Chapter 13: The Fun Ends
******Still Saturday Night******
Jason poured a half glass of wine and took a sip. The dinner had gone very well. The food turned out perfectly. So far, Daisy and Parker seemed to be getting along. They had bonded over a passion for shoes. Piz had begun to thaw when he discovered that Jason did enjoy a few grudge bands and had even seen All American Rejects in concert once. Apparently, the key to Piz's heart was music. Jason's favorite kind of music was blues and jazz, but he didn't bother mentioning that. Finding common ground with his new roommate was important to him. Piz was one of Wallace's closest friends, and Wallace was one of Jason's. The always exciting Veronica Mars had dated this guy. Although Jason had trouble picturing it, he did know from Wallace that Logan had been insane with jealousy and had beat Piz to a bloody pulp over a sex video. For some reason, Jason doubted that finding out Piz hadn't been behind the video filled Logan with much regret.
He looked over at Daisy, who was laughing at something Parker said. The thought of Daisy being with another man after him made his hand tighten on the wine glass. Never had Jason thought of himself as a jealous man. However, he couldn't blame Logan for wanting to hurt the man that was with the woman he loved. Jason would feel the same way. Suddenly, he looked at Daisy and realized something. He loved her. She made him feel more than anyone ever had. Being with her was like an exciting adventure—one he never wanted to end.
Filled with that realization, he went over to her and took her hand and lifted her to her feet. She looked surprised. "What's up?" she asked.
"I just can't go another minute without doing this," he said as he pulled her in his arms and kissed her passionately.
Piz grinned and looked at Parker, who was surprised by the sudden display of passion. "I think he's got the right idea!" Piz moved his chair closer to Parker and kissed her. When he pulled back, she looked at him in bemusement. He hadn't kissed her like that since he'd been back. It wasn't because he didn't want to but because she hadn't really seemed open to that kind of affection yet, and he didn't want to push her. But now she smiled at him.
Jason finally broke off the kiss and grinned down at Daisy. "Although I appreciate your enthusiasm, it's not really the right time for a kiss like that," she admonished with a cheeky grin.
"It's always the right time. In fact, I say we officially end this dinner just so we can do it more in private!" Jason declared with a wicked grin.
Piz laughed. "Fine by me. We can take a hint!" he said getting up from his chair.
"It's kind of rude, Jason," Daisy said with a frown. She hadn't been invited to many dinners that weren't hosted by family members, but she couldn't imagine her mother would think this was proper dinner etiquette.
Parker looked a bit embarrassed but smiled. "Well, it's okay with me. We'll clean up," she offered.
"No, it's fine. Leave it. We'll take care of it. You're the guests. Since I'm cutting our dinner short, it's the least I can do," Jason said with a sheepish smile.
"Thanks for dinner," Parker said. She turned to Daisy. "It was nice talking to you, Daisy."
"Yes, it was," Daisy said, her tone a bit surprised at the fact.
Parker got up and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you later. Thanks," Piz said to Jason. He grinned knowingly at him and left the kitchen with Parker.
"That was really kind of tacky, Jay," Daisy said with a disapproving look. "My mother would not approve!"
"Good thing she's not here then, huh?" he replied. He swept her up against him and bent down to kiss her neck.
She pushed against him. "What's got into you?" she asked him.
"You!" he said. When she looked surprised, he continued, "I suddenly realized something just now."
"Oh, yeah? What?" she asked curiously.
As he gazed intently down at her, the hint of playfulness that was almost always on his face when he was with her left. "I realized that I've fallen in love with you," he said.
Daisy hadn't expected him to say that. She looked flummoxed. "Really?" she asked softly.
"Yes. I've never felt like this before. I love you," he said. He waited for her response.
Daisy put her hand on his cheek and smiled. "That's good to hear because I sure wasn't going to say it first!" she informed him.
"And?" he prompted expectantly.
"And what?" she asked innocently.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't be coy! Tell me that you love me, too!" he demanded.
"And if I don't?" she said with a provocative arch of her brow. Her eyes danced with mischief. God, he loved that look on her!
"I just may have to make love to you until you are screaming your devotion for the neighbors to hear," he said smugly.
"You may try!" she said with a haughty grin.
Jason laughed, enjoying her bravado. He swept her up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. After he tossed her on the bed, he began stripping off his clothes without preamble. Then he moved to the bed and covered her with his upper body and began kissing her. After a few minutes, he broke off the kiss. "I love you," he said. Then he waited.
"Good to know," she replied with a grin.
He shook his head and began unbuttoning her top. Soon, she was dressed in her bra and panties only. He ran a hand slowly down her body. "I love you, Daisy," he said again.
"I know," she said arrogantly. She flung her hair back so he could get an unobscured view of her breasts. She removed her bra. "Show me!" she ordered.
He laughed and proceeded to do just that. Afterward, she lay with his arms wrapped around her, spooning her. He was half asleep with a smile of contentment on his face. She turned in his arms and looked at him. She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the lips. He opened his eyes and smiled down at her. "You're one tough lady!" he exclaimed. Although he had given it his best effort, he had only succeeded in getting her to scream his name.
"If you break my heart, I will never forgive you!" she told him with fire in her eyes.
"I'll do my best not to," he said earnestly.
"Okay then," she said. She turned back around.
He placed a kiss on the nape of her neck. "Daisy, I love you," he said for the tenth time that night.
"I love you, too," she finally said.
He closed his eyes a moment in relief, not realizing how much he wanted to hear her say the words. He turned her over, and she was grinning wickedly up at him, obviously pleased with herself. "I'm always going to have to work for it, won't I?" he asked with a sigh.
"It's the only way you won't take me for granted," she replied. She put her arms around his neck. "I'm worth it, though."
He grinned down at her. "Yes, you are," he said and began kissing her again.
******Back at the Party******
Logan was talking with Duncan and noticed Madison across the room tossing back another drink. "Why aren't you with your date?" Logan asked.
"I told her we weren't going to date," Duncan shared.
"You did? I take it her excessive drinking tonight is in response to her disappointment," Logan said with a smirk.
Duncan shrugged.
"Who's disappointed?" Veronica asked.
"Madison. Duncan told her it was over already," Logan shared with a grin.
Veronica's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked eagerly. She threw her arms around him. "Thank you!"
Logan elbowed Duncan. "I told you to keep your mangy paws off my woman!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, it's not my fault she can't keep her hands off of me!" Duncan said with a teasing smile.
"Don't make me sic Dick on you!" Logan warned.
Veronica laughed. Lily came up to them. "Daddy, I gotta go potty!" she informed him.
"Okay, sweetie," Duncan said.
"I'll take her to the bathroom," Veronica offered. She grabbed Lily's hand and walked toward the downstairs bathroom. It was occupied. Lily squirmed and grabbed at herself, a strong indication that she couldn't wait. "Looks like we're going to have to go to the one upstairs, sweetie." She took Lily upstairs to the bathroom next to Lauren's room.
When they were done, Lily wandered into Lauren's bedroom. The pink décor was like a beacon to the toddler. Before Veronica could grab her, Madison came out of her own room across the hall. The sight of Veronica so obviously making herself at home in her house filled her with rage. "What are you doing?" Madison demanded angrily. She stalked over to Veronica.
"Lily had to go to the bathroom, and the downstairs bathroom was occupied. She can still have accidents if you make her wait, so I brought her up here," Veronica said.
"You have no business being at my sister's birthday party to begin with!" Madison said spitefully.
"Well, your sister invited me. She loves me!" Veronica said with an arrogant smirk.
Madison couldn't take another minute of Veronica's smug face. She'd been flashing smug looks at Madison all night. It was Veronica's fault that Duncan didn't want to date her. It was Veronica's fault that her life was in shambles. Not thinking it through, Madison pulled back her hand and slapped Veronica hard across the face.
Veronica gasped in shock and pain. She put her hand to her throbbing face. "What is wrong with you, Madison? Lily is two feet away!" she yelled, glancing pointedly into the room where Lily was playing with Lauren's dollhouse.
"You've needed a good slap for a while now," Madison said. Then she slapped Veronica again.
This time, Veronica wasn't concerned about Lily. She took a step forward and slapped Madison equally hard. Then she turned to go get Lily. Enraged, Madison grabbed her arm to pull her back. Veronica decided that Madison was too drunk to be reasonable, so she made a fist like her dad taught her and punched Madison hard in the nose. When Madison's nose started gushing blood, Madison screamed. Lily came out of the room and saw the blood and screamed with her.
Several people came up the stairs, Duncan and Logan amongst them. "My God! What the hell happened?" Madison's dad asked.
Madison pointed angrily at Veronica. "She did this, Daddy!" she wailed.
When all eyes looked at Veronica, she pointed to her red face. "She slapped me twice first! When I tried to walk away, she grabbed me! She's trashed and trying to pick a fight!" Veronica said hotly. "Let's go, Logan." She turned to leave, dismissing Madison.
Madison had never felt such hatred for another living person. Once again, she made out like she was the victim. It was too much for Madison. She let out an angry scream and shoved Veronica hard from behind. Veronica pitched forward and hit the edge of the table in the hall. Logan grabbed her before she hit the ground. "What's ****ing wrong with you, Madison? Veronica's pregnant!" Logan shouted in anger.
He looked at Veronica in concern. She was holding her stomach. The overalls she was wearing made it impossible to exam her. Mac and Lauren came upstairs with Dick trailing behind them. "What's going on?" Mac asked in concern.
"Catfight," Duncan said. He picked up his daughter to soothe her since she was crying. "My daughter isn't even in kindergarten, Madison. She doesn't need to see two grown women fighting like children!" He turned to Logan. "Is she okay?"
"I'm okay," Veronica replied. She glared at Madison.
"Let's get you out of the costume, Veronica," Mac said. She led Veronica into Lauren's bedroom.
Marilyn made it upstairs and gasped in horror when she saw all the blood on Madison. "My God! What's going on up here?"
"Veronica and Madison were fighting in front of my daughter," Duncan said flatly. He turned to go downstairs.
"Maddie, it's so not cool to pick a fight with a pregnant chick! If you wanted to fight with Ronnie, you should've done it before she had a bun in her oven!" Dick said with a disapproving frown. He headed to the bedroom to check on Veronica.
"Let's get you to the hospital, sweetheart," Madison's dad said.
"What about our guests?" Marilyn asked in concern.
"I'm sure Natalie and Sam can handle everything. Why don't you go find them? I'll take Madison into the bathroom to get a wet towel," he replied. He led Madison away.
Inside Lauren's room, Veronica had put on a pair of Lauren's shorts and a t-shirt. Logan was on his knees examining Veronica's stomach in concern. "I'm fine, Logan. I'm not made of glass," Veronica said.
Logan kissed her stomach and pulled the shirt down. "You are pregnant, Veronica. And you told me more than once that the first trimester is the worse time for a pregnant woman. You aren't quite done yet with that part," Logan said.
"Logan, women's stomachs are designed to protect the baby," Mac assured him.
"Yeah, but she hit the corner of the table very hard!" Logan said angrily.
"What happened?" Lauren asked. "Why were you and Madison fighting?"
Veronica shared what happened. "I tried to walk off after I slapped her back when she slapped me for the second time! That's when I punched her," Veronica said flatly.
"I've tried to tell everyone not to make you mad!" Dick exclaimed with a grin. "She should be glad you didn't bring your Taser."
Logan ignored Dick and said, "We should go to the hospital and get you checked out just to be safe."
"Okay," Veronica said. She got up.
Logan picked her up. "Logan, put me down! I can walk!" Veronica ordered.
"I don't care. You could trip on the way downstairs," Logan said.
"Or you could and that'd be worse," Veronica said sternly.
"Fine but walk slowly," Logan said as he put her back down. He kept his arms around her and headed for the bedroom door.
"Thanks for the great party, Lauren. Sorry for ruining it," Veronica said.
"You haven't ruined it! It's been great. I'm sorry, Madison's so crazy!" she said.
"Should we go with you?" Dick asked.
"No, we'll call you," Veronica said.
They left. "The moms are not going to be pleased," Mac said tiredly to Dick and Lauren.
"Tell me about it. Madison's going to milk her broken nose all she can," Lauren said knowingly.
"Are you sure Ronnie's going to be okay? Jazmin lost her baby falling down stairs," Dick said.
"That's not very common. Usually falls don't lead to miscarriages. Most happen because something is wrong with the baby," Mac said. "Veronica just went to the doctor a few days ago. She'll be fine."
"I hope so," Dick said worriedly.
Mac gave him a hug. "Everything's going to be fine. Let's go downstairs and assure everyone else."
Duncan was waiting downstairs with Lily. She was still upset. "Veronica has to go to the doctor. She has an owie!" Lily shared. "Lauren's sister had an owie, too. She was bleeding."
"She'll be fine, sweetie," Mac said. She gave her a kiss.
"I'm going to take her home. She's had enough excitement for one night, and it's getting late," Duncan said. "Logan said he'd call us later. I'll bring by Lily's costume in the morning."
"No rush. We have it reserved until Monday," Mac said.
"I'd rather not carry it to class, so I'll be by in the morning," Duncan replied. He looked down at his daughter. "Thank Lauren for letting us come to her party."
"Thank you, Lauren," Lily said. "Happy birthday. You can come to my party when it's my birthday."
"When's your birthday?" Lauren asked.
"December 30th," Duncan said. "She was almost a New Year's baby."
"Have a good night," Mac said.
Dick gave Lily a kiss goodbye. Her tears had finally dried up, and they waved goodbye. Then he looked at Lauren and grinned. "You really know how to throw a party!" he exclaimed. He threw his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug.
Lauren laughed. "Well, you made a very cute cowardly lion," she remarked.
"Cowardly lion?" Dick asked in confusion.
"You know. You're Dorothy's Cowardly Lion who wants to ask the Wizard of Oz for courage," she replied.
Dick looked at Mac in accusation. "You didn't tell me that! You said I was her lionly guard!" he protested.
Mac giggled. "Sorry, hon. But I didn't think you'd know the difference," she said.
Lauren laughed, and Dick looked disgruntled. "You're so mean!" he said to Mac.
Mac leaned up and whispered in his ear, "That's not what you said last night!" She gave him a wicked glance and walked off to find her mother.
Lauren gave Dick a questioning glance. "What did she say?" she asked.
Dick sighed. "Your sister is a bad, bad girl!" he proclaimed and walked after her with a shake of his head.
Lauren laughed. The two of them were so cute together. She hoped she'd find a guy who loved her like Dick loved his sister. It was funny how he'd dated both her sisters. It was like he was fated to be with a Sinclair in one way or another. Lauren thought it was very romantic. She just wished Madison was happier about the new changes in their life. She loved both her sisters. Just because Mac was easier to love, it didn't mean Lauren loved Madison any less. She wished Madison would understand that.
******At the Beach House******
A still worried Logan walked behind Veronica into their house. She wouldn't let him carry her like he wanted. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her for the hundredth time.
"I told you, Logan, I am fine!" Veronica said in exasperation. "The doctor said I was fine. I'm not bleeding. If the baby was in danger, I'd be bleeding, and I'm not. We can schedule a follow-up with our doctor Monday."
"I really want to kill Madison!" Logan said, still angry. "What was she thinking? Slapping you and then shoving you into hard objects?"
"She wasn't obviously. She was drunk and pissed—never a good combination," Veronica said as she walked into their bedroom.
"Do you want me to run a hot bath for you?" Logan asked.
"That sounds nice," she said. He went into the bathroom and started the water while she stepped out of her clothes.
"I'll go make you some hot chocolate since you can't have a glass of wine," Logan said.
"I could have one the doctor said, but I won't. I don't want my baby getting any taste for alcohol. Not with our DNA," she said.
"Good point!" Logan said with a rueful smile. He left her to step into the bath.
She bent down and poured some bubble bath into the tub. Then she pinned up her hair. It was already growing back out from where she'd cut it in Italy. She stepped into the tub and let the hot water relax her. Although she tried to hide it from Logan, she had been pretty anxious about her baby. Finding out she was okay had been a real relief.
Logan came in with her hot coca. "We really need to replace that tub with a bigger Jacuzzi tub, so I can join you easily!" he said.
"You can join me now if you want," she said with coy smile.
"I'd rather you relax. You and baby have had enough excitement for one night. No use in getting you all worked up over the sight of my naked physique," he bragged.
She laughed. "Why don't you go call Trina and see how Richie's doing? She's not called since she left," Veronica said.
Logan pulled out his phone and dialed #7 on his speed dial. The phone went to voicemail. "Trina, it's me. We are just checking in to see how you and Richie were doing. Give us a call," he said. He hung up his phone. "She didn't pick up."
Veronica frowned. "I hope everything's okay," she said.
"I'm sure it is. She would've called if it wasn't. She probably turned off her phone because she put Richie to bed and didn't want him woken up," Logan pointed out.
"You're probably right, but I'll feel better when she brings him home," Veronica said.
"She said she'd bring him back tomorrow or Monday morning. We'll call again in the morning," Logan said. "Are you hungry?"
Veronica grinned. "You know I shouldn't be after all that food, but something sweet would be nice," she admitted.
"Ice cream?" he suggested knowingly.
She nodded. "I don't think we have any left, though," she said.
"Well, you relax and have your bath. I will jump in the other shower and get rid of the remaining silver goo. Then I'll run to the store," Logan said.
Veronica giggled looking at him. He had silver spots mixed in with his natural skin tone on his face and neck. It was a bit disconcerting. "The nurses thought you were pretty strange. It's the first time I've ever seen women look at you that way!" she exclaimed.
"Yea, the weird looks were a first. Then the little kid pointing and asking questions loudly in the waiting room was a bit off-putting," Logan admitted.
"Too bad Dick didn't come with us!" Veronica said with a grin.
Logan laughed. "Just promise me next time we are invited to a costume party that I get to pick our costume!" he insisted.
"I promise," she said. Logan left and she closed her eyes. She was still smiling. She couldn't wait to get the pictures developed that they snapped. Her dad and Alicia would get such a kick out of it. Then she thought of what Madison did and her smile left.
She spent the next ten minutes fantasizing about all the ways she was going to make Madison suffer. The stupid woman had put her baby at risk. She didn't just get to walk away from that. Veronica may be pregnant, but she wasn't helpless. No one got to endanger her baby. Madison Sinclair would regret it.
******Chapter End*****