Derek walked through the door of the bedroom and gently placed his bag down in the corner. He sat down in the computer chair and smiled as he looked at Casey sleeping peacefully. It was already seven in the morning. His flight at been delayed and he had spent hours in the airport trying to stay out of sight, but still ended up answering at least a hundred question, signing autographs and posing for countless pictures with fans.

It wasn't that he was ungrateful. He really wasn't. He had always been very open to his fans, but last night all he could think about was that Casey and Jase were home and he wasn't with them. Since he had agreed to go to the Olympics the media circus had seemed to double, if that was possible. Everyone wanted an interview from him, but he was still holding out. His manger had said he would make them agree to only sports related questions, but still he resisted. He knew how interviews worked, and there was no guarantee that they would stick to the deal. The thought of having to relive the accident or the loss of Brooke in front of millions of people was just too much.

Just the thought of Brooke brought tears to his eyes. How could you miss someone so much that you never knew? Casey never spoke of her, instead choosing to focus on Jase but secretly Derek worried that the realization would hit her one day and he was scared to death that he wouldn't be there to help her through it. Just last week as he was getting off an airplane he witnessed a little girl running towards her father. The father had scooped her up in his arms and told the little girl, "I missed you so much Brooke." He had immediately had to duck his head as the tears began to fall, once more overcome with the fact that he would never hold his daughter in his arms again.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a light knock on the door. He turned his head to see Nora peeking in. "Did you just get in?"

"Yeah, my flight was delayed and I spent most of the night at the airport."

"Well look at the bright side, think of all the frequent flyer miles you're wracking up."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that really makes it worth it."

"Derek, I know you don't want to do this, but it's important to Casey. I think this gives her some sort of normalcy. She still carries a great amount of guilt around about the accident and your playing makes everything seem a little more normal."

"I can promise you that the only reason I'm doing this is for her. If it wasn't so damned important to her I'd be here with them all the time. How does she seem to you when I'm not here?"

Nora shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty good most of the time, but every now and then I catch her holding Jase with a far off look in her eyes and I know she must be thinking about Brooke."

"She won't even talk about her. I tried to bring it up once since she left the hospital and she just said that she wanted to focus on Jase. I'm really worried that it's all going to come crashing down on her at some point. And it terrifies me to think I won't be here when it happens."

Nora walked over to where Derek was sitting and kneeled down so that she was eye level with him. "Derek I know how much you love her and how much you want to protect her. But there's only so much you can do. Things happen in life. And sometimes they're horrible but you can't protect her from everything. She's got to stand on her own two feet sometime."

Derek shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept that Nora. I'm responsible for them."

"Derek, of course you're supposed to look out for them but you can't protect them from everything. What happens when Jase goes to school and someone says something hurtful? You can't be there with him every minute of the day. They'll have to fight their own battles at some point. Casey's a strong girl Derek. And I know that she draws a lot of that strength from you. But don't smother her and sugar coat everything. She's going to have to overcome some things on her own." She reached over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm about to go make pancakes. Why don't you wake up sleeping beauty and come down in about thirty minutes."

"Okay. And Nora thanks. I don't know what we'd do without you and Dad."

Nora smiled back at him. "Well, it's a good thing you'll never have to find out. Now go wake her up, I know you're dyeing too."

Walking over to the bed he lay down and moved to brush the hair out of her face. Leaning in he pressed his lips against hers and was immediately rewarded with the feeling of her lips turning up into a smile.

"Mmm, Sidney," he heard her say.

He immediately pulled back. "Who the hell is Sidney?"

Casey opened her eyes and grinned. "Oh Derek, it's you. I must have been dreaming about Sidney Crosby."

She had to laugh out loud when she saw the anger flash through his eyes. "You dream about Sidney Crosby?"

She moved towards him and rolled him over until she was half lying on top of him. "No silly, I'm just playing. I knew that would get you going. I promise there's only one hockey god I dream about every night and unlike other groupies; I get to wake up to mine everyday."

She saw him relax at her words. But she had to admit she loved how she could still make him jealous after so much time had passed.

"Well good," he said reaching up to give her a small peck on the lips. "Because you know, Sidney Crosby is ancient news."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," she said.

"Oh I can show you what helps me sleep at night," he said as he rolled her over and began trailing kisses up her neck.

"I think if you keep doing that no one will be getting any sleep," she said as she moved to meet his lips with her own.

Just then they heard the distinct announcement that Jase was awake. Derek groaned and let his head fall until it rested in the crook of her neck. "I need to train that boy better. His timing sucks."

Casey laughed and pushed Derek off her. "I'll go get him and bring him back. Then you can explain to me why you never came to bed last night."

As she was getting up, she accidentally knocked a glass off of the nightstand and it shattered. She moved to pick it up but Derek stopped her. "You go get Jase and I'll clean up the mess."

Casey leaned over and gave him one more quick kiss before she headed out the door.

Derek moved to pick up the glass but a notepad on the nightstand caught his attention. Written on it was Casey's producer's name along with the words, 'story on the plight of Russian Orphanages' in Casey's distinct handwriting. Derek quickly picked up the glass and disposed of it and was sitting on the edge of the bed when Casey walked back into the room.

"What's this," he asked holding up the notepad for Casey to see.

Casey didn't say anything until she had seated herself by Derek on the bed. She handed Jase over to Derek as she took the notepad from his hand. "Susan called me last night. She heard I was going to Russia with you and she wants me to do a story while I'm over there."

"No," was Derek's immediate response.

Casey raised one eyebrow and looked at him pointedly. "Since when is it up to you to decide if I'm ready to go back to work or not?"

He turned so that his body was facing her. He tried to keep his voice as even as possible but he still couldn't help but let some of the anger show through. "Since you started deciding when I went back to work. You know what Casey; I've let you call all the shots through this whole ordeal. How many times have I told you that if I had my way I wouldn't even be playing right now? Because of you I spent my night in an airport answering a million questions and playing nice with fans for hours, all because you want me to keep playing."

Casey's eyes grew big as she listened to him. He could tell that she wasn't prepared for the way he had spoken to her and he immediately felt bad. Moving Jase up to his shoulder, he took one of Casey's hands with his free one. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but you're supposed to be taking it easy while we're over there. Doing a story doesn't sound like taking it easy to me."

"I know Derek, but it's a really important story. We've spent our whole relationship working towards the cause of children. There are so many in these places, just waiting for someone to take them. I really feel like this is important."

"I know you do Case, but everything's still so raw and fresh. It's a lot to deal with and I don't want you to get over there and it all be too much to handle."

Casey looked down so that she didn't have to see Derek's reaction when she whispered, "You're talking about Brooke aren't you?"

Derek's heart almost leapt out of his chest as he heard her say their daughter's name for the first time since shortly after the accident. "Casey, it's just a lot to deal with and I don't think you've really dealt with the fact of her death."

"Well, maybe I would have if I'd been able to hold her like you," she said harshly.

Derek squeezed his eyes shut and a pain shot straight through his heart. "Casey I explained that to you. There was no other way."

She immediately felt bad for trying to lay a guilt trip on him. "I know and I'm sorry for saying that. It's just that sometimes it's hard for me to imagine that she was ever real. It almost seems like a dream sometimes."

Derek got up and moved to place Jase in his bassinet. Coming back over to the bed he gathered Casey in his arms. "I know how I feel but I can't begin to know what you're feeling. I want you to talk to me Case. I want to help you but I can't if you won't let me."

"I know, but I'm afraid if I ever start I won't be able to stop again. I need to be strong for Jase and the last thing I want is for you to have to deal with a basket case."

"I would never think that. We've gone through something that to most people would be their worst nightmare. And we're surviving. We're getting through it one day at a time. But that doesn't mean I don't miss Brooke. It doesn't mean that I don't think about her everyday, because I do. And I know you do too. It's okay too."

"I just feel like maybe doing this story would honor her memory. That by helping these kids I can do something for her. She never had a chance, but they do. I really want to do this story Derek."

Pulling back he looked her straight in the eyes. "Then do it. Do for Brooke. But please, if it gets too much, come to me. Talk to me about it. Please don't shut me out."

"I won't shut you out," she said. "We've lead a crazy life haven't we? A lot has changed since the first time I walked into this room eleven years ago."

"Case, that could be the understatement of the century."

For those of you who don't know who Sidney Crosby is, he's a real cutie who plays for the Pittsburg Penguins. Oh, and I don't own him or his team either!