Sorry for making you wait for this final chapter - it started out in one time frame and then the fact of the holidays sunk in and I moved it a little.
I took a little inspiration from the list of prompts on the VMHQ holiday prompt list, even though this can't go into the collection. Tiny spoiler - the prompt was the one about LoVe family decorating the Christmas tree or baking holiday treats or making snowmen. No snowmen in Neptune but a touch of both of the others.
December 2021
"Hellooo! Anyone home?"
Veronica bolted out of the kitchen to the entryway, nearly colliding with Cole in the doorway.
"For the love of all that is holy, please keep it down," she stage-whispered, then threw her arms around him. "Welcome home."
He hugged her back. "Thanks, it's good to be back."
She pulled away to smile at him. "Did you just get here? Your dad said you were flying in tomorrow."
"I wanted to surprise him but there's no one at home. I figured Mac was at work but I thought Dad would be here. His car's in the garage."
"You're right about Mac. I haven't gone back to work full time yet so Dad's been keeping her busy." She stepped out of the embrace and headed back for the kitchen. "Come on, I was working on a lasagna for dinner tomorrow but it looks like we can have it tonight since you're back already. So anyway, your dad was here, but he and Logan went out for another flying lesson. I'm not sure he's actually learning anything but Logan likes getting the chance to go up. He misses the flying since he retired."
"Yeah, I kinda think Dad is just humoring him with these lessons. He talks about being able to fly himself back and forth to see me at school, but I'll believe it when I see it."
Veronica laughed. "You and me both. I keep telling Logan that if he is serious about becoming a flight instructor, this is his ultimate test. If he can teach Dick to fly a plane, he can teach anyone." She returned to the counter where she'd been working before he showed up. "So, tell me how sophomore year is going while I finish up with dinner. Are you hungry? There's stuff for sandwiches in the fridge."
"No, I bribed the Lyft guy with lunch to get him to go through the drive-through at In-N-Out." Cole sat at one of the island stools across from Veronica. "I've been craving a Double-Double and Animal Fries for the last month. I know Wallace is always saying how lucky I am that there are White Castles in St. Louis but I want my In-N-Out."
"Yeah, I remember that from when I was living in New York. And good Mexican food. That was really hard to find. But you were home for Thanksgiving like three weeks ago. How bad can a craving get in three weeks?"
Cole shrugged. "Dunno what to tell you. It was like being home made me miss it more." He looked around the room. "So, I'm guessing someone's sleeping since you shut me up so quick. How's my newest cousin?"
"He's not a huge fan of naps. So when he does go down, we try to avoid anything that'll mess that up." Veronica grinned at him. "Your biggest fans are in the playroom though. And I suspect that when they see you, there won't be any containing that noise and the baby will be waking up."
"Is that okay? I haven't seen any of them for three weeks; I miss 'em."
"They miss you too. Go on in. I'm almost done here; I'll get the baby if he wakes up and bring him in."
Cole grinned and stood, then bounded down the hall toward the extra bedroom that had become the playroom. Veronica covered the lasagna and put it in the fridge, laughing at the predicted uproar of little girl shrieks and excited dog barks. She made her way to the nursery and slipped inside quietly, closing the door behind her to minimize the impact of the noisy reunion going on a few doors away. As she reached the crib, she realized that closing the door didn't matter.
"Well, hey there, boo, how was the nap?" She smiled down at the dark-eyed infant looking up at her, gurgling and kicking his feet against the mattress. "Do you remember your cousin, Cole? He's here to see us. You met him at Thanksgiving. Of course, you were only, like, seven weeks old so you might have forgotten." She reached into the crib and lifted him out, snuggling him against her. "Shall we get a new diaper before we go see him? I think that sounds like a good idea."
She carried the baby to the changing table, continuing to chat with him, responding to his vocal outbursts as if they were having a conversation. She kissed his feet to make him laugh, then tucked them back into his footed sleeper.
"Okay, let's go see if the playroom is still standing. Your sister sounds pretty excited down there."
She walked down the hallway, toward the sound of playful noise, stopping at the playroom door as she tried not to laugh out loud.
Cole was sitting on the floor, back against the recliner the family used for snuggling together to read. Pony was sprawled next to him, her front legs and head resting across his legs. A Santa hat had been tugged firmly onto his head and in front of him, hopping excitedly from foot to foot, was the tiniest blonde in the house. She was chattering nonstop while Cole smiled and nodded at her.
"Go now? You here. Mama said we wait you."
"I don't think we can go right now, Morgan. Probably it'll be tomorrow, or maybe even the weekend—"
The toddler spotted Veronica in the doorway and dashed toward her, throwing her arms around Veronica's legs. "Mama! Cole here!"
"I know, I sent him in here to see you." Veronica inched into the room as best she could with a smaller than average two-and-a-half year old wrapped around her legs and an off-the-charts two month old in her arms. "He came home a day early so it looks like we'll be able to go see Santa Claus tomorrow."
"Yay!" Morgan cheered, jumping up and down in delight, right on Veronica's foot. "Spencer too?"
"Yes, Spencer too." She managed to cross the room to Cole, handing the baby to him. "Although we talked about this already; he can't tell Santa what he wants, so—"
"I help! I tell Santa everything." Morgan looked over her shoulder at Cole holding her baby brother and released Veronica to climb onto him. Veronica pressed her lips together as she again concealed her amusement, this time at her jealous daughter, but Cole managed to tuck Spencer into the crook of one arm and Morgan into the other with the only casualty being Pony, who was forced further down his legs to lay across his knees to make room.
"So, what do you think he wants Santa to bring him, Morgan?" he asked as Veronica fished her phone out of her pocket to snap a picture of the cozy little group before texting it to Mac. Look who showed up a day early. Don't tell Dick.
"He wants...a scooter and...a dollhouse...and a tramp'ine." Veronica snorted as Morgan's words soaked in. The list that she was ascribing to her baby brother sounded an awful lot like the one she'd been telling anyone who would listen over the last couple of weeks. Cole looked equally dubious at her suggestions.
"Are you sure?" He shifted his arm and tilted his head to bring the baby up to his ear and Spencer cooperated perfectly with a loud squawk. "Uh huh, that sounds more like it." Cole shifted the baby back into a more supported position in his lap. "He says no scooter this year; he wants a basketball hoop to hang over his crib."
"That sounds like Uncle Wallace's dream gift," Veronica said with a laugh, but Morgan continued.
"Scooter too." She emphasized her insistent tone with crossed arms and a pout.
"He's too little to walk, Morgie, how's he going to use a scooter?"
She scrunched up her nose at Cole's logic, a frown on her face. "He learn."
"True. But maybe you can ask for a scooter for you and we'll let Spencer ask for his own in a year or two?"
Veronica stifled another laugh as her daughter rolled her eyes and said begrudgingly, "Fine."
If she's mastered this attitude at two, God help us when she's a teenager.
Her phone vibrated and she looked down at Mac's responding text. OMG they're cute. I'll come over right after work, probably by 5.
"So, why don't I take Spencer and you guys can play for a while," Veronica suggested. "Aunt Mac should be here around 5:00 PM and Daddy and Uncle Dick will be home by 5:30 PM. Hey, Morgs, you can surprise Uncle Dick with Cole when they get here. Find a spot to hide him." She reached for the baby but Cole shook his head.
"Spencer can have a tea party with us, right, Morgie?" He looked up at Veronica. "Are you letting him drink out of a bottle yet? If you'll make one up, we can all play. You must have something you need to do."
"Actually..." Veronica considered all of the things that needed doing to get ready for dinner—now tonight instead of tomorrow—and the holiday in general. Having Cole back was certainly useful. He'd been her best babysitter ever since Morgan had been born. His move to St. Louis for school had been hard for a lot of reasons, not the least of which had been her daughter's favorite companion no longer living only two doors away. Dick had been unsuccessful in buying either of the houses next to them when they'd moved into their home but he'd managed to become their almost-next door neighbor after almost a year of offers and that had made using Cole for babysitting even easier.
"...yes, he's doing both with no issues, nursing and drinking from a bottle," Veronica finally responded, "and I think he'd love to go to your tea party. What do you think, Morgan?"
"Snickerdoos?" Morgan asked hopefully and both Veronica and Cole laughed.
"As a matter of fact, yes, we do have Snickerdoodles," Veronica answered. "Come on, little miss, we'll go get the party fixings." She held her hand out to Morgan, who jumped to her feet, then Veronica raised her eyebrows at Cole. "You boys and Pony will be fine in here, I presume."
Cole bumped Pony off his legs, then pulled his knees up and leaned the baby against his raised thighs. "You bet, we will, huh, little buddy?"
"Okay, then, Miss Morgan, let's get you set up to host the tea party of the season."
Repetitive bouncing was the first thing to break through her sleep. The next was her daughter's persistent voice. "Wake up wake up wake up."
Veronica groaned as the jumping continued around where she and Logan lay spooned together in the center of their California King. She leaned back to press more tightly against him and he hid his face in her hair. "Your daughter is up," he murmured in her ear.
"I noticed," she mumbled back. In a louder voice, she addressed the hopping beastie on the bed. "Morgan, it's still dark outside. Why are you up already?"
"Santa Claus today, Mama!" The bouncing stopped and Veronica opened her eyes to see her excited little girl sitting cross-legged next to her. "Up please."
"Santa's still in his own bed, Morgan," Logan said, his voice muffled. "You need to be in yours."
"It's not time to get up yet, sweetie," Veronica added. "I'll come with you back to your room and tuck you in and when it is morning, then we can get up and go see Santa. Okay?"
"Pretty soon?" The hopeful little voice made Veronica smile.
"Once you go to sleep, it'll feel like pretty soon. Now, come on, let's get you back to bed." Veronica gave Morgan a small push to get her going, then scooted away from Logan.
"Hurry back, Mom," he said in a teasing voice. "I've got just the thing to help you get back to sleep."
Veronica looked back at him and scoffed at his sleepy, but still leering, grin. "What you're thinking about doesn't generally put me to sleep."
"Good thing. That'd probably hurt my feelings." He rolled onto his back. "I'll be right here, waiting to not put you to sleep."
"Come on, Mama." Morgan grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. "Sweet dreams, Daddy."
"You too, sweetheart. See you in the real morning."
A few minutes later, Morgan was again tucked into her own bed and Veronica headed back to the master bedroom. Logan was still on his back, but she was pretty sure he'd been up because the pajama pants he'd had on could now be seen dropped along the foot of the bed. Pajamas had never been a thing for him before and Veronica mostly wore sleepwear to create interest in not sleeping, but once Morgan could get out of her bed and into theirs, there had been some changes in the Echolls' bedroom habits and some form of nightclothes was one of their primary adjustments.
Veronica tiptoed in to use the bathroom and brush her teeth, then went back to climb into bed. She snuggled up beside Logan, resting her head on his chest.
"You're finally back." He sounded groggy, but his arms came up around her and pulled her more tightly against him.
"I wasn't gone very long," she teased, "but it looks like you're ready to sleep until morning. I'm sure Morgan will let us know when that time comes."
"I'd bet that Spencer lets us know before she does," he answered, his voice more alert.
"You're probably right so that's a bet I'm not taking. We've probably got less than an hour before he's going to want to eat."
"I guess we better get busy then." The arms wrapped around her shifted and suddenly her body was stretched along his. "We don't have much time."
"Gramma! Grampa!" Morgan's shriek as she barreled toward Keith and Alicia made Veronica and Logan snicker, Dick cover his ears, and Cole startle. Spencer, having tummy time beside the lit Christmas tree, was used to his sister's excited outbursts and never stopped reaching for Pony's feet, which kept moving just beyond his grasp.
"Aww, there's my demure little god daughter." Veronica laughed at Mac's dry tone as she walked in from the kitchen. She paused next to Logan, sitting on the floor next to the baby, and handed him a bottle of water.
"Trade ya." Logan nodded and Mac plucked the baby up off the floor, then carried him to the couch where Dick sat, and sat down beside him. Veronica watched them fuss over Spencer for a moment before Morgan's voice caught her attention again.
"Didja bring it?" Morgan stood with an arm around both Keith and Alicia's legs, looking up at them. Her volume had decreased but her excitement had not. She'd barely been able to contain herself through the early part of the evening as Logan and Cole put the lights on the tree and she waited for Keith and Alicia to arrive. Grampa and Gramma had given her a Christmas ornament every year since she was born, and Morgan wanted the new one to be the first ornament, besides the lights, to be placed on this year's tree. Although she'd been only eighteen months old the year before, she insisted that she remembered the ornament that they'd brought her, and when she picked it out of the box of decorations, Veronica and Logan had had to admit that it appeared that she was right.
"We did," Alicia answered, stooping to pick Morgan up. She gave the little girl a smacking kiss on the cheek which was returned eagerly. Alicia turned toward Keith and Morgan climbed out of her arms and into his. Giggling kisses followed, until Morgan's limited patience ran out.
"Pleeeease, can I have my orn'ment?" She cupped Keith's cheeks with her tiny hands, looking at him with the pleading eyes she was so good at. "I need it."
"Well that sounds serious," Keith said. "If you need it, I guess we better give it to you." He turned toward Alicia, who pulled out first one box and then another from the Christmas-themed shopping bag she was carrying.
"I get two?" Morgan said in an awed voice.
"No, honey, one's for Spencer," Alicia said. Morgan gave her a deep frown. "Don't you think he wants one too?"
Morgan shook her head. "He don't care. He too little."
"That might be true right now but in a couple of years, he'll be glad he has ornaments to put on the tree, just like you do. But I bet he wouldn't mind if you opened his this year, since he is so little." Alicia looked at her seriously. "Could you help him out with that?"
Morgan nodded and Alicia moved over to the couch and sat down beside Veronica. "Is that okay with your mommy too?"
"It is," Veronica affirmed. Even with only a little more than two years between the kids, Morgan had gotten used to having everyone's attention solely on her, and making her understand what it meant to not be an only child anymore was taking everyone's involvement.
Keith followed Alicia, sitting on her opposite side from Veronica. "So whose are you going to open first?"
"Pick mine, pick mine." All heads in the room swiveled toward the squeaky voice, coming from where Dick was holding the baby upright and dancing him from side to side, with one tiny arm raised. Everyone burst into laughter.
"Okay, Spencer first," Morgan agreed and Alicia handed her one of the packages. The paper was shredded in seconds and Keith helped break the seal on the box.
"Why don't you let your mama take it out," Alicia suggested and Morgan pursed her lips, looking at Veronica speculatively, but she took the box from Keith and handed it across Alicia to Veronica.
"I'm onto you." Veronica glared at Alicia. "I know how you operate. You think you're going to make me cry. That's why you want me to take this out of the box." She looked over at Logan, still on the floor next to the tree. "Are you coming to me, or am I coming to you? You're not getting out of this potential crying thing."
He crooked his finger at her and she pushed off the couch, taking the box with her. Logan caught her around the waist as she approached and pulled her into his lap. "Any bets on who cries and who doesn't?" he asked, leaning down and smiling at her.
"Money on Ronnie!" Dick's shout startled the baby in his lap. Mac elbowed him in the side and Dick jiggled his leg to sooth Spencer. "Hey, sorry, little buddy." In a lower voice, he added, "Logan's a sap. She can totally outlast him."
"I dunno," Cole said, looking speculatively at the couple on the floor. "He seems pretty confident about this."
Veronica smiled back at Logan. "Yes, he does. That makes me suspicious."
"What doesn't?" Keith chimed in and the room filled with laughter again.
"All right, let's see." Veronica opened the box and reached in, lifting a glass ball out by a blue ribbon. "Oh my God," she said in an awed voice, her eyes filling with tears. The ball had tiny footprints on it with Spencer written in white across them. Inside the ball was the little hat the hospital had put on him after he was born along with his tiny wristlet. As she turned the ornament, she noticed that his birth date was written on the back of the ball. She looked at Logan who was still smiling at her. "Do you see this?"
"I do. Pretty special, huh?"
"You seen it before," she accused. His lack of teary response was very unusual.
"Yeah, I have. Somebody had to sneak the little hat and the bracelet out of the house. Can you see Alicia breaking in here herself? Maybe dressed all in black like a ninja?"
"Or Catwoman," Keith interjected, eyebrows waggling. "I can." The rest of the room groaned in unison.
"And someone had to hold his little blue feet in place while Alicia pressed the ball against them." Logan pressed a kiss against her temple. "You like it?"
"Yes." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you for helping her do this." She stood up and moved back to the couch to hug her stepmother. "Thank you so much. This is the sweetest thing ever."
"You are so welcome," Alicia said as she stood to hug Veronica back. "I'm glad you like it."
Their embrace was interrupted by Morgan wrapping her arms around both of their legs. "Me now."
"Yes, your turn now." Alicia released Veronica and scooped Morgan up into a hug. "And you should go sit with your daddy to open yours."
Veronica looked at Alicia, then over to Logan, who was watching Alicia with narrowed eyes. "Why should she sit with me?"
Alicia shrugged, a smug smile on her face. "Just seemed like a good idea." She set Morgan on her feet and moved back to the couch.
"Now I'm the suspicious one," Logan said, then looked at Morgan. "Get your box, sweetness, and come sit with Daddy." Keith handed her the remaining box and she skipped over to drop into Logan's lap. Veronica sat next to Alicia again, feeling her heart swell in her chest as it always did at the sight of Logan cuddling their tiny daughter. "Okay, pumpkin, let's see what Gramma Alicia did for your ornament." Morgan eagerly tore through the wrapping again, then held the box up to Logan. He popped the sealed lid for her, then held it steady as she peeked inside.
"Let's see what you got, Morgan," Veronica called. The little girl looked up at her with an excited smile, then reached into the box, pulling out a lacy blush-colored ribbon holding a clear ball filled with something white. Both Logan and Morgan peered closely at the ball, eyebrows furrowed in matching confusion, then Logan gave Alicia a playfully exasperated glare and Morgan squealed in delight.
"Wishes!"
She jumped from Logan's lap and ran over to throw herself at Veronica. "Look, Mama! It my wishes!"
Veronica lifted the ball so she could get a better look, then laughed. It was filled with fluffy dandelion seeds and had Morgan's name and 2021 written across the ball in a pale pink that matched the ribbon. Dick started to laugh from across the room.
"I don't get it," Cole said. "I know about blowing the seeds around and getting wishes for the ones you catch but what's with the drama queen over there?" He jerked his head at Logan, who was still sitting on the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. Mac beat the rest of the group to the explanation.
"Alicia taught the wishes trick to Morgan last Spring. It was while you were at school so you missed the whole incident. It was no big deal, just a fun little thing for Morgan and Gramma Alicia, until Logan's perfect lawn started sprouting dandelions."
"You're blaming Morgan for that?" Cole asked Logan.
"She was bringing her wishes home from Gramma and Grampa's in her pockets—" Logan's tone was defensive "—and throwing them around to try to catch them again."
"She doesn't do it any more," Alicia added. "She only blows them around in my yard."
"Where I have to deal with them," Keith said drolly. "But don't worry, I made sure the ornament was sealed. Nothing's getting out."
"I think it's a wonderful memory for this year's ornament," Veronica said. "And Morgan agrees. Right, sweetie, this is a great ornament, isn't it?"
"Pretty wishes," she agreed in a decisive voice and Veronica nodded.
"See? Now let's get these on the tree."
"Daddy! Look what we made! Me 'n Gramma Leen."
Lianne looked up from the dough she was rolling out and smiled at Logan and Hunter.
"You guys are just in time. Morgan's decorating the sugar cookies and they're ready for taste-testing." She put an arm around Hunter who'd come up to hug her. "Did you have fun with Logan, sweetheart?"
Logan pulled up a chair beside Morgan who was kneeling on a chair, tossing candy glitter up into the air, and watching it flutter down onto a tray of very erratically frosted sugar cookies.
"Interesting technique you've got there, Morg," he said, scooting in to kiss the top of her head.
"Pretty, Daddy!" She dusted her hands off over the cookies, then clambered onto him. He only cringed for a moment at the green frosting handprint he was sure was now on his shoulder before nodding and snuggling her against him.
"They are very pretty. You may have a future in the culinary arts." He kissed her head again. "It looks like you've been the sole decorator and Gramma LiANNE—" he emphasized the part of Lianne's name that Morgan was still struggling with "—is obviously the baker here, so where's your mother?"
"Spencer eatin'." Morgan looked at her hands, then licked her palm. "Mmm, sweet." She held her hand up to Logan, who struggled not to shudder. "Wanna taste?"
"I'm good, thanks." He looked at the cookies. "So, green frosting, so trees, right?"
Lianne laughed and nodded. "She and Veronica decorated snowmen earlier." She gestured to the counter where Logan could see other cookies. "There was more direct supervision involved there so they'd look like actual snowmen. For the trees, we figured, why not let her go a little avante garde with the trimmings?"
"Makes sense." He looked down at his daughter who was now sucking frosting out from under her fingernails. "Although...was there a lot of hand licking during the artistic process?"
"No. Veronica told her that she couldn't do that while she was working." Lianne raised her eyebrows as she watched Morgan. "I think maybe she's on a break."
"Uh huh." Morgan's voice was barely understandable around her fingers. "On break."
Hunter started to laugh. "That is so gross."
"What's gross?" Veronica came into the kitchen with Spencer against her shoulder as she rubbed his back. She moved over to Logan and leaned down to kiss him. "Hi there. Did you guys have fun Christmas shopping?" She looked at Morgan, still sucking her fingers, then back at Hunter. "Okay. I think I may have found what's gross."
Hunter nodded and she snickered. "You know, kid, this is really nothing. She only licked one cookie, and I let her go ahead and eat it so you won't end up with it. And if you really want to see gross, you should have been here this morning when this one woke up." She patted Spencer. "A little spit in your frosting is nothing compared to the present he was packing this morning."
"Ugh, that is..." Hunter made a gagging noise. "Really super gross."
"Good thing Dick kept the other house for when company comes." Logan reached for one of the impressionist tree cookies. "Otherwise you'd be here and getting diaper duty, dude."
"No way." Hunter's disgusted face made his mother and sister burst into laughter. In the uproar, Logan studied the cookie in his hand, evaluating whether it was safe enough for human consumption. Morgan watched him solemnly, ignoring the laughter, and he decided to take the chance. He took a big bite of the cookie, and was rewarded with excited clapping, his daughter's bright smile, and a cookie that tasted better than it looked.
"Yummy, Daddy?"
"Best cookie ever."
Logan stepped out onto the patio and found that Veronica had turned on all the heating towers and it was as warm outside as in. She was tucked into one of the papasan chairs and he made his way over and curled into the chair around her. "I think she's finally asleep."
"I thought that half an hour ago." She rolled to face him and leaned her head and hand against his chest. "It's been an exciting day. We shouldn't be all that surprised that she's having a hard time going down for the night."
"Yeah, and our threats that Santa might not come are toothless for probably another eleven months." Logan kissed her forehead. "I guess we're just gonna have to go back to plain old teaching her right from wrong."
"Oh man, that sucks." They both chuckled. "It's a lot easier when you can trot out the big guy in red to make her behave."
"She is her mother's daughter."
Veronica gaped up at him. "Are you serious? You're blaming me? I was an angel."
"Uh huh. Can I just say, I totally understand now why you tried to keep me away from your dad for so long. You thought if we didn't talk, you could spin whatever tales you wanted. Well, I've got news for you, Sugarpuss, we do talk. And I know that you were no angel."
'My father adores me." She pouted up at him. "He wouldn't talk trash about me like you're implying."
"He does adore you. Doesn't mean he doesn't talk trash." Logan scrunched down to kiss away the pout but when she didn't kiss back, he gave the protruding lower lip a nip instead.
"Hey!" He could see her struggling not to smile. "I don't see why you don't get any blame for anything. I didn't meet you 'til we were twelve but I heard plenty, Buster. You were way more rambunctious than I ever thought of being. Ergo, Morgan the whirling dervish is at least 75% your fault."
"Ergo, Veronica? You're trotting out the law school vocabulary to try to win this argument?" She scoffed, but finally smiled. "I will concede that there is plenty of reckless childhood behavior in my past, probably more than in yours. But when I look at her, I think of you, and what you were probably like at that age, and even when I don't think I could ever love her, or you, any more, I find that I do."
The pout came back, but it was the one that meant 'Awww', with her eyes soft and just a tiny bit watery. She stretched up to him and he met her halfway with a long, heartfelt kiss.
When they finally broke apart, she was higher up in the chair with her head now resting against his shoulder. Her hand was still on his chest but she'd curled her legs up and then stretched them over his lap. "So you know, don't you, that once Spencer's running around, I'm going to see you."
"Maybe. Maybe he'll be quiet and studious, which I never was."
"Even if he turns out like that, he'll still be chasing after her as soon as he can figure out how to ambulate. He may just be dragging himself along the ground but he'll want to go where she's going. Even now, he watches her careen around the room and his legs are already moving like he wants to go too." They both laughed and Logan nodded.
"You're probably right," he agreed. "If I'd known you when we were little, I would have been chasing you too."
"I think it's a little different with Morgan and Spencer..."
"I don't mean it like that. Not chasing you, just chasing after you, ready to do whatever you wanted me to do. You Mars women, you're forces of nature. Us mere mortals can only do your bidding."
Veronica rolled her eyes. "Do you think Spencer's going to get your overly dramatic streak too?"
"That is not the direction I expected you to go with that. I was thinking you'd latch onto the 'doing your bidding' part."
A laugh burst from her. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, ma'am, I certainly would."
"Okay, then." She rolled away from him. "My bidding is that you go put in a load of laundry and bring me some of that chocolate pie Alicia made."
He blinked at her. "Again, not really what I was expecting from you."
She smiled brightly. "You were expecting me to ask you to carry me upstairs to our bed, and then do those magical things you do to me until I'm blissful and boneless and gasping for air?"
Logan cocked his head to the side, contemplating. "Well, I really wouldn't have expected those words, but overall, yeah, that was more along the lines of what I was hoping for."
"I'm a working mom with a nursing infant and a very active toddler, who just put on an all-day Christmas event with my divorced parents, new step-mom, half brother, step-brothers and their girlfriends, your semi-brother and his live-in girlfriend and grown son, not to mention the aforementioned nursing infant and active toddler, plus you too, buster. Is it unreasonable for me to ask you to do some laundry?"
Logan shook his head at her. "No, of course not. I do the laundry all the time. I've got no problem putting a load in right now. And then I'll bring you some pie." He started to push out of the chair but she grabbed his arm and pulled herself up with him.
"Veronica, I'll bring you the pie out here. Just stay put."
"Naah, let's turn off the heaters, get the pie, and go upstairs. The laundry can wait. I've given it a little thought and that blissful, boneless, gasping thing sounds pretty appealing. Add some chocolate pie to the mix and it sounds like a pretty cool way to end Christmas."
Thanks to all who've stuck with me and this story. I hope you've enjoyed. Thanks for all of the comments and support; they mean a lot.
Extra special thanks to KMD0107, who cooperates with my schedule as often as humanly possible and is always full of helpful suggestions. She's made a huge difference since I've been posting fan fiction. Thanks also to Kayte76 who is all-around awesome and who acts as my little kid-speak expert.
I will post something next week. Not sure if it will be chapter 2 of At the Overlook or something else. That'll be 100 weeks in a row of posting on Saturdays. After that, I think there will be a hiatus while I work on completing At the Overlook and maybe some other stuff. We'll see what happens.