Title: For the Sake of a Friend, (Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil), PG-13, 22/?
Title: For the Sake of a Friend, (Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil), PG-13, 22/?
Author: jacedesbff
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil, ensemble
Word Count: 6,129 (a record!)
Rating: PG-13 for mild language and sexual situations
Summary: AU from the Pilot; this chapter takes place during “Mars vs. Mars”
Spoilers: Familiarity with Season 1 required.
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all.
All previous chapters may be found at my LJ.
A/N: So my apologies for the much-delayed nature of this chapter. Real life…sigh... Who needs it? On a separate note, I have to admit that this wasn’t one of my favorite episodes of the season. I didn’t dislike it, per se, I just didn’t love it, either. So who knew it would be so long?! But there you have it! Many thanks to my encouraging, supportive, lend-an-ear beta candlewaxdreams, as always! Thanks to Inigo Montoya’s online transcripts for episode dialogue.
X-posted. Thank you so much to everyone who has provided feedback. There were times over the past few weeks when I wondered if I would ever have the time and energy to finish this and the thought of all of you kept me going and wouldn’t let me give up. My sincerest thanks.
“Veronica, I need your help.”
It occurred to Veronica that she could make a lot of money if she got $5 every time someone said those words to her. She could never point that out to Meg of all people, though, so she said the next best thing.
“What can I do for you?”
Meg looked around the quad which was full of students laughing and eating lunch to make sure that no one was within earshot.
In a heavy tone decidedly at odds with the rest of the students, Meg asked, “Can you help me with something after school?”
“I have to work, but I can do it after that. Can I call you when I get off?” Veronica didn’t ask what Meg wanted, as she sensed that her friend was uncomfortable talking about it in such a public setting.
“That would be great. Thanks.” Meg looked down at her food, as yet untouched. She took a breath as though preparing to share something important, but at that moment Wallace plunked his tray down and Meg blew out the air in her lungs without saying a word.
“Hey, Meg,” said the new arrival. “Check you out, braving the scorn of the masses to sit at the Table of Doom.”
Meg smiled weakly. “Anytime. Um, I have to go.” Meg grabbed her things and left the table.
“Was it something I said?” asked Wallace, as he and Veronica watched Meg throw away her uneaten lunch and head inside.
Veronica’s expression was concerned as she continued to stare in Meg’s direction even after the other girl was no longer in sight.
“No. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but I don’t think it has anything to do with either of us.”
Veronica shook her head as though clearing out the cobwebs and turned her full attention to Wallace, who proceeded to regale her with the in-depth account of his adventures with her father.
Veronica was truly interested in hearing Wallace’s story, but she still had to fight the urge to keep looking back in the direction of Meg’s exit. She didn’t know what was wrong, but Veronica had the feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
*
Stunned by the events in history class, Veronica was about to go up and talk to Mr. Rooks when she was distracted by the sight of Logan and Duncan walking down the hall in deep conversation. She knew exactly what their topic of conversation was.
As much as she wanted to help her history teacher, she couldn’t take on a new case right now, not with her full attention already occupied with the search for Lynn. She also had a very strong feeling that whatever Meg needed was going to take what little energy she had left.
“You okay?” Wallace walked up next to her and the two of them exited the room, leaving a shaken Mr. Rooks behind them.
“I guess,” said Veronica. “I wish that I had time to help Mr. Rooks, but I can’t right now.”
“Logan’s mom,” noted Wallace.
“Exactly.” It was nice having a friend who knew her that well.
“Tell you what, why don’t I get Carrie’s permanent file and we can look it over?”
Veronica stopped in the middle of the hall, causing a mini-traffic jam behind her and her friend.
She blinked as though trying to refocus on the boy in front of her. Wallace grabbed her arm and pulled Veronica to the side of the hall and out of the flow of traffic.
“Wallace Fennel, do my ears deceive me or did you just volunteer to commit a clandestine act?”
Wallace gave Veronica a look.
“It’s caught you, hasn’t it?” Veronica asked rhetorically. “The sleuthing bug. I should have known it was in your genes.” A huge grin plastered itself on her face.
Wallace rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m just helping out a friend. And a teacher-I like Mr. Rooks, too, you know.”
Veronica laughed and the two of them resumed their walk to their next class. “You say that now. You just wait!”
*
Logan watched Duncan’s reaction closely. He wasn’t going to back down, but he knew that it was important to monitor his best friend’s state of mind.
“That’s cool, man,” replied Duncan. “I mean, it’s your mom. You’ve got to do what you can, right?”
His friend seemed sincere and Logan let out a relieved breath, trying not to be too obvious about it.
Logan couldn’t handle sneaking around to ask Veronica about his mom’s case and it had occurred to him that this was the perfect excuse for him and Veronica to be able to talk in public without giving away their relationship. He had broached the subject with his girlfriend during the previous night’s 11:00 call and she had agreed.
And it appeared to have gone off without a hitch.
“Let me know how it goes, man,” assured Duncan.
“Will do. And thanks for taking over the ‘80s dance for me. Dude, I am not in a place to mess with that right now.”
“No problem,” said Duncan, who was actually a little irritated about doing anything that would take time away from watching Logan and Veronica. At the same time he had to keep up appearances, so he had actually volunteered to head up the dance committee. “It’s the least I could do.” The two of them reached the end of the hallway where they had to split up and head for different classes. “Catch you after school.”
Logan nodded and headed to class. That had gone well.
Duncan watched Logan walk away. He had to find a way to use this dance thing to his advantage. Possibilities started running through his mind as Duncan headed to class.
*
Logan caught up with Veronica on the quad. Without any conscious thought, Veronica’s stomach plummeted and she thought she was going to throw up.
Logan can’t talk to me in public!
Seeing the look in her eyes, Logan said softly, “It’s cool.”
Relief flooded Veronica. She hadn’t realized how ingrained her avoidance of Logan had become. How sad was that?
They discussed the text message that Veronica had received telling her about the supposed witness’s appointment with the police that afternoon and Veronica agreed that Logan could come. She gave the stipulation, though, that he let Cliff do the talking and that Logan himself stay out of it. Logan agreed and they made plans to meet at the sheriff’s department. He would have preferred to pick her up, but they figured it was best to take baby steps at first.
As he walked away from Veronica to find Duncan, Logan realized that he felt better at that moment than he had since hearing the news of his mother’s death. Who knew that talking to his girlfriend in public would be so therapeutic?
*
When Keith told Veronica that he had been hired by the Bishops to investigate Mr. Rooks, she felt her heart freeze. Seriously, she couldn’t deal with this right now. With her father against him, she didn’t know if her history teacher would stand a chance.
She managed to croak out, “Dad, please.”
Her father looked up in surprise. “What is it, honey?”
Tears welled up in Veronica’s eyes and she fought them back. She was just emotionally exhausted. It shouldn’t be this hard.
“Mr. Rooks is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. If I didn’t have so much going on-“ her breath hitched, “-I would help him myself, but I can’t. I just can’t.”
Keith’s eyes widened in alarm as he saw his resilient daughter start to dissolve. He knew how much strain she was under and it had been killing him to watch her go through it.
He crossed to his daughter and pulled her into his arms.
“I know, honey. I know,” he reassured her as he stroked her hair.
Veronica pulled away and looked up at her father.
“Can you-will you-“ she struggled to find the right words. “Could you treat this like a police investigation instead of a private investigation? You know,” she clarified at her father’s questioning expression, “look at it with an open mind instead of automatically trying to prove his guilt? Could you act like a sheriff instead of a private investigator?”
“Sure, honey,” Keith said as he pulled Veronica back into his arms. The last thing he had expected was a reasonable request. Filling it was the least he could for his beautiful little girl, her shoulders aching as she tried to carry the burdens of everyone around her.
“At least then I would be able to sleep tonight.” Veronica’s voice was muffled against her father’s chest and he pulled her in tighter.
He would do anything for his daughter.
*
Veronica and Logan had taken separate cars to the police station, so after Logan tore out of the parking lot in his Xterra, Veronica leaned against the wall of the building and slumped to the ground, unable to walk to her car.
How could she watch him go through this? Veronica wondered if it was more difficult to go through something this horrible yourself or to love someone who was going through something this horrible. Right at that moment, she couldn’t have said.
The image ran through Veronica’s mind of Susan and Carrie making fun of her in the bathroom and she started to giggle. Since she was already crying, this led to her doing that weird crying/laughing thing that makes anyone who does it look like they should be committed, which just made her laugh and cry harder.
Idiotic teenage girls. That’s what was going through her mind as the boy she loved with all of her heart dealt with the loss of his mother-idiotic teenage girls. The giggles subsided and the only sounds still issuing from Veronica were wracking sobs.
*
Meg hung up her cell phone. Veronica was her on her way over. Had she been more herself Meg would have noticed that Veronica’s voice sounded odd, thick. As it was, she couldn’t focus on anything intelligently, least of all the nuances of her friend’s vocal patterns.
Was this really happening? How could this happen? They had been so careful. Could she really be pregnant? What was she going to do? What were they going to do?
Right now all Meg could do was wait for Veronica to get there and hold her hand while Meg took the pregnancy test she had bought two days earlier. Meg had finally come to the conclusion that she couldn’t do it on her own. Two days of staring at the box that she couldn’t open had led her to admit that she needed help.
Meg had thought about asking Eli to do it, but it didn’t seem like the right time yet. So she had asked Veronica.
So Meg sat in her room. And she waited.
*
Veronica sat on her bed staring at the wall as she thought about how much she had changed over the past year and a half. Old Veronica would have never made it through today. As it was, the events were choppy in her head.
She knew that Meg was having a bad day, but she hadn’t been anywhere near prepared for the reason.
-
”Hi, Veronica!” Meg ran out the front door and jumped into Veronica’s car before Veronica even had time to turn off the ignition.
As soon as the car door was shut, she explained in a low tone, “We need to do this at your house or-it doesn’t really matter. It just can’t be here.”
It wasn’t until Veronica parked in front of her apartment that Meg pulled out the pregnancy test and Veronica learned what was going on.
-
Then there was her conversation with her dad.
-
”I’ve been looking at this objectively, honey, and so far it’s not good.”
Veronica sighed. The look in her dad’s eyes was compassionate. Even though the Bishops had hired him, Veronica knew that right now Keith Mars would do just about anything to make her smile. Obviously this news wasn’t going to do that.
-
Veronica looked at the cracks in the paint on her wall. Maybe they should ask the landlord for a new paint job. Right. And they were going to have working hot water, too.
A damaging diary? Credit card corroboration?
The saddest thing was that at any other time, either Meg’s predicament or the soap opera with Rooks would deserve its own little chapter in the ongoing serial that was Veronica’s life. Given the current situation with Logan and his mother, though, they both barely claimed a paragraph.
Veronica could still feel the dirt under her palms, the rough brick against her back as she sat defeated in front of the sheriff’s station. The smell of dry earth had mixed with that of urban sprawl to make Veronica feel like she was suffocating.
And the horrific scene at the coffee bar with the crazed Lynn Echolls fan.
“Damnit!” she yelled, her attention once again back in the present. It was a good thing her dad was out doing surveillance on another case.
Difficult situations didn’t make her fall apart. She wasn’t that person anymore. And here she was, teetering on the brink.
Veronica had a sudden desire to go out and buy a ceramic figurine just so that she could smash it against some peeling paint.
Her cell phone rang. She didn’t even say hello.
“Is it just me or are you tired of being a victim?” she demanded.
“Hell, yeah,” affirmed Logan loudly, whatever he had been planning on saying forgotten.
“So we know that Duncan is on some sort of medication, but we don’t know what it is, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Given our relationship, I think that Duncan would be suspicious if I asked him who his doctor was. So I have a plan.”
“The world makes sense yet again.”
“You need to go through Celeste Kane’s files. You know Duncan’s medical records will be there. And it’s totally normal for you to be over at their house.”
“I love you.” It was not a sweet and fluffy declaration of love. It was a “screw you” to the rest of the world.
“Damn straight.”
“Do I get to wear camo?” For the first time in weeks Logan sounded like himself again.
“Only if I get to dress you in chaps, too.”
“Oh, the possibilities…” Logan’s voice trailed off and Veronica knew exactly where his mind was going. Same place hers was.
They talked for a few more minutes, cutting off the conversation a little sooner than normal. It was almost as though they were both afraid that if they talked too long the relaxed mood would pop like a soap bubble and they would have to face the real world again.
So they said their goodbyes and separately went straight to bed, each of them desperate to hold on to the long-lost feeling of normalcy.
Not that it worked.
*
Logan’s attempt to go right to sleep didn’t proceed quite as well as he would have liked. He kept hearing Maleficent’s voice in his head over and over again.
“If you’d like, sure.”
The evil gold digger was selling out his mother to the highest bidder. She didn’t care that Lynn Echolls was someone’s mother. She neither knew nor cared that even though Lynn was an alcoholic, she had still held her son in her arms as the pain medication wore off, assuring him that it would be okay, that he would be okay.
No, all Maleficent thought about was her next excursion to the dollar store, not a young man who couldn’t go near his mother’s dressing room anymore because the lingering smell of her perfume brought him instantly to tears.
Logan missed his mom. He missed Duncan, for that matter. Duncan had been different after Lilly died, but something about Lynn’s death seemed to have sent him down a new pathway. And this one didn’t seem to include his best friend.
The memory of crashing into Weevil as he raced out of the coffee shop popped into his mind. There weren’t many people that Logan could actually talk to. Veronica, of course. But Logan would have loved to have hung out with another guy-that whole male bonding thing. For years, Duncan had filled that need. So who was Logan supposed to turn to now? Dick?
Logan laughed. The sound echoed in the darkness of his room. Dick liked to talk about video games and naked women and that was about it. He definitely wasn’t going to let Logan casually shed pieces of angst by making comments about his mom’s death. That took a real friend. And Logan didn’t have many of those.
The young man knew that part of it had to do with his strong personality-he intimidated a lot of people. It didn’t help in that regard that his father was Aaron Echolls. Another reason for his lack of close relationships was the ongoing abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. If Logan got close to someone, that was just one more person who might see through his façade.
So any real friend that Logan could have needed to be a secure personality who wasn’t intimidated or impressed by fame and fortune and who wouldn’t ask questions if Logan showed up in the middle of the night with a black eye. There weren’t many people that fit the bill. Duncan, in fact, had been the sole candidate to pass the test.
Again that image of Weevil appeared in his head.
Yeah, the gang leader might fit the bill, but how did the leader of the 09ers go about establishing a personal friendship with the leader of the Latino motorcycle gang? Their girlfriends had brought them together and Logan had sensed that he and Weevil could be good friends given the right circumstances.
But as Logan drifted to sleep, he wondered if that magical set of circumstances would ever come together.
He wouldn’t know until the next morning how beneficial his conversation with Veronica had been. It turned out to be the first morning since his mother died that he didn’t wake up with a pillow damp with tears.
*
Veronica loved Italian food. Keith loved Veronica. Therefore Keith was actually cooking, as in he had turned on the stove, boiled water, visited the spice cabinet-the whole nine yards. He knew that it was a weak attempt, that nothing was going to soften this blow, but he couldn’t help it. Keith desperately wanted to do whatever he could do to shield his daughter from yet another let-down by an adult in her life. He had a feeling that it wasn’t going to work.
He heard the front door open.
“Is that lasagna I smell?”
See? Did Keith Mars know his daughter or what?
“Keith Mars' secret recipe.”
A look appeared on Veronica’s face that did not bode well for her father.
“You double the cheese. Your secret is out. You're making salad? I know pity cooking when I see it. There must be more bad news.”
There were times when Keith wished that his daughter wasn’t quite so intelligent.
“Maybe we should wait 'til after dinner, huh?”
“Spill it. I promise I won't let it ruin my appetite.”
You say that now.
Keith sighed. “Rooks was fired from his last job at a private school. His file is sealed, but the complaint came from the parents of two girls.”
Veronica felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her. She opened her mouth to reply to her father, but the words stuck in her throat.
“Veronica-“ her dad started to say something else, but she forced herself to cut him off.
“I have to-I’ll be right back. Let me know when dinner’s ready. It smells great,” she added distractedly.
She crossed the tiny apartment to her bedroom where she couldn’t help slamming the door behind her.
Screw this. Veronica wasn’t going to let down yet another guy in her life. Duncan, her dad, Logan-every man she ever cared about had his life torn apart and all Veronica could do was stand by and let it happen. She wanted to scream loud enough that blood vessels in her throat would burst. But she didn’t. The neighbors would probably call the police.
She was powerless to help Logan and it was killing her. But she could help Mr. Rooks.
She opened her door and went back into the kitchen.
“I want to see Carrie’s journal.”
She watched her father’s face fall. “You know I can’t let you.”
“There better be dessert.”
Game on.
*
When Veronica came back later that night covered in ink, she was stunned. Her dad had known that she would try to get the journal. He had known when he told her that she wouldn’t be able to stand idly by and watch someone else that she cared about be hurt.
In the back of her mind, it meant a lot to her that her dad thought so highly of her. On the other hand, she really just wanted to karate chop him in the throat.
She wasn’t surprised that her dad ultimately gave her the information she needed. She had known that he would put her above his clients. She was still irritated, though, as she got ready for bed still covered in ink spots that she couldn’t quite scrub off.
When she and Logan talked that night, he just laughed at her.
“Want me to come over and give you a sponge bath, my little ink blotter?”
Was she supposed to be happy that her boyfriend was sounding more like himself or climb through the phone lines and smack him for being a smartass? Decisions, decisions…
“Have you gone through Celeste’s things yet?”
“No, I’m going over to their house on Friday to hang out and I’ll end up staying over. I’ll go look around in the wee hours of the morning.”
It was easier to talk about rummaging through friends’ private files than about how each of them was really doing.
In the end, they did something that they hadn’t done in awhile, but which they each enjoyed. They went to bed with the phone line open, lulled to sleep by the sound of each other’s breathing.
*
After Lilly, Weevil decided that he would never let himself be that vulnerable to a girl again. When he and Meg first started going out, he knew that she felt stronger about him than he did about her, so he figured it was okay to go on seeing her. Even after they slept together for the first time in Logan’s pool house, Weevil convinced himself that it meant more to her than it did to him.
He put her first when they had sex because she was so new at it-he wanted her to have a good experience. He didn’t do it because he was in love with her or anything. He had been spending less time with his friends and more time with Meg because he didn’t want her to be alone with the kids all the time. It wasn’t because he wanted to be with her as much as possible.
That’s what he told himself.
And he had believed himself up until a few days ago.
That’s when Meg had started avoiding him. Out of the blue she stopped coming over to his house as often. His calls to her cell phone went to voice mail. And he had no idea why.
It wasn’t until Meg was no longer there that Weevil realized how much he had come to need her. How much he had come to love her. He hadn’t felt this desperate since Lilly and he couldn’t believe that he had let it happen, but he had.
Meg was coming down the hall headed towards her math class. There weren’t very many people left in the hall, so Weevil was able to take a page from Veronica’s book. He stepped forward and pulled Meg by the arm into the girls’ bathroom.
He felt her tense under his hand and she pulled away as soon as they were alone. She clutched her books to her chest and leaned against the wall, not looking at him.
“What’s goin’ on, Meg?” Weevil demanded. “Why are you doin’ this?”
Meg shook her head and he saw a tear work its way down her cheek.
What was going on?
He grabbed Meg’s arms and her books crashed to the floor.
“Talk to me!” he yelled.
“I think I’m pregnant,” Meg choked out the words as the tears started to flow freely.
Without letting go of her, Weevil froze. “What?” Meg didn’t repeat her declaration. “Why-why didn’t you tell me?”
Meg looked away again. Her lips moved but no words came out.
“Why?”
“I was afraid.” The words were whispered as Meg went limp. She slid down the wall to sit on the grimy floor. Weevil followed and pulled her into his arms, where Meg started to sob openly.
Weevil had never seen Meg this helpless before. Contrary to popular belief, she was so strong, so capable. This wasn’t like her.
“You’ve never told me you loved me,” the words were so soft, he could barely hear them through the sounds of her crying. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”
Weevil’s heart constricted. He had done this to her. His determination not to love anyone had broken the one girl who had ever really given him her heart.
“I love you, Meg,” he said into her ear.
Meg pulled back in his arms to look at him. That spark that he loved had returned in an instant. It was watery, but it was there.
“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.” The shakiness of her words should have diminished her command’s power, but in fact only heightened it.
“I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to admit it. It never should have taken me this long.” Weevil pulled Meg in closer to him. “You’ll never have to wonder again.” He paused. “Have you taken a pregnancy test?”
Meg laughed weakly in his arms. “I had Veronica come over and I took both of the tests in the box.” Her voice skipped. “One was negative and the other was positive.” She couldn’t see Weevil’s face constrict in confusion, but she knew what he was thinking. “I looked it up on the Internet. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s not unheard of. I have an appointment at the free clinic in San Bernardino on Monday. Veronica’s going with me.”
“No, she’s not,” said Weevil. Meg looked up at him surprised. “I am.” Weevil wiped the tears off of his girlfriend’s cheeks and continued to hold her.
Weevil meant what he said. Meg was never going to wonder about his feelings again. Lilly had died knowing that Weevil loved her. He’d be damned if Meg didn’t get to live knowing the same thing. It was time to step up and be a man.
Especially if his girlfriend was pregnant.
*
Veronica knew that she should be in a better mood than she was. She had talked to Rooks and learned of his plan to overthrow small private schools, she had learned the supposed details of his love life from Carrie, and she had put together that Carrie’s prowess in track disproved the supposed evidence of an affair in San Diego. Furthermore, in the morning Weevil had told her that there was a kid who might have information about Logan’s mom and in the afternoon Meg had told Veronica that her services would no longer be needed on Monday, as Weevil would be taking Meg to the clinic for her pregnancy test. He had even told Meg that he loved her. About time.
She should have been happy. Things were moving. Things were getting done. Weevil had gotten his head out of his sphincter. All of these things were good, but Veronica couldn’t quite bring herself to believe. She was afraid that things would crumble like they always did. Rooks wasn’t cleared, Meg’s diagnosis was unclear and Logan still had to break into Celeste Kane’s files.
Veronica was terrified that the way their luck was going, something terrible would go wrong.
She sighed. Time would tell.
*
“Wait a minute, back up. Why is Meg going to a free clinic? In San Bernardino?” Veronica had just informed Logan that she didn’t have to leave Neptune after school on Monday.
“I didn’t mention that?”
“Undoubtedly you were too busy talking about Brad and Jen.”
“Uh-huh. I think I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Thanks for sparing me the agony. I assume the only reason people in Neptune go to clinics in other cities is for pregnancy tests, right?”
“Correct. I held her hand while she took two separate pregnancy tests.”
“Then why is she going to the clinic? She need some special vitamins?”
“One test was positive, one test was negative.”
“Come again.”
“I was there. I swear that it happened.”
“That sucks on so many levels.”
“At least she finally told Weevil.”
“How did he handle it?”
“He told her that he loved her.”
“Good for him.”
“What would you do if I told you I was pregnant?”
“After I sobered up?”
Veronica laughed. “Seriously, what would you do?”
“Hold your hair back from your face while you had morning sickness, I guess. I mean, that’s what you’d need, right?” There was no response. “Veronica? Did I say something wrong?”
Veronica voice sounded constricted. “No, you didn’t say anything wrong at all.”
*
After the school board meeting, Veronica met up with Logan and he drove her over to Rooks’ house. He parked under some shadows one house down and waited for Veronica to reemerge. When she did he could tell by the set of her shoulders that she wasn’t happy. Logan knew his girlfriend really well.
Veronica climbed into the Mystery Machine and slammed the door.
Logan looked intently at his girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?”
“He did it,” Veronica said angrily. In a very Logan-like move, Veronica slammed her hand against the front dash.
*
As Logan waited to make sure that Duncan and his parents were good and asleep, he reflected on how mature it had been of him not to tear Rooks limb from limb. He supposed he would have to be content with the fact that Rooks would never be a teacher again.
He looked over at the alarm clock. Three thirty in the morning. If the Kanes weren’t sound asleep, they were never going to be. Logan got up and padded silently through the house. He knew the Kane house almost as well as he knew his own. Over the years he had spent considerable time there. Unfortunately for this specific enterprise, the room with which Logan was least familiar was the office.
After he slipped into the room, Logan pulled out the flashlight that Veronica had packed for him. Ah, the benefits of having a sexy P.I. for a girlfriend. He moved across the office to the desk and started going through the drawers. After a fruitless search, he sighed distractedly and swept the flashlight around the room and that’s when he saw it-the safe discreetly set in the wall to the right of the desk.
Veronica had prepared him for this possibility. Logan flipped through the day-by-day calendar to Duncan’s birthday.
“No kidding,” he whispered to himself. There was the combination. Honestly, Logan hadn’t believed Veronica. That showed him.
As he entered the combination, Logan was grateful again to Veronica for distracting him from all the other crap in his life.
The safe door swung open to reveal a much bigger compartment than Logan expected. He shone the flashlight into the container to reveal a few stacks of cash, what looked like jewelry boxes and…several files.
Logan took out the files. Sure enough, there was “DK Medical”. He was about to put the rest back when another title caught his eye-“AK Medical”. Who was AK? Logan opened the file. It was all that he could do not to drop everything in his hands.
Keeping the two files in question, he put everything else back the way he found it and shut the safe. Stopping at the desk calendar to make sure he left it on the previous day’s date, he left the Kane family office.
Veronica wasn’t going to believe this.
*
Fortunately for Logan and Veronica but unfortunately for him, one of Duncan’s teacher’s-the one he had after lunch-had called his parents to discuss his frequent tardies to her class. As a result, Celeste and Jake had gone back to full-watchdog mode in regards to their son. He had been spending a lot more time at home and a lot less time obsessively eavesdropping. He also had to take his medicine now. All of it.
Some of the many side effects of the cornucopia of prescription drugs that Duncan took, along with lethargy, were heavy sleep and nightmares. This night was no different.
Weird lights, loud sounds, distorted images of places and people ran across the inside of Duncan’s eyelids as he slept. He never saw anyone distinctly, instead sensing that everyone around him was in pain and that it was all his fault. Despite his struggles to wake himself and escape the troubled landscape of his dreams, Duncan was powerless.
Duncan Kane, who had been trailing Logan and Veronica’s every move for a good long time, was completely unaware that his best friend had just broken into his family safe. His subconscious had too strong of a hold on him.
*
Logan and Veronica were looking up Duncan’s medicines in the Journalism lab the next day when the object of their investigation walked up behind them. Veronica instantly Alt+Tabbed over to a Google screen showing the results of a search for car rental companies.
“How’s the investigation going?” Duncan asked innocently.
Logan slumped into a sitting position on the table next to Veronica.
“Okay, I guess.” He didn’t have to work hard to sound defeated.
“We’re still trying,” Veronica reassured him.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay?” Logan and Veronica gave each other a look as Duncan walked away.
“I think that’s the nicest thing he’s said to me in a year,” remarked Veronica as she tabbed back over the screen explaining the condition that was Type 4 Epilepsy. She switched topics.
“You had no idea?”
“No,” Logan answered thoughtfully as he pulled his chair back up and slid it next to Veronica’s. “But it explains a lot. That seizure for one thing.”
“Yeah.” Having read everything on that page, Veronica went back to WebMD and did a search for Abel’s condition. She and Logan were still trying to wrap their heads around that little piece of information.
It was clear now that the Kanes knew who really killed their daughter and that they had gone to a lot of trouble to provide a fall guy. It looked like their task now was to find out who Jake and Celeste were covering for.
*
Per Weevil’s phone call, Logan and Veronica had arrived at the A/V lab to meet with the kid claiming to have proof of Lynn’s death. After seeing the evidence, Logan had stumbled from the room, Veronica close behind.
She gently took his hand, not caring who saw them. “I’m sorry, Logan.”
“So am I,” he answered softly.
Her cell phone went off and she let go of Logan’s hand as she pulled it out.
Flipping it open, she called out to her boyfriend, “Logan!”
He turned around.
Veronica couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice as she said, “Your mom’s missing credit card was just used!”
There was always hope.
*
Saturday afternoon, Logan and Veronica went together to visit Abel Koontz.
*
Monday afternoon, Weevil and Meg walked into the free clinic in San Bernardino. As they filled out the required paperwork, Meg tried not to giggle. She knew that they had to be presenting a strange picture to other, predominately Hispanic, patrons in the waiting room-tattooed Latino thug holding the hand of the blond princess. Indeed they were getting some very strange looks.
Weevil couldn’t have cared less. He was exactly where he was supposed to be and he didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone else thought of them.
“Ms. Manning?” An efficient-looking nurse called from the door that obviously led to the examination rooms.
Weevil squeezed his girlfriend’s hand. The two of them got up and followed the nurse into the back.
To be continued…
Author: jacedesbff
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Meg/Weevil, ensemble
Word Count: 6,129 (a record!)
Rating: PG-13 for mild language and sexual situations
Summary: AU from the Pilot; this chapter takes place during “Mars vs. Mars”
Spoilers: Familiarity with Season 1 required.
Disclaimer: Rob Thomas owns all.
All previous chapters may be found at my LJ.
A/N: So my apologies for the much-delayed nature of this chapter. Real life…sigh... Who needs it? On a separate note, I have to admit that this wasn’t one of my favorite episodes of the season. I didn’t dislike it, per se, I just didn’t love it, either. So who knew it would be so long?! But there you have it! Many thanks to my encouraging, supportive, lend-an-ear beta candlewaxdreams, as always! Thanks to Inigo Montoya’s online transcripts for episode dialogue.
X-posted. Thank you so much to everyone who has provided feedback. There were times over the past few weeks when I wondered if I would ever have the time and energy to finish this and the thought of all of you kept me going and wouldn’t let me give up. My sincerest thanks.
“Veronica, I need your help.”
It occurred to Veronica that she could make a lot of money if she got $5 every time someone said those words to her. She could never point that out to Meg of all people, though, so she said the next best thing.
“What can I do for you?”
Meg looked around the quad which was full of students laughing and eating lunch to make sure that no one was within earshot.
In a heavy tone decidedly at odds with the rest of the students, Meg asked, “Can you help me with something after school?”
“I have to work, but I can do it after that. Can I call you when I get off?” Veronica didn’t ask what Meg wanted, as she sensed that her friend was uncomfortable talking about it in such a public setting.
“That would be great. Thanks.” Meg looked down at her food, as yet untouched. She took a breath as though preparing to share something important, but at that moment Wallace plunked his tray down and Meg blew out the air in her lungs without saying a word.
“Hey, Meg,” said the new arrival. “Check you out, braving the scorn of the masses to sit at the Table of Doom.”
Meg smiled weakly. “Anytime. Um, I have to go.” Meg grabbed her things and left the table.
“Was it something I said?” asked Wallace, as he and Veronica watched Meg throw away her uneaten lunch and head inside.
Veronica’s expression was concerned as she continued to stare in Meg’s direction even after the other girl was no longer in sight.
“No. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but I don’t think it has anything to do with either of us.”
Veronica shook her head as though clearing out the cobwebs and turned her full attention to Wallace, who proceeded to regale her with the in-depth account of his adventures with her father.
Veronica was truly interested in hearing Wallace’s story, but she still had to fight the urge to keep looking back in the direction of Meg’s exit. She didn’t know what was wrong, but Veronica had the feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
*
Stunned by the events in history class, Veronica was about to go up and talk to Mr. Rooks when she was distracted by the sight of Logan and Duncan walking down the hall in deep conversation. She knew exactly what their topic of conversation was.
As much as she wanted to help her history teacher, she couldn’t take on a new case right now, not with her full attention already occupied with the search for Lynn. She also had a very strong feeling that whatever Meg needed was going to take what little energy she had left.
“You okay?” Wallace walked up next to her and the two of them exited the room, leaving a shaken Mr. Rooks behind them.
“I guess,” said Veronica. “I wish that I had time to help Mr. Rooks, but I can’t right now.”
“Logan’s mom,” noted Wallace.
“Exactly.” It was nice having a friend who knew her that well.
“Tell you what, why don’t I get Carrie’s permanent file and we can look it over?”
Veronica stopped in the middle of the hall, causing a mini-traffic jam behind her and her friend.
She blinked as though trying to refocus on the boy in front of her. Wallace grabbed her arm and pulled Veronica to the side of the hall and out of the flow of traffic.
“Wallace Fennel, do my ears deceive me or did you just volunteer to commit a clandestine act?”
Wallace gave Veronica a look.
“It’s caught you, hasn’t it?” Veronica asked rhetorically. “The sleuthing bug. I should have known it was in your genes.” A huge grin plastered itself on her face.
Wallace rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m just helping out a friend. And a teacher-I like Mr. Rooks, too, you know.”
Veronica laughed and the two of them resumed their walk to their next class. “You say that now. You just wait!”
*
Logan watched Duncan’s reaction closely. He wasn’t going to back down, but he knew that it was important to monitor his best friend’s state of mind.
“That’s cool, man,” replied Duncan. “I mean, it’s your mom. You’ve got to do what you can, right?”
His friend seemed sincere and Logan let out a relieved breath, trying not to be too obvious about it.
Logan couldn’t handle sneaking around to ask Veronica about his mom’s case and it had occurred to him that this was the perfect excuse for him and Veronica to be able to talk in public without giving away their relationship. He had broached the subject with his girlfriend during the previous night’s 11:00 call and she had agreed.
And it appeared to have gone off without a hitch.
“Let me know how it goes, man,” assured Duncan.
“Will do. And thanks for taking over the ‘80s dance for me. Dude, I am not in a place to mess with that right now.”
“No problem,” said Duncan, who was actually a little irritated about doing anything that would take time away from watching Logan and Veronica. At the same time he had to keep up appearances, so he had actually volunteered to head up the dance committee. “It’s the least I could do.” The two of them reached the end of the hallway where they had to split up and head for different classes. “Catch you after school.”
Logan nodded and headed to class. That had gone well.
Duncan watched Logan walk away. He had to find a way to use this dance thing to his advantage. Possibilities started running through his mind as Duncan headed to class.
*
Logan caught up with Veronica on the quad. Without any conscious thought, Veronica’s stomach plummeted and she thought she was going to throw up.
Logan can’t talk to me in public!
Seeing the look in her eyes, Logan said softly, “It’s cool.”
Relief flooded Veronica. She hadn’t realized how ingrained her avoidance of Logan had become. How sad was that?
They discussed the text message that Veronica had received telling her about the supposed witness’s appointment with the police that afternoon and Veronica agreed that Logan could come. She gave the stipulation, though, that he let Cliff do the talking and that Logan himself stay out of it. Logan agreed and they made plans to meet at the sheriff’s department. He would have preferred to pick her up, but they figured it was best to take baby steps at first.
As he walked away from Veronica to find Duncan, Logan realized that he felt better at that moment than he had since hearing the news of his mother’s death. Who knew that talking to his girlfriend in public would be so therapeutic?
*
When Keith told Veronica that he had been hired by the Bishops to investigate Mr. Rooks, she felt her heart freeze. Seriously, she couldn’t deal with this right now. With her father against him, she didn’t know if her history teacher would stand a chance.
She managed to croak out, “Dad, please.”
Her father looked up in surprise. “What is it, honey?”
Tears welled up in Veronica’s eyes and she fought them back. She was just emotionally exhausted. It shouldn’t be this hard.
“Mr. Rooks is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. If I didn’t have so much going on-“ her breath hitched, “-I would help him myself, but I can’t. I just can’t.”
Keith’s eyes widened in alarm as he saw his resilient daughter start to dissolve. He knew how much strain she was under and it had been killing him to watch her go through it.
He crossed to his daughter and pulled her into his arms.
“I know, honey. I know,” he reassured her as he stroked her hair.
Veronica pulled away and looked up at her father.
“Can you-will you-“ she struggled to find the right words. “Could you treat this like a police investigation instead of a private investigation? You know,” she clarified at her father’s questioning expression, “look at it with an open mind instead of automatically trying to prove his guilt? Could you act like a sheriff instead of a private investigator?”
“Sure, honey,” Keith said as he pulled Veronica back into his arms. The last thing he had expected was a reasonable request. Filling it was the least he could for his beautiful little girl, her shoulders aching as she tried to carry the burdens of everyone around her.
“At least then I would be able to sleep tonight.” Veronica’s voice was muffled against her father’s chest and he pulled her in tighter.
He would do anything for his daughter.
*
Veronica and Logan had taken separate cars to the police station, so after Logan tore out of the parking lot in his Xterra, Veronica leaned against the wall of the building and slumped to the ground, unable to walk to her car.
How could she watch him go through this? Veronica wondered if it was more difficult to go through something this horrible yourself or to love someone who was going through something this horrible. Right at that moment, she couldn’t have said.
The image ran through Veronica’s mind of Susan and Carrie making fun of her in the bathroom and she started to giggle. Since she was already crying, this led to her doing that weird crying/laughing thing that makes anyone who does it look like they should be committed, which just made her laugh and cry harder.
Idiotic teenage girls. That’s what was going through her mind as the boy she loved with all of her heart dealt with the loss of his mother-idiotic teenage girls. The giggles subsided and the only sounds still issuing from Veronica were wracking sobs.
*
Meg hung up her cell phone. Veronica was her on her way over. Had she been more herself Meg would have noticed that Veronica’s voice sounded odd, thick. As it was, she couldn’t focus on anything intelligently, least of all the nuances of her friend’s vocal patterns.
Was this really happening? How could this happen? They had been so careful. Could she really be pregnant? What was she going to do? What were they going to do?
Right now all Meg could do was wait for Veronica to get there and hold her hand while Meg took the pregnancy test she had bought two days earlier. Meg had finally come to the conclusion that she couldn’t do it on her own. Two days of staring at the box that she couldn’t open had led her to admit that she needed help.
Meg had thought about asking Eli to do it, but it didn’t seem like the right time yet. So she had asked Veronica.
So Meg sat in her room. And she waited.
*
Veronica sat on her bed staring at the wall as she thought about how much she had changed over the past year and a half. Old Veronica would have never made it through today. As it was, the events were choppy in her head.
She knew that Meg was having a bad day, but she hadn’t been anywhere near prepared for the reason.
-
”Hi, Veronica!” Meg ran out the front door and jumped into Veronica’s car before Veronica even had time to turn off the ignition.
As soon as the car door was shut, she explained in a low tone, “We need to do this at your house or-it doesn’t really matter. It just can’t be here.”
It wasn’t until Veronica parked in front of her apartment that Meg pulled out the pregnancy test and Veronica learned what was going on.
-
Then there was her conversation with her dad.
-
”I’ve been looking at this objectively, honey, and so far it’s not good.”
Veronica sighed. The look in her dad’s eyes was compassionate. Even though the Bishops had hired him, Veronica knew that right now Keith Mars would do just about anything to make her smile. Obviously this news wasn’t going to do that.
-
Veronica looked at the cracks in the paint on her wall. Maybe they should ask the landlord for a new paint job. Right. And they were going to have working hot water, too.
A damaging diary? Credit card corroboration?
The saddest thing was that at any other time, either Meg’s predicament or the soap opera with Rooks would deserve its own little chapter in the ongoing serial that was Veronica’s life. Given the current situation with Logan and his mother, though, they both barely claimed a paragraph.
Veronica could still feel the dirt under her palms, the rough brick against her back as she sat defeated in front of the sheriff’s station. The smell of dry earth had mixed with that of urban sprawl to make Veronica feel like she was suffocating.
And the horrific scene at the coffee bar with the crazed Lynn Echolls fan.
“Damnit!” she yelled, her attention once again back in the present. It was a good thing her dad was out doing surveillance on another case.
Difficult situations didn’t make her fall apart. She wasn’t that person anymore. And here she was, teetering on the brink.
Veronica had a sudden desire to go out and buy a ceramic figurine just so that she could smash it against some peeling paint.
Her cell phone rang. She didn’t even say hello.
“Is it just me or are you tired of being a victim?” she demanded.
“Hell, yeah,” affirmed Logan loudly, whatever he had been planning on saying forgotten.
“So we know that Duncan is on some sort of medication, but we don’t know what it is, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Given our relationship, I think that Duncan would be suspicious if I asked him who his doctor was. So I have a plan.”
“The world makes sense yet again.”
“You need to go through Celeste Kane’s files. You know Duncan’s medical records will be there. And it’s totally normal for you to be over at their house.”
“I love you.” It was not a sweet and fluffy declaration of love. It was a “screw you” to the rest of the world.
“Damn straight.”
“Do I get to wear camo?” For the first time in weeks Logan sounded like himself again.
“Only if I get to dress you in chaps, too.”
“Oh, the possibilities…” Logan’s voice trailed off and Veronica knew exactly where his mind was going. Same place hers was.
They talked for a few more minutes, cutting off the conversation a little sooner than normal. It was almost as though they were both afraid that if they talked too long the relaxed mood would pop like a soap bubble and they would have to face the real world again.
So they said their goodbyes and separately went straight to bed, each of them desperate to hold on to the long-lost feeling of normalcy.
Not that it worked.
*
Logan’s attempt to go right to sleep didn’t proceed quite as well as he would have liked. He kept hearing Maleficent’s voice in his head over and over again.
“If you’d like, sure.”
The evil gold digger was selling out his mother to the highest bidder. She didn’t care that Lynn Echolls was someone’s mother. She neither knew nor cared that even though Lynn was an alcoholic, she had still held her son in her arms as the pain medication wore off, assuring him that it would be okay, that he would be okay.
No, all Maleficent thought about was her next excursion to the dollar store, not a young man who couldn’t go near his mother’s dressing room anymore because the lingering smell of her perfume brought him instantly to tears.
Logan missed his mom. He missed Duncan, for that matter. Duncan had been different after Lilly died, but something about Lynn’s death seemed to have sent him down a new pathway. And this one didn’t seem to include his best friend.
The memory of crashing into Weevil as he raced out of the coffee shop popped into his mind. There weren’t many people that Logan could actually talk to. Veronica, of course. But Logan would have loved to have hung out with another guy-that whole male bonding thing. For years, Duncan had filled that need. So who was Logan supposed to turn to now? Dick?
Logan laughed. The sound echoed in the darkness of his room. Dick liked to talk about video games and naked women and that was about it. He definitely wasn’t going to let Logan casually shed pieces of angst by making comments about his mom’s death. That took a real friend. And Logan didn’t have many of those.
The young man knew that part of it had to do with his strong personality-he intimidated a lot of people. It didn’t help in that regard that his father was Aaron Echolls. Another reason for his lack of close relationships was the ongoing abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. If Logan got close to someone, that was just one more person who might see through his façade.
So any real friend that Logan could have needed to be a secure personality who wasn’t intimidated or impressed by fame and fortune and who wouldn’t ask questions if Logan showed up in the middle of the night with a black eye. There weren’t many people that fit the bill. Duncan, in fact, had been the sole candidate to pass the test.
Again that image of Weevil appeared in his head.
Yeah, the gang leader might fit the bill, but how did the leader of the 09ers go about establishing a personal friendship with the leader of the Latino motorcycle gang? Their girlfriends had brought them together and Logan had sensed that he and Weevil could be good friends given the right circumstances.
But as Logan drifted to sleep, he wondered if that magical set of circumstances would ever come together.
He wouldn’t know until the next morning how beneficial his conversation with Veronica had been. It turned out to be the first morning since his mother died that he didn’t wake up with a pillow damp with tears.
*
Veronica loved Italian food. Keith loved Veronica. Therefore Keith was actually cooking, as in he had turned on the stove, boiled water, visited the spice cabinet-the whole nine yards. He knew that it was a weak attempt, that nothing was going to soften this blow, but he couldn’t help it. Keith desperately wanted to do whatever he could do to shield his daughter from yet another let-down by an adult in her life. He had a feeling that it wasn’t going to work.
He heard the front door open.
“Is that lasagna I smell?”
See? Did Keith Mars know his daughter or what?
“Keith Mars' secret recipe.”
A look appeared on Veronica’s face that did not bode well for her father.
“You double the cheese. Your secret is out. You're making salad? I know pity cooking when I see it. There must be more bad news.”
There were times when Keith wished that his daughter wasn’t quite so intelligent.
“Maybe we should wait 'til after dinner, huh?”
“Spill it. I promise I won't let it ruin my appetite.”
You say that now.
Keith sighed. “Rooks was fired from his last job at a private school. His file is sealed, but the complaint came from the parents of two girls.”
Veronica felt like a rug had been pulled out from under her. She opened her mouth to reply to her father, but the words stuck in her throat.
“Veronica-“ her dad started to say something else, but she forced herself to cut him off.
“I have to-I’ll be right back. Let me know when dinner’s ready. It smells great,” she added distractedly.
She crossed the tiny apartment to her bedroom where she couldn’t help slamming the door behind her.
Screw this. Veronica wasn’t going to let down yet another guy in her life. Duncan, her dad, Logan-every man she ever cared about had his life torn apart and all Veronica could do was stand by and let it happen. She wanted to scream loud enough that blood vessels in her throat would burst. But she didn’t. The neighbors would probably call the police.
She was powerless to help Logan and it was killing her. But she could help Mr. Rooks.
She opened her door and went back into the kitchen.
“I want to see Carrie’s journal.”
She watched her father’s face fall. “You know I can’t let you.”
“There better be dessert.”
Game on.
*
When Veronica came back later that night covered in ink, she was stunned. Her dad had known that she would try to get the journal. He had known when he told her that she wouldn’t be able to stand idly by and watch someone else that she cared about be hurt.
In the back of her mind, it meant a lot to her that her dad thought so highly of her. On the other hand, she really just wanted to karate chop him in the throat.
She wasn’t surprised that her dad ultimately gave her the information she needed. She had known that he would put her above his clients. She was still irritated, though, as she got ready for bed still covered in ink spots that she couldn’t quite scrub off.
When she and Logan talked that night, he just laughed at her.
“Want me to come over and give you a sponge bath, my little ink blotter?”
Was she supposed to be happy that her boyfriend was sounding more like himself or climb through the phone lines and smack him for being a smartass? Decisions, decisions…
“Have you gone through Celeste’s things yet?”
“No, I’m going over to their house on Friday to hang out and I’ll end up staying over. I’ll go look around in the wee hours of the morning.”
It was easier to talk about rummaging through friends’ private files than about how each of them was really doing.
In the end, they did something that they hadn’t done in awhile, but which they each enjoyed. They went to bed with the phone line open, lulled to sleep by the sound of each other’s breathing.
*
After Lilly, Weevil decided that he would never let himself be that vulnerable to a girl again. When he and Meg first started going out, he knew that she felt stronger about him than he did about her, so he figured it was okay to go on seeing her. Even after they slept together for the first time in Logan’s pool house, Weevil convinced himself that it meant more to her than it did to him.
He put her first when they had sex because she was so new at it-he wanted her to have a good experience. He didn’t do it because he was in love with her or anything. He had been spending less time with his friends and more time with Meg because he didn’t want her to be alone with the kids all the time. It wasn’t because he wanted to be with her as much as possible.
That’s what he told himself.
And he had believed himself up until a few days ago.
That’s when Meg had started avoiding him. Out of the blue she stopped coming over to his house as often. His calls to her cell phone went to voice mail. And he had no idea why.
It wasn’t until Meg was no longer there that Weevil realized how much he had come to need her. How much he had come to love her. He hadn’t felt this desperate since Lilly and he couldn’t believe that he had let it happen, but he had.
Meg was coming down the hall headed towards her math class. There weren’t very many people left in the hall, so Weevil was able to take a page from Veronica’s book. He stepped forward and pulled Meg by the arm into the girls’ bathroom.
He felt her tense under his hand and she pulled away as soon as they were alone. She clutched her books to her chest and leaned against the wall, not looking at him.
“What’s goin’ on, Meg?” Weevil demanded. “Why are you doin’ this?”
Meg shook her head and he saw a tear work its way down her cheek.
What was going on?
He grabbed Meg’s arms and her books crashed to the floor.
“Talk to me!” he yelled.
“I think I’m pregnant,” Meg choked out the words as the tears started to flow freely.
Without letting go of her, Weevil froze. “What?” Meg didn’t repeat her declaration. “Why-why didn’t you tell me?”
Meg looked away again. Her lips moved but no words came out.
“Why?”
“I was afraid.” The words were whispered as Meg went limp. She slid down the wall to sit on the grimy floor. Weevil followed and pulled her into his arms, where Meg started to sob openly.
Weevil had never seen Meg this helpless before. Contrary to popular belief, she was so strong, so capable. This wasn’t like her.
“You’ve never told me you loved me,” the words were so soft, he could barely hear them through the sounds of her crying. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”
Weevil’s heart constricted. He had done this to her. His determination not to love anyone had broken the one girl who had ever really given him her heart.
“I love you, Meg,” he said into her ear.
Meg pulled back in his arms to look at him. That spark that he loved had returned in an instant. It was watery, but it was there.
“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.” The shakiness of her words should have diminished her command’s power, but in fact only heightened it.
“I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to admit it. It never should have taken me this long.” Weevil pulled Meg in closer to him. “You’ll never have to wonder again.” He paused. “Have you taken a pregnancy test?”
Meg laughed weakly in his arms. “I had Veronica come over and I took both of the tests in the box.” Her voice skipped. “One was negative and the other was positive.” She couldn’t see Weevil’s face constrict in confusion, but she knew what he was thinking. “I looked it up on the Internet. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s not unheard of. I have an appointment at the free clinic in San Bernardino on Monday. Veronica’s going with me.”
“No, she’s not,” said Weevil. Meg looked up at him surprised. “I am.” Weevil wiped the tears off of his girlfriend’s cheeks and continued to hold her.
Weevil meant what he said. Meg was never going to wonder about his feelings again. Lilly had died knowing that Weevil loved her. He’d be damned if Meg didn’t get to live knowing the same thing. It was time to step up and be a man.
Especially if his girlfriend was pregnant.
*
Veronica knew that she should be in a better mood than she was. She had talked to Rooks and learned of his plan to overthrow small private schools, she had learned the supposed details of his love life from Carrie, and she had put together that Carrie’s prowess in track disproved the supposed evidence of an affair in San Diego. Furthermore, in the morning Weevil had told her that there was a kid who might have information about Logan’s mom and in the afternoon Meg had told Veronica that her services would no longer be needed on Monday, as Weevil would be taking Meg to the clinic for her pregnancy test. He had even told Meg that he loved her. About time.
She should have been happy. Things were moving. Things were getting done. Weevil had gotten his head out of his sphincter. All of these things were good, but Veronica couldn’t quite bring herself to believe. She was afraid that things would crumble like they always did. Rooks wasn’t cleared, Meg’s diagnosis was unclear and Logan still had to break into Celeste Kane’s files.
Veronica was terrified that the way their luck was going, something terrible would go wrong.
She sighed. Time would tell.
*
“Wait a minute, back up. Why is Meg going to a free clinic? In San Bernardino?” Veronica had just informed Logan that she didn’t have to leave Neptune after school on Monday.
“I didn’t mention that?”
“Undoubtedly you were too busy talking about Brad and Jen.”
“Uh-huh. I think I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Thanks for sparing me the agony. I assume the only reason people in Neptune go to clinics in other cities is for pregnancy tests, right?”
“Correct. I held her hand while she took two separate pregnancy tests.”
“Then why is she going to the clinic? She need some special vitamins?”
“One test was positive, one test was negative.”
“Come again.”
“I was there. I swear that it happened.”
“That sucks on so many levels.”
“At least she finally told Weevil.”
“How did he handle it?”
“He told her that he loved her.”
“Good for him.”
“What would you do if I told you I was pregnant?”
“After I sobered up?”
Veronica laughed. “Seriously, what would you do?”
“Hold your hair back from your face while you had morning sickness, I guess. I mean, that’s what you’d need, right?” There was no response. “Veronica? Did I say something wrong?”
Veronica voice sounded constricted. “No, you didn’t say anything wrong at all.”
*
After the school board meeting, Veronica met up with Logan and he drove her over to Rooks’ house. He parked under some shadows one house down and waited for Veronica to reemerge. When she did he could tell by the set of her shoulders that she wasn’t happy. Logan knew his girlfriend really well.
Veronica climbed into the Mystery Machine and slammed the door.
Logan looked intently at his girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?”
“He did it,” Veronica said angrily. In a very Logan-like move, Veronica slammed her hand against the front dash.
*
As Logan waited to make sure that Duncan and his parents were good and asleep, he reflected on how mature it had been of him not to tear Rooks limb from limb. He supposed he would have to be content with the fact that Rooks would never be a teacher again.
He looked over at the alarm clock. Three thirty in the morning. If the Kanes weren’t sound asleep, they were never going to be. Logan got up and padded silently through the house. He knew the Kane house almost as well as he knew his own. Over the years he had spent considerable time there. Unfortunately for this specific enterprise, the room with which Logan was least familiar was the office.
After he slipped into the room, Logan pulled out the flashlight that Veronica had packed for him. Ah, the benefits of having a sexy P.I. for a girlfriend. He moved across the office to the desk and started going through the drawers. After a fruitless search, he sighed distractedly and swept the flashlight around the room and that’s when he saw it-the safe discreetly set in the wall to the right of the desk.
Veronica had prepared him for this possibility. Logan flipped through the day-by-day calendar to Duncan’s birthday.
“No kidding,” he whispered to himself. There was the combination. Honestly, Logan hadn’t believed Veronica. That showed him.
As he entered the combination, Logan was grateful again to Veronica for distracting him from all the other crap in his life.
The safe door swung open to reveal a much bigger compartment than Logan expected. He shone the flashlight into the container to reveal a few stacks of cash, what looked like jewelry boxes and…several files.
Logan took out the files. Sure enough, there was “DK Medical”. He was about to put the rest back when another title caught his eye-“AK Medical”. Who was AK? Logan opened the file. It was all that he could do not to drop everything in his hands.
Keeping the two files in question, he put everything else back the way he found it and shut the safe. Stopping at the desk calendar to make sure he left it on the previous day’s date, he left the Kane family office.
Veronica wasn’t going to believe this.
*
Fortunately for Logan and Veronica but unfortunately for him, one of Duncan’s teacher’s-the one he had after lunch-had called his parents to discuss his frequent tardies to her class. As a result, Celeste and Jake had gone back to full-watchdog mode in regards to their son. He had been spending a lot more time at home and a lot less time obsessively eavesdropping. He also had to take his medicine now. All of it.
Some of the many side effects of the cornucopia of prescription drugs that Duncan took, along with lethargy, were heavy sleep and nightmares. This night was no different.
Weird lights, loud sounds, distorted images of places and people ran across the inside of Duncan’s eyelids as he slept. He never saw anyone distinctly, instead sensing that everyone around him was in pain and that it was all his fault. Despite his struggles to wake himself and escape the troubled landscape of his dreams, Duncan was powerless.
Duncan Kane, who had been trailing Logan and Veronica’s every move for a good long time, was completely unaware that his best friend had just broken into his family safe. His subconscious had too strong of a hold on him.
*
Logan and Veronica were looking up Duncan’s medicines in the Journalism lab the next day when the object of their investigation walked up behind them. Veronica instantly Alt+Tabbed over to a Google screen showing the results of a search for car rental companies.
“How’s the investigation going?” Duncan asked innocently.
Logan slumped into a sitting position on the table next to Veronica.
“Okay, I guess.” He didn’t have to work hard to sound defeated.
“We’re still trying,” Veronica reassured him.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay?” Logan and Veronica gave each other a look as Duncan walked away.
“I think that’s the nicest thing he’s said to me in a year,” remarked Veronica as she tabbed back over the screen explaining the condition that was Type 4 Epilepsy. She switched topics.
“You had no idea?”
“No,” Logan answered thoughtfully as he pulled his chair back up and slid it next to Veronica’s. “But it explains a lot. That seizure for one thing.”
“Yeah.” Having read everything on that page, Veronica went back to WebMD and did a search for Abel’s condition. She and Logan were still trying to wrap their heads around that little piece of information.
It was clear now that the Kanes knew who really killed their daughter and that they had gone to a lot of trouble to provide a fall guy. It looked like their task now was to find out who Jake and Celeste were covering for.
*
Per Weevil’s phone call, Logan and Veronica had arrived at the A/V lab to meet with the kid claiming to have proof of Lynn’s death. After seeing the evidence, Logan had stumbled from the room, Veronica close behind.
She gently took his hand, not caring who saw them. “I’m sorry, Logan.”
“So am I,” he answered softly.
Her cell phone went off and she let go of Logan’s hand as she pulled it out.
Flipping it open, she called out to her boyfriend, “Logan!”
He turned around.
Veronica couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice as she said, “Your mom’s missing credit card was just used!”
There was always hope.
*
Saturday afternoon, Logan and Veronica went together to visit Abel Koontz.
*
Monday afternoon, Weevil and Meg walked into the free clinic in San Bernardino. As they filled out the required paperwork, Meg tried not to giggle. She knew that they had to be presenting a strange picture to other, predominately Hispanic, patrons in the waiting room-tattooed Latino thug holding the hand of the blond princess. Indeed they were getting some very strange looks.
Weevil couldn’t have cared less. He was exactly where he was supposed to be and he didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone else thought of them.
“Ms. Manning?” An efficient-looking nurse called from the door that obviously led to the examination rooms.
Weevil squeezed his girlfriend’s hand. The two of them got up and followed the nurse into the back.
To be continued…