A/N: hope you all enjoy my new story :) feedback is welcome!
Ivy poured herself some coffee, hardly able to keep her eyes open she was surprised she did not spill some on herself. She quietly sat down on the sofa taking a sip of her coffee. How she was going to be able to return to work today was the big question.
She got dressed slowly, carefully avoiding bruises. She looked in the mirror, trying to smile. Yes. She was happy. Why wouldn't she be? Ivy Lynn was OKAY.
Slowly making her way into her son's bedroom, she picked him up gently. He was still fast asleep. He would be for the next hour if things worked out the way she wanted. She wrapped him up in his favorite blanket and grabbed the bag of toys she packed the night before and headed out the door. She took the subway to the theater, Landon only woke up twice. He would mumble something into Ivy's neck as she quietly sang him back to sleep. She got off the train and walked to the theater. Derek was standing outside. Two coffees in hand, Ivy rolled her eyes and walked over. "Good morning Derek." She said quietly as she held Landon a little closer.
"Good morning, dear. Coffee?" He held it out in her direction, a cute smirk dawned his face.
"Does it look like I have an open hand to hold that?" She snapped back as she walked into the theater, Derek frowned and followed her inside. He could see Landon's little eyes open slowly, they widened as Derek came into view. "Daddy…daddy! DADDY!" The young boy yelled as he began to wake up. Ivy stopped and put down her bag and turned to face Derek.
"Trade." She said as she kissed Landon's head, Derek held out his arms. Landon for the coffee, coffee for Landon. He wrapped his small arms around his father's neck, happy to see him after his long absence. Derek smiled and kissed him. "Landon! Taking good care of your mum I see." Landon nodded, his head buried in the crook of Derek's neck. Ivy drank her coffee and walked off to retrieve her script. It was strange being in another project with Derek. After everything had gone south with their relationship, they stayed on good terms, for their son's sake. Ivy had started dating JFK from Bombshell, Henry.
She opened her script and flipped through some of the scenes, before a small body crashed into hers. She looked down, smiling when she Landon hugging her legs. "Lanny, mommy has to do some work now." The piano began to play and Ivy just patted Landon's head as she began to sing. The two year old began to sway and move his hips to the music, Ivy tried not to laugh but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The whole cast was laughing and she was sure half of them were recording it on their phones. Landon just stood in the middle of the studio, shaking his arms and stomping his feet to the music, just like any two year old would. Ivy walked over and took his hands, as she continued to sing. She danced with him along to the tune, giggling happily when it was over. She looked up and glanced over at Derek, there was something in his eyes that made her stop for a moment. She blinked, trying to figure out what the great director was thinking. While the cast was fawning over Landon, Ivy took a moment to walk over to him. "Derek?" She spoke softly, concerned that there was something wrong. He took her arm and pulled her off into the shadows. She looked up at him, her heart was beating a little too fast, and her breathing had gotten a little shallow. It had been a year, she couldn't be reacting like this. She silently cursed to herself as she looked down at the space between them.
Derek couldn't take his eyes off of her, the way her gentle blonde curls fell past her shoulders. The way her eyes sparkled in the light, they were a piercing blue that always seemed to find a way into his heart. "Derek…?"
He snapped out of his trance and looked down at her, heavy makeup covered her face, more than usually. He had also noticed a slight limp when she danced or walked. Derek had not seen her in almost a month. So he could have obviously missed some accident she might have had but it did not feel like that was the case. "You are limping…" He replied, looking right into her soft blue eyes, it felt like he was drowning in them.
She blinked and smiled, "I ran into a chair at home. You know how clumsy I am." Derek nodded and ran his fingers through his hair nervously, now noticing that they had stepped even closer to each other. He gently placed his hand on her jaw, slowly lifting her head as he leaned even closer to her.
"Ivy!" Jessica called from center of the studio, allowing Ivy to pull away. She brushed her shirt gently and walked away, trying to even out her breathing. She was not going to fall right back into his arms. Not again.
Rehearsal was quick and easy, a lot of the time was spent playing with Landon, who was almost banned from coming to the next rehearsal because of the distraction he caused. Ivy did not know where else to let him go, she hated the thought of putting him in daycare. So she would continue to take him until she no longer could.
After feeding Landon she put him to bed, singing him to sleep. She always found it soothing. Her mother would sometimes sing her to sleep the rare occasions she was home. Ivy closed Landon's door behind her as she walked out to go take a shower. She walked into the bathroom and began to disrobe. Her curves didn't change too much after having Landon, but it was enough for her to notice. She did not mind them, what she did mind where the yellowish bruises everywhere, some older than others. But she was fine. Ivy Lynn was OKAY.