A/N: Back to "present day". After a while I will probably do two/three chapter chunks of "past" and "present" to make it less confusing. :) Much love, Little Crickett. Also, this one is super short.
It was late afternoon sometime in early February in the McDonald-Venturi apartment. Derek was lounging on the couch watching the hockey came and sipping at a beer. Casey had a snoozing Amelia wrapped cozily to her chest, she was vacuuming and talking on the phone to her mom. Derek was watching Casey preform the mundane tasks and was entirely enamored by her. Even when they were younger…Casey seemed so fascinating. After her dance classes she would practically float around the house. Drinking those idiotic health shakes and studying for her French test, murmuring words under her breath. Derek would hide her notes and jam the blender just to see those blue eyes spark and her cheeks tinge with pink. The ancient proverb bad attention is better than no attention held so true for how he felt towards his-stepsister all through high school. She was an enigma in a good mood when she would dance with Marti and Lizzie in the living to the unbearable pop music. She was fascinating when she was furious, screaming his name and stealing his ipod.
Derek, much down the road, admitted to the marriage counselor (that his lovely wife Casey blackmailed him to attend) that he probably might have handled his young attraction to her a little incorrectly. To which Casey screamed "Der-ek, you dated my best friends, stole my tap shoes, put a laxative in my smoothie, and told any boyfriend I ever had that I was actually a man!" After that the counselor told them to take a five minute recess and try to remember why they loved each other… as Casey was slamming a box of tissues into Derek's skull…
"Hey, Derek." Casey's voice brought him back from a memory that still made him laugh. "Mom wants to talk to you." She was offering him the phone and he was angrily mouthing nonono while pointing wildly to the tv. "Yeah, here, he is mom." Little bitchy vixen.
"Oh, hi, Nora…yeah, no…I wasn't doing anything." Derek sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Casey took Amelia, who was beginning to fuss, into the nursery. Derek watched Casey sway her hips in those deliciously tight pants as she walked into the baby's room. "Good god…" he groaned and adjusted his crotch, forgetting he was still on the phone. "Oh, Nora. Yeah, good god. Can't believe Quinn wants only family at the ceremony…"
Casey unwrapped the sling and rested her beautiful baby girl on the changing table. Casey always saw herself as intelligent, independent, and logical. But when she looked at those almond shaped blue eyes and wild dark curls, she lost it. Many people think that Amelia was Casey's idea, and Derek would rather play hockey for his team and coach it at the high school, trying to cling to his youth awhile longer. But the reality was much different.
Casey was taught dance at a lovely little studio. She taught kids from kindergarten to their senior year of high school. In fact, her sub major in economics allowed her to work with the finances of the studio as well. It was a dream job. But she had no idea what to do with babies. She loved Marti but Marti was six when she met her…old enough to communicate her needs. Secretly, Casey had always been afraid of babies. They were so little and needy and easy to harm. What if her baby didn't connect to her…or died of SIDS at only a few months old. Or what if she lost the baby halfway through her pregnancy. Casey had no clue how to recognize different cries or giggles. Casey liked her schedule and being able to do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. But Derek…Derek was a natural. The angriest, whiniest, most selfish Venturi man had a way with kids and babies. Maybe because they spoke the same language. The conversation came about shortly after their second year of marriage. They were babysitting the three year old son and six month old daughter of their friends while they went out on a date.
It was eight that night and the little boy was fast asleep in Derek and Casey's bed. The little girl was lying in Derek's arms, reaching up to tug at his chin length hair. Derek was cooing and willingly watching Mulan.
"Hold on, Natalie. Hold on." He brushed his hair back and reached for a toy that Casey was clutching. "Sweetheart…you have to share the toys with the baby."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't even know I was holding it…" Casey handed over the pink and purple elephant. Derek wiggled the elephant in front of Natalie who giggled and squirmed.
"Don't drop her!" Casey said loudly.
"Casey, hush. Don't wake Nicky up. I'm not going to drop her."
"Okay…just be careful, Derek…" her voice was meek.
"Do you ever think about kids?"
"Of course! Matilda isn't progressing as fast as the other girls in her class. Daniel has so much potential but is being made fun of so I need to figure out how to boost his confidence."
"No, Casey. Not what I meant…I mean…us having kids?"
"Well…I guess I have. Sometimes. But not really. I mean, we're only 26." Casey hesitated.
"I know. Almost thirty. I want to be young enough to play with my son. And not be fifty when he graduates."
"You could have a daughter too." Casey reminded.
"Well, yeah. I know. But I would have to kill anyone who looks twice at her. So, a son would just be easier." He was trying to make a joke but the worried expression didn't leave Casey's face. The crease between her eyebrows was growing ever deeper. "C'mon, Princess. Think about it. Your eyes. My hair. Your nose. My sense of humor. Your insanely irritating intelligence." Derek leaned over to Eskimo kiss her, something Casey loved and Derek would never ever admit to doing.
"I'll think about it Derek." She promised. Derek sighed, knowing that Casey was going to obsess about this. Read every terrifying article. Study every horrifying statistic. She was going to make both of their lives hell with all of her research about kidnapping, death rates, and finances. She couldn't just think about the cuteness and sweetness of babies like a normal woman. He got up and put Natalie in her playpen.
"I'm going to go check on Nicky." Derek left the room. After he left Casey went over to the playpen. Natalie looked up at her with giant brown eyes and soft blonde hair and chubby baby cheeks and little baby toes.
"It's not that I don't like you." Casey told the baby girl. She reached down into the playpen and gingerly scooped up the babe. "It just…freaks me out how easily I could screw you up. Not feed you enough, or too much. Drop you. Let you roll off the couch. You choke on one of my earrings. I work too much and you never bond with me. I go crazy with depression and try to put you in the microwave. I don't make enough money to support you and we have to live in a box…"
Natalie seemed to be listening to this crazy woman babble on and on. She reached up a chubby little hand and Casey kissed each soft pudgy finger. Natalie in turn tugged Casey's hair. Little did she know, Derek was watching this from behind the couch with a smile on his face. Casey was batshit crazy. But for some masochistic reason that was why he loved her. Six months later, they were pregnant with Amelia, who was now blowing raspberry's up at her mother.
"You're so beautiful." Casey said sweetly. "And smart. One day you'll be an amazing dancer. Or a professor. Or a stay at home mom. Whatever you want to do as long as you're happy. " she kissed Amelia's nose.
"God damn, I forgot how much Nora can talk. Going on and on about Edwin and Quinn's lame ass wedding plans and how successful Lizzie's dojo is. Marti is the star of her play at school. She babbled on and on about all the stuff her and dad bought for Amelia. Seriously, this kid is going to be spoiled rotten by the time she's a year old. " Derek sighed all of this in one breath as he came into the pink and purple room. He handed Casey her phone and made googly faces at their daughter, Casey's hand was placed firmly on her belly so she couldn't roll around. "Oh, Nora and Dad want to take her for the weekend."
"The entire weekend?" Casey picked up Amelia and held her close. "Why?"
"Oh…I don't know. Because they want to bond with their only granddaughter and they want to show her off. And I haven't been able to do this in weeks…" Derek leaned down and gave Casey a long, passionate kiss…complete with a firm smack of her rear.
"Derek…" Casey was out of breath and her brain was fuzzy. Derek still kissed her the same way he did eight years ago…for the very first time.
"So, we're in agreement ." Derek took Amelia from Casey. "We pack up the goblin and ship her off to the grandparents so we can spend two days naked in bed."
"Der-ek! I didn't agree to anything!" she shouted as Derek left the room, ignoring her and talking to Amelia about their favorite hockey players.
A/N: Well, I hope all this fluff isn't nauseating. It will spice up soon. I promise. :) Read, review, respond. Much love, Little Crickett.