Hey! So this is a series of oneshots for DomiRea's challenge. I had a LOT of fun writing it. So, i hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek

xxXXxx The one where there was tea...

"Make-up?" She looked at herself in the mirror, rubbing off the smudges of eyeliner that she had missed earlier. She smiled at herself, content with what she had. "Check."

"Directions?" She shuffled through her almost too-organized purse for her mapquest directions. "Check."

She looks around. She's missing something. What could it be? "Oh, no! Derek?"

"Check." She twirls toward the direction of her apartment door, throwing a hand to her neck. Derek had strolled in as casually as possible.

"God, you scared me!" He smirks. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to knock before entering someone else's apartment? Geez!"

"Seeing as how I lived with my dad throughout my prime learning years, I'm gonna go with 'No'." He teased, running his hands through his hair. His 'Just rolled out of bed' look was more of a 'Just spent thirty minutes with my hair gel to make it look like I could care less'. He was such a girl. "You're lucky I'm goin' anyway. Don't test me. I mean, geez! We already did this with your dad."

"Oh, please." Casey threw her head back and laughed. "That was just a warm-up. As of now, he means nothing. That may as well of had never happened. Wipe it from your memory. Because today. Today means everything."

"Cut it out. Your making it sound like we're going to meet with the Devil." Derek shivers.

She rolled her eyes. She really hoped he wouldn't act like this later on.

She waved him over. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know! Come here."

He walked over to stand in front of him as she started to fuss with his clothes. She straightened his collar. He knew there was not point in stopping it so he did his best to ignore her. "So, tell me again." Try as he might, he was actually extremely nervous about this.

"Okay," She started and then looks at his tie. "What is this?"

"I was going for that Windsor thingy." Derek muttered.

"You failed." She un-did his tie and started over. "Okay, their names are Donald and Marie. But, don't even think about calling them that. Just stick with Mr. and Mrs. McDonald and you'll be in the safe zone." She straightens out his tie as she speaks.

He closed his eyes. "Donald. Marie. Got it."

"Good." She steps back to look at him fully. "Okay, if you choose to speak, please keep it away from the following categories: cheese, beans, burritos, meat, you know what? Let's just say food is strictly forbidden." He huffed. "Scary movies, stupid comedies, comedians, chicks," She raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "Clubs, bands," Derek nods. "And, Ralph."

His eyes snap up immediately. "Ralph? Why can't I talk about Ralph?"

Casey crosses her arms and stares at him. "Derek, just,"

He continues. "What? Ralph's cool. He's really funny too. I mean, he can make fart sounds with his eyebro…" She glares at him. "Yeah, maybe I should stay away from that topic."

"You do that." She runs her hands a few times through his hair and looks up at him. She runs her hands up and down his arms a few times. "Relax. You'll be fine."

He shrugs away from her and walks toward the door. "Of course, I will." He grabs her coat off the coat rack, helps her into it and they leave.

**

"And, make sure-"

"Casey," He shakes his head in annoyance. "Stop it. They're just your grandparents. They can't be that bad. It's just tea."

"Is it?" She gives him a look like you have no idea. "These people are British, do you know how British people are about their tea?"

"British people really don't care about tea." Derek laughs. "Case, you watch too many movies."

"Do I?"

He looks at her face expression, and thinks about how corny and keener-y Casey is. And suddenly he's scared shitless.

**

"Oh, my God!" Derek freaked. "I've never even held a real teacup before. I mean, I've held play teacups like Marti's and stuff. But, I've never… oh, God!" His hands were shaking and his eyes were darting around the car. He couldn't stop moving as Casey hastily tried to calm him. "Oh, God! We should just go home. Right now. Let's turn around!"

They had pulled over on the side of the road, and Derek was having a nervous breakdown.

"I can't do this. I can't-" Slap! It was silent for a few minutes as Casey stood there frozen with her hand in mid-air. Derek's face bright red with a hand print covering half of his face. He brings a hand up to hold his cheek.

"I'm sorry! I just… I couldn't think of a better… you were scaring me!" She rambles scared that she actually hurt him. He looks up at her and shakes his head.

"Thanks. Needed that." He starts the key in the ignition and pulls back onto the road.

Despite Derek's sudden calmness, Casey was still breathing really hard, staring at him from the corner of her eye.

**

"Casey, darling." Marie walks over to Casey and gives her a small hug.

"Hi grandma." She smiles. Donald walks over to the three and stands there. Glaring. At Derek. Everyone can feel the tension oozing in from the walls and through the windows.

"Er," Casey tries to avert the attention away from Derek. "Hi grandpa!" She skids over to give him a huge hug and returns it.

He laughs. "How's my baby?"

"She's fine." She snuggled a little closer to him. "But, I would be great if…"

"If?" He pulls away frowning and then glares at Derek. Derek cowers under his glare.

"If you could try to understand how important this is to me. How important he is to me. Because, I know at times you can be a little judgmental. So, please, for me, be nice to him." Casey does that whole little girl puppy dog eye look and her grandpa just wants to melt. Even though she's now 26 that look gets him every time.

He mumbles folding his arms. "I'm not promising anything. But, I'll try."

"That's all I ask." She smiles brightly and goes back over to Derek taking his hand. "Tea, then?"

Marie brightens. "Yes, right this way."

**

"So, what you're telling me is," Casey stared down at her plate, face bright red. She wanted to die. No, she was dieing. A slow and painful – very, painful – death. Derek wasn't doing any better. He kept scratching at the back of his neck and glancing at Casey before he spoke.

"- that your entire 'career' is a game." How he made the word "career" sound like he was physically putting air quotes around it when he wasn't was a true talent. "A hobby, even."

Derek looked at Casey. He so was in hell right now. Actually Hell might be paradise compared to the heat he was under. She bit her lip and looked down. "Well, I wouldn't say -"

"Ha!" Donald looks at Marie tight lipped. "Marie, did you know he was planning on supporting my little girl with money he gets after he wins a game?"

"I get money whether we win or lose." Casey smiled at him, encouraging him to go on. "Obviously more when we win, but I'm on a pretty amazing team."

Donald folds his arms. "What happens when you stop winning?"

Derek, sick of being manhandled, shot back. "We won't."

Casey and Marie freeze. Casey leans her face into her hands on the verge of tears, thinking, "Why is he fighting back? What is he doing? Does he want to die?"

Donald scoffs at him. "So, you're the one who decides whether your team wins or loses? You're entire salary is based off of how well your entire team does. When they start losing, you'll start losing."

Derek sucks in his cheeks.

"Then what happens to my baby girl?" Donald sets his teeth in a really animalistic type way.

"Listen," Derek sets down his tea cup, turning his entire body at Derek. "I make millions!"

Donald sets down his cup as well, and does the same. "You make millions now. What happens when you lose, Derek?"

Derek points a finger at him and Casey's eyes widen to the size of saucers. "I won't lose. I'm great. I carry my team. Not trying to sound cocky, but I'm the head and the tail. The top of the pyramid and the freaking bottom. This is the one thing I am actually really good at. So, if my team starts losing, they will no longer be my team. I will be on the team that wins, because I am a winner."

"You are a winner?" Donald chuckles and relaxes back in his chair. Derek seeing him un-tense does the same. Casey shoots Marie a wary glance and she shrugs. She has no idea what's going on either. "Tell me Derek, how'd you meet Casey?"

Casey turned her head.

Derek's face turned red. "Her mom married my dad when we were 15."

Donald nodded. Surely he already knew this. "Oh, that's good. Because I remember my Casey was so distraught about moving to a new area. So frightened. With no friends, you can imagine that." Derek nodded. "You must have helped her ease into the new place? Showed her around? Helped her out? Made her feel comfortable and at home?"

Casey interrupts. "Grandpa, you know -"

He holds up her hand and waits for Derek to answer.

"Uh, no. No, I did not." Derek said through clenched teeth.

"What?" Donald said in mock surprise. "Why wouldn't you do everything in your power to make her feel safe?"

"Well, because, I," He stammered out. "Well, it's because I was mad at her. For taking over my home, and family."

"So," Donald crossed his legs. "What I'm getting from this is, that when you're mad at her you will stop providing for her. Stop caring for her."

Derek turned red with anger. "No! I would not stop providing for her just because we got into a fight. We get into fights all the time. Every day."

Casey clenched her eyes shut and tried sending Derek telepathic messages to just shut the hell up.

"Every day!" Donald eyebrows shot up. "You guys get into fights every day! Yet, you want to be with her for the rest of your life? You do want to be with her for the rest of your life don't you?

"Of course, I do." Derek pursed his lips.

"How can be so sure that you'll spend the rest of your lives together?"

"I just am." Derek spat indignantly.

Donald smiled. "How? Derek?"

Derek looked around at Donald, Marie, and then Casey. And, gave up. "Okay, obviously there is no right answer here. Everything I say is wrong. Everything I think is wrong. And, I schmooze. I'm a schmoozer. I usually get exactly the things I want, exactly when I want, because that's how good of a schmoozer I am." Casey's eyes widen in fear as he continues. "I'm persuasive. I'm witty. And I can schmooze. But, the one time! The one time it's actually really frickin' important to me that I win you over I cannot schmooze. I cannot be persuasive. And, I'm not frickin' being witty. Casey is too damn important to me, and there's too much frickin' pressure on me. I use to think that Casey was the only one who could call me on my bullshit, but apparently not. And, I'm blanking."

Donald stares at him in shock.

"And, I don't blank!" Derek cries indignantly. Somehow throughout his speech he ended up standing.

Casey starts pulling at the hem of her dress and frantically mutters quietly. "Answer the damn question. Just answer the question."

Derek sighs sitting down. "I know me and Casey will be together forever because she is the moon to my sun. She is everything that is not me, and everything that I wish that I could be. She is my opposite. She is my opponent in every way. She is what keeps me in check, keeps me sane. She is the rain on my parade. She is my other half. And, right now, I may sound like a stupid cliché chic movie, but, I am so much in love with Casey. I love her more than anything. I am not the relationship type. I am not the commitment type. But, I am the Casey-type. And that's all I want to be for the rest of my life, okay?"

Marie places a hand to her heart and smiles, tears welling up in her eyes.

Casey's tears have escaped her lids, and she's already leaned over and grabbed his hand.

Derek stares into her eyes. "I might have to come up with new wedding vows."

"No," Casey smiles. "Those are perfect."

Donald has slowly uncrossed his legs and his arms and begins to straighten up.

"Well then," He gives Derek a look of somewhat appreciation and respect. "More tea?"

Derek relaxes and Casey is shaking his hand under the table, excitedly. It's the first time he actually felt comfortable since he got here. "Actually, could I get a soda?"

Donald gives him a look. "Don't push it."

ha, Review!

Laura :D