Disclaimer: I own nothing. I have nothing. Please don't come and take nothing away from me.
Tequila Helps
"Piz? Wh-what are you doing here?" Veronica glanced behind her, quickly scanning for any trace of the activities her and Logan had engaged in the night before. The clothes they'd left scattered on the living room floor were tossed into the basket next to the laundry room. The wine glasses were washed and resting in the drying rack, the wine bottle corked and sitting on the counter. Even the pillows on the couch were back in their rightful place. Thank god for that damn Navy training. Logan must have cleaned up before he left to go to the base.
Piz' usual warm, lopsided smile was tainted with concern. "I heard about what happened to your dad. I got on the first plane." He pulled her into his arms, enfolding her in his familiar smell. "God, Veronica, why didn't you call me?"
"You broke-up with me," she reminded him as she gently pushed away from his chest. She took a step back and fought the urge to look down at the t-shirt she wore. Once the incessant knocking had penetrated her deep sleep, Veronica had rolled out of bed and grabbed the first thing she could lay her hands on. She knew it was one of Logan's t-shirts; it dwarfed her slight frame, the hem brushing her knees. The question was, which one? If 'Go Navy' was scrawled across the front, this conversation was going to get ugly real fast.
"Oh, babe." Piz placed his hands on her arms, giving them what he thought was a comforting squeeze. "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't understand how out of line I was until I saw the news. I did say this place resided on a Hellmouth," he joked to alleviate the obvious tension. But Veronica's neutral expression didn't change. Piz dropped his hands back to his side. "I flew all this way to see you. At least give me a chance to explain. Please?"
Veronica wavered, but eventually she stepped back, inviting Piz into her father's home. As she shut the door, she took the chance to look down and saw the words California Republic emblazoned across her chest. Thank god. "Let me get dressed and then we can talk." She quickly made her escape to the spare room.
As soon as the door closed, she grabbed her phone. She sent an urgent group text to Mac and Wallace. Piz is here. Help! She threw the phone on her pillow and frantically searched for clothes. Wallace was probably in class so he wouldn't see the text, but Mac should be sitting at her desk at Kane Software. She'd answer, right? Veronica was zipping up her jeans, when her phone vibrated. She dove for it on the bed. "Help me," she furiously whispered in lieu of a greeting.
"What is he doing in Neptune?" Mac asked, her tone almost as panicked as her best friend's. "Please tell me Logan's not there," she implored.
"Had an early morning meeting on base." Veronica rolled onto her back. "Piz heard what happened with my dad and he flew out here to... I don't know, comfort me? He apologized for what he said. He thinks..." Her mood shifted from frantic to slightly indignant. "He doesn't get to show up, without even a phone call, and expect everything to go back to the way it was. He broke-up with me."
"And you need to remind him of that, in no uncertain terms," Mac told her. "And you better do it fast. The last thing you want is a Piz/Logan confrontation in your dad's living room. Do you want me to come over? I can be there in twenty minutes."
"No," Veronica assured her. "I can handle Piz. I wasn't expecting it, that's all. I'm a little freaked. I swear, if Wallace knew and didn't tell me -"
"He wouldn't do that," Mac cut her off. "You know he wouldn't. Wallace might not like how everything went down, but he respects your decisions. He would never let you be blindsided like this."
"Why couldn't he have stayed in New York?" Veronica threw a hand over her eyes. A few days before, she'd admitted to Mac she was relieved Piz had broken up with her before she'd been forced to break-up with him. Her decision to stay in Neptune wasn't a sudden one. Her dad's accident was the last of many deciding factors. Veronica had been thinking about staying, consciously or unconsciously, since the minute she'd stepped off the plane. She'd finally learned how to reconcile her past with her present. She was done running, done hiding. And she was happy.
Mac knew Piz would never see it that way. "Okay, here's the deal. You're going to come out the bad guy in this. Just embrace it. Don't be wishy-washy. Don't be gentle. Rip the band-aid off and send the boy on his way."
Veronica laughed at Mac's no nonsense approach. Of course she was right. Any attempt to explain or defend her choices would be futile. She mentally prepared for the coming conversation. "I'm going in, coach."
"Good luck," Mac encouraged. "And call me when it's over."
Veronica shot off a quick message to Logan, telling him to text her before he left the base. He wouldn't read anything into it, and she might need the advanced warning. She pocketed her phone as she joined Piz in the living room.
He'd wasted no time making himself comfortable. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through cable channels, a mug in his hand. "I made coffee." He motioned towards the machine and the identical mug placed next to it. "You seemed a little frazzled. You're never right until you've had your first cup."
Veronica gave him a meager smile, which fell from her lips the second she turned away from him. The reminder that he knew her rankled her more than it should. This is Piz, she reminded herself. He's not a bad guy. She felt him approach as she fixed the coffee to her liking.
"How's your dad doing?" he asked. "Wallace didn't tell me much."
Veronica swung around. "Wallace?" she asked accusingly. Oh, her bestie was a dead man walking.
Piz took a step back. "Uh, yeah." He frowned at her weird reaction. "I talked to him yesterday. He told me about the accident. Told me your dad was going to be in the hospital for a while." Piz smiled at her uneasily. "He said it could have been a lot worse if that guy hadn't pulled Keith from the car when he did."
"He's going to be fine. He broke his hip, and he has a bad concussion. He'll need a lot of physical therapy, but he's going to be okay." That guy, Veronica thought. So Wallace hadn't mentioned Logan by name. An attempt to spare Piz' feelings, to not get involved? Or an attempt to cover the truth hoping it wouldn't matter once Piz showed up to convince her to get back together? "We broke up," Veronica reminded him again.
Piz set his mug on the counter. "I am so sorry for what I said. I was jealous, plain and simple. But we've been together a long time. Please don't let one stupid mistake on my part end a great relationship," he pleaded.
He made a grab for her hand, but Veronica side-stepped the attempt. Mac's strategy made sense, but when faced with the earnest goodness that was her ex, Veronica couldn't be mercenary. "If I was in your shoes, I probably would have reacted the same way. But I'm not coming back to New York. My dad -"
"I know," Piz jumped in. "You need to be here for him. And if that's a month or six months, we'll work it out." This time he caught her hand in his. "I know what happened with Truman-Mann, but it's only a job. You can always get another job. Your dad is your priority. And he should be."
Veronica pried her hand away. She took her coffee into the living room and sat down in her dad's chair. There would be no attempt to cozy up next to her on the couch. "What I was going to say, is that my dad's accident forced me to re-evaluate things. To take stock of where I am and where I'm going. I like investigating. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I came home. So I'm staying here, in Neptune. I'm going to run Mars Investigations while dad is recovering, and then I'm going to be his partner in the business." There, she'd done it. She told him she wasn't going back to New York. Now he'd have to accept that their break-up was permanent.
"Suddenly, you don't want to be a lawyer anymore?" Piz asked in confusion. "You spent four years of your life in law school. You're going to throw that away?"
Veronica sipped her coffee, taking a minute to temper her annoyance. Her father had asked her the same questions when she'd informed him she was staying in Neptune. After several conversations, one in particular where she'd finally admitted that her decision to study law had been based more on fear than any true interest in the profession, her dad had backed off. But she had no intention of explaining her motivation to Piz. "I don't know," she said once she was calm. "Maybe I'll take the California bar, maybe I won't. I've got time to figure it out."
The silence stretched between them; Veronica wasn't tempted to fill it. Finally, Piz sighed. "Then I guess it's a good thing I started looking at jobs on the west coast."
Veronica almost spit out her coffee. "You what?"
"I always knew there was a chance you'd look for a job outside of New York. And I..." An embarrassed flush spread across Piz' cheeks. "Well, I've been surfing the job sites for months. Just checking the types of opportunities available. There's a lot more out there than you'd think, and a ton of them are in LA. Even a few in San Diego. With my experience, it's not like I'd be starting at the bottom again."
Veronica's mind raced. Everyone at the radio station loved Piz. He went out of his way to ingratiate himself to the people he worked with. Not a kiss-ass, but someone who genuinely wanted to learn everything he could to improve his craft. "Your boss is talking about letting you present a few pieces on air. You can't give that up. I know how hard you've worked for it."
Piz shrugged off her concern. "Like I said, it's only a job. You're what's important to me." He placed his hand on her knee. "When I was here for the reunion, sure it was crazy, but I saw how... comfortable you are here. Being around Mac and Wallace again. And your dad. I know how much you miss them. If this is where you want to be, I want to be here too."
Veronica shifted away again, uncomfortable with his touch and the emotion in his voice. He was thinking of throwing his life away? For her? She was horrified. "You can't give up your dreams to follow me across the country. That's insane!"
"What good are having dreams if there's no one there to share them with?" Veronica rolled her eyes. It was such a Piz thing to say. She opened her mouth to argue, but he was warming up to his subject now. "Maybe this is for the best. Think about it. You're going to be busy with your dad's recovery, so I can take the time to find something I really like. And when your dad's back on his feet, we can find a place to live. Maybe buy a house instead of being stuck in a crappy apartment. I love New York, but this way we'll be closer to our parents, to our friends. We could build a life here. I think this could be a great move forward for us."
Veronica put the mug down on the side table before she dropped it. When had the situation gotten completely out of her control? Buy a house? Build a life? A move forward for us? Where was this coming from? Sure, they lived together in New York, but it was only because neither could afford a decent place alone. Veronica's old roommate had moved out without any notice. She'd been scrambling to make the rent each month, going so far as to borrow money from her dad. And Piz was sick of living in the over-priced closet his landlord called a studio. It had a toilet, but no tub. He'd been taking baths in a sink. Those were the reasons they'd moved in together. It was based on finance, not romance.
And they'd never, never talked about the future. Not like this. Veronica was too entrenched in law school to think beyond it. She talked about finishing, getting a job, making enough money to pay off her student loans, but that's as far as she'd gone. "Let's table the job discussion for minute. What you said on the phone, you were serious. And you weren't wrong. Meeting your parents should have been important to me. If it was, I would have been on the plane. But I wasn't. I chose to stay here. Suddenly, you're okay with that?"
Piz lowered his eyes to the floor, Veronica nervously watching him. When he raised them, there was a determination she rarely saw. "I'll admit, there were a few tense days after you didn't show up. But then I saw the news. Those people conspired to cover up two murders. And I remember what the Neptune Sheriff's Department is like. They weren't going to investigate. That's when I realized how petty I was being. I wanted you in New York, but you were needed here."
If she had to explain in one sentence why she'd stayed, that would be it. Piz wanted her there, Logan needed her here. Somehow, the fact that Piz understood that made Veronica feel worse. "I'm sure your parents were thrilled," she choked out.
"You'd be surprised," Piz said with a bit of a chuckle. "They already knew about the cases you'd solved at Hearst. As soon as they saw that Lamb guy making a fool of himself on TMZ, they understood how corrupt Neptune is. I told them Logan hadn't stood a chance without someone in his corner - without you in his corner," he said earnestly. "And I explained that you'd known him since you were twelve. I think that helped. The fact that you're still loyal to someone you knew in grade school. They admire that. They're disappointed they didn't get to meet you, but when your dad's doing better, I promised them we'd fly up to Oregon. Maybe he could come too. You'll finally be able to see Brigadoon."
Veronica involuntarily smiled at the memory of the first time they met. God, he was such a good guy. And maybe she was stupid to throw away their relationship. But all the things he was saying... Veronica wasn't even tempted. It's not that she didn't want those things, she just didn't want them with him.
Piz pulled a small black box out of his jacket pocket, completely derailing all of Veronica's thoughts. "Matter of fact, mom gave this to me before they left. It was my grandmother's." He opened the box. Nestled in the velvet was a diamond ring. "Veronica, that first day I met you at Hearst, I knew you were special. And every day after that, spending time with you, getting to know you, proved to me that I was right. When things ended between us, I was devastated. I knew I'd never find another girl like you. That I'd never again love anyone the way I loved you. I'd resigned myself to that fact. And then one day, in a little cafe in the East Village, I saw you again. And you were everything I remembered and more. I couldn't believe the universe had given me this amazing second chance. I decided right then that I would never lose you again." Piz got down on one knee. He took the ring out of the box, and held it up to her. "I love you, Veronica. And I am prepared to spend the rest of our lives proving that to you. Every minute of every day. Whether that's in New York, or California, or Timbuktu. It doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you. Veronica Mars, will you make me the happiest man on earth? Will you marry me?"
Veronica fervently wished she'd taken Mac's advice. She never should have let it get this far. But in her own defense, she'd never seen this coming, so how could she prepare for it? "No, Piz," She said quietly, but firmly. "I'm sorry, but no."
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
"So how'd it go?" Mac asked in a sing-song voice.
Veronica was slumped in the corner of her father's sofa, her fingers clutched around the bottle of wine she hadn't finished the night before. "Oh, fabulous. Just fucking fabulous," she answered bitterly.
Mac softly snickered. "That good, huh? Well, I told you it wasn't going to be pretty."
Veronica nodded in agreement, although Mac couldn't see her. "He had a ring." The sound of Mac's high-pitched cackle vibrated through the phone. "It's not funny!" Veronica stated vehemently, but it was no use. She drank as she waited for her friend to calm down.
"You didn't rip off the band-aid," Mac said with a bit of disappointment. She even added a tisk-tisk. She knew she'd gained her co-workers attention with her outburst, but she didn't care enough about their opinions for it to bother her.
"Oh, I ripped it off, all right." Veronica dropped her head onto the back of the sofa, the god-awful scene running on a continuous loop in her mind. "Only I waited until he was down on one knee to do it."
"Oh my god!" Mac was truly appalled. "You actually let him get to the point where he proposed?! What were you thinking?"
"It got away from me so fast." Veronica gave Mac a quick overview of the conversation that led up to the proposal. "I honestly did not see this coming. I mean, I know we were together for over a year, but we never talked about marriage. Never, never, never, ever. Ever. Ever. And then suddenly, he's down on his knee, with the ring in his hand, and he said it. Veronica Mars, will you marry me?"
"And you said...?" Mac prompted.
"I said no." Veronica was still in a daze. She shook her head in a vain attempt to permanently wipe the past hour from her mind. "There was a lot of arguing that followed. And then he got a bit personal and I... I didn't take it well."
"What do you mean personal?" Mac asked confused. How much more personal could you get than a marriage proposal?
"He said I was scared. That what we had, the way I feel about him, it scared me, so I was self-sabotaging." She snorted as she remembered the slightly smug expression on his face when he'd told her that. "I told him he needed to stop reading my old psychology books. Then he started talking about my mother, and how she ran away when things got tough, and how I was acting just like her. And honestly, that did strike a nerve, which sent me straight into retaliation mode. So, I sorta… blurted out the first thing I thought of." She took a deep breath. "I told him I was fucking Logan."
"Shut the front door!" This was better than those tele novellas her mother watched. Mac sent a quick email to her boss, letting him know she was leaving for the day and would be working from home.
"I didn't mean to say it." Even Veronica was astonished she'd been that blunt and crude. "But he was really pissing me off."
Mac shut down her computer. She grabbed her purse and headed for the elevators. "And then what happened?"
"There was a moment of silence, and then the yelling really began." Veronica finished off the wine. "Logan got called some names. I got called worse. At one point he said I was a two-timing whore."
Mac winced as she stepped into the elevator, punched the first-floor button. "That must have been fun."
Veronica sank lower into the cushions, as the guilt crept up on her. "It was completely out of control. I've never seen Piz so angry. And he had every right to be." She reached behind her for the throw that hung over the arm of the sofa. "He'd been planning a future with me, and I..." She wrapped the throw tightly around her body. "I lied to him for over a year, Mac. I let him think our relationship was going somewhere. All because I was too scared to own up to my mistakes and face the truth. Maybe I am like my mother."
"But you did own up to your mistakes, and it was the smartest, most courageous thing you've ever done. And something Leanne never did," Mac said with conviction. "When I visited a few months ago, I could see it. You were only pretending to be happy. If you'd stayed with Piz, settled for him, eventually you would have been miserable. And you would have made him miserable too." Mac exited the elevator. "You are not your mother. I don't want to ever hear you say something so stupid again. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand," Veronica said quietly. Maybe she wasn't like her mother now, but she had come close to following in Leanne's footsteps. If she'd stayed in New York, she could have married Piz. Settled for the guy that loved her, because she couldn't have the guy she loved. She shivered at the possibility.
Mac wasn't convinced, but she let it go for the moment. "Have you talked to Wallace yet?"
"I called, but all I got was voicemail. I tried to explain..." Veronica groaned at the thought of the dressing down she was going to get from her best friend. "He is not going to be amused."
Mac snorted as she swiped her badge to exit the building. "Well, Wallace must not have the nuanced sense of comic genius that I do, because I think it's hilarious." She heard Veronica groan again. "I know you feel like crap and I know you think you destroyed the guy's life. But maybe it's better if he hates you. This way, he can get over you. You don't want him moping around for the rest of his life, moaning forever about the one that got away. Now he has a real chance to move on. You're a two-timing whore and he's better off without you," Mac ended cheerfully. "I just left work and I'm heading to the liquor store. We are getting drunk, my friend."
"Patron," Veronica mumbled. "Silver. And pick up a few limes."
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Drinking was pre-empted by a trip to the hospital. Veronica's routine involved visiting her father in the afternoons when his mood seemed to be the best. Early mornings he was groggy, mid mornings he was grumpy - that's when they ran tests. Right around lunch time was the sweet spot. He'd be awake and coherent for a few hours, before the fatigue would overtake him again.
Keith was surprised, but happy to see Mac tagging along with his daughter. And Mac was happy to see that Keith's usual keen observation skills were still a bit fuzzy. If he'd been at his full PI best he would have easily recognized Veronica's distress.
After about forty-five minutes of playing three-handed rummy, Mac's phone rang. She excused herself so she could take the call outside. "Wallace, my friend. How are you doing this fine day?"
To say Wallace was angry would be an understatement. "Have you talked to her?" he barked. "Do you know what happened? What she did?"
"I am aware," Mac answered coolly.
"She's not answering my calls." Wallace continued to grouse and grumble, so unlike him. "She's avoiding me because she knows she screwed up."
Mac was glad she'd insisted that Veronica turn off her phone while they were in the hospital. "We're visiting Keith. I told her not to answer her phone. She doesn't need you yelling at her right now. She feels bad enough."
"She should feel bad," Wallace snapped back. "I can't believe what she said. What she did. Piz -"
"Had no business showing up out of blue and springing something like that on her," Mac said in no uncertain terms. "You don't break-up with someone, and then a week later, fly across the country to propose. What the hell was he thinking?"
That stopped Wallace cold. Mac had a point, and he knew it. "Come on, Mac. You know the guy's been in love with her forever. I admit it was a bush-league move. But he knew he'd lost her, and he was scrambling for a way to keep her. Go big or go home, I guess." Wallace gave a heavy sigh. "She couldn't have found a better way to let him down?"
"It wasn't her finest moment," Mac capitulated, "but he shouldn't have compared her to her mother. At least Piz is pissed at her now. It's much easier to get over someone you're angry at, than someone you're still pining for. He can close the book on their relationship and move on with his life."
Wallace had wanted to vent, but Mac was forcing him to be reasonable. "Okay, maybe. But until that happens, I've got to hear about it. He's mad at me too because I didn't tell him."
Mac rolled her eyes, so over the entire conversation. "Well, why didn't you?''
"I didn't want to be in the middle!" Wallace confessed. "But if I had known he had a ring... Hell, I would have said something if I knew. He didn't even tell me he was flying out. First I heard about it was that damn text she sent. I almost choked when I read it. But then there was nothing else, so I decided I'd drive over after school to see what happened. Besides, I figured you were on it." With genuine concern, he asked, "Is she okay?"
"She's feeling guilty about what she said." Wallace snorted, but Mac defended her best friend again. "He pushed her buttons. If he knew anything about Veronica, anything at all, he would have known she'd come-out swinging when cornered." Mac decided to look on the happy side. "At least Logan wasn't there. I don't think he would have taken it well when Piz called her a two-timing whore."
Wallace flinched. "Yeah, I heard that one too. Trust me, I've heard it all. For the past hour, it's all I've heard," he said miserably.
"He's with you? Good." Mac would take care of Veronica, and Wallace could take care of Piz. "Get him drunk tonight. Let him sober up tomorrow, and then put him on a plane back to New York. Faster he's gone, the better it'll be for everyone."
"Oh, he's already drunk. Didn't need any help from me." Wallace peered around the bathroom door to take a quick peak at Piz who was sitting on the floor, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. "He tracked me down at school. Walked right up to my table at lunch, started yelling like a lunatic. I had to drag him out of there before security showed up. We ran into Clemmons, and all I had to say was Veronica's name. He waved us to the parking lot." He shook his head at the memory. "That girl has some reputation."
"That she does." Mac knew she needed to get back to the room soon before Veronica came looking for her. "Do you want me to have her call you?"
"Not tonight. I'm going to keep Piz confined to my place. Once he's gone, I'll call. But I'm still not happy," Wallace reminded her. "And V and I are going to have a talk. You can tell her I said so."
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Logan prayed the unfamiliar car parked in front of the Mars' house didn't belong to Wallace Fennel. Veronica assured him that Wallace would get over his anger eventually. Once he understood that she was happy, happier than she'd been in years, he would stop blaming Logan for her decisions. And to speed up the process, earlier in the week the couple had met her best friends for dinner and drinks. Seeing Mac again had been great. He'd always liked her. Her sense of humor, her even keel. Both qualities she still had in abundance. She made dinner almost bearable. In sharp contrast to Wallace who shot him accusatory glares and answered questions with stony silence. Not something Logan was eager to repeat. Therefore he was happily surprised when the front door swung open revealing the brown-haired hacker. "Hey, Mac," he said.
"Hey, yourself." Mac stepped back, letting him in. Logan tucked his cover under his arm as he entered. "You know," she said as he passed, "it's going to take some getting used to, this whole Navy thing. Not that you don't carry it off, but it's just weird. Logan Echolls in the Navy. It's like an episode of the Twilight Zone."
Logan chuckled. "Where's the tiny blonde one?" he asked as his eyes swept over the empty living room.
Mac maneuvered around him and flopped down onto the sofa. "Passed out in her room."
Logan frowned as he stared down the short hall that led to the guest room Veronica had claimed as her own. "Passed out?" he asked in confusion.
"Yep." Mac popped the p, and then went on to make a few more 'pu, pu, pu' noises before saying, "Our girl can not hold her liquor."
Logan did a double-take. It was three in the afternoon and Veronica was passed out drunk? He studied Mac and realized she was drunk too. And then he noticed the open bottle of tequila and two shot glasses sitting on the coffee table. "What's been going on around here today?"
Mac pursed her lips at his accusing tone. "Just a little self-medication." She propped her chin on her open palm. "Like you've never done it before."
Whatever Logan was about to say was stopped by the sound of Veronica's sleepy voice. "Logan?" She stumbled down the hall, clumsily brushing back her hair. She stopped once she was directly in front of him, a crooked smile on her face. "You're home." She hugged him, resting her cheek on his chest. "I missed you."
She was wearing his t-shirt and a pair of his boxers, both of which engulfed her tiny frame. Her hair was sticking out at odd angles. She was adorable. What the hell? Logan decided to go with it. "I missed you too, bobcat," he said, laughter tingeing his voice, as he hugged her back.
Veronica snuggled closer. "I've had a really bad day."
Logan made small circles on her hip with his thumb. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." She mumbled into his chest. Then she peaked around him. "Mac! You're still here." She abandoned her boyfriend and joined her best friend on the sofa. "I fell asleep," she admitted with embarrassment.
Mac snorted, then yawned. "I was thinking of taking a nap myself until flyboy over there," she motioned towards Logan, "knocked on the door. He has terrible timing."
Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. His entire day on base was spent talking to his commanding officer, the base commander, the JAG lawyers, and two NCIS agents. Not to mention members of his squad. On the drive back from San Diego all he could think about was spending a quiet evening alone with Veronica. Maybe even a repeat of the night before, if he was lucky. And now he had to deal with this. Whatever this was. She'd had a bad day? It wasn't her dad, he knew that much. If something had happened with Keith, she wouldn't be this calm. He decided to change clothes before he started asking questions. He walked to Veronica's room leaving the two friends to talk.
He was taking off his shirt when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Veronica slid into the room, firmly closing the door behind her, then hopped up on the bed. "Don't stop on my account. I'm here for the show."
Logan added a little wiggle to his hips as he shimmied out of his slacks. He heard Veronica sigh behind him. "What happened that was so bad you're drinking in the middle of the day?" he asked as he hung up his uniform. "It's not your dad, is it?" Veronica sighed again, and patted the space next to her on the bed. Logan dutifully sat down. Then he adjusted his position when she crawled into his lap. He leaned against the back of the fold-out couch, his legs stretched out in front of him, Veronica cradled in his arms. "Bobcat?" he said with concern. "You're scaring me."
Veronica lifted her head, placing a kiss on the underside of his jaw. "Piz showed up today."
Logan tensed immediately. He knew Veronica felt it because she started petting his chest in reassurance. "Why?" he asked as calmly as he could.
Veronica was silent for a few minutes. Her petting gradually changed to drawing random shapes with the tip of her finger. When she did speak, her voice was so quiet he would have missed it if he weren't intently listening for it. "He asked me to marry him." Logan attempted to shift Veronica off his lap, but she refused to budge, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. "No, no, don't leave."
Logan beat the back of his head against the wall. He'd been dealing with too many mixed emotions for days. Rehashing the story over and over again on base had brought them all back to the surface. And now this. Why the hell did Piz have to show up now? Why did he have to give her a way out of the madness Logan had drug her back into?
Veronica ran her hand up the back of his head and drew him down to her for an intense kiss. When she finally let go, they were both panting. She ran her thumb across his bottom lip. "I'm exactly where I want to be. Please don't doubt that."
Logan brushed her hair back from her face. "Drunk and sitting in my lap?" he asked, trying for humor.
Veronica scowled at him. "Tipsy," she corrected. "And yes, sitting in your lap." She dropped her head back to his chest. "Now be a good boyfriend and let me tell you about my crappy day. And don't," she poked him hard, "don't even think about beating him up."
Logan kissed the top of her head as he fought back a smile. When he thought about his past relationship with Veronica - and through the years, he'd thought about it a lot - this was one of the things he'd wished they'd been able to do. Veronica willingly talking to him about the things that bothered her, while he offered her comfort. He lightly ran his hands up and down her back. "How was your day, dear?"
"My day was shit," she answered. Veronica proceeded to tell him all about Piz' visit, from the moment he'd woken her to when she'd finally kicked him out of the house. Logan laughed almost to the point of tears when she told him what she'd said to Piz about fucking him, and he'd growled when she'd mentioned a few of the pointed barbs Piz had thrown at her, but other than that, he stayed quiet. "And then Mac came over and we got drunk," she finished.
Logan had kept his hands moving on her back during the entire story. But now that she was done, he planted his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away just enough so he could look her in the eyes. "You are nothing like your mother. You know that, don't you?"
Veronica eyes shifted away for a second, but she did nod. "It bothered me for a minute or two, but Mac set me straight."
"Good." Logan kissed her and then brought her back to his chest.
"But," Veronica said as she snuggled against him again. "I could have been. If you hadn't called, if I'd stayed in New York. I wasn't happy, but I was content. If he'd asked me to marry him six months from now, I might have... I could have..."
"Never would have happened," Logan assured her. Veronica buried her head, but Logan wasn't going to let her torture herself. "Veronica, it never would have happened. I wouldn't have let it happen."
She snorted. "Right. From the middle of the ocean. Exactly how would you have stopped it? Not to mention, we hadn't talked in nine years. It's sweet of you to say, but -"
"No," Logan cut her off. "Nine years, ninety years, in the middle of the ocean, on the surface of the moon, it wouldn't have mattered. I would have come for you."
She sat up just enough so she could meet his eyes. "But Carrie...?"
Logan cupped the side of her face. "Nothing and no one would have kept me away from you." He felt guilty for saying it, but he knew it was the truth. "You've always been there, bobcat, in the back of my mind. I could never let go, not completely. Over the years, I've fantasized about a thousand different ways we'd meet again. So trust me, if I heard you were getting married, I would have barged back into your life. There isn't a scenario you can come up with where I would have given up on you without a fight."
Tears leaked out the corners of her eyes. "I gave up," she admitted quietly. "I ran away and gave up on you."
Logan gently brushed the tears away. When he'd said 'bygones', he'd meant it, but she needed to know that he understood why she'd cut him out of her life all those years ago. "I loved you, but I wasn't good for you. So many horrible things happened to us, and we never really dealt with them. You needed to leave in order to heal. And I needed to get my shit together and grow-up. I hate that it took us nine years to get here, but we are here now, and that's what's important."
Veronica opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. "The two of you better not be naked in there," came Mac's agitated voice.
Veronica bit her bottom lip and giggled. "Come on in. We're decent."
Mac opened the door, her hand covering her eyes. She slid her fingers open just enough to peak. Then she dropped her hand completely. "Well, one of you is decent anyway," she said pointedly.
It was then that Veronica realized Logan hadn't gotten dressed. He only had on his boxers. She scrambled off the bed, simultaneously dragging a pillow onto his lap in the process. Then she grabbed Mac's arm, turning her around and pushing her back out the door. "No ogling my man candy, MacKenzie."
"But he's so pretty," Mac whined.
Logan's laughter followed the women down the hall.