A/N: Hey, here is chapter two! Hope you like it!

SOOOO sorry I took centuries to update. I'm a terrible updater. I admit it. Besides, acceptance is the first step right?

Disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, I DO NOT own Life with Derek::A gasp is heard throughout the world::

"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Nora asked for the umpteenth time.

The entire family had gathered in the living room and Casey was about to leave.

"Mom, I need to go home. We had a nice vacation for 2 weeks. Aren't you sick of me yet?"

"Of course not!" Nora exclaimed. "I'll never get tired of you! You're my daughter!"

Casey rolled her eyes. Her mother had become more emotional as the years went on. "I know mom, that was a joke."

"I can't believe you're already leaving!"

"I know, I know. Now, mom, I need to leave before it gets too late. I want to get home to unpack, get things into order, maybe visit Noel-"

Nora gasped. "I have a perfect way for the whole family to get together again!"

Edwin groaned. "Again? The whole family was together, just yesterday! Honestly, I'm a little sick of this whole family right now, a little space would be- OW! Lizzie!" Lizzie just shrugged as Edwin rubbed his shoulder.

"As I was saying," Nora continued, "I think we should have a family dinner, with Noel!"

Casey's eyes widened, " Um, mom, I don't know, what's the point? You've already met Noel and-"

"Yes, as your friend, as your boyfriend, but never as your fiancé! Plus it'll be a good way for us to get together!"

"If there ever was a case of empty nest syndrome…" Edwin muttered. Lizzie muffled a laugh.

"I don't know mom," Casey started

"Yeah, break just ended and we need to jump back into the school mode…" Lizzie said.

"College life keeps one quite busy!" Edwin added.

"I insist! Georgie, help here?" Nora turned to her husband, who was on the couch, with his eyes closed. He was clearly sleeping.

"George! George!" Nora yelled.

George jerked awake. "What? What did I miss?"

"Tell the kids they should come home for dinner and that Casey should bring Noel!"

"Um…what Nora said?"

The kids groaned.

"How about… not this Saturday, but the next?"

The kids mumbled a "yes".

"All right then! It's settled! All of you should come here, at 6:30 for dinner! Casey you bring Noel, the rest of you, bring yourself!" Nora smiled.

The McDonald-Venturi kids sighed.

"Fine…"

Derek's heavy eyelids were closing. He was finally falling asleep when-

"RRRING!"

Derek woke up with a jolt and fell off his bed.

"Damn!" he swore while lying on the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow," Derek muttered as he rubbed his now sore arm. With a grunt, he lifted himself off the floor and reached for his phone on his bedside table.

"What?" Derek grumbled.

"What? What! That's all you have to say? I have been calling you all day. All DAY! Where have you been? Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"Who is this?" Derek asked. As innocent as that question was, apparently, it was the wrong the to say at that moment. Right after Derek asked the question, the voice on the other end got 3 times louder. Derek couldn't even comprehend what was being said. He just heard a loud, angry buzz on the other end. Derek felt like he was having a conversation with a bee.

"Dad. DAD! I was just kidding! Of course I knew it was you! No need to throw a fit! Calm down!"

"Calm down? Calm down? Don't tell me to calm down! After you left without telling anyone-"

"I left a note-" Derek started

"I try to call you to make sure you got home fine and your phone is off-"

"I had to turn it off when I was on the plane! I guess I forgot-"

"And when I finally get a hold of you after calling all day, you tell me to calm down! I AM calm!"

Derek sighed. "Of course you are dad. Now was there a point to this call?"

"Of course there was. You think I enjoy calling people randomly for no reason?"

"Well you never know, you do enjoy watching lifetime movies, so anything is possible-"

"Hey!" George hissed. "You swore that was our secret!"

Derek chuckled. "My bad. I forgot."

"Anyways, so you're home and safe right?" George's anger had instantaneously melted away.

"Yes, sir."

"How was the flight back?"

"Not bad. I unsuccessfully tried to fall asleep, but luckily there was an in-flight movie to keep me entertained."

"What was the emergency?"

"What?" Derek asked.

"Why did you leave early?"

Derek's voice caught in his throat. His heartbeat starting thudding faster.

"Derek? You still there, son?"

Derek swallowed. "Yeah. Sorry dad, come again?

"What did you realize that made you leave early?"

"The love of my life belongs with another guy." "Um, oh you know… work."

"Uh, care to elaborate?"

"Not really, no." Derek said blatantly.

"Spoken in a true Venturi fashion. All right son. Better go. Oh, before I forget. Casey's engaged to Noel!"

Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Really? Wow. That's big. Tell Casey I'm happy for her."

After George finished talking to Derek, he joined Nora in unpacking their suitcases. Edwin and Lizzie were sitting on the couch, talking about nothing important, when Edwin finally addressed something they were both thinking about.

"Ok, I'm sorry, but I gotta get this out there. Casey is engaged. To Noel. And she seemed sad about itDerek left mysteriously last night. After having a talk with Casey. Something is up."

"Definitely. You know what I think? I think Derek knew about the engagement. That's why he left. He was probably hurt." Lizzie stated.

"Hmm... Good theory. But why'd Casey agree to marry Noel? She was obviously depressed this morning. If she isn't happy with him, why is she marrying the guy?"

"I know! I was so shocked when I found out! How could she be engaged to Noel? I'm sure she loves him, but not nearly as much as she loves Derek."

"This is such a mess. Casey loves Derek. Derek loves Casey. But somehow, Casey is engaged to Noel." Edwin shook his head. "I always thought our sibs would end up together eventually."

"Yeah, me too. Guess it's too late now." Lizzie said sadly.

"It's not too late."

Lizzie and Edwin turned toward the voice.

"Um, what are you talking about Marti" Lizzie asked uncomfortably. Marti was slowly walking down the stairs.

"Derek and Casey." Marti said.

"Err, what about them?" Edwin said, feigning confusion.

Marti rolled her eyes. "I was listening to everything you guys were saying."

"Marti!" Lizzie and Edwin said simultaneously.

"What? As if you two have never eavesdropped before," Marti said as she plopped herself down between Lizzie and Edwin on the couch.

"Wait, so you know about Derek and Casey? And their… feelings?" Lizzie asked.

Marti dismissed her question with her hand. "Puh-lease. I was on to them way before you were."

"You were?" Lizzie asked.

"Yeah. I knew that Smerek and Casey had a thing for each other back when I was merely six years of age."

"Well we found out during their junior year." Edwin said, almost defensively.

Marti rolled her eyes again. "That's great. But we need to deal with the problem at hand."

"Which is…?" Lizzie started.

"Derek and Casey are in love, but not together. We need to fix that!" Marti said exasperatedly.

"Wait. Fix it?" Edwin asked.

"Of course! We need to find a way for Casey to dump Noel and get with Derek! So what are your ideas?"

Lizzie and Edwin looked at each other. They shared a look and with a sigh, Lizzie turned to Marti.

"Marti, we'd love to help. Really. But we're kind of-"

"Older now." Edwin said. "We're more mature. We have more important things to do, like focus on school and our studies. Honestly, we don't have-"

"Time. We can't do those childish games and experiments we used to do back in the day. We've-"

"Grown up." Edwin finished.

Marti looked at Edwin and Lizzie. "Ok, first, I'm going to totally disregard how creepy that was. Finishing each other's sentences is definitely a sign that you guy's need to spend some time apart. Second, this wouldn't be game." She got up and faced Lizzie and Edwin with a look of determination. "Not some experiment. Our siblings are in pain. They are both hurting. Getting them together wouldn't be something to entertain us. It's to make Derek and Casey happy. You both saw how truly sad Casey was earlier. If she marries Noel, you both know that Casey will never be fully happy. And don't even get me started on how Derek must be feeling. I love them both too much to see them go through any more pain. I want to help bring them happiness I know they will get once they get together. Derek's heart lies with Casey and vise versa. Keeping them apart from each other will only hurt them both in the long run. So, I'm going to try and get them together, whether you two are in or not. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk seeing two people I love very much in pain, just because trying to get them together may seem like a game and I'll come across immature. You know why? Because to me, there is nothing more important than making Derek and Casey happy." Without another look at either Lizzie or Edwin, Marti turned around and walked up the stairs.

Marti always knew she different from all the other kids her age. She saw things from a different perspective. She always observed everyone from afar and came to unbiased conclusion. She just called 'em like she saw 'em . She had a massive imagination that had no limit. Instead of having her imagination dwindle like most children's, Marti's only grew. It was because of her imagination that she realized Derek and Casey were in love. Marti started imagining that they were in love when she saw Derek put that hula-hoop over Casey's head during summer camp. At first it was just a game to keep Marti entertained. Every time she saw them being sweet or getting along, she'd pretend they were together. But eventually, as Marti started to grow up, she began to realize that the moments between her brother and her stepsister were not in her imagination. One day, she woke up and realized that they were truly in love. Ever since, Derek and Casey's actions only helped prove her theory. She noticed when they started to act different around each other. She knew they finally realized they had feelings for each other.

Marti has some great characteristics, but patience is not one of them. Derek and Casey had truly put her patience to the test. She had waited almost 10 years for them to get together. Now that Casey was engaged, Marti she knew she had to get her and Derek together. Observing people was one of Marti's talents. That morning, Marti had observed that Casey was truly heartbroken. So she knew she had to do something.

Marti had hoped that Edwin and Lizzie would help her, but apparently they were 'too mature' to help out their siblings.

Marti was lying on her bed in her room, deep in thought. "I know I have to do something, but what? They've gone 10 years without getting together! What could I possibly do to make them finally act on their feelings?" Marti asked herself.

Suddenly there was a soft knock on her down.

"Come in," Marti said.

The door opened, and in walked Lizzie and Edwin. Both walked in hesitantly and both wore an apologetic expression.

"Um, Marti, we, uh…" Edwin started.

"Marti, you're totally right!" Lizzie cried. She went up to Marti and wrapped her arms around the 15 year old.

"Derek and Casey's happiness is the most important thing! We shouldn't have said we have better things to do! Because we don't! We're in! We will help you figure out a plan to get them together! Oh, I'm so sorry Marti!"

"I'll forgive you if you let go of me!" Marti gasped.

"Oh, sorry," Lizzie said as she relinquished her hold on Marti.

Edwin stood awkwardly by the door, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, uh, is the hugging part over?"

Marti giggled. "Totally. Now, it's the brainstorming part. We need to come up with ways to get Derek and Casey together!"

Lizzie and Edwin grinned. "Coming up with plans is our specialty!" Edwin said. He and Lizzie joined Marti on the bed, and they started chatting away.

A/N: Gah, pretty horrible, I know. In my defense, it's 3 in the morning. Again, sorry it took so long to update. I just kind of lost interest in writing for a while. When I forced myself to finish this chapter, I got a little writing boost! Yay! But honestly, now that school is starting again, don't expect an update too soon. I know. I'm kicking myself for not making the most of break and writing a lot. SORRY! Review, review, review! They make me uber happy!