I would like to dedicate this chapter to Felicia Bond known to fanfiction as Felicia1975. She passed away July 8, 2013 (when I first posted this story on FF) after losing a battle to cancer. I never met her, but we emailed each other so much over the past few years over our mutual obsession with the Vampire Diaries and Veronica Mars that I felt like she was my friend. She was a constant supporter of my stories and was so excited about the new Veronica Mars movie and Vampire Diaries spin off. She was a faithful reader and reviewer of fanfiction, especially Veronica Mars and Vampire Diaries. If she was someone who reviewed your stories, know that she'd still be doing so if she could.
Felicia1975, I hope to meet you in person some day in the next world. I'm sorry you won't get to finish reading this story. Your presence will be missed.
Chapter 39: Counting Down the Days
******Sunday Evening at the Beach House******
When Logan heard a car door slam, he walked quickly to the front door and opened it. He stepped out onto the walkway to greet Veronica. Duncan was behind her carrying shopping bags. Veronica grinned happily at him. She dropped her suitcase handle and messenger bag when she made it to him and jumped into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist.
They were still kissing when Duncan said, "Guys! I'm loaded down here!" When they ignored him and kept kissing, he said, "Well, at least let me get by." He shoved his way past Logan and walked into their house. Trina came out of her room with Richie as he passed by. He smiled at them but didn't stop until he made it to Veronica and Logan's room. Sighing in relief, he put his burden down on their bed.
When he made it back into the living room, Veronica was now covering Richie in kisses. It made Duncan smile to see her so happy. She'd softened so much the past year. In some ways, she was more like the girl he'd fallen in love with when he was fifteen. However, he was so far from the guy that he was then that the memories of his time with Veronica weren't even bittersweet. They were just sweet.
"I can't believe you left me for almost three full days!" Logan said, glaring at her. "We're getting married in like two weeks. You're not supposed to leave!"
"It was practically your idea!" Veronica said, laughing at him. "Did Richie miss me?"
"Not as much as I did," Logan grumbled.
Trina laughed. "He was really lame without you. Dick came over last night, and they played drunken X-box all night. He just got up a few hours ago," Trina said with a smirk.
"Dick was missing Mac, and we kept each other company," Logan said with a shrug.
"I need to give Richie his bath," Trina said. Veronica reluctantly handed him back over.
"Can you stay for a bit?" Logan asked Duncan.
Duncan sat down on the armchair. "For a few minutes. Lily is going to model her dress choices for me when I get back," Duncan shared.
"She is so much like your sister sometimes. We're going to have to really keep an eye on her ten years from now," Logan said.
"I can't even think that far into the future!" Duncan said with a groan.
"So was your trip a success?" Logan asked Veronica.
"Yep. The girls will look fabulous!" Veronica said happily. "Jazmin seemed really great." She tried not to think about the scene with Joseph and the new gun in Jazmin's possession.
Logan looked at Duncan's dark expression. "What's wrong, dude? The thought of the lovely bridesmaids upsets you?" he asked.
Duncan cleared his expression and shrugged. "No. It's just time for me to give Parker what she says she wants. We had a few minutes alone on Friday at my house, and I discovered that she's still attracted to me. But it's clear she doesn't want much to do with me or our attraction," Duncan said with a defeated sigh.
"How do you know she's still attracted to you?" Veronica asked suspiciously.
"How do you think?" Duncan asked bluntly. "I cornered her and kissed her."
"Nice!" Logan said in admiration. "Remind her what she's missing!"
"That's not nice at all! You'll just make her feel guilty and not want to be around you all the more," Veronica said with a frown of disapproval.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll try the whole moving on bit and see if it helps," Duncan said, clearly not excited at the prospect.
"Hey, Daisy's single. She's still hung up on Jason, so you won't have to worry about hurting her feelings if you just want someone to hang out with," Logan suggested.
"That's Daisy's thought, too," Duncan said with a nod. "She's kind of suggested that."
"I don't know. She and Jason are still pretty hot for each other. Mac walked in on them kissing in his bedroom on Saturday," Veronica said.
"The girl is a barracuda. She's going to be punishing Jason for a long time before she forgives him. I just hope she doesn't destroy what they have before she's done," Logan said.
Veronica frowned at the thought. "She won't."
"Daisy doesn't want to be with Jason anymore. He hurt her, and she's not very forgiving," Duncan said.
"Like someone else I can name," Logan said, giving Veronica a pointed look.
"Don't do the crime if you don't want to do the time," she said unapologetic.
Duncan got to his feet. "Well, I'm hoping the New Year will bring me better luck in the romance department," Duncan said.
"It's bound to get better. It can't get worse!" Logan said with a snicker.
"Thanks for rubbing it in!" Duncan said. He glanced at Veronica. "Are you coming by tomorrow so Lily can pose for you, too?"
"Yes. Sorry I didn't have the energy to hang out and do it tonight," Veronica said.
"Oh, you had the energy. Just not for that," Duncan said with a knowing smirk at Logan.
"Try not to die of jealousy," Logan said, walking him to the door.
"I'll do my best," Duncan said dryly as he waved good-bye.
After he left, Veronica went into her room and began unpacking. Logan stood in the doorway and watched her for a bit. She chatted about their weekend as she unpacked.
"We totally have to take another trip to Chicago! You would love the Art Institute. Jason's mom got us tickets to see Wicked. It was so amazing! It totally changes The Wizard of Oz forever," Veronica shared.
"Oh, yeah? How so?" Logan asked.
"It's told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. She was totally misunderstood!" Veronica exclaimed.
Logan laughed at her enthusiasm. "So the bad gal didn't finish last for a change? I'll love it," he agreed.
When she finished putting things away, Logan walked to the bed and kicked off his shoes. "So it looks like we're actually going to pull this thing off, huh?"
Veronica flopped down next to him. "We are. Our wedding's going to be great! Do you have the honeymoon details worked out?" she asked.
"There's lots of honeymoon choices. I think Maui will be less crowded. We can take a ferry over to Honolulu and explore one day if we want. The Four Seasons has a resort there. Marriott Resort and Spa, I think, would also be great," Logan said.
"You're the expert on opulence, so you decide. I'll be happy with anything—you know that," she said. She leaned her head on his shoulders. He put his arm around her.
"I missed you," she said softly.
He threw them backward on the bed and turned on his side. "Show me how much!" he ordered. He kissed her.
She let him have his kiss but soon broke it off. "Hey, none of that! Not until you tell me about your talk with Charlie," Veronica said, sitting up.
Logan sat up and smiled. "It went really well. He's married and has a two-year-old daughter," Logan said.
"Really? So you're an uncle again!" she said happily. "Did he show you a picture? I want to see!"
"He showed me on his phone, but he didn't send me one. I will text him and tell him you want to see a picture," Logan said, smiling at her.
"So he's handsome? Tell me more," she ordered.
"Well, he said he was twenty-eight. He teaches English. He surfs. And his smile is exactly like dear old Dad's," Logan said with a grimace.
"Really?" Veronica said. "That's unfortunate."
"Yeah, it was strange at first. His eyes are Dad's and his smile. The difference is there's no cruelty in his eyes," Logan said. "It was refreshing after I got used to it."
"I bet. I can't wait to meet him," Veronica said. "That is if I'm going to meet him? Did you invite him to the wedding?"
"Yes. And he invited us to dinner at his place. He lives in Oceanside," Logan supplied.
"That's not too far. About an hour, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, about that," he said. "We agreed on the twenty-third because they're going to his wife's family the next day."
"He has no other family?" she asked.
"He has some stepsiblings he's not close to," Logan said.
Veronica grinned. "So you have a brother?" she said, reading between the lines.
Logan smiled. "I guess I do," he said. He shared more about their first meeting.
"Do you think Dick will be jealous?" Veronica asked.
"He's not really made that way. He'll probably just adopt Charlie," Logan said.
Veronica laughed. "You better warn Charlie!"
"Maybe I should plan a surfing outing and invite Dick and Charlie," Logan suggested.
"That's a good idea. Is he out for school yet?" she asked.
"Yes. I've never gone surfing in Oceanside before, so I'll see about surfing there rather than have him come here," Logan said.
"So call him and make some plans," Veronica said, happy that things went well with his brother.
******December 23rd, Chicago******
Eli was both nervous and excited to see Jazmin again. They'd been talking on the phone a lot the past week. The calls were never overly long, but it was good to hear her voice. However, it wasn't the same thing. It was going to be a long time before he was going to relax where she was concerned. Her near-death experience still gave him nightmares.
He went down to baggage claim and heard a voice call his name.
"Eli!"
He turned and saw the twins waiting by the American Airlines' baggage claims. He waved and quickened his step. Jazmin ran to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. Eli closed his eyes a moment, savoring the feel of her in his arms again. He pulled back and looked at her. She'd gained back some of the weight she'd lost.
Smiling happily, she said, "I am so glad you're here!" She gave him a quick kiss on the lips but pulled back before it turned into more.
Jason made it to them. He and Jason exchanged fist bumps. "How was the flight?"
"Annoying. I sat next to one of those women that had to tell me her life story. I tried to look menacing and ignore her, but it didn't work," he complained.
"You're not scary," Jazmin said, smiling fondly at him.
"I used to be," he said with a sigh of resignation.
Jason laughed. "I think you can be scary when you want to be so relax. Let's get your bag and head to the house," Jason said.
"Was your grandmother upset you were going to be gone for Christmas?" Jazmin asked after he grabbed his bag, and they headed upstairs.
"Nah. She complained, but she understood. I had to promise that next Christmas you would spend it with us," Eli said.
Jazmin was glad that he planned on them being together a year from now. Her pleasure gave her a happy glow. She squeezed his hand. "That would be lovely. I have an entire year to get Dad to relax his vigilance," she said.
"Good luck with that," Jason said.
"How did the dress shopping go? I haven't seen Veronica since the shopping trip," Eli said.
"It was great! I love my dress! I got a new one for dinner tomorrow, too," Jazmin said.
"I hope you brought something besides jeans and t-shirts," Jason said to him.
"Yeah, I brought my Sunday clothes. Relax," Eli said.
"So Uncle Nico got here a few days ago. He said you guys decided he would return and open back up the twenty-sixth, so you can stay until we head back for the wedding on the twenty-eighth, right?" Jason asked. "We have to find a new place to live before the fifth of January. The owners want their house back."
"Yeah, since Nico got here a few days ago, and I held down the fort back home, we figured closing three days wouldn't be too big of deal. We left a sign with our numbers if someone needs to reach us," Eli said. "I know a place you two will like that Logan reminded me of. I called, and they have some vacancies. It's a nicely secure apartment complex."
"Sounds good. It'll have less space, but we'll deal. Since we're going to have to buy furniture, it's probably good that it's smaller," Jason said.
"How's business?" Jazmin asked.
"It's been going well. Nico said we should finish the year in the black. There's a lot of suspicious spouses in Neptune. Vinnie Van Lowe is our only competition. He doesn't like to take the smaller cases, so we stay pretty busy with the small stuff. It's enough to pay the bills," Eli said.
"That's good. I don't want you guys taking on dangerous clients anyway," Jazmin said.
"It'll happen eventually maybe, but right now I'm fine with the small stuff. We're still learning," Eli said.
"I talked to my old adviser at Northwestern. He said being a licensed investigator will be an advantage when I apply for jobs after law school," Jason said.
"Aren't you just going to work for your dad? Keep him out of jail," Eli said with a smirk.
"That's what he thinks," Jason said, grinning. "But I should get real experience on my own first. Maybe with the D.A.'s office. That would be a good relationship to foster."
"That's my brother. Always planning too far ahead," Jazmin said fondly.
They climbed into the car that was waiting for them outside O'Hare. Jason got up front, so his sister and Eli had the backseat to themselves.
"How are you doing really?" Eli asked her, looking at her closely.
"Very well. The clinic I was at was really good for me. I'm going to go to therapy twice a week when I'm in town here. Then try and do the same back in Neptune. Wallace already emailed the information on that therapist he likes, Dr. Addison. I have my first appointment with him January 4th," Jazmin shared.
Eli put his arm around her shoulder. "Good. I'm glad. I want you to take care of yourself," he said.
She put her head against his shoulder as they drove back to her house. It was so good to have him back by her side.
******Oceanside, California******
Veronica insisted on carrying the bottle of wine they'd brought to dinner at Charlie's. She was nervous. It'd been a long time since she'd felt this way.
Logan could sense her discomfort. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Relax. He's going to love you," Logan said.
"This is important. If his wife doesn't like me, we'll never see them," Veronica said. She was more concerned about his wife than him. A certain type of girl never liked her. Logan had wanted more family for a long time, and she didn't want to be the reason once again that he didn't get it.
Charlie and his family lived on a quiet street in a modest two-story home. There appeared to be a fenced in backyard that went around the back side of the house.
Logan rang the doorbell. Charlie opened the door, smiling at them. "Welcome. Glad you could make it," he said, extending his hand to Logan.
Logan shook it and introduced Veronica. "This is my fiancée, Veronica Mars."
"It's great to meet you," Charlie said warmly.
Veronica had to blink before responding. Logan hadn't exaggerated; the man had Aaron's eyes and smile. It was disconcerting. "Oh, ah, I'm glad to finally meet you," Veronica said.
"Forgive her. I tried to warn her about your resemblance to our father, but I think it still caught her off guard," Logan said.
"I'm sorry. It's a bit disconcerting, but it's obvious you are not Aaron," Veronica said, forcing a smile. It would take some getting used to.
"Oh, yeah? I've never known anyone but my mother who knew him personally," Charlie said.
"You weren't missing anything," Veronica said grimly.
A petite Asian woman came into the room. "Hi," she said shyly.
Charlie smiled at her. "Kim. Come meet Logan and Veronica," he said.
"Merry Christmas," Veronica said. "We brought some wine." She held out the bottle.
"Great!" Charlie said. He looked at it. "It's clearly better than what we already have, so we'll drink it with dinner."
"That was kind of you," Kim said.
"Where's your daughter?" Veronica asked. "I can't wait to meet her."
"Well, my mom lives an hour northeast of here and really wanted to have extra time with for the holidays. She came and got her yesterday," Kim said.
"Oh," Veronica said, her disappointment evident.
"We have lots of pictures, though," Kim said with a smile. She took Veronica into the living room to show of the many photos scattered throughout the house.
"You and your wife will have to come down to Neptune and bring your daughter. We'll get our goddaughter to join us, so she can have a playmate. Lily is a very precocious three. She'll be four in another week, though," Logan said.
"We'd like that. Maybe after you get back from your honeymoon," Charlie said.
"So how did you and your wife meet?" Logan asked.
"She's half Korean. She was spending time in South Korea when I was spending a summer there teaching English," Charlie supplied.
"She's very beautiful," Logan said. Her eyes weren't clearly Asian in their shape, but her bone structure was.
"I think so," Charlie said with a grin. "Veronica's not too shabby either."
Logan laughed. His newfound brother was easy to be with. As he watched Veronica converse easily with his wife, he knew that the dinner would be a success.
******Christmas Eve******
Dick woke up early on Christmas Eve. He looked down at the woman in his bed and sighed in contentment. He wished she'd spend every night with him because he could never seem to get enough of her. It was funny how back in high school he never noticed her before. She wasn't even a blip on his radar until she started dating his brother. Then he'd always wanted to spoil her time with Cassidy for some reason. He never understood that some part of him was noticing her in a way that he shouldn't. She was his brother's girl. Now, however, he knew she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
He got up and hopped in the shower, letting her sleep. Then he went into the kitchen to cook her breakfast.
Wallace came in. "Is that bacon I smell?" he asked sniffing.
"You could call it bacon. It's that fake bacon that vegetarians eat. Mac likes it. I'm cooking her breakfast," Dick said.
"Are you going to hook a brother up?" Wallace asked beseechingly.
Dick laughed. "Sure. I'll scramble plenty of eggs. You can make the toast," Dick said.
Mac came in a short time later. "Wow, something smells good!" she said, smiling at the sight of Dick dividing the food onto three plates.
"Merry Christmas Eve!" Dick said. He bent down to kiss her good morning.
"Hey, this tofu bacon is really good or whatever it is," Wallace said, munching on a piece.
"A vegetarian diet is a healthy lifestyle choice," Mac said. "Everything doesn't have to taste bad to be good for you."
"Sorry babe, but some of that crap you eat is really nasty!" Dick said with a grin.
Wallace snickered. Mac shrugged, unoffended. "Yeah, some is an acquired taste," she agreed. She turned to Wallace. "What are you Christmas plans?"
"I'm going to stay on night at Mom's tonight and open gifts with them," Wallace said. "Are you guys coming over to Mom's dinner tomorrow?"
"I am," Dick said. "Mac's going to her grandparents."
"I wish you'd go with me," Mac said.
"And miss little Richie's first Christmas?" he asked as if scandalized by the thought.
Mac smiled. "He's not even six months yet. He won't remember. Nor can he open gifts yet," Mac said.
"It don't matter. I'll remember it," Dick said. "Besides, I agreed to go to your Sinclair dinner tonight. That counts as double family points."
"They're not too bad," Mac said.
"Says the girl who doesn't have impure memories of their daughter," Dick said with a grimace.
"Do you think you should be reminding her of that fact?" Wallace asked, looking at Mac to see if she was mad.
"Why would it matter? She wasn't a virgin when we got together. I don't force her to have dinners with her ex all the time," Dick said.
"Force?" Mac asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dick realized what he said and flashed her a repentant look. "Sorry. You know what I mean! I love spending time with you doing just about anything, but seeing Maddie at Christmas is not the way to spread Christmas cheer."
"She's been right down pleasant lately. The car Logan bought her has gone a long way to mellowing her out. Not to mention she passed all her classes with a C and got back her credit cards," Mac said.
"Thanks to you!" Dick said.
"It wasn't too bad," Mac said.
"She better be getting you something extra nice for all your effort," Wallace said.
"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," Dick said.
"Don't worry, I'm not," Mac said.
After they finished breakfast, Wallace volunteered to clean up since Dick had cooked.
"Mackie, I wanna give you your Christmas gift now," Dick said eagerly.
Mac smiled. She was surprised he hadn't given it to her as soon as she opened her eyes. He wasn't very patient when it came to gift giving. "Okay," she said.
They went into his bedroom. He went to his dresser and pulled out a red envelope. "So this gift should be considered a Christmas and birthday gift both," he said, knowing she might quibble over the price.
Mac expected it to be an overpriced gift certificate to one of her favorite stores. However, when she opened the envelope, she saw it was two tickets to the Caribbean. "Dick?" she asked in surprise.
"I want us to take a trip together after the wedding. Logan and Veronica are going on a honeymoon. They spent an entire month together last summer. You and I haven't went anywhere but Vegas together. But that was with everyone else and technically we were broken up, and it doesn't count," he said.
Mac blinked, a bit dazed. "You want us to spend a week in the Caribbean? Seriously?" she asked.
"I got us a great place to stay. It's a cabana like hut right by the water. More private than a big resort or hotel. You can fish right off the dock or sunbathe. It's going to be so great! I know you've never been to many places except for Europe. I was thinking maybe Mexico, but that's so close it didn't seem special enough for a Christmas gift," Dick said.
Mac smiled widely. "I think a trip together will be wonderful! Thank you!" she said. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She was excited. "I've never been anywhere special until last summer when we went to Italy. I've been to just about every state park in the country and Vegas, but no romantic islands."
Dick grinned, pleased with her enthusiasm. "It'll be sweet!" he said. "You can thank me now."
"I just did," she said laughing up at him.
"With words. Now you can thank me in another way," he said with a leer. Then he put his mouth to her neck, making his intentions known.
Mac giggled. She got up and placed the tickets on his dresser. Then she turned back to him and pulled off her shirt. "I suppose if I must," she said, giving him a dimpled grin.
"You totally must!" he exclaimed. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her on top of him.
She smiled radiantly down at him. His hand brushed her hair back from her face. "I love you so much," he said as he gazed at her. "I hope you get that. Being with you is the best part of my day. And the days I don't get to see you just don't feel right at all."
Mac was deeply moved by his honesty and his heartfelt words. She put her hand to his right cheek. "I feel the same way. I never knew I could love anyone so much," she said softly. Then she kissed him.
*******At the Beach House********
Logan and Veronica were on their bedroom floor after dinner wrapping Christmas presents for Richie.
"I think we might've overdid it," Logan said, looking at the pile of gifts that took up most of the space on the floor.
"Well, we agreed not to buy each other gifts since we have the wedding in a week, and it's his first Christmas. I love buying him stuff!" she said eagerly.
"Yes, but did he need all the clothes you bought?" Logan asked with a grin.
"Hey, he's a growing boy! I bought him size six to nine months. He's going to start out growing all the clothes he has now and need more. Now he has more!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "You're the one who bought him every gift marketed for under one on the market."
"My only nephew deserves the best! Dick will be over in the morning to open gifts with us. He's very excited. He even bailed on Mac's family Christmas," Logan shared.
"Yeah, Mac told me. If her grandmother wasn't in such declining health, she'd probably bail, too," Veronica said. "It's the only grandmother she has left."
"At least she has one," Logan said.
"Well, some day when we have our own baby, he or she will have two grandmothers," Veronica said, happily.
"True. So I was thinking that we should invite Charlie and Kim over for dinner the Saturday or Sunday before our classes start. What do you think? They can bring their daughter for us to meet," Logan said.
"Sure! Dinner was great with them yesterday. I really liked his wife. She was down to earth and had a dry sense of humor," Veronica said.
"Yeah. I liked her, too. It's obvious Charlie is a happy man. He doesn't seem to have many of the scars or baggage I have. Dick and I are going to go up to Oceanside the morning of the bachelor party and surf with Charlie. He'll come back with us for the wild night Dick has planned," Logan shared.
"You have that planned for the 29th, right? I don't want everyone hung-over the day of our wedding, especially since our wedding is at night and requires everyone to stay up to ring in the New Year," Veronica said.
"Yes, Dick convinced Duncan to take his family plane to Vegas for a night of debauchery," Logan said.
"Don't think he's going to convince me to go along with that! I have too many details to focus on before the wedding," Veronica said. "My bachelorette party will be in this area! Luckily, I have Dick's better half planning it!"
"I think he'll be okay with that. Jason and Jazmin are arriving the twenty-eighth. The owner of the house Jason had been renting wants to come home. Jason is going to rent a two-bedroom apartment at the one gated complex in Neptune. He thinks Jazmin will feel more secure in an apartment with only one entrance and not so easy access. They have a lot of shopping and moving to do before school starts. We also have to move Weevil into Dick's pool house." Logan said. "I still can't believe Weevil is moving in with Dick!"
"Well, Grandma Lettie told him he'd be an idiot not to take advantage of the money saved," Veronica said with a grin. She got to her feet. "That's the last of them. Why don't you start taking them into the living room and putting them under the tree?"
"No problem," Logan said. He grabbed several stacked gifts and stood up.
When he left, Veronica quickly went to the closet and pulled out a Victoria Secret shopping bag she had crammed into the corner. Then she raced to the bathroom.
"Where did you go?" Logan asked a minute later as he bent down to grab more of the wrapped gifts.
"I'm in the bathroom. I'll be right out!" she yelled.
When Logan returned again, she was still in there. He shook his head and made another trip to the living room with the gifts. As he came back into the bedroom, he glanced toward the bathroom door. "Are you okay in there?" he asked.
The door opened and his mouth fell open in surprise. Veronica struck a pose in the bathroom doorway wearing a very sexy red lingerie with a Santa hat on her head. "I know we said no Christmas gifts, but I thought this would be a fun compromise."
"You said no gifts. I decided not to upset my fiancée a week before our wedding!" Logan said. "But hey, I love your thinking!" He got out his cell phone and snapped a picture.
"You better not send that to anyone!" she said.
"It's the image I'm going to take with me to Vegas when we spend a night apart!" he said with a grin.
She walked toward him. "So are you ready to unwrap your gift?" she asked coyly.
"Oh, yeah!" he said eagerly. He pulled her close and began kissing her.
******Christmas Morning*******
Logan, Veronica, and Dick were all sitting on the living floor with Trina, who held Richie in front of her between her legs. Trina's mother Mary was sitting on the chair watching happily. He was much more interested in chewing on the wrapping paper than any of the dozens of gifts that were opened on his behalf. Trina, though, was enjoying unwrapping all his gifts.
"What am I going to do with all this?" Trina groaned when all his gifts were opened.
"Hey! Little dude can never have too many cool toys!" Dick said.
"We're going to have turn Dick's old room into his room, I think," Veronica suggested. "When we get back from our honeymoon, we can pick out how we want to decorate it for him."
"Good idea!" Trina said eagerly.
"Now it's time for you to open your gift," Veronica said.
"Really?" Trina said with a bright smile. She turned to Mary and handed off Richie. Veronica handed her a wrapped box that wasn't too big. She shook it. "It's too light for jewelry."
"Nope. Not jewelry," Logan said with a grin.
Trina pulled the ribbon and opened the box. "A plane ticket to New York?"
"It's dated for when we get back from our honeymoon," Veronica said.
"Two Broadway tickets? Three nights at the Four Season? Wow! This is great!" Trina said. She got up and moved to hug Logan. "Thanks!"
"Thank Veronica. I was going to get you jewelry. She suggested something you might like more," Logan said with a smile.
"Thanks, Veronica!" Trina said, hugging her.
"I thought you might like to invite that nice, stable man you met for a night on the town," Veronica said with a sly grin.
"Totally!" she exclaimed.
"You paid to get your sister laid?" Dick asked with a snicker. "That's just wrong!"
Veronica elbowed him. "That's not it at all!" she said, glaring at him. "She deserves a fun weekend! We're going to be gone on our honeymoon for a week. You and Mac are going on a trip, too. A long weekend will be good for her."
"We'll watch Richie, of course!" Logan said.
"So this is a bribe to get my kid to yourself for three days, isn't it?" Trina asked with a grin.
"Totally!" Logan agreed.
"Let's put together the train set I got him!" Dick said eagerly.
"I can't believe you got him a train set! What's he going to do with it?" Trina asked.
"Watch it go round and round! He'll love it!" Dick said.
"Why don't we put it together in your old room, so we won't have to move it?" Logan suggested.
"Good idea!" Dick said, jumping to his feet.
******Chicago******
Eli and Jazmin walked downstairs Christmas morning. The past few days they'd had a great time reconnecting. The only mar in their time together was her brother Jason. Jazmin couldn't help but notice that her brother seemed to have very little Christmas cheer.
"Jason seems really sad. He won't talk to me. He just tells me to not worry about him," Jazmin said in frustration. "What's going on?"
"When Daisy came into town last weekend, she did a number on him. He said that he thought they'd had a moment, but at the Christmas party she made a point of flirting with Joseph right in front of him," Eli said.
"Yeah, I noticed. I didn't really appreciate it either, but she's just trying to punish him. I'm sure she'll get tired of making him suffer and forgive him. She loves him," Jazmin said.
"Well, I'm not so sure. You never witnessed Veronica's many dumpings of Logan. She dated two guys and was pretty serious about both of them, Duncan especially," Eli reminded her.
"You think Daisy would seriously be with another guy?" Jazmin asked in concern.
"I don't think she'd sleep with Joseph. That'd be too far even for her," Eli said.
"Well, she's not likely to see him anyway. He won't be in Neptune," Jazmin said.
"Thank God for that," Eli said.
"You know he'll be here for dinner this afternoon," Jazmin warned him.
Eli looked sour at the news. "Seriously? I thought he was banned," Eli said.
"We sort of cleared the air last week. I've decided not to waste any energy hating him anymore," Jazmin shared.
"Is it okay if I still do?" Eli asked.
Jazmin smiled. "Of course!" she said. She hugged him. "I'm so glad you came."
"Me, too," he said. And he was. She seemed back to her old self. He'd kept the physical touching to a minimum, letting her do most of the initiating. He'd take her sweet kisses any way he could get them.
They walked into the dining room. Her parents and Jason were already there.
"Merry Christmas!" Jazmin said to the room.
"Merry Christmas! Did you two sleep well?" her mom asked.
"I did," Eli said, smiling at Isabella, Jazmin's mother. She wasn't as gregarious as Jazmin's father. Eli knew that Jazmin wasn't close to her mother, but she didn't seem that bad to him. She was much better than a few other mothers he could think of.
"Yeah, the meds I'm on put me right to sleep," Jazmin said. She sat down at the table. "I don't want to be on these pills long term. Just so you know. I plan to be off of them by spring break."
"You should do whatever your doctor tells you," her mom said.
"I had Nico check out that Dr. Addison in Neptune. He's got a good reputation. No lawsuits or illegal activity," her dad said.
"Good to know," Jazmin said, rolling her eyes.
"Eli, we usually have a big breakfast Christmas morning and don't serve lunch. The Christmas dinner is served at four, which is a bit early. However, that's how we've always done it," her mom told him.
"No, problem," Eli said accepting the plate of bacon and sausage that was passed around.
After they had breakfast, they went into the den where the Christmas tree stood. Eli was surprised when Sebastian gave him a small, wrapped box. "Uh, thanks," he said. He opened the box and found a very nice pocketknife. His name was engraved on the back.
"Every man needs a good one of these. I gave Jason one when he turned fifteen," Sebastian said.
"It's great. Thanks!" Eli said, surprised at the gesture. He'd never gotten much except clothes from his dad. It'd been so long, though, that Eli never gave his lack of fatherly presence much thought.
"The scarf is lovely," Isabella said, holding it up to admire.
"My grandmother helped me pick it out," Eli admitted. His grandmother had said a scarf would be the perfect gift for Jazmin's mother—personal without crossing the line.
"Did she pick out this hat, too?" Sebastian asked with a grin.
Eli felt embarrassed. He wasn't used to gift giving to people he didn't know that well. However, his grandmother had rightly insisted that he shop for Jazmin's parents. Since both had gifts for him, he was very glad he'd listened to her. "Yes, she suggested it might suit you," Eli admitted.
Sebastian chuckled. "I'm going to have to meet this grandmother of yours who has never met either of us, but she still managed to get it right!"
"She's great!" Jazmin said. "Eli's going to take back the gift I got her."
"What did you get her?" her mother asked.
"A new dress I know she'll love," Jazmin said. "She loves to dress up for church." She turned to Eli. "Did you get her the pearls I suggested?"
He nodded. Jason snickered. "It's good that you don't have to think of anything for yourself," Jason said.
"Hey, I picked out your gift on my own!" Eli said.
Jason looked down at the first edition Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. "I can't believe you got me this," Jason said in bemusement.
"I discovered this rare bookstore when I was out on the job a few weeks ago. Couldn't believe it when I saw this. I knew you'd like it," Eli said with a shrug. "Doyle played at being a P.I., too."
Sebastian chuckled. "Yes, playing is pretty much what he's doing. Enforcing the law or spying on cheating husbands isn't his future," he said.
"Hey, it's valuable experience," Jason said.
"I never said it wasn't," Sebastian said easily.
Jazmin couldn't quit looking at the beautiful tear drop diamond necklace Eli got her. "This is too much," she told him.
"Hey, I moved into Dick's pool house. I don't have to pay rent. I can afford to get you something nice," he told her. "Let me help you put it on."
Jazmin smiled and turned around, lifting her hair. He fastened it around her neck and admired it nestling between her breasts. "I knew it'd look great on you," he said.
Jazmin kissed him and pulled back.
Sebastian loved seeing his baby girl so happy and glanced in approval at his daughter's boyfriend. A man not too prideful to listen to his grandmother was a good man.
"Our turn!" Isabella said eagerly. She handed Jazmin a small box.
"If you don't like it, blame your mother. She picked it out," Sebastian said, reaching for his wife's hand with a fond smile.
"Mother has exquisite taste, so I'm sure it's perfect," Jazmin said, expecting a ring or something similar since the box was so small. She opened the box and pulled out a set of keys. "What's this?"
"Go outside and see," Jason said, smiling at her. He never understood why his parents got him a new car for his eighteenth birthday and not his sister. They thought giving into her request to go to school in California was enough of a gift. The car she was driving in Neptune was a used Toyota Corolla that she bought with her own money. They hadn't wanted her to have that, but she'd ignored them. Their inconsistency was frustrating. It didn't bother him that they'd obviously spent more on her Christmas gift than his. A new laptop was what he wanted, so he was satisfied.
Jazmin took Eli's hand and walked toward the front door. She couldn't believe her parent's had actually bought her a new car. They seemed to forever want her to be dependent on her brother. The fact that they'd bought her a car was evidence that they'd finally begun to respect her as an adult. Her eyes widened in surprised pleasure as she saw a red Mini Cooper Roadster parked on the street in front of their house. It had a big bow on it, so she knew it was hers.
"Oh, my God! It's so amazing! Thanks so much!" she squealed. She turned to hug her parents before going down the stairs to the car.
Eli followed her down, happy to see her finally in a good place. He hoped the future only held good things for her. He wanted to forget the recent ugliness focus on their future that he prayed would be as great as she deserved.
******Chapter End******
Sorry I didn't include everyone in this Christmas chapter, but it seemed long enough.