: Jude, you never cease to amaze me

I turn to see Joey… or Joe in the doorway with a Papa Johns pizza. Mason gets up and kisses me on the head.

Mason: I should get going. I'll be back after your surgery

Me: Ok I'll see you then. And thanks Mason.

He leaves as Joe sits in the now vacated seat.

J: You know Jude that song was amazing.

Me: Yeah well I've been working on it for a while and I finally got it finished. So… you brought me pizza?

J: No, I brought you Papa Johns pepperoni and onions and a Dr. Pepper. I thought that you wouldn't want to eat the hospital food before surgery so…

He opened up the box and we started eating and can I just say this girl was in absolute heaven. While I was eating my first slice he pulled out a DVD and put it into the TV.

Me: What's that?

J: Oh come on Jude you know what it is.

Me: Is it a Disney movie?

J: yes

Me: Is it one of my favorite Disney movies?

J: yes but not Peter Pan

Me: Is it "The Little Mermaid"?

J: yes

He hit play as I squealed and we finished our pizza.

Me: You know exactly what a girl needs.

J: Not what a girl needs, I know what you need.

He started shifting around in the chair trying to get comfortable. I scoot a little bit and pat the open space.

Me: Come on. I know that you will continue to distract me from the movie if you don't get comfortable

Before he gets up he reaches into a brown paper bag and pulls out a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia and two spoons. He gets up and crawls into bed with me and hands me the carton. I laugh at this and we start eating. We continue watching the movie and I finish off the ice cream at approximately 11:55 pm. I rested my head on his shoulder and started to drift off to sleep as Sebastian sings "Under The Sea". The next morning I woke up at around quarter of eight next to Joe, who was still asleep, to a nurse telling me she had to take my vitals. As she was finishing I saw a figure standing in the corner of my room. The person started to walk closer to me and I was able to see them clearer, it was Tommy. He had his arms crossed over his chest with hurt look on his face.

Me: Hey.

T: Hey.

Me: What's wrong? Is it Zoë?

T: Zoë's fine. I should be going. Here these are for you.

He handed me a beautiful bouquet of white lilies. I sniffed them and he started to leave.

Me: Don't leave.

T: Why? You have to go into surgery soon don't you?

Me: Yeah, but I want you t…

Joe woke up before I could finish.

J: Hey

Me: Hey

He turned and saw Tommy and got out of bed.

J: I gotta go I'll come by when I get some more time off ok?

Me: Ok. Bye.

With that he grabbed our trash, pecked me on my lips and left. He left me in complete and utter shock. I turned and saw Tommy who looked like he was going to pass out.

T: I um… uh… should go

He turned and started to leave.

Me: Tommy please don't leave.

T: Why, Jude? Huh? Tell me why.

Me: Because I don't want to be alone.

T: Well then just call in Josh or whatever his name is.

I can't help it but I start to cry.

Me: Please… I'm scared and I could really use a friend with me right now.

T: I don't really want to be around you anymore.

He made his way to the door.

Me: What? Why?

T: Jude don't you get it?

Me: Get what? The fact that you want to leave me alone before I go into surgery? God Tommy you're one of my best friends and I want you to be the last thing I see before I go into surgery and I want you to be the first thing I see when I come out.

T: Don't you get the fact that I don't like seeing you with other guys?

Me: Then do something about it!

T: What am I supposed to do Jude? You're 17! 17! Do you know how much I hate the fact that I am in love with a 17 year old?

Me: You're in love with me? And you hate that you're in love with me? You know what leave. Oh and by the way if you forgot I'll be 18 in less than a month.

T: I didn't mean for it to come out that way.

Me: Well it did. You know what? Maybe Sadie was right maybe Joe is good for me. I mean she is right he doesn't continuously break my heart over and over again.

T: Yeah well maybe she is right.

Just then a nurse comes in and takes my vitals again. I just ignore her.

Me: No she's not. Please, please just stay with me. I know it's a routine surgery but I'm still scared. I don't like the fact that my leg is going to be cut open soon and there is going to be metal put into it.

The nurse leaves and he walks to my bed and start crying even more.

Me: It's just that when I've only had one surgery before and I was little and my parents were there and now they aren't and I want you here with me so bad it hurts.

He sits on the bed and wraps an arm around me pulling me closer to his body.

T: I'm here Jude. I won't leave you.

Me: I just miss my parents being there for me. Or being there in general. I miss my mom.

T: So you haven't talked to her since she left?

Me: No, and I haven't read the letter she left me. I carry it around everywhere I go but I haven't prepared myself to read it and see what her reasoning is for leaving me and Sadie.

T: Well if you want I'll be there with you when you are ready to read it.

He kissed me on the top of my head and we sat there for a while until the anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist came in with my uncle and another doctor. Tommy got off the bed and sat in the chair next to me and stroked my hand with his thumb to calm me while they explained everything to me. When they were finished they injected the fun white liquid into my IV. Before I drifted off to La-La land Tommy leaned in and kissed me on my cheek and whispered in my ear.

T: I love you and I'll see you when you come back out.

Me: I love you too.

Next thing I know everything is black.

JUDE'S HOSPITAL ROOM

It had been almost four hours that Jude had been in surgery and everyone was gathered in the room. Everyone was sitting in silence until Sadie was the first to say something.

S: She's been in there for a while and I'm getting worried.

K: It's a routine surgery Sadie she'll be fine.

S: I know but…

D: She'll be fine. She's Jude.

Mo: Yeah the girl who was determined to give the bird she tried to nurse back to health a proper burial at age seven and ended up finding what poison ivy does when you sit in a patch of it.

Liz: I remember that. Then the next day even though she was covered in calamine lotion she went back to put flowers on the little grave.

D: Hey she loved Tweety.

Mo: That's Jude for you.

S: Yeah I kinda miss that Jude. She was so carefree and didn't care what people thought about. Now that's all she cares about.

T: Well Jude will be fine she's strong and a fighter. She's determined, like when D tried to take Anyone But You off her 2nd album she really didn't want it off so she recorded an acoustic version of it.

Ma: But it wasn't on it.

T: It's a bonus track.

K: How about the fact that she constantly writes songs. She had about 50 songs for her 2nd album.

T: Hey she's prolific.

K: That's what she said.

S: Isn't that a big word for both of you?

They all laugh as Simon walks in with Jude still asleep being wheeled in behind him.

Si: I swear that girl makes everything difficult.

T: What do you mean?

Si: When we got in we saw that she had done a lot more damage than we had predicted.

L: Honey what do you mean?

Si: Both her tibia and fibula were completely broken and they tore through her muscle. She also broke part of her femur. She also was talented enough to shatter several bones in her foot so she has several more rods and screws than we planned.

S: anything else my talented little sister did?

Si: well we had to fix her Achilles tendon which was close to snapping. If she had tried to put any weight on her leg she would have snapped.

S: Why didn't all this show up on the X-rays?

Si: The person that was in charge of the x-rays wasn't paying much attention and forgot to put all the x-rays in her file. She's going to be pretty out of it

About a half-hour later Jude started to wake up. Everyone rushed over to her.

Jude (groggily): Tommy?

T: Hey I'm here.

Jude (groggily): Hey lil Tommy q

T: Hi

Jude (groggily): I love you soooo much

T: I love you too. How are you feeling?

Jude (groggily): fluffy

Everyone laughs

J (groggily): not hunny

S: its pretty funny

J (groggily): no it not

She wakes up more but is still pretty loopy.

J (loopy): did you know a duck cant walk without bobbing its head?

Ma: useless information, but thanks Jude

J (loopy): you are very welcome Mr. cowboy

Everyone laughs.

J (loopy): and that strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside

S: you retain all this useless information yet you get a 6 percent in math

J (loopy): leave me alone.

K: let her keep rambling its funny

J (loopy): did you know that Joey told me he loves me and then he kissed me why would he do that he knows I love Tommy. And then Tommy was mad at me. Please don't be mad at me or Joey. I'm just a loveable kinda gal

Ma: did she just say gal?

Jo: yeah she did. But she is a loveable kinda gal

Tommy looks at Joe like he is going to break his head off.

T: I'm not mad at you or him because I know you are a loveable girl.

J (loopy): I really love you. I love you soooo much that I wanna marry you and have little lil Tommy q's

Everyone laughs

J (loopy): no seriously I do. I wanna be Mrs. Lil Tommy Q

T: Um… yeah ok. Hey someone came to see you.

J (loopy): really? Who?

T: see for yourself

He lifted Zoë up.

J (loopy): hey munchkin

Z: hi

J (loopy): don't be afraid I just got fixed

Z: were you broked?

J (loopy): yeah I was

After about 10 minutes she falls asleep and about an hour after she was sleeping she woke up.

JUDE

Ok still feeling kinda loopy and cant really remember some stuff but kinda hoping I didn't make a fool out of myself. I see that almost everyone has left except for Tom, Zoë, Sadie, and Kwest.

Me: Hey

T: Hey you.

Me: Guys can I talk to Zoë for a little bit alone?

S&K: yeah

Sadie & Kwest get up and start to leave but Tommy stays.

Me: that means you too buddy

T: why?

Z: is your name Zoë?

T: fine

He gets up, puts her on my bed and leaves.

Z: what?

Me: Zoë I think we should talk.