A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long! Things have been nuts recently, and my time is virtually gone now. I'll try to keep updating as often as possible though :)
xolys
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After their obscenely expensive shopping trip, Jade dropped Cat off and stopped at her own house to show her mother her new clothing.
Upon entering the house, however, Jade recognized a voice that she hadn't expected: Beck.
"I just wanted to be certain that it would be okay with you, Mrs. West."
"Beck, please start calling me Mom. You might as well start getting accustomed to it now." She paused. "But yes, you have my permission."
"Thank you, Mrs. We-uh, Mom."
Jade set her bags by the stairs and walked toward the kitchen, where the voices were originating, and ran square into her boyfriend.
"Oh, hey Jade," Beck smiled and kissed her softly.
"What were you talking about?" Jade asked.
"Nothing immediately pertinent," Jade's mother answered, appearing in the foyer with the teenagers. "Beck told me you went shopping with Cat?"
"Yeah," Jade nodded. "We got clothes I'll need starting within the next few months.
The woman ran her hand through her hair in thought. "I've got some things left in the basement from Alex, too, if you want them."
"Are they pink?" Jade cocked an eyebrow.
"Some, but few. I'll look for them if you want to head back to Beck's. And I'll wash your new purchases."
"Thank you," Beck smiled, responding for his girlfriend.
Leaving the house, the couple climbed into Beck's truck and returned to the RV.
"Why were you at my house?" Jade pried.
"I needed to talk to your mom. I still have yet to talk to my parents, but one step at a time, eh?"
Jade cracked up.
"What?" Beck wondered aloud.
"You're so Canadian. Eh?"
"Yeah, yeah, like you don't say American things."
"We're IN America, Beckett." She shook her head, chuckling.
"Yeah?" Beck questioned as he pulled into his driveway. "I'm FROM Canada, Jadelyn."
"Don't call me Jadelyn."
"Why not? It's a pretty name. Suiting for a pretty girl."
Jade pouted and clambered out of the car as soon as it had parked. She stormed away and Beck chased after her.
"Jade? Where are you going?"
"The bathroom. Baby's kicking my bladder."
Now soothed that Jade wasn't upset with him, Beck slowed his pace as he finished walking to his humble abode.
Once inside, he sat down on the bed and waited for his girlfriend to return to him.
"She's always kicking," Jade complained. "It never stops." She flopped down onto her back on the soft mattress, letting her belly protrude from under her shirt.
"Well," Beck chuckled, "maybe she just wants some music."
Jade groaned. "Fine. Play Mozart or something."
Pulling his PearPhone from his pocket, he scrolled through his online playlists until he found one of Jade's favorites: Vesperae Solennes de Confessore.
To be honest, Jade liked it because it had words, but they weren't in a language she understood, so she could focus on the ebb and flow of the music and the soaring vocal and instrumental parts.
Beck just liked the way Jade glazed over when she listened, her eyes gazing into space as she painted the musical picture in her mind.
As the music played on a repeated cycle, Jade moved so she laid lengthwise on the bed, still on her back. Beck laid with her, his arm draped between her upper belly and her full breasts. In that position, the couple fell asleep.
Jade reawakened when the fifth movement began: a quiet, soothing lullaby. She sat upright, shaking Beck awake too. "Beck, wake up," she hissed. "Beck!"
The boy rubbed his eyes and pushed himself upright. "I was just starting to dream," he groaned. "What?"
Jade grinned. "She stopped moving."
Beck's eyes flew wide. "Jade, she's supposed to move. How long has she been still?"
Jade rolled her eyes. "Calm your pants, Beckett. She just stopped when this movement began."
Smiling, Beck placed a hand on Jade's belly. "You gave me a scare, baby girl," he cooed.
Inside Jade's belly, the baby moved. "Aw, great, you woke her up," the mother-to-be groaned. "I was enjoying the momentary peace."
Adding to the loss off peace, Jade's stomach growled.
"She's hungry, too, I see," Beck commented, chuckling.
Jade groaned, pulling up her shirt and running circles over her belly. "Run down to the store and grab me a stuffed pretzel?"
Beck nodded and stood up, grabbing his coat and keys and heading for the door.
"Actually," the blue-eyed girl called out, "I'm coming along. I want to pick out my own."
"Don't think I can do it myself?" her boyfriend gibed lightly.
"Are you impugning my trust?" she spat, pulling on a pair of boots and shrugging her jacket on.
"Never." Beck slung his arm around Jade and led her to his truck, where she cooperatively climbed into the passenger side. "7-Eleven sound okay to you?"
Jade nodded. "Beck, remember when we went to Jersey last summer?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Remember their mini-mart? Wawa, I think it was?"
Beck smirked. "Yeah. What about it?"
"They make amazing subs. And their frozen coffees were the chizz."
"You want Wawa, don't you?"
Jade nodded.
"I'd fly to the moon and back to save your life, Jade, but not to get you a coffee."
"What if the coffee would save my life?"
"We'll address that circumstance when it arrives."
Rolling her eyes, Jade watched the road as Beck drove, letting it blur by in a mess of tail lights and asphalt. Before she knew it, Beck was pulling into a parking spot and shutting off the engine.
He let her lead him inside and she made an immediate dash for the hot stuffed pretzels. After grabbing one, she proceeded to scurry over to the sodas and grab a root beer and then snatch a pint of chocolate ice cream from the freezer.
With her load in hand, Jade approached the counter with Beck on her tail.
The woman behind the register, who looked so pregnant she could pop, eyed Jade's belly incredulously. "Pregnant?" she asked, her thick Indian accent layering the word.
Jade glared.
"Yeah," Beck spoke. "Due early August."
"I assume you're the father?" she looked up at the boy.
"Yes."
"And how pregnant are you?" Jade spat at the woman, almost hoping she was just fat and not pregnant.
"Eight months. Twin boys."
Jade scoffed.
Beck hurriedly paid for the merchandise and smiled softly at the cashier. "Well, congratulations on the sons."
"And you on your child," the woman replied, offering a half-hearted smile at the couple as they left the shop.
"What was that about?" Beck questioned as they climbed back into his vehicle.
Jade took a bite of her pretzel. "What?"
"You and the woman. You were rude."
"Did you see the look she gave me, Beck?" Tears pricked at the edges of Jade's eyes, but she blinked them away. "She was judging me for our baby."
"Jade," his voice softened. He reached out and placed a hand on her thigh. "Jade, people are going to judge us. We're younger than most people are when they have kids."
Jade sniveled and took another bite.
"But you know what? We're also a stronger couple than most people who have children. Think about it. Society thinks they're normal. We have to fight society and say, 'sure, they're normal, but we're going to be the best damn parents in Los Angeles'."
Jade chuckled. Beck sure was proud of that speech. She just hoped he was right.