Hi! I love SMASH, and was really disappointed when it got canceled, and I hated the ending, so I decided to write this, which is supposed to be the season 3 of SMASH (except for the songs because I can't imagine writing the characters randomly bursting out in song), in an attempt to fix the big problems with the ending (I'm looking at you, Ivy and Derek). I hope you like it, assuming anyone actually reads it!

Summary: The Tonys may be over, but broadway isn't done yet! Not even close. Ana will have to choose in between two shows, Karen in between two guys. Ivy will make her decision in between her baby and her career, Derek in between what he wants and what is right. Julia in between her family and love life, Tom in between the same lovely life or change and Eileen will have to make a choice: money and fame, or happiness. Sometimes you'll choose the easy way out, or go for what you want, no matter how impossible it seems. Sometimes you can have both, or neither. But sometimes, you don't get to choose.

Pairings: Derek/Karen (Cartwills), Ivy/Jimmy, Julia/Michael, Tom/Patrick Dillon.

Chapter 1:

Karen woke up to the sound of someone banging at her door. She groaned.

It was the morning after the Tonys. Karen and Ana had stayed up late drinking, and Karen was in no mood to even consider getting out of bed before eleven. Oh wait, what time is it? 11:05? Okay, Karen was in no mood to even consider getting out of bed before twelve.

She lay her head back on her pillow, but whoever was at the door banged again.

"Karen, would you get that?" Ana yelled grumpily, sending a sharp pain through Karen's brain.

"Oooow... Why don't you get it?" Karen yelled back, still closing her eyes.

"I'm the one with no job! You should pity me!" Ana yelled back. She clearly had a better tolerance for alcohol than Karen did, because she didn't sound that hungover, and she had drunk as much, if not more, than Karen.

Karen stayed in bed another few seconds before getting up and putting on her dressing gown. She went to the door and swung it open, flinching at the sound of the door as it banged against the wall.

"Karen..." the young man said, grinning.

"Jimmy?" Karen asked. She had just recovered from the shock of the noise the door had made, and now she had an entirely new shock to recover from.

Jimmy walked over to Karen, giving her a hug, before going to Kyle's Tony, where he spun the little star.

"Wha-? What are you doing here?" Karen asked. She was too hungover for this.

"Oh, right! You're probably wondering how I'm here!" Jimmy said, giddy like a child. "I stayed there for the whole night, and at around 10 a.m. a guy came to tell me I was released because I was a minor when it all happened. So I immediately went to get a cab to your place, but then I realized I didn't have any cash or a phone, so I had to walk. So finally I made it here, and... that's it!" Jimmy said. He looked at Karen, as if he were expecting her to react in some way.

"Wow... Jimmy, that's... great." Karen said.

"You're not smiling." Jimmy pointed out, his smile fading.
"What? No, Jimmy... I just have a headache, that's all." Karen reassured, giving him a small smile.

Jimmy didn't looked convinced, he was about to say something when Ana interrupted.

"Hey! Jimmy! What are you doing here? We thought you were in jail!" Ana said, giving Jimmy a hug. Her smile was much brighter than Karen's had been.

"I got let out cuz I was a minor when it happened. But I sold my apartment, so can I stay with you guys for a while?" Jimmy asked, as Karen headed back to her room. This broadway star needed her sleep!

***

"Hey..." Ivy whispered, a smile forming on her lips. She just woke up, and decided maybe it was time for Derek to do the same.

"Hey!" He said, before yawning. The previous night, Ivy had told him he was going to be a father. Derek had promised he would take care of her and the baby.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Ivy asked, smiling giddily. They had talked about her moving in with him yesterday, but they had decided that would be moving too fast. But Ivy had said she'd be willing to stay at his place for today.

"What do you want to do?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ivy grinned. "Well..." she started. There were many things she wanted to do today. Most of them just involved spending a day relaxing with Derek.
The phone rang, interrupting her in mid-sentence.

"Ugh. Hold that thought!" Derek groaned. He picked up the phone.

"Yeah?... Yeah, yeah, sure, no problem!... Okay... see you then... Okay." He said, before hanging up.

"I'm sorry, love. Jerry wants to talk to me about something. I'll be back in a few hours. Do you mind?" He asked, getting up and starting to get dressed.

"Umm, no. No, it's fine." Ivy said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Derek gave her his signature smile and kissed her before exiting the apartment.

***

"Wow, Julia... This... This is great!" Michael said, still holding her rough draft for "The Great Gatsby".

"You think so?" Julia smiled. She had planned on giving up on the idea, but Michael had encouraged her this morning to continue it.

"Well, everything you do is great, I don't see why this would be an exception!" he said, before kissing the beautiful redhead sitting next to him.

"Do you have anything you think I should change, though?" Julia asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Well, only the first act, but–" Michael joked.

"But I didn't even write the second act yet!" Julia said, pretending to be offended.

"That's the point!" Michael smiled. Julia slapped him on the arm.

"Shut up!" she laughed.

"So are you going to be working with Tom on this?" Michael asked. Julia's smile faded.

"Actually, I was planning on making it a play, not a musical." Julia said.

"Oh..." Michael didn't mean to make Julia sad.

"God, I love your place!" Julia said as she looked around her, eager to change subject.

Julia's phone started ringing, and Julia went to pick it up.

Julia looked confused, but she picked up anyway.

"Hi, Frank. Uh-uh... Umm, actually, I'm not at my place..." Julia said. Michael could see slight panic in her eyes.

***

Tom sat on his sofa, phone in hand. He had been contempling the idea of calling Patrick Dillon ever since he woke up at eight this morning.
Originally, he had decided to just wait for him to call him about the movie, but that could take days! Tom wasn't that patient! He had already been waiting all his life for Patrick, and he was sick of waiting!

Of course, there was another problem: Tom had used up all of his courage to kiss Patrick last night, and he doubted he had enough left to press on the call button.
He had attempted to several times, but each time, he just couldn't bring himself to do it!

Tom sighed. This time, he was going to do it. He was going to call Patrick Dillon.

Here we go.

Tom sighed once more in exasperation. He just couldn't!
He threw the phone to his side, where it neatly landed on a cushion. He got up to go and get breakfast.
"Why should I call him? He should call me!" Tom thought. It was the fifth time he had changed his mind on the subject, but this time he was determined this was the right decision.

He grabbed a bowl, and poured some cereal and milk into it. He was about to start quenching his hunger when his phone rang. Immediately, Tom left his kitchen table and ran to his sofa, where his phone was.

"Scratch what I said earlier: he loves me!" Tom thought, jumping to his phone and picking up before even checking who was calling. He was pretty sure he knew.

"Patrick?" Tom asked, grinning like an idiot and trying not to sound too happy.

"What? No, it's Ivy!" a feminine voice that definitely wasn't Patrick's said.

"Oh. Hi, Ivy. Why are you calling?" Tom asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Are you alright? You seem disappointed! Should I call back another time or–?" Ivy asked.

"No, no, it's fine! What are you calling me for?" Tom asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Umm, there's something I need to tell you and... I would like it to be in person. Can you come over to Derek's apartment?" Ivy asked.

"Okaaay... But, why are you at Derek's?" Tom asked, confused.