I'm not sure if Paul would have participated in Parents' Night, but for the sake of this, pretend he's never met the rest of the McDonald-Venturi clan.

Enjoy!

--Brandi

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the stuff in my bedroom. And no, Paul's not currently hiding under my bed.

Life with Paul: The Hockey Game

"Meanwhile, Eric apparently can't carry a tune, so Stacey creates this pirate rap for him…" Paul trailed off as he gazed at his attentive wife. "You sure you want to hear this story?"

Alicia grinned at him. "Of course. I remember when you chaperoned that play, but I don't remember you telling me about Eric being in it."

"Well, Eric had to audition because he needed the grade, or something, and of course Stacey was upset he was moving in on her territory…"

"Which was just an added bonus on Eric's part, because he got to hang around her all day during rehearsals while getting a grade for it."

Paul's eyes lit up. "I didn't even think of that!"

Alicia put a forkful of salad in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Once she swallowed, she nodded emphatically. "Oh, yeah. Don't you think Eric would take every opportunity to be around her without anybody wondering why?"

Paul nodded too. "Makes perfect sense. I mean, that would explain why he planned a birthday party for her when he realized he wouldn't be invited to her original one."

"And why he decided to come home and help with Ted and Izzie's birthday party. Didn't you say they saved the party together?"

They were on a roll. "And why he let her be in his band for Clash of the Bands. Uninterrupted Casey time, when it doesn't even look like he's trying to be near her."

Alicia was waving her fork emphatically. "That Eric's a smooth operator, let me tell you!"

Paul laughed. "You talk like you know him."

"No, I talk like I know of guys just like him. There's a reason I record all those soaps."

Paul snorted. "Because they have such relevance to real life. You're talking about fictional characters, Al!"

"You just made my point. Who's to say life can't imitate art? I'm telling you, Eric is just like some of my characters."

"Your characters?"

She swatted his arm from across the table. "You know what I mean. I'm just saying, his actions don't surprise me."

Paul nodded. "Makes sense. Though I hate to think how Stacey would react if I likened her to a soap opera star."

"I bet she watches plenty herself. She's melodramatic enough."

"True." They smiled at each other and continued eating.

PCPCPCPCPCPCPCPCPCPC

After dinner, Paul drove over to pick up Alex from a friend's house. As Alex got in the car, Paul had a sudden inspiration.

"Hey buddy, want to go check out the high school hockey game?"

Alex's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

Paul had no idea what possessed him to do it, but he had backed out of the driveway and headed toward Thompson without a second thought, handing Alex the cell phone so he could let Alicia know where they were going.

The game was crowded, and Paul and Alex took seats next to a family with three kids.

Paul spread a blanket over their legs. "You remember that guy you met - Derek? The guy with the leather jacket?" Alex nodded. "There's his best friend Sam, and there he is, the forward right over there."

"Cool." Alex scanned the ice, watching the players doing warm-up drills.

"You know Derek?" a voice piped up, and the little girl sitting next to Alex peered over at them.

Paul did a double take. It couldn't be…but yes, there was Marti, and the two older kids must be Lizzie and Edwin, and then the parents, George, and…Nora, was it?

"Yes, we've met," Paul told Marti, and she smiled.

"Hi, I'm Marti. Are you one of Derek's teachers?"

Paul shrugged. "You could say that. I'm Paul, and this is my son Alex."

By this time, the rest of the family had tuned in to the conversation and began introducing themselves.

Paul was hoping they'd forget his relationship to Casey, because he'd already said he knew Derek, and how could he explain that they'd both been coming to see him?

Of course, Nora knew who he was. "Aren't you Casey's guidance counselor? She says such nice things about you."

"Well thank you. Yes, Casey comes to see me when she needs to talk."

"Oh, she's the girl I met last week, right?" Alex piped up, and Paul gave him a quick nod before continuing.

"I like to come to some of the games to support the team," Paul explained, hoping to change the subject. He cast a sidelong glance at Alex, but the kid knew enough not to contradict that, even though he was pretty sure Paul had never been to one of Thompson's hockey games before.

Marti, incorrigible as usual, asked, "But you said you knew Derek. I thought you were Casey's guidance counselor."

Nora and George looked interested, and Paul noticed that Lizzie had whispered something to Edwin; both were smirking.

Paul did his best to hide his discomfort. "Well, I've met Derek a couple of times."

"Have you?" George asked, intrigued.

"Well sure. And Casey certainly talks a blue streak about him, so I feel like I know him." He forced a chuckle.

Lizzie and Edwin were whispering again. That was getting on Paul's nerves. Marti just smiled sweetly.

Nora and George, however, were apparently very interested in making Paul uncomfortable.

"I'm sure she complains about him all the time, doesn't she?" Nora asked, and George groaned.

"Those two have never gotten along," he added.

Paul shrugged. "Well, she doesn't always complain about him. Though they sure do like to push each other's buttons."

"That's for sure," Nora muttered and George chimed in his agreement.

"So, Alex, do you know Lizzie and Edwin from school? I think they're a grade above you." Paul was desperate for a change of subject.

Alex smiled at Lizzie and Ed and they smiled back. But all Alex said was, "Nope."

Nora started to say something else about Casey to Paul, but he was rescued by the start of the game.

He and Alex watched in silence. It was surreal, sitting next to Casey and Derek's family. They would all stand up and cheer for Derek, and Paul felt awkward doing the same, so he and Alex just clapped politely every time Derek scored a goal.

About twenty minutes in, Alex turned to Marti and asked, "Hey, isn't Casey coming?"

Marti scrunched up her nose. "Casey never comes to Derek's games. We're all here when it's a really important game, but he says he doesn't want her to come."

Paul's ears perked up at that.

"But I think he's lying," Marti continued. "I think he told her not to come because her watching will make him nervous."

Whoa. Paul liked Marti already. Could she see how he felt about Casey?

Alex just nodded. "Huh. I guess."

After the game, Nora insisted Paul and Alex come with them to congratulate Derek. Paul was in the middle of politely declining when Alex tugged on his arm. "Come on, Dad, I want to say hi to him."

Paul suddenly wished he had stayed home.

But then again, here was an excellent opportunity to see how Derek acted towards Paul when other people were around.

They headed towards the locker rooms and met up with Sam and Derek. "We won!" They crowed as Edwin and Derek did a fist pound. He scooped Marti up and she hugged him.

"Great job, Smerek!"

"Thanks, Smarti! My good luck charm comes through again!" Derek planted a kiss on her cheek and she giggled. Sam reached over and tousled her hair. Every else gave their pats on the back and congratulations to the boys.

Then Derek saw Paul.

"Paul!" he cried in surprise, nearly dropping Marti.

"Hello, Derek. Great game." He reached out to shake his hand, and Derek took it, but his face remained impassive.

Paul introduced himself and Alex to Sam, and they all shook hands.

"Wait a minute, you're Casey's Paul?" Sam asked, looking confused.

Paul nodded. "Yes." He wasn't going to offer any more information than that. Sam didn't need to know that he knew practically every detail of their previous relationship drama.

"Hey," Derek said, looking at Alex in recognition. "I saw you the other day."

Alex grinned. "Yeah. I really liked your leather jacket. I asked Dad for one, but he said no."

Derek looked at Paul, amused, then back at Alex. "Doesn't want you to turn out like me, huh?"

"Derek!" George scolded, and Derek grinned devilishly.

Once again, Paul wanted to go home. But he was a professional. He could handle Derek. "Not at all. I just think he's a little young." He stared straight into Derek's eyes, and Derek stared straight back.

Of course, Alex chimed in with, "Da-ad! No I'm not." But he stayed quiet after that.

The staring contest between Derek and Paul was starting to become noticeable, and Sam cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, gonna go find my family. Later, guys." He punched Derek on the arm, which made him break the eye contact, and Paul snapped out of it as well.

Everyone said goodbye to Sam, and Paul told Alex, "We'd better get going, too." He turned to the McDonald-Venturis. "It was nice meeting you all," he said, shaking their hands. When he got to Derek and Marti, he merely nodded. "Be seeing you, Derek?"

Derek winced. "Yeah, I'll see you around," he emphasized, and Marti gave her brother a searching look.

Paul nodded again, and led Alex away.

"Hey Dad, what's Casey to Derek?" Alex asked as he and Paul headed out to their car.

"She's his stepsister."

"Oh. Because they made it sound like they were related, but why do they hate each other?"

"They don't hate each other. They just like to get on each other's nerves." Paul was enjoying explaining this to Alex. Their relationship didn't have to be as complicated this way, when he couldn't reveal all the details.

"Oh. Well I think they're both nice. And their family is too."

"Very nice," Paul agreed. It was true, they were. But he had no idea how they lived in a house so full of sexual tension and didn't go crazy. He hoped he hadn't taken things too far with Derek. He could only imagine how they'd gossip about him on the way home. Then again, he smiled to himself, I've done my share of gossiping.