Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Life With Derek. It'd be rockin' if I did though.
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It was a peaceful Saturday at the MacDonald-Venturi household, almost a month after the now-infamous 'fights' between Derek Venturi and Josh Marshall had taken place (The Principal was kind enough not to call George and Nora, so Derek made up an excuse about his jaw). It was also almost a month since Derek and Casey were officially a twosome, though only a few select people knew. The pair had decided to keep things under wraps for a while as things calmed down. The football team, Josh included, was still furious that one of their star players had been taken off the team. Derek figured it was because they'd lost three games since, but had kept his mouth shut; he had no intentions of getting into another fight. Derek liked his face the way it was, and he was certain the Principal would not be so merciful to him a second time.
Nora, George, Edwin, Lizzie and Marti had gone out for brunch and to go grocery shopping. The house was unusually quiet because of this, and Casey took advantage of the situation by relaxing on the couch and catching up on some reading. She hadn't been in the mood to go out, and Derek had hockey practice that morning. He would be home soon, though, since it was nearly 12:30, and at the thought a smile appeared on Casey's face.
Since her and Derek had starting seeing each other, everything seemed to be in perfect order. Their relationship was very much like what it was before; they still fought with each other, but times like those were becoming fewer. Now they spent more time relaxing and just being together. There were still sarcastic comments and pranks, but now the motivation was either a cover or pure teasing. Casey had the protective, knight-like boyfriend she'd always wanted. And though he would never seem that way to most people, Derek could be very sweet. It just wasn't a trait he showed in public. From the other way around, Derek had a girlfriend who constantly challenged him, who didn't always agree and said what she thought. Casey toned Derek down to be slightly more aware of people's feelings, and Derek made Casey relax. He encouraged her to put down her books and have fun once in a while. Things were good.
Well, mostly. Besides waiting for things at school to subside, one of the main reasons Casey and Derek hadn't officially come out of a couple to really anyone besides Emily and Sam was the range of possible reactions to their relationship. Mostly from George and Nora.
No one had really been surprised so far, and the general response was positive. But George and Nora were different, they were their parents, and Casey was convinced once they knew there was going to be a big fight about it. Derek was also skeptic; he figured they would be shocked at first but he although they would eventually get used to the idea. Then again, he wasn't stupid. He knew that once it came out the two eldest step-siblings were dating, trust levels would drop a significant amount and they'd never be left home alone together again. The idea of being constantly chaperoned when you were home with your girlfriend wasn't a very tempting one.
After multiple conversations about the whole thing, Casey and Derek decided that until a more appealing alternative appeared, or until they decided the time was right, they wouldn't tell George and Nora. It would just seem as though the two had somehow become good friends. And, well, as for school, they didn't need to announce they were a couple. They would go on with their lives, and if people brought it up or asked about it, fine.
Suddenly, in the midst of her thoughts, Casey heard the door opening. There was the thump of a hockey bag, the sound of a familiar leather jacket hitting the coat rack, and then Derek appeared next to her.
"Hey," he said, kissing her before collapsing into his chair.
"Hey." She replied, before wrinkling her nose as she tilted her book down. "Um, did you shower after practice?" He shrugged.
"No."
"Der-ek! Ever heard of personal hygiene? There are showers in the locker room for a reason, you know."
"Yeah, I know," He replied. "But the family is out, and we have the chance to spend some time together, so I decided to shower here."
"Alright. Go shower, then." She said, moving her attention back to her book.
"Casey." He groaned. "I don't smell that bad." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine, maybe I smell, but I've hardly seen you since Wednesday. If you really cared about me it wouldn't matter." His tone was mock offended, but there a hint of sincerity in his voice that Casey easily detected. It didn't help that he's crossed his arms and looked away, even if he wasn't totally serious, because it had the same desired affect on Casey. She predictably gave in, the ends of her mouth curving into a smile.
"Fine." She said, and a grin appeared on Derek's face as he jumped onto the couch with Casey and wrapped an arm around her. "But that doesn't mean you can lean all over me!" It was clear that within the past couple of weeks she had somehow managed to get him to expose his softer side more often. "Der-ek! You're going to get me all sweaty!" She exclaimed, trying to move away.
"Then you can shower too." Casey smacked his arm, but he didn't remove himself from around her. "I meant after I was done, Space Case. Besides, you'd take up all the warm water."
"I would not." She huffed, finally sitting still.
"Right. Of course not." Derek laughed, rolling his eyes. "So, what've you been up to? Reading?" He leaned forward to read the title of her book. "The Collected Works of Robert Frost? The guy from our English class?"
"He happens to write beautiful poems." Casey replied, a little defensively.
"I trust your judgment." Derek said, easing up on the teasing in his tone. "I'm sure he writes great stuff, but do you think you can put Frost down and pay some attention to me?"
"Conceited much?" She remarked, putting the book down.
"Yes, but obviously not enough to get you away from me." Casey gave Derek a knowing look: there it was. The Derek side to Derek, the side everyone knew him by. He grinned at her and laid back on the couch, pulling her closer; after a moment she responded by laying her head back on his shoulder. It was a rarer moment, and when they looked at each other it was mere seconds before they were kissing. But they weren't there for long when they heard the sound of a car in the driveway. "No way. They're home already?" Derek said, breaking away and sitting up. He gave a frustrated groan. "Not. Fair."
"Don't worry, they're bound to go out again. If not, we can go upstairs or--"
"But that's what we always do!" Derek exclaimed, frustrated. "No. That's it. Our relationship is not going to be nothing but stealing time to sit around or watch movies in my room. I'm showering, and then you and me are going out. I don't care where, but this house is no longer Derek and Casey dating land." He got up. "You have 30 minutes," he pointed to her, "and then we're leaving." He grabbed his bag and stormed upstairs in a determined manner. All Casey could do was watch him; he'd never done anything like that before.
"Derek and Casey dating land?" She repeated the phrase, laughing a little. She could never understand where he came up with stuff like that. But her attention was diverted by George's voice in the kitchen.
"Anyone home?" He called.
"I'm here, George!" Casey called back. She got up and went into the kitchen to help. "You guys are back early." She commented, grabbing a few grocery bags from him as the rest of the family piled in.
"We had to cut grocery shopping short." Nora said as she entered, holding a small figure in her arms: Marti.
"My tummy hurts." She whimpered, nuzzling against Nora's shoulder.
"Marti, what happened?" Casey asked, walking over to her.
"We think she ate something bad." Nora explained.
"She was the only one to have eggs to eat." Edwin commented as he shoved a gallon of milk into the refrigerator.
"Aw, Marti, I'm sorry." Casey said, rubbing the little girl's back. She looked at Nora. "Do you want me to take her upstairs and get her some medicine?"
"Sure." Nora nodded, gently handing Marti over. "Thanks, Casey. I'll be up to check on her in a bit."
Casey brought Marti as far as the bathroom, where they heard the shower, when Marti lifted her head slightly.
"Who's that?" She sniffled, holding onto Casey a little tighter.
"It's okay Marti, that's just Derek." The little girls eyes lit up a little.
"Smerek?!" She exclaimed, before taking in a sharp breath and calming down again. Casey could tell her stomach was really hurting, and that all this little girl wanted was for her big brother to make her feel better.
"It's okay, Marti, I'll get him." She smiled. Casey knocked on the door a few times until the water stopped. "Derek!" Casey said through the door. Derek finally opened it, just a towel wrapped around him. Casey blushed.
"Space Case, why aren't you getting--" It was then that he saw Smarti, his Smarti, cuddled against Casey looking as sad as he'd ever seen her. "Smarti? What's wrong?"
"She ate something bad at Brunch and isn't feeling well." Casey explained. "I was going to put her to bed, but when she found out you were home she wanted you." She knew they weren't going anywhere until Smarti felt better and Derek was satisfied with the situation.
"Give me one sec." Derek said immediately, going back into the bathroom. Moments later he came back in a pair of jeans, a shirt in his hand that he hadn't yet put on. "It's rude to stare, Casey." He smirked, and she realized she'd been staring. He threw the t-shirt on as Casey rolled her eyes and handed Marti over to Derek.
"Smerek." She said, her voice quiet as she grabbed onto him tightly.
"Hey, Smarti." He said, holding her close. "How're you feeling?"
"Not so good." She said with a frown, and Derek went into protective mode.
"Don't worry, Smarti, I'm right here." He held her a little tighter. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."
They went to Marti's room, had her change into more comfortable clothes and gave her some medicine for her stomach. Casey went downstairs to grab Marti some juice, and when she came back upstairs she stopped outside the door. Marti was sleeping, and Derek was reading her a story. She took a step into the room, and Derek glanced up.
"Good story." Casey said, smiling.
"Yeah, Beauty and the Beast is her favorite." He replied with a goofy smile as he ran a hand through his hair. Derek put the book, a collection of Disney stories, down on Marti's nightstand. They carefully turned off the light and went out into the hallway.
"Nice work, big brother." Casey teased. Everyone knew that Marti was Derek's big soft spot. He would do anything for her, and Casey couldn't help but notice how adorable he was when he took care of her.
"Thanks. I hate it when she doesn't feel good, but she's Smarti. She'll be alright." Derek said with a small sigh as he glanced back toward her room. Casey couldn't help but appreciate times like these; there weren't many other guys out there that would do this. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and moved to go downstairs. "Wait, aren't you going to get ready to go out? Or are you going to wear sweats?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. Casey turned around.
"I figured we'd be staying in." Derek shook his head.
"No, no, it's okay. She'll sleep for a while, Dad and Nora can keep an eye on her, and I'll take over when we get back. She'll be alright. Besides, I don't count putting Smarti to bed as us time."
"Are you sure? I'm fine if you want to stay home." Derek rolled his eyes.
"Casey."
"What?"
"Go get ready." Casey hesitated, looking at him, but after a moment she slowly went into her room. Derek watched her go, and smiled. He went into his room to grab his keys and wallet, checked in on Smarti again and then went downstairs to wait.
"Derek, I didn't know you were home." George said when he saw Derek coming downstairs. They'd long since finished putting the groceries away, and George and Nora were sitting on the couch; George was watching TV and Nora was skimming through a magazine. Who knew were Edwin and Lizzie were.
"I was upstairs taking a shower." Derek said, pausing. "Casey and I put Smarti to bed, she's sleeping."
"Thank you, Derek." Nora said, looking up at him. He nodded and took a seat in his chair, waiting for Casey, and about 15 minutes later she appeared, wearing form fitting jeans, a tank top and a small jacket to match. She'd let her hair down, and the big curls fell around her face perfectly. This time it was Derek who had to keep himself from staring. How did she do that?
"Hey, Casey." Nora said, looking over at her. "Going somewhere?" Casey and Derek exchanged a look, which Nora saw. "Everything alright?"
"Everything's fine." Derek said after a moment. "Me and Case are going out." He cleared his throat. "To go shopping. I mean I…wanted to get Smarti something to try to make her feel better." George's attention had moved from the TV to Derek by this point, so he had both parents staring at him and wondering why he acting so strange.
"And I need to stop by the mall." Casey suddenly said. "But jerk face here doesn't want me to take the car." She feigned being annoyed and crossed her arm. "So he's driving." Had Derek not known the reality of the situation, he would have honestly thought she was angry.
"It's my turn on the schedule, Spacey." He shot back. "I don't want you taking any detours in case I need The Prince." She rolled her eyes.
"Can we just go? I don't need to be stuck out with you all day."
"Fine by me Princess." Just as he were about to grab the doorknob of the front door, they heard George.
"Derek?" They both turned around.
"Yeah?" Derek asked.
"Can you pick up some eggs on your way home? We forgot to grab some."
"Sure." He replied, relieved. Once they were in the car, Derek turned to Casey and smiled. "Nice work."
"Thanks," She replied. "So what are you going to get Marti?" Casey asked in a light, knowing tone. Derek stopped, looked at her and realized what she meant. He gave a slight groan after a moment.
"Why can't we come up with a better excuse than shopping when we want to go out? I've spent more money buying stuff so we can go out than what I actually spend on us."
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Hey everyone! Here is the first chapter of the sequel to Why Don't You Date Her? I haven't finished figuring out the whole plot for this one, but it's gonna go through their relationship, jealousy (this includes Casey becoming jealous of other girls around Derek too!), how they tell people, how various people react, their senior year, college choices, etc etc. The big focus for the first few chapters, I think, will be about George and Nora finding out.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! I thought I'd start it off by showing where they stand and how they've grown to deal with things as a couple, and how to better do that than by bringing our beloved Smarti into the mix? As always, I love reviews!! Thanks guys! 3
