Veronica and Logan made it down to the office sooner than anyone expected to see them. Mac and Sandy smiled at each other knowingly when they saw the two walk through the office, still holding hands, then disappear into their individual offices. Veronica felt better than she had been in weeks and focused on making notes in her case files for online data to be obtained by Mac and surveillance that needed to be done by Logan. Since the moment the stick turned blue, Logan had banned Veronica from anything remotely resembling field work, and she grudgingly agreed. Logan was equally as busy filing his paperwork for the bounty he collected, catching up on information Mac had obtained for him on some cases, and looking over the information on new cases Veronica accepted while he was away. The entire morning sped by so quickly that when Sandy knocked quietly on Logan's door, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Mr. Echolls?" She said quietly, her face full of concern.
Logan frowned. Sandy could turn anything into sunshine and rainbows. When she was upset, it was never good. "What's wrong, Sandy?" He questioned hesitantly.
She put her hand in the room and gestured for him to come with her. He rose from his chair and was about to say something when she put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. I don't want to hear." She whispered and shook her head towards Veronica's door. It was closed, but the office was so quiet, their voices carried. She gestured for him to follow her to the lobby and he did without saying a word.
As they approached, he quickly saw what had Sandy so vexed. A big bouquet of at least four-dozen white and pink roses was in a giant vase on her desk. Mac was standing next to them looking as through she wanted to throw them out the window. She held an envelope at arms length out to Logan. It was opened and the note inside was sticking out slightly. "Give you one guess what shit-head sent these." She hissed at Logan.
Logan took a deep breath to try and control himself. Feeling his anger rising, he snatched the paper from Mac and opened it. He read silently.
"Veronica, Congratulations on your pregnancy. I know you will be a wonderful mother. It was great catching up with you yesterday. I hope to see you soon. Duncan."
Logan was furious. He wanted nothing more than to light the flowers on fire and send them back to Duncan, ablaze. Just as he was about to do just that, he heard a gasp from behind him. Everyone turned to see Veronica standing there, a handful of files clutched to her body, giving herself some protection from the pink monstrosity in the room.
"Are those from..." She began, looking at Logan. She saw him gripping the envelope in his fist and produced her palm, silently asking him to give it over. He hesitated at first, but then she spoke. "Please. Give me the note, Logan." Her tone, quiet but firm, with a hint of slightly terrifying, and it made him realize their kids were in for a world of trouble one day. He handed her the paper without a further fight.
Veronica flipped the paper open with one hand and read it silently. She looked up at the group of people staring at her and rolled her eyes. "Duncan always did have a flair for the over-dramatic gesture." She intoned. Staring at the flowers, she shook her head. "Sandy, can I ask you for something wayyyyy outside of your job description?"
Sandy stepped forward, eager to help. "Yes, Ms. Mars! What do you need?"
"I need you to take these flowers downstairs to Mille and John; I think they would love to have them in their cafe." She directed. Veronica balled up the note in her fist and tossed it towards the garbage near Sandy's desk; making a small groan when she missed the basket.
Sandy clapped her hands together with glee. "Ohhhhh...what a great idea! They will love them!"
"I'll go with you and open the doors." Added Mac. "And I'll grab lunch for all of us. How does that sound?"
Veronica forced a small smile. "That sound great. Thank you guys." She said. Lowering her head, she beat a hasty retreat back to her office and shut the door.
Logan watched her body language as she left. When she was finally tucked away in her office, he let lose and slammed his hand on the outer wall of the lobby. "Fuck!" He growled, unable to contain his anger anymore.
Mac held up her hands like she was confronting a wild animal. "You take care of her. Sandy and I will take care of the flowers. Just...be cool." She said. Logan threw his old friend a terrible look, but started to relax as her words sunk in.
"Fine. You're right. Thanks for getting rid of the flowers." His expression starting to soften. "Reimburse yourself from petty cash for lunch. Write it off a 'Meeting' expense. And nothing with onions or peppers for Veronica."
She gave him a thumbs up. "No problem, boss man." Turning to Sandy she bowed towards the door. "Shall we, my lady?"
Sandy picked up the heavy vase and flowers with a slight groan. "We shall!" She said confidently and the two made their way out the door.
Logan took a moment to gather his emotions as he walked down the hallway towards Veronica's office. When he reached the door, he opened it slowly and poked his head in. Veronica was sitting in her chair, her head was down on her arms, her hair creating a tent over her. She was breathing hard. Logan came and sat down across from her and reached out to pet her hair. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.
Veronica turned her head to the side and flicked her hair out of the way. "Feeling light headed." She mumbled.
Logan reached over and put his fingers on her wrist, checking her pulse. He counted out the time in his head, frowning as he concentrated on the beats. "Your blood pressure seems high. You need to calm down...remember the doctor warned us about that."
Veronica kept her eyes closed. "That's only if it's always high. We have our next appointment with the doctor next week. She can check it again then."
Logan slipped his hand from her wrist and wrapped it around her hand. "This is the second time in two days that Duncan has upset you." He muttered.
Veronica lifted her head and looked at her husband sadly. "Please don't do anything; it will just escalate the problem. I really should have eaten by now and the flowers were just stupid." She commented. "If he thinks that a bunch of flowers will win my favour, he's delusional."
"Yes, but his delusions are upsetting you and I want it to stop." He responded.
Veronica sat back in her chair and folded her hands over her belly. "So what do you do? Get into a pissing contest with him? He does something you don't like; you go after him. He gets upset and retaliates. You go after him for the retaliation. Where does it end? And when does our child get dragged into it? Let Duncan have his delusions. I won't respond and he'll stop, and that will be the end of it."
Logan sat back in his chair and crossed his hands over his chest, visibly upset by what Veronica said. "And what if he doesn't stop?"
Veronica let out a sigh. "Then I'll tall to him; not you. We have someone besides ourselves we have to think about in all this." She looked down at her bump lovingly.
Logan didn't like this plan at all. He opened his mouth to speak but decided that, for once in his life, maybe not saying anything was the best idea. There was nothing he could do or say that wasn't going to make Veronica more upset, so for the moment, he let it drop.
A knock came on the door and an arm poked through with a bag at the end. "Millie loved the flowers. Food for the baby is on her, she said." Mac shook the bag in the air and Logan got out of his chair to retrieve it for Veronica.
"Thanks Mac." Veronica's mood suddenly on an upswing.
Logan peeked around the door and Mac smiled at him. "Thanks Mac." He said quietly. She nodded, seeing the tension and sadness in his eyes. He closed the door and placed the bag on the desk, silently going through the contents. All the words that were said hung in the room, thick as fog. There was so much he wanted to say but couldn't, wouldn't risk putting more pressure and anxiety on his wife. All of the gloom and sadness came to a halt quickly when he realizes what was written on Veronica's lunch. He smiled into the bag and then back at Veronica with a goofy grin.
"I think these are yours." He said and handed her two packages; a salad and a large wrapped sandwich. Both were clearly marked "FOR BABY! " in grease crayon.
Veronica couldn't help but giggle at the lunch. "I think Millie is excited for us." She said and took her food. Her tummy did a little flip at the idea of food, but she decided it was actually the baby doing a dance of joy that it was being fed.
Logan grabbed the remaining items out of the bag and sat down in his chair again. When he flipped the huge wrap sandwich around to open, he saw that Millie had written "Daddy!" on the wrapper. Tears sprung to Logan's eyes as he realized, for the first time, that was what someone would call him, one day.
A fear gripped him like never before at the thought of losing that future, with his wife and his child. Veronica looked up from her sandwich to see him staring at the words, tears running down his cheeks. She stood from her chair and came around the desk. Stopping beside him, she bent over and wrapped herself around his shoulders and neck.
"He can't hurt us; not if we don't let him. Everything will be fine." She whispered into his ear. "It just will. I know it will."
Logan closed his eyes to get control of his emotions once more. She pulled back and smiled at him. "Look...tomorrow is Sunday. Why don't we start our 'weekend' by going to the beach. You can surf. I can lay around and admire you surfing..." She teased.
Logan reached up and kissed her softly. "Sounds like the perfect medicine for both of us." He answered. Veronica brushed his brown hair with her fingers and then walked back to her seat. They both finished their lunch while discussing plans for their relaxing day.
Sunday morning had Veronica feeling better than she had in weeks. Logan had gone to the grocery store the night before, and made her 'homemade' breadsticks from frozen pizza dough, for breakfast. It was the first morning she didn't feel sick as a dog and kept her breakfast in her stomach, and she sailed around the loft like an earth-mother-goddess in a long summer dress. After breakfast, they happily gathered their things and made their way to the beach. It was still early enough that Logan's favourite surf spot was still abandoned and Veronica made herself comfortable in a low beach chair, cosy sweater, and "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy" while Logan headed out to catch some waves. Logan had been out for about 30 minutes when Veronica heard someone approach from behind her.
"Veronica?" Came the familiar voice. A familiar voice that made her skin crawl.
She turned to see Duncan, standing in his wet suit, carrying his surf board. Next to him stood the ghost of Meg Manning. Lilly, no longer the baby Veronica saw in her head, was standing next to her father in a colourful wetsuit, carrying a board as well. And while Duncan still gave her the shivers, Veronica's curiosity in Lilly made her stand and greet them.
"Wow. Duncan. I'm surprised to see you." She said, never taking her eyes off Lilly. If someone had morphed a photo of 'her' Lilly with a photo of Meg, they would have got this new incarnation of Lilly. Her hair was long and blond; her face bright and perky.
Duncan was beaming. "Well, Lilly's heard so much about my time surfing out here that I had to show her." He turned to his daughter. "Lilly, this is my old friend Veronica."
Lilly had been standing quietly to the side, looking shyly at Veronica until that point. Veronica extended her hand to the girl and she smiled a bit and shook it. "Nice to meet you." She said in a thick Australian accent. The sound of her voice took Veronica aback, momentarily forgetting the girl grew up far away from Neptune.
"Is that Logan out there?" Duncan asked, interrupting Veronica's thoughts.
Veronica looked out over the water to see Logan at the top of a wave, his tall body totally in control in out-of-control nature. Even now, the fact that he could accomplish this act never ceased to amaze her. "Yep." She said proudly. "That's my guy."
Duncan frowned a little at her and turned his attention back to the ocean. The little group watched as Logan expertly rode the wave, coming to an end close to the shoreline. Veronica's stomach tightened as Duncan began to move across the sand towards her husband. Lilly stayed beside Veronica watching with quiet interest. Logan pulled himself and his board from the water and shook his hair with his hand, changing his gaze towards Veronica with a big smile on his face. She watched nervously as he realized someone was walking towards him. Darkness overtook his expression as he realized who was approaching.
Helplessly, she watched as the men met in the sand. Duncan stopped and said something to Logan and Logan looked past him to Veronica before responding. Logan's poker face was on, as Veronica watched him try not to show any emotion to the situation. Soon, they were both headed back to the girls, Duncan matching Logan's stride.
When they got within reach, Logan aggressively planted his board in the sand and went over to Veronica. He kissed her forehand and wrapped one arm around her waist so it snaked around her belly.
They both watched Duncan closely as he watched them. He was clearly agitated by their affection and stepped closer to Lilly. "Logan, this is my daughter Lilly." He announced and put his arm around her shoulder.
Logan noticed a little cringe from Lilly at the contact from her father, and filed it away in his head. "Nice to meet you." He said to the girl with a nod.
Lilly smiled widely at the handsome surfer looking at her, her entire face lighting up. "Nice to meet you too. You look so much like the pictures Dad has at home...when you were both my age."
Veronica couldn't help but smirk. Duncan's face turned from shocked to annoyance. Lilly was obviously in the "raging ball of hormones" stage of being a normal teen; also much like they were at her age. Logan laughed out loud. "Well, obviously your Dad didn't keep any of me with shaggy hair, braces, and acne because those would have you run screaming into the ocean."
Veronica looked up at Logan with so much love she thought she would break apart. "You were still cute with the braces." She said reassuringly.
Logan kissed the top of her head affectionately. "Glad you think so." He glanced up at Duncan who had dropped his arm from his daughter and was now glaring at the couple. Sometimes joy was the best way to fight evil. Logan was practically giddy at the idea that their happiness made Duncan squirm. He let go of Veronica and walked up to Duncan, slapping him on the back a little too hard. "Come on, DK...let's see if those Australian waves improved your surfing at all." He turned and winked at Veronica, then grabbed his board and strode towards the water. It took Duncan a beat to catch up as he grabbed his board and followed Logan to the edge.
Veronica turned to Lilly who was watching the two men begin to paddle into the surf. "Why don't you come and sit with me." She said and touched Lilly's shoulder gently. Lilly twitched at her touch but recovered in a moment.
"Sure." She said and made her way to Veronica's spot. She watched as Veronica maneuvered herself into her chair and then sat down near her.
They both turned their focus on the Duncan and Logan, who were now out in the deep water, sitting on their boards next to each other. Veronica realized they were talking, like they used to, while they waited to catch a wave. She had a sinking feeling.
Duncan paddled closer to Logan and was about to open his mouth when Logan spoke first. "I'm going to say this plain and clear so you understand me, DK...stay the fuck away from my wife and child."
Duncan was taken aback and he stammered. "I don't know what you mean..." He started but Logan interjected.
"Look, I brought you out here because I didn't want to have to beat you in front of your daughter, but if you keep playing head games with Veronica, I will find you and put a deep hurt on you. Do you understand?"
Duncan's face turned red with rage. "She was mine first! I was the first person she loved, not you! But if it hadn't been for you, she would have come with me to Australia and we would have been a family." He spat.
Logan retaliated. "Raping her doesn't make her 'yours', you asshole. Stay away from her or, so help me, I will find a way to run you back out of town."
He watched as a terrifying smile crossed Duncan's face. "Be careful what you say. The last person to threaten my family ended up naked in a hotel room with a bullet in the back of his head."
All the blood drained from Logan's face. "You." He croaked, suddenly gasping for breath.
Duncan smirked. "For now, I'll let you have Veronica, old 'friend'; mainly because she is pregnant. But one day, I may come calling for her and there will be nothing you can do to stop me." He then bent over his board and started paddling to catch a wave that was fast approaching.
Logan hesitated for a moment, his mind bombarded by words and thoughts and feelings. He looked over his shoulder and at the last possible moment, he stood on his board and rode the wave back to the beach.
On the shore, Veronica tried to distract herself from her anxiety by talking with Lilly. "So Lilly...how do you like Neptune so far?"
The girl shrugged. "It's weird. For so long it's only been me and Dad. Now we have staff and security. Dad hired a tutor for me so I can adjust to your school system and next year, when I turn 16, he said I'll go to Neptune High, like you guys did."
Veronica let out a sigh as she remembered high school momentarily. Giving her head a shake, she threw off the memories of that shit-show. "It seems like several lifetimes ago." She said quietly.
Lilly hesitantly moved closer to Veronica. "Did you know my mom?" She asked hesitantly.
Veronica looked at the girl kindly. "Your mother was one of the nicest people I ever knew. She wanted nothing but for you to be loved and have a good life. It was her dying wish."
Lilly nodded and looked out at the ocean. "He says I remind him of her." She said, a darkness covering the young girl's face.
Veronica instincts were on fire. Something about the way Lilly said the words put her on edge. "You do look like her a lot." She said. "But you are still your own person." She added.
"Am I?" Said Lilly. She noticed her father climbing out of the water and she jumped up and away from Veronica.
Veronica saw Logan come in after Duncan and knew something was wrong. He wore his emotions on his face and in his body. Duncan reached the group first and walked directly up to Lilly. "Grab your board, honey. The waves aren't that good here. We can hop in the car and catch some a little further down the beach." He turned to Veronica and nodded. "See you around." He said, throwing her a creepy smile. A very confused Lilly grabbed her board and wordlessly followed her father, giving Veronica an unhappy wave as she left.
Veronica stood and ran towards Logan, who was slowly walking down the beach as not to catch up to Duncan and Lilly. When she met him, his face was filled with horror. She reached up and touched his cheek but he didn't move. "Grab your stuff." He said. "We're going home."