*1 year later and the Rooneys now live in California*
"Dude! I just heard the car!" Maddie exclaimed to Joey as she ran down the stairs.
"Oh, they're home." Joey pointed out.
"Okay, okay. Liv just had throat surgery. Don't act nervous, it's gonna freak her out." Maddie told Joey. "But don't act like, not nervous, because then, you know, that'll make her think we don't care." Maddie continued. "You know what? You can't handle this. You should go."
"Yeah, you're right, I am a mess." Joey agreed before walking into the kitchen.
Karen and Liv walked into the house as Maddie turned around.
"Hey, how did it go?" Maddie asked, concerned.
"She can't speak yet, but the doctor said the surgery went very well." Karen answered.
...
"Having surgery on my vocal nodes was the scariest day of my entire life. And after a few weeks, I was allowed to talk again. And then the long road to recovery began." Liv told the camera sadly.
...
Liv and Karen sat at the kitchen table and Liv had straws in her mouth and she was groaning.
Joey walked into the kitchen. "Seriously? When I do this with chopsticks at a restaurant, you make me go sit in the car." Joey said, angrily.
"This is an exercise to strengthen Liv's vocal cords." Karen informed Joey and Liv started to groan again.
...
"It was weeks and weeks of really hard work, and I still had no idea if I'd ever be able to sing again. The doctor said that there was no guarantee that my voice would ever be the same." Liv continued to the camera.
...
Karen and Joey walked outside into the backyard to tell Liv something.
"Liv, we have exciting news." Karen said with a smile. "But the doctor says you should not strain your voice, so I brought Joey here to squeal for you."
Joey chuckled. "My high-pitched birdy voice is finally useful."
"What's going on?" Liv asked.
"Some producers want to meet with you about starring in a Broadway musical!" Karen announced.
Joey squealed as Liv's jaw dropped.
"Wait, Broadway? That's my dream." Liv said excitedly. "I don't even know if I can sing yet."
"The doctor says you are ready to try to sing." Karen told her. "So I scheduled a session for you with Tracy Okahatchee."
Liv smiled again and Joey started to squeal.
"See, I don't even know who Tracy Okahatchee is, but it sounds super exciting." Joey exclaimed.
"Tracy Okahatchee is the top vocal coach in the world." Liv explained. "I guess it's time for me to try to sing again. I'm gonna sing again!"
Joey then started to squeal.
...
Liv paced as Karen walked into the living room with a tray of tea. She set the tray down on the coffee table.
"Some lemon tea for the throat before Tracy Okahatchee gets here, and you sing, for the first time since surgery." Karen said, excitedly. "I'll just sit over here quietly. Not joining it..." Karen sat down on the couch. "My destiny." Karen sang.
"Okay, Mom." Liv interrupted. "I'm super nervous. I won't know until I sing if my voice is the same, and I kind of don't want anyone in the room in case it isn't." She continued.
"Oh! Sure." Karen stood up. "I'll leave you with the tea that I brought you... and the throat I made in my womb." Karen then left the room.
The doorbell rang and Liv nervously walked over to the door and opened it.
"Liv Rooney, Tracy Okatachee is here to heal your voice." Tracy beamed as she walked into the house. "I see music in your eyes that is dying to be released from your mouth. Are you ready to sing, girl?"
Liv walked over to Tracy with a big smile. "I am! And Ms. Okahatchee, thank you so much-"
"Oh, hush!" Tracy cut Liv off. "Send me a gift basket. I like chocolate and cashews. Now, let's get started."
"Oh!" Liv exclaimed as Tracy started to message her neck.
"Ah! Your neck is as tight as a lasso on a guinea hog." Tracy said and Liv laughed. "Please repeat: big, broccoli, bushels."
"Big, broccoli, bushels. Big, broccoli, bushels. Cookie, crumb, cart. Cookie, crumb, cart. Hey, he, ha, ho, who. Hey, he, ha, ho, who. My mother, Mary, Marvin. My mother, Mary, Marvin. Pickle, pizza pepperoni. Pickle, pizza pepperoni." Liv and Tracy said together.
Tracy then picked up a napkin and put it around her hand. "For the next exercise, I'm gonna need your tongue!"
"Really?" Liv asked, confused.
"Tongue, please." Tracy then reached into Liv's mouth and pulled out her tongue. "This exercise stretches the muscles around the vocal cords."
"Okay." Liv said.
"Now, I want you to start at a middle C and geeheehee your way down the scale." Tracy told her.
"Okay." Liv replied.
"Geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee, geeheehee." They both sang together. Everytime they sang they moved lower to the ground.
Tracy let go of Liv's tongue and the two of them shot up. "Wunderbar! Or as we say in Nashville, yee-haw!" Tracy exclaimed. "You're throat is warm. Let's sing." Tracy then pulled Liv over to the piano.
"Oh, sing? Really? It seems so soon!" Liv protested.
"So soon? The world has waited long enough to hear you sing. I think we should start with My Destiny. From your live show." Tracy suggested. "I watched with Adele. Tears. Both of us."
"Wait! Adele heard me sing?" Liv asked, starstruck.
"You know Adele Sugarbaker?" Tracy asked and Liv gave her a questioning look. "Small world! One power ballad, coming up." Tracy then put her hands on the piano and started to play. "Now I want you to imagine that you're on that Broadway stage, opening night." Tracy looked at Liv when she missed her cue. "That was your cue, hon." Tracy then restarted the song only for Liv to miss her cue again. "And there it was again. Is everything all right, hon?" Tracy asked, turning to face Liv.
"No. I'm sorry, no, we should stop. I can't do this." Liv told her.
"Well, you're not gonna know unless you try." Tracy told her.
"I know, but, if I try and then I can't, I'm gonna know, and I don't think I'm ready to know." Liv rambled. "I'm really scared, and I'm really sorry, I'm sorry." Liv then ran upstairs.
Liv and Karen opened up the divider between the kitchen and Living room.
"So, what do we do now?" Karen asked.
Tracy then walked over to them. "I'm sure I don't know. Why do you think Liv didn't sing?" Tracy asked Maddie. "Tell me... twin."
"Well, uh, I think Liv is afraid that she's gonna be a nobody if she can't blow the roof off a theatre." Maddie told her.
"I understand fear. Everytime I see a moth, I black out and wake up in a pool of my own urine." Tracy shared.
...
"We had to let Liv know that she is a somebody no matter how she sings." Maddie told the camera. "And Tracy couldn't really help Liv but I knew who could."
Artie then opened the door. "Is it me?"
"Ew! Ew, no, no, ew, you go away!" Maddie shoved Artie away and closed the door.
...
Tracy brought Liv over to the Sing It Louder set.
"Hey, Tracy, why are we here?" Liv asked.
"Because this is where you sang your heart out for all of the world to see on live television, and where you will sing again." Tracy told her with a big smile.
"Okay. Well, changing where I am doesn't make me any less scared." Liv said.
"How about changing who you're with?" Tracy said. "Maddie, raise that curtain, sugar."
Maddie struggled to find the right rope. "Yeah, no, I know, I'm sorry, I'm not really sure which one it is. Yes! Found it!" Maddie raised the curtain and Liv turned around. Liv covered her mouth, in shock, when she saw Y/N, Willow, and Andie.
"Two, three, four!" Willow counted.
"The Dream!" Willow, Andie, and Y/N sang.
Willow, Andie, and Y/N walked down the stairs to greet Liv.
"We tried to write a theme song, but that's as far as we got." Willow told Liv.
"You guys, what are you doing here?" Liv asked, shocked.
"Maddie called. She said our friend needed help." Andie said.
"So now your band's here." Y/N added. "What are we singing first?"
...
"Oh, it's so great to see you guys!" Liv beamed as she pulled away from the hug. "But I'm sorry. I can't rock out right now."
"Oh, you'd rather do a quiet song, that's cool." Y/N said.
"No, um..." Liv trailed off.
"Cutie pie, help us with the piano." Tracy said before walking away and Y/N followed her.
Willow also started to follow her but paused when she saw Y/N follow her instead.
"Why does she assume she's cutie pie?" Willow asked, annoyed.
"You're cute, too." Andie comforted. "Mind if I talk to Liv, who I flew 2000 miles to help?"
Willow nodded. "Fine. But we're coming back to this."
Andie turned to Liv. "Liv?"
"Yeah?" Liv responded.
"What's going on? Why won't you sing?" Andie asked.
"Well, I really want to try." Liv told her before she started to cry. "I don't know, you guys, I mean... singing is such a huge part of who I am and if I can't sing the same, who am I?"
"You're a girl whose love for singing brought this band together." Andie told her and Willow nodded. "I love playing music with you. Not just because you sounded great. Because we were having fun." Andie continued. "Don't give up on something you love just because you're afraid."
"Yeah, Liv, I never even tried to play music before I heard What a Girl Is. Your voice inspired me. And it's not because of how you sounded, but what you had to say." Willow added. "And I think you have more to say."
Maddie grunted as she pushed the piano over to Willow, Andie, and Liv. Tracy watched Maddie and Y/N looked at her watch.
"All right. This was super heavy, and these two were no help." Maddie said, pointing to Y/N and Tracy.
Y/N picked up the piano chair and put it on the ground. "We're musicians, not movers. Thank you."
"So where do we stand?" Tracy asked.
"Liv doesn't know who she is if she can't sing well." Willow told Tracy, Maddie, and Y/N.
"Do you wanna know who you are?" Y/N asked, walking over to Liv and grabbing her hands. "You're Liv Rooney. And you're awesome. Okay? I know you're scared, but sometimes you just... have to take a leap of faith. Give it a shot." Y/N advised and Liv nodded.
"Yeah, Liv... aren't you the girl who told me that fear is just another reason to try harder?" Maddie asked with a smile. "All of your friends are here for you. Why don't you just try?"
Liv looked at all of her friends. "Okay, I'll try."
"Yes! I'm such a good coach!" Tracy cheered.
"Oh, I know the perfect song." Y/N said before sitting down at the piano and started to play their song Key of Life.
Liv:
Battle through the hard times, yeah, yeah
Be grateful for the good ones, whoa
Everytime you fall down, yeah, yeah
Just sing in the key of life
You're never out of tune
if you sing in the key of life
Everyone clapped for Liv.
"Whoo!" Maddie cheered. "Liv! Come on, that was amazing!"
Liv started to squeal. "I can sing! I can sing! Oh, thank you so much, I really love you guys."
Y/N stood up from the piano and walked over to Liv. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you." Liv said as she hugged Y/N.
"Now, Liv, if you do end up on Broadway, you better invite me to opening night." Tracy told her.
"Broadway?" Willow asked, shocked and confused.
"Yeah, there are some producers who called me to talk to me about a musical." Liv informed her friends.
"Whoa. Amazing!" Andie exclaimed.
"That's so cool. Liv, this is your dream." Y/N exclaimed.
"I know. I know, and now that my voice is back, that could actually happen!" Liv beamed.
Y/N looked at her watch. "Oh, um... I hate to do this. I have to go to the airport." Y/N told Liv, sadly.
"Okay." Liv said, softly.
"I don't know if you know, but I go to NYU now." Y/N informed Liv. "So if you wind up in New York, give me a call."
"Okay." Liv smiled.
Y/N and Liv hugged for what felt like forever. Liv smiled as she pulled away from the hug. Y/N returned the smile before walking away.
"Ooh!" Andie, Willow, and Maddie teased.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Liv scolded her friends.
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End-A-Rooney might take a while since Holden isn't in that episode. I'll have it out soon though.
2055 words