Author's Note: Okay, so I'm really sorry for the wait for this chapter... I had hoped to update last week, but life got in the way again :(. It's here now though, and we're picking up from where chapter 12 left off...
Chapter Thirteen
Logan opens his eyes, his gaze immediately dropping to the three tests on the countertop.
Six lines. His heart starts pounding as he realises what he's seeing. Two lines for yes. One line for no. There are six lines. That's three positive tests.
Holy fucking hell.
"Oh my God!" Veronica's astonished gasp snaps him back to attention. "Logan, they're positive. They're actually positive." She turns to look at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm pregnant..."
Logan swallows against the lump in his throat as he nods. "Yeah, I think… I think you are."
"Wow… I don't know what… I mean… I can't believe this is actually happening."
While Veronica is babbling beside him, Logan can't seem to form any words at all. He can't even think straight right now. After so many months of hoping and praying (figuratively speaking) and always ending up disappointed, he's struggling to comprehend that this might really be happening. Of course, this is only the first step. Just because the tests are showing positive, it doesn't mean that all their problems are solved.
"I know," he manages eventually, tugging on her hand and pulling her into a hug.
Her arms tighten around him and she returns the hug for a moment, before she bounces on her toes, a small sound of excitement escaping her lips as she looks up at him with a wide smile.
"We're pregnant."
"Yeah," he agrees, unable to stop a matching smile from tugging at his own lips as he reaches down between them and places his hand against her stomach. "Yeah."
Her head lowers as her gaze follows the movement. "We should make an appointment with Dr. Anderson, get it confirmed."
He raises an eyebrow at the words. "So, I take it you're coming back to Virginia with me?"
She looks back up at him with an expression that tells him he's stating the obvious. "Of course I am."
"I'm glad," he replies, sliding his hand from her stomach and round to join the other against her lower back. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too," she says sincerely. She pauses for a moment, before adding coyly, "Hey, Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me?"
He grins, lowering his mouth to hers, tugging her close and pouring all of his relief and happiness into the kiss. When she makes a sound of pleasure against his mouth and winds her arms around his neck, he takes that as an invitation to deepen the kiss, his hands sliding down to cup her ass, gently squeezing the supple flesh through the thin material of her pants. He bends his knees and hoists her up onto the bathroom counter. As she makes herself comfortable, wriggling closer to him, the pregnancy tests go clattering to the floor.
Veronica breaks the kiss, pulling away with a soft giggle. "Oops."
Logan grins widely at the happiness shining in her eyes as he takes in the pink flush to her cheeks. He hasn't seen her this relaxed or light-hearted in months and it's awesome to see the light back in her eyes again. He didn't notice until today, when he saw how much more relaxed she is here, how much all the stress of the last few months has affected her, and her reaction to the positive tests a few moments ago only emphasises the difference in her demeanour now.
In hindsight, Veronica taking a break and coming back here for a while was possibly the best thing she could have done, because It's obvious now how much she needed this time away from everything. Even from him, as much as he hates to admit it.
He lifts one hand, tucking her hair behind her ear as he says tenderly, "I'm proud of you, Veronica."
She looks taken-aback. "What for?"
"For how well you've handled everything the last few months," he admits. "You've been dealing with so much and you've been so strong through it all."
She looks down, giving a self-conscious shrug. "Well, I didn't really have a choice."
"Yeah, you did," he disagrees. "You could have just decided to let nature take its course, but you didn't. You stuck it out, through the appointments and procedures and all the planning each month, and I know it wasn't easy for you, but you soldiered on."
"Well, until two weeks ago," she points out.
"Yeah, but your reaction was understandable," he says.
"Really?" She looks surprised. "You didn't seem too understanding when I left."
"You kinda blindsided me, Veronica," he reasons. "I didn't exactly have time to react to it before you rushed out the door."
"I'm sorry."
"Look, I think this break has been good for you," he says softly. "You seem much happier, more relaxed now. And it seems things are looking up after all."
He lets his hand slide down to her stomach, gently resting his palm there.
"Yeah." A fresh smile lights up her face. She leans in close, lowering her voice to just above a whisper as she adds excitedly, "Logan, we're going to have a baby."
He lowers his forehead to hers, giving another grin. "I know. I think it calls for a celebration."
"Hmm… what kind of celebration?"
"Well, Mac did say she was gonna be out for the rest of the day," he reminds her, "and our big, comfortable bed is just a few feet away…"
"I like your thinking," she says, reaching for his shirt and tugging him close as she leans up for a kiss.
They lie together in bed almost an hour later, Veronica relaxing back against the pillows, while Logan has settled himself on his stomach, lying between her legs so that he's face-to-face with her belly. Veronica can't keep the smile from her face, her fingers trailing through his hair as he traces gentle patterns across her belly.
She's still a little bit in shock; it hasn't really sunk in that she might really be pregnant. She's hesitant to believe it's true just yet… it won't seem completely real until they've seen Dr. Anderson and had it confirmed for sure. Logan seems so happy right now, though, and his excitement is infectious.
"You gonna stay like that all day?" she asks when he doesn't show any sign of moving.
"Maybe." His tone holds a smile as he lowers his head, kissing the skin just below her belly button.
She looks down at him with affection, her hand cupping the back of his head, before saying softly, "I told my dad. About what's been going on."
He glances up at her, sympathy in his eyes. "I know."
"You do?"
"Yeah, his morning he apologised for assuming I gave you chlamydia," he admits.
"Shit, really?" She feels her cheeks flush with mortification. Geez, Dad… "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he assures her quickly. "It's nice to know that his dislike of me was based on an incorrect assumption and not, you know, my base personality."
"Yeah…"
"So, you told him what happened with Beaver?" he asks.
She looks down at him again, frowning slightly at his position between her legs. "Hey, can you come back up here? It feels weird talking about this with you down there."
He raises an eyebrow and gives a smirk, though he nods, rising to his knees and moving to lie beside her.
"I wasn't planning on it," she continues, turning on her side to face him as he does the same. "But he knew something was wrong, and you know, once I started talking, it all came out. I should have told him the truth years ago."
Logan frowns, looking a little perturbed. "Does he know everything?"
"Okay, not everything," she says, as she realises what he's really asking. "He knows what Beaver did. But not the rest; not about Duncan, or where the GHB came from."
"I appreciate that." He visibly relaxes, reaching out to stroke her hair back from her face, his fingers lingering at her neck.
"Yeah, well, he's still my dad; he doesn't need to know all the sordid details."
"How was it? Telling him?" he asks seriously.
She sighs. "It was hard… but I am relieved he finally knows."
"Yeah."
"I mean, all these years, I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting him from the truth." She thinks back to their conversation last weekend, how it felt to finally get it all off her chest, and something new, something she hasn't really considered until right now, comes to mind. "But maybe that wasn't the case at all."
"What do you mean?" Logan's fingers drift over her shoulder and along her arm, causing a tingle along her nerves.
"Well… what if something like that happened to my child?" she says softly. "What if they had some horrible secret like I did, or hell, even like Cassidy did… but they thought they had to keep it from me, to protect me from their pain? I would hate that."
"Yeah, I would, too."
"I mean, it shouldn't be their job to protect us, it should be the other way around," she adds, her chest tightening with sadness at the thought. "What was I even thinking back then, trying to deal with it all myself? I was sixteen."
Logan shrugs, expression sympathetic. "You'd been through so much; you just did what you thought was right in the circumstances."
"Yeah, but it was still stupid."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," he says, linking his fingers with hers. "We all have things we wish we'd done differently as teenagers."
"Yeah, we do." A look of understanding passes between them, before Veronica adds firmly, "We have to make sure that our child knows they can come to us about anything, even if it's something terrible like we went through."
Logan's fingers tighten around hers. "We will."
Veronica nods in agreement, before a smile spreads across her face, the significance of what she's just said dawning on her. "Wow, our child. I didn't think it would ever happen."
"I did," he replies confidently. "I knew it would."
"You did, huh?" She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Yep." He grins.
His smile is infectious and Veronica can't help returning it, another bubble of happiness rising in her chest. She leans forward to brush her lips against his in a soft kiss, but before she can pull away, Logan tugs her closer, pulling her to his chest as he rolls her onto her back and settles between her legs.
"You know," says Veronica, between kisses. "We can't stay like this all day; it could get awkward when Mac gets home."
He gives a small shrug, unconcerned as he starts kissing his way down her neck. "So? It's our house."
"Yeah, but we don't technically live here right now," she counters, even as her fingers tangle in his hair. "I don't think she'd appreciate walking in on us in flagrante."
Logan lifts his hand and looking up at her with a faux-innocent expression.
"Yeah, okay, probably not," he concedes, before shooting her a wicked grin. "How about one more round and then we'll get out of here."
"You're on."
It's early evening by the time they arrive back at Keith's house, and as Logan pulls the rental car into the driveway and cuts the engine, Veronica turns to him.
"Can we keep this between us for now?" she asks. "I mean, it isn't even official yet, and you know, you're supposed to wait until after the first trimester to tell people anyway."
"Of course we can," he says with a smile. "I was gonna say the same thing."
"Good. So, we're on the same page." She returns the smile, before reaching for the door handle. "Come on, let's go in."
They head up the steps to her father's front door, only stopping for a moment to share a kiss, before heading inside.
"Veronica, Logan, you're home," Keith greets jovially as they enter the living room. "You two have a good day?"
"The best." Veronica grins as her thoughts turn to the crazy events of the last few hours. "Logan took me flying."
And then we found out we were pregnant, and had two very satisfying rounds of sex, she adds silently. But I'm not telling you that part.
"Wow, really? That's awesome," he says. "You get to fly it?"
"Yep." She nods enthusiastically. "It was so cool, Dad. We did aerobatics and everything. You should try it sometime."
"Oh, um." Her dad shakes his head. "No, I don't think… I'm just fine on dry land, thanks."
Beside her, Logan gives a small chuckle. "Totally understandable, Keith."
Veronica's stomach grumbles and she realises she's barely eaten all day. Not a good thing when you're pregnant, she reminds herself as she wanders over to the kitchen and pulls open the fridge door. "I'm starving. What's for dinner?"
"Oh, actually, we're going out," says her dad. "I've booked a table at Mama Leone's."
Veronica shuts the fridge and turns to face him with a grin. "Really? Awesome. I haven't eaten there in forever."
"Uh, Veronica, we got take-out from there the night before we moved to Virginia," Logan reminds her.
"Exactly," she responds. "It's been five months."
Logan looks like he's trying not to laugh as he approaches her, sliding his arms around her waist as he leans down to kiss her nose.
"How on Earth did you survive for all that time at Stanford and Columbia?" he jokes.
"Oh, shut up, you." She swats at his chest, then turns to her dad again, who is watching them with a bemused look. "We're leaving soon though, right?"
"Yeah, table's booked for six-thirty."
"Awesome." She grins, stepping out of Logan's embrace. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower and change."
Forty minutes later, they arrive at Mama Leone's and Veronica's mouth drops open when she sees Mac and Wallace already sitting at their reserved table.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"Hey, Vee." Wallace gives a crooked smile as he gets up to give her a hug. "Happy Birthday."
"Your dad invited us," explains Mac, nodding toward Keith as she also rises for a hug. "He knew Logan would be here too, so he suggested we join you for dinner."
Huh. She turns to her father questioningly. "You knew he was coming and you didn't say anything?"
"Don't blame him. I wanted it to be a surprise," Logan steps in. "For your birthday."
"Hmm…" Veronica eyes him critically, though she lets it slide for now.
"Anyway, we're all here now, so let's eat, shall we?"
"Yes, let's," Veronica agrees vehemently. "I need food."
"Of course you do," Logan jokes, though he catches her eye and his grin widens slightly, obviously thinking the same thing she is: she could be eating for two now.
They take their seats and order their food, making small-talk while they wait. Though Veronica has seen her friends a couple of times since she's been home, she hasn't been in the best frame of mind the last few weeks, and if she's honest, she didn't really give them her full attention when they hung out. Now, though, she feels lighter, happier than she has in a long time, which means she can just sit back and enjoy their company without being distracted. Well… not distracted by her own worries anyway, because if the way his hand is sliding up her leg, fingers curling around the inside of her thigh, is any indication, Logan is trying to distract her in a completely different way.
Continuing her conversation with Mac, she reaches below the table and clamps her fingers around his hand, halting his movements just before his fingers reach their intended destination. She shoots him a glare, then tugs his hand from her lap and brings it up to the table, linking their fingers. In response, he just smirks and gives her a wink. Trying not to roll her eyes, she turns back to Mac again, catching her father's eye as she does so; he's watching them with a slight frown, but when she gives him a questioning look, he looks away and starts talking to Wallace instead.
Their food soon arrives and silence falls across the table as they dig in. Veronica's lasagne tastes as amazing as ever and she can't help feeling a pang of anticipated homesickness at the thought of leaving Neptune again tomorrow. As happy as she is to be going back with Logan, to begin this next chapter of their lives together, it still doesn't make up for the fact that Neptune is home and Virginia Beach isn't, not even with Logan and Pony there with her.
"Here." Logan nudges her, holding up a forkful of pollo alla cacciatore to her. "Try some of this."
She leans forward, opening her mouth to accept the mouthful of chicken and almost moans aloud at the taste. "God, that's good."
"I know, right?" He flashes a smile, before leaning forward to kiss her gently.
"You want some lasagne?" she offers.
"Sure."
She gathers some onto her fork and offers it to him.
"Mmm, brings back memories," he says appreciatively, after swallowing the mouthful.
They share a warm smile, eyes locked with each other until the sound of someone clearing their throat startles them out of the moment. Veronica turns her head to find Wallace, Mac and Keith all staring at them in bewilderment.
It's Wallace who speaks first. "Okay, something's up with the two of you. You're acting weird."
"Yeah, what's with all the PDAs?" adds Mac. "You're not usually like this."
"Nothing's up," Veronica denies. "We just haven't seen each other in two weeks, that's all."
"Really?" Keith looks sceptical. "Because we've all seen you two after you've spent several months apart. Something's different today."
"It's my birthday and we're celebrating. Nothing's different," Veronica insists, hoping she's coming across as innocent, despite lying through her teeth. "Honest."
"If you say so," Mac replies in a sing-song tone, before turning to Wallace. "What do you reckon it is? Logan's got a promotion?"
"Maybe Veronica's landed some big new client?" suggests Wallace.
"Or they've won the lottery!" adds Mac. "No, wait, they've already got millions."
It's Keith who pipes up next, as he studies her thoughtfully, something changing in his expression. "Or maybe they're p—"
"Okay, everyone, stop." Veronica holds up a hand, halting her father's words before he can finish. She has a pretty good idea what he was about to say; he's figured it out, which means they're gonna have to tell them after all. "Fine. You're right, there is something going on."
She looks to Logan, who reaches for her hand and nods his approval for her to continue.
"After Logan's flying lesson this morning, I wasn't feeling too good. I thought it was from the aerobatics we did, but actually, I haven't been feeling well for a couple of days," she tells them. "Mac, the reason we went to the beach house earlier today was because I needed some privacy… to take a pregnancy test."
"Oh my God!" Mac gasps, her hand coming to her mouth.
"Shit, Veronica." That comes from a wide-eyed Wallace, while Keith just looks between Veronica and Logan, realisation dawning.
"And?" asks Mac impatiently.
Veronica shares a glance with Logan, taking a deep breath before she says, "It was positive. All three tests we did were positive."
"Oh, wow, really?" Wallace's shell-shocked expression quickly becomes one of pleased surprise. "That's awesome!"
"Oh my God, Veronica…" Mac's face lights up with a wide smile, as her eyes shine. "I'm so happy for you."
Her father, however, doesn't say anything and instead gets up from his seat and rounds the table so he can give her a hug. Veronica rises to meet him and finds herself wrapped tightly in his arms.
"Congratulations, sweetheart," he tells her softly, voice filled with emotion. "Finally making me a grandpa, huh? I knew it would work out… you deserve to be happy, both of you."
"Thanks, Dad," she replies, her voice cracking despite her efforts to stop it happening.
Keith eventually releases her and then turns to Logan, offering him a handshake, then pulling him into a hug as well.
"Listen guys," says Veronica seriously when Keith returns to his seat. "Part of the reason we didn't want to say anything yet is because it's really early. It hasn't even been confirmed by a doctor, and given the risks and everything we've gone through over the last few months, we're not getting our hopes up just yet."
"Yeah, of course, Vee," Wallace says quickly. "If there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."
Looking around at her family and closest friends, she feels her eyes well up with tears as her chest tightens with a sudden overflow of emotion.
"Thanks, guys. That means so much," she manages, even as her voice breaks. To her mortification, she feels a tear slip from her eye and start to slide down her face. She quickly wipes it away, giving a self-conscious laugh. "Geez, I don't know what's wrong with me."
"I think it's called hormones," says Mac with a smile.
"Yeah." Veronica lets out a small sound that seems to be half-giggle and half-sob as Logan slips his arm around her shoulder and tugs her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Maybe it is."
"Veronica, Logan, it's good to see you."
Dr. Anderson smiles, standing as they enter her office early Tuesday evening. They've been lucky to get an appointment later in the day so Logan hasn't had to take any time off.
"Good to see you, too, doctor," Logan greets, returning her smile as he steps forward to shake her hand, before joining Veronica in taking a seat.
"So, what can I do for you, today?" the doctor asks as she too takes a seat. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I think so," says Veronica, reaching for Logan's hand. He takes it without hesitation, squeezing gently in support. "I mean, the last few months have been hard, and to be honest, I've been feeling pretty much ready to give up on the idea of getting pregnant."
"Veronica, I'm sorry to hear that."
"I needed a break for a while so I went back home to California for a couple weeks," she adds, "but then Logan flew out for my birthday this past weekend. I hadn't been feeling well for a few days, so we took a pregnancy test—well, three tests, actually—and they finally showed positive."
"Really? That's great news." Dr Anderson looks genuinely pleased for them, which puts Logan's mind at ease a little.
"So, that's why we're here now," Veronica adds, "for you to confirm it."
"I can certainly do that." The doctor nods. "Though, I should tell you that home pregnancy tests are very accurate these days, possibly even more accurate than the tests we perform here, but if you'd like, I can still take a urine sample."
"I would like that, thanks," says Veronica.
"Okay, we'll do that, and we also can do a sonogram today as well."
"Yeah? That would be great." Veronica nods, glancing over at Logan. "Thanks."
He gives her an encouraging smile, trying not to let his nerves show. He's been on edge all day, knowing the appointment was coming up, that soon they would know for sure.
Dr. Anderson hands Veronica a urine sample bottle, who leaves the office to head down the hall to the bathroom. Once she's gone, the doctor turns to him.
"So, how are you, Logan?"
"Yeah, not bad," he says with a nod. "I mean, it's been difficult, getting our hopes up every month and then the all the tests being negative, but it's been worse for Veronica, because, you know, it's her body; she's the one having to go through all the emotional heartache."
"It can't have been easy on you either, though," she says, her tone sympathetic.
"No, it hasn't," he admits. "It's been so hard watching her struggling and not being able to do anything to make it better."
"I understand that." The doctor gives a nod. "But I meant it can't have been easy dealing with your own feelings to."
"Yeah, well." Logan gives a shrug, not really wanting to get into it all with the doctor. "I've been getting through it. And, I mean, now it looks like it's finally happening, so…"
Dr. Anderson studies him thoughtfully, and Logan fights the urge to fidget under her gaze. She looks like she's about to say something more, but then the office door opens and Veronica reappears, urine sample in hand.
"Here, you go, Doc," she says, handing the sample to the doctor and taking a seat.
"Thanks, Veronica." Dr. Anderson smiles. "I'll test this now quickly now, but I'll also send it off to the lab for analysis just to be sure. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, okay?"
The doctor disappears with the sample bottle, leaving Veronica and Logan alone.
"You okay?" Logan asks, taking her hand again.
"Yeah. I think so." She gives him a small smile. "This is all so surreal. I mean, we've been wishing for this for months, but now it seems to finally be happening, it feels like it's too good to be true."
"Yeah, it does," he agrees.
"I just didn't want to get my hopes up until it actually happened, you know?"
"I know," he says, lifting their joined hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of hers.
Silence falls between them as they wait for Dr. Anderson to reappear.
"God, this is worse than waiting for the home test results," comments Veronica, breaking the silence a few moments later.
"She'll be back soon."
As if on cue, the door opens and the doctor walks through, taking a seat behind her desk once more. Her expression gives nothing away and Logan really does find himself fidgeting this time.
Come on, he thinks impatiently. Just get it over with.
"Okay, I've prepared the sample ready for the lab, and I've also done a dipstick test here at the clinic," says the doctor, before breaking into a wide smile. "Congratulations, you're pregnant."
Veronica's reaction is a gasp of surprise, like she can't quite believe what she's hearing, before she manages a breathy, high-pitched, "Really?"
For Logan, on the other hand, the words are taking their time to sink in and he can't seem to form any coherent words just yet.
Dr. Anderson nods. "Yes, really. The test showed elevated levels of hCG, which is what your home pregnancy tests detected as well."
"Oh my God…" mutters Veronica, turning to him. "Logan, we're pregnant."
"We are?" He doesn't mean it to sound like a question, but it comes out that way all the same. "I mean, we are. Wow."
"I'm so pleased for you both," says Dr. Anderson. "I know that the last few months have been hard on you."
"Yeah," agrees Veronica. "They have."
"Now, I'll call you in a couple of days to let you know the results of the lab tests when they come back," says the doctor. "But today, I also want to do a sonogram, both to confirm what the urine test showed and also to make sure we're not looking at an ectopic pregnancy."
"Sure, of course," Veronica agrees quickly. "That could be a possibility, an ectopic pregnancy?"
"It could," she admits. "The risk of the fertilised egg attaching itself to the lining of the fallopian tube instead of reaching the uterus is higher in cases of damaged or blocked tubes, so given your history, we need to make sure that hasn't happened."
"Right, okay."
"Since you're pretty early into the pregnancy, it's better if we do a transvaginal sonogram, which will help us more easily detect the age of the foetus and the existence of an ectopic pregnancy."
"Is that something I can be here for?" Logan asks, not sure he really wants to know what's involved in a transvaginal sonogram.
"Of course, if Veronica's happy with that," the doctor responds. She must see something in his expression, because she smiles, adding, "Don't worry, you'll be covered with a sheet."
"It's fine with me," Veronica agrees, squeezing Logan's hand.
"Great. Let's get started, shall we?"
While the doctor prepares the sonogram equipment, Veronica ducks behind the curtain surrounding the small exam table in the corner of the room to get undressed. A couple of minutes later, he's sitting beside Veronica and everything is ready to go.
"You shouldn't feel any discomfort, Veronica, but there may be some light pressure as I move the transducer to get the best picture," says Dr. Anderson. "Nothing to worry about."
"Okay." Veronica nods, reaching for Logan's hand. "Go for it."
Logan watches Veronica's face as the doctor starts the sonogram, smiling gently in reassurance as she squeezes his hand a little tighter. Dr. Anderson doesn't say anything for a couple of minutes, her gaze fixed on the monitor as she adjusts the transducer, but then she smiles and turns her attention to them.
"Good news, there's no ectopic pregnancy."
"Oh, thank God," murmurs Veronica with a sigh of relief.
"And I can also see the foetus." Her smile widens. "Congratulations again, you're definitely pregnant, Veronica."
"I am?" The pure delight that spreads across his wife's face makes Logan's heart constrict in his chest, his own emotions starting to rise to the surface.
"You are." The doctor nods. "I'd say about six weeks along."
Veronica frowns at that, and Logan has to admit he's a little puzzled too. "Six weeks? But I took a test three weeks ago, and it was negative."
"Ah, well, the date of conception is calculated from the first day of your last period, which was in… mid-July?"
"It was."
"Right, so that's what we use for the conception date, though you likely didn't actually conceive until you were ovulating a couple of weeks later."
"Okay, that makes sense." Veronica nods in understanding. "Can we see it?"
"Of course. Though, I have to warn you, there's not much to see yet. At six weeks, the foetus is only the size of a sweet pea."
"Seriously? That small?" Logan blinks in surprise… but then, what was he expecting, really?
"Uh huh." Dr. Anderson nods, turning the monitor towards them. "Okay, so here we are."
All Logan can see is a mass of black and white shapes, with no real definition to them. "Uh, what exactly are we looking at here?"
The doctor smiles like she was expecting the question and starts pointing out the various features on the sonogram. "Okay, so this is your uterus, Veronica, and this right here…" She indicates a tiny white blob near the edge. "Is your baby."
"Wow." Veronica exhales in a whoosh of air.
"Wow is about right," agrees Logan. "It's so tiny."
"Would you like me to print a copy for you?"
"Please." Veronica gives a nod.
"That would great," Logan murmurs, his gaze still focused on the screen.
This is crazy. That's my baby in there.
Dr. Anderson prints the picture and hands it to Veronica, before turning off the screen and removing the transducer.
"Okay, we're all done," she says. "We'll leave you to get dressed, Veronica, and then we can talk about what happens next."
Veronica passes the photo over to Logan and he follows the doctor back to her desk, giving Veronica some privacy. As he takes his seat again, he can't take his eyes off the sonogram picture, running a finger over the tiny blob in the middle, various emotions simultaneously swirling together in his belly: excitement, joy, nervousness, fear...
When Veronica is ready and has joined them again, Dr. Anderson gives them an estimated due date of mid-April, then talks them through the next steps: setting up regular appointments, plus when they'll be able to hear the heartbeat and when they can find out the sex, if they want to. She also hands them various pamphlets filled with information about pregnancy and childbirth. It's a lot of information to get all at once and if Logan's feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, he can only imagine how Veronica's feeling right now.
After thanking Dr. Anderson for everything she's done for them over the last few months, they leave the clinic and get in the car. Logan's about to start the engine when he notices Veronica staring at the sonogram picture, running her fingers over it, just like he had earlier.
"It's a lot to take in, huh?"
"Yeah…" She nods, gaze lingering on the photo for a moment longer before she turns to face him.
The moment he sees the unshed tears in her eyes, he unbuckles his seat belt and shifts so he can pull her into his arms.
"We're having a baby, Logan." Her voice cracks on his name. "I can't believe we're actually having a baby."
"We are."
He lifts his head, pulling back so he can see her properly. He catches a strand of her hair between his fingers and slips it behind her ear, before leaning in to kiss her, pouring all of the pent-up emotion coursing through him into it.
"We are," he repeats when they break apart. "And it's going to be awesome."