chapter 6
Marilyn started rambling about plastic surgeons and how Jackie could never wear a wedding ring properly on account of her missing left ring finger.
All Jackie's life she had been told that the most important thing was for her to find a husband and have kids and be the perfect housewife. She supposes that is why she is so repressed, having hidden her lesbianism in order to conform to society and her parents' expectations.
At least her father had the decency to not act ashamed of her for all of her new physical imperfections, but her mother was not as courteous. Richard managed to calm his wife down (luckily, as Shauna was 3 seconds away from punching her lights out), and the room fell silent.
“They said one of you had a baby,” Deb reminded the group cautiously. Marilyn, having seemingly forgotten that detail after reuniting with her daughter, seethed as she stared at the two expectantly.
“We did,” they both replied in unison as Marilyn let out an exasperated sigh.
“Well, which one of you is the mother?” questioned Richard, his seemingly caring nature replaced by something eerily similar to his wife's, which bordered on stone cold and irate.
“I am,” Shauna replied, her tone almost challenging.
“We both are,” Jackie stated, stepping in front of Shauna as if she wanted to protect her. The statement shocked everyone in the room, including Shauna, who had half expected Jackie to go back to hiding who she was once they got back.
“What do you mean, Jacqueline?” questioned her mother criticizingly.
“Shauna is his biological mother but im his mother too and me and shauna are together and i dont give a shit what you think about me,” Jackie said defiantly, grabbing Shauna’s hand and kissing her on the cheek to emphasise her point.
“Jacqueline, please consider this carefully. You're not stuck out there anymore. You don’t have to be influenced by the likes of people like her,’ Richard said calmly while giving Shauna a look of disgust. Marilyn looked at Shauna with disdain, much like her father did, and Jackie's blood boiled, but before she could do anything, Hayden charged forward and socked their father right in the jaw, sending him flying backward and onto the floor.
Hayden squared up and prepared to punch his father again when Shauna grabbed his arm and yanked him back just in time to avoid the slap heading his way from Marilyn. However, the slap landed directly on the side of Shauna’s face instead.
“ENOUGH!” shouted Deb in order to stop the fighting. Deb walked over to her daughter and pulled her into her side before turning to Marilyn furiously.
“You do not get to come in here, hit and insult my daughter and treat your kids like shit after they have been through hell and back. You can love your kids and be good parents, or you can get the hell out because I love them both more than I think you're even capable of.” Marilyn simply gaped at them, shocked, while Richard looked furious.
“Fine, you wanna live this life, Jackie, then do that. We are leaving. Let us know when you're willing to see things the right way. Let's go, Hayden.”
“No, no way, I'm staying,” Hayden challenged, head held high defiantly.
“Fine, have it your way. Let's go, Richard,” Marilyn said and walked out without so much as sparing a glance at her children. Richard followed suit, sparing a longing glance at Hayden and Jackie and a hateful one at Shauna.
The next couple of hours went by solemnly; Shauna and Jackie went back to lying down, with the nurses checking on them occasionally. Hayden went to get the group food and sat on the extra chair they brought in. Deb has been sitting in the chair to the left of the bed while gripping her daughter's hand so tight as if she's afraid she will disappear if she lets go.
Every time the nurses come in, Deb tries to convince them to let the girls see Jude as they have been crying and begging for them to see him but alas, it’s to no avail until Deb gets up and goes to find the doctors responsible for the girls and uses her background in medicine as a nurse to appeal to staff and convince them to move Jude to the same hospital room as Jackie and Shauna.
Getting their baby back was like being able to breathe again for Jackie and Shauna, and the second he was carried into the room, the two of them lept up and shared a three-way hug that they refused to let go of until Deb spoke up, “What's his name?”
“Judiah Lee Shipman-Taylor,” replied Shauna, who had now moved to hold Jackie from behind as Jude clung to the latter. “Jude for short.”
Deb remembers the girls singing along to the Beatles song constantly, and her heart warms at the memory, but it also aches for those innocent kids she had put on that plane instead of the broken and traumatized ones in front of her.
She can’t even begin to imagine what the group went through out there, her daughter, her baby girl, having to be pregnant and give birth in a place like that with no medical assistance. She doesn't even want to think about what they had to do in order to survive.
Instead, she walks over to the trio, and Jackie hands Jude to her, who she picks up and hugs softly to her chest. He's small for a ten-month-old, but that is to be expected. He has curly brown hair and Shauna’s brown doe eyes that she has always found so hard to say no to.
She knows she should ask about the paternity of her grandchild, but in this moment, she can't bring herself to care. Hayden walks back in to the room and leaves a kiss on his nephews temple before they place him down to sleep.
The group sits down to eat the food hayden had brought. Shauna squeezes jackies hand to encourage her to eat while they sit tangled up together on the bed. She is half successful as Jackie does eat about half her meal, but at least it's something.
Jackie has always been skinny, a product of her parent's abuse, but looking at her now, her bones jutting out and cheeks gaunt and hollow, shaunas heart breaks. She knows she's skinny too, but she still has some fat from the pregnancy. She's not nearly as thin as her girlfriend.
Shauna knows Jackie has always struggled with her body image, and that is only going to get worse now that they don't have to worry about the day-to-day task of survival. Shauna just has to be there for her and remind her that she is beautiful and loved in the same way Jackie did for Shauna when she was struggling after the birth.
Misty said that she thought Shauna might have post-partum depression, and while she is doing slightly better now, she does believe that to be true. She loves Jude, and while it was hard to be around him for the first few months, she now doesn't want to let him go.
She didn't think Jackie noticed back then, too focused on the baby, but Jackie had noticed and she worried about her. She was the one who followed Shauna to the lake and stopped her from killing herself. She was the one who held Shauna as she cried for weeks on end. Shauna has to be strong for Jackie now, be there for her the same way Jackie was for her.