Dreaming

Chapter 7

Previous…

Then she would compose herself and with an air of condescension would strut out.

Across the world…

Casey had been plagued by dreams of Derek ever since waking up in his hospital room. They were good dreams, good memories. He was chasing her around their parents living room. He stood laughing at the bathroom door as he watched her try to get the honey out of her hair. He was stealing the remote. He was smirking at her. He was dancing with her. He was walking in her hotel room, healthy, self-assured, and cocky as ever. Then she would wake up to the nightmare of reality and it would crush her all over again.

After a week, the make-up artist had to start hiding the circles under her eyes. After two weeks, Casey took to wearing sunglasses. After three weeks, her manager began fretting that he would need to hire a psychologist.

It was Ralph's idea to have a doctor see her to prescribe medicine. The medicine allowed her to fall asleep faster and sleep longer, but the dreams still came.

The Present…

Derek laid in his cramped bed dumbfounded. He listed the facts. One, Casey had been to see him multiple times. Two, coma patients could still hear and comprehend conversations. He shook his head. He could believe that he heard her calling him a "lazy bastard." However, he just could not wrap his mind around the fact that he remembered Casey saying "Derek, I need you. Without you I can't survive." I must have been dreaming. She couldn't have said those things to me. She couldn't have meant those things. It had been two years since he has last spoken to her and even then it wasn't much of a conversation.

Two Years Ago…

It was an A-List party. Teenage Derek liked parties. College Derek loved parties. But grown-up Derek could see through all the glam and glitz and didn't find an evening in which he had to pretend to be someone he wasn't enjoyable anymore. He went because the coach thought it would be good publicity. However, he drew the line at the fancy suit jacket that the team's stylist had picked out for him to wear. He went 'shabby chic' the fashion mags printed. Ripped and faded jeans, white shirt, leather jacket.

So that's how he found himself in a huge mansion that boasted more bathrooms than bedrooms. Camera flashed and celebrities posed. Waiters carried silver trays of hors d'oeuvres that tasted as bad as they sounded. People greeted him like he was their long lost friend. Eventually he became surrounded by beautiful, breathy, simpering, fake women hanging on his every word. He had already been there two hours and only had one more left before his duty was done when he slipped out onto the balcony.

He leaned over the cool white marble railing and closed his eyes lowering his head hoping to quiet the buzzing in his brain. The air was balmy and he missed the stars that he remembered he used to gaze at from his bedroom window at home. He didn't even hear the balcony door open and close because he was lost in thoughts of her…high school parties…college parties.

"Mind if we hide together?"

Derek's head jerked up and his throat tightened, but he still didn't look at the speaker. Vanilla scent wafted around him. That voice…

"Derek?" The voice was surprised.

"Case? Uh, hi. How're you?" His voice was strangled and Derek felt like hitting himself in the head. Am I really asking my best friend how she is? I'm such a loser.

Casey's chin raised and she struck a pose. She was wearing a lilac off the shoulder evening gown with silver accents. Her hair was long and curly and she wore silver bangles on her left wrist. He was so shocked at see her here that he missed the small daisy charm that dangled at her throat. "I'm great Derek. In case you haven't noticed I'm an international superstar." Princess.

Not to be outdone, Derek straightened and flipped the collar of his jacket and sneered. "Sorry, Space-Case, I haven't had time to keep up with the tabloids. Too busy being one of the best players in the league. You understand."

Casey huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "More like too busy banging every girl that walks within 100 miles of the rink."

Derek smirked never taking his eyes off her and leaned against the rail again. "So you've been keeping tabs on me?" He said seductively.

Casey growled and Derek hid the real smile from forming on his lips. It was like a breath of fresh air in the smog of ass-kissing LA.

Before Casey could reply, a man opened the balcony door and the noise rushed out. Derek turned back toward the railing. "Casey, baby, you need to mingle." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside. Derek's hands clenched into fists but he continued to stare straight out into the dark yard. He didn't see the backwards glance Casey gave him or the look of longing on her face.

In the Present…

Derek sighed. What am I going to do?

It was actually two more days until he was released by the hospital. George, Nora, Marti, and Simon were all on hand to escort him home, and they planned on staying a week to help him get settled. Abby was scheduled to come the following week. Edwin next, then Lizzie, followed by Sam, and finally Ralph. Six weeks of love, coddling, and company when all he wanted was to be left alone, because since he had woken up, Casey had disappeared again.

"What are you doing here?" Derek blocked the doorway.

"Babysitting dude," replied Ralph pushing past him, "what else?"

Derek groaned and shut the down behind Ralph. "I do not need a babysitter. I'm fine now."

"Okay then let's call this vacation for me." Ralph looked around appreciating Derek's spacious home and wished he didn't always have to live in hotels.

"You've been touring Europe. How is being homebound in LA a vacation?" Derek picked up Ralph's bag and starting walking through the house to one of the guest rooms.

Ralph wrestled the bag away from Derek. "Uh you are Derek right? You've lived with Casey? This is definitely a vacation."

Derek chuckled in spite of himself.

"I mean dude. She is a such a diva. Everything has to be perfect. And the lists and color-coded charts and band meetings. I mean c'mon. We're supposed to be rock stars not suicidal office workers." Ralph threw his bag on the king sized guest room bed and took note that it had a private bath and what he thought was a Jacuzzi.

Derek laughed again and it felt good to laugh with an old friend. "It's been awhile Ralph. I'm glad you're here. But how did you get the time off? Don't you still have concert dates?"

Ralph walked into the bathroom and confirmed there was a Jacuzzi and shower. "Dominic Howard owes me a favor. I've got one week. So what do you want to do first?"

AN: Thanks for reading, reviewing, and alerting. Hope you enjoyed! This is a Dasey fluff, but getting there is the fun part.