Day 61.
It had been exactly two months since Casey was first admitted to the hospital. She had just finished her second cycle of chemo and things were slowly starting to turn out to be slightly better. She hadn't been vomiting for a few days straight and her mood was definitely not as bad as it used to be only a few weeks prior. She was finally beginning to start walking by herself again, without Derek constantly having to support her weight for her even to just get her to the bathroom.
Derek, on the other hand, was physically exhausted beyond belief, although he was trying his best to conceal it. He was deadly thin and would be suffering from recurring migraines at any time of the day. Stress and constantly having to wear latex gloves had caused red skin rashes on his hands to start spreading up to the rest of his arms too.
Spring was drawing near. Class attendance wasn't required for any of his college classes, but Derek knew his professors had stopped even considering recommending him for any sort of job, due to his apparent lack of reliability, since he hadn't showed up at the campus in ages. He hadn't been able to open his books to study even the slightest bit and his finals were on the first week of May, thus only two months away. He figured that with Casey being held back at least for the whole semester due to her treatments there was no point in hoping for her scholarship to be renewed, and Nora and George were most likely going to have a hard time trying to afford for both Casey and Derek's college expenses.
All these thoughts kept crowding into his mind as soon as Casey would fall asleep, giving him some time to himself only each night.
That morning he was still sleeping on his chair beside her bed as usual as he was waken up by the sound of her cheerful voice. "Der… Derek, wake up… look!" she sounded excited as she kept patting the back of his head. Still rubbing his eyes, he turned around to see where she was pointing at: the small pot that had been on the window sill of her room ever since their arrival. He recalled frequently asking himself what that pot was for, seeing as the soil in it seemed to be sterile, not even a blade of grass sprouting from it.
"What the… come on, it couldn't have happened overnight…" Derek shockingly stared at the single, small yellow daisy flower fully blooming in front of him. He turned around to look at Casey, only to find she was on the verge of tears.
"Derek, can't you see? It's always been there. All along… During the whole, cold winter it just kept waiting for Spring. And eventually Spring did come." She wiped her own tears as she kept smiling. "Derek, this is beautiful…"
"It really is, baby…" He stifled a little laugh as he ran his hand upon her forehead. "Hey" he paused for a few moments, excitement and surprise spreading across his face "Apparently something else has been growing overnight too… Case, I can feel a little stubble on your head!"
Her eyes grew even wider, her hand promptly replacing Derek's over her head "My hair! Oh my gosh, my hair is back!" she quickly rushed herself to the bathroom, to have a look from up close on the mirror.
She was supposed to meet him downstairs in twenty minutes, so they could pretend to go on separate dates whereas he was actually going to take her out for a surprise. This was going to be their first date together and she had been trying on tons of clothes for two hours before eventually opting for a simple pair of light blue jeans and a purple shirt. She was sitting by her vanity, trying to apply her makeup, although her hands just wouldn't stop shaking. She stared intently at her reflection on the mirror "Cassandra Ashley McDonald" she firmly spoke "Take a hold of yourself. This is just a date. You've already been to one of those anyway. Why should this time be any different?" She raised her eyebrow, knowing the answer was still pretty obvious. "Ok, this is Derek we're talking about. I know. I know…" She let out a sigh, resting her chin upon her hand. "Duh, who am I kidding… I'll never get through this. Gosh, this shirt makes my arms looks huge… Uh! Keep it real, Case. Something tells me the great Triple D will get a bit disappointed at how you'll look tonight."
"That's just not possible."
She turned around in shock, only to see him leaning against her door, his infamous smirk on his face.
"Der-ek! How long have you been there!"
"Unfortunately not too long enough to have seen you try on these clothes… and taking them off" He chuckled as he took a look at the mess in the room.
"Uh, Derek! You're just… infuriating!"
"You've called me worse."
She let out another sigh, her hand letting go of her lip gloss. "I'm just so pathetic, Der. I got so nervous I couldn't even put on my makeup properly."
"You kidding me! That's pure luck for me. Don't put it on at all in the first place. Trust me. You look so much better without it."
She gave him a weak smile, still unconvinced.
"I'm deadly serious. Just as much as your eyes are deadly gorgeous already."
Day 62.
"Alright, Casey, so…" Doctor Welsh began, as both Casey and Derek were expectantly looking at him, their fingers intertwined with each other's. "Your white count is still way higher than how it should be if you were cancer free, nonetheless, it's also definitely lower than how it was when you first started treatment. We still have to keep going with another cycle of chemo, but this time it will be less aggressive and hopefully even more successful than your previous one. I've talked to the other doctors who are following your case and we all agreed that we are going to give your body some time before we get started with chemo again, just to give it the chance to recover a bit from the side effects of treatment. So I suggest you enjoy the next few days, as most likely you'll be feeling relatively good. You immune system is also high enough you could possibly go home for a visit… But I suggest you don't stay there for longer than hour before heading back here, just in case."
Casey bursted into tears at such good news, tugging the collar of Derek's shirt.
"Babe, did you hear that? That's amazing! Oh my gosh..." He kept placing small kisses onto the top of her head as he threw away the mask he had been wearing for so long. "Baby… you can come home with me tomorrow… let's make the family a surprise."
"Speaking of that, Derek" Doctor Welsh cut him off "You'll have to sign some forms stating you willingly accept responsabilities for taking her home… if you'd come with me now…"
"Sure, no problem." the young man's face brightened up some more. He kissed Casey's forehead once more. "Be right back baby. Stay beautiful"
They both laughed as he followed the doctor out of the room. As they were walking down the corridor, Doctor Welsh suddenly stopped, turning around to face Derek, who gave him a questioning look.
"Uh… where are the forms?"
"There are no forms, Derek. I just wanted to talk to you in private."
"Oh God…"
"No, don't worry, this is not what you think" The man began to pat the younger's shoulder. "Casey is actually getting better. Her white count did lower a bit and we really are putting her treatment program on a hiatus for a very short time. What I wanted to say is, I might have overstated the improvements in her physical conditions. She is getting better, just not that much better. Only slightly. And plus, leukemia patients are well known for easily relapsing even after being in remission. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to get your hopes up for nothing… indeed, like I told you, there actually is something to be happy for. The thing is, we need to keep her motivated and committed to treatment. Do you recall the doctor that came in a few weeks ago, the one that made you leave the room as he visited her? He was a psychiatrist. He said Casey was beginning to show signs of clinical depression. As far as my personal experience goes, I tell you that people that do manage to get out of the oncology unit on their own feet are only those who would have faith and keep looking at the bright side throughout everything. Therefore my suggestion is, you bring her home to stay with her family for a couple of times, keep constantly reminding her how good and strong she is for being slowly getting better, and just… well, you know, son. Just love her. I know you're damn good at that one."
The doctor smiled at the young man, who was still looking puzzled. And somewhat defeated.
Day 63.
The doorbell ringing echoed throughout the Venturi household.
"Georgie, can you please get the door?"
"Yeah, sure…" The blonde man grunted as he got up from the couch he had been sitting on, reading his newspaper. He went over to open the door, only to find Derek holding a very cold and weak, yet smiley looking Casey, standing in the doorway. "Oh my gosh!" He let out a laugh, still not believing his eyes "Honey, come here!"
Nora emerged from the kitchen, and as soon as she spotted her daughter, she ran across the room to pull her into a hug. "Oh honey… it's so good to see you here…"
"Casey, enough with this stupid hunger strike. It's pointless. Now just eat your dinner."
She moved her plate away from her across the table. "I'm not hungry."
"Cassandra Ashley McDonald! I'm sick of this, if you…"
Nora was cut off by the doorbell ringing, and Edwin promptly offered to go get the door, only to be surprised to see Abby and Derek. "Mom? Der…"
"Derek! You're back!" Casey immediately stood up from the chair, her smile finally returning to her face again after a month.
"Mommy! Smerek!" Marti quickly ran to the two of them, her face brightening up at the sight of her mother.
"ABBY! What are you doing here! I thought I told you…" George yelled out, shooting a furious glare at Derek, who just couldn't keep his eyes off of Casey's.
"No need to lose your temper already, George." Abby resolutely stormed into the room, followed by her elder son. "I think we need to talk." She simply said, placing herself in front of the dining table.
"Abby, there's nothing to talk about, oh, well, maybe except for the fact that your son is even much more of a pervert than we already thought he was for sleeping around with his sister and still daring to come back here!"
"Step-sister!" Derek finally sighed out in frustration.
"Der, honey, I got this. Alright, George, so you don't want to discuss this in private, well, then ok. I have no problems with the kids hearing what I have to say. The only reason I first accepted to have Derek stay with me in Spain was because I thought he was only messing around with Casey, so I thought you guys actually had a point when you told me their relationship could've caused the family to split up… And you know what, George? You were all damn wrong. Your son couldn't be any further from being the skirt chasing cad he used to be anymore."
"Oh come on Abby… you're his mother, you should know he could fool anyone when he decides to play nice…"
"No, Nora. I am totally positive of what I'm saying. He payed for his plane ticket here. He worked as a baker for the whole time he's been in Spain to afford it. And anyone could tell how miserable he was…"
Casey smiled tenderly at him, as she mouthed him "I knew you'd come back to me."
"Smerek is in love!" Marti cheered as her elder brother scooped her up into his arms.
"Gosh, this is so not happening." George stood up from his chair as he walked over to face his ex wife. "Abby, to me he could've acted lovesick for as much as he'd wanted, she's still his stepsister. It's wrong. It's against all morals. It's totally…"
"The exact same thing you and Nora did." Abby sternly said, raising her voice "I'm sorry I'm saying this in front of the kids, but you brought this up on yourself, George. Do you really think that cheating on me while we were still married was any less wrong than this? Seriously? Sneaking around behind MY back was against all morals too, especially if you think of the fact that it also ended up envolving our kids."
George was taken aback, his gaze rapidly searching Nora's, who was instead looking down in shame.
"I could've stopped you, George. I could've refused to give divorce, it sure would've messed things up a bit with you two. But in that case, you and Nora would've still loved each other kept your secret affair going just as much as Derek would've done anything to get back here to be with Casey. And plus look around yourself, George. You are all a lovely family now. If I had held you back, none of this would be real now. Sometimes something wrong can actually give birth to something good. Let them have their chance at that."
A.N: OK, guys. This was it for chpt 6!
I'm sorry I have kind of cast a shadow over George and Nora's past… but hey, they're only human…
Once again thank you so much to those who keep reviewing or simply reading this story. You guys mean the world to me.
Here in Italy it's already 2014 and there's this weird tv show my mother's watching that is basically about random singers singing their songs until midnight strikes and now there's this band on, performing 'you're simply the best' by tina turner. So I thought it would've been funny to dedicate this song to my reviewers and followers :D
I also wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget to tell you to go have a look at my favorite LwD fanfiction, it's called Forever by uponthemirrorglass. It's really old and definitely supersad but it's truly amazing, get ready for the tears! If you're enjoying this story, you will totally fall in love with that one, too. It's a one shot, but it's really worth it, I swear!
Well, so, happy new year folks, love ya!
Chpt 7 will be up asap.
xoxoxo
