Author's Note: Wow, thanks so much for all of the great responses, in return here's a new chapter that I wasn't actually planning on posting until tomorrow. But you guys are all so wonderful that I had to post it sooner! Enjoy!


"I am not wearing this," Derek stressed as he glared at his own reflection.

"Oh, come on, sweetie, you look great!" Amy giggled, looping her arm through his and staring into the mirror as well. She had insisted that they get Halloween costumes for the party back home. And now Derek was dressed as a duke. Complete with annoyingly itchy tights.

"No way," Derek shook his head firmly, picking at the wedgie he had instantly gotten as soon as he put on the awful tights. He had only tried the costume on to humour his girlfriend. He refused to actually wear the stupid outfit for a whole night.

"But Derek, you have to," Amy whined, fluffy out her duchess dress. "Your costume goes with mine!"

Derek grumbled as he picked at the annoying collar of his costume.

"Please?" Amy continued whining until Derek finally relented just so he could stop listening to her whine.

He purchased the stupid costumes, much to the teenage clerk's amusement, and shoved the bags into the car along with their suitcases. They would be spending tonight (Halloween) and the entire weekend with his family.

It only took a few hours to get their by car, so Derek had decided that they would drive over to the next province.

When they were close, he pulled out his cell phone and rang home to let them know they would be there soon.

"Hello?" Edwin answered the phone.

"Ed, it's me… I'll be there in about twenty minutes, okay?"

Just as Edwin was replying, Derek heard Lizzie exclaim, "Casey!" in the background, and Casey's sweet laughter follow.

He was so stunned that he stepped down on his brakes, causing the car the stop fast and he and Amy both to jerk forward. Amy tore her eyes away from her fashion magazine to look over at Derek in a "what the hell did you do that for!" kind of way.

Derek swallowed and the sudden thickness in his throat and weakly asked, "Casey's there?"

"Yeah," Derek confirmed. "I guess so."

A hundred thoughts and memories of Casey came shooting through Derek's mind, mainly ones from the last night they had seen one another. Not able to get another word out, he simply hung up the phone and stared at it as if it was a foreign object.

Amy pulled him out of his thoughts by grabbing his arm. "Derek?"

He blinked several times before looking over at his girlfriend, who had a questioning look on her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She had never seen her boyfriend act like this before.

"Nothing," Derek said hoarsely, and began driving again.

Casey. Casey was there. The object of all of his dreams. The thought that had been on his mind for the past three years. And in minutes, he would be in the same room as her.

And suddenly Derek Venturi felt a new emotion creep up on him.

Absolute terror.

What would he say? How would she react? Was she seeing somebody? Hell, HE was. In fact, she was with him.

Would she bring up that night? Would he? Or would they pretend like it had never happened?

Derek's stomach flip-flopped.

Am I ready for this? he asked himself silently as he pulled up in front of the very house he had grown up in.

He felt his palms getting sweaty as he and Amy both walked up the steps of the porch to the front door. He didn't have the chance to fumble for his old house key because Amy was already knocking on the door. It flung open not two seconds later.

"Derek!" Marti exclaimed, instantly jumping onto her favourite brother.

Derek instantly relaxed, hugging his little sister tightly to him. She had grown up so much that he couldn't believe it. "Smarti," he grinned at her when she pulled away. "You're getting so big!"

"I know!" she giggled, grabbing Derek's hand and bouncing into the house with him. Amy followed behind them, her smile wide with amusement.

"Derek, Amy," Nora smiled when she saw the couple come in, and hugged them both. But a distracted Derek continued sweeping his eyes around the room.

"Looking for someone?" Lizzie asked as she walked into the room.

She knew just who his eyes had been seeking.

"Uh, just you and Ed," Derek covered, giving his younger stepsister a hug.

"Hey, Derek," Edwin grinned as he walked into the room. No matter how bossy he was, Edwin still missed his big brother.

"Hey," Derek roughed up Edwin's lenghtening dark locks. "How's it going, kid?"

"Good," Edwin said enthusiastically, "I have a girlfriend!"

"Slutty Stacey Sanderson," Lizzie coughed under her breath and rolled her eyes.

Derek raised his eyebrows at this, but didn't get a chance to respond as Edwin began bickering with her about how Stacey "isn't a slut."

"Derek, Amy, are you two hungry?" Nora asked, coming back into the room with a plate of sugar cookies with little pumpkins on them.

"Sure," Amy giggled, taking a cookie. "Thanks, Mrs.—"

"I've told you dear, just call me Nora," Nora smiled. It was obvious that she really liked Derek's steady girlfriend. It was a surprise to them all when they found out that their Derek had actually committed to one girl.

Derek looked around again, hoping to find Casey. "Uh, is Casey here?" he tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible, as if he didn't care.

Nora didn't seem fazed. "Actually, she is. She's just visiting Emily." A smile played on Nora's lips. "I can't believe she actually came home."

Derek agreed whole-heartedly with her. He had never expected that Casey would return.

Ever.

Marti came running back down the stairs with a fairy costume on. Some things never change.

"Derek, let's go put on our costumes," Amy elbowed him excitedly.

"You got a costume?" Edwin's eyes widened in disbelief. Boy, had his brother changed.

Derek narrowed his dark eyes at his brother but gave his girlfriend a nod.

And as he made his way upstairs with Amy, all Derek could think about was all of the times he and Casey had fought and flirted on those very stairs.

Anticipation began making his body tingle. He would be seeing Casey that very night. In the flesh.

He only hoped he found the right words to say to her to let her know how much he missed her.