A/N: I had this idea for a while. Now that it's finally done, I don't really know if I like it. And I know the title sucks, but I really couldn't think of anything.
Enjoy and review
Disclaimer: I own nothing
They're not stupid. Far from it actually. It might not be so obvious if you look at them. Hell, people who know them would question their intelligence from time to time. It's apparent that their children do. Especially their eldest children.
Though it had been years since either had taken an IQ test, both of their scores would be high up there. Maybe not as high as say Casey's, or Edwin's for that matter. But if they were given the test right now, it would definitely be higher than one would expect.
It's not really that people think of them as stupid; it's more that they think they can't see anything that goes on around them. But, with 5 children living in their household, two full time jobs and a new marriage to uphold, certain things get looked over for a while.
And they aren't all that oblivious that people around them think them to be. It may take them some time to grasp something, or notice something that isn't thrown right in their faces, but they do get it, eventually.
It's really not that hard to understand that the two of them are intelligent. With George being a lawyer and Nora being an interior designer, a lot of schooling has been needed to bring them to where they are today.
Although George may have been at one time the 'Master Prankster,' it doesn't mean that he is far from observing things. In all actuality, being the prankster that he was, and the lawyer that he is today, observation is in his nature. Whether he would monitor what got under people's skin the most to use it against them, or examine his notes over and over again to help his case, observation is just natural to him.
And if observing is what George does, than paying attention to detail is what Nora does. Checking to make sure measurements fit correctly or colors matched. Finding patterns in her work, so that things flowed well and didn't clash. She had a knack at finding what went well and what didn't.
So, when you think about it, things would eventually come to light for the two parents of the teenagers that fell in love. It may not have been thrown in their faces the second it happened. Hell, for all they know, Casey and Derek could have been together for months before George and Nora found out. But, with their hectic lives, it just took a little while for things to click.
But, sometimes it's just a little easier to not see things.
It seemed to begin with small smiles when they thought people weren't looking. At the dinner table, faint smiles and light blushes were noticed. And as George and Nora took sips from their glasses, their eyes would dart over the top towards Casey and Derek's direction, to make sure they were correct in what they were seeing.
With late night discussions and comparisons of information gathered throughout the week, both George and Nora came to the conclusion that something was up. What exactly that was, they didn't know. Yet anyway.
They immediately dismissed the idea of a romantic relationship, because they thought that Casey and Derek would be more civil to one another if that in fact was going on. But no, they were still at it. They still fought. Tooth and nail. They'd scream and wrestle and never back down. It would feel like a war was about the break out at any moment.
It went on like this for a while, leading George and Nora to believe the smiles and secret glances were nothing, just a trick of the light. How could two people who had any sort of romantic relationship still treat the other like complete shit?
But after certain remarks, instead of the normal scowl found on the faces of Casey and Derek, small, almost flirtatious smiles would form. And the remarks wouldn't be as mean as they once were in the past. Sure, insults still held some form of evil demeanor, but not as solidly harmful as they once were.
Though they might not have known Lizzie's gym teacher's name or were confused on the exact date of Edwin's birthday, important things were not looked over. And whatever it was that was going on between Casey and Derek was definitely seen and followed closely. Because whatever it was that changed frowns into smiles had to be important.
Some time later, George and Nora overheard an argument between Casey and Derek. They apparently were both going out on dates and Casey had asked Derek for a ride. He laughed, telling her to date someone with a car. Storming into the kitchen, Casey asked her mother to borrow her car. However, George and Nora both noticed that the anger on her face contradicted the sparkle in her eyes.
After agreeing to her daughter's request, Nora led George into their bedroom to discuss their plans to find out what was really going on. After calling a sitter, George and Nora followed Casey later that night in George's car, finding themselves at some old movie theater about an hour away from their house.
And surprising to both of them, they weren't as shocked as they thought they would be by the scene in front of them.
Sitting in one of those couch like seats only found in older movie theaters were their children. Derek sat with an arm wrapped possessively around Casey's shoulder, neither seeming to care much that the movie was from the 1950's.
Staying for about half the movie, George and Nora watched with wide eyes at the two who claim to hate one another. Although nothing was really going on, it was hard not to notice the comfort they found in one another. Derek didn't try to make a move on Casey, while she didn't berate him for shoveling fist fulls of popcorn into his mouth.
They just seemed to enjoy being in the other's company.
And, as they watched Casey snuggle closer into Derek's embrace, the two parents decided to stop intruding on their personal time.
As the months passed, George and Nora noticed more changes in their teenagers. There were brighter smiles, loving looks and secret whispered conversations.
Thinking it was all a short lived crush, actions were not taken to stop the affair going on, behind the backs to all the surrounded the couple. However, they decided to allow their children to ride out whatever hormone induced infatuation they had with one another, thinking it wouldn't last very long.
But, with a soft spoken conversation between Casey and Derek that was overheard, their feelings on the relationship changed. It wasn't like they were trying to eavesdrop on the conversations that were meant to be secret, but from years of parenting, their hearing skills increased greatly. So, after hearing what they believed was the first time 'I love you' was exchanged between Casey and Derek, an unspoken agreement fell between George and Nora.
Whatever it was that was going on between Casey and Derek would be left between the two. Although not fully accepting of their decisions, who were they to stop them? So, there would be no confrontation on the subject, no unnecessarily uncomfortable conversation. They knew it was hard enough of them to admit their feelings, since both were such strong minded individuals. So, if they truly were in love, they would leave them be.
No, it was not an immediate decision to not interfere. A lengthy conversation between George and Nora led them to allow their children to try to be happy. Because in all honesty, neither had ever seen either of their children as happy as they had been in the last few months.
About a year after George and Nora started noticing the change in Casey and Derek, they still noticed new things each day. Derek tried harder in school and stopped his womanizer ways a long time ago. He still claimed that he was going out on dates, but they always were on the same nights as Casey's. And their parents saw the usually high strung Casey a bit more relaxed, enjoying life more than trying too hard on an extra credit assignment. It was mentioned that Casey hadn't looked this happy since before the wedding.
And Nora also had mentioned once or twice to George that Casey and Derek really did make a cute couple. That even though they clashed with each other, they still melded well with one another. He didn't really understand her designer lingo, but he nodded along.
Sometime early into Casey and Derek's senior year of high school, Nora and George had decided to meet at their house to spend their lunch break together, forgetting that the high school had a ½ day. As Nora walked closer to the stairs, she has stopped short, causing George to collide into her back. And as their trained ears picked up the unmistakable constant creak of a bed from upstairs, it didn't take long for the parents to know what activity their children were partaking in.
Having to drag Nora out of the house before she started to make noise, they decided to go out to eat at a restaurant and discuss the situation. Though both were entirely upset and distraught by what they heard, they realized something that neither was expecting.
It dawned on them both that they were more upset that their children were having sex at 17 then their children's choice in who they slept with. It somehow comforted them, knowing that Casey and Derek were sleeping with each other than someone else.
As the months dragged on, Nora and George tried their hardest not to pry into their children's personal lives. They had gotten over the initial shock of Casey and Derek's relationship. Coming to terms with it months ago, they were a little bewildered at why they hadn't come out into the open with it yet.
But one day it all seemed to change. Casey shot Derek glares with red rimmed eyes while he tried to stay out of her way with solemn facial features. It was pretty apparent that the two had broken up. There were no more whispered conversations or the soft click of a door closing. It was just harsh words and slammed doors once again.
And as much as they wanted to know what happened, George and Nora couldn't get involved. They weren't supposed to know in the first place, so trying to comfort would be out of the question.
A few nights after the break up, George and Nora sat on the couch watching tv while their three youngest children where around somewhere playing some game. With their attention focused on the screen in front of them, both heard the sound of the back door closing and footsteps coming up the back hallway.
Looking out of the corner of their eyes, they noticed Derek trying to make as little sound as possible as he climbed the stairs, with lilies in his hand. Smiling a little, both George and Nora noticed it was Casey's favorite flower.
With the program on the television completely ignored now, they focused on the light tap on Casey's door. After hearing the soft click of the doorknob falling into place, their ears tuned in as best they could to the whispered apologies and plethora of 'I love you' being said. Not hearing a scream or a door open and slam, both parents turned their attention away from the couple making up.
"I guess things are back to normal." George said softly to Nora.
"Yeah," she whispered as they both thought about the particular words George had used.
Because, the bittersweet reality of it all was that whatever Casey and Derek had, no matter how much they would want it to be, might never be normal. And although Nora and George didn't have a problem with it, they knew that others around them would.
This was when the actions of their children made sense to them. It's hard enough to fall in love, but to have the possibility of having people call it wrong would cause anyone to keep it hidden. So this was the reason why they kept their relationship a secret.
The reason behind Casey and Derek's decision to go to school in another country suddenly hit them. It might not have been the same school, but it was in the same area. And it was all because they wanted to be together. They wanted to be someplace where no one would know who they were, where people wouldn't look at them as family. They just wanted to be happy.
So in the future, if it came down to Casey and Derek being happy and never coming back to Canada again, George and Nora silently wished them the best of luck. Because everything they had seen over the past few years showed them just how happy they are together. And in George and Nora's opinion, happiness shouldn't be taken away because people wouldn't understand.
Not knowing if the last 'I love you' she heard was in her own head or actually spoken out loud, Nora turned to her husband.
"Normal," she agreed.