And this is the end. As sad as I am to see this story close, I have really loved writing it every step of the way. I think that I've grown a lot as a writer since posting that first chapter of The Other Side, and that's hugely due to all of the people who have supported me throughout this process. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed these stories or encouraged me in any way - you have no idea how appreciative I am. It's been a great ride. Without further adieu, the finale.
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Epilogue
Text [outgoing] 1:24 pm – Beck
Andre called – Tori just went into labor. I'm picking up Shi from school. Can you leave the set?
As soon as her phone has finished sending the text message, Jade sets it in one of the cup holders and shifts her car into Drive. She's quick to arrive at her daughter's school, hurrying into the office to tell the secretary that she's pulling Shiloh out for the rest of the day. Within five minutes, the kindergartener is skipping into the foyer alongside a teaching assistant.
"Mommy!" She exclaims, throwing herself into Jade's arms.
"Hi, Baby," the brunette replies, kissing her cheek before signing her child out of the school and exiting the office.
"Where are we going?" The inquisitive five-year-old asks, having picked up on the fact that there are still three more hours in her school day.
"Guess what?" Jade answers instead.
"What?" Shiloh beams, climbing into her booster seat in the car.
"What's something you've been waiting to happen for a long, few weeks?"
The little girl's blue eyes—the ones that so exactly match her mother's—get wide. "Aunt Tori's having her baby!" She cries.
"She is," Jade confirms, a wide smile on her face. "We're going now to meet everyone at the hospital."
"Is Daddy going?"
Shiloh's words remind the actress to check her phone, which prompts her to see that Beck's text message confirms his ability to leave work early.
"Yep," Jade subsequently answers her daughter.
"But, Mommy, why aren't you at the movie with Daddy?"
"I didn't have to go to the set today," Jade explains. "Some days, both of us have to film together; other days, just Daddy has scenes or just I do."
"Oh," she replies, content for the time being. The girls make small talk for the rest of the ride to the hospital—mostly comprised of Jade asking Shiloh questions about how her school day had gone—until the black BMW is planted in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center parking lot.
After helping her daughter out of the car and taking her hand to lead her inside, Jade makes her way to the OBGYN wing of the hospital. She's no stranger to the floor; it's the place she and Beck had gone for all of her appointments while pregnant with Shiloh—not to mention where Jade herself had given birth.
When they arrive in the waiting room, Cat and Robbie are already seated. "Aunt Cat!" Shiloh shouts, rushing over to the redhead.
"Shiloh," Jade reminds the excited child, "no yelling in the hospital, remember? Inside voice." She turns to Cat. "How's Tori?"
"She's good. Andre last came out about fifteen minutes ago—right after we got here—and the doctors said she's got about four more centimeters to go before she's ready to push. I don't really get that, but I don't know if I want to."
"You probably don't. We might be here for a little while, though. I wonder if Vega's caved and gotten the epidural yet."
"Technically, she's Harris—if you're calling her by her official last name, that is."
"Eh," Jade shrugs. "Still Vega to me."
"Is Beck coming?" Robbie asks his wife's best friend as she takes a seat next to him.
"He should be here soon. How'd you manage to get here? Isn't today your first day on the new Bond movie?"
"Perks of being an executive producer," he points out, "any work you miss on set can be made up for later in editing and such. It's a great deal they've got worked out, really."
"Interesting," Jade murmurs. "I guess I should try my hand at producing at one point or another."
"What?" He teases, "Like you're not busy enough as the lead and screenplay author of this one—on top of having a kid?"
Jade gives him a subdued glare. "I manage everything just fine, thank y—"
"Daddy!"
Their conversation is interrupted when Beck walks through the double doors of the waiting room, catching in perfect time the little girl that jumps into his arms. "Hi, Shiloh Bug," he greets. "How was school today?"
"Good. Ms. Jones says that my letters are excellent," she informs him, showing off another big vocabulary word that her parents have worked with her on. "And in Music, I knew more than the part of the song we were supposed to know."
"The piano piece you've been working on with Mommy?"
"Uh-huh," she happily replies. "I played the whole thing."
"I don't doubt it," Beck beams. "I'm so proud of you, Shi. How about we go down to the cafeteria in a bit and get some ice cream to celebrate?" The five-year-old nods her head eagerly, a cheeky smile appearing on her face. When he sets her back down, he bends over to give his wife a kiss.
"How was work?"
"Boring, without you there," he admits. "We got all of my solo scenes done, though. How's your day been?"
"Fine. After dropping Shi, I went to yoga. Then I went to the mall to grab Kara's birthday gift—don't forget we fly out to New York on Saturday—and I was on my way to bring you lunch when Andre texted me. And," she continues, looking up to see the young man in question walking in, "speak of the devil."
All five people in the waiting room immediately perk up at his arrival.
"Don't get too excited," he precedes. "Doc says we've still got another hour or so. Thank you guys—all of you—for being here. It really means a lot."
"Can we see Tori?" Jade asks, already rising from her seat as if his answer doesn't matter.
"Yeah, actually. I think she could use some, uh, female support. She thinks I don't get it."
"Well, you don't," Jade asserts, her tone practical rather than harsh. She turns back to look at her husband. "I'll be back in a bit. Cat," she says, her eyes landing on her best friend, "want to come?"
"I want to go!" Shiloh shouts.
"Oh, no," Cat contrasts. "I think I'm good."
Jade nods her head in understanding and takes Shiloh's hand to the room number that Andre had given them. When she pushes the door open, a very pregnant Tori is sitting up in the hospital bed.
"Hey, Vega."
"Hi, Aunt Tori!" Shiloh exclaims, her introduction much more enthusiastic than her mother's. "Is Baby Leo going to come today?"
"I sure hope so," the brunette answers wearily. "Thanks for coming to see me! I guess you got to leave school early today, huh?"
"Mommy picked me up at lunchtime," she replies.
"How's labor been?" Jade asks, refilling Tori's cup of ice water before handing it to her.
"It's," she starts, trying to find the right words to convey a "hellish, miserable nightmare of pain" in words appropriate to say in front of a kindergartener. "It's exhausting." Jade nods her head, a confirming smile on her face, and Tori's sure that her friend knows exactly what she's talking about.
"Did they drug you up?"
"Uh-huh," she confesses. "I tried to hold out—but my pride wasn't worth it. God, I don't know how you lasted twelve hours of this."
"Thirteen," the actress corrects, turning to her daughter. "You were quite the experience, Shiloh Jade."
The little girl giggles. "I brought a picture for him," she says, offering a colorful drawing towards Tori.
The mother-to-be gasps, appropriately showing how appreciative she is of Shiloh's work. "Oh, Shi, it's beautiful! Is this you and Baby Leo?"
"Yeah. Even though he's not born yet, I think he'll have brown hair because you and Uncle Andre have brown hair."
Both of the older girls laugh. "I think you're right," Tori agrees, "and I hope we can find out soon." Just as Jade is about to ask how far apart her contractions have been, Tori closes her eyes and prepares for another wave of pain to take over her body. She gently sets the paper down, clenching the sheets with one fist while Jade takes her other hand.
"Just squeeze," she instructs, prompting Tori to follow the instruction.
"Mommy, is Aunt Tori okay?" A worried look appears on Shiloh's face as she hears a whimper escape the young woman's lips.
"Yeah, Baby, she's okay," Jade promises with a smile. "Having a baby isn't very easy, but soon enough Leo will be here and it'll all be worth it."
The five-year-old doesn't respond, but Tori's contraction is over after a few more seconds and Shiloh believes her mother's words.
"How are we doing, Mrs. Harris?" The attending obstetrician, who has done a fine job of pretending to ignore Tori's pop star status, seems impressively unphased at the sight of Jade in the room upon entering. "Got a new number yet?"
"I think the pain is at a seven now," she sighs, brushing a sweaty piece of hair out of her face. "The epidural is helping, but the contractions are longer."
"Sounds like everything is just on schedule, then," Dr. Railsback announces. "I'm going to check your progress."
In her cue to leave, Jade picks her daughter up and gives Tori one last encouraging smile. "I'll send Andre back in. Good luck, Tori."
"Thanks, Jade—for everything. Bye, Shiloh! I'll see you in a bit!"
"Bye, Aunt Tori," she replies, waving her hand. With that, they head back into the waiting room.
It's forty-five minutes later when Tori finally begins the part of labor that will bring her son into the world. It doesn't take too long, and before they know it Andre has reappeared in the waiting room—this time holding a very precious package in his arms.
"Guys," he says, a grin spread across his face, "come meet this kid." The five of them are out of their seats instantly, clamoring to see the new baby. "This is Leo David Harris."
Beck lifts his daughter up so she can get a good view of him, and Shiloh is positively ecstatic. As compliments on how beautiful Leo—who does, in fact, have lots of brown hair—is flitter from everyone's mouths, Jade can't help but hear her daughter's words from the past year ringing in her ears.
"Mommy, am I going to have a baby brother or sister?"
"Mommy, I want a baby sister to play with."
"Mommy, when are you going to have another baby?"
The actress joins her friends in smiling down at the infant, but after a minute or so heads back to Tori's room. It's another hour before all of the fresh excitement is slowing down, and Shiloh stays with Cat and Robbie while Beck tugs his wife out to the hallway.
"Hi," is the first thing out of his mouth. He pulls her into him, relaxing his arms around her lower back as he leans in for a long kiss.
Jade raises her eyebrows when they part. "Hi," she replies, almost questioningly. "What do you want?"
Beck laughs. "I guess I could say I just really wanted to kiss you; we haven't been alone since this morning." He kisses her again. "But…" He lingers, unsure if he should continue.
"What?" She says, urging him to go on.
"Well," he complies, "if you really want to know what I want… I think we're ready for another baby."
Her perfectly-shaped eyebrows shoot up again. "You think so?"
He grins. "Uh-huh. And I hate to sound cheesy, but seeing you hold Leo really confirmed it for me… I want to see you holding another baby—and I want it to be ours."
His expression is contagious, so much so that Jade can't help but crack a laugh.
"What?" He asks now, still smiling at his entertained wife. "What's so funny?"
Jade cups his cheeks in her palms, keeping her lips on his for a few sweet seconds before just barely pulling her face back. "I'm pregnant."
Beck is stunned to silence, his eyes not daring to tear away from hers for even a second. "You're…you're pregnant? We're having another baby?" She nods her head, biting her smiling bottom lip in anticipation for his reaction.
Before she can say anything else, he's kissing her again and has picked her up off the ground to spin her in a circle. And in that moment, every other thought in the world is gone. Every stress from work, every unimportant event, everything other than BeckandJade is eclipsed by the beauty of their contact.
In that moment, it's just the two of them.
x
One Year Later
"Shiloh, get your flip flops on or we'll be late!"
The six-year-old does as she's told, but not before giving Murphy another kiss on the nose. "Good boy," she cheers, rubbing his scruffy face.
Beck grins at his daughter and bends down to latch the dog's leash on. He rises again to see Jade emerging from the nursery. "Ready to go?" She asks in a voice Beck swears he could listen to for forever.
"I am!" Shiloh announces proudly.
Jade laughs. "Are you planning on going to practice without your goggles?" She points out, nodding to the pink eyewear that Shiloh's pool bag is missing.
"I don't know where they are," she admits. "I can go without them."
"I think they're still in the backyard," Beck offers, "from when we were swimming yesterday."
The little girl perks up. "Oh, yeah!" While she hurries outside to get them, Beck walks over to where his wife is.
"Good morning, Gorgeous," he says, kissing her lips. "And good morning to you, Soph. Come see Daddy."
Jade carefully hands him their five-month-old daughter and smiles as he blows a raspberry on the baby's stomach to make her shriek excitedly. By the time Shiloh has arrived back to the living room, Beck has laid Sophie carefully in the stroller. Jade is pushing it out the front door while Beck secures Murphy's leash, and within a minute the family is on their way.
The walk to the gated neighborhood's pool is quick, but the Oliver parents have made the trip enough times to know that it takes them a bit longer ever since Shiloh had started riding her bike. Beck had worked with his daughter every day for a week before she really got the hang of it, and he couldn't be a prouder father.
"Excited for tonight?" Beck asks, keeping a watchful eye on the six-year-old.
"A little nervous about leaving Soph," Jade answers, "but yeah."
"You know David and Holly will be great babysitters, though," he assures. "They watch Leo all the time."
"Yeah. I just hope Shiloh doesn't freak out. I really don't want to bring her."
"I know you don't," Beck consoles. "But she's dying to go—and we promised her. Trust me, if there's one six-year-old on the planet who isn't intimidated by hundreds of cameras pointed at her on a red carpet, you can bet it's Jade West's daughter."
"True," she admits wryly. "I'm just worried."
"And that's what good moms do," he adds. "And you, Jade West, are quite the mom." She looks at him skeptically, her face seemingly questioning his always-random timing. "Sometimes I think I don't tell you that enough."
"Beck, you tell me that every d—"
"And I still don't know if you believe me," he continues anyways. "Do you know how proud I am to call you my wife?" He's smiling widely, and she doesn't think she'll ever get tired of his charmingly goofy grin. "How proud I am to say that the woman who just got an Oscar nod for her role in a movie she also co-wrote—the same one who takes care, day in and day out, of two beautiful little girls—is my wife?"
"Beck, stop it," she feigns, but then his lips are on hers and her complaint dies on her tongue.
They pull away after a few seconds to the sound of laughter coming from the stroller. Sophie, whose creamy brown eyes are mesmerized by a toy she's holding, is emitting a hearty baby giggle that never fails to make both of her parents beam with joy.
Unlike her older sister, who—as a baby and toddler—had given Jade and Beck quite the first-time-parent treat with her constant crying and testy attitude, Sophie is a more pacified, content child. Naomi had compared her to her own son, claiming that Beck had a very similar temperament as a baby.
Sophie looks up at her parents, who are staring down at her with such glee in their faces that they fail to notice they'd arrived at the neighborhood pool. Shiloh is parking her bike like Beck had shown her how to do, securing her helmet onto one of the sparkly handlebars. Since parents of children under eight on the swim team are required to stay during practice in case of an emergency, Beck and Jade have made a habit out of walking to the pool and sticking around to watch.
Jade signs her family in using their member card at the front cabana, and soon they're seated at a table in the shade. "Bye, Sophie," Shiloh says, kissing her sister's head before hopping in the shallow end of the water with the other kids that'd already arrived. Beck ties Murphy's leash to the tree nearby, ensuring that the dog still has plenty of room to run around. Jade, meanwhile, pulls the baby out of her car seat in the stroller and sets her in her lap, making sure that her hat is on comfortably to protect her from any sun she might get.
"Hi, Soph," Beck coos, tapping her lightly on the nose. She's babbling eagerly, evoking plenty of excited facial expressions from her parents. Shiloh waves to them from the pool, and they wave back like the proudest parents in the world.
It's shocking, to most—to see how they balance two incredibly successful careers with two incredibly beautiful children. Maybe it's because they've been together for nearly ten years; they've seen the best and worst of each other, and they know each other better than they know themselves. Maybe it's because of how dedicated they both are to making their relationship work; they go above and beyond to do things for the other, keeping true to the vows they'd promised each other at such a young age. Maybe it's because—despite people telling them it isn't possible—they manage to constantly fall in love with each other over and over again.
"I love you, Jade West," Beck reminds her, pulling his eyes away from their daughters to look at hers. "I love you, and if every day of the rest of our lives is like this, I'd be the happiest man in the world."
She smiles at him. "I love you, too, Babe."
They share a kiss—which is promptly interrupted by Sophie hiccupping and spitting up onto her mother's hands.
"Of course," Jade laughs, and Beck keeps to himself the fact that—six years ago—she would have panicked and been completely flustered at the event. Instead, he grins, and kisses his wife's cheek before bending over to grab a little rag out of Jade's purse.
He watches as she calmly cleans up the mess—smiling at Sophie as she does—and a thought (not for the first time) crosses his mind.
He never stood a chance at not falling in love with her.