Hello:) Everyone that reviewed on chapter one convinced me that I need to continue this story! I would like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and the people that have put this story on their alerts:) This chapter is shorter than the last, but I think it is pretty darn good. I've had a few parts that gave me a really hard time, but I think this is a good kind of fluffy chapter for what is to come.

I want to state right now that I am not a doctor; I am a highschool student. I have researched this cancer and I have read entries from the families of the children that have this cancer and used the information to write this story. I have no idea how it feels to go through everything these people go through, but I am using their experiences to help me understand. If there are any mistakes in how a real doctor would treat this type of cancer, I am apologizing in advance. If you have any advise or any inputs you would like to share, please don't hesitate to ask.

Disclaimer: I do not own LWD

I have Osteosarcoma. Bone cancer. I never thought that I would be someone who would get cancer. Right after the phone call from Dr. Baker, Casey and I went downstairs to tell dad and Nora. It was the worst moment of my life…

"Dad? Nora?" I called as I walked down the stairs with Casey at my side.

"We're in the kitchen!" Nora yelled.

Casey and I walked into the kitchen and found my dad working over some legal papers on the counter and Nora was making supper. My dad took off his glasses and looked at Casey with a worried look and then looked to me.

"Derek, what's going on?" he asked standing up off the stool.

Nora turned around and left the food cooking on the stove and ran over to Casey. She pulled her up into a hug and asked, "What's wrong baby?" Casey didn't respond.

"Uhh… Maybe you guys should sit down for this…" I said my voice shaky.

"Derek, you're scaring me." Nora said as she let go of Casey and sat on the stool beside my dad.

"Well, there is n-no easy way t-to say this…" I said my voice quivering, "Dr. Baker s-said I h-h-have cancer."

Nora pulled her hands up to her mouth and held in her sobs while my dad got off his stool and hugged me as hard as he could. Casey crumpled to her knees on the floor and sobs overtook her body. When my dad finally let me go to comfort Nora, I sat on the floor beside Casey and rubbed her back. She pulled her head up and looked at me with a tearstained face, bringing her arms around my neck and pulling herself into me. It felt as if it was all surreal; like it wasn't happening to me, but to someone else.

"Hey, what's going on?" Edwin asked as Lizzie, Marti, and he walked into the kitchen.

I got up off the floor, still holding on to Casey, and walked over to my three younger siblings.

"Guys, I have cancer. Now just because I have it, I don't want you to treat me any differently, ok. I'm still the same Derek; I'm just going to be a little weaker." I need to be strong for them. I look at their faces and see the pain etched into them, except for Marti; hers was full of confusion.

"Smerek… what's cancer?" I let go of Casey and walked over to my baby sister and kneeled beside her.

"It's a sickness Smarti. I'm going to be sick for a while, and I'm going to have to go to the doctor's a lot, but I'm going to be ok."

"You better be Smerek." She said as she pulled her little arms around my neck and I could feel her small tears hit my shoulder.

That was three weeks ago. I have been going for chemo once a week and it is kicking my butt. I'm exhausted and feel very weak, but I try to stay upbeat for the rest of the family and my friends.

During my first chemo treatment Dr. Baker told the family what was to come. After a couple of rounds of chemo he would have to perform surgery on my leg. He would go in and remove the tumor and some of my leg. To keep from having to amputate my leg he was going to reconstruct the part of my leg he had to take out with metal. He scheduled my surgery three months after my first session of chemo. Sure it's going to be scary, but he said my chances were very high since we caught it early on. Two months from now, I was scheduled to go into surgery.

My hair just recently started to fall out little by little and it is starting to scare me. I feel like when everyone looks at me all they see is the cancer, not Derek.

Casey has been by my side 24/7 ever since the call from Dr. Baker. She comes with me to chemo and holds my hand as nausea over takes my senses. Today is my third treatment and Sam is going to meet me and Casey at the hospital to spend the day with us.

"How are you feeling Derek?" Casey asked as we walked through the doors of the hospital.

"I'm ok I guess." I said as we got in the elevator to go to the third floor.

We made it to the chemo room and the nurse sat me down in a chair and started my chemo. The air feels thick, and it smells sterile; I hate feeling like I spend half my life here. After a few minutes Sam walked through the door, it was good to see him.

"Hey D. How ya doin buddy?" he asked in a chipper tone.

"I'm ok, I guess." I said repeating what I said only mere minutes before; not really even believing myself.

"Well, I have a surprise for you!" he said pulling a blue gift bag out from behind his back and handing it to me.

"What is this for?" I asked taking the bag.

"I just wanted to give you something."

I pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and laying in the very bottom was something made of fabric; I pulled the light blue, baby blue, and dark blue striped beanie out of the bag and just stared at it in awe.

"Sam, I can't take this from you. It's your lucky beanie…" I said trying to hand it back to him.

He pushed it back towards me, "Derek, I want you to have it. It's given me loads of luck, and now I don't need it, you do."

I held the beanie in my hand looking over it. I thought about when Sam first bought it. I thought it was the ugliest thing I had ever laid eyes on, but now it was the most wonderful present I have ever got.

"Thanks man. This really means a lot to me," I said pulling it over my thinning hair, "How does it look?"

"It looks way better on you than it does me."

Casey giggled, "I told you he would love it."

We sat there and laughed for a few moments, and then Casey and Sam started telling me about what had been going on at school. Since I've been diagnosed dad and Nora thought it would be best if I stayed at home, but I tried to push through it. After about a week I could barely walk to my classes, so Casey convinced my teachers that she could teach me everything that we would learn, and they accepted that; pretty much because they had no other choice. Over the past few weeks the knot, the tumor, in my leg has grown bigger and it hurts to stand on it for more than five minutes; so there is no way I could make it through a school day at this point.

"… and now Max is dating that floozy Katie McCreary. What did I ever see in that scumbag?"

"What? He was just dating Sage like two weeks ago!" I exclaimed, thanking God that Casey had gotten out of that relationship all together.

"Well, the boy moves around." She replied looking down at her hands.

"I'm glad that you have finally moved on from him." I said with a week smile. Casey smiled back and I grabbed her hand in mine softly.

"Speaking of floozies, Sally wants to come visit you…" Sam interjected and I released Casey's hand.

I ended Sally and I's relationship just days before I got diagnosed. I walked into her house to find her "messing around", as she put it, with Truman French. She ran after me as I walked out of the house, begging and pleading for me to forgive her; but I couldn't. After I got diagnosed she has tried to contact me, but I blocked her number from my cell; so I guess she has resorted to getting Sam to send me her messages.

"Tell her I never want to see her again, and to leave me the hel-" my sentence was cut short by the presence of bile rising in my throat. Casey saw the look on my face and moved a bed pan under my chin.

After emptying my empty stomach I looked up to Sam and Casey, examining the reaction on their faces. Casey looked a little shaken up, but ok; Sam on the other hand had paled an immeasurable amount.

"Sorry about that guys…" I said awkwardly as the nurse took the bed pan from my lap.

"It's ok Derek; you had no control over it." Casey said rubbing my back.

"I know, but still-"

"Derek, quit apologizing for something that is not your fault right this minute." She interjected with a stern look on her face.

"Yes mother." I said with a tiny smirk growing larger on my face as she realized that I just referred to her as acting like my mother.

"DER-EK!" she screeched so loud the five nurses around us shhh-ed her. She looked down in embarrassment, twittling her thumbs.

I couldn't help but laugh at her expression; it was comical.

Sam's phone buzzed loudly and he excused himself to answer it. After a few minutes he returned looking sad.

"I have to go, my little sister got sick and I have to go take care of her while my mom's at work. Are you two going to be ok by yourselves?" Sam quickly said with a strange tone to his voice.

"Umm… yeah man, we'll be ok. I'm almost done anyways." I said confused.

"I'll see you tomorrow Casey, and Derek I will see you tomorrow afternoon for some well needed Babe Raider." He said with a sly grin.

We finished our goodbyes and then it was only Casey and I left. I had about ten more minutes of my chemo left, and I was dreading every minute I had to sit in this chair. The only thing that was keeping me sane was the girl sitting beside me; Casey.

Every time I'm around her, I feel as if we are becoming closer and closer. I think I might be starting to care for her as more than a friend… I can't love her, can I? Does she have feelings for me too? Even if I do love her, I can't. I might die, and I can't bring her hopes up and then die on her. I will not put her through that. I have to promise myself that I will never fall in love with Casey McDonald.

After ten minutes of thinking over mine and Casey's relationship, only to find that it was going to be harder than I thought to stay away from her, my chemo for this was finally over. The nurse unhooked me from all of the machines and Casey helped wheel me out the front doors of the hospital. I hate having to be wheeled around, but after chemo I can barely stand up by myself. Casey helped me get in the car and then moved around to the driver side and started up the Prince.

"Its eleven-forty-two, I don't feel like going home." I said pouting in the passenger seat.

"Ok, where do you want to go?"

"I don't care, as long as it's not home!" I said as I threw my arms up in the air, "I'm sick of being stuck there all day every day! I feel like I'm trapped by the house and the cancer is closing in around me, suffocating me!"

"Ok… umm… where could we go?"

"Let's go to the playground."

"Are you sure you're going to be up for it Derek? I mean you just got through with chemo, and yo-"

"Please Case! I really wanna go!" I yelled interrupting her overprotective rant, "Pretty pwwwwweeeeeeezzzzzz!" I pulled out the puppy-dog eyes; a sure argument winner.

Casey's eyes twitched away from mine and I could tell she was caving.

"Ok! Fine, we will go to the dang playground!" Success!

"Yay!" I exclaimed from my seat feeling like a five year old again.

She pulled out of the parking lot and got out on the road. Soon we were parking in front of the playground and Casey turned to me with a serious face.

"Now Derek, if you get tired I want you to tell me. I don't want you over exerting yourself, ok?" she said in a slow tone.

"Yes mother… can we go now?"

She smiled at me and got out, walked around to my side, and helped me out of the car. I rapped my arm around her shoulder and she snaked her arm around my waist to keep me steady. We walked - well she walked and I hobbled - over to the swings and she placed me in my swing before moving to sit in hers. We sat there in silent for a couple of minutes before I couldn't take it anymore.

"Casey…"

"Hmm?" she was apparently deep in thought.

"What were you just thinking about?" her face took on three different shades of red and she looked down into her lap.

"Uh… nothing really…" she's such a terrible liar.

"Come on Case, please tell me." I begged.

"It was nothing Derek."

"Stop lying and just tell me what you were thinking about!" I said a little rudely.

"I was thinking about what almost happened the last time we were here! Are you happy?" she said irritated. She turned her head away from me, I'm guessing in embarrassment.

Last time we were here… I couldn't help but smile.

I got up off my swing and walked over to the other side of Casey's swing and kneeled so she was looking at me. I cupped my hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes; big pools of blue stared back at me. Right then I knew I broke the promise I made to myself just earlier today.

"Well," I whispered, "Let's pick up where we stopped." I smiled and leaned into her.

Our lips met and it felt like I had been struck by lightning. An electric current raced through my veins and I felt light headed. I pulled back and smiled at her, and she smiled back; but then something happened. Her smiling face turned into one of fear. Then everything went pitch black.

I know what you are thinking... Why are you doing this to Derek? What did he ever did to you? - Trust me, I don't like doing it to Derek! lol

I know I started the Dasey-ness really early, but it is building up to something way more:) I hope you liked it!

!Please review and tell me what you think!