Fic: May It Be (Veronica, Trina, L/V) PG-13, 1/?
Title: May It Be (1/?)
Author: Jasmine
Characters/Pairing: Veronica, Trina, L/V
Word Count: 2,091
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: Up to 2x12, Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle
Summary: Trina asks for a small favor. Future fic
Disclaimer: Title and lyrics from May It Be, by Celtic Woman.
Author’s Note: I’m known for obsessively researching for my fics, and trust me - I spent lots of time on this one. However, you might have to suspend a tiny bit of belief. It’s not anything extreme, more like statistical chances.
Thanks to my beta, sarah_p, for coming to my rescue. I hope I didn't scare you with the 50 pages I sent your way! Thanks also to soap_songs for reading it first and giving me her honest opinion when I really needed it. And of course, to my best friend, who probably will never see this post, for her continual support despite annoying her with incomplete sentences and unfinished thoughts which drives her crazy.
Chapter One
May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
Veronica glanced at her watch impatiently and took a sip of her latte, then moved her eyes back to the door of Java the Hut. The call she received last week had left her puzzled, and curiosity was getting the better of her as she waited for her ‘friend.’
Well, ‘friend’ was technically stretching it a bit, but how else did one regard the sister of an ex-boyfriend and childhood companion? Trina’s call had come as a surprise given that Veronica hadn’t spoken with her since the spring of her first year of college. Veronica had been flattered when Trina had invited her to her wedding, although it had been awkward to say the least. The only person she knew in attendance had been Logan, and she tried to stick to polite conversation, not wanting to ruin Trina’s big day. Fortunately he was wise enough to do the same, only letting a few snarky comments out under his breath during the speeches.
For all the flighty and ditzy things she had said and done over the years, Veronica was impressed at how Trina had turned her life around since high school. Marriage had done Trina well, but the biggest change in her life had come only six months later. She had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was a wake up call for Trina, and she fought back. The doctors caught it relatively early, but in the end she’d had a hysterectomy to keep it from spreading. Since then, Trina had worked hard in her career, taking on more dramatic film roles all while promoting cancer awareness.
So now, three years later, why was Trina calling her? Veronica had no clue. As far as she knew, Trina’s husband was a decent guy. Veronica really hoped he wasn’t cheating on her. However, if Trina suspected and needed proof, Veronica wouldn’t say no. Trina deserved better, and hey, she at least had the week free due to spring break to work on the case.
If there was a case. Veronica really hoped there wasn’t.
She took another sip of her drink and smiled when she finally caught sight of Trina walking through the door. Waving, Trina flashed a bright smile that gave Veronica a small bit of hope.
“Hey, Veronica!” Trina greeted in a sing-song voice, and Veronica rose to give her a small hug.
“Hey Trina, I hope everything’s okay.”
Trina’s eyes lit up, comprehension dawning on her. “Oh, things are great! I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Good, I really hoped I wouldn’t have to start tailing your husband,” Veronica joked as they both sat down at the small table.
Waving her hands, Trina shook her head emphatically. “Oh no, Ethan’s been great. I have no reason to worry about him cheating on me.”
Veronica smiled sincerely, happy to know that some relationships really did work. It was rather depressing to see so many fall apart due to infidelity. It was even harder being the one to prove it and dispense the bad news.
“What brings you back to Neptune?”
Trina shrugged lightly. “Oh, this and that. So, how are you doing, Veronica? You’re about to graduate, right?” Veronica nodded, and Trina continued, “That’s great! What’re you majoring in?”
Taking a long sip of her drink, Veronica relaxed back in her seat. Apparently this was just a social call, nothing more. “Photography.”
Trina’s eyes lit up once again, and she grinned. “Ooh, artsy.”
Shrugging, Veronica glanced down at her drink. “Not so much.” Looking back up, she explained, “I wanted to do photojournalism, but Hearst didn’t offer it as a major. Of course in the end, I realized that the PI business was more my calling, so I’m going to get my Masters in criminal justice.”
“That’s wonderful! You’ll be great at it. Where do you plan to go? Are you going to stay in Neptune?” Trina asked excitedly.
Trailing her finger around the edge of cup, Veronica replied calmly, “No, I’m finally leaving. I plan on going to Stanford. Well, that is - if they accept me. I’m still waiting to hear from them.”
“Oh, you’ll get in, I know it. You’re a smart girl, Veronica.”
Veronica smiled. “Thanks, Trina.”
Trina sighed theatrically. “Some days I wish I had finished college, but I’ve always known what I wanted to do, and with my name, why shouldn’t I go for it, right?” Veronica nodded, remembering all the snide comments Logan had made when Trina had left college after only a year to pursue acting. Unfortunately, Trina never really was a natural, and it took several years for her to reach the point where directors were willing to hire her for more than just her name.
“Well, at least one person in the family will get their degree,” Trina finished melodramatically.
“Logan’s graduating?” Veronica asked, curious to finally hear about him. After high school, with his name cleared, Logan had fled Neptune. She hadn’t blamed him, knowing there would be little love lost between him and the town. He ended up in New York, or at least that’s what she had heard from Cassidy.
Trina nodded. “Yeah, and you wouldn’t believe it, but he’s going to law school this fall too.”
Veronica coughed and nearly spit out her drink. “You’re kidding me!”
“Well, at least that’s what he told me during his brief Christmas phone call. We don’t talk much. Knowing him, he’ll have changed his mind again. I didn’t believe it either. I mean, it was hard enough to imagine that he’d finish college. I always thought he should act; he really has a gift for it. But he refuses to have anything to do with Dad.”
Neither of them could really blame Logan for wanting to put as much distance between himself and Aaron Echolls' claim to fame, so both fell silent. Veronica finished her latte and glanced around the cafe, casually observing the other customers. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Trina begin to fidget, and she realized there probably was a reason she had been asked to meet.
“So, how are you Trina?” Veronica finally asked. Trina nearly sighed in relief.
Her fingers continued playing with a leftover napkin as she replied with a big smile, “I’m good, really. Ethan’s great, and his show is doing well. He’s pretty sure it’ll get picked up for another season. I’ll be wrapping up a movie within the next few weeks, and I’m hoping to start another one this summer or fall.”
“I’m glad everything’s working out for you, Trina. You deserve it.”
Trina nodded, and smiled weakly. “Thanks, Veronica. You always were the nice one of the bunch.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Actually, we want to start a family.”
Veronica’s mouth opened in surprise, and she quickly closed it. “Wow. Um, congratulations, that’s a big step.”
“It is, but we’re ready for it, and we’re not getting any younger, right?” Trina asked, waving the napkin in the air. “I mean, I’m about to turn thirty, and Ethan’s already thirty five.”
“Will you be adopting?” Veronica asked cautiously, knowing full well that Trina was unable have children, since she had boldly told the public everything that she went through after her bout with cancer.
Trina bit her lip. “No. It sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Since I was adopted myself. Ethan and I really want our own kids. We planned for it before I went through the chemo and surgery so we can still have them.” At Veronica’s puzzled look, she explained, “we froze embryos for the future.”
Veronica blinked and fumbled with the empty coffee cup in her hands. “Oh.”
Taking a deep breath, Trina smiled brightly at her and clarified, “We’re going to use a surrogate. That’s really why I’m here.”
Slowly Trina’s words sank in, and Veronica could only stare at her in shock. Did she mean…no, she wasn’t really asking, was she? Trina watched her anxiously while a million thoughts raced through Veronica’s mind.
Trina was asking her to be a surrogate mother. Was she crazy?
“I…Trina, really, I’m flattered, but…” she stumbled, trying to find words, but could barely process the subject to begin with.
“Look, I know I’m asking for a lot, but I just want you to hear me out. Please, Veronica,” Trina beseeched. Reaching across the small table, Trina squeezed her hand, eyes silently pleading.
Numbly, Veronica nodded, and let out a sigh as she retracted her hand from Trina’s grasp and rubbed her forehead.
“Ethan and I had always planned on having kids one day, and when I got cancer, we realized it might not happen. But we froze the embryos in hopes that one day we still could, knowing that someone else would have to carry them. However, we always knew that we wanted it to be someone that we know. Someone that we trust.”
Veronica opened her mouth in protest. “But me?” she squeaked out, then quickly cleared her throat. “Trina, we hardly talk to each other. I last saw you three years ago at your wedding! Don’t you have any other friends who’d be willing?”
Trina frowned. “They’re all in Hollywood, Veronica. Do you think any of them would be willing to take the time off to have someone else’s kid?”
Realizing the truth in her statement, Veronica shook her head and wondered if Trina would have been willing to take the time off if she’d had the opportunity. Of course, the story would have made the news and Trina would have looked like the golden child, basking in the attention.
“Besides, the press would eat that up. I’m not willing to make my kid a spectacle. That’s why I’m not going with a stranger. Who knows what they’d do once they realized they were carrying my baby. They’d probably run off with it, if they could,” Trina argued, her voice rising in pitch, obviously agitated with the whole situation.
“They have laws against that,” Veronica pointed out, trying to calm her down.
Trina sighed. “I know, but I just don’t want it to be a stranger. I want to keep this quiet, and even if they didn’t run off with my baby, who knows what they would do to get some attention. With the Echolls name, you just never know.”
Veronica reluctantly had to agree with her, having seen what crazed fans would do in the name of Aaron Echolls.
“Look Veronica, I’m asking you because I trust you. I consider you a friend. I know you’d be able to handle this. Besides, we’d pay you.” She paused as a thought occurred to her and she perked up and grinned. “We could pay for you to go to grad. school!”
“Excuse me?”
Trina nodded excitedly. “Most surrogates charge a fee, and then there’s an agency fee, but we wouldn’t need them. This way you could go to school, and not worry about anything.”
“I don’t know…this is asking an awful lot. I mean, it’s nine months, and it would take a lot out of me while I’m still in school,” Veronica argued, nervously tucking some fly-away hairs behind her ear. She didn’t even know why she was arguing, since she obviously couldn’t do it, as tempting as the money was. She had planned on getting loans for grad. school, and was not looking forward to paying them off afterwards.
“We could always start in the summer, so you’d get the morning sickness out of the way then.”
Veronica chuckled. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Just think about it, will you? Please?” Trina looked at her with hopeful eyes, then bent down and pulled out a folder from her bag. Pushing it across the table, she went on, “Here’s some information on the process. Read it, and if you have any questions, just call me. There’s also tons of stuff online, too.”
Veronica hesitated for a second, then accepted the folder and nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
Grinning, Trina hopped from her chair and hugged her awkwardly. “Thank you, Veronica!”
Carefully extracting herself from Trina’s tight grip, Veronica gave her a small smile. “I haven’t said ‘yes,’ Trina.”
Trina backed up, still grinning. “I know, but it’s better than ‘no.’” Grabbing a pen and notepad out of her bag, she quickly jotted down her phone number. “Here, call me with any questions. Ethan and I have already talked with a doctor and lawyer, so we know the process.”
Veronica took the small piece of paper and nodded slowly. “I’ll call you.”
Author: Jasmine
Characters/Pairing: Veronica, Trina, L/V
Word Count: 2,091
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: Up to 2x12, Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle
Summary: Trina asks for a small favor. Future fic
Disclaimer: Title and lyrics from May It Be, by Celtic Woman.
Author’s Note: I’m known for obsessively researching for my fics, and trust me - I spent lots of time on this one. However, you might have to suspend a tiny bit of belief. It’s not anything extreme, more like statistical chances.
Thanks to my beta, sarah_p, for coming to my rescue. I hope I didn't scare you with the 50 pages I sent your way! Thanks also to soap_songs for reading it first and giving me her honest opinion when I really needed it. And of course, to my best friend, who probably will never see this post, for her continual support despite annoying her with incomplete sentences and unfinished thoughts which drives her crazy.
Chapter One
May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
Veronica glanced at her watch impatiently and took a sip of her latte, then moved her eyes back to the door of Java the Hut. The call she received last week had left her puzzled, and curiosity was getting the better of her as she waited for her ‘friend.’
Well, ‘friend’ was technically stretching it a bit, but how else did one regard the sister of an ex-boyfriend and childhood companion? Trina’s call had come as a surprise given that Veronica hadn’t spoken with her since the spring of her first year of college. Veronica had been flattered when Trina had invited her to her wedding, although it had been awkward to say the least. The only person she knew in attendance had been Logan, and she tried to stick to polite conversation, not wanting to ruin Trina’s big day. Fortunately he was wise enough to do the same, only letting a few snarky comments out under his breath during the speeches.
For all the flighty and ditzy things she had said and done over the years, Veronica was impressed at how Trina had turned her life around since high school. Marriage had done Trina well, but the biggest change in her life had come only six months later. She had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was a wake up call for Trina, and she fought back. The doctors caught it relatively early, but in the end she’d had a hysterectomy to keep it from spreading. Since then, Trina had worked hard in her career, taking on more dramatic film roles all while promoting cancer awareness.
So now, three years later, why was Trina calling her? Veronica had no clue. As far as she knew, Trina’s husband was a decent guy. Veronica really hoped he wasn’t cheating on her. However, if Trina suspected and needed proof, Veronica wouldn’t say no. Trina deserved better, and hey, she at least had the week free due to spring break to work on the case.
If there was a case. Veronica really hoped there wasn’t.
She took another sip of her drink and smiled when she finally caught sight of Trina walking through the door. Waving, Trina flashed a bright smile that gave Veronica a small bit of hope.
“Hey, Veronica!” Trina greeted in a sing-song voice, and Veronica rose to give her a small hug.
“Hey Trina, I hope everything’s okay.”
Trina’s eyes lit up, comprehension dawning on her. “Oh, things are great! I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Good, I really hoped I wouldn’t have to start tailing your husband,” Veronica joked as they both sat down at the small table.
Waving her hands, Trina shook her head emphatically. “Oh no, Ethan’s been great. I have no reason to worry about him cheating on me.”
Veronica smiled sincerely, happy to know that some relationships really did work. It was rather depressing to see so many fall apart due to infidelity. It was even harder being the one to prove it and dispense the bad news.
“What brings you back to Neptune?”
Trina shrugged lightly. “Oh, this and that. So, how are you doing, Veronica? You’re about to graduate, right?” Veronica nodded, and Trina continued, “That’s great! What’re you majoring in?”
Taking a long sip of her drink, Veronica relaxed back in her seat. Apparently this was just a social call, nothing more. “Photography.”
Trina’s eyes lit up once again, and she grinned. “Ooh, artsy.”
Shrugging, Veronica glanced down at her drink. “Not so much.” Looking back up, she explained, “I wanted to do photojournalism, but Hearst didn’t offer it as a major. Of course in the end, I realized that the PI business was more my calling, so I’m going to get my Masters in criminal justice.”
“That’s wonderful! You’ll be great at it. Where do you plan to go? Are you going to stay in Neptune?” Trina asked excitedly.
Trailing her finger around the edge of cup, Veronica replied calmly, “No, I’m finally leaving. I plan on going to Stanford. Well, that is - if they accept me. I’m still waiting to hear from them.”
“Oh, you’ll get in, I know it. You’re a smart girl, Veronica.”
Veronica smiled. “Thanks, Trina.”
Trina sighed theatrically. “Some days I wish I had finished college, but I’ve always known what I wanted to do, and with my name, why shouldn’t I go for it, right?” Veronica nodded, remembering all the snide comments Logan had made when Trina had left college after only a year to pursue acting. Unfortunately, Trina never really was a natural, and it took several years for her to reach the point where directors were willing to hire her for more than just her name.
“Well, at least one person in the family will get their degree,” Trina finished melodramatically.
“Logan’s graduating?” Veronica asked, curious to finally hear about him. After high school, with his name cleared, Logan had fled Neptune. She hadn’t blamed him, knowing there would be little love lost between him and the town. He ended up in New York, or at least that’s what she had heard from Cassidy.
Trina nodded. “Yeah, and you wouldn’t believe it, but he’s going to law school this fall too.”
Veronica coughed and nearly spit out her drink. “You’re kidding me!”
“Well, at least that’s what he told me during his brief Christmas phone call. We don’t talk much. Knowing him, he’ll have changed his mind again. I didn’t believe it either. I mean, it was hard enough to imagine that he’d finish college. I always thought he should act; he really has a gift for it. But he refuses to have anything to do with Dad.”
Neither of them could really blame Logan for wanting to put as much distance between himself and Aaron Echolls' claim to fame, so both fell silent. Veronica finished her latte and glanced around the cafe, casually observing the other customers. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Trina begin to fidget, and she realized there probably was a reason she had been asked to meet.
“So, how are you Trina?” Veronica finally asked. Trina nearly sighed in relief.
Her fingers continued playing with a leftover napkin as she replied with a big smile, “I’m good, really. Ethan’s great, and his show is doing well. He’s pretty sure it’ll get picked up for another season. I’ll be wrapping up a movie within the next few weeks, and I’m hoping to start another one this summer or fall.”
“I’m glad everything’s working out for you, Trina. You deserve it.”
Trina nodded, and smiled weakly. “Thanks, Veronica. You always were the nice one of the bunch.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Actually, we want to start a family.”
Veronica’s mouth opened in surprise, and she quickly closed it. “Wow. Um, congratulations, that’s a big step.”
“It is, but we’re ready for it, and we’re not getting any younger, right?” Trina asked, waving the napkin in the air. “I mean, I’m about to turn thirty, and Ethan’s already thirty five.”
“Will you be adopting?” Veronica asked cautiously, knowing full well that Trina was unable have children, since she had boldly told the public everything that she went through after her bout with cancer.
Trina bit her lip. “No. It sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Since I was adopted myself. Ethan and I really want our own kids. We planned for it before I went through the chemo and surgery so we can still have them.” At Veronica’s puzzled look, she explained, “we froze embryos for the future.”
Veronica blinked and fumbled with the empty coffee cup in her hands. “Oh.”
Taking a deep breath, Trina smiled brightly at her and clarified, “We’re going to use a surrogate. That’s really why I’m here.”
Slowly Trina’s words sank in, and Veronica could only stare at her in shock. Did she mean…no, she wasn’t really asking, was she? Trina watched her anxiously while a million thoughts raced through Veronica’s mind.
Trina was asking her to be a surrogate mother. Was she crazy?
“I…Trina, really, I’m flattered, but…” she stumbled, trying to find words, but could barely process the subject to begin with.
“Look, I know I’m asking for a lot, but I just want you to hear me out. Please, Veronica,” Trina beseeched. Reaching across the small table, Trina squeezed her hand, eyes silently pleading.
Numbly, Veronica nodded, and let out a sigh as she retracted her hand from Trina’s grasp and rubbed her forehead.
“Ethan and I had always planned on having kids one day, and when I got cancer, we realized it might not happen. But we froze the embryos in hopes that one day we still could, knowing that someone else would have to carry them. However, we always knew that we wanted it to be someone that we know. Someone that we trust.”
Veronica opened her mouth in protest. “But me?” she squeaked out, then quickly cleared her throat. “Trina, we hardly talk to each other. I last saw you three years ago at your wedding! Don’t you have any other friends who’d be willing?”
Trina frowned. “They’re all in Hollywood, Veronica. Do you think any of them would be willing to take the time off to have someone else’s kid?”
Realizing the truth in her statement, Veronica shook her head and wondered if Trina would have been willing to take the time off if she’d had the opportunity. Of course, the story would have made the news and Trina would have looked like the golden child, basking in the attention.
“Besides, the press would eat that up. I’m not willing to make my kid a spectacle. That’s why I’m not going with a stranger. Who knows what they’d do once they realized they were carrying my baby. They’d probably run off with it, if they could,” Trina argued, her voice rising in pitch, obviously agitated with the whole situation.
“They have laws against that,” Veronica pointed out, trying to calm her down.
Trina sighed. “I know, but I just don’t want it to be a stranger. I want to keep this quiet, and even if they didn’t run off with my baby, who knows what they would do to get some attention. With the Echolls name, you just never know.”
Veronica reluctantly had to agree with her, having seen what crazed fans would do in the name of Aaron Echolls.
“Look Veronica, I’m asking you because I trust you. I consider you a friend. I know you’d be able to handle this. Besides, we’d pay you.” She paused as a thought occurred to her and she perked up and grinned. “We could pay for you to go to grad. school!”
“Excuse me?”
Trina nodded excitedly. “Most surrogates charge a fee, and then there’s an agency fee, but we wouldn’t need them. This way you could go to school, and not worry about anything.”
“I don’t know…this is asking an awful lot. I mean, it’s nine months, and it would take a lot out of me while I’m still in school,” Veronica argued, nervously tucking some fly-away hairs behind her ear. She didn’t even know why she was arguing, since she obviously couldn’t do it, as tempting as the money was. She had planned on getting loans for grad. school, and was not looking forward to paying them off afterwards.
“We could always start in the summer, so you’d get the morning sickness out of the way then.”
Veronica chuckled. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Just think about it, will you? Please?” Trina looked at her with hopeful eyes, then bent down and pulled out a folder from her bag. Pushing it across the table, she went on, “Here’s some information on the process. Read it, and if you have any questions, just call me. There’s also tons of stuff online, too.”
Veronica hesitated for a second, then accepted the folder and nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
Grinning, Trina hopped from her chair and hugged her awkwardly. “Thank you, Veronica!”
Carefully extracting herself from Trina’s tight grip, Veronica gave her a small smile. “I haven’t said ‘yes,’ Trina.”
Trina backed up, still grinning. “I know, but it’s better than ‘no.’” Grabbing a pen and notepad out of her bag, she quickly jotted down her phone number. “Here, call me with any questions. Ethan and I have already talked with a doctor and lawyer, so we know the process.”
Veronica took the small piece of paper and nodded slowly. “I’ll call you.”