Ellis grinned from the back of the Minskoff Theatre as he noted the seats were near-filled, a restless energy evoking from the audience. His heart was beating furiously and a lump was in his throat, but he refused to let it show to the many theatregoers who were openly discussing what they hoped the night's show would be like.

He didn't know why he was so nervous. He'd put a lot into the show. It was going to be great. He knew it was going to be great. It was just up to the cast and crew now. They just had to keep from screwing up. He knew they wouldn't, since they'd been putting in just as much effort as he had for the show. They all had reputations on the line, so they wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the performance.

Ellis's smile grew wide as the chatter died down, the lights started to dim, and the Overture began.

A taxi cab moved along the streets of New York as its two passengers moved themselves in cooperation with every turn and jolt the cab made along the road. Ivy grunted and groaned, both hands to her side as her nails slightly dug into the seat she was sitting on.

"Okay, Ivy, it's going to be fine." Leigh cooed, a hand on her daughter's forehead. "We'll be at the hospital in a few minutes."

Ivy nodded quickly, before screwing her face up. "I-I'm too early! What if something's happened?!" she panicked.

"I'm sure everything's fine, sweetie." Leigh smiled, trying her best to reassure Ivy. "Do you want me to call Der-"

"No!" Ivy cut her off. "N-no... Just Tom."

"Okay…" Leigh sighed. Although Leigh really thought that Derek should've been informed of what was going on, if Ivy didn't want Derek around for the birth of his… their child… that was up to her. It didn't matter if Leigh thought Ivy was making the wrong choice in that regard. She just put Tom's number into her phone and gave him a call.

Leigh sort of regretted calling Tom. He had been there for Ivy's performance earlier that night, but he wasn't talkative and cheerful like he normally was before curtain. It was obvious to her that his mind had been on other things, and she wasn't sure if calling him up was the right thing to do.

"Hey, Leigh, what's up?" Tom's voice came through the phone.

"Ivy's gone into labor." Leigh explained, getting straight to the point.

"Oh my God…" Tom muttered. "Okay, okay, um… Tell Ivy that I'll meet you two at the hospital." And with that, Tom ended the call. Tom turned to Julia, who was sitting at the kitchen counter in Tom's place, mulling over her draft of The Great Gatsby in her own little world. "Julia, we have to get going. Ivy's having the baby now, and we're meeting them at the hospital."

"Okay…" Julia muttered. Then it clicked. Ivy was having her baby. "Oh… Oh! Yes! Okay! I'll just get my coat." She shouted.

"So what do you think?" Eileen asked.

"I'm sor-I'm sorry, what?" Derek shook his head, attempting to refocus on what Eileen had been going over with him in regards to the show. Unfortunately, all he'd been able to think about was Ivy.

"Is something the matter, Derek?" Eileen pressed.

"I just haven't been feeling myself lately…" he muttered.

"You and Ivy, huh?"

Derek's eyes widened, surprised that Eileen knew of what was going on between him and Ivy. "Excuse me?"

"Most of the company knows what happened between the two of you." Eileen explained. "Ivy's been… less than secretive about it."

"I see…"

"Remember in Boston, how I said that if anything went wrong, I'd strangle you?"

"What? So you're going to strangle me now?" Derek chided.

"No. I'm going to give you some advice: Stop thinking about how this is affecting you, and start thinking about how you've been affecting Ivy and her performance in Bombshell. Imagine how she must be feeling. Sleeping with Rebecca Duvall caused you a lot of grief when you got back from Boston, but remember it was because of what you said, and what you did that caused things to go the way they did for you. If you want to make it right by Ivy, give her what she needs, some space. Then, think long and hard about what you're going to say. What she needs and what you want are two very different things, Derek."

"You're right…" Derek muttered. "Maybe I've already said what needed to be said…"

Leigh sat clutching her daughter's hand in the delivery room as Ivy worked through each contraction as best she could. Most of the nurses were prepping the necessary equipment, while the doctor was talking with one of the nurses, using medical jargon that Leigh didn't really understand.

She looked at her daughter, sweat dripping down her forehead, eyes closed. Birth had been no walk in the park for Leigh, and she knew what Ivy was going through, but she was also certain that Ivy would be able to handle it as she had. Ivy had been through a Hell of a time in the past few months, but she'd went through everything, taking it all in stride, and she came out the other side a little bit stronger. Leigh was positive that this would be no different.

After the doctor finished talking with one of the nurses, he went over to Leigh, who stood up, still clutching her daughter's hand.

"Miss Conroy, we're just about ready to begin." He said.

"I-Is everything okay?" Leigh asked, a little bit concerned that a possible complication may have developed due to Ivy's premature labor.

"Everything's fine, ma'am. You don't need to worry. Premature births are becoming more and more common." The doctor explained. "Will you be wanting to stay?"

"Of course…" Leigh said determined, the doctor smiling back at her. The doctor moved to the appropriate position as Leigh looked down at her daughter. "Ivy, sweetie." Leigh smiled, wiping away the sweat from her daughter's brow. "If I could take your place, I would, in a heartbeat. But I can't. This is something that only you can do, and that's okay. You know why?" Leigh asked softly. Ivy shook her head as Leigh moved in closer. "Because you're Ivy Lynn. You can do this… Trust me. And I'm here for you… I will always be here for you…"

"Thanks mom…" Ivy breathed.

"Tom will be here soon, okay?"

Ivy nodded, groaning again as her grip of her mother's hand tightened evermore. "I love you, mom."

"Michael, I'm gonna be home a bit later than I originally planned, so don't wait up." Julia explained to Michael on the phone, she and Tom in the back of a cab that had almost arrived at the hospital.

"Oh really? What's up?" Michael asked.

"Uh… Ivy's in labor. She's having her baby…"

"Wow… that's…" Michael sighed, unsure of what to say. "Just tell her I said 'congratulations'."

"I will." Julia smiled.

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too..." Julia muttered as the cab pulled up just outside the hospital. Julia hung up before switching her phone off as both she and Tom entered the hospital.

Michael on the other hand silently paced around the room in his apartment. While he was happy to hear that Ivy was in labor, all that came to his mind was the memory of seeing her unconscious in the hospital. He hoped that for her sake, what happened then wouldn't cause any complications for her now.

Leigh blocked the chatter of the medical personnel from her mind as she focused solely on the condition of her daughter. She was amazed. Ivy was coping really well with everything that was going on. Leigh wasn't aware of how long she had been in the room with Ivy, though she grew concerned that Tom might have been sitting outside waiting for news of some kind.

"I-I should go see if Tom's here…" Leigh muttered.

"N-no…" Ivy groaned, her grip on her mother's hand tightening. "Don't leave… please…" she begged through clenched teeth.

"It'll only be for a second sweetheart, I promise." Leigh assured her.

"O-okay…" Ivy whimpered, letting go of her mother's hand.

"Tom!" Leigh called as both Tom and Julia walked over to her. Tom and Julia had been sitting on the seats just outside the room, exchanging small talk before being alerted to the presence of Ivy's mother.

"How's Ivy?" Julia asked.

"She's fine." Leigh spoke as calmly as possible.

"Is Derek here?" Tom asked.

"No. Ivy didn't want him to know." Leigh explained.

Tom straightened up, looking towards the direction from where he and Julia entered from. "Okay, but… He should know, shouldn't he? I mean, he is the father! He needs to be here!"

"Ivy said that she didn't want him involved." Leigh repeated. "If Ivy doesn't want him here, we should respect that decision."

Tom nodded shakily as he swallowed audibly.

"She's gonna be fine, isn't she…?" Julia asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm sure!" Leigh assured both them and herself. "Look, I need to get back in there… I'll come and get you later on when everything's done."

"What the Hell was that?" Ellis shouted to the entire crew who had taken up the now empty seats in the Minskoff Theatre.

Brigadoon's first performance had optimistically been… a complete and utter disaster to say the least. Everything that could have gone wrong seemed to go wrong, and everyone either had excuses for messing up or theories as to what the main problem with the performance was.

The crew looked around at each other, either staying silent or mumbling quietly to themselves. This went on for a few moments until a member of the ensemble broke the silence. "What did you expect? The sound equipment screwed up at the start of the second act."

The Soundboard Operator sitting nearby nearly snapped at that. "Oh, is that why we couldn't hear any applause, huh? Too much feedback?"

"How could I when everyone was about half a beat behind!?" Daisy shouted defensively.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Natasha assured her. "It was nothing too bad, really! You just had a bad start. That's all."

"It was this theatre. Our show wasn't built for it." came the voice of another ensemble member, before the team started breaking down and squabbling with each other.

This seemed to go on for some time. Finally though, it was Brier who seemed to stop making excuses and start making sense. "Maybe if we hadn't have skipped the Workshop, and the Previews, we'd actually be able to pinpoint what went wrong with the songs and the book. Don't you see? There is no one singular problem! But it all leads back to you!" Brier shouted, turning to Ellis. "Any self-respecting 'producer' would know that you're not supposed to bring a Broadway show, revival or not, from inception to opening night in such a short time, especially if you're not going to hold a Workshop or do any Previews!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Ellis snapped. Brier started chuckling to himself, causing Ellis to get even more agitated. "What? You think it's funny? You think it's funny?! You all died out there!" Ellis shouted, before focusing on Brier. "And you're not exactly number one on Broadway either, so why don't you just shut up and stop trying to pin the blame on me!"

Brier sighed, getting up out of his seat and hopping up on the stage as he stared Ellis down. "You know, you don't have that many people in the industry as contacts that you can just start telling the people you don't like to shut up. And by the way, I think we've heard enough of you bitching and moaning about the things that we've done wrong. As far as I can see, the one mistake we made was doing this in the first place."

Ellis walked even closer to Brier, the two men soon being only an inch or two apart. "The stage door's behind me." Ellis whispered. "If you want to go… don't let me stop you…" he smirked.

Ellis thought that Brier would just go and sit back down in his seat, that Brier was just bluffing, challenging his authority, his words to seem tough in front of the rest of the crew. He knew that in a few seconds, Brier would get off the stage and return to his seat in silence. Then, they could get to work in fixing the problems apparent in Brigadoon's first performance.

No.

Brier turned and walked away, heading backstage and going out of sight. Ellis's eyes widened, visibly unnerved by the turn of events. Luckily for him though, he was turned away from the crew now, so they couldn't see his moment of weakness, however brief it was or seemed to be.

Ellis cleared his throat. "Well… now that we've gotten rid of him, how about we all get down to work?"

"How can we do it without a director?" Daisy asked softly.

"We, uh… We can… Um…" Ellis mumbled. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what to do in this situation. He was just putting on a front. He never really expected Brier to just get up and leave like that.

Although he'd never admit it to anyone, Ellis knew that some of what Brier said was true. If he was going to make it as a producer, he'd need to suck up to as many Broadway Bigwigs as possible. More importantly though, he knew that if Brigadoon was going to survive, he'd need Brier. And so he went after him, quickly following in the direction that Brier had went.

As Ellis made it out onto the street, he made a full circle of the theatre. He looked left to Junior's, and then right to the sidewalk shed. Brier was nowhere to be seen. He panicked, now standing out the front of the theatre alone. Ellis made haste to cross the street, walking over to the Marriott Hotel.

What Ellis failed to notice however, was that somebody was following him...

"Tom, what are you doing?" Julia asked as she watched Tom rise from his seat.

"I, um… I'll be right back..." he mumbled, leaving not only the room, but the hospital altogether. Ever since being told that Derek had no knowledge of Ivy going into labor, it had been weighing on his mind more than anything else. After more than an hour and a half of silence and light discussion between himself and Julia, Tom decided that he couldn't take it anymore. In Tom's eyes, all Derek had become was a controlling, homophobic womanizer who stepped on Ivy's heart, and Ivy was his best friend. For Derek not to have been there for Ivy's sake, not just for the birth of their child, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Tom feverishly scrolled through his contacts, found Derek, and called him, turning away to face the sidewalk. A sound on the other end notified Tom that Derek had picked up. This wasn't a social call that Tom was making. No, this was simply to give Derek information. "Listen to me, you asshole. Ivy is in hospital right now having your baby. If you have even a shred of decency still in you, you will get down here for the birth of your child. Now."

With that, Tom hung up the phone. He had given Derek the information that he needed, and he hoped that for both his sake and Ivy's, that Derek would man up and make the right choice.

"Tom, Julia…" Leigh's voice called, Tom and Julia looking towards her, their conversation ceasing immediately. "It's a girl and she's beautiful. They're gonna take her down to the NICU, and we'll be able to go down and have a look a little later."

Tom and Julia breathed collective sighs of relief before smiling and laughing with each other.

"How's Ivy?" Tom asked.

"She's fine, just resting." Leigh explained. "She'll be going to the NICU soon and we can see her there as well."

"Hey…" Ivy whispered, her voice dry as Julia quietly entered the room, dressed in scrubs as Tom and Leigh hung back outside. The rules of the NICU stated that only one family member or friend could be with the mother in the room at a given time. Leigh had already been in, congratulating her daughter and telling Ivy how proud she was of her. Tom meanwhile decided to go in last and wait for Derek to show up, unbeknownst to the rest of the group.

"Hi…" Julia whispered back. "How are you feeling?"

"Drained…" Ivy answered truthfully as Julia came down beside her.

"Yeah, that'll do it…" Julia smiled. "'This her…?" she asked, Ivy nodding. Julia looked down into the incubator to see Ivy's child hooked up to all kinds of equipment. She was tiny. It was almost unbelievable. "She's gorgeous…" Julia hummed. "Have you thought of a name?"

Ivy looked down, smiling at her baby. Leigh had asked Ivy that same question when she came in. Though with everything that had gone on within the past few months, the name of her child was the last thing on Ivy's mind. It came to her though as she held her child after the birth. It just seemed involuntary. It seemed right.

"Claire."

"That's a beautiful name…" Julia cooed.

Ivy nodded. Looking at the life that she created, that she and Derek created, she almost forgave him.

Almost.

Tom meanwhile kept his eyes on the door leading outside, expecting Derek to walk through it and into the room. With each second that passed though, that hope diminished little by little, until finally, Tom's eyes shifted from the door, moving back to look through into the NICU.

"What's wrong?" Leigh asked.

"Nothing…" Tom replied.

Karen and Hailey sat on the front porch of Karen's house, watching the cars drive past as they drank Fresca, a cool breeze blowing against them.

The quiet suburban setting was quite a welcome change from the busy ever-moving lifestyle of New York. At the time, while Karen was certainly glad to have gotten away from New York, it was Hailey who missed being home the most.

The graduation had come and gone without anything too peculiar happening, and Karen had decided to stay in Iowa for just a little longer before heading back to New York.

That was the plan, although Karen's conversations with her parents since coming home had made her somewhat depressed, and not at all enthused for an extended stay. Since hearing that Hit List had been shut down, Karen's father Roger had been on her case, which became more prominent after learning that Jimmy, the person who he believed was the reason that Karen left Bombshell, was now in jail.

It happened at dinner, the same day Karen and Hailey returned to Iowa. Karen's parents voiced their dismay at her not winning a Tony, but also how proud they were of her to even be nominated. From there, the conversation went to Jimmy and how the two of them were doing. Karen knew full well that if her father learnt about Jimmy's past, specifically his dealing and using of illegal drugs, he'd not only view Jimmy in a completely different light, but also be ashamed that Karen associated herself with him.

"Jimmy... He's… um…" Karen stammered as Roger kept his eyes locked on hers. Unfortunately, Karen couldn't think of anything to say, and she knew that no good would come from lying. "He's at the Lincoln Correctional Facility…"

Karen's mother, Marie, dropped the fork that she had been holding. Unlike Roger, she had never met Jimmy, and had only heard about him through Roger, who had told her that Jimmy seemed to be a very nice boy. Of course, Karen's brief answer alone painted a very different picture for her in her head. "He's what?!" she asked, turning to Roger. "Did you know about this?"

Roger shook his head. "No. This is the first I've heard. I'm sure it was a misunderstanding of some kind, right Karen?" he said, turning to his daughter, but the look she gave him said otherwise. "Karen... What happened?"

And so Karen told them everything. How she met Jimmy at Table 46, becoming infatuated and mesmerized by him. How she promised him that she was going to help get Hit List moving. How she ended up quitting Bombshell because of him. And while at the time, she didn't see anything wrong with how Jimmy acted, since then, and especially now, she'd realized that, while Jimmy was quite a handsome young man, and he had a great voice, he just wasn't really that nice of a person.

As Karen finished telling her parents the whole story, ending with how Jimmy confessed to his crimes, telling Karen the night of the Tonys, and ended up sharing one last kiss before he headed into the Lincoln Correctional Facility, Marie shook her head. "I just… I don't even know what to say…." she muttered.

"You didn't tell me any of this when I came into town. I didn't ask what was going on between you and Jimmy because I trusted that you could make good choices, but I guess…" Roger trailed off

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on!" Karen exclaimed. "I didn't know at the time, okay? He didn't tell me anything-"

"Well that should have been warning enough for you to not get involved with someone like him." Marie interjected. "And how could you let him talk to you like that?! I mean, we've always tried teaching you good values, and now hearing this… it seems like you've thrown them all away… You left Bombshell for this person who you'd known for less than two months at the time, and before that, he treated you like garbage because you didn't leave Bombshell. A-and the drugs! For the love of God, please tell me that you didn't take anything he offered you, and if you were drinking or eating anything while in his company, you always had your eye on it-"

"Mom! You're overreacting! Jimmy didn't 'offer me anything', and if he did, I would've said no. Besides, it's over between me and Jimmy!"

"I should hope so!" Marie countered, looking away.

"Hey…" Hailey cooed, the sound of her voice enough to bring Karen out of the memories of the first night back in Iowa.

"Yeah?" Karen asked.

"What are you thinking about?"

Karen sighed, looking down at the glass in her hands. "I think I might go back to New York tomorrow…"

"Oh…"

"I can't even be in the house when my parents get home from work without them giving me an earful. Besides, I should've heard something from Derek about the new show, but I haven't. I've tried calling him, but he hasn't picked up… And I should be getting back anyway…"

"I'd come with you," Hailey began. "But I've just got back on top of all the work I missed while I was away. Karen, it's been really awesome hanging out in New York, living with you. I saw things that I never thought I'd get to see, and all because you followed your dreams. If you hadn't have gone to New York, I wouldn't have been able to come and see you."

Karen was rather disheartened to hear that Hailey wouldn't be coming back with her, but she understood why. Hailey had a job here, and she had been rather lucky to have gotten time off when she did, and to be able to temporarily live with her in another state. "I'm glad you had fun… I'm sorry that we didn't really hang out – just the two of us. And I know that I've been preoccupied with Derek and Hit List and all that."

"Hey, not to worry. It's your job, your life, being an actress. Just know, and I'm not hoping for this at all, but if things go pear-shaped, you can always come home."

The warm smile that Hailey gave her friend brought a smile to Karen's own face. She put the glass she was holding down, before giving Hailey a hug. "Thank you."

Karen stood at the bus station, her travel suitcase resting next to her as her eyes vacantly looked at her surroundings. She'd gathered all her things and she'd be leaving for New York as soon as the bus arrived.

It was a Saturday, and Roger and Marie had been asleep when Karen left. She'd decided to leave them a note rather than give them a proper goodbye, so as not to risk getting involved in another heated conversation with them about how much she had apparently screwed up over the past year. To Karen it seemed like the right thing to do. In her eyes it was, knowing that any attempt to explain herself would be an exercise in futility and would probably exacerbate them further.

Karen's eyes veered out to meet the approach of her parents from about a block away. Karen turned away, screwing her face in irritation. "What are you doing here?" Karen asked once her parents had gotten close enough to hear her.

"We're here to say goodbye." Roger said. "You didn't think we'd let you leave without us saying goodbye, did you?"

"Well you guys have said plenty about my ethics and values while I've been here, so I figured the sooner I got out of your hair, the better."

Somber expressions made their way onto the faces of Karen's parents as Marie finally spoke up. "Karen, your father and I, you know we love you. We were just shocked to hear that you had gotten together with this Jimmy fellow, because you're a smart, talented and beautiful girl. We don't want to see your hard work go to waste."

"Your mother's right, Karen." Roger said. "We're both really proud of what you've been able to accomplish. I was just upset to hear that Hit List had been… shut down, knowing what you had thrown away to be in Hit List. I-I mean, I thought something like that might happen, possibly. Maybe you should've been a little more careful. I just think that-"

"I know what you think!" Karen shouted. "I messed up, okay dad! Getting involved with Jimmy was a mistake, not telling you was a mistake, and leaving Bombshell was a mistake. But I'm grateful. I'm grateful of the experiences that I had while in Hit List. The people I met, the songs I got to perform. I learnt so much from being in that show, and I'm still learning… I just want you guys to support me."

Karen's parents looked to each other in silence for a long time, their gazes unfettering. Both Roger and Marie had to admit both within themselves and to Karen, that perhaps they might have jumped the gun and overreacted just a little. Both Marie and Roger turned to their daughter, smiles slowly returning to their faces.

"Whatever you decide to do, you have our full support." Marie cooed. "We'll always be supporting you."

"Thanks." Karen smiled.

"We both care about you." Roger added. "I'm sorry if we made you feel like what had happened was entirely your fault. It wasn't your fault. What happened to Hit List happened, and all you can do is keep moving forward. We're always going to be here for you, and we're so proud of what you've been able to do in such a short time."

"Thanks, dad." Karen beamed, moving in to hug both her mom and dad.

"Can you promise us though, that you won't go rushing into another relationship with a guy you've known for less than a few months?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Karen!" Hailey called, all but running over to the Cartwright family. "I would have come sooner, but I wanted to get you something." Hailey smiled, handing Karen an item wrapped in colorful paper and secured with tape.

"What's this?"

"A goodbye gift." Hailey smiled.

"...Are you gonna tell me what it is?" Karen asked.

Hailey shook her head. "You'll find out when you open it." Hailey's smile faded as she virtually leapt into Karen's arms, the two of them sharing one last hug. "I'm gonna miss you..." Hailey muttered.

"I'm gonna miss you too…" Karen mumbled, pulling away just as she caught sight of her bus arriving at the station.

Derek sighed. More missed calls from Karen. He groaned, his back against the wall as he sat on his unmade bed. His apartment was a mess and it had been that way for a couple of days. He just didn't seem to have the drive to do anything anymore, not since speaking to Tom, although Derek didn't even get a chance to speak.

He turned slowly to face the window out, the city below him past his patio. As he stared out the window, all he could think about was how much of a fool he had been. It had taken him so much effort fighting within himself to see what was right there in front of him the whole time. All he'd needed was that time to himself, for him to figure it out on his own. And now, Derek had.

He knew what he had to do.

Karen's eyes made their way to the windows of the bus as she watched the landscape change and shift. She then looked down at the package in her hands. Karen sighed lengthily, deciding to open the gift that Hailey had gotten her. She wasn't sure what to expect, though she found herself smiling after unwrapping a copy of The Nice Girl Syndrome by Beverly Engel, along with a note. Karen picked it up, reading the note silently to herself.

Karen,

I promised to help you become more assertive, and I know that we didn't really spend much time working on that, so I got you this. I know that you're perfectly capable of standing up for yourself on your own, but I know how terrible some people can be, and sometimes, you just need that little bit of help. This book has some useful information that I think will do a better job than I could of helping you. Whenever you can, just give this a read, and know that I'm thinking of you. I hope that your next project goes well.

Hailey

Karen sighed as she unlocked the door to her apartment, her travel suitcase trailing behind her. Bringing it in behind her, she reached around and pulled the door closed, going through the mail she had received in her absence after putting the book down on the table.

Karen sighed, looking around the room in silence. No Hailey. No Ana. She was alone now. It was the first time in a while that she'd been alone, spending the majority of her three year relationship with Dev living with him, and then with Ana, and then Hailey, and now being alone… She knew it would take some getting used to, but she also knew she'd be able to handle it.

Karen exhaled, straightening herself up for a moment before sitting down at the table. She took another look at her messages to see if Derek had attempted contacting her, and placed her phone on the table after seeing that he hadn't.

With her cell now on the table, Karen picked up the book Hailey had gotten her, and she began to read.

The echoing of footsteps was about the only sound that could be heard as a clean-shaven, well-dressed man ascended the stairs in silence.

He seemed to be the only person on the floor, though there was a sporadic click that could be heard as the soles of his shoes bounced lightly against the stairs of the complex.

The man had arrived at his destination, his palms sweating a little as they held onto a bouquet of roses. The man truly wondered if this was the right thing to do. After taking a moment to compose his thoughts, and think about what he was going to say, he exhaled slowly and, walking up to the entrance of Karen's apartment, Dev knocked on the door.

What a cliffhanger, right?

Yes, this is the end of "Beyond Broadway", but that doesn't mean that the story's over. After all, this really was just the beginning, and it wouldn't be right to end everything so abruptly.

My original idea for "Beyond Broadway" was to write the story as if it were the third season of SMASH, and while I think I achieved this to some degree, as it progressed it seemed to become more about fixing the problems created, in my opinion, when Joshua Safran became Showrunner at the beginning of the second season.

After watching the show for two seasons and now having written "Beyond Broadway", I've come to the belief that no one person can define what SMASH is as a whole. For that reason, I've enlisted another writer to carry on with the story in the form of a sequel.

The sequel is being written by LoLoBubbles, and is entitled "The Show Must Go On". You should be able to find the sequel on her profile page. She is also in the middle of writing an unrelated SMASH fanfic called "The Big Finish Hasn't Come Yet". If you haven't checked that out yet, I strongly encourage you to do so as it's turning out to be something really special.

I'd like to acknowledge the members of BroadwayWorld, as well as the staff of Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post, Vulture, and The SMASH Reality Index, whose reviews of the SMASH series allowed me to develop "Beyond Broadway" in a way that I felt addressed some of the problems with SMASH.

Finally, when I started writing this, I had no idea that it would end up being received the way it did. So I want to say a special thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, faved and followed "Beyond Broadway". I am so grateful for the feedback I've been given and this story definitely wouldn't have been possible without your support.

I hope you all enjoy reading "The Show Must Go On".