I do not own Once Upon a Time.

So yay, Derek gets his own story. He's quite different from his sisters, quiet and caring and witty. He's also very smart and got some of Amelia's better qualities.

It was the first day of summer vacation and Derek Andrew Cassidy found himself in the woods with his friends.

His older brother Henry was leading the adventure. With them was Luke, Roland and Liam.

They were going to build a tree fort and needed the proper materials.

This was just boy time, like the camping trip the dads were planning for later in the summer. Derek loved his sisters but they tended to get into trouble and drag him with them. Dad said it was because they had too much of Mom in them. Them Dad got a towel thrown at him.

The boys gathered large branches and began to pick them up to bring them back to the tree fort site. But Derek heard a sound and started to walk toward it.

"Derek, where are you going?" Henry asked. While he was the protective older brother, he has seen enough curses to not let anyone out of his sight.

"I hear an animal; I think it's in pain." Derek told him.

"I hear it too." Roland confirmed it for the rest of them.

They all dropped their branches they had and followed Derek further into the woods.

Five minutes later, Derek spotted the source of the noise. It was a whimper actually, from a German Shepard puppy. It was caught under a branch. Henry and Luke immediately went to lift the branch.

Derek tried to gently coax the puppy to move. "Come on, you're safe now."

The dog didn't move, either it couldn't or it was too scared.

"Derek, make him move, this branch is heavy." Henry grunted.

Derek thought quickly and pulled a peanut butter bar from his pocket. He had been saving that for later but this was more important. He opened it and held it out.

The puppy's eyes lit up and finally made its move.

That's when Derek noticed the puppy's back leg was broken. "Liam, go find a stick about this long." He indicated the length and Liam ran off. "Roland, you got a knife?"

The son of the leader of the Merry Men took his small knife from his belt and handed it to Derek.

Derek pulled off his flannel shirt and began to cut it into strips. He would deal with his mother later. She did not like damaged clothing.

The puppy finished the bar and looked up, expecting more food. Derek still needed the stick so to make use of his time, he pulled a water bottle from his backpack. "Luke, cup your hands." He instructed his friend. Luke did so and Derek slowly poured water into his hands. The puppy quickly drank.

Finally, Liam returned with the stick. Derek gently tied it to the puppy's leg with the pieces of his shirt. That would stabilize it until he got home.

Then Derek picked up the puppy. Liam grabbed Derek's backpack and the boys headed back to town.

Derek stayed up all night with the puppy who he named Marbles.

"How did you know how to stabilize the leg?" His mother asked him later. She was beyond impressed.

"You leave your medical books out and I read them when I'm bored. I think I want to be vet."

Amelia smiled and hugged her son.

Derek takes after his mother a bit, with the medical goals. They spend time watching doctor shows. He was so perfectly named, his "uncle" would be very proud of him. It's also fun to see all the boys hanging out together. Henry is the leader of his band of Merry Men (it sounds much better than Lost Boys, given the history there.)

So yes, this is a one shot, there is a longer Sophia story starting next week. New characters, new adventures, and a new realm.

Reviews?