"Jade?" Cat called up the stairs. "We're home. I'll put Liv down for her nap, and we can talk, okay?" She says, placing Olivia in her crib to sleep soundly. She smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
"Love Cat," she smiled, and ran upstairs to chat with Jade. She stopped dead when she saw Jade, looking so broken and hurt.
"Oh, Jade, what is it?" Cat asked gently, putting an arm round Jade.
"It's going to happen again, and I can't let it." Jade cries. Cat turns to face her.
"What is, Jade? What?" She swallows, and hiccupped a little.
"I'm pregnant!"
"It's okay, Jade, really. Have you been to the doctors?" She shakes her head. "Tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow." Jade rests her head in her hands.
"I don't want to."
"You have to face this, Jade. It's far too late to ask if you want to do it. You've done this yourself. Now let's call Beck." Jade nods, and Cat picks up the phone. She punches in his number.
"Beck?" Jade says quietly.
"Is Livvy okay?" He asks, breathless. His heart is beating fast; she sounds so down.
"Olivia is fine," she says. "But there's something I have to tell you," her voice cracks at the end, and she starts to cry.
"Jade, are you okay? You're not sick, are you? Oh god, tell me. Is it Cat?" Jade inhales deeply.
"We're all fine. I just have some...news. Please come over?" Beck quickly answers yes and flies out of the house, speeding to Cat's house. He runs three stop signs but can only breathe when he sees the three girls standing and okay, apart from the tearstained cheeks on their faces.
"What's wrong?" He asks, not daring to hope that nothing is wrong, that this is just a joke. Jade blinks back tears and falls into his arms. He imagined this so many times when he lay in bed, sleep not daring to interrupt his thoughts.
"I...I'm pregnant, Beck, and I'm so scared of history repeating itself."
"It won't," he promises, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I promise." He then gestures for Livvy to join them in their hug, and Cat. "You know you three are my favorite girls," he smiles. But they know that already.
The months pass and Jade is starting to get uncomfortable. Beck has just started to earn back their trust, and he's moving in by the end of the month, and Olivia is going to start preschool soon, because a new baby will take up most of Jade's time. Her tummy is swelled over the waistband of her jeans, and she wriggles and sighs in bed because she can't get comfy to sleep, and everyone knows how much Jade loves sleep. Olivia's third birthday comes and goes without a hitch, but she's starting to learn the meaning of "no" a lot more. It tires Jade out so Beck is spending most of his time with her so she won't feel left out.
Then one day, Jade and Cat start to bicker. Over little things at first, maybe Olivia's clothes for the day, or what dinner was that night. It soon escalated to full blown screaming matches and Jade would storm off, and Cat would refuse to talk to anyone. They'd both be crying at night.
And then Jade dropped a bombshell on Cat during their fight. "I'm so glad we won't be living here for much longer!" She'd screamed, and instantly clapped her hands over her mouth, regretting it. "Cat, I didn't-"
Cat looks heartbroken. "When were you going to tell me?" She asks calmly. "Where are you going?"
"To stay with Daddy." Jade says. "Only for-"
"Save it for someone who cares," Cat says, her voice cracking desperately. She takes a shaky breath. "Just don't let your little girl down again."
There were boxes scattered around the house, packed with things that held deep memories for them all. "Stay safe," Cat whispered, kissing Livvy's little soft cheek. "I love you, darling."
"Love you ant Cat!" She couldn't yet say aunt, and even so Cat beamed with pride when Olivia proclaimed it. She set her down and pushed her a little to get her to take Beck's hand.
"I'll miss you." Cat says, clenching her jaw to stop the hot tears that were threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. She watched the blue car drive away, honking a goodbye, perhaps...forever.