A/N: Thought I would add to the post finale fics because I can't get enough of them! Obviously the ending was not happy for Cartwills fans so this is how we fix it in our minds : ) Hope you like it! This story is sappy and romantic, at least the first few chapters will be. Please read and review and let me know if you like it!

I don't own Smash, unfortunately

Karen's POV

Karen just sat on the couch in her living room because that's all she could bring herself to do when she wasn't performing. It had been two weeks after the Tony's. Everything was setting in. The fact that she lost to Ivy, the fact that Jimmy was in prison, which was probably a good thing, the fact that she hadn't hardly seen or talked to Derek since she went to his room and tried to drag him out of bed. She couldn't stop thinking about what he said in his acceptance speech, that he loved Ivy. I mean she did tell Ivy to try and get Derek out of bed but did he really go and say that. The fact that he didn't say anything about Karen in his speech really got to her. She was the one that talked him into doing Hit List, but all he said was I love Ivy blah blah blah. Well that's bs, Ivy was his second choice, always.

What's more is that she had no idea why she couldn't stop thinking about Derek when she should be thinking about Jimmy, who is sitting in jail. But that was the sad truth. When Derek wouldn't leave his room for those few weeks before the Tony's it really got to her. She cared for him so much, but why couldn't she just say that. She didn't want him to be alone, but why didn't she just fix that. She had several opportunities to be with him and make him happy. Now he was slipping away with Ivy, and now she is realizing Derek is all she wants. Great timing….

She was so stupid about Jimmy. She wasn't the kind of girl to have a boyfriend in jail. Karen figured she had served her purpose in Jimmy's life, which was to get him on a clean track. You can't just change people and make them into whoever you want. She didn't want the past looming over her. Those memories would always haunt her, she would always be nervous he would go back to his old ways. That was no way to live. Derek was right about one thing, Jimmy was no good for her. Maybe he told Jimmy to stay away to protect her, or because he loved her then too.

She should tell Derek how she feels. The truth is he is part of the reason she left Dev, and almost all of the reason she won't be with Jimmy. She was so blind, Derek had been there for her since she started this crazy ride on Broadway, and she knows he cares for her. Probably even loves her, hopefully. She needs to tell him. Even if she gets rejected, she needs him to know so he can make a final decision and end this love triangle once and for all. Her or Ivy. That's it. The risks are obvious, losing him as a friend would be horrible. But then again, if he stayed in her life as a friend, it would be impossible for her to see him with Ivy all of the time. She couldn't bare it. She wonders if that's how Derek felt when she was with Jimmy. What a mess. What she had with Jimmy was excitement and lust. Now those feelings have faded, but she still feels love…for Derek.

She broke down crying, regretting pushing him aside and remembering that right there on that very couch he had kissed her. She felt it then, she could sense what was between them when he looked into her eyes while they kissed. She was so stupid to stop, she was thinking with her head and not her heart. Her head was like 'don't do this, what about Jimmy', but her heart was bursting out of her chest and didn't want that moment to end. She really should stop being so logical all the time. So it was official, she would tell Derek, but how….

Derek's POV

Derek sat in his apartment, his life had drastically changed over the past two weeks. He still was coming to terms with the Ivy situation. At first, the thought seemed great. He wouldn't be lonely, and he could be with someone he cared about. But then reality set in just a few days later. Ivy wanted to keep working. She didn't want to lose her momentum. It was crazy to have a baby with someone you haven't even been in a long term relationship with. This is Broadway, you can't just take time off. She didn't want to fade away. Now that she is on the top, she wants to stay there. That's what she kept saying anyway. Derek said he would be there for their kid whether they were together or not, but Ivy didn't want to be 'a burden' or some nonsense like that. He tried really hard to convince her that is would all work out, but he didn't want to fight her. It was her body and her decision at the end of the day. If she really wanted a kid, she would have kept it, but sadly she didn't. Their whirlwind relationship ended as fast and as intense as it started. It's hard to stay together after something like that, so they decided not to. He hadn't really talked to anyone because he had taken time off to get everything situated with Ivy, which ended up being nothing. Derek was hurting, this was not easy. He thought he could be a good father. Maybe it was for the best, Ivy was volatile and it was hard to raise a child in the world of Broadway. But there he was again, alone.

His thoughts turned to none other than Karen Cartwright. The only person he every really thought about when he was alone. He was in love with her. Yes he loved Ivy, but he was always in love with Karen. He had admitted that to himself a while ago, but not to anybody else. Ivy probably knew on some level. Karen had clearly moved on, which is why he jumped at the chance to be with Ivy, so he didn't have to be alone. She wasn't Karen, but she was better than an empty bed every night. He tried hard to get over Karen, but it's hard to just stop being in love with someone. Anyway, since she was still a good friend, he wanted to talk to her about everything that had happened, he needed her to know what he was going through. He felt bad for not supporting her after she lost the Tony too. As if she knew he was thinking about her, he got a call from the very woman currently occupying his thoughts.

"Well hello, I was just thinking about you." Derek said in an upbeat tone.

"Oh well hopefully good thoughts?" Karen smiled and laughed lightly.

"Always darling." he responded smoothly.

"I hadn't seen or heard from you in a couple weeks so I was wondering if we could get some dinner, you know, just to catch up with everything. That is if Ivy doesn't mind." Karen said, trying to make it sound like a casual thing and nothing serious.

"Of course we can do dinner, I have a lot to tell you." Derek said. He would wait to tell her everything in person.

"Are you free tonight, after the evening show of Hit List?" Karen asked.

"Yeah sounds good. I'll even come watch tonight, make sure everything is on track. I'll meet you in your dressing room after?"

"Looking forward to it." Karen said happily.

"Ok bye love."

"Bye Derek."

They both hung up the phone with bigger smiles on their faces then they've had in two weeks.