a/n: sorry it took so long. I'll try to update faster.
disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 3: Casey's Derek
Casey had no idea that the next morning her life was going to change. She woke up from the sound of her alarm clock. She shut it off quickly, not wanting to disturb Ella because she didn't have to wake up for another hour and a half. She carefully moved her arm from under her daughter and got up. Her morning routine was no different from any other day. Her life didn't change until the time that Ella and Lily were having breakfast that the phone rang. Casey grabbed the phone on its second ring, a bit surprised that someone would call so early.
"Hello?" she said into the phone, watching her children at the kitchen table.
Lily was eating and helping Ben read the back of the cereal box, listening to him stutter over the words. Lily's reading was higher than average like her sister because they both loved to read. Ella was looking at Casey as she ate. She was still a bit concerned for her mother but Casey kept giving her a reassuring smile.
"Casey?" Casey recognized the voice instantly.
"Bree?" Casey said, starting to panic. She couldn't understand why Bree, the nurse that she talked to her everyday called her. Something must be terribly wrong. "What's wrong?" she asked, feeling tears in her eyes. She glanced at her children, seeing all of them now staring at her. Casey turned away, wondering how she was going to tell her children that their father is dead.
"Oh, nothing's wrong," Bree said quickly, not wanting Casey to panic. "It's Derek. I came to check on him like I do everyday when I get in and when I was checking on him, he started breathing on his own. Luckily, I was there or he could have chocked on the tube. Anyways, after I took the tube out, his eyes miraculously opened, and Casey, he's awake. Derek's awake!" she said all in one breath.
Casey had to grab onto the counter or she would have fallen. "He's awake?" she asked her, just to be sure she heard her right.
"Ya!" Bree shouted into the phone. "Dr. Johnson is checking on him right now," she said.
"I'm coming, I'm on my way," Casey said hanging up the phone. She turned to her children with a smile on her face.
"You're daddy's awake, he's no longer sleeping," Casey explained to them.
No child said anything. Their father, who they saw once a week, was always asleep. Lily and Ella had very little memory of him awake and Ben had no memory of him at all. They didn't know what to say to that. What would their father do now that he was awake? Lily looked at the time over the stove.
"Mom, we're going to be late for school," she said to her.
"Oh, um, do you want to go to school and see your daddy later?" Casey asked them. She didn't want to spook them. They all nodded and Casey dialled Sam's number. She told him that Derek was awake and a couple minutes later, Sabrina and Sam were at her house. Sabrina planned to take Casey's kids to school while Sam would go with Casey to the hospital. Sabrina was also going to call Casey's family, to let them know.
"How do I look?" Casey asked when Sam parked into the hospital parking lot. She was smoothing out her hair because she wanted to look her best.
"You look fine Casey. He's just going to be happy to see you, don't worry," Sam said as they got out.
He took Casey's hand, squeezing it as they walked into the hospital. They didn't say anything in the elevator. When they walked out onto the coma floor, Bree looked at them and tapped Dr. Johnson's shoulder because he was waiting for them. Casey began to grow impatient. She didn't want to talk to him, she wanted to talk to Derek.
"Doctor," she said. She expected to see a smile on his face since one of his patients woke up but he seemed to have an expressionless face.
"Casey, I need to talk to you before you see Derek," he said.
"Why? What's wrong?" Casey asked, getting really worried. Sam squeezed her hand harder.
"Well, Derek is awake, which is good. We aren't sure how he woke up but he's awake and he physically healthy." He paused, not sure how to tell Casey the bad news.
"What do you mean physically? What about mentally?" she asked him. "How much brain damage? Can he speak? Read or write?" she asked him. She was prepared for the worst. If Derek needed to be re-taught everything, she would be there every step of the way, helping him.
"Derek can speak, read and write, and understand what I'm saying but, well…"
"Please doc, just say it, the suspense is killing us," Sam interfered.
"Derek appears to have memory loss. We discovered this when we told him that he had been in a coma for five years and he said 'so that make me twenty-three' when in fact he is in his thirty-three. Derek seems to only remember up to his eighteen year. The day of his graduation is the last memory he has," he said.
Casey let go of Sam's hand and covered her mouth. "Oh no," was all she could say.
"Will he get his memory back?" Sam asked for Casey.
"We believe so. An hour ago, he could only tell us the colour of his robe he wore at his high school graduation but now he remembers where it was and who the valedictorian was. It might be slow, it could take months or years but I'm sure he will remember all of his memories someday.
"Oh, God," Casey said.
Sam looked at her as if she was crazy. "Casey, everything is going to be fine. The doc said he would make a full recovery. It'll just take some time," he said.
Casey looked at him. "Sam you don't understand, don't you remember what happened after graduation day. Clara, his first long time girlfriend, the one he dated for a year dumped him. He doesn't remember that, he doesn't remember how we got together. For all he knows, I'm just the annoying stepsister," Casey explained.
"Derek understands that he lost some of his memories, that he isn't twenty-three but thirty-three. I'm sure if you tell him slowly-" Dr. Johnson tried to say.
"You don't know eighteen year old Derek. He has a temper. He was barely calm when he was eighteen," Casey said. Sam then realized why Casey was upset. Eighteen-year-old Derek had a massive temper.
"Most patients who have memory loss will mature when they get their memory back. In fact, their personality might come before his memory," Dr. Johnson said, trying to keep Casey's hopes up.
"Can we see him, please," Casey asked. Dr. Johnson stepped aside. Bree came up to her.
"I'll explain the situation to your family when they arrive, don't worry," Bree said to her, knowing that Casey wouldn't want to explain it over and over again. Casey gave her a weak smile and then opened the door to Derek's room.
She first saw Derek's head when she walked in. He was sitting up, looking at the windowsill, at all the pictures that her kids, Lizzie's kids, Edwin's kids and Marti's kid made for him. Derek turned his head and smiled when he saw Casey and Sam walk in. Seeing Derek smile made Casey want to cry.
"Hey, long time no see," Derek said.
Sam closed the door behind him and then went to give him a hug. Casey slowly walked towards them, sitting in the chair that she had everyday. "Hey, why the long face Casey, aren't you happy to see me?" Derek asked jokily.
She was very cautious, remembering what place Derek was in when he was eighteen. She looked up, playing with her wedding ring. She nodded her head and a few tears fell down her cheeks. "Hey, don't cry, you know how much I hate seeing a girl cry," he said, panic in his eyes. Casey nodded again, wiping her cheeks dry.
"It's good to see you awake," Casey said, squeezing his hand. Derek squeezed back, which made Casey smile.
"So the doc said that I can only remember till I was eighteen and that I'm thirty-three. So I assume I missed stuff, so tell me," he said. He then saw Casey's ring finger on her left hand. "Hey, you're married. Who's the poor bastard?" he teased. He then saw Sam's hand, having a wedding ring too. "Hey, are you two…"
"No man. My heart belongs to a woman named Sabrina. We have two kids, Adam who is five and Liza who just-"
"Turned eight," Derek finished. Sam gave him a weird look. "Ya, I know that for some reason. I don't know why. The doctor said that I might remember things that people told me when I was sleeping. Weird huh," he said. Sam nodded. Derek than turned to Casey.
"So do you have kids?" he asked her.
Casey nodded, trying hard to hold back the tears when she looked at him. He was so cheerful, like he always was when they were together. She wondered if her Derek was still in there. "I have two twin nine year old daughters. Their names are Lillian and Eleanor but everyone calls them Lily and Ella-"
"They dance. Ella likes ballet. She can't wait till she gets pointe shoes. Lily likes ballet too but jazz better. She also does cross-country," Derek finished for her. "Weird huh. I don't even remember meeting them but you must have told me about them," he said to her. It pained Casey to hear that he couldn't remember his own daughters. She was glad that she didn't bring her children to the hospital.
"Ya, that's right," Casey said, trying to smile. "I also have a five-year-old son. His name is Benjamin but everyone-"
"Calls him Ben," Derek stated. "Did you know that Sam and I had a friend in elementary school named Ben. We were really close to him but he died from cancer in grade 5. I always wanted to name my first son Ben. Well I guess you beat me to the punch. We can't have two Bens in the family," Derek said.
He saw Casey and Sam glance at each other for a brief second before they looked away. He knew that look. Both their faces screamed that they had a secret that he wasn't in on. He decided to not mention it, hoping that they would tell him themselves. "So who did you marry Casey? You never did tell me," he said.
He saw Casey and Sam both look at each other again before Casey turned to him. She took his hand, holding it between her own, looking up at him. "Um Derek, I married, well, um…" Casey stuttered.
"Casey just spit it out already!" he said.
"You. I married you," Casey said slowly. "My children are your children, we're married," she said again. Derek looked at her before he started laughing.
"Good one Casey!" he said, still chuckling. "Way to play a joke on the coma guy," he said. He stopped laughing though when he looked at Sam and Casey's faces. "Wait," he said ripping his hand out of Casey's grasp. "We can't be married," he said. "For one we hate each other but for a more important reason, I love Clara. I want to marry her someday. We've planned out our whole life."
"Derek, I…"
"No!" Derek screamed at Casey. "We are not married! I love Clara! I want Clara! Make yourself useful and get Clara!" he yelled at her. Casey couldn't keep back the tears that were coming down her face. She got up quickly and ran out of the room.
"Casey!" Sam called after her. "Nice Derek," he said as he chased her. When he left the room, he saw Lizzie and Marti step out of the elevator. They gave him a confused look. Sam looked at Bree and she nodded to him.
"I'll explain, you go after her," she said, probably because she heard what Derek yelled. Well who didn't. He bet the whole floor heard Derek scream at Casey.
As he ran to find Casey, he couldn't believe that Derek was so insensitive. Yes, he did have a mind of an eighteen-year-old, literally, but how selfish he was shocked him. He then remembered that Derek was always like this. He only changed when he started dating Casey. Sam found Casey in another coma patient's room. Casey became friends with many of the people and she knew who would be visiting at the moment and who wouldn't.
She was in a patient's room that fell off her horse, slipped into a coma, and had been asleep for six months. He saw Casey crying in a corner and Sam slowly walked to her.
"Just go away," she said when he crouched down to her level. She seemed to be clutching her hand to her heart, as if she had to hold it there to keep herself together. If she let go, she would fall to pieces.
"Casey, he didn't mean it," Sam said trying to sooth her. Casey glared at him.
"Of course he meant it. Sam, he doesn't remember. He doesn't remember anything about our life. That isn't my Derek in there, that's Clara's Derek in there. I've been visiting him everyday for five years, been loving him for longer, is it so much to ask just to get my Derek back? The one who loved me," she asked him.
"No, it's not a lot to ask," he said, sitting next to her, allowing Casey to cry into his chest. He would have called Sabrina to help Casey because he felt uncomfortable, not knowing what to say or do to make Casey happy. That's all he and Sabrina wanted for her, for her to be happy, but she won't be able, not until Derek comes back to her.
As Casey cried, Sam looked at the sleeping patient. She looked only about eighteen at the most. He noticed that she was very pretty, and would probably be someone eighteen-year-old Derek would have wanted to go out with. He then saw the hospital phone by the bed. He wished with all of his might that he would get telepathic powers and the phone would come to him so that he could call Sabrina. Casey looked at him, seeing Sam's gaze at the phone.
"Sorry, I'm probably making you uncomfortable," she said, wiping her tears off her face.
"It's okay, I just think Sabrina is better at comforting you," he said.
"Ya, she's always good at that, buying comfort food and everything," Casey replied. She remembered whenever it was a special occasion that involved Derek like his birthday or their anniversary, Sabrina and Anna were always there, ready to spend the day to wallow with her. Over the years, she spent less of her time wallowing though. It was easy to suppress her heartache rather than embrace it.
"Oh, we should go back," Casey told him, thinking that Sam probably wanted to spend time with Derek instead of trying to clean up her mess.
"If you're ready," he told her.
Casey got up, nodding her head. He then put his arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her as they walked to the door. Before they left though, Casey took the coma patient's hand. "Bye Amanda. May you wake up earlier than Derek did and remember those who love you," she whispered.
Sam and Casey walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached Derek's room, they heard laughter inside. Before Sam could say anything, Casey opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind her and Sam. Once inside, she saw that her siblings, George, and Nora had arrived. All of her siblings were childless and spouseless, probably wanting to see Derek first on their own.
Everyone looked at Sam and Casey when they came in. No one question Casey about her tear-stained face. Derek did feel a bit guilty but he couldn't believe that he married his annoying stepsister. He looked at Nora's face and she seemed about to ask Casey about her strange behaviour since she didn't move from her spot by the door. He attempted to stop her though because he didn't want to get in trouble.
"So Marti, what's your kid's name?" he asked her, still trying to get over the shock that Marti was married and a mother. He still thought of her as the hyperactive twelve-year-old because that was his last memory of her.
Marti smiled. "I named him after you. My husband let me because we didn't think…" Marti trailed off, unable to continue. She steered the conversation the wrong way.
"You didn't think what?" he asked her, well more like demanded.
This reminded Nora of when she was so happy he grew out of his teenage faze. His temper was terrible, especially when he was eighteen. Now this Derek was back and she wasn't sure how everyone was suppose to handle this, especially Casey.
"We all thought that you wouldn't wake up. The doctors said that it was a very low chance that you would," Edwin told him.
"Oh so I guess you were going to pull the plug soon," Derek said glancing at Casey. Casey just stared at the floor, unable to look at him. Derek took this the wrong way though, he thought she was feeling guilty. "So when were you going to do it?" he asked Casey. "When!" he shouted since he didn't get an answer which caused everyone to cringe away from him.
"Derek calm down," George instructed quietly.
"I will not calm down! Not until I hear from my dear wife," he said, making a face, "when she planned to kill me. That's probably why she married me, waiting for this situation so that she could kill me," Derek said, glaring at Casey. He did not realize how insane he sounded.
"She was never going to kill you, you jerk!" Sam shouted at Derek. "We all asked her to, to end her misery of coming here everyday and talking to you like you would respond! But she didn't! She was determined that you would come back to us, but she never thought you would come back as the eighteen-year-old scum you are!" he continued to shout.
There was a pause in the room because no one knew what to say next, especially Derek. The Sam that he knew would never have the balls to do this. This made him angry. He knew that Sam had gotten older, had a life while he was stuck like this. All he wanted to do was find Clara because she would make it better.
"Oh, nice sticking up for your girlfriend, I guess your wife isn't enough for you," Derek said. He wasn't sure where this was coming from but he was angry at Sam and he wanted to hurt him. How could Sam let him marry Casey when he was in love with Clara?
Derek expected Sam to back down, just walk away like the coward he knew he was but he was surprised when Sam lunged at him as he heard shrieks around him. Casey was faster though and she jumped in front of him. The punch that Sam tried to swing at him was interfered with Casey's face. Casey's body lost balance and fell on top of him but she was already up before Derek or anyone else could react, still protecting him.
"Casey are you alright, let me see," Nora said, trying to pull Casey's hand away from her face. Bree came in, hearing the commotion. Casey didn't say anything to Nora though.
"Sam, outside, NOW!" Casey said to him, pointing to the door. Sam, shocked that he had just punched his friend and tried to punch his best friend, stormed outside, still making fists with his hands. He didn't look back, afraid that he would lunged at Derek again. Casey turned to Derek, making sure he was alright before she followed Sam. "Stay," she said to her family. "I need to talk to Sam on my own," she continued as she left the room.
Bree met her at the door, handing Casey an ice pack. Casey grabbed it, holding it to her face. She knew her jaw wasn't broken, knowing what a broken bone felt like since she was such a klutz. Once she was outside, she saw Sam pacing before he punched the wall hard.
"Hey, do I have to call security?" Bree asked.
"No, that isn't necessary. He just needs to calm down," Casey told Bree.
"Casey, I'm so sorry," Sam said, looking at the ice pack that Casey was pressing to her jaw.
"It's okay," she tried to comfort him.
"No it isn't. Damn it Casey, why did you have to get in the way like that!" he asked her.
"I couldn't let you hurt him," Casey said quietly, looking at the floor.
"Yes you could have! After the things he said!"
"Sam, you have to remember that this is eighteen-year-old Derek, the one that has an enormous temper. It isn't his fault."
"Yes it is! It is Casey! Can't you see? It came from his mouth! Just thinking about it makes me want to punch him again!"
"Then maybe you should go," Casey said sternly.
"I'm not letting that bastard speak to you without me there for backup," Sam said.
"What are you going to do? Try to punch him again? I can guarantee that I will jump in front of him again. Sabrina would do the same thing for you."
Sam then pressed his hand to his forehead. "Damn it! Sabrina is never going to forgive me for punching one of her best friends!"
Casey walked over to him, resting her hand on his shoulder, now trying to comfort him. Their roles switched in the matter of minutes. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her. Now I suggest you leave," she said to him.
"Just a second," Sam said walking around her to get back into Derek's room. Casey followed behind him, trying to pull him out of the room. "I'm not going to hurt him," Sam reassured her as he fought against her to walk in.
Since he was stronger than her, he won, making it to Derek's bed but Casey still held his right hand, knowing that he would have to let go of it if he wanted to punch him. No one said anything. Derek's family was just shocked at what they were seeing.
"If you ever," Sam threatened, pointing his finger in Derek's face, "talk about my wife or Casey that way again, I guarantee you will end up in the hospital because the next time my fist aims at you, I'll make sure your wife isn't in my way," Sam said turning around. Casey followed him out, making sure that he didn't decide to punch Derek again. When Sam walked out, he saw two police officers talking to Bree.
"Oh come on, you called the cops?" Sam asked her. "I didn't mean to punch Casey."
Casey stood beside him, knowing that she had to straighten this out since it was her fault to begin with. She should have stopped Sam before he lunged.
"No, it's not about you, although you shouldn't be trying to punch anyone," Bree said. The cops looked at Sam then at the ice pack that Casey was pressing to her jaw.
"Miss, did he hurt you?" one of the cops asked her.
"No, I fell. Klutzilla, you know," she laughed. Sam winced at what Casey said, remembering that teenage Derek made that up for her.
The cops looked at her like they didn't believe her. It was really unlikely that she fell and hurt her jaw like that. Before they could ask her again, Casey spoke.
"So why are you two here?" she asked them.
"They want to ask Derek questions about the day..." Bree said, trying to find the right words to end that sentence.
"The day he was shot," Casey finished for her. "Ya, sure. We have family in there now but you can go in. I don't think he will remember anything though. He can only remember up to the day of his high school graduation," Casey told them. "But you can try," she said to them. She then turned to Sam. "Sam, go home. Tell Sabrina about the situation and call Anna and Darrin too. They would want to know. Oh shit!" Casey said hitting her head.
"What?" Sam asked her, concern and worry appeared in his face.
"I have to phone Emily. I'm going to have her go on a blind date with Darrin," she told him. Sam shook his head, Casey was still Casey, putting everyone else in front of herself.
"Call her later. I'm sure she and Darrin will understand," he said, kissing her right cheek before he left.
"This way gentlemen," Casey said to the cops once Sam got into the elevator. She led them to Derek's room, going in first, explaining to everyone why these officers were here.
"So Derek, do you remember anything about that day?" the officers asked him again.
Derek shook his head. He hated feeling like he was being interrogated as he answered the same questions repeatedly. "I can't remember the day after my graduation, much less what happened ten years after that," Derek said calmly. After seeing Sam lunge at him and Casey protecting him, he was too confused to get angry again.
"Well, here is my card, call if you remember anything," one of the officers said.
Derek nodded taking the card but he didn't know where to put it. Casey took it from his hand, putting it in her purse. This was the first time he looked at Casey after Sam left, and he saw her still holding the ice pack to her cheek even though she told everyone that it barely hurt. Casey kept her distance from him and he felt a wave of guilt seeing her physically hurt because of what he said.
No one said anything when the officers were here and when they left, no one knew what to say. Everyone looked at different places, not wanting to be the first to break the silence.
"Um, can I talk to Casey privately?" Derek asked. Everyone looked at him then at Casey.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Nora said. She didn't want to see her daughter hurt.
"I'll be fine. Besides, don't all of you have to get back to work?" Casey asked them.
All of them grumbled, feeling like reality was setting in. They all left, giving Derek and Casey both a hug. Lizzie was the last one to leave, giving Casey a hug and telling her she would be right outside in a low voice that Derek was unable to hear. Casey nodded and waited until she closed the door before she looked at Derek.
"Come here," he commanded.
Casey slowly walked to him, standing about a foot from the bed.
"Sit here," he said, tapping the bed. Casey sat down beside him, slowly, afraid at what he might do. "Let me see," he instructed, pointing to the ice pack, he was trying to touch her as little as possible.
Casey slowly pulled the ice pack away from her jaw and turned it to Derek.
"Well, it's not as bad as I thought," Derek said. "I guess Sam is still a bit of a coward."
"Did you ever think that maybe he just didn't want to hit you as hard as he could," she said, putting the ice pack back on her jaw.
Seeing this, suddenly Derek remembered something that he didn't know before.
Derek was in a bedroom. He heard loud music coming from downstairs. He was at some house party.
"Stay away from her!" Derek shouted at a guy, pushing him.
"What made this any of your business?" the guy yelled, pushing him back.
"She's my stepsister, her business is my business!" he shouted. "Casey, let's go!" he said, pulling her off the bed. She had tears in her eyes and was clutching her ripped shirt to her chest.
"Oh, no, you're not taking my fun time away from me!" the guy shouted, grabbing Casey.
"Get your hands off her!" Derek screamed back, dragging Casey behind him.
It was then that Casey and Derek both saw the guy yanking his fist back, ready to punch Derek.
"No!" Casey cried, stepping in front of Derek just in time to take the hit.
Derek didn't waste time. He punched the guy, then picked up Casey and carried her downstairs, past the girl that he was flirting with before and out of the house, walking to his car. He put her in the passenger seat, climbed into the driver's side then drove away. He didn't go far, stopping at the next street over.
"You okay?" he asked her, touching Casey's face with his hand, slowly moving it so that she was looking at him. He was examining her face.
"Ya fine," she said as she shivered. Derek quickly took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders. "Thanks," she said, pulling the jacket around herself. "And I'm sorry about early," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"It's okay," Derek said, wiping the tear off her face.
"And thank you for coming to my rescue. I don't know what would have happened if…" Casey couldn't go on, her voice was cracking just thinking about how her shirt was torn.
"Don't mention it. Really, I mean it. It might ruin my tough guy rep," he said. Casey laughed while rolling her eyes.
"Only you would still worry about your rep," she said.
Derek stared at Casey. "You were almost raped," he said suddenly.
"What?" Casey asked, confused at what he said.
"We were at some party, I heard you scream and I ran in, seeing a guy on top of you as you were fighting to get free. I pulled him off and when he tried to punch me, you stepped in, taking the hit for me," Derek told her.
"Derek, that was years ago. That party was in our first year of university," she explained.
"Why did you do it?" he questioned.
"Do what?" she asked him.
"Stepped in to block the punch. Then and today, why?" he clarified.
"Oh," Casey said looking down. "You were going to get hurt because of me, so I wanted to protect you. Reflex I guess," she explained.
Derek nodded. "Do you think Sam will ever forgive me?" Derek asked her. He was very serious now. He never really fought with Sam until today.
"If you act like this," she said reaching for his hand. For a moment, she realized that this was her Derek. He was slowly coming back. Derek pulled his hand away though before she could touch him.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not getting any feelings for you Casey. I still love Clara," he said softly, unaware on how much this was hurting her. Casey nodded, trying to control her voice before she spoke again.
"It's almost lunch time, I'm sure you will want to eat in peace," she said getting up.
"Hey Casey," Derek called as she opened the door.
"Ya?" she asked him, turning to look in his opened eyes that she missed so much.
"Please don't bring your kids here just yet. I don't think I'm ready for seeing that responsibility," he said. Casey nodded, leaving without another word.
When she walked out, she saw Lizzie sitting in a chair and beside her was Darrin.
"Hey," Darrin said, getting up. "How is he?"
"Fine, as physically healthy as he can be. He is slowly getting his memories. He remembered a party that we went to when we were in university," she told them cheerfully. They both didn't know that Casey was extra excited that Derek remembered that specific party.
"Does he remember anything about the day he was shot?" Darrin asked. He already asked Lizzie but he wanted to hear it from Casey.
Casey shook her head and Darrin blew out a breath and came beside her, giving her a side hug. "I know it's hard but we'll get through this," he told her. Casey nodded, feeling a new wave of tears coming down her face.
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