Tommy arrived home tired from a long day of producing. He saw Jude asleep on the couch, some movie playing on the TV in front of her. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. She groaned, rolling over.
"Tommy?" She croaked, looking at him through sleep filled eyes. He sat down on the floor in front of her.
"Yeah?" He whispered. She sat up, pushing the blankets off. She pushed her bangs off her head, trying to wake herself up a bit.
"What time is it?" She asked. Tommy stared at his watch.
"It's 10:30. Where's Noelle?" he asked. Jude stood up to stretch. Tommy looked up at her from his spot on the floor.
"She went to the movies." Tommy stood up and followed Jude into the kitchen.
"Didn't she go last night?" Jude shrugged, making herself a pot of coffee.
"Yeah, but she said she was paying for it herself. I don't know where she got the money and now that I think about I'm not sure I really want to know." Tommy chuckled, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Jude turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Let's run away." She said. Tommy chuckled, shaking his head.
"As appealing as that sounds, we can't. We have responsibilities, for one, like oh say Noelle?" Jude frowned and unwrapped her arms, crossing them in front of her chest instead.
"Do you know that you don't ever refer to Noelle as your daughter?" Jude stared at Tommy. He shook his head.
"That is not true." He said, thinking about. Jude gave him a pointed look.
"No you don't. You always call her Noelle but I don't think I've ever heard you say our daughter." Tommy looked down, knowing she was right. He shrugged, still looking at the ground.
"I guess I still feel awkward calling her my daughter when…. biologically she's not." Tommy said, averting his eyes. He could feel Jude's stare on him. Jude tilted his head up to look at her. He looked away, ashamed.
"Hey look at me." Tommy slowly turned to look her in the eyes. He saw nothing but compassion. "Tommy it's not stupid that you're embarrassed. You shouldn't be embarrassed. You've been there for Noelle in every way. Her sixth grade graduation. You were there when she was ten and she broke her arm. Tommy you've been there for the last seven years. I know that you see Noelle as your daughter. I know you feel like her dad. I need to hear you say out loud that Noelle is your daughter. I need to hear you say that." Jude begged. Tommy placed his hands on her waist, trying to calm Jude down a bit.
"Okay, you're right. You're right. Noelle is our daughter. She's my daughter." Jude smiled. She leaned forward and caught Tommy's lips with her own, pressing her tongue in between his lips. Tommy pulled away.
"How long is that movie exactly?" Jude rolled her eyes, playfully hitting him in the arm.
"Is that all you think about?" Tommy didn't answer. Instead he leaned forward and kissed her hard and passionately. Jude groaned, leaning back onto the kitchen counter.
"Can we make it a quickie?" Tommy nodded, picking her up and carrying her upstairs.