Last chapter! I really can't believe it. One night I just began writing and this is what came of it. Derek and Casey are awesome to write about. Even so long after the show has finished, their undeniable chemistry is alive and still felt in FF and I hope I kept it alive for you as well. Thank you for all your amazing support, and let me know if you liked the story as a whole. Constructive criticism is welcome!

Just a shout out to my frequent and lovely reviewers:

Frogster, Illaengka, Katie452, stelladelnordxd, ParallelFates, xxMidnight-Rain-Melodyxx, jaz719, Darkphoniex245, phoenix9648, kmr04, SelfControl, missbellaswan.

Disclaimer: I don't own LWD or 'The Great Escape' by Kevin Rudolf.

The Great Escape

One night when I was asleep, I had a dream I could fly, I felt the cold on my skin, then I opened my eyes.

It was a great and undeniable truth that Casey came to begrudgingly accept. She was no exception to the rule of what Derek wanted, he got it. At times she would catch herself looking at him with admiration, knowing that he had loved her for so long and struggled with the pain of trying to hide his feelings from himself – and later on from her and the world.

They were on their way home to London together for the second time that year, but this time the trees weren't a lush green flowing in the breeze. They were a collage of orange, yellow and red that flowed onto the side streets near their home, crinkling under their feet as they walked on the path to the doorway. This time, they were hand in hand. There were no tears or resentment or frustration. There was only anxiety and determination. This time, Derek whispered words of encouragement to his love, not a promise of separation.

So I jumped out of bed, went down the fire escape, now I'm laid out on the street, I wasn't running away.

They stood there in front of the red door, for the first time as true lovers, ready to face the world as such. Once they opened that door, they would never look back. It was then that he cupped her face and kissed her gently, something he did whenever he wanted to tell her he loved her and that he would always be there for her. True to his word, he never uttered those three words again but she could see it in his eyes that were now free of the cages he had put himself in.

It had become suddenly clear one day why he never spoke to her their first semester in university, he wanted to forget her, he wanted to escape and be free from it all. He never expected her to return to his life, so suddenly, and so unexpectedly – but that was the same manner in which he fell in love with her in the first place.

From something I could control, it was inside of me. I didn't know where to go, but I decided to leave.

When the door opened, Derek was holding her hand in his with a small smile on his face. And even though her mother had fainted, and even though his father yelled, she found comfort in his unyielding warmth that he gave her. He had been so strong, waiting for her for all these years. And as she looked up at him, his jaw clenched at their parents' reactions, she decided that she would be strong for him too.

I still remember that night, I've never been the same, still wonder if I can fly, was it just a dream?

-

"This... this is unacceptable, I mean, how long has this been going on?" George was pacing the kitchen behind the sliding doors. Nora sat at the kitchen island, her arms calmly resting on the granite top. She sipped at her tea, trying to calm her raging headache.

"George, I don't know. But we have to be rational about this." She said, her gentle but stern tone consoling him.

"We have to be rational? There is absolutely nothing rational about what they are doing." George said, grasping at his hair.

"I have to admit that it wasn't completely unforeseen." Nora said, mixing her tea with her small silver spoon. George looked at her for a moment, and faltered in his stance.

"It doesn't mean it's right, Nora. We have to do something—"

"What are we going to do? They go to university in Toronto, and are starting their sophomore year in a matter of days. Uprooting either of them could have bad consequences. They are adults." Nora replied, sighing heavily.

George sat down then, and looked his wife in the eye. He could understand why his son fell for his step-daughter. She was beautiful and smart, much like her mother. He cursed himself for not being able to see it earlier. Their eldest children seemingly hated each other with their whole beings, but as an adult, he knew that was a line easily and often crossed. And even though they were not related, it just couldn't happen. But maybe...

"Maybe, we should let them have their fun for a while and it'll fizzle out. Young relationships always do." George inwardly winced as his statement struck a chord with both their earlier failed marriages. Nora looked at him, her blue eyes tired and worn, like she had aged in the last hour since their children had come home.

"I suppose that is one way to do it, but what if they last... we have." Nora said quietly, the truth staring them in the face. George laughed nervously.

"It's alright. One day they'll realize there's too much pressure, and they'll break up. Derek's never lasted in a long relationship." George said, pouring himself a hot cup. Nora thought back to the night Derek had yelled at Casey in the kitchen – he had never looked so broken and so not like himself.

"Somehow, I think Derek has changed. But... I hope you're right. I personally don't have a huge problem with this, but I'm just worried for them and what other people will say about them. And oh gods, what will the children think?" Nora said, her tone suddenly worried. At that moment, the three youngest children slid the doors open.

And as soon as they met eyes with their parents, George and Nora knew that they had all known.

"And you're okay with this?" George asked incredulously.

Lizzie smiled brilliantly at them, and nodded. "We've known longer than Casey has." She joked lightly, the humour missing their parents but making her two siblings smile.

"Smerek really loves Smasey, and I don't want it any other way." Marti spoke up then, commanding attention of the room. It was the first time she had called Casey by that name, and they were all touched by it in a way they couldn't identify.

-

I wasn't happy for so long, so many times I walked away. Think I was searching for something, not knowing what I had to face.

So when Derek and Casey went back to university, and decided to move in together, their parents were only able to take solace in the fact that they wouldn't be physical underneath their roof and it would be cheaper for them. To the children, it felt like the missing piece of the puzzle that was their home had finally been found and they couldn't be happier. However their parents still believed that they wouldn't last.

Until I found out the reason, that's when I made my great escape. But now, it's too late to say I'm sorry.

The seasons continually changed throughout the years as Derek and Casey got older and made their way through university. Their parents aged, and their relationship with them was somewhat strained. Nora eventually and secretly gave up the notion that her children would break up, because she was able to see the strength that their relationship had built over the two years that they had been together. George was still unconvinced that they would be together, effectively alienating himself from the family.

So when Derek and Casey graduated from university, and Derek's senior thesis which had been a medical documentary featuring Casey garnered both him and her national attention, they were able to jumpstart their lives once again, but they were together this time. This time, they wouldn't tease the other about who would miss the other the most. This time, he wouldn't drop her off at her place and leave with a heavy heart. This time, they would never say goodbye again.

So when it had been an entire thirteen years since they had merged their families, and Derek popped the question by nonchalantly flicking the engagement ring at Casey and watching her flail about to catch it with a smirk, their parents decided to finally give up and realize that while it may be unconventional, they had to accept it. Derek and Casey's relationship had been tested and trialed and they were in it for the long run, no matter what anyone else said.

When they made their way down the church steps, their various friends, co-workers and younger siblings throwing rice and other colourful objects at them, George had to smile when he saw a sticky note on the back of his daughter in law's wedding dress that said: "Property of D. Venturi".

This is my song, these are my words, this is my story.

-

"I am getting too old for this! De-rek!" Casey screamed, running down the stairs of their house. Derek met her at the bottom of the stairs with a lazy smirk on his face.

"What can I do for you sweetums?" he asked teasingly.

"Don't you sweetums me you overgrown child!" she screeched, but after sixteen years, it didn't affect him in the slightest anymore. Derek smoothed his hands down her arms, delighting in the fact that she still shivered from his touch.

"But Case..." he whined, pouting.

"No! There's no reason to hide all of my clothes! What are you, fifteen?" Casey demanded outraged by his silly antics that never failed to rile her up.

"Only for you, baby." Derek's husky voice didn't turn her on at all and she shoved him with his fists.

"Go. Get. My. Clothes. NOW!" she screamed, and he had to wince at that one.

"Did you check the bottom drawer?" he asked smoothly, a smirk returning to his face. Casey faltered and ran back up the stairs to their room, Derek following her with a growing smirk.

She quickly scampered over to the dresser and opened up the bottom drawer. There, she found a purple maternity dress and beside it, a piece of yellow clothing that could only fit a small newborn, their own. She stiffened, and looked back at her husband and bane of her existence with tears welling up in her eyes.

"You knew?" Casey asked, her voice littered with emotion. Derek nodded, his arms enveloping her.

"Of course. I know everything about you, and will always strive to do so because I'm so in love with you." He said gently, and Casey crumpled in his arms, beginning to cry. He hadn't said those words since their wedding day.

"I was going to tell you tonight, you know." She said, sniffling.

"I know, but I'm always one step ahead of you Case." He grinned, and kissed her forehead. She pouted and smacked him on his side.

"So, I'm thinking we paint the extra room pink." Casey said after a moment.

"Bleh. Derek junior won't like that at all." Derek scrunched up his nose.

"Um, what? You mean Casey junior right?" she retorted, trying to hide a smile.

"You know how ridiculous that sounds?" he said in disbelief at her words. Casey growled at him and he grinned in kind.

"I'll show you what ridiculous is, with my fist!" Casey screeched and proceeded to chase him around their new home and beginning their new life as a family.

This is my song, these are my words, this is my story.

end.