"Do we have to come with you to the hospital when the baby is born?" Harper asks
"No." Jade shakes her head, folding another onesie and placing it in the open drawer beneath the newly assembled changing table "You'll either go with Grandma or Annie."
"We go with Grandma all the time." Harper points out as she hands Jade another onesie to fold "Can we please go with Annie and Uncle Robbie?"
"I'll talk to them about it." Jade chuckles "We'll have to see."
Even though Harper is plenty old enough to correctly say 'Auntie' or 'Aunt Cat' she still refers to her mother's best friend as 'Annie', the nickname she had given her when she first started speaking and had trouble pronouncing certain sounds. It was adorable, and no one wanted to correct her. Even Drew refers to Cat as 'Annie' now, taking the lead from his older sister.
"Mom look!" Drew calls from across the room "I'm helping!"
A huge grin is plastered across the five year-old's face as he carefully twists a screwdriver to help attach the two pieces of the crib Beck is holding together. Of course Beck will go back and double check or reinforce all of the screws to make sure the crib is one thousand percent safe for the baby, but Drew had been so anxious and so excited to help he just couldn't say no.
"Look at you, Mr. Helper!" Jade smiles "Good job!"
Jade had been worried how Drew especially would initially react to the news of the baby. For his whole life he had been the baby and wasn't used to sharing that attention, but so far he seems to be excited about the idea of being a big brother. Harper has done quite a bit to help hype the idea up to him as well, proving what Jade already knew to be true...Harper is a fantastic big sister.
"How much longer until the baby gets here?" Drew asks, handing the screwdriver to Beck and walking over to Jade and Harper "Soon?"
"About another month still." Jade tells him, wrapping an arm around her son as he leans his head against her side "Careful, watch the baby."
"Sorry, baby." Drew apologizes, patting his mother's abdomen gently before looking up at her "Then do we get to have the wedding?"
"Then we can start thinking about planning the wedding." Jade chuckles "That one is still a long way off."
They told the kids about both the baby and the engagement on the same day, which looking back might have been a mistake. Although they're growing and maturing, Harper and Drew are still quite young, six and five respectively, and there is a lot that they still don't understand. They know a baby is coming, and that's exciting. They also know that their mom plans to marry Beck, and they're still not entirely sure what that means but Mom said they get to have a party when that happens...and that's exciting too. They also know that after the wedding, Beck will be their 'step-dad'...which was explained to them as kind of like having a bonus dad...and that sounds pretty cool.
"But I want Beck to be my bonus dad already!" Drew whines
"I'm already your bonus dad, kiddo." Beck assures him, still working on the crib across the room "I love you, you love me...the wedding won't change that. All the wedding will do is put it put it on a piece of paper. It's not going to change anything. Relationships are what matter, not pieces of paper."
"So can we call you Dad then?" Harper asks
Beck and Jade both look up from what they're doing and share a surprised look that they try their best to mask from the kids. Deep down they both knew it would be a possibility that Harper would be the one to one day ask that question, but they expected it to come when she was much older. She hasn't spent a weekend with Andrew since the day she originally threw a fit and refused to go, and she hasn't seen him in person since Christmas. It's no surprise that she would look to Beck as a replacement.
"What about Dad though?" Drew speaks up before either adult has the chance to say anything
The boy's relationship with his father is still on relatively good terms. In fact, he's confused by his sister's dislike of him and often gets upset with her every other weekend when she opts to stay home.
"You can call me whatever you want." Beck speaks up quickly before Harper can respond with a potentially hurtful comment about Andrew "Beck...Dad...Bonus Dad...literally whatever. I would just prefer you stay away from Butt Face or Meanie or anything like that."
His last comment makes both Harper and Drew giggle, and Beck can see the tension in Jade's face relax a bit. Obviously her children's relationship with her fiancé will be different from the one they have with Sydney because they'll be around Beck more often and live with him full-time. She would never want to edge Andrew out in any way, but she also doesn't want to deny Harper and Drew a positive and healthy relationship with Beck if they're able to form one.
"I'm going to call you Dad." Harper says matter-of-factly
"I..." Drew hesitates "I like calling you Beck."
"Both of those things are fine." Beck assures both kids "Like I said, it's whatever you want."
"We're close to getting shoulders out!" The doctor says "One more push, Jade! You can do it!"
Jade had gone into labor two weeks early, which wasn't surprising given that she's having her third baby. However, this is Beck's first baby and he thought that he had more time to prepare. He's been a nervous wreck from the moment they arrived at the hospital, while Jade has stayed calm and collected the entire time.
"Are you okay?" She looks up at him
"Who ares about me. Are you okay?"
"I'm okay." She nods "I'm okay."
"One more push, you can do it." Beck presses a kiss to the top of her head "Let's meet this little guy."
Jade's face twists with discomfort as another contraction hits and she begins pushing again. Beck is absolutely in awe of his fiancé and her ability to handle the entire process with such grace. He's so in awe, in fact, that he barely notices the screams that fill the room.
"He's here, Jade!" Beck gasps when his eyes land on the baby "You did it, he's here!"
"He's here..." Jade smiles, relaxing as she falls against the pillows behind her
"I'm so proud of you..." Beck tells her as a nurse places the crying infant on her chest "Oh look at him..."
"Hey little dude..." Jade smiles down at the baby, pulling the towel up around his body "Oh, I know. It's so cold out here, huh? Don't worry, we'll get you all wrapped up nice and warm real soon."
Beck feels like his heart quadruples in size as he watches Jade interact with the newborn. She's confirming what he already knew to be true, she's a phenomenal mother. Watching her immediately love the life they had created together makes him love her even more than he thought he could.
"I love you, Jade." He tells her pulling her hair behind her shoulder so it's away from the baby
"I love you too." Jade smiles up at him, then turns back to the baby "Look at him, he's perfect."
"He certainly is." Beck agrees "Just like his mom."
Once the baby is taken to be cleaned up, Beck starts texting and calling everyone they know. The first person being Cat, who had been more than willing to care for Harper and Drew when Jade had asked. The baby receives a clean bill of health, weighing in at seven pounds and two ounces.
"He's so cute..." Harper coos, standing beside Jade's hospital bed a few hours later "Hi little baby..."
"He's small." Drew remarks "Like...very small."
Cat and Jade share an amused look with one another, remembering that Harper had a similar reaction when she was introduced to Leah and Natalie. That had also been the day that she asked her mother for another 'little baby', and now almost four years later...she finally has one.
"Babies have to be small, Drew." Harper tells him "How else are they supposed to fit in their mommies' tummies?"
"I still don't know how they get in there..."
"That's a conversation for another time." Jade tells her children "Do you want to know his name?"
"Yeah!" Both children cheer in unison, causing the sleeping baby to wince at the sound
"Quiet, remember." Cat reminds them "There are lots of mommies and babies here trying to rest, if you're too loud we have to leave."
"Sorry..."
"Yeah, sorry." Harper agrees "Can we know his name now?"
"Jacob." Jade tells them, rocking the baby gently as she smiles over at Beck "Jacob Dean Oliver-West."
They had decided to hyphenate the baby's name, because Jade wouldn't be changing her's when they get married. She had already created a name for herself in the entertainment industry as 'West' and didn't want to undo any of that.
She also didn't want Harper and Drew to feel left out by having a different last name than the rest of them. There had been a brief discussion about hyphenating their names as well, to be Harper and Andrew Powell-Oliver, if Jade had decided to change her's, so that they had a connection to their new brother and to Beck. Ultimately in the end they decided against it, because doing so would technically take the 'III' off of the end of Drew's name, and Jade knew Andrew would never allow that.
In the end, Jade is keeping her name, Harper and Drew are keeping their's, and Jacob will share Beck and Jade's. As Beck had once said, the relationships are what matter...not what the papers say.
"That's a strong name." Cat grins "I love it."
"Thanks." Beck chuckles "So do we."
"We're going to call him Jake." Jade adds "What do you guys think?"
"I like it!" Harper says
"Me too!" Drew agrees "Hi Jake! I'm Drew! I'm your brother!"
"And I'm your sister! I'm Harper!"
Beck and Jade share another look of adoration as the kids continue to fawn over their new brother. With just one look, they both know what the other is thinking. That they're so in love with each other...thankful for each other...thankful for the children sitting between them...and thankful for this life.
Next chapter is an epilogue and will be the last! Thank you all for reading!