On Saturday morning, six kids trudged sleepily down the stairs to find their parents singing in the kitchen. Rosie stopped them in the doorway, watching, as Beca threw her head back and laughed at Jesse's rendition of Train's 'Driveby'.
"You're such a nerd!" she laughed, as Jesse sang into the spatula he was using to scramble numerous eggs (on mornings where they ate eggs, they could easily go through two dozen. Scrambled was their favourite).
"Good morning!" Beca said brightly, as they climbed into their seats. She moved around the table, distributing plates of eggs and Jesse grabbed the last two pieces of toast from the toaster.
"T minus seven days guys!" Jesse said, passing around pieces of toast for their scrambled eggs.
"What does that mean?" Courtney questioned.
"That's when the wedding is!" Jesse said brightly.
"Ignore him Courty, he's being silly", Beca advised. "Do you guys know what's happening today?"
"What?"
"Nanna's coming".
"And Aunt Mikki!" Brody squealed with excitement.
"And Aunt Mikki", Jesse agreed, pouring cups of juice and distributing them around the table. "Sit down and eat, so we can get everything ready for Nanna and Aunt Mikki".
"Is Nanna staying here?"
"Nanna's actually going to stay with Aunt Aubrey and Uncle Michael".
As weird as Beca found the situation, her mother got on very well with Michael- she was the son she never had. When she and Michael were young, he'd often visit over the summer. Jesse's parents were going to be staying with Will and Sheila (much to Beca's alarm- she didn't know what her father would talk to them about).
"Everyone's comin'", Dean said with his mouth full of eggs. "I'm excited, Dad".
"You know what, Dean? Me too".
"Me three", Natalie agreed. "When's your sister comin', Jesse?"
"Any time now", Jesse said mysteriously, pouring more coffee for Beca.
"Mikki!" Jesse laughed, embracing his younger sister in a tight hug.
"Hey big bro!" she laughed. "You must be the famous Beca! I'm Mikaela Swanson, the better looking smarter sibling". She grinned, her eyes sparkling in the same way as Jesse's, and Beca chuckled.
"Nice to meet you".
"Jess, was it too hard to jet across the country to visit?" she demanded. "And what was the go with not coming for Christmas? We do that every year!"
"You were the one who moved to LA", he reminded her. "And I can't just pack six kids up and jet them across the country, not that easy".
"Aunt Mikaela!"
"Aunt Mikaela!"
"Aunt Mikki!"
"Girls, this is my little sister Mikki", Jesse laughed, pulling the girls closer towards him. "Mikki, this is Rosie, Natalie and Courtney".
"Hi Aunt Mikki", Courtney said, almost shyly, and Mikaela embraced her in a hug.
"Why were you keeping these gorgeous girls from me?" she demanded, and Natalie giggled. "Seriously, Jess?"
"Seriously, Mikaela?" he retorted. "It's a whole lot easier for you to jet over here for the weekend instead of gallivanting all over California!"
"Mum and Dad would flip if I missed school".
"Weekend, Mikaela. I can see your hearing hasn't improved". He rolled his eyes, a gesture that he had picked up from Beca.
"Good to see you bro".
"Goo to see you too little sister", he said gruffly, grabbing her in a headlock.
Beca sighed heavily, because one day her boys would be grabbing the girls in headlocks and she'd just have to tell them that it was hereditary on both sides of the family. Poor things didn't stand a chance.
Mikaela Swanson took a photo with Instagram: visiting my big brother for his wedding and finally meeting my nieces! Can't believe he's kept these pretty girls from me all this time #becaandjesseswedding #jeca #lol #nieces #bigbrother #auntmikki
That night, everyone gathered at Beca and Jesse's place. Her parents, his parents, their friends- it was basically their entire guest list for their wedding.
And that was the topic of conversation. With 'T minus seven days' ("you are such a weirdo") until the big event itself, that was all anyone could talk about.
They had the fine details down- even to which nail polish Beca would be wearing (Stacie had displayed her collection to Beca and told her that she'd choose it for her, she would not be disappointed).
"What's the song gonna be Beca?" Cynthia Rose questioned.
The one thing that Beca and Jesse were keeping from their friends was their wedding song. The song that they were going to dance to, the one that Beca was walking down the aisle to. And they had a very good reason for it.
Because Aubrey was likely to have an aneurism.
"Can't tell", Beca said, shrugging her shoulders. "It's a secret".
"Do the kids know?" Fat Amy questioned, calling Courtney over. "Courtney, come here kiddo". She lifted the tiny brunette onto her knee. "Courty, you can tell Aunt Amy what the song that Mummy and Jesse are dancing to. Aunt Amy will keep it a secret".
"Can't tell", Courtney answered (the answer that Beca and Jesse had drilled into her).
"Why not? You tell me all your secrets!"
The reason that little Courtney couldn't tell was that she didn't know. None of the kids knew- it was going to be as much a surprise to them as it was to their guests.
"Well this is just terrible", Stacie complained, once Courtney had slid down. "Keeping secrets from the aunties of your children!"
"Keeping secrets from your children", Katherine chuckled, and Benji stared, open mouthed.
"What? They don't even know!"
"I had to bribe them not to tell Beca I was going to propose!" Jesse protested. "It nearly killed Brody. We can't ask them to do that, this might actually kill the poor kid".
Barry laughed (because the youngest Swanson was a terrible secret keeper). "I'm sure it'll be worth it- right Jess?"
"Oh, absolutely". Jesse nodded, and Beca grinned at him, leaning close. He turned his head to press a gentle kiss to her temple, and Lily smiled.
"Hey Beca", Brody said quietly, leaning against her knees as she leant back on the couch. Their children had migrated into the playroom, where a DVD was playing, while the adults talked in the living room, but
"Hey Brody, what's up man?" she questioned.
"Nothing… our house is very noisy".
She laughed. "That's because we've got eight people and a few extras in our house, Brody. And a dog".
"Grandma's house isn't noisy". He nodded towards the couch where Sheila and Will were sitting.
"No, it's not", she agreed, leaning down to whisper into his ear. "Wanna move to Grandma's with me?"
He nodded, and she laughed. Elbowing her fiancé in the ribs, she told him the deal.
"It's too loud here. Brody and I are moving to Grandma's. Sheila, we're moving in with you and Dad".
"Oh, we'd love to have you", Sheila chuckled at the little boy.
"Brody, you're leaving me?" Jesse said in surprise.
"Yeah. Grandma's house isn't loud". And he yawned, leaning against Beca. She pulled him onto her lap and he leant against her chest, his eyes drooping.
"Awww", Stacie cooed. "When are you and Jesse going to have a baby?"
"What?" Michael said sharply, and Aubrey laughed.
"No, no babies", Beca said with a firm shake of her head. "We have six kids, that's enough".
"The more the merrier", Caroline said, and Jesse laughed.
"Says the woman who has two kids, ten years apart".
Beca was an only child, and Mikaela was ten years Jesse's junior. Between them, they had six kids. Six kids was more than enough, in Beca's opinion.
djbecamitchell Brody and I have decided that our family is very large, noisy and messy. Grandma's is not. Tonight Brody and I are moving to Grandma's.
Six days later, they were all congregated outside the Swanson house, corralling people into their respective cars.
Because, as tradition stood, the bride and the groom weren't allowed to see each other on the day of the wedding. So they were heading to hotels, their kids in tow.
"Say goodbye!" Aubrey instructed. "You'll see each other tomorrow".
"I love you", Jesse whispered, kissing Beca for the last time as her fiancé. "I'll see you tomorrow".
"See you tomorrow", she said, grinning playfully. "You better be there. And bring those boys, too. Vegas would have been so much easier".
"But not nearly as much fun", he chuckled.
"Swanson, in the car!" Donald called.
"Beca!" Michael called sharply. "Break it up".
(She was his little sister. He didn't like her kissing guys. Even if she was head over heels in love with him and marrying him in less than twenty four hours.)
"Let's do this!" Fat Amy called excitedly. "We're goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married!"
"Break it up, no singing", Beca told her.
Jesse had wanted karaoke at their reception. She had quickly shot that idea in the face.
Piling into the cars, they waved goodbye, heading in the same direction.
They had a wedding to attend.