A/N: Yay for all the MaDi love, and all the love for my MaDi fic :) Thanx so much for the reviews - you all rock! :)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 10
Mac felt sick, and not the usual nausea she was adjusting to that came as part of her pregnancy, not even the same feeling as when she woke up that morning, alone and hungover, with the realisation in her mind that she and Dick Casablancas had sex the night before. This wasn't even the same sick feeling as when she realised he had gotten her pregnant, when the bottom dropped out of her world and she wondered how she was ever going to deal. This was almost worse than all of that as she sat beside her one-time lover on the couch in her own living room, facing her parents who had just found out in the worst way possible, about her unplanned pregnancy.
"I can't believe this" Mr Mackenzie said for about the fourth time as he paced up and down, looking from his wife in the armchair over to his daughter and away again as he refused to stop moving, "I mean, when did you stop talking to us, Cindy?" he asked her, looking completely baffled, "We didn't even know you had a boyfriend!" he said, gesturing towards Dick who shifted awkwardly.
"I don't!" Mac insisted, immediately thinking that was probably the worst thing she could've said, despite the fact it was at least the truth.
"Cindy..." her mother shot her a warning look, though whether she was cautioning her daughter against further lies or prompting for an explanation, nobody was sure.
"Mom, I'm sorry" she said with an expression that proved she meant her apology, "I really am" she insisted as her eyes went to her father who had finally come to a halt, his arms folded across his chest as he stared down at her.
Mac wanted to explain, she really did. After all the time she had spent deciding how and when she was going to tell her parents the truth, she ought to be ready for this, but she was still struggling. Of course, she hadn't expected this to happen quite as it had, with Dick blurting out the truth in front of her mother like that. She would like to be mad at him, but she had to give him props for not bolting just as fast as he could from the scene. Besides, it was her own fault she hadn't told her parents about this sooner, she knew she really should've.
"Look, I know this is a shock for you, and believe me it was a shock for us too" she explained.
"Totally!" Dick chimed in, looking apologetic the moment Mac glared at him for interrupting her flow.
"I know this isn't an ideal situation" she went on, "and I know you probably think I'm pretty dumb right now..."
"That's just it, Cindy" her father interrupted this time, someone she was not prepared to stare down so she could finish, "You're not stupid. You're not one of these girls that dresses like a... like a lap dancer and throws herself at anybody in pants" he said, perhaps too loudly.
"You're a sensible girl, Cindy, you always have been" her mother continued, "We're just struggling to understand how this could've happened"
Mac opened her mouth to answer but the words stalled in her throat. She could explain, she really wanted to, but bringing up the topic she must venture into was not only going to embarrass her but also drag up memories from a year before that she'd rather not think about. Not only that, but Dick was sat right here beside her. She really wasn't sure he deserved to be so hurt by what she was going to have to say. Glancing sideways at him, she saw him nod his head, as if he knew what she was struggling with and was letting her know it was all okay. Maybe that wasn't what was happening here, but Mac went with it, because it was all she had right now.
"It was the anniversary of Cassidy's death" she blurted out, watching both her parents' faces fall as her Dad sunk down onto the arm of the chair beside her Mom, "I was upset and Dick was upset... I know that's not a good reason for what we did but it's what happened" she explained, never making eye contact with anyone in the room, for more than one reason.
"He was your brother" said Mrs Mackenzie suddenly, looking at Dick as realisation seemed to dawn.
The blond nodded dumbly, hating that he was having to fight with too many emotions right now. This night had been going so well, he had managed to make Mac laugh and look so happy and carefree for just a few hours. Because of his screw up, she was now as upset as ever and he was having to sit here facing her parents, thinking too much about his brother's death and all that had come after. Of course, this day had to come eventually, and the thought had occurred that maybe he would need to be here when it did, but he'd always kind of wished he wouldn't be, because of the very reasons that he was facing right now.
"Well" said Mr Mackenzie in the uncomfortable silence that followed, "I suppose what's done is done, and it can't be changed" he said evenly, and Mac was just glad he'd stopped yelling if she were honest.
"This happened... about two months ago?" her mother noted as she thought on things.
"Yes" Mac nodded, "I'm nine and a half weeks" she admitted.
"Okay" her Dad said thoughtfully, "Well, then, you do have options..."
"No, I really don't" his daughter told him fast as she suddenly got to her feet, "And if you think that I do, Dad, then you don't know me at all" she insisted with fire in her eyes as she stared across at him.
Sure, she was happy to listen to her parents on this. She understood they were confused, upset, disappointed, angry, and she couldn't really blame them for any of that. Still, if her father was about to start talking about abortion or adoption or anything other than her raising her own baby, Mac just wasn't prepared to listen. It hadn't taken much for Dick to realise she could never give up her child, and she had hoped that the people who had raised her all of her nineteen years would know her much better, well enough to realise there was no option but one in this situation.
"Cindy, sit down" her mother advised her, with a hand at her arm, but Mac shook her head.
"I can't" she said definitely, "I can't until I know that you understand" she said with a crack in her voice and tears in her eyes that she did her very best to fight.
To his credit, Dick noticed her distress, and was determined that since he was the major cause of it, he was going to ensure he helped her out. He stood up fast without really thinking about what he was going to say or do once he was there. Both Mac's parents shifted their gaze from their daughter to him and Dick swallowed hard, pushing his fringe out of his face as he fought for words to say.
"Look, I know you're all shocked and everything, which I totally get" he told them, "but I'm not gonna leave Mac to deal on her own, okay? We did the two to tango thing, and now we're dealing with the consequences" he said, all the time wondering if he was making this worse, at least until he felt Mac's fingers brush against his and then her whole hand slide into his own.
For a long moment that seemed to just go on and on, Mr and Mrs Mackenzie stared at Mac and Dick, neither apparently sure what to say next. It was admirable that this boy would stand by their daughter in such a situation, but by the same token he was also the one to get her into trouble.
"Er, Dick?" said Mr Mackenzie at length, "I think you should leave now..."
"Not gonna happen" the blond responded immediately, "I am not leaving Mac here alone if you're gonna, like, make her cry or tell her she's gotta get rid of our kid or whatever"
Mac could hardly believe that he was standing up for her like this, but she liked it. A smile came to her lips in spite of the seriousness of the situation, and her hand squeezed his a little tighter. To think he would stand up to her parents for her was kind of amazing, especially when she had just told them he was in no way her boyfriend, just a one night stand.
"What we say to our daughter is none of your concern, young man!" Mr Mackenzie snapped.
Though Mac was still entirely pleased that Dick would stand up for her, she could also see this situation getting really out of control. It was going to be hard enough figuring this out with her parents, if they started arguing with her non-boyfriend, well, she just couldn't deal, not on top of everything else.
"Please, don't" she urged them all to stop before they said anything they regretted later, or more over anything Mac herself would regret, "Dick, maybe you really should go" she said, looking his way, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do" she smiled, talking fast when she realised he was going to try and cut in, "but I need to talk to my parents alone. Please?"
Dick wanted to argue, he really did, but there seemed to be little or no point. Mac had that look on her face, a little too similar to Ronnie when she got what he called her 'game face' on. It was kinda scary and not of the good, so he figured maybe he really should leave. After all, he really wanted to start a fight with the Mackenzies and that was not going to help anybody.
"Okay" he agreed with a nod, though he was practically shooting lightening bolts from his eyes as he looked from Mr to Mrs Mackenzie and then turned to go, "Call me, babe" he told Mac as he finally let go of her hand, "Seriously, if you need me"
"I will" she agreed, "and thanks, for tonight" she said honestly.
There was a moment then as their eyes met that it was easy to forget what situation they were really in here. It was as if they just had a date at the movies that just ended a little awkwardly. Her being pregnant, his yelling at her parents just now, the fact they were first connected by a young man guilty of so much and now gone from the world. Everything faded away just for a few seconds, and it was the strangest feeling for Mac and Dick to experience. A million miles from the drunken passion and longing for something other than pain that they had shared one night nine and a half weeks ago. This was innocent, in the strangest way, and was all too soon over for the both of them.
Dick walked out the door alone, and Mac turned back to face her parents. She sank back down into the couch cushions and hung her head in the shame she knew she ought to feel. She had done wrong, she was aware of that, and her parents had every right to be disappointed and upset. Still, she was not going to be bullied, she was never doing to let that happen, even less so now. She had Dick's strength coupled with her own after the support he had shown her tonight. It wasn't until now that she had come to realise just how much that really meant.
"Hey, man" Logan was smiling widely as his friend walked back into their suite at the Grand, "How'd the date go?" he asked cheerfully, sure that Dick couldn't have screwed up a simple dinner date - the look on the blond's face suggested he was wrong.
"Dude, we were so busted!" sighed Dick as he dropped down onto the couch beside his friend, and Logan quickly shut off the TV, tossing the remote to one side, "And just when it was actually going okay"
"Busted?" Logan echoed the word with a frown, "By who? And for what?" he asked with genuine concern.
His mind went racing round a half dozen possibilities, but none seemed feasible. Dick wasn't the Dine and Dash type, and they couldn't have been caught for underage drinking or anything, not with Mac being so sensible, and pregnant too. Clearly whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"Mac's parents" Dick admitted with a heavy sigh, "for her being... y'know" he made a vague gesture like an oversized belly, apparently unable to say the word 'pregnant' right now, for whatever reason.
"Well, that had to be a fun conversation" said Logan, with no lack of sarcasm, knowing from what Dick had said that Mac was in no way ready to talk to the folks about her bun in the oven right now, "Who told them?" he asked then, a little confused since he was pretty sure that other than himself and Veronica, nobody knew about the child Dick and Mac had made except for themselves.
Of course, the way Dick wouldn't even look at him then gave his friend the answer loud and clear and Logan winced on Dick's behalf as he explained.
"It was like we had this great time" he told him, throwing his weight back into the couch cushions, "Mac wasn't so into dinner so we hit the movies... Dude, do not go see 'Space Race Time Twister' unless you want to laugh til you puke, because it is lame!" he declared, starting to laugh again at the memory, in spite of the serious conversation they were meant to be having here.
"Get to the point, Dick" Logan urged him when the blond veered severely off topic, a little mad on behalf of Mac and her parents given the blond's attitude right now.
"Okay, so, I walk Mac home" he continued to explain, with random hand gestures and such as was his over-the-top way, "and we've had like a stupidly good time. We get to her door and... and it's weird but I was seriously thinking about kissing her" he admitted, "Which is crazy, y'know? Not because it's Mac 'cause obviously been there before and 'woah!'" he said with a look that said it all, "but because I was actually thinking about it" he emphasised to make the point he wasn't sure Logan was getting.
"So, you thought" his friend echoed, "but you didn't do?"
"Nope" Dick shook his head, "I might've, 'cept the door opens and there's Mrs Mac going postal about Mac being late and all" he explained, "She accused her of being drunk. So I'm like 'Not going to let the pregnant lady drink, duh!'"
"And that's how they found out their precious baby girl is not just non-virginal but having a little Mac of her own" said Logan, partially face palming on his friend's behalf, "Nice going, Dick" he told him, slapping him on the shoulder, before getting to his feet and going for the mini-fridge to grab a couple of beers for them.
When he returned, he had to tap his friend on the shoulder with the bottle in order to get his attention. The poor guy had his face in hands and looked mortified by what he'd done when he did look up.
"Why do I always screw everything up?" he asked, presumably rhetorically, and Logan took it as such.
"Did she ask you to leave after that?" he wondered aloud as he resumed his place on the couch and swigged at his beer, whilst Dick only contemplated his at first - that was weird in and of itself.
"No" he shook his head, "Well, yeah, but... y'know it was kinda cool when we stood up to her father and all" he smiled then, looking surprisingly happy considering the circumstances, "There was no way he was gonna make Mac feel bad" he said definitely, gesturing perhaps a little too much with his full beer bottle before taking a drink.
Logan just sat watching his friend a moment, processing what he was seeing and hearing here. All roads seemed to lead to just one conclusion and yet it seemed so bizarre. Dick loved women, but only so far as to get into their underwear, as far as Logan could tell. He wasn't a bad guy, he took no for an answer if it was given, and just moved on to the next prospect, but he thought with his crotch more often than his brain or his heart, at least until now, it seemed.
"You really care about her" he said aloud then, not sure what response he might get.
Apparently neither confirmation or denial was coming, just a little surprise.
"Dude, she's having my kid!" gasped Dick, almost spitting a mouthful of beer all over the carpet, as he got up to head for his own room
Logan wasn't sure whether his laughing would only make things worse so he attempted a straight face and sipped at his own drink some more. He opened his mouth just as Dick reached his bedroom door to wish his buddy goodnight, but never got the chance as the blond spoke first.
"Hey" he said turning back a moment, "Maybe if you'd gotten Ronnie pregnant you guys would still be together" he considered.
It took a moment before Logan could find an answer to that one.
"Uh, I'm not sure that's how it works, Dick" he told him at length, a comment his friend just waved away, calling goodnight over his shoulder as he disappeared behind the bedroom door then.
Logan was still staring after him, even after he was gone from sight. Him and Veronica and a baby? It was a crazy thought, and yet he had considered it more than once. Months ago when they were happy together, when he started to let himself believe that happily ever after could actually be a reality for them somehow. Logan hadn't expected a smooth ride, but he had been invested in his idea that he and Veronica were epic, meant to be, despite every obstacle the world threw at them. Now that dream was a bitter memory, and it was Dick who seemed to be falling in love and potentially getting the family life he never really had before. Logan didn't want to be jealous, in a lot of ways he wasn't, but in one he just couldn't help himself. Dick had someone to love, someone to be with, albeit their relationship was far from conventional. Logan had let the love of his life slide through his fingers all too easily. Who was the bigger fool really?
To Be Continued...