A/N: I think this has been my favorite chapter so far, so I'm really excited to finally get to post it! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think about it in the comments!

I also discovered that AO3 has a "No Fandom" tag and so decided to post the first story I wrote much earlier this year before I jumped into trying LoVe Fan Fiction. It's partly inspired by Colin O'Donoghue/Captain Hook on Once Upon a Time, but not directly about either thing. But it's obvious in the story that there's a HUGE amount of similarities to one of the main characters (personality, not real life) and him. It's called "Charmed Irish Life" and you can find it under my other stories over on AO3. Luckily it's the only story with that title, so it's easy to search for it. And since it was really the very first thing I wrote and haven't really gone back and spent a lot of time editing, there may still be some rough spots, but thought I'd post it anyway. I don't think FF has a No Fandom option, but if I figure out it does, I could post it over here too.

Oh and one other thing! I wrote a short 2 chapter LoVe story too (had a little idea pop in my head and decided to just write it so I could focus back on this story again without it bouncing around in my head too). I'll probably post the first chapter tomorrow or Sunday, so keep an eye out for it and I'll remind you all again when I post the next chapter here.

Thanks again to everyone who's been reading along and leaving comments. I really do appreciate them all!

Disclaimer: The VM characters still belong to Rob Thomas (wish they were mine though)

Chapter 6 - Bluffing

When Veronica made it back to her office, she decided she'd give her old pal Cliff a call and see if he might be familiar with some of the fences around Neptune. She really didn't think it would be a good idea to take a uniformed deputy with her to talk with them if he did know one, but she did agree with Logan that it probably wouldn't be wise for her to go alone either. She wasn't even sure if Cliff would know any fences, so until she found that out, she wasn't going to worry about the logistics of meeting up with them. She also wondered whether Weevil might still have some connections of that type. She decided if Cliff wasn't able to give her any leads that maybe she could find out something from him at the poker game.

An overly cheerful woman's voice greeted her as the call was answered. "Cliff McCormack's office, how can I help you?"

"I'd like to speak with Cliff please," Veronica replied hoping he was available.

"I'm sorry, but he's in court this afternoon. I can take a message and have him return your call." Veronica sighed and left her name and number with Cliff's assistant.

Veronica headed over to the Neptune Elite Reality Office to meet with Mr. Branford. The office was located in a newly renovated part of downtown. The building had modern architecture and the interior was decorated with the most exquisite furnishings. Veronica sat on a plush couch as she waited to be seen by Mr. Branford. There were portfolios on the table for clients to look through to see the recent listings. Veronica glanced through one of the portfolios as she waited. Some of the listings made even Logan's house look like a shabby abode.

She'd made it through a quarter of the portfolio when she was called by the receptionist and escorted into Mr. Branford's office. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Branford." Veronica said politely as she took the seat he'd gestured to.

"Please call me Mike," he said with a flirtatious smile. "I must say I wasn't expecting such a charming young woman when my receptionist told me an investigator from the sheriff's office was stopping by."

Veronica tried not to let her disgust show and remained as professional as possible. She couldn't help but think about how this guy reminder her of Dick Senior, which made her skin crawl. "Your wife wasn't able to answer a few of my questions and suggested I talk with you." She pulled the list of names from her bag and asked if he could double check that there weren't any other people who would have had some sort of access to their house that were left off.

He was still gazing at her as if she was barely dressed as he took the list from her. "We do occasionally have parties at our house to help new clients get introduced to other families in Neptune so it would be really hard to give you a complete list of everyone who had been there during the time the necklace disappeared. You should come join us at our next party, I'm sure you'd have a great time."

Veronica had to work hard to keep her lunch down. "Do you keep any sort of guest lists?"

"I can have my receptionist print out a list of the colleagues that I generally invite. Of course we encourage them to bring their families along as well, so there would be other family members with them too."

He pushed the intercom button on his phone and sweetly asked Deirdre to print off the list for him.

"I also wanted to ask if anyone else would know the combination to your safe. Perhaps Elise or Christine?" Veronica decided to go with first names for both the au pair and the fired maid to see if that got him to be more open with her. She noticed a quick flash of something in his expression, but whatever it may have been was quickly gone.

"No, only Vicky and I have the combination."

"How about your children?" Veronica asked with a curious expression.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, I may have told Emma the combination once. She was pestering me to look at her mom's necklaces one afternoon when I was tied up on the phone and I told her as long as she didn't take them out of the closet, she could look at them. But that was months before the necklace went missing and I personally helped her put them all back in their cases when she was finished. I sort of doubt she'd remember the combination though. She'd also know better than to ever get them out without asking permission. Our daughters are very well behaved."

I'm sure they're perfect angels. "How old are your daughters?"

"Emma is 9, almost 10, and Chloe is 7. And we did ask them if they'd seen the necklace when it first went missing, and they wouldn't lie to us about that." Veronica nodded to let him know she understood, whether or not she actually believed it was another thing. "Could Emma have told Christine or Elise the combination that day?"

"Elise was taking Chloe to a play date or birthday party, or something like that, which is why I was home alone with Emma. Christine only worked part time and she wasn't there that day either." He replied, still leering at her.

"Was there a specific reason that you suspected Christine of taking the necklace initially?" Veronica asked, watching to see what his reaction would be.

Mr. Branford's expression became a bit annoyed, "That was all Vicky, not me. I never thought for a moment she would have taken it. Vicky didn't care for Christine and let that cloud her judgment."

"I'm sure Christine probably wasn't very happy about being fired though, maybe she did take it if she realized that was coming as a way to get even?" Veronica asked curiously.

Mr. Branford chuckled softly, "Christine wouldn't do that. I helped her get a position working here with one of the other members of our firm who stage houses for showing, so I think she's actually much happier here than she was being our maid."

I wonder if Mrs. Branford knows about her new employment status. Veronica again just smiled and nodded. Veronica asked a few more questions, then thanked Mr. Branford for the list and left. As she was walking to her car, she noticed she had missed a call while she was in his office, since she'd turned her ringer off. She checked her voicemail when she got into her car and smiled as she heard Cliff's familiar dulcet voice.

"Calling for legal advice?" Cliff teased as he answered her return call. "I could refer you to a good lawyer."

Veronica laughed, "Actually I'm looking for a fence."

Now it was Cliff who laughed, "Why am I not surprised. Is that consulting gig at the Sheriff's Office not paying enough?"

"You know, I've become accustomed to a certain standard of higher living, and need to get some fast cash," Veronica teased back.

"Alright V, what's the real story?" He asked with a more serious tone.

"I'm working on the stolen jewelry cases and was hoping you might know some of the fences who operate around Neptune."

"Ah, well I suppose I would seem like a likely candidate for someone who might. Unfortunately the last one I represented didn't fare too well and he's serving time at the state penitentiary now and I heard the one before that met an untimely end." He heard Veronica sigh over the phone. "But let me make a few calls and I'll see if I can come up with something for you."

"Thanks Cliffy!" Veronica said in a chipper tone. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah." Cliff answered, "Nice to have you back home again kiddo. I'll be in touch."

Veronica headed back to the Sheriff's department and spent some time looking through the guest list that Mr. Branford had given her. She noticed the names of a few other families that had also had jewelry stolen from them, including the Taylor's and the Jenkins. She also noticed Grant Whitman was on the list, as well as Mark Martinelli the jeweler.

She heard her phone ring and saw Logan's name come up on her screen, "Hey Romeo, what's up?"

He chuckled, "I thought I'd moved on from Romeo to Prince Charming yesterday after my daring rescue of you from the sleeping curse."

"While you are very charming, I think I'm going to stick with Romeo since you're such a great lover," she said in a sultry voice into the phone, "also considering the fact that I'm no Snow White." She heard him choke slightly, clearly not expecting that response. A sly grin spread across her face, satisfied with throwing him off his game.

"So what do I owe the pleasure of your call to?" She asked with a bit of laughter in her voice.

"I was calling to see what our plans were for dinner. Dick texted me to see if we wanted to come over early and eat with them before the poker game," He paused a moment, "but now you've got me all worked up and I'm thinking I'll just decline for us instead."

"Not a chance buddy!" Veronica smiled into the phone, "You won't get any lovin' from this Bobcat unless she's properly fed. You know the rules."

He laughed "Fine, I'll let him know we'll be there. I'm about to head home now, you?"

"Yep, I'm about done here for the day too. See you there soon." Veronica took another quick look at her board of information for the jewelry case, before closing up her office and heading home.

After meeting at home and getting changed, they headed over to Mac and Dick's in the Benz. Mac greeted them at the door and gave Veronica a quick hug first. "Dick's out at the grill getting it ready to cook for us," she said as she took a step back from Veronica and looked at Logan. He couldn't help but stare at her stomach now after what Veronica had told him. Veronica rolled her eyes as she noticed.

"Hey Speedy," He said as he realized what he was doing and looked up at her face instead. He reached in and gave her a quick overly gently hug. Mac gave Veronica a suspicious look, to which she just shrugged, and then Mac closed the door.

They followed Mac toward the kitchen. "I was going to take this tray of steaks and veggie burgers out to Dick," Mac said as she went to pick a large tray up from the counter, "I'll be right back, if you two want to just hang out in here."

"That looks a little heavy," Logan said nervously reaching for the tray, "I'll take it out there for you." Mac shot Veronica another look as Logan grabbed the tray and quickly headed out to the patio.

"Veronica!" Mac said in exasperation as soon as he was gone. "What did you tell him?"

Veronica shrugged and smiled innocently at her. "It was actually Logan who told me you'd been feeling a bit sick when you were in his office yesterday morning."

Mac rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I should have known better than to try to keep anything from you."

Veronica's grin grew even larger. "I knew it!" She yelled out triumphantly.

Mac just shook her head. "Please don't say anything to anyone else though," she asked with a sincere look on her face. "We were waiting until after the wedding to tell everyone else." She sighed, "Dick's being all old fashioned about it and really wants to be married before we share the news."

Veronica was a bit shocked by that. "Dick?"

Mac nodded, "Yes, Dick wants to wait. We didn't expect it to happen so quickly once we decided to try, so it sort of threw our plans off a bit." Veronica saw Mac's smile get bigger. It was very easy to tell she was really excited about it.

"So you planned it? It wasn't a surprise?" Veronica was still having a hard time with the idea of Dick as a dad, and having it be intentional was even harder for her to wrap her head around.

Mac gave her a little glare, "Yes, we planned it." She shook her head, "I know you might find it a little hard to believe, but we really are excited about it."

Veronica shrugged. "Your thing with Dick," she gestured toward the patio door with her hands, then back at Mac, "I'm still getting used to all of that."

Mac gave her a slightly sympathetic look, "I know. I really should have told you about it a long time ago."

Veronica asked if there was anything she could help her with for dinner and Mac pointed her to a loaf of French bread to slice for her. "So, I was surprised to hear that Leo was bringing Emily as his date," Mac added a few minutes later. "Dick said you met her at Hearst on Tuesday?"

Veronica nodded, "Yes, today really is going to be an epic day of awkwardness." She chuckled at herself before continuing. "We even had lunch with Casey and Alexis. Then we get to spend tonight with another one of Logan's exes plus Piz."

Mac laughed, "Wow, at least you'll get your fill of awkward all out of the way for the week." She paused a moment then added, "Oh wait, there's still Saturday night." She gave Veronica an evil little grin.

Veronica just laughed and shook her head.

"So you're okay about hanging out with Emily tonight then?" Mac asked curiously.

"She seemed really nice when I met her with Leo and I actually talked to her yesterday at the hospital a little bit too. I can't say I quite see her and Logan being a very good match though, maybe that's why it doesn't really bother me. What did you think of her?"

Mac glanced quickly toward the patio to be sure neither guy was headed back in. "I only met her a couple of times, but yeah, I never really thought there was that much chemistry between them. She seemed to really like Logan, but he'd just split with Alexis and I think he was more looking for a nice girl to hang out with rather than anything too serious. Her departure from Neptune seemed really abrupt too, and I don't know all the details there either."

"Yeah, while I can't see her and Logan clicking, I can totally picture her with Leo. The two of them seem to have that super sweet vibe down to a tee. Of course it's still a bit awkward, but I'm getting to be a pro at that lately. I guess I was more worried about the awkwardness of Piz being here tonight than her."

"You never saw him again after you left for the FBI internship?" Mac asked curiously.

Veronica shook her head. "No, once we split up right before I left, well that was pretty much the end of it."

Mac grimaced a little, "Yeah, well hopefully things won't get too crazy tonight."

Veronica helped Mac get the rest of the meal ready, and soon the two guys came back in with the grilled food. Dick set the food on the table, and then went over to give Mac a kiss. Logan was watching them, while Veronica watched him. Logan was staring at Mac's stomach again, and it didn't help that when Dick went over to kiss her he'd put his hand right on her stomach and lovingly rubbed it. Veronica shook her head and walked over and poked Logan in the side. His eyes shot from Mac's stomach to Veronica's eyes, with a terribly guilty look on his face. "You really aren't very subtle, are you?" Veronica whispered to him.

Mac caught the look on Logan's face and heard what Veronica had whispered. She shook her head at him. "Babe, your BFF and Veronica apparently know our little secret," she said to Dick.

Dick's expression changed to an excited and proud grin. "Dude, isn't it awesome?" he asked looking at Logan. Logan still had a deer caught in the headlights look and could only nod his head in reply.

"So when's this Casablancas bundle of joy due?" Veronica asked with a playful grin on her face.

"Late May," Mac replied, moving over and taking a seat at the table. Dick gave her one more kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to her. Veronica had taken the seat closest to Mac and Logan was still standing in the same spot.

"Are you joining us?" Veronica asked with a small laugh when she realized he still hadn't moved. He nodded and sat down next to Veronica. She shook her head and looked back at Mac. "I think he's having a harder time with this than I am."

Mac gave him a sympathetic smile, "I promise you're not going to lose your BFF, Logan." She said in a teasing tone.

Dick chuckled, "That's not why he's so freaked out about it." He had a devious grin on his face as he reached for a piece of French bread.

Logan shot him a warning look and shook his head. Both women turned to look at Logan with their eyebrows raised.

"So what are you freaked out about, Logan?" Veronica asked in a sweet tone with her head tilted to try to ensure she got an answer.

Dick laughed again and Logan's expression became even more annoyed. "It's nothing," Logan said as he took a drink of the ice tea that Mac had poured for him and stared at his plate.

The women looked back at Dick, who had an evil smile on his face. He leaned closer to the women, as they heard Logan groan behind them. "Logan lost a bet. It was shortly after Elijah was born and Weevil was taking care of him and had to change a really nasty diaper when he'd stopped by the house. Logan and I were playing pool, and we bet that the loser would have to change diapers for the winner for a month if either of us ever had kids."

Mac smiled broadly and laughed, "Pack your bags mister! We'll set up the guest room for your stay. I'm sure Veronica won't mind."

Logan grumbled something under his breath and went about cutting up his steak. Veronica was laughing at him as well. "So that's why you were so freaked out last night when we talked about it too! I didn't realize you were so easy to hustle. First karaoke and now this. I'll have to remember that the next time I really want you to do something."

"Ah, we missed another karaoke debt pay-off?" Mac asked sadly.

Veronica smiled mischievously and Logan reached for her hand quickly. "Veronica!"

She gave him an innocent look, to which he scowled. Mac immediately caught on. "There's video isn't there?"

"No!" Logan blurted out quickly while Veronica just laughed softly at him.

"Come on dude," Dick joined in, "it's not like we haven't seen you embarrass yourself up there at least a half dozen times already. How bad could it be? She didn't make you sing Material Girl again did she?"

Veronica was taking a drink of wine as Dick spoke and practically spit it out. "Material Girl?" she asked incredulously.

Dick nodded gleefully. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he said with a suggestive leer.

Mac laughed at him and shook her head while Veronica's expression changed to one of genuine interest.

"I thought you deleted that from your phone?" Logan asked with a slight glare.

"Do you really think Speedy wouldn't have all my stuff backed up to the cloud?" Dick asked with a smirk.

Logan let out an exasperated sigh. He waved his hand in the air in a carry-on motion, obviously giving up on trying to stop them all. He turned back to his plate with a pout on his face.

Mac must have felt a little guilty. "We should at least wait until we are done with dinner before we embarrass Logan."

"Good call babe," Dick agreed, "then we can go to the media room and play it on the big screen."

Logan groaned softly and shook his head. "I'm glad I have such caring friends."

Veronica leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Ah, you know we love you."

Veronica noticed a bit later Logan seemed to be eating slowly to delay them. "You know if you take too long, some of the others might show up to enjoy the videos too."

"I'm done," he announced and stood up taking his plate to the kitchen. The other three laughed at him and followed him with their own plates to the kitchen. After Logan rinsed off his plate and put it on the counter, he went into the living room and flopped down on the couch.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Mac asked as the rest of them walked into the room on their way to the media room.

"No," Logan sulked. "I'll just wait here in case any of your other guests arrive and get the door. I'd rather not be there for the humiliation."

"Oh come on," Veronica said with an encouraging smile. "I saw you sing last night, and that was anything but humiliating."

A small smile formed on the corner of his lips, but he still took a deep breath and shook his head.

"We can play your duet with Dick, if that makes you feel any better," Mac added.

Logan laughed. "How is that suppose to make me feel better? I was up there too you know?"

"Duet?" Veronica asked with a curious expression on her face.

Mac laughed, "Yeah, they both lost to Heather and she made them sing 'I Got You Babe' together."

Veronica laughed, but then tried to hide her obvious amusement at the thought. "Come on," she went over and grabbed Logan's hand and tried tugging him off the couch, but with his weight advantage she couldn't budge him. She gave him a pout and her head tilt, "Please," she whined at him.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine," he finally said with a huff and stood up off the couch. He followed the other three into the media room and within a couple minutes, Mac had already synched Veronica's phone up to their system and the video from the prior night was playing.

Logan tried to sit off to the side by himself, but Veronica pulled him over by her and wrapped her arm lovingly around his shoulder as they watched. "Hot," she whispered in his ear as it played. She could tell he was starting to blush and he looked down at the ground instead of watching the screen. She kissed his cheek and nuzzled her face against his. "It's not bad at all Logan. I don't know why you're so embarrassed."

When it was over Mac clapped her hands. "Heather was being awfully kind to you last night!" She said in surprise. "Especially compared to 'Material Girl', "I got you Babe', 'Call Me Maybe' and several of the other songs she's made you do."

"Yeah dude!" Dick added, "She even picked a guy song for you. How'd you get so lucky?"

Logan shrugged and smirked a bit. He knew Heather was being nice because Veronica was there, but he wasn't going to say it. Veronica gave him a knowing smile though. Once she heard some of the other songs he'd been stuck singing, she knew Heather did it for her.

Mac pulled up the duet next, to which they were all laughing hard by the time it was over. They explained to Veronica how Dick had lost a coin flip and had to do the girl parts. After it was over they watched Logan's rendition of Material Girl. Logan didn't find it quite as funny as the other three did, but tried to remain a good sport about it. Veronica gave him a loving kiss when it was over to try to cheer him up. He gave her a half-smile, but still seemed a bit annoyed that they'd shared the videos with her.

The doorbell rang right after Material Girl finished, so they shut off the system to go and greet their guests. Mac promised Logan she wouldn't share it with any of the other guests and he mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her in return.

Mac and Dick led the way to the door, followed by Veronica and Logan. As the door opened, a dark haired little boy ran in first, and once he saw Logan made a straight line for him.

"Unka Wogan," the little boy said with a big smile on his face as he reached out his arms for Logan to scoop him up.

"Hey Tiger!" Logan said with a big grin as he lifted Elijah up and gave him a big hug. "How's my favorite little man?"

Their happy little reunion was interrupted by Carmen and Weevil arguing.

"I really don't think we should be here Carmen," Weevil was insisting as she seemed to just ignore him and give Mac a big hug. She was headed for Veronica and Logan, when she stopped in mid step and made a grimaced face and then took a deep breath and continued toward them.

"It's just Braxton Hicks, Eli," she said in a curt angry tone, as she forced a smile on her face and hugged Veronica.

Weevil let out a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes. "That's what you said with Elijah and the next thing I know, there was water all over the kitchen floor and we were rushing to the hospital. Have you forgotten that?" His tone matched hers in level of irritation.

When he finished both Logan and Dick's eyes became huge and stared at the space below where she was standing.

"It's fine," she snapped back again. "I feel fine. My due date isn't until next week, so there's nothing to worry about." She grimaced again and took a breath then snapped out, "Braxton Hicks!"

Veronica shot Mac a glance as well too, that obviously was one of pure panic.

"Come on Carmen," Mac said soothingly, let's find you some place comfortable to sit.

"Preferably out on the patio," Dick said in a quiet voice. Mac elbowed him hard before walking off and taking Carmen into the living room.

"Shit, she'd better not let her sit in my favorite chair," Dick said under his breath, though loud enough for Veronica and Weevil to hear. Weevil just gave him an angry glare, and shook his head.

"I tried talking her out of coming, but you know how she can be," Weevil let out another frustrated sigh, "Really dude, I apologize in advance if something happens." Dick's expression became even more worried.

Weevil glanced over at Elijah and Logan. "He was super stoked when he heard you were going to be here man," he said with a little smile. Logan smiled back and then set Elijah down on the ground.

"Hi Elijah," Veronica said to the adorable little mini-Weevil. Elijah realized he didn't know Veronica and grabbed a hold of Logan's leg, trying to hide behind him.

"Hey buddy," Logan said soothingly, then reached down and picked him back up, "This is my girlfriend, Veronica. She's really nice, I promise."

Elijah gave her a little smile, but clung tightly to Logan's chest. "Hi," he whispered in a small voice.

Weevil reached for the bag that he'd carried in over his shoulder. "I brought in your bag with your cars that you wanted to show Uncle Logan, remember?" Elijah's smile returned and the bashful look temporarily disappeared.

"Cars?" Logan asked with a friendly smile, "Did you see my new car in the drive way when you got here?"

Elijah nodded and a big smile spread across his face. "Daddy showed me. I wike it."

"Thanks buddy," Logan said as he ruffled his hair and set him back down again, "Your turn to show me your new cars too." Elijah reached over and took the bag from Weevil. "And hey, I think I have something for you too." Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a little car that was almost identical to the Benz he'd just bought. Veronica eyed him suspiciously with a sly smile. She remembered the day at the dealers, there had been some little mini versions of the cars in the guy's office, and Logan had been looking at them and must have conned the salesman into throwing one in as part of the deal.

"Thank you Unka Wogan!" Elijah squealed as he took it.

Weevil rolled his eyes at Logan. "Dude, he already loves you. You don't need to keep bribing him to be your friend you know."

Elijah grabbed Logan's hand and started dragging him toward the game room. "Wet's go wook at my cars," he said as he pulled Logan behind him. Dick laughed and said he was going to go grab some drinks and snacks for the game, and headed toward the kitchen.

"Hey, Weevil," Veronica said taking advantage of a few minutes alone with him. "There was something I wanted to ask you about."

"Sure V, what's up?" Weevil asked, though he'd turned so he could look in at Mac and Carmen to check up on her.

"Um," She hesitated not knowing exactly how to ask and squished up her nose for a second. "I wondered if you might know any fences."

That snapped Weevil's attention away from Carmen and back to her. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"Fences, do you know any fences?"

"That's what I thought you said, but I didn't think I heard you right." Weevil said with a confused look on his face. "You do know I have a legitimate job now, right?"

"I know," she said with a sigh, "I just wondered if you might know anyone from the old days. It's for the big jewelry theft case that I'm working on."

"Ah, well that makes more sense. I was wondering if you were planning on selling some of Echoll's Rolexes or something." He gave her a little wink.

"Well?" She asked, getting a little impatient because she really didn't want to have the same conversation from earlier with Logan again and wanted to avoid him overhearing them taking about it.

"I can't say that I do, but I could ask around a little if you want." He had a slightly reluctant look on his face though.

"Thanks Weevil, that would be great."

"You'd owe me a favor though," he said with a little smirk.

"Yeah, of course. Did you have something specific in mind?"

He nodded, "Yep, favors these days come in the form of baby sitting services."

She laughed, "Well Elijah seems pretty fond of Logan, so maybe he can fulfill my debt for me."

"Works for me," Weevil said with a smile. His smile quickly faltered as he heard a larger grunt come from Carmen in the other room. "Damn it. Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?"

"Was that a rhetorical question?" Veronica asked with a confused smirk on her face.

He just glared at her and shook his head and turned to go check on Carmen.

The doorbell rang as Weevil was walking off, and Veronica called out that she'd get it. This time it was Leo and Emily at the door.

"Welcome," Veronica said with a cheerful smile as she closed the door behind them. The three of them walked into the living room to join the others. Weevil had already moved on to join Dick in the kitchen. They'd caught the tail end of him and Carmen still arguing, and then Carmen angrily shooing him away.

"Hi Leo," Carmen said with a friendly smile, and then she looked at Emily for an introduction.

"Hi, I'm Emily," Emily said as she saw the questioning look from Carmen.

"Emily's a pediatric nurse at Neptune General," Veronica added.

"See Eli, there's nothing to worry about!" Carmen yelled toward the kitchen. "We've got the Sheriff and a Nurse here!"

"Great!" Weevil yelled sarcastically back from the kitchen.

Emily and Leo both looked a bit confused, but Carmen just carried on as if everything was perfectly normal. "So where did you go to nursing school Emily?" Veronica noticed that Carmen seemed to be acting a bit strange and talking even faster than normal.

"UCLA," Emily answered with a slightly concerned smile.

"One of my cousins went to nursing school at SDSU," Carmen continued on. "She's working at one of the hospitals in San Diego now." She cringed again and then smiled at them all.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, starting to get a bit concerned about Carmen's obvious level of discomfort.

"Yeah, Carmen," Mac added, "How long were you planning to torment your poor husband?"

Veronica gave Mac a confused look.

"Well he really pissed me off," Carmen rattled on. "Coming home and telling me I couldn't come over here tonight. Who does he think he is? Telling his pregnant wife what she can't do."

"While I'm sure Emily or Leo could probably help deliver the baby, wouldn't you really rather go to the hospital for that?" Mac asked in a soothing tone.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sure I still have a few hours to go, but you're probably right that we should go soon. I wish I had a picture of Dick and Logan's face though when Eli mentioned my water breaking. That was priceless." Carmen chuckled slightly.

"So not Braxton Hicks?" Veronica asked, finally catching up with what seemed to be going on.

"No, my water broke right before he got home. But then he pissed me off and so I told him that it was just Braxton Hicks." Carmen had a devious smile on her face. "I'd called Mac earlier about having Elijah stay over when we went to the hospital, so we had to stop by anyway."

Emily and Leo seemed a bit alarmed, but didn't say anything and just continued to listen to the other three. Obviously her contractions were still spread out fairly far apart.

"Eli!" Carmen yelled to the kitchen. "Can you go and get Elijah for me?"

Weevil let out a frustrated sigh, and marched back to the game room, bringing out Elijah, followed closely by Logan.

"Hey baby," Carmen said as Elijah walked over by where she was sitting. "Remember what we talked about earlier?' He nodded and smiled. "Okay, you be really good for Aunt Mackie and I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

Weevil's expression changed from annoyance to one of complete confusion.

"Well just don't stand there," Carmen barked at him. "Go get Elijah's car seat and overnight bag from the car."

"I knew it wasn't just Braxton Hicks," he grumbled as he quickly walked out of the room and headed back to the front door. He mumbled a few other words under his breath in Spanish, but the others couldn't quite make out what he said.

"I wuv you Mommy," Elijah said and gave her a hug and a kiss. "Can I go back and pway with Unka Wogan now?"

"Yeah baby. I love you too." Carmen said with a loving smile on her face. Elijah smiled and ran back over to Logan. Logan had given a quick wave to Leo and Emily before Elijah grabbed his hand and pulled him back toward the game room again.

Mac helped Carmen up out of her chair and she gave Mac and Veronica hugs good bye and promised to have Weevil keep Mac up to date on what was going on. Weevil had returned from the car and set Elijah's stuff by the door, and then went to help Carmen toward the front door.

"Good luck!" Logan yelled to the couple before he disappeared into the game room with Elijah. "Keep me posted Weevil."

Dick had come to join them from the kitchen and gave Carmen a quick hug too. "Thanks for not gooshing all over our living room." He said as he released her. Mac was standing next too him and smacked him on the shoulder. "I mean, good luck!" Mac just shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. "We'll take good care of little Eli while you're there," Dick added as he opened the door for them.

Carmen smiled and nodded and then gave one last quick wave before they disappeared out to their car.

"Well that was an eventful start to our evening," Veronica announced as Dick closed the door.

"Never a dull moment at Casa de Casablancas," Dick said with a chuckle.