Archive of Our Own ^beta

Beca closes the front door behind her and leans against it. She feels the weight of her day slip off of her shoulders as soon as she’s in her safe space.

Before she can open her eyes, she feels a shift from the brief moment of peace, to something else. She isn’t sure what’s caused it, but in a house with three daughters, it could be anything. 

“Hello? Where is everybody?” She calls out.

Today was a long day at work. She was really hoping for a nice, relaxing, night at home; maybe curl up on the couch with Chloe and watch a movie with a glass of wine. When she hears the slam of a door, she feels the chances of that slipping further and further away.

“Whose door is being taken off its hinges?”

She asks, as soon as she sees her wife on the stairs. Chloe sighs and takes the last step.

“That was Lennon.”

“Len? Seriously?”

Out of all of their kids, Lennon is always the one with the steady hand. She’s calm and kind, always. Meaning, the slam of her door is the sound of the final nail in the coffin of Beca’s hope for that relaxing night.

Chloe nods and runs a hand through her hair. She looks tired. Beca leans over to give her a kiss. She doesn’t pull back very far, before Chloe leans forward again to give her another one.

Beca wraps her arms around her waist and closes her eyes when Chloe’s head falls forward to rest on her shoulder. She holds her until she speaks again,

“It’s been non-stop fighting between her and Charlie all afternoon, I don’t know what’s going on. No one will give me a straight answer.”

“Sometimes I think they do it just to torture us.”

Chloe chuckles and nods.

“You okay?”

“Mhm, yeah. I am now.”

“I’ll start on dinner.” Beca says, “Go relax for a little while.”

“I’ll come help you.”

“Are you sure? You look like you could use a break.”

Chloe gives a thankful smile but she follows Beca into the kitchen and starts taking out ingredients from the refrigerator. They work, wordlessly, in their usual way for a while, until Maggie walks into the kitchen.

“Mommy, my stomach hurts.”

Chloe looks up, her features turning immediately sympathetic.

“Uh oh, come here, angel.”

Her hand moves up to Maggie’s forehead and she lets her eyes close when she feels how cool it is. Maggie leans forward to rest against Chloe and wrap her arms around her.

“What else doesn’t feel good?”

“My head is kind of achey.”

Chloe’s features scrunch up as she thinks through what could be going on. She’s pretty sure through the past sixteen years of motherhood that she’s seen every illness there is. And she’s learned, through all of them, not to jump to conclusions; sometimes it turns out to be nothing. Hopefully, this is one of those times.

“Hm, alright, let's drink some water and try to eat a little something. Maybe you’re just hungry.”

Maggie nods and takes her spot at the table but she doesn’t end up eating much of her dinner. 

Charlie doesn’t eat either, which makes both Beca and Chloe nervous; she’s always hungry. Beca shifts in her seat. She can’t remember the last time they shared a meal this quiet.

“Okay, usually I love the quiet, the one time a year it happens, but this is weird. What’s going on?” She asks.

Lennon has an annoyed look on her face. She and Charlie occasionally share a couple kicks under the table. Maggie has her head in her hand and is playing with her food. Chloe looks up across the table and shrugs when none of them respond. 

The rest of the meal goes by quickly, since no one seems all that interested in eating.

“Chuck and Len, homework. Now, please.”

Charlie groans but one look from Beca and she follows Lennon upstairs. 

“If I get one more eye roll from that kid…”

“I know.” Chloe says, with a gentle smirk.

Her hand runs through Maggie’s hair, set up at the counter to do her own homework. She seems to have bounced back, at least a little bit.

“Mommy, I don’t get this.”

Chloe takes the spot next to her and helps her through the first few problems. Beca clears the table and does the dishes. She loves listening to Chloe work with Maggie. She’s patient, always, and keeps Maggie from getting frustrated.

When she’s done cleaning, Beca sets up at the table to do some work of her own. For another hour, the house is quiet and, strangely, it’s starting to get on her nerves. One of her favorite things about coming home is the chaos. It’s a specific kind of noise, the kind of mixture that only her daughters’ laughter and wife’s soothing voice can swirl together to create. 

“All set, Angel. Good job.”

Maggie packs up her stuff. She takes an extra minute to lean into Chloe. This is different. Normally, as soon as her homework is done, she’s off and running to go play or watch television. But tonight, Chloe keeps her wrapped up in her arms and they exchange gentle conversation.

Beca watches the way Maggie’s eyes droop just a little bit. Her fingers trail along Chloe’s arm and move down to fiddle with her wedding ring. Her cheeks are rosy. Her hair is coming out of the braid that Beca put there this morning; falling to frame her face. She still looks like a little baby to her, much younger than her sister’s did at that age, and she wonders if she’ll always keep that youthfulness or if one day she’ll wake up and look completely grown up.

“Your stomach still hurts?”

“A little bit.”

“Where?”

Maggie places her hand on the lower part of her stomach and moves it around.

“Okay, lovebug, go upstairs and get comfy. I’ll come up in a little bit.”

Chloe gives her one more kiss to her head before she gets up and goes upstairs.

“That was weird.” Beca says, walking over to take Maggie’s spot.

“That’s how the whole afternoon went.”

“You think she’s getting sick?” Beca asks, in horror.

“I don’t know.”

Chloe puts her hand on top of Beca’s on the counter.

“God, I hope not. If she gets sick-”

“Then it’s only a matter of time for the other two, I know.”

Without fail, every year, all three of their kids get incredibly sick at the same time and it’s a nightmare. Chloe pulls her into a hug as Beca continues,

“That would be horrible. I can’t take time off right now-”

“Oh wait, baby-”

“I mean I guess if they’re all sick that’s a good excuse but still-”

“Beca.”

“What?”

She stops and looks at Chloe’s face. Her expression is unreadable, but if she had to guess, she looks a bit guilty.

“I think I might know what’s happening. I kind of can’t believe I didn’t think of this until right now.”

Beca pulls back, once again with a furrowed brow. She’s never gotten used to being three steps behind Chloe, but she waits until she speaks again,

“I got my period this morning.”

“Okay. I don’t-”

“Sorry, honey, but I think our cycles may have synced.”

Beca shakes her head, “That’s a myth, that doesn’t happen.”

Chloe stands and shrugs. She gestures, vaguely.

“Then I dare you to find another reason for it.”

Beca lets her head fall down, defeated, but she lifts it up quickly.

“That doesn’t explain Maggie, she doesn’t have hers yet.”

Chloe shrugs, “Maybe she’s getting sick, but I guarantee that’s what’s going on with the other two.”

“It would happen on a Friday night, too. That means we’re stuck with these psychos until Monday.”

Chloe laughs. It’s contagious and soon Beca is laughing too. 

They aren’t laughing an hour later when Charlie is laying in their bed in pain. Beca hands her the heating pad and lays down beside her to rub her back. 

Chloe is laying on her own side of the bed, now with a pounding headache. The other two kids have disappeared and Beca is a little thankful for it. As much as she loves being a mom, she still can get overwhelmed when more than one of them needs something at the same time.

“Mama.” Charlie says, just barely above a whisper.

“What’s up, baby?”

She doesn’t say anything, she just reaches back and pushes Beca’s hand away. She doesn’t question it, she gets the same way when she’s on her period; the very thought of someone touching her makes her sick. 

She climbs out of the bed to give her space and walks around to sit on the floor next to Chloe. 

“Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m okay. Can you go check on Maggie, please? She seemed weird after dinner.”

“On it.” 

Beca pushes herself up and starts down the hallway. She knocks on Maggie’s door. She finds it strange that it’s closed, it almost never is. She doesn’t get an answer so she tries again. Still no answer and she’s starting to get nervous.

“Maggie Mitchell, you alright in here?”

She pushes the door open and what she sees, breaks her heart. Maggie is curled up on her bed, with a few tears on her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Beca climbs up on the bed and Maggie curls up against her. Beca uses her own sleeve to wipe the tears away and speaks gently, again,

“What’s going on, does your stomach still hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” 

Beca pulls her tighter against her, careful not to squeeze her stomach. Beca runs her fingers through her light blonde hair and hums. Maggie’s hand grips at the hem of her shirt and she can tell she’s counting her breaths to keep them even.

“Do you feel like you’re going to throw up?”

“No.”

“Still no fever, so that’s good.”

“Mhm.”

Maggie adjusts to lay on her side. She looks up at Beca. Her eyes are a beautiful blue that match Chloe’s in color and Lennon’s in the way they sparkle. Beca pushes a piece of hair out of her face. She lets her eyes flutter closed while Beca continues to gently trace her features with her finger.

She seems to relax a little. Beca thinks she might have fallen asleep but then she hears her voice.

“Mama?”

“Yeah, sweetness?”

“Why do Charlie and Len fight so much?”

“What?”

“They yelled at each other, like, all day today.”

“Does it bother you when they fight?”

Maggie shrugs, with one shoulder, and fiddles with Beca’s wedding ring, the way she did with Chloe’s. Beca thinks it’s a nervous habit but she can’t be sure; Maggie is always moving and fidgeting.

“It makes me kind of…”

Beca waits. Maggie doesn’t have a way with words the way Lennon does, and she’s never been brashly honest, the way Charlie is. She gives her time to get her thoughts together.

“I guess it makes me kind of nervous.”

“Nervous? About what?”

“Like, what if they fight so much that they stop talking to each other?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“It could. Charlie gets really really mad sometimes. And that’s what happened with Ava’s Mom and Dad.”

Beca squeezes her eyes shut for a second. She shakes her head and thinks about what she just said. Maggie’s best friend, Ava, told her a few days ago that her parents are getting a divorce. It was a surprise to everyone but no one more than Maggie, who was devastated for her friend.

“That’s not really how it works, baby.”

“They fought so much that they don’t love each other anymore. That’s what Ava said. I don’t want that to happen to Charlie and Len. Or you and Mommy.”

“Hey,” Beca says, as a knee jerk reaction, she softens her tone before she continues, “me and Mommy love each other way too much to let that happen, alright?”

Maggie nods but the pensive expression remains on her face. Beca waits for her to make eye contact again before she says,

“And we love the three of you so, so, so much. And that means, we’re going to do everything we can to keep us all together.”

“Forever?”

“Forever, kid. That's a promise.”

Maggie wraps her arms around Beca’s waist and lets her head rest against her chest.

“I love you, Mama.”

“I love you, too, my sweet girl.”

Beca kisses her head and rubs her back. She listens while her breathing evens out. She continues scratching gently at her scalp with her other hand, until she’s sure she’s sleeping soundly. She moves to lay her down on her pillow; a skill she mastered when the girls were very young. She kisses her head one more time and turns off the light. 

She walks across the hall to Lennon’s room. She knocks on the door, twice, before she’s met with a quiet, “Come in”. 

Once the door is open, she leans against the doorframe and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Hi Mama.”

“Hi Len,” Beca says, with a smirk, “you need anything?”

She shakes her head and shoves her face into her pillow. All of the lights are off except for the small bedside lamp on her nightstand. 

“I’m going to bed. Mom isn’t feeling great either, but I’m right down the hall if you need me, alright?”

Beca hears a muffled, ‘Mhm’, from her and decides that’s all she’s going to get. She closes the door, almost all the way shut, and walks back to her bedroom. Chloe isn’t in bed, which she finds odd, she thought for sure she would be asleep by now. 

Charlie is still awake in their bed. She’s letting out gentle groans every few seconds. Beca feels terrible. 

“You okay, bug?”

“Mhm.”

Charlie is always too tough for her own good. It’s something they’ve been trying to work on since she was small but she always puts on a brave face. Beca sits on the edge of the bed and waits for Chloe to come out of the bathroom. 

“You made the rounds?” Chloe asks, as she shuts off the bathroom light.

“Mhm, Len is trying to sleep and Mags is out cold. Her stomach was still bugging her though.”

“Poor baby. Maybe I should go check on her, one more time.”

“Hey,”

Beca stands and pulls Chloe into her space. She can smell her face wash and her skin is still just the slightest bit damp when she leans in for a kiss.

“She’s fine. She’s sleeping. That’s the best thing for her right now, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How are you feeling? How’s your head?”

Chloe gives her a sleepy smile before she climbs back into the bed and covers herself with the comforter.

“A little better.” 

She rolls over and kisses Charlie’s head. She’s met with another pathetic groan. She wordlessly adjusts the heating pad and blanket and Beca watches as her eyes flutter closed. She’s happy Charlie is content for now but then another thought occurs to her.

“Where am I supposed to sleep?” She asks, with a playful pout.

“Charlie’s bed is open.”

Beca moves over to kiss her one more time. 

“That’s fine, when she wakes up at two in the morning needing more medicine that means you can deal with it.”

Chloe rolls her eyes, and regrets it immediately, when they burn. But the smirk doesn’t leave her face.

“You’re so sweet to me.” 

“Mhm.”

Beca kneels down next to the bed to press one more kiss to Chloe’s lips. 

“Sweet dreams, loser.”

Chloe chuckles and shakes her head, “Good night, jerk.”

It’s the middle of the night when Beca feels a nudge on her arm. She opens one eye and catches Lennon’s blonde hair in the light coming through the window. She rolls over and lifts the blanket up to allow her to climb in next to her. One heavy arm drapes over her waist and Lennon’s head falls onto her chest. 

Beca secretly loves moments like these; it feels like it did when the kids were babies. 

“You good?”

“Mhm.”

She’s thankful every second that the girls’ growing older hasn’t meant them growing apart. If anything Lennon comes to them more now than she did when she was little. 

Her breathing becomes even and heavy, and Beca knows she’s already asleep again. She closes her eyes and lets Lennon’s breathing lull her back into her own fitful sleep. 

“What are you doing?” Charlie’s raspy voice makes Maggie jump.

She wasn’t sure what woke her up but after a few minutes, listening through the dark, she heard movement in her moms’ bathroom. 

She flips the big light on and waits for Maggie to turn around. When she doesn’t, she puts a hand on her shoulder to make her. Charlie’s eyes move down to Maggie’s hands, more specifically, what she’s holding in them.

“What’s going on, Mags?”

Maggie feels the pit in her stomach get bigger. When Charlie uses that tone, it sounds just like their Mama. She wishes she had woken her up like she had originally planned. Her Mama always knows what to do.

When Maggie still doesn’t answer, Charlie takes what she’s holding and shakes her head.

“Trust me, you don’t want these. Not yet.”

Charlie puts the tampon back under the sink.

Maggie’s chest loosens up when she sees the sleepy smile on her sister’s face. Charlie bends down and rummages around under the sink for a minute before she says,

“Alright, here we go.”

Maggie almost never thinks of Charlie holding any authority over her, but right now she’s happy she seems so in control. Her stomach hurts and her head hurts even worse; she just wants to be done with this part so she can go to sleep. 

Charlie unwraps the green packaging and holds up the thing in her hand.

“This is a pad. They suck but right now they’re really your only option. It’s sticky on this side so you can stick it inside your-”

She stops when she sees Maggie flinch. She takes a step back and waits, she’s hoping she’ll finally say something.

“It got on my.. it got on me.”

Charlie looks at her the way she always does; like she has x-ray vision. She puts the pad down on the side of the sink and says,

“I’ll be right back.”

Maggie peeks her head out the door after Charlie leaves. Her mom is still sound asleep in her bed. She closes the door and wraps her arms around herself to wait for Charlie to come back. It takes her longer than she expected. She wishes she had asked where she was going.

“Alright, clean clothes.” Charlie says, as she walks back into the bathroom.

It’s a little louder than Maggie would have liked but she’s thankful to have her sister back in the room with her. She isn’t sure why but she has the quakey feeling in her chest that she gets before a big test or dance recital.

Charlotte walks her through the process and takes the clothes she had been wearing before to run them under cold water in the sink. 

“This happened to me the first time, too. Mom said cold water works best and you just run it through.” 

She holds up the pajama pants that are now wet but the stain seems to already be gone. 

“See? Works like a charm.”

Maggie watches her finish the task in silence. Charlie is always so serious, even when she’s not, but right now it gives Maggie the sense of control that she’s desperately in need of. Something about the way she moves around the room, doing exactly what their mom would do if she was awake, makes her feel guilty. Her brain feels busy, like she can’t settle on one thought or feeling for too long.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Charlie asks.

She steps over and wipes at Maggie’s face. She hadn’t realized a tear had slipped down her cheek. She wipes at her cheeks again, but there are no more tears. She lets out a shuddery breath and falls into her sister’s arms. She suddenly feels exhausted. Charlie holds her and rubs her back.

“You’re alright. You’re okay, I promise.”

Then a voice behind them makes them both jump. Maggie’s shoulder moves up and bumps against Charlie’s chin. Charlie rubs the spot and turns around.

“Is everything alright?”

Chloe is standing in the doorway. Her eyes are barely open, she’s rubbing one with the heel of her hand. 

“Uh.” Charlie doesn’t want to sell her sister out.

She looks over at Maggie and shrugs.

“I, um, I got my period.”

Chloe’s expression changes, faster than anyone could count, from sleepy to sympathetic. She steps in for Charlie and pulls Maggie into a hug. She kisses her head and runs her hand up and down her arm.

“That explains the bellyache, huh?”

Maggie nods against her; utterly relieved to be in her mom’s arms. Her moms’ arms are the safest place in the entire world.

“Do you need help with-”

“That’s okay. Charlie showed me.”

Chloe looks up, over Maggie’s head, and gives her daughter a wink. Charlie shrugs and rolls her eyes before she walks out of the room.

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm.”

Chloe bends down and puts a hand on Maggie’s cheek. She looks into her eyes, to tell if she’s lying or not. When she seems convinced that she is actually fine, she stands back up and leads Maggie to the bed. Maggie lays in the middle between Chloe and Charlie and lets her eyes close. Charlie takes the heating pad and places it on Maggie’s stomach.

These are the things that always pull at Chloe’s heart. The little caring gestures that go almost unnoticed. Charlie is their tough girl, their hard nut to crack, but those cracks do show, when she thinks no one’s looking. 

Chloe reaches over Maggie’s head and runs her hand over Charlie’s hair. Charlie’s eyes look, deep, into hers and Chloe whispers,

“Thank you for helping your sister.”

Charlie shrugs and rolls over onto her other side. Chloe chuckles, it’s breathy, barely there. That kid is all Beca and she couldn’t be more grateful for it. 

Beca rolls over, forgetting that she’s in her daughter’s bed, not her own. She almost falls off the edge, but catches herself. She rolls over onto her other side, expecting Lennon, but instead she’s met with her wife.

“Hi there.”

“Morning gorgeous.”

She leans over and kisses her cheek. 

“Everyone make it through the night?” She asks, only half joking.

“Uh yeah, Maggie and Len are downstairs eating breakfast right now. And Charlie is still passed out in our room.”

Beca scoffs, “Of course.” 

She pushes herself up and allows Chloe to get comfortable against her.

“What’s wrong?”

“What are you talking about?” Chloe asks. “There’s nothing wrong.”

“Your face, and voice, and overall demeanor right now, tell me otherwise.”

“There is something I have to tell you.”

The humor all but disappears from Beca’s face when she sees the sadness in Chloe’s eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Maggie got her period last night.”

One of Beca’s eyebrows lifts. Her voice shifts, it changes to the way Chloe loves hearing it; a specific tone that only showed up after they had kids.

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s doing alright, a little uncomfortable but she’s fine.”

“So what’s the matter?”

Chloe pauses, hesitates, before she admits,

“It’s our little girl. Our last baby. And now she’s all grown up.”

Beca chuckles but stops when she sees just how serious Chloe is being.

“She’s eleven, Chlo. She’s still our baby.”

“They’re just all growing up so fast.”

“I know what you mean. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, right? The older they get the more they become their own people. And I know I might be biased here, but I think the people they’re becoming are pretty cool.”

Chloe lets out another deep breath and wraps her arms tighter around Beca.

“They are pretty great, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, even that middle one.”

“Speaking of that little gremlin,” Chloe says, with a giggle, “I caught her being pretty sweet last night, so make sure to give her a hard time about that later.”

“Oh, I definitely will.”

The quiet grows between them until Beca realizes that Chloe is sniffling.

“Alright, why are we crying now?”

“I can’t help it, I’m on my period too, remember?”

Beca tries to stop the laugh. This has gotten her in trouble before but she can’t stop it. Chloe smacks her arm but she starts laughing through the tears.

“God, I love you so much.” Beca says, with a gentle kiss to her temple, “And I love how much you love our little weirdos.”

Before Chloe can answer, there’s a loud crash from downstairs. Beca lets her head hang as she mutters,

“I’ll go see what that was.”

She steps into the kitchen and Lennon is kneeling down on the floor, with paper towels.

“Sorry Mama, I dropped my glass.”

“That’s okay, don’t cut yourself. Hang on.”

She grabs the broom from the closet and cleans up the mess. 

“Mags, don’t come in here until you have shoes on, okay?” She calls down the hall into the living room.

Maggie doesn’t answer, she stays curled up on the couch. Beca realizes she might have actually fallen back asleep. She dumps the glass into the garbage and walks over to the coffee maker. 

Lennon bends down to pick up a stray piece of glass and cuts her finger.

“Ow, shit.” She drops it in the garbage and then kicks the can.

Beca looks up, surprised by the outburst. Lennon runs it under the faucet and then looks over at Beca, with a guilty expression.

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I’m not mom; swear all damn day if you want.”

Lennon chuckles and takes a seat back at the island. She lets her head fall into her hands.

“You doing okay?”

“Tired.”

“Yeah, this one is kicking your butt, huh?”

“It’s kicking all of our butts.”

Beca nods, “You’re not kidding.”

The house is so quiet, it’s never been this quiet on a Saturday, not since Lennon was born. She sips her coffee and winces against the burn.

“Good morning.” Chloe’s gentle voice breaks through the quiet when she walks into the kitchen.

She stands behind Lennon and runs her hand through her hair as she continues to speak.

“You feeling okay this morning?”

“Yeah, a little better.”

Lennon tilts her head back so she can look up at her mom and give her a smile. Chloe matches it with her own sleepy grin and Beca feels her stomach clench. These little, fleeting moments are the ones she thinks she’ll miss the most when Lennon goes to college. 

She’s been trying not to think about it, but she’s almost eighteen. The applications have been sent out and it’s only a matter of time. This whole situation is forcing her to realize what she’s been trying to deny for a long time: Her girls are growing up. 

“Mom?” Maggie’s voice echoes down the hallway and it forces the others to stop.

Lennon’s expression scrunches up and Beca’s eyes go to Chloe’s face. Maggie has never called her Mom, it’s always been Mommy, and Beca knows it hurts her. It’s the twist of a knife that was already plunged deep into her heart.

“Yeah Angel?”

To Chloe’s credit, she doesn’t skip a beat. She walks down the hallway to sit on the edge of the couch and have a quiet conversation between them.

“I’m surprised she didn’t cry.” Lennon says.

Beca gives her a warning glare, “Hush.”

“What? She did when I called her Mom for the first time.”

“Just don’t give her a hard time with this one, alright?”

Normally, Beca is all for her kids’ teasing, especially when it’s pointed at Chloe; it’s one of the things she’s proudest to have taught them. But she knows this time, out of any other, she needs to stop it before it starts.

“Why?”

“Is this because Maggie got her period?” Charlie asks, taking the seat next to her sister.

Beca hadn’t noticed her standing there.

“Good morning to you, too.”

“Wait, she got her-”

“Yes, and don’t make a big deal of that either. You know she gets embarrassed easily.”

Lennon nods. Beca has no worries about her, it’s Charlotte. It’s always Charlotte.

But then Beca remembers what Chloe said.

“Thanks for helping her out last night, Chuck.”

Charlie shrugs, “It wasn’t, like, a big deal or anything. I just showed her what to do.”

“It was a very big deal and I think you know that.”

Charlie hasn’t been getting her period for all that long. The first time it happened was this past summer at soccer camp. Beca woke up in the middle of the night to a hysterical phone call; begging for her to come pick her up. So, if there is anyone who understands what it means to not deal with it alone, it’s Charlotte.

Charlie doesn’t answer. She turns her focus to pouring herself a bowl of cereal. Chloe comes back into the kitchen and grabs medicine out of the cabinet.

“How’s her stomach?”

“It’s a little upset. She said her head is hurting her.”

Beca nods. That’s not a huge surprise. Lennon and Chloe are exactly the same way. Beca grabs one of the ice packs out of the freezer and hands it over.

“Does she need anything else?”

Chloe gives her a smile and shakes her head.

“I don’t think so.”

Beca catches her hand before she can turn out of the room again and she pulls her in. She wraps her arms around her and kisses her temple. She expects her to pull away but when she feels her lean further into her, she gives her another squeeze. 

When she pulls back they stare into each other's eyes and Beca gives her the warmest smile she can muster. Chloe nods before she’s out of the room again.

“How long did it take for you guys to be able to do that?” Lennon asks.

Beca leans forward on the island and takes a grape from the plate in front of her.

“Do what?”

“The weird eye-talking thing that you do.” Charlie says.

Lennon gestures, making it clear that’s exactly what she meant and it makes Beca laugh.

“Probably as long as it took for you two to do that.”

“What?” They ask at the same time.

“The mind-reading, sibling talk thing that you do.”

“We don’t do that.” Charlie says.

Beca chuckles, the way she only does when she knows she’s right.

“Do too. I’ve never seen it with Maggie, but you two, you do it all the time.”

They look at each other. Charlie pulls her eyebrows together and Lennon copies her, adding a bite to her lower lip.

“Seriously? You’re doing it right now.”

“Are not.” They say again, at the same time.

Beca sighs, resigned to let them think they’re right. She sighs and changes the subject,

“Listen, I know it’s your biggest joy in life to make the rest of us miserable with your fighting, but it’s making your sister worried. She’s got a lot going on, so if we must fight, can we at least be subtle about it?”

“It’s making her upset?” Charlie asks.

Beca knows the feeling. She can tell from the look on her face. Guilt; she feels it too when her temper runs too hot. She nods and reaches her hand out to put it on top of Charlie’s.

“I know it’s easy to forget, but your sister is still very young. And Maggie has always been just a little more…”

“Sensitive.”

“Fragile?” The girls supply.

Beca lets her shoulders roll forward and she nods.

“Yes, and she looks up to the two of you more than anyone else in this world. She loves you. So, when you’re fighting, and calling each other names, and hurling insults, even if it doesn’t mean all that much to you, it hurts her.”

Lennon and Charlie both have their eyes pointed down into their laps.

“I’m not calling for a cease fire. I know way better than that after all these years, but I am asking for a little tact.”

Lennon looks up, from the corner of her eye, at Charlie. She tilts her head to the side and shrugs one shoulder. Charlie shrugs both of hers and nods.

“Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.” They answer simultaneously, one last time.

Charlie stands up from her spot as soon as it’s clear the conversation is over and Beca knows where she’s headed. She walks straight into the living room and takes a spot on the very end of the couch.

Chloe is curled up on the other end with Maggie half in her lap. Her head is rested in the crook of her neck while she runs her fingers through her hair. They both have their eyes closed but with the movement, Chloe opens hers.

“Hi bug, how are you feeling?”

Charlie shrugs and gestures to her younger sister.

“My guess is better than her.”

“I can hear you.” Maggie says, her voice is annoyed but when she opens her own eyes, she has a smile on her face.

“Sorry.” Charlie says, a little guilty.

It’s a word that doesn’t leave her mouth often, so it catches Chloe’s attention, but she decides to watch how this conversation plays out.

“You doing okay?”

Maggie nods, “Yeah. Does your head hurt when you get your…” She trails off, clearly still embarrassed, “Um, when you’re-”

“Not usually.”

She cuts her off to put her out of her misery and Chloe feels that same pride from the night before swell up in her chest.

“But sometimes I feel like I might throw up.”

“Gross.”

“Totally.”

“One time you did throw up.” Lennon says, walking into the room.

She takes the spot in the middle of the couch and lets Maggie put her feet in her lap. 

“Do you remember that?”

“I certainly do.” Beca says.

She takes the spot on the other side of Charlotte and thinks for just a minute about how good it feels to have the whole family in the same exact spot. This doesn’t happen often anymore. She wishes it didn’t take four out of five of them having their period to do it, but she’s thankful for the moment nonetheless. 

“Why?” Maggie asks.

“Because it was in Mama’s lap.” Charlie says, with a chuckle.

“Well, don’t sound so proud about it.”

“Why not? It was funny.”

“It was kind of funny, babe.” Chloe says.

Beca shakes her head but the smile doesn’t leave her face. And that’s how she stays, for the next hour, as they swap stories and tell jokes to make Maggie laugh. Charlie dozes on and off against Beca and Lennon flips through the television channels trying to find something to watch.

When she gives up and leaves it on a rerun of an old sitcom, with the volume down low, it’s enough to put her and Beca to sleep as well.

Maggie wakes up from her own micro-nap and looks up at Chloe, who has yet to leave her side for even a second.

“Mommy?”

Chloe’s eyes close for just a second before she says,

“Yeah Angel?”

“Even though I don’t feel very good, I think today is a pretty good day. Do you?”

Chloe smiles and blinks back the tears that spring to her eyes.

“I do. Days like these are some of my favorites.”

“Cause it’s quiet?”

Chloe chuckles, “That might be Mama’s answer.”

Maggie shifts and lets her cheek rest back against Chloe’s chest. She listens to her steady heartbeat and waits for the vibration of her voice.

“Because we’re all together. That’s always my favorite.”

“Yeah, I like that, too.”

Chloe tries to force it back inside, but a tear slips down and lands right in the middle of Maggie’s forehead, forcing her to look back up at her. She uses a thumb to wipe at the tear track and asks,

“Why are you sad?”

“I’m not, honey. Well, not really. It just makes me feel a lot of different things when I think about you girls getting older.”

“And that makes you cry?”

“Sometimes, because I wish you all could just stay my little babies.”

Maggie chuckles, little breathy exhales. Her features scrunch up and she says,

“But Mama says we’ll always be your babies.”

“I know, and you will always be, but you’re also growing into the loveliest young women that I know. I don’t ever want you to feel like growing up isn’t okay.”

“Can I comment on that?” Beca asks.

Chloe and Maggie look across the couch and after another second, Beca opens her eyes. Chloe shakes her head,

“No, you can not.” She turns her attention back to Maggie, “Me and Mama want you to go out in the world and try all of the things that you think might make you happy. We want you to have a life that you’re proud of, but we also want you to know that it’s okay to make mistakes and to fail at things sometimes. You know why?”

“Because that’s how you learn.”

“Exactly.”

It’s something Chloe says to their girls nearly every day, but they all know that Maggie hears it a little bit more. She struggles academically, sometimes socially, and she is always the one a little more afraid of risk. 

“And we want you to know,” Beca starts, “that no matter how badly you think you’ve messed up, or how scared you might be that we might be mad about something, you will always, always, always, have a place right here.”

“On the couch?” Maggie asks.

It makes them both laugh, it lightens the moment that has turned surprisingly heavy, before Chloe says,

“On the couch. In our arms. In our hearts, because we love you more than anything else in this life.”

“Even more than each other?”

“Hey now, don’t get crazy.” Beca says, with a sarcastic bite.

Maggie laughs and she lets Chloe pull her into her side a little tighter. She presses a kiss to her temple.

“You remember what I told you last night?” Beca asks.

Maggie nods and says,

“Forever.”

It’s a simple answer but Beca can’t help but think it sums up everything. It wraps it up into one, neat, tiny little bow. She looks down at Charlotte and Lennon, asleep leaning against each other, sharing a blanket like they seem to share so many thoughts and feelings. 

She looks into Chloe’s eyes, the same eyes she’s been blessed enough to look into every day for her entire adult life; the eyes that gave her a home before she knew what a real home even was. The eyes that bring her back down when she gets too high and pull her up from her deepest lows. She looks over each, graceful feature; the features that have made their home on two of her daughters’ faces. She looks at the fiery red hair that bears a stark contrast to her cool and gentle demeanor. She takes her in before she looks down at their youngest daughter. 

Maggie. She looks at her and does the same thing. She takes her time, looking at her now. The thought she had last night that she still looks like a baby is gone. There’s something about her now, real or simply perceived, that appears older. Wiser. Beca gives her another smile, hoping that it envelopes everything she’s feeling. She hopes it’s enough to prove the truth behind what she says next.

“Forever, kid.”