This kind of a…different story, but it popped into my head and I had to write it. Pretty much what happens to Jade and Beck after they graduate. (Of course, I don't own Victorious.) I hope you enjoy and will leave a review. Thank you.

. . .

Not much more than a year after they graduate, she's begging him, over and over again, "Let's get married." He can think of a million reasons why they shouldn't. (They're too young. They should focus on their careers. There is no way they can afford the dress or the rings or anything.)

He hates her, he's saying no because he's sure he'll get bored with her in a few more months. Or maybe he's already bored. She tells him this every day, and he finally gives in, just to prove that none of that crap is true.

Why does she even want to marry him when she's nineteen and he's twenty? Does she believe a ring on his finger will remind him that he's taken…for good? Will she sleep better at night knowing that they are together…officially, legally? She doesn't even know.

The wedding is small. They get the cheapest rings they can find, no diamonds and it's not real gold. Jade wears a black dress. (And she's the most beautiful bride he has ever seen.)

Jade's parents never talk to her anymore; she's out of the house, so she's not their concern. Beck's parents don't approve of Jade so they avoid him as well. All their friends are moving away, working on their careers day and night. Now it's just them, no one else to turn to, and they kind of like it that way. Jade&Beck, Beck&Jade.

They find an apartment and he sells the RV. Who cares about all the memories it holds, that hunk of metal doesn't matter. They're lying, but they need the money.

Small jobs here and there are enough to put food on the table at first. Beck gets a small part in a movie; Jade does a commercial for coffee. Why is getting famous so much harder than they thought? They have talent, but that's not what they need. They need an agent (can't afford one) and a lot of luck (they've never had that.)

. . .

So…working in an office, talking to angry customers isn't Beck's favorite thing, but he does it for Jade. Because there's no way they are going to end up like her parents did.

A voice keeps telling him give up now on acting, Beck Oliver, you won't have the time. You're stuck in a boring office for the rest of your life. But it's okay, because he still has Jade.

One day she gets an audition for a movie. She doesn't tell him, because she doesn't want to disappoint him by not getting a part. Ninety-nine percent chance she won't. When Beck comes home from an extra-stressful day, and sees that the apartment is a mess and dinner hasn't even been started, he blows. (Well not really, 'cuz Beck Oliver doesn't yell or swear, but he's still mad.) "Gosh Jade, are you serious? I work all day and you can't do anything for me? You couldn't at least clean up a little?" She ignores him and curses under her breath as he starts angrily throwing things around, trying to clear a spot for him to sit.

She doesn't dare tell him she didn't have time to clean. She just snaps at him. "Oh, just because I'm the girl means I have to cook and clean for you all the time?" Beck shakes his head. "That's not what I said, Jade, and you know it."

. . .

But maybe she is lazy and stubborn and selfish and maybe she doesn't deserve him. After all, besides a few little acting jobs, she's not doing anything to help, and she feels worthless. Trying to be a good wife, she's cooks him dinner.

Every single time, she burns it. Every single time, he eats it without a complaint.

She tries to do the laundry and, every time, ruins one of his favorite shirts. Once again, he doesn't complain.

Gosh, Jade Oliver. (After six months, she still hasn't gotten used to that name. But she loves hearing it and saying it.) She's an idiot who can't do anything right. This is not what she wanted. She wanted to be acting, be famous, even. Instead she's what, a housewife? With a husband she doesn't deserve?

She can't stay in this city, too many memories, and too many opportunities to fail again.

. . .

His first hint should be the way she kisses him before he leaves for work that day. The way she holds onto his neck so tightly and doesn't want to let go. But she does, and while he's at the office, Jade packs a bag. Her clothes, his credit card, and one of his flannel shirts, to remember. (But does she even want to remember?)

She scribbles him a quick note before boarding a plane to New York City:

Beck, I needed to go for a while. Don't worry about me.

Jade Oliver

She gets to New York and rents a small hotel room and realizes that she's stupid. What is she going to do, go audition for Broadway? Stay in a hotel until she gets a job? How long does she even want to stay here? Weeks, months, years? She decides that she doesn't want to be on Broadway. She's just here to get a break from Beck.

He calls her one time that night, as soon as he gets home from work. She's relieved to see his name on her phone, but she doesn't answer it. There is no voice mail, and he doesn't call again.

How can be so calm about this whole thing? If it were Jade, she would have called him hundreds of times by now. Maybe he's glad that she left. (What Jade doesn't realize, is when she doesn't answer the phone, Beck cries for the first time in years.)

. . .

Two days later, he finally calls again, and this time leaves a message. His deep, soft voice calms her and she replays the message over and over again as she falls asleep.

"Jade, babe, call me. Please, I need to hear your voice, I'm worried about you. Just call me; I need to know that you're okay."

Beck's not sure if she's just being stubborn Jade (she probably is) but it gives him a sick feeling inside to think that something could have happened to her.

Andre, Cat, even Tori get calls from him, and he sounds worried and heartbroken and desperate, asking if they have seen or heard from Jade at all. No, none of them have.

It takes almost a week for her to work up the courage to call him, and even then she does it when she knows he'll be at work. Her message is short, and her voice is cold, but it sends a wave of relief over him.

"Beck, it's Jade. Quit worrying about me. I can take care of myself."

She's so confused, she's not sure what she's feeling, she's not sure if she's feeling anything. This was a terrible idea, and she desperately wants Beck. But he's gone (not forever, she hopes, just for now.) She left him, and if she comes crawling back she'll seem too weak.

Darn it, what is she supposed to do? Maybe she'll at least feel something if she gets drunk or…no, she refuses to end up like her mother. She's got to stay strong for Beck.

Finally, a little pink plus on a pregnancy test gives her the perfect excuse.

She's so scared; she didn't want a kid, not yet. She's twenty now but it feels like she's still just a kid in high school. There is only one thing she knows for sure, and it's that she not raising Beck's child without him.

She picks up the phone and starts to dial, and then quickly hangs up. She'll wait for him to call her, that way she won't seem as weak. He will call again, eventually, won't he? He loves her. Day's go by and she's getting worried that he doesn't care anymore. (He does, but he's giving her space.)

Finally, it rings. One ring…two rings…answer it Jade…three rings…she puts her hand on the button…she can't…four rings…but she has to…five rings…"Hello?"

"Jade?"

"Beck. I-I have to tell you something. I wanna come home."

"Okay, babe. Do you need money to get home?"

"No Beck, come get me, please, I need to talk to you. I can't wait."

. . .

A business man on his cell phone, a mother with three young children, a couple crying in each other's arms, saying their goodbyes. Are any of these people in the airport as nervous as she is? What if Beck's mad when he finds out…or he doesn't want a baby? What if they don't love each other anymore? What if getting married was the biggest mistake of her life?

"Jade." A gentle whisper and a strong hand on her shoulder bring her back to the present. She turns around and he chuckles, and she realizes she's wearing the flannel shirt she stole from him. Darn, she forgot to change.

"I'm sorry Beck. I never should have left."

"Shhh, Jade. I love you."

. . .

Perhaps it's a good thing that they were apart for a while, because now she can't stand being more than five feet away from him. Her head on his shoulder, a strong arm around her waist, her pale skin brushing against his flannel shirt.

That night they argue about what movie to watch (she wants a horror film, he wants a romantic comedy) and he doesn't give in like he usually does. He grabs her wrists and pushes her down on the couch and holds here there so she can't move.

Chocolate eyes, staring into hers, his hair falling around his face, a goofy smile and he's trying not to laugh. Gosh, did she forget how freakin' hot Beck is while she was away? She tries to kiss him but he holds her down.

Jade doesn't believe in laughing, unless it's sarcastic, or because of someone else's pain. She rarely laughs because something is funny, or because she's happy, but looking up at him she has to. "Let me go right now Beck, before I kick you where it will really hurt." (she can't help giggling.)

Gosh, why does he have to be so darn attractive? "I'm not letting you go, Jade, until you say we can watch what I want to watch!" He finally kisses her, and then rolls over so she's lying on top of him. She presses her hand against him and those beautiful abs.

They start kissing and never end up deciding on a movie to watch.

. . .

"Let's just go Jade. You love the beach."

"Not when I look like this. I'm so freakin' fat. You'll be embarrassed to be seen with me."

"Jade, you're not fat, you're pregnant."

They have these conversations every day now. For some reason she feels like she'll be looked down on if she's pregnant. She's twenty and married, but she still looks like a teenager. And she's so freakin' fat.

Among other arguments, should they find out the gender? Beck wants to, Jade doesn't. Since she's carrying the baby, he lets her have the final say and gives in.

They haven't even discussed names yet, and they really don't want to.

. . .

Decaf, always decaf coffee is killing her. Cat visits and it ends in a tired pregnant woman screaming and a skinny red head leaving in tears.

'Cuz the old Jade is nice compared to the pregnant Jade.

The guitars and the keyboard are sold. The pathetic excuse for a music studio they once had turns into a nursery.

A mysterious, black tree with no leaves and thin, weak branches is painted on the wall when Beck isn't home to protest.

A happy little red bird is added to that tree when Jade isn't home to protest.

Two more months, two more long, tense, months.

There are happy moments. When it's late at night and she snuggled in his arms, watching TV but not paying attention to it. She looks up at him and kisses his cheek. "Are you gonna be a strict dad?"

He considers this for a moment before replying, as if answering wrong could ruin their child's life. "Yeah, kind of, I think. But nice, too. I don't want our kid ending up…"

There's an awkward pause and he wants to say "like us." They're safe and happy now but they both know darn well that it didn't come easily. She remembers her parents screaming and swearing and her taking the anger and sadness out on Beck, slamming the door to his RV and running off and getting drunk. They both pretended not to hear the comments people made about them, that Jade didn't deserve him, that they were all wrong for each other. Their child will have a better life.

There's a memory engraved in Beck's mind, of him as a young boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. He tells Jade about it while nuzzling her neck. "I swore at my mom, and my dad freaked out. I didn't even know that what it meant, I didn't realize what I said was so bad. I had just heard it on TV or something. But he didn't give me the chance to explain."

His ear is being grabbed so hard he yelps, and he's pulled away to his room where his father yells at him for what seems like eternity to a little child. "You will never be so disrespectful again Beck James Oliver, do you understand me? You are grounded for two weeks. No, three weeks young man, do you understand?"

Beck tenses up at the memory and Jade leans against him, stroking his arm gently as if she understands. "Do you hate your dad?" He shakes his head slowly. "No. His temper scared me when I was young, but he never hurt me. He was so hard on me because he cared. I guess." (is that the truth?)

"You are not gonna see that girl again, Beck. She is a terrible influence on you. You live in my house; you will live by my rules." It's the first time Beck stands up to his father. "Then I won't live here, dad, I'll move to the RV. Jade is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I won't let you take her away from me."

Acting is an escape from reality. His father expects him to always be perfect, and normal, and boring. When he gets on stage, he gets away from it all. Maybe that's why he's so quiet, and he has that mysterious look. He doesn't need to tell people about his past or about his feelings. He can express them through his acting.

Jade is pretty much the only one who understands. She has her own memories, which she has described many times to Beck, of her father screaming at her and telling her how worthless she is. How she can try to become an actor, but she will fail every time.

And for her, acting isn't just a hobby, or even an escape. It's a chance to prove herself, to make something of herself, to be…something. That's why, no matter what, she can never give up. She doesn't care about proving it to her father anymore, though she longs for his approval, she knows she will never get it. She needs to prove it to herself, and she will, eventually.

These memories make them both hold their heads a little higher. As they sit there in each other's arms, they are both filled with a new sense of determination. They may not be famous or popular or have money, but they will be the best darn parents they can possibly be.

And they fall asleep, and finally their nightmares start to turn to sweet dreams of the future.

. . .

"Un-scare-able" all starts to change when Beck goes to the hospital with Jade. She's screaming and begging him desperately to help her, to make the pain go away, but he can't, and it kills him.

All he can do is sit with her and hold her and whisper, over and over again, that everything will be okay.

Finally, when she gets her drugs, she's back to normal, screaming at and insulting the doctor. "When I get out of this hospital, I swear I'm filing a complaint. How could you say that I didn't need the drugs yet? Have you ever had a baby, mister? I doubt you have, considering you're a dude. So I'd appreciate it if you would shut your face and do what I say."

Beck can't help but laugh. Man, he loves her so much.

. . .

Noah James Oliver, 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Jade is completely mesmerized by his tiny features, blue eyes, and dark hair. Beck finds her staring at him while he sleeps, and he thinks it's the most adorable thing he's ever seen.

Will she ever admit that she loves that baby more than words can describe?

She lets Beck handle him when he cries, though, because to be honest, she's terrified that she'll do something wrong and hurt him.

. . .

One day, when he is five months old, he won't go to sleep, so she gives up and puts him in his crib, letting him cry and trying to block out the sound.

A few minutes later, she hears a new sound, peaceful, beautiful, something she hasn't heard in a long time. She peaks in his room to find Beck standing by him, singing to him gently.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep, my little baby
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
Dapples and Greys, Pintos and Bays
All the pretty little horses

He's singing slowly and beautifully, and it sends chills up her spine.

"Beck?" She asks later, in her sweetest voice, used only on rare occasions.

"Hmmm?"

"How come you never sing to me?"

"What?"

"You sang for the baby earlier, you sang in musicals at school, but you've never sang for me."

"I don't have a good voice," he replies with a chuckle.

"Liar." She nuzzles his neck.

"I don't, at least not nearly as good as yours. It would be an embarrassment to sing for you."

"Liar."

He sighs and gives in, wrapping his arms around and rocking her back and forth slowly, singing her to sleep.

. . .

"Go to your room, right now Noah."

"But daddy…"

The four year olds blue eyes are filling with tears, but Beck just tells him, firmly and gently not to argue again, and he reluctantly obeys.

"What was that about?" Jade asks, putting an arm around his shoulders gently. If there is one thing Beck hates, it's having to be the mean parent, and she knows it.

He kisses her forehead. "Nothing. It's just, I've told him a million times he's not allowed to watch CSI, and then I turn my back and he changes the channel and watches it. I'm tired of him disobeying me."

Jade suddenly bites her lip and nervously plays with a strand of dark brown hair. "Um, Beck?"

"Yeah?"

"This morning I told him he was allowed to watch it."

"What? You can't let a four year old watch that show, do you realize how violent it is?"

"But it's his favorite show!"

"Jade."

She rolls her eyes. She was always allowed to watch violent shows as a toddler. Shows that used swear words every two seconds, R-rated movies. Frowning, she realizes that may be the reason why she turned out…how she turned out.

After Beck tells Noah with a playful smile that it was all Mom's fault and he can go play, she sighs and goes over to sit on his lap.

"Sorry I'm a bad mom."

"You're not. I'm a bad father."

"Yeah, right," She snorts.

"No, I am." He sighs and shakes his head. "I was just like my dad today, the way I didn't even give Noah a chance to explain, even though he was in tears."

"It's not like you yelled at him, Beck. You're not like your dad; you won't ever be like him."

"Yeah, I am."

"At least you didn't tell him it was okay to watch CSI. And Bones, and Criminal Minds, and a few other violent shows."

Beck raises an eyebrow but smiles. If they're both bad parents, at least they can be bad parents together.

. . .

One day, Jade gets a job singing at a café twice a week. It's not exactly her style, but she's performing and she's making money, so who cares?

Beck mostly stays home and watches Noah while she works, but occasionally they go there to watch her, and when she hits the high notes at the end, he smiles like he's the luckiest guy in the world.

But Jade notices how Beck's smile isn't as bright. How he slouches a little more, and looks tired all the time. She hates it, and for once, she knows that she's not the one causing it. (which also means she can't fix it.)

"Beck, have you given up?"

He yawns, getting tired of all the puzzling questions, and twists a piece of her hair around his fingers. "What, babe?" He asks in his casual, laid back Beck voice.

"You know, on becoming an actor. 'Cuz you're pretty darn good, and I think Hollywood needs you. So, have you given up?"

He smiles and shakes his head. "Jade, I already have everything I need, a wife and a son."

"That's not what I asked you."

Those blue eyes are getting more stubborn and determined by the second, and ignoring her could be dangerous, so he decides to give her the cold, hard truth.

"Babe, if Hollywood wanted me, someone would have already casted me in a movie. I tried for two years and never even came close. It just wasn't meant to be."

He pushes her away and goes to bed, and her heart breaks a little bit.

. . .

Tori Vega. Tori-I'm-So-Skinny-And-Girly-And-Talented-Vega. Jade never thought she would have to go to her of all people for help. But she just keeps telling herself, over and over again, that it's for Beck. Her Beck, the most handsome, talented, amazing man in the world.

They lost touch with Tori the week after they graduated, but after talking to Cat, Jade was able to get caught up. Recently discovered by some huge music producer, she's currently working on an album.

Great, so Tori gets the looks, the money, and now fame too. Jade doesn't care. All she sees is an opportunity, and when Jade Oliver gets an opportunity, she grabs it.

She calls Tori up when Noah is napping and Beck is at work, and asks if she knows anyone who could get Beck an audition, an agent, something. Anything to give him a chance.

It's no surprise when Tori shrieks with joy that she's finally speaking to Jade after all these years, and explains happily that she will talk to her agent right away.

And three weeks later, Beck is submitting an audition tape for a new movie.

Not long after that, he gets the call, offering him a leading roll. So much for "it wasn't meant to be."

Beck, on the other hand, isn't so sure. "I don't know Jade. It's a great opportunity and everything, but I'll be away for two months. I don't want to leave you and Noah for that long."

"You are being ridiculous. You know this is what you want, so do it!"

. . .

Her poor son, now six years old, is getting tired of watching her perform the same songs every night, but he misses Beck so much he's clinging to her twenty-four-seven, so she can't hire a babysitter even for two hours.

Beck calls every night, but it's not the same. When she finds out he has not one, but two kissing scenes in the movie, she almost regrets convincing him to try acting again, but then she realizes how happy he is and pushes away her jealousy.

Beck comes back a week early and surprises her, while Noah is taking a nap. For some strange reason, she completely breaks down, throwing herself at him and sobbing in his arms until Noah wakes up.

"Daddy, are you famous now?"

"No, buddy. It'll be a year before the movie even is released. And even then, it's just one movie. Although, the producer promised to submit my resume to some casting directors he knows, so there could be another one soon."

They watch as the little boy's eyes get big and sad, and he clings onto his father. "Does that mean you're gonna have to leave us again?"

"Well, I…"

And Jade's heart breaks just a little bit more.

. . .

Just when they're together as a family, a music producer comes to the café where she's performing, and before she knows it she's got a record deal. For the next few weeks, she'll be in the studio all day, writing and recording music.

And on top of that, Beck is going off to shoot another movie, this time in Canada. At least it will only be one month this time, they tell themselves.

Their lives are finally coming together, yet falling apart before their eyes.

Soon it becomes evident that their son is being effected to. Jade gets a call from his first grade teacher, who explains in a horrified tone that Noah was a wreck during recess, shoving another kid off the swings and refusing to come inside with the rest of his class. It sounds just like Jade when she was a kid. (Which is exactly the problem, because Noah's not like Jade, he's like Beck, calm and laid back.)

She has to cut a recording session short to go pick him up from the principal's office, and she's furious. So, she thinks of the worst punishment she can possibly give the kid. "Noah, when we get home, you are calling your dad and explaining to him why you aren't in school and what you did."

And hearing her husband scolding him over the phone, and her little boy crying because he disappointed daddy, Jade is trying to keep her heart from just falling apart.

. . .

Once again, he comes home and she starts sobbing. She doesn't know if she can deal with this anymore. Sometimes she wishes she could just take off, to Europe or New York, to get away from all this. But it wouldn't be fair for Noah, and she loves Beck, even if seeing him leave every other month is killing her slowly.

It's just as hard for him. When he has to do a kissing scene in a movie, all he can think, over and over again, is that it'll be Jade he's kissing soon enough. None of the actresses he works with kiss nearly as well as Jade does.

. . .

"Beck, I've got good news. The movie was such a hit, they want us to film a sequel. If you're up for it, we can fly you out to New York in a few months with the other cast members."

"That's great. Look, I'm really happy you called me, but is there any way you can take my character out of the script? Like, pretend I died or something?"

"Well…it's definitely possible, but the fans aren't gonna like it. This is a really good opportunity Beck. Will you at least consider it?"

"Look, I'm really sorry, but I can't leave my family again."

The producer tries to argue, saying they can find a home-school tutor for Noah and travel as a family, but Beck just hangs up.

. . .

"Mrs. Oliver, great news. I just spoke with your manager and the record company, and your album is selling faster than they expected. They want you to go on tour."

"I can't."

"What? But the fans really love your music, and you would get to travel all over the country…"

"I said I can't, so shut up."

. . .

They don't tell each other about the excellent opportunities they just turned down. And although Beck thinks it's odd that Jade hasn't been asked to do concerts or make another album, and Jade wonders why her husband hasn't been called about another movie, neither of them say anything.

For a few weeks, Beck & Jade Oliver are all the media and fans can talk about. But everyone loses interest when there are suddenly no more pictures, no more interviews, no more Beck & Jade.

"What a waste of talent."

"Who would turn down an opportunity like that? There's something wrong with them."

"I guess they don't care about all their fans."

"It's like they disappeared off the face of earth!"

They hear the comments, but don't really care. In time, they are forgotten by everyone accept the few friends they have, and Noah of course.

Everything they have worked for, the money and fame and popularity, is gone. But it doesn't matter, because now they know what they really want, what they've always wanted.

For it to just be them, together, forever. Beck&Jade, Jade&Beck.

. . .

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