Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the lovely reviews, they mean the world to me! Just a quick apology to anyone who may have taken offense to the part with Derek and the wheelchair. I meant nothing disparaging about people in wheelchairs, I just felt that that is how Derek would react in such a situation: he would want to act tough and pretend like he wasn't really hurt at all and that he didn't need anyone's help. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention. I obviously have nothing against people in wheelchairs!

Anywho, onto this chapter. It's a bit different than the previous chapters, and I might be pushing the rating a little bit, I don't know. It's a bit more risque, so for those of you sensitive to such things, you might wanna skip this one. But don't really. Because let me tell ya, you'd be missing out. I had a loooot of fun writing this one. But not nearly as much fun as I had imagining it! Enjoy, and review the crap out of it!

P.S.- I think Michael Seater is pretty hot, so I decided to check out his other series: Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. How adorable is he in that! Too cute. And I've only seen a couple episodes, (the conclusion and the first few episodes, ironically), so I don't really know what goes on with Josie/Lucas or Josie/Vaughn, but cleeeearly Josie and Lucas are just meant to be together. As one incredibly wise fanfic author with excellent taste in 80's movies put it, he's her Duckie! Ok, that's all.

The next several weeks passed rather uneventfully. Well, nothing was ever uneventful in the MacDonald-Venturi household, but there was nothing else out of the ordinary. The cuts on Casey's legs were looking better and better every day: the stitches were gone, and now only the scars remained. Derek's was a slower recovery. Each member of the family took their turn helping him in the beginning, since even walking short distances he needed support. They brought him things when he needed it. They even gave up their spot on the couch to him because he was injured.

Casey went back to school on Monday and was immediately bombarded by questions about the accident. Apparently word had traveled quickly that the almighty Derek Venturi was in an accident, and everyone was of course far more concerned with his condition than hers. When he returned to school a week later, he received a hero's welcome. And he was, of course, using everyone's good intentions to his own benefit. He had weaseled his way out of countless homework assignments or detentions with claims of "My broken ribs are really sore today."

Things between Casey and Derek were essentially patched the morning she brought him breakfast. They were by no means friends, but they had been unwillingly brought together by the experience they shared. Their argument on the night of the accident was forgotten, and had not been mentioned since, by any member of the family. Casey and Derek were able to interact like the rest of the family; talking amicably, teasing, even the occasional petty argument. But nothing like their rip-roaring brawls of the old days.

Neither one really knew how to react to this new development. Derek had been taken by surprise by her actions that morning in his bedroom. It seemed so unlike her to exhibit any kind of caring, maternal instinct. He had glimpsed that side of her, and it changed his overall perception.

Casey was on pins and needles since that day in Derek's room. She hadn't really meant to touch his bruises. There was no need for it, really. It's not like she had any kind of healing powers. But she had never, ever touched Derek like that, never on his bare chest. It was almost inappropriate, now that she thought back on it. No one should be trailing their fingers over their stepbrother's chest! She shuddered at the thought. She didn't know what to say for herself, because she couldn't even explain her actions to herself. It was like she and Derek had skipped over the entire incident, never to be spoken of again.

"Beep beep beep"

As the sound of the alarm penetrated his sleep-muffled mind, Derek groaned and rolled over to turn it off. Once the incessant beeping sound stopped, he lay in bed for a few more moment's rest. And as usual, a few more moments turned into about 45 minutes. Before he knew it, Nora was pounding on his door telling him she was leaving for work, and he had better get up now if he was going to be on time for school.

Derek threw off his covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He sat there rubbing his eyes for a minute, before navigating his way through the various piles of clothes, books, CDs, and moldy leftovers strewn about his room, to get to his door. He opened it, and saw Casey's door open down the hall. Casey stood in the doorway in a fluffy purple bathrobe and slippers. He saw her look from him, to the bathroom door, and back. But before she could make her move, Derek leapt from his doorway towards the bathroom. He was closer, so he made it there first, but not quite in time to slam the door on her. She pushed her way through and glared at him angrily.

"There is no way you are showering now. You know I shower everyday at 7:45. It's part of the schedule. It's not my fault you can't stick to it. There are seven people living in this house now, and you have to learn that not everything can be done on your schedule!" Casey pursed her lips and looked indignantly at Derek, hands on her hips.

Derek stood staring at her with his arms crossed for a moment, seemingly considering her words. Finally, he spoke. "If you're done with your lecture, you can leave."

Casey made an elaborate show of sitting down on the closed toilet seat, crossing her legs and arms, and smiling up at him sweetly "I'm not going anywhere."

Derek shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat.", and grabbed the back collar of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head.

Casey looked torn between feeling unsure of what exactly Derek was doing, and wanting to stay there and prove her point, winning the argument. But when Derek hooked his thumbs into his boxers and began to pull them down, she jumped up, shrieking, "Ahh, you pig!", and ran out of the bathroom with covered eyes, slamming the door behind her.

Derek smiled in satisfaction and continued to undress. He kicked his clothes across the floor and moved aside the shower curtain, turning on the water. He let the water run as he went about the rest of his morning business, hoping to use up all the hot water before Casey could get in there. He knew he could be ready for school in a matter of minutes, but Casey would be furious at the disruption in her morning schedule.

After letting the shower run for awhile, he stepped into the tub and let the water run over him. It wasn't long before Casey began pounding on the door, demanding he get out of the bathroom and let her shower. This, naturally, only made him take his sweet time.

Just as he was rinsing the soap from his body, he felt a cool breeze through the curtain as the bathroom door opened. He raised his eyebrows as he heard someone walk in, slamming the door behind them. "Hmmm." he thought, "Invasion of privacy: not really Casey's style. I must be rubbing off on her." He stuck his head out of the curtain to taunt her, but the smirk was immediately wiped from his face.

Because he stuck his head out just in time to see Casey undo the belt of her bathrobe, shrugging the fabric off of her shoulders, letting it fall in a heap at her ankles. She stood in the center of the steam-filled bathroom, her perfectly curvy body on full display as she leaned back slightly to shake out her hair.

Somehow, Derek managed to make some noise of protest, although he had no conscious thought of it. He really had no conscious thoughts at all. At the sound, Casey looked at him, tipping her head to the side, "Since you can't manage to finish this shower on your own, I'm apparently going to have to help you." She reached for the opposite end of the curtain, and as she began to pull it aside, Derek backed himself up against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

"She has actually gone crazy." He thought. "This is what all my work has amounted to; I have literally tortured her out of her mind and now she has found me at my most vulnerable point and is going to murder me." He shouted in protest, his mind saying, "Get away from me you crazy bitch!", his mouth saying something that sounded a lot like "Nnnngghhhh!"

Casey stepped into the tub, and stood facing him. She leaned back into the stream of water, letting it run down through her hair, and over her body. Derek's wide eyes watched a single rivulet of water travel over her shoulder, down the side of her breast, over her stomach and around the curve of her hip, down her leg and joining the pool of water soaking her ruby red toes.

They both stood in silence as she reached down and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, squirted some into her palm, and began massaging it into her hair. She stared directly into his eyes as she did so. He tried his best to keep his focus on her head, but it was very hard to ignore the fact that there was a very naked, very attractive, girl standing a few feet away from his very naked self. And his very naked self was about to make his feelings on the situation very obvious to all present. He slowly became aware of all the blood rushing from every point in his body to one particular point, and his knees began to tremble. He braced himself against the wall, but didn't dare take his eyes off of Casey as she slowly massaged her scalp. He noticed how the white lather of the shampoo contrasted with the near blackness of her wet hair, all of it against the slightly olive tinge of her skin, glistening as the water poured over her shoulders…

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…"

Derek's head snapped up to catch Casey's eyes, desperate to keep any kind of control in this situation. He looked for any obvious signs of insanity in her eyes, like maybe the pupils changed to red or something, but there was nothing. Casey's dark eyes were even darker than usual, looking almost stormy.

But she broke their gaze suddenly, and he watched as she picked up the shampoo bottle again and squirted another pool of gel into her palm. She snapped the bottle shut, set it down on the shelf, and stepped towards Derek.

"Omigodomigodomigod…"

Derek tried to back further away from the approaching woman, but he had already pressed himself as far into the wall as he could manage. His knees continued to shake as she stepped closer and closer, her palms pressed together, until they were practically nose to nose. He saw a smirk slightly curve the corner of her mouth, and could only watch helplessly as she raised her arms and placed her hands on either side of his head. Her hands began massaging the shampoo into his hair; he could feel her nails scraping across his scalp, sending shivers through him. He never thought to mention that he had already washed his hair, because really, he had more pressing concerns. Because the smirk was gone from her mouth, and she had stopped massaging his scalp. He watched as her dark eyes darted to his lips, and back to his cloudy gaze. He normally could have predicted what would happen next, but this had already by far been the most unpredictable moment of his life.

Before he could decipher her intentions, her mouth was on his, and her hands were trailing down from his hair onto his shoulders. Her lips were warm, and he could taste the shower water on them. He stood stock still for a moment, not responding to her kiss, still in a fog of disbelief. It wasn't until he felt her tongue enter his mouth, without any hesitation, that his mind finally registered what was going on. Well, maybe it wasn't his mind that registered, but whatever it was, he began to kiss her back.

He snaked his fingers into her sudsy hair, tilting her head and deepening the kiss. Her hands roamed over his chest, as if desperate to touch every inch of his skin. Their mouths separated the slightest bit as they caught their breath, and Derek ran his tongue over her lower lip. She immediately pressed her mouth back onto his, desperate for more. The kiss tasted sweet, and slightly bitter, from the suds dripping down over their closed eyelids and onto their lips. Her hands trailed back over his shoulders and into his hair. She grasped the back of his neck and pressed her body against his.

As soon as Derek felt her nipples brush against his chest, it was his turn to lose his mind. All inhibitions lost, he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her against the back wall of the shower, wrapping her left leg around his waist. She let out a groan as his mouth moved from her lips, his tongue collecting the droplets of water along the column of her throat. He pressed his lips against the divot in the base of her throat, collecting the water there, and savoring the sweet taste of her skin.

"Mhhmmm, Derek." She murmured as his lips began to trail along her collarbone, his fingers pressing into her hips. She continued to say his name as his mouth moved back to her neck. Her reaction only encouraged him, and he unconsciously thrust against her. "Oh God, Derek…..Derek!" her murmurs turned to shouts as he began to suck a spot where her neck met her shoulder.

But he slowly began to regain his consciousness as a little voice in the back of his head told him something wasn't right. Sure he had gotten lots of reactions when he messed around with girls before, but none of them had ever gotten so rowdy so quickly. Granted, they were naked and pretty much wrapped around each other, but still. By this point, Casey's head was tilted back and she was pounding her fists against the shower wall, shrieking his name over and over again.

The steam in the shower suddenly got very thick, and her shrieks got louder and louder. The mist was soft and warm against his body as his mind got clearer and clearer.

His eyes widened as he realized several things all at once. One: he was lying in his bed, fully clothed, wrapped in his blankets. Two: Casey was pounding on the door to his room and shouting for him to get up. And three: he had the most agonizing case of morning wood he had ever experienced in his life.

"Oh. My. God."

A cold chill ran down his spine as the realization of exactly what had just happened sunk in. The knocking continued. "Yeah, alright, I hear you!" Derek shouted weakly, and he heard the pounding stop and Casey stomp back into her room and slam the door.

"I had a dirty dream about Casey. I had a dirty dream about my stepsister!"

This thought brought his attention back to the pressing problem he was experiencing in his groin area. He threw his blankets off and leapt across the room, painfully waddling into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. He carefully locked the door behind him before removing his clothes and stepping into the shower. He turned the cold water knob as far as it would go, and let the icy cold water beat down on him as he ashamedly took care of his problem.

It wasn't long before Casey was pounding on the door, telling him to get out of the bathroom and let her shower. Derek let out a pathetic cry and shouted, "I will be out in a minute, I swear! Please, please just leave me alone!" The knocking stopped and he waited a moment to make sure she was gone before he turned off the water. He didn't even take the time to dry off before he threw on his t-shirt and boxers, which clung wetly to his skin, opened the door just as Casey came back out of her room, and ran into his bedroom chanting "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."

Casey looked puzzledly at his closed bedroom door before shrugging and walking into the bathroom.