Chapter 26

"Ryland! Put me down!" Jude yelled.

When they had gotten out of the car, Ryland picked Jude up, Bride Style, and carried her into G Major.

"Not until we get to our destination!" Ryland said, smirking.

"Ryland!" Jude growled in irritation.

"Keep growling my name babe. It sounds sexy when you say it." Ryland said smirking.

"Pig." Ryland just kept smirking.

"You know it." He said, as he walked briskly through G Major and he opened a door and set Jude down on a comfy couch.

"Where are we?" Jude asked, attempting to sit up, but Ryland pushed her shoulder back down so she was laying down.

"Tommy's office." Ryalnd stated.

"No."

"Jude, no one comes in here so you can rest and plus, Quincy has a comfy couch." Ryland stated, matter-of-factly. Jude sighed. He was right, that couch was comfy, but she didn't want to sleep right now…not here especially. "Just, at least rest and take it easy a bit, ok?" Ryland said, backing out the door.

Jude sighed heavily and curled up on the couch, making herself more comfortable and rested her head on the armrest. She closed her eyes and found herself slipping into dreamland.

Later

Tommy walked out of the studio, he had recorded the last track of his album and everyone was celebrating. He knew he should be happy, but he couldn't help but feel down. He wished he could share this moment with someone important; with her.

He sighed and ducked out of the main lobby of G Major unnoticed and stepped into his dark office, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the door, letting out a deep sigh.

He heard a rustling noise come from across the room and he stiffened and glanced by his couch. He could make out a figure on it and he stepped over to his desk and flicked on the low light to see Jude laying on the couch, dead to the world.

A small smile played on his lips and he watched her a moment. He crossed the room and knelt down next to her. His hand reached up and stroked her soft blonde hair.

The door to his office opened and Tommy jerked his hand away from Jude and looked over his shoulder to see Ryland in the doorway. Tommy glanced at Jude and then walked over to Ryland.

"How's Jude?" Ryland asked.

"Sleeping. How'd you know" Tommy and Ryland both looked over as Jude let out a low groan in her sleep. The men both looked at each other and stepped further into the hall and closed the door softly behind them.

"We went to eat, she got sick, and I thought she could use the rest and she wanted to stay here so I figured you wouldn't care if she slept on your couch." Ryland explained.

"Sick as in…"

"Sick as in she threw up everything she ate sick." Ryland said with a shrug. "I figured you wouldn't care." Ryland said again. Tommy frowned.

"Yeah, it's fine." Tommy said glancing at the closed door and then back to Ryland. "Thanks." He said.

"No problem. Well, I'm off. Tell Jude to call me. I want to make sure she's ok." He said and turned and walked down the hall towards the exit.

Thinking over Ryland's words, Tommy stepped back into his office. He glanced over at Jude, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Tommy?" A groggy voice said. Tommy snapped himself out of his thoughts and glanced over at Jude. She was sitting up, eyes half mast from sleep.

"Hey," He said softly, walking back over to her. "You ok?" he asked her, genuinely concerned. Jude nodded and stretched with a wide yawn.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Jude said.

"It's ok. Ryland mentioned you weren't feeling well." Tommy stated and frowned. "You ok?" He asked, his blue eyes searching her face for any signs of illness.

"Yeah, I'm ok now." Jude said, giving him a small smile. "Tommy, I…" Jude took a deep breathe. It's now or never. She thought. "I wanted to tell you something." Sensing her nervousness, Tommy knelt down and took her hands in his.

"Hey, you can talk to me." He told her, his eyes soft and loving and Jude wanted nothing more than to drown in his blue depths.

"Tommy, I…" She paused. "I…" She looked away from him. "I wanted to congratulate you on your album." She said, chickening out in the last moment. Tommy watched her a long moment. He knew she was hiding something, and something told him all the pieces to the puzzle where there and he just wasn't seeing them. He held back a sigh and felt determined to figure out what it was.

"Thanks. Are you sure that's all you wanted to talk about? A congratulations could have waited." He said, eying her suspiciously. Jude nodded and got up form the couch.

"I should be getting home…"

"I'll give you a ride." Tommy said, going over to his desk and grabbing his keys.

"I don't need a ride." Jude said tiredly.

"I'm giving you a ride." Tommy said, his voice firm.

"OK." She said, knowing it was better not to argue when Tommy used that particular tone of voice. Jude followed Tommy out of the building, her hand unconsciously resting on her lower abdomen. I have to tell him. She thought, looking at him. She tried to form the words, but she just couldn't do it.

Jude got into the Viper when Tommy unlocked the doors and Tommy pulled out of the parking lot once they were both situated. The ride was tense and silent. As he drove, Jude began to feel another wave of nausea coming over her. Not again. She thought.

"Tommy, pull over." Jude ordered, trying to keep from throwing up. Tommy glanced at her quizzically before obeying. Jude unsnapped her seatbelt, opened the door, got out of the car, knelt in the grass at the side of the road and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach, which wasn't much and she was consumed by dry heaves.

She heard Tommy's car door open and close and felt him kneel beside her seconds later. He rubbed her back and pulled her hair back for her while her stomach rebelled against her.

Once the nausea passed, she leaned back against the car and panted and spit the rest of the bile from her mouth, and closed her eyes.

"Whoever called it morning sickness needs to be shot." She muttered before she could stop herself. Once she realized what she had just said, her eyes flew open and her hand clamped over her mouth in shock. She looked over at Tommy with scared eyes. His gaze was confused, as if he were still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"You're pregnant." He stated, his voice sounding weird to Jude.

"Oh my god, Tommy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out like this." Jude said sympathetically. Tommy just stared at Jude in shock. Jude felt her heart pound in her chest. "Tommy, say something." Her voice pleaded, tears coming to her eyes. His silence was killing her.

"Jude…I…" Tommy's voice trailed off, and he was looking away from her, as if gathering his thoughts. Jude watched him, wondering what he was going to say.