Hey everyone here is Chapter 16. Thanks so much to all of you who have been commenting on the story. It means so much to me to know you are enjoying it and your comments really make my day. For those of you that are wondering about Dean, don't worry he will be making an appearance in Jude and Tommy's life soon. And for those of you that are Jommy fans you can rest assured that I have plenty more Jommy goodness in store for you.

Chapter 16

"Next week I am going to have to ask you to sign that form Jude." Jessie said. They both startled as the timer Jessie had set earlier beeped obnoxiously. Jessie sighed as Jude looked at her wide eyed. She looked as if she was trying to fight off tears. "You may have some options about all of this, but for now you need to wash your hair out. We will talk about this later." Jude nodded quietly and held her breath as Jessie left the room. As soon as the door closed she took a deep breath and let out a sob. This had been such a long confusing day for her. Once she was in the shower she tried to sort out every emotion that was running through her body but she just felt exhausted. She pulled her shaking hands up into her hair and tried not to pay attention to the black water running down the drain. She felt as if everything she had worked for was flowing down the drain with that water. She took another deep breath and did the only thing she could think to do.

Jessie found Tommy sitting outside the bathroom door when she returned from a phone call. Jude's voice was ringing through the hall, singing a song Jessie knew was about Tommy. She leaned up against the wall next to him silently.

"This song is about me." He said slowly looking up at her. "I broke her heart, just like I always do and she wrote a song about it." He paused leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "I don't want to break her heart again Jessie." He sounded miserable and it took all she had not to gather him up in her arms and kiss him. Instead she slid down the wall and sat next to him. She took one of his hands in hers and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I told her about the form Tom." She expected a reaction from him but when none came she continued. "We haven't talked about all of her options yet. Do you want me to even tell her she has options?" His eyes finally opened and Jessie noticed how bloodshot they were. It was not unusual for him to deal with Lyla and Lola's outbursts twice in one day, but her heart went out to him knowing a lot more was happening today than just what was happening with his nieces.

"I don't know Jessie. How can I ask a seventeen year old to make a decision like this? I don't even know if it's the best thing for myself let alone her."

"You do have Lyla and Lola to think about now Tom."

"I know, and believe me I have thought about that a lot the past two days. Jude is a smart girl, and I trust every decision that she makes but… part of me is afraid to know what she will choose. I know she was seeing someone else while I've been here." Jessie startled, lifting her head off his shoulder and looked at him questioningly. She had been following everything that had happened with Jude over the past few months through the tabloids but she had been very careful to keep them hidden from Tommy. "You left one of those magazines in the living room for a few minutes when you got a phone call." He explained leaning his head back against the wall. "She hasn't told me about him yet, but I didn't really expect her to right away. I wanted so much to believe that once she was here nothing from the outside world mattered. Jessie I love that girl so much it hurts and when I think about her all I want to do is marry her and make her mine for life… and then I have to remind myself that no matter what I feel she is only seventeen. Eighteen in a week." He said correcting himself. "Sometimes I feel like I am five steps past destiny when it comes to her. If only I had been born a few years later or she a few years earlier." He paused trying to grasp some sort of solution to all of his problems but he knew it wasn't that easy.

"Tom, you know in your heart that there is more to this relationship than just an age difference." Jessie may not have known Tom Quincy long but she did know how to motivate him. "You're afraid. You're afraid that a seventeen year old girl is going to break your heart. Only you can make that fear disappear Tom." She got up and began walking down the hall leaving him to his thoughts, but she turned quickly and walked back to where he was sitting. "I don't know much about you and Jude Tom but I do know one thing. That girl in there loves you too. I saw it in her eyes when she saw you yesterday, and I saw it again today when I told her about the form. Love is fickle Tom. If you break that girl's heart one more time you will be a lot more than five steps past your destiny with Jude. She is letting you in again; think long and hard about how you are going to handle that." She turned on her heels and walked quickly down the hall leaving him alone with his thoughts.