I want season 2 now, damnit! Ok, this chapter cements a friendship between Ivy and Julia.

Sorry it's so short, I'll try to write a longer chapter tomorrow.

Rating: T for language.

Pairings: Julia/Michael

The paramedics had come and gone, and Ivy was floating. She was aware of an overly feminine voice talking to her in what she assumed was meant to be soothing tones, but instead, she was filled with confusion. Who the hell was it? Karen would certainly visit her, if only to satiate her own goody-goody image and overly ambitious moral codes. Jessica was no longer her friend; she had recently pledged her alleigence to Karen. That only left her mother. Who had actually taken her advice and left the theater where she was in the chorus. Meant to be the star.

Julia? Wow, that would be strange. They had never really been friends, in spite of Ivy's friendship with Tom. Ivy was, of course, aware of what was going on in Julia's personal life. The affair with Micheal Swift was something that she both empathized with and was somewhat angry about. Though she would sleep with a director in part to get a job, she valued relationships wherein the participants were faithful to each other. She may believe that people need different things from different people at different times in their lives, but she still believed that adultery was wrong.

It was unlikely that Julia was there, though. Or anyone, really.

Ivy began to open her eyes, carefully. It felt like there was a thousand years worth of sleep accumilated in the stuck-feeling her eyes had, and opening them was going to be troublesome. She stretched her fingers, reeling in the idea that someone was there with her...someone was there. Her whole body felt weird; like she'd run a marathon. Her legs ached, and the crook of her elbow was sore.

She finally succeeded in opening her eyes, to find that her initial conclusion that there was no way Julia would be there was...well...wrong. The redhead was reclined in a chair, half asleep. Her hair fell over her face, and her eyes looked heavy, like she'd been crying.

Ivy stuttered in attempting to make a sound. It was meant to be "what's going on?" but came out as a half-hearted "hi". Her companion seemed startled, and bolted upright.

"Ivy! You're...well, you're awake!" The sentence was uttered with so much false enthusiasm Ivy couldn't help but grin in derision.

"So it seems. What happened?"

Julia sat up slowly, and her face seemed to change in complexion. Her pallor greyed, and her eyes watered.

"Well, honey, you...er, do you remember what happened in Boston?"

Ivy paled. Karen fucking Cartwright had been handed the part of Marilyn, all because Derek was attracted to her.

"Yeah, I think...I think so.".

"You took some pills, and you collapsed."

"Oh."

That was all it took. One word, and Ivy thought she'd never recover. Her mind was a stasis of blankness, and suddenly all she could think about was Marilyn Monroe. She didn't notice that Julia had stood, hands flapping at her sides.

"You'll, er, be kept in hospital for 72 hours. I think I need to go - Frank and Leo, you know. I'll come back later, and maybe bring you dinner?"

Ivy paused, before putting on her game face and smiling widely. The thought had suddenly occurred to her that maybe this whole episode could work in her favour - after all, surely this was a sign that she was more Marilyn-esque than her opponent?

"Sure, That would be great."

"Okay. Well I'll, just, er, leave then. Bye!"

Luckily, the nervousness that had accompanied Julia's presence left the room when she did, and Ivy was left to think about what had happened.

It was inevitable that some people would think that this was a mere cry for attention. Those people obviously hadn't seen what was quite obviously there - the pills, the drinking, the inappropriate sex. They were known to be connected with someone who was emotionally unstable - Karen had even uttered those words herself. Surely, they would see that this wasn't some pathetic attempt to get the role of Marilyn back? They had to take her seriously, otherwise she would be in a worse position than she had been before. She would be seen as a pathetic teenager, not able to handle the simplest of emotional trials. That couldn't happen.

She thought of quitting, maybe moving to London. The West End would be a whole new ball game, and Ivy was sure her mother wouldn't let her. Not for any feelings of maternal protectiveness, of course, but because then, Ivy wouldn't be around to be watched, and she wouldn't get to think about how much more successful her family had been. No, she wouldn't move.

One thing was certain, though: She wouldn't be seeing Derek again.

Ivy was interrupted from her musings by a quietly passive knock at the door. A bunch of yellow flowers were shoved through the doorframe, a pale hand holding them. A head followed, and Tom exhaled, entering the room.

"Hey, sweetie." His opening line was said with something akin to pity.

"Tom! Hi!"

"So..we, er, are going back to New York tomorrow! Sam and I are leaving early, we want to get back to see the game..." Obviously, Ivy thought, Tom was going to dodge the elephant in the room for as long as he was capable. Did he not even fucking notice he was standing in a hospital room? "Julia is going to wait for you in Boston, her and Frank are having a few problems..I think she wanted a bit of peace before heading back."

"Oh, okay. I, er, hope they work it out." Ivy smiled her most precious smile, hoping that Tom wouldn't see the desperation behind it. If he wanted to ignore what was happening, then so would she. "What about, what about Derek?"

Tom stiffened, his eyes downcast. He obviously didn't want to say anything, but Ivy pressed him forward with her eyes.

"He left this morning." He stopped suddenly, twisting in his seat. His hands played with eachother in nervousness, and he looked away from her. "With Karen."

Tom finally looked at Ivy, and she shuddered. Her eyes took on a melancholic look, becoming red and watery, before she quickly composed herself and dotted her eyes with the edge of the stiff hospital blanket.

"Okay. Well that makes sense. So how long have I been out of it?"

"About 48 hours. We, er, we weren't allowed in at first." He noticed Ivy looked like she wanted to ask him something. He wasn't an idiot; he knew she wanted to ask if Derek had visited. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he had seen this as an attempt to get Marilyn back, and had left without so much as a 'how is she?'

"So when can I get out of here" She said in a half-sigh.

"Later this afternoon. Julia is going to come by at 4, after the, er, well, the psychiatrist is going to come by."

Ivy knew that this would happen, so she simply sighed, and smiled tightly as Tom said he needed to leave.

As soon as he walked out the door, a tear slipped down her cheek.

She was reminded of the opening scene of Marilyn. Nobody loves you. Your father left. You are alone.