Author's notes: So in between crazy deadlines for work I've been itching to get this story out and started. And I know I have two other stories that desperately need my attention, but the Star Trek meets Pride and Prejudice one is a doozy of a long term project and I'm at crossroads with poor simon of Firefly, so since this one has been so easy to write I figured I'd get it on the road. Most of it is already drafted out/structured, so it's just filling in the lines.
So it's lots of angst and hurt/comfort. I love angst - it's my favorite thing to read and my favorite thing to write, and I hope I do it well! I also love Tom, poor guy - it was interesting watching his relationships and friendships evolve over the two seasons. He had ups and downs with both Julia and Ivy, but there was also some interesting underlying/growing friendships with Karen (just a wee bit, not really that much) but most importantly Derek. They were oil and water at the beginning of season 1, I loved seeing them work together and grow to better understandings in season 2 out of mutual respect for their talent, if nothing else.
And so away we go! Don't own anything Smash, the characters, the songs, etc, etc. Constructive critiques and compliments are always welcome - I get super excited when I see review notices.
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Chapter 1: Revue
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"Get her here. Now."
Tom nodded. "...trying again." and walks to a more private area of the Oak Room. Five calls throughout the evening and not a single answer, but finally as if commanded by the threat of Eileen's wrath he heard the dial tone end and Julia's voice answer the phone.
"I know, I know, I'm coming."
Her comment sparks the dry and bitter feelings of irritation and frustration into a firey flame. "Coming? You're coming? The show starts in fifteen minutes!"
Tom hears Julia let out a exasperated huff over the phone. "I'm sorry – Jimmy and I are almost done. We're trying to put one of Kyle's ideas into the show by curtain - we have to do it tonight."
He leans further into the wooden frame for support, choosing his words careful, trying to keep his anger at bay. "I appreciate what you're doing for Kyle, I really do, but we have a show too, and that one's got your name on it!"
"I'm leaving right now."
"Hurry, we're first up. I had to change the order when I turned it into a revue."
"It's a revue?"
Again, her comment, so thoughtlessly ignorant and destructive stabs at his heart as his anger and frustration builds. "This reminds me of last year, me working my ass off for both of us and you somewhere else distracted."
"Okay, to be fair, Tom, we broke up."
"Yes, and now that everyone here knows it, it's gonna make being alone here even more fun." Tom says bluntly.
"Wait, everyone knows?"
"You would know that too if you would check your phone!" He hisses into the phone.
"Then we don't have to sing!"
At her words, everything stopped. Tom felt like his whole world had suddenly broke and was shattering to pieces as Julia continued.
"If everyone knows, then I can just stay here to see Hit List through. You only needed me to keep up appearances, but if the news got leaked then it wouldn't be a surprise if I wasn't there. This is great." she says in a relieved voice. "I'll talk to you later, Tom."
Eileen walked up to Tom, who stared numbly at the phone in his hand. "Well? When is Julia coming?" She demanded. "Tom. Are you listening to me?"
From a fog Tom heard his voice reply with one last lie. "She just left – we'll need to have Ivy move to the second number and go back to the original order."
He hears her say something in reply and walk away, but all he can do is stand there, frozen in shock. Memories of Julia walking out during the workshop, distraught at seeing Michael's family come into the studio...of her running out on the small school play after surprising her for the anniversary of their partnership...her weeks of skipping and missing out on rehearsals because she was dealing with Frank. All the memories assaulted him, making it hard to breathe.
"Tom. Tom?"
Another voice broke through the fog once more. Trying to keep watery eyes from spilling, he sniffed and turned to see his assistant, hoping the pain he is feeling doesn't show in his expression..
"We're on in five, everything's ready – Eileen said Ivy was good to go." She eyes him, and he can tell that she considers saying something, but she holds back, looking at him expectantly.
He nods, sniffing again and clearing his throat. Just don't think, his mind says. Don't think, just do. Otherwise it's over.
"Let's do this, then." A tense smile, a nod. The show begins.
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Tom's fingers move across the keys, and at times his acting fools even him, if only for a few minutes. Some small part of him believes even still that Julia would change her mind, or finish up and appear up on the stage, ready to sing the last song they may ever sing together as partners. Through the whirl of colors and sequins the songs go by until there's only one left. His fingers tremble, but to his pride his voice remains steady as he looks out at the audience.
"This was the last song of the night, and as it turns out, the last song the club would ever hear..."
He thinks back to long nights he and Julia had spent together, endlessly toiling to build up so many amazing musicals, and his fingers begin to play. "A writer has the empty page where he can set the scene..."
At the end, the audience erupts into applause, and he finds himself standing wide-eyed and fighting to keep a smile on his face as he thanks the audience with a bow. He passes through the crowds of well-wishers unaware of what his replies exactly are. By the time he gets to the bar, the numbness and shock has yet to subside and he gulps heavily at his scotch. With alcohol in hand he forces himself to sit through more praise and congratulations, smiling and nodding at their condolences of the absence of the partner this tribute night was named after. His excuses for her ("she was busy", "oh, she got called away at the last minute") fell from his tongue, heavy leaden words he couldn't put any feeling behind or else he might break down right there at the bar.
Finally as things died down he excused himself and prepared to make an exit. But as he headed towards the door, a comment from a conversation nearby caught his attention. "...find out who leaked about the split?"
"Turns out, it wasn't Jerry"
"Ohh, really?"
"Mm-mm. Nope, it was somebody a little closer to the production...A farewell concert, you're a genius, Eileen"
From a few feet away, Tom stood listening. And without a single word he slipped away unnoticed by either woman.