Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think. And look for the following chapter coming soon. What happens at a charity event when...okay going to leave it at that. Just have to read and find out. Hope you all enjoy. Please Please Please R&R.


At the studio hours later…

"What's this all about, Tommy?" I heard Darius yell from one of the rooms behind me as I tried desperately to concentrate on my guitar and not on the commotion. Glancing nervously at the room around me, I noticed Kwest frowning at the door that hid Darius and Tommy from view while Portia kept sneaking peeks disapprovingly at me from behind him. Sadie was a little too silent for my liking, mom seemed to have accepted the situation (although I think she knew to what level Tommy and I had taken our relationship and highly disapproved of it), and SME just basically kept to themselves. Patsy kept giving me the thumbs up sign as she grinned at me wickedly before sidling up to Jamie, whispering into his ear and nuzzling him as she did. I could tell from the glances he threw her that they had made up. Strangely enough, if it weren't for the reassuring glimpses that Jamie and Patsy kept throwing my way, I think I would have folded under the pressure and just screamed, "What's the big deal, People!" I saw Jamie say something to Patsy before heading in my general direction. Boy, just what I needed right now. A sympathetic ear.

"Hey." He said quietly as he drew up a stool beside me and took a seat.

"Hey." I replied softly, taking my eyes off my guitar only for a second before piddling with it once again. Jamie put his hand over the strings so that I would have to look into his face, and I glared at him sharply as he pulled the instrument away.

"Are you okay?" He asked curiously and I just nodded emphatically.

"I guess as good as I can be considering the whole office pretty much knows I've screwed my producer and are all thinking equally lascivious things about it—making it into something perverted instead of something beautiful." I answered sarcastically as I saw Jamie grin at me from the corner of my eye.

"So you guys did sleep together. I guess that means I owe Patsy fifty dollars." Jamie said on a chuckle as I chucked him irritably under the chin.

"Hey!" He said in surprise as he rubbed his face. "Just be glad that your 'beautiful' moment wasn't filmed on tape for the whole world to see." Jamie said as he shuddered remembering the incident in L.A. Okay, I couldn't argue with him there. Looking at Jamie in the eyes a moment, I knew that the two of us had hit a plateau in our friendship. Even after everything that had happened over the past year, we still related to each other remarkably well. How can you ever forget the first man you ever cooked for, right? Even if the first meal was made out of play-doh. I smiled gently at him as I turned yet another worried look over my shoulder at Darius and Tommy. Jamie shifted beside me as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Let Tommy deal with it, Jude. You, Patsy, and SME have a tour to do, and trust me, Tommy is great under pressure. He'll be fine." Jamie said with conviction. I knew he was right. I just felt like I should be in there with him. Tom turned then and looked out the window, smiling at me reassuringly as he said something to Darius quietly. I smiled back before grabbing my guitar from Jamie and strumming at the strings again. Jamie was right. Tom could deal with it.

"So what did you and Patsy argue about the other day?" I asked Jamie suddenly watching in amusement as his cheeks turned suspiciously red. He shrugged as I took a sip of some water I had laying beside me.

"Let's just say I had a conniption when she suggested that we think about making our twosome a threesome some day." He said nonchalantly as water squirted suddenly out of my nose and mouth. I couldn't help it; first I stared at him incredulously before laughing wildly.

"Oh, Jamie! She's every guy's fantasy." I said with a chuckle as Jamie grinned and looked over his shoulder at Patsy.

"Yeah, I guess she is." He murmured as he looked at her while I stole yet another glance in Tom's direction.


Tommy and Darius in the studio…

"Are you trying to find ways to make me angry at you, Tommy. Because if you are, then you have more than succeeded. What were you thinking?" Darius cried in outrage as Tommy lifted a brow and glanced at Jude sitting just outside the room.

"I don't know, Darius. Let's just say there wasn't a whole lot of thinking going on, if you know what I mean." Tommy said derisively as Darius threw his arms up into the air.

"Are you trying to annoy me, Quincy?" Darius asked menacingly. Tom just looked at him calmly.

"Only if making the decision to finally allow myself to love Jude annoys you, D, then yeah, I guess I'm doing one hell of a job of it." Tom replied in a low tone as Darius looked at him silently before pacing to a desk where he nervously thrummed his fingertips.

"Do you know what this could do to the dynamics of our artists, to other artists in the studio, to our studio itself? We don't encourage our producers to screw the artists, Tommy. It just wouldn't be appropriate, now would it?" Darius asked pointedly as Tommy shrugged.

"Then Kwest can produce Jude, D. She trusts him just as much as she does me. But I won't let you keep trying to find ways to make me regret the decision I made or to keep me from doing it again." Tommy answered while folding his arms across his chest in a motion of defiance. He sighed suddenly before leaning over and placing his hands palm down on the desk.

"I love music—making it and producing it, but I've also learned over the past year that there are some things in life that can also make music better by making you better. Jude does that for me. Fault me if you like, D. But you, better than most, know what Jude's music has become because of the dynamic between the two of us. I can't stand back anymore and listen to her sing songs about love or watch as I let her get away allowing someone else to come into the picture. You know I don't like to share, D. Jude is as important to me as air. I won't lose her because you think I have no right to her as a producer, but you forget one thing Darius. When we walk out that door at night, we stop being artists, producers, and engineers, and we start being people." Tom stated defiantly before turning to the other room behind him. Walking towards the closed door, Tommy threw one last quick glance over his shoulder.

"You done with me here?" Tom asked pointedly. Darius shook his head sullenly.

"Just go, Quincy." He said in a low tone, knowing that Tommy was right. He could control his artist's music but their personal lives were a different story. Rubbing his hand over his eyes, he sat down huffily as he watched Tommy slam the door behind him.


Back to Jude in the studio…

I saw Sadie coming from the corner of my eye followed closely behind by Portia long before either of them knew I did.

"Let me guess. Is this an intervention?" I asked sardonically as Sadie chewed irritably at her lower lip. Portia circled me like a vulture before finally stopping behind me to place both her hands on either side of my shoulders.

"So what did he bribe you with, Jude? Money, trinkets, fame and fortune? Come on. It couldn't possibly have been love." Portia said on a wicked laugh as I winced at her pained tone. Tommy had made a mistake marrying a woman he only thought he loved, but I wasn't going to let his mistake and her cynical attitude affect how I felt.

"You forgot the private island, the luxury yacht, oh and a cute little Yorkshire terrier named fluffy. Geez, Portia. Let it go. He didn't offer me anything but himself." I said quietly giving each girl a glance that clearly said, "back off" before turning back to the guitar. I had an idea for a song, and it was really starting to take hold. Looking at Sadie's injured expression hurt the most, but I was tired of playing second wheel to everyone's opinions. I had crossed the line with Tommy, and I planned to stay the hell on his side. I glanced at her as she just stood there staring at the wall behind me as if considering what her next step should be. I was hoping she wouldn't say something that she would regret later. Boy, if we only had a penny for every wishful thought.

"So what's it like being Little Tommy Q's whore?" Sadie asked softly as her eyes shifted to meet with mine and I cringed at the pain I saw there, but I knew Tommy had been right about her. She had loved his past more than him. I was about to open my mouth to speak when a voice from behind me made me jump.

"You should know, Sadie." Tommy said with a warning tone as he placed both his hands on my shoulders, kneading them gently to get rid of the tension that had gathered there. I looked up into his blue eyes, noticing with a grimace that they had darkened with anger.

"Portia, you spent most of our marriage belittling me about being gone on tour so much that I began to hate coming home at all until I found comfort in making you angry by sleeping with other women. It was a mistake. I know that now. Sadie, you spent more time in our relationship listening to Boyz Attack music or complaining about my inattention than really seeing past the image to what I am now. I'm sorry about that too. But if I ever hear either one of you call Jude Harrison a whore ever again, it would not take much for me to make sure you both regret it. Now, let's hope you can find it in yourselves to be the bigger people here and see if we can all still remain friends." Tommy said slowly, enunciating every syllable more than the last. Note to self: Never piss Tommy off. Sadie and Portia just gazed first at each other and then at Tommy before turning and walking away. I let my shoulders slump as I plucked absent-mindedly at my guitar. I could feel Tommy's gaze on my face so I looked up at him with a small smile before noticing Sadie's face over his shoulder. She looked confused as she stared back at us. Her eyebrows were creased in thought before a sudden realization seemed to hit, and her eyes bore into mine as if seeking some knowledge about something before her lips suddenly quirked into a small smile. I knew then she had accepted it and it took a huge load off of my shoulders.

"You've been strumming the same tune for over an hour now." Tommy said quietly bringing me out of my thoughts as I looked up into his glorious eyes.

"Maybe I just need some inspiration." I said teasingly as his face lit up with a mischievous smile.

"Watch it, Jude. There's way too much innuendo in that statement." He warned huskily as I grinned at him just as mischievously.

"Who said it was an innuendo?" I asked saucily as he groaned good-naturedly.

"I don't guess you've had lunch yet, have you? Because I suddenly find I'm starving. How about you?" Tom asked quietly before putting his hand out in front of him. I placed my hand into his open palm as I smiled at him happily.

"I'm famished."