It was a good morning for Pony. Logan had been up earlier than usual for his morning run and instead of taking their usual route down pavements and through parks, they headed straight for the beach. They ran across the sand as the sun came up and now Pony was merrily bounding in and out of the cold surf, occasionally running back to her master, who was quietly sitting on a large piece of driftwood, staring out across the water. She gleefully danced her way back to Logan to give him a soggy, happy kiss of appreciation.

Logan looked down at the wet dog and smiled slightly. He was glad he could make one of his girls happy that morning. After the events that transpired at Keith Mars' home last night, Veronica had fallen silent. A cloud of sadness hovered in their small apartment that lasted even after she had finally fallen asleep just a few hours ago.

At 2 am, Logan lay awake, holding her snugly in his arms, listen to the soft snoring that came with too much crying. At 5 am, he decided to get up and get himself dressed for an early morning run. By 6 am, he and Pony were watching the sun rise over the ocean.

Logan heard the shuffling of sand behind him. "How the fuck are you going to surf without a surfboard, Dude?" Came a voice from behind.

Logan turned his head slightly to catch Dick Casablancas' form in his view. Dick was ready for the early morning water in a full wet suit. He carried one of his many precious surfboards under his arm.

"Not here to surf today, Sherlock." Logan looked down at his hands as he locked his fingers together on his knees. "Came here to talk."

"Ah, fuck." Dick drove his board into the sand and sat next to Logan on the log. "What did Ronnie do this time?" He asked and reached his hand over to give Pony a quick tossed of her wet hair.

Logan took a deep inhalation of breath. "What happened the night of Shelly Pomeroy's party, Dick?"

Dick let out a confused chuckle. "What? What the hell? Why are you asking me about that?"

Logan sighed. "Because I'm asking you. Because I should have asked you about it years ago. So I'm asking you now."

Dick stood up defensively and looked down at his friend. "Dude, I do so much pot I can barely remember what I did yesterday. Why are you asking me about a party that happened, like, a million years ago?"

Logan looked up at his friend. His eyes were cold, his jaw set hard. "Because I'm asking you now. Because I need to know what you have to say. Because I need to hear the truth."

Dick shook his head and turned away from Logan, taking a few steps towards the ocean. "What's Ronnie saying about that night now?"

Logan was on his feet and took two quick strides towards his friend. He stopped at the back of Dick head. "I want to know what YOU want to tell me about that night." He reached out and grabbed one of Dick shoulders, so he wouldn't move any further.

Dick grabbed Logan's hand and threw it from his shoulder. Spinning around, he was now face to face and eye to eye with his friend. "I have nothing to say to you, but you obviously have something to say to me, so say it."

Logan clenched his teeth. He didn't want it to come to this. He fixed his eyes directly on Dick. "Did you tell Beaver to rape Veronica?" He hissed.

Dick eyes grew wide and then narrowed. He shifted slightly on his feet in the sand. His eyes darting to the side to avoid Logan. "Dude..." he started.

Logan hissed again. "Answer me! Did you take Veronica into that bedroom that night to rape her."

Dick fixed his eyes on Logan's. "Dude, you saw her making out with everyone that night. She was asking for it."

Logan staggered back a step. He felt like he had been hit by a tazer. His whole by started to vibrate and hum.

Dick continued. "You saw her. She was so drunk she was making out with everyone! When we found her passed out, we figured we would have a little fun. But I didn't rape her!"

Logan lifted his arms up above his head, burrowing his fingers tightly in his short, brown hair. "No. But you sure as hell made sure Beav' knew he should do the deed!"

Dick let out a scoffing laugh. "Beaver couldn't rape anyone. Come on."

Logan dragged his hands over his face in frustration and fixed his stare on Dick once more. "Not only COULD he, but he DID! He admitted it when he was on the roof of The Grand. Him and Sean said that you goaded him into it."

The tan fell from Dick's face. For a moment he was silent, lost in a moment of memory from a long time ago. "He couldn't ..." He quietly protested.

Logan raised his voice louder, trying to get what he was saying through Dick's thick skull. "He could. And he did! And it gets better. When he raped Veronica, he gave her Chlamydia. And because she didn't get it treated right away, now she can't have kids." He paused. "WE. WE can't have kids." His head fell. He covered his eyes for a moment, losing himself in emotion.

The waves crashed on the beach. With the exception of Pony, the two men were still alone in the sand.

"This isn't all my fault, man." Dick crossed his arms over his body and spread his feet into a firm stance.

Logan looked up. "How do you figure that?" he said wearily.

"You were there that night too. You were doing body shots off her too. " Dick rambled on. "You tormented her after Duncan broke up with her. You pretty much said that torturing her was fair game. I just figured you'd want us to do that too."

Logan's fist contacted with Dick's cheek with a sickening crunch. It took Dick a moment to react, but when he did, the brawny surfer threw his body at his friend, knocking him off his feet. The fall winded Logan. Dick seized the opportunity and punched him in the ribs. Logan shifted them with his weight and started punching Dick in the stomach.

The two men began rolling in the sand, throwing punches and swearing at each other in muffled tones.

Suddenly, Dick started screaming a high pitched yell. "Get her off! GET HER OFF!"

It took Logan a minute to realize what was happening. Pony had set her teeth firmly into Dick's butt cheek and was not letting go. A low growl was coming from her mouth.

Logan scrambled from the ground to his feet. "Pony! Down! Heel!" He commanded.

Pony quickly let go of her conquest and scampered to Logan's feet. She looked up at Logan for approval. He looked down at her and softly patted her head. She was happy again.

Dick clutched his ass with one hand and rolled himself on his back to stare up at Logan. Both men were breathing hard, covered from head to toe in sand and sweat. Blood dripped from Dick's face and Logan clutched his ribs with his arms.

Dick spat sand from his mouth and fixed his eyes on Logan. "Yeah. Yeah, I told Beaver to fuck Veronica. Would have done it myself if I wasn't so drunk and high. But I did it because I figured you would have wanted us to." He hissed in pain as he stood. "So don't go thinking that this was all my fault."

"Fuck you." Logan whispered. He spit out the sand in his mouth, turned around, and started to walk towards home, with his faithful Pony by his side.

Veronica rose at 7 am on the dot, the sun streaming through her bedroom window, illuminating the bright white paper on Logan's side table.

Gone for a run. Love you. L.

Veronica stretched and smiled. Last night was rough. Really rough. But she felt safe and warm and loved, wrapped in Logan's arms as she finally fell asleep. Once they came home from her father's, they had time to sit together and talk. She let Logan ask her questions. She answered openly and honest to her emotions. She finally felt a level of trust and support and love she had never thought possible with anyone.

She looked up at the ceiling above their bed and smiled. For someone who had only a few hours sleep, she was feeling good.

She hopped out of bed and padded into the sun warmed kitchen. She opened the fridge and quickly assessed that the lack of groceries meant that she would be whipping up a simple baked fritatta with (hopefully not moldy) cheese and (slightly wilted) spinach. She preheated the oven, pulled the ingredients together, whipped them up, poured them in a pan, and slid them in the stove. She then set about grinding coffee beans and setting a big pot of coffee to brew.

Her back was to the apartment door when she heard the turn of the lock and door knob, and thee click-click of Pony's nails on the tile floors. She called out happily "I must be delerious with sleep deprivation...I made us breakfast!"

Veronica turned around. She gasped at the sight. Logan was leaning against the door frame, unable to go any further. He was still covered in sand, his hair disheveled, his arms wrapped protectively around his chest. His breathing was labored.

"Hey." He said weakly.

She choked down a scream. "Oh my god, Logan!" She crossed the apartment and grabbed Logan's arm. He gasped softly. "I'm sorry." She exclaimed and released his arm quickly.

"It's ok. I can do this." He said, and, taking a deep breath, shuffled to the couch. He slowly lowered himself down and collapsed back into the soft cushion with a sigh.

Veronica closed the door and rushed to him, sitting on the coffee table in front of him "What happened? Were you mugged? Were you jumped on your run? Were you hit by a car?"

Logan let out a low laugh. "No. No, none of the above." He adjusted his gaze directly into her eyes. "I had a run in with a Dick."

"A dick?" She repeated. Then she took a beat and realized what he was saying. "Oh. Dick."

Logan nodded. Veronica suddenly jumped up and shuffled quickly to the fridge. She reached into the freezer and pulled out a bag of peas. Slamming the freezer door a bit too hard, she took a deep breath and went back to her boyfriend. She sat down again and presented him with the peas. "Where does it hurt?" She asked.

Logan unzipped his hoodie, leaning forward slightly to shimmy the sweater from his shoulders. Veronica reached out and quietly helped him pull his sleeves down his arms and off his body. He leaned back again and pulled up his shirt, flashing an ugly bruise taking shape across his ribs. Veronica cringed and handed him the peas, torn between wanting to touch him and not wanting to accidentally hurt him again. He smiled and took the bag.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck." He intoned as he applied the cold pack to his warm skin.

Veronica winced and put her hand lovingly on his knee. "So..." she started quietly. "You went looking for Dick this morning?"

Logan sighed. "No. Kind of. I went for a run and happened to end up at his favorite surfing spot."

She looked from his wound to his eyes. "Is this about me?" She asked.

"Yes." He admitted. "And me. And Dick. And Cassidy. And everything..." He trailed off.

"Oh." She said quietly. Just then, the oven buzzer chimed. She smiled weakly at her love and stood. She sauntered over to the oven, took the fritatta out, then took a dish towel and ran it under warm water. She walked back to Logan and sat in front of him again. Reaching out with the towel, she wiped his face softly, taking off some of the sand.

Logan exhaled and sank into the pillows again. Veronica smiled her tight, conspiring smile at him and continued to gently run the towel over his face, his neck, his arms, his legs, taking the sand with it. When she was done, she put down the towel next to her and placed her hands on his exposed knees.

"Does Dick look as bad as you do?" she asked innocently.

Logan met her twinkling eyes. "Worse. I punched him in the face."

Veronica ducked her head, trying to hide her smile.

Logan continued. "Oh yeah. It was a stunning fight. Two grown men, rolling around in the sand trying to pummel each other."

Veronica looked up. "Who won?" She said, a little glee in her voice.

"Pony." Logan said.

"Pony?" said Veronica.

"Pony." Grinned Logan. At the mention of her name, Pony ambled up to her owners. She jumped on the couch next to Logan and lay down, keeping her eyes on the two.

"OK. I'll bite. How did Pony win the fight?" Veronica leaned in closer to her beau.

Logan chuckled, then winced as his ribs got angry. "Good choice of words. Well, while Dick and I were rolling around in the sand, Pony figured she needed to defend her master, so she came over and bit Dick on the butt. Hard."

Veronica burst out laughing and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my god!"

Hearing her name again, Pony sat up happily and wagged her tail. Veronica reached over and gave the dog and affectionate head rub. "Such a vicious creature! A vicious, vicious dog!" Pony let out a happy bark, proud of the fact that she 'saved' her human from the mean man.

Veronica's eyes danced back to Logan. His smile was fading, replaced quickly by the sadness that was gnawing in his stomach. She dropped her smile and reached out softly for his face. She cradled his cheek for a moment. He closed his eyes and rubbed his stubble across her palm. He swore that her touch had healing properties.

Their eyes met again. Logan looked deeply at her an spoke. "Veronica, do you blame me for what happened to you?"

She stared back in shock. She didn't know what to say at first, so she stammered. "Why? What are you talking about? Where is this coming from?"

Logan exhaled. "Dick said that he goaded Cassidy into raping you because he thought it was what I wanted. Because I was 'tormenting' you. Because of how I was getting others to treat you."

Veronica sighed. She chose her words carefully and thoughtfully. "Logan, did you, at any point, tell someone to rape me?"

A look of disgust and horror crossed her lover's face. "Of course not!"

She took another deep breath. "Were you in the room when I was raped?"

Now Logan looked sick. "NO! Why would you say that?!"

"Because." Veronica sighed. "No matter what transpired between us when we were in high school, you did not, somehow, convince Dick or Cassidy that raping me was a 'good' idea."

Logan proceeded. "But the salt lick. That night. I found you passed out on the pool lounger and proceeded to lick salt off of you while doing shots of tequila. And feeding you tequila too."

Veronica fixed her gaze deeply on Logan. "OK. Then you tell me why you did that."

Logan looked down at his lap. "I did it because every time I saw you, you reminded me of Lily. And it hurt. Your long blond hair. Your clothes. Everything. Everywhere I went, there you were, and there she was." He looked up at her with glistening eyes. "I just wanted you to go away. To stop following me around. I tried to keep you away by bullying you, but you still kept showing up! I thought if I embarrassed you – do some body shots, take some photos – in the morning you would wake up with a massive hangover, maybe get in trouble with your dad, and finally just leave me alone."

Veronica sighed. More truth. Another layer of their history pealed back to reveal the pain they both felt as teenagers exposed to the world. "Thank you for telling me. That was so long ago. I was in pain. You were in pain. We both did really stupid things to each other, and with each other."

She reached for his hand, taking it gently away from his ribs and setting it in her lap. "What's done is done. I know what happened to me. I know who raped me. And every day, I am working to move past it. And a lot of that is with you. You make me feel safe and loved like I never thought I could be."

"And I honestly believe that Dick said that to you to try and, once again, deflect the blame from himself. Because even after all this time, he can't take responsibility for his actions."

Logan looked down at their hands clasped together. He looked up at his beautiful girlfriend. Her hair was disheveled, she was wearing his "Go Navy!" t-shirt, and there were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. But her eyes danced and twinkled when they made contact with his.

"I love you." He said quietly.

"I love you." She said, giving him a tender smile. "Now, what are we going to do about your ribs?"

Logan groaned. He remembered he was in pain physically, now that his emotional pain had subsided somewhat. "There is a laminated business card taped to the bottom of my t-shirt drawer. It's the contact information for my 'special' physician. Can you grab it for me, please?"

Veronica wrinkled her forehead. "What's so 'special' about him?"

"He's been treating me since I was a teenager." He said. "He'll make sure that this goes on my medical record as a 'surfing accident' and not anything that would qualify as 'behavior unbecoming an officer'."

Veronica nodded. She got up from her spot and moved to the bedroom quietly. She opened the deep middle drawer of their shared dresser and dug to the bottom of the huge pile of t-shirts. There, at the bottom was taped a business card, just as Logan said there would be. She ripped it off the bottom and started arranging the t-shirt nicely in the drawer.

As she patted down a layer, she felt something else at the bottom of the drawer. This thing was hard and shoved into the corner. Her instincts got the better of her and she decided to look just a little more inside the drawer. She pulled aside the t-shirts and saw a little blue velvet ring box. She looked at the door to the bedroom. Logan was still on the couch. Carefully, she pulled out the box. Her breathing started to get deeper. Slowly, as not to make the tiny hinges creak, she opened the box. Inside, was a ring. A beautiful ring. The middle stone was a modest sapphire and surrounding the blue stone were a dozen tiny, sparkling diamonds, all set into antique white gold setting. Her heart stopped. And then it skipped a couple of beats.

She smiled and closed the box. "We'll deal with you later." She whispered as she closed the drawer. "Found it!" She called to Logan, as she left the bedroom.

Mac adjusted her nursing top in the mirror. "My boobs are humongous." She laughed to no one in particular. Her first shower at home had been delightful, and Celia was a merciful child, allowing Mac to enjoy a full 10 minutes under the hot stream before she heard the little girl rustling about in her basinette, over the baby monitor. The baby still slept contentedly, but Mac was still not used to the sounds that a small human made, and thus, jumped to her side every time she heard something.

"Are you ready to meet your Daddy?" She asked the sleeping baby. Her response was a low snoring sound. "Yeah. I don't know if I'm ready either."

There was a low knocking on her condo door. She looked in the crib one more time and picked up the baby monitor. Leaving the bedroom, she crossed the living room, and stopped at the door. She looked through the peephole and gasped. Grabbing the knob, she flung open the door. "What the hell happened to you?" She exclaimed to her visitor.

Her guest balanced two large pizzas in one hand and a giant bag in the other.

"Uhhhhhh...surfing accident. Completely bashed the side of my face and my back. Can I come in? Your vegetarian pizza is burning my hand."

Mac stepped back and let Dick limp through the door. He crossed to her kitchen table and slid the pizza boxes off onto the surface with one hand. Then he turned to Mac and waved the big bag at her. "Here." He said. "This is for you."

Mac crossed and took the bag from his hands. Peaking inside she realized it was filled with every manner of little pink outfits.

"Wow, Dick. This is great. Thank you." She said, and put down the bag by the couch.

Dick shuffled his feet. "Yeah. I wasn't too sure what to get so I bought a lot. There is even a little wetsuit with mermaids on it."

Mac nodded. "Well I appreciate it. Thanks."

There was an awkward silence that fell. Suddenly a little 'squack' came through the baby monitor. Mac looked at it in surprise.

"Do you want to see her? She's sleeping right now, but you can look at her."

Dick nodded his head, unable to form words. Mac motioned for him to follow her into her bedroom.

The room was dark, with the exception of a small table lamp giving off a soft light near the crib. They entered the room quietly and Mac gestured towards the crib. "Celia, meet your Daddy." She said quietly.

Dick walked to the edge of the crib and peered in. There she was. HIS daughter. He couldn't believe it. He was suddenly overwhelmed and tears sprung to his eyes. "She's beautiful." He gasped.

Mac walked over to him. "Yes. She is."

Dick felt a lump form in his throat. "My daughter." He whispered. He looked at Mac. "I'm sorry I told you..." He couldn't finish the rest.

"To get an abortion?" She said quietly. "Yeah. I'm sorry you said that too. But I'm not sorry I didn't listen. This maybe my once chance to start a family. I wanted to grab that, with or without you. And besides...my body, my choice, asshole."

Dick dropped his head. "Yep. Asshole. I think after today I may permanently change my name to that."

Mac sighed and started to walk past Dick on her way out of the bedroom door. "Nah. Don't do that. I don't want my daughter to refer to herself as 'Asshole's kid'."

Dick stayed in the room after she left, staring at his sire. She gurgled softly in her sleep. He couldn't imagine what sheer stroke of luck brought this little person into his life, but he knew in his heart that he had to make sure she didn't leave.

He shuffled into the kitchen just as Mac was dealing out paper plates to eat their pizza off of. "Did Cliff tell you I signed the papers?"

Mac looked up and nodded at the strapping surfer. "Yeah. Thanks for agreeing to my terms."

Dick walked up to her and put his hand on her arm. "I know I don't get to be on her birth certificate, but thank you for letting me be a small part of her life."

She sighed. "Dick, you can be a larger part eventually, if you show me you can handle it." The man-child nodded as she continued. "Show me you can be responsible. Show me you can make our weekly meetings. Show me you can care about someone other than yourself. Please. I am trying to have faith in you."

"Thank you." He said. "I don't think anyone had ever said that they had faith in me."

Mac reached out and hugged the giant of man. "I'll try if you try."

Slowly, Dick wrapped his arms around Mac. He wondered if she heard his heart racing. She had no idea he had been thinking about her every moment of the day since they hooked-up nine-months prior. That night, running into each other at the bar in the Neptune Grand. Drinking expensive scotch and sharing a cigar. Laughing as they caught a cab back to his place so she could sprawl out on his couch and kick his ass in Call of Duty. Having the most amazing sex of his life on the couch (and the floor...and the table...) that night. And then fucking it all up when she told him she was accidentally pregnant.

Maybe this baby was his one chance too. His one chance at happiness. His one chance at a normal life.

"I'll try too." He said quietly. "I promise."