A/N: I'm back, with another LWD fic! I was surprised to find more of a response to that one shot than my KH story, so now, I'm going to start writing a bunch of things for this category. Remember, I did this for you readers, so make me proud and read for me. Thanks again for the comments on Speechless!Remember, bold print is for thoughts, and italics is for flashbacks.
Disclaimer: Yeah, whatever…
George groaned heavily. Once again the children of his household had him leave one hellhole he had spent all day at, only to come home to another. By now, it had become daily routine for George, he being the lawyer who fought for justice at work, while becoming the referee once he got to his domain. But today was an entirely different matter. In the two years since his family had become the great Venturi\Macdonald clan, he had never been as astounded by his children as he was now.
George ruffled his hair as several beads of sweat dripped from him forehead. He continued to stare intently at the kitchen table for some time, no thoughts forming in his mind as it was overwhelmed with what his oldest two children had just told them. He looked to Nora, who didn't seem as stressed or flustered about this as he was. She sat there in the seat next to him, silently sipping her coffee, her expression unreadable. George turned to his son, confused and lost in his own naivety.
"When did this happen?" A small smirk formed on his son's face.
"This has been going on for a little longer than a year now dad" he said, his tone sounding as if the idea was the most obvious thing in the world. That was all George could handle.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" he yelled, flying up from his chair and walking away from the table. He stopped once he was a good distance from the table, his back to the others in the room.
"Did you have any idea about this, Nora?" he asked angrily, afraid that he'd lose all control if he turned back around.
"I haven't known, but I've been suspecting it for quite a while" Nora answered calmly, taking another sip from her mug. George turned around and gave her a bewildered look.
"How come you never said anything?"
"It was kind of obvious when you think about it, George. Remember when we took Marti to the zoo?"
George, Nora and Marti were in the van on the way home from a weekend zoo visit, Marti bouncing up and down excitedly in the backseat.
"Daddy, I wanna get an elephant!" Marti demanded.
"What's wrong with your stuffed elephant we got you for Christmas last year?" George asked, pulling into the driveway of their home.
"That ones not big enough! Plus, Dimmy ripped his snout off yesterday!" Marti yelled.
"Well, let's worry about getting you an elephant tomorrow. For now its time to put monster Marti to bed" he said playfully, picking up the giggling girl and carrying her to the front door. He opened it to find Derek and Casey on the couch, Casey straddling Derek. Derek looked at his dad with wide eyes, and quickly shoved Casey off of him. Casey gave him a dirty look, but it disappeared once she saw her parents in the doorway. Derek started searching around wildly.
"Where is that damn remote you took from me, Casey?!" Derek yelled as he looked all over the couch for said item. George just scowled.
"No more fighting over the remote, otherwise your both grounded" George said sullenly, as he strode upstairs with Marti in his arms. Nora slid into the kitchen, noting on the way that the remote was on the arm of Derek's recliner the whole time.
"How am I supposed to see that?! Those two fight so fiercely that I just can't tell the difference!" George reasoned with Nora. Derek let out a small laugh.
"You can't be serious! Remember what happened just a week ago upstairs?"
George sighed as he walked into his home and set his suitcase down, arriving from a very long day at work. Edwin, Lizzie and Marti were sitting on the couch watching TV when he came in.
"Dinner's ready!" Nora called from the kitchen.
"Right on time as always, dad" Edwin said, winking at his father. All of the kids and George sat down at the table and immediately dug in. All except Marti that is.
"I'm not eating without Smerek or Casey here!" Marti shouted, crossing her arms defiantly.
"Marti, please just eat your food" George requested quietly, exhaustion kicking in for him. He just wanted to be able to eat his meal in peace. But that could only happen in his wildest dreams.
"Not without Smerek and Casey!!" she shouted even louder. Clearly the little girl was not going to back down. George set down his fork.
"Edwin, would you mind going to get your brother and sister?" Edwin's faced scrunched up.
"I always have to get them! Why don't you send Lizzie or something?!" Edwin whined.
"Cause I actually do stuff to help out around here once in a while! You and Derek just sit around like pigs doing nothing!" Lizzie protested. She and Edwin started squabbling back and forth to each other while George just grumbled. By this point, Edwin and Lizzie were almost just as bad as Derek and Casey with the amount they fought.
"Never mind, I'll go get them" he said, frustrated with the lack of control he had over his family. He trudged upstairs to find Casey pressed up against a wall in the hallway by Derek, whose hands were upon her hips. Derek's hair was wildly ruffled up and both of their clothes were horribly disheveled. Both teens' eyes went wide when they spotted George, but he was too exhausted to notice any of the signs. He merely shook his head.
"Can't you guys stop fighting for two seconds and come down to dinner? It's like the Nazi warfront with you two!" he said exasperated, then walked silently back downstairs. He heard small giggles from the two he had just left and wondered to himself what on earth could be so funny.
George let everything in his mind settle in before he calmly took a seat at the table once again. He couldn't believe how naïve about this situation he had really been.
"Nora, Casey, can I please talk to my son in private?" George monotonously asked. Nora nodded before her and Casey walked out of the kitchen, leaving George and Derek alone.
George sat silent, staring at Derek, who had his trademark smirk on, slouching back in his chair and staring right back at his father.
"So…" George said, not knowing where he wanted to go first, "How did this whole thing start?"
Derek's smirk faded and gave his dad a nervous look, "You sure you wanna do this, dad?" he asked.
"I'm positive"
Derek hesitated. "Well…I guess I've always kind of had a thing for Casey. I mean, I was always attracted to her, even if I didn't like her at the time. It all started on the last day of school a little over a year ago"
"Oh my god! I can't believe the school year is finally over!" Casey squealed excitedly as she walked through the front door of her house, Derek following behind.
"Yeah, I know. Now I can't embarrass you in front of the entire student body for the next three months" Casey rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch.
Derek stood there in front of the door he had just come through, watching all of Casey's movements. Being it the last day of school, she had gone all out today with her looks, and Derek couldn't describe her as anything less than radiant. The brilliance of her beauty sent chills up his spine, chills he had experienced everyday since she had become his stepsister. He shifted slightly and shoved his hands in his pockets when Casey turned on the television.
"Case, TV already? We're five minutes into summer vacation and this is what you choose to do with your time?" he mocked. Casey glared at him in a playful manner.
"Got anything better in mind, Derek?"
"Actually, yeah. I was going to suggest giving Sam and Emily a call and taking a trip downtown for the day."
Casey pondered this for a moment before her eyes lit up, "You know what? That actually does sound like a great idea!" Casey got up and smiled widely. Derek smirked.
"Would you expect anything less from me?" he asked with a slight arrogance, earning a light punch on his arm from Casey.
"I'll call Emily! Be right back!" She shouted as she excitedly jogged upstairs.
Before they knew it, the four teenagers were packed into Derek's jeep he had gotten for his birthday after he got his license, and on their way to downtown Toronto. The afternoon was filled with a ferry ride, lunch at a diner along the beach, and strolling through the streets of the city, stopping at many small shops along the way. The four of them talked, joked, and laughed about all that had happened to them throughout the school year. Derek noted it was the first time the four of them had hung out together and actually had fun like this.
Throughout the day, Derek's eyes shifted over to Casey more and more, along with his thoughts. Why do I still feel this way about her? I've…I've tried to forget about her, but….but now I don't think I want to anymore. Casey turned and met Derek's gaze. She smiled serenely at him as they walked on through the crowded streets.
Hours later, Derek and Casey walked in through their front door, bright smiles upon their faces, to find an empty living room. Exhausted, Derek sat down on the couch and relaxed.
"That was amazing!" Casey said, twirling around the living room merrily before stumbling onto the couch right next to Derek. He watched with a smile as Casey giggled uncontrollably next to him. When she had calmed down, she turned to meet his gaze.
"Today was the best day of my life" Casey said softly, never breaking eye contact with Derek. Derek's softened gaze searched hers as his smile turned into a smirk.
"I know one thing that could make it even better" he said with the same slight arrogance from earlier.
"Really, what's that?" Casey flirtatiously asked. Derek said no more as he leaned in and captured her lips with his.
Casey immediately reacted, returning the kiss with as much force as he, throwing her arms around his neck. Derek's mind melted away as he unconsciously lowered himself and Casey onto the couch. He had regretted nothing of what had happened on that night.
George sat in silence as Derek finished his tale. Once his son went quiet, George leaned forward, ready to finish this thing once and for all.
"How do you feel about her, Derek?" George quietly asked, anger now faded, Derek was now the one engaged in a staring contest with the table, silently gathering his thoughts.
"She…" Derek focused his gaze on his father, complete seriousness in his face, "She makes me want to be a better man. She makes me want to improve myself. Makes me want to succeed in everything I do. She believes in me and never gives up on me, even in the most desperate and helpless of times" Derek looked back down at the table once again, but wasn't finished. "I…..I love her, dad."
George's eyes went wide as his son finished his confession. A slight gasp came from the kitchen doorway, both men looking up to see an awestruck Casey standing there, her mouth gaping as she gazed intently at Derek. His expression didn't change as his eyes set upon her.
"I love you" he said softly, just loud enough for it to reach her. A single tear slid down her face, before she quickly made her way to him and threw her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing her to sob happily into his chest. Once she had calmed down, Derek lightly pecked her on the lips and smiled. George watched the two a moment more before sighing.
"Fine" he said in a defeated tone, "Do what you will. I don't think I could stop you even if I wanted to." Derek smiled at his father once more before he intertwined his fingers with Casey's' and lead her out of the room. Nora walked back into the kitchen and warmly wrapped her arm around her husband. George watched as Derek and Casey walked upstairs, hand in hand.
It was now that he decided that he had himself one weird family. He smiled widely as he wrapped his arm around his wife.
And he couldn't be any happier to be with them.
End
A/N: Success!! And another LWD story in the bag!! Hope all you guys who read liked it, cause I did it for you guys. Now, if you could do me a favor and leave me a comment real quick, not too much effort involved, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!