A/N: Here it is, guys. THE END.

Disclaimer: I don't own the regular cast of LWD. The Quartet isn't the regular cast. God help Derek if they were.

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Blast From the Past

Chapter 38, or Epilogue: New Year's Eve

By VirgoMaiden

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Six days later, Derek found himself dragged out of the house by Casey to a car waiting in the driveway. Without needing to be told, he knew that it was the Quartet who sat inside, and he managed a smile as Casey dragged him down the front steps and through the snow.

"Caty!"

The driver's window rolled down and Derek saw Girl No. 3, Caty, poke her head out. "Casey!" she shouted back, smiling.

"I wanted to say goodbye before you all left," Casey said, the two of them now next to the stalling car. "Since we don't see each other all that often. And… You know… Since you live far away…" Casey stood there, her lower lip quivering, before lunging forward and hugging Caty through the window. "I'm gonna miss you!" she wailed.

"We're going to miss you too, dork," Caty laughed. "You need to come up more often a visit, okay?"

"I will," Casey said, her voice muffled. Derek, however, was able to hear her next words loud and clear: "I'll make sure that Derek drives me up more often."

"No way, Spacey," Derek said, yanking his stepsister (and brand-new "serious" girlfriend) out of the car. "Get a bus schedule and maybe I'll help you with the fares."

"You're such a nice boyfriend, Derek," a voice from the back said, and when their window rolled down, he saw that it was Noelle. "Generous. Good-looking. All that stuff."

"By the way - congrats on that, you two!" Sarah piped up from next to Noelle. "Jessica went all crazy when she heard (she didn't think it possible), but Caty was just like 'I knew it…'"

"You really shouldn't talk so much," Caty said flatly, turning around in her said and glaring at her friend.

"Speaking of talk…" Casey said lazily, "Where's Vicky? The queen of gossip too busy to say goodbye to her favorite cousin?"

"Nah," Jessica said, moving so that Derek could now see her, leaned over Caty (and, subsequently, allowing him to see the entire Quartet lineup). "She and Drake were driven home earlier, by Coach."

"That must be awkward," Derek said, trying to work into the conversation.

Caty looked at him for the comment, but surprisingly didn't insult him as she usually did. "Yeah," she said. "The constant chaperone and the embarrassing aunt all wrapped up in one package? I bet Vicky's wishing she had chosen to ride home with us."

"Please don't joke about something like that," Noelle said flatly. "I might've killed her if she had."

"You and me both, pal," Jessica said.

"But we gotta get going soon," Caty said, motioning towards the dark sky. "It's what, five? It's a two-hour drive, and we want to be with our families for the countdown."

"Aw," Casey said, pouting. " 'Soon' as in 'now'?"

"Essentially."

"You can leave after I give you all hugs," Casey said easily, and moved to the other side of the car, where Derek could hear Casey and Sarah crying and Jessica chattering through it all.

"Hey. Venturi."

Derek looked down to see a conspiritorial-looking Caty and Noelle. They beckoned him down with a simple 'come here' motion of her index finger, and he obliged, bending over.

"Don't hurt Casey," Caty said. "Don't make her cry or we'll hurt you."

"Take care of her," Noelle said wisely. "Remember dates and stuff like that."

"Don't dump her for some kind of floozy, either," Caty added.

"And call us 'Aunt' Noelle and 'Aunt' Caty," Noelle said with a sarcastic smile. "God knows that we know you well enough to be family."

"Don't count on it," Derek said seriously. And then, "But thanks for everything."

Caty looked at him warily. "For what?"

"For coming here. You guys – and Drake – helped my family get our act together."

"…By 'our family,' you don't mean your brother and Lizzie..?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," Caty said, looking shellshocked. "I'd like to be surprised. But I'm not. How am I not surprised?"

"Because it was totally predictable?" Noelle chimed in. "Kind of weird, cliché, awkward… and sweet…but predictable? Was it you or Sarah who said that she'd be getting all the guys?"

"I don't really remember," Caty said. "But… Yeah. Wow. Congratulations to them, then."

"You're telling me," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "Took them long enough."

"Don't get me started," Casey said evenly, appearing beside him. "Especially with you."

"Ooh! Dirt!" Sarah, done with the goodbyes, peered over Noelle and smiled. "I love dirt!"

"It's a story for a rainy day," Casey said, smiling at her friend.

"God knows we have plenty of those coming up," Jessica said dramatically from her position next to Caty. "I expect to hear it."

"You will," Casey said at the same time Derek said "You won't."

"What?" he asked when subjected to a withering look from the car and his girlfriend. "It may be touchy for me…"

"And that's our cue to leave, then," Caty said, laughing, and turned the key, the engine coming to life.

"Be safe!" Casey called out as the group backed out.

"We will!" Someone shouted, and a few hands poked out of the windows, waving.

"Byeee!" Casey and Derek shouted after him, walking into the middle of the street, watching the car disappear down the dark road. When the car, the occupants, and their well wishes for the new years finally dissolved into the night, Derek put an arm around Casey and hugged her tighter to him.

Casey let out a long, wistful sigh.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said automatically. "It's just…really pretty, don't you think? With the snow, the roads, the streetlights…"

"Don't ask me to go all poetic on you, Case," Derek said seriously. "Please. For both of our sakes."

"Fine," Casey rolled her eyes. "But mark my words, Venturi. Inside, you're a poet. A really romantic poet."

"What? Me? No. Me Derek. Derek like manly things. Like hockey –''

"And that picture frame I made for you?" Casey asked quietly. "Don't lie to me, Der," she said. "I know you have it in your bedside drawer."

"…Can't you just let a guy be manly?" Derek finally asked. "I swear, my man card will be gone by the time we're through."

"Let's not think about that right now," Casey said seriously.

"Casey McDonald? Ask to not think about the future?" Derek asked jokingly. "Come on, Case… this is the worst night to say such things."

"Please?" Casey didn't respond to his comment and instead looked up at him.

"…Yeah," Derek said. "I'll drop it. Let's just…live in the moment, I guess?"

"Hm. You can let yourself think that," Casey said, pursing her lips, and then shivered. "Can we go on in, then? Or else Marti will drink all the sparkling cider."

"Sure, sure," Derek said, and, his arm still around her, he led her up into the house. Into the warmth, into the light, welcomed by the cries of their family, the cries of insanity and chaos…

Along the way, he wondered when he had grown to be the sentimental fool he had just acted to be.

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A/N: Wow. Uh, yeah. Wow. This is…This is finished. First of all, I'd like to thank everybody. Everybody who read this, who beta'd this, who gave me advice on this, who helped me when I felt like I wasn't able to churn anything decent out. I thank everyone who has reviewed and feel like they will in the future (as an extra incentive, if you review this last chapter with some comments, overall feelings, etc, I'll send you a deleted scene I didn't put in (but reeeeeally wanted to)). Also, about the final Dasey relationship: Derek and Casey really don't know what's going to happen. Neither do Lizzie and Edwin, but hey – that's what makes relationships so thrilling when you're a teen, right? :D

This fic is my most popular one – by far – and I think that a large chuck of that success can be reflected onto the LWD community. So I thank you all, and with that I have three more announcements.

I need a beta for my new oneshot, which features Truman, Casey, and Derek. Any takers?

I've recently taken part in NaNoWriMo, and if anyone here has an interest in being involved with my novel (i.e, reading it, basically) please message me.

I don't know if I'm going to be involved in LWD much after my onesie is posted since I'm really busy in my school lately. That doesn't mean I'm never going to do anything on LWD whatsoever. I will be involved. I'll read, I'll write. I just may not post too much. So. Yeah. Again, message me if I was too vague here.

Love,

VM