A/N: Whoo! This chapter has been a doosy to write. I swear I've spent more time on this chapter than I have any other chapter in the fic. I hope you guys enjoy this one. It was kinda fun to write. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I apologize for the long wait on this update. As I said in my last Running Back Update…I got sick, and then I had exams, and yeah…it was bad. I hope you guys like this one! Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to the song "Over You". It's performed by Chris Daughtry and owned by his people.

Chapter 25

Previously…

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have"

"Jude?"

"Yeah?" I moved my hand and lifted her chin so her eyes were looking into mine.

"Don't be sorry." I whispered and leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth.

We both pulled away simultaneously and I suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach, like a giddy teenage girl getting her first kiss. Tommy didn't look away from my eyes but I let mine droop to the floor. What do we do now? I found myself wondering.

"Now what?" I found myself whispering, raising my eyes to meet his. He gave me a small nervous smile and took my hands in his.

"Jude?"

"Hm?"

"Will you go out with me?" He asked and I felt my heart melt.

"Well…I don't know, I mean, I am married." I stated, looking up at him with a grin on my face.

"Are you?"

"Mmmm, yeah, to the most handsome, wonderful man alive." I murmured, leaning closer into him. He smiled.

"I guess I'll have to kill him." He murmured against my lips before kissing me. I felt a moan rise in my throat and wrapped my arms around his neck. It felt good to be like this again with him. I would have been content to just stand here and kiss all night. Unfortunately, Tommy didn't want to and pulled away. I let out a whimper and he leaned his forehead on mine. "You never gave me an answer."

"I'll have to talk to my husband."

"I don't think he'll mind."

"You think?"

"I know."

"Well, I guess it'll be ok then." I said, smiling. Tommy smiled warmly at me and my heart fluttered in my chest. He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, his smile fading a little bit.

"Ya know…if you hadn't said yes, this would have been really awkward."

"And why wouldn't I agree?" I asked, cocking my head to the side with a smile.

"I…I don't know…I mean…you could have not wanted to or whatever." Tommy stammered out. I laughed and shook my head.

"What?" He asked.

"Tommy, we're married."

"And…?"

"And we're going on a date…it's kinda funny."

"Oh…" Tommy said, looking disappointed.

"But cute." I added and his eyes brightened and my heart melted. I loved his smile. I loved him. I loved that we could finally be this comfortable with each other. "So, when do you want to go out?" I asked him, batting my eyes.

"Um…I hadn't thought that far yet." He admitted, grinning sheepishly at me. I rolled my eyes and hit him playfully on the arm and he faked injury and pouted.

"You ask me out and don't even have anywhere in mind?" I asked, giving him a hard time. "Maybe I should go back to my jealous husband…"

"Funny." He muttered and I leaned into him and kissed him.

"You're lucky you're a better kisser." I joked with a smile and he shook his head.

"Are you sure that's all I'm better at?" He asked and I felt my face grow warm as I looked away from him and at the floor. "Oh, so I am worth more than a good mouth?" He joked, mocking shock and I felt my face grow warmer. Oh he had no idea. I looked up at him, and knew my face had to be red from the thoughts I was trying to keep out of the forefront of my memory.

"Maybe if you play your cards right, we'll both know for sure." Tommy smiled at me and wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. I sighed and closed my eyes, content to lay my head against his chest. His hands stroked my back and I felt his lips on the top of my head.

"Maybe." He answered, winking at me and dropping his arms and stepping past me and heading up the stairs. I just stood, staring stupidly after him, trying to figure out what had just happened between us.

- - - - - - - - - -

"OK, spill." I looked up from my place at the soundboard to see Kat standing next to me. I turned to face her, and realized I was already smiling. "You haven't been this happy since"

"Jude, I…" Sadie paused in the doorway, took one look at me and closed the door behind her and rushed over to my other side. "OK, story time! What's got you all happy!"

"What, am I not allowed to be"

"Did you and Tommy have sex?!" Kat asked and I stared at my friend in shock before shaking my head. I wish, I found myself thinking.

"No! Kat…no. It's…it's too soon."

"Ok, so what's got you all smiley?" Kat asked and both women leaned closer to me, hands propped on the soundboards. I kind of felt like an animal in a zoo and squirmed under their gazes.

"Tommy asked me on a date."

"Aaaaawwww!" Both girls squealed and I felt my smile grow bigger.

"That is so cute!" Sadie Squealed, and kat nodded in agreement.

"I wish Jamie would ask me on a date…I mean, we're married, but…Oh my God! Jude, you are so lucky!"

"Details!" Sadie demanded, giving me an insistent look.

"Yes, details!"

I sighed and told them about last nights events, about officer Dubane's visit, pausing to let Kat and sadie rant about Tommy hiding things from me, to the kiss (which they awed at) and to him asking me out.

"When are you guys going out?"

"I don't know. We'd have to have someone watch Bri"

"I'll watch her! Go out tonight, Bri can come over and stay the night with Auntie Kat and Uncle Jamie!"

"I don't"

"Jude, go out, have fun with you're unbelievably romantic husband, and let Kat and Jamie watch your daughter – and my niece – for the evening."

"I don't" My eyes widened and I whipped my head to look over at Sadie. "Oh my god! Sadie, Details!"

"About"

Sadie Grinned and held out her left hand, causing Kat to stop in mid sentence when she saw the engagement ring now on Sadie's finger.

"Kwest proposed!" Kat squealed and Sadie beamed happily.

"Sadie, that ring is gorgeous." I told her and she looked at it with a satisfied smile.

"Oh, how'd he do it?" Kat asked.

"He took me to dinner at Andiamos."

"Nice!" Andiamos is one of those really fancy Italian restaurants that Sadie loved. They only served strictly authentic Italian, the chefs barely spoke English and the wait staff all had Italian accents. The menu was one of those that had no prices listed on it and a live instrumentalist who played Italian music.

"We ordered dinner and Kwest ordered some fancy champagne and we ate dinner and he asked if I was enjoying the evening and went on to say how much he loved me and the next thing I know, he's on one knee and I'm balling my eyes out."

"Aw!" Kat and I squealed.

"I wasn't expecting it at all, I mean, we've been dating on and off for so long…"

"It's about time, Sades." I told her and Kat nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." She answered, but still smiling.

"So, Jude, what time am I gonna get Bri?!" kat asked me.

"I have to talk to Tommy first…"

"Fine, but seriously, Jude, Go out, have fun and let Auntie Kat spoil her god child rotten for an evening." I laughed.

"Tommy and Sadie already do.."

"But they don't design her princess dresses." I groaned.

"Kat, she has enough of those"

"Come on! I need to make her a Cinderella still! You cannot deny the girl a Cinderella ballgown!"

"NO!" Kat pouted.

"Not even for Halloween?"

"We'll talk about it."

Kat grinned triumphantly.

"Now go tell your hubby you're going out tonight." Kat stated, pulling me out of the chair and shoving me towards the door.

"OK, ok, I'll be back…I guess." I stated, leaving the studio and sighing. I had a vague idea of where Tommy was. He had ran off to talk to Kwest not long after we got here and I hadn't seen him since. I walked into Kwest's studio to find the booth empty. I frowned and went to leave when I heard a guitar playing. I turned to look through the glass and saw Tommy sitting in the recording booth, strumming a guitar, hypnotic chords coming out of it. I knew I should tell him I was here, but I really wanted to hear what he was working on.

"I never saw it coming.
I should've started running
A long, long time ago.
And I never thought I'd doubt you,
I'm better off without you
More than you, more than you know.
I'm slowly getting closure.
I guess it's really over.
I'm finally getting better.
And now I'm picking up the pieces.
I'm spending all of these years
Putting my heart back together.
'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,
I got over you."

He stopped singing and continued to strum absently at it and looked up, a surprised look coming to his face when he saw me and he set the guitar to the side. I managed to unfreeze myself to walk into the recording booth.

"Hey…" He said, looking nervous.

"Hey, you remembered how to play." I said, pointing at the guitar. He sighed and frowned.

"Kind of…if I don't think about it I just…can." I nodded. I understood what he meant. "Like with the soundboards…I just know what everything does."

"Music's always been a big part of your life. It'd be odd if you weren't familiar with it."

"I guess." He said with a shrug.

"I liked the song." I said, trying to get him to talk about it. He gave me a smile.

"It just…came to me."

"Mind if I ask what it's about?"

"Everything. Jessica, mostly." He admitted looking me into the eyes and I felt relieved to know it wasn't about me. I didn't want him to be over me.

"You should keep working on it." I told him and he sighed.

"Maybe."

"Kat wants to watch Bri for us tonight." I stated, changing the subject. "She says we need to go out and she wants to spend time with her." Tommy smiled at me.

"Sounds like a plan." He said and leaned in to kiss me and paused. "Sure your husband isn't gonna get jealous?"

I rolled my eyes. "You are my husband." I told him and he laughed.

"Good point." He stated and leaned forward and kissed me. I leaned forward into the kiss and closed my eyes. I don't think I'll ever get used to this again. Tommy pulled away and it took me everything I had not to whimper and pull him back. "So, where do you want to go?" Tommy asked me and I smiled at him.

"That's for you to figure out." Tommy threw his head back and groaned. I just smiled at him.

"It can't be that hard…"

"I'm at a disadvantage, ya know." He pointed out and I gave him a sympathetic smile, leaned forward and kissed him quickly before standing up.

"I'll give you a handicap on the date scale."

"Gee, thanks."

"Later Honey!" I called, blowing him a kiss. "Bye Schnookums!" he called and I made a face before leaving him alone in the studio and back to mine, a smile on my face. I was going on a date tonight. With my husband. Who isn't dead. Life couldn't get any better.

- - - - - - - - -

We dropped Bri off at Kat and Jamie's and hung around for a little bit to chat and catch up before taking off to the restaurant Tommy had chosen for us to go to dinner. He had chosen a new restaurant that recently opened in the area. It was classy and not normally my first choice, but I liked the atmosphere of the place. It was small, the light fixtures low and each table held a candelabra in the center.

"So, how'd I do?" Tommy asked me once we were seated and the hostess left us to look over the menu. I smiled at him and glanced around, taking in the surroundings before my eyes landed on him again.

"Very nice." I told him and he smiled.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look?" He asked and I felt my face growing warm from the compliment.

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself."

Tommy smiled and went so say something when the waitress walked over wearing blank pants, a white pressed shirt, and a white apron to hold the notepad and such tied around her waist. She set down two glasses of water at the table and smiled warmly at us.

"Hello, my name is Sarah and I'll be your server this evening." She greeted warmly. "How are you doing this evening?"

"Good," We both answered and she smiled.

"Would you like to start off with drinks?" She asked and pulled her notepad and pen out of her pocket.

"We'll split a bottle of your best Merlot." Tommy stated and glanced at me to make sure it was ok. I nodded my agreement and the waitress nodded before leaving us alone. I picked up my glass of water and took a sip before placing it back down.

Silence stretched between us for a moment and I sighed, looking away from Tommy and around the area at couples filling various tables. Most of them were older couples, who were sitting in comfortable silences or talking quietly to each other. As I watched them, I couldn't help but smile and then laugh to myself.

"What?" Tommy asked, looking up from the menu he was looking at. I shook my head and couldn't answer him from laughing. The waitress came to our rescue with the wine and two glasses. She poured us both a glass and then set the bottle in a bucket of ice off to the side.

"Are you ready to order yet?" She asked and we both shook our heads and she nodded before walking off.

"What's so funny?"

"I just…I just remembered our first date."

"What happened?" Tommy asked, leaning forward, looking interested. I picked up my glass and took a sip of the wine before setting it back down again.

"Well…I was 16 at the time. You were 22, so we didn't want to go public with our relationship."

"So…what did we do?"

"You decided to cook me dinner." I said, between giggles, remembering the disaster that dinner had been.

"I take it I'm not a chef?"

"Back then, not so much." I stated with a laugh. "But it was cute. You tried."

"What'd I attempt to make?" Tommy asked me and I frowned, trying to remember what the solid black bricks were supposed to be.

"I don't know. You never told me…I only saw the charred black bricks it turned into." Tommy winced.

"Ouch."

"It was kinda funny. You were disappointed." I stated and then added, "I thought the effort was cute. I use to burn water…so….yeah." Tommy laughed.

"You couldn't have been that bad."

"Oh, yes I was." I said with a grimace.

"So, what did we do?"

"We ordered Chinese take out and watched Return to Me on pay-per-view and fell asleep on your couch."

"That sounds eventful."

"It was all I wanted from you at 16. I was just happy you wanted to be with me."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" I sighed.

"When I met you…it was after I won Instant Star and you were assigned to be my producer. I wasn't exactly thrilled. You were in a Boy Band and I"

"Was a punk rocker and thought I had no substance."

"Exactly." I said but then smiled and held my hand out across the table and Tommy took it and I interlocked our fingers. "But you proved me wrong." Tommy smiled at me. "And I fell for you…hard. On my 16th Birthday, I was dating Shay, this big rapper at the time. Anyway, Shay had just left for his world tour and was coming back for the day to celebrate before going back." I paused and took a deep breath. It's been a long time since I thought about that night. "Shay showed up. I was happy to see him, but then…I found out he was cheating on my with Eden Taylor…the woman I beat in the Instant Star competition."

"Ouch." Tommy said, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty. I was upset, ran out of the party. You followed me. Told me Shay was an idiot and I voiced how I couldn't understand why every one of the people I loved and cared about told me how much they loved me and how great I was and how I made them better people and you kissed me." I said, smiling at the memory. God I was so happy. "I was so happy, but then…I was afraid. I had overheard you telling Kwest earlier that you wanted me but didn't want to be 'That Guy'. I thought for sure you were going to freak out on me or something. You didn't…at least, I don't think. You told me to go inside and I did. It was raining and it was cold. I went and hid in the studio and you came and found me later. Told me if we were going to do this that we had to keep it to ourselves." I smiled at the memory. "We were both so damn happy."

"And then your Dad interfered."

"Mmmm. I always wondered what would have happened if I would have stayed instead of running off." I said, and shook my head. "Wow, way to be a Debbie Downer…"

"We ended up together," Tommy told me, squeezing my hand. "In spite of everything." I smiled at that and nodded.

"We did."

We smiled at each other and I found myself getting lost in his gaze, the same eyes I fell for nearly a decade earlier. Tommy lowered his gaze a moment and looked down at the menu before him and I snapped myself out of my trance, picking up my own menu and glancing at it, occasionally shooting glances at him, both of us with a small smile on our faces.

- - - - - - - - -

The rest of the dinner was relatively uneventful. Jude and I ordered our meals and ate while we talked about everything and anything. I was worried the date was going to tank in the beginning. But then she started talking about our first date and how we got together and it made me realize just how lucky I was that I had her. There was so much going against us and it seemed like we had beat all the odds. I only wished I could remember it all. Remember what it was like to fall in love with her for the first time. To remember what it was like to hear her singing something in the studio, seeing her perform.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Jude asked me and I snapped myself out of my thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You got that look on your face, like you're thinking really hard." She said, her expression turning worried. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just…ya know." I said with a sigh and Jude nodded, seemingly to understand what I was talking about and I was thankful for that.

Jude's phone started chirping and she hurried up and leaned down and pulled her cell out of her purse, glancing at the callerid screen before answering.

"Hello?" She answered and I picked up my wine glass and took a drink as she talked. "Kat, slow down…what happened?" Jude asked, and I looked over at Jude, and saw her face grow pale.

What's wrong? I mouthed to her and Jude shook her head at me and continued to listen.

"Kat, are you sure you didn't check" Jude was cut off and I saw the look of panic rise in her eyes and I felt my heart sink. Bri was missing.

"Tommy!" Jude said and I shook my head and looked over at her, seeing her worried expression.

"Bri…what…" Jude frowned as she looked at me.

"She's fine." Jude said slowly. "Kat was just calling to say she's down for the night…are you ok?" I shook my head and blinked a couple times in confusion.

"Yeah, I just…" I shook my head and reached up and rubbed my temples, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. What the hell is going on with me? I wondered. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure…you look kinda pale…" Jude said, looking worried and sliding out of her seat to come over to stand next to me. She reach forward and lay her hand on my forehead a moment before brushing her hands through my hair. "You're not feverish…" I nodded and reached out and picked up the glass of water that was brought over and took a drink of it.

"Maybe I had too much wine." I offered with a nervous laugh. Jude didn't look too convinced but shrugged.

"Maybe." She said, going back to her seat.

"You want desert or anything?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"You kidding me?" She said and I shrugged.

"Had to ask."

"You ready?" She asked and I nodded. Jude signaled for the waitress to bring the check before I could and I glared at her. "What?"

"That's suppose to be my job." I said, pouting.

"Oh, right…" Jude said with an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"I think my ego can handle the blow." I told her with a wink. Jude laughed and I couldn't help but smile. I loved the sound of her laugh, her smile…everything about her. I couldn't imagine not being with her. I was snapped out of my thoughts when the waitress delivered the bill which I took before Jude could. I got out my wallet and left enough to cover the check and more than enough for a tip and stood up and offered Jude my arm.

"Malady." Jude giggled and took my arm and I helped her up. We walked out of the restaurant that way, with her head laying on my shoulder and I couldn't help but feel like the luckiest guy in the world.