The credits rolled on the screen and the end music played…but the living room was silent. No one spoke. Everyone fidgeted and it was a while before George uttered the words everyone was thinking.

"What a bitch!"

Nora looked at him in horror. "George!"

"She is!"

"I know she is, but I'd rather you didn't use language like that in front of the children."

Edwin snorted. "We're all adults here, Nora. Well…except for Robbie. And…"
Nora glared at him.

"…I'm just going to shut up." He finished. Lizzie patted the back of his hand.

"How's Casey?" Nora asked Derek. He shrugged.

"When I spoke to her, she was fine about it, but I was just reading the transcript. I suspect that she might have a different opinion since she has actually seen it broadcast."

At that, his cell phone rang, and he saw the words AG Mob flash on the screen.

"This is her." He said, and stood up to go take the call in the laundry room.

"She's a bitch!" Casey spat as soon as he answered. Derek smiled.

"Yeah. That's what dad just said."
"You're with the fam?"
"Yup."

"How did they take it?" She asked her voice suddenly small and fearful.

"Relax, Casey. They like the idea of you and me more than the idea of me and Chloe. They are pissed at her."
"I can't believe she said those things."

"I know. I'm expecting more press questions tomorrow."

"You were lucky it was only a handful of the vultures outside your house."

"They were just the ones who were fortunate enough to have got the advance transcript. In the morning, it will be every Tom, Dick and Harriet who watched the programme."

"It's going to be nasty."

"Yes. But we can handle it. We talked about this, sweetheart. And by the time you come out of that hotel it will have all blown over."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Derek, I'm currently rooming with the instigator of that farce."

"I know. I didn't say it would be easy."

"Are they really okay about us?"

Derek smiled to himself.
"…not that there is an "us" anymore." She quickly backtracked. Derek chuckled. Yeah, right princess!

"Do you want to speak to your mom?"

"Please."

He walked back into the living room and handed his phone to his step-mom.

"Hi sweetie!" Nora said with false cheeriness as she made her way into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Mom."

"About what?"

"The programme and its revelations."

"Casey, you aren't to blame for your step-brother's inability to marry the right woman. She's a bitch, plain and simple."

Casey gasped. "Mom!" She was so shocked at her mother's words she neglected to point out that actually she was very much to blame for Derek marrying the wrong person.

"I just…" She started but Nora cut across her.

"Honey, her words are just that…words. She doesn't know you and clearly she doesn't know Derek well. And she certainly doesn't know us."

"But that's just it. Neither do the public. They'll believe her."

"Only if you rise to it. If you behave with dignity she'll just look like a jealous ex-wife with an axe to grind." Nora changed tack. "How's she been today?"
"Smug." Casey sighed. "The weird thing is she seems to think her allegations are going to make Derek run back to her."

"That's never going to happen. He's not stupid."

Casey snorted.

"Don't say it Casey." Nora smiled. "You know he isn't. He fell for you, didn't he?"
"I think that was more of a case of tripping over his laces while his mind was on other things actually." Casey admitted.

After a few more moments chat, Nora gave the phone back to Derek who went to the laundry room again.

"Are you okay?" He asked into the phone. Casey sighed.

"Yes. I'm just going to go to sleep and pretend tonight didn't happen."

"And in the morning?"
"In the morning, I'm also going to pretend that tonight didn't happen. And then I'm going to retreat to my rehearsal room and don my strait-jacket."

Derek chuckled at her joke. "You'll be fine sweetheart."

"Night Derek."

"Night Honey." And then he hung up.

In her room in the hotel, Casey stared at her phone.

"He hung up?" She said in disbelief. "But he didn't ask me to go out with him."

She frowned.

Then she placed the phone on the night stand, her frown deepening and started to get ready for bed. Every few minutes she would look at the silent phone in frustration.

"Why?" She said aloud.

"Why didn't he ask? Doesn't he want that anymore?" She paused, her toothbrush half-way to her mouth.

"Oh god! Maybe he thinks that Chloe's right and…"

Casey put down her toothbrush and walked over to pick up her phone. It was still quiet, no missed texts or calls. She put it down again and walked away.

"I'm stupid. It doesn't mean anything. I…" She ran to the night-stand and picked it up again, quickly removing the password screen and selecting Derek's phone from the quick-dial.

He answered straight away with a chuckle and before she could explain her reason for ringing, he second-guessed her.

"Go out with me McDonald and then you won't have to worry when I don't ask." He said, climbing into his car. His car kit picked up the signal from his phone and Casey's voice filled the small space.

"I hate you."

"No you don't." He said with a laugh. "If you did we wouldn't be in the middle of this."

"I can't, Derek."

"I know. But I can't stop asking. I'm going to keep on asking until you give in or one of us dies."

"Chloe got it wrong…you're the stalker."

He laughed. "Probably."

Casey sat on her bed. "Where are you?" She asked softly.

"On my way home to face what is no doubt a barrage of reporters."

"Call me when you make it indoors. I want to know that you're okay."

"Sure." He paused in the act of switching the ignition on. "I miss you. I wish you felt the same."
"I said I wouldn't go out with you Derek. Not that I didn't feel the same way. I miss you too."

"As a friend?"

"Derek…"

"Sorry. Some times I just feel like I am a stalker and maybe I should go out and get a life."

"You're not a stalker. You're just someone who fell for the wrong person…" Casey took a deep breath. "…and so am I."

"You seriously expect me to be able to dance in this?" Casey objected the next morning when she saw Trevor's idea for her dance costume. "You said a nice familiar jazz number…not Rocky Horror."
Trevor shook his head. "Nah. I considered Rocky Horror, but it's so passé. I have to say I was struggling until that programme last night, and then when I saw what the Wicked Witch was saying about you, I just knew what I had to do with your dance."

Harriet, it appeared, had taken pity on her. A nice easy ballad…until Casey saw the costume for that number too.

"You're both insane!" Casey grumbled.

"No Duckie…you are!" Trevor laughed…and Harriet joined in.

The evening meal on Monday was tortuous. There was no other word for it. The other contestants stared at her, and Chloe was holding court in one corner, her hands flying wildly whilst she talked. On the rare occasions that Casey met her gaze, the supermodel smirked in an evil way and Casey wished she hadn't bothered looking.

The producer sent Luan to ask if Casey was willing to make a statement to the press, but Casey declined saying that all she was concentrating on at the moment was getting ready for the competition because a large number of very poorly children needed the money. She referred them to Angela and when asked about Derek referred them to Tim.

The devil himself phoned her at bedtime and they spent their usual couple of hours bantering between them before he asked her to date him – she declined - and then said good night. Casey lay in bed, her head clouded with emotions, and her heart wondering yet again why fate was being so cruel.

Stars with Hearts – Saturday 7.30pm

I'm in love with an amazing woman!

Never mind the fact I'm a fifty-something disillusioned gay guy with a pathological hatred of all things reality TV. If Derek Venturi doesn't see what a gem he has in front of his very eyes I may very well run away with Miss McDonald myself!

Not only is the angel an extremely talented dancer and singer, but apparently she is a queen of wit too! Her fantastic routine to the old classic "The Lady is a Tramp" was a fantastic smack in the nose for her green-hued former sister-in-law and her snide comments. Casey is no tramp and everything she did tonight proved it.

In contrast to the horrible, lame polka routine to Disney's rancid Step-sister's Lament (point scoring MUCH!), Miss McDonald's efforts were clean, elegant and enchanting. Her costume choice was sophisticated, her moves divine and I for one was on the edge of my seat.

Miss Prescott's vocal efforts were…dire. In "Look at me I'm Sandra Dee" she has picked a song which is horrible in every sense: It bullies, demeans and, in the case of this reviewer, totally offends. Her intonation was flawed and her diction confused and muddled. One wonders if this was down to all the rehearsal effort being expended in putting down the greater talent of Miss McDonald.

Miss McDonald's own effort, namely "If you've got it flaunt it" from the musical, The Producers was, again, a well-time bloody nose for her sister-in-law. Casey showed her wit and thick-skin in the minor changes made to the costume and lyrics to have us believe that the singer was a young nubile Chloe Prescott lining herself up to take to the casting couch. It was masterful in its conception and its execution. This was real, quality tele-visual viewing.

In a linked-in theme, Sunday night's "Green Light" entertainment show was a horrific waste of air time. Miss Prescott, who is obviously close friends with someone at channel five scheduling, has yet again managed to turn a mediocre programme into an appalling Chloe-fest designed to hammer home the fact that Chloe Prescott feels slighted by the inattention of her former "husband" Derek Venturi. She takes a hatchet to the characters of both Mr Venturi and his talented step-sister, accusing them of alleged adulterous incest?

The programme was tasteless cheap journalism of the poorly researched kind. Let us not forget people: it was Chloe Prescott who neglected to tell Derek Venturi that she was still legally married at the time of their own nuptials – and last time I looked marrying your step-sister was legal.

In fact at the end of this weekend's viewing, any right-minded person would be knocking on Mr Venturi's door telling him that even if the rumours and accusations were untrue, he should be ditching the one girl and making hay with the other. Miss McDonald far outshines Miss Prescott for talent, decency and sheer common sense.

Roll on Round Three!

Casey had a fit of the giggles.

Lizzie followed suit and emailed the link to the review to everyone in her Contacts list.

Edwin drafted an email to his best friend demanding money with menaces – apparently Jamie had decided Chloe was going to win the competition.

George and Nora rolled their eyes and got an early night.

Robbie took the parentis abstentia opportunity to ring a classmate and invite her for chocolate cake at the establishment formally known as Smelly Nelly's the following day.

And Derek? Derek contacted Tim and asked him to locate the internet reviewer. He had a business proposition for him.