Under My Skin

Authors Note: Well as you have noticed it's been a long time since I updated. I had trouble with this story and still have trouble. I was actually on the tower of terror on News Years Eve when the idea came to me on how Logan was going to get Veronica back, but then there was the hiatus and frankly I haven't been inspired. How do you bring together a couple that has never had a hint of being a possibility and bring back a couple that Rob Thomas has so abruptly and with reason ended? But then this past week's episode just brought back the creative juices (as Lorelai Gilmore would say…dirty!) so I hope you like it, I am not quite sure when I will update again, but I promise it will be soon. I am going up and down between my house and my sister's apartment in a town 2 hours away, but that's just extra time to plan. If you guys..my wonderful readers have any comments… please send them my way. And thanks for keep reviewing.. you guys made me update. .. hehe

Mac entered her dorm room and looked around. Her holiday had been so busy and complicated that it felt weird to be back here. She had almost forgotten about school, but it felt good to be back. Some normalcy. Veronica had been quiet, and she had dived head first in her classes and the cases she picked up on the way. The Dean was murdered and that of course was a number one priority for Veronica and her father. Mac tried to spend as much time with Veronica as she could, while trying to help Logan along with his plan. Wallace had the brilliant idea to bring in someone from the inside, which could let the conspirators know if Veronica suspected anything. Keith Mars was part of the plan now. He had close personal experience with dealing with an 'in denial' Veronica. It took a very long time for Mac to get the full story out of Wallace, but when she did… boy was it worth it.

Wallace had described how he had managed to rope the P.I into the plan. Wallace had gone over to see how V was, as he described a few days before the first day of classes. She was off on a case, but Keith was there, watching the Maltese falcon. (A favorite in the Mars house, obviously) After Wallace being invited to watch It, which have been his at least 30th time watching with a Mars, Keith had mentioned that Veronica was quieter lately. He was used to his daughter's quick wit and references to things that would give him a heart attack, but the Veronica was subdued, quiet and she would watch endless soap operas. He missed his cynical sarcastic extremely devious daughter, and Wallace began to explain to Keith what Mac and Dick were up to. Keith immediately jumped on board after hearing Logan's early stages plan. It was Disney World, the happiest place on earth; no one disputed the fact that Veronica would love it for that reason.

So now Keith was in on it, and Dick had figured out how to make it that no one but the few that had been chosen would know what was going on. Code names. It took Dick a few days to get the names right, but when he was finished, well he ran around the suite with the paper in his hand wanting to yell eureka, but Mac wouldn't let him. 'We have to be inconspicuous Richard; you're being a tad...obvious.' Dick had to hand it to Mac; she knew how to stick to their game plan. So instead he sent a simple text message with very clear instructions to erase it after reading it. Mac of course got the best pick, because Dick wanted the best for his little ghost world. Mac was Kim Possible. Dick had said that Mac was capable of anything. Dick was Ron Stoppable, because let's face it; he was completely side kick material. Wallace was Cornelius Filmore, because he was just about the real version of the Hall Monitor detective. Parker was elected to be the Gretchen to Wallace's Filmore, and finally Keith was simply put Walt.

Mac thought that Keith may love his name the most. The plan was coming along nicely, and then just when things were all hunky dory, tragedy befell them. Mac's father insisted on meeting this Richard Casablanca's Jr. If his daughter was going to continue to see him. Of course to Mac, this was something close to panic attack than happy about this. Dick took it all in stride. 'Dude, they'll love me. I have charm up the wahzoo.' Something that Mac wasn't too sure of. Her mother had made it quite clear her feelings on Dick Casablancas. Apparently, if you were related to a murderer, than you must be one too. Something that may be fair to others, but Dick was incredibly gentle when he wanted to. He had something that Mac had never encountered before. Innocence wrapped up in perversion. Mac tried to prepare herself, and tell herself that it was going to be all ok, and she thought she had a handle on it, until Dick showed her what he was going to wear to the dinner. At first Mac thought it was just a joke, until he looked at her in that way and she just started laughing. She didn't want to change Dick, because he was so...Dick likes and that would be horrible. So instead she decided to roll with it.

Dick brought her mom flowers and he brought her dad a hammer, since her dad was in his tools phase of the year. Ryan, her little brother jumped all over Dick and he was amazing with him. He had a long discussion about GameCube vs. Play station 3. He offered to help her mother, and Mac knew that he barely knew how to get water from the sink, and the entire Mackenzie family fell hard for Richard Casablancas. By the time the dinner was over, Dick was set up to go fishing with the Mackenzie men and he was going to take Mac's mom out for lunch later, since they both had a love of Tapas food. Mac just was dumbfounded the entire time. Her mother had hated the thought of her being anywhere near him a few weeks before, and now Dick had her entire family, and her around his finger.

As Dick was leaving he kissed Mac especially thoroughly and he noticed that Mac had a dopey look on her face as she entered her house. Her parents immediately wanted to comment on Dick. Her dad loved him and raved that she finally had found the right kind of boy. Mac had to laugh at this; Dick was anything but the right kind of boy. She was in love with him, but she didn't know if he was THE ONE. And a thought like that this early scared her. She never thought she would be able to get over what happened on graduation night, and here she was, facing the fact that really she had moved on, with a family member.

Mac soon left her parents house and she went back to the dorm, a place she hadn't really spent all that much time at, since her reunion with one Richard Casablancas. She felt bad, and wanted to spend some time with Parker. It seemed that Parker was almost completely rebounded after her rape, and she still chased after Piz. Parker wasn't even there, so Mac sat down and got to work on her latest assignment.

It took Logan close to two weeks, before he had the first step of the plan in action. Every day, veronica would be sent her favorite Disney movies anonymously, and thanks to a certain lead P.I in town, they were untraceable. Mac had to smile at how much it was bugging Veronica. Veronica had gotten really good at pretending that she wasn't miserable, and after her solving the death of the Dean did she seem to act like her old suspicious self. It took her days until she began to clue in that no one was really surprised by the mysteries DVD that came at the same time. She of course bullied Wallace into telling her anything, but Wallace is Cornelius Fillmore and uses all of his 'so called' street smarts and convinces Veronica that he has no idea who is sending the DVDs. Fortunately there was a break in at the new Deans office and that reverts Veronica's attention for a little while, so the second step could start moving.

And just as Veronica was getting the next step in the plan, Mac had to face a challenge herself. Things had been going well with Dick. Really well, and of course just as she realizes what she had, does she realize that there are challenges that go with that. Dick had been more affectionate, and slowly she got used to his touches. There was nothing advertly sexual about them, but they were meant to cause her so comfort or pleasure. She thought that they would stop once Dick got the point that she wasn't ready, and they did initially, but then Mac discovered that she missed them.

Mac had learnt in her sociology class that babies develop faster, and become better adjusted people if they are touched by their mothers. TO be smiled at and held and cooed at essentially helps along the process and Mac had discovered that Dick's innocent touches helped her stay calm and focused. She started to inch her way towards his hands, and Dick being the newly made gentleman didn't understand and felt guilty for even a mere brush. Mac knew she had to do something about that. She had to start forgiving what had happened, because it wasn't fair. Her body wanted Dick, and her heart definitely wanted Dick, but her head and her fear just seemed to take over.

So she had gone to the two people who knew what it was like to be violated in such a violent way (and one of them being violated by the person who had done such damage to Mac as well) and asked the question that most victims ask at least once. How do you get over it? Was it possible not to shudder whenever someone touched you in a certain way? Dick she trusted implicitly. He knew things, said things and it seemed that every kiss and every simple innocent touch was a way to redeem him from the initial hurt he had caused. Dick who was still haunted by his words and Mac tried to heal him while trying to heal herself.

Veronica had said that it was different for her, she had thought it was a rape for a long time, and let it fester into her soul for so long that it was just a symptom of Lily's murder. It was the ultimate price for losing your best friend, and then it was just a simple innocent mistake between two desperate and drugged lovers and then surprise, it was more than that she had been raped, and the person who had done it had been so convincing in his story that said the opposite of what had happened. No one had suspected Cassidy of anything but having a difficult poor little rich guy life. Boy was people wrong.

Parker on the other hand had so much bitterness towards Mercer that the words came out in loud spurts. She knew that asking such a question would be painful, but it had to be asked. Parker had said that it was about getting control back. Her control, she got to decide who it was going to be, and that it had taken the identity of her attacker to finally let her realize that. She had wished that she could tazer him endlessly until he could even begin to imagine what he made her feel, but that just wasn't the answer.

So Mac began to really ponder, whether she wanted Dick to be that guy. The guy she chose to finally do what Cassidy was unable to do. Ironic that it would take both brothers for Mac to finally give it away to...

Mac looked around her dorm again and a place that at one time was her sanctuary just seemed to mock her now. She didn't have any more answers and her cause of the moment was going so slowly that it was driving her nuts. Mac was a-puzzled and she had no idea on how she was going to solve it this time.

tbc