A/N: Wow. I was not expecting THAT reaction! lol Seriously, folks, 24 reviews? I was expecting maybe 3 or something. I wasn't sure anybody read Veronica Mars fic anymore and I sure as heck wasn't expecting there to still be MaDi fans around. This is awesome! You're all just wonderful people, thank you, and I really hope my story doesn't disappoint you at all. On we go...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 2

Mac lost track of time sat in the waiting room of Neptune General. They wouldn't let her in to see Dick and because she wasn't family they wouldn't tell her much either. Maybe it should have occurred to her to say she was his sister or cousin just to be kept in the loop, but it hadn't. Nobody would let her anywhere near the guy to tell her a damn thing. It was a relief when Veronica arrived because she was bound to know what to do.

"Mac, I got here as fast as I could," her friend told her as she came rushing in. "How is he?"

"No clue," she shrugged helplessly. "I'm not family."

"And Dick really doesn't have any to speak of," said Veronica thoughtfully.

She regretted saying so the moment she saw Mac wince. Even ten years on, it was tough on her whenever Cassidy got mentioned, even in vague terms. Mac's ex who had also been Dick's brother was long dead, their mother and father out of the picture for even more years. Dick was very much alone in the world, which wouldn't usually conjure much sympathy from Veronica when the guy was living up to his name. Nights like this, she could actually feel bad for him. She knew what it was to be alone in a hospital bed, wondering what happened to you. Fortunately for Veronica, she always knew somebody was coming for her. Her father, Logan, Wallace. She had friends and family enough. Dick only really had Logan, and with the BFF away on manoeuvres, he really was very much alone.

"Okay," said Veronica, looking left and right.

Some of the people at the hospital knew her, but many didn't, especially after her having been away from Neptune so long. If she could just ensure she spoke to some nurse that definitely wouldn't know her story was phony...

"Excuse me?" she said, putting on a tearful expression and injecting a wobble into her voice as she approached a young sympathetic-looking nurse. "Um, I'm looking for Richard Casablancas," she explained. "I'm his little sister, and this is his fiancé," she said, gesturing towards Mac who tried her hardest not to look either stunned nor appalled. "Please, we heard he was badly hurt and we're so worried."

"Oh, don't worry," said the nurse, putting her hand to Veronica's arm. "Um, I mean, he was badly hurt but the doctor says a lot of the injuries were superficial. Come on, you should come be with him," she smiled kindly, leading Veronica and Mac down the hall.

Mac looked upon Veronica with wide incredulous eyes. She shrugged and grinned at her success, not caring what repercussions her lies might have later. It didn't matter. For now, she was getting where she needed to go. The nurse was spilling all the details as they walked, letting Dick's supposed sister and fiancé know that Dick was one of the lucky ones. There had been a lot of blood but nothing major was damaged internally. Dick had a broken arm, two cracked ribs, and a sprained ankle, but those would heal without too much trouble. The knock to the head could prove problematic, but the first twenty four hours were the most important for that. Veronica remembered the drill and nodded along with the nurse's kind words and explanation. She kept up the tearful, grateful act until she and Mac were left alone in Dick's private room and then in an instant she meant business.

"Wow," she said, looking the patient over. "Somebody really did a number on the guy."

"You're not kidding" agreed Mac, taking a look at the chart and notes at the foot of Dick's bed. "I guess it could've been worse."

"Provided the head injury doesn't prove problematic," said Veronica thoughtfully, staring at Dick's two black eyes and the patch of bandage taped to the side of his matted blond hair. "It's no secret I think the dude is an idiot," she said deliberately. "But this? What could he have done to deserve it?"

"No clue," Mac shook her head. "All I could think was a mugging, and the deputy that came around said his wallet and phone were gone, so that's the theory they have too."

Veronica nodded in understanding, and then turned to look at Mac. Something about the look on her face and the tone of her voice suggested she thought there was more to this.

"Talk to me, Mac," she urged her. "You don't think Dick was mugged?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "He could've been. I mean, he's not exactly lacking in funds and he likes to flaunt that, but... I don't know, it's almost too easy. Too simple, y'know?"

Veronica did know and all too well. Things in Neptune were not always as they seemed and certainly the motives for crime in any place could be far from what they appeared on the surface. Sure, Dick could have been mugged for his wallet, flashy phone and expensive watch, but there were other options. She wondered at the amount of damage done for a simple theft of goods.

Dick was almost definitely drunk when the 'mugging' occurred. There would be no need for severe violence. The crack to the head maybe, but somebody had really gone to town here. Veronica could see that Dick was extremely damn lucky to have got away with no other major injuries. She was actually wondering if the doctors were really as good as they should be in the circumstances.

"If there was another motive, we're not going to find out about it until after Dick wakes up," she considered. "He was unconscious when you found him in the alley?"

"Semi-conscious," confirmed Mac, though her eyes seemed glued to Dick's battered form and moreover his bruised face. "Um, he was slurring and stuff. Seemed to recognise me or understand what I was saying at one point but... but he was pretty out of it."

Veronica wasn't sure what to make of how freaked out Mac looked. She put it down to the shock, mostly. Seeing someone you knew, even if you didn't like them much, in this kind of state, it wasn't fun. Even discovering a stranger beat up in the alley could easily have caused some bad reaction in her friend.

"Hey," said Veronica as she approached Mac, putting an arm around her back. "You're okay, right?"

"I'm not the one in the hospital bed, so I think I'm just fine," she said absently, before turning to meet Veronica's eyes. "I'm okay," she promised, forcing a smile. "It's just... It's weird seeing him like this. Dick is annoying and stupid, a user of women, no doubt, but could he really deserve this?"

"I don't know," replied Veronica, shaking her head. "But I think we should find out."

Dick was not feeling good. It had been a long time since the booze hit him this hard. The oblivion that came with alcohol, not to mention his 'medicinal herbs', was always welcome when he needed to forget, and he had gotten used to the hangovers and such that came after. This was different. This felt as if he had been run over by a truck.

His eyes didn't want to open. Dick was trying to prise his lids up but nothing was happening. There was a throbbing in his side, and in his other side, his arm, his foot, and his head. It really wasn't good, that was all Dick knew for sure.

Then there was a voice. It was far off at first and then a little nearer. Female, which made him want to smile, and yet even that felt painful somehow. He had a feeling he might have got lucky, and yet everything after the bar was very hazy, way more fuzzy than it should be after one good night out.

"Dick? Can you hear me?" she asked insistently.

The fog grew thinner and the voice had an owner that he could picture in his minds eye. It took too long to get as far as her name, and when he did find it buried deep in his memory, Dick was surprised.

"Mac?" he tried.

"I'm right here," she told him, her hand laid gently on his uninjured arm.

"In my bedroom?" he checked.

At last Dick pushed his eyes open enough to look. Turning his head very slightly to one side he caught a sight of her, bright blue eyes and the shorter dyed-blonde hairdo she had recently acquired. He was so confused right now, and everything hurt so bad.

"You're in the hospital, Dick," said Mac gently, slowly so he couldn't fail to understand. "You're going to be okay, but you have some injuries..."

Dick frowned and then wished he hadn't as his head ached terribly. His eyes were sore, like so many other parts of his body right now. He was in the hospital, but he couldn't think what occurred to put him here like this.

"What happened?" he asked, hoping an explanation would be forthcoming.

Mac looked uncomfortable when he looked at her then.

"Um, we're not sure" she explained. "I found you in the alley behind the 09er. You were in a pretty bad way, not so much conscious. I called an ambulance and got you here."

"You don't like me," he noted, at which Mac couldn't help but smile.

"We haven't always gotten along, Dick, but I don't despise you enough to leave you in an alley to die."

Dick might have been grateful for the sentiment if he could concentrate on the words. He just felt so out of it, and not in the good way. His eyes only focused for a few seconds at a time before things went fuzzy again. Breathing too deeply made a pain shoot down his left side, and every tiny movement of his limbs seemed to make him wince. Whatever had happened to him after the club, it was not good. Somebody wanted him to go down and stay there. They'd done a pretty good job on that too if he had landed up in the hospital feeling this crappy. For Cindy Mackenzie to feel bad for him, it had to be serious.

"Dick?" she prompted when he said no more, his eyes falling closed in a second. "Hey, Dick!" she tried again, but to no avail.

Mac huffed out a sigh at the realisation he was sleeping again and sat back in the uncomfortable chair to wait some more. A check of her phone showed it was now almost five in the morning. She really should have gone home and slept, but quite honestly, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Leaving Dick alone here seemed so cold. He didn't even know what had happened to him and a nurse would never give him the full story. Besides, if Veronica was going to look into this as a case to investigate, they would need all the information Dick could give them just as soon as he was conscious. No such luck with that so far.

Flipping to text mode, Mac fired off a message to Veronica.

- Dick woke up but not for long. He's confused.

- Normal sitch for Dick.

- This could be serious, V.

- I know, I'm sorry. You should go home, get some sleep.

- I'm fine. Good luck at the crime scene.

- I'll let you know if I find anything.

The conversation ended there, chiefly because there was nothing else to say. Veronica had to wait for daylight to properly check out the alley where Dick was found, mostly because it would be safer that way, partly so she could actually see anything at all. There was no use trying to convince Mac to leave the hospital if her mind was made up and Veronica knew it. Mac was glad of that because she really didn't want a fight.

If anybody asked, Mac couldn't really explain why she had a terrible need to stay here, beyond the obvious. Dick was alone in the world, but she didn't exactly owe him anything. He had never been all that nice to her, and especially cruel in fact when she dated his brother. As much as Mac could stay here to glean evidence for the case, that could easily be gotten later. The hospital were set to call Veronica if there was any news since she went ahead and told an unsuspecting nurse that she was Dick's younger sister. Still, Mac remained in her seat.

"Pretty crazy sitch, right, dude?" she said to Dick's unconscious form, a vague smile playing at her lips.

He seemed different in this state, a lot smaller and weirdly fragile in the hospital bed with bandages covering various wounds and the strange lighting making him appear sickly and pale despite his permanent state of tan. Mac dreaded to think how pale she must look by comparison. Probably practically invisible against the off-white walls.

Leaning back in her seat, Mac continued debating whether to go home or stay. She was half way through a decent pro-con list in her head when her eyes fell very definitely shut and she was asleep.

To Be Continued...