A/N: This is the second to last chapter, and also the shortest one in the story. Go figure.
For the next three days Jude called in sick. Nora called her on the fourth, the day the album was due, and told her she needed to come in to mix the final song, or there would be serious consequences.
Years of fame had made it so Jude was used to people looking at her when she walked into a room, but today was different. Today, it didn't feel like people were looking at her, but rather at her left hand, at the absence of engagement ring on her finger. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked to the studio with her head down, avoiding eye contact.
Her stomach dropped when she saw that Tommy was already there, sitting at the sound board. He looked up when she walked in. There was a frown on his face. He opened his mouth, planning to yell at her for missing so many days of work, putting them in danger of missing their album deadline, but he didn't. Instead he just said "You're back."
Jude nodded, hands still in her pockets. "Sorry I was gone, I was–"
"It doesn't matter." He cut her off. "We have to finish this today. We're lucky we were ahead of schedule before." He said it sharply, and Jude shut her mouth and sat down next to him.
Luckily, the song they had left to finish mixing was a fairly innocuous party song about London and music and fame. Jude wasn't sure she could have handled this if it had been one of the more emotional songs.
They didn't talk, expect for short comments on the song like "make the guitar louder at 1:44." or "less drums on the second chorus." Tommy was careful to avoid looking at Jude.
When the song was as perfect as they could make it, and they'd burned the first copy of the CD, Tommy handed it to Jude, and she said softly. "It's done." The short phrase was dripping with double meaning, and Tommy finally met her gaze. "Yeah." He drew a long breath and said "You're one hell of a musician, Harrison."
Jude felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and replied quietly "All thanks to you, Quincy." They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Nora knocked on the glass and gestured for them to let her in.
"Please tell me you're almost finished." Their boss said when Tommy opened the door. "We're supposed to send that in tomorrow, and the board has to review it first."
"All done Nora." Jude said.
Nora made an impatient gesture and Jude handed her the disc. She spun it in her hands once as if inspecting it for flaws, then smiled. "Congratulations, kids. You've done it." Jude and Tommy both forced smiles. "Tom, I need to speak to you tomorrow afternoon about some things regarding your contract, but Jude, you're off for a week and a half until the kickoff concert." Nora grinned, said "Good job. Both of you." and walked away humming, totally missing– or ignoring– the tension between her employees. Jude quickly hurried after her, leaving Tommy in the studio.
... ... ... ... ... ...
For the next week Jude obsessively cleaned her apartment and prepared for tour. She got one call from Nora, which she answered (they'd had a brief and painful conversation in which Nora had quietly asked for confirmation of the breakup, and said nothing but "alright." upon hearing the answer) and four calls from Emily, which she ignored. Jamie called too, while she was packing up a box of Alex's things to send to him, and she nearly broke down again at the sound of her best friend's voice. She told him everything, and he stayed on the line with her for over two hours, telling stupid jokes, and talking about NBR, which was doing really well. He avoided the topic of Zeppelin, except to say that things were good when she forced herself to ask. Typical Jamie, being so careful to avoid topics that would upset her. She told him about how she was coming home to Toronto, and he actually squealed with excitement, which sent her into peals of laughter. When they grew silent she asked "Do you think Alex is okay?"
"Right now?" Jamie asked. "It depends on your definition of okay. But I doubt he's doing very well. It's only been a week since you basically told him you'd rather be with Quincy. That doesn't feel very good. I would know."
"I know, I know but... Do you think he'll be okay eventually?"
"Of course he will." Jamie responded without hesitation.
"How do you know?"
She listened to the strangely comforting sound of his breathing for a few seconds, and then heard a smile in his voice as he said. "Come on, Jude. I was, wasn't I?" He sighed. "It took a while, but eventually I just... I realized you're not the end-all. That I could love someone else. He will too. Trust me."