Once in a Lifetime

On the Air

I was sitting in the green room, watching Jimmy at work and waiting to go on. I was mesmerized by how well he interacted with Higgins, the Roots and the audience. One of the directors walked into the room, looking at me. "Karen, you're on next, please come with me."

I followed her out, careful to not trip in my heels. She brought me to the wings to wait for my cue.

"This is it," I whispered, standing behind the curtain. I was so scared and nervous and really didn't want to do this. But Jimmy told me he would stand by my side and I trusted that man with my life. I knew it would be okay. I heard the clapping after Jimmy finished the monologue, the Roots playing a great song. I knew he had walked to his desk to start the show. I then heard the audience die down as they gave their attention to Jimmy.

"So, before we start the show, I feel that I need to address something. A lot of our FalPals and fans wrote in on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, well just about any social media site we're on, requesting that we bring on the show the woman who was in the studio a few weeks ago when we had the hostage situation and had been injured. She has been recuperating for the past few weeks and absolutely didn't want to come on.

"But I am happy to say she agreed to come on tonight. I'd like you to help me welcome Ms. Karen Summers!"

I took a deep breath as the curtain opened. I waited a moment before walking through, looking to my right to see Jimmy standing at the bottom of the stairs, smiling. His eyes widened some as he saw me in my dress. Score one for Tina; she knew how to dress for success.

He waited for me to reach him before he came over to my left side and helped me up the stairs. I walked to the chair closest to his desk, looking toward the audience. I was in shock when I realized they were giving me a standing ovation, clapping and cheering. I sat down, making sure my skirt was pulled down and looked to Jimmy.

He was smiling and still standing, also clapping. I could feel my face growing red with embarrassment from all the attention.

A few moments later, Jimmy sat down, signaling the audience that they could take their seats as well. As soon as the clapping died down, Jimmy looked to me.

"Karen! They love ya! I'm so glad you agreed to come on!" He said, his enthusiasm bubbling over.

"I'm honored to be here." I looked out to the audience. "Thank you for your kind welcome."

The audience clapped again, just not as long as the first time. "Aw they love ya. I'm so glad you agreed to come on to the show. You're pretty popular right now with the FalPals after what happened a few weeks ago. So Karen, the million dollar question that the Pals want to know is, how are you doing?" Jimmy asked, smiling and looking from his notes to me. I could tell he was nervous about this too.

"I'm doing a lot better, thanks. I appreciate the concern everyone has shown. My arm obviously is still healing, but the doctor said I should be out of the sling in a few weeks. I have still have some rehab to do and I'll set off the metal detectors at the airport from now on from the screws and pins, but I'll be as good as new. The gunshot wound has healed really well and thankfully all I will have will have is a scar," I replied, getting a sip of water from the cup next to me. I was trying to calm my nerves down.

"Well, we all here at the Tonight Show are really glad you are feeling better. Many fans may know that Karen and I are good friends, especially after pictures of us hit the news when Karen was released from the hospital."

I knew this was it; Jimmy was going to let out our secret. "So what most of you don't know is that Karen and I are actually dating."

The audience was quiet for a moment, digesting that Jimmy had just let out what everyone was speculating about for weeks. Then the audience exploded, clapping and cheering loudly. I looked from the Roots to Higgins, all of them grinning and joining in the clapping.

Once the clapping started dying down, Jimmy continued, "Yes, we are dating. In fact we had started dating before the hostage situation happened. We are happy and would like to thank the media for respecting our privacy the past few weeks."

"I would also like to thank the media, as I'm not used to being the center of attention. But you all have been very kind in not intruding while I recovered the past few weeks," I added, smiling.

Jimmy looked to me then to the crowd. "I'm so glad you agreed to come on today. We also have Benedict Cumberbatch tonight!" The crowd, well mainly women, cheered loudly. "We have Jim Parsons on the show tonight! Jim and I are going to have a lip sync battle. And our musical guest is a favorite of mine and Karen's. We have Iggy Azalea on tonight!" The crowd was cheering at the guest lineup.

The show went to commercial, giving Jimmy and I a moment. "You did good babe," he said quietly, standing and putting his hand out to me.

I took his hand, allowing him to escort me out of the studio and behind the curtain. The audience stood and clapped as I left. "Thanks," I said, kissing him as soon as we were out of sight.

"I like that thank you! And that dress looks phenomenal on you! But I have to get back to work. Hang out in my office and I'll be there as soon as the show is over. I'll bring Ben and Jim in to meet you," he said, heading out from behind the curtain to the studio floor. He left me in a fangirl moment. I knew he had done it on purpose.

I made my way to his office, turning the TV on and laying down on the couch. I watched the live feed of the taping, but the stress of being interviewed on the show and the tiredness I had been feeling from the medications hit me all at once. I fell asleep on the couch, a smile on my face.