Every time a box was emptied, Brody and Courtney would claim it as their own. On the days where they weren't in preschool, they'd spend time out on the back deck surrounded by their boxes, creating scenario after scenario.

The first school afternoon in the new house, when Jesse returned home with the four older kids, he found Beca crawling around on the back deck, laughing with Brody and Courtney. They had taped together a tunnel of boxes and since Beca was tiny, she was able to crawl after them through the tunnel.

"Hey!" Ben laughed, dropping his backpack. "I wanna play too!"

"I'm going to marry this girl", Jesse said softly, as Natalie scrambled down to join her mother, Beca peppering them with kisses.

"I'll be back, okay? Half hour, tops", Beca told him.

(Grocery shopping with a newly formed family of eight was a no-go zone, Beca and Jesse had decided. Especially for a house with the absolute bare minimum. They didn't know what they'd end up bringing home.)

"Okay", Jesse agreed easily, waving her brightly out to her car. Once she had reversed out of the driveway, he padded back inside, straining his ears to hear the kids.

"Kids!" Jesse called. "Come here, I need to talk to you! Family meeting!"

"Where are you?"

"In the living room!"

One by one, the six kids made their way into the room, Courtney climbing up into his lap.

"What's wrong?" Ben questioned.

"So, I want to ask Beca to marry me", he informed them, and Natalie let out a squeal.

"Really? Can I be in the wedding?"

"Whoa, whoa". He held up his hands. "First things first, you cannot say anything to Beca. Got it? None of you can say anything to Beca".

"Okay", Rosie said seriously, nodding. "Courtney, don't say anything".

Courtney scowled. "Ro-see!"

(She had slipped at the age of two and a half and accidentally told Stacie what Rosie had made her for Christmas- and, in her defence, Stacie had asked. Six and a half year old Rosie had burst into dramatic tears and was likely to hold it against her littlest sister for the rest of her life.)

"Okay", Dean agreed.

"And secondly, I'm going to need your help".

"With what?" Brody asked curiously.

Jesse grinned, as they looked at him seriously.

(He had plans.)

"Hello?" Michael said, not recognising the number.

"Hey Michael, its Jesse".

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Not much, not much… do you have a ride on lawnmower?"

"What?"

"I heard from Courtney that you did, and I was just wondering if I could borrow it".

"You're a weird one, aren't you?" he chuckled. "Sure. When do you need it?"

"Saturday?" he said hopefully.

"That's fine. Just let me know when you want to come by and get it".

"Thanks man, you're a legend".

When Jesse hung up, Michael turned to his wife. "Aubrey?"

"Yeah hun?"

"Jesse's the weirdest guy that Beca's ever gone out with".

"I know".

Michael shrugged. At least he wasn't the only one who thought it.

"Hey Jill", Jesse said conversationally; as he cracked open a can of Coke from the fridge. "The downstairs office has a boombox, doesn't it?"

"If I'm correct there are multiple boom boxes downstairs", his co-worker said casually. "Why?"

"No reason". Jesse shrugged.

(She might not have known Jesse Swanson very long, but Jill knew that he was up to something.)

"What the hell do you need that for?" Jill laughed, as Jesse lugged a boom box into the trunk of his car. "Does the boss know you took that?"

"Nope, and its gonna stay that way". Jesse grinned at Jill. "I'm planning something with the kids; I'll have it back on Monday before he even notices".

"You're a weird one, Jesse Swanson". Jill shook her head in amusement, as Jesse slammed the trunk of the ten seater bus, trapping the boom box in the back. "Have a good weekend! Let me know how your little surprise with the kids goes".

"You too!" Jesse grinned. "And I will. I have a feeling they're going to have fun".

"Hey Jesse!" Chloe said brightly, grinning when she saw the boy's name light up on her phone. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, so Beca and I are thinking of having a small gathering on the weekend… is it okay if we have it at yours?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, I can always call Donald-"

"No, no, that's fine; we're not doing anything- what's happening?"

"Oh, nothing just thought we'd all have a bit of a bonding moment, you know, before the official housewarming party. Because you and Tom don't really know Hat and Uni that well, you know?"

(Chloe drew the conclusion that he had been spending too much time with Fat Amy, able to weasel his way out of any question.)

"Um, sure, I guess that's okay".

"Would it be too much to ask if you're home around twelve o'clock on Saturday afternoon- oh, and can you let Michael and Aubrey know? We'll tell the others".

She began to chuckle. "What are you up to, Swanson?"

"Just a small get together, Chloe". Jesse grinned, hoping he sounded innocent.

When Chloe relayed the conversation to Tom, he had one conclusion.

"Jesse's going to propose to Beca on Saturday".

"What?" Chloe squawked. "No, Jesse wouldn't do that".

"They're getting married", he said knowingly.

"Dad!" Dean's eyes widened. "What's that?"

"Oh! That, my boy, is a boom box. Before iPods were invented this is what was around".

"It's huge", Natalie voiced.

"Do you want to hear my great idea?" Jesse questioned, and he was met with six nods. "Good. Then get in the car".

"But Daddy-"

"Yes Brody?"

"You already said we aren't hearing your good idea today".

"Get in the car kids".

"Dad", Brody rolled his eyes, as Jesse opened the backseat of the car. The six of them piled out, standing on the sidewalk and looking at Jesse suspiciously. "Why are we doing this? You've ready got it on CD!"

"Twice!" Natalie said dramatically.

"Yeah, and tapes are extinct, pretty much", Rosie agreed.

"Rosie Ryerson, take that back", Jesse said, almost sharply. "The best music came out on cassette tapes! You kids don't know what you're talking about".

"What are we looking for?" Courtney questioned, as he took her and Brody's hands.

"The Breakfast Club soundtrack", he explained, for the third time.

"What happens if we can't find it?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Well we'll have to work with what we've got, but I'm hoping to find it", Jesse said casually. "Alright, Rosie, Dean, you take that row of cassettes, Ben and Nat, you get those ones. Courtney, Brody?"

"Yeah Daddy?"

"You're with me".

Rosie and Brody rolled their eyes at his dramatics (Jesse needed to do something about that, clearly they had been spending too much time with Beca).

"And split!" he called, taking the younger two's hands and leading them to the shelves he had declared as theirs.

But after twenty minutes of intense searching, Jesse sighed heavily.

"Round it in", he called ("Jesse you act like you're herding cattle, call them children please!"). "Looks like we're going to have to settle for what we've got".

"Daddy?"

"Yes Dean?"

"What are you doing?"

"Daddy's gone mad!" Natalie laughed, and Jesse high fived her.

"Harry Potter reference, that's my girl. Deano, you're just going to have to wait and see, aren't you?"

Dean sighed resignedly. "Can we go home and eat, now?"

"Yeah, did you tell Beca where we were going?" Ben questioned.

"You're acting like I abducted my own children!" he laughed. "Get in the car, guys, let's go home. We'll just have to do this the hard way".

"Daddy?" Brody said carefully, as his father leaned over Rosie to buckle him into his seat.

"Yes bud?"

"Ben says you've already got your CD".

"I do. We actually have two".

"Then why are we doing the hard way?"

"Because Daddy likes to make things interesting, bud. Now, what's the rule?" he stretched a little further, grabbing the buckles of Courtney's seat.

"Don't tell Mum", Courtney, Rosie and Natalie chorused.

"Don't tell Beca", Ben, Brody and Dean chorused.

"There we go. Alright, let's go!"

As Jesse hopped into the driver's seat and started the car, he grinned into the rear view mirror. "Prepare yourself, guys", he called. "We're in for a wild ride!"

(He totally wasn't going to tell them.)