A/N: I've been gone for soooo long and I barely noticed. RL needed my focus, I got sick, I got busy... basically, I was just off the fic-writing wagon for a while. Now I'm back, and all is normal. Updates should resume at a fairly regular rate. How you're all still here!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14

It wasn't like Veronica Mars or her friend Cindy Mackenzie to be particularly girlish in their ways, which was perhaps why Keith looked so stunned when his daughter opened the door to her friend and both practically squealed with excitement at the sight of each other. It made the PI smile though, not even so much out of amusement as how adorably cute they were. His little girl had grown into a fine young woman, not perfect because nobody was ever that, but he was very proud of how she turned out. She was so worried about Mac and wanting to be so supportive, where too many other teenage girls he knew or had heard of would shun a so-called friend in a time of crisis like this. Poor Mac, she had the world at her feet and now she was going to be a Mom by the time she was twenty. It wasn't an ideal situation, but Keith was as willing to be helpful as his daughter, though secretly very glad he wasn't going to be called 'Grandpa' himself any time soon!

"Hello, Mac" he greeted her with a smile as he got up from his chair, "How are you doing?"

"Just fine, thanks, Mr Mars" she told him dutifully, though the significant glances that passed between the two young women told him there were problems too, just not ones he was supposed to hear.

"Well, that's good" he said anyway, as he quite obviously reached for his jacket and keys, "Y'know what, honey? I think Back Up could use some exercise, and I know I could" he rolled his eyes as he encouraged the dog onto his feet - he was less than enthusiastic.

"You don't have to go out because of me" said Mac guiltily, though she was quite glad not to have to worry about anyone over-hearing her talk with Veronica.

"I'm not going out for you" Keith assured her as he put the leash on Back Up and moved toward the door, "I'm going out for me" he said definitely, "You know I only get upset when you girls start arguing over which Backstreet Boy is cuter" he joked with a grin before he left.

"Your Dad is so sweet" said Mac as Veronica got them both a bottle of water from the fridge and tossed one into her friend's hands.

"Yup" the blonde nodded once, "but he's not the guy you're here to talk about, right?"

The pair flopped down simultaneously into the couch cushions and Mac sighed. She really wasn't sure where to begin. She wanted Veronica's advice on everything that was happening in her life, and yet at the same time, she knew however her friend would handle it was so not how she would behave herself. They were good friends, like sisters even, but they were not so similar in their ways in such instances.

"So, how was your internship?" she asked, not purely delaying tactics, since she was genuinely interested.

Veronica thought about calling her on it, but reasoned maybe it was best to let her spill the facts in her own time. Besides, she did kind of want to share her experience with her friend. Her Dad was really only interested in the FBI angle, whereas Mac would listen when it came to friends she made and guys she'd seen in a whole different way. Later they would get onto Dick and the baby, for now Mac was happy to let that go for a few hours, and it seemed Veronica was willing to let her do it.

"But he was cool?" asked Mac with a giggle that wasn't quite normal for her, but she just couldn't help it.

"He was" Veronica agreed, speaking of a cute guy she had met at the FBI who had been very sweet and helpful to her, despite knowing she had a boyfriend to go home too, "but it was strictly a friend thing, almost like a brother actually, only a little too hot for that" she smiled as she thought of him, "And speaking of guys in our lives…" she prompted Mac who ducked her face behind her hair, "C'mon, Mac we had to get back around to Dick eventually. Are things that bad?"

Mac shook her head then, making a big deal about recapping her water bottle and reaching to put it on the table. She wasn't sure what bothered her more, telling Veronica that she and Dick were friends, or being called a fool if she dared admit how much she really liked spending time with him these days.

"Actually, things are good" she told her friend honestly, "And I know this is gonna sound crazy, because… well, it's Dick Casablancas that I'm talking about, but Veronica, I really like him" she admitted, hardly even sure herself how it had happened.

A couple of years ago, hell, even six months ago, there was no way in the world that Mac would have been pairing herself up with Dick. If anybody else had suggested it she would have been thinking of having them committed to the nearest insane asylum, and yet now, she couldn't imagine being without him around. He could make her laugh and other times make her want to cry, either for herself or for his own sake. A guy that could make her feel so much so often could not just be a spare part in her life, not even a random friend. He meant more than that, however strange it seemed.

"Mac..." said Veronica carefully, with that look that her friend recognised and wished she didn't.

"You're about to say something awkward that I might not like" she noted.

Veronica didn't deny it, just ploughed on through.

"Seriously, I think it's great that you and Dick are getting along" she said honestly, "but I just wonder if you leaning on him has turned into something… I mean, and please don't take this the wrong way but, is it just the hormones talking?" she checked, ever mindful of offending the friend that meant so much to her.

"Honestly?" shrugged Mac, "I wondered that myself. I mean, Dick is cute and I guess I have been leaning some" she admitted, "but it's more than that, I'm sure it's more than that"

Veronica couldn't argue with what Mac said she was feeling. Only the person falling knew it was happening, and even then it wasn't always clear. There was no way the PI could pinpoint when she had fallen in love with Logan. A part of her wondered if the spark had been there from Day One, when they were only twelve years old. Other times she wondered if it was losing Lilly, and the animosity between them was just guilt over misguided passion. She never did consider that she might never have loved him at all, because she knew that simply wouldn't be true.

"You know what's weird?" she said then with a heavy sigh as she looked back at Mac, "You actually sound more sure about Dick than I feel about Piz right now"

Mac wasn't sure what to say to that. On the one hand, she felt bad for Piz if he was going to get dumped, because he really was a very decent guy; on the other, she truly believed that Logan and Veronica were made for each other, despite their ups and downs. She had long suspected that her friend getting with Piz was kind of a rebound thing, though she had never suggested it. It seemed wrong and as if she were accusing Veronica of something bad, when in reality she just felt awful for both her and Logan.

"You haven't seen Piz since you got back, have you?" she checked.

"Nope" Veronica confirmed, popping the p, and shaking her head for good measure as she reached for her water, "I want to, kind of, and then I think if I see him, I'm just… I'm not going to know how to be with him right now" she tried in vain to explain, "Like when we were at Hearst before the Summer, it was easy, and I knew we had to be apart and I thought it'd hurt… but it didn't so much" she sighed once more, "Mac, I feel like a horrible person" she whined, pushing her face into the couch cushions to hide it.

"Veronica, you know what you'd tell me in this situation" her friend told her, giving the advice anyway as the blonde peered at her with the one eye not squashed into the couch, "You'd say you've got to do what's right for you, and if it's not Piz then it's better to tell him now than to string him along and hurt him worse later"

The one visible green eye blinked and then became two as Veronica righted herself in her seat and sighed heavily.

"Damn me and my logical advice" she huffed, making Mac smile in spite of how glum her friend looked, "I know you're right though… or I'm right? Whatever" she shook her head, "I know I have to tell Piz that I don't love him enough to be with him, preferably before school starts up again" she sighed.

"So…" Mac said thoughtfully, without actually looking at Veronica right now, "Does this mean you and Logan might be…?"

"I'm going to stop you right there before you go any further with that line of questioning, Miss Mackenzie" the blonde cut in, her tone joking but her words quite serious, "On that subject, I'm pleading the fifth" she declared as she picked up her now empty water bottle and took it to the kitchen to throw in the recycling.

Mac got up and followed, not willing to let go so easily. After all, Veronica had insisted she confess all about Dick, it wasn't exactly fair for her to be so dismissive of a major topic such as Logan Echolls role in her life. As it turned out, perhaps Veronica wasn't being quite so full of avoidance as it first appeared, since the next words out of her mouth were still very much on topic.

"How is Logan?" she asked, as if it were a normal kind of a thing for an ex-girlfriend to ask, no more significant than the state of the weather perhaps.

"He's fine" Mac told her, pulling herself up on a stool by the counter, watching Veronica as she buzzed around the kitchen, perhaps seeking out a late snack, "I'm pretty sure he's been keeping Dick sane these past few weeks, helping him act the right way for my sake" she laughed lightly before turning serious a moment later, "but he's not the same, not since… since you went way" she admitted, almost thinking maybe she shouldn't.

The fact was it was the truth, and Veronica had asked the question. She wanted to know how Logan was and the fact of the matter was he was far from his usually bubbly and sarcastic self. He was too quiet, too introverted, too not Logan of late. If Mac had noticed the change it had to be obvious, since they hardly knew each other that well, even now.

"Do you think it's my fault?" asked Veronica, her face full of guilt as she glanced back at her friend.

Mac shook her head in the negative.

"Not entirely" she told her honestly, "I mean, you being done with him hurt him, but I do get how tough it as on you too, finding out what he did with Madison of all people" she shuddered at the thought of Dick's ex.

Veronica nodded her head thoughtfully. She had thought she made a valid point when she dumped Logan for sleeping with Madison, even more righteous in her actions when she ended their friendship over his beating up Piz. Unfortunately, these few weeks away in Virginia had given her a little perspective, a chance to do an awful lot of thinking. She had come to a definite decision on Piz, she knew that had to be over. She did love him, in a friendly sort of way, but she wasn't in love with him and wondered if she could ever say for a moment that she truly had been.

Rebound – the word left a nasty taste in Veronica's mouth just from her thinking it and yet she knew that was all Piz had really been. Logan moved on to Parker and she moved on to Piz. When he beat up on her guy, she saw red, perhaps because she knew deep down she was just a little pleased about it and hated herself for the feeling. Logan cared enough even after they were broken up to bust a guys ribs and face for something he might have done. Yeah, it was a dumb thing to do, but on some level it was incredibly heroic and romantic. When he did it again days later, taking down Gory Sorokin in the food court of Hearst despite being warned of his high level connection, all Veronica could do was smile.

"With me and Logan" she sighed then, "I just... I honestly donft know what's gonna happen there. I mean, I really don't" she empathised, making a cutting-type motion with her hand.

"I wish I could help" Mac replied with a sad smile that Veronica met with a braver version of her own.

"You can" the blonde assured her, "Just, talk to me about something else for a few hours, and everything will be cool" she smiled.

"I think we can do that" agreed Mac, "So long as you don't mind hearing about cold exam tables and my parents thoughts on children born out of wedlock" she laughed lightly at how weird it sounded to say.

"Sounds great" Veronica told her, chuckling too.

It was nice just to laugh right now, no matter the reasons why.

To Be Continued...