A/N: I know it's been a few chapters since I've said anything, but as always, thank you for all the kind reviews! I love seeing how many of you are enjoying this story. I'm immersed in it myself, lol. It's been difficult to keep this fast pace up and upload a new chapter every few days. Especially when they are 2,000 words or more. But your reviews definitely give me the push I need to keep going!

This is kind of a filler chapter, but a few significant things happen. Keep in my that Nora is having a hard time right now, so her response may not be as accepting as it would be under more normal circumstances. Thank you again, and please continue to review.

I watched Derek die.

I can't tell you how long I looked at his lifeless body, willing death to come swiftly for me. I couldn't bare the thought of living a second longer without him. I just wanted it to be over.

You have no idea what it's like – floating in the middle of the ocean alone…next to your dead boyfriend's corpse. I was tempted to take off his life jacket and let him sink to the bottom of the sea. I couldn't bare to gaze at him a moment longer. But I was too scared to touch him and feel the nothingness. I knew that he was empty inside.

The horror seemed to last forever.

The silent ocean gently lapped against the chair that we leaned upon, taunting me.

Before he left me alone to endure the quiet torture, he said that he had heard a voice.

I never did hear that voice.

What if Derek could make it back home, but I couldn't? That possibility never crossed my mind until I saw him die so quickly. But why wasn't I dying? It made no sense. Nearly a century ago, when the Titanic sank the first time, the ship's baker lasted nearly two hours in the freezing water before he was rescued, all because he was drunk off his ass. But it's not like I had anything to drink, though I wished I had. It had to have been nearly twenty minutes before I finally felt myself starting to slip away.

I wasn't scared.

I was relieved.

And then it was over. There was nothing.

I can't tell you when I became conscious once again.

When the world touched my ears, the first thing I could hear was my mother sobbing. I wanted to reach out to her and tell her everything was going to be okay. That I'm right here. But I couldn't move.

I spent a long time screaming in my mind, willing for someone…anyone to hear me.

I was panicking, and all hope seemed lost. I'm aware of my surroundings, but on occasion, I still feel myself beginning to slip. It's exhausting trying to stay in a body that wants to give up trying when it would be so much easier to let myself drift away. At some point, I thought that death would just be easier, and I could finally relax.

But that's when I heard him.

That sweet voice that used to taunt me relentlessly.

He was now telling me that he loved me and that I had to fight. He needed me to come home.

He was okay. That's all that mattered. I could die peacefully now, but listening to how miserable he is, pushes me to fight harder. I need to wake up dammit. Why can't I wake up?

Time continued to march on after that.

I can hear the voices of my Mom and Dad. George, Lizzie, and Edwin are here, too. I haven't heard Marti, but at one point…I think I heard Abby.

Everyone is pretty quiet around me, like they're trying not to wake me up. It's kind of ironic, if you think about it.

But right now, in this very moment. It's not quiet, and I'm cringing. I can hear Mom and Derek fighting. Well, it's mostly Mom yelling and Derek being a smart-ass. Some things never change.

My Mom is the only person that Derek rarely argues with, so it's surprising. But they're fighting over me.

I wish they would shut up and take it somewhere else.

I can't even close my ears to block it out.

"How can you let this happen, Derek?! Two weeks ago, when I dropped you off at the airport, you were having your usually morning fight. And now?! Now you claim to be madly in love! Have you lost your damn mind? How can you do this to me?"

"How can I do this to you?" I say, rolling my eyes in exasperation as I continue rubbing my thumb gently across Casey's hand. "No offense, Nora. But this has nothing to do with you."

I know I'm being a total ass, and I probably shouldn't argue with Nora. But right now, she's not my stepmom. She's my girlfriend's mother who is currently looking at me like she wants to rip my head off and shove it into one of my body cavities.

I know that she's having a hard time coping with Casey's current state, and I shouldn't be pushing her over the edge. She's lashing out at me because she can't help Casey. None of us can. We're all helplessly waiting for her to live or di… I can't even think about that possibility.

"George!" Nora turns to Dad for help, and of course, he takes her side.

"Derek," my Dad says quietly, leaning against the mattress like his life depends on it. I'm pretty sure my old man is about to pass out.

"Well, it doesn't!" I say in defense, refusing to back down.

Nora takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose to try and calm herself before speaking. "You know that I love you…and I'm glad that you're awake," she begins, and I'm not ignoring the fact that it's fucking hard for her to say those words to me. "But as long as the two of you are still children who are living under our roof, this is not happening."

"You can't stop it," I blurt out quietly, no longer screaming back. But she can't stop Casey and I from being together. Over my dead body.

"Will you speak some sense into your son," she says to Dad once again.

"Nora…" he begins. "Maybe if we set some ground rules…"

"Ground rules? So like…'no sex under our roof even though we can't be watching the two of you every minute of every day?' Those kind of ground rules? They are teenagers, George." Nora moves to Casey's left hand, uncovering it. "And what about this! We were wondering where it came from. And now I have a pretty good idea. And how exactly did you pay for it, Derek?"

"I bought it," I shrug, lying, not even trying to deny that I'm the one that gave it to her. It was only a matter of time before someone brought up the elephant in the room.

"You couldn't make enough money in ten years at Smelly Nelly's to afford something like that."

"I…bought it from a guy who was selling shit out of his trunk?" I try again. It's hard to think of a good excuse right off the top of my head when I'm being hen pecked to death. It's not like I can tell her where I actually got it. Not unless I want to be committed to some looney bin.

"So, not only are you and my daughter dating…but you decided to get engaged one day after you leave home?" Fuck, who in the hell does she think she is? Judge Judy?

"We're not engaged," I scoff, kind of lying again. "It's more like a…promise ring. Yea, yea, that's it. A promise ring."

I know that I should have taken the ring off the moment I spotted it on her finger to avoid any unwanted questions. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I gave it to Casey because I love her. I can't bare the thought of taking it back…even for a moment. What is she could feel me slip it from her finger subconsciously and thought even for a moment that I didn't love her? I could never do that to her.

Plus, it's not like everyone hadn't already spotted it anyway.

"Dennis," Nora turns to Casey's Dad who is over in the corner, silently sitting in a chair. His ankle is crossed over his knee and he has dark circles under his eyes. I feel really bad for the guy. He only wanted to take us to the Bahamas.

He clears his throat, looking up for the first time in what seems like hours. "He did jump in and try to save her, Nora. He almost died, too, you know."

"I don't believe this," she says, pulling her dark hair back in exasperation, and I'm pretty sure she's about to completely crack. "So, the two of you are okay with our children dating? Is that it? After they have made our lives a living hell fighting for the past two years?!"

"Nora, let's just calm down and we can discuss this when Casey wakes up. It's not even an issue, right now," my Dad says, and he's totally right.

"I need to get out of here," she says in a rush, bending down to pick up her purse before stomping out of the room, my Dad fast on her heels.

The silence is welcomed, and I take a minute to breathe. I never imagined she would react this way. I always thought Nora kind of liked me, even if I was a total pain in the ass. Maybe she's been faking it this whole time?

Like I said, I know that's she's on the verge of having a mental breakdown because Casey continues to show no signs of waking up. I was discharged today, but I refuse to leave the hospital. I never actually told Nora about Casey and me. She figured it out on her own.

I can't hide the love that I feel for my girl. I'm never going to try to hide it again. I've spent two years of pure agony trying to act like I don't give a shit, and it's been the hardest two years of my life.

Up until this moment, that is – seeing Casey in a coma and being powerless to save her, is much worse.

I stand up, fixing Casey's blankets after Nora had pushes them down. I tuck them around her and under her chin, trying to stay busy and act like I don't give a fuck what Nora thinks and doing a bad job at hiding my emotions. I can feel Dennis staring at me, his gaze heavy.

"She'll come around," he says, his voice cutting into me like a knife. Shit. I just wish he would look away. "It may take a little while, but she's having a hard time with this. We all are. I don't think she was ready for another bomb to drop on her like that."

"I didn't tell her," I say, feeling defensive once again. I never meant to make Nora completely lose her shit.

"No," he agrees, rising slowly before moving to stand across from me. He goes to smooth down Casey's hair, smiling gently down at his daughter. "But it's kind of obvious how you feel."

"So, I'm just supposed to act like I don't care; that I'm not completely breaking on the inside?" I'm raising my voice out of anger and helplessness. I'm just lucky that Dennis is remaining so calm.

I lean against the bed, stooping my shoulders in defeat.

"No, Derek," he whispers, sitting on the edge of bed with his back turned to me. "I know that you love my little girl. I've always known. You may not realize this, but you being here – it's helping her to hold on. There's no doubt in my mind of that and I'm grateful for it."

He begins to chuckle while his words continue to seep into me. "No one can hate someone that much, you know? The way Casey hated you. There was too much passion behind it. She's always been better at hiding her feelings than you have, Derek. But I could still tell she was in love with you."

I swallow hard. "Why are you saying this to me?"

"Because it's not going to be easy. No one is going to understand, Derek. Not your friends…not your neighbors. You need to prepare yourself for the possibility that Nora may never come around, either. You're going to have to fight like hell for it, if it's what you both really want," he looks over his shoulder at me, raising one eyebrow in question. "Is it want you really want?"

"More than anything," I say without hesitation. She's all I'll ever want.

"She could do worse, then." Dennis says, and I smile at his words. "Not by much…but you're not as bad as everyone makes you out to be."