DISCLAIMER: Life With Derek and all it entails does not belong to me.

A/N: Just a slice of Life Without Derek (and Casey), for those back at home.

Lizzie pushed her chicken around on her plate, watching as the food turned colder and stiffer. Her stomach turned a little.

"Lizzie?" her mom quizzed sounding a little worried. She cocked her head to the side. "Are you alright? You're not eating."

Liz shook her head. "No...I'm not..." she took a deep breath. "I think I wanna go vegetarian."

The response at the table was imediate. "WHAT?!"

Marti scrunched her nose. "What's vegetarian?"

"It's a person who doesn't eat meat," the older girl explained, pointedly ignoring the flabbergasted looks Nora and George were giving her.

"So...does that mean I can have your chicken?" Ed asked eagerly, leaning over his plate.

"Edwin!" their parents cried.

George turned to her. "Lizzie, are you sure?"

"Liz, this is a really big deal," Nora insisted. "Taking out a whole food group can REALLY affect your overall health."

Maybe it was the coward's way, but the teen took on the easier of the two of them first. "I am sure," she told George. Steeling herself, she looked over to her mother. "And I know what I'm doing, Mom. I've researched it. Millions of vegetarians live healthy, active lifestyles. There's nothing wrong with it."

Nora shifted in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable. "Liz, I don't know..."

Pulling a little Venturi was a bit underhanded, but watching Derek all those years certainly taught her a way around her mom's hesitance when she really wanted something. "Mom," she began. "What are you gonna do if I don't want to eat meat: force it down my throat?"

"I!...No! Of course not!" the older woman floundered while Ed and Marti snickered at her. Finally she sighed heavily. "I'm just worried that you could make yourself really ill." She peered carefully at her daughter. "This isn't some sort of mental body-issue diet thing is it?"

Lizzie scrunched her nose. "Mom..."

"No, I think that's a fair question," George piped up. "You're not just wanting to go vegetarian because of the way you think you need to look, are you?" he asked, looking intently at her. Lizzie recognized that look. He used it when he was actually being George Venturi the Lawyer and not just George her step-dad.

Okay, so maybe she might want to drop a couple of pounds, but that was really just wanting to be fitter, since she wasn't doing so much active sports as she was actively supporting environmental issues. But Lizzie had the good sense to keep that to herself, not only because she knew it wouldn't help her case, but also because she didn't want Marti to grow up thinking those things about herself. Lizzie was well aware the stock other girls her age put into being model thin, and she felt blessed that neither Casey nor she had really had much to worry about in that department, gifted as they were with their mother's genes and self esteem.

Taking in a calming breath, she looked her step-father in the eye and answered. "I want to go vegetarian, because I can't in good conscience promote animal rights and earth preservation and protection and still eat meat."

After the longest second of scrutiny she'd ever been subjected to, George's gaze moved past Lizzie and over to his wife. "Nora?"

She sighed. "I suppose we can try it," she conceded grudgingly, only barely audible over Lizzie's squeal of glee. She frowned sternly at the blonde. "But if it looks like you're not getting enough nutrients or you're getting ill, back on the meat, missy."

"Okay!" Lizzie agrees readily, enthusiastic that her argument worked. Score one for the Cause!

"So does that mean I can have your chicken?" Ed repeated hopefully.