It was the distant sound of the phone that first made him alert of his surroundings. The world began to come into a foggy haze as he slowly opened his eyes. He heard it again, a little louder this time, as his brain began to focus on reality. There was some noisy fumbling and then the voice.

"Hello?" It was groggy and deep with the leftover of sleep. He felt everything in his body begin to warm. He looked to the side and saw her lying there beside him; her bare shoulders exposed, and the warmth of her skin warming him.

"Mac?" Suddenly, she was up against the headboard, the comforter held up to her chin by her spare hand.

"I didn't expect you so early. No, no of course it's alright, I just wasn't awake and you startled me. No, fine. I'll start making breakfast. Ok. Ok, bye." She hung up the phone and simply sat as he watched her, remembering the night before.

Images of passion rushed through his mind. He smiled, knowing that it was a moment he'd carry with him forever.

"Veronica." He said, for lack of anything else to say. He was desperately hoping that it would break the silence she was keeping.

"This was a mistake. It was all a big mistake. I shouldn't have let it get this far. You… you're going to get married and I… I have this business and we… we're friends. We're best friends. This can't… it won't happen again. I'm sorry."

She began to get up as she wrapped herself in the blanket. She walked out into the cool hallway. He rushed up, grabbing a blanket to wrap around himself as well, and went after her.

"No, don't do this. You know just as much as I do that we both wanted each other last night. That we both have been holding back years of passion, hiding behind our friendship. Roonie, we love each other…."

"It's too late for us." She closed the door of the bathroom and he stood still, watching as it closed before him. He wouldn't let her ruin this for him. This was the moment he'd waited for since senior year of high school. They had been doing a dance, flirting with their feelings for so long, knowing that one day it would explode into this. Unfortunately, their timing was not that great.

He threw on some sweat pants and headed downstairs. He washed his hands and pulled out the waffle maker. He would start breakfast until Mac got there. He thought about the day before, about his confession. About how he felt when she looked at him, her face in awe and then they kissed. It was like magic, with the snow falling on top of them, as the holiday lights decorated the areas around them.

He started to put together the mix, feeling the cold linoleum against his toes. He shivered, realizing he didn't have on a shirt, and headed for the thermostat. He felt so at home here, more so than he had in years. Not since Neptune had he felt that way. It seemed like it was true, what people said: Home is where the heart is. He'd left his heart with Veronica so long ago. He smiled, enjoying the thought of the whole gang together again. He really couldn't wait.

She turned off the hot water and began to dry herself off with the towel. Her heart was feeling heavy in her chest. What had she done? Slept with another woman's man? Then again, he was HER man first.

"STOP IT." She willed herself, but couldn't help the jealousy that had begun to penetrate her system. After all, she and Logan had shared everything. He had been her first in all ways, emotionally and physically and she had been his. Even after, they managed to reclaim their friendship and had been the best of friends ever since.

Not without their share of flirting and games. She stepped out of the bathroom and into her room as she heard the pipes start to work. He must've turned on the heat. She smiled, suddenly realizing that she was already getting used to having someone there with her. Not just someone… but him.

She couldn't. He wouldn't be there for much longer and getting her hopes all up would only disappoint her. Then again… he'd just admitted he loved her. Where did that put them?

She threw on a pair of her comfy, worn-in jeans and her favorite sweater, the one with Rudolph on it; the one Logan had given her for Christmas her first year of college. She always loved to wear it, because the little red cottonball that stuck out of Rudolph's nose was extremely fun to play with.

She laughed at herself, realizing how ridiculous she sounded and combed out the tangles in her wet hair. She put on a pair of warm socks and headed out the door, just as Logan was making his way into his room. She stopped for a moment, wondering if he'd seen her because he didn't say anything. Then again, with the way she'd reacted, she wouldn't be surprised if he was hurt and angry at her.

What kind of woman lets a man open up his heart, then turned him down? She had always suspected there was something more between them, but she would never have said anything. For fear that she would lose him completely.

She made her way down the stairs and took a deep breath to take in the scent of the cinnamon and pine cone reefs she'd made and put over the fireplace. Then she noticed another smell; the aroma of sweet butter and Belgian Waffles. She went into the kitchen and smiled as she saw the stack of waffles on the serving plate, and the pure maple syrup on the table. She took out some sausage links and threw them on the griddle.

She looked around and decided she wanted to change the centerpieces. She headed toward the backroom and pulled out the baskets she'd bought and the pine cones she'd been collecting throughout the fall. She placed a basket on each table, and filled it with pine cones, fall leaves and in the center she placed cinnamon and vanilla scented candles. Once they were all set, she lit the candles, and waited a few moments to take in the smell. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pleased at the results.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, startling her out of her reverie. She heard the sizzling on the griddle, and ran to remove them. She placed them on a separate serving plate. The doorbell rang again and she scrambled to put the plates on the table. Before she could reach the door, the doorbell stopped and there was a loud shriek. Mac had arrived.

"OH MY GOD! Look at you! You… you look great. Jesus Christ, when did you get so frickin' sexy. You're lucky you're not my type." She stood at the kitchen entrance and watched as Mac draped her arms over a sharply dressed Logan Echolls.

He had showered and washed his hair, which was slicked back. He had cleaned up a bit, so it was less shaggy man and more stubbly and sexy. He'd thrown on a turtleneck and sweater. He had on a pair of sexy dark blue jeans to complete the outfit. She smiled, liking the way they hugged his butt.

She shook her head and laughed at herself. How completely ridiculous! She looked at Mac, who was wearing a sweater and a pencil skirt with boots. Her pea coat lay against her body fitted, and she had a colorful scarf wrapped around her neck that matched her winter hat. She looked absolutely adorable. They all made quite a picture.

"Mac, it's great to see you." Logan pulled her away from him and spun her around, taking her in. "You look great."

"Thank you, thank you." She smirked and looked past his shoulders to see Veronica standing in the doorway with a silly grin on her face.

"VERONICA!"

"Mac." She smiled widely, truly feeling happy to see her friend again. Mac ran over to her and took her in for a huge hug.

"Sweetie, you look beautiful. Except for that sweater… you know how I feel about it."

"Yes, you've told me. It looks like it belongs to an eight year old."

"Hey, hey, I gave her that sweater."

"Right… well, if I recall, you were never much of a fashionista, so I wouldn't want Veronica wearing it." She smirked, and they all laughed knowing just how true it was.

"Where are your bags?" Veronica asked as she looked around the front door and didn't see anything.

"Oh… they're in the car. Along with everything I brought."

"What'd you bring?" Mac looked around and nodded her head as if confirming a mental thought.

"You don't have a tree Veronica."

"Oh… well, I was going to get one."

"When? Huh? Next Christmas?"

"I brought one. It's on top of the car." Mac smiled as she crossed her arms across her chest. Veronica ran over to the door incredulously. "I'm going to need Logan to bring it in, because I definitely can't in these boots. I also have a box of decorations in the trunk.

"We can start right after breakfast." Veronica laughed and shook her head. If she didn't know any better, Mac might have seemed to be spending time with Trina. Trina had always been infamous for her over the top Christmas antics. Then again… Trina had yet to arrive.

"Ok, I'm going to close the door because it's freezing." Logan smiled as he closed the door and Veronica lead Mac into the kitchen.

"Mmmm… it smells so good in here."

"Logan made breakfast."

"Woah, and he can cook!" He laughed as he appeared at the doorframe. Veronica looked at him, loving his comfortable easy going expression. She felt her heart tug at her. What was she going to do? Would she tell him how she felt? What could they do with him all the way in Neptune and with her here? In Newport? She couldn't give everything up, not after all the work she'd put into it. She felt her heart drop. Perhaps, they would be right where they started; knowing that only friendship was the right choice.