Author's Note: Hmm... to kill Derek or not to kill Derek... that is the question... ;-) What do you guys think? Oh and P.S. It's my b-day tomorrow and for a present I'd like lots of feedback! -big grin- I have about five different ideas on where this fic should go and cannot choose for the life of me!


A whimper escaped from Casey's lips as she found her stepbrother laying there on a hospital bed, hooked up to a bunch of different machines. The room was small room was filled with the loud noise of the oxygen mask doing its job and the heart monitor steadily beeping next to him. His eyes were closed, so it simply looked like he was resting peacefully.

Casey slowly advanced him, trying her best to hold back her tears. She didn't like seeing Derek like this, looking so helpless and so much like a little boy, just laying there so immobile.

"Derek," she whispered his name and gently brushed her hand against his still one. She wished for some kind of reaction from him, and was disappointed when there was none. She grasped his hand more firmly and leaned down to press her lips softly against his forehead. She would have preferred to kiss his lips, but they were currently under the oxygen mask.

After a few moments of just staring at him as tears slid down her cheeks, she squeezed his hand one last time and willed herself to leave; knowing the rest of the family was probably looking for her.

As soon as Marti was released, Nora took the kids to a hotel nearby so they could rest, while George went back to their home to assess the damage and speak with the firefighters that had come to their rescue.

They got only one hotel room with two Queen-sized beds, and Nora took one with Marti to monitor her breathing, and Lizzie and Edwin curled up together on the second one. They all tried to get some sleep, but the mood was grey and depressive. Casey hugged herself on the chair where she sat in the dark, trying her hardest to think about something cheery… anything, really. Just something to get her mind off of the smug stepbrother she had fallen in love with who was currently lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

A couple of hours later, there was a light tapping on the door, and Nora, who hadn't fallen asleep at all, making sure Marti was breathing fine even in her sleep, silently got up and crossed the small room to open the door.

Casey watched as her mother let George in, who looked visibly upset.

"The house is wrecked," she heard him say flatly to Nora.

"Oh, George," Nora made a sound of empathy and hugged him tightly.

"It will take months to repair the damage," he continued dismally. "We should just get a new house with the insurance we'll get."

Casey watched the two of them get into bed with Marti.

"Any word from the hospital?" George asked quietly.

"No," Nora said bleakly. "Nothing. Derek will be alright, though, honey. He's such a strong boy."

Casey hated her mother's optimism. She didn't know if Derek would be alright. She couldn't know that.

She rested her head against the chair, closing her eyes and praying that Derek would be just fine. That he would take her into his arms and tell her that he loved her and in the future they'd get married and have a little white house, 2.5 kids, and a dog named Scruffy.

"Please, just please let him get better…" Casey whispered as she fell into a dreamless sleep.


The next morning, Nora went out early while the rest of the family was asleep in order to get an outfit for everyone, since the kids were all still currently in their pajamas and Casey was in sweats.

When Casey woke up, she instantly frowned. It hadn't all been a twisted dream. There she was, in a tiny hotel room with her family, sans Derek. George went out to get them all some breakfast while Edwin and Lizzie sullenly watched the television. Nora helped get Marti dressed, and Casey, seeing the bathroom was actually free, snuck in to go take a hot shower.

She closed her eyes as the steamy hot water pounded against her back. Being in water, however, only seemed to remind her of one thing. Derek. And how she had lost her virginity to him in that lake not long ago. How good it had felt to be in his arms, and how careful he had been with her. How he kissed her and how her legs locked around his waist. The rhythm of their bodies moving against each other, and the sound that the water made as he thrust into her over and over again.

Casey turned off the water quickly, and wrapped herself in one of the bland white hotel towels. She wiped the tears off of her face. She hadn't even realized she had been crying again.

Her senses flew into overload once more and as she was thrown back to that night in the lake, she dropped to her knees and vomited into the toilet, emptying her insides and letting out a choked sob.

That was when she heard George walk into the hotel room and, through the door, she heard him announce gravely that Derekhad now officially slipped into a coma.