Logan and Veronica sauntered through the doors of the Catholic church. Veronica was dressed in a beautiful white silk suit. Logan was in a linen suit and pale blue shirt. They looked around, lost in the grandeur of the wood and stained glass.
Logan turned and made a scoffing sound. "Pfffftt. And you thought I would burst into flames when I came through the doors."
Veronica shook her head and started walking up the aisle to the alter. Logan trailed behind. He started rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. "Mr. Corleone is Johnny's godfather..." He began.
"I thought I told you to STOP THAT back at the apartment!" Veronica snapped.
"Come on! How many times in a person's life do they actually get to be The Godfather?!" He exclaimed. "You gotta let me do this!"
Veronica sighed and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her suit jacket and glanced at it while continuing to snark at her boyfriend. "No I don't. I'm Celia's Godmother and you don't see me wearing fairy wings and quoting 'Cinderella' all day, do you?"
Logan made a face. "Well that would just be ridiculous." He said and walked closer to Veronica.
She had been on edge for a few days. She needed some outside help on one of her cases, and she kept checking her phone for updates. Logan would have hidden it today, if he wasn't sure she would have killed him for doing so. Even though they had been partners at work for the past month, Logan still realized that there were times that independent Veronica needed to just work alone. He used the time, instead, to bond with Keith and let him show Logan how all the spy gadgets in the office worked.
There was a loud bang of the front door and in ran one-year-old Celia Mackenzie. Mac and Dick had been so proud when she started walking early. They soon realized it was a curse, as the little girl chose to run everywhere, now that she had found her legs.
Dick was booting down the aisle after her as Mac came through the door last. "I'm gonna get you, Celia-Bedilia!" He called and the little girl squealed with laughter. He easily caught her and threw her in the air as she cried out.
"Daddy! DAAAADDEEEEEEE!" She laughed and wrapped herself around her dad.
Logan and Veronica approached them. Dick gave them a smile and a nod and then yelled back at Mac. "See Mac! I TOLD you I wouldn't burst into flames in a church."
"Hey! That's what I said!" Said Logan, and gave his buddy a fist bump. Celia loved fist bumps and put her fist out for Logan.
"Jellyfish bump! Boolalalalala!" Logan and Celia bumped fists and made them float like jellyfish in the air. Celia following her's with a "Lala lala."
The little girl was gorgeous. Over the past year, she had grown so much. Her blond hair was now long and wild, she was tall and slight, with her baby chubby cheeks growing out. She was dressed in a big, white christening gown, and she had a headband of fake pink flowers in her hair. On her feet, she wore sparkly sliver sandals to complete the outfit.
Mac quickly dumped the bags she was carrying and joined the group. She was as conservative as she could get, in a green wrap-around dress and light pink flowered scarf. Dick was in his best khakis and light sport coat with a pink shirt underneath. Veronica realized that the family all coordinated, in their own unique way. "Thanks again for doing this, guys. There is no one else that we would rather have as Godparents...now that I finally let my mother have her way and do this, that is."
Veronica laughed. "Well, you held out for an entire year, Mac . And it's a nice way to celebrate Celia's first birthday."
Dick scoffed. "No, the brunch I arranged at the country club will be a nice way to celebrate. This just keeps Mac's family happy."
Mac smacked Dick's arm. "Hey! Play nice! Just because most of my family, and my bio-family, want you dead, doesn't mean that they don't mean well."
"Yeah. But did your bio-mom have to invite Madison?" Dick threw back at his girlfriend.
Veronica let out a groan. "Ugh. Really? Madison?"
Dick looked at Veronica. "I KNOW, right? She's not even your actual family. Just some girl you were switched at birth with. Why does she have to be here?"
Mac shook her head and reached for Celia. "Because by doing this we are trying to get my family to NOT want to kill you. Just go with it, for one day, please."
Dick shoved his now-free hands in his pocket. "Fine. I'll hide in the back until the ceremony, then I'll keep a low profile at the party, alright?"
Mac juggled the squirming little girl. "That's all I'm asking. At least you're trying."
Dick made a strange face, like he was thinking. He then pulled out two boxes, one from each pocket. "Oh yeah. Before we forget, we got you guys something to thank you for agreeing to be Celia's godparents. " He took one box and handed it to Logan. He then rubbed his face with the back of his hand and spoke in his best 'Brando'.
"On the occasion of my daughter's christening..."
"Oh no." Groaned Veronica.
"Just wait..." Mac said hesitantly.
Logan pulled out of the box a silver horse head on a key chain. "Sweet!"
"Because you're the GODFATHER now!" Dick exclaimed, all proud of his gift.
"This is perfect!" Laughed Logan, and reached out to hug his old friend. "I'm going to put it by my side of the bed tonight."
Veronica let out a large sigh. "You two are idiots."
Mac finally let Celia down so she could dance around her mother. "I tried to stop him, but he insisted Logan would love it."
Dick turned his attention to Veronica. He stretched out his hand and handed her a box. "Here." He said quietly. "This is for you."
Veronica opened her hand and took it. Tentatively, she opened the little green box. Inside, was a pendent necklace with a beautiful purple amethyst stone dangling from it. "It's lovely. Thank you both so much."
Dick spoke up. "I know you used to wear that pendant necklace Lily gave you. This kind of reminded me of that, but it's Celia's birthstone."
Veronica smiled up at Mac and Dick. She then took it out of the case and put it on herself. "That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you, Dick." She said.
A comfortable silence fell for a moment or two. Celia broke the quiet by letting out a squeal of delight and found the courage to break away from Mac's legs to bolt down the aisle towards the alter. She dodged past Dick and Veronica but Logan's reflexes sprang into action and he quickly stepped in the way of the birthday girl, sweeping her up off her feet and into the air.
Celia screamed with happiness. "Age-ah!" She cried.
"She wants you to do it 'again', Dude." Said Dick, laughing.
Logan swung the girl around and then tossed her into the air, her beautiful christening gown flying in the breeze. He caught her and she screamed "AGE-AH!"
Mac sighed. "Maybe we should go into the back room to play. People will be coming soon and I don't want anyone to kill Dick before the ceremony."
Logan laughed. "Sounds good! Come on Miss Celia. Let's go play 'Hide and go Seek' with Daddy." And he hitched the little girl on his hip.
The group then made their way to the comfort of the church's sitting room, to continue the zany antics.
The christening was both eventful (Celia trying to run away from the priest) and uneventful (no one tried to kill Dick while he stood at the alter.) By the time everyone was served their expensive brunch and mimosas at the Neptune Country Club, all of the guests were in a celebratory mood. The entire room had been decorated with pink and purple balloons, and a mountain of presents sat on a table next to a tower of pink cupcakes. Unfortunately for the birthday girl, it had been all too overwhelming, and she was currently napping in her father's arms, while Dick tried to eat his eggs Benedict without dropping anything on her.
Mac and Dick were seated with Logan and Veronica at a round table, in an attempt to keep Dick from being accosted by Mac's family. Madison seemed to have learned her lesson at the reunion, and decided to keep a safe distance away from Veronica, and thus, the rest of the table was safe too.
Veronica kept up a pleasant conversation with Mac while pushing her food around her plate. Her phone was now sitting out on the table, having put it away for the ceremony, and her eye wandered to it every chance she got.
During a break in the conversation, Logan put his hand on Veronica's knee. "Are you okay? You've barely eaten, which is not like you."
Veronica looked down at her plate. She had eaten the fruit, picked at the omelette she ordered, and nibbled on her toast until only the crusts remained. "Just kind of distracted, waiting for news on this case." She muttered, and checked her phone again.
Logan furrowed his brow. "You haven't told me anything about it. Is there something I can help you with?"
Veronica opened her mouth to speak when her phone started to buzz. She lunged at it and briskly answered. "Veronica Mars."
Logan tried to hear what was being said. Veronica started nodding, then suddenly stood and walked towards the door to the gardens. She quickly disappeared behind the corner, out of sight.
Logan stared at the door for a time. Mac's voice snapped him out of it. "What's with Veronica lately? She's been acting kind of weird for the last week."
Logan turned to her and shrugged. "She said it's a case, but she hasn't told me anything about it. I was thinking it may have something to do with her mom, that's why she's been reluctant to tell me or Keith about it."
Mac nodded. "That would sure make sense. Nice work Detective Echolls."
Logan laughed. "Not a detective...investigator...and not yet. Still need to take the P.I. exam in a few months."
"Dude, I can't believe you are becoming a P.I." Said Dick.
"Dude, I can't believe you are taking my idea for the world's greatest surf shop and actually doing it." Replied Logan.
"I'm going to make that shop a million times better than you ever could have." He scoffed.
Logan nodded. "Yeah. You probably will." He glanced towards the outside door again and rose. "I think I should now follow my investigative instinct and see what's happened to Veronica. Excuse me."
When he got through the doors, he looked around. Veronica had vanished. He started wandering the grounds, looking for her, fear starting to well up in his chest. He finally found her, seated on a bench under a tree, her hands covering her eyes. She was crying.
Logan raced up to her. "Veronica!" He cried out as he approached and she looked up, startled.
"Logan. Why are you out here?" She sniffed.
He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm looking for you! What's wrong? What happened?"
She reached up and put her hand on Logan's cheek. "Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything's right." She smiled up at him. "The phone call I was expecting wasn't a case. It was a test result. Dr. Sawyer just got back to me. I'm pregnant. WE'RE pregnant."
Logan's mouth dropped open. He started to stammer. "But...we...but...the IVF isn't scheduled until next month."
Veronica shrugged. "Oops?"
Logan was still stunned. Then he realized something. "But what if..."
Veronica shook her head. "That's why Dr. Sawyer was calling on her day off. I went for an ultrasound yesterday. She wanted to rush the results. It looks like the embryo has attached near the bottom of my uterus. The pregnancy is not ectopic. Everything is fine."
And that was when Logan lost it. Tears streamed down his face. The sight of her boyfriend crying set off a new round of tears. He threw his arms around her again, tightly, and they stayed wrapped around each other for a time.
When their joy started to subside, Logan pulled back and looked at his girlfriend again. "How did it happen? I thought we were careful."
Veronica laughed. "Remember that time I surprised you in the shower? Over Christmas? When I thought we were 'safe' because my basal temperature said I wasn't ovulating? Nope. I was wrong. I must have either ovulated before or after...and your super-sperm saw it's chance and took it!"
Logan looked concerned again. "But you're fine? Everything is fine?"
Veronica cupped his face and kissed him lightly. "Yes. I'm fine. Nauseous, but fine. The baby is fine too. I'm about 8-weeks along. Maybe a little too early to tell people, but we are fine for now."
There was silence as Logan came to terms with what she was saying. They were fine. They were all fine. And in that moment everything let go in Logan's mind; the pain, the heartache, the loneliness, the sadness of the past just vanished. He felt at peace.
Veronica watched as Logan's face started to light up. She felt calm. Safe. And happy. A happiness she hadn't felt since a time before the trouble. A time back when she was a child; before the lies and deception and fear and anger took over.
Logan kissed her forehead. "You're glowing." He said.
"So are you." She responded, and curled up in his arms.
They both settled back on the bench. A light breeze blew through the garden. The birds chirped merrily. The sun shone brightly in the sky. And they both savoured, that even just for this one moment, all was right with the world.
End Notes
That's the end of my series. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't have any plans for another series right now. May just do some one-shots for the next little while. P.S. The Godfather references are for my husband, who has *not* watched Veronica Mars (yet?) but has faithfully read everything I wrote.