Working on it – LWD
Summary: Set after the movie.
Disclaimer:
Chapter 2
Casey woke up early the next morning despite the late night. She was surprised when she was coherent, to find that Lizzie wasn't in bed with her. Liz never got up before eight. Casey headed for the bathroom and took her shower, changing into a tank top and sweatpants before heading downstairs.
When she got to the kitchen, she stopped dead. Finally, she headed towards her original destination and leaned against the sink, staring curiously. This was new. "I'd say good morning, but you two look like crap", she raised her eyebrows.
"Didn't sleep", Lizzie moaned into her arm, face buried against the top of the island, "Third cup of coffee."
Derek just grumbled unintelligibly, probably swearing, from almost the same position Lizzie was in, with a barstool between them.
"Okay", Casey chuckled. "I'll let you two keep sleeping on the counter since you don't seem very chatty."
"Shut up, Casey", Lizzie grumbled, "Too loud."
Casey went to the fridge and began rummaging, grinning when she finally found her prize. This might incite a reaction. She bent down and dug the George Foreman Grille out of one of the bottom cupboards and plugged it in. It took her ten minutes to prep, but things finally started sizzling.
Derek finally brought his head up slowly, like he was trying to keep it from rolling off his neck. "What the hell are you doing, Case?"
"Making breakfast", she buried a laugh at his completely perplexed look.
"Hamburgers?" he asked incredulously.
"Casey's making hamburgers?" Lizzie questioned sleepily.
"I'll have you both know that I haven't eaten red meat in months", Casey sighed longingly. "I dreamt of dancing meat patties last night, and I'll be damned if I don't have one right this second."
"Hey, you know I enjoy a good burger", Derek shook his head with a laugh, "but that's not exactly a 'Casey approved' breakfast."
"Geez, now I'm starving", Lizzie complained.
"Good, make me some real breakfast", Derek grumbled at her.
"Lazy ass. Who says I'm cooking for you?" she turned to eye him in amusement.
"'Cause I'm your favorite older brother", he flashed a smarmy grin that made her burst out laughing.
"Fine, but I'm making scrambled eggs and toast. You want pancakes, make them yourself." She slowly pulled herself into a standing position and stuck her head in the fridge.
"I want bacon!" Derek insisted.
"Dammit, Derek!" she complained.
"Hey, I stayed up all night, and we both know I like my sleep. Get going Betty Crocker", he smirked.
"Watch it", Lizzie warned. "I'll go Tae Kwan Do on your ass."
"I'll make pancakes if you cook the bacon", he persisted.
She threw her hands up, eyeing Casey over her shoulder as she started loading tomato slices, pickles, and lettuce. "Alright, you win. I'll make your bacon – only because now I really want pancakes." The house phone started ringing. "And answer the phone."
"Slave driver", he muttered playfully. "You're worse than Casey."
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"Venturi-McDonald house of insanity, we're out of strait-jackets", Derek said into the phone.
"Derek!"
"Derek?" George's voice came through the phone. "You're awake… who set the house on fire?"
"Hey, Dad. What's up?" he said easily.
"How are the kids?" George asked warily, still wondering why his eldest child was even awake, much less functioning well enough to answer the phone and be snarky.
"Good, how's the stepmom?" he chuckled.
"How's mom?" Casey called through her mouthful of burger.
"Nora's fine", George said calmly. "I'm on my way home. They're keeping her overnight for observation, and they'll both be able to come home tomorrow."
"Well, we're making breakfast. It should be mostly done by the time you get home", Derek offered.
"I don't know what that 'we' was for, Derek. I don't see you in here making pancakes", Lizzie complained even as she got out the box of Bisquick and the bag of chocolate chips along with the mixing bowl.
"You told me to answer the phone!" he retorted. "Give me a minute, woman."
"Derek, isn't it a little early for you to be harassing your step-sisters?" George chuckled tiredly.
"Can't you here them, Dad? I'm the victim here!" The laughter that followed that comment made him roll his eyes. "Just remember karma's a-"
"Derek", George cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah… I'll let you go so you can stop talking and driving. See you in a few." He hung up and went to the counter to start the pancake mix.
Twenty minutes later, Marti was also up and sitting on the counter – supervising the breakfast making, of course. Derek knew his baby sister was going to be a ball buster in the business world in the next fifteen years. Casey had set the plates out even though she had already eaten, and waited for George to come home and give them a full update.
Derek, Marti, and Lizzie were loading up their plates when George came in through the mud room looking completely exhausted.
"Daddy!" Marti called, jumping off the counter with a hand from Casey as she jumped into her father's arms.
"Hi, Munchkin", he kissed her cheek.
"Derek helped Lizzie make breakfast", she informed seriously.
"Did not!" Derek called, around a mouthful.
"We all saw you Derek", Casey laughed.
"Again, where is Edwin with his darn camera when I need it?" Lizzie teased.
"Thanks, Derek, Lizzie – nice to see my kids are getting along", George chuckled.
"Not getting along", Derek insisted. "They threatened me with Sporks and Tae Kwan Do."
"C'mon, D, you should know not to mess with the McDonald sisters by now", Lizzie gave him an exact replica of his own smirk. "We're dangerous. Grab a plate, George. Food's still hot. I made some more coffee."
"Tell me you aren't drinking anymore coffee, Liz", Derek grumbled. "It makes you bouncy like Casey."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Will you shut up if I get you another too?"
He gave her a thumbs-up with his free hand, and Casey took her opportunity to snitch another slice of bacon from his plate. "Casey, I'm gonna stab your hand with my fork if you don't put that back", he warned.
Casey leaned in his face a bit and took a bite. "Yummy."
Lizzie slid him his coffee before he could retaliate and started helping Marti cut her pancakes so George could eat his food. "Sugar?" Derek questioned.
She laughed, "Already in it – unless you don't trust me."
He took a sip warily, but bobbed his head in contentment. "Thanks, Liz. You're like… the Fairy God… Step-sister", he chuckled.
"Buy me wings or ballet slippers for Christmas, and I'll hurt you", she warned playfully, taking her seat again and began digging into her own pancakes.
"All you're doing is giving me ideas", he pointed out. He stole a piece of bacon from her pile.
"Derek!"
"Casey took mine!"
"I saw. I grabbed extra", she shook her head. He was so predictable. "Leave me two." And so he began rifling through her pile of bacon with his fork.
"I smell food."
Lizzie felt that inevitable punch in the gut. Apparently Edwin was now awake. If she hadn't opened her mouth last night, she wouldn't want a hole in the floor to magically appear on the floor and swallow her up. She turned, forcing normalcy. It had been almost a year.
"Hey, Ed. Come eat", she said easily. Then she promptly went back to eating. Not unusual since he wasn't a talkative morning person until he got some caffeine and food in his stomach.
Edwin wandered in the kitchen and began stacking his plate and set it down to get his own coffee. He sat down and finally took in his surroundings. "Hey, Dad", he said in surprise. "When'd you get here?"
George eyed his son in amusement. "About ten minutes ago."
"Oh… how's Nora?" he asked.
Everyone else perked up at that. They had wanted to let him eat first before asking for information.
"Nora's doing fine", George assured. "They'll be released tomorrow. I need some sleep, but I thought we could all head up their later this afternoon around two. Derek, you can follow in your car so you can drive them home. I'm going to stay tonight and drive them home in the morning. Okay?"
"Fine, but everyone else can ride with you on the way there. I hear Liz still needs to get in some driving hours", Derek said off-handedly.
Lizzie grimaced slightly. She had forgotten that she had told him that. She was even more surprised that he had remembered.
"You're going to let Lizzie drive The Prince?" Casey asked, astonished. "You barely let me drive it, and it was half my car!"
Derek shrugged. "I like her better than you", he said easily.
"Is it really a good idea to let Derek give Lizzie driving instructions?" Casey asked George.
"Hey, I'm a great driver!" he defended.
"Der, I taught you how to drive", Casey reminded, almost laughing.
He grinned. "Exactly, and with your super instructions, I passed with flying colors. Do you really doubt my instructing ability? Maybe you just didn't teach me well enough-"
"Oh, fine!" she rolled her eyes. "Liz, are you sure you can handle driving with Derek?"
"Geez, Casey, chill out. It's not like we're sneaking out of the house or something", she teased.
Derek coughed out a laugh.
"Don't hit my car", George muttered dryly.
"Don't worry, George. Unlike Derek, I know how to use my mirrors", Lizzie grinned.
"Ouch, Liz, that hurts", Derek teased.
"Hurt your wallet", she snorted.
"Just for that, you can't control the radio", he threatened.
"As long as you don't go all 'screamo-metal head' on me, we're good", she rolled her eyes. "I, at least, can compromise."
"Don't say that in front of the little ears", Derek hissed dramatically.
Casey shook her head and started putting the leftovers away. "Compromise is not a dirty word, Derek."
"Wash your mouth out with soap!" he covered his ears.
Lizzie got up and went to the sink to rinse off her plate and put it in the dishwasher. "Well, if we're not going to leave until this afternoon, I'm going back to bed", she yawned.
"Liz, how can you fall asleep after so much coffee?" Casey asked incredulously.
"It's a gift", she muttered. "I'll set my alarm; night, guys."
"I'm going to bed too", Derek grumbled behind her as he put his plate away. "If I don't sleep, I might kill someone."
"Derek, why are you even up?" Edwin asked curiously. "You're on vacation. You never get up before noon."
Derek gave his brother an even look. "I never went to bed."
Edwin just blinked in confusion at his siblings' curious behavior. He waited for George to go down to the basement bedroom and Marti went to take over the TV before looking at Casey. "What just happened?"
She shrugged. "Well, from what I saw this morning… I think they didn't sleep – together – all night long."
"Why?"
Casey raised an eyebrow, hoping her step-brother wasn't nearly as dense to the situation as he was acting. "Did you sleep well last night, Edwin?" she asked seriously
"Eh", he muttered, "You?"
"I woke up with Marti and seventy stuffed animals in my bed and I got violated by a dolphin. How do you think I slept?" she laughed.
He gave her a less arrogant version of Derek's smirk. "Sounds like a fun night."
Casey rolled her eyes.
0
Lizzie's alarm woke her up at twelve forty-five, and she dragged herself out of bed to grab up some clothes only to stumble into the bathroom to brush her teeth again and shower.
She was drying off with her towel when the pounding started on the bathroom door. "Lizzie, hurry up!"
Derek. No one else knocked on the door with the same amount of irritation he did – unless of course it was Casey, and Derek was the one hogging the bathroom. "Five minutes!" she yelled back. "Keep your pants on." She pulled her clothes on and spritzed her hair, hanging her towel on her hook before yanking the door open. He was leaning on the wall rather impatiently. She rolled her eyes as she passed. "Patience is a virtue, Derek."
"One I don't have", he called back.
That was for sure.
They finally piled into the two cars and headed back to the hospital.
0
They got back from the hospital around four-thirty, leaving George there to stay overnight with Nora again, and Lizzie immediately went to her room to change. She came down the stairs, yelling, "I'm going for a run!" to whoever happened to hear and was stopped.
"Give me five minutes. I'll go with you", Derek came out of the kitchen with a bag of potato chips in hand. "Case, can you keep an eye on Marti?"
"Yeah", she called from where she was banging around in the kitchen.
"It's broad daylight, Derek. I'm fairly certain I won't get kidnapped. And you're looking a little out of shape… I don't know if you could keep up", she teased, folding her arms across her chest in amusement at his irritated scowl. That had been his excuse when he found her sneaking out early in the mornings before school during his senior year of high school – that she would get kidnapped or molested by random horny early birds. He wasn't out of shape at all.
"Five minutes", he repeated as he took the stairs.
"Hurry up!"
He laughed. "Patience is a virtue, Liz."
She groaned. She really should have seen that one coming. But she went for her purse and shoved some money in her pocket.
He hurried anyway, most likely figured she might leave without him.
Casey came and settled on the couch as they left, giving Marti her coloring book and pencils to sit at the coffee table. She eyed Edwin who was sitting in Derek's chair. "When the heck did they get so chummy?" she asked curiously.
Edwin snorted. "Don't ask me. I just live here."
0
They ran two miles before Derek stopped them on a curb, both sucking in lungfuls of cooling air. "C'mon", he nodded down the next street. "We'll take the scenic route home."
She followed, matching his stride as they walked. Because taking the scenic route with Derek always ended in food.
"Hungry?" she chuckled.
"Casey was talking about tofurkey", he groused.
Lizzie grimaced. "Where're we going?"
"Arturo's… it's your turn to pay, you know", he peered down at her pointedly.
"I remembered. Money's in my pocket." She patted the left zipped pocket of her black SJSHS hoodie. "You know, one slice of their pizza will cancel out the run", she observed dryly as they walked up the next block the little restaurant.
His stomach growled. "That's the point."
"Yeah, yeah, let's feed you before you get cranky", she said, crossing the street.
They got seated at a booth by the window and Lizzie slouched down on her bench, partially unzipping her jacket as she stretched out her legs under the table, toes pointing to the floor. She mostly ignored that she was trapped in her seat as a thirty-something year old waitress came and got their order.
Derek had his feet propped on her bench on either side of her legs. She stared out the window idly, distractedly bending the toe of his left tennis shoe.
"You kind of suck at running away", he said quietly.
"I wasn't running away", she said automatically.
He raised a challenging eyebrow. "No?"
"It might have worked better if you hadn't come with me", she grumbled grudgingly.
"It's not that bad. How's sophomore year treating you?"
"I was going to come back." She smirked. "I'll be glad when high school is over period. How's college, Derek?"
"Hard. I actually have to open my books", he made a face.
Lizzie wouldn't look at him. "Casey was supposed to go with you", she said softly. "Edwin's already looking at colleges. He wants to go to Ryerson… I just need to get away, but it'll take another two and a half years."
He nudged her thigh with his foot, making her look up. "There's always Queens."
0
A/N: He-he, we're well on our way into the Land of Crazy! Review and let me know what you think so far. Reviews make me giddy and type with speedy fingers!