Chapter 4

As Jude and Tommy began to walk through the former G major, Jude noticed a SME poster, also, on the other wall, a poster of Mason and another of Karma, and then Jude turned to see the final poster. Tears formed in her eyes, and she covered her mouth. In the Center of the wall to her right was a poster-sized photo of Patsy, and at the top, it read "Like a shooting star".

She took a few steps closer to it to read the bottom that said, "In Memory of Patsy Sewer 1988-2007. She will never fade away."

Tommy walked up beside her, and she turned to look at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"…Thank you…" she said in what was barely a whisper.

As she lost her control on her tears, Tommy unfolded his arms to hug her and she met him immediately, wrapping her arms around his waist, as he hugged her tightly around her shoulders.

About five minutes passed before they decided to go back into the lobby. But while they were making their way to the front, Georgia appeared from behind the big, black doors of Darius's old office.

"Tom…" she said, causing both Tommy and Jude to stop and look over at her, "Could I talk to you about something for a sec?"

"Sure…" he turned to Jude before following into the office, adding, "I'll be right back…"

She nodded and went to sit in the lobby.

They entered the office, closed the door, and both sat down, Georgia behind the desk, and Tommy in front of it.

"Tom, I've… I've been sensing something for a while now, but I thought I was maybe just… imagining it, so I didn't say anything, but now I have to ask…" Georgia paused for a moment and clasped her hands together, trying to choose her words carefully, "You and Jude… Do you…"

"-Are you dating her?" E.J. finished, crossing from behind Tommy to lean on the desk.

Tommy looked down as an amused look crossed his face. He stood and crossed to the door.

"Tom?" Georgia asked in confusion.

"Jude… Come here for a sec…" Tommy called out of the door, walking with her to the seats as she came into the room.

Georgia gave him a frustrated look.

"What's going on..?" Jude asked, looking from Tommy to the others and back again.

"I was just asking Tommy, here, something that I'd been curious about lately…" Georgia answered, not taking her eyes off of Tommy.

Jude looked at Tommy with a questioning look.

"Georgia was asking about our relationship, so I thought you should be here…" Tommy replied simply.

"Oh…" was all Jude could think of to say.

"So…??" E.J. asked impatiently.

"First off, Jude was with me in Europe the past few months, but not for promotions like you assumed… I asked her to go because I love her…" Tommy began, looking over at Jude as he said the last part.

A gentle smile crossed Jude's face when she heard him say that and their eyes locked.

"And to answer your question E.J., yes, me and Jude are dating…"

There was silence for a minute before E.J. broke it by letting out a slightly high-pitched, "Aw!"

"E.J., please…" Georgia held up a hand, "Not now…"

She met eyes with Tommy, silent for a moment.

"We're going to have to discuss this… There have to be rules here… This has to be a professional relationship while you're here… Maybe… maybe you should let Kwest take over as her producer…"

"What?? No!" Jude exclaimed.

"Jude, could I speak to Tommy alone for a moment?" Georgia asked, looking down at her hands.

"She's not a child, Georgia! She has the right to be here-"

"She should be a child to you!" Georgia shot, glaring at Tommy in disbelief, "She's seven years younger than you, Tom! …And just turned 18!"

Tommy noticed he had stood up at some point during this and was leaning on his hands which were resting on top of the desk.

"I love her, Georgia… Like I've never loved anything in my life…" Tommy began, slowly looking up until his eyes met with hers, "I have wanted this so much… and waited so long… But now she's mine… She's my girl… And if you stop us from working together… If you take that from me, and give it to Kwest… Then don't expect me to come back through those doors again…"

Jude let out a small and quiet gasp, looking at him in utter disbelief and shock. The room was dead silent for about a minute before anyone would speak.

"I can't afford to lose you, Tom…" Georgia finally spoke.

"I can't afford to lose Jude."

"Why does working with her mean so much to you??" Georgia asked in frustration.

"Because…" Tommy turned away.

"Tom…" Silence, "Tom!" Georgia snapped harshly.

"Because it's the only thing I've done right!" he turned quickly, putting his hands back on the desk, "Because… because she makes me better!"

"Tom, I've always told you the truth, and I don't plan to stop now… I've known you for a long time now… And I care about you…" Georgia said calmly, now also standing up, "…And I think this goes deeper than you realize… This isn't just about producing Jude… Tom, before she came along, you were unhappy… You were slow to trust, obsessed with work… You put so many walls up… But you were passionate about music… You lived for it… That was your life-!"

"What's your point, Georgia?" Tommy, whose eyes hadn't left the desk through her entire speech, cut-in, his voice shaking a little as he fought back his emotions.

"Tom, when Angie died, something inside you died with her… And Jude brought back that life, that… spark… She made you feel alive again, everyone could see it!" she continued, "And you couldn't do anything about it… So you - both of you – put all of that into your music… Tom… Just because you aren't working with Jude doesn't mean you're going to lose her, or what you two have, or… or yourself…"

Tommy looked up at her when she said this.

"…Tommy, don't be too afraid to lose her that you never let yourself really have her to begin with… She loves you, Tom… We all can see it… So don't leave her out… Don't hold back… She's got you, T… You're going to be okay!" Georgia smiled, touching his cheek.

"I'm sorry…" he said, his voice was low and barely over a whisper.

A confused look crossed Georgia's face before Tommy turned to face Jude, taking her hands and lifting her to her feet, "I'm sorry for everything… All those times I hurt you… When we kissed on your sixteenth birthday, when I… when… me and Sadie… and when I left on the night of our first real date without giving you any details… What I did to you on your 18th birthday because of Hunter and… Sadie… For everything… I hate myself every time I even think about how much I've hurt you…" he paused to collect his thoughts, "Jude, I-"

Jude cut him off by connecting her lips with his, her hands resting on both of his cheeks. She pulled away after a moment, and he looked into her eyes, which were filled with tears.

"I love you, Quincy…" she whispered.

He brushed his nose against hers, "I love you too, big eyes…"

She smiled genuinely before they parted and turned to face the others, Jude wiping her dampened cheeks as they did.

"You two go… We can talk tomorrow…" Georgia spoke, crossing to them, "But please promise me you'll lay low until we decide what to do about the press…"

"You got it," Tommy replied, touching her arm, "Thank you…"