See? Didn't I say I wouldn't make you wait so long? I so love the holidays...

Cheers to KaRaEa and thecanadian13; 2,000 points each! I really enjoy hearing from everybody, so thank you so much!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I had to buy Christmas presents. Sadly, rights and royalties were not on my list or within my budget...

"So, what did you do with your options?" Emily asked, eagerly. "I promise this is my last question." Casey laughed out loud.

"I doubt this will answer five years' worth of missing information."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to trust me."

"Yeah, okay, I might have more questions. Just answer this one first."

"Well, in the fall of 2016, the position in Ottawa made Derek an offer. A really good offer. We went over the numbers and I made a pros and cons list, a couple of charts even. And we knew that it would make the most financial sense for him, if he wanted to be back in Canada."

"But you didn't have anything in Ottawa, right? A job or anything?"

"No, and Ottawa was only a half an hour closer to Kingston than Saint Lawrence had been, and in the opposite direction."

"Was that what you wanted?"

"I didn't want to make it about me. It was a great opportunity for him, with or without me in the picture."

"So, he took the job?" Emily guessed. Casey nodded.

"By Thanksgiving, he was looking at apartments."

"Just chuck it in the box, Casey."

"How will you know where to find it when you're unpacking?"

"I'm not concerned on where I'll find a can opener. All cans have that tab thing now anyway."

Casey huffed. His version of packing was highly inefficient and just created more of a mess for the other end of the move. If he would just let her label the boxes, or even fold things nicely into them, she would have felt a little less antsy.

"I don't know you can just stuff things into boxes. I mean, where is the logic of putting your socks in with your eating utensils? It seems really unsanitary."

Derek stood up from his position over several boxes. "I washed them both. And the laundry bin was near the drawer when I was packing and there was room."

"So, you just dumped them together?"

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"All in the same box?"

"Yes."

"But what if you need a fork? Or a left sock?"

"I'll find them."

"But the box isn't labeled! And it looks exactly like all of the other boxes you have."

"I'll live."

" Really, Der, if you fold them—"

"Don't touch it."

"But if you just—"

"Don't!"

"But—"

"No."

He wouldn't let her match his socks together either. She crossed her arms. He wasn't going to let her do anything. He was, however, probably going to make her help him unpack, which would be even more irritating, because nothing would be labeled.

"I don't need sock balls. I have a system," he explained, twisting as he straightened. His back cracked and his shirt rose as he shifted, showing his stomach just between his hips.

"Yeah," Casey snorted, "throw everything into a box."

"However did you guess?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. He moved towards her, a slight smirk on his lips.

"The powers of observation."

"I know not of this magic you speak." Her arms reached to him out of habit as he drew closer, and closed around his waist.

"Of course not," she rolled her eyes. He lifted her face up to his.

"Thanks for helping me pack, Princess," he said, his voice low. He could be so obnoxious in one moment and so gentle in the next. It made her head spin. She ran her tongue over her upper lip. He should not have been allowed to have those eyelashes.

"You're not letting me help," she pouted.

"You're doing a great job." And he kissed her on the mouth. Her feet grew roots and she squeezed her arms around his torso. "Very helpful," he whispered, and kissed her again. Her mind glazed over a little as she sank into his kisses.

"He was moving," Emily reasoned. "Okay, why does that matter?"

"It was a big step for him. And for me. It was like discovering we'd suddenly become adults."

"Yeah, I remember that feeling," Emily nodded, "But why is that important?"

"Because I thought that moving was the next step for Derek and me."

"What, moving in together?"

"Well, no. Not together. Just closer."

"And Derek thought you were on a different step?" Casey closed her eyes and nodded. She had thought that he had been on a completely different planet.

"Can I ask you something, Princess?" he asked, lifting his face off of her stomach. Casey's brain was still in a fog. She heard him without hearing him.

"What?"

"I have a question for you."

"Okay. A good one or a bad one?"Maybe he was finally going to tell her that he'd met someone else. Less high maintenance. Which, after rolling around on his bed for half an hour, was kind of a rude way to end things. Especially after she'd dedicated her weekend to helping him pack.

"A good one. Usually."

"Okay, shoot," she sighed, pushing her bangs off of her forehead.

"Okay." He rolled over, off of her body and onto the floor.

"Are you alright?" she asked at the thump. He didn't respond and she lost herself in staring at the ceiling fan. It really shouldn't have been on. It was October for Herman's sake. But she liked the noise. It was soothing and lazy.

"Casey?"

"Yes?"

"Casey?" he said again. She turned her head against the mattress to look at him.

"Yes?" she repeated. He beckoned her closer with a crooked finger. She rolled over and scooted closer to the edge of the bed.

Derek was on his knees next to the bed, still clad solely in his jeans. His hands were fisted at his sides, but he wore a giant grin.

"I know you have this thing," he started, "about being thirty or something." Casey's brow wrinkled. "But I don't care." He uncurled his fist from around a small box. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Only so many words came with a small box. He smiled and held the box out to her. "Please, Casey McDonald, will you," she closed her eyes, "marry me?"

She didn't open her eyes for a moment. Maybe if she didn't, everything that he'd just said would go away. Would never have happened.

How self-involved had they been? Had they been deluding themselves so much that now Derek actually thought this was possible? She had been waiting for the day for him to run out of patience with her; for him to give up on her. She had never expected this. How did he think it was a possibility for her to say yes to him? How could he taunt her with the idea of a perfectly normal relationship, knowing it was something she wanted desperately, but also something that they couldn't ever have together?

She let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes. He was looking at her in anticipation. "Uh," she started, hesitantly. Then she breathed out a large breath. Finally, she clambered off of the mattress and knelt next to him on the floor. "Derek, I can't marry you." He eyed her, quizzically. "I mean, really, Der. We can't." His eyes narrowed.

"Why?" he asked in angry confusion.

"Well, for starters, I live in Kingston and you're going to be in Ottawa. My job-"

"So?"

"We can't just ignore that."

"I'll move," he shrugged.

"Again?"

"I'll commute. We could live in the middle." She waved a hand.

"Derek, even with those factors out of the equation, we," she gestured between them, "can't ever get married."

"Why not? I love you and you love me. That's kinda how it works, Casey."

"You know why not, Derek. We're related, obviously." She looked down at her hands. "Our parents are married."

"So what, Casey? They love each other. That's what people in love do. Get married." Casey was breathing hard. How could he still sound so hopeful? She got to her feet

"Derek," her tone was sharp and direct. "There is no way for this to work."

"Okay, Case, I get that we will be a little," he struggled for the right word as he too got to his feel, "unconventional, but that doesn't matter."

"How does that not matter?!" She was yelling now, and probably crying. "Derek, this is not normal!"

"Yes, it is! People in love get married all the time!

"Please, Derek, please explain to me how any part of stepsiblings getting married falls into the normal category?"

"Fuck, Casey!"

"Don't use that word!"

"Why do you have to label everything?" He was mad now, too. Indignant and mad.

"That's how the world works, Derek!"

"It doesn't have to!"

"How would that work, huh? How would I go about telling people that you and I are involved? How well do you see that going?"

"Stop, Casey," he lowered himself into a chair in the corner.

"Stop? Derek, this will be worse than when Vicky pretended she was pregnant last year. This won't even compare to that!"

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"Why can't we just stay like this?" Her question was almost a whisper; dramatically different from the shouting. She liked the dating. It was easy and perfect for them. "You told me before that you didn't care."

"Because I want to marry you," he explained like she was hard of hearing.

"We can't," she emphasized. "It just doesn't happen. I've been willing to give up things I've always wanted for you, but a marriage just isn't possible."

"You can have what you want, Case, I can give you what you want. You just have to let me." He took her hands. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, Princess, but I am saying it'll be worth it."

"Worth it, Derek? Worth it? Worth having my mother tell me she can't even look at me?" she spat, "Worth our friends being disgusted by us? Worth the whole world looking at us like we're weird or disturbed? Worth the contempt our siblings will feel? The betrayal? Worth your dad seeing you as a corrupting monster?" she was crying outright. She didn't care. She was terrified and needed answers.

"Stop it!" he roared, shooting to his feet again. "Just stop it! Yeah, we're gonna get shit from some people, but-"

"Our entire family is some people?"

"Casey! Listen to me!" He pushed his hands against his temples. "I'm ready for people to know. I don't care. And," he said loudly over her attempt to interrupt, "even if I was freaking the fuck out before I asked you, I know right now. I know that I love you and that I want to marry you. But if you don't think you could ever marry me then that's probably it."

"What?"

"I think we could make it. I think we can be together because we love each other enough."

"Derek, I don't want to lose you and I do love you, but-"

"But not enough to marry me?" He shook his head. "That's how I feel, Casey. Now you know. If we can't be together the right way, maybe we shouldn't even try."

That wasn't fair. She hated it. He wasn't even willing to compromise. What was with the ultimatum? How was it fair that he got to shoot this at her all at once and expect her to be okay with it? Where was the rational to that? She hated him for his lack of forethought. But if that was the way he wanted to play it, she could play, too. She rubbed at her wet cheeks and glowered at him.

"Okay," she mumbled, keeping her voice as even as possible.

"Okay, what?" he asked, cautiously.

"I'm tired, Derek. Tired of trying to be reasonable. Tired of trying."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I was fine before I got here." Her voice was overly bitter. She didn't care and pushed her hair away from her face. He didn't say anything as she moved quickly around the little room gathering her jacket and shoes. He didn't even move. She slung her bag and her purse over her shoulder and gave the room a once-over for anything important she may have forgotten. She wasn't coming back.

Derek just stood in the middle of the room, looking more tired than angry. "You're gonna drive now? It's eleven o'clock."

"I don't care. I'm not staying here." She moved briskly to his front door and snatched her keys off the front table.

"Whatever." He made a gesture like he was done with her anyway. She made sure the door slammed behind her.

"You just left?"

"Yeah. I left and drove the 2 hours home."

"You were stupid."

"I know. It was dark and late and snowing. I could have been in an accident, I was crossing a boarder and—"

Emily cut her off. "No, I meant the whole freak out about him wanting to marry you. He obviously loved you."

"I know but we are—"

"Sort of related, I know."

"Right. And at that time I was convinced love wasn't enough. I wasn't ready to confront everything and wasn't ready for a barrage of negativity I was sure was going to follow."

"You didn't believe him?"

"Of course not. It was Derek."

"So, what happened?"

"We stopped talking. Completely."

"What? Even yelling?"

"There was no communication between us."

"Because you desecrated his heart. And then stomped on it. With heels. And spit."

"He was being unreasonable. There was no way to compromise with him. And I was done trying."

"Well, so, who fixed it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who apologized?"

"No one apologized."

"So, you're telling me you're still in this fight?"

"Well, everything else just got louder and more important."

"What happened?"

"Remember the barrage of negativity?"

"Yeah?"

"It came down anyway."

Because it always does. And just when one can't take any more.

Who starts this barrage? Anyone? 1,500 points available!

Happy Holidays, everyone! :) The little button below the giant box down here is better than Santa...

P.S. Who wants to know my points prize? I think I've got a good one! :)