A/N: I just want to say that I know that abortion is a very controversial topic and I don't mean to offend anyone. This is just fiction, and in no way reflects my opinions on the subject. =]

1Derek scheduled their appointment for 4 o'clock the next day. He had instructed Casey to meet him in the school parking lot at precisely 3:15 and not a moment later, but Casey purposely ignored him and showed up 15 minutes late, earning her a glare from him when she got into his car.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You're late."

"Chill out it's only a few minutes. We're not gonna be late." It's not that Derek really cared about what time she got there. He was just anxious to get the whole thing over with. The sooner they got it over with, the sooner he could get on with his life and finally put it all behind him. They spent the rest of the car ride to the clinic in silence.

When they finally arrived, there was an extremely awkward moment in the car before they went in. Derek had been hoping he could just drop her off and pick her up, but he could tell by the nervous glances she was giving him that she was hoping he would go in with her. After sitting in silence for what felt like forever, she finally just got out of the car and hesitantly started to walk towards the clinic. He knew she was just trying to put on a brave face, and his guilt got the best of him. He went after her. "Casey wait up!"

She paused and turned around, looking at him expectantly. "I was thinking I should probably go in with you...just to make sure everything goes okay."

"Okay." she replied, a bit too quickly.

When they walked in Casey immediately felt relieved that Derek was with her. She could feel people passing judgement on the both of them, like somehow they just knew what they were doing there. Why else would two teenagers be in a free clinic on a Friday afternoon? Bottom line, she was just glad she didn't have to go through that alone. They signed in at the front desk and the receptionist handed her a clipboard to fill out. They took a seat next to a woman who was desperately trying to calm down her kid. Derek pulled out his iPod and put it on full blast to drown it out. He simply could not handle crying. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, starting to drift off.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, each moment feeling like an hour, a nurse finally called out to the waiting room. "Casey McDonald?" Casey shot up and looked down at Derek, who was by then fast asleep. She jabbed him in the ribs, causing him to jump. "Derek that's us! C' mon."

After waiting for another 15 minutes, a doctor finally walked into the examination room. She shook Casey's hand and introduced herself as Dr. Anya Griffin. "I understand you two are here because you think you might be pregnant?" She said, reading off of her chart.

Casey decided to speak up. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am. I already took two at home tests and I'm really late this month."

"Okay, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet to assume that you are, but we're gonna want to get that confirmed at a lab to rule out any possible doubt. I take it you're father?" She turned to Derek who was busy eyeing a poster full of colorful fruit and vegetables meant to encourage healthy eating habits.

"Yeah he is." Casey said, answering for him.

"And how old are you Casey?" Dr. Griffin asked, trying to calculate in her head by looking at the birthdate on her chart.

"I'm sixteen." Casey felt ashamed to say it and looked down to the floor.

"Well, I'm gonna give you the address to the lab you can go to, to get your pregnancy confirmed. Have you considered what you're going to do if it comes back positive?"

This time Derek chimed in. "She's getting an abortion." Just the sound of the word had made Casey uneasy. "We're only sixteen so there's really nothing to consider. She has to."

The doctor frowned and looked at Casey. "Abortion is one choice, but it's not the only one. I'll set you up a meeting with a counselor so you can discuss all your options."

"Thanks but that won't be necessary. We already agreed on it." Derek said crossing his arms over his chest.

She looked down at Casey again and she just nodded. "Derek's right. We can't have a baby."

"Alright then, here's the address. You guys can head on over there and get tested." She handed Casey a little piece of paper. "And here's my card. You can reach me at this number tomorrow afternoon to get your results."

"Okay thank you." Casey said hurrying out of the room, Derek following closely behind. She looked down at the paper. 3422 Fremont Street. That was only a few blocks away.

This time Casey went in by herself. Fifteen minutes later, she came out of the lab and climbed into the idling car where Derek sat waiting.

"Well this has been fun!" Derek said in a sarcastically cheery voice.

"Ughh, I just want this to end already." She threw her head back against the seat and pulled her seatbelt over her.

"It'll all be over soon enough. Just as long as you make sure you do what you need to do." Derek said, looking her directly in the eyes. She turned away, avoiding his cold stare. She hated the way he said it, as if she really didn't have any other choice. Like he decided everything and she had better not dare defy him. Truth be told she wasn't even sure if she would be able to go through with it. If only Derek could be in her shoes and see what it was like for her. The whole situation really didn't seem fair.

When they got home they were greeted by Nora, who was putting on her coat about to head out the door. "Where have you two been? It's almost six o'clock."

"Uhhh..I had a hockey thing and Casey needed a ride to the umm big place with the books?"

"Library?"

"Right, that place." It sounded weird to Nora. Since when did Derek stutter? But she just shrugged it off. She needed to get to the grocery store, dinner was late enough as it was.

"I gotta pick up something from the store. We're having hamburgers and I forgot the buns!" She popped herself on the forehead.

"We're having hamburgers?! That's great!" Casey exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically. Derek and Nora stared at her. "I'm just really hungry...I skipped lunch today." That was a lie. Casey hadn't skipped lunch at all. In fact she had scarfed down two chili dogs, a bag of chips, and a coke all in 10 minutes flat. Her eating habits earned her more than a few curious stares. Derek was usually the one who ate like a pig and Casey like a bird, but not today. In fact, if she wanted to she could have probably out eaten him and then went up for seconds.

"Alrighty then. I'll be home shortly." Nora scurried out the door and Derek headed upstairs. He had spent enough time with Casey for one day.

Casey sat down in the living room to watch a movie with Lizzie, but found herself feeling restless. When was her mom gonna get back so they could eat? She decided to go to the kitchen and get a snack.

"Casey where're you going?"

"I can't wait anymore, I need to eat something. Ooh peanut butter!" Casey unscrewed the lid off a jar of Jiffy and scooped some out with her finger.

"Casey are you okay?" Lizzie looked at her, puzzled. Casey mumbled something Lizzie couldn't understand because her mouth was full of peanut butter. Then she went into the fridge, pulled out a milk carton, and actually started drinking from it. Without a glass. Lizzie was shocked.

"You know what would go good with this peanut butter Lizzie?"

"Bread?"

"No! Even better!" Casey went into the pantry and pulled out a red box filled with orange crackers. "CHEEZ-ITS!" She made an attempt to dip them into the peanut butter, but they kept breaking. Finally she gave up and got a bowl. She dumped some peanut butter into it and then poured CHEEZ-ITs all over it. She then preceded to eat it all with a spoon. "Mmm that is sooo good." Lizzie just stared at her in disbelief.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Dinner that night at the Venturi-McDonald household had gotten even weirder. Casey was practically inhaling her dinner, while Derek was pushing his food around with his fork. He couldn't stop thinking about the baby. As long as anyone had known him, no one had ever known of anything capable of shaking him up enough to make him lose his appetite, so this came as quite a shock. Casey had gotten up to go get seconds when she realized everyone was staring at her. "What?" she asked sheepishly.

"Is everything okay with you? You seem especially hungry tonight?" Nora asked.

Casey hadn't even noticed what a pig she was being. Derek piped up in her defense and said, "That's because...she's on this new diet. She's trying to bulk up." Then all eyes were on him.

"Umm Derek's right. I've gotten way too frail." She picked up her plate and quickly left the dining room, deciding she wasn't so hungry anymore after all.

Derek jumped up too and said, "Can I be excused?" but walked out before anyone could answer him. When he walked into the kitchen Casey was preoccupying herself with washing dishes. He came up behind her, startling her, and whispered, "Nice going Space Case, way to freak everyone out."

"It wasn't my fault. I can't help it, it's the baby. I'm eating for two now remember?" She whisper-yelled back.

"Well do you think you'll be able to control yourself until we can take care of it?" Casey didn't answer and turned to go upstairs. She was starting to regret agreeing to get an abortion in the first place. She knew it would probably be best, but she couldn't help but think about the life growing inside her. Casey had done a lot of research the night before. If a pregnancy lasts forty weeks from the first day of the last menstrual cycle, that meant that she was seven weeks pregnant already. Her baby's internal organs were already forming. It already had a heart. How could she possibly kill something she herself was creating?