Okay so I have never done a life with Derek fic so I hope everyone likes it.

Summary: Life in the McDonald/Vinturi house is always an adventure, Marti is still curious, Edwin and Lizzie are still quirky, Derek is still the Jerk and Casey is still neurotic, but Casey has a secret that will change the course of her relationship with the one person she'd never expect to get help from. Can he save her before it's too late?

Warning: Mild Cursing, some graphic sexual content in later chapters. Several Inside Jokes.

Dedicated to: Michael (Tato)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the story plot.

What time was it? How long had she been out?

Casey opened her eyes slowly, the world around her in a frenzied blur. She wasn't necessarily sure when she got home or if she was even home…the last thing she honestly remembered was getting sick at the club, after that everything just kind of blurred away. She vaguely remembered Derek's face fading in and out of her view and was she dreaming or did she remember a chaste kiss? It was probably a dream.

Turning to her slowly, she read the clock on the night stand. It was ten in the morning….but wait it was a Monday morning and it wasn't some kind of off day, why wasn't she in school? Why didn't Derek wake her? Letting out a rather harsh sigh, she closed her eyes. She felt so weak and useless, her entire body ached and hurt. She felt as if she had just been through some kind of beating not to mention her body suddenly felt 3 tons heavier.

Pushing herself off the bed and into a sitting position was like mission impossible. Painful and difficult, her face contorted some as she sat up; an almost inaudible groan left her lips. She was already out of breath, pushing the sheets off, she placed her feet on the ground and willed herself to push off the bed. Almost immediately after she did she felt the world around her spin uncontrollably and she came crashing back into the bed.

She didn't hear the door to her room open, didn't hear the soft gasp, and didn't hear the footsteps. Her mind was blacking out and she felt completely disoriented. She did feel the hand the landed on her shoulders, she did fell the gentle and warm feeling coming from the comforting and she saw someone's blurred face but she was too unfocused to see who it was, although she knew it definitely wasn't Derek.

"Casey…." The voice was gentle and soft "Casey…." It called again, just as gently and just as softly. She felt the hand move from her shoulders and gently cup her face as if the person was trying to help her focus her surroundings, trying to help her feel less out of sorts. Casey's hand shot out and gripped onto the wrist of the person's hand, as if by holding this person she would be able to focus her eyes. She recognized the touch, recognized the feeling of this warm and gentle person. She had known the touch since birth, known its comfort since before she had a thought of reason. She knew the voice that spoke from within the womb.

"M-mom" she managed to say hoarsely, gripping tighter onto her mother, her hand gently caressed her face. Was she dreaming again? Her vision began to focus and her mother's beautiful face finally came into view. Casey stared at her mother for a few moments confused, before speaking. Her voice sounded tired though "Mom? Why are you here?" She exhaled rather sharply and closed her eyes, she felt sick.

"You're terribly sick Casey." Her mother's words had Casey's eyes opening wide in horror as she stared at her mother.

"What?" She asked alarmed, her heart beating rapidly making her head spin again.

"Sweetheart, you came home with a horrible fever last night." Her mother said, calming Casey down some, She remembered the fever now maybe that's why she felt so beaten up. "I asked for the day off, you were burning up. And look how it left you, completely disoriented." She said softly, her hands gently rubbed her cheek. Casey smiled softly and Nora smiled back. "Case, lay down honey. Rest…I'll take care of you." Her mother said and Casey nodded and with the help of her mother she settled back into bed. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her again.

Nora watched her for a few moments before quietly leaving Casey's room. She closed the door behind her and leaned against its frame. Tears began to fall so fast from her eyes, they looked like glistening stars. "You're right." She said quietly looking up to Derek who leaned against the wall across from Casey's door. "She's terrified of me knowing" The tears fell faster. Edwin and Lizzie were both leaning against either side of the door to Casey's room and George was crouched next to Derek, his eyes on his pregnant wife.

They stood there silently, not one of them knowing what to say, not one of them knowing what to do. For all of them it seemed like the light of happiness had suddenly and abruptly been turned off. As for Casey who slept on the other side of the door…she was obliviously sleeping away, unaware of the turmoil her family was currently experiencing…or how little time she now had left.

After some time the Venturi/MacDonald family moved down to the living room so to not disturb Casey. Derek had taken the liberty of calling Dr. Sterwick to inform him of not only Casey's condition but of the news that everyone found out the truth about Casey.

"Listen Derek…in Casey's last visit….things they are not looking very good for her." Derek stopped the pacing he had been doing and looked at Nora before looking away.

"What do you mean?" he asked a little alarmed, he heard Dr. Sterwick sigh on the other line before he spoke.

"Derek…Wilson's disease is a pretty serious thing; combined with her deterioration in health I think my earlier estimated time is wrong." Derek felt his heart stop. "Her liver is just gone, she'll start experiencing a lot of hemorrhaging from this point on, but that's just with her liver failure, she'll get increasingly weaker due to the cancer and may develop psychosis due to the Wilson's, not to mention there are other symptoms that accompany Wilson's when it's not treated."

"Such as?"

"Mild cognitive deterioration and clumsiness, as well as changes in behavior, Specific neurological symptoms will then follow, often in the form of parkinsonism, with or without a typical hand tremors, masked facial expressions, slurred speech, ataxia which is lack of coordination or dystonia which is known as twisting and repetitive movements of part of the body; Just like you saw the other day at the hospital." He finished, the soft sound of his breathing was heard on the other end.

"The pen incident" Derek whispered if Derek could see Dr. Sterwick he would have seen him gently nodding.

"Derek, she going to need you now more than ever, at this point there is really nothing else I can do other than monitor her condition when she comes into for check-ups."

"Wait…You said you estimated her life span wrong….how long are you guessing now?" Derek asked before he could forget, the good doctor exhaled.

"A Month….maybe less…since she's no longer getting treated, she going to get worse…fast."

"A month…" Derek repeated, hearing the gasps of shock that escaped his family members…after a few more exchange of words Derek finally hung up with the doctor and gently placed the phone down. Nora and Lizzie were both covering their mouths with their hands, still trying to register what they had heard…she had a month left? A month.

"A month Derek?" Edwin asked a little astonished; he didn't want to believe that….he really didn't

"Or less…" Derek added turning to face his family who just watched him in horror. He opened his mouth to speak again but the loud thud that came from up stairs caught everyone's attention. No one moved for a second but when a second thud came moments later Derek found himself dashing up the stairs in sheer panic, the rest of the family following, except for Nora who found that running up the stairs would prove dangerous in her condition.

The next couple of minutes seemed to play in complete slow motion. The moment he opened the door to Casey's room he felt his heart completely break. She was on the ground, completely covered in her own blood and the more she coughed, the more blood came out. When her eyes looked at him they were in so much pain, her hand reached out, silently begging him to help her, begging him to rescue her. He could hear Edwin order Lizzie to get something to clean Casey with, but Derek couldn't even move a muscle, still Casey reached out for him, almost as if she could see no one else in the room but him.

When his father knocked into him, slightly pushing him forward, it was then he sort of fell out of his daze; However, the world still seemed to spin in a painfully slow way. Derek managed to help Casey sit up. George and Edwin were busy making her comfortable and when Lizzie rushed in with the moist towels, they began to clean her. Nora appeared then, with a glass of water in her hands but the bloody sight of her daughter stopped her heart.

When it seemed that Casey finally realized that it wasn't just Derek, Edwin and Lizzie who were in her room her eyes shot wide open. She stared at her mother and George as if she had just committed a crime, remorseful and terrified. Nora gave walked up to her daughter, kneeling down so she was at eye level with her daughter. "Mom…" Casey managed to say, she opened her mouth to speak but found that instead her mother had pulled her into a tight hug, never wanting to let go.

"I'm sorry Casey." She whispered, tears falling from her eyes. Casey sat perplexed. "I'm so sorry honey. I didn't notice how much pain you were in." She cried holding her tighter. She still didn't want to believe her baby was dying. Not her child, not her Casey. Not her brilliant daughter who was absolutely perfect in Nora's eyes. No….not her baby girl, not the little girl who had once wanted to be a rock star, not her little princess who the moment Lizzie was born decided to be the best older sister in the world. Not her little girl…not her. The tears fell faster and burned her eyes as she started to cry, holding her beautiful little girl in her arms.

Casey felt her own tears finally begin to fall. She had not wanted to cry but finally the last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place and she just couldn't hold it back. Casey held her mother just as tightly as her mother held her. Finally letting it really sink in, finally letting her armor go, the battle against herself had been won and done and now it was time for this soldier to rest.

The next couple of days proved to be difficult as Casey's condition seemed to get worse by the second. Much to Dr. Sterwick's prediction there were times when it seemed Casey had completely lost her mind, other when she couldn't even hold herself up. Due to the cancer there were days when random and very large and painful bruises would appear on Casey's body. By the end of the week Casey had stopped going to classes all together.

When Emily and the rest of the school found out about Casey they were completely devastated. They could not believe that Casey was dying. Everyone that Casey knew came to visit her one by one, each one telling her they loved her and hoped that some miracle would come upon her. Emily seemed to never leave the house these days, always ready in the case anyone in the family needed them. Two weeks had passed since the day Casey cried in her mother's arms, now she could barely get out of bed, she turned to look at the look at her side, seated on the stand next to her. It was two in the morning and she found she could not fall asleep.

Her eyes looked down to where Derek, who was on duty tonight, slept. She pushed herself up with much difficulty into a sitting position, her eyes watching him as she sat there. She felt her heart soar at the sight of him, further confirming that she was very much in love with her step brother. She wanted to tell him for she felt her time was fading away, each day she felt she was closer and closer to her final day. She needed to tell him, looking down she began to cry, it wasn't fair. "Casey?" Her eyes shot up in shock it seemed he had woken up.

Derek was at her side almost instantly. He was obviously worried since she was in tears. "What is it?" he asked her, his eyes staring right into her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked more softly hoping to help her relieve her discomfort. Yet she simply shook her head, but he knew something was wrong. She didn't look at him, looking down and away. Those beautiful eyes of his were breaking her weak heart even more, his gently touch had her wishing for an escape she knew would not come. "Case-" yet Derek never finished, Casey looked up and turned her head so that her lip captured his in a bittersweet kiss. She closed her eyes, letting her tears fall as she kissed him. Derek was taken back at first, but quickly responded to her, his hand cupping her face, bringing her closer to him. The kiss deepened and much like the kiss they had shared two weeks ago, they began the slow dance for dominance. However slow and erotic this kiss was, it was also painful. However for the first time without words Derek finally understood Casey's feelings, it was as if with that kiss she was letting him know how much she loved him.

Casey wanted to love Derek; she wanted him to really know just how much she loved him. Her hands moved on instinct, finding their way under his shirt her pale cold fingers finally touched the warmth that was hidden beneath. They finally pulled away from the kiss when Casey began to lift Derek's shirt up, he helped her knowing that somehow some understanding had passes from Derek to Casey and vice versa. They both wanted this, they both needed this. Derek needed for once in his life to really feel the heat of Casey moving against him, completely becoming one with him. He wanted her to know he loved her; he wanted to show it to her.

They didn't speak; there wasn't much need for words. Derek's shirt ended up on the floor and Casey's eyes began to devour his upper body. He was gorgeous, more beautiful than she could have ever imagined him to be. Derek's hand reached out and began to unbutton her pajama shirt; each button that came undone revealed just a little more, when finally he opened it completely and he got wind of her body he sighed. She may have been covered in bruises but she looked absolutely breathtaking to him. Sliding the remaining shirt off, he started to kiss her shoulders, trailing kissing to her collar bone.

He would need to be very gentle with her, not just because she was very weak and he didn't want to hurt her. But he because he wanted her to understand just how much he really loved her. They weren't sure at what point the rest of their clothes came off, but they didn't care. Derek's lips were all over Casey, he wanted to remember every single inch of her body, wanted it become engraved in his memory.

"Derek" She called softly, his face appeared before her and she smiled. Looking straight into those eyes she loved so much. His leaned forward his lips pressing gently against hers. He was already positioned at her entrance and when finally he pushed forward so that he entered her, he felt the world around him complete stop. Nothing else would ever be the same; no one woman would ever feel this perfect. Casey's mouth opened slightly, it wasn't her first time and neither was it his but it felt to her as if she had waited her entire life for that one moment.

When she thrust her hips against his, they began a slow but pleasurable journey to a place they would only be able to enter in each other's arms. It was completely incredible; the feeling of each other's body's pressed against each other. The taste of each other, the smell, there would never be anything like it in Derek's life, no one like her. The more he thrust into her, the more he was convinced his soul had become complete. Her small moans had him wanting her more, needing her more, he was completely addicted to her now but he knew his drug supply would soon come to an end so he needed to ravish as much of it as possible.

Casey wrapped her legs around his waist bringing him closer, she wanted to feel him more, wanted to love him more. Her lips sought his out and pulled him into an incredibly mind blowing kiss. Derek's pace quicken, but his lips never left Casey and when he finally felt her wall begin to tighten around him, when finally he himself felt he was about to reach complete release, he went faster, he wanted to release himself completely inside of her, mark her as his. At that last moment their lips parted and Casey's mouth opened in a silent scream.

Derek held himself up, afraid of falling on her. Casey's breathing was labored, but she had a smiled on her face. Pulling himself out he laid down next to her, she turned and embraced him and he held her back. Nothing had ever felt so completely delicious in his life and he knew nothing would ever feel that delicious again.

"Derek." She whispered, he pulled her away slightly so that he could look into her eyes. "I love you." She said, tears falling from her beautiful eyes. Derek leaned forward and kissed her gently, pulling away to look at her, his own tears falling.

"I love you." He said, pulling her tightly against him, burying his face in her neck he began to cry. "God, I love you Casey." He cried silently, Casey holding him as she herself cried. They fell asleep for a few hours, but an hour before Nora was to walk in Derek woke up and got dressed and dressed Casey as she slept. He watched her; he knew he would love her for the rest of his natural life.

Nora walked in at eight thirty sharp and smiled as she found Derek asleep at the edge of Casey's bed. She shook him awake. "Morning." She said softly, he looked at her and smiled softly, he turned and looked at Casey for a moment she was still asleep.

"Morning." He said, stretching as he stood up. He was tired sure but his body felt completely refreshed turning back he stared at Casey, her chest heaved up and down slowly as she slept, however her eyes suddenly opened in pain. Derek watched in horror as she began to cough up blood, Nora quickly sat her up so that she would not drown in her own blood, but the blood seemed like it would not stop this time and when she fell completely limp in Nora's arms Derek found the world around him begin to spin. In the distance the sound of a siren was heard.

Okay So I know it's been FOREVER since my last update but I was honestly stuck with what I wanted to do next. I had a serious debate with myself with whether I wanted Casey to die or to miraculously recover and finally after circling the idea for months in my head I have decided. This story has probably one or two chapters left, but please look forward to its conclusion.

Please Review!

JME