Just a thought, but when people say that Dasey is wrong because they're step-siblings, are any of them twilight fans do you think? Because that's far more 'incestuous' than Dasey. I mean half the Cullens are dating each other and they're actual siblings in the eyes of the law; no step, foster or in-law to soften it either. They were all adopted by the same people after all. Bleedin' hypocrites... Anyway, rant over.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek

Chapter Eleven

Christmas day was just so perfect that there had to be a lot of bad to cancel it out. That bad came in the form of family visits. Mine and Mom's heads had practically exploded when Aunt Fiona and Abby both arranged to come for boxing day. In the end Mom had argued Aunt Fiona into coming for new years instead. Abby would be staying for two days. I still had no idea what Mom had told the rest of the family. Dad had told me on the phone he was coming in January as soon as he got the chance (for some reason Christmas is a busy time of year for Corporate Lawyers), but I didn't know when Grandma Ruth and Aunt Madge (not to mention the dozens of other family members that may or may not decide to turn up) were going to show; this left me feeling very uneasy. Derek would probably say this was because I'm a control freak who needs to have an exact day plan a year in advance (and maybe he wouldn't be completely wrong), but mostly it was because in all these years, our family and the Venturi's family had never really mingled. I was more than a little anxious about that, and without knowing when they were coming I couldn't be sure it wouldn't finally happen this year.

This is why, from ten in the morning (three hours before Abby was due to arrive) I was badgering my Mom for information. And getting nowhere. It wasn't that she was being purposely evasive; it was more that she had more pressing things to worry about. Simon was screaming, Marti was making an attempt at baking a cake for Abby ('I want to do it on my own! I'm not a baby!') and she herself was rushing around the house clearing up any Christmas mess. When she knew Abby was coming, Mom always turned into a total neat freak.

If it wasn't for the reason behind it, I would have been constantly making arrangements for her to come; but I couldn't do that when I knew why my Mom did it. She was always very insecure about Abby; the divorce had been mostly her idea so she could go and do her P.H.D and Mom knew that. She wanted to make sure that if any comparison were to be made, she would come out the better. In my opinion, she didn't even have to try. She had not only put her kids first, but also taken on someone elses and that counts for a lot; but I could see why an independant P.H.D ex-wife of her husband might be threatening to her.

"Casey honey, could you check Edwin's room? Last time it was full of dirty dishes and a three month old cheese sandwich, even after he'd supposedly cleaned it." She was shushing and jiggling Simon with one arm and hoovering with the other. Between the baby and the vacuum I could barely hear her, but I nodded and went upstairs with a sigh.

I stopped at the foot of the attic stairs and yelled up. "Edwin! Mom wants me to check your room, is it presentable?"

"Yeah!" He yelled back down.

"You sure? No mouldy food or dirty dishes?"

There was a pause. "One minute!" A few seconds later he came running down, two plates, a bowl that still had the remnants of whatever it had once contained begining to grow up the sides, and a glass in his hands.

I backed off quickly to avoid a collision, and ran straight into Derek. "Watch it!" I snapped, despite the small detail of it being me that had backed up.

"Chilz Space Case, you're the one that backed into me!" He smirked. "But given your unfortunate condition, I guess I'll let it slide."

"Condition?" I asked in a hissing voice.

"Well something's gotta be wrong with you." He turned to yell downstairs to Edwin. "Ed, when you're done my room needs some attention!"

"Why can't you clean your own room?" I said, hands on hips.

"Where would be the fun in that?" His eyes were glinting in satisfaction, and I realised I was letting him get to me.

I straightened up and tugged my shirt straight. "Well, if you've got nothing to do I think my mom could use some help." I struggled to get my tone back to a casual, non-agressive tone.

"I don't 'help'." He leaned forward a little.

I folded my arms defensively. I had no idea how to act when I wasn't arguing with him; there wasn't really a time when we didn't argue to look back on. "Then could you play with your little brother so she at least has two hands?" I asked, astounded at my newfound aptitude for compromise.

His smile dropped momentarily when he realised his victory had just escaped. "Sure." He said shortly and dashed down the stairs.

I breathed. That was easier than I thought it would be.

As I started to head down the stairs as well, I caught Edwin on his way up. "Oh, no you don't. You left those dishes to get disgusting, you can clean them." I said firmly.

"But Derek's room-"

"Leave it! He can clean it himself." I glared.

"But he'll kill me!"

"And I'll kill you if you go near that room!"

Muttering about 'overbearing, homicidal elder siblings', he went down to do my bidding, while I stood a little shocked at the top of the stairs.

"What's up with you?" Lizzie had just emerged from her room, clutching notepad.

"Edwin just defied Derek to do as I said! I must be getting more authoritive!" I said excitedly.

"Or just more scary." She brought me back down. "Anyway, which do you think Abby would be more supportive of? Saving the whales? Or the Great Barrier Reef?" She waved her pencil from one side to the other as she named the causes.

I recovered the smile I'd lost when she called me scary. Since our success in the summer she'd become quite the little protester; so far she'd organised a local group of activists, gone on a whale walk and attended numerous protests. Then of course there was the leafletting, food tasting sessions, encouraging local businesses to stock animal friendly and fair trade goods and trying to convince family and friends to support at least one cause each. "I don't know Liz, why don't you talk to her about both?"

Lizzie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, we could. I just don't want her to feel overwhelmed or like we're shoving it down her throat."

"We, we're?" I asked warily.

"Casey, you do want us to garner extra support to protect whales and the Great Barrier Reef don't you?" She asked reproachfully.

"Of course." I didn't like where this was going.

"So, all you need to do is make some of the key points I've outlined for you, and give her some reading material."

"And what are you going to do?"

She smiled hopefully, "Provide silent, background support?"

"Liz," I started warningly.

"Casey, she likes you better!" Lizzie said, in a whining tone Derek had often attributed to my influence.

"No she doesn't, she likes us all equally." I tried to use my firm voice again, but it didn't work.

"She barely knows me! She adores you though."

"Flattery won't help you Liz, though feel free to try." I laughed.

"She does! Ever since you helped Derek with his exams she's thought you were the second coming!" She insisted, "She'll listen to you, I know it!"

I scowled a little before breathing a sigh. "Fine, but you owe me big." I gave in reluctantly.

"'Kay," She nodded happily. "First, let me get you the leaflets. You'll need to give them a quick read through so you know what they're about, but they're the same ones I gave you before so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Right..." I looked down guiltily; I had meant to read them, I really had! But then Derek had taken my text books, and I couldn't let him get away with them! Who knew what he'd have done to them? And after that, well I must have forgotten about them...

"While you do that, I'll write some cue cards for you. You know, with interesting points and facts about whales." She grinned. "I'll be right back."

I stood awkwardly in the hall for a moment waiting for her.

"Here; there's the one about whale hunting, life in the Great Barrier Reef, and the global effects of the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. I can't find the one about the effects of ocean pollution." She frowned.

"She has a P.H.D in Marine Biology; I think she knows about ocean pollution." I smiled at her.

"Right." She looked a little relieved. "I better go write those cue cards."

I sighed and looked down at the leaflets. "Well, I'd better get started." I decided I ought to read them downstairs so I could help out if needed, so headed down to curl up on the sofa. "Ew!" I pulled out an abondoned and still sticky candy cane from between the cushons, and sat down with a sigh. Pulling out the first leaflet, I opened it and began to read.

"Lizzie got you campaining, huh?" Derek asked from behind me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Yeah, she has this crazy notion that Abby will do anything I say 'cause I saved your butt in high school." I tried to go back to reading.

He laughed, "Case, for that alone my mom would jump off a cliff for you! Add to that the fact she feels sorry for you for having to live with me, and is hoping you'll keep me from being a college drop out and yeah. She'd probably worship you as a goddess and take your word as script if you wanted." He looked amused at my surprised expression. "I think she's a little disappointed that you're my step-sister and not my girlfriend. If you were she wouldn't begged you to marry me long ago."

I blushed and turned my eyes back to the leaflet. I had absolutely no idea what to say to that.

Derek smiled at my embarrassment. "Still might actually."

"Der-ek!" I cried out, appalled.

"Oh, don't worry; it'd take a LOT of chocolate chip pancakes to make me take you on Princess." He winked and took Simon back into the kitchen to bug someone else.

Suddenly I couldn't concentrate on the leaflets anymore. It's not like I'd have to say much about them anyway, they probably didn't have anything in them that Lizzie's cue cards wouldn't cover anyway. I put them down and went to find my Mom to see if there was any more cleaning to be done.

"No, it's ok honey. There's just a couple of things left that I want to do myself." Mom smiled tiredly as she finished making her and George's bed. When exactly Abby was going to see the basement I didn't know, but when my mum is obsessive, she's crazy obsessive.

"You could clean my room seeing as you hijacked Edwin." Derek called from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes. "He isn't your personal slave! You should clean your room yourself!" I called back up to him.

Mom winced and put a hand to her head.

"Sorry!"

"It's ok sweetie, just... Go and help Derek with your brother."

"Help Derek?" I asked incredulously.

"I thought you two weren't going to fight anymore?" The defeated tone she said this in get to me.

"Fine; I'll go," I held up my hand, "But for the record, no fighting does not mean me helping him."

Mom's smile was still half wince, but she nodded in thanks. "Just... Please, no yelling."

I nodded back and started back up the stairs, stopping in the doorway to watch the scene before me. The CD Marti had bought me was blaring out, and Derek and Marti were dancing to it; Derek swinging Simon around (safely I was glad to see) while Marti jumped and twirled around them. More entertaining was an out of tune Derek singing along while Marti giggled at him.

Derek noticed me watching with a grin. "Marti, go get Casey. If she's going to be in here then she has to dance too." He commanded playfully.

I allowed Marti to lead me to the middle of the room and spun her around. It wan't long before I we were both singing along with Derek and the CD, bringing us the attention of Edwin and Lizzie. I would have been surprised that Edwin could hear us from all the attic; but in honesty I was surprised the Davisons weren't pouding on the door. We were being loud even for us.

After fifteen minutes I was getting a little breathless from dipping, twirling and lifting Marti; a fact Derek noticed straight away.

"Here, I'll swap you a baby for a Smarti." He held our brother out to me. Our brother. It still didn't sound right.

Someone knocked as the door so I balanced Simon on one hip, using the arm this freed up to push my hair off my face, intending to answer it. Derek seized my hand and twirled me before I could reclaim my arm; his other arm outstretched so I couldn't trip or lose my grip on Simon, then dashed off to get the door instead.

Marti stood to the side, looking a little uncomfortable as her mother entered, attempting to hug Derek before coming in to greet us.

"This must be Simon." She smiled at her ex-husband's baby with forced enthusiasm.

I gave her a matching smile. I felt unbelievably awkward at that moment. Several thoughts ran through my head that contributed to my discomfort. The first that it was the first time Abby had met Simon and my mom would have wanted to be there, second Derek's comment that she might beg me to marry him, and third that she must have heard all of our loud singing and she was now seeing the messy outcome in my hair, face and disarrayed clothes. Although that may not be in chronological order.

When Mom came up to join us a minute or two later, she rescued us from an uneasy silence. With relief I handed her son to her and went to make drinks.

Lizzie came down shortly after and helped me carry the drinks in, by which time the rest of the family had also appeared.

Derek and Edwin were playing a video game Edwin had got for Christmas, Marti was being Derek's unashamed cheerleader, yelling childish trash talk at Edwin and jumping up and down whenever Derek scored a point or shot a bad guy or whatever they were doing.

Mom was holding Simon while she, George and Abby held a stunted conversation about anything they could think of.

I wasn't quite sure which group to join; one was in desperate need of fresh company and therefore conversation, and the other looked like I might avoid awkward silences. It was tempting to join the latter but as I was about to, Mom gave me a silent SOS and I caved.

"Here's your drinks." I handed them out after setting the other's down.

They all flashed me relieved smiles.

"So, Casey. How's University?" Abby asked me.

"It's amazing!" A smile instantly leapt to my face, even with the awkwardness. "I can't believe I almost didn't go!"

"You almost didn't go?" Abby repeated my words with incredulity.

"Casey was offered an opportunity to dance in New York." Mom beamed proudly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was talent spotted during the summer." I didn't bother name dropping as I was fairly certain she wouldn't know or care who. My inner Derek guiding my behaviour again. I shuddered a little at the thought.

"You mean when you guys did that charity drive thing in the summer?"

I nodded. "It wasn't really a charity drive; more of an awareness campaign to promote a cause." I was about to launch into a description of the whole thing; reasons, acts, how it worked out and where my dancing came in, but Abby was ahead of me.

"So why didn't you take the opportunity?"

I shrugged, to be honest I'm still not entirely sure why I didn't. "I... I guess it just didn't feel right. I mean, I love to dance and I still do. But it was so sudden, and I was already so excited to go to Queens; I'd worked my ass off..." I winced as that came out; it just wasn't me to speak like that and I didn't know where it came from. "I worked really hard all the way through school so I could go to University, and apart from when I was little, I never really considered dancing professionally." I paused. "I guess I figured, why mess with the plan?"

Abby nodded at me sympathetically and I had to lighten the mood.

"And lets face it; Derek would never have made it in the real world without me." Only after she smiled at me did I realise how that could sound. I blushed and excused myself. I was generous but I wasn't a saint. No way was I standing there getting asked the reasons behind my life choices just to help them out of an awkward conversation.

"So what's the score at?" I asked, sitting down next to Lizzie.

"Edwin's a loser!" Marti shouted out gleefully.

"Hey!" Edwin protested.

"Well you are." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"She's right. There's no way you're making a comeback now. You're three hundred points behind." Derek didn't even look away from the screen. "In fact, I'm bored of beating you. Maybe one of the girls would like a go?" He quit the game and turned. "Casey?"

"Uh uh, I'm fine being an observer." I smiled.

"Scared you'll be humiliated?" He taunted.

"Nope; I just don't like to rub my superior gaming skills in people's faces. Especially ones with such fragile egos."

He opened his mouth to answer me but before he could Marti volunteered to play, and he never could say no to her. "All right Smarti, but go easy on me."

"Okay."

"Ed, controller, now."

"But it's my game!"

"And?"

"Nothing." Edwin gave up the controller and sat down to sulk. That didn't last for very long once the game had started. Of course Derek was shamelessly letting his baby sister win, and it was too funny for Edwin to maintain his bad mood.

Eventually we were called to dinner (pre-prepared during Mom's freak out) and things settled into the normal dinner table chatter.

Afterwards Marti insisted on charades and the Venturi kids opened their presents. Lizzie and I had presents too, but ours were opened in the background.

Lizzie had a dolphin pendant and I had a pair of cubit zirconia earrings. Derek had a t-shirt signed by some hockey big shot, Edwin had a CD and Marti had an expensive face paint set, which she then insisted she had to use right away on everyone present.

Luckily Derek managed to get her to postpone with promises that Sam would be round the next day and then she could use it on him.

I was just beginning to relax when Lizzie nudged me and shoved the cue cards into my hands. I gave her a pleading look but she didn't budge.

I sighed deeply. "Abby, I was wondering. Are you at all interested in the preservation of the Great Barrier Reef or the protection of whales?"

"Of course. Why?"

She would have to be on board wouldn't she? Why couldn't she have shot me down? "I was wondering if you'd allow me to give you a brief presentation?"

She nodded. "Go ahead."

I stood up and stepped into the centre of the room. Looking at the first of the cue cards I started to make my, or rather Lizzie's points. "The Great Barrier Reef is composed of over two thousand, nine hundred individual reefs..." I began. Why Lizzie wanted me to cover this I'm not sure. The woman had her P.H.D in this stuff, seemed kinda pointless to tell her stuff she already knew. Five minutes later and I was onto 'interesting whale facts'. "The Order Cetacea contains the two largest animals in the world: the blue whale, which can grow to about 100 feet in length, and the fin whale, which can grow to about 88 feet. I flipped to the next cue card, not sure what else to say on that subject. "A whale's penis is called a dork..." I trailed off looking horrified at the card and flipped to the next. "A blue whale produces over four hundred gallons of semen when it ejaculates..." I looked up at Lizzie, who looked just as disturbed as me (although maybe a little amused) then switched my gaze to Derek who was practically suffocating himself in an effort not to laugh. "Der-ek!"

"What?" He choked out, but was unable to continue due to the violent laughter spilling out of his ridiculously happy face.

I scowled and narrowed my eyes. He wouldn't be so pleased with himself when he was lying cold and dead on the floor... I took a deep breath and let it out, counting slowly to ten in my head while doing so. I forced a smile. "Very funny Derek, it's very encouraging that you took the time and effort to study to make this valuable contribution to mine and Lizzie's presentation. Thank you."

Everyone's mouths dropped. Their eyes turned to Derek for his reaction.

"You're welcome, Case. Why don't you continue?" He challenged, arms folded and laughter gone.

"Oh, I think we've all learned enough. I said tightly. Abby, here's some reading material for you. Although I'm afraid they don't contain Derek's colourful facts."

Everyone's eyes had switched to me when Derek had finished speaking, and now they switched back to him. It was as if they were watching a sparring match and didn't want to miss the next move.

"But after all that time and effort that I spent, the least you could do is finish your charming presentation, Sis." His eyes held the fire of combat; he wasn't going to let this go easily.

I pursed my lips and resisted the urge to make threatening noises. Of all the things Derek called me, 'Sis' was the one I hated most of all. Coming from him anyway. "Well, I was going to sit down and have a drink. But you're more than welcome to finish it yourself, Bro."

George, sensing the oncoming disaster, heroically stepped in, asking Marti if she would like to show her mother the school work she'd got an A on just before term ended.

"Apocalypse averted, I decided to make my escape. If you'll please excuse me, I have some school work of my own that needs doing." I smiled and left the room.

"Keener!" Echoed after me as I made my way up the stairs.

Sorry about any grammar mistakes; for some reason the Document Editor decided to take out a load of speech marks, and I'm not sure if it did anything else as it's hard enough proof-reading this at 1 am as it is. :/