The Coffee Shop
Disclaimer: I don't own LWD.
AN:

Dear whoever bothers to read this…

This story should have been done ages ago. But a change in plot (as requested by most of the readers) threw me off my game. I was lost, I didn't know how to finish this story. But today, for the first time in a long time, I have nothing to do. No papers to write, no exam to study for, no one to have lunch with. Nothing. And instead of starting a new show and marathon-ing it like I would normally do on a day like today, I decided I owed it to this story to finish it. So here we are. I have reread the entire thing, and have come up with this….This isn't exactly how I planned to finish it, but, I hope you enjoy the closure.


The Coffee Shop:
Chapter 9

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: December 23

It's been only two weeks since he had last seen Casey. That was all Derek could hold out on. He couldn't wait any longer. He knew he couldn't visit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; he owed those days to Marti. So, he compromised with his little sister. He gassed up the Prince and drove all four hours to Casey's apartment in Toronto.

Although he was anxious to see her, he was also dreading it. A lot had changed in those two weeks they were apart. Actually… okay, not much, but they had found out that their parents knew each other. And that they had gone out on a date. Granted, it was their first and last date, but still. The whole idea of it hung over them like a cloud, and Derek wasn't sure if that was going to change things between them.

Besides that, Derek was dreading giving Casey her Christmas gift. He didn't have much money, and he had to buy Marti and Ed their gifts. By the end of that, he had no money to get Casey anything. So, he resorted to making her something. He knew deep down that she was a romantic sap and would love whatever he came up with, as long as it came from the heart. But to him, Casey was very special, and she deserved a lot more than what he could give.

But, having no other option, Derek opted for a creative gift. He downloaded every single picture of him and Casey from the beginning, to the last pictures they took together before they left for their winter break (he even included the screen shots they took of each other during their skype sessions). He even had little clips, 10-seconds of video from random times throughout the semester. He mashed it all up into a montage and then he added some music (mostly played by him and his guitar) in the background. It wasn't great, but he had put time into it, and hopefully that was enough.

Casey ran downstairs when Derek called her to tell her that he had arrived. And that was all he really needed. Two weeks wasn't long at all, but seeing her rush into his arms, as if he was away at war for a year, well, it meant everything to him. He was truly falling in love with that spazz of a girl. And he could only hope that she felt the same.

He held her tight, indulging himself in her scent and warmth. Even if they were standing in the street in the middle of winter, there was nowhere else he'd rather be. And that was just a bit terrifying.

Eventually the pair detached themselves from one another until they were two separate entities once more. They giggled as the cold started to set in before they ran inside Casey's building.

It was time for Derek to meet the family.


Casey had spent all day cooking. Actually cooking! At home, where she had a full kitchen and fridge with all the ingredients she needed…she could make a delicious spread. Nora offered to cook for the occasion, but Casey refused. She had promised Derek that she would cook him an actual meal that didn't involve ramen noodle that college students were all too familiar with. She ended up making a five-cheese lasagna with garlic bread, salad and a dozen cupcakes for dessert.

Derek was in awe when he entered the McDonald residence and it smelled so delicious. After he formally met Lizzie and Nora (he had informally met them via Skype a few days ago) Casey lead him to their small dining room that was already set and ready to go for an early dinner.

"This looks amazing," Derek nearly drooled when he saw the spread. "I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were that good!" Derek complimented Casey as he took a seat.

"Clearly you don't know who I am!" Casey replied while looking insulted by her boyfriend.

Derek stared back at her, confused for a second, until he remembered what she was referring to.

Derek rolled his eyes, unsure of how the McDonalds would think about their inside joke. "Sorry, am I supposed to?" he countered, the exact way Casey had months ago.

They stared at each other intensely for a moment before the pair erupted into a fit of giggles. Their first encounter may have been ridiculous, but it got them to where they were, so it was perfect.

"Inside joke," Casey explained to her mother and sister after they had calmed down a bit. "Let's dig in!" she spoke with excitement.


After the wonderful dinner, both Nora and Lizzie went back into their bedrooms, giving Derek and Casey some much needed alone time.

Casey decided, with the enthusiasm of a kid, that it was time to exchange presents. Derek agreed with a tight smile, trying his best to hide his worry that his gift would not live up to whatever Casey had gotten him. She seemed so excited about his gift, maybe he shouldn't have made that video…

Casey pretty much skipped out of the living room to get his present from her bedroom. She quickly returned with a small red box in her hands, complete with a bow and everything. She snuggled up next to him, leaving the box in her lap as she took a deep breath before talking.

"I know your secret Derek." She started, with a very serious face.

Derek instantly panicked. "My secret?" he asked while trying his best to sound nonchalant about it.

Casey nodded. "A few months ago, before when we just had started to hang out, Sam came to The Coffee Shop and spoke to me." She explained reaching out to play with the hair at the bottom of his neck. A trick she always used to calm him down. Casey knew way too much about Derek and how to deal with him. Sometimes it scared him.

"What?" Derek asked, completely thrown off. He had no idea about that. "Why?" he asked.

Casey sensed that what Sam had said was true, that Derek was sensitive when it came to Sam. "Just doing his job as a good friend. Telling me not to hurt you," She explained before reaching out to hold Derek's hand.

"Why would he do that?" Derek asked, now more calm.

"I guess he could see this happening. And he didn't want his best friend to get hurt."

"So… what does my gift have to do with Sam?"

"Sam also told me that you don't even like coffee," Casey smirked.

Derek paled for just a second, he then rolled his eyes, "That's-"

"That," Casey went on, cutting him off, "You only drank black coffee when you were hung over." She added with a matter-of-fact tone.

"That's…true," he admitted. "But-"

"But, you came to the coffee shop, countless times… to see me!" She finished, with a great big smile.

"Maybe," he finally replied.

"And so I thought… this cute guy, who's usually hard on cash, comes into the coffee shop, when he doesn't even like coffee, just to see me. And I thought how wrong that was. I was flattered, but still, it was pretty messed up. So…I thought you could maybe use this. You know, next semester." She finished passing the small red box to Derek.

He eyed her, still a bit confused, before he took the box. He opened the top of it, and smiled when he saw what laid inside. It was a gift card from The Coffee Shop.

"I'm not going to tell you how much is on it, but every time you come in now, I want you to use that, and actually order something you like. Or, just don't order anything, and come in to see me. I don't think you need an excuse anymore." She winked.

"You're amazing," he smiled softly, bending down to kiss her. "Thank you," he whispered against her mouth.

"You're welcome," she replied, pressing her lips even harder against his.

They remained that way for a while. Until Derek remembered what had to be done. He pulled away from Casey's lips slowly, his mood damped just a bit, "I guess it's my turn now," he sighed before he started scratching the back of his neck due to his nerves.

Casey sensed the change in mood and didn't understand why. "What's with the face?" she asked.

"I wanted to get you something better but… I just couldn't." he shrugged, really not wanting to tell his girlfriend that he had no money. "So, I made you this." He offered her the DVD in a simple white sleeve.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. She was so easy to please sometimes, it just wasn't fair. She had no idea what was on the disc, yet somehow she was excited about it.

"Why don't you bring your laptop out here and see?" he offered, trying to sound a bit excited about it.

And just like that she was off again only to return with her computer. She snuggled into the couch, with Derek's arm wrapped around her, and she popped the DVD in.

She pressed play and settled into Derek's arms. She was mostly silent as they watched the montage. Well, Casey watched it as Derek watched Casey nervously.

At the end of the video, Derek appeared in his bedroom at home, which Casey had only seen via skype.

"Hey Princess," he began with a heavy sigh. "I suck at this. But, I thought you might like seeing how we've…changed from the beginning. You know, when we first began friends, to now. I know there's a lot of pictures that you hadn't seen before, that you weren't aware I was even taking…." He trailed off, running a hand through his hair. He had always sneaked pictures of Casey. She was his favorite subject. He couldn't understand how she managed to look amazing in every pictures, whether she was just waking up at 7am, or dressed up for a date.

"This isn't much of a gift-" Video-Derek continued.

"Yes it is," Casey interrupted Video-Derek quickly, which only made real-Derek smile and squeeze her tighter.

"But," video-Derek went on, "After all of this I think I've realized that, through all of this…" He stopped again, searching for the right words to say, "I had no intention of falling in love with the girl in the coffee shop. But here we are. Merry Christmas, baby," And with one final look into the camera, the screen faded to black.

After a second or two, a stunned Casey closed her laptop, and placed it on the coffee table. She turned towards Derek slowly. He hadn't moved an inch, scared of what her reaction would be.

"Say it again," she whispered, loud enough for only him to hear.

"Huh?" he asked confused.

"Say it again," she repeated, looking at him with her big blue eyes, which looked to be blinking back tears.

Derek smiled, taking the tears as a good sign. "I had no intentions of falling in love with the girl in the coffee shop." He repeated the line, word for word.

"Now say it… for real." Her voice cracked a bit.

Derek knew what she was asking for. He nodded, cupped her face with both of his hands, and stared down at her. "I love you," he spoke the words, for the first time. He let the words linger in the air, and the tears in Casey's eyes fell down her cheek. His thumb caught them easily, and he brushed them off. Her smile was intoxicating.

"I don't want you to say it back." He added after a moment. "I'm not telling you because I think you want to hear it or because I want to hear it back… I'm telling you because you need to know." He shrugged.

Casey shook her head, reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaped into his arms, making Derek fall flat onto the couch. "Mine," she murmured against his neck before placing kisses all over his throat and face until she made her way to his lips to give him a bruising kiss.

"I know." He laughed, tightening his hold around her middle. And that was when he knew that they would figure everything out. Anything that came their way, they would figure it out.

"Best Christmas ever," Casey squealed.

And Derek could only agree.


Four Years Later...

Of course they had their ups and downs. They fought all the time, it was just who they were. It came natural to them. They had a real rough patch during their sophomore year when they had a break. But that didn't last long, only three weeks tops. Because at the end of the day, everyone knew it was Derek and Casey and nothing would interfere with that. Not even each other.

Time flew by and suddenly they were graduating from Queens together. Their families sat next to each other in the audience as they waited to hear their kid's name to be called. They were even planning on going out together to celebrate afterwards. The Venturis and the McDonalds…they had spent a lot of time together during those four years in college. Lizzie and Edwin got along wonderfully. And Nora simply adored Marti.

"Do you think they will ever…" Derek trailed off as he and Casey tried to navigate their way through the crowd to meet up with their families after the graduation ceremony was over.

"What?" Casey asked, squeezing Derek's hand as she led them through the people while trying not to lose each other. "Ever get together?" Casey asked after turning back around to look at Derek for just a second.

"Yeah. They get along so well… It's almost creepy," Derek shuttered. It was so right, it felt wrong.

"Maybe," Casey shrugged. "I don't think it would really make a difference at this point," she admitted with a smile.

"It wouldn't." Derek agreed, shaking his head. Nothing would make a difference. Nothing would tear them apart.

"I just feel bad. What if he's the Derek to her Casey?" Derek asked while trying not to sound smug about the analogy he had just used.

Casey rolled her eyes before shoving him lightly as they had finally reached their families in the parking lot. "If that's true, then they'll find their way. Just like we did," she answered as she got ready to take a bunch of graduation pictures with their families.


AN: And there you have it. A happily ever after, and a cliffhanger. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter of this story and give it a quick review, if you're into that kind of thing ;)

Happy holidays to all!