AN: OMG! You guys are awesome! I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing (you know who you are). You all rock!
Speaking of reviewing, this chapter's gonna be slightly different, but it's not really a major thing (for now, anyway). I hope you like the change.
Special ANs:
judetomfan101, I'm so glad you loved it. And yes, Pop-Tart Studios is a really cool name. Lol :o)!
wcbeachbum, it's funny that you mentioned it. That's exactly what I was thinking of doing. Thanks for your suggestion! It's a great idea!
Jess, I'm with you on the whole Jommy 4ever idea! Although I don't think you're gonna like what I'm about to do. Just don't sue me (lol).
Rachel, I'd probably guess at least 2 people would be all for the whole Pop-Tart Studios name: Jude and Monique!
Ally, I'll post this in a few minutes. I just need to write the chapter first! Lol.
PlzLukePlz, you're soooo nice! I'm glad you like this story so far. And I'll post ASAP (once I'm done writing, that is).
Tanya, I hope you're feeling better now (crosses fingers for luck). Thanks for always encouraging me and for suggesting great ideas (not that everyone else doesn't).
timleesa, I'm glad you LOVE it! I just hope you LOVE this one too!
Disclaimer: I own Tim. He's mine! Lol.
Chapter 8 – Ghosts in the Night
I awoke to feel Jude squirming against me. I saw that it was 2:30 in the morning. "Jude," I whispered, gently shaking her.
"N-no," Jude cried out, thrashing around. She whacked me several times, her eyes still shut tightly.
"Jude, wake up," I repeated more firmly. I shook her harder again, but she fought back.
"NO!" Jude kicked out, her foot connecting with my shin.
"Come on, girl, wake up," I said, shaking her harder still.
But Jude didn't. "No, please…" she whimpered, still lost in her dreams.
I debated silently whether I should wake someone up to help, since my attempts were in vain.
I got up, dashed down to the kitchen, and made her some Pop-Tarts and milk.
My POV: This should do the trick.
I went back upstairs, where I saw Monique coming out of her room.
"Tommy, are those Pop-Tarts?" My ever-hungry sister murmured sleepily.
"Here, have one," I stuffed one in her mouth as she munched happily. She followed me into our room.
"Jude, I brought some Pop-Tarts up for you," I said. But our bed was empty.
"Jude?" I called out, more frantically now.
"What's wrong, Tommy?" Monique asked worriedly. I filled her in as I searched our room. Jude was nowhere to be found.
"I'll get Chris," Monique said, and ran off. I ran through the house, looking in every room except my parents' and Chris'.
"Jude?" I called out to every room I passed. Still nothing.
Monique came back with Chris, slightly out of breath. "We checked outside, just in case she ran away or something. She has to be here somewhere."
"Look," Chris pointed, his voice quavering. There, by the balcony, stood Jude. She was very close to the edge, and any minute, she could fall over.
"Oh my God," I breathed as my heart stopped. "Monique, call the fire department, the cops, an ambulance, just get someone here!"
Monique didn't even bother nodding, she just sprang into action.
"Chris, we have to get her away from there," I said, my brother nodding grimly. "I can't wake her up, I've tried everything. Don't touch her, she'll just fight back."
"So how do we save her then?" Chris wondered.
"I don't know," I voiced my uncertainty for the first time.
As if we'd decided to call her name together, we yelled it out as loud as we could. "JUDE!" Chris and I bellowed.
We waited a few moments, but nothing happened. At least she'd stopped moving towards the rail separating life from a very possible death.
"They'll be here any minute," Monique gasped as she ran back to us.
"Thanks, Monique," I said. Monique hugged me, then looked over at Jude.
"Still asleep?" Monique asked softly.
"Like a rock," I said. Then I heard the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. The ambulance and fire engine came speeding toward our house out of nowhere.
"Up here," I called out, as Jude continued mumbling to herself.
The ambulance stood ready, in case anything happened, as the firemen set up a ladder and one of them came up.
"Why don't you try waking her again?" the fireman asked.
I looked down, and sure enough, they had a I tried one last time, being careful to note that there was a giant safety net right below us if she did fall.
"Jude, girl, come on, it's only Tommy," I shook her gently. Jude shrieked with fear, backing away from me.
"She's having a nightmare," I explained to the shocked fireman.
"Maybe rocking her gently will help," the fireman suggested. "My daughter has nightmares sometimes too, and that always helps her."
"Thanks," I said. I reached out to Jude, aching to touch her, but the fireman said, "Easy now, she might thrash around at first, but then move her slowly from side to side and don't let go."
"OK," I said. Sure enough, as soon as my skin made contact with hers, Jude lashed out.
"Easy, girl, it's just me," I kept repeating, never letting go. Jude cried out, trying to get rid of the feeling, not knowing it was me and not the monster in her dreams.
"Shh," I murmured softly in her ear. I kept moving back and forth, until I felt Jude's muscles relax and her body sag against mine.
"I knew it'd do the trick," the fireman winked at me, smiling. He called out to the men holding the ladder, "Mission accomplished, guys."
They started clapping and cheering, but stopped immediately when the man put a finger to his lips. He made his way down the ladder, while I put Jude back in bed and went down to thank them.
"Thank you for saving Jude," I said, still shaken by what had almost happened.
"It's our pleasure," the fireman said. He nodded at the EMTs in the ambulance, who left, even though they were still worried about Jude. "My name's Jim by the way," Jim said, holding out his hand.
"Thanks, Jim. You've no idea what you've done for me. If there was anything I could do to repay you…" I trailed off, overcome with emotion.
"There's no need. I saw the way you looked when you thought you were about to lose her." Jim said. "I came into this business to help people. I don't want people's appreciation. Just knowing I can save someone gives me all the warm fuzzies I'll ever need," Jim shook my hand, and said as an afterthought, "If you ever need me, just call me up. Anytime, anyplace." He gave me his number, and I thanked him again as he and his crew left.
"Jude's sound asleep," Chris came up behind me, and I let out a huge breath that I didn't even realize I'd been holding.
"Guess I'd better watch her to make sure she stays safe," I said, more to myself than to him.
"I'll stay up too," Chris offered. He looked at me sympathetically, and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Me too," Monique said, walking toward us.
"Monique!" Chris and I looked at each other, then took off running into the house.
"What'd I do?" Monique groaned innocently, walking back toward the house after us.
AN: I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think by reviewing, OK? Even if you didn't like it at all. And as always, if you have any ideas or suggestions to make this better, please let me know.