It has been TOOOOO long, but I'm back! Unfortunately, because my computer was so messed up, the last two chapters of this story weren't saved, so I have to re-write them, but I think they'll be okay. This is the second to last chapter (sad, I know) but there's an epilogue and then I'll be full force on Since When Is Divorce So Cool? I'm excited. Hope you like it. And thank you for being patient.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Nic tiredly opened her eyes on Friday morning when their alarm went off at 8:00 and sighed. "Get up," she told Spiederman slapping his butt. "We gotta head to the airport."
"No," he whined. "It's early."
"Spied," she said more sternly. "Come on."
"Meanie," he mumbled, throwing back the covers as he stood up and stretched.
When they arrived at the airport, he walked her to security and then they stopped to say their goodbyes.
"I'll miss you," she said softly. "We haven't been apart for more than a couple of hours since I've been back."
"I know," he nodded, pulling her to him. "And it's gonna be incredibly hard, but I think we'll be okay."
She smiled sadly. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he told her, kissing her lightly. "Do you want me to wait here with you until Jude gets here?"
"Nah," she shook her head. "I'm gonna go get a magazine to read on the plane."
He kissed her again. "Be good and call when you all land."
"I will," she promised, turning to walk away.
"Ready?" Tommy asked Jude as they stood with Lex and Sophie at the drop-off outside. "Sure you don't want us to come inside?"
"Positive," she replied, bending down to her girls. "All right, I gotta go."
"Bye, Mommy!" Lex cried, kissing Jude's cheek. "I'll miss you."
"Me, too," Sophie added, taking her turn to hug her.
Jude stood up. "Be good," she warned Tommy. "They're a handful when they're together and you've never had to deal with them alone without me."
"Jude, I'm their dad," he reminded her. "How hard can it be?"
"Okay," she shrugged, leaning in to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he said. "All right, girls, let's roll out before I get a ticket. You guys can come to work with me today and bug Kwest and Darius."
"Well, I'm impressed," Jude admitted when she got to terminal 4B. "You're already here and you're not drinking coffee. Your baby will thank you for that someday."
Nic rolled her eyes and took a drink of her Diet Mountain Dew. "You know, I'd resent that, but I know coffee is bad for a baby, so I cut back. And, I actually woke up to my alarm, so I've been here for 15 minutes already."
"Dang," Jude noted, sitting down next to her sister-in-law. "Maybe you're maturing."
"Or maybe something else had kept me up all night and I never fully fell asleep?" Nic mused, looking down at the issue of Glamour in her lap.
"Too much," Jude interrupted. "New topic."
Before long, the girls were asked to board the plane, but not before Jude signed a few autographs for the young flight attendants at the desk.
"Does it ever get old?" Nic wondered, settling into her window seat. "The autographs and the stalking and the tabloids?"
Jude shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I don't really like being followed with a camera in my face all the time, but you even deal with that. Autographs are fun and I've never had a stalker."
"I miss Spied," Nic whispered. "This trip better go by fast."
"Well, at least you'll get mandatory shopping on Fifth Avenue, as requested by Darius," Jude reminded her. "That's gotta make you happy, right?"
Nic nodded reluctantly. "That's true. I do need to step foot into Chanel since I haven't been there since Paris."
"Wow," Jude breathed. "Of course, anything you buy, you won't be able to wear in a few months."
"Says the girl who also pregnant," Nic shot back quickly.
"And shopping only comes after TRL, CD USA, and the Virgin Megastore," Jude added.
"Yes, Jude, I'm well aware," Nic said dryly. "I've been given the agenda."
"Just making sure," Jude chuckled, buckling her seat belt.
When the girls landed at LaGuardia, they retrieved their bags and were ushered into a limo that would take them to the Plaza in the city. Once at the hotel, they checked into their room and realized it was only 11:30.
"What should I wear to MTV?" Jude wondered, looking through her suitcase. "Dress-up or rocker?"
"Umm, both," Nic suggested, pulling out a pair of black jeans, a white fitted t-shirt, and a black vest. "Add the Converse I bought you for Christmas and you'll be golden."
"What would I do without you?" Jude asked.
"Probably die," Nic joked. "I'm sure whatever you would have chosen would've been okay, but I'm also sure that outfit would still be better."
Jude scoffed as Nic's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Thanks for calling when you landed," Spiederman's voice came through. "Good thing I'm not one to worry."
"Yes, you are," she told him jokingly. "Sorry. We just got to the hotel and we've got a while before we need to leave for TRL, so we're just hanging out."
Jude, who was now painting her nails black, looked over at her. "Tell him I said hi."
"Judy says hello," Nic relayed.
"Hey," he said back. "So, I asked Portia to help me out with wedding plans."
"Good," she sighed. "I was going to call and ask her to keep an eye on you."
He feigned mock hurt. "You didn't trust me to do it on my own?"
"Would you like me to answer that honestly?" she smirked. "I trust you, Spied; I just trust her more when it comes to planning things."
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Well, I gotta go write my 'thank you' page cause I didn't yesterday and Darius isn't real happy."
She shook her head. "It better all be about me."
"Most of it will," he assured her. "I love you," he added, just before hanging up.
"They look okay?" Jude held out her nails for Nic's approval.
Nic eyed them. "Personally, with your skin tone, I would've chosen a dark red, but black is more you, so they look fine."
"Well, I'm gonna take a nap," Jude yawned. "Make sure I'm up at 1:15 to leave." She slid down to her pillow and was instantly sleeping.
Nic turned on the TV and after finding nothing, settled for local news.
"And tonight, be sure to tune into another Diane Sawyer special featuring front man and lead guitarist for the Spiederman Mind Explosion, Vincent Spiederman, and his fiancé, Nic Quincy, sister of boy band legend, Tom Quincy," the male newscaster promoted. "I know my daughter will watch, Lisa; she loves that band."
Lisa agreed. "My son loves that fiancé. He even subscribed to The Chronicle when he found out she was an editor. She seems to be one of those girls just famous for being famous, but people definitely seem to like her; I know I think she's a lovely girl."
Nic couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure she'd call Tommy a 'boy band legend,' but it was nice to know she had fans.
Later that afternoon, the two girls stood outside the MTV building and before either could say anything, a young woman with bright red hair hurried them inside.
"Welcome to MTV," Bri Winters, one of TRL's producers, greeted them brightly. "If you'll step into the elevator, I'll escort you upstairs to the 8th floor where you'll be taping, Jude." She turned to Nic. "And don't be surprised if you're stalked by the people from Cribs, Miss Quincy. They're looking to do a G-Major edition and they want to include Spiederman, Jude and Tommy, and Mason Fox."
"Well, if they could wait until we move in August, we'll do it," Nic agreed. "And Mason lives in the cutest ranch just outside of Toronto, with horses and everything."
"I'm sure they'll wait," Bri said as the doors opened. "Okay, Jude, hair and makeup is expecting you and Nic, craft services is in the green room, which you're welcome to."
At 4:15, Damian Fahey, TRL's most popular VJ, stood on the side stage, looking into the camera. "Today, we've got a special guest with us who, even though she's from Canada, is a huge hit here in the States. So, here to perform her latest hit 'One-Way Street' from her coming album, Finally Grown Up, let's give it up for Jude Harrison-Quincy!"
Jude, who'd agreed to use the house band, started the intro to the song and everyone in the audience surrounded the stage and got really into the music. Nic bobbed her head along from the wings, smiling as Jude got into the song and interacted with her fans.
"So, Jude, this is your fourth album now and it's pretty different from the first three," Damian noted when Jude joined him on the side stage after her performance. "What can we expect this time around?"
"Well, like the title says," Jude began, "I've grown up. I'm not the same 15-year-old little girl singing '24 Hours' anymore and I just want people to see that now. I mean, I'm married, I have two kids, and music isn't my number one priority now with a family."
"Do you think your younger fan base can still relate to this older Jude?" he wondered.
"For sure," she replied. "Regardless of age, the songs are still real. I mean, 'One-Way Street' is about feeling like you only have one path to take, whether you think it's right or not. Umm, 'Follow You' is all about being so in love that you'd do pretty much anything for the other person, and 'Where It All Went Wrong' is about being turned away when a boyfriend's ex comes back into his life."
Damian nodded. "So, what are some of your favorite songs on the new album?"
"I like 'One-Way Street,' actually," she answered. "And I like 'Where It All Went Wrong,' too."
"Now, rumor is that 'Where It All Went Wrong' is about what happened when your sister-in-law, Nic Quincy, returned after mysteriously leaving a couple years before and how Spiederman, who was engaged at the time, handled it. Is that true?"
Jude looked over at Nic and smiled. "It could be. I do like to write songs from real-life experiences, whether they're mine or someone I know, so it's a good possibility Spiederman and Nic are the topic of a song or two."
"So, what's up next for you?" Damian continued. "A tour, maybe?"
"I will be touring," Jude confirmed as the audience cheered. "We'll kick it off here on November 29 at Madison Square Garden and then there will be a break taken in between so I, along with Nic, can give birth, and then we'll go back at the end of January or early February until the end of April."
"Wait, wait, wait," Damian interrupted her. "Three kids before the age of 22? Can you handle that?"
Jude shrugged. "Well, Tommy's an amazing dad and Sophie's going to be nine a few months after the new baby is born, so we'll manage. I like babies and I'll probably have at least one more in the future."
"Well, congratulations on everything," he told her. "Good luck with the album, baby, and tour and we hope you come back to see us."
"Definitely," she said.
"Now, getting back into the countdown, here's Britney Spears at number seven with 'Stop Talking,'" he introduced as the cameras faded to the music video from the re-birthed pop princess.
"You were great!" Bri gushed once Jude was backstage. "I can't believe you're pregnant. Both of you!" she added to Nic.
"We are," Nic laughed.
"Well, it was so great to have you here, Jude," Bri went on. "And Nic, try talking that fiancé of yours into coming here, would you? We love SME around TRL."
Nic smiled. "Their album is coming out soon, so you can expect they'll definitely want to come in the next few weeks. Just give G-Major a call."
At the Virgin Megastore, the line to see Jude was completely wrapped around the entire store and she sat at the table, happily obliging to sign autographs and take pictures.
"Hi, could I get a picture?" a young boy of about 16 asked nervously, stepping up to the table.
Jude stood. "Sure."
"Actually, I meant her," he explained, pointing to Nic. "I used to love The Chronicle when you worked there."
"Thanks," Nic beamed, walking around the table to pose with him. "Well, I'm not there anymore, but I am working on a book."
"Really?" he blushed. "I can't wait."
As soon as he was gone, the attention went back to Jude, which Nic didn't mind, but it had been nice to be recognized for something other than being engaged to one of the planet's most famous rock stars for once.
"That was the longest trip of my life," Nic muttered when she and Jude got off their plane on Sunday afternoon back in Toronto. "I could kill Darius."
"Hey, he saw good things from TRL and wanted more appearances and promotions," Jude rationalized. "That's what he does."
"I still hate him for it," Nic whined as they made it to security. "Aww, look at the little Quincy family, waiting patiently for their mommy."
Jude rolled her eyes and ran the last couple of yards, taking her daughters tightly into her arms. "I missed you two."
"We missed you, too," Sophie said, kissing her cheek. "And I'm glad you're back cause Daddy cooked for us and we had to eat gross food."
"Broccoli," Tommy told her. "God forbid I make them eat vegetables instead of the crap you're always ordering out for or the pizza casserole you make."
Jude stood up and kissed him. "They're little girls; they'll appreciate vegetables more when they're older."
"Like you do?" he smirked.
"I'm still a little girl, too," she pointed out. "I mean when they're like, 40."
Nic walked past them and stared at Spiederman, who was casually leaning up against a wall. "I just got back from the most tiring weekend of my life and you want me to come to you?"
"Duh," he teased, using her favorite phrase."
"Ha," she laughed, heading for the escalator. "You can forget that, bud."
"Hey!" he cried, hurrying to chase after her. "I was only kidding." He took her into his arms and kissed her. "I missed you."
She eyed him pointedly. "Duh."
"Brat," he shook his head as they walked to baggage claim. "So, are you excited about the surprise I have planned for us?"
"I would be if I knew what it was," she said dryly, picking up her smaller bag while he grabbed her larger one. "Care to tell me?"
"Nope," he answered cheekily, leaving the airport and heading for his Jeep.
"I hate surprises," she whined. "And I'm going to pout and mope until you tell me."
He rolled his eyes. "Then you'll be pouting and moping until we get there cause I'm not telling."
They rode in silence, while Nic fumed and Spiederman sang along to the oldies station on the radio. When they got to the small lot in the middle of nowhere, Nic began to worry.
"You're not gonna like, leave me out here to die so you don't have to marry me, are you?" she asked, half joking, half serious.
"Shut up," he laughed, walking around to help her out. "Can't you just wait a few more minutes?"
A moment later, she was standing with her arms crossed, shaking her head. "Absolutely not. You know I'm afraid of heights."
Spiederman, who was standing in front of a hot air balloon, turned back to her. "Come on, Nic. I'm not going to let you fall out and he promised to only go the minimum height."
"Is it more than five feet off the ground?" she demanded. "Oh, it is? Yeah, then I'm not going."
After a minute of assuring her she'd be fine, Spiederman finally got her into the basket and he held onto her waist tightly as they lifted off the ground.
"I could kill you for this," she warned him.
"Liar," he smiled, kissing her cheek.
"You're just lucky you're cute," she replied. "If not, you'd be on my list."
He grinned. "Then I'm glad I'm cute, too cause I've been on that list and your list is not so fun."
