"Jude…Jude wake up." I heard someone murmuring softly as I cracked one eye open painfully before finding myself peering into the very amused eyes of a very very sexy looking Tom Quincy. His hair was slightly damp, and I had to fight to keep myself from reaching up to touch it as Tom leaned down next to me a little impatiently.
"It's time to get moving, girl." He said softly as I closed my eyes again before trying to sit up slowly only to lay back down again with a gasp. Oh, my entire chest was on fire! I grabbed at it as I opened my mouth up to speak, but when I tried to reply to him, the only thing that came out was a croak. Opening my eyes again, I saw Tommy looking down at me uneasily.
"Are you alright?" He asked as I shrugged up at him weakly before pointing to my throat. He lifted his hand up and placed it onto my forehead before sighing deeply.
"I think I'm going to call the doctor. You feel a little warm, Jude." He said before standing up and walking over to his phone—glancing at me as he dialed before turning away when someone picked up the other line. I couldn't even catch his side of the conversation because he paced ceremoniously into the kitchen before answering whoever it was he was talking to. I just lay there looking up at the ceiling when his face suddenly materialized above me.
"You want anything to drink while we wait on the doctor?" He asked quickly as I quirked a brow in amusement, moaning as I tried to speak before finally motioning for a tablet of paper that sat on the end of the coffee table. Tommy chuckled as he leaned over and handed it to me, and I scribbled furiously before turning it around with a flourish. Tom laughed at the scribbling—'Doctors make house calls?' before handing me a glass of water.
"They do if you're Tommy Q." He said with a self-important pat on his own back as I picked up a pillow and hurled it at him. He caught it with a flourish before chuckling merrily.
"I guess if you're striving for honesty, then I'd have to tell you that this doctor is actually a friend of mine and can afford to come by. Besides, he lives in the penthouse above me." He said starting to sit down next to me when a sudden knock at the door had us both turning toward it expectantly. Sadie rounded the corner just then, dressed in a pink tank top and faded blue jean capris with a pink patch at the knee.
"I've got it." She said sunnily as she pulled the door open only to stammer at the person on the other side. The man just smiled as he pushed past her into the room. Damn! He was fine. Tom stood up and met him half way before shaking hands with him and pointing to me on the couch. I almost sighed in revulsion. God, I had to look absolutely disgusting!
"Hi, Jude. I'm Dr. Marks although you can just call me Devon. Tom filled me in on what happened yesterday, and he says you're having a hard time speaking this morning. Does your chest hurt too?" He asked cheerfully as he came to kneel beside me, and I just nodded with wide eyes as he pulled out a stethoscope and tongue compressor.
"Can you sit up for me?" He asked as I nodded while watching Sadie sidle up behind me out of the corner of my eye. Something told me she wasn't worried much about Tommy anymore. I would have laughed at the irony if the thought of laughing didn't hurt so much. I shivered as 'Devon' lifted my shirt up enough to put the stethoscope up to the top of my chest, and I took a few deep breaths before opening my mouth obediently so that he could take a good look at the back of my throat. I saw him quirk a brow at me before sitting back on his heels and pulling the blanket back over me gently. Sadie almost fainted as he looked up at her with a winsome smile before looking back down at me again. Tom edged up beside him before crossing his arms across his chest.
"Well, what's the verdict?" Tommy asked as he looked over at me with a small smile. Dr. Marks wrote something down on a tablet before tearing it off and handing it to Tom.
"Looks like she has bronchitis and a pretty good case of laryngitis—not unusual in people who've been exposed to large amounts of smoke. She'll be fine in a couple of days, but until then…" He said firmly before looking down at me pointedly. "I don't want you going anywhere. You can wear Tom's CD and movie collection out, and that's about it on movement." He finished with a wry shake of his finger before smiling at Tom and winking inconspicuously.
"It might even be good if someone stays with her off and on throughout the day to make sure she's doing what I ask. Her voice shouldn't be affected by the disturbance, but I don't want her trying to talk for a few days." Devon remarked with another pointed look at me as Tom chuckled uncontrollably beside him.
"Oh that should be easy." Tom said sarcastically as I looked over at the couch pillow with narrowed eyes. He was seriously about to get it in the face. Devon laughed.
"I think I had better make my escape before the fireworks fly. Pick up that medicine I gave you the prescription for and just follow the directions on the bottle." He said with a grin as he started to make his way toward the door. Sadie jumped suddenly away from the couch as if she had been bitten by a mound full of ants.
"Uhhh…I need to be heading to the studio." She said with a quick glance at me before following on Devon's heels.
"Take care of yourself, Jude." She threw over her shoulder almost as an afterthought as the door slammed behind her. I sighed heavily. This was a nightmare—stuck in Tom's domain—trying my damndest not to be affected by it. Oh yeah, that was going to happen. Uggghhhh! I heard Tom moving around at the edge of his living room as I sat up enough that I could see over the edge of the sofa. I could see him leaning over a guitar case near the edge of the wall, and I quirked a brow as he brought it over to me.
"Now would be a good time to work on your music." He said matter-of-factly before setting the case in front of me and grabbing his car keys off of the coffee table.
"I am headed to the studio. I'll send someone over here to look in on you in a little bit, and don't worry about Darius. I've got a handle on him, and I'll get Sadie to call your dad, alright?" He asked as I just looked up at him wearily. Finally I reached over and grabbed the same paper from earlier.
"I'll be fine." I scribbled sloppily before turning it toward Tom with a sigh. He laughed as he headed for the door.
"I hope this voice thing doesn't last long, sweetheart, because your handwriting is horrible." He said in amusement before walking out the door in a rush. I stared at the wooden enclosure for quite a while after it had shut behind him wondering if he even noticed that he had called me 'sweetheart.'