Chapter 18

2 months after the wedding, the Oliver family was living their best lives. Jade had gone to the doctors the week following the wedding, and found out she was a month along. Now, 3 months along, she and Beck had decided it was time to tell their friends and family.

"Hey, Fallon, can I talk to you for a second?" Jade asked, as she walked into Fallon's office. She politely waved at Liam and Briar who were sitting on the couch.

"Sure. Do you want me to send Liam and Briar away?"

"No, they're fine. The thing I want to talk about is an announcement."

"Ok. What's up?"

"Beck and I are having another baby. I'm pregnant." Jade announced, flashing a smile at Fallon.

"I know."

"What do you mean you know?"

"I mean, I've known you were pregnant since the wedding. You didn't drink any alcohol, and while you haven't been of age for very long, you haven't stopped drinking since your 21st birthday. Also, I've been able to tell for a month. You're not doing a very good job at hiding your bump."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I was waiting for you to tell me."

"Ok, well, that's the only thing I wanted to talk about."

"How far along are you?"

"About 12 weeks. I'm almost out of the first trimester."

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm ok. I have nausea for a few hours in the morning, but I haven't thrown up in a month."

"Are you guys gonna find out the gender?"

"No. We want to wait."

"I don't think I could do that. Liam and I found out with Briar at 12 weeks through a blood test."

"I didn't do it with Giselle, and I think a surprise would be nice. Beck and I think this might be our last baby for a while, and we don't want to do things the exact same way I did with Giselle."

"You two are only 21. Are you sure you don't want any more kids?"

"We'll probably have more kids, but maybe a few years down the line. Three kids in three years isn't exactly healthy for my body."

"Well, Liam and I are happy for you, right babe?" Fallon looked over at her husband who was barely paying attention.

"Um, yeah, we're happy for you and Beck." Nice save, Liam.

"Anyway, that's all I wanted to tell you. Oh, are we still on for the girls' play date on Saturday?"

"I think so. Alexis was saying something crazy about coming to LA, but she pushed it back a few weeks because she's getting Botox. I should be free this weekend."

"Ok. Well, I'll get back to work."

"Congrats, Jade." Liam congratulated, as Jade walked out of the office.

Later that day, when Jade went to the grocery store after work, she saw someone she'd never wanted to see again.

"Hello, mother. Fancy seeing you here." Jade said, sarcastic and cold as ever.

"I could say the same to you." Jade's mother replied.

"No, you don't get to act like this is my fault. I'm not the one who abandoned her daughter for years."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Jade."

"How am I being dramatic? You left me when I was 13. Dad was so fucking clueless on how to deal with me. He became more cold and heartless than he ever was before. A 13 year old boy had to help me pick up all of the pieces of my life. It's that same 13 year old boy that I'm not married to."

"Married? You're only 21."

"Wow, I'm surprised you remembered my age."

"Why would you tie yourself down at such a young age?"

"Marrying the man I love isn't tying myself down."

"You're so naïve, Jade. You have no idea how hard it is to keep a marriage together."

"Neither did you, apparently."

"You have no idea what went on between me and your father the last few years. It was a living hell."

"And what? I was a demon?"

"You certainly didn't make things any better."

"Wow. You should mother of the fucking year."

"And who are you to talk? You have no clue what being a mother is like."

"If you had bothered to stick around, you'd know that I have a 21 month old daughter and I'm pregnant."

"Yeah, and I bet she's just as much of a brat as you."

"No. You don't get the right to call my daughter a brat."

"You might not like it, but I bet it's true. Your husband must be a freaking saint."

"He is. He's the best man I've ever known. He loves me more than you and dad ever could."

"Your father and I tried to love you, but you never wanted our love. You always pushed us away. You started to turn your brother against us, but your father stopped that real quick."

"It's because of him that I haven't seen my brother in 3 years."

"You made your choice, Jade. You chose to leave."

"I didn't have a choice. Dad told me I had to either move out by a week after graduation or be kicked out. I moved out because I was forced out."

"We told you from a young age that we weren't going to allow you to stay in the house after you graduated. I guess that's one thing your father actually did listen to."

"What would I have if I didn't have anywhere to go? What if I did out on the streets? Would you have come to my funeral? Would I have even had a funeral?"

"Enough with the drama, Jade."

"And there you go again, dismissing me. That's all you've ever done. Well, you won't have to dismiss me anymore. I'm done, mother. I put up with your shit for 13 years, and that was 13 years too long." Jade turned to start walking away before her mother's voice broke through.

"I'm dying, Jade."

Jade slowly turned back around to see if her mother was serious.

"What?"

"I have stage 4 lymphoma. The doctors say that even with chemo, my outlook isn't good. I have a few months, maybe."

"If this is some sick joke, it's not funny."

"It's not a joke. I'm telling the truth."

"Um, ok, what do you want me to do about it?"

"My lease is up at the end of the month, and I can't work because I'm so sick. I won't have a place to live."

"Again, what do you want me to do about it?"

"You seem like you're well off."

"You're seriously asking if you can stay with me and my family? After all the shit you put me through. You left me at 13 years old, and now you're expecting me to just take you back with open arms. Go tell your sob story to someone who cares. I'm done with you. I'll see you in hell." And with that, Jade walked away.

Jade quickly checked out and went home, not giving another thought to what her mother had said. When she got home, she discovered Beck was already home, and in the living room with Giselle.

"Hey, babe. Welcome home." Beck greeted, as Jade walked into the living room.

"Hey." Jade gave, with no emotion.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad day?"

Jade set down all of the groceries and then sat down on the floor with Beck and Giselle. She took in a deep breath before telling the events at the grocery store.

"Work was fine. I told Fallon and Liam about the baby. Fallon seems happy. I got everything done that I needed to, and even started on tomorrow's work."

"That seems great. What else happened?"

"I went to the grocery store after work. I ran into my mother."

"Oh."

"She, of course, insulted me. She called our daughter a brat. She hasn't changed one bit. She's still the same bitch that left me at 13."

"Did anything else happen?"

"She said she's dying. She has stage 4 lymphoma and the doctor's say she doesn't have long."

"What? Really?"

"I don't know if I believe her. I have no reason to believe her. She's told me lies my whole life. Why should I believe her?"

"You don't have to, but what if she is telling the truth?"

"Why should I care? She's never cared about me. Neither of my parents have. They always saw me as such a burden. They called me a brat and a bitch on the daily. They would leave on my own for days at a time. They drank and drank, and then left me to clean up their puke. There was never any food in the house, and they never left money for me to buy my own food. They were horrible parents. Why should I care about them?"

"You don't have to, baby, but I know you. If your mom does die, and you didn't repair your relationship with the time you have left, you'd never forgive yourself. I can't make the decision for you. Only you can, but I will be here with you every step of the way."

"God, why does life have to be so damn hard?" Jade asked rhetorically, leaning into Beck's side.

"I don't know, but I wish it wasn't. Do you want me to make dinner?"

"No. Cat and I are gonna do it when she gets here."

"Ok. Can I get you anything that will cheer you up?"

"No, I just need to be sad right now. Some cuddles from Giselle wouldn't hurt, though." Upon hearing her name, Giselle perked her head up and smiled at her mother. She made her way over to Jade and set herself in Jade's lap. "Thank you, my love."

"Wuv you, mama." Giselle said, still trying to work on her 'L' sound.

"I love you, too, baby. So much." Jade wrapped her arms around her daughter and breathed in the calming baby scent.

"I'm sure everything will work itself out. It'll be ok." Beck assured, rubbing Jade's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"I wish I had your optimism."

"We balance each other out perfectly. I'm glass half-full, and you're glass half-empty."

"How was your day?" Jade was tired of talking about her.

"It was great. We got a lot of filming done, and we even ended early."

"What episode are you on?"

"16. I'm not in the next episode, so I'm off for a few weeks. I'll get to spend plenty of time with Ellie and I'll be here when you get home."

"So you'll be making dinner for the next few weeks. You should brush on your cooking skills." Jade joked.

"What do you mean? I'm a great cook.

"Babe, you burnt water."

"That was one time. I was 16. Nobody taught me how to boil water."

"It's not rocket science. You just fill the pan with water and turn the stove on."

"I know how to cook now. You love my food."

"You're right. I do. And I think the baby wants French toast."

"I have a late call time tomorrow. I'll make you French toast for breakfast."

"You're the best husband, babe."

"I'm sure I am." Beck flashed a playful smile at his beautiful wife and placed a loving kiss on her temple.

"Have you started looking for new gigs? You know, just in case the show doesn't get picked up for another season?"

"What, you don't think the show is good?"

"No, that's not what I mean! I just want us to have some security if the critics decide they don't like your show."

"I've been looking, but I haven't found anything promising yet. My agent said he's starting to look too. With any luck, I won't end up needing another gig for a while."

"Hopefully. I personally think your show is great. If you get renewed, do you think they'll make your character a bigger part of the show?"

"That's the goal."

"Does that mean that we'll get to buy the house we've always wanted?"

"What do you mean? I thought you were happy with where we live."

"I am, but I don't want to live here forever. I'd like to have enough room to grow our family. Right now, we have just enough room for us and Giselle. When the baby gets here, we'll have them sleep with us, and then Ellie and the baby have to share a room."

"Do you want to start looking for houses?"

"Do we even have the money?"

"We're not poor, if that's what you're asking. We're stable. We just paid off the last of the wedding bills. We could at least look for some nice rental houses."

"Do we even have enough time before the baby gets here to find a house and move?"

"I think so. Just as long as we're able to find the house fairly quickly."

"So we're really gonna do it? We're going to find a house?"

"We'll, for right now, I think the smartest choice would be to just rent a house. Maybe a nice 3-bedroom slightly outside of the city."

"God, when did we become adults?"

"We've been adults for 3 years, babe. And having kids and getting married kind of solidifies adulthood."

"I guess you're right. I just feel like a house is such an adult thing. It's weird."

"We don't have to move. We can make it work here."

"No, no, I want to move. We need a bigger place."

"Ok, we can start looking this weekend."

"Great."

The couple stayed on the floor for a while longer, watching Giselle play with her toys, until a knock resounded throughout the apartment. Cat and Andre.

"I'll get the door." Beck said, getting up off the floor and walking across the apartment. Jade followed suit when she heard Cat and Andre's voices.

"Do you wanna see Auntie Kitty?" Jade asked her daughter, as she picked her up and cradled her.

"Kitty!" Giselle squealed. She loved Cat.

Jade walked over to the entryway and waited for Cat and Andre to walk in.

"Hi, Jadey." Cat greeted, wrapping her arms around Jade.

"Hey, Cat." The hug was quickly broken by a squeal from Giselle.

"Hi, Ellie." Cat carefully took Giselle out of Jade's arms.

Jade walked over to quickly greet Andre before making her way into the kitchen to start dinner.

"What are we having for dinner, babe?" Beck asked, as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and placed an open palm on her small bump. Jade leaned into his embrace and cherished the kisses he pressed to the back of her neck before answering.

"Spaghetti and salad."

"Sounds yummy."

"Yeah, I've been craving it. Can you go get Cat? She said she would help."

"Sure." Beck pressed one last kiss to Jade's cheek before unwrapping his arms and walking out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Cat walked in, now free of Giselle from her arms.

"So, what do you want help with?" Cat asked.

"You can start the water. I'll start the meat." Jade responded, pulling out some ingredients.

"What're we having?"

"Spaghetti and salad."

"Ok, great."

The two friends prepared the meal mostly in silence until Cat spoke up.

"You've been uncharacteristically quiet. Is something wrong?"

Jade turned around to face Cat before answering.

"At the store today, I ran into my mother."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She hasn't changed at all. She's still the same bitch she was when she left me at 13. I don't even know why I thought she'd be any different."

"What did she say?"

"Well, of course she had to throw in plenty of insults. She called Ellie a brat. She said Beck must be a saint for putting up with me. She said she and my father tried to love me, but it was just too hard. And then she said she's dying."

"Seriously? What's she dying of?"

"She claims to have stage 4 lymphoma. The doctors say her outlook isn't good. She even tried to convince me to let her stay with us because her lease ends at the end of the month."

"And what'd you say?"

"That I'm not letting her stay with us. She left me. She gave up on me. I'm not going to suddenly welcome her back with open arms, even if she is dying, which I'm not completely convinced she's not lying about."

"And what if she is telling the truth? She's still your mother."

"She wasn't acting like a mother when she packed up all her shit and walked out on my father and me. She's been a horrible mother. She doesn't deserve anything that I've worked hard to earn. She doesn't deserve to know her grandchildren and son-in-law. She doesn't deserve to live in my home. She doesn't deserve my sympathy, and most of all, she doesn't deserve me. She will never deserve me again."

"So you're not going to try and repair your relationship?"

"No. My relationship with her ended 8 years ago."

"I'm really sorry, Jade."

"Neither of us have anything to be sorry for. Maybe this cancer is karma for how horrible of a person she was."

"Are you saying she deserves cancer?"

"Well, I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it."

"Jade. Just because she's a horrible person doesn't mean you should stoop as low as she has. She's still a person, no matter how horrible, and no one deserves to have cancer."

"God, you and Beck are such good people. The high road has never been my strong suit, and that certainly won't change with my mother, no matter how sick she claims to be."

"Even if you claim to not be bothered by your mother's illness, I've known you since we were 10. I know this is a lot harder for you than you're letting on."

"Even if it is, I'm not going to do anything about it. I'm done with my mother. Until today, I hadn't thought about her in years. She's been out of my life for a long time."

"I respect that, but you need to make sure this is what you want before it's too late. If she really is dying, she doesn't have much time left."

"And I get that. Right now, I have no clue how much time she has left, and I'd like to stop talking about her. Let's talk about anything else."

"Ok. Um, Andre and I are moving."

"Really? What's wrong with your apartment?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, it's just kind of small. A studio apartment in downtown LA isn't exactly conducive to growing."

"Have you and Andre talked more about having kids?"

"We've talked about. We want to start trying within the next six months. We want to get a dog first."

"A dog is nothing like a kid, Cat."

"Yeah, I know, but a dog would still be nice."

"Well, I'm happy for you two."

"And what about you and Beck? Have you two talked about more kids?"

"We've talked. We're going to start looking for rental houses soon."

"You're not gonna get a house of your own?"

"No. We're only 21. It feels way too soon to buy a forever home. Maybe when Ellie's starting school, we'll look into houses with good schools, but for now, a rental house seems perfect for us."

"That's exciting."

"Yeah, hopefully we can find some good houses."

The pair went back to cooking in silence and remained that way until the meal was done. Once everything was ready, Andre and Beck set the table, and they all sat down for dinner.

About halfway through dinner, Beck and Jade decided it was time to spill their news.

"Beck and I invited you guys over here to tell you that I'm pregnant. We're gonna have another baby?" Jade announced.

"Really? I'm gonna be an auntie again?" Cat asked, a beaming smile plastered on her face.

"Yep. I'm about 12 weeks along, so we've still got a while to go, but they'll be a new Oliver baby here very soon."

"That's great. I'm happy for you two." Andre offered.

"Are you guys gonna find out the gender?"

"Jade and I decided we want to wait." Beck replied.

"What do you want the baby to be? I'm sure Cat would love another girl?"

"We don't really care. As long as the baby and I are healthy, that's all that matters."

The rest of dinner went by smoothly, and so did their game of Monopoly after dinner. Everything went awry when, around 8:30, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Beck said, getting up and walking towards the door. When he opened it, he saw Tori standing there, with a small child in her arms. "Tori? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you that this is your son."