A/N: So, this is my idea of what should have happened at the end of My Hometown, instead of the jail scene we got. I used the scene as a launching point and then changed things as I saw fit. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! :)

Worth Waiting For

She walked slowly, shivering at the draft that blew through the police station as she followed the guard to the back where the holding cells were. Finally the guard stopped and she turned her head towards the cell, her breath catching at the sight of Tommy's bruised face.

"How are you doing, Tommy Q?" As soon as the words escaped her lips, she knew she'd made a mistake. He hated the boyband reference on a good day, and this was definitely not a good day.

"Don't call me that." His angry response was no surprise, but that didn't stop the ache in her heart from spreading.

Choosing to ignore his attempt to start an argument, she moved on to the more important topic at hand. "I'll have the bail money ready by this afternoon."

"My mom, is Celena with her?" His voice betrayed concern for the mother who had never shown him one ounce of care. It reminded her of the heartache of Tommy's past, and she felt her heart clench in her chest.

"No, but I found a nurse who's looking for a full-time position."

"Jude Harrison to the rescue. Always trying to fix everything." His bitter tone stung, but she did her best not to let her hurt show. She needed to stay as calm and rational as possible. She wasn't stupid, and she knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was baiting her; she'd gotten too close to him, to the truth about his past and he felt the need to remedy that by pushing her away. Well, that wasn't going to happen.

"I'm not trying to fix everything. I'm trying to help you. That's what you do when you love someone." And, boy, did she love him. More than she should. Probably more than was safe considering that Tommy had stomped on her heart in the past. But she couldn't help it.

He scoffed at her response, and she readied her defences. Because, by the look on his face, he was only getting started. "You love your pre-packaged Tommy Q. Tom Dutois, he'd never make it past your front door."

Questioning her love for him? Of all the hurtful things he could say, she hadn't seen that one coming. She took a deep breath, trying to remind herself he didn't mean it. But as the sadness crept into her heart and his words reverberated in his mind, that became harder to remember. "That's not fair, and you know it. If you think a name changes who you really are, then you're sadly mistaken. I know exactly who you are; I love exactly who you are. After three years, I'm not just going to give up. I didn't come this far, didn't wait this long to be with you to bail when things get tough. Do you really think that little of me? Do you really think I can't handle you, flaws and all?"

"Jude, that's not..." he mumbled, his voice softer, reminiscent of the Tommy she knew. But instead of continuing, he turned his face away, staring at the cell wall dejectedly. "Jude, just go. Go back to Toronto."

"So you want me to just go back to Toronto and forget all about you here, dealing with all of this?"

"You'd be best to forget about me period, Jude."

Her anger flared at his assertion. After all they'd gone through, he wasn't going to do this. She wasn't going to let him shut down on her.

"Well, it doesn't work that way. Like it or not, I'm here and I'm staying."

"I don't want you here," he growled, his head spinning back towards her, revealing eyes shining with anger and shame.

"Well, that's too bad. You'd like that, wouldn't you? If I walked away from you and did exactly what you're hoping I'll do. Because then you could tell yourself you were right all along. You'd have proven yourself right about me and yourself. Well, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to stay and support you. If you don't want me to do anything to help, I'll just be here. I'll even stay in a hotel if you want. But I'm not leaving, I'm not running. I thought we were finally over running from each other, from what we really want."

"Jude, I thought you understood that I needed to do this myself," he said, running his hands through his hair in apparent frustration.

She sighed, gripping the bars tightly. "I came to New Brunswick because I was selfish. I missed you and I needed to see you. But once I got here, I realized that you need me here. Or at least someone who loves you. You shouldn't have to go through this all alone." His face was still cold and distant, and she wasn't sure she was making any impact on him at all. Tears began pricking the inside of her eyelids, begging for release. His detached manner hurt her more than she would ever admit.

She needed to leave before she broke down. If she was going to survive this, she could only take his coldness in small doses. She definitely didn't want him to see the depth of hurt he was causing her. Not that he'd probably even care right now, with his closed off state of mind. "Look, if after all of this, you don't want to be with me, then fine," she said, sighing loudly. "I'm not a glutton for punishment. I'm just a girl trying not to give up on something worth saving." He remained sitting silently, facing the far wall of the cell. Her vision began to blur from the tears she was suppressing, and she took his silence as an opportunity to flee before her emotions took over. "Well, I'm going to go see about the bail money. I'll be back this afternoon." She chastised herself for being weak as her words came out barely louder than a whisper. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek and she turned her back on him, leaning on the bars to collect the strength to walk away.

It wasn't hopeless. She couldn't believe that, and she wouldn't let him believe it either. He needed time and space and she intended to give him that, while also giving him the support he was also in dire need of. It was hard seeing him like this, so down on himself, so determined that he didn't deserve anything good.

She took a deep breath, and began pushing herself away from the cold metal bars when a warm hand suddenly clasped her own tightly. She stood still, not wanting to turn around and let him see her upset. He had enough to worry about; she needed to be strong. She had to brush off his hurtful comments and pretend that it didn't feel like he was slapping her in the face every time he said something awful. He didn't mean them and she knew that; she just had to convince her breaking heart of that fact.

She felt his presence behind her, noticed the heat radiating from his body as he stood only inches away, separated from her only by the cell bars. "Jude..." he whispered softly.

She didn't move. She didn't know what it meant, and she didn't want to turn around and be confronted with another argument. "Jude..." he repeated quietly, this time reaching through the bars and coaxing her body around to face him.

His eyes locked on hers and she could almost see the conflict going on behind those blue orbs. He wanted to let her in, she knew that. But could he fight the forces inside himself to actually do that?

She said nothing. She simply stood there looking back at him, waiting for him to say or do something.

He remained still, making no move to do anything else. Her body betrayed her, a few more tears escaping her eyes regardless of her will to keep them in. She couldn't let him see her like this; she had to leave before she completely broke down in front of him.

"I'm going to go..." she whispered, finally turning away from him and beginning to walk away. Before she reached the end of his cell, she felt a restraining hand on her arm.

Turning around slowly, she kept her eyes averted. His calloused fingers softly lifted her chin, forcing her meet his eyes again. Moving his fingers along her jawline, he wiped her traitorous tears away with the pad of his thumb. Saying nothing, he pulled her closer to the bars and leaned down, kissing the spot on her cheek where her tears had been.

He pulled back, squeezing her hand tightly. When their eyes locked, she saw something there that signalled to her that they were going to be okay. It was acceptance – of her place in his life, of her presence in New Brunswick, of her love for him. It wasn't going to be easy, but they could make it. The external forces and internal demons were strong, but there was something that was stronger than all of it – them, their love and their bond. With that, she knew they could overcome anything the world threw their way.

Love with Tommy didn't always mean rose petals or poetry; it was hard, an uphill battle that would likely leave them both with lasting scars. But, she knew in her heart that it was also the only love worth having.