Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek, but I talked to my lawyer... seems he can't do anything about this restraining order, but it'll be up soon! Then I will continue my quest to control the Great Derek Venturi! Mwah ha ha

Can I help?

Not-so-Sick Days

In the morning she woke up feeling…refreshed. She was tucked under the blanket her mom had given her as a replacement for her comforter and her fan was blowing lightly on her face. For the first time in a while she felt truly Casey.

Then she remembered last night. Oh god, last night… Derek knew everything now. He wouldn't let her live it down. He'd dub her a new nickname. He'd tell everybody at school! After all, now he witnessed it! Psycho-girl strikes again!

Wait… it was a school day, what time was it? She looked at the clock to see that it was ten o'clock. She was about to panic when she realized that nobody had even come in to wake up her.

"What…" Casey exhaled loudly and plopped back onto her pillow. There was no use rushing now, it was too late to bother going to school. It felt good, she decided, to not have to worry about being on time to anything. She could lay here as long as she wished, then get up and eat a nice breakfast without the chaos that is the Venturi-McDonald household.
When she finally made it downstairs, still in her pajamas, she found two notes. One was from her mom. Feel better sweetie. I made sure there was some of your favourite tea in the cabinet. I'll be home at lunch to check on you. Call if you need anything. –Mom The other was from… Derek? I won't tell anybody. Don't worry. –D

Casey smiled and felt the little bit of the weight left on her shoulders float away. Pancake time! It was ages since she had some good ol' pancakes. They used to be her favourite breakfast…and lunch…and dinner when she was little. She didn't know why she had let herself get away from them.

As she lowered herself onto the couch, she remembered why she had stopped eating pancakes and groaned. "I am way. Too. Full," Casey complained to herself, smiling. Besides the overly stuffed stomach, she felt good. She spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch under a fuzzy blanket, sipping her tea and reading Pride and Prejudice until her mom came home.

"Aw hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Nora engulfed Casey in a hug.

Casey laughed, "I'm fine, Mom. Thanks for the tea."

"No problem… I mean, when Derek said you weren't feeling well..."

Casey paused, her cup of tea held midair, "Derek told you?"

"I was surprised too. Maybe it really isn't too late for you two to get along," Nora put her arm around her daughter and gave her a little hug. "Can I get you anything, sweetie?"

Casey smiled and shook her head, "I'm fine, thanks."

She could barely believe it. Derek was responsible for two things which made her happy today. That was more than he'd done for her the entire time she lived there. She couldn't stop the smile on her face, and she didn't want to. Maybe he wasn't so terrible after all, she thought and went back to reading. Just like Darcy…

"Honey, I'm sorry but I've got to get back to work. The kids'll be home soon and Lizzie already said she would help you with anything you needed. I'll see you in a few hours," Nora kissed her hair and was gone. And for the first time all week she didn't feel alone, unwanted, and lost. She felt fine. She was fine. The realization made her smile…again.

The high school gets out about an hour before the elementary school at two twenty. At two twenty-two exactly, Derek arrived home. Casey laughed.

"What'd you do, Derek, teleport home?" she joked. Derek smirked one of his trademark smirks and threw his backpack down, plopping into his recliner.

"Well, hockey's on, what do you expect?" he grabbed the remote from the coffee table and began switching through the channels. Casey felt a little bit of that happiness slip away when he said that, but she didn't know why. Why would it matter what Derek rushed home for? It never did before.

But nobody had taken care of her the way he had last night. She just hadn't been able to keep herself from hoping that maybe he was that nice guy she'd seen three times in the past two days. Maybe she was wrong for hoping… maybe he wasn't a Darcy, but a lousy, lying Wickham.

Then she realized something. "Derek…" she said with a smirk of her own, "Hockey at two twenty in the afternoon?"

He made attempts to save himself. "Uh… you know… there're recaps from the game I missed last night…" She raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," he pulled the lever, putting the recliner up-right, "I wanted to check on you. I was… I was worried, alright?"

She laughed at the way he had confessed exactly what she had wanted to hear. He couldn't keep an embarrassed smile from his face, then a genuinely happy smile. She was laughing. He could see joy in her eyes, joy where he had seen things he never wanted to see again.

"Besides," he added dramatically, with a sigh, "I'm heldth captive in mine house for another dreadful fortnight."

Casey smacked him in the face with the pillow next to her, laughing. "You do know that a fortnight isn't a night in a fort, right? I think you can take that little fort in your room down now."

He grinned and a pillow flew into Casey's face as a reply.

When Lizzie came in the door, expecting a sick sister asking her for soup and slippers, she was surprised as to what she did see. A happy, perfectly well sister laughing… with the one person said sister supposedly hated.

"Casey?" Lizzie said slowly, standing near the door. "Are you okay?"

Casey greeted Lizzie with a huge smile, "I'm fine, Liz. Why?"

"It's just… you're talking…and laughing… with Derek," she watched her sister in confusion. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Lizzie. I'm fine!" Casey rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her little sister.

Edwin came in, stared at the two older siblings in shock, then at Lizzie. Lizzie muttered 'Don't ask' and the two of them went upstairs.

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a/n: I'm sort of iffy on this chapter (which is sad because it's my LONGEST chapter yet!), so make sure to feel free to tell me just what you think of it and how to improve it! And of course I must thank all of you that keep coming back and reading my little story! Thank you, loyal readers!
Special thanks to all those who review- you are my motivation! Pretty painted pictures to you all:-D Next chapter should be up soon, depending on those reviews. ;-) so don't be shy!
Love to all- Ta!