A Snap Shot
Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing!
AN: I'm not sure if you follow me on A03 but you should. I post their first/more often.
I wrote this months ago. Maybe a year ago. I was trying to make it work for another piece. But it didn't work for that universe. So here. Enjoy.
*Derek's a cop or something. Don't think about it too much- ok?
A Snap Shot:
i know your face better than mine
Casey didn't call. Well, Casey didn't call Derek anyway. So the fact that he had a missed call from her already sent his heart into dangerous cardiac levels. Instinctively he called back. He swore he could hear the blood rushing through his veins and every insane thud of his poor heart struggling to catch up with the rest of him. With every passing drawn-out telephone riiiiiiing in his ear, he got progressively more anxious. He felt his lunch threatening to make its way back up his throat. He swallowed down hard, hoping it would ease the waves of nausea rolling through him. He knew he shouldn't be reacting in that way. He knew he was looked like a fucking teenager, pumped full of hormones and melodrama. But he knew it in his bones that something was wrong. She wouldn't just call . And she wouldn't just not answer her phone after.
He was driving before he even managed to end the call. Before her bubbly voice filled his ear. "You've reached Casey. Leave a message." Because none of it mattered. He'd get to her before the voicemail ever did. His phone slipped out of his hand, falling between his seat and the center console but he didn't even register it. He was focused on the road. The drive. His mind calculating the best route to get to her the fastest. Back roads, maybe? His foot was heavy on the gas as he weaved his way through the downtown traffic not particularly caring to obey any traffic laws. He'd pay any fine to make sure she was ok.
He needed eyes on her. He needed to see her and make sure she was ok. Her voice, even if she called back before he reached her, it just wouldn't be enough. Not enough to ease the frenzy bleeding through him.
Vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind, behind the autopilot that had kicked in, he heard the blare of car horns aimed his way. He knew he needed to slow down... To calm down. To fucking breathe . He knew he probably shouldn't have been driving, or behind the wheel at all. But he had trained for high-intensity situations. He should be fine. So he allowed himself a morsel of hope to ease the worry. Maybe she's fine. Maybe she accidentally called? Maybe she just wanted to catch up. He tried his very best to lie to himself. But he knew all of those possibilities were wrong.
The car was barely parked before he was hauling himself out the door of his work-issued SUV. Everything seemed fine in the surrounding area of her house. Nothing out of the ordinary.
He was halfway to her front door when he heard her. He was very familiar with the sound of Casey screaming. He would argue that she enjoyed screaming at him. Whether it was for something he had done to purposely annoy her. Or something she was just upset about, it was cathartic, she claimed. She always had a reason. But this time, she sounded different.
He froze. He wasn't an expert at all things Casey or anything but... she wasn't just screaming. Not the normal way at least. She was screeching. He heard the words scraping up her throat and the sobs that followed it. It hit him in slow motion like a punch to the gut.
"Get out!" she yelled over and over and over again. How the cops hadn't been called he wasn't sure. Surly she was stirring up some unwanted attention. Well, at least he was there, but that was different. That didn't work. It was personal for him.
He can't remember ripping the front door off its handles, but that's what it felt like he had done. He had been prepared to kick that door down if he had to. Whatever it took to get to her.
Suddenly he was in her living room. And she was there, her face red and blotchy. She had been crying and screaming for what he imagined was hours. Her hair was wild, a mess. He walked into a staredown between the couple.
"What the fuck?" Casey's piece of shit boyfriend Adam growled, turning his angry stare at Derek and away from Casey.
Good. That's how Derek wanted it. He felt a growl curl its way up to his chest like a caged monster nearly free. Derek would destroy the man if he had hurt Casey. Pull him apart limb from limb. And Derek knew exactly how to do that.
"Of course you called him!" Adam yelled, turning back to curse at Casey. "Why am I not surprised?" he scoffed. "She's being crazy," Adam argued, trying to get Derek to see his point of view.
Although Derek was on high alert, and all his senses were tingling, itching to put a fist through Adam's pretty face, Derek's eyes found hers . The way her eyes practically glowed with anger and fire was the first hint of it. He saw it before she even moved a muscle. Derek made the split-second decision and launched himself across the entryway, between Casey and Adam. His arms outstretched to catch her around the waist before she got a chance to pounce on her boyfriend.
He knew her well. Too well. And that was the problem, wasn't it? Knowing how she would react. Anticipating her movement before she had even decided what she was doing. It didn't matter though. She collided against his chest with a thud, but it wasn't enough to stop her completely. At least he had her in her arms as she trashed against him, trying to wiggle out, trying to reach her boyfriend. What did she think she was going to do? Claw him to death with her nails. Kick and punch the man? He wouldn't stay still long enough for Casey to get a hit in. He wouldn't let her. He wasn't Derek.
"Oh no you don't," Derek tutted, almost playfully. It was insane, but he kept his hold on her.
"Let me go!" she yelled, still trying to break free of Derek's stronghold around her.
"Case, I need you to relax," Derek coaxed her in his calmest, sweetest voice, reserved just for her. He was trying to bring her down from whatever it was that got her so upset and dangerous. "And you need to leave," Derek sneered, looking up at Adam. But then Casey shifted, trying to kick her way out, making the pair tumble to the floor. Derek groaned from his position on the floor, doing his best not to wrestle with Casey. He made sure he held her back but didn't use too much force that would hurt her.
"Are you kidding me," Adam scoffed, staring at Derek manhandling his girlfriend.
Derek eyed the man between Casey's kicks. "I can't hold her for much longer without hurting her," he explained. And he would not hurt her. So if Adam got punched in the face for being stubborn, so be it. He had taught her exactly how and where to hit afterall. "So, I need you to leave. Ok ?" Derek negotiated, as calmly as he could while Casey jabbed her elbow into his ribs. She wouldn't really hurt him, not intentionally at least, but her knee was entirely too close to his male anatomy and he wasn't sure how far she'd go to dig her nails into her boyfriend. " Adam !" Derek growled, And he was pretty sure the entire neighborhood had heard him.
Adam grumbled a series of curse words under his breath but Derek didn't care because the man had finally gained a brain cell and listened, exiting and closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Derek relaxed, but not by much. He turned, pinning Casey down underneath him. With Adam gone he wasn't worried what it would looked like. It took some maneuvering but he managed to get both her wrist into one of his hands and pinned them above her head. He kept his weight on her, so she wouldn't be able to use her legs and kick her way free.
" Casey ," he gruffed out, gold staring into blue.
And it was almost like he had used some magic words. The fight just slipped out of her muscles. She stopped fighting. And crumbled. Her face scrunching together and the sobs rocking her hard. Derek released a sigh, rolling off of her. Knowing she was no longer a flight risk. He settled his back against the bottom on the couch and opened his arms to her.
"Come here," he spoke, a million times softer.
Surprisingly she listened. She crawled her way between his spread knees and nestled into his chest like she belonged. The same arms that had been pushing him away were suddenly clinging to him. Her fists curled around his tshirt, like she was worried he'd get up and leave. Like that was even an option. And then came the waterworks. They didn't even phase him. Not like they used to anyway. And although the last thing he wanted was a crying Casey, at least she wasn't hellbent on violence. Casey and Adams relationship...it wasn't healthy. Not that Derek could judge. None of his attempts at love ever were. But still…
Casey had lunched at him a few times in the past. But not like that. Not with the intent to hurt.
He let his head fall against the couch as he rubbed her back, up and down slowly and melodically as she cried. Having her in her arms started to calm his heart. Eventually, it resumes its natural resting state. She was ok. Physically at least. He didn't think Adam would ever hurt her...But, still.
Eventually, when she calmed, he curled his arms under her legs, pressing her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck like she knew what he was doing and he got them up and off of the floor. He deposited her on the couch gently. Shaking his head at the sight of the women. She was something else. Always keep him on his toes.
"Water," he told her, not letting her get a word in before roaming into the kitchen. Everything seemed in order. So they hadn't been throwing things, which was good. It was an argument. An argument that made Casey call Derek...and then it got worse? He was piecing things together when he came back into the living room, handing her the glass.
"Drink," he instructed. Not taking no for an answer. And so her weak wobbly arms accepted the glass between both hands. She brought it to her lips and downed half of it before pushing back to him. He placed said glass on the coffee table, taking a seat next to her body on the couch.
"How did you know?" she asked, her voice raw from all the screaming. "That I was going to ... pounce ?" she asked, sounding embarrassed by her actions.
Derek stifled a smile. How did he know? "I felt it," he answered, honestly. " I don't know how. I just saw the look in your eyes and moved," he shrugged. "Maybe I shouldn't have come...But you called. I couldn't just pretend like you didn't," he admitted, looking away from her. He felt vulnerable admitting that to her. As if she didn't know he'd walk through hell for her.
"I know," she whispered. "You always come to my rescue," she smiled softly up at him like he was worthy of the praise. (He wasn't)
Derek shook his head, not letting the compliment go to his head. He wanted to ask what they were arguing about. But he thought it was probably best if he didn't know. Or else he'd be hunting for Adam all night. And that just wasn't a good idea for all parties involved.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I…" she trailed off. "Yeah, I'll be fine Der," she promised.
"Did he hurt you?"
"He didn't touch me," she whispered.
Relief flooded him. "Do you want to crash at mine, till things cool down? Or I could take you...home?" he offered. He wanted to keep his eyes on her. And he knew he couldn't just stay there. But he knew Nora would fuss over her if he took her there. And his place was...a different kind of danger.
"That would probably make things worse," she grimaced. "It was about you ," she admitted.
He figured as much. It's why he didn't ask. He knew Adam hated him. But that didn't matter. Not at all. "I should have sent Sam," he replied. But he hadn't had time to call Sam. He didn't have time to blink.
"No!" she pleaded, hands reaching out to pull on his leather jacket, to keep him there. "No," she repeated, softer and calmer that time around. "I'm glad it was you."
He wasn't used to it... to being needed by her. He reached out a hand, cupping her face, a thumb reaching out to brush the tear streaks. She looked a mess but she was still beautiful. And that was the problem. He was too close. They were too close. And it would end badly, wouldn't it?
"I… I think it's time we broke up. For good this time," she admitted, flushing embarrassed.
Derek let out a breath. It was probably for the best. He nodded once. He wasn't going to deny it. Casey and Adam were terrible together belong together. "Yeah," he licked his lips slowly, looking around the room, surveilling the room. "I'm calling Sam. Ok?" he asked. Because there was no way he was leaving her unprotected. Whether she liked it or not. He was calling the shots when it came to her safety. And no amount of puppy eyes would change his mind about it.
"Wait, you're leaving?" she panicked, sitting up on her knees, ready to pin him down.
He gave her a soft smile. "It's probably best I'm gone by the time he comes back." He wasn't sure if it was for Adams's sake or his own. "But I'll... we'll," he corrected himself, "have eyes on you, ok?"
"Ok," she replied weakly. "Thanks for coming Der."
"Always," he swore, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
AN: Originally the bf was Tr*man. But i didn't want to tag the man. So I used an OC instead, The hate for him runs deep!