Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek… but I will never give up my dreams!

a/n: Before anything, I just want to say thank you to all of you who have made it this far! This chapter will be the end of Part One of the story, and just for you guys, it's nice and long :-P I hope you enjoy! See you on the other side. :-)

Can I Help?

Freedom

It was the next day at school and Derek's pounding headache from the day before had finally gone away. The night before, Casey, like almost every night before that, had crawled onto his bed with him. This time, however, they discussed him. He talked about what had happened to him the night he had stormed out- the parts that he remembered, anyway. He told her how he had been so angry and had been unable to figure out why, so he decided to do things the Derek way again and blow it off. At that she had said, "What, and drinking your problems away is the Derek way?" He just shook his head and looked down.

She apologized to him and when he looked up again, he could see in her eyes that she sincerely meant it; she had just been upset, with an aftermath of worry, when she had snapped at him. He murmured that it was okay and continued, telling her that he really couldn't remember anything that had happened to him that night and that that fact worried him. Especially, he added, when he had woken up in such odd circumstance.

Casey managed to hold her scolding and try to be understanding. By now she knew that Derek really wasn't the kind of guy to go off and do such stupid things regularly. She knew that he did not need her yelling at him right now; she could see in his eyes that he was beating himself up enough. And he really did look scared about not remembering what went on that night. She couldn't blame him… she understood that losing control of oneself was nothing to enjoy, and losing control and then remembering nothing about it… well, she could hardly even imagine how terrible that must feel.

For once in their strange, whatever-it-was relationship, Casey found herself holding and comforting Derek. At one point she could have even sworn that she had heard him crying softly. But somehow, Derek noticed as she was leaving, at the end of the night she looked as content as she did when she spent the night venting. It was as if being able to help him in turn helped her. For some reason, he found the notion somewhat…relieving.

Now in school, he was waiting casually for her before French. He knew that she usually ran into Sam around now and he didn't want her to do so alone. He didn't think she was ready for Sam on her own, and god knew what Sam was going to say to her after Derek had talked to him.

Derek had told him that Casey had asked Derek to tell Sam, because she didn't want Sam to get hurt and she figured that if Derek broke it to him, it would be easier. He had said that Casey was not at the point in her life in which she could have a boyfriend. She was incredibly sorry that she had gotten his hopes up, but on the spot like that she couldn't find a way to tell him how she really felt. The truth was that right now she was having some difficulties in her life and she needed time to figure them out- without anybody else to worry about. Everything he had said had been true and, in a perfect world, Casey would have said them to Sam herself, but Derek knew that, at least for now, she couldn't.

"Hey stranger," Casey came up and greeted him, startling him out of his thoughts. Derek could tell by the smile adorning her face that she hadn't seen Sam yet. He silently thanked whoever was out there looking out for him and began walking with her to class, about to strike up a conversation.

"Case! Hey, Case, wait up!" Sam called from down the hall. Derek exhaled in frustration, looking up at the ceiling. He had spoken too early. He wanted to hit something, but as soon as he saw the look of panic on Casey's face he came back to himself.

"Do you think you're ready for this, babe?" he asked her, eye level with his hands on her shoulders. The nickname had slipped out naturally without intention and he was relieved to see that she hadn't noticed it in her dread towards talking to her ex-boyfriend.

Casey wasn't even looking at him. She just stared, her eyes wide, down the hall where Sam was getting closer and closer. All she could think was that as soon as he opened his mouth, she'd be liquefied and in his arms again. She knew that that wasn't what was right for her… and she knew that that was what would happen.

Derek placed his hand on her cheek and moved her face to look straight ahead at him. "Case… are you ready to talk to him?" he repeated.

She shook her head vigorously, her nails unknowingly digging into her palms. He straightened her fingers, holding her hands in his, unable to tear his eyes from hers.

"Casey, I need to talk to you," Sam said, looking at her without seeing Derek at first. Seeing her hands in Derek's he gave him a questioning glance, then a suspicious one. "Wait… first… did you ask Derek to talk to me?"

The look of confusion on Casey's face answered for her and he glared at Derek. Derek promptly went to drop Casey's hands, finally realizing that he had never done so, until he felt Casey's grip tighten on his left, now holding his one hand back.

Sam looked enlightened now, as if he was going to shout out 'I get it now!' He felt betrayed, deciding that Derek must have been lying to him, that he must have just been trying to break the two of them up for his own selfish reasons. However, instead of voicing this, he turned to Casey, ignoring Derek, "Can we talk? Alone?"

Casey kept her ground, giving off the appearance of a confident, strong woman. Nobody but Derek could see that she was really a nervous wreck, terrified of giving in to Sam. Derek couldn't stop himself from giving her hand a slight squeeze to remind her that she wasn't alone this time.

Sam took her unmoving stance as a no and continued talking, with some hope, "So… if you didn't tell Derek to talk to me yesterday… we're not broken up, right? We're still together?"

Casey studied the ground in front of Sam's feet. "No, Sam… we're… we're not together."

She knew she couldn't look up; she couldn't look at his face. He would look hurt and confused, and she couldn't bear to see him like that- especially because of her. She didn't want to hurt him, no matter how much Derek did. So, if she tore her eyes from the floor and to his face, she'd take it back. She would push away how she felt, convince herself that she was fine, and act it in public. She'd tell him to forget what she had said, to forget what Derek had said (despite how she really didn't know what Derek had said, or when he had said it), and that everything would be fine. They could go out.

And so, when Sam asked the question Casey had dreaded, yet knew he would ask… she stumbled and couldn't find an answer.

"But… why?" Sam searched for answers, trying to read her and figure out what exactly was going on. Because, no matter what he had unintentionally done to her, it had been just that- unintentional. He hadn't wished her any harm. He hadn't even meant to talk her into something she didn't want; he just didn't understand how she couldn't want it, and tried to explain to her why he did and, indirectly, why she should. And, when it came down to it, he thought that he loved her and hadn't even known that he had hurt her because she had always said that she was fine.

Casey went into panic mode and looked up and saw the confusion and pain on Sam's face. All he wanted was an answer, she kept telling herself, but really she kept feeling that that wasn't all. He wanted more; he wanted her to say that there was no reason, so, in fact, they should be together. She didn't know what to do, because suddenly all of the reasons, all of the things she knew and felt, all flew from her brain and down the hall to some locked classroom. The words she loathed almost slipped from her mouth when Derek, seeing what was happening inside her head, stepped in.

"Sam, man… what I told you on the phone- that's why. I didn't lie. I didn't add anything to make it fancy. It was the truth and it was why," he told Sam, his voice low in the now quiet hallway. "Now please… please, just leave her alone." He sounded tired, like he just wanted this to be over, and he did, he was.

Sam was shaking his head, like he couldn't comprehend what Derek had said, like he wouldn't comprehend it. "No," he said, caught between pleading and demanding. "No, I need to hear it from Casey. Casey, I know you've got words. Tell me why. Don't have your- your bodyguard do it for you. You tell me why we're over. Don't you remember how great we were?"

Casey took a deep breath, once again staring at the tile floor. "Sam…" she started, softly. She paused, closed her eyes, tried to find all those words she supposedly had. She knew she had to say something, but she couldn't find what. All she could think was: You hurt me. Over and over and over. It repeated in her head and blocked all other explanation, all other thoughts.

"You hurt me…" she muttered, not realizing she had spoken out loud, only hearing it again and again in her mind. It wasn't until an angry and surprised 'What?' had come from Sam that she saw that it was finally out. And suddenly she felt a little bit better. It was out, it was real, concrete. He hurt her. She finally found her strength, her confidence.

"You hurt me," Casey spoke quietly, repeating her words, hearing herself. But there was punch behind the words now. They were firm and secure. She gently let go of Derek's hand. "You convinced me I was always wrong. You told me you loved me how I was, then manipulated me to be the way you wanted me. You made me afraid that everything I believed was wrong. You turned me into somebody without my own opinion, because I was always told what I was supposed to think by you. You broke me, Sam."

She wasn't looking at the floor anymore. She spoke, gazing in his face but not really seeing it- only seeing the words she spoke, as if for the first time. Because, really, it was the first time she let herself know them.

"That," she finished strongly, staring him straight in the eye, "is why we can't be together."

Sam could only stare at her, hearing her words but unable to believe them. He hadn't done that; he would never hurt her like that…. Right? Angry at her accusations and bewildered at why he now questioned himself, he turned and ran, leaving the building.

Derek watched her, watched her glow, watched her strength radiating from her body, and he smiled. Pride shone on his face as he stood with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on her. She turned to him and couldn't stop her smile. She had put her foot down; she had come to terms, told him how she felt, and she was okay.

"Derek," Casey breathed, disbelieving. She continued in almost a ramble, in the same tone, laced with excitement. "Derek, I did it… Oh my god, I did it…I- I didn't even know… I didn't realize that I even felt like that until the words were pouring out of my mouth and I couldn't stop them because, for once, they were the truth and- and…"

She stopped. Derek, who had been looking at the floor, unable to keep this feeling of finality away, now let his eyes flit up to hers. A smile graced her lips and there was a certain grace and satisfaction about her that he had never seen before. Beautiful, he scoffed to himself, beautiful does not even begin to describe her. He couldn't find a word strong enough to illustrate how she seemed to him at that moment. Divine, he decided. She seemed like she would be perfectly at home on Olympus- she was a goddess.

"Thank you, Derek," she still spoke softly in the empty hallway, but there was now power in her words. They weren't wimpy and empty, the way he now recognized she had been speaking for a long time.

Derek shook his head, a half smile on his face. "Why thank me? I haven't really done anything, Case," he told her, glancing between the floor and her.

"You gave me the strength I needed and you saw when I needed help without me telling you. That's more than anybody has ever really done for me." Her eyes were kind; there was just something enchanting about her.

Derek gave one of his sloppy smiles, but couldn't keep the sadness from leeching into his eyes. "I guess this means you don't really need me anymore, eh?" he gave voice to the emotions behind the hazel orbs, unable to look at her again.

Without warning, Casey punched him in the arm. "You're an idiot, Venturi," she told him, faux annoyance, in her old typical talking-to-Derek voice.

Derek rubbed his arm, muttering, "Hell of a right hook, Case…" looking hurt and, deep down, disappointed that maybe things would go right back to classic Casey-Derek and the past few weeks would be forgotten.

"What are you two doing? Get to class!" a passing teacher barked, startling them both. They had forgotten they were even in the school, let alone that class was going on right now.

"I'll just…go to class then…" Derek mumbled, turning to follow the teacher's orders and feeling very un-Derek and self conscious.

Casey laughed, took his face in both her hands before he could leave, and kissed him gently on the forehead. He felt as if time stood still and past the shock, he closed his eyes and let himself disappear into this beautiful moment in which he was kissed by this goddess in front of him. He didn't care that it was only on the forehead; it was what it stood for that mattered. Things weren't just going back to normal.

She pulled away and admired the look of shock and exaltation on his face, then took his arm and began on to class. As the shock wore off, he couldn't keep himself from asking, hesitantly, "What did that mean, Case?"

Casey smirked and nudged him gently. "Didn't your mother teach you not to question a good thing?"

END PART ONE.

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a/n: Okay, that's it for this part… but do not panic, there will be more! The time gap between parts all depends on how badly you want it, and how many reviews show it xP
Oh, and I'm going to post Part Two separately, so don't look back here for the next chapter... You can check my homepage thing for when I post Part Two... and if worst comes to worst, I'll put the link in this author note once I post, okay? Hmm, this is exciting.
:-P

I thank you all for reading and reviewing, and hopefully enjoying, my story. I give pretty bouquets of flowers to each one of you:-)

Hopefully I'll see you all again for Part Two xD

Ta!

PART TWO ALERT!

Part two of this story is now up. It can be found at: for you, my darlings :-P