Disclaimer: I don't own Instant Star. Very awesome show though.

Chapter 5

Maya tugged on Tommy's jacket, shaking him out of another flashback. This flashback was about when he and Jude went to their pier to work on her first song.

"Let's go Tommy. I'm ready to see my daddy!" Maya said, holding Dora in her arm.

"Okay. Let's go." Tommy said.

Darius finally won the custody battle. After the lawyers sent the papers, Darius booked Maya and Tommy the first flight out of Montana. He was excited to be able to have his little girl with him for good.

Darius's cell phone rang. He was already on his office phone, so he was going to ignore it, but when he saw who was calling, he immediately ended his other call with the record company's insurance representative.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked the caller.

"Man I been trying to reach your for an hour. Me and Maya are still stuck in Montana. Our flight is delayed. " Tommy said.

"Delayed! You're taking the private jet, how can that be delayed?" Darius asked anxiously and extremely mad.

"I don't know. They said it could take a while. So, Maya and I won't be there until later on", he said.

"Okay, how is she doing?" Darius asked softly.

"Hold on a sec", Tommy said, handing the phone to Maya. "It's your dad", he said.

"Hi daddy!" Maya said excitedly.

"Hey baby girl, how are you?"

"I'm fine daddy. Are you coming to get us?"

"No, you and Tom are taking the jet to Daddy's studio."

"Is mommy coming too?" she asked hopefully.

Tommy looked at Maya, and saw her hopeful innocence. He knew it had to be hard for Darius to explain her mother's situation to her, so he was expecting the phone to be handed back to him any minute now.

Darius didn't want to break his daughter's heart. He knows Maya needs a mother.

"No baby. Mommy's not coming. You're going to stay with me now." he said softly, trying to spare his daughter's feelings. "Give the phone back to T and I'll see you when you get here, okay? I love you", he said.

"I love you too", Maya said, as she handed the phone back to Tommy.

"So, we'll see you when we get there", Tommy said.

"Tell Tommy that I'll have his suit on standby", Portia said in the background.

"Suit?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, for the party", Darius said.

There was silence on the other end.

"We have this party every year; don't tell me you forgot Tom."

Tommy took a deep breath. "I was going to kind of skip that", he said.

"It's mandatory!" Darius said in his most powerful, authoritative voice. "And besides, you can't avoid Jude forever."

"Who said Jude was the reason I didn't want to go? I just don't feel like being around all of the big head owners of other record companies eating nasty caviar and comparing gold records and bald be gone hair recipes. No offense." Tommy said.

"Offense taken. You need to be at this party Tom, so you can scout some more talent for G-Major. We will definitely benefit from this financially." Darius exclaimed.

"I don't scout D. That's what you got Jamie for and I'm not about money." Tommy said.

"Yeah, right, see you there." Darius demanded as he hung up.

To lighten the mood, Tommy told Maya that they were going to go to a party. "Is Auntie Portia going to be there? She asked.

"Yes, she'll be there and Kwest will be there too."

"Who is Jude?" Maya asked curiously.

Tommy was completely unprepared for that question. "W-wwhy Maya?" he stuttered.

"You said Jude to my daddy", she said.

Tommy thought about it. He decided to tell Maya about Jude since they had to wait for their flight.

"So, I met Jude when she was 15 years old. She won this stupid competition, where people sing and embarrass themselves to get a record deal." Tommy started to explain.

"Oooh! Tommy, you said stupid and that's a bad word." Maya informed him.

"Sorry", he apologized. So, after she won I had to produce a song for her. Producing is when a smart person like me, make really good music with people." Tommy said boastfully.

Maya laughed at Tommy's conceited attitude. Then she asked, "Why you not sing?"

"I used to sing and dance. That's why Jude and I didn't get along at first. I used to be in a group called Boyz Attack. Jude used that against me and she called me by my nickname, which I hate by the way" Tommy said.

"What was it?" Maya asked curiously.

Tommy dreaded telling her but he did anyway. "It was Lil Tommy Q."

"Wittle Tommy Q, Wittle Tommy Q", Maya said laughing and teasing him.

Tommy would've gotten mad but the four year old was so cute saying it, so he let her have fun.

"Okay, do you want to finish hearing the story?" he asked. Maya nodded with a grin on her face.

"So, after we finished her first song, we started working together. I began to realize that I like her. Then she started dating your cousin Shay.

Maya became more interested in the story when she heard her cousin's name. "Is Shay going to be with daddy? I can't wait to see him."

"Yeah, can't wait." Tommy said sarcastically.

Tommy wanted to keep the story rated G for the four year old, so he wrapped up the story. He ended it with the point that he really like Jude and that she is a good person.

"Do you love Jude?" Maya asked.

Without hesitation, Tommy replied, "Yes. I really love Jude with all my heart."

A few minutes later, the personal flight attendant made the announcement that their flight was ready to board. Tommy gathered Maya and their suitcases with help from an attendant. He thought about arriving at G-Major and seeing the familiar faces. Some will be happy to see him; others will be less than thrilled. He also thought about what Darius said, "You can't avoid Jude forever." Tommy had read all of the tabloids about Jude and her new guy, David. He saw gossip columns and pictures of Jude and David on dates, all hugged up and kissing. This devastated Tommy because Jude was supposed to be with him. She was supposed to be his girl. But he felt guilty for leaving and telling her that he was never coming back; even though he was helping Darius. He never called, texted, or emailed her, so he felt that he didn't deserve to be with Jude.

Tommy also saw tabloids about Jude's new reckless behavior. He knew something was going on with her. But whenever something was bothering her, she would come to her producer, which used to be Tommy, and they would record a song about it. But now, Jude started drinking. Jude never drinks. Tommy wanted to go back home and help Jude through whatever it was that was hurting her because he loves her. But, he left; so he knows that it will take a lot to earn her trust back, if at all.

Tommy thought about all of this and wondered what he would say to Jude when he saw her at the party.

It was Maya's first time on a jet. She was excited and a little afraid. The pilot pinned a customized G-Major flight wings to her jacket. She just drank a strawberry soda, so she was bouncing up and down. She looked out of the window and was excited about take-off. "Tommy, are you ready to go?" she asked him.

Tommy smiled at her and fastened her seatbelt. "Yes Maya. Let's go home."

-I will update faster if I get reviews; so please, review. I can't wait to really get this story going. It is going to very interesting, I promise.