Disclaimer: See Prologue

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Ringing Wishes With Doorbells

A Life With Derek Story

Chapter 1

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"Izzie, What are you doing here?!" Derek asks, breathless, hands clasping the girls' shoulders tight, shaking her slightly. He stops abruptly, eyes going wide, face growing more solemn as he notices the cringe of pain and her eye avoidance. "He did it again, didn't he?" Derek asks, tone indicating his words are more of a statement than a question. Izzie doesn't do anything, just keeps looking slightly to the left of Derek.

"Izzie." He says with quiet force, gently moving her face so her eyes finally meet his.

He finds his answers in the cloudy grey-blue depths and wishes for the third time in his life that he wasn't right about something. Anger fills his being as he also wishes the person who did this to the shaking girl in front of him dies a very slow, very painful death, preferably by Derek's hand.

Instead, seeing the pain in Izzie's eyes, he pushes aside all his emotions and pulls the broken girl into a tender hug while whispering,

"We'll get through this." In her ear before kissing the top of her hair, "I promise." Resting his chin on the top of her head, he wonders what the hell he's going to do to finish this ongoing fight once and for all.

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Casey McDonald watches through the window as her stepbrother pulls the dirty girl he called Izzie into a hug once again. She lets the curtain fall back in place, millions of questions racing through her head, but two in particular stand out;

Who is Izzie? And why is Derek so willing to help her?

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As the cold of the Canadian wind steals the last of Derek's warmth, he gently pulls away to look at Izzie. Her eyes are still dry, but instead of being wide open in fear like they were minutes before, the grey-blue orbs are half-closed in what Derek assumes is exhaustion. Something occurs to him and he asks,

"Izzie, how did you get here this time?" Her eyes open slightly as if she's thinking. Derek waits. Finally, she whispers,

"I don't remember." Derek nods, watching her eyes close briefly.

"How lo…" Derek doesn't get to finish his next question as Izzie starts to fall backwards. He quickly tightens his hold on her as she loses consciousness. "Naturally." He mutters to himself as he gently turns her around in his arms, picking her up bridal style and turning to the door. He kicks it three times with his foot, hoping Casey will open it for him, knowing she's been watching him and Izzie the whole time.

Casey doesn't fail him; she opens the door after the third kick. Her eyebrow is raised and one hand is on her hip. Derek can see the questions burning in her eyes, but he has no time to think of explaining the situation to Casey. Taking care of Izzie is more important.

He nods once as a thanks, then carries Izzie up the stairs and into his bedroom. He lays her on his messy bed, pausing to take in her sleeping form. Even unconscious, fear, and anxiety crease the face Derek remembers as being young and vibrant. Now, though, there are heavy bags under her eyes, her cheekbones are more prominent thanks to obvious weight loss. Dirt and other grime from her trek to get to him cover what Derek knows are bruises on her neck and cheek.

Footsteps on the stairs remind him of the other occupant of the house who has many questions Derek cannot answer. To avoid the confrontation, Derek jogs to his door and shuts it as Casey reaches the top step.

"Not now, Case." He mutters to the door, praying that she just walks right past his room to her own, "Please." He holds his breath as she pauses in front of his door. After a long moment, he hears her move on to her room and once he hears her door click shut, lets his air out in a long sigh.

Its gonna be a long night.

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AN: Sorry it's so short. The chapters will get longer the further into the story we get. Thanks for reading, and please, leave a review.