SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Crimson and Chrome 42: Lol.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. For this fic, George and Dennis haven't met before.

There were several moments of silence. Then, Casey let out a scoffing laugh.

"He's gotta be kidding. After everything he did? Well, he can just forget it." Derek stared at Casey, surprised at her harsh tone.

"Well, I---I wanna see him," Lizzie commented.

"Trust me, Lizzie. He's not worth it. This is our family here," Casey responded. Derek grinned. "Well, for the most part," the older girl added, causing his grin to falter. "That man is dead to all of us!"

"But, Casey!"

"No!" Edwin, Marti, Derek, and George stared in surprise at the girl's harsh tone as she stood up. "You heard him that night! The things he said! He doesn't care about Nick! He never has!"

"It's---it's okay, Case," her twin stated.

"No…it's not. He's not welcome here. He never will be," she responded. Then, she started to walk away.

"Case---" he grabbed her wrist. She turned to him. "You should see him." She started to protest, but he pulled her into her seat. "You and Lizzie---you should see Dad. It's been four years, GT. You need to clear the air with him."

"And they call me the Good Twin?" They laughed.

"Yeah, what is that GT, ET stuff anyway?" Derek wondered.

"Just a twin thing," Casey and Nick chorused. Then, "You really wanna see him, Liz?" The younger girl nodded. "Okay, then. Fine, yeah. Whatever. But don't expect me to be all smiles." Then, she moodily continued eating. After dinner, the kids all went to different rooms as Nora went to the kitchen to phone Dennis. After dialing, she waited as the phone rang. Then, she heard her ex-husband's voice.

"Hello?" Dennis MacDonald asked.

"Hi, Dennis," Nora said.

"Nora, did you talk to the girls?"

"Yes. Lizzie was all for it."

"And Casey?"

"She's not exactly thrilled, Dennis. Not that I can blame her. But she's agreed to it."

"Good. I'll come see you in a few days."

"Fine. But Dennis---don't blow this." She hung up and then headed for Casey's room, where she found her eldest daughter doing her homework as Nick listened to music through his headphones.

"Hey, can we talk?" she requested.

"Is it about Dad? Because if it is, I don't want to get into it," came the answer.

"Casey, I understand where you're coming from, I do. But…maybe he wants to make amends," Nora stated as Nick secretly took out one of the headphones. Casey scoffed.

"Why? Why after four years? If he wanted to make amends, why would he wait so long?" That's actually a good point, Nick thought to himself. Nora sighed.

"I don't know, honey. But if things turn bad, I'll make him leave."

"Thank you." She patted Casey's knee and then left.

"You really don't want to see him, do you?"

"Nope. But Lizzie does." Recognizing her "I'm in a bad mood, leave me alone" tone, Nick put the headphone back in his ear. Three days later, Lizzie and the Venturis were cleaning the house and making dinner, preparing for Dennis' arrival while Casey and Nora hid in their rooms. Presently, the doorbell rang and George answered it.

"Hi. You must be Dennis," he surmised.

"Yes. And you must be George," came the reply. Dennis was ushered inside.

"Daddy!" Lizzie shouted, running to him. The man bent down and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, I missed you, Lizzie," he said. "Where's your mother and sister?" he questioned.

"Casey's upstairs and Mom's downstairs," she told him.

"Well, you go get your sister, and I'll go get your mother," he proposed.

"Okay," she agreed. Then, she ran upstairs. "Casey, Dad's here," she said. Casey made a face but followed her sister down the stairs.

"Hello, Dennis," Nora greeted stiffly.

"Nora," Dennis said in the same tone. Then, "Casey. You're looking good." She just stared at him and the man shifted on his feet. Why won't she talk to me? he wondered. Before he could voice this question, the door opened.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Practice went overtime," Nick apologized.

"You all right?" Casey checked.

"Yeah. Coach Walters is cool," Nick stated.

"Good. I'm glad," Casey said. Again, the MacDonalds fell silent. Yikes. This is awkward, Derek thought to himself. Presently, dinner was ready and they all sat down.

"So Nick, you've joined the football team?" Dennis questioned.

"Yes, Sir," Nick answered.

"It's going to last this time, right?" Dennis queried. Casey's eyes narrowed angrily.

"The coach is cool. There shouldn't be any problems," Nick said.

"Dennis---" Nora interjected.

"Good. Because that's the last thing your mother needs---you screwing up," Dennis snapped.

"Shut up," Casey told him. The whole table fell silent and everyone stared at the girl in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Dennis asked.

"I said shut up," Casey repeated.

"How dare you speak to me this way?" Dennis demanded.

"No! How dare you?" Casey responded, jumping up. "You compare us all the time, make Nicky feel inferior, and when he protects me, instead of commending him, you disown him!" she shouted.

"He screwed up, and got himself into trouble," Dennis reminded.

"He didn't screw up. Some jerk tried to rape me and he came to my defense. You should've been proud of him. And if you were any kind of a father, you would've been," Casey continued.

"Okay, maybe in that circumstance, I made a mistake, and I apologize. But he had a good thing going with football and he threw it away," Dennis said. It was Nick's turn to jump to his feet.

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" he shouted emotionally.

"I know that Gary was helping you with your prospects and you threw them away by continually skipping practice."

"I had to! He was destroying me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"He was harassing me!"