A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm terribly sorry for not updating since early August, but the mother of all evil dug its way into my mind. Yeah, I'm talking about writer's block. But I'm pretty sure it's fixed... for the time being, that is. I could do with some requests; maybe they'd get me going. Either way, the third chapter is up, so enjoy!

Casey knew Derek was thinking the same thing she was, and she looked at him in horror. For the first time in who knew how long, he looked back with a tint of concern. She bit her lip.

“Should I go down?”

“I don’t think he’ll leave before you do.”

Casey frowned and dropped the phone, her eyes following it.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Max sat on the couch, leaning over his knees and looking around at the house he came to so many times before. Marty had left to go upstairs, after having mentioning something about Popsicle sticks.

He heard slow footsteps to his left and stood, pleased that Casey couldn’t resist seeing him. More alone time with him was just what she needed; a girl like Casey wouldn’t take long to train. She’d grow accustomed to him in no time.

Her eyes didn’t meet his, and he frowned at this, but decided not to let it get to him too deeply. What did piss him off, however, was the sixteen-year-old following behind her. He gritted his teeth for a second, then nodded once in Derek’s direction.

“Derek.”

Derek lifted his chin in greeting. “How’s your nose?”

Max’s casual gaze suddenly hardened coldly, and he shifted uncomfortably. Casey didn’t move much except to stand aside for Derek to come leave the stairs completely. Max tilted his head a little and brought his hands out, palms up, and forced an expectant smile.

“We haven’t seen each other for a day, Case. Do I get a hug?”

“No.”

Max lifted an eyebrow. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Casey speak like that; her voice was firm, there was no quaver in it, her arms were crossed, but she still wouldn’t look at him. He sighed and forced a tiny smile, trying keep up what dignity he could pull off in front of the McDonalds and Venturis. He decided to try again.

“Come on, Case… Derek here messed up my nose pretty bad. The least you could –”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What?”

“Don’t call me that. You don’t have the right to.” Casey finally swept her gaze to lock with the too calm eyes she had feared to look at. “And what you got, you deserved. From both of us.”

Derek blinked and turned his head in Casey’s direction. “What are you talking about?”

Casey didn’t answer immediately, mostly because she felt pretty stupid for throwing a new bit of information out there in front of Derek. She hadn’t meant for him to know about it, but there was no avoiding it now.

When he got no answer, Derek looked back at Max, who was now glaring at Casey. It took all of his willpower not to break the jerk’s nose off completely, but somehow Derek managed to stay put. As long as he was here, he’d let Casey handle this. It was her problem.

Casey still had no answer, so Max volunteered. “Your sister hit me before you found me yesterday.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at Casey. “My nose. You both hit it.” Derek’s look of disbelief allowed Max to continue, “Honestly, she hits better than you do, Venturi.”

For the sake of the tension in the moment, Derek wouldn’t comment, but he couldn’t hide his smirk. That’s my Casey. Tougher than nails.

Max opened his mouth to say something else, but the three teens’ attentions darted to the front door; it was being opened.

“Max!” Nora said with a beaming smile. “We haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?”

Max smiled sweetly. “I’ve been great, Mrs. McDonald, thanks.”

Nora smiled back, but paused soon after. “Oh dear heavens, what happened to your nose?”

Casey and Derek exchanged frantic looks. Max’s eyes met each of theirs, then went back to Nora’s worried expression.

“Oh, no worries. Just a little rough football practice. That’s all.”

Nora shook her head, but the smile returned. “Be careful, would you? I’d hate to see such a handsome face get this again.”

He flashed a charming smile before she left the room after quietly greeting the other two teens. Casey and Derek watched Max carefully as his attention returned to them.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be between us,” he muttered, heading for the front door. Casey felt a wave of relief; she wanted nothing more than for him to leave. Derek only crossed his arms, standing as close to Casey as he could without breaking either of their comfort zones.

Before opening the door, Max looked over his shoulder. “But don’t think I’ll take this lightly, Casey. Be careful… that pretty face of yours could be your biggest weakness.” He smirked before stepping out the door and closing it behind him.

Without turning, Casey swallowed. “What did that mean?”

Derek shook his head. “I’m not sure, but as strange as it sounds, I would take his advice.” Casey looked over her shoulder, not meeting Derek’s eyes. “Be careful.”

This time, Casey did bring her eyes to Derek’s. Her lips parted in surprise; he looked concerned. When he looked back at her, she found herself blushing and didn’t know why. Awkwardly, she stepped away from him.

“Well… thanks. You know, for staying.” She paused. “It helped.” She quickly made her way up the stairs. Derek sighed, leaning against the wall.

“No problem.”

Large celebrations were not common in the MacDonald-Venturi household. But as Christmas neared, the middle children of the combined families felt it was time for a change. As always, the scheme was brought up at dinner.

“Mom? George?”

Nora continued chewing her food as George briefly looked up from his.

“What’s up, Lizzie?”

Edwin cleared his throat as he always did before giving a presentation. Derek rolled his eyes and began playing basketball with green beans and his empty glass. Nora slapped his hand mid-throw and leaned back in her seat.

“What’s this about, you two?”

Lizzie seemed to brighten up a little. “As you know, Christmas is just around the corner.”

Edwin nodded as professionally as ever, folding his hands. “And we’re getting a little old for toys, guys. So we thought we’d request a single gift this year.”

George cocked an eyebrow. “Should I even bother to continue listening to this?”

Nora sighed. “Will it fit in the house?”

Lizzie raised her hands defensively. “Yes, and yes,” she emphasized in an evident manner. Nora just smirked as Lizzie went on, “Well, it gets pretty boring around here, you know.”

Derek grinned sarcastically and George rolled his eyes. “We’ve noticed.”

Edwin nodded again. “So, we were wondering…”

Lizzie beamed. “If we could invite our whole family over for a Christmas party!”

No one spoke, if either out of confusion or pure shock. From George and Nora, both seemed to emit from their moods.

Nora’s eyes were somewhat wide, though she calmly placed her fork on the dish in front of her and sat up straight. “Guys, that’s a little short notice, don’t you think?”

“Not to mention we don’t have the money to host our entire family for a holiday get-together,” George stated.

Edwin and Lizzie straightened up. “We’ll take care of it!”

Giving odd looks, George and Nora stared at their children. “All of it?”

They nodded. Both parents exchanged what all five children believed was telepathic communication. They sighed.

“Deal.”

Edwin and Lizzie laughed and slapped high fives. Marty pulled Casey’s sleeve down and whispered in her ear, “How will our family fit in Santa’s sleigh?”

“So?”

Casey’s eyes darted to her right where she saw Emily peeking around her locker door. After waiting for a second or two, she lifted an eyebrow and returned to collecting her books. “So?”

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled. “So… when’s this big party at your house?”

Casey blinked, her right hand on the door Emily hid behind. “It’s not a party, it’s a family reunion for the holiday.” She closed the door and dropped her free arm to her side as the two began to walk. “How did you find out about it anyway?”

Emily placed her hands behind her back and tilted her head in Casey’s direction. Her expression gave it away instantly, and Casey sighed.

“Derek…”

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs when Casey came around the next corner. Emily was careful to keep close behind Casey; she knew she had probably just gotten Derek into a heap of trouble.

Casey reached the stairs and tapped on Derek’s turned shoulder. When he turned to face her, Casey opened her mouth to speak, but Derek lifted a finger and his eyebrows, telling her not to.

“Before you blow up,” Derek said with a growing smirk, “I should tell you that this little reunion has already started.”

Casey squinted her eyes and cocked her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Derek grinned and stepped aside, allowing Vicki – a.k.a. Victoria – to come forward.

A/N: This was kind of a bits-and-pieces, randomized chapter. A little something here and there. I suppose you (and, frankly, I as well) will have to see where it takes the story.