Thanks to everyone that's giving this a chance, and I apologize that my stories tend to start slow. I'm just gaining momentum though so stick with me please.

I do not own Life with Derek.

………

"So…" The boy attempted to break the silence, "Are you and Marti siblings?" He asked, looking up at the older woman kindly. He was smooth, reminiscent of Derek almost. Andie began to giggle, making Marti and Casey smile.

Marti squirmed a little on the couch, drawing Travis' attention back to her. "Uh, well, I wouldn't say siblings. Casey's sorta my step-sister-"

"Slash sister-in-law." Casey finished. She threw her and Andie's jackets onto the pile that consisted of the rest of their belongings. Marti's eyes followed the path of the jackets before looking back at Casey.

"Derek rubbing off on you? You're a mess," Marti stated smartly. Casey promptly ignored her, pouring her focus completely on her giggling little girl.

Marti was now a sophomore in high school and although she was much older, she really hadn't changed that much. She was thin, and her brown hair still fell to about her shoulders. She let her bangs grow out a little but to all different lengths around her face. She was incredibly smart and imaginative, but in that good old Venturi way. She made good grades because she had realized the minimum amount of work it required to achieve them. So, essentially she was a slacker with good grades. Luckily, she did eventually stop eating under the table.

"Wait, wait. I'm still confused. How are you two related?" Travis asked, obviously not the brightest in his class, which only served to further suggest similarities between him and Derek.

Marti shifted her weight on the couch again, really concentrating on how to make the dim-wit understand. "Okay, this is Casey, my step-sister. Her mom married my Dad. Alright, you know Derek, my older brother? The one I was talking about yesterday? Casey and Derek got married and this is their daughter Andie. Got it?" Marti spoke slowly as if it would help the poor boy understand any better. He stared blankly at her before nodding slowly.

"Well I'm not going to take any more of your date time," Casey stated distractedly. "Is my Mom home?"

"Uh, yeah, she's downstairs in her room. Oh, Lizzie and Edwin are in town too, they just got in yesterday," Marti said looking toward the stairway.

"They did? Are they home right now, where are they?" Casey asked as she joggled Andie back onto her hip and placed a hand to her protruding stomach.

"Upstairs. I haven't seen them since dinner," Marti stated hurriedly. She really wanted Casey to just leave. It's not as if she didn't like Casey, actually over the years she had really loved having her around. Especially when her and Derek moved in together, they spent a lot of time with each other and grew pretty close. This was only her second date with Travis though, and the last thing she needed right now was to have Casey butting in unexpectedly like this.

"Well, alright, it was nice meeting you Travis. See ya Marti," Casey said, her back turned to the two as she made her way toward the kitchen.

She lightly set Andie down on the counter and opened the door leading down stairs to yell for her mother, stating that she was there.

"Casey?" Nora yelled from the bottom of the stairs. She looked up and climbed the stairs by two toward her daughter. "You're early. Where's Derek?"

"We got in an argument," Casey said crossing her arms in an attempt to show her discontent.

Nora looked at her daughter knowingly. She clearly wasn't surprised.

"Grandma, gimme some juice." The young girl asked, well demanded, pointing a strong steady finger at the apple juice container.

"Andie, ask nicely." Casey admonished. Her smile turned stern.

Andie glanced up at her mother with questioning eyes that looked as if to say, 'I'll do it if I have to, but I won't like it'. Finally, she turned her attention back to Nora and seemed to give in, "please?"

"Good enough for me." Nora stated. She smiled at her grand-daughter while pouring her juice into a small green lidded sipping cup.

"No, it's not…" Casey started but seemed to give up half-way through. "She's too much like her father." Casey sighed.

Nora laughed and handed Andie her drink. "Have you seen Edwin and Lizzie yet?" Nora casually changed the subject.

Casey leaned on the counter for support, one hand involuntarily going to support her aching back. She winced a little before speaking, "no, I'll go say hi in a bit. I'm not quite up to those stairs right this moment".

"At least you're in less pain than you were with An."

Casey exhaled deeply, remembering her previous pregnancy and that last trimester. "Oh, I haven't told you yet. So, Derek caved. He just had to know if we were having a boy or a girl. I on the other hand still wanted it to be a surprise". Casey said as she shifted her weight uneasily.

Nora laughed lightly. "And? Knowing you two, there's got to be more to this." She said before placing her empty cup down and moving over to the squirming three year old to pick her up.

"Well, I think Derek got some amusement out of the fact that he knew something I didn't. Anyway, let's just say I now know the gender of my baby. Take a guess at how long the idiot lasted." Casey said jokingly, apparently having had time to cool off since the accidental exposure of her unborn child's sex.

Nora looked thoughtful for a moment, then stated, "I don't know. A week?"

Casey smiled at this.

"Put me down for four days." George said quickly as he entered the room from the stairway leading from the basement. He casually walked over to greet Casey with a light hug.

"I'll bet a day." Marti yelled from the living room.

Casey's smile only grew. "Two hours. We'd barely made it home before he slipped up."

George and Nora exchanged looks and laughed. "That's Derek for you." George said while taking Andie from his wife. If anyone loved being a grandparent it was definitely George. He spoiled Andie immensely. Even Derek had to tell him to lay off a bit.

"So? Is it a boy or a girl?" Nora asked excitedly. George simply looked up from the giggling little girl in his arms, awaiting Casey's response.

"Another little girl." Casey stated proudly. "Presumably this one's going to be a little daddy's girl too." She said holding her round stomach.

Despite her anger, Casey seemed to have a whisper of a smile at the mention of her daughter's attachment to Derek. Even when they were younger she could tell that Derek was going to be a great father, and he was. Now as a husband- well Casey knew full well what she as getting into when she decided to marry Derek. She knew that it'd be hard and that they'd still have their spats but she also knew that she didn't want to marry someone easy, someone who would cater to her every need. She wanted- no needed- someone who could challenge her in all aspects of her life. Not to mention the fact that she fell in love.

"Casey? Is that you?"

"You can't miss her. She's the size of a house." Marti added from her spot on their old couch. Casey glared in her direction before enveloping her younger sister in a long overdue hug.

"Hey, Lizzie. Edwin." Casey looked over and grabbed Edwin to give him a hug as well.

"Let me get you guys something warm to drink." Nora said cheerfully, whirling around to grab a few mugs. Everyone thanked her as she set to work.

Edwin moved over to where George was tickling Andie. Andie got really excited at the site of her uncle. She held her arms out toward him while screaming happily.

"So Lizzie, how have you two been?" Casey asked now having to move both hands to support the unnatural arch of her back. She'd already decided that she had been on her feet long enough that day.

"Oh, we've been fi-"

"Marti! Can you bring me a chair from the table?" Casey bellowed into the next room, her face contorting slightly from the pain that had engulfed her whole body. Lizzie was taken aback by the outburst, however the look on her sister's face quickly dissolved her confusion into pity.

"Yes, oh incredibly pregnant one." Marti seethed, standing up and begrudgingly bringing her a chair. A few years ago the island in the middle of their kitchen was given matching bar stools, but due to the upcoming Christmas party, Nora had decided to repaint them; herself. This meant that they wouldn't be done until the last moment, due to her frustratingly busy schedule and the time restraint that ensued.

"Marti, you haven't introduced us to your friend." Edwin stated with mild annoyance that he didn't even make an effort to hide.

Both Edwin and Derek were very protective and not just with Marti but understandably with the Macdonald girls as well. However, Edwin didn't border possessive like Derek did. This eventually led to many fights between him and Casey. Of course, it makes sense that strong-willed Casey Macdonald would be one of the last people to accept any form of 'being owned'.

"Yeah, Marti, bring Travis in here to meet the whole family." Nora stated pointedly. She finished making their hot chocolates and began to pass them around to everyone.

Marti stared at her defiantly, which soon turned into an expression of pleading. However, before she could beg her step-mother to not make him meet everyone- for fear that they'd scare him away- Travis appeared at her side.

"You have a big family Marti. I'm jealous, I'm an only child." Travis said with a smile. Marti just stared at him.

"Yeah, so, you already met Casey and Andie. That over there is one of my brothers, Edwin and this is my other step-sister, Lizzie." Marti said while pointing to the members of her family. At the mention of her name, Lizzie looked up from her short conversation with Casey to give him a quick wave and a 'nice to meet you'.

"Everyone this is Travis." Marti stated with a sigh. Edwin gave Andie the quarter he had 'magically' pulled out of her hair and moved over to where Marti and her boyfriend were standing. Edwin eyed the boy briefly and then put his hand out. They awkwardly shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you, uh Edwin." The boy stammered slightly and Edwin smiled as he realized that this boy wasn't much of a threat.

Edwin turned to Lizzie and gave her a quick peck on the lips, one hand placed lightly on her middle back. "You coming up soon?"

"So early? Yeah, I guess I'll be up in a few." Lizzie said lifting herself up on her tip-toes to give him another quick kiss.

"Alright. Good night everyone." Edwin directed the last part to the rest of the room, and with a quick wave, he left the kitchen.

"Wait a minute." George said looking at his watch. "Travis, shouldn't you have left an hour ago?" George picked Andie back up and she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked disapprovingly at Marti.

Nora seemed to be in a good mood and in an effort to not break her high spirits she ushered the two toward the living room. "I'll drive you home. Travis, don't your parents mind that you spend so much time over here, especially being an only child?" Nora asked as she continued to move them toward the door.

"No, they prefer to have me out of the house. They tell me to go out." Travis stated, grabbing his coat. Nora looked at him quizzically but let it go.

Casey watched the three go and sipped slowly from her mug.

"So, have you two thought of names for her?" Lizzie asked. The question made Casey turn to look back up at her sister.

"Well, we already had a few even before we knew the gender."

"Let me guess, you guys didn't have to even think about girls names." Lizzie asked while laughing lightly.

"Well, you know how Derek is. He wants sons, but you know what I've realized? I think he's happier with daughters. It's just hard for him because he just doesn't want Andie to grow up. He doesn't want any other men in her life." Casey stated slowly, while she analyzed her husband.

"Yeah, I can see that. You know what dad says: 'The way you treat women early in life determines the number –if any- of sons you have. The more the guy messed around, lied, and womanized, the more daughters he'll have.'" Lizzie said. They both laughed at the small bit of philosophy their father used to convince them was truth.

"Well, it's going to be awhile 'til Derek gets a son then." Casey said laughingly.

"If that's true then George, you must have been quite the gentleman in high school." Lizzie stated, looking over at her step-dad.

"Actually, I guess you could say that. I dated Sharon Vaughn , the most popular girl in school through most of high school. It was her who didn't stay faithful." George said looking up in remembrance. He shook off the old memories and gave his full attention back to the little girl who was still talking rather animatedly about something; having not noticed the lack of a listening audience.

Casey looked over at George with a pleading look. "George would you mind taking Andie up to get ready for bed? Casey asked, looking utterly desperate and exhausted.

George gave a short chuckle at her way of asking for a favor. "Of course I will. Come on little lady." George said whirling Andie around. He stopped though, realizing that it was already going to take awhile to get the young girl down for bed.

Casey smiled and watched the two leave.

"Yeah, well we have a few names picked out that would suit a boy or a girl." Casey said in an effort to get back to their prior conversation.

"I still can't believe that you gave into him on the name thing. I mean you've had so many picked out since you were like, 13." Lizzie said.

"I never would have though I'd ever end up with Derek either. Besides, I'm just glad he's taken an interest in this." Casey stated. She smiled while looking down at her almost empty mug almost bashfully.

"I see what- oh, you never told me what happened tonight." Lizzie said looking up quickly at Casey. She took one last long sip of her hot chocolate and placed the mug onto the table.

"Oh, he's so infuriating! When is he going to realize what the important things in life are? Well, we argued, of course, and I left."

"So, it was a big argument?" Lizzie asked curiously. Casey just nodded her head solemnly.

"And I may have to wait forever for an apology but I'm just not backing down this time." Casey stated with a grave, strong expression. "Anyway, I'm exhausted. Let's get to bed. I hope Andie has calmed down a bit." Casey said, apparently having had a complete change of disposition.

………

Casey woke with a start. She was fully awake the moment that Andie begun jumping on her bed. She looked around in an effort to place her surroundings. Upon seeing Derek's old room just as it had been years ago, she realized where she was and what had happened yesterday.

"Wake up mommy." Andie said excitedly, plopping down next to her mother in bed. The little girl snuggled up next to Casey. "I'm hungry."

Casey looked down at her daughter and the smiled at the endearing gesture. She took a glance at the clock on the bedside table and sighed at the bright digital numbers that signified just how early it was.

Her smile grew when Andie slowly wrapped her small arms around her bulging stomach. Since the moment Casey had begun to show Andie had been fascinated by her growing stomach. The young girl certainly knew how to push her buttons, a trait she unfortunately learned from her father. However, she always knew –whether she actually meant to or not- how to get back on Casey's good side, another trait of her father's.

Casey gave her daughter a quick kiss on the top of her head and unwrapped herself from Andie's embrace. She sighed and tiredly stumbled over to put her fuzzy pink robe on.

"And what would you like to eat this morning?" Casey asked before returning to the bed to pick the little girl up.

"Pamcakes!" Andie yelled. Her mispronunciation put a smile back on Casey's exhausted face.

The two made their way into the hallway, shutting the bedroom door quietly so as not to wake anyone. From the hallway they heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs from the attic.

"Uncle Edwin!" Andie shrieked with unyielding enthusiasm

Edwin stopped in his tracks and put a finger to his lips to shush his excited niece. Andie smiled and put a small round finger to her lips as well, imitating him happily.

Casey stared at the nicely dressed form at the bottom of the stairs in confusion. "What are you doing up this early?" Casey asked. She continued her path toward the stairs leading to the living room.

Casey's slowed pace spoke of just how far along her pregnancy was. Edwin moved swiftly past them on the steps in an obvious hurry. "Nothing, I have to go do something." Edwin stated cryptically while he gathered his coat.

………

Please Review. Next chapter has a few surprise visits so don't worry this is going to pick up.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed it. I really appreciate any comments you have regarding my work and I will definitely reply to any and all reviews.

-Kelly