A/N: Hey everyone, I know I've been away for a while. Sorry, I forgot to put a note on the last chapter I uploaded. I really hope you enjoy thsi chapter. I am trying my best to finish up this fic because I really do love it.

PS: Thank you all for reading it! :)

Chapter 14

FIVE MONTHS LATER...

Casey woke up to the sound of herself screaming. She couldn't help it the pain was unimaginable, unbearable. Her body blazed as the pain seared through her uterus in rhythmic bursts. She was being torn apart and the scariest part of all was that this was a situation she couldn't control.

"DEREK!" she yelled. "I THINK THE BABY IS COMING!"

Derek eyes ripped open as he leaped out of their bed. He started pacing as Casey shouted orders at him.

"Okay, okay. So, you want me to grab your bag, the baby's bag and what else?" he asked hurriedly.

Casey grew agitated as she geared for another burst of pain from the coming contraction.

"Derek, FOCUS! Get my hospital bag it's in the closet, get the baby's bag that's right next to it and get the car keys!"

Derek scrambled to find everything and he helped Casey into her car. He raced the car to the hospital as Casey screamed that he was going to kill all three of them if he didn't slow down.

But, Derek's thoughts were a blur as well. Casey was going to have his baby. With his head still in a fog, Derek was quite unsure of how he managed to pull up to the front of the hospital's emergency room. He shook off his anxiety and rushed to get Casey out of the back of the car. Just as he gave her his hand to help her out, she howled in pain and squeezed his hand with a strength that he had no idea she possessed.

Derek was still in a dazed state of mind while he sat in the waiting room. It was about two hours since Casey was admitted in the maternity ward. He reached into his pocket, ready to dial his father's number to tell everyone that the baby was finally coming. He stared at the phone for a moment, realizing that if he made that phone call, he and Casey would lose some of their privacy as their precious baby girl came into the world.

Then, Derek thought about what Casey would really want. He knew that she would want to be surrounded by their family, especially Lizzie and Nora. He even considered calling Dennis, but he decided that he should leave that to Nora. He dialed the home phone number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello," a small voice answered.

"Hey, Simon. Buddy, is that you?" Derek asked with a smile.

"Derek? Hi! Mom, Dad! It's Derek," Simon yelled excitedly.

Derek couldn't help, but grin as he waited for one of the adults to take the phone, "Hello, Derek," Nora answered. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, that depends on your definition of okay. Like for example, if I told that Casey was in labor right now, would you think that was 'okay'?"

"Derek, if you're joking around, that is not very funny," Nora warned. "Now, is Casey really in labor?"

"She definitely is," Derek replied. "The only question is how fast can you guys get over here."

Nora squealed and yelled, "Everyone, we are leaving now! Casey's in labor!"

"Nora, hello, Nora! Are you there?" Derek called.

"Derek."

He immediately recognized his father's voice. "This better not be a stupid prank. We are all getting ready to come over there now."

"Dad, trust me this is no joke," Derek said with no trace of humor in his voice.

A few minutes after Derek spoke to his family, a small nurse with short brown hair came into the waiting room and called his name.

When he heard it, he rose from his seat as he gave her a quick wave and said, "That's me."

The nurse smiled and said, "You're here with Casey McDonald, right?"

"Yes, I am the baby's father," he replied with some pride.

The nurse scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at her files and said, "That's strange. Ms. McDonald told us that her stepbrother was waiting for her."

Derek's cheeks quickly turned a light shade of pink as he answered, "I am her stepbrother."

The nurse smiled nervously and said, "Interesting."

She glanced back down to her files and said, "Casey is doing well, but there may be some complications with the delivery. The doctors are doing everything they can to ensure a safe delivery."

Derek was visibly worried now. "Is my baby going to be okay?"

The nurse looked down and replied quietly, "Like I said Mr. Venturi, the doctors are doing everything they can."

Derek anxiously ran a hand through his hair, then he looked at the nurse hopefully and asked, "Can I see her?"

The nurse let out a breath and said, "Sure, but for only a few minutes."

She led Derek to Casey's room and then, smiled as she left to give them some privacy. Seeing Casey lying on the hospital bed instantly reminded him of her sixteenth birthday when she had her appendix removed. She looked so much worse now and he could see that she was in a lot of pain.

He walked closer to her bed, touched her hand softly and whispered, "Casey?"

Casey blinked open her eyes slowly and asked hoarsely, "Derek? How did you get in here?"

"I got the nurse to let me in for a few minutes," Derek replied with a smirk.

Casey grunted and said, "Jeez, Derek. You can't help but sweet talk the nurse on the same night your daughter is being born."

Derek just laughed and shook his head, she was still the same old Casey.

Casey turned her face up to him, smiled and said, "I picked out a name for her you know."

Derek laced his fingers through hers and said, "Oh yeah. I hope it's not something lame."

Casey rolled her eyes and said quietlly, "I chose Claire."

"Claire. I actually like it. It's simple and pretty." Derek smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Casey's head.

Just as he was going to ask her about the pain, the nurse re-entered the room and told Derek that he needed to leave immediately. As soon as he was out the door, a team of doctors and nurses hurried in.

Derek eyes widened with surprise. He placed his hand quickly on the nurse's shoulder as she started to walk away and asked, "What's going on?"

The nurse's eyes were a dead giveaway. Something was wrong.

She hugged her clipboard and said, "They have perform an emergency C-section. If all goes well, everything should be fine. Just have a seat in the waiting room. I'll let you know the minute anything happens."

Derek put his hands in his pockets and walked back to the waiting room slowly. Somehow he felt like this was all his fault. He sat down, put his head against the wall and managed to fall asleep.

He didn't know how long he slept for, but he woke to the sound of Marti's voice calling his name.

He got up with a start and asked sleepily, "Is Claire okay?"

He looked around at the confused faces of his family members and Edwin asked, "Who's Claire?"

Derek shook his head, shifted in the uncomfortable waiting room chair and replied, "Never mind. How long ago did you guys get here? Did the nurse say anything?"

Nora shook her head and said, "No, we got here about five minutes ago. How long have you been sleeping?"

Derek shrugged his shoulders and looked at his watch. "About an hour."

Nora looked at him anxiously and said, "I wonder how Case is doing."

Derek looked up at his stepmother, wanting to tell her he was wondering the same thing, but he just repeated the nurse's words, "The doctors are doing everything they can."

Yet, they seemed to give Nora the same amount of reassurance that it offered him which was very little.

The family waited for about a half an hour saying very little to each other, partially due to their worry and partially because Simon and Marti were taking a nap. When the doctor finally came into the waiting room, he called for the family of Casey McDonald.

Derek stared directly at him, trying to read his face like he did with the nurse, but he gave nothing away.

The doctor looked at Nora and asked solemnly, "Are you the mother of Casey McDonald?"

Nora nodded and added quickly, "Is my daughter alright?" Once again, Derek wanted to ask the same exact question.

The doctor looked directly at Nora and said in a grievous tone, "Mrs. McDonald, I'm happy to report that Casey is fine-"

George interrupted as he let out a breath of relief and said, "Thank God."

The doctor lowered his head, returned his stare to Nora and said, "However, the baby..."

Derek's eyes met the doctor's and he asked angrily, "What about the baby?"

"I'm afraid, she is no longer with us. We did everything we can, but she was stillborn. I am so sorry."

Nora started to sob onto George's chest, but Derek couldn't handle how angry he was. He needed to be with Casey and more importantly, he knew that she needed him. He raced to her room, unaware of the tears stinging in his eyes.

When he finally got there, he saw Casey, looking completely distraught and damp. Her hair was matted to her forehead, tears running down her cheeks and her hospital gown clinging to her body.

Derek held out his arms and whispered, "Casey, don't cry. You need to rest." As he held Casey, all of the anger inside him melted and all he could think about was how he could ever fix this.

Casey's tears ran down her face and she sobbed, "Derek, I'm so sorry. I lost our little girl. It's all my fault."

"It's okay, Case. Claire will always be a part of us," Derek said as he tried to fight back his tears.

Casey just buried her head into Derek's shirt and cried, "I'm sorry I lost our Claire, Derek. I'm so sorry."

Derek could not hold in his emotions any longer. The tears flowed down his cheeks as he forcefully took Casey's face in his hands.

"Stop blaming yourself, Casey. It is not your fault we lost Claire. Please stop saying that," he demanded.

Casey just shook her head and continued to cry as Derek lowered his head so his forehead could touch hers. In their moment of grief, they felt as though they were in their own world.

But, they were both ripped back in to reality when they heard a third voice whisper a breathless, "What?"