Okay, okay; so if you've actually opened this fic, that means you're giving it a shot – which I really appreciate. So thank you.

You'll like the ending. Just trust me. I'm as much of a Dasey shipper as they come. ;)

"You need to pick a side, Casey."

He had said those words to her twice during that vacation.

The first time he was talking about choosing between her (then) stubborn, closed-minded grandmother who was belittling himself and Edwin.

They sort of deserved it, but they didn't deserve everything. They were boys. Gran would just have to get over that.

The second time he said it, though, tore through her like a knife.

In fact, a knife probably would've been more pleasant.

The words that followed that phrase the second time, hurt even worse.

"Gran's right, you know, this opportunity only comes once in a lifetime, and you shouldn't miss it."

She wasn't sure what she wanted him to say, but it wasn't that.

It was anything but that.

"What about you?" she had asked.

He had looked at her, with an expression she couldn't read, "What about me, Casey? I'll be okay. I've got that hockey scholarship…"

"Exactly! You could transfer to a school in New York, ya know." she tried to remain less excited than she was feeling, but…she could feel her face brightening up.

He just simply shook his head, though, and looked away from her before saying, "It's not that simple, Case, I've already committed to Queens. I can't go back on my word now. Why are you so worried about me anyway? I'll be fine."

It wasn't actually him she was worried about. It was her, but there was no way in hell she was admitting that to him.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to smack him over the head as hard as she could – knock him out cold, tie him up, and drag him to New York with her.

But, "It's not that simple, Case" was ringing through her head loud and clear.

When would anything no, scratch that, something in her life ever be simple?

Ever since the day she had moved in with the Venturis nothing had been simple.

It was driving her mad.

Correction, again, he was driving her mad.

"Not a far drive…"

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes and crying.

Nodding, she had made her decision and walked off toward the stairs of the balcony.

When she turned, he was walking in the opposite direction.

She made her decision and was with Jesse in New York within the same week.

That was six months ago.

She and Jesse were a couple now.

But they hadn't done that.

Casey couldn't bring herself to do it.

Casey couldn't bring herself to do a lot of things with Jesse; and though, the poor guy was trying his hardest, she could tell he was getting frustrated with her.

She hadn't talked to Derek since that talk.

She figured he didn't need her. He had basically said as much when she had walked away six months ago, and he let her go.

He definitely didn't need her if he had just let her walk out.

She loved what she was doing…just, not so much who she was doing it with.

Though, she knew for sure Derek would respond to that with, "Casey, you know damn well I can't dance."

Even though they had won competitions together; been in plays together.

Even though he had stolen her away from Jesse on the last night of their vacation to dance with her.

She knew he didn't need her.

That's why she continued to choose this life.

She sat by the window in the living room of her and now shared apartment with Jesse.

Living with her dad had proved faulty. He was home even less than she was, and she felt more like his house-sitter than his daughter; so, when Jesse found a two-bedroom apartment, they moved in together and ended up splitting the rent.

This isn't how it was supposed to be the little voice in Casey's head was saying.

Unbeknownst to her, Jesse was standing in the hallway, leaning up against one wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't get it." He finally said.

Her head snapped to look at him, and she wiped a lone tear from her eye. "Don't get what?"

"Why don't you just call the damn guy already? Or better yet, I will, and give him a piece of my damn mind." He shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

Casey got up and followed him. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Casey," he gave her a blank look, "I may be a dancer, and had less of a GPA in high school than you did, but I'm not stupid. You want to be with him; so tell him. This isn't doing you or us good at all."

Casey was horrified.

"No! Jesse, I…"

He held a hand up, rolling his eyes, but there was a genuine smile on his lips, "Please, Casey, spare me. You've done nothing but mope since we got here and I can see that that smile you plaster on your face before we go on is just as fake as the one they paint on the faces of those creepy-looking dolls. I have no idea how you're going to do it tonight."

Tonight. Casey had almost totally forgotten. Tonight was their biggest production thus far.

He was right; she didn't even know how she was going to pull that one off.

Shit.

Immediately after the word passed through her thoughts, Casey mentally slapped herself.

She had been talking to her mom, and George when she wasn't practicing – which was almost ten hours a day, five days a week.

They were paid well for it, though, so Casey couldn't entirely complain.

Incidentally, in a phone conversation around the very beginning of November that she had had with her mom and George, she had actually worked up the nerve to ask about Derek.

Her mother had told her that so far, he had only played two games with the team, and she really didn't know hockey; so she wasn't the best person to rate his performance.

During Christmas, Casey had called again, and worked up the nerve to ask about him again – finding it easier the second time.

Her mother didn't comment on it – which she was grateful for – and had actually said that he was starting on the team now.

Casey hadn't been to many of Derek's games, but she knew that that was big news – incredible, really, and she was happy for him.

Their team was doing well, too; for which Casey was grateful. At least he was successful too.

See, he doesn't need me. Casey thought to herself upon hearing that.

But, at that time, George just so happened to say something that knocked the breath out of her.

"You know, Casey, we go to see some of his games sometimes." George had begun.

Casey just nodded, even though they couldn't see her.

"And, he looks up at us and smiles and waves…but…there always seems to be something missing in his smile as he watches us from in the stands."

Did he miss her?

No. It wasn't possible.

Did he ever think about her?

Again, that's not possible.

Belatedly, she wondered what the reason for this sudden change was.

The conversation with George basically died after that comment, though.

I mean, really, how was Casey supposed to respond?

That's great! I miss him like hell and totally want him to transfer to New York and play here. Where he'll probably have a crappy life living with me again and I'll be out with Jesse ten hours every day for five days a week…

Yeah, not going to happen.

That conversation was two weeks ago, and Casey suddenly found it odd that neither of her parents had really brought up Derek at all.

Just then, her phone buzzed from in her pocket; saving her from the rest of the awkward conversation with Jesse.

He shrugged and walked out of the kitchen, his food in his hands, as she pulled it out of her pocket.

Casey's whole face lit up, "Oh, hey mom." She said into the phone.

"Hey, Casey…look, I…I'm really sorry, but I have some bad news. We had to fly back home yesterday. We won't be making the production tonight. I'm glad we made it last night, though! You were absolutely amazing!"

Casey's jaw dropped, and her face instantly lost the brightness it had, "What…why?"

"Simon's come down with something, and…Marti's catching it. I'm so sorry, honey; but we'll try to make the next one."

"Well, alright, mom…I…I hope they feel better."

Tonight she and Jesse were to do an encore and star as the two main roles in a modern-day musical of Beauty and the Beast.

She was really excited since it was huge. Tonight's was the Saturday night play. There were advertisements all over the place, and any time she or Jesse went out, they basically had to have a bodyguard with them.

Nope, tonight's smile wouldn't have to be faked.

This was what she had been preparing for.

It just sucked that her family wasn't going to be able to make it.

She went through the rest of the day almost like a robot waiting for that night.

She couldn't remember what she had eaten – she could only vaguely remember Jesse forcing her to eat something at a couple different times that day.

She couldn't remember what she had done; though, she thought that she and Jesse had gone to the mall together.

She didn't care.

She just couldn't wait for tonight.

During the costume rehearsals, she realized that the yellow dress looked absolutely amazing on her. She would have to remember that yellow was definitely her colour.

Finally, four o'clock rolled around, and Jesse came out in his white dress shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

"Hey are you almost ready?"

Casey stared back at him and nodded. She was already wearing a yellow dress that she had picked up for herself from a store, black heeled shoes, her hair was done as best as she could, and she shrugged on a thick jacket since this was New York in February.

Jesse helped her into the jacket and grabbed the door for them on the way out after throwing his own on and grabbing the apartment keys and his wallet from beside the door.

"I'm so excited!" Casey squealed as they sat in the back seat of their limo.

From the other seat, Jesse laughed, "Wow, it's about time you looked genuinely excited again. I've missed this expression. It fits you even better than Belle's dress."

Casey blushed fervently, nodding and smiling, "Thank you."

"No, thank you. I'm even more excited for this now."

"Just try not to overheat in your costume." Casey joked.

Jesse laughed, "I don't know, I'm hot as it is and all that fur definitely doesn't help."

It was such a Derek thing to say.

Casey instantly felt like she had been stabbed in the chest, and her smile faltered.

She tried to get his image out of her head, but nothing she was doing was working.

"Casey? Casey, what's wrong?" Jesse asked her from the driver's seat.

She was brought out of her own torment by his voice, "Hmm? Oh, nothing. I'm fine." She even plastered the fake smile on for good effect.

A lot of effect it had, since Jesse didn't believe it any more than she did.

He rolled his eyes, "What did I say?"

Casey laughed, "That you're hot already and the fur doesn't help. I wish I had all that fur to wear right now! It's so cold!"

"Well, that's your own fault for picking such a short dress."

Again, a Derek thing to say. Casey let that one slide, though; any good boyfriend would probably make that comment.

Casey rolled her eyes, "Don't even tell me you're complaining."

Jesse laughed, "Not at all, though it really doesn't leave much for the imagination."

Casey could feel the blush coming before it even hit her cheeks. "I know. That's sort of why I picked it. It isn't something I'd normally wear."

Jesse nodded. "I noticed that too." He then placed his hand slightly above her knee, and closed the rest of the space between their lips.

Casey wasn't sure when it had happened, but she had finally felt a spark.

Jesse must've too, because for the first time in a long time, he was smiling.

Casey was smiling when he pulled away too. "You look happy."

"That's because I am happy. No offense, Casey, but I finally felt some emotion from my beautiful girlfriend through that kiss."

Casey blushed again, "I'm sorry…I haven't been this far away from my family my whole life. It's new for me."

Jesse nodded, "I get it, Casey. It's okay."

And get it, Jesse did.

She was hung up on Derek.

It was painfully obvious, and he wondered what the hell that lucky fool did to get a girl like Casey to act this way for him.

Then, for him to not even know it was just…using a blowtorch on a fire.

"Are you ready?" Jesse asked, grabbing for her hand as they made their way out of the limo. Jesse would usually shield her from the press as they walked into the theater. At first, the producers of the productions had tried sneaking them in through other entrances, but the press usually always found them; so it was of no use. Jesse would just have to hold Casey close to his body and shove their way through the nagging, and sometimes ignorant people with cameras and microphones screaming questions into their faces and occasionally, spitting on them.

"People are animals!" Casey would always yell once they had made it safely inside.

Jesse nodded, this time, "Yeah, and I'm the one who has to wear all that fur."

Casey, despite herself, laughed. "I would say we could just borrow one of them to play the part of the beast, but they'd screw it up even worse than they do out there."

Jesse laughed and nodded himself as they separated to go to their respective dressing rooms to get ready.

"Oh my goodness, Casey! You're going to look so amazing!" her makeup artist for the day shrieked into her ear.

She felt a little bad that she didn't know the girls' name for today.

Especially since the girl almost reminded her of Marti.

Casey rolled her eyes, this was getting ridiculous.

Realizing she had just been spoken to, Casey smiled, "Thank you."

"I can't wait to see it! This is going to be so awesome!"

Casey just kept smiling, "I hope so."

"I know so, Casey! You're such a great actress!"

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." The girl said, never missing a beat from doing Casey's makeup.

The woman working on her hair now just stayed silent – which Casey was somewhat grateful for.

Hours later, she was in the blue and white dress with the black corset walking onto the stage for the first scene.

And even from the back of the theater, while she was wearing a costume – that fit her perfectly, he might add – Derek thought she looked stunningly beautiful.

He always had.

He probably always would.

Fortunately, he actually understood this particular play; he had read this book to Marti over-and-over-and-over again. This was probably her favourite story.

He was glad that they had made their sacrifice for him; though, he had gone through hell and back to get them to understand what was going on.

They understood, though, they could see it.

They could probably see it from day one, and that's why they kept them apart for so long before they absolutely had to move them in together.

It had taken a lot out of Derek for him to let her go. He knew that's what he had to do, though. He to find out two things: one, if she really, truly wanted to be with him; and two, if she didn't, could he ever get over her?

But, after Lizzie got on the phone, that was all shot to hell.

"She loves you, you know. She doesn't want Jesse. She wanted you to come with her – to follow her – to fight for her; and you didn't, Derek. Why didn't you?"

He remembered it as though it were yesterday. He was almost in tears. His little sisters had a way of doing that to him.

"Because, Liz, Jesse's better for her than I am…"

"That's bullshit and you know it." Lizzie had replied quickly, effectively cutting him off; and if it wasn't such a serious talk, he probably would've laughed.

"You're perfect for her, and she needs you. She called about you, you know. You're lucky Nora picked up the phone and that she doesn't know hockey. She couldn't tell Casey that you were sucking."

And damn, if those words didn't wake him up in the middle of the night – every night.

He knew he played horrible.

He couldn't focus.

He couldn't concentrate.

He couldn't do anything right.

Then again, when could he ever do something right?

"With Casey by your side. You two got into a lot of shit together, but you always bailed each other out, Derek. Always." Lizzie had replied, and he hadn't realized he had still been on the phone, much less talking so that Lizzie could hear him.

He took a deep breath and hung up the phone from his sister.

He resolved at that moment to play a hell of a lot better.

And, play better he did.

It only took a month's worth of games, but he finally got it.

He talked to the family about what he had resolved to do. He admitted to the family what he had refused to admit to himself for a long time.

They were supportive…after a lot of begging, "are you sure's," and "we knew it's!"

He thinks Nora might've shed a tear or two as well, but there was nothing she could really say about it.

Nora knew her daughter.

Especially the younger ones – the ones who convinced her that this was what they both wanted.

And, that's exactly why he was here.

No, he hadn't given up a hockey game to be here – they played this morning – sealing his deal, and making it actually sweeter – if that were possible.

There was just one area of his life that needed closure.

And that was Casey.

Two hours later, and the play was over. It had been a literal full house. The owner of the theater had said that the place was packed almost to capacity. He was amazed, and said that Jesse and Casey could do productions in his theater for as long as they lived.

Okay, so maybe that was excitement and over exaggeration.

Who cares, right?

"Hey, babe, great job!" Jesse said, coming up behind Casey and hugging her. Since she wasn't facing him, he started kissing her shoulder.

"Jesse…" she mumbled, it came out as more of a moan that an order to get off of her, though.

"Alright, well, see ya later, Casey! You were great! Good luck with the VIPs! I hear they can be somewhat annoying!" the makeup artists swooned again.

Casey and Jesse smiled and laughed at her as Jesse never let her go, "Alright, see ya!"

She turned in Jesse's arms, smiling broadly, "You're so rude, you know that, right?"

Jesse nodded, smiling widely, "And you look absolutely amazing in that dress."

She was still wearing Belle's yellow dress.

"I have to agree." A voice came from behind them.

And Casey would recognize his voice anywhere.

She spun, almost knocking Jesse over, wide-eyed and open mouthed.

He was holding the VIP badge up to mid-torso – showing it off - while it was still hanging around his neck.

"Talk about VIPs being somewhat annoying…" Jesse mumbled, but he didn't need anyone telling him that they needed privacy.

He walked away before Casey could turn around and beg him to with her eyes.

Not that she did.

They were glued to the man in the doorway.

"Derek? What…?"

His eyebrows rose, "What am I doing here? You mean the fam actually didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"So they can keep a secret. Chalk one up for Lizzie."

"What are you talking about?" Casey asked.

Derek sighed, and looked at Casey with a stern face, "Simon and Marti getting sick wasn't a stroke of luck for me. I asked them to not come tonight."

Casey furrowed her brows, "Why…"

"Because I need to talk to you."

And Jesse knew it was over. He wished Derek had at least given him the chance to break up with her first, but at least he knew it was coming.

When he walked away, he knew it was for good.

There was no way he was staying to hear the rest of it.

Casey was just looking at Derek, gaping, "What could you possibly need to talk to me about that you had to fly all the way out down here and couldn't just…"

And to stop her from rambling, Derek closed the distance between them and kissed her – his hands grabbing her around her waist as though she would run away.

Instead, she responded immediately.

When they finally pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.

Both were smiling, too.

"Sorry, Case, but you were rambling…again."

And it was such a Derek thing to say…

This time, though, Derek actually had said it.

Her smile widened.

But it disappeared almost as quickly.

"Why is that what you apologized for?"

Derek's eyes narrowed at her until she continued, "You let me go. You walked away. You were gone. You didn't talk to me. You didn't email me. You didn't even ask about me. And now, you come back and expect everything to be perfect just because you came back?"

There were tears in her eyes.

Derek kept his expression blank, though, and his eyes never strayed from hers.

"Sorry, Case, but tears don't work on me anymore. I learned to do them – especially since most of the time they were my own…after I let you go. After I walked away from you. After I left. Every time I hung up from the family without your name coming up once. Every time I thought about you with Jesse, and how you would get married and be this famous couple. I cried after everything; all the time. I couldn't think straight. Hell, I couldn't even play."

She blinked.

And stared.

Her mouth was open again.

"You…you did? Really?"

He nodded.

And damn if he wasn't fighting tears now.

"But, wait, when I asked about you, mom said you were doing great on the team – that you were a starter and everything."

Derek nodded again, averting his eyes now, "Yeah, that's because I came up with a plan. They told me you had asked about me the first time, and that was what I was waiting for. That little spark of hope was what I needed to forget regret. So, yeah, I got better…and…I got what I wanted, too. I made a plan, Case…"

"Which is?"

He faced her now, and took her hands in his, "New York University offered me a scholarship. But I'm only taking it if you want…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before Casey removed her hands from his, grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him fiercely.

When they pulled apart again, a horrifying thought hit Casey like a brick, "Oh my god!"

"What?" Derek asked as he watched both of her hands fly to her mouth.

"I just cheated on Jesse!"

Derek's mouth made a straight line and he put his hand through the hair on the back of his head.

"Der-ek! This is the part where you say you talked to him and we were actually broken up for a while now!"

Derek smirked, "Sorry, Case, I've had other collateral damage to think or recently…"

And then it really hit her.

"You…you said you talked to mom and George, didn't you?"

He nodded, his hand still at the back of his head.

"How did they…"

He shrugged before she could continue, "Could've gone better; could've gone worse. They agreed to stay out of the way tonight; so…I guess deep down, some parts of them don't hate the idea of us together."

Casey shut her mouth quickly and nodded.

"Go talk to Jesse."

"But, Derek, I don't even want to sleep there anymore…"

Derek smirked, "Come on, Case, you think I didn't think of that? This whole trip has been about you and you think I didn't think of that? Plus, who the hell says I want you sleeping there anymore?

Casey closed her mouth again as he handed her a keycard to a nearby hotel room.

Despite herself, she laughed, "Always the romantic."

Derek shrugged, "What? You were my first stop. I didn't have time to go apartment searching yet."

Casey laughed again, "Two beds?"

Derek glared at her, "Of course." He looked at something over her shoulder as a thought suddenly hit him. He brought his eyes back to hers, and his hands on her shoulders, "Wait, you're not still…"

Casey bit her lip and nodded.

Derek dropped his head but looked back at her before saying, "You're serious?"

Still biting her lip, she nodded again.

"You and Jesse shared an apartment and you're still…"

Casey shrugged, her face starting to turn red now, "Yes, Derek! God! How many times are you going to ask!? The answer's the same. He…never pushed, pushed but he…he tried; and I just…I couldn't do it…with him, I mean."

"Okay, Casey, I have to ask this, he's perfect. Why couldn't you do it?"

"You just want to hear me say it." Casey stated.

"No, Casey, I need to hear you say it."

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "He may be perfect, Der, but he wasn't perfect for me, and deep down, I knew that. Deep down, I knew that you are."

This kiss was harder, and lasted a lot longer, too.

When they finally pulled away this time, out of breath was an understatement. Their lungs were gasping for air. They were drowning in each other.

"That wasn't really what I was expecting you to say." Derek smirked.

"Then what were you expecting me to say?" she shot back.

"Oh, a simple 'he wasn't right for me' would've sufficed; but what you said was like a million times better."

Casey laughed, "Wow, 'sufficed' and big numbers, all in the same sentence! My lamebrain is growing up!" and with that, she wrapped her arm around his neck, bringing his head down and giving him a nuggy.

Derek laughed at her maneuver. It was so familiar.

Especially when he picked her up bridal style, and in that yellow dress she looked a lot like a bride.

Casey let out a deep sigh, now looking at the keycard Derek had given her that she had shoved into the side of the dress.

"I really do need to go talk to Jesse before I leave with you."

Derek nodded, "Of course, Case. Need me to go with you?"

Casey shook her head, "No, I think it would be delivered better if it just came from me."

Derek nodded and kissed her forehead, "Always the sensitive keener."

Casey smiled, picking up the dress and walking away.

And this time, when she turned around, Derek was still standing there – waving at her, with a goofy grin on his face.

And despite what she had to do now, she smiled herself.

She changed out of her costume quickly, and her bodyguard escorted her out of the building.

"Jesse?" she asked, opening the door to the apartment they shared.

"In here." He called, from the kitchen.

He put the bottle he had in his hand on the counter when she came in and looked at her.

"I take it, it went well, then, huh? Must say, though, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Jesse, I'm so sorry…"

He held a hand up, "No, Casey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried. You were a lost cause when I met you. I can only imagine how far along you were by then. I don't even want to think about it. You don't need to apologize to me…"

"But, Jesse, I was horrible to you…"

"No, you weren't, Casey. I was horrible to you. I shouldn't have taken you away from him. I distracted you from what you really wanted – from what you should've known you wanted all along…"

"Aren't you hurt?"

"Of course I'm hurt. Did I want you to pick me? Hell yeah. But I knew you wouldn't. Listen to me closely, Casey, I already knew you wanted him when I met you."

Casey's mouth was open slightly as she listened to Jesse.

"So…you forgive me?"

He shrugged, "Only if you forgive me."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"Are you still going to be dancing?"

Casey nodded, her face beaming proudly now, "He's moving here. He got a scholarship to NYU."

Jesse, in spite of himself, smiled too. Hers was contagious, "Smart man."

Casey nodded and pointed with her index finger, "Why are you drinking that?"

Jesse shrugged, "I figured I'm allotted tonight. We don't have anything tomorrow, and…I sort of needed it."

Casey averted her eyes at that, "Oh, okay."

Jesse smiled, looking at her, "Don't worry about me, Casey. I'll be fine. Hell, before I left, there were a bunch of girls who stopped me by the actual VIP lounge."

"Oh, is that why I'm finding a bunch of little pieces of papers with phone numbers on them leading a path in here tonight?"

Jesse immediately looked horrified as he put the bottle back down on the counter and checked his pockets.

"Wait, you really do have numbers on a little piece of paper?"

Jesse nodded, smiling, "Yeah, I do. There were too many to take out my phone; plus, I'm not so sure I want them to have my number."

"How do you know who's who?"

Jesse shrugged, "Their names are on the pieces of paper…but other than that, I hadn't gotten that far."

Casey laughed, "Well, good luck."

"Do you need any help moving out?"

Casey gaped at him.

"Oh, please, you didn't expect me to believe that he'd let you live with your now ex-boyfriend, when he is in the same state?"

"He hasn't found an apartment yet."

Jesse half-smiled at her, "Okay, then. A hotel?"

Casey nodded.

"So you were his priority, then. Smart man."

Casey laughed, "You said that already."

"Yeah, but now I actually believe it. He let you get away from him; forgive me if I was a little skeptical."

"I don't think he'll make that mistake again."

"I don't think so either." Jesse said, as she had started grabbing some of the necessities she would need for tonight and tomorrow.

"Thanks, Jesse…for everything."

"Goodbye, Casey." He said to her as they released from their hug.

"What do you mean goodbye? I'll see you Monday, bright and early!"

They laughed as Casey walked out the door.

"You better be calling with good news." Edwin muttered into the phone.

"It worked." Derek said, and he couldn't contain the excitement that was exploding in him after he had said it. "Oh my god, Edwin! It worked! She still feels the same! I'm transferring to New York!"

"It worked!" Edwin yelled, putting his hand over the mouthpiece.

"Really?!"

"It did!?"

"That's great!"

"Yeah, Casey!"

On his side of the line, Derek chuckled, running a hand over his face.

"Congrats, bro. When's the wedding?"

And collectively, Derek and the rest of the family yelled, "Edwin!"

Haha! I always liked Edwin's character. So, what'd you guys think? I think this came out pretty nicely for having written it in one night.

Okay! Here's an excerpt from another story that I have written and am hoping to post.

Derek was busy staring at his phone; so he hadn't seen Simon get up and walk over to him, crawling up on his stomach.

He was beyond grateful he played hockey, otherwise, the toddler on his chest might have been a little too much to bear, but Simon had swiftly crawled up on Derek's chest, curled up, and, thumb in his mouth, the little boy could barely keep his eyes open.

Derek smirked again as he put on a goofy facial expression, made sure to get Simon sleeping; took another picture and sent it to Casey.

She quickly responded with, "That's cute. When was your last shower?"

A full blown smile hit Derek's mouth as he replied, "Today, after hockey practice, why the sudden interest, princess?"

As soon as he hit send, he could almost see the blush that would have come on her cheeks if she were here.

But, to his surprise, she replied, "Nice try, but I'm more worried about Simon's health."

Wait! Since when does Casey have quick smartass comebacks?!

He envisioned her replying to that, "I always have, lamebrain," and he smirked again.

Next thing he knew, Simon was slightly snoring on his chest, and he belatedly hoped the kid didn't drool. Marti, was also lying on the floor, having grabbed a blanket and a pillow and put them in front of the T.V.

Derek smiled. Nothing could replace this feeling.

If only Casey were here on the couch with him; maybe even lying on top of him instead of Simon…

So, keep a look out for my multi-chap LwD fic I Will Find A Way!

Thanks for reading, reviewing, pming, favoriting and/or following! I love my fans!