When Benji got a phone call on New Year's Day, demanding that he make his way to the Swanson house immediately, he wasn't sure what to expect.

(He was hoping for an engagement to celebrate.)

But despite everything, he didn't expect to see Jesse pacing frantically up and down the kitchen.

"She just FREAKED OUT". He pointed his fingers at Benji, like Benji was the cause of all his problems.

"Wait, what?"

"Beca freaked out and oh my God, Benji, I was this close to losing her. I'm not Luke!" he held his fingers an inch apart. "I thought she wanted to get married! She told me that she wanted to marry Luke, and only put off the wedding because she got pregnant. She wanted to get married, Benj, why is she so against it now?"

"How long was she with Luke for?" Benji asked carefully. "Wasn't she with him for like five years before they even got engaged?"

"She got pregnant in her first year out of college, they were together four years", he confirmed. "So what?"

"Luke hurt her", Benji said carefully, "And she thought she knew him".

Jesse looked at him, wondering where he was going with that.

"Luke hurt her, really bad", he emphasized. "I know you're not going to hurt her, Jesse, and that's what scares her. The thought that you could hurt her like Luke did. She trusts you, and you've been together, what? Six months?"

(Jesse and Beca refused to give their friends an actual date, but they knew it had been a decent six months.)

"Six months", Jesse confirmed.

"Just give her time". Benji shrugged.

"Thanks Benj".

"Now, I learnt this new trick-"

"Not in the house".

Despite telling Chloe that she was going to call Jesse, she didn't. And five days into the new year, when she dropped Rosie and Natalie at school, she avoided him. It wasn't until her youngest daughter spoke up that she acted.

"Hey Mummy?" Courtney leant on her elbow, surrounded by crayons.

"Yeah?" Beca pulled her headphones off her ears, glancing at her daughter. "What's up kiddo?"

"When's Jesse coming over again?" she questioned. "I miss him".

(She missed him too.)

"I'm not sure babe". She shrugged, closing her laptop and pushing it aside. "Come up here, sit with Mum".

Courtney, abandoning her colouring book and crayons, scrambled up beside her mother and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. Beca cradled her gently, savouring the time with her youngest child (because wasn't it just yesterday she was doing that to Rosie?).

"You like Jesse, don't you?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "He's my favourite guy", she pronounced.

"Yeah? What about Uncle Tom and Uncle Michael?"

"Yeah, I like them too but I think Jesse's my favourite". Her eyes sparkled and Beca chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head.

That was what scared her the most. The fact that Courtney referred to him as her favourite guy, and that she- and Rosie and Natalie- were so close to him. If she and Jesse ever did hit a rough place in their relationship, or, God forbid, break up, it wouldn't just be her getting hurt. It would be Rosie, Ben, Natalie, Dean, Courtney and Brody.

Jesse wanted to marry her. And she wanted to marry her. But her life had never been the easy way around.

There was always the niggling in the back of her mind that something else was going to go wrong.

"Jesse?"

"Hello?" Jesse said in confusion. "Who's this?"

"This is Michael".

"Oh. Hello".

"Did something happen between you and my sister? Because she wasn't the same when I took the girls home, and I swear-"

"Michael", Jesse cut him off. "I swear nothing happened. Okay? I didn't hurt your sister, and I swear that I'm not going to hurt your sister. I'm not Luke".

"I know", Michael said softly. "She's been through a lot though, and when she's with you she's truly happy. I haven't seen that in a long time, and if I'm honest, I don't think I've ever seen her like that. She trusts you, and she doesn't do that easily. Once you lose her trust, it never fully comes back. People learn that the hard way".

"I know".

"And Jesse?"

"Yes?" he said warily.

"If yours isn't the next wedding that we're invited to, I'll kick your ass". The boy was grinning, and Jesse chuckled appreciatively.

"I'll keep that in mind".

Holy shit. Did he just gain Michael's approval?

Holy shit. Did Michael just tell him to propose to his little sister?

"Jesse!" Courtney screamed, running towards him. He whirled around, a grin on his face. He launched her into the air, before catching her into a swooping hug.
"Hey munchkin!"

"I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" he laughed, holding her tight. "I missed you and Rosie and Natalie and your mum".

Beca flushed, knowing that it was directed exactly at her and not just said for little Courtney's benefit.

"Why didn't you come over then?" Courtney frowned slightly.

(If only life was as simple as it was for that little girl.)

"I don't know, Courty", Jesse said quietly, and she wriggled to get down, giggling.

"You're silly, Jesse".

"He is!" Brody beamed.

"Want to get a coffee?" Jesse suggested, and Beca nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be nice".

The pair had begun to frequent a little café with a children's play area- so while Jesse and Beca talked, they played. It was probably Beca's favourite place in town, and her kids tried as often as possible to ask her to take them.

"Let's go".

"I need a bigger car", Beca said suddenly, as she strapped Courtney into her car seat.

"What?" Rosie's eyes grew wide. "You're selling Charlie?"

"Not Charlie!" Natalie shrieked. "You told me I'd get to drive Charlie!"

Charlie was their car. He had seen them through love and loss and everything in between. He had played a lot of Guster when days went well, and Be Your Own Pet when they didn't. He saw early morning coffee runs and late night Taco Bell adventures. He was their family car.

"We can't sell Charlie", Courtney protested, her eyes filling with tears.

"I think we might be outgrowing Charlie", Beca told them gently, as she climbed into the driver's seat.

"But Mum", Natalie said emphatically, "You haven't grown since you were Rosie's age!"

Beca gasped. Her brother and friends making short jokes, whilst not okay, she could deal with. But when her kids started? Nope. That wasn't okay.

(She couldn't help but notice that she had passed on the short gene to them, if she was measuring their growth in accordance to Rosie's. Ordinarily she felt bad, but not then. Who did Natalie think she was?)

"That's it; you're not going to Uncle Michael and Aunt Aubrey's house any more. And you aren't seeing Aunt Amy".

"We aren't growing outta the car!"

"Courtney, relax babe. I didn't say I was going to sell the car now, did I?"

"No".

"Then let's just go to the café. We'll continue this discussion later".

Courtney sniffled, batting at the lone tear that rolled down her cheek.

(She was very dramatic. Like her mother, or Aunt Amy.)

"Go, be free, have fun!" Jesse opened the gate to the children's play area. The six of them scrambled inside, Brody and Courtney gripping each other's hands (five days was clearly too long to be separated for a three year old and a four year old).

"I'm sorry", Jesse said sincerely, and she looked at him incredulously.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked in disbelief. "You're not the one who freaked out and ran at the thought of commitment!"

"Not commitment, Becs", he corrected. "Marriage. And I brought it up, so I'm the one who should be sorry".

"Are you serious?" she wasn't sure how to react.

"Beca", he said softly. "I want to marry you. And that's not going to change".

(Sweet Jesus how had she gotten so lucky? How had that boy not been snatched up already?)

"I don't care if you're not ready for marriage", he told her truthfully. "If you want to wait, then I'll wait. But I know I want to marry you. We've got a family, Becs. I am not going to leave you, no matter what you think. I'm not Luke".

"I know", she said, staring down into her glass of water.

"I'm not going to leave you", he repeated. "Or those girls. I was having withdrawals from Courtney's bone crushing hugs!"

Beca laughed (because Courtney was all about hard hugs. She was as gentle as they came, but she gave hard hugs).

"She missed you too", Beca admitted. "I missed you".

She had freaked. Because she was so used to people leaving her and the thought that Jesse wasn't going to leave freaked her out even more.

"And I do want to marry you", she admitted. "Just… not yet".

"I'll wait, Becs. You know that". He kissed the top of her head gently and she moved so she was leaning against him. "I had a phone call from Michael yesterday".

"Oh good God", she groaned. "And what did he have to say?"

"He's kicking my ass-"

"I'm kicking his ass".

"- if the next wedding he goes to isn't ours".

She broke into a chuckle. "He's supportive".

Jesse almost laughed. "I don't even know how he got my number!"

"Lily", Beca said knowingly. "Lily knows everything, even if she doesn't say it. I tell a lie, she'll say it, no one will hear her. And she's probably gone through your phone or something". She shrugged. "We're good?"

"We're more than good". Jesse wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "And I am going to marry you, Beca Mitchell. Big elaborate proposal and all".

"Oh God". She feigned (was she pretending? Or was she actually scared? Because he had a plan) worry and he grinned.

"You're going to love it".

She was going to hate it.

(But she'd probably love it.)