A few days later, Jude was sitting on the floor of her living room, strumming her guitar restlessly. She was waiting for Sadie, they were supposed to have a girls night while Tommy was working late in the studio. Jude had just checked the time on her phone when the doorbell rang.
"Sades did you forget your key – " Jude stopped short when she opened the door and found Jamie standing on her steps.
"Hi Jude. Can I um, can I come in and talk for a minute?"
Jude wordlessly turned to the side, and closed the door behind Jamie, following him back into the living room.
"Jude look …" Jamie began, pacing back and forth, "I'm really sorry about the way I've been acting since you came back, it was really stupid of me. If you need to come home, then that's what you should do."
Jude sighed and sat down, looking up at her oldest friend.
"Jamie, I'm sorry that you've had such a hard time dealing with, well, you know, Tommy and me, but we've got to find a middle ground. Agreed?"
Jamie nodded and tentatively took a seat near Jude.
"So, what are you going to do? About London I mean, and your contract."
Jude ran her hands through her hair, burying her head in her hands.
"I want to come back so bad Jame, for good. I'm not myself there, the songs are good, but they aren't great. I need …" She stopped, unsure if uttering the name on her tongue would cause another problem.
"You need Tommy, I know. I get it." Jamie said, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes, I need Tommy. But I also need Sadie, and Spied, and Kyle and Wally, and even Karma. And I need you Jamie. I need all of you, you all are my family."
"Well, you could always record at NBR if you were able to." Jamie offered, shrugging his shoulders.
Jude jumped up, suddenly excited, and nearly knocking Jamie off the couch.
"Jamie, you're brilliant!"
"Well, I mean, of course I am! Wait – why?" Jamie said, confused.
"You know that Pagan knows my producer, Colin? Maybe both of them could put in a good word at the label, and I could come back! Oh my God, Jamie, this could be perfect!"
Jamie smiled as he watched his friend run aimlessly through the house, searching for her phone.
"Um, Jude? Your phone is on the table right here."
She snatched it off the table, and quickly dialed a number.
"Nicola? It's Jude, look, I have an idea that I need to run by you."
An hour later, Sadie and Jude were sitting on the kitchen floor eating ice cream.
"Are you sure you want to do this Jude? I mean, you know I want to have you back home, but do you think this is the right move?"
"I do Sades. I need to be in Toronto, I need Tommy. I'm not going to walk away from him again. I just hope that the label agrees to let me record here."
Sadie nodded thoughtfully, taking another bite of ice cream.
"He was like a saint when you were gone Jude, he never went out, never saw any other girls, he just worked, and went home, and thought about you 24/7. He was totally devoted to the hope that you would come back."
They smiled at each other, and Jude's phone rang, making them both jump. Jude answered, putting the phone on speaker.
"Jude? Nicola here. Look, I've talked with Snake, and he's willing to discuss this with you."
"Seriously?" Jude nearly shrieked in reply.
"Yes, seriously Jude." Nicola replied, laughing. "He wants you to come back to have a meeting about it. He'd also like to fly over Mr. Andrews."
"Yea that makes sense, since it's Jamie's recording space and all. Sounds good. When do you want us to fly out?"
"Day after tomorrow, I'll send email you the flight details."
Jude looked at Sadie, biting her lip. Sadie grabbed her hand, and they both turned back towards the phone, knowing that Jude was thinking about having to leave Tommy again.
"Oh and Jude? Snake says to bring Mr. Quincy along. Apparently he doesn't think you'll return unless you've got the most famous ex boy bander as a travel companion."
Jude screamed and jumped up and down with Sadie a few times, while Nicola laughed at the noise on the other end of the line.
"See you in a few days then, Jude?"
"Yes, yes, see you then Nicola!"
Tommy walked in 10 minutes later to find Jude and Sadie in the kitchen, excitedly talking about something and screaming every other word. He cocked his head to the side, unsure if he should interrupt.
"Um, Harrisons? What's going on? Justin Timberlake coming to the studio tomorrow or something?"
Jude leaped into his arms so hard he nearly fell over, causing Sadie to fall on the floor laughing.
"The plan, Quincy! The plan! It's all in motion!" Jude shouted. Tommy bit back a crack about her blowing out his eardrums, he just grinned as Jude began to tell him about the phone call.