All was quiet in the Oliver's house as the clock struck 1 a.m. Jade was snuggled into her husbands embrace as they lay together in bed, the two of them sound asleep as they held onto each other. Beck's arms were placed securely around Jade, one hand lazily placed on her hair like he had been running his fingers through it as he fell asleep. Jade's arms remained loosely around his neck as if they were still two teenagers, still madly in love with one another. The pair slept soundly, content to be with the one that they loved; unaware of what was happening on the other side of the house.
Brynn squirmed in her bed as she groaned, bringing herself out of a peaceful slumber. She sat up in bed as she ripped the covers off of her little body, sweat dripping down her face.
"Mommy?" She whined, "Mommy.."
Determined to find the comfort of her mother's arms, Brynn slowly removed herself from the bed, holding onto her stomach as she did so. The hot tears eventually spilled out of her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as she ran to her parent's room. Once she got through their door, she tried to raise her voice to catch their attention, a small cry escaping her throat instead.
Beck recognized the sound instantly, his eyes springing open as the crying continued. Jade, who was much harder to wake, groaned and rolled out of her husband's embrace, still not aware of what was happening.
"Brynn? What's wrong?" Beck whispered, sitting up and reaching his arms out to his little girl. Brynn quickly accepted the offer and ran into his arms, her cries becoming louder.
"Hey, hey.. What's wrong, baby?" Beck soothed, bringing her onto his lap. It was then that he noticed how hot she felt and the way she was clutching onto her stomach. He quickly jumped up, acknowledging exactly what was wrong.
"What's going on?" Jade demanded. She groggily opened her eyes, just in time to see a frantic Beck trying to run his daughter to the bathroom as she puked all over the freshly cleaned floor of their bedroom.
"Good morning, Jade." Beck half smiled, a look of panic on his face as Brynn began to cry louder.
It hit three o'clock in the morning before things in the house settled back down, Brynn's sudden stomach bug finally slowing down enough to allow the child some relief. Upon Brynn's request, Beck and Jade had switched places after her first episode, Jade comforting Brynn and Beck cleaning up her mess. All she wanted was the comfort that her mother had to offer, although it wasn't enough to soothe the pain she was in.
"Momma, why am I sick?" Brynn's raspy voice sounded even raspier than usual.
"Sometimes it just happens, baby girl. You need to get some sleep though, okay?"
Brynn nodded as she watched her mother. The three of them had returned to the bed, Beck lying on his side of the bed and Jade on hers, Brynn snuggled in between them and both of their arms lovingly placed over their daughter. They had never experienced Brynn being this sick before, she had a few colds every now and then but she had never been sick to this magnitude.
"Mommy?"
"Hmm?" Jade grunted, her loving mommy voice still in tact, even though she had almost been asleep.
"Sing." Brynn demanded, much like her mother used to demand that Beck tell her he loved her.
Jade began lovingly running her hand through her daughter's dark brown hair, smiling slightly at her request. She thought for a minute about what to sing before finally deciding on the song that she used to sing when Brynn was tiny, Baby Mine.
Jade sang softly as Brynn closed her eyes and drifted into a much needed sleep, both of them unaware of the fact that Beck was watching them intently. It wasn't that he never saw this kind of thing happen; in fact it happened more often than not. He was just in love with seeing his girls interact with each other in such a sweet way. He was in love with seeing Jade be the loving, devoted mother that he always knew she could be. He never doubted her ability to love their little girl, and every day she showed him that he was right in believing in her.
Jade's eyes slowly went from Brynn and over to Beck, who had the biggest grin plastered on his face. "What?" Jade mouthed in between lyrics, a smile spreading across her face.
"I love you so much." He mouthed back, reaching out and gently placing a hand on her cheek. She only smiled in response, shyly looking back down at their now sleeping daughter. She knew why he was saying it, and he knew that she loved him too.
To say that Jade was exhausted and wished her puke machine of a daughter could fall asleep for more than two hours would be an understatement; but to say that she wished someone would take Brynn off of her hands for a while would be a bit too much.
The two of them lay cuddled up together in bed, watching Cinderella for the one thousandth time in the younger girl's life. Usually Jade would detest lying around all day and would come up with any sort of game for the two of them to play together, but today was different.
"Jade, my love, I do believe you should be leaving soon." Beck said as he walked over to Jade, planting a kiss on her forehead once he got there. Jade smiled in response, reaching out with one hand pulling him back in for a real kiss.
"I'm not going to Cat's today." She said after they pulled apart, her arm falling back down around Brynn's waist.
"You two have been planning this for weeks, Jade. Go."
"My baby's sick." Jade said, watching Brynn as she stared intently at the TV screen. "Besides, I already told Cat I couldn't make it."
"I bet she cried when you told her."
"Whimpered? Yes. Cried? No."
Beck smiled and shook his head as he looked at his wife, who was returning the smile.
"I can take care of Brynn if you want to go out, you know. I know how excited Cat was and how much you hate letting her down."
"She's already been let down, it's fine. Brynn needs me. Huh, Brynn?"
Brynn rolled over to face her mother, and inquisitive look gracing her porcelain face.
"Just tell daddy that you need me here." Jade whispered before kissing her daughter's forehead.
"I need her to stay because I'm sick and it's no fun. And because I love her." Brynn said before rolling back over to watch Cinderella.
Beck shook his head before picking Brynn up, who usually would have squealed at the action, but instead cuddled into his arms and buried her face into the crook of his neck. He then looked at Jade, who was looking at him with a pleading look on her face. It wasn't unusual for Jade to turn into an over protective mom when Brynn was sick, and it didn't surprise Beck that she didn't want to leave.
"Jade. Go. She's okay, I've got her."
Jade sighed out of frustration before standing up, the t-shirt she was wearing falling down around her figure. "Fine, Becket. But you better text me and let me know how she's doing."
Beck only nodded in response, placing his daughter down on the bed and curling up beside her. He knew that Jade was very protective over Brynn, always worried about whether or not she was happy and healthy; but he never expected that she would detest leaving the way she was.
"Mommy, where are you going?" Brynn questioned as she lay tangled in Beck's arms, her tiny hands playing with the necklace he always wore.
"I'm going to work on a song with Cat, but I'll be back soon. If you want me to come home, tell your mean father to call me."
Brynn weakly smiled up at Beck, who was shaking his head at his wife. He knew that he was perfectly capable of taking care of Brynn, but Jade seemed to think otherwise. He watched as she slipped into a pair of yoga pants and one of his flannel shirts, her hair tied into a messy bun.
"You know, just because your daughter is sick doesn't mean you have to dress like you are." He smirked, making it clear that he was joking. To anyone else it may have seemed harsh, but the two of them understood that comments like that were never serious. It was an unspoken bond between the two that formed when they were teenagers.
"I hate you." She laughed before kissing him goodbye.
"We love you, Jade." He called as she left the room, the front door closing could be heard soon after.
"No, I don't want the yucky juice!" Brynn cried as she stood next to her father in the kitchen, clinging to a carton of chocolate milk.
"Brynn, the juice will help you feel better, it's not the juice you usually drink. It's like.. It's like superwoman juice for sick kids." Beck tried, becoming frustrated with his daughter.
"No! I want chocolate milk!"
"That will make you even sicker, Brynn. Please just listen to me?"
Brynn turned her nose up at the statement, not having it. She was one to stick to what she wanted; not once wavering when told that she was wrong. "Mommy would let me have chocolate milk."
"Oh, would she?"
Brynn nodded confidently as Beck pulled out his pearphone, quickly dialing Jade's number. It didn't take long for her to answer, maybe one or two rings. Beck put her on speakerphone and explained the situation they were in, not even getting to finish the story before Jade interrupted him.
"Brynn, drink the juice."
Beck smirked at Brynn as the confident expression fell from her face and she placed the milk back inside of the refrigerator. She sighed as she reached out and took the cup of juice from her father, stomping back to the living room. Although she was sick, she most certainly was not letting go of her stubborn ways.
"Thanks babe. Love you." Beck said into his phone before ending the call. He made his way into the living room, where Brynn was sitting on the couch with a disgusted look on her face.
"I hate this juice." She said as he entered the room.
"Hate's a strong word, princess."
"Well, I don't like it."
Beck smiled before picking his daughter up, sitting down on the couch and placing her on his lap. He took the cup from her hand and placed it on the coffee table, allowing her to cuddle up to him.
"Are you sleepy?" He asked, running a hand through her hair.
"Mhm. But I can't sleep because my tummy wakes me up."
"Well that is pretty bothersome. What if I read you a story?"
Brynn slowly nodded her head, agreeing that it may help her sleep. It was nearly eight o'clock at night now and she was feeling weak from the day of constant sickness. She missed her mother terribly too, but knew that she was busy working with Cat.
Beck carried Brynn up to her room, where he directed her to pick out a book from the small bookshelf next to her bed. It didn't take long for her decide on her favorite classic, the original Peter Pan story. She pulled the small, green book from the shelf and stared at the cover, her tiny fingers grazing over the silhouettes on the cover. She nodded to herself before climbing up onto the bed, placing herself on Beck's lap.
"Which chapter do you want to hear this time?"
"Mermaid's lagoon." She replied, not even taking the time to think about it.
Beck smiled at his little girl before opening to book to the chapter that they had read so many times, the one that he swore she had memorized and yet she always insisted he read to her. Soon after he got into the story, he heard Brynn's breathing become slower and slower, her head leaning back on his chest. He smiled before closing the book and laying Brynn down on the bed, pulling the blankets over her tiny frame.
It was only an hour later when Jade entered her family's home, feeling strange when she observed the silence. She quickly entered her bedroom, expecting to find her small family sleeping in her bed. When she realized she was wrong, she turned and walked towards the stairs, hoping they would be found in Brynn's room.
"I swear to God if he took her somewhere." She grunted under her breath, but quickly silenced herself when she observed the scene in her daughter's room.
She smiled as she saw Brynn curled up in bed, Beck no where to be found. She noticed the book on the nightstand and knew exactly what had happened here, as Brynn was a creature of habit when it came to reading stories. Although Jade had read that exact chapter to Brynn a few thousand times, she couldn't help but feel a little sad that she had missed it this time. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and smiled as she leaned into the embrace.
"See, I told you she would be fine." Beck smiled as he looked at his wife, whose head was resting on his shoulder. She placed her arms over top of his and intertwined their fingers, squeezing his hand gently.
"I guess you're not so bad a dad after all." She joked, causing him to laugh slightly. He kissed her cheek before tightening his grip on her. Even though she gave him so much grief, he loved her more than anything.
This was going to be a lot short but I tried my hardest to lengthen it, I hope it ended up working out. Anyways, thanks for your continued support! Love you all :)
