A/N: So this had been my favourite chapter to write. I'm excited to share it with you. Hopefully you guys like it!

Thanks to everyone who is actually taking the time to read this story! And thank you for all the encouraging reviews! I know not a lot of people are active in this fandom anymore, but as long as I have one reader, I'm happy!

Warning: there is profanity in this chapter.

I do not own Life with Derek, nor any of the characters affiliate.

After his last class of the day, Derek didn't wait to say goodbye to anyone - not even Casey. He had texted his dad to let him know he was going to pick up Marti from school, and if he was going to catch his little sister before she got on the school bus, he had to rush over. He sped through a handful of red lights, but didn't care.

When Derek drove up to the elementary, he realized he was just in time to pick up Marti. He spotted her walking down the sidewalk, up to her bus that was already loading other students on. He slowed and pulled up to the curb, rolling down the passenger window.

"Hey Smarti!" he shouted, hoping he got her attention. She jumped a little awkwardly and jerked her head, not expecting to hear her special nickname that only Derek was allowed to call her. "Smarti!" Derek shouted again, and she finally found his face through the crowd of kids.

"Smerek!" she said gleefully, and ran over to his car, putting her gloved hands on the car door where the window was rolled down. "Why are you here?"

"I'm picking you up. I thought we could have some special brother-sister time."

Her eyes lit up and she gave him her perfect toothy grin that he had always loved, even before she had had any teeth. "Yeah!" she agreed, and started opening the car door.

He stopped her before she could get in, and pointed to her school bus. "Go tell the bus driver, or else we'll get in a lot of trouble," he ordered, and she listened. He had done this once before, forgetting to inform Marti's authorities, and faced the consequences when the school and his family had thought Marti had been kidnapped.

When she came skipping back to the Prince, Derek swallowed. He had big news to share, and he was desperately hoping what he had to say wouldn't wipe her innocent smile off her lips.

"Buckle up," he reminded her as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car. He was the only person in the world who ever let her ride up front, and even though he knew the law didn't allow kids under thirteen in the front, he also knew if he wanted to be the coolest big brother, he had to make an exception. Marti absolutely loved it, and he wasn't about to stop being the fun sibling. That was Casey's job. "What do you say to hot chocolate at Smelly Nellie's and then we go play every game at the arcade down the street. Twice?"

If her eyes could light up more, they did. She bounced in her seat, laughing. "I say: HELL YEAH!" He was also the only person in the world who let her use any type of profanity. He kept it mild, though, only letting her hear him say the 'acceptable' ones, so she couldn't repeat anything terrible in front of someone else. It was their secret that Marti took advantage of.

That made Derek crack up a bit as he started down the road, shoulder checking three times, and religiously using his side view mirrors. He wasn't usually such a diligent driver, but he had the most precious cargo on board, and he wasn't about to pull out recklessly like he usually did.

While he drove to Smelly Nellie's, he questioned Marti about her day. He made sure not to ask about what she learned, but asked which kids had gotten a swirly at lunch, and which ones had wet their pants like a baby, which gave her a laugh.

He parked behind Smelly Nellie's in the employee parking, where he usually did, and walked in the back door, straight into the kitchen, Marti following behind. When the door closed, Enzo, one of the cooks, looked up. He was alone in the kitchen for the moment. "Hey! Derek. Did you get your days mixed up? Because your shift is tomorrow."

Derek shook his head and stepped to the side to reveal his little sister, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Nah. I was wondering if we could grab two 'misplaced' mugs of hot chocolate and hang out for a few minutes," he answered, and led Marti into the kitchen, where he started reaching for two clean mugs, making sure to grab the big ones.

Enzo smiled and put a finger to his nose, and then took out a plate, loading it with fries. "I seem to have misplaced this order of fries, too," he said, getting a kick out of Marti's excited expression.

Derek took the plate and said, "I don't suppose you lost two burger, too?" and then ushered Marti out of the kitchen quickly as Enzo threatened to throw a spatula at him, laughing.

He went to the drinks counter and filled their mugs quickly, emptying the carafe in the process. He would have done up another batch quickly, but it took a while to heat the milk, and he didn't want to keep Marti waiting. They sat at the front of the dining room at the window, where they could see the snow falling outside.

"This is fun," Marti said, licking the rim of her cup.

"You want some whipped cream?" he asked, and before she could give a resounding 'yes', he went to the counter and opened the miniature fridge where refreshments were kept, and grabbed the can of the pillowy stuff. He gave Marti and himself a hearty helping.

She sunk into her mug and showed Derek her cream moustache, which he did, too, to keep her smiling.

"So Smarti," he began, shifting in his chair. "I've got something to ask you."

"What, Smerek?" she responded, gobbling up some of the crinkle-cuts that they were sharing.

He took another sip of hot chocolate to help clear his throat. "It's about Casey."

Marti looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

How was he supposed to word this without sounding inconsiderate or treating her like she was a toddler? "What do you think about Casey and me… hanging out together?" he asked, putting down his hot chocolate and leaned on the table, folding his arms in front of him.

Marti scrunched her nose. "But you hate Casey," she reminded.

He pushed his lips together. "That's the thing. I don't really hate her. I never have."

"Well you sure act like it sometimes."

"That's just it," he agreed. "It's been an act. I've been acting like I hate her because I have a secret." He leaned in close and when Marti narrowed her eyes, he motioned for her to lean in, too, with his finger. "Promise you won't tell?"

She nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to die," she whispered.

Derek smirked. "What about the needle? I don't know if I can trust you unless you unnecessarily blind yourself."

"Stick a needle in my eye," she finished, putting her hands flat on the table.

Derek leaned into her ear and whispered, "I like Casey."

Marti stared at him and chuckled, like it was funny. "You and Casey are gonna be friends?" It was amusing to her.

Derek was amused, too, because of her child-like innocence. He supposed it was fitting, though, because she still was a child. "Well, kind of. You see, I like Casey as more than a friend."

"A sister?" Marti was too sweet, and he ran a hand through his hair.

He shrugged. "You see Casey as your sister, don't you?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yep."

"You really like having older sisters."

"Yep."

"Well," Derek continued. "Me and Casey: we aren't really siblings. Not like you and me, right? Nora's not our mom."

"Right."

Derek inhaled and said, "I like Casey as… as a girlfriend." He watched for her reaction, and she definitely gave him something to watch.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open, a piece of french fry dropping out. She stared at him and then blinked exaggeratedly. "Girlfriend?" she repeated.

He nodded. "What do you think?"

Marti closed her mouth after popping another fry in to replace the one that fell out. "I think you're a good actor."

He wrinkled his face. "What?"

"I really thought you didn't like her."

That made him smile. "Thanks. Do I win an oscar?:

"No way."

"Fair enough."

They both ate a couple fries, and Marti almost finished her hot chocolate, before saying, "does Casey like you?"

Derek shrugged and nodded simultaneously. "Yeah." He took another sip of his hot chocolate before adding, "she kissed me today."

That sent Marti off on another jaw-dropping extravaganza. "She did?"

"Well, I kissed her first, but that's just semantics."

Marti cocked her head. "What's seman… semantics?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Case and I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it before we started…" His voice faded, and he stared at Marti, hoping she kind of understood what he was getting at so he didn't have to come out and say it and completely destroy her childhood. "Are you okay if Casey and I do boyfriend/girlfriend stuff?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Go on dates, and hold hands, and… kiss, and…"

She shrugged and looked at her mug. "I guess so."

"So you don't think it's weird?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna finish your hot chocolate so we can go play, or what?" Obviously, she was getting bored of the conversation. Usually she wasn't a part of big decisions like this, but Derek was glad Casey had made him pass it by her.

Derek took up his mug and downed the rest of his drink before slamming it against the table. "Yeah. Let's go," he said, and zipped up his jacket, helping Marti up from the table. As she fiddled with her own zipper, Derek took their dishes back to the kitchen quickly, and then joined his sister, exiting out the front doors into the cold winter street. It wasn't terribly freezing, but it was cold enough for Derek to dig his hands in his pockets and lift his shoulders uncomfortably.

"So what game should we start with?" he asked, as they stopped in front of the arcade, and opened the door for her, brushing off the top of her hat from the snow that accumulated.

She smiled deviously and shouted, "Whack-a-mole!"

He laughed and nodded. "We can do that."

It was dark before they got back home, and Derek pulled into the garage. If there was one perk from the McDonalds being absent from the house, it was that there was finally space in the garage for his car, since Nora had taken the new one with her.

Marti opened her door quickly and jumped out, holding tightly to the enormous stuffed Panda bear that Derek had managed to win for her after spending eighty-four dollars to collect enough tickets for the thing. He knew it was a rip-off, but he remembered being nine and wishing his parents had splurged like that sometimes for him, but it had never happened. It wasn't about the price for kids, it was about the memories. He had had a pretty crappy childhood - his parents always fighting, and then splitting up - and he was determined to make Marti's a happy one, even in the midst of all the shit that was going on around them.

He grabbed her backpack from the back seat and followed her into the house, closing the door behind him.

As soon as they entered, George came storming to the kitchen, a phone in his hand. He looked angry and upset. "Where the hell have you two been?" he shouted, holding the phone at arms length as he began berating them.

Derek widened his eyes at him, and then rolled them. "Chillz, dad. We were just hanging out."

Marti lifted her big stuffy and smiled. "Derek took me to Arcade Land and won Mr. Snuggles for me!"

Derek could see that his dad was not finding that fact fun, so he quickly put a hand on Marti's back and pushed her out of the kitchen. "Marti, go introduce your new bear to your other toys," he said, and then closed the kitchen doors before she could hear George yell at him.

Immediately, George got in Derek's face and said, "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I've been calling your cell for hours."

"I told you I was going to pick up Marti from school," he fought, taking off his leather jacket and dropping it on the kitchen island.

George ran a hand through his hair. "You texted me, Derek. I didn't look at it until I got home from work, and you failed to tell me that you weren't going to be home until-" He looked down at his watch. "Until nine-thirty!"

Derek folded his arms. "It's not like I took her to a strip club. We just lost track of time. We were actually having fun." he said, like it was a foreign concept to his father.

"That's no excuse. It's blizzard-ing out there. You could have been lost in a ditch, or in an accident. You don't have the greatest driving record, and you can't pull these stunts, especially with Marti," George scolded, inching closer to Derek with every word.

That hit Derek in the gut. "Are you kidding me? She was safe! I'm not going to put my little sister in danger. I literally drove ten minutes down the street, and all of a sudden I'm on grand theft auto?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and Derek could hear talking coming out of the phone gripped tightly in his father's hand. George abruptly remembered he had someone on the line and brought the phone to his ear.

"They're back…. No, they're fine."

"Who are you talking to?" Derek was crossing his fingers that it was Nora on the other end.

George held up a finger to Derek, and then finished the conversation. "I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone and placed it on the island.

"Who was that?" Derek questioned again.

Sighing, George pinched his nose. "Abby."

Derek's jaw dropped. "Mom?" he asked in disbelief. He had nothing else to say to his dad. That was the last straw. He flicked open one of the kitchen sliding doors and stomped out, heading for the stairs.

"Derek-"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. His dad had been following him, and now they were face to face, a mere foot apart. "No, Dad. When you're worried, you don't talk to your ex-wife." He shouted. "The first person you should have called was Nora."

George opened his mouth to respond, but Derek didn't let him.

"Just leave me alone and fuck off." With that, he jogged up the stairs, not waiting for his dad to tan his hide for using such language toward him. His dad made him so angry. Did he want Nora back or what? Because he sure wasn't acting like it recently.

Before he shut himself in his room, he went down the hall to check on Marti to make sure she was doing okay. She was sitting in her room, hugging the panda bear tightly, already adorned with a princess crown. It didn't look like she had heard anything of the argument that had gone on down in the kitchen, and Derek breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for taking me to play today, Smerek!" she said, smiling.

He smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah."

"I had a good time!"

His stomach turned, and he nodded, not caring about the lump that was forming in his throat. "Me, too, kiddo."

She went back to her playing, and Derek took a step away from her door. Nothing was going the way that he had planned. Before he let out an angry burst, he went into his room and locked the door behind him. He turned on some music and turned it up, and then picked up his guitar and flopped on the bed.

Maybe he could write another hit for D-Rock. It would be loud, and drown out all the noise that was going on in his head.

That afternoon had been so perfect, and his dad had just managed to ruin it. Again. He wished Casey was there so he could let off some steam but she was miles away in an unfamiliar house full of stupid porcelain dolls, probably locked up in some basement spare room. He knew how much she hated basements from the first time she stepped into their house, when she had tried playing mind games on him to steal his room. It was that moment that a burning sensation began growing in the pit of his stomach, and it had only grown bigger every time he was with her. Now his whole body was burning for her, but she was nowhere near.

And he blamed his dad for that, too.

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