Jude's hands shook a little as she typed out the text. A tear fell from her cheek onto her hand.

[ From: Jude ]
[ 13:35 ]
120 Days

[ From: Jude ]
[ 13:37 ]
I did the math a while ago

She sat on the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest, forehead resting on her knees, fingers curled around her phone, crying silently as she waited for Tommy's response.

[ From: Tommy ]
[ 13:42 ]
Uhhh 120 days til what?

[ From: Tommy ]
[ 13:42 ]
And lol you doing math never thought id see the day

[ From: Jude ]
[ 13:43 ]
Dont joke

[ From: Jude ]
[ 13:43 ]
Its how long she was alive. 120 days

[ From: Tommy ]
[ 13:45 ]
What the hell Jude. I don't need to know the number of days. I don't WANT to know

[ From: Tommy ]
[ 13:47 ]
Why would you even send me that

[ From: Jude ]
[ 13:48 ]
Because today its been 122 days

A minute later, her phone rang. Tommy. She answered with a soft, "Hey," and he returned it, but was unable to say anything else for a long time. They sat in silence, feeling one another's grief through the phone.

Eventually, he broke the silence. "You're saying… she's been gone longer than she was here."

"Yes," Jude whispered through her tears.

"That's so… fucked up."

"How did this happen?" she asked quietly. "How did we end up here?"

"I don't know."

Jude let out a little sob. "We were so happy."

His voice sounded choked when he spoke again. "I know."

Neither of them said anything for a long time. Finally Jude said, "I, uh… There's something else I've been meaning to tell you."

"Oh." His voice was thick, and he cleared his throat. "Um… okay?"

"I told Nora. About… what happened with Benjamin."

When she didn't speak after a long moment, he said, "Okay…" again.

"I told her about how he threatened to go to the tabloids, how he tried to blackmail me into producing him… She wasn't happy. So what I wanted to tell you was that I think he's leaving. I'm pretty sure Nora's going to release him from his contract. She's still working out details, and she's not happy about doing it, but I begged her, I told her that the only thing that matters to me is being with you, making this work. I told her to choose, me or him. She wasn't happy, but she… she chose me."

"You leveraged yourself?" Tommy asked, sounding surprised. "You risked your contract like that?"

She tried to brush it off. "I'm the better investment, and I knew that."

"Still…"

"There was a scary moment," Jude admitted. "She was so angry… I thought maybe she'd think she was calling my bluff."

"Would she have been?" he asked quietly. "Were you bluffing?"

"No," she said honestly. "My career is important, I love Bermondsey, but if the choice was you or my contract, then there's no choice. I want us to get past this, Tommy. I know we can't do that if we're going to be seeing him at work every day. If Nora had insisted on keeping him instead, I'd have left if that's what it took."

"Oh, Jude…"

"I love you," she said with a little sob. "Tommy, I love you so much. All I want is for us to be okay again."

Tommy sighed. "Look, I'm still trying to–"

"I know," she cut him off, sniffling. "I know, I get why you left. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. It's okay that you need more time, I just wanted you to know that when you get back, he'll be gone. He won't be part of our lives anymore. I want you to know that I would do anything to make this right."

There was a long moment of silence before Tommy softly said, "That means a lot, girl. It really does."

"You can take your time. I get it. I can wait, if that's what you need."

"It's only six weeks until tour is done." He sounded sad.

"Six weeks," Jude repeated softly. After a moment she whispered, "I wish… I would give anything to be able to take it back. You know I would." She started to cry again.

He sighed, "Jude…"

"I just want to go back." She let out a sob. "Tommy, I want to go back."

"I know." His voice broke.

"If we had known, if we had taken her to the hospital sooner, if–"

"Don't," he begged. "Don't go there, Jude, please." Jude let out another sob, clutching her phone, and Tommy's voice was soft and strained when he said, "It doesn't help, girl. You can't think like that, it doesn't help."

"I miss you. I miss Caroline, I miss…" another sob tore through her, "I miss us."

"It's gonna be okay," Tommy said in as soothing a voice as he could manage. "It's going to be alright."

"I'm sorry," Jude said, trying to control her crying. "I'm so sorry."

"I know. I get it. Breathe, girl. We're okay."

She took a couple of deep breaths to slow the crying, then said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak out on you."

"You don't need to apologize."

"It's just… God. I keep thinking maybe it's getting easier, and then…"

"It hits you again," Tommy finished. "Yeah, I get that."

"122 days," she said quietly after a moment.

"But we made it through them. And we're going to make it another 122. Together."

"You mean that?" Jude asked, feeling tears threatening again.

"I'm… trying really hard to believe it," he said with a sigh.

"That's something, I guess." She sniffled.

"I am trying, Jude."

"I know, Tommy."

"I want to move on, move forward, I really, honestly do. I'm trying."

"I know," she repeated. "And thank you for that. I know I don't deserve it."

"Don't say that." He sighed again. "Look, I… I love you, okay?"

"I love you too." She tried to focus on the fact that he was able to say he loved her now, as he hadn't before deciding to leave, and not on his hesitation before he did.

"We're gonna be okay," Tommy said softly.

Jude closed her eyes, trying for a moment to picture him smiling, picture them happy, and to believe that the image could come true. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then asked, "So… How's tour?" She tried to sound brighter, casual.

"Oh, uh…" He sounded a little surprised, but he answered. "It's good. It's weird, honestly, being basically a roadie, but I also have enough experience with the sound stuff that I've kind of been promoted by default."

"So you get to boss people around?" she teased.

"A little," he admitted, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Maybe more than a little."

"So you're loving it, then!"

Tommy laughed. "You know me too well."

Jude laughed too. The knot in her chest loosened a little, and the idea that they might be able to be happy together again seemed just a little bit more real.

A/N: Short chapter means extra update, there will be a new chapter Saturday.