A/N: The long awaited baby-switch reunion chapter. This is all Mac's POV. Hopefully you all enjoy it! I, of course, had to mix the mystery in with their reunion. I am almost done with the next installment, also, so hopefully I will get a chance to tweak it and have it out this weekend if not by Monday. Thanks again to all of your reviews/comments, follows, and favorites. I do appreciate it and try to address some of your concerns in these chapters. I take to heart everything you mention in the reviews. BTW, to you LoVeShippers: I am one through and through. The MaDi in this was a test for myself to see if I could do it. I really thought there would be more LoVe in this, and there will be (note my bottom A/N for slight detail on that) I appreciate your patience as MaDi find each other in this thing. Thanks again!

Chapter 17

Veronica let Mac ring the doorbell. The plan was to pull the band-aid off bit by bit: lay the facts out one at a time and bring the baby switch up as gradually as possible. Veronica had confirmed that both Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair would be meeting with them. It would be the first time since the investigation began that he would be consulted and the first time that Mac would ever have met him, even in passing. Holding her breath, Mac waited on the stoop with her friend as footsteps approached the other side of the door and it swung open.

It was Lauren. She, of course, was older than the last time Mac had seen her, a bright orange and yellow scarf wrapped stylishly on her head. Mac felt her lips twist in a painful half-smile. The girl was college-aged, dressed in short cut-off shorts and a bright neon yellow tank top. Lauren smiled at them and opened the door wider. "Hi! I'm Lauren! Mom said she was expecting you. I'll take you into the den and then get Mom and Dad." She led them to the room down the hallway and to the right, asking, "Can I get you something to drink? We have iced tea or water, soda?"

Mac, watching her mini-me, said, "We'll have what you're having, Lauren. Whatever is fine. "

Lauren disappeared, leaving the two women alone in the big expanse of the den. Mac had been here once before; eleven years prior, at the party she had crashed. It was in this room she had first met Lauren, reading Wuthering Heights or something akin to it, leaned back in a comfortable chair. Mac had been so shocked to meet her that their conversation had been pretty ordinary and quickly interrupted by Madison, who promptly kicked Mac out. Mac wondered if Lauren even remembered that conversation at all.

Mrs. Sinclair entered the room a few minutes later, followed by her husband. Lauren returned with a tray, a pitcher of iced tea and four glasses balanced on it. She set it down and disappeared out of the room shutting the door behind her not saying another word.

Mrs. Sinclair spoke first, "This is my husband, Jeffrey. Thank you for coming this afternoon, ladies. I've been anxious all day." Pouring tea into each glass, she offered them both a glass before settling back into a chair and smiling. "So, Veronica, you say you have found some information you'd like to share?"

Mac had been quietly watching when parents walked into the door. Immediately, she noticed their eyes widen slightly at seeing her there, confirmation enough to her that they both knew who she was and what she looked like. Jeffrey Sinclair tightly smiled at her as he had sat down, Mac nodding to him faintly, keeping herself as straight as possible, not exuding weakness or any other indication that she knew what was about to hit him and his wife.

Veronica made brief eye contact with Mac before answering, "We do." When neither Sinclair responded, Veronica looked at Jeffrey, "As Mrs. Sinclair may have told you already, the last time we spoke about the case, I had found evidence that Madison had most likely gone on an extended weekend trip with a new boyfriend, Mark Tennison, whose family owns the Ten."

Nodding, Mr. Sinclair looked to his wife. "Elizabeth mentioned that, yes."

"Have you ever met Mark Tennison?" Veronica asked him.

Mr. Sinclair sat back. "No. Madison just mentioned him months ago." Staring up at the ceiling, he said slowly, "It's really hard to believe that she's dating that guy, actually."

Veronica tilted her head in interest. "What makes you say that?"

Rubbing a hand over his chin, Mr. Sinclair answered, "Madison came to me back in the fall about him. She wanted advice as to how to handle him, because he had started asking her out a lot and wouldn't take no for an answer. She asked me whether she should report him to management or not, because she felt like he was harassing her at work. Maddie was worried about telling him no and whether the Ten would find a reason to dismiss her instead of writing him up, since it's his family's business."

"So what did she decide to do?"

"I advised her to tell him the truth: that she had boyfriend. She was dating Rick at the time. I think she just avoided him after that."

"So what was so bad that he asked her out to begin with? Why would she have reported him?" Mac asked.

Mr. Sinclair eyes flicked to her. "Madison is…um…by the book, I guess you'd say. She knew that there was supposed to be no fraternizing at work, it says so right in their contract. But the Tennison boys do whatever they want, according to what Madison implied. She told me once that the 'no dating fellow employees' was a clause not meant for the management."

Veronica reached for her tea, commenting, "That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen."

Nodding, Mr. Sinclair agreed, saying, "That's what I said. But Madison said it was just a feeling she got, and it couldn't be proven."

"Why would she stay and subject herself to that, though? I would be out the door so fast…"Mac cut in, looking between the couple in front of her. "When someone is inappropriate at work, you have every right to report them."

"Madison has a good thing at the Ten." Mrs. Sinclair, finally joining the conversation, told them, "She's the lead instructor, and just the beginning of this year started private lessons, going to movie sets to help with some of the lead actresses when they're on location out here in Neptune or nearby. She's only done it twice, but that really has been quite an opportunity for her. I think she didn't want to mess that up for herself if she could help it."

Veronica stared at Mrs. Sinclair for a few moments, a vague look of surprise on her face. Abruptly, she turned to focus on Mr. Sinclair. "Thank you for your honesty concerning Mark Tennison. I'm glad to get a feel for how Madison at one time felt about him. We have made some surprising discoveries this week concerning Mr. Tennison that need to be addressed today with the two of you, and one of those discoveries is that there is a very strong possibility that Mark and Madison are together at this very moment."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were watching Veronica, dual looks of concern and slight confusion etched on their faces. Finally, Mr. Sinclair asked, "What else needs to be addressed?"

Taking her time Veronica took a sip of tea, carefully set her glass back on the edge of the coffee table that sat between the four of them. Clearing her throat, she adjusted her jacket before answering. "It's come to light that my partner, Keith Mars, has been working on a fraud case that involves Mr. Tennison directly."

"What are you saying?" Mrs. Sinclair asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"We have found evidence," Veronica stated, "That Mark Tennison has been skimming money from his family's other company's accounts and very likely has begun the same scheme within the Ten. My father has been working with Mark's mother, trying to find out who has been stealing from them, and just recently Mark has become the prime suspect in that case. When we went over our cases earlier this week, we discovered the link between the two cases." She paused, searching for words, "There is significant evidence that Madison helped Mark take information out of the Ten."

"What type of evidence? What…type of information?" Mrs. Sinclair asked cautiously, looking between them.

Veronica opened her mouth to speak, but Mac felt herself compelled to barrel over her friend, saying, "Mrs. Sinclair, may I call you Elizabeth?" When her mother nodded, Mac continued, "When we discovered the connection between these cases, we treated them as separate until we were more certain that they are most definitely linked." Pausing, she tried to find words to explain what they had found. "As you may know, I work for Mars Investigations in a technical capacity most of the time." Seeing their confused expressions, Mac clarified, "I hack. I'm a computer hacker. We have found evidence, through Madison's email, that she was conspiring to in fact take bank account data from the Ten and meet up with Mark Tennison sometime late last week."

"You've read her email?" Mrs. Sinclair asked, her face visibly paling, eyes locked on Mac's.

Here it was. Now or never, Mac thought. "I have, yes. We know about Lauren's illness and Mr. Sinclair's possible lay off at work, among other things." She gestured for Veronica to pull out the copies of the emails they had taken from Madison's account. "We know that you were concerned that Lauren might need a donor match, and that you were considering contacting me. I wish I would have known, Elizabeth," steeling herself, she plowed on, "I would have been glad to donate whatever Lauren might have needed, and I would not have made a big scene." As she said all this, Mac had looked between both her father and mother, but now, as they processed her words, she sat back against the cushion of the couch and stared straight up at the ceiling, silent and waiting for their reaction.

"You…you know?" Elizabeth Sinclair's voice squeaked out, alarmed. "I don't…you…you know?"

The pain evidenced in her voice made Mac look back at her. She could see mixed emotions splayed out on her mother's face: shock, love, sadness, regret, happiness, torment. All the sensations that Mac herself had felt at one time or another, many times this very week. "Of course I know," she heard herself murmur. "I'm nothing like the Mackenzie's. Veronica verified it for me junior year of high school."

Jeffrey Sinclair had said nothing up to this point, his body still and tense, only listening to her revelation. Mac could see beyond the top button of his collared shirt where the skin was exposed that his pulse beat violently. Mac could hear Veronica next to her shuffling the emails in her hands, unsure of what to do; the sound of the clock on the wall ticking loudly, the background noise to her life-changing moment forever ingrained in her memory. She felt as if she were in a tunnel or cave; her ears tuned to everything but nothing between the pounding of her heart and the intake of her erratic breath. Her eyes bounced between both parents, waiting for the disappointment she was sure was coming.

There was no disappointment, however. Mac was shocked when Elizabeth stood up suddenly, tripping over her own feet as she crossed over to sit next to Mac on the couch. She pulled her into a hug before Mac had anytime to process what she was doing, her mother's arms tightly wound around her. "Oh my God!" Elizabeth breathed in her ear, "I've waited so long to hold you, and you've known for years!"

Arms and hands, lips, cheeks, all exposed skin was being touched by the other, and Mac suddenly laughed a relieved sort of laugh. Pulling back, she saw her mother's eyes reflecting tears, years of pent up emotion spilling out, the most revealing of reunions that she had ever imagined. Feeling the cushions moving around her, Mac felt rather than saw Veronica stand to give them room, and suddenly very large, very masculine arms were wrapping around the other side of her as Jeffrey Sinclair embraced her as well. They sat like that, all three of them, just listening to each others heartbeats and breathing, staring between one another, hugging and holding, laughing and crying. Whispering in relieved puffs of air about years gone by, wasted time and opportunity.

It was minutes, if not a good twenty of them, that passed before Veronica broke the peace between the three of them by clearing her throat. Mac opened her eyes to see Veronica, standing at the edge of room, obviously trying to give them space. Her friend grinned; a pleased and anxious kind of smile mixed all together, her expression changing into a reluctant grimace as she pointed to her wrist to remind Mac of the time and the case. Nodding, Mac pulled away from her parent's tight embrace, their arms dropping unwillingly from her. Mac looked at them both, wondering what on earth she could say, now that this secret twenty-eight years in the making was out.

Sensing her hesitance, Veronica stepped closer to them. "Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, I really am so glad for you that you have this chance to get to know Mac now. I really, really am. You have no idea the relief I have, seeing your receptiveness and obvious love for my best friend. She deserves every ounce of your care." Stepping around the chair that had previously been occupied by Mr. Sinclair, Veronica sat down in it. "But the fact of the matter is that we have discovered a lot more concerning Madison's case, and now that the…"she paused, "delicate nature between you and Mac here has been brought out, I am hoping that we can move forward with the case."

It was interesting, Mac thought, how Elizabeth and Jeffrey had each taken a hold of one of her hands and were not letting go. Both parents were firmly grasping the hand they held, with no indication that they intended to ever release her. She stared straight at Veronica, trying to pay attention to the evidence Veronica was bringing forth as she continued with her speech, but failing, her mind instead attempting to wrap around the fact that she was sitting between her birth parents.

Jeffrey Sinclair tipped his head toward Veronica. "I apologize," he told her, "We, of course, want to know everything you have found out about Madison. Please continue." There was a wobble in his voice, Mac noticed, a trace of emotion that she wasn't sure could be defined as sadness or elation. It probably was a mixture of both. He squeezed her hand tightly.

Veronica, ever the professional, began once again with the information they had gathered. "As Mac mentioned, we found through the emails that Lauren is ill and that you, Mr. Sinclair, were possibly going to be laid off. In the emails, Madison seems very concerned about your insurance being dropped and the cost of the treatments if and when Lauren needed them. In the later dated emails, it seems those things did happen."

He nodded in confirmation. "Lauren has Wilm's Tumor, which is a tumor on the kidney; very rare for young adult to have. Usually only young children get it. Therefore, it took the doctors a little while to confirm it, because they thought Lauren was too old to have it. We thought for a while that a donor would be needed," he looked at Mac, smiling tenderly, rubbing his other hand over the hand he held. "But we discovered not long after that she wouldn't need one. Lauren went in and they took the kidney and tumor, and she has been on chemo treatments for once a week ever since. I take her in every Thursday, that's why I wasn't with Elizabeth last week when she came into Mars Investigations. I stay home with Lauren while looking for work."

Perking at that, Veronica leaned forward. "So you did lose your job?" When he nodded, she asked, "And what about insurance?"

He put his free hand to his jaw, thinking back. "I was laid off mid-May. But before that, they forced us to use up all of our vacation and personal time so when we got our pink slips, we were done, insurance and everything. No severance package worth speaking about."

"What are you doing for insurance right now?" Veronica asked.

"We signed up with the government health insurance program. It's expensive but we had no other choice," Mr. Sinclair answered.

"Would Madison have been worried about how you were going to pay for it all?" Mac asked, squeezing his hand she held.

He breathed in deeply, letting the air out slowly. "When we first found out about Lauren, I told Madison I was worried because I knew I was going to be laid off by June. Madison was here one night and I kind of vented about the cost of the insurance options. I knew at the time my company offered a COBRA plan, you know what those are? It's the insurance you get through your previous employer, but you are required to pay the premium, with no help from the company, of course. One draw to that job was the fact that my entire family was paid for by the company. So for us to be on the COBRA plan was really high anyway, then even more so because Lauren is so sick. We normally pay nothing. The cost was going to skyrocket. When I looked into the health care act through the government, I was shocked at how high the cost out-of-pocket would be since they look at the previous year's income to base your premium. We had to sign up for that so we didn't get fined and also so that Lauren gets the best care available; the hospital doesn't like people that don't have insurance. It's been expensive," he shrugged, "but necessary. To not do everything we can for Lauren's health isn't worth the risk." Turning, he looked at Mac, "When I told Madison, she didn't seem to even listen to what I was saying. I didn't think she was upset or worried about it at all."

Veronica, who still had the emails in her hand, shuffled through them. "I think she was more worried than you realized," she told them, pulling one out, "She implies in this email that Mark had offered to help her and that if she…" trailing off, she handed the paper across the coffee table, "well, anyway, basically it implies that she was considering his offer."

Elizabeth reached out first, taking the offered email and letting loose Mac's hand while she read over the words. "What does this have to do with anything? This just sounds like idle talk between friends."

"Well, as nice as it would be for us to believe that," Veronica held up her hand when Mrs. Sinclair began to protest, "We found the link to Mark and Madison through the Vertical Limit class I attended. So we know they are 'together,'" she air quoted, "We discovered the link to the fraud case quite accidently, but once learned of it, we decided to go back through Madison's email. We found a few between the two of them from the past month or so." She pulled out those copies of emails and handed them to Mr. Sinclair. "You can read it and interpret as you'd like, but to me, it sounds like Madison agreed to take something out of the Ten and meet up with Mark on June second." While the couple read over the emails, she continued, "Mr. Mars met with the Ten's accountant this morning, and discovered that Mark is not allowed access into the back offices of the gym. He hasn't been allowed back there for quite some time. Passwords and back up files to the Ten's bank records are stored in those offices. We suspect that for whatever reason, Madison snuck the passwords out of the Ten, past the front clerk, to get them to Mark. Mr. Mars has irrefutable proof that Mark has been skimming from the other family business, and we are certain that he has moved onto the Ten, with the help of Madison."

Both Sinclair's were silent, faces pale with shock. Mr. Sinclair ran his free hand through his hair, squeezing the tips tightly. "Oh, God." He finally said, looking between them all. "What has she gotten herself into?"

Mrs. Sinclair pulled her hand again from Mac's, nervously rubbing at her knee, clearly agitated. "We taught her better than this, I don't understand! She's always been such a good girl."

"I don't mean to imply otherwise, Mrs. Sinclair," Veronica hastened to say. "I'm certain that your home life was secure and would never have made Madison dishonest. But what these emails are telling us is this: Madison did not like Mark. He approached her months ago and she dissuaded his advances. This was, according to you, late last fall. In April, Madison broke it off with Rick, at the same time, became increasingly concerned for her sister's health. She discovers that your job is on the line, Mr. Sinclair, and along with your unemployment, health insurance may be terminated. The worry is evident in the email to Shelley Pomroy. At that point, she seems to begin a friendship with Mark Tennison, who you yourselves indicated she detested. " Clearing her throat, Veronica continued, "It seems to point to an ulterior motive on Madison's part."

Reading the emails, Mr. Sinclair looked over to his wife, sheepishly saying, "I honestly didn't know I stressed Maddie out. I told her that I wasn't sure how it was going to work out until I found a different job. I was rambling."

Mrs. Sinclair took the emails from her husband's hands and re-read them. She was silent for a few moments. "You say you think that Mark and Madison are together right now. Where do you think they are? Have you found them yet?"

Regretfully, Veronica shook her head. "No, we haven't found them. Mr. Mars has been following Mark's itinerary, which placed him in Salt Lake over the weekend and then he was supposed to fly to the east coast from there on Sunday night for two nights and then back to Utah this evening for another conference there over the weekend. We're pretty sure that's where Madison is, though, waiting for his return. Can I ask if Madison has ever been to Park City, Utah?"

"We used to go when the girls were younger, over Christmas break. We mostly went to Aspen, though." Mr. Sinclair answered.

Nodding, Veronica asked, "How do you think she feels about taking road trips by herself?"

Elizabeth scrunched her eyebrows together. "Road trips?" She scratched her neck in thought. "The furthest she's ever been in a car would be to Mexico a few times and Vegas. I couldn't say if she likes it or not."

"The reason I ask is because we are pretty sure that Madison left you at the restaurant on Wednesday, Mrs. Sinclair, to meet Mark in Utah. We believe that she dumped her car somewhere and found a car that Mark had ready for her, so that it wouldn't be traced back to her. She most likely left California, drove through Vegas and up to Salt Lake and over to Park City, meeting Mark at his family's cabin somewhere in the vicinity. We are pretty sure that she is there at this very moment, and we are making arrangements to leave in the morning to head there to confirm it."

Mr. Sinclair was becoming more and more tense. "You think her motive was to get money to help out with Lauren's treatment cost? That Mark promised her a portion of the cut of what he stole or what?"

Slowly, Veronica nodded. "If what you say about Mark is true, that Madison really didn't like him, then I do think that's what she is thinking. I don't see her just going in there and stealing information without a valid reason, at least valid to her. I don't know anything about your financial situation, Mr. Sinclair, but Madison knew you were worried. Mark could have approached her and easily figured out a way to talk her into helping him once he realized how he could make her do it. He might have promised her enough to make it seem worth the risk to her."

Mac was still sitting between her parents. Vaguely she had been listening to the conversation, but mostly she was noticing things like how Jeffrey's fingers were similar in shape to hers, and how Elizabeth's hair was the exact same shade as hers. The little bit she did hear, though, made her think about Dick, about whether or not the Sinclair's knew anything about the mess he was involved in. Out loud, she asked, "Mr. Sinclair, do you know if Madison has kept in contact with Patrick Muldoon?"

"Please, Cindy, call me Jeff," he told her, a slight laugh in his voice, "Please."

"I'm Mac," she responded, smiling back at him. "You can call me Mac."

"All right, Mac." Jeff sat back against the couch cushions. "Maddie broke up with Rick in April sometime, the early part of the month, I remember, because it was right when everything was happening with Laurie Bean." He looked at Mac, "I mean Lauren." When she nodded, he continued, "She never mentioned him much again, so I don't think so, do you know, honey?" He asked his wife.

"Rick?" Mrs. Sinclair made a face. "That guy was all about himself. I was glad when they ended it. I don't miss him." She brought her hand to her mouth, absently chewing a fingernail. "She might have mentioned him once or twice afterward, but she wasn't really talking to us part of April and May, because…" her eyes skimmed to Mac, "Well, she didn't take the switch news well. We approached her first when we first thought we needed a donor match, and explained about what had happened so long ago, but she was upset. It caused a lot of problems for a little while." She sighed, "Laurie Bean is our strongest link, because Maddie would do just about anything for that girl. We just wanted to explore all of our options, and seeking you out was the best one for a time. But we…we had made an agreement and even signed a contract, all those years ago, that neither family could seek out the other's child…but we were heavily considering breaking that agreement, damn the consequences. Lauren was too sick for us to care. So we came to Maddie about it. We wanted to be upfront, because there had been evidences, over the years, that she knew more than she let on. We first approached her about the possibility of a donor, and she…she just was horrible that day. She left in a huff, saying she wouldn't donate even if she were a match…she was angry at us, I know. Maddie is Maddie, and she is known for being… over dramatic sometimes. I don't think she really meant she wouldn't consider be a donor, I think she knew she couldn't be and just said it to be hurtful." Shaking her head, Elizabeth continued, "So it was really good news that we didn't need a match. We felt like it would save our relationship with Maddie, an answer to our prayers."

Withdrawing her hands from both Sinclair's grasps, Mac felt herself internally closing in. There it was: the admission why no one in their families had willingly told her or Madison about the baby switch. There was a legal agreement that they were bound to. An answer to their prayers? What about hers? What about all the nights of doubting and wondering, what it would have been like to be an 09er? And now, seeing these people's struggles, she could see that the 09er label was just stuck on the people that seemed shiny enough to 'deserve' it or were dumb enough to buy too expensive of a place in a prominent part of town. There seemed to be cracks in the finish here: job loss, sickness, lies within the walls of this home. Not much differentiated this home from another in any other part of town: there were still problems no matter the income or lack thereof. Mac felt her eyes seek Veronica's as if a helpless victim of a sinking ship.

Her mind flitted away from the case to begin longing to go bury her head back into the sand, where it had safely been sitting for the past eleven years. Unexpectedly, she wished Dick were here, sitting next to her, holding her hand. It hurt to hear this; hurt to know that these people chose to keep her away from them. How easy it would have been at any point in the past eleven years for her to just ring their doorbell and barge straight in, not giving a damn how they felt, only taking what she needed from them, their words and excuses…suddenly the contentment she had just been feeling was gone and in its place was anger.

The fact that she should have been a part of this family and that everything in her life, starting from the very beginning, had been a lie…and then to hear them say they were grateful they weren't forced to seek her out was insulting. She would have been a completely different person if she would have been theirs from the get-go; she would have dated the shallow Dick and probably been happy with everything she was offered back then. She would be a cardio-pole instructor. Actually, there was no way in hell that she would have ever settled with that. That in itself gave her some comfort.

Mac felt as if the air was suffocating her, choking her. Their words were flooding her brain; scornfully she realized that instead of ambushing them, she was the one feeling deserted. Like she had been dropped out in the middle of the ocean, treading water without a life preserver, waiting for help to come that just might not make it in time. She stood up abruptly, stepping over the feet of Jeffrey Sinclair, coming over to stand in front of Veronica. She didn't break eye contact, instead sending as much of a signal as she could that she needed to get out of there, now, and wouldn't wait for her if Veronica didn't make their excuses to go.

They weren't friends for nothing, because, thankfully, Veronica understood immediately. Pulling her eyes from Mac's, Veronica gestured toward the Sinclair's as Mac turned to face them one last time. "You're welcome to keep those copies of the emails. If you would look over them and if anything more strikes you as odd, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know. Included there is a concise report of what we have found up to this point. We have an appointment," she tapped her wrist, "that we were unable to cancel. We're hoping to keep this within the company of the Ten; there is no real proof yet that Madison has done anything illegal."

The two Sinclair's stood, and Veronica extended her hand to shake theirs. "Thank you for your time this afternoon. If we think of anything more, I'll contact you. One or more of us will be going to Utah no matter what, and I will report back to you what we find." She stepped over to the coffee table to gather up her messenger bag and Mac's purse, since Mac had seemed to have become stone. "As soon as any of us know anything more, I will call you or make arrangements for another meeting. It most likely won't be for a few days." Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Veronica handed Mac her purse.

The Sinclair's were glancing between each other, a look of confused caution passing between them. Veronica grabbed a hold of Mac's arm and led her out of the room, down the hall and to the front door, the couple following behind them. Mac heard them talking lightly between each other, and then louder, Mrs. Sinclair asked, "Mac?"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Mac turned on her heel and looked at her mother. "Yes?"

"We would love to have you over some time for…for dinner, if you would like to. You could meet Lauren officially…"

A fist was grabbing Mac's heart, squeezing ever so tightly. She felt unable to breath but somehow responded, "Uh, maybe, yeah…sure."

Mr. Sinclair broke in, "Of course, after all of this dies down with Madison. I'm sure…" he paused, "We all need to process some of this. Do you have a boyfriend? We would love to meet him…" his hands came up apologetically, apparently reading Mac's horrified expression, "maybe that's too soon…I just thought…well, if Veronica here would like to join us…" his words were coming faster, tumbling out clumsily, "Bring whoever you want…I mean, to make it easier?" the last came out in the form of question, an enduring lilt to his voice exposing their vulnerability. "We would love to have you," he finished lamely.

She could tell they were trying so hard. There was a hopeful glint in both of their eyes, waiting for her answer. Here they were, holding out the olive branch, Lauren. Unsurprisingly, Mac was the same as Madison in that regard. She wanted her sister, too. Grudgingly, Mac felt her lips turn into a reluctant smile. "Maybe," she agreed, nodding, "I would love to really meet Lauren."

The acquiescent tone of her voice had them both bouncing on their heels, huge relieved smiles forming on their faces. They each began talking over the other, saying things like, "barbeque," and "family game night." Things that made Mac's stomach roll just thinking about: becoming a part of this family's traditions. It wasn't that she didn't want to know them; but being thrown into them so suddenly…well, it would take time.

Veronica opened the door waiting patiently to see if Mac would choose to extend their stay. But she just let the two older adults each give her an awkward hug and then Mac was quickly out the door, down the steps rushing for the safety of the car, promising as she went that they would definitely find a time to get together some day in the future.

A/N: I have an odd request. If you have the time to help me, I need a few ideas for really mean pranks that Cassidy and Dick would have played on each other when they were younger. Things that a high schooler and younger would actually think of and do. I am considering a flashback along those lines, but I have limited (and cheesy) prank ideas. I guess I'm not a pranking type. If you would PM me or leave it in the comments, I would so appreciate it. Next up is something I hope everyone will LoVe: I am letting a little secret out in the next chapter that I am really excited about! :)(FYI: Regarding Logan and Veronica. Ever the romantic.)