Beck and Jade's date that following Friday goes well, and they plan a third for the following week. That third date goes well too, so they plan a fourth...this time a double date to the movies with Tori and Andre. By the time their fifth date rolls around, both Beck and Jade are feeling like there are going to end up being too many dates to count.

That terrifies them both, each for different reasons. Jade is the first girl Beck has dated since his daughters' mother, and the thought of having his heartbroken the way it was before makes him cautious. Jade doesn't seem like the type to go and do what his ex-wife had done, but then again...she hadn't seemed like the type in the beginning either. It's also not just him anymore, he has Chelsea and Aspen to think about now too. What if he introduces this woman to them and they fall in love with her? And then what if things don't work out and all three of them are left hurting? Beck doesn't want to do that to his girls, but he also doesn't want to not put the effort into a relationship that has the potential to be great just because he's scared.

Jade still worries that becoming a step-mother might be too big of a responsibility for her. She had childhood experiences that certainly prove that it's the case for some people. The thought of hurting a child the way that she was hurt scares her, but so does the thought of losing Beck. He's...the best guy she's ever dated, hands down. Not only is he attractive but he's genuinely a great person, and he's thoughtful and attentive and everything her exes have been lacking. She doesn't want her own fear to get in the way and ruin what has the potential to be a really great relationship, but she also doesn't want to hurt anyone.

"I think it goes without saying at this point..." Beck says as he and Jade walk hand-in-hand along the path beside the Connecticut River "But I'd really like to see you again."

They had just finished dinner at a restaurant not too far away, but the sun is just barely setting and the two of them wanted to spend some more time together. Beck suggested that they walk along the riverwalk for a while, a path that runs beside the river for a bit before leading into a park, looping around, and coming back to the river.

"I'd like that too." Jade nods "But..."

"But what?" Beck suddenly feels panicked

"I dunno, I just feel like we should maybe talk about what we are." Jade admits "What...this...is. We've been on, what? Five dates now? You seem like you want to plan a sixth...are we still just having fun and getting to know each other? Or is it something more serious?"

"I think it has the potential to be." Beck tells her "Something more serious, that is. But..."

"But?"

"My girls." Beck sighs "They're great, and I know they would love you if they got the chance to meet you. But are you open to that?"

"I am." Jade nods

The words surprise her as they leave her mouth; she had spoken without thinking, which she supposes had revealed her true feelings to both Beck and herself.

"I would want to take things slow with them though." Jade continues before Beck has the chance to respond "I...I know from experience that if you're not careful about how you introduce your child to a new partner...things can get messy. And I've had enough messy to last a lifetime, I'm sure you have too. But-"

"We'll take things slow, and we'll do it carefully." Beck assures her, taking her hand in his again "I agree with you that's the best course of action to take."

"Okay."

"So...are you my girlfriend?" Beck smirks, pulling Jade close to him "Can I say that?"

"I guess I am your girlfriend, yeah." Jade laughs, caught a bit off balance

She quickly steadies herself as Beck wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in for a kiss. Yeah...he's still a great kisser, Jade decides. Her boyfriend is a great kisser. Under normal circumstances, she would take him home and rip his clothes off...but these certainly aren't normal circumstances. Her boyfriend... she's still getting used to the idea of that...has two children at home. Those two children had to come from somewhere...and she has no idea what the situation is with his ex. If she's going to be involved in his life, and eventually his girls' lives...she feels like she should know.

"Beck?" She says as they break away from their kiss "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." He nods "What is it?"

"Your ex...your girls' mom..." Jade begins "What happened?"

"It's a long story..." He tells her, leading her over to a bench beside the path "It's not really something I like to open up about, but if we're in a relationship now...you have the right to know what happened."

"I'm here to listen." She assures him as they sit down "Zero judgement."

She loops her left arm around his right one, and places her right hand on his knee, a signal that she's listening to him and he has her undivided attention.

"We went to high school together, I guess I should start there." Beck sighs "We started dating our sophomore year. I had gone out with a few other girls before her but it was nothing serious because, well...I was fifteen. But she was my first serious relationship."

"What was her name?" Jade asks him

"Alyssa." He responds "Alyssa Moore."

"Alyssa." Jade repeats "Okay, sorry to interrupt."

"No, it's fine. I should have led with that." Beck chuckles a bit, but his tone quickly turns serious again "We dated for most of sophomore year, all of junior year and things looked great as we headed into senior year...but right before Christmas that year we found out she was pregnant. It hadn't been on purpose, of course, we thought we were being careful but somehow it still happened. I dunno...things just...changed. Our parents were pissed, and they had every right to be. We decided we were going to keep the baby though, because it felt like the right thing to do. We got married too, again because it felt like the right thing. We skipped Prom to do it actually...all of our friends went to Prom and we went to the courthouse with our parents as witnesses."

Jade thinks back to her own senior prom night; she had gotten drunk and had sex with her boyfriend at the time...then woke up the next morning and went to the beach with her friends. Beck had gotten married...they had been in two very different stages of life, despite being the same age.

"Chelsea was born in July." Beck continues "I had never been so simultaneously excited and scared out of my mind at once. From the moment I held her I was so in love with her, but so terrified to let anything bad happen to her too. We did our best though...or I did at least. We moved in with my parents, but things were still hard. Alyssa definitely felt like she was missing out on something, all of our friends were going off to college and starting new lives and partying and we were stuck in our hometown with a newborn. I never had plans to go to college, I always planned to start my apprenticeship right after I graduated and that's what I did, but it was really hard for her. I tried to give her as many opportunities to still go out and be young as I could...I was always tired on Friday and Saturday nights anyway so I didn't mind staying home with the baby but...now I feel like maybe I should have done things differently."

"What do you mean?" Jade asks him

"Chelsea was around six months old when Alyssa started drinking." Beck tells her "It was harmless at first, she was doing what any other nineteen year-old would...but as time went on it started to get more serious. I tried to talk to her about it but she claimed it was fine...but it was a problem. She was an alcoholic by twenty-two...and I told myself that I had to do everything I could to try to help her because my daughter deserved to have a mom that was present and involved in her life...but then drinking led to drugs and I just knew..."

He stops for a moment to collect himself, he's becoming emotional and Jade can't blame him. That would be a lot for anyone to handle, let alone someone who was as young as he was when he was going through it.

"The second pregnancy wasn't planned either." Beck finally says "She wanted to abort it but I thought that maybe...it could be a chance for her to get clean, you know? Some motivation that she didn't have before. But I couldn't trust her...and we couldn't afford for me to stop working to watch her all day, and it felt like too big of an ask for any of our parents...the only choice I really had was to sent her to rehab...and she hated me for it. I knew it was for her own good and for the baby's but that didn't make it any easier."

"Oh my god, Beck..."

"Aspen was born healthy, and that's what is important." Beck smiles at the thought of his daughter "I was naive to think that we would be one happy family after that...a week after we brought the baby home from the hospital, Alyssa packed all of her shit up and left. I haven't heard from her since."

"Jesus, I'm so sorry." Jade wraps him up in a tight hug "I can't even imagine..."

"It's okay, it was for the best, I think." He tells her "The girls...they didn't need that in their life...obviously I couldn't stay married to her if that's how she was going to act...and she couldn't handle the responsibility of being a parent. So she got her freedom, and the girls and I got ours...I'm divorced, by the way. After a year if you provide all of the proof that you've tried reaching out to the person and go through the proper channels...you can get divorced. We're not adulterers."

They both laugh at his ability to find humor in the situation, but Jade suddenly feels more scared than ever. These girls need a mother-figure in their life, she sure as hell had, but can she be that for them? She reminds herself that Beck said they're going to do things slowly and carefully but she's still a bit frightened. Yet...not frightened enough that she wants to walk away from him. She still wants to do this with him, she still wants to be his girlfriend. There's something about him that she just can't walk away from.

"That was the furthest thought from my mind..." Jade chuckles, rubbing his arm gently "Thank you...for sharing all of that with me, Beck. I...I'm glad I know. And while it's absolutely horrible that you and your family had to go through all of that...I'm glad that it allowed for the two of us to meet."

"Yeah." Beck agrees, a slight smile forming on his lips "Me too."