Hi!
So, I cut another episode here - or rather... I kind of kept it but as Trina isn't there, I put another storyline in. ;) It's the episode Who did it to Trina?, just so you you to alicheriee for sending me her opinion on the last chapter! I also hope, you all like this one. Please let me know. :3
Enjoy either way!
The next Monday morning, Robbie and Cat approach Tori in front of her locker. They say they want her to sing back up to a weird song they have written. Tori isn't sure she should do it – and has a good excuse ready as the first play she has written and is directing is coming up.
It's while she still listens to Robbie explaining about how they came up with the lyrics that Tori sees Beck coming into school. Without Jade. No. It can't be that now one of Jade's relatives has died, can it be? Are they living far away so that she would have to travel away for a funeral?
Beck is pale and seems very distraught.
As Tori stares at him walking up to his locker, Robbie stops talking and he and Cat both follow her gaze to Beck.
They all exchange a look before they approach Beck who has opened his locker and doesn't look up as they walk up to him.
"Hey, what's up?" Tori says.
Andre approaches them at the same time, just arriving in school, and also immediately sees that there's something wrong with Beck and reacts accordingly: "Whoa. What's with you?"
Beck looks up, to all of them, blinks, as Cat softly asks: "Where is Jade?"
"Hospital," Beck finally speaks up.
Jade is in the hospital? That can't be.
"What?"Andre asks shocked.
Beck quickly shakes his head: "Not because of her. Because of Benji."
Which doesn't make it better at all. Benji is in the hospital?
"No," Cat instantly says and looks even more worried than Tori feels. It's Robbie who asks: "What's with him?"
"Lung infection," Beck shortly answers. "I don't know." He shrugs helplessly.
"Is he... okay?" Tori carefully asks. He can't be well if he's in the hospital but... he will be fine, won't he? Tori doesn't know how dangerous lung infections are, especially with little kids.
Beck doesn't sound confident as he says: "The doctors say he will be."
"Can we visit him?" Cat asks.
Beck looks at her for a long moment before he decides: "Not today."
Then he shuts his locker though he hasn't put anything in or out of it. "I need to go to class," he says and leaves them all standing there.
Tori exchanges worried looks with Andre and Robbie while Cat looks after Beck sadly.
.
.
Beck isn't really there the whole day. He sits in his classes as expected but talks even less than usual. They don't see him at all during lunch and speculate if he has driven to the hospital or otherwise calls Jade in private or something. He's back for his next class in any case.
The next day, he isn't as pale anymore. He comes in late and all of them wait in front of his locker to talk to him.
"How's Benji?" Cat asks as soon as Beck is close enough.
"A little better," Beck says. "The antibiotics seem to work."
Tori closes her eyes for a second. She hasn't considered that Benji, who is still so small, has to take antibiotics. That sounds so serious. But well... He is in the hospital after all.
And the fact that the antibiotics only seem to work now sounds like Benji hasn't been in the hospital all that long by now. Tori wonders how soon after him getting there, Beck had to come to school yesterday.
"Can we come visit him today?" Cat asks.
Beck shakes his head: "I don't think so. The doctors think he will only be in the hospital for one more night. Maybe you can visit him after that, when he's home at Jade's."
"Jade is still at the hospital?" Andre asks.
That makes Beck nod. "Our parents pay for her being able to also stay with him during the night." And bitter in a way Tori would have never imagined to hear him, he adds: "They don't pay for me as I have to come to school anyway and they don't think I will get enough sleep there with the nurses always checking up on him and everything."
"Why do you have to come to school at all?" Tori asks. Jade obviously doesn't have to come. And Beck doesn't look like he wants to be here at the moment.
He sounds even more bitter as he answers: "They say I've just missed two weeks and shouldn't miss anything else, especially as Jade is able to stay with Benji, so he isn't alone."
"That doesn't sound good," Robbie says and Tori also thinks it's bad that Beck has to come to school – and apparently mainly because he has just missed two weeks of school because of his grandfather's death. It's not like that has been his fault.
"It's not," Beck agrees and then, finally, a little softer again: "But Jade is with him around the clock and will be at least until next week's over, so at least there's that."
.
.
Tori can't help but feel that it's of no use at all to have Beck in school. He may not be as pale as the day before and he has said that Benji is better but he still doesn't say anything more that day, stares at his phone all during class and seems totally zoned out by the time of their acting class with Sikowitz where Sikowitz says something to him and he doesn't react at all. He again isn't there for lunch and Tori thinks it would've been smarter to also give him at least three days off, while Benji would be in the hospital, but he's in school instead.
They wait for him on Wednesday again as well and this time, noone has to ask before Beck says with a light smile (before anyone can greet): "He will get out of the hospital today. I will take them home after school."
"Great," Tori immediately says.
And of course Cat has to ask again: "Can we come visit now?"
Beck seems to consider for a second before he decides: "How about tomorrow? I will talk it over with Jade."
Everyone agrees. Tori has her final rehearsal tomorrow but she will arrange the time accordingly, as soon as she knows when they will be allowed to visit.
.
.
The next day Beck tells them they can come visit to Jade's.
"Just give me... two hours or something with them after school. But after that you can come."
They agree to go there in the late evening but before Benji will have to go to sleep. And they decide to drive there together, so they won't each have to ring the door bell or something but can get inside in one go and also leave like that.
Everyone of them has something with them. Tori has thought about it and has decided that she definitely should bring something when she's visiting a sick child.
Andre drives them to Jade's house and it's Jade herself who opens as they ring the door bell. She hasn't got any make up on and wears something that doesn't resemble her usual clothes and looks more like some plain pajamas.
"Hey. Come in," she directly says and Cat is the first to walk in but also directly attacks Jade with a hug.
"I was so worried about Benji," Cat says while the other three (and Rex) pass them.
Jade lets Cat hug her though she rolls her eyes, and only pushes her away after a while before she closes the door. Then, she leads them upstairs, saying: "Benji's in my room. Remember that he's sick. Don't squeal or clap or be too loud in any way."
Tori knows that Jade only means Cat with that and it's Cat who answers confidently: "Of course."
"Yeah, right," Jade says and Tori has to smile. Yes, she also thinks that she can't really hope Cat to be quiet. But of course a warning is worth a try. And with Jade still letting her in and not actually threatening her with something bad in case she's too loud, it won't be absolutely necessary to be quiet. It will possibly help Benji if it's not too loud but it can't hurt him in any way if Cat is just Cat. Otherwise, Jade would talk about it differently.
Tori hasn't been into Jade's room yet but it's so obviously hers. It's held pretty dark (even with baby stuff in it) and she has a butterfly collection hung on the wall which looks beautiful but also scary. There's a big bed that fills quite a lot of the room. But there're also cupboards, a door to a closet, a big chair, a coffee table and then of course a crib.
Benji doesn't lie in the crib though. Instead he lies in the middle of Jade's bed. Further away from the door sits Beck next to him, running his fingers lazily through his son's hair.
And there's Beck's mother, sitting on the edge of the bed but standing up as all of them file inside.
Everyone shares greetings and Benji looks happy to see all of them. He does look exhausted otherwise though. And undoubtedly there's medication on Jade's night stand and a towel, and some of Benji's toys spread over the bed. The stuffed giraffe Tori knows by now he has gotten from Cat, lies right next to him.
"I think I should go home then," Mrs. Oliver says with a smile. "Do you still need anything?"
"No," Beck answers. "Thanks again for the healthy meal, Mom."
Mrs. Oliver nods: "Of course. Don't forget to call if you need anything."
Jade sits down on Benji's side closer to the door as she actually says an earnest "thanks" to Mrs. Oliver, whose smile widens as she first leans down dropping a kiss on Beck's head, then even further to drop another one on Benji's head before she says: "Be well."
"Well," the boy repeats and Beck tells him smiling: "Say bye-bye to Granny."
"Bye-bye, Granny," Benji says and even waves which Mrs. Oliver returns while she fleetingly touches Jade on her shoulder, passes Tori and the others, also nods a good-bye to them and then leaves.
Finally, Cat approaches the bed, sits down on it on her knees, right in front of Benji, and holding up the bright get-well-card she made.
"Look what I brought you, Benji," she says in a surprisingly soft and quiet voice.
Benji sits up and Beck pulls him back slightly as Jade puts one of the pillows behind him, so that the boy can lean with it against the headboard while sitting.
Benji takes the card and it's almost as if he was able to read it or something, the way he opens it and looks into it. But he's probably just looking at all the stickers and drawings Cat has put into the card. Cat showed Tori the card before, so Tori knows what Benji is looking at now, which colors and pictures.
"See, I've written into it," Cat says, leaning over Benji to also look into the card. She puts her finger onto it while she reads: "'Get well soon, little Benji. We love you.' And here are pictures from nice food and toys and everything."
"Balloon," Benji squeals as he sees one as a picture inside the card.
"I should've brought real balloons," Cat immediately says, almost sad as if she considers her card as a bad present now.
Jade, who has, like Beck, leaned a little into Benji to look at the card Benji is holding, has raised her eyebrows at the card as if she can't believe something like that is inside of her room. Now, she says: "I would've instantly used my scissors on a balloon."
Cat looks at her offended while Beck runs his hand through Benji's hair and says: "That's a nice card. Do you like it, Benji?"
The boy nods and Beck asks: "Can you say thank you to Cat?"
"Thank you, Cat," Benji answer, of course not clearly, but all of them do understand, as he looks up to Cat brightly, who instantly smiles again: "N'aw. Your welcome, Benji."
Tori also wants to explain her present but then, Rex pipes up: "I brought this book."
"You want to give that to Benji?" Robbie asks, almost sounding shocked which makes all of them turn to them confused.
Rex looks at Robbie who holds both a book and a cassette in the hand with which he doesn't move Rex, and says dryly: "Yes. Why?"
"It was my favorite childhood book," Robbie says and Rex answers: "So? You're grown-up now. Benji needs it more than you."
Robbie doesn't look happy but then turns to Benji and also walks closer to him. "I guess he's right and you can have it, Benji. And this cassette is from me. I always loved listening to it when I was sick. Hope you also like it."
He hands the old book and the cassette to Benji and Beck helps him take it while Jade takes the card out of his hand and lies it down next to him.
Tori notices that Robbie is effectively having two present for Benji. Two things he loves very much himself and he may struggle to give away but which he does give to little Benji.
"Do you still have that old cassette player somewhere?" Beck asks Jade while he looks at the cassette and the book with Benji also grabbing both.
Jade nods: "I think so."
Beck addresses Benji again: "Then I guess you can listen to that cassette later and we can read this book together. That's great, huh? Say thank you to Robbie and Rex."
"Thank you," Benji says again, looking up to Robbie happily, but Jade rolls her eyes: "He's not supposed to be a trained monkey. You shouldn't always make him say thank you."
"I just want him to be polite," Beck says as he puts book and cassette to his side.
Jade huffs. "He should be honest, not polite. If he doesn't feel like thanking anyone, he shouldn't have to."
Beck shrugs. "But he's too young to feel the need yet to say thank you. I'm helping him to know when it's normal."
"I don't want our child to be some normal dumbo," Jade decides.
Beck seems more amused than angry at that. Well, Tori guesses it's also not like Jade never wants Beck to make Benji say 'thank you' or something. She has just said he shouldn't 'always' do it. And she also hasn't said it meanly or as if her opinion on it was the only way to go.
Naturally, Beck is relaxed about it and now looks at his friends with a smile: "I guess I'm thanking you then. For myself, Benji and Jade for your visit and all those presents. Because I do mean it and I know, deep down they do too."
Jade rolls her eyes but it's not like she objects to that.
Tori decides it's time for her to chime in and finally give them her present. "I brought you powder for Belgian cocoa. I bet that's good for you if you're sick. Maybe, all three of you can drink some together. It tastes really good."
Beck takes it and looks at it with a smile. "That does sound good. We will drink it while we're listening to that cassete and are reading that book."
He puts it exactly onto those things as Andre finally steps up and hands Benji a stuffed lion. "I saw this a few days ealier and thought you might like it. You obviously don't like bears that much but tigers more and of course your giraffe. So..."
Tori also knows that Benji has a stuffed tiger as well he likes very much (and that lies in his crib here right now) but that of course he likes his giraffe best.
Now, he takes the lion though, that's almost as big as him, and hugs it tight. He babbles a word and Jade tells him: "It's a lion, baby. A lion."
"Lion," Benji repeats and Beck smiles: "Yeah, lion."
Only then, Beck turns to his friends again: "How about you all sit down for a while? I don't know if you all fit somewhere or if we should still get some chairs?"
They do fit this way. Andre and Robbie pull the big chair to the bed and squeeze down together on it while Tori also sits down on the bed next to Cat.
"How is he?" Cat now asks and Beck answers: "Much better. We still have to be careful and he still has to take his medication. And of course he's still on strict bedrest which isn't easy for a kid his age. But he will get through it."
Beck does look much more relaxed than those last days in school. Though now, he also is with Benji, can watch over him himself, can see how well he is at any second. It's only after the weekend that he also is relaxed in school again while Jade still stays home with Benji.
"So, what happened anyway?" Tori finally dares to ask. None of them has asked Beck before, because he has looked worried enough and they somehow haven't wanted him to tell them the whole story.
Beck also doesn't answer now. Instead, he looks to Jade, who runs her fingers through Benji's hair while she slowly answers: "Well, Benji has had a cold last week which isn't unusual. Like... You know, kids always have something like a cold or gas or a fever because their teeth are coming or whatever. But I woke up at 5am or something on Monday and realized Benji's breathing was weird."
Tori wonders if Jade woke up because of that, because Benji's breathing changed, or if she woke up by accident and then just noticed the change. Well... She is a mother and it is her child's breathing which is why she can imagine her instinctively waking up because of the change.
Jade continues: "It sounded bad and I called my mom, who then called the ambulance, while I called Beck. The paramedics immediately decided to take him to the hospital and Beck arrived just in time to get into the ambulance with me and Benji and we got to the hospital. My mom followed us after dropping Jasper off with our grandparents. Beck called his parents from the hospital while we waited for news on Benji. We didn't have to wait long. They told us that it's a lung infection and that Benji would have to stay there for a few days, so they could watch him."
Beck nods, has looked almost with empty eyes to Benji who hits his new stuffed lion on the bed. "Jade and I were both allowed to stay with him at first. Our parents called the school as soon as possible and they decided I shouldn't get time off again, so I had to get to school immediately."
He still looks bitter about that and... guilty. As if he feels guilty about not being able to stay with Benji despite him lying sick in the hospital.
Tori sees Jade casually taking his hand in hers in Benji's lap as she says matter-of-factly: "Benji was fine anyway. You've been bored in the hospital. I certainly was."
Beck shoots her a weak smile and Tori understands that Jade gets how Beck is feeling and tries everything to make that feeling go away. She doesn't want him to feel bad or guilty about the situation. She doesn't want him to keep worrying which he certainly still is.
Tori suddenly asks herself how the call between them went that night, how desperate Jade must have sounded while her mother has called the ambulance because of their son. She wonders if Beck can still hear her and if that's why he stares at his phone so emptily in school, also worried she will call again and tell him it has gotten worse again.
Tori feels a little cold at the thought but Andre already tries to distract: "I bet Benji also was bored like hell. And now being on bed rest? Poor child."
"It's good that Robbie and Rex brought him something to do," Cat says and Beck nods: "That is good."
"He definitely is going crazy here," Jade agrees. "It wasn't so bad in the hospital because he wasn't feeling well anyway and was too exhausted to run around or something. But as he gets better but not good enough to be allowed up all that much, it does get bad. And he barely sleeps at night as he's mostly in bed anyway and sleeps over the whole day."
Benji sighs, probably because he's exhausted from hitting that lion on the bed the whole time through, and leans heavily against the pillow behind him. Beck ruffles his hair with a smile: "Yeah, we're talking about you, baby. You should let your mommy sleep more again, huh?"
Benji nods with an earnest look in his eye which makes Tori smile.
She has to ask though: "Will Benji stay here around the clock until he's better again?" After all, usually he changes between Jade's and Beck's home.
Jade answers: "Yeah. I'm home anyway and can get up at night. As he's sick we also thought it wouldn't be too good to move him around all that much."
Beck continues: "And this way, there are always two people to look after Benji. Jade and her mother in the mornings and Jade and me in the afternoons. And of course my parents each come by every now and then."
Tori guesses it is smart to have two people around. That way, one person can take care of food or similiar things while the other one still has their full attention on the sick child.
"That sounds like Benji is very well cared for," Andre says with a smile and that's also the exact moment, the door bell rings.
"Bell," Benji says, suddenly throwing the stuffed lion away and standing up on the bed as if to go to open the door.
"You wanna open the door?" Beck asks with a smile, holding the little boy before he can walk off the bed and fall.
Jade meanwhile stands up and says: "You should stay in bed."
Beck shrugs and asks the little boy: "How about we open the door together and you can get out of bed for a few seconds for that?"
He raises his gaze to look to Jade and silently check with her if that's okay. She shrugs as well which must mean agreement and Beck stands up as well, pulling Benji into his arms.
Andre stands up in the same move with everyone else shortly following after. Andre says: "Maybe, we can leave now anyway. We just wanted to check on Benji and he seems fine, right?"
He looks around through the group of friends and Tori agrees. She doesn't want to disturb them any longer, especially if Benji needs calmness. And who knows who's coming? Maybe some more relatives and then it would get too crowded in any case, so...
Robbie, Rex and Cat agree as well and Jade shrugs before she leaves the room first with everyone else following, the bell ringing again at the same time. "Coming," Jade calls out annoyed.
Cat giggles as they go downstairs. "This will look so weird for whoever is in front of that door."
It sure will. All of them standing in front of the door? Though the friends do file a little into the living room while Beck waits at the bottom of the stairs with Benji in his arms. They all are able to see the front door though which Jade opens.
An old couple is standing in front of it, about to ring the bell again apparently. Now, they both smile kindly as the woman says: "Hello, Jade."
"Hey," Jade answers. "What are you doing here?" She sounds irritated seeing them here.
"We wanted to check on our great-grandchild of course," the man says and... oh. They must be Jade's grandparents. They do look like her a little.
"We have a right to see him, you know?" Jade's grandmother says.
Jade doesn't step aside to let them in though. Instead: "Yeah, and I told you I would come visit you some time next week when he's better."
Both grandparents already look past her and her grandmother promptly says: "He looks better. Hello, Benjamin." He smiles at the young boy who promptly waves back. A lot colder, Jade's grandmother adds: "Beck."
Beck nods and only then the woman also turns to Tori, Robbie, Andre and Cat. "And everyone else."
They greet awkwardly and Tori suddenly remembers Beck telling her that Jade's grandparents don't like him as he has impregnated her. Well... She can see that dislike now which is so weird because she has never ever seen anyone dislike Beck. But clearly they have a problem with him. It's possible to notice by the way they look at him alone and how Jade's grandmother said his name.
"Why can they visit but we can't?" Jade's grandmother now asks, turning back to Jade but indicating Tori and the others. Well, that's a fair question. Tori also would feel bad if she wouldn't get to visit a close relative while their friends would.
Jade answers coldly though: "You already came to the hospital and saw that he was fine."
"But we want to make sure you're okay with Benjamin sick and Caitlyn not around but working," her grandfather says and Jade rolls her eyes: "I'm taking care of him alone all the time. He is my son." Tori also remembers that Benji couldn't stay with Jade not even a month ago but had to go to Canada instead as also her grandparents weren't ready to take care of Benji every morning. Of course they also could still work but they look old enough to not work anymore and it's weird that they now want to check if Jade is doing okay if they otherwise aren't ready to really take care of Benji and Jade themselves.
"We also wanted to make sure his father is coming to visit at all," her grandmother adds, shooting a look to Beck. "After he wasn't in the hospital."
Wow, okay. Really?
Tori glances to Beck who doesn't pull a face and instead runs his hand over Benji's back soothingly. Benji meanwhile does look like he's not happy at all, glancing between his parents and great-grandparents.
Jade doesn't look in their direction but harshly answers: "You were there in the morning on purpose to not run into him. You know he had to go to school. Now, leave." It's almost as she has only waited for them to make such a comment. As if that's the reason she has been hostile to them at all right from the moment she has opened the door.
Tori wonders if they always comment like that on Beck.
Jade must glare at her grandparents but they don't seem intimidated. Instead, her grandmother now asks her: "Has your father been visiting at all to see his grandchild?"
"He has," Jade says and by now, Benji gets uneasy in Beck's arms. "Now, really, leave."
She is about to close the door but her grandfather stops her and warns: "We will tell your mother how you treated us."
"Knock yourself out," she answers and does close the door in front of their faces after that. She locks it before she turns around and rolls her eyes.
"Ugh. They can be so annoying," she says, walking up to Beck and Benji, dropping a kiss on Benji's head who instantly quiets down again.
"They just wanted to check up on Benji. They are worried too," Beck says calmly.
"You know that's not true," Jade answers. "They wanted to check up on you. Honestly! I should stop letting them see Benji altogether."
Beck now rubs her back. "You can't do that. They are your mom's parents. And they are good great-grandparents for Benji. You know... Unless I'm around."
He smiles lightly and it makes Jade smirk as well. They share a brief kiss, then Jade comments: "I still think they're dumb. I do remember how much they loved you when they first met you."
Beck's smile gets wider. "Well, they probably thought I would be that kind of guy that could keep you out of trouble. Instead, I got you pregnant."
Jade snorts. "Like I wasn't involved in that at all."
They share another kiss and Tori probably wouldn't have said anything at all unless one of them would have adressed them again. She feels already awkward and as if this whole almost-visit by Jade's grandparents and Jade and Beck's talk after that was something she never should've witnessed, something private that especially Jade wouldn't have wanted anyone to see. To pull their attention to their friends then...
But Cat suddenly pipes up with a tilted head: "Has your father been visiting?"
Huh, that's a good question. Tori has no idea if Jade's father really has visited his sick grandson. Jade has claimed so but she has done that in front of her grandparents who possibly dislike Jade's father as much as Benji's – though Tori would never understand how you could put Beck and Mr. West on the same page.
"He has," Jade answers, not harshly at all anymore. "He was in the hospital as well."
"Good," Cat decides and the others nod while Jade walks back to the door, peeks through the window next to it and then says: "Well, I think they're gone, so you can now leave as well."
They all tell Benji to get better quickly and that they will see him soon again, then they leave.
.
.
The teachers are supposed to send Jade the homework and the material from class but the friends still make sure to get notes to her for all classes through Beck after Beck asks them to.
"I was fine with knowing about the homework in Canada but Jade wants to keep up completely, so..." he says.
Tori's play on Friday is a success and the next week is crazy again with Sikowitz' tenth teaching anniversary and Tori wanting to get him a present which fails – until she finds out it hasn't failed at all. They don't visit Benji again as a group (Cat does visit him as far as Tori knows) but of course Beck keeps them updated.
And actually, he text fights again with Jade during that second week. They sometimes do that; Tori has also already seen them at it. Amazingly, they still sit close when they do that, touch like usual. They just fight over text and comment every now and then loudly on it.
Now, Beck just violently types stuff into his phone and just tells them to stay out of his business when they first ask him about it. It's Cat who tells them that Beck and Jade are text fighting again.
Tori first thinks it's weird and wrong. After all, Beck still wants to be informed about Benji, doesn't he? But she finds out that he still gets informed, that Jade texts him about their son from time to time between all their mean texts. It's weird to see on Wednesday's lunch where he pulls out his phone angrily as he gets a text, obviously expecting their fight to continue, but then his face softening as he reads the text, only to get angry again about ten minutes later after Jade's next text which must have been an insult again or something.
In the end, Tori considers it not too dumb to text fight especially as they are very much able to behave normally around each other otherwise, even if they do text fight. She often thinks that fighting is some sort of important outlet for both Jade and Beck, and with worrying about Benji and everything... Maybe, they just need to fight and this way, over text, they at least don't do it in front of their son and both can be with him in the afternoons and the evenings at the same time.
On the next Monday, Jade is back in school and Beck and she are very close with each other again. Benji apparently still has to take a little medication but it doesn't take much longer for him to get completely healthy.
