"I know, I know..." Beck chuckles as he wipes leftover banana off of Liam's face, the baby squirming with discontent "You hate it when we wipe your face off. We have to make sure you're all nice and clean before Mommy takes you to Grandma's though! Gotta look good!"

With Jade starting her internship and having to get ready herself in the morning, Beck has taken over helping with some of Liam's morning routine. All he really has to do is get up, shower, and eat something on his way out the door before work. Jade's morning is a bit more...extensive...having to make sure that her hair and makeup is done and the diaper bag is packed with everything the baby will need before she drops him off with Priya for the day. Beck doesn't mind being the one to take Liam upstairs and feed him breakfast after Jade has gotten him dressed, he's happy for any extra time he can get with his son. He feels like he doesn't get enough of it as it is, even with being in charge of Liam's before-bed bath and story time.

"There we go." Beck smiles as he sets the washcloth down, then removes the tray so he can lift Liam out of his high chair "That wasn't so bad now, was it? A small price to pay for an extra handsome face!"

He blows a raspberry kiss on the baby's cheek, causing Liam to smile and giggle a bit as Jade enters the kitchen. She has her work bag slung over one shoulder, and the diaper bag on her other.

"What are you talking about? His face is always handsome." She smirks as she sets the bags down on the kitchen island "Breakfast go okay?"

"Yup." Beck assures her "He's ready for a full day of playing and napping!"

"Perfect." Jade laughs, opening the fridge to grab the gallon of milk

She and Beck each pour themselves a bowl of cereal and sit at the kitchen table together to eat, Liam on Beck's lap as they do so. This is typical for them on weekdays, sometimes Kaitlyn, Chris, Tyler, or any combination of the three will join them depending on how everyone's schedules are running. With it being summer now, and Tyler not having to be up to catch the bus, usually he sleeps in...giving Kaitlyn and Chris the chance to sleep in an extra thirty minutes or so as well.

"What's on your agenda today?" Beck asks Jade as they start cleaning up their dishes "Shadowing meetings?"

"Probably, yeah." Jade shrugs "They have a creative meeting in the morning that I get to sit in on, if I'm lucky they might ask me for input. I'm sure at some point someone will ask me to get them coffee...stop trying to deflect."

"I'm not trying to deflect!" Beck insists "I'm genuinely interested in what you're doing today. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than pulling orders or moving stock at the warehouse."

"But it's not nearly as important as that audition you have this afternoon." Jade reminds him "Which you are going to nail, by the way. I can't wait to hear all about it."

Beck had managed to land himself an audition for a new network teen drama, aiming to start filming by the end of the summer and premiere in the fall line-up. It's for a high school student, the best friend of the lead...not anything front and center but a bigger part than anything he's ever played before for sure. He'd be a series regular, which would mean a regular paycheck as well...paying a hell of a lot more than he makes at his warehouse job. While Jade's internship is paid and the extra income is helping them some, they need all of the money that they can make with a second baby on the way.

"I don't want to jinx it by talking about it." Beck admits "I'm just trying to go about my day like its any other...I'm afraid if I think about it too much, I'll psych myself out."

He's more than prepared, at least he thinks he is. He and Jade had been running his lines together every night for almost two weeks. He knows the whole scene by heart, and will be able to do it off-book. That fact alone should hopefully give him a leg-up on anyone else he's auditioning against.

"You're going to be great." Jade assures him, rubbing his shoulders gently before taking Liam out of his arms "You're more than prepared, and you're super talented. They'd be stupid not to choose you."

"Thanks, babe." He smiles a bit, leaning in to kiss her quickly on the lips "I love you."

"I love you too."

"And I love you, Liam." Beck presses a kiss to the top of his son's head before resting a hand on Jade's slightly-protruding abdomen "You too, baby. I hope everyone has a great day."

"You too." Jade tells him, kissing him quickly again "Keep me updated, okay? We'll keep a plate warm."

He's going to have to leave work early in order to to make it to the audition on time, he plans on skipping his normal break time during the day in order to compensate. Despite his leaving early the audition is at an office in North Hollywood, significantly out of his way on his normal commute. He'll be home later than usual and will likely miss dinner.

"I will, I promise." He assures her "See you guys later."

"See you."

Jade begins gathering both her things and Liam's so that they can get ready to leave, and Beck grabs his lunch out of the fridge. He moves behind Jade and hugs her waist, pressing another kiss to her cheek before finally exiting the kitchen and heading out the door. As he climbs into his truck, he stops for a moment before putting his keys in the ignition...taking a deep breath before he officially starts his day. Today could be the true start of his professional acting career, today could change everything. He just needs luck on his side.


Distracting himself with work had seemed to help him feel less nervous throughout the day. Sure, he hadn't loved skipping his break so he would be able to get away with leaving half an hour earlier than usual...but even then, extra work had provided an extra distraction. Now as he sits in the holding room waiting for his named to be called to audition, he feels the nervousness start to bubble up again.

Looking around at all of the other actors who are also waiting, he realizes that he isn't anything special compared to the rest of them...at least not on the outside. They're all in their late teens or early-to-mid twenties, they all have dark hair and dark eyes, and they're all reasonably attractive. He knows that in past auditions, his appearances have helped him...even if it was only slightly. Today it seems that he's going to have to rely on talent and luck alone. It's not that he doesn't think he's talented, he knows that he's a decent actor...he just knows how much of a wildcard relying on luck can be. Sometimes things will swing in his favor, and other times they won't. Luck is completely out of his control.

"Oliver?" A woman holding a clipboard appears at the entrance to the audition room

"Yes?" He responds, standing up so that she can see him

"They're ready for you."

Beck nods and grabs his jacket off of the back of the chair he had been sitting in, then rolls up the script he had been reading over and tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans as he walks across the room. Another young actor is walking out of the audition room as he walks in, and the two of them share a nod as they pass each other. No need for pleasantries, but also no need to be rude.

There's a table of five people sitting on one side of the audition room, a camera set up beside the table they all sit at. On the other side of the room, there's a green-screen...presumably for the auditioning actors to stand in front of.

"Go ahead and stand on that 'x' on the floor for us." The woman beside the camera tells him "Do you mind if we film this? To watch back later if we need to?"

"Of course not." Beck assures him "Go for it."

"Perfect, thanks." The woman responds "My friend Tom is going to be reading with you today."

"Hi Tom." Beck waves to the man, who waves back "So do I just...or...?"

"Go ahead and slate, then we'll get started."

"Oh, right." Beck nods "Uh... Beck Oliver, twenty-two years old, six foot, auditioning for the role of Ethan."

"Perfect, whenever you're ready."

"This is just asking to get caught!" Beck begins his lines, looking frantically over his shoulder like his character might if the scene were in context "Seriously dude, if Coach catches us, we'll be off the team and I can kiss any chance of a scholarship goodbye!"

"It's the middle of the night..." The man, Tom, says nonchalantly, reading from his own script "On a Tuesday. No one is worried about anyone breaking into the film locker on a Tuesday. People have more serious things to be worried about."

"Yeah, but they might care if they find out we're stealing the team footage to sell to a rival school." Beck sneers "Seriously, Vince. How could you think that this is-"

"Our team doesn't have a shot at the championship so long as Turner is in charge." Tom says "He's driving the program into the ground. Sure, you're the quarterback...some D2 or D3 school will give you a scholarship and you'll be fine. Some of us are going to have to work something else out. This is my something else."

"You know what?" Beck holds his hands up in surrender "I can't be part of this. I can't have it on my conscience. There's too much at stake. If I lose my scholarship chances, it's not just me who suffers. My family will get dragged into this too, my parents don't need that."

He does his best to stay focused on the scene, but two of the women sitting behind the table are whispering back and forth to each other and distracting him. As much as he tries to suppress it, he can't help but start to feel a bit paranoid. Is he doing something wrong? Is he completely ruining his chances? What the hell are they whispering about?

"Your parents don't give a shit, Ethan." Tom continues "All they care about is-"

"You don't know my life!" Beck snaps "You don't know what I have on the line here! Stop acting like a pretentious jerk and think about someone else for once!"

"Alright, you can stop there." The woman who had given him the okay to start originally tells him "We've seen enough."

"But..." Beck hesitates, pulling the script out of his back pocket and looking over it "We still have half a scene left. I can take it from the top and try something different if you wa-"

"That's alright." She says to him "I'm sorry, Beck. We're just...we're not feeling it. We're not sure you're going to be the right fit. It's nothing personal...we just want to make sure we stay authentic to the character the way that he was written."

"Sure..." Beck nods, feeling a bit defeated "I, uh...thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. I want to continue to grow as an actor so before I go...do you have any notes for me? Anything I could have done better?"

"Ethan is clean-cut, a goody-two-shoes-type, if you will, who fell in with the wrong crowd. He doesn't break rules, he's a little conceited." Tom explains "You're a bit too...gritty, for the part, if that makes sense. Honestly, you'd probably be a great fit for Vince...but we've already cast that part, unfortunately."

"I understand." Beck nods, folding the script in his hands "Uh, thank you all again for your time."


Kaitlyn and Chris are watching TV in the living room when Beck arrives home later that night. They greet him and let him know that there's a plate of leftover lasagna waiting in the microwave for him. He thanks them and goes to retrieve it, placing his water bottle in the dishwasher and readying his lunch for the next day while he waits for it to reheat.

When his food is ready, he takes his plate down into the basement to eat while he spends time with Jade and Liam. After a not-so-great audition experience, he hopes that time with his family will help him feel just a little bit better.

"Hello!" He greets them as he descends the staircase "Is anybody-"

"Beck!" Jade exclaims "Come here! Quick! I think he's going to do it!"

"Going to do what?" Beck asks, confused, as Jade grabs him by the arm and pulls him towards the couch

Liam is standing with one hand gripping the couch as he smiles at Jade, and now Beck as well. He's been able to pull himself up and stand with the support of furniture for a few weeks now and everyone has been waiting for him to take the next step. Or really...the first step.

"C'mere, Liam!" Jade smiles, kneeling down with her arms outstretched "Daddy is home! Come say hi!"

"Hi Liam!" Beck does his best to match Jade's chipper tone as he sets his plate down on the floor beside him and opens his own arms "Come on over!"

With a smile upon seeing his father, Liam takes a shaky step forward, letting go of the couch as he does so. He pauses for a moment, coming to the realization that he's standing on his own and that he now has no support as he makes the rest of the venture across the room. He takes another shaky step, and then another before he loses his balance. Thankfully, Beck is able to reach out and catch him with a free arm so he avoids hitting his head on the floor, and pulls him close to both Jade and himself for a hug.

"Good job, buddy!" Beck cheers, tickling his son's stomach "We're so proud of you!"

"Yay!" Liam smiles, looking up at his parents as he claps his hands together

"I can't believe how quickly you're growing up..." Jade coos, kissing the top of Liam's head "You're such a big boy, Liam..."

"Give him a few weeks and he'll be running." Beck chuckles as Liam crawls away from him, more concerned about his toy's than praise from his parents "We're screwed."

"Tell me about it..." Jade smirks "How'd the audition go?"

With Liam's major milestone, Beck had almost forgotten about the disappointment that the audition had brought him.

"It, uh..." He hesitates "It wasn't great. They stopped me before the end of the scene and said they weren't feeling it."

"What?" Jade looks shocked as she shifts to face him "That doesn't make any sense. We ran those lines for weeks. You had it down!"

"Apparently the character is supposed to be more clean-cut and I'm 'too gritty'..." Beck explains "Or at least that's what they told me. So either I'm already type-cast or I need to develop my range or-"

"Hey." Jade stops him, reaching out and touching his arm gently "It'll be okay. The perfect part is out there waiting for you, we just need to find it."

"I know, I know." Beck agrees "It's just frustrating, you know? All of these auditions and nothing to show for it?"

"You're incredibly talented, babe." Jade reminds him "Your time will come."

"Thanks." Beck leans over to kiss her "How was your day?"

"Fine." Jade shrugs

"How did the creative meeting go?"

"Fine." She repeats

"Jade..." Beck gives her a knowing look "C'mon. There's more to it than 'fine', I know it."

"Alright..." Jade winces with a smile "I pitched an idea for the script during the meeting, and they took it. It's getting written in."

"Uh, yeah. That's definitely better than just fine!" Beck grins "Jade! That's huge! Congratulations!"

"Thanks..." Jade smiles "I have to admit...it felt really good to be recognized and taken seriously."

"I bet." Beck agrees as he picks his plate up off of the floor and begins to eat "I'm proud of you, Jade. Seriously, that's so awesome."

"Thank you." She smiles again "I can do bath time tonight, by the way. If you want to eat...?"

"That would be great." Beck nods "Thanks. I promise I'll be good to go for story time."

"Alright, sounds good." Jade smiles, leaning over and kissing his cheek before standing up to retrieve Liam

As happy as Beck wants to be for Jade given the opportunity that she received, it's hard for him not to be just the slightest bit jealous. She's had quite a bit of professional success in her internship thus far, and she deserves that. She worked hard in school, especially once Liam was born, and she's very creative and talented. It makes sense for her to be thriving. He wouldn't be surprised if this internship turns into a job offer for her at the end of the summer...

However, it's hard to watch her be so successful when he himself isn't having as much luck. He knows he should be thankful for the job that he has, especially given their situation, but its definitely not what he wants to be doing for the rest of his life. He wants to be working in the industry already, he wants to be working creatively and creating art for the screen. He wants what Jade has, the professional success, and he wants it more tonight than he ever has.

Unfortunately, tonight, it also seems more out of reach than it ever has.