Hi everyone. This is a short story about the 8 times Derek saw Casey naked. (Its not a smutty story- I promise). Anyways I hope you guys enjoy it and of course- I don't own Life with Derek.

-Trinimex

The first time:

The first time it happened it had been an accident. It was only a couple of weeks after the McDonalds moved in with the Venturi's and neither of the teens had completely mastered bathroom etiquette when living with another teenager of the opposite sex. He had been on his way to take a shower. She had just finished her bath. She forgot to lock the door, and he forgot to knock. Neither of them were dressed... and for a good 30 seconds, neither of them looked away.

The second time:

The second time it happened, it could not be helped. They were at the lake hanging out with a couple of friends, when someone in their group suggested a late night skinny dip. He was all for it, but she was nervous. In the end, she waited until everyone else had gotten into the water before stripping. Coincidently, so had he.

He told himself that he stayed behind because their parents would kill him if he let her fall naked into a ditch. But the truth was he was actually curious to see if his memory of the first time did her justice. It did. And because it did, he knew he could not let any of the other guys at the lake see her without her clothes on; they would never leave her alone. So he deliberately walked in front of her as they made their way to the water, proudly showing off his junk so that nobody else but him got to see hers.

The third time:

The third time it happened... it might have been on purpose. They had been away at college, and sharing an apartment together. He had been working out pretty hard, as reqired by his new coach, and as a result his body had become muscled and tone to perfection -so much so that he had been itching for a chance to show it off. However contrary to popular belief he did not sleep around, and since he had no time for a steady girlfriend with his studies, part time job and hockey practices, he decided to show off his newly improved body to her. After all she was technically a woman.

So he deliberately left his door ajar one evening while working out. When she came home from classes that day she passed by his room on the way to her own room. He watched from a strategically placed mirror as she stumbled at the sight of him working out. She recovered pretty quickly and went her way... but less than a minute later she was walking past his room again. He had pretended not to notice her checking him out as she passed by his slightly opened door, and she continued to find reasons to walk by his door.

Things got really interesting when he pretend to be hot and took his shorts off; remaining before her in his black boxer briefs. At that point she did not even bother to pretend she was doing something at his door, instead she just stood there and stared at him. Having her practically drool over his body gave him the confidence to loose his last item of clothing. However that had been his undoing. No sooner did his underwear hit the floor, did her mouth pop open, and his not so little man spring to life.

It was then she realized that he was watching her watch him. Their eyes met for a couple of seconds in the mirror before she got angry and slammed his bedroom door shut. He felt pretty bad about the whole incident until she paid him back later that week by leaving the bathroom door slightly opened while taking a shower.

The Venturi in him wanted to look away and not give into whatever game she was playing, but the red blooded man in him could not tear his eyes away from her perfect body. Not even when she exited the shower stall and saw him standing there watching her, could he turn his eyes away. His eyes refused to listen to his reason. So they stood like that for a minute. She dripping wet and naked in the middle of the bathroom looking directly at him, while he stood there in the open doorway looking at her.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he pushed the bathroom door fully opened and entered the small room with her. At his intrusion she did not scream, cuss or react in anyway. She just stood there, gloriously wet and naked before him, like some erotic living breathing statue. So he continued to look.

When her nipples hardened under his stare, he could not prevent the smirk that came to his lips. Shifting his eyes to her face, his smirk grew wider. She was pissed at him. So freakin pissed at him. But she was also turned on. There was a fire burning in her eyes. A fire... that she only shared with him. And right now that fire was daring him to do something. So he did.

Keeping his eyes locked onto hers, he reached out and touched her surprisingly plump breast. The fire in her eyes flared, but that was the only response she gave him. Since he could never back down from her challenges he decided to do more. Using the blunt tips of his nails he gently scraped over her hardened nipples with one hand while squeezing her other breast greedily with the other. She inhaled roughly... but still did not move.

That turned him on even more. He liked the fact that nothing was easy with her. That everything between them was a challenge. She had a way of making everything a game that he just had to win. So he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on it hungrily, letting his tongue run all over her, while his other hand grabbed her ass and started squeezing and molding her into his rock hard ridge. This time she could not prevent the gasp that came to her mouth, nor could she maintain her statue like pose. With him holding her to himself like this she had no choice but to reach out and grip his shoulders for support. But still she did not pull away. So he did more.

Moving his mouth from her breast, he trailed hot open mouthed kisses along the line of her neck to her earlobe, while letting his hands caress her all over her body. When he moved his mouth to her mouth she kissed him back hungrily and angrily. It was so freaking hot. He already knew she was capable of passion, especially during their fights, but this was so much more. It was addicting, and he had to have more. Taking the fact that she kissed him that as her consent he moved his free hand lower down her body towards the junction at the top of her thighs. Still she did not stop him, so he dipped his fingers into her warm naked folds. This time her response had been an immediate pleasure filled moan. He had won... and she liked it. Smirking at the wetness on his fingers he started moving them along her sensitive flesh. Winning had never felt this good. But he knew it was about to get much better.

Reaching for his jeans, he undid the top button and carefully slid the zipper down until his manhood popped free. Backing her into the bathroom vanity he leaned her against the cool tile and lifted her onto the edge. She immediately opened for him and he slid himself along her naked, wet inviting entry.

He was just about plunge himself deep inside of her when the phone in the living room began to ring. They both froze... but neither pulled away, so the call went to the answering machine. It was his dad calling to tell them that her mom just gave birth to their brother. The mood had been instantly lost.

Pushing away from her roughly, he pulled his jeans back up and exited the bathroom and the apartment with only one thought running through his mind. He wished he had never seen Casey McDonald naked.

The fourth time:

The fourth time it happened ...was not a pleasant experience. It had been a year since the last time, and they were both dating other people.

As an unspoken rule between them, whenever one of them brought their partner's back to their apartment, the other would do so as well. That night had been no exception. So while she and her asshole boyfriend were holed up in her room, he and his girlfriend were getting busy in his own room.

Things had been heating up nicely between him and his girl when he heard it; the distinct sound of Casey yelling "stop". At first it did not phase him, after all he had heard Casey yell stop many times in the past to him over really stupid and harmless stuff. The girl was a drama queen.

But then he heard her cry out again. This time he noticed that there was an element of terror in her voice that had never been there before, at least not in connection to him. Still... he continued to ignore it. Jasmine was hot, naked and willingly beneath him, he did not want to stop just because Casey and her boyfriend were having a fight. But try as he might, he could not completely ignore the noises coming from the other side of the wall. It was so distracting to him that he actually began to lose power in a certain part of his body. His girlfriend of course had not liked it, so she flipped him over and got on top of him. This helped the situation a bit since the sight of Jasmine bouncing naked on top of him was a very sexy sight. But even that could not prevent him from picking up on the faint sound of Casey crying out in pain.

And that was that. Without a second thought, Derek had pushed his girl off of him, grabbed his boxers from off the floor and took off towards Casey's room. Bursting into her room uninvited he found her naked, curled up in a corner of her bed, crying, while her boyfriend loomed over her threateningly. When she saw him standing there, the look of relief that flooded her face was enough to make him sick.

He did not even bother to ask that bastard what happened. It was clear that that jerk had hurt Casey, so he was now going to hurt him.

Beating the shit of that guy had been easy. Letting him leave their apartment alive- hard, but that guy wasn't worth jail time so he let the jerk go. Instead he went back to Casey to make sure she was okay. She wasn't. She was still balled up in that corner, shaking from head to toe. As soon as he told her that Chuck was gone, she flew across the room at him, tears streaming from her face. Chuck had hit her because she refused to put out. Tonight Chuck had gotten tired of Casey putting him off and had decided that if she wasn't going to give it up willingly, he was going to take it by force.

Just thinking about someone violating Casey like that sent a rush of blood to his head. He wanted to go after that bastard and beat the shit out of him all over again. But Casey had needed him more, so he stayed by her side. Comforting and holding her to his chest until her tears finally stopped. But even then he did not let her go. Taking her back to her bed he laid her down and got in next to her. She immediately turned into him so that she was practically laying on top of him. He did not mind at all. He told himself that he wanted her near him because she was safer with him than by herself. But the truth was that she felt good in his arms, and after time number 3, they had hardly spoken much less touched each other. He missed her, and he missed being close to her. So he held her tight.

It was only in the morning did they realize that they both slept pretty much naked in each other's arms. It wasn't awkward though... she covered her boobs and said thank you. He rubbed the back of his neck and said "you're welcomed." Then he got out and left her room, both of them pretending that they did not notice his morning wood jutting out from his boxers as he leaves.

When he got back to his room, Jasmine, who he had completely forgotten about, was sitting on his bed angrily waiting for him. What followed was one of the most epic fights of his life. Jasmine was convinced that he was cheating on her with Casey, which for sure he wasn't. He tried to convince her that Casey was just like a sister to him, and that she was in trouble so he had to go help but Jasmine did not buy it. She was convinced that no man would leave his girlfriend in the middle of sex to go to the aid of another woman unless there were serious romantic feelings involved. So he explained that if someone was trying to rape that guy's step-sister and he could hear it, then he would definitely leave his girlfriend in the middle of sex to go rescue his sister. Still Jasmine refused to care.

According to Jasmine, even if Casey was in trouble and he had to go and save her, it did not explain why he did not say a word to her before he pushed her off him and ran out the room. Nor did it explain why he never came back to his room after he was done rescuing Casey. Why he spent the entire night with Casey when his girlfriend was waiting for him in his own bed one door away. He tried to explain that Casey was distraught and needed her big brother to comfort her that night. But Jasmine had only laughed bitterly at that. What she told him next had ended their argument as well as their relationship.

"Brother's and sisters do not go around hugging each other naked chest to naked chest. Brothers and sisters don't sleep naked in the same bed cuddled up with each other. And without a doubt brothers did not sport a hard-on after spending the night in bed with his naked sister".

Derek could say nothing to this because she was right. Brother's and sisters did not do those things. He and Casey were not siblings. But to push her point onwards, Jasmine continued to expose the truths that he covered up with lies.

"A brother does not hate on every guy his sister brings home because he is secretly jealous that they get to hold her. Neither does a brother keep a picture of his sister secretly stashed away in his sock drawer like some dirty porno mag. A brother does not moan his sister's name in his sleep while nuzzling on his girlfriends neck, and though A brother might leave sex to go save his sister, a brother would not be so caught up in his sister that he doesn't even notice his girlfriend standing in the open doorway watching him and his sister cuddle in bed!" Jasmine cried as angry defeated tears pooled in her eyes. "You and Casey are not siblings, nor will you ever be siblings. Brother's do not fall in love with their sisters, and you Derek Venturi are definitely in love with Casey McDonald."

The fifth time:

The fifth time it happened was over due. It had been about 2 months after the fourth time. Things were more peaceful and easy between them. All their fights had more or less stopped and now they were much more friendlier with each other than before.

Since neither of them were dating or even in a rush to date, they spent a lot more time with each other than they had in the past. So much so that when Edwin had to pass up on his tickets to Spain to visit their mother because of a bad case of Strep throat, Casey was the first person Derek thought of giving the extra tickets to.

It was while they were in Spain, staying at his mother's boyfriend's villa, did things finally moved forward in their relationship. His mom and Juan had been out of the house. She had been swimming in the pool and he had been sitting on one of the lounge chairs watching her. When she got out of the pool, all wet and barely covered in her red bikini, his legs took off after her before his mind could stop him. He followed her up to her room and closed the door behind them. She pretended not to noticed him and continued to undress for the shower. He continued to follow her around so that he could enjoy the view. When she slipped into the shower stalls and turned the water on, he took off all his clothes and joined her.

They did not even talk... there were no needs for words. Their bodies communicated clearly what each other were feeling... and it was beautiful. The words however did come afterwards when they were back in her bed snuggling under the sunset sky. He asked her why him, and she told him that ever since that first time all those years ago, she knew when she finally made that step she wanted it to be with him. He was touched... and so he touched her.

That set the pattern for the rest of the vacation, in front of his mother and Juan, they bickered as usual. But as soon as the adults exited the villa, they would loose themselves in each other till the others came home.

It happened many times over that week... but in his mind, it's all blurred into one amazing memory.

The sixth time:

The sixth time it happened... was awkward.

When they got back, to London everything had changed. Their family was dealing with a crisis, and as a result they had to put their relationship aside and focus on the family. His dad had gotten into a car accident after suffering a stroke while driving. Thankfully George had survived, but it was still pretty hard on the family.

The insurance covered most of George's medical bills and convalescent care, however without George's regular income the family had very little money for household bills and everyday living expenses.

With no one else to turn to and his dad not being able to work, he had decided that it was up to him to step up and keep their family afloat. He took time off college and got himself a job in London. Nora had felt really sad about it, because leaving the university meant that he would loose his spot on the Hockey team and possibly his scholarship, but he did not mind, he had to do what he had to do. The only thing that really bothered him though was leaving Casey behind at Queens.

When she found out he was moving back to London to take care of the family, she had wanted to quit college too and follow him. However her parents did not allow it. Her major was way more demanding than his and unlike him, she couldn't complete her coursework online. Besides with him and Nora covering the family finances, and Lizzie and Edwin helping with the household care and Simon, Casey wasn't really needed back in London...at least not by anyone else but him, so she stayed at Queens.

He didn't tell her, or anyone else for the matter, but he had really missed her those two months after she went back to college.

During that time they did not talk much... because talking wasn't really their thing and neither of them actually knew what to say. What could they say... in Spain, they had been on vacation and away from their family so they could... for that week, at least pretend to be a regular couple in love. But back home... there was no avoiding the fact that they were related via marriage. Their romance was doomed to fail, especially now with his dad in this condition, so... by silent consent, they both acted like their week in Spain never happened.

Which is why he was really surprised the day she showed up unannounced at his work two months later. For a brief moment he had actually believed that she missed him so much that she had to come back and see him again. Unfortunately, her greeting him with the words "I think I'm pregnant," immediately cured him of that delusion.

After those words everything had become a blur to him. He must had talked to his boss and took the rest of the evening off, and then drove Casey to the local women's health center because the next thing he remembered was the two of them being in hospital examination room, waiting for the doctor to come in and check her out. She was asked to undress then... and since she did not ask him to leave the room he stayed and watched while she changed into the hospital gown.

It was the first time he saw her undressed since they got back from Spain...and they both were aware of it. Unfortunately the air was way too tense between them to feel anything but awkward at the encounter.

The awkwardness remained between them until the doctor put the ultrasound machine to Casey's flat stomach. Hearing the heartbeat of their child had permanently changed things. Without meaning to they both fell in love with their child and wanted to be the best parents they could be for their little baby.

Watching her disrobe and get dressed for the second time that day had not been as awkward as the first because they now had a new baby to talk about. Afterwards he took her out to dinner and they both discussed the baby and the fact that in 7 months time they were going to become parents. They decided that since Casey still had two more months of classes before she was home for the Christmas break, that they would wait till then to tell the family about their baby.

When he walked her to the bus station at the end of the night... they were both very equally happy and afraid at the prospect of being parents... but at least they knew they would be in this together.

It was only later that night when he was lying in his room thinking over the events of the day that he realized he and Casey had yet to have the "talk" about what the baby meant for their relationship... or whatever it was that they shared.

The seventh time:

The seventh time it happened had been heartbreaking. It was a week before Casey was supposed to come home for finals when she woke him up in the middle of the night with a phone call.

"Derek..." she had told him when he picked up his phone. "I'm not feeling so good. I think something might be wrong with the baby."

Still groggy from his sleep he had asked her if she was bleeding or in pain.

"No." She had told him "I just feel really weird."

"Are you sure its not your nerves Casey? I know this is finals week and you know how you get around test times. "

"Your right... Maybe it is nerves." She had answered. But he knew she was lying.

"What do you want to do. Do you want to go over to the local hospital and get checked out." He asked, even as he pulled on his jeans and and shoved his feet into his work boots.

"No.." she answered hesitantly. "I have an Advance Calculus exam that makes up 60% of my grade in the morning. I need to be ready. "

"Casey, if you are not feeling well and you need to go to the hospital then go. Screw Calculus." He told her pulling his jacket over his shirt and grabbing his keys. "What's more important, the baby or your grade?"

"The baby of course!" she immediately answered, annoyed that he would even ask such a question.

"Then go get checked out." He told her, hanging up the phone to write a quick note to Nora and the kids before he left the house and took off for Kingston.

By the time he got there Casey had already been in the hospital for a couple of hours. Casey's blood pressure was high, and there was too little fluid in the baby's amniotic sack- whatever that meant... all he knew was that when she went in last night for a check out, the doctors had immediately admitted her and began giving her drugs.

As soon as he entered her hospital room, he made a beeline for Casey and wrapped his arms around her. She was crying so much that she actually shook. He had no idea if they baby was alive or not, but he knew that Casey was hurting and that she needed him, so he held her.

When the doctors came in an hour later, they took another ultrasound. This time... there was no heartbeat. Derek would never ever forget the pain he felt in that moment. He could only imagine how Casey felt. Twenty minutes later, she had given forced birth to their still born daughter, and another two hours later Derek had driven her away from the hospital and back to her apartment.

He stayed with her all day, just holding her. He helped her undressed, and got her cleaned up for the night. He made her food and forced her to eat it. He did everything he could for her because he did not know what else he could do. That night they had both cried themselves to sleep in her bed.

In the morning there were about 20 missed calls from Nora, Lizzie and Edwin because he never stayed out all night. So he called them and assured them that he was ok, and told them that one of his friends was going through a hard time and that he was just trying to be there for them. Casey had overheard the conversation and blew up at him after he ended his call with Nora.

"Your friend! Your fucking friend?" she had screamed from the top of her voice, not even caring that her roommate had finals that day. "Do you always sleep with your friends Derek. Do you always get them pregnant! Do you just stand idly by as they loose the baby?"

Tears were pouring down her face, and she was shaking with rage. He knew she was hurting and just needed someone to take her rage and pain out on. In the back of his mind he knew the best thing for her would be to just take the blame and calm her down. But he was never really good at doing the noble thing and he was pretty hurt himself.

"Fuck you Casey!" He yelled back. "I loved that baby and you know it. Maybe if you had been more interested in the health of our child instead of your precious Calculus exam, then the doctors could have done something to save our little girl." He raged in pain.

Casey reeled as if his words physically hurt. "Well then there you go." She yelled... before her voice broke and she started crying. "It's all my fault. Our baby is dead and its all my fault."

Watching her wail in pain gave him only a momentary satisfaction. But before long that moment had passed and all he felt was sorrow. Sorrow for the baby that they lost, and sorrow for the pain that Casey was now in. He tried to comfort her then, but she wouldn't have it; every time he tried to reach out for her, she would pull away or fight him off.

In the end she ran off and locked herself in the bathroom. He let her be when he heard the sounds of her taking a shower. But after 40 minutes past and she still had not stepped out of the shower he began to get worried. Unlocking the door from the outside he let himself into the bathroom.

The bathroom was murky from all the steam, and the place was a mess. But he noticed none of it because his eyes were glued to Casey who was standing with her forehead pressed against shower tiles while the now cold water poured over her. Seeing her so broken broke him.

Stripping off his own clothes he stepped into the shower with her and turned her towards him, leaning her head on his shoulders.

"I did not mean what I said Casey." He told her quietly under the spray of the water. "The doctors said it wasn't anyone's fault. Sometimes these things just happened. There was nothing we could have done to prevent this Casey." He pulled her closer.

She was silent for a moment before she responded in a beaten voice.

"I really wanted our baby."

"I know... so did it." He told her. "She would have been the perfect blend of me and you. "

Smiling sadly Casey sighed. "She would have had your sense of humor."

"And your sense of responsibility." he replied.

"She would have had your charisma."

"And your dance skills."

Raising her head to look at him Casey smiled through her tears. "She would have had your brown hair."

"And your blue eyes."

Smiling a little wider this time Casey told him. "She would have had your smile."

"Nope... she would have had yours."

"But you hate my smile." Casey frowned at him.

"No, I love your smile." he told her boldly. And because he saw the effect his words had on her he continued. " I love your smile. Just as I love your eyes, hair, curves, dance skills and sense of responsibility."

Holding his stare with fresh tears she breathed shakily. "You seem to love a lot of things about me."

"Well... " he considered. "It would be pretty hard to be in love with you and not love a lot of things about you."

"You love me?" she squeaked. "You're in love with me." she forced in a clearer voice.

"Yes." He answered honestly. "I've loved you for a long time Casey. Even before Spain. You must have known it?"

"I heard Jasmine yell it at you through the wall once... but you never confirmed or denied it so I wasn't sure." Casey answered, turning around slowly to turn the water off.

"Casey I left my girlfriend in the middle of sex to come to your rescue and then instead of going back to her, I spend the rest of the night snuggled up in bed with you. Of course I was in love with you".

She stepped out of the shower then and got them both towels. They dried off quickly, dressed and went back into the bedroom to finish their talk.

"So Spain?" she asked once they were settled into bed.

"Spain was perfect." He told her laying back on her pillow.

"I agree." she smiled before asking. "But if you loved me, how come you did not tell me then?"

"Err I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the fact I am not exactly an expressing my feelings type of guy. That and the fact that you did not tell me how you felt about me either."

"Der-ek!" She gave her trademark yell. "I gave you my virginity. Shouldn't that be proof enough of how I felt about you?"

"Not really." He told her in a teasing voice though on the inside he was serious. "For all I know you were just wanting to get some of the D-Vent after dating all those losers. "

"Hey... I only dated those losers because you insisted on bringing all those bimbos home."

"Claire was a chemistry major." Derek defended.

"Not the point Derek! The point is I only dated around because I couldn't have you. If you had only man up and asked me out seriously, I would have been yours all along" Casey raised her voice getting upset again.

"If that was the case, then why did you insist on hiding our relationship when we got back from Spain?" he asked equally worked up.

"Derek your father was in the hospital. My mother, our siblings were distraught. How could we drop our relationship on them when they were in that state."

"They weren't the only ones hurting Casey. George is my father , do you think it was easy seeing my dad in that state not knowing whether or he would ever be able to walk or talk again? Do you think it was easy watching your mom struggle between being at home to take care of her husband and infant son or going back to work to bring an income into the family? I had to drop college and give up hockey so I could get a job and help her put food on the table for the kids. Did you really think it was easy having to give all that up and you on top of it?" Derek had never intended to voice those words. He did not want her or anyone to know just how hard the last couple of months had been on him, but the words just slipped out.

Quickly tears started to pool in Casey's eyes. "You're right. I should have been there for you. I am sorry."

Pulling her into a tight hug he soothed her. "Its okay Case. You made it up to me when you showed up pregnant with our child." he laughed through his tears. "I was in complete shock and denial until I heard her little heart beat. She was our child, and I had loved her."

"I loved her too." Casey let the tears roll down her cheeks. "And now she's gone."

Grabbing her by her face he gently wiped away her tears. "We're still here Case. I am still here. And I still love you." He told her, not hiding anything from her any more. "The question remains how do you feel about me?"

Moving her head from his hands she placed her cheek against his chest. "I love you Derek. I really do love you... "

"But?" He prompted knowing there was a but coming by the way she avoided his eyes.

"But its too soon. I just lost my baby. I am not ready to be happy yet. I can't. And I don't our relationship to start off on a foundation full of grief."

"Casey..."

"No Derek..." she insisted. "I... I just need some time. Can you give me some time? At least to get over this pain."

Recognizing that this was not the right time, he agreed.

They spent one more night together, just holding each other before Derek drove them back to London to spend Christmas vacation with the family. Both Derek and Casey had pretended to be as normal as possible. Both tried to hide their inner pain from their family, and for the most part they succeeded. Unfortunately, not everyone was fooled.

His dad.. who had been recovering well enough to be released from the convalescent home, had noticed the change in his children during the days leading up to Christmas and decided to talk to him about it privately one night while they were in the kitchen eating left over pie.

"What's wrong with Casey." George had asked, his words forced but understandable.

"Nothing..." Derek had begun to lie.

"Derek!" George cut him off. "Tell the truth."

Seeing the condition his dad was now in, and knowing that so much could change in a matter of seconds Derek decided to tell the truth.

"She miscarried our baby."

As expected George raised his eyebrows at this. But what was unexpected was George reaching out to take Derek's hand in his. "I am sorry for your loss son. I know how much loosing a baby can hurt but it will get better"

Derek couldn't help but tear up at his father's words.

"As for Casey." George continued. "She's going to need some time to grieve, but she'll be okay too. "

Giving his dad a hug he told him. "I hope your right dad."

"Of course I am." George smiled. "Just give her some time."

"I still feel sad about the baby though." Derek pulled back wiping at his eyes. Crying was so not his thing, but he had just lost his first child... he could not help it.

"And you will probably feel sad for a long time Derek." George replied with understanding. "But there will be more children. You and Casey will be parents to a healthy baby one day, and that child will give you so much happiness that he will become the center of your world. Trust me. I know." George reached out and ruffled Derek's hair.

Smiling at his father, he spooned another piece of pie into his mouth.

"Just do me one favor Derek."

"Name it dad?"

"Marry Casey before you get her pregnant again. I've already had a stroke, the last thing we need is Nora having a heart attack."

Laughing at his father's joke Derek replied. "Okay... will do dad."

The eighth time:

The eighth time it happened Derek stopped counting. He and Casey were happy, in love, and finally man and wife.

Earlier that day he had watched Casey- in a vision of white angelic beauty meets tempting seductress, walk down the aisle towards him on the arms of his fully recovered father.

In front of a few chosen family members and friends she had promised to be his wife for life, and he had kissed the bride.

Later at the reception they had dance, and ate and Casey tossed the bouquet to Emily. His dad, Nora and mom had given speeches, and everyone was genuinely happy for them.

All was right in his world. And now they were alone again.

"I love you so much." She smiled shyly up at him as she began removing her pale pink robe to reveal the white lace lingerie underneath.

"I love you too" he replied honestly before slipping the straps from her nightgown off her shoulders. The slip material fell into a silken heap on the ground, and she stood before him naked.

Drinking in every detail of her body he smiled. "You are so beautiful Casey."

It had been so long since he got to enjoy this particular view and he wanted nothing more than to loose himself in the beauty that was Casey.

After her miscarriage they had decided to take things slow since she wasn't ready to face another pregnancy. He imagined a month or two of waiting, but she being the keener that she was, had looked up all the pros and cons of all the available contraceptives and decided that the only way to protect herself from another pregnancy was to abstain from sex.

He had complained and bitched about it- especially considering the fact that they were already doing the long distance relationship with him living in London and her in Kingston. But in the end- he loved her and she was worth the wait, so he stayed celibate for an whole year. Tonight he was going to be celibate no more... in fact he was pretty sure she was going to leave their bedroom tomorrow morning pregnant, and for that they would both be glad.

She had finished her degree early and got herself a great paying job in London, and he had managed to save quite a bit in the last few months now that his dad went back to work and he no longer had to help support the family. They got themselves a nice little apartment in London, and though they still weren't technically planning on having a baby so soon after marriage- a baby was definitely on the agenda sometime during the next 2 years.

Smiling at the thought of the future and the night he had planned for them he reached out ot touch her.

However she just had to be annoying.

"I just have one question before we proceed Derek." She told him huskily removing his hands from her body. "Did you ever think you and I would end up in love and married like this when us McDonalds first moved in with you Venturis?"

"No." He answered honestly. "When I first met you, I never in a million years imagined that you would end up being my wife." he added just because he liked annoying her too.

She frowned, obviously disappointed with his answer but pressed on regardless. "Fine" she sassed. "Then when exactly did you realize that You and I were going to some day end up here?"

Smirking his pushed her physically down onto the bed and tossed off his towel. "Two weeks after you guys moved in. I was on my way to take a shower. You had just gotten out of your bath. You forgot to lock the door. And I forgot to knock. "

"Are you talking about the first time you saw me naked?" She raised up on her elbows to look at him.

"Yup." he smiled down at the picture she made, lying naked before him all hot and annoyed. "That time, and every other time I saw you naked after that- was a reminder that one day- you and I would end up here in the marital bed "

"Derek that is the most unromantic story I have ever heard." she huffed.

"Well... duh.." He rolled her eyes before spreading her legs and dropping himself down on top of her. "You do realized that you married me right?" he teased before kissing her.

"Der-EK!" she moaned before giving into him and kissing him back. "Fine I admit it. After I saw you naked the first time, I started for fall for you too."

The End