Jade's expression is somber as she and Beck make their way through security at Newark airport. Headed for LAX, the young couple walks hand-in-hand as they weave through the crowds of people. Beck has one of their bags over his shoulder, while his hand that isn't holding Jade's pulls a rolling suitcase behind them. Jade wears a backpack full of a few of her own belongings, but mostly baby items, while Liam rests peacefully in the baby wrap on her chest. The wrap had been a gift from Melissa the night before, when she stopped by the apartment one last time to meet the baby...and to say goodbye to her friend.
Most of their belongings are being shipped cross-country. It was more cost-effective that way, the alternative being to buy even more luggage to fit everything in...and then to pay the upcharge to check everything. Beck and Jade packed enough to get them through their first week back in LA along with all of Liam's belongings, they're still not entirely sure what he needs to get through each day, and the rest will meet the there.
"You okay?" Beck asks as the line comes to a standstill
She's sad, he knows that. It's easy to tell just by looking at her. He wants to do something to make her feel better, but he also doesn't want to make things any worse.
"I will be..." Jade tells him quietly "I just...I thought New York and I had more time together."
Another year at least, ideally longer than that. When she arrived as a freshman on NYU's campus three years ago, the city felt like an endgame for her. Sure, maybe one day she'd be splitting her time between there and California, when she was so highly in demand by every production studio on both coasts, but New York would be home. It doesn't feel right to be leaving it entirely so soon, but she knows doing so is what's best for her family. She has a family, and she has to think of them now too...not just herself.
"Like you said, it'll always be here." Beck reminds her, pressing a kiss to her temple "S'not forever, we'll be back."
At least he hopes.
"I know." Jade sighs, looking down at the baby resting against her chest "This is what's best for him...and if I had to pick between staying in New York or having him...I'd pick him every time."
"Me too." Beck agrees "Crazy how kids can change your entire world, huh?"
Liam is only ten days old, but neither of his parents can imagine a life without him at this point. He'll be worth the major adjustments they have to make, they're both reminded of that every time they look at him.
"Yeah." Jade agrees "Completely crazy."
Their flight is nonstop and while its only supposed to take six hours, it feels like much longer to the new parents. Flying with a newborn would be hard enough if they actually had a clue what they were doing, but they really don't. The change in air pressure makes Liam uncomfortable, and almost inconsolable. Jade tries to feed him, but is embarrassed and awkward doing so in public for basically the first time. Beck tries to help her, but really only ends up making it worse. While some of their fellow passengers are sympathetic, most of them are irritated by the baby's non-stop waling and make it known with dirty looks. Both of them spend the entirety of the flight wishing for it to be over and once it is, they both finally feel like they can breathe again.
"Most 'first flights' are usually unpleasant." Kaitlyn assures them as they drive home from the airport "I remember praying that you would sleep through the whole thing, but you were wide awake the entire time."
"He's sure not having any problems sleeping now." Jade sighs as she watches Liam in his carseat beside her "He's passed out."
"He exhausted himself with all of the crying." Beck smirks from the passenger seat, looking up at her in the rearview mirror
"S'not funny, I was so fucking embarrassed." Jade tells him
"So was I, babe. But we're never going to see any of those people again." He reminds her "There's no use dwelling on it."
Jade knows that he's right, and nods in agreement as her mother continues to drive.
The familiar scent of her childhood home is overwhelmingly comforting as they walk through the front door. Jade feels a bit more at ease as she kicks off her shoes and looks around. The biggest difference now, at least to her, is that instead of running upstairs and flopping down on her bed, she and Beck will both descend to the ground level to unpack their belongings and start to find their bearings.
"I hear people!" Her step-father, Chris, says as he enters the front foyer "I see people! Welcome home, everybody!"
"Hi Chris." Jade smiles as she accepts a hug from him "S'good to see you."
"You too, Jadey Baby." He tells her with a grin before turning to Beck "Beck."
"Mr. Parker." Beck extends his hand to shake "I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here. It means a lot."
"Of course. Anything you guys need." Chris assures him "And if you're going to be living here, I think it's alright for you to call me Chris. You've certainly known me long enough."
"I'll try it out." Beck nods with a smirk
"And who do we have here?" Chris smiles as he kneels down to look inside the carseat at Beck's feet "You're new here."
"This is Liam..." Jade can't help but smile as she bends down to remove the baby from his seat "Liam, can you say 'hi' to Papa? Do you want to hold him, Chris?"
"Sure." Chris nods, standing up so he can take the baby from Jade "Well hello there, Mr. Liam. S'nice to meet you. I've heard you're quite sneaky."
"Yeah, hiding out for nine months without any of us knowing." Jade sighs "If that's what he's managing as an infant, who knows what he'll be like as a teenager."
All four adults laugh.
Chris and Kaitlyn offer to look after Liam while Beck and Jade take their bags downstairs and start to settle in. They take them up on their offer, grateful for some baby-free time after their exhausting flight.
"I remember watching movies down here in high school." Beck remarks as he looks around the lower level "We can call it a basement, right? That's what it is?"
"Not technically." Jade says as she emerges from the bedroom "Basements have to be at least a little below-ground. Almost nowhere in LA has a basement."
"Fair enough." Beck shrugs "I'm still calling it a basement though."
"Suit yourself."
"Hey, c'mere."
Jade obliges and walks over to Beck, leaning against him as he wraps her up in a hug.
"You okay?" He asks
"Better now that we're actually here." She admits "But still not great. That could be the hormones though."
"Could be exhaustion too." Beck reminds her "You should nap. I'll take the baby."
"I'll nap after I feed him." Jade assures him "Then I'll keep him with me so no one is worrying about him."
"You don't have to."
"He and I are nap buddies now." Jade laughs "I'm supposed to sleep when the baby sleeps, after all."
"Right, I've heard that." He chuckles, pressing a kiss to the top of her head "We'll be okay here, you know. We'll make the most of it."
"I know we will."
"I love you."
"I love you too." Jade tells him "Thanks for sticking around."
"I couldn't imagine not sicking around."
"There's a new bassinet in the bedroom." Jade informs her boyfriend "My mom is still in grandma-overdrive."
"One less thing to buy, right?"
"Yeah, but they're already letting us live here." She reminds him "I don't want to become too dependent on them."
"S'just what grandparents do. I'm sure there will be plenty more where that came from."
"We should take him to meet your parents later."
"Are you volunteering to spend time with my parents?"
It's not that Jade doesn't get along with the Oliver's, it's just that none of them would be each other's first choice of company...or second, or third choice either.
"For our son, yes." Jade rolls her eyes "I'm not going to be the bitchy daughter-in-law who never lets them see the kid."
"I appreciate that, thank you." Beck smiles "Who knows? Maybe you'll end up bonding over him."
"Don't push it."
"Jade?" Kaitlyn calls down the stairs "He's a bit fussy, might be time for his snack."
"Coming!" Jade calls back to her, then briefly turns to Beck "Can you bring the rest of the bags into the bedroom, please?"
"Of course."
Jade returns a short time later with Liam, and after feeding him decides to curl up on the bed beside him to take a nap. Beck does his best to unpack their belongings without making any noise, but ultimately decides to lay down as well on the opposite side of Liam from Jade. Both she and the baby had fallen asleep within minutes of laying down, and now look so peaceful as they lay beside each other. Beck can't help but smile as he watches them both sleep, a moment of peacefulness in what has been a rather chaotic few days. His whole world is in the bed beside him, and its odd to think about just how quickly that had become the case given the circumstances of the last few weeks. After awhile, Beck is asleep as well.
A loud noise awakes them, although neither of them are sure how much time later. Jade's hand immediately moves to calm Liam, although the newborn only flinches at the sound and doesn't cry.
"What was that?" Beck asks as he sits up "Are you okay?"
"We're fine." Jade assures him as she picks Liam up, cradling him in her arms "I have no idea what that was. "
They hear the sound again, followed by muffled voices and what sounds like stomping on the floor above them.
"Tyler must be home." Jade yawns "What time is it?"
"3:45." Beck responds, checking the time on his phone
"That should be him then." Jade nods "I'm going to go say hi."
"I'm right behind you."
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Tyler yells as Beck and Jade step onto the main floor "NO ONE EVEN ASKED ME!"
"We didn't need to ask you, Tyler." Chris tells him calmly "This is our house, we get to make these kinds of decisions."
"Hey..." Jade says timidly as she enters the kitchen, Liam in her arms and Beck behind her "How was school, T?"
"I don't want to talk to you!" Tyler snaps "I hate you!"
"Whoa!" Jade gasps "What did I do?"
"Why am I being punished because you were stupid and had a stupid baby?" Tyler exclaims "I hate it here!"
He pushes past Jade, going out of his way to bump her elbow as he does so. Thankfully, he jostles Liam's feet instead of his head, but the sudden impact startles the baby and causes him to cry.
"Tyler!" Kaitlyn calls after him "Get back here!"
"Screw you guys!"
"Hey..." Jade coos as she tries to calm Liam down, bouncing him gently in her arms "Hey, you're okay, Liam. You're okay, you're safe."
"Jade, I'm so sorry." Chris apologizes "We had no idea he would react like that."
"It's fine." Jade says, already upset but growing more frazzled as Liam continues to cry "I...I'm just going to take him back downstairs."
She quickly retreats back to the lower level, shushing and rocking Liam as she paces in circles trying to calm him down again. Eventually, his cries stop and he falls back to sleep, but Jade doesn't feel any better. Her younger brother, while completely out of line, hadn't been incorrect. It had been stupid of her to still decide to have sex knowing she didn't have her birth control with her. She loves Liam, but it's her own fault any of them are in this situation. With a sigh, she sits down carefully on the couch and repositions Liam so that his head is resting against her chest.
The door to the upper floor opens and Beck comes padding down the stairs, a worried look crossing his face as his eyes land on his girlfriend.
"Have you been crying?"
"Not intentionally." She shrugs
"Crying is rarely intentional." He reminds her as he sits down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders "He's twelve, babe. He doesn't understand what's going on, he didn't mean it. Doesn't make it okay, but-"
"He's right. I was stupid." Jade sniffs
"We were stupid." Beck corrects her "It takes two, remember? And let's not try to think of it like that. Sure, there was an error in our judgement on that camping trip, but look what we have now because of it."
He places his free hand on Liam's back and rests his forehead against Jade's.
"You're not stupid, Jade." He tells her "I love you."
"I love you too." She answers him quietly "I can't believe Tyler is so upset about us being here."
"S'not necessarily about us being here." Beck assures her "Apparently, he used to keep his video games down here since this TV was rarely used by anyone. Chris moved them up to the living room TV and now he has to ask permission to use them instead of just spending all of his free time down here. We stole his man cave."
"Oh my god..." Jade groans
"He's twelve, babe." Beck reminds her again "He has different priorities."
"I know, I know." Jade sighs "It's just a little ridiculous."
"He'll come around."
"I hope so."
"We can skip the visit to my parents' tonight, if you want." Beck offers "We've probably had enough excitement today to last us a month."
"No..." Jade looks down at Liam, his small breaths hot against her skin "No, they should get to meet their grandson. They've waited long enough."
"Are you sure?"
"No." Jade smirks "But s'the right thing to do. I just have one condition though."
"Okay."
"Watch him for a bit so I can shower before we go?" She asks him hopefully "I'm covered in spit up and I still have airplane germs all over me."
"Of course." Beck laughs as he reaches to take the baby "I can handle that."