Work Text:
Family time was perhaps Chloe’s favourite thing in the world which was helped by the fact that Brooke was perhaps the most wonderful little girl that had ever existed (sure Chloe was a little biased but she was also right and that’s all that mattered). With the same shock of flame red hair and infectious grin as Chloe everyone was enamoured by the youngest member of the Bella family. Especially Beca; the brunette had never expected to be a good mother, to take naturally to motherhood, but from the moment that Brooke had been place in her arms at the hospital, Beca knew she had never and would never love anyone as much as she did her daughter. Three years later and that hadn’t changed. If anything Beca loved her family more now than ever.
“I think the petting zoo is a really great idea!” Chloe beamed, coffee cup clasped in her hands as she sat at the kitchen island watching her wife cook dinner for the two of them.
“Dude, farm animals are gross and they smell! Besides isn’t she too little for a petting zoo?” Beca frowned as she turned to look at Chloe. They’d settled into this comfortable domestic routine lately; one of them would cook dinner whilst the other put Brooke to bed and then they’d settle down for dinner together to catch up on each other’s days and make plans for their time off together.
“Who thought you’d be the coddling one out of the two of us?” Chloe teased, raising her eyebrow as she smirked at her wife.
Beca rolled her eyes as she turned back to the stive, “I’m not coddling! I just…” She sighed softly as she stirred the pan of sauce in front of her, “I’m scared of horses…” She mumbled, inaudible.
“What?” Chloe frowned, “I didn’t hear you.” Setting her coffee cup down Chloe got up from her seat and walked over to Beca, arms winding around her wife’s waist, “What was that?”
“I- I’m scared of horses okay?” Beca shrugged, blushing deeply. It was a secret that she thought, especially considering they lived in New York City, she’d never have to tell anyone.
“You’re scared of horses?!” Chloe asked incredulously, an amused smirk on her face as she pulled her closer as Beca tried to pull away, embarrassed.
“They’re so big!” Beca protested, “And that whole ‘one kick could kill you’ thing if you have the audacity to stand behind it? No thanks.”
“Oh honey…” Chloe purred as she nuzzled the side of her neck, Beca unable to keep a smile off her lips, “If I promise to protect you from all of the vicious horses can we take Brooke to the petting zoo tomorrow?”
Beca rolled her eyes a little as she pressed herself against her wife with a soft chuckle, “I can’t say no to you and those big strong arms…”
Chloe giggled as she pressed a soft kiss to Beca’s cheek, “All the better to protect my wife from horses.”
“You’re such a weirdo…” Beca laughed, turning her head to capture Chloe’s lips in hers.
Saturday mornings used to be Beca’s morning to lie-in, the brunette having never been a morning person at any point in life. Nowadays however, Beca found herself awoken more often than not at a highly unreasonable hour for a weekend, but in a manner that she never really seemed to mind:
“Mommas!” Brooke burst through the bedroom door, red hair wild as she lept into the bed between her mothers, accidently catching Beca in the ribs with her sharp little elbow.
“Oof!” Beca grunted, frowning a little at the rude awakening, but unable to stay mad at her daughter when she saw the big beaming grin on her face, “Watch the elbows Brookey, mommy likes her ribs in one piece.” She smirked as she gently brushed Brooke’s hair from her face, her daughter giggling.
“Sorry momma!” Brooke giggled, beaming as Chloe stirred from her sleep and pressed a soft kiss to her daughter’s forehead.
“Morning Brooke.” Chloe mumbled, reaching over to tangle her fingers in Beca’s as she smiled sleepily at her family, “Morning Becs.”
Beca simply smiled in response, moving closer to her daughter and her wife as she gave Chloe’s hand a gentle squeeze. It was mornings like this that Beca lived for. Domestic bliss was never something that she had envisioned for herself, not after watching her parent’s marriage fall apart. But lay here in the bed she shared with the love of her life, her daughter curled up between them, Beca knew that her whole life had been leading to this moment however cheesy that made her sound.
“So monkey…” Chloe turned her attention to their young daughter, “How would you like to go to the petting zoo today?”
“Will there be rabbits?” Brooke’s eyes sparkled with excitement, “I love rabbits!”
“Yes honey.” Chloe chuckled fondly, “And there’s lambs, and goats, and horsies…” She watched Beca pull a face and shook her head a little, an affectionate smile on her face.
“And giddy pigs?!” Brooke was now bouncing up and down on the bed between them with excitement.
Beca frowned a little in confusion, “Do you mean guinea pigs?”
“Yeah! Giddy pigs!” Brooke beamed as Beca’s heart threatened to burst with the sheer adorableness of her daughter, “Can we go now?!”
“We need to get dressed first, and have breakfast. And then we can go.” Chloe beamed as Brooke lept from the bed and headed for the door to go and get dressed ready for the day.
“One of us should go with her… god knows what clothes she’ll be putting on if we leave her too it.” Beca chuckled as she made no move to leave the bed, instead moving closer to Chloe and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“Hm… and by someone you mean me right?” Chloe raised an eyebrow as she traced her fingers down Beca’s arm.
“Well seeing as though you offered…” Beca draped her arm over Chloe’s waist, enjoying a moment of blissful quiet in her wife’s arms before they had to go about their day.
An hour later, Brooke was dressed in a blue shirt (“Momma’s always wearing shirts and she looks so cool!” She had insisted as Chloe tried to convince her to wear something more practical) and white and grey leggings with her red hair in two plaited pigtails to keep it out of her face. She was bouncing up and down enthusiastically as she waited impatiently for her mother’s to be ready to go. Beca was more or less ready, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, her favourite flannel shirt tied around her waist.
“C’mon Chlo!” Beca called, grabbing her car keys as she recognised the impatient look on Brooke’s face that mirrored her own and feeling her heart swell with pride that she was rubbing off on her daughter.
“Yeah mommy! I wanna goooo!” Brooke was practically vibrating with excitement as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“Alright, alright, honestly you two!” Chloe laughed as she breezed into the kitchen where they were waiting for her. Beca knew that after five years of marriage that she should probably be less blown away with how beautiful her wife was but she couldn’t help it.
“Woah…” Beca whispered, smirking as Chloe rolled her eyes at her.
“You are so predictable Mitchell.” Chloe teased as she shrugged a jacket over the white top she was wearing (that was low cut enough for Beca to get an appreciation of her boobs, but also decent enough for a day at the petting zoo with her daughter).
“What do you want from me?” Beca shrugged as she used the front of Chloe’s jacket to pull her into a deep kiss, “You know I’m a boob man.” She whispered so her daughter wouldn’t overhear and ask weird and uncomfortable questions later. Chloe giggled as she kissed Beca, pulling away only when Brooke started to whine impatiently.
“Momma… gross!” Brooke pouted as Chloe pulled away from Beca and lifted her daughter into her arms.
“Sorry monkey.” Chloe chuckled as she carried her out to the car, “Sometimes mommies get distracted when they love each other this much.”
“And when mommies are really pretty.” Beca added with a grin, opening the car door as Chloe buckled their daughter into her car seat. It was a well-choreographed routine that neither of them gave any serious thought to anymore.
A few hours later, Beca and Chloe were walking hand in hand with their daughter in-between them. It had been a really great day, Brooke had been completely in her element as she had bounced from pen to pen, her mother’s close on her tail as Beca snapped as many photos as possible of her daughter being her adorable self on the demands of her grandmother after Beca had told her mother they were headed for a petting zoo. Chloe on the other hand had been stuck to Brooke’s side like glue, as excited as her daughter was to see all the animals; vet school might have not been the best fit for her, but her love of animals had never gone away and had definitely rubbed off on her daughter.
“Mommy, mommy!” Brooke tugged on Beca’s sleeve, her mother looking down at her with a warm smile.
“What’s up peanut?” Beca squatted so she was at eye level with Brooke, the two of them waiting for Chloe to get ice cream for them all.
“Take a photo of momma!” Brooke grinned, pointing to where Chloe stood at the ice cream hut, sun hitting her hair that made her skin glow and her blue eyes pop. Beca had to hand it to the kid, she had quiet the eye for photography.
“Okay Brooke.” Beca grinned, taking her phone from her pocket, “We’ll get some photos of momma, but you have to help okay?”
“Okay!” Brooke beamed as Beca lifted her onto her hip, holding her phone with free hand as her and Brooke looked at Chloe through the lens of Beca’s camera phone.
“Alright, how about now?” Beca asked, turning to look at Brooke who seemed deep in thought, taking her assistant photographer duties very seriously.
“No.” Brooke frowned, tilting her head in a way that reminded Beca of Chloe, “Wait till she’s smiling.”
“Good idea Brookey.” Beca grinned, winking as Chloe noticed what her girls were doing. Chloe felt a grin creep onto her lips as she paid the vendor and took the ice cream from him.
“Now!” Brooke demanded, Beca quickly snapping a photo with a chuckle.
“What are you two weirdos doing?” Chloe beamed as she walked back to them, ice creams in hand.
“Taking photos of the most beautiful mommy in the world.” Beca grinned as a light blush spread across Chloe’s cheeks. She had never really gotten used to Beca telling her how beautiful she was.
“Oh really? So you’re taking photos of yourself?” Chloe asked, raising her eyebrow as the three of them headed for a picnic bench, Beca setting Brooke down on the seat with her ice cream before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Chloe’s lips.
“Why settle for second best?” She chuckled as she pulled away, sitting opposite her wife and daughter as she sighed happily, taking a large lick of her ice cream. Chloe simply rolled her eyes at her wife as she helped Brooke with her ice cream.
“Can we see horsies after this?” Brooke asked, eyes glittering, chocolate ice cream smeared all around her mouth.
“Uh…” Beca paused, looking at the pleading look on her daughter’s face.
“Please?” Brooke pleaded, eyes wide as she pouted a little.
“I guess we can… we can go find some horses.” Beca forced a grin onto her face, her chest pounding a little at the thought of being near one.
“Are you sure?” Chloe mouthed as Brooke cheered gleefully. Beca simply nodded; how could she say no to her daughter?
It didn’t take them long to find horses much to Beca’s disappointment. Part of her was hoping that there’s be no horses today, that they were on holiday or something, but no there they were. Behind a wooden fence that definitely didn’t look strong enough to hold them back should they decide to go on a rampage.
“Horsie!” Brooke had not inherited her mother’s fear of horses and went charging straight for them, Chloe giving Beca’s hand a gentle squeeze before running after her.
Beca hung back for a moment, feeling her chest pound as she watched Chloe pick Brooke up and let her pat the horse’s head. It sounded dumb in her head, but watching her daughter interact with this huge animal that was easily twenty times the size of her and have absolutely no fear, Beca felt herself become a little less afraid. Why the hell was she so scared of horses when her three-year-old daughter didn’t bat an eyelid?
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Beca stepped forward towards the horse enclosure. Chloe gave her a small smile as she did so, watching with pride (and a little bit of humour) as Beca eyed up the horse Brooke was petting.
“Momma look! It’s so big!” Brooke beamed as Beca nodded uneasily, not noticing her mother’s discomfort.
“Uh huh… it’s freaking huge…” Beca grumbled, stood a good two feet away as she watched the horse warily.
“I think momma wants to pet the horse now Brookes, what do you think?” Chloe wore a mischievous grin as Beca shot her a glare.
“Yeah!” Brooke beamed, “Pet the horsey momma! He’s soft!”
“All the better to lure you in before he bites off your hand…” Beca muttered under her breath, not moving any closer to the horse but reaching out a shaky hand towards the snout of the large farm animal.
She stretched her arm out as far as it would reach, fingers grazing the snout and flinching slightly as the horse moved its head towards her. Once she was certain that he’d decided she wasn’t a threat, Beca gently stroked her hand down his snout, a small smile on her face as she relaxed a little. He was soft, and now Beca had moved past her initial fear she could freely admit he was really handsome too.
“Shall we get a picture of mommy and the horse?” Chloe asked Brooke, beaming at her wife with pride as her daughter nodded furiously.
Beca rolled her eyes a little as she saw Chloe pull her phone from her pocket but continued to pet the horse regardless. She was quite enamoured with him now and she was beginning to wonder why she’d been so scared of him in the first place. Chloe snapped the picture and showed it to Brooke who sounded her approval. Eventually, the three of them moved on to see other animals, Brooke still bouncing from pen to pen with a seemingly unending stream of energy whilst Beca and Chloe slowly grew wearier. It was when Brooke was stood captivated by the guinea pigs that Beca and Chloe managed to sit for a moment at a small bench directly behind their daughter and only a stone’s throw away.
“I’m so tired…” Beca mumbled, letting her head rest against Choe’s shoulder for a moment, “We’re getting too old to be running around petting zoos y’know.”
“Tell me about it…” Chloe chuckled as she took Beca’s hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze, “It’s been a great day though.”
“Oh definitely.” Beca agreed with a grin, lifting her head to kiss Chloe’s cheek, “I can think of no better way to spend my Saturday than with my two favourite girls.”
“You’re such a sap.” Chloe laughed, turning her head to capture Beca’s lips in hers, “But you’re right. This is the best way to spend my free time.”
Whilst her mothers were talking Brooke stood watching the guinea pigs, blissfully unaware of anything that was happening around her. She loved the way their little noses twitched and the cute little squeaking noise they made as they played with each other. This had the best day ever. It was as she was watching the guinea pigs scuttle around their pen that she felt something stand right behind her. Frowning a little, Brooke turned around and found herself face-to-face with the most terrifying thing she had ever seen in her whole life. It looked like a dinosaur and it was huge, brown feathers seeming to bristle as it eyed her up. Brooke did what any reasonable three year old would do in that situation and screamed bloody murder. The behemoth bird in front of her seemed to take a personal afront to this and made this awful, garbled screeching noise at her which of course made Brooke scream again. It was at this moment that Brooke decided to run away from this frightening monster, but being the evil creature that it was it took off running after her, Brooke only growing more frightened as it did so and screaming even more, tears pouring furiously down her cheeks.
Both Chloe and Beca had been on their feet with the first scream and had watched Brooke’s interaction with the turkey. Chloe had immediately taken off after her daughter and the bird that was chasing her, catching up with Brooke as she put herself between her daughter and the large bird. Brooke clung to her mother’s leg sobbing as Chloe turned to the bird.
“Go on, shoo!” She yelled at the turkey, furious that it had frightened her daughter so much, “Leave her alone you bully, she’s just a little girl!”
The turkey tilted its head seeming to weigh up its options as it eyed up Brooke who was sobbing and burying her face in her mother’s trouser leg. It was a tense moment as the turkey stood its ground, watching the mother and daughter for a moment before seeming to decide that it wasn’t worth the hassle anymore and turned and walked off, no doubt to terrorise another small child.
“Oh Brooke, come here...” Chloe bent down to pick Brooke up, holding her close as the young girl sobbed heavily into her chest, gripping the front of her shirt tightly, “It’s okay baby, I’ve got you.”
“Momma it was… really… scary…” Brooke choked out in-between sobs as she clung to her mother.
“I know honey, I know.” Chloe cooed, rubbing her back as her heart broke that her daughter was so distraught.
“It’s… not… funny!” Brooke sobbed harder, Chloe frowning in confusion as she wasn’t finding this even remotely amusing.
“I know it isn’t Brookes, I’m not laughing I promise.” Chloe reassured her, kissing her forehead.
“But… momma… is!” Brooke sobbed, pointing in the direction of where Beca and Chloe had sat only a few moments ago.
Chloe’s frown grew deeper as she laid her eyes on her wife, jaw clenching as she saw what Beca had been doing whilst she had been rescuing her daughter from the turkey that had been chasing her. Beca was on her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks as she gripped the material of her jeans tightly in her hands. But Beca was not crying tears of sadness or fear or even anger. No, Beca was crying from laughing so hard. She couldn’t help it, something about watching her daughter enter a screaming match with a turkey and then be chased by said turkey was really really funny.
“Beca!” Chloe scolded, no ounce of humour in her tone or expression, “Your daughter is terrified, and you’re laughing?!”
“I’m sorry I just…” Beca managed to say between her laughs, feeling the steely glare of not only her wife but of the other parents around her as well.
“Seriously?!” Chloe hissed, shaking her head as Brooke continued to cry.
“I’m sorry!” Beca shook her head, each word out of Chloe’s mouth only making her laugh harder at the situation, more of a nervous response now than of her finding the absurd situation funny.
“Mommy you’re so mean!” Brooke sobbed, clinging as tight as she could to Chloe, Beca trying desperately to put an end to her laughter but only finding herself laughing harder.
It was as she felt something tug at the shirt tied around her waist that Beca’s laughter finally started to dissipate, turning round to see what the hell was trying to steal her shirt from her. Beca was confronted by quite possibly the biggest goose she had ever laid her eyes on and clutched tightly in its beak was her favourite flannel shirt.
“Oi!” Beca growled, untying the shirt from around her waist to give herself better leverage to try and tug it from the goose that had hold of it, “Give that back you flappy fuck!”
“Beca!” Chloe exclaimed, pressing her hand over Brooke’s ears, “Language!”
“It’s got my shirt!” Beca protested, trying to wrestle it from the goose who was flapping its wings aggressively, “Let go of my shirt you dick!”
The goose only tugged harder, quacking a little as it shook its head in an attempt to get Beca to relinquish her grip on the shirt. Chloe bit her lip to fight back a laugh as she watched her wife enter into a tug of war with a farm bird over a flannel shirt. She nudged Brooke slightly and nodded to the scene in front of them.
“Brooke do you know what karma is?” Chloe asked her daughter as Beca continued to fight with the goose. Brooke shook her head, sniffing slightly, “Karma is when someone who does something mean has something bad happen to them. I think mommy is finding that out the hard way, don’t you?”
“Uh huh.” Brooke nodded, the slightest hint of a smile working its way onto her lips, “I like the goose.”
“Me too Brooke, me too.” Chloe chuckled.
That evening, a soft knock came at Brooke’s bedroom door before Beca stuck her head around it. They had returned from the petting zoo an hour after the turkey and the goose incident and Brooke had been soothed and placated with a large stuffed horse as way of apology from Beca for laughing at her. Brooke was now curled up in her bed, her now stuffed toy clutched tight to her chest and her thumb in her mouth as she snuffled sleepily.
“Hey kiddo, want me to come and tuck you in and read you a bedtime story?” Beca asked, a soft smile on her face.
“Okay…” Brooke mumbled, “Still mad at you.”
“I know… I really am sorry Brooke.” Beca sighed softly as she walked into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her and climbing into the bed next to her daughter. Brooke held onto her new toy as she snuggled into Beca’s side.
“I liked the goose though.” Brooke smiled mischievously as she looked up at her mother who raised an eyebrow.
“Why am I not surprised?” Beca shook her head a little as she stroked Brooke’s hair from her eyes, “It does feel like I deserved it though huh?”
“Yeah.” Brooke nodded, “For being a mean mommy.”
“I’m sorry Brookey, I promise I won’t laugh at you when your frightened ever again.” Beca pressed a kiss to her forehead, “So which story do you want me to read you tonight?”
“Riding Hood?” Brooke asked, Beca nodding with a warm smile as she reached for the book from the shelf next to her daughter’s bed.
Once the story was finished, Beca noticed that Brooke could barely keep her eyes open. Smiling softly, Beca gently moved from underneath her daughter, tucking her duvet in around her as she stroked her head again, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“Goodnight Brooke, sleep well.” Beca whispered, not wanting to stir her daughter.
“Night momma.” Brooke yawned, nestling into her pillows happily, “Love you.”
“Love you too baby.” Beca grinned, tucking her new horse toy in next to her.
Getting to her feet, Beca headed for the door and took one last look at her daughter before closing it so that the door was only open a fraction of an inch. Running a hand through her hair she headed for the living room where Chloe sat on the sofa, her ruined shirt in her hands and glasses resting on the end of her nose as she tried to stitch it back together.
“What’s the verdict? Is it salvageable?” Beca asked with a soft frown, flopping next to her wife.
Chloe turned to Beca with a sad smile and a shake of her head, “I’m sorry baby, it’s gone. It had a good run but that goose has proved to be its match.”
Beca sighed loudly, taking the shirt from Chloe and looking at it forlornly, “That fucking feathery bastard… it was my favourite shirt…”
“I know honey…” Chloe moved so she was curled up against Beca’s side, draping an arm around her shoulders, “But this is what happens when you laugh at your daughter being terrorised by a turkey.”
“I didn’t mean to!” Beca protested, “I feel so guilty about it… do you think she’ll ever completely forgive me?”
“Of course she will dummy.” Chloe chuckled, “You’re her mom, she just might need a couple of days to get over it.”
“I suppose that’s fair…” Beca sighed turning to her wife, “You know there was something we were supposed to do today but we got entirely distracted by those fucking farmbirds.”
Chloe chuckled softly as she rested her hand on her stomach, her other hand gently caressing Beca’s cheek, “Yeah well, we’ve got another six months to tell her about becoming a big sister.”
“I mean I’d rather tell her before then…” Beca mused as she leant in and pressed a soft kiss to Chloe’s lips, “But you’re right, there’s plenty of time.”
“I still can’t believe we’re gonna be momma’s again.” Chloe bit her lip a little as she rested her head on Beca’s shoulder.
“I’m excited.” Beca mumbled into Chloe’s hair as she pressed a kiss into it, “And not quite as terrified as I was when we were waiting on Brooke to get here. Maybe this time I won’t laugh at them if they end up terrorised by farm animals…”
Chloe laughed as she lifted her head to look at Beca, “I’m sure he’d appreciate that…”
“It’s a boy?” Beca’s grin nearly broke her face in half, eyes sparkling, “We’re having a boy this time?”
“Yep…” Chloe popped the p as she tucked a lock of hair behind Beca’s ear, “The doctor called earlier and I asked her. I was gonna tell you before we told Brooke but… well y’know.”
“Chlo I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy…” Beca whispered, tracing her fingers along her wife’s stomach where her son was growing.
“Me neither.” Chloe hummed, “Even if I am still mad at you for laughing at her daughter when she was being chased by a turkey.”
Beca rolled her eyes as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, “I’m never living this down am I?”
“Not ever.” Chloe shook her head with a laugh, “Especially not once the Bellas find out.”
Beca simply chuckled in response, sniffing slightly. She didn’t care about any of this anymore, not when Chloe was carrying their son and their beautiful daughter slept in the next room.
“We’d better get you to bed Mrs Mitchell, you’ve had a long day on your feet and fought a turkey.” Beca smirked, getting off the sofa and gently pulling Chloe to her feet.
“I suppose I have earned a rest.” Chloe mused, pulling Beca into her arms with a grin, “Unless you had… other plans?”
Beca raised an eyebrow as brushed her lips against Chloe’s, “Oh I can think of a great many things to do in our bedroom… but tonight I am exhausted.”
“Oh thank god.” Chloe breathed with a soft chuckle, “I’m so tired.”
“Then why did you ask me if I had other plans?” Beca asked in a humorous tone.
“My hormones are all over the place! Besides have you seen you?” Chloe raised her eyebrow as she tugged Beca towards the bedroom, “C’mon, let’s go have a nice early night.”
“That may be one of the sexiest things you’ve ever said to me.” Beca grinned, following her wife to their bedroom.
“By the way…” Chloe turned to Beca as they walked up the stairs to their room, “Did Brooke tell you what she named the horse you bought her?”
“No…” Beca frowned but still was still smiling, “What did she call it?”
“Karma.” Chloe raised an eyebrow as Beca’s jaw dropped and she scoffed, shaking her head.
“Brilliant.” Beca gently shoved Chloe’s shoulder, “Thanks for that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, she came up with it all by herself!” Chloe winked at her wife as she disappeared into their bedroom, Beca close behind.