"You know you shouldn't be drinking this much, don't you darling?"

It was their second night in Boston. The whole cast had decided to spend the night in a random pub, celebrating their first opening - Bombshell was doing perfectly fine, for the first time since its creation.

Karen was happy. Her dreams were finally becoming reality, and she was doing what she always wanted to. But she was also very confused, and a little bit sad. It wasn't like her relationship with Dev still had chance to survive - they obviously wouldn't make it work. They were living in completely different worlds, and even though they somehow understood each other, eventually, she knew they would break up. But she definitely didn't expect that their relationship would end the way it did - her fiancé having sex with her co-star.

Karen wasn't used to drinking a lot. But hell, she needed to, at least that night. She needed to forget everything for a moment... by getting hammered drunk - thank god the creative team wasn't there.

She was knocking back her third or fourth shot of tequila when she heard his voice, right behind her. Slowly, she turned around to face him. Drunken grin plastered on her face, she answered him "And you know you are not supposed to be here, don't you, Mr. Wills?"

She was drunk. And yet, somehow, she was still the most beautiful woman in the place.

Sitting on the bar stool next to her and ordering a glass of scotch, he looked at her, amused by her drunkenness. Grinning, he answered her "Why am I not supposed to be here?"

Karen ordered a beer and smiling, said "This was supposed to be the ensemble night..." She turned to face him. Playfully hitting him on the arm, she completed "and it doesn't include the director!"

"And where's everyone at, darling?" Derek said, taking a sip of scotch.

"They already left." Karen looked down. She sighed, took a sip of her beer, and started to laugh. Or at least Derek thought she was laughing. Because he honestly couldn't say if she was laughing or crying.

That was when he finally realized something was wrong. He just couldn't understand why he took so long to. After all, it was Karen. Getting hammered drunk. Something was obviously wrong.

But even though he was now worried, he knew he couldn't ask her anything. She'd probably get mad at him, and definitely wouldn't explain him anything. So he decided to stay there, waiting. It was late, and he wanted to make sure she'd get back to the hotel, safe. And he knew that if he wanted to, he'd have to keep his mouth shut.

Karen finally stopped, and catching her breath, she said "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm such a screwed up person"

She wasn't sure why she was about to tell him everything. She needed to tell him what happened, one way or another, and she didn't quite understand why. Maybe she was just testing him - did he really care about her? The answer was probably no, but she wanted to try anyway. 'Just for fun' she thought.

"Dev cheated on me." She took a long breath. "He cheated on me with Ivy, and he was going to propose anyway."

Derek had to admit he would never think of something like that, especially coming from Dev. Not that Derek liked him, but he was pretty sure that Dev loved Karen. He was wrong.

"This is... surprising." Derek was really concerned. He thought it was all about the show and how it would affect her performances at first. Deep inside though, he knew he was concerned by her. Karen, the person - not Karen, the leading lady. And acknowledging that was definitely disturbing, because Derek never really cared about anyone. 'One glass of scotch and I'm already drunk', he thought.

"You don't have to pretend you care about me, Derek. So enough with the worried face, seriously." Karen grinned and finished "It's fine. I'm fine... I guess."

He wasn't sure if he cared or not about her. However, he knew he had to do something. It was late, everyone had left, Karen was drunk, and he couldn't stop wondering how she'd make her way back to the hotel. She needed him. "You know darling, the problem is, I do care about you. And that's exactly why you are coming back with me." Derek stood up, put enough money to pay their bills on the bar counter and offered his hand. "Come with me."

Karen was drunk, confused and pissed, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she'd have problems to get back to the hotel safely, by her own. She definitely didn't trust Derek that much, but having someone helping her sounded really good, especially when everyone else had already left.

She didn't know what his "coming back with me" meant though. Was that the hotel or his room? But then, she remembered her conversation with the ensemble earlier on and realized that she actually didn't care.

She just stood up and took his hand.

"Drink it"

She looked terrible. He probably wasn't looking that good either. It scared the hell out of him to think that she was actually considering doing something like that. And if it wasn't for him and Sam, he was pretty sure that by now they would be at a hospital instead of home.

Tom shook his head, trying to silence his thoughts. He was well aware that she needed him, more than ever, and he wanted to be there for her. He had to stop thinking about how his night could have ended, how he was pissed about the fact that once again, Derek fucked up someone else's life. Because of lust. And selfishness.

He sat on the bed next to her, and waited. Quietly, he kept looking at her. She was motionless. Ivy was holding the cup of tea he had handed her, staring at the floor.

Tom didn't know what to do. He tried to say something, anything... But nothing was coming out of his mouth. But he knew he had to, so he started "Ivy, look... I..."

Before he could finish, she interrupted him. "You know Tom, I was supposed to stop and think about everything." She took a long breath and looked directly at him. She was teary-eyed. "Everything that I was about to do, everything I did. But right now..." Ivy was trying her best to finish her sentence, but the tears she was fighting back were making everything look impossible. At least this battle, she was able to win. "I can't think about anything but the way I treated you and Sam... You were trying to help me, getting me out of that room, and everything I did was yelling and hurting you two..." She looked at him. "You are my best friends. You guys are the family I never had. And I can't stop blaming myself for considering to destroy everything we built together. I was selfish. I was stupid." A single tear escaped her eyes. "I just want you to know that I'm ashamed. Deeply ashamed. I'm sorry, Tom."

He was surprised, to say the least. His best friend was back. The Ivy he fell in love with was back. Tom was relieved. He'd had a lot of problems in the past year, but the biggest one was definitely his relationship with Ivy. When she finally got the chance to play Marilyn, she grabbed it with everything she had - it was her first real chance to play a leading role and she was able to do everything she could. And he perfectly understood that. However, her perseverance turned into a nightmare. Ivy changed her personality, she turned into a person Tom definitely didn't know. She became selfish, arrogant, mean, liar. So having the chance to hear something like that coming out from her was definitely a relief. He was now crying with her. "I... I can't express how much I'm happy right now, Ivy"

He hugged her. It was a simple hug, but it meant everything. Neither Tom nor Ivy knew what was going to happen. But they were sure they wanted to face it together.

Sam entered the room, holding his phone. He was worried, and realizing that, Ivy asked him "What happened?"

He sighed. "I was talking with Eileen. She knows what happened, Ivy. Someone from the ensemble was there, and told her." He looked at Tom, apprehensive, and then looked back at Ivy.

"She wants you out of Bombshell, Ivy."

"I thought you meant we were heading back to the hotel"

Derek handed her a bottle of water, sitting by her side on the bed. "And we did it... We're just not in your hotel, but mine" She was deciding whether or not drinking the water. He grinned. "It's water, Karen. Drink it. It will help you sobering up."

He called her Karen. That was a first. When she agreed to go back with him, she decided she would stop overthinking everything for a moment, especially after her conversation with the ensemble. Not overthinking everything when she was with him was an impossible idea, though. She just wanted to be like Ivy. Now that she had broken up with Dev, everything Karen could think of was having sex with her director. Even though she was well aware that she was thinking such thing because she was drunk, not even her could deny the fact she always felt somehow attracted to him, since the first day they met - which wasn't a big deal of course, since the man was actually very charming and handsome, with his perfect tousled hair and his deep voice. And fuck, he had a british accent.

But she wasn't Ivy. She wasn't Bobby, Jessica, Sue, Dennis. She never had casual sex - Karen always faced sex as something beautiful, magical. And even drunk, she wasn't sure if she wanted to have sex with him. Hell, she wasn't even sure if he wanted to have sex with her. Since they got there, Derek hadn't tried anything. And such thought was disturbing - he wasn't interested in her anymore?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized he wasn't by her side anymore. She started to look around, for the first time analyzing the place. His room was awesome. It was clean and open, but at the same time elegant, spruce. There wasn't a balcony, but there was, besides the bedroom and the bathroom, a small office and a mini-bar. It was a hotel room, but it was like if everything was made particularly for him. She wondered if the rest of the creative team was staying in the same hotel as well.

Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom. He wasn't there. She realized then he wasn't anywhere in the hotel room. In all her drunkenness, she remembered to check the door - it was locked. "Oh great... now I'm kidnapped" She made her way to the mini-bar, laughing.

"At least there's a mini-bar" She thought, before pouring herself a glass of scotch.

When Derek got back to the hotel, he was carrying a bag of food in one hand, and his coat in the other. He remembered he had forgotten his coat in the theater when he was at the drugstore, buying some aspirin he knew Karen would ask for in the next day.

He was in the elevator, thinking about his evening. He knew that bringing Karen to his hotel room instead of hers wasn't a great idea, but he couldn't do anything else. When she told him he wasn't supposed to be in the pub earlier on, she was actually right. He was supposed to be at a meeting with the creative team, but he chose not to. He needed a night off, so he went to the pub, and for his surprise, Karen was there, alone. Due to the fact that Eileen, Tom and Julia were staying at the same hotel as Karen, he couldn't take the risk to find any of them there.

When he opened the door to his room, everything was dark. He turned the lights on, and the first thing he noticed was a trail of clothes - her clothes - from the bed to the bathroom. Putting the bag and the coat on the floor next to the bed, he slowly made his way to the end of the trail. He opened the door, and found the bathtub filled with a huge layer of foam on the surface.

Derek was scared. What the hell was that about? Instinctively, he approached the tub and warily, he started to stir the foam. "...Karen?" He heard someone closing the door, locking him in the bathroom.

"What the fu..." Before he could finish his thought, he heard a voice behind the door. "You, Mr. Director, you are bad bad guy"

"Karen, what are you doing?" They were both now leaned against the door, each one in a different side.

"You tried to kidnap me! Now you're stuck in there until I decide when you are allowed to leave." She was grinning due to her drunkenness, but she was also trying her best to keep a serious tone.

"Karen, darling, have you been drinking? Please, don't do this, let me help you." Derek hated the fact that he couldn't get mad at her. He was supposed to be angry. After all, he went out, one in the morning, looking for food and aspirin for her. But instead, he was having fun somehow.

Karen sighed. She opened the door, and looked directly at him. "Where were you, Derek? You were by my side, and then, suddenly, you were gone. You locked me in here."

She looked tired, and somehow pissed. Derek knew she was still drunk, but he could sense a glimpse of seriousness behind her words. "Karen, I was buying you some food. And aspirin. I told you I would, but I don't think you heard it. I locked you because I was afraid you could leave."

He was telling her the truth, or at least she thought so. She stopped for a second, thinking. Karen grinned. "That's really cute, Derek. If you were buying me some food, everything is fine, I guess." Karen smiled at him. Then, she started to pick her clothes up from the floor, heading to the bathroom. Before she could close the door, she said "I'm sorry about the foam thing. I wanted to scare you. Face it as a joke." She winked, and closed the door.

To say he was confused was an understatement. Derek had no idea if he quite understood what had just happened. She was wearing panties. And a bra. Nothing else. Of course he'd seen many women in underwear, but she was Karen. She was different. "She is my exception" He thought, before shooking his head and convincing himself he was going crazy. He just needed alcohol, and everything would be fine.

When Karen left the bathroom a few minutes later, she was wearing one of his shirts, her hair in a tousled bun. Derek was pouring himself a glass of scotch when he heard her getting close to him. "Hey... listen, I'm kinda wearing your shirt, hope you don't mind."

Turning around, he answered her, before taking a sip of scotch. "No problem darling." She gave him a smile, and approached. She was now standing in front of him.

"No happy birthday this time, Derek?" She said in her best husky voice, definitely teasing him.

A few minutes before, when she was in the bathroom, she was sure of what she was about to do. During the time Derek was out, Karen was debating whether or not to have sex with him. She took the first choice.

Dev had cheated on her. With Ivy. Rebound sex sounded really, really good. Karen was attracted to Derek, he was attracted to her. Derek was handsome, charming, and due to his experience, she knew he was probably good on bed. It was math. She just needed to let it go, feel the moment. She wanted it, he wanted... So why not? Karen was just praying that the sex would be worth her regret in the morning.

Now, standing in front of him, she wasn't sure of anything. Of course she wouldn't let him realize it, but deep inside, she was scared. "I might need another drink" She thought, right before taking the cup out of his hand and drinking it in one gulp.

Derek didn't know what to do - he was truly surprised. Karen must have realized it, because she put the glass on the counter behind him, and slowly, she brought her right hand to his shirt, grabbing it and leading the way to the bed.

She started to sing "Happy Birthday", exactly how she did a year ago. This time though, she knew the end would be different.

One hand in his shirt and the other unbuttoning hers, Karen straddled him on the edge of his bed.

"Happy birthday, Mr. President..."

It was happening. The casting couch, the sexual attraction, his fantasies... Everything was back. Derek couldn't believe he was actually having his chance. She wanted to have sex with him.

"Happy birthday..."

He couldn't stop thinking about what happened, a year ago. The way she was singing, the way she straddled him, the way he got horny. He never told her, but he actually had to take a cold shower right after she left. "Which is probably the same thing that is going to happen this time. I need to stop this. " he thought.

"...to you."

When she finished the song, Karen leaned forward, gently pushing him down on the bed. Instinctively, Derek's hands moved to hold her hips. Even though they were fully clothed (Karen maybe not that much), they both could feel each other.

She wanted to have sex with him, but she wanted to take it slow. She wanted to play with him. Karen knew she just had to kiss him, but instead, she just leaned foward and seductively, bit the corner of his bottom lip.

He wanted her. More than ever. The feeling of her teeth on his lips was driving him crazy - and they weren't even kissing yet. He knew he just had to answer her. He just had to push her down on the bed, and do what he was good at. Yet, he couldn't. He was still holding her hips, but he wasn't moving at all. Derek was well aware he wouldn't have another chance, but still, there was something stopping him... something he, unfortunately, perfectly understood.

Karen was drunk. She was hammered drunk and on the rebound. The real Karen would never accept coming back to his room, in the first place.

He could smell alcohol on her breath. "This is so not right" He thought, before grabbing her wrists.

"Karen, stop"

She ignored him. Instead, she looked him in the eyes, grinned, and started to kiss his neck, sucking and licking as she started to unbutton his shirt. Derek wish he wer strong enough to stop her, but he was frozen. Why was she bloody doing that to him and why the hell the couldn't stop he? He obviously wanted, ineeded/i to stop her, but she wasn't helping at all.

Surprisingly enough though, somehow, Derek broke free from her grasp. He needed air. Catching his breath and sitting on the bed, he started "You are drunk, Karen. Go get some sleep, darling. Please." He picked up a pillow, turned off the lights and tried to find some comfort on the cold floor next to the bed.

Karen was stunned. She wasn't expecting he'd stop her. She was very confused, but she was way too tired to protest. Her eyes grew heavy, her sight grew dim - she totally needed some sleep. She would think about what had happened in the morning after.

Karen sighed, and lay down on the bed. "Good night, Derek" She whispered, before closing her eyes.

A few minutes later, they both fell asleep.

A/N: wow. So I actually finished the first chapter! This is surprising, because it took me about four/five days to. So yeah, I'm happy.
I'm also happy because guess what... I already know what's going to happen! And this is a first. Because I NEVER know what's going to happen in my fics...

Anyway. I think it would be fair if I share some informations with you, guys.

First: I hated the second season (don't even ask me why... because I'd have to write an essay about it). So, this story is based on the first one and what I think what could've happened with Karen and Derek/Bombshell after the season finale...

Which basically means two things:

1) No Kyle, Jimmy, Ana. You know, I love Ana and Kyle. They're cute and all, but just like the rest of the characters from the second season, they were poorly written. I definitely don't want to throw their storyline in here, especially because there's no Hit List.

2) Ivy and Derek, no matter what happens, are not getting back together. You see, I do like Ivy. I think she is totally redeemable, interesting. However, there's no love between them. No matter how many times Josh tries to convince me that. There is no love there. There is, instead, a huge necessity to be loved, that later, turns out into a deep friendship.

...Which I'm not writing here. Ivy's going to stay for a few chapters. She's going to be important, but not a regular character(? I think.

And that's all. Thank you for reading (: (r&r are always appreciated!)