A/N: This is my first LWD fanfic! Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Please Reveiw.. let me know what you liked, didn't like.. and all of that jazz.

-Jacki :)

Chapter One: Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed

"But Daddy, I wanna go with Smerek and Casey!" Marti Venturi cried as she watched her father pile her two eldest siblings' bags by the front door.

George Venturi looked down at his six-year old daughter and smiled, "No, Marti, this trip is only for Casey and Derek. I'm sorry."

Marti looked about to cry but just then Derek Venturi hopped down the stairs two at a time and landed in front of Marti, "Cheer up Smarti! We'll be back before you know it! But, I need you to do a very important job for me!"

Marti cheered up real quick, "OK Smerek!"

Derek smiled, "I need you to make sure Dad, Nora, Ed and Liz don't go into my room. Can you be my guard while I'm gone?"

"Sure thing Smerek!" Marti cheered, and gave her favorite brother a thumbs-up.

"Mom! Where's the map!?" a high, shrill voice called from upstairs.

Derek rolled his eyes as Nora McDonald-Venturi answered her eldest daughter, Casey, "It's down here, Case, George put it with your bags!"

Casey ran down the stairs, a backpack on her shoulder and stressed out look on her face. Derek smirked; typical Casey, freak out over a vacation. Derek walked over to her as she stepped off the stairs. He put his arm around her shoulders, "Come on Case! This trip is supposed to be fun, remember?"

Casey looked at him, clearly annoyed, "Right. Fun, with you." She rolled her eyes.

Derek looked offended, "That hurts, Case!" he grinned and squeezed her shoulders then walked over to his dad, "Dad, when can we get out of this place?!"

George looked over at his wife who had just walked over to the group; he grinned then looked back to Derek, "Soon, we just have to get the car packed up."

Derek grinned, "Sweet!"

Casey looked around, "Mom? Where are Ed and Liz? They're gonna miss us!"

Nora looked at her daughter, "I haven't seen them today; I think they're at friend's house. I know Lizzie is."

"Ed's at Teddy's house." George said.

"Teddy?" Derek said through gritted teeth.

Casey put a hand on Derek's shoulder, "Chill, Derek, he's not here. Come on, grab some bags, and let's go."

Derek smirked, "I was going to do anyway; I don't take orders from you." Casey rolled her eyes and grinned as Derek grabbed two bags and struggled to get out the open door and to the car.

Nora turned to Casey, "Ok, so you have the directions to the hotel, money for gas, refreshments, and anything else on the way? You have CDs and other things to keep you both entertained?"

Casey smiled, and looked relaxed, "Yes, Mom, we have everything, we'll be fine. We'll be back in two weeks, and we'll keep in touch. Everything will be fine!"

Nora sighed, "Ok, ok. You two have fun, and no fighting! Be safe! I love you!"

Casey looked at her mom, as she grabbed the last bag, and hugged Marti, "Ok. I love you, too, Mom! Bye George! Bye Marti!" Derek ran up to the doorway.

"Come on, Casey! We want to beat the traffic! Bye parents! Bye Smarti!" Derek grabbed Casey's arm and dragged her out the door and into the car.

"Finally!" Derek said, as he started up the car and Casey settled into the passenger seat. She smiled at him.

"I thought they would never let us leave!" he held her hand in his and smiled a real, genuine smile at her.

Derek and Casey had been waiting for this vacation for a very long time. A few months ago, Derek had approached Casey in her room, admitting feelings he had been had for her, and had been keeping a secret for quite a while. She replied to him by telling him all about the feelings she had kept a secret from him. Ever since then, they had a secret relationship, keeping it from their friends and their family. Even though they knew it was not incest, they still wanted to keep it from everyone. They would not be able to understand it. Just because their parents were married did not mean that they were related. It was just as if they were living in the same house. They understood, but they were sure no one else would. They had come up with the idea to go on a vacation together to get away from the secrets and be able to be in public and be a couple. They were so excited.

"So, we should get there in about…. 3 days." He smiled at her as he drove down their street.

She looked at him at out of the corner of her eye, "Derek, the hotel is only half a day away!"

He grinned at her, "Exactly."

She smiled and put in a CD they had created especially for their trip. It was a collection of songs they associated with their relationship. In other words: their songs. Casey smiled over at her boyfriend; she could finally be with him and not have to worry about being caught by anyone in their family or at their school. He grinned back at her, knowing exactly what she was feeling. He had waited too long for this. As they slowed to a stop at a red light, Casey leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Ah, it feels so good to do that without having to look around first." He rubbed his nose on hers, "Yeah, yeah it does."

There was a loud beep behind them and Derek jumped and looked up at the now green light. He smiled sheepishly and pressed on the gas. Casey giggled and turned the radio up louder, enjoying the time with Derek, preparing to enjoy every last second with him. As he pulled out into the intersection, Casey smiled over at him and then suddenly screamed; a large semi truck was speeding towards them, apparently running the red light on its side. Derek looked at the truck then looked back at Casey. His eyes were full of fear and love and he whispered, "I love you." Then the truck collided with their car and it sent them flipping away in the air. Casey screamed and grabbed Derek's hand as the car suddenly landed, upside down on the ground. Derek's head hit the roof of the car and his grip on Casey's hand slackened. She looked over at him and cried out his name.

When he did not answer, tears ran down her face. But, his head turned towards her and his hand gave her a small, weak squeeze. Then Casey looked past him and saw the headlights of another car coming speeding at them. She held his hand tighter and braced herself. As the car collided with their car, she screamed as they spun around on the road and her left leg was crushed in by the impact. As soon as the vehicle stopped moving, she somehow got out of her seatbelt and dragged her broken left leg out of the upside down car. She hobbled over to the other side, screaming Derek's name as she did. As she went over to his side and bent down, she screamed again.

Casey woke up in a hospital room, her head pounding and her left leg in a lot of pain. She opened her eyes and looked around. Her leg was up in a sling and there were wires all around her. Her mother and George were sitting beside her, looking tired and worse for wear. Nora noticed she was awake and let out a scream of joy.

"Casey! Oh, thank God!" she wrapped her arms around her daughter, tears streaming down her face.

Casey hugged her mom, and as Nora sat back down with George she noticed that they were upset about something else. She looked around and suddenly remembered the other person who had been in the accident with her.

"Derek?" she croaked, her voice was hoarse and low, "What happened to Derek? Is he alright?"

Nora burst into tears again, but Casey knew these ones were not because she was happy. George's face paled and his lips tightened. Casey shook her head, she would not believe it.

"Casey… Derek… Derek was dead before the ambulance even showed up at the accident…" George said, his voice trembling.

Casey shook her head harder, "NO! You're lying! He's not dead, NO! I won't believe it! He- he can't be."

Nora's tears flowed harder now, "Yes, Casey, he didn't make it. It's hard on all of us. But he is dead."

Casey screamed as if she were in serious pain, "NO! Why would you say that?! NO! He is NOT! You're lying! You both are! Where is he? Show me where he is!" she was crying hysterically now, knowing she was wrong and they were right, just not being able to accept it.

"Oh, Casey!" Nora cried and hugged her daughter tight. Casey cried into her mom's shoulder.

"Derek? What does our relationship mean to you?" Casey asked one day as they sat on his bed one Saturday when their family was out.

He looked at her, his eyes serious, "It means everything to me." He went in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, "I love you Case, always have, and always will."

"Always?" Casey asked, looking up at him, her brown eyes full of question.

He nodded, "Always and forever."

Casey sobbed harder as she remembered the day Derek had made the promise of his love. Where was 'always and forever' now? What happened to it when Derek died? How could he love her always and forever if he was dead? She closed her eyes, maybe if she thought hard enough, she would wake up in her room and it would all be a very bad dream and none of this would ever happen. She wanted to start the day over; she was supposed to have her vacation with Derek and everything would have been great.

If only her everything hadn't come crumbling down around her.