Author's Note: Aww I just love all of the reviews, guys, they are so sweet and I am super glad that everyone is enjoying this story! And as I was sitting here just now, getting ready to post this next chapter, I had a somewhat amusing thought... the main couple on Life With Derek is supposed to be Sam and Casey, but I have never read one LWD fic that centres around them lol! Clearly Dasey is SO much better right? (as you can see I'm definitely not a Sam fan...sorry to those who are!). Okay, just a random thought! Now on with the story!

When I got back, I was surprised to see Casey sitting down on the front steps of the house. She looked sullen, her knees drawn up to her chin and her top teeth ruthlessly gnawing at her lower lip. She didn't even seem to notice us approaching.

"Hi Casey!" Marti exclaimed, skipping over to her ahead of me.

Casey looked up quickly, releasing her lower lip. She smiled briefly at Marti, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Then her eyes met mine and I knew something was troubling her.

"Smarti, go in and see if Nora needs help cooking dinner," I said to her.

"Okay!" Marti sang and ran inside.

I rolled the stroller over to the steps and then sat down next to her, my concern evident. "What's wrong, Case?"

Casey looked down at the ground, her hand absentmindedly picking up a twig and twirling it around her fingers. "You were right," I heard her say softly.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Right about what?"

"Sam," she responded.

Sam. Of course. My whole body tensed. "What about Sam?"

"He was just trying to get back with me all along," she replied, looking up into my eyes. She looked kind of disappointed.

"What did he do, Case? Did he make a move on you? Because I have no problem going over to his house and beating the sh—"

"No!" she interrupted me, covering my hand with hers to calm me down. Because, believe me, I was not calm. "He just… told me that he missed me. That he wanted me back."

I looked at her sad expression. "And you miss him too?" I asked quietly.

"No, that's not it," she said, shaking her head, letting her know I was misinterpreting her actions. "I just wanted us to be friends. I'm upset because we clearly can't do that." She sighed heavily.

"What did you say?" I asked, not really wanting to know but needing to know.

She smiled. "That I was happy with you."

I got that warm feeling all over when she said that, her eyes looking at me with love. It was so strange how she could do that to me.

"And that I'm hotter than him?" I decided to break the seriousness with a joke.

She laughed appreciatively. "That too."

"And sexier?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Of course," she continued giggling.

I shook my head in disdain. "Why, Casey MacDonald. I knew you only wanted me for my body."

She burst out laughing at that, and I smiled at her. She looked so pretty when she laughed like that.

Suddenly she stood up. "And how's my little boy?" she asked, moving over to the carriage. I stood up, too, as she lifted Jake out of stroller. He stared up at her.

"Did you have fun with daddy?" she asked him and we both smiled as he yawned in response.

"I'll go feed him and put him to bed," she told me.

I nodded, watching her turn to go.

I went inside a few moments after her and put the stroller away.

"Smer-ek!" Marti called from in the kitchen.

I sighed, walking into the kitchen. "What, Smarti?" I asked her. She was holding the phone in her left hand.

"Mommy wants to talk to you."

I froze at those words. Completely and totally froze. My mind couldn't think, my body couldn't move, and my mouth couldn't talk. I just stared at the phone in Marti's hand. I completely panicked.

Casey, who was in the kitchen feeding Jake, saw this and immediately rushed over to me.

"Derek?" she asked worriedly, taking hold of my shoulder. I couldn't even feel it.

Casey quickly looked over at Marti. "Marti, tell her Derek can't talk right now," she instructed. She then took my hand. "Come on, Derek." She steered my stiffened body out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. She gently put Jake in his crib, and pulled me over to her bed. I had to force my knees to bend in order to sit down with her.

"Derek?" she asked worriedly. "Derek, talk to me," she stroked my cheeks and pushed back my hair.

"I haven't talked to her in five years," I said slowly. Numbly.

Casey forced me to meet her eyes. They were deep blue pools of worry and confusion. "Why?"

"She… doesn't really like me and Edwin," I explained carefully. I didn't want to burden sweet little Casey with the details. "She was angry with us. And we kind of were angry at her. So we just…never spoke once she and Dad got divorced."

I know she could tell there was much more to the story. But she didn't push. She just hugged me. And I hugged her back, thankful that she was so…Casey. I held on to her like she was a lifesaver. My lifesaver. And she whispered words of comfort and understanding in my ear like I was a little boy.

She tugged me down into a more horizontal position and wrapped her arms around me, tenderly pressing gentle kisses all over my face. I closed my eyes and just simply felt.

"Casey, Derek, dinner!" Nora suddenly called, and Casey gave a little groan. I opened my eyes slowly, and she stood up, waiting for me to join her.

"Come on," she said.

I nodded, not very hungry, but not really wanting to be alone with my thoughts just yet. She took my hand, and it was so soft against my own rough hand. We walked downstairs, and sat down at the dinner table. Everyone else was already there, filling their plates.

I sat down next to Casey and looked over at Edwin. Instantly I knew that he had heard the news, too. He looked distraught, and Lizzie was whispering gently to him, sitting extra close to him. I felt bad for the poor kid. Mainly because we were going through the same thing, and I knew exactly how he was feeling.

Dad must not have known, because he didn't say anything to us. He and Nora didn't even notice that Edwin and I were both visibly upset, and Casey and Lizzie kept whispering soothing words to us. Sometimes I was glad that Dad and Nora were so oblivious.

And sometimes I hated it.

The four of us barely ate, and after dinner I was going to see how Edwin was, maybe talk to him, but I saw Lizzie lead him into her bedroom. Casey took my hand and brought me into hers.

And I ended up telling her the entire story.

Tears slid down her cheeks as I revealed my past. She hugged me at times, and sometimes just held my hand gently. Once in awhile she would nod in understanding or flinch, feeling my pain. When I was done, she held me close to her. I listened to the beat of her heart in her chest, lulled by it.

"I'm so sorry, Derek," she whispered.

"I don't know what to do," I answered.

She pulled away from me, but still kept as close as possible. "You mean whether you should talk to her or not?"

I nodded.

She laced her fingers through my own. "That has to be your decision."

"I know," I sighed heavily, leaning against her bed. "I just wish I didn't have to make it."

"Maybe she's different now," Casey said slowly, ever the optimist. "People change."

"Maybe," I said. It was so ironic, because I had just started thinking about her again these past couple of days. And now she wants to speak to me and Edwin after five years. I let out a huge breath, tossing my head back. "I don't want to think about it right now."

"Okay," Casey said. "You want to talk about something else then?"

"Anything to take my mind off of it," I nodded.

Suddenly she gave this sexy little smirk. "I can take your mind off of it."

My lips slowly turned upward into a smile. She just kept on surprising me.

She gradually crawled into my lap, and, pulling my head down, her lips met my own in a slow but explosive kiss. I smiled against her lips as she tugged my shirt up and over my head, her soft hands running over my bare torso. She pulled away, causing me to groan in frustration, and there was a sparkle in her eyes as she moved over to her bed.

"Lock the door and come over here," she beckoned me.

I grinned, doing as she told me, and turned off the lights before getting into bed with her, letting her help me forget everything.

"Did that make you stop thinking about it?" she asked when we were done, kissing a pathway down my naked chest.

"Definitely," I moaned out.

"Good," she smiled, capturing my lips again. I kissed her back eagerly, burying one hand in her soft hair and pressing the other against her hip.

There was a sudden knock on the door and I groaned in irritation. Casey smiled, pressing a finger to my lips so I wouldn't give away that I was in here, in case it was my Dad or Nora.

"Yeah?" she asked and I kissed her finger.

"Casey? Is Derek in there?" It was Edwin. He probably wanted to talk about Mom.

I sighed. So much for forgetting about it. "I'm here, Edwin. Wait a second." I stood up, pulling on my clothes and raking my fingers through my hair. I looked over to see that Casey had gotten dressed too, and was now looking in on Jake.

I opened the door to see Edwin standing there, seeming kind of glum. "You want to talk?" I asked him.

Edwin nodded, and I turned back to look at Casey. She gave me an encouraging smile. It helped. I took Edwin over to my room, which I felt like I hadn't been in in so long.

"Mom?" I asked him, the word even feeling a bit foreign and awkward on my lips.

Edwin nodded again, looking down at his socks.

"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked him, sitting back at my desk.

Edwin shrugged. "I don't know."

"Me neither, kid," I admitted, letting out a breath. "It's just… strange how she wants to all of the sudden talk to us."

"I bet Marti told her about Jacob," Edwin said.

I hadn't even though of that. It made sense, though. So, once again, it wasn't about us per say. It was about her getting to see her grandson.

Tapping my fingers on my desk, I looked at Edwin. He looked torn. I knew that he didn't really like our mother, like me, but I also know that he felt unwanted by her. Like something was missing, and she was it.

I clicked my tongue, knowing what I had to do. "I'm gonna talk to her," I announced suddenly.

Edwin looked up at me at that, startled. Several different emotions crossed his face. "You are?"

I nodded. "Yeah." And I went downstairs. Edwin followed right behind me. I grabbed my Dad's phonebook and looked up Alice Venturi. Yeah, she had kept her married name. Before I had time to back down, I grabbed the phone and punched in the numbers. I apprehensively shuffled my feet as the phone rang.

"Hello?" came a familiar voice, and hundreds of memories seemed to flood my mind at the sound.

"…Mom?" I asked, my own voice slightly wavering.

There was a long few seconds of silence. "Derek?" she finally asked. It wasn't really a question, though. I could tell she was sure it was me.

"Yeah," I responded.

"Oh, Derek!" I was surprised to hear her cry of happiness in my ear. "How have you been, honey? And Edwin?"

"We're fine," I said, looking over at Edwin. He was watching my every expression as I spoke on the phone.

"I heard that my baby had a baby of his own," she said suddenly. But it didn't take me by surprise. I had figured that she was going to say something about Jake.

"Yeah," I fidgeted. "His name's Jacob Michael."

"That's a lovely name," she said, and I was surprised at that. At how accepting she seemed to be of it. "Your middle name. My father's name."

I hadn't known that. I had never met my grandfather on my mother's side of the family. She had run away from home when she was younger, and never saw her family again. She never spoke about them, either. It seemed to be a touchy subject to her.

I didn't say anything, so she continued.

"So, when do I get to see my grandson?" she asked. I knew that was coming.

But…did I want to see her?

"Uh, I don't know…" I had to think about it. I mean, it had been five years. She never even sent me a birthday card. It was like she had forgotten that she had ever had me and Edwin. "I'll have to check with Casey…" Casey was definitely going to come with me if I was going to see Alice Venturi.

"Casey. Is she your girlfriend? Jacob's mother?" she asked.

My eyes widened. Marti had forgotten to fill her in on the tiny detail that was Casey. Great.

"Yeah," I just said. I looked over at Edwin. He could tell that the conversation wasn't going that well. Even I could see how painfully awkward it sounded from my end.

"Alright, you let me know when it's a good time to see him," my Mom said.

"Okay," I said simply. I suddenly really wanted to hang up the phone and end this uncomfortable one-on-one.

"Is Edwin around?"

My eyes flew up to Edwin. "She wants to talk to you," I mouthed to him, seeing if he was up for it. I would totally understand if he wasn't.

Edwin seemed to let the idea roll around his head for a few seconds before slowly nodding and holding out his hand for the phone.

"He's right here. Hold on," I said and handed it to him without hearing her response or saying goodbye.

Edwin looked nervous as he spoke into the phone. "Hello?" All I could hear from his end was a "yeah" or an "okay" once in awhile. Lizzie walked into the kitchen and looked over at Edwin.

"Is he talking to your mom?" she whispered to me, and I nodded.

She bit her lip, much like Casey does, and slipped her hand into Edwin's free one. He seemed to be glad for the support.

"Tell him I'm upstairs if he wants to talk after," I told Lizzie, suddenly needing to be anywhere but where I was.

She nodded solemnly and I booked it up to my bedroom. I threw myself onto my unmade bed and stared up at the ceiling, thoughts swimming through my mind, giving me a migraine.

"Derek?" I heard a soft voice and snapped my head in its direction. It was Casey, holding Jake close to her and looking concerned for me.

"I'm fine, Case," I said tiredly. I wanted her to stop worrying about me.

I thought she was going to leave, sensing that I needed some space, but she came over to me and sat down on the edge of my bed.

But she didn't say anything.

I remained staring up at ceiling, squeezing my eyes shut every once in awhile to alleviate the pressure of my pounding head. I sat up suddenly, scrubbing my face in my hands.

My eyes then shifted to Jake, who was silently reaching one hand out towards me. I gave a small smile, and Casey let me take him from her.

"Hey, buddy," I whispered, kissing his little outreached hand. He stared up at me, his deep blue eyes full of love and the innocence of an infant. And I let out a choked cry.

"Oh, Derek," Casey said immediately, moving her body closer to mine and wrapping her arms around me.

"I don't get it," I said, tears splashing down my face. Tears of anger and grief. "Why didn't she want me?"

She knew who I meant. And I knew she didn't have an answer. So Casey just held me, rocking me, letting me cry. I hated crying and rarely ever did. In fact, I could only remember crying three times in my entire life. Crying was for wimps. I think my mother actually told me that before.

But that night, I cried.