Voodoo Curse

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 19 (A Brighter Tomorrow)

"I don't know how to even do this," Erwin said while eyeing the blueprints and pictures provided by Beck. Jade watched from afar, smiling as she listened to Beck discussing the blueprints and purpose of Hollywood Arts. This would be remarkable, to see the school of the future prepared.

The turn of events was thrilling to her, she had her sister and her children, as well as her life. Now, it was likely they could have the very school that they saw so many years in the future. "How on earth did you envision all of this again?" Erwin asked with a suspicious laugh. "I know what you said, but damn it's hard to believe."

"Yeah long story," Beck replied, "I wouldn't even worry about that right now." The man was exhausted even now, not wanting to think about the ordeal they'd gone through any longer. "Just know that this will be a success, I'm sure of it."

"It's worth the try." Jade turned to her sister, seated beside her and gave her a smile. Holly returned the smile and reached over, patting her gently on the wrist.

"I'm glad we're working through things, Jade. I'm sorry I was brash before."

"I'm sorry if I seemed like I didn't have your best interest at heart." Nearby, Katrina wrestling with Jason in the grass. Jade couldn't help but to wonder how long it was going to be before her husband took note of it. Holly followed her gaze and chuckled at the sight. "You know, those two were lovers in that future we saw…" She exhaled and let her shoulders fall. "It was heartbreaking to have to tear their world apart to make it back, but they were willing to take that sacrifice."

"I think I would have done the same thing." She pursed her lips and jerked her head back to her sister, raising her eyebrows. Holly watched the children with a sense of wisdom in her eyes. "The way you described that future, how Trina was and how close she was, I think it was the right choice. If I were in her shoes, saving my parents and not knowing what would be different about my life…I'd let go in a heartbeat."

In her heart, she had to agree; if the situation were reversed for her, she probably would have done the same. "I never want to go through that again. Ever." She gave Holly a stern look and the woman laughed.

"Don't worry Jade, I think I'll stay away from that mess for a while."

"Thank you." She flung back her hair and huffed. "I'd kind of like to know what I'd look like at that future age, you know. It'd be absolutely amazing to see if I'm stunning or have wrinkles all over my face."

Holly's face shifted and her nose wrinkled, then after a moment of silence the woman stuck out her tongue. "Given how thin you said I was, I think we'll find out where that leaves you." Jade nudged her sharply and grinned from ear to ear.

In time the dream of Hollywood Arts came to fruition, and it had been as much of a success as they imagined-if not more. Rather than move their girls into a larger home, the house they had seemed to suffice. Holly and David eventually settled down together, purchasing the same home as they had in the future which now seemed to Beck and Jade like a dream.

Much to her surprise, so many things from that timeline occurred as though fate were to intertwine. For there she stood, older and prouder, watching from the front porch as her youngest daughter walked home from school. With Victoria were two teenage boys for whom Beck became something of a mentor to over the years when their fathers were no longer a part of their lives.

"Mom!" Tori waved in the air, nearly dropping the textbook in her hand. "Is it okay if Andre and Robbie hang out here for a bit? We're going to play poker, and I was thinking of inviting Cat." Jade nodded, sliding a hand through her long dark hair.

"You may. Your father and sister are making dinner." Trina was at the point where she was learning to cook some bigger meals, and tonight she was prepping a small turkey so she could work her way up to the coming Thanksgiving dinner. Beck was the one that always prepared the holiday meal, so who else to show her the ropes.

Andre and Robbie thanked her for letting them stay and hurried inside while Tori stopped to hug her mother. Jade squeezed her and held her for a prolonged period, something she'd done for years. It was difficult to tear herself away from the child, even harder knowing that she was growing up and would one day leave the nest.

Granted, Tori was the spoiled one and the one that always said she wanted to stay home with mom and dad for as long as she could. Trina wanted to go out and see the world.

"I love you, momma."

"Love you too baby." Jade walked into the house behind her, taking a deep breath of air. She'd grown thinner over the years and had a few wrinkles here and there, but was still strong as ever. It was Beck she was more concerned about, his metabolism was still so strong that he looked like he never ate.

Cat arrived half an hour later and plopped down on the couch. She and her grandmother were friends of the family, so Tori had known her almost all her life, just like the two boys. All three had grown up to be good, respectable kids for their age-not quite the way they were in the nightmare so long ago.

Robbie did want to be a ventriloquist, and did have a single puppet that stayed at his house whenever he wasn't performing. Then there was Andre, who had grown up with Beck constantly reminding him to be respectful towards women and treat them right. He had a steady girlfriend now that he'd been with for about a year, and Jade couldn't be prouder. Those two boys looked up to Beck like a surrogate father, and as such, she looked at them like the sons she never had.

Beck walked out of the kitchen, his aged brown eyes meeting Jade's in a moment. His hair was short and combed to the right, he had a thick moustache and very light beard. "Food's almost done," he commented with a playful smirk of his thin lips. "Our daughter has succeeded in not starting a fire."

"Hah, hah, very funny." Trina walked out of the kitchen, placing her hands on her hips and playfully nudging her father with her shoulder. He leaned to the right, laughing out and rubbing his arm. "Geez you're almost as bad about cooking as you were teaching me how to drive."

"Yeah well…" He raised his hand towards his lips, coughing into it. "When you get your own car I'll try to worry less." Trina's eyes lit up and Jade crossed her arms, giving Beck a knowing glance. Not only would he never stop his worrying, but she wasn't sure he wanted to buy the girl her own car just yet.

"Am I going to get a car?"

"Nope."

"Dang." She snapped her fingers and walked past Cat and the boys. "Hey guys." They looked up at her and waved, greeting her with friendly demeanors. Jade put her hand to her chest and closed her eyes as a vague recollection of the nearly forgotten twisted future came to mind. "I'd hang with you guys, but I've got something I want to talk to mom about." She opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow as Trina approached her.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, concerned. Trina stopped before her and her demeanor seemed to change. Trina had locked her index fingers before her waist and was biting down on her lip, her eyes averted from Jade's and her face started to turn a shade of pink. "Trina?"

"Um, let's talk outside?" Trina took Jade's hand and looked over her shoulder, letting her voice fall to a whisper. "Preferably outside of Dad's hearing range?" Shocked and worried, she nodded and hurried out to the front porch with the girl. They sat on the porch swing and Trina scooted closer to her.

"What's going on, Trina? Is everything okay? You can tell me anything." She cupped her hand over Trina's and looked into her eyes. "Your father too, dear."

"Yeah, it's just…" Trina swallowed hard and looked away. "You know those martial arts classes Jason and I are taking together at that one place?" Jade started to arch her eyebrows and started to sense where this may be heading.

"Yes?"

"They're really paying off, actually." Trina turned her head fully away from Jade and stared at a car moving down the street. "I enjoy them, and well it's great to have a sparring partner I know so well."

"I'm glad the lessons are paying off. Is this what you needed to talk to me about in private, or is there something else?"

"Um." Trina bit her lip and Jade could feel the nervous tremors moving down the girl's body. "I really enjoy sports, athletics, and I think I want to pursue a career there."

"That's great, honey."

She recognized deflection well, and when Trina looked at her, she gave her a gentle but knowing look. Trina sucked in a heavy breath of air and shut her eyes. "Um mom, I don't know how to say this but I need to tell you. Jason and I, well…" Trina bowed her head and Jade started to nod, saying nothing so as to allow her to finish. "We had sex."

"Oh?" She remained calm, not wanting to appear surprised. The two had grown much closer over the years, so much that Jade was sure something was going to blossom there. Trina studied her for a moment, leaning away.

"You're not mad?"

"Well I mean, was it what you wanted?" Trina nodded slowly and folded her hands into her lap.

"It just happened. We finished sparring and were sitting together, just talking." Trina curled a strand of hair over her ear and chuckled as her cheeks turned bright red. "I feel like I can talk to him about anything, you know? It's odd."

"I don't think it's so odd. Your father and I trust each other completely." She smiled gently and Trina's lips formed an oval for a second.

"I see." Trina blew out a sharp breath of air and slid her hand over her wrist. "Well, you see, I'd been having this thing lately-I just feel drawn to him in a way. Like I had some sort of crush on him, and I told him." She felt the urge to grin, to leap up and cheer, but withheld the urge as much as she could. "I told him I wanted to know what it would be like to be with him, he held my hand and said he was thinking the same thing."

"Okay."

"Well, we kissed." Trina nodded sharply and looked to the door, hesitating as though expecting Beck to pop out at any moment. "One thing led to another. I liked it. I-I've never experienced anything like that before…"

It was the moment Jade had been waiting for, and now the urge to scream for joy was almost too great. To think she'd cherish being able to be there for her daughter during such an important talk, something that she knew the feeling of having once been stolen from her.

Trina bowed her head and raised her eyes towards Jade, looking as though she were ready to be scolded. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"You're not mad that I-"

"That you what? Experienced something as natural as the wind?" Trina lifted head and gasped as Jade shrugged. "Honey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with making love-if it's with the right person, if it's with someone you feel you trust completely and wholly to respect you…Cherish it, don't be afraid of it."

"Well…" Trina cleared her throat and sniffed. "We talked afterwards and we're going to date. I'd like to date. I know how Dad's so afraid of me and Tori having a boyfriend and all, but-"

"Don't you worry." Jade winked and looked back at the door. "I will talk to your father." Trina started to pale and begged her not to tell him about what transpired between her and Jason. Jade gave her a hug and laughed. "Secret's safe with me, honey. Trust me, I don't want to lose your father to a heart attack."

"Thanks mom." Trina rose up and hurried inside. Jade remained on the swing, running her hands slowly over her knees. She looked down with a wistful sigh and closed her eyes. Eventually a force moved the swing and she looked over as her husband draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Our kids our growing up," he said calmly, "but every now and then I still have those nightmares. Watching Victoria play with her friends, being able to teach my daughter how to prepare a thanksgiving meal or drive a car…I never thought how much I would possibly cherish those moments."

"I know." She put her head on his shoulder and tangled her fingers with his. "It's going to be so hard to let them go. Soon they'll be going off to college, getting married, having families of their own." She leaned up a bit to kiss him on the lips. "Like us, they'll have someone to grow old with."

He smiled at her and gently squeezed her hand. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner to grow old with." Her heart swelled. "So, what did you and Trina talk about? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything is fine." She looked off into the distance, humming gently. Beck eyed her suspiciously and she looked back with a nervous chuckle. "You know that day we saw coming from a mile away, and were just waiting for?" He started to shake his head, uncertain. "Our little girl's growing into a woman, she's ready to start dating."

"What? She wants to start dating? What boy thinks-"

"Do you really have to ask?" She smirked and Beck turned a lighter shade of white than she thought was possible. "She wants to be with him, he wants to be with her; and we're going to let it happen."

"But-"

"But nothing." Jade kissed his cheek and sighed. It wasn't overprotectiveness so much anymore as it was just learning to let go, she understood that as she had the same trouble from time to time. "We can't shelter our girls. You know that as well as I do."

"We've given them a good life, haven't we?" He scratched behind his head and held his breath for the longest moment. "God." His voice trembled like a leaf in the wind and his eyes started to mist. "I can honestly say if Trina wants a boyfriend, I'm glad it's Jason. I have a lot of respect for that boy."

"So do I…Honestly, back then I was terrified we'd never even have this future." Beck frowned and Jade ran a finger over her eyes. "Now we have it, and I can't help but to want to cling to our daughters even tighter than most parents do just because of what we went through."

"We have our children, we have each other, and you're still close to your sister. I know how hard it is, believe me, you're often the one telling me I'm holding on too much." She chuckled softly and cuddled close to him.

"We're both guilty of that."

"I'm proud of you, proud of our children and I'm looking forward to seeing what their future will be." Jade's lips spread across her face and her chest filled with hope and inspiration. "So let's do what we can to stop being afraid of a future that's nothing more than a nightmare some decade ago now, and focus on the present we have…and the future our girls will have and hopefully share with us."

"Yeah, I look forward to the grandchildren." She gave him a coy smirk and Beck started to sigh. "I wonder which of our babies will marry first and give us grandchildren first."

"Not too soon, hopefully. I'm barely ready to buy Trina that car I'm getting her for Christmas!" He brought his hand to his face and Jade belted out a laugh.

So ends this tale, I'm sorry the final chapter took so long to get out, but thank you for your patience. I hope you've all enjoyed, and I know I enjoyed bringing the tale to you and hearing your thoughts as it went along.