a/n: thanks for all the awesome reviews and story alerts. there seemed to be some question of the timeline of the story. i hope this chapter helps to clear that up.

"Wait! What?"

"I know you aren't hard of hearing Ronnie," Logan laughed out at me.

It's true I heard him but I just couldn't believe that Logan had a child. He was barely past the toddler stage maturity wise. How could he have a kid? I felt a lump forming in my throat and I had trouble forming any syllables let alone words. Logan Echolls is a father? I think I might faint.

"No, I heard you loud and clear. It's just a lot to take in," I said fighting through the nauseating feeling that came over me.

"So can you help me Ronnie?" He said once again throwing out those deep brown puppy dog eyes at me.

"You are going to have to tell me the whole story Logan -the what's, how's, who's. I will let you know what, if anything, I can do for you."

"I'm not sure I am the one you should be talking to if you don't know the how Ronnie," Logan said with his famous smirk, placing his hands behind his head. He balanced his chair on the back two legs and I prayed he would fall hard on his ass but no one was listening to my prayers.

"Har har! But seriously folks, just tell me what I need to know please."

And he did. He told me how he was at Madison Sinclair's fall blowout and met this girl whose family was in town visiting. She was his type – blonde hair and boobs for days. They hooked up that night and a couple of nights later before she left to go back home. She popped back into his life in June and was very much pregnant, dropped the bomb that it was his, and left as quickly as she came. No pun intended.

I sat in shock for a while before formulating the best question I could, "So you cheated on Lilly?" Ugh, why don't you think before you speak Veronica? I knew I said the wrong thing as soon as it came out of my mouth.

"Seriously Veronica out of all I said, you are going to ask if I cheated on Lilly? What if I said yeah? Then what? You won't help me?" Logan pushed himself up out of the chair and started pacing back and forth. "God Veronica step down off your high horse for just a second and look at the real issue here. I need to find my kid!" Yeah he used my real name. I guess I did get under his skin.

"I'm sorry Logan," I said pausing long enough to let my apology sink in. When I saw he wasn't going to run out the door I continued, "Did she want money?" This could be a typical set up from a scorn lover of the son of Hollywood's most elite couple. Maybe she was just looking for her payday and since Logan had a habit of not keeping his little Logan in his pants, it worked in her favor.

"Not exactly. She came to find me at the end of June and Mrs. Navarro let her in the study. Uhhh man, you just can't find good help anywhere nowadays." Of course Logan would deflect a serious situation with his charming, and I use the word loosely - wit. "When I went down to see her she was crying and saying that she was sorry she was doing this to me but she thought I should know I would have a little Echolls running around out there. I asked if she was sure it was mine and she laughed in my face but I had to be sure. She said not to worry because she wasn't there to blackmail me and she wouldn't tell anyone who the real father was - just that if the roles were reversed she would want to know."

"Oh wow Logan." Again words eluded me. "Anything else you should tell me before I consider taking on this case?"

"Before she ran out the door, she gave me this." Logan handed me the blurry ultrasound picture. "She said the baby was a girl and she was due the second week in July. I know that we aren't friends anymore Ronnie and I definitely do not deserve your help after these past months but I am begging you – I have nowhere else to go," he finished softly and for a moment I forgot about all the pain he had caused me since Lilly's death.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the ultrasound picture. "This is...just...it's..."

"Crazy," Logan said finishing my sentence for me.

Smiling I finished, "Yeah you can say that but like I said I will promise to think about it tonight. It won't be easy. There will have to be DNA tests, going to court if you want joint custody of the child, dragging your name through the tabloids. This could take months, if not years to get everything sorted. You have to be sure this is something that you want. Once I start to get emotionally invested into a case, it's very hard for me to just stop. I-I just can't…I can't turn my emotions off like some of us." Yeah, I admit it was a low blow for Logan but it also stood as a reminder that just because I was choosing to help him out didn't mean we would start having slumber parties and braiding each others hair.

"I guess I deserve that but listen Ronnie, you know as well as anyone why this would be important to me. I haven't had the best home life but I would do anything in my power to give this child, my daughter, everything she deserves and make right what my parents made wrong. This child would be my family. I have to know."

My dad had great timing and chose that moment to walk into the office taking note of an agitated Logan. "Oh Logan." My dad hadn't seen Logan since the week after Lilly's funeral when the shit hit the fan. He didn't know much about how Logan and his lackeys treated me but he knew enough. "How are you doing?"

"Umm..great Sheriff," Logan said giving my dad a nod. Dad gave me a slight smile as he went into his office and shut the door.

Logan started to head for the exit, "And for the record Ronnie, I never cheated on Lilly. She had broken up with me the week before, something about greener pastures. I could never hurt Lilly like that." When he was almost completely out the door he turned his head over his shoulder, never making eye contact and added, "It was two weeks before she died."

And I knew he was telling the truth because I was the reason that Lilly and Logan broke up the last time. I was just trying to do my duty as her best friend, went behind Logan's back and told Lilly about his impromptu kiss with Yolanda at a party Lilly just so happened to skip out on. He never really forgave me for that.

The moment Logan gave me his Oscar worthy speech I knew I would take the case. I could tell he was serious about the little girl he had out there. Hell, if I was honest with myself I knew I would take it when he asked me. I guess I was a sucker for that Echolls charm.