Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Veronica: New York City, 2016

The music was pounding in the huge photography studio Veronica owned as she was taking pictures of half-naked models. She was giving some instructions to the models to keep their poses. Camera flashes almost blinded the models but they were used to it. A model posed exaggeratedly and it made her want to yell.

"No, Naomi. Don't do that, don't stick your ass up in the air too much, it's weirdly sexual. Yes, that's more like it." The camera clicks furiously as she continued on. "Can you fix his hair a little bit, Jonah? Thanks." She instructed the hairstylist. "Give him more volume."

People were watching the photoshoot; the managers, the assistants, the make-up artists, the hairstylists, and the caterers.

They didn't pay any attention when a man walked into the room and watched the scene in front of him. He smiled seeing Veronica work. She looked professional and beautiful at the same time; sporting a black T-Shirt, jeans, and a ponytail. A very simple look, but she looked fantastic either way.

He hoped that tonight's dinner would be perfect and smooth, as he planned to propose to her.

He was sure she would say yes.

After all, they had a perfect relationship.

Veronica saw him standing just beside the door, and smiled. He waved a little, happy to see her.

"Okay, we're done! Thank you for coming today, everyone! Great job." Everyone clapped their hands and started to gather their things. Veronica gestured to her boyfriend to come over while she signed a form her assistant handed her. "Piz, come here!" A topless model passed by him and he widened his eyes. Veronica snorted to see Piz blushed and walked around the model quickly. "Afraid of boobs?"

"Only when they're not yours." Piz kissed her.

Veronica didn't know how to react to that statement, so she only chuckled.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Umm, shouldn't you go change or something?" He looked at her clothes.

Veronica, looked down doing the same, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Where we're going, I don't think the Maître'd appreciate jeans."

For a second, Veronica thought she had a déjà vu.

"Where are we going? I thought we were gonna have a quiet dinner at that Pizza place."

"I told you, we're gonna have dinner at that new expensive Asian restaurant near SoHo."

"Remind me again?"

Piz sighed, "Come on, Veronica. We talked about this. We're going to meet some of my friends from work and we're dining together. I've never been there and it's harder than hell to get a reservation there. A friend of mine was somehow lucky enough to get one. I don't remember what kind of Asian restaurant; Chinese? Korean? Japanese? It's the same anyway, but it's very fancy and stuff."

"…I don't think it's the same, Piz." Veronica frowned after hearing Piz's ignorance about Asian cultures. "Don't let everyone hear you say that."

"Uh, sorry? Didn't mean it…" He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I think you should really go change."

Veronica pursed her lips but then she smiled and pecked him on the cheek. "Okay, I'll change." She asked her assistant to get her one of the cocktail dresses from the photoshoot and made her way to her office.

Piz exhaled loudly and put his hand into his coat pocket to feel the ring box. It was an expensive ring, and he had to borrow some money from his parents, but it would be worth it. When Veronica said yes, he would be the happiest man in the world.

Everything would be awesome.

Veronica chose a simple black dress from her photoshoot, but it still looked elegant. She didn't remember that Piz wanting to take her to a fancy restaurant. She was very busy for the past couple of weeks; she hardly had time to have proper dinner. She would have take-outs for dinner. Occasionally she would have some time to have dinner with Piz, but mostly at their 'go-to' restaurants.

She'd noticed that Piz had been extra clingy for the past few days – calling her almost 8 times a day because she didn't immediately pick up the phone. He texted her with some jokes about whether she was running away to Tahiti without him, and it was just really corny.

They were living together, but she hardly sees him because of her job. Piz was working at NPR radio station with Ira Glass. It was something they were both proud of. Piz was a pretty well-known radio personality, some sort of a celeb for the radio world. The living arrangement was necessary – New York was expensive as hell, and the only logical thing to do was move in together. They had only been dated for three months when Piz casually asked her to move in with him. After back and forth, she decided that it was the logical thing to do, and she moved in with him to a very small apartment. They'd now, officially been dating for a year. The longest relationship she'd had since Duncan Kane in high school.

She looked herself in the mirror and shrugged.

Not bad, she thought.

She was wearing a sleeveless black dress, her hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing long earrings from the photoshoot. She then wore her yellow high heels to add a splash of color. Her assistant Nancy whistled, "You look better than those models."

"I don't think I can be a model. I mean, I love food. I need to consume more than champagne and cigarettes." She replied as she was applying bright red lipstick to her lips.

Nancy laughed and then glanced outside the office. "Special night tonight?"

"Nah, Piz probably got bored that we're eating pizza almost every night so he wants to spice things a bit." Nancy bit her lip so she wouldn't blurt anything. Veronica saw her facial expression and then frowned. "What? I know that look. You got juicy gossip or something."

"Nothing!" She played with her necklace and tugged her earrings.

"Nance… you're a blabbermouth around here. So spill."

"I am not a blabbermouth!"

Veronica gave her a disbelief look. "Okay…"

"Is just…" Nancy started to talk, "Okay, please don't freak out…"

"Too late." Veronica looked at her assistant who was wearing a tiara on her afro. She looked really cute, especially the tiara had colorful gems. She should've been the model instead of being an assistant. "Spill."

Nancy sighed dramatically and grabbed Veronica's shoulders. "Whatever he's gonna say during dinner, please don't cry because I know you're wearing cheap-ass mascara and I don't want to see them runny and ruin the dress."

"What?"

"Your boyfriend called me a few weeks ago and asked about your ring size. Girl, I know that you have big ass manly hands, so I think he had trouble finding the correct size. So I told him about your size."

Silence followed next as Veronica tried to digest whatever her assistant was saying.

Wait… ring finger?

A few seconds later it dawned on her that Piz was going to…

Oh, god. No…

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

The car stopped in front of a huge house in the 09er area. It wasn't as big as the Kane or the Echolls mansions, but the Bishop's family house was not small by any means of definition. Logan sighed and turned off the ignition. He climbed out of the car, walked to the front door, and rings the bell. He could hear some yelling inside and then there was a commotion as someone ran towards the door.

A little girl opened the door and jumped him immediately, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey, baby girl. How are you? How was your weekend?" Logan picked his daughter up and gave her a sounding sloppy kiss on the cheek.

His daughter grabbed his face with both of her hands and whispered tersely, "Get me outta here!"

Logan grimaced. That bad, huh?

His daughter disliked spending time with her grandparents, as she mentioned how boring the activities usually were. Logan could understand that for a 7-year-old girl, spending time with old people was not really her thing.

"Okay, but I have to say goodbye to your grandma," Logan said as he looked up to see Blair Bishop, the matriarch of the Bishop's family, approaching them. His daughter held his neck so tight and looked away. "Thank you for spending the weekend with Lorrie, Blair."

Blair Bishop was a middle-age woman around 50 years old. If Celeste Kane was well known as the Queen in the 09er circle, then Blair was the epitome of the Witch. She was beautiful, looked younger than her age – a few plastic surgeries – jet black hair, mostly dyed, and very well dressed. She was after all a former Miss California 1980. Her beauty didn't compare with her bitchy personality. There was once a rumor that Blair had a catfight with Celeste Kane, over a parking spot back in the day.

She was dragging Lorrie's pink suitcase behind her. "Lorrie dear, your suitcase – you need to be more responsible with your things."

Lorrie pouts as Logan put her down. "Yes, grandma." She took the suitcase and hugged her grandmother half-heartedly. "I already said goodbye to grandpa."

Blair nodded and then looked at Logan. "She is very exuberant. Just like Carrie when she was a little girl."

Logan smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Lorrie grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the foyer. "Yes, she is." He chuckled. "Thank you again, Blair. Say hi to Nate for me."

"Logan."

Logan couldn't stop Lorrie from running towards the car with the car key, but he slowly turned towards Blair, "Yes?"

"I hope you remember that next week is the anniversary of Carrie's death."

"How can I forget when the TV networks keep reminding us during their commercials?" Logan said sarcastically. Blair raised her perfectly arched eyebrow, she didn't appreciate his sarcasm. "Keeping Lorrie from seeing them is getting difficult."

"She's a big girl. She knows that her mother was a famous pop star."

"I'd rather not remind her about that. All she needs to know is that her mother loved her very much, and that's enough."

Blair exhaled, definitely disapproved. "Lorrie knows where she comes from. Her dad is a famous author, and her mother was a star. Not to mention that her grandparents from both sides are significant."

I wouldn't classify Aaron as significant, Logan thought bitterly.

"Sure." He answered curtly but still kept his smile plastered. "I got your emails about the anniversary."

"I can't believe it's been 6 years since her death… She was so young."

Logan couldn't wait to join his daughter in the car but he nodded politely. It was better to keep a polite company with the Bishop's family. Logan knew what kind of people the Bishops were; they were like the Kanes, always taking control, and he didn't want Lorrie to get stuck in the middle of an argument or bad blood. At least the family cared about Lorrie ever since Carrie died a few years back.

"Okay, I better leave now," Logan said when Lorrie honked the car horn. Blair shook her head watching her granddaughter's behavior. "Thank you again… Blair."

"Don't forget, Logan. The anniversary event will be held at the Neptune Grand. Everyone is going to be there including Mayor Petra Landros. She was very hard to convince when it came to the statue, but she finally agreed. We don't want her to change her mind if the event doesn't run smoothly."

Logan nodded but didn't say anything. Blair wanted a statue of Carrie to be erected in the middle of downtown Neptune, a remembrance where she was raised and came from. Logan thought it was really unnecessary but he held his tongue. It was really better if he just nodded politely. He turned around and walked briskly to his car, where he could see Lorrie making a face, before getting in. He almost laughed seeing his daughter looking like that.

He climbed into his car. His daughter was pouting.

"Grandma forced me to drink grass juice." She announced.

Logan snorted. "Oh yeah? What else did you do?"

"She had a garden party and forced me to wear an itchy dress! I had to smile a lot and let old people pinched me on the cheek!" She rubbed her cheeks. "Daddy, please don't let me go to grandma and grandpa's house again." She whined. "Why can't I stay with you for the weekend?"

Logan sighed as he turned on the ignition. He saw that Blair already walked back inside the house. "Well… they're old. And they need young girls to make them live longer."

"Daddy!"

Logan laughed as they drove away.

The truth was, Logan needed normalcy for his daughter; she needed some sort of family to turn to. Logan was a single father after Carrie died. She died in her bathtub from an overdose. Logan had found her slumped there and tried to revive her after calling 911. It had been too late, though. Lorrie had only been 12 months old.

Logan and Carrie were never married.

During the junior year in college, Logan bumped into Carrie in one of the cafes on the boardwalk. She had been chased by paparazzi, and without preamble, she grabbed his hand and asked him to hide her. Logan had decided to take her to his house that he shared with Dick Casablancas. After a dangerous car chase with the paparazzi, they arrived at the house and Carrie just hugged him and kissed him senselessly. Logan immediately carried her to his bedroom and they had sex.

Thus the tumultuous relationship started.

They were broken people with so much baggage. At first, they were having fun – it was less fun when they both were tabloids darling, and then add their drug habit, alcohol binges, and nonstop partying to the mix.

Logan decided to drop out of college because of it all. Back then he really didn't care. He didn't have any purpose in life. He partied with Dick, Carrie, and some 09ers people.

Gia Goodman, Susan Knight, Stu Cobbler, and Luke Haldeman started to hang out with them, and he felt like it was high school all over again.

And then he fell in love with Carrie, just as her career started to take off. Carrie didn't want to fall in love with Logan, but there were some moments where both of them felt like they'd found someone when other people had left them.

Carrie got pregnant, and she freaked out. Logan was stunned when he heard the news and got scared as well. Never in a million years that did he imagine that he'd become a father. He was always careful, but maybe it was meant to happen.

Logan thought it was destiny that they were going to have a baby together.

He was the only one. Carrie thought it was a freak accident.

She wanted a singing career and felt Logan was starting to suffocate her. They argued a lot and Logan didn't know what to do when Carrie decided to break off their relationship.

It was hell, and it was before his daughter was born…

Logan was driving while Lorrie was singing and watching the view from the passenger seat. He looked at her and smiled because she was singing happily, maybe because they were on their way home. She was waving and moving around in her seat following the beat of the music. Lorrie had a really good singing voice, just like her late mother.

"Hey, dad!" She snapped her fingers in rhythm.

"Yes, pumpkin?"

"Can I be a singer? You know, like mom?"

Logan paused a bit. He jutted his lips, pondering. "Baby girl, you can be whatever you want in life. As long as you're happy doing it."

"Was mommy happy when she was a singer?"

That was a really heavy question coming from his 7-year-old daughter. Was Carrie happy? She was using drugs to numb her pain and whatever demon she had.

"Yes, she was happy being a singer." He looked at his precious daughter. "She was a great singer, you know."

"Yeah, I saw her videos and listens to her albums. She was so pretty." Lorrie nodded and smiled. "Daddy is handsome."

"Are you fishing for a compliment? Do you want me to say that you're so pretty too?" Lorrie giggled and looked away.

Lorrie looked exactly like Carrie; black hair, big doe eyes, red pouty lips, and dark hazel eyes. But personality-wise, she was more like Logan when he was younger.

"Can we go to Amy's and buy buckets of ice cream? Grandma wouldn't allow ice cream. She said I would get fat."

"Your grandma is jealous that she can't eat ice cream anymore. It would hurt her teeth." Logan said. He knew he shouldn't say that to the mother of his late girlfriend, but he couldn't help it. Blair was worse than Celeste.

"Aww, daddy."

Logan ruffled her hair and she tried to swat his hand. "Alright, let's go to Amy's." 

Veronica: New York City, 2016

It was a disastrous evening.

Veronica was so numb after hearing from her assistant that Piz might propose to her during dinner. When she and Piz arrived at the restaurant, she couldn't help that her stomach felt like there were rocks inside.

They met his friends at the restaurant; their names were… Veronica didn't even remember. It was sort of a double date and Veronica couldn't concentrate because she wanted to hurl.

Piz's friends ordered the food, which she didn't appreciate because she wanted to order something else. Piz made a face when he ate some of the food; obvious he wasn't used to the dish. But it wasn't just those little things that made Veronica hyper-aware – she could see that Piz was nervous, and he was fidgeting non-stop. She could see his friends were trying to suppress smiles, and the waitress seemed to wait for something.

If this was supposed to be a surprise proposal, Veronica didn't like it at all. She hated surprises. Piz should've known by now. He thought that this might be romantic or something, but the fact that they never talked about the whole marriage thing made this feel like it was coming out of the left field.

When the time arrived, which was during dessert, Piz's friends went quiet and they were smiling. Piz suddenly got down on his knees right next to her chair and pulled out an engagement ring and started reciting this long speech about love, romance, and the future.

Veronica could see that every patron in the restaurant was staring at them, witnessing the proposal.

Veronica didn't even hear what he was saying except, "Will you marry me?"

She could've sworn that she could see Piz's face crumbled but he still maintained his smile when she answered, "Thank you… but can we talk about this at home?"

Many patrons actually murmured something like, "Ouch. Yikes. Ooof."

Piz's friends' faces were red, witnessing their friend sort of being rejected.

So now they were at home, after a really silent cab ride from the restaurant. Veronica sat on their bed and took off her shoes before looking at Piz who was avoiding eye contact.

"What are you thinking right now?" Veronica asked.

Piz sat on the couch, leaving a bit distance between them. His coat, with a ring in it, was thrown carelessly on the bed. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to say yes and wear the ring. Then they would call parents and her dad, plan the wedding and live happily ever after.

"Well, I thought the fish was kinda raw. I mean 35 dollars for raw fish? What were they thinking? They don't cook their fish in Japan or Korea or whatever?"

Veronica narrowed her eyes watching his passive-aggressive outburst.

"If you don't like that type of food, why we were eating there?" Veronica asked.

"It was the hottest place in town, and people were lining up to eat there for some reason, and they didn't have the decency to cook their food first, I can't believe it. Ira told me that he ate there and it was the best experience for him, and I thought…" He exhaled and looked at his girlfriend slash not fiancée. "I thought it would be a great venue to propose to you."

"We never talked about this…"

"But that's the whole point of poppin' you the question! It was supposed to be a surprise, and you would get excited, and then the music swelling, everyone is clapping, and then…" He exhaled again, loudly this time. "And then we'd be happy."

"Piz." Veronica set her jaws. "This is not a movie. And I wish we had talked about this. You never asked whether I want to get married or not."

"I just asked!" Piz pointed out the window, "Back in the restaurant! I asked you whether you wanted to marry me or not."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Veronica tried to keep her composure. "I mean, we should've discussed this before you popping' out a question in the middle of a restaurant where there were strangers. You invited your friends so they could witness this public proposal thing while to me this is supposed to be a private and personal thing."

"Oh my god, Veronica! Don't be such a wet blanket. What is wrong with a public proposal?"

Veronica looked at him in disbelief. "There's nothing wrong with it. But that's not me." She sighed. "And if you think that I would be okay with the whole thing, then you don't know me at all."

Piz leaned his head against the headrest of the couch and closed his eyes. "So I guess it's a no, then? I am only asking because you haven't answered."

Veronica didn't answer.

When she answered, her voice was steady. "I need time to think about it."

Chapter Text

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan arrived home carrying a lot of groceries. As he struggled to open the door, he heard laughter and a shriek from inside. He opened the door and called out, "I'm home! Lorrie, I got you your favorite squid donuts!" His daughter loved Takoyaki, a Japanese deep-fried snack that she always asked Logan to get whenever he went shopping.

Lorrie came out from her room, followed by a little girl around three years old. Lorrie exclaimed, "Daddy!" Logan was going to hug her after he put the groceries on the kitchen island, but she avoided him and went straight to the Takoyaki bag. "Thanks for the squid!"

"I can't believe you chose food first before me." Logan pouts exaggeratedly. Lorrie bit the fried donut hole happily and gave one to the little girl beside her. She accepted the snack shyly. She bit it and when it didn't taste disgusting, she smiled. "How do you like it, Valentina? Good?"

The little girl nodded happily.

"Oh great, now she's going to ask for that all the time." A beautiful woman came out of the laundry room and picked her up. She gave her a kiss on the cheek. "She asked for that weird candy that you gave her, and she couldn't stop asking for it."

"Sorry, Jade." Logan shrugged and put some of the groceries in the fridge. "Just trying to broaden her taste bud." He then grinned, "Tell that to Weevil."

"Ugh, you both are the worst." Jade shook her head as her daughter rested her head on her mother's shoulder while chewing her snack. "Eli is always asking whether there's something he can use to blackmail you."

"Tell him that I am an open book." Logan watched Lorrie and Valentina eating happily.

Jade was working part-time as Logan's house assistant. She was doing the household laundry, cooking, and babysitting Lorrie. Occasionally, she would do Logan's booking. She always comes to his house with her daughter Valentina. Jade married to Eli Navarro a few years back before she started working for Logan. Logan and Weevil weren't exactly friends, but they get along. They buried the hatchet after a while, and they were friendly now. Weevil had his own garage and workshop, and sometimes Logan takes his car there to get maintenance.

"Anyway, Eli is picking us up and we're going to my mother's house to have our annual dinner." She was putting Valentina's jacket on. "I put some chicken quesadillas and meatloaf in the fridge; you can just heat them up."

"Oh, you're a life savior." Logan peeked inside the fridge. "I was gonna order some pizza but this is much better."

"Don't feed your daughter pizza every day, I beg you."

Logan grinned. "Thank god I got you."

Lorrie ran back from her room and brought her Teddy bear. "Here you are, Tina. This is for you." Valentina's eyes widened and she looked at her mother.

"Lorrie, you don't have to. It's your toy." Jade shook her head. Valentina looked sad but she only held her mother's hand.

"It's okay. Bubba needs a new friend. Tina will take care of him." Lorrie insisted and put the bear on Valentina's arms. The little toddler smiled and hugged the bear tightly. She closed her eyes and hugged the bear close to her cheek happily.

Jade sighed and smiled at Lorrie, "Gracias, Lorrie."

Lorrie hugged Jade and then Valentina. "You will come tomorrow, right?" She looked at Logan who was watching the interaction. "Uncle Dick is going to take me surfing. Maybe Tina can learn how to surf too!"

Jade laughed, "Tina needs to learn how to swim first. I will call, okay?"

They heard the sound of a truck outside the house. Valentine immediately ran outside, "Papi!"

A bald man came out from the driver's seat and immediately picked her up. Weevil kissed his daughter and then waved at the house. Logan saw him and waved back. Weevil strapped Valentina in her car seat while she was chattering about her new bear.

"Okay, I gotta go. Thanks again for the bear, Lorrie." She hugged the child and then hugged Logan. "Have you finished your new novel yet?" She asked him.

"I haven't even started yet." Logan shrugged.

"Oh? I thought the deadline was coming up?"

"I still haven't found my muse." Logan helped her with her jacket.

"You'll get it. I know you will. And you will write another best seller." Jade glanced at Weevil in the car. "Don't tell my husband that I told you this, but he's a big fan of your book." Logan widened his eyes, and a grin was formed. "He will deny it, but I saw him reading your book and crying."

"Jade… this is the best news I have ever heard. Please tell me more."

Jade slapped his shoulder and laughed, and then she said goodbye. Logan hoisted Lorrie up on his hip. She was eating the Takoyaki and waved at the Navarros. When they finally drove away, Logan went back into the house and dropped her on the soft couch.

"Ow, daddy!" She complained but she continued chewing.

"Are you okay giving your favorite bear to Valentina?" Logan asked while he went to the kitchen to grab a soda. "She looked happy."

"She needs him more than I do. Besides, I have other bears." Lorrie shrugged and closed her eyes, chewing. "She's like a little sister to me."

"That's very kind of you, pumpkin. I'm proud of you." Logan opened a can of Pepsi and drank it.

"Hey, dad? When can I have a little sister?" Lorrie asked. "I want one!"

Logan choked on his drink. 

Weevil and Jade: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Weevil was driving and humming a Spanish song that was on the radio. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw his little daughter was nodding along with the song, and she was munching a donut.

"What'cha got there, princess? You seem to be enjoying that so much."

"It's a squid donut," Jade answered, which made Weevil widened his eyes in surprise.

"What? How is that possible?" Jade only laughed while she was checking her phone, looking at some pictures of her daughter and Lorrie. They looked so cute together. There was a picture where Lorrie and Valentina laughing – their mouths were open, and they were holding their bodies from laughter.

"Lorrie loves that snack, so she shared. Logan's daughter also gave Tina the bear." Jade showed him the stuffed bear. "She is so precious. She loves Tina like a sister."

"Sometimes I can't believe that girl is Opie's daughter," Weevil commented.

"Stop that. You know he's a nice guy." His wife shook her head. "I don't understand your relationship."

"Opie was a jackass back in high school and college. It wasn't until his daughter was born that I didn't want to shove his head to a furnace anymore."

"Eli!"

Weevil glanced back again to see that Valentina was nodding sleepily and her squid donut was half-eaten in her hand. Glad that she didn't hear his outburst, he grinned. "Babe, it's fine. It's how we roll. He wanted to kick my a – butt too." He wanted to laugh at the snide look his wife was giving him. "It's just the way it is. We're not enemies anymore, but we're not friends either. There's this huge gap between us, 'kay? From everything like our social status, money, and skin color…" He shrugged. "I'm just glad that Opie is no longer THAT guy. But that doesn't mean I would break some bread with him." He rubbed Jade's arm. "And I am glad that he's being nice to you and Tina. His daughter really turned him upside down."

"Like you," Jade commented. "You would still be in that gang if it weren't Tina."

"A club, actually. Not a gang. And yes, you and Tina are the lights of my life and I am glad that you are here with me." He smiled. "You complete me."

"You're so cheesy."

"Me gusta keso." He chuckled and his wife only gave him a look.

"I hope nothing will change that, Eli. You worked very hard to get where you are." Jade murmured. She remembered the hardship and the struggle for her husband to stay on the straight and narrow. She knew it very well and she would do anything to keep everything normal. Weevil's finger traced her cheek, and she closed her eyes, savoring his touch.

"That would never happen. Not even anything or anyone can mess around with this." 

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

When she landed at Balboa County Municipal Airport, she immediately took a cab to her father's office. Mars Investigation had moved a few years back. Right now the office was located near an industrial area where there were warehouses and old buildings. Neptune was still a place for tourists, though, for some reason. Every spring break, the town was flooded with many college students and the town was busy with vacation money. The detective work seemed to be blooming with many cases for Keith Mars.

Veronica sat in the back of the cab watching the view. The last time she came home was when her dad moved to a new house. They were no longer living in that small apartment in Sunset Cliff near the beach. As much she was going to miss living there, she was glad that the business was booming and her dad finally could move to a better house with good plumbing.

She arrived at the new office and looked up. The building was looking gloomy compared to their old Mars Investigations office. But the rent was much cheaper and it was closer to downtown. Veronica decided to leave her suitcase downstairs instead of carrying it up to the second floor. She noticed the Mars Investigations logo in front of the door and wiped the surface with her handkerchief. It was dirty, and she had an urge to clean the door.

She then entered the reception area and noticed that a middle-aged woman was sitting there. The woman looked up and nodded politely to Veronica. She smiled back and awkwardly stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. She saw through the window and the blinds that her father was in his office and talking to a client. She could hear the murmur of conversation.

The phone on the reception desk was ringing. She cleared her throat when it rang a few times, walked to the desk, and answered the phone.

"Mars Investigations." She listened to the phone while grabbing a notepad on the desk to write down some information. "He's unavailable right now. Can I take a message?" She scribbled some things and looked up. His father led a client out of his office and they exchanged some pleasantries. He didn't see Veronica at first, but then he turned around in surprise when he heard her voice. "Yes, ma'am… we will take pictures. But I'm afraid shooting your husband is not a service we currently offer. Sorry. Yeah… Thanks."

Veronica hung up the phone and smiled at her dad.

"Either this is a mirage or I finally lost my mind." Keith gleefully greeted his daughter. "My adorable, famous daughter is in my office."

"Dad." Veronica rolled her eyes hearing her dad calling her famous, but they embraced anyway.

"What a surprise! What brings you here?" Keith hugged Veronica very tight. Veronica felt her chest tightened. She just realized that she missed her dad so much. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've picked you up at the airport."

"It's… a spur of a moment thing. I really missed you, dad."

Keith saw that Veronica's eyes were glassy even when she was smiling. He put both of his hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

Keith saw the middle-aged woman who was in the room and then exclaimed, "Mrs. Quan! Thank you for waiting. This is my daughter, Veronica. She's a famous photographer."

"Dad!"

Mrs. Quan smiled, "Yes I can see the resemblance."

Veronica made a funny face hearing that. She hoped that she didn't look bald or anything.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Quan?" Keith asked.

Mrs. Quan handed him a shopping bag. "I cooked your favorite; chicken and beef stew with vegetables."

Keith grinned widely accepting the bag and peeking inside. "Oh wow, thank you." He saw a food pot and suddenly felt hungry.

"I just want to say thanks for all you have done for my family, Mr. Mars. Especially my son." Her voice quivered. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Oh my, Mrs. Quan. You hired me to take a look at your son's case. And he was innocent." Veronica didn't know what happened, but she kept quiet, listening to their conversation.

"I'm sorry I can't pay you right now, but I promise I will pay."

"Mrs. Quan…" Keith shook his head.

"And now I won't lose the family restaurant. All thanks to you!" She sniffled while Keith patted her shoulder awkwardly. She turned to Veronica, "You have a kind father, Miss Mars. You are so lucky. I can't thank him enough."

"Mrs. Quan. Please." Keith seemed to be embarrassed about the whole thing, but Veronica looked at him like he was ten feet tall. She was so proud of her father – whatever he had done to help Mrs. Quan, but regardless – she had nothing but love and respect towards him.

"He is the best," Veronica said, smiling at her father.

Keith and Veronica were on their way home after they closed the office. Keith didn't have an assistant or a secretary, so he was spread thin, doing everything himself. Veronica decided she'd try to find someone to help him out, but discreetly because Keith sometimes could be very stubborn about using her money.

Veronica could smell the food from Mrs. Quan that she put in the backseat of the car. "Smells delicious."

"I know. We can have dinner now." Keith was humming a song while driving. "Glad you're here so I don't have to finish the food by myself."

"What was that all about? Why did Mrs. Quan cook for you?"

Keith sighed, "She hired me to investigate her son. He was framed by his friend for stealing money. I proved his innocence."

"That's my pop." She said proudly. "And the food?"

"The family couldn't afford my fee for now because they hired lawyers and such. They almost lost their restaurant. I gave them some… leeway."

"You are such a softie." Veronica smiled and rubbed her dad's head. "I missed you."

"Speaking of missing each other, how is Stosh?"

Veronica retracted her hand and looked away, "Oh you know, busy with his job. Interviewing famous people…"

"He knows that you're visiting me, right?"

"Yep." She popped the 'p'. "He said that you need to check out this indie album – I don't remember which album – but he said you'd like it."

Keith glanced at his daughter. It was obvious that there was something wrong, but he wouldn't pry. Not just yet.

"Well, as much I dislike the idea of you sharing a rooftop together –"

"New York is expensive, I need a roommate." Veronica quickly said.

"—I am glad that you're with Stosh. He's a nice man. Very nice." Keith tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Stosh is nice."

"Yes. He is nice."

"Still not liking the idea of you sharing the same bed or anything…"

"Stop it!"

At home, they had finished their late dinner. Veronica exhaled as she puffed her cheeks. Her stomach was full now and she couldn't wait to go to bed.

"I am glad to see you're a very successful photographer now." Keith began. "Everything seems to be in order. Good job, good relationship…"

"Yeah…" She started to clean the table. Keith knew this maneuver; she was avoiding something – probably a conversation about her relationship.

"You're destined for greatness, something much bigger than you would've ever found here."

"The only "greatness" inherent in photography is the fact that I managed to pay off my student loans. Other than that, it's just a job." She put the dishes in the sink, noisily.

"An amazing career!" Keith yelled at her while she was in the kitchen. "You are famous now."

"I don't even have a Twitter account."

"Ah, who cares about those twits."

Veronica smiled while washing the dishes. "What's your plan for tomorrow?"

"I have to meet a client." Keith yawned and stretched his body. "Cheating spouse case. Boring, but big money."

"You just roll in money, right?"

"Not as much as you." He stood up and hugged his daughter. "Welcome home."

"Goodnight, dad."

"If you're gonna meet up with Wallace tomorrow, let him know that he owes me money for that basketball game." He walked into his bedroom.

"I will." She watched her dad as he walked into his room and closed the door. Her phone suddenly buzzed on the kitchen counter. She glanced at it and noticed it was Piz calling.

She didn't answer.

She scrubbed the dirt and washed the dishes very hard instead.

Chapter Text

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan woke to the sound of a voice coming from the living room. His brain couldn’t comprehend it but it seemed to be Carrie's voice. He snapped his eyes open when he heard Carrie said, “Hey baby…” He sat up quickly and was about to jump from his bed when he heard the familiar dance music that followed.

Logan relaxed right away and exhaled.

For a second he thought Carrie was in the living room. He knew it was impossible, but he'd just woken up and his brain was in a fog.

Carrie used to sing in the morning while making breakfast. After Lorrie was born, she used to sing to her. That was what he remembered about her… She was a lovely and talented singer. When she sang, the world seemed to be brighter. Her voice was like an angel, and her stage presence was amazing. People couldn’t help but to look and adore her.

After Susan Knight’s death, she was a changed person.

Nobody knew what happened to Susan. She disappeared while she was partying on a boat with Carrie. Some said that she fell into the ocean. She was presumed dead.

Logan knew that she was also with Luke Haldeman, Gia Goodman, Stu Cobbler, and Dick Casablancas. Susan’s death shook everyone especially Carrie and she became a different person. When she got pregnant with Lorrie, she was practically alien to him. But when she was singing, that was when the real Carrie shined.

Logan laid there listening to the music. Lorrie must’ve put on her music and blasted it in the morning. He needed to tell his daughter that it was too early to listen to any kind of music, but he didn’t want to tell her that she shouldn’t listen to her mother singing. It was a dilemma. Logan didn’t know what to do.

Carrie’s voice was very clear as she was now singing her number 1 hit ‘All Around and Away We Go’.

Logan smiled and stood up; he couldn’t help thinking about the song and how it was written when they had a date at the Amusement Park. Carrie wanted to go to a merry-go-round. Logan thought it was a bit childish, but he couldn’t help feel that it was romantic. They had a nice romance – he thought as he walked into the living room and saw his daughter dancing in her pajamas. She mouthed the lyrics and spun around.

What surprising was that she wasn’t alone; Dick Casablancas was there as well, dancing along with her.

“Yo, Logan! I thought we were going surfing this morning?” Dick said while spinning Lorrie.

Logan looked at the kitchen and noticed it was a mess. Lorrie and Dick must’ve made their breakfast; eggshells and cereals were scattered around, and there was spilled milk. Jade is gonna be pissed, Logan thought.

“Lorrie, what did I tell you about making a mess in the kitchen?” Logan said in a stern voice.

“But daddy, Uncle Dick was hungry!” Lorrie stopped spinning. She went to him and hugged him. “Good morning, dad!”

“Lorrie, you and Uncle Dick are making a mess. Jade is not gonna be happy about it. Do you want her to stop coming here?”

She pouts, “No. Sorry.”

“Okay, let’s clean this up."

“Can we go surfing first? Please?”

“Logan, dude. You promised yesterday. Why do you think I woke up this early?” Dick was still dancing. Logan glared at his BFF – sometimes he wondered why he put up with him.

Logan said, “Fine!” He looked at Lorrie. “Go change into your swimsuit, then you can go with Uncle Dick to the beach, okay?"

“You’re not coming?”

“I’ll come after I clean up this mess.” Lorrie immediately went to her room to change. Dick turned off the music and grinned at him.

“I dunno why you have to clean up. You got a maid.”

“Jade is not a maid, Dick. She is helping out with chores. And I’m trying to teach my daughter responsibility here.”

“And I’m trying to teach her how to be fun.” Dick mussed Logan’s hair and walked to the kitchen to grab something to drink. “That’s what a good uncle is supposed to do.”

“You’re not even related biologically to her.”

“Dude, you are such a square now, I don’t even know you.” Dick opened the fridge and grabbed a milk carton. “You’re only 27 but you behave like you’re…47!”

“Use a glass!”

But it was too late as Dick chugged the milk straight from the carton. Of course, the milk spilled all over his face, but he didn’t care. After he finished, he burped loudly. “You ran out of milk,” Logan grunted and grabbed a napkin, while Dick sauntered to the back patio of the beach house. He already was wearing his wetsuit. He grabbed the surfboard and Lorrie’s boogie board. “Yo, Lorrie! Come on. The waves won't wait for us!”

“Coming, Uncle Dick!” Lorrie ran out from her room, wearing her pink wetsuit, and ran to the patio. “See you later, dad!” She yelled from the patio. Dick picked her up and put her on his shoulders, while he was carrying the boards. She laughed and raised her arms.

“Let’s goooo!” Dick yelled and ran towards the water.

Logan watched from the patio; his daughter and his best friend laughing together. He sighed as he couldn’t help thinking that his daughter was growing up so fast. He looked behind and saw the mess the two of them made, and he growled.

“It’s like having two toddlers!”

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Veronica woke up when the sun hit her eyes. She stretched her body and felt a little bit sore. For a minute she was trying to figure out where she was. She wasn’t in her apartment in New York; the apartment she shared with Piz for almost a year…

She exhaled as she realized that she was home.

At least her father’s home… Not really home – she considered New York as her home now, especially since she and Piz have been playing domestic for a while.

And then she remembered Piz’s surprise proposal and her mood went down all of a sudden. Look, she… cared about Piz alright? She might even love him a little bit. But marriage? That was a whole new concept. Especially coming from left field like that. What the hell was that? They never talked about marriage, and then all of a sudden, boom! A proposal in the middle of a restaurant where everyone was staring at you waiting for the answer – that was such a burden and a pressure. Sometimes Veronica wondered whether those public proposals were fake or expected by the person who was being proposed. They probably mentioned it to their fiancée that they wanted public proposal, so when the time comes, they were ‘SHOCKED’.

So she was a little bit cynical. But Hollywood and reality TV ruined the sanctity of marriage.

Veronica was pondering about this while she was in the bathroom. She was staring at the wall and noticed that the tiles were similar to the ones in her bathroom back in New York. That made her angry for some reason.

She went to the kitchen and noticed that her father had already left. She saw a plate of buttered toasts on the kitchen counter and smiled. Her father made toast for her? She was touched that her father made time to make her breakfast. She eagerly bit into her toast and noticed that there was a piece of paper there. It was a note from her father.

She frowned and read the note:

“If you read this, this means you’ve eaten the toast I made for you, therefore you owe me. I haven’t thought about what I want to ask you, but when the times come… YOU WILL talk to me”

Love, your amazing dad

Veronica groaned. Great, this means he wanted to talk about WHY she left New York and coming home to Neptune. Suddenly she lost her appetite.

She texted Wallace and Mac, asking if they wanted to meet up. Mac answered immediately and said she would love to have brunch. Wallace took some time to answer, and when he answered, it seemed that he was being weird.

Veronica checked her phone and saw Wallace wrote, ‘Brunch sound good. I need to talk to you about something, though’.

She curled up her lips. She could guess what Wallace would say – Piz might’ve called him and complained about everything after she didn’t answer his phone call last night.

“Just great…” She muttered.

***

In downtown Neptune, Veronica was walking around taking pictures with her camera, astonished that there were new stores and new cafes. The most surprising thing to see was that the whole area near her old Mars Investigations office was completely bulldozed and replaced by expensive boutiques and cafes. It didn’t feel like the old Neptune, but more like Beverly Hills or some sort.

She sighed but she took some pictures anyway, just for her collection. California was different from New York. The sun was shining too bright for her taste – and yet she felt at ease walking around here.

It was spring break, and there were tourists and college kids everywhere. The girls were wearing bikinis tops, shorts, and sandals. The boys were wearing beach shorts and t-shirts. They were yelling and hollering, and bar-hopping every chance they got. The traffic was insane – cars were bumper to bumper.

Veronica was standing in front of the remodeled Java the Hut, when she heard someone exclaim, “Candygram for Mongo!”

She looked up and saw a woman with a blonde spunky hair and piercings grinning at her. She grinned back and answered loudly, “Mongo like candy!”

Mac changed so much since high school and college. The last time Veronica saw her was a few years ago when she visited Neptune; her hair was blue. But now she was blonde and also had her lip pierced. Both women hugged very tightly and they were thrilled to see each other again. They exchanged greetings excitedly when someone cleared his throat.

“Ahem. You girls are blocking the way.”

Veronica and Mac looked at the handsome man who was grinning and opening his arms. Veronica jumped excitedly into Wallace's arms, hugging him tightly. “Papa Bear!”

“Look at you, Miss famous.”

“Oh god, don’t start!”

The three of them laughed and hugging each other happily.

“Well, this is nice. I’m so glad you’re here.” Mac said.

“You hardly drop by anymore.” Wallace winked.

“It is difficult when you’re a million miles away.” Veronica shrugged.

“So… how’s everything?” Wallace asked, eyeing Veronica.

Veronica smiled very wide and grabbed both Mac and Wallace’s arms and dragged them inside the café. “How’s everything? Well, I am starving. Let’s eat!”

Mac rolled her eyes at Wallace, knowing that he wanted to ask about New York and Piz. Wallace sighed and walked into the café.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan was drying his hair with a towel and walked into the living room. His daughter was sitting on the carpet, watching TV while Dick was behind her, drying her hair with a towel as well. He dried her hair like he was shining a shoe, and it made her squirm.

“Uncle Dick!”

“Sorry, girlie.” He muttered as they continued to watch cartoons.

Logan paused to see his best friend and his daughter watching TV together. He was touched and it made him smile a little. Dick might be crude and occasionally a jackass, but he was very attached to Lorrie. Logan didn’t know what he would do without Dick. He was so hopeless when Carrie died. There he was, a man in his early twenties when he was supposed to be having fun and enjoying life recklessly when there was this precious baby that he needed to take care of. He loved his daughter so much and would do anything for her, but he was clueless about everything. Carrie’s family at the time didn’t want anything to do with Lorrie, and he never had experience with raising a baby before.

Dick was there to help him.

It was sort of funny if he thought about it; they were both grown young adults who were taking care of a baby. Although most of the time it was him who’d done the job as a single father, Dick was there for him. He even hired nannies who taught him everything.

There was one time that Dick came over, drunk, and was asking whether he could snort some coke in his beach house. Logan almost hit him. So he made an ultimatum; sober up or goodbye forever as a friend.

Dick chose the first option.

Logan watched as Dick and Lorrie were laughing at something on TV. He sat on the couch and asked, “What are you watching pumpkin?”

“We’re watching 'Misadventures of Flapjack',” Dick answered.

Logan made a face, “I was asking Lorrie.”

“Eh.” Dick shrugged.

Lorrie seemed not to be paying attention to her dad as she was giggling watching a funny scene on TV. Her hair was a mess after Dick dried it with a towel.

“Pumpkin, I’m going downtown to pick up some books. You and Uncle Dick stay here, okay? I will be right back.”

Lorrie whipped her head and immediately jumped on the couch. She hugged Logan, “I wanna come! Can we go to that diner with the really good chili??”

“Lorrie, remember the last time you went there and ate a bowl of chili?”

“Poop! Poop!” Dick made a train sound and then laughed.

Lorrie hugged her dad and put her head on his shoulder. “I’m hungry.”

“There’s a leftover Pizza in the fridge.”

“Pizza!” Dick stood up and went to the kitchen to grab a slice.

“Daddy…” Lorrie pouts as Logan wrapped his arm around her tiny body. “I want to go with you.”

“Pumpkin, don’t you want to stay at home and watch TV with Uncle Dick?”

“Because…” She glanced at the TV which was playing a cartoon. “Mommy is on TV.”

Logan went quiet. He forgot that they’ve been playing commercial about Carrie’s upcoming anniversary. Although they never mentioned how she died, the commercial always showed her pictures and video clips singing but then the narration always said, ‘…her death shook the world!’ or something along the line. And he thought that made Lorrie sad.

“Okay, let’s go to the library to pick up some books, and then we can go to ‘Cho’s Diner’,” Logan said as he turned off the TV.

Lorrie smiled and kissed Logan on the cheek. Lorrie had a beautiful smile and it made his heart burst whenever he saw it. “Yes! Can I wear my blue tutu and orange stockings?”

Logan pondered a bit, “Honey. The colors don’t match.”

“But you like orange!”

He grimaced, “I do not.” Lorrie made a duck face, it was so cute. “Okay, I might like the color orange a little bit.”

“Great!” She climbed off his lap and ran to her room to change.

“Where are we going?” Dick emerged from the kitchen, chewing a slice of pizza.

“Lorrie and I are going to the library and then having lunch at ‘Cho’s Diner’. Feel free to join us.”

“The library?” Dick made a face. “Since when did you become a nerd?”

“I have to pick up some books for research for my next novel.”

“Uh, dude. Ever heard of the internet? Why do you need to go to a smelly old library? Do your research from Wikipedia, man.”

“Because you don’t do research from Wikipedia.”

“Pshaw! Says who?” He opened a can of Pepsi and downed it. When he finished, he crushed the can with his bare hand and burped loudly. “And why do you need research anyway? I thought ideas are coming out of you like farts, easily.”

Logan threw his towel at Dick’s face. “I have writer’s block. I just need a muse.”

Dick wrapped the towel around his head and neck, pretending that he was a girl. “Your muse is somewhere at the beach, partying, losing her top, and waiting for you to –“

“What’s a muse?” Lorrie appeared in the living room, already wearing her blue tutu and orange stockings. She also wore her purple sneakers. Dick thought that Lorrie had terrible taste in clothes, just like Logan back in the day.

Logan glared at a grinning Dick. “Sweetheart, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. What’s a muse?”

“It’s a chick that –“

“A muse, my baby girl, is a goddess.”

Lorrie’s eyes widened. “A goddess?”

“Yes, a goddess of inspiration.” Logan tapped her nose. “Like you.”

She giggled but asked again, “Why do you need her?”

“Oh, daddy is having a hard time writing these days. So daddy needs a muse to inspire… to help come up with more stories.”

“How do you get one? How do you get a muse?”

Lorrie was a curious little girl. She was only seven years old, but she was very smart. Logan just needs to be patient with her because she would keep asking until she got the answers she wanted. “Uh…” He looked at Dick who was also looking at him, grinning. “Well, they say when someone is ready, she appears.”

“What does she look like?” Lorrie asked enthusiastically. “Does she wear a pretty dress?”

“She can be anything, my pumpkin. But she can help me write again.” Logan grabbed her jacket and handed it to her. She then twirled like a ballerina and skipped towards the garage.

Dick grinned as Logan locked the door. “Dude, for inspiration, you only need to get laid.”

Logan pushed Dick hard, who fell into the bushes.

Veronica, Wallace, Mac: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Veronica shoved a big piece of quiche into her mouth and chewed. Wallace watched her shove forkful after forkful of food into her mouth while she explained her plans for the time she was in Neptune. “So I was thinking *munch* that I might *munch* stay here for a while *munch*. I don’t have anything to do for the next week.” She swallowed. “Dad’s office is so unorganized; I have to help him a bit.”

“What about your job?” Mac asked. They were sitting outside the café, and they were enjoying the sunshine and breeze.

“I talked to my assistant, Nancy.” She replied as she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “She said that I can postpone the photoshoot until next week.” She pointed her fork at Wallace. “By the way… I always thought you and Nancy might make a great couple.”

“Long-distance relationships are hard enough.” Wallace sipped his mimosa, trying to get an opening. “I am glad that you and Piz are in a good place right now.”

“Yep,” Veronica answered shortly and then shoved another piece of bacon and hash brown into her mouth, chewing loudly like she wanted to block any kind of voice of disagreement from Wallace because she knew he was about to say something about Piz. Mac smirked and ate her salad, watching Wallace desperately trying to steer the conversation towards Piz.

“Veronica…”

Veronica took a large gulp of her mimosa, “Aaah, this is what I needed! To get away from my life for a minute is what I should do.”

“What?” Wallace said in disbelief. “Your life in New York sounds amazing, by the way. I mean, great job, great relationship…” Wallace once again tried to segue to Piz.

Veronica stopped a waiter and asked him to bring her the check. “My treat.” She said to Mac and Wallace. When they were going to protest, she gave them a look. “I want to do this. And listen, what I was saying is that I love my life – and most of the time it's fun. It’s just…” She looked at both of her friends, “The next choice that I make will decide the direction of my life.” She paused. “And right now whatever choice I’m gonna make is something not be taken in a rush.”

“And what choice is that?” Wallace asked quietly.

Veronica smiled at her best friend. She put her hand on his cheek lovingly, “Oh Papa Bear… Right now I don’t know what am I gonna do. But I'm gonna live my life like I want to.” She suddenly pulled his ear, which made him yelp. “So whatever shade you’re gonna throw me, it won’t work.”

Mac laughed watching Veronica pinch Wallace’s ear.

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Please! I know what you’re gonna say!”

“I can’t help it. Piz called me last night and moped!”

“Ugh, you’re incorrigible.” Veronica leaned back in her chair, her arms folded. Wallace rubbed his ear and winced. “I’m guessing you knew too?” She asked Mac.

“You know Wallace is the gossip king.”

“I am not!”

“You and Nancy are gonna make a great couple because she’s the gossip queen.”

“Okay, whatever. But you need to talk to him. Last night he said that he tried to call you but you didn’t pick up.”

“You two are such girls.” Veronica mocked. “When am I gonna get invited to your slumber party?”

“Whenever you invite me to your… whatever butch thing you’re gonna do - maybe cut a tree party?”

“What?”

Wallace shook his head, “The point is – you can’t blame a guy for trying. Okay? He proposed to you.” He added, with a morose tone. “He loves you.”

“Jesus,” Mac commented. “Do you hear yourself?”

“What?” He asked Mac. He turned to Veronica again, who paid for the check. “Why you didn’t pick up the phone?”

“Oh my God, I was so jetlagged last night. I went straight to bed after having dinner with my dad, who I hadn’t seen for a while. I am planning on calling him today.” She waved her phone in front of Wallace’s face. “See? Do you wanna talk to your boyfriend too?”

“You better be nice to him.”

“I’m always nice to him. He’s my boyfriend. And I’m a nice person.”

That made Mac laughed again, this time she almost doubled over laughing, causing everyone around them to stare at them. “Nice! You!” She pointed at Veronica who was fuming.

“I resent that.” She drank her mimosa and slammed the glass on the table. “Don’t make me regret paying for brunch!”

“You’re rich now. You can buy us lunch and dinner ten times over.” Wallace sighed. “Not to mention famous.”

“I am not famous.” Veronica shook her head, annoyed at Wallace. “I still put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else."

“Look, just…” Wallace held her hand. “Piz is a nice guy. You love each other. What are you waiting for?”

“Wallace. As much I am thankful that you care about my well-being, I just didn’t like how he handled the situation. I dunno what he told you, but in my defense, it was coming out of the left field.” Veronica put her hand on top of his. “We never talked about this in any way, and then suddenly he popped out the question in the middle of a public place, in front of his friends who I didn’t know, and dozens of people in the restaurant, who, by the way, was expecting me to giggle and laugh and say ‘YES! YES! Thousand times yes!’ Like a scene in a movie.” She looked at him, very hard. “That’s. Not. Me.”

Wallace didn’t say anything. He glanced at Mac, who just shrugged. He then put another hand on top of hers. “But did you have to get angry and leave New York?”

Veronica gritted her teeth. “Wallace, do me a favor.”

“Okay…”

“BUTT. OUT.”

Mac laughed harder watching Wallace’s face. Before he could say anything, Veronica’s phone was ringing and there was a picture of Piz. “Uh-oh. Speak of the devil.” Mac sniggered.

Veronica’s eyes widened and she was about to say something but Wallace cut her off. “I hate to dine and dash, but I gotta go meet my students. And also avoid your wrath.”

“And I have to check out something in the office. Just because it’s the weekend, doesn’t mean I can relax.” Mac stood up and waved her fingers. “I’ll see you tonight?”

Veronica nodded, “Bye.”

“Be nice to him!” Wallace yelled the parting words. And then ran away when Veronica shook her fist at him. Mac laughed again following Wallace.

Veronica scrunched her nose and then picked up the phone, “Piznarski!”

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Both Lorrie and Logan arrived at ‘Cho’s Diner’, and she immediately sat at her favorite booth next to a window. She carried a few books from the library and put them next to her. The diner was right across the street with a view of the cafes and restaurants. A tall man greeted her and gave her a piece of paper and crayons. “Hello, Lorrie. What can I do for you?”

“Hi, Hamilton! Can I have a bowl of chili please?”

Hamilton Cho looked at Logan who grimaced. “Hmm, I dunno Lorrie. Last time you couldn’t handle the spice.”

“But I can handle it now!” Lorrie pouts.

“Lorrie…” Logan looked at the menu. “How about something else?”

“We have a new menu. Ever try ‘Chopped Cheese’ from New York?”

“No, I haven’t. What is that?”

“It’s great.” Hamilton pointed out a picture on the menu. “To die for.”

“Well, I’ll have that then.” Logan then asked his daughter. “What about you, Lorrie? Wanna try something new?”

Lorrie pondered a little. She loved trying new food, so she nodded. “Alright, two Chopped Cheese coming up,” Hamilton said.

“We’re meeting Dick here. So you might wanna have those crayons handy.” Logan gave the menus to Hamilton, who just chuckled. Dick decided not to come with them to the library and went to a surf shop near the beach. Logan noticed Lorrie ignore the crayons and paper and instead open a book she got from the library.

“What are you reading, pumpkin?”

Lorrie learned to read when she was only three years old. Logan was so proud of her that she could read at a very young age. There was one time when she refused to have Logan read her a bedtime story, and it made him sad because bedtime story-time with Lorrie was his favorite time of the day.

“A book about muses.”

“What?”

“Well you said that you need a muse, so I thought I would help find her.”

Logan smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Look at this – did you know that those beautiful women who sang in the movie Hercules are called ‘The Muses’? They are the goddess of art and inspiration.”

“Nice.” Logan smiled, playing with the toothpicks on the table.

Lorrie started to prattle about the book and how much she wanted to meet a muse. Logan saw Dick pull up outside the diner. He parked his truck recklessly and almost hit the curb, which made Logan, wince. Dick walked into the diner making a noise.

“Dickster is HEYA!” He slides in next to Lorrie and grabbed the book from her hand.

“Hey!”

“Is this what you got from the library?” Dick turned the pages. “Awesome pictures!”

“Give her back the book, Dick.” Logan shook his head.

Lorrie snatched back the book, and then stuck her tongue out at Dick. “So rude.”

Dick shrugged, “So what are you having for lunch?”

“We ordered this new menu item called Chopped Cheese.”

“Oh! I heard about that. So dope. It’s like a better version of a burger. They have cheese that melts and it will burn your tongue and minced beef that makes you glad that you slaughtered –“

“Dick, have a drink!” Logan gave his glass of water to Dick while glaring.

“Daddy, listen to this: ‘A muse doesn’t have to be a goddess from ancient times. Many people find inspiration from normal people of today.’” She continued reading loudly about some of the examples of modern muses.

But Logan didn’t hear her because he just saw something appear outside the window. He thought his eyes were deceiving him, and it felt like he was underwater for a while because Lorrie’s voice seems to be far away as he saw a blonde woman right across the street, standing outside Java the Hut café.

It couldn’t be her.

It was impossible.

Logan felt like he was struck by a lightning and his heart seemed to be palpitating. His eyes were fixed to the blonde woman across the street. That can’t be her, he thought. She looked different and yet looked the same. Her hair was long and was in a ponytail. She was wearing a simple T-shirt with black skinny jeans. She was facing the Java the Hut café so Logan could only see her back… and her backside.

She was Veronica Mars.

There was only one person who had a butt like that, and he could identify that cute butt in a crowded place.

“Daddy, are you listening?”

Logan didn’t answer. He was staring at Veronica across the street. He stood up slowly and moved closer to the door to see her clearly. He was mesmerized by her, just like he used to be. After all these years, after all the radio silence, she just appeared like that and he didn’t expect that he would still have this kind of reaction. His chest constricted seeing her – she was beautiful and looked radiant, even from afar. Logan watched all the romantic movies and all of their clichés when a man looked at a woman across the room, and he thought like there was no one else in the universe. Logan thought that was so cheesy. Real-life never happened like that. Romance was hard work, blood, and tears.

“I thought our story was epic, you know… You and me… Spanning years and continents… Lives ruined… bloodshed… Epic.”

He shouldn’t remember his declaration from back when they were in high school. But suddenly, like a tidal wave of memory, he remembered the declaration and how much he was in love with Veronica Mars.

Hamilton brought two plates of Chopped Cheese and put them on the table. He frowned to see Logan by the door, looking outside.

“What is he doing?”

“He probably sees a squirrel,” Dick answered lightly, drinking his glass of water. He followed his sight and had a spit take when he saw a blonde woman across the street. “No!”

Hamilton looked outside as well and was surprised, “Is that Veronica Mars?”

Logan’s feet suddenly moved on their own, and without realizing it, he dashed outside the diner and crossed the street. Cars were honking loudly when he ran without paying attention – he was focused on the blonde woman who was on the phone.

And then he stopped right behind her.

He didn’t know what to do – what should he do? Tug her ponytail?

She just hung up the phone, grunted a bit, “– can’t take a breather…” She turned around and saw him.

It was Veronica Mars. Her mouth was open and she looked surprised to see Logan right in front of her.

She definitely remembers him.

“Hey,” Logan said.

He smiled at her. Oh god, he felt happy to see her.

Veronica smiled back. A real genuine smile, “Hey…”

Chapter Text

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

"Piznarski!" Veronica greeted her boyfriend on the phone. She held her phone between her shoulder and neck, and then she stood up while leaving a tip for the waiter. "How are you, babe?" She asked lightly.

There was a pause at the end of the line, and then Piz said, "I can't find my girlfriend. I think she's missing. Can you help me?"

"Aww, have you checked under the bed?"

"I did. I even checked the cupboard under the sink."

"Ha-ha."

"You know because you're so –"

"Short. I get it!"

"I was gonna say tiny."

Veronica smiled from their banter. That was one thing she loved about Piz; their easy-going relationship and their normalcy. They joked around and loved each other like a normal couple. She enjoyed being with Piz. Who wouldn't? Every woman wanted a steady relationship with a nice boyfriend who treats them with respect and love. Piz was always nice and treated her with kindness. He never would pick an argument about anything, most of the time he would agree with her about certain subjects and topics. Once or twice they would banter about light topics, but nothing too serious. Piz was always been dependable.

"Well, you know –"

"When are you coming back?" Piz asked, cutting her off.

Veronica stopped right in front of the 'Java the Hut' entrance. She blinked hearing her boyfriend's flat tone. The teasing tone seemed to be gone… or maybe it wasn't there from the beginning? After a pause, she answered. "I just got here last night, Piz."

"Yeah, I know. I tried to call you but you didn't answer."

Veronica exhaled and looked up, annoyed. "I was so tired last night, Piz. I picked up my dad at his office, we had dinner, and then we talked for a while. I must've gone to bed immediately afterward because of the jetlag."

"Why didn't you text me or call me when you arrived?"

"I am sorry about that. Piz… I swear I wasn't ignoring you."

"It seems you were."

Veronica, rather defensive and ticked-off that her boyfriend was accusing her of ignoring him said rather tersely, "So the next best thing was to call Wallace and whine that I didn't pick up the phone?"

"I had to call someone, Veronica. I was worried. I didn't know whether you arrived safely or maybe something bad had happened on your way to your dad's office – I didn't know anything! So yeah, I called Wallace and asked him if you were okay."

Piz was always an easy-going guy, so to hear him being emotional about her, it touched her a bit. He was concerned about her. It made Veronica feel guilty about it; he cared about her well-being.

"I'm sorry, Piz. I should've call or something to let you know I arrived safely."

"I just…" Piz seemed distressed, but he tried to cover it. "I miss you. And I am trying here to give you some space. I am sorry too that I freaked you out about the whole proposal thing…"

"Piz, you didn't freak me out. I was upset that we didn't talk about this before and you were asking me in the middle of a public place."

"So if we talked about this, and I'd proposed to you in a private setting would you have accepted my proposal?"

Veronica went quiet.

Marriage was far off in her mind.

After a very long pause, Veronica said in a quiet tone, "I haven't thought about it, Piz. Not yet."

"You said that you would think about it. Isn't that the reason you left New York?"

"I just arrived, Piz."

"When will I get an answer?"

"Give me some time to think about it. Dear God, Piz – I haven't even cleared my jetlag yet."

"I thought you would think about it on the plane or something, and then when you arrived, you already made a decision."

"It's not that simple, Piz."

"Why is it not simple? I love you, you love me, and we love each other."

Yes, she loved him. But…

"Please give me time to sort things out. We need to talk about this after I get back from Neptune. Why do we have to rush things?"

"I don't see a point of waiting when we have something good," Piz said. He sounded tired. Maybe dating Veronica Mars was always tiresome, but he never noticed this because they never had a fallout. This was the first time that he felt overwhelmed. "I love you, Veronica. I want… I want to be your husband. I want us to have a normal life. We have awesome times together and…" He exhaled. "I also want to share our happiness with my family and friends because they are important to me. John and Mary are my best friends, and I asked them to be there at the restaurant when I proposed to you because I wanted them to be a part of our lives too. They are important to me. Just like Wallace and Mac are important to you too."

Veronica listened, and her heart clenched. He was right – if it was the other way around, she might want Wallace and Mac to be there. They were important people in her life. You wanted to include the people who matter.

Maybe she was selfish, maybe she thought that he was a better person than her, so when he proposed, she didn't feel like she deserved it.

Or maybe she just didn't…

"I know, Piz." She said. She looked at the window of 'Java the Hut'. She could see the reflection of the new hip-looking diner across the street, but she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. "I'm just…" She closed her eyes. "Of course I would want Wallace and Mac to be in our lives too."

"Just… think about it." Piz quietly said. "I love you. And I know we joked around about it, but when I proposed… I poured my heart and soul out. What I said in that restaurant was the truth."

Veronica bit her lip. She couldn't remember what Piz said in the restaurant when he proposed. It was all a blur as she was trying to comprehend what happened after Nancy told her about the surprise proposal.

"Piz…"

"You remember what I said, right? About how much I love you and how much we are meant for each other?"

She got the gist of it. "…Of course."

"So please, Veronica. I need you to think about this and… come home."

Veronica suddenly felt tired.

This relationship wasn't supposed to be this complicated. Whatever happened to the easy-going life they were having back in New York? She didn't realize that Piz wanted more in this relationship – and not just something a little bit serious, but marriage.

Veronica cleared her throat, "I will think about it, Piz. Just give me some time, and I will come back home."

She could hear Piz sigh in relief when she said that she would come home. "Okay… just call me… if you want to… talk or anything."

"I am not opposed to phone sex." Veronica shrugged. She heard cars were honking in the background but she didn't pay attention.

"I can do that…" Piz had never done phone sex before. He hardly talks dirty, even in their bedroom. He always thought that Veronica wasn't into it. "Uh, talk to you later…b-bitch?"

Veronica snorted, "Boo! Whore."

Piz laughed uncomfortably. "O-okay. I'll text you tonight."

"Bye, Piznarski." She hung up the phone and grunted loudly. "I really can't get a breather –" She turned around, and almost had a heart attack when she saw a tall handsome man standing in front of her, smiling at her.

It was Logan Echolls.

Veronica's mouth was opened as she stared at the tall lean figure that had suddenly appeared; someone who she hadn't seen for almost a decade. It took her a long time to move on and forget about the man who haunted her dreams and fantasies.

"Hey." He greeted her. He was smiling. God, she hadn't seen that smile in forever.

What the hell just happened? A few minutes ago she was having a conversation with her boyfriend when out of nowhere, her past was dropping by.

"Hey…" Without realizing it, she smiled back. It was a genuine smile.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Holy crap, it's Veronica… Logan's thoughts were swirling around his head as he looked at her. She was definitely Veronica Mars - blonde, short, and so beautiful. For a moment there they were staring at each other. Both of them didn't believe what was happening right now; they were standing facing each other and smiling like idiots.

"I…" Logan began as Veronica also said something.

"Lo –"

"You –" They both chuckled nervously. "Oh, wow. Veronica Mars." Logan nodded as he drank her appearance.

"Logan Echolls. Long time no see." Veronica nodded as well.

After a pregnant pause, they moved closer and hug awkwardly. Logan noticed that she smelled nice, and her scent was so familiar. He hugged her tightly, and then released her. Veronica grinned, happy to see him.

Logan closed his eyes and then opened them again. Nope, she's still here.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

They said at the same time, and then they laughed awkwardly again.

"Ah, I'm having lunch there across the street at Cho's Diner. You remember Hamilton Cho?"

"Yeah, of course. Didn't his father own Cho's Pizza?"

"Yep. He opened his own restaurant." Logan didn't know why he was talking about Hamilton.

"Okay, sure…" Veronica was still smiling as she looked at him appreciatively. Logan thanked his lucky stars that he was wearing decent clothes, and not just shorts and a T-shirt after surfing. He was wearing a tight Henley and a pair of nice jeans. He was glad that he'd washed his jeans.

Java the Hut sidewalk café had a speaker outside their building that was perched above the windows. It was playing music for the patrons outside. Emperor X's 'Go Captain and Pinlighter' was playing, but both Logan and Veronica didn't pay attention.

"H-how are you? You look great."

"Ha, thanks. You look great too." Veronica chuckled.

"Are you having lunch?" Logan pointed at Java the Hut.

"I actually just had brunch with Wallace and Mac." Veronica pursed her lips and nodded.

"Oh, how are they doing? I haven't talked to Mac for a while."

"They're doing great. Annoying, but great nonetheless."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing…" She shook her head, grimacing. "You said you were having lunch."

"Yeah." He remembered that he just left his daughter at the diner. "Oh, shoot." He grimaced and looked at the diner. "We just ordered food."

"We?"

"Uh…" Logan looked at Veronica. "Me and my daughter."

Veronica blinked in surprise although it wasn't shocking news. She knew about him and Carrie from all the tabloids and news media years ago. She knew about Logan's relationship with Carrie and how he'd become a single father. She remembered how much she was surprised to hear the news, but then decided that it wasn't her business and Logan wasn't part of her life anymore.

She nodded at him. "I've heard, of course."

"Yeah… You and the rest of the world." Logan shrugged.

"I am sorry about Carrie," Veronica said sincerely. "I remember her in high school."

"Yeah, thanks…"

"I am glad that you have a good life with your daughter." Veronica looked at him in the eyes. She knew that Logan had been doing great taking care of his daughter. Although she didn't keep up with Logan, she heard things here and there and most of them were good.

"Well, she's gonna be pissed at me for leaving her with Dick at the Diner." He chuckled.

"Dick?"

One word, one syllable, and Logan knew he shouldn't say Dick's name.

"Yeah… Casablancas."

"You're still hanging around with him."

"He's sorta the godfather of my kid." Logan watched as Veronica's eyes widened, and he wanted to laugh to see her face after hearing that statement. "I know, I know, it's weird. But he's all I got."

Veronica nodded. It wasn't her place to judge – especially knowing the bizarre friendship between Logan and Dick after all these years. "I am glad that you have a good support system."

"Dick's been… great." Logan rubbed his neck, nervously.

"So… they're at the diner?" Veronica looked at the diner across the street and saw people were looking at them through the window.

Logan looked back at the diner and saw in horror that Dick planted his face on the window of the diner. His nose, mouth, and cheeks were pressed firmly against the glass window, and he looked like a blowfish. Beside him, his daughter was also pressing her face against the glass window. "Uh…"

Veronica grinned to see them, especially the little girl beside Dick. "So… that's your daughter?"

Logan bared his teeth, grimacing when he saw Lorrie and Dick were making faces. "She is… something." He then looked at her, "Do you want to meet her?"

Veronica looked surprised. "Oh, I don't want to bother or anything!"

"No, you're not. I told her about you actually."

"Wha… you did?"

Logan seemed embarrassed about it, so he recovered. "I mean, I told her about you… Lilly, Duncan… you know, about our friendship when we were kids." He looked down and put his hands in his pockets. He glanced up through his eyelashes and saw Veronica tilted her head and smiling. He could feel his heart almost jumped out from his chest seeing her like that. When Veronica tilts her head, it usually made men weak on their knees.

"That's so great, Logan…" She looked down too. Logan could see her cheeks were pink.

"So… come on." He offered her his hand.

Veronica looked at Logan's hand that stretched in front of her. Should she take it?

She cautiously put her palm on his, and he gripped it. They both smiled at each other.

Dick: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

"No!"

Dick ignored the splashing water and immediately went to the window to see what happened. Both of his hands, arms, face and whole body pressed firmly against the glass window. Lorrie frowned to see Dick's behavior.

"Is that Veronica Mars?" Hamilton asked as he saw Logan dashing out from the diner and crossed the street, ignoring the traffic.

"This is bad, this is bad, this bad…" Dick muttered. "What the hell is she doing here?!"

"Casablancas, language." Hamilton chided him.

"What's wrong, Uncle Dick? Who is that woman?" Lorrie asked as she moved closer to the window too. She saw her dad stood behind a blonde woman who was on the phone across the street. He didn't do anything, but then the woman turned around, and her dad gave the biggest smile she ever saw.

Lorrie realized that her dad looked very handsome smiling like that.

She had seen her dad smiling and laughing, but most of the time, he usually looked serious. But this… this smile looked different. It was like a relief, happiness, and other things combined into one, that Lorrie didn't completely understand yet.

"A devil woman," Dick grunted, answering her question. His nose bent sideways from pressing it to the glass window.

Lorrie looked stricken and afraid. "Is she going to hurt dad?"

Hamilton, who was watching Logan's interaction with Veronica by the window, rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Casablancas. Way to go in making her scared." He then turned to their table and wiped the spilled water. "That's Veronica Mars, your dad's old friend."

Dick scoffed hearing that. "Old friend." He muttered.

"Don't worry, kid. She's alright." Hamilton explained. "She was pretty nice. She helped a lot of people."

"What do you mean?" Lorrie asked.

Hamilton scratched his head. How could he explain the complexity of Veronica Mars? She did find that Hamilton's father was the one who harassed Sabrina Fuller back when they were in high school, but he never put it on her; she was only doing her job. He knew that she had helped a lot of students back then like that one kid being accused of being a bomber, or solving Lilly Kane's murder, and solving the bus explosion that killed so many students. He looked at Dick and remembered that Cassidy Casablancas was responsible for the explosion… No wonder he thinks that she was the devil woman. People tend to blame the detective…

"Ah, look kid. Your dad and Veronica were really good friends." He didn't want to mention their relationship. Everyone knew about the explosive relationship Logan and Veronica had had. A seven-year-old little girl wouldn't understand what happened. Heck, he didn't even understand the whole thing back then. All he knew was that Veronica solved Lilly Kane's murder that she was killed by Logan's dad, and yet they were in a relationship. That was one complication he didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. "So she's not that bad. And she's definitely will not hurt your dad." Hamilton gave Dick a snide-eye.

Lorrie didn't say anything. She just looked at her dad who looked bashful. Her dad never behaves like this – he was usually very confident with everything. But looking at him, it was like a side that she'd never seen.

"She will trample his heart again." Dick's voice was very low so Lorrie wouldn't hear him. But Hamilton heard him. He shook his head, and then returned to the counter.

Lorrie frowned and then opened another book. Hamilton said that her name was Veronica Mars? She read about the 'Mars' name in the book of gods and goddesses if she was not mistaken.

She read a few paragraphs about a Roman god named Mars.

Lorrie whispered as she read the book, "So she's a goddess?"

'A muse doesn't have to be a goddess from ancient times. Many people find inspiration from the normal people of today.'

She looked up to see her dad offering his hand to the blonde woman. The blonde woman looked at him with a look that Lorrie couldn't interpret. But for a moment, Lorrie's heart seemed to be beating so fast at seeing them holding hands. She didn't understand whether she was happy or upset about it. But one thing for sure, she was paying attention now.

Logan and Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan held Veronica's hand very firmly as they walked towards the diner. He waved his other hand so the cars were slowing down and they could cross the street. Veronica followed him with her hand being held by him, and it made her a bit embarrassed. She could cross the street without somebody holding her hand, she wasn't a little girl, but she kept her hand in his and even gave it a gentle squeeze.

The two walked in awkward silence, and neither of them knew what to do. Finally, Logan broke the silence when they were almost to the other side.

"So when did you arrive here from New York?" Logan asked. Veronica didn't ask how he knew about New York, or whether he'd been keeping tabs.

"Last night… so I'm a bit jetlagged."

The two let go of each other's hands when they arrived at the diner. Their body language was awkward because they were such strangers. They hadn't seen each other for a decade; of course, they didn't have that familiarity back.

"Here we are…" Logan glanced at the window of the diner. Thankfully, Dick wasn't anywhere near the window but he could see him eating next to Lorrie. His daughter was staring at them curiously behind the window.

Veronica winced from the sunbeam, "Wow, there's the sun. You ever get tired of all this fabulous weather?"

Logan chuckled, realizing the situation was a bit weird. "Yeah. How about them Dodgers?" He saw Veronica smiled awkwardly at him. "Look at us, falling right back into our old rhythms." He then opened the diner door for her and let her go in before him.

Hamilton greeted them. "Wow, Veronica Mars!"

"Hamilton. How are you?" They both shook hands. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been living in New York."

"No kidding. Awesome place." Hamilton pointed with his thumb at the kitchen. "Have you tried a New York's Chopped Cheese before?"

"Wow, I've actually never tried one before."

"Do you want some?"

Veronica grimaced, "I just had brunch right across the street. Raincheck?"

"No problem. Nice to see you again, Veronica." Hamilton nodded at her and then gave Logan a look as he went back to the kitchen, which Logan ignored.

Dick stood up from the booth and then sauntered towards her. He expanded his chest and straightened his spine. He then belched loudly. "What's this? Logan, I specifically told the agency 'an eager-to-please-redhead'. Why is that so hard?"

"Dick." Veronica raised her eyebrow.

"Ronnie. Long time. You have some work done? Your boobs look bigger."

"So do yours."

"These are called pretty pecks."

"Enough. Dick, go back to your food. Lorrie, come here please." Logan called for his daughter who was watching the interactions between the adults. She climbed out of her seat and walked shyly to her dad and Veronica. Dick sat back in the booth, grunting. "Veronica, this is my Lorrie," Logan said to Veronica. He then turned to his daughter, "Lorrie, this is my friend Veronica."

Veronica looked down at a pretty girl around seven years old, who was wearing a jean jacket, a blue tutu, orange stockings, and purple shoes. She looks exactly like Carrie with her jet black bob hair and wide eyes. She was a beautiful little girl… with a bad taste of fashion. Veronica was mesmerized when she saw her; it was like looking at Carrie again. "Hello. I'm Veronica Mars." She smiled at the little girl. "Nice to meet you."

Lorrie's first impression of Veronica was how beautiful she looked. With her blonde ponytail and kind blue eyes, she looked like a goddess. Maybe she was a goddess… But it was obvious that Uncle Dick disliked her. But according to Hamilton, she was a nice woman and obviously, her dad likes her… what other reason would he run after her?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lorrie Echolls." She looked at Veronica with wide eyes, "Are you a goddess?" Logan sputtered nervously, seemingly embarrassed that his daughter blurted that. Veronica didn't know what to say, but her cheeks were turning redder. "Your name is Mars. And Mars is a Roman god."

"Oh! Yes, that's my name. Mars." Veronica laughed. "I don't know about gods, but my dad's last name is Mars. It's a family name."

"That's a cool name," Lorrie said. She smiled at the pretty woman. She then turned to her dad, "Daddy. I am hungry. Can I eat now?"

"Yes, pumpkin. I'm gonna talk to Veronica a bit, okay? And then I'll eat with you."

Lorrie nodded and went back to the booth. Dick stood up to let Lorrie get inside the booth while giving Logan and Veronica a dagger look.

"She's sweet." Veronica looked at Logan. "Fatherhood suits you, Logan."

"Yeah, who knew I'd be following Donut's path?" Logan looked down, regretting he'd said that. "Thanks anyway."

"Hey, no problem. I think… I think this is great." Veronica touched his arm to assure him. "You have a beautiful daughter. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks… Veronica." He mumbled. His heart was beating so fast when she touched his arm. "Uh, listen. Do you wanna have lunch with us?"

Veronica looked at Dick and Lorrie who were eating together. Dick couldn't take his eyes off of them while chomping on his food. "Thanks for the offer, but I have to go. I'm meeting my dad at his office for my own daddy-daughter quality time."

"Okay…" Logan was a bit disappointed but relieved at the same time. "Say hi to your dad for me."

"I will."

"Um… listen. Do you wanna grab a drink sometimes? How long are you in town?" He blurted.

Veronica chuckled nervously, "Sure. I'd like to grab a drink. I'm staying for a week, helping out my dad. Do you still have your old number?"

"Actually I do. I haven't changed it for ten years." Logan snickered. "It's easier."

"About all these years..." Veronica tried to find words. They did part in a bad way…

"You're out my life. Forever!"

"Bygones, Veronica." He looked her in the eyes. His eyes seemed to penetrate her soul. Logan always had an intense gaze about him, and it usually made her heart beats fast.

Veronica bit her lip. "So…"

"Let's catch up," Logan said.

"I'd love that." She stood on her tiptoes to hug him. Logan hugged her back, and he felt like he was alive again. He knew it was ridiculous to think like this, especially with a woman he hadn't seen for a decade. They were practically strangers and yet, at the same time, all of these feelings surged back into his body.

They separated and Veronica gave him the sweetest smile. She walked out of the diner and waved goodbye to Logan. Logan waved back, and he kept staring at Veronica until she turned the corner.

Logan went back to his booth and sat as Hamilton put a new plate of Chopped Cheese down since Dick ate his. He looked at his daughter who was eating; she looked at him curiously. Dick was avoiding eye contact as he stuffed his mouth with food.

"How's your food, pumpkin?" Logan asked Lorrie.

"It's very good." Lorrie nodded and ate a piece of fry. "Who was that lady?"

"Remember I told you about my friends Lilly, Duncan, and Veronica?"

"Oh yeah, I remember." Lorrie nodded. Dick still didn't say a word but he gave Logan a look, which made Logan raised his eyebrow. "She's pretty."

"You're pretty too, cupcake," Logan said. Lorrie smiled and giggled hearing that.

"Daddy is handsome," Lorrie said. Logan winked at her. It was their thing; calling each other cute or pretty or handsome, just to keep the day going.

Dick rolled his eyes hard. He was going to say something, but Logan cut him off. "Not here."

With a mouthful of food, Dick grumbled. "Fine."

Logan tasted the Chopped Cheese. It was great. As he ate, he glanced again at the corner of the street where Veronica went. It was near her father's office. Maybe, he could visit her or something… What happened just a few minutes ago, made his whole body energetic. He smiled while he took another bite of his food.

Dick stared at him, contemplating.

Keith: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

At Mars Investigations, Keith was talking to a tall woman as he escorted her out of his office to the reception area.

"I'll try my best to find her, Mayor Landros," Keith said to the statuesque woman. "I'm glad you're concerned about the well-being of this city."

Petra Landros was a beautiful woman in her 40's. She was the owner of the Neptune Grand, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and also the Mayor of the city.

"The media has been hounding me about this, Mr. Mars. After the girl went missing, and now her parents are thinking about suing the Sheriff Department, which will reflect badly on this city, I am hoping for a good result." Petra Landros was a former supermodel who had a knack for business. After the death of her husband, former Mayor George Landros, she took over the hotel business and single-handedly made Neptune one of the best tourist attractions and spring break destinations. Spring breakers flock to Neptune, and that won her the popular vote, and she became mayor.

"It would be best if you… talked to the Sheriff about his policy of blaming the missing victim every time he's being interviewed by the media." Keith smiled politely.

"I'll handle Sheriff Dan Lamb, Mr. Mars. Please just do your job." Petra raised her nose upward. Keith nodded.

As the mayor walked out, Veronica walked in. She turned around and watched the beautiful lady with long legs walk downstairs.

"Hey, honey."

"Is that…?"

Keith shrugged and sat on the couch, exhaling. Veronica kissed his cheek and sat next to him.

"That's our mayor."

"Wow. She looks hot." Veronica commented.

"Eh."

"What do you mean, eh? Are you blind? Aren't you gonna tap that ass?"

"Don't talk to me like that, child."

Veronica chuckled. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I had a sandwich." Veronica rests her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "How about you, my little bottomless pit?"

"Very funny."

"I am a funny guy, see?" He talked with an exaggerated old gangster accent.

"So why was she here?"

"She asked me to handle a case."

"What case? Don't tell me her boy toy's been cheating on her."

"I really can't divulge that information," Keith said. "But no boy toy. Surprisingly, she's not the type who mixes business with pleasure."

"With that ass?"

"Stop talking about her ass."

Veronica buried her face on Keith's shoulder. She missed her dad so much, and she needed him right now. After what happened over the last few days back in New York, the brunch this morning, the phone call from Piz, meeting Logan again…

"I'm so happy to be home," Veronica mumbled on his shoulder. She then hugged her dad fully from the side. She just needed her father right now. Keith frowned to see her behavior but didn't say anything. He hugged her back and kissed her head.

"I'm glad you're here too, honey." Keith wanted to ask about New York, and why she was here, but he decided maybe it wasn't the right time.

Veronica turned her head and looked at the reception area. "This room is blah."

"It is the epitome of a detective agency office. It supposed to be blah."

"I kinda like our old office. It was colorful."

"I don't have time to hire a decorator, sweetheart." Keith patted her head, kissed her temple, and then stood up. "I got a lot of work to do."

"I was thinking about spending some time with you."

Keith paused by the door and turned around. "We'll see each other at home tonight."

"You know what? I'm gonna clean up here." Veronica stood up and went to the reception desk. "Geez, dad – look at all of these files!" She started gathering some files and tidying up.

Keith opened his mouth to say something but then decided against it. He knew this maneuver; cleaning up was her M.O when she had something on her mind. He didn't know what was on her mind, and he desperately wanted to ask… He wryly looked at her as she gathered more files. Finally, he said, "Okay honey. Just don't mess around with the filing system."

"Yes, because your system works wonders."

Keith smiled and sat back at his desk. There were more scattered files everywhere but he managed to clean some when Petra Landros came by. As he sat at his desk, he could hear the rustling of papers and files from the reception desk, and his heart clenched.

There was something wrong in New York, maybe her relationship, and the fact that Veronica boarded a plane and landed here in Neptune, gave him a bit of scare. Sometimes he wondered whether the reason she left Neptune in the first place was that she was running away from something… Maybe her guilt when he lost the Sheriff election. It didn't take being a detective to figure that out. He let go of the anger and the disappointment when he lost the election – and maybe he blamed Veronica a little bit. After a while, and after missing her, he realized he shouldn't feel that way. Veronica was his daughter, through and through. When everyone left, she was the one who stayed. Him losing the election means that it wasn't meant to be. He was meant to be a private investigator.

But it didn't mean that he wanted her to come home and throw away her career like that and revert to her old life.

She was in the next room, cleaning files, and he was hoping that was about it – that she would just reboot herself in Neptune, and that she wasn't planning to stay.

"So honey, how long are you going to be in Neptune?"

There was a long pause which made Keith set his jaw. "Uh, probably a week?"

"Don't you think that's a bit long? Don't you have a job or something in New York?"

"I haven't had a break for a while now. I desperately needed a vacation."

"Ever think of Bora-Bora or something?"

"Ha-ha, I thought I might hang around here with you."

"I might not be here all the time, honey." Keith leaned back and listened to her cleaning the desk. "Spring break is here and there are a lot of cases."

"That's okay, dad. I can help around here."

That's what he was afraid of.

"You don't have to, honey…" Keith closed his eyes, suddenly tired. "You're on vacation."

"Dad, that's fine." Keith didn't say anything else. He listened as he heard Veronica busy with putting some files into boxes. "Hey, do you think we can get an internet connection here?"

Logan, Lorrie, and Dick: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

They were at home, and Logan found himself recharged and full of ideas. He brought his laptop to the dining room and sat at the dining table. Books were opened around him and he started writing. Occasionally he would hear Lorrie chatting with her friends via Skype in the living room while watching TV. Dick came by later after doing some errands, and went straight to the kitchen, putting beers and sodas in the fridge.

Logan was typing like mad.

Ideas and stories were flowing like water as he typed.

He wouldn't admit it, but his run-in with Veronica today had awoken something inside of him. He thought it was missing, but it was always there. For some reason, when he drove home, he had already formed a novel inside his head. So he wrote and wrote for hours, living in his own world when writing his novel.

He didn't see Dick come in, watching him while drinking. He leaned back on the wall and stared at his best friend typing furiously on his laptop. He saw Logan was muttering something and chuckled to himself.

Dick didn't want to bother Logan while he was working, so he went to the living room and sat next to Lorrie who finished her girl talk with her friends.

"I wanna learn how to play Ukulele."

"Why?"

"I wanna be a singer like Grace Van Derwaalt."

"Who?"

"You know, the Ukulele girl."

"Sure."

"You think dad will let me learn?"

"I think he'd be okay with it."

Lorrie looked at Logan who was glued to his laptop, typing, and reading like a possessed man. "He's busy."

"Yes."

"I guess he found his muse, huh?"

That made Dick pause. "What do you mean?"

"That lady at the diner – I think she's his muse."

Dick clenched his jaw, but his voice was steady. "What makes you say that, little girl?"

"Well, her name is Mars. Mars is a Roman god name. So that makes her a goddess."

Dick snorted loudly, which surprised her. "A goddess. Right."

"You don't think she's a goddess, Uncle Dick?" Dick didn't answer. There was no way he would tell this innocent girl what he thought of Ronnie. "A muse is a goddess. So I think she is helping dad right now."

"If you say so, buttercup." Dick wrapped his arm around Lorrie. "Do you want to watch Frozen?"

"Don't you get bored watching Frozen, Uncle Dick?"

"Hey, I like the movie."

"You're so in love with Anna."

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

And they were going back and forth about Frozen until they decided they'd rather watch Howl's Moving Castle instead because it was a better movie and animation.

Logan cracked his back after a while. Now he was stumped after a few hours of writing. He checked the pages of the book and noticed that he had written 100 pages. Not bad for a day's work. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was dinner time.

He went to the kitchen and started to warm up the food from Jade. He heard that familiar song of Frozen and realized that Dick must've been home.

Logan went to the living room and saw Lorrie was lying on the carpet, drawing. Papers and crayons were scattered around her, while she was on her stomach, very seriously coloring a drawing. Dick was watching Frozen, for the umpteenth time.

"What are you drawing, pumpkin?"

Lorrie stood up and hugged him. "Daddy! You're finished!"

"You okay, Lorrie? You're not watching a movie with Uncle Dick?"

"I watched Howl's Moving Castle and The Swan Princess with Uncle Dick, but he wanted to watch Frozen again, so I rather draw."

Logan wanted to make fun of Dick watching Frozen, but then he saw his face. Dick's face was taut and he was drinking his soda, solemnly. It was obvious that he didn't enjoy the movie because there was something on his mind. Something like…

Veronica Mars.

Of course, he knew that Dick didn't like the idea of Veronica suddenly appearing out of nowhere. When Veronica left, and he was at rock-bottom for a while, Dick was the one who pulled him out from the despair. When Carrie died, he was the one who was beside him. He and Logan practically raised Lorrie together. Veronica was a complication for Dick. For everything that happened in high school, for everything that happened in Hearst, for everything that happened in Neptune altogether.

Also, there was the matter of Cassidy.

Cassidy raped Veronica all those years ago. He wondered whether Dick knew the truth. Logan never asked… he was afraid of the truth as well; whether Dick goaded his brother to rape Veronica because they were such bad teenagers.

Dick was a mess when Cassidy died. Maybe that was one of the reasons he wanted to take care of Lorrie; he wanted to help Logan not screw up this child's life.

But he knew that Dick had a sore spot for Veronica.

"Let's have dinner, and then you can go to bed early. You had a long day today."

"I woke up at 6 AM!" Lorrie said, proudly.

"I wish you would wake up early for school too, young lady." Lorrie shrugged and went to the kitchen. Logan looked at Dick who was still staring at the movie, but not really watching. "Do you want something to eat, Dick?"

Dick didn't say anything for a while, and then he turned off the DVD and TV. He stood up and stared hard at Logan. He exhaled loudly, "Do you want me to yell at you, or let's just skip to where you tell me that I should just mind my own business and evaporate?"

"Dude…"

"You RAN out of the diner to her." Dick's voice was full of emotion. "She didn't even know that you were there, but she already had her hooks into you."

Logan glanced at the kitchen. Lorrie was humming a song and was grabbing a glass of juice. He didn't want Lorrie to hear Dick's outburst.

"Can we talk about this later? Let's just eat dinner like a normal family, okay?"

Dick grimaced, gave a chuckle, shook his head, and then said in a biting tone, "You know what? I think I'm gonna head into town. I'm sure if walk in a straight line, I will find a party. Who knows, it might cleanse me of all of the kiddies stuff and Ronnie Mars!"

"Dick…"

"Lorrie! I'm leaving now. Give me a kiss and hug!"

Lorrie walked out carrying a plate of a chicken quesadilla. "You're not having dinner with us, Uncle Dick?"

Dick gave Logan a side-eye, "I have to meet some chicks, Lorrie. Uncle Dick needs some lovin'." Lorrie just shook her head; she was used to Dick's antics. "Come 'ere, baby girl." He picked her up and hugged her, while she tried to balance the plate with her small hands. "I love you, monkey butt."

"I love you too, Uncle Dick." She kissed his cheek. Dick then peppered her with sloppy kisses on her face, while she just giggled.

Logan watched their interaction and felt a heaviness on his shoulders.

Dick put her down and then walked to the foyer. Logan followed him, "Dick."

"Dude, if you –" Dick turned around, pointed his forefinger at him. He exhaled and looked down. Logan watched him, a little bit helpless. "You know I'm your dude. Not in a homo way, but I'm your dude."

Logan had an urge to roll his eyes but understood what he was saying. "Yeah."

"So help me, Superman. Don't let her –"

"Yeah, Dick. I got it."

Dick nodded and then walked out of the house. Logan watched as Dick's truck pulled away from the driveway and drove away.

Logan went back to the kitchen, just in time to see his daughter trying to reach a bag of candy on the top of the kitchen cabinet. She was standing on her tippy-toes, trying unsuccessfully to grab it. Logan hid it there because she had sweet tooth – which was not good. After all, the last time she went to the dentist, she had a full-blown tantrum and hysterical crying because the dentist had to fill cavities and placed protective plastic sealants on her teeth.

"No, Lorrie."

Because he was so tall, he grabbed the bag of candy and then put it higher on top of the kitchen cabinet. Lorrie's face fell and she sat at the kitchen island.

"Just one candy, daddy."

"No, pumpkin." Logan shook his head. He sat beside her and started to eat.

"Uncle Dick let me eat one…"

"I'll talk to your Uncle Dick later. No candy for you, young lady."

"So when can I eat a piece of candy then?"

"When I allow it."

They ate in silence in the kitchen. Usually, they would eat with Dick, or with Jade and Valentina, so there would be a lively conversation. Logan and Lorrie like to talk about their days, but it was nice to have people around. Lorrie was usually the one who would prattle on, talking about anything – and Logan usually listens and laughs when she would make a joke. Even when they weren't talking, there was such warmth and happiness in their world.

Logan and Lorrie had each other, and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to their little family.

"I think that lady from the diner is your muse, daddy."

Logan almost chokes in the middle of chewing. He had to hit his chest several times because the food went down the wrong pipe. "What makes you say that, pumpkin?" He asked after gulping a glass of water.

Lorrie frowned at her dad's behavior. "Her name is Mars. So that makes her a goddess. As a goddess, she must be your muse."

"I—I guess you're right…" Logan blinked rapidly.

"I hope you're going to finish your book, daddy." She smiled at him. "Maybe we should invite your muse to dinner here?"

"We'll see about that, Lorrie…" Logan seemed flustered.

"I liked her nail polish." Lorrie chewed her food. "Can I wear nail polish, daddy?"

Logan didn't answer. To tell the truth, he didn't know how to answer anything today.

Veronica and Mac: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Veronica was still at the Mars Investigations, filing documents and files, sweeping the floor, dusting the windows, even washing the cups in the small kitchen. Her father was out meeting some clients. She asked him about the case, but he didn't answer. Veronica decided it wasn't her business anyway, so she continued to clean up for a few more hours.

"I gotta hire an assistant for dad." She muttered.

She sorted the SOLVED case files and put them on the corner of the reception area. There were dozens of UNSOLVED case files and documents which she tiredly put away in boxes near the desk. A few times she answered phone calls and told potential clients that Keith Mars couldn't take new cases right now. She also had to sort out some messages which apparently Keith forgot to call back.

She hadn't realized how much time had gone by when she received a text message from him that he would be late and asked her to go home on her own.

She sighed.

Veronica wondered whether this was what he did daily. A sense of dread creeping into her heart, that her father worked so hard every day and every night, hardly taking any break, while she was in New York, taking pictures of naked models and celebrities. She worked hard, but compared to her dad's life? She looked out the window and realized it was already dark, but she didn't move from her spot, holding an open file.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Veronica looked up and saw Mac standing in the door. "Oh, hey. I didn't see you there."

"You were… somewhere else. You okay?"

Veronica sighed, "Yeah…"

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound okay." Mac sat on the couch and saw boxes scattered around the area. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up the office, sorting files. My dad has a horrible filing system." Veronica shook her head. "Gotta hire an assistant or something, but I doubt dad would agree."

Mac checked her phone, "You don't have Wi-Fi here?"

"I don't think we have internet here."

"Your dad is old school."

Veronica scoffed, "Tell me about it."

"Where is he?"

"He's out right now, meeting a client or something." Veronica pouts. "I thought we could spend some time together, but apparently not."

Mac looked at her, raising her eyebrow. "Did he ask you why you left New York?"

"Ugh… nope, but I think he wanted to." Veronica exhaled and sat next to Mac. "I don't know how to answer if he would ask."

"That Piz asked you to marry him and you refused his proposal?"

"I didn't refuse." Veronica stubbornly said. "I just said that I need some time to think."

"Sure."

Veronica narrowed her eyes at Mac, which she only smirked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you need some time to think." Mac shrugged. "Nothing's wrong with that."

"Tell that to Wallace," Veronica grunted. "Or maybe my dad, because I think I know what he's gonna say. I've been avoiding this question all day."

Mac didn't comment. It wasn't her business as to what Veronica decided to do. Mac looked at her watch, "So are we gonna have dinner or not?"

"Yeah. I'm starving."

"You've been here in this office since after our brunch?"

Veronica tilted her head like she was thinking. "Not really…"

"What do you mean?"

Veronica looked at her best friend and told her carefully. "I ran into Logan."

Mac looked surprised, "Echolls?"

"Yeah… that's the one." Veronica rested her head on the headrest. "Oh God, Mac… I wasn't ready. He was just… there." She waved her hand in the air. "Like a dream or something. I turned around, and he was… THERE."

"What did he say?"

"I don't remember, man." Veronica sounded tired. "I was too stunned from seeing him."

Mac watched Veronica carefully, who was closing her eyes. "Was he happy to see you…?"

"Who knows? I mean, he didn't yell or anything or whatever." She told her. "He was there… smiling. Said hi… and then we were holding hands."

"Whut?!"

Veronica covered her face with her hands, fake sobbing a bit. "I KNOW! What the hell happened, I don't know!"

Mac rolled both her hands, like a wheel. "Take me through this, Bond."

Veronica opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She noticed that it was dusty, and she made a mental note to clean that next. "You know that Piz called me when you guys left after brunch. I was talking to him, and when I finished…" The corner of her mouth quirked a little, but she didn't notice. "…he was there."

"Logan?"

"Hmm-hmm." Veronica nodded. Her eyes looked soft, and her voice sounded quiet. "He was just there, smiling at me. And I'm telling you, Q… I thought I had a heart attack, you know? I mean, I didn't expect him to suddenly appear outta nowhere – and there he was, standing in front of me."

"How did you feel about that?" Mac asked carefully.

Veronica shrugged. "Surprised… Happy… Weird… Overwhelmed… Nostalgic?" She looked at Mac. "I mean, it's like seeing your old friend again after a long time. It's like seeing you and Wallace again, but…"

"Of course it's different, Veronica. Wallace and I are your friends, but Logan meant so much more to you since you were a kid."

Veronica blinked hearing Mac's truthfulness. "Yeah…"

"And…" Mac pursed her lips. "He was your boyfriend for a while. You have so much history together."

Veronica stared at her nails, remembering that they were holding hands briefly. It was like a dream of some sort. She paused a while and said, "He introduced me to his daughter."

Mac raised her eyebrows. "Whoa."

"Yeah… I mean, I've heard about him and Carrie from news and tabloids. When Carrie died…" She shook her head. "It was like Lilly all over again. But this time, there's a child." Veronica put her hand on her chin. "I wanted to reach out to him. Tell him how I'm sorry I am about Carrie, but I wasn't sure about just calling him… I didn't know what to do. I thought it wasn't my business anymore. We parted in a really bad way…"

Mac nodded. She circled her arms around Veronica, and she rested her head on her shoulder. Today she really needed a shoulder to lean on. "Yeah… The whole Castle thing…"

"And not just that… I mean dad's election, Piz, and that Sorokin kid… Everything else was so…"

"Clusterbeef."

Veronica choked a laugh, "Thank you for keeping it PG for me."

"That's all in the past, right?" Mac sighed, "Things haven't been easy for him for the past few years; he lost Carrie, his daughter lost her mother. I don't think he's holding a grudge against you."

"No… I guess not." Veronica smiled. "You should've seen his kid. She looks exactly like Carrie." She chuckled. "She looks like Logan and Carrie, combined together." And then she added, "Although she needs guidance for her fashion sense… she definitely got it from Logan."

"What do you mean?"

"Just… terrible." Veronica laughed. "Don't tell Logan about it."

"I won't… I mean, are you gonna see him again?"

"I dunno…"

"Well, do you want to?"

Veronica gave a long pregnant pause, "I don't know."

"Maybe you should."

Veronica raised her head and frowned at her, "You know I have a boyfriend, right?"

Mac snorted, "Veronica. Ask him out for a drink or something. It's not cheating." She shrugged and stood up, seemingly finished with the discussion. "Nothing's wrong with having a drink with a friend." Veronica didn't answer but she seemed to ponder it. "Come on, I'm starving."

Mac grabbed her purse and went downstairs while Veronica turned off the lights and locked up. By the time she made it downstairs, she had already made a decision.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

After putting Lorrie to bed, in which she refused but kept yawning, Logan went back to the living room and cleaned up. Lorrie's papers and crayons were scattered around the carpet. He looked at the drawings and smiled. There were drawings of him and her, Dick, Jade and Valentina… The bald guy must be Weevil, Logan thought.

He frowned when he saw a drawing of a blonde woman with red auras surrounding her. He flipped the paper and saw Lorrie's handwriting on the back: "DADDY'S MUSE".

Logan was touched to see the drawing. After the trip to the library to get a book about muses, and now this, it was obvious that Lorrie loves her dad so much. He smiled to see a drawing of Veronica. He guessed their meeting today gave her a good impression. He brought the drawing to the kitchen and placed it on the fridge.

The meeting with Veronica brought him a sense of nostalgia; a sense of retrouvailles that he couldn't describe. It was magnetic, and Dick was right that he immediately was drawn to her. It was like unseen energy that he felt whenever she was near, and when he saw her, he felt the pull. He just ran after her.

Logan stared at the drawing for a long time.

He didn't realize how much he missed Veronica.

He hadn't thought of her at all after he had Lorrie. She was someone from the past, that was part of his life but was gone like dust in the wind. Logan didn't want to think of it like a cheesy song, but it was what it was.

Then she appeared again out of nowhere, looking so beautiful, and they were holding hands like it was something normal… everything bad that had happened in his life seemed to disappear. It was like a fresh start, even if only for a few minutes with her. His heart was beating once more, for something that might only be a mirage.

Logan sighed and cleared the dishes from the kitchen island when he heard a ping from his phone. He opened it, and his eyes widened.

It was a text message from Veronica. It was a picture of her. The picture was when she was in jail nine years ago.

"Wanna grab something to drink tomorrow? – V."

Logan smiled.

Chapter Text

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

The next day, Veronica woke up feeling better. She was refreshed after last night. She'd had dinner with Mac, ordered lots of desserts, and texted Logan asking him whether he wanted to have a drink… She blamed it on the desserts; too much sugar could make her do crazy things.

Mac was right though. It was only a drink, catching up with an old friend, just like she was catching up with Mac and Wallace.

Wallace didn't go to dinner with them last night, but she would have lunch with him today. Probably would be best not to mention Logan to him. He could blab to Piz, and considering the sensitivity of the situation, Logan shouldn't even be on the conversation radar. Although she should be able to talk about whatever the hell topic she wanted, but she'd rather keep her friends close at this point.

Logan had texted back last night, saying that he would love to have a drink with her.

Veronica didn't know what to say to Logan… Hopefully, alcohol would help the conversation.

Veronica bit her lip as she read the texts again.

She shouldn't feel giddy about having a drink with an ex-boyfriend, right? She had a boyfriend, whom she was living with, who happened to proposed to her a few days ago, and she loved him.

So why was the prospect of having drinks with Logan more exciting than being proposed to by Piz?

She pondered the question while taking a shower. She scrubbed her body harder than necessary while enjoying the hot water. She was glad that this house had hot water. One good thing happening from no longer being poor, she could give her dad a better housing.

Freshly showered, she entered her bedroom. The bedroom wasn't used before, it was more like a guest room, with so many boxes scattered around. Veronica sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out a treasure chest, the size of a coffee table, from under the bed. She opened the box and began to pull out some items; her stun gun, disposable cell phones from the mid-2000s, fake IDs, wigs, and her leather bracelets. She smiled to see the old relics. Veronica thought that her life had been better ever since she gave up all of this.

Or was it?

She had a solid relationship, a quality job, and a low profile existence – even though she was a famous photographer.

Or does all that bore the crap out of you, Veronica?

Keith poured himself a coffee when Veronica showed up in the kitchen and greeted him a good morning. He offered her a cup of coffee as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Hmmm, coffee…" Veronica hummed, inhaling the coffee scent.

Keith noticed that she was wearing a dark jean jacket and a horizontal striped shirt. "Sticking around for a while?" Keith asked while drinking his coffee.

"You know the magnetic pull of Neptune and my dad." She bit into her toast.

"What's your plan for today?"

Veronica chewed, "Spending my time around Neptune, taking pictures. There are so many new places that I've never been to. So I think it's time for sight-seeing." Keith didn't say anything, but he looked down at his coffee. "I'm going to have lunch with Wallace."

"That's nice."

"I'm also going to your office after lunch."

"I might not be there… have to see a client."

Veronica shook her head. "That's okay; I'm just gonna clean up there."

"Veronica…"

"And then have a drink with a… friend."

Keith frowned. "With Mac?"

"Nope." She didn't elaborate. "Anyway, we can have dinner before that if you want to."

"Sure." Keith suddenly lost his appetite. The fact that his daughter was going to stay after all and not go back home to New York, worried him. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Can we eat at Luigi's? I've got a craving for good lasagna."

"I don't know whether that's a good idea…"

"Huh? Why?"

"Honey, the last time you were here eating at Luigi's, you were eating off your body weight."

"You're hilarious."

"I am."

Veronica stood up and kissed her father's head. "Well, I better get going and taking pictures of the spring breakers and their walk of shame."

"Early bird gets the worm, honey."

"You betcha!" Veronica chewed the rest of the toast and gulped her coffee. She put her camera into her messenger bag and walked out as Keith watched her, sighing.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan woke up with the sound of music coming from the living room. He groaned a bit and looked at the clock on his phone. Well, he might as well wake up now and make breakfast for his daughter. Lorrie was like him; she was an early riser because sometimes she would go surfing with him and Dick.

In the bathroom, he could hear Lorrie singing along with the music. The girl could sing like her mother, but he noticed that she was a bit pitchy at the end. Didn't matter – she was such a talented girl, Logan felt very protective of her. There were so many people, most of them from Carrie's family, who wanted to exploit Lorrie's talent. The daughter of a famous dead pop singer who was following in her footsteps was a really good headline. Logan didn't know whether he wanted to choke those who wanted to exploit his daughter or try to support Lorrie with her talent. He didn't know what he would do if Lorrie asked him if she could become a singer.

Logan learned from an early age the dark side of fame. Ever since he was a little boy, his parents, mostly Aaron, forced him to behave a certain way in public, and front of the media. He got used to scandals, abuse, and even deaths. Aaron's infidelity, his mom's suicide, the bum fights he conducted, Aaron's affair with Lilly, Aaron's trial, Aaron's death, his murder trial, Cassidy's case, Mercer's rape case, his drunken behaviors, Carrie's death, and even his daughter was dragged into the tabloids.

He remembered when Lorrie was born; they called her a child who was born out of wedlock between Carrie and Logan, and then they dragged the whole family history to the surface. Lorrie was only a day old, and her picture was already splattered across the media.

Trina, who was always trying to be in the media, for some reason, declared herself as the best aunt ever. He could count on one hand how many times Trina has visited her niece.

Lorrie had been hinting about her interest in a possible singing career. She was only seven years old, and she said she wanted to be a singer like Carrie. Of course, she didn't know the consequences of being a pop star, and Logan knew she was too young for that. He was glad at least he could parent her now, while she was very young. He always told her that school and education were important. Dick made fun of him, of course, by telling him that he'd become one of those square and boring adults.

"You're young! Don't be lame!"

Someone had to be the mature adult here and it wasn't going to be Dick.

Logan came out to the living room and saw Lorrie was dancing energetically. She was listening to 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce, and she was dancing and waving her left hand. She saw her dad, and a smile broke out on her face. "Morning, daddy!" She then grabbed Logan's hand and pulled him to the middle of the room. "Dance with me!"

Logan looked down at his daughter dancing around him, and he laughed. "You know I can't dance like that!"

Lorrie didn't care; she kept dancing and mouthing the lyrics. Logan then moved his body and tried to 'dance' like his daughter, but it looked ridiculous. Lorrie laughed, but she kept dancing with her dad. She giggled as she held his hand, and then tried to twirl him. Logan ducked and twirled while chuckling. He then picked her up and twirled her whole body like an airplane.

"Daddy!" Lorrie laughed very hard.

"Woh oh oh oh oh oh!" Logan sang off-key along with the song. He then hoisted her up on his waist and then danced a ballroom dance, their hands intertwined together. He tipped her down, as she picked a stem of flower from a vase nearby, and then put the flower between his lips. They were dancing around the living room for quite a while before he put her down. Lorrie held the flower, and then they curtsied at each other.

"More!" Lorrie asked to be picked up.

Logan shook his head, "I can't! You're too heavy!" But he squats and let Lorrie climbed on his back. They were off to the kitchen playing piggyback. Lorrie had her arms around his neck, while he grabbed some food from the pantry and started preparing breakfast. "What do you want, sweet pumpkin?"

"Pancakes!"

"I will make them if you set the table."

Lorrie climbed down from his back and started setting the plates and the glasses. She even put some toasts in the toaster and then grabbed a cereal box. "We ran out of milk!"

Logan groaned, remembering that Dick finished the milk yesterday. "I hope you're okay that I make pancakes with plain water, Lorrie."

"It's okay," Lorrie said as she sat and watched her dad cook.

Logan learned how to cook a few years ago after Lorrie stopped eating baby food. He discovered that kids need home cooking and not just Pizza. Recently, Jade had been teaching him how to cook properly but he was still not that good, but he could cook something easy and fast like pancakes or pasta, and Lorrie never complained about his cooking.

Logan enjoyed eating with Lorrie in the kitchen. He loved his daughter so much and would do anything for her, and these moments just the two of them together, he would cherish forever. He didn't have a normal childhood growing up. His mother was so busy with charity and drinking, and Aaron was too much of a psycho for the family. Logan was determined that Lorrie would have a normal and happy childhood – normal as they could get.

Lorrie was chewing the pancakes happily, and Logan smiled watching her eat. He was drinking his coffee when his phone started beeping.

He checked his text message and noticed that Veronica was texting him.

His ears suddenly went red.

Veronica was texting him to let him know her plans for the day. That she would be sightseeing around Neptune, having lunch with Wallace, going to her dad's office, having dinner with her dad, and then she would have a drink with him.

Logan smiled again and then typed "Sounds like a plan. Pick you up tonight?"

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Veronica was sitting on a bench near the boardwalk, taking pictures of people who were coming to the beach. Some of them were spring breakers. They were hungover and they were struggling to keep their eyes open.

Veronica then checked her phone after she heard a ping. Logan texted her back, and asked, "Sounds like a plan. Pick you up tonight?"

She pursed her lips. Picking her up at her house… That would look like a date. This was not a date. This was supposed to be a drink with a friend, catching up after all these years. Not to mention her dad would say something about it, and she'd rather avoid it.

She texted him back, "I don't want to go back and forth to/from my house after dinner with my dad. Just let me know where to meet ." She added a smiley face emoticon.

Veronica was wondering what he was doing this morning… Having breakfast with his kid? Maybe he had a girlfriend? She shook her head, trying to get rid of that thought. Why did she even think that? She, herself, had a boyfriend. It wasn't her business whether Logan had a girlfriend or not. Well, he has a boyfriend - Dick, Veronica thought while grinning.

Logan texted back, "Okay… Let's meet up at the 09ers. Around 10 PM? I have to ask Dick to babysit my kid first."

Veronica smiled. Wow, she never thought that Logan would have Dick babysit his child, let alone utter the word 'babysit'. She typed back, "I'll see you there, buddy."

Buddy…

Why not just say 'chum'? She thought while grimacing. This would be awkward as hell, and she hoped that she didn't make a mistake by deciding to have a drink with him. It was just… a drink and they were being friendly. Nine years ago, they parted in a very bad way. Logan hit Piz because he thought that he secretly recorded them both having sex. She remembered how she yelled at him…

"You're out of my life, FOREVER."

And then Logan hit Gory Sorokin, the man responsible for the sex tape. Even with the threat looming after him, Logan smiled bloodily, and she smiled back at him. Maybe they were too damaged that revenge and justification were the things that made them.

But those things weren't theirs anymore.

Logan was a father now. He had a little daughter and judging from his characteristic, he had let go of all the demons within him.

How about her?

Veronica stood up and started to walk around again, taking pictures.

By lunchtime, she was spent and tired. But at the same time, she was happy. Taking pictures of Neptune, no matter how much was dirty and unpleasing because it was spring break, was much better than spending hours taking pictures of naked supermodels. New York sometimes could be exhausting but she loved the city. Neptune was too bright and too fake, and yet…

Veronica was already sipping her Pina Colada in a café near the boardwalk when Wallace walked in. They hugged and ordered their food. Wallace shook his head when Veronica ordered a huge amount of food.

"You really are a bottomless pit," Wallace commented.

"A girl needs fuel to grow up."

"To where – sideways?"

Veronica kicked Wallace under the table. "I resent that." But there was no resentment whatsoever as they were joking around. "For that, you pay for your own food!"

"Awh, dang it!"

Last night Mac and Veronica had dinner together. They talked about their lives, but Mac wisely didn't talk about Logan or even Piz. Mac knew that it wasn't her business, and so she didn't pry. Veronica didn't know what Wallace would talk about during lunch because sometimes he could be a gossip.

Veronica closed her eyes as she chewed her food. "Hmmm… This… This I remember." She moaned while eating her food, which made Wallace cringe.

"Jesus, please don't do that. Everyone is looking!" Nobody was watching them, but Wallace made a face. Veronica laughed and drank her Pina Colada.

"I am enjoying life, Papa Bear. This is such a nice vacation. The sun is bright, the weather is sunny, the ocean…" She pointed at the sea outside the window. "I miss this."

"This is Neptune. There's nothing awesome about this city. Are you okay? Why are you so happy?"

"What – I can't be happy?"

"This is you we're talking about."

"I hate you sometimes."

"But seriously, folks…" Wallace looked at his best friend. "You seem giddy."

"Listen, Wallace." She put more food into her mouth. "I just spent a few hours of sight-seeing around town and taking pictures. It was…" She swallowed so she could speak better. "Amazing." Wallace waited for her to finish her talking. "It was a freeing experience, you have no idea. I usually spend hours in the studio, catering to a bunch of whiny supermodels and agents for glossy magazines, and then have meetings with those ungrateful agents for photo shoots." She shook her head. "Hey, I love my job. It's great. But you know… I need this."

"Okay." Wallace shrugged like he didn't care. "You need a break. I got ya'."

"So how's your job? I still can't believe that you're teaching at Neptune High. That place is a cesspool."

"It's okay, it's not so bad." He looked out the window and saw a girl puking over the railing into the ocean. He made a face, and then looked at Veronica who was practically glowing eating her lunch. "I mean the kids aren't so bad if you just connect with them."

It was Veronica's turn to make a face. "Who are you? I can't believe that you saying that Neptune High is 'okay'." She made quotation marks with her hands. "Remember what happened our senior year?"

"That was a long time ago." Wallace drank his orange juice. "Granted, it was unpleasant. But I've moved on from that, and…" He shrugged. "I am enjoying my time teaching."

Veronica slapped her hand on the table. "Okay, let's hear it." She looked at him. "Who is she?"

"I have no idea what are you talking about!"

"Wallace Fennel." She warned him.

"Veronica Mars." Wallace widened his eyes purposely.

"Come on!"

"Fine! There is… someone."

"Aha!"

"But that's just a bonus. I mean, I enjoy teaching, and-"

"So who is this woman? I sure hope she's not a student."

"Of course not, damn it!" Wallace exhaled exasperatedly. "Okay, I will tell you about her..." He pointed his forefinger at her. "…if you tell me whether you're gonna accept Piz's proposal or not."

Veronica threw her hands up in the air while rolling her eyes, "Aaah! You are so annoying!"

"It's a fair exchange, Mars."

Veronica stared hard at Wallace, and then she slowly drank her drink. She deliberately gulped her drink in front of him before answering, "Hmm… Delicious."

"Veronica."

"Wallace."

"Come on, girl. Look, do you love him?"

"Wallace, it's not your business."

"It's ironic that it's coming from your mouth."

Veronica growled. Wallace could be very annoying regarding this topic. Yes, Piz and Wallace were best friends and she dated Piz. But it wasn't his business to know whether she would accept his proposal or not. "I don't know. I really don't know. Please…"

Wallace looked at her, finally nodded in understanding. "Okay, sorry that I pushed you."

"Listen, Wallace… I love Piz, okay? But I'm not sure that I am ready for marriage. And everyone keeps pushing me to make a decision, which I am not cool with it."

"Sorry about that. It's not my intention to push you." Wallace squeezed her hand. "I care about you – both. I just want to see you two be happy."

She was happy. With everything; with her job, with her life, with her relationship… until the 'P' and the 'M' words were thrown into the hat.

"Thanks, Wallace. It means a lot. But seriously, enough about the whole thing… Let me make my own decision, alright?" Wallace raised his hands, giving up on the subject. For a while, they didn't say anything, as they were eating their food. Veronica looked out the window and saw people were walking and laughing without a care in the world. "I'm having a drink with Logan Echolls tonight."

If this was a sitcom, Wallace would have a spit take or something along that line. But it wasn't, so Wallace just stared at her. It wasn't a disbelief look or anything; it was something that Veronica couldn't translate.

"Okay…"

"I ran into him yesterday in the street, with his daughter."

Of course Wallace heard about Logan's daughter. It was all over the tabloids and news media. From what he read and heard, Logan had managed to get his life together for the sake of his daughter, but that didn't mean he was a changed person, right? There were so many 09ers with bad parents – case in point, his students in school. There were bad eggs in that school, even Wallace thought that Neptune was seriously cursed.

But Logan Echolls…

"So… you're having a drink with him." It wasn't a question. Wallace looked down at his plate, moving the food around with his fork.

"Yes. I thought I should tell you this because I trust you not to make a harsh judgment about it." Veronica looked at him. "You said that you have moved on from the past. Neptune High was hell, and yet you are a teacher there. Well, I'm trying to move on too. I thought it would be best to mend the broken friendship between me and Logan." Veronica looked down at his plate. "Logan and I were friends, Wallace. Before I met you… it was a complicated friendship and relationship, and I don't think I can explain it or try to make you understand, but I think this is my chance to move on…"

"By having a drink with him?"

"I gotta start somewhere." Veronica looked at him now. "We didn't part well, back at Hearst. And I know you are angry with him for punching Piz…" Wallace didn't answer. He looked away, staring at the ocean. "But if you can move on with Neptune High, I am sure I can move on with those bad experiences and mend our friendship."

Wallace was still staring at the ocean. She's right, he thought. "Just a drink, right?"

Veronica nodded.

Just a drink.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan didn't think it would be hard to call Dick and ask him to babysit Lorrie. Usually, he would pick up the phone and ask, and Dick would immediately answer yes. It was no brainer; Dick loves Lorrie, and he would be happy to babysit.

Not this time though, because he would find out that Logan planned to have a drink with Veronica – and that one was a sensitive subject.

He couldn't call Jade.

One: it was the last minute. Two: he didn't know how long he would be having a drink with Veronica. Three: Weevil might know.

Ugh, Weevs… he thought. He could imagine what he would say. Probably would bat his gorgeous eyelashes and then smirk knowing that Veronica was in Neptune. Weevil would then have an upper hand for their lifelong banter because Weevil was a jackass regarding this.

So the only option was…

He dialed a number and waited.

A girl picked up and immediately said, "I'm on a break!"

"I haven't said anything!"

"Logan, this is spring break. I need my booze and sex."

"I will pretend I didn't hear that, young lady."

"Young lady? Gosh, Dick is right. You're turning into a bore."

"Heather, I need you to babysit Lorrie just for tonight. I have a d – I have to meet someone for a drink."

"Someone?" There was a rustling sound. "Sounds suspicious."

"I ran into an old friend from high school and college, and we're planning to catch up because she's leaving in a week."

"She?!" There was a sound of clattering and Heather almost yelled, "Who is she?!"

"A friend." Logan looked upwards, exasperated. "Can you do it? Just for tonight. If you can't, I might have to cancel it with my friend."

"Oh gosh, don't cancel! You haven't had a date for a long time. Of course I will babysit tonight! Screw partying at a 09er mansion near the seaside. I will be at your house tonight. Just gimme details, Logan!"

"It's not a date."

"Right. And I am still a virgin."

"I don't want to hear that!"

"I'll see you tonight. I will bring my toothbrush." She squealed and then hung up before Logan could say anything. He sighed; at least the problem was solved. He didn't need to worry about Lorrie or anything. Heather was great with Lorrie, and they would have a great time while he had a drink with Veronica.

After Dick's annulment with Melinda Button, Logan kept in touch with her sister, Heather. The little girl who played video games with him every weekend was now a young adult and a really good friend of his. When Carrie died, Heather was the one who supported him during the bad times. He was so grateful for her.

Logan was sitting at the dining room table, writing his novel. He was really happy that he managed to write ten pages of the novel after lunch. Since yesterday, he totaled 110 pages. Not bad, not bad at all. He chalked it up to finally being able to sit down and write without interruption, but deep down inside, he wondered whether running into Veronica yesterday had anything to do with it.

He glanced at the living room and saw Lorrie was being very quiet as she was looking at something on her lap. She was looking at pictures inside a box. Next to her, there was an untouched sandwich. "Lorrie, have you eaten your lunch?"

"Yes, dad."

"Lorrie…"

Lorrie huffed, "Fine, not yet."

"Eat your lunch, Lorrie. You don't want to get a tummy ache."

"I'm still looking at pictures."

"What pictures?"

"Old pictures of you and the goddess!"

Logan frowned, not understanding what she's talking about. He walked to the living room and saw Lorrie was sitting on the couch with a shoebox full of pictures. He sat next to her and looked at them. He thought everything was burned when the set fire to his house back then, but then he remembered that Veronica gave a shoebox full of pictures when they were together in college.

There were no pictures of his family because it all burned, but thanks to tabloids and news media, he didn't need to worry. The tabloids have his baby pictures and younger pictures of his parents going back to the mid-80s. If he wanted to, he could just download them from the internet. But these pictures…

He remembered that Veronica showed up one day at the Penthouse where he lived back then, carrying a shoebox of pictures. She said that a boy still needs great memories of their childhood. Logan didn't have a good childhood, but his memory with Duncan, Lilly, and Veronica was not bad.

Logan quietly looked at the photos of Veronica.

"Wow, where did you get these?" He asked Lorrie.

"In the cabinet where Jade put all of your old things," Lorrie answered lightly. "Daddy, you look so skinny!"

Logan chuckled to see a photo of him when he was twelve. He was such a skinny boy, wearing oversized and colorful baggy clothes, and had his hair dyed. "I look like a boy band."

"And they look like princesses!" Lorrie showed him a picture of Lilly and Veronica. He smiled to see their photos. "Isn't that the lady we met yesterday?"

"Yes, that's Veronica Mars. We used to be friends… a long time ago."

"She's so pretty," Lorrie said, looking at her photo. "I love her hair."

Logan suddenly remembering he used to brush Veronica's hair with his fingers while they were in bed together, but he immediately shook that image away from his mind because that was a long time ago. "Yes, she's pretty." He murmured looking at the photos with his daughter.

Lorrie shook her head, "They didn't have computers back then? Why do you put your pictures in a shoebox?"

"We usually put them in a photo album."

"Photo… album?"

Logan chuckled and then said to her, "Wait here." Logan went to his room and took an album from under his bed. He returned to his daughter, carrying a big album. She widened her eyes looking at it. "Jade made this when she was with us. She printed the photos of you and then made a scrapbook."

"Scrapbook?"

"Yeah, like this." Logan put Lorrie on his lap and then opened the album. Lorrie was amazed to see all of the pictures of her when she was a baby and a toddler on this big album. She saw some of them, but most of them were on the computer. She then tried to magnify the photo by using her index finger and her thumb, which made him laugh.

"Why won't it get bigger?" Lorrie asked.

"No, pumpkin. This is not a tablet."

Lorrie shook her head again, probably thinking that it was weird. She looked at the album, flipped the pages, one by one, looking at the pictures of herself. "This is like a book of pictures!"

"Yes. You can put the photos here too if you want to."

"Really? How?" Lorrie asked.

Logan grabbed one of the photos of him and then opened a plastic cover on the album page. He pressed the photo on the page and then covered it again with the plastic cover. "See? The photo will stick." Lorrie thought it was cool, so she started to pick and choose some of the photos to be put on the album. Logan smiled at his daughter's enthusiasm. He sticks some of the photos in the album and then left the rest to her. There were dozens of photos; it would occupy her for a while. He grabbed from the drawer and gave it to Lorrie. "You can cut them up and then stick them in the album. Maybe add some glitters and flowers. Remember when I taught you how to use this? Please be careful."

"Okay, dad." Lorrie knew how to use child scissors. She then started expertly cutting the photos, and then carefully placing them in the album. She added some glitters and even colorful paper on it. This was a fun activity for her.

Logan took one of the pictures and put it in his pocket. When he returned to the dining room, he pulled it out and looked at it.

It was a photo of Veronica and him, together, when they were in college. He couldn't remember who took the picture, maybe Mac? Or Wallace? Either way, it was a picture of them at the beach, standing on a lifeguard tower. He was looking at her, his hand was stroking her hair, she had pigtails and was staring at him.

Was it love in her eyes?

Logan couldn't tell.

Veronica was so hard to read, but he'd like to believe that Veronica loved him back then, when they were together and young. Even with the problems they had, he believed that they belonged together and were in love with each other.

Or maybe it was just Logan who was in love with her.

That was his weakness; falling in love with women who were hard to love.

Lilly, Veronica, Carrie…

He sighed and put the photo in his wallet, and then went back to his novel.

LVLVLVLVLVLV

That afternoon there was a knock on the front door. Logan looked at his watch and then cracked his back. As he made his way to open the main door, he saw Lorrie was still playing with the photos. When he opened the door, Heather ducked under his arm and immediately prattled on, "Oh my god! Tell me everything!"

"Good afternoon to you, Heather."

"Who is the girl you're gonna have a date with?"

Logan exhaled and went back to the kitchen as Heather followed him, "It's not a date."

Lorrie heard Heather's voice and ran to welcome her. "Heather!"

"Hi, munchkin!" They hugged each other. "I'm gonna watch you tonight and spend the night."

"Can we have a pajama party?"

"Absolutely. We're gonna have some fun while your dad –"

"—is having a drink with a friend." Logan looked pointedly at Heather. "Don't worry, Lorrie. I'll be back soon."

"Who are you going out with?" Lorrie's eyes widened. "Is it with the goddess?"

Heather's mouth was open, while Logan just grimaced.

"What -?"

"You know what, I'm gonna go to the grocery for a while. Dick drank the last carton of milk, and we ran out… stuff." Logan grabbed his keys and went to the door. "I'll be back!" And he disappeared immediately, leaving Heather and Lorrie standing in the kitchen. Lorrie frowned, not understanding her father's behavior, while Heather was still flabbergasted.

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

After a somewhat eventful lunch with Wallace, Veronica went to the Mars Investigations. As predicted, her father wasn't at the office. Luckily she had keys. Veronica stood in her father's office and stared at the big desk in front of the window. She walked over and smoothed over the surface with her fingers before she sat at the desk. She propped her feet on the desk and put her hands behind her head.

Veronica closed her eyes.

She felt like she was home.

She didn't know why nor understood the reason she felt like she was at home, sitting in this old dingy office, hearing the sound of a train outside because the building was next to a railway, and someone was using the drilling machine somewhere. It reminded her of New York, but this was much better – because she was sitting in her father's office.

Sure, she had her own studio in New York. A really clean and sparkly studio – with stylists and supermodels who come and go every day… what more was she looking for?

She was not poor anymore. She made a name for herself as one of the best fashion and lifestyle photographers, especially in New York. Her works were splashed across magazine covers and she even made the cover of Vogue magazine as one of the most influential fashion people in New York. Who knew, Veronica Mars, an icon for fashion?

Piz's proposal seems to have yanked her from that perfect life. A wake-up call that she wasn't ready for a settled life, where everything was perfect; a perfect career, a perfect boyfriend, a perfect life in New York… Why would she throw that away?

And yet…

She was more comfortable sitting in this office than her own office back in New York. It was like… coming home.

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard her phone buzzing. She checked her messages and saw that her father wouldn't be able to have dinner with her because he was still with a client. Veronica exhaled loudly – this was the second night she couldn't spend with her father. It seems he was avoiding her as well; maybe because he didn't want to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Veronica scrolled down her contact list on her phone and bit her lip when she saw Logan's name and photo. His profile pic was still the one taken back when they were seventeen... that was a decade ago when he was in high school. Veronica didn't know why she kept his contact after all these years. The young Logan and the older Logan looked different… and yet still the same.

She inhaled and then dialed his number.

Logan picked up the phone immediately, "Hey – hello, hey."

Veronica blinked. She just realized that she called Logan. "Uh, hey. Are you busy?"

"Um, no actually… I'm doing my last-minute grocery shopping... we – uh, ran out of milk."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. My kid needs… milk." He cleared his throat. "So what's up?"

"I was wondering whether you want to have dinner instead?" Veronica shut her eyes and grimaced. There was no reply from the other end of the line, she thought he hung up. "Logan?"

"Dinner sounds fine."

"G-great! My dad bailed on me, again. So I thought we could have dinner. Do you know a place near my dad's office? I'm here right now, and I don't feel like going home first."

"I can pick you up if you want to, and then we can go to Mario's."

"Mario's?"

"It's an Italian restaurant."

"How original."

Logan chuckled, "Yeah. It's a rival for Luigi's. Pretty good food, good wine, nice ambiance…" He paused. "So… should I pick you up or…?"

"Pick me up at 6:30. I'm still cleaning up here, and I don't think I have time to go back and forth to my home and the restaurant." She smiled. "Thanks, Logan."

"No problem. See you later."

They hung up, and Veronica exhaled loudly.

Logan: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Logan pressed his forehead to the wall at the supermarket, drawing some attention from some confused shoppers. He hit his forehead a few times and then cursed quietly. He thought he could be cool when Veronica called him, very close to the time they were going out for a drink. For a brief moment, he thought Veronica called to cancel. It wasn't the first time she canceled on a…

Logan paused. This was not a date. This was supposed to be a meet between friends. Veronica was his friend for a long time. So yeah, they dated in high school and college, and there was a time he was in love with her…

BUT THIS WAS NOT A DATE.

This was supposed to be an innocent dinner between friends. Like he always did with Dick, or with Heather, or with…

Okay, so he didn't have many female friends or single female friends. Most of the time, he would have coffee with his daughter's friends' mothers. They would talk about their kids' schedules and sleepovers. Sometimes they would bring their husbands, and they would talk about parenting stuff. But single female friends?

Back home, he immediately walked into the kitchen, put the milk in the fridge. Avoiding Heather, who wanted to talk to him, he ran to his and turned some music on before falling back on the bed and cursing into a pillow.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Logan sighed and turned off the music – he suddenly felt tired. He opened the door and saw Lorrie, already in her pajama, and bears slippers. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Of course, baby girl. Are you going to bed?" Logan asked while picking her up. "It's only 6 PM."

"Not yet. We're having a pajama party and Heather is making banana splits."

"No ice cream before dinner." He carried Lorrie to the kitchen where Heather was scooping some ice cream. "Heather, come on. Order some food or something, but don't eat dessert for dinner." He deposited Lorrie on the kitchen stool. "By the way, I'm going out for dinner."

Heather frowned, "You're leaving now? I thought you're just gonna have a drink?"

"Change of plan" He muttered while setting the table. "I'm having dinner with my friend…" He glanced at Heather who looked at him suspiciously.

"Okay…" Heather didn't push, but instead, she smiled at Lorrie who had her arms pillowing her head on the table. "So I guess it's just you and me, huh Lorrie? We can order squid donuts!"

"Yaaay!" Lorrie clapped her hands. "I love Takoyaki."

"Too bad daddy can't eat those. Have fun." Logan kissed Lorrie's head. "So I guess I have to change now and get ready to leave." He said to Heather and then went back to his room. He needed to mentally prepare himself to pick up Veronica.

Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

Veronica was reading Piz's texts over the year. They were downright cute and corny sometimes. But she loved and cherished it, she even saved the texts. There was one when he was asking her out, but he texted something funny first. They hit it off, and she thought that it was sort of redemption from their previous relationship. When they were in college, their relationship didn't work – she carried too much baggage and she was really angry at the world, but at the same time, she wanted a normal relationship.

It didn't work because Neptune was poison and she wanted to get away from all of that. In New York, however, Piz and Veronica worked so well. She genuinely felt that they were given another chance to have a relationship. She was a photographer, and he was a radio personality. They went to dinners and watched Broadway shows. They had fun and normalcy.

But… marriage?

She shook her head and went to the bathroom. She didn't have time to change clothes but she had time to clean herself up a bit. After she washed her face and brushed her teeth, she looked at her hair. It was straight and it was in a ponytail. She had been having this hairstyle for almost five years now – she thought she looked professional and people would take her seriously.

Maybe tonight she could distract herself from everything and have a nice dinner with Logan.

After all, they were friends – at least trying to be friends again. A decade ago, that friendship was ruined and she felt like her soul was missing. After Lilly's death, Duncan's left, and then Logan's drama, she thought that maybe she needed to start fresh again with him. They've been friends since they were twelve, maybe it was time to fix things.

Piz wouldn't mind.

They weren't teens anymore. They were adults who should understand the friendship they had and damn it to hell if she was going to throw a friendship away just to please everyone around her.

She pulled her scrunchie out and let her hair fall to her shoulder. She fixed her hair, running her fingers through it to soften the waves. She then applied some light makeup to freshen up. As she put her lip-gloss on, her phone beeped. There was a text from Logan letting her know he was downstairs waiting and if she would like him to come up. She texted back and let him know that she would be down in a minute. She looked at her image in the mirror and exhaled loudly.

As she locked the office up and descended the stairs, she could help but notice the butterflies filling her stomach. This was her chance to mend her friendship with Logan, and there was no other reason. That thought scares her a bit.

Veronica emerged from the building and looked up. The sun had just started to set and it left the sky a beautiful orange color. She then saw Logan, standing in the door of his BMW, waiting for her. His hands were in his pockets and he was leaning back against the car, in his usual casual way. He was wearing a green Henley shirt and dark jeans, and for a moment she thought that he looked very handsome. She made a little gasp, but Logan didn't notice. He was smiling at her, and she remembered his smile back when they were younger. It was still the same smile. Flashbacks of him smiling at her went across her mind for a split second, and it was like watching a series of reels at a lightning speed. Veronica felt like her chest was about to burst open.

"Hey." He greeted her.

It had only been a few hours since she last heard his voice, but it felt like years.

She smiled widely and greeted back, "Hey."

Chapter Text

Logan and Veronica: Neptune, Balboa County 2016

The ride to the restaurant was short and quiet. Aside from some pleasantries and glances - there was nothing much and it was awkward. Both Logan and Veronica were glad that the ride didn’t take long.

Logan took her to an Italian restaurant called Mario’s; the place was very Italian, with its traditional music and décor. “Wow, I feel like we’re in Napoli. This is awesome.” Veronica commented.

“Right? They opened about two years ago, and they have good food here.” Logan pulled out a chair for her and she murmured thanks. “Lorrie loves it here ‘cause of the desserts.”

“Let me be the judge of that. I don’t think the food could beat Luigi’s or Mama Leone’s.”

“Shhh, not so loud. Everyone here is so sensitive about those restaurants. Don’t mention those names. I don’t want to get poisoned.” Logan chuckled.

“Well, I am hungry. My dad and I were supposed to have dinner together, but he bailed. Stupid case.”

“Hey! Watch the language, young lady.” Logan sat and pointed his forefinger at her. She widened her eyes and opened her mouth in disbelief. He then laughed when he saw her expression. “As a fellow dad, I gotta side with yours. We dads have to stick together.”

Veronica made a funny face, which made him chuckled. At least it wasn’t awkward anymore. The waiter brought them some menus and a basket of breadsticks – Veronica immediately grabbed one. “Sorry, I am so hungry.” She chewed fast, trying not to be nervous. “I've been thinking about dinner all afternoon.”

“Then you will like the food here.” Logan nodded to the waiter. “Give us some time, please.”

When the waiter left them alone, Veronica looked around the restaurant and saw many couples having dinner. There was a couple who were holding hands on the table and they were staring at each other, lovingly. She cleared her throat and looked away. She glanced at Logan who didn't seem to notice his surroundings as he was reading the menu.

“So… what’s good here?” Veronica asked.

“Well, my kid loves Scampi ala Toscana. Obviously, I don’t know whether it’s good or not because –“

“You’re allergic to shellfish.”

Logan looked up from the menu and blinked, “I can’t believe you remember.”

“Of course I remember. How could I forget? When you were thirteen, you almost died from eating some shrimps. Your face was red, you were holding your neck, you couldn’t breathe, I was crying like a toddler, Duncan was panicking, and Lilly was running around screaming.”

“Oh yeah, that.” Logan grimaced.

“If dad wasn’t there to save your butt, we wouldn’t be here, having dinner.” Veronica shook her head. “I thought I was gonna lose you. I mean, WE all thought that we were gonna lose you…” She cleared her throat. Logan smiled watching her looking worried.

“I remember you were crying so loud, right next to me, when they put me in the ambulance."

“I thought you were gonna die!”

Logan waved his hands, mimicking Veronica back then, “Don’t die, Logan! Logan, why! Whyyyy…!” Veronica threw her napkin at him while he was laughing. “I almost went deaf because of your screaming.”

“I was worried!”

“Well, thank you for worrying. I still remember that huge flower arrangement and Gameboy you got me." His eyes were soft when he looked at her. “Your mom and dad were so nice when they visited me. I will cherish that memory forever.”

“You are so lame.” Veronica’s cheeks were red. Logan smiled wider when he saw her getting embarrassed and decided not to tease her about it. He thought she looked so cute, but he shook those thoughts away. He wasn't a love-struck teenage boy or in high school anymore. He had a daughter, for heaven’s sake.

The rest of the night went well after they ordered their food. They were talking easily and reminiscing about their childhood – but they were avoiding topics such as their times together in high school and college. Veronica also ordered a glass of wine.

“I haven’t had a drink for a while… I mean, with a kid at home…” Logan said when Veronica asked why he didn’t order an alcoholic beverage. “Besides, I’m driving. I know we were supposed to have a drink tonight, but I would’ve had a club soda anyway.”

“I understand.” Veronica nodded while chewing. “By the way, this is fantastic.” She points to her plate. She ordered a Pappardelle with beef and mushrooms, and she couldn’t get enough of it. “I can eat a dozen of these.”

Logan grinned watching her eat. “Yeah, I'm sure you could.”

“Shut up.” She twirled the pasta with a fork and then put a big bite into her mouth. She moaned with pleasure, which made him almost choke on his drink. “Oops, I am so sorry.” Veronica covered her mouth while chewing. “I gotta stop doing that. Wallace almost bites my head off whenever I’m doing that. I can’t help it, I’m on vacation and this is such good pasta.”

“That’s fine…” He muttered but grinned anyway. “Nothing can come between you and your food.”

“You better believe it.” She was talking while chewing, and Logan found himself smiling watching her. This was a blast from the past; she hadn’t changed at all – at least regarding food. He remembered how much Veronica loves food and everyone used to make fun of her for eating like a boy, but she didn’t care. And that was one of the reasons why he loved her…

Logan blinked at that thought.

He shouldn’t be thinking about that. She was just a friend who was visiting her hometown for a vacation.

He cleared his throat, “So… how’s your dad? He seems so busy.”

Veronica nodded, annoyed. “Yes. So many cases and he has no one to help him. I mean, I went to his office and he doesn’t even have a good filing system. I had to clean up his office while I was there.” She sighed. “I need to hire an assistant or something for him, but he would refuse.”

“Why would he refuse?”

“Because he’s a stubborn goat, that’s why.” Veronica grimaced. “He’s old school. He doesn’t use computers or the internet.” She looked at him. “Kinda like you, though.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway, it’s obvious he’s been avoiding me.”

Logan frowned, “Why is he avoiding you?”

Veronica didn’t answer. She didn't want to tell Logan that her dad was avoiding her because of Piz and getting into the fact that she was dating and living with Piz. Did he even remember Piz? Did he remember that he beat the hell out of Piz in college? It wasn't his business anyway and she didn't want to ruin the night...

“Umm… I rather not talk about it.”

“Oh, sorry.” Logan apologized. He thought that something was happening back in New York, and it might be a touchy subject. One thing he knew about Veronica, she always runs whenever something bad happens. Her sudden arrival in Neptune was possibly due to what happened to her. He hopes it wasn’t something serious.

“No, it’s okay,” Veronica assured him. “I think… it’s just… He does not like the idea of me coming back to Neptune when I have a great career in New York.”

“Are…are you… coming back to Neptune?” Logan moved his food mindlessly with his fork. He didn’t dare look at her.

“Of course not. I can’t just leave my home.” Veronica exhaled. “Dad is being irrational, I think. I’m just taking a break from work and stuff. And I missed him so much.”

Logan nodded. Of course, he knew that Veronica would only stay in Neptune for a few days. He was a little disappointed but not surprised about it. “Have you talked about this with your dad?”

Veronica almost rolled her eyes with the idea. “I’ve been here for two days and I've hardly seen him.” She took a large bite of her pasta and said with a mouthful. "That or" munch "the mayor" munch "is keeping" munch "him busy."

“The mayor? Mayor Petra Landros?”

She nodded. “Saw her at the office. She has a case for him. I think he has a crush on her.”

Logan grinned, “I think everyone has a crush on her.”

“Remember back when you used to have a poster of her?”

“Yes.” He laughed. “Lilly had a poster of her too.”

“What? No, she didn’t!”

“She did. But then she gave it to Donut.” He shrugged, “She decided that she liked male models but female singers instead.”

“Oh, wow.” Veronica laughed.

“My daughter is also the same. She likes girls more than boys when it comes to music. Every morning, she does this thing where she wakes up early, turns on music as loud as it will go and dances around the living room." Both of them grinned. “This morning she woke me up with Beyonce.”

“Nothing’s wrong with Beyonce.”

“Well, sure. But it was 6 AM.” He grimaced while she chuckled.

Veronica smiled warmly at him. “Tell me about your daughter.”

Logan’s eyes lit up and he smiled widely at her. “She’s a pain in the butt.”

She laughed hearing Logan said that. “That’s not nice.”

“Awh, I’m just kidding. She’s the best. I mean…” He exhaled. “I couldn’t ask for a better daughter.” He shrugged. “Lorrie likes to dance, that’s for sure. She also likes to sing. You should hear her singing – she sings like an angel. I think she got it from Carrie.” For a moment, he turned quiet. He seemed emotional talking about Lorrie and Carrie.

“Oh, Logan…” Veronica reached for his hand.

“Sorry about that.” He cleared his throat and looked at their intertwined hands. He gave her hand a bit of squeeze. “It’s just… it’s been a tough week. With the anniversary of Carrie's death coming up and Lorrie has been really strong.”

“Logan… I am sorry about Carrie.” Veronica said. “I… remember her from high school.” She was still holding his hand on the table. “I can’t imagine what you both have been through.”

“Well, Lorrie is still a kid. She never knew Carrie, but she watches TV and listens to the radio. She can read, and she sees her mom’s face being splattered across the tabloids.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks. I mean, I try to make her life as normal as possible. I make sure she eats healthy, brush her teeth, goes to school, tuck her, and read a story before going to bed…” He paused. “I even let her watch cartoons on a school night!”

Veronica rubbed his hand slowly. “You’re a good dad, Logan.”

“Well… I can't do it without help. I mean, Jade helps me…”

She lets go of Logan’s hand, causing him to frown. “Jade?”

“Jade Navarro. Weevil’s wife.”

“WEEVIL HAS A WIFE?!” Veronica exclaimed.

Logan stuck a finger inside his ear and tried to shake it. “Wow. So deafening.” Veronica covered her mouth with her hands and looked around, realizing how loud she was. Many patrons were looking at her before returning to their meals.

“Sorry!” She stage-whispered. “I didn’t know he had a wife.”

“He’s married and has a kid.” Logan still had his finger stuck in his ear. "So I guess I'm half deaf now."

Veronica hit Logan’s arm hard which made him yelp in mock pain. “Hold on just a sec! Weevil is married! You and Weevil are friends now?!”

Logan grinned. “Do you want to see pictures of us?” He asked as he started to scoot over next to her, which made her blink rapidly when she realized that he was in very close proximity. Their shoulders touched as he was showing some pictures from his phone. “Weevil – he goes by Eli now – usually refuse to eat with us. But occasionally he would come for BBQ, so…”

Logan showed pictures of him, his daughter, and Weevil’s family; One of Weevil with a beautiful woman next to him. There was one with Weevil holding a baby next to Logan holding Lorrie, and they were pouting together. There were many pictures of his daughter smiling and laughing.

And then there was a picture of Logan and Weevil standing together very close; Logan was making a goofy face and Weevil was looking stern while rolling his eyes. They were both wearing BBQ aprons.

Veronica covered her mouth while trying to suppress her laughter.

Logan could feel her shoulders shaking as he showed her the pictures. “Huh, huh? What do you think? We look good, right?”

Veronica laughed, “Oh my god! You both look so dorky.”

“Hey!”

“So how did this come about?” Veronica grabbed his phone to take a better look at the pictures. Logan put his arm behind her chair and used his other hand to swipe the pictures.

“After Carrie died, I had trouble raising Lorrie alone. I'd never raised a kid before, and Carrie’s family was like ‘whatever’. Dick helped me a lot –“ Veronica pursed her lips hearing Dick’s name, but he continued. “Imagine two guys, a baby, and a pizza place. You can pitch a sitcom for that.” Logan showed her a picture of Dick and himself with Lorrie. Dick was holding a diaper bag and a baby seat, while Logan was holding baby Lorrie.

There was a picture of Logan kissing baby Lorrie as she laughed, and it made Veronica’s heart melt. “Oh, Logan. Look at you!”

“And then Jade came into our lives, and she's been a Godsend. She helped around my house while I tried to balance becoming a writer with being a single dad. This privileged white dude managed to get his life together. No more parties. I've got responsibilities..."

“Welcome to adulthood,” Veronica commented. She looked at Logan next to him who was looking at the phone. She looked at him in a different light.

“So I had a car problem, and Jade recommended me to go to this garage. I didn’t know it belonged to Weevil. You can imagine the sparks between us when we met again after all these years.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Exactly. But Jade was there to save the day. And for some reason, they fell in love. Like, ugh.” Logan made a face. “I thought at least she’d be attracted to me or something, but no. She liked Weevil better.”

“You had a crush on her?”

“Not really. But my ego was hurt.” Veronica slapped his shoulder playfully. “I mean, have you seen me?” He pointed o his face. “I’m hotter than Weevil.”

“I dunno… I mean, Weevil has magnificent eyelashes.”

“Yeah, I can’t compete with that.”

They both chuckled. Veronica tucked a stray hair behind her ear while looking at Logan; he looked great: he had a lean body and hardly any body fat whatsoever; his face was longer than she remembered, and the chubby cheeks were long gone. He was ripped especially wearing that tight Henley, and she didn’t know how but he aged well.

Logan caught her staring at him, and it made her blush, so she immediately turned her attention to the phone again. “They got married, huh?”

“Dick and I were the only white dudes at the wedding," Logan said as he showed her picture from the wedding. Logan mostly just sitting down, holding Lorrie, while Dick was dancing wildly with some of Jade’s bridesmaids.

Veronica snorted at seeing the pictures of Dick. He hadn’t changed. She then saw a picture of Logan dancing with a toddler Lorrie – she was standing on his feet while Logan was holding her hands. “Logan… look at you and your daughter.”

“I have a wedding video of us dancing back home…” Logan looked at her. “You can come over sometimes if you want to see it.”

Veronica looked at him pondering that thought. “Yeah… I’d like that.”

“Lorrie seems to think that you’re some sort of a cool Roman god or something.” He looked at her with his liquid brown eyes. “You know, with the Mars name thing.”

“My family name is awesome.” Veronica smiled at him. “And I think your kid is cool too.”

“Obviously. Have you seen her dad?” Logan waved at nobody in particular, like some sort of a king. “I heard her dad is – ouch! I heard her dad is a fantastic specimen.” He rubbed his arm when Veronica hit him again. “You’re so punchy.”

“I still have my jet lag.” She deadpanned, “Or I’m just happy to see you.” Logan grinned.

Veronica was showing pictures from her camera to Logan. She was telling him how her day went; taking pictures of spring breakers and the scenery in Neptune. By the time she finished, it was time for dessert. When the waitress put a plate of Tiramisu in front of Veronica, she clapped her hands excitedly. “Look at that! So pretty!”

Logan, who was eating Panacotta, nodded. “Wait until you taste it.”

Logan watched Veronica put a spoonful of cake into her mouth, she closed her eyes and moaned. He shook his head, tried not to get emotional watching her. She always behaved like this when they were in college – she never realized whenever she ate food, she enjoyed it. He loved watching her eat because she usually really happy while she ate. She looked at him, smiling, and his heartbeat sped up.

This was only a meet up between friends.

They have different lives now. He had a child, and she had a wonderful career in a different city.

But looking at her right now reminded him of what they had together. Veronica was the love of his life back then, and then she was gone… They were so young, they didn’t know any better. She wanted more in a relationship, probably a stable relationship, especially in this godforsaken town. She was also very judgmental with everything, bossy, and generally was angry. Not to mention reckless with her sleuthing. Accusing people left and right without any evidence, generally pissing people off, and after her father lost the sheriff election, she just… left.

He wasn’t perfect either; with his temper and alcoholism, and general screwing up. He was reckless and had anger management issues. And what a temper he had; the last time he saw Veronica was when he beat the crap out of Gory Sorokin and Piz because of the sex tape. The last look she’d given him was his last hope that someday they would be together in the future. But no, she left Neptune without saying goodbye, and Logan had to face the fact that his childhood past and the love of his life were gone.

He thought how much he couldn’t escape his parents and how they were... it was in his genes.... that was why he worked so hard to change for the better after Lorrie was born and Carrie died. He didn’t want Lorrie to be raised in an environment like the Echolls household. He didn’t know how life would be if Carrie had been alive, would she neglect her daughter? But he knew she wouldn’t do that – Carrie loved Lorrie, even when she didn’t want her at first.

There was no use thinking of what might have been.

Lorrie was a gift.

It was his destiny to be a father to Lorrie. Maybe it was meant to be; losing Veronica and Carrie in the past. But right now, Veronica was back…

Their relationship was never easy. Both of them were stubborn and angry all the time. But this… right now… This easy-going night they were having… He’d settle for friendship and having an old friend back first.

Veronica insisted that she pay for dinner because she was the one who asked, ignoring Logan’s protest. “Besides, I’m rich now.” She winked.

“Darn it. I gotta keep up with the rich people game.” Logan snapped his fingers.

“Next time, you pay for dinner,” Veronica said while paying for the bill.

Shocked, Logan didn't respond.

Next time?

“How about dinner at my place instead?” Logan offered. Veronica paused as she put her credit card inside her wallet and blinked. “I mean before you go back to New York. I do make a mean lasagna.” He hurriedly said.

Veronica realized after a decade without seeing each other, their interaction was pretty unusual, although they did have some laughs and maybe a flirty vibe during dinner. Was Logan asking her for a dinner, this time officially, or just another dinner between friends? After all, they were trying to reconnect again.

“You can cook?” Veronica raised an eyebrow. Her tone was teasing, as she was trying to defuse the awkward situation. “Is this your way of telling me that you don’t want to take me to a fancy restaurant?”

“Of course I can cook! I have to feed my kid every day.” Veronica gave him a look, and Logan just sighed. “Fine, sometimes I do order pizza.”

“Aha!”

“Don’t a-ha, me. You have to know, I’m an awesome dad. I sometimes let her eat dessert before a meal.”

“Charming.”

They were walking out of the restaurant and felt a breeze from the night wind. He put his hands in his jeans pockets and felt like a teenager again after taking his girlfriend on a date.

BUT THIS WAS NOT A DATE, Logan screamed inside his head.

“So… what do you say? If you don’t believe in my cooking ability, I can order some food.” He opened the car door for her. “Or… yeah, sure we can go to some fancy restaurant.”

Veronica smiled and stood to face him. “Logan, I’m just yanking your chain. Of course, I would love to have dinner at your place.”

She didn’t wait for his response as she climbed inside his car. Logan closed the door and walked around to the driver's side, smiling. Veronica was smiling too, although discreetly. She pursed her lips to hide her smile and schooled her face into a neutral look when Logan climbed inside.

Both Logan and Veronica fell into a comfortable silence in the car. With the top of the car off, they enjoyed the wind while driving. They listened to the music from the radio and Veronica hummed the song while she rested her arm on the window, watching the world go by. The music from the radio was ‘Chicago’ by Sufjan Stevens, and Logan felt so nostalgic all of a sudden. He remembered that he and Veronica used to cruise around in his car, going to the beach, watching the sunset, or surfing. Well, he surfed and Veronica waited by the picnic blanket near the car.

It was the best time of their lives…

Logan glanced at Veronica next to him. She seemed to be daydreaming and looked beautiful after all these years. It made his heart ache…

When they arrived at her father’s house, Logan turned off the car engine. For a minute, they didn’t say anything. Veronica pursed her lips together, noticing how warm the temperature was. Finally, she said softly, “Thanks for dinner.”

Logan chuckled, “I think I should be the one who says thanks.” He looked at her. “Come on; let me walk you to the door like a gentleman.”

Both knew it wasn’t a date, but they were chuckling together, feeling like it was more than a night out. They walked together and climbed the steps before stopping at the front door. They stood there staring at each other for a moment until Veronica broke the silence, “I had fun tonight.” She patted her stomach. “Dinner was delicious.” She looked up at him. “Good company."

“Likewise.” Logan grinned. He looked down at the floor and put his hands inside his pockets. Holy crap, he was so nervous right now. What should he do now? Instead, he said quietly. “I had a good time as well, Veronica. It’s nice to hang out with you again.”

Suddenly Veronica remembered that they departed in a bad way a decade ago. It seemed like yesterday, but at the same time, it felt like ages ago...

“Logan, listen… about nine years ago… we didn’t…” Veronica exhaled. “I mean I am sorry that we didn’t keep in touch for so long…”

“Bygones, Veronica.” Logan smiled. “Look, I know I was an ass back then. I wouldn't have wanted to hang around myself either."

“I wasn’t a rainbow either…”

“You were always a marshmallow.”

“I know I’ve said it before, but I am sorry about Carrie.”

“Thanks…” Logan looked at her. Suddenly he felt emotional. “We were in love, I was, but her crappy friends were always around, her self-loathing, and then Lorrie… It was too much for her. We weren’t a couple after Lorrie was born, I was more of a sponsor… trying to keep her on track and taking care of our baby.” He chuckled darkly. “Who knew that I could be a stabilizing influence?” He looked away, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in front of his ex-girlfriend, talking about another one of his dead ex-girlfriends. “This coming Sunday will be tough it being the anniversary."

“You’re going to get through this…” Veronica said quietly.

“I’m not worried about me. Not anymore… I am worried about Lorrie. I don’t want her to have my crappy life. It’s tough enough to grow up without a mother. She’s so young, Veronica…”

Veronica reached for his hand and held it firmly. “Logan. You’re doing the best you can. And from what I saw, Lorrie is lucky to have you as a dad.”

“You haven’t seen anything.”

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to have dinner at your place. You’re cooking, right?”

Logan smiled and looked down at their hands. He rubbed her hand with his thumb slowly. “Thanks, Veronica. I am really happy that you are here…”

“I’m your friend, Logan. At least I’d like to think that…”

“You are.” Logan nodded. He croaked a little, “Thank you.” Both of them didn’t say anything again for a while until he said quietly. “So… dinner tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Lorrie will be happy to hear you are coming over for dinner.”

“I really can’t wait.”

Lost in thought, they stood to stare at each other. The nostalgia and the memories rushing back, like a projector showing the slides of their lives and it made them feel something they hadn't in a long time. It felt like they were under a spell, and neither of them wanted it to end.

But it had to; Logan cleared his throat and broke the spell, “So… I have to get going. Lorrie is waiting at home.”

“Of course, Logan… Thank you again for the night.”

“Say hi to your dad, okay?” He kissed Veronica on the forehead, which made her heart beat faster. Logan was the only person, besides her father, to kiss her on the forehead like that to show affection. It almost made her cry because of that, because they hadn’t seen each other for nine years and now they were on her porch, and it seemed like no time had passed at all.

The kiss lingered a little bit, and then Logan stepped back.

Veronica’s voice was quiet. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Logan nodded and headed to his car as she watched him, feeling bereft all of a sudden.