Author's Note: Thanks to all who review, you all make me smile :-) I hope you like this chapter!


Derek bolted inside the MacDonald-Venturi house, Casey following not far behind. There was a crowd of partiers who were running outside to escape the smoke that was rapidly filling the air. Derek coughed, shielding his eyes from the smoke. The few smoke alarms that actually did work in the house (bad George and Nora!) were screeching, and, through the chaos, Derek and Casey found Edwin running towards them in his pajamas.

"Casey!" Emily shouted as she found her best friend in the uproar around them.

Derek quickly grabbed Emily's arm, forcing her to look up at him. "Where's the fire?" he barked. He needed to find the origin so he could put it out before it got too out of control.

"I don't know," Emily shook her head vigorously.

"It looks like it's coming from upstairs!" Casey yelled, pointing the where the smoke seemed it's thickest. Quick-thinking as always, she snatched the house phone and dialled up the emergency line.

As Casey requested help from the fire station, Derek noticed that the smoke appeared to be increasing in thickness.

"Lizzie!" Edwin exclaimed as she came into view, running towards them in her nightgown with a scared look on her face. The two hugged fiercely, and Derek had a sudden thought.

"Where's Marti?" he questioned demandingly.

Lizzie looked so upset, she could barely speak. "I-I tried to get her but her door is stuck! I couldn't g-get her out!" she explained, visibly shaking. Edwin held her to him, also looking frightened.

"Shit!" Derek exclaimed, and began running towards the stairs.

"Derek!" Casey screamed even though she was in the middle of talking with the operator, who was sending firefighters over as they spoke.

Derek ignored Casey's desperate pleas to come back, and continued up the stairs. He coughed and choked on the smoke. It was hard to see through it, but he managed to find Marti's door.

And the fire. It had originated in his own bedroom.

"Marti!" Derek yelled, trying to open the door. Lizzie was right, it was stuck. It took a couple of tries, but he managed to kick the heavy door open, and found Marti on her bed, incredibly still sound asleep.

Or… he hoped she was just asleep.

"Smarti!" he quickly scooped his sister's small body up into his arms.

"Smerek?" Marti asked sleepily. She was breathing shallow, and he knew that he had to get her some fresh air.

Quickly.

Meanwhile, the smoke had thickened and Emily had convinced a stubborn Casey to evacuate the house. She was now staring at the burning house from the front lawn, her arms wrapped around herself worriedly.

From the sight of the spreading flames, it was easy to figure out that the fire had started in Derek's bedroom. Which was odd, because he hadn't been in there.

Casey could attest to that.

A loud siren sounded and was clearly approaching fast. Firefighters ran over to them, prepared for action, and screamed for everyone to stand as far back as possible.

"My brother and sister are in there!" Casey yelled to them desperately. She was too panicked to even think about what she had actually just said…

Lizzie took her sister's clammy hand and brought her across the street, where the firefighters had instructed them to stay. Edwin, Emily, and a few other kids who had stayed to watch were already there, silently gaping as the house was burning down right before their eyes.

Casey stared into the flames, praying that Derek and little Marti would be okay.

And, in the burning house, Derek's last thought was of Casey as he fell to the ground with Marti in his arms and slipped into unconsciousness.