"You okay?" Beck asks Jade, walking into their bedroom with Liam on his hip
The morning had started like any other. Beck's alarm had gone off at six and woken both him and Jade, then he had gotten in the shower while Jade fed Liam once he woke up. Normally, they would have gone upstairs together to have breakfast with Kaitlyn, Chris, and Tyler, but Jade had sent Beck up with the baby on his own, claiming that she 'needed a minute'. Now breakfast is over and it's almost time for Beck to leave for work, but Jade has yet to get out of bed.
"Yeah... " She sighs "I will be. I just...I have this killer headache."
"Do you want me to call off?" Beck offers "I can stay with Liam and you can try to sleep it off."
"No, it's fine." She assures him "I'll just take it easy this morning and then nap when he naps. If it doesn't go away after that and some ibuprofen, I'll call Cat to come and take him to the park or something when she gets out of class."
"You're sure?"
"Yes." She can't help but smile "I'm a big girl, I'll be okay."
"If you say so." He smiles, leaning down to kiss her forehead before passing the baby to her "Feel better, okay? I love you."
"I love you too."
"Love you, Liam." Beck presses a kiss to the top of the baby's head as well "Be extra good for Mommy today, she's not feeling the best."
"He'll be good." Jade smirks "Especially because I'm going to trick him into staying in bed with me for a little while longer this morning."
"And just how are you going to do that?"
"M'gonna feed him again and hope it relaxes him enough that he'll want to cuddle." She shrugs "Get going, you don't want to be late."
"Alright, alright." Beck chuckles "Have a good day, okay? Call me if you need me."
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Thankfully, Liam cooperates and Jade is able to lay in bed with him for almost another hour. Neither one of them falls back to sleep, but Liam rests comfortably against Jade's chest while she rubs his back gently. She appreciates simpleness of the whole thing, knowing that moments like these will start to happen less and less as time goes forward. Liam is going to be a whole year old in less than a month, and at that point he'll be considered a toddler...not a baby anymore. She doesn't know how time has flown by so quickly.
Eventually Liam grows restless and wants to get up, and Jade has no choice to oblige him. There's no debating with an active baby when they want to get up and move. Her head still hurts, but it isn't pounding as badly as it was when she woke up that morning. She grabs herself a banana and takes a few ibuprofen before she sets Liam down to play with his trains, hoping that the distraction of her son and the progression of the day will bring her some relief.
Unfortunately, by the time she puts Liam down for his afternoon nap around lunchtime, she still isn't feeling any better. Normally she would take this baby-free time to get some of her coursework done, as she's rapidly approaching the end of her semester and needs to get her final projects done, but today she just doesn't have it in her. She feels more tired than she normally does at this point in the day too, and decides that a nap would likely be the best use of her time. She crawls into bed and wraps herself up in the blankets, falling fast asleep in a matter of minutes.
Liam is awake and fussing in what feels like no time at all, but according to her phone was actually closer to an hour and a half. Jade's head is pounding again as she staggers over to his crib to retrieve him, somehow feeling worse now than she did that morning. With a yawn she carries Liam upstairs and buckles him into his highchair before cutting up some strawberries and placing them on the tray as a bit of an after-nap snack.
Absentmindedly, Jade cuts the top off of a strawberry and pops it into her own mouth, regretting it almost instantly. Her stomach starts to turn immediately and she pivots, vomiting into the sink.
"Fuck." She mutters to herself
Whatever is ailing her is clearly more than a headache at this point. She won't be able to keep a proper eye on Liam if she's running to the bathroom every few minutes to throw up, so she fishes her phone out of the pocket of her hoodie and dials Cat's number...just as she promised Beck that she would.
"Hi Jadey!" Cat answers quickly
"Hey..."
"Uh, oh. You don't sound good." Cat remarks "Is everything okay?"
"Yes and no..." Jade sighs "I...I'm not feeling the best. I have a throbbing headache and I just threw up. Do you think you could come over and hang out with Liam after class today?"
"Of course I can!" Cat tells her "I actually just finished up for the day. I can be there in like twenty minutes."
"Thanks, Cat."
"Do you need me to bring you anything?"
"No, we're okay." Jade assures her "I think I just need some rest."
"Not a problem." Cat tells her "I'll see you soon."
True to her word, Cat arrives less than twenty minutes later. She had been entrusted with Kaitlyn's garage code back when they were in high school, it's never been changed, so she's able to let herself into the house without Jade having to get up. She finds her in the living room with Liam, laying on one of the couches while she watches the baby crawl around on the floor with one of his toys.
"Heeeeyy..." She singsongs as she enters the room, making her presence known
"Hey..." Jade smiles a bit "Thanks for coming over."
"Of course." Cat assures her "Anything for my best friend and my favorite nephew."
"He's your only nephew..."
"Which makes him my favorite." Cat insists as she sits down on the couch beside Jade, resting the grocery bag she had brought with her on her lap "I brought you some stuff."
"You didn't have to do that."
"I know, but I wanted to." Cat tells her as she starts going through the bag "Let's see...Excedrin, chicken soup, some crackers, and uh, these...if you want them."
"What are 'these'?" Jade asks, reaching for the box that Cat is holding in her hand "Oh jesus, Cat. Pregnancy tests? Really?"
"Listen, all of your symptoms line right up with the stomach flu. I get that." Cat holds her hands up in surrender "But...they're also first trimester pregnancy hormones and you know..."
She and Jade both allow their gaze to fall to Liam for a moment before looking back up at each other. He hadn't come about in the most predictable of circumstances, Jade realizes that. But she still doesn't think that there's any way she could be pregnant for a second time.
"You don't have to take one." Cat adds "They're just...here if you want them."
Jade is trying to remember the last time that she and Beck had sex. It doesn't happen nearly as often these days as it did before they had Liam, both because of their busy schedules and because they sleep in such close proximity to their son. It was probably Valentine's Day, which was well over six weeks ago. If she were pregnant, a test would definitely come back positive by now. Taking one might offer her peace of mind now that Cat has freaked her out.
There's absolutely no way that she could be pregnant...right...?
"I'll be right back." Jade sighs as she stands up from the couch, walking towards the half-bathroom on the first floor "Do you mind watching him?"
"S'why I came over..." Cat nods "Wait, are you taking one?"
"Yeah..." Jade calls back over her shoulder
Cat picks Liam up off of the carpet along with his toy and carries him out of the living room and down the hallway towards the bathroom. Jade has the door closed, obviously, but Cat wants to be there for emotional support once she opens it. She leans against the wall and slides to the ground and positions the baby on her lap, holding the toy in front of him while they wait.
"Oh." Jade is surprised to see them when she opens the door "Hi."
"Hi." Cat looks up at her from the floor "What does it say?"
"Nothing yet." Jade tells her as she sits down beside her "It needs five minutes. I...I set a timer."
She holds her phone up for emphasis and Cat nods to show that she understands.
"I'm sure it'll be negative." Cat tells her, still holding the toy for Liam to play with
"I'm not." Jade admits with a sigh "When you first showed me the box, I didn't think there was any possibility at all that I could be. But now I'm in my head and freaking myself out..."
"Time will tell..." Cat nods "What...what are you going to do if it's positive?"
"I'll tell Beck and we'll go from there..." Jade shrugs "I dunno I don't really want to think about it."
The two women sit in silence for a few minutes, the timer on Jade's phone causing them both to jump when it goes off. Jade stands up to return to the test, and Cat offers to go with her. The two women enter the small bathroom together, Cat still holding Liam.
"I don't know if I can look..." Jade admits, starting to feel nauseous again
"Do you want me to do it?" Cat offers
"No." Jade shakes her head "No, I need to do it."
With a nervous hand she reaches out for the test, conveniently placed face-down on the countertop. Jade takes a sharp breath in and flips over the plastic test, revealing a very clear and very bright plus sign on the other side.
"Shit!" She exclaims, dropping to her knees "Shit, shit, shit!"
"What does it say?" Cat reaches out and takes the test from her "Oh no. It's okay, Jadey. It's going to be okay..."
She kneels down beside her and places a hand on her friend's shoulder, rubbing her back reassuringly. Of course, she has no idea if it's going to be okay or not. Two babies under the age of two, and two unplanned babies at that, definitely isn't ideal. But Jade and Beck found a way to make things work when Liam was born, they'll find a way to make things work now...regardless of what that means.
Jade can't keep herself from crying, pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them. Not only is she scared, but she feels like an absolute idiot. One unplanned pregnancy is one thing, cryptic or not, but two...god, how could she have been so stupid?
"Mama?"
Liam's tiny voice startles them both. Jade's head snaps up to make eye contact with her son, shocked that he had said something so clearly. Up until this point, all of the noises and sounds that Liam has made have been just babble and undecipherable, cute baby noises that didn't mean anything at all. But Liam had very clearly said 'Mama', something that he has never done before.
"Aw..." Cat smirks, bouncing Liam gently in her arms "Has he ever said that before?"
"No..." Jade shakes her head, looking from Cat to Liam, her eyes still red with tears "Did you say Mama?"
"Mama?" Liam says again, reaching his arms out for Jade this time
He leans towards her and Jade opens her arms to him, pulling him into her lap and hugging him tightly. Somehow just having him in her arms makes her feel more at ease, not any less terrified, but at ease.
"That's me, I'm Mama." Jade says to him as she rubs his back "Your timing is impeccable, kid."
"Always has been, hasn't it?" Cat smiles at them
"Yeah." Jade agrees with a laugh "S'his first word..."
"I figured." Cat nods "It's going to be okay, Jadey. I don't know how, but it will. You and Beck have done great with Liam, clearly, and you'll be okay now...whatever you decide."
"Thank you for saying that..." Jade tells her "It's...a lot to take in, obviously."
"I can stay until Beck gets home, if you want." Cat offers
"Yeah..." Jade nods "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Cat."
Beck immediately notices a difference in Jade's demeanor when he arrives home from work, but he knows she had been feeling sick when he left that morning and doesn't think much more of it. Cat is there when he gets back, and Jade had mentioned that she would call her if she needed help with Liam during the day. Jade just must still be feeling off, that's it. He's quickly distracted by his son's milestone accomplishment, saying 'Mama' is huge after all. Although Beck had secretly been hoping that Liam would say 'Dada' first, he still can't help beaming with pride as he repeats his first word over and over again throughout the evening.
Kaitlyn invites Cat to stay for dinner, and she accepts but doesn't stay long after. She has class in the morning and doesn't want to impose on Jade; the only reason she had been there in the first place is because she isn't feeling well. She says goodnight to everyone and departs, then Beck and Jade begin saying their goodnights as well before retreating to the basement with Liam to start his bedtime routine.
Beck gives Liam a bath and gets him ready for bed, urging Jade to lay down while he does so to keep her from over-exerting herself. She retreats to the couch to watch TV while she waits for her boyfriend to bring the baby to her, then takes him into the bedroom to begin nursing him to sleep.
When she exits their room a short while later Beck is watching TV, the same movie she had turned on when she was laying down.
"Can you turn that off?" She asks him anxiously "I need to talk to you."
"Uh, sure..." Beck reaches for the remote "Everything okay?"
"No, not really..." Jade sighs as she sits down beside him, waiting for the screen to go black before she continues speaking "Beck, I'm pregnant."
"What?"
"I'm pregnant." She tells him again
"No, I heard you..." He nods slowly "Are you...how did this happen?"
"Valentine's Day, probably." She admits "We weren't careful."
They hadn't used a condom, they rarely have since she started taking her birth control back in high school. Except she hadn't been taking her birth control since Liam was born, figuring that as long as she was breastfeeding and wasn't getting her period that they would be safe...clearly that wasn't the case.
"Fuck..." Beck sighs, running a hand through his hair "What even made you think to...Jade, are you sure?"
"Cat brought over a box of tests earlier." Jade explains "I...I called her to come and help with Liam because I threw up. All of the symptoms I had today could have been the stomach flu...or they could have been first trimester pregnancy symptoms. I didn't even think about it until she showed me the box and then...I just had this hunch."
"And you're sure?" Beck repeats
"I took all three tests in the box." Jade nods "They're in our room, I can show you."
"I believe you." Beck assures her "I just...fuck."
"I don't know what we're going to do..."
"Neither do I."
Two under two would be daunting if they were older and financially stable...but they're not. The hope had originally been that once Jade finishes her internship and started working, once they had two incomes, they might be able to afford to move out on their own by the end of the year. A second baby might throw a wrench into that plan, and it would certainly eliminate any chance they have of getting back to New York anytime soon.
"We..." Jade hesitates "We don't necessarily have to have it..."
"Is that what you want?" Beck raises an eyebrow at her "Do you want to have an abortion?"
At the end of the day, it's her body. Beck will support whatever choice she makes, he just isn't sure how great either one of them would feel about it.
"Of course I don't..." She sighs "I just wish that the circumstances were different."
"Me too." Beck agrees "Well...I mean...I know we haven't talked about it recently...but I remember back before Liam when we would talk about hypothetically having kids...we did say we wanted them close together."
"But less than two years apart?" Jade emphasizes "He's not even one yet, Beck. By the time this baby would get here he'd be...what? Like nineteen months, barely?"
"They'd be two years apart in school."
"S'true..."
"Money would be tight though..." Beck adds "Even with you working, we'd probably have to stick around here for a bit longer than we wanted to. And New York-"
"I know getting back to New York is a pipe dream at this point." Jade cuts him off "I know it's not going to be achievable in the near future."
"I'm sorry, Jade."
"It's fine." She shrugs, a disappointed look on her face "We're dancing around this, Beck. Can we...do we want to have another baby?"
"What do you want?"
"This can't be all on me."
"I know, but it's your body." He reminds her "If you're feeling very strongly one way or the other, I want to be sympathetic to that."
"I'm not feeling strongly in terms of abortion, if that's what you're asking." She tells him "But...I am feeling really scared."
"Because you know at the end of all of this, we're keeping this baby...don't you?"
"Yeah..." Jade admits with a solemn nod "I mean...we kept Liam after not knowing about him. If we have nine months to prepare, if we know ahead of time what we're up against...I think we can do it."
"I think we can too." Beck agrees "It'll be hard but-"
"So is having just one kid."
"Right." Beck reaches over and takes her hand "I love you, Jade. You and I are in this together, and it's going to be okay. It might be hard for a while...but Liam is going to have a sibling close in age to grow up with...and I think that's awesome."
It's something that neither one of them had growing up, something that their younger selves had at one point discussed wanting for their own children one day.
"I love you too." Jade smirks, leaning over to kiss him "And you're right, but..."
"But?"
"But our parents are going to kill us."