Twist of Fate

It hadn't been easy to convince Meg that she should take the limo ride with the other oh-nine-er students, but Veronica Mars had succeeded. She didn't want to get on the bus to go back to Neptune---it smelled like something nasty died under a seat---but she had absolved a small amount of her guilt and the cost for that was going to have to be a bus ride home.

She secretly hoped that if Meg and Duncan could patch things over, then she might have a chance to patch things over with Meg as well.

When the bus pulled into the gas station's parking lot, the first thought that popped into Veronica's mind was she could get off the bus and get some fresh air.

Her journalism teacher, Ms. Dumass, had told them that they only had five minutes---but five minutes of fresh air was better than nothing. She hopped off the bus, darted into the store to buy water, and then thought she'd stand outside and enjoy the few remaining minutes off of the bus while listening to some music or talking to Wallace on her phone.

She hadn't expected to see Lilly, wearing her pep squad uniform, darting around the convenience store's corner.

"Come on, dorkus!" she hissed.

Veronica blinked. "Lilly?" she breathed.

She ran around the corner, coming face to face with Eli "Weevil" Navarro, who seemed to be fixing his bike.

She stiffened. Normally, they would have traded sexually-charged barbs and then shared a relatively relaxed conversation. But, after that summer, nothing was normal anymore. Weevil had been ignoring her all summer---and the few encounters she had had with his friends hadn't been too pleasant.

"What are you doing here, huh?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be running for Homecoming Queen or something?"

"I'm safe standing here, right?" she shot back. "I mean, you're not going to shoot me are you?"

He snorted. "So, did you like your taste? Your little year of living dangerously? Did you get your fill? As soon as they'll have you back, you go running to the oh-nine-ers. And as a little bonus, you give it up to the richest boys in school. Wow." He sneered at her. "Well, I'm sure their sheets are clean."

Veronica wanted to lash out. She wanted to yell at him, kick him, try to shake him---but she didn't.

"You don't know anything about me," she responded as calmly as she could, "and you don't know anything about them."

Her words only seemed to anger Weevil more. "Yeah, I do," he told her, "I know that Logan killed Felix. And he got away with it because he's rich and he's white."

"Six guys jumped Logan!" Veronica protested. "They broke his ribs. They gave him a concussion. Yet, somehow he managed to wrestle away one of their knives and stab Felix? You didn't see it," she pointed out, "you were out cold."

"So... I guess... Felix stabbed himself," Weevil said, a sarcastic tone of voice.

Veronica shrugged. "Well, somebody stabbed him."

"My boys?" Weevil asked, an incredulous tone in his voice. "Nothing goes down in the club without my say-so."

"So, I guess you know about the shotgun blast that almost killed Logan and me? Bikers ride up, blow a hole through Logan's car."

When he didn't answer, she wasn't sure how to interpret the silence. He either knew about it and didn't want to incriminate himself, or didn't know about it and wasn't sure what to say.

"You sure you're still in charge?" Veronica demanded.

He opened his mouth to say something in reply, but a sharp call from behind them interrupted him.

"Veronica!" Ms. Dumass called out.

Veronica turned and looked at her teacher. "I'm coming!" she called back. She turned to look at Weevil, but he waved her off and grabbed his helmet, intending to get onto his motorcycle to drive away; she sighed and rushed back to the bus.

Once she was back in her seat---after a few stern words about tardiness from her teacher---she closed her eyes and tried to block out Weevil's angry, hurtful glare. His dark eyes haunted her; he looked at her like everyone else did, a year ago, with all the disgust and disappointment he could muster. She didn't like seeing that look directed at her, from him.

When she was jarred out of her seat by an explosion, it took her a second to figure out what was going on. The bus flew out off of the cliff and everyone started screaming.

She spent the next second praying, even though she wasn't overly religious. She prayed because she didn't want to leave her dad alone and because she wanted to fix things with her friends; and when the bus hit the ocean, she hit her head and everything went dark.

&&&&

After getting the go-ahead from the doctor, Keith Mars, and Alicia and Wallace Fennel went into Veronica's room and sat down in the chairs around her bed.

No one said anything right away. Alicia held Keith's hand and kissed his shoulder from time to time. Wallace sat, stunned by the sight of his best friend lying motionless in a bed.

She had been the only survivor from the bus crash. But, Wallace wasn't sure that being in a coma constituted surviving. She was connected to wires and sensors; machines beeped, drugs and fluids dripped into her system, and only her eyelids twitched occasionally.

The coma wasn't the only effect of the crash, visible to her guests. Her left wrist was in a splint, her leg leg was in a cast; if one lifted her hospital gown, they'd see a surgical dressing covering the incision where the doctors had to insert a pin into her broken hip.

Wallace had been surprised that Duncan hadn't shown up yet. The way he had seen Duncan and Veronica act together had led him to believe that Duncan would be the first guy to the hospital; but, so far, it was just the three of them that were sitting vigil for the young, persnickety blonde.

After an hour, Logan stopped by and brought flowers for Veronica. Keith and Alicia left when Logan arrived, giving him and Wallace a few minutes alone while getting themselves some coffee.

Logan's quiet words were kinder than they had been (towards Veronica) in a few weeks; he told her that he was sorry for being so hostile and that he really wanted her to open her eyes and lecture him on being a jackass. He promised he'd take Back-up for a walk or two on the beach, for her, and then he kissed her pale cheek before saluting Wallace and leaving the room.

He didn't want to be alone with Veronica. Every time he tried to open his mouth, a lump formed in his stomach and it wormed its way up into his throat. It even hurt to look at her; he couldn't process the situation, the fact that his best friend and one of the most alive people he had ever met was lying motionless.

When he heard the knock on the door frame, he turned and was stunned.

"I... I was wondering if I could see V," Weevil said quietly, looking down at his shoes for a brief second before meeting Wallace's eyes again.

He had a flowering plant in his hands. Wallace was impressed by that; he knew that all women liked fresh, cut flowers, but he thought that a gift that would last more than a few days was very considerate. She would probably be out for more than a few days, and as long as someone remembered to water the plant, she'd be able to appreciate it when she woke up.

Wallace didn't know Weevil very well---and he didn't think he ever would---but he knew that Veronica trusted him once. That was enough for him.

"Sure," Wallace said, nodding. "C'mon in."

After a couple of minutes, Wallace figured that the other guy would probably like some privacy; he looked like he had something on his mind.

He rose to his feet and cleared his throat. "Uh... I'm gonna go get a soda. You want anything?" he asked.

Weevil shook his head. "Nah... thanks, man."

"Okay," Wallace said before ducking out of the room.

He went as far as the soda machine at the end of the corridor, retrieved a can, and then he made his way back to Veronica's room. He didn't go in right away, though; instead, he leaned against the wall out in the hall. He tried not to listen to Weevil's conversation, but he couldn't help it; Veronica had awakened his curious side, and he found it hard to turn off that part of his mind.

"V, I'm really sorry about... about what I said to you earlier," Weevil told the comatose girl. "It wasn't fair. And you know the only reason I'm admitting this now is because there are no witnesses." He paused and sighed. "If I had known... what was gonna happen, I never woulda said---"

He stopped short and cleared his throat. "Listen to me, V: you better wake up soon," he said in a very firm tone of voice.

Wallace heard the chair scrape against the floor, so he quickly backed up. Weevil came out of the room and looked at him; he nodded and Wallace nodded back.

He went back into Veronica's room and took his position on her right side.

"Veronica, if your father could see the gentlemen callers you've got coming to see you..." Wallace teased, as if she could hear him and answer back.

&&&&

"Dad?" Veronica asked, as she sat up on the sofa and looked around their apartment. Back-up complained with a groan, but he moved and found another comfortable position at her side. "Dad?"

Her father came down the hall, tying his tie. "Sweetheart," he said with a smile. "How're you doing?"

"I'm cold and tired... and so sore," she admitted, while stifling a yawn. "What happened to me?"

Keith smiled and walked over to her. He picked a blanket up off of the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her. "How's that? I hope you feel a bit warmer now," he said affectionately, before kissing the top of her head.

"What happened to me, Dad?"

"Honey, you scared us all so much... when that bus went over the cliff... when I got there, I thought we were gonna lose you. I thought I was gonna lose you," he murmured, sitting down next to her. "We got this second chance, and I just know you're stronger than this... you're gonna wake up---"

"But, I'm so tired," she complained.

Her father squeezed her hand. "I know it's going to be hard for a while," he said quietly. "But, I love you and I'm not giving up on you."

Veronica's brow furrowed. "I don't understand," she whispered.

&&&&

"It's my BFF!" Veronica exclaimed happily, joining Wallace outside on a park bench.

"Well, lookee here, it's Veronica Mars," Wallace said in a lighthearted tone of voice. "I hope your day's been as productive as mine."

Veronica frowned. "No... not really. It's been a pretty lazy day, actually. And one of those lazy days where you can't really remember what you've been doing. I don't have a clue... twenty minutes ago is a blur." She paused and tilted her head. "Maybe I'm doing drugs."

"I wonder if the painkillers are really necessary," Wallace responded. "I mean, you're out cold. Can you feel anything?"

"Of course I can feel stuff!" she exclaimed. "Pinch me and prove it!"

"Doctors know best, I guess," he mumbled. He turned and looked at her. "So, your dad gave me the recipe for the Snickerdoodles. I've been practicing. I made tons. It's all we've been eating at the Mars-Fennel headquarters these days---"

"Well, you can pack your own spirit boxes then," Veronica interrupted.

"Your dad's been staying with us. We're closer to the hospital," Wallace continued, explaining the changes in everyone's lives. "Back-up and I fight for the middle cushion of the sofa. I have to say, it's a little intimidating to fight with a pit bull. Kind of like fighting with you, but with more teeth."

Veronica laughed. "Well, it's a good thing we don't fight much," she murmured, before gently punching his upper arm. "So, any news? Feels like I haven't seen you in ages."

"You haven't been around school in weeks," Wallace told her. "You missed a lot. First, they thought the bus crash was a suicide---the driver's, I mean. And then, I found this recording of a message someone left, and we could hear the explosion. Your dad's been on the case like you wouldn't believe."

She smiled. "Well, that's Dad for ya."

"And Logan's been a little off lately. He's dating someone named Hannah, and he's kind of happy. I mean... he still asks how you're doing like every single day, and when he does, he gets that lost puppy dog look in his eye, but don't tell him you heard that from me."

"Gotta keep your street cred in check?" Veronica teased.

Wallace smiled at her. "Yeah... and Duncan was named Homecoming King... and Meg was Homecoming Queen... and you really need to wake up and get back on your feet, because they've made up. They're not back together or anything, but something weird's going on there."

"Duncan and Meg?" Veronica asked. "What'd'you mean?"

"I don't know," he said quietly, shrugging. "He's just... sad. And she's always trying to make him feel better."

"You should tell her to back off and get her own man," Veronica grumbled.

"Oh, and I started seeing someone," Wallace added. "Her name's Jackie. And man, Veronica, she's fine. She's like the hottest girl in school. She's new. Her dad's Terrence Cook, the baseball player."

"Wow. Dad must love her."

Wallace chuckled. "Your dad made quite a fuss over her when she came by to study with me. You wouldn't have been very happy with him."

"No kidding," she agreed.

"But, it's going well... so far, anyway. I'm not going to bring her by until you wake up. I don't think we're at the point where she can sit comfortably by my side while I talk to my best friend while she's in a coma."

Veronica scrunched her brow. "What are you talking about? Bring her by. Right now. Go get your woman."

"Anyway. I've gotta go pick my mom up from work. But, I just wanted to stop in and say 'hey' and keep you up to date," he said. "The doctor told us that telling you about the stuff you're missing might help you. The brain's a funny thing, I guess. I don't understand it, but whatevs. As long as you wake up, Veronica."

"You just want to know what the missing ingredient is in those Snickerdoodles you've been making," Veronica teased.

He laughed. "You have to wake up, so you can tell me what I'm doing wrong with those cookies," he told her.

"Told ya," she shot back, before clicking her tongue twice.

He grinned and squeezed her hand. "Okay. I'm gonna try to come by tomorrow."

"Bye, Wallace."

&&&&

"It's nice out here," Veronica murmured as she looked out over the beach and ocean. "How'd we get here?"

Weevil only turned and smiled at her. She smiled back and shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for trying," she said sheepishly, shrugging again.

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Your dad freaked out when he saw me. I guess Wallace didn't tell him I stopped by before."

She laughed. "Dad doesn't like it when tattooed bikers stop by and visit, didn't you know?" she asked teasingly. "He only likes the preppy boys. And even then, he likes them ten feet away from me at all times."

"How have you been, V?"

"Tired... cold," she answered. "I don't hurt as much, though. That's good."

"The doctors said your broken bones are healing," he told her. "So, hopefully you'll come around soon."

Veronica pressed her lips together and nodded. "Hopefully," she said softly. "I'm beginning to think that none of this is real... and I'd really like to see the beach, put my toes in the sand, and all that."

"I wish I could say things like 'when you get better, we should hang out...' but you an' I don't really hang out, do we?"

She looked up at him. "Why can't we hang out?" she asked. She paused when he arched an eyebrow, and then looked away. "We had a fight the last time we talked," she said quietly, frowning. "I'm sorry things turned sour between us."

"I shouldn't've said those things, V. I just... it hurt, to see you go from one Richie Rich to the other," he admitted, gently brushing his thumb over the back of his hand. "They're so... they're not good enough for you, V. And I'm not saying that I am, because... well, I'm nowhere close to your league. But, you know what I mean."

Veronica's jaw dropped slightly. "Eli Navarro..." she murmured. "I'm seeing a whole new side of you."

He chuckled. "I don't let just anyone hear me say things like that," he added quietly.

"Well, I'll just have to remember this," she said, nudging him gently.

He smiled and nudged her back. "I don't know if you'll remember any of this... maybe it's better this way," he said in a quiet voice. "You'll go back to your life, hanging off of Kane's arm, and I'll go back to my life---"

"Your boys aren't following your lead anymore," she interrupted. "You have to know that, don't you? Weevil, be careful."

He sighed. "We run in separate circles again, V."

"We always ran in separate circles," she murmured, smiling at him. "But, it never seemed to matter. You always had my back."

"I guess I better go before your boy gets here," he muttered.

Veronica blinked. "Duncan's meeting me here? Why did you bring me here if Duncan---" she stopped short and tilted her head. "What's going on? Are you two in cahoots? Because that would be really weird, dontcha think?"

"Get better soon, okay?"

She smiled. "I'm already better," she purred playfully. "Better than fine. Superfine."

When he leaned in, she felt his nose brush over hers and she shivered. She closed her eyes when he pressed his lips to her forehead; she felt warmer than she had a few minutes ago, and a smile curved her lips.

"Take care, V," he whispered. "I'll try to visit again soon."

&&&&

Veronica smiled when Duncan opened the door to his hotel room. "You're here!" she exclaimed. "I was beginning to wonder---"

"Hey, Veronica," he murmured, before kissing her forehead and then her lips. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too!" she replied. "I've been seeing everyone else, but... but you never visit me."

He looked more serious and brooding than he usually did, but he still took her hand, kissed it, and then brought her over to his sofa.

"I've been really busy with school," he said, trying to explain, "and the Navigator, and... and everything. You have no idea---"

"Tell me about it," she insisted quietly. "Please."

He kissed her hand again. "You need to wake up, Veronica," he murmured. "You just need to wake up," he insisted. "Please... just---"

"God, you're like a broken record, Duncan," Veronica interrupted. "What's going on? Just tell me. Is it Meg? Are you two dating or something? Wallace mentioned you two were talking and hanging out a lot---just tell me!"

He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, before kissing her knuckles. "I miss you so much," he whispered. "So, so much."

"I miss you, too," she murmured, snuggling up to him.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Duncan's presence had a very relaxing effect upon her soul.

&&&&

"So, don't you have somewhere else to be?" Wallace asked quietly.

Weevil shook his head. "No, man," he replied. "I told the boys I'm spending some time here today."

"I think Veronica'd appreciate it," Wallace said.

The other guy shrugged and smiled a bit, but he didn't say anything. He leaned back in the hard, plastic hospital chair and scratched under his chin, before settling in to watch Veronica.

Wallace put his elbows down on his knees, leaned forward, and rested his head in his hands as he tried to stretch his shoulders and back.

"Anymore time in this chair, and I'm going to need a new spine," Wallace muttered.

Weevil snorted in agreement.

Neither of them would be able to pinpoint exactly what made them look at the bed, at Veronica. Wallace blinked and rubbed his eyes; Weevil leaned forward and put his hand on the bed.

"Did you... see that?" Weevil asked quietly. "I thought I saw her twitch."

Wallace shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes she blinks---"

"She does that when people talk to her," Weevil interjected. "This was... I could've sworn---"

"Wishful thinking."

Weevil frowned. "Maybe."

They lapsed into silence. They didn't really have much in common. Wallace didn't trust Weevil, and Weevil didn't exactly have a problem with Wallace, but it was hard to become friends with someone he duct-taped to the flagpole.

After twenty minutes or so, Weevil reached over and took Veronica's hand in his own. He squeezed it gently. "V, I should probably get outta---"

When he stopped talking abruptly and leaned forward even more, Wallace asked what had happened. Weevil shook his head and threaded his fingers through Veronica's, amazed at how fragile her hand appeared to be, even though he knew she was more than self-sufficient when she was at her best.

Her thumb twitched, and then she moved it against his finger.

When her eyes opened, they were duller than they usually were, but neither of her friends minded much. Wallace jumped out of his chair and put his hand on Veronica's shoulder.

"Stay calm, Veronica," Wallace advised. "It's gonna be alright. You're in the hospital. Damn... it's good to see you open your baby blues." He beamed at her, and then said, "Sit tight with Weevil for a second. I'm gonna go get your dad. He's with Mom, getting coffee downstairs. Just hang on."

Veronica blinked and swallowed hard a few times. He bolted out of the room, and she followed him with her eyes until she couldn't see him anymore.

Weevil cleared his throat and squeezed her hand. "It's good to see you awake, V," he said quietly. "Don't try to talk. The doctor said you'll be confused and tired and stuff after waking up."

She nodded and squeezed his hand. He sat up on her bed and brushed her hair off of her face.

"I'm gonna go," he told her. "Any minute your old man's gonna come up here and there'll be hugging and crying and I don't think I should be here for a picture perfect family reunion."

Veronica's grip on his hand tightened.

He smiled a bit and kissed her forehead. "You had us all worried, V," he admitted. "I didn't want our last words to be a big, bad fight."

Her lips twitched up into a half-smile.

"Okay," he whispered roughly. "I'll come by and visit later---"

"N-no," she protested, refusing to let go of his hand.

He glared down at her. "No talking," he reminded her.

She smiled. "Stay," she whispered.

He nodded. "Okay, but when your dad kicks me out..." he said, smiling as he trailed off.

Veronica squeezed her fingers against his. Weevil settled back down in his seat, as Keith, Alicia, and Wallace rushed into the room.

They fawned over her for what seemed like forever. Weevil felt a few pangs of jealousy; seeing functional families always made his heart ache a little. He tried to extricate his hand from Veronica's, so her family could work its way all around her, but she refused to let go; he'd try to pull away and she'd glare at him, so he stayed where he was.

When the doctor and nurse came into look at Veronica, she didn't want to let his hand go; however, the doctor insisted so she relented, on the promise that he could return as soon as they were finished. Alicia had to go pick up Wallace's younger brother, and Wallace had to go to work; they left with smiles on their faces, after giving Veronica promises of visiting the next day.

Keith took the chair on the other side of Veronica's bed, and Weevil returned to his seat. She sought their hands, and then she closed her eyes for a nap.

&&&&

Veronica groaned when she heard the yelling. The first two days of her return to the land of the living had been peaceful.

Her father came by and talked to her about his cases, sought her one-worded insights to the roadblocks he was hitting; she liked the way listening to his conversations and trying to figure his problems out made her mind feel clearer. With every clue he gave her, she felt her mind coming together, as well.

Wallace came by after class and after practice to give him the four-one-one on school and their parents, who were still happily dating. He helped her remember the people she went to school with---even though he didn't know what he was doing---and his visits always cheered her up.

Duncan had stopped by a couple of times since she woke up, but his visits were brief and quiet; he usually hopped up onto the bed and held her while they listened to music or while he read a book to her.

Much to her surprise, Weevil---or Eli, as she had started calling him once they started spending time together---dropped by whenever he could. That meant that sometimes he showed up during the school day, when he didn't feel like going to class, and late at night, when he was on his way home from causing mayhem with his friends. Once they got past the first few minutes of verbal sparring---which really wasn't fair since Veronica wasn't up to her full strength yet---they usually had pretty decent conversations. She looked forward to his visits.

But this visit, that rudely woke her up, was anything but peaceful. She could hear three voices: Eli, her dad, and Duncan. They sounded very tense, although Eli was bordering on downright pissed off.

"Eli..." Keith said in a warning tone of voice.

"No, Sheriff, I can't just let it go," he said. "He just strolls in here after---"

"Guys," Veronica croaked, wincing. "Stop yelling."

She felt Eli's hand on hers first. "Hey, V," he said quietly. "Sorry."

"S'okay," she whispered. "Head hurts. You boys gotta place nice."

"Maybe we should get a doctor in here," he suggested.

Duncan was not happy, and he made that perfectly clear. "God! What is going on! Weevil, Veronica?! Why do you let him---"

"Why?" Eli interrupted. "How about because I was the one here everyday, any chance I could get, to sit and keep her company? What kept you from visiting, Kane?"

"Eli," Veronica whispered, squeezing his hand. "Shh. S'okay."

"V..."

She smiled. "Shut yo' mouth," she murmured.

He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah... got it. See you later, 'kay, V?"

"You bet," she whispered.

She didn't miss the dark look he shot Duncan, nor the way her boyfriend glared back, but she chose not to comment on it, because Eli leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Bye, V," he whispered.

"Bye, E," she whispered back.

He straightened up, glared at Duncan again, and then walked to the door. In the doorway, he looked into the hall and hesitated; then he grimaced and shook his head.

"Oh, wait... I remember now," Eli grumbled, before stalking out of the room and down the hall.

Veronica frowned and looked to Duncan for some sort of explanation, but her father walked over and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, kiddo," he said gently. "I'm gonna go back to work... but I'll stop by later, okay?"

Veronica nodded and smiled at him. "Sneak Back-up in for me?"

Keith chuckled. "The last time I did that, the nurses got very angry with me," he reminded her.

She smiled more. "So what?"

He laughed quietly and then squeezed her hand. "See you later, Veronica," he said before leaving the room.

Duncan sighed when they were alone. Veronica extended a hand towards him; he walked towards her and put his hand into hers, before easing himself into a sitting position on her bed.

"Why does he visit you?" he asked.

Veronica shrugged. "We're friends," she said quietly.

"I see how he looks at you---"

"God, Duncan," Veronica interrupted. "I'm with you. He's been a good friend to me."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Any idiot can see---" he stopped short and shook his head. "Never mind," he muttered. "You're right," he added, smiling a bit. "We're together."

"Exactly," she murmured. "Now, how about you get down on my level and hold me, while you bring me up to speed on the oh-nine-er gossip?"

Duncan smiled more and lowered himself down onto the bed, so he was reclining on his side in front of her. She turned onto her side, too; after a few kisses, he took her hand in his and told her about the last couple of days.

&&&&

A couple of weeks later, and just in time for Christmas vacation, Veronica's doctor had decided that she was well enough to return home. He had probably decided that because she had been begging to get out of the hospital for days; he stipulated that she had to stay off of her hip and leg as much as possible, and she would have to go to physical therapy as an outpatient.

Her father had been elated, and in his euphoria, he planned a party to mark her return to the Mars home. Veronica wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but she was determined to suck it up for her friends and family.

At least she was getting her favourite foods out of the deal.

She tolerated the nurse wheeling her to the exit, but the instant she saw Wallace pulling her LeBaron up to the door, she demanded to be released from the hellish hospital world.

"Hold on, girl," Wallace said, putting the car into park and hopping out to give her a hand. "We gotta do this right!" He saw Veronica shift the potted plant to her bad hand, and start to push herself out of the wheelchair and he put his hands out. "Stop! Sit your ass back down in that chair!"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Wallace, I can hop on my good leg to the car. It's like two bunny hops."

"Well, Bunny, sit your ass back down and wait until I get your door open," he shot back.

The nurse, a woman named Helen who had been driving Veronica crazy every chance she got, chuckled and helped Wallace open the passenger side door and set Veronica up for a quick transfer into the vehicle.

Once she was settled, once her plant was settled in the backseat with the rest of her cards and flowers, Wallace folded her wheelchair and put it in the backseat.

Veronica groaned. "Can we get out of here already?"

"Hold your horses, Veronica."

"Look, my crutches are already at home, Dad's probably mapped out all the safest routes from my bedroom to the other rooms in our small apartment, and I'm sure he's probably fixed my bathroom with all of those safety bars and other invalid devices," she said, almost sounding snappish. "I'm sick of being confused, sick of forgetting things, sick of not feeling like myself, sick of not being able to walk, and I'm really, really sick of the hospital."

"Y'know, I'm so glad you have no problems with your speaking abilities," Wallace quipped, before hopping back into the driver's seat and closing the door.

Veronica sighed and closed her eyes. "Sorry... I'm just... so tired of this."

"I know," he said quietly. "Don't worry. I don't mind. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks," she murmured.

She kept her eyes closed for the entire drive; she enjoyed the wind on her face and in her hair, appreciating it more because the hospital's air supply seemed so stale.

She wondered if Wallace knew it took her a few minutes to realise where they were when he parked her car, but she didn't ask him. She figured it out all on her own, so she didn't see the need to worry her friend.

The instant he parked the car, she moved to open the car door. It was instinct---and Wallace reprimanded her for it.

"Just let me get your chair," he said, almost pleading with her.

"Somebody need a lift?"

Veronica turned and saw Eli standing in front of the car. She felt her lips curve into a smile before she could control the expression; he smiled back and walked around to her side of the car.

"You gonna push my new wheels?" she asked as he opened the door.

"Nah," he replied.

He didn't explain what he was doing, and before she knew what was happening, she was being lifted into his arms. Veronica squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped one arm around her back, and the other underneath her knees; she laughed into his neck and shoulder as he carried her into the complex.

Wallace chuckled and followed behind them with her wheelchair.

"You kidnapped me!" she squeaked as he brought her to the right apartment door.

"V, if I wanted to kidnap you, you'd know it," he told her, smiling at her. He turned his head and looked at Wallace. "Hey, Fennel, could you help me out?"

He nodded and opened the door, pushing the chair in and getting out of the way just as Eli brought her into the apartment.

"Thanks, man," Eli said to Veronica's other friend.

"No problem."

Veronica had been laughing, but she didn't miss the exchange between the two young men. She would have beamed at Wallace and teased him a little, before going to Eli and asking him if he made a new friend, but Eli jostled her a little, she laughed more, and then her father and everyone else in the apartment decided to prey upon her and subject her to greetings and well-wishes.

Eli put her on the sofa, and Keith made sure she was comfortable. Wallace turned on the music, and while he claimed to have picked a good song, the instant he saw his girlfriend at the door, he ignored the song completely.

Veronica watched Wallace and Jackie carefully. She had heard about her, through Wallace---and through Duncan and Eli, although neither of them knew her at all---and she was eager to see if this girl lived up to Veronica's standards of what her best friend's girlfriend should be.

"Retract those claws," Wallace scolded as he brought her a drink, flanked by Jackie. "Veronica, meet Jackie. Jackie, meet Veronica."

"Claws?" Veronica asked, smiling sweetly as she accepted her drink. "What claws?"

"Don't even try---"

Veronica laughed and extended her bad hand, since her right hand was holding onto her plastic cup. She realised how hard it would be for Jackie to shake it, and then she blushed and dropped her cast-covered hand.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I keep forgetting."

"Don't worry about it," Jackie assured her, smiling almost too sweetly for Veronica's liking. "How are you doing?"

"My boys busted me out of the hospital!" Veronica exclaimed happily. "How do you think I feel?"

She saw the flinch in Jackie's face---it lasted only for a minute, but she saw it, and guessed that it was related to Veronica's use of possessive language. Wallace didn't see it; he started explaining how intensely focused Veronica was upon getting out of the hospital.

"Your boys?" Eli asked.

She beamed at him. "What? You don't wanna be mine?"

His guard had been down, and she had seen the light flushing that turned the tips of his ears pink.

"I'd rather it if you were mine," he shot back.

"But I want a manslave," Veronica teased in a drier tone of voice.

"You keep wishing, V, maybe you'll get one," he said, winking before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

Veronica watched in amazement as he offered help to her father, with cooking the meal, and as her father accepted the offer. A few minutes later, Cliff wandered over to them, and the three males were engrossed in conversation. And when Alicia went over to see Keith, she didn't flinch or cower or even grimace at the sight of Eli; she seemed relatively relaxed with him in her presence. Veronica smiled and leaned back on the sofa.

"You okay?" Wallace asked.

She realised she must have winced. She was a little sore, but she knew she had painkillers around somewhere, so the pain wouldn't be too hard to take care of; she just needed someone to sneak off and get them, without making too much fuss.

"A little stiff," she conceded.

"Want your meds?"

Veronica smiled. "Narcotics? Yes, please."

"The only time your dad'll let you get away with saying that," Wallace teased.

He got up and went to get her prescriptions, and Veronica looked up at Jackie. She smiled. "So... Wallace talks about you all the time," she said, hoping she sounded nice enough.

Jackie seemed pleased by that. "Oh, really?"

Veronica nodded. She had opened her mouth to say something else, but Mac came into the apartment, looking apologetic and a little unsure, and the instant Veronica saw the Q to her Bond, she felt her face light up.

"Veronica!" Mac exclaimed. She came over, carrying a spool of CD's that was wrapped up with a bow, and half-hugged Veronica carefully (because while they were happy to see each other, neither of them were really comfortable with hugging), before plunking herself down on the sofa. "Hey, Jackie," she said quietly.

"Hi, Mac," Jackie replied, as Wallace came back into the room.

Veronica let Mac fill her in on everything---she has a crush on Cassidy, she and Wallace were helping her dad out with some of the Mars Investigations' cases, school sucks, Butters has been making puppy-dog eyes in her general direction, and she dyed the stripes in her hair red---and then she took the pills from Wallace.

Wallace suggested that he and Jackie go get drinks, and once they left, Mac turned to Veronica, her eyes wide and worried. "I'm sorry I didn't go visit you in the hospital. It's just... they freak me out."

"Don't worry about it," Veronica assured the brunette. "It's okay." She pointed to the present in Mac's lap. "What's that?"

"This is all the television you missed," Mac said, sounding a little smug. "I burned everything onto DVD's, so you can watch them out here or on your computer. You've got some reality, some drama, the decent comedies... even some late-night television."

"Oh... you rock."

Mac smiled. "I try to. I just figured if you were taking it easy, you'd have a lot of free time on your hands."

Veronica knew the pills had kicked in, because she wrapped her arms around Mac's shoulders. "You're the best," she murmured.

"I thought that was me."

The petite blonde blushed when she saw Eli. She noticed that Mac looked a little amazed that "Weevil, you know, that scary, tattooed, biker guy" was teasing Veronica and spending time in her apartment, acting like he belonged there.

"Can't you two share?" Veronica asked, batting her eyelashes in Eli's direction.

"I don't share, V."

Mac gulped and then smiled a bit. "As long as you only beat me out by a small fraction, I'm okay with being second best."

Eli chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Red. We can share."

The computer-genius blushed a bit. "Okay. Cool. Wallace might get jealous."

"Wallace is busy," Veronica said wryly, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Besides, he knows what side of the toast the butter's on."

Eli chuckled and gently put his fingers over Veronica's shoulder. "Do you need anything, V?"

She shrugged. "I could eat... but I think Dad's working on that." She paused and frowned. "Where's Duncan?"

"I sent him an e-mail," Mac said quietly. "He knows about this."

When she felt Eli's fingers squeeze her shoulder tenderly, she turned to look at him. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sure he'll come soon, V," he assured her. She watched his dark eyes for an emotional tell, and she thought she almost saw one, but before she could identify it he covered his tracks and his mask was in place. He smiled. "I'll go see how your dad's doing."

Once he was gone, Mac leaned in and whispered, "What is going on there?"

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

Mac arched an eyebrow and sighed in an exasperated tone. "Veronica, I mean with him and you!"

"Nothing!" Veronica hissed.

"Seriously?"

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know," she murmured. "I mean, we had a spat the day of the crash..." she trailed off.

She frowned as she tried to recall the fight. She knew that relations between the haves and the have-nots had been bad, after Logan's trial and the jury's verdict, so she guessed that her relationship with Eli had been strained. He told her it was a bad conversation, but he refused to tell her what had been said.

She shrugged again. "He's just always been there, Mac," she said in hushed tones, trying to explain. "He would come after hours, just because I couldn't sleep... he makes me smile. I mean, we have our issues and all, but when it's just us, everything's okay.

"He should be careful. I can't imagine his 'boys' would be too happy about him spending so much time with me," she added quietly. "But he never tells me... he never puts them first. Or so it seems. You know?"

"His boys aren't too happy these days, but it has nothing to do with you, believe me," Mac said quietly.

Veronica blinked. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," Mac promised. "Call or e-mail me tomorrow, and I'll fill you in on what I've heard."

Veronica nodded.

&&&&

Cliff, Mac, Wallace, and Jackie were gone by eight that evening; Keith and Alicia had then gone to take Back-up for a walk. That left Eli and Veronica in the apartment, watching television while Eli cleaned up the kitchen.

"I had no idea you were so domestic," Veronica teased.

He glared at her. "V, I'd appreciate it if you didn't share this fact with the rest of the Neptune population."

She smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

They lapsed into silence. Veronica didn't return her attention to the television; instead she found herself staring off into space. She wasn't even aware of it until she felt Eli's fingers on her shoulder.

She blinked and looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"You okay? I was talkin' to you for ten minutes before I realised you're lost in space or something," he explained.

Veronica blushed. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Is everything okay, V?"

She shrugged and sighed. "I guess."

"How's your head?"

"Physically or emotionally?" she asked.

Eli draped the dishcloth over his shoulder and sat down next to her. "Whichever you wanna talk about," he said.

"What makes you think I want to talk about either of them?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.

"You've got that look," he replied, leaning back so he could look at her.

She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "I'm not... I don't feel like myself," she admitted. "I know the doctor said that could take some time... but..." she trailed off and looked even further away from Eli. "Am I different?"

"Not really," he replied. "I mean, you've been through a lot, Veronica. And that sort of thing would... effect anyone's head, y'know?" He paused and shrugged. "You're tough, but you're not invincible, V. And you're not like a pod person. You're just, trying to make sense of everything."

She nodded and bit her lower lip. Duncan hadn't shown up to celebrate her departure from the hospital; he hadn't visited much at all, and she was beginning to wonder if he didn't like the person she had woken up to be.

"Where'd you go?"

She blinked and glanced at Eli again. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Call him and talk to him, V," Eli advised. "Because you'll drive yourself crazy."

She smiled a bit. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yeah."

"God, I've completely lost my touch," she complained, before burying her face in a throw pillow.

"What else is wrong?"

She turned her head just enough to peek at him with one eye. "Can we put this conversation on hold until I've got it a bit more figured out?"

He nodded. He left the sofa and finished the dishes, and then he grabbed his jacket and prepared to leave. Veronica had taken another painkiller by that point, and she was feeling rather groggy when Eli walked over to her. The sensation of his fingers brushing her arm made her shiver and smile.

"See you later, V," he said quietly, before turning and walking towards the door.

Veronica closed her eyes and rode out the medication high; when she opened her eyes, she noticed that Back-up was on the sofa with her and her father was sipping coffee at the island.

"Hey, Veronica," he said quietly. "Everything okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she replied, "although I think I might have to go lie down soon."

"If you need any help, you let me know, alright?"

She nodded again, this time with a smile on her face. "Alright," she murmured, before reaching out and petting Back-up's head.

It took her a few seconds to notice that someone was knocking on the door. Keith got up and answered it, and then stepped aside to let Duncan inside.

Veronica gave him a tight smile. "You missed my party," she said, sounding very sleepy.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, as he offered her a bouquet of roses.

She accepted them and inhaled their scent, before setting them down on the coffee table. "I'm watching the weeks of television I missed while I was out cold," she told him. "Wanna sit with me?"

"Don't stay up too late," Keith warned as he left the kitchen. "Veronica, if you need me, holler."

"Thanks, Dad," she called out to his back.

"Thanks, Mr. Mars," Duncan echoed, as he made his way over to the sofa. He settled down next to Veronica and put his arm around her shoulders. After kissing her temple, he smiled and said, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

She turned her head and kissed him---not because she needed to, but because she felt like it was the right thing to do. She didn't feel right in her skin; but she didn't want Duncan knowing that.

"Why didn't you show up?" she asked quietly.

He sighed and kissed her temple again. "I had an interesting day," he said, in a tone of voice that told Veronica he did not want to discuss the events of his day.

She nodded. "Oh... okay."

"I just want to hold you for a little while," he whispered into her hair. "And then, I'll help you into bed... and let myself out."

"What a gentleman," Veronica murmured in a teasing tone of voice.

After a few moments of watching television and not talking, Veronica turned her head and looked at her boyfriend. He didn't look very happy; she knew her investigative skills were a little rusty, but she knew what "deep-in-thought" and "upset" looked like from a mile away.

Especially on Duncan's face.

&&&&

Over the next few days, Veronica had plenty of visitors and communication with the outside world. Wallace stopped by when he wasn't busy with Jackie. Mac called twice a day; she brought Veronica up to speed on Eli's situation within his gang, and when they were settling in to watch television together, she always brought great snack food. Logan visited---under Keith's watchful eye---every day, which surprised Veronica, especially since his biting attitude had less... bite.

Duncan's visits were unpredictable. He surprised her the first day with a decadent meal, movies on DVD that hadn't even been released to theatre yet, and a gorgeous bouquet of exotic flowers. But the other two visits were completely different; he had been withdrawn inside his own thoughts, and could barely carry on a simple conversation with her.

Eli hadn't visited, and that had her worried. First, she was worried that he had decided their friendship wasn't worth the effort; then, she was worried that he was in some sort of trouble.

By the fifth day of not hearing from him---and hearing from Wallace that he's still going to school---she decided that he had just given up on their newly-forged friendship and she tried not to be upset about it.

On the sixth day of her freedom from the hospital, Veronica felt adventurous, and she called Mac in hopes of convincing her to take her VW Beetle and crippled friend out for a spin around the town.

That had been a big mistake.

They drove through the oh-nine-er district on their way out of town, to get to the better beaches and better scenery, and that's when they saw Meg and Duncan.

Veronica didn't see them holding hands or kissing or anything. But, she did see them in serious conversation, walking side by side, Meg's hand resting over a slight curve of her abdomen.

It wouldn't have been obvious, except for the fact that she was wearing clothes that the new mothers in the oh-nine district wore---clothes that made the maternity swell a fashion accessory---and maybe also for the fact that Duncan looked terrified.

The rest of the afternoon had been a blur---and not because of her pain medication. Mac had tried to console her; she knew that much. But what beach they drove by, what the weather was like, where they stopped for food on their way back to Veronica's apartment... those were all blurs and broken memories.

On Veronica's seventh day of freedom, her adventurous streak had died. She stayed in her room, in bed, with her laptop and Back-up, and ate whenever her father brought food inside for her. She refused to go to physical therapy. She refused phone calls from Logan, Duncan, Mac, and Wallace, and proceeded to mope.

Christmas had passed with little excitement. Duncan tried to stop by, but Veronica told her father she didn't want to see anyone.

She was furious and upset and... and she didn't know what to do with those emotions. The thought of Meg carrying Duncan's child made Veronica sick to her stomach; and instead of lashing out, confronting those who were keeping secrets from her, she just wanted to curl up into herself. She couldn't stop wondering what would happen if she hadn't woken up---and that made her wonder if she hadn't woken up at all.

Her father tried to figure out what was going on, but Veronica refused to talk about it.

On her tenth day of freedom, her father knocked on her bedroom door and told her that Eli was at the apartment, to see her.

She blinked in response.

Eli appeared in her doorway, and Veronica's first thought was she wished she had changed her pajamas that day. She pulled the covers up to her chin and watched the darker male come into her room.

She saw the healing bruises on his face and head, and his split lip and her eyes widened.

"Wh-what happened?" she breathed.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he mumbled. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," she muttered, before turning on her side so her back was to him. "Why do you care?"

"God... if only I knew," he said, as he sat down behind her.

She closed her eyes and struggled to breathe. Eli didn't say anything, and neither did she.

Ten minutes passed.

"You knew," she accused quietly.

He sighed. "Yeah," he whispered hoarsely.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, whimpering a little.

Eli reached out and touched her shoulder. "It wasn't my place, V... you needed to hear it from your boy. You two need to figure out what the next move is."

Veronica sniffled and before she knew it, she was sobbing.

"V?"

"I---I---I d-didn't hear-ear it fr-fr-from hi-im! I s-s-sa-saw th-the-em!" she cried, before burying her face in her pillows and stuffed animals.

She heard Eli groan, and then she felt him stretch out behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to the back of her head; he brushed his fingers through her hair and whispered calming words in her ear.

He didn't try to stop her tears. Instead, he just let her cry until she couldn't cry anymore.

She couldn't talk right away---mostly out of shame. Then, she sniffled and whispered, "Thanks, Eli."

He slipped his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. "No problem, chica," he whispered into her ear, sending a warm, shivering sensation over her skin.

"Don't tell anyone I broke down, okay?" she whispered. "I don't intend to make a habit of it."

Eli chuckled quietly. "Your secret's safe with me," he promised.

"How'd you know... to... to come here?"

"Red told me," he explained. "C'mon... get up and get dressed," he insisted. "You need to get out of here. Let's go to the beach."

"When sand gets in the gears of my new wheels, they don't work so well," she whispered, before shaking her head. "I think I'm going to stay in here."

"Well, I'm not staying unless you get changed."

She sighed. "Oh, so you want to stay now, do you?"

"Yeah."

"Funny, how the second I get home... how you just disappear," she mumbled. "And now, suddenly, you want to stick around."

"V... things have been..." he trailed off and sighed. "I don't wanna tell you about my problems."

She frowned. "I'm so sick of people tiptoeing around me. Like I'm gonna fall apart. Just tell me what's going on!"

"I'm out," he said quietly.

Veronica craned her neck and tried to look at him. "The bruises... so, what Mac said was true."

"My boys found out I was working with Echolls to figure out who stabbed Felix," Eli admitted. "And I found out they were working for the Fitzpatricks. They took my bike, and then kicked me out."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know they mean a lot to you."

His jaw tightened. "Meant."

"You can't cut them out that quickly," she whispered.

"I'm tryin', V."

She smiled a bit. "So, you have no place to go... is that it?"

"I have plenty of places to go, just no one to go with," he corrected her.

She squeezed his hand. "How about... I get changed, while you decide what movie from the donated collection you wanna watch, and then, we pop a frozen pizza in the oven and veg out?"

"I guess that's the best offer I'm gonna get today," he told her. "But, soon, you are going to have to leave this apartment."

"No way!" she exclaimed teasingly. "Everything I could possibly want or need can be delivered right to my front door! It's the age of isolation, Eli!"

He chuckled and slowly extricated his hand from hers. Before he rolled away from her, he patted her hip gently, and said, "Up an' at 'em, V. I'll go wait in the living room with your dad."

She flopped over onto her back and looked at her friend as he walked away. She felt herself start to smile again, and she had to close her eyes before she laughed at herself. Her mood swings were off the charts; she knew once she laughed, she'd start to cry again.

It took her a few minutes to sit up---not because of her broken bones, but because she wasn't sure she wanted to leave the safety of her bedroom.

Eli knocked after thirty minutes. She had only picked out what pajamas she was going to wear; his stern warning convinced her to go into her bathroom and freshen up.

An hour later, she appeared, looking a bit more refreshed and emotionally collected.

She blushed when she met Eli's eyes, and then wanted the earth to swallow her whole when she looked at her father and saw the amused expression on his face.

"So... are we watching a movie?" she asked after clearing her throat.

Keith chuckled and stood up. "I'm not, Veronica," he told her. "I have a stakeout."

"Be careful," she warned him. "Do you want Back-up?"

"I'm always careful," he said affectionately, before walking over to where she sat in her wheelchair. He kissed the top of her head. "You behave yourself, young lady."

She smiled. "Aww, gee, Dad... I was gonna sneak out and knock over a fruit stand later."

He chuckled again. "Eli, please make sure my daughter doesn't commit any felonies while I'm out working."

"I'm on it, Sheriff," Eli said with a nod.

Veronica scowled at both of them, sensing that they had been speaking about her while she was getting dressed. She wasn't sure how she felt about the former gang ringleader and the former Sheriff working in cahoots against her.

After he left, Eli picked a movie and then insisted that Veronica get started on putting the pizza into the oven---so they didn't starve, he pointed out. It took a little longer than it would have if she was on her feet, but Eli didn't complain. If Veronica had to comment on his reaction to seeing her work, she would have said he looked pleased.

Twenty minutes into the movie, and one slice each into their pizza, Eli turned to look at her.

"So, school starts tomorrow," he said quietly.

Veronica nodded. "So it does," she replied.

"You thinking about going?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Haven't decided yet."

"You'll only be behind by a semester," he pointed out.

She sighed. "Yeah... I know," she mumbled. "But..."

"Don't let him get to you," Eli advised when she trailed off and didn't finish her sentence. "Go in there, head held high, and get your education."

"Is that what your grandmother said to you when you went home without your bike?" Veronica asked.

Eli smiled and shrugged. "Something like that."

"Yeah, well, you're not confined to a slow-moving vehicle," Veronica reminded him. "I'm an easy target, Eli, and that school is like a trap."

"Yeah, but you're scrappy."

She smiled a little. Before she opened her mouth, though, her smile faded away. "I don't want to fall apart at school," she admitted. "I promised myself they would never see me breakdown. They would never know..." she trailed off and shook her head. "If Duncan tries to talk to me tomorrow, I will fall apart. I will lose it."

Eli opened his mouth to say something, but Veronica cut him off. "I know, I know... he didn't cheat on me, it probably happened when they were together. But, he didn't tell me. And that's what pisses me off. That's what twists the knife. He didn't trust me with the truth, he didn't come to me to ask what his next move is gonna be... he just kept it to himself!"

"Yeah," he agreed quietly.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "And I can't let *them* see me cry."

"Then, why do you try to hard to be like them, V?"

"I don't... I mean... not now---"

"V, the only guys you date come from that zip code."

She sighed again. "Yeah... but I'm not after their money. I mean, before, when I was friends with Lilly... everything was different," she said, trying to explain the past. She felt her lower lip tremble; she quickly sucked it in between her teeth.

Eli shifted his weight in his seat. "Quit that," he scolded.

She looked at him and released her lip. "Sorry," she whispered.

He leaned back, resting his head against the sofa and wall. "Keep talkin', V," he insisted quietly.

She nodded. "I tried to be the same me... always optimistic, always trusting... but after Shelly Pomroy's end of the year party..."

"You went to that?"

"Yeah."

He blinked. "Why on earth would you---"

"Because I wanted to prove that... that their words didn't bother me, that they couldn't bother me."

He scoffed. "Damn, girl... you've got tougher skin than I thought."

She gave him a wry smile. "It only got tougher after that night... it had to." She shrugged. "I came home, I cut my hair off... I worked for Dad to keep myself busy. I learned that people cheat and lie, and if I wanted to survive, I would always have to look out for myself.

"Logan... Logan came to my rescue once. I was in some sort of trouble, and he rescued me. And... and that's how we started," she explained. "I couldn't trust him, you know that..." she said, in reference to his protecting her from Logan, his picking her up at Logan's and taking her home. "But, I didn't fall for him because he has money."

Eli nodded.

She sighed. "I hadn't laughed in so long... and then he came along, wisecracking and... and testing me," she said quietly. "And you don't know him well enough, but believe me when I say he has a softer side. It's been kicked one too many times, so he's the way he is because of that damage." She sighed again. "He's just like everyone else in some ways."

"But---"

"I went back to Duncan because he's my first love. You never forget your first... the way your stomach flops every time you see them, the way you blush when you're told that you're loved... how sweet and pure every moment feels," she continued, cutting him off.

Eli nodded, but he didn't say anything. She shrugged. "I knew I was different... but... but he wanted me back. Would you give up a chance to see if everything could feel that sweet again?"

He swallowed hard and then shrugged. "I don't know."

She smiled at him. "Have you ever been in love?"

He pressed his lips together and shook his head slightly. "Dunno," he mumbled.

"If that's your answer, then definitely not," she murmured. She yawned. "Whew," she breathed. She looked at him. "So, anyway... I'm not trying to be an oh-nine-er. I know I'm not. I just pick complicated men."

Eli smiled. "Apparently." He paused and then asked, "So, are you going back to school tomorrow?"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "What is this? Twenty questions?"

"Maybe. So far, I've only asked four questions."

"Five."

He snorted. "Okay, Four and a half. You didn't let me finish one of them."

"I rounded up," she quipped as she smiled at him.

He smiled back at her. "Alright then... so... answer number five for me."

"I don't want to talk to Duncan," she said quietly. "I don't want to hear his excuses and I don't want him to tell me I'm being selfish and inconsiderate."

"V, you just woke up from a coma, which you got by going over a cliff in a bus, where everyone else died. You have the right to be a little selfish."

"Selfish enough to ask you to get me a refill on my soda?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

Eli chuckled and took her glass out of her hand. "No problem, V," he said before getting up off of the sofa.

Veronica grinned when he returned with her drink. "Thank you, kind sir," she murmured.

"I ain't no one's kind sir, V."

She reached out and tickled under his chin. "You're a big softy," she teased. "I won't tell the kids at school."

"You're gonna go?"

She sighed. "Yeah... I guess so. I'll see if Wallace can give me a lift in."

"Good."

"I want to express clearly, though, that if I have a shitty day, I'm holding you responsible," she told him.

Eli shrugged. "Don't matter. I've got broad shoulders."

She smiled a little. "I've noticed," she said, as she let her sight drift down to his torso. She darted her gaze back to his eyes; he arched an eyebrow and she quickly blushed and looked away.

"You goin' to Winter Carnival next week?"

Veronica pointed a finger in his direction. "Don't push your luck," she muttered.

&&&&

The first week at school had been both emotionally and physically draining. The first two days ended with Veronica crying in her room; the next two days began with yelling matches with Duncan in the parking lot. Wallace tried to interfere, tried to push her wheelchair (with her in it) towards the school before her boyfriend saw them, but Duncan always caught up.

On Friday, Eli had told Duncan to "step off" and Veronica was pretty sure there was an "or else" somewhere between the lines; she told Eli she appreciated the effort, but she didn't want to have to depend on the guys in her life for protection.

He hadn't seemed upset when she told him. Instead, he seemed pleased. And that left Veronica feeling very confused.

She kept her physical therapy appointment on Saturday, and on Sunday, she and Wallace hung out, while she did the exercises her therapist told her to do.

Duncan called Sunday afternoon, but Veronica didn't pick up the phone.

"Honey," Keith said as she watched him cook their supper. "You're going to have to talk to him."

"I want revenge first."

He gave her his best fatherly look. "He's not going through anything easy, Veronica," he reminded her. "He found out you were going out with Logan... and then that Logan's dad killed his sister... and then, after Meg breaks up with him, you two get together, but you then were in the accident. You were in a coma, and he finds out that Meg's pregnant with his child. And you're not talking to him now, and spending quite a bit of time with another guy from school." He paused. "Sweetheart, he doesn't deserve revenge. He's probably in his own version of hell."

"Another guy from school? Wallace?" Veronica asked. "Why on earth would Duncan be---Oh. Eli?" Her father raised his eyebrows. "Daaad!"

He smiled and shrugged. "I just know what I see," he said quietly, before returning his attention to preparing their meal.

"We're friends!" Veronica protested.

"Veronica. I'm your father. And a man."

"I've noticed both of statements are true," she quipped.

"He visited you every day in the hospital," Keith pointed out. "He visits you here, he carries your books at school---"

"We're friends!" she repeated.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to hear you say that," he said, putting his hands up. "I don't exactly want my daughter mixed up in gang stuff---"

"He was kicked out of the gang."

Keith shrugged. "Okay... well, that makes me happy, too, but my point is---"

"I know what your point is," she assured him. "And we're not together."

"He wants you two to be," Keith said. "He has a thing for one of the members of the Mars family, and it's definitely not me."

Veronica smiled. "Could always be Back-up."

Keith chuckled and finished making their meal.

&&&&

Monday morning, she got settled into her wheelchair and told Wallace to carry her books.

"You don't want a push?"

"I need to get back to taking care of myself," she said firmly, while putting her hands onto the wheels of her chair. "Besides, I'm only in this for a little while longer, full time, and then I can start using the crutches a bit."

"Cool."

"I hope so," Veronica replied.

When they saw Duncan approaching them---even though Wallace and Eli told him to get lost, he still kept trying to see Veronica---Wallace asked if she wanted him to stay or go.

Veronica sighed. "I need to talk to Duncan," she said quietly, even though all she wanted to do was hide. "I can't stay and fix things, or go and move on, until we start talking to each other again."

"Good," Wallace said, smiling.

"Are you guys all networked or something?" Veronica asked. "I get depressed, Mac calls Eli... Dad and Eli must've had a conversation to get me back to school. Were you in on it, too? Did you guys all talk about my relationship---"

Wallace snorted. "God, don't think so highly of yourself. We don't have a Veronica-Network." He smirked. "It took Mac three days to work up the courage to talk to Weevil, by the way. She knew you were depressed and she knew you weren't seeing any of us. She figured he'd be able to get through to you."

"Three days? He's not that scary."

"Veronica, she's a computer geek. He's... not."

She smiled. "True."

"Hey," Duncan said quietly, as he finally reached them. "Veronica, can I see you for a minute before class?"

She nodded. "If you carry my books, yeah."

Duncan took her books from Wallace and once her friend was gone, Veronica looked up at Duncan. "Is there someplace we can stop and talk?"

"I don't think fifteen minutes before the bell is gonna give us enough time, but---"

"It'll be a start," she interrupted gently.

He walked over to a bench near the quad, and she rolled alongside of him. Once he sat down and set their school supplies down, she sighed and he looked everywhere except at her face.

"So..."

Duncan sighed. "I should have told you when I first found out."

"Yeah."

"But, you just woke up... and you weren't quite yourself... and I didn't know how you'd take it."

"No better than how I'm taking it now," she pointed out.

He sighed again. "I guess."

"When did you find out?"

"A day or two after the bus crash," he replied. "Meg told me then. We were going to come in and tell you when you woke up... but Weevil was there and your dad... and... and it wasn't the right time---"

Veronica's mouth fell open. "So, that's what set Eli off when he went to leave... Meg was there."

"Yeah."

She closed her mouth and nodded slowly.

"I didn't cheat---"

"She's just about ready to have the baby, Duncan... I know you didn't cheat on me. The math doesn't add up," she interrupted quietly. "I'm not mad because I thought you... did that. I'm mad because you didn't tell me."

"Who did? Weevil?"

"No... and why are you---"

"I don't like the way he looks at you," Duncan said, cutting her off. "It would be just like him to try to break---"

"You don't know him, so you shouldn't comment on what would be 'like him' to do," Veronica scolded sharply. "And I'm really getting sick of people telling me that he's trying to hook up with me. He's been nothing but a good friend!"

Duncan opened his mouth to speak, but Veronica put her hand out and spoke first. "And he didn't tell me about Meg. I saw you two out walking around your house."

"Oh."

She reached out and touched his arm. "What are you going to do?" she asked quietly. "Have you and Meg talked yet?"

He sighed and shook his head. "We try to talk about it... but it's so hard to figure out," he told her. "Her parents are furious. And they want Meg to give the baby up for adoption... but the agency they want to go with is just so... religious. And that makes both of us uncomfortable."

She nodded and slipped her hand down to his. "Whatever you two decide to do... you know I'll support you, right?"

He sighed and turned his hand over so his fingers threaded through hers. After pressing a kiss to her knuckles, he looked at her. "Even if we decide to keep the baby?"

"Duncan, your child is more important," she whispered. "Whatever I can do to help... I love you... just name it."

"Are we okay?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe in a few days," she murmured, smiling at him. "I just need you to stop hiding and lying... okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

"Now... do you mind coming with me to my locker?"

"Not at all," he murmured, before leaning in to kiss her.

Veronica's lips curved into a smile against his; she felt like some of her life was fitting together, and she figured the rest would fall into place soon enough.

&&&&

In the spirit of getting her life back together, Veronica had decided to volunteer for the Future Business Leaders of America, at their booth in the Winter Carnival.

The booth served Slushies---Electric Lemonade, Tropical Vanilla, Cherry Banana, Rainbow Mix, Punch, and Blue Raspberry---and Snow Cones---Icicle Blue, Strawberry, Grape, Green Apple, Cherry Pink, and Cotton Candy. It was a popular booth; it seemed many people were looking for a sugary high while they enjoyed the other activities at the carnival.

"Slushies!" Veronica called out, trying to shore up some more support.

Logan came over, a grin on his face.

Veronica called out again to the masses: "Get your ice cold frozen... sugar water!"

"You had me at 'ice cold.'"

With a tight smile, Veronica asked, "What's your poison?"

Logan smiled and walked around to the front of the booth. "Let's see... uh, I want something that suits my mood."

"Oooh. I'm sorry," Veronica shot back, "we're all out of liquid evil."

Logan snorted. "I thought you didn't think I was evil anymore."

Veronica smiled. "You haven't offered to carry my books for me yet."

"Don't you have a backpack you can attach to the back of your new wheels?" Logan inquired. "Come to think of it... where are your new wheels?"

Veronica's smile turned into a smirk. "I am wheel-free today," she announced, motioning to the crutches propped up against the ice machine. "As long as I don't bear too much weight on it, I'm fine."

"Hey, that's some quick healing," he pointed out.

"Hey, I did most of the healing while I was out cold," she said. She tilted her head to one side. "Did you decide on what you want?"

"I'll take two of whatever will turn my tongue blue," he replied.

She turned and went to get his drinks.

"Hot date?" she asked as casually as she could make it sound.

"Rain check?" he shot back.

Veronica glared at him. He smiled and shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he said, not sounding at all apologetic. He shrugged again. "Night with the fellas, you know how it is."

"Right..." she trailed off and the shot him a quick glance. "Hey, have you talked to Duncan lately?"

She knew they had made up sometime while she was in a coma---Logan had filled her in on one of his visits to her house. They met a couple of times in the hospital, and it had been awkward; over time, they started slowly talking about their summers, and then, when Logan's house had been burned down---by Eli and his friends, Veronica guessed, but since she missed it, she never discussed it with him---Duncan offered Logan the other room in his hotel suite. They had been back to being inseparable ever since.

"I don't know what he and Mommy-to-be are doing," he said as he fished his wallet out of his back pocket. "He doesn't like to talk about that much."

"Yeah... no kidding," Veronica muttered.

"Pies! Pep Squad pies!" Madison called out from her booth, distracting both Logan and Veronica.

"Boy," Logan said in a wry tone of voice. "Boy, people really love Pep Squad Pie."

Veronica looked over at the booth. "It's genius," she commented, "Madison's dad gives her forty bucks to buy a pie from some chi-chi bakery and then drops three bills to buy it back in front of a live studio audience. He loves her."

She brought the Slushies over, their bright turquoise colour almost blinding her.

Logan said in an amused tone of voice, "Oh, the rich---how they mock you."

He handed her a fifty dollar bill. Veronica gasped, mock-shock written all over her face and laced through her voice as she asked, "There's a fifty dollar bill?"

"Had them made special," Logan told her, smirking.

She laughed quietly, and took the money pouch out to make change for Logan. He left, saluting her with one of the drinks in his hands, and then Veronica returned to work.

She hadn't expected to be solving a mystery at the end of the carnival. But, it had been fun to see Ms. Hauser and J.B. squirm; Madison's displeasure had been icing on the cake.

And while she wasn't sure what the tagging on the paddle was all about, she was pretty sure that the copy she made would become valuable information at some point.

For the first time in a long time, she felt more like her old self. She went to bed feeling more optimistic than she had since she woke up from the coma.

The next day, she woke up and decided that she would use her crutches instead of her wheelchair. That sent her father off to work with a smile on his face; she went to school with a smile on her face because she decided she could drive there on her own.

She was on her way out of the parking lot when she saw a lime green car pulling into one of the vacant spaces. She saw Eli behind the wheel; as she approached, he got out of the car.

"Got a funny story for you," she said, smiling. "I call it, 'How Eli got his new car.'"

"Well, are there pictures?" he asked. He smirked. "'Cause I'm a little slow."

"Remember that whole thing with Nancy's number on the fifty dollar bill? Yeah, I made it up."

He smiled and shook his head. "You haven't lost your skill, girl. Not a bit of it."

"I'm not as quick as I once was," she said, smiling back at him. "But, I can still put the clues together."

His smile turned into a grin. "I know."

"The sheriff let your buddy Thumper go," she said, using the term 'buddy' loosely. "The bag of pills you planted? Ephedrine. There is one thing I can't figure out, and it's pretty much driving me insane. I know you broke Thumper's lock, just took off your own and put it on Thumper's locker, but I don't know how you did it. Where did you hide the cash box?"

"The two places you looked for it."

"What?!"

He chuckled. "V, the cash box was in my niece's backpack, and then she went into the ball pit, stashed the box... we got the third degree from you---like I didn't know that was coming---"

"Then she went back in and got the box."

Eli nodded.

"While I was having the ball pit drained," Veronica continued, "you were planting cash and ephedrine in Thumper's locker."

"Well," Eli admitted, "I had to go back later and add the incriminating fifty dollar bill."

She tilted her head. "So... when you rented The Thomas Crown Affair... McQueen or Brosnan?"

He didn't reply; instead, he grinned at her.

After a minute, he asked, "Is it your undying love for me or just good, old-fashioned lust, V?"

She put her hand to her ear. "¿Qué?"

"That kept you from turning me in," he explained.

She put her finger on her lower lip and thought for a moment. Then she pointed at him.

"Love," she said quietly.

She tapped her lip and then pointed at him, again.

"Of rollercoasters."

He chuckled, but she saw the tension in his shoulders and wondered what that was about.

"And," Veronica added, "hatred of anything that requires me to tie a sweater over my shoulders and be at sea with my classmates. Nothing to do with you."

"I'm hurt, V."

"I'm sure you'll recover."

He shrugged. "I don't know about that..."

"So, when are you gonna pick me up and take me for a spin in your new wheels?"

He smiled again. "How does tonight sound?"

"Excellent, add a stop at an ice cream place along the way, and we have a deal," she said, beaming at him.

"I'll pick you up at... eight?"

Veronica smiled. "Sounds good."

She balanced herself on one crutch and lifted her fist up; he mirrored her actions and they gently tapped their knuckles together.

"See you later, Eli," she said, before taking her crutches back up and hobbling off towards one of the school's entrances.

&&&&

When she got home from school that day, she did her homework quickly; she was looking forward to her evening plans, and she didn't want anything to get in the way of her having a good time.

A knock on her bedroom door interrupted her from finishing her last pre-calculus problem.

"Hey, honey?" her father said as he opened her door.

"What's up, Dad?"

"I just got a tip on a---"

"Go," she said with a smile. "I've got Back-up to keep me safe."

"And Duncan."

"What?"

Keith smiled. "He's here, wanting to see you."

"Oh... okay. Tell him I'll be right out," she said, as she set her pencil down. "And you, be careful, okay?"

"Careful's my middle name," he reminded her with a grin. "I'll call if I'm going to be later than a day."

She smiled at him. "I know the drill."

After he left her room, she got up on her crutches and made her way to the living room. Duncan looked miserable; she didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she felt a sinking sensation inside her body.

"Hey, you," she murmured.

"Hey."

She sat down on the sofa. He followed.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly.

"Meg had our baby today," he told her.

Veronica forced herself to smile. While Meg had been pregnant, Veronica could ignore how everything would change a bit better; Duncan's news changed everything. The baby was suddenly much more real, once alive.

"Congratulations," she whispered, reaching out and rubbing Duncan's arm. "Boy or girl?"

"A girl," he admitted. "A girl... we named her Lilly."

"Oh... that's... that's perfect," Veronica murmured.

"We need your help."

That sinking sensation turned into a canyon, filled with negative feelings. She nodded slowly. "Right now?"

"Please."

She took her cellular phone off of the clip at her belt and quickly called Eli.

"Hey," she said quietly when he answered. "I'm gonna have to postpone our ice cream plans."

"That's cool, V. Everything okay?"

"Hardly," she replied as honestly as she could.

He paused. She wondered what he was going to say.

"Call me if you need anything, a'right?"

"I will," she promised. "Thank you."

She ended the call and looked at Duncan. "Okay. What can I do?"

He sighed. "Meg's dad is pushing for adoption. He's already drawing papers up and stuff."

"What are you going to do?"

"Run."

Veronica's eyes widened. "Duncan---"

"He abuses Grace, and the place he wants to send Lilly is just as bad, Veronica. We aren't going to let our daughter go to someone who uses psychological abuse and religious indoctrination as---"

"Hey," she interrupted quietly. "I know... I get it... what can I do for you?"

"We need to get out of town. Quickly. And without leaving a trace of evidence so your dad can't find us, when he eventually gets hired by the Mannings or my parents."

"Duncan..."

"I love you," he assured her. "I'll always love you. But that's my daughter, Veronica! I need to protect her!"

"If you go... we can't ever... I mean, you'll have to break all ties with Logan... with me..."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I know," he said quietly.

She looked over at him and saw how sad he looked. She cupped his face in her hands and gently kissed him.

"Let's get started," she whispered. "How soon before Meg and Lilly can leave the hospital?"

"A couple of days," he told her. "Lilly was a little jaundiced and she's having trouble keeping body heat."

"Doesn't she know how hot her namesake was?" Veronica teased, hoping to insert some humour into the conversation. When Duncan didn't smile, she rubbed his arms. "We'll need to skip class tomorrow... you'll need to get cash, we'll need to handle travel documents and all that... and we'll need to get Meg's stuff, too."

Duncan hugged her close and whispered how grateful he was in her ear. Veronica hugged him back, wondering if that was the last time she'd ever feel her first love in her arms.

&&&&

She knew someone was behind her. But, she didn't turn around; she continued to look out over the look-off point, onto the beach, as the wind whipped her hair into a frenzy.

"V, it's not safe out here."

She relaxed when she heard Eli's voice.

He put his hand on her shoulder, then slipped it away as he stepped up to be at her side. He put his hands on the railing.

"I have my taser in my bag," she said quietly. "I'd be okay."

He snorted quietly. After another minute, he said, "How're you holding up?"

"I've been better," she admitted. "My boyfriend and his daughter, and her mother are skipping town tomorrow, together. I'm sick of people treating me like I'm gonna break. And I... and I feel like... I don't know."

"So you came out here, alone, to figure it all out?"

She shrugged. "Or just to torture myself some more," she said.

"Shouldn't you be spending tonight with Duncan?"

"I was with him," she replied honestly. "Didn't go so well."

"No teary good-bye?"

"Oh... he thinks it went as well as it was supposed to," she told him. "We said good-bye... we did all of that. It just... it didn't feel right."

"Tell him to stay."

Veronica chuckled bitterly. "No... I mean, I don't want him to go... but... I don't..." she trailed off and sighed. "I can't explain it."

"Try," he insisted.

She turned and looked at him. "You always push me."

He shrugged and smiled. "Someone's got to, V."

"I'm not afraid of you, you know."

"I know."

She smiled a little. "Okay... well... it feels like a piece of me's missing," she divulged. "I can't remember a lot of the day of the crash... and I just feel like... like something's missing. I'm all mixed up. I know the doctor said that was normal, but I just want to hurry up and figure everything out!"

"Rome wasn't built in a day, V."

"Why does everyone just... just say things to soothe me?!" she demanded, feeling a little frustrated. She glared at him. "I feel like everyone's just patting me on my head. 'Poor Veronica, she's been in a coma for almost three months,' 'Poor Veronica, her boyfriend and his ex are having a baby,' 'Poor Veronica!'" She lashed out and pummeled his chest as she ranted. "I'm so sick of people treating me like I'm going to break!"

He grabbed her wrists and turned their bodies so she could lean against the railing. "Quit that," he growled. "Maybe we're careful around you because we really do think you're gonna break."

"I'm not!" she exclaimed, struggling to free her wrists. "Let go of me!"

He didn't release her wrists. He looked at her, refusing to break eye contact with her.

"Telling you that this'll take time isn't me tryin' to smooth things over, V," he said in a dangerous, quiet voice. "I'm tellin' you the truth. If you think 'bout it, you'll find I never lied to you about anything since the accident."

She knew he was right. She blushed; she was glad he couldn't see the pink colouring in her cheeks in the dark.

"And your friends and family are trying to be careful because they know you're not yourself," he continued. "We can't snap our fingers and have you back the way you were, V."

She experimentally tugged her arms. He didn't let go of her wrists. She growled wordlessly. He smirked.

"You gonna let me go anytime soon?"

"Thinkin' about it," he drawled.

"God, you're frustrating," she grumbled.

"At least I don't treat you like you're gonna break," he retorted.

She suddenly laughed, the frustration seeping out of her system as she dropped her head to his shoulder. "God... when I least expect it..."

Eli chuckled quietly. "Sorry, V."

"Don't apologise," she murmured into his chest. "That's the first laugh I've had all day." She peeked up at him. "Thank you, E."

"No problem, V," he whispered back, smiling.

Veronica laughed again and then she leaned back against the railing and shifted her weight. "So... tomorrow, I suspect I'll be with Lamb most of the evening, but how about the next day? Drive and ice cream?"

"Why don't we do it now?"

"I have things to do," she said quietly, frowning.

"Ahh... anything I can help with?"

She shook her head. "I'm not letting you get involved in this mess," she said in a very firm, no-nonsense tone of voice. "I don't want the Sheriff hauling your ass in because someone noticed my tattooed accomplice. He could threaten to put you away for life... make you cut a deal... anything to get information out of you. And I don't want you in that position."

"V, I can take care of myself---"

"Let me keep you out of trouble this time," she said quietly. "The next time I need to smuggle runaway teenagers out of Neptune, I'll come to you for help. I promise."

Eli nodded. "Fair enough," he said with a smile as he released his hold on her wrists.

She let her hands rest against his chest, where they had been held. "I just stopped here for a moment to think," she explained. "Trying to put the pieces together isn't something I can do while I'm driving... I get distracted."

"Makes sense," he said quietly.

She shrugged. "Were you just driving by?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously?" she inquired.

He smiled and shrugged. "Yeah."

"Liar."

Eli chuckled. "I guess we better get a move on, huh? Stuff to do?"

"Don't I know it," she said glumly.

A particularly strong gust of wind blew past them; she shivered. He put his arms around her and hugged her close to his body. She closed her eyes and savoured the warmth.

"It'll be okay," he promised. "And I'm not just trying to smooth things over. I know it'll be okay in the end."

She smiled and hugged him back.

&&&&

Veronica looked up when Dr. McCabe came into the examination room. She smiled. "You ready to get that leg cast off?"

"More than ready," Veronica replied, grinning excitedly. "The crutches are fun and all, but I'm getting sick of being such a slowpoke."

"I'll help you out with that in a minute," the doctor told her as she sat down on her stool and wheeled over to the examining table Veronica was sitting on. "First, I need to talk to you about something."

"Oookay..."

"When you came in after the crash," the doctor said quietly, while glancing down at her chart, "You were also diagnosed with chlamydia."

Veronica blinked. "I was... what?!"

"Your father approved antibiotic treatment---"

"Wait. My dad knows?!"

Dr. McCabe smiled and shook her head. "No, I believe he was told it was for the injuries sustained during the accident... which was the case at the time. We increased the dosage and monitored the disease closely once we realised what we were dealing with."

Veronica relaxed. "Oh," she breathed, "okay."

"It has cleared up, but you should be retested, just to be on the safe side---"

"I'll do whatever," Veronica said quickly.

The doctor nodded. "Alright. Let's get started then."

Veronica changed into the standard examination gown, and then her cast was removed. After that, and laughing at how funny her lower leg looked, she had her pelvic exam, and then the doctor checked the scar over Veronica's left hip.

"Everything's healing nicely," Dr. McCabe assured Veronica. "I'll get your cervical test results back to you as soon as I can... and that's that."

As Veronica redressed and left the office, she couldn't help but wonder who gave her the infection. She hadn't slept with anyone---except for Duncan, apparently, at Shelly Pomroy's party---so unless he had it, which was unlikely, she would have to believe that she had actually been raped.

She didn't like to think like that; it made her stomach churn. So, she decided to pretend, for the time being, that it had been Duncan who had given it to her.

Outside in the parking lot, she discretely looked around and saw Vinnie Van Lowe in a car across the street. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and then waved at him.

He waved back.

"Cheeseball," she muttered, as she dropped her bag into the back seat of her car.

She leaned on her crutches---since she was advised to use them until her leg was strong enough, and then on and off when her leg needed a break---and made her way around her vehicle, checking for GPS and/or listening devices.

There were still rewards offered for Duncan, and for Meg and Lilly. When they had gone missing, Veronica had been brought in immediately. Veronica, though, had been in the public eye the whole time---school, then her father's office, with Wallace, where he and Cliff were having a meeting, and then Java the Hut with Mac---so the FBI let her go, despite Sheriff Lamb's insistence that she was involved somehow.

Getting cash had been difficult. Meg and Duncan both took things from their homes---jewelry, mostly---that they could pawn for cash. Logan pitched in, too, in true best friend fashion. Some things Veronica, dressed in a disguise, pawned immediately, while the others, they would hold onto until they needed them.

The documents had been difficult to obtain, too, but they managed to pull it off. Veronica didn't ask them where they were going; she didn't want to know.

Before Duncan and Meg took Lilly away, Duncan kissed Veronica and told her that he'd always love her; Veronica told him she'd love him forever, too, and she hoped that he and Meg took care of Lilly. Meg apologised for being so mean to Veronica, for giving her a hard time; she told Veronica that she was upset because she was pregnant. Veronica understood that and she accepted her apology---she didn't want to leave their relationship on bad terms, and she knew Duncan wanted them to patch things up.

Her father refused to take the case. He claimed he was too busy to track down two eighteen year olds and their daughter; Veronica didn't believe him, but she was still grateful for the support.

Once she was satisfied that her car was clean---not because she was going anywhere incriminating, but because she didn't want to have her privacy so thoroughly invaded---she hopped in and drove away.

She missed first period, but she was on time for second period. At lunch, she sat with Wallace and Mac and Cassidy, who was a permanent fixture in Mac's life; they kept her distracted until they all left to go do their own things.

After a few minutes, she was deep in thought. She had no idea how she contracted that disease; and she knew it would bother her until she figured it out.

"This seat taken?"

She blinked and looked over her shoulder. Upon seeing Eli, she smiled.

"It may hurt your reputation," she warned.

"Don't you go worryin' about my reputation---I thought I made that clear," he reminded her, as he sat down next to her.

"Crystal," she assured him. "But, I just thought I'd---" She stopped talking when he smiled. She smiled back. "Nevermind," she said quietly.

He chuckled. "So... you got your cast off today," he said, looking down at her legs. "How does that feel?"

"Really good," she answered.

"Yeah, I bet."

She smiled at him. "Vinnie's still tailing me," she admitted with a little shake of her head. "It's getting old really fast."

"Is he bothering you?"

"Down boy," she murmured, while reaching out and squeezing his arm. "I'm fine... he has dollar signs in his eyes... once he realises I had nothing to do with Duncan's and Meg's disappearance, and that he won't be cashing in on either of those rewards, he'll back off."

"Well, you let me know---"

She cut him off. "I will. You'll be my first call."

"Good."

Veronica chuckled and then started picking at her lunch.

"How's your day going?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Alright."

"You're a real details man, aren't you?" she teased.

He grinned. "I am, as a matter of fact."

She was about to say something else, but Logan and a willowy blonde sauntered past their table on the way to the parking lot.

"And that is Hannah Griffith," Eli said when Veronica opened her mouth and discretely gestured towards the blonde. "Her dad's a plastic surgeon."

"Oh," she said quietly. She felt Eli's eyes on her. After a minute, she scolded him: "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what? You can't see the expression on my face."

"I can feel it," she told him.

He snorted.

"I'm not jealous or possessive or whatever," she said firmly.

"Oh, no?"

She shook her head, but didn't look at him. "No," she confirmed. "I don't have feelings for Logan anymore."

"Still pining over Duncan?"

She shook her head again. "Nope," she said quietly. She turned her head and looked at him, as she propped her head on her hand, her elbow on the table. "I... I think I have feelings for someone else," she murmured.

Eli's eyes widened. "Oh... okay."

Veronica chuckled quietly. For all his bluster about his sexual prowess in the early stages of their friendship, a year ago, she couldn't believe that he was being so timid.

She had decided to heed her father's words of advice. She watched and listened when she and Eli spent time together; and the evidence seemed to indicate that he did hold her in some sort of affection. At first, she wasn't sure what to do with that information; and then, she started to feel her stomach flutter every time he smiled at her and she knew she was in trouble.

"So... I've got to get to class," he said after clearing his throat.

She smiled and nodded. "Okay. Will I see you later?"

"I gotta work at my uncle's shop after school," he replied. "But, maybe after, if you wanna hang out."

He started to stand up. Impulsively, Veronica reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt in her hand. Eli's eyes widened again, but when he realised what she was doing, he relaxed.

She leaned up and pressed her lips to his for a quick kiss. When she pulled away and released his shirt, he raised an eyebrow. "You know you did that in public?"

"Afraid your reputation might take a hit?" she asked, smiling up at him. "That was a pretty pathetic kiss."

Eli sat back down and then brought one hand up to her cheek; he slid it forward, threading his fingers into her hair as he tugged her closer.

Veronica squeaked in surprise. He smirked and kissed her, before nipping at her lower lip and then deepening the kiss. She was glad that it didn't get too out of hand---although for a brief second, she forgot she was sitting on the terrace, in front of at least two-thirds of Neptune High School's student population.

When he pulled back, she was panting for breath.

"Much better," she whispered.

Eli grinned and then stood up. He bent over and kissed the top of her head. "See you later, V," he told her quietly, touching his fingers to her shoulder before he walked away.

Veronica looked down at her lunch tray to collect her thoughts. Her pulse was pounding loudly; she could hear the blood rushing in her head.

When she looked up, every student outside was staring at her.

She smothered a little, embarrassed-yet-happy laugh, and got up to go to her locker.

The rest of the day, she was all anyone was gossiping about. She didn't understand why her life was so exciting for them to talk about; but, she didn't let their words get to her. She only hoped that Eli was handling the gossip well enough.

At the last bell, she and Mac walked to her locker. "So..." Mac said quietly. "I heard something in my last class."

"It's true."

"You and Weevil?" Mac asked quietly. "So... there was something. I'm so slow! I never figure these things out."

Veronica smiled at her friend. "It just happened at lunch, Mac... you didn't miss anything."

"Do you like... tattoos?"

Veronica laughed. "I'm not opposed to them," she admitted, as they stopped in front of her locker. "Can you---"

"No problem," Mac said as she took one of Veronica's crutches and held onto it while Veronica opened her locker.

"Hey, Mars," Dick shouted as he walked past her, his friends at his back, "finally figured out your place is with the rest of Neptune's trash?"

"As long my place is far from you, I don't really care, Dick," Veronica shot back.

He scoffed and said something about how he was glad she wasn't dating any of his friends anymore, too, but Veronica didn't pay much attention to him.

Mac chuckled and leaned against the row of lockers. "This is a thing now... you two?"

"Well, I'm hoping so... but he might decide he's about to start dating the trashiest of them all and bail on me, so---"

"He won't," Mac assured her quickly. "He spent hours in the hospital with you. And he---" she stopped short and pressed her lips together.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"I can't tell you."

"Tell me now."

Mac blushed and looked away. She took in a deep breath, and then said, "I promised I wouldn't say anything, so you can't tell him you know."

"Girlfriend's honour," she promised.

"I'm tutoring him in algebra."

"Why aren't you allowed to tell me that?"

Mac smiled. "I think he wants to improve his grades," she said quietly.

Veronica smiled, too. "I won't say anything to him about it," she said quietly. She looked away and chuckled. "God... if someone told me this is what would happen..."

"Well, when you get back into the P.I. biz, you'll have some serious muscle to haul around with you," Mac pointed out.

The blonde grinned. "Back-up'll be jealous."

Mac laughed quietly.

&&&&

"Are you calling to tell me you decided against pizza and for pasta?" Veronica asked hopefully when Eli called her that evening.

He chuckled. "Is that what's gonna make you happy?"

"That and you delivering it," she replied, leaning against the counter as she spoke into her cellular phone. "What time are you coming over?"

"I'm already here, lasagna in hand, V."

She blinked and looked at the door. Sure enough, she saw his silhouette through the window.

"And Back-up didn't let me know you were here," Veronica pouted on the phone. "Traitor," she muttered, looking at her dog.

Eli chuckled. "Are you gonna let me in, or are we gonna spend the night talking on our phones?"

"Hmmm... did you bring garlic bread?"

"I did."

Veronica ended the call, set her phone down, and bounced to the door. She opened it with a flourish and a grin. "Then, you may enter," she told him happily.

He smiled and stepped over the threshold, pausing to kiss her cheek.

"C'mon," she whined mockingly, "you can do better than that."

"I can, but I'm afraid of what'll happen to me if I drop the food in the process," he told her.

The instant he put the bag of food down on the counter, she all but pounced on top of him. She was impressed with the way he recovered and caught her so she could wrap her arms and legs around him as she kissed him.

"Damn, girl," he groaned. "Lemme breathe, would ya?"

"No fun in that," she murmured.

"What about taking things slowly?"

"Haven't you heard?" she asked. "My reputation? I don't do slowly."

He smiled and slowly made his way over to the armchair in the living room area of the apartment, Veronica still wrapped around his body. He sat down and groaned as she shifted against him.

"V... seriously. C'mon... I know those stories aren't true."

She leaned back and looked at him. "So... you don't want to take advantage of the fact that my dad is out of town for two days?"

"Do you do anything slowly?"

"Full Speed Ahead Mars," Veronica purred. "That's what they call me."

"V... for real. Hold up."

"I thought you were legendary," she said, pouting.

He smirked. "I am... but we'll get there."

"We better."

"First, you should eat. I was promised dinner and a movie, after a hard day's work," he said, smiling again.

"Oh... alright," she said, the pout returning to her lips.

She hopped up and made her way over to the counter, where she put the lasagna and garlic bread onto plates. After she brought the plates to the table, Eli moved over the sofa, and Veronica went to the fridge to get sodas.

"Is there room for me over there?" she asked coyly.

"Plenty of room," Eli said, smiling at her. "Get over here."

Once she was settled down, she turned the television on and they started to eat.

"So... did your reputation take a hit today?" Veronica asked quietly. "Couldn't help to be seen kissing me..."

"I was gonna ask you the same thing."

Veronica smiled and shrugged. "My reputation can't take anymore hits... it's so low," she told him.

"Is that why you kissed me?"

"Is that why you kissed me?" she shot back.

He smiled and shook his head. After swallowing a bite of bread, he said, "No, that's definitely not why I kissed you, V. I kissed you because you... because you drive me nuts."

She beamed at him. "A girl always likes hearing that," she teased.

"V..."

"I kissed you because I wanted to," she said quietly, peeking at him through her hair. "Because you drive me crazy like no one's business," she teased.

He chuckled. "Just because I don't buy into your excuses---"

"I kind of like that about you," she admitted.

"Oh, you like it when a guy gives you a hard time."

She grinned and nodded. "I do," she chirped, before returning to her meal.

After they finished eating, Eli offered to do the dishes, but Veronica told him just to put the dishes on the counter and she'd deal with them later.

"You sure?" he asked as he returned to the sofa.

She nodded and tugged him down. "Sit. Relax," she said quietly.

Eli smiled at her. He reclined a bit and gently guided her up against his body, under his arm. She smiled up at him for a minute, and then she stretched out alongside of him, wrapping her arm around his body as she snuggled up to him.

"Comfy?" he asked.

"Yeah," she whispered. "What're we watching, anyway?"

"No clue."

Veronica laughed.

They fell silent after that. Veronica tried to behave, but when Eli started brushing his fingers through her hair, she couldn't behave any longer. So, she retaliated by tracing invisible patterns over his clothed torso with her fingertips.

"Chica," he growled, his voice low and vibrating through his chest and into her.

She smiled into his chest and continued what she was doing. Eli's fingers traveled down to her neck; she shivered but she refused to stop teasing him, and to lose the game they had started to play.

When her hand traveled up to his chest; she felt one of his nipples through his shirt. She smirked inwardly and brushed her fingers back and forth over the small nub.

Eli groaned. "V..."

She responded by gently pinching his nipple between her fingers. She felt him tense alongside of her.

She started moving her hand up even higher, but Eli caught it in his. He tugged and she found herself sprawled across his lap; another sharp tug and she was positioned better for kissing.

She smirked and leaned in for a kiss---but Eli held her back.

"What're you..."

The dark look in Eli's eyes caused her words to fade away, caused a shiver to break out over her flesh. The longer he looked at her, the tighter her stomach became; she was suddenly aware that she was playing with fire.

He leaned in and kissed over her jaw, trailing down towards her chin. Each kiss grew more aggressive; he nipped at the underside of her chin, before kissing her lips, which caused her to whimper.

She almost laughed at herself. She never thought she could make noises like that.

Each kiss raised her body temperature, higher and higher until she thought she was going to explode. She wanted to rip her clothes off, rip his off, and then have her way with him---it wasn't exactly how she pictured her first time.

She also knew she shouldn't count Eli as her first. Duncan was her first, according to him; but, she couldn't remember that, and judging by the way Eli's fingers burned into her lower back, she knew she'd always remember the first time with him.

He pulled back reluctantly and looked at her. "I think I should go," he said quietly, "before---"

"If you go, I will hunt you down," she threatened.

"Oh, will you?"

She nodded. "I will... it's not nice to rev a girl up and then leave her home alone," she pointed out.

Eli smiled and picked her up as he rose to his feet. Veronica laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist, one of her arms around his neck, while she pointed down the hall with her other arm.

"I know the way," he reminded her.

She shrugged. "Fine then," she said, before kissing him.

It took Eli a little longer than expected to get into Veronica's room. Each kiss had taken away his concentration---she imagined it wasn't very easy to walk while holding a squirming girl who was kissing him the whole way, so she decided to cut him some slack.

He deposited her on the floor; she landed on her feet and immediately reached for the hem of his shirt.

"You sure?"

"Very," she whispered.

He lifted his arms over his head and Veronica tugged the shirt off; once the garment was on the floor, she appreciated how his muscles moved under his skin.

"V?"

She swallowed hard and looked at him. "Sorry... I was just... gawking."

"Like what you see?"

"Yeah," she murmured, "I do."

He tugged her shirt off next, and then he pressed her against the door as he kissed her. Veronica quickly learned that with it behind her for support, she could do some very sneaky things using that door for leverage.

She unsnapped her bra but let him drag it over her body. Then, they worked on each other's jeans. Eli's came off without a hitch, since they were baggy enough; Veronica's posed a few problems, and she had to struggle with them for a few minutes.

Once they were off, thrown across the room in a fit of frustration, Veronica was picked up again. She smiled and kissed Eli enthusiastically.

She didn't mind that he had reduced her to a whimpering, moaning, near begging girl; all she cared about was that he kept kissing her.

"V..."

"More," she breathed.

He growled wordlessly and kissed her. When she scratched his back and shoulders, in hopes of spurring him on, he growled again, into her mouth, and then took her hands and pinned them to the door with one of his. Veronica's heart pounded harder in her chest and she kissed him back with even more hungry enthusiasm.

Eli slowed their kiss down---much to her dismay. He nipped at her lower lip and then pulled back completely.

"Keep your hands up there," he ordered, his voice so low and rough and full of desire that Veronica almost whimpered after hearing it. He looked up at her. "V, don't move your hands."

She nodded and stretched her arms, keeping her hands exactly where they were after he released her wrists.

He smirked and rewarded her with another kiss, while pressing his hips against hers more assertively to hold her up.

The kiss didn't last long; however, Veronica didn't mind because he was looking into her eyes as he slowly brought his hands from her hips to her breasts.

She wanted to close her eyes, to lose herself in the feelings he was stirring up, but she couldn't tear her eyes from his. They were so big and dark and they showed her exactly how turned on he was.

His thumbs flicked over her nipples; she arched her back and whimpered, unable to respond in any other way.

Eli pressed his lips to the underside of her jaw---another reward, or another second of torture, she wasn't sure.

"What do you want, V?" he asked, his voice raspy.

"More," she whispered, aware that her voice didn't quite sound like it usually did.

He smirked and squeezed one of her breasts; her eyelids fluttered, but didn't shut, and a low moan escaped her throat.

"God, yes," she breathed.

When Eli pulled his hand away, until just his index finger and thumb pinched her nipple, she squealed and almost dropped her hands. He twisted those fingers, that sensitive piece of her flesh, and she shuddered and bucked against him.

"Eli... just like that," she whimpered.

He dropped his head and put his mouth over her other nipple; his mouth and fingers worked together, eliciting squeals and moans from Veronica's mouth.

"Harder," she pleaded. "Please..."

He obliged her, knowing that his mouth would probably be leaving marks on her breast and feeling rather proud of that, and enjoyed the way she rocked against him.

The harder he pushed, the more she responded. The tension was building inside of her, and he seemed to know what strings to pluck to drive her even more insane.

When her nerves finally snapped, she cried out and closed her eyes, unaware of anything else but her muscles trembling and contracting as a wave of hot energy washed over her.

Eli was smirking when she opened her eyes. "What?" she asked, her voice taking on a husky tone.

"Damn, that's hot," he breathed. "Chica... you... damn."

Veronica blushed and let her arms slide down the door to hand at her sides for a moment while she shook the kinks out of her shoulders. Then, she put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him.

"We can go to bed now," she whispered. "It's a water bed, so you're warned---"

"Maybe I want to have my way with you right here," he interrupted.

Veronica smiled at him. "Do you really?"

"I want to... everywhere," he assured her.

She blushed and shivered. The tone of his voice made her want things she had never wanted before.

"You decide," she whispered. "Bed or wall, Eli. I'm up for either option."

"I need to give my legs a rest," he admitted, chuckling. "Don't know how much longer I can stand here."

She smiled and kissed him once, running her hand over the back of his head and down over the crown tattoo on his neck.

He groaned and deepened the kiss, while pushing off from the door and carrying her across the room to her bed. Veronica laughed into his mouth and wrapped her arm around his shoulders as they made the trek.

Eli set Veronica down on the bed first, and then he joined her. They fell silent as the bed started rocking them back and forth, and then they looked at each other; two seconds later, they were both laughing.

"This might be tricky," Eli pointed out.

Veronica's laughter turned into a giggle. "Maybe this is why Dad bought me the water bed," she suggested.

They tried to get closer, to kiss, to do other things... but every time the bed started rocking them, they resumed laughing.

Finally, Eli gave up. He grabbed a couple pillows off of the bed and tossed them onto the floor. "That's it," he said, groaning as he pushed himself into a standing position. "We're gonna risk carpet burns."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "If we take the blanket down with us... we won't have to."

"Not just a pretty face," he teased as she stood up and brought the blankets with her.

"I'm much more than a pretty face," she agreed as she helped him make the makeshift bed. She blushed. "Well, not much more. But you know what I mean---"

"Yeah," he interrupted, before guiding her down onto the floor.

She laughed nervously as she settled down, stretching her body alongside his.

"So..."

"Something on your mind, V?"

She shrugged. "No... I just... couldn't think of a good segway."

"Wanna stop?"

She shook her head. "No... god, no," she whispered. "I'm just... you know..."

Eli's eyes narrowed as he studied her. She hadn't wanted to tell him about her sexual experiences, but she sensed he was about to put some of it together.

"You haven't...?"

She blushed and closed her eyes. "I kind of hoped we could get through this without a heavy moment---"

"Veronica."

She opened her eyes when he used her name, instead of the abbreviated pet name he usually used.

"Talk to me," he insisted.

"I... Madison Sinclair gave me a 'Trip to the Dentist' at Shelly Pomroy's end of the year party last year," she said, turning on her side to look at him. She saw the puzzled look on Eli's face and quickly explained what that term meant. He grimaced and she continued talking. "I didn't know that Dick had put GHB in the drink and tried to get Madison to drink it, to get her to loosen up."

Eli snorted. "That bitch'd need more than GHB to loosen her up."

Veronica smiled. "Yeah... no kidding."

"Anyway, keep going," he insisted.

"I was really loosened up," she continued. "I mean... Dick and Casey and Shaun convinced me to make out with another girl... I was doing body shots at one point---or basically being a salt lick for the guys who were doing their shots... and eventually, Dick and Beaver brought me into the guest room.

"I was completely out of it at that point. I talked to them... Dick wouldn't touch me anyway, and Beav---I mean, Cassidy, said he didn't either.

"But, since I had woken up the next day without my underwear on, I figured something had happened. Duncan told me he had stumbled in and found me... I was apparently lucid, and between the drugs and alcohol... we... you know." She paused and closed her eyes. "I don't remember it. Technically... it was my first time. My only time."

She didn't know what to expect as a response. She was surprised when he reached out and threaded his fingers through her hair, guiding her head towards his so their lips could meet.

After the kiss, he whispered, "Well, if you still wanna do this, I'm pretty sure you'll remember it."

Her eyes opened and immediately sought his. "You still wanna?"

"Yeah."

"Are you surprised?" she asked. "I mean... with all the rumours?"

"Rumours are just rumours," he said quietly. "That explains a lot, though... why you changed so much the next year, and stuff."

She nodded. "Yeah... I guess."

She sensed he wanted to keep talking, but that was the last thing she wanted to do; she didn't want to get into the details of what happened or what didn't happen at the party, she didn't want to talk about her feelings. All she wanted was to keep moving forward; she wanted Eli to kiss her and to make her squirm and beg for more.

So, when he opened his mouth to ask a question, she leaned in and kissed him while gently raking her nails over his chest.

"V..."

She smiled against his lips and deepened the kiss. Eli responded the way she hoped he would; he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. She made a quiet noise in her throat, urging him on; then, she reached up and scratched the back of his head and neck.

That seemed to be the right move. He rolled her onto her back and pushed himself up on his arms so he could loom over her; as he continued to kiss her, he flexed his hips against hers to tease her.

She whimpered and slid her hands to his shoulders. When he nipped at her lower lip, she moaned and trailed her nails down his arms.

He whispered her name, followed by something in Spanish. She couldn't figure out what he meant, but it sounded positive to her, so she allowed herself to lap it up.

After entirely too much kissing for her liking, they parted and removed the last scraps of clothing they were wearing. Veronica's breath hitched in her chest as she took in Eli's body; she wanted to touch him but she didn't know where to start.

He smiled at her and took her hands in his. After kissing her fingertips, he brought her hands to his chest. She smiled and slowly started to explore his body; first his upper body, and then she ventured lower.

She used Eli's facial expression and the sounds he was making as a guide to steer her hands around his body. She knew enough to know where all of the generic hot spots were on the male body, but she wanted to find Eli's triggers, so she took her time tasting and touching his skin.

"Damn, girl," he moaned, before mumbling something in Spanish.

Veronica shivered and smiled against his body; she pressed her lips against his hipbone, and smiled again when she felt him shudder.

Slowly, she slid her hand along his thigh; she had intended to tease him a little, but he snapped his hand down and grabbed her wrist.

"No."

"No?" Veronica asked, peeking up at him.

"Definitely, no," he said, reaching down and putting his hands under her arms to slide her back up so her head was on her pillow.

"Spoilsport," she muttered, pouting at him.

"Just you wait," he promised in a quiet voice.

Veronica grinned and sat up, before reaching towards her bedside table. She opened the top drawer, and blindly rummaged around while she looked into Eli's eyes.

"I don't wanna wait any longer," she murmured, before retrieving a small square packet and dropping it down onto his chest.

"You always prepared?"

"I try to be," she murmured.

"I like that in a girl," he told her, smiling at her.

She beamed at him and then bent down to kiss his forehead. Eli set the condom aside and then grabbed her arms to pull her down on top of him.

Veronica laughed quietly and tucked her face into his neck and shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple, jaw, and neck; Veronica whimpered quietly and dug her fingers into his sides, holding on as he teased her.

"No need to preheat the oven any longer," she teased. "I'm good to go."

"You sure?"

She nodded and kissed him.

Eli didn't waste much time after that, which made Veronica happy; she didn't know how much more she could handle. He put the condom on and then Veronica eased onto her back, beckoning him closer.

She admired the way he pushed himself up, balancing himself on his hands and knees as he positioned himself over her. She thought there was something catlike in his movements. He reminded her of a jungle cat, dark and dangerous, the way his body moved while his eyes stayed on her as if he was stalking his prey. She shivered and blushed at the same time.

He kissed her until she was relaxed, and then he slowly moved her legs further apart and nudged his hips against hers.

She followed a combination of his guidance---how to tilt her hips, when to push, and so on---and her own instincts. When he started to push his erection inside of her, the sensation of being stretched on the inside made her eyes water; but, it was sharp and it made her feel so alive, so she welcomed the feeling wholly and begged for more by pushing her hips towards his.

"Slow down," he insisted quietly, near her ear.

"No," she breathed. "More... I can handle it."

"Don't wanna hurt---"

"You're not going to," she promised, sliding her hands from his shoulders to his cheeks.

She leaned up and kissed him; as she deepened the kiss, she flexed her hands so her nails were against his skin and then she dragged them down his torso.

Eli growled and thrust forward, faster than he had intended to. Veronica moaned and scrambled to wrap her legs around his waist, desperate to feel more of everything that was being offered to her.

As she scratched his back, she leaned in and bit his earlobe, behind his hoop earring. Eli grunted and dropped his head; pressing his forehead against her shoulder.

She continued to push him for more; her move meant his next move, and before she knew it, he was using most of his strength to keep up with her demands.

Veronica's hips ached, her throat was raw, and she knew she'd have bite marks over her body---but it didn't matter. She could feel her blood coursing through her system, her mind was clearer than it had been in a long time, and she had never felt closer to another person, ever.

She reached up to scratch Eli's chest, but he caught her hands and pinned them above her head. She felt her stomach tighten as her heart raced, hammering against her ribcage.

Eli kissed her, deeply without much introduction, and she kissed him back. She arched her body against his, she rocked with him, she struggled under his hold on her; he never once slowed down or said they should be more careful, and she was grateful for it.

"Your right leg, V," he mumbled, his breath hot against her ear.

"What... about it?"

"Higher," he demanded.

She obliged, tilting her hips up a bit more as she slid her right leg up higher; with that position change, she felt Eli sink deeper, inside of her, hitting something and making her curse and whine at the same time.

"Stop?"

"No," she panted. "Don't ever stop."

He obeyed the order, with pleasure. His strokes were becoming slower, but stronger, and every time he pulled back and thrust deep inside of her, she felt him hit that same spot. She moaned and writhed, loving the exquisite blend of sensations his actions stirred inside of her.

Eli hit it a bit harder and she almost screamed---except he heard her suck in a sharp breath and he quickly moved to kiss her, to smother the sound.

She came undone that way, balanced between pleasure and pain; she cried his name out in her hoarse voice and she felt her body tremble around his. And her end had been Eli's end; she felt him give one more enthusiastic thrust before he stilled above her.

"Chica," he whispered. "I---"

"Shh," she whispered, cutting him off.

He chuckled and slowly separated himself from her. Veronica watched as he stood up on unsteady legs and headed to the bathroom. She looked around and thought about moving to the bed, but she didn't think that she could make it that far; so she settled back and watched Eli remove the condom and clean himself up with a facecloth. Then, he took another facecloth, moistened it under the faucet, and brought it into the bedroom.

Veronica blushed as he sat down next to her and checked her over.

"You didn't break me," she said quietly.

"I know," he murmured. "Just chill, a'right?"

She smiled and let him spread her legs so he could take care of her; she shivered and purred appreciatively, and when he tossed the cloth towards the bathroom, she tugged him down to her level for a gentle kiss.

"That was really good," she whispered.

Eli smiled and nodded. "Yeah... and unless you really want to be feeling it tomorrow, I suggest we move up to the bed."

"So, you're considering... maybe spending the night?" she asked quietly.

He laughed softly. "I wouldn't let you kick me out tonight," he promised.

"Good," she purred.

Slowly, they worked together to remake the bed, and then Veronica left Eli to get comfortable, while she checked on Back-up and turned the lights off.

When she returned to the bedroom, Eli had opened his arms for her and was waiting patiently. She smiled and closed the door to her bedroom, before turning her lamp off and slipping into bed next to him.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked.

"Only in the good way," she murmured, craning her neck to capture a quick kiss.

"Veronica."

She smiled in the darkness. "Don't say my name like that, E," she scolded quietly before putting her hands over his, where they rested on his stomach.

"Sleep well, V," he whispered, after chuckling and before kissing the back of her neck.

Veronica smiled and hummed wordlessly. She knew she would have no problem sleeping that night.

&&&&

"Why am I back here?" Veronica asked quietly, looking around the foul-smelling school bus in confusion.

Marcos Oliveres turned and looked at her. "You can't stop wondering... was it just an accident? Or was it something more?" he explained, shrugging.

"You haven't really tried to figure this one out," Peter Ferrer piped up. "Is it just because you don't like know any of us?"

Cervando Esparza snorted. "Ese... she's been busy with Weevil. Ridin' his big ol' hog."

"Eli," Veronica corrected, glaring at him. "And I haven't---"

"Oh no?" Cervando asked. "What's on your neck, gringa? Those look like love bites to me."

Veronica blushed and brought her hands up to cover her neck. "Why are you guys talking to me?" she asked. "I don't understand---"

"It's time for the truth to come out," Peter told her, interrupting her. "You're the only one who survived, but not the only one that can speak for the rest of us."

When he and Marcos turned their heads, Veronica turned and looked at what had caught their attention. Rhonda Landers was on her cellular phone, talking to her friend Michelle.

"It's time for you to remember," Marcos said, looking back at Veronica.

Cervando sighed. "And it's time for the crash."

The loud explosion in her mind, the screams she heard afterwards, and the feeling of falling through the air caused her to wake up in a flash. She sat up, clutching her chest and panting for breath.

"V?" Eli asked, sounding sleepy and concerned. "Chica, what's..." he put his hands on her back. "You're shaking. What is it?"

"I... it wasn't an accident," Veronica whispered, turning and burying herself in Eli's warm body. "I think it was an explosion."

&&&&

Veronica stabbed her cafeteria-surprise, which was supposed to be beef stroganoff, and tried to psych herself up to eating it.

"Veronica?"

She looked at Wallace and smiled, even though smiling was the last thing she felt like doing---after trying the school's lunch menu for the day.

She had spoken to Sheriff Lamb after she woke up... and she couldn't give him any details about the crash. So, it had been ruled suicide. But, with the information Veronica now possessed, she didn't believe it was suicide. The bus driver would not have put explosives on the bus if he was going to drive over the cliff.

Ever since she had the dream about the bus crash, she spent her days and evenings thinking about the explosion, thinking about the possible reasons for wanting those students---including herself---dead. The thought that someone wanted her dead made her stomach clench, made her sad and angry, made her want to find the truth.

"You gonna eat it? Or just stab it---because I think it's already dead."

She chuckled, the sound tighter in her chest than it should have been, and then she set her plastic fork down.

"I don't think it was ever alive," Eli said from behind Veronica.

Her eyes lit up as she turned and looked at him. "Hey, you," she murmured.

"You two mind if I---"

"Sit," Wallace said, interjecting. "There's plenty of room."

"Thanks, man," Eli responded, before sitting down next to Veronica. She leaned in and kissed his shoulder, before deciding to open her milk and at least drink that.

He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You should eat something."

She smiled. "What a butch mother hen you are," she teased.

Eli snorted. He didn't say anything else, though. As she forced herself to eat, he gently brushed his fingers over her back.

"So," Wallace said, after clearing his throat, "What mystery are we solving this week?"

Veronica grinned. "What? You miss all the sneaking around, the scheming?"

"Last year, you had me bugging offices and wearing disguises!" Wallace pointed out with a grin. "This year has been boring."

"Well, I apologise," she murmured. "I didn't know my coma would ruin your social life."

"Doesn't your woman like it when you're not buggin' offices and wearin' disguises?" Eli asked.

Wallace smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm sure she'd prefer it if I could take her out to nicer places, too," he pointed out, "And sometimes, the double-oh-seven lifestyle put a little extra green in my wallet."

Veronica smiled. "And the experiences make you more worldly?"

"You bet," he grinned. "Hey, she fell for me because I used my worldly experiences to find out who hit her car, remember?"

Veronica chuckled and nodded. "I remember you saying something about that," she admitted. She turned her head and looked at Eli. "And you... do you miss doing favours for me?"

He slid his hand down to hold onto her hand; he threaded his fingers through hers under the table. She smiled. He smiled back.

"I do miss the head-tilt and the little 'hey' you used to give me when you'd ask for a favour," he answered, smirking at her.

She blushed. "I didn't do it all the time," she protested.

"You definitely did, V," he insisted.

Veronica looked at Wallace. "Is this true?"

"I never got the head-tilt," Wallace replied, looking disappointed as he unwrapped his sandwich. "I think I missed out."

"Mmm... it was very... adorable."

Veronica nudged Eli and laughed quietly. "Shuddup," she muttered. "I'm not adorable."

"Whatever you say, V."

"So... anyway," Wallace said, pointedly, to interrupt them from getting anymore affectionate in front of him. Veronica chuckled and looked at her friend. "Any jobs coming up?"

Veronica shrugged. There were a couple of jobs her father had offered her---simple surveillance gigs that she could do on her own.

"If you wanna sit shot gun while I photograph cheating husbands... sure," Veronica told him with a smile. "The only other thing I'm thinking about is the explosion."

Eli sighed. "You're sure it was an explosion?"

She nodded. "Yeah... I heard it, Eli. I know what I heard---"

Wallace spoke up. "You were dreaming, Veronica."

"I know, but... no. It wasn't just a dream," she insisted, feeling her face heat up as he pulse quickened.

Eli brought their linked hands up; he kissed her knuckles. "V, okay... okay. What can we do to help?"

"Just like that?"

Wallace shrugged and nodded. "Sure," he said casually, after sharing a look with Eli. "I mean... what else am I gonna do after school?"

"Where's Jackie?" Veronica asked.

"She's spending the day with her father," Wallace said quietly. "He's in the hospital---"

"Oh," Veronica said quietly. She remembered her father saying something about Terrance Cook getting shot, but she had been reading about explosives, so she hadn't really been paying attention. "How is he?"

Wallace shrugged. "Dunno yet. She said she'd call later and let me know."

"I hope he's okay," Veronica murmured, reaching over the table to squeeze Wallace's arm.

"I'm sure he will be," Wallace said in response. He smiled. "So, what're we doing then to solve the mystery of the crash?"

Veronica smiled. "Well... how would you feel about getting---"

"Their files?"

Veronica grinned. "How predictable of me, I know."

"Yeah, but I didn't sign up for office aid this year, remember?"

Veronica's grin faded immediately. "And when you made those key copies for me... you didn't keep a set for yourself?"

He grinned. "Oh, you know I did," he said, before chuckling.

"Good man," she praised. "I've trained you well, I see."

"You're like the Yale of spy-training," Wallace pointed out.

Veronica blushed and dropped her forehead to Eli's shoulder. "He did not just say that," she mumbled.

Eli chuckled and kissed the top of Veronica's head. "He did," he murmured.

"So, look," Wallace spoke up, "I'll go get the files... meet you at your place after?"

"Sounds good," Veronica said with a smile and a nod. She watched Wallace gather his things up. "Where're you off to, Fennel?"

"Gonna go hang out with the team, and let you two... do your own thing," he said pointedly.

Veronica looked embarrassed---until Wallace walked away. Then she grinned at Eli. "We don't have a thing, do we?"

"We definitely don't," he assured her, although she sensed a lot of sarcasm in his voice.

"Although," she said quietly, while pushing her tray to the centre of the table and then slowly slipping into his lap, "if the other students see you holding my hand all the time, they're gonna think you're some sort of teddy bear."

"What do you suggest, V?" he asked. She looked into his eyes and smiled when she saw his eyes darken.

"Nothing we can get expelled for, of course..."

"'Course."

"Nothing a teddy bear does, either," she purred.

He chuckled, the sound rumbling into Veronica. "I eventually have to stand up, chica," he said quietly, his voice rougher than before.

"That's too bad," she purred.

She moved to get out of his lap, but he held her down. She squeaked---until his mouth covered hers and smothered the sound. He kissed her the way she craved to be kissed, thoroughly, until neither of them could breathe.

"Oh..." she whispered once he released her. "That... well, teddy bears don't make me feel like that."

"Good," he whispered back.

She smiled and tweaked his chin. "I better get going. I have to find Mac before English class."

"Be careful."

She tilted her head and studied him. "I know about the knife Mac keeps at her waist, I'll be ready for her," she teased, letting her lips hover over his. "Lightening Mars, that's what the street fighters call me."

"I meant with this crash business, V," he pointed out. "If it was intentional... murder... the person who did it is still out there. And if you get too close---"

"You'll have my back," she interrupted.

"I always got your back," he promised.

She smiled and kissed him once, briefly, before sliding out of his lap and getting to her feet. She put the strap of her bag over her shoulder and then grabbed her tray.

"Call me later, V."

She nodded.

&&&&

"All righty, citizens," Mrs. Murphy said to Veronica's English class. "The big moment has finally arrived."

Veronica rested her head on her hand, listening even though she didn't want to. She worked hard on the essay---because, really, she thought blowing something up would be therapeutic---but she didn't really expect to win.

She glanced behind her and saw that Logan wasn't even pretending to pay attention; she smiled as she saw his face hidden behind a magazine.

Somethings never change, she mused silently.

"The essay contest committee couldn't decide between the two best essays, so Neptune High will be sending two students to the mayor's office as his honourary deputies," Mrs. Murphy continued, "and as a grand finale, these lucky patriots will push the plunger for the demolition of the old Shark Field on Saturday. The grand prize winners of the Woody Goodman's freedom essay contest are... Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars!"

Veronica's head almost dropped off of her hand. She smiled and looked over at Logan.

He lowered his magazine, looking rather coy, before he smirked at Veronica.

"I'm sorry," he said to the class, "did someone say my name?"

Mrs. Murphy cleared her throat. "For those interested, the winning essays will be on the board all week," she announced as she moved to pin the essays on the corkboard on the wall.

The bell rang and most people started to gather their things and leave. A few people didn't leave right away: Veronica, who went to the board to flip through Logan's essay to see how good it was, in comparison to hers; four girls; and Logan, who was surrounded by the four girls.

"Congratulations, Logan!"

He smiled. "Thank you. Oh, thanks... yeah, it, uh, yeah... it took some work."

"I think it's awesome," another girl said.

"Thank you."

They all waved at him and smiled, while walking past him and out the door. "Bye," they called out.

"Bye bye," Logan chirped happily.

Veronica turned and walked to him.

"'Freedom,'" Veronica recited, "'that's what it's all about. But talking about it, and being it, that's two different things.'"

Logan smirked. "Whew. You came up all deliberate-like, I figured you wanted to be the first in line to ask me to the Sadie Hawkins dance, not recite my prize-winning essay."

"Neither, actually," she shot back, "I'm quoting 'Easy Rider,' which you may remember making me watch last summer."

"That's funny," Logan mused, "it sounds a lot like my essay."

"Yeah. Weird."

"Mmm. So no Sadie Hawkins dance?" he asked.

Veronica snorted. "I think my boyfriend might have a problem with that," she pointed out.

"Boyfriend? You can date a guy like that?" he inquired, still smirking at her. "Don't you know his only serious courtship is with crime? You'll always be taking a back seat to petty crime and assault, *V*."

"Is this what I have to look forward to at the Mayor's office?" Veronica asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, so you won't be too busy giving Weevil his conjugal visits next week?"

Veronica sighed and shook her head, retraining herself from saying or doing something she'd regret later. She consoled herself by reminding herself that she would be spending the next week with Logan, and that he was bound to say or do something even more insensitive in that timeframe.

&&&&

Veronica looked at everything that she and Wallace had spread out over her desk and sighed. There wasn't much in the students' permanent records; they weren't bad people, they hadn't done anything to deserve such an awful death.

Only one person had a mark on her record: key witness in the Aaron Echolls case.

That fact made her stomach clench.

"Hey, Veronica, there's something I don't get," Wallace said, shaking her from her thoughts. "If the bus exploded, if the target was the driver... the person who set it up could have had it rigged to explode at any time. Sure, the explosion would have hurt everyone on the bus, but what killed everyone else was the fact that the bus went over a cliff and into the water."

"Most of the students drowned," Veronica realised quietly.

Wallace nodded. "Exactly. So, the explosives would have had to be triggered... probably by a cell phone. Because even if it was set to detonate at a certain time, there's no way to predict traffic, how fast the driver was gonna go, if there were any stops on the way..."

He glanced down at the map they had printed off of the internet, courtesy of Google's satellite map service. He pointed at the route the bus was scheduled to take.

"There aren't any other cliffs on the way, Veronica," he said, illustrating with his finger.

Veronica sighed. "Okay. So... the cell phone would have to be following the bus."

"Maybe someone who was in the limo could tell you what the traffic situation was like," Wallace suggested.

She shrugged. "Maybe... yeah. Good thinking."

"But, still... how many people would know how to make a bomb that would send a bus going over a cliff?" Wallace said, thinking out loud.

"Whaddyamean?" Veronica asked, turning to look at him.

"Any idiot can make a bomb, but take it from your loyal sidekick---who has an interest in things like physics, who likes knowing how things work, who wants to be a mechanical engineer---it takes some skills in physics and math to make a bus explode and turn a certain way."

"So, someone smart."

Wallace nodded. "Exactly... this wasn't your basic Neptune thug. Someone had to carefully calculate the whole thing so it would go down the way he or she wanted it to."

"Are there classes in that sort of thing at Neptune High?"

"Physics and math," Wallace replied, "but no movie stunt classes. That's more of an apprentice-trade."

"Movie stunt?"

Wallace nodded. "Yeah. Don't tell me you don't watch action movies."

"Remember any movies where a bus is launched over a cliff?" she asked.

"Not off the top of my head... but isn't there a way to find out if any stunt-makers live in Neptune?"

"Um... good ol' IMDB?"

"Low-tech," he mused. "I like that."

Veronica smiled and opened her laptop. "If you could think of a few movies where vehicles explode, though, that would be a big help."

"I have a girlfriend, Veronica," Wallace pointed out, "so the only movies I'm watching are chick flicks."

Veronica frowned and picked up her cellular phone. "Well, that's just not cool," Veronica murmured as she scrolled through her phone's address book until she found Eli's number. "I'll check with Eli... he's a fan of the action genre."

"And he probably wouldn't let you subject him to a chick flick, either," Wallace muttered. "I need to take a stand."

Veronica smiled. "Jackie's a nice girl, Wallace, and she's good to you... maybe just suggest a compromise, instead of a stand," she advised while she waited for Eli's voicemail to pick up.

"Weevil."

She smiled more. "I didn't think you'd be answering your phone," she murmured. "I was gonna leave you a message."

"I'm... taking a break," he told her. "What's up, V?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you've seen any good action movies lately?" she asked. "Particularly ones where vehicles explode?"

Eli chuckled. "What are you working on?"

"I'll tell you when I see you tomorrow," she promised. "You should probably get back to whatever you're doing... right?"

"How about you meet me at that coffee place you like," he suggested, "In a couple of hours?"

She smiled. "Okay... if you can spare the time."

"For you, chica? Por vida."

She felt a frisson of desire travel along her spine when his deep, accented voice tickled her ear.

"Okay... see you later," she murmured.

"Bye, V."

She hung up the phone and stared at her desktop. Wallace snorted. She turned her head and glared at him. "What?"

"You're such a marshmallow, Veronica Mars."

She laughed and picked up one of the file folders so she could swat at him.

&&&&

After a meal with her father---takeout from her favourite restaurant, to celebrate her tying for first in the essay contest---Veronica changed her clothes and headed to Java the Hut.

When she got inside the restaurant, she saw Eli sitting at one of the back booths. She smiled and waved, and as she walked towards him, she smiled more when he waved back.

"Hey," she murmured, kissing his temple before sliding into the booth next to him. "You have a list of movies for me?"

"You give me that head-tilt, and we gotta deal, chica," he said in her ear. "Make it official, V."

Veronica smirked and turned to look at him. Then, she got up and stood in front of their table. Surpressing the urge to giggle, she tilted her head. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Now, that's more like it," he commented, smirking before he tugged her into the booth.

She laughed and hugged him as he kissed her neck.

"What'd you and Fennel figure out?" he asked, after he stopped showering affection upon her neck and lips.

She told him everything that she and Wallace had discussed; he listened carefully, agreeing to most of what she told him.

"Hey," she said quietly. "What were you doing all the way out there?"

He blinked. "What? You think I had something to do with the crash?" he asked, his voice turning cold. "V, how could you think---" he stopped short and sighed. "You were on that bus, V! I knew you were there! Why would I---" he stopped again and shook his head.

"Why were you out there?"

Eli sighed and looked away from her. "Cervando. I loved the guy, but he was book-smart and street-dumb," he explained. "He was telling anybody who'd listen how he'd hustled Liam Fitzpatrick and word was out that Liam was looking for him. I had his back, just in case." He paused and looked back at her. "You believe me, V?"

She smiled. "How could I not when you're battin' those Maybelline lashes at me?"

"God, V..."

"I'm sorry I asked," she murmured. "Really... I just... I never knew what you were doing there, and---"

"And you never quite figured out what tact is?" he asked, a teasing tone in his voice. "Or is it that trust has never quite been your strong suit?"

She kissed him twice, and then said, "How about all of the above?"

"Sounds about right," he agreed.

"I'll work on being a less suspicious person," she promised quietly.

She was about to kiss him again, when someone cleared her throat behind them. Jackie, Wallace's girlfriend, stood at their table, wearing the servers' uniform and holding a notepad.

"May I take your orders?"

Veronica arched an eyebrow. "You work here?"

Jackie nodded. "I do," she replied. "Needed to flush out my college applications a little with life experiences."

"Oh," Veronica said, accepting the girl's words, even though she saw Jackie's eyes drift off to the left.

"Would you like to try our new house roast? Wallace can't get enough of it," Jackie told them.

Veronica smiled. "Um... yeah. Sounds good to me," she replied.

Eli nodded. "Me, too, thanks."

After Jackie left, Eli turned Veronica's face towards his. "I believe you were about to kiss me," he said, sounding a little smug.

She grinned. "I might've been... now, we'll never know."

"V..."

She chuckled. "For every action movie you give me, I'll give you a kiss," she bargained. "How does that sound?"

"A'right," he said, licking his lips and then smirking at her. "'The Fast and the Furious,'" he told her quietly.

Veronica leaned in and kissed him, letting her lips linger against his for a second before pulling away. "Any others?"

He smirked again, and then started giving her a long list of movies; for every title, Veronica gave him a kiss. As the list continued, the intensity of their kisses increased. Not even Jackie's delivering their coffee killed the mood crackling between them.

"And the last action movie I can think of," Eli said as Veronica kissed his neck. "'XXX.'"

"Mmmm... triple X," Veronica purred. "Are you suggesting something, Mr. Navarro?"

"Please, get a room before you do."

Veronica pulled back and saw Logan standing behind them. "You wanna come and watch?" she asked casually.

"I remember... you used to put on quite a show," Logan retorted in a wry tone of voice. "The little squeal, the tilt of your head... how you pretend to be more innocent than you really are."

Eli opened his mouth, but Veronica nudged him. Then, she looked up at Logan. "What do you want?"

"We need to ask you for a favour," Logan said, motioning between Eli and himself.

Veronica frowned and looked at her boyfriend. "This visit has strings?"

"You tied strings onto it, so I figured I could tie a few on, too," he told her.

She smiled and shrugged. "Okay... okay... what can I do for you?"

"Thumper was the one who had me kicked out of the PCH bike club," Eli explained. Veronica nodded; she guessed that was who it was, too, but Eli never brought the subject up and she didn't know how to bring it up, either. "We're trying to figure out who killed Felix."

"Why do you care if Logan stays out of jail?" Veronica asked.

"Felix was part of my family, V," Eli said quietly. "If Echolls did something else, I wouldn't be working with him."

"Allegedly did," Logan corrected. "Allegedly. And no, I did not."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "I know you didn't. What can I do to help?"

"We need you to bug the confessional at St. Mary's Church," Eli told her as Logan sat down in the booth, opposite them. When Veronica's eyes bugged out of her head, Eli continued talking, sounding very insistent. "It's the only place were the 'spics and the Mc's mix without a punch being thown. And, if they're passing drugs there, the only place to do it is in the confessional."

"Why---"

Logan cut her off. "The priest is a Fitzpatrick. And the one getting the drugs is probably the one who killed Felix."

Veronica's brow furrowed. "Why do you think the Fitzpatricks are behind Felix's death?"

"Remember how the witness stepped up?" Logan asked. When she nodded, he continued to explain, "That was Dr. Tom Griffith---"

"Father of the girl you were dating?"

He nodded. "Yeah... I started dating her when I found out who her dad was. When he found out who she was dating, he told me he'd make his testimony disappear if I stopped seeing her... socially."

"God... that's cold, Logan," Veronica commented quietly.

"Yeah, well, it kept me out of jail. I'm sleeping fine."

"Anyway," Eli spoke up, "he's tied in with the Fitzpatricks."

"How do you---"

"He's not the one who called an ambulence," Logan admitted.

Veronica turned to look at him. "But you said---"

"I know. I lied. I didn't want them to find the guy, Veronica."

She growled and tipped her head back against the wall. "Of course you lied," she muttered under her breath.

"So will you---"

"I can't bug a confessional!" Veronica hissed. "There's a reason people go in there, you know."

"Veronica, please."

She sighed. "Okay... but only with video."

"Thanks, V," Eli said quietly.

Jackie walked over to their table. "Logan? Can I get you anything?"

He shook his head. "Actually, I was just leaving," he told the darker girl. He pushed himself up from the table and smiled at her. "Thanks, though."

Veronica snuggled into Eli's warm body as Logan started to walk away. Jackie offered a free refill---even though there wasn't a free refill policy at Java the Hut---and both of them accepted her offer.

Logan's head popped around the booth just as Veronica leaned in to kiss Eli.

"Oh, by the way, you forgot one movie," he said, smirking. "'The Long Haul,' made famous with its death-defying stunts."

"Thanks, Logan," Veronica said, with a pointed stare that clearly said 'scram.'

He gave them a sloppy salute and disappeared from sight.

"Now," Veronica purred, smiling at her boyfriend. "Where were we?"

"About to leave and go someplace private?" Eli suggested hopefully.

"Eager to get an early start on the weekend?" she inquired quietly.

"Do we have plans?"

"Dad's taking Alicia out on a book-signing event in San Francisco," Veronica explained quietly. "We'll have the house to ourselves. And Back-up---but he likes you."

"He's still signing books?"

"Well, he stopped for a while, because his daughter decided to go and suffer through some pretty serious head trauma," she said in a light tone of voice, "and he's got some commitments with the publisher to hold up."

Eli smirked. "That works well for us."

"It really does."

She smiled and leaned in, letting her lips hover over his teasingly. He growled and pressed his lips against hers. She purred wordlessly and wrapped her arm around his neck, gently teasing over the tattoo on his neck with her nails.

He growled again and deepened the kiss.

And then, something occurred to Veronica. It hit her hard and fast and left her shivering. She pulled back and sat back, eyes wide and mouth open.

"V?"

"'The Long Haul...'"

He frowned. "What?"

"A truck... it's sent over a cliff," she mumbled, "and Aaron Echolls---"

"Damn... you don't think---"

"I was on the bus!" Veronica cried, her face paling. "What if... what if I was supposed to die? What if those people died because of me?"

Eli let out a breath, and then scooped her up into his arms. He kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly.

"You don't know anything yet," he said, trying to reassure her. "You'd still have to figure out the connection between Echolls and the bus." He kissed her forehead again. "But, just in case, I want you to take Back-up with you every time you go anywhere alone."

Veronica sniffled and tucked her face into his shoulder.

&&&&

"Here," Eli offered, "let me get your keys."

Veronica grinned. She could have pulled them out of her pocket, if she moved the camera and recording device into the hand that held Back-up's leash. But, the instant she felt Eli's hand on her hip, sliding around to her front pocket, she decided to play along.

"Mmmm, okay," she purred, leaning back against him.

It was late, Friday night, and they were returning to Veronica's apartment after retrieving the surveillance equipment that she had installed in the church. With Keith gone, the young couple had an evening of dinner, figuring out who was in cahoots with the Fitzpatricks, and then retiring to her bedroom for some very athletic, sexual activity.

Eli slid his hand into her pocket, and instead of fishing the keys out right away, he pressed his hand against her thigh and moved it as close to the centreline of her body as he could.

Veronica sucked in a sharp breath and bit back a moan. Eli smirked and nipped and her throat.

"Okay... you've made your point," she murmured, "I'm easy. Let's go inside."

He chuckled and pulled her keys of of her pocket. "You're no fun."

"Oh, I'm plenty of fun, and you know different," she reminded him as she took the keys out of his hand and unlocked the door.

He laughed quietly as they walked inside---just as the phone started ringing.

Veronica growled. "Dad. Probably checking up on me," she explained before she reached for the phone.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver after pushing the 'call' button and putting it to her ear.

"Veronica?"

"Hey, Wallace... what's up?" she said, while leaning back against the counter and watching as Eli take some things out of the fridge. She smiled; he promised to cook for her.

"I looked into that movie list," he told her.

"Oh... what did you find out?" she asked, tilting her body away from the kitchen.

"Does the name David 'Curly' Moran mean anything to you?" he asked.

"David 'Curly' Moran?" Veronica echoed. "No... why would it?"

"That's the name of the stunt guy on 'The Long Haul,' and the name of the only stunt guy that lives in Neptune," Wallace told her. "IMDB didn't exactly have his home address, but I checked a phone book. There's only one Moran in Neptune."

Veronica exhaled slowly. "Well... thanks. I'll check his name for priors."

"No problem. Be careful, Veronica, okay?"

"I've got two bodyguards tonight," she assured him.

"Good."

"Oh, and please don't tell your mom," Veronica added. "If she finds out, she'll tell Dad, and then Dad'll have an armed escort following me to school---"

"And it won't be Weevil," Wallace finished.

"Exactly," Veronica agreed, "it'll probably be an ex-Marine with no sense of humour."

"I'll keep quiet until you figure out more," he promised. There was a noise in his background and then he quickly said, "I gotta book, Veronica. Talk to you later?"

"You bet. Have a good night with Jackie," she said with a smile, before ending the call and putting the phone back in the charger.

Eli turned to look at her. "What's Curly gotta do with it?"

"You know him?"

"I know of him."

Veronica tilted her head. "Eli... spill. Now."

He sighed. "Just... just don't get mad."

"I promise."

He sighed again and moved away from the counter, closer to Veronica. "Curly's dead," he told her quietly. He saw her jaw drop and he quickly put his hands up. "No, I didn't do it. Just lemme finish my story, a'right?"

At her nod, he continued. "After the crash, I got this weird call... some guy saying Curly was behind the bus crash."

"You don't know who it was?" Veronica asked quietly.

He shook his head. "They just said Curly was hired by the Fitzpatricks to get back at Cervando."

"That's a lot of info for an anonymous call," she pointed out. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing."

She scoffed. "I'm sure."

"Look, the Fitzpatricks are meth-head lunatics, but they're not gonna kill a bus full of kids over three grand," he told her. "Their problem with Cervando would have been solved in an alley with a baseball bat."

"But..."

He sighed. "Okay. We messed him around. But we stopped before he ended up dead. He was still talking when we left him," he admitted. "He said he didn't kill Cervando, but he knew who did."

"How'd he end up dead?"

"Dunno."

Veronica frowned. "Do you still have the number on your cell?"

"I stored it," he told her. "I figured... if I ever got another call from that number... or if something happened---"

"Like you getting busted?"

He ducked his head, avoiding her eyes. "I've been around you for too long. Even then, I knew better than to delete the number."

Veronica pushed off of the counter and wrapped her arms around his waist; she rested her head against his shoulder, tucking her face into his neck as she took his phone off of his belt.

"Don't move away yet," he whispered.

She chuckled and kissed her way from his neck to his lips. "I've got some detective work to do," she reminded him.

"So do I," he said in a rough voice.

Veronica blushed and felt her stomach flutter. "Like... what kind of detective work?"

"I think you have a vague idea, V," he said, before kissing her lips again.

She exhaled shakily. "I think I do, too," she said, smiling at him.

"But, I also know how you get when you got a hot case," he said, leaning away from her. "So, you get to work and I'll make us something to eat."

She glared at him. Deep down, she knew the old Veronica wouldn't have gone from the story Eli told her about nearly killing someone to wanting to tear his clothes off quite so quickly; she knew she should have been angry, she should have lectured him, she should have done anything but wrap herself around his body and want him to hold her back. The step Eli took away from her and the insistence that she get to work should have made her right her personal wrong---not make her want to follow him and forget about the work she should be doing.

"Later, chica," he promised quietly, smiling a little at her.

Her glare melted and she smiled. After a nod, she kissed his cheek and took his phone to her bedroom, where she logged into her computer and private investigation software.

An hour later, Eli came into the room with a tray for their plates of food and drinks.

"Looks good," she told him as he set her plate down in front of her. She nudged her laptop out of the way and picked up her fork. "Thank you... I didn't know you could cook."

He smirked. "Not just a pretty face."

Veronica laughed quietly.

As they ate, she told him what she learned about Curly Moran: he was found dead on the beach, after having washed up on shore; cause of death was ruled as drowning, but the beating the PCHers bestowed upon him didn't help; he worked at a place that only maintained high-end cars, which meant that his clientele was made up of Neptune's oh-nine-ers, like the Casablancas, Kane, Goodman, and Echolls families.

The number that had been on Eli's phone, she'd discovered, was from the Echolls home. Veronica didn't recognise the number, though, she wasn't sure which room in the house it came from.

"Why would Logan call you and tell you Curly did it?" Veronica asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"He had a party that night," Eli told her. "We crashed it."

"Of course you did," she murmured.

"Hey, I was still a bad ass then," he pointed out.

She smiled. "I thought you're still a bad ass."

He chuckled and resumed eating.

After they were finished with their meal, Veronica did the dishes while Eli took Back-up outside.

When he came back, he took the dog off of his leash, and then he locked the door; after turning the living room light off, he walked up behind Veronica, who was drying dishes, and put his hands on her hips.

"Mmm... are we picking up where we left off?"

He kissed her neck. "If you'd let me," he whispered.

"I'm seriously considering it," she purred, as he slipped his hands into her front pockets. "Didn't you have some detectiving you want to do?"

He chuckled.

"I can wait until your finished with the dishes," he told her, "I'm a patient guy."

"Hardly," she said, before chuckling. "You gonna wait right behind me?"

He moved his fingers against her thighs. "You can't multitask?" he challenged.

"I can," she dared him.

She felt Eli's lips flicker against her skin and she guessed he was smirking. His fingers continued to stroke her skin through the fabric of her pockets.

The last few dishes were difficult to finish drying. She had to set them down on the counter while she controlled her breathing. Eli chuckled each time she faltered.

When she was finished with the dishes, she pushed away from the counter and turned quickly in his arms, kissing him forcefully.

"You tease," she growled.

"I'll take care of you," he promised, before picking her up in his arms and walking towards her bedroom.

He didn't waste any time undressing her; she tried to return the favour, but he stopped her from taking off any more than his open shirt, leaving him in his sleeveless top and baggy pants. At his direction, she eased herself down on her bed and he joined her, kissing her once he was on her level.

The foreplay started out simple---gentle touches and kisses, the odd nibble---but it didn't stay that way. He slipped his fingers between her legs and stroked them against her core, building the tension inside of her; when she warned him that she was about to reach a climax, he stopped and started teasing her an entirely different way.

At first, she wasn't sure what he was doing; she could only feel feather-light touches over her breasts and stomach. After a minute or two, she realised that he was brushing his eyelashes against her, blinking so they tickled her skin.

"God," she breathed, "that's original."

"I thought you liked it when I batted my lashes at you," he reminded her.

She laughed. He kissed her stomach and then the gentle teasing was over. He returned to using his fingers against her body and supplemented their effect by using his lips, teeth, and tongue against her, too. She rocked against him and the entire bed moved; she didn't laugh when the bed jostled them because she was too far gone to care.

She hit her climax with a loud, desperate cry. Her body shook and then tightened... and then relaxed completely. She panted for breath as he kissed his way up her body.

"Lemme return the favour," she whispered, tugging on his shirt.

Eli didn't decline the offer. She smiled and practically slithered onto the floor as he brought himself over to the edge of the bed. She kneeled up and helped him tug his shirt off, throwing the white fabric behind her; and then she leaned in and pressed slow, openmouthed kisses over his inked torso.

"You---"

"Shhh," she whispered. "I'm appreciating some art."

He groaned and brought a hand up to the back of her head, cradling her as she continued to kiss his skin.

"V... please---"

"I'm detectiving. Shhh," she scolded, before winking up at him.

His laughter was strangled, but he allowed her to continue what she was doing.

After a few minutes, Veronica slowly started unfastening his belt and pants. Eli rose to a standing position and helped her slide the pants down his legs; then, he sat back down again. Veronica moved the pants, throwing them somewhere in the vicinity of his shirt, and she crawled in between his legs.

She placed a few kisses on the insides of his thighs, smirking when she heard his breathing change and become shaky.

Veronica slid her hands up his legs, and then to his hips as she brought her head down towards his inflating erection. She licked its head twice, eliciting a loud groan from Eli's throat, before slowly easing it into her mouth.

It wasn't her favourite thing to do, but she did enjoy the sounds Eli was making so she considered the act worth a few minutes of discomfort.

She couldn't take much of him into her mouth, but he didn't really seem to care as long as she kept her hands busy, exploring his skin and finding sensitive places she could exploit.

"V... V... c'mon---"

He stopped short when she cupped his balls and squeezed gently. She didn't miss the shudder that overtook his body.

"Okay. Serious, V."

She slid her head back, releasing him with a loud 'pop,' before smirking up at him.

"Yeah, E?"

"Get up here," he instructed in a dark voice.

"Gimme a second," she murmured, before crawling up the length of the bed to reach her bedside table. She knew the extra wiggle of her hips hadn't been lost on him when she heard him groan, and by the time she returned to his feet, condom in hand, she was grinning.

"You are like... the devil."

"A very sexy, sweet devil, though, right?" she purred.

He snorted and nodded, leaning down and kissing her before she unwrapped the condom and slid it down onto his erection.

Eli helped her to her feet and was about to move back on the bed, but she shook her head and told him to stay there.

"I wanna drive," she whispered.

"Okay."

She straddled his legs and then, with his hands on her hips for guidance, she slowly lowered herself down. She put her hand around his erection and positioned it at her entrance; when she was sure it was in the right place, she slid down without warning, without stopping until he was completely sheathed inside of her.

"Ohhh... god, yes," she hissed, before kissing her way from Eli's shoulder to his jaw.

He cupped her face in one hand and crushed his mouth to hers, sucking in a sharp, ferocious-sounding breath through his noise just before they met. She ground her lower body against his as the kiss intensified, needing an output for all the need coursing through her body.

She rode him as hard as she could, gyrating her hips when her body demanded even more than what she was already feeling.

Eli moved his mouth away from hers and latched it onto her neck. When he sucked her flesh into his mouth and bit down, she cried out, her voice turning hoarse.

"Don't stop," she whispered after her voice broke, "please, don't stop."

"Don't intend to, chica," he growled.

He trailed his lips from her throat to her left breast. As he bit and sucked his way around the globe of flesh, Veronica dug her nails into his shoulders and continued pumping herself up and down against him.

"Yes," she hissed, scratching him.

"Damn, girl," he moaned. "You gonna scratch my tats off."

"You wish," she purred.

He chuckled and resumed his previous activities.

They pushed each other they way they craved it, hard and fast and without limitations, until their nerves couldn't take anymore. Veronica reached climax first, followed by Eli hot on her heels, and then they slumped against each other.

"Mmm," he hummed, before kissing the side of her head, "you really do lay the pipe right."

She laughed quietly and punched his shoulder. "You're not so bad, yourself," she murmured.

"Think you ever gonna stop being such a wildcat?" he inquired, drawling in his accent a bit more than usual.

"Probably not," she breathed. "I like it like that. You are older than me, though... maybe I should be careful. You might break a hip."

Eli laughed into her hair. "Careful, chica," he threatened, "or when I recover, I'm gonna make you pay for that last remark."

"I know all of your tricks," she purred, "so I think I can handle it."

"Not all of them, V... not all of them," he whispered into her ear. "I might tie you up, do whatever I want... all night long. Leave you hangin' for hours..."

She whimpered at the suggestion he was proposing.

Eli smirked and tipped her head up for a gentle kiss.

After they enjoyed the afterglow, Veronica eased herself out of his lap and they cleaned themselves up. She took his sleeveless shirt and tugged it on over her head, before grabbing a pair of underwear from one of her drawers; Eli put his shorts and pants on.

Veronica took one look at his back and winced. "Oh... shit. Eli, I did some damage," she said as she saw the wounds seeping a little blood. "

"Am I complaining?"

She smiled and shook her head. She took his hand and kissed him. "Let's go check out that video surveillance, okay?"

He took another kiss from her lips. "Yeah... okay."

They curled up on the sofa together, Veronica between Eli's splayed legs. The first time they watched the footage, neither of them figured out when the drugs were passed. The second time, Veronica figured it out, but she didn't tell Eli what had happened. The third time, he caught on.

"It wasn't Father Patrick, then," he said quietly.

She shook her head. "Nope... Liam dealt the drugs out through the hymnal." She craned her neck and looked at him. "I've been wondering... why would the Fitzpatricks want Felix dead? Was it just an initiation or something for Thumper?"

He sighed and kissed her temple. "No... Felix and Molly Fitzpatrick, Liam's niece, were in love," he admitted.

"Oh..."

"Yeah."

She set the equipment down and turned a bit to hug him. "You spending the night?"

"I thought that was the deal, V," he whispered.

She smiled. "Yeah... I was just checking."

&&&&

Veronica and Eli were quietly talking and occasionally kissing in the Neptune High parking lot, when Logan came up to them and clapped his hands.

"All set to go, buddy?" Logan asked.

She glared at him. "Are we carpooling?"

"Why not?" he asked. "Unless you wanna drive your rust bucket."

"Hey, no insulting my LeBaron," she protested, patting the hood of her car. "She gets me where I need to go." She sighed and pushed away from the car. "Okay, let's carpool," she agreed.

"See you later, Weevil," Logan said, his tone of voice sharp. He gave the other guy a mock-salute. "I'll take good care of your girl while we're working together."

Veronica punched Logan in the shoulder. "Knock it off," she growled. She turned to Eli and cupped his face in her hands. "I'll call you later... okay?"

"You better, V," he whispered, before kissing her.

She smiled and stole one more kiss before Logan grabbed her upper arm.

"Hey!"

"Alright, no more face sucking, you two... I think I'm gonna vomit," he said.

Veronica rolled her eyes and waved at Eli as Logan dragged her off towards his SUV.

&&&&

"So, here's what you'll be responsible for," Logan told her as they walked up the stairs to the floor on which Woody Goodman's office was situation, "clerical duties. I'll handle the personnel changes."

"As long as let me watch while you fire the sheriff, I'm okay with clerical duties," Veronica told him, smiling, as they headed into the outer office.

The secretary was on the phone when they entered. She smiled, made eye contact with them, and gestured for them to wait a minute while she finished the call.

"You must be Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars," she said once she hung up the phone, "our contest winners?"

"That's us," Veronica said quietly, with a polite smile.

She beamed at them. "Well, I'm Beverly, Mr. Goodman's assistant. Hold on, and I'll bring him out," she told them.

Once the willowy woman left the outer office, Logan looked down at Veronica. "Um... you've got a..."

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

He reached down and pointed at a spot on her neck. "Weevil's a biter, hmm?"

"Omigod," Veronica breathed, before quickly letting her hair down from its elastic, so it would cover the mark Eli left on her skin.

Logan snorted quietly, as Beverly and Woody Goodman stepped into the outer office. "Mr. Goodman," the assistant said, still smiling brightly, "Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls."

"Veronica," Woody said, smiling and shaking her hand. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you again, too, sir," she said, smiling back at him.

"And Logan... Aaron's son, right?" he said, while shaking Logan's hand. "Great essays, you two. Very powerful stuff."

"Well, it came from the heart," Logan said, eliciting an eye roll from Veronica.

Woody laughed and then turned to his assistant who had picked up the phone.

"Cancel that last request I made," he insisted.

She frowned and put the phone down.

"Alright then," Woody said, rubbing his hands together. "First things first, let's make it official. Bev, you got that bible handy?"

She wordlessly handed him a bible.

"Logan, you can go first," he said, "so put your left hand on this please."

Logan made a dramatic show of putting his hand down upon the bible, then snatching it back, and shaking it in a show of pain.

"Ow! Augh, that burns."

Veronica snorted and rolled her eyes.

Logan smiled. "Just kidding," he said, before putting his hand back onto the bible.

"I, Logan Echolls do solemnly swear to faithfully execute the office of honourary deputy commissioner of Balboa County, California," Woody said, with the intention of having Logan agree to the statement.

"I do."

Woody smiled. "Veronica? You're next."

Veronica smiled back at him and put her hand down on the bible. Logan leaned in. "Wow... you really do like pain. You sure that doesn't burn too badly?"

The next sound Logan made was a soft 'oomph' as Veronica's elbow connected soundly with his gut.

After she agreed to faithfully execute the office of the fake job she had for a week, Logan cleared his throat.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have something important to do," he told Woody, as he put his arm around Veronica's shoulders and started to turn her towards the door.

"Where are you two going?"

Logan and Veronica shared a smirk before turning to look at the man in front of them.

"We're going to fire the Sheriff," Logan said calmly. "Veronica'll hold the fort down until her dad can close up his shop and move his pens and stapler back over here."

Both Woody and Bev started to laugh.

"Let's save personnel changes 'til after you've warmed up a bit," Woody suggested. "Now, I'm sure you're both aware that I've introduced a bill proposing the incorporation of Neptune---"

"I'm glad you brought it up," Logan interjected. "I'm backing the plan. In fact, I'm throwing my considerable weight behind it. I say we take it a step further and erect a wall around Neptune proper---" he paused and pointed his finger in a downwards direction over Veronica's head "---keep the riffraff out."

Veronica brought her elbow into Logan's gut again.

Woody chuckled. "Thanks for the suggestion... right now, we just need this mail separated into pro- and anti-incorporation piles."

"Yippee," Veronica said quietly, before smiling at Woody.

&&&&

"Thanks for giving me a lift, Eli," Veronica said with a smile as he pulled into the parking lot. "Logan said he was gonna be late, so---"

"I'll come by and look at your car later," he told her. "Your dad'll be home, right?"

Veronica turned and looked at him as he put the car in park, in one of the vacant slots. "You want to see my dad?"

Eli shrugged. "Sure... why not?"

"He... he doesn't know we're... you know..."

"My grandmother doesn't know, either," Eli pointed out. "And I'm not exactly gonna knock on your door and tell your dad that you've seen all of my tattoos."

Veronica blushed. "Well... that's a good plan you've got there," she murmured.

"I'm a thinker," he said, tapping his finger against his scalp.

She chuckled and leaned over the seat to kiss him. "If you want to risk being alone with my dad," she murmured before pulling away completely, "I admire that... and I'll reward you handsomely if you can fix my car."

"Hmmm..." he replied, "handsomely, huh?"

"Very handsomely," she purred.

"Well, in that case..."

She laughed quietly as he kissed her again.

"See you later?"

"You get off at six, right?"

She nodded. "Right."

"And then... maybe you'll get off again at seven," he suggested, smirking.

She grinned. "So, now, that's all I'm gonna be thinking about while I'm working."

"Good."

She laughed, kissed him again, and then got out of the car, waving as she backed up towards the building.

Eli blew her a kiss as he pulled out of the parking slot; she blushed and ducked inside the government building.

When she arrived in the office, Beverly was at her desk but Woody was nowhere to be seen.

"You can go into Mr. Goodman's office, Veronica," the assistant said with another one of her bright smiles. "I believe he's meeting with your father right now, at his office, but he left some more incorporation mail for you to sort through."

"Great..." she turned and started to walk into the inner office. "Oh, Logan'll be late. I think he had a doctor's appointment or something."

"No problem," the assistant said, sounding distracted as she resumed her previous activities, whatever they were.

Veronica ducked inside Woody's office and dropped her bag down in front of the table which held yet another crate of mail, and then resigned herself to working.

She sorted five letters, and then was interrupted by the computer's "you've got mail" announcement.

She debated over whether or not she should sneak a peak at Woody's e-mail---just to see if he did anything intriguing or disgusting in his spare time---for about five seconds, and then she dropped the mail and rushed over to Woody's desk.

Both intriguing and disgusting were to be found in his e-mail inbox. There were a few weird, nonsensical letters, which only confused Veronica; there was one e-mail with the subject heading "Kill Incorporation or Else," and after seeing that there was a sound attachment, she decided to just send the thing to her personal e-mail account instead of listening to it and having Beverly discover that she was snooping around Woody's computer.

A few quick keystrokes after the forwarded message was sent, and all of the e-mails she flipped through were returned to their unread status. She stood up and returned to sorting her mail.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Logan showed up thirty minutes before the end of their shift and tortured her until she was counting the seconds before she could run out of the building and hop into Eli's car.

When she went outside, she didn't see Eli's car. Instead, she saw her car, with Eli sitting in the front seat.

She bounded across the parking lot and shot him a grin as she hopped into the passenger seat.

"Hey, lover," she greeted him.

"Hey," he said, before stealing a kiss.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Straight home," he said, looking a little disappointed. "The sheriff expects you home."

"Lamb?"

"Your dad."

Veronica pouted. "He's not the sheriff anymore."

"But he still carries a gun," Eli pointed out.

She smiled a little. "Sorry..."

"He invited me to dinner."

"Oh. I'm really sorry."

"It'll be hard to sit there, in the kitchen where I put you up on the counter and---"

Veronica put her fingers over his mouth. "Don't finish that sentence. It'll be bad enough that you're thinking it. But if we're both thinking it..."

"Maybe I should duck out."

She sighed and shook her head. "No... he definitely knows something's up between us. We should just... suck it up."

"Oh... yeah?"

"If you don't mind being late for your first class of the day," she suggested, "I'll make it up to you... in the girls' bathroom at school..."

"Deal."

She grinned and kissed his cheek. He put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. "So, here are the rules---I'm gonna give them to you now, so you have some time to memorise them---" she was interrupted by Eli's quiet laugh "---firstly, no snide remarks laced with sexual innuendo; secondly, no making dirty eyes at me because then I'll start making dirty eyes back, and then my dad will figure everything out, and then we are sooo in trouble; thirdly, no alluding to touching any part of my body that does not have fingers."

"Any others?"

"Be polite and offer to do the dishes?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah..."

"You two haven't hung out much since I got back from the hospital, anyway," she said quietly. "Maybe he missed you."

"Uh... I doubt it."

Veronica smiled and took his hand, threading her fingers through his. "Well, I appreciate you going through with this," she murmured.

"It's okay," he assured her.

&&&&

Dinner had been awkward and it ended with nothing more than a chaste hug and kiss to her cheek, leaving her frustrated and wanting time alone with her boyfriend.

"So, you and Eli Navarro," Keith said once Eli had been gone for more than five minutes. "Didn't I tell you not to date the local criminal element?"

"No, you told me not to smarten up the local criminal element," she corrected him. "And besides, he's not so criminal anymore."

Keith shot her his signature, fatherly stare. She shot her daughterly stare back at him. He caved after a minute and sighed. "Well, he has been good to you... I'll admit that," he conceded.

"Yes, he has. And he still is. So, if you could not make a bit deal out of this, I'd love you forever," she told him with a sweet smile on her lips and a slightly teasing down in her voice.

He smiled. "Okay. But only because I saw him nearly break down when the doctors didn't think you'd wake up," he said quietly.

"He did?"

"He didn't take your coma very well," Keith admitted.

"He wasn't the only one."

"Don't I know it," he agreed, before hugging her.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she murmured. "I know he's not the fortune-five-hundred man you envision me marrying, but right now, he makes me happy."

"You're right, he isn't."

"He makes me happy," she repeated.

Keith nodded. "I know. I'll let it slide for now. But I want you to be careful."

She smiled. "I will."

She kissed his cheek again, and then left the kitchen. She had almost forgotten about the e-mail she had sent herself, but her father called out from the kitchen to tell her he was leaving to meet with Woody at his office.

"Okay... see you later, right?" Veronica called back.

"You bet," he promised, before leaving their apartment.

She picked up her cell phone and called Eli as she logged into her inbox and downloaded her mail.

"How'd it go?" he asked quietly, after they finished with pleasantries.

"Well," Veronica replied, "not too bad. I don't think he's going to rent a church out any time soon, but it's not like we're exactly... there yet, so, I think it went okay."

"He didn't lock you up in a tower somewhere?"

"If he did, I'd throw down my hair," she murmured.

Eli chuckled quietly. "Alright... so what're you up to now?"

"Downloading e-mail that I stole from the mayor," she admitted, her index finger twitching in anticipation over her laptop's trackpad. Eli laughed again, the amused sound tickling her ear. "Predictable, huh?"

"The fact that you're not predictable is what's predictable, V," he told her, still sounding very amused with her antics. "I never know what's gonna come out of your mouth."

She grinned. The e-mail finished downloading and she double-clicked on it. "Well, I hope you don't find my inscrutability too much of a turn off," she said quietly.

"Never. Keeps me on my toes, V."

She smiled, but didn't say anything. She was busy reading the header information attached to the e-mail.

The sender's address was 22679088@cyberbolt.com. There was no way she could guess who the sender was by looking at the address.

"You deep in thought over there?"

"Um... sort of," she murmured. "This e-mail address isn't giving me anything to go on."

"And your eyebrows are drawn down and your lips are doing that pouty thing," he commented quietly.

She smiled again. "You like that face?"

"I like what it does to your lips," he said quietly.

Veronica laughed quietly. "God, I wish you were here..."

"Tomorrow morning, remember?"

She shivered and got as far as the time-date-stamp (May 10th at 11:40 PM) on the e-mail before she had to close her eyes.

"I... I remember," she replied quietly. "I have tardy slips and everything."

"Good."

She opened her eyes and looked at the window open on her computer. "So... you wanna find out what's in the e-mail marked 'Kill incorporation or else,' Eli?" she asked quietly.

"The 'or else' is supposed to be threatening, right?"

"Right..." she replied, her voice trailing off as she studied the audio file. "Okay, here goes nothing---let's see what this whackjob's punching back with."

Eli chuckled and then fell silent, waiting for Veronica to speak again.

She clicked on the audio file; Quicktime started to play it. At first, she heard background audio, people speaking in French. Then, there were clearer English voices.

"We have to tell people what Woody did to the three of us. It's gonna come out someday. A couple of the Sharks had to know about it---they'll come forward. Things like this don't stay secret."

"Damn right," another voice said.

"Woody's a pervert. He's sick! What he did to us is wrong! We were just kids---"

Veronica hit the space bar on her keyboard, pausing the sound file. She felt the blood draining out of her face, her heart clenching in her chest, her hands shaking slightly.

"V?"

"I... I... he..."

"Veronica!"

She swallowed hard and blinked. "I... this is so much bigger than I thought it would be," she mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Eli asked.

She nodded before she spoke. "Y-yeah... I..." she trailed off, not wanting to tell him what was in the file until she could make sense of it herself. "I'm okay," she assured him. "Very surprised. I need to go call my dad."

"Back-up's there with you, right?"

She smiled a little. "Yeah... Dad left him here for me."

"Good."

"You're such a... well, you are a mother hen," she teased.

"Sticks and stones, V."

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" she said quietly.

"Yeah," he agreed, "you sure you're okay?"

"I will be when I see you tomorrow," she assured him, smiling a little.

"Okay. If you need anything tonight, gimme a call," he offered before hanging up the phone.

Veronica promised she would and ended the call. She set her phone down and replayed the audio file. Each time she heard them discuss how Woody abused them, her stomach tightened in distress; she whimpered and closed her laptop, before taking it into the living room, where she waited patiently for her father to come home.

&&&&

The next few days were very busy for Veronica. Keith had already been busy trying to find out who stole the Aaron-Lilly tapes from the sheriff's department and who was stalking Woody---but once Veronica discovered the sound file from the mayor's computer, they had another project to work on.

Veronica was also swamped. Eli asked for her help to prove that the Fitzpatricks had orchestrated Felix's death, and Gia asked for her help to discover who was stalking her.

She and her father were also busy preparing their testimony for the Aaron Echolls trial, with their lawyer and the prosecutors.

On top of all that, finals were rapidly approaching, and she didn't know how she'd be able to get everything done while studying.

Logan had purchased and then destroyed the tapes on his afternoon away from his fake job, Leo had stolen them the day before; despite Woody's claims against the facts, Lucky had been harassing the Goodmans; personal security guards were stalking Gia; and Liam Fitzpatrick had indeed organised Felix's death, but Sheriff Lamb didn't seem too concerned about that.

The upside of the remainder of the week was that on Friday afternoon, Veronica and Logan would get to push the plunger and watch the old stadium crumble.

Eli was going to the ceremony, and then he would be taking Veronica out on a surprise date.

Friday afternoon was looking really good.

&&&&

"So..."

Veronica looked up at Logan. "Yeah?"

"You looking forward to this as much as I am?"

She smiled a little. "The perfect end to such an imperfect week."

"Indeed," he agreed, before tipping his hard hat in her direction.

She smiled and looked out over the audience. She could see her father and Eli, along one side, away from all of the press. She had told them there was no need for them coming, but her father was a huge baseball fan and the stadium had meant a lot to him in his past, and Eli was there so he could take her out immediately after the festivities.

Veronica also suspected that her father was there to keep a watchful eye on Woody, to make sure he didn't do anything unsavory.

Gia bounced over, from her father's side to Veronica's. She grinned at them both. "Isn't this so cool? You two must be super stoked."

Logan smiled and shrugged. "Destruction always brightens my day," he told her. He put his hand on Veronica's shoulder. "And this little one? She's not happy unless she's putting the wrecker ball to something---or someone."

"You volunteering?" Veronica asked.

"Been there, got the t-shirt," he quipped.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the foreman mount the stage and head directly to Woody, before tapping him on his back.

"Hey, Woody? Woody?"

Veronica turned, her interest piqued.

Woody looked at the foreman. "Yeah?" he asked, before excusing himself away from the people he was talking to. To Veronica's curiosity's delight, they moved closer to her.

"There's a motorcycle chained up inside the stadium. It's gonna get turned into dust."

"Is everyone out?"

"We've blown the horn a... a dozen times. I had the boys do a walkthrough."

"How long would it take to unlock it and get it out of there?" Woody inquired.

"Uh... twenty... thirty minutes?"

Woody smiled. "Then," he said, "someone's losin' a motorcycle."

Veronica's jaw dropped as she processed the information she overheard. Eli had to cancel plans with her the night before; they were supposed to be celebrating the arrest of Thumper, but when Lamb refused to take their taped recording, Eli's eyes had turned cold and he canceled their plans.

She hadn't asked what he had been doing---and she doubted he'd ever tell her. But, after hearing there was a motorcycle stashed inside the old stadium...

But the boys---whoever they were---would have pulled Thumper out if he was in there. All they claimed to see was the bike.

She turned her head and looked at Eli. He was watching her through his dark sunglasses. When he smiled, she smiled back, even though she wasn't sure if he deserved a smile.

When she craned her neck and saw some of the construction crew approaching the back of the stage, she gasped. Some of them were Fitzpatricks; she recognised them from when her father was sheriff, when her father arrested them.

"Ronnie?"

She looked up at Logan. "What?"

"You look... preoccupied. What... your spidey sense is tingling?"

She nodded.

"You wanna share?"

She shook her head. Logan was a loose canon and she couldn't predict what he'd do with her suspicions.

"Veronica... I may not be a part of your Scooby Gang, but I have had your back in the past," he reminded her.

She nodded again. "I know... but I'm not sure I have it figured out yet..."

"Okay, well, if it's gonna distract you from your performance on stage, lemme know and I'll cover for you," he said as Woody stepped up to the podium.

Veronica shot him a wry glance, before she turned her focus to Woody as he was about to give his speech.

"This field has been a long and storied history," Woody said, speaking into the microphone. "We'll always remember where we were when the Sharks won the World Series in a nine-game victory before a packed house of fifty-thousand fans..."

Veronica tuned out the rest of Woody's speech. His voice made her skin crawl, after she learned about his extracurricular activities.

She instead focused her attention upon Eli. When she and Logan pushed the plunger, Eli bowed his head and for a second Veronica thought he crossed himself as if he were in church, but then he moved and she wasn't so sure anymore.

After the event, Keith went back to work, Logan went out to meet Dick to 'party like Ozzy,' apparently, and Veronica made her way over to her boyfriend.

"So, you liked the big boom?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he told her in a similarly quiet voice, "you looked good up there."

"You just like the skirt I'm wearing," she told him, slipping her hands into his.

Eli tilted his head and looked down at her legs. He smirked. "Yeah," he agreed.

She pressed her lips together, trying to restrain herself from asking a question she knew she shouldn't ask, but the instant he looked over her shoulder and towards the rubble, she lost the battle.

"So, is Thumper in there?"

"What're you talkin' 'bout, V?"

"Don't lie."

"I have no clue, what those Mc's did after---" He closed his mouth.

Veronica glared at him. "Take me back to my car," she said.

He sighed and hung his head. "Yeah," he agreed quietly.

She nodded and slipped her hands out of his as they walked to his car; she put her sunglasses on once she got into the passenger seat.

Neither Veronica nor Eli said anything until he had parked the car near at Neptune High School.

She got out first and headed straight to her vehicle. He followed her; when he grabbed her arm, she whirled around to face him while wrenching her arm out of his grasp.

"What? I stop playing by your rules and suddenly---"

"What happened to you?!" she demanded. "I thought you were---"

"A leopard can't change his spots, V," he said, his attitude dark, his nostrils flaring in anger or in frustration. "I thought you knew that much when we hooked up."

"You're not a gang leader anymore!" she cried out. "Why do you have to keep acting like one?!"

"Because he killed Felix!" Eli shouted, leaning into her, pressing her against her car. "He was my family! I loved him!"

"Don't you ever want to grow up?" she asked, her voice suddenly not as strong as it was before. "Don't you ever want to prove to everyone that you can be a better person than what they think you are?"

"I am what I am, V," he said, shrugging, "and you didn't have a problem with it when I'd help you solve your little mysteries. Don't wanna get dirty? Call your friendly, varrio thug, huh?"

Veronica felt her lower lip tremble. "I can't believe you just said that," she whispered.

"Well, what am I supposed to think?" he challenged.

She shook her head slightly and bit her lower lip. "Why don't you trust me to help you?" she asked quietly. "Why didn't you let me find more proof for Lamb?"

"Because he needed to be dealt with," Eli grumbled.

"And what?" she asked, daring to look up into his eyes, "You don't care if you go to jail? You don't care what you leaving will do to me?"

"Thumper had something on me," Eli reminded her. "So, going through Lamb would send me to jail, anyway... unless that was your plan---"

"And now, I can't believe you said that," she whispered.

Eli reached out and threaded his hands through her hair, cupping the back of her head. "I did not kill Thumper," he whispered. "I don't wanna tell you what I did, but---"

"Tell me," she whispered, her voice sounding too needy, too unlike her usual voice. "Please trust me... Eli, please."

He sighed and put his hands on her hips. "I caught up to him before he met the Mc's at the church, and knocked him unconscious... put his money behind his gas tank," he said, dropping his eyes down. "That's all I did."

"So the Fitzpatricks would take care of him for you... thinking that he tried to pull a fast one," she whispered, her lower lip trembling. She put her hands on his shirt, her fingers grabbing the fabric as her hands clenched into fists. "You could have been seen! You could have been hurt... god, what if one of the Fitzpatricks saw you, Eli? What if someone else saw you... what if someone goes to the sheriff?"

"Whatever happens, happens."

She shoved him. "Don't you care about anything else but avenging Felix's death?"

He pushed into her, rubbing his hips against hers in a way that made her heart beat harder. "I do, V," he said, his mouth by her ear when he spoke. "You're under my skin and in my head and you're almost all I think about these days... I don't know what to do with all the caring I do for you," he growled. "And if you don't feel the same way, now's your chance to get lost."

She whimpered, dropping her head to his shoulder. "You idiot," she whispered into his skin, "if you think I don't feel the same way..."

"I was in plain sight the whole time... before the stadium was brought down," he whispered, while rubbing her back gently, "and the news crews filmed the audience, too."

Veronica nodded and hugged him tighter. "Trust me next time," she whispered. "That's all I want you to do. That... and maybe think before you do such stupid things."

"V, I want to be better for you... I want to graduate, I want you to be proud of me... I... I know this isn't..." he trailed off and sighed.

She lifted her head and licked her lower lip. "I can't lose you," she whispered. "After the crash... after I woke up..."

"I know," he whispered before kissing her once.

"I won't break the law for you, but I'll do everything I can that's lawful to keep you away from the community soap," she promised.

"Do you forgive me?"

"I don't know," she mumbled, taken aback by his question. "You... your actions resulted in the death of---" she stopped talking and pressed her face into his shoulder and neck. "I can't walk away from you," she admitted.

Eli tipped her face back up and then he kissed her; he poured so many emotions and thoughts into the kiss, that she couldn't help but pour all of her emotions and thoughts towards him back into the kiss. She whimpered and wrapped her legs around his waist when he pushed her up onto the trunk of her car, scratching the back of his neck as she struggled to hang onto him.

She didn't know if she was trying to hang onto his physical form or his soul; she didn't know what she was doing.

&&&&

Veronica smiled as she threaded her fingers through Eli's, as he kissed the back of her neck as they watched the sunset over the ocean.

"Thank you for this," she whispered. "I needed to get away after spending all that time with the lawyers."

He kissed her shoulder and hugged her closer from behind. "How is it going?"

"Aaron's lawyer is scum, personified," she mumbled. "And everything's been happening so fast, I just wanna push the great, big cosmic pause button and get a grip on my urge to punch the people who piss me off."

Eli chuckled quietly. "That good, huh?"

"Yeah... that good," she murmured, before tipping her head back against his shoulder.

"How would a little sneaking around help?"

She groaned and nudged him gently with her elbow. "Whaddya need?"

"A paddle. It belonged to Thumper. Clemmons confiscated it."

She bit back the urge to comment on his choice of verb tense; they had fought about the way he handled the situation with Thumper, and while she questioned her morals every day since that fight, she didn't like what fighting did to their relationship.

"What's so special about this paddle?" she asked, instead.

"I saw it when I dumped the carnival cash in Thumper's shop locker. It had license plates engraved on it," he explained, after kissing her neck three times, in a line towards her shoulder, "and I'm guessing that those plates belong to the people he was delivering product to for the Fitzpatricks. He probably made it as some kind of insurance policy."

"How's that working out for him?"

The instant the remark left her lips, she regretted it. He sighed and released his hold on her by a fraction.

"Look, the Fitzpatricks have turned the PCHers into slave labour. There's nothing those guys won't do to ensure timely payment. Threats, beatings, torture..." he trailed off when his voice wobbled slightly. "That paddle," he continued after a deep breath, "if it is what I think it is, it's serious leverage."

She nodded and tightened her hold on his hands. "What do you plan to do?" she asked quietly.

"I'm just getting the boys out of indentured service," he told her. "That's it, V. When Hector told me what's goin' down... I just need to get them out."

She nodded again, even though part of her feared he would be seduced back to his previous role as leader of the gang that had kicked him to the curb and dropped his beloved bike into the ocean.

"I have a copy of the paddle," she murmured. "I photocopied it at the carnival... how badly do you want it?"

"Bad enough to consider going to prom with you."

She smiled. "Really?" she purred.

"Really."

She had asked him what he thought about prom, earlier, and he hadn't been too keen on the idea.

"You'll rent a tux for me?"

"Only for you," he muttered before kissing her temple. "If you deliver and give me that paddle copy."

She nodded. "I promise... I'll even look up some of those license plates for you, see who's on the list."

He turned her around and kissed her lips. "Thanks, V."

She kissed him again, and then they parted to get into her car and head to Mars Investigations, where Veronica settled down with her laptop and looked up some of those license plates.

Once she had most of the list decoded, she got up and let Eli look it over as she went over to the kitchenette and got them each a bottle of water.

"Big shot clients," Eli mused as Veronica settled into his lap, "lawyers on speed, coked up pro-athletes... celebrities' kids rolling on E..."

"That should be enough ammunition for you," she whispered, after swallowing some of her water down.

He kissed her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Tomorrow night... they meet and drop off money," he said quietly. "I'm gonna meet 'em and suggest they let the boys walk away."

"Tomorrow night's the prom," she reminded him as she closed her laptop and put it in her bag, before setting the bag down on the floor.

He nodded. "I know. I'll be back in time."

"Eli..."

"You make copies of that," he instructed, "and if I don't meet you back at your place... you release 'em. You got that, V?"

"If you don't meet me back at my place?" she echoed. "Why wouldn't you meet me?"

"V..."

She turned and looked at him. "Don't talk like that!"

"Gotta be realistic."

She felt her lower lip tremble at the thought of his idea of realism. "Let me go with---"

"No!" he hollered. "You are gonna stay someplace safe! They don't mess around, V, and they ain't gonna touch you!"

"But... if they..."

"They won't."

"B-but..."

"No buts, V."

She inhaled and exhaled shakily. She nodded jerkily. "I'll stay at the house. But if you don't come back an hour after you go there..."

"You'll release the plates."

"And come looking for you," she said, her jaw jutting out defiantly.

"Chica... what am I gonna do with you?" he whispered.

"Kiss me," she whispered back, not sure if it was a command or a reply to his question.

He tugged her back down into his lap. After a brief kiss, he looked up into her eyes. "Your dad coming back here tonight?"

She shook her head. "Nope... he's out with Alicia tonight," she whispered, "so no more work until tomorrow morning."

"Good," he growled, before kissing her again with more intensity than before.

Veronica whimpered and braced her hands on the back of the chair and kissed him back, losing herself in the silent promises he offered her. He brought his hands up her back, under her shirt, gently scratching her skin as she wriggled in his lap.

He tugged her shirt off and kissed his way down to her chest. She mumbled his name while snaking one of her hands around his head.

"Desk," she mumbled.

"Desk?"

"Desk," she repeated.

He groaned and stood up, balancing her wriggling form in his arms, before depositing her on the desk's smooth surface. She grinned and snaked her leg around his, hooking him in against her body as she kissed him again.

Eli's hands slid up her thighs and he tugged on her underwear. After a few awkward movements, the scrap of fabric had been thrown to the floor, to join Veronica's shirt. Veronica pulled Eli's shirt off and let it drop; then she started unfastening his belt.

"You sure we won't get caught?"

"I locked the door," she whispered, pulling him back in for another heated kiss.

"Always thinkin'..." he mused between kisses.

She flashed him a brief grin and then dropped her hands into his back pockets, fishing around for a condom.

"Please tell me you have a..."

"Wallet," he breathed into her neck, before nipping at the flushed skin he found there.

"Thank god," she murmured before finding his wallet, opening it, and pulling out the small square.

Eli chuckled and took it from her. While he dropped his pants, Veronica cleared some of her father's files to one side of the desk and lifted her skirt up.

"Quick," she insisted. "Now."

He smirked. "Someday, I'm gonna have to show you the fun in goin' slow, V."

"Like it this way," she whispered, before kissing the tattoo at his neck.

He groaned as she wrapped herself around him and kissed him until neither of them could breath.

When the sensations burning between them became too much, he set her down, on her back, on the desk, and moved her legs apart. Veronica shivered and whimpered quietly, before nodding.

He held her right leg against his body as he drove his erection deep inside of her. Veronica cried out, closing her eyes and waving her arms around to find the edges of the desk so she'd have something to hold onto.

There was something deliciously sinful in the way he made her feel---so alive, so aware, teetering on the edge of a dark abyss. She couldn't imagine being slow and gentle; she feared it wouldn't comfort her the way fast and rough did.

With her leg lifted up against his body, he was able to drive into her just the way she craved; each thrust brought his erection up against her cervix, flashing a little pain through her nerves before the wash of pleasure traveled along them.

"We're insane for doin' this here," he whispered.

She smiled and nodded, before wrapping her left leg around his waist.

Eli changed the angle of his thrusts and Veronica bit back a scream; she lost her grip on the desk and flailed to regain it, sending knickknacks crashing to the ground.

He almost stopped, but she begged him not to.

His hand traveled down her leg, along her body, pausing briefly at her breasts, before continuing up to her face. His fingers caressed her cheek and jaw, before she caught his index finger with her mouth.

Eli groaned when he watched and felt her suck on the digit, swirling her tongue around the tip. The image was more effective than the sensation; but they both played their part in darkening his eyes further, in influencing him to move harder and faster against Veronica's body.

He came undone before she did, growling and grunting as his body jerked, as his muscles contracted.

Veronica whined in frustration. She was hot, wet, sticky, and incredibly irate---until she looked down and saw the look of sheer determination on Eli's face.

"Hold on, chica," he whispered as he pulled out of her body.

She watched as he brought his hand down between her legs; she whimpered when she felt him insert one finger, and then two, and then three. When he took his other hand down and gently pressed his thumb down onto her bundle of nerves, she writhed underneath him. When he curled his fingers upwards, pushing against the inside of her body, she gasped and choked out his name.

"Just a bit more to the---"

Eli shifted his fingers, pressed upon something inside of her, and Veronica wriggled.

She wrinkled her nose. "Eli, hold on... I have to go to the bath---"

"No, you don't," he interrupted.

He moved his fingers back and forth; Veronica's eyes rolled back into her head before her eyelids fluttered shut.

"Ohmigod," she breathed, arching her back. "High school sex isn't supposed to be this good," she whispered, whimpering a little on the last few words.

Eli chuckled. That was the last thing she remembered before he pushed her over the edge, into an orgasm that knocked the wind out of her sails.

When she was aware of her surroundings again, Eli was kissing the inside of her legs and waiting for her to come around.

"Oh... okay," she moaned. "I'm just gonna sleep here, like this tonight." She turned her head and looked at Eli. "My legs are like jelly."

He chuckled again.

"You're enjoying this," she accused.

"Too much, V," he admitted.

She crumpled a nearby piece of note paper and threw it at him with a weak arm. It missed him by a mile.

He laughed harder.

&&&&

Veronica smoothed her hands over the leather bodice of her dress and continued pacing around the living room.

"Veronica," Keith commented, "you're gonna wear a track in the carpet."

"Oh. Sorry," she mumbled. She hopped up onto a barstool and started tapping her fingers against the countertop.

He looked at her, eyebrows raised. She blushed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered quickly.

"Veronica."

She sighed. "Eli's... he's... he's... I can't tell you."

"Is it illegal?"

She tilted her head and looked down at her hands. "I don't know... not really, no."

"Tell me what's going on."

"He's gone to tell the Fitzpatricks to leave his former crew alone," she told him in a tight voice. "He has something on them. Insurance. He just wants them to back off, so the guys from his neighbourhood aren't being abused anymore."

Keith sighed. "Veronica... didn't I tell you to be careful?"

"I wanted to go with him," she admitted, "but he ordered me to stay here."

"Well, there's something I like about him, then," Keith commented wryly.

"He has twenty more minutes, and then... and then..." she trailed off and looked at the door, eyes wide and full of worry.

Keith sighed again. "Calm down. Keep a level head." He paused and then added, "So, why don't you explain the concept of the alterna-prom to me again."

Veronica bit back an anxious whimper. She didn't want to explain what the oh-nine-ers did to have an exclusive party for their prom, nor did she want to explain her part in inviting most of Neptune High's seniors to the event---thus making it less exclusive.

She resigned herself to tapping a high-strung rhythm against the counter; after ten minutes, she heard a knock at the door and almost fell off of the stool and her high heels in an attempt to beat her father and Back-up to the door.

Keith opened the door, revealing a tuxedo-clad Eli to be standing outside.

Veronica's eyes filled with tears at the sight of him and if it wasn't for her father standing there, she would have jumped him right then and there.

"Eli."

"Sheriff."

Keith turned and looked at Veronica. "Honey, your gentleman caller is here," he said, before turning back to Eli and adding, "You got the gentleman caller bit, right?"

"Yes, sir," Eli said with a nod.

Veronica grabbed her purse and kissed her father's cheek. "See you later," she promised quietly.

"You guys still planning on staying out until dawn?" he asked, giving both teenagers the fatherly stare.

Veronica smiled and nodded. "Y-yeah. Mac made reservations at an early morning breakfast buffet thing. She and Cassidy, and Wallace and Jackie are joining us." She rubbed her father's arm before crossing the threshold and stepping out onto the balcony. "I'll have my cell, so don't worry about a thing."

"Be careful. Both of you."

Both of them promised to be careful, and then they left the doorway. When they were at Eli's car, Veronica threw herself around him, hugging him tightly as she started to cry.

"V... V... c'mon..."

"Damn it! You were so late! I... I was so worried!"

He kissed her temple and then eased her back a bit. He cupped her face in his hands. "V, I'm okay. Everything worked out," he promised. He smiled. "You look fine, chica. I love the dress."

She blushed and batted her eyelashes. "I thought you'd like it."

"Leather? What's not to like?"

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, before stepping back and taking in the sight of him dressed up.

"You look very handsome," she murmured.

"Do we hafta do this thing?" he asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"You made me worry for fifty minutes," she said in a low voice. "You owe me."

He sighed. "Yeah, but the oh-nine-ers..."

"Oh, whatever," she scoffed. "Madison'll be more troubled when Dick pulls out his party pig, offers her a drink, and suggests they hook up."

Eli made a confused face, but he didn't try to figure out what she meant.

Veronica smiled and kissed him again.

&&&&

First, Woody Goodman fled Neptune---probably by plane, probably never to be seen or heard from again. Lamb hadn't been too keen on arresting the mayor with only two unnamed audio confessions in a digital sound file.

Second, Aaron Echolls was found not guilty---of second degree murder, aggravated assault, and statutory rape---and was free to roam the streets.

Moving far away from Neptune was Veronica's only logical plan of action, she decided grimly as she watched Aaron's lawyers congratulate him. She would have to kill Angie Dahl, get the Kane Scholarship, and never look back.

When he turned and looked at her, she felt her stomach churn, acid building inside and threatening to spill out through her mouth; she looked away quickly and tried to take deep, calming breaths.

Her father put his arm around her shoulders and wordlessly guided her out of the court room, out of the county building.

The crowd outside, awaiting Aaron's exit, sounded delighted as the murderer stepped towards them. The waves of cheers and claps made Veronica's impulse to vomit even stronger; she gagged twice and then had to tuck her face into her father's chest.

"Mr. Echolls!" A reporter called out. "How do you feel about your acquittal?"

"I... I feel relieved to have my name cleared of this, this... horrible crime."

Veronica whimpered quietly.

"Hey," her father said quietly, tipping her chin up. He nudged her, and she followed his lead as he walked away from the county building.

Once they were at their cars, Veronica's phone rang.

"Mac," she said quietly after looking at the display.

"Veronica," Keith said in a stern, yet loving, voice. "We are not going to be these people... we are going to move on. We have lives to live, Veronica." He smiled. "Take the call."

She rolled her eyes and answered the call.

"Hey, Mac," she said quietly.

"I just heard," Mac told Veronica.

"Yeah," Veronica said, feeling her throat close over.

"Wanna come over, listen to loud, angry music... and eat ice cream?"

"Okay. I'll be there soon... I'm just leaving the courthouse."

"Cool."

She ended the call and looked up at her father. "See? I'm moving on... living my life."

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Veronica," he murmured.

"I love you, too," she murmured, before pulling away and getting in her car.

It only took her fifteen minutes to get to Mac's house. When she walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell, she found herself greeted by a surprisingly warm, Cindy MacKenzie hug.

"I don't do hugs, either," Mac murmured, "but I think you need this today."

"Thanks," Veronica whispered, returning the hug.

"C'mon," Mac said after she released Veronica. She smiled and tilted her body towards the foyer of her home. "Mom and Dad are out, and my iPod stereo's cued up and ready to blare."

Veronica smiled a little and nodded, before following Mac into the house. She hadn't been sitting on Mac's bed for more than two minutes, before she burst into tears.

Mac didn't say anything; she just sat next to the blonde and put her arm around her shoulders, while keeping her supplied in tissues.

Twenty minutes later, Veronica's sobs were reduced to sniffles.

A voice came out over Mac's stereo, like it was a radio program---instead of actual music. The voice caught Veronica's attention. She looked up sharply and stared at the speakers.

Mac moved to get up. "Not exactly music. Sorry---"

"Who is that?" Veronica asked, pointing.

She smiled. "That's Cap'n Krunk."

"Who?"

"He's one of the guys on 'Ahoy, Mateys!'---it's a pirate radio show, this... this weird sort of cult thing," Mac said, trying to explain. "There's these two guys, Cap'n Krunk and... Imitation Crab who just talked a lot of bizarre smack about Neptune High. If you knew about it, Cap'n Krunk's totally a star."

"Does he still do these shows?" Veronica asked, thinking that she might be able to identify one of the speakers on the sound file.

"They went on a sabbatical this summer---"

"Do you know why?"

Mac shrugged. "I suspect to torture me. And then they came back at the start of the year, and Cap'n Krunk wasn't on anymore and it blew. So I stopped listening."

"The show's still on?"

"A bastardized sub-par version of the show's still on," Mac answered.

"When did Cap'n Krunk stop doing the shows?" Veronica asked.

The computer genius shrugged. "I don't know. I... I'm pretty sure it was at the start of the year. First semester was a little rough... especially the first couple of weeks."

Veronica sighed and nodded. "Yeah... I just... I have a recording on my computer... and Cap'n Krunk sounds a lot like the voice. And if I could I.D. the voice..."

"...then you'd be one step closer to solving this week's mystery?"

The blonde smiled a little, through her flushed face and puffy eyes. "Yeah," she murmured.

"Well, if he was a crash victim, there were... what? Two guys left on the bus, besides the driver?"

"Marcos Oliveres and Peter Ferrer," Veronica said quietly.

Mac frowned. "They were friends," she pointed out. "I heard. I mean, they played little league together, when they were younger... and stuff."

"Little league? Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah... for the Sharks." She smiled. "Cassidy told me... when we first started dating. We talked about the crash a couple of times."

Veronica forced herself to smile, even though her mind's gears were working overtime.

"Hey," Mac spoke up. "I don't want to be insensitive or anything... but could I ask you a question?"

Veronica nodded. "Sure. What's up?"

"How did Weevil take it when you told him you'd be leaving Neptune?"

She blinked and then blushed. "I... I haven't told him anything."

"Not even about you getting into Stanford?"

Veronica sighed and shook her head. "No... everything's been... kinda hectic lately."

"Oh."

"Why?"

Mac sighed. "I just... I got all of my acceptance letters, and I'm trying to figure out where to go..."

"And you're wondering how you're going to tell Cassidy what you've decided... when you decide it?"

"Exactly," Mac replied. She nudged Veronica gently. "Where'd you get in?"

"Stanford, Hearst."

"I got into Hearst, too," Mac said with a smile. "So... congratulations."

"You, too." Veronica sighed again. "And if I could get the Kane Scholarship..."

"Ever give anymore thought to the parental snoopage business venture?" Mac asked, a sly smile forming on her face.

Veronica smiled. "No... but now that you mention it..." She inhaled slowly, and then, after exhaling, she said, "Give me a few days to think about it, okay?"

"Deal."

"And I will seriously consider it," Veronica promised.

&&&&

When she met her father at his downtown office, Veronica had more questions than answers in her head. But, before she could ask any, her father had insisted that she help him sort through the information that Vinnie Van Lowe had uncovered before being arrested by one of Lamb's deputies.

"Ten credit cards in different corporate names," Veronica said quietly as she read one of the files, "and we're gonna have to put a trace on all of them."

She picked up another file. "And he has a pilot's license."

Keith read from another file. "Seasonal allergies, bad arches... and he had the clap. Hm. Treated twice for Chlamydia. Didn't see that in his campaign materials."

Veronica shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with that knowledge.

"Bingo. Heart arrhythmia."

"So... that's our strategy?" Veronica asked. "Just wait for him to drop dead?"

"He has to take a pill every day. There any way you can find out Gia Goodman's cell phone access code?"

"Gia's cell?"

Keith nodded. "Woody's lawyer is also an old college buddy of his. If he'd call anyone, it'd be him. If we had Gia's access code and could forward her calls..."

Veronica smiled. "I guarantee you she hasn't changed it from the factory default."

He grinned. "Then, I have a plan."

She smiled a bit. Then, her smile faded away and she decided she should share what she learned with her father.

"Woody's little league team was called the Sharks," she said after clearing her throat.

Keith turned and looked at her. "Yeah? And?"

"Remember the audio file that started it all?"

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Well, Mac told me today that Marcos and Peter both played for the Sharks," she explained. "And one of the voices on that file we have is the voice of a radio personality on a pirated radio show for Neptune High. It's kind of a cult-ish show. She didn't know his real name, but when the show started in the fall, it started without that personality."

"So... you're thinking one of those kids was the radio voice?"

She nodded. "I could go to school and get my physics teacher to confirm Peter's voice... I heard they were close. And then... I might be able to find someone who could match Marcos' voice."

"If any of their other teammates are still in town, maybe they could corroborate Woody's activities," Keith said, nodding slightly. He shrugged. "Okay, honey. Just be careful, okay?"

"I promise."

"And don't stay out too late. Tomorrow's graduation, remember?"

Veronica smiled. "How could I forget?" she asked, in a wry tone of voice.

&&&&

After Keith told Veronica where he believed Woody was hiding, he assured her that he would be fine, and then he kissed her cheek.

"I'll call as soon as I have him," he promised.

He flashed her a grin and then left her side to take a seat in the stands. She watched him walk away; then, she noticed Eli escorting his grandmother, Leticia, and two small children to their seats in the front. She smiled, watching his grandmother fuss over him, watching him blush slightly.

She hadn't seen him in a while---not because she was avoiding him, but because she had been busy with the trial, and then because they had their own family obligations the night before graduation.

She took her seat, and tried not to fall asleep as speeches were given, as the rows of students were called in alphabetical order.

"Wallace Fennel."

Veronica put her hands to her mouth to amplify her shout-out for her best friend. She could hear Alicia and her father clapping behind them, in the stands.

When she felt a poke in her shoulder, she turned and saw Mac grinning at her. She leaned back, since they were separated by a student, and Mac did the same.

"Guess what?" Mac whispered excitedly.

"Stacey Fields," Van Clemmons announced over the microphone.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Beaver got us a room at the Neptune Grand for tonight."

Veronica grinned. "Ooh-la-la."

"Any advice?"

"Close your eyes and think of England?"

Mac rolled her eyes.

"Howard Grigsby."

Veronica smiled. "Just relax," she advised.

Mac flashed her another quick grin and then returned her attention to the ceremony's proceedings.

A few minutes later, their row was standing up. She met Eli's eyes and she smiled. Green wasn't exactly his colour, but she admired the way he looked in his cap and gown---not because it was a good look on him, but because of what it represented. He had graduated; his grandmother would see him walk across the stage.

"Hadley Klien."

A flash of light caught Veronica's eye. She turned and saw Sheriff Lamb and one of his deputies entering the gym and heading for Eli.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

"Phil Klemmer."

"Eli Navarro," Lamb said when he was closer. "You are under arrest in connection with the murder of Eduardo Orozco."

Veronica almost burst into tears as she saw the look on Eli's face---defeated, desperate.

"You have the right..."

"You're not going to do this... not here---"

"...to remain silent," Lamb continued, "Anything you say may be---"

"Just give me ten minutes, okay?" Eli begged, tears in his eyes.

"---used as evidence in a court of law. You have the right to an attourney. If you cannot afford one---"

Eli jumped up; Veronica almost shouted out, but she felt Mac touch her arm and she recoiled back inside herself.

"Just let me graduate!" Eli shouted.

Veronica turned and looked up at the stage. Clemmons had covered the microphone and was leaning over the podium, looking concerned. Lamb, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all.

"---one may be appointed for you," he continued. "Do you understand these rights?"

"Please... don't do this, man," Eli begged.

"Cuff him," Lamb ordered his deputy. "Let's get him out of here."

"Todd McDade," Clemmons said, moving on with the ceremony.

It took a few minutes, but Eli finally relented and allowed himself to be handcuffed and dragged away. As he passed Veronica, she gave him a watery smile and put her hands over her heart. He ducked his eyes and nodded slightly.

"Cindy MacKenzie."

Veronica smiled again and clapped as she walked to the stage behind the guy between them.

"Scott Markham."

"Veronica Mars."

As she approached the podium, she heard her father cheer---above a loud roar of applause, with only a few boo's. The sounds stunned her; she didn't make it to the podium immediately.

When she finally did make it to the podium, Clemmons covered the microphone and leaned in towards her.

"You were expecting some other reaction?"

Veronica blushed.

He continued talking. "I can't decide if my life is going to be easier or more difficult with you gone. Anything I should know in case I get another one like you someday?"

She smirked, despite the urge to cry she felt every time she revisited the image of Eli being hauled away.

"Don't keep all your passwords taped on the bottom of your stapler."

Clemmons looked stunned. Then, he reached out and passed her two scrolls. Confused, she looked down and saw her diploma, as well as Eli's; she blinked back a few tears and looked at the man in front of her.

He smiled and tilted his head. "If you see Mr. Navarro in the next couple of days, tell him he'll be pleased to see an improvement in his grades this last semester," he said in a quiet voice.

"Stay cool, Mr. C," Veronica murmured, before moving the tassel to her cap onto the other side of the point. She saluted him and then walked away.

For the rest of the ceremony, Veronica stared down at Eli's scroll in her hands, tears in her eyes.

When she got outside, her father greeted her with a hug and a kiss. He took the scrolls out of her hands and pulled an envelope out of his jacket.

"For you on this momentous occasion," he told her.

She took the envelope and pressed her fingers along the surfaces. Then, she shook it. Then, she smelled it. After that thorough inspection, she jumped up and down excitedly.

"A pony?!"

Keith chuckled.

She opened up the envelope and pulled out two airline tickets.

"New York?!" she asked excitedly.

"We leave Tuesday," he told her.

"Broadway? Soho? The MOMA?!"

Keith shook his head and grinned. "Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Madison Square Gardens---"

Veronica jumped into his arms and hugged him fiercely. "Oh thank you so much," she murmured, "this is awesome!"

When she pulled back, she slapped his arm. "Awesome. Now, go catch Woody. I get creeped out just knowing he's out there somewhere."

"I have a stop to make, and then I'll be on my way," he assured her. "You have fun tonight."

She smiled. "I'll try."

After he left, Veronica looked down at the tickets---until Dick Casablancas slapped her ass. When he came into focus, she scowled; he didn't pick up on his wrongdoing.

"Put on your dancing shoes, Mars, 'cause tonight---" he said, while starting to dance, "---we're gonna upchuck the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie the beat."

Veronica blinked. "Up... chuck?"

He pointed at her. "You heard me."

She rolled her eyes and smiled a little, before turning and heading down the stairs to her car, tugging her gown off as she walked.

She put her gown on the back seat of her car and tucked the plane tickets in the glove compartment, before she heard Alicia call out for her.

She turned and saw Wallace's mother and her father's 'lady friend' holding a piece of paper.

"Did you know about this?"

"I... I don't. What's wrong?"

"Wallace left this note for me on my windshield," the older woman explained, "and he's booked himself a flight to Paris. He's gonna try to track down Jackie."

Veronica paused. In all the excitement over the past few days, she had forgotten about Jackie planning to leave after graduation---and then leaving before the ceremony. She and Wallace hadn't talked much, either, lately---between Eli, the PCHers, prom, exams, the trial, and graduation, there hadn't been much time for her and Wallace to touch base.

She sighed. "I'll see if I can get him back," Veronica told Alicia. "I'll let you know what's up, okay?"

Alicia nodded. "Thanks, Veronica."

The blonde gave Wallace's mother a small smile, and then she hopped into her car.

&&&&

By the time she arrived at the Sheriff's Department, she had changed her clothes, tracked Jackie down, convinced her to find Wallace at the airport, and had almost figured out what her plan would be for getting Lamb to release Eli.

She parked her car and rushed to the door, Eli's diploma in her hand; at the door, she reached out to pull it open and almost fell over as someone pushed it open from the other side.

"Veronica, careful," her father said with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Dad? What're you..."

"I'm off to Texas. See you later, honey," he said dismissively.

She shook her head and slowly made her way into the county building.

"Are you here to see Weevil?" Deputy Sacks asked when she stopped at the front desk.

Veronica blinked. "Uh... yeah," she said quietly.

The phone rang and Sacks politely excused himself to answer it. Veronica tapped her fingers over the counter; she couldn't help but eavesdrop when Sacks put the call on hold.

"Sheriff?" he called out.

"Yeah?" Lamb hollered from his office.

"An anonymous tip just came in about Orozco's murder," Sacks announced.

Lamb immediately came out of his office, evil glint in his eye. "What? Someone saw Navarro dumping his body?"

"Not quite," Sacks replied. "Turns out he was dragged into the old stadium before it was destroyed."

Veronica smiled and cleared her throat, before speaking up. "Weevil was at the ceremony. He stood next to my dad. I'll bet one of the news crews caught him there in the crowd."

"So he was there, checking to see his handy work was done."

"Remember how Thumper was working for the Fitzpatricks?" Veronica shot back. "You know at least one of them works for that demolition crew? Do you see any connection there, or do I have to spell it out for you?"

"We have witnesses, Miss Mars," Lamb reminded her, putting his hands on his belt.

"Witnesses of what? A fist fight in a neighbourhood far from the stadium? Sounds like you got 'im."

Sacks picked the phone back up and put it to his head. "Sir? If you don't mind repeating what you told me to the Sheriff... yes, please. Thank you. Hold one moment."

Veronica sighed and started to pace as the sheriff's case was deflated. She wondered who was giving the tip, who was helping Eli stay out of jail; she made a quick note of the time, and decided she'd check some phone records of possible suspects when she returned home.

Lamb slammed the phone down and growled. "Damn," he muttered.

"Your case lookin' like swiss cheese, sheriff?" Veronica asked coyly.

"We'll find something else to bring your friend in on, I'm sure," he shot back, sneering a little.

"Well, for now, how about you go back there and let him out," she said with a mockingly-sweet smile.

She knew that if looks could kill, Lamb's glare would have most certainly done some damage. She smiled as sweetly as she could and shrugged, before gesturing towards the back of the office.

Twenty minutes later, Eli was walking towards her.

"How'd you do that?"

She shrugged and hugged him. "Didn't," she murmured.

"Still picking winners, I see, Veronica," Lamb commented from behind them.

Veronica smirked over Eli's shoulder at him. "Like I said before, Lamb-ikins," she drawled, "the second I start picking losers, I'll be all over you."

Eli chuckled. "C'mon, V... let's get out of here," he said quietly.

She smiled and nodded, turning to leave the office with Eli at her side. She waved to Lamb and then blew him a kiss, before rounding the corner with Eli.

Once they were outside, she grinned and hugged him again. She kissed him once, and then pulled back to show him the scroll of paper she had obtained for him.

"Here," she said quietly, "I know it's not the same, but I managed to get it from Clemmons. He told me your grades went up this semester... go home, show your grandmother."

"V..."

"I'm really proud of you for graduating," she murmured.

"Can I kiss you again?"

"What?" she murmured teasingly. "A couple of hours behind bars and you get horny for some lovin' with your girl?"

"I look at you and I get horny," he growled.

Veronica smiled and kissed him.

"Honestly," Logan said in an exasperated tone of voice from behind them. "All I see you two do is make out."

Veronica gasped and turned around. "Logan?"

He smirked and held up a disposable cell phone. "Let's just call me 'Anonymous Tipster number five,'" he told the couple.

Veronica blinked and looked at Eli. "You told him?" Before Eli answered, she turned back to Logan. "And you bailed him out?" She rolled her eyes. "What is this? Bizarro-Neptune?"

Logan shrugged. "Not so much. Call it a rare moment, passing back the 'get out of jail, free' card," he replied, "or a return of a favour, if you will."

Veronica smiled and walked over to him. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

He blushed.

Veronica smiled more and then returned to Eli's side as Logan tossed the phone into a nearby trash can. She looked at her boyfriend. "Go see your grandmother, okay?" she murmured.

"Yeah," Eli agreed.

"Take my car," she insisted. "I have one errand to run... but Logan can probably take me, right?"

"Your chariot awaits," Logan said with a humourous flourish.

"And call me later," Veronica told Eli. "We'll go out and celebrate or something."

Logan spoke up. "Huge bash at the Neptune Grand. You should both be there. Celebrate the moments of our lives."

"Assault?" Veronica inquired. "Espionage? More assault?"

"Oh, the good times," Logan mused.

&&&&

"We're going where?" Logan asked as he drove his SUV. "If you want a burger, let's just get one back at the hotel---"

"I need to check a photograph," she interrupted.

Her phone rang. She reached into her purse and grabbed it. Upon seeing her father's name on the display, she smiled and answered it.

"You caught him?"

"Loading him onto his own plane as we speak," Keith told her, "and as soon as the pilot gets here, we'll be homeward bound."

Veronica beamed. "Did he confess to the crash? Because with those two on the bus---"

"Unfortunately, he insists that he didn't do it," Keith interrupted gently, "so we're gonna need a lot more evidence to nail him." He paused and then asked, "Did you find out if there was another speaker on the audio file, or if it was just dead air?"

Veronica sighed. "It's definitely a third speaker," she told him. "The way the other two speak... there had to be someone prompting them. Anyway... I've got everyone on the team identified except one guy. I think I know where to find him, though."

Keith spoke next. "Pilot just got here. I'll be in late, so don't wait up. See you in the morning, honey."

"Love you, dad."

"Love you, too, kiddo."

When she put the phone back in her purse, Logan looked over at her. "Woody's caught?"

"On his way back," Veronica confirmed.

"So who are you looking for and in what picture?" he asked as he continued to drive towards the restaurant.

Veronica turned and looked at him. "I need to see a picture of the little league team, the Sharks, from when Marcos Oliveres and Peter Ferrer played on the team. I'm trying to identify the third speaker on the tape... and I've cleared almost everyone---"

"Did you talk to Beaver?"

Veronica blinked. "What?"

"Did you talk to Beaver?" Logan repeated, word for word. "He played little league with them. For the Sharks."

Veronica closed her eyes as her world started to spin unsteadily. "Pull over," she croaked.

"What?"

"Pull over!" she shrieked.

Logan hadn't stopped the car for more than two seconds, before Veronica opened the door and threw up all over the curb and sidewalk.

"Veronica... what's going on?" Logan asked quietly.

She shook her head and started to cry.

"Veronica... talk to me."

She sniffled and looked up at Logan. "Cassidy is the third voice on the phone," she whispered. "Cassidy gave me an STD. He got it from Woody."

Logan's face fell. "Shelly... Pomroy's party," he mumbled.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I'm betting Marcos and Peter were going to tell someone, go public... and Beaver didn't want them to. He... he was in the limo behind us... easy to call..." she trailed off. As she realised where he was at that moment, her eyes widened. "Oh, god. Mac. I have to get Mac away from him. She doesn't know---"

She stopped and grabbed her phone. As she dialed, Logan asked, "Are you okay now? Can I keep driving?"

Veronica closed the door and nodded. "Yeah... sorry about that."

He smiled a bit. "I'm just glad it wasn't splashed all over the interior. Just had it detailed a couple of days ago."

Veronica punched his upper arm playfully and then dialed Mac's cellular phone number.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," she mumbled as it rang in her ear.

"It's Mac," her voice mail said cheerfully, making a mockery of the entire situation unfolding around Veronica and her friends, "leave a message."

"Mac," Veronica said hurriedly, "it's Veronica. You have to get away from Beaver. Do whatever you have to do, but get away from him. He's dangerous. Call me when you hear this."

She ended the call and quickly called Eli, filling him in on enough so he knew something serious was about to happen at the Neptune Grand.

"I'll be there soon, V," he promised.

"Thanks," she whispered, before ending the call.

&&&&

Logan threw the keys to his SUV at the valet attendant and rushed after Veronica as she raced into the lobby of the hotel and went straight to the front desk.

"Can you tell me which room Cassidy Casablancas is in?" she asked the receptionist, skipping the polite preamble.

"I'm sorry," the woman replied, "but we can't give out that information. I can ring his room if you'd like."

Veronica pressed her lips together in a thin line, preparing to yell at the woman. Logan put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, as if to silently restrain her.

"Sure," Veronica said in a tight voice.

The receptionist did something on the keyboard in front of her, and then gave both Veronica and Logan an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. There's a 'do not disturb' on the room."

Veronica spun in frustration and growled.

"Maybe they're at the party," Logan suggested as Veronica typed out a text message on her phone.

"Yeah... maybe," she said, letting Logan guide her to the wall of elevators.

Veronica pushed the button for the penthouse floor repeatedly, wanting the door to close as quickly as possible, so they could start moving to Logan's floor.

When someone put his hand in front of the sliding door, preventing it from from closing, Veronica whimpered.

"Damn it!" she hissed.

Aaron stepped into the elevator. "Hello, Veronica, Logan..."

Veronica looked up and saw Lilly's killer holding a bottle of brandy and two glasses. Her stomach clenched and she sucked in a quiet, yet sharp breath, in hopes of riding through the storm of feelings assaulting her system.

She felt Logan's hand on her back and she leaned into the contact.

"Well, don't look so surprised. It's a small town," Aaron said, "and now that I'm no longer in jail, we might just run into each other from time to time." He turned to look at his son. "And now that I'm no longer in jail, I have control of the purse strings again."

"I'm going to have to pay better attention to where I'm going then," Veronica muttered, while Logan remained silent.

"Well, it's a free country. Those founding fathers were really onto something," Aaron responded. "Freedom, it's pretty damn sweet. I like it."

Logan's jaw tightened. "So did Lilly," he ground out. "Too bad you took care of that for her."

Aaron shrugged and smirked, but didn't say anything else. The elevator stopped at his floor; he shrugged again, leered at Veronica in a way that made her want to throw up again, and then disappeared from sight.

Veronica slumped against the wall of the elevator and took several deep, shaky breaths.

Logan leaned over and kissed the top of her head, before resting his cheek against the same spot.

They didn't have much time to recover before the elevator opened at Logan's floor. Veronica pushed herself off of the wall and was about to disappear into the crowded party, but Logan grabbed her arm.

"What?"

"Be careful," he warned. "And don't leave without me."

She nodded and threw herself into the crowd, looking for Mac and Cassidy.

&&&&

"Where are you, V?"

Veronica paced the floor of the lobby. "I'm in the lobby," she told Eli, into her phone. "Where are you?"

"I'm about three blocks away," he replied. "What's going on?"

She launched into an abbreviated version of the series of events that brought her to that moment, pacing like a lunatic while trying to figure out her next step.

"I got separated from Logan, I have no idea where he is, and Mac is still somewhere with Beaver---"

"Stay there," he growled into the phone. "Stay in the lobby where there are lots of people."

"Eli---"

"No," he interrupted sharply. "I don't care. You are my first priority, V, and I don't want you going anywhere alone."

"But, Mac---"

"You stay put!" he hollered. "I'm almost there."

"Fine!" she spat out, angry with him for telling her what to do and for expecting her to follow his orders.

She ended the call and shoved her phone into her pocket. When she felt it vibrate against her hand, she yanked it out again, expecting to see Eli's name and number flashing across her screen. Instead, it was a message from Mac.

'Meet me on the roof. Now.'

Veronica looked at the doors to the lobby and then at the row of elevators. She sucked in a sharp breath and rushed onto one of the elevators without a second thought.

Once she made it to the roof, she burst through the door and looked around wildly.

"Mac?" she called out. "Mac?!"

"Hey, Veronica!"

When she heard Cassidy's voice, her heart plummeted into her stomach and she swayed slightly on her feet. She turned slowly and saw him, appearing mentally unraveled and physically disheveled as he pointed a gun at her.

"Where's Mac?" Veronica asked quietly, trying to keep a calm tone to her voice.

"A better place. Unfortunately, she never got a chance to read your message," he told her with a shrug. "Now, throw me your bag."

Veronica hesitated. She knew what was in her bag---taser, camera, pepper spray... things she could use to get away from Cassidy.

She shook her head.

"I said---" Cassidy shouted "---throw me your bag!"

She whimpered and held up one hand. With her other hand, she slid the strap of her bag over her shoulder and she threw the bag towards him. He picked it up and immediately snatched the taser out of the main pocket. Veronica thought her heart stopped beating when she saw it sitting in his hand.

"So... Beaver's a killer. It's a pretty serious accusation," he continued. "What exactly do you think you know?"

"You played for Woody's little league team with Marcos and Peter," she said, speaking slower than she usually did, in hopes of buying some more time for an escape plan to formulate. "He molested all three of you. They wanted to come forward.

"Peter and Marcos were going to spill. That's why they had to die. My guess? You got the explosives from Curly Moran. Your dad's mechanic, former stunt coordinator. Curly told Eli that he knew who blew up the bus.

"He figured it out, didn't he?"

The smile Cassidy gave her chilled her bones even more than the smirk Aaron had bestowed upon her earlier.

Veronica continued. "That's why you needed him gone. You knew Cervando's been bragging about hustling Liam Fitzpatrick, so you convince the PCHers that Curly blew up the bus."

"Convenient, wasn't it?"

"Like the Road Hog's cliffside location?" Veronica shot back. "Pretty easy to dump the body."

"Marvelous," Cassidy crowed.

Veronica squared her shoulders. "Now... let me ask you something. How is it I got Chlamydia?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Woody was treated for it," she continued, "and I ended up with it. Shelly Pomroy's party, sophomore year. You said Dick pushed you into a room with me after I'd been roofied.

"But, you didn't run out like you said you did, did you?

"Nope. You wanted to prove you were a man.

"It helped that I was unconscious, didn't it? Easy to imagine whatever it is you needed to imagine."

Cassidy laughed quietly.

"You RAPED me!" Veronica screamed

He shrugged. "And Dick still thinks I'm a virgin... you see, I know how to keep a secret."

"That's what this was all about, isn't it?" she asked. "Keeping your secret? Well, it's over, it's out, I know."

He shrugged again, before smirking at her. "Yeah... but I've got a pretty good feeling that you won't be telling anybody."

"I already did. I told my dad," she lied, "he knows."

"That's... that's too bad," Cassidy replied, "because he's on Woody's plane with him, right? Right now... on his way back?

"See, because I have no more use for Woody. You heard about the bomb in Woody's car, right? Yeah... 'cause there's one more on his plane and all I have to do is dial."

Veronica felt the ground sway underneath her feet. Cassidy laughed at her.

"You wanna call your dad? Say goodbye before I press send? Go ahead... I'll give you a minute."

Veronica blinked back panicked tears. "Cassidy... no. No, you're not serious."

He shrugged. "Fifty-six... fifty-five... tick-tock, Veronica Mars."

She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed her father's number, while silently praying that he would answer his phone. She started to cry as the third ring reached her ears.

"Pick up," she whispered shakily, "please, pick up."

When it was clear that he wasn't going to answer, she sobbed. "Daddy," she squeaked, closing her eyes and wishing the scenario unfolding in front of her was a bad dream.

"Oh well," Cassidy said quietly.

Veronica saw him punch a couple of numbers into his phone, and then, behind her there was a loud explosion.

She twisted around and stared up at the sky. As her mind processed what had happened, her knees unlocked and she fell to the ground, sobbing.

She was distraught, but not unaware of her surroundings; she adjusted her body, keeping her right side away from Cassidy, keeping her phone in her right hand. He walked towards her, and she furiously started typing a message to Eli.

He dropped down, crouching alongside of her. "Yeah..." he said quietly, "sorry about that. I know this might be a, uh, a real bad time to ask for a favour. But... how would you feel, now that you've got nothing left to live for, about just rolling yourself off."

Veronica finished the message and selected his phone number off of the contact list on her phone, all by memory; she knew if she looked at the phone, she'd tip Cassidy off. She kept her head down and kept crying---not that the tears were hard to deliver.

Cassidy leaned in, his lips almost touching her left ear.

"I just... I really don't want your DNA all over my shirt," he whispered.

Veronica whimpered.

"You sure like this thing," he said, holding the taser up and looking at it with an odd look on his face. "You ever wonder what it feels like to the people you actually taser?" He smirked. Veronica remained silent. "Let's give it a whirl, what do you say?"

He jabbed the taser at Veronica's arm. She jerked and cried out, before pulling her arm away and bending over in pain.

"You know what I was just thinking? We're Neptune Pirates, right? And this is like I'm making you walk the plank... except instead of jabbing you with a sword, I'm sending three hundred thousand volts through you. Now jump!"

He jabbed her again. Veronica whimpered loudly and fell, before rolling onto her back.

"Please," she begged, "please, don't."

Cassidy backed away from her, holding the gun and pointing it down at her.

"You couldn't do this the easy way? You know Aaron Echolls is staying here. What do you want to bet that I can get him convicted for the death of this teenage girl?"

Veronica took some small comfort in thinking Aaron could be sent to prison for her death.

"Put the gun down!"

At the sound of Eli's voice, Veronica started to sob all over again. Relief washed over her as the last of the electricity-induced twitches attacked her body and prevented her from moving too much.

Cassidy swung around and Veronica pushed herself up onto her knees, looking for the taser.

He fired a shot, but he missed Eli. He ducked behind something, but Veronica could see him moving in the shadows.

"Beaver! NO!" Logan shouted as he rushed out onto the rooftop.

As he turned and fired another shot, Veronica snatched the taser out of his hand and zapped him in his back.

She watched in horror, after Cassidy fell down in front of her, as Logan fell to the ground as well.

But the boy in front of her was moving, and she had to act fast; she pounced and tried to grab the gun. Cassidy found the taser and zapped her again. She screamed and rolled away as her body twitched again.

Cassidy rose to his feet, only to be tackled by Eli. Veronica heard the gun slide across the pavement and she crawled towards it.

She rose to her knees and then to her feet, the silver gun in her hands. She fired one shot into the air and then lowered the gun and pointed it at Cassidy.

"Eli, move away from him," she said, her voice dangerously calm.

"V, don't. Don't do this."

Cassidy stood up and put his hands up.

"He killed my father!" Veronica screamed. "He killed everyone else on the bus! He shot Logan! He raped me!"

Eli shook his head, spit out some blood, and then continued to move towards Veronica.

"V, you ain't some chola... drop it," he pressed, taking slow steps towards his girlfriend. "You gave me those lectures about cleaning up and bein' good... what about you? You takin' over for me, V? I'm not smart enough to bust you out of Lamb's holding cell."

She sobbed and dropped the gun. Eli made his way towards her, picked up the gun, and dropped the cartridge out of it, before throwing the pieces down and scooping Veronica up into his arms.

Logan's rasping voice was the next thing they heard. "Beaver," he groaned, "don't!"

The younger man turned to face the trio. "My name is Cassidy!" he spat out.

"Cassidy... don't..." he managed.

"Why not?" Cassidy challenged.

No one said anything. Veronica saw Eli try---he opened his mouth, furrowed his brow in concentration---but he couldn't come up with anything.

Cassidy smiled sadly. "That's what I thought," he said, before dropping out of sight.

"Oh god," Veronica breathed.

Eli crossed himself and mumbled something in Spanish---or Latin, Veronica wasn't sure---before holding Veronica close and showering her face with kisses.

"Uh... guys?" Logan said quietly. "I'm bleeding over here."

Veronica gasped and kissed Eli once more before rushing over and checking Logan over. The wound was near his shoulder, close to so many vital things---and yet, Logan was still talking.

She whimpered and took her sweater off without a thought; she put it against the wound and pushed in. Logan hissed in pain, but she ignored his complaint.

"Gotta stop the blood," she told him. She craned her neck and saw Eli on the phone. He came over and took one of his shirts off, offering it to Veronica.

"In case that soaks through," he told her quietly. "Paramedics are on their way."

She nodded and looked at Logan. "How did you know?" she asked.

"Saw Weevil get on an elevator. I watched the numbers... to see how far up he went. When the light didn't stop until the roof, I knew it had to be you," Logan muttered, wincing when Veronica put too much pressure on the gunshot wound.

"Omigod... Mac," Veronica breathed.

"Go," Eli insisted. "I'll stay here with Echolls."

"Oh, god," Logan groaned.

"I'll be back," she promised, before squeezing Logan's hand and kissing Eli's cheek.

&&&&

With Logan on his way to the hospital, Mac dressed and taken home, and Eli's name cleared for having any part in what unfolded that night on the roof of the Neptune Grand, the actual events of the evening had finally set in.

When she went down on the elevator, Eli holding her hand and watching her with concerned eyes, she realised that Cassidy had really killed her father.

She started to cry when the elevator was two floors away from the lobby. Eli said nothing; he gathered her up into his arms and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her bloodstained arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

There were so many people in the lobby---news reporters, students, hotel staff, snoopy guests... they all stared and whispered as Eli carried Veronica outside to her car. He set her down in the passenger seat and then got in the driver's seat.

Once they arrived at the Mars apartment, Eli set Veronica down on the sofa and wrapped her in a blanket, before taking Back-up out to do his business. He gave the dog some food and water before going into the bathroom to run Veronica a bath.

She didn't protest against the bath, she didn't accept it either; she didn't say or do anything.

She allowed Eli to undress her and deposited her into the warm bath water.

When he started to clean her up, removing the blood and dirt from her soft, pale skin, she cried quietly. He stopped and held her, kissing her temple and whispering quiet words in her ear to calm her down.

After the bath, he wrapped her in towels and brought her into her bedroom. Veronica dressed in her favourite pajamas after Eli checked her over for bumps and scrapes; and he tucked her into bed.

He turned to go, but Veronica reached out and touched his hand.

"Stay?" she whispered, the first word she uttered since she left Mac's side.

Eli nodded and settled down next to her. He kissed the back of her neck.

When he wrapped his arms around her, she felt a gentle wave of warmth wash over her. She saw images in her head, images of what would have happened if Eli hadn't been there to save her. A lump rose up into her throat.

She swallowed the lump and cleared her throat.

"I love you," she whispered.

Eli hugged her tighter and kissed her neck again. "Mi amor," he whispered back. "I love you, too."

&&&&

She woke up, smelling bacon and toast and eggs and freshly brewed coffee, and her first thought was that Keith Mars was cooking breakfast.

Bolting out of bed, calling her father's name, she raced down the hall.

Eli was at the stove, cooking breakfast for them. He turned and looked at her; she realised that her father wasn't there, wasn't alive, and she swayed on her feet as her eyes filled with tears.

He turned the burners off and rushed over to her. She all but fell into his arms, her breaths coming and going rather shakily.

"I'm so sorry, V... so sorry," he breathed.

She tilted her head up and kissed him through her tears. "Don't go anywhere on me," she whispered raggedly. "I can't lose you, too."

"Not going anywhere," he promised.

She pulled back and gave him a watery smile. A scrape over his left eye and some bruises along his jaw caught her attention.

"Oh... you're hurt," she whispered.

"And on my arm, too," he told her.

Veronica backed up enough to see the long line left by a bullet as it grazed his arm. Her eyes watered and she hugged him tightly again.

"You're not going near guns ever again," she whispered fiercely, "never ever again, Eli."

"Anything, V," he whispered.

A door opened behind them and then someone approached them.

"Is that breakfast I smell?"

Veronica whirled around and leapt from Eli's arms to her father's arms. Keith stepped back, a little confused, but he hugged her back after a moment's pause.

"You're alive?" Veronica cried. "Oh, I thought you were dead!"

She pulled back to look at him.

"I love you so much!"

Keith's confused expression faded away. "Oh, honey... what's wrong? I don't understand."

Veronica blinked back tears and licked her lips. "Woody's plane. Cassidy Casablancas... he blew it up!"

"Honey... I wasn't on the plane," Keith murmured as Eli returned to the stove to finish cooking. "Lamb didn't want me arriving with Woody getting met by the press, so he had them take me off the plane at the last minute. I rented a car, I drove straight home."

"I was a little surprised to find, you know, Eli in your bed, but you were both dressed so---"

Veronica cried, tucking her face into his shoulder. "I was so... so scared---didn't wanna be alone---"

"Shhh, it's okay... I get it," he whispered. "Why don't we sit down? Looks like Eli's breakfast is almost ready, so we can talk about what happened together, okay?"

She nodded and pulled back to wipe her face.

Keith walked over to the younger man and put his hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for looking out for Veronica, Eli," he said quietly, his voice very serious.

"Yes, sir," Eli replied quietly, looking up into Keith's eyes.

He gave Eli a tight smile and then went to one of the cupboards to get dishes for their meal. Veronica was too shaky to do anything, but neither Keith nor Eli minded.

When the meal was served, Veronica and Eli launched into the story of what happened. By the end, Veronica was crying again and Keith didn't know what to say or do.

"He was a troubled young man," Keith said finally.

"No kidding," Veronica agreed quietly.

"Are you two going to go check on Logan later today?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah."

"Good."

Veronica wiped her eyes on her napkin. "Oh... god, I'm so glad you're okay," she murmured, her lower lip still trembling.

"Hey," he murmured in reply, "I wouldn't dream of missing out on our big trip."

She smiled again and nodded. Eli stood up and gathered the dishes up, but Keith stopped him. "Someone cooks and someone else cleans," he said firmly. "I'll do the dishes. You two go get cleaned up and visit Logan or something."

Veronica stood up and kissed her father's cheek. "Thank you, Dad."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head before dismissing her.

Eli and Veronica shared an enthusiastic kiss in the privacy of her bedroom, before settling down, parting ways and cleaning up so they could go visit Logan.

&&&&

Veronica parked her car---a shiny new Saturn, courtesy of her father---and left the driver's seat to lean against its hood.

She stared out over the ocean and watched the waves as they crashed against the shore. After a few minutes she checked her watch; she was late, but Eli was later.

Things had changed in the aftermath of Cassidy's suicide, Woody's arrest, the bus crash mystery. Everybody had to find a way to cope.

Mac had therapy; Veronica had Back-up, her father, and Eli; they both had "Get the Dirt" to bury themselves in when they didn't want to face reality.

The website was an excellent summer project. In a few weeks, Veronica had already saved enough to live comfortably for her first year at Hearst---off-campus. It was a successful business venture, and Mac had been right about it; it could quite possibly provide them with retirement funds.

That sticky July afternoon, she was supposed to be meeting Eli for a quick bite to eat and then some apartment hunting, near Hearst College.

He didn't seem to be too concerned about that, though.

He was working at his uncle's garage, pulling in long, hard hours for little money, while apprenticing at a local tattoo parlor. She knew his life wasn't easy; he didn't graduate with top grades and universities opening their doors for him, like she did. She tried to be considerate, she tried not to rub his face in the fact that her venture with Mac was going to have her financially set for quite a while as long as she could balance her studies with the standard background checks.

But, he knew the truth as well as she did, and it hung over their heads like an ominous dark cloud, threatening to pour cold, acid rain down upon them.

And it also seemed to keep him from showing up to look at apartments.

She called his cellular phone, and was directed to his voice mail.

"Hey, Eli," she said quietly, "I thought we were gonna meet at our beach... and then go apartment hunting from there. If you couldn't make it, you could have called to tell me... I hope everything's okay. Call me when you get a minute. Love you."

She ended the call and sighed, before hopping off of her car and getting back inside to drive towards campus.

&&&&

"So," Veronica said as she helped herself to a soda, taking one for Mac as well. "Business looks good, Mac Attack?"

"Really good," Mac said with a grin as she scanned over their spreadsheets. "How goes the apartment hunting?"

Veronica sighed. "I found a couple of places yesterday. Two-bedroom, within my price range... another was a one-bedroom, with a windowless storage room. I like that one the best."

Mac nodded. Mac had decided that she'd take her chances with campus life and rent a dorm room; since Veronica and Eli had been planning to move in together, their apartment would be the ideal place to host a small server farm where Mac could maintain their site and store their clients' information.

"I trust your judgment," she said with a smile.

Veronica smiled a little in reply, before returning her focus to her soft drink.

"What does your dad think about all of this?"

The blonde looked up. "Um... well, he's not thrilled about me moving in with a guy. But... he's realising that he's not losing a daughter and I'm going to try to ease him into it slowly."

"Very wise of you."

Veronica chuckled.

"And what did Weevil think about these apartments?"

Veronica's smile vanished. "He... he bailed on me," she admitted. "We were supposed to meet at two. At two-forty-five, he was still a no show."

"Poophead."

"Well said."

Keith and Back-up came into the apartment at that moment. "Hey, girls," Keith said quietly.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Mr. Mars."

Keith walked over to the countertop where they were seated and set a folded newspaper down in front of them.

"What's this?" Mac asked.

Veronica saw what section the paper he had displayed---the Obituaries---and whose name was at the top---Leticia Navarro---and she felt her heart clench.

"Oh," she breathed.

"The funeral is tomorrow," Keith told her daughter.

Veronica bit her lower lip and nodded. She wouldn't go to the funeral---because organised services always freaked her out a little---but she would go to the cemetery afterwards and pay her respects. She would leave flowers, she would give Eli some sort of support, even if he didn't ask for it.

She spent the rest of the day worrying---about flowers, about what she'd wear, about what time she should go---and when she woke up the next day, she still didn't have all the answers she wanted.

It had been a nice day, until Veronica stepped out of her car and headed towards the fresh grave in the Catholic cemetery. She tugged her fitted, knee-length coat around her, making sure the collar was up high against her neck; but she could still feel the water sprinkling down upon her.

She was alone at the grave, and she felt comfortable enough to speak her mind. She told the grave marker how important Eli was to her, how her heart ached, how he made her feel so special; she told the grave marker that she hoped she would make Eli happy, that she hoped she was enough for him.

And that's when she felt Eli's presence behind her.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, without saying anything; she slid her hands over his, without saying anything.

They stood there until they were soaked through to the skin, dripping wet but not caring.

Then, Eli took her hand and guided her away from the grave and towards a few trees that stood along the side of the cemetery.

They didn't talk with words---not right away. Eli pressed her against the trunk of one of the trees and kissed her until they couldn't breathe. He hugged her close, front to front, after the kiss and allowed her to rock him gently.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Veronica lifted her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry about the other day," she whispered back.

"It's okay, V," he murmured.

"No," she insisted, "it's not. If you don't want to move in with me---"

"I do," he interrupted. "Chica, I do... I just... working in a bike shop while learnin' how to ink skin isn't exactly on the same level as what you're doin', V. I wanna contribute."

"Okay. And, when you can't, you can live off of your sugar momma," she whispered teasingly. "You can cook and do the chores and take care of me in other ways."

"Promise?"

She nodded and wrapped her arm around his neck, so her fingers could tease the back of his head. "I promise," she whispered. She pressed her lips to his and then pulled back, "I am very sorry for your loss, Eli... I know your grandmother is very important to you."

"Thank you," he said in a low quiet voice.

She didn't protest when he pushed her back against the tree, when he opened her coat and kissed her collarbone before biting into her neck. She simply tilted her head to the side and granted him more access. He had given her what she needed when her life was less than perfect and wasn't making any sense; she would give him what he needed in that difficult time.

He tasted her neck and then returned to her lips while lifting her skirt up a bit, to ready her for what was to come.

Eli wasn't as careful with her that time; he took what he wanted and she was simply holding on for the ride. There was no foreplay, apart from the bites and kisses, and no condom, since neither of them had the foresight to bring one on their way to the cemetery. When he lifted her up and thrust inside of her, Veronica had to bite down into her lip with enough force to draw blood, in order to keep herself from screaming.

After a few dry thrusts, chafing tissue that shouldn't be chafed, Eli stilled and kissed her. He licked the cut on her lip, he explored her mouth and took his time; she warmed up against him, and the tension slowly seeped out of his body.

The rest of their coupling was more of a team-event; they worked each other over the best ways they knew how.

And when it was over, Veronica slowly slid her legs down his body and tried to support herself. When Eli looked slightly ashamed, she cut him off with a kiss and then straightened her clothes out.

"You want me to stop by later?" she asked quietly. "I could bring food---"

"We have enough food," he interrupted gently. "Just bring yourself."

She smiled and nodded. He had never invited her to his home before; that invitation seemed fluid, easy as if it had happened hundreds of times before.

"Tomorrow... wanna go check out some apartments?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'll make calls when I go back to Dad's," she murmured.

&&&&

"Are you sure you're gonna be fine there?" Keith asked.

Veronica laughed into the phone. "Dad, it's an apartment, with very secure locks on all the doors and windows. We're five floors up, we have two very quiet neighbours---"

"I mean with the air mattresses and stuff."

She blushed as she looked around their empty apartment. "Oh... yeah. I mean, we're gonna go looking for furniture tomorrow. It won't be so bad."

"Okay," he said. "Well, if you need anything... a place to stay... food... you name it, okay, Veronica?"

"Daaaad."

He chuckled. "Have a good night, sweetheart."

"If you get lonely, remember you can call and chat," she murmured teasingly.

He laughed again. "Yeah, yeah... make fun of your lonely father."

"G'night, Dad," Veronica said affectionately, before hanging up the phone.

Eli came into the very empty bedroom, wearing his coveralls from work. Veronica smiled and stood up to kiss him.

"That air mattress better be comfy, chica," he said in what to anyone else would be construed as a threatening voice. To Veronica, it was rough and sexy, so she smiled and kissed him again. "Careful, V... Mac's still setting up your fancy spy room."

Veronica chuckled and kissed him again. "You go get cleaned up," she ordered gently, "and I'm gonna go see how she's doing."

He lovingly spanked her ass as she passed. Veronica yelped playfully and darted out of the room.

When she met Mac in the storage room, the brunette already had a stern expression on her face. "I'm not going to visit if you two keep carrying on like that," she grumbled. "Don't you remember how my boyfriend killed a bunch of people, tried to kill you, Logan, and Weevil, and left me locked in a hotel room with nothing but a bath towel for warmth?"

Veronica sighed and squeezed Mac's shoulder. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "Sorry. We'll be more careful."

"It's okay," Mac assured her friend. "I mean, you guys are together. It's not your fault I've decided to rule out dating."

Veronica pointed to the computer monitor and then asked, "How's it going?"

"Really well," Mac said, her expression lightening. "We're good to go. You'll check the administrative side of the site like you always do, and you'll be able to click through the orders, as always. Payments are still handled the usual way, but with the servers we can store all the transactions," she explained. "You can save the files to the designated backup server, so if an e-mail gets lost and a file needs to be reordered, you won't have to look the parents back up. You can just refer to the file in storage."

The blonde smiled. "Sounds like you've thought of everything."

"And I'll come by every few days to check and make sure everything's working properly."

Veronica smirked. "And maybe to watch our PayPal account grow?"

"Maybe."

Mac left soon after that, after checking the servers and programming code over once more. They selected the combination for the lock Eli installed, together, and then Veronica walked Mac to the door. She locked the deadbolts when her hacker friend was gone, and then she rushed back to the bedroom, where she found Eli in the shower.

She grinned and stripped out of her shorts and t-shirt, and then her bra and underwear, as she made her way to the tub-shower-unit.

"Eli?"

"V?"

She chuckled and pulled the curtain back. Eli turned and looked at her, a smirk on his face. "Got room for one more?"

"That's why I wanted this place," Eli replied, offering her his hand. "I like the extra large shower."

Veronica flashed him a grin. "And I bought it for the computer room," she purred, slinking past him so she could stand under the hot spray of water. "Silly me... what was I thinking?"

"Dunno, chica," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. After a kiss, he smirked and said, "You know what else I was thinkin'?"

"Mmmmno... what?" she breathed.

"We should just clean up... and then go out and christen a couple of rooms in this place."

"You really aren't just another pretty face," she murmured teasingly. She batted her lashes at him, and then asked, "You want me to wash your hair?"

He laughed, the sound reverberating off of the tiled walls and rumbling through her petite frame. "What hair, V?"

She laughed, too, and then let him tip her head under the water spray; he rubbed some of her shampoo between his hands and then rubbed it into her hair.

Veronica moaned and closed her eyes as he took care of her. Once the suds were rinsed away, she stepped out of the water spray and picked up her bath-puff---something Eli secretly enjoyed her using on him, but would never admit to another soul.

She poured some soap onto it and then slowly began to clean his skin. She smiled when he groaned and rolled his shoulders, trying to relax; when she was finished with the bath-puff, she put her hands on his slick skin and slowly massaged his muscles.

"Damn... V..."

"Mmm... you like that?"

"You know I do," he growled.

Veronica smirked to herself and continued to massage his neck and shoulders with one hand, while she reached outside of the shower and grabbed her towel.

"Why don't you rinse," she suggested quietly. "We're almost done..."

"Yeah," he agreed.

As he stepped away from her to rinse his skin free of soap suds, Veronica stifled a giggle and stepped out of the shower. She quickly wrapped herself in her towel and scurried out of the bathroom.

It took Eli three seconds to realise she had left the shower.

"V!" he roared, making her nipples and abdomen tighten as his voice reached her ears.

She laughed and raced into one of the empty rooms, before Eli raced down the hall after her. He chased her into the kitchen, pinned her to the fridge for a kiss, and then dragged her over to the kitchen table.

Veronica squealed and met him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, thrust for thrust. And when it was all over, Eli scooped her up and carried her to their temporary bed.

As she curled up into him, she brushed her fingers over his chest and listened to his heart beating under his ribcage.

He kissed the top of her head and traced invisible patterns over her shoulder and back.

Their lives weren't perfect. She knew that. She knew they would continue to experience friction over their different financial situations. She knew he would feel inadequate from time to time, and she wouldn't always be able to share her college experiences with him.

However, she also knew that he made her happy and that she made him happy; neither of them were willing to walk away from what they had.