Chapter 4-- Bringing Home Baby


It was a week later.

Jude couldn't believe it. She had a tiny baby girl in her arms. She was sitting in a wheelchair, Anna-Sophia fast asleep in her lap. Tommy was standing beside her, a grin on his face as he wheeled a luggage case out the door. Katharine came up behind Jude and started pushing her toward the elevator. Tommy took the stairs.

When Jude was out the door of the hospital, Tommy opened the door of Sadie's lime green beetle and turned to take Anna-Sophia out of her mother's arms. He placed her in her carseat and Katharine made sure it was securely fastened correctly.

Jude climbed into the front seat of the Beetle and shut the door behind her. Katharine came up to the door and smiled at Jude.

"I'm going to miss you," she said.

"Yeah, well... at least you won't have to check to make sure my water hasn't broken," Jude joked. She awkwardly stretched her arms out of the car to give Katharine one last hug.

"Take care of yourself," Katharine said. "And your little girl."

"I will," Jude said, as Tommy started the ignition of the car.

Katharine turned and headed up to the front doors of the hospital, pushing the wheelchair in front of her.

Jude turned to Tommy as he started to drive the car out from the front of the hospital.

"So, it starts," he said.

"What do you mean?" Jude asked.

"You and Anna are going to stay with Sadie at your house, right?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, where else are we going to go?"

"Well, I have a two-bedroom place," Tommy said, glancing over at her.

"Yeah. You have a two-bedroom place. Except for the fact that the second bedroom is filled with sound equipment. You have no room for a baby," Jude said.

"I could make room, Jude," Tommy said defiantly.

"Really. I was under the impression that you LIKED living by yourself in your little bachelor pad," Jude said.

"This is my daughter we're talking about. That sound equipment can go to G-Major. I'm sure Darius won't have a problem with it being there. He can get better use out of it when it's there than I can. I just won't be able to work from home anymore."

"What about me?" Jude asked.

"What do you mean, 'What about you?'"

"I'm not too keen on joint custody," Jude said, glaring at him.

"Neither am I," Tommy said.

"So what are you talking about?" Jude asked, folding her arms.

"Can I put it any more bluntly? I'm asking you and the baby to move in with me."

Jude raised her eyebrows.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Tommy said.

"You realize that we'll be at my place for a while... at least two or three days. Until you get situated. I mean, you need to make your place a bit more... family-oriented."

"Okay," Tommy said, turning the steering wheel.

"And then, we'll be nothing more than roommates," Jude stated.

"What do you mean? We have a child together, Jude!" Tommy said, aghast.

"Yeah, and I respect that. But we tried dating and you know that's way too difficult. I mean, you left me for eight months, and barely made it back for Anna's birth. I need space. The only reason why I'm even moving in in the first place is so that you and your daughter can be together."

Tommy bit his bottom lip.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive. Tommy, you're one of my best friends. You know that, right?" Jude faced Tommy and tilted her head to one side.

Tommy didn't answer. Jude huffed and turned back to face the front.

"Anna has a wonderful nursery," she said, changing the subject. "You should come see it."

Tommy nodded stiffly. He turned onto Jude's street and pulled into her driveway.

"Tom--"

"I just don't see why we can't just start over. Why we can't just forget that I left and raise our child together. I want that more than anything in the world! I want us to be together and for us to have a couple more children down the road. And I spent six long ass years denying that! Do you think I wanted to leave? Do you think that I just wanted to make love to you and then disappear a few days later? Come on, Jude! You know me better than that!"

Jude tried to hold back her tears. She couldn't let Tommy back into her heart. She just couldn't. She was scared. And no matter how much she loved him and no matter how much she wanted to be with him, she was afraid that he would just break her heart into a million pieces again... just like he did each and every time.

"Jude, come back to me. We don't have to do anything drastic. We don't have to get married. We don't have to even get engaged or anything like that. Just something more than a friendship. Because we both know that that's just going to put us where we were six years ago. I know you know how hard that was not only for me, but for you, too. I love you, Jude. I do. And I want us to be together. I want us to be happy, raising our daughter together. If it had been up to me, I would have known you were pregnant. If it would have been up to me, I would have been by your side, holding your hand through thick and thin. If it would have been up to me, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now." Tommy looked Jude directly in the eye, silently pleading with her.

A cry came from the backseat.

Jude got out of the car and pulled out the carseat. She walked inside the house and took Anna-Sophia up to the nursery. Tommy followed her up the stairs.

The nursery was decked out in yellow and white. A small picture frame containing a picture of Jude and Tommy sat on top of the dresser. Tommy picked it up and ran his thumb over the side of the frame.

"Hey, I remember this," he said.

Jude looked up from the rocking chair where she had sat down and smiled.

"Yeah. It's one of the only good pictures of us that doesn't really look too cheesy," she said.

The picture was of Jude and Tommy working on her fifth album. Jude was 19, Tommy 26. Jude had been sitting on a stool next to a piano, writing lyrics, while Tommy played. Jamie had snuck into the doorway and snapped the picture while Tommy and Jude were completely unaware. Barely two years later, when Jude had found out that she was expecting Anna-Sophia, Jamie had given her the photograph.

"It's a shame that the good times always leave too soon... right when you're not expecting them to," Jude said, rocking Anna slowly.

"It doesn't always have to be that way," Tommy said, looking at the baby.

"Yeah, well, I gave up most of my naive ways a long time ago, Quincy. I don't expect things to just fall into place anymore. I have to work for them."

"Jude... our relationship is one of those few things that actually could fall into place. If you'd only let it," Tommy sighed.

"Yeah. Then, we'd be fighting like cats and dogs, dragging our kids through a messy divorce..."

"Why do you always have to be so negative?" Tommy asked.

"I'm not negative. I speak what I see."

"Oh really. And you see me breaking your heart over and over again?"

"Yes," Jude said, watching Anna sleep.

"Okay. How about this? How about we take things slower?"

"Tommy..."

"As slow as you want them to go... Jude. I love you. I'll always love you. You're the mother of my child. I'll love you even when you don't want me to. Anna seals the deal."

"Tommy..."

Tommy took Anna out of her mother's arms and placed her in her crib.

"Jude, I love you. Please... You always choose the wrong guys. Choose the right one this time," Tommy said softly.

A single tear made its way down Jude's cheek and Tommy wiped it away.

"You don't understand..." Jude said, hugging him.

"What don't I understand?" Tommy asked.

"You don't understand that each time I fall in love with you, you hurt me."

"Well, I've been in love with you for six years and I've had a lot of hurt too. But you can't have love without pain. That's the beautiful part about it."

And with that, Tommy placed a tender kiss on Jude's lips.


Okay... figured that that was a good place to stop for tonight... I'll try to have another chapter up soon!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, just to let you know, the baby's official name is Anna-Sophia Elisabeth Quincy. I had a bit of a change of heart since the last chapter. However, she'll be called Anna for short. Basically, the Anna and the Anna-Sophia are interchangeable.

--Leanne