As soon as Jude was settled in her room with Derek in her arms, Tommy told her he was going down to the waiting room to tell everyone. Tommy walked down the hall, wiping his forehead and a few stray tears from his eyes. He entered the waiting room and saw that just about everybody that was there was someone he knew. The sight touched him as Jess ran over to him.
"How did everything go? Is mom ok? The baby? What's his name? Can I-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down sweetie. Mom is fine, the baby is fine. Your mom decided on Derek Michael-"
"SARAH I WANT MY 50! Sorry Dad, go on," Jess said with a wide smile.
"And you can go see her, only a couple people at a time though, Jude's exhausted," Tommy said as Jess, Sadie, and Stuart and Victoria went down the hall and to Jude's room after Tommy told them which number and what floor.
"T man, what happened to your hand?" Kwest asked, Tommy's hand was blue and purple.
"Child birth Kwest, it's beautiful yet so painful," Tommy said wincing at his hand.
"God, what happened?" Spiederman asked looking at it.
Jamie glanced down at his hand reminiscently "Yep, mine looked the same when Lauren was born," Kat playfully slapped Jamie on the knee.
"You mean JUDE did that? I always knew she was strong but DAMN!" Kwest said looking wide eyed at his hand.
"Shut up, and trust me when I say, you haven't felt real pain until your wife has been squeezing the blood to one point of your hand," Tommy said turning back around to go back to the room where all the Harrisons had taken residence.
Sadie was holding Derek when Tommy leaned against the door, watching his wife gaze at her son softly in her sister's arms. Tommy smiled looking at Derek, he finally had his son, his baby boy, where he wouldn't let anything get in between him and the time he had to spend with his son. Not the way he allowed stupid papers to get inbetween the time he spent with Jess and himself.
Sadie looked up at Tommy and smiled, and then looked back at little baby Derek. Even for just a baby, he looked just like Tommy. Sadie handed Derek over to Tommy, who just cradled him in his arms. Jess was sitting on the edge of her mother's bed, the two watching Tommy and Derek. Jude couldn't help but smile, that was what she had always wanted. To see Tommy holding his child in his arms. Jess smiled, and her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you all have a message from the cast and crew of the movie "Iris"," said the nurse as she pressed line 3 on the phone on the night stand next to Jude's bed. As soon as she pressed the button, voices came from the phone.
"Congratulations! We the best to you all and your new addition!" said the whole cast and crew in the softest voices they could pull off. Jude laughed at them and then said.
"Thank you, we will see you all next week," everyone wished the good night and hung up the phone. Jess suddenly rose form her spot on the bed.
"I forgot something, hang on I got to go get it from my bag downstairs," Jess said as she went down to the waiting room where it was just Kat, Spiederman and Jamie left.
"Everyone thought you guys might want some rest, so they said they'll stop by tomorrow," Kat said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.
"Oh, that's cool. Yeah I think my mom is just about to go to sleep, so I thought I'd go and take a picture of her and Dad and Derek," Jess said grabbing her bag and waving them to come along.
"Oh no, that's ok, we were just about to start heading home since Lauren here is knocked out," Jamie said as he lifted his daughter in his arms.
"I'll so you guys tomorrow, I'll tell my parents you guys stopped by," Jess said, the two adults nodded at her and waved good bye as they walked out of the hospital.
Jess was going up in the elevator, when she couldn't help but feel inspiration coming on her. Jess's phone started to ring and she looked at it, and saw Tanner's picture, she answered quickly.
"Hey, what's up?" Jess asked
"Not much, I wanted to call in and wish your parents and you congrats on Derek," Tanner said from his trailer.
"Thanks, I'm kind of still in the hospital right now, so I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" Jess said.
"Alright, I miss you," Tanner said sweetly.
"I miss you, too, bye," Jess said, and once she heard him respond she closed her phone and got out of the elevator.
She arrived and noticed it was just Jude, Tommy, and her newborn baby brother Derek. Jess smiled, despite not having a family for the longest time, she felt that everything was now being made up for.
"Dad, want me to get a picture of you guys?" Jess asked quietly.
"Yeah, let me get a nurse to get you in here, too," Tommy said as he waved at the nurse and pointed to the camera. The nurse smiled kindly and Jess gave her the camera as she stood on the opposite side of the bed where her father was. They all smiled and the picture was taken. Jess saw the acoustic guitar in the corner of the room and let out a soft chuckle.
"Ha, how did that get in here?" Jess asked nodding towards the acoustic guitar.
"David thought with the three of us being so musically intune, that one of us was bound to get inspired," Tommy said simply.
"Well, he was right," Jess said grabbing the guitar and a chord variation just naturally came in through her to her fingers and out of the guitar. Jude and Tommy smiled at their daughter as she played the beautiful notes.
"I was thinking of writing this song with Dad, for the movie. I mean we need a single for the soundtrack, and I was hoping that we could write a song about this. It'd get a lot of publicity and not to mention, people love parents and their newborns," Jess said thoughtfully.
"Ok, I have one question. How did she come from a 6 in math and a grade seven drop out?" Jude asked as Tommy just laughed.
"Because Mom, you were once a teacher for several years, and you pushed me to maintain only A's and B's. So believe it or not Mom, you really are actually smart," Jess said as Jude shot her a sarcastic look but everyone just ended up laughing.
"Alright sweetie, we'll start the song once we get back in the studio," Tommy said, Derek now in his arms as he noticed Jude had already drifted off into sleep.
The nurse walked in to check on the family and noticed Jude was already asleep and that the rest of them were starting to get just as exhausted as well.
"Hey, I'll take this little guy down to the nursery and then bring you guys up some blankets and pillows," The nurse said as Tommy handed Derek to her and then sat down in the chair next to Jess.
"He's so small," Jess murmured at the thought of her little brother.
"Yeah, he is. God, as happy as this all makes me sweetie, I just still regret not being there for when you were born, and the fifteen years later that I missed," Tommy said looking down in guilt.
"Dad, it's alright, I've already grown to deal with that. You and Mom weren't on good terms, she was heartbroken and feeling vengeful, and yeah, you were stupid and gave up too easily. But Dad, look at us now, look at how happy we are. You can't ever get those 15 years of me growing up back, but you can always make sure you don't miss out on Derek's. Not to mention, he's going to need a male figure in his life," Jess said. But the guilt he felt was something he felt was nearly impossible to get over. He just smiled weakly and nodded.
The two looked over at Jude, her sleeping form, Tommy thought she looked so angelic. She was sleeping with a glow that he had never seen, he could almost see the corners of her lips slightly turned up, and it had only made his heart feel warmer.
Jess soon fell asleep in her chair with her head phones singing her lullabies to sleep. Tommy grabbed the song book from the suitcase he had packed for Jude. He knew he would feel inspired when the time came for his son to be born, and so he slipped it in there. Tommy watched his little girl's chest rise and fall, she was all grown up now, she had been for quite some time, but now finally being able to see it for his own eyes, it made him feel better. She was his perfect little girl, and Tommy wouldn't have it any other way. He turned his head over towards Jude, his angel, the only one who could bring him out of his lowest points. And then he thought of his newborn son, Derek. With these thoughts in mind, he began to write down a few lyrics. He kept the memories of when Jude had told him she was pregnant with their son, he remembered that afterwards when she left to start cooking dinner, he did actually feel tears come to his eyes.
(With Arms Wide Open - Creed)
"Well I just heard
the news today
It seems my life is
going to change
I closed my eyes, begin
to pray
Then tears of joy
stream down my face"
Tommy continued to write, and he didn't feel like waking up his two favorite girls with his guitar, so he saved the chord variations for when the two were awake. Tommy finally dozed off around 3 in the morning, as soon as he had finished writing the lyrics.
After two days of much needed rest, Jude and Derek were welcomed home. Tanner and Jess went home early to decorate around the house while Tommy brought Jude home.
"Aww, you guys are so sweet," Jude said kissing Tanner and Jess each on the cheek. "Don't get too used to this place Derek, we're going to be going home in a few more months,"
"Actually Mom, I had set up a deal with David. I told him that you and Dad should go back home to take care of Derek, and I'll stay here and give you a play by play of everything that's going on," Jess said.
"Honey, that's really not needed we'll be-"
"Mom, no. I already booked your guys' flight, which is at the end of the week, it'll be fine, it's only about 3 more months," Jess explained.
"Alright, but you are coming down to visit, Derek still needs to get to know his big sister," Jude said looking down at Derek with a soft smile.
"I will Mom, as much as I can. I'm going to be traveling with the cast and crew and help David choose the music for certain scenes, so I'll call every chance I get and come out every break I get," Jess told her mother.
"I'm just gonna miss you a lot sweetie," Jude said hugging Jess while holding Derek.
"It's only for a couple more months," Jess said with a smile as she took Derek from her mother's arms and held him.
"So what's Derek's full name?" Tanner asked watching Jess hold him.
"Derek Michael Quincy," Jude said watching Jess and Derek like a hawk.
"Honey, Derek is in Jess's care, she won't let anything happen to him at all," Tommy said massaging Jude's shoulders to relieve her tension.
"I know, but...I wanna hold him some more," Jude said with a big grin like a child in a candy store as Jess handed him over to Jude.
"Alright, well mom, I have a couple more mixes to do in the studio before I come back and pack for Spain tomorrow," Jess said.
"Spain? Oh yeah, Spain, oh I loved it there. So quiet and peaceful," Jude said her eyes going into a trance, but then she snapped back to reality. "You'll love it there, I'm going to go put Derek in his cradle and then we can talk more,"
"Only for a little bit though Mom, probably an hour tops," Jess added.
Tommy and Jude nodded as they went to go put Derek to sleep and Jess collapsed on the couch, Tanner leaning over the back and staring at her.
"What?" Jess said turning her head a little.
"I don't know, I just like to stare at you," Tanner said, they stayed like that for another moment, Tanner leaning down towards Jess. And just when Jess thought he was going to kiss her, he started to tickle her as much as possible.
"Ahh! Tanner...stop! Please!" Jess said as quietly as she could since they were putting Derek to sleep.
"Ok, ok, I'll stop. Only because Derek's going to sleep," Tanner said kissing Jess on her forehead.
A few moments later Tommy and Jude came out of the room, a baby monitor in Jude's hand. Tanner quickly backed up and Jess had scoot over for Tanner to sit down next to her.
"So, how is the movie coming along?" Jude asked sitting back in the couch.
"Oh, it's coming along great, we just got done shooting in Florida, we're going to be shooting in Spain next, and then New York lastly," Tanner said with a small smile and nod of his head.
"What are you two going to do once the movie is over? Because Jess is going to school in Berkeley after the movie is done, and you live out here in Toronto," Tommy stated.
"Well, we haven't really discussed what it is we're going to be doing Dad. I still think we have plenty of time to discuss that, Berkley is still three months away," Jess added.
Tommy and Jude nodded, and before the four knew it, it was time for Jess and Tanner to head back to the set for more work. While on the way to work, Tanner turned the radio up and Jess was thinking back to the question her father had posed for them. What were they going to do once the movie was over? Long distance relationships aren't famous for working and Jess has school in December. Tanner lives out in Toronto, and Berkeley is in California.
"Tanner, how are we going to make this work if I'm in another country?" Jess asked turning the music down.
"Well, I was planning on telling you later, but I'm moving down to California in February, so we'd only have to be doing the whole long distance relationship for about 2 months," Tanner said turning the car to the parking lot.
"That's still two months, I'm going to miss you like crazy," Jess said looking down as she squeezed his hand.
"I know, girl. It's going to be tough, but it's just another rock in the road for us to move on from. I'll be visiting a lot anyways for when I need to go look at homes," Tanner said kissing Jess on her forehead.
"I just can't really imagine being away from you for that long," Jess said as Tanner pulled her closer to him. Tanner kissed Jess's temple and brushed away her stray strands of hair.
"We'll pull through it, plus, it'll all go by fast for you. You're going to Berkeley, one of the best music schools, you're going to be having the time of your life," Tanner mentioned, staring into her eyes.
"Yeah, I just I- you know what, nevermind, it'll all be ok," Jess said, cutting her last phrase before she actually said it. She couldn't tell him that, it would scare him. They'd only been dating for about two months, and it was way too soon to be telling him that.
Tanner looked at Jess for a moment as she started to get out of the car. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or scared of the fact that she had stopped herself mid sentence. Tanner unbuckled his seat belt and got out of car catching up to Jess. But that was until he saw the reason why Jess had stopped before entering the alley towards the main entrance to the set.
"What are you doing here?" Jess asked.
"Jess, I can't stand not being with out you, I need you," Ethan said with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Ethan, it wasn't working out between us and you cheated on me. I have no reason to get back together with you, besides, I'm taken," Jess said as Tanner came up next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"You're with HIM? That bad boy wanna be? C'mon Jess, we all know you hate those types of guys!" Ethan said with a disgusted look on his face.
"I believe she made it clear she doesn't want you. So I'm suggesting, you stay away from her," Tanner said walking towards Ethan.
"Tanner just-"
"No Jess, let him say what he wants to my face. He knows you still love me. That you still think about me," Ethan said looking Tanner straight in the eye.
"You don't know what real love is you wanna be punk rocker. Now why don't you take your guitar, and go sing yourself away in your own unoriginal washed up lyrics," Tanner said, his anger boiling.
"What's it like to know that she's not giving you any because she's still waiting to get some from me?" Ethan asked with a little twirk of his eyebrow. That last remark almost sent Tanner off the edge before he thought of something better.
"What's it like to know that you never had a chance to get any from her in the first place?" Tanner said. Now the volcanoes of anger that were raging in Ethan had exploded and he punched Tanner in the gut.
"Oh my god! No! Don't you dare!" Jess said jumping in before Tanner could land a punch, but unfortunately for Jess, she had caught the second punch that was meant to land on Tanner right across her jaw sending her back causing her to hit her head on the edge of the garbage bin.
Tanner and Ethan both looked down at Jess in horror. Tanner glared at Ethan, ready to mangle him, until Tanner heard Jess's voice.
"Tanner, I...I..."
"What, what is it?" Tanner asked, holding her head in his lap.
"I love...you..." Jess said breathlessly, as her eyes closed and her head relaxed in his lap. Ethan had called the ambulance with his phone and they were on their way. Tanner looked over at Ethan, if looks could only kill were his thoughts.
"You had better be praying all that is holy that Jess is going to be ok," Tanner said, his voice choking and Ethan just standing there watch the scene. He saw Tanner's eyes start to glisten, and even a tear fall down and reach Jess's forehead.
'What have I done?' Ethan thought to himself as he ran out of there like a coward. The ambulance arrived and took Jess to the nearest hospital.
Tanner held Jess's hand the entire time, trying to keep his emotions platonic for Jess.
Please God, don't take her away from me. Jess is the best thing that's happened to me. She's the greatest person I've ever met, the only person who can make me this happy, this greater of a man. She makes me better than I should be. I don't deserve her, but please. God, please don't take her away from me, away from her family. It's not her time yet, please, just, let her live.
Tanner kept repeating his personal prayer in his mind as he kissed Jess's hand and placed it against his forehead as he bent his head down to her.
Once they had arrived at the hospital, Jude, Tommy and a sleeping Derek were there in the waiting room. The hospital had called before Jess arrived and the three drove to the hospital they were just coming home from only an hour before. When Tanner walked into the waiting room, Tommy and Jude noticed the blood stain on his jeans, and Jude immediately broke down in tears.
"What did you do to my daughter?" Tommy said, ready to pin Tanner against the wall.
"I didn't do anything, we were on our way to the set and when we got there, he was there," Tanner said, trying to hold it together.
"Who is HE?" Tommy exclaimed his voice getting louder.
"Ethan, he was acting crazy, saying how he still wanted to be with Jess and how they still love each other and what not. I stepped forward and kept telling him to back off because Jess was with me. One thing led to another, and Ethan punched me. Jess stopped me before I could hit him, but Ethan had swung at me before Jess knew what happened and she stumbled backwards and hit her head," Tanner said explaining the whole thing, his voice ready to crack at any moment.
Tommy saw the fear in his eyes, the same he had when Jude was assaulted. Tommy backed away and went to comfort a broken Jude. Tanner sat down in a chair and held his head in his hands. What was he going to do? They were just talking about meeting up with each other in California once Jess started school, and now this? Tanner couldn't bare to lose Jess, he cared about her too much. Tanner was still drowing in his thoughts when he saw Tommy crouch down in front of him trying to shake him lose of his thoughts.
"You ok, son?" Tommy asked, his hand on Tanner's shoulder.
Tanner just nodded his head at first yes, then a no, and then a yes again before he breathed in again deeply and looked away quickly.
"It's ok to let it out. It doesn't make you any less of a man. I know you love her, alright? Jude does too, you don't have to be our rock," Tommy said looking him in the eyes as Tanner just looked in his eyes for a brief moment, before he let his tears fall down his face.
"I just wish it was me in there and not her. I'm supposed to be in there. God! Why did she step in front of me?" Tanner cried as Tommy just gave him a friend to friend hug.
Jude saw this, she had already calmed herself down. She watched Tanner break in her husbands arms. She hadn't seen anything like it before, and she wasn't sure if she should be happy that Tanner felt this deeply about Jess or not. As soon as Tanner had calmed himself down, Jude walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
"Jess is a fighter Tanner. She's strong, and she cares too much about everyone around her to let herself get beat by a trash can," Jude said with a small smile as Tanner just nodded and breathed deeply again.
"Thanks Mrs. Quincy," Tanner said with a grateful smile as he wiped his eyes again.
"That's Jude, Tanner. Remember that," Jude said as she rubbed his back and then took her seat once again by Derek's side in his car seat.
Tanner leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital chair and inhaled deeply again. Jess would make it, he had to believe that, he had to think positive.
