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Bradley wakes up and comes happily bounding in his mum’s room. Before him is a big bed he has to climb every morning to wake up his sleeping mum to start the day. He begins his climb struggling at first to get a foothold on the wooden slat but eager and ready to start the day. Before he knows it, he has made the triumphant journey to the top of his mum's bed. There his mum is fast asleep. He crawls forward to her and, having arrived at the top of the bed, begins to tap her on the shoulder.
“Mumma wake up.”
Groggily Beca opens her eyes “Hey Monkey.”
A huge smile sweeps his face “Mornin mumma.”
Beca reaches out and sweeps him into a massive hug giving him kisses as he laughs. She picks him up and takes him downstairs for breakfast.
“What do you want for breakfast today, little guy?”
Bradley thinks and shouts “Cheerio’s!”
Beca laughs and gets out the Cheerio’s and Bradley’s special Paw patrol bowl. While he happily eats, Beca gets some toast and coffee. Footsteps from upstairs can be heard while they eat as someone begins to rise. Beca makes another cup of coffee and some more toast as she waits for this person to come down the stairs. Three minutes later down the stairs comes a yawning Emily. Bradley yells her name excitedly as he can’t run and hug her being in his high chair eating. She beams a smile and rubs his hair as she goes by to her coffee.
Beca smiles “morning sis, how did you sleep?”
Emily replies “Great, thanks, Becs. Thank you for letting me stay here for a while.”
Beca shakes her head “Em, you’re my little sister, of course, you can stay here. Me and Bradley love you. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Look how happy he is having auntie Em around. Plus, it’s free child care.” Emily laughs. They carry on eating breakfast together and talking about everything and nothing.
Across town Chloe is just waking up as well and getting Damon ready for the day before she heads to work. Damon is in one of his moods, which is making it harder on Chloe. All she wants to do is curl up and rest but she can’t. Damon is on the verge of throwing a full tantrum. The bags around Chloe’s eyes are deep. Her hair is a mess. However, right now she couldn’t care less, she’s overworked and Damon is not easy. This is the point when she gives in and lets Damon wear the Witch costume to daycare because she can’t handle it anymore. She puts a spare pair of clothes in the bag. Tantrum adverted, a very fed-up Chloe takes Damon to daycare.
Rushing to get Damon to daycare she collides with a woman. They lose their balance.
Chloe looks up stunned and stutters “I’m - I - I’m sorry.”
Beca laughs “It’s okay, honestly. I’m Beca, nice to meet you.”
Chloe says, wide eyed “I’m Chloe, you too. I was just in such a rush to get this little monster in I forgot to look.”
Beca smiles “I get it, taking care of little ones and working is stressful (Beca thinks to herself I can't just let her go without getting her number, I mean she looks incredible.) Can I get your number?”
Chloe smirks “I look like this and you want my number? I mean, sure.”
Beca sniggers “Don’t knock yourself. Anyway, I have to run. I sent you a text. Goodluck.”
They head off on their ways: Chloe dropping off Damon and Beca to work. Both thinking about this encounter. At the record label Beca slumps in her chair, her fingers over Chloe's newly placed contact. Wondering whether it is too early to text her. Before she gets a chance to decide, Jesse comes in and says her artist is here to record the Christmas album. She nods at Jesse and takes a deep breath. Standing tall and confident she proceeds to go greet the artist:
“Hello Demi, welcome! Do you need anything before we proceed with your Christmas album?”
Demi smiles “No, thank you, Beca. Let’s just get started, shall we? We have a lot to get through. After all, you have a little one to get home to.”
They go into the main studio, where Jesse has everything set up for them. Beca sets up at the mixing board as Demi goes into the recording booth. They settle into a rhythm easily and get lost into time recording songs for their new Christmas album.
Meanwhile, Chloe rushes to work exhausted and yet now happy. She can’t believe her luck running into that girl outside her kid’s daycare. Parking up outside the hospital she takes a couple of deep breaths and heads inside.
Once inside, she heads straight to the locker room to change. Putting on her doctor’s coat and stethoscope she places her phone in the pocket and puts her name badge on. After checking that everything is in order and she is presentable for rounds, Chloe heads to start the day with a slight pep in her step. Once she arrives at the nurses’ station, Aubrey immediately notices.
She turns to Chloe “Who’s got into you?”
Chloe half smiles “No one really, just some mum I knocked into at the daycare rushing to get Damon in. She asked for my number.”
Aubrey says, smiling “Well, this is a development. Dr. Chloe Beale getting hit on outside a daycare. About time I must say.”
Chloe laughs “Bree. I don’t know if I’m ready to get back out there, honestly. I’m really busy with work and Damon. Christmas is coming up in the next couple of months too. It’s a lot, ya know.”
Aubrey looks sympathetically at her “Chlo, I know you’ve been going through a lot recently but you never know what could happen. You seem happy about it. Sometimes you just need not to over-think things and be happy.”
Their conversation suddenly comes to a close as they start their rounds of the paediatric ward doing the hand-overs from the night shift.
During the recording session Jesse comes in and alerts Beca to the fact Bradley is ill and needs picking up. She calls Emily to go get him and take him to the hospital and she will meet them there. Seeing the sadness and worry on Beca’s face Demi wastes no time and care on telling her to go. Beca tells Jesse to finish the session with Demi. She rushes out to the car. Speeds to the hospital where she sees Emily and her baby boy cradled in her arms. She thought the illness was under control but apparently not. They rush up to the paediatric ward.
Beca walks up to the desk “Hello, this is Bradley Mitchell. He is 3 years old. We have been told to bring him here if his illness ever comes back. He has epilepsy and just had a seizure.”
The receptionist smiles “Hello miss Mitchell, welcome back. I’m sorry about Bradley. We will get a bed ready for you promptly, if you’d like to go to the waiting room until the nurse comes and gets you, please.”
Beca and Emily head to the waiting room with Bradley in Emily’s arms semi unconscious from the seizure. Beca is shaking her leg from worry and Emily puts her arm on her shoulder for comfort. Beca half smiles at her sister. About ten minutes later an older lady with black hair comes in and leads them into a room with four beds, three of them already occupied with children. Emily places Bradley on the bed. With a warm voice the nurse informs them that the Doctor will be with them as soon as possible. The two sisters take chairs and sit next to him holding hands and leaning into each other for comfort waiting for the doctor to come round and see them.
Chloe goes up to the desk and hears of a new admittance: Bradley Mitchell, 3 years old, with epilepsy. She takes the case and takes a few moments on the computer to read the history properly before approaching the situation. Now ready, she enters the room. Upon entering she is shocked to see the girl she bumped into, along with a girl who looks oddly similar too her that she is leaning into for comfort. On the bed is a cute boy who is the spitting image of his mum. She pulls herself together and knows this is time for her to be professional despite the feeling of butterflies swirling in her stomach.
Chloe smiles softly: “Hello miss Mitchell, I’m Bradley’s doctor Chloe Beale. I’m happy to be helping you today. I see in the history he has had this since he was one year old. The new medication seemed to be working and he hasn’t had a seizure in six months. That’s very good going. We may just need to tweak his dose slightly to prevent this from happening again.” Beca says, wide eyed: “Erm, yes, he hasn’t one in six months and five days, to be exact. My sister Emily was the last one to see the seizure he had before he had this one at daycare. We were so happy for him.” Chloe reassures them “It’s par for the course and he seems to be doing really well. We will do what we can.” Beca nods and Emily says thank you. Sitting there next to Bradley waiting for him to come out of the tail end of the seizure. Emily asks about the interaction with the Doctor seeing something between them too. Beca tells her about everything that happened earlier and Emily thumps her on the shoulder happy about the fact she did something so bold. She’s excited for her. Beca is nervous but now she knows Chloe is a doctor she is even more intrigued. The fact that she works with children must be so hard having a child herself. While they are discussing everything about this situation, they hear a faint voice go “mumma”. Beca immediately puts her hand on his head and strokes his hair, ssoothing him as he starts to come round. Chloe comes back in to check on them and sees the little guy more lucid so she does more tests. Beca loves how sweet Chloe is. Bradley needs to stay for observations for a while longer, but he should be good to go home later if there are no bad signs with adjustments to his medication.
Four hours later Bradley is wide awake and lively, as if nothing ever happened. He is practically bouncing off the walls much to his mums and Aunt’s delight. Chloe comes in and is happy to see a hyper Bradley. She gives Beca his prescription for the medication adjustment and discharges him. They say thank you and goodbye. Bradley practically runs out dragging Emily behind him. Beca laughs at the scene before her. It’s time to head home.
Chloe continues her day at the hospital. On her break she tells Aubrey all about the situation with Beca and her kid. Aubrey is shocked but still happy. Chloe doesn’t seem to be put off by it. Chloe’s head is just full of thoughts of Beca and her kid. It’s consuming her. After a long day Beca and Emily finally get an energetic three-year-old to bed after two stories and Emily singing him his favourite song - “Let It Go” from “Frozen”. He falls asleep snuggled up to his teddies of Olaf and a dog. Emily makes her way downstairs to Beca who is on the sofa watching a show called “Charmed”, though it is long over she loves rewatching it. Emily sits next to her and Beca gently smiles at her as they settle in for the night. Finally shaking off the day they’ve just had. Beca’s mind wanders to Chloe and everything she did today. How she was. How beautiful she looked. She decides to text her.
Beca: Hey. Thank you for everything you did today, you were really amazing. Fancy running into you twice in one day.
Chloe: Hello :), I’m happy I was the one helping you today. You have a really sweet kid. He is the spitting image of you.
Beca: I know, Emily tells me all the time. You made everything easier today. I’d really like to see you again. Outside of that setting, if you’re up it?
Chloe: Yes, I’d really enjoy that.
Beca: How does Saturday at 8pm sound? I’ll pick you up for dinner.
Chloe: That would be great. I’ll see you then :).
Chloe throws down her phone with elation after arranging her first date in years. She can’t believe it. She immediately calls Aubrey and tells her all about it and gets her to look after Damon for the night. Which she happily agrees to because she just wants Chloe to be happy and get back out there. Aubrey will be round early to help Chloe get ready and then take Damon with her. It’s the first time in a long time Chloe can experience any happiness.
It’s officially Saturday and Beca is getting ready for her date. She’s putting on black jeans and converses with a purple plaid shirt. She heads downstairs where Emily and Bradley are cuddled up on the sofa, watching a film . Bradley turns and puts his arms out for hugs. She picks him up and gives him big hugs and kisses. Beca tells him to be good for Aunt Emily while she’s out or Santa will know he has been bad. He nods enthusiastically. She places him down next to Emily and he snuggles back up to her. He starts watching the film again. Emily wishes Beca good luck as she leaves. Chloe is with Aubrey stressing about how she looks and the clothes she has. Aubrey just turns her around and snaps her out of it. She turns on her stern voice and demanding tone and lets her know she looks amazing. The outfit she’s chosen is perfect. It’s a red dress with black shoes. Chloe calms down and they head downstairs. Damon is ready to head out with his little dinosaur suitcase. He kisses and hugs his mum goodbye and they head out.
Ten minutes later Beca pulls up outside and walksup to Chloe's house. She’s amazed at all the Christmas lights and wonders how she had time to put them up. She knocks on the door. Chloe answers promptly. Beca is almost lost for words, she is so blown away. She stands there staring at Chloe for a few seconds. Chloe chuckles snapping Beca out of her daze. She leads her to the car and opens the door. They head to the restaurant. Beca tells Chloe how beautiful she is and lets her pick the music. They easily fall into conversation. Beca parks via the valet and they get their reserved table. This date couldn’t be going better for them both. Romantic setting and finally a relaxed night.
Beca smiles “You know, you look really pretty tonight.”
Chloe leans in “Not as amazing as you. I’m glad we are doing this. How is Bradley doing?”
Beca replies “He is doing great. Like nothing ever happened. Kids bounce back fast. He is currently happy with Emily. I left them cuddled up on the sofa watching TV. They look so cute together. Having Emily living with us has been so good for them both.”
A warm smile spreads across Chloe's face “I’m really happy he is doing well.”
“What’s life like as a doctor?”
Chloe sniggers “It’s exhausting. I have to work so many hours and I’m away from Damon a lot. The kids go through soo much.”
Beca moves her hand over Chloe’s “Yeah, I can imagine that being really tough. I managed to reduce my hours at work when Bradley was born but I still have to go over sometimes. Bradley being ill is hard and I can’t imagine having to deal with other people’s sick children. It’s amazing what you do.”
They hold hands and look into each other’s eyes. The whole meal goes by without a hitch. Beca takes Chloe home and Chloe invites Beca in for a drink. She agrees. They head inside to see how the night will unfold. A few days later Chloe rings Beca in a panic: the babysitter that normally takes care of Damon after daycare has come down ill and can’t take him. She can’t get a hold of anyone else. In desperation she calls Beca to see if can take him. She happily agrees, but Emily will be picking him up as she has to work for an hour after daycare closes. Chloe sighs in relief knowing Damon is in safe hands. Chloe says she’ll be by around 8pm to pick him up. Beca insists that it’s fine, that Bradley will love having him there and Emily will be cool with having someone else entertain him while Beca is at work. Beca promptly texts Emily about picking up Damon as well and she is more than okay with the change.
When the boys find out they are going home together they jump up and down in excitement. Emily can barely contain them. Emily gets them ice cream as a treat on the way home and they become even more hyper and she instantly regrets the decision. Bradley takes Damon to his room and shows him all his toys. When Beca gets back she can hear the boys excitedly playing upstairs. Emily has coffee ready. Hearing the door close and the sound of voices, Bradley comes running down the stairs on his little legs and yelling “Mumma” at the top of his lungs. Beca embraces her little boy and swings him round. Behind him is Damon, a tad shy but not much. Beca puts down Bradley and says hello to Damon. Asks him what he would like for dinner tonight and they all agree on chicken nuggets and french fries. All four of them settle down on the sofa to watch “Cars”. Beca takes a photo of all of them and sends it to Chloe. At work, sitting at the computer Chloe hears a ping. She checks her phone and sees the two boyssnuggled up on the sofa between Beca and Emily. It makes her happy that the boys are getting on.
Chloe: You look really cute. The boys are cute and I’m really glad they are getting on. Thank you for doing this for me.
Beca: They are getting on really well. It makes me happy. Me and Emily were more than happy to take the little guy. He is no trouble. He is occupying my little devil. They get on like a house on fire.
Chloe: Okay. I’ve got to get back to work, see you guys later.
Chloe gets back to work smiling and happy. Beca is now cooking dinner for everyone.
A while later Chloe pulls up at Beca's house. Beca opens the door happily and holds a mistletoe up as Chloe approaches. A smile spreads across their faces. They kiss passionately before walking in. The boys are half asleep on the sofa.
Beca softly says “Bradley, I want you to meet Chloe. She is Damon's mum.”
Bradley turns his head “Hello Chloe, thanks for letting Damon come.”
Damon waddles over to his mum sleepily “Mummy.”
Chloe chuckles “Hey Bradley, you’re welcome. Hey little guy, shall we get you to bed.”
Damon shakes his head. Emily laughs and so does Beca. They all say goodbye and Beca puts Bradley to bed. He goes down rather easily.
The next day Beca is in the studio with Demi Lovato finishing the final touches on her Christmas album. It has to be done today or it will not be out in time for Christmas. It takes them the best part of six hours to get it down. Finally, it’s done and everything is perfect. They are happy and can get the CD out for Christmas rush. Before heading home Beca takes a few minutes in her office to relax and just think. Chloe texts her about going to hers for Christmas. She didn’t even know they were at that stage of their relationship. But it would just be her, Emily and Damon for Christmas. She knows Chloe doesn’t have any family to spend it with. Bringing them together sure sounds like the perfect plan. She asks Emily first but she immediately says yes. Beca feels a sense of happiness fill her.
Beca and Chloe go Christmas shopping together for food and toys for the boys. They are both immensely excited about the holidays and fusing the two households together have made it even better. It’s happening really quickly but it feels right for them both. Surprisingly, both Emily and Aubrey support it. The boys were super excited about the news. They can’t wait to spend Christmas together.
Everything is coming together: the girls have wrapped all the presents and hung the stockings. The boys are all set up in Damon’s room. Emily is in the spare room. Beca and Chloe are together. Their first Christmas together as a family, in a sense. Everything feels so right. They are just becoming a couple but also a family at the same time. They have so much to find out about each other. That’s half the fun. This is the happiest either of them has been in ages.
The boys wake them on Christmas morning by jumping on both of them in bed. They wake up groggily, but happy. The girls look at each other and tell each other I love you. Bradley then proceeds to wake up Emily. No leaving his aunt out the fun. They get dragged down stairs to the massive present piles from Santa. The boys bounce around. Everyone is smiling from ear to ear.