Disclaimer: I'm just a poor college student, so I own nothing!

As Casey celebrated her 18th birthday eating a nice, quiet dinner; she couldn't help but think what this birthday was supposed to mean. She was suddenly thrown from her thoughts when the door bell rang and Marti jumped up to get it.

"I'll get it!" she ran to the door as the conversation continued.

"So Casey ar-" her mother stopped she starred with wide eyes behind Casey.

Casey furrowed her brows in confusion as she slowly turned and dropped her glass to the ground.

"Casey," Riley said as he grinned at her.

"Ri-riley?" Casey croaked out

"Hey baby," Riley said as he began to move towards her and Nora finally found her voice.

"Get the fuck out of my house!"

Everyone's head whipped around to stare in shock at the normally mild mannered woman, cursing at the stranger.

"Casey what is he…" Lizzie trailed off not knowing what to say

Casey finally realizing what was going on, jumped up and ran to Riley, jumping on him and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Oh my God!" Casey squealed. "When did you get out?!"

"A week ago," he grinned at her as Nora fumed behind him.

"NO! no no no no no no" Nora shook head, as if to make Riley disappear. "I want you out! I want you out right now!"

"Mom…" Casey began as she untangled herself from Riley

"Casey no! We put him in jail for a reason…he manipulated and took advantage of you," Nora said to Casey pleading with her to remember the hell they went through

Riley snorted, "Please, the only ones who tried to control Casey was you!"

"Riley…" Casey sighed feeling once again caught between her mother and him

"Casey," Riley said as he took her hands to make her attention fully focused on him. "You're 18 now, you can make your own decisions. That includes the one that we promised each other 4 years ago. Do you remember that baby?"

Casey slowly nodded

"Do you remember I was there for you when your father didn't want you," he questioned as Nora quickly cut in.

"Casey!" Casey turned her as tears slid down both their faces, "that's not true. He's trying to control you again. Why can't you ever see that when it comes to him?"

Casey looked back and forth between the two before her eyes settled on Derek. He stared at her in confusion at the events going on. When Casey locked eyes with him, he knew she was asking for something or maybe begging but he didn't know what. She turned away disappointed and looked at her mother again.

"I want to be with Riley." Riley smirked at Nora in triumph as she shook her head in fear for her daughter.

"Casey I won't allow this in my and George's house," Nora said hoping it would get her to back down. Casey was a strong person but everyone has a weakness and her's just happened to be the blue eyed, blond with the smirk.

"See your family doesn't want you. I would never kick you out baby," Riley said mustering up his fakest sincere voice

"I wasn-"

"You can come live with me and we can get married like we planned to," Riley interjected before Nora could finish her sentence

"Wait!" Derek shouted standing up and having enough of this guy, who was turning the strong, independent woman into a lifetime movie. "You're not going with him Casey."

"Excuse me?!" Casey exclaimed getting back her backbone, "who the hell are you to tell me what to do!"

Derek smirked as Nora sighed in relief.

"Casey, Casey, Casey…Did we not cover this when you moved in," Derek sighed in mock exasperation. "I am the King of this house and what I say goes. So King Derek says, 'you are not getting married'. Comprende?" He threw her the cocky smirk that drove her crazy in more than one way.

"Der-ek!" she screamed in agitation as Riley scowled at the boy stealing her attention. Then she spun on her heels and quickly marched up the stairs, forgetting all about Riley.

"See…Casey's universe will always revolve around me," Derek told Riley.

"This isn't over!" Riley declared as he marched to the door and slammed it after him.

Nora fell into her seat, running a shaky hand threw her hair. "He means it…"

"Why is he here?!" Lizzie asked as she glanced towards the stairs

"He wants her…" Nora sighed tiredly

"She was doing good though…she was dancing again an-and she got over her fear of talking to boys. Even her nervous klutzy thing started to go away." Lizzie said as she glanced back at her mother; the rest of the family waited for some kind of explanation of what just happened.

"So that was Riley Finn," George stated as Nora slowly nodded in confirmation and Derek waved his hand in the air.

"Can someone please, tell me what the HELL is going on!" Edwin and Marti nodded rapidly in agreement causing Nora to sigh in defeat.

"Marti go to bed," George ordered

"Whyyyyyy" Marti whined

"If you don't, I'll make sure Nora doesn't wash your purple shirt…" Marti quickly scrambled up the stairs and out of sight.

Silence greeted them as they all sat staring at Nora waiting for some kind of explanation before she finally looked up and sighed.

"When Casey was 13, Riley moved in with his Aunt and Uncle. We were really good friends with the Finns, so they had us over for dinner when he arrived," Nora grimaced at accepting the invitation and knowing what she now knew. "Riley was 17; they told us he just fell in with the wrong crowd. If had I known that he was unstable I would have never let my 13 year old daughter near him. I should have noticed his entire attention was on Casey that night, we were just…just …" Nora sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Dennis and I were starting to take action towards a divorce; so we both ended up drinking a lot to ease the tension. We didn't notice Riley whispering inappropriately in Casey's ear or that he was touching her."

"I did," Lizzie said quietly as Nora nodded in confirmation

"Lizzie had to come to us and told us that Riley made her uncomfortable, but Dennis and I were so wrapped up with the divorce that we didn't listen and…we didn't notice the change in Casey" Nora whispered the last part ashamed. "Dennis left a week later and that's when things really went downhill. I was so wrapped up in the end of my marriage, that I didn't notice Casey covering up more or eagerness to please me. Riley had been telling her, that she wasn't enough for Dennis, that she was too Flawed!" Nora spat

"Wait…" Derek said as everyone whipped around to look at him. "This doesn't sound like Casey; she's pushy and opinionated and an annoying feminist. She would never stand for anything like this"

Nora smiled gently at his ignorance of the situation, "Derek she was vulnerable and he took advantage. I was actually really happy when we moved here; you seemed to bring out her strength. Before you won, but don't underestimate Riley, he's smart and he'll find her weakness and use it."

"Either that or he'll beat her into submission," Lizzie muttered to herself but everyone seemed to hear her as the Venturi boys' jaws dropped at the confession

"Yeah," Nora nodded sadly. "That's how we found out; he made her scared to talk to boys. That's why she was so clumsy whenever she liked a boy. At least that's what the therapist said. He had caught her talking to some boy at school and he brought her into the woods for their fight."

"He was so angry," Casey said from behind them making them all whip around to stare at her far off look. "He told me my daddy was right to leave me, I was nothing but a worthless whore. I never saw his fist coming," Derek stared at her begging for some kind of emotion but she continued to tell the story emotionlessly, "I was usually good at knowing when he was going to punish me, but I didn't see it coming. He beat me until I couldn't stand up. I remember he spit on me like I was worthless, nothing more than trash. He left me, broken and bleeding on the ground. I had to crawl my way out to the road and someone finally stopped. I don't remember much the next few days, except the police coming in my room to tell my mom that they arrested him and found hundreds of pictures of me in his room."

"He was stalking her; obsessed" Nora added as Casey finally met her mother's gaze and broke

"He's going to break me again isn't he?" Casey asked sounding like a freighted little girl

"No baby, were not going to let him" Casey shook her head

"I'm not strong enough…"

Derek had had enough of this weak Casey, he wanted his Casey back. "Yes you are!" he shouted causing Casey to snap her head around to stare at him in shock, "you are the only person that will ever go head to head with me. I don't know anyone that is as opinionated as you! Where is the Casey who stood up to Ryan the fridge for me?" Casey smiled slightly at the memory, "where is the Casey who broke up with Max because she wasn't being true to herself?"

"I can't do this…" Casey whispered as she turned and fled up the stairs. Derek didn't even wait to excuse himself before he flew up them after her.

"Thank God," Nora smiled as she watched him run after her, George quirked a questioning eyebrow. "Derek will fix her. He's the only one who can make Casey forget about everything, except the recent irritating thing he has done to her. He'll fix her."

Derek reached Casey's door just as she slammed it shut. Not waiting for an invitation he barged in.

"Get out of my room!" Casey moaned into her pillow as she buried her face. The weight of the bed dipped as Derek relaxed casually against her headboard, Casey whipped her head around to glare at him.

"This," she gestured to him laying down next her, "is the opposite of getting out of my room!"

"I know," he smirked, that infuriating smirk at her. "I'm not leaving and you are sure as hell not going back with that bastard."

"He loves me and needs me," Casey whispered

"What about your family? They need you…" I need you he said in his head

"I don't know…" Casey muttered before growling, "I hate not knowing!" she sighed slumping against the headboard and unconsciously putting her head on Derek's shoulder. She looked up at him, blue met brown, "I think the reason Riley can control me is…because he wants to take care of me."

Derek knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, "Uh Case, I'm pretty sure beating you an inch from death, is the antithesis of 'taking care of you'."

Casey quirked and eyebrow, "antithesis?"

"Yeah you kn-"

"No no no, I know what it means; I'm just surprised you used it correctly in a sentence."

Derek scowled, "I'm not an idiot, contrary to popular belief." He turned his head away angrily as Casey realized she hurt him and sat up taking his face her hands.

"I know that," she whispered softly, locking eyes with him. "I wouldn't ever waste my time on someone who was an idiot. I'm sorry, I was just kidding."

Blue and brown locked as both their breathing hitched at the intensity of the gaze. Casey finally broke it by turning away and shimming down under the covers as she pulled Derek with her. She reached up and clicked the light before placing her head on a very confused Derek's chest.

"Uh Case?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"God Derek, do I need to take back was I said a minute ago about you not being an idiot. We're going to sleep."

"Yeah I got that princess…but why am I going to sleep in here."

Casey yawned before replying, "because I need you to keep the monsters out."

Derek smiled in the dark, at Casey needing him. She knew Marti was the only one allowed to sleep with him and only because she was afraid of monsters in the dark. He listened to her breathing even out before he placed a kiss on top of her head and closed his eyes.