Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Sorry again about the wait. School and work and other fun stuff! Next chapter! Let me know what you think! And now a review for my reviewer!

MyFavoriteThings: I don't know? Will there be tricky stuff? Probably!

Chapter 3

Friday came and Logan was a nervous wreck. Duncan was staring at his best friend as Logan fluttered around the suite. "Dude, you're acting like a girl getting ready for a first date. You've done this with countless girls, man. Relax."

"This isn't some other girl. I don't know, Duncan, she's different." Snorting, he recited under his breath, "Sweet sixteen and never been kissed."

Duncan cocked an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"Nothing, dude. Just…she's different."

"Okay, man, I'll take your word for it. You talked to Veronica lately?"

"So she can accuse me of a new evil?" Logan snarked coldly, before shaking his head. "No, not since you broke up with her. Why?"

"Just curious. You know what you're doing, Logan, right?"

"Just going on a date with a good girl."

"You don't date good girls," Duncan reminded him with a smile.

Logan chuckled, conceding the point, before remarking, "I might just start."

The dryer beeped then and Logan went to pull his button-down shirt out. Shaking it once, he slipped his arms into the sleeves and began to do up the front. The navy blue shirt over the white undershirt went well with his nice dark blue jeans and lace-up ankle boots. "How do I look?" he asked, running his fingers back through his hair.

Duncan shrugged, turning his attention to their Playstation. Logan rolled his eyes, muttering dryly, "Thanks man, you're a real help." Grabbing his brown leather jacket from the linen closet, he grabbed his wallet and keys. Counting the cash he had on hand, he shoved the wallet into his back pocket. "All right, I'll be back at about 10:30."

"That's kinda early for you, isn't it?"

"She and her brother have…plans early tomorrow morning. So I have to have her home early enough that she can get some sleep before they have to leave."

Duncan nodded, watching as Logan shoved his keys into his pocket and headed out the door. "See ya!" he called after his best friend, before the door shut behind him. Leaning back over the couch, he grabbed his phone and called Meg. "He left. He's actually going on a date with this girl."

Meg's voice was thoughtful as she mused, "I was sure he was still in love with Veronica."

"I don't know, Meg. I've never seen him like this. He's going to be home at 10:30."

"It's not quite 7. That's kinda early, for Logan."

"I know! But all he could tell me was that she and her brother had plans tomorrow morning. So he's going to have her home early."

"It sounds like he really likes this one, Duncan." Meg remarked, glancing toward where Veronica sat on the bed beside her. "Get back to me on when he gets home, all right?"

"Sure thing, honey. Take care of yourself."

"I will," she said softly, loving the protective note in his voice. Hanging up the phone, she turned to Veronica. The teen sleuth didn't need her friend to say anything. Tears started to leak down her cheek and she collapsed into sobs. Meg wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her tightly. "Oh, V, I'm so sorry," she soothed, not knowing what else to say.

Logan arrived at the Wyatt place, staring up at the imposing home nervously. Shaking himself hard, he muttered to himself, "God, Echolls, it's just a date. Get a grip."

Climbing out of his SUV, he strode firmly to the front door. He rang the doorbell once and stepped back, his eyes taking in his surroundings. A blond man, younger than Simon but older than Abira, opened the door. He watched Logan for a long moment without saying anything, making Logan sweat a bit under his collar. "Is Abira home?"

"You Logan?" he asked brusquely.

"Yeah," he said, relieved that he'd obviously come to the right house.

"Come on in. I'm Abi's half-brother, Jesse. Abi! Logan's here!"

"I'm coming!" she called from upstairs. "Just have him wait for me in the living room! I'll be right down."

Jesse glanced at Logan apologetically. "Sorry. Women…they couldn't be on time if you paid them."

"I heard that, Jesse Marcus Wyatt!"

Jesse chuckled, "Come on." Leading Logan into the living room, Jesse gestured at another blond across a chess board from Simon. "That's Nick. He and I share the same mother. All four of us have the same dad."

"You're younger than Simon, but older than Abira. But you don't have the same mother as them?"

"Nope. Dad had a mistress for a couple years, our mother. Simon's mom got pregnant with Abi, hoping to tie her husband to her. Dad ran off with our mother when Abi got sick the first time. We got left behind. We haven't seen mom or dad since Nick was about four."

Logan nodded, hearing Abira come skipping lightly down the stairs. She entered the room then, smiling at Logan. "Hey Logan."

"Hey Abi." She was dressed in a flowing, strapless dress of jade green, making her eyes look fiercely blue. She wore a pair of Roman-style lace-up green sandals on her feet, and a tasteful emerald set about her neck and in her ears. Her dark hair was curled over her shoulders, tumbling in reckless waves down her back. Around her neck was a long black scarf that, surprisingly enough, went well with her attire. In her hands she held a cropped denim jacket to wear over her bare shoulders. Looking her up and down slowly, he locked eyes with her and blurted out honestly, "You look very pretty." As soon as the words left his mouth, he had to resist the urge to smack himself in the head. "Smooth, Echolls, real smooth," he scolded himself internally, hoping she didn't think he was a total idiot or something.

Instead of laughing at him as Lilly -or any of the other girls he'd dated- would have done, Abi blushed becomingly, adding a tint of color to otherwise very pale cheeks. "Thank you, Logan."

Simon moved one of his pieces on the chessboard and then stood. Clasping his sister's shoulders gently between his hands, he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Have fun. Don't forget to take your meds in about an hour, okay?"

"I won't," she assured him solemnly, going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Simon turned to Logan, holding out a hand. "Have her home at 10:30 at the latest, all right?"

Logan nodded firmly, shaking the outstretched hand quickly, "I will."

"Good." Turning to his sister, he murmured, "I'll wait up for you, okay?"

"You always do," she reminded him, before she let Logan take her hand and lead her out of the house. Looking up at Logan when the door shut behind them, she asked, "Was that awkward?" Not waiting for a reply, she answered her own question, "That was awkward."

"You go on many dates?"

"No. This is my first ever. I have church activities that I attend at night. He waits up to make sure I get home okay. Just because this is a date and not a church activity, doesn't mean he's not going to wait up."

Logan lifted her carefully into the passenger seat of his truck, waiting for her to pull her legs inside before he shut her door. Rounding the hood, he muttered to himself, "No pressure, Echolls, it's only her very first ever date."

Abira was giggling as Logan climbed into the driver's seat. Starting up the car, he cranked the engine and pulled away from the house. Once they were on their way, he turned to look at her with a smile. "What's so funny?"

Mimicking his tone of voice, she replied, "No pressure, Echolls, it's only her very first ever date."

Logan looked briefly horrified that she had either read his lips or was psychic, before he chuckled. "Not too smooth, huh?" he asked in a self-deprecating manner.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have your moments," she teased, joining him in laughing at himself. "So what are we going to see?"

"I thought we could go see either Rent or Chronicles of Narnia."

Shifting in her seat so she could look at him, she asked, "What do you want to see?"

"I don't mind. I've seen everything probably once."

"What do you recommend?"

"Narnia was actually okay. So was Rent."

"Do you mind if we go see Rent then? I've already seen the Chronicles of Narnia. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but I haven't seen Rent yet."

"All right then, Rent it is," he agreed, pulling into a parking space at the movie theater. "Just so you're aware. Getting out of the movie could get ugly. Someone's bound to tell the paparazzi that I'm here."

"If they show up, I'll just follow your lead, all right?" she inquired, letting him lift her from her seat and set her gently onto the ground. Nodding her thanks, she linked her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"Just ignore them. That's my lead. I never acknowledge them, and they don't get what they want," he explained, using his remote to lock his car before shoving his keys in his jacket pocket.

"Comes with the lifestyle, huh?"

Logan looked down at her with a grin. "Kind of."

"You'll protect me, won't you?" she asked with an impish smile. Logan nodded, drawn by her playful mood into a smile. "All right then, I have nothing to worry about. Come on, before the movie starts and we miss it."

Logan laughed, "As the lady commands."

Nearly two and a half hours later, they left the movie in high spirits. They laughed together like old friends, Abira's hand held lightly in Logan's own. They didn't even notice the flash of the cameras until they left the theater. Logan looked down at her, giving her a small smile, before tightening his grip on her hand and tugging her into his side. Wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders, he guided her tenderly through the crowd. She ducked her head into his chest, her eyes half-closed against the flashbulbs. Logan tugged a black baseball cap from his cargo pocket and placed it on top of her head, pulling the bill low over her eyes. "Better?" he asked quietly, as they finally made it through the crowd of reporters and dashed toward the Xterra.

She nodded silently, letting him lift her into the car again. He rounded the hood and climbed in, cranking the engine and driving away, just as the paparazzi caught up with them. "Thank you for the hat. Bright lights can give me a headache. A symptom of the tumor, I'm afraid."

Logan nodded, glancing at the clock. It was only about 9:30. "You want to get an ice cream sundae or something, before I take you home?"

"Ooh! A blizzard!" she squealed excitedly, getting a quiet chuckle from Logan as he turned the car toward the nearest Dairy Queen.

They ordered a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard to share, sitting together at a two person booth in a corner away from the windows. "So, how was your first date?" Logan asked, taking a bite of the delicious treat.

"Well, I guess it wasn't a total disaster," she teased, squealing as he flicked ice cream at her from across the table. She dodged, flicking ice cream of her own back at him. Flicking ice cream at each other for about another ten minutes, they finally settled down again. She took a bite, answering honestly, "It was good. I had fun. I loved that movie."

"Good. I'm glad you had fun." Keeping a close eye on his watch, they talked for about another ten minutes, before they threw what little remained of their dessert away and headed outside to the SUV again.

They made it back to the Wyatt place at a quarter past 10 o'clock. Logan rounded the hood of the car, opening her door for her and lifting her from the car. Their eyes locked and she slid down the front of him as he lowered her to the ground, her hands resting on his shoulders. "We should…" she whispered, distractedly, getting an absent nod in return.

Logan took her hand, shutting the door before leading her up to the front step. She fished her keys from her purse, before looking up at him. "I had a really good time tonight, Logan. For a first date, it was pretty good." Smiling at him, she teased, "See, now this is the part where you tell me you'll call me tomorrow, but all the while you know you're not going to…" she broke off as Logan leaned down to her height. "Logan?" she breathed, her eyes wide as they looked up into his.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he whispered, before his lips covered hers in a chaste, tender kiss.

Abira gasped in surprise, the kiss over before she'd even registered what was going on. Looking up at him with bright eyes, she watched him watch her reactions. Giving him a tiny smile, she whispered, "Let's try that again, okay?"

He smiled at her, touching his lips to hers again. This time she let her instincts take over, her eyes closing in bliss and her lips moving against his. There was nothing demanding about this kiss, merely a perfect end to a perfect night. They broke apart, both of their hearts racing in their chests. Logan smiled at her, brushing an errant curl back behind her ear. "I will be calling you tomorrow."

She nodded, replying, "I'll be waiting."

"Maybe, if you're good for your brother, I'll stop by the hospital with a present for you."

She blushed, going up on tiptoes to kiss him again, before she slipped into the house. "Good night, Logan."

Logan smiled at her, his eyes truly happy. "Good night, Abi."

She watched him walk back to his car, standing in the doorway until the yellow SUV had disappeared through the gates and out of sight. With a soft, happy giggle, she shut the door and practically skipped to the stairs. "How was your date?" called her brother's familiar voice from the direction of the kitchen.

Shifting direction, she moved toward the sole light on in the house. She found Simon at the table, sorting through various notes and case studies before the next day's testing. Reaching out, she pushed his glasses gently back up his nose. "I had fun."

"Good," he said with a smile, looking up and watching his sister glow. Standing, he turned her toward the stairs. "Go on up to bed. We've got an early morning in store for us. It'll be here sooner than you think."

"Yes, Simon. I love you," she called over her shoulder, before she scampered up the stairs, humming an absent melody all the way into her room.

Simon smiled at her obvious happiness, before he gathered his notes and slipped the file back into his briefcase. Turning off the lights, he sought his own bed. Something on the edge of his mind gnawed at him, though, and he didn't sleep a wink that whole night. There was something he was missing, some connection between Abi and her cancer that he couldn't connect the dots to…