Hello everyone! I'm liking the response I've been getting from this rewrite. It's really fun thinking up of new ideas while merging the old story with this one. I feel like this is a lot more realistic than the original so it's definitely easier to read without cringing. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Duncan's Gift:

Chapter 4

It was official, Veronica was showing which meant sooner or later the news of her pregnancy would be getting out. She was now 15 weeks and 4 days along and she had a noticeable bump on her belly, one that could no longer be mistaken as bloating or too many donuts. On the bright side, if she wore a hoodie it wasn't as noticeable. She hoped that she could still get a few more weeks of hoodie weather before the SoCal springs forced her into t-shirts. Another bright point was that stretch marks still hadn't made any appearances and she still fit in her pre-pregnancy clothes.

She kept adjusting her work vest hoping that pulling at it would magically cover up her baby bump. Unfortunately for her, the vest made her pop even more.

"How much of a chicken would I be if I called in sick?" She asked her dad as she walked out to the kitchen.

"Depends. Why do you want to call in sick?" He asked.

She pointed to her her belly

"Oh honey..." He began.

"Don't even think of telling me it's not noticeable."

"It's just something you're going to have to get used to Veronica."

"I know, but I wish it weren't so noticeable. I'm not ready for everyone to know."she sighed.

"I know honey. By the way, you'd be pretty chicken if you called in sick."

"Thanks Dad." She groaned.

Despite her thoughts of calling in sick, she knew she needed the money so that meant skipping work was not happening. Now she prayed that no one from school would show up. Besides, it was a Saturday night, how many high school students would have a cafe be the highlight of their weekend? When she arrived, she saw Jackie sitting at a table sipping on a latte, she also saw various other Neptune students sitting in their respective seats.

"Well look at you." She heard Jackie say as soon as she saw her.

"Hey Jackie." She replied hoping that the bump wasn't noticed.

"How far along are you?" She asked quietly.

"15 weeks."

"Are you...keeping..."

"Yeah."

"Congratulations."

Veronica nodded. The silence filled the space between them.

"I'm not going to tell anyone by the way. It's not my place; I mean awhile ago I may have done it, but this is your business."

"Thanks Jackie. I don't know how much longer I can hide this though..."

"Yeah, once you're in the 2nd trimester it damn near impossible to camouflage, also say good bye to normal clothes."

"I'm actually still wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes."

"Lucky you. Most pregnant women would kill to still be able to button their pre-pregnancy jeans." Jackie laughed. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah. I'm scared too, but the good outweighs the bad in this situation."

They chatted some more before Veronica had to get back to work. Luckily for her, no one in her section was a student which meant the only refills she poured were to a young dopey couple and an old man reading a book.

"Veronica, can I speak to you for a moment?" Her manager Jill asked.

Veronica shrugged and followed her to the back room.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to know if anything was up?"

"Up?"

Jill smiled slightly and gazed down.

"Oh, you mean this." Veronica replied protectively placing her hand on her belly.

"You're pregnant." She sighed. "How far along?"

"15 weeks."

"I wish you would've told me earlier. We'll probably need to set up some sort of maternity leave as well as get you a bigger vest."

"So it is that noticeable." Veronica sighed.

Jill shrugged in response. "It's not that bad. It's really the material of these vests. Honestly, satin is only flattering if you're an Olsen twin."

"Yeah, I think there's a rule about pregnant women and satin. I'm sure What Not to Wear did a segment on it last year." She quipped.

"Here." She said handing her a larger vest. "And if you ever need anything or time off, I'll help you out."

"Thanks Jill."

"So are you planning a baby shower?"

"I don't think I'm going to have one."

"Oh, why not?!" Jill whined. "You literally get everything for the baby with them; when I was pregnant with Kayden, my baby shower saved me!"

"I'm not friends with that many people…"

"We could have it here!" Jill interrupted. "We can invite the guys and girls from work, your friends and family. It'll be great I promise!"

"Jill, do you want to plan my baby shower?"

"Can I please?!"

Veronica laughed and nodded.

Jill shrieked in excitement and gave Veronica a hug.

"You won't be disappointed. Maybe next weekend, we can go do the baby registry?!"

"That sounds good."

With the promise of a baby shower, she returned to work. She was glad she actually got along well with the people she worked with, it helped that none of her co-workers were in their early to mid 20's which meant their cattiness had long been gone. She was also glad that her new vest didn't fit snugly against her bump so her pregnancy was a little less noticeable.

Sunday:

Today was the day that she would be making room for the baby. She'd bought a crib last week and had nowhere to put it in her room. Her dad decided that Sunday since she wasn't working and there were no active cases (other than the bus crash) would be their day to move her room around.

"You ready to get to work pops?"

"Yes, but remember to follow my rules. No heavy lifting!"

"Alone. No heavy lifting alone. I'm not letting you move a dresser or desk alone and then have you throw your back out again."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get to work."

They started by moving her dresser into her closet giving her more floor space. While Veronica downsized and organized her closet, Keith began building the crib for her. Everything in her room had been moved around to make more room. By lunch time, her room was nearly done. All that was needed was to put in the crib mattress and vacuum.

"We did a great job didn't we?" Veronica said as she stared at her room.

"We sure did. I can't believe I built my first grandbaby's crib."

"Are you getting sentimental on me?"

"I can't help it. Seeing this crib makes it all the more real."

"Okay grandpa, let's go have lunch before you start crying."

After they had finished eating, Veronica realized that she was running low on her prenatal vitamins. She'd have to go now or else she would put it off until she was well and truly out. She grabbed her prescription bottle along with her wallet and keys and drove to the grocery store.

While she waited for her prescription to be filled, she decided to wander to the baby section. It was a new found trait in impending motherhood, if there was a baby aisle she sniffed it out and would eventually buy a few things. In her past ventures, she'd bought clothing, diapers, pacifiers, bibs, shoes, and blankets. She didn't know what else she could buy today, but she knew she'd find something that would catch her eye.

"Veronica?"

She turned around to see Logan staring at her.

"Logan."

"What're you doing here Veronica? You're not…" He began to say before he saw the items in her basket. "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah, I am."

"How? How long?"

"Look Logan, let's go talk somewhere else."

"Fine."

He followed her around while she picked up her filled prescription and cashed out. They drove their own cars to his suite at the Neptune Grande. She was relieved when he agreed to take separate cars, she didn't think she could handle the awkward silence or tension that was sure to fill the small space between them.

"Is it Duncan's?" He asked as soon as they walked into his suite.

She nodded. "I found out a few weeks after he ran off."

"Poor bastard. He's managed to knock-up two girls in one year." Logan laughed.

"Yeah. I can't imagine Celeste being too proud of him at this point."

"Who else knows?"

"Dad, Wallace, Mac, my manager, and Jackie." She replied.

"So what does this mean?"

"It means that I'm going to be a mom in 5 months."

"I really don't know what to say…"

She kept silent while she watched his mind race.

"I'll help you if you want. Duncan's my best friend, he'd kill me if I didn't at least try to help."

"Thanks Logan."

"Can you imagine what Lilly would say if she were still here?" He laughed.

"I don't even want to think about it." She replied with a smile. "She'd never let Duncan forget it, that's for sure."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I don't find out until I'm 19 weeks. Why, are you like Dad, and Wallace and want my baby to be named after you?"

"No, but now that you mention it, Logan is a pretty spectacular name."

"Well then if I have a boy, his name will be Keith Wallace Logan Mars." As she said that, she felt some flutters in her belly making her smile and place her hands on her belly.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"No, I've actually started feeling some movement, and it always catches me by surprise."

"I'm glad that you're happy about this Veronica." Logan finally said. "If you weren't, I would've found Duncan and kicked his ass for making you upset."

"Thanks. I should probably get going now." She said getting up from her seat.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye."

The next day she was relieved when no one noticed her bump. She silently thanked the unseasonably cool California weather for letting her wear a hoodie with no one questioning why. Still, it was a lot tougher trying to keep her pregnancy hidden from everyone else. She had grown very used to placing her hands on her small bump, especially when she felt movement. Regardless, she was constantly reminding herself of where she was. The most difficult part for her was P.E. Normally, having to undress in front of your classmates was bad enough, but having to conceal a pregnancy made it tougher.

"Why does Logan keep looking at you?" Mac asked while she stood beside her.

"Because he knows." She replied as she placed her books in her locker.

"How did he find out?"

"I ran into him yesterday while shopping."

"Did he take it alright?"

"Better than I expected." Veronica replied. "Now I'm just waiting for everyone else to somehow find out."

"I can hardly tell, so you're safe. Plus, a majority of this school is oblivious to all things not involving money."

"You have a good point, but there are two things that have become noticeably bigger." Veronica implied.

Mac let out a small laugh.

"I'm serious, a sophomore asked if I got a boob job."

"I have no idea what to tell you Veronica. What did you end up saying to her by the way?"

"I told her it's weight gain."

"I'm sorry, but that's kind of hilarious."

"Oh you're laughing now, but when it's you in this situation you won't be."

"Oh, I won't be in that situation, trust me. You've put me off of the kid thing."

That's about it for this week. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Once again, the next chapter should be up by Sunday at the latest. I'm actually liking this writing schedule I've put myself on because it's actually working quite well. I've been dedicating at least an hour before bed to writing, and because I don't work Saturdays or Sundays, I have time to edit and rewrite any parts that I don't like. Also, I really appreciate the reviews and messages I've been receiving. They mean so much and really motivate me to continue. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter (if you celebrate) Passover (if you celebrate) or a great week in general.