"Who live here, Mama?" Harper asks as she follows Jade to Beck's front door

"Uh, my friend Beck." Jade tells her "He works with me."

"Beck?"

"Yeah, you met him once." She says "When you were littler."

"Okay."

"There will be other kids here for you to play with." Jade assures her "Don't worry."

"Is Annie here?" Harper looks up at Jade, using her nickname for Cat

"Auntie will be, yeah." Jade nods "And Uncle Robbie and Leah and Natalie, but there will be some new people for you to meet too. Oh Drew, let me help."

She reaches down to help her son, who is becoming more independent and insists on walking everywhere himself when possible, up the front steps of the house.

"No!" Drew swats her hand away "I do!"

"Alright, alright, you do it." Jade chuckles, raising her hands in surrender "I'm here if you need help."

There are only three steps, but it takes the toddler close to ten minutes to make his way up them by himself. He's still a bit uncoordinated so it's hard for him to walk up them upright, one foot in front of the other, like his mother and older sister do. In the end he ends up half crawling, half climbing, up the small staircase. It would have been much easier for Jade to just carry him, but she knows allowing him to have this kind of independent experiences is crucial to his development.

"I do it!" Drew cheers when he reaches the top of the final step

"Good job, Drew!" Jade cheers for him as she rings the bell "You did it all by yourself!"

It's very clear to anyone who knows her personally that Jade's son has inherited her temperament, even Jade herself can see herself in him sometimes. Drew is independent and has a very strong 'I'll just do it myself' kind of attitude, just like his mother.

"Hey!" Beck smiles when he opens the door "Good to see you guys."

"You too." Jade nods "Thanks, uh...thanks for having us."

"Sure." Beck opens the door wider for them to step inside "Come on in."

"Hi!" A little boy around Harper's age appears suddenly

Jade knows immediately that he must be Tori and Andre's older son. The boy looks exactly like his father, right down to his dreadlocks, and smiles like his mother. She recognizes him from their instagram posts.

"Hey." Jade greets him "You must be Hendrix."

"Mom calls me Henri."

"Henri, got it." Jade chuckles "This is Harper and Drew."

"Hi." Harper waves shyly

"Hi." Hendrix waves back "Wanna play cars?"

"Cars!" Drew exclaims, already beginning to toddle after the other child

Harper looks up at Jade, a bit more hesitant, like she's waiting for confirmation that it's okay to follow her brother.

"You can go." Jade assures her "Just remember your manners, okay?"

"Okay!"

"God, he's all Andre, isn't he?" Jade turns to Beck as the kids run off

"He is." Beck agrees "They brought a bunch of toys and he's kind of set up camp in the living room. Everyone else is in the kitchen. C'mon."

Jade sets her bag down by the other's near the door, one of which she already knows to be Cat's, and follows Beck through the foyer and into the kitchen. The house is large, probably still more space than just one person needs, but she knows that Beck has the money to live this way.

"Hi Jadey!" Cat grins when she walks in

She's sitting at a barstool at the island holding one of the twins while Robbie stands beside her holding the other. Tori sits on the stool next to her, holding her younger son, and Andre sits on the third stool beside her.

For the first time since that night in Tori's backyard over a decade ago, all six members of their high school friend group are together in the same place again.

"Hey everyone." Jade gives a small wave to them all

She immediately regrets it, feeling awkward. She sees Beck at work every day and Cat and Robbie almost as frequently. It's really only Tori and Andre she hasn't seen for a while, probably not since college.

Wordlessly, Tori stands up from her stool and hands the baby to Andre and then walks over to Jade. The two women stare at each other for a moment, trying to remember the last time they saw each other. Spring break of their freshman year of college, they both conclude. A few seconds pass, and then a few more, and then they both move to hug each other at the same time.

"S'good to see you." Tori tells her

"You too." Jade agrees "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tori assures her, breaking the hug "Adulthood tends to get in the way."

There's no real reason the group fell apart. People went to school in different places, made new friends, came home less frequently, and the relationships that weren't as strong took a back seat. Jade had known Cat for almost her entire life, Beck had known Andre for almost all of his...Tori and Robbie tagged along with their spouses. No ill will, just...distance and passing time.

"Right." Jade nods in agreement, walking towards the island "Hey, 'Dre."

"Good to see you, Jade." Andre smiles, then looks to the baby on his lap "This is Cruz."

"Nice to meet you, Cruz." Jade plays with the baby's hand "Uh, Hendrix intercepted my two at the door. I'm sure they'll find their way in here eventually."

"Doesn't surprise me." Tori chuckles, sitting back down again "He's probably thrilled to have someone new to play cars with. Andre and I aren't nearly as excited about it anymore as he would like us to be."

"I play cars with him every damn day." Andre shakes his head "I have no idea how he still finds it interesting."

"Mine like cars, don't worry." Jade assures them

Beck watches and listens as his friends discuss their children and their habits, comparing and contrasting the experiences they've had with their little ones. Part of him enjoys it, mostly because they're back together again and it feels like old times...just with different conversation topics. The other part of him, however, feels like he's missing out on something wonderful, which brings up a whole other range of emotions for him. Sad because he still longs for fatherhood, sad because Bianca hadn't wanted the same things that he had, but a bit at peace as well...knowing that moving on from Bianca will help him get to where he wants to be, and maybe one day soon he'll be able to join these conversations too.

"Our paths have crossed a few times." Andre shrugs "Can't say I would be all that upset if they never crossed again."

"Andre!" Tori hisses

"What?"

"His kids are here!"

"Believe me, it's fine. He's asleep and she's not listening." Jade assures them both "And I agree with you, unfortunately our paths will be crossing for the next seventeen or so years at least."

The group has moved to the living room now, Andre and Tori on one couch, Cat, Robbie, and Beck on another, and Jade in an armchair. Hendrix and Harper are still playing on the floor, completely immersed in the game that they've made up and oblivious to the adults, while Drew is fast asleep on Jade's lap, his head resting comfortably against her chest.

There has been a lot of catching up, trips they've taken, projects they're working on, people that they've either worked with or want to work with. Inevitably, Jade and Andrew's separation had come up. Knowing that Andre is a music producer like Andrew, Jade isn't surprised to hear that they had interacted with each other before despite working with different genres. Andre tends to work more with pop and hip-hop groups, while Andrew's work is more alternative.

"He was just so..." Andre hesitates "What's the word I'm looking for..."

"Whiny?" Jade offers "Immature? Childish? Temperamental?"

"I was going to say cocky." Andre chuckles "But all of those would probably work too."

"He put on a good show..." Jade sighs "Hid those true colors for a decent amount of time."

"At least you have two awesome kids to show for it." Beck reminds her

"Yeah I do..." Jade looks down at Drew, rubbing his back gently "But there are times I wish we had chosen a different name for this guy."

That causes everyone to laugh, which brings Jade some relief because she really did mean it as a joke. Both of her children are absolutely perfect in her eyes, regardless of who their father is.

"This is so nice!" Cat remarks, a goofy smile on her face "We should do this again sometime without the kids."

"Too bad someone is getting ready to leave on tour." Jade reminds her

"Not until January!"

"So we'll do it before then." Andre shrugs "I'd be down, if the schedules allow."

"Boss, does my schedule allow for it?" Beck looks over to Jade

"I don't know yet." She admits "And don't call me that, it's weird."

"S'not a lie though."

"Still weird."

"Sorry, Boss."

"I'll write your character off."

"No you won't."

"You're right." Jade sighs with a smirk "That would kill the ratings. I'll save it for the final season."

No one will say it out loud, but it's a relief to see Beck and Jade exchanging playful banter and getting along. The last time they had all been together like this, that definitely hadn't been the case. They had all been a lot younger then, practically children. It just goes to show what time and maturity can do, how it can help people grow, and how it can bring a group of friends back together.