Title Conceivable
Chapter 1 Late, Convenient, Curveballs
Author Devylish
Pairing Um, MaDi and DoVe
Rating PG13 at this point… lil language and suggestiveness
Warnings None
Words 2441
Spoilers None
Disclaimer Seriously… honestly… I own fricking nothing. Nothing!
AN Thanks Glamorouspirate for reviewing the first 3 sections of this, All remaining errors are my own.

MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe

"I'm late."

"Only by about fifteen minutes," Veronica looked at the time on her cell phone.

"No! I mean, 'yes', but that's not what I meant. I meant, 'I'm late'," Mac lifted her eyebrows with implication.

Veronica looked at her closest buddette in confusion before her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh! You're 'late!'" She used air quotes as she said the word 'late.'

"Yeah." Mac slumped onto the couch in the Mars' living room.

"How… how late are you?"

"7 days… a full week." Mac looked at Veronica with her brilliant blue eyes; unshed tears welling up along her lashes.

"Are you…? Uh… could it be stress? Stress makes the body do strange things."

"Yeah?"

"Sure. When I had exams freshman year, I was like five days late…. And it was most definitely stress for me; no guys had been near Mars Control Center in… months." She paused, "rather like my current status."

Mac gave Veronica a weak smile.

"Unless you're saying that it's likely that you…?" Veronica scrunched her face as Mac blushed.

"Who!? Cindy Mackenzie, who have you been… you know?!"

Mac re-situated herself on the couch, curling her feet up under her thighs and laying her head against the back of the couch. "No one," she offered unconvincingly.

"Mac!" Veronica crossed her arms over her chest and gave a taser-like glare at the brunette. "Give!"

The whisper was so quiet that Veronica wouldn't have known her friend had spoken if she hadn't seen her lips move.

"Who?"

"Dick."

"Okay, you really need to speak up because I swear it just sounded like you said 'Dick'."

Mac squared her shoulders and prepared herself for a fight: "I, uh, did say Dick."

The look on Veronica's face was everything Mac had feared… and more.

"Okay, pregnant with Dick's baby… ummmm, how'd tha… I mean, you do know that that suggests that you and Dick had," Veronica sat up, ready to attack the not-present Dick, "were there Rufies involved?"

"No!"

"Were you maybe artificially inseminated?"

"Veronica!! Dick and I had sex. Consensual sex." Mac turned pink, "several times."

"But how? Why? -- We are talking about Dick Casablancas, right?"

Mac burst into tears and Veronica closed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around the concept of level headed, brilliant Mac doing the horizontal tango with 25-watt Dick. It took her half a second to realize that it would take her MORE than a half a second to understand the logistics of this situation. But regardless of her confused state, she needed to focus on Mac instead of on her own confusion.

Reaching for her only female friend in the world, Veronica pulled Mac into her arms. Petting her back soothingly, she apologized. "I'm sorry Mac, you just surprised me…. I mean, I didn't even know you and Dick were talking to one another, much less, ummm, doing other things with one another." She paused as her friend sobbed against her shoulder.

"He – he's not all bad," Mac hiccupped through her tears.

Deciding to reserve her judgment, Veronica continued with her questions.

"Does he know?"

"I don't even really know for certain." Mac mumbled into Veronica's shoulder.

"Okay then, the first thing we need to do is a little research… namely, we need to see if we have anything that we need to make Mr. Casablancas aware of." Glancing at her cell again, Veronica considered their options… it was after midnight on a Sunday evening and she needed to get a pregnancy test into Mac's hands ASAP.

"Alright chickadee, I'm going to run to the convenience store on Calmont and get you a pregnancy test." Mac's eyes welled up again and Veronica's voice softened. "Don't worry Mac, we'll get through this, no matter what 'this' turns out to be."

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12:30 AM on a Sunday morning…. What the hell is everyone in Neptune doing at the convenience store?! Veronica grimaced as she saw yet another Hearst classmate moving around the Max Mini Mart. He was the third person she'd seen while 'casually' winding her way through the store. She didn't know him THAT well, but she knew him well enough to not want him seeing her shopping for pregnancy tests.

All of which explained why, for the last 15 minutes, she'd been milling around, picking up perfumes and looking at eyeliners, while, at the same time, she was 'casually' observing the aisle that contained the pregnancy tests.

Finally, she saw a break in the crowd at the MMM and she inconspicuously dove down the all-important aisle.

Did you know that the pregnancy tests are opportunely placed next to the prophylactics and other pregnancy 'preventive' items? Yeah… well, they are. Convenient, huh?

Another learning point for Veronica that evening… there are about 1000 and 1 brands of pregnancy tests. EPT, Pregnancy Now, Immed-a-test; the list goes on. Curling her hand around one box, she hefted it and read the how's and wherefore's of its use. Putting the white box down, she picked up the blue and pink one next to it.

"So, who's the lucky father Mars?"

His lazy drawl made her skin itch. 'Why did it have to be Lamb who found me looking at pregnancy tests!? I'd take a whole campus full of Hearst schoolmates seeing me shopping for pregnancy tests AND prophylactics versus Lamb. Any day!'

"Deputy Lamb," She put the blue and pink box down nonchalantly. "They don't have over-the-counter herpes medication; you'll need to go to the pharmacist to get your problem taken care of." Veronica kept her head bent over the boxes in front of her. If she looked at Lamb she'd blush. And Veronica did not blush; especially not in front of Don Lamb.

"Quick with your mouth, as per usual, Mars. Too bad you didn't use more of your mouth versus other body parts to prevent yourself from getting into this… condition in the first place."

"I am good with my mouth, but the real key is to have a functioning brain." She paused, "Oooh, sorry, didn't mean to tease you about what you're so clearly lacking." Choosing two different tests blindly, Veronica turned her back to Lamb and headed to the checkout lanes.

The pain in her ass followed her.

"Tell me Mars, does daddy know his little blue eyed angel is knocked up?"

Veronica wanted to tell Lamb the truth, to point out that it was Mac, and not her, who was 'maybe' pregnant. But it was Mac's secret – not hers. Glancing back and seeing the smirk that sat on Lamb's face, Veronica really, REALLY wanted to tell him the truth. But then again, she also really, REALLY wanted to taser him.

See… impulses: not always a good thing.

"Seriously, what did I do in a past life to deserve being tortured by your presence?"

"You're just damn lucky is all." Don followed Veronica up to the counter, his eyes never wavering from her form.

He had stopped into the convenience store for a pack of gum… and a bottle of vodka. But as he pulled up to the MMM, he saw Veronica Mars' Saturn. And, as usual, her mere presence distracted him from his goal.

Veronica Mars… his own personal anti-christ.

His own personal, 'apparently pregnant', anti-christ.

Watching her fish through her purse for her money, he wondered who the father was. Logan Echolls was a possibility. He was always a possibility. They were off and on so often that they looked like human yo-yos. But the last bit of intel he'd received – from Sacks and Inga of course – had said that Veronica and Logan were 'off'; and had been for about three months. So if not Echolls, who?

Her friend Wallace came to mind. She and he had always seemed too close for comfort. Not that he truly cared who Veronica spent time with, but…. Was it normal for a girl's best friend to be a guy? Then again, when had Veronica Mars EVER been normal. Don thought for a second about the possibility of Wallace being the father of Veronica Mars' baby. And then he quickly crossed him off of the list. Since coming back from Africa, Fennel had been rather publicly involved with a Hearst cheerleader.

Finally, Don's mind settled on Eli Navarro. That was a friendship that he not only frowned upon, but he didn't understand. But just because HE didn't understand it, didn't mean that it wasn't possible. Mars and Navarro had an odd – relationship.

But had they….? Could they have…? Lamb consciously forced himself to unclench his fists.

"Ahem." Lamb glanced at the woman behind him as she pointedly cleared her throat. Looking back in front of him he realized that he was holding up the line, and that Mars was escaping out the front door.

Jogging to catch up with Veronica, he grabbed her wrist.

"Mars."

"Let go deputy."

"No. Who's the dad?"

She settled for a half truth: "1) it's none of your business and 2) we don't even know if there IS a 'baby's daddy' yet." Pulling her hand free of his grip she headed to the Saturn.

She was, and she was not, surprised when Lamb's hand closed over hers on the door handle.

She sighed.

"Seriously – torture. Pure, unadulterated torture." She looked up his frame and peered into his eyes. "What do you want?"

Pulling her door open Don held it ajar and nodded his head towards the interior. "Just helping the mom-to-be into her car."

Another sigh escaped from her lips but she got in. "Thank you," she muttered.

"My pleasure. I'll be seeing you around Mars."

"Not if I see you first," she said as he shut the door. Childishly she stuck her tongue out at him as she started the engine.

He didn't bother to hide his laughter at her pre-pubescent behavior.

'I've got a big bad car, I could run him over', she thought as she backed out of her spot. 'Yeah, but he'd probably die and come back to haunt me.'

Gunning her baby, she pushed thoughts of Don Lamb out of her head and headed back home.

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"45 minutes Veronica! 45 minutes!" Mac exclaimed as Veronica marched in. "Did you get mugged or something?"

"No, I got Lambed."

"Lam--, oh. Sorry."

"He's a big old jerk face, but he's not our concern now. You are." Dropping her purse on the couch she turned and held her bag out to Mac. "Look what I brought for you! Sticks to pee on!"

MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe MaDi DoVe

"So?" Mac looked at Veronica's face trying to read it. Blue eyes met blue.

"I'm going to be an Auntie."

Mac stopped breathing and lowered her hand to her belly. "I'm… I'm pregnant?" She looked at Veronica for further confirmation.

The small nod was all she needed.

"I'm pregnant." A smile flirted at the corners of her mouth. "I'm going to be a mom. A 'mommy'." The smile faded. "Oh crap. I have to tell Dick."

"Not to be mean or anything, but are you SURE Dick's 'yo baby's daddy'? I mean, could you have had a drunken one night stand with a complete stranger perhaps?" Her tone perked up as she asked the question.

"Veronica!"

"Well! Mac! It's 'Dick!'"

Mac left the bathroom and headed to the Mars' kitchen.

Veronica frowned to herself. 'Crap. I'm so going to have to get OVER my anti-Dick feelings.'

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Veronica woke up Sunday morning with sunlight pouring through her window. With a groan she pulled her pillow over her head and blocked out the all too cheerful sun.

And then she remembered, she wasn't alone. Mac was here. Mac and her little bun in the oven. A half-Dick bun.

Lifting up the edge of her pillow, she looked at the small convertible chair that sat in her room. Mac sat Indian style at the back of the fold out bed and was looking down at her lap… or, rather, at her stomach.

"Morning." Veronica yawned.

Mac blinked and looked up at Veronica then looked back down at her belly. "I've got a living 'thing' in me. A living creature." Her eyes were wide when she looked at Veronica again. "Me!"

"And Dick," veronica added. "Don't forget Dick's involvement in this little production."

"I'm not forgetting Dick," she settled back against her pillow, pouting slightly.

"So…, are you still going to wait to tell him?"

"He's in New York visiting Logan. What kind of woman calls her boyfriend and leaves a message on his voicemail saying 'Hope you're having fun at the Met, and with the Mets…. Tell Logan I said 'hi'. Oh, and by the way, 'I'm pregnant'; see you when you get back!'? I just can't do that. I 'need' to be looking him in the eyes when I tell him; so I can know how he really feels."

"Dick has feelings huh?"

"Veronica…."

"Sorry. It's habit…. I'm really going to try and stop that…."

"Thank you."

"But you have to admit Mac, you threw the whole: 'I'm interested in Dick… I'm dating Dick… I'm having sex with Dick." Veronica shuddered a little, "I'm pregnant with Dick's child' curveball out of anywhere."

"Technically… that's the purpose of curveballs – to surprise the person you're playing with."

"Helps if you at least KNOW that you're playing the game!"

"Helps if my best friend isn't yelling at me while I'm pregnant!"

Veronica scrunched her eyes and exhaled noisily. "Sorry mamma Mac." She changed the topic. "So when is Dick getting back from New York?"

"Three weeks."

"So you have to sit on this humungous pile of news for three weeks?"

Mac smiled, "See, I hear you asking about me, but I KNOW you're asking about yourself…. Yes Veronica," Mac crawled out of bed and walked over to Veronica, "I'm pinky swearing you to keep Baby MacIck a secret until I have a chance to talk to Dick."

"Baby MacIck?"

"Mac… Dick… Squished together."

"I think you and Dick have done enough 'squishing together' for a while."

Mac raised an eyebrow and kept looking at Veronica, her hand extended.

Veronica glanced between Mac's hand and her face. "Are you serious? You want us to pinky swear?"

Mac wiggled her fingers impatiently.

Sigh.

"Fine." She extended her pinky and locked it around Mac's. "I'm doing this for baby MacIck." She watched Mac as she walked into the hallway and yelled after her retreating figure, "Baby MaDi sounds better than baby MacIck!"