This is my first fanfic that I've actually put up on the site so don't be mean! Please read and review : )

This story takes place after episode 2.07 "Musical Chairs" when Derek tells Jimmy off and gets drinks with Karen.

Unfortunately, I don't own Smash or any of the characters.

Derek was ecstatic that Karen left Bombshell. He couldn't focus without her. He tried to imagine Hit List to its fullest potential, but for some inexplicably frustrating reason, he has no vision without Karen. Before Karen, this wasn't a problem. He didn't need one specific person to spark his inspiration. He drew inspiration from many outlets, but that wasn't working anymore. It's like he was broken and Karen was his only fix. He literally needed her. Part of him hated that, he hated needing someone else. But if he was going to need someone, Derek was glad it was her.

Derek was beginning to think he needed her in other parts of his life too. This odd feeling of jealousy had crept its way into him when he saw Jimmy and Karen interact. It was plain as day that Jimmy was into Karen and Karen wasn't backing away. Derek had seen her disrespected by one asshole already and he would be damned if he let it happen again. He was there for her and they had formed some kind of interesting relationship that was more than friends but not quite a romantic relationship. Yeah it was confusing and yeah Derek wanted more from her, he wanted all of her. But he was at a complete loss on how to advance their relationship without it being awkward. And believe it or not, he was afraid of rejection. He was afraid of losing her as a true friend, and afraid of losing his inspiration. If he came on to her and things went bad, who knows what would happen to his artistic vision at this point. His vision revolved around her and only her. What a mess.

Maybe if he gave her some subtle hints that he was interested in a deeper way, other than work related he could gauge her reaction. He could swear that she was ready to kiss him back before Ivy walked in the room that day. He needed to do something to get her attention away from Jimmy and back on him. Not drastic, but something.

After seeing Jimmy flirt with Karen out of the corner of his eye and heard him ask her out for a drink, something in him snapped. He needed to act now before things got out of hand with the two of them. He needed to set this boy straight, maybe scare him off a bit and stop him from flirting with Karen. She was his and Jimmy needed to know that. Derek proceeded to have his talk with Jimmy, setting the boundaries as they should be.

….."You focus on your working, and I'll focus on mine. Got it?"

It was the most possessive outward display of pure male dominance he had displayed in recent memory, but it worked. Karen was getting a drink with him, not with Jimmy. She seemed bummed that he couldn't go out, but he would change that soon enough.

Karen and Derek walked out of the theatre arm in arm. Karen spoke first.

"So you sent Jimmy home with some notes?" Karen asked.

"Yeah he needs to stay focused, this is a great step but there is still a lot of work to be done on the book and the layout," Derek stated.

"Yeah that's true. They don't know what they're in for, working with you." Karen said smiling as they walked.

"Well they don't, but you do. And what's more is you're choosing to work with me. Some people would call you insane." Derek said with a light laugh.

"Maybe I am insane, but we work well together, no sense in breaking that up. You challenge me and make me better," Karen said.

"Well since we're being honest, those three weeks without you was not fun. It was hard for me to imagine Hit List without you in it. Nothing was coming together," Derek admitted.

"It's casue I'm your muse and ultimate source of inspiration." Karen quipped as they walked into the bar.

Derek saw her mood was already improving; Jimmy was slowly slipping out of her mind while Derek was moving in. They sat at the bar next to each other. Derek was determined to give her all of his attention and make her see that he was there for her. He sat facing her with his legs on either side of her. They ordered drinks and talked some about Bombshell and how they thought it would turn out. Derek was sure to give her his best smiles and genuine laughs. After a couple more drinks, the conversation got deeper and Karen asked about Derek's past. She was curious about him and he was willing to expose a little more information to her. It would make their relationship more personal. So he told her the story of his ladder to success. He did some dancing before becoming a choreographer, but nothing to impressive. He liked creating and placing moves but not so much performing them himself. He choreographed a few shows here and there and one day the director on a show he was working on quit. He stepped up and was able to prove himself as a visionary and the show was a hit. The rest was history.

As Derek told his story, Karen hung on every word. She watched him intently and listened closely. Derek was finally sharing some personal information with her and she was wrapped up in him. At this point they had shifted and were facing each other, one of Karen's legs was in between Derek's and he made sure to nudge his legs against hers as often as he could without being obvious. Karen had noticed and was not complaining, and she encouraged it by scooting slightly closer to Derek. There had always been a certain chemistry between that wasn't going away. In fact, recently, she could feel it getting stronger. Something pulled her toward him. When he left Bombshell, she couldn't ignore that fact that she felt something missing. And he was so hot. The hair, the accent, the artistic brilliance. Karen couldn't deny that attraction. She would be lying if she said she didn't repeatedly think about how that casting couch session might have ended differently. But she was hesitant to take it further with him. She didn't want to ruin this 'partnership' or whatever it was they had going on. Jimmy had been a good distraction, but Derek being here in front of her brought all of her feelings for Derek to the forefront.

They were having a good time with each other, talking and drinking. It was nice the two of them could have fun just talking and hanging out. Derek loved that about Karen, he was relaxed around her. She had a calming effect and could make him forget about work, which was hard to do. He could tell she was enjoying the attention from him as she had moved noticeably closer to him. And there was constant contact between them, either legs touching or her hand was on his knee or touching his arm. It all seemed pretty natural. His plan seemed to be working quite well, better than he had expected actually. They were pleasantly intoxicated, but not outright drunk or sloppy and they were still very aware and in control of their decisions.

There was a brief silence before Karen changed the topic, "So do you think Jimmy is gonna be a good actor for Hit List. I know he is green, but I was too. He has a lot of talent."

Derek didn't want to talk about Jimmy, at all. Time to make a bold move. Derek leaned in close to Karen placing his lips near her ear, he moved his hand to her up her thigh. His closeness and breath on her ear gave Karen goose bumps, she didn't push him away. "Tell me something darling, what could a boy like Jimmy offer you that a man like me couldn't? Just curious, because I think I have a lot more to offer like knowledge, experience, status, money, power. And when it comes to pleasure, well, there are no words to describe the level of pleasure you would experience with me." He said in a low tone as he squeezed her thigh a little tighter before slowly moving his hand back down to her knee, lightly breathing on her neck. "Just something to think about." Derek said before sitting back in his chair.

Karen literally couldn't breathe. Did that really just happen? She was processing what he had just said and trying to ignore how turned on she was right now, but it wasn't working. Thank god they were in a public place. She had to stay strong. Two could play this game. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it before," Karen said in a coy tone.

Karen's response was surprising to Derek, he could see she had been shaken by his comment. "Oh yeah? And what exactly have you thought about." Derek asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Just a million different endings to our casting couch moment," Karen would never say this to him if she hadn't had liquid courage of alcohol behind her, but she did. Consequently, it made her unafraid of the sex. She still blushed slightly admitting that to him.

"Really?" Derek was loving the direction of this conversation, "Well, we have that in common. Wanna hear one of my favorite endings?"

Karen swallowed hard, "Would love to." What was she getting herself into?!

Derek leaned close to her again and whispered into her ear, "Well instead of pushing off my lap you kiss me gently at first, then you lightly bit my bottom lip which makes the kiss more aggressive. You know, heavy breathing, hair pulling, lip biting, tongue clashing, wet, and hot." Karen's closed her eyes and bit her lip, imagining every word as he oh so confidently told her his ending. "Then I slowly unbutton that white shirt, trailing passionate kisses down your chest as you moan. You grind your hips against me as I remove the shirt and then your bra. I make you lay down on the couch and kiss all the way down your body, slowly remove your panties and then eat you out while you pull my hair and scream in pleasure. There's more, but we would be here all night if I kept going." Derek said. He acted calm on the outside, but he was getting hard thinking about the fantasy even though he had already imagined hundreds of times.

Karen exhaled deeply and opened her eyes, Derek lightly rubbed her leg to comfort her. "Well you have quite the vivid imagination, I approve," Karen said.

"And there is so much more," Derek said seductively.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick," Karen said standing up. She needed to get away from Derek so she could think about all of this for a second. How had this escalated so quickly? It's like he was on some mission to win her over or something. Did he want this to be more than a friendship or was he just messing with her? Those things he said sounded so right to her. It made sense in her head to be with Derek. As she stood in the bathroom, she decided she could deal with this. She was going to see where this went and how things unfolded. She wasn't going to sleep with him yet, she couldn't cave that easily. She wasn't sure what this was, but she knew it might be fun. Part of her really thought things could work out with Derek.

Karen came back out to the bar and saw Derek sitting there smiling at her, looking all hot. "You ok love?" Derek asked, smirking a bit.

"Yeah I'm good. I should get some rest though, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I'm gonna go home," Karen told Derek. "And no I'm not sharing a cab with you, so don't even ask." Karen knew she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off of him if they shared a cab right now.

"Was my story that bad?" Derek asked.

"No, it was that good." Karen said, slightly flustered.

Derek understood. It was best they let this all settle and not rush into anything. He stood up, putting his hand on her lower back and guiding her out of the bar. He hailed a cab for her and stood behind her and held her hips before she got in. "Don't forget about my story," he said, his breath hot on her neck. He kissed her cheek before she got into the cab.

Derek wasn't sure how he pictured this night going, but he wasn't expecting such a reaction from Karen. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he knew it was going to be interesting. He got a text from Karen as he was getting in his own cab. It was simple and to the point.

Your story was perfect. Have a good night, sleep well. Dream of me cause I know I'll be dreaming of you ; )

And with that he went home and took a very cold shower.