A/N – Well, guys. Thanks for the continued support, everyone! Forgive any mistakes. This chapter was pretty hard to write. I did my research, but I apologize for any mistakes.

---

Chapter Twenty…Do You Really Wanna Know?

---

Tom stepped into his apartment, groaning. Darius had called him—emergency at G Major. Apparently, Mason has been scheduled to perform at the Vinyl Palace the night before, but had never showed up. No one had even heard from him since his sore throat last week.

Great. Just what Jude needed. More bad news. But Tom wasn't going to say a word—not until they had more information. Jude didn't need to get worked up if he was just out of cell phone range.

Tom walked into his kitchen, checking his calendar. His eyes widened. Jude. Doc appoint. 10 am. He glanced over at his clock, starting to worry. It was 9:38.

Rushing over to his bedroom door, he knocked loudly. "Jude, come on. You have to get up. We have a doctor's appointment in…20 minutes." He peeked inside the door. "Jude?"

His bed was empty.

Panic rising in his chest, he ran down the hall, screaming, "Jude! Jude! Where are you?" Tom stopped at the end of the hallway, the sound of her soft crying floating through the door to his studio. Sighing, he turned the knob, opening the door slowly. "Jude?"

She was sitting on the stool with her Gibson in hand, salty tears pouring from her eyes. "I can't sing," she choked out, eyes glued to her lap.

"Oh, girl." Tom walked over to her, setting her guitar on the ground and wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm never gonna be able to sing again, am I?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"Jude…You can't think about that. We just have to concentrate on getting you better, okay? We have a doctor's appointment that we're gonna be late for." He laughed a bit, kissing her forehead. "Come on." Grabbing her hand, he led her out of the studio, locking the door behind him.

---

Sadie pulled back from Kwest, questions in her eyes. He cocked his head to the side, looking at her nervously. "What is it?"

"It's just that…Kwest? Is this…real?"

He readjusted himself, resting his chin on his hands. "Is what real?"

She gestured between the two of them. "This. Us. What's going on?"

Kwest sighed. "Look, Sadie. I like you, alright? But if you're gonna freak out on me, we don't have to do this."

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…" She groaned, wondering how to say what she wanted. "I screw up a lot. You're not gonna give up on me, are you?"

He smiled at her. "Sadie, do you remember anything that's happened this past week? You really think anything can scare me away?"

She returned his smile. "I guess not."

---

Tom and Jude walked into the doctor's office, signing in and taking their seats in the waiting area. Tom rested his hand on her knee, and she took a deep breath.

"Jude Harrison?" The two of them looked up and saw a nurse standing in the open doorway, motioning them over.

"You'll be fine," he whispered reassuringly, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her through the door.

"Right in here," she ushered them into an exam room, placing her chart in the slot by the door. "Doctor Brown will be in shortly." Jude nodded, taking her place on the exam table, while Tom settled himself in the chair by the door.

"Jude?" Tom's voice startled her and she glanced over, relaxing at the sight of his calm face. "I love you."

"I love you too." She looked down, focusing on the ring sparkling in the fluorescent lights, and smiled. "Tommy?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For everything." He smiled warmly at her.

A soft knock at the door broke the moment and Doctor Brown poked his head in. "Jude, Tommy. How are you folks doing today?"

"Fine," Jude whispered, clearing her throat.

"You been taking care of her?" he asked the other man. Tom nodded, never taking his eyes off of Jude.

"Good, good," the doctor mumbled. "We're not in here for a check-up or anything, today. We're just here to go over some treatment options, okay? So you can relax your voice and throat a little bit while we go over the choices."

Jude nodded. "Okay."

"This is just your general information about throat cancer." Doctor Brown pulled out a packet of papers, handing one copy to Jude, one to Tom, and keeping one for himself. "We're gonna start with a surgery. Hopefully, that will get everything out the first time, but because the cancer is in your throat, this might be a little difficult."

Tom held up a hand. "How difficult?" he asked, worried.

The doctor shook his head. "Oh, it won't harm her, or anything. Just, when the cancer is in the throat, it's a little more difficult to remove it with surgery alone." Tom stayed silent. "Usually we have to start radiation therapy, and sometimes chemotherapy."

"What do you think we're going to have to do for Jude?" Tom asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Doctor Brown placed his hands in his lap. "Well, we're hoping for just surgery. But if that isn't successful, we'll probably only need the radiation." Jude's eyes widened and she could feel the tears sting to sting her eyes. "We can schedule the surgery for any time in the next couple days and we can have the results in a week."

Tom sighed. "Okay. Let's do that then. I can take her in whenever they're free."

"I can call the clinic now, if you want." The younger man nodded. "I'll be right back."

As the doctor left, Tom locked eyes with Jude. "You okay?"

"I guess," she whispered, choking back a sob. "I'm scared, Tommy."

Tom stood up, standing next to her on the table. "I know, girl. So am I."

"You are?" she squeaked.

"Of course I am." He pulled her close, taking a deep breath. "I'm scared you getting hurt. I'm scared of losing you."

Jude wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Tommy."

There was a soft knock on the door before Doctor Brown walked in, a sad smile on his face. "We can get her in for surgery tomorrow. At eleven in the morning."

Tom held on to Jude, resting his head on to top of hers. "Okay, we'll be there."

The doctor nodded. "There are a couple things you can do to get her ready for treatment. First, start eating only soft foods. Drink through straws and rest your voice as much as possible."

"We can do that," Tom said.

"Good."

A loud beeping echoed in the room and Tom reached in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. "Sorry." He flipped it open. "Hello?"

Tom fell silent, his face cold, and Jude reached out, touching his arm. "What is it?"

"What do you mean, he's in the hospital?" Jude stomach dropped. "Okay, fine. Bye." He flipped his phone shut and looked at the other two in the room.

"Tommy, what's going on?" Jude asked, voice cracking.

Tom took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. "It's Mason. He's been in some sort of accident."

---

A/N – Did we like it? heh... 305 reviews for the next update!