The weather begins to grow warmer, the slightly warmer spring weather melting away all signs of winter from the New York City landscape. Beck and Jade pay the final month of rent on their old apartment, and finally consider themselves completely moved into the penthouse. When each of their shows wrap filming for the season, they host a small get together to celebrate both another season of work and a new place to call home. By small, they really do mean small. Cat, Robbie, Andre, Tori, and Jade's father are the only ones in attendance. They order pizza, drink, and play games. A rather simple night, given their stature in the entertainment industry, but a fun one nonetheless.

They each want to work in the offseason, maybe movies. A larger movie role for Beck, and Jade's first movie role ever. Their agents send out feelers, looking for auditions for them both. In the meantime, they take the time to enjoy being married. With neither one of them working, they have more time to be together than they ever have before. It feels like when they first started dating, being able to go out almost every night and do something together. The only difference now is that they're public figures and easily recognized. Cameras pop up and follow them everywhere that they go, but by now that almost feels like second nature.

"Where are you guys off to tonight?" A paparazzi asks them as he walks backwards a few paces ahead of them, snapping pictures "You look pretty dressed up."

"We're headed to see my friend's show." Jade responds, giving him a slight smile "She's on Broadway."

Having grown more used to the constant presence of the paparazzi, Beck and Jade will make conversation with the nicer and more polite ones. They still don't agree that it's an honest way to make a living, but accept that it's part of their lives now. As long as the photographers are respectful, they'll play along. It's when the cameras are shoved in their faces and the comments are rude and demanding that there starts to be an issue. Jade also has a personal problem with the ones that hide and try to be sneaky about the pictures, trying to catch them in compromising positions. To her, that feels like the biggest invasion of privacy of them all.

"Sounds like fun." The paparazzi tells them "Have a good night you two."

"Thanks man, you too." Beck nods

He squeezes Jade's hand a bit tighter as they walk, trying to put some space between them and the photographer that, thankfully, seems to be content with the content he had captured and left them behind. A few people stop and stare, others do double-takes, as the couple makes their way down 45th Street towards the theater. If it were a few weeks prior, they would have opted to have a car drive them and drop them off. But now with the warmer weather finally starting to show, Beck and Jade decided to take advantage of the spring evening and walk the few blocks from the restaurant where they had eaten dinner to the theater.

Cat had recently been given the opportunity to audition for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge when the previous lead left the production. After being part of the company and filling in as understudy a few times over the past year, it was a surprise to no one that she had been awarded the part. Tonight is the first time that Jade has been able to see her best friend in the lead role, and to say that she's excited would be an understatement. She's also proud, knowing how hard Cat had worked to make it to this point, and how badly she had always wanted to be in a position like this one.

"Caterina Shapiro..." Jade smiles as she reads Cat's bio in the playbill "It's still so weird to see that."

"Oh yeah?" Beck smiles as he thumbs through his own playbill "Why's that?"

"She's always been Cat Valentine to me." Jade shrugs "Back of my head she always will be. Her full first name combined with her married name just feels so...grown up and formal."

"Says the woman also going by her married name now." Beck smirks

In addition to her name appearing as Jade West Oliver in Beyond the Innocent's opening credits, she had changed her name to match on all of her social media accounts. Legally, her last name is Oliver. She's recently gotten a new social security card and driver's license, not that she has any real use for a driver's license living in the city. It's real, they're a married couple. The rings on their fingers serve as a constant reminder every day.

"S'different for me." Jade insists "I'm reminded every day that I'm married when I wake up next to you and tell you that I love you. I can't say that I think about Cat and Robbie's marriage on the daily."

"Fair enough..." Beck chuckles, leaning over to kiss her cheek as the lights flash - a signal that the show is starting

Beck takes Jade's hand and laces their fingers together, resting both of them in his lap as Jade rests her head on his shoulder. They watch most of the first act this way. Cat is absolutely spectacular, like she's been playing the role for her whole life and not just a few weeks.

"I think one day down the line I might want to try this." Jade tells Beck at intermission "Musicals, that is."

"I think that's a great idea." Beck agrees with a smile "I can think of at least a dozen roles right now that you would be perfect for."

Between living in New York and frequenting the various shows whenever he and Jade have the opportunity, being a connoisseur of the arts who has always had an appreciation for the theater, and a girlfriend-turned-wife who loves to listen to and sing show tunes around the house...Beck likes to think that he knows Broadway pretty well.

"Not right now, obviously." Jade reminds him "I have the show, and I want to try movies too. But maybe much farther in the future when we have kids and they're a bit more self-sufficient, I could give it a try. Who knows what roles will be created between now and then?"

"Maybe you could originate a role?" Beck suggests

"Maybe I could." Jade shrugs "Wouldn't that be something?"

They watch the second act in a similar way to how they had watched the first, only this time Jade keeps her head upright. Her neck had gotten a bit stiff from being bent over for so long, but she and Beck continue to hold hands. She doesn't think she'll ever get tired of holding his hand, it's just a constant reminder that he is her's now and forever.

After the show, they meet up with Cat and Robbie for drinks at a bar not too far from the theater. It's great to catch up, they don't get to spend nearly as much time together now as they did when they were all in school. Now that she has a temporary break from filming for a while, Jade promises to come see the show again, and to meet up with Cat for lunch as often as they can. The two couples part ways around 12:30, headed back to their respective apartments.

"I'm not as young as I used to be." Jade yawns, leaning against Beck in the elevator as it rises to their floor "I'm exhausted. Remember when we could stay out until three and then wake up at seven and go about our lives?"

"I do, yeah." Beck chuckles as the elevator doors open "Guess this is what happens when you grow up and join the adult world."

They step off of the elevator and walk hand-in-hand to their door. There are only two units on the top floor, their penthouse and then an identical one with the opposite layout on the other side. Their neighbors are much older than they are, so they don't interact much. Overall, the penthouse gives Beck and Jade the privacy they had been so very much desiring.

Beck takes out his keys and unlocks the door, holding it open for Jade to walk through before he follows her in.

"S'quiet." He remarks as he locks the door behind them and throws his keys in the bowl nearby "Don't you think?"

"I would hope so..." Jade chuckles "It's almost one and we're the only people awake."

"Imagine if we didn't have to be though."

"I'm not in the mood to be entertaining guests at this hour." Jade tells him as she kicks off her heels "It's bedtime."

"S'not what I meant." Beck rolls his eyes playfully, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to him

"What did you mean then?" She asks, turning to face him and resting her forehead against his

"I meant...what if there was someone waiting for us when we got home?" He suggests "What if we had a baby?"

Jade can't keep herself from laughing, turning to walk away from her husband as she does so. Even when they're tired, his jokes keep her laughing.

"Good one." She smirks

"I'm being serious."

"You are?" She laughs, until she realizes that he's telling the truth "Oh, you are...Beck, no. We're not ready for that."

"No one is ever really ready, are they?" Beck points out "I think we'd be able to figure it out though. Don't you?"

"I mean...I'm sure we would, yeah. But...babe, I don't want to have a baby right now." Jade tells him honestly "We've been married for less than six months, we're barely twenty-four, we both have careers to think of...it doesn't make sense to have a baby right now."

"That's what your head says." Beck tells her "What does your heart say?"

It's abundantly clear to both of them after being together for so long that Jade follows her head before her heart, which isn't always in her best interest at times. To Beck, this feels like one of those times...but to Jade, it doesn't.

"My heart says that I just launched the career that I've dreamed of forever and I'm not ready to give that up yet." Jade admits "I love acting, Beck. I want to keep doing that for a while before I sacrifice everything for a baby. My heart also says that it's content loving just you right now, I'm not sure if I'm ready to start giving that love to another human who would depend on me for everything."

"Alright..." Beck sighs, nodding "Alright, that makes sense."

"It's not a 'no' forever." Jade assures him, touching his arm gently "It's just a 'no' for right now. In a few years, I absolutely want to have a baby with you. Now just isn't the right time..."

"I understand." Beck assures her, pressing a kiss to her forehead "Kids are a serious thing, s'not something you can enter into half-heartedly."

"Thank you for understanding." Jade smiles "But...you're right. Coming home to an empty apartment every day does kind of suck..."

"Wanna ask Cat and Robbie to move in?" Beck chuckles "We could charge them rent."

"God no. I love them both but I don't know if I need a front-row seat to their private life." Jade laughs "What if we got a dog...?"

They both love dogs. It's a fact that they bonded over the first night that they met.

"Now there's an idea..." Beck perks up "A dog...yeah. Let's get a dog."


It doesn't take long for Beck and Jade to decide that they want to adopt a French bulldog. While a bit on the pricier side, Jade had fallen in love with one of the adorable faces they saw online and couldn't imagine adopting any other kind of dog. She also made a valid point that the larger the dog, the more space it would need and while their penthouse is quite spacious...it's no replacement for the yard a larger breed of dog would need. In the end, Beck doesn't really care so much what the breed of dog is, but he does care about making his wife happy...so a French bulldog it is.

They talk with a breeder in New Jersey about adopting one of her most recent litter's puppies, and within a week Beck and Jade are borrowing John's car and driving out to pick up their new family member. They choose a female puppy that mostly grey with black spots, described to them as a 'Lilac' Frenchie, or really...she chooses them. The breeder allowed some of the puppies out to play and interact with Beck and Jade while they sat on the floor, and this puppy in particular climbed into Jade's lap and immediately made herself comfortable before falling fast asleep. In that moment, they both knew that she was meant to be their's.

The drive back to New York involved a lot of back and forth about what they were going to name her. Beck wanted something humorous, like Mary Puppins or Tootsie, but Jade vetoed everything that he came up with. She realizes that not all pets need to have human names, but she didn't want their dog to have a 'stupid' name either. Holding the puppy on her lap, wrapped in a blanket, Jade looked at websites that suggested more typical names for dogs and read some of them out. After the hour and a half drive, they were able to agree that the name Georgia fit their new puppy perfectly.

There's a bit of backlash when they first post about the new puppy on their social medias. French bulldogs are notoriously hard to come by, and expensive as well. Thousands of people comment urging them to 'adopt instead of shop' and that they should use their privilege for good rather than flaunting it. Beck and Jade see the point that people are trying to make and while they had already grown quite attached to their new puppy and wouldn't trade her for anything, they want to help. They reach out to a local shelter and waive the adoption fees for all thirty animals staying there, as well as cover the cost of food for a month.

Meanwhile, Georgia almost instantly becomes the center of her new adoptive-parent's world. She keeps Beck and Jade busy almost all day either needing to go outside, wanting to play, or just wanting to be near someone. Jade points out that while exhausting, she's still less work than a baby would be. Within a month, Georgia is pretty much housebroken and rather well-trained, a baby would not have become self-sufficient that quickly.

"C'mere, Georgia..." Beck sighs, picking the dog up and placing her on the couch between himself and Jade "There you go, your favorite spot."

"Say 'thanks, Dad!', Georgia..." Jade smirks as Georgia makes herself comfortable, snuggled up between her parents "That still sounds weird to say."

"I don't know why we have to be 'Mom and Dad' to the dog." Beck shakes his head "I mean, I love her...but I would still love her the same if she knew my name was Beck."

"She doesn't know what our names are..." Jade laughs "She just knows that we love her and that we give her food and play with her. That's all that matters."

"Again, all things that Beck and Jade could do just as well as Mom and Dad..."

"She's our baby though." Jade reminds him "At least for right now."

"S'true, I guess..." Beck smirks as he scratches the dog between her ears "Huh? Is that right, Georgia? Are you our baby? Are you?"

He moves his face closer to the dog's and she lifts her's up, licking his face adoringly.

"That's how I feel about him too, Georgia." Jade laughs "Just wanna lick him all over."

"Alright, no dirty talk in front of the baby..." Beck teases

"You know...she's kind of like our test run." Jade tells her husband "Preparing us for parenting before we have a real human child to worry about?"

While dogs require a lot of love and attention, they don't require nearly as much love and attention as a baby would. Having a dog is going to give them the opportunity to work out all of the kinks of sharing the responsibility of caring for another living being, and to become comfortable with the concept of doing so. Even though dogs require much different care than babies, the concept of being depended on for almost everything is still the same. This will ease them into legitimate parenthood, or at least that's the hope.

"I guess she kinda is, huh?" Beck smiles "How long of a test run do you think we'll need before we'll be fully prepared?"

Although he respects that his wife isn't ready to have a baby, that doesn't mean the possibility isn't still in the back of his mind. One day, whenever she decides that she is ready...he'll be ready to jump at the opportunity.

"Oh, I dunno." Jade admits "I think when the time is right, we'll just know. Just like we knew that this little lady was the right dog for us...there will be some kind of sign, and we'll know."

"I can't wait." Beck admits, leaning over to kiss Jade "But for now...I really love it being the three of us."

"I love it too." Jade agrees "I love you."

"I love you too." He tells her "And Miss Georgia as well."