A/N: Holiday/Christmas prompts and one-shots. Find me on tumblr: the-effin-mitchell

Prompt: 'I did that thing where I put your present inside a box, inside a bunch of other boxes and now you're getting really mad'

The Greatest Gift

When Beca opens the first box, she'll admit that the sentiment is sweet, if not silly and a tad cliche - but yeah, okay, you got her, cuz who doesn't fall for the whole 'present inside another present' gag anyhow?

When she opens the second and third, it's still relatively amusing; by the fourth and fifth, however, it's starting to get old, and on the sixth and seventh box, she can feel her already microscopic patience begin to wear thin. On the eighth box, she's borderline pissed, exasperated by the mess of cardboard and wrapping paper that now litters their floor. But it's Christmas morning, she tells herself, and the way Chloe bites her lip in nervous anticipation is enough to give her pause, and make her take a mental step back before she implodes with aggravation.

'Breathe, Mitchell,' she reminds herself, 'Just breathe.'

Inhaling, she holds the breath for several seconds, counting slowly to five before exhaling her frustrations in a long, breathy sigh. Flashing the anxious redhead a playful grin, Beca picks up the ninth box and tears off the wrapping paper of reindeer print and dancing snowmen, discarding it with the others already taking up residence on their hardwood.

Giving it a shake, she teases, "I wonder what this could be? Another box perhaps?"

Chloe's lips twitch, but she gives no verbal response, instead nodding her head to indicate that Beca should keep going.

Rolling her eyes, the DJ slips off the lid, fully prepared to be met with yet another box. To her surprise (and great relief) she finds not a box, but a simple envelope with the words 'To: Mom' written in Chloe's careful handwriting.

"Uhh…?" Her brows furrow together, confusion evident in her voice as she lifts the envelope and flips it over for her wife to see, noting the slight weight of whatever lay hidden inside. "I think you might have mixed up your gifts."

The older woman only shakes her head. "Open it."

"What?" And now Beca is really confused. "But it says mom..."

"Just do it," she insists, urging the brunette to do as she says. Chloe watches on with bated breath, lower lip tucked between her teeth as she chews restlessly at the supple flesh. She bounces eagerly, rocking from side to side in anticipation as Beca turns the envelope upside down, letting its unknown content spill out into her hand.

"Chloe, what? What is-...?" Beca rolls the object in her hand, just a rectangular piece of plastic; she eyes the item, apprehensive of its purpose as she brings it closer for a better look. It only takes her about two seconds to realize what it is, but a full minute to process, and even longer to take action.

"Beca?" Chloe ventures hesitantly, as she stares at her wife, who is now frozen still. "Beca?" she tries again, laying a tentative hand on the other's shoulder.

"Chloe," Beca begins quietly, as if unsure of her own voice, "is this… is this what I think it is?"

"That depends," Chloe half-jokes in response, "on what you think you think it is."

"No, be straight with me," she says, almost pleading in tone. "Is this… are you…?" Realizing that they've had enough games for one day, she nods, and Beca's hands fly to her mouth, capturing the gasp that flies loosely from her lips.

"I'm pregnant," Chloe confirms, and she barely has a second's notice before she's being swept up into ecstatic arms, engulfing her in a crushing embrace that she readily returns. The familiar sting of tears prickle at the corner of her eyes, and once she starts, she knows she won't stop; Chloe buries her face against the younger woman's shoulder, stemming their flow momentarily as she basks in the radiant glow of such a joyful occasion.

"Pregnant," Beca breathes, her own eyes blotchy and red as she pulls back, peppering the redhead's face in a shower of kisses. Rarely is she the one to initiate such overt acts of affection, but she can barely contain herself, so overcome with elation that she is. "God, I love you," she murmurs between breathes, their lips connecting at the seams as she pulls her wife's mouth against her own.

Chloe smiles into the kiss, releasing a happy sigh of, "I love you too."

Later that night, as they curl up for bed, Beca stares and watches in rapt adoration as Chloe sleeps, tenderly brushing a stray wisp of hair that hangs lazily over her eye. Her lips are curled, cheeks numb from smiling so much; their life had been a long journey leading up to this point, and thinking of what's to come, it'll be longer still. It had taken two years of IVF, thousands of dollars, and nine boxes fashioned after the infamous Russian nesting dolls to get to where they are now, but it was worth it. It was all worth it; she knows this now.

And as Beca's own eyes flutter shut, succumbing to exhaustion and excitement of the day, she can't help but think that she's been granted the greatest gift she never thought she'd receive…

A family.