"There you go, baby bear..." Jade smiles as she smooths down the baby's hair "I know...being born can really make you work up one hell of an appetite, huh?"
Alyssa didn't breastfeed either one of the girls when they were born. She opted not to with Chelsea because she was a teenager and embarrassed, and never really had the opportunity to with Aspen. Beck doesn't have much experience with it, but after watching Jade and their son...he thinks it's beautiful.
"Are we going to call him Baby Bear?" Beck asks "Or should we fill out his birth certificate?"
"I thought we already chose his name?" Jade responds as she finishes feeding the baby "Are you second guessing it?"
"No, not at all." Beck assures her "I love it! I just wanted to make sure you do too."
"I do, yeah." Jade nods, looking down at her son "I think it's perfect for him."
"Alright, I'll let the nurse know when she comes in-"
He stops when he hears the sound of running coming from the hallway, followed by giggles. Both he and Jade share a knowing look, as it's obvious that their daughters have arrived. Beck stands up to meet them at the doorway to talk to them before they come into the room.
"There's Daddy!" Aspen grins when she sees him "Hi Daddy!"
"Hi baby." He chuckles as his youngest daughter runs to hug his legs, followed closely behind by her older sister "You guys need to keep your voices low, okay? Whispers? There are a lot of babies around here trying to sleep...including your brother."
"Can we meet him?" Chelsea asks with hopeful eyes "Please?"
"You can, yeah." Beck smiles "He's right in here. But remember, quiet voices, okay?"
"Okay..." Both girls nod
Beck says hello to his parents, who had been the ones to bring Aspen and Chelsea to the hospital, and hugs them both before leading the group inside Jade's hospital room. All four of the visitors audibly gasp when they spot the newborn in Jade's arms, causing both her and Beck to grin almost instinctively.
"Mama..." Aspen says as she runs over to the bed "I missed you!"
"I missed you too..." Jade smiles as Beck lifts her onto the bed "Do you want to see the baby?"
"Hi baby..." Aspen waves, careful to keep her voice down like Beck had warned her to "It's a little baby."
"Yeah, he's pretty little."
"I remember when you were a little baby like that, Pen." Chelsea tells her as she appears beside Jade "Um..."
"Are you okay Chels?" Jade asks her, noticing the worried look that had suddenly crossed Chelsea's face "Hey...look at me. What's wrong?"
"I...I..." Chelsea stammers
The nine year old is quickly becoming very worked up, and Jade can't imagine why. She had been so excited about her new baby brother and now that she has the chance to meet him, she almost looks...scared.
"Beck..." Jade looks from Chelsea to her husband, the look in her eyes saying everything that he needs to hear
"Hey Chels, come with me real quick..." Beck wraps an arm carefully around his daughter "Let's go get a drink of water."
Chelsea wordlessly follows her father out into the hallway and allows him to take her hand as they start walking towards the water fountain at the end of the corridor. Beck doesn't say anything at first and allows his daughter to just catch her breath, she had been close to hyperventilating back in Jade's room. Once she's gotten a drink of water, he leads her over to some of the plastic chairs in the waiting area and they both sit.
"What happened, kiddo?" He asks her "You got really upset when you saw your brother."
"I remembered when you brought me here to visit Pen when she was born..." Chelsea admits "She was born here too, right?"
"You both were, actually." Beck nods "Why did that make you so upset?"
"I wasn't upset...I'm scared." Chelsea tells him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes "When Pen was born...our first mom...that was when she left. I love Mom, I don't want her to leave! I don't want everyone to be sad again!"
"Oh my god, Chels..." Beck frowns, wrapping his daughter up in a hug "Your mom isn't going anywhere, I promise."
"How do you know?"
"Because she loves us all very very much, she's never going to go anywhere." Beck assures her, rubbing her back gently "She'll tell you that herself too. She's going to be with us forever. We're all going to go home in a few days and be a big happy family. Forever and ever."
"Promise?"
"I promise, kiddo..." Beck presses a kiss to the top of Chelsea's head before hugging her again "No one is going anywhere."
He gives Chelsea a few minutes to calm down and collect herself, then the two of them walk back to Jade's hospital room together. Beck realizes now what he has always known deep down, that even though Jade is present in the girls' life and the absolute best thing that could have happened to them, Alyssa's actions will cause side effects for years to come...possibly even for a lifetime.
"Hey..." Jade greets them as they enter the room "Everything okay?"
"Uh huh..." Chelsea nods as she walks back over to the bed
Jade gives her husband a questioning look, searching for more of an explanation. He mouths the word 'later' to her, a signal that he'll fill her in sometime when Aspen and Chelsea aren't around. This is a happy moment, and he doesn't want to dwell.
"Can we know his name now?" Aspen asks hopefully
She had already asked Jade about it once, but had been told both of her parents wanted to tell her and her sister together. Now that Chelsea has returned, she's anxious to know what her little brother's name is.
"I think so, yeah." Jade smirks "Dad? What do you think?"
"Go ahead." Beck smiles
"So, I told your dad that I thought both of your middle names were just so so cool." Jade explains "You're both named after two really talented actresses that he really admired, did you know that?"
"Yeah." Chelsea nods "Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor."
"Exactly." Jade confirms "Obviously we weren't going to name him after an actress, because he's a boy. But, when your dad and I first started dating, we watched a movie called 'Notorious' starring an actor named Cary Grant...and he's one of your dad's favorites. So when we first started talking about names...we new his middle name was going to be Grant. Girls, I would like to formally introduce you to Trevor Grant Oliver."
"I like that name!" Chelsea grins
"Yeah!" Aspen agrees "Me too!"
"Trevor Grant..." Priya smiles over at her son "I like it."
"Thanks." Beck chuckles "So do we."
"When can he come home with us?" Chelsea asks "Tomorrow?"
"Probably not until the day after that." Jade tells her "Usually they want babies to stay for a few days just in case."
"Aw man!" Aspen pouts
"I know, we want to be home with you guys too." Jade laughs "But you're here now! Do you want to hold him?"
"Yeah!"
The two girls sit side by side in the armchair beside Jade's bed, which will double as a cot for their father later in the evening, and Beck helps them position the baby cross both of their laps. Chelsea holds most of his upper body, since she can be trusted the most to support his head, and Aspen holds his feet.
"That's adorable." James remarks "Quite the little family you've got there, son."
"They are, aren't they?" Beck smiles
"Take a picture!" Jade begs, unlocking her phone and handing it to her husband "Look at you guys! Such good big sisters already!"
"WELCOME HOME!" Aspen and Chelsea exclaim as Beck and Jade walk into the kitchen
A homemade poster that reads 'Welcome Home Mom & Trevor' is strung across the island along with a few streamers and blue balloons.
"Wow!" Jade gasps "Did you guys make this all by yourselves?"
"Aunt Tori helped us!" Aspen tells her "And then Uncle Andre put it up."
"They did all of the hard work though." Tori winks from her place behind the island "Best big sisters already."
"So this is the little guy, huh?" Andre asks as he kneels down to look inside the carseat that Beck is holding "What's up, Trev? S'nice to meet ya!"
"Here hang on..." Beck places the carseat on top of the island "We'll take him out."
Trevor squawks as Jade gently removes him from his carseat, but settles down almost instantly once his mother adjusts him in her arms.
"Oh..." Tori smiles as she looks over Jade's shoulder "Andre...I think I want one."
"Okay." Andre laughs
"Really?"
"Yeah." He smiles "I'd say we're just about ready."
"Well, don't expect us to stick around for too much longer then." Tori chuckles, looking to Jade "I'm only half kidding, we'll stay as long as you need...within reason."
"Pen and I want to give Trevor a tour of our house!" Chelsea announces "Since he lives here now too, he should know where everything is!"
"Oh, girls..." Beck sighs "Maybe later, okay? I think Mom and Trevor are ready to take a na-"
"It's fine." Jade cuts her husband off "They can show him around. But girls? Once we're done I'm going to take him upstairs with me for a little while, okay? Babies need lots of sleep."
"And so do mommies who've just had babies." Beck adds
Jade rolls her eyes playfully at her husband, then proceeds to follow the two little girls around the house as they give their brother the grand tour. It's a very sweet gesture, even if the baby will have no recollection of it nor does he even realize that it's happening in the moment. They show him the living room, the dining room and the kitchen. They show him the mudroom where he'll have his own cubby beside Aspen's 'once you're big enough for coats and shoes'.
They show him the basement where they keep their toys and 'Daddy's movie collection, but don't ever touch it without asking him first'. They take him to the back window and show him the backyard with the fire pit and their swing set 'that Daddy is going to put another swing on just for you'!
Finally they lead Jade upstairs and show Trevor each of their bedrooms, and the bathroom that conjoins them. They show him the bathroom that will be his when he needs it and his bedroom that 'we helped Mommy and Daddy decorate just for you'. The last stop on their tour is Beck and Jade's bedroom where Beck is already busy unpacking their overnight bag, and taking inventory of all of the free baby items they had gotten from the hospital.
Gently, Jade sets Trevor down in the bassinet next to her side of the bed. She and Beck had decided that it would be best for him to sleep in their room for the first few weeks, just until they get a routine established. They don't want him waking the girls and disrupting their sleep schedules while they're both going to school.
"He sleeps a lot." Aspen remarks as she peeks into the bassinet
"I just told you that babies do that." Beck chuckles as he lifts Aspen onto his hip "Come on ladies, Mom and Trevor need their rest. We should go hang out with Aunt Tori and Uncle Andre for a little bit before they have to leave."
"If Aunt Tori and Uncle Andre haven't already bolted for the door." Jade smirks
"Shh..." Beck laughs "Babe..."
"Sorry." Jade apologizes, walking over to kiss her husband "Thank you for letting us rest, I appreciate it."
"I appreciate you." Beck tells her "I couldn't ask for a better wife and a better mother for my children."
He had no way of knowing just how important the girl who needed help with her shelves would become to him. How she would make such an impact on his life and his daughters'. How she would make every single day of his life better than the last, and turn their lives together into the greatest adventure he's ever been on.
Thank goodness for this family.
Thank goodness for this woman.
Thank goodness for the life that they're building together.
"I love you, Beck."
"I love you too." He says so only she can hear "More than I could have ever imagined."
Next chapter will be last. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me!