Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews, especially to those who are so religious about reviewing. It means a lot to me to know that people like my writing, so thanks! Here's the next chapter... some of it is a bit intense! Enjoy!

My Dad came upstairs about half an hour later. My tears were dried, but I still felt…well, I felt a lot of things. Jake was asleep in my arms and Casey was curled up against me stroking my hair. We were silent.

When Dad came in, we both looked over at him. He looked a little uncomfortable, like he had intruded on a special family moment or something.

"Uh, Derek, I heard you talked to your mother," he said.

I nodded. "Yeah. I did. She…she wants to see Jake." I glanced down at Casey, telling her too.

My Dad seemed to know this. "Well, its your decision, Derek. You can choose whether to go or not."

"I know," I said simply. But I didn't know what I was going to do yet.

"Alright," Dad's paternal minute was over. "I'll be downstairs in the living room if you want to talk."

I just shook my head, and he left.

"Do you know what you want to do?" Casey asked gently.

I sighed, looking away from her. "No." I paused. "I just don't get why she didn't want me, but would want to see her grandkid. It's not like she'll want to be a part of Jake's life," I scoffed.

"Maybe she will," Casey responded. "Remember, people change over time. Maybe she wants to be a grandmother to Jake. And maybe she still wants to be a mother to you."

A mother. Nora is the closest thing I had ever really had to one of those. She was way more motherly with me than Alice Venturi ever was.

Even though I was getting older, and it wasn't long before I'd be a legal adult, I still needed a mother. Maybe Casey was right…that my mom had some sort of revelation over the past few years and actually wanted to be my mom.

"Should I give her a chance?" I mumbled to Casey, ducking my head down.

I saw a small smile on Casey's face appear from the corner of my eye. It was a sad smile.

"It couldn't hurt you anymore than it does now," she answered gently.

And, as always (although I would never admit it!), Casey was right.

"Okay," I made my decision. But I glanced up at Casey, nervous again. "You'll come with me, right?"

"Of course," she leaned up and brushed her lips against my cheek. They were soft and tender and made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

I shifted Jake in my arms and nuzzled his chubby cheeks. He sighed in his sleep, and I smiled. Hopefully things really would turn out alright. But even if they didn't, I still had Casey and Jake.

I found out the next day that Edwin had decided that he wasn't quite ready to see Mom. My Dad and I didn't blame him. I called my mother back after school.

"Casey, Jake, and I have decided to come pay you a visit," I said as casually as I could. Maybe if I made it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal then it wouldn't be.

"Great," she replied. "How about on Saturday? I'll make us a nice brunch."

"Sure," I said. And the plans were set. I was going to see my mother.

Meanwhile, in school, Sam started avoiding me again. I knew it was because he figured that Casey had told me about him wanting to get back together with her. As if I hadn't known that from the beginning.

The rest of the week usually went by super slow, but, of course, when I actually wanted it to go by slowly, it flew by. Before I knew it, it was Saturday morning.

For the first Saturday in so long, I actually got up early willingly. Casey was already up and showered. I think she was almost as nervous as I was.

I let her pick out my clothes, wanting to look good. I mean, I hadn't seen my mother in five years. I sort of wanted to impress her. Let her know that I had done okay without her.

Casey picked out one of the only pairs of jeans that I had without any holes or fading, and a button-up top. She looked gorgeous in a black skirt and blue blouse. And she even dressed Jake in a cute little outfit that I had never seen before.

"How should I wear my hair?" she asked me as I fussed with my own.

"Umm…down," I told her. I loved it when her hair was down.

"Don't you three look nice," Nora exclaimed with a big smile as we walked into the living room.

"Thanks," I let Casey take all the credit.

"We should pick something up before we go," Casey said. "You know, to bring to your mother. Like…dessert. A pie or something?"

I shrugged. It was a good idea. I would never have thought about it. Once again, I was glad that I had Casey there to help out and think for me at this time.

I looked at the directions that Edwin had printed out for us as Casey settled Jake in his car-seat in the back. My mother didn't live too far…about half an hour away. Glancing over at Casey, I saw her nervously picking lint off of the sweater she had thrown on over her blouse.

"Ready?" I asked her.

She looked up, nodded, and silently got into the passenger seat. She was uncharacteristically quiet, and I knew it was because she didn't want to say the wrong thing to me or get me any more anxious than I already was. Plus, she was anxious too.

We stopped at the grocery store; Casey ran in and I hummed along to the radio while watching Jake strain to look out the window curiously.

"You see the birdies, buddy?" I asked him with a chuckle as he seemed mystified by a flock of Canadian geese flying pastour car.

Casey ran back into the car. As she got in she showed me what she had bought. "Do you think apple pie is okay?" she bit her lip. "Maybe I should have gotten the blueberry. Or the cherry."

I smiled and placed a hand on her leg. "Apple's fine, Case."

She simply nodded, and we kept on going. After a bit, we pulled up in front of a small Victorian house at the end of a side street.

"I guess this is it," I said to Casey, rechecking Edwin's directions.

"Okay," Casey said, and I took the pie from her as she went to go take Jake out of his car-seat. I stared at the house. It was a one family, small but not too small, especially for a woman who was living alone. It had a small backyard and a tiny garden in the front that made it actually look somewhat cozy. And cozy was not a word that I would ever associate with Alice Venturi.

Casey followed me up the three porch steps and I stood in front of the door, frozen. She gave my arm a pat of support and I looked down at her. She gave me an encouraging smile and I sucked in a breath before turning back to the door. Before I had any more time to think about it, I pressed the doorbell forcefully with my index finger.

And less than a minute later, the door opened and I was standing face-to-face with my mother.

She looked the same as she did before, with a few new wrinkles and her hair a few shades lighter than her natural medium-brown. Her eyes were non-expressive and her lips formed a tight smile as she seemed to study me from my stupid dress shoes that Casey had gotten me to wear to my brushed, slightly spiky hair.

"Derek!" she finally exclaimed, and took me into her arms for a hug. I was taller than her now, was the first thing I noticed. But she had never been very tall. The second thing I noticed was how cold her hug was. When I hugged Casey, or my Dad, or Nora, they had always given me warm hugs. Hell, even Marti, Lizzie, and Edwin gave me warm hugs. But my mother's was cold—reserved, almost forced.

She pulled back and cupped my cheek. "You look great, honey."

"Thanks," I said awkwardly. "Uh, you do too, Mom." The word still felt so foreign on my tongue. Like I was speaking Italian or German to her.

"And you must be Casey," my mother sized my girlfriend up and down kind of rudely. But polite Casey just smiled.

"Yes, I am Miss Venturi," she said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," my mother said offhandedly as she stared at the drooling baby in Casey's arms.

"And this…this is my grandson, isn't it?" she gave her first real smile then as she moved closer to Jake.

"Yeah," I smiled proudly at the handsome fellow.

"He's going to be a heartbreaker, that's for sure," Mom nodded at me. She took Jake from Casey's arms. "Oh, he's just precious."

Casey's eyes met my own, and I could see she was trying to cover the fact that she was a little miffed about my mother just grabbing the baby right from her. I placed an arm around Casey's waist, trying to silently apologize for my mom.

"Mom, we brought you a pie," I showed her our offering.

Mom looked down at the pie. She didn't look too pleased about it, however. "Store bought? Don't you remember how to make pies, honey? I taught you when you were little."

I don't know why, but my cheeks grew a bit hot at that. "Uh…not really."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to teach you. I was going to teach Marguerite next time I see her anyway," she looked back down at Jake and cooed over him.

Mom was the only one who still called Marti "Marguerite." Marti hated that name.

"Well, come in, brunch is ready," she said and took off with Jake, expecting us to follow.

I glanced down at Casey again and shrugged. That was my mother in a nutshell.

There were sandwiches on the table, along with some fresh fruit and orange juice. My mother looked at the seats, her eyes telling us to sit down, and we did obediently. She sat down with Jake still in her arms.

"Jacob's probably getting hungry," Casey piped up. "I should feed him." She stood up.

"There's a guest room down the hall and to the left if you need privacy," Mom nodded, getting ready to hand over the googling infant.

"Oh," Casey blushed, "no, I don't, uh, breastfeed him. I'll just go heat up some formula…"

Mom gave a little tisking noise. "Breastmilk is much better for the baby."

Casey's cheeks just got redder. "Oh, uh, yeah, but, um…"

"We decided that formula was a better choice for us," I butted in, not liking the way Casey seemed to be squirming. She looked up at me and gave me a look of desperate thanks.

Mom didn't seem to approve. "I'll feed him," she took the bottle that Casey had dug out of Jake's diaper bag and took off with Jake and the formula.

Alone, I looked at Casey, wincing. "I'm sorry, Case."

"No, it's fine," Casey said through gritted teeth. I knew she was annoyed, but she tried not to let is show. I saw through her, of course.

"Eat your sandwiches!" Mom yelled from the kitchen most likely, and I quickly grabbed the sandwich, jumping.

"Relax," Casey hid her smile as she saw me jump.

"I'm trying to," I said. But I couldn't. Memories kept flooding back. The past. Me and Edwin as kids. Mom. Our old house not too far from this one. The way her sandwiches tasted exactly the same as they did years ago.

Mom came back several minutes later. I was finished eating, but Casey was still nibbling on her sandwich.

"I found Marguerite's old crib and set it up in my bedroom so Jacob could have a nap," she told us, obviously proud of herself for having thought of that.

"Uh, thanks," Casey said uneasily.

"So, Derek, honey, tell me about hockey. How are you doing?" she asked. I knew she didn't care about it, she never had, but at least she was faking interest.

"Great," I answered honestly. "I'm hoping to get a college scholarship. So far three universities are already interested in me, including the U of T and McGill."

"Wow," Mom said. "I never thought you'd go to university."

I was a little hurt by that, I'm not going to lie.

"And how about you, Casey? Is that short for Cassandra?"

"Oh, uh, no," Casey gave a tight smile. "It's just Casey. Uh, I don't know. I'd like to go to university eventually—"

My mother looked alarmed. "But what about Jacob?"

"Uh, well, maybe I could take night classes and commute, or I'm sure my Mom wouldn't mind watching him. Or there's always some type of daycare or a baby-sitter…"

Now my mother gasped. "Daycares are terrible for babies! All those germs. And children should be home with their mothers."

"Uh, well, uh," Casey didn't know what to say. She looked at me pleadingly. I knew if it was anyone else, she would launch into her feminism speech, but she wanted to be polite to my mother for me.

"So, this is a nice house, Mom," I saved Casey. Luckily, Mom embraced the rapid change of subject.

"Yes, it will do," she spoke, seeming indifferent about it. "I do like the view it has of the city skyline from the window in my bedroom."

"Nice." I didn't really care.

"So how is school, Derek? Are classes okay?"

"They're fine."

"Are you getting good grades?"

"Decent."

"How about math?"

I sighed. She remembered that I hated math. "I'm passing."

She nodded and looked over at Casey. "He was always terrible at math. I thought he had some kind of learning disability when he was younger!" she laughed and I felt myself sink.

Casey just gave a fake polite smile. She reached over and patted my thigh under the table, though, obviously sensing that my mother's biting words were affecting me.

"Edwin, well, he was bad at math and reading. At the age of four I already told him I knew what he was going to end up when he got older!" my mother continued, chuckling to herself as she sipped her orange juice.

Casey had to ask. "And what was that?"

"A carpenter, of course!" She continued chuckling. "You don't need any brains for that!"

Casey and I exchanged glances. This was getting a little too much for me. And then, the ultimate whammy…

"So tell me about this little tramp your father married," Mom looked at me.

"Tramp!" Casey yelled, clearly offended. And she had every right to be.

This was NOT good.

Before Casey had the chance to begin her screaming, I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mom, Nora's definitely not a tramp. She's a very nice woman and dad loves her very much. So let's lay off of her," I said in the calmest most rational tone I could muster. I could feel Casey boiling with rage under my palm.

"Is she ugly?" my mother pushed. "Tell me she's ugly."

Casey leapt out of her seat. "You bitch!" she yelled, and I grabbed her around the waist as she began charging at my mother.

My mom's eyes widened and mouth twisted in shock as I pulled a fighting and yelling Casey down onto my chair with me. I kept my arms locked around her waist and tried to calm her down.

"Mom, that was uncalled for," I was pissed too, and had to speak very slowly to keep the anger out of my voice. Meanwhile, Casey continued to squirm in my lap.

"Why is SHE so upset about it!" Mom was utterly confused and completely appalled by Casey's behavior.

"Nora is her mother," I said calmly.

My mother's jaw dropped—in horror. "You mean…but that means…and you are…" Her dark eyes bore right through me. "Casey is your stepsister!"

"Yes," I replied, and Casey stopped struggling. She murmured curses under her breath as I ran my fingers through her hair soothingly.

My mother stared at Casey coldly, and gave her a disgusted look. "You slut."

Now I stood up. "Hey!" I yelled, not taking this any longer. "If you're going to call anybody names, you call me them. Nora is great for Dad. And Casey? I don't even deserve her. She's…she's incredible," I felt my blood pressuring rising. I looked at Casey, who was standing there, shaking but fortunately not going after my mother.

"Casey, go get Jake," I told her gently.

Casey gave my mother a nasty glare, but held her tongue as she went to go get the baby.

"Mom, look around you," I sneered. "Just look. You live alone. Your kids don't even want to see you. All we have are bad memories of you. Nora, she's a great mother to her kids. And Casey's amazing with Jake. You can't say that about yourself, can you?"

She just stared at me, her eyes welling up. I don't know if she was sad or just angry. I didn't really care.

"So don't you insult my son's mother or his grandmother because they're a hell of a lot better at being a mother than you ever were and will ever be," I spat the last part out just as Casey came back with a sleeping Jake. I grabbed Jake's diaper bag.

"Bye, Mom. And this time it's for good," I told her.

Casey glared at her and I wrapped an arm around her and Jake protectively as we stormed out into the cool air. We didn't say anything as I took Jake and buckled him into his car-seat, and started driving off. In fact, we drove about half-way home before I swerved into the breakdown lane.

And had my own breakdown.

I saw red as I yelled and cursed the same woman who gave me life. I slammed my fists against the steering wheel until they throbbed with pain. And then I felt Casey's arms wrap around me.

"I'm so sorry, Casey," I told her gently, my voice actually now hoarse from my outburst. "I should never have taken you with me. I should never have gone there in the first place."

"You were doing something good, Derek," Casey whispered into my ear, and kissed my cheek softly. "You're a good guy. But you're also still young. You want a mother. Everyone wants a mother. You just…were hopeful that things had changed."

"But they haven't," I said sullenly. "Not one bit."

"Some people can't change," she breathed, and I hugged her more tightly against me. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you."

"I'm sorry she said those things to you," I told her, pulling back and looking into her watery eyes.

"I'm sorry she said those other things to you," she answered, reaching up and stroking my cheek. "What she said isn't true at all, Derek. You know that, right?"

"As long as you know that your mom isn't a tramp and you're not a slut," I told her.

She gave a small smile. "I know that."

"Good," I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

We both heard a contented sigh from the back of the car and turned our heads to look at Jake. He was tilting his head, trying to see us, a curious look on his face.

I felt a smile creep across my face and glanced back over at Casey, whose eyes were on me again. She leaned in and kissed my lips gently.

"Let's go home," she said.

I nodded. Home had never sounded better than it did right then.