Never in her life does Jade think she's felt as tired as she does in the present moment. It's the Monday before Thanksgiving and she's just finished her third shoot of the day, which is considered rather atypical for her. Normally, she doesn't book more than two clients a day, but today she made an exception. People want to get things out of the way and over with before the holiday, and Jade doesn't want to disappoint clients...especially repeat clients. When the baby is born she's going to need to take some time off, and she wants them to remain loyal to her during that period. The more she can to do to please them in the coming months, the better. Even if that means working longer hours than she usually does in order to accommodate. She feels dead on her feet, and definitely ready for bed...but she had skipped dinner. There's no way she'll be able to fall asleep without eating something first, and she definitely needs something for the baby's sake as well.

In the morning she has one more shoot, and then she'll be on a train upstate to spend the remainder of the week and weekend with her father and step-mother for Thanksgiving. She'll have to bring work with her, because once again she's trying to be accommodating and pictures don't edit themselves, but she doesn't mind. It will give her the opportunity to retreat to her room for a while if her father starts irritating her. Although he does seem more accepting of the baby at this point, he still doesn't seem entirely accepting of her situation with Beck. It will be nice to have an excuse to get away if she needs it.

Much to Jade's relief, the apartment door is unlocked so she doesn't have to fumble through her bag for her keys. If the door is unlocked that means Cat is home and not out with Robbie, so she isn't all that surprised to walk in and see her in the living room. She is surprised to see Beck there as well though. Him she hadn't expected at all.

"Fuck, did we have plans?" She asks him

It wouldn't surprise her if they did and she had simply just forgotten about them. With as busy as she's been lately and with as forgetful as pregnancy has been making her, there's a very good chance that she had.

"No, don't worry." He assures her "I'm actually here to help Cat."

"Okay good." Jade lets out a sigh of relief "Sorry, I've just been so scatter-brained lately."

"Don't be sorry, it's okay."

"What are you helping Cat with?"

"I got a callback!" Cat grins, throwing her arms into the air "He's here to help me run some lines."

Cat is very familiar with the musical part of musical theater, she doesn't doubt her singing abilities at all. However, she does't have much experience with acting. She's been in a few Broadway shows at this point, but only as a member of a the ensemble. Sure, she's had a few lines here or there, but her main priority has always been singing and dancing. Beck had been more than willing to help her out when she asked him.

"That's great!" Jade smiles as Cat runs over to hug her "Congratulations! When is it?"

"Wednesday."

"Oh wow, that's pretty quick turn around."

"That's how it works." Beck sighs as he stands up and walks over to her as well "How's she doing today?"

"She's good." Jade assures him, taking his hand and positioning it on the lower left side of her abdomen "Her feet have been over here today."

Sure enough, the baby's feet brush up against her father's hand only a few seconds later. Even though he's been able to feel her movements on the outside for a little over a week at this point, he doesn't think he'll ever find it to be anything but amazing. Pregnancy has felt real to Jade for months now, but Beck has the confirmation now too.

"That's good, I'm glad you're good little girl." He rubs Jade's abdomen gently before removing his hand "What about you? How are you?"

"Starving and exhausted." Jade admits "Don't let me interrupt anything, I'm probably just going to go to grab some dinner and go to bed."

"Sure." Beck nods "Do what you gotta do."

Jade retreats to her bedroom and hangs her camera bag on it's designated hook, then closes the door behind her so she can change. Despite the fact that it's winter in New York City, she opts for a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in. The past few months have given her a new understanding of the phrase 'bun in the oven', because she can quite literally feel like an oven at times. She's always hot, especially when she's trying to sleep, so shorts seem like her best option.

Cat and Beck are running lines when she emerges from her room again, and Jade tries her best not to disrupt them as she goes to the kitchen to find something to eat. However, as she walks she feels her knee start to buckle, and grabs on to the kitchen counter to prevent herself from falling all the way down.

"Jade!"

Beck leaps to his feet and is at her side before Cat has even realized what happened, and he helps her shift into a sitting position with her back against one of the cabinets below the countertop.

"Jadey, are you alright?" Cat asks as she rushes over to kneel next to her "What happened?"

"I'm dizzy..." Jade admits, leaning her head back against the cabinet

The spell had really come out of nowhere. One moment she was on her way to find food, and the next the room was spinning and she was falling. Thankfully she caught herself before she hit the floor, but she still feels just as lousy as she would have if she did.

"I'll get you some water..." Cat rubs her arm gently before standing up "Hang in there."

"How can I help?" Beck asks, sitting down in front of her "Tell me what you need."

"Just give me space." Jade tells him "It'll pass."

"Jade..."

"Back. Up."

He's never heard her take that harsh of a tone before, at least not with him. It's an indicator that she meant what she said about wanting space, so he scoots himself backwards a few feet to allow her to have it.

"Here you go." Cat hands Jade a glass of water

"Thanks..."

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Lunch time."

"Jade..."

"I was trying to get food when all of this started!" Jade insists "I'm fine now, I promise."

She sets her glass down on the floor beside her and attempts to stand up, which she'll admit is much harder to do now with the baby in the way. As she pushes herself up she's hit with another head rush and immediately sinks back down again.

"Fuck..."

"Yeah, you're not fine." Beck insists "C'mon, you should lie down."

"I'm okay, I just need to eat something!"

"You can't even stand."

"I think he's right, Jadey..." Cat agrees "Just go lie down, I'll make you something."

Jade opens her mouth to argue, but ends up nodding in agreement instead. Beck slowly helps her to her feet and lets her lean against him as he guides her across the apartment to her bedroom.

"Here..." He pulls back the blankets on her bed and helps her settle in "Sometimes closing your eyes can help too if you-"

"I'm fine."

"You just admitted to being dizzy." He reminds her as he sits down on the edge of the bed beside her "You almost fell. What would have happened if you didn't catch yourse-"

"But I did catch myself."

"That's not the point."

"Look, this is just a result of over-exhaustion and hunger, okay?" Jade sighs "It's not anything more than that, I promise you."

"Maybe..." Beck hesitates "Never mind."

"No, go ahead and say it." Jade rolls her eyes "Clearly you want to."

"Maybe you need to start slowing things down a little bit, Jade."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You can't just go around overworking yourself and skipping meals." Beck says "This is what happens when you do. It's not good for you and it's definitely not good for her."

"I'm not intentionally trying to hurt the baby, Beck."

"I never said that you were."

"Seems like it."

"Jade..." Beck feels defeated "All I'm saying is that maybe you should start limiting how many jobs you take."

"Don't tell me what to do." She shakes her head "You have no idea what this is like, okay?"

"You're right." Beck admits "I don't, but I wish you would tell me."

"Please." Jade scoffs

"I mean it."

"You want me to tell you what this is like?" Jade raises an eyebrow at him "Fine. I am growing a fucking human, Beck. That's an incredibly physically and emotionally difficult thing to do, but I'm doing it because I love our daughter and I know she'll be so so worth it. I'm also trying to do my job, because I love my job. The fact that I've been able to make a career out of photography and will be able to use it to provide for my child is a dream come true. I don't really think it's fair for you to ask me to give that up because I would never ever in a million years even think about asking you to give up what you love. And for the record? I do limit the number of jobs I take. Normally I schedule no more than two a day, but it's a busy time of year right now...sometimes I have to work more. Don't tell me you've never had a rehearsal run long because you needed to get something done."

"I think it's great that you want to keep working." Beck assures her "I applaud it, in fact. I didn't mean to come across as sexist either, I promise. I'm just worried that you're spreading yourself too thin."

"Would you say that to me if I wasn't pregnant?"

"If you had almost just collapsed on the floor? Yeah, I would!" Beck exclaims "Look, I'm sorry, Jade. I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Yeah, well you did."

"Jade...c'mon..."

"Can you just go?" She asks, avoiding eye contact

"Is that what you want?"

"Yeah." She nods "Yeah. That's what I want."

"Alright..." He sighs as he stands up "Enjoy your time with your dad this weekend..."

Jade doesn't say anything, but rolls over onto her side so she's facing away from him. Beck takes this as his cue to leave, and quietly sulks out of the room.

Her trip to visit her father goes exactly as Jade expects it too. Of course, both he and her step-mother are happy to have her there to celebrate the holiday with them. Both of them grin from ear-to-ear when she tells them that they'll be able to feel the baby kick for themselves now, and dote over her for hours afterwards because of it.

With all of his excitement however, John still manages to prove to Jade that he's skeptical of her situation. Upon hearing that she and Beck had no plans of moving in together, he offered to pay for a three bedroom apartment in the city so that they could both be present for the baby and have their own spaces. She had immediately declined his offer, explaining to him that both she and Beck had agreed their current arrangement would work more than fine. Which was true, they have had that conversation multiple times and agreed that it would be best for Beck to stay where he is and for Jade and the baby to stay with Cat. Right now it works, and why mess with something if it's working? Of course John tried to push back, and Jade ended up retreating to her room to edit pictures like she had intended on doing if he pissed her off. Angie came up soon afterwards to check on her, knowing that her husband been a bit insensitive about his suggestion. While Jade knows that her father only made it out of love, she's relieved that he never brings it up again. She's even more relieved to get to go back home to New York at the end of the weekend.

Due to work, Cat hadn't gone home to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, so Jade knows that she'll be awake and waiting for her when she returns to the apartment. However, she asks her Uber driver to drop her off at Beck's first, knowing that she owes him an apology. She had ignored his texts and calls the entire time she had been upstate, desperate for some space for him after their argument. Similar to her father, Jade knows that Beck only said what he did out of love for the baby...and maybe even platonic love for her. He might not have gone about communicating it in the best way, but she still didn't need to snap at him like she did.

"Hey there..." Beck looks a bit confused as he opens his door "I thought you had gone and disappeared on me."

"I'm sorry." Jade apologizes "I just...can I come in?"

"Of course..."

Beck steps aside so she can enter the apartment. Jade immediately drops her duffle bag on the floor, her shoulder sore from carrying it, and then turns around to face him.

"I feel very out of control of my own emotions and I hate that." Jade admits "My body doesn't really feel like mine right now, and while I'm not really sure how to handle it...that doesn't give me an excuse to be a bitch to you."

"You weren't a-"

"It wasn't cool for me to ignore you all week." She tells him "It was incredibly immature and irresponsible of me, especially as a co-parent."

"I get why you did though." Beck shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets "I pissed you off."

"You were only trying to look out for me...and for her." Jade sighs as she rests a hand on her belly, visible even underneath her winter jacket "I was irritated, but that didn't give me the right to cut you off. I won't be able to do that when she's here."

"You're right, but I know you wouldn't do that." Beck assures her "And even though I was only trying to look out for you both...I could have communicated it better. I'm sorry too."

"No, Beck I-"

"You're growing a fucking human." He smiles, using her words from their argument "That's pretty hard, and I'm amazed by you for doing it. I need to be able to trust you to know your body...as long as you're both healthy...work as much as you want."

"I promise that the whole skipping a dinner thing was a complete fluke caused by a tight schedule." Jade says "I normally eat three meals a day, I never miss my vitamins...you can ask Cat."

"I don't need to ask Cat." He chuckles "I know you're telling the truth. I promise to stay out of your business as long as you promise to listen to your body and give yourself a break when you need it."

"Okay, deal."

"Can I hug you?"

"Sure." Jade smirks, opening her arms to him

"Thanks..." He smiles "I'm glad we fixed that."

"Me too." Jade admits "Oh and by the way? Whatever you and Cat worked on the other night? It did the trick. She called me on Saturday to tell me that they offered her Sophie. Her last show with Wicked is on Saturday and she starts rehearsals on December first."

"Really?" Beck grins "That's amazing for her."

"I know." Jade agrees "Thank you...for helping her as much as you have. I know she really appreciates it, and so do I."

"Of course." Beck nods "What are friends for?"