanks for all your comments... Tell me your thoughts.