There was a CBC reality show called, Battle of the Blades and after seeing an ad for it on the subway, a light bulb went off. How perfect would this be for a Dasey plot? Derek the Hockey god and Casey the graceful dancer… slap on a pair of ice skates and we got ourselves a figure skater! Then I got thinking about the movie, The Cutting Edge with Moira Kelly and DB Sweeny. The created juices began to flow, and the idea came out. As of now, I am operating with no pre-conceived plot, so I'm writing as I go. This will most likely be a two-shot, but who knows!

Battle of the Blades

Derek's POV

Derek Venturi laced up his skates in a hurry, ready to rush out onto the ice. Gabbing his stick and helmet he geared up and glided over to the far side of the lake where Sam, Ralph and a few other guys from the hockey team were waiting. It was a crisp, beautiful January afternoon and there were families gathered around the lake skating and drinking hot chocolate. In fact, Derek could see his family at the far end where his baby sister, Marti was waving at him. Derek waved back and then turned to his friends.

"Alright, guys. Let's get this game going. It's Sam, Ralph, and me verses Todd, Zack and Mike."

"Why do you always get Sam and Ralph on your team?" Mike asked.

"Because it's my team and Ralph is the best goalie in London and Sam and I can communicate without even looking at each other. We're D-Rock."

"That was a little cheesy, Derek." Sam grinned.

"Yeah, well it sounds like Space Case may be rubbing off on me a bit."

The boys laughed and Derek called Edwin over to drop the puck. The game continued without interruption for over an hour until something caught Derek's eye. Or should I saw someone?

Across the ice, the most graceful skater Derek ever saw was doing figure eights and lapping the pond. Derek so was mesmerised he didn't notice Todd skate right in front of him and steal the puck, nor did he notice when Sam scored a hat trick, and he definitely didn't see Mike and Zack skate over and knock his legs right out from under him.

"Crap guys! What was that for?"

"That's what you get for being in dream land!" laughed Mike.

"Not cool." Derek laughed.

Derek's eyes never left the mystery girl while getting up and he slipped and fell again. The boys all laughed as Sam skated over and reached a hand to help his friend.

"What are you staring at?"

"You don't see her?"

"See who?"

"The Beauty on Blades."

"Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a) you just said 'Beauty on Blades' and b) that's Casey!"

"No way is that Klutzilla!"

"Trust me D. That's Case. Why else would she be skating with Marti and Lizzie?"

"Oh! I didn't even notice them!"

Sam laughed, "You were so entranced with Casey that you didn't see Smarti? Dang, Derek… You musta hit your head."

"Hey lovebirds! Stop whispering and come finish the game!"

"Shut up, Todd. We're coming. Sam, don't mention any of that to anyone, ok?"

"Don't worry. I wouldn't have dreamed of it. Although I do have some sweet blackmail, now."

"Don't even think abo-"

"Come on D. Have a little faith."

With a final glance over at Casey, Derek skated back over to his friends to finish the game.

Casey's POV

Casey looked up from lacing Marti's skates to see the girl wave to someone across the ice. She saw Derek wave back and skate over to his hockey buddies.

"Who's that playing with Derek, Casey?"

"Uhh… it looks like Sam, Ralph, Todd, and a couple other guys from the team."

"Can we watch?"

"I thought you wanted me to teach you how to figure skate?"

"I do… but I really love to watch Smerek play hockey."

"Ok… why don't we do both? We can grab some hot chocolate and watch the game then I'll teach you how to skate backwards and do figure eights. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

Casey brought over a couple cups of hot chocolate but grew restless after watching the boys play for almost an hour.

"I'm a bit cold, Marti. I think I'm gonna go skate around a bit. You ready to come or you gonna keep watching the game?"

"I wanna finish my hot cocoa and then we can skate."

"Ok. Just call me when you're ready to go out on the ice. Mom will keep you company."

Nora was eight months pregnant and did not want to risk anything by heading out onto the ice. She had become the official bench warmer.

"Are you having fun, Marti?"

"Yes! I love skating! Just like Smerek!"

"Yes, Derek's second home does seem to be on the ice," Nora laughed. "Casey used to love to skate in Toronto. Every weekend, if there wasn't a dance rehearsal or recital she'd be at the rink. I don't know why she never took it up here."

"It's because Smerek skates!" Marti whispered confidently before jumping up and heading over to Casey.

"Casey!" Marti called from the bank of the pond. Casey looked up from where she was talking to Lizzie and skated over to Marti with ease.

"You ready to learn how to figure skate?"

"Yes! I can't wait for Smerek to see!"

"I'm sure he'll be very pleased."

"What do we do first?"

"Well… how well can you skate?"

"I'm pretty good. Smerek taught me how to stay up!"

"Did he teach you how to stop?"

"Yeah… he told me to crash into someone!"

"He would, wouldn't he?" Casey laughed. "Okay sweetie, I'll do a few tricks and then you can tell me what you want to learn."

"Cool… can I stand with Lizzie?"

"Sure. She knows what I'm doing so she can tell you what they're called."

Casey skated backwards to the middle of the pond and started doing figure eights, simple jumps and spins. She'd missed the freedom she had on the ice. She loved to dance, and jazz was amazing but the exhilaration she felt while figure skating couldn't match.

"Der-ek! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have had to give this up!" Casey thought. She looked over to where the boys were playing their hockey game and spotted Derek just before he fell hard to the ice. With a smile, Casey skated back over to Marti and taking her hand began to show her how to move in order to skate backwards.

Derek's POV

The game ended with Derek back on track and D-Rock winning 12-10. Derek, Sam and Ralph skated over to where the McDonald-Venturi's were hanging around. Casey and Marti were off to the side doing figure eights in sync with each other. Derek skated over and scooped Marti into his arms.

"SMEREK! Did you see me skating with Casey?"

"Sure did, kid! You looked great!"

"Thanks! Now put me down so I can show you everything Smasey taught me!"

"Smasey, eh?"

"Yeah! She's a great skater! And a good teacher!"

"Ok, let's see what you got."

Marti started skating figure eights through Derek and Casey, smirking up at them as she passed. Then she began to circle them, skating in tighter and tighter circles until Casey and Derek were a hair breadth apart. Casey tripped and Derek instinctively caught her, but her momentum caused the two to fall backwards on the ice.

"Now I know why they created helmets!" Derek smirked while rubbing his head.

"Sorry, Der. My skate hit yours and I couldn't stay up."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Klutzilla."

Casey huffed and pushed herself off Derek, and began skating back towards the family.

Derek remained flat on the ice, thankful for the coldness around him. Sam skated over and stood over him.

"You're spending an awful lot of time flat on your back today."

"Shut up! Casey knocked me over."

"Yeah… ten minutes ago. She's already out of her skates and in the car with the kids. They're waiting for your sorry butt to get up to go. We're heading out for pizza."

"I'll catch up with you guys. I want to free skate for a while."

"You only free skate when you need to think."

"I'm aware of my own habits, Sam. I'll meet you guys soon. Save some for me."

"Fine. Your gear is already in The Prince."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me, Casey did it." Sam said as he skated off.

The sun was setting and families left in droves. Derek loved skating around the deserted pond alone with his thoughts. It was common knowledge that when Derek made his way out here alone that he was to not be disturbed. Derek skated a few laps just enjoying the beauty of his surroundings and the setting sun. Then Casey's face popped into his mind. "Okay, lets see here" Derek thought. "I don't deny that she's pretty, at least I don't deny that to myself. She's smart, witty, has her funny moments, Marti loves her, and she doesn't back down from a fight even with me." Derek skated a few more laps at break neck speed before he turned around and did a giant figure eight leading up to a double axle with great air – not an easy feat in hockey skates. "Case is my step-sister. Besides the fact that she hates me, she is totally off limits." Derek battled with himself, going back and forth trying to rationalize his feelings.

"I don't hate you."

Derek spun around. "What?"

"You said that I hate you. I don't hate you."

Derek hadn't realized he'd been speaking out loud. "How much did you hear?"

Casey smirked and skated over handing him a Tim Horton's coffee. "Not a whole lot…"

"What did you hear?"

"It's almost nine. The family was worried that you didn't show and Sam told me to come drag you back home. I figured you could use your large double double about now."

"Thank you." Derek sipped the steaming liquid. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"I'm not very off limits."

"What does that mean?"

"Catch me and you'll find out!" Casey called as she skated off to the other end of the pond. Derek looked at her, and smirking, he finished his coffee, rolled up the rim seeing he'd yet again won nothing and set off to see if he'd actually won the grand prize.

So what do you guys think? R/R – I can handle the flames, I would just love to have some feed back.