SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Twilight Gleek: Glad you like it. Here's more.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. Thanks, I thought it'd be good. Well, read on and see her reasoning. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Dean Winchesters Baby Girl: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Well, keep on reading to find out.

Hana: Thanks. Well, remember, this is before any of that happens. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Mahjong90mulan: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Well, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed on that front. Hopefully you'll continue reading anyway.

Lanakila91: Thanks. You'll find out eventually.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the idea for the fic.

After school, instead of waiting for Nora to pick them up, Casey opted to head out on her own. As soon as she was sure no one was looking, she blurred out of the school. What do I do? What do I do? she wondered. She had to talk to Nora. What was she supposed to do? She was 141 years old; she wasn't supposed to be crushing on 16-year old boys. Inside the MacDonald/Venturi household, Nora was going over some paperwork in a binder when the door opened.

"Casey? You blurred here?" the woman asked in surprise as she closed the binder. Why was she suddenly using her powers when she had been especially careful to play human?

"We have a problem, Nora," Casey stated.

"What's going on?" Nora asked calmly, yet a bit anxiously. Well, she's not completely freaking out, so it can't be hunters, she thought.

"Sam likes me," Casey declared.

"Oh, Casey," Nora said. Okay, not critical, but urgent enough for her to be concerned, she realized.

"What am I going to do, Nora? I am a 141 year old vampire who is stuck in suburbia without my brothers because a stinkin' hunter tried to drive a stake through my heart! I don't have time for a human with a crush!" Casey exclaimed, pacing in front of the woman.

"Casey, why is this so upsetting to you?" Nora asked. Casey blew out a breath.

"Look, I'm flattered that he's into me, especially with how old I actually am, but what kind of a relationship could we have? I grew up on stuff like Rembrandt and Da Vinci while he's only learning about them in books! I-" the door opened and Casey dashed towards the basement and shut the door. Nora quickly closed the binder and smiled as the rest of the family walked in.

"Where's Casey?" George asked in surprise.

"In her room. She got a different ride home. They took off before you got here," Nora lied. Yeah, like he'd understand that she was able to get here so fast because she's a vampire, she thought to herself.

"I would've given her a ride," George stated.

"It just worked out this way," Nora responded. George nodded. Then, he and the rest of the Venturi household went off to do their own thing. In her room, Casey frowned a bit as she listened to the conversation of her family. I don't believe this. A human! Of all the guys I fall for! It's gotta be a human? she thought to herself. What was she thinking? Talk about the perfect way to get herself killed! Oh, I wish Katherine, Anna, or Pearl were here. They could tell me what to do, she thought with a silent sigh. Maybe she had stayed here too long. Maybe she should just go. She could write a letter to Nora later. She and Lizzie would understand her leaving and the Venturis, Sam, and Emily would get over it. Then, she sighed. Oh, who am I kidding? I can't leave. It'd be too suspicious, she thought. But what was she going to do? There had to be some way to dissuade Sam from pursuing her without compelling him. Then, she mentally shook her head and began her homework. Upstairs, Derek was also doing his homework. Man, I still can't believe I'm getting back into the swing of things, he thought to himself. It felt good to be working again. He knew his dad had gotten pretty worried. He sighed again as he continued his work. When it was finally done for dinner, the MacDonald and Venturi kids went into the dining room, got themselves a drink, and then sat down. Casey took a large gulp of her soda and then started eating the food on her plate.

"So, kids, how was your day?" Nora questioned.

"Well, some kid at school today had harm and cheese for lunch and then for the rest of the day-" Edwin started to say.

"Ed," George interrupted warningly.

"Sorry," Edwin apologized.

"We played field hockey in phys ed," Lizzie stated.

"And did you kick butt?" Casey asked.

"Of course," Lizzie answered and the girls laughed.

"Casey? How about you? How was your day?" Nora asked.

"It was good, but uneventful. Nothing really exciting happened," Casey answered.

"You mean other than you and Sam dancing around your feelings yet again," Derek commented.

"Der-ek!" Casey exclaimed in annoyance. How dare he? He has no clue what's going on, she thought to herself.

"Look, you like him, he likes you, I'm okay with it. Go for it," Derek insisted.

"You're great for saying that, but it's more complicated than you think. I mean, what if it doesn't work out? Things would be really awkward and uncomfortable," Casey stated. Besides, I'm too old for him and it would never work, she thought. How come she couldn't get people to see that? And what about her own feelings? She couldn't deny that she definitely felt something when Sam was around. But what kind of relationship could we have? I'm in hiding! Sure Sam knows I'm a vampire, but could he handle the possibility of facing a hunter? she wondered.

"Come on, Casey. Just give it a chance," Derek encouraged. Why is she being so stubborn? I know she's into Sam, he thought to himself. And why doesn't this bother me? I mean, it's my stepsister and my best friend. I should be appalled or mad or something, his thoughts continued.

"Derek, Casey obviously doesn't want to talk about this, and I must ask that you respect her wishes," George lightly reprimanded.

"Sorry, Casey," Derek apologized.

"Accepted," Casey replied and she continued eating. When dinner was over, Edwin pulled Lizzie into the games closet.

"Okay, is it just me, or was that weird at dinner?" he demanded.

"It was just you," she replied. I can't believe Casey has a crush though, she thought.

"Well, it's obvious that Casey likes Sam and that he likes her," Edwin insisted.

"How do you know that?" Lizzie wondered.

"Because whenever he comes over, they sneak glances at each other when they think the other one's not looking," Edwin answered. "You know, I just can't figure out why they haven't come clean to each other yet," he continued. Uh, because Casey's a vampire who could be Sam's ancestor? Lizzie thought to herself, though she didn't say it out loud.

"Look Edwin, Casey's my sister, I know her. And in this situation, she's just going to stand back and not let anything happen," she told her stepbrother.

"Well, then, we'll just have to get her to change her mind," he determined.

"No. Whatever you're thinking…no," came the response. She wasn't about to get on the bad side of a vampire. Talk about suicide.

"But-"

"No." With that, she opened the games closet and walked out. Edwin stared after his stepsister, and then sighed. Fine. I work best on my own anyways, he thought and then also walked out of the games closet. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Derek said. He opened the door to reveal Sam. "Hey, man. Come on in," he invited, stepping aside. "You want anything to eat or drink?" he offered, and his friend shook his head. Sam walked into the house and sat down on the couch. "So, what's up?" he asked.

"It's Casey," he said.

"Yeah, I don't get it, man. We all know you like each other, and I told her I was okay with you guys, and…she still won't make a move," his friend stated. In the basement, Casey was silent as she listened to them talk. Why is he pressing this? Sam knows we can't be together. It'd never work, she thought to herself. As they continued talking, Casey silently went upstairs and into the kitchen. She then got herself a cup, got some ice. In the living room, the two boys looked towards the kitchen.

"Is Casey in the kitchen?" Sam asked.

"Well, it could be Edwin, Lizzie, or Marti," Derek replied. "But whoever it is, they're being pretty quiet," he continued. That's gotta be Casey, Sam thought to himself.

"I'll check it out," he offered. He then walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Case," he greeted.

"Hi, Sam," she acknowledged. "Can I get you or Derek anything?" she questioned, pouring her drink into the glass.

"Nah, we're cool," he replied.

"All right," she said, and then began making herself a snack.

"Listen Case, we need to talk," Sam said.

"About what?" Casey asked.

"You know what," Sam stated.

"Sam, it's just a crush. If we just stand back and stay away from each other, these feelings will fade and you'll a nice human girl who can appreciate you for who you are," Casey replied.

"Is that what this is about? Me being human?" Sam asked, stepping closer, allowing Casey to get an overpowering whiff of his scent. Man, I love his smell. Musty, dank, and a bit of ash wood, she thought to herself. Then, No! I've gotta focus! she continued.

"Sam," she said.

"Look, I know I'm really young and most likely less exciting than a lot of guys you've met, but I really like you," Sam told her.

"I like you too, but us being together is a bad idea," Casey told him.

"Why? Why is it a bad idea? What makes us a bad idea? Besides you being what you are," Sam wondered.

"It's not the worth the risk," Casey told him.

"Is that what you think? That I would betray you?" Sam asked, barely remembering to keep his voice down. "I would never betray you," he continued, placing his hands on her shoulders. Casey could feel her resolve melting. She loved the feeling of his hands on her shoulders. However, she forced herself to shrug his hands away.

"Sam, that's not what I meant. I know you would never betray me. That's not it at all," she assured.

"Then what?" he pressed. She fell silent. How can I tell him? He'd never understand, she thought to herself. "Casey-Cassandra-" she looked at him in surprise at the sound of her real name. Wow. My name sounds good on his lips, she thought. "You can tell me anything. Anything and I'll be here for you," he told her. Casey looked at him.

"You want to know why I'm here, Sam?" she asked softly enough that Derek couldn't overhear, but that Sam could.

"I'm assuming because you were in danger," Sam said.

"Yeah, that's right. But you have no idea how much danger," Casey replied. "Sam, I'm not going to risk you getting hurt because you're involved with me," she continued.

"Don't you think that should be my choice?" Sam shot back.

"No. I'm sorry, but no," Casey answered. "I nearly died because of a group of hunters. They killed the family we were staying with, they nearly killed me. There's no way I'm going to risk-" Casey's objections got cut off by Sam cupping her face with his hands, tilting her chin up, and then kissing her passionately.