The sun was already high up in the sky when Beck Oliver awoke to an empty bed. It didn't surprise him, though, his wife had been an early riser ever since he could remember, which always made it especially hard for him to surprise her with breakfast on her birthdays. What did surprise him however, was the fact that her side of the bed didn't look very much like she had spent the night in it.

With a worried frown on his tan face, the young man peeled himself out of the white bedsheets and hurried downstairs, only to find his wife in front of the stove, frying eggs like there wasn't a worry in the world. "Morning," she greeted him without turning around. After so many years, he wasn't surprised at her ability of knowing literally everything that was going on around her. Jade could read people like an open book.

"Hey," he said and moved closer to her to press a kiss on her cheek. "You alright?"

She turned her face to look at him, eyebrows pulled together tightly. "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Jade," he sighed, letting his arms slide down her body.

She forcefully stabbed the eggs with her spatula, obviously tensing up. "What?"

"You're lying to me."

The spatula landed in the pan with a vague clunk, as the dark-haired woman turned around abruptly, giving her husband a warning glare. "Beck–"

"No," he said sternly, firmly grabbing both of her wrists. "We're not doing this, Jade. No more lies. No more secrets. We made a promise." He slid his right hand up her left, until he reached the golden ring on her third finger, and gently rubbed over it with his thumb. "Remember?"

Jade let out a defeated sigh and slowly allowed herself to sink into her husbands embrace. They stood still for a few minutes, without either of them saying a word, before Beck reached up to stroke her brown hair soothingly, and whispered, "Tell me what's wrong."

She took a deep breath to prepare herself to say these powerful words that would change his life forever, but before she could say anything, a lot of things happened at once. It was the smell of burning eggs sneaking up her nostrils that made her jump out of her husband's arms and back to the stove, quickly shoving the smoking pan off the heat, before she made a grab for the bin, draining her already empty stomach. At the same time, the doorbell started ringing indignantly and Beck barely had time to pat his puking wife's back before he rushed out of the kitchen to answer the door.

He was greeted with the sight of an old man. The little hair he had left was sticking out at odd angles and his sloppy clothes were questionable at most, but his face spoke of great kindness, and Beck immediately decided that he liked this man, even if it was only for his love of hipster clothing. "Greetings," the man said, holding out a pot of what looked like it could have been a flower. A few weeks back, that is. As he kept prodding the young man with the almost-dead plant, he forced a half-hearted smile and reluctantly took it. "My name is Erwin Sikowitz, but most people just call me Sikowitz," the old man introduced himself. "I live a few houses down the street."

Beck balanced the plant on his left hand, while he held out his right one politely. "Beck Oliver, nice to meet you." Sikowitz eyed his hand suspiciously for a moment, before he pulled the surprised young man in for a hug that almost caused him to drop the pot, hadn't he regained its balance in time. Jade wouldn't have been happy about the mess.

The strange man held on to Beck longer than he liked (but being the polite man he was, naturally he didn't say anything), before the aged eventually let go and gave him a big smile. "It was nice to meet you, Beck. You should come over sometime." And with that, he skipped away, and Beck could only shake his head over his behavior.

Just as he was closing the door, a scream echoed through the house, jolting Beck to the bone. The brown plant found its way onto the floor at last, where the pot shattered into a thousand pieces and a wave of soil poured over Jade's spotless white carpet. But Beck didn't care. His wife didn't get scared easily, there was barely anything that scared her at all, and as he was dashing to the kitchen, the worst possible scenarios started playing in his mind.

When he entered the room, he found her clutching to the kitchen counter with one hand, while the other lay flat on her chest from shock. Luckily, she didn't seem to be hurt. "Holy shit," she muttered while trying to get her breathing rate back to normal.

"What happened?" Beck asked as he walked over to her and carefully wrapped her in his arms. He looked around the room, searching for signs of what could have caused his wife's fear, but with no luck. There was nothing but the still smoking pan, exactly where Jade had left it.

"Someone was at the kitchen window," she breathed, subconsciously letting her hand slide from her chest to her belly. Those damn hormones were probably kicking in already, she thought as she noticed her body's actions.

Beck tensed up, alarmed. "What?"

"I don't know, I was getting some water, turned around, and the next thing I know that... that creep was staring at me!" She took a deep breath to regain her composure. "I think he's gone now, though. He made a run for it as soon as I saw him."

"Did you see who it was?" her husband asked, clenching his fists. He had worked too hard for all of this, for this new life, to let someone ruin it for them now.

Jade shook her head. "Maybe it was nothing."

. . .

Tori Vega's famous apple tarts had just come fresh out of the oven and the eager housewife was humming one of her favorite tunes from The Wizard Of Oz (oh, she loved classic movies), when the doorbell interrupted her cake-finish (no tart was perfect without a glossy top coat). She put her baking utensils aside, smoothed her pink apron with her hands, and went to get the door.

She was only mildly surprised to find her friend Andre standing on her doorstep, greeting her with a warm smile. "Hi."

She smiled back at the dark-skinned man and gestured him to come inside. "It's good to see you, Andre."

"Mhh, smells good," he said as he took off his shoes, just as Tori had (forcefully) made him learn over the past few years. "What'cha making?"

She smiled. "Apple tarts, but not for you." Motioning for Andre to take a seat on the other side of the table, Tori sat down on her chair again to continue her work.

The man pouted. "And what lucky person will get them then, if you don't mind me asking, m'lady?"

Tori rolled her eyes at her friend's silliness. "If you must know, they're for Jade."

"Jade? As in our new neighbor Jade? I didn't know you two were that close already."

"Well," Tori began as she started sprinkling a thin layer of cinnamon on the tart. "I wouldn't necessarily say we're close, but she's... you know. And I just want to be nice."

Andre shot her a confused glance, furrowing his eyebrows. "Yeah, I really don't know. You'll have to be a little more specific."

Tori sighed. "She's... enceinte."

His stare just got more confused and he rested his head in his palm. Tori eyed the elbow on her table in dismay. "Woman, I have no idea what you're saying." Her eyes wandered from his elbows to what was lying beneath them, and she curiously reached for it.

"Did you bring this?" she asked as she examined what seemed to be a letter in her hand.

"Nah," he told her. "It was already lying on the table when I came in. Maybe Robbie put it there this morning?"

Tori shook her head. "No, I was using this space for baking all morning, I would've seen it." She eyed the piece of paper suspiciously. "That's so weird..." she muttered thoughtfully, but started unfolding it nevertheless, only to let it fall again with a gasp as soon as she had read the two words scrawled across the white paper.

"What?" Andre inquired, snatching the paper from the counter to see what had discomposed his friend. He narrowed his eyes and quickly skimmed over it. There was nothing more than two words on it.

I know.

He sighed. "That could mean anything, Tor," he told her. "You're just thinking that they know... that, because you're scared."

"Andre," she said, grabbing his arm nervously. "A mysterious letter on my kitchen table right after you showed up? They know, Andre, they know. Ugh!" The skinny woman threw up her hands in desperation. "What are we going to do now? This will ruin everything, do you even understand?"

"Tori, chill," Andre told her soothingly. "It's gonna be okay. I promise." He tried to put his hand on hers, but she slapped it away furiously.

"You need to get out of here."

"Tori–"

"Now."

Sighing, the man did as he was told.

. . .

The same night, an equally scared Jade Oliver was staring at the note that she had gotten the night before, while lying in the huge bed she and her husband shared. She didn't really know what to make of it. All they were trying to do was start a new life here, far away from all that had happened in the past, so how could anyone possibly know, and what were they trying to achieve by telling her?

As the water in the bathroom next door stopped running, signaling her that Beck was about to join her, she quickly stuffed the note back in the drawer on her bedside table and took a deep breath. It was time to tell him. She stroked her belly that was still flat, wondering how far along she might be. She would have to see a doctor soon.

"Hey," Beck said as he walked out of the bathroom and slipped under the sheets with her, pulling her close. She smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before snuggling into him.

"There's something I have to tell you," she mumbled, feeling almost intoxicated by his mere presence. It was still beyond her how her heart was even capable of loving someone as much as she loved Beck, even, or especially, after so many years.

"Hmh."

"There is something we might have to... add to our new life here," she began, carefully looking up to read his face, but his eyes were closed contently.

"Add?" he muttered sleepily.

"Yeah."

"Like?"

"A... baby?" she offered, holding her breath for his reaction. At once, his eyes shot open, now peering down at her in surprise.

"Tell me you're not kidding," he breathed.

"I'm not."

"We're having a baby?"

"We're having a baby," she confirmed, followed by an 'umph' when his embrace suddenly tightened around her and she found his lips pressed on hers. And for a few seconds, she was filled with happiness as pure as she hadn't felt it in years, or possibly ever before.

That was until reality kicked in. "Maybe this could really be the new start we wanted so badly," Beck muttered against her lips, pulling her close. She forced a smile, forced herself to feel happy, even though the crumbled note in her drawer made her stomach turn.

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