Chapter 1: Chapter 1
So I have edited this slightly because I'm planning a series of one shots that focus on the characters in this story which required me to change a few things.
P.S. Imagine that after High School Sam and Derek didn't keep in touch and that he went to college in Texas and never came back or something like that ok? Ok.
P.S.S. Casey and Derek are 43, Lizzie and Edwin are 40, Marti is 34, and their brother Simon is 24.
Sam hadn't been to this house in nearly twenty years and for some reason all of his memories of said house were full of screaming, pranks, and laughter. Apparently not much had changed in the past two decades.
Silver and blue streamers and balloons decorated the porch where two women sat chatting and sipping glasses of wine; a sprinkler was set up off to the side of the house and Sam could see a group of kids ranging from age four to ten running through the spray while four teenagers between the ages of thirteen and fifteen were playing soccer. All in all the party looked like a blast and Sam could only hope that he (and his shy son Conner) would still fit in among the chaos that was his second childhood home.
"Sammy!" a grown up Marti squealed as he entered the house (which was also decked out in blue and silver decorations). Sam smiled at the thirty four year old dressed in a purple t-shirt and cut-off jeans. Her dark brown/almost black hair was cut in a bob and a sparkly green headband held it away from her face.
"Marti is that you?" he asked although there was little to no doubt as to who she was. She was basically just a stretched out version of her six year old self.
"Yes it's me," she said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad Nora ran into you and convinced you to come."
"Well we were in the area," Sam replied as he pulled away. Marti smiled and glanced over at the sandy haired fifteen year old at Sam's side.
"Hello," she greeted then turned back to Sam, "Oh my God Sam he looks just like you!" Sam laughed and nodded.
"Conner this is Marti Ven – wait, you aren't Venturi anymore are you?"
"Nope," she smiled, "I'm Marti Walters now, my husband John is in the basement with Edwin, Lizzie, and the older kids. DJ, Izzy and their friends are having a video game war I think."
"Who's winning," Sam asked immediately although he didn't recognize the names of the children mentioned. Marti smile widened.
"Izzy I would imagine." She replied, "Come on I'll introduce you to everyone that you don't already know." Sam smiled and clapped his hand on Conner's shoulder as he maneuvered him through the crowded house and back into the kitchen.
"Hey everyone," Marti called as she pushed into the kitchen, "Look who's here." The group congregated in the kitchen consisted of George and Nora Venturi, Emily and Sheldon Shlepper, and two other couples that were clearly collegues of George's. Nora gasped and dropped the dishtowel she had been holding.
"Sam," she greeted as she pulled him into a hug, "I'm so glad you made it!"
"Thanks Mrs. V," Sam replied before pushing Conner forward, "This is my son, Conner."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Conner," Nora said as she smiled at the mini-Sam. "My grandson Adam is about your age, I think he's out playing soccer in the front yard if you want to join him."
"Go on Conner," Sam encouraged when he saw the excited glint in his son's eye at the sound of sports. Conner smiled and rushed off.
"So," Marti said as she shoved a blue plastic cup into Sam's hands. "You know Dad and Nora obviously, and Emily and Sheldon," Emily smiled brightly and Sheldon nodded in greeting, "And this is Julie and Kevin Williams, and Michael and Lisa Kent – they worked with Dad before he decided to retire." Marti shot her dad a teasing look and George rolled his eyes at his youngest daughter while his friends chuckled.
"Nice to meet you," Lisa, a red haired woman, greeted.
"So how many of these kids are actually yours Mr and Mrs. V?" Sam asked as he glanced even more children (and some adults) outside in the back yard. Nora sighed but smiled, clearly thrilled at having a full home.
"Eight of them" she paused, "And then our original six who still act like children most of the time."
"Hey," Marti protested but she smiled.
"The rest of the kids are either the children or grandchildren of friends or our grandkid's friends." George added. "Also some old friends of the kids' are here with their families."
"Well you definitely still have a full house." Sam paused and glanced back outside once more, looking for familiar faces, " So where's Derek?" Sam asked.
"I sent Derek to get some things from the store," Nora explained as she turned back to the cookies she was setting out on a baking sheet.
"And Casey said he would get the wrong brand or something and went with him." Emily added with a smile. Sam rolled his eyes.
"Do they still fight like they used to?"
"Yes," everyone said in unison. Sam chuckled.
"Guess I should've known."
"Yes, you really should have," Sheldon replied but apparently Marti got bored because she grabbed Sam's arm and drug him to the basement door.
"Come on, Lizzie and Ed will want to see you, besides you want to meet Derek and Casey's kids right?"
"Um… yeah," Sam gazed at Marti in trepidation. She was just as big a monster as she was at six.
"Who gave him the controller to that thing?" Marti snapped as she and Sam came down to the basement turned game room only to see her husband trying (and failing) to beat her teenage niece and nephew at a racing game. Lizzie laughed and pointed over at Edwin while simultaneously bouncing a two year old boy on her knee. Marti sighed and came forward to scoop her son (whom she had entrusted to her husband) from Lizzie.
"John's a sore loser," a voice called from the couch drawing both Marti and Sam's attention to a blonde haired young woman who was watching the game with amusement. "I'm Anna, Simon's fiancé." She added when she met Sam's gaze.
"Hi I'm…"
"SAM!" Edwin shouted causing the rest of the room's occupants to jump and for the toddler on Marti's hip to cry. Marti leveled Edwin with a deadly glare before taking her son upstairs to calm him down.
"Hey Ed," Sam smiled and came to sit on a stool beside Lizzie and Edwin, "How's life?"
"I can't complain, beautiful wife, three amazing kids, good job. What about you?"
"I'm a psychologist down in Texas, my wife couldn't come because she had to work, she's an OBGYN, and we have a son Conner who's outside playing soccer with some of the boys." Sam responded.
"Adam and McKenzie are playing soccer," Lizzie mentioned, "Those are our two oldest. Then there's Jami but she's seven and playing in the sprinkler."
"Wait," Sam paused and looked between Edwin and Lizzie, "You two are married?" The couple chuckled.
"We have been for the past seventeen years," Edwin replied before letting out a whoop of triumph as John lost once again to the two brunette teens on the couch. "Pay up," he said to his wife who dutifully handed over a twenty while rolling her eyes.
"You might as well give up John," Anna said as she stood, "Come on, I better go find my fiancé before he gets into trouble and you probably need to go and grovel at Marti's feet." John, a bulkily built man with shaggy light brown hair, sighed and followed, sending a small wave in Sam's direction.
"So I hear that…" Sam was once again cut off as a shout sounded from the couch.
"You're just a sore loser," a girl with long dark chestnut hair slicked back in a ponytail taunted. The boy beside her, who had wavy auburn hair cut short, shoved her lightly.
"Am not," he protested as the girl laughed. The other three teens in the room watched the interaction with little interest. It was nothing new after all.
"You so are," a girl who had short platinum blonde hair and was pixie-ish in appearance added as she smiled at the boy.
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side, you're my girlfriend!" the boy, who looked eerily like Derek, said in outrage. The blonde, brunette (who was an copy of Casey save for the dark brown eyes), and the other girl in the room this one with long black hair and bright green eyes all laughed while the raven haired boy with ice blue eyes rolled his eyes.
"But she's my best friend," the Casey look-alike countered, "So HAH!"
"DJ, Izzy stop fighting." Lizzie said half-heartedly.
"We aren't fighting," the pair said together before looking at each other, blinking, and turning back to their aunt.
"Just play your game," Lizzie sighed. The girl smiled and turned back to the boy, continuing the argument from before.
"Let me guess," Sam said as he watched the familiar sounding argument, "Casey and Derek part two."
"What gave it away," Edwin wondered aloud, "Was it the uncanny resemblance or the bickering?"
"Both," Sam replied with a smile. "Family gatherings must be Hell."
"It's never boring," Lizzie deadpanned, "Between our three, those two, and Marti's three it's pretty chaotic and of course since they're the oldest… well you remember what our house was like when we were kids." Sam chuckled and wondered how Casey and Derek reacted to their children's behavior. It seemed like some sort of cosmic retribution.
Sometime later the small group (which had grown to include Marti, John, Simon, Anna, Emily, and Sheldon) heard the garage door open above their heads.
"Derek and Casey are back," John noted as he sipped from his beer, Marti planted firmly in his lap.
"Which means that in 5…" Marti began.
"4" Lizzie and Edwin continued.
"3" Simon muttered.
"2" Anna piped up with a smile.
"1" the Derek and Casey clones finished just as a familiar 'Der-ek' was heard from upstairs. Sam laughed.
"What do you think it was this time?" Emily asked the group at large. Everyone just shrugged.
"Who knows," Edwin replied. "It's Derek and Casey, when do they ever need a reason to fight?"
"When they don't fight is when you need to worry," the Casey copy added as she slipped by the adults to grab a soda from the mini-fridge. "Believe me on that one."
"Sort of like you and DJ?" the raven haired teen, who Sam was told was named Jane, teased with a smirk as she took a can from the fridge as well. Izzy rolled her chocolate brown eyes at her friend.
"Me and DJ don't fight," she protested. "Why do you guys always say that? It's creepy when we all know what 'fighting' means in this family."
"No," Jane agreed but the mischievous look in her emerald eyes made the adults (and Izzy who knew her friend far too well) uneasy. "You fight with Ian."
"Jane!" the raven haired boy growled while Izzy glared. Sam looked between the three and then at the smirking adults in the room and wondered what exactly he was missing. The blonde pixie (whose name was ironically Fae) snickered while DJ looked disgusted.
"I'm going upstairs to see if mom needs any help," Izzy said after a moment of tense silence. She glanced fleetingly over at Ian who was still glaring at his younger sister before dashing back upstairs.
"Um… what just happened?" Sam asked.
"It's a long story," Lizzie responded, "Come on, Derek and Casey will want to see you."
"Daaaad," Sam heard Izzy groan as he topped the stairs. He perked up, he had been wondering who Casey's husband was after all, but stopped short when he saw Derek holding a chocolate chip cookie up above Izzy's head smirking at her as she jumped to reach it. "Give it back."
"What's the magic word?" Derek taunted the irritated eighteen year old. Izzy stopped and smirked Derek's smirk up at him. Derek's amused look fell from his face as he recognized the look the teenage girl was giving him.
"MOM," she called out into the living room. Derek glared down at her. "DAD'S BEING A KID AGAIN!" Her smirk grew and she shot her father a look of triumph. Derek narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head.
"DER-EK!" Casey called in exasperation from the other room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER?"
"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING," Derek called back as he continued to glare at Izzy, "AND SHE'S MY DAUGHTER TOO!"
"HE TOOK MY COOKIE AND WON'T GIVE IT BACK!" Izzy added unhelpfully.
"You're evil," Derek hissed, knowing what was coming before Casey even called –
"DEREK, GIVE IZZY HER COOKIE BACK, THERE ARE MORE IN HERE IF YOU WANT ONE THAT BADLY!"
"YES DEAR," Derek called back as he rolled his eyes. Reluctantly he gave Izzy her cookie. "You are and evil little monster."
"I learned from the best," Izzy smiled innocently at Derek as she munched on her gooey cookie. Derek chuckled and pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"That's right; after all you are my evil little monster." Derek nodded.
"I'm not so little anymore Dad," Izzy replied as she pushed away from the hug. "Oh and by the way, I beat your high score on Babe Raider VI earlier;" and with that she disappeared out into the living room where her mother, grandparents, and other adults were.
"That," Sam said with wide eyes, "Was scary." Derek spun and his eyes too widened as he took in his old friend.
"Sam?" he asked stunned. Sam nodded which seemed to break Derek out of his stupor for he smiled brightly and pulled the other man into a (manly) hug.
"Hey bro," Sam responded, "So um… you and Casey huh?" Derek blinked several times as if he didn't understand the question but then it clicked and he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah." He admitted although he smiled. "Don't know what I was thinking."
"And apparently you created a monster," Sam recalled DJ downstairs and amended his statement, "Or two actually."
"Oh Izzy?" Derek's smile grew at the mention of his daughter, "Well she's quite a bit like Case with just enough of me thrown in to even out the Spaceyness. She's perfect."
"And DJ?" Sam noticed that Lizzie was suddenly missing and wondered when she had slipped away. Probably sometime during the cookie war.
"Just like Derek, just not as much of a player. He's been dating Fae for about two years now." A new voice sounded and both men turned to face Casey as she came into the kitchen, one eyebrow raised as she observed her other half. "Spaceyness?" she asked, "Do you need to sleep on the couch tonight?" Derek cringed much to Sam and Casey's amusement.
"You know I like your Spaceyness." Derek protested as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple affectionately. Sam shook his head. It was rather strange to see the two of them being so openly affectionate.
"Hey Casey," he greeted to which Casey smiled.
"Hi Sam! I didn't know you were coming." She elbowed Derek like it was all his fault.
"Hey, I didn't know either." He countered as he poked Casey in the ribs. It was unbelievable, they were forty three years old and the parents of two college aged kids and yet they still acted like they were fifteen years old.
"Whatever," Casey rolled her eyes. "So Sam how's…" she was abruptly cut off as three soaking wet kids ran through the kitchen. She watched them go, debated on chasing after them, and then decided to let their parents deal with it. Her kids weren't the ones running through the house (yet).
"This is a bit wild," Sam said with a smile, "I was downstairs earlier and your kids started to bicker just like you two used to." Derek and Casey exchanged a look, "Then their friends made some comment that Izzy denied and then her friends said that she didn't fight with DJ but with Ian. What was up with that?"
"Oh… that." Derek chuckled and Casey smiled. "After Case and I got together it became a running joke that our fights were always just flirting…"
"Which they were," Casey added.
"So anytime someone says that Izzy and DJ fight they get all grossed out. The part about Ian is the fact that he and Izzy do fight like Case and I. It's a good thing that I've known the kid since he was in diapers and like him or I would have some serious issues."
"Dad has a problem with the idea of Izzy dating," DJ commented as he appeared at the tail end of the conversation, "Which both Mom and Izzy says is a double standard but Izzy doesn't date anyway so Dad doesn't really have any room to complain. By the way, where is my oh-so-wonderful baby sister?"
"She's in the living room," Casey told her son who nodded but made no move to leave just yet.
"Yeah, so Dad hates the idea of his 'little girl' dating but he likes Ian so therefore he mostly approves. I on the other hand have some serious problems with my best friend dating my baby sister."
"You're dating Izzy's best friend and have been since your senior year." Casey pointed out with a glare. DJ shrugged.
"Don't care, Ian's too good for Iz," he smirked and left the room in search for said sister.
"Yeah, just like Derek." Sam muttered.
Alright so I realized that it might be a bit confusing to match all of the kids to the parents so...
Casey&Derek - Izzy (18) and DJ (Dillon James) (19)
Lizzie&Edwin - Adam (15), McKenzie (13), and Jami (7)
Marti&John - Taylor (7), Alexis (5), Caleb (2)
Sam - Conner (15)
Then there's Ian (19) Jane (18), and Fae (18)
Okay so... there ya go. Hope you like it.