Yes the ending would have had a more tragic tone to it but that still wouldn't have changed the tone of the rest of the game, which was already somewhat dark.
While I'd like to hear about her finding a new studio, and getting back to work, I wouldn't be surprised if ND had a non-compete clause in effect. It could be awhile before she's able to start working in the games industry again. I know that CliffyB and Patrice Desilets had similar clauses in there contracts when they Epic and Ubisoft respectively. I think Patrice's is still in effect until May of this year, not sure about Cliff.