Another text to Jude with no reply. Usually Jude's lack of response was a typical occurrence; her phone registered last in her list of priorities when she was stressed or working, but as far as Tommy knew, she wasn't either of those things. Last he saw, she was in an amazingly good mood, off to see Sadie.

As Tommy turned to finish off his work, he wondered if sending Jude off alone to see Sadie was the best idea. Odds are that Sadie didn't take the news of Jude's possible pregnancy well, and probably had a fit about it. This didn't bother him at the time because Jude was just so…good with handling her sister - her art with defusing Sadie is something bomb squads would envy – but Tommy has firsthand experience in Sadie's persistence, and he himself has fallen victim to her nagging countless times.

Maybe Sadie's finally accomplished her mission of planting that seed of doubt in Jude's head; Jude could be off somewhere rethinking their entire relationship. His concern on whether the meeting with Sadie went south only spurred his anxiety. He needed to talk to Jude, needed to hear from her lips that everything was okay.

Shoving his laptop into its carrying case, Tommy spared a glance over his shoulder at the crew; they were lounging on separate ends of the couch, cell phones in hand while their equipment lay discarded on a nearby table. "I'm, uh, just gonna drop this off to Darius." Tommy said, holding up a demo disc he'd just printed for an Instant Star contestant, "I'll be right back."

The crew gave an uninterested nod of acknowledgment and returned to their devises. Tommy idly wondered if they were getting enough material; there were pretty hands off compared to other camera men he's dealt with, or maybe they're so laid back because Jude's the main priority. She is the reason for all this, after all.

Tommy found Darius' office empty, as he expected he would, and dropped the disc case amongst a scatter of papers. Out from the eye and ear of the cameras, Tommy freely made his way the receptionist's desk where Sadie was talking with Trisha. "Trisha," He greeted politely with a light nod of his head, then turned his attention to Sadie, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Suddenly very interested in an invoice coming in, Sadie only offered a curt, "No." in response.

Tommy rapped his fingers on the counter and flashed an annoyed smile, "Please?"

Sadie gathered a folder from Trisha's desk and brought her and Tommy's conversation to hospitality, "What you need is in your coat pocket."

Tommy furrowed his brow in question, "What?"

Sadie seated herself on one of the stools with an eye roll, "The test," She whispered, "I snuck it in your coat when you left for coffee."

"Oh," Tommy realized, "Uh…thanks."

Sadie shrugged, "Whatever – tell Jude she owes me ten bucks." She glanced up at him and spoke in a quiet, insolent mutter, "I got the most accurate one, so we can be positive on whether you ruined her life."

Tommy's irritation spiked with a rough clench of his jaw, "Sadie," He said patiently, "Do you know where Jude is?"

"She's probably burning down your kitchen as we speak, why?"

At the reminder, Tommy's anxiety dropped considerably; Jude's not answering because she's busy cooking – or burning, rather – dinner. He let out a relieved breath, "Never mind."

Sensing an end to their conversation, Sadie gathered up her papers and stood, "Do me a favor and tell Jude to at least think about what I told her."

"What'd you tell her, exactly?"

Sadie flashed a bluffing smile, "Oh, nothing. The usual, I guess."

Tommy nodded, knowing exactly what the usual was. He didn't plan on mentioning Sadie to Jude at all, "Sure." He spat

Sadie took a few steps forward and shot a glare over her shoulder, "And if she's not pregnant, tell her I said congratulations." With a sarcastic smile, she turned and disappeared around a corner with Tommy glaring after her.

lllllllllllllllll

Having to channel all the acting talent she's acquired in the months following leaving New Brunswick, Jude kept up the everything's-fine-and-I-love-cooking façade like a pro. She briefly considered giving acting a real shot while scraping burnt chicken off a no-stick pan and flashing an 'Opps' smile to the camera in front her of face.

Luckily she'd taken Darius' advice to heart and got a jump start on cooking; if she'd started any later, Tommy would've walked in to a disaster scene. But the extra time provided her the opportunity to dump what she'd screwed up on and start over – twice.

It didn't take a whole lot of deliberation to figure out what she'd attempt to cook; Tommy was a fan of pasta, so Jude went with Chicken Alfredo. It was something she'd watch Sadie make countless times, and the only real work involved was the chicken, which the crew insisted she'd buy raw; it's like they knew she'd make an idiot of herself.

"See?" Jude gestured toward the boiling water on the stove "Pasta? No problem. Sauce from a jar? Perfect. Chicken on the other hand…" She sighed toward the pan soaking in the sink, "Third time's a charm, apparently."

"How's Tommy in the kitchen?" Noah asked

"Um…a little better than me – he's got the whole 'I'm French' thing going on, so he can make some stuff, but other than that, we're both pretty helpless." Jude forced out a breathy chuckle before tending to the stove. Since her talk with Sadie, Jude's been keeping contact with Tommy a minimum. She wasn't in the right place mentally to deal with him. No matter how strong or well-acted it was, Tommy would see through her façade and get all Tommy about it; he'd worry, get defensive, and after a long drawn out discussion, conclude that he's complete scum and be in a funk for days. She didn't have the strength to talk him out of another one of those.

Checking the clock, Jude tried to pull herself together, so at least she'd be half believable in front of Tommy. Due to Jude's recent weakness in regards to all things Tommy, Sadie's negativity had a stronger effect on her than usual. Ever since she had that crazy dream a few nights ago, an odd sort of fear began building in the back of her mind. Tommy could be up and gone at any second. One day he can just decide he didn't want this 'fake' life anymore and leave without so much as a goodbye. Could Jude handle it if he left again? Something like that could leave her completely broken…and that scared her.

Jude breathed in a long, lazy breath to clear her head and refocused on the task at hand: Not burning the place down.

llllll

Tommy showed up less than a half hour later, flowers in hand and camera in tow. The paparazzi crowd out front had shrunken throughout the course of the evening, it seemed. The lingering few eagerly snapped Tommy's picture as he walked inside.

Hearing Tommy's entry, Jude took a deep breath and flashed a smile to the camera. "Hey, babe." She called

Tommy hung his coat by the door with a chuckle, "Are my senses off, or does it really smell like something's not burning?" He entered the kitchen with a surprised smile, greeting Jude with a peck on the cheek, "For you." He held out the small lily bouquet

Jude grinned at the flowers, and pecked him on the lips, "Aw, thanks, babe."

Tommy set the vase aside, watching as Jude piled noodles onto two plates, "I thought you might need a pick me up, but looks like you don't need one."

"Nope," Jude smiled proudly, "Only took three tries."

Tommy's jaw dropped in faux surprise, "That's ten less than last time."

Jude rolled her eyes and playfully shoved against his chest, "Go make yourself useful."

Tommy grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, "I'm happy right here."

"Fine by me." Jude sighed, content for the moment

Tommy gave her a loving squeeze before releasing her to get a better look at her face, taking in her disheveled pony tail and tired eyes, "Awww," He cooed, brushing his knuckles against her cheek, "You look like you've been in cooking hell."

"I have been." Jude informed him, "Deep in the eighth circle with all the greasy fry pans and boiling oil."

Tommy smiled, "Well, if it's any consolation, it looks amazing."

Jude shot him a doubtful look, shoveling a generous amount of sauce on the waiting plates, and topping it with the chicken, "Liar."

"No, really." Tommy insisted, taking up both plates and bringing them to the table

Jude dug two bottles of water from the back of the fridge, and followed Tommy to the dining room.

"Water?" Tommy objected

Jude smirked, "This isn't a wine meal, trust me."

Tommy rolled his eyes and went for the kitchen, "Red or white?"

Jude stared incredulously after him, had he forgotten already? She glanced at the cameras to her right and sat at the small round table, "None for me, Tom."

Catching the emphasis in her voice, Tommy paused with his hand around the neck of red wine. "Oh yeah." He muttered to himself, feeling like an idiot "Sorry, babe." He called to her

"Don't like wine?" Owen asked

Jude nodded with a light grimace, "Hate it." she lied while Tommy returned to the table, his smile apologetic.

A few minutes into eating, Jude broke the incredibly awkward silence with discussion the Instant Star Tommy's working with – and big surprise – it's Brendon. Ignoring the cameras all together, Jude freely ranted about Sadie helping Darius find a loop hole in her contract so she'd work with Brendon. Tommy kept his aggravation to a minimum; ranting about what a bitch Sadie's been lately on camera probably won't help his relationship with her.

"Is he any good, at least?" Jude asked as she chewed, "Does he write his own stuff?"

Tommy shrugged, "I don't know. He can really rap, though. It'd be interesting to see what you two come up with."

Jude groaned quietly, "I don't know the first thing about writing a rap song."

"You won't have to," Tommy said, "Just write like you normally would and let him freestyle in the bridge – like Waste My Time."

Jude unhappily twirled the last of her pasta round her fork, "I guess." She grumbled "What are the other finalists like?"

"Eh," Tommy shrugged indifferently, "Nothing spectacular – Brendon's the best of the group."

Jude chewed her lip quietly in thought, her eyes directed to her plate, "You know, they didn't have all this special treatment stuff when I was a finalist. I didn't even get to see the studio until after I won."

"That was before Darius took over," Tommy reminded her, "And besides, if it had been done that way, we would've never met."

"How not?"

Tommy smirked, "I was told it was a one-time gig, producing a couple singles for the winner. I wouldn't have agreed if I had to record demos every week for all the finalists."

"Lazy." Jude muttered with small smile

Tommy's eyes narrowed, "Says the one who didn't want to get up after two takes."

Jude returned the playful glare leaned her folded arms on the table "That was before I got used to your work-me-to-death tendencies."

"And you should be thanking those tendencies," Tommy informed her with an arrogant tilt of his head, "How many albums have you sold now?"

"Touché"

lllllll

Taking advantage of Tommy's offer to clean up, Jude went to lay the couch and turned on the TV. She flipped quickly though the channels, stopping on a celebrity gossip show that was teasing an 'exclusive' inside look on her and Tommy's engagement, with witnesses' opinions. "Of all the times we've been caught in camera," She mumbled, "No one could've taped the proposal?" She sighed

Jude's channel surfing came to an end when the crew announced they were leaving. Tommy and Jude more than happily removed their mic packs and handed them over. While Owen and Noah packed up the rest of their stuff, George held back, lingering in the door way, "Off the record," He said to Tommy and Jude, "I never believed those rumors were true about you guys, and after today, I don't think anyone will." He smiled, "It's been fun."

Jude smiled in return and happily shook his hand, "Thanks."

George shook hands with Tommy, and stepped outside, "Good luck, guys."

"Bye." Jude shut the door behind him and grinned sleepily at Tommy, "I think he's right – this'll fix everything."

With the cameras gone Tommy's posture relaxed fully, and he pulled Jude in for hug, "I think it will." He agreed

Jude pulled out of his arms, an expression of faux contentment on her face, "I'm going to bed." She yawned

"I'll be in in a few minutes." Tommy kissed her forehead and returned to the kitchen

Jude languidly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She tried desperately to lift her spirits before Tommy came in the room; without the cameras, her motivation to keep a poker face dropped considerably. The knot of worry made its presences known as she mulled over her talk with Sadie again. If she was pregnant, what would happen to her career? How could they balance taking care of a baby with their already hectic schedule? It just didn't seem possible. And the wedding – when will that be? Deep down, Jude wanted to enjoy a long engagement – enjoy just being with Tommy, but with a kid in the mix, it won't be just them anymore. The whole freedom of their relationship will disappear the second the strip turns pink.

Jude let out a shaky breath and sat up, hearing Tommy's footsteps approaching in the hall. "Tommy?" She started hesitantly when he came in to view, "Can I ask you something?"

Tommy pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the hamper, "Sure."

"Can you come here, please? It's important."

Finally meeting her eyes, Tommy recognized the worried, unsure expression immediately and quickly made his way to her, "What's wrong?"

Jude focused her gaze to her lap, "Don't get mad, kay?"

"I won't."

Jude glanced up at him, carefully wording what she needed to ask, "The other night," She started, "I had this crazy dream about you; we out on a balcony and you were saying all this stuff about how I was stupid for being with you because you'd only end up hurting me…" She shook her head lightly against the painful memories surfacing, "It got me thinking about that time in New Brunswick when you were going on about…thinking you're a fraud and whatever. And I was wondering…" Jude met his eyes with an almost fearful expression, "Do you still feel that way?"

After a brief hesitation, Tommy gathered Jude's hand in his, "Sometimes," He admitted, "But it's getting better." He assured

The little hope Jude held out for a better answer drained from her face, leaving one of disappointment "Oh." She whispered

"Sorry," Tommy said, noticing the change on her face, "It's really hard not to feel that way sometimes."

Jude's expression kept the same as her head drooped with the pressure of pure anxiety; if Tommy was still feeling the way he used to, than what's to stop him from slipping up?

"You do want me to tell you these things, right?"

Jude's eyes snapped up to meet his with a quick reassurance, "Yes, of course." She forced a smile, "I just – I uh, thought all that was behind us." She reached out and ran her hands down his arms, "I want you to talk to me – always - okay? So we can fix it."

Tommy smiled softly, "You know I try my best with you."

Jude nodded, "I know." She wrapped her arms around his neck to hide the pain written on her face. Sure, she knew he tried his hardest, but she's always the one hurt when he fails.