"Will you take the girls in through the garage?" Beck says to Jade, a sense of urgency in his voice "Please."

"Sure." Jade nods "C'mon, Chels."

"But..."

"Chelsea, go with Jade." Beck says sternly

"Beck..." Jade says with a voice of warning "Stay calm, okay?"

"Take them inside."

"Chelsea, come with me." Jade instructs her step-daughter "Let your dad handle it."

"What is she doing here?" Chelsea asks Jade as they approach the garage

"I have no idea." Jade admits as she flips open the keypad and enters the code to open the garage door "Your dad is going to talk to her and find out."

The commotion and sound of the garage door opening causes Aspen to stir and Jade begins to rub her back gently, hoping to keep her asleep long enough to get her inside and to her bed.

Jade has to admit, the woman's timing is impeccable. Of course she would show up on the day they return from their wedding, all ready to start their new and happy life together. Based on what Beck has told her about Alyssa, she doesn't have any concerns about her trying to win him back. Her husband absolutely detests his ex for a multitude of reasons, but that doesn't mean she won't try to make any advances on him. She also worries about the girls, about what kind of impact their birth mother just suddenly popping back into their lives could have on them. There's not a doubt in her mind that they'll be confused, and also upset based on the look on Chelsea's face.

"Hey." Jade says to catch the girl's attention as they enter the house "It's okay."

"I don't want her here..." Chelsea shakes her head "She's going to make everyone mad and sad again."

"Your dad and I won't let that happen." Jade brushes a stray lock of hair behind Chelsea's ear, then uses the same hand to lift her chin up so they can make eye contact "Seriously, Chelsea. I promise."

"Okay..."

"Go up to your room and grab a book, alright?" Jade tells her "I'll come in and read with you as soon as I put your sister in her room."

Chelsea nods and wordlessly turns to go upstairs, but not before pausing at the window for a moment to observe the scene unfolding outside. Jade is about to give her a reminder, but then she starts moving again...disappearing up the stairs and out of sight.

"Who was that?" Alyssa asks Beck, outside on the lawn

"My wife." Beck tells her, a passive-aggressive tone in his voice

"Like fuck she is." Alyssa chuckles "I'm your wife."

"Not anymore you're not"

"I don't remember signing any papers."

"Legally after a year and a day, if I can prove that I've made multiple attempts to contact you without any response and I go through the proper legal channels...I can divorce you." Beck informs her "Which I did, a year ago. The papers are inside, I would be more than happy to get you a copy."

"Jesus, I was joking." Alyssa sighs "Sorry."

"What the hell are you doing here, Alyssa?" Beck asks "We don't see you or hear from you for two years and then you just pop up one day out of the blue?"

The day after he gets married to the woman he should have been with all along.

Incredible timing, Alyssa.

"I came to see my kids." Alyssa tells him "Our kids."

"What if they don't want to see you?"

"Why wouldn't they want to see me?" Alyssa snaps "I'm their mother."

"Yeah, well...Chelsea hates you." Beck shrugs "And Aspen doesn't even know you."

"I thought we named her Ashlynn?"

"My point exactly." Beck nods "You're insane if you think I'm going to let you anywhere near them after what you put us all through."

"You can't do tha-"

"Get off my property, Alyssa." Beck orders her "This house is in my name, it's always been in just my name. If you don't leave, I'll call the police."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Watch me." Beck says, turning to walk into the house

"Alright fine, I'll go!" Alyssa yells after him "But I have a lawyer! And you'll be hearing from him!"

Shaking his head, Beck walks into the garage. He hits the button to close the large metal door, causing Alyssa to disappear from view. Frustrated, he enters the house and slams the door behind him. Less than a minute later, Jade is downstairs as well with a worried look on her face.

"Your children are upstairs." She reminds him "Don't go around slamming doors like that unless you're prepared to deal with their reactions."

"I'm sorry." He apologizes immediately "I'm just really pissed off."

"Why is she here?" Jade asks him "What did she want?"

"She wants to see the girls." Beck sighs, rubbing his temples "And she claims to have a lawyer, so..."

"Shit..." Jade exhales in disbelief "Beck, I'm so sorry."

"How's Chelsea?"

"Worried and confused." Jade answers him honestly "We were upstairs reading together but I came down when I heard the door slam...do you think she really has a lawyer?"

"She very well could, yeah..." Beck nods "Dammit!"

"Hey, it's okay..." Jade isn't sure if she's trying to assure her husband or herself "We can get a lawyer too, and if she wants to go to court then fine. No judge is going to side with her."

"Jade, I'm so sorry." Beck apologizes "This isn't how we should be spending our first day married..."

"No, no, no...don't apologize..." Jade says quietly, taking her husband's face in her hands "We're in this together. For better or worse, remember?"

"You deserve better."

"There's no one better than you."

She leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to his lips. She wishes she could take it further than a kiss, but it doesn't exactly seem like the best time and Chelsea is awake upstairs.

"I'm going to go check on Chelsea..." Beck sighs after they break away from their kiss "See if I can explain this in a way that won't confuse her further..."

"I'll go grab the bags from the car." Jade tells him "Take your time."

"Fuck, I should do that first." He shakes his head "We just got married, I should get the bags."

"I can get the bags." She assures him "Fuck the gender norms."

"That's my girl." Beck manages to chuckle "Hopefully we'll be down in a few."

"Like I said, take your time."

Alyssa does in fact have a lawyer, and plans to petition Beck for shared custody of Chelsea and Aspen.

Of course Beck is furious, as is everyone who had been around him when Alyssa fled his life two years prior. She had caused so much damage, and no one wants to see Beck go through that again. They also don't want the girls anywhere near her if she's still exhibiting the same behaviors she had been when she was married to Beck.

"According to the documents provided by her lawyer, she's been clean for over a year now...and spent a few months in a rehab facility in Sioux Falls prior to that."

A friend of Beck's father, Richard Miller, had agreed to be his lawyer while he works through the legal process with his ex-wife. If it were up to Beck, Alyssa wouldn't have any custody or any visitation rights at all, but it doesn't look as if he's going to get his way.

"What does that mean for us then?" Beck asks, shifting uncomfortably in his seat

"It means you need to keep yourself in line and cooperate." Richard sighs "Do what the court asks you to do, provide what they ask you to provide, and we'll go from there."

"Do you think there's actually a chance a judge could side with her?"

"There's definitely a chance." Richard nods "Unfortunately, the courts love a good rehabilitation story. And what's more heartwarming than a mother who got her act together and came back for her daughters?"

"A father who gave up everything to raise them as a single parent?" Jade interjects

"Not now, Jade..."

"Sorry."

"We can fight it." Richard assures them "If that's what you want. I can-"

"That's what I want." Beck cuts him off "I don't want that woman anywhere near my children."

"Alright." Richard agrees as he stands up "I'll be in touch in the next few days then. In the meantime, try to keep as normal of a routine as you can."

"Of course." Beck "Thank you, Richard."

"Don't thank me yet..." The older man sighs "This is just the beginning of the fight, I'm afraid."

Beck stands up as well to walk Richard out, and Jade grabs all three of their glasses and carries them over to the sink to wash them along with the rest of the evening's dishes. It had been a whirlwind few days for them, trying to figure out the best course of action to take with Alyssa. The whole thing makes Jade uncomfortable, for multiple reasons. This isn't at all how she had pictured her first week of wedded bliss, if one could even call it that at this point.

"Want some help?" Beck asks as he returns to the kitchen "You wash, I'll dry?"

"Sure." Jade nods "Thanks."

"I'm sorry about all of this." Beck apologizes "Really. If I had any idea that she was going to-"

"It's alright, Beck." Jade stops him "Really. I promise."

"Are you sure you're alright?" He says to his wife "You seem...off..."

He understands that the situation is taxing on all of them, but she definitely hadn't seem like herself the past few days.

"All of this is just bringing back a lot of shit I would rather not relive, you know?" Jade admits "The lawyers, all the talk of custody, and blah, blah, blah."

"Oh shit, I didn't even think about that..." Beck sighs "Jade, I'm sorry."

"I don't want to tell you what to do here, Beck..." Jade says quietly as she hands a freshly-washed plate to him "But if it comes back that she's legit, that she actually went to rehab and got clean and now wants to see them...I don't think we should deny her that."

"Jade-"

"I know you want to protect them." Jade adds quickly "But we shouldn't deny them a relationship with her if she's actually trying to be better. I would've given anything for more time with my step-dad but my dad denied me that...look what happened."

"What if she's not legit though?" Beck counters "Believe me, Jade...I'm more than sensitive to what happened with you and your step-dad and I agree that it fucking sucks but...you don't know Alyssa. She can be manipulative and mean and I don't want the girls around that."

"I just said 'if'." Jade reminds him "I know there's a chance that it's all a lie and she's just doing this to get a rise out of you but-"

"I get it." Beck stops her "I...we'll just take it one step at a time and see what Richard suggests...and see what happens."

"That's all I ask."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"If we weren't married..." Beck begins "And all of this was happening...would it scare you away?"

"Absolutely not." Jade answers him quickly and truthfully "I could never walk away from the three of you...no matter how much drama or whatever else."

"You know I love you, right?" Beck smirks, leaning over to kiss her "Like a lot?"

"Yeah, I know." Jade smiles "I love you too."