Day Break

by Nunda

Summary: Casey keeps waking up to the same day. But why? And more importantly, what can she do to save the ones she loves?

A.N. In this story, George is a prosecutor and Dennis (Casey's dad) is a detective with the NYPD. Just letting y'all know, I changed their job titles a little bit. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own "Life With Derek" and I got the story idea from a great ABC show starring sexilicious Taye Diggs. (This disclaimer covers all chapters, mmmKay?)

Day One

8:31 A.M.

The morning sun filtered through Casey MacDonald's curtains, casting a pink glow over her bedroom. Casey stretched and sat up in bed. The house was eerily quiet. Then she remembered the reason for the quietness: her mother and George were taking the younger kids to the day-long Family Festival in Toronto.

Casey had been going to the festival herself ever since she could remember but this year, it fell on Emily's birthday. And like a good best friend, Casey stayed behind.

Casey smiled when she remembered Derek had spent the night with Sam so they could ride to an early morning hockey practice together. She had the whole house to herself.

Eager to get her day started, Casey took the stairs two at a time. But on the last step, she tripped over one of Lizzie's hockey skates, and fell, twisting her ankle.

"Ow." Casey held her ankle. She was glad Derek wasn't here to call her Klutzilla. Although, her ankle was throbbing with pain, Casey was sure it would be okay. She got up and hobbled her way into the kitchen.

Casey found a note from her mom on the kitchen island.

'Casey, Keep the door locked and don't answer it for strangers. There's some money in my sock drawer for pizzas tonight. Have fun with Emily today. And call me if you need me. Love, Mom. P.S.—Marti says to give Smerek a hug for her.'

Casey laughed. Nice try, Marti, but it's not happening. She crumpled the note up and threw it in the garbage.

Casey turned on the radio to her favorite morning show, and began to make herself some pancakes.

9:13 A.M.

Casey was clearing away her breakfast dishes when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Casey answered.

"Don't you have something to say to me?" The voice demanded.

"Happy birthday, Emily!" Casey said. "Do you feel any older now that you're seventeen?"

"Mmmno." Emily said. "Not really."

"I told you." Casey said. She'd turned seventeen about a month before.

"I can't believe Derek's almost eighteen." Emily said.

"Do you have to relate everything to him?" Casey said, annoyed. "Besides, he doesn't turn eighteen for another five months."

"I can't help it." Emily said. "Your brother's a hottie."

"Step-brother." Casey said automatically. "What about Sheldon? Your boyfriend?"

"Oh, you know, hetoldmehelovedme."

"What?" Casey shrieked. "You said it back, right?"

"Yeah." Emily beamed. "He brought my gift over this morning and just said it."

"I'm happy for you, Em." Casey said. "I'll bring your gift from me over this afternoon."

"I'm in no rush." Emily said.

"Oh, Em, I have a beep—it's my mom. I'll call you later."

After Emily said goodbye, Casey clicked the phone over to the call waiting.

"Mom?" Casey said.

"Casey? Hey, I'm on the cell. It's not getting a good signal so if I go out, I'll call you back later."

"Okay." Casey said. "Are you guys there yet?"

"We're stuck in some major traffic." Nora said. "But we're…hotel. How's….going?"

"Mom, you're breaking up." Casey said. "Everything's going good. I just got out of bed."

Casey waited for a reply but only heard static.

"Mom?"

Casey waited for a few more seconds before she finally hung up.

11:45 A.M.

Casey was upstairs getting dressed when she heard the front door slam.

"Derek?" Casey called out.

"Where's Nora? I'm hungry." She heard him say.

Casey walked to the top of the stairs. Derek was discarding his jacket on the coat rack. She looked at him incredulously.

"You have two legs and a heartbeat." Casey said. "Go in there and make your own lunch. Besides, Mom and George took the kids to the Family Festival in Toronto. They won't be back until tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah." A smile spread across Derek's face. "Party at my place."

"Uh, no." Casey followed him into the kitchen. She grabbed the phone away from him.

"Hey!" He yelled. "Give that back!"

"You're not having a party here tonight. Remember the last time?"

Derek stopped for a moment. "Yeah." He said. "Locked all night in the bathroom with you." He visibly shuddered. "You're right. Now give me the phone so I can order a pizza."

Casey glanced at him questioningly and was about to answer him when the phone rang in her hands.

"Hello?" Casey answered it, sticking her tongue out at Derek.

"Is this the MacDonald-Venturi residence?" The voice on the phone said.

"Yes." Casey said, alarmed. Derek was reaching for the phone and Casey kept swatting him away.

"This is Sgt. Ellis with the Toronto Police Department." He said. "There's been a terrible accident."

Casey's hand flew to her mouth and fear choked her voice as she said, "They're okay, right?"

Derek quit trying to fight for the phone and looked at her with concern. Something in his gut told him that nothing was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry ma'am." Sgt. Ellis's voice cracked. "They died on impact."

"All of them?" Casey cried.

"All of them." He confirmed. "I need someone to come and identify the bodies this afternoon at St. Mary's Hospital."

Casey nodded, as if he could see her. She hung the phone up and sank to the floor.

"What's going on?" Derek demanded.

"They died on impact." She repeated.

"On impact? They?" Derek was trying to piece the story together. "Dad and Nora?"

Casey nodded.

"Lizzie and Edwin?" Derek was pacing.

Casey nodded again, tears streaming down her face.

"Smarti?" He said numbly.

"Yes." Casey said. "We have to identify the bodies."

"You're lying." Derek said. He looked pale, like he was going to be sick.

Casey shook her head—tears were already streaming down her face.

Derek sat on one of the barstools in front of Casey, who was still in the floor.

"I can't do that." He whispered. He was obviously in shock.

"I'll do it." Casey said bravely. She was having a hard time believing it too, even though she was the one who took the phone call. "Do you think Sam could drive us?"

"I'll drive us." Derek said.

"Derek, you are in no condition to be driving." Casey said. He was shaking all over.

Knowing that Casey was right, but not willing to admit it, Derek took the phone and dialed Sam's number.

12:58 P.M.

Sam kept his eyes on the road as he drove Casey and Derek to St. Mary's Hospital in Toronto.

"How could this happen?" Derek said from the front passenger's seat. "Dad's a great driver."

"Maybe it wasn't his fault." Casey said.

"Although, there was that one time he scratched the Davis's car." Derek said, ignoring Casey. "Tell your dad sorry, Emily."

Emily, in the back seat with Casey, turned her attention to Derek, "Don't worry about it, Derek. My dad wasn't mad."

"I'm sorry for ruining your birthday." Casey said. "But I couldn't do this alone."

"Casey, you are my best friend. I'm here for you whenever you need me no matter what day it is. Besides, this is a little more important than a birthday." Emily replied. She was holding Casey's hand in her own.

2:45 P.M.

Sam dropped Casey and Emily off at the front entrance of the hospital while he and Derek found a parking space.

They walked to the front desk and Emily got directions to the morgue. Casey was shaking all over as they took the elevator down to the morgue. Emily wrapped her arms around Casey.

"Don't leave me in there by myself, Em." Casey said.

"I won't." Emily promised.

The elevator opened to a brightly lit floor, contrary to dark hallways shown on TV.

Casey checked in at the front desk. "I'm here to identify the bodies of my family." Casey said, unsurely.

"I need to see some identification." The woman behind the desk said.

Casey reached into her purse, looking for her I.D. when the elevator screeched open again. It was Derek and Sam.

"Wait!" Derek said. "I'm going with you."

Casey handed her I.D. through the glass.

"Miss MacDonald?"

Casey nodded.

"And he is?"

"Derek Venturi." Derek answered as he handed his I.D. through the glass as well.

"Yes, the MacDonald-Venturi's. Come right this way." The woman stood up and led them through a doorway. Sam and Emily followed for moral support.

"Such a tragedy." The woman said. "The reports say the van came out of nowhere."

Casey saw Derek clenching his fists. "What about the driver of the van?" Derek asked.

"They're still investigating but witnesses say the white van fled the scene." She led them through one more door. Behind this door were rows and rows of big metal drawers. Casey felt sick to her stomach.

"So he's still alive?" Derek questioned.

"Yes." She answered. She took four gowns and masks down from a cupboard and handed them to the teens. "Put these on."

They hurriedly put the gowns on over their clothes, and pulled the masks over their faces. Casey caught sight of the woman's nametag. Dr. Karen Whitaker.

Dr. Whitaker grabbed a clipboard with the names that corresponded to each drawer. Pulling her mask down over her mouth and nose, she pulled out the first drawer. It was Nora. This was a like a punch in the stomach to Casey. She nodded her head and turned away until she heard the drawer shut.

"The next one is George Venturi." Dr. Whitaker said. Casey heard the metallic grind of the drawer opening. But she didn't look. She saw Derek gravely nod his head and then Casey blacked out.

3:36 P.M.

Casey awoke on a cot in an unfamiliar office. Derek was sitting in a chair across from her; his eyes were focused on something behind Casey.

"Hey." Casey said.

Derek turned and faced her, "You're awake."

"I guess I passed out." Casey rubbed the back of her head. It was throbbing. Casey sat up and Derek rushed to her side to help her up.

"Dr. Whitaker said you just had a mild concussion and that you'd be alright." Derek said. "This is her office."

"I'm sorry." Casey said. "I left you by yourself."

"Hey," Derek said, slipping an arm around Casey's waist and helping her out of the office. "You couldn't help it."

"Ah, she's awake." Dr. Whitaker said. She was sitting behind the first desk again. "You had quite a fall. Do you feel okay? No dizziness or nausea?"

Casey shook her head no. "Where's Emily and Sam?"

"They went to get some coffee." Derek said. "Let's meet them up there. Thank you, Dr. Whitaker."

"Make sure the funeral director gets that paperwork I gave you." She said, sitting back down at the front desk.

Derek nodded and pressed the button for the elevator.

"Are we really going to do this?" Casey said.

"What?" Now that Casey had regained her strength, he was standing in the opposite corner of the elevator.

"Bury our family. By ourselves? Don't we need to call someone?"

"I've already called your aunt Fiona and my mom." He said. "They'll be at our house by tomorrow morning."

"Oh." Casey said. "I guess we won't be seeing each other much anymore."

"Don't be crazy." Derek said. "Of course we will. I can't get rid of you that easily."

He smiled briefly at Casey, and for a moment, Casey smiled, too.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and Sam and Emily were on the other side, with four cups of coffee.

"We were just on our way down." Sam said, handing a cup to Derek.

"You had me worried." Emily said, handing a cup to Casey.

"I'm fine." Casey said, taking a sip of the dark brown liquid. Normally, she didn't drink much coffee, but she was grateful for the warmth.

6:15 P.M.

Casey, Derek, Emily, and Sam sat at the dining table with the phone in the middle. It had been ringing off the hook and Sam and Emily were taking turns answering the phone, fielding the calls for Derek and Casey from distant relatives wishing condolences.

Casey stood up and walked up to her room, carefully avoiding the family photos that lined the walls. She went to her closet and dug around in some things she had piled in the bottom.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked from her doorway.

"Looking for Emily's gift." She said.

"Oh." He came in and sat on Casey's bed. Lacing his fingers behind his head he fell back on Casey's pillows.

"You know," Derek said. "This house will be paid off in a year."

"And?" Casey looked up from her closet floor. Finally she pulled out a small box wrapped in brightly colored birthday paper.

"And," He propped up on an elbow. "We could keep living here like normal. My mom could move in and help pay bills. And you could finish high school with all of your friends."

"I don't know." Casey said, standing up. "I mean, my dad will probably want me to move in with him in New York. Not that he'll ever have time for me."

Derek rolled his eyes. He hated Dennis MacDonald with a passion.

"Just think about it. Okay?" He asked.

"Okay." She promised.

They went back downstairs and Casey handed the gift-wrapped box to Emily.

"You didn't have to." Emily said.

"Just please open it. Give me some normalcy." Casey said sitting next to her at the table.

Emily dug into the paper and opened the box. Inside was a real pearl necklace with an 'E' charm dangling from the center.

"I love pearls!" Emily exclaimed.

"I know." Casey smiled.

"This must've cost a fortune!" Emily was busy putting the necklace on.

"Not really. It belonged to my Grandma Elizabeth. It was supposed to get passed down to Lizzie, but it was too girly for her and she said you should have it on your birthday. So it's really from the both of us." Casey explained.

"I can't accept this." Emily said, suddenly feeling bad. "This belongs to your family."

"Lizzie wanted you to have it. It's her last gift to you. You have to take it." Casey's eyes were wide as she tried to hold back tears. Emily jumped up and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"Thank you so much. I will cherish it forever."

9:58 P.M.

Casey yawned loudly and looked over at Derek. They were sitting in the living room floor in their pajamas with an empty pizza box between them.

"I can't stay up any longer but I don't want to go to sleep." She said.

"I know what you mean." Derek said, leaning up against the couch.

"Maybe we should sleep down here?" Casey suggested.

"Why?" Derek looked at her like she was crazy.

"Just in case Abby or Fiona show up early, I want to hear them knocking." Casey said.

"Okay," Derek said. "I'll take my recliner and you can have the couch."

Casey got a couple of blankets from the linen closet and Derek turned out the lights.

"Goodnight, Casey." Derek said. He draped his arm over the side of the couch to squeeze her shoulder.

"Goodnight." Casey said.

Derek kept his hand on her shoulder the whole time they slept.

Review, please.