AN: Please please please…(in advance) if you don't like the little anecdote about Doc's son just ignore it don't leave flaming reviews about it. It won't come up again. I just needed a powerful reason for Derek to not turn into a manwhore…(other than the fact he's falling in love with his step-sister, of course).

I'm sure you can appreciate that.

Derek pulled up outside the large mansion and whistled appreciatively. So far his new life as a major league hockey player had been a little of a disappointment in terms of the trappings of wealth. Sure, he had been given a (sponsored) car and a utility apartment, a key card to the team gym and a lump sum in his bank account, but it would be a while before he was toting a high maintenance girlfriend or appearing on CRIBS.

The house in front of him was something to aspire to, however, and he ran a speculative eye over the structure.

"You think this is big, you should see the team owner's." A voice said beside him, and he glanced at his team mate as they made to get out of the car. John stopped and put a hand on his arm. "Listen Coach is okay, but at some point today Doc will undoubtedly give you the old "keep it in your pants" line. Just remember, life is about more than just playing by the rules…life's about fun!"

Derek nodded, grinning and the pair exited the car.

"Venturi!" Coach Stevens greeted them when he opened the front door. "Glad you could make it. Grab a beer and join us out back." The older man lead the way as he spoke and they moved through the house to the back.

The rear terrace of the house was buzzing with people dressed casually, drinking beer and wine and talking loudly. Derek recognised some of his team mates from the practices earlier in the week. Occasionally, he recognised some of the females too, but few of the team were married, and the singletons tended to keep their conquests away from the management, probably mindful of Doc's early lecture when they were just starting out.

Derek circulated for a moment, led by John and he tried to relax. He felt young and nervous and more than a little in awe of these people whose world he had just joined; Most of the time he stood on the side-lines and said nothing. Amusement coloured his face as he wondered what Casey would make of his reluctance to go in there and charm.

He thought about the argument they had had earlier in the week and the amusement slid from his face. It was a testimony to how hard it was going to be keeping their friendship (?) on an even keel now that they were so far apart. With the time difference and their busy schedules they were relying on the written word to communicate. The problem was where he could gauge his spoken tone just right so that it wound her up but didn't piss her off, putting the words into a text or an email meant he couldn't add the quirk of an eyebrow or that laser beam stare that would throw her off guard. On more than one occasion over the last week, Casey had fired back an angry email and he had been forced to ring her to ensure she didn't sever all ties.

The first occasion had been her reaction to the envelope left on her bed. He hadn't been sure how to say goodbye to her, because it was so hard to define what Casey was. She wasn't his sister, of that he was sure. She wasn't even his step-sister because there was much more to them than that. They argued so much he didn't think that the term friend was wholly appropriate, and he relied on her for so much he didn't want to use a term less expressive. She was just Casey.

And when he couldn't find a way to say goodbye, he decided not to and instead provided her with the means to come and see him as soon as possible so that they could work on the dynamics of their…whatever…now that he was in a different state.

Casey, however, whilst (he thought) appreciating the generous gift of a return plane ticket and tickets to his first exhibition game, did not appreciate the authorative Post-It.

"What the hell is this supposed to be?" She had barked down the phone to him. (His phone had begun ringing immediately he switched it on after his flight.) ""Be there?" What do you think I am, Derek? Your own personal little servant to click your fingers at?"

Fortunately, he refrained from the obvious answer to that.

At the rate he was going it was a moot point whether she was likely to use the tickets.

.

He had been there about an hour when Doc singled him out and began the lecture. It wasn't the first time someone had lectured him on these points. George had given him a much tamer version when he turned fourteen and started dating. It was basically a "wrap it or regret it" lecture. But Doc went further. He talked about how it was an ugly world out there and that some women made a living out of "hooking" the big time, by bedding the rich and famous and then fleecing them for every penny when they got pregnant or dumped.

The venom with which the head medic spoke made Derek wonder if he had been the victim of such a scam, but it wasn't until Doc had finished, nodded and moved away that Derek found his answer.

Still reeling from the stern words of the older man, Derek moved into the kitchen area in search of more alcohol and came across a pretty woman of about forty five wiping down surfaces. In a normal home, Derek would have assumed she was the lady of the house, but in view of the size of the house and the staff necessary to run it, he leaned more towards the housekeeper as her job title. It came as a surprise when she grinned broadly and stuck out her hand.

"Oh! You must be our new boy! Hi! I'm Susan. Or "Mrs Coach" to you." He looked into her eyes and saw a soul that could be the twin of Nora. He returned a genuine smile and held out his hand.

"You look slightly shell-shocked. Have you been talking to Doc?"

Derek stared at her in amazement. She smiled wryly.

"Let me guess. He gave you his "women are all hos out to trap you" speech?"

Derek nodded. Susan smiled.

"He sounded like he was talking from personal experience." He said finally. She shook her head.

"Not him. His son. Hardly an innocent boy but still…" She took a breath. "You'll find out Derek that Doc is exaggerating, but not by much. There are lots of girls out there who would give anything and everything to be seen with a hockey player, and I'm sure you'll be one of the most popular. But, Doc is right and there are some unscrupulous people too who will take advantage of the times when you've had a bit too much, those who will use everything in their power to sink their teeth into you – including their bodies. Doc's son lapped up the attention and enjoyed the girls who were around him; a different girl every day, sometimes more than one. Then one day he gets a call from a lawyer representing a girl who claimed he had gotten her pregnant. I'll cut a long story short and say that she was telling the truth. (Probably the only time she ever has.) She demanded money: money for herself and money to stop her selling her story. There was never any mention of money for the poor child. By this time, he had come to his senses and realised he had to do right by the child.

He paid. He paid everything she asked. Unfortunately, the little girl was born with Cerebral Palsy and requires a lot of care." Susan paused. "He loves his daughter – and Doc loves his granddaughter, but they never get to see her because the mother takes the money and won't allow access. But if you believe the papers, he's the heartless one. She gives statements saying that he won't spend time with her because of her health issues. It's destroyed him."

"Hence the "wrap it" lecture." Derek said quietly.

Susan looked at him pointedly. "He did wrap it, Derek. In one of her condoms. Like I said, there are some crazy people out there."

"Are you coming out this Friday?" John asked Derek a couple of weeks later. They were walking into the locker rooms after a training session in which Derek realised how little he knew about hockey.

"Where are you going?"

"One of our usual haunts. Good food, bit of music…and then later we normally go on to a strip club."

Derek scratched his head. "I can't. My friend's coming for the game and I have to pick her up from the airport. I doubt she'll be into the stripper scene."

John chuckled. "She may surprise you. Is this a girlfriend?"

Derek shook his head. "Nah. Just a friend."

"A close friend?"

"Like brother and sister." He lied.

"Bring her with you for the meal and the dancing. There'll be some of the other girls there. They'll keep her company."

"I'll think about it." Derek wasn't sure he wanted to expose Casey to this lot. Knowing her luck she'd fall hook line and sinker for some moron defender who dipped it in too many pots.

"Is she hot?" John asked. "Maybe I can keep her company for you." Derek glared at him. Yeah…like that moron defender.

"When I said "sister" I meant the sort of girl that is off-limits, John."

"Hey come on…I'm not a bad guy, D."
"Her mother would kill me." Derek said, pulling his shirt over his head. "And I would kill you."

John wagged his eyebrows. "That hot huh?"

Derek groaned. "Off-limits, Dude. I'm serious."

"You cannot make decisions for the girl. It's bad karma. She'll never forgive you for passing up the opportunity for true love."

"True love? Since when did true love come with twenty one condoms in a variety of flavours?"

"You know you need to get out more, before the guys start thinking you're gay."

"The guys don't think I'm gay. They think I'm choosy. I'm still finding my feet in this game and they know that. Just because you're into Heinz 57 varieties doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"So that's a no to Friday then?"

Derek ran his hands through his hair. "I'll talk to Casey."

Casey's plane touched down on a sunny afternoon, and immediately the butterflies started. She wasn't sure why.

It was just Derek she was visiting, and it had only been three weeks, but her mind was still reeling from the fact he had sent her the tickets – and then phoned to apologise when she hadn't liked the tone of his note. This was all uncharted territory for them, and she found it unnerving.

Whilst they had been in Kingston together, they ignored the fact they were becoming closer. It was easy to do because they had no choice but to be near each other, so they just complained bitterly and made out they weren't together through choice. But the tickets and her presence here now belied that. And when she had explained to her new roommates that she would be away for the weekend, she used the term "friend" in reference to Derek – and meant it.

She grabbed her carry-on which was her only bag and made her way from the plane wondering if this visit would be a repeat of every argument they had ever had or whether by some quirk of fate they were both now capable of being nice to each other – openly.

As she exited into the Arrivals hall and her eyes roamed the crowds for her step-brother-cum-best-friend, Casey chuckled inwardly to herself and a small smile escaped onto her face.

"You're late." A voice said behind her. She spun round and fixed his brown eyes with her blue ones.

"Yes, well I told the pilot not to hurry because you were going to be late anyway." She said with a smirk.

"Some of us have a life, Casey." Derek was unimpressed.

"Remind me again why I left mine and came to spend my weekend with you."

He looked good, she decided sneaking a crafty once over; as though he was working out a bit more and eating a bit better. He'd upgraded his clothing slightly, the same style just more expensive, and he was swinging a BMW key on his finger.

He smirked. "Because you miss me."

Casey pulled a face as Derek threw an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the exit.

"And I missed you." He said so quietly, she almost missed it.