AN: Here it is! Longest chapter ever, 10 whole pages. There's more Jommyness in the next chapter. I've actually only written two scenes for it so far which is why our teasers are a little minimal. I really hope you guys like this. Please comment and let me know your favorite parts. :)

Chapter 21: Pretend

It was a drizzly Monday morning, five months into Jude's pregnancy when the latest bomb was dropped. Jude hadn't heard from Justin over the last couple of days and had held firm to her conviction not to respond to her text messages.

In other items of relevance; the trash had been emptied and filed away at the landfill, though the relevance of such a fact would be completely lost on Jude.

"Jude, Tommy, my office; five minutes!" Darius called into the G-Major lobby as Jude and Tommy were discussing a song at the door of Studio B.

Jude glanced at Tommy nervously, raising one eyebrow inquisitively, "Any idea what that's about?"

He watched Darius' departing figure and shook his head, "Not a clue but my guess is it isn't good."

---

Jude felt that familiar caged feeling as she walked into Darius' garishly decorated office. The room was large but somehow it still managed to make you feel as if the walls were slowly closing in on you. The room lived and breathed Darius – to such a degree that even when the man in question wasn't there himself his ego still filled the room. You still felt nervous being in that space, like perhaps the walls would start barking out commands and reprimands.

Tommy guided her into the room with a hand on the small of her back and she realized it was the first time he'd touched her in days. She shook her head slightly as she wondered why the fact had even occurred to her. She took a seat on the sofa and Tommy sat next to her, close enough that their legs were touching as he took her hand and held it between his. She flushed slightly at the caring gesture while reminding herself it was simply a part they were playing.

Darius wasted no time getting to the point as he slapped the palms of his hands against his knees and declared; "I want to go public about the pregnancy this week."

She heard Tommy sigh softly as her eyes widened and she blurted out, "Already?"

Darius raised an eyebrow and motioned to her stomach, "It's probably a little on the late side actually. People have been noticing around the office, it hit fan forums a few weeks back and even the tabloids are starting to theorize."

"But-" Jude noticed Tommy looking at her stomach as if he truly hadn't noticed the change until now. She glared at him pointedly, motioning her head ever so slightly toward Darius' and he quickly glanced away. She sighed. "When?"

"Today."

Speaking up for the first time, Tommy shook his head. "That's too soon. We need time to get our heads around it and to work out what we're going to say."

"You've had weeks to 'get your head around it', T." Darius spoke through gritted teeth, his tone implying he wished he didn't have to talk to Tommy at all.

"Please, Darius?" Jude pleaded, "Just a couple of days?"

Sighing dramatically, Darius glanced over a wall calendar, "It's Monday. I'll give you until Wednesday. I'll book a press conference for One AM. I want a write up submitted to me by Tuesday evening of what you're planning to say and you had better spin this well." He leaned forward menacingly, holding each of them in his gaze for a few seconds before waving his hand toward the door dismissingly.

---

"So… what's our back story?" Jude asked as she and Tommy drove home in the Viper from G-Major that afternoon. The weather had picked up and the sun was now shining, though the air still held a slight chill. He glanced over at her, frowning for a moment in confusion regarding her question. "You know," she shrugged her shoulders, "What's our story? If we want to sound convincing we should have our stories match. When did we start dating, what did we do on our first date? How long have we been dating… that kind of stuff?"

Tommy smiled to himself and temporarily returned his eyes to the road as he changed direction suddenly, veering right onto a road that led out of city.

Jude gripped the armrest as they turned sharply. "Where are we going?"

He shrugged as he slid on a pair of sunglasses. "The apartment's boring. Let's go relive our first date."

Jude was smiling as she shook her head, the cool breeze causing her blonde hair to billow around her face haphazardly. She was frustrated with the tangles and mess the breeze was causing and completely oblivious to the admiring glances Tommy would send her way as he thought to himself how beautiful she looked today; she was actually glowing. "You've finally lost it." Jude remarked, snapping Tommy from his reverie. "I mean, I knew it was coming but now we're there. You're making no sense whatsoever."

He shook his head, a smile tugging on his lips. He glanced over at her and winked. "Do you trust me?"

Her eyebrows rose onto her forehead dramatically as she leaned back against the door and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay," She dragged out the second syllable, her eyes sparkling; "Now I'm really starting to worry."

He shook his head, his eyes fixed on hers and causing Jude momentary alarm at his lack of attention to the road. His expression grew serious as he refused to let her avoid the question. "No, really, do you trust me?"

She blinked against the cool breeze in her eyes as it caused them to tear ever so slightly. She snuggled down in her seat so that the windscreen was shielding her more adequately. She nodded, her eyes fixed on his. "Yeah, Quincy, I do."

---

Jude flipped through radio stations in the Viper while waiting for Tommy to return from the grocery store he'd ran into. She eventually settled on a channel playing Death Cab for Cutie and leaned back in her chair. She smiled mischievously as she pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her feet on the seat and knowing she'd get a scolding from Tommy for it when he returned.

She turned to look out the window at the people passing by in the parking lot. A mother was wheeling a cart of groceries to a car as her six year old son played hide and go seek behind parked cars, constantly calling to her to 'guess where I am, Mommy!'. There was a 13 month old baby in the children's seat in the cart, contentedly playing with a kid's rattle and cooing as the mother wheeled the cart the rest of the way to the car.

Jude didn't realize she'd been smiling to herself over the small boy's antics as he peeked around the back of a car and made faces at his little sister, causing her to giggle hysterically.

"They're cute," Tommy remarked and Jude spun around in surprise to find him sitting in the driver's seat next to her. She'd been so lost in her observation of the children that she hadn't heard him load the bags into the trunk or open the driver's door.

"Yeah," she stuttered, "They are."

He started the engine and the car roared into life. Jude shot concerned glances at him as they drove, waiting for the near certain reprimand regarding her feet being on the seat. It never came.

---

Jude felt a chill of excitement as Tommy turned the viper off the main road and started driving down an old dirt road. The road led into a forest and she inhaled the scent of pine needles. "Do you actually know where you're going?" She asked as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

Tommy shook his head, "Where's that trust we were talking about before? Have a little faith, girl."

She opened her eyes again, stretching in her seat as she looked up to the treetops above them. "I just never thought of you as nature boy is all. Not unless hair gel grows on trees."

"Hey!" he scolded, "I can live without hair gel." He made a sideways, clearing swipe in the air with one hand. "No problem."

She grinned, "If I weren't such a kind hearted person, I'd hold you to that statement."

He nodded to the road ahead of them and Jude focused her attention ahead to see that they'd driven into a grassy clearing. To their left was a bubbly stream and there was even an old picnic table located beneath a majestic old willow tree. "We're here." Tommy remarked.

"Wow."

He killed the engine but made no move to get out of the car. Jude's eyes were darting around her as she took in the vibrant green of the trees and grass contrasted by the blue of the stream. She really didn't get out of Toronto enough. The city could never compare to the beauty of nature. "Jude?" Tommy asked gently. He tilted his head, trying to get her attention and catch her eye. "Hey Jude," he repeated and she instantly fixed her attention on him, glaring ever so slightly for the clichéd use of her name and the song it was from. "Sorry, couldn't resist." he smirked. "Look, I have an idea and you're going to think it's crazy."

"I find crazy ideas are usually the most fun."

He nodded slightly and turned to watch the stream flowing past the car. "Well, then good. My idea is role-play."

Her eyes rose skeptically. "Um, huh?"

He turned his attention back to her. She could see the mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes. "When we're around Darius or Sadie we pretend to be someone else right; when people are watching? Let's pretend that they are watching, right now."

She shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Let's pretend this is our first date and that we're all the things we've been saying. We'll play the part; think the way we would, act the way we would and create our back story in the process."

She rolled her eyes, "You're right. That is crazy!"

He leaned toward her ever so slightly and asked softly, "But fun right?"

She glanced away, laughing to her self a little. "Okay, its nuts but lets do it."

---

Tommy led Jude to the edge of the stream and scrambled around on the ground in search of something she couldn't quite place. She'd admit she was concerned as she watched him occasionally get on his knees and rifle through the smooth pebbles that lined the rivers edge. Eventually he stood to his feet once again and held his cupped hands out to her. Tentatively she stepped forward and held her hands together beneath his. He deposited a pile of smooth flat stones in her hands and she frowned at him.

"Okay, you've lost me." she remarked wryly.

He motioned to the river, the stones in her hand and then the car. "You skip stones, I get everything ready."

She shakes her head, "I can't skip stones. It's like, ingrained in my DNA. If throwing a stone in the water and watching it sink the moment it touches the surface could be a sport – I would be the world champion. Me and skipping?" she shook her head, "We're not on the best of terms."

He tapped her on the top of her head and she playfully glared at him for the condescending gesture. "Practice makes perfect."

He started walking away and she somehow managed to put her fisted hands on her hips, clutching the pebbles inside as she glared after them.

He turned around and while walking backward remarked, "And no looking at anything but the river." He motioned to her hands, "I want to see at least five skips by the time you're done."

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the water. Despite the fact that her first couple of stones sank as if they were made of lead she was still smiling. She looked up into the sky and watched as puffy white clouds flittered across the deep blue. She was tempted to glance back at Tommy but didn't dare. The funny thing, she realized, was that she was actually happy and kind of… excited to see how their day would turn out. Anticipation was an unexpected thing.

She skipped a few more stones on the waters smooth surface and smiled as one made at least three leaps before sinking. And just as Tommy had said, practice began to make perfect. She grinned to herself as she chose an exceptionally perfect and flat stone from her collection. She stroked it with her thumb and raised her hand to toss it to the water then froze. Hoping Tommy wasn't looking, but not daring to turn to check, she quickly slipped the stone into her pocket then resumed her skipping.

---

Tommy did his best to refrain from staring at Jude as he prepared the picnic. She was truly stunning today and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. He smiled ruefully as he carried a picnic basket over to the table; he wasn't going to find this whole pretend first date scenario hard to relate to. Heck, he kind of wished it were real. He took out a checkered red and white table cloth and spread it over the tabletop. He was going all out for the picnic cliché.

A few moments later the table was covered with a variety of delicious foods; ranging from chips and dip to candy and beverages. So it wasn't the healthiest meal but that really wasn't the point. A bouquet of flowers was set in the middle of the table and he pulled one pink rose loose.

He stepped back and surveyed the table, frowning slightly. Tommy was a perfectionist but perfection was hard to muster at short notice. Had he had more time to plan he would have come up with that little something to make this day unforgettable. As it was he was simply had to hope he could come up with something before the day's end.

He slowly strolled over to Jude and watched as she perfectly skipped a stone three times before it sank. He walked up behind her and slipped his hands over her eyes. "I see you and skipping are on better terms now?"

She laughed, "Is my attention now allowed somewhere other then the river?"

"It's very much required," he responded as he leaned a little closer, so his breath tickled her ear.

She put her hands up and lightly touched his as they turned and started walking back to the table. "Can I look yet?" she asked.

He smiled, "No."

"How about now?" she asked a second later as she playfully elbowed him.

He paused in front of the picnic table and rested his chin on her shoulder lightly. "Now," he said softly as he removed his hands. He retrieved the pink rose from his pocket and handed to her as he stepped away. He motioned to the table, "It's not that great really. I can do better but-"

She cut him off with both her radiant smile and words, "I love it."

---

Jude lazily dangled her feet in the icy water of the stream as she sat by the river's edge. "I ate too much," she remarked with a groan.

Tommy's eyebrows rose in emphasis as he remarked, "Hey, you're just embracing the whole 'eating for two' thing."

She nodded as she gazed out over the water. "Exactly. There's gotta be some perks right?"

She silently and unashamedly watched him as he sat on the stony river side next to her. He was fidgeting, both from her unwavering gaze and the uncomfortable stones. She smiled. He really didn't fit this whole nature scenario; it made him uncomfortable, she could tell.

He tried kneeling but that didn't work, obviously sitting back didn't help either. Eventually Jude took pity and suggested they go and sit underneath the willow tree to get out of the sun. He happily accepted. She was instructed to wait while he retrieved some blankets from the car. He spread out one for them to sit on and set another next to them for later when it got colder.

Jude sat on one half of the blanket and Tommy sat across from her, and then there was the silence. She smiled to herself as she looked down at the blanket, watching an ant slowly makes it path across the vast expanse. "Can we seriously not think of anything to say?" she asked as she glanced over at him.

He grinned, "Awkward first date scenario? Check."

She lay down on the blanket, one hand resting on her stomach and the other beneath her head as a pillow. She could glimpse patches of blue sky between the leaves above them. "I wish we didn't have to go back to G-Major tomorrow." she remarked softly.

Tommy had lay down down across from her and at her words he glanced at her. "We don't. We can e-mail or fax Darius the information he wants. We don't have to go back till Wednesday."

Jude's eyes danced, "We could run away." she joked.

Tommy nodded, "Like Bonny and Clyde."

"Or Thelma and Louise."

"Only if I get to be Thelma." she laughed and he closed his eyes as he savored the sound.

"Life's full of surprises, isn't it?" she asked a few moments later, suddenly serious. "I mean, six months ago… I couldn't have imagined this. Six months ago you didn't speak to me outside of the studio, my parents still spoke to me and things with my career were going so well. It was perfect."

"My not speaking to you was perfect?" he feigned injury at her words but she rolled her eyes, not buying it.

"It was wonderful, Tommy."

"Hey!" he playfully swatted her arm but she just laughed.

The silence settled upon them again and Jude found herself frustrated by its presence. There was so much that could be said, so much they both wanted to say but yet there was something holding them back. This wasn't one of those scenarios where you get time alone with the person and suddenly realize you've got nothing to say and there's absolutely no chemistry. She and Tommy had a lot to say and, well, the chemistry thing just had her baffled.

She rolled onto her side so she could gaze at him once again. The corners of her lips curled into a smile as she observed the results of her staring. Who'd have thought it would be so easy to unnerve Thomas Quincy?

"Tell me about yourself." she instructed.

He rolled on his side to face her, meeting her stare as they entered a silent stare off. "There's not much to tell."

"Yeah, right. How old where you when you joined Boyz Attack?"

"Sixteen."

She laughed, "Don't elaborate or anything. Did you have to audition?"

"Yes and it was the worst experience ever. I was so nervous. Each call back I was certain they'd come to their senses and tell me to get lost."

"But they didn't. Was superstardom all it was stacked up to be?"

He shook his head but didn't break the stare; she saw his eyes sadden slightly. "Not at all."

"And before Boyz Attack?"

"Childhood."

She'd have rolled her eyes if it hadn't meant breaking the stare and losing the battle. "So easily summed up in one little word. What did you want to be when you grew up?"

"Superman."

She grinned, "Did you have the little suit and cape?"

"At this point I choose to refrain from answering that question."

There was a lapse in the questions as she fought to control her laughter. "Okay, okay, do you have siblings?"

Finally the staring battle ended and Jude found herself the disappointed victor. Tommy rolled onto his back again and gazed at the leaves above them. "A sister."

"Did you get along when you were kids?"

He shrugged, "We were your average brother and sister; hating one another one day and inseparable the next."

"Is she older or younger?"

"Younger." He sat up suddenly and Jude frowned at his back. The mood and atmosphere had changed and she wasn't sure what she'd done. He shook his head and put a hand to his face though she couldn't see what he did with it. "Let's not talk about my family." He said it so casually but she could have sworn when he turned to face her that his eyes were misting.

She frowned but let the topic drop. "Okay, new question; how'd you get that scar on your forehead?"

He glanced away and she once again got that chilling feeling she's said something wrong. He shrugged as he watched the stream run past them. "Let's not talk about that either."

She let out a frustrated groan and sat up, pulled her knees up to her chest and shaded her eyes with one hand. "Is there anything we can discuss?" she asked, frustrated.

He forced a smile, "How about you, Rock Star?"

She rolled her eyes, "You know all about me."

His expression was strangely intense as he shook his head, "That's not true."

She shrugged, "Ask away then."

"Did you want to be a singer when you where little?"

She plucked at the grass beside the blanket as she nodded. "Since I first opened my mouth and sang. Mom says I learned to sing before I learned to speak."

"What was your first song about?"

She smiled and though was staring at the grass Tommy got the feeling she was really seeing her memories. "My favorite stuffed animal; Robby. He was an iguana. I wrote this song about his family and childhood. I performed it for Mum and Dad and Sadie. Halfway through Sadie joined in and began to move Robby like around in her arms like he was dancing to the song."

Tommy's expression was thoughtful as he asked, "What one song defined your childhood?"

"Broken," She bit her bottom lip and paused before continuing. "My Dad had an affair when I was ten. I found out about it before my Mother did and he asked me to lie for him. I hated being in the middle, I hated that he'd betrayed my mother. She was the one he cheated on but I felt as if he'd cheated on all of us, as if suddenly his family didn't matter to him anymore."

Tommy was nervous to voice his suspicions but tentatively spoke, "Do you think you might have trust issues with guys because of that?"

She didn't look at him as she nodded, "Yeah."

---

Teasers for Chapter 22

Her eyes flickered over his and he could see the hesitation and questions dancing about in their depths. Finally she closed her eyes, blocking out her uncertainty to him. It was all the urging he needed.

---

His eyes grew thoughtful as he gazed ahead of him. "It's strange. I normally notice everything about you." The words were out of his mouth before he could think or take them back and his eyes widened at the realization of what he'd said.