"Hi! You're Casey McDonald, aren't you?"

Casey looked up as someone called her name across the high school car park. An attractive lady of about forty was smiling at her.

"Yes. I am. Well, half of me anyway!"

The other lady laughed. "Busy juggling work and home life? I know that feeling."

Casey nodded, warming to the other lady. She moved to stand next to her new acquaintance, beside her car.

"My name's Cathy. I recognised you because my daughter and I are big fans of your work. Your latest book was fantastic, such a great concept, fantasy where the heroine actually has backbone! We had to buy a copy each so that we could read it at the same time."

"Thank you! I hated not having strong heroines in stories when I was younger. They were all so weak and so reliant on men. Not that there's anything wrong with men, of course, but knowing the species, I really couldn't understand why an intelligent girl would place all her faith in the lame examples of heroes most stories have. How old's your daughter?"

"She's a senior. We're rather proud of her. She's just been offered a scholarship to Queens next year."

"Oh. I went to Queens, she'll have a lot of fun. Is she a hard worker?"

"Sometimes too much of one. I've tried to get her to ease up a bit but she takes everything so seriously."

"I'm sure she'll find a balance at Queens. It worked for me."

"You have a son here, don't you? I've heard of him."

Casey groaned. "Don't tell me…It was something outrageous and probably ended in detention."

The other lady chuckled. "Which time?"

Casey laughed. "You really have heard of Stig, haven't you?" Cathy laughed too.

"Lucy keeps me updated. My husband and I find it very entertaining, and our younger daughter has started keeping a "Stig" Scrapbook detailing all his antics. Is he really named after the novel?"

Casey nodded. "His real name is Steven, but his room has been a constant mess since he was six so we nicknamed him 'Stig of the dump'. It stuck. Even more appropriate now he is a teenager. His room is worst than most because he spends so much time in it, he has been grounded so many times. You know he can be so infuriating, and yet every now and then he does some redeeming thing, and the thought of military school recedes for a short while!"

"What does your husband think?"

Casey sighed. "That he's normal. That he's just being a teenager."

Cathy nodded. "My own brothers were a handful."

"Oh I know that feeling. I grew up in a house with two teenage boys and it wasn't fun; one long series of pranks for which I was, normally, the target. At least, Stig keeps the pranking to a minimum at home. But at school…I'm dreading what he has been up to on this day trip. You wouldn't believe the trouble he could get into in one day. The last time I took him to a museum we were given a life ban."

Cathy laughed. "My favourite Stig story is where he ran a homework racket from his locker."

"Well, yes. Not unfortunately a Stig original."

"Or the time when he put the headmaster's furniture on the roof."

Casey blushed. She couldn't blame the origin of that prank on Derek. She could blame him for telling Stig though.

"He has a large repertoire of pranks to work from. My step-brother, Edwin documented his family's prank history and presented it to Stig on his twelfth birthday."

The bus pulled up at that point and a stream of seniors poured out into the car park. One very attractive girl appeared at the doorway looking flustered and started down the bus steps. She stumbled, her foot missed the bottom step and she went sprawling onto the asphalt.

"Way-to-go, Klutzilla!" A voice sounded from inside the bus as a tall, copper-haired boy of about 18 stepped over his prostrate classmate.

"Stig, You Jerk!" She replied.

"You know, brainiac, if you spent as much time watching your feet as you do reading, the world would be a safer place."

"You pushed me, you moron."

"You know, you should come with a health warning."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same about you."

"And just exactly how much time thinking about me do you do?"

"Ego much!"

Casey saw the look between the two seniors and felt a chill.

"Let me guess." She turned to Cathy. "That's Lucy?"

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Derek was settling into his favourite position in bed: arm round gorgeous woman, hand cupping naked breast, face buried in her hair.

"Okay. You seduced me….again."

"There wasn't much seduction involved in it." She laughed. "As I recall, all I did was remove my clothes."

"Uh…Duh…" He smirked and planted a kiss in her hair. "That's normally all it takes. Although, I have to say, you really were making an effort to take them off in that way. And they were your seduction set."

"My what?"

"The set of bra and panties you keep for "seducing Derek"."

"That's ridiculous!"

"No. It's hot. I like them. You should buy more so I can spend more time removing them from you." He grinned. "And you might as well get 'the talk' over and done with; now that you've put out for the privilege."

"Der-ek!"

"Casey!"

"I can't believe you used that phrase. I have never "put out"."

"Really Case? That doesn't explain Stig…"

"Derek."

"…or Bethany…"

"Derek."

"…or Alex or Ruthie."

"Der-ek!"

"I mean I know the family think I only have to look at you to get you pregnant but that's pushing it a bit."

"I don't "put out". I 'make love'."

Derek slid his free arm around her and rolled so he was pressing against her. "I know. You do it very well… and if you don't get on with this little chat, then you are going to be too busy to have the chat…again." He kissed her pointedly on the lips.

Casey giggled against his mouth.

"Tempting as you are. We really do need to talk."

Derek rolled onto his back again and pulled her close. "Okay. When's it due?"

"I'm not pregnant."

"Oh? That's how the conversation normally starts."

"Yeah…well…not this time. This time it's…"

"…Stig."

"How did you know?"
"Because the only serious conversations you and I ever seem to have are either about you being pregnant again, or Stig doing something Derek-like."

"Stig does something Derek-like all day long. The wonder is that I ever agreed to have children with you at all knowing what you were like as a teenager."

"You mean you don't have fond memories of our childhood."

"I do. But most of them don't involve you."
"Casey, I'm hurt…not surprised, but hurt all the same." He grinned and started nuzzling her neck. "Do you want me to apologise for my behaviour as a teenager again?" He said it seductively. "I'm very good at it."

"Not right now. I think there's a girl."

Derek frowned. "Casey…we've had that discussion. I have never been unfaithful to you. There haven't been 'girls' since high school." The honesty was shining so brightly in his face, Casey laughed.

"I didn't mean you. I meant Stig."

"Of course there's a girl. There's always a girl. It's one of the things that irritates you the most."

"No. I don't mean a girl he's dating. I mean a girl he's fighting with."

"Fighting with?" Derek looked confused.

"You know the old adage about marrying your mother?"

"Yeah…"

"Well today when I picked him up from school there was this girl. Derek, he tripped her up as she was going down the bus steps and then called her Klutzilla."

"Yeah well the Klutzilla label he's heard me use for you before now." Derek paused. "Is she good looking?"

"Oh yeah. The worrying thing is, D. She called him a "Jerk" in the same tone of voice I used to use for you."

"What'd'ya mean, 'used to use'?" He got momentarily distracted by the blue eyes fixing his own, and ran his fingers through her hair. You are so beautiful, and I've never deserved you.

"It's probably nothing, Case."

"I met her mother. She's really nice. And the girl, Lucy, sounds just like me."

"Then we shouldn't interfere. She sounds like the perfect daughter-in-law."

"She's got a scholarship to Queens, D."

"So. So has Stig."

"Exactly."

Derek met his wife's eyes again.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I think maybe we should get to know Lucy's parents."

"Yeah. That would kill off any possible romance. If the rents get along."

"Didn't with us."

"That was different. Ours are married to each other."

"Anyway, I meant without the kids knowing."

"Sneaky Casey. I like it. Maybe if they meet me they won't worry so much about Stig when he grows up."

"Or maybe this is a really bad idea." Casey teased.

"Just sort it out Casey. You're so much better at this than me."

"Yes I am, aren't I?"

"You aren't better at every thing so stop looking so smug."

"Okay. Apart from hockey, name one thing you do better than me."
"Oh that's easy." Derek said, sliding under the bedcovers.

"Seduction."

Casey squealed.

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