More Mac and Dick fluff for your enjoyment:
The first time they told their secrets
"Unplanned, but definitely fun. Good choice, Casablancas." Mac told Dick as they walked side by side on the beach back toward his Jeep.
"Yeah, I haven't been to the boardwalk since high school. I forgot we had premium cotton candy right down the beach."
"A candy apple and giant pretzel dinner beats room service from the Grande any night of the week," she agreed.
"Ooohh, maybe we should put those on the menu at the hotel," Dick planned.
"Yeah, I don't know how well that kind of food works outside of the fair/ballgame/carnival atmosphere," she laughed when she saw his smile fade, "but ask the chef!" she quickly added. "I'm sure he'll do whatever you want."
"Hey Mackie," Dick started, he had been thinking of the topics Logan had mentioned that would help them get to know each other. "Tell me something no one else knows about you."
Mac stopped walking. Dick realized she wasn't right beside him and quickly turned around to face her. "That's kind of out of left field, Dick."
"I know. But you called it a while ago, I just say what I'm thinking, and I was just thinking there's a lot I don't know about you. Like I didn't know you'd love candy apples so much you'd eat two and a half."
She smirked and said, "So you thought you'd start with a secret no one else knows?" Mac began walking again.
"Yeah, break the ice once and for all. Then nothing would be off limits," Dick said happily.
"Hmmm, I don't know about no limits, but I'm okay with sharing secrets. As long as you go first."
Now it was Dick's turn to stop walking.
"What? You didn't think it was going to be just me dishing out secrets, did you? Quid pro quo, Mr. Casablancas."
"Don't cuss me in Spanish," he said with a stern look.
Mac laughed. "No, it just means, I'll tell you a secret if you tell me one of yours. Depending on how good your secret is, I'll tell you one of mine that's just as good. But I'm warning you, I probably don't have as many juicy ones as you do, so you gotta' start tame."
"Okay, fair enough. What's the worst thing you've ever done?"
"A: that's not tame and B: you're up first, remember? So let's hear it, Dick."
Dick sighed, "Fine, I guess when me and Beav were growing up—"
"Stop, Dick," Mac said seriously with a hand on his arm. "Let's stop this right now. We've had such a fun day; I don't want this to turn into a coulda-shoulda-woulda confession about Cassidy."
"Okay, what if he's off limits tonight. No stories about him from either one of us. Will that work, Mackie?"
"Yeah, I think so. On with the secrets then."
"Okay, probably the thing I've felt the worst about that doesn't have anything to do with Beaver would be trying to dose Madison with GHB." They both knew he was skipping over the part about Veronica actually getting the drug because that ended with Cassidy.
Mac's eyes got big at this revelation, so Dick tried to explain, "I mean, we weren't going to do anything she hadn't consented to before."
"Dick!" Mac said hitting his arm, "That doesn't matter! A girl has to consent every time!"
"Yeah, that's why I'm confessing it to you as the worst thing I've done," he said downcast.
"Oh, I guess you're right, and you didn't dose her after all," Mac said thoughtfully.
"Well, this is a fun game," Dick said with a sour expression.
"I've broken into Hearst's supercomputer to steal information from a secret society," Mac blurted out to lighten the mood.
"You what! That's awesome!" Dick exclaimed and in his excitement, his confession continued, "I forwarded the video of Veronica and Piz to everyone on my email list."
"What? What is wrong with you, Dick?" Mac asked hitting him again. "Didn't you know how much that would hurt her? How much it would hurt Logan?"
"Again, this is why I'm telling you this during our 'worst thing you've ever done' portion of the evening."
"Okay, okay. I was behind the whole Neptune High purity test. I made up the website and I didn't pay a dime for my little green VW—all of my classmates who bought each other's test results did."
"That was you!" Dick exclaimed. "Looking back it does make perfect sense though—brilliant, techy, and deviant—sounds like someone I know. But, uh, Mac, that doesn't count."
"What doesn't count?"
"You using the purity test as one of the worst things you've done. That's more of a humble brag than something you should be ashamed of," he said with a smile as they continued walking down the beach.
"Um, okay, let me think then," she said as Dick tapped his wrist as though he was watching the clock, "Well, I cheated on Bronson with Max."
"You WHAT?" Dick asked, coming to a complete stop.
"I mean, not actually cheated," Mac admitted, "but I wanted to. So I think one of the worst things I've ever done was breaking up with Bronson because I had feelings for someone else."
"Okay, Mackie, we're going to move to a new topic because I could keep going for days and you are already scraping the bottom of the barrel. For the record, the fact that you didn't cheat and you did break up with Bronson is why you are a good person. Next question, please."
Mac smiled at Dick for his kind words. "Have you ever told anyone you love them, Dick?"
Dick groaned but said, "I think we agreed that you have to answer your own questions first."
Mac sighed. "No," she said simply. Dick motioned for her to continue.
"I mean, No, I haven't. I've wanted to say that to every guy I've ever dated—" Dick's eyebrows both raised at this admission. "What? Does that make me the sappiest girl ever or something?"
"You wanted to tell them," Dick said them, but was thinking of Cassidy, "but you didn't? Why not?"
Mac's head fell. "I don't know. None of them ever told me they loved me. I guess I don't know what being in love is, but with each guy I've dated I've thought it was love, you know?"
"No, I don't know," Dick said seriously. "I've said 'I love you' to so many girls I can't remember, but I've never once meant it."
Now it was Mac's turn to be look at him with shock. "What? You didn't know you were friends with the most heartless guy ever?" Dick asked sadly.
"You're not heartless, Dick," Mac said leaning against him. "Just don't do that anymore. Girls take it seriously."
"I haven't even said that to my parents," Dick admitted.
"What?" Mac asked again shocked.
"Not since I was a little kid. Not since before my Mom and Dad got a divorce. They stopped saying it to us—me, and I stopped saying it back."
"Dick, that's awful! " Mac exclaimed putting an arm around him as they walked. "It's not my place Dick, but I hate your parents. They are awful to you. You deserve much better than them."
Dick stopped and took her arm away. "C'mon Mackie, don't pity me. I can handle anything the world throws at me except for pity. I especially don't want it from you."
Mac looked at him and a distracting thought entered her head, "Tell me a secret about you I don't know. The best one you've got. The one that'll shock me the most."
"Why? Let's not play this game anymore, okay Mackie? Let's just go home."
"I was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair," Mac announced as she sat down on the sand at their feet. She thought she'd give Dick a second to digest this revelation.
"Shut the fuck up," he said after a moment as he slid down and sat next to her. Mac remained silent but locked eyes with him and nodded in confirmation.
"When?" he finally asked.
"At birth," Mac said with a smirk.
"I meant, when did you find this out?" Dick said, still unable to laugh.
"In high school. Veronica found out. I thought I was adopted and asked her to check it out."
"You've known since high school?" Dick asked amazed. "What did you- I mean, how did they-"
Mac took this as her cue to tell the story. "So my birthday was a few weeks ago—" she started.
"So was Madison's," Dick remembered.
"Exactly. We were both born at the same hospital a day apart. Our parents found out about the switch, but not until we were 3 or 4 year old and obviously very attached. Both families sued the hospital but they never switched us back."
"What did your parents say when you told them you knew?" Dick asked her.
Mac looked down at her feet in the sand and whispered, "My parents don't know that I know."
"What! Are you kidding me? You've known you're living with Madison's parents for years and you never told them."
"They're my parents, Dick. Mine. They raised me. They love me and I love them."
Dick's head was reeling. Mac was supposed to be Madison Sinclair. Madison was supposed to be Cindy Mackenzie. Mac, who he knew didn't identify well with her parents, should have grown up down the street from him like Madison did. Mac would have been his neighbor? An 09er? Rich? His high school girlfriend? He shook his head clear of those thoughts, for now. He thought of Madison's mom and dad—they did look an awful lot like Mac. Madison's sister Lauren was a dead ringer for a little Mac.
"Earth to Dick?" Mac said waiving her hand in front of his eyes that stared at the water.
"So you would have grown up to be Madison? Madison would have grown up to be Cindy? You would have been rich? You would have fit in with your family better? This is insane. I feel like my head is going to explode."
"Welcome to my world," Mac said dryly.
"Seriously," he said looking at her, "how are you so calm about this? How have you gone for so long without telling them? Does anyone but Veronica know? Does Madison know? Shouldn't you be in, like, therapy or something for this?"
"I did the whole therapy thing, Dick, but we're not talking about Cassidy tonight," Mac again said without emotion. Now she was the one staring out across the ocean.
What a fucked up life she has, Dick thought. Imagine, I was telling her not to pity me. Oh, wait, that's why she told me all this—so we'd be even.
Without another word, Dick wrapped his arm around Mac's shoulder. After a few seconds, she rested her head on his shoulder.
Dick waited for her to cry, but it never came.
They stared out at the ocean for at least an hour in silence. They watched the sun drop into the ocean and when it finally did Mac stood up, ready to go home.
"Tell me another secret of yours Dick, a good one," she said softly.
"I was married once," he said as they walked toward the Jeep.
"Shut the fuck up."
The first time Dick impressed her
"Mac, when are you going to let me take you out and show you a good time? This group stuff is fun and all, but I think we'd have more fun if we left these bozos behind for once."
Mac sighed and looked across the booth at her questioner. "Trevor, I think my opinion on the matter has been made clear. You are fun to work with, fun to hang out with, but you and I are never going to date."
"Okay, if a date's out of the question, how about just a little one on one time in the bathroom right now? Let's go," Trevor said with forced bravado in front of his friends. They were all used to his ways and everyone was laughing.
"T," said their friend Gabe who was sitting beside Trevor in the booth at Shakey's Bar, "My calculations may be off, but I'm pretty sure that was the 400th time you've asked Mac out."
"And the 400th time she's declined," said Zach Hollins who was sitting beside Mac. "Give it up."
"No, no," said Trevor with a wink to Mac, "I'm nothing if not persistent." He stood up. "But hearing the actual data makes me want to drown my sorrows a little more. I'm headed back to the bar, who wants seconds?"
Zach placed an order, Mac politely declined, but Gabe said, "I want to see what else is on tap. I'll go with you." And both of the boys slid out of their spots in the booth.
"Hey Mackenzie," Zach said to Mac as they sat alone and now worked their way through some spicy fries, "I know you're in a turning down mood, so this may not be the best time, but I got a couple tickets to a music festival in San Diego in a few weekends. Want to come with me?"
"As friends?" Mac asks putting another fry in her mouth. Zach Hollins was probably her favorite friend at work. He was good looking, smart, and definitely the most socially competent of her IT co-workers, but she had never thought of him as anything more than a pal.
"Yeah," he said slowly, letting Mac know this wasn't his true intention, "We could go as friends."
Everything about Mac's body language changed. She sat up straighter and instead of mindlessly eating and drinking, she was now conscious of what she was doing with her hands and where she was looking.
She locked eyes with the boy next to her. "Hollins, you're great. You're seriously the best new friend I've made in a long time. You're hot, you're funny—"
"I'm sensing a 'but' coming," Zach said lightheartedly, but somewhat downcast.
"The 'but' is that I'm a mess, Zach," Mac admitted. "You're wonderful and I'm probably stupid not to like you like that, but the truth is I haven't thought of you as more than a friend and I don't see that changing in the near future. I'm really sorry, Hollins."
"Don't be sorry for being honest, Mackenzie," he told her with a sweet look on his face. "I mean, I'm the one who feels like an ass. Waltzing in trying to steal Trevor's girl and all."
Mac laughed at this and knew their friendship would survive.
"And you're not a mess, Mac, you're amazing. But I get that you probably need more time after Max."
"How—how did you know about Max?"
"Are you kidding? We all knew you were dating him this summer and that you broke up a few months ago. The IT guys might not look like we're clued in to the gossip grapevine at Hearst, but we've got more connections than you think."
"Well, that's creepy, but not surprising, I suppose. Hey Hollins, I know you might think I need more time, but I don't want to lead you on. I don't think time is going to change my feelings about you and me."
"Fair enough," he said nodding his head, "but in light of that, I'm going to take back my invitation to the festival. Sharing a tent with you for a weekend, knowing nothing could change would probably be torture."
Mac smiled at him, "Indian giver."
"Heart breaker," he quipped with a laugh.
"Ouch," she said laughing too, "My racially insensitive moniker for you has no equivalent. What's your excuse?"
"Um…heart breaker is the nicest term I have for someone who shot me down cold?" he said as though it was a question.
"Fair enough," she repeated, also mimicking Zach's head nodding. "I think I will go get that second drink now, Hollins. Want to come?" Mac asked as she stood up.
"Nah, the guys are coming back with mine in a minute. I'll just stay put and drown my sorrows with Trevor." Zach smiled at her sincerely.
"Suit yourself," Mac said. "You guys need to take a lesson from Gabe. He's never looked at me twice," she added with a laugh.
Hollins held in the that's what you think.
Mac tapped on the shoulder of a person in the booth behind her before walking to the bar. She places her order then settles into a bar stool and looks back over the bar patrons. Wallace was there with some of his basketball friends at the far end of the room. Mac notices that Celia Jones is here tonight too, but not at his table. She hopes he and Celia get together soon; Wallace deserves to be happy. Mac's eyes fall back on the table of beautiful people that settled in the large circular booth behind her. They are loud, rambunctious, and quickly becoming the center of excitement at Shakey's. As he walked in, her blond, floppy haired friend made a point of ruffling her hair as he sat behind her. Though he didn't interrupt the lively conversation she was having as their appetizers were being served. Mac had turned around and seen the back of Dick's head and smiled.
Mac, now seated on a bar stool, catches Dick's eye. She curls a finger for him to join her. In an exaggerated motion, Dick points to himself and mouths "Moi?" Mac giggles, then nods confidently. Dick excuses himself from the table and strides self-assuredly toward her.
"Hey Dick, this is for you," she places a tall glass of beer in front of him as he sits on the stool beside her.
"Did I win a bet I forgot about?"
Mac shook her head no.
"To what do I owe the pleasure? Finally deciding it's time to get me drunk and have your way with me?"
"Ha! Not a chance of that. Nope," Mac tells him with a confident grin, "this is to say thanks."
"Thanks? Thanks for what?" he asks before taking a large sip.
"Thanks for respecting me."
"Then you should bring me beer every day, woman!" he said in jest. He leaned toward her and softly said, "I always respect you, Mackie. Why the sudden need to celebrate it?"
"I like how we both skip over the 'getting me drunk and having your way with me' comments you blurt out—glad those don't negate all the respect you give me," she said rolling her eyes at him. He pouted at her, essentially saying 'you know those don't count, get on with it.' " Did you or did you not just eavesdrop on my conversation back there, Dick?"
"Uh, If I say I did, are you going to take my beer away? I already had a sip," he petitioned.
"I'm assuming that you did," she stage whispered to him.
Dick nodded. "Oh, okay then. Yep. Heard every word."
Mac raised her glass to his and made sure to lock eyes with him as they toasted. "Then I bought you that beer to say 'thanks for respecting me.'"
"Okay, I'll bite," he said. "I'm still not following you."
"You didn't interrupt. You didn't come over to our table. You didn't say anything to me about it just now. And this beer is my pre-emptive strike against you planning to say anything to Hollins."
"Or to Trevor?"
"Trevor doesn't count."
"We agree on that," Dick muttered and Mac stifled a laugh. "I didn't interfere because no one was rude to you. Or ruder than usual, if you do count the Trevor part. And I didn't interrupt because you were handling it—you didn't need me."
Mac smiled up at him, pleased with his attitude. "But if you ever do—" he continued.
"I'll let you know," she finished for him.
"It's so weird that your friends, my friends, and Wallace's friends all like the same bar," Dick commented looking around at each of the three tables of friends.
"Did you get carded?" Mac asks.
"No."
"Then it's not that weird," she says with a satisfied smile. Mac continues, "Having fun tonight, Dickie?" she mimicked the blond who was fawning all over Dick at his table.
"Looks like I wasn't the only one eavesdropping," he said with a conceited look.
"Those girls are hard to ignore," Mac said dryly.
"Actually, I am having fun." Dick sighed, "Listen, Julie and the other Betas don't know I hate that name like you do. How could they? I'm not going to tell some stranger that's what my dead brother used to called me," he said with a sneer thinking about that scenario.
"A stranger, huh? Julie didn't seem like such a stranger, Richard." Mac had done some research on Julie Reynolds before; she was one of the girls Veronica had pegged as "dating" Dick in the past.
"Why Mackie, I didn't know you cared."
"Sorry. None of my business, Dick."
He looked at her face. Dick couldn't tell if she was jealous, but he could hope.
"Come on Mac, let's go dance," he said, changing the subject, motioning to the few people on the dance floor.
Mac laughed. "I hate to dance, Dick. No thanks."
Dick knew he would get nowhere with that offer. "I'm the third guy you've turned down tonight. Aren't you ever going to let yourself have any fun?"
Mac sighed and took a long sip, "What's wrong with me Dick?" she asked him seriously.
Dick didn't know how to take this question. "What do you mean Mac?"
"I mean, why would I turn down a great guy like Hollins? It was just a date, right? Am I just trying to be unhappy?" she said putting her elbows up on the bar and resting her chin in her hands.
"Be honest, Mackie," Dick said in a whisper as he put one hand on her back and leaned towards her. "Does that guy get your blood boiling? Does he make your heart race? Does he make you sweat?"
"No," Mac whispered back. Not like right now, she thought, though she was pushing away those feelings.
"Then there's your answer," Dick said leaning back, proud of himself.
"What's my answer?" Mac asked still slightly dazed.
"Hollins is a little too Parker & Piz."
"Too what?"
"You know, bland. Vanilla. Beige. Too Parker & Piz," Dick said as though this was as clear as day. "Cute enough, nice enough, but never somebody who's going to get you all hot and bothered. Nice only goes so far, Mackie."
"Huh," Mac said thinking about how Parker and Piz could never take the place of Veronica and Logan. "That is eerily perceptive, Dick. Kind of like Bronson, I guess."
"Your old boyfriend was vanilla?"
"Yeah, I mean he was really sweet and I thought he was so cute, but…" she trailed off.
"He just didn't do it for you," Dick supplied.
"Exactly. I guess that's how I could walk away from him and not be too regretful or tortured—"
"Like Logan and Veronica," Dick again finished Mac's thought.
"Yeah," Mac said finding herself astonished at Dick's insight.
"Hollins was right, Mac, you were honest with him, and you can't beat yourself up for that. You can't change who you're attracted to," Dick said. Don't I know it. "Fewer people get hurt, yourself included, if you don't fake it."
"Wow, Sophomore Dick, I almost don't recognize you," Mac said with a sneaky smile. He gave her an inquisitive look and she continued. "You know, respectful, thoughtful. You'd better get back to your fraternity brothers and raise some hell before I call the Sherriff with a missing person's report."
"Can do, Mackie," he said standing and chuckling at her appraisal. "You heading home?"
"In a minute," she said. "I'm going to say hi to Wallace then see if my crew is ready to go."
"If they're not, just use your Pied Piper's whistle. Those saps would follow you anywhere."
"Be careful tonight, Dick," Mac told him seriously as he helped her off the bar stool.
"Sure thing. You too. See you tomorrow, Mackie."
Mac walked toward the Hearst basketball team and Dick rejoined his rowdy crowd.
"Mac!" a surprised Wallace exclaimed, "Take a seat, girl. When did you get here?"
"A little before you guys did," she told him sitting on the edge of his large group. "I came with some friends from work," she pointed to her table. "I see you haven't made a move to talk to Celia yet," she whispered to him, out of range of his teammates.
"I waived hi," Wallace said sadly. Then he whispered back, "She kind of made it clear she wasn't interested in dating right now. She just got out of a long term relationship."
"Not interested in dating? Or not interested in dating you?" Mac asked surprised, her conversations with Hollins and Dick fresh in her mind.
"Please, who would turn this down?" Wallace said pointing to himself with a smile. Then more somberly he said, "I don't know. I think she likes me okay, but she dated her ex for a few years and I think her experience with the last guy is holding her back. Kind of like someone else I know," he said motioning to her.
"Hey, hey, I did not come over here to get analyzed."
"Oh, what did you come over here for?"
"To look cool sitting with the basketball team and to steal a bite of your potato skins," Mac said as she reached across him and took his food.
Wallace laughed as Mac put the remaining food back on his plate. "Nah, I just came to say hi and to tell you that Celia's been watching you tonight."
"For real?" he asked excitedly.
"For real. Don't wait too long to make your move," Mac said standing to head back to her table.
"Hey Mac, don't wait too long to say yes to someone."
He couldn't know about the guys tonight. He has to be talking about Dick. "Night Wallace," she said as a way to cut off this conversation.
"Later Mac," Wallace said with a laugh.
Mac was backing away from his table when she ran into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry. Pardon me."
"Watch yourself," a female voice said with disdain.
Mac turned to see Julie Reynolds glaring at her. "I said I was sorry," Mac replied timidly. Mac realized who Julie reminded her of: Madison Sinclair.
"Listen Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore," Julie said with a haughty look and a light shove.
What the hell? "No bitch, this is Neptune. Oz ain't got nothin' on us," Mac said as she forcefully pushed past the hostile girl and walked back to her table without a second glance.
The first time Veronica confronted Dick
The gang was leaving campus to go out to dinner. Wallace and Piz were riding together from their dorm and Dick and Logan were both parked in the commuter lot. As the four walked toward the abysmally far parking lot, Veronica banked left to ride with Logan and Mac habitually went toward the blue Jeep with Dick. Veronica watched as Dick hoisted her friend over the Jeep's door and hi-fived her perfect landing. He was smiling as he ran around the back of the vehicle.
"Dick!" Veronica bellowed.
"Yeah V?" Dick asked as he jogged toward the tiny one. "Mackie!" he called. Mac turned around and he tossed her the Jeep keys to start the engine.
Veronica couldn't help notice how blissfully happy Dick seemed.
"Did you just throw my best bud into your Jeep?"
"Yep," he said proudly.
"Why?" Veronica asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Uh, cause she likes it?" Dick replied confused.
"If you hurt her…" Those few words let Dick know she meant far more than physically damaging her friend. Her concerned and threatening facial expression told Dick that whatever concealment he thought he had over his emotions was gone, at least where Veronica was concerned. She knew. Veronica knew he loved her.
But he played it off.
"Look, she landed just fine. We do that all the time. Quit being so mother-hen."
"Dick Casablancas, you know damn well that's not what I was—" Dick cut her off with a huge sigh; he was preparing for the battle that was about to take place. The one he'd been waiting on for months now.
"Ronnie," he began, "if I hurt her, you gotta' know all the threats you've dreamed up for me will mean nothing."
She looked as though she did not like what she was hearing. "Dick—"
"What I mean is, if I hurt her, she'll be hurt. And that'll kill me. So nothing you could do to me would hurt worse than that. That's why it's staying like it is, okay?"
"Staying like it is?" Veronica asked confused. She couldn't believe Dick had put so much thought into this and really cared so much about her friend. And that he wasn't fighting her on this.
"Look how happy Mackie is," he said motioning to her singing along to something in the Jeep. "I know I'm beyond lucky to have her in my life and that I'm a pro at hurting people I care about, so we're just going to keep everything the same and hope I don't screw up our friendship."
Veronica thought before speaking next.
"What if Mac wants more than friendship?" Veronica asked, not believing she was having this conversation with Dick Casablancas.
His eyes got big. "Veronica Mars, do you know something that I don't?" he asked on the verge of exploding with excitement.
She instantly regretted getting his hopes up with the question. "No, sorry, Dick. She hasn't said anything like that to me."
His face fell.
"Yet. She hasn't said anything like that to me yet." Veronica couldn't believe she was encouraging him now. Hadn't she just yelled for his attention in hopes of threatening him? "But what if she does?"
"No, no, no! No meddling! Do not ask her and don't tell me anything she tells you! Jeez, woman, just keep this to yourself, okay? After 2 minutes of talking with you my mind is already messed up. I can see why Logan is half crazy. I don't want to hurt her EVER, so that's why we're going to stay the same!"
Logan pulled up beside Veronica in the Land Rover and both knew they'd have to cut this conversation short. "Okay Dick, I won't say anything to her," Veronica agreed, "but not letting her know how you feel could hurt her, too." Logan's eyes got big; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
After hearing this, Dick looked hopeless, like he was doomed to hurt Mac either way.
Despite the fact that she usually despised the company of the man before her, Veronica couldn't stand to see that look on Dick's face, "And on the other hand-just because you're not going to make a move, doesn't mean that she won't. Someday."
"Don't get my hopes up, Mars," he said sadly, but she noticed a faint smile was returning to his face just imagining this possibility.
They broke apart when they heard Mac yelling from the Jeep. "Enough chit-chat! I'm starving people! Let's go!"
The first time Mac came through for Dick:
"So you just left him by himself?" Mac asks Logan, finding herself getting slightly upset.
"He's such a whiner when he's sick. I couldn't stand being cooped up with him anymore. He's so needy," Logan replies dramatically. He , Mac, and Wallace are eating lunch in their usual spot. "The suite is a disaster too, but he won't let anyone in to clean it."
"What's wrong him anyway?" asks Wallace.
"Sore throat, I think," Logan says as if this is the most ridiculous reason for a person to be ill.
"Did he go to the doctor yet?" Mac asks him.
Logan rolls his eyes. "Does Dick even have a doctor?"
"And he's pretty bad?" Mac asks, concern growing on her face.
"Well, he's in bed and not even out in the living room. He's not playing Xbox. He's not watching TV. So I'd say, for Dick, this has been three days of hell."
"Fine. Gimme your key, then," Mac tells Logan with an outstretched hand as she gathers up her backpack to leave.
"So you're skipping Calculus?" Wallace asks her as she places the card key in her back jeans pocket.
"Yeah, your notes are better than mine anyway," she tells him as Veronica joins them carrying her lunch on a tray.
"Hi, V. Bye, V," Mac says to her quickly, but with a smile. "Later, fellas."
"Where's she going in such a rush?" Veronica asks the guys as she takes a seat.
"To do my bidding," Logan says conceitedly with a wink to Wallace.
"Do I even want to know?" Veronica whispers loudly to her best friend.
"I'm certain that you don't," Wallace says shaking his head.
Within the hour, Mac pushes a luggage cart loaded down with supplies into the Presidential Suite.
"Dick!" she calls loudly from the entryway. "I'm coming in!" Don't come out here naked. Veronica mentioned something about him coming out of his room barely wearing boxes.
"Mackie?" she hears him say from his room. She leaves the cart just inside the door and makes her way to his bedroom. Logan was right, this place was a wreck. Towels and clothes almost cover the entire floor. Tissues, Gatorade bottles, throat lozenge wrappers, and room service plates litter every other flat surface. And the whole place had a stale, sweaty smell.
"Hey Dick," she says softly from the doorway. "How ya' feelin?"
If he was feeling anything like he looked, it was awful. His rumpled, stained shorts and T-shirt matched his messy wet hair. He was lying on his stomach, all four limbs stretched out, above the covers.
"Sucky. Get out of here Mac," he groaned without turning over.
Mac was surprised by this. Usually it was him who was more eager for her time.
"No can do, chico. You're stuck with me for a little while. We're going to get you feeling better and then I'll get out of here."
"No, you gotta' go now. You're gonna' get sick," he said, finally rolling over and looking at her.
Now she was really surprised. Had he not called her in the past three days because he was afraid she would get sick too? This thought prompted her to leave the doorway and walk over to his bed.
"I'll have you know I have an excellent immune system, Mr. Casablancas," she told him as she sat down by his head.
"No really, I have Strep or something, Mackie. You should go." Mac could hear how exhausted he was, even in this protest.
She looked at his face and saw that he had a sweat ring around his neck. His soft blond hair was sticking to his forehead. Without a thought, she brushed it back off his forehead with light fingers and said, "I'm fine right here."
"Mmmm….kay," he said sleepily, giving in. "You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." She continued to try to soothe him by sweeping his hair off his forehead and trying to move his long hair off his neck.
When she stood abruptly, Dick finally sat up. "Leaving already?" he asked sadly not entirely sure if he had fallen back to sleep or not.
"Hardly," Mac replied with a light laugh. "Lie back down. You're burning up. I was just going to find you some advil and bring you back something cool."
She returned with his favorite Gatorade, some advil, a cold rag and a towel.
"Okay, now sit up, please," she said gently. Dick couldn't remember her ever being so soft-spoken with him. He took the medicine and Mac placed the cold cloth around his neck.
The difference in temperature was startling. "Oooh, oooh," he said finally leaning against the headboard to relax. Mac reached across him and toweled off his forehead and then both cheeks. She was glad he kept his eyes closed while she was this close to his face.
"So it's a sore throat?" she asked.
"Yeah, and aches and sweats. And a headache. And I feel like I could puke except I can't."
"Where's your wallet?"
"On the dresser. Why?" he laughed lightly. "Are you going to rob me now that I'm too weak to defend myself?"
"Dick, if I wanted to rob you I would have hacked your Bank of America account a long time ago," she said with a smirk. "Or the PNC one. Or the Cayman one. Or the four in Switzerland. " After he laughed as heartily as he could muster, she continued. "I'm looking for your insurance card."
"I don't want to go to the doctor, Mackie. Please, don't make me. I'm too sick to go to the doctor," his pathetic plea was hammered home when his eyes met hers.
"Okay, but if I can get a doctor to come to you, you'll do what they say?"
"Do I have a choice?" he said, realizing who he was dealing with.
"No, but I'd like you to think that you do," she said smugly.
"Fine, but no shots. I'm serious." Mac giggled as Dick settled back into a lying position on the bed. "My insurance card and a credit card to use are all in there. I'm going to rest for just a second."
"You rest as long as you need, but I think you'll feel better if you get a shower."
"I got too hot when I tried to get a shower yesterday. I think I passed out. I was sitting on the floor of the shower and couldn't remember how I got there."
"Dick! Are you okay? Was Logan here?"
"He wasn't, but I was fine. I just got out and slept on the bathroom floor for a little while. So that's why I stink, sorry."
"You're fine, Dick. But this place is disgusting. I'm going to call the front desk and have them send some people to clean up around here."
"Don't do that! Then they'll all get sick too!"
"Dick, people aren't going to get sick from sweeping and dusting. It'll be fine. How about if get a cool bath started for you? Or do you want to wait a little while?"
Hearing her talk about running a bath for him awakened thoughts he had been too tired to think about in the past few days. "Baths are for chicks, Mackie. And cool? That's crazy talk. But if you want to join me in the shower, just to keep me safe y'know, I think that'd go a long way in making me feel all kinds of better."
"You must not be that sick, Dick. A warmish bath it is," she said as she pushed herself up off her perch on his bed and walked into the bathroom, then muttered, "not that a cold shower wouldn't do you some good."
After she got the water going, she shadowed him to the bathroom.
"My sore throat does not make me an invalid. I can walk to the bathroom by myself, Mackie."
"Can you? Slipping and fainting of yesterday is just a distant memory?" she snarked back. "What do you want to wear when you get out?"
"Anything," he replied, too tired to care. Mac ran to his dresser and pulled out some athletic shorts, the first pair of boxer-briefs she saw, and an old 'Vote for Pedro' t-shirt.
"Really? You think this is the perfect day for my lucky drawers?" he asked with a smile when he saw her choice.
Who has lucky underwear? Oh, probably someone like Dick. "You're lucky I haven't killed you yet. How's that?" she asked as she placed the clothes on the counter, turned away, and started to shut him in the bathroom.
"Hey!" he called out right before the door was shut, "I know I'm lucky you're here. Thanks for coming by."
Through the crack in the door, he saw that Mac blushed slightly. "Just put your clothes on before you come out. We don't need you giving your staff new material for rumors."
"Oh, there'd be talk, Macaroni. There'd be talk."
After heartily shutting the door, Mac picked up the hotel phone in his bedroom.
"Good Afternoon, Mr. Casablancas," the male voice said to her. "How are you feeling today? Our chef wanted me to let you know there is plenty of green jello ready for you today and from now on he will always keep this in stock. He's terribly sorry about yesterday."
"Uh, yeah, is this the front desk?" she asked him confused.
"Of course. May I be of any help to you ma'am?"
"Maybe. Are there any doctors who would make house calls to the hotel?"
"Absolutely. I can call someone for you. Is there an emergency?"
"No, no emergency. Dick, uh, Mr. Casablancas has a cold but I'd feel better if a doctor came to check him out."
"I will call an office we use immediately. Is there anything else I can do for you, ma'am?"
"Well, this is going to sound like a crazy request—"
"Mac, they all sound like crazy requests when you deal with rich snobs all day."
"Jeff!" Mac said as she laughed. "Don't ma'am me again!"
He chuckled too, "Yeah, it's me. What's the crazy request?"
"I was just going to ask you to try to get a female doctor. Dick responds better to female authority figures. But then I was going to have you check to see if the office could send someone middle aged too. I know that's really weird and picky. Dick's sick, but I'd like to spare some young professional from 'hello nurse' one liners all day."
"That doesn't even rank on my top 5 crazy requests for the day. Done. Anything else?"
"Yeah, could you send some maids up here to clean? Preferably the ones you've been wanting to quit—this place is toxic," Mac tells him looking around again at the filthy suite.
"They'll be there in 5. What else?"
"Actually, you'd better send some of that green jello if he made a fuss about it yesterday. "
"Yeah, don't tell him, but we've got red, orange, blue, yellow—basically anything he could dream up now. The chef was throwing a fit. Apparently jello is beneath him."
"Sorry about that. I think that's everything, Jeff. Thanks."
"Later Mac. Good luck."
Mac hung up the phone and went back to the luggage cart she brought in a few minutes ago.
Dick emerged from the bathroom feeling clean but exhausted from the effort. His head swam from the heat. He walked into his bedroom to find Mac; instead he found two housekeepers stripping his bed. Confused, he wordlessly staggered past them and moved through the living room.
"Dick!" Mac exclaimed as she threw down what she was holding in the kitchenette and ran to him. She slung an arm around his waist and helped him to the couch. "Sit down! I've never seen you so pale. Are you feeling okay?"
"Uh-huh, I'm okay." Dick said as he slumped over from his sitting position to an uncomfortable lying position. Mac helped to straighten out his long frame.
"What's wrong?" Mac said as she struggled lifting his deadweight limbs.
"Just sleepy," he said, drained.
"Okay, you rest here for a second. A doctor is on her way and they'll be out of your room in a few minutes." Mac said as she attentively placed a pillow under his head.
"You got me a girl doctor?" Dick asked with a small smile.
"Do I know you or what?" Mac asked smirking back.
The next thing Dick knew, Mac was nudging him.
"Dick, wake up. This is Dr. Angel." The suite was quieter, cleaner, and a large Hispanic woman was peering over him.
"Dr. Angel?" he questioned sitting up now and looking at her name tag and stethoscope. "No halo and no white coat?"
"No, sir," the pleasant woman said with a smile. "I find that either invites too many questions." She swiftly moved on to the reason she was here, " Ms. Mackenzie informed me that you've been ill for a few days. Tell me which symptoms started first."
Mac left the two to the exam while she returned to chopping vegetables in the kitchen area. After leaving Hearst at lunch, Mac went home to get her mother's crock-pot and her recipe for vegetable soup. She then went to the market before finding Dick alone in his suite.
After about 20 minutes, Mac heard a loud "Ouch!" She peeked into the living room to find Dick holding his finger and Dr. Angel peering over some small equipment.
Dick, aware of her presence, said through gritted teeth, "You said no needles, Mackie."
"I agreed to no shots," she retorted quickly, then added with a nod to the physician, "unless Dr. Angel thinks one is necessary."
"Not necessary today young lady. I did a quick throat swab for strep phayrngitis which was positive, so I'm going to call in a prescription of oral antibiotics for Mr. Casablancas. He also shared with me his aversion to injections. The finger stick will tell us shortly if he also has mononucleosis."
"The kissing disease?" Dick asked in disbelief.
"Kind of fitting for a player like you," Mac teased as she headed back to her chopping.
Not really, he thought, not being able to recall the last time he had any action.
Dr. Angel called in a prescription to a pharmacy that would deliver to the Grand. Dick was glad of this, knowing he would be sad if Mac had to leave to pick it up. The good doctor informed him that he did not have mono, but that the strep infection he had could cause all of these symptoms. He was instructed to rest, drink lots of fluids, and that he should be feeling better in the next few days. Dr. Angel left Dick not hating doctors quite so much and feeling hopeful that he'd be over all of this soon.
"Let me help you into bed," Mac said as she held out her hands to help Dick off the couch.
"Why can't you say stuff like that to me when I have any energy?" Dick said with a flirty grin. Though he was surprised how much he needed Mac to help pull him up; he really was weak.
Mac shook her head in amusement and led him back into his room. She pulled back the covers and he fell into bed. The cool, clean sheets were inviting. He knew that sleep would claim him quickly.
Dick reached out for Mac and she timidly let him take her hand. He surprised her by pulling her down to the bed swiftly. Mac adjusted herself so that she was no longer draped across him and sat on the edge of his bed.
"What was that all about?"
"Stay. Please. You don't have to work today, do you?"
"No, I took the day off because I have a project due tomorrow."
His face showed he was disappointed. "Oh, okay. You'd probably better go and work on your project then, Mackie."
"I was planning on staying here this afternoon and working on it, if that's okay with you?"
The half of Dick's face that wasn't snuggled into his pillow turned up in a smile. "Stay here though." Mac knew he meant beside him.
She sighed. "I think you'd feel better if you got some sleep, Dick. I'll just be right outside your door."
"No," he whined. "Stay here with me." He scooted over and made room for her on the bed. "Let's watch a movie. You can tune it out and do your work and I can tune it out and go to sleep. But stay here, Mackie, please."
"Wow, you're going to blow your cover as the spoiled heir to millions, Dick. That was some first rate whining."
"That means you're staying right?" he asked with a grin.
"Okay," she agreed. "Just let me finish up in the kitchen first."
"What are you doing in there anyway?"
"Making you soup," Mac said matter-o-factly.
Dick sat up. "You're what?"
"Ma-king you soup," she said slowly pantomiming stirring a bowl , pointing to him, and sipping from a spoon.
"No one's ever cooked for me before," he said with his head bowed.
Before she could say 'what are you talking about?', Mac realized Dick meant no one had cooked for him ever. In his 20 years on the planet. Sure, chefs and nannies aplenty had, as well as most every restaurant worker in southern California. But not his mom, not his friends' moms, not Kendall, not Madison.
Mac was stunned. She wondered if anyone had ever taken care of him when he was sick either.
She surprised herself as she kissed him lightly on the cheek before standing up.
"Well, that ends today, Dick."
Yay! This chapter has been one of my favorites to write. It's 3 of 4 for the 'Firsts' mega-chapter and then the story will move quickly. (please note, move quickly does not mean post quickly, unfortunately.) Thank you so much for all of the fantastic and encouraging reviews so far-I really appreciate it!