DO NOT OWN SMASH OR ANY OF ITS WONDERFUL CHARACTERS!

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Previously on Our Time Will Come

"Speaking of your little conversation in the makeup hall why were you laughing at me?" He asked with a slight smirk.

The elevator doors opened and I began to walk out leaving him standing there.

In my best, proper, English accent I said "Your mannerisms, they're adorable." I heard him chuckle and felt him put his hand on my lower back.

"Shall we?"

He guided me through the lobby and into the restaurant slash bar near the entrance of the building.

"Bar or booth"

"Booth I guess." I didn't really having a preference.

"Booth it is." The waitress guided us to the table and we took our seats as a bus boy poured us two glasses of water.

The waitress was a twenty-something, tall, bleach blonde bimbo, with lip injections and a boob job. Oh and a big flirt. She turned to Derek and pouted her lips.

"Can I get you something special?" She touched his arm as she asked.

"Subtle." I said only loud enough for Derek to hear. He smirked and met my eyes for a second.

"I'll have a bourbon and my Fiancee will have a bloody mary."

I choked on the my water and got it all of my face. Attractive. Good one Karen.

"You alright over there?" He asked after the waitress walked away.

"Yeah." I knit my eyebrows together and stared at him "Why did you call me your fiancee?" Oh God why did I just ask that? I was setting myself up for embarrassment.

"Well I heard you scoff at her and now there's no reason to. It was for your benefit." He said with a smile and a wink. "Why did you scoff?"

"Well..." I searched my mind for an answer. "She was basically throwing herself at you." I broke eye contact with him after realizing how defensive I sounded.

"And why would you have a problem with that?" He smiled at my squirming.

"Because...well it's just that..um..I think that people should have a little more... respect for themselves." My answer made no sense, even to me.

"Is that right?"

"Yes it is."

"It sounds me me like you are a little possessive."

"POSSESSIVE?" My voice got really high and my neck got hot.

"Yes, your not very good at hiding it"

"Why would I ever be possessive over you?" I let out a stressed laugh. "If anything you're possessive over me!"

"Ha."

He didn't deny it.

The waitress brought our drinks, took our food order and gave me the once over. If looks could kill!

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he took a sip of his bourbon.

"Fine I guess, just a little wound up and stressed."

"You know...you're a truly amazing woman Karen." His statement made me more happy than I cared to admit.

"And you're a truly amazing man Derek." I really meant it. He put himself fully into his work and wanted to give the audience the best he could. Despite having a rough exterior I believe that on the inside he is just like everyone else.

"Do you really think so?" He asked, as if he found it comical that someone could believe such a thing.

"Yes." While having our stare down I couldn't help from looking at his lips. I always knew that I had an innocent attraction to him, but his kindness in these past few days have pushed my emotions into complete confusion. I don't know what I feel anymore. "What did you mean when you said that you understood love?" I inquired, slightly afraid of his answer.

"I know you may find this hard to believe, Karen, but I am not completely devoid of all human emotions."

"I know, it's just, you don't seem like the long-term relationship type."

"I know I don't, and i think that that's why the woman I love doesn't really show any sign of interest in me." He loves someone? "I know the attraction is there, she's not good at keeping it hidden. I think that she is just afraid."

"Afraid of you?"

"No afraid of what she really feels."

"Why would she be afraid of what she feels?"

"Because she knows that theres no going back after admitting it to herself. She's afraid, because she doesn't want to be another one night stand and I think that that would hurt her more than she would like to admit."

I nodded in understanding. In silence we stared at each other, silent feelings being communicated. Our food came and we ate for the first five minutes without conversation. I could tell there was something else on his mind.

"You should be very proud of yourself." I said. "I know that I am. You're a great director, you fight for what you want and what you want becomes the driving force in the show."

"You're the driving force in 'Bombshell', I'm just sorry that I didn't see it sooner."

I smiled lightly at him and began playing with my napkin. "Thank you for standing up for me to Eileen. I'm pretty sure that you were the only one that actually believed I could pull it off."

"I think they knew you could do it but they were just worried about you doing it in time. You proved them wrong tonight. I'm sorry to say this but Ivy's performance didn't hold a candle to you. She had the sex appeal but lacked the innocence that Marilyn contained. You have both"

I felt myself blush. We ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence, making small talk here and there. He paid the bill despite my suggestion to go dutch.

"Don't worry I'll let you chip in on the next dinner we go on." That sounded nice, going on another date with him. Date? No, this wasn't a date. This was just a fun outing between two friendly adults who may or may not have feelings for each other.

We left the restaurant and he insisted on walking me back to my room just incase Dev wanted to get another beating. When we arrived I unlocked my door and turned back to him.

"Thank you again for dinner. I really enjoyed your company."

"As I did yours."

He tenderly pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear. "You're a strong woman, love. And about being possessive, the girl who i'm in love with is pretty bad at hiding it." He slowly placed a light caring kiss on my forehead before walking away.

I stood there dumbfounded.

_Derek POV_

I am in love with Karen Cartwright.

A/N: Does anyone else think that that last moment was pretty adorable :3 lol. Any way this wasn't exactly a filler chapter but I wanted their emotions to be semi-clear. Read and Review!

socheerz