Going to school without Beca there was almost as hard as leaving Caellum at home. The first day I barely remember how I got through the day. I was constantly texting Jessica and making sure everything was okay. The fact that she was due any day now only added to the anxiety. Jesse was working late nights so that he was around if something happened while I was at school.
Eventually I settled into it, going to class and leaving immediately after my last one. I would walk in the door and Jesse would walk out. I hadn't seen much of him since I went back to school. Caellum was going to be a year old in a few weeks and I couldn't believe how fast he seemed to be growing up. He was cranky lately, his teeth were cutting. He was chewing on anything you would let him.
One day in late September I was sitting in class and my phone started to ring. I answered it ducking under my desk.
"Hello?" I whispered.
"Jessica went into the hospital. Her water broke." It was Beca.
"I'll be there after this class. It's over in twenty minutes." I hung up quickly and sat up. The professor was staring at me.
"Sorry." I said, my face flushing.
When I got to the hospital Beca was sitting in the all too familiar waiting room. I remembered pacing this exact floor almost a year ago. Caellum was chewing on her finger.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Her water broke. She went into early labor, just like they thought she might. Jesse's with her now." I reached for Caellum and she passed him to me.
We sat there quietly and waited. Beca disappeared for about an hour at one point and came back with supper. Caellum fell asleep on my lap around eight and shortly after Jesse came out looking sad.
"She's here, but there's something wrong with her lung. They rushed her to the OR. Jessica's freaking out. She wants Chloe." I passed our sleeping boy to Beca and Jesse showed me to her room. Before I went in I turned to him and pulled him into a hug.
"She's going to be fine Jesse. She's going to be a fighter like you. Believe that okay?" he half smiled at me.
Jessica was almost in hysterics when I opened the door.
"Chloe? What's going on? They didn't even let me hold her before they rushed her away. Jesse said they're operating on her lung? Is she going to be okay? No one is telling me anything." she was bawling.
"Jess, Emily is going to be fine. She's going to fight for it like her dad did. Jesse's a fighter and I'm certain that's in the little girl you just brought into this world. Now lay back and relax. I'm here for the long haul. As soon as Beca knows anything she'll tell me." I helped ease her back into a laying position. Jessica dozed off after a while and I played games on my phone. Beca came in around eleven.
"Luke's coming to get Caellum. Neither of us wants to leave, but Caellum needs to get some rest. Trinity wanted to see him anyways. I figure it's not an awful idea." she whispered sitting on the floor between my legs.
"It sounds okay to me. She's not going to change her mind about him though?" I was nervous about that.
"No, Luke was adamant that it was of no concern. He said she is happy with her choice, but that she was feeling the need to at least see him." she reassured me kissing the tips of my fingers. I got up to kiss Caellum goodnight. Luke was there already and a young girl of sixteen who looked almost identical to Beca. It was kind of scary. Jesse was trying to pick his jaw up off the ground as he looked from Beca, who was behind me, to Trinity.
Beca just walked over to the makeshift crib she'd made with hospital chairs and lifted Caellum from it. He started fussing a little bit, and she calmed him down and handed him to Trinity.
"He's teething, there's Tylenol in his bag. There's enough diapers in there til tomorrow afternoon, but I should be there to get him in the morning. He's basically eating our food now just blended or soft. There's formula in there, half that half milk. Here's the bag. Thank you guys. I appreciate it." Trinity just nodded.
"Love you Beck. We'll take good care of him. I promise." Luke leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Jesse cornered her after they left. "Do you want to explain why Luke's sister is identical to you? Like I fucking called her Beca before I realized it wasn't you. That's really freaky." he asked her.
"She's my fuckin sister okay? The system split us up because Luke's mom wouldn't take me. I'm sorry I never said anything but it was easier not to Jesse. It was easier to just try and pretend I wasn't dying inside missing her. She's the whole reason I moved us to Seattle in the first place. Then at least I could see her when I went to Luke's. I don't know Jesse, it just didn't make sense to say anything. I think she's happier not knowing, you know? Less confusion for her really. Not that she probably hasn't put two and two together by now. She has to have. Look at us. We are the same person. Fuck I don't know man. This is all just too much. I'm going to pester the doctor about Emily again." she walked off.
"You shouldn't have done that Jesse. She's tired and worried about Emily and now she's agitated. You know her better than that, tomorrow would have been a better time to ask. At least then she would have had the mental focus to come up with a lie if she wasn't ready to tell you yet. You kind of forced her to be ready. It's not the end of the world but, you should have dropped it for the night." he nodded in agreement as Beca came back.
"Nothing yet. Go see your woman Jesse. She needs you. We'll wait out here for any news."
I led Beca to a chair. "You need to tell Trinity. Like you said, I'm sure she figured it out already... But she deserves to know from you. She seems mature enough to handle the truth. Everyone else knows now, she may as well hear it."
Beca slid off her chair and found that comfortable spot between my legs. "Mmhm... Tomorrow Chlo. I will." She nodded off.
A couple hours later Jesse shook us awake. "Go home girls. Emily made it out of surgery fine. She's going to be okay. Get some rest okay? I'll see you guys tomorrow. I love you."