Here's an alternate ending where the baby survives. That is all.
Jade kept quiet as she watched Beck pace. His eyes were a deep gold, and he was growling low in his throat. It had been hours since Ryder had cornered her, and Beck was still furious, despite Andre having gotten there before she had even had the possibility of injury. Rolling her eyes slightly, she let her hand rest on her stomach. A small kick greeted her, making her smile. The baby had only been kicking for a few days now, but she liked to think that it was its way of greeting her. Rubbing her belly for a moment, she dropped her hand before pushing herself onto her feet. The movement instantly had
Beck's attention.
"Jade, what are you doing? You should be resting!" he scolded, moving forward to grasp her arm.
"Well, I'm hungry and your stupid pacing is making me dizzy do I am going inside to get some food," she announced before pulling out of his grip.
He watched her is disbelief before following her to the main house. She was just entering the kitchen when he barreled in. Smirking at him, she opened the fridge to inspect its contents. Nothing really appealed to her, and she began to root through the cabinets.
"What are you looking for?"
"I dunno, something sweet," she mumbled absently, pouting when she couldn't find anything.
Glancing around, Beck spotted a small bag of the cookies that Jade loved. His mother must have made some earlier. Handing her the cookies, he watched her eyes light up as she devoured them. He couldn't help the amused smile as she finished her snack. Pausing, she smiled gently before moving his hand to her stomach. A small kick greeted him, and his smile turned slightly goofy. Nothing, not even Ryder, would take this from him
As Jade went into the middle of her eighth month, Beck had to constantly remind himself of that day. LA was going through a massive heat wave, and Jade's temper had risen with the heat. At times she got downright nasty with people. They were currently sitting in Sikowitz class, and Jade leaned against him as he held her close. Her eyes were closed, and he could hear her breathing start to even out. Good. She had been having a hard time sleeping lately, and he was happy when she managed to get some rest. He glared at Sikowitz when he paused at their seats
"Don't."
" Why Beck, I would never dream of waking up Jade. Not as though she's in CLASS!" he stated, making sure to say class loudly for emphasis. Right in Jade's ear.
Jade started awake, almost falling off of the chair. Lucky for her, Beck had an arm firmly clasped around her waist. Blinking sleepily, she glared at their grinning teacher as he kneeled before her.
"Now, why Jadey so sleepy?"
Her glare sharpened as she stared at him. "It's hot, I'm pregnant, my feet are swollen, my back is KILLING me, and I have a future football player for a child tackling my insides. Why the hell do you THINK I'm sleepy?"
Putting his hands up in surrender, Sikowitz was quick to move on. Grumbling to herself, Jade settled back against Beck. It wasn't long before she had nodded off again. Rubbing small circles on her hip, he growled whenever Sikowitz looked their way. The teacher wisely ignored them. Jade slept through the rest of the class, only awakening when the bell rang for lunch. Sitting up straight, she stretched slightly before letting Beck help her up. No sense in making an effort when she didn't have to. Resting a hand on the small of her back, she let him lead her to the Asphalt Café.
"I'll go grab lunch, love. Go sit."
Nodding, she sunk onto the seat as he left to get food. Hopefully something that wasn't just health crap. As much as she loved how attentive he was being, sometimes it got to be annoying. Like really annoying. He almost took her coffee away when he heard how bad even the decaf was for pregnant women. Needless to say that didn't go down well. Jade didn't think she had ever yelled so loud before. Her thoughts were interrupted when a fruit salad was set in front of her, along with a drink. She looked at him curiously at seeing the ice coffee.
"Festus thought you might like it, with the heat wave and all. Don't worry, it's decaf," he assured her before nudging her bowl closer.
Waiting until she started to eat, he dug into his BLT and fries. It only took her a few minutes to finish her food, and he wordlessly offered part of his sandwich. She ignored it, instead pulling his plate of fries closer.
"Jade, fried food isn't really good for the…" he trailed off when she turned her infamous glare onto him.
"Nevermind."
"Ha! Beck just got told," Rex taunted. Robbie quickly shoved him into his backpack at the twin glares he received.
"Soooo, your due date is coming up. You excited?" Tori asked with a grin.
"Nope, I am so sad that I won't be able to get this bowling ball out of my stomach. I wish she could stay in there forever," Jade drawled, dripping sarcasm from every word.
"But Jadey, I wanna see the baby! Don't keep it in your tummy!"
Jade looked at the whiny Cat as if she had grown a second head. Choosing to ignore her, she turned back to Beck's food. Today she just seemed to always be hungry. Finishing off his fries, she pouted slightly until some of his sandwich appeared in front of her. Kissing his cheek in thanks, she quickly took a bite as he smiled at her. Pregnant Jade was just too cute.
"Anyway, I think we should have a party! Since somebody didn't want to have a baby shower," Tori said pointedly.
Jade gave her a small glare as she chewed. It was true, she hadn't wanted a baby shower, but why would she? Beck's mother and her father had already gotten everything they would possibly need, and she saw no reason to subject herself to stupid party games when she didn't need free stuff. Not that she didn't want it necessarily; she just didn't want the party that went along with it.
"Vega, the last thing I want to do is play stupid party games, like guess the baby food or measure my stomach with string or whatever. If you all wanna give me stuff that's fine, but the party part is not needed. Just hand it to me and I'll tell you if it's shit or not."
Tori scowled at her as Jade smirked. Tormenting Tori was just so easy sometimes.
"Ok, what if we did a party with no games? Just us all hanging out, eating cake, and we give you stuff for the new pup? Sound better?" Tori pleaded. She really wanted to do this dammit! It was her right as a future aunt!
Jade narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she considered this. A baby shower without the games? That may make it more bearable…
"You swear there will be no stupid games?"
"I swear."
"On your life?"
"On my life."
"What about on Robbie's life?"
"Yes, on Robbie's life too."
"Andre?"
"Yes, his too."
"Cat?"
"Yes, yes on everyone's life yes! There will be no party games, just let me give you a freakin' baby shower!" Tori screamed in exasperation.
Jade's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden outburst before she felt her eyes water. Damn hormones! Made her way too sensitive for her own good. Feeling her lip start to quiver, she quickly pushed herself onto her feet.
"You didn't have to fucking yell!" she spat before waddling away before the tears fell. What she wouldn't give for a cup of real coffee.
As she waddled away, everyone at the table watched her go in stunned silence. Sighing, Beck ran a hand through his hair before shooting Tori an annoyed look. Her face showed her shock.
"Beck, I am so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to!" she pleaded.
"I get it, it's fine. Her hormones are making her a little sensitive lately. Just…try to watch it around her. I don't want her upset this close to the end," he told them before getting up. Grabbing both of their belongings, he set off in search of her.
Finding Jade West was somewhat of an art. While many assumed she went to the same place every time, it really depended on her mood. Her normal annoyances and disappearances were usually in the janitor's closet. When it was a fight with her father, the Black Box. Trouble with the girls at school or with Beck, the roof. This particular upset resulted in the library. Weaving through the bookshelves, he found her seated in the fiction section. She was leaning up against the wall, a grimace on her face. The way she was holding her stomach set off small warning bells in his head. Dropping their bags, he got down to eye level with her.
"Jade? Baby?"
Her eyes met with his, scared and pain filled.
"I fell…and my stomach really hurts. Like, a lot," she whimpered.
Beck went on auto pilot after that. Easily lifting her, he began running for his car. Mindful of his precious cargo, he made sure she was secure before jumping into the driver's seat. Peeling out, he clutched her hand in his as he sped to the hospital. On the way, she felt what she knew had to be contractions. There was no other explanation for this kind of pain. Yelling out, she barely noticed his knuckles cracking as she squeezed his hand harshly. Hey, if she had to do this, may as well share the pain with him. They made it to the hospital in record time, the car barely stopped before he leapt out. Pulling her back into his arms, he raced inside to the front desk.
"Hi, my girlfriend is in labor. Her name is Jadelyn West, she isn't due for another few weeks but she fell and she's having contraction and you need to help her!" he urged in one breath.
The receptionist blinked at the jumbled rant before taking one look at Jade. Turning, she yelled for a wheelchair to take her back. "Take her to the birthing center and call the doctor right away."
Beck smiled in thanks as an orderly came with the chair. Placing Jade in it, he jogged next to them as they wheeled her off. She was breathing deeply, trying to ignore the pain shooting through her. For some reason it seemed a lot worse than it should have been.
'If this is how it feels every time, Beck better be happy with only one kid!' she thought bitterly as another contraction hit.
Beck felt his gut clench as she whined through clenched teeth, wishing he could take the pain away. They were in the room by this point, and he took the gown the orderly left for her and helped get her changed. She was just about to get settled in the bed when the doctor arrived.
"Well, Jadelyn, I wish I could say I was happy to see you. It seems to be a little early. Now, let's see what's going on, hmm?" the older man asked gently.
Helping her get her feet up, he did a quick little exam. His brow furrowed as he touched a few spots on her pelvis, pausing when another contraction hit. Doing a quick measurement of how dilated she was, he moved back to look her in the eye.
"Miss West, I will be frank with you. You can do this naturally if you really want, but it would be long and there is a great risk of complications. I would advise a C-section, and then we can get the baby out and into our NICU. I'm not saying that there is anything severely wrong, it is just as a precaution since you are quite early."
"Do it," she said instantly, leaving no room for discussion.
"Wait, babe, are you sure? What about you?" Beck asked quickly, his grip on her hand tightening. She turned to face him, seeing the scared look on his face. He was as terrified of losing her as much as losing their baby. Grabbing his chin, she pulled him down for a quick kiss.
"Everything will be fine. Trust me. I'll see you when their done. Now come on Doctor Wells, let's go!"
Beck could only watch as they wheeled her away. Dr. Wells gave him a pat on the shoulder before steering him out. "The waiting room is just a little down the hall. I will come get you personally when we are finished."
Beck just nodded before heading there, and dropped heavily into a chair once he reached it. Dropping his head into his hands, he let out a deep sigh. What was going to happen? To their baby? To their family? To Jade? He couldn't lose them, he couldn't bear it. Losing them would mean losing his world.
I will try to have the next chapter up soon. No guarantees, I have been having issues with school so things are rather hectic! Sorry!