Chapter Twelve
Early August 2019
Veronica has been staying with her father in Neptune for a week now, alternating between moping around the house—usually when he isn't home—and pretending nothing's wrong, in the hope he won't start asking questions. It worked for the first few days, but she's seen the looks he's been shooting her since Friday, and when he started asking why she's barely even spoken to Logan since she got here, she realised her time was almost up.
When Logan dropped her off at the airport last weekend, she asked him to respect her wishes for some time alone, at least for a few days, and to his credit, other than a couple of calls to check she's doing okay, he's been good about giving her space. It's not that she doesn't want to talk to him—part of her is dying to pick up the phone and hear his voice—it's just that she needs to be able to focus on herself for a while, to figure out what she wants, and she can't do that if she's constantly in touch with him.
It's Sunday morning now, and she's up early, having started off the day with a walk along the beach before returning to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast.
"Morning, honey."
She looks up when her dad enters the kitchen, smiling when he walks over and kisses her temple before reaching for the coffee pot.
"Hey, Dad."
"Mmm, looks great," he says appreciatively as he pours a mug of coffee, then peers over her shoulder. "Smells even better."
"That's the idea." She shoots him a smile. "It's almost ready."
Keith rubs his hands together in anticipation, a grin lighting up his face. "Can't wait."
Veronica shakes her head at him in amusement and serves up the food. Carrying the plates to the dining table, she gestures for him to sit.
"Here you go."
"Thanks, sweetheart." He reaches for the maple syrup and douses the pancakes with it.
"Whoa, go easy, Pops," she quips, trying to keep the atmosphere light, "you've got enough calories there as it is."
"And whose fault is that, sweet daughter of mine?" he shoots back with a grin.
She just returns the grin and holds out her hand for the syrup. He hands it to her and she covers her plate in it too, before tucking in enthusiastically. They eat in silence for a few minutes before her father speaks up.
"Not that I'm not really glad for your company this week, Veronica," he starts, sounding a little cautious, "but I'm at a bit of a loss as to why you're here."
"What do you mean? You've been hinting for months that I should come visit." She frowns, though her heart is pounding in her chest at the question. This is it. "Well, here I am."
"Yeah, but I assumed you and Logan would visit together," he says, looking at her pointedly. "But he's still in Virginia Beach, and you've barely mentioned him all week."
"Dad—"
"I can tell when something's wrong, Veronica," he says gently. "You're not as good at hiding it as you think you are. So, come on, spill. Did Logan do something?"
Veronica shakes her head, studying the pancake remnants left on her plate as she tries to decide how to answer.
"No," she says eventually. "He didn't do anything. I just… I needed some time away from Virginia. On my own."
Keith leans forward, looking worried as he rests his hand on her forearm. "Honey, what's wrong? You've seemed out of sorts all week."
Veronica sighs, before finally giving a nod. "Can we move this to the couch?"
"Sure."
They clear away the plates before moving into the living room and settling on the sofa.
"A lot's been going on lately," she says eventually, looking down at her hands. "I know I said I was settling in, but truth is, I've been struggling. I don't really fit in there, and honestly, I just want my old life back."
"Oh, Veronica, why didn't you tell me?" Keith's expression is filled with concern.
"I don't know… I didn't want everyone to think I was a failure for not being able to cope."
"We would never think that," he responds firmly. "What about Logan, though? Everything's okay between you?"
"Yeah." She gives a slow nod. "Yeah, it's okay."
"Are you still trying to start a family?" he asks, the words causing Veronica's heart to sink. "How's that going?"
"Yeah, we are… it's just… it's not going so well," she mutters, unable to stop her voice breaking on the words.
"Oh, sweetheart…" Keith reaches out to take her hand in his. "What's going on? Talk to me."
Veronica lets her gaze roam across the room for a moment, before taking a deep breath and starting, "Well, um… back in April, Logan and I went to see a doctor-a fertility doctor-because we'd been trying, but nothing was happening."
"Okay, and how did that go?" Keith asks with a concerned expression.
"Logan's tests all came back fine, but mine…" She pauses to compose herself, pushing down the emotion rising in her throat. "Mine didn't. It turned out I had blocked fallopian tubes, which meant that there was no way for the egg and sperm to... you know… meet."
"Right. Yeah, I get it." He nods, looking a little uncomfortable. "But, uh… forgive me for being confused, but isn't something like that caused by a condition or something—your aunt had it…. uh, endometriosis? You don't have that, right?"
"No, I don't," she confirms. "But blocked tubes can also be caused by Pelvic Inflammatory Disease."
Keith frowns. "But you don't have that either?"
Veronica sucks in a deep breath, attempting to find the courage for what she needs to tell him. "Dad… you remember back in high school, at Aaron's trial, when the defence lawyer told everyone I had been treated for an STD…?"
Keith nods, still looking like he's not sure what she's trying to tell him. "Yeah…?"
"I was treated for one, but I didn't even know I had it, let alone that it had gone untreated for so long and it had developed into Pelvic Inflammatory Disease."
Keith's eyes narrow and Veronica can see the wheels turning in his mind now. "And exactly how long was that?"
"More than two years," she admits, trying not to wince as she anticipates his reaction.
"Wait, two years?" His face scrunches up in confusion. "But you and Logan weren't together then…"
"Me and Logan…?" Veronica's mouth drops open in surprise. "What does Logan have to do with…?" She trails off, realisation dawning. "Wait, you thought he gave it to me?"
"Well…"
"Dad!" she exclaims in dismay.
"It wasn't Logan?" Keith blinks, looking surprised.
"Of course not! We didn't even sleep together until… uh, until after high school." She narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Wait… is that why you didn't like him back then? Because you thought he gave me an STD?"
"No," Keith denies quickly, though he doesn't look her in the eye, which tells her everything she needs to know. She raises her eyebrows pointedly, until he adds, "I mean, I didn't want to think he did…"
Veronica presses her lips together for a moment, before speaking more calmly. "Dad, I got it two-and-a-half years earlier. Logan and I weren't even talking to each other back then."
Keith looks a little shell-shocked as that sinks in. "Veronica, you were having sex at sixteen?"
"No, um…" Veronica lets out a slow exhale, preparing herself for what she has to tell him. "You remember that end-of-year party I went to a couple of months after Lilly died, at Shelly Pomroy's?"
"Vaguely…"
"Well… that night, someone handed me a drink spiked with GHB," she says, keeping her tone as emotionless and matter-of-fact as she can. "I woke up the next morning alone in the pool house, my underwear on the floor. I didn't remember anything, but it was pretty obvious what had happened."
"Oh, sweetheart…" Keith reaches out, placing a hand on her arm and Veronica closes her eyes at his tone—a mixture of concern, shock and dismay, unable to look at him. "I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"
She opens her eyes, blinking back tears as she looks up at him. "I just… I couldn't, Dad, not with everything going on… you losing your job, and Mom leaving. It would only have made things worse. Besides, I felt so stupid for letting myself get into that situation at all."
"It wasn't your fault, Veronica," he says with barely-concealed emotion. "And you should have come to me, no matter what was happening in my life."
"Yeah." She nods, swallowing against the lump forming in her throat. "I know that now."
"Did you at least report it?"
"I tried." Veronica clenches her jaw, recalling her attempt to do just that. "I went straight to the Sheriff's Department. Lamb just laughed in my face."
"That little bastard." Keith's expression clouds over, his eyebrows drawing together with anger.
"Tell me about it," Veronica agrees wholeheartedly. "There I was, sixteen and alone; pretty much everyone hated me, and not even the police would help me. I didn't know what to do… so I just went home, took a shower and got on with my life."
"God, Veronica…" her father murmurs. "You shouldn't have had to deal with that alone. You should have told me."
"And what good would it have done?" she returns. "There was no evidence anymore, I had no idea who it could have been, and it's not like anyone would have listened anyway. All I could do was put it behind me."
Keith changes tack. "And you never found out who was responsible?"
"Not for a long time," she admits. "I thought I'd pieced most of it together by the end of junior year, but it wasn't until after graduation that I found out what really happened."
"Graduation?" he queries.
"It started near the end of senior year, when I found out about the STD," she admits. "I had no idea how I could have got it, because as far as I knew, Duncan didn't have it and there hadn't been anyone else. But it was when you told me Woody Goodman had been treated for chlamydia, that I realised something wasn't quite right… because how could we both have had it?"
"Shit, Veronica…." She doesn't have to continue, because her dad has realised what she's trying to say. "It was one of the boys he… it was one of his victims?"
She nods. "Yeah. Cassidy Casablancas."
"Oh, holy…" He exhales with a whoosh of air as he looks at her sadly. "Veronica…"
"Yeah, I know," she murmurs softly. "He admitted it on the roof of the Grand the night he died."
"Come here." Her dad shifts closer, holding his arms out to her in invitation. She gladly goes, leaning into him as he hugs her, one hand stroking her hair like he used to do when she was a child. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, and that you felt you had to go through it alone."
"Me too," she says. "I'm sorry for lying to you, Dad."
"Hey, that doesn't matter now," he says comfortingly. "It's in the past."
Veronica lets herself relax into his warm embrace for a few more moments, before pulling back, and wiping her now damp eyes with her sleeve.
"So, what does all that mean now?" asks Keith. "For having a baby?"
"Well, the doctors performed a laparoscopy in May and they were able to successfully unblock my tubes," she tells him.
"That's great."
"Yeah… except that it's unlikely to be permanent. There's a good chance they'll close up again within a few months, due to scar tissue caused by the procedure. Logan and I have been trying ever since, but it's been a stressful and tiring few months, with nothing to show for it. That's kind of why I'm here; I needed a break."
"That's understandable." Her father nods, expression filled with sympathy. "You stay here as long as you need to, okay?"
"I will. Thank you."
"Hey, man, you okay?" asks Chaos as he joins Logan on the couch Sunday afternoon.
Some of Sarah's friends from college are visiting for the weekend, so Chaos has been left with the babysitting duties, and he called this morning to enlist Logan's help.
"What?" Logan tears his eyes from Ava, who is playing with an assortment of toys in the middle of the room, chattering away to them, to look at his friend. "Uh, yeah. I'm good."
"Yeah?" Chaos shoots him a sceptical glance. "'Cause you've barely said a thing since you got here. Still no word from Veronica?"
"No." Logan shakes his head, trying not to focus on the fact that his phone has been decidedly silent the last few days. "I'm trying to give her the space she needs, but it's so hard not to pick up the phone and call her."
"I'll bet." Chaos gives a sympathetic nod. "It'll all work out, man."
"I hope so," he says. "I just… I don't know what to do; how to fix things."
Chaos studies him thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, I don't think there's anything to fix. Maybe all you can do is just be there for Veronica when she needs you."
"Yeah, maybe," he mutters, looking down at his hands.
A wooden book appears in his line of sight, accompanied by timid voice. "Lo-Lo… book?"
Logan lifts his gaze to see Ava standing before him, arms outstretched as she places the book on his lap, a pleading expression on her adorable face.
He can't help the smile spreading across his face as he takes the book from her. "You want me to read you a story?"
"Uh huh."
"What do you say, sweetheart?" prompts Chaos.
Ava turns wide, innocent eyes on her father for a moment, before looking back to Logan. "Please?"
"Sure. Okay," Logan agrees easily, moving the book to one side and leaning forward to pick her up. "Come on up, then."
Ava settles into his lap as he picks up the book again and opens it.
"Dog!" exclaims Ava, pointing to the picture of the small black puppy on the first page.
"Yeah, it's a dog," Logan replies with a smile. "Do you know what its name is?"
"Pony?"
Logan chuckles. "No, that's my dog's name. This one is called Ben, remember?"
"Uh huh," Ava replies with a solemn nod.
"Okay, so," Logan starts the story. "This is Ben. He is a black puppy…"
"Dude." A chuckle sounds from beside him and he looks over to Chaos who is grinning.
"What?" Logan frowns in bemusement.
Chaos just shakes his head with a grin. "Just remembering how a couple years back, you thought you wouldn't make a good father."
He's tempted to shoot back a snarky retort, but honestly, his friend has a point, so instead he just shrugs. "Yeah, well, I've had some time to re-evaluate my stance on the matter."
"You'll be a great dad, Mouth."
Logan nods. "Yeah, I guess… if it ever happens."
"I'm sure it will," says Chaos reassuringly.
Logan shoots his friend another smile, before there's a tug on his arm and he glances down to see Ava looking up at him with a frown. "Lo-Lo!"
"Sorry, Aves," he apologises quickly, turning his attention back to the two-year-old in his lap. "Where were we?"
Chaos moves to get up. "Dunno about you, but I'm thirsty. You want anything?"
"Sure. Whatever you got."
"How about you, munchkin?" he asks Ava, running a hand over his daughter's hair. "You want some juice?"
Ava nods enthusiastically. "Juice-please."
"Aren't you polite?" observes Logan with a smile.
"Well, not so much," says Chaos as he stands up. "She's kind of picked it up as a one-word phrase… don't think she even realises what she's saying."
Logan gives a chuckle. "Is that right, Aves?"
"Lo-Lo…" is her only response as she smacks the book with her palms. "Story."
"Okay, okay, I'm reading the story."
"I'll leave you guys to it," says Chaos, before disappearing into the kitchen.
As Logan returns to reading Ava her story, he marvels at how quickly she's growing and developing; it's like every time he sees her, she's learned new words and skills. She's not a baby anymore; she's becoming this independent little person and it's pretty amazing to witness. Maybe one day, he'll be able to witness his own son or daughter growing up too.
Mid-August 2019
Six days later, Logan stands outside Keith Mars' front door early on Saturday morning, gift bag in hand as he debates for about the twentieth time whether he should have come or not. Although Veronica's still here in Neptune and he's still respecting her request for space, he can't just let her spend her birthday alone on the other side of the country. He also didn't want to just turn up completely announced, so he called Keith to get the okay from him, before flying out after work yesterday and staying with Mac at the beach house last night.
He reaches up to press the doorbell, exhaling nervously as he waits for someone to answer. At first, there's no sign of movement, but then through the glass, he sees Keith appearing from the kitchen, giving Logan a nod as he approaches the door.
"Logan," Keith greets with a warm smile as he pulls open the door and gestures for him to come in. "Good to see you."
"You too, Keith," he replies, stepping inside the bungalow with a smile.
"Good flight?"
"It was, thanks." Logan nods. "Got in late last night, though."
"I bet. And how're things at Oceana?"
"Not bad at all," he says. "It's a change to be on the instructional side of things now though. I kind of miss the operational missions."
"I can imagine." Keith gives an understanding nod.
"How's Veronica doing?" Logan glances toward the living room, hoping for a glimpse of her. "She here?"
"Yeah, she's, uh, still sleeping, actually," says Keith, glancing towards the back of the house. "She seems to be doing okay."
"That's good."
"And you?" Keith asks. "I can't imagine all this has been easy on you either."
"No, it hasn't, but you know, it's harder on her." He gives a shrug. "I'm just trying to support her however I can."
"Listen, Logan," says Keith then, his tone serious. "She told me what's been going on with you both lately, and the details of the circumstances that led to it."
"She did?" Logan's surprised; Veronica's always refused to tell Keith what really happened to her back in high school. "Everything?"
"I assume by that you mean what happened with Cassidy Casablancas?" When Logan nods, Keith continues, "Yeah, she did. And Logan, I owe you an apology. During the trial, when I found out she'd had an STD, I admit, I assumed you were the one who gave it to her."
Fuck. He did? We weren't even together then.
"Keith you have to know that I have always been safe. I would never knowingly put her in that position," he says earnestly. "And back then, we hadn't even—"
Keith holds up a hand to stop him. "I know that now, but I must confess, I may have let my assumption affect my opinion of you back then."
"I can understand that," he replies. And he can; as much as it stings to hear it, he can't really blame Keith for it.
"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for that."
"Thank you." Logan nods in appreciation.
"Anyway, that's enough serious talk for now." Keith gestures toward the hallway. "Why don't you go wish my daughter a Happy Birthday?"
"Yeah?" He's a little surprised that Keith is fine with him waking Veronica up... though he's not sure why he should be, since they're married adults now. Old habit, he guesses. "Okay, I will. Thanks."
Logan starts making his way through the living room, only to be stopped by Keith's warning tone behind him.
"That doesn't mean I want to hear any birthday celebrations coming from my guest room, you understand?"
"Got it, sir." Logan turns, giving Keith a cheeky salute, before heading down the hall to the guest room.
He gently eases the door open and peers inside, finding Veronica fast asleep on the pull-out couch, the sheets tangled around her. The sight of her, wearing one of his Navy shirts, her features relaxed in sleep and mouth slightly open, only serves to remind him that they're in this for the long haul. In sickness and in health. Until death do us part. They're married; she's his wife. This isn't some teenage fight, where they'll break up and then inevitably get back together at some point in the future. This is real, married life. They're in this together. Forever.
With a smile, he toes off his shoes, then slips into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Careful not to make a noise, he moves across the room and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. She doesn't stir, so he reaches out and lets the back of his fingers drift along her cheek. Unable to resist, he leans down, pressing a light kiss to the same spot, then softly pressing his lips to hers. As he pulls back, she gives a soft mumble, shifting under the sheets as her eyes flutter open.
"Logan?" she murmurs, sounding both sleepy and confused.
"Morning, sleepyhead," he replies with a smile. "Happy Birthday."
She rubs sleep from her eyes, then blinks, doing a double-take. "Wait… Logan? What are you doing here?"
"You really thought I was going to miss your birthday?" He smiles. "Since you weren't home yet, I figured I'd come to you."
"Sorry," she mumbles, pulling herself up into a sitting position and running her fingers through her tangled hair. "I really didn't plan on staying here this long."
"How are you feeling?" Logan asks gently.
"I'm okay." She gives a one-shouldered shrug. "It's been nice to be back in Neptune. Relaxing."
"Yeah," he agrees.
"Look, Logan, I'm sorry…" she starts seriously.
"No, don't." Logan silences her with a finger to her lips. "We can talk later. It's your birthday; let's just spend a few hours celebrating, huh?"
She looks like she wants to say more, but he levels her with a look and she relents. "Okay."
"Great." He smiles. "Because we have plans."
"We do?"
"Uh huh." He nods. "How do you feel about cashing in that flying lesson?"
Her eyes widen as a small smile plays on her lips. "Really?"
"Yep," he replies. "One of my old flight instructors runs a flying school in San Diego. He said we can go up today."
"All right. Let's do it."
"Awesome." He grins. "Why don't you take a shower and I'll go see about breakfast."
"Okay."
He moves out of the way so she can stand up, and she's halfway across the room when she notices the gift bag on the bed.
"Ooh, is that for me?"
Logan glances down at the bag, then back up at her with a grin. "It is."
"Well, do I get to open it?" she asks impatiently.
He shakes his head. "Not yet. Shower first."
"Seriously?" She pouts at him adorably and he rolls his eyes with a smirk.
"Seriously."
"Okay. Fine. I'll shower first." She gives a huff, eyeing the gift bag one more time before turning and leaving the room.
Three hours later, Veronica finds herself sitting in the cockpit of a small, two-seater plane, unable to help smiling as she watches Logan press various buttons and flip random switches. This is all so surreal; first, Logan shows up at the door, having flown clear across the country to see her, then he gives her the one thing she's been after for months: a brand new camera lens, and now, he's taking her flying.
As she glances around the tiny cockpit, a mixture of excitement and nervousness courses through her, accompanied by a curl of nausea in her belly. How does Logan do this every day? She's internally freaking out about going up in one tiny plane and he flies fucking fighter jets for a living.
Logan starts the engine and waits for the propellers to fire up, then turns to her, speaking through his headset. "You good?"
"Think so," she replies, her own headset drowning out the background noise, so all she can hear is his voice in her ear.
"Okay. I just have to go through the rest of the pre-flight checks and then we'll be ready to go."
Veronica watches in fascination as he picks up a laminated checklist and runs through it, muttering to himself as he checks the displays and flips a couple more switches.
Eventually, he turns to her again. "Ready?"
"Yep."
"Okay, so I'll need to concentrate for the next few minutes, but I'll let you know when we can talk again, okay?"
"Sure."
He carefully manoeuvres the plane off the apron and along the taxiway. When they get to the end of the runway, he adjusts a few more knobs and buttons, then talks to air traffic control to check they're cleared for take-off. When he gets the okay, he pushes on the throttle and the plane begins to move. The butterflies increase in Veronica's stomach as they pick up speed and eventually leave the ground.
She watches with fascination as Logan does a few post-take-off checks and then ascends to about 5,000 feet—according to the altimeter in front of her—before he finally glances towards her.
"Okay, we're clear," he says.
"This is so surreal," murmurs Veronica through the headset. "I mean, it's nothing like flying in a 747."
"I know." He grins. "Awesome, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool."
"Okay, so we're at a good cruising altitude, so I can show you some of the controls. First off, we both have pedals and control wheels, so either of us can fly the plane. There are a couple of rules though: when I hand over the controls to you, I'll say, 'you have control', and in response, you need to reply with 'I have control'. Then when we hand back over, it's vice versa. That way, there's no confusion over who's flying the plane."
"Right. I can do that."
Logan explains all the displays on the dashboard, before showing her how to check the speed, altitude and direction, and how to use the throttle, brake and control wheel. After a couple of trial runs to get her used to it, he hands control over to her.
"Wow, I'm actually flying a plane," she murmurs in disbelief, before glancing worriedly at him. "God, Logan, what if I crash it?"
"You won't crash it," he assures her with a smile. "I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Okay…" she tries to say it with confidence, though internally she's thinks, if you say so.
He talks her through how to ascend and descend, and also how to turn to the left and right. Then he gives her a few minutes to get used to flying, only speaking to correct her when she starts veering to one side or the other. Once she's had some time to get her bearings, Logan takes back control of the aircraft, and then talks her through what happens if the engine cuts out during flight—which he demonstrates by actually cutting it for a few moments, and it surprises her when they don't actually fall out of the sky—and then he turns to her with a mischievous grin.
"Wanna have some fun?"
"What kind of fun, exactly?" She narrows her eyes at his playful expression. "I don't think this is the time to join the Mile-High Club, Echolls."
"Mind out of the gutter, Mars." He rolls his eyes, though a grin tugs at his lips. "I was thinking maybe some aerobatics. How do you feel about a loop-the-loop, or a couple of barrel rolls?"
Veronica swallows, her stomach turning at the thought. "Seriously?"
"If you're up for it," she says decisively.
Come on, Veronica… how bad can it be? You've done loop-the-loops and corkscrews on rollercoasters before.
"Yeah, okay. Let's do it."
"Okay, we'll do the loop first, you'll need to keep your head back as we make the turn. We'll be experiencing about 4 g, so you'll feel like it's pressing you into the seat. You might experience some light-headedness as well, but that's normal."
Logan pushes on the throttle, then pull the control wheel back, angling the aircraft upwards. Before Veronica has time to comprehend what's going on, they're upside down, the g-force pushing her down into the seat, just like Logan warned her. She can only hold on tight while Logan pulls the plane into the full loop, and then, barely moments later, they're upright and level again.
"Wow…"
"Fun, huh?"
"Yeah," she murmurs faintly. "Bit dizzy though."
"Don't worry, it'll pass soon," says Logan. "You wanna do a couple of barrel rolls too?"
"Maybe give me a minute first?"
"Sure."
They spend about another thirty minutes in the air, Logan first taking her through a barrel roll and then showing her how to do it herself, and by the time they make it back down on the ground again, Veronica's feeling both elated and a little sick.
"Hey, you feeling okay?" Logan asks in concern when she stumbles as they walk back inside the flying school building. "You look a little pale."
"A bit dizzy, and I feel sick to my stomach," she admits, rubbing her belly. "I'll be fine in a minute."
"Okay, if you're sure."
Another wave of nausea passes over her and her hand comes to her mouth as she mutters, "Actually, where's the bathroom?"
"Just down the hall," he says quickly, gesturing to his left.
Making a run for it, she reaches the restroom just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.
"Fucking plane," she grumbles when she's done, and feeling a little better.
After freshening up as much as she can, she heads back out to find Logan.
"Are you okay?" he asks in concern when she joins him and they head out to the car.
"Yeah, I think so." She nods. "Probably shouldn't have done those extra rolls."
"Sorry," he apologises, opening the car and gesturing for her to climb in. "I forget how it can affect you if you're not used to it."
"Not your fault," she says, getting herself settled in the passenger seat and turning to Logan. "I've been feeling a bit off the last couple days anyway."
"You have?"
"Yeah, but I'm sure it's nothing."
Beside her, Logan frowns. "You've been feeling dizzy and nauseous?"
"Yeah, a little. Nothing serious though. Actually, it could just be PMS."
"Uh… Veronica…?" he says, an odd look on his face. "I think you're missing the obvious here."
She frowns. "What do you mean?"
"Wasn't your period due more than a week ago?"
"Holy shit." Veronica freezes, eyes widening as she realises what he's getting at. "You think I'm pregnant?"
"Well, I mean, it fits..." He glances toward her. "Right?"
"Yeah, I guess it does," she murmurs faintly, head spinning for a different reason now. "Oh my God… how did that not even occur to me?"
"Well, it's only a guess," Logan adds quickly. "Why don't we go back to your dad's, take one of your tests?"
"Okay," she agrees, then curses, shooting Logan a sheepish look. "Uh, would you believe I don't have any?"
"Seriously?"
"I left them all in Virginia," she admits. "I didn't think I would need them while I was here."
"That's okay. We'll just stop by the drugstore. Pick a couple up."
"Okay. Let's do that."
"You ready?" Veronica asks as they enter their beach house an hour later, coming to a stop in the entrance to the living room.
Veronica called Mac on the way to the drugstore to ask if they could use the house for a while, not wanting to take the pregnancy tests with Keith in the house too. Turns out, Mac is spending the day in L.A., so she won't be home for hours anyway.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Logan replies, shooting her a reassuring smile.
She's twisting the handles of the plastic drugstore bag around her fingers nervously, so he steps forward, reaching out to steady her hands.
"Come on, let's do this," he says softly, slipping a hand in hers.
He leads her down the hallway to their bedroom, which has been left untouched since they moved to Virginia, Mac having moved into the guest room while she's been housesitting. Tugging her into the en-suite bathroom, he releases her hand and turns to face her.
"I'll give you some privacy, but I'll be right outside the door, okay?"
"Yeah." Veronica exhales heavily. "I'll let you know when the sticks have been peed on."
"Okay." He nods, then leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
His head falls back against the wall next to the bathroom as he waits. This could be it. This could finally be it. Holy fuck.
About a minute later, the door opens, and Veronica appears in the doorway.
"It's done." She holds up her phone. "Timer's set for three minutes."
Logan takes her hand, leading her to the bed to sit beside him. "What do you reckon… this gonna be the longest three minutes ever?"
"Yep. I'd say so."
Linking their fingers, he gently nudges her side. "I love you. No matter what."
Veronica smiles at that, turning her head to look up at him. "I love you, too."
He returns her smile, before lowering his head and kissing her softly. God, it feels good to kiss her again; these last two weeks without her have been torture. She sighs against his mouth and he shifts, cupping her jaw with his free hand and deepening the kiss. He's just getting into it when the alarm on Veronica's phone sounds and they jump apart.
"Okay, maybe it wasn't that long," he mutters wryly.
Veronica glances toward the bathroom. "Shall we go check?"
Together, they stand and slowly walk back into the en-suite. Once inside the bathroom, he sees the three tests lined up side-by-side on the counter beside the sink.
"Let's look together, okay?" she suggests as they approach the sink. "No peeking until the count of three."
"No peeking," he agrees.
"Remember, it's one line for no, two lines for yes."
"I got it."
They come to a stop in front of the counter, both looking straight ahead, and Logan has to close his eyes in order to resist the urge to look down.
"Okay. On three," says Veronica, her voice shaking slightly. "One… Two… Three."
Author's Note: Don't hate me for the cliffhanger (*cowers from flying objects*) :P.
Veronica's flying lesson is actually based on my own experience of taking an air experience flight a few years ago (I didn't do any barrel rolls, but I did get to do a loop-the-loop).