AN: Here's anotherr. It's short but, I'm letting you decide how to continue with this chapter. And I just wanted y'all to see how Derek and Casey interact with eachother without Lizzie around.

Oh, and in response to sydmoonlight, Derek and Casey are both 23.

Disclaimer: I don't own. But.. I do pwn? Hah.

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Derek was getting dressed when he heard the phone ringing from the kitchen. He pushed his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and jogged down the stairs, just glancing at the caller ID before picking up.

"Hello? Oh, wow, hey, Sarah." Derek took a deep breath as he heard his ex-girlfriends voice."...Yeah it's been a week now... She's doing pretty good... Yeah, Edwin and the others saw her a couple nights ago. It went well. So, how have you been?... That's really good to hear. I'm glad you called... Yeah, I know. Just one of those things that had to happen." Derek looked up from the spot on the counter that had had him mesmerized. He saw Casey standing next to the couch, looking around for something.

"Listen, I'm really sorry to have to cut this short but-.. Yeah, exactly. We'll talk more later? Alright, bye Sarah." Derek hung up the phone, still surprised to have heard from Sarah.

"Hey, Case. Uhm, you want some breakfast? I was just about to make some waffles or something." Derek ran his hand through his hair, looking around the kitchen trying to gather his thoughts once again. He looked back at Casey who was no longer in the spot she had been. His eyes searched and moments later, he found her. She was walking up the stairs to his loft.

"Case? What's up?" She turned her head to look over her shoulder down at him and continued walking. She disappeared as she made her way onto the landing and further into his room. He continued staring at the loft, waiting for her to make an appearance at the stairs again. Instead, he saw her walk to the partition and look down at him. He smiled up at her and walked into the kitchen, his eyes still glued to her as she looked at the apartment from overhead.

He began pulling ingredients from the cabinets for waffles and putting them on the counter. When, he found everything, he went back to the counter to see Casey still standing in the same spot at the short wall.

"Hey. I'm about to make waffles, want to watch?" He waited for her to make a decision as her curious eyes did a look over once more of the apartment before landing on him again. He watched a slow, but sure, smile spread over her face before she made her way down the stairs again. She made her way into the spot she always stood in the kitchen.

It had became a routine. He and Lizzie would always invite her to watch them cook, sure she'd say yes, but still giving her the choice. And she always watched them, sure to stay out of the way, but so she could still see. They'd let her taste test the food or lick the spoons.

"Liz said she won't be able to stop by today. Said she found herself a lunch date." He threw a glance at Casey and smiled, as he began breaking the cooking process.

"You know, you've been with us a week now? Doesn't it feel nice not being in that place anymore? You have better sheets, better clothes, better people. We're going to take care of you, you know that right? Dr. Brutka," he scoffed at the name and continued, "he was sure you should stay there but from that first look at you in two years, I knew you couldn't. And look, you've already spoken some and you smiled just today. That's more than those doctors can say." Derek always did this, and he knew he did. He would ramble to her. He didn't know if she understood everything he was saying, but he spoke to her anyways.

As Derek finished making the waffles, he began setting the table for two.

"Now come on, let's eat some. It's already almost noon. And today is the first day we're spending together without Lizzie." He watched her eyes fly from the plate in front of her to his eyes.

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"Casey, we're going to do this okay? Because we need to get you bathed and I am not going to give you a sponge bath. I wouldn't do it before and I am not doing it now. You have to get used to the water. So come on. I'm going to help you." Derek stood in his boxers and allowed a bit more water to flow into the bath tub before shutting it off. He stood up straight again and saw Casey's eyes move to the open door.

He sighed as he shut the door and locked it.

"Come on. It's locked, Casey. And I don't care how much screaming you do, I lived with you before, I'm pretty sure I'm used to it now."

He grabbed her hand and knelt to the bathtub.

"Look, there's barely any water in here. Can we do this, Case?" Her eyes stared at the water and then moved to his face.

He sighed as he stood back up and stepped into the bath tub, putting his hand out for her to take it. He offered a small smile to her.

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So, what do y'all think.

Should she take his hand or not?

I have both situations played out in my head so really, this is based off what you, the readers, choose.