Sorry for the delay... I thought I had something to work with but I had to do some research and stuff and I had to scramble a different plot up that would make sense. I wrote, like, three different scenarios before finally settling on one and going with it hahaha. Plus, you know, regular excuses such as school and laziness may or may not have factored in the progress of this story, heh.

I also apologize for the lameness that is this chapter. And the title doesn't make sense, but we'll just go with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar songs, characters, movies, etc. that I mention below.

On the fourth day of Christmas my weirdo gave to me...

Four-hundred Frustrated Passengers

After having fallen asleep several times during the movie, Jesse finally gave up on keeping her awake and let her snooze for the remainder of the film. He parks in front of Beca's dorm and follows her inside the building, leaning against the door frame as she falls onto her bed.

"Pack for me, please?" she asks, her voice muffled against her pillows. He snickers and sits next to her motionless body.

"Do you really want me to do that?"

She lifts her head off her pillow, narrowing her eyes at his wiggling eyebrows.

"Freak. Get out of my room."

Instead, he decides to throw his body over hers, leaving her little room to move. She shrieks at the sudden weight on her body and attempts to push him off of her. He refuses to budge, whistling along to casually "Jingle Bells". She shoves a hand up his shirt and pinches his side, hard. He yelps and rolls off of her, rubbing his now very sore side.

"Thanks a lot, Beca. I probably have a bruise there, now." He whines. He lifts his shirt up slightly, revealing an angry red mark.

"It's not like it matters. You won't be showing skin in a long time, anyways." She smirks, noticing the frustrated puff of air escape his cheeks. Sighing, she gets herself off the bed and kicks the duffel bag from underneath.

"Shouldn't you be packing, too?" she asks.

"Are you kicking me out?"

She gives him a look. "You're getting so good, Swanson. You know me so well."

"Of course I do." She sticks out her tongue at him as he removes himself off her mattress. "I'll pick you up later? We'll get some dinner and I'll drop you off at the airport, okay?"
She nods and he shuts the door, leaving the room to herself. Sighing, she lugs her drawers out of their places and onto the floor, dumping their contents into her duffel. As she's sorting out which clothes to bring with her, she comes across an unfamiliar fabric among her pile of shirts. She grabs it and examines it. It's not until a couple of seconds later when she realizes that it's not hers, but rather, Jesse's. She can't quite remember when exactly she acquired it, but she chooses to pack it with her anyways. If he wanted it back, he'd be asking for it by now.

Thinking about leaving for Maine made her unhappy. Her father would be there, along with the step-monster. She already planned on spending Christmas Eve with them and her father's side of the family, and the following day with her mother. There was bound to be some stupid conflict between her mother and her great-aunt Carol, and her cousins would all talk about their lives beyond college, boring her to death. Someone was going to break the news that they were pregnant or getting married or both, and it would be no surprise to her since it happens every year. Then, her aunt Liz would try to prove that she was sober by holding one of those said babies while cooking, and her uncle Jack would continue to complain about how the food tasted disgusting. Her grandpa Abe, her mom's dad, would be the only worthwhile person to listen to with all of his crazy stories.

Her flight leaves at 8:30 at night, and with her duffel fully packed and five hours to spare, she absent-mindedly works on some mixes for the time being. It's until she feels her headphones slowly being pulled off her head when she realizes someone was with her. She instinctively elbows the figure behind her and readjusts her headphones, not bothering to look behind her. She knows exactly who it is.

"Ow! What's next, you push me down the stairs? Throw bricks at my head?" Jesse groans, his hand going up to his chest where he was elbowed.

"The possibilities are endless, Swanson." she shrugs with a wry smile on her face. "You know I hate it when you do that!"

"Sorry. There's no need for violence, though."

"What can I say? It's instinct."

He rolls his eyes at her as she takes off the headphones, handing it to him. "Listen."

He obliges and hangs it over his ears. He listens for a minute or so before the smile settles on his face. "It sounds awesome, Bec. How long have you been working on this one?"

She checks the time on her laptop, surprised at how short time went by. "About an hour?"

"Wow. That's unbelievable. Are you sure?"

"I don't know, I can't really tell time." she deadpans.

He stares at her, dumbfounded. "...Are you serious?"

She rolls her eyes and takes the headphones off around his neck and packs it into her bag. "Are you?"

He furrows his eyebrows, making it hard for her to not smile.

"You're so dumb."

"But I'm your dumb." he goofily grins, scooping her up from her spot on the floor and throwing on the bed. She yells a couple of curse words before he collapses on top of her. He kisses her with his body hovering over hers. She thumps her fists against his firm chest, slowly succumbing to the kiss.

"Are you ready?" he asks after gently pulling his lips away from hers.

She shrugs. "In terms of packing, yes. If you're talking about leaving, no. I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle my family for two weeks."

"You've done it before." he reasons, laying down on his side next to her.

"It gets harder and harder every year."

"You'll hang in there, I promise." he nuzzles his nose into her hair for a moment before pulling away, turning her head towards him with his thumb. "You know, it'll really suck not having you around for two weeks."

"You're forbidden to visit. My family," she shakes her head disapprovingly before continuing, "they're psycho."

He scans her up and down, chuckling. "I'm guessing you're the most prominent of these psychos?"

She hits him playfully, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Jess. Don't even try any of that surprise bullshit. Skype is safer."

He chuckles, finding her wariness about her family amusing. "What makes you think I would visit?" She gives him a look, making him laugh out loud. "Okay, fine. Maybe at least once. I just can't stay away from you," he pauses and looks at her, whose roll of the eyes makes him snort, before pulling himself off the bed, "So, you're all packed. I guess we should get your stuff out into the trunk."

She nods, gets off the bed, and rolls her carry-on bag out the door and into his car, with him and her duffel following closely behind. She goes back into the building after stuffing her bags into his car, leaving him inside the car to lock up and check everything. She makes sure everything's unplugged and that nothing was left behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the shiny wrap of Jesse's present peeking underneath her bed. Sighing a breath of relief, she lugs the box that contained the movie poster and rushes out the door, locking it on her way out. She opens the trunk and places it atop her luggage.

Once she gets into the car, he waggles his eyebrows, making her raise her own. "Is that gigantic box for me?"

She blinks, unfazed by the entirely too excited Jesse. "It sure is." The grin on his face grows larger. "Don't get too excited, though. It's a Russian doll type of thing, you know, box into box into box..." she smirks, shrinking the smile on his face.

"You're the sweetest, love." he says sarcastically.

She cringes. "Don't ever say that again."

"Why not? You're my lover."

She groans, bracing herself for the next hour and a half to the city. He turns on the radio, humming to the holiday tunes streaming out of the speakers. She looks out the window, sighing. As much as she hated admitting it, she knew there was one thing that majorly effected her feelings towards going back home. She glances at Jesse, who was concentrating on the road in front of him. She closes her eyes, with the low hum of his voice lulling her to sleep.

After having dinner, and Jesse's excessive rambles during the majority end of the car ride, the dreaded moment comes. He grabs her a luggage cart after parking next to her gate. He pushes her present for him onto the backseat of his car, all the while fetching his present for her. She loads her bags onto the cart, waiting for him. He hands her a large box, sighing deeply.

"Alright, Becs. If you want, I could just send you this through the mail to make things easier for you. I put it in a bag in case, but if you want me to send it to you I'll wrap it." he says, smiling a little. She shakes her head and takes the gift bag, testing its weight in her hands.

"It's not that heavy. I can just take it on the plane with me, it's no problem." she says, setting it atop her small stack of baggage.

He scratches the back of his neck, the smile on his face gradually fading. "So, I guess it's that time of year again where I have to give you your movication through video chat." he chuckles lightly, gently taking her hands and lacing his fingers with hers. She nods, giving him a bleak smile. She hated this. She'd only be gone for two weeks. She didn't know why leaving for break sucked so much this time around. He senses her hesitance, and holds her hands a little tighter.

"Becs, I'm gonna need you to promise me something before you leave."

Curious, she looks into his eyes, searching for any sort of give away. "What is it?"

"I need you to promise me, like, really promise."

"Well, what is it? I can't promise anything unless I know what it is I'm promising." she laughs a little, chewing the bottom of her lip.

"Promise me..."

"Get on with it, I'm gonna miss my flight." He gives her a look, making her roll her eyes. "Okay, fine. I promise..."

"You promise not to open your present until Christmas?"

She looks at him incredulously. He returns her stare, his eyes serious. "Are you being for real?"

"Beca! Of course I am!" he exclaims.

She sighs, rolling her eyes. "I promise."

"Promise what?"

She playfully glares at him. "I promise not to open my present until Christmas. There, you happy?"

Satisfied, he nods. They stay silent for a while as time ticks by, in the midst of a busy airport crowd. "Well, I've got to go before I get a ticket. I'll see you soon, okay?"

The weight in her chest grows heavier as she nods. Suddenly, their noses glide past each other, their lips attaching, moving slowly. Their eyes meet, smiling, but only for a second before closing. Her hands meet the back of his neck, stroking the soft hair along it, while his arms encircle her tiny waist comfortably. Her breath catches as he pulls away softly, his own breath warm and sweet against her lips. He leans back in, holding her tighter and closer to him. She can feel the beat of his heart slow while hers quickens. One hand snakes up to her cheek, his fingers gently brushing over her rosy flushed skin. It takes a moment for them to regain their composure after releasing each other. His hand joins the other, fully enveloping the brunette.

"I'm going to miss you, Becs." he mumbles, his eyes intensely looking into hers, "Even if it is only two weeks. I'll miss your snoring." he jokes, however the intensity unchanging. She refrains from weakening under his gaze and gives him a small smile.

"I won't miss how annoying you are, that's something I'm positive about."

He gasps, mocking hurt. "That's harsh, I'm not that annoying."

She laughs, moving in closer to him so she could kiss him. "I'll miss you, too, weirdo. Thanks for dropping me off."

Regrettably, he finally let's go of her. Immediately, she wishes his arms were around her once again, instead of inside his pockets. "I hope my face is as attractive as it is in real life on a computer screen." he smiles wryly. She rolls her eyes, enveloping him in another hug. She looks up and kisses him gently, pulling away only seconds later.

"Have fun, nerd. Say hi to Kaia for me." she says, pushing the cart towards the automatic doors. He nods and gives her one last kiss, ruffling her hair, before he's watching her disappear into the terminal. She looks back to him waggling his fingers and blows him a sarcastic, alike to the one she gave him at their first riff-off. He pretends to catch it, raising his fist in success. She shakes her head and flips him off, laughing as her nerd pouted from afar. He finally leaves, making her sigh as she checks her bags in. At security, Beca walks through the detector a free woman.

She's on the plane, resting rather uncomfortably between a woman who smelled overwhelmingly like clementines, and a pre-pubescent boy who wouldn't stop staring at her boobs. There wasn't much to do on her phone, and she was stuck on a mix she was doing. Shutting her laptop, she closes her eyes, hoping some inspiration would strike, or maybe even a flicker of drowsiness. She hated plane rides. She hated the smell, the people she was usually seated with, and the heaviness of it all. Suddenly, the sound of someone vomiting a couple of aisles away alerts the cabin, and pretty soon the whole plane reeks of the stench. Groaning with half of the plane's passengers, she brings her knees together and rests a cheek on her left kneecap, looking away from the boy. God, she hated this. Her eyes squeeze shut, eventually lending themselves to slumber.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in about fifteen minutes." Upon hearing the pilot's voice, Beca straightens in her seat, yawning. "Please fasten your seat belts, and we'll be arriving back in Atlanta shortly."

Atlanta?

She rubs her eyes and checks her phone. It's barely been an hour since she last checked. What could have possibly happened in an hour of sleep? She turns to the woman beside her, choosing to ignore the boy next to her. "Um, miss? So, uh, what's going on?"

The woman looks at her, frowning. "Weather problems in the Northeast. They thought we'd be able to make it before everything struck over, but many of the airports, including Portland's and New York's, have been making emergency cancellations and whatnot. The air traffic is just one giant mess, at the moment." she scoffs, looking out the window. "So now we're forced to go back to Atlanta. This is just outright ridiculous." she snaps, her southern accent thick on her tongue.

"What?! Are we at least getting our money back? Do we have to book another flight or something?"

The woman nods, narrowing her eyes as she gazes at the darkened sky. "It's god damn ridiculous. I was looking forward to seeing my son. He's on Broadway, you know. He's in Motown." she brags, obviously proud of her son. "If this damned weather continues, well, I have no idea what I outta do."

"I'm sorry, Miss..."

"My name's Michaela."

Beca nods, clearing her throat. "You can't just get on another plane? There are bound to be other flights available, right?" she reasons. For some reason, instead of displaying dismay toward the situation, there was a part of her that honestly didn't care. It still made her nervous, though. The thought of spending the holidays without her family both relieved her and stressed her out at the same time.

"It depends on the weather and the airports, really. This winter has been a brutal one in the Northeast and Midwest. It could be a couple of days, especially with everyone trying to get home in time for Christmas. It'll be hectic." Michaela sighs.

"Oh." That's all she says before taking her phone from underneath her thigh between her fingers. She texts her parents, telling them the situation. They land safely back in Atlanta, and immediately Beca sees long lines of people waiting at the various kiosks around the building. Just as Michaela said, the airport was buzzing with chaos. She takes her place in line behind Michaela, who was fiddling around in her purse for several items. Beca bites her lips, feeling claustrophobic in such a packed and hectic environment. After an hour waiting, she finally gets to book her next flight, free of charge.

"So there's absolutely no possible way to get to Portland by plane before Christmas?"

The travel agent shakes her head. "The weather really came out of nowhere, and so I'm afraid it's truly not possible. You can try driving, but I most definitely do not recommend it."

She lets this bit of information sink a bit inside her head before speaking. "Alright, then. When's your next flight out to Portland?"

The worker explains the details to the small brunette, telling her precautionary details that could possibly derail traveling. Slightly frustrated, she buys her ticket for the day after Christmas and picks up her phone, first calling each parent to tell them her unfortunate situation, then Jesse, asking for a very embarrassing favor.