A/N: Sorry it took a little longer than normal, but here is Chapter Four. I hope you like it. But if you don't that's ok. Just let me know what you think. I love hearing from all of you, so keep ME updated about what YOU think! I love to hear it all:D So, please R&R! And enjoy!

-Jacki :)

Chapter Four: A Change of Plans

Derek was awoken very early by a loud pounding on his door. He sat up groggily and looked around. His door was shaking by the roughness of the person pounding on it. Derek slowly got up and opened it; George was standing there, looking just as furious as he had last night.

Derek blinked long and hard, then stared at his father, "Yes?" he asked sleepily.

George cleared his throat, "Your mother is here." Was all he said, and then he left without another word.

Derek's eyes widened; it was like failing Spanish all over again. He would now have three parents to reprimand him. He heard Nora say something to Casey, and then watched her go by quickly, eyes narrowed. Derek stepped out of his doorway and turned to Casey; she looked sick to her stomach and looked as if she had just woken up as well.

"My dad's here." She said quietly.

"My mom's here." He added, and they caught each other's eye; they both knew what this meant: a four-parent scolding. Neither one was looking forward to the talk ahead.

They both hurriedly got dressed and made themselves look presentable, then they met back out in the hall. They looked at each other worriedly. They hurried downstairs and into the living room, where four angry adults stood up in front of the couch, looking up at them when they walked in.

"Sit. Now." George said.

Dennis MacDonald and Abby Venturi, two parents not normally seen in the same room, were standing side by side, beside George and Nora, glaring at Derek and Casey as they sat down on the couch, looking very guilty and scared.

"What is this we hear of you two dating?!" Abby said, sounding hysterical.

Derek gulped and looked up at his mom, "Well, it's true. We've been dating for over four months."

Abby's face was a mix of emotions. Dennis turned to his daughter, "Really, Casey? You're going out with your stepbrother? I never thought this was possible. Especially from you, Casey! I thought you hated Derek?"

Casey looked up at her father, hesitantly, "I never hated Derek, Dad. We got on each other's nerves, but that was just because he wanted to have each other's attention. We've always liked each other, Dad."

Dennis looked about to be sick, "R-really?"

Casey nodded, and looked over at Derek, who was nodding his head slowly, and looking as if he would much rather be anywhere but in the living room with four angry parents.

"I forbade them from seeing each other," Nora said, angrily, but with a hint of pride in her voice for being the one that broke them up.

Dennis and Abby nodded; Abby said, "A wise decision. I don't think it would be right to let them keep this up."

George looked at his ex-wife, "That's exactly what we thought. But how do we know they'll obey us?"

"Well, Casey could go to New York with me…"

"Derek could come live with me in London, it's only a few hours away."

Both Abby and Dennis said their suggestions at the same time. George and Nora looked at each other, then at their ex-spouses.

"Would you take Casey, Dennis. Are you sure you would be alright with her there?" Nora asked, glancing at her daughter then back at her old husband.

Dennis nodded, "She would be alone while I'm at work, but during those hours she'll be in school anyway."

Nora nodded, obviously thinking quickly about this. George was talking to Abby.

"Abby, can you really take care of Derek for longer than a weekend, he's a handful, and you're al by yourself."

"It'll be fine, George, Derek and I will work something up."

George and Nora turned to each other, "It's settled then?" George asked and Nora nodded.

"Casey, you will go with your father to New York." Nora started.

"And Derek, you will go with your mother in London." George finished.

Derek jumped up, "What?! You're sending Casey to the States? Why not just send me to London and keep Casey here, you don't have to send both of us away!"

Casey smiled sadly at Derek's attempt to keep her home, but she knew it wouldn't work, she looked up at her mother, nothing but sadness in her eyes, "I can't believe you're doing this. I hate you!" she spoke no louder than a whisper, but the words affected Nora as if she had been yelling. With one more glance at Derek, and without another word, she fled up the stairs, tears running down her cheeks.

"Great! Way to go! This is the second time you've made her upset in less than twenty-four hours! Why can't you just leave us alone?!" Derek yelled, getting angry and annoyed with all four of the adults.

George stepped closer to his son, "Listen, Derek, we are doing what's best for you and Casey."

Derek let out a bitter laugh, "What's best? You'll never know what's best for us! If you guys were really looking out for the best for us, you would just let us be! There's nothing wrong with us being together!"

Abby shook her head, "It's worse than I thought! Derek, I can't believe you're defending this! I know you're not for one for rules, but this just goes beyond all logic!"

Derek shook his head, "You guys will never understand!" he turned on his heel and ran after Casey. The adults watched him go, before Nora and Abby ran up the stairs after the two of them.

He two moms went into Casey's room, where they found Derek holding her in his arms. Nora cleared her throat loudly, and the two broke apart, glaring at them.

"Casey, Derek, sit down, please." Abby said, calmly.

Derek took Casey's hand in his and they sat down on her bed.

"We're very sorry. But we can not let you continue on in this relationship. Doing so would mean that we believe it is ok and we don't agree with it. So, Derek, you are coming to live with me. And Casey, I'm sorry, but it looks like you are going to go stay with your father."

Nora nodded as Abby spoke, then she took a turn, "Yes, and it's only until the end of the school year, then you will both be eighteen and can go wherever you want. But we will not tolerate this relationship under our roof."

"You two will be leaving today. I'm driving back to London in a few hours." Abby said.

"And Dennis' flight leaves around the same time, they're ordering your ticket as we speak." Nora finished.

Derek rolled his eyes and Casey sniffed. The two moms looked at each other and shrugged; they had done all they could. There was nothing left to do. They left the room and told Derek he had five minutes to leave the room and get back into his to pack.

Derek looked at Casey, tears were still fresh in her eyes, "Case, you're going to have to be strong, alright? I hear New York can be a tough place. So, just be careful, and remember that in five months, I'll be there to pick you up and take you away. Ok?"

Tears slid out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she nodded, "Oh, Derek. This is awful! It's just downright horrible. I can't believe they're making us do this!"

Derek rubbed her back gently, "I know, but it's only five months. Five months can go by like that!" he said, forcing a smile and snapping his fingers.

"It will seem like a lifetime being in another country without you!" she cried, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Case. As soon as I graduate, I'm leaving to come get you."

She looked up at him, "You promise?" her voice was shaky.

He nodded and kissed her forehead, "I promise."

They stood up and Derek wrapped his arms around Casey's waist and she wrapped hers around his neck. Then they leaned in for a quick, soft, gentle kiss. Derek held her tight and kissed her cheek and then walked out of the room quickly, not wanting her to see the tears about to flow out of his eyes.

Casey began to sob and began to hurriedly grab her things, slamming stuff around as she gathered everything she would need for New York. Lizzie heard all the slamming and came rushing into her room.

"Casey?! What's going on?" she asked watching her sister cry as she packed a large suitcase.

"I'm leaving, Liz. Mom and George are sending me to live with Dad till I graduate all because they found out I'm dating Derek!" she plopped onto her bed and began to sob harder.

Lizzie rushed over and sat beside her sister, "They're making you leave!? Why would they do that?"

"Because they can't allow us to go out under their roof. So their separating us. They're sending Derek to go live with Abby. Apparently we're leaving today!" Casey said, taking deep breaths, and hugging her sister.

"But, you can't leave! You and Derek were so happy together!" Lizzie cried.

This made Casey sob once more, "I know! But there's nothing I can do!"

Lizzie held her sister tighter and let her sob into her hair. Casey was grateful for the comfort, but it just made going away much harder. It just wasn't fair. After a while, she slowly stood up and began to continue packing. Lizzie watched her for a few minutes, before running out of the room crying. She ran into Edwin who had been leaving his own room at the same time.

"Whoa! Liz, what's wrong?" he asked, holding her arms and trying to get her to calm down.

Lizzie took a deep breath, "They're sending Casey and Derek away. Casey's going to live with my dad and Derek's going to live with your mom. They found out about Derek and Casey dating and they hated it so much that they're separating them."

Edwin's face fell, "But they had finally gotten to be open with each other! They were so happy. Why can't Dad and Nora see that?"

Lizzie shook her head, "I don't know, Ed. But we can't let them do this!"

Edwin sat down on the stairs leading to his attic room, "What can we do? Derek and Casey can't convince them? How can we?"

Lizzie plopped down next to him, "I don't know. I can't believe this is happening!"

Edwin looked over at Lizzie and wiped away her tears, "Don't cry, Liz. It'll work out. Derek and Casey will figure something out. And I'm sure they'll keep in touch with us."

Lizzie laid her head on Edwin's shoulder and closed her eyes, "I just can't imagine not having either of them here. I've always had Casey around. And I've finally got to a place where I like having Derek around. Now they're just leaving. Today!"

"Today?! So soon?" Edwin cried.

Lizzie nodded and snuggled into his shoulder, "I can't handle this, Ed. It's too much."

Edwin patted her head, "It's ok, Liz. We'll think of something."

Meanwhile, Derek was throwing things into his duffel bag, cursing under his breath. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a picture that he kept there. It was a picture that Lizzie had taken of the two of them. He sat down and stared at the picture; they had been so happy that day.

They were sitting on the couch, watching a scary movie. Derek had Casey wrapped up in his arms and she spent half the movie hiding her face in his chest. Lizzie had come down the stairs with her camera sometime during the movie and during the climax of the movie Casey screamed and held Derek tight as she hid her face into his chest. Derek was smiling and Lizzie captured the shot, to stay frozen in a picture for all time. Derek loved the picture, it depicted him and Casey how he liked. He was keeping her safe from the things she was afraid of. He believed he always did his best to keep her safe. But this time he could do nothing. He could not keep her from leaving to New York, no one could. She was being forced. And he couldn't keep from going to London. He knew that she wanted him to go with her, but he couldn't. He could do nothing, and that scared him. He knew he could not keep her safe if he was scared.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he held the picture tight. Little did he know that Casey was holding the same picture to her chest, crying as well. She took one last glance at it, then carefully stowed it in a zipper in her suitcase. Derek put his in his wallet and put his walled in a side pocket of his duffel bag. They both finished packing and went downstairs together, Derek taking Casey's suitcase from her so he could carry it down for her.

When they got to the living room, Edwin and Lizzie were pleading with their parents, trying to convince them to let their older siblings stay. But the adults weren't budging on their decisions. When Dennis and Abby saw that Derek and Casey were packed and downstairs ready to go, they nodded. They said their goodbyes to Edwin, Lizzie, George and Nora and went out to their separate cars, ready to wait for Derek and Casey to say goodbye to their family.

Lizzie ran over to Casey and wrapped her arms around her hugging her tight, then going to Derek and hugging him. Derek smiled sadly and hugged Lizzie back. As she stepped back, Edwin came over and hugged Casey and Derek tightly. Then Marti came running down the stairs.

"Derek and Casey are leaving?!" she screamed and both of the oldest siblings knelt down to her level.

"Yeah, Smarti, we're leaving for a little bit. I'm going to live with Mom and Casey's going to live with her dad." Derek explained.

"But I'll miss you both!" she cried and hugged both their necks at the same time. They hugged her back, then stood up.

They glared at George and Nora coldly, and said a polite goodbye to them both. The two parents tried to say something but their words caught in their throats. They hugged the two teenagers, who didn't respond warmly, then they stepped back and said goodbye.

Derek picked up his duffel bag and Casey picked up her suitcase, then they left out the door, Derek holding it open for Casey. He helped her put her suitcase into Dennis' rental car and then he put his bag into Abby's car. As she got ready to get into the passenger seat of her dad's car and he got ready to get into the passenger seat of his mom's car they caught each other's gaze.

Derek mouthed the words, 'I love you.' And blinked back the tears that he knew were coming.

Casey mouthed, 'I love you, too.' And let her tears fall freely. Then they both got into their separate cars.

As Abby drove the opposite way as Dennis, both Derek and Casey stared straight ahead of them, tears running down the cheeks; both of them keeping a mental image of each other imprinted in their minds.