A/N: Astranti - I don't think Celeste blames Lilly for Duncan's behavior as much as for setting him off by telling him what happened. But in the end, Celeste will blame Lilly for just about anything she can, and Lilly resents her for it. Logan in this story is the guy who becomes Veronica's best friend and turns into something more. alisosia - I didn't even think about the morning after pill. But even if I did I probably wouldn't have used it because of an idea I came up with that's in this chapter. Also, I'm glad you like Veronica's support system! betsal - Thanks so much for your comment! It really means a lot to me. As far as Logan goes, he's going to basically become her best friend. He's the one who's there no matter what.

Chapter 4

A month later

There hadn't ended up being a trial. The evidence the doctor had collected at the hospital had overwhelmingly proved Duncan's guilt. The DA ended up striking a deal with Duncan's lawyers and Duncan had to be institutionalized. The judge had decided that Duncan hadn't been in his right mind when the rape had occurred, but he couldn't get away scott free. He had to stay in the hospital for at least sixth months. After the six months was up he would be released into his parents custody but he had to continue seeing a psychiatrist in addition to making sure he continued to take his medicine for the epilepsy.

While Veronica's dad hated what happened to her, he couldn't really argue with the outcome of the case. Duncan had major psychological issues and a mental institution would be the best place for him. Plus since the DA had struck a deal Veronica hadn't had to testify about what happened. She'd been seeing a psychiatrist to deal with what had happened and he was glad she wouldn't have to rehash that horrible night again in a courtroom full of people. It also kept the case out of the media.

Veronica had stayed at Logan's while the DA dealt with the case. Keith didn't want to take any chances with her safety and Lynn had assured him that they were more than happy to have Veronica stay with them.

Veronica and Logan had spent a lot of time together during her stay. After their talk Veronica had felt more comfortable with him. The awkwardness was gone and Lilly hadn't been by the house much. She'd told Veronica that there was a new man in her life, but hadn't gone into much detail about him. She figured Lilly probably just wanted to stay away from all the drama involved with the case, and she couldn't really blame her.

Duncan had been be admitted to the Neptune Behavioral Hospital and things were starting to get back to normal. Or as normal as things were going to be from now on.

Veronica was going over to Logan's to go swimming. He'd also invited Lilly and surprisingly she'd agreed to come over. She was finally ready to reveal who she'd been dating and they were meeting at Logan's.

Veronica had gotten there before Lilly and her newest fling. Logan was outside lounging by the pool when Veronica got there. She went in the pool house to change into her bathing suit.

The first time she'd gone swimming with Logan after the rape she'd been hesitant to take off her coverup. She knew he'd seen the bruises and they were mostly healed but she'd still been self-conscious about her body. Logan had to assure her that she was still desirable. After that day their relationship had changed. Veronica wasn't sure what was happening but the way Logan was flirting it seemed like Lilly had been right about him having feelings for her.

Logan was floating on a raft in the middle of the pool when Veronica came out of the pool house. He had turned the stereo on and must've zoned out since he didn't look up when she came out. She walked over and put her bag next to one of the lounge chair before grabbing the sunscreen Logan had put on his chair.

She'd rubbed lotion everywhere she could reach, but needed Logan to help cover her back. She was pale and if she didn't lather up she'd end up red as a lobster.

"Logan," she said to get his attention.

As soon as he heard her he moved off the raft and headed towards the stairs.

"Will you do my back?" she asked holding out the tube of sunscreen.

"Ronnie," Logan said, a smile on his face, "I didn't know you liked it like that."

"You're such a pervert," she said handing him the lotion and turning around so her back was to him.

She moved her hair out of the way and Logan started rubbing the lotion all over her. His hands felt so good on her that she nearly moaned. She was startled when she felt his hands slip under the back of her bikini top.

"You did want your whole back covered, right?" he asked in a seductive tone.

Veronica shivered when he said that, but managed to nod her head yes. Logan was being bold and Veronica wondered what he'd do next.

"It's my turn," Logan said, moving around to stand in front of her.

Logan handed her the tube of sunscreen and turned around. She squeezed some lotion in her hand and tentatively reached up to touch his back. He'd made her feel tingly inside but she wasn't sure she'd be able to return the favor.

She started at his shoulders and worked her way down. When she got to the edge of his board shorts she slowly slid one hand inside and moved it across the expanse of his back.

"Oh God Veronica," she heard him moan out.

Seconds later he had turned around and pulled her in for a kiss.

"It's about time you two finally gave in to your feelings," Lilly said startling them.

"Way to kill the mood Lil," Logan said after he and Veronica separated.

Veronica blushed. She couldn't believe Lilly had caught them kissing, although she shouldn't be embarrassed about it.

"Where's the new boy?" Logan asked moving to stand behind Veronica. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.

"He'll be out in a minute," she told them.

Just then the heard the back door of the house open. Seconds later Casey Gant was heading their way.

"Hi Case," Logan said as he headed to join the group.

Veronica smiled at him. She was happy Lilly had been dating Casey. He'd been kind of a jerk when he dated Darcy but Veronica had a feeling dating Lilly probably changed him. Lilly's personality wouldn't allow for Casey to act the way he had. She'd put him in his place.

"Hey," Casey said as he moved towards them.

"I guess you and Darcy are really through," Veronica said.

"Yeah," Casey said, "we were fighting a lot, over stupid things. We decided it was best for us to go our separate ways."

"Well as much fun as it is standing around talking," Logan said, "I'm ready to get back in the pool."

"We'll be in soon," Lilly said, "we need to put sunscreen on first."

"See you in there," Logan said. He unwrapped his arms from Veronica and moved to lift her into his arms.

"Logan, put me down," Veronica said. "Don't you dare throw me in the pool!"

Logan ignored her and headed towards the edge.

"Logan!" Veronica exclaimed.

Her cries fell on deaf hears. Moments later Logan jumped into the pool with Veronica in his arms.

As soon as Veronica hit the water she tried to swim away from Logan but he grabbed her around the waist to keep her close to him.

Casey and Lilly had finished lathering themselves up and jumped in to join Logan and Veronica, who were still splashing around.

Lilly attacked Logan so Veronica could get away from him, but Logan retaliated by grabbing her. Lilly struggled to get free from him.

"A little help would be nice Case," Lilly said, fighting against Logan.

"You wanna go by Casey?" Logan asked. He didn't wait for a response. He lifted her slightly out of the water and threw her in Casey's direction.

Casey reached out for her to keep her from going under. To say Lilly was unhappy was an understatement.

"I'm so gonna get you back for that Echolls," Lilly said, anger evident in her voice.

Veronica had snuck up behind Logan. She pushed his legs out from underneath him and grabbed his shoulders to push him under the water.

They had fun splashing around in the water but the girls decided it was time for them to get out and dry off. They laid down on the lounge chairs and relaxed while the guys stayed in the pool.

They had only been laying out for a few minutes when Veronica got up.

"Logan," she said to get his attention, "where can I find some Advil?"

"There should be some in the cabinet to the right of the sink in the bathroom in the pool house," he told her.

She was gone for longer than Lilly knew it would take to get some Advil.

"I'm gonna go check on Veronica," she said getting up from her lounge chair, "you two need anything while I'm up?"

"Yeah," Logan said, "why don't you grab a few bottles of water from the fridge."

Lilly nodded and then turned to head to the pool house.

"Veronica?" Lilly called out as she made her way to the bathroom.

She didn't get a response but when she got closer to the door she could hear Veronica moaning and crying. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was in pain. Lilly opened the door to the bathroom and found Veronica curled up in a ball on the floor clutching her stomach.

"Veronica what's wrong?" Lilly asked, moving to kneel down in front of her.

"I thought it was cramps," Veronica managed to get out through her tears, "but it hurts so much more now. And I started bleeding."

Lilly saw the towel Veronica was sitting on. It was covered in blood.

"I'm going to get Logan," Lilly said, moving to stand back up, "we need to get you to the hospital."

Veronica didn't say anything, just nodded.

Lilly raced out of the pool house. "Get out of the pool now!" Lilly yelled as soon as she got outside.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked as he and Casey headed towards the stairs.

"We need to get Veronica to the hospital," she told them. "Go dry off and meet me in the bathroom."

Lilly turned back around and went to be with Veronica while they waited for the guys.

"You're gonna be ok," Lilly assured her, moving to push her hair behind her ear. "Logan's gonna come pick you up and carry you out to Casey's car and we're gonna take you to the hospital."

"I'm scared," Veronica said.

"Oh my God," Logan said when he reached the door to the bathroom.

"Carry her out to Casey's car," Lilly said standing up again, "Veronica where's your purse?"

"Logan's room," she told her.

"I'll go get it and meet you out front," she said, rushing out of the bathroom.

Casey was waiting in the living room for everyone.

"Help Logan get Veronica to your car please," Lilly said leaning up to kiss him, "I'll meet you out there."

She went and grabbed her bag before racing into the house to get Veronica's purse.

Logan's mom had been sitting in the living room when she heard the back door open and slam shut. She got up to see what was going on and saw Lilly racing up the stairs. A minute later the door opened again and Lynn saw Logan carrying Veronica, who was still crying into the house.

"What wrong?" Lynn asked.

"I don't know," Logan told her, "but we're taking her to the hospital. Can you call her dad and let him know please?"

"Sure sweetie," Lynn said, "I'll meet you all at the hospital."

Lilly came racing down the stairs just as Logan carried Veronica out the front door. Lynn had opened the gate so they could get out fast. She watched them get in Casey's SUV and peel out of the driveway. She got in her car and made her way out behind them, calling Keith as she did.

Keith told her to stay with the kids and that he was sending a police escort. He couldn't leave the station, but he'd meet them at the hospital as soon as possible.

They made it to the hospital in record time once the deputies Keith sent caught up with them. Logan and Lilly rushed in with Veronica while Lynn and Casey went to park.

Logan told the nurse at the admitting desk that Veronica had lost a lot of blood. She had another nurse escort Logan into an exam room while Lilly stayed and waited for Veronica's insurance information to be put into the computer.

Veronica was pale when Logan laid her down on the hospital bed. The nurse that had led him in there was gathering the things she needed to start Veronica on an IV. Logan stayed out of her way while she did that, but moved back next to the bed to hold Veronica's hand once she was done.

"I'll be right back," the nurse said, "I need to go get her paperwork."

The nurse left and Logan moved to sit down beside the bed. He moved his hand up to stroke Veronica's face. "I hate seeing you in so much pain baby," Logan said, using a term of endearment for the first time. He didn't know where they stood but he loved her and wanted to be there for her.

When the nurse came back Lilly was with her. "I'm gonna go wait with your mom and Casey," she said to Logan. "Veronica's dad should be here soon. Text me and let me know what's going on with her."

Logan nodded, not able to find his voice to say anything to Lilly, and Lilly turned and walked back out of the room.

"A doctor should be in soon to look at her," the nurse said while writing some information on Veronica's chart.

Sure enough a doctor came in a minute later. The doctor looked at Veronica for a second and then the nurse handed him the chart.

"Veronica, I'm Dr. Morris," the doctor said after looking at her chart. "What brought you here today?"

"I started cramping," she said, "and when I went to the bathroom I saw that I was bleeding. There was so much blood."

She started moaning and clutching her stomach.

"I'm gonna get you some medicine for the pain," he told her, "but first I want to figure out what's going on."

He moved a stool to the end of the bed and pushed a tray with some medical instruments near it.

"Do you want your boyfriend to stay?" he asked.

"I'm not-" Logan started to say, but Veronica cut him off.

"Yes," she moaned out.

"Ok, then," the doctor said, "let's see what's going on. First I'm gonna need you to put on a hospital gown. Nurse Allen will be here if you need help. I'm going to go get another doctor to consult on your case. She's an OB/GYN. I'll be back as soon as I have her paged."

He left a moment later and Veronica moved to sit up on the bed but the pain was too much.

"I'm gonna lay the gown on top of you," the nurse said, "and then have you lay on your side so I can tie it in the back."

"Do you mind if I do it?" Logan asked.

"Veronica is that ok?" the nurse asked before handing the gown to Logan.

"Yes," she managed to get out.

Logan took the gown and laid it on top of her. He helped her get her arms through and then tucked it in on the side she'd be rolling on to. He helped her roll on her side. He reached up and untied her bathing suit top. He slid it from her body and then tied up the back of the gown. When he was done he helped her move back on her back.

She'd only been laying there a few minutes when the two doctors came in.

"Veronica, I'm Dr. Turner," the female doctor said, "Dr. Morris wanted me to come take a look at you."

Veronica just nodded.

"She still has her bathing suit bottom on," Logan told her. He hadn't wanted to pull it off of her. It was one thing to pull off her top, but he wasn't about to try and pull the bottom off.

"Veronica," Dr. Turner said, "I'm gonna need to take them off and then you're going to need to put your feet in the stirrups."

Veronica nodded and Dr. Turner moved to slip her hands under Veronica's hospital gown after she put on a pair of gloves. Seconds later she'd pulled off the blood soaked bottom. She handed it to the nurse who put it in a plastic bag and set it on the counter.

Veronica moved her feet into the stirrups and Dr. Turner moved to sit on a stool at the end of the bed and then moved Veronica's gown up. She moved her hand up and pushed gently on Veronica's stomach causing her to cry out in pain.

"I take it that hurts," Dr. Turner said.

"Yes," Veronica cried out.

"Nurse Allen can you go get an ultrasound machine please," Dr. Turner said.

The nurse left and Dr. Turner moved to stand up.

"Veronica," she said moving to stand next to the bed so Veronica could see her, "is there any chance you're pregnant?"

Logan sat there stunned. And Veronica started crying again after realizing she'd never gone back to have the pregnancy test redone after she'd been released following the rape.

"Yes," Veronica said through her tears.

"It looks like you're having a miscarriage," Dr. Turner told her. "I want to do an ultrasound to be sure, but from the way you're hemorrhaging I'd say that's what's going on."

"Oh my god," Veronica cried out, bringing a hand to her mouth, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Dr. Morris reached for a container and brought it to the bed. Veronica proceeded to lean over and throw up in it.

"Ronnie," Logan said, standing up to move closer to her. He moved her hair back and stroked her face.

She moved to lay on her back when she was done and looked up at Logan. "I can't believe I forgot to have that test redone," she said crying more.

"You need to tell Dr. Turner about what happened," he said quietly to her.

Veronica nodded and then looked over at Dr. Turner.

"I was raped two months ago," she told her, "they did a pregnancy test but it was inconclusive. The doctor told me to come back and have the test redone a week later but I forgot about it."

"I can understand why you forgot about it," the doctor said in a motherly tone.

Just then Nurse Allen opened the door and rolled in the machine.

Dr. Turner moved it next to the bed and set it up.

"Veronica, before I do this I need to ask you something," she said.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"If it turns out that you are pregnant, which I'm pretty sure you are," she said, "if you aren't having a miscarriage, do you want to terminate the pregnancy?"

Veronica didn't know what to say to her. Up until a few minutes ago she didn't even know or think she was pregnant. And now the doctor was asking her if she wanted to have an abortion if she wasn't actually having a miscarriage.

"Can you just do the ultrasound," Veronica said, "if I'm not having a miscarriage I'll worry about that after you're done."

"Ok," Dr. Turner said, "I'm gonna have to move your gown up to get to your stomach."

Nurse Allen brought a blanket over and laid it on Veronica's bottom half. Once it was in place Dr. Turner inched up the hospital gown until she had access to Veronica midsection.

She reached out and grabbed a bottle that was next to the monitor on the machine. "I'm gonna put some gel on your stomach," she told her, "it's going to be really cold."

She squeezed out some gel and then reached over to turn the machine on.

"Are you ready?" she asked Veronica.

Veronica nodded yes and reached out for Logan's hand, gripping it tight once she had it.

The doctor took the wand and started moving it over Veronica's stomach. All of a sudden there was a loud swooshing sound coming from the machine. Dr. Turner moved closer to the machine to get a better look at the monitor.

"It looks like I was partially right," Dr. Turner said, turning to look at Veronica. "It looks like you were pregnant with twins but only one survived. That's what all the blood is from."

Veronica was shocked. She couldn't believe she was pregnant, with Duncan's baby none the less.

"Can you go get Lilly please?" Veronica asked Logan.

"Sure," he said and leaned in to kiss her on her forehead. He moved his mouth next to her ear and whispered, "we're in this together Veronica."

She smiled at him as he moved back from her. He let go of her hand and then left to get Lilly.

A/N: This chapter kind of hit on a comment Astranti about Veronica being lucky that neither Cassidy nor Duncan got her pregnant on the show.