There were a lot of ways Mac imagined spending her last Christmas as a Mackenzie. There was the inevitable caroling, her brother still adding dirty words in. Fresh baked gingerbread cookies coming out of the oven, her mother's icing gun firmly in hand. Yes, there were lots of holiday moments Mac could see in her last days as her parents little girl. Sitting on the floor of her apartment, with her fiancee's drunken best friend in her lap was not one of them. Mac absently brushed her hair out of her face, before continuing with the steady pat she kept on his back. His breathing had stabled out, and she began to sing Jingle bells in her head, tapping to the beat. His arm came up to grip her thigh, and he let out a loose sigh. She smiled, staring down at the ten-thousand dollar Rolex on his arm, telling her it was 12:30 AM. "Happy Christmas Eve," she whispered to herself. She was surprised when his voice croaked out, "Merry Christmas to you too." He rolled over slightly, and looked at something over her shoulder.

"Uh-oh, the old man is home. Don't think he'll like this."

Mac felt her fiancée crouch down next to her, and she sighed with relief when he pressed his lips against her neck. "Want me to put him in the guest room?"

"Yeah," she whispered, leaning her head against the wall, her eyes closed. She felt the weight being lifted from her, the jostling noises that accompanied the duo going up the stairs, a mixture of drunken ramblings, and a bit of laughter.

Mac took a deep breath. It had been the most surreal day ever. Ask her where she expected to be, ten years ago, and the last thing she would have said was sitting on her living room floor with a drunken Logan Echolls in her lap. For as long as she had known him, Mac had done her best to avoid. Logan had been too rich, too popular, too brutal, and then too much Veronica's for her to ever really want to be around him. No, Logan Echolls was basically the last person to ever cry on her. She felt arms circle her and leaned back.

"You're the best Mac-alicios."

She smiled. Then again, if you'd ask her ten years ago about whose arms would be around her, she would have rather been dumped in a vat of beef fat then say Dick Casablancas. "Don't call me Macalicious, Dickie."

"Aw c'mon baby, it's like my sexy pet name for you." Dick grinded lightly into her back, pulling her closer to him.

She turned herself around in his embrace till she could look at him. "Did you leave him a towel?"

Dick nodded graciously. "One of the ratty one's you use to dye your hair. Don't want him puking on the nice shit."

Mac laughed, and pressed her face into his throat. It felt so good to be in his arms finally. "It's been the weirdest fucking day ever."

Six Weeks Earlier

"Purple, Dick? PURPLE?" Mac took a furious breath, trying to get her temper under control. "You painted our bedroom PURPLE?"

'It's sexy baby," Dick replied, doing a little dance. "Can't you see us making some rugrats in here."

Mac looked in distaste around the room. They had found the perfect condo, wide windows, hardwood floors, right near the beach. Mac loved the large airy rooms, and the ample space. It was huge compared to the house she had grown up in and the apartment she was moving out of, but for Dick a downgrade. They'd only agreed on the place because it was easy for Dick to surf, had a huge back porch perfect for parties, and a living room big enough for his ridiculous tv. What had sold them both was the master bedroom. Huge bay windows looking out at the ocean made up one side; the bathroom was bright and open, and the entire room just felt so large and comforting at once. Dick had killed it all in one swift stroke. Mac stared in abject horror at the eggplant purple walls that were now her bedroom.

"No Dick, it's not sexy. It's so not sexy that I refuse to have sex in this room." Dick's mouth dropped open in shock. "Aw, c'mon Mackie, it's not that bad." She shook her head again, and walked out the door to the next of their 4 bedrooms.

She reached the door and was about to open it, when Dick lifted her up from behind, pulling her from the door. "Put me down," she screeched.

"I'm putting you down, chill." He turned her so that he was between the door and her. "This room isn't ready yet."

"Dick! What did you do to this room?"

"Uh, I'm working on it."

"If this room is purple too, I'm going to kill you." She reached around him, and he grabbed at her. "No, Mac, don't."

Elbowing him in the chest, she managed to get a grip on the door handle. She felt Dick lift her from behind again, so she gave the door a kick, and the door creaked open.

Mac sagged against Dick as she saw the room. She could feel Dick's hands lightly touching her sides, and the nervous staccato of his heartbeat. "You made me an office," she breathed.

"Yeah," Dick mumbled, then nudged her into the room. "It's not quite done, I didn't know what fancy computer shit you wanted, and I thought that maybe-oomph."

Dick breath was cut off as Mac jumped him. He fell back into the couch taking Mac's weight with him. She pressed kisses along his face and neck, squealing with joy. "Dick, it's, it's, it's the sweetest thing you've ever done!"

She turned around, snuggling herself into his lap, and looking around at the room. This room had large bay windows as well, but was painted a soothing green. Everything she needed to run her consulting company was in this room; three new shiny servers under a table, three separate screens. The built-in book shelves already had some pictures lining them, and a leather swivel chair behind the mahogany desk.

Dick had his mouth pressed against her neck, and was pressing soft kisses in a line. "I'm glad you like it babe. I wanted to make sure it had lots of windows, so you wouldn't go all Ghost World on me again."

"Dick!" She turned around to slap him and caught his laughing blue eyes. Mac felt her heart clench; oh how she loved this man. He pulled her closer, still laughing and she couldn't stop the stupid grin that erupted on her face. Leaning down, she let her hair fall around their faces, and moved her mouth right next to his ear.

"Dick?"

"Hmm?" he replied, staring at the cleavage that had just arrived in his face.

"I like the walls in this room." Dick nodded absently, his eyes still transfixed on her chest.

Mac looked down at him amused, waiting for it to click. His eyes suddenly shot up at her and he whooped, before flipping her onto her back. "Work and play in the same room. Nice thinking Mackie."

Mac wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down to her. "All kinds of fun to be had," she murmured. Dick's mouth had attatched itself to her neck, so Mac let her body lay back.

His hands had just begun their descent into her jeans when she heard a noise. "Dick?" When Dick didn't respond she gave him a little shove. "Dick, did you hear something?

"What," he mumbled, still kissing at her neck. "Nope nothing, just you and me bab-"

He was cut off by a voice. "Hey man, I called your office and they said -" The speaker stopped suddenly. "Shit, sorry I'll be back later."

"Nah, dude, mi casa y su casa."

Mac looked at Dick incredulously, before rolling over. Standing in the doorway was a very tired Logan Echolls. Logan caught her eye, and grinned. "Sorry Mac. Didn't mean to interrupt." He made a gesture down the hall as he said, "How about I wait in the kitchen?"

Mac nodded in response and let her head lay back down. Dick had already stood up and was reaching around for his shirt. She leaned over and made a swipe at his head. "Mi case y su casa? What the hell Dick? You didn't even seem surprised!"

"He's moving back." Dick tossed her shirt to her. "Called me last week."

"He's moving back?" Mac repeated, confused. "But Veronica had that job in New York." She struggled into her t-shirt, trying to get her hair to lay flat.

"Kicked Ronnie to the curb." Dick offered Mac his hand, and she took it, allowing him to lift her up.

"What?" she asked again still confused. Logan worshipped Veronica, everyone knew that. She tugged at her hair again, frustrated.

"Finally wised up," he said, pushing her hair out of her face. "You look gorgeous," he whispered as he kissed her forehead. Lacing her fingers through his he dragged her down the stairs.

Logan was sitting at the counter, drinking a glass of water and staring out at the ocean. "Dude,' Dick roared. "How's it feel to be back in SoCal?"

Logan grinned. "Fantastic. Waves look great." He nudged his head out at the window. "We should hit those later."

"Definitely." Dick still had his hand in Mac's and nudged her forward.

"Hey Logan, how are you?"

"Great Mac, how are you?" Logan leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I was thinking, now that you're going to become a Casablancas, can we still call you Mac? Or do we use Cindy now?"

Mac rolled her eyes. "Dick asks me that on a daily basis."

"We could call you something new," Logan mused. "How about Cass?"

There's an awkward silence, when Logan realizes what he just said. His face flushes and he looks like he wants to say something when Dick pipes in, "Nah, man. We're going to call her Blanca. She'll be like that cool Street Fighter dude"

Mac laughed, pressing herself into Dick's side. "I also vetoed that one."

"You're not blue. But you do sometimes have orange hair." Logan grinned at her.

"She'll just be my Mackie," Dick said fondly pressing a kiss into her hair. "You need a place to stay tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll start looking tomorrow. Don't want to stay in the old apartment." His voice falls flat at the end, and his lips compress together.

"You guys kept the old place?" Mac asks.

"Investment," Logan said, casually. "Veronica fucking hated it, but then again, what did she ever like about my money?"

Mac's shocked at the bitterness in his voice, she's never heard anything but adoration when he talks about Veronica. "Oh, well did it do well?"

"Yeah. My portfolio guy talked me into buying the entire apartment complex."

Mac gawped. Veronica and Logan had lived in a nice complex, in one of the best areas in San Diego. "Wow. Well that must have worked out well."

Logan grinned. "It did. Thank your fiancée."

Mac turned in surprise at her boyfriend. "You told him to buy an apartment complex?"

"Half an apartment complex," Dick replied. He leaned over her shoulder to grab an apple off the counter. Tossing it to Logan, he grabbed another and took a bite out of it.

Mac watched them in amusement. It never failed to surprise her, how much Dick and Logan knew about one another all these years later.

"Ask him who owns the other half," Logan said amused.

"You own half an apartment complex?" Mac asked Dick, bewildered.

"We," Dick emphasized, nodding to Logan, "own a lot of things. That's why he's moving back. We're going to do something cool with it."

"Define cool."

Dick grinned at Mac. "A little place where we can…" He paused and his face lit up. "Where we can up chuck the boogie to the boogie beat."

Both Mac and Logan groaned. "Dude that got old years ago."

"It never gets old. C'mon, it's the boogie." Dick grabbed Mac's waist and began to shimmy around with her.

Mac began laughing as he spun her. "Dick, let go of me!"

"That's twice in one day, Mackie. You're killing me here."

Mac ignored him as she turned to Logan. "Any food preferences? I'm going to go to the grocery store."

"Don't get anything special for me. I promise I'll be out by tomorrow."

"Nah, he's staying, right?" Dick turned to Mac, his best puppy dog face. She winced internally. Dick rarely used the face but when he did, well, she gave in.

"Mi casa y su casa, right?" Mac gave Logan a grin. He smiled back weakly.

Two weeks later, Logan was still camped in their new guest bedroom and Mac was furious. Logan was fine as a houseguest. Made his bed everyday, didn't make a mess in the bathroom, and actually curtailed Dick's disgusting habit of leaving his socks everywhere. The problem was, Logan was there, all the time. Mac had a hard time comparing this home-body, who seemed content to stay home and hang out with Dick all day, with the party animal Veronica had grumbled about. It was the same thing everyday. Mac left for work, and came home to the two of them sitting around the dining table, floor plans everywhere, arguing about fiscal responsibility, and manageability. She usually had no idea what they were talking about. It was nice, to come home to Dick, as opposes to wait for him, when he had worked for the real estate firm. But at least then, it had been about them. Now it was about them, Logan and Dick, with a Mac on the side. Logan seemed to understand that he was intruding, and tried to back-off, but Dick would have none of it. Every time he suggested a place to move into, Dick would complain that it was too far, that he'd just moved back, that he should just stay with them. And every time he did, Mac wanted to smack him. She had had sex twice in two weeks. TWICE. And she was marrying Dick Casablancas. If she didn't know how much he loved her, she'd be convinced he was having an affair. Maybe he was, with Logan.

Sitting down at her desk, Mac rubbed her temples. It had been a hellish day at work, and she had been hoping to come home to a quiet house. Instead, Dick and Logan were arguing over their target audience for the club they were building. She wanted to be supportive; she wanted to be understanding. Logan was Dick's only family, his best friend. She had her own family, and understood that Dick needed his. But really, it was getting ridiculous. She was tired and angry, and she had to let out her frustrations. And her usually insatiable fiancée had come to bed every night exhausted, and didn't want to wake up Logan. "When did Dick gain shame?" she wondered.

"Babe?" Mac looked up to see Dick's head pop in. His hair was longer than it had been in a while, almost as long as in high school. "Logan went to meet some planners, and I didn't know if you wanted me to pick something up."

"Logan left?" Mac repeated, standing up.

"Yeah, we had a meeting, but he told me he could handle it. Why did you need him-" he was cut off as she threw herself at him.

"Twice," she growled, placing open mouthed kisses on his neck, tugging at the buttons on his shirt. "Twice in two weeks."

Dick chuckled. "Didn't know you missed me that much."

"I'm going to kill you as soon as I am done with you." She managed to slide his pants and boxers off in one swift move. Without any preamble, she lifted her skirt up and sank down on him. Dick's head was thrown back, and she gasped in relief as she began to ride him.

"Never doing this to me again," she gasped, clutching his shoulders as she pushed down harder.

"Whatever you want," Dick grounded out as he pressed up into her. She was just getting into the swing of things when he flipped her, and pulled her ankles around his shoulders. She gave out one keening yell and collapsed. Seconds later Dick fell on top of her, his face buried in her shoulder.

"My god, that felt good."

"Love it when you call me god," Dick mumbled, giving her a wet kiss. He grinned down at her. "Say it Mackie."

"Say what?" she asked blearily.

"You wanted some Dick-loving. You needed some Dick loving. Just say it baby."

Mac punched his shoulder. "Shut-up Dick."

"Oh you want me," Dick sang, rubbing his nose with her. "You love me, you want to sex me."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Your really killing your chances for round two here."

Dick rolled over and pulled her on top of him. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Maybe."

"A little tuckered out."

"Did you just say tuckered out?"

Dick didn't respond only holding her tighter. His other arm reached onto the couch above them for a moment before pulling a blanket down and wrapping them in it. "We can just stay here for a bit."

"Not worried baby Logan will walk in?" Mac quipped. She clapped her mouth shut after the words slid out of her mouth. They were mean and spiteful, and even if she was angry, it wasn't like Dick had done anything wrong. Dick hadn't responded, so Mac nudged his shoulder lightly. "I was kidding," she said quietly.

"I know."

Mac felt the silence build up around her, and began to squirm. "Dick, I didn't mean it like that." She tried to pull herself up to look at him, but he held her closer to him. Her face was pressed into his shoulder and she could barely breathe, but she let him hold her.

His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. "Thank you."

"What?" Mac tried to look at him again, but he wouldn't let go. She gave in, and pressed her body down on him. "What for Dick?" she asked again.

"For never giving up."

"Giving up on what?" Dick didn't respond. Mac felt tears building up in her eyes. He was still clutching her so hard, and she knew she would have a bruise on her shoulder in the morning. She couldn't see his face and it was driving her insane; Dick's eyes gave everything away, and right now she couldn't tell anything. "Baby?" she whispered, wrapping her arm around his neck. "Look at me."

He finally looked at her, and she was bowled over by his eyes. Love was spilling out of them pouring down on her. "You never gave up."

She finally understood, his tears, and the grip on her arm. "I will never ever give up on you." Mac grabbed his face, and stared into his eyes. "Never no matter what, it's me and you right?"

Dick cracked a smile. "You still remember what I said?"

"You never forget when the man of your dreams proposes to you."

"It was pretty catchy," Dick said cockily, a smile flitting on his lips.

"You engraved it in my engagement ring."

"Because its so damn catchy."

Mac grinned at him, and he smiled back. "I also remember it because it's true." Dick looked at her, the smile getting wider.

He looked away suddenly, staring at the windows. "He's bruised."

"Bruised?"

"Kicked one too many times. He's tired."

Mac sighed. "Yeah he is.'

"He doesn't want to be here, but I don't want him to leave. He might." Dick compressed his lips together and Mac's heart clenched, before saying, "He can stay Dick, he can always stay."

"He can't forever." Dick's voice sounded clogged, and Mac knew she was making a life changing decision.

"He can." She whispered the words firmly, pressing her lips into his neck. "He's family, right?"

Dick smiled at her, his eyes a little less cloudy. "You never gave up."

"Neither did you," Mac replied. Dick shifted his body, so that he was on top of her again, her leg still wrapped around his thigh. "Second round?"

"Thought you were tuckered out," Mac murmured, as his tongue began tracing patterns on her neck.

"You want some loving, you want some sexing," Dick's voice trailed along her neck, and she laughed.

Six o'clock in the morning was the witching hour in her home, so Mac was surprised to see Logan sitting at the counter, coffee in hand, watching the news. He turned when he saw her and gave a tentative smile. "Sorry if I woke you. The uh-coffee's on."

"Thanks," Mac said, walking behind him to grab a mug. She opened the fridge and then groaned. "I forgot to buy soy milk."

"I got some last night on my way home."

Mac looked at him in surprise. "Oh, thanks."

"Eating you out of house and home. Figured I should contribute."

"No it's fine. You can eat whatever you want." Mac spilled some soy milk into her mug, and darted around Logan to grab the coffee pot.

"Look Mac." Mac looked at Logan concerned. He was staring at his wrists while fidgeting with his sleeves.

"I'm looking Logan," she said dryly. His head shot up and he let out a laugh. "Yeah that wasn't supposed to be taken so literally."

Mac smiled back, and leaned against the counter, still trying to wake her sleep fogged mind. "Logan?"

"You don't have to watch after me and you can tell Dick he doesn't have to either." The words come out in a torrent, and Mac's surprised. Logan may be rambunctious with the rest of the world, but with her he's always calm and collected, somber even.

"Watch after you? What, are you a puppy?"

"Don't ever get a puppy near your kids. You should have seen the shit Dick did to his when he was little." There's a catch in his voice when he says the words, and Mac knows that the word "Beaver" was dropped somewhere in there. She suddenly realizes that Logan's been where she's been, where Dick's been and farther. He's been as badly beaten as them, and he's still here, he's still going. But he's bruised; she didn't notice before, but it seems so apparent now.

"No puppies, check." She lays her cup down, and places her palms flat on the counter. "Stay."

He's surprised at her simplicity. "Just like that? Dick didn't have to wear you down."

"I've known you since I was 12, Logan. We're friends."

"I've picked on you since you were 12," Logan retorted frustrated. "Look, I can see that I'm messing with stuff between you and Dick, and I don't want to do that. You're the best thing that ever happened to him, and I can't drag him down with me."

"Casey Gant was picking on me once, when we were in the 8th grade. You shoved him and told him to leave me alone."

Logan blinked in confusion. "I did? Sure you're not confusing me with Luke, or Duncan." The words sound acrid from his mouth, and Mac's surprised again. There were so many layers to this man, that she didn't even know where to start. "No it was you. You had that awful orange windbreaker on, the one everybody ended up copying. Dick still has it in his closet somewhere."

"He always did have a crush on me."

"I think he still does," Mac replied. She picked up her coffee mug and surveyed Logan over the top. "Stay, Logan."

He smiles this time, a real smile, one he usually only gives to Dick. "Thanks Mac."

"Just don't call me Mac-alicious."

"Don't use my sexy pet name dude, or I will kill you." Dick's voice was sleepy, and he snatched the coffee mug, taking a long drink.

"Dick!"

"Mac!" he mocked in a falsetto voice, dancing away from her.

Logan laughed watching them. "Hey, Dick?"

"What's up?" Dick said, still moving, the coffee sloshing out of the cup.

"I'm going to stay." Dick stopped abruptly, and Mac ran into him, causing more coffee to spill out.

"Really? You are? No more house hunting?"

"Nah, I'm used to it here now." Logan smiled sheepishly. "The little woman gave it the okay."

"Now you can have all of your loves in one house, Dickie!" Mac's voice was obviously sarcastic, and Dick bumped her slightly before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "We're like the Brady Bunch"

Logan and Mac groaned in unison then grinned at one another.