Okay, here you go. After the last few chapters, the action category may be rather lacking. More action is pending; I hope, lol. Enjoy.

atruwriter: I love when Derek acts all lost. It's so cute; unless it's overplayed, cause then he wouldn't be Derek! The plot twist was kind of obvious, but I hope it wasn't completely apparent. I'm just bad at intrigue, lol. Thanks for continued reading!

Oasis Blackmore: If you'll note later, I gave you a shout out. I was reading your review while writing that part, and it just seemed to fit Dasey. Thanks for the great review; and by the way, isn't wicked such a fun word? I hope you enjoy, even if there isn't much drama in this chapter. (And Freaked Out Friday was great, shippy or not. Shippy-ness still would have been nice though. But now The Bet is up online! And it may be taken as vaguely shippy. Rock! Lol.)

LAlaRACCOON: Thanks! It's always great to hear from another reader, especially if they write nice things. Angsty Derek is so much fun (and cute, too). I'll try to keep the update schedule. Shouldn't be a problem unless I am attacked by the dreaded Writer's Block.

Ghostwriter: It's good to hear the emotions seem realistic, because I always wonder about those. Thanks.

funnechick: I'll try to get more chapters up soon. I seem to do okay in that respect. I think characterizations might actually be a word, but either way, making up words is fun; I do it all the time. Anyway, they wouldn't be Derek and Casey if they got along perfectly! But they may start to understand each other better. Dasey is just so much fun to play with. Thanks for the comment!

Disclaimer: Nothing remotely imaginative to say. Not mine.

When Casey awoke, she felt dirty. Her clothes were slept in, her hair was a mess and there was a sticky spot under her bra from where Derek had thrown the ice cream. Groaning, she rolled over and climbed out of bed. It was early yet, so there was no one in the hall as she took a quick shower and returned to her room. Slipping into pajamas, she climbed back into bed. And for the first time in her life, Casey played hooky. It was Friday, after all; she had gone to bed late, and the night before weighed on her mind like an actual illness, muddling her senses. Her mother didn't wake her, and when she finally climbed out of bed some hours later, the house was entombed in silence. Slipping on some real clothes and taking a few minutes to fix her hair, Casey headed downstairs. Still, emptiness met her. Curious, she walked into the kitchen, where she found a note from her mother.

Casey, everyone's at school. Derek didn't want to miss hockey practice. I should be home around two. Mom.

Casey raised an eyebrow. It seemed like whenever Derek had an actual excuse to miss school, he didn't use it. Shaking her head at the paradox that was her stepbrother, Casey grabbed a granola bar and went back to her bedroom. Just because she'd acted irresponsibly and skipped school didn't mean she shouldn't do homework. Loosing herself in the rhythm of Geometry, Casey ignored the thoughts fighting to break from her subconscious. It wasn't until she put away her books to get some lunch that she allowed some of those thoughts to wheedle through. Poor Derek, she thought as she made herself a sandwich. It was uncharacteristic of her to feel sorry for him, but she deemed the circumstances worthy. He'll go insane if Abby takes Marti. With a vague twinge she remembered his face the night before. He looked so devastated. The image still fresh in her mind, Casey decided to help him. No matter how much he protested, she would find a way to be there for him. Besides, she thought, now I've seen his deeper side. Maybe it will be easier to talk to him. Her thoughts shifted to the latter half of the night, and she worriedly hoped her mom and George had worked through things. The house was filled with too much trouble already.

They had not, in fact, patched things up. Casey found that out the hard way when George came home shortly after Nora. No longer fighting outright, they were embroiled in a silent war, ignoring each other. Casey avoided them, finishing her homework and watching a movie while they dodged about the house, leaving briefly to pick up the kids. When George left to get Derek from hockey practice, Casey decided she had enough. Sic-ing Marti on Edwin and Lizzie, Casey moved to the basement where her mom was cleaning furiously. Her mother always cleaned during stressful times. Nora looked up in surprise when Casey entered.

"Feeling better?" she asked, avoiding the inevitable. When Casey was determined, she was determined.

"Much," Casey replied shortly, moving on to the subject at hand. "Mom, I know you're mad at George, but you have to stop fighting."

"We aren't fighting, Casey," her mom defended, sighing when Casey shot her a look. "Okay, we are fighting. But Casey, I have perfectly good reason to be angry with George."

"I know you do," Casey told her mother, lightening her voice. "But it won't help anything. Just try to work it out, please?" she gave her mother the 'do it for me' face. "Things are too stressful as it is."

Nora sighed. "I know. I'm sorry." Reaching over to hug her mom, Casey felt some of her tension release. Her mom was always there for her, no matter what.

If Casey had expected last night to change things between herself and Derek, she was sadly mistaken. He was nowhere near as rude as he could have been, but he made no special effort to be nice, either. Dropping his bag in the doorway, as always, Derek plopped down in his favorite chair and flipped on the TV. Not two minutes later, his phone rang in his bag.

"Casey, would you get that for me?" he asked lazily. Helping Derek through a crisis was one thing, but putting up with his selfishness was quite another. Still, she grabbed his phone, if only so she could throw it at his head. Ducking, he barely managed to catch it; ignoring Casey's glare, he flipped open the device.

"Hello," he greeted. Hearing the voice on the other end, his tone shifted. "Hey, Katy. Wassup?" Casey lowered her eyebrows and stalked into the kitchen, annoyed that Derek forgot about her. After all, their fights usually transcended all else, no matter how important. Despite her irritation, Casey found it odd when the phone snapped shut, yet Derek didn't appear in the doorway to gloat. He has to have another date with Katy. Is he ignoring me? she second thought came incredulously. Never in their many fights had either blatantly ignored the other. Taking a deep breath, Casey mulled over things over. She finally decided that Derek was avoiding her because he didn't want to deal with the situation. Well, Casey thought firmly, it's not that easy. Stalking into the living room, she sat on the couch, right beside Derek's chair. His eyes flickered her way before gluing themselves to whatever sitcom was playing. Casey didn't say a word, merely waited until the silence got to him. It took longer than expected, but ten minutes later his eyes finally snapped to hers.

"Do you even like this show?" he sounded annoyed, but not venomous.

"I don't know," she responded coolly. "That's why I'm watching it."

His eyes returned to the show. Three minutes later, he addressed her again. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"Nope," she replied flippantly. "I finished it all this morning."

As if suddenly reminded of the fact, Derek asked, "Why did you play hooky, anyway? I thought the Great Casey MacDonald didn't skip school."

Ignoring the mild insult, Casey inwardly celebrated victory. Ha. I got him to start a conversation. "I don't," she informed him. Her voice turned slightly sheepish. "This was actually the first time I've ever skipped school."

His expression could be called smugly triumphant, but there was almost a hint of pride as well. "See? There's some merit in breaking the rules."

Rolling her eyes, Casey agreed, "On very rare occasions. But that's not an excuse to do whatever you please, Derek Venturi," she added warningly. Derek leaned back in his chair with a grin, folding his hands behind his head as he returned his attention to the television. Still, Casey knew she had won, even if Derek didn't. Pleased, she sunk into the couch to find out what exactly she was watching.

Thirty minutes later, George and Nora emerged from the basement, reconciled but with serious faces. Holding Derek in his chair with a firm hand on the shoulder, George leaned over and said something in a low murmur. Though her ears strained, Casey couldn't tell what had been said, and her mother gave a reproving look when she tilted forward slightly. Raising a guilty, questioning eyebrow in her mother's direction, Casey received a mouthed, 'later.' Turning back to the television disappointedly, she saw Derek give a nod out of the corner of her eye. George and Nora left the room, satisfied, and Derek flipped the volume up a few notches as he returned to his show.

Casey didn't have to wait long to satisfy her curiosity. Everyone was just finishing their dinner when George turned to his son. "Derek," he said calmly, and Derek turned to his sister.

"Hey Smarti, do you want me to teach you how to play guitar?" Marti's eyes lit up--she hopelessly coveted her brother's guitar, but that was the one possession he wouldn't let her play with.

"Yeah!" she burst out excitedly, jumping up and running halfway across the living room before turning to wait for her brother with an impatient stomp of her foot. "Smerek!"

"Coming, Smarti," he called, getting up from the table and making his way to the little girl.

There were a few moments of silence as they listened to the thuds--one loud, one soft--ascending the stairs. When the door slammed shut, George turned to the rest of the family. Nora knew the plan, and Casey could make an accurate guess; but Edwin and Lizzie appeared lost.

"What's going on?" Lizzie asked nervously.

"Yeah," Edwin added. "Derek never lets Marti touch his guitar."

"Guys," George began, looking at them seriously. "There's something we need to discuss."

"Does this have to do with you being in a bad mood and Derek acting weird?" Lizzie asked astutely, though with mild trepidation.

"No," Edwin broke in knowingly. "Derek's been acting weird because . . ." he stopped suddenly, realizing who he was talking to. "Never mind."

"Actually," George broke in before Lizzie could question Edwin, "This is why Derek's acting weird. And it's why I've been . . . high strung." Edwin looked up, confused and worried. "Nora and I talked it over today, and we think you two deserve to know."

"Us 'two'?" Lizzie picked up, looking at Casey.

"Casey found out yesterday," Nora told her before George could answer.

"Derek isn't being sent to military school, is he?" Lizzie asked, her voice sounding as if she couldn't choose between excitement and disappointment. Nora shook her head.

"Are you done interrupting?" George asked generally, looking around the table. "Good," he answered the silence, his dislike of the situation turning to mild frustration. "As I was saying . . ." he paused, giving time for another interruption. None came, so he continued, "Lizzie, you may remember my kids visiting their mom last week?" Lizzie nodded, and Edwin opened his mouth to interrupt. "Edwin," George cut him off, "what exactly happened while you were there?"

"Exactly?" Edwin asked skeptically, sending his dad a look. When George gave an impatient nod, he said, "Well, we were hanging around the house and Marti was playing with some coloring books from home. Mom got mad because Marti had ink all over her, and Derek started yelling at her. Then she got mad at Derek and they got into a big argument. They went into the other room, and I stayed to help Marti. When Derek came back into the room he did not look happy. He told us to grab our stuff while he called a cab."

Casey listened to the story with the rest of the family, her thoughts piecing information together. It was nice to get a different perspective on things; it made everything seem a little more real. She had heard about everything from Derek, and her heart went out to him, but hearing it from a kid gave it that much more weight. Even if he does emulate his brother, she thought with a slight smile. Casey refocused her attention as George continued.

"Well, Abby has decided she wants to raise Marti." Lizzie looked up in shock and Edwin's face morphed into a disbelieving expression.

"What?" Edwin asked, panic underlying his tone.

George continued matter of factly, "That's what she and Derek were fighting over. She stopped by yesterday to get Marti. Derek told her we have custody and she shouldn't come back, but she's going to the lawyers." Obviously George had talked to Derek on the way home from hockey.

"She can't do that!" Lizzie said, hoping she was right.

"Why would she do that?" Edwin asked, a tinge of hysterics hidden in his voice.

"I don't know," George answered heavily.

Sensing her husband's trouble, Nora took over, "We don't know if she can make a case or not, but we need to be prepared. It was time you kids found out." With a firm look, she added, "I hope we can trust you with this?" Lizzie and Edwin gave hurried, if distracted, assurances. "I don't want you telling Marti," Nora told them. "We don't think she would handle it well."

"Of course she wouldn't handle it well," Edwin told her in dismay.

"Which is why you're handling it instead," Casey broke in, hoping a sense of purpose would restore order. She watched him expectantly.

Edwin looked at her in resignation. "Alright." Lizzie nodded as well.

"Good," George said, clapping his hands together. "Then you may go."

As Lizzie and Edwin got up to leave, Lizzie leaned to speak quietly to her sister. "Is this what you were worried about?" Casey gave a slight nod, and Lizzie said heavily, "Guess it wasn't nothing, huh, Casey?" She walked out the back door, grabbing her soccer ball from a corner as she went. Seconds later, the hollow thudding of a juggling ball sounded through the dusk.

As her mom started the dishes, George went upstairs to relieve Derek. Casey followed, curious at the lack of sound. Knocking on Derek's door, George was rewarded by the sight of Marti in Derek's leather jacket, her hair spiked up into a Mohawk. Casey laughed at the sight, especially when Derek emerged from behind her looking both proud and dismayed.

"Derek! I thought you were going to play guitar," George moaned, and Derek gave a shrug.

"Don't look at me. She decided she had to look the part before she would play."

"Yeah!" Marti broke in, her voice a whispery yell as she attempted a rock voice. Derek smiled slightly from the doorway.

"She's going to need another bath now," George told him, and Derek immediately raised his hands defensively.

"Sorry, Dad. That's all on you. I gotta go," slipping past his dad quickly, he was downstairs before George could react.

Casey pitied George, but bath time with Marti was a nightmare. "I'm going to go see if Mom needs help with those dishes," she told him quickly, before turning to race down after her stepbrother.

Casey decided a good book was in order. Sitting at the table with Pride and Prejudice, she laughed at the familiar rhythms of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth was pondering the character of Mr. Darcy when a buzzing sound broke Casey's concentration. Looking up, she saw George's phone vibrating at the end of the table. Ignoring it, she returned to her book. It was probably a client; better that they leave a voicemail. Mere seconds after George's phone quieted, the house phone rang shrilly. When she didn't see her mother in the kitchen, Casey noted Derek watching TV with a sigh. Apparently, she would have to answer the phone. Marking her page, Casey moved to the kitchen and grabbed the phone off its base.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Who is this?" came the voice on the other end.

"Casey MacDonald. Who is this," Casey asked. Just as the voice replied, Casey recognized it.

"This is Abby, dear. May I speak with George?" she asked politely.

"Uh," Casey stumbled momentarily, then recovered her manners. "One moment." Setting the phone on the counter, she walked to the base of the stairs and called, "George?"

He appeared at the top of the stairs with a clean but soggy Marti in a blue towel. "Yes?"

"Um," Casey said, looking at Marti. "There's a woman on the phone for you."

George looked confused for a minute, then comprehension dawned. He disappeared into Marti's room and emerged seconds later without his daughter. Jogging down the stairs, he picked up the receiver as Casey watched from a respectable distance. Derek joined her seconds later, drawn from the TV. They didn't look at each other, merely stood in silence as George made plans to discuss things with Abby.

"We're meeting tomorrow afternoon," he informed them as he hung up the phone.

"What did she say?" Derek asked, expecting bad news.

"She still wants Marti," George told them, and they both deflated slightly, though they were expecting it. "She didn't say anything else." When neither teenager said anything more, George returned upstairs to get Marti. After a few moments silence, Derek seemed to shake himself and walked back to his chair. After seven beeps, Casey heard him speak.

"Hey, Katy. Do you want to catch a movie? Yeah, tonight. There's one playing at nine. Great. See you then." The phone shut with a click, and a soft thump told Casey Derek had tossed it onto the couch. Walking over to the table, Casey returned to her book, cursing Derek and his need for distractions.

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Whoo, I almost have ten chapters! That's, like, miraculous for me. Granted, they are rather short, but I'm excited. I haven't started the next chapter yet, but I should have it up in a day or two. Until then, you should tell me how much you want me to write more J. Gah, I'm becoming one of those writers who beg for reviews and endorsement! Quick, someone hit me with a sledgehammer. No wait, I have one right here.