He woke up in a bright room, all alone. He sat up quickly, his heart racing. Where was she? She had to be here. All he could remember was the screeching of tires, her throwing herself over him, and then the bitter smell of gasoline and burning skin.
"Hello Robbie," A nurse said cheerfully, walking into his room. "How are you doing today?"
"Where the hell is she?" he asked, trying to get out of the bed before a searing pain cut through him. "You don't understand. I have to see her. What room is she in? Is she okay?"
"I'll send your friends in, Robbie," the nurse explained, turning away. All he could think was, Cat. Her beautiful bright pink hair, the chocolate eyes that had held so much compassion and kindness, the way her soft lips had felt against his.
"How are you?" Beck asked, walking in slowly with Jade hanging off his arm, exhausted. Both of them looked like they'd been crying.
"How long have you been here?" Robbie demanded, glancing at Jade as she collapsed in the chair beside his bed, Beck massaging her shoulders. "Where's Mary?"
"She's back at home with Beck's mom," Jade explained. "And we've been here for about 40 hours or so."
"Isn't that bad for the baby?" Robbie asked, confused as he looked at Jade's bulging belly. She crossed her arms, staring at him.
"Our best friend is in the hospital, and you think I care whether or not my child is gonna be slightly less perfect?" she screeched. She scoffed.
"Shh, Jade babe, he didn't mean it," Beck tried to soothe his new wife. "So Rob, when did you wake up?"
"Only a few minutes ago," Robbie explained. "Did they say anything about Cat? They won't tell me a thing. I want to see her. It's my fault she's hurt!"
"It's the drunk driver's fault," Jade countered. Her face softened as she turned into Beck's shoulder, silently sobbing.
"Mrs. Oliver?" the nurse asked gently. "Stress isn't good for your baby. You need to go outside if you can't handle this."
"No, no, I can," Jade told her, wiping her eyes. Beck wrapped an arm around her protectively.
"When can Robbie go see Cat?" Beck asked. "And screw our kids, when can he see his?"
"My kid?" Robbie asked, scoffing. "I don't have a kid. Cat and I were waiting to have a family until we got married, unlike you two, little Miss I-got-pregnant-at-17."
Jade laughed, flipping Robbie off as Beck looked on disapprovingly. "Yeah, but you two weren't the most celibate couple in LA either, were you? Cat was pregnant, you idiot. They did a C-section when you guys came in, an emergency one. They said because she was so young and petite, she must not have been showing too much. She was 7 months along. And for the record, that makes your girlfriend little Miss I-got-pregnant-at-17 too. So ha!"
"I suppose that would be true," Robbie mused. "Cause she's only 18 and a half. Damn. Now the whole teenage pregnancy isn't really something I can tease you two about. How's the little one year-old, by the way?"
Jade threw her head back. "Do you know how much sound freaking echoes in an RV? I thought it wasn't good for a pregnant woman not to get sleep!"
"Yeah, like you're the one that gets up and puts Mary back to sleep. You just lie there while she crawls on your chest and nurses," Beck reminded her. Jade glared at him, her eyes widening for a moment as she clutched her stomach. "What's wrong? Jade, baby? Are you okay?"
Jade nodded, straightening back up. "Baby's just kicking, I think," she replied. "Feel."
"So tell me about my kid?" Robbie begged.
"Why don't I just go get her?" Jade suggested. Robbie's head shot up as Jade waddled out of the room.
"Dude!" Beck exclaimed. "Jade and I have a one year-old daughter and another on the way. You really think she's gonna hurt your little baby?"
"God, a lot sure has changed since graduation," Robbie said with a laugh. "How the hell are we fathers already, Beck? I didn't even know Cat was pregnant! Speaking of which, the baby's okay, right?"
Beck nodded. "Just a bit shaken cause of what happened. The doctors ran some tests, and she's gonna be fine, they think."
"She," Robbie said with a smile. "What did Cat choose for a name?"
Beck's face fell as Jade brought the baby in with a huge smile, setting her carefully in Robbie's arms. "She didn't," he said quietly.
Robbie looked down at the little thing struggling in his arms. "I should wait for Cat to think of names," he reasoned, smiling at the little bundle. He still couldn't process that this little creature was half him. Half Cat, half Robbie, a little baby girl. He didn't even realize how it was possible!"
"So she was 7 months along," Jade said deviously. "When do you think that little creature there was conceived?"
Robbie blushed, thinking back. He blushed even deeper, not really wanting to tell Jade that it had probably been that one time they'd forgotten to use protection when they'd snuck out to meet each other by the pool one night during the last school trip.
"Oh my god!" Jade screeched. "You two had sex in the cabana! That's why Beck and I found a condom on the ground one morning. You guys were so caught up in the moment you forgot, was that it?"
"Well, umm…" Robbie said, finally just settling with avoiding the subject. "Don't mention stuff like that in front of my daughter!"
It felt odd on his tongue, saying that. His daughter. His and Cat's.
Jade smirked. "That's alright," she said, kissing Beck. "Where did you think that this little one was conceived, anyways? First night of the trip, was it babe?"
Robbie winced. That was a bit more about his best friends' sex life than he needed to know. Then he realized something. They kept changing the subject from Cat. Where was she? She was his girlfriend; he loved her, not to mention the mother of his child.
Beck looked over, noticing the look on Robbie's face as he clutched the little pink bundle. He walked over, putting a hand on Robbie's back as he started to cry. Jade bit her lip.
"It was either Cat or the baby," Beck told Robbie. "They knew that when they started the C-section. If they hadn't, though, both of them might not have made it."
"Did they even try?" Robbie asked angrily. "Or were they too focused on getting the little demon out of her?"
Beck snatched the baby up, handing it to his wife. She caught his eye, slowly backing out of the room with the little girl. Beck sat down next to Robbie.
"She's your daughter," Beck said gently. "Yours and Cat's. You know how amazing that is? You two made something so tiny and innocent, and now it's up to you to raise her. And you know, there is a chance that Jade could die when this kid is born. Do you think that's gonna stop her from having it? Or me from letting her? She cares more about her baby than she does herself, even though there's already been some hemorrhaging, which is so dangerous for her I don't even want to get started. Don't you think Cat would have been heartbroken if she woke up and they told her that she would've had a baby, but it was dead because they saved her?"
"Jade could die?" Robbie asked, looking up to see the hurt in his best friend's eyes.
"The doctors think it's too soon for her to have another kid. After Mary and all," Beck explained. "It's my fault, really. I forgot that night that we hadn't gotten the all clear. And now she might die."
"Evangeline Mia Shapiro," Robbie whispered. Beck looked at him. "Evangeline means like an Angel, and Mia means mine. That's her name."
"It's long," Beck mused. "But Cat would've loved it."
"Eva," Jade called, as the little girl stood up from where she'd been practicing the piano that her uncle Andre and Aunt Tori were teaching her. "It's time for bed."
The little five year-old jumped up, hurrying into the bedroom that she and her "cousins" Colleen and three year-old Bella shared whenever she stayed at the Oliver's house, which recently had been quite a fair bit. For now, she lived with them while her dad was away. The other three, Colleen, Bella, and Mary, were still brushing their teeth, but Eva always did that before so she could practice before bed. She loved the beautiful piano that her Uncle Beck had gotten for his wife for their fifth wedding anniversary.
"When's my daddy going to be home?" she asked her aunt.
Jade smiled, kissing the top of Eva's head. "He'll be home soon. He's fighting for you right now, remember?"
"I don't understand how he could just leave me like that though," Eva replied with a frown, tears threatening to spill over from the eyes she got from her mother. "I get that the country needs him overseas, but what about me? I need him too."
Jade sighed. "I know," she told Eva, gathering Eva up in her arms. "I also know how hard it was for him to leave you. I mean, you're all he has left of your mommy. He loved her, so much. It practically killed him when she died, but I know she would've thought it was worth it for you."
"Can you tell me a story?" Eva asked with a toothy grin, showing off the space where she'd just lost her first tooth. "Daddy always tells me a story before bed."
"Sure," Jade replied, sitting down on Eva's bed. "Let's see…"
Colleen and Bella bounded into the room, sitting down on Eva's bed.
"Mommy!" Mary asked, running in after them. "Are you telling us a story?"
Jade nodded; looking around at the four children she considered hers. Beck walked in behind the three kids, leaning against the doorframe.
"Once upon a time," Jade began. "There was a little girl who went by the name of Cat-."
"Like the animal," Bella cut in, grinning at her mom.
"Yeah, Bella," Jade told her, putting her arm around her youngest as she looked up at Beck, winking. "Like the animal. Now Cat was a little crazy, but in a good way. Plus she believed in fairytales, which, of course, is always good. Everyone she met adored her, especially a little boy named Robbie…"
(A/N: I hope you liked it! I'm actually home right now with a concussion, so I know it's not my best :( Sorry! Anyways, I'd love it if you would review it for me, you know, telling me if you liked it, hated it, and also, did you like the name or was it too out of the ordinary? I thought it sounded like something "pretty" that Cat might choose, but idk! And I know Jade seems a bit out of character, but you never know how somebody acts towards their own children, often it's unexpected so who knows :P Also, if you would take a moment to read and review my Bade one-shot "Window Seat" and possibly my other Cabbie one-shot "Travelin' Soldier", I'd love that (: Thanks for reading! -Laugh Like You're Not Breaking)