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Chapter 2
"I guess we never really moved on..."

Tommy yawned and stretched her arms above his hand as he walked into the lounge. The light was set at it's brightest and he squinted in pain. Lights were always dimmed at G-Major in the evenings and since he was catching up on paperwork in his office he'd opened for only the light from the computer screen and a small desktop lamp.

Jessica was sitting cross legged on the floor with her back to the sofa. She had the coffee table pulled up in front of her and over it's surface was strewn brightly colored beads, ribbons and wire. She glanced up at him briefly, smiled, then returned her attention to the necklace was holding in her hands. She painstakingly threaded a tiny crimping bead in place then flattened it with a tool, imprisoning the beads she'd already strung, in their assigned position.

"Long day?" she asked.

Tommy sat down on the sofa behind her then slowly slid back until he was lying stretched out on it's surface. "Too long. Is Kara in bed?"

"She fell asleep watching the news. I carried her all the way upstairs and she didn't so much as bat an eyelash." She smiled to herself.

"You carried her? Honey you should have waited for me to do it." He frowned in concern.

"I know," she attached a piece of tape to the end of the wire to stop the beads from falling loose and set it down on the table. She stretched her legs out then shifted to the side so she could see him better. "But the sofa is bad for her back and I didn't know how long you'd be gone. You know how cranky she gets when she doesn't get a good night sleep and tomorrow is her first day of school."

He smiled sadly and reached out to run a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes and made a face. "It's no big deal."

He motioned to the table. "I haven't seen you do this in a while."

"I know," she shrugged. "I missed it and sorting out the house was too overwhelming so I figured it would be a good distraction." She laughed.

"Are you going to give this one away too?"

Since taking up casual beading a few years earlier, Jessica had made a rule that she would give away everything she'd made. Within the exception of one piece she'd been especially fond of and Tommy had insisted she'd keep, and a few put away for when Kara was older, she'd kept to that rule.

"Yes, and I have just the person in mind."

His eyebrows rose. "Well are you gonna tell me?"

A Cheshire-cat-like smile spread across her lips and she shook her head playfully. "Nope."

"You are just a woman of mystery," Tommy teased.

Her eyes lifted to his and he saw sadness hiding in their dark depths. "Am I? After all this time?" She slid up until she was sitting on the sofa beside him, smiling down at him.

"You always surprise me and never cease to amaze me." He tenderly stroked her cheek then slid his hand behind her head to pull her down for a sweet, lingering kiss.

-=|=-

Jude took a sip of her coffee and smiled nervously at Tommy. They'd seen each other at work a couple of times, though she tended to work in the evenings, while he would leave before Kara got home from school whenever possible. They'd said a polite hello on occasion, or nodded to each other through studio glass walls, but they hadn't spoken. She'd called him earlier that morning, with a story about a song and an invitation to dinner. It had seemed a good idea at the time, something that was necessary to clear the air and make any future run ins easier. But the truth always was that avoidance was easier.

"Nice weather we're having," she remarked, than cringed at the cliché small talk.

He nodded. Truth was he felt as awkward and out of place as she looked. "So let's take a look at that song."
She reached for her bag then paused. "Look, the real reason I called is... well, we're going to be working in the same building and seeing each other regularly and I just wanted to clear the air, so to speak, between us."

"So there's no song?" he teased, "sneaky Harrison, very sneaky."

She frowned at him, obviously not in the mood to play along or play friends. "No, there is. I just don't actually want to show it to you, which is in fact the whole point."

He was stung at her words and an uncomfortable silence settled between them as the waitress brought over their meals.

Tommy was stabbing his burger with his fork, with more for then was necessary as he divided up the oversized meal, when Jude spoke up.

"About the call the other night," her eyes were on her plate as she shifted the lettuce and tomato of her salad nervously, without actually eating any.

His eyes lingered on the meal in surprise. Jude wasn't the rabbit food type. She had nothing against healthy food and salads but they were generally a side with her meal, not the entire meal.

"I'd really appreciate if we could forget it ever happened," she continued, "I'd had a little much to drink and I was upset over a fight with Tony. I was sleep deprived from my tour and I guess I had some juvenile flash back or something and for some reason, I don't even know why, I called you."

"Jude-"

"It meant nothing. I'm sorry I bothered you but I'm fine. My marriage, my career, everything is fine."

"I don't know - the lettuce seems a little distressed." He motioned to the lettuce leaf she'd been stabbing repeatedly, trying to make light of her words and ease the tension.

She glanced down, sighed and set the knife and fork down on the plate.

"Look, if you don't want to talk about it, then we won't talk about it. We can pretend it never happened." He thought she muttered something that sounded a lot like, 'You're good at that' under her breath but he let it go.

"While we're clearing the air I guess we should discuss my departure."

She cringed. "Let's not."

He watched silently as she sipped her green tea and pointedly gazed out the window. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Don't flatter yourself Quincy-" she remarked bitterly.

"Hurting people is never something I'm proud of."

She turned her gaze back to him and their eyes met momentarily. There was an unfamiliar icy and electric quality to her eyes and he found himself temporarily at a loss for words.

"I shouldn't have run off like I did," he said, when coherent thought had returned. "I was rude and selfish and cruel. I'd just gotten news that Jessica was really sick and it kind of overwhelmed me."

"What was wrong with her?" Her eyes seemed to have softened slightly but he didn't allow himself relief.

"Leukemia. We hadn't spoken in a long time and she didn't tell me when she got sick. The first I heard she was in the hospital with complications from the chemo and pneumonia."

"But she got better?"

His eyes were on the tablecloth as he answered. "She went into remission a year later."

"And you stayed," Jude finished softly.

He nodded. "I stayed."

They were silent for awhile, during which time she ate a few half hearted mouthfuls of her salad.

"It wasn't the way you left or the fact that you did it at all, that really got me Tommy. It was the fact that you never once mentioned that you were married. I mean, with all the things that happened or didn't," she drew quotation marks in the air, "happen between us, you never once thought to mention it? You dated my sister for goodness sake. You left and six months later I see this tabloid cover of you and your wife and your daughter. 'Perfect life family for little Tommy Q', I think the headline was."

"Jessica and I were separated. We were going to get a divorce but we couldn't even speak to each other without getting in a screaming match so loud the neighbors would call the police. So we just kept putting off the arrangements to end things for good. We were so young when we got married, far too young.

"When she got sick I had to go home. I couldn't ignore the fact that I had a daughter any longer and if I had any respect for what Jess and I had once had... I had to help her. We... we found each other again during that time. We'd both changed and grown up during our time apart and things were different. For Kara's sake we decided to give it another try. I'm sorry I never told you about them but I was selfish and stupid and I pretended the whole thing never happened. "

"It's all water under the bridge now anyway," Jude shrugged. "It doesn't even matter to me anymore."

"No," he said softly.

She continued to eat her salad. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward a little. "So, will you show me that song?"

She glanced up briefly. "I'll think about it."

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Teasers for Part 3
"No, I don't think she has a clue…"

"Oh leave the ego with the Mistress, Mark! I'm supposed to believe you were working on a song without your band. You're not exactly an independent creative." [/i]