A/N: Soo so sorry for the delay. This is my first time working with a beta, and she is in Iraq, so very busy. Be glad she beta'd though, or it'd be about five big block paragraphs. I'll see what I can do, because I definitely want to get this updated sooner this time. Here's chapter two. Hope you like it.

Derek's POV

My little bro is getting married. It's so strange. And it's so soon, a month after graduation! It's kind of confusing. I mean, I'm supposed to be the mature older brother and I'm still waffling over whether I should propose. It's not that I don't love Casey; I would be lying if I said that. But a marriage is so final. It's a promise of forever. Being with Casey forever shouldn't scare me after ten and a half years. Especially considering I'm still completely in love with her. I still feel my heart soar when she comes home from a business trip. Even when we fight I feel like I could never really let her go. And I know it makes me sound like an ass because it shouldn't scare me, the thought of forever, but it does.

But Edwin! Edwin waited as long as he had to, due to school, but practically as soon as he throws his cap in the air, he'll be throwing Lizzie's garter in the air. It's like the idea of never kissing another woman, never being able to do whatever you want without discussing it with anyone, never hopping on a plane with your buddy who got last minute tickets to the World Series, none of that even ruffles his feathers. He wants this commitment. He thrives on it. He isn't scared at all. No, he's running into this, ready to take it on. And I'm left standing here wondering if I'm even capable of it.

He's been talking about this since his freshman year of college. I'm still throwing the idea around in my head wondering if I can. I mean, I'm making progress; I had an actual conversation about it with him. But thanks to really good investments, he's got enough money saved for a down payment on a three-bedroom house in the suburbs of the city, and I don't even have enough saved up for our summer vacation. I'm the big brother, and he's prepared. It makes me feel inadequate.

Lately I feel that way around him all the time. He's the grownup here. I'm just doing grownup behaviors because it's what is expected of me. No one seems to mind too much that when I don't absolutely have to be doing responsible things, I'm off partying with my friends or something. Even Casey doesn't care, as long as I don't stay out too late or get so drunk I can't function properly. Or maybe she just doesn't expect anything more out of me.

How sad is that? It's horrible. I do whatever the hell I want, and as long as I go to work, pay my part of the rent, and pay her enough attention, no one says anything to me. There was a time that wasn't true. When Casey and I lived alone during college, I was held to a higher standard. She made me study, she made me work hard, and she made me feel good about it. But once we graduated, she started her masters and a full time job, and making sure I was responsible kind of went on the back burner. Once I stopped being pushed, I stopped feeling the need to care or try. I really ought to try harder. It's not fair to her or to me. Or to the kids, for that matter. Yes, I still call Edwin and Lizzie "the kids," which is getting sad now because they act older than I do. I've got to get my act together. What if Casey left me? She has every right, and no reason not to. I've got to clean it up here. In a lot of ways, I'm the same guy I was when I was fifteen. I'm twenty-five now. I'm way too old to expect the world to revolve around me.

Casey's POV

I'm worried about Lizzie. She's getting married. She's only twenty-two. Well, I mean, it's not like twenty-two year olds don't get married. But it just seems like so many of them end up getting divorced. Or maybe that's just what the media wants us to believe. If there's anyone who's good enough for Liz, it's Edwin. He's smart, funny, clever, sensitive, responsible, and adept. And then there's Derek. He's some of those things. I thought things would be different. I thought he'd have asked me by now. I figured by the time Lizzie and Edwin got married I'd have had a few years of marital (sort-of) bliss under my belt.

I mean, I'm supposed to, right? That's how things work. I've always given Lizzie advice on everything. How can I give her advice now? I really don't know anything about marriage. What's up with me? Why don't I just ask him? I'm a hip modern woman, right? I should be able to ask Derek to marry me. But I want to be proposed to. And if he isn't proposing, isn't there a reason? It's been over ten years. I'm getting a little stressed over that actually.

Still, Lizzie is getting married. And I'm planning her bachelorette party and her bridal shower, and I can't even draw off my own memories. I can't even say, "Ooh, remember when we did that? It was fun, we should do it again." I can't go, "Ooh, that was a really bad idea having so much to drink the night before the wedding; better plan it a couple of days before." Okay, so I should be able to figure that out anyway, but the point is, I'm supposed to be the experienced one, and I'm just…not.

When Mom married George, none of us were expecting this, the relationships between Derek and I, and Lizzie and Edwin, but it didn't take long for the idea to grow on any of us kids, and apparently, it didn't take long for it to grow on Mom and George either, though we only learned that last week. What a shocker!

You see, when Edwin told us Marti was coming for Spring Break, we decided that since we were all so busy, we should each plan to take a day off to spend with her. When the plane landed, Mom and George got off with her, so we quickly involved them in our plans. Monday night the whole family went to a Red Sox game. I'm not a sports girl, but I am a people watcher, and the obsessive Sox fans are fun to watch. So it wasn't bad. And then something happened in the fifth inning that was apparently planned down to a T. The big screen that films various things at the game went on "kiss cam." Mom and George were on one side of Derek and I, and Lizzie and Edwin on the other. Anyway, Lizzie and Edwin kissed. I mean, right there in front of Mom and George. It wasn't a kiss that looked the least bit sibling-y either. It could better be described as tonsil hockey. And then, after watching this for a couple of seconds, the only reaction Mom and George had was to kiss each other! I stared at my parents, and then at my siblings, and then at Derek, and after realizing, though I had no explanation at that point, that Mom and George were cool with it, I kissed Derek. And Mom and George cheered!

We later went to a diner and heard the whole story, but the game wasn't over yet. Only forty-five minutes later during the seventh inning stretch, it got ugly. Several rows in front of us, a guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. Lizzie mentioned to me that she used to wish her proposal had been at a hockey game. I'm sure it wasn't that she didn't like hers; it's just that she is a sports girl, and I guess this is more what she pictured. I was the only one who was supposed to hear, and I think she thought she was safe, as Edwin had gone to get hot dogs for everyone, but he came back faster than she expected, and heard her. It was not pretty.

"What do you mean you wish I'd proposed to you at a hockey game? What are you saying, you didn't like that night at Sophia's?"

"Edwin, that's not true and you know it."

"Is it? I heard what you just said to Casey. You know, this is insulting to her, too. And Marti, Emily, and Derek. Not just me, they all helped make that evening complete. But it wasn't good enough for you, is that it?"

"Edwin, no! It was an incredible evening. I loved it. What I meant was it would have been a fun way to be proposed to for someone like me who is in to sports."

"Lizzie, do you know how hard I worked at that night? Do you know how important it was to me for it to be perfect for you?"

"It was perfect! You're completely overreacting. I wasn't trying to insult you. Look, when I said what I said, you didn't know the whole story."

"Oh, yeah? What's the 'whole' story? Tell me, Liz, I'd really like to know what story you could possibly tell that would make this hurt any less."

"Oh, is that it? Poor Ed is feeling hurt because his fiancé had the balls to have an opinion!"

"No, I'm serious, Liz. Stop backpedaling and tell me the story."

"Okay. Well, every girl who is single has this fantasy of the perfect proposal. And mine was always at a hockey game. That's all."

"Oh, is that all?"

" But Ed, I wasn't trying to say yours wasn't fantastic. Every girl has a perfect proposal in mind just like she has the perfect everything about her adult life in mind. What I was going to say, had you only given me the opportunity before you started this fight, is that yours was better than perfect. You surprised me, by showing up at home when I was feeling alone. And then you proceeded to spend more time with me that weekend that I'd had in ages, as busy as we are. I needed that. I really appreciated it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

Okay, so, it's not like the worst thing in the world. Certainly nowhere near as bad as some of mine and Derek's fights. But recently, the two of them had been bickering. About everything. Whether there should be an all-vegetarian menu at the wedding. They both have a lot of vegetarian friends, and Lizzie thinks it would be rude to not serve food they can eat. But Edwin thinks no one else will feel full if they have to eat salads. Annoying stuff like that. And they won't shut up about it. Over their homework, dinner, getting ready for work. Back and forth about the stupidest little things!

It's so weird, because in this family, it's always been Derek and I that fight, and I never realized how irritating we were to the rest of the family. I remember the first time Lizzie and Edwin fought, but that wasn't irritating so much as worrisome. That was serious, and they did a lot of mature talking, and even talked to my old guidance counselor Paul. (He was a champion for the four of us.) By the time that was over, they were closer than ever.

But these fights aren't even valid excuses to argue. I just want to slap some sense into them sometimes lately. I'm sure there's some logical reason for it. I know Derek and I fought a lot right before graduation as well, actually. We were stressed about being thrust into the real adult world, and scared, too. And the wedding preparations were putting all of us under a lot of stress, because it happened so fast. They ended up having to take a cancellation for the hall in late June, which was a little sooner than they intended, so they only had about four months to plan a wedding. Sure, it was a wedding with about forty guests, but still, it's a lot of preparation and they're stressed.

Can you tell I'm trying to justify the fights? Because I am. Should I talk to Lizzie about this? Something tells me I should. And something tells me it's not going to go well. She'll be home from school in about an hour. I decide I'll call Edwin and Derek and make sure they don't come home for a while. When Lizzie gets here, I follow her into her room.

"Hey, Liz. Can we talk?"

"Sure Case, what's up?"

"Well, it's about you and Edwin. You seem to be doing a lot of fighting lately."

"Casey, don't worry about it, we're fine." She says, in a tone that means 'we're finished here.'

"Are you? You guys don't ever fight. And when you do it's usually serious, and it ends up serving a good purpose. This senseless bickering can't be doing you any good."

"You have no idea what this is really about, Casey, and frankly I don't see how it's any of your business."

"It is my business. I have to live with you, and you're driving me crazy. What do you mean I don't know what it's really about?"

"Alright, I'll tell you, but I need you to keep this between us. You breathe a word of this to Edwin, Derek, Marti, or anyone else, and we're not sisters because it could ruin me."

"Um, okay. I won't say anything."

"The captain of the men's soccer team and I were supposed to coordinate all the soccer events this year. When it came time to coordinate the banquet, we'd gotten to be good friends. And when we were setting up for it, he kind of kissed me."

"He what?"

"Yeah, and…I kind of enjoyed it. Casey, let's face it. Edwin is the only man I've ever dated. I'd only kissed one guy before him, and now I'm marrying him. Is it so wrong to make one mistake to enjoy the only kiss I've gotten from someone who doesn't take me for granted in ten years?"

"Look, I won't tell anyone. You made one mistake, and you seem to be really miserable about it. But why do you think Edwin takes you for granted? I think he treats you with a lot of sensitivity and respect."

"Well, yeah, of course he does. But he also knows I'm going to be there whenever I'm needed for the rest of his life."

"Lizzie, I'm no expert on the subject, but that's what marriage is about. You know yeah, you're going to be there for him when he needs you, but guess what? He's going to be there for you too. He's not marrying you because he wants a support system; he's marrying you because he loves you.

"He wants to be there for you. It's something he's committing to. You're committing to him too, because you feel the same way. There's no need to feel like you're stuck, and if you do feel stuck, maybe this is something you shouldn't be doing. But I've got a gut feeling you're just scared and I think you'll be fine."

"Casey, I see what you mean, but the fact remains that it happened. I can't just erase it and it's making me angry. So I get in these fights."

"No, Liz," I interrupted her. "You need to tell him. Apologize. Explain that you were having cold feet and made a bad decision. And then tell him you have been angry and miserable about it ever since. But only if that's the truth."

"But Casey! What if he leaves me? I can't handle life without him."

"Then how can you be mad that he needs you if you need him? Trust me. Tell him and apologize. Because it's going to be much worse if he finds out about it and realizes you lied."

"Yeah."

Lizzie's POV

I took Casey's advice. I told him the whole sordid story, I apologized, and then I awaited his response. He took it really well. We made up, and the senseless bickering pretty much stopped. Things felt a lot better, and everything was going well. I'm worried about something else now. I haven't had a period in 43 days.

Here we go again.