A/N: I love Derek to bits but he can be scary when he's angry. Also, go vote on the poll on my profile.


Timeline: Hannah is 3. Matthew is 1

"No, no, no!" Derek yelled. "Damn it, Karen! I need you downstage!"

Karen gritted her teeth. "Then give me time to get there," she replied in a barely even voice. She loved Derek but today he was really straining her patience.

"You have enough time if you don't run off during your verse," Derek grumbled. "Now let's take it from the chorus. And get it right!"

As Derek watched with his mouth pressed in a grim line, Linda came hurrying up to him. She whispered urgently into his ear. "You need to call a break," she finally said in a louder voice.

"Are you certain?" Derek asked in a low tone. Linda nodded. Derek was very agitated as he watched the cast finish the song. "That's a ten," he called to them, already jogging down the steps. "Karen, with me."

Karen frowned as she tried to keep up with her husband's long strides. Before she could ask what was wrong, Trisha joined them on the way to the dressing rooms. "I know rehearsal is important," the seamstress said. "But Hannah just won't stop crying and she even woke up Matthew. I didn't know what else to do."

"Just tell me where she is," Derek snapped.

"In there," Trisha replied, motioning to the sewing room.

Of course, they didn't need Trisha to tell them where Hannah and her brother were because they could hear their daughter's sobs combined with Matthew's shrieks through the doors. Derek was first through the door with Karen close on his heels. As soon as Hannah spotted her mother, she darted to hide behind her mother's legs. "Don't let him hit me," she whispered.

Karen bent down to gather Hannah in her arms. "Is Matthew hitting you, sweetheart?"

"No, daddy will."

Derek's look was a combination of shock and fury but Karen swiftly shook her head before he could speak. "Go look after Matthew," she suggested. Derek went to calm their son as Karen took Hannah over to a chair. "Sweetie, just calm down and tell me what's wrong," she said soothingly.

"I heard daddy yelling," Hannah murmured. "He's going to get mad and hit us."

"Hannah, darling, your father would never hit you. Why would you think that?"

"Aimee says when her uncle gets angry, he hits her aunt. That's why she can't go visit him anymore. Because he hit Aimee once."

Karen glanced at the baby monitor that sat on the corner of Trisha's desk. They had laced it there so Trisha could get in touch with them if the children needed anything. Clearly, Hannah had heard Derek's temper getting sharper as more things went wrong in rehearsal. "Hannah, have you ever seen your father raise a hand to anyone?"

"No. But he was getting very loud."

"I know. But Daddy just wants the show to be really good. And right now, it's not going very well."

"What if he's still mad when we get home?"

"Your daddy and I have a rule. We leave work at work. That means if he's frustrated about how the play is going, he doesn't worry about it when we're at home. And besides, daddy would never hit another person. He knows of better ways to deal with his anger."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now, I think you should go apologize to your daddy. You made him very sad with what you said."

Hannah looked over to where her father was holding her brother. He did seem very upset at what he heard. "I didn't mean to make him sad," she said earnestly.

Hannah wriggled out of her mother's arms and hurried over to hug her father. They had a quiet conversation before Derek hugged Hannah again and told her to play quietly while they finished rehearsal. Then he stalked outside. Karen made sure both of her children were comfortable before she followed Derek outside and found him leaning against the wall. "That was interesting," she said, leaning a hip on the wall.

"Interesting," Derek snorted. "You find it interesting that my daughter thinks I'm an abuser?"

"She's three, Derek and you do get very…forceful at times."

Derek glowered at her. "You knew my personality when you agreed to marry me."

Karen put her arms around him. "And I love that personality, you know I do. But Hannah is young. She can't tell the difference between a perfectionist and an abuser. It's okay, Derek. That's why she has us. To teach her that difference."

Derek pulled her as close as he could. "I still wonder how I got so lucky to have you." Karen smiled at the compliment. "But you're still not getting downstage fast enough."

Karen laughed as they headed back out to make Broadway history once again.