Of course.

Of fucking course.

Of course his name had to be on the list of auditioning actors when her casting director handed it to her that morning. Jade hadn't seen or heard from Beck Oliver in twelve years, and he just happens to pop up to audition for the main role of the first project she gets to lead herself.

It's not that she necessarily has anything against Beck, there's just an undeniable history between them both. Normally when someone runs into their ex, they want to be better off than they are. Beck is happily married to a gorgeous choreographer, Jade's engagement is on the rocks. He's definitely doing better than she is in that respect. She keeps reminding herself that she has something Beck doesn't...two beautiful children. There's nothing that could possibly be better than that.

The most frustrating aspect of all though is that Beck was the best audition they saw all day. The author of the series and the casting director both loved him. He's talented, and he fits the profile of what they're looking for. As much as Jade hates to admit it, he's the best person for the job. There's no choice left but to offer him the part. Normally the director would be the person to make that call, which would be Jade in this case. She wants to minimize the amount of awkward interactions she has with him though, and she knows they have plenty coming up, so she makes up a lie about Drew not feeling well and asks her casting director to call him instead.

"I have more auditions today." Jade announces as she emerges from the nursery with Drew in her arms "Sydney will be here in about an hour."

After the incident they had the week prior with Andrew not choosing a reliable babysitter, they, or more so Jade, thought it would be a good idea to find a nanny to have on call when they needed. With Jade working more, they can't expect her parents to drop their lives just to be around to watch the kids. Much to Jade's surprise, Andrew had actually been somewhat involved in the vetting process. He clearly didn't care who Harper got left with, but she can imagine that he would want his son taken care of. In the end they chose Sydney, a twenty-four year-old with a degree in Child Development and the energy to keep up with two young children.

"I thought you already cast a guy." Andrew raises an eyebrow at her

Jade realizes he most likely isn't inquiring because he cares, but because he wants to know if there's actually any validity to her leaving him on his own with the kids for an hour before the nanny arrives.

"We did." She sighs "But there are multiple characters in the show, can't have one actor playing them all."

"Got it..." Andrew nods, walking over to take the baby from her "What's up, Little Dude?"

"He just ate, so he's set for a few hours." Jade informs him "Let Sydney know there's extra milk in the freezer if he gets hungry before I get home."

"In the freezer." Andrew repeats "Got it."

"Harper?" Jade calls out to the toddler "Come here please!"

"I coming!" Harper announces, toddling down the hallway from her own bedroom as fast as her small legs will carry her "Hi Mama!"

"Hi." Jade smiles as she picks her daughter up "I'm going to work now, okay? Be good for Daddy and then for Sydney."

"I be good." Harper nods

"I know you will be." Jade kisses her cheek "I love you."

"Wuv woo." Harper giggles as Jade sets her down

"Bye baby boy..." Jade coos, tickling Drew's tummy before pressing a kiss to his forehead "I'll see you later."

"Good luck with the auditions." Andrew tells her as she turns to leave

"Thanks..." Jade responds "I'll see you tonight."

Their relationship is in trouble, and Jade knows it's mostly her fault. Before she knew she was pregnant with Harper, she wanted to break up with him. She knew the spark was gone, and she knew that he was too immature for a serious relationship with any feet to stand on. But she wanted to keep the baby, and she wanted the baby to have a chance at having parents who were actually together...unlike she had growing up. She excused a lot of his behavior for too long, and now that she's finally calling him out on some of it...he's getting defensive. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say...Jade knows know she could have kept Harper without being in a relationship with Andrew. But then she wouldn't have Drew, her other baby.

She can't imagine life without either of their children, but she has no idea what to do about their father.

Andrew has plenty of redeemable qualities. He's funny, and he's decent with the kids when he actually wants to attempt to be their parent. He's passionate and dedicated to his work. He isn't unattractive either and he's great in bed. But as it's been pointed out so many times before, he's immature...he likes to get his way and can transform into another person when he doesn't. She doesn't like that other person, she can't imagine their children would either if they were old enough to understand. He's defensive and sometimes rude. Not to mention he's barely touched her since Drew was born...

Jade wants what's best for her children, and she's still trying to figure out if that means trying to make things work with Andrew or leaving him. Of course, this isn't the best time for her to be trying to work all of that out either...her professional life is starting to skyrocket. She has a show to get off the ground.

However, if she waits too long to try to work on things with Andrew...their relationship might be damaged past the point of ever going back.