Marti Venturi, now 19, sat in the back seat of a limousine wondering how the younger version herself would feel if she knew that meeting Dennis MacDonald would lead to this…him becoming her sugar daddy. She wasn't a gold digger, so she didn't pursue this it at all. It just sort of happened. However, Marti wasn't going to lie to herself and say that it didn't feel good to be pampered. If Dennis was willing to spend his money on her, she wouldn't stop him.

She felt as if she deserved it. Being bumped from youngest kid in the house to middle child and nearly ignored because she wasn't as mischievous as Derek or Edwin. Or as perfect as Lizzie and, especially, Casey. Or as new as her little brother, Simon. Oh, and let's not forget the strange relationship Casey and Derek had whenever they thought no one knew. Of course, they hid it well, but Marti knew. The day she saw them kissing in what was, then, Lizzie's room was a day she would never forget. And when George and Nora found out about Derek and Casey, they tried everything to get them to stop seeing each other in that way. Eventually, George and Nora began fighting more and more until they gave up and allowed the relationship to continue, and so did their fighting. It made things awkward and it changed everything Marti knew to be normal.

So, to do something to break the pattern Derek and Casey started, Edwin and Lizzie followed, Marti decided to go to university in Toronto instead of Kingston. It was something she had been wanting for a while and she hoped her parents wouldn't hate her for it. It was a chance for Marti to be herself and start over without being referred to as Derek, Casey, Edwin, and Lizzie's little sister or Simon's big sister. She could be herself.

A chance meeting with Dennis MacDonald at an event being held on the University of Toronto campus almost made her hate her decision out of annoyance he would somehow compare her to Casey or Lizzie or the rest of her siblings. And he did, but she wasn't quite as angry at the time. She was actually homesick and was missing the comparison to them. She told him this and he decided to look after her when he told her he moved back to Toronto.

They're interactions with each other started out as something she didn't expect. He wasn't treating her like a replacement daughter standing in place of Casey and Lizzie. He was actually treating her like an individual and an adult.

Surprisingly, their relationship wasn't sexual. Not that she wasn't attracted to him a little. He was, impossibly, still handsome in his early 50s with only a few extra wrinkles and gray hairs. And even though she had expected him to ask or suggest that their relationship was sexual, he never did. So, she had to bring the subject up during a dinner date they had one night.

FLASHBACK

"What's wrong, Marti?" Dennis asked as he sipped from his glass of wine. "You look as if something is on your mind and it's bothering you."

"This…whatever it is between us. Well, what I'm trying to say is…what is this?"

"It's nothing more than two people enjoying each other's company. Is our time together making you uncomfortable or confusing you?"

"Do you want to sleep with me?" Marti asked, bluntly, as he chocked on the sip of wine that was in his mouth. She was resorting to her cute, yet not so cute bluntness she had as a child.

"Marti…" he began in an even tone and a nervous chuckle. She knew she had crossed some sort of line, but it was starting to get a little suspicious that he would spend so much money on her by buying her books for university buying her a new laptop and even some clothes and shoes.

"I'm so like sorry for asking that, but you spend a lot of money on me, and I'm not Casey or Lizzie. So, the only reason I can think of as to why you're doing all of this for me is…sex."

"Well, I would see why you would say that. You're not my daughters, Casey and Lizzie. You're not my ex-wife, Nora. You're a smart, funny, attractive young woman…really attractive, and I'm not going to lie…the thought have crossed my mind several times. In fact if you weren't Nora's step-daughter…I would have attempted. But, the more time I spend with you, the more I don't think about those thoughts of you. And it's not because you're Nora's step-daughter or Casey and Lizzie's step-sister. It's because I admire you as an individual. A young woman."

"What if I…wanted to sleep with you?" Marti asked as she stared at him seductively and she watched him shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"I'm flattered, Marti, but I would have to deny you." he said and she was disappointed and embarrassed. "Marti, I don't want you to feel like you have to sleep with me. I like spending time with you. I don't know why. I feel you're just as much my daughter as Casey and Lizzie, yet you're not. You're something different to me."

"I feel guilty. You already have daughters and I already have a dad. I think it's strange that you spend money on me and your daughters also. I know you don't see me as another daughter, so I can't help but feel you want sex from me."

"I don't expect anything from you except your time. I don't need another daughter. Casey and Lizzie are enough to fulfill that part of my heart. And I don't need another lover. I need a friend and someone with a youthful hope in life. Look, I know you still don't believe me. I wouldn't believe me either, but this is not about sex. I feel your presence is something I need right now."

"They don't like it. Especially, Casey. She thinks I'm stealing you away or getting revenge…" she trailed off not wanting to tell Dennis, at the time, about Casey's relationship with Derek. "I just hate making Casey miserable."

"Well, she's has nothing to worry about. You and I both know that she and Lizzie comes first in my life. I mean…" he said stuttering hating that he might have offended Marti.

"I know what you meant. I'm okay. You're a good father to them, and I just don't want to stand in the way." she said as she looked down at her plate.

"You're not in the way. I care about you just as much as I care about them." he said with a comforting smile. "So, what do you say that we continue this dinner?"

"Okay…" Marti said as she smiled and continued eating dinner with Dennis as if that conversation didn't happen. They made small talk about how her studies were going and he tried, again, explaining his law practices and she just didn't understand.

END OF FLASHBACK

Marti arrived at the airport of Dennis's private jet and saw him standing near the entrance of the jet. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready to go home, Marti?" Dennis asked her and she shook her head.

"Not really. I hear Casey is less than thrilled to know that you're coming with me for Simon's eighth birthday party." Marti said as she frowned knowing that Casey wasn't the only one that wasn't happy about her and Dennis. Everyone, now, knew about her relationship with Dennis as he, now, knew about Casey's with Derek and how much it altered the family.

"Well, she'll just have to get over it, won't she? Come on, we should get going." he said as he nodded towards the jet and Marti boarded it. Marti knew going back home with Dennis was going to be bittersweet for her. Mostly bitter…