A/N - Boy, am I late with this update. Sorry, not my best.I sort of rushed this a bit...

I do not own Life With Derek. If I did, Derek and Casey would so be going at it on the kitchen counter ;P

In bringing in the School-year...

"So..." Casey mumbled hesitantly as she played with her book bag that hung heavily on her shoulder. "You spoke to Sally yet?"

Derek barely glanced at her as he shrugged and locked his car, his feet automatically moving towards the school entrance. "Yup."

She huffed in annoyance as she followed him. "And?"

"And what?"

"And are you guys still together?"

He stopped suddenly, causing her to nearly bump into him. "I missed the part where this is your business," he eyed her warily.

"Well.. it's not. But..."

He started walking again. Sighing, she followed him.

"Derek..."

He moved faster at her insistent tone.

"Wait a sec." Giving up on the idea of a civil conversation Casey saw her opportunity and grabbed it, literally.

"Hey!" he protested as she pulled him away from prying eyes and towards the side of the building. "What gives?" he shrugged her hand off him.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You are obviously hurting over Sally leaving. I think you need to talk about it."

He stared at her incredulously for a second before he burst out laughing. "To you? Ha! Fat chance." He just managed to turn away from her before she grabbed his arm again.

"Look," her tone softened as she pleadingly met his eyes, "I know it can't possibly be easy to say goodbye to someone who you actually cared about, but-"

"Casey," his stern tone stopped her. "Even if I was somehow... upset... about this whole thing, why in the world would I want to talk to you about it?"

She couldn't help but be taken aback by his question. "Well... I..." He watched her intently, waiting for her answer. Not having one, she dropped his arm. "I don't know." Encouraged by his curious interest, she decided to try the honesty card. "I just.. want to help."

"Help." He eyed her intently, his voice strangely calm.

"Yes, help."

He grinned mockingly at her. "Are you expecting me to cry over her leaving or something? Girls come and go," he shrugged.

"Don't you miss her?" she questioned cautiously.

Derek eyed her warily, and for a minute, she really thought he was going to tell her the truth. "How can I miss the nagging? I've got you." With a rough slap to her shoulder, he turned to leave.

Casey barely managed to see his smirk fall as he turned the corner. With a sigh, she followed. Leave it to a Venturi to stay in denial.

In hiding the Secrets...

"What are you doing?"

Casey looked over her shoulder before she dived back under his bed. "Nothing."

"Uh huh," Derek mumbled conversationally as he sat down next to her on the floor. "I don't have your dream journal," he mocked.

Huffing, she raised her head to eye him warily. "You and I both know that's a lie. You have it, and I want it back."

Letting out a low breath, Derek leaned back and crossed his arms. "Fine. Check my bedroom. But I warn you, you might not want to check the back of my closet."

Casey scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Ew." With a forlorn sigh, she leaned back onto her haunches and glared tiredly at her step-brother. "Where is it, Derek?"

"Hm.." he looked up mockingly. "How can I say this in a way you could understand? I. Don't. Have. Your. Journal."

"Who else would take it?"

He shrugged.

"Ugh." With a slight groan, she turned around and sat on the floor next to the bane of her existence. "I wish you would just stop lying to me."

"What makes you think I'm lying to you now?"

She looked up, her eyes meeting his curiously. "Are you lying to me?"

He held her gaze. "No."

"Have you ever lied to me?"

"Yes."

"Like when?"

He shrugged. "Too many to count."

She couldn't help the slight quirk of her lips. "Tell me a lie now," she challenged as she turned fully towards him.

His eyes sparkled with humour as his lips twisted in a practiced smirk. "You look really pretty today."

Her grin widened. "Like Cinderella pretty, or Giselle pretty?"

"Quosimoto pretty."

"Aww. Be still my beating heart," she grinned dramatically.

Derek let out a low laugh. "Who else would ever tell you the truth?"

"You're right," Casey said in a tone of pained acceptance. "You're the only one."

They grinned stupidly at each other. It took them a moment for their grins to drop simultaneously as they were suddenly aware of how close they truly were. Needless to say, she panicked. "I better go check with Edwin," she mumbled, moving further away from him.

Derek nodded, his eyes focusing on something to the side. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't get out of there fast enough.

In making it Work...

Derek Venturi was no pervert. But what self-respecting warm-blooded male could not stop and look when a hot, pencil-skirt clad ass is bent over? His first thought was that this must be one of his Dad's secretaries helping out at home. She was rummaging through the refrigerator, which wasn't a new thing. His father is nothing if not welcoming. Taking a moment to run a hand through his messy hair, and to stuff his hands in his pockets in a Devil-may-care way, he leaned against the counter next to the refrigerator.

"Hey there," he grinned, putting as much Derek Venturi charm into those two little words. It took all his concentration not to stare at the woman's latter half, so as not to get caught when she does look up.

The woman stiffened. "Go away, Derek."

His smirk fell, his eyes going back to that gorgeous ass. How could he not have known who that belonged to? And why was his blood pumping faster at that very thought?

At his lack of a snappy comeback, Casey looked up from the refrigerator with a huff. "What do you want now?"

He stared. This had to be a joke. "You're..."

"I know..." she sighed as she rubbed an arm across her forehead. Her hair was a mess, loose tendrils falling from her makeshift bun; there were grease marks across her face and neck; the top buttons of her shirt were undone to complete the look. All in all, Derek expected her to wink at him and say 'I'm so dirty. Will you help me get cleaned up?", in a soft, breathy voice.

"Um..."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You okay?"

He tried to snap out of the mental picture that was looping inside his head. "Yeah."

"What...a...day," she sighed. Casey reached back and undid her bun, shaking her head to let her chestnut waves fall loosely around her shoulders. She looked at him curiously when she noticed his barely hidden interest in her movements. "What?"

He found his eyes drawn to her cheek and neck. Standing up, Derek moved closer to her, his eyes never leaving her greased skin. They were so close that he felt her breath hitch against his own neck as he tangled his fingers in her hair lightly, to move the strands over her shoulder. His movement was slow, and she stayed unusually stiff against him. He fought the urge to touch the black marks; instead, he leaned forward so that his lips rested against her ear and his breath hit her skin warmly. "I always knew I was a better step-kid than you."

With a screech she shoved him away from her, ignoring his loud laughter. "De-rek. You're a freak, you know that?"

He held onto the kitchen counter, his laughter far from subsiding. "Hey! I'm not the one who can't photocopy."

With a glare, she grabbed a dishtowel and started rubbing at her neck and cheek furiously. "Just get out, before I decide to bring Bertha home to visit you."

"Fine, fine," he put his hands up in surrender. "I'm going." With a final chuckle, he turned to exit the kitchen.

In playing the Game..

"Ugh! I'm just so sick of Truman."

Emily nodded absentmindedly. "Uh huh."

"I mean, he is completely rude. He doesn't take what I say seriously. He doesn't respect me enough. He keeps treating me like some blonde bimbo who will do whatever he wants me to do."

"Uh huh."

Casey narrowed her eyes at her best friend. "And he came to class today wearing a pink tutu."

Emily continued to nod before the silence of her best friend caused her to look up. "What?" she asked cautiously when Casey gave her a reproachful look.

"Am I boring you?"

"What? No! It's just that," Emily mumbled sighing, "I've heard all of this before. Only the name was Derek and not Truman."

Casey was taken aback. "That's not true." Emily raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe a little true. But you can't compare the two. Derek is way better." Emily's eyes widened. "But I swear, if you tell anyone I told you that, I'll deny it."

"Hold on," Emily seemed more interested now. "You're telling me that you, Casey McDonald, actually think that Derek Venturi is better when it comes to girls, than Truman?"

Casey shifted uncomfortably. "When you say it like that..."

"That's exactly how it sounds."

"Okay," Casey began in her best 'explanation' tone. "Derek is an idiot, but he is an idiot with a somewhat good heart. Truman on the other hand-"

"-is evil incarnate?"

"Exactly!" Casey beamed. "Derek used to be a devil until I came into his life and softened those rough edges."

Emily grinned. "You do realize that Derek would rather stuff you in a barrel than let you say those things, right?"

"Why do you think I say them, anyway?" Casey shrugged.

Emily nodded, before deciding to broach another subject carefully. "But you have to admit, you're intrigued."

"What do you mean?"

"Truman. You're spending the same amount of time talking about him, like you did when you first met Derek."

Casey raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "What are you trying to say?"

"I think you like him, Case."

Casey's jaw dropped, scandalized. "I... I don't...but that would mean... with Derek?" she sputtered. But before Emily could answer, Truman entered the cafeteria and started heading right for them. "This is not over," Casey hissed.

With a shrug, Emily turned to say 'hi' to Casey's new bane of existence.

In meeting the Stepbrother...

After saying goodnight to the rest of the family and promising to clean up, Casey followed Derek into the kitchen. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"Notice what?" he mumbled distractedly as he rummaged the cupboards for something to eat. That Mexican food wasn't settling well in his stomach.

"You changed the story."

He stopped opening a cupboard to look up. "I did?"

"Yup," she nodded knowingly as she slid onto a stool near the island. "But I'm happy you did. They don't need to know what happened."

"Um... what exactly happened?" he grabbed a packet of chips and took a seat opposite her.

"Oh, I don't know. You, me..." she looked at him meaningfully, "...a certain action that shows... affection?"

Glaring at her, he ripped open the bag. "See, if something like that happened, I would remember. But since it didn't," he eyed her dangerously, "there's no reason to talk about it."

"Of course," Casey shrugged. "Because who would believe that the Derek Venturi actually-"

"Hey! We promised never to speak of that...incident...ever again," Derek hissed.

"Um.. Derek?" Casey whispered back. "We are the only ones here."

"Still..."

She rolled her eyes at his behaviour. "You're such a big baby."

"Right. Like you're better, Princess."

"Just admit it. On some deep, deep, deep, deep down level, we knew we could, maybe get along."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's really deep down."

"Maybe," Casey shrugged as she slid off the stool. "Still, I'm sure the kids would love to hear how Derek Venturi actually kissed my cheek," she said beaming widely.

Derek choked. "I was forced to."

"Sure," Casey mocked. "Especially since George only made you hug me. Don't worry, Derek. I won't tell anyone."

"It was a mistake."

"A slip of the lips?"

"Yeah, that was it exactly," he said in a panic tone. "I went in for the hug and you moved your head-"

"You can say whatever you want, Venturi. But at the end of the day, I think you kind of like me." With a wink she strutted out of the kitchen. She couldn't help but giggle when she heard the scrunch of the bag of chips as Derek crushed the contents in anger.

In dodging the Ralph...

"Is it true?" Sam questioned as he shrugged on his bag.

"Is what true?"

"Casey and Ralph?"

Derek burst out laughing as he shrugged on his own. "Yeah. Crazy huh? Ralph and Casey! A match made in heaven."

Sam on the other hand, didn't seem to find it nearly as funny. "I heard you told him to go for it."

"Well, yeah. But I didn't think he was serious."

Sam didn't buy it. "How long have you known Ralph?"

Derek looked up thoughtfully. "Good point."

"I just don't get why you would tell him to go for it."

"What's so hard to understand?" he shrugged. "Ralph thought he liked Casey, but Casey didn't like Ralph. Both add up to one hilarious weekend."

"Yeah but.." Sam trailed off thoughtfully.

With a sigh, Derek looked at his best friend warily. "What gives?"

Sam cleared his throat. "I just don't get why you had a problem with me dating Casey, but you're okay with Ralph going out with her."

"This again?" Derek groaned. "That was like a million years ago. I'm pretty sure dinosaurs were roaming the earth. Besides, didn't I give you my blessing at the end?"

"But not at the beginning," Sam pointed out, causing Derek to roll is eyes in frustration. "Did you have a problem with me because Casey liked me? Because that's the only difference I can get from Ralph's situation and mine."

"Are you serious? You want to have this conversation now?"

Sam nodded.

"Fine! Yes, I had a problem with my best friend dating my step-sister. It just makes things messy and tangly and a pain in the butt. Casey could never like Ralph, so I had no problem with nudging them a bit."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, what else is there?"

"I don't know. I remember thinking that maybe you were jealous."

Derek froze, his voice rising in panic. "What?"

"You know," Sam continued, not noticing the change. "Jealous that I was finally in a relationship."

Derek visibly relaxed. "My jealousy left me the day I saw Casey wearing a mud mask. Yuck."

Sam grinned. "You're evil, you know that?"

Derek shrugged. "I've heard rumours."

"What if Casey decided that she liked Ralph?"

He let out a loud bark of laughter. "I think the day that happens, hell would have frozen over, and Casey and I would be the best of friends."

Sam grinned. "Got it. Not happening."

"You know it," Derek nodded.

.

A/N - Like I said, not my best :/... Still..one more chapter to go to finish this fic :D