TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN QUESTIONING CHAR AND SOPHIE'S AGE DIFFERENCE, CHAR IS 4.5 YEARS OLDER, SHE TURNED 4 BEFORE SOPHIE WAS BORN. I always forget to mention that.
With the end of the school year, the girls' schedules became more flexible. Ballet didn't end very soon, neither did swimming practice or tennis, so Nikki was still working, now she worked more hours since her semester in college was over.
One Saturday afternoon, the entire family was home. Beca was watching a movie with the younger ones while Chloe helped Charlotte with an English assignment. The 12-year-old still made a lot of spelling mistakes so Chloe and Beca had been helping her a lot.
Chloe came downstairs after she was finished and say next to Beca on the couch.
"Mom? Ma?" Charlotte came, looking shy, biting her lip.
Since the winter, Charlotte's breasts had grown into a size large on her training bras, which she was very proud of, so now she had new training bras.
"Yeah?" Chloe and Beca said.
"Umm Maya's birthday is coming up and she's gonna have a pool party." Charlotte said. "And all my bikini tops are too small."
"Oh… When's the party?" Beca asked.
"Next Saturday." Charlotte said.
"Okay. We can go out this week and get some bikinis for you." Chloe said with a smile.
Charlotte nodded.
"Wanna stay and watch Pocahontas with us?" Chloe asked.
"Okay." Charlotte shrugged and took a seat next to Sophie, who immediately climbed into her lap.
oO0Oo
Beca was the one who took Charlotte bikini shopping and Chloe stayed home with the younger ones.
When the two brunettes came back from the mall though, Charlotte went to Chloe to ask something important.
Chloe followed Charlotte to her room where the 12-year-old closed the door and showed her mother all her new bikinis.
"Wow Char, they're gorgeous!" Chloe said. "Which one are you gonna use at Maya's party?"
Charlotte sighed.
"That's why I called you! I was hoping you could help me decide!" Charlotte said with a slight pout.
"I like the neon pink one." Chloe said.
"Oh yay! Me too!" Charlotte grinned and Chloe chuckled.
"There's another thing I wanna ask you.." Charlotte trailed off and bit her lip.
There was a knock on the door before Beca came in. She smiled at her wife and daughter before walking up to Chloe's side and snaking one arm around her with a kiss on her cheek.
"Where's Sophie and Leslie?" Chloe asked.
"They're in Leslie's room playing." Beca said. "Sophie had that stomach pain again, I gave her something for the pain."
"Good. What did you wanna ask, Char?" Chloe asked. "Is it okay if mommy is here?"
"Mommy?" Charlotte asked with a raised brow.
"Sorry, habit. You're the older of three, so get used to it." Chloe said.
Charlotte giggled before she turned serious.
"Umm I wanna know if.. I wanted to ask how do you guys do um… How do you.. shave… down there?" Charlotte finally asked, blushing deeply and brightly.
"I wonder where you get that awkwardness from." Chloe said which made the two brunettes giggle and blush.
"Why do you ask, Char?" Beca asked.
"Oh jeez, I wonder why!" Chloe said sarcastically.
"Umm my um.. hair.. is starting to grow and I'm afraid my friends are gonna see." Charlotte said shyly.
"Char, pubic hair is nothing to be embarrassed about when you're talking to us." Chloe said. "But honey, usually at your age, pubic hair hasn't grown a lot so it probably means you don't have to shave yet."
"Why don't you try the bikini you're gonna use and we'll see?" Beca said.
Charlotte nodded.
The girls weren't shy about changing in front of their mothers, they were all used to it. Sure, Charlotte was now growing but so far, she had no problem changing into a bikini in front of her mothers, so that's what she did.
Charlotte slowly turned to face her mothers, her hands covering her bikini bottom.
"Honey, it's okay." Chloe said.
Charlotte uncovered her bikini bottom and looked down.
"See? You've got nothing to worry about." Chloe said with a smile.
"Really?" Charlotte turned back around so she could check more deeply.
"Yeah! As long as your hair doesn't show, that's okay." Beca said.
"Okay." Charlotte said before turning back around with a smile. "Thanks mom, thanks ma."
"You're welcome. Put on some shorts and a top and let's go." Chloe said.
"Okay." Charlotte put on her jeans shorts and a white tank top before putting on her flip flops.
"Remember what I said? You have those emergency pads in your bag right?" Chloe said.
"Yes." Charlotte nodded before she got her Kipling blue and neon pink bag.
"Pads?!" Beca asked.
"Beca you can't be that dense!" Chloe said. "She's 12 already, it's puberty time, she can have her period at any moment and I want her to be ready."
"Hey, Char is like me, she won't have her period until she's 15 at least." Beca said.
"Mom, I have bigger boobs than you did at my age." Charlotte said. "Heck, I have bigger boobs than you did at 16!"
Beca glared at her while Chloe chuckled before placing a kiss on her temple.
"Come on. Beca, do you wanna take her in your baby?" Chloe asked.
"No, you can take her. I'm gonna stay here with the little munchkins." Beca said with a smile. "But hey, take my baby."
Chloe chuckled and kissed Beca softly.
"You're the best!" She said. "I'll be right back."
Beca chuckled as her wife and oldest daughter got out of the house, equally as excited and it was times like these that Beca realized just how alike Char and Chloe were.
Beca then went to Leslie's room to check on the two sisters and found Sophie lying on Leslie's bed, crying, while Leslie was sitting beside her, rubbing her stomach lightly while singing Twinkle Twinkle.
"Hey So." Beca said gently and took a seat at the foot of the bed. Sophie immediately climbed on her lap and curled up into her. "Are you in pain, baby?"
Sophie nodded with a pout.
"Is little Leslie taking care of you?" Beca asked again with a smile to her youngest daughter.
"Yes." Sophie said.
"Honey, did the medication work at all?" Beca asked.
Sophie shrugged.
"It's gonna take time until it kicks in, alright?" Beca said. "Now why don't we go downstairs to the living room? We can cuddle and watch something to distract you."
"Okay." Sophie said in a small voice.
"You and Leslie have a pediatrician appointment tomorrow and we're gonna have that checked out, okay?" Beca said softly.
"Okay." Sophie said again.
"Let's go downstairs. What do you wanna watch?" Beca asked.
"Fwozen!" Leslie said.
"Leslie, your sister is in pain now, okay? So why don't we let her decide?" Beca asked and Leslie nodded.
"Frozen is fine, mommy." Sophie said.
"Yaay!" Leslie said. "Mommy, can you make cocporn?"
"Sure, I can make popcorn." Beca smiled. It didn't please her at all that her youngest daughter said "cocporn" instead of "popcorn", it wasn't that hard to say!
Beca sat with Sophie and Leslie in her lap as the three watched Frozen. Only her and Leslie ate popcorn, Sophie was in too much pain to eat it.
Sophie had been complaining about that pain for a few weeks, which worried Beca and Chloe so they decided to take her to the pediatrician, along with her sisters. Charlotte was also going to get her development checked out. Now that she was going through puberty, her moms wanted to make sure she was developing right.
Since they were out of school, the three girls were all free to go to the doctor at 2 and they didn't need a nanny to help them this time.
Charlotte would be going first and, since the receptionist knew them all well, she would be watching Sophie and Leslie while they played so Beca and Chloe could both go in with Charlotte.
Charlotte was asked to strip down to her underwear so their pediatrician, Dr. Anna, could examine her.
Dr. Anna weighted her, checked her height before she asked her to lie down on the table. She then massaged her stomach so she could check for irregularities.
"So tell me Char, any pains? Discomfort?" Dr. Anna asked. "Anything unusual?"
"I don't think so." Charlotte said.
"Any.. itches?" Dr. Anna whispered and Charlotte chuckled.
"No." She said.
"Okay." Dr. Anna said. "Alright, I'm all done with you."
Charlotte nodded and Dr. Anna allowed her to put her clothes back on.
"Mothers, Char is absolutely fine." Dr. Anna said. "But if you're really worried about her going through puberty, maybe you can take her to a gynecologist. They will be able to answer more questions than me."
"Oh!" Beca said. "But shouldn't we only take her to a gynecologist after she gets her first period?"
"That's usually the rule but if you want to check that all her girl parts are developing right, the gynecologist will be a better help." Dr. Anna said. "Do you have a gynecologist?"
"Yeah, we do." Chloe said.
"Well I was going to recommend one doctor I know, Dr. Skyler Smith, she works with prepubescent girls, she's really sweet." Dr. Anna said, taking out a sheet of paper and writing down Dr. Smith's number on it. "And it's easy to schedule appointments with her."
Charlotte was obviously standing nervous there, she had some idea what a gynecologist did but she was still nervous. She had never had someone other than her mothers look at her private parts. And even her moms didn't see her that intimately.
"What is she gonna.. do to me?" Charlotte asked.
Dr. Anna offered Charlotte a smile.
"She's gonna ask you and your moms a few questions first, then she's gonna take you to an examination room, where she's gonna ask you to strip and lay down on the table. Then she's gonna check your breasts for any lumps before she asks you to put your legs up on the stirrups. Then she's gonna look between your legs, but don't worry, it won't hurt. She's just gonna look to see if everything is okay." Dr. Anna said.
"Hey Char, I have a gynecologist appointment on Friday, maybe you can come just to see what it's like." Beca said. "You'll see there's nothing to it."
"Okay." Charlotte said.
"Okay." Dr. Anna said. "Bring in the next ones."
"Char are you okay to wait out there?" Beca asked.
"Sure." Charlotte said.
"Thanks." Beca smiled and they opened the door. "Sophie, Leslie, you're up!"
Sophie and Leslie ran in, they loved their pediatrician and they loved going. Dr. Anna was a sweetheart and Beca and Chloe loved that, they found her when they first moved to LA and Charlotte was having a really bad cough.
"Who's gonna be first, girls?" Dr. Anna asked as she pulled their medical file.
"Me!" Leslie said with a raised hand and a grin.
"Okay. You know the deal, clothes off." Dr. Anna said.
Leslie had to ask for her moms' help to take off her sneakers and jeans but she took the rest off by herself and stepped on the doctor's scale.
"Wow! Little Leslie, I see you gained weight, that's great!" Dr. Anna said.
"Yeah! I'm eating everything on my plate now!" Leslie said proudly.
"That's great, honey, I'm very proud of you." Dr. Anna smiled.
Leslie grinned proudly while Dr. Anna checked her height.
"Alright, height and weight are good!" Dr. Anna said to the mothers.
"That's great, little Leslie really has been a great girl, she doesn't throw a tantrum anymore at meal time, right baby?" Chloe said.
"Yes. It's not polite to throw tantrum." Leslie said while Dr. Anna put her on the table.
Dr. Anna checked Leslie quickly before she smiled at her and said she was good. Then Sophie took off her clothes and Dr. Anna started weighing her. She checked Sophie's height and wrote everything down in her file while Sophie climbed up on the table.
"Now, little Sophie your moms told me you've been complaining about a tummy ache?" Dr. Anna asked as she massaged Sophie's stomach.
"Yeah." Sophie said.
"Where is the pain?" Dr. Anna asked.
"Here." Sophie pointed a spot near her belly button.
"Okay." Dr. Anna started massaging near that spot and when she did get to it, Sophie started crying.
"Ow! Ow!" She said.
"Okay." Dr. Anna removed her hands immediately. "Sorry honey."
Sophie sniffed a couple more times before she stopped.
"It hurts when I massage?" Dr. Anna asked.
"Yes." Sophie said.
"A lot? I have to check you, can you hold on a little longer?" Dr. Anna asked. "Do you want mommy or mamma to hold your hand?"
"Yes." Sophie pouted so Chloe stood up immediately and held Sophie's right hand with a smile.
"If it hurts really bad, you squeeze my hand okay?" Chloe said and Sophie nodded.
Dr. Anna continued her massage while Sophie shut her eyes hard and squeezed Chloe's hand tight.
"Okay, I'm done, you were very brave, Sophie." Dr. Anna smiled.
Chloe helped Sophie get dressed and they sat back down.
"Okay, I did feel a lump there so I'm gonna ask for an abdominal ultrasound to check it out. I'm gonna ask one for Leslie too." Dr. Anna said.
"A lump?" Beca asked. "What does this mean?"
"It may be nothing, Beca." Dr. Anna said. "Sometimes she's got so much gas accumulated it causes pain."
Beca nodded.
"I'm gonna give you a strong medication for the pain." Dr. Anna said before putting two boxes of the medication on the desk.
"Okay, thank you." Beca said.
"And both girls are gonna get two lollipops!" Dr. Anna said with a grin before she grabbed her lollipop jar and handed out to the girls.
"Wow! Two lollipops doc?" Chloe asked.
"Leslie gets two for the weight gain." Dr. Anna smiled at Leslie who grinned back. "And Sophie gets two for being a brave girl."
Sophie smiled as she tried to open the lollipop.
"Char didn't get a lollipop." Leslie said.
"Char doesn't get lollipops, she's a big girl now." Dr. Anna said.
"That's sad. I'm gonna give one to her." Leslie said. "Lollipops give you cavities."
"You're so generous, Leslie!" Beca said.
"Thank you!" Leslie grinned.
"Thank you, doctor." Chloe said with a smile as her and Beca shook hands with Dr. Anna.
Beca and Chloe met Charlotte outside and they went to the parking lot to go to their car.
"I'm gonna call the place Dr. Anna recommended to schedule the ultrasounds." Chloe said.
"Who's having an ultrasound?" Charlotte asked with wide eyes.
"Sophie and Leslie." Beca said.
"Why? Are they pregnant?" Charlotte asked.
"Char, ultrasound aren't only for pregnant people." Chloe said. "We're gonna check if Leslie and Sophie's tummies are okay."
"Oh!" Charlotte said.
"Mamma I'm scared." Leslie pouted.
"Hey, it's nothing Leslie. It doesn't hurt at all." Beca said.
"You pwomise?" Leslie asked.
"Yes I promise." Beca smiled at her through the rear view mirror.
oO0Oo
Beca and Chloe managed to schedule the ultrasounds together on a Wednesday afternoon the following week at 4, so Chloe was able to take them since Beca was be at work.
Since Leslie was scared, Chloe let her bring along her stuffed pig and she was hugging the pig tight in the waiting room.
"Miss Sophie and Leslie Beale-Mitchell?" A woman called and Chloe stood up with both girls, taking them by the hand inside the room.
Leslie was more comforted by the room, since the lights were off and the only source of light was the monitor opposite to the bed, the computer and some light coming from under the other door.
"Who's gonna be first?" The female doctor smiled at the girls.
"Why don't you go first, Soph? So you can show Leslie that it's okay?" Chloe suggested as she took a seat on the chair next to the bed, placing Leslie on her lap.
"Okay." Sophie said and climbed on the bed.
"Honey, I'm gonna ask you to raise your shirt and lower your pants just a little bit." The doctor said.
Sophie did just that and the woman helped her put some paper towels so she wouldn't get gel all over her clothes.
"Alright let's see." The doctor said. "Why are you doing this exam?"
"She's been complaining about this pain in her belly and she can't go to the bathroom, sometimes for a couple of days, so the pediatrician examined her and felt a lump so she asked for an abdominal ultrasound just to check if everything is okay." Chloe said.
"Okay, let's see." The doctor said.
Chloe turned to Leslie while the doctor examined Sophie.
"See? You see inside your tummy up there." Chloe said.
"Inside my tummy?" Leslie asked.
"Yeah." Chloe smiled.
"That's cool!" Leslie smiled.
"See? You've got nothing to worry about." Chloe smiled and kissed the top of her head.
The doctor spent quite some time examining Sophie's upper belly, she would ask for the girl to take a deep breath and hold it and, quite frankly, Sophie was getting tired.
"Okay, there's nothing in her stomach, kidneys or liver." The doctor said and switched for a different gear to see Sophie's intestine. "Let's see that intestine."
Of course, Chloe didn't understand anything she was seeing but she watched anyway.
"Ow!" Sophie whined when the doctor found the spot where the pain was.
"Sorry, just a bit more." The doctor said before doing a few clicks on the computer and releasing the spot. "All done, Sophie, you can wipe the gel off while I help your sister, okay?"
"Okay." Sophie said and sat up.
"Is everything okay doc?" Chloe asked.
"Alright." The doctor said after helping Leslie settle in while Chloe helped Sophie wipe the gel off of her stomach. "Your daughter has a tumor."
Chloe's eyes widened and she lost her color. If she hadn't been sitting, she would've fallen on her knees.
"I don't know what kind it is. The type of exam to identify the tumor is a colonoscopy." The doctor said. "So I suggest you see a gastroenterologist."
Chloe simply nodded and tried to hold her tears in front of Sophie, she didn't want to scare her.
"What's a tumor, mamma?" Sophie asked.
"It's umm.. It's a little ball inside your intestine and that's what's causing you pain." Chloe said.
"I can tell you, it's not a big tumor, but since she's a child it's blocking most of the way so that's why she hasn't been able to go to the bathroom." The doctor said.
"Oooh." Sophie said. "Can you take it out, please?"
The doctor chuckled.
"I can't but I'm sure your pediatrician can recommend you someone that can." She said.
"Okay." Sophie said and Chloe pulled her into her lap. "I hope it's soon, it hurts."
"I'm sure you'll have that tumor removed in less than a month." The doctor said. "Now let's see this young lady."
The doctor smiled at Leslie and started examining her belly.
Once the doctor was done with Leslie, she said the results would be out shortly, so Chloe waited a few minutes until the results were ready and headed home. She was holding everything together in front of the girls because Sophie was okay, she was happy, she didn't know what a tumor could mean.
When Chloe got home, the two girls ran inside to play while Chloe went inside to look for her wife.
"Hey! I see the girls are happy, how was the doctor?" Beca asked.
"Beca.." Chloe sighed and sat next to her wife. "She found a tumor in Sophie's intestine. She says it's small but she can't tell what kind of tumor it is so we have to get a colonoscopy done."
"Oh my God…" Beca brought her hand to her mouth and her eyes started watering.
"Beca, listen to me." Chloe said even though she was starting to cry too. "Listen to me. Everything is fine, Sophie is gonna be fine. We're titanium, we're gonna get through this."
"Okay. Okay." Beca took a few deep breaths and wiped her tears.
"And don't cry or show unhappiness in front of Sophie, the last thing I wanna do is scare her, okay?" Chloe said.
"Okay, you're right." Beca said. "We're gonna get through this."
Chloe nodded with a small smile.