Wouldn't It Be Nice by MythWeaver Nessa

I don't own "Life With Derek", but wanted to have a little fun looking into the character's futures. The titles and song lyrics were written by the great Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys.

Chapter One- First Impressions

Casey McDonald looked at her watch and sighed helplessly as she waited for her luggage to come around on the conveyor belt. It had been a long day of traveling and she was ready to see her family. Well, ALMOST all of her family. She was here ostensibly for her sister's Lizzie's engagement party but she also had to meet with her stepbrother Derek Venturi about opening up a law practice together. Casey really did have a longing to leave the high-pressure Montreal legal world and open up a small practice near her childhood home. Derek was currently an attorney in an ambulance-chasing firm in Vancouver, but seemed to want to settle into a more personal and respectable firm, so they planned to discuss the possibility of joining forces here at home. But Casey hadn't really seen Derek since they had attended each other's law school graduations three years ago. They had both been too busy with their careers to manage to come home for a visit at the same time.

So many things were amazing to her right now. Number 1, that Lizzie was getting married. How could her sweet little sister actually be 23 years old and engaged? And little Marci was dating now! Edwin was following in his older siblings' footsteps and attending law school. He showed no signs of settling down soon. Apparently, neither had Derek. As for Casey, although she had had a few serious relationships, she just hadn't seemed to meet the right man. Someone intelligent and practical, but also someone fun, someone with a zest for life, someone who would look at her like she was the only woman in the world for him. That just hadn't happened, and until it did, she wouldn't settle for less.

Casey finally saw her luggage come along and started to grab it, when a man's hand covered her own and a voice said authoritively, "I'll take care of that, Casey." Startled, she turned around to see Derek grinning impishly at her, and grabbing her large suitcase at the same time. "Is this all you have?"

"Hi, Derek!" Casey hugged him quickly. "No, I have that garment bag as well. The black one with the brown striping, right there, see?"

"This one? I've got it! Now let's move out of these people's way so we can greet each other properly." They moved over to the side of the room, and Derek swept Casey into a big hug. "I almost didn't recognize you, Casey. In fact, when I came in here looking for you and couldn't find you, I started looking at this hot-looking woman with dark brown hair and wondering whether I should go introduce myself, when she turned her head and I realized that it was you!"

Casey smirked. "Oh, I'm sure…"

"No, Casey, it's true." Derek grabbed her hand and kissed it, then squeezed it before he let it go. "You're a very beautiful woman, don't you know that?"

Casey looked at him piercingly. He really looked sincere, but of course he was just buttering her up to sweeten the deal on their possible new law firm. Casey decided to just be gracious and drop it.

"Thank you, Derek. You look quite dashing yourself."

"And that's the understatement of the year," Casey thought to herself as Derek thanked her in return. There was no other word for Derek Venturi in his late twenties but "drool worthy".. A woman could get lost in those brown eyes, and that voice was so smoothly seductive in its tone. His hair, impish grin and impeccable clothing completed the impression. "I know he's got women falling all over him. Do I really want to go into business with him and deal with that?" The thought did not appeal to her at all.

It took Casey a moment to realize that she and Derek were standing in the middle of a busy airport staring mutely at each other. Derek seemed to come to himself at the same moment, and looked down and grabbed Casey's bags again. "Well, we'd better get going, Casey. You know you want to visit with the family and have plenty of time to get changed for the party tonight. Are you looking forward to seeing me in a tux?"

"You have no idea," Casey was thinking when she put her arm through his. "Actually, I was just thinking about how your jaw will drop when you see me in my sexy black something tonight."

Derek stopped grinning and raised an eyebrow. "You intrigue me, Casey. If my jaw drops, you have to give me the first dance tonight, no matter how many men are falling at your feet. Okay?"

Casey squeezed her hand on Derek's arm and smiled at him. "You have a deal."

Derek grinned then looked ahead as they walked to his car. "I guess growing up changes a lot of things," thought Casey, "but not everything. We left our teenage bickering behind us years ago." She stole a sideways glance at Derek. "So how do I hide my feelings now?"

Derek Venturi's thoughts were completely unsettled. He had come to the airport to pick up his stepsister, and was leaving the airport with a goddess. The sight of Casey McDonald had sent him reeling- all of these years he had told himself that he had worked himself through law school and tried to climb the corporate ladder solely because that's what he had wanted for himself. One look at Casey brought it home to him that he had wanted her to be proud of him as well. All of these years he had been telling himself that the reason that he had never settled down with one woman was that he was a confirmed bachelor. One look at Casey McDonald brought sharply into focus the real reason- that he had given away his heart when he was still a teenager…to his own stepsister.

AN: Lots more to come, please read and review!

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