Mother's Intuition, A Life With Derek Fanfic
I had to split it up cuz LJ said it was too long
Title: Mother's Intuition, Part Three
Author: happy_overdose
Summary: Nora was the first one to see that Casey and Derek had a UST thing going on. But she started to regret doing something about it.
Rating: T
Part One
Part Two
Nora had a feeling this Christmas was going to be great.
Edwin was on vacation from his executive job in Toronto, Lizzie was back home from the Galapagos, Derek had just wrapped a movie shoot in Milan, Casey was home from her book signing in Tokyo, Marti had a few days off from her job a Province away and Simon wasn’t too busy with his high school friends to spend time with his family.
All her kids under one roof again made for cramped conditions, but Edwin didn’t mind bunking with Sy and somewhere along the way, the six of them learned how to share a bathroom.
Nora had just run the washing machine and headed up the stairs with the laundry, turning down the offers to do the chore from the kids on the couch. She looked down at them. Lizzie, Edwin and Marti were sharing a blanket and a bowl of popcorn as they watched a Christmas movie. Simon was in Derek’s old chair, talking to his girlfriend on the phone. The more things changed the more they stayed the same, she thought, and completed the flight of stairs.
She pushed the door to Derek’s room... and saw her two eldest spring apart like there was an electric current between them.
Nora’s mouth flew open. Were her eyes deceiving her or were they just kissing?
“Mom!” Casey yelled, such scandal in her voice, that Nora was reminded of her daughter at fifteen.
“I can explain!” Derek sounded the same.
Oh, this she had to hear, “Go ahead.”
“I was just…” he started to lie, but then he stopped. Suddenly he pulled Casey behind him, looked Nora in the eye and took a fortifying breath.
“Nora I have something to say that you may not like. I’m in love with your daughter.”
“What!” Casey yelled from behind him. She tried to sidestep him to face him head on, but he held her in place.
“I think I always have, but I’m not so sure. And I want to ask for your blessing, because I am going to ask her to marry me.”
“Der-ek! Are you insane?” Casey yelled again, “Well, I always suspected you were, but you never proved it as much as you have just now!”
Derek shushed her, “Don’t you wanna know what she has to say about this?”
“Derek I know what she is gonna say because it’s the same thing I would say. We can’t get married! That’s insane!”
They both turned to look at Nora when they heard her sniffle. She couldn’t help it. They were so adorably right for each other.
And they thought she was standing in their way.
“Mom, are you okay?” Casey asked. Nora cried more.
“I was just kidding Nora,” Derek tried to make a save in stoppage time, “You know, an April Fools prank.”
“It’s Christmas, moron!” Casey chastised.
“Christmas prank then.”
Nora sniffled happily, “Oh you two! You’ve made me so happy!”
They stared, “What?”
Nora dropped the basket and gave them both a hug. They were both too shocked to return it.
“You have my blessing,” she told the shocked pair, “Go ahead and get married!”
She was wrong. This was not just a great Christmas. This was the best Christmas of her life.
..............................................
“So lemme get this straight,” Derek twirled his fork to encompass everyone at the table, “You all thought it was a good idea for me and Casey to get together.”
“Yeah,” said George. Lizzie and Edwin gave him twin nods. Marti was grinning her head off.
Simon sighed, “We all thought it would never happen.”
“And Nora was the one who rooted for you the most,” said Marti.
Casey gave Marti a disbelieving look over her Christmas dinner, “No way.”
“Nora and Dad were the ones who gave us the whole No Grandbabies speech,” Derek said, “When they were done, I didn’t even wanna touch Casey with a ten-foot pole.”
“Gee thanks,” Casey sneered. He smiled at her, which made her smile at him and Nora’s heart soared.
“Why do you think we gave you that talk?” Nora confessed, “We could see the sparks flying off you two from that first day when you were fighting over the rooms. If we didn’t give you that talk, I’m positive something would have happened.”
Casey’s eyes narrowed in thought, “So why didn’t you say something eventually?”
“I interfered once, and look what it got me,” said Nora, “Do you know how hard it is to watch you two dance around each other like you did? I hoped you would come to your senses and just say to hell with what I think so we could all have peace.”
Casey and Derek exchanged a significant look.
“This cheesy pasta stuff is awesome, Mom,” said Simon, going for his third helping.
“You’re like a human vacuum,” Marti pushed him gently and he pushed back.
While the conversation turned to other topics, Nora watched Casey and Derek. They were the happiest she had seen them in a long time.
...........................................
Nora fixed George’s tie, and he brushed her hair away from her face.
“Finally,” he said.
“Finally,” she repeated.
“Finally!” Simon yelled as he entered the room. He looked handsome in his suit and tie, “Mom, Dad, Lizzie is finally here and in her dress and Marti is doing her hair, so that is everybody.”
“Great! We can get this show on the road. Thank you for the help, honey,” Nora went to steal a kiss from her baby boy, and because he was no longer a baby, he turned his face away so she only caught his cheek.
“Bouquet, bouquet, bouquet, bouquet, bouquet,” Emily flew in, chanting over and over. She held Emma awkwardly in the crook of her arm while she searched, ignoring the little girls yells to put her down. It turned to George and Simon to rescue her.
When Nora went into the church to check on the guests, she saw Dennis and Abby sitting together. Dennis looked confused. Abby looked ecstatic.
Around the back, Nora found Edwin and Lizzie, who had her hair up and her bridesmaid dress on. The two of them were shaking hands.
“Hi, I’m Edwin, your new brother in law,” said Edwin.
Lizzie tapped her chin in thought, “Hmm, I have a stepbrother named Edwin.”
“Different guy.”
“Oh.”
Nora rolled her eyes at them and went on to the room where Casey was getting her makeup done.
The professional makeup artist was doing her best to finish the job, but Casey was leaking tears all over the woman’s hard work.
“Honey,” Nora cooed, “What’s wrong?”
“I just love him so much, mom!” Casey blubbered.
“Good thing you used waterproof mascara,” said Marti to the makeup artist.
“But he’s such a huge dick!” Casey yelled, “Look what he texted me just now.”
Nora took the phone and read.
cnt believe I’m marrying the biggest keener n London
She scrunched up her face, “Not exactly a love note.”
“He’s making fun of me on our wedding day!” Casey cried, “I swear if I didn’t love him so much, I would kill him!”
“You guys are weird,” said the makeup artist, “I like it.”
The wedding planner poked her head in, “We have ten minutes people!”
Nora watched the makeup artist finish the job, then helped Marti and Emily with the train of Casey’s dress as they took their position. Dennis came to take Casey down the aisle. Emily paired up with Sam, Lizzie took Edwin’s elbow and Marti and Sy joined hands.
Nora went to take a seat beside George for the ceremony. Derek caught her eye and gave her a wink. But she wasn’t fooled. She could see he was nervous.
Nora was sure she saw Derek’s breathing stop when he watched Casey walking up the aisle.
The ceremony was amazing, everything Nora had dreamed of. Almost everybody cried, including Abby and Emily’s younger brother Dimi.
Later at the reception, Derek pulled Nora aside.
“I wanna thank you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, “What for?”
He took a glance at his new wife, who was dancing to old school pop on the dance floor with Ralphie and Sam, “Firstly, for having such an incredible daughter. Secondly, for giving us that talk.”
Now Nora was surprise, “Really?”
He nodded, smiled just like his father, “Yeah. The more I think about it, if you hadn’t put that barrier between us, then we would have done something. I mean, me being a horny teenage boy would have basically guaranteed something happening. Then our relationship would have fizzled and faded and we would have resented each other in the end. But now we know each other inside and out, and there’s no doubt she’s the woman for me.”
Nora was so happy she flung her arms around him and kissed his neck. His mother came to take him away to meet her new boyfriend, and Nora had time to discreetly wipe away a tear.
Casey threw the bouquet and surprisingly it fell in Lizzie’s lap. Nora did not miss the look she gave Edwin. But Nora was throwing a wrench in that one. Triple intermarriage in one family seemed a bit much.
That evening, Nora was too elated to sleep. She kept smiling at the ceiling.
“Can you believe he said that?” she said. George grunted sleepily.
“He thanked me for keeping them apart. It turns out I have been doing the right thing all this time.”
“Good,” George mumbled, “Now, Nora?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Are you gonna finally stop worrying about the kids long enough to get some sleep?”
Nora smiled, pulled up the comforter and snuggled in, “I guess I can. Maybe I’ll worry about Lizzie dating Edwin in the morning.”
They were asleep for a minute before George sprang up in bed.
“WHAT?”