"Why do we have to go to school?" Rosie wanted to know, as she slumped tiredly over her cereal bowl. "Can't we stay home for a bit longer?"
Beca smacked a peanut butter and jam sandwich together, before wrapping it in cling wrap. "Because summer's over, kiddo. I'm sorry, I know, it sucks".
"Rosie says my teacher is going to make me talk about what I did in the summer", Natalie said cheerfully, taking a bite of toast. "And I'm gonna tell them about how we went to the zoo with Jesse, and we went to the pool".
Beca smiled at her middle child, remembering the excitement that had followed around little Courtney for the next three days. Jesse had picked her up and tossed her into the air, allowing her to sink under before pulling her back into his arms. Despite the look of absolute terror on Courtney's face as she was launched into the air, when she landed she had a grin of pure joy on her face. Just like she did with Tom and Michael, she put her whole trust into Jesse, knowing that while he had the ability to let her sink, he wouldn't.
(Her sweet, sweet Courtney was so much like her aunt Chloe.)
"We can still go swimming when summer's over, can't we?" Courtney checked, tearing the crusts off her toast.
"We should get a pool", Rosie decided.
"We can still go swimming, Courtney, and a pool is not a topic of discussion until you're both dressed and ready for school", Beca told them, before sitting down with her own plate of toast.
"Hey Beca!" Jesse said brightly, waving across the playground. Courtney grabbed her mother's hand, hauling her closer towards the boys.
"Hey guys!" Natalie said quietly, squeezing her mother's other hand. Brody let go of Jesse's hand to wave shyly at Beca, and Beca smiled at the little boy.
"Hi Jesse", Courtney said quietly, hugging the man.
Jesse hugged her back, before kneeling down to be eye level with them. "Hey girls! Natalie, are you ready for school?"
"Yeah", she said quietly, and Beca chuckled in explanation.
"She was so excited until we actually got here, now she's a bit apprehensive".
"Oh, Nat, you'll love school", Jesse promised her. "Rosie, you like school, don't you?"
"I like summer more", she told him, and he laughed.
"That's just like Ben- right Benno?"
"Yeah".
"Don't worry, Natalie, Dean and Ben will keep an eye out for you", Jesse said cheerfully.
"And Rosie", Courtney told him, and Jesse swung her into the air before plopping her onto his shoulders, making the little girl squeal with laughter.
(It made Beca's heart hurt, seeing the way Jesse interacted with her youngest, because it was exactly how Luke had acted with Rosie and Natalie.)
"Yeah, Rosie and Ben and Dean", Jesse corrected.
Rosie glanced at Ben and found the boy frowning at her. Crossing her arms, she looked at her mother, and Beca could read her expression.
(Get me out of here.)
Once the bell rang, Beca kissed Rosie goodbye, before she skipped off to find her friends and her old classmates. Ben and Dean hung around Jesse, the older man scanning the playground to find a teacher.
"Come on, Courtney", Beca said, and Jesse lifted her off his shoulders.
"Can I stay with Jesse while you take Natalie to her classroom?" the little girl wanted to know.
"Daddy, can I stay with Beca?" Brody questioned.
"You'll have to ask Jesse", Beca said, while at the same time Jesse said, "You'll have to ask Beca".
Chuckling a little, they exchanged their youngest children, before heading off in opposite directions.
"I like you, Beca", Brody burst out suddenly, as Natalie was deposited with her new teacher (waving sadly at her mother, Beca wanted to go and snatch her away and keep her at home to protect her from the big bad world).
"You know what, Brody? I like you too".
"You make my daddy really happy, and I like that".
(What Beca and Brody didn't know is that Courtney and Jesse were having a similar conversation, on the other side of the school.)
"Hey Jesse, you know what?" Courtney said conversationally, swinging Jesse's hand.
"What's up, munchkin?"
"My mummy really likes you. Aunt Chloe says that she's never ever seen Mummy that happy, not even when they were at college! And Aunt Aubrey says that 'that little alt girl is always happy all the time now' and Mummy says 'don't call me an alt girl Posen'".
Jesse burst into laughter, before looking down at the little girl's serious face. "I'm happy too, you know Courtney?"
"Good", she decided. "Hey Jesse? What's an alt girl?"
Jesse just chuckled, swinging her hand again.
That night, the eight of them gathered at Jesse's house for pizza, to celebrate the first night of school (because Swansons were big on celebrations, Beca had found out. Probably too big, but she supposed they could work past it). The six kids sprawled out over the lounge room, talking and eating and only half focusing on Alvin and the Chipmunks (Brody's decision, it was one of his favourite movies).
"You know what?" Jesse said to Beca, peeling a slice of pepperoni off his pizza.
"What, weirdo?"
(It was an accepted nickname between them at that point.)
"I would love to know why Rosie and Ben don't get on".
"I don't know- Rosie hasn't said anything. Has Ben?"
"Nope. There's just a mutual dislike".
Beca shrugged, taking another bite of pizza. "No idea".
"I've worked it out", Jesse said, before Beca could even manage a greeting.
"Hello", she said in confusion, on Friday night.
"Sorry, hi. Ben and Rosie don't like each other, and I've worked out why". He sounded so cocky and proud of himself that Beca could guarantee that there was an ear to ear grin on his face.
"Alright smart guy, what's the verdict?" she said suspiciously.
"Beca, Ben and Rosie can remember having two parents", he explained. "Ben can remember Katherine, and I can bet that Rosie remembers Luke. The others were too little, they are too little to fully understand, but they were old enough to remember. Ben was four when Katherine died, and wasn't Rosie about the same age when Luke left?"
"She was four when Luke left", Beca said in a small voice. "Oh my God… that poor kid".
"I know, I feel so bad", Jesse said quietly. "I'm going to talk to Ben- want to go out tomorrow night?"
"Are you serious?"
(He had just unloaded a shit tonne of information about her eldest daughter on her, and he wanted to go out on a date? How was she supposed to process it all?)
"Yes! Dinner and a movie- fine, just dinner", he said, without even hearing her groan. "What do you think?"
(Jesse had changed her, in more ways than one. She found herself smiling all the time, and even talking to him on the phone or texting him made her smile like an idiot.)
"Sounds good. I've got to talk to Rosie…"
"Hey Bec?" he said, sounding shy and totally unlike himself.
"Yeah?"
"I really, really like you".
Her face flushed bright red (she thanked her lucky stars that he wasn't in the room to see). "I like you too", she mumbled, and she swore she heard Jesse's smile.