Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.
Seven:
Cassidy is sitting on the couch, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Will is gone; he left five minutes ago. He hears a key in the door, and looks up. He's off of the couch in a second as Mac steps into the apartment. Dick is right behind her, with a large box in his straining arms.
Cassidy gathers Mac in his arms and holds her close, kissing her temple, and asking if she's all right. She gives him a strange look and shrugs, not really too keen on rehashing the little chat with her mom. He reluctantly lets her go when she begins to pull back from his embrace.
"I'm fine, Cass," she replies.
"I know Dick had to carry you to the car Cindy. So just tell me what happened, please?"
"Her mom went ape shit when she realized who I was and thought Mac was moving in with me, I-tunes got upset and so I carried her to the car, because seriously, the stressing couldn't have been good for the bun."
"Will you quit calling the baby a damn bun already?!" Mac snaps impatiently and then she looks at Cassidy and asks, "And how do you know that?"
He winces. "Because your mom called, and I think she's on her way. She's pissed, and she probably wants to hammer my ass to the wall. She thinks I'm your cover so you can move in with Dick. Man, just wait until she finds out about the baby."
"Dude, you're really going to tell her about the baby? I mean, that's kind of asking for trouble, bro," Dick says.
Mac rolls her eyes. "We'll have to tell her eventually. She's my mom, and it's not like I could keep this a secret once I really start to show."
"See, this is why I'm a firm supporter of the condom industry," Dick says as he sets the box down on the floor and he snorts when he's on the receiving end of two death glares.
"Condoms were kind of involved Dick," Cassidy bites out and then he's massaging his temple and trying to think as he looks at Mac. "So what's the game plan when your mom gets here? Do you want to tell her about the baby? How do you explain me? I mean, do we set her up with the truth, or am I your new boyfriend who can deal with raising some crazy dead guy's baby?"
He is stunned when Mac's hand comes flying out of nowhere and lands smartly across his cheek. Even Dick winces, because it's a pretty hard lick, and he feels for his little brother. Mac's nostrils are flaring, and her eyes are narrowed as she hisses, "Don't you EVER refer to our baby like that again, or yourself for that matter Cassidy. You are more than that! Do you understand me, and you will not be having any fucking pity parties or woe is me bullshit, especially not when the baby comes, are we clear on that?"
"Crystal," he replies, rubbing his stinging cheek, and he finds it ironic that he got the crap smacked out of him while she was defending him.
"I'm never pissing you off," Dick replies and rubs his own cheek in sympathy.
Mac rolls her eyes. "As far as my mom goes. We can tell her about the baby, but the less people that know who you really are Cass, the better. I don't want to lose you after everything, especially not with the baby."
He nods solemnly, and then Mac presses a light kiss across the cheek that she slapped moments before and says, "Right, now how about helping Dick bring my stuff in so I can get everything set up?"
It doesn't take long to unload the KIA. Soon Mac has her desktop computer set up in Cassidy's bedroom, on the desk where his laptop once resided, and his desk is also covered with various computer bits and pieces, and Mac's notebook computer is lying next to his on the bed. The box containing a sizable portion of her book collection is set down next to the desk where she will go through it and add it to Cassidy's bookshelves later on.
Dick and Cassidy are sitting down on the couch, sharing a couple of sodas when there is a sharp knock on the door and Mac is walking down the hall toward the door; Cassidy finds himself by her side as she pulls open the door and faces her somewhat angry mother.
"Hi, mom," Mac says, but her mother's mouth falls open as she lays eyes on the boy standing next to her daughter.
"You… She went to your funeral. You're supposed to be dead. Why can't you just leave my baby alone?" she says in disbelief and then turns to look at her daughter, her expression begging for some kind of explanation as she steps into the apartment and the door is closed behind her.
"Mom, this is Cass Banks. He's not who you think he is, okay. He's the guy responsible for me having a high paying job, and I'm kind of dating him," Mac replies.
Her mother takes in a slow, deep breath as she narrows her eyes suspiciously on the boy. "Okay, how is he responsible for your job, how old is he, and why haven't I heard of him up until now, and have you been staying here the whole last two weeks? What happened to staying with Veronica? And why would he be concerned about fainting spells?"
Before Mac can respond Cassidy jumps in. "I'm going to be eighteen next year, and I own the majority stock in the company that Mac is working for, the Phoenix Land Trust. My mom signed them over to me when she brought me to Neptune. Appeasing a guilty conscience or something like that. Look, Mrs. Mackenzie, I really care about your daughter."
"That's not what I was asking," her mother snaps.
"Mom, I was staying here the whole time. I kind of fainted on Cass the day we met and I ended up staying the night…" Mac pauses when she realizes how that sounds.
"I slept on the couch," Cassidy adds quickly.
"Get to the part about why you're fainting."
"Dude, just tell her about the bun already!" Dick calls from the couch, and Mac and Cassidy fix him with a glare before Mac faces her mother with a guilty expression and Cassidy is a fierce shade of red.
"Bun?" Mrs. Mackenzie asks and looks in confusion at her daughter, before realization slowly dawns. "No, Cindy. Please don't tell me."
"Mom, I'm sorry."
"How long?" her mother asks.
"Three months. It was graduation night."
"Do I even need to ask who the father is?" her mother asks.
Cassidy puts his arm around Mac's shoulder and looks her mother in the eye as he says, "I am. I want to be there for Cindy and the baby, and it's not like we'll have to worry about money."
"You're still in high school and I'm not buying for a second that you are who you say you are. I might be blonde but I wasn't born yesterday. Either you're lying about being the baby's father or you're Cassidy Casablancas, and my money is on you being a Casablancas."
"Mom," Mac says and her tone is pleading.
"No. I can't allow you to stay here with him, especially not with a baby! You do remember what happened? He left you in a room, took all of your clothes, and wait, honey did he rape you?"
Mac's mouth falls open and Cassidy's fists clench at his sides.
"I took her clothes to keep her from coming after me because I knew it was going to get bad up on the roof, okay? As for ra… I wouldn't do that to Cindy," he says, and there are tears in his eyes as he remembers that night with Veronica at Shelley Pomroy's party and guilt weighs into him.
"How can you justify humiliating my daughter, blowing up a bus full of kids and a plane? How can you convince me that you deserve the opportunity to mess up my daughter's life anymore than you already have, not to mention what damage you could do to my future grandchild?"
He swallows thickly. "The bus was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but I wouldn't take back Woody Goodman dying in that plane. I feel bad about the other people on that plane, but he had it coming. You don't know how bad he deserved it. I'm not justifying any of it. I know what I've done, and I live with it everyday. I love your daughter, and I love that piece of me and her growing inside of her. I can provide for them, and I swear to you, that what happened to me will never happen to my child. Count on that. There won't be someone like Woody Goodman touching my kid. I'll kill the son of a bitch first."
Hearing the conviction in the boy's voice, Natalie Mackenzie knows that he means business and she watches as the boy's arms wrap around her daughter, and his large hands cover her stomach protectively. He leans in and presses a kiss to her daughter's cheek and she watches as Mac relaxes in his arms, and it kills her that her daughter would choose this, but the boy does care, and she can't deny it.
"Fine, but if you ever hurt my daughter I won't stop until you get what you deserve. You better see that she and the baby are taken care of. I will be checking in Cassidy. You say you wouldn't let anyone hurt your child, I'm banking on that, and you keep this is mind, I won't let anyone hurt mine either," she replies, and then she turns back to the door, tears brimming in her eyes as she opens it, because she realizes that she's just let go of her baby girl, and it hurts because she knows this is probably the only dumb thing her genius daughter has ever done, and it kills her to think that it might be the one thing that destroys her daughter, and she's helpless to really stop it.
She closes the door behind her and she's in a daze when she finds herself sitting in her car in the parking garage of the apartment building. She grips the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white from the force of her grip as the tears slip down her face, and then she gives into the sobs that come tearing out of her throat. She knew letting go wouldn't be easy, but this is destroying her.
Her precious baby has grown up, and is about to have a baby with a rich boy still in high school who has gotten away with murder literally, and she can't help wondering if this is right. Her mind races back in time to over fourteen years earlier when she was informed that Cindy wasn't really her daughter, but the daughter of the Sinclairs. She'd fought for her daughter then, but how can she fight now if this is what her daughter wants?
She is slowly gaining control over her emotions as she comes to the conclusion that she will just have to trust in Cindy's judgment, because Cindy has never trusted lightly, and should things not work out she will be there for her daughter and the baby. She really hopes things work out for once though, because with the way her daughter responds to Cassidy Casablancas, and with the way the boy looks at Cindy, her daughter's happiness almost seems to depend on things working out.
"So are we ordering out for pizza?" Dick asks once Mac's mom leaves.
"You would think of food at a time like this! Dick! This is serious! Take your head out of your ass for once!" Cassidy snaps in impatience as he begins to pace, his tongue frantically working across his lips for a moment.
"He has a point. Food would be nice about now," Mac pipes up and Cassidy looks at her with a dazed expression on his face.
"Did you just take up for Dick?"
Dick is grinning. "Dude, your girlfriend totally took up for me! That's like cool as shit man!"
"No, but I am pregnant and I am hungry," Mac replies, and Dick gives her a playful hurt expression that makes her smile, and then he smirks and gives her a thumbs up before he reaches for the phone and dials the number of the pizza place.
Mac sighs as she settles down in the bed and Cassidy's arms drift around her and she shifts so that they are closer and her hand is on his bare chest, her head resting against his shoulder, and his hand is playing with a strand of her dark hair.
He breaks the silence. "You know it's really cool that your mom cares so much about you. Hell my parents hardly knew I existed back when I was supposed to be alive. It probably came as a real shock to my mom when I made the evening news as a suicidal mass murderer."
"Stop it," she says softly, as she looks up at him, her blue eyes meeting his steady brown gaze.
"I'm just saying you have really great parents. They actually care about you, and know you exist. That's more than I've ever had. My only real family before I had you was Dick. Now that's saying something, especially since I act more like an adult than he does."
"A two year old acts more like an adult than Dick does," Mac replies. "And she's always been there for me, even though she doesn't get me at all. I mean I've never really fit in with my family, but that doesn't keep them from caring for me, and that's what counts I guess, that they care no matter what, especially since I'm not really their daughter."
He shifts with Mac and moves against the headboard of the bed so that they're sitting up. "What? Cindy, what are you talking about? Of course you're their daughter. Why wouldn't you be?"
"It's nothing, just… I'm not really a Mackenzie. I always suspected that I was adopted so I had Veronica do some digging, and she found out some things. I could have been an 09er, Cassidy. I could have taken trips to France, Italy, seen the Eiffel Tower or the Sistine Chapel…"
"You're joking right?" he asks, a chuckle edging his voice until he realizes that she is being absolutely serious. "Okay, so what exactly did Veronica find out? You weren't supposed to be like Madison Sinclair or Shelley Pomroy, right?"
At her expression his eyes widen and he lets out a small breath. "Shit."
"I was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair. I was supposed to be Madison Sinclair and she was supposed to be Cindy Mackenzie. I kind of like how my life turned out though. I mean I've met my real mom and I have this really sweet little sister, but I'd still choose my parents. They cared enough to keep me even though they don't get me, and they still love me."
"Wow," Cassidy replies. "I'm kind of glad you're Cindy Mackenzie. I love you just the way you are. Shit, Dick dated Madison, and… Well, Dick dated Madison. That's just… I mean that could have been you. Oh God, I'm stopping right there."
"See, it's better this way, because I'm right here where I need to be, with you," she whispers and leans up until her mouth is pressed against his.
It doesn't take long for the kiss to move onto something more. She trails kisses down his throat, nibbles on his nipples, and then licks her way down his torso until she is pulling his boxers down, and their gazes lock. His tongue sweeps across his lips as he watches her.
He's hard and he shivers as she takes him in her hand, and she flickers her tongue across the tip of him in curiosity, and his dark eyes flutter shut as his head falls back and a moan escapes his throat. His eyes fly open in surprise and he's looking down at her in shock as her mouth covers him, and she shifts down. He winces at the feel of her teeth on his tender flesh.
"Teeth, watch the teeth," he hisses, and soon she has the hang of it.
He can feel the pressure building, and suddenly his fingers are threading into her hair and he's pulling her back and she looks up at him in surprise, and he notices the hurt in her eyes as she says, "Am I doing it wrong?"
He shakes his head and smiles down at her. "No, you're perfect. I just want to be inside of you when I come."
He sits up, reaches for the bottom of her gray tank top, pulls it over her head, and his lips meet hers briefly before he kisses a warm trail down her throat, sucking gently at the sensitive flesh over the hollow of her throat. He smiles against her skin as she gasps, and his hands are on her breasts, kneading and massaging them until he takes first one and then the other in his mouth, lavishing them with equal attention, and he moves further down, his tongue dipping within her naval, and he grins as she squirms.
She lies back on the bed as he pulls her pajama bottoms and panties down her legs, and then he slowly makes his way back up to her. He pauses when he reaches the juncture between her legs, and dips his head down for a taste. She moans and writhes beneath him, and the sounds escaping her throat sends a spark of lightening shooting up his spine, and soon he's worked his way back up her body, and his lips crash down on hers, and he's catching her moans in his mouth as he enters her.
She arches up against his body, meeting him thrust for thrust. His hand settles between them, adding to the friction, and soon the tension building within her snaps and releases, and she's trembling beneath him, and his back arches as his body gives in, and he's filling her.
He's careful as he shifts so that he lands beside her on the bed, and then he pulls her close against him, pushing sweaty strands of her dark hair from her face, and pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, and his hand settles on the small bump that is her growing belly. He then shifts and places a kiss on her swelling tummy and he can't resist the urge to talk to the baby growing within her.
"Hey," he whispers and his breath tickles against her sensitive skin. "You have the most incredible woman in the world for a mom. She's brilliant and sexy, and she's definitely smarter than me. I'm sure she'll tell you all about that soon. You're such a lucky kid, and when you decide to finally show up in the world, you have Mommy and Daddy's permission to kick your Uncle Dick in the shin whenever he calls you a bun."
Mac chuckles and adds, "And feel free to pee on him whenever you want."
She smiles as Cassidy presses another kiss to her tummy, and she's breathless as he looks up at her, and his dark eyes sparkle with joy, peace, life. She runs a hand through his dark hair and she notices the blue highlights, and decides that she'll put a little life back into her own hair tomorrow.
She is soon swept up into a tender kiss that tells her all she needs to know about how he feels for her.
He shifts and draws her against him, her head rests on his shoulder as he uses his free hand to pull the covers over the both of them, and soon she's dozing off in his arms. Cassidy is looking down at her when he finally begins to drift off into dreams of a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes running around in the backyard of the Casablancas mansion with Mac running after him, while he sits on a lounge chair with a little girl with light brown hair, and dark brown eyes staring back at him as Dick tries to get his attention, and a smile forms on his lips as he realizes that the life he's always wanted is within his grasp for once and it makes his heart skip a beat, because he's almost afraid to hope for it, but with Mac by his side, fears be damned, he will hope.
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