If that's what it takes

20

As the ferry neared its destination, Derek stood up with Zoey in his arms. Her head was rested on his shoulder as he walked across the deck toward the car. She lifted her head slightly as he walked. "I'm so hungry..." She whimpered as she pulled on his shirt.

"We'll get you something to eat as soon as we get home, sweetheart." Derek whispered as he felt her cringe slightly. "Are you alright?"

"My tummy hurts..." She whimpered as he cuddled her closer.

"Don't worry, we're almost there..." He whispered. He got to the car and opened the door, carefully sliding her into the car seat, he reached across and buckled her seatbelt for her, lifting Mister Derek into her arms. She leaned her head against the side of the car seat and looked up at Derek, her eyes were a cloudy gray as she tried her best to seem content. He could see her struggle and tried hard to reassure her that she could let down her guard. He didn't want her to exhaust herself. "Just rest... Just Derek will take care of everything else." He whispered as he closed the car door and climbed into his seat, glancing back at her as he watched the cars in front of him for a moment and prepared to drive from the ferry.

The drive from the docks toward Derek's house was relatively quiet. He pulled into his driveway and drove down the gravel road silently as he followed the headlights down the wooded path. He saw the lights of the house waiting for him at the end of the driveway and parked in front of the garage, where he always parked. He climbed from his seat and opened Zoey's door, watching the little girl looking up at him with pleading eyes. "We're home..." He shrugged.

"Home..." She whispered hesitantly as she reached for her seatbelt and pulled it off, gathering Mister Derek in her arms as she wiggled from the seat to the door. She reached her hand for Derek's and hopped from the car, looking up at the silhouette of the large house looming before her against the darkening sky. "This house is big..." She said as her jaw dropped as she looked at it.

"I think it's just right." Derek said as he reached for her hand, leading her toward the steps. "We'll get your bags and things after we eat, how does that sound?"

"Okay." She whispered, not asking any questions, unsure of exactly what to say at this point. Derek led her up the stairs of the porch to the front door, slipped the key into the lock and took a seemingly deep breath as he opened the door to the house. He flipped the switch on the light as he carefully led the little girl inside. She walked into the house hesitantly, her eyes widening at the newness of the house the enormousness of it as he led her through the foyer into the hallway.

"This is the hallway toward the kitchen..." He said as he flipped switches on as he walked, her steady steps were indications of how overwhelmed she was as she walked with him. "The downstairs bathroom is right there." He pointed to a door. "The living room is down that hallway, the family room and den are over there." He pointed as her head turned to the other direction. "This is the kitchen... dining room is over there..." he pointed to the table. Everything seemed so clean, so perfectly placed, Zoey had never seen anything like it before.

Her mother had always been too busy to deal with cleaning herself, hiring a maid service to come in twice a week. There was always something to clean up. The counters were usually covered with journal articles or research materials, her bedroom was always filled with toys and there was always one or two dolls or something sitting around. Lexie's house had been neat, but not necessarily clean. The sink usually had a couple dirty dishes and the counter always had something on it. She wasn't allowed to have toys downstairs at Lexie's house, so there was never any indication that a little girl was there. There wasn't even an indication that anyone other than Joe or Lexie ever lived there. There were no pictures on the walls, no warm colors of paint.

Derek's house, however was almost sterile clean. The moment they walked into the house she could smell the wood of the woodwork, the pine cleaner of the floors. The windows were clean and sparkly, the counters were clear and empty. It looked almost as if no one lived there, as if it were just a model home or a picture from a magazine. She looked around the pristine house and began to feel nervous.

"Hey, are you okay?" He whispered, seeing the slight look of panic in the little girl's eyes as she looked to him and stared at him for several moments. "Zoey?" She just stared at him for a moment, her mouth was slightly open, but she watched as his patience level just simply increased. He knew it was a new house, a new environment for her and he didn't want to put any pressure on her. He could tell that she was growing in anxiety. It was in her eyes, it was in the stiffness of her body. It was in the way that her tiny fingers pulsed as they gripped his hand, her bottom lip slipping into her mouth as she slowly chewed on it, her other finger lifting to her tiny chin. "Why don't we get something to eat... and we can talk a little." He said softly as she nodded, swallowing hard as she continued to look at him.

Between the ferry and the house, she seemed to have lost her voice, her bravery, her happiness and Derek could feel the anxiety that she was expressing quite obviously. It was a raw feeling that seemed to clench his heart with every beat and he was determined to quell it as soon as possible. He walked to the breakfast table beside the bay window and pulled a chair out, smiling down at her as she climbed up into it, holding Mister Derek in her hands, she looked up at him, her eyes staying with him as he gave her a sad smile. Derek crouched down beside her for a moment and watched her look at him sadly.

"What else do you lke to eat besides cheeseburgers?" He whispered as she shrugged. "Do you like... corn? Peas? Do you like... applesauce?"

"I dunno..." She whispered.

"Oh, you're going to test out my culinary talents, I see..." He said as she watched his eyes sparkle as he spoke to her in that teasing voice. "We'll start with the cheeseburger, and we'll work our way to veggies and dessert..." He said with wink as she smiled a little despite her anxiety. He stood up and kissed her forehead softly as he walked into the kitchen area. He wasn't far from her as he prepared their dinner, and she watched him carefully as he pulled the frying pan from the cupboard and prepared the cheeseburgers, smiling over at her now and then as she watched him. "You know..." He said as she listened closely to his words. "I have five nephews and nine nieces...well, of course you don't know that... but I have an idea of what little girls like or need... but I'm going to need some help..." He said as he watched her listen. "Are you up to the challenge?"

She was silent as she interpreted what he was saying, unsure of what her job was in this situation, she simply watched him. He asked again with his eyes and she just continued to stare at him.

"Do you think I'll be good at this?" He asked as he walked to the table and placed a plate in front of her as she continued watching him. He walked into the kitchen and pulled out the ketchup from the refrigerator. "Because... I want to make sure that you're happy... you know, that you get whatever you need or want, Zoey...that's important to me. I would like to know about all of the things you like." He said as he set the ketchup on the table as he looked over at her as she opened her mouth. "Cat's soup." He said with a smirk as she watched the mischief in his eyes. Her eyes lit up slightly as a smile slowly made it's way across her face.

"Cat's soup." She said with a smile as the fear in her eyes slowly began to disappear. "I...like cat's soup."

"That's a start..." Derek said with a grin as he watched her smile at him softly. "We'll work on it little by little..." He said as he walked over to finish up preparing the cheeseburgers. "But never, ever be afraid to ask me a question." He nodded as he smiled over at her, she nodded back and waited patiently for their dinner.