"Hi lil' sissy..." Lennon whispers as she reaches through the bars of the baby's crib "You sleepin'?"
The baby is in fact fast asleep in her crib, completely oblivious to the fact that her older sister is talking to her. Even though her parents had moved her into a bigger bedroom on the first floor of the apartment, Lennon still sees the nursery as 'her room' and likes to come and go as she pleases.
"I'll grab her." Beck sighs
"No." Jade stops him "It's cute."
The two of them stand in the doorway to the nursery, watching their older daughter interact with her now two week-old sister. It hadn't taken them long to notice that Lennon disappeared from the living room and they knew exactly where to find her.
"You should wake up now." Lennon says to the baby "I wants to play."
"Alright, now you can grab her."
"Lennon Danielle..." Beck says quietly as he steps into the room "You know you're not supposed to be in the baby's room. Especially when she's asleep."
"Is my room!" Lennon pouts
"No, you have your new big girl room downstairs." Beck reminds her as he picks her up off the floor "Remember? With your new big girl bed?"
"It's almost time for you to take your nap too." Jade nods in agreement "What do you think? Should we go read a story first?"
"No naps!" Lennon pouts "I big girl!"
"Even big girls take naps." Beck tells her "Mommy takes naps."
"That's true, I do."
"Hmf." Lennon pouts as Beck carries her downstairs and to her new room.
They made the switch when Jade was eight months pregnant, that way Lennon would have time to adjust to her new room before the baby was born and her world would only be slightly turned upside down rather than completely. It had gone rather well until the baby was actually born and they brought her home. Then Lennon wanted her old room back. The new baby was sleeping in her old crib and all of her clothes were in her old dresser, she doesn't understand all of the changes.
"You sleep tight, okay Bubs?" Jade tells Lennon as she kisses her forehead "I'll see you soon."
"M'not...tired." Lennon yawns as Beck tucks the blankets in around her
"Just lay here and rest for a little bit then." Beck chuckles "Mommy and I are going to rest too."
"Okay..." Lennon says, her eyes heavy with sleep
Beck and Jade turn off the lamp in her room and sneak quietly out the door, closing it shut behind them.
"Are you actually going to nap?" Jade asks her husband
"No." Beck laughs "I have a script I need to start reading. You can though, if you want. I'll listen for the kids."
"No, I want to stay with you." Jade whines, wrapping her arms around his neck
"You need your rest though. You just had a baby." Beck reminds her with a smile "What if I read the script up in bed while you nap?"
"Alright, fine." Jade agrees, taking his hand and leading him towards the stairs
They knew that having two kids would be harder than having one, there was no denying it. But they're still adjusting to the routine. Having a newborn again was exhausting enough, but having a two and a half year-old on top of that was even harder. Not that they would trade it for anything though, they love their girls and couldn't imagine life without either one of them now that they have both.
Charlotte Nicole Oliver had entered the world in much less dramatic fashion than her sister. Jade had progressed through labor much quicker this time, and didn't have any complications afterwards. The newest Oliver looks just like Lennon had when she was born, almost a carbon copy of Jade. Only this time the baby had Beck's thick dark hair, as opposed to Jade's lighter brown. Lennon's nanny brought her to the hospital to meet the baby later that same day, and the toddler was instantly in love with her sister.
They had known she was going to be a girl, they found out shortly after they returned home from Charlie's funeral in Vancouver, but still decided to name her after her great-grandfather. Charles Nicholas became the more feminine Charlotte Nicole, and Beck's father had teared up when they told him the baby's name. There was a brief discussion about still calling her Charlie as a nickname, but after spending a bit of time with her Beck and Jade both decided that they didn't love the idea. Although she was for sure a Charlotte, she just didn't look like a Charlie. So they decided to stick with Charlotte only, although sometimes they shorten it to just 'Char' or 'CharChar'.
"You'll wake me up if she cries, right?" Jade asks as she climbs into bed
"Right." Beck nods "Wait, which one?"
"I mean, either of them..." Jade chuckles "But I meant Charlotte. Lennon only really cries if she's hurt, scared, or doesn't get her way. Wait...so yes duh, wake me up if she starts crying."
"Just take your nap." Beck tells her "They'll be fine."
"You look just like your sister." Cat coos as she bounces Charlotte in her arms "Yes you do, yes you do!"
"You think so?" Jade asks her "I always thought Lennon looked like me, but I see way more of Beck in this one."
"I think she looks like you if you had Beck's hair." Cat tells her confidently "And her eyes are a bit darker blue than Lennon's were."
"Yeah, that I have noticed." Jade nods "They're darker now than Lennon's ever were, even when she was first born. We think they're going to turn brown like Beck's."
"Well no matter what, you're a gorgeous little girl." Cat smiles down at the baby "Just like your mama and your sister."
Although she lives in LA now a majority of the time, Cat still makes regular trips to New York whether it be for business, music promotion, or just to visit Beck and Jade. She waited a few weeks before she came to meet the new baby because she knew that there would be family there and didn't want anyone to feel overwhelmed, but she jumped at the first opportunity to come once Jade said it was okay.
"I might have to have two flower girls at my wedding now." Cat chuckles, looking up at Jade "Obviously Lennon is my little buddy, but this one is kind of growing on me too."
"Well as long as you get married before she can walk, that shouldn't be too much of a problem." Jade smiles as she sits down on the couch next to her best friend "How's the planning coming on that, by the way?"
"We're pushing it back again."
"Why?" Jade asks "Another album?"
"Nah, something better." Cat smirks
"Besides your wedding, what could be better than an album?"
"One of these." Cat smiles, nodding to Charlotte
"Are you pregnant?" Jade gasps
"Yeah, I might be." Cat laughs "I might also be due in September."
"Cat, that's amazing!" Jade grins "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks." Cat says "We're going to wait until after the baby is born to get married so that he or she can be apart of it, and we're going to make it a priority now instead of continuously pushing it back. We were thinking maybe around Christmas."
"That sounds like a great idea." Jade tells her "How did Robbie react when you told him?"
"I mean, there's a reason he asked to tag along to the park with Beck and Lennon today." Cat chuckles "He's really nervous, but he shouldn't be. He's going to be a great daddy."
"He will be." Jade agrees "And you'll be a great mommy."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Jade assures her "You're great with my girls, you'll be even better with your own."
"Thanks." Cat smiles a bit "I get the feeling we're having a boy though."
"Why do you say that?"
"I just have this hunch, you know?" Cat sighs "I feel like having a girl would make too much sense. It's for sure a boy."
"Well, Beck will dote all over him." Jade laughs "He wants a son so bad."
"I thought you said he was super happy about having a second girl?"
"Oh, he is." Jade nods "He was like, over the moon, when we found out Charlotte was a girl. He loves having little girls, but now he wants a boy next."
"You're already talking about a third?" Cat asks her "This one is still fresh."
"Don't phrase it like that, she's not produce." Jade says, an odd expression on her face "And I'm not talking about a third, he is. I do want a third eventually, but I can't even think about the possibility until Charlotte is like...potty trained at least."
"Well, I'll try my best to give him a nephew to tide him over." Cat laughs as the door to the apartment swings over
"We're back!" Lennon announces as she toddles over to Jade "Mama up!"
"Ah ah." Jade stops her "What do we say when we want something?"
"Mama up...please?" Lennon repeats
"There we go." Jade nods as she lifts the little girl into her lap "And now what do we say?"
"Thank you."
"Thatta girl." Jade smiles as she kisses the top of Lennon's head "Did you have fun at the park?"
"Yeah!" Lennon cheers "Uncle Robbie is silly!"
"Oh is he?"
"What'd he do?" Cat asks
"Someone got himself stuck in the swirly slide." Beck informs the two women as he bends down to kiss his wife "Hi."
"Hi." Jade smiles up at him "I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"You got stuck in the swirly slide?" Cat shakes her head at her fiancé
"Listen, those things were way bigger when I was a kid. I swear." Robbie defends himself
"How'd you get out?" Cat asks
"Daddy helped him." Lennon tells her
"Daddy helped him?" Jade shoots her husband an amused look
"Yeah." Beck sighs "I had to reach up in there and grab his feet and pull him out."
"Oh I wish I could have seen that."
"You probably will by the end of the day." Robbie admits "The paps caught all of it on camera."
"Oh lovely." Jade smiles "I can't wait to read that headline."
"I'm going to repost those pictures on Instagram." Cat tells Robbie as he sits down on the couch beside her "That should be documented."
"I was just trying to be a good uncle and take my niece down the slide!" Robbie insists "Right, Len?"
"I a big girl, Uncle Robbie." Lennon tells him "I go by myself."
"She said it, not us." Jade laughs
"Anyway." Robbie says flatly "What did you guys do while we were gone?"
"We just sat and talked and caught up." Cat tells him "And fawned over Miss Charlotte here."
"Yeah, she's pretty cute." Robbie smirks as he strokes the baby's cheek "Did you tell her?"
"I did."
"Tell her what?" Beck asks
"I'm pregnant." Cat tells him
"That's awesome!" Beck's face lights up "Congratulations, you guys."
"Thank you." Cat and Robbie say in unison
"Welcome!" Lennon cheers, causing all of the adults to laugh
"Lennon, Aunt Cat has a baby in her tummy." Jade explains to the toddler "Just like I did."
"More sisters?" Lennon exclaims
"No!" All of the adults are quick to clarify
"Charlotte is your sister because you and her both have the same mommy and daddy." Beck tries his best to explain "Aunt Cat is going to be her baby's mommy, and Uncle Robbie is going to be the baby's daddy. Does that make sense?"
"No."
"I'm your mommy. I'm also Charlotte's mommy, so that makes her your sister." Jade clarifies "Aunt Cat's baby won't be your sister because Aunt Cat isn't your mommy. That means the baby will be your cousin."
"Oh okay."
"It'll be another friend for you to play with." Robbie adds "How does that sound?"
"Oh yay!" Lennon grins "I love to play!"
"We need to set a limit on the amount of stories she's allowed to have read to her before bedtime." Jade sighs, walking into the master bedroom after putting Lennon to bed "I think we read 'just one more' about four times."
"She definitely knows how to milk it when she doesn't want to go to sleep." Beck chuckles, bouncing a fussy baby in his arms "But speaking of milk, this one is hungry."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Jade sighs as she climbs into bed next to him and takes the baby in her arms "I'm sorry Char, your sister was trying to stay up past her bedtime and threw everyone's schedules off."
Charlotte calms down instantly the minute her mother starts to feed her, and both Beck and Jade relax a bit knowing that she's that easily satisfied and won't fuss for the time being.
"Oh my god..." Jade sighs, leaning her head back against the headboard as Charlotte eats "It's just barely 8:30 and I'm absolutely exhausted."
"That's what two kids under three will do to you, I guess." Beck chuckles, grabbing his script off of his bedside table to begin reading it
"We're old and boring now." Jade tells him
"Jade, we're twenty-seven."
"And it's 8:30 on a Friday night and we're in bed."
"Because we're still adjusting to a new baby." He reminds her as he sets the script down and rolls over to face her, propping his head up on his elbow "We are neither old nor boring. We're just figuring our lives out again."
"I know, you're right." Jade agrees "I shouldn't even be complaining. We're luckier than most."
"That's true, we are."
"I'm luckier than most."
"Care to clarify?"
"Because like thirteen years ago I met this stupid boy." She smirks at him "And the stupid boy changed my life. Now I've been married to him for eight years, and I let him knock me up twice, and we have these two beautiful perfect baby girls. And whenever I go off on tangents, he's the one who brings me back to Earth. Sometimes he drives me crazy, but he's the best husband and the best baby daddy a girl could ever ask for."
"He sounds pretty awesome to me." Beck shrugs
"He is."
"He almost sounds as awesome as my wife."
"Oh really?" Jade raises an eyebrow at him "Tell me about her."
"Well for starters, she's drop dead gorgeous." Beck begins "And that's without any make up or anything. And when she's all glammed up? Fuck, she brings me to my knees. Not to mention she's an incredibly talented actress, and the best friend I could ever ask for. And on top of all of that, she's the best mom in the world."
"Alright, you win the compliment battle tonight." Jade laughs as Charlotte finishes eating
"Want me to put her in her room?" Beck offers as Jade readjusts her shirt
"Nah, I'll do it." Jade says as she stands up
She brings Charlotte around to Beck's side of the bed so that he can kiss her goodnight, then carries the sleeping infant into the nursery down the hall and places her gently in her crib. After waiting for a few minutes to make sure that the baby doesn't wake up or fuss at all, Jade goes back to her bedroom and walks directly into the closet. She discards her leggings and long-sleeve shirt and trades them for a pair of running shorts and one of Beck's t-shirts, then walks back to the main part of the bedroom as she pulls her hair into a ponytail.
"She go down okay?" Beck asks her
"Yup, didn't even fuss at all when I put her in the crib." Jade tells him as she pulls back the blankets on her side of the bed and crawls in "Oh, I could fall asleep right now."
"Go ahead." Beck offers "I'm almost done here anyways."
"No, I don't want to put you behind on getting through that in time."
"I'm way ahead of where I need to be." Beck assures her as he tucks his script away in the drawer of his bedside table "Just let me change real quick and I'll turn the lights off."
"Mhmkay." Jade smiles sleepily as she adjusts her head on her pillow
Beck changes into his pajamas as well, which are really just his boxers and an old t-shirt, then switches off the bedroom lights and crawls into bed next to his wife. It's a habit now, after eight years of marriage, for his arm to find its way around her waist and pull her as close to him as possible.
"Goodnight." Jade turns her head to kiss him "I love you."
"I love you more." He assures her as she sets her head back down on her pillow "Goodnight."
Her hand finds its way to his and they intertwine their fingers before closing their eyes and beginning to fall asleep.
"Beck?"
"Hm?"
"I love you the most."