A/N: This is a short, rough oneshot from George's POV set before Casey and Derek meet. Although it's not part of the story "Daddy's Girl," it follows the same timeline and can work as a sequel. For more background, please read "Daddy's Girl."
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of LwD.
"Derek, I want to make something very clear to you."
George Venturi was standing in front of his eldest son, Derek. He was preparing to leave for Toronto for a few hours, and, against his better judgment, was leaving his oldest alone for the evening. His two younger children, Edwin and Marti, were coming with him, but Derek had a hockey tournament in the morning and had asked—more like demanded—to stay home for the night.
"What's that, Dad?"
"You get to stay home because you're resting. You're not to use this time to have a party, to have girls over, or to do anything that will expend any more energy than necessary. I'm trusting you, Derek, against my better judgment. Don't make me regret this."
"Dad, chills. I'm just going to have Sam over to go over some game tapes from our last game. That's it. Gotta get pumped for the weekend, right?" He clapped his dad on the shoulder.
"Um, right. Well, you have my cell phone number. Here's Nora's home number—" George handed Derek a slip of paper—"the number for the restaurant—" he handed Derek another slip of paper—"and Mrs. Higginbothum's number in case of an emergency."
"OK, thanks, Dad. Now go, get out of here, Nora and her daughters are waiting for you."
"OK, bye, Derek. Behave." George picked up Marti. "Edwin, go get in the car!"
"Already ahead of you, Dad!" Edwin's voice floated from the driveway. "Just waiting for you to open her up!"
"Right. Coming!" George turned to leave. "Derek, I mean it. No shenanigans."
"Dad. Shenanigans? Really?"
"Yes, really. Good-bye." George slammed the door shut.
What am I thinking? George thought. Leaving Derek alone for a night? It's only a few hours, though, and he did have a good point about the hockey tournament. Besides, I really don't want to introduce him to Nora and her girls yet. I kind of want to keep this one around. George buckled in Marti and started the car. I know Derek. He'll do something rude or annoying or tactless, and there's no way that Nora will want to stay with me after that. I'm surprised that she stuck around after the fiasco with the burger coupon. You're a lucky man, George Venturi. You better hang on to this one.
The ride to Toronto was uneventful. Edwin and Marti entertained themselves in the backseat, giving George a chance to think. He was nervous: Nora always described her kids as quiet, polite young ladies, and after meeting Lizzie, he thought Casey might be the same way. Luckily, Lizzie had gotten along really well with Edwin and had tolerated Derek and Marti, so he hoped that Casey would feel similarly about his children. I just hope Edwin keeps his smells to himself and Marti stays seated at the table.
Several hours later, George pulled up to the restaurant where he was meeting Nora, Casey, and Lizzie. It was a long ride for the kids, but they had been excited to see Nora and Lizzie again, and Marti was really excited to meet Casey. Having just the guys in the house was tough on the little girl, and she enjoyed having older girls to look up to and to play with.
"Hi, Georgie!" Nora waved from the front of the restaurant.
"Nora, hi!" George felt his heart rate pick up a bit when he saw his lovely girlfriend and her daughters. He planted a kiss on her cheek, then turned to Lizzie. "Hi, Lizzie, how are you?" He slapped her a high-five.
"I'm good, thanks, George. And how are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. And you must be Casey?" He turned to Casey and extended his hand.
"I am, Mr. Venturi. It's very nice to meet you." Casey grasped his outstretched hand firmly and gave it a shake.
"Oh, Casey, you can call me George."
"No, thank you, Mr. Venturi. You're my mother's paramour, and until I deem you worthy of a casual acquaintance, I prefer to use your formal title. You're a lawyer, right? Should I call you Esquire?"
"Casey!" Nora flushed, a little embarrassed at her eldest daughter's brashness. "I'm so sorry, George, Casey usually isn't this rude." She gave Casey a pointed stare.
"No, Nora, it's fine. I understand. Derek wasn't exactly a gentleman to you when you came to visit."
Nora laughed, "Well, no … OK, so we're even. Shall we go in?"
"Sounds great. Marti, Edwin, you ready to go in?" Edwin and Lizzie had already paired off and were exchanging some private joke; Marti had sat herself on the ground and was running her hands through the rocks in front of the restaurant.
"I'm ready, Daddy!" Marti held her hands up. "Up!"
"Ahhh, here was go, Smarti!" George leaned over, picked up his youngest, and followed everyone into the restaurant.
Oh, my, so that's Casey, he thought. Derek is going to hate having her around. Except that she's pretty, and challenging, and off-limits. THAT is a dangerous combination. Oh, well, we'll have to see what happens. If I had to bet money on it, though, I bet he'll try something with her … oh, boy. I'll have to keep my eye out for that.