Okay…this is my first try to write..AND I am new to ..so please spare me if I missed anything or messed up on the rules, I did read them! Let me know though! And my twitter is _TaylorMcElroy_ Creative, right?

Rating: M-Ma just in case

Smash is just a, ahem, smashing show and I can't find a fic on here that makes me completely happy…so why not just write one myself? I am ever so sorry if it is horrid..I did try!

I am leading off with the end, minus the arrival of Uma, of episode 10, but I will be using many to all of the episodes, maybe tweaking a few to my better liking. This is when everyone is watching her sing Never Give All the Heart, I think.

Mesmerizing.

That is all the powerful director could think of as he watched the Iowa girl sing. It was impossible to be distracted as he usually is. Distracted by every misstep, dropped chord, wrong feel even, but this was all Marilyn, Karen had hit the nail on the head!

She was more Marilyn that Ivy. I was wrong. I chose the wrong girl, well, woman.

He never admitted that, ever, not even to himself. He was never wrong.

Well Derek, ole chap, you've done yourself in now, the star is on her merry way and Karen should be the star of this show.

Karen was an odd creature. She was incredibly talented, new, and a fast learner. She was also a shy little bunny, maybe a doe, with those big brown eyes, and yet one of the most headstrong, persistent people in the career. How those two personalities existed in such an exquisite creature intrigued him and he felt he could be with her for years and still be surprised by her. That attribute drew him to her, but he had to keep away. Ivy was his..girlfriend? Well she was someone he was close to and though he didn't mind cheating, he wanted Karen to have his full attention. Which is why he kept busy with Ivy. Karen would have none of him.

That night, that mind-blowing night that proved he couldn't read people as well as he once thought, and was just a taste of Karen's amazing drug and the night he blew her trust.

He ground his teeth together.

Focus, he was the infamous Derek Wells, he didn't dwell.

Well maybe he could dwell just a bit.

The first day, dancing behind her, making her feel better so she could dance better, he had rubbed his thumb over her hand as he gave her his words of wisdom, and of course it was just to boost her confidence, or that's what he told himself at least.

And earlier, when she was reading lines and he had yelled at her for not moving, she walked up to him, disagreed with what he had directed and he saw her again, Karen, Marilyn, they were one and the same and he saw, for the first time how wrong he was with Ivy.

Ivy. Oh God. She was beautiful, smart, sexy, and lonely. And any man was lucky to have her; she had a charming way about her. Their relationship, as physical as it was, was comfortable. That was the best way to put it. Nothing that popped, nothing that made him tingle the way he did whenever Karen spoke to him, was near him, gave him that look, that look of defiance that she adopted when she didn't agree with him, which was quite a lot.

The one thing he hated, that made his blood boil, well, boil more, was that scared look. She could tell a man no, not just a man, the director who controlled the biggest role of her life, she came out, determined and sexy, in his blasted shirt, sang to him the sexiest song, and straddled his lap, then it was over and she was strutting her pretty little self out of his apartment. Leaving him stunned and needing a cold shower.

Bollocks.

She had finished, he had just stared, everyone had just stared, thank God at least nobody would notice that look on his face..mesmerized. And her determined eyes met his and she smiled slightly, a little awkward, unaware of her transformation of the mood she did by being Marilyn. So it wasn't just him, they all saw her potential, just then, they saw what even he had missed the first callbacks.

"All right crew! That is a wrap for the day! Good job to you all, for once, I leave happy." Derek announced, with his usual amount of sarcasm, but no wrath.

He stayed arranging his papers as everyone filed out giving Karen some pats on the back, and some well deserved praise. Then it was the two of them. He was still making notes. She was standing looking around the studio like she would forget what it looked like, obviously distressed, he wished he would have punched Dev harder.

She shook her head and walked over do Derek.

"So how is your face?" She winced, "Is it bad?"

Derek scoffed, "No offence, but it hadn't been much of a fight. Oh, and sorry if I marred his pretty little face, but he did start it."

She saw her face fall and she nodded. Crap. "I, uh, sorry. It was meant to be a joke."

Karen's face drew together in confusion, "That is two apologies in two days from the infamous Derek Wells. What have I done to be so lucky?" She smiled lightly and shook her head. "I don't want to know, and you probably don't have time for chit chat, with your star in trouble in Cuba." She gave him an apologetic look at her mean comment.

Like he said, he would never understand her, it was normal for understudies to trash talk the stars, but they don't feel bad about it.

"Thanks for today, and this week, it has been amazing. For the most part. Now I have to go back to the apartment." Her face was a mixture of sadness, anger, and frustration.

"Nothing is better between you two? He had flowers before he saw me." Derek offered.

"For now I am just going to say it could be better." With that she walked out a bit tiredly and looked back once before going to the stairs, giving him her famous warming smiles.

He thought back to his visit. He didn't understand exactly why he went to her home. He could have done what he did on the way out of the studio, or told her to wait. Even over the phone. But he decided to go and was pleasantly surprised with her outfit. His buzz over her greeting and acceptance, more or less, of his apology quickly ended with the sight of Dev.

Dev. He had everything, and still didn't trust her. He was unaware that the more he questioned her about her loyalty the more that loyalty weakened. And punching her boss wouldn't help things a bit. The couch must have been a bed that night, if he even slept in the apartment.

Derek decided he would show her he could actually be charming. And he was determined to treat Karen the way she should be treated. He had gained back most of her trust. And there was no doubt that the two had chemistry. Derek would have to work hard though, but the thought of Dev made his idea a plan.

He grinned and prepared for a life change. And he had to admit this would be fun.

I really hope it didn't drag, but I got a bit carried away.

I would greatly appreciate some reviews. Should I continue?

And thank you VERY much for reading!