Chapter 19: Happiness Spills Over

******Monday******

Thea went to class Monday in a fog. It was so unlike her. She was normally so focused, but after her weekend with Wallace, it was too difficult to focus on schoolwork. That was the first time that had ever happened. Her parents had called her Sunday morning before she had a chance to let them know what had happened. Her grandparents had called and given them a play-by-play. They were going to fly in to town the next weekend to meet Wallace. Her mother was thrilled, but her dad was concerned. She and Wallace had gotten serious very fast. Since he was her first boyfriend, she knew that her dad needed to see her and meet Wallace to understand how real this was for them both.

Thea wasn't really worried about her parents. They loved her, and they would love Wallace. She looked down at her ring, the smile still on her face.

"Thea!" a voice called out. She looked to see Mac and Veronica walked toward her. Stopping, she waited for them.

"Hi!" she greeted them, her happiness written on her face.

"A little birdy told us you had a fabulous Valentine's," Veronica said, grinning.

"It was wonderful! Wallace gave me a promise ring," she shared, holding out her hand.

Both girls admired the ring. "My brother has good taste," Veronica said. "Logan got me a puppy!" She pulled out her phone and showed Thea pictures.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Thea said.

"Dick is so jealous. He wants to get a dog now," Mac said, flashing her dimple.

"What did he get you?" Thea said.

"He and Wallace went jewelry shopping together," Mac said. "I also got a promise ring." She showed Thea the ring, hoping she wouldn't be bothered by the fact that it was obviously more expensive.

"That's almost bigger than my mom's wedding ring," Thea said, laughing.

"Don't tell Dick that. He thinks it's small," Mac said, grinning.

"From what I hear, he tried to get Wallace to let him pay for a bigger ring for you," Veronica said with an eye roll.

"I'm glad Wallace didn't agree to that," Thea said.

"He knew you wouldn't approve. You've got him trained already," Veronica said, laughing.

"My parents are flying in town this weekend to meet him," Thea shared.

"Really? That's great!" Mac said.

"That's a big deal," Veronica said. "Can we meet them? I know Dad and Alicia would want to also."

"I'm sure we can work something out. I can have Wallace meet them first for lunch on Saturday," Thea said. "Maybe dinner Saturday night?"

"That'll be fine," Veronica said.

"Can I come, too?" Mac asked.

Thea looked abashed. "Oh, of course! You and Dick must come, too," she said.

"We shouldn't overwhelm your parents," Veronica said, unsure.

"Don't worry about it. I come from a big family. Remember, I have five siblings. Eight is a normal number. A few more won't matter," she assured them.

"I'm sure Alicia will want to cook the dinner instead of going out," Veronica said knowingly.

"That'll be great," Thea said, smiling.

"You're really happy, aren't you?" Veronica asked, happy for her and Wallace.

"I can't stop smiling," she admitted ruefully.

"We can't either," Mac said. "Our boys have good taste."

"Speaking of taste," Veronica asked, "how's your redecorating going? Madison done yet?"

"The official due date is at the end of this month, but she started early," Mac said. "Daisy tried to make her work over the weekend, claiming she wanted the place to look nice for her hot date. Madison flat out refused. Her boyfriend was taking her out of town. It was their first weekend away."

"I wish I could've seen that argument," Veronica said with a regretful sigh.

"Oh, Daisy knew she wasn't going to win it. She just threw it out there to piss Madison off," Mac said, grinning.

Veronica laughed. That was Daisy. Never a dull moment around her.

*****Neptune High*****

Lauren yawned again, trying to stay awake in her math class. She was so tired today. After her late night of movie watching with Ryan and Brad, she couldn't seem to find her energy. She'd been tired and listless ever since. The night had been great. The boys had kept her entertained and laughing all night. The scary parts weren't so scary when the boys worked hard to cause the other to jump in fright. Lauren couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. The bell rang, and she headed to her locker.

"So did you have a good time?" someone asked.

She turned toward the voice and saw Kristen smiling at her. Wary, she asked, "I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you had a good time spending Valentine's with my boyfriend?" Kristen asked, her eyes both hurt and angry.

"It wasn't like that!" Lauren insisted. "It wasn't my idea."

"Oh, I'm sure," Kristen said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. She examined Lauren a moment. Then shook her head. "I don't get you. I really don't."

"I'm not that mysterious," she said.

"Maybe not mysterious as much as a walking tragedy, huh?" Kristen said. "How can a girl compete with that?"

"I'm not your competition. Ryan is my sister's brother. He's like a brother to me," Lauren said.

"So he says," Kristen said with a frown.

"Believe him. I have no desire to be his girlfriend," Lauren said honestly.

"He says you like Brad," Kristen probed.

Lauren blushed and looked down. "Well, I mean, uh, sure, Brad's great," she said weakly.

Her response reassured Kristen more than anything had, and she noticeably relaxed. "Brad's not one for commitment," Kristen said. "But if you like him, you should go for it."

"Ryan would not like that at all," Lauren said with a frown.

"But he told me he was trying to get you two together," Kristen said.

Lauren grimaced. Ryan's lie was about to make her life very uncomfortable. "He's not said that to me," she said carefully.

Kristen gave her a genuine smile. "We should double date this weekend," she suggested brightly.

"What?" Lauren asked, stunned.

"That'd be perfect!" she said excitedly. "We can do something fun like roller skating or bowling. Something that will require touching. Not a movie."

Lauren felt panic building. "I don't think that's a good idea!" she insisted.

"Nonsense! It's a fabulous idea!" Kristen said. "I'll work out all the details." Before Lauren could reply, she headed to her next class.

Lauren groaned. Great! Now she'd have to have the most embarrassing first date of her life! Brad would totally agree, thinking he was saving his best friend's love life. He'd treat it like a big lark. He had no idea that Lauren liked him for real. Lauren wasn't sure how he'd respond if he did. What if he felt sorry for her? She didn't want his pity. This was all Ryan's fault. She was going to kill him!

*****The Next Day*****

Parker was finishing up cheerleading practice when the girls' soccer team took the field. She saw Kayla and nodded her head in acknowledgment. Kayla smiled and waved. Her friend on the team, Rhonda, saw their interaction.

"You know Kayla?" Rhonda asked.

"Not really. She's sort of dating a friend of mine," Parker said.

Rhonda gave her a knowing smile, nodding. "Yes, I heard she got her world rocked pretty good this weekend by Duncan Kane," she said.

Parker's stomach clenched. "What?"

"You know what I mean," Rhonda said with a smirk. "Kayla said they got it on at the Valentine's dance her sorority hosted."

"Oh," Parker said, not knowing what to say.

"Kayla said he was a lot of fun," Rhonda said with a snicker.

"That's nice for her," Parker said. What the hell was she supposed to say? She so wanted the conversation to end. "Well, I'm going to head to the showers. I'll catch you later." Not waiting for Rhonda's reply, she walked quickly to the locker room. Then she grabbed her stuff and made her way to the showers.

She shed her clothes and got under the water, letting it cascade over her. It took her a while to realize her tears were mixing with the water. Why was she this upset? Duncan was single and attractive. Of course, he'd move on. She told him to. She was with Piz. Parker had hurt Duncan deeply, and he'd still wanted her. Finally, though, he'd given up.

Parker didn't blame him. Yet she still cried over it.

She couldn't get the image of Duncan with another woman out of her mind as she made her way home. Mac was in the living room on her laptop.

"Hi," Mac said brightly. She frowned as she noticed how upset Parker looked.

"Hi," Parker replied. She dropped her bag by the door and moved over to sit next to Mac on the couch. She definitely needed to talk to someone.

"Bad day? What's wrong?" Mac asked in concern.

"There's something wrong with me, Mac," Parker admitted.

"Are you sick?" Mac asked in alarm.

"Not physically but my head might be!" Parker complained. "I found out that Duncan rocked Kayla's world over the weekend, and it makes me feel sick. Why do I care so much when I'm with Piz? I'm happy with Piz!"

Mac looked at her carefully a moment. "Do you really what to know what I think?" she asked.

"I do. I need to get past this. I should be happy for Duncan. What kind of selfish bitch am I?" she wondered.

"Don't talk about my friend that way!" Mac scolded. "You're not selfish or a bitch."

"Then what's wrong with me?" Parker asked, upset.

"I think you fell in love with Duncan and don't want to admit it," Mac said.

Parker looked genuinely surprised by Mac's words. "But I love Piz!" she insisted.

"I'm sure you do, but are you really in love with him? Totally and completely? Because if you were, you wouldn't be bothered by anyone Duncan was with. You would just be happy for him," Mac said. "The fact that you can't let him go completely means a part of you is in love with him whether or not you want to consciously admit it or not."

Parker groaned and threw her forearm over her face. "How can I do that to Piz?" she asked.

"You don't need to feel guilty. Piz is the one who broke up with you and allowed your feelings for Duncan to develop," Mac said. "How was your weekend with Piz?"

"We've had better," Parker admitted. "He spent more time with his new partner than me it seemed."

"It's okay to grow apart," Mac said. "You can love more than one man in a life time. Veronica loved Duncan before Logan."

"Veronica also still loved Logan while she was with Piz. That really hurt Piz. How can I do the exact same thing?" Parker asked, hating herself.

"Listen, Piz was no victim," Mac said with a frown. "He pursued Veronica when she was with Logan. He knew she was in love with another man and didn't care, so don't feel sorry for him! And he broke what was between you and him."

"But I was attracted to Duncan from the moment I met him," Parker admitted. "I kissed him while I was dating Piz. I even kissed him at New Year's."

Mac looked surprised. "Really? You never told me that!" Mac said.

Parker made a face. "Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly proud of it," she said. "It was the midnight countdown, and Piz wasn't there."

"If you didn't want to kiss Duncan, it wouldn't have happened," Mac said wisely.

"What do I do? Duncan has clearly moved on!" Parker said.

"But does that matter? If you are truly and completely in love with Piz, you wouldn't be so conflicted," Mac said. "Does Duncan being with Kayla change how you feel about him or Piz?"

"I guess not," Parker said with a sigh. "What should I do?"

"You should talk to Piz," Mac advised.

"He's supposed to come to town this weekend," Parker said. "I don't want to lose him."

"If you can't commit 100% to him, then you should let him go. If you really cared about him, that's what you should do," Mac said.

"It's what I tried and failed to do with Duncan, remember?" she pointed out. "I'm not so good at letting go."

"Start with being honest with Piz. Go from there," Mac advised.

The front door opened and Jazmin came in. Her expression was the opposite of Parker's. She was glowing.

"Oh, sorry! I forgot to knock! This place still seems like mine," Jazmin said with a rueful smile.

"You don't have to knock," Parker said.

"You're welcome anytime," Mac added.

"Thanks," Jazmin said happily.

"Someone's had a very good past few days," Mac said, smiling at her obvious happiness. It'd been too long since they'd seen Jazmin truly happy. It was a great sight to see. "I was wondering when you'd finally come around. I looked for you at lunch. Did you even go to class?"

Jazmin blushed and shook her head. "No," she admitted. "I've been with Eli the past few days."

Parker grinned. "I'm glad for you," she said.

"That's awesome, Jaz," Mac said smiling.

Jazmin sat down on the recliner, a soft smile on her face. "It's been really amazing," she said.

"So you two?" Parker asked, letting the question hang in the air.

Jazmin nodded. "I decided to quit letting David have power over me. He's dead, and I need to move past what happened completely. Being intimate with Eli is an important step. One I was finally ready to take," Jazmin said.

"Good for you," Mac said.

"How was your Valentine's?" Jazmin asked, looking at the two of them. "I was hoping we could have dinner together. I miss you guys."

"How about I order some take-out?" Mac said, typing on her computer. "Chinese or pizza?"

"Chinese," Parker said.

"It doesn't matter to me," Jazmin said with a shrug.

Mac typed in their usual. "It'll be here in twenty minutes. I ordered enough for Daisy, too, in case she comes home. Or does your brother have her still in his clutches?" Mac asked, grinning.

Jazmin shook her head. "No, Jay had to work today. They caught a big case," Jazmin said. "You know my brother was sick all weekend? Daisy took care of him."

"Really?" Parker asked, surprised. "I have trouble picturing that."

"She loves him," Mac said. "Of course, she'd take care of him."

"He's better today. One of those stomach viruses we'll all probably get," she said with a grimace.

"Joy," Mac said dryly.

Parker laughed, feeling better. There was nothing like having girlfriends to talk to.

******The Next Day******

Veronica woke up to the sound of retching. Concerned, she got out of bed and found Logan clutching their toilet.

"Are you sick?" Veronica asked.

"No, I thought I'd get up close and personal with our toilet," he said sarcastically. Another wave of nausea hit him.

Veronica went over to the bathroom sink and wet a washcloth and filled up a cup with water. When Logan finally made it to his feet, she gave both to him. "Thanks," he mumbled, wiping his face and rinsing out his mouth.

"Guess you got that bug that's going around," Veronica said.

"You think?" Logan said snidely.

Veronica bit back a smile. Logan was rarely sick and never reacted well when something managed to knock him off his feet. "You should go back to bed," she said.

"Don't think you're going to class," Logan said. "We're married now. We share everything. Even our germs!"

"So I have to stay and get sick, too?" Veronica asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Yep. In sickness and in health," Logan said, holding his stomach as he made his way back to their bed. Veronica followed him.

"I don't believe those words were in our vows," she said, smiling. "But I'll stick around and take care of you anyway."

"Can you get me a Sprite?" Logan asked.

"Of course. Do you want me to make you something light like toast?" she asked.

"Maybe later," Logan said wanly. He closed his eyes. A sharp bark, though, demanded his attention. He looked, and Rover was trying desperately to jump onto the bed. However, his little legs wouldn't quite make it.

Veronica laughed as she bent down and picked him up. "Here. Rover will keep you company," she said.

Logan grabbed him and settled their puppy against him, warding off the puppy kisses. "Not now, Rove. I'm feeling like shit," he said. He looked down at the adoring puppy, who wagged his tail but quit trying to kiss him. The puppy was very smart. "Be glad you can't get people bugs. It blows!" Rover just grinned up at him. Logan chuckled. It was great having a dog who understood his pain.

*****J & E*****

Eli was reading over the information he'd discovered. They'd caught a big case. Some rich 09er had their adult son go AWOL. The couple was willing to pay big to have their son tracked down. This was their first big case of the year, and Eli was determined to crack it.

Joseph came over and laid down a sheet on Eli's desk. "Here. I called the list of friends you gave me," he said.

Eli looked up at him. It irritated the hell out of him that the man was still there. He was still living with Jason and Jazmin. However, he at times was useful. That fact irritated him, too.

"So when are you moving out?" Eli asked, deciding to get to the heart of the matter.

"Out of Jazzie's?" Joseph asked with a knowing smirk.

"You know damn well that's what I was asking," Eli replied coldly. "She told me that she was going to insist. Did she?"

"What? You don't trust your girlfriend?" Joseph said with a sneer.

"Oh, I trust her. I just don't want you upsetting her or ruining another dinner," Eli replied.

Jason came in. "Hey, guys," he said. "The lead didn't pan out. His ex-girlfriend claims she didn't get any calls from him."

"Figures," Eli said sourly. "So when is this clown moving out of your place?"

Jason glanced at Joseph. "What did you do now?" he asked.

"Nothing!"

"Jazmin said after he ruined our Valentin's dinner that he could move into a hotel or Nico's," Eli said.

"How did I ruin your dinner?" Joseph asked. "You were the one over an hour late and then acted like an ass."

Eli knew he had a point, but he wasn't about to let this go. "I acted like an ass because I arrived to find you there eating the dinner she'd made for me," he said crossly.

Jason stepped up and held up his hand. "Okay, that's enough," he said. "Joe, how long are you planning on staying in town? Staying with us was never meant to be permanent. I'm sure you're sick of the couch anyway."

"True," Joseph admitted. However, he liked being so close to the twins again. It was almost like old times. Before he and Jazmin dated and things went to hell.

"You can get a hotel or move into Nico's," Jason said. As far as he was concerned, that settled the matter.

"Fine," Joseph said in a clipped tone. He didn't like that Eli got his way, but he knew better than to push it.

Eli gave a pleased smirk. Things were back on track with Jazmin. Joseph was moving out. If he could crack this case, it may end up being a perfect week!

*****Chapter End*****