Author's Note: Sorry this is a bit later than I usually post - it's actually Wednesday morning here, and I just woke up to realise I completely forgot to post the new chapter yesterday... so here it is now for you :).
Chapter Nineteen
Christmas Day 2019
Twenty-Four Weeks Along
"Fuck," Logan curses abruptly, taking in Veronica's pale face and the fear in her eyes. His chest constricts with sudden panic, even as he tries to stay calm. "Are you sure?"
"I don't know," she admits, one hand pressed against her stomach. "But right now, I have these sharp pains right here, and, uh… I'm bleeding."
"Shit!" he curses again, his mind racing. "Okay… Right. Okay. Let's go to the hospital."
His hand supporting her back, he guides her through the house, and as they enter the living room, the adults at the table sit up straight, expressions filled with worry when they see Veronica.
"Is everything okay?" asks Keith.
"Something's not right with the baby," Logan tells them tightly, trying to keep his voice calm. "I'm gonna take her to the hospital."
"We'll come with you," Keith insists, standing up and starting to move towards them.
"No, Dad, it's okay," Veronica speaks up then, sounding like she's trying for upbeat and chipper, even though Logan can hear the distress in her tone. "Stay here, enjoy your dinner. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Yeah, we don't all need to go," Logan agrees. "We'll call when we know what's up." Turning to Veronica, he adds, "Come on, let's get you in the car."
They exit the bungalow and he helps her into the passenger seat, frowning when she winces again, then hurriedly rounds the hood and climbs into the driver's seat. He pulls away from the curb and takes the fastest route to the hospital, the whole way hovering between trying to make the ride as smooth as he can for her and getting there as quickly as possible.
"You doing okay?" he asks, as they join the freeway.
Beside him, Veronica's hands cradle her stomach as she breathes through the pain, and the concern and anxiety start mounting inside him again.
"I'm sorry," she says between deep breaths. "I ruined dinner…"
"Don't you worry about that," he says immediately. "The only thing that matters right now is making sure you and the baby are okay."
"Oh God, what if this is my fault?" she says a moment later, her tone panicked. "I've been stressed with the move back… I mean, maybe I shouldn't have flown clear across the country at nearly twenty-four weeks. Shit, Logan, what if I've done something to cause this?"
"Of course you haven't," he assures her, even as he starts to wonder if maybe the massage this morning was such a good idea. "You've been doing everything you can to make sure the baby is safe and healthy."
"But what if—?"
"Veronica, stop." His voice is firm. He can't have her freaking out right now… not just because it can't be good for the baby, but also because if she starts panicking, he might too. "I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Yeah…" She's quiet for a moment, before she turns to him, her voice cracking as she says, "I can't lose this baby, Logan."
The pure anguish in her tone hits him square in the gut and he has to swallow down the lump that's starting to form in his throat before he can answer.
His tone is resolved and matter-of-fact as he states, "You won't."
"Veronica Echolls?"
Logan sits up straight, his hand tightening around Veronica's, as a doctor in a white lab coat steps through the curtain surrounding the cubicle in the ER, a small, black tablet in hand.
"Yes?" says Veronica from the ER hospital bed. She looks pale and drawn in the hospital gown, and Logan just wants to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. "What's wrong with my baby?"
"Well, I have some good news. The baby looks fine at this point: strong heart rate and plenty of movement inside the womb."
"Thank God," says Veronica with a sigh of relief. She looks to Logan and he gives an equally relieved smile in return.
"As for you, Veronica," the doctor continues. "Your ultrasound showed no signs of placenta praevia." When Logan shoots him a questioning look, he clarifies, "That's when the placenta attaches near or over the cervix, which can cause vaginal bleeding. However, it's not usually painful, and considering there is nothing in your notes about it being detected previously, that was unlikely to be the cause. However, I would like to send you for an MRI, just to rule out a couple of other things."
"Okay," she agrees with a nod.
"Someone will be in shortly to take you up," the doctor informs her.
Veronica's the one who nods this time, and as the doctor leaves, Logan turns to look at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Scared," she says softly. "Worried. Tired."
"I know." He runs his thumb over the back of her hand. "But it's gonna be alright. The doctor said the baby looks good, and you know that if it was an emergency, they'd be fixing it right now, and we wouldn't be sitting around waiting for an MRI."
"Yeah, I guess…" she murmurs, still not looking convinced. "But what about—?"
"Hey." He rises up off his chair, smoothing her hair back as he kisses her temple. "You're gonna be fine, both of you."
A moment later, a nurse appears and takes Veronica up for her MRI, leaving Logan twiddling his thumbs while he awaits her return. He makes it five minutes before he has to do something to pass the time, so he heads out to the hospital entrance to call Keith.
"Logan? How's Veronica?" Keith asks without preamble, his tone urgent. "And the baby?"
"The baby looks fine, and Veronica's doing okay," Logan tells him. "The pain has stopped, so that's good. I mean, they didn't, like, cart her off to surgery or anything, so I can only assume that means no imminent danger. She's having an MRI right now, to rule out anything serious."
"That doesn't sound too terrible." Logan can hear the relief in his father-in-law's voice. "Let me know when you know more."
"I will," he promises.
"Thank you for calling, Logan."
"Of course," he says softly. "We'll see you soon."
He ends the call, then exhales heavily, nerves on edge as he runs a hand through his hair and squints in the bright sunlight. He feels helpless and a little lost, which is strange, because he has no problem keeping cool and confident when faced with imminent danger out in theatre, but one small sign that something is wrong with Veronica and the baby, and he dissolves into an emotional mess.
With a shake of his head to clear it, he makes his way back inside the hospital building and heads for the small cafeteria, purchasing a much-needed coffee, before wandering the halls not far from Veronica's cubicle. The next thirty minutes feel like the longest of his life, but when he finally sees her being wheeled back down the hall, a heavy sigh of relief escapes his lips.
"Are you okay?" he asks, falling into step beside the hospital bed as the nurse manoeuvres it back into the cubicle.
He takes her hand in his, noting the exhaustion on her face, as he takes a seat beside the bed again.
She nods. "I'm okay."
"The doctor will be in to see you in a minute," the nurse informs them, before pulling the curtain back around the cubicle and stepping out.
"How did it go?"
"It was an MRI." Veronica shrugs. "They haven't told me anything yet."
He brings her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. "I'm sure everything's fine."
A couple of minutes later, the curtain parts and the doctor appears in the cubicle once again, tablet still in hand.
"Okay, Veronica," he says. "I've had a look at your MRI results, and luckily, I don't see any cause for concern."
"Thank God," Logan responds with a relieved smile, squeezing Veronica's hand in his.
"What were you looking for?" Veronica asks with a curious expression.
"I wanted to check for signs of placental abruption."
"Placental what now?" Logan asks, feeling lost amongst the medical jargon, though by the way Veronica swallows and presses her lips together in a thin line, he gathers it's not a good thing.
"It's when the placenta separates from the uterus too early and causes internal bleeding. A large abruption can be very serious," the doctor informs him. "However, there was no sign of that in either your ultrasound or the MRI. Veronica, you and your baby appear to be perfectly healthy."
"Really?" Veronica exhales, dropping her head back against the pillows propping her up. "That's a relief."
"So, what caused the pain she was feeling earlier?" asks Logan.
"My best guess is that you were experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions," says the doctor.
"Already?" Veronica looks confused. "But I'm only twenty-four weeks."
"It's not that unusual. While it is more common to experience them in the later stages of pregnancy, they can be felt from around sixteen weeks," the doctor informs them. "They can be triggered by anything from exercise, to dehydration, to sexual intercourse or even just by someone touching your stomach."
"What about the bleeding, though?" Logan's still not completely convinced everything's fine.
The doctor nods in acknowledgment. "As the bleed wasn't heavy and has since stopped, it's likely to have simply been caused by a burst blood vessel. Nothing to worry about at this stage."
"That's good news." Logan relaxes, breathing a sigh of relief.
"However, Veronica," the doctor adds, "if you do experience any further bleeding or the contractions become more painful, come right back to the hospital, okay?"
"I will." Veronica nods in agreement. "Thank you, doctor."
The doctor gives a nod, and tells them Veronica is free to get dressed and go home. Logan helps her into her clothes and when the nurse reappears with a wheelchair, he offers his arm as support so she can slide herself off the bed.
Veronica takes one look at the chair and wrinkles her nose at it. "You know, I'm perfectly capable of walking."
"Hospital policy, I'm afraid," says the nurse.
"It's only for a couple minutes," reasons Logan, suppressing a smile at her refusal to show weakness. "I'm sure you'll manage."
"Okay, fine," she relents, before easing herself into the wheelchair. "But just to appease you."
When they reach the hospital entrance, Logan brings the car around and gets Veronica settled in the passenger seat. With a quick 'Happy Holidays' to the nurse, they head back to Keith's house.
"I'm sorry," says Veronica, as they drive, her hand coming up to rub her belly. "I ruined Christmas, didn't I?"
"Of course you didn't," Logan shoots her an incredulous look. "Don't be stupid."
She shakes her head. "I should have known it was only Braxton Hicks."
"Veronica… come on," he says. "You were worried about the baby. That's nothing to apologise for."
"But, still—"
"Veronica, seriously." Logan can't help but give a soft chuckle. "You didn't ruin anything. You were right to get things checked out."
"Sorry," she says again.
"Hey, what did I just say?" Logan teases, holding up one finger in warning. "No more apologising. The only thing that matters is that you and the baby are both okay."
"I know."
"And now that we know you are, we can go back to your dad's and enjoy the rest of our Christmas."
She smiles, and Logan moves one hand off the steering wheel so he can take her hand in his. As they drive along the virtually empty freeway, he finally starts to relax.
She's okay, the baby's okay. There's nothing to worry about.
Late-January 2020
Twenty-Seven Weeks Along
As Veronica tests out the glider chair they've purchased for the baby's nursery—formerly the small gym Logan had set up in the third bedroom—an amused smile spreads across her face. They've already painted the room in their chosen colour scheme of pale greens and yellows—she and Logan roped Mac, Wallace, Dick and Keith into helping last weekend—so now, they just have to fill it with furniture and things for the baby.
Right now, it's Sunday afternoon and Logan is sitting on the floor a few feet away, brow furrowed in concentration as he tries to puzzle out the instructions for putting Bud's crib together. He sighs, eyes scanning over the pieces of crib strewn across the floor in front of him.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Veronica asks from the chair.
"No, no, I'm fine," he insists. "You just relax, put your feet up."
"Okay…" She runs a hand over her bump as Bud kicks for what feels like the tenth time in the last hour. "It's just, you've been staring at that page for the last ten minutes."
He scowls. "I'm perfectly capable of putting a damn crib together, Veronica."
She suppresses a smile at his irritation. Once upon a time, Logan Echolls would have deemed manual labour beneath him.
"I didn't say you weren't."
He glances between the instructions in his hands and the disassembled crib before him, a frown marring his handsome features.
"What's the problem?" she can't help asking eventually.
He gives another sigh. "I don't know. There are supposed to be latch brackets to attach to the head and footboards, but I don't see them anywhere."
She lifts her feet from the foot stool and then eases herself up off the glider so she can kneel down beside him.
"Okay, lemme see." She reaches for the instructions, but Logan moves them out of reach with a frown.
"Veronica, I told you to stay in the chair."
"You did, huh?" She scoffs, only mildly offended as she grabs the papers from him. "Well, it's a good thing no one tells me what to do, huh?"
"Come on, you know what I meant," he says, by way of apology.
"Logan, I'm pregnant," she says, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "I'm not an invalid."
"I know that," he mutters petulantly.
"Well, then, stop treating me like one," she says, keeping her tone as light as she can, irritated but not wanting to get in a fight. "I know my body and what I'm capable of. If I need to take it easy, I will."
"Yeah, I know." He looks contrite. "Sorry."
"Thank you." She bumps him playfully with her shoulder then. "So, what's going on with this crib, then?"
She studies the instructions, then casts her eyes over the crib pieces thoughtfully for a couple of moments, before she realises what's wrong.
"Ah ha!" she says triumphantly.
"What is it?"
"Those latch brackets you were looking for… they're right there." She points to the headboard, then the footboard, before looking over at him a soft smile. "They're already attached, doofus."
He frowns, then flushes with embarrassment, before deflecting with, "Who're you calling doofus?"
She shrugs, and says lightly, "Not my fault if you can't see what's right in front of you."
He turns to face her, looking a little puzzled. "You know, you're kinda mean today."
Veronica winces, immediately regretting her words. "Sorry. I'm cranky, I know."
"Everything okay?" His expression becomes one of concern, something she would normally appreciate… if she wasn't feeling so grumpy today.
"Just one of those days, I guess." She runs a hand over her bump. "I'm tired and uncomfortable. My skin's all tight and itchy, and Bud's been treating my insides like a football all day."
"What can I do?" he offers without hesitation.
She smiles gratefully, before turning her attention back to the task at hand. "What you can do is let me help you put this crib together."
He finally gives a nod of acceptance, gesturing to the floor. "Have at it, Mars."
She can't stop the small smirk from tugging at her lips as she adds, "And then when we're done, you can give me a foot rub."
An hour later, the crib is assembled and sitting over by the far wall, and Veronica's relaxing in the glider chair again, flicking through a brochure filled with wall borders and stickers. Logan is perched on the foot stool in front of her, her feet in his lap as he gently massages them. His thumb runs across a sensitive spot in the arch of her foot and she flinches, letting out a soft giggle.
"Sorry." He glances up at her with a smile, then nods to the brochure in her hands. "See anything you like in there?"
"Hmm." She purses her lips thoughtfully, tilting her head as she considers the designs on the pages. "Not sure. There are some nice animal ones, but I don't know, they seem too… cutesy."
His smile widens. "Veronica, they're for babies; they're supposed to be cutesy. In fact, I think cutesy is mandatory."
"Maybe it's just me, then… I mean, cutesy isn't really my thing."
"Don't I know it," he quips lightly, causing her to frown.
"Hey!" She leans forward as much as she can at six months pregnant and swats his arm. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ow." He grins, rubbing his arm. "That was supposed to be a compliment, Mars. You know you're a badass."
"Yeah, I am." She nods in agreement, smiling.
"Let me have a look, then." He gestures for the brochure.
"Nu uh." Veronica holds it up out of his reach. "I don't think you've finished that foot rub yet."
Logan lets out a low whistle. "Geez, such a taskmaster."
"Okay, how about this," she proposes, "you carry on with those talented hands of yours and I'll hold this up so you can see it."
"Okay, fine." He rolls his eyes, though he doesn't hesitate in continuing with the massage.
"Hey, Echolls…" Veronica leans forward again, beckoning to him with her finger.
He looks up, then grins as he mirrors her movement. "Yeah?"
Veronica reaches for his shirt and tugs him even closer. "You finish up that amazing foot massage for me, and I'll make it totally worth your while in the bedroom later."
"Really?" His eyebrow rises, an indulgent smile spreading across his face. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise," she says coyly, pulling him in for a kiss. "But think of it as an early anniversary celebration."
"Okay," he agrees quickly, but then sobers. "Wait a minute… this isn't gonna be in lieu of our actual anniversary celebration tomorrow, is it? Because if so, I might have to cancel some plans."
Veronica's eyes light up at that. "Ooh, what plans?"
"It's a surprise." He throws her own words back at her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
She pouts. "Tease."
"I could say the same about you," he returns playfully.
"Okay, fine." She sighs in surrender, leaning in for another kiss. "I promise that whatever I do to you in the bedroom tonight will not be in lieu of anything that you might have planned for tomorrow night."
"Thank God for that," he replies, his fingers tightening around her foot, still in his lap, as he shifts back on the foot stool again. "Now, where were we?"
"Oh, right." She straightens, turning to the first page of the brochure and balancing it on her belly so Logan can see it.
Logan looks through the border designs thoughtfully, only releasing her foot to turn the pages, going through it twice before he smiles and gives an affirmative nod.
"See one you like?"
"Yep." He slips the brochure from her hands and turns it around. "This one."
Veronica takes one glance at it and shakes her head. "Nope."
"Aw, come on, V'ronica," he protests. "It's cool."
"Logan, it's covered in planes."
"So? Planes are cool."
"Maybe they are to you," she replies. "But for all you know, Bud might hate planes."
Logan gasps in faux outrage. "You take that back."
"Nope." She grins.
He holds her gaze for a moment before relenting.
"Okay, fine. No planes… at least not yet, anyway. But if Bud wants them later, I'm going all out." Flicking through the brochure again, he says, "How about this one?"
He holds it up to show her one of the designs she was actually considering herself: a row of cartoon monkeys hanging in various positions from green and brown vines.
"Yeah." She nods. "I like it."
"Cheeky monkeys for our little cheeky monkey," he jokes.
He closes the brochure and placing it down beside him on the stool, then lifts her feet from his lap and gently places them on the floor between his legs.
"Yeah…" she says softly, catching his eye as he looks up again. "Hey, Echolls… have I told you how much I love you yet today?"
"Hmm, let me think… uh, no, I don't think you have." He leans back, holding his hands up in invitation. "Go ahead."
"You know what, just for that, I'm not telling you."
"Ah, but you just did."
He catches his tongue between his teeth, though when she doesn't smile in return, he sobers and shifts forward again, resting his hands on her thighs.
"I love you, Mars."
Veronica smiles. "Love you, too, Echolls."
He captures her mouth in another kiss and when he pulls back, Veronica looks at him curiously.
"What?"
"You still call me Mars," she observes casually.
"Yeah…?" He looks a little confused, even as he nods slowly.
"How come?"
"I don't know." Logan frowns thoughtfully. "You've just always been Mars to me. Anyway, I thought you preferred it."
"I do," she says. "It's just… you only ever call me Echolls when we're joking around."
"There something wrong with that?"
"No," she says quickly. "No. Of course not. I mean…shit, I don't even know what I mean."
She really doesn't; in fact, she has no idea what she's trying to say right now. Just blame it on pregnancy brain.
Logan reaches out and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Do you want me to call you Echolls?"
"Not necessarily." Veronica shrugs. "It was just an observation."
"Okay…" He doesn't sound convinced.
"Look, don't mind me," she says, with a shake of her head. "Like I said: one of those days."
He frowns, but leaves it alone, straightening up and holding out his hands to her. She takes them and allows him to help her up.
"Okay, what's next on the agenda?" he asks, glancing around the room.
"I need some fresh air," she admits. "Wanna walk along the beach with me? We can take Pony out."
"Sure."
The next day, Veronica exhales heavily, resting back in her chair at the office, closing her eyes as her hands come to rest on her belly. She's been back working at Mars Investigations since the New Year, and even though she's enjoying sinking her teeth into detective work again, she's felt so tired lately that she's been struggling to concentrate on any of her cases.
She pries one eye open, gaze flitting from her double computer screens, which have about dozen windows open, to the pile of case files beside it. She really needs to get working on them… except… well, maybe a short nap won't hurt. After all, it's her anniversary; she needs all the energy she can get for tonight. Turning the chair towards the window, she closes her eyes again and starts to doze off.
"Well, well, look who showed back up." A voice from the doorway startles her awake again.
She turns her head towards the door, her eyes lighting up and a smile brightening her face as she takes in the familiar newcomer.
"Weevs," she says. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be askin' you the same," he nods in her direction as he takes a step inside the office. "Heard you were livin' out East now."
"We were," she says. "But Logan got transferred back to San Diego."
Swivelling the chair around to face him, she braces her hands on the armrests and pushes herself up to standing.
"Whoa," Weevil mutters, his eyes widening as his gaze falls to her stomach. "Echolls knocked you up, huh?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly put it like that," she responds with a wry smile, as she rounds the desk, "but, yeah."
"Hey, congratulations." He steps forward to give her a hug. "How far along?"
"Thanks." Veronica nods, taking a step back. "Almost twenty-eight weeks."
"Well, uh, tell Opie congrats."
"Will do." She smiles. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, uh, just stoppin' by," he says casually. "Gotta see the Sheriff about something."
Veronica can't suppress her smile. "You know, he hasn't been the Sheriff for over sixteen years."
He shrugs. "Yeah, well, old habits."
"How are you, Weevil?" she asks, genuinely curious. "And Jade, and Valentina? I haven't seen you in so long."
"We're doing good," he says. "Since the settlement, you know, things have been good. My baby girl is seven now, can you believe it?"
He pulls out his phone, shows her his screensaver—a gorgeous little girl with big, dark eyes and chocolate-coloured curls.
"She's beautiful."
"Yeah." He grins, pocketing the phone, before gesturing vaguely in her direction. "So, you're an Echolls now. Betcha never thought that would happen."
"Well, I still use Mars professionally," she says, as if that means anything. "But yeah, I am. Funny how things turn out, huh?"
"Yeah, funny," he agrees, his gaze dropping to her stomach again before he jerks his head in the direction of her dad's office. "Well, I better—"
"Yeah, yeah. Go," she says quickly. "Nice seeing you, Eli."
He grins. "You, too, Veronica."
That evening, after work, Logan surprises her with dinner at a fancy new restaurant located just along the coast. Veronica has to admit that part of her wishes he'd stuck to tradition and taken her to Mama Leone's, but this place is gorgeous, located in a secluded spot just off the beach and the food smells amazing, so she's willing to forgive him for that.
"So, chivalrous," she teases, when Logan pulls out her chair for her.
"I do my best." He flashes a charming smile as he makes sure she's comfortable and then takes his own seat.
When their drinks arrive—sparkling apple juice, since neither of them are drinking—Logan holds his glass up with a crooked smile. "Happy Anniversary, Veronica."
"Happy Anniversary, Logan."
She clinks her glass against his, before taking a sip and placing it back down on the table so she can study the menu.
"So, what's good here?" she wonders, running a finger down the list of Entrées.
"I've heard the steak is excellent," comments Logan, thumbing through his menu
"God, I can't wait until I can have my steak cooked medium-rare again," she comments, her mouth watering over the descriptions of the steak dishes. "Eating medium-well all the time sucks ass."
Across the table, Logan stifles a chuckle and she looks up at him in question.
"Sucks ass?" He flashes a grin. "Eloquent as ever, I see."
"You try going without decent steak for nine months," she shoots back. "See how you feel."
"Uh, Veronica…?" He raises an eyebrow at her expectantly.
"Oh, right," she says after a moment, when she realises what he's getting at. "Of course. All those months at sea."
"It's only for another, what, twelve weeks," he reasons. "Then you can have all the medium-rare steak you like."
Veronica stills, staring at him wide-eyed, realisation dawning.
"What?" He frowns in confusion.
"Twelve weeks," she manages, her throat suddenly dry. "The baby's gonna be here in twelve weeks, Logan. That's way too soon. I'm not ready." Her heart starts pounding as the enormity of this sinks in. "We haven't even started the Lamaze classes yet."
"Hey, it's okay… just breathe," Logan says reassuringly, reaching over to take her hand in his. "We still have plenty of time. You will be ready, okay?"
She nods, forcing herself to take long, slow breaths until her heart rate begins to return to normal.
"Sorry," she says, when she's feeling a little calmer. "It just hit me, you know? How close it's getting."
"It's okay. Totally understandable." He smiles. "And look how well that breathing thing worked for you. You've totally got Lamaze."
She scoffs, but returns the smile, then looks back down at the menu as a distraction. She's grateful when the waiter appears a moment later to take their orders.
"So, how was your day?" Logan changes the subject when the waiter leaves.
"Long and tiring," she admits. "I spent all day just wanting to sleep… in fact, I actually took a nap at one point. I did have a surprise visitor though: Weevil showed up."
"Weevs?" He gives a low whistle. "Wow, been a while. How's he doing?"
"Good, I think," she says. "It sounds like he and Jade have worked things out. And Valentina's seven now, would you believe?"
"Shit, seven?" Where does the time go?"
"I know," she agrees. "He showed me a picture of her and everything. She's cute."
Logan lets out a snort of amusement. "Who'da thunk it, huh? A seven-year-old girl has big, bad Weevs wrapped around her little finger."
Veronica tries not to smirk as she says, "Yeah, who would have thought?"
"What's that look for?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," she replies airily. "Just thinking maybe you shouldn't speak too soon." She rests her hand over her bump. "I have a feeling this little one is gonna have you wrapped tight around their little finger too."
"Oh, please," he dismisses with a scoff. "I have way more willpower than Weevil."
She really does smirk now. "You say that now…"
"I do!" he responds indignantly.
"I'll believe it when I see it." He looks like he's about to protest further, so she quickly changes the subject, "Anyway, what about you, how was your day?"
He smiles then, relaxing back in his chair. "Pretty great, actually. We're making good progress with the training syllabus, and I even got an hour up in the air this afternoon too."
"Ah, so that's why you're in such a chipper mood this evening," she says.
Logan hasn't gotten much opportunity to fly the last few weeks, with all the upheaval of moving and then sorting out the new unit at North Island, and although he didn't explicitly mention it, she can tell he's been itching to take one of the jets up again.
"What can I say?" He shrugs with a smile. "Gotta love the adrenaline rush."
Their food arrives a moment later and they settle into comfortable silence as they dig in. Veronica can barely contain her appreciation for her steak. Even done medium-well, it's still one of the best steaks she's ever had.
She puts down her knife and fork and relaxes back in her seat, watching Logan as he scoops up a forkful of potato.
"No," he says out of nowhere, a smile playing on his lips.
"What?" She blinks in surprise.
He grins, glancing up at her. "No, you can't have any."
"I don't want any," she retorts, resisting the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him.
"Really?" He raises an eyebrow. "Because usually when you look at me like that, you're after my food."
"Logan, I don't want any of your food," she assures him.
"So, what was that look for?" he asks, still looking a little suspicious.
"If you must know, I was thinking about how much I love you."
"Oh." He looks suitably contrite at that response.
"Can you believe we've been married for two years already?" she says then.
"Kinda crazy, huh?" he agrees. "You know, Dick was only giving us a few months. Thought we'd kill each other before the first year was up."
Veronica's eyebrow shoot up in amusement. "Dick thought we'd kill each other while we were thousands of miles apart? What, he think we'd hire hitmen or something?"
"Yeah, well." Logan shrugs. "He's not exactly what you'd call an evil mastermind."
"Definitely not the mastermind part," Veronica snipes, feeling only a little guilty for it when Logan gives a long-suffering sigh,
"I know what you mean, though," he says, then, seemingly ignoring her snarky comment. "Did you ever imagine we'd get here: married, baby on the way... happy?"
"Well, I always hoped we'd be happy," she says. "But the rest… well, you know how I used to feel about marriage and kids, and look what happened."
"I know." He smiles widely, before sobering a little. "You don't have any regrets, though?"
"Of course not." Veronica reaches for his hand. "I love you, and I love our baby. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
"Same here."
They share a warm smile, before Veronica nods to his plate.
"You'd better hurry up and finish that, because I want dessert."
"You and your obsession with dessert." Logan gives a small snort of laughter. "You know, it's a good thing your glucose screening test last week came back negative, because you were cranky enough fasting for that, let alone having to change your diet completely for the next few weeks."
"Hey!" she protests with a frown, before adding, "But, I mean, it's not just dessert. I hear there are gifts and bedroom celebrations waiting for us at home. So, chop, chop… time's a'tickin', Echolls."