Derek was sitting in the living room hardly 20 minutes before deciding that if he didn't find something to do soon he would go crazy. He called Sam, and 15 minutes later Derek picked him up. They ended up cruising around the city and Derek told him what happened with Sally. Well, most of it. He didn't tell Sam what they argued about, just that they'd had an argument. After a while they ended up stopping for pizza. While they ate, Derek started thinking about Sally and what she said about Casey.

"Hey, Sam," Derek began. "can I get your opinion on something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Sam paused, taking a sip from his soda. "Is it Sally? Cause I'm sure you two can fix whatever it is you've done." Derek straightened up in his chair.

"No. Well, kind of." He cleared this throat. "See, Sally accused me of giving most of my attention…to Casey," He couldn't believe he was saying this. "and constantly talking about her."

"Okay," Sam said, not appearing to think much of it. "So?"

"So?" Derek replied. "That's it? 'So?' Sally accused" Sam shrugged and took a bite of his pizza.

"What do you want me to say, D? It's more or less the truth." Derek started at him for a moment, then leaned forward on the table.

"Excuse me?" Sam nodded like it was something Derek should have known.

"Well, yeah. I mean, if you're not making fun of something she's done, you're thinking of ways to mess with her or annoy her. Add in actually acting out whatever you've decided to do to her and all you've got time for is sleep. Maybe food." He saw the look on Derek's face. "Don't worry about it, man. It's nothing new."

"Wait…what?"

"About you and Casey."

It took Derek a minute or so to fully understand what Sam had said. He tried to speak, but all his mouth did was open and close a few times, making Derek look like a fish.

"Sam," Derek started once he regained his composure. "If you're saying what I think you're saying…"

"What I'm saying is exactly what you should think I'm saying."

"Sam." Derek said in a serious tone. "You're suggesting that I…that me and Casey…" He ran a hand through his hair. "What would make you think that?" Sam laughed and shook his head.

"You know, had you asked me about this when I first met Casey I would probably have had a similar reaction, but let's face it. Look at how your relationship with Casey has changed since she moved in. I didn't really notice it at first, but even I saw it after me and Casey broke up. You two have gotten pretty close."

"We have our moments, I guess, but everyone has moments."

"Yours and Casey's just happen to be full of tension." Derek shot him a glare.

"Dude, it's not funny. I mean…she's my step-sister."

"So what? You didn't grow up with her or anything and you're not related. You're family is like a messed up version of the Brady Bunch. You know, actually, I think Marcia and Greg got together in one of the movies so you're not the only one." Sam laughed.

"That doesn't help me. At all." Derek sighed in frustration, putting his head in his hands. "This is so weird. The last I felt anything at all like this was when Lizzie's old soccer coach was cheating on Casey; I found out and it drove me crazy knowing and not telling her."

"So, yes? You like her?" Sam inquired.

"I don't know!" Derek exclaimed, almost knocking over his drink.

"Okay, fine. Bu can you just explain the constant teasing and stuff? I know why you started, but still. Even I have to admit that the only reason I can think of to cause that much trouble with the amount of planning you put into it is some kind of affection." Derek thought about it.

"I guess…it just became part of the routine." He said softly. "I mean, me and Case, we have our own way of doing things, but that's how we are and that's how we get through the day." He sighed and then, after a minute, stood up. "It's getting late, we should probably go."

"Alright." Sam smiled. "Don't worry, man, you'll figure it out."

Derek, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.

--

When he got home Derek closed the front door harder than he should have, tossed his jacket on the floor and sighed. The house was dark and quiet. Everyone was probably asleep. He'd probably get told off for coming in so late in the morning, but he didn't care. He slowly walked upstairs and would have gone right to bed had he not heard the muffled sobs coming from the room next to his; Casey's room. Had something happened while she was out with Josh? Derek stopped and stared at the door for a minute; Sally and Sam had really gotten him thinking.

Derek's feelings were tangled up in confusion, but he wanted to know why Casey was crying. Instead he walked up to her door and knocked softly on it. The sobbing stopped.

"Casey?" He asked, eyes dropping to the floor. "You okay?" He heard her sniffling and shuffling around the room, but she wasn't coming to the door. "Case?" He asked again. After again receiving no reply, he grabbed the door handle and entered the room, welcomed or not, which was what he usually did. Casey was curled up on her bed, wearing sweatpants and a big t-shirt, eyes red and puffy, surrounded by kleenex. She was looking down, fingers playing with a kleenex. Derek took a couple steps in, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You okay? Case? What happened?"

Casey took a deep breath and finally looked up at him. She had tears running down her cheeks and looked exhausted.; probably from all the crying.

"No, you're just going to rub it in my face, and I really don't need that right now." said Casey, obviously trying to sound like she had more emotional strength than she actually did at that moment. Derek walked over to her bed and sat down.

"Case, I'm not going to rub whatever it is in your face. I promise." He assured her, handing her a kleenex. "Not in the mood." She took it and blew her nose.

"Josh and I…broke up." Before the second half of the sentence began she broke out into sobs again and buried her face in her hands. Derek's face hardened at the mention of Josh. From the beginning Derek hadn't liked him, but the thought just made him think of what Sally said.

"I'm sorry, Case." Before he realized what he was doing, Derek pulled Casey into a hug. It wasn't a family moment hug, though, it was a tight embrace that had the power to hold a person together. She hugged him back, and they stayed that way until Derek finally became aware of what he was doing, since he had always refused to hug Casey when she offered, and pulled away. "Um…yeah." he said as he stood up, running a hand through his hair. "Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah." She . "I think I'll be alright. Thanks." There were traces of a faint smile on her face.

"Okay, well, I'm…gonna…go. To my room, uh, if you need me." She nodded.

He left Casey, who had a mixed look of confusion and 'he's-not-such-a-jerk-after-all' on her face, and went right to his room. He wasn't sure what to think. Did he, Derek Venturi, have feelings for….Casey?

"No. No way." Derek tried to convince himself as he was falling asleep. Everything was going through his head like a mental battle when he realized that what Sam and Sally had said may not have been completely false. "Oh man." He said as he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.