DISCLAIMER! - i [unfortunately do not own any bit of Life With Derek, and man, does it suck. i own this plot line though! yay me!

Hey there LWD fans! I absolutely adore this show, and after reading all of these dasey/lizwin stories, i felt inspired.
Sure, this might seem just to be a little OOC and Marti centered, but you'll get to see the back story of how Derek and Casey fell for each other, and why everything's different between Edwin and Lizzie.
Plus, they'll all be set back in during the holiday i have planned!

--Casey and Derek are married, Edwin's in the US, in Florida, while Lizzie's in Toronto. Avoiding each other? Maybe.
Then there's little Marti MacDonald.
Only she's not so little anymore.
Her stepmother works near full time, and her father has quit being a lawyer, became a stockbroker, and lately been mysteriously maneuvering around the house.
['Smarti' no longer exists, except for the time she spends, a weekend a month, over her older sibs house.--

AGES – Marti, 143/4; Lizzie, 20; Edwin, 21; Casey, 24; Derek 241/2.

Marti's point of view.

"" - talking. '' thinking. flashbacks [italicized

"Marti, have you seen the family portrait? It's seemed to gone missing." Nora shouts from up the stairs at me, accusingly.

I look at her like she's crazy.

"No, Nora. I haven't. I dunno where it might be." What would I want with a family portrait?

She gets a funny look on her face, and sets off to do more Sunday cleaning, as usual.

I don't understand why she spends her only day off doing so, but I guess it's okay if it makes her happy.

I turn back to my homework. I hate algebra. It's a waste of my life. Ratios and proportions don't deserve a spot in my brain.

I've gotten half/half of the Venturi gene.

I'm smart, kind of like Casey and Edwin smart, but I also have Derek's laziness. I use it in the form of procrastination. I can do it, sure, but I just don't want to.

Especially algebra.

I gave up on it after a few more minutes of it, and walked into the kitchen to check and see if the water was boiling. I was making spaghetti tonight; despite the fact Nora and dad can both cook. Nora just gets caught up in everything, and dad is busy with some sort of 'investments'.

As I stir in the spaghetti sauce, I hear a crash, and I go running to the landing.

"Nora! Are you okay?"

"Oh, um, I'm fine, Marti. Just knocked something over is all."

I was really curious, but I didn't want to invade Nora's personal space.

Dimi would later point out that this would be another reason my mixed family has left me so mix-matched.

He claims I have become all of them, smashed into one person. Which I guess you could say is true, but at the same cost, I still wanted to be my own person. Casey and Lizzie never dressed like me, Nora tells me. But I don't care.

It feels like the only individuality I have left.

Today, I'm showing traits of being observant like Edwin and Lizzie, and giving up on schoolwork like Smerek. I guess you can say I'm like Nora in the studious way of always getting stuff done.

"Smells great, kiddo." A voice from behind me comments.

"Hey dad. Dinner's almost ready."

He stirs the sauce and takes a small taste. "mmm, delicious."

I guess he enjoys when I cook, because he always makes comments like this.

I smile and continue preparing until finished.

I set out the steamed asparagus and spaghetti in the middle of the table and call Nora and dad up to eat.

Things go and are talked about as normal.

"I talked to Casey today and she told me her and Derek…" "Lizzie should be coming home in a few weeks, I haven't heard from Ed…"

"Investments increased…today I heard stock market could rise steadily within the next week…paycheck comes in Tuesday."

"Didn't do anything…talked to Dimi…finished homework."

Dinner conversation was dull. I missed the days back before everyone left. When everyone loved everyone.

I remember one dinner where it was as quiet as this, but for all reasons only I had figured out.

It was a pizza night, which was normal when Nora didn't feel like cooking.

Nora had came home late and her and dad were fighting over taking to me to mom's house.

Lizzie had found out that her tae-kwon-doe class might end due to finding out Nora was talking to dad about it. Edwin kept trying to cheer her up, but then she started crying, and Venturi boys fear tears. He hid in the games closet, deep in thought.

Derek had been trying to figure out why he wasn't so upset that Sally quit her job and ended the way things had been going between her and Derek. He was more concerned about the overly quiet brunette sitting across from him.

Casey hadn't touched her dinner and hadn't spoken a word to any of the family members, besides a yes or no, since school let out.

Emily was starting to be around Sheldon more and more, leaving Casey around Max more often, who just so happened to break up with her for good today.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Lizzie turned to her, noticing her untouched pizza.

She shook her head, choosing her words carefully.

I could tell Smerek was trying to think if he did something to her again.

He was only playing pranks on her because he loved her.

Dad looked at her, and even he could tell something was wrong.

"Case, what happened? Lets talk about it?"

She opened her mouth to start to say something, but then she ran upstairs crying.

"Derek! What did you do?" Nora accused.

His eyebrows pointed in, and he started yelling.

"What makes you think I did something? Spacey is probably having boy problems again. You guys are always so convinced I've done something wrong to her whenever she gets upset!"

"That's because we're concerned. You usually are one to blame, Derek. Lower your voice, its dinner. Let Casey breath in her room for a while. She'll calm down." Nora said.

"I don't have to calm down. You guys are so condescending!" He said, shocking everyone with using 'big words'.

And with that he picked up his plate, piled another slice of pizza on top, and stormed off to his room."

"What has gone on with this family? Honestly. You're acting as if George and I are ruining your lives!"

The three kids looked at each other furtively.

"Maybe you should listen to your kids more often!" Edwin surprisingly spoke up.

Dad and Nora looked at each other, clueless as usual.

"Liz? Tell them how unfair they're being!"

She looked up, unsure.

It was silent for a few seconds, then…

"You guys are being so unfair! I love tae-kwon-doe! You want to take it out of my life all because it takes too much time to get there? That's… that's completely unreasonable and I won't let you!" She then walks off too, with Ed in tow.

"And I hate going to mom's!" I say, speaking the truth for my eight-year-old self.

I didn't leave; I was hungry. I just didn't talk. I took a vow of silence, after words of fire.

I didn't understand how big of a deal it was to say, until after I said it.

That day I made one of the biggest decisions of my entire childhood.

Now they were looking at me. What were they talking about? Uhh.

"Sorry, I spaced out. What was that, Nora?"

"Just asked if you and Dimi got married again today."

I rolled my eyes. My family laughs at the fact Dimi and I 'got married' practically every day when we were little.

"Oh, of course" I say, my words dripping with sarcasm.

"Nora, I have to work late tomorrow. Are you going to be home to pick up Marti?"

Nora's face falls, and she groans. "I can't. I have a case at two tomorrow. Sorry Marti. Can Dimi or someone else give you home?"

I sighed, "Of course." And I asked if I could be excused.

I was sick of everything lately: Everyone leaving, Dimi being Dimi, parents never being around.

I called my only friend that's a girl, Krista Pax.

"Hey Krit. What's going on in your life?"

I guess you could say Krista is the equivalent of Casey's friend Emily. Odd.

"Which part? My parents divorcing, my sister getting pregnant, or the fact that I made a fool of myself talking to Nate yesterday?"

I needed this, a distraction, something to get me off of focusing on my own life.

I talked to her for a while, and hung up and went to bed.

I had straight access to the bathroom anytime, and I could choose whose bed to sleep in. I spent some nights a whole floor up, in Edwin's room. Or I would walk into Casey's room if I needed a sense of reassurance. She would always be there to listen. Lizzie's had the athlete appeal of it all. And Smerek's was too comfortable. It reminded me of the times I jumped in his bed because I couldn't fall asleep or I had nightmares.

Tonight, though, I settled for my own room. It was time for a change. I wanted to take control and make myself known for Marti Venturi, not a Derek Edwin Casey Lizzie combination.

Alright. A bit of a rough start; understandable.
The drama unfolds in the next chapter, and that should create easier understanding.
Tell me what you think... next chapter'll be up as soon as i finish it!