It had been one of the hardest afternoons of Derek's life. He had been forced to stand outside the room where Casey's professional future was being decided without being allowed to join her inside.

He was prohibited from entering the room for two reasons: the lesser was the rules of the Board which stated that anyone who was not hospital staff (with the exception of Casey's Counsel) was not permitted to enter whilst the Board was in session. The secondary reason was that the albeit reprimanded Security team were rather zealous and were watching the three police officers like hawks.

Although Derek and Casey had come to the hospital alone, Jazz and Spike had quickly followed because they thought they might be useful as character referees or something. The "or something" turned out to be providing Bea with an escort to the Board meeting room when the private security team employed by the hospital (and clearly briefed by Marie) refused to allow the lawyer access. Spike had had to throw his rank and weight around, but eventually the security team backed down. However, that didn't mean they were going to let the Mounties into the room – or let them walk about the hospital. They stayed close to the three cops until the Board room door opened and Marie and Robin were led out, clearly chastened.

Then Derek was the first through the door.

It took him a moment to locate Casey in the room and at which time his tension dissipated. She was laughing with a girl he didn't recognise; laughing and signing. He slowed his pace, hanging back because he didn't want to interrupt.

Casey turned and smiled warmly. "Derek, meet Suzi." She signed. "My Saviour."

Derek nodded to the new girl and looked quizzically at Casey. "They cleared you?"

"Yes, thanks to Bea who shot all their evidence out of the water and Suzi who overheard my conversation with Robin in the coffee shop."

Derek grinned at Suzi and signed "Hello!"

Suzi was shocked. "You both sign?" She asked with her voice and hands. Derek looked sheepish.

"Er…No. Sorry. That was my one sign. I saw it on Sesame Street once."
"Der-ek!" Casey objected, slightly embarrassed.

Suzi laughed. "No. Don't. I like him. He's honest!" She signed.

"What happened?" Derek asked Casey when they had all finished laughing. He moved closer to his girlfriend and slipped an arm around her waist. Casey leaned into him unconsciously, her fingers covering the hand that held her hip. She glanced up at him.

"They proved me right, Robin and Marie objected, the rest of the Board didn't like it and they were replaced."
"Robin and Marie have gone?" Derek asked sounding shocked.

"Yup! By a curious twist of fate, Suzi is not only a witness from the café but also the daughter of one of the other Board members. When Marie called into question Suzi's reliability, Suzi's father took umbrage at her comments. It seems Marie has annoyed her colleagues for the last time – in this hospital at least."

Bea, who had been talking to some of the other people in the room joined them.

"Thank you." Derek said sincerely.

"Don't thank me. All I did was demonstrate the truth."
"That's shit and you know it." Jazz said from behind Derek. "You worked your fucking butt off for the last few weeks looking for the weak link in their case. You deserve most of the credit for this."

Bea's jaw dropped and she looked embarrassed as if she didn't know what to do with the sudden compliment from her Nemesis. Casey and Derek were a little taken aback too.

Before Bea could formulate an answer, Jazz smacked Derek on the back.

"Spike and me are heading back to the office to check on things. Nero's tonight? We need to put this crap to bed with a decent send off."

Casey frowned. "Nero's?"

Derek shrugged. "It's a high end bar in town with pool and a dance-floor. It's better than your average Jazz-frequented flea-pit. Let's go. You deserve a chance to let off steam and it's been a while since I last got a chance to roll out the old "hook" and "zombie"."

Suzi frowned as she read his lips. She pointed her right index finger and curved it to hook with her left hand. "Hook?" she asked and then with four fingers facing her eyes and moving them back and forth horizontally a few times, "Zombie?"

Casey laughed. "Derek has a unique dancing style. It's a sight to behold. Why don't you come? I owe you a drink at the very least."

Suzi smiled. "That would be nice, but the theory that deaf people can use the vibrations to help them dance and "hear" music…? It doesn't work with me. I look like I got bitten by a rattler after downing a shot of strychnine." Uncharacteristically, her hands had stayed by her sides as she spoke. "I can't even describe it in sign language!"

They all laughed.

"One drink?" Casey pushed.

Suzi shook her head. "I think I need to spend a little time with my father tonight. I've never seen him stick up for me in front of his work colleagues like that before. I'm rather proud of him and I'd like to tell him so."

Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, slipping from it a small business card.

"Give me a pen." He said to Casey who rolled her eyes.

Derek scribbled something on the back of the card and gave it to Suzi.

Jazz snorted. "Dude, you're supposed to wait until the girlfriend's not looking before you slip the hot chick your cell number."

"This is Casey's cell number." Derek said by way of explanation to Suzi. "My desk number is on the other side. You ever need either of us, you call. Okay?"

Suzi hesitated. But Derek closed her hand around the card.

"You're a friend, now, honey. Casey just moved to Ottawa and," he threw his girlfriend a quick smirk and continued in a stage whisper. "She needs all the friends she can get!"

"Excuse the moron. He was born like that." Casey jerked her head towards Derek. "But he's right about staying in touch. Perhaps we could meet for coffee at the coffee shop?"

"I'd like that." Suzi said, genuinely. "I'll give you a call."

She left the room then, trailing the particularly docile dog and equally compliant (and latterly redundant) interpreter. Jazz too took his leave, following Spike from the room.

Derek turned to Bea. "Go get your glad rags on, toots. I'll buy you a double."
Casey groaned. "You have no grace, Venturi."

"What?" He complained, but Bea shook her head. "I'm not really in the mood for it tonight, Derek, but thanks."

Derek snorted. "Bollocks! You're itching to find out why Jazz was nice to you just now. Come with us. You look like you need a decent night out too."
"Gee…thanks!" Bea said wryly.

"Like I said," Casey pointed out. "He has no grace."

The ol' Venturi charm had worked on Bea though because she agreed to meet them at the bar. Casey wasn't sure why, as Derek hadn't couched it in the best of terms, so maybe he was right about Bea wanting to find out what was Jazz's motivation was for his earlier compliment. Personally, Casey hoped it was a sign that Derek's friend still felt something for his former love.

Correction: she knew he still felt something for Bea. Once you knew what had passed between them years ago the fact that they still cared was difficult to miss despite the cutting remarks and the deep tension. What Casey hoped was that Jazz was considering righting a wrong.

Casey and Derek, after filling Rosita in on the events upstairs, left for home to change.

It was getting close to the time for them to leave for the bar and Casey still hadn't emerged from the bedroom. Derek, sipping a small beer in the now fully equipped living room glanced at his watch and then towards the bedroom. He was ready but where the hell was Casey? He drained the bottle, placed it on the breakfast bar as he passed on his way to the bedroom.

Tentatively he pushed open the bedroom door.

Casey was sitting in her underwear on the edge of the bed facing away from him. Her head was bowed and her shoulders shook with her sobbing.

Derek rounded the bed in an instance and sitting down beside her, pulled her cool body into his arms.

"Hey!" he said, kissing the top of her head. "What's the matter?"

There followed a Casey blurt that was all snot, sniffs and very little that resembled the English language. Derek reached for a tissue from beside the bed and handed it to her.

"I didn't catch any of that." He said matter-of-factly, brushing damp hair from her face.

"I said I just realised how close I came to losing my job." Casey sobbed a little clearer this time.

"But you didn't."
"But what if?"
Derek sighed and squeezed her tighter. "Casey, there will be things in our life that will cause tears enough. I thought we agreed we weren't going to waste tears on the things in the past?"

"I know." She patted his hand. "And you're right. This is just me burying it."

"Forever?"

"Yes." Casey said looking up. Derek grabbed another tissue and started to clean her face. Job done, he reached across and planted a series of kisses on her damp skin.

"You were always going to win, sweetheart. The truth finds a way."

"But what if it hadn't?" Casey asked.

Derek shrugged. "Then I had this idea about blackmailing Robin till he 'fessed up." He replied.

"You what?!" Casey asked in horror.

Derek laughed at her gullibility. "That was a joke, Casey."

"Good!" Casey said, relaxing.

"I'd never do something that underhand." Derek noted. "Even I have limits you know."
"I'm glad to hear it. I've had my suspicions." Casey said, pulling herself together and standing up to get ready.

"Yeah." Derek said from the bed, watching her as she moved around the room in the lacy items that he loved. "I won't sink to the depths and depravity of some people."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." She said distractedly and glancing up at Derek as she pulled her dress over her head.

"Definitely." Derek said leaning back on the bed. "If you hadn't won, I would never have blackmailed Robin." Derek watched the silk slide down over her curves and his smirk grew. "Nah." He went on. "I'd have asked Jazz to do it."

The club was really quite nice. It wasn't as big or as new as the one owned by Papillion, and it was of a much higher standard than the small bar in which they had first met Bea. It was located in an old Victorian building on a side street and the front portion of the building had clearly been some sort of British style pub for a very long time. As you moved further into the building, however, the décor and atmosphere changed. The space opened up into a large cavernous room with Pool tables along one wall, a long bar along another and a decent, though not full-sized dance-floor in the middle. The floor wasn't sticky, it was appropriately lit and right now it wasn't overly busy.

Casey liked it.

Derek held her hand as they walked towards the rear bar; his grip tighter than usual because he was feeling extra protective of her tonight. He tried to tell himself it was the residual worry of the earlier hearing, but something buried deep kept telling him it was more than that. It felt more like instinct. He really hoped not, because he wasn't sure he had the energy for life to throw something else at him.

The tension in his body must have communicated itself to Casey because as soon as they reached the bar and he leaned to ask her what she wanted, Casey pressed a kiss to his neck and announced "for you to relax".

Derek sighed and pulled her close. "I'm trying to. Something's a bit off though."

Casey frowned. "Between us?" She asked nervously.

He almost snorted at the notion. "No." He said, nuzzling close. "Just call it my spidey sense."

Correctly interpreting his unease, he whipped her head around and started searching the other people in the room.

Derek laughed. "Relax, love. My spidey sense is pretty good with the early warning. It'll probably be days before whatever it is shows up."
"Promise me you won't hide it from me?" She asked.

"If you need to know I'll tell you." He said trying to distract her with a direct kiss on the mouth.

Casey moaned and he wasn't sure if it was his actions or his words.

"That's not what I asked." She complained in clarification, but before they could argue about it, Bea tapped Casey on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt." She apologised.

Derek gaped at the sight before him.

"Wow!" he said, stepping back to get a better look. When they had first met Bea outside of work she had been dressed something in the region of a rock chick and although they knew she dressed differently for work, they sort of assumed she would adopt the same hard ass look tonight, on her down time. Bea, however, clearly had other ideas.

She was dressed in a deep red wrap dress and black heels. Across her body was slung a tiny black purse and her hair, down for once, bounced on her shoulders. She was wearing make-up as normal, but it was softer tonight. She looked stunning.

"You look amazing!" Casey exclaimed leaning forward to peck her on the cheek as had become their custom.

Bea blushed although neither of her friends noticed in the low light.

"Thanks! I thought I'd make an effort outside of work for once. Erm…Could you get me a beer or something I'm just off to the ladies room…" she let her voice trail away.

"I could do with freshening up too." Casey announced sensing that her friend wanted to talk. "I'll come with you."

Derek accepted her quick kiss on the lips with a murmured. "Keep your eyes open." He said it in reference to his earlier unease.

Casey nodded. She knew better than to laugh at Derek's protectiveness.

"What's up?" Casey asked leaning forward to inspect her perfect make-up as Bea fidgeted beside her.

"Do you think he'll show?" Bea asked nervously.

"Who?" Casey asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Jason." Bea confirmed Casey's suspicion.

Casey shrugged with more nonchalance than she felt.

"It was his suggestion." She pointed out.

"Hmm. I know."

Casey smiled. "But it matters?" She questioned. Bea said nothing.

Her friend leaned against a convenient wall.

"I thought we were completely oblivious to Mr Ransome." She said, curving an eyebrow north-wards."
"We are…I am…it's just…"
"It's just at the end of the day, he is an ex. An ex you were very in love with and who happens to fill a pair of tight jeans very nicely." Casey stated.

Bea frowned at Casey in a slightly appalled manner.

"You noticed? I thought you were supposed to be Derek's girlfriend!"

Casey laughed. "I am!" She said. "Believe me I am! Relax! I'm not interested in Jazz…and your face was a picture!"

Bea scowled. "I'm not supposed to notice either." She said. "The jeans thing, I mean. And believe me, that wasn't the attraction back then."

"No?"

"No. I fell in love with him because he was a really sweet guy."
"And you think that has changed?"

Bea sighed. "I don't know what to believe anymore. We've been apart so long. He used to be the kind of guy who slipped love notes in the pocket of your hoodie. Now by all accounts the only notes he slips girls are his phone number and availability."

Casey put a hand on Bea. "What do you want me to say?" She asked. "That he's a man-whore and you should steer well clear?"
Bea's eyes darted up to meet Casey's. "Is that what you think?"
Casey shook her head. "Bea. I've heard your story and it's tragic. But I've also heard Jazz's story. Honey, I care about both of you so I'm not about to apportion blame."

"But…"

Casey shook her head again. "No buts." She insisted. "I think he treated you badly, but I think he was treated badly too. There are no winners in your tale, only losers. Or at least there will only be losers if you pay too much attention to the past. Live in the present. How does he make you feel now? Is there still a spark or do you just want to flush his head down the toilet?"
Bea laughed and Casey carried on.

"For what it's worth, I don't think either of you has moved on."

"But he's dated so many girls." Bea said it with a bad taste in her mouth.

"Guys do that. You accused him of sleeping around. He's giving you what you asked for - a sleezy ex."
Bea's face set in an angry grimace. "I didn't accuse him lightly. There was evidence."
Casey shook his head. "At the end of the day who did you trust? Your boyfriend of many years or the girl you shared a room with for a few months?"
"It was more than that, we were like sisters."
"Bea, sweetheart, no true friend allows themselves to be picked up by their roommate's fiancé. It's just not done."

Bea sighed. "She was very convincing. So contrite. Jason and I…we'd been together so long, I sort of expected that he'd get bored with me after a while." She straightened. "This isn't going to change anything. There's too much water under the bridge."

Casey shrugged. "Time will tell about that. I'll tell you one thing I've learnt from experience, however, life is too short to throw away love. The seven years without Derek in my life were so hard."

"Even though there was nothing between you before?"
Casey smiled wistfully. "There was always something between us."

"Here." Derek said pushing a straight double jack Jazz. "You'll need it."
"Oh?" Jazz asked, picking it up and sipping it.

"Bea's here and she looks fucking hot."

Jazz paused, the glass halfway to his lips his pointer finger extended. "You aren't supposed to be looking." He accused.

"I'm in a relationship, not dead." Derek snorted. "Believe me, if I was single I'd be knocking every son-of-a out of the way in my haste to get to her." He smirked at Jazz. "Including you."
"Not interested anyway." Jazz said into his drink.

Derek chuckled as he glanced around the room. "Yeah right. Tell it to someone who'll believe you. I've been watching you."
"Watching me do what?"
"Dude. Some days I need to get a cloth and wipe your dripping chin. You hang on her every word." He shrugged. "Okay, so you pull your face into that stupid constipated look, but Jazz man, the drool is a dead giveaway."

Jazz rolled his eyes. "Why does this sound like everything I've been telling you about Casey for the last X months?"

Derek sipped his drink. "Casey was a different matter. It was never about not wanting her, only about not being able to have her. Totally different. You and Bea should never have split."

"She accused me of sleeping with that skank roomie of hers."
"So you repay her by going out and sleeping with every other skank on the planet."
"It wasn't about her by then. She had no say in my life then. She jilted me."

Derek sighed. "Dude. She didn't jilt you. She just asked you to postpone the wedding until she'd had a chance to make a career for herself. She wanted support and understanding."
Jazz drained his glass. "She wanted to move away from me for three years."
"No. She wanted to go to Harvard. You never gave her chance to ask you to go with her."

"I…so what is this? You Team Bea now then?"
Derek shook his head. "Jazz, Dude. Wise up. When we're young we're fucking foolish. We do stupid things, make stupid mistakes. You and Bea. You both screwed up your relationship because you were too young to know better." Derek's eyes bored into those of his friend. "You're not young now. Prove to me that you're not foolish either."

There was a long pause.

"Did you see her earlier?" Jazz said quietly. "In that Boardroom. I've not seen her working before. I mean I've pushed work her way and I know she's good at it, but I've never seen her in her element before. She was so…professional – even when the hearing had finished."
Derek laughed. "Professional? Is that like code for fuck-hot in a pencil skirt?"

Jazz narrowed his eyes at him. "Derek, you're letting your librarian fetish show again."
They both laughed.

"She looked like she belonged." Jazz said eventually, sadly. "How could I have competed with that?"
Derek put his drink down.

"Jazz. A job is a job. Family is family. Love is love. Each is separate but there is absolutely nothing to say that they can't all live together. Look at me, I'm in love with my step-sister. She's the biggest keener on the planet and in many ways my complete opposite, but I've lived a life without her. It was no life. She's my family and it clashes often with my job, but the love that binds us…" he looked away and didn't finish the sentence. Jazz said nothing and eventually Derek continued.

"Jason. Don't fuck up a second chance at happiness."