A/N 1: Fanfiction exists so the fans can fix the mess that writers make. Huge thanks to valantha for betaing this fic even though she didn't watch the show.
A WEEK AFTER THE TONYS...
Jerry wasn't pleased with Derek after his three-week absence or the firing of Daisy but he couldn't kick the man to the curb because of the ironclad contract. He inwardly cursed signing the damn thing. He should have given it a second look but he had worked with Derek before and was in a rush to get Hit List to Broadway so he just signed it. Now he was paying for it. The show was a mess without a Diva and the understudy wasn't ready for the 30-foot high acrobats.
Just as he was about to pull out his remaining hair, Derek strolled into the theater.
"What are you doing here?" Jerry yelled at him at the top of his lungs from near the stage.
"Doing my job!" Derek yelled back as he walked closer. "I fired Daisy and her understudy needs work. Once we get that sorted out, I'll be on my way."
"Damn right you will be," Jerry practically growled at him.
"I fucked up," Derek admitted. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go fix it. A week tops, and then I'll get out of my contract. Alright?"
Jerry was stunned. Derek Will was known to do as he pleased and never apologized. "Fine. I don't know how the cast and crew will take this though," he said with a huff.
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it. Plus, I gained back some respect when I fired Daisy," Derek said.
Jerry just threw up his hands in exhaustion and left the theater.
Karen heard some voices outside her dressing room, but ignored them as she played on her phone. Jimmy had been in prison for a week and she missed him. It was about the time of day that he called if he was able to.
She heard a knock and looked up to find Derek leaning on the doorframe.
"Derek!" she exclaimed as she jumped up to hug him.
"I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome," he conceded as he hugged her back.
"I wasn't sure what was going on and I didn't expect to see you here again. I figured Jerry would have hired somebody else by now," she said while leading him to the couch.
"He can't get rid of me that easily. My contract is watertight. I basically have to die or walk away from a project," he said sitting down.
"Good," she said with a bright smile. Even though things hadn't ended on the best note the last time they had seen each other, she still missed his presence.
Derek hesitated in bringing up the next topic. But he figured she would find out eventually, and it would be better coming from him rather than some gossip column.
"I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other after the Tonys," he said apologetically.
"It's okay. I had a lot going on, and I'm just glad that you're here now," she said easily.
"You might not feel that way after I tell you these next few pieces of news," he said not looking at her.
"Compared to the other things you've told me, it can't be that bad," she teased.
"How about the easy part then? I'll only be around for another week or so. Just long enough to get the understudy ready," he said.
"I'm disappointed that you won't be here much longer, that's not that bad," she said. "We'll see each other still."
"You might not want to see me after this," he said.
"It can't be worse than the thing with Daisy," she said.
"Ivy's pregnant and it's mine," he blurted out as there was no use in sugar coating it
Instead of saying anything, she sat there with her mouth open like a fish.
"Say something," he asked of her after a few minutes of silence.
"I...ummm... I don't know what to say. Congrats," she said as almost a question. "When did you find out?"
"Ivy told me the night of the Tonys," he said.
"Ummm...how far along is she?" Karen asked with some nervousness. She wondered about the timeline of the whole ordeal.
"She'll be coming up on two months in a few days," he said while rubbing his hands together in nervousness.
"Oh," she said quietly. That would have been around the time that she had turned him down, and before the incident with Daisy.
"Yeah," he said with his bowed head.
"Is she keeping it?" she asked. "I'm sorry, that's none of my business."
"No it okay," he said. "Yes, she is keeping it and we are working on our relationship. We want to try and raise the child together."
"That's very noble of you," she said. "I should probably tell you what's been going on in my life then."
At that moment, her phone rang and she glanced at it. She noticed that it was a collect call meaning it was most likely Jimmy. She hesitated in either picking up the phone or continuing the conversation with Derek.
"It looks like its important," Derek said. "I'll wait in the hall, and then we can finish up."
"Thank you," she said while Derek left the room, and she picked up the phone quickly before it went to voicemail. The call went through the normal routine of a digital voice saying she was receiving a collect call from Bayview Correctional Facility and Jimmy's voice filled in who it was from. She pushed one to accept the charge associated with the call.
"Karen?" Jimmy's voice sounded through her phone. "You there?" Sometimes the connection could be spotty when people tampered with the phones.
"I can hear you Jimmy," she spoke.
"Good," Jimmy said with relief. "How are things going? You're starting the show up again today, right?"
"We were just about to get started so it's been pleasant so far," she teased. "Anything exciting for you?"
"Actually, yeah," he said. "There is a writing class starting in a month and I'm going to be eligible to join. I have to finish up the classes on addiction and if that goes good, I'll be in."
"That sounds really wonderful. Is it fiction, poetry, or something else?" she asked.
"Poetry," he said. "It should really help my song writing skills. And I was told if that goes well, I might be eligible for some more classes or work detail. I'd prefer the classes but I'd do anything to get out of that cell."
"What type of other classes do they have?" Karen asked.
"Oh, just about everything. But I'd probably stick to the writing classes or maybe some history classes. Those were always my favorite in school," he said.
"The more writing classes you take, the better you'll get at it. You'd make Kyle proud," she said.
"I hope so. And I hope I'm making you proud," he said quietly.
"Yes, you are," she said.
"Good," he said but his voice sounded distant. "I have to go. The others guys are wanting the phone now."
"It's okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
"You know that can't guarantee anything but I will try," he promised.
"Okay. Love you," she said.
"Love you too, bye," Jimmy said.
"Bye," she said as the call ended. She stared down at her phone and wondered how long Jimmy was going to be on his best behavior. It had only been a few days since he had been in the correctional facility but he already seemed antsy to not be there. But him being in classes sounded promising.
There was a soft knock at the door. She lifted her head to see Derek standing there, looking sheepish.
"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you but we are starting soon and I wanted to finish our conversation," he spoke quietly with his head down. He really hadn't wanted to intrude, but she had started to tell him something important.
"Yeah actually, Jimmy just called and that's what I was going to tell you about," she said.
"He's not here?" he asked with furrowed brows.
"No," she lingered in answering him. "He's in prison."
"What?" he asked with surprise. "What happened? Did something happen this last week?"
"No, no, no," she said with a sigh. "No, about five years ago he was doing drugs with a girl who overdosed. He thought she died so he ran. The guilt has been chasing him the entire time but after Kyle's death, he turned himself in. It turned out the girl was fine but they charged him with providing and distributing drugs."
"Oh," he said just above a whisper.
"Yeah," she said. "They haven't fully convicted him yet, but he's in a correctional facility and doing some rehab classes. He's really working on being a better person."
Derek wasn't very sure of what to say but wished for the best. "Well, I hope he does better for you."
"Me too," she admitted but in truth she would never be sure until he got out. She had seen enough prison documentaries to know that prisons were full of drugs and it was possible that he would relapse.
"Do you go see him?" Derek asked.
"Not yet. He's only been there a few days since he turned himself in the night of the Tonys. But we talk as much as we can," she said. Derek hummed in response. "I know him being in prison isn't very ideal right now, what with Daisy just being fired and all but I'm really proud of him for doing it."
"I agree that the timing isn't great but if it helps him get clean for you, then good. You deserve the best," Derek said.
"Thank you Derek," she said softly.
"You're welcome darling. Now, let's get to rehearsal. I didn't realize I'd be getting two understudies ready in under a week and half," he said with his trademark smugness. "It'll be hard, but I can pull it off."
TWO WEEKS LATER...
True to his word, Derek had prepared the understudies quickly and thoroughly, but it had taken two weeks instead of one. It was the reopening of Hit List after the Tonys and he was pleased with how the run through this morning had went.
"Derek," Karen said from over his shoulder on the wings of the stage.
"Karen," he turned from watching a few dancers run through the moves one last one time. They had it down but had wanted to double check. "You feeling ready for tonight? I know we've already had opening night but when you're away for awhile it can be a little hard."
"I'm good for tonight, but I'll be sad that I won't see you anymore," she conceded.
"Don't worry darling, I'll be at the party afterwards and then you never know what project will pop up for us to work on," he said with a light tone.
"That's true," she said with a sad smile.
The conversation became silent as they left a lot unsaid but held each other's gaze.
"I have to get to my dressing room," she said breaking the moment.
"Okay, I'll see you later," Derek said and turned back to watch the dancers.
AFTER THE SHOW...
The party was in full swing by the time Derek walked in with Ivy since she had opted to join after her show had finished for the night. Karen was hanging out with Sam and some of the ensemble towards the back of the room.
"Look who just arrived?" Sam said raising his glass to point them out.
"Ivy is looking good," Karen commented.
"What does that mean?" Sam asked with a little suspiciousness.
"Ummm...nothing. Just she looks good. Like she's glowing," she said hinting that she knew the truth.
"Oh, so Derek told you?" Sam asked with a small knowing smirk.
"Yes, a couple of weeks ago," she said.
"And how do you feel about that?" Sam asked while taking a sip of his drink.
"I wish them the best of luck," she said. She had no reason to be jealous of the pair.
"Alright then," Sam said in that way of his that indicated that he knew more than he let on.
"Whatever, Sam," she said just as the talked-about-couple arrived at the group.
"Hey Sam!" Ivy greeted her old friend with a hug.
"Hey girl," he said while hugging her back and greeted Derek politely.
"Ivy," Karen said with a smile because she really was trying to be nice.
"Karen," Ivy said back. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see your performance tonight."
"It's okay," Karen said. "I know you're busy but you should stop in sometime to see the show you guys beat out for the Tony."
Ivy let out a small chuckle at Karen's comment. "You make a good point. I should have some time in about a month or two so I'll stop by then."
"That would be nice," Karen said.
"Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow you for a minute Karen. There was someone asking for you when we walked in," Derek said in between the lull. "Ivy, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Sam." He handed off Ivy's arm to Sam and took Karen's.
As the two were walking away, Sam decided to ask Ivy a question. "You trust those two together?"
"Never," Ivy said with her normal snarkiness.
"I thought so," Sam said as he watched the pair make their way through the crowd and eventually losing sight of them.
"Where we going?" Karen finally asked when she noticed they were making their way through the building instead of meeting up with someone.
"I just wanted a minute alone with you," Derek confessed. "I know there is a room up on the second floor that is hardly used."
"And how do you know that?" she asked teasingly. "Did you have some scandalous rendezvous in there?"
"Maybe," he grumbled.
"It's okay, I'm just giving you a hard time," she said swatting his arm lightly.
When they arrived in the room, it was full of tables and chairs as it was probably used for banquets. But the view wasn't half bad even though it was only the second floor. Derek led her to a table near the windows and pulled out a chair for her.
"Thank you," she said faintly. She had no idea what they were going to do.
"You're welcome," he said sitting next to her. Silence took over the room while he gathered his thoughts.
"I'm really going to miss you Derek," Karen said into the room.
"I'll miss you too," he said in a near whisper. "I'm going to miss you a lot actually. We've been working together for almost two years now. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle not seeing you every day."
"It will be fine," she assured. "You can always text or call me. I'm not going to stop being your friend." She grabbed his hand and gave a reaffirming pump. He just held on tighter.
"That means a great deal to me," Derek said with a bowed head. He knew he shouldn't be having these feeling towards a woman that had turned him down, especially not with having another woman pregnant.
Karen leaned forward to place a kiss on his cheek, but detoured at the last moment to land on his lips. Derek was surprised by her actions and remained still until she pulled back. Her face was one of disappointment and regret. But a second later, his lips were on hers.
It was hot and passionate as any goodbye kiss in history. She weaved her fingers into his hair while he pulled her closer with hand on her shoulders. She was almost falling out of the chair until she moved to sit in his lap. From there, his hand moved south to land on her hips while their tongues dueled each other.
After a few minutes, they pulled when the need to breath overwhelmed them. They stared into each other's eyes wondering what had just happened.
"I..." she started say.
"That..." he started at the same time. They both stopped and smiled. "You first," he said.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," she said with heartache.
"It's okay," he lamented while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I shouldn't have kissed you back." He tipped her chin up to look into her eyes again. In that moment, he realized he wanted more. So he took what he wanted and kissed her again.
This time around, the kiss was soft and lovingly while he tried to convey everything he felt for the woman sitting in his lap.
She pulled back first. "Derek," she said whispered hotly into his ear. "We shouldn't do this. We both are in relationships and have so much to lose."
"I know. Believe me I know," he said as he hugged her to him and buried his head in her hair. "Ivy told me that she wouldn't have told me about the child if I hadn't made the declaration that I loved her. Imagine what she would do if she found us like this."
"Then we need to go," she said standing up to leave.
"Just one more minute," he said as he pulled her in for one last kiss. Karen easily gave in and it quickly turned heated.
"Okay, okay," she said as she pushed Derek away. "We have to go or she will get suspicious."
"You're right," he said running his hand through his hair, which only made it more messier.
"Derek," she said grabbing his hand. "I will miss you and you really can call me anytime. No matter what." At this, she dropped his hand and left the room.
Deep down he knew he wouldn't be calling or texting her anytime soon. If he was going to make it work with Ivy, he needed to completely remove himself from her. He had to get over Karen being his muse and possibly something more. While he wished there had been a chance for more, he was settled on taking care of Ivy and his future child.
A/N 2: I had been wanting to write this very long story about Karen and Derek coming around to each other again but I'm just not inspired so I decided to let this one stand on it's own.