Chapter 2 - Dating LoVe

When Logan comes back with their drinks, he is walking with three other men. After putting down his beer and her water, he introduces her to his old classmates. They are all interested in seeing Logan's wife. Of course she is blonde, hot and to their surprise, very pregnant. After they have settled and they update each other on what they have been doing since graduation, Luke admits, "I guess none of us knew you have been married over a year. We all thought that you got pregnant and then married." He looks over and notices Veronica's frown and backs off stating, "I just meant that you kept the wedding out of the press."

Veronica sweetly asks, "So you didn't think I trapped Logan into marrying me?"

Laughing at his friend's nonplussed look at Veronica's question, Logan interjects easily, "It took me a while to get Veronica to agree to be engaged and then to persuade her to get married. Knocking her up might have speeded up the process." She turns an 'are you for real' look on her husband and the group laughs at how Logan will say anything without a shred of embarrassment. Shrugging at her, he says, "The guys just can't believe that a woman as wonderful as you settled for me."

The men all laugh at Logan's answer and begin to tease him about being tamed and neutered. Sighing at the boy talk, she reaches for her glass and takes a sip of her water. After an hour, their table and the tables around them are filled with people who knew Logan in high school. Veronica, sitting next to Logan listens to stories of situations that happened in high school. Most of their stories involved surfing, concerts trips to LA, trips to Tijuana, and parties; lots and lots of parties. She manages to get away for a few minutes when she goes to the bathroom. Not really wanting to subject herself to listening to more stories about Logan's conquests while he and Lilly were broken up, stories of him and Lilly fighting and hooking up or even worse, stories about the reckless things Lilly and Logan tried, Veronica lingers in the bathroom and strikes up a conversation with a girl who is pregnant. They have a nice talk comparing their pregnancies and their feelings about the whole process. Veronica finds Georgina easy to talk to and interesting. Unable to put off going back to the table where her husband is sitting, Veronica excuses herself and goes to the bar to get she and Logan another drink. As she walks, she notices the looks she is getting. It is more than the regular 'who is she?' looks; they are looking at her because she is married to Logan Echolls. She knew that this was going to be an uncomfortable weekend for her but right now she wishes she could go and sit with Georgia for the rest of the evening.

When she gets back to the table, Logan stands and helps her to sit and quietly says, "I was wondering if I was going to have to look for you." Shaking her head, she merely tells him that their son is kicking her bladder. He gives her a look like he knows she was avoiding coming back to the table but fortunately Duncan and Meg chose that moment to arrive. They were greeted like the King and Queen of the class. Shortly after their arrival, Madison went on the stage and addressed the group. She seemed to like to hear herself talk because she took fifteen minutes to welcome everyone, explain that more of the class was scheduled to arrive the following day and then talk about the activities scheduled during the reunion weekend.

As she listens, Veronica thinks about how everyone talked about the Fab 4. She had already heard a number of stories from Logan about belonging to the Fab 4 and how they were his unofficial family in middle and high school after he moved to Neptune. She understood how a young man with an abusive father and alcoholic mother could find family in his friends. She was glad he did and is happy for him that he is still close to Duncan and Meg.

Logan listens to the group and enjoys hearing what they have been doing since high school and some of the stories from high school. There was much laughter and it is almost like they haven't been apart. Many were asking if Lilly was coming and Veronica noticed they were asking Logan. They were all assuming that she was in contact with Logan. Veronica was surprised when Madison told everyone that Lilly has RSVP'd she would be at the dinner and dance tomorrow mostly because she was not in their graduation class. In addition, Veronica was not thrilled to see that people expected Logan and Lilly to hook up during the reunion if they weren't already hooking up. She is not sure if they think she is too stupid to know or she knows and is OK with it because Logan is rich. Veronica quickly had enough of listening to Logan's group of high school friends. Logan, sensing his volatile wife's annoyance, smoothly got up and assisted Veronica to stand while he told the group that he wanted to show Veronica around the school.

As they walked towards the doors of the gymnasium, Logan politely said hello to the people who said hello to him but Veronica could tell he didn't know who most of them were. She was getting a picture of her husband from high school that made her really sad. Logan hid his real self from most everyone. He hung out with a rich crowd, ignored anyone who wasn't rich and most of the group he hung out with knew Lilly was fooling around on him and said nothing to him.

She feels sad that Logan never had any adult who really cared about him and put his needs first. Veronica learned about victims of abuse in her classes. She is quite sure that many of Aaron's friends had to know about his abuse of Lynn and Logan and did nothing. Many of them were wealthy and powerful enough to have stopped the abuse. Veronica also believes that Aaron Echolls' friends knew he was fooling around on Lynn but said nothing. The only way their support of Aaron stopped was when it went public that he was having sex with underage girls. They couldn't cover that up for him so they had to distance themselves from him.

Consequently she had strongly resisted Jake Kane being invited to their wedding. Logan had been surprised at the extent of Veronica's anger towards Jake Kane. She had been cool but very polite to Duncan and Meg, but she was openly hostile about Jake and Celeste Kane. Logan felt that Jake Kane was a second father to him. He wished he had a father like him and had many fond memories from the time he spent at the Kane home. Veronica, deeply annoyed, told Logan that he needs to learn to expect more from family. Her exact words were, "Jake Kane is not a father figure to you. He is the uncaring asshole who saw your pain the days after a beating and ignored it because being around your father somehow benefitted him." She had not backed down from her refusal to have Jake and Celeste Kane at the wedding. As far as she was concerned, they did not deserve to be at a family celebration and Jake Kane was not going to be allowed to keep up the illusion that he cared about Logan and was part of his family. Logan had been so deeply affected by Veronica anger. She was genuinely upset that no one helped him. She had been insistent that he deserved more and that the adults who knew and did nothing were to blame. Meeting Logan's gaze, she seriously told him, "If he shows up, I will have him thrown out."

Seeing her steely gaze, Logan had not known what to say or feel. He had had never had anyone put him first that way; never had anyone who believed he deserved more and was angry that his friends and the adults in his life didn't stand up for him. He knows that she doesn't see her support as anything other than what should be done for the person you love but what she doesn't understand is that for the first time in his life, he is not alone; he has someone who is there for him.

She listens attentively as he shows her around the school and talks about some of the classes he had and things he did. Looking around she sees that Logan was not involved in any school activities. He wasn't in any clubs, sport teams or any group activities. He showed most of the signs of an abused child; non-involvement, frequent absences and acting out. The teachers and staff of this school must have either been idiots or blinded by the wealth and power of Aaron Echolls.

In tune to her moods, he stops her just before they go back into the gym. Gently he turns her back to the wall once they are alone. Looking down into her beautiful face, he apologizes that the group would talk about he and Lilly with her sitting there. He is hoping she is not upset or hurt by what was said. Frowning up at him she tells him she is not impressed that they would talk about their sexual exploits right in front of her. She adds, "They expect you to hook up with her his weekend and your marriage or my pregnancy would not be a deterrent to you." Before he can decide what to say, she surprises him by waving off whatever he was going to say and continuing indignantly, "Do they even know you at all? You didn't fool around on Lilly so why would they just talk about you like you are the kind of guy who would fool around on his wife?" Shocked, Logan looks at her and sees that she is upset on his behalf. She can't believe that his friends don't know him, don't know the kind of man he is. Veronica continues with her rant, "Lilly humiliated you when you were dating by openly fooling around on you and then she actually had the nerve to compare you and your father on television and in her freaking tell all book. Why would they think you have anything to do with her? You are not a teenager anymore and I don't know why they would assume you still act like you are sixteen."

Leaning closer, he says, "You know I love you so much, don't you?"

Smiling at him, she nods and answers, "I do and I hope you know I love you too."

Nodding he leans in and kisses her letting it deepen a little. Pulling back he looks into the eyes that are so open and loving with him. He tells her, "Most of them grew up with wealthy parents that fooled around on their spouses; it's what they know."

Tilting her head a little she asks, "Does Duncan fool around on Meg?"

Sighing audibly, Logan tells his wife, "Not that I know of but I hear from the guys he does." After a short pause he adds, "I think he doesn't talk about it with me because he knows I will not approve."

Curious, Veronica asks, "If you did know, would you tell Meg?"

Putting his hands on her shoulders, he gently rubs as he answers, "I would want to. Meg is my friend too." Meeting Veronica's interested gaze, he explains, "I honestly don't think she would want to know."

Veronica's eyes widen for a few seconds and then she gently shakes her head. She and Meg are not close mostly because they are so different. Meg likes her world to be perfect and easy; she doesn't like to deal with problems. If she knew her fiancé was fooling around on her, she would probably pretend she didn't know and keep planning the perfect wedding between her and her prince. She will have a huge, puffy dress and wear a tiara when she walks up the aisle. She will be a princess for a day.

Logan puts his forehead to hers and says, "I know you have problems with DK and Meg and their knowledge of my abuse. Trust me, them telling anyone wouldn't have changed anything. I was in the hospital multiple times. My dad was always able to explain away what happened. One of my nannies did report the abuse. She ended up fired and nothing happened to my father." He adds quietly, "There is a different set of standards for the wealthy."

He pauses and she meets his gaze and admits, "I know you felt powerless against him Logan. I understand that he threatened and bought his way out of anytime someone suspected, but there is always a way. I don't understand how they could know and do nothing."

His voice softens as he agrees, "No, you wouldn't understand doing nothing."

Looking up at him, she wryly agrees, "I really do understand that sometimes the justice system doesn't work and although I don't believe in taking the law into my own hands, I have learned that sometimes you have to work creatively to help the situation."

Reaching up, he gently caresses her cheek and mildly says, "I think profiling is a good place for you. You are driven, intuitive and you accept that there is a dark side to everyone. I know there will be a lot of disappointments but each time you take a criminal and put them away from the public, it's a victory." Pausing he adds, "I couldn't stand if anything happened to you so I am selfishly glad that you won't be the agent going after the criminals though." He puts his hand down and rubs her baby bump excited as always to feel their son move.

He has the life he dreamed of but never really thought was possible for a fucked up guy like him. When he was in high school, he imagined he would marry Lilly Kane someday. She would fool around on him, he would fool around on her and they would both probably become alcoholics. He didn't believe anyone could ever love him enough to put him first so he just learned not to expect it; then he wouldn't be disappointed. His father never wanted him, his mother wouldn't or couldn't protect him, his sister doesn't care about anyone but herself and the girl he thought he loved didn't believe he was enough for her. Then he got to know Veronica. She shows him every day that he is important to her in the big ways and in all the little ways that he has grown to really appreciate. The truth is, once he realized what was possible, he embraced his future and started pushing her to get engaged, then married and then start their family. He knows at times, she thinks he is rushing their future but she doesn't understand how profoundly excited he is about each day with her and he doesn't expect her to understand; in fact, he is glad that she can't understand how deeply thrilled he is. Leaning in, he gently kisses her and says, "I know you don't understand this weekend Veronica but I am not here just to reconnect with acquaintances and to see what everyone is doing now. I want to put my past to rest before David Keith is born. I want to drive around the city and see that it is just a city and it doesn't have a hold on me anymore. I want to go to the cemetery and talk to my mother about you. I want her to meet you and David. I want to show her that I got away from the life she couldn't get away from. I want her to know that I am a good husband and that I am going to be a good father to our children." Bending his knees a little to look into her eyes he admits, "I want to show everyone that I am not just the rich jackass who was reckless, selfish and thoughtless. I am more."

Her face softens even more as she reaches her other hand to his face to pull him closer. She says, "Well I am here beside you this weekend, but I have to say that I am not sure most of your acquaintances are smart enough to see that you have changed." He smirks and leans down to kiss her as he wraps one arm around her and the other goes to her baby bump. As always, he is affected by their kiss. It doesn't matter that he has kissed her for over two years and it doesn't matter what type of kiss it is, Logan feels deeply affected. It might sound stupid or overly romantic but Logan knew from their first kiss that Veronica was the woman for him. He has kissed a lot of girls but with Veronica he felt a stirring deep inside that he will probably never be able to explain in words. He calls it his 'emotional arousal'. He has been physically aroused by a lot of kisses with a lot of different girls but he is both physically and emotionally aroused by kissing Veronica.

Madison, Shelley and Meg round the corner and see that Logan and Veronica are kissing in the empty hallway. It is not a little peck or overly passionate; it is a kiss of connection and they are focused on each other. The distinctive clatter of their high heels on the tile floor pulls the couple apart. Logan keeps his hand on her baby bump but does turn slightly to face the women who have stopped in front of them.

In her slightly nasally tone, Madison simpers, "Logan, we were just talking about meeting for breakfast tomorrow. We are thinking of booking a private dining room at the Grande so you could just meet us downstairs."

Immediately shaking his head, he tells the women, "Sorry, Veronica and I have plans." Standing, he takes Veronica's hand and adds tilting his head towards the gym, "We'll see you in there." He and Veronica walk into the noisy gym together. Veronica smirks at Logan's way of letting Madison know she is not important to him. Madison has been very cutting at the table in her criticism of anyone she doesn't feel is worthy and her remarks about Veronica's future career in the FBI riled Logan a little.

Georgina waves to Veronica as they walk across the gym. Returning her wave, Veronica pulls Logan over to say hello. Logan, of course, recognizes the girl waving but doesn't know her name. Veronica introduces Logan to her and the girl introduces Veronica to her husband. The rest of the group at the table looks at them with interest. Logan looks at Wallace with recognition and mentions, "You played basketball didn't you?" Wallace relaxes and easily tells Logan he did play on the team. He introduces everyone at the table to Logan and Veronica. Veronica and Logan sit at two empty chairs and Veronica looks at Logan and adds, "Georgina is due in the end of August and they have already had their hospital tour."

Logan shows a little excitement as he comments, "We are taking our tour next week." Looking at Georgina, he teases, "Please tell Veronica how important music is for the baby. She rolls her eyes at me when I put the headphones around our son."

The group immediately sees Logan's excitement at becoming a father. Veronica shares, "The UPS guy is at our place every day with some other piece of equipment that Logan read is necessary to raise a child." Shaking her head, she adds, "He is out of control."

The group smiles at Veronica's obvious exasperation with Logan's need to get everything the baby might need. Logan defends, "The new mobile stimulates visual acuity and a lot of parents in the on line group recommend the Einstein DVDs." Veronica does roll her eyes and the group is amused at the byplay between the talked about couple.

Veronica looks around the table and says, "So Jordan, what do you do?" The conversation turns general and everyone tells Logan and Veronica where they work. After Mac tells Veronica that she designs software programs, she and Veronica get into a discussion on the programs she has used for her profiling internship with the FBI. Immediately interested and in her element, Mac tells Veronica that the important step for law enforcement is the inputting of data and how it is crucial for finding common denominators in crimes. She talks about how the software is set up to pick up key words but if the person inputting the data doesn't use the key words, the case is not added to the profile. She explains that the newer software gives choices instead of leaving blanks in the entry forms so that more data is able to be compared. Veronica quietly tells Mac, "This sounds like a great paper for my class on technology."

Logan, recognizing that his wife is now going to get deeply involved in shop talk, easily breaks in and rescues the table by stating, "Ronnie, I think that you should get Mac's number and you guys can talk geek stuff another time."

The table amused at Logan's teasing of his wife and Mac, takes the opportunity to talk a little more to the guy who seemed above them while they were in high school. One of the guys starts a conversation about hobbies and asks Logan if he still surfs. Happy to talk about his love of surfing, Logan tells them he still does and asks them about what they do for fun. They quickly get into a discussion about golf. While Logan talks to the rest of the table, Veronica takes Mac's number and is very excited to learn that she actually lives in Silicon Valley. She texts Mac so that Mac has her number and says, "You don't live that far from us." Logan starts to laugh when Veronica tells Mac, "You know you remind me a lot of my best friend."

Mac looks at Logan in question and he doesn't explain, merely saying, "Oh Mac, you should run now while you can."

Veronica lightly slaps his arm but she is smiling as she turns to Mac and says, "Ignore him." Looking at Mac she adds, "You know, we should have lunch soon." Logan smirks but doesn't say anything else.

After a few minutes, Logan stands and tells the group that he will see them tomorrow night. Smiling, Veronica allows Logan to assist her up and tells everyone at the table it was nice to meet them and she goes with Logan over to where the friends he knew in high school are sitting. He smiles at her and comments, "You found a tech person to talk to. Should she be afraid?"

She smirks at him and says, "She probably should." Logan wraps his arm around her waist and tells her that Wallace told him about this guy who developed exercises that help increase the coordination of babies. He says, "I'll have to look up the DVD he told me about."

Frowning, Veronica comments, "It was bad enough when you were looking things up on the internet. Now you are talking to other fathers..."

Logan just laughs and tells her the usual mantra for when she complains, "Preparation is important."

"I know," she answers with a shake of her head.

Sitting back with the group, Veronica prepares herself to listen to more stories about her husband's conquests, his volatile relationship with Lilly Kane and the places they all went on vacations from school. Logan sits next to her and wraps his arm around her, encouraging her to lean into him to relax. While he listens, he absently rubs her back and at times caresses her baby belly.

The group is really surprised at how quiet Logan has become. In high school, he and Lilly Kane were the life of the party whether they were together or not at the time. Now Logan graduated college, started an on line business, was married and expecting his first child in two months. The wild child of two actors seems to have settled down.

Veronica watches Logan interact with some of his classmates. He is really a master at saying nothing. His early history of having his pictures in the press has made him very careful what he says to anyone. He knows that people will sell his picture and story to the press. She thinks of how protective he is of her and her mind goes back to time he protected her from the basketball player who threatened her in the parking lot at UCLA. She had given the pictures she took that night to her clients. They happily paid her and she went on about her life. A couple of weeks later, she had been walking to her car when Derek and a few of his basketball teammates had surrounded her. Angry that his girlfriend had broken up with him, Derek had stepped close to her and grabbed her arm in a very tight grip. As he yelled at her, he squeezed her arm deliberately hurting her. Although Derek was tall and angry, Veronica had been more intimidated by the fact his friends were there to watch and perhaps join in. A gang type situation was very bad news for her.

Just as she had to decide how to deal with the situation, she heard a deadly calm voice, "Let go of her now," and Logan had stepped into the circle and was standing next to her." Derek's basketball buddies stepped in to intervene and Dick Casablancas and his frat brothers walked closer letting it be known that they would defend Logan. She had never been happy to see the Pi Sigs but she guesses there is a first time for everything.

Logan's posture was rigid and his eyes were black. He kept his gaze on Derek and said, "I'm not going to tell you again." Derek was hurting her so Veronica took the initiative and pinched the pressure point on his thumb like her father taught her. He immediately released her and looked at her. Really upset he would try and hurt her, she spat out, "You get off on hitting women don't you; especially pregnant ones? I am not afraid of you."

Without looking at her, Logan said, "Step back Veronica." Veronica was unsure what to do but decided to step out of the way. Logan now stepped in between her and Derek and said, "You will leave Veronica alone."

Focused on Derek and Logan, Veronica did not notice that one of Derek's teammates had walked over and she was startled when he grabbed her from behind. Instinctively, she brought her elbow up hard giving him a shot in his abdomen. She immediately turned, punched him hard in the neck to incapacitate him and it dropped him to the ground clutching his neck. A second player called her a bitch and ran at her. She put up her arms in defense and when he reached for her, she dodged his arm while batting it aside and then she used the heel of her hand to punch him hard in the face. There was a sickening crunch as she broke his nose. Blood immediately began to pour from his nose and he screamed in agony. While he was focused on his face, Veronica turned and swept his legs out from under him and he fell hard onto the cement. She then stomped on his ankle to further incapacitate him while she turned to prepare herself for the next attacker. She looked around and saw the next attacker hesitate. Quickly she pulled out her taser and pointed it at him. He stopped looking at her in shock. Putting up his hands, he backed up and bent down to help his injured friend. Veronica quickly looked around to assess the situation and she noticed Dick, Carl and Chip were each holding back a member of the basketball team and all of the men looking at her in shock. She looked around her to assess if anyone might be thinking of touching her. Those not engaged with a member of the Pi Sigs, quickly backed off seeing her brandishing her taser. Seeing she was safe, she looked over to see that Logan was having no real trouble with Derek even though he was bigger and taller.

The battle was over quickly. Derek and his teammates left after giving the requisite threats and shortly after that, the Pi Sig guys left. The Pi Sigs were not happy about defending Veronica Mars but on the other hand, they would always defend Logan and he was set on protecting the noisy, bitchy PI. Truthfully Dick did not like that a group of guys would gang up on a tiny girl. However, she proved to all of them that she is not helpless. Smirking as he watches the basketball team walk and limp away, Dick thinks that the Hearst team will be playing without three of its players tomorrow night. It will be interesting to see how they spin this to their coach and other teammates.

Alone with Logan and Dick, Veronica felt reaction setting in. She felt shaky and upset. Logan, to her surprise, had not been focused on what his friends said or his own injuries, he had been focused on making sure that she was OK. Logan had gently grasped her arm and saw where it was already bruising. Dick standing next to Logan after his frat brothers left, watched as she had come down from her adrenalin high and she was feeling the pain and the fear was allowed to come in. Looking at Logan and then Dick she said, "Thanks for helping me." She looked over at the parking lot and then back at the two guys and shared, "I guess his girlfriend told him that her parents hired me." Her voice shook a little and she took a deep breath trying to get her emotions under control.

Logan nods at Dick who takes the hint and leaves them alone. Gently wrapping his arm around her, he leads her over to a bench by the parking lot. After they sit, he softly says, "Do you need me to take you to the ER and have your wrist checked?"

She flexes it and says, "I don't think it is broken." Looking at him she sees the mark on his cheek where he took a punch. Although she couldn't focus on his fight when she was dealing with her own issues, she did see Logan take a couple of hard shots to his ribs. "Are you OK?" she asks worriedly. The danger she was in is just beginning to hit her and she starts to shake.

Concerned, Logan instinctively wraps his arms around her holding her close. His concern breaks through her tough outer facade and she leans into him. Putting her face to his broad chest, she allows herself to be comforted. He feels warm and safe. When she wraps her arms around him to hug him back, she feels his instinctive flinch and realizes he is probably hurting. Pulling away, she looks up at him her blue eyes shimmering with water and emotions. Gently he pushes her hair out of her eyes and asks, "What can I do to help you?"

Unable to hide herself from him anymore, she sighs and tells him as she pulls away to stand up, "Come on. There are some frozen bags of vegetables in our future." Logan had given her an admiring look, stood up beside her and walked with her to her dorm. This is a woman who understands physical pain and accepts that it is part of life sometimes.

Looking over at his wife, Logan sees she has tuned out the talk around the table. He leans in and whispers in her ear, "Are you OK Ronnie? Did you need to go upstairs?"

Bringing her attention back to Logan, she looks at him and smiles answering, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about the day you protected me against Derek."

"I didn't realize that you were going to beat up two of his teammates and then sick the FBI on him or I might have helped him, " he teases her quietly.

Amused, she looks at him and shares, "I felt safe with you and I knew then that you were someone I had to get to know."

Touched, he reaches up and caresses the side of her face as he shares, "Here I thought it was my obvious charms that changed your mind." Brushing a tendril of hair away from her face, he adds softly, "Whatever it was that persuaded you to give us a try, I am so grateful for it."

Softening, she agrees, "Best decision I ever made." Leaning in, he kisses her and then puts his forehead to hers. One of the guys takes his attention away but he gently wraps his arm around the back of her chair as he leans away to resume the conversation with some of his high school friends.

Later that night Logan lays in bed holding Veronica relishing the feel of her sleeping in his arms and especially the warmth of her baby belly pressing against him. He thinks about how suspicious and afraid Veronica can be. After he kissed her at the rave, he could see that she was as affected by their kiss as he was but this is girl whose head rules her heart and she was wondering if he had an ulterior motive to asking her out. Logan loves Dick and considers him a brother but at that moment he wished he did not have the association with the Pi Sigs. He could see that he wasn't going to change her mind about dating him, so he watched as she walked away wondering if he lost his chance with her and he felt regret. He couldn't force her to give him a chance; he couldn't force her to get to know him instead of the public facade.

His legendary temper showed itself a couple of weeks later when he was walking across campus and found that Derek Henderson had confronted Veronica as she walked towards the parking lot. He is so much bigger than her and would be scary enough but he brought friends to support him. Without thinking he had quickly walked over and stepped close to Veronica as she faced off with the much taller and very angry man

Something seemed to open between them after he helped to rescue her. Veronica took care of his bruises and the wall she erected between them seemed to be gone while he was there in her dorm room. She had a small fridge and she pulled out a package of frozen fruit and gently placed it over the area on his abdomen that hurt. The quiet of the room seemed to make their conversation more intimate and she quietly thanked him for helping her. He had genuinely worried about her arm insisting she put ice on it and then he was worried about her safety. She shook her head and said, "Logan, I could see that he was really going to hurt me and his buddies were going to watch." Meeting his gaze she told him, "I made my father a promise when I started my PI company that I would call him if a situation got out of hand. I will call Dad tonight and tell him what happened. He will handle it."

Logan had insisted that he walk her to her classes until the situation was resolved and she had agreed because he had given her the sincere look from his beautiful brown eyes. That evening he had taken her out to a casual dinner and he had walked her back to her dorm. The next morning he walked her to breakfast in the cafeteria and then her classes. She was the talk of the campus as the Pi Sigs saw her fight two guys and now Logan Echolls had fought to protect her. The morning after the fight, the campus was interested to see them arrive at breakfast together. Logan had accompanied her until her father called her and told her she was now safe.

Logan initially had not understood why Veronica had been sure that Derek would never bother her again. Her father lived hundreds of miles away and Logan didn't see how he could protect her but he had been wrong. Apparently her father had called his friends in the FBI office in LA and they had been protective of another agent's family. Plus Veronica was working towards her criminology degree and a future with the Bureau made her one of their own. It turned out that a visit to Derek, his coach and the dean of the college from the FBI had ensured that Derek would stay far away from Veronica Mars.

Faced with two days of getting to know Logan while he walked her to and from all her classes and accompanied her where ever she had to go, she had relented her hard stance on not dating him. She agreed to a real date but she was clearly not sure about the idea. Dick had been horrified that Logan wanted to date Veronica. When Logan asked his advice on where to take her, Dick advised him to run; run far away. When Dick calmed down, he didn't have any valuable ideas on how to impress a girl like Veronica Mars either.

Logan had finally decided to take her to a murder mystery dinner theater. When he picked her up at her dorm, he really liked that she did not get overly dressed up. Logan was used to women dressing to impress him. He is a man who knows what women do to get ready and it was clear that Veronica was not a woman who spent a lot of time on her appearance; she was more content to be comfortable and herself. Her hair was pulled back into a simple twist and she wore minimal make up. Veronica looked beautiful in a plain sapphire blue dress with a dark coat and matching dark shoes. Logan wore dress pants and a dress shirt but no tie or jacket. Veronica had been surprised and impressed that Logan selected the community theater for their first date. The dinner was short and since the theatre was small, they didn't have real privacy so there was little opportunity for private discussions. When they did talk to each other, neither strayed off regular topics. Veronica loved the whole murder mystery plot. She listened and watched carefully and was excited when she picked up clues as to who the murderer was. Logan really enjoyed watching Veronica. Her eyes sparkled and her smile was open and happy. He gave her his arm exiting the theater and she happily leaned into him teasing him that he probably wasn't used to local theater. He had enjoyed the production knowing that most of the actors were going for obvious characterizations so the audience could play detective. They had gone out for a drink after to a lounge where they could sit and listen to a jazz band. Again there wasn't much opportunity to talk but the date was effective in that there were no awkward moments and they became more comfortable with each other. The good night kiss had proven to both of them that the chemistry between them was real. Logan had reined his reaction to her in and had been patient. He instinctively knew that she was going to be important to him and he wanted to get to know her and see what they could be. He left her at her dorm, very content that they were going to meet for lunch the next day. His patience had been worth it. Veronica was very busy working her two jobs and keeping her grades up. Logan could not see her often but he was able to find times they could meet for breakfast, lunch or dinner. He found time to accompany her on some stake outs or help her with some of her cases. Logan had quietly and slowly earned her trust and having Veronica Mars trust him was worth everything to him.