Chapter Twenty-Six

Late November 2020 - Thanksgiving

Seven Months Old

Keith sits on the couch at Veronica and Logan's, Abigail sitting beside him in the middle of the sofa. He leans down, making a silly face at his granddaughter, and she giggles, letting out a string of baby-babble as she reaches for him. She almost topples over in her efforts, but steadies herself just in time, her hands flattening on the cushions.

"Look at you, sitting up all by yourself," Keith praises with a grin. "Great job, Abi."

Her response is a gurgling baby screech, which is probably supposed to be an attempt at conversation, and Keith nods sagely in response.

"I know, you are getting very good at it."

"Gah!" She claps her hands together.

"Of course, I completely understand."

"Sounds like you're having a riveting conversation there, Keith," comes a wry voice, and Keith looks up to see Logan settling down on the other end of the couch.

"Certainly am." Keith nods. "I'll have you know, my granddaughter is an excellent conversationalist."

"She truly is." Logan grins as Abi reaches her hands out to him and he picks her up, balancing her on his lap, her feet on his thighs, knees bending as she tests her weight. He leans in close, rubbing his nose against her tiny one. "We have all kinds of intellectual discussions, don't we, Abs?"

"Ga-ga-ga-ga."

"That's right."

"Ga-ga…" Abi babbles happily. "Ga.. da…da-da."

Logan's mouth drops open, a wide smile lighting up his face, as he looks to Keith in amazement. "Did you hear that? She said Dada."

"I did."

Keith can't suppress his smile at the wonder in Logan's eyes. He doesn't have the heart to tell the kid it's probably just baby-babble and not a word with any real meaning yet.

"Can you say it again, baby girl?" Logan asks her. "Can you say Dada…Dada?"

"Da-da-da," Abi says again. "Da-da-da-da."

"That's my girl!" Logan exclaims with a grin, lowering her to a sitting position on his lap and holding up a hand. "High five."

Abigail stares at him curiously for a moment, before lifting her hand and, with a gleeful baby shriek, swats at his palm a couple of times. Logan chuckles, lifting her up again and kissing her cheek.

Keith watches the two of them with a soft smile. Admittedly, he's never been completely comfortable with Logan being part of the family, though for Veronica's sake, he's made an effort to accept him as much as he can. However, seeing him with Abigail right now, his eyes shining with love and affection as they interact, father and daughter together, his heart melts just a little. Anyone with eyes can see how much Logan loves Veronica and Abigail, how he would do anything for them.

If he's honest, Keith may have let his memories of Logan's transgressions as a teenager cloud his judgement, instead of acknowledging that maybe he's been judging him too harshly as an adult. The fact is, Logan Echolls has stepped up and made something of his life. He's a respectable, contributing member of society now… and Veronica loves him with all her heart. If nine years apart weren't enough to dim their love for each other, then, as much as he hates to admit it, nothing will be.

"Will Marcia be joining us for dinner?" Logan's voice pulls him from his thoughts.

"She's hoping to," he says, "but she was called into the station this morning, so she might not make it."

"That's a shame," Logan murmurs, holding Abi's hands as she bounces on his lap. "We'll put a plate of food aside for her anyway."

"Thanks, Logan." Keith nods. "I appreciate that."

Logan turns his attention back to Abigail again, grinning at her when she pulls her hand from his grasp and tugs on his shirt.

"Honey, can I get some help in here, please?" Veronica calls from the kitchen, visibly startling Logan out of his Abigail-induced haze.

"Geez, she's resorting to 'honey' already," he mutters, rolling his eyes.

Keith grins. "What've you done?"

"No idea." Logan shakes his head, before raising his voice and calling back, "I'll be right there, sweetie." To Keith, he adds, "Better go see what she wants."

"You don't want to keep my daughter waiting," Keith agrees. "She can be a real task-master."

"Don't I know it," Logan says with a grin, shifting Abigail on his lap. "You mind watching her again?"

"Of course not." Keith accepts the baby eagerly, cuddling her close. "You go ahead."

Keith's gaze follows Logan as he gets up and makes his way into the kitchen, his arm sliding around Veronica's waist as he presses a kiss to her temple. She looks up at him with a smile, and he leans down to kiss her lips.

She really is happy, he thinks. They both are.

Abi twists in Keith's arms, trying to get free, and he turns his attention back to her. He tries to get her to sit still for a moment, but she wriggles so much that he gives in and places her down on the blanket spread out on the floor. She immediately pushes up on her hands and knees and rocks a little, before her legs slide out from under her, causing to scoot backwards.

"Look at that. You'll be crawling in no time, huh?" Keith murmurs, and Abi gives him a wide, toothless smile. "Mommy and Daddy better watch out. If you're anything like Veronica was at your age, nothing in this house will be safe."

In the kitchen, Logan squeezes Veronica's waist. "Did you hear that back there? Abi called me Dada."

Veronica shakes her head, brow furrowed in concentration as she checks food items off her Thanksgiving Dinner list. "No, she didn't."

Logan frowns, a little taken aback by her bluntness. "Uh, yeah, I was there. She definitely did."

"No, I believe you," she says. "It's just… I'm pretty sure that was just baby-talk, Logan. She's been trying out all kinds of new sounds and syllables lately."

"Oh." Logan looks down, deflated. "Right. Yeah."

Veronica looks up then, eyes widening in sympathy when she sees his face, and she reaches out to touch his arm. "Sorry to burst your bubble."

"Yeah, well…" He gives a dejected shrug. "She'll say it eventually, right?"

"She will." She smiles up at him reassuringly. "Give it a few months and she'll be chattering away like crazy."

"I know." Logan glances over the kitchen island, towards the living room, where Keith is watching Abi shuffling around on the floor. "She's growing up so quickly."

"She is." Veronica follows his gaze and nods. "God, she's almost crawling. She's going to be into everything soon."

"Yeah, she is." Logan gives a soft snort, watching as Abi reaches for the toy that Keith places on the blanket in front of her, grabbing it tightly and bringing it to her mouth. "She looks so much like you now."

"You think?" She frowns, tilting her head and studying their daughter. "I see more of you in her than me."

He smiles. "Well, she is part of both of us."

"Very true." She snakes her arm around his back, lifting her chin to look up at him.

He smiles, lowering his head, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"So, you wanted help," he says, pulling back. "What can I assist you with, my dear?"

"You forgot to buy the cranberry sauce," she tells him bluntly.

"Oh, I forgot, huh?" he shoots back, raising an eyebrow. "I distinctly remember someone distracting me from that task in the middle of the grocery store the other day."

"So now it's my fault?" she pretends to be offended, though her eyes sparkle with amusement. "Oh, wait, silly me. I forgot, men can't multitask."

Logan's mouth falls open in fake shock. "Excuse me, I'll have you know that I am very good at multitasking…" He lowers his mouth to her ear. "As you well know."

"Logan!" she hisses, elbows him in the side. "My dad's right over there."

"So?" He grins. "It's not like we're doing anything he hasn't seen before."

"Come on. Stop." She pushes him away. "I need you to go to the store. Seriously, we have no cranberry sauce."

"What's the big deal?" he asks, giving a shrug. "We can do without it."

"No, we can't." Her mouth drops open, looking scandalised for a moment, before she calls into the living room, where Keith has settled on the floor beside Abi. "Hey, Dad. Logan thinks we can do without the cranberry sauce."

Keith's head shoots up as he says vehemently, "No, we need it!"

Startled by the forcefulness of the reply, Logan looks between his wife and his father-in-law, before sighing.

"Okay. Okay. I'm going to the store."

Veronica steps closer to him again and tilts her head up for another kiss. "Thank you."

As he turns to leave, his phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out and checks his messages. "Dick says he'll be here around twelve-thirty. That okay?"

"Sure." Veronica nods. "Dinner should be ready about one."

"Great." He kisses her forehead. "See you soon."

Logan returns thirty minutes later to find Veronica still standing in the exact same spot in the kitchen, her hands resting on the counter, a knife and a pile of vegetables lying untouched on the chopping board in front of her. Her gaze is fixed on her father and Abigail on the sofa, watching the Macy's Parade together, and she has a soft, adoring smile on her face. Logan smiles warmly as he enters the kitchen. For a girl who's always been hell-bent on keeping up a tough façade, Veronica certainly has a major soft side when it comes to her family.

Logan approaches, placing the tin of cranberry sauce down on the counter loudly and startling her. "One can of premium cranberry sauce just for you, my dear."

"Thanks." She smiles gratefully, though she doesn't take her eyes off the scene in the living room.

"So," Logan starts, leaning an elbow against the counter as he follows her gaze. "What's so fascinating in there that it's distracting you from vegetable-chopping?"

"Just Dad and Abi," she says. "He likes to think he's a hardass, but he's a total pushover with her."

"Hmm…" He reaches out to smooth her hair back over her shoulder. "Just like someone else I know."

Keith's voice carries over to them then as he points to the TV screen. "Hey, do you see Snoopy on that float, Abi? Look, he's waving at you. And, giant Charlie Brown, floating along behind. Pretty cool, huh? Maybe next year, we'll all go to New York and see it for ourselves in person. Start your Thanksgiving traditions young. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Abi lets out a 'gah' of agreement as Keith helps her wave back to Snoopy, but Veronica turns to Logan. "Yeah, so, that's not happening."

"Why not?" Logan frowns. "It'd be fun."

She shakes her head. "The Thanksgiving before I moved back here, Piz tried to make me to go the parade with him. It was, like, his favourite thing about living in New York… in fact, he's probably there right now, broadcasting it for his radio station. And I'm sorry, but I'm not starting any traditions for our family that either remind me of my ex, or present the chance of bumping into him again."

"Ah." Logan nods. "Of course. Completely understand."

"Yeah, so… if Dad wants to start a parade tradition, let's steer him up Pasadena way for New Year's instead, huh?"

"Good idea."

Three hours later, the hearty Thanksgiving dinner has been demolished, and Veronica glances around the table at the satisfied faces of her father, Logan, and Dick Casablancas. If she's honest, she would have preferred it just to be family today—though Marcia's always welcome—but she gets that Dick doesn't really have anyone else, and she knows how much he and Logan mean to each other, so she's willing to tolerate his presence for a few hours. And as much as she hates to admit it, he's pretty great with Abigail.

Knowing what kind of guy he is, at first, she was wary of leaving her little girl in his care, but Dick has really stepped up to the plate, which surprised her, and even Logan a little bit, though he insists he's been fine with it all along. Dick is sweet and gentle and kind with Abi, and seeing him with her actually makes her realise a little of what Logan sees in him as a friend.

She watches with an amused smile as Dick lifts a spoonful of puréed carrots into the air in front of Abi—who is sitting in her high chair next to him, with Logan on her other side—then makes airplane noises as he steers the spoon towards her. Much to Veronica's annoyance, Abi dutifully opens her mouth and swallows down the carrots without so much as a whimper or a scrunched-up face. Which is totally not fair, by the way; why is her daughter so obedient for other people, when she can barely get her to do anything at all when she's the one trying?

"So, we really needed the cranberry sauce, huh?" Logan speaks up then, lifting up the bowl of sauce, which still contains about three-quarters of the can, and surveying it with a sceptical frown. "You guys have barely even touched it."

"Well, it's not just for today," reasons her father.

"Exactly." Veronica nods in agreement. "We need it for the turkey sandwiches we'll make with the leftovers."

"Right." Logan nods, putting the bowl back down, though he still seems a little put out. "Turkey sandwiches. Sure."

Late December 2020

Eight Months Old

Logan grits his teeth as he tries to wrangle his daughter's legs into the pair of green tights Veronica left out for her this morning. Just as he's successfully got them over one foot, Abi arches her back, twisting her entire body to the side, and kicks him away with a frustrated cry. She's being such a pain today that he's starting to wonder if she's doing it on purpose just to annoy him.

"Come on, Abs, give me a break," he grinds out, reaching for her foot again. "You need to let me dress you."

She kicks out again, turning her head from side to side. "Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh."

"Yes, yes, yes," he returns firmly. "We have to go meet Mommy, okay? So we can get your picture taken with Santa."

Abigail starts to whimper, then her face scrunches up and turns red, and Logan winces as she lets out a loud wail.

"Hey, sweetie…" He leans down, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers—something that usually serves to calm her down, but this time it only makes her cry louder and harder. "Come on, don't cry."

She turns her mouth toward his hand, her eyes damp and red, then reaches for it with both hands. She pulls his fingers to her mouth and sucks on his knuckle, clamping her gums around it. He looks down at her in bewilderment for a moment, before he remembers Veronica mentioning that Abi's been having a rough time with teething the last few days.

"I know," he murmurs softly. "I know it hurts, sweetheart, but Daddy needs his fingers back, okay? So he can finish getting you dressed."

He tries to pry his hand from her grasp, but she starts crying again as soon as he pulls it away. Giving a sigh of frustration, he glances around the room, looking for something else she can chew on instead. He spots a teething ring on the chest of drawers and reaches for it, holding it out to Abi. She curls her fingers around it tightly and brings it to her mouth, biting down on it. It seems to placate her for a few seconds, but then her whimpers start up again, and she looks up at him in discomfort.

"Sorry, baby, this is the best I can do right now," he apologises gently. "If you let me finish getting you dressed, we'll get you a nice cold one from the freezer, okay?"

It takes a few more minutes—Abi only slightly more cooperative now—but finally, he gets the tights on and smooths the red dress proclaiming 'Santa's Little Helper' down over them, and she's ready to go.

"Right then, baby girl," Logan says in satisfaction, lifting her up into his arms. "Let's finish getting ready and get out of here, okay?"

Carrying her down the hall and into the kitchen, he retrieves another teething ring from the freezer and sets her down in the baby walker for a few moments while he collects her baby bag and makes sure they have everything they need.

"Okay, let's go introduce you to Santa, Abs." He lifts her out of the walker and carries her out to the car.

When Logan arrives at the Mars Investigations offices twenty minutes later, Abi in his arms, Veronica is nowhere to be seen. Instead, they're greeted by a frazzled-looking Mac, who is typing furiously on the laptop before her. When she sees the two of them though, she stops, breaking out into a warm smile.

"Hey Logan," she greets, standing up and rounding the desk. She reaches out and tickles Abi's stomach. "Hi, Abigail."

When Abi just glares up at her with a frown, the teething ring held firmly in her mouth, Mac straightens and turns to Logan, eyebrows rising in question.

"Sorry. She's in bad mood today," he offers in explanation. "Teething."

"Ah." Mac nods in understanding. "Yeah, Veronica mentioned something about that."

"Speaking of," Logan changes the subject. "She not around? We're supposed to be taking Abi to the mall for Santa photos."

"Oh, she's helping Keith with a case. She said she'd be back in time to meet you."

"Guess I'm a bit early," he acknowledges.

"That's okay, make yourself comfortable," says Mac. "Can I get you a coffee?"

Logan eyes the barely-functioning coffee machine in the kitchen area dubiously. "Nah, I'm good, thanks."

"Well, at least let me take this little one off your hands for a few minutes." She nods towards Abi who has lost the glare and is staring up at her with wide eyes now.

"Sure." Logan nods, handing her over and then taking a seat on the sofa along the wall, letting the baby bag slip from his shoulder. "I could do with a break."

Mac cradles Abi against her chest, rocking her gently when she starts to fuss, and eyes Logan curiously. "Enjoying being at home with the baby for a couple weeks?"

"Well, I haven't even made it through day one yet," he says with a raised eyebrow, "so ask me again next week."

One good thing about being in the Navy, is the stand-down period they have over the holidays, where the entire base is closed and he gets to be a stay-at-home dad for two weeks.

"That bad, huh?"

"Actually, no," he admits. "It's great to be able to spend more time at home with Abi. It's just… I think I underestimated my ability to look after her by myself, and I'm starting to regret the decision to give Heather the time off."

"You'll get the hang of it," Mac says encouragingly. "Just takes a bit of practice."

Logan gives her a curious look. "Sounds like you're talking from experience."

"Maybe a little," she admits. "My cousin has a baby and a toddler, and I babysit now and then."

"Well, you're doing great right now," Logan acknowledges. "I've spent all day trying to get her to stop crying, but now that you're holding her, she's barely making a sound."

"Guess I just have the magic touch." Mac grins at him.

"Guess you do." Logan watches her with Abi for a moment, before he says, "Hey, you still joining us to see the Christmas lights tonight?"

"Sorry, I can't," she says, looking apologetic. "I have a date."

"You've met someone new?"

"Kinda." Mac smiles coyly. "I mean, we've been friends for a while, but we've gotten closer in the last few weeks."

"Yeah?" Logan smiles. "Will we get to meet him soon?"

She looks down at Abi for a second, before correcting, "Uh, her, actually."

Logan's brows rise in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah." She gives him a slightly amused smile. "You seem surprised."

"No, I… I mean, I just didn't know you were into women."

Her smile widens. "Men, women, non-binary… I don't discriminate."

"Well, okay then." Logan nods in acceptance, giving her an accepting smile.

Admittedly, he's a little surprised, but then again, it kind of makes sense. After all, Mac has never been one to conform to societal norms, and really, why should her sexual preferences be any different?

The bell above the front door sounds then, and Veronica comes bustling through, messenger bag slung across her body.

"I'm late, I know," she says, her back to them as she tugs the bag over her head and drops it to the floor, "I'm sorry, I got caught up. Just don't tell Logan that—"

"Don't tell me what?" he interrupts, standing up and suppressing a smirk as she spins around, startled, pulling her sunglasses from her eyes.

"Oh, you're here!" she exclaims in surprise, her gaze flitting between him by the couch and Abigail in Mac's arms.

She crosses the room, rising up to give him a peck on the lips, then avoiding his eyes as she takes Abi from Mac and showers her with kisses.

"Hi, sweetie," she coos, fawning over the baby. "Have you had a good time with Daddy today?"

Logan raises his eyebrows, exchanging an amused look with Mac, before turning back to his wife again. "Don't tell me what, Veronica?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Logan," she says airily, keeping her attention fixed on Abigail, who is making happy gurgling noises and grabbing at Veronica's hair. "We should get going if we wanna beat the rush hour traffic."

Logan narrows his eyes, both at Veronica's blatant subject change and also at the fact that it's just typical that Abi's bad mood has disappeared completely now that Veronica's here.

"Okay, you wanna go into avoidance mode, fine," he says with a shrug, grabbing the baby bag from the couch and slinging it over his shoulder. "But this conversation isn't over."

"Remind me again why I thought this was a good idea," mutters Veronica, glancing around at the crowd of parents and noisy kids surrounding them in the long line for Santa. "We're gonna be here forever."

"Well, we did leave it 'til a bit late," Logan says, shifting a restless Abi in his arms. "Christmas is only four days away."

"It's been a busy month," she defends, feeling a little guilty about the fact that it's been mostly her fault.

She doesn't know what it is about the run-up to Christmas, but it seems to bring out the paranoia in her clients, which means she's been inundated with cases in the last few weeks, from suspected infidelity, to money laundering, and even to parental rivalry over gift-giving.

"I know." Logan nods, rocking the baby against his chest, shushing her when she starts to fuss.

"You want me to take her for a while?" Veronica offers, pushing the stroller as the line inches forward.

"Sure, if you think it'll help."

Logan hands Abi over to her and Veronica looks down at her daughter with a smile. "Now, what's all this fussing about, huh? You're about to meet Santa for the first time; you're supposed to be excited."

Beside her, Logan snorts out a chuckle. "Yeah, if she wasn't teething, and stuck in a hot, sweaty mall, surrounded by screaming kids."

"Shh, you." Veronica sends him an admonishing look, then turns her attention back to Abi. "How about we take a little walk? Have a change of scenery?" To Logan, she says, "We'll be back soon."

Logan gives a put-upon sigh. "Guess I'll just be here, just waiting in line."

"Thanks, sweetie." Veronica kisses his cheek, before turning and heading away from the crowd with Abi.

Okay, so ten minutes of trying to keep Abigail occupied by pointing out everything she sees in the mall doesn't really help anything, but at least it's ten minutes of not being stuck in that excruciatingly slow-moving line. By the time she gets back to Logan, he looks like he's about to blow a fuse, his jaw clenching with annoyance at the sheer number of people here. He's made pretty decent headway towards the front of the line, though, and it only takes another few minutes before it's finally their turn.

Of course, it turns out that the long line is only the beginning of the ordeal. Abi starts crying again as soon as Veronica settles her in Santa's lap and it takes a lot of distractions of cuddly toys and games of peek-a-boo to get her to calm down enough for the photographer to take a decent picture. Once the photos of just Abi are done, the photographer takes a couple of the whole family, and finally, they're done and they can get out of there.

"Remind me never to leave the Santa photos for this late again," says Veronica as she fastens Abi into her car seat and then climbs into the passenger side of the car.

"I second that."

Late December 2020 - Christmas Day

Eight Months Old

Veronica enters the dimly-lit living room, only illuminated by the twinkling, coloured lights of the Christmas Tree, and sinks down onto the couch beside Logan. With a warm smile, he lifts his arm in invitation, and she curls against his side, bringing her feet up under her.

"Is the little madam asleep?" he asks softly, as a smooth, instrumental Christmas carol plays through his iPod speakers.

"Finally," she murmurs, resting her head against his shoulder. "She was so hyped up, though. Too much stimulation."

"Well, first Christmases can be overwhelming," he says reasonably, "especially when you're eight months old."

"Uh, huh...and not just at eight months," she agrees, "Baby's First Christmas is pretty overwhelming at thirty-three as well."

As relieved as she is to finally be able to sit down for some peace and quiet, she can't help but feel a little sad that the day is over. It was so cool to see Abigail experiencing the holidays for the first time, from hanging her first ornament on the tree and watching her fascination with the sparkling lights, to putting together her first stocking and leaving it out for Santa along with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies, to dressing her in a brand new pair of Christmas pyjamas with tiny snowmen printed all over them, and even to letting her try some Christmas finger food at dinner.

They've spent the day establishing their own family Christmas traditions, ones that they can continue and expand on each year as Abi grows up, and it's been so satisfying… and a lot less terrifying than she once imagined that kind of intimate level of domesticity might be.

"It was a good Christmas, though, right?" asks Logan then, pulling her from her reverie.

"Definitely." Veronica reaches for his hand, entwining their fingers. "Much better than last year."

"Ah, yes, the hospital emergency that turned out to just be early Braxton-Hicks."

"God, I was so scared that, after everything, we'd lose her," Veronica admits, shuddering at the memory.

"I know." Logan kisses the top of her head. "I was, too. But we didn't, and now we have the most beautiful, perfect little girl in the world."

"Yes, we do." Veronica smiles, her heart swelling, both at his words and at the thought of her baby, sleeping peacefully just down the hallway.

Logan kisses her crown again, his arm tightening around her, and Veronica takes the hint, sitting up and turning towards him so she can kiss him properly. Her fingers slip from his and she brings her hand to his face, cupping his jaw with her palm.

"I love you," she whispers when they part.

"Love you, too," he whispers back, his lips widening into an affectionate grin.

Veronica leans in for another kiss, and as it deepens, she moves to straddle his lap.

"So now that we're finally alone," she murmurs, "what do you say to some Christmas celebrating of our own?"

"I say that's an excellent idea," he replies with a twinkle in his eye. "Bedroom?"

"Actually…" Veronica slides her arms around his neck, "I was thinking maybe we could do our celebrating right here."

"Yeah?" he questions. "You don't want to make the most of our big, comfortable bed?"

"While I can't deny the appeal of the bedroom," she admits, "don't you think that making love under the tree lights, with Christmas carols playing in the background, is pretty damn romantic?"

He raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "You? Romantic? Have I stepped into an alternate dimension or something?"

Veronica makes a show of rolling her eyes, though a smile plays on her lips. "Oh, just shut up and kiss me."

Logan gives her a smouldering look. "I'm gonna do a hell of a lot more than kiss you."

"You'd better."

They kiss once more, Logan's hands coming to her hips, then sliding down to her bottom as he lifts her up and then twists, lowering her down onto the couch.

He settles over her, then takes a moment to gaze into her eyes, making her heart skip a beat, as he says, "Merry Christmas, Mars."

Veronica smiles widely. "Merry Christmas, Echolls."