A/N: Sorry for the delayed updating. The weather reached crazy heat for England (30C and higher) so the laptop wasn't coping well, and I was suffering even more so! The chapter was written, but getting to post it was the bother. Now that it is here, I hope y'all find this ending was worth the wait. I did everything I planned with this story and here seemed like a good place to call it a day.

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 24

Mac had thought it would feel strange going back to her old routine. In the end, she had sort of formed a whole new plan for her days, a mixture of how she used to live and how she had been living her life these past couple of months. Two weeks since the case of Dick's attack was put to bed, and Mac had started going into the office more to work for Veronica. Dick could do for himself for a few hours, even though he didn't particularly like to. He was always happiest when Mac came home to him, and since his home was her home too now, on a permeant basis, it all worked out for everyone.

"Dick?" she called as she came into the house after a long day.

Mac tossed her bag and jacket into the chair, but kept her sunglasses on. The splashing sounds she heard proved that Dick was out back in the pool. She wandered through the house and out of the French doors onto the patio. There he was, her boyfriend, looking like some kind of Adonis as he swam lengths of the pool with ease now.

It was good physio, they had both agreed on that, and quite honestly Mac took less and less convincing when it came to any activity that got Dick mostly naked. They hadn't taken the ultimate step in their relationship yet. All the other little ones, but so far Mac still technically had her own room here and she was okay with that, for now. There was a part of her that had almost expected Dick to make a big deal out of that, but surprisingly no. His problem was with Mac insisting she pay any rent.

"I'm not living here for free, Dick, no way," she had told him most definitely in what had been the closest to a fight they had gotten in the past couple of weeks. "I'm not Vivian Ward."

Dick hadn't even made a crack about that not being possible since they weren't sleeping together. Mac was almost disappointed by that. She didn't want all of the original Dick to slip away, because he was the guy she had fallen in love with, warts and all. Since then he had proven he could be just as funny and just as gross as ever before when he put his mind to it. He just wouldn't be Dick if he didn't live up to his name sometimes.

"Hey, babe!" he said when he spotted her, coming over to the edge of the pool. "Enjoying the view?"

"Girlfriend's privilege," she told him crouching down to lean in and kiss him. "You'll be back on a board before we know it, dude," she teased him.

"Can't wait," he admitted. "The sea calls my name, babe. 'S been too long since I rode a wave."

"Well, you're gonna have to wait it out until at least tomorrow," she reminded him. "We've got a lot of party prep to do in the next two hours," she said, checking her watch.

"Babe, it does not take two hours to prep a Dick Casablancas party," he told her definitely. "Just wheel in the kegs and crank up the stereo!"

"You forget, this is a Casablancas-Mackenzie party. All the fun of the original, with a little touch of class... and fancy tech," she told him with a grin.

Dick grinned right back at her. "You don't have any of that fancy tech on you right now, do you?"

Mac opened her mouth to say that no, of course she didn't when she realised a little too late why he had asked.

"Dick, no..." she began to protest, but it was too late.

He already had a hold of her and hauled her right into the pool, clothes and all, before she hardly had a chance to get a breath in. Splashing in panic a moment, Mac was soon smacking Dick in the chest for his foolish behaviour. It might have been better if she hadn't been laughing through the water that ran streaming down her face as she tried to scold him like a kid.

"Just when I think you might actually have progressed beyond the mentality of a teenage boy!" she said, as if exasperated by him.

"Babe, you know I am totally all adult male," he reminded her, pulling her close enough to prove it, something Mac didn't protest at all, at least not at first.

She tried to get out of his arms and away from his kisses after a little while, though it was a fairly reluctant manoeuvre.

"Dick, we really have to stop," she urged him, treading water the whole time. "Party, remember?"

Of course he remembered, and Dick sighed when he realised Mac did have a point. As much fun as it would be to just spend the evening messing around between the pool, the hot tub, and hopefully ultimately the bedroom, they couldn't back out on this party. It may have been billed as a belated birthday celebration for Dick, but both he and Mac knew it was way more. Not only a party to show everyone they were together, and to celebrate the fact a DNA test had proven Dick was not the father of Lucy Laos' daughter, but more than that, a chance to make good friends as happy as they were right now.

"Well, don't you look beautiful?" said Keith as his daughter wandered out into the living room. "You scrub up good, kid," he joked when the genuine compliment yielded no real kind of reaction.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, granting him a smile, even as she continued to look around the room, under the table, under the couch cushion beside him.

"Lost something?" he asked, as if that weren't obvious.

"Yeah," she said absently, checking her purse one more time.

Keith watched wide eyed as Veronica emptied out not just her cell, lip-gloss, and wallet, but also Mr Sparky's more discreet cousin that she now favoured.

"Really?" he checked, picking up the Taser and showing her he was both confused and unimpressed. "You expecting trouble at this party?"

"I expect trouble everywhere I go, Pops," she told him with a look. "Isn't that the way you raised me?"

"Point taken," Keith considered, putting the Taser back on the table. "But I hardly think a civilised house party that Mac is in charge of is going to require any electric shocks."

"Hopefully not. Dick at last seems to have learnt to only be handsy with the one woman, and thank God it's not me," she said, only half joking. "Left hook still works for the rest, right?"

"Far as I know," her father agreed.

Veronica left the Taser on the table just this once and fastened her purse again, now sure she had everything she needed. A quick look in the hall mirror proved she looked okay. She wouldn't normally bother to get so dressed up, but Mac had insisted it was going to be kind of a fancy affair. Veronica felt slightly self-conscious in her long blue dress with her hair swept up, but she had heard her dad say she looked beautiful when she walked in and liked to believe he wasn't just being kind to his only child.

"Okay," she said at last. "Time to go. I won't be home late," she promised, leaning over the couch to kiss his bald head.

"Have fun, sweetheart," he told her, smiling just a little too much.

Thankfully she had her back to him by then and didn't notice. Other than Mac and Dick, Keith was the only other person to know exactly why Veronica had been invited to the party, and it wasn't to boogie like it was 1999.

"Welcome to the party house!" said Dick loudly the moment he opened the door.

"Hello, Dick," said Veronica, smiling through the surprise.

She wasn't used to him being so pleasant to her yet, or to finding him at a party with all of his clothes on. Veronica had to admit, in proper pants and a button down shirt, Dick didn't look half bad, though he was still managing to make her feel a little over-dressed.

"Mac! Ronnie's here!" he called to his girlfriend.

Veronica was barely in the door before Mac was in front of her.

"You look amazing," she told her friend.

"And you look like a normal person," Veronica noted. "Why do I feel like Miss America just walked into the Gap?"

"You look good," Mac insisted, apparently unable or unwilling to explain further. "Now come on, come get in the party spirit."

Veronica knew something was going on here. She had no idea what exactly it was, but something just wasn't quite right. Mac was acting strange. Not a bad kind of strange, but something was off and Veronica just knew it.

"It's not my birthday," she said, just in case that was what they thought.

"Did I say it was?" asked Mac. "Er, Dick? Why don't you ask Veronica to dance?"

"Sure," he agreed too easily, alerting Veronica to the fact she really must have entered an alternate reality. "C'mon, Ronnie," he urged her, grabbing her hand before she had a chance to protest.

"On the day I choose to leave the Taser home," she muttered, her words lost in the thumping of the music as Dick spun her out into the middle of the 'dancefloor'.

They had cleared all the furniture out of the main living room and opened up the doors at both ends so guests could gain access to both the dining room, which presumably contained food and drink, and the patio so those that were dumb enough or drunk enough to think a moonlight swim was a good idea could dive right in. Right now, Veronica was just concentrating on the madness that was dancing with Dick at a party where she was the only one too formerly attired.

"Dick, I'm not..." she began to protest about the whole dancing thing when the music suddenly changed.

Veronica looked up as if she thought some divine intervention had switched the song playing from a jumpy pop number to something distinctly eighties and dramatic. A memory came to mind unbidden as a spotlight shone down on Veronica alone.

'When I pictured this moment I've Had The Time Of My Life was playing,' she heard Logan say inside of her head. Now that was what exactly was playing, and as she spun around, she knew exactly why.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, both hands over her mouth as Logan strode purposefully towards her.

He was in full uniform, looking as handsome and wonderful as Veronica had ever seen him. Everybody else in the room just seemed to disappear in a moment, the music was background noise, the whole world may as well have entirely melted away. All Veronica was seeing was Logan, all she felt was his arms sliding around her body and his lips on her own.

"You're home," she said pointlessly, when they parted a moment. "How are you home?"

"Plans changed," he told her, grinning. "If I told you about it, I'd have to kill you," he joked. "Happy to see me, Mars?" he checked.

"Happy?" she echoed. "You have no idea," she said, laughing and crying at the same time as she kissed him.

Across the room, Mac felt Dick's arm slide around her waist and naturally leaned into his embrace. She couldn't leave her station right now, manning the music and the lights that had made this moment so cheesy and yet so perfect. When Logan had called Dick and told him he was coming home early and wanted some help to surprise Veronica, Mac had been more than willing to assist. She only ever wanted those friends that she loved like family to be as happy as she was. Tonight had worked out just perfectly.

As Dirty Dancing's most famous track ended, Mac set another party playlist running, pulled the spotlight off the happy couple, and then gave her full attention to Dick.

"I think we did good," she said, hugging him close.

"Hell, yeah!" he agreed, leaning down to kiss her. "I mean, look at those two. They're totally going to be doing it tonight!"

"Hence the hotel suite," said Mac with a smile, knowing Keith would be as grateful for that detail as Logan and Veronica were. "Of course, some of us have our own homes and don't have to worry about unwanted company," she said, looking up at Dick intently until the light seemed to dawn. "How fit are you feeling tonight, Casablancas?"

"Babe, you serious?" he checked, sure he had to be misunderstanding her.

"About you?" she said teasingly. "Always."

Planting one more kiss on his lips, she let go of him and walked away. Dick shook his head so hard he felt his eyes rattle in his skull. Maybe she didn't mean what he thought she meant. Until the party was over, he figured he wasn't going to find out anyway. Not that it really mattered. Mac made him so damn happy, it was kind of insane. He never thought he could have this life, a woman who really loved him and miraculously that he could love too. All those times he called guys like Logan whipped, played the party animal because it seemed like the better choice. Dick knew better now, and he honestly didn't mind admitting it.

It was past midnight before the party-goers finally left. The guest list had been a little different to Dick's usual blow-outs, way less bikini-clad promiscuous types and more of Mac's friends, plus some of the neighbours that she had gotten to know recently. Wallace had been invited but declined, citing a long week at work as his reason. Dick blamed himself, but Mac wouldn't allow it. She knew Wallace was telling the truth. He wasn't all that keen on Dick, or Logan, truth be told, but he swallowed a lot of that for the sake of his two best girl-friends. If he said he was busy or tired or whatever, then he was.

Honestly, as she stood on the front porch yawning and waving away the last of the guests, Mac was glad that they hadn't invited any more people. It was worth the party for Veronica and Logan's reunion if nothing else, and she had enjoyed herself tonight, but she wasn't sorry the event was over.

"Wow," said Dick as he stood staring at the living room when Mac returned. "Epic clean-up."

"Yup," she agreed. "But they have people you can hire to do that, right?"

Dick looked at her with wide eyes. "Seriously? You want to hire people to clean the house? Babe, that is totally my line."

Mac chuckled. "Yeah, well, I only have so much energy left right now," she admitted leaning into him. "And I was kind of saving that for you."

She had that look on her face again, the one she was wearing earlier when Dick had been so sure she was offering something he never pressured her for. Sure, they had their share of make-outs and more than fun stuff, but he and Mac had yet to go all the way. After less than a month of seriously being together and her being so special and all, Dick knew better than to push. He had assumed it was going to be a long painful road that led to getting Mac into his bed for more than sleep, but apparently she was just full of surprises tonight.

"Dick?" she prompted when he was silent and staring too long. "Hey, anybody home?" she asked, lightly tapping her fist on the side of his head as if knocking to gain entry. "C'mon, dude, you're making me think maybe you don't want me or something."

She said it like she was joking, though quite honestly Mac was feeling just a little vulnerable right now. Being with Dick was something else, and when it came to actually being with him physically like this, she had expected not to feel ready this soon. The moment had presented itself quite out of the blue, but Mac was sure she was okay with it. She wanted this, she wanted him. Now suddenly he seemed apprehensive and it made her worry.

"Macky, you know I want you," he told her, quelling every fear not just with his words but the way he was looking at her right now. "I'm just... You're different. I mean, you're special. I don't want to screw it up, y'know?"

"This from a guy who told me the two things he knew he was best at were surfing and sex," she half-joked, knowing she was an idiot for making light of such a moment but somehow unable to help it.

"I'm trying to be serious here. Kind of a new look for me," he said anyway, a smile quirking up one side of his mouth.

"I know," she agreed, nodding her head as she turned into his arms and faced him straight on. "But you can't screw this up, Dick. I want to be with you and if you want to be with me, if you care about me..."

"Yeah," he said when her voice trailed away. "I... Yeah, I actually do. Macky, you know I love you, right?" he admitted. "And that's probably the weirdest moment of my life right there, because I never, ever though I would ever say that to a chick and mean it, but I totally do. I love you, Cindy Mackenzie," he said it again, as if proving both to her and himself that he really was serious and okay with it.

Her smile lit up the room and then she reached up and kissed him. It would be hours before they came back to reality, a whole lot of time spent just wrapped up in each other, taking it slow and learning everything they could about each other. It was how their whole relationship had been, and it was as strong as could be because of it.

If anybody had told Mac and Dick just six months ago that this would be them now, the picture of happiness, making love like the stars of a romance novel (only hotter, according to Dick) they both would've laughed in that person's face. Love had to have a sense of humour, they were both sure on that. There was no other way to explain what they had found together, but neither of them were giving it up now, not for anything in the world.

The End