Working on it – LWD
Summary: Set after the movie.
Disclaimer:
Chapter 4
A/N: (Spoilers Summary: for those who are confused… from Wikipedia: 'Casey and Derek are back and continue their sibling rivalry during a family vacation to visit their grandmother, Felicia at her beautiful lakefront lodge. Things heat up with Casey when she meets Jesse, a young dancer who happens to be a waiter at the lodge. Meanwhile, as Derek is "chilling" on his vacation, he falls for Roxy, the rich girl who lives across the lake. But when Roxy's father, a greedy land developer, threatens to destroy the natural beauty around them, the McDonald-Venturi kids bond together to save the lake and the lodge – with a little legal help from George and Nora who are having a baby.' They save the lake, with a talent show, and celebrate.)
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Flashback: After the end of the movie, but before the scene after the credits.
"You've gotten awfully manipulating and pushy lately", Derek mused as the screen door to the porch slammed closed behind him.
Lizzie smirked, not turning around from the railing. "Yeah, well, you've gotten pretty helpful lately, which is way more shocking."
"I resent that", he chuckled, bumping her shoulder as he stood next to her.
"Thank you", she said quietly, "for all your help."
"Eh", he shrugged. "I was bored."
Her eyes rolled. "You still can't admit that you did something nice just because it was the right thing to do. We all know you're inherently lazy, Derek. But you always come through when it's important."
"Do you want to go in the lake?"
She laughed. "No thank you. It's cold."
"So… am I still slime?"
She grinned up at him. "Sorry about that", she said half-heartedly.
Derek folded his arms in mock seriousness and raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh", he prompted skeptically. "That's not entirely believable, you know."
She giggled and bit her cheek until she curbed her amusement. "No, Derek, you're not slime", she repeated seriously.
"You know I don't tolerate mutiny."
She snorted. "If you want to have a serious conversation, you've got to stop saying ridiculous crap. Besides, that wasn't a mutiny against you, Pirate Pete", she sniggered.
"Hey!" he practically yelped. "No one's supposed to talk about that!"
Lizzie smirked, "Yeah, yeah. In any case… you probably won't have time during college to keep us all under your thumb."
He grimaced. "Maybe not… but during vacation time, look out. My throne will not be usurped."
"Edwin's gonna take your recliner", she chuckled.
"Yeah, you think I could fit that in my dorm room?" he asked thoughtfully.
"I doubt it." She rolled her eyes. "You'd have to cram it in your trunk first anyhow – or strap it to the roof. That would probably kill The Prince though."
Derek grimaced. "True", he grumbled.
"You're gonna have to get a new car eventually", she pointed out.
"Don't say that. It might hear you!" he hissed. Then he grinned. "You're gonna be the oldest sibling in the house."
"Someone's gotta keep Edwin in line", Lizzie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, good luck with that", he snorted.
"I'm scarier than you", she wiggled her eyebrows.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that", he retorted dryly. "But, hey, I don't know what the hell Casey's doing, but I'm only gonna be a few hours away. So if you need anything, call, okay?"
She nodded lightly. "I might take you up on that", she murmured. They stood silently for a moment before Derek cleared his throat. And then he did it again. Lizzie gave him the eye. "What?" she demanded finally.
"Sorry- I think I might throw up mushy word vomit", he grumbled.
She choked on a laugh and looked away, smile quirking at her lips. "You don't have to."
"Yeah… I do. None of this would have happened without you, Liz. And even if it hadn't worked out, it was still the right thing to do. This was beyond amazing. I'm really proud of you."
She groaned. "I appreciate the sentiment, but please stop before everything gets awkward and emotional. You've been awfully philosophical lately."
"Yeah, blame Casey. I do", he rolled his eyes.
"Point taken."
"Where'd you go during the party?" he asked curiously.
She bit her lip, flushing slightly, "Went for a walk."
"With someone?" he prompted, sounding half giddy.
She crossed his eyes at him, "None of your business."
"Sure it's my business. So… you play tonsil hockey with the bird kid?"
"Oh, my god, Derek. Shut up", she muttered exasperatedly, flushing even darker.
"Oh, that's a yes", he teased.
She face palmed. "Don't tell Casey", she pleaded. "She'll do that high-pitched squealing thing that hurts your ears."
"Do I look like a gossip to you?" he demanded, affronted.
Her eyes widened comically, "Uh, yes."
"I'm offended by that", he groused.
"Okay, okay", she chuckled. "Chill out, bro. Oh, and since you're leaving… I want the duck."
"How do you know I have Mr. Quackers?"
Casey had won a stuffed duck at the fair over spring break. It had sat on her bed for a while before Marti stole it. Then Edwin had gotten a hold of it. Derek had taken it after that for some reason, and then Lizzie had found it on one of the shelves of the Games' Closet. She thought Marti had snitched it again after that. But it had turned into a sort of mascot – and had given them all something to do. And it completely ruined all of the demands for privacy in their house because everyone was always searching high and low for that damned duck.
Lizzie and Casey had gotten very good at hiding their journals. There were only three rules. One: no one else could know who had hidden the duck last, so there was no teaming up. Two: whoever ran across it, accidentally or not, had to find a new hiding spot for it without getting caught. And three: nothing else could be taken if it was found in a bedroom.
She grinned. "I saw him sticking out of your closet before we left. I didn't have time to grab him without getting caught."
He mock pouted, "Fine. He'll turn up in your room when we get back."
The screen door squeaked open behind them.
"Apparently, we're being suckered into more 'family time'", Edwin announced under his breath. "Dad and Nora said to come inside."
Derek groaned, "Seriously? I am not playing charades."
Lizzie snickered. "Just, uh…" she stood on one foot and held an arm extended over her head. "Be a flamingo", she suggested.
"You're about a half step from doing the Egyptian dance, Liz", Edwin chuckled.
Lizzie stuck her tongue out. "Don't be jealous just because you can't do the Flamingo without falling over."
Derek smothered a laugh. "Okay, let's go inside and get this over with. I want Lizzie and Marti if we play charades."
"Because Edwin and Casey are gravitationally challenged", Lizzie teased.
"You bet."
"Hey!"
They went inside and found the rest of the family sprawled on beds and couches.
"Okay, so who's idea is it for this 'family time' torture?" Derek complained mildly, scooping up Marti and sitting with her in his lap on the couch.
"Mine, Derek", Nora rolled her eyes. "And it's not torture. Torture would be saying our family is going on a health kick the week before you leave for college."
"Don't even joke about that!" Derek looked at her appalled.
Lizzie took the spot on the end of the couch and Marti crawled in between her legs. Lizzie grabbed the hairbrush and began untangling the girl's hair before dividing it into sections to give her French braided pigtails.
Derek pouted at Marti for leaving him making her giggle. "Sorry, but you can't braid, Smerek."
Casey was sitting on one of the bottom bunks with Edwin who kept stealing her washable markers she was using to color a pair of white tennis shoes. And Nora and George were sitting on the other couch.
"So, it seems like we have a lot to celebrate tonight", George said, finally, interrupting all the side conversations. "You kids did a huge thing saving this place. And you did it together – with a less than usual amount of fighting… I hope." There was a smatter of laughing.
"Derek threw me in the lake", Edwin complained.
Lizzie snorted. "Casey was the only one who didn't even get threatened."
"I almost went in the lake too", Marti added.
"Yeah, until Lizzie saved your butt", Derek smirked and pinched her leg lightly.
"By using manipulation and trickery", Casey grumbled under her breath, fighting a grin. "Which I'm still not sure I condone…"
"Hey, it's the only way to outsmart Derek", Lizzie shrugged.
"That might be giving him a little too much credit", Edwin teased.
"Now, see, that's how you ended up in the lake before", Derek shook his head in mock disappointment. "Stop talking, Ed."
"Did we say we missed the kids earlier?" George fake whispered at Nora.
"Hey!"
The loud resounding complaint from all five of their children sent Nora into a fit of giggles. "Anyways", she tried a few minutes later, once she got herself under control. "We just wanted to say that we are just bursting at the seams with pride. You guys really came together when it mattered."
"We always do", Casey said quietly.
They all heard crickets… because- well, it was true, but they didn't talk about it. Deny, deny, deny…
Derek finally groaned. "Way to ruin it, Case." She grinned and tossed a marker in his direction making Lizzie and Marti duck. Surprisingly, Derek caught it. He smirked. "Getting better with your aim", he teased.
Casey stuck her tongue out.
"Wait", George interrupted. "Who's been cooperating under our noses?"
Derek and Casey traded looks, wondering how long before their sibling would inevitably spill the beans.
"I think cooperation is a bit too strong of a word", Derek muttered under his breath finally.
"Except it's really not", Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Do we need a recap?"
"No!"
Edwin snorted. "Oh, I really think we should", he grinned.
"I think you should too", Nora said raising an eyebrow.
"Like the time Casey sold stuff for Derek when he had the chicken pox and then he bought her a cell phone?" Marti reminded.
"It was not drugs", Casey insisted at the looks from their parents.
"You almost staged an intervention!" Derek complained exasperated.
"Who told Marti?" Casey retorted trying not to grin.
"Shutting up", Derek mumbled.
"Or when Derek stuck up for Casey at Smelly Nelly's and quit his job", Lizzie added.
"Oh, you mean right before we found you and Edwin playing my guitar and jumping on Casey's bed?" Derek raised an eyebrow.
"And after he fired me", Casey rolled her eyes.
"Face it, you were a crappy waitress", Derek smirked, "Riley."
"Mopeds are 'cool'?" she batted her eyes innocently. "Suck up."
"Or when Casey scared Ryan off from beating up Derek", Edwin said gleefully. "That's one of my favorites."
George and Nora watched the verbal ping-pong match warily, suddenly feeling like they were no longer needed to supervise their children.
"Yeah, I think I stole Casey's make-up that day", Derek chuckled. "He took one look at her face and-"
"Der-ek" Casey groaned.
"No worries, Case", Edwin winked. "Sam told me the truth. He also said Max looked quite comfortable in the pink shorts he kept as spares in his gym bag."
Casey punched him and Derek made no effort to hide his laughter.
"He didn't even come after us!" Derek snickered. "What a wuss."
"Actually, he said he couldn't run in those shorts", Casey muttered, hiding her giggles.
"Oh, my god", Lizzie grimaced. "I didn't need that visual, guys."
"I liked when Derek danced with Casey on TV", Marti interrupted.
Casey raised an eyebrow at Derek trying to hide behind a pillow. "I'll admit that was nice of him – even if he was blackmailed", she allowed.
"About as nice as you getting him hooked up with Kendra and Sally", Lizzie sighed. "And keeping your grade grubber reputation to help him pass English… and then studying for midterms last year-"
Derek kicked her thigh lightly, only to have his shin slapped by Marti who was still in Lizzie's lap.
"Smerek, be nice", she scolded severely.
"But", Casey continued, hiding a smile, "That's still not the nicest thing Derek ever did."
"Casey-" Derek started suspiciously.
"Helping with Summer Camp?" Marti asked.
"Yeah, let's go with that", Derek nodded emphatically.
"Der, you let the kids paint me", Casey grimaced.
"Saving you from Truman and Icky Vicky?" Lizzie guessed.
Derek blinked rapidly, and then glared at George and Nora. "Aren't you going to make them stop picking on me?" he demanded.
"No", George said slowly, "I'm somewhat enlightened by this conversation."
"Me too… but I'm also confused", Nora muttered, rubbing the furrow between her eyebrows.
"You guys don't get to tell me I have to be nice to Casey ever again", Derek grumbled.
"So what was the nicest thing Derek did for you?" Lizzie asked, suddenly very curious.
Casey made a face. "I don't think I should say…" she hedged.
"Good idea!" Derek agreed.
"Casey!"
Casey ignored them momentarily to pick at the aglet of her shoelace until Edwin pried it away from her. She glanced over at Nora, an odd look crossing her features, before she answered. "Derek called Dad after that horrible dinner from hell and told him to come back. He missed his flight to come back and apologize." Casey chanced a look at Derek who was sitting statue still, hoping to be ignored.
"He wasn't supposed to tell you that", Derek muttered.
Casey shook her head. "He didn't", she said quietly. "I guessed and he just confirmed it. I didn't think you'd want me to acknowledge it, so I never said anything. And just so you get it, I'm aware your phone call made serious use of the term 'royal jackass'. I didn't yell at you for that either."
Derek winced. "You were… like five seconds from crying in the kitchen. And if you'll remember correctly, I was the only one who came to check on you", he nearly scowled. "I'm half oblivious and even I knew that things hadn't gone well. You know, other than the fact that you tried to burn the house down", he smirked tightly.
She grinned. "Jerk."
"Princess." He rolled his eyes.
"So… we've been worried for nothing?" Nora asked incredulously. "All this getting along behind our backs", she muttered.
"Okay, so we may all not always like each other", Derek shrugged reluctantly. "But we're family."
"That's it. We're putting in Nanny Cams", Nora sighed.
"Just in time for Derek and Casey to move out?" Edwin complained. "Fat lot of good that'll do us oppressed middle kids now."
"And you'll still be the oppressed middle kid", Derek said jovially. "Lizzie's the next oldest, so I think she should get my chair – only because she pointed out it won't fit in my trunk."
Lizzie held out her hand for a fist bump and tried not to giggle at the look on Edwin's face.
"Derek! That's not-"
"I'm kidding", Derek placated. "You'll have to wrestle over it", he snickered.
Edwin groaned. "Great. I have to defend myself from Tae Kwon Barbie."
"Did you just call me a Barbie?" Lizzie glared menacingly.
"Um, no?" Edwin tried, looking like a deer in the headlights.
"Edwin!"
"So? Are we coming back for vacation next summer?" Derek chuckled.
"You want to come back next summer?" Casey asked incredulously.
He shrugged. "What can I say? It was a good vacation."
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Lizzie had walked to Marti's school and picked her up so they could walk home together. Edwin usually was with them, but he had a meeting with the debate team after school. So they walked home in the crunchy, frozen snow, bundled up to their ears in hats, scarves, and gloves.
They got home, and peeled off their winter wear. Lizzie and Marti went into the kitchen, and Marti climbed onto a barstool as Lizzie pulled out three mugs and started making hot cocoa. Because of her detour, Edwin would be home soon.
Lizzie had a plate of marshmallows on the island between her and Marti on a plate with some pretzels. They were blowing on their hot beverages and she listened to Marti prattled on about her day and how she built a snowman with Dimi and Isabelle during recess. She was going on about how Rachel had poured blue paint on Shawn's head during art class, and Rachel had gotten in trouble, and Shawn's mom had come to pick him up when the front door opened again.
"Liz?" Edwin called.
"In the kitchen!" Marti yelled back with a mouthful of marshmallows.
"Hey!" he greeted jovially. "Did you leave me any hot chocolate?"
"On the stove", Lizzie acknowledged.
"Awesome!"
"How was your nerdy meeting?" she teased.
"The people on the debate team aren't nerds", he sighed, "Except Tinker Tomlin's brother Topher. He's a nerd and a moron", Edwin complained, taking a seat at the island with his mug and started ripping the large marshmallows and dropping them into his cup.
"What'd he do this time?" Lizzie laughed.
Edwin groaned. "He just has the stupidest ideas. It's like he doesn't hear the words coming out of his mouth." His phone buzzed on the counter and he flipped it open. He stared at the text in confusion before cracking up laughing.
"Who's that from?" Lizzie asked absently as he cackled.
"Derek", he managed.
"Oh", she smirked. "The squirrel one?" she queried.
"How'd you know?"
She laughed. "I sent it to him yesterday morning."
"Where'd you get it?"
She snorted. "Jaime."
"Figures", he chuckled.
She laughed and answered her phone, putting it on speaker phone. "Making the rounds harassing your siblings, D?"
He chuckled. "You bet. What's up?
"You're on speaker with Edwin and Marti, so behave", she warned. It was amusing that she had to say that at all, but Derek had been quite unpredictable lately. She wondered occasionally if he was trying to get his 'Casey fix' through her. But those thoughts were almost always dismissed immediately. It wasn't the same. Lord knew he drove her batshit sometimes, like when he had tried teaching her hockey. And that had started off with him trying to prove Casey wrong – but, in the end, he had helped her. Okay, so he had helped her by pissing her off, but it had worked. He knew what he was doing more often than not.
"Smarti?"
"Hi, Smerek!"
"What's up kiddo?"
"I see how it is", Edwin muttered teasingly. "Forget you even have a brother, why don't ya?"
"Hey, Ed? Can I borrow fifty bucks?" Derek laughed.
"I'm not here!" Edwin called back even though he didn't get up to leave. "And no, you can't!"
"I'm just kidding", Derek reassured, smirking. "What are you guys doing?"
"Just chillin'", Lizzie munched on a pretzel. "Mom picks up Robbie from daycare at four-thirty and get home around five-ish. George gets home around five-thirty. It's Thursday-"
Edwin's phone beeped again. "And that's Dad", he chuckled. "Predictable. What do you guys want from the Chinese place?"
"Get the take-out menu", Lizzie pointed at the basket that held the paper pamphlets. "I want that rice and vegetable bowl and some egg drop soup and spring rolls."
"Eat much?" Edwin teased.
She shot a stray rubber band at him that hit his forehead.
"Ow! Damn, I was just kidding!" he chuckled.
Marti had confiscated the phone and was chattering at Derek. "-and Lizzie made us hot cocoa! She does it the best you know-"
Derek chuckled. "Yeah, Smarti, I remember."
"-and did she tell you we slept in your bed? Not last night, but before that", Marti continued rambling on another tangent before he could respond.
Lizzie winced and Edwin raised both eyebrows at her. 'You did what?' he mouthed incredulously.
She flushed. "It was raining!" she hissed pointedly, glancing towards Marti briefly. "The thunder woke her up", she murmured quietly. "I couldn't very well say 'no', now could I?"
Edwin was still giving her his demented version of the 'crazy eyes'. "He's gonna embarrass the hell out of you, ya know."
"Maybe", she muttered grudgingly. It was entirely possible. But he wouldn't fault her for giving into Marti's wishes.
"Smerek, a new episode of Degrassi is on in a minute. Ed and I need to watch it! You can talk to Lizzie now!" Marti insisted, sliding the phone across the island and gulping the last few sips of her hot chocolate down. She hopped off the stool and grabbed Edwin's arm, pulling him behind her.
He barely managed to grab his mug to take with him. "Hey! Don't I get a say in this?" he complained.
"No!" the girl chirped as they went into the living room.
"Don't whine, Edwin", Lizzie called laughing. "You know you've got the hots for Stacey Farber."
"Bite me", he hollered back indignantly.
"Stacey Farber?" Derek chuckled.
"Hey, at least she's hot", Lizzie acknowledged with a bit of amusement. She picked up her phone and turned off the speaker. "Alright", she sighed. "They're gone. Go ahead."
He laughed. "Go ahead with what?"
"Derek!"
"So?" he drawled. "How comfy is my bed?"
She groaned. "Shut up."
"Why'd you guys have a slumber party in my room?"
"Thunderstorm", Lizzie said quietly. "And you know good and well, no one can say no to your baby sister. And yes. Your bed is quite comfy. I plan on stealing it."
"Ha-ha", he chuckled dryly.
"Did you call for a specific reason, or did you just want to bother me?"
"I just wanted to bother you", he said, sounding very happy with himself.
"Well, congratulations, D. You've succeeded." Lizzie rolled her eyes.
"Hey. If I'm not bothering you, I'm not doing my job", Derek insisted.
She sighed, "Yeah, yeah." And then she started talking his ear off for his trouble.
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A/N: And that's chapter four. Review! And all you lazy bums who just added me to your alert list… *tisktisk* And thanks! REVIEW!