Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek, but I called one of the producer's pretty. I just received flowers from him today. My plan shall work!

Can I Help?

Protective

For once, Casey took Derek's advice and stopped questioning. He was right; she was happy that he was doing this for her, and she wasn't going to go and spoil it by asking why. She no longer even asked herself why she was glad he was like this. It didn't matter why; it only mattered that it was causing her to feel much better.

They still fought now, sure- often over the remote or something stupid that Derek had said. But instead of the screaming, wrestling matches ending in one of them, usually Casey, storming out, they would make up. The Venturi-McDonald residence wasn't going to be seeing a shortage of screaming and wrestling any time soon, they figured. However, the stepsiblings' parents noted, the making up was definitely a start.

Nobody knew that almost every night, Casey would sneak into Derek's room to talk. Casey didn't have to be upset to tiptoe over to the door at the end of the hallway. In fact, it was these nighttime chats that kept her from getting upset. It was like her own little therapy. Paul had practically been replaced by this, and to Derek it wasn't even a job. He enjoyed talking with her as much as she was happy to talk to him.

At first it had started when she had felt herself starting to become snappy. The rumours were really starting to bother her. She would walk down the hallway and hear people whispering about her; or worse, she would have to hear them publicly tease and insult her, leering at her and saying that maybe she hurt her hand some other way. What finally brought her to almost breaking point, what sent her to Derek's room that first night, was when one of the senior hockey team had the audacity to come up to her blatantly saying that she should sleep with him because, come on, she slept with Derek.

"Derek… I can't take it anymore. I just… I know that any second I'm just going to break and I'm going to hit the bottom," Casey confessed to him that night, close to tears.

He sat across from her on his bed, both of them clad in their pajamas. He didn't want to cross the line and touch her, although god knows, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her whenever he saw even just traces of tears in her eyes.

Instead, he gently asked her what had happened and they talked out the bad emotions. Before that day, neither of them would have guessed that it would be a ritual between them to talk before bed each night, just like this… but after that night, neither of them could have imagined it any other way. Casey had found a way to control her feelings, a way to be herself again. And Derek had found a way to help her do so.

-

Sam had begun walking Casey to class an awful lot, Derek noticed. He had allowed Sam to date her once, but he had blown it… what was with this chaperoning to class nonsense? He wasn't allowed a second chance; no, Derek would not permit that. He would just hurt her again- he didn't care what she said, she had been hurt by the break up- and then Derek would have to pick up the pieces.

"Casey, I don't like what's going on with you and Sam," Derek skipped all pretense, leaning against Casey's doorway. Casey, who had looked up from her bed with a smile ready to greet him, now frowned.

"What are you talking about, Derek," she said, more than asked, sounding fed up already.

"I see him walking you to class every day, carrying your books. He's acting like your goddamn boyfriend. I'm surprised he's not tripping over his TONGUE when he's with you," Derek spat, unable to hide his dislike of his friend's actions.

"Derek!" Casey laughed, somewhat teasingly. "It sounds like you're jealous!"

Derek rolled his eyes and looked away. "I am not," he muttered.

"You are!" she cried disbelievingly, getting up. "You're jealous."

"Look, I was just trying to look out for you- so sue me. I just don't care to see you get hurt again, okay?" And with that he turned and strode away, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Well you don't have to, because there's nothing going on between Sam and me!" she yelled down the stairs.

Derek just mumbled 'whatever,' grabbed his coat, and slammed the front door.

-+-+-+-

a/n: Apologies for the shortness of this chapter! I'll try to make the next chapter longer, promise. Thank you everybody and especially all of my regular reviewers! Chocolate popcorn to you:-D

Don't forget to review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. :-)

Ta!