Holding the World Together

"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together"
- Woodrow Wilson

I do not own Veronica Mars – nor should I be starting another story. I have several unfinished posts and several more unfinished that have never been published. But I can't get this out of my head, so I'm sharing. I watched Veronica Mars the first time around and loved it but was extremely disappointed by the cancellation and the way it ended. I re-watched the seasons recently and found this bit of inspiration.

Please let me know what you think and if you'd like to read more. I have a bit written during the time when Veronica and Logan came together for good – I can post that if there happens to be interest. Enjoy!

Upon hanging up the strange call, Mac called orders to her nanny, grabbed her keys, and jumped behind the wheel of her Capri Blue Mercedes-Benz GLK-350 and sped across town. She loved it most because it matched the color that highlighted her dark brown hair. She pulled into the Echolls driveway just as Veronica was arriving in her own silver SUV. "Hey Mac," she said cheerfully, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "What brings you a'calling?" Veronica took only a moment to notice the obvious. "What's with the serious face?"

"Let's go inside," Mac said calmly, linking her arm through Veronica's and leading her up to the house. Logan pulled the door open before either woman could bother with a key and whisked them inside.

"Thanks Mac," Logan said immediately, absentmindedly dropping a kiss on his wife's forehead. "Maggie is packing bags for the kids – maybe you could help?" Mac nodded, heading into the heart of the household before Veronica could question his words. The petite blond followed her husband into the kitchen and threw her bag on the counter, demanding to know what was going on. He worked as he assured her everything was fine. Taking a Vera Bradley cooler from the kitchen cabinet, he placed inside several ice packs and then two of his daughter's insulin packs.

"Why is Mac here? Where is she taking the kids? What's going on?"

"We have everything," Mac said, walking briskly into the kitchen with her two year old namesake on her hip. The little boy reached for his mother but Veronica was too distracted to notice.

"Daddy, I'm supposed to go to Molly's this weekend! It's not fair!" Lilly shouted, stamping her feet as Mac and the Echolls' nanny – Maggie – worked to gather several bags and four children into the vestibule between the kitchen and entry. Logan tried to sooth his twelve year old daughter but was also attempting to remove his four-year-old son Andrew from his leg. The little boy had latched on, begging his father to play with him.

"Stop!" Veronica finally yelled, throwing her hands into the air. "Stop! Immediately! No one moves until I know what's going on here!"

"Darling," Logan said gingerly, using a tone that she knew was meant to create understanding. It warned her that she shouldn't scare the children. "You remember – Mac and Dick are taking the kids so we can have our special weekend."

Mac nodded methodically, smiling in a way that didn't begin to reach her eyes. Veronica watched helplessly as her children were loaded into her friend's SUV and carted away. When Logan reentered the house, she pounced. "What in the hell is going on here?" Logan placed his hands on her shoulders, his fingers kneading gently at the muscles knotted in her neck.

"Calm down. Your dad will explain." He used a hand at the small of her back to lead her into the living room where her father was apparently waiting. She hadn't seen him since Sunday when the entire family had gotten together for a cook out. He'd called in Monday morning, telling her he was chasing a bail jumper into Mexico. She hadn't worried until she saw the expression he wore waiting for her and Logan in their living room.

"Dad? What's wrong? What's happening?"

"Sweetheart, have a seat," Keith said. She didn't have much of a choice; Logan pulled her next to him on the love seat across from her dad. "I received a strange phone call a few days ago from a private detective in Ensenada. I checked it out myself – thinking it was a hoax."

He placed a folder into Veronica's hands and took a deep breath. She opened it tremulously. She stopped breathing when her eyes locked on the first photo. Lilly Kane. Beautiful, vibrant, alive. She wasn't 16 anymore but there was no mistaking her. In the photo she was sitting in a rocking chair near a window. Her blond hair was long and seemingly unkempt but she was Lilly.

"How?"

"We don't really know," Keith explained. "All we know is that Lilly has been in a personal care home in Ensenada for the past 14 years. The payments for her room and board stopped about three years ago and the owner has been keeping her on as a courtesy." Veronica's fingers traced the picture, glazing over the tears that had fallen from her eyes onto the paper.

"The payments stopped around the time Celeste Kane died," Keith continued. "And now the owner has died and his children have no intention of keeping a non-paying resident. A nurse who has been caring for her hired a detective to find family."

"Lilly's family is gone," Logan answered hollowly, holding onto his wife as she sobbes against his chest.

Please let me know if you liked it -- I will continue :-)