Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

thanks for the reviews, you guys rock. this is not beta-ed so all mistakes are mine. you with out much further ado, i present chapter 2. it's a marti background chapter. enjoy.

Chapter 2

Marti lay in her bed as she put off dauphine to sleep. The little girl refused to sleep in her own (Lizzie's former room) as she was afraid of the monster in her closet (she almost killed Derek because of that. He had thought it would be nice to trouble his sister.) A small smile graced her features. Marti had finally found her older sister. Lizzie was always a tomboy and she never could fulfill Casey's place. Marti always felt the loss that Casey left behind; she had especially missed her when four years her boyfriend had ran away with his tail tucked between his legs when Marti had told him she was pregnant. She was left alone to confront the world.

Marti had been really scared; she had gone all the way with her boyfriend, Fred on the Valentine's Day. She was a senior with her eyes set on an art degree from queens and now she was late, late-late.She had decided to meet Fred at smellie Nelly's and tell him about it. She had been waiting for Fred for fifteen minutes now in a booth and he waslate as always.Martisighed and texted him.

"I'm outside, parking" He texted back.

Marti sighed for what seemed the thousandth time as a five foot ten blond walked in and slide in the opposite seat.

"What is it, Marti. I had a hockey practice that I just missed. What is the problem? is Derek finally home? Will he finally meet me?"

Marti thought it would be to break the news, like a band aid was ripped off; "Fred, I think I'm pregnant" Marti said

"What?" He exclaimed, "You are cheating me. I used protection. I knew you were just using me to get the bad girl image in school. You freaking slut" he shouted at the top of his voice drawing attention of the occupants of the two other busy tables. he stood up and started to walk away.

"Freddy, please listen to me. It's yours. Please wait. Listen to me." Marti begged tears filling her eyes

He turned around and looked at her as if she was a piece of trash. "No, you listen; keep your freak of nature of kid to yourself. He is not mine. Go run to your other boyfriend and everything's over"

Marti sat on Derek's old recliner staring off in space. She was bought out her reverie by Nora's shaking.

"Marti what happened? Are you all right i have been calling you for ten minutes? When did you come back? How was your date with Freddy?"Nora bombarded her with questions."He dumped me" Marti mumbled"oh, honey. What happened?" Nora questioned in a mothering voice."Valentine's day... Car...dates. I don't know" Marti exclaimed in broken voice, her. Nora looked at the girl she considered her daughter and caught her into a hug. She almost carried the girl to the couch and Marti obliged. "Honey, everything will be okay." Nora said holding her tighter, understanding the teenager fully. She knew it was the first heart break that hurt the most. Marti broke down in Nora's arms and held on to the woman she considered her mother for her life. Nora remember Casey breaking down in the same room almost nine years ago when she broke up with her then boyfriend, Truman.

About twenty minutes later Marti pushed herself from her step-mother's arms and took a deep breath.

"Mom" Marti said, taking another settling breath she continued "Nora, I think I am pregnant"

Nora stared at the girl for a few seconds "are you sure honey" Nora questioned. She knew Marti was a young woman, she knew she was teenager….sex was as much as a part of their life as studies."Did you take a test honey?" she asked.

Marti shook her head and cried out in a voice that was shaking and full of fear "I was too afraid to do so. Nora I am so worried. What if it is positive? I am just seventeen. I can barely take care of myself. How will I take care of a baby alone? Fred refused the baby." Her tears once again ran free and Nora was quick enough to take the girl into her arms once again. Nora comforted her and hugged her into her arms, she remembered she was no different than the seven year old she once was; hiding under the table refusing to come out.

"it's okay honey, I am here. We all are" Nora murmured deciding against asking about Fred at the moment, there was a task that she had to take care of before doing that. "Baby, let me go off to buy a test first" she whispered into Marti's hair.

"Don't leave me now" Marti whispered tighten her arms around Nora, "please".

Nora nodded at the girl in her arms and then picked up her cell phone lying on the table. Marti knew Nora had called someone but she did not know who it was. She desperately wanted her sisters right now. She did not know how her father or her brothers; all three of them would react to this news. Marti lay shivering and crying in Nora's arms until twenty minutes later a flustered and wide eyed Lizzie followed by a constipated looking Edwin arrived. They were here for the long weekend that came due to the holidays. Clearly both of them did not know who the test was for and Nora did not know that both of them had been together.

"Mom is everything okay?" Lizzie muttered handing her a plastic bag. Nora nodded and then gave a pointed look at the girl in her arms who was still sobbing. Lizzie never had been in such a situation. Her boyfriend had refused to have sex with her until they were under the parent's roof and as soon as she was capable of buying a pill, she had brought one. she had very active sex life now but a protected one.

"What the hell?" Edwin voiced out and Marti further shrank into Nora's arms. Lizzie gave him a pointed look after seeing Marti's reaction and Edwin immediately sat down on the recliner.

"Marti, Honey" Nora whispered to the girl in her arms "I need you to take this test". Marti looked at her wide eyed, then nodded once. She took the bag got up from the couch and took a tissue from the box on table (that Nora had got) to clean the traces of tears.

"Will you wait for me outside" Marti asked Nora. Nora gave her a smile and nodded. Marti looked at Lizzie and questioned her "you too? Please"

"Sure" Lizzie murmured a little awkwardly.

Five minutes later Nora and Lizzie waited outside the bathroom for Marti to finish. A six year old Simon ventured out of his room. He had just woken up from a nap and he ran to his mother as soon as he saw her. He became attached to her legs instantly. Nora nervously started playing with his hair, she did not realize that she was doing it.

A flustered looking Marti emerged from the bathroom holding the stick in her hand. "What happened" Nora questioned at the same time Lizzie let out a gasp. Marti looked at Lizzie oddly for a second and then told them "we have to wait for three minutes. I have set a timer on my mobile" Nora nodded but Lizzie seemed shocked, still.

"I saw something like that" Lizzie murmured. Both Marti and Nora looked at her questioningly. "I saw it in Casey's dorm room" the very memory of that had been imprinted into Lizzie's mind. It was the last day she had had any contact with her sister. The very room and everything in her room had impacted Lizzie as she had been one of those who had collected the things Casey had left behind. That thing, stick had been the only thing lying in the wastebasket in the bathroom of Casey's dorm. Though Lizzie had ignored it for the most part, it was seemed her sub conscious still had remembered it.

Nora and Marti looked at Lizzie wide eyed in a surprise. Marti's tear once again threatened to fall. She missed her older sister.

"Who is Casey?" Simon questioned. Nora looked at her youngest and a sudden anger rose within her. Casey was a forbidden topic and that was a question that she had always feared.

"Why don't you go play outside, Simon" Nora told him and then proceeded to chide Lizzie "Lizzie, why did you say that in front as Simon" but before she could say anything else the timer on Marti's phone went off and both of them looked at her.

"It's positive" Marti whispered tears falling from her eyes.

Marti laughed at the memory. she had never regretted her daughter and those tears at the end were full of relief and strangely happiness.

Marti had not feared George as much as she had feared telling the news to Derek. She remembered George's words, they seemed funny now. "I had expected Derek to get a girl pregnant when he was teenager, not you. I am surprised he hasn't yet"

Marti smiled at those words and picked up the phone. It was time to tell the news to someone. It rang for few minutes and was picked up by someone with a gruff voice, defiantly not someone she expected, that much.

"Hello" the voice said.

"Hey Edwin, Can you put on Lizzie. It's her phone" Marti said.

"Shit" Edwin cursed and a few moments later Lizzie came on. Marti knew that both of them were together but the parents did not. She could always guess such things.

"Hey Marti" Lizzie answered in a flustered voice.

"Hi Lizzie. You know we should all totally go the Derek's game next weekend" Marti replied.

"Why?" Lizzie questioned

"Well it's the perfect opportunity for you to announce your wedding to Dad and Nora"

"What? How" Lizzie questioned unable to form the complete sentence.

"Well I noticed the skin discolorations on both of yours ring fingers the last time you came around. I guessed" Marti replied.

"Why" Lizzie asked.

"We found Casey and when we tell it to Derek it would be also the best time for you two to come out of the closet" Marti replied a bit cryptically.

tell me how was it, i especially enjoyed the end. let me know how you felt about it.

leave five reviews for an update.

we meet Lizzie and Edwin in the next chapter.

loads of love

~Cara