A/N: Thank you so much for the continued reviewage - you're all awesome!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 13
Mac wasn't sure what to think when Dick suddenly bolted from the doctor's room. There was hope in her when his fingers had wrapped around her own, holding on tight, that he really was committed to being there for her and this child. It was comforting and sweet to know she wasn't alone, that he would stand up for her and not just bolt like a lot of guys might at the first sign of consequences, like she had really expected him to do from the beginning, truth be told. Now it seemed her fears might just be coming true as she watched him run out of the door, unable to follow him thanks to the doctor who held her still.
"It's okay, Cindy" Dr Devlin assured her, "You can find him in a moment. I think he's just gotten over-emotional" he smiled reassuringly, though Mac couldn't quite believe it.
She would like to believe that was all it was, that Dick had become as overwhelmed as she was feeling by the sight of the child that was growing inside her, their own baby. Unfortunately, the more likely option seemed to be that reality had hit home with rather more force than the young Mr Casablancas could handle, and he had run not just from the room, but from the building, and from Mac's life.
After assurances that everything with the baby was fine as far as the doctor could tell, plus a moment to clean up and re-dress properly, Mac ventured out into the corridor to look for Dick. She had half hoped he would be just outside the door, maybe back in the waiting area, and yet as she looked around Mac came up empty, finding no sign of the father of her child. Just when she started to feel disappointment bubble inside her, and tears well in her eyes, Mac turned the next corner and literally ran right into the guy she had been looking for.
"Hey" he greeted her with an obviously forced smile as he pushed a hand back through his hair, "Er, you done in there?" he asked, gesturing back down the hallway to Dr Devlin's office, apparently unwilling to talk about his running out on her just a few minutes before.
Mac couldn't just let it go. Up to now they had been avoiding the awkward subjects as much as possible, like his brother for instance, and how they were going to deal after this baby was actually born and needed to be raised. There was no getting around it anymore, they had to talk about why he had bolted and if he really could deal with this situation as well as it had seemed in the beginning.
"I think we need to talk, Dick" she said awkwardly, staring up at him and watching his eyes go a little wide, "Don't worry, the baby is fine" she insisted, assuming that was why he suddenly looked somehow panicked, "I just... I think we need to talk" she repeated, "You want pizza?" she offered, knowing that the answer was always yes, and so reeling back a little when he shrugged and didn't look so sure.
"Yeah, I guess so" he told her as they headed for the exit and over to the nearby pizza place to eat.
Both Mac and Dick had that sinking feeling - this was not going to be a fun conversation.
Veronica was happy to be home, at least for the most part. There were times when she hated Neptune and wished it would just fall down a hole, a la Sunnydale, never to be seen again. Still, it was home and had been for too long for her to be so callous about its demise anymore. There were enough people here that she cared deeply for, she was happy enough to come back to it these days. Seeing her Dad after too many weeks of absence was perhaps the best thing, for both of them, truth be told. Of course, there were reasons aplenty why getting away had been preferable too.
First up was Mac and Dick, and their little bundle of joy that had yet to be born. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid seeing her friends completely, especially Mac who she knew needed her support now more than ever. The trouble was, Veronica herself really didn't know how to deal. She only ever had one friend get pregnant before and that had been a very different situation. This was Mac, who was practically like a sister these days, perhaps as close as Lily had once been to her. Finding Miss Kane in this situation might have been easier, it was at least partially expected, though it never happened. With Mac, Veronica never thought she would hear the words 'I'm pregnant' out of her mouth, not for years and only then when her friend was happily settled and in love with some upstanding decent guy. Dick would never have been first choice, hell, he wouldn't even have made the list!
The fact that Mac said Dick was trying to do the right thing gave Veronica hope. She had even seen some evidence of his better behaviour when she was here before. It wasn't as if the two of them were likely to make a permanent couple, but any support Mac was getting was a good thing right now and Veronica was all for it. Things were only going to get more complicated as the Summer drew to close and school started up again. There was no way Mac was going to be comfortable attending college in her pregnant state, not when she would be showing by the time classes began again. It wasn't exactly practical either, when she wasn't going to be able to finish out the year before her child was born.
The other problem Veronica had with returning to Neptune was facing her own tangled love life. When she left for her internship, things were undefined at best. Technically speaking, she was dating Piz, and that ought to be all that mattered. She cared about him a lot, in fact Veronica was pretty sure she loved him in a strange way, but saying so didn't come as easy as maybe it should. Then there was Logan to consider. In some way, the young Mr Echolls had been a consideration in large parts of Veronica's life since the age of twelve, no reason for that to change now just because they were on one of the off periods of their on/off relationship.
Just a couple of weeks before she left Neptune, Veronica had categorically told Logan he was out of her life forever. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to cut a person out of your circle of friends, when they beat up the son of a mob boss for the sake of your honour!
The day she left, they said a friendly goodbye, a 'see you soon' kind of a thing complete with smile and wave. When she had come back to visit for Mac's sake, things had only been more awkward, but at least then Veronica knew she could bolt straight back to Virginia before things got to crazy. Now she was home for good, to face not just Logan but Piz as well. Her boyfriend was going to wonder why she didn't make more efforts to call him or visit over the Summer, when she could do so for Mac and he should wonder really.
Veronica felt guilty for thinking that Piz would forgive her anything because he was just that kind of guy and he cared for her that much, allowing her to get away with pretty much anything if she wanted to. It seemed wrong to even let the thought cross her mind of how easily he could be used, not least because she had wondered more than once if that was what she'd been doing with him from the very beginning.
Mac and Dick had been sat at a table in the pizza parlour for a while now and yet had not said a word to each other or anyone else, except for the waitress and that was only out of necessity. Food and drinks had been ordered and duly brought to the table, still neither half of this odd non-couple spoke at all. It was getting to Mac now, not least because she was worried by Dick's strange behaviour. The not talking she could deal with, maybe, if he was actually eating, but so far he had done little more than pick at the slices of pizza on the plate before him. When Dick wasn't totally up for eating junk food, there was definitely something very much wrong, as if she didn't already know that from the way he bolted out of the doctors office a while ago.
"Dick, we came here to talk" she sighed eventually, getting his attention, "and you're not saying anything"
"You said we should talk, not me" he told her definitely, contemplating a blob of tomato sauce on the end of his finger, as if it would give him divine inspiration of some kind.
"I kind of hoped you'd start" Mac prompted, "Explain the running out of the doctor's room maybe?" she suggested.
Dick's eyes caught hers for all of a second before he looked guiltily down at his uneaten food once again. He so didn't want to be here or anywhere actually where he had to have this conversation.
For a while, things were kind of cool. He knew very well that Mac was pregnant and they were going to be parents before long, and sure that was scary as hell, but it was easy to forget most of the time. Days went by, filled with talking and jokes and shopping and stuff, and he and Mac had a good time. Dick could almost forget the life changing drama that was looming over both him and the pregnant chick that had fast become his best friend, next to Logan, of course.
Sitting in that room, watching as the doctor prepared Mac for the sonogram, he'd still been okay. Most of Dick's energy had been focused on making sure his friend was alright, but then that picture showed up on the screen.
"It's all real, y'know?" he admitted, not looking up at Mac yet, "I mean, it was always real, 'cause I believed you and all, but then it was like really real" he tried to explain but ended up doing so lamely and he knew it.
Talking was not Dick's strong point. Beave had always been the one with the brains and the words. Dick had looks and charm but nothing much else going for him. He always hoped to coast through life on those two things, and the never-ending stream of cash that existed thanks to his father's business acumen. Now he had to find all kinds of grown-up traits that parents needed to have. He had to learn to be helpful and supportive and thoughtful and all kinds of crap he never thought he'd need in his life. He wanted to be this person that Mac needed right now, but he was struggling to find a way to make it work, and it showed.
"Dick" her voice was as soft as her touch when her hand landed on his on the table and made him meet her eyes, "Trust me, I know how real it all is" she told him, "And you can be scared, that's fine, because honestly? I'm terrified right now" she admitted.
"Hey, I'm not..." immediately Dick started to deny it but couldn't quite follow through with the lie when his eyes met Mac's own, "Yeah, well, it's not like I ever expected this to happen" he sighed.
"I didn't exactly picture my life going this way either" she rolled her eyes, "It was always High School, college, lower paid job, own place, higher paid job and, well, then marriage and kids would've fitted in later, I guess"
"Marriage?" echoed Dick sharply.
The word seemed as if it had given him an electric shock, his hand retracting from underneath Mac's and headed up with the other one in some kind of surrender. Clearly he had taken that part of her condensed life plan as some kind of proposal, though it quite definitely was not in any way meant like that.
"Dick, I'm not asking you to marry me" she told him quickly, fighting the blush that rose in her cheeks.
They had vaguely mentioned their ending happily ever after just once before, and both had laughed at the prospect of it. Things had changed some since then, they had gotten a little closer, and it didn't seem quite so crazy that they could have some sort of relationship. Mac hadn't let herself think on it too much, but there seemed to be little choice on the matter in this moment.
She hoped he wasn't stung by her admitting she did not want to be his wife, though the way he reacted to just the merest mention of marriage suggested it was the last thing he wanted. She understood that entirely, which was why she took no offence at the fear written in his eyes until she confirmed she had no designs on him that way.
"Cool, not getting married" he said more to himself than to her as he took a couple of shaky breaths and suddenly found his slice of pizza much more appealing.
It helped to know she was as freaked as he was by this whole baby thing, and that she wasn't looking to change how things were between them right now. So far, he could deal most of the time. Mac was cool, she liked computer games, and she understood why superhero movies were awesome. It didn't hurt that she was hot, in a geeky kind of way, and that she didn't seem to think he was stupid or weak if he chose to talk to her about something real. He never had this kind of relationship with anybody else. Most girls he used for sex and then moved on. Most guys liked him because he was rich and good at playing the fool. Nobody liked Dick for being Dick, except maybe for Logan. He certainly never expected to have a chick for a good friend.
"Y'know" he said, swallowing down most of his mouthful of pizza but leaving a trail of mozzarella dangling from his chin, "Just 'cause we're not gettin' married and everything, doesn't mean I wouldn't be willing to give you a totally awesome 'wedding night'" he winked.
"Eeww!" Mac declared quite seriously, though she couldn't help but laugh just a second later.
Dick was at least partially joking, she was sure, though she knew if she said yes, he would probably take her to bed and show her a good time... again. It was best to take it all as a pure joke than anything else, it was just safer right now until their strange and undefined relationship found a better grounding.
"You're such a charmer, Dick" she rolled her eyes as she picked up a napkin and help him removed the food from his chin.
He clearly hadn't noticed the spill and took the paper napkin from her hand to finish the clean up operation when Mac's cell started to ring. Checking the screen, she realised with a smile that it was Veronica called and quickly accepted the call.
"Hey" she grinned, so glad to be hearing from her friend, the call reminding her she would be home very soon.
"Hey yourself, Little Miss Mom-To-Be" Veronica greeted her, "Guess who's back in Neptune already?"
"Oh, that's great!" Mac enthused at the news her friend wasn't just on her way back but finally here after too long away in her opinion, "How was everything at the FBI?" she asked, tipping Dick off as to who was on the phone, if he hadn't realised before.
"Hey, Ronnie!" he called too loudly and with a mouthful of pizza that even Veronica could hear he was still chewing.
"Oh, you're with Dick" she noted, "I can call back or we can meet up later. In fact I was wondering about tonight, if you want?"
"I do" her friend agreed quickly, "I could really use some girl-talk" she said more readily able to speak since Dick had just now wandered off in search of ketchup.
"Girl-talk?" Veronica echoed, finding it just a little strange that Mac would request such a thing.
They didn't so much do that kind of thing, the whole slumber party angle with ice-cream and chat about boys and all. Still, if that was what Mac needed right now, Veronica was game. It wasn't as if they were going to get drunk, since between her own jet-lag and her friend's pregnancy, it would hardly be a solid plan.
"Your place or mine?" she offered Mac the choice, secretly already thrilled to know she would be seeing her friend so soon.
She knew they would have to talk about Dick and the baby and everything, and that would be at least a little awkward. Of course, it also meant she would be able to get an objective opinion of her own love life, and as guilty as it made Veronica to think of it, it also meant she had the perfect excuse not to see Piz tonight!
To Be Continued...