What's this? Another story? It's a Christmas miracle.

I honestly thought I was done with writing. I've had no inspiration for weeks. The lack of reviews probably contributed to this... just saying... but somehow I couldn't get this idea out of my mind.

I actually wrote up another story from the perspective of Beck's mum a while ago but never got around to completing it. It was a lot more light-hearted than this, so maybe I'll post it sometime in the future. I'm not sure if people will enjoy a story that's not written from Beck or Jade's point of view. If you do like this fic, then please, PLEASE take a minute to leave a review. Means so much to me and actually is very helpful in providing me with direction and inspiration for future stories.

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Anna's son, Beckett James Oliver, had always had a fascination with broken objects. When he was three years old, he'd cradle birds with broken wings and beg his mother to "fix them". At age ten, he favourite hobby (besides acting which he seemed to have a knack for) involved finding damaged items and fixing them with his father. So far the pair had salvaged a bookshelf, a dishwasher and a motorbike. Even at twelve years of age, if he sensed even a stranger in the slightest bit of distress, he would go out of his way to find a solution to help them.

Anna consequently supposed she shouldn't have been so surprised when Beck one day brought home from school a very broken girl, introducing her as his girlfriend.

Anna could remember that day as if it had only taken place yesterday. It had been a bright, Californian afternoon, but Anna's whole world shifted the second a cloud of darkness scuffled into her kitchen. Out of all the girls Anna had envisaged her to son to one day bring home, she had never pictured a girl decked head to toe in black, with a silver piercing glittering in her nose and brow, and a scowl that seemed to be permanently engrained on her face as she glared up at Anna from behind Beck's shoulder.

"This is Jade." Beck beamed, pulling the very pale girl by the hand so she stumbled closer to his side. The girl, named Jade apparently, scowled at Beck viciously. Beck only grinned cheekily in response, apparently undaunted by her scathing look.

"Lovely to meet you," Anna said politely, holding out a hand to shake. She was a firm believer in not judging people based on appearance. Beck had such a gentle soul, she doubted he could ever fall for a girl with a less than kind heart, but Jade certainly was challenging this notion.

Jade stared sceptically at the outreached palm, very reluctantly offering her own for a very brief handshake before dropping Anna's hand as if it had burned her. Anna tried not to look stunned, but her shock must have still been apparent for Beck patiently voiced, "Jade doesn't like touching people."

Anna smiled cordially, ignoring the fact that Jade seemed quite comfortable with Beck's arm around her shoulders. In fact, she seemed to even be leaning into his touch.

"You're not alone in that, Jade." Anna smiled, hoping to spark a genuine reaction from the mysterious girl. Jade did not shift. Beck eventually sighed, sensing that this meeting had come to an end.

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow mum."

"You're not coming in for dinner?"

Beck glanced shortly at Jade who had immediately stiffened. Her remarkably blue eyes seemed to widen in a silent plea, and quickly Beck replied, "Not tonight mum. Jade and I are just going to order in."

With those words, Beck had taken Jade's hand and led her out the back door which connected from the kitchen to their driveway where his RV was parked.

If Anna had been anyone else, this brief interaction might have left a sour taste in her mouth. However, Anna found herself more curious than anything. It was clear Jade was not a bright, cheerful girl, but Anna sensed there was a valid reason behind this. She hoped Beck might be able to help the poor girl if something was wrong, even if she doubted this was a long-term relationship. After all, Beck was only fifteen, hardly old enough to fall in love.

It was shortly after this interaction that Beck stopped coming inside the house for meals almost indefinitely. Beck's father had not been pleased, but Anna had a sneaking suspicion that Jade had moved in with her son and was the reason for his lack of appearance. She knew she should not be unbothered by the thought of her 15-year-old living with a girl, but there was something about Jade that made Anna want to throw her arms protectively over the girl and shield her from the world. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she sensed that Jade was quite reliant on her son, so she did not complain and settled for watching her child from afar.

Anna still found herself regularly contemplating Jade nonetheless. At times she could hear the girl's raised voice yelling at Beck from within his RV. Anna wondered if she should intervene, but every time she spotted the couple heading off to the bus stop for school the following morning, they were always hand in hand and Beck would glance over at Jade like she was his entire world. She hoped sincerely that Jade might reciprocate these feelings, but it was very hard to tell. Jade did not appear to be quite vocal about those sort of emotions.

It was one early morning (only 2am) when Anna once more found herself unable to sleep as she tossed and turned thinking about the strange child. She eventually decided to fetch a mug of camomile tea in the hopes that it would relax her. The last thing she ever expected to find in her kitchen was none other than the pale skinned girl herself, pouring a cup of flour into a mixing bowl.

"Oh." Anna breathed in surprise, startling Jade who looked up then let out her own small shriek of surprise.

"Jade?" Anna blinked, tilting her head curiously to the side.

Jade was momentarily frozen in shock, then she glanced down at the now empty cup in her hand and blanched.

"I'm sorry." Jade stammered.

The poor girl looked terrified. Her eyes had widened and were frantically skimming the kitchen, undoubtedly looking for an escape route.

"I'll replace all the ingredients I used. I'm so sorry. It's so stupid. When I can't sleep I like to bake. I shouldn't have come in without permission."

Jade was continuing to ramble which funnily enough seemed to give Anna enough clarity to compose herself.

"Sweetheart, it's okay." Anna attempted to soothe, hating the distress apparent on Jade's face.

To Anna's alarm, her reassurance fell on deaf ears and in horror she noted the slight tremble of the pale girl's frame. She instinctively took a step forward, determined to reassure the nervous girl that nothing was amiss, but halted immediately as Jade flinched at the first sight of movement.

"Jade," Anna called soothingly, "I'm not upset." More firmly she added, "I will not hurt you."

Jade flushed in embarrassment, and Anna felt her heart snap. Many thoughts soared through the older woman's mind, but before she could even voice one of them, the back door slammed open and a very dishevelled looking boy rushed into the room.

"Jade, why'd you sneak off? You gave me a heart attack."

Jade breathed a sigh of relief as Beck strode to her side. Immediately Jade buried herself into Beck's chest and clung to him. If Beck was alarmed by this reaction, he showed no sign of it and glanced at his mum.

"Didn't mean to wake you, mum. " he apologised, even though he wasn't the one who had caused her to stir. "Jade's an amazing cook." He added as the alarm on the oven dinged. Jade was still showing no other signs of movement but looked notably more relaxed in Beck's tight hold.

Anna looked at the couple bewildered. She took a long breath, then slowly and softly reiterated, "I was just trying to tell Jade that it's more then fine if she ever wants to use this kitchen."

Jade finally looked up from Beck's shoulder. She still looked slightly uncertain, but as Beck gave her a tight squeeze of reassurance, she was finally able to look at Anna directly.

"Sorry I didn't ask before." She muttered. "I really wasn't thinking."

Beck laughed happily as he looked at the oven. "Don't ever apologise for making chocolate cake." Beck smiled jovially, moving to the oven to carefully remove the pan. Even Anna looked pleased as the mouth-watering scent wafted through the kitchen. "But stop sneaking out without writing a note on the whiteboard or something."

"So controlling," Jade mumbled, rolling her eyes as way of apology. Anna allowed a brief smile as Jade finally seemed able to move by herself and went to sit on one of the kitchen stools, Beck soon joining her.

"That looks amazing, dear," Anna told Jade as Beck pulled out three forks.

Jade still seemed sceptical as Anna herself bustled to the cabinet and pulled out three plates, but twenty minutes later when the three of them sat at the kitchen counter eating cake, Jade seemed relaxed as she rested her legs against Beck's.

"Goodness, it's 4am. You two have school in a few hours." Anna abruptly announced as Beck let out a loud yawn. "Go to bed and try and get a little more sleep." She instructed kindly, gesturing for the two to leave their plates behind for her to clean.

After thanking her, the couple left hand in hand out the back door, and Anna was left feeling more bewildered than ever before.

Though she had told the pair to go to sleep, she was wide awake. She noted the half-prepared batter Jade was in the process of making when she first found her, smiling sweetly as she picked up the whisk and finished mixing the ingredients before putting it in the oven. As she waited for the second cake to cook, she couldn't help but replay Jade's reaction to her appearance in her mind. It slightly terrified the older woman, and it certainly wasn't a sight she'd be able to forget about.

Anna didn't expect to see either Beck or Jade anytime soon after that night, but three days later she found Beck seated at the counter rather miserably sipping from a can of lemonade and picking at Jade's orange and poppy seed cake.

"Hi, darling." Anna greeted.

Beck nodded back.

"How's Jade?" She asked lightly, her scrutinising gaze revealing her true intentions to seek information about the secretive girl.

Beck merely shrugged, looking up at his mother sadly.

"Okay. She had to go home tonight."

Anna was curious and slightly nervous by Beck's reaction to this statement. At times she wondered if Beck was too attached to his girlfriend. He almost spent every day and night with her, definitely unhealthy for a fifteen-year-old boy. But there was something about Beck's gaze that made Anna's heart plummet. She didn't know any adult, married couples that looked at each other with the same intensity that Beck and Jade shared with each other.

"You know, I didn't mean to startle her that night."

"I know." Beck grimaced. "She was pretty shaken up."

"She looked scared. I think she assumed I was going to punish her."

Anna watched closely for Beck's reaction, but he only frowned some more.

"I gotta call her. Later, mum." He farewelled as he slumped to his RV.

Anna waved goodbye with her own frown forming. She hoped everything was okay. Somehow, she doubted it was.

It wasn't too long before Anna found Jade back in her kitchen cooking up a baked feast.

"Couldn't sleep again, Jade?" Anna called mildly as she walked into the room, going straight for her favourite mug to prepare herself a cup of tea.

Jade immediately froze, her back still facing Anna. Taking a deep breath, Jade spun on her heel.

"Yeah. I had a fight with Beck."

"I see," Anna replied amiably, draining her tea bag.

"He was texting a girl from our improv class." Jade continued, her face stiff, which almost made Anna laugh. Anna quickly took a sip of tea to prevent herself. She did not want to offend the testy girl.

"Was he?" Anna smirked, still fighting to conceal her amusement.

"He called me crazy when I told him I considered that as cheating."

Anna didn't stop her grin this time. She merely hummed, moving forward to dip a finger into the batter mix Jade was preparing.

"This is wonderful." She told Jade who was still huffing.

Jade blinked then looked rather uncomfortable. "Err, thanks," Jade mumbled stiffly.

Anna was pleased Jade wasn't shaking in fear this encounter, but still felt slightly defeated by Jade's reactions. She wanted to break down the walls of this complicated girl, but it was apparent she had a lot more work to do.

"Who taught you how to bake? Your mother?"

Anna instantly knew she'd said something wrong when Jade's whole demeanour shifted rapidly fast into a dark, angry aura.

"My mother hasn't taught me anything." Jade snarled.

The harshness of Jade's voice made Anna freeze. For a while, she didn't know what to say. Then she decided to push her luck.

"That first night, when I found you in here, you looked awfully frightened. Do you generally get in trouble at home?" Anna enquired with forced casualness.

"Once my mum caught me cooking some eggs. She locked me in my room for two days without food so I'd learn not to steal her things." Jade replied stonily.

The mug held in Anna's hands suddenly dropped to the floor and shattered. Jade looked up, horrified at her loose admission.

"That was a lie. I don't know why I just said that. I made it up." Jade rambled.

Anna shook her head. Though Jade was frantically trying to backtrack her words, Anna didn't believe her for a second. Jade's thick wall had crumbled and with a momentary lapse of judgement had revealed what Anna believed to be undeniably a very scary truth.

"Jade-"

"I gotta go." Jade yelped, and before Anna could stop her, she'd disappeared out the door.

The batter that had looked and smelt so appetising now made Anna's stomach churn nauseatingly. She wanted to throw up. She contemplated going into her son's RV and demanding that Jade speak with her, but she was wise enough to know that Beck was fiercely protective of Jade and would not take kindly to his mum attempting to pry information from his unwilling girlfriend.

Instead, each and every night for the following month, Anna would trickle downstairs in the early morning, hoping to find Jade in her kitchen again so they could talk. Her efforts were to no avail, for Jade never made an appearance.

In fact, it was three months later when Anna finally stumbled upon Jade again.

It was more on accident. Anna and her husband had gone out for dinner and drinks. It was much needed time spent with her husband, and by the time they arrived home, it was close to Midnight. The second they had opened the front door they spotted the light coming from the kitchen. Then they heard the faint singing of a rather strong yet angelic voice. Anna laughed in surprise, recognising the lyrics to Cat Steven's "oh very young". Jade was such an old soul.

Anna gestured for her husband to head upstairs and go to bed while she slipped into the kitchen.

It was the first time Anna had caught Jade in such a good mood before, and it was so unexpected that Anna's plan to force Jade into talking had slipped her mind.

"What's got you so upbeat, my dear?" Anna instead enquired as Jade flittered about the kitchen seeking ingredients.

Jade stopped singing but scowled playfully at Anna.

"Nothing," Jade replied, her tone still unusually light. After a while of silence, Jade added, "It's my birthday."

Anna looked very surprised then smiled happily, "Happy Birthday."

Jade grinned, then seemingly unable to contain herself, blurted, "You know Beck bought me a pair of scissor-shaped earrings. They're really cool. And probably really expensive."

Anna laughed happy at the young woman's apparent delight. "Beck does love to spoil his ladies. You know, he bought me this necklace for my birthday last year." She replied, gesturing to the rose gold chain around her neck.

Jade smirked. "Yeah. He's pretty awesome like that."

Anna nodded in agreement, then as Jade went to pull out some eggs, quickly stood up.

"Jade, it's your birthday. I want to bake something for you tonight. How about I warm you up a nice mug of cocoa and whip up some of my famous chocolate, raspberry muffins?"

Jade looked surprised, then shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay." She agreed.

Jade appeared to be in a more talkative mood than ever before. It seemed that Beck had planned a rather exciting day for her, complete with a trip to the scissors museum (Anna didn't even know this was a place) and dinner in a trendy restaurant where a live band would be playing that night. Anna smiled warmly, encouraged by Jade's excited tone. She duly wondered that if she'd ever had a daughter (like she had once secretly hoped for) if they would be having a similar conversation with this one. It was a nice thought, to pretend like Jade was just a normal, happy teenage girl, excited for a date with her boyfriend.

As Jade continued with her story, Anna proudly pulled out her cupcakes from the oven, even going to place a candle on the one she presented to Jade.

Jade simpered responsively, indulging Anna with a roll of her eyes as she blew it out.

"You know, no one's ever made me a cake before," Jade revealed, taking a bite of the baked good and nodding contently.

Anna looked momentarily taken aback, then smiled fondly at Jade. She stretched out one hand and rested it on top of Jade's. To her surprise, Jade didn't push her off. Instead, the blue-eyed girl's lips curved upwards.

"Hey Anna, could you do me a favour? It's Beck's birthday next month, and I want to get him a nice present this year." Jade pronounced after a few moments of comfortable silence had passed by.

Anna had heard Beck laughing once about receiving a can of lemonade from Jade but assumed it was a joke (or worse, some sort of innuendo), but pondered silently if Jade really didn't know what to buy her son. She clearly cared dearly for him and wanted to do nice things for Beck, but maybe the slightly neglected girl just didn't know how to show this.

"Could you maybe go shopping with me sometime? It'd be good to have your input." Jade continued.

"I would love to." Anna beamed. She was just about the suggest a good date for their outing when the back door suddenly slammed open and a grouchy Beck stumbled in, grumbling as he looked at his girlfriend longingly.

"Jade, why do you keep leaving me." He whined.

"So needy." Jade rebuked as he slumped over and tiredly rested his had in the crook of her neck.

"I wanted to wake up before you and make you breakfast." Beck continued to grumble.

"Your mum's cooking for me instead." Jade smiled, running a hand through Beck's hair.

Beck finally glanced up from Jade's neck, apparently only just notching his mother's presence. "Oh, hey Mum."

"Hey, darling." Anna grinned sarcastically. "Jade and I are making shopping plans."

Beck blinked, looking slowly between his mum and girlfriend.

"Shopping plans? The two of you? Alone?"

"This is what I get for dating a younger man." Jade sighed at Beck's slowness. Anna laughed.

"Younger by 24 days." Beck scoffed, finally getting ahold of himself.

"Yeah, yeah." Jade grinned, soothingly rubbing small circles on Beck's lower stomach. Beck smiled wistfully at his girlfriend, and feeling rather intrusive, Anna quickly turned away and busied herself with the dishes.

"You won't go with me to the school dance, but you'll go shopping with my mum?" Anna heard Beck murmur.

"Will you stop sulking if I agree to go with you?" Jade teased in response.

Anna had to hide her smirk. This was probably the first time she'd seen Jade so playful with her son. It was a nice change to her usual yelling.

She glanced over just in time to see Beck's growing smile as he pecked Jade's lips then picked up her half eaten cupcake and stuffed it into his mouth.

"JERK," Jade yelled, and just like that, Jade was back to normal.

Two weeks later Anna was knocking on Beck's RV door.

It didn't take long for the door to swing open and Jade to step out. Over Jade's shoulder, Anna could just spot her son sleeping soundly in his bed though it was nearly 11am. She also thought she'd spotted a black bra lying on the ground that had clearly been tossed aside, but refused to dwell on it.

Instead, Anna beckoned for Jade to follow her to her car, and after stopping at Starbucks for coffee, drove them to the local mall.

It was surprisingly easy to make conversation with Jade once the girl appeared comfortable in Anna's presence. Anna would ask Jade questions about school, her hobbies, her ambitions for the future, and Jade would give detailed responses. It was almost as if no one else had ever asked Jade these seemingly mundane questions before, and though Jade would sometimes pretend to be bothered by them, she clearly wanted to share. Wisely, Anna purposely steered clear of any questions about Jade's home life. She didn't want to jinx the wonderful outing the pair had so far shared.

They had been shopping for over an hour when they finally found a gift for Beck. Jade had been somewhat timid in the stores, clutching a cat-shaped wallet to her chest nervously for most of the trip. She had frowned over lots of price tags but scoffed when Anna suggested visiting slightly cheaper shops.

Finally Jade pointed at a collection of records from David Bowie, the Beatles, Pink Floyd and more.

"Do you think he'd like that?" She asked apprehensively.

Anna bit back a laugh, "Yes, dear, I think he will."

Jade looked very happy as she handed over a stack of crumpled notes from her small wallet and paid for the items. Anna noticed that her purse only had a few one dollar bills left inside, and silently she mused over Jade's generosity.

The pair were just making their way to the carpark when Anna suddenly halted, spotting a gorgeous dress in a store window.

"Jade, look at that dress," Anna instructed.

Jade turned and smiled. The gown was a regal green draped maxi dress, with shoestring straps and a high cut split.

"That colour would match your eyes." Anna beamed, pulling Jade into the store before she could object. "You should wear it for the dance you and Beck are going to."

"I don't have that sort of cash on me." Jade protested. "It's fine. I was just going to borrow a dress off Cat anyway. She has all these brand new clothes that she refuses to wear since they're not pink." Jade attempted to explain, but Anna shook her head.

"Nonsense." Anna dismissed. "You're trying it on. I'll get it for you. Consider it a late birthday gift."

"No." Jade immediately refused. "No way."

"Jade please allow me to do this. I've never had a daughter. Let me spoil you a little. It would bring me great joy."

Jade looked shocked but finally nodded, taking the dress and walking to the change room while Anna waited patiently outside the curtain.

"Can you help me with the zipper?" Jade called after a few minutes.

Obligingly, Anna slipped into the room to assist Jade. The zipper was slightly jammed on the material. Anna had to pull it down to loosen it before pulling it back up again, but as more of Jade's back was revealed to her, she spotted the beginning of a purple and green bruise contrasting Jade's white skin.

She hastily pulled more of the fabric back, determined to examine the flesh. She gasped audibly when she caught sight of more swollen bruises on Jade's back, freezing as she looked at them in alarm.

Jade seemed to have finally realised what was going on and she spun around frantically.

It was too late though. Anna had already spotted the other marks littering her skin and looked horrified.

"Jade-"

"It's nothing." Jade cut in before Anna could speak further.

"That is not nothing. Who does this to you?" Anna objected, recoiling in terror.

Jade bit her lip and stood her ground defiantly, refusing to answer the question.

Anna took a deep breath.

"Does Beck do this?" She asked seriously.

"NO." Jade yelled incredulously, he silent resolve shattering in an instant as her eyes narrowed in fury at the very suggestion. "You're his mother. You know he's not capable of even killing a stupid cricket." In other circumstances, Anna might have smiled in quiet relief. Instead, she settled for gently rubbing Jade's shoulder.

"Can you tell me who then did this to you?" She prodded gently, refusing to relent.

"No one. I'm a clutz. Always falling over and walking into stuff."

"Jade." Anna maintained. "She suspected the answer already, but needed to hear it from Jade."

"Please don't ask," Jade begged, turning back around.

Anna was stumped, utterly uncertain on how to proceed. She didn't want Jade to push her away, they had been making so much progress, but this child's safety was still her number one concern.

"Jade, if your home isn't a safe place for you, I want you to know that you will always have a room in my house." Anna slowly asserts.

Jade nodded numbly. "Look I'm fine. I promise. Beck looks after me."

Anna knew this was true. She also knew that Jade was currently living essentially permanently in Beck's RV. Even if something had happened to Jade at the girl's home, at least she was removed from that environment. So Anna shut her mouth, determined to not completely spoil the lovely day she'd so far had with Jade. Silently, she took the dress and paid for it, then together the two walked to the car and drove home.

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Review for part 2 ;)