A/N: Thank you for your patience during my long hiatus! I appreciate the continued support and interest in Unsinkable. There are only a few chapters left, so we're coming into the home stretch!

I lay a gentle hand on Casey's bare thigh, rubbing my thumb back and forth against her satiny skin. I take the time to appreciate how deep her tan is, and the way it covers her smooth body; the way it looks in contrast to my own slightly paler complexion. She is wearing one of her skirts that perfectly shows off her killer legs, and I have to grit my teeth to control myself.

I have been doing that a lot lately.

I place a trail of kisses down her delectable neck and breathe deep. A soft laugh escapes from her parted lips, and I force a grin, gazing up at her through the mirror. Tonight was the night, and I was anything but ready for reality to come crashing down around us.

"We can stay home if you want," I express softly.

Casey breaks our gaze much to my dismay, a sad look covering her gorgeous features. I instantly regret my words, but she slowly turns her head to peck me on the cheek before leaning forward to apply her pink lip gloss.

"We've been staying home for two weeks straight, not to mention a month in the hospital," she says carefully. "I need to go out, Derek. I need to see our friends. I need our lives to go back to the way they were before…before."

I give a heavy sigh, but ultimately relent. "Okay."

I knew this day was bound to come; the day we would see pure disgust on our friends' faces. Honestly, I could give a rat's ass what they thought about us. As long as I have Casey, no one else matters.

But Casey was different. She was determined to always hold tight to every relationship she had ever formed, and I was scared shitless of her being left broken hearted because they would never be able to get over themselves long enough to realize that this is what we both wanted; craved.

I groan outwardly. "Anything you want, Princess," I say earnestly. And I mean it. If she is determined for this to work, then I'd give it everything I had in return. The only person I had bothered to tell was Sam. I told him to spread the word, because I refused to make that same fucking call over and over. After all, if anyone was going to take the news well, it was Sam. And I had been right. He sort of threatened me where Casey was concerned, saying I better not treat her like the other girls.

He had every right to be concerned.

But after I assured him that I was a changed man towards Casey, that was the end of our conversation. We instantly changed topics to sports. That's what I've always loved about my friendship with Sam. It was easy, the way it should be.

I turn around to collect my thoughts, rubbing the tense muscles in the back of my neck.

Ever since I gave Sam permission to tell the rest of our friends, Emily hasn't answered one of Casey's calls, and it was pissing me off. She was supposed to be at Smelly Nelly's tonight, and that was bothering me more than anything. Casey almost died, and her so called "best friend" couldn't get over her jealousy long enough to act like she cared. I'll never understand what Casey sees in that manipulative bitch.

Suddenly, I halt my actions when something on the bedside table catches my eye. I bend down to pick it up, rattling the small package back and forth in my hand. Withing seconds, Casey's on me, trying to free it from my grasp. I put my arm up as high as it will go, making it impossible for her to reach.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?"

"Give it back! DER-EK!"

"Now come on, Case. This involves me just as much as it does you," I taunt, looking up at the pink little tablets in my hand. "And from my calculations, you've already taken a weeks' worth? Why I haven't I been informed?"

"Because it's none of your business, that's why!"

"No?" I smirk. "So, you're only taking them for your own health?"

She finally relents, crossing her arms over her chest, tapping her foot vigorously in annoyance. Fuck, it's been so long since I've been on the receiving end of her rage. I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit to missing the hell out of that flared up temper.

"Maybe I am taking them for my health," she shrugs, feigning indifference.

"Bull shit," I instantly say, tossing the small pack onto her bed before reaching my arms out to bring her into a tight embrace. Her arms remain firmly crossed and I can't help but smile at her expense. I place a kiss on the end of her nose, feeling her instantly melt against me, even though she's continuing to act mad as hell.

"It's all your fault," she mutters, looking anywhere but up at me.

"How so?" I play along, my lips twitching in amusement.

"Mom doesn't trust you, and she said that if you and I are going to continue dating, I didn't have a choice."

Nora's lack of trust in me stung a bit, but I continued to understand her reservations. After all, she did tell me that she was going to put Casey on birth control, but I never actually believed she would do it. I honestly thought she would shoot me between the legs before ever allowing her little girl to grow up.

Furthermore, I did put up a fight when she said no sex. What other conclusion could Nora possibly come up with?

"You don't have to take them if you don't want to," I say gently, trying to reign in my amusement at realizing how embarrassed Casey actually was at me seeing the pills…even if she was the one to leave them out in the open for everyone to see. "It's not like we're sleeping together, anyway. And if we do decide to take our relationship to the next level, I'll just wrap it up," I say in a matter-of-fact voice, shrugging.

"Mom reminds me every single day when I wake up. I doubt I can just…stop."

I sigh, "Well, in that Case, I'd hate for them to go to waste," I growl, wagging my eyebrows up and down.

"Romantic," Casey rolls her eyes despite the corner of her mouth lifting. "Just because I'm on the pill now doesn't mean you can suddenly weasel your way into my bed."

I bark out a laugh, nodding my head in agreement before clicking my tongue. "Understandable," I say, a devilish grin forming. "How about the shower?"

"DER-EK!" she screams, pulling from my grasp and pushing hard against my chest until I lose my footing, falling hard onto her bed. She groans in annoyance as I laugh. However, as she turns around to stomp away from me and out of the open door, I can't help but notice that beautiful smile.

After the most hellish seven weeks of our lives, it was nice to finally have my old Casey back.

"Now remember," I say, a hard edge to my voice. "No jokes, no gagging, no looks of disgust, no saying how messed up it is, no…"

"What are we remembering not to do?" Ralph asks, oblivious, as he stuffs his face with a cheeseburger.

I groan inwardly. "To not react to Derek and Casey's…you know…ummmm."

"Gross incest?" Emily finishes for me with her head bowed as she moves her salad around aimlessly with her fork.

"And no using the word incest. After all, we've all known Derek five times longer than Casey has. Is it really that bad?"

"Well, it is incest, Sam," Emily pops her head up, throwing her fork to the side and crossing her arms in anger. "Their parents are married! It's disgusting."

Okay, I get why Emily is upset. She has had a huge thing for Derek ever since…ever since before any of us could remember. And Casey is her best friend, which probably makes the wound much deeper than it would have been otherwise. But let's be realistic. Derek barely knew who Emily was until Casey moved to town, and even now, she has zero chance of ever getting Derek to notice her in that way.

In fact, he's had a few choice words when it came to Emily in the past that I would never repeat to the girl. She would crawl into a hole and die if I told her what Derek really thought of her. He had always been convinced that Emily was only friends with Casey to get close to him, and maybe he was right.

I try to remain calm, but it's hard when your friends are either overly emotional or just flat out moronic.

"We should just be glad that they made it home after what happened. It may take some getting use to, but after the initial shock wears off, then…"

"I think it's kinda sweet," Kendra chimes in. "You know…in that 'star-crossed lovers' kind of way."

"Why are you and Sam so okay with this? They are your exes after all," Emily blurts out, staring daggers at the both of us.

"Derry and I were madly in love for the 56 days we were together, but let's be realistic," Kendra says, choking up in that way of hers when she is being overly dramatic and sentimental. "Even when we were together, I saw the way he looked at her. It was so obvious, so I'm like…kind of glad he's finally admitting it to himself. It just proves that I wasn't crazy after all. Right, Sam?"

I raise an eyebrow in question, thinking back to the time that Casey and I had been an item. It seems like forever ago, but now the whole "Male Code" is beginning to pop into my head, or the way Derek changed the subject every single time I brought up Casey. I always thought it was just Derek being Derek. The guy hated to talk about anything that wasn't related to himself or hockey.

But suddenly I'm becoming more aware. I'm pretty sure it had to do with his feelings for Casey all along.

"Yea, I guess you're right."

Emily screeches her chair backwards, standing up at Kendra and I's mutual realization. Apparently, she was having no part of it, and was choosing to ignore what had been in front of our faces all along.

"I can't do this," she says quickly. "I'm not ready to do this."

Just as Emily turns to leave, the door of Smelly Nelly's opens. She is too little too late on making her grand escape.

It's show time.

"Remember," Derek says before opening the entrance to Smelly Nelly's. He coaches me by breathing in and out. "Reeeeelax."

I hadn't been nervous until now, but it was suddenly starting to hit me. Our friends were not going to be okay with this. We were about to be eaten alive or dumped. Maybe both. This was a bad idea. Derek had been right. We should have stayed home. Home was safe. Home was secure. Home didn't judge.

I turn on my heels and start to sprint back to the Prince, but I don't get far before Derek catches me around the waist and effortlessly turns me back around towards the restaurant. "You were right. This is a bad idea. We should leave."

"Too late, Princess. Everyone is already here. Besides, if we go home now, we'll look guilty, and we have nothing to feel guilty about."

"But…"

"Think of it this way. If they can't accept it, then it's their loss," Derek stops, pinning with a serious gaze while one hand begins to pull open the door. "I love you, and there isn't a fucking thing anyone can do about that. You're stuck with me McDonald," he says, giving me a heart stopping wink before pulling the door wide open and gently shoving me inside.

Instantly, my eyes focus on our group of friends. Sam, Ralph, and Kendra were all seated while Emily was standing rigid, her eyes narrowed in my direction. I swallow the gigantic lump in my throat. Derek's hand on the small of my back is reassuring and comforting. I force my legs to move forward, and I am surprised my knees don't buckle from shaking so badly.

Kendra instantly stands up, a wide smile on her face as she bounces around the table to brings Derek and I into a big hug. I can feel him stiffen beside me, but the feel of Kendra's welcoming embrace relaxes me considerably.

"I'm so glad the two of you are okay! I was so worried when Sam told me what happened."

"It was a little touch and go there for a while," I say, putting on my brightest smile in return. "But we're glad to be home now," I finish, getting up the nerve to turn towards the one person that I've been most anxious to talk to. "Hi, Em," I say brightly.

Emily chooses to glance away, and I can slowly feel my heart shatter as she reluctantly sits back down and mutters a 'hi,' before stuffing a fork full of salad into her mouth.

She hates me.

I had a feeling that she did. She came to see me the second I got home, and I know that I should have told her about Derek and myself, but no matter how hard I struggled to find the words, they wouldn't rise to the surface. She found out threw Sam, which I'm sure stung worse than as if the words had come from me directly.

I regret not telling her, but maybe it wouldn't have made much of a difference either way. I was being selfish for loving Derek, but I deserved to be happy, too. I always put everyone's feeling above my own, but this time, I couldn't….I wouldn't lose the one thing that made me happy above all else.

Derek, the stepbrother, had been torture. Derek, the boyfriend was everything I've ever wanted.

The rest of the night went as expected. Ralph cracked a few crude jokes about myself and Derek, causing my stepbrother to chuckle until I kicked him under the table, resulting in him hitting Ralph upside the head. Kendra talked a mile a minute about how happy she was for us and about her own near-death experience from falling off a skateboard when she was nine. Emily sat in silence, never lifting her gaze from her plate. And as for Sam…we'll Sam was Sam. He didn't much care what anyone did with their own lives, as long as it's what they wanted.

Aside from my own 'best-friend,' everyone seemed to be accepting of us.

Maybe it is selfish of me to want more.