A/N: So, thus far I've mostly written Jori. I started this over 6 months ago on my iPhone and then emailed it to myself. I decided to dust it off and give Bade a shot. Hoping doing this will help with my writer's block. This also isn't a masterpiece or anything, so please don't expect that. Just a one-shot, that's all it is.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you can recognize.

It's a cold December Friday when she first gets sick.

It happens at work after she caught a whiff of a customer's onion rings. Bile burned the back of her throat as she dashes out of the kitchen and into the ladies room. Ripping the ridiculous reindeer antlers headband from her head as knees hit the tile in front of the toilet. In a way, it kind of scared her; the getting sick so suddenly. But the logical part of her brain kicked in and she knew what her body was telling her. It was the same thing it'd been saying for almost two weeks now. Her body was now officially saying, "You can't ignore what's going on anymore!" Like it was taunting her blissful ignorance that was bringing much needed mental stability. While she didn't want to, she wiped her mouth, flushed the contents of her stomach, and pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. She opened up the calendar and began counting. Five weeks. She couldn't chalk this one up to stress, unfortunately.

And so, on her way home from work she slumps into the pharmacy just down the block from the apartment. Passing the wide range of condoms makes her mentally curse herself for being reckless. It wasn't like Beck didn't try to be responsible, but "one time" she asked in the heat of the moment. It was stupid, but it wasn't like they didn't occasionally forget or explore their curiosity back in high school. However, after they had a scare during senior year, they vowed never to forget or go without again. That was almost four years ago.

She grabbed a home test, and then another one... just in case. Her phone vibrated loudly in her pocket as she placed the tests down on the checkout counter. She smiled but slightly panicked as Beck's name flashed across the screen announcing a new text.

"Got called out on an affluent fair. See you when I get back. Love you."

She sighed as the cashier read her total. She handed the clerk some cash and mumbled something about keeping the change as she shoved her phone back into her pocket, grabbed the now bagged tests, and hurried out the door.

The apartment is dark and quiet when she pushes her way in. Dinner is getting finished up just as Beck returns. He's still in his suit. He must've just gotten off work when he got called back out; they needed the money and so of course he took it. They ate in silence, as the norm for them lately. Beck strips from his suit, asks if Jade can drop it at the dry cleaners tomorrow, and then he disappears to shower. It's nearing 8:00pm when Beck emerges from their bedroom fully dressed in his overalls and boots ready for job number two. He kisses Jade sweetly on the forehead saying he loves her and then off he goes.

There is no way we can afford a baby right now.

Jade thinks as she finds herself alone, again, as usual. It wasn't like this was how things were supposed to turn out. Coming to New York was supposed to make their dreams come true, not destroy them. But finding fame quickly became a distant pipedream as life caught up to them. Beck worked all seven days as a chauffeur during the day and then nightshift at a food processing factory. Jade worked Monday through Friday as a waitress at Olive's Diner and then taught piano lessons to rich elementary school children on the weekends. Glamourous? No. Kept them fed and in their crappy apartment? Yes. A baby was the last thing they needed.

Much to her chagrin, Jade took the home pregnancy test. It came out positive. To ensure she did it right, she also took the second one which gave the same result. She hid the tests where Beck wouldn't find them, took a lukewarm shower, and then crawled into bed. She didn't cry, yell, curse, or even get upset. The only feeling she felt was numbness.

It was about 7:30 the next morning when Beck returned home from work. Jade hadn't slept. She got up to find Beck sitting at their flea market kitchen table eating a bagel. He smiled at her, asked why she was up this early, and then offered her his coffee.

"I'm pregnant," the raven haired girl spoke calmly.

Beck nodded, unemotionally, before smiling, "Okay."

"We can't afford to have a child right now, Beck. Even if I were to get a third job, we just can't," it was the day before Christmas Eve when the young couple found themselves having the conversation they'd been putting off for nearly two weeks.

Beck was lacing up his work boots as Jade paced back and forth, "I want us to have it, Jade. You know that."

"And do what?" the pale girl sighed angrily. "Raise our kid in a homeless shelter? We can't have this baby."

Beck stood and shrugged his coat on, "Yes, we can. You'll just have to give me a little time to figure out what we're going to do, babe. Please?" he wrapped Jade up in his arms then.

Jade shook her head as tears fell, "I'm not carrying this thing to term and get stretch marks only to have us give it up for adoption," while her tone was cold her face was frightened and vulnerable.

"That's not going to happen. I promise," he smiled, kissed her mouth, and then left to make do on his word.

The next morning when Beck got home he woke Jade to give her some news.

"My supervisor's wife teaches music and gives singing lessons. She's been looking for a new assistant and I told him about our situation. Call her," Beck handed Jade a slip of paper with a name and number scribbled on it.

Jade blinked at him, "How's this going to solve anything?"

Beck grinned, "She'll pay you a salary and bonuses. Just call her, please?"

"Fine, I will."

It's towards the end of March when Beck gets hired as a personal driver for a politician and his family. Jade gets paid double working at her new job than her did as a waitress. Before long they move into a bigger apartment, which is appropriate considering Jade's stomach is also starting to grow.

We've kept this a secret long enough… we're 16 weeks pregnant today!

They announce Jade's pregnancy on Facebook with a side shot of said female wearing a shirt that stretched taut over her expanding tummy. While reactions ranged from shocked to excited, in general everyone is supportive and congratulatory.

Despite their rising income, Jade still feels like it's not enough. She gets into a habit of stashing money, just in case. While she doesn't doubt Beck's ability to provide, she does worry about the fact he could walk out on her at any time.

They talk, but whenever they do it's always about the baby or work. Never about them or the cracks they've been ignoring in their relationship.

"Why don't we get married?" Jade asks to fill the awkward silence between them in bed one night.

Beck tilts his head at her, "Do we need to?" he laughs halfheartedly.

"No, we don't," a pregnant Jade replies softly before rolling over and silently crying herself to sleep.

But I need the reassurance that you're not going to leave me.

"I really like the name George," it's the beginning of May when the couple is trying to think of a name for their unborn son.

Beck sighed over the phone, "George Oliver? Sounds like an old man."

"Hey," Jade giggled. "That's our son your talking about," a happy grin split her face as she spoke into the phone.

Carmen, Jade's boss, came into the room then, "When you get finished can we speak?" she asked her employee.

Jade nodded politely, "Okay, I have to go. We'll discuss this later. Love you," she informed Beck.

"Love you too, Mama. Talk later," Beck smiled into the phone before hanging up.

Jade smiled brightly as she hung up the phone. She made her way into Carmen's office and sat across from the middle-aged woman.

"You're about six months in now, right?" Carmen asked with a kind smile.

Jade nodded, "Yep," she rubbed a hand over her belly.

Carmen hands Jade a long white envelope, "A baby gift, from my husband and I."

Inside the envelope was a check for a bonus Jade felt she certainly hadn't earned yet, "I can't accept this."

"You're 21 and having a baby with a boy who works as a taxi driver…" Carmen didn't hide the callous in her tone. "Also, you're an excellent assistant, Jade. Please accept the check?" her voice softened then as if she realized her previous words.

Jade accepted the check, but doesn't tell Beck about what Carmen had said. Her own anxieties over the situation were more than enough; she didn't need Beck's too.

I don't want to give him another reason to leave right now.

It's a hot July morning when Jade goes into labor. Almost a whole three weeks early. It took fourteen hours of labor, almost an hour of pushing, Jade almost breaking Beck's hand from squeezing so tight, and every curse word in the book to bring Baby Boy Oliver into the world.

"No more. I swear to God if you ever touch me again without a condom I will cut off your penis!" Jade declared as the nurses were cleaning up the baby.

"So," Beck started looking on proudly at their newborn son. "He's going to be an only child?"

"YES!"

Sean Beck Oliver looked so much like his father that Jade didn't even find it cute. She complained that since she did all of the work he could've at least looked like her just a tad. Truth be told, she didn't really care. Sean was finally here and he was perfect.

"I just forced a human being out of my vagina- a human being that you helped put there- the least you could do right now is get me a damn coffee," Jade mused later that night as the young couple sat in her hospital room admiring their new son.

Beck laughed as Jade snuggled Sean closer to her chest, "Okay, I will get you a coffee. But first," he pulled a black leather journal from his backpack and handed it to Jade. "I want you to explain this, please."

Over the course of her pregnancy, Jade had been keeping a journal of all the negative feelings she'd been having. The beginning was very dark and gloomy, the middle was an improvement with more focus on the baby but with a lot not wanting Beck to leave, the last several entries were all about Jade trying to convince herself that she could raise Sean on her own if it ever came to that.

"My dad left my mom when I was born…" Jade sighed tearfully as she watched her sleeping son.

Beck nodded, "I know. But I'm not your dad, Jade."

"I know that."

"Then why are you so convinced that I'm going to leave you?" Beck asked her in the most raw and truthful way he'd ever spoken to her in.

Jade shed a few tears then, "You have no real reason to stay."

Beck smiled then and leaned over kissing Jade sweetly, "Before now, I had the most amazing woman keeping me around," Jade smiled at Beck's words. "Now? I have the woman I love and our son to keep me around. You two are my family and I would never leave you. Ever."

"I love you, Beck."

"I love you too, Jade."

A/N: Eh, this wasn't that great. Sorry you had to sit through it, lol! Thank you for reading. :)