disclaimer: i don't own veornica mars or any of the characters

a/n: my take on who's at the door and what happened after the seaon finale

Veronica Mars was ripped from her peaceful dream with Lilly by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes and looked at her alarm clock. It was 3.07am. She opened the door and smiled at the person stood in front off her.

"I was hoping it would be you"

Veronica silently stood back and opened the door to let her night-time visitor into the house. He paused for a second, as though he had to physically engage the part of his brain that would allow him to move. He had been thinking a lot that night and was exhausted. He had found himself driving around Neptune for hours trying to escape his thoughts about what had happened that day….and when he finally did he found himself parked outside Veronica's house, not even remembering the drive there.

He followed Veronica inside and sat down on the sofa next to her. They sat there for the longest time, just looking at each other. He found himself unable to vocalise everything that was running through his head. Unable to ask if she was alright and to almost prove to himself that she was real and was actually sat beside him, he reached out his hand towards her face, to the large burn and bruise that were evident on her cheek. She instinctively pulled away from his touch, not wanting him to hurt her already painful injuries. Her rejection of contact burnt him to his very soul… 'she can't stand to be touched by you. Can you blame her?' Realising the pain she had caused him by rejecting his touch she looked him in the eyes and apologised

"I'm sorry. Its still really tender"

"Veronica, I'd never do anything to hurt you"

"I know"

She could tell by his gaze that he was telling the truth and he would never do anything to harm her fragile heart. To show him she trusted him and understanding why he needed to physically feel her presence, she took his hand in hers and brought it to the other uninjured side of her face

"See? I'm still here. I'm okay. You can't keep Veronica Mars down for long"

She tried to make a joke out of the situation, but with the continuing presence of his gentle touch and the affection in his gaze, she felt such a sense of tenderness and compassion that she began to let her guard down and the effects of her night's activities caught up to her. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought about how she might not have been sat there if Lilly's killer had had his way that night.

As he reassured himself that her survival wasn't a dream that he would awake from, he realised that the possibility of losing her had been very real that night, and his heart thanked whatever power was out there that another girl hadn't been stolen from his life before her time. He sat there, looking with utter amazement at the beautiful girl beside him, the tears glistening in her eyes making her look so vulnerable. He couldn't stand it anymore. He could not be this close to Veronica Mars and not hold her, or comfort her when she was in pain. He took her in his arms and drew her tightly to him. He would give her the strength of his arms when she was weak, the warmth from his heart when she was cold, and the empathy of understanding to lessen the pain from their shared loss when the hurt was too much to bare alone.

She didn't resist. She needed to be held, to let out all the pain that had accumulated over the last 18 months. She had been strong for so long. She needed to have someone love her and hold her and tell her that everything would be all right. And more than that, she loved him in return. Deep down in her soul, she knew that she could survive everything that had happened with him by her side. And from that moment there was simply the two of them…the rest of the world slipped away as their lips met in a kiss that was fuelled by the power of their love and loss, hope and grief.

They stayed that way, locked in each other's embrace. As time passed, her head came to rest on his shoulder, whilst he held her safe in his arms. Together they softly cried for the girl that had been such a beautiful part of their lives: the vibrant soul once so full of life that was now extinguished. Together, they cried for her lost best friend and his lost sister.

Lilly had loved life and they had loved Lilly.