Hi again! Thanks for all of your reviews on the last chapter--this whole part with Jude and the hospital is still continuing to be my favorite, so I'm glad you all seem to like it too. And don't worry, we're getting to the thing you all want to know - What did Tommy say to her to wake her up? You'll find out soon enough, I promise:-)
I hope you don't mind, but this chapter is kind of long...it was easier to post it all together than split it in half. So enough of my rambling and here's the next part...hope you ENJOY!
As they walked out of Jude's hospital room, Sadie and her mom made their way down the long corridor back to the waiting room. They walked silently for a few moments until Victoria asked,
"What was that all about?"
Sadie knew that she was questioning Jude's message to Tommy. "I have no idea…"
They continued walking, resuming their silence, and pushed open the double doors to see the crowd eagerly awaiting their return.
"She's asleep," Victoria announced as they entered the waiting room.
"How did she look?" Stuart asked.
"Tired," Sadie said quietly.
"She was drowsy so it was hard to tell," Victoria added.
"Did you talk to her?" Josh questioned.
"Yes, a little…" Victoria answered, sitting down with the rest of the group. As she began to recount their visit, Sadie walked over to where Tommy was seated. He had remained in the chair in the back of the room, not budging when Victoria and Sadie entered. Kwest and SME had moved to hear Victoria, so they were a few feet within anyone's ear. He was staring off into outer space as Sadie approached.
"Hey," she said, sitting down. "You okay?" she asked, noting his thoughtful and troubled appearance.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
She scrutinized his expression and knew instantly that he was lying. "You better not be blaming yourself…I shouldn't have to tell you that it's not your fault she's here."
"Why not?" he said, his eyes darting to meet hers angrily. "It is my fault."
"No, it's not," she said firmly. "You heard the doctor. She's anemic—that's not something anybody had control over. And even if there's something more going on that lead to the exhaustion, your fall-out with her definitely wasn't the only factor."
He groaned and leaned back in his chair. "I should've known…I could've helped…"
"Would've, could've, should've," Sadie said dismissively. "It's in the past, Tommy. None of it matters now." He sat still, considering her words. She continued, "You need to get over this and be positive for Jude. It's not about any of us, it's about making sure she gets better."
He nodded uncertainly. "How do we do that?"
"Well, I think you probably know better than any of us," Sadie responded.
He looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
She sighed and turned towards him, speaking quietly. "I have a message for you."
"A message?"
"From Jude," she stated. Tommy's eyes widened to focus his full attention on her words.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"It was simple: She said to tell you thank you. Thank you and she'll see you tomorrow."
He closed his eyes and slumped back into his chair in thought, rubbing his forehead. Sadie watched him in puzzlement, trying to figure out his reaction. "Does that mean something to you?"
"Yeah," he muttered, barely audible. When he opened his eyes, Sadie could see his eyes glaze over in emotion. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat looking at him. She leaned over closer to him and whispered, "What did you say to her?"
He grinned at her question, remembering his words that triggered Jude's revival. He softly replied, "What I thought she needed to hear."
"What does that mean?" she asked, still trying to understand Jude's encrypted message.
He gave her an amused look, "I'll let you figure it out for yourself."
"Oh, come on," she prodded. "Tell me. I won't say anything. And then maybe I can say something similar to make her feel better."
He grinned again at her and said softly, "Well, I can tell you that whatever I said, it would definitely sound pretty funny coming from you."
She sighed in defeat, knowing she wasn't going to get the details out of him. He smiled at her frustrated reaction, his mood becoming a little more hopeful. He sat thinking for a few moments about the message. "So she wants to see me tomorrow?"
Sadie nodded. "Yeah—you and your mysterious healing powers."
Just then, Victoria approached them.
"You two should head home. Steven just arrived, so we're going to stay here with your father and Yvette, but there's no need for anyone else."
"You're going to sleep in the waiting room?" Sadie questioned, looking around at the blue chairs.
Victoria nodded. "It'll only be one night. And I promised her I'd be here when she woke up."
"Then I'm staying too," Sadie declared.
"No, Sadie, you should go home. You're not going to get any rest here."
"I don't care, Mom. She's my sister. I want to be here too."
Victoria didn't bother arguing. The rest of the group started to say their goodnights, all promising to return the following day. As Kwest came over to give Sadie a hug goodnight, he looked at Tommy still seated next to her.
"Are you coming, T?" he asked.
Tommy looked around the room thoughtfully. "Nah, I think I'm going to stay too."
"You are?" Sadie asked. "You're not going to get much sleep."
"I know, but I wouldn't get any sleep at home either," he responded, turning back to Kwest. "I'm staying."
"Okay," Kwest said hesitantly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
They both nodded and watched as he left the waiting room, exiting through the double doors. The only people left were Victoria and Steven, Stuart and Yvette, Sadie and Josh, who had also opted to stay—half for Sadie and half for Jude—and Tommy. They all spread out and turned chairs together to create more comfortable sleeping arrangements. Tommy sat still in his chair and watched as everyone else dozed off to sleep. He couldn't begin to sleep—his mind was working overtime as he thought about seeing Jude the next day.
The neon lights shone from the hallway into Jude's cubicle of a hospital room. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She noticed a few bouquets of flowers, giving the room some color. She exhaled deeply as the realization of her previous night settled in: the concert, the encore, feeling dizzy in the dressing room, waking up to hear Tommy's voice, and then the hospital.
She looked up at the sound of the door opening and a nurse walking in.
"Good morning," the nurse said, looking at the monitor next to her bed.
"What time is it?" Jude asked sleepily.
"About 7:00. Looks like your vitals are back to normal—that's good," she said, holding her wrist and taking her pulse. "How do you feel?"
"Okay, I guess," Jude answered quietly.
Jude adjusted to sit up, as she heard a knock on the door and her mom waiting in the doorway.
"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?"
"Okay, thanks."
"Are you meeting with the doctor this morning?"
The nurse, who finished filling in the chart, answered Victoria's question. "The doctor will be here in about an hour. And she has a meeting with psych at 9:00."
"Woohoo," Jude said sarcastically as the nurse left the room. The doctor had informed her the night before of her diagnoses and the possible psychological causes. Though she was on medication at the time, she understood everything they had explained.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Victoria questioned.
"No, I'm fine," Jude answered.
"Jude, you scared me last night. I know I haven't been around very much, but you could've come to me if you were having problems," her mom said, sitting beside her.
"I thought I could handle it," Jude said shamefully, looking down.
"Jude, you might be queen of all rock stars, but you're still young. You can't solve all of your problems on your own," she said, grabbing her daughter's hand.
Jude nodded and looked at her mom. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to scare you."
"I know, honey," Victoria said, leaning in and hugging her. "It's okay."
Jude hugged her mom tightly, genuinely feeling guilty about what she had put her through the night before, as they heard another knock on the door. She broke away from her mom and looked at the figure in the doorway.
"Tommy," she said, surprised to see him.
"I can come back," he said quickly. He was holding a vase filled with daisies.
Victoria turned around and saw the flowers. She stood up beside Jude's bed and gave her a kiss on her head. "It's okay, Tommy, I was just leaving to get coffee."
"Are you sure? I really can come back," he repeated anxiously.
"I'm positive," Victoria said, walking towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
At that, she left and closed the door behind her. Tommy stood still, biting his lip in nervousness, and looking across the room at Jude, who felt her nerves flutter as her eyes focused on his.