Well, here's the next installment to my creation! Now that LoVe is back together the real drama can start. I warn you now, I pretty much think I'm evil =).
I'm not going to do individual reviews this time but I wanted to thank you all as usual. Your encouragement and feedback keep me motivated enough to keep writing. Please let me know how you feel about the juiciness in this chapter.
It was one week. One blissful week. No drama. No fighting. No interferences. One week of movie nights, dinners, board games with Mac and Dick (who seemed to be hanging out more and more), video games versus the boys and sleepovers at the Grand. Out of the week, I had spent five nights at the Grand with Logan. Five nights of cuddling and waking up in each others' arms. I had thought all those years ago about Heaven and if Lily was in it, but that was impossible now because I just got a taste of Heaven. Heaven here on Earth was now my life.
"Veronica, wake up," Logan shook me, interrupting my happy dreams; "We have to head to the doctor's."
Ah, yes, it was my five month check-up. Today we were learning the sex of the baby. With the way the first five months had flown by, it was scary to think how fast the last four would go. We still had a lot to do with the preparations. At least with knowing the sex we could start buying the necessities.
"Come on, lazy bones," Logan slapped my bed tenderly, "We're going to be late."
I dramatically threw the covers off my body and heaved my legs over the edge of the bed, "Alright, alright, I'm up. Jeeze, someone didn't get their caffeine this morning."
I walked towards the bathroom, shedding my night clothes as I walked.
"You know, we could save some time," He paused, his voice getting real low, "And shower together?"
I smiled, "Well I was hoping someone would lather up my back."
This was a normal morning for us. Logan was extremely attentive to my needs; all of my needs. We hadn't had sex yet, which was one of Logan's 'going slow' principles but we found other ways to satisfy each other. We had never had a very strong physical relationship. I like to think we were a deeper, stronger couple than that. We did however, love kissing each other. Every time we kissed, I felt like we were back in high school, barely able to keep our hands off of each other. It was nice to feel young again even though we had both grown up so much since those high school years. And in four months we'd have to grow up a whole lot more.
"We are officially late," Logan said pulling onto the PCH en route to the doctor's office.
I couldn't help but laugh at his new found attitude on time, "Well, just flash that charming smile and get us out of trouble. Be useful."
"Useful, huh?" He smiled back, laying his hand on my thigh, "I'll show you useful."
His hand slipped up my thigh farther. Tingles followed behind his soft touch. My body trembled. He went higher. I breathed out heavily and grabbed his wrist stopping him from going up any further.
"You are truly evil," I laved my fingers with his, restraining them from doing anymore damage.
Dr. Demerack's office was full of mommies-to-be. After the three other visits we had had to this office, the stares were becoming normal. We were always the youngest couple anxiously waiting to be called on. Today, however, was different. Two nervous teenagers sat nervously, hands intertwined, legs jiggling. All eyes were peering over magazines at them. I frowned.
"What's the matter, Veronica?" Logan whispered after we had signed in and sat, nestled in the corner.
I stuck out my bottom lip, "They're not watching us anymore."
He laughed, in disbelief, "You complained after every other appointment, vowing to expose their spouses as cheaters if they didn't stop staring. And now you miss it?"
"Hormones." I pointed down to my fast growing stomach, "And besides, we can handle the stares. We're used to people staring. That poor girl looks like she's going to puke all over herself."
"Nice mental image," Logan grimaced.
"Come on," I took his hand and pulled him towards the young couple, "We're sitting next to them."
Logan sat leaving a plastic chair between the couple and us, "To share in their limelight?"
I slapped his thigh and jumped to the other side of him, "Don't worry, not everyone is staring at you."
The girl nearly jumped out of her seat at my sudden whisper in her ear.
"They don't stop either," I informed her. She turned a few shades greener, "But you see the one in the argyle sweater? He goes to the Camelot twice a week with a cocktail waitress, and I use that term loosely, from the Seventh Veil, when his wife's ready to pop. And that woman over there, in the red sweater, she's getting her kicks from the gardener. That's how I get through my appointments."
She turned and smiled at me, returning to her regular shade. She rewrapped her fingers around her boyfriend's, scratch that husband's hand. Great, they were one up on us.
"Veronica," The nurse called, looking over her chart, annoyed at the fact that we got special treatment. It pays to get knocked up by a celebrity.
She led us first to the scale, recording my new weight on my chart. We then followed her through the mess of hallways leading to the exam rooms until she finally ushered us into one.
"How are you feeling? Any problems?" She asked, pressing her pen to the paper.
"I've been good," I watched her start scribbling. I was sure no one could read the handwriting. Bad handwriting seemed to be standard for doctor's offices worldwide, "The baby's been moving a lot. But other than that, everything's been going fine, I think."
She checked the routine things, scribbling each answer and number in my chart before leaving.
"Someone needs to get laid," Logan whispered, reaching up to grab my hand. We stayed like that, barely moving until Dr. Demerack waltzed into the room, smile plastered on.
"Hello, hello, Veronica," She practically sang, picking up my chart, "Logan. And how are we doing today?"
"Just peachy, Doc," Logan smiled, leaning back in his chair.
I didn't even know it was possible for her smile to get bigger, but it did, "Good to hear, Logan. How about you, Veronica? The baby's active I see."
"Other than that, I'm great now that the morning sickness is over." I tried to match her smile but my cheeks wouldn't allow it.
"That's great," She glanced down at the chart, "Well everything seems to be moving along nicely although, you not gaining as much weight as you should be."
"Are you kidding me?" I blurted, my eyes practically jumping out of my head, "Have you seen me? I'm getting huge!"
She nodded, "You're bigger than you're used to but your weight gain is proportionate to the weight of your baby. I can't be certain until we do the ultrasound, but it's going to be on the small side."
"Well, isn't the smaller the bed to get this thing out of there?" I pointed downward between my legs.
She laughed a light, airy laugh, "You'd think that, but just like you grow, the baby needs to grow to survive. Let's get this ultrasound up and running so we can take a look."
I nodded and automatically pulled my shirt up and the waistband of my pants down. I gripped the side of the table and Logan's hand in preparation for the cold gel.
"Is it possible to, like, heat that stuff up?" I asked just before she squirt the gel onto my flesh.
She laughed that same annoying laugh again, "That would mess with the machine. It's heat sensitive. That's why we need to put it on the cold surface."
Losing the battle, she squirt a circular pattern onto my stomach and began spreading it around with the transducer. Just like every other visit the picture became clear on the screen. The baby was now filling more and more of the empty space that had been there just last month.
"Everything looks as I predicted. It's a little on the smaller side but you still have about sixteen weeks left in your pregnancy," She spoke with her eyes on the screen, "Did you want to know the sex?"
Logan and I met each other eyes before turning our heads back to the monitor, "That would be great."
We both watched as she moved the picture by circling the transducer on different areas of my stomach, making sure to get every angle. She finally stopped when she had the best shot of the important part.
"It looks like you're having a little girl," She finally admitted pressing print on the machine. The black and white pictures slowly slipped through the slot.
A girl. A daughter. I hadn't really thought about what sex I'd prefer but this was perfect. It wasn't an it anymore but a her. My little girl.
"Well, keep doing what you're doing, Veronica, but please work some more calories in your diet," She handed me the stack of pictures, "If we don't fatten you up, I'm going to have to put you on bed rest and you don't want that."
"Don't worry, Doctor," Logan stood up, still clutching my hand, "If I have to shove more food down her throat, I will."
She laughed again but I barely heard her this time, "I'll see you both next month."
She ushered us out of her office. Passing the office's bathroom, I caught sight of my face in the mirror. My lips had learned to stretch farther than the enthusiastic OB/GYN but I didn't care to slap the smile off just yet. I was only able to think of my little girl. Logan crossed my line of vision for a second, earning a smiley shake of the head from him. And he earned a punch in the shoulder from me.
"Hey, hey," He roped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me tight against his body, "We have to keep up appearances. Save that for the celebration."
We made it through the waiting room and for once, I didn't care the other couples didn't bother me. I didn't care about their disapproving eyes and I cared even less about their cheating spouses. I was having a baby girl. We were having a baby girl.
"Why did we have to have a girl first?" Logan asked after we had settled in the Range Rover.
"First?" I questioned, "Are you implying we're having more?"
He shrugged, "But it would've have been better, easier, if we had a boy, ya know."
"No, I don't know," I clutched the sonogram pictures of my baby girl, "I'm perfectly happy with our daughter."
"Oh, no, no, no," He laid his hand lightly on my knee, reassuringly, "I'm perfectly happy as well. But I'm just picturing all the guys I'm going to have to fend off of her. If we had a boy first, he could fend the boys off for me."
"But," I quipped, "If we had a boy, we'd have to worry about which girls he was impregnating. I'm not looking for any teenage parenting."
"Too late," He squeezed my leg twice, actually laughing at our current situation.
"A girl will be easier to strap a chastity belt on." I looped my arm around his and tried my best to lean over the central console and onto his shoulder. Everything was perfect.
The Neptune Grand came into view and I unwrapped myself from Logan. He pulled into the parking garage. Within seconds a limousine cut us off. Logan slammed on the breaks, locking our seat belts. Boy was I sick of the 'life-saving' device. It I got another bruise I was going to take things up with whoever invented the belts. Yeah, without it I probably could've slammed my head on the dashboard from the force of the stop, but couldn't they invent ones with padding.
During my angry pondering I hadn't noticed that angry Logan had leaped from the car, and was currently giving the limo driver a piece of his mind. I unhooked my own belt and got out of the car before things went from bad to worse.
"Who the fuck taught you to drive, asshole?" Logan spat at the driver through the closed window, "My girlfriend's pregnant, shithead!"
"Logan," I pulled his arm back towards the car, "I'm okay. Let's go."
Logan kicked the door to the limo just as the back window rolled down, "Logan, park your car and then get in."
The oddly familiar voice sent shivers down my spine. I pulled Logan close to whisper to him, "This is not a good idea. Let's just go inside and call security."
"Mr. Kane?" Logan peered through the space the open window provided.
"Hurry up," He barked, "Time's running out."
Logan backed towards the car, leaving me next to the limo. Not even minding the painted lines of parking garage, he backed the Range Rover out of the way. Quickly he jumped out, locking the doors with his automatic remote. Within a second he was by my side. I reached for his hand, clutching it as if my life depended on it. And at this point it just might.
Logan opened the door to the limousine and waited for me to climb in in front of him. Cautiously I did, waiting to feel him right behind me. We sat on the bench opposite from Jake Kane. I studied the man, seeing features I swore resembled my own just a few short years ago. He looked older than the last time I had seen him. Worry was etched in the lines in his forehead. Something was terribly wrong.
"Hello, Logan, Veronica," Jake nodded to both of us, "I hope you're both well."
"Yeah, we're fine," Logan eyed him suspiciously, "What's going on, Mr. Kane?"
"There was a time," Jake started, staring off into the distance, "When I thought of the two of you as one of my own children. So much has happened in the past few years but I never thought things would get this bad. I don't have children anymore. Hell, I don't even have a wife."
I had barely computed the fact that Celeste had left him before something else came to mind, "Duncan. Is he okay?"
He nodded, "The last time I checked."
"Then what's going on, Mr. Kane?" Logan asked again with more urgency. Part of me didn't want to know and I was sure my knuckles were white as the clung to Logan.
He massaged his temples, "The Sorokins have put a hit on you, Veronica. They found out you stole my hard drive, Veronica. They know you know."
"What?" Logan looked to me for answers, "What do you know?"
"There's no point in involving you with this, Logan," Jake waved him off; "I needed to warn you. I couldn't have your blood on my hands."
I shook my head, "How did they find out? How!"
"I don't know," He hung his head in his hands, "One of my housekeepers, someone in the police station. Anyone who was involved at the time. I just don't know."
"I want to know everything!" Logan demanded, slamming a fist on the wall of the limo.
"I'll tell you later," I dismissed his temper tantrum, "What do we do?"
"We call Clarence Weidman."
Cue scary music and evil laughter now. Tell me how much you hate me!