Summary: A more satisfactory ending of Life With Derek than the crap they gave us. Will be Dasey with a hint of Lizwin in order to carry through something for the movies. Takes place from the end of Truman's Last Chance through Futuritis.

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Don't own LWD

Chapter One: Truman's REALLY Last Chance

Casey was bored and mad, this party wasn't any fun without Truman and she had no idea where he was. She was hanging out with the host's father for pete's sake! It wasn't like she could get any lamer...not that the father was boring or anything, it's just that for appearances sake, she couldn't be seen enjoying herself too much with him.

She wandered away, glancing around the room through the mass of moving bodies, hoping to see where Truman had gotten off to. She spotted his friend Amal and walked over to him.

"I'm looking for Truman," Casey said, still glancing around. "Have you seen him?"

"I'm pretty sure he was with you," Amal said.

"Pretty sure he wasn't," Casey said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. If he was with her, he'd be with her.

"Then he must have been with that other girl, then," Amal said, turning back to the brunette next to him.

"Vicki?" Casey paused for a moment, wondering what her cousin and her boyfriend...Vicki's ex boyfriend apparently, were doing together. Well, at least they could hang out together. She walked towards an alcove area, hoping to finally find her wayward boyfriend and her not-so-sweet cousin. As she walked in, she saw them.

Kissing. More than that, they were making out.

"Vicki?" Casey's voice was low, harsh and inaudible over the din of the music.

Her stomach bottomed out and she felt numb. She couldn't breathe, it wasn't real, it didn't feel real to her. She thought Truman was sort of a...jerk sometimes but that he was basically sweet underneath, like Derek, but...this was proof that wasn't true.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she fought to keep herself together. She didn't want to fall apart at the party. She felt behind her, hoping to find a wall or table to keep her upright, to keep from fainting or breaking down. She couldn't breathe, she kept taking in gasps of air, short pants to keep oxygen in her lungs but it was impossible to BREATHE!

Derek. She needed Derek. Home. He'd take her home. She turned around and spotted him dancing with some blonde bimbo.

"Derek, I need to leave, now!" Casey said, voice urgent. She felt herself falling apart and the sooner she could get out, the better.

"Can't talk, dancing!" Derek said, ignoring her. Casey's heart gave an almighty lurch and she knew she was seconds away from losing it.

"Derek, let's go...please!" she was going to cry if he couldn't just get her out of there. Derek finally turned around and his entire presence changed. His brown eyes softened.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice concerned. She shook her head, looking down. His warm hands came up to her shoulders, getting her away from the public eye and leading her to a corner of the room.

"What happened?" he asked as soon as they had a little more privacy. Casey was struggling to breathe normally still, to keep from crying and she tried to explain the horrific sight she'd just seen to Derek.

"I just saw Truman and Vicki..." Casey said, her voice breaking on the end. Her eyes were full of tears and they were still threatening to spill out. "And they were k...ki..ki..." she tried to get Derek to see, to understand, but he was being a bit dense.

"Kayaking?" Derek scrunched his nose, confused.

"Kissing!" Casey shouted.

Derek looked furious, beyond furious and she watched as he strode out of the room. She could hear him yelling at them but couldn't make out what he was saying until Truman stomped out, coming up to her.

"Casey, I can explain," Truman said. Casey couldn't believe him.

"Truman, you were kissing my COUSIN!" she burst out. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear it but she let him go on. His explanation was lame and she decided she was through with a self-centered, callous, pigheaded, arrogant jerk who wouldn't treat her right. She was through with Truman. She wouldn't give him one more second.

"Derek, I want to go, now." Casey begged her stepbrother, who was saying goodbye to the blonde he had been dancing with earlier. Derek gave the girl a lame line about calling her next time he was in Toronto and grabbed his keys out of his pocket. They were going to drop Icky Vicki off at her house and then Derek would drive them home. Vicki didn't apologize, didn't speak to Derek or Casey on the drive home and Casey was glad that she wasn't going to see her cousin again any time soon.

She waited until they stopped in Hamilton for gas before breaking down. She couldn't stop thinking about what Truman had done. Did she deserve that? Maybe she did. Her head was confused but she kept thinking back to all the little stunts he'd pulled, all the lame moves he'd made that she'd forgiven over and over again and how she was acting so unlike herself with him, unlike the strong-willed, smart girl she knew she was. But she didn't feel like one anymore. She felt stupid and sick over her own actions.

"I...am...so...awful," Casey said to herself in between sobs. Derek was pumping the petrol and she didn't hear him come back into the car.

"No you're not," Derek said, startling Casey.

"Derek," Casey sighed, tears slowing to a halt. "I totally lost sight of who I am. I let Truman get away with treating me so horribly, like I'm some stupid girl who can't live without a guy and can't function without him telling me what to do."

"Yeah, you did," Derek said, buckling his seatbelt.

"Derek!" Casey said, turning to him, still sniffling.

"What, Spacey? You did, you totally acted like Space-Case."

"Space-Case?"

"Uh-huh," Derek pulled The Prince out of the gas station and got back onto the highway. "Space-Case. You acted like that with Max and with Truman and a little bit with Sam, like you were someone else entirely. You totally changed who you were to be their little 'girlfriend'."

"No I didn't!" Casey protested. "I'd never act like that!"

"Yeah?" Derek asked simply. He bit his tongue, refraining from saying any more. Casey didn't need those losers anyway. He tried to stop thinking about how she looked when she was telling him what happened, that hurt and vulnerable look, it made him want to gather her up in his arms. And then go rip Truman's head off. He banished the thoughts from his head and tried to concentrate on the road. Casey's eyes welled up and Derek could tell she was on the verge of tears again.

"I...just...can't...understand why he'd DO something like that," Casey let her tears fall again, not embarassed to cry in front of Derek for some reason.

"Shh," Derek couldn't comfort her and he couldn't stop the tears (which he couldn't stand, but he was getting over it right now for Casey's sake), so he stared at the road and made gentle, soothing noises. "Shh, it's gonna be alright Casey," Derek said in a quiet, calm voice. (And normally he didn't 'do' quiet or calm.)

"I feel so disgusting and cheap," Casey sobbed.

"Casey, you don't deserve that, no matter what," Derek said, not taking his eyes off the road. "You don't need a jerk of a guy as a boyfriend, you deserve someone thoughtful and caring and really sensitive and into romantic junk," he added.

"Thanks Derek," Casey looked down at her hands, trying to calm the flow of tears. It was starting to give her a headache to cry and Truman didn't deserve that from her.

Casey couldn't remember much of the rest of the drive back after that. The next thing she knew, they were pulling into the driveway and Derek was giving Casey's shoulder a squeeze before heading for the house. Casey followed inside, trying to remain strong, to stop giving Truman the tears he didn't deserve.

"Hey Mom..." Casey was startled to see her mother still up and embarrassed, hoping she wasn't in trouble for coming home late or something. "What are you doing up still?"

"Waiting for you," Nora's voice was sympathetic and Casey could feel the tears bubbling up inside again. "Derek called." Casey tried hard to keep from crying again, knowing Truman didn't deserve the tears but she just felt so bad and now her mom was here to talk to and she wasn't sure she could keep being strong much longer.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked, pushing herself up from the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, trying just a little longer to stave off the tears. Nora just held her arms open and Casey lost it, she wanted her mommy just for that one second, needed to be in her mom's arms and know that everything would be alright. Nora hugged her tightly.

"Ugh, more tears?" Derek said, sounding annoyed. "You're like Niagra Falls!"

Casey sniffled, trying to stop but failing miserably. "Night, ladies," Derek called, jogging up the stairs. He had to get away, just couldn't handle more tears, not from anyone and especially not from Casey.

"Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all." Casey said, biting her lip. Nora looked puzzled.

"Truman?" she asked, concerned for her daughter's mental health after a statement like that.

"No, Truman is scum," Casey said, a disgusted look on her face. "I meant Derek..." something inside of her seemed to swell up at her words, to grow so large as if to burst from within. She leaned her head against her mother's shoulder again, trying to not think about it right now. Now wasn't the appropriate time to examine this kind of feeling.

**** **** ****

"So...did I uh...blow it for you and Marvin?" Edwin had just come down the stairs when he spotted Lizzie coming out of her bedroom. She didn't look mad though, which was a good sign. He felt bad about ruining their date.

"Surprisingly no," Lizzie said with a smile.

"You do realize I was just being protective, right?" Edwin asked, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Why?" Lizzie asked, scrunching her nose up. "I can take care of myself."

"I know...I just...care about you," Edwin shrugged, feeling his cheeks redden a little more.

"Thanks," Lizzie said. "But tail or interrogate anyone I like again and I'll be forced to share private information with any girl YOU like for the rest of your life." She looked serious so Edwin thought he should just go along with it, even though he wanted to laugh a little inside at the irony.

The phone rang and Edwin grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Who is it?" Lizzie asked a second later when he hung up.

"Wrong number," Edwin shrugged and they both went downstairs to watch tv.

A/N: I hated the ending. Everyone else did too and I planned for a while now to rewrite it for you guys, sticking with the tone of Life With Derek but making it Dasey and Lizwin. Enjoy and please let me know if you did!