"Careful, bud." Beck gently guides Aiden's hands away from the open flame in front of him "You don't want to get it too close, otherwise it'll burn and fall off."
"But if I get it closer, it'll cook faster!" Aiden insists, lowering the marshmallow skewer back towards the fire "And I wanna eat it!"
"I think you should trust Beck on this one, Aiden." Jade tells her son "He's one of the best marshmallow roasters I know."
"Are you really?" Aiden asks, wide-eyed as he looks at Beck
"Would your mom lie to you?" Beck chuckles
"Hm..." Aiden looks from Beck over to his mother, thinking for a moment "No, she wouldn't."
Aiden hands his skewer over to Beck with a shrug, and then climbs back into the patio chair next to him. Beck and Jade exchange an amused glance as he does so, entertained by how easily the little boy had given up his fight.
They're all sitting on the balcony at Beck's townhouse, overlooking the water. He had purchased a patio set and fire table for it a few weeks back, and they're just now getting the chance to test it all out. The fire table is propane-fueled, so it won't leave as strong of an oder on their clothes. Beck hadn't told Jade, but he opted to purchase the propane table instead of a wood-burning one for that exact reason. Not always, but every once and a while, the scent of bonfire smoke combined with another trigger, like sirens from an emergency vehicle or someone raising their voice, takes her back to the night she and Aiden were rescued and that can sometimes bring up bad memories. He wants to make things easier for her, he wants her to be able to make happier memories to replace the bad ones, so the extra hundred dollars for propane instead of wood-burning hadn't bothered him much.
It's a cooler night near the end of February but much like Los Angeles, the winters in Charleston are very mild. With the sun almost completely gone from the sky now, it's about 50ยบ. Jade is wearing one of Beck's sweatshirts and has a blanket draped across her lap, but both Beck and Aiden seem to be content in their hoodies and shorts. She is so content to watch both of her boys roast marshmallows, laughing and joking together and enjoying the evening.
"Alright, here ya go." Beck smiles as he sandwiches the marshmallow between to graham crackers for Aiden "Careful, it's going to be hot."
"I can have the whole thing?"
"Sure." Beck nods, then looks to Jade "Wait, he can have the whole thing, right?"
"Yes." Jade laughs "But just the one."
"Thanks, Mom!"
The couple laughs as Aiden gleefully bites into the s'more, smearing marshmallow and melted chocolate all over his face. Beck offers to make one for Jade but she declines, opting to snack on a few graham crackers instead. He makes one for himself and joins Aiden in his indulgence, and the sight of both of their faces now covered in chocolate brings a huge grin to Jade's.
"What?" Aiden asks "Why are you smiling like that?"
"You two are just goofy is all." Jade tells him "Enjoy your snack."
About thirty minutes later, Jade informs Aiden that it's time for him to go to bed. Although this would normally be something the little boy would object to, tonight he doesn't seem to mind. He loves getting to have sleepovers at Beck's house, which is something he and his mother have been doing quite frequently lately. They only ever do so once a weekend, so that Aiden stays on a regular schedule for school during the week, which is why he's come to love weekends so much. Jade obviously sleeps in the master bedroom with Beck, and Aiden stays in the guest room down the hall.
"Can we make s'mores again tomorrow?" Aiden yawns as Jade helps him change into his pajamas
"We'll see." She chuckles "You and Beck might have eaten all of the marshmallows."
"We can get more at the store."
"I'll think about it."
"Okay..." Aiden yawns again
Jade lifts him into bed and grabs his stuffed elephant out of his overnight bag, handing it to hims as he settles himself beneath the blankets.
"Found it!" Beck announces, entering the room holding a children's book "I knew it was around here somewhere."
Over the course of the last few months he's started to collect various different toys and books to keep at the townhouse so that Aiden doesn't have to bring all of his back and forth. Most of them are inexpensive finds from resale stores or hand-me-downs from the children of Beck's coworkers, but their presence makes the townhouse feel more lived in...more like a home.
"Alright." Beck opens the book as he and Jade climb into bed on either side of Aiden "The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson..."
Aiden's eyes quickly grow heavy as Beck reads the story, and he's definitely asleep before it's been completed. Beck finishes it anyway, partially because that's what Jade always does, but mostly for his own amusement. Once he's finished, he and Jade both gently kiss Aiden goodnight on the forehead, then tiptoe quietly out of the room.
"You're getting really good at this bedtime thing." Jade remarks as Beck shuts the door behind them
"Yeah, well..." He smirks, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together "I've been watching the master for months now."
They return to the balcony and begin cleaning everything up for the night. Jade collects all of the s'mores materials and brings them inside while Beck makes sure that the propane tank beneath the fire table is shut off and turns off the lights. When he returns inside, Jade tells him that she's going to shower, and he takes over making sure all of the food gets back to the pantry where it belongs.
Beck shuts off all of the lights in the kitchen and wanders down the hallway to his bedroom. He changes out of his hoodie and shorts into a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt, then climbs into bed to wait for Jade. She arrives not long after, with her hair up in a towel, wearing a pair of her own pajama shorts and an old t-shirt of his as well.
"Feel better?" He asks her with a smirk
He'll never get tired of seeing her wear his clothes, never.
"Much." She admits, pulling her hair out of the towel and shaking it free "Toss me that hairbrush?"
Beck grabs the hairbrush off of the dresser and tosses it to her so she can untangle her hair, and then she crawls into bed next to him.
"I love it when you spend the night." Beck admits, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close
"Me too." She smiles, resting her head against his chest
Her nightmares have improved some, but she still sleeps the best when she's sleeping next to him. Not to mention that she loves it when his face is the first thing she gets to see in the morning.
"So, I've been thinking..." Beck begins tracing circles on her collarbone with his finger "Since we both love that so much...why not make it a permanent thing?"
"What are you saying...?"
"I'm saying...I want you and Aiden to move in here. Permanently."
"Are you sure?" She asks him, a small smile forming on her lips "Kids take up a lot of space. It's one thing having him sleep over every now and again, but having here all the time would be completely different."
"I know that, and I think it'll be great." He assures her "I told Tori and Andre they can stay in the guest room next weekend when they visit, but I thought after that I'd start working on turning it into a more kid-friendly room. It could be my birthday present to him."
"I think that's a great idea." Jade grins
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"So, it's official then? You're moving in?"
"We're moving in." She tells him before pressing a kiss to his lips "I love you."
"I love you too." Beck tells her as he climbs out of bed "This is worth celebrating."
"Where are you going?"
"Locking the door." He chuckles as he does so "As much as I love Aiden, this celebration is going to be for adults only."
"I like the sound of that."
Jade watches patiently as the digital clock on the stove in her grandparents' kitchen turns from 8:10 to 8:11. She sits at the island nearby, drinking her coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet while she can. There are more people in the house than usual, all in town for the day's special events. Thankfully, everyone had been up late last night, Aiden included, and are all deciding to take advantage of sleeping in. Her mother and step-father are in the guest bedroom upstairs, and Cat and Robbie are in the guest room in the basement. Tyler is still at school in California and had a baseball game to play, so they would FaceTime him in later in the day. Tori and Andre are staying with Beck, and Jade wonders if any of them are awake yet either. Probably not, she decides.
The clock switches from 8:11 to 8:12 and Jade takes a deep breath, a hurricane of memories rushing back to her. Memories of kneeling on the floor next to her bed in Ron's basement, crying out in pain even though no one could hear her. Memories of a screaming newborn, covered in blood and flailing around in her arms. Memories of that same newborn just a short while after, looking up at her with two big blue eyes as she wrapped him in a towel, giving her a look that let her know he knew she would keep him safe. Tears form in the corners of her eyes, thinking back to the horrible circumstances that brought her beautiful son into her life. She loves him so much, and she would go through it all over again if it meant she still got to be his mom. One tear slides down her cheek, snapping her back to reality as it lands on her hand.
In an attempt to let everyone in the house sleep, Jade stands up quietly from the island and leaves her coffee to tiptoe upstairs. She makes her way to the bedroom that she and Tyler usually occupied when they came to visit their grandparents in the summer, and opens the door to reveal her son sleeping peacefully on the bottom bunk of the bunkbeds. She sits down on the edge of the bed beside him and gently shakes him awake.
"Mom...?" He groans as his eyes flutter open
"Good morning, baby." She smiles "Happy birthday..."
"I'm four now?" He confirms, suddenly more awake
"You certainly are."
"I'm four!" Aiden bolts upright "It's my birthday! My party is today!"
"That's right." Jade chuckles "Are you ready to get up and moving?"
"You bet!" Aiden cheers as he leaps out of bed
It warms Jade's heart and breaks it at the same time to see how excited her son is to have his first real birthday party. She and Ashley had always done something for him to acknowledge it when they were still you-know-where, but it had never been anything overly extravagant. They just hadn't had the means. But now his grandparents, great-grandparents, and all of her friends were getting the chance to celebrate, really celebrate, with him for the first time in his life. Which is sad and exciting all at once.
Jade was just planning something simple but of course, Kaitlyn wanted to go overboard. It's the first opportunity she's getting to celebrate a birthday with her first grandchild, and she wants to spare no expense. She ordered a cake much too large for the eleven people that would be in attendance at his party, and the food was being catered from their favorite restaurant in downtown Charleston. Everyone came in carrying a toy store's worth of presents for him too, her friends especially.
"MOM LOOK!" Aiden exclaims, as he rips the paper off of a small, child-sized guitar "It's just like the one Uncle Andre has!"
"It sure is." Jade nods, already dreading the noise he'll be making with it in Beck's small townhouse "Thanks so much, Uncle Andre..."
"When he's old enough, I'll teach him to play it." Andre assures her "Until then, have fun."
"Mhm..."
Jade stands up and walks from the living room area to the kitchen area of the main floor of her grandparent's house where Tori is watching Aiden from the island.
"Couldn't talk him out of that one, huh?" She asks her friend with an annoyed tone
"I wouldn't be a fun aunt if I did, now would I?" Tori smirks, taking a sip of her drink "Besides, if you think that one is gonna be annoying, wait until he opens the karaoke machine from Cat."
"The what?" Jade groans
"I'm pretty sure it's battery operated." Tori laughs "Just take 'em out."
"Yeah I guess." Jade sighs, glancing down at Tori's hand "Hey."
"What?"
"Is this what I think it is?" Jade asks her, gesturing to the ring on Tori's left hand "Did he-"
"Shhh, yes." Tori grins "Don't make a big deal out of it today though, I don't want to steal Aiden's thunder."
"Fair enough." Jade agrees with a smile "Congratulations though."
"Thank you."
"MOM LOOK!" Aiden yells again "A MICROPHONE LIKE AUNT CAT USES!"
"Complete with compatible CDs and an extra pack of batteries." Cat adds
"We'll have to make sure you bring that with you when you visit Aunt Cat on her tour bus in a few months, Aiden." Jade smirks "I'm sure she'll love having all of that noise in such a small space."
"It's gonna be so fun, Aunt Cat."
"You bet it is, little man."
Despite their tendency to buy him toys that will drive her insane, Jade really is so thankful for all of the love and kindness her friends and family have shown to her son since he came into their lives. There are some, like her father, who still wanted nothing to do with him, but for the most part the adoration everyone seems to have for him is overwhelming. She understands, of course, how could you not love him? He's sweet, and funny, and kind, and overall the exact opposite of what you would expect from a child that came into existence in the way that he had.
Thinking about how different her life might be right now if she and Aiden didn't have the love and support of everyone in this room makes Jade emotional, almost as if she could cry. Cat notices the sudden change in her best friend's demeanor and stands up from her spot on the floor next to Aiden to moves next to Jade.
"You did it, mama." Cat smiles, looping her arm around Jade's "Another year down."
"Only the rest of his life to go." Jade chuckles nervously with a smile "Thank you for the gifts, I didn't mean to come off ungrateful."
"You didn't, don't worry."
"Everything okay, ladies?" Beck asks, appearing on Jade's other side and draping an arm around her shoulders
"Yeah." Jade assures him, tilting her head up so he can kiss her "Just thinking about how lucky Aiden and I are to have all of these people in our lives who love us so much."
"I think I can speak for everyone here when I tell you that we all feel incredibly lucky that you're both in our lives too." Beck smirks "I know I think about that every day."
A few days after Aiden's birthday party, Jade takes the afternoon off of work so that she can be home early. Aiden is shocked that she's the one to get him up from his nap that afternoon, but even more shocked when she tells him that Beck has a surprise for them both. He's downstairs and putting his shoes on before she's even walked out of his bedroom.
Beck is waiting for them in front of the townhouse, and Aiden runs to him immediately as soon as Jade helps him out of the car.
"Hey, little man!" Beck grins, lifting Aiden into his arms and hugging him "How was school today?"
"Good!"
"What'd you learn?"
"Lowercase letters!"
"Wow." Beck gasps as he shifts the little boy to his hip "That sounds like so much fun."
"It was!"
"Hi." Beck smiles as Jade locks her car and walks over to them
"Hey." She greets him with a kiss
"Gross." Aiden scoffs, resting his head on Beck's shoulder
"Oh, you think that's gross?" Jade smirks, leaning forward and kissing Beck again, longer this time
"Mom!" Aiden groans
"Alright, alright. Leave him be." Beck chuckles "Did your mom tell you I have a surprise for you, Aiden?"
"Uh huh!" Aiden nods "Can I see it now?"
"Oh, I guess so." Beck smirks "Come on, let's go."
He carries Aiden into the house, Jade following close behind, and sets him down once they're inside. Beck directs Aiden to go look in the guest room where he normally sleeps, and when the little boy opens the door he's surprised about how different the room looks.
Beck is renting the townhouse so he hadn't been allowed to paint the walls, but new gray curtains have replaced the old white ones that used to frame the window. The once neutral bedding on the full-sized bed has been replaced with navy blue and grey striped bedding instead. A giant wooden 'A', spray-painted gray, hangs above the bed, and there's a bookshelf and toy box along one of the walls as well.
"You did good." Jade whispers to Beck
She would never admit it to him, but she had been a bit nervous about leaving him in complete control of the bedroom design.
"Thanks." Beck chuckles "I know it's a little late, Aiden...but happy birthday."
"You did this for me?" Aiden gasps
"Sure did." Beck smiles as he and Jade step into the bedroom "What do you think?"
"It's awesome!" Aiden exclaims, hugging Beck's legs tightly "Thanks, Beck! Now it's like I have my own room when Mom and I sleep over!"
"That's another part of your surprise." Beck tells him, reaching down to pick him up again
"What is?"
"We're not going to be sleeping over anymore, baby." Jade exchanges a gleeful look with her boyfriend "I know I promised you no more moving...but what would you think about moving in here?"
"You mean like...live here? With Beck?" Aiden clarifies "All the time?"
"Yeah."
"I think that's a great idea!" Aiden grins
"Yeah?"
"Yeah!" Aiden repeats "We'll be just like a family!"
"Not just like one..." Beck shakes his head "We really will be a family, all three of us."
"Hear that, Mom?" Aiden asks her "We're a family now!"
"We sure are." Jade nods
"Hey, you should go check out your closet." Beck tells Aiden as he sets him down
"Okay!"
"What's in the closet?" Jade asks her boyfriend
"Nothing special, really." Beck shrugs "I just wanted to get you alone."
"Oh, okay." Jade smirks, draping her arms around his neck as he wraps his around her waist "Thank you for doing this for him. I love you."
A year ago, she was still being held captive by an absolute monster. Her friends and family still thought she was dead. Her son had never known a life outside of that small concrete room they were being held in. The past year of her life had been an absolute rollercoaster, dragging her up and down through the unimaginable. There were times when she didn't think she could survive it, but she had. She's here now, with the man that she loves, rebuilding her life and making an even better one for her son. Part of her thought she would never see this day, but the other part of her, the very small part of her that knew she would, is so incredibly thankful that she never gave up hope.
"I love you too." Beck smiles, resting his forehead against her's "Welcome home."
And this is where this part of the story ends. We're not quite finished with it all of the way though! The next three chapters are going to serve as three different installments of one long epilogue. Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and supporting this story! You guys are the best!