A/N: OK, so who else is ticked that IS doesn't return til April 7th! Ggrr, but Jean Genie was a good ep. Anyway, glad you guys are liking this fic…only one more chapter after this one and it's all over! It's kinda sad in a way…anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter, it's a longer one. Enjoy!

Chapter 28

Kwest and Jude worked on the song, neither commenting at the lyrics. They finished the album, much to the delight of Darius. It had been almost a month since Tommy left and Darius was now out of town on some business. It was late in the studio and Kwest was finishing up the mixing on Jude's songs. Jude stayed in the studio to help him.

Kwest's cell phone rang and he glanced over at Jude and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Kwest…" Kwest glanced at Jude and held his hand over the speaker of the phone.

"I gatta take this…" He said getting up and leaving the room. Jude frowned but didn't move.

"Where have you been!" Kwest demanded of the person on the other end.

"That's what I'm going to explain…is Darius in the studio?"

"No, but Tommy, I don't think it's a good idea for you to"

"Good, I'm out in the alley, come open the door for me and we can talk."

"Yo, man, you don't understand, Jude's here." There was a pause and a sigh.

"Just open the door." And the resounding click signaled the call was ended. Kwest walked past the studio and stole a glance at Jude, who was playing back her tracks and listening to the finished mixes. Kwest sighed and walked to the back of the studio and opened the door.

"You're so dead man." Kwest said, and Tommy glared at him and walked in. "What's that?" Kwest asked, pointing at the folder Tommy was carrying. Tommy grinned at him.

"All our salvations."

"Say what?" Tommy just smiled at Kwest and walked down the hallway like he owned the place. "Whoa, T, back up."

"I found out Darius's dirty little secret…it just took some deeper digging than I thought." Tommy said, waiting for Kwest to catch up to him.

"Meaning…"

"Meaning, the big D has some skeletons in his closet." Tommy said, grinning wickedly. "And I know how to get G Major back to Georgia." Kwest stared at Tommy.

"What, did you learn magic while you were away? And may I remind you, Jude's in the other room and will probably scratch your eyes out when she sees you?" Tommy winced.

"Hey Kwest, I don't really like…" The voice stopped and both men looked over when they heard Jude's voice in the hallway. Kwest glanced back and forth between Jude and Tommy. They both had the same expression, wide eyed, deer in headlights, I've been caught in the middle of a crime look. Kwest was the first to recover.

"Hey…Jude, look who's back…" Tommy shot a glare at Kwest who shrugged back. Jude continued to gape at Jude.

"Tommy?"

"Hey girl." Tommy said, and smiled nervously at her. Jude walked up to him and she stopped short. Tommy watched her, nervous at what she'd do. Her hand moved faster than anyone could see and connected with the side of Tommy's face. She smacked him with such a force, his face turned and her hand stung. Jude's eyes widened in shock and horror and backed away from him. "I deserved that." Tommy said, meeting her eyes again.

"Maybe I should just…" Kwest moved slightly and pointed at the studio. "I'm gonna go and…well…yeah…just don't…kill each other…ok?" He said and retreated from the lovers.

"Jude, I"

"Save it Tommy, I don't want to hear excuses." Tommy sighed and reached out to take her hands.

"I know, I know I should have called, but I was busy." Tommy said, staring into her eyes and Jude could see the remorse there.

"Too busy to find time to make a five minute phone call? Not even five minutes! Damn it Tommy! I was worried, and scared and" Her voice choked and she turned her head away from him so he couldn't see her cry.

"I know it's not an excuse, but I had to go. I had to leave so I could find a way to get Darius out of our lives." Jude looked up at him, her gaze questioning. "A long story short? I'm working on a take over of G Major." Jude continued to stare. "Apparently, G Major isn't as financially stable as Darius wants us all to think and there's some other legal stuff I don't really understand, but the gist of it is, G Major can be bought without Darius finding out."

"That's…wow."

"Yeah…that's why I left."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to give you false hope."

"So you left without even saying goodbye?"

"I knew I wouldn't be able to leave if I woke you up." Tommy said, and reached a hand out and brushed some of her hair off of her face. Jude glared at him a moment and smacked him in the arm.

"You're just saying that to make me forgive you." Jude said, glaring at him, but her mouth was curving into a smile, so the effect was lost on Tommy. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Is it working?" He asked, nuzzling his face in her neck and kissing her throat. Jude gasped and felt her body melt in his arms.

"Maybe…" She said, and he smiled at her and kissed her, fully and deeply on the mouth. He pulled away and she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her and laid her head on his chest. "Don't leave again." She said, inhaling his scent.

"I don't plan on it." He whispered to her. They stood together for a long moment and a throat being cleared made them break apart.

"Kwest…"

"It's ok Tommy…I won't tell." Kwest said, grinning at his friends. Tommy looked relieved and then frowned and Jude glanced questioningly between the two.

"But you were…" Tommy trailed off, rolled his eyes and didn't finish his comment. The trio walked into the studio and Tommy filled Jude and Kwest on his month away and all that he learned about Darius and G Major.

"So you're saying that…"

"Once I sell off the majority of my investments, drain the majority of my bank accounts, and take out a minor loan…I should be able to buy back G Major, completely debt free and unable to be taken over." Tommy explained, looking very tired all the sudden.

"That sounds like a lot more than what this place is worth." Kwest said, and Jude nodded in agreement.

"It'll get Darius out of our lives."

"And send you to the poor house." Jude stated, crossing her arms. "I like it, but you can't do this yourself."

"I'll be fine." Tommy said, hoping he wouldn't have to stoop as low as selling his car to make the payments.

"How much is it?"

"What?"

"How much is it? I want to help…it's not like I'm going to be a doctor or something…I could help you own the studio." Jude stated, and Tommy and Kwest stared at her incredulously. "What!"

"Jude, I don't want to involve you." Tommy said.

"You already did." She said, staring pointedly at him. Tommy sighed. "Come on Tommy, let me help. It's not like I'm ever going to use all the money I made from my first album anyway. I'd rather use it and put it to good use."

"Fine, we'll talk about it later." Tommy said and rubbed his temples. Jude smirked and Kwest just stared at the two of them.

"So, wanna help me finish the tracks? You might as well, I'm stumped on the final mixing anyway." Kwest said, glancing at Tommy. Tommy scowled.

"I'm unemployed, remember?"

"Yeah, but pretty soon, we'll all be calling you boss." Kwest pointed out with a grin. Tommy groaned but didn't turn away Kwest's offer.

"Yeah, it'll be like old times again!" Jude said, looking excited. Tommy agreed and the three stayed up at the studio, finishing Jude's album.