A/N: In which Beca falls for the kind stranger who makes her baby laugh in the grocery store's checkout line;

Beca sighed as she set the baby seat down at her feet, before starting to unload a few things from her shopping basket onto the store's motorized checkout counter. Shopping with a baby was a whole process, and she was exhausted and couldn't wait to be done with it and get back home. She had only placed a few things before she noticed that the person in front of her had a ton of items, so she figured it would take a while, and tried to make herself relax. Of course her daughter began whining just then, realizing she was on the floor where her view of the whole wide store was cut off and she was stuck looking at her mother's legs and shoes.

"I know Em, just a minute," Beca said at the baby's protest, but the baby didn't want to wait. She let out a whimper, threatening to cry if she wasn't picked back up so she could continue looking around in the next few seconds.

"Emma, please..." Beca fought back the stress rising within her at her daughter's protests as she continued unloading her shopping basket. She knew she had to keep things moving, worrying about the next person getting in line behind her who would probably not appreciate being held up over her daughter's need for attention. Unbeknownst to her, that wouldn't be a problem.

The woman who had just walked up directly behind Beca looked down to see where the small noises of protest were coming from, and caught sight of the small, dark haired baby in the baby seat on the floor, and immediately grinned down at the baby.

"Hi sweetheart, what's up?"

The baby stopped whimpering and looked up to the woman with her mouth open, cocking her head a bit before suddenly changing her mind about crying and instead breaking out into a huge smile. She reached her little hands up to the woman with a coo, and the woman chuckled.

"Aw, there's a nice big smile!"

Beca had heard the commotion and turned around, having just finished unloading the last of her items onto the checkout counter.

"Well, that's one less thing to worry about," she said, looking at the woman smiling at her child. "Thanks."

"No problem," the woman said, before bending down to get closer to the baby. "I think she likes me."

A quick flash of worry washed over Beca at a stranger bending over to see her baby, but it quickly disappeared when her daughter began laughing at the woman instead of crying like she'd been expecting her to. Now at the same level as the baby, the woman reached a hand out to the baby, who took her fingers and gripped them tightly. Beca watched the scene with a whirlwind of emotions, from apprehension and slight fear to...affection? at how this woman had so quickly bonded with her daughter (and stopped her from being upset).

"Wow, that's quite the grip you've got there," the woman continued with a chuckle, gently trying to pull her fingers out of the baby's grasp. It took her a moment to get free, and when she did she stood back up, looking at Beca.

"She's adorable," she said, and Beca nodded, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"Thanks. She's not usually this good with strangers," Beca blurted, but the woman's smile didn't seem to falter at all.

"Aw, well I'm a friendly stranger," she said, before nodding to something behind Beca. "Hey, the line's moving."

Beca quickly turned around and moved herself up the line a bit, the friendly woman behind her taking a step closer herself. Just as Beca turned back around and was about to do it, the woman leaned over and picked up the baby seat by its handle (the baby laughed at the motion of being lifted), setting it on the checkout belt behind the last few of Beca's items. Beca watched, the odd fear that the stranger might instead turn the other way and run off with her child being squished by her appreciation of her doing the act.

"Thanks, that seat is getting harder to lift since she's getting bigger," Beca said, before reaching for one of the plastic checkout dividers. Emily was also reaching for a divider, and their fingers touched briefly on one of them before Beca blushed and quickly took it, placing it in front of the baby's seat, allowing the woman to start putting her own items up.

"I'll bet," she said, beginning to unload her own basket. The baby watched from her seat as the items from the woman's basket were set down. She whimpered and reached her hands for the items as the woman placed a variety of cans and boxes down, out of her reach.

"Sorry sweetie, you can't have any of this stuff. I bet your mom got some things you can have, though," the woman said to the baby, setting the last of the things down. She leaned down to place her now empty basket in the small stack that had collected under the checkout counter before standing again, laughing at the baby still reaching for her items.

"Aw, come on, little..."

"Emily," Beca said.

"Yeah?" the woman asked, looking at Beca.

Beca's face flushed, as the woman's eyes met hers. "That's, uh, her name. Emily. Emma for short."

Beca's heart fluttered in her chest again as she saw the other woman process her words, getting an excited nod from the adult Emily.

"Oh wow, I've never met another Emily before!"

She reached her hand to the baby again, who immediately grabbed her fingers in her tight grasp once more, settling for them instead of the colorful boxes and cans. "It's nice to meet you, baby Emily."

She turned to Beca, her fingers still in the grasp of the baby. "And it's nice to meet you..."

"Beca."

Emily said her name aloud, nodding to her. "That's a pretty name."

Before Beca could reply, a voice behind her called 'Next!'. She had almost forgotten where she was, too distracted by the woman. She turned and faced the checkout cashier, who had already started scanning her items. Her mind reeled as she watched her items get scanned; she almost hadn't felt the little tap on her shoulder from the woman behind her.

"Uh, hey, Beca," Emily began when Beca had turned her attention back to her, scratching at the back of her head with one hand. "If you're not...I mean, would you maybe want to..."

"Are you assuming I'm single?" Beca asked with a small smirk. Emily put her hands up immediately, beginning to stutter out an apology, but Beca shook her head.

"I'd like that, Emily," she said quietly.

Emily put her hands down and smiled.

The supermarket trip had completely worn baby Emily out, but it worked out for the adults so they could talk while they sipped their drinks at the coffee shop just next door.

"So, uh, you're not seeing anyone?" Emily asked. Beca took a sip of her drink and shook her head, setting her drink back down.

"I was. But he left when I told him about the baby," Beca said, nodding down to the baby seat, where little Emily was still sleeping peacefully. "Our relationship was complicated and the baby was kind of a surprise. I guess he wasn't ready."

"Aw, I'm sorry," Emily replied. Beca shrugged.

"It was a bad situation, and even though I wasn't ready either, it's better this way. Being single with the baby, I mean."

Emily nodded, taking another sip of her own drink. "That's good, at least."

"What about you?"

"I've been flying solo for a while," Emily replied. "I wasn't expecting to meet anyone, especially not in the checkout line at my local grocery store."

"It's not usually the setting for those cheesy romance novels, that's for sure," Beca quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

Emily laughed. "I wouldn't have pinned you as one of those women who read those."

Beca shot her a look. "I don't, believe me."

Emily nodded in acceptance. "Didn't think you did. So, what do you do for fun?"

Beca shrugged. "I don't really do fun, especially with a baby. Getting to watch a movie or show by myself is my idea of fun these days."

Emily nodded again. "Well, maybe I could show you some fun? We could go out, or something."

"You're asking me out after you've known me for an hour?"

"We're already having coffee, so I thought I might give going out a shot," Emily said with a shrug and a goofy smile.

Beca thought about it for only a moment before nodding, making Emily's grin wider. Though her heart was still hurting from everything she'd gone through with being a single mom in the last year, she knew it was time to move on, and this woman seemed like the perfect candidate.

Beca hadn't been expecting to meet someone while in line at the supermarket checkout, but the woman who had made her baby laugh had also stolen her heart.

A/N: The writing process went as follows (I had the story idea, title, summary, but just needed the ship):

Gf: What's the premise?

Me: Single mom falling in love with the friendly stranger who made her baby stop crying in the store's checkout line

Gf: Oh that's easily Bemily

So here we are. Shoutout to my gf and thanks to everyone for reading! c: