A/N-Yet another one! I'm such a procrastinator. Okay, so, Zuzzeroo, you requested a fic in which, 5 years down the road, Casey and Derek are married and have a kid. I know that this story isn't what you were hoping for, and you're probably going to hate me for it, and I apologize. BTW, I've been trying to pm you, have you not been getting them? For everyone else, this isn't a happy story. I don't know why I write such depressing stories, but I do. Oh, and I'll have some stupid cliches, I put a reference to Sarah Dessen in here. 50 points if you can find it!

Disclaimer-I don't own Life with Derek, nor was any copyright infringement intended.

New girl

Derek sighed in annoyance at the alarm clock buzzing beside his head. He reached over and shut it off, then shook Casey. "Come on, time to get up." She groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore him. She had gotten much more selfish in her sleep these past couple of years. "You need to get up. Tara will undoubtedly be in here in a couple of minutes. Do you want first shower or second shower?" She waved him off, and he took that to mean that he could get in.

As he walked to the bathroom, he peeked in another door. He could see their four-year-old daughter, Tara, laying in bed. She was the only source of joy in this house. He sighed, and when he saw her stirring he rushed into the bathroom before she could delay him.

Tara climbed out of her bed and went to climb into her parents'. "Mommy, warm me up," the little girl whined, curling her small body next to Casey's. She complied, wrapping her arms around her, glad to be able to sleep a little more.

Derek finished his shower, then walked back into his bedroom. "Okay, you two, time to get up for real." Tara and Casey both tried ignoring him, but he was persistent.

"Fine, fine," Casey mumbled, pulling Tara up with her as she sat. "Do you want Daddy to dress you so that Mommy can go shower?" The little girl nodded drowsily. Both parents knew that she wasn't really aware of what she was agreeing to.

Derek dressed Tara while Casey showered, all three members of the small family not looking forward to the day ahead. Casey and Derek would have to head off to work soon, waiting tables at Denny's and working construction, respectively, which meant that Tara would go to daycare for the morning, then preschool in the afternoon, then back to daycare for a couple more hours until Casey picked her up.

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Casey sighed in annoyance at the lack of tables. It was a Tuesday, which generally meant it would be slow, but to make matters worse it was a Tuesday in January, which meant it would be dead. Everyone was still broke from Christmas, and it was too cold to venture out if one was planning on being stingy. As she filled ketchups, she thought about quitting. She wished she could, but knew that it wasn't possible. No where decent would hire her with only a diploma, and she didn't have the time to go to college. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she thought despairingly.

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About five years ago…

Casey paced back and forth in the living room, desperate for Derek to come home. They were seniors, and Derek was captain of the hockey team. She knew that was why he was late coming home from practice; he had probably stayed to talk strategy with the coach. Still, she was getting rather antsy. Even though their parents had approved of their relationship, she would rather have the impending conversation before they got home. Finally, she heard Derek pull up. She rushed him as soon as he walked in the door.

"We need to talk, now," she said as she dragged him up the stairs.

"How about a shower first?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No," she replied, leaving no room for argument. She led him to his room and shut the door. She also turned the music on, hoping to drown out the noise of their conversation, just in case Lizzie and/or Edwin were listening at the door.

"So, what's up hot stuff?" Derek questioned. He watched Casey pace around his room, much like she had in the living room. Derek wrapped his arms around her legs as she passed, and tried to lighten the situation. "Working out at a time like this?"

"Joking at a time like this? You're so irresponsible." She pushed his arms off her and resumed her pacing.

"Okay," he said, sounding a little offended. "It's kinda hard to know not to joke when you won't even tell me what's going on."

She said nothing and just shoved a small plastic stick in his direction.

"What's this?" he asked, sounding slightly scared. "It's not what I think it is, is it?"

She looked at him. He sighed. "You wouldn't be showing me this if it was negative, would you?" She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. "Shit," he mumbled. "I thought we were okay. You said you were on the pill."

"I was," the tears started to fall from her eyes. "It's not 100 effective. I guess we're the lucky oddball chance."

He pulled her down to sit on the bed next to him, and wrapped an arm comfortingly around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It'll work out, okay? I promise, we'll figure it out. I'm assuming you want to keep it, right?"

"You don't want to?" she asked him, sounding slightly angry.

"I didn't say that. It'll be hard."

"I know. But we'll figure it out, right?"

"Right," he confirmed. He kissed her on the forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too."

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Telling George and Nora was the hardest. George had almost kicked them out, and Nora had cried more than Casey. She managed to talk George into letting them stay through the rest of the school year, seeing as how it was their senior year.

Derek and Casey got married in March. It was a small ceremony, family, Emily, and Sam only. They went down to the courthouse and had the justice of the peace perform the ceremony. There was no reception.

They graduated in early June without incident. They had been quite the scandal at school for a while, but everyone got over it when Elizabeth Gunderson's tongue-pierced boyfriend fooled around with her best friend Maggie. Tara Leigh Venturi was born on August 5th, 2009. Derek and Casey couldn't have been happier.

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Casey sighed. She had tried many times to figure out where things had gone wrong, never able to figure it out exactly. Things were wonderful at first. They had moved out right after graduation. Derek got his job with the construction company right away and Casey began waiting tables six weeks after Tara was born. They didn't have money, and Casey never cared. She was just happy to be with the man she loved and their beautiful daughter.

Before too long, though, their lack of money began to be a problem. If they could've found a cheaper babysitter that they could trust, then things might have been a little different. As it was, Derek began to work the night shift at Wal-Mart to make up for the difference. He was always so tired. He got roughly four hours of sleep a night, and Casey could tell that he was wearing down. He rarely looked at her anymore, let alone talked to her.

After a while, Derek got a promotion, and a friend of theirs opened up a babysitting company, thus easing the money strain. Still, though, things weren't the same. He didn't joke around as much as he used to. He was so much more serious. The one exception was when he played with Tara. When the two of them played, she could see some of the old Derek peeking through. It made her sad, and slightly jealous, that Tara brought that out in him and she couldn't anymore.

As time progressed, they fought more and more. It was always after Tara had gone to sleep, and in hushed voices to avoid waking her up. They didn't seem to get anywhere. Each fight ended with them climbing angrily into bed and not talking to each other until they had to, when Tara was around.

That was when Casey began to sleep more. When she was asleep, she could relive the happy moments with Derek. In her dreams, they were happy. She knew he didn't love her anymore. He probably would've left her, if it wasn't for Tara. Tara was the new girl in his heart.

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Derek watched the crew work. Since he was the foreman, he had to work out the payroll, and it was getting to be that time of the week. His thoughts drifted to Casey, as they tended to do.

He felt bad for her. He knew she deserved better. He knew that she knew what went on in his mind. He also had a feeling that she knew he was cheating on her. She had to know, they hadn't been together in over two years. It had been even longer since he had loved her.

He did love her when he found out she was pregnant. He loved her when they got married. He loved her when Tara was born. He loved her when they were living in poverty. He stopped loving her when he realized he didn't deserve her and she should move on. He was hoping that when she realized he didn't love her, she would leave him and find someone worth her attentions. She could be so stubborn though, and refused to leave.

He felt inadequate. He couldn't properly provide for his family. He had to work two jobs, and Casey had to work, just to keep them afloat. If he was a better man, they could've afforded a better apartment. If he was a better man, they could've afforded real toys for Tara, rather than ones handed down from Marti. If he was a better man, he would've deserved Casey. But he wasn't a better man.

He forced himself to stop loving her. He stopped talking to her. He stopped looking at her. The only thing he did was pick fights and keep them afloat. He knew Casey could sense the change, and he felt bad. To make himself feel better, he spent all his spare time playing with Tara. He loved that little girl more than life itself. He loved her because she was the best parts of both his and Casey's personalities. Tara was the new girl in his heart.

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Casey, Derek, and Tara sat down to dinner. It was Derek's night to cook, so of course a pizza had been delivered. Tara chatted on and on about her day, Casey and Derek both talking to her and avoiding talking to each other. At one point, she asked when she was going to get a little brother or sister. Derek and Casey looked at each other nervously and avoided the question.

After dinner, Casey gave her a bath and Derek tucked her into bed. He walked back into the living room to find Casey on the couch, staring at the TV, which was off.

"Are you going to turn that on?" he asked sounding slightly annoyed. She handed him the remote wordlessly. He scoffed. "Whatever." He flicked the TV on, not really caring what was on. After a couple of hours, they both moved to go to bed. Wordlessly, they brushed their teeth and climbed into bed. They settled in, resting up for the next day. Another day of working, ignoring each other, and loving their daughter. They fell into dreams, good dreams, about how happy their lives used to be.

A/N-Okay, so most of you probably hate me now for making everybody so unhappy. Go ahead and yell at me, I understand.