"Alright, let's go!" Beca pointed to her car, shepherding her girls along. "Everyone's probably waiting for us, we've got to go!"
"It's a Bellas barbecue!" Natalie giggled, and Beca nodded.
"Exactly. We've got to go!"
(Beca knew they should have left at least ten minutes ago. But she was always the one late to Bellas rehearsals, and she was withholding the tradition, years on.)
Making sure they were all buckled into their respective seats, Beca placed the huge bowl of potato salad beside her on the passenger seat, before handing the tray of cupcakes (because she was not domestic in the least, but knew how to make cupcakes) to Rosie.
"Guard them with your life, Rosie posie".
"I will", Rosie said seriously.
"Hey, you're looking way too cheerful for this time of morning", Michael greeted Beca, as she let them in. "what's got you so happy?"
"You met someone!" Aubrey's eyes sparkled, and Michael's darkened.
"What?" Beca's eyes widened. "No!"
"Aunt Aubrey!" Courtney said excitedly, distracting the blonde from Beca's love life.
"Hey honey, how are you?" Aubrey scooped Courtney up in her arms and Beca grinned, silently thanking her youngest. Natalie and Rosie quickly followed, marching ahead of her to find their other aunts and uncles (because as usual, Beca was late and didn't even care).
"Is it time to eat yet?" Fat Amy wanted to know, coming into the room with Natalie holding her hand. "We're starving!"
"Yeah, we're hungry!" Natalie agreed.
(Beca didn't know how her middle child could possibly be hungry, after packing away two huge bowls of Froot Loops for breakfast. She was tiny managed to eat like a horse- unlike Courtney, whose appetite rivalled that of a sparrow.)
"Courty, what's with your mummy's big smile?" Fat Amy wanted to know, cradling the little girl in her arms. "It's almost as if she got-"
"Amy!" Aubrey snapped, making Cynthia Rose and Lily titter.
"Mummy's happy because she went out for dinner with her new friend", Courtney said absently, surveying her plate carefully, trying to decide what she would eat first.
"Yeah? Who's Mummy's new friend?" Stacie wanted to know.
"His name is Jesse", Courtney said, spearing a piece of cucumber with her fork and poking it into her mouth.
"Courtney!" Rosie shouted, standing up from her seat.
"Mummy said not to tell you blabbermouth!" Natalie screeched.
"Natalie!" Beca reprimanded, and Courtney's eyes filled with tears. "Rosie!"
"I'm sorry Mummy", she whimpered, and Michael cooed.
"Aw, bless her little heart", he said fondly. "Courtney, sweetie, come to Uncle Michael and tell me all about Mummy's new friend called Jesse".
"Apologise to your sister". Beca glared at Rosie and Natalie and the two had the decency to look ashamed.
"Sorry Courtney", they mumbled together, and Courtney slipped off her aunt's lap, wrapping an arm around her mother. Beca lifted her onto her lap, kissing the top of her head softly.
"It's alright, baby", she whispered to the little girl.
"Courtney, come to Uncle Michael, and tell me all about Mummy's new friend", Michael said gently, and Courtney looked at her mother worriedly.
"Go ahead", Beca said, resigned. "No point keeping quiet now".
"Mummy likes him", Natalie said quietly, piercing a piece of cucumber with her fork. "Aunt Chloe and Uncle Tom looked after us when they went out for dinner".
"You two knew about this?" Michael looked at Tom, and the latter held up his hands.
"I wanted to tell you! But Chloe was all 'no, let Beca tell him in her own time'-"
"Beca-"
"Why didn't we get to-"
"If Beca's got a piece of man candy-"
"Hey!" Beca roared, putting her hands in the air. "That's enough, people! Good Lord, this is why I don't let people meet you! You scare them away!"
"That's a bit rude", Stacie huffed, and Cynthia Rose frowned.
"I want to meet him", Michael said firmly. "We've got to put the fear of God into him ourselves".
Beca frowned. Well shit. That wasn't how she had expected the Bellas barbecue to turn out.
"So, remember how Uncle Donald babysat the other day and Daddy went out for dinner with his new friend?" Jesse said cheerfully, as he loaded the cooler into the back of his car. "Let's not tell all your uncles about her, alright?"
"So we can't tell people about Beca?" Brody frowned.
"No, we can't'.
"But Uncle Donald knows".
"So does Uncle Benji".
"Okay, they can know, but we can't tell others".
"What about Hat?" Dean said seriously. "We always tell Hat".
"No, we cannot tell Hat". Jesse shook his head, and Dean frowned slightly.
"Unicycle?" Brody tried, as he climbed into his booster seat, waiting for someone to stretch the seatbelt across him.
"Nope". Jesse shook his head.
"Kolio?" Ben giggled, seeing the look on his father's hat.
"Guys!" Jesse said, exasperated. "Let's just keep it on the down low, alright? Let's not tell anyone".
"It's our secret, right Daddy?" Brody wrapped his arms around his father's neck as Jesse buckled his seatbelt, and Jesse nodded.
"That's right bud". He ruffled his youngest's hair before tickling his stomach, making Brody giggle. "Alright, let's get this show on the road! Treble party, here we come!"
The four of them sang obnoxiously loud to the radio the whole way to Donald's house, Jesse grinning the whole way there. Pulling into the driveway of Donald's house, he opened the back doors for his boys (the three of them scrambling out eagerly) before popping the boot, grabbing the cooler.
"Remember guys, it's a secret", he said, as Dean stretched on his toes to press the doorbell.
"Hey guys!" Benji said brightly.
"Hi Uncle Benji!"
And the three boys pushed right past him to greet the rest of their father's friends, hearing the shrieks of excitement from the backyard.
"Hey!" Jesse said brightly, dumping the cooler in the kitchen. "Let's get this party started!"
Hat passed Jesse a beer, before opening cans of Sprite for the kids.
"Let's get this party started!" Brody enthused, as Unicycle lifted him onto his shoulders.
"Brody, hamburger or hotdog?" Jesse wanted to know, holding up a pair of tongs.
"Hamburger please".
"Dean?"
"Hotdog please".
"Ben?"
"Um… hamburger".
Jesse raised his eyebrows, and Ben grinned sheepishly.
"Hamburger please".
"So, I heard that someone had a date on Saturday night. Jesse, care to share?" Bumper grinned.
"It wasn't a date, it was dinner".
"It was a date", Donald interrupted. "It was a date, wasn't it?"
"It was not a date".
"Brody, was it a date?" Hat turned to Brody and the little boy frowned.
"Daddy-"
"It wasn't a date", Dean cut his brother off. "Daddy just went to dinner with his friend".
"Who's his friend, Dean-o?"
Jesse shook his head, as his three kids looked at him in a panic.
"Daddy-"
Jesse sighed heavily. "Go ahead".
They turned to the boys eagerly and Brody looked at his father uncertainly.
"It's alright, Brody, go ahead, bud". Jesse grinned at him, preparing himself for the ribbing that he was no doubt going to get. "Go and tell them".
"Her name is Beca", he said quietly. "Daddy's new friend is called Beca".
"Ooh, Beca!" Hat grinned. "What does she look like, Jesse?"
"It doesn't matter".
"When are you next going out?" Bumper wanted to know.
"You aren't babysitting my children". Jesse frowned, remembering the last time he had stupidly allowed Bumper to watch his boys. The four of them had gorged themselves on ice cream and chocolate and Jesse had spent the night cleaning up the vomit of three young boys. "You are not babysitting my children".
Benji snickered, remembering the story all too well. "Want to know the best part?"
"No". Jesse glared.
"We want to meet her".
"Want to know the best part about Jesse?" Chloe said with a grin, leaning against Tom and stroking back sleeping Natalie's hair.
"What?" Beca said suspiciously and Michael sat up a little straighter, Courtney sleeping on his chest.
"I would, Chloe".
"You really wouldn't, Michael", Beca mumbled.
"Bec, it's different, I don't want my girls getting hurt", he said gently, rubbing Courtney's back. "It's so different now".
"Do you think I don't know that?" she protested.
"Jesse has kids", Chloe blurted out, and Fat Amy sat up so straight she made Stacie jump.
"What?"
"What?"
"Kids?" Michael's face paled. "Oh holy- Beca, I don't like this".
"I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself. I've been taking care of myself for a long time", she reminded him. "Thank you, Chloe, for bringing that up. Here we were, going to go the day without telling anyone about my date, and yet somehow we managed not only to blurt out the fact that I had a date, but my date has kids. Thanks very much, guys".
"How many kids?" Cynthia Rose wanted to know, genuinely curious.
"Does that matter?"
"Yes", Fat Amy said bluntly.
"How many kids does this Jesse have?" Aubrey demanded, and Rosie stirred slightly against her mother.
"Mummy?" Rosie mumbled, and Beca wrapped her arms around her eldest again, kissing the top of her head.
"Shhh, it's late. Go back to sleep".
"Rosie posie, you can go into your room, if you want", Michael said softly, holding out his arms. "Come on sweetheart, I'll tuck you into bed".
Rosie yawned, her eyes heavy. Michael wrapped his arms around his niece, lifting her into his arms.
"Three", Beca said quietly. "Three boys".
They were silent.
Until Lily spoke up.
"It's just like the Brady Bunch", she whispered, her tiny voice bellowing around the room.
And simultaneously, they broke into hysterical laughter.
"You know what my favourite part about Beca is?" Benji said brightly, as Jesse rubbed Brody's back. The four year old was pressed against his chest, asleep, while Dean and Brody shared the armchair across the room, both snoring lightly.
"I want to know", Hat said quickly.
"You do not want to know".
"No, I really do".
"Let me know".
"Tell me".
"Beca has kids!" Donald blurted out.
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
"Kids?"
"You are the worst friends ever", Jesse glared at Donald and Benji, and Benji shrugged.
"They were gonna find out eventually when we meet her".
"You are not meeting her".
"How many kids?"
"Yeah, how many kids does she have?"
"Well, shit", Jesse complained. "This didn't go the way I wanted… no, you're not meeting them".
"How many kids, Jesse?"
"Beca has three girls".
Their laughter was deafening.
"It'll be like the Brady Bunch!" Uni hooted, and Jesse glared.