Chapter fourteen
"Okay Shut up" Veronica yelled to the group of people crowding Keith's backyard as Logan helped her stand up on a chair – despite her advantage she was only just taller than her fiancée. The pair had invited a select few of their closest friends and family – it was limited on the family side – for an impromptu end of summer barbeque "Logan and I have something that we want to tell you all" Mac who was sitting next to Dick and Wallace stopped sipping her beer and looked at Veronica curiously, it had been a month since Veronica found out that she was pregnant and she was officially eight weeks along – despite the fact that everything was going along smoothly, she still thought it was way too soon to be telling people. But it wasn't her baby it was Veronica's "This may seem like its moving along at a rapid rate, some may say that it is too quick, but after some careful consideration, Logan and I have decided that in two weeks time we will be getting married" There was a collective buzz of excitement that spread through, Mac breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that the next two weeks was going to be hectic for the maids of honour – herself and Wallace
Fourteen and a half days until Epic wedding
"So…" Dick indicated back onto the road, his head turning to check the blind spots as they headed back to Mac's house after the barbeque, Mac mumbled as though to tell Dick to continue his question "Is Veronica pregnant?" Mac choked on the slushy that she had made Dick – against his will – stop to get at a dodgy convenience store to get
"Did Logan tell you?" Logan and Veronica had come to the decision that this news was going to stay between the three of them until the twelve-week mark
"Nope. I guessed" she could hear the smugness in his tone, he was clearly very impressed with himself
"How?" she turned to face him, he really didn't seem like a pregnancy expert and she really hoped he wasn't, that would be a whole other relationship confusion
"Well when we were in the hospital the nurse asked Veronica about her menstrual cycle – something that I never want to think about again – plus there is no way her rack got that big on its own, and she definitely didn't get a boob job – I know the recovery time and there is no way that someone who had just had a boob job would be wearing a neckline like she was tonight"
"How often do you look at Veronica's boobs?" Mac looked at him with quirked eyebrows
"Don't worry babe, I look at everyone's boobs" she let out one sarcastic laugh "But yours are the best"
"Oh shut up!"
Twelve days until Epic wedding!
"Why the rush?" Mac asked as a seamstress attempted to fit the skin toned dress to Mac's body, adjusting it as Veronica saw fit
"Well I don't want people to think that this is a shotgun wedding" Veronica picked up a pile of material and sat down on the armchair next to the fitting mirror
"It kind of is" Veronica stuck up her middle finger and Mac laughed, "I mean you didn't really leave me much time to organise a bachelorette party"
"Is it appropriate for a pregnant lady to drink out of a penis straw?"
"Always" Mac and the seamstress said simultaneously said as they turned to Veronica
"Anyway, I need to get married while I still fit into my dress, we have already had to adjust the bust – pregnancy is better than mammomax"
"There you are" Wallace said as he walked around the corner "That looks nice" he pointed to Mac's dress
"Your partner?" the seamstress asked Veronica "It's nice that he wants to be so involved"
"No actually, this is just Wallace" she stood up to greet him "He is my other maid of honour" she reached up and ruffled his hair
"Sure am! Do I get one of those?" he pointed to the dress
"Have you decided where you are going to have the wedding?" this seamstress had been with them for about an hour now and the hard yards of dress shopping seemed to bring them all closer together
"Well that's where we are stuck, dads backyard is too small – so we are just going to have the rehearsal dinner there – and then we thought Dicks but I just cant look at the stairs the same way" she smirked in Mac's direction, Wallace looked from the two girls and then clicked
"You did it on the stairs?" he looked at her outrage
"YOU KNEW?" Veronica pointed
"I've had to watch them kiss" he cringed as Mac looked at him as though to say 'I will deal with you later'
"So what do we think?" The seamstress stepped back and admired her handy work
"It's really comfortable" Mac responded as she swayed the material in her hands
"I love it!" Veronica gushed, "You look perfect"
"I'll just get you to step out of it Cindy and I'll make those alterations" she smiled, Mac wondered if to get a job in this prestigious Neptune wedding boutique required a constant upbeat attitude with an accompanying smile
"Great" Mac gleamed; being a pincushion for the last hour and a half had taken its toll on her physically and mentally "Now I can get started on the bachelorette party"
"Whoa…" Wallace looked at her outraged "Why do you get to plan bachelorette party?"
"Well to be honest I didn't think that you would be interested" she threw a t-shirt dress over her head without putting her arms in as the seamstress took her out of the dress
"Sexism at its finest" Wallace had a smirk on his face
"Do you want to help?" he over exaggeratedly nodded "Fine, I don't think you are going to want to go on this first errand…"
"Where are you going?" he sounded like a clingy child
"To the sex shop"
"I'm in" Mac rolled her eyes at the eagerness of his response
Twelve and a half days until Epic wedding!
"Is this the sex shop?" Wallace asked as they stepped out of their respective cars and met in front of the dark and dingy shop, he still seemed overly keen on the whole idea
"Wallace have you ever been in a sex shop?" she stopped him with her arm
"No, have you?" she winked at him
"Let me just say that I think your expectations are a little too high" she let him go as the automatic doors opened, as they stepped in she could see his face drop "Less everyman fantasy and more Target with porn"
"Believe me Target with porn is the dream, this is just where hookers go to die"
"Come on" she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the bachelor party section "This is the stuff we need" she watched him pick up something off the shelf
"What is this?" Mac simply pointed to the title and Wallace groaned – throwing the toy back onto the shelf "What about this?"
"Will you stop picking stuff up!" Mac whacked his hand away "Geez, cant take you anywhere" she mumbled under her breath "Come on" she said as she dragged him away towards the counter
"Spicing up the bedroom are we?" the man behind the counter winked and Mac tried to do anything but gag like she wanted to
"Nope, just organising a bachelorette party"
"Not. A. Couple" Wallace said with a smile as Mac turned to him and frowned
Seven days until Epic wedding!
"I hate this so much" Mac said throwing herself face first onto the foot of her bed "I needed so much more warning than this, how am I supposed to write a heart-warming speech in a week"
"It cant be that hard," Dick said from his position on her bed
"I would give you an evil glare right now but I am too emotionally drained to lift my neck."
"I started mine by thinking about how Logan and I became friends and Wallace has done the same thing"
"So 'Logan and I became friends when I peed my pants because I thought he was a bear' or 'Veronica cut my naked duct tape body from a pole on my first day of school'" she put on a voice to imitate both of the potential speeches
"How come Wallace's voice didn't sound as stupid as mine?" she groaned and he knew that she was not up for witty banter "Let's brainstorm, so how did you and Veronica become friends? Wait seriously how did you and Veronica become friends? I've never heard the story and from what I remember you didn't hang out when Lily was alive?"
"We went to elementary school together so we always knew of each other but we didn't really associate with each other until after she worked out that it was me who was releasing the purity test results"
"Whoa, it was you" she turned her head just in time to see a proud look on his face "I cant believe that I never put that together, of course Ronnie figured it out. And then?"
"Well then she used to come to me for all of her hacking needs and then we became really close after she found out about my parents"
"Your parents?"
"I don't know if I am ready to tell you that story just yet"
"Fine" he said with a smile "But can you at least promise me that they didn't hurt you" he knew that Natalie and Sam would never hurt her but he had a protective streak that needed to be soothed
"Of course not" she reached out and touched his hands "One day I will be ready to tell you and on that day you will regret being told because its big and you really don't want to know – hell sometimes I don't want to know"
"You just need to tell her how you feel, what she has brought to your life and then tell a funny anecdote about how you never thought she was going to get married – then you are done" she was silent and he looked down to a considering face that broke into a smile
"You are my saviour"
Five days until the Epic wedding!
"You are going to want to be quiet" a glowing Veronica whispered as she opened the apartment door to Dick, he looked behind her and saw that the living room which was usually bursting with light was dull and dark
"Why are the lights off?" his hand reached for the switch and moved it upwards which resulted in a loud groan and a laugh from Veronica
"You are going to regret that"
"It burns" Wallace said as he threw a couch cushion over his face
"Please turn it off" a voice that he recognised instantly moaned from her position on the floor
"What are you doing Mac-key?" he had this vulnerability and amusement in his voice that even Veronica could identify
"It's really dark down here, I crave dark, I need dark"
"So I guess that the bachelorette party went well?" Veronica nodded ferociously and it was that point that Dick saw the beads around Wallace's neck – most specifically the necklace with the plastic penis attached to it and let out a massive laugh – causing another round of groans "Did everyone drink this much?"
"Wallace and I had to drink not only our own shots but also preggers' shots so that the rest of her guests wouldn't suspect anything"
"And they didn't suspect anything when you were not drunk?"
"I'm a surprisingly fantastic sober drunk. Wait, how come you didn't react to the preggers part? Do you know? Did Logan tell you? I knew he was going to spill"
"He guessed when your boobs expanded dramatically…. water" she said supporting herself with the coffee table and attempting to stand up
"Wait I thought you weren't telling anyone else about the pregnancy till the twelve week mark, how come you told Wallace but Logan didn't tell me?"
"Mac was plastered by the second stop of the bachelorette bonanza, I really didn't want to have to take her to the hospital to get her stomach pumped so I was forced to recruit Wallace"
"Are you going to be okay for the bachelor party tonight party man?" Dick asked as he sat down at Wallace's feet
"Mmmm"
"I'm going to take that as a yes"
Two days until the Epic wedding!
"Will you put that down and come sit here please" she whispered harshly across to Dick as he played with the three dimensional diagram of the brain, she pinched her nose in frustration as it all fell apart and landed on the floor. He bent down, collected it all in his hands, put it back together as well as he could before sitting on the chair next to the exam table. Moments went past of silence, waiting for the doctor to come into the room – she could see him contemplating before opening his mouth and then hesitating "What's up?"
"Nothing" he gulped and after a good twenty seconds of her staring at him he opened his mouth "Once I heard that when someone gets a cast off, because the arm hasn't seen sunlight in weeks that it shrivels up like a prune"
"Thanks for that" their was a twinge in her that wanted to laugh at him, she watched his leg restlessly move – being unable to reach his leg with her arm without toppling over she lifted her leg and put it on his "I told you that you didn't have to come"
"Of course I did" he kissed her knee and for some reason it made her swoon as though it was the most romantic gesture, he then scoffed "Are you worried that Ronnie is going to look at your prune arm and fire you as maid of honour?"
"Moment ruined" she moved her leg from his and let it dangle off the end of the examination table "I may have one prune-y arm but I still have a perfectly good one that I can hit you with"
"As if" he sat back in his chair and threw his arms behind his head
" Well isn't someone cocky" she raised her eyebrows at him smirking "And what makes you think that?"
"You just wouldn't be able to bring yourself to do it, you love the Dickster…" the room went silent again and where previously it hadn't been uncomfortable this time it definitely was and Dick was kicking himself that he had even uttered the words, Mac went to open her mouth to respond when the door opened
"Okay Miss Mackenzie, let's see that arm"
Morning of the Epic Wedding!
Mac and Wallace stepped into the threshold of Dick's beachfront home – coffees in hand - cars of florists, caterers and decorators filled the driveway, the house was already buzzing with noise and people and the wedding wasn't for hours. Logan and Veronica had ended up deciding that they would get married in Dick's extensive backyard – despite the stairway sex that Veronica now knew about – the location was to beautiful to judge it based on that moment. Mac could hear his voice before she could see him and she found herself searching for him the minute that she heard it – she found him somewhere near the entrance to the kitchen, walking towards them with a man in a valet outfit matching his steps
"Hey" he smiled, stepped forward and kissed her hard, not letting go until Wallace coughed "You look beautiful"
"Thanks" Wallace answered, "It's super busy already" he looked around
"Speaking of which, where did you park your car?"
"Just outside the gate" he grimaced as he took the keys out of her hands
"That's a tow zone babe, Hector will move it for you"
"I can move it" she made a move for her keys
"I'm happy to do it Ma'am" she smiled and nodded at him
"Park it in the garage, she will be staying here tonight anyway. Wont you?" it was as though he was worried that the assumption would come up to bite him like it had at the doctor's office a few days previously – neither of them had brought it up, no mention at all, they had moved on as though nothing at all happened but it was all that either of them could think of. She blushed slightly and nodded "You can too Wallace, plenty of room"
"Have you managed to keep the bride and groom away from each other?" Wallace asked
"I have been triumphant, he is out getting a haircut, we snuck Veronica in just as he left, I'm going to go and meet him now" he smiled at the two
"Come on Mac, we better find the bride and start getting ready, some of us need all the time we can get" she looked at him sharply "And by some of us I mean me" Dick laughed as Wallace headed towards the staircase
"See you guys later" Dick said picking his wallet and keys up from an end table and turning so that his body was heading towards the open front door, Mac grabbed his arm before he could even think of taking that first step
"We need to talk before the wedding" he instantly felt sick at the presence of those four words
Two hours till the epic wedding
"How are you doing?" Mac asked as she passed Keith a glass of water, he accepted it graciously with a nod as she sat down next to him just outside of the room that Veronica was getting ready in, Mac was already dressed in her nude coloured dress – make-up and hair done
"I would be doing a lot better if you kids would stop growing up so darn fast" he looked to her with a twinkle in his eye "I remember holding Veronica in my arms a couple of hours after she was born and thinking to myself 'This girl, my girl will have the whole world at her feet – she has so much potential and so much life to live' and I couldn't wait to watch her go through it all. But now she is and I just want it all to slow down, I want her to be my little girl forever. Did you know that I'm going to be a grandpa?" Mac ferociously nodded and after a moment of silence filled with their broad smiles, Keith groaned, "You kids need to stop growing up." Wallace walked out the room and twirled
"Looking good Wallace" Keith said as he stood up, he kissed Mac on the temple and patted Wallace on the back before walking into the room where his radiant daughter was busily being pampered "I used to always imagine that I would have a lot more hair on the day I walked you down the aisle" he said as the door shut behind him, Wallace took his spot
"One down" he muttered simply
"Please shut up, I don't think either of us will be heading down the aisle anytime soon"
"Speak for yourself, All the ladies come to the yard when Wallace makes milkshakes" she laughed before they settled into silence again "Ha" Wallace exclaimed as Mac turned to face him "Can you remember that time that you got drunk for the first time and Keith came home and to convince him that you weren't you told him you could spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and you didn't even get to the letter 'p' before you started crying?" Mac pinched her nose as she laughed
"I try not to think about that one" she laughed "Can you remember that time that Veronica made me hack into the school system and Keith came home early and she gave you the job of distracting him" he groaned as he recalled how the story ended "You panicked, ran out to meet him, slipped and fell on your face"
"I distracted him didn't I?"
"Yeah but only because he was convinced that he was going to need to take you to the hospital" another moment of silence was followed by a manic burst of laughter
"What are you two laughing at?" the voice behind them asked, she turned and saw Dick – a smile on his face and a shorter hair cut
"Nothing" they both said at the same time, there were some stories that needed to stay buried
"Convincing" he laughed at the two of them
"HA" Wallace exclaimed louder than before, she shuddered at the story that Wallace had found in the back of his brain
"Can you remember when Veronica made you go to Alterna-prom with Butters?"
"Ugh" she groaned "Yes, I had to have dinner on a pirate ship"
"I remember that. You were wearing that red dress and Butters said something about the elevator to space and you made some snarky comment" Dick chirped in and both Wallace and Mac turned to him – it was hard to comprehend sometimes that some of their fondest memories had a hint of Dick in them, back then their worlds were so far apart
"Hello" Veronica stuck her head out the door and smiled at the three sitting on the banister "What-cha doing?"
"Can you remember when Mac had dinner on a pirate ship?"
"Ah, Alterna-prom, memories" you could see her brain flicking through all of her own memories of that night "I don't want to sound like a diva, but I'm the bride come in here and reminisce with me puhlease" she had this amazing ability to whine with the biggest smile on her face
"I better go and find Logan" Dick said as he stood up from the bannister and came face to face with a panicked Veronica "He isn't missing, he is just downstairs" he smiled as a wave of calm passed over Veronica's face
"Wait a second" Mac said to Dick as Veronica opened the door wider and Wallace went to step inside "I'll be back in a second" she took his hand and dragged him towards his bedroom
"Wow Mackie" he said with a smirk on his face as she closed the door "I didn't know you wanted me this bad"
"We need to talk" his palms went instantly clam-y, it was definitely a talent of hers "I just wanted to let you know that my parents are going to be here this afternoon"
"What?"
"Veronica invited them, in this weird way we are all family"
"I don't mean 'What?' as in why are they invited I mean 'What?' as in why do you think that I will mind?" she looked at him "Because I ran away last time?" she nodded "I'm really sorry about that, I heard how disappointed your dad was when you told him that I was there and my flight or fight response activated and I flew, it's not going to happen today" he held onto her shoulders "Ronnie would kill me if I ran away today"
"Good point" she said with a smile "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it" she got on her tip toes and kissed his cheek "Now I am going to go and entertain Veronica" he grabbed her arm like he had grabbed hers and she smirked as he dragged her back to him and lifted her up, placing her on top of his dresser as he began to kiss her
"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look today?" she was succumbing to his kisses but pushed him away
"I just got my make-up done and my hair and I really don't want to get it all sweaty and gross"
"Fine" he smirked
"Now please help me get down" she struggled as she teetered on the end of the dresser, she was wearing high heels and didn't trust the dismount
"Actually, first we need to talk"
"Ha-ha very funny" sarcasm dripped off her lips – assuming that he was simply mocking her
"No, I'm serious. I know that I said something at the doctor's office the other day that freaked us both out and I'm happy to forget all about it and return back to normal if you are" she nodded and he smiled – moving forward to kiss her one more time "But I do want to make something clear – this thing between you and me, for me it is not a summer fling – it hasn't been since about a week into the summer fling, and if you don't feel the same way or the idea of it is too much for you then you can pull out of this, no hard feelings whenever you want to. You need to know though that I am in this for the long haul" lost for words but not wanting him to think that silence was her answer she moved herself forward and attached her lips to his, as they kissed he swung her down from the dresser and placed her on the ground
Two hours after the epic wedding
"Veronica and I also became friends, I wasn't duct taped to a pole in my tighty whities but her detective skills found there way to me one afternoon – the reason why I wont get into – and she quickly became the Bond to my Q" Mac winked at Veronica "And from that moment on we were the greatest of friends, and I'm so glad because whether we are laughing at each other or tearing strips off each other I know that she ALWAYS has my back – which is great because I wouldn't want to get the wrong side of her" the small gathering of people laughed "Not only have I been blessed with the friendship of Veronica Mars, I've also been lucky enough to get to know her husband" she watched the smile grow on Veronica's face as she turned to look at Logan "For a long time he was the comic relief that my life needed, the wingman in the outrageous stories Veronica would bring to us but there is so much more to Logan Echolls, he is a rock and he is a support to anyone lucky enough to be in his life and he has the biggest heart….so they may have found each other decades ago and it may have taken them forever to get to this moment but I have no doubt in my mind that they will make beautiful things" she lifted her glass up to indicate that the speech was over, she walked back to her spot on the bridal table as Dick stood up to make his way to where she had just been standing, He undid the suit jacket button that he had done up when he stood up and Mac could tell that he was nervous
"I know what you are all thinking" the crowd went silent "You all think that I am going to come up here and recall all of my pal Logan's questionable lovers – the classic Dick speech and I'm not going to lie I did draft up one of those but tonight I want to try something a little different. Mac was right" his eyes found hers within the crowd "Logan is a rock and he does have the biggest heart – and I am one of the lucky few that gets to experience that first hand. I'm not going to tell you the story of when we first became friends because its special and I don't just tell everyone – but mainly because it is super embarrassing for me. What I really want to say today is that I love you man" Logan smiled at him "For a long time you were the only one that meant something in my life, the only one that cared about me and the only one that stood by me and for that I will always be grateful." They did the manly nod and Dick continued his speech "Now to Ronnie" he swore that he could almost see panic in her eyes "What can I say about the girl who lets face it scares the life out of me – not only is she gorgeous, she is fierce and she is protective and I have had to listen to Logan pine over her since high school – some would say they were lucky enough to get to hear the build-up to the love story of a century – cause lets face it, it practically took a century – and others would call it slow torture." He gave his wicked grin "While I may not have been supportive at the start, these two have survived so much and are stronger because of it. Really gives you hope for the future you know" he made eye contact with her for a brief moment while his cheeks blushed and then looked back to Logan "So lets get the party pig out of retirement and celebrate"
Four hours after the Epic wedding!
"Come on twinkle toes, let's boogie" he exaggeratedly danced over to the table where she sat with her parents. The garden was beautiful, fairy lights covered every high surface and a dance floor had been constructed at the edge of the beach, Mac shook her head "Come on, your brother is already dancing" the group all lent over to look past Dick to the dance floor where Ryan was happily dancing away with a group of middle aged women
"I don't dance" Mac confidently responded as Dick's face went into a frown
"Cant or wont?"
"Both" she laughed as she took another sip of wine
"I can sort out one of those issues if you get rid of the other one" he gave his best charming smile with no luck
"Just as stubborn as her daddy" Natalie said pushing her chair back and standing up "I'll dance with you Richie" he took her hand and walked towards the dance floor, her eyes widened as he spun her mother around and led her into a dip
"He used to make up dance routines to backstreet boys, I'm nearly 95% sure that Logan was probably a practice recipient of that dip" she smiled as her eyes continued to follow him
"You really like him don't you?" she turned to face her dad and after a puzzled moment nodded at him, he sighed
"I really do daddy" she gulped "Do you think you could ever like him?"
"Nope" she was gutted, tears threatened to escape her eyes "not the way that you do," he laughed, proud at his own joke "but I can try to like him as a human being – as long as he makes you happy, even if it pains me" she grasped his hand and smiled "I will try. No promises" Mac kissed the side of his cheek
"You!" Dick pointed at her from his position at the edge of the dance floor, she pointed to herself and he moved his finger to indicate that she needed to come to him, she obliged as her mother made her way back to the table, grazing her hand as she walked past, Mac reached him and Dick instantly wrapped his arms around her waist tightly – it was so protective and comforting
"I am warning you now, I will stand on your feet and you will have no one to blame but yourself" he laughed as they swayed. "Wait" Mac looked to the couple making their way to the dance floor "How did that happen? He never dances"
"Your mum and I came up with a plan, she said she would give him a block of chocolate if he danced with her for a minimum of two songs"
"Genius" she smiled as her mother and father gleefully smiled at each other, her attention then turned to the happy newly married couple swaying just metres away from them – she wondered if that was what her own future would look like.
To be continued