WARNING: Discussion of a semi-major character death. The fact that some of you will be thrilled by it is probably immaterial. It still might be a shock although, if you look at the epilogue, it is consistent with what you saw there. It was hiding in plain sight. There is also some action that suggests the beginnings of redemption of another character who we all love to hate. That may not be as thrilling but I think it works in this universe.

FF wasn't sending email notifications last week so if you missed last Saturday's chapter, I suggest you pop back when you're done here and read 'Colby'. Reading order won't matter for these two chapters—they are completely unrelated as far as content, except for the fact that Logan and Veronica are in both.

October 19. 2019

Veronica pushed the empty stroller slowly, trying to avoid bumping into the kids in front of her while still looking at the artwork all around them. Lilly's art teacher was giving extra credit to students who visited the San Diego Museum of Art and, although extra credit was the last thing shining student Lilly needed, she'd begged to go. With both parents dubious about the younger children's interest in an art museum, the original plan had only involved Logan and Lilly but as soon as Robin heard about the trip, she wanted to go too, and, whatever Robin wanted to do, Reenie wanted also. In the end, the whole family had decided to take a weekend trip to San Diego, museum on Saturday and zoo on Sunday.

Logan and Reenie had gotten sidetracked at a sculpture display but Lilly was interested in the Youth in Art exhibit and she was heading there with determination. Or, at least, with as much determination as a thirteen year old girl hauling a toddler and a six year old could manage. They'd dragged the stroller in so there was a spot for Danny or Reenie to crash if the museum got too tiring but so far, Veronica had only been pushing the diaper bag. Danny was between Lilly and Robin, clutching both their hands, occasionally sagging off his feet to try to get the girls to swing him between them.

"Danny, stop," Lilly said sharply, "we can't swing you. Robin's not big enough. Either walk like a big boy or you'll have to ride in the stroller." It was apparent that Lilly's patience was growing thin. She'd been trying to get the family to hurry up since her alarm clock had gone off that morning but, as usual, getting all six of them out the door had been a challenge. It had actually been more difficult than most school days because usually there was only Veronica, Lilly, and Robin in a rush. If Logan had to go in the office, getting ready was a more leisurely affair and Reenie and Danny would just go with him to the Port Sûr daycare center. This morning, everyone was trying to get ready at once and, on top of that, the resulting extra excitement had both Toot and Pony running wild, further slowing the process.

Danny looked up at Lilly with a trembling lower lip and Lilly huffed while Veronica snickered. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not mad at you. I just need you to walk like a big boy so I can have plenty of time in the kids' exhibit. Okay?" She tugged on his hand and walked faster, essentially dragging Danny and Robin behind her. Veronica continued to push the stroller behind them, smiling at the sight.

Lilly had been in their lives deeply enough before Duncan's accident that when she had officially come under the guardianship of Logan and Veronica six months earlier, Robin hadn't seemed to mind relinquishing her role as oldest sister to Lilly. She'd always seemed to view Lilly as her big sister anyway so the only change had really been that Lilly and Toot lived with them full time instead of just the regular visits that had been occurring since long before Robin was born. With several months past, Veronica was pretty sure Danny didn't remember a time when he hadn't had three older sisters to follow around and she also thought that Reenie's recollections of a time when Lilly lived elsewhere were pretty few and far between.

Robin had been another story. She was old enough to remember a time when Lilly visited, rather than lived with them, and although she'd always viewed Lilly's role as her god-sister to be virtually the same as her actual sister, the fact that Lilly used to have a daddy and now did not had been nearly as traumatic for her as it had been for Lilly. Robin had begun having nightmares that would only abate when she'd crawl into Logan and Veronica's bed in the middle of the night and, for a few weeks, Logan leaving the house without her was cause for a flood of tears. It had been a very difficult time as they dealt with Lilly's grief and Robin's fear, combined with Logan and Veronica's own feelings over the loss of their childhood friend. Complicating matters was a flurry of legal wrangling that began when Celeste learned that Duncan had named the Echolls as Lilly's legal guardians. Luckily, that had been resolved quickly. Despite the circumstances, Veronica and Logan had known that they couldn't help their daughter with promises that a day would never come when Daddy or Mom or anyone else she loved wouldn't come home again. They'd both learned that reality the hard way sixteen years earlier and they couldn't bring themselves to lie to her, no matter how much easier it would have made all their lives right then. All they could do was love and reassure her. They tried to explain in terms that a six year old could understand about Duncan's unusual medical condition and the role it had played in the car accident that took his life but there was only so much that could be said without risking more confusion and fear. Veronica had never been as happy with Logan's career choice or their easy access to counselors through Port Sûr as she'd been when they were trying to help the girls adapt and now, after several months, both Robin and Lilly had been gradually adjusting to the changes in their lives.

"This is it!" Lilly said, an excited grin breaking across her face as she stopped in front of the gallery she'd been seeking. A large banner across the door announced, 'Youth in Art 2019'. Lilly looked down at Danny, and then at Robin. "Remember, no touching. You remember, right?" They both looked up at her with wide, serious eyes, nodding. "Okay, good, come on then."

"Me too," Veronica called from behind them. "No touching. I promise."

"Oh, Aunt Veronica, I know you know." Lilly's face was both amused and disapproving. "You and Uncle Logan are goofs."

"We're entertaining," Veronica corrected and jerked her chin at the gallery door. "Come on, let's see if the youth of San Diego are as creative as the youth of Neptune." Lilly rolled her eyes and headed into the gallery, her young charges in tow.

"There they are!" Reenie had clasped her arms around Logan's neck as he piggy-backed her through the museum to the gallery where he knew the rest of the family had been heading, but now, as she pointed eagerly at her quarry with one hand, she dug the fingers of her other hand into his neck to keep her grip.

"Hey, take it easy on your old horse," Logan said with a grimace. "You're gonna poke a hole in me."

He headed for the far wall of the display where he could see Veronica leaning her elbow on the handle of the stroller, her chin resting on her fist as she looked at a large painting. Danny was sitting on the floor next to her, while Robin and Lilly stood together, also looking at the painting. He stopped immediately behind her as Reenie called out, "whoa, horsey!", and whinnied in Veronica's ear, then bent to kiss the top of her head. Veronica jumped involuntarily at the sound, then looked back at them with a smile.

"It's about time that you two showed up. We were starting to wonder if you'd gotten kicked out of here. If you've been galloping around playing horse, I'm kinda surprised you haven't."

"No galloping, Mama," Reenie said seriously. "Horsies have to walk in museums. It's the law." Logan laughed as she parroted one of the 'Horse Rules' he'd made up earlier. "Down please," Reenie said with a kiss to the back of his head and he lowered her to the ground. "Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome, Reen." She dropped to the floor next to Danny and Logan pressed up behind Veronica, running his hands down her arms and curling around her to snuggle his face into her neck. "Hi," he murmured in her ear.

She turned her head toward him and kissed his temple. "Hi yourself. Having a good day?"

"Yeah, but it's better now," he answered, then straightened up to look at the art that had them so entranced, resting his chin on the top of her head. "What are we looking at?"

"Lilly knows the artist," Veronica said, "so we're doing 'careful observation'." She said the last two words with deliberation and air quotes and he snickered. Lilly had given them all a lecture on the drive to San Diego about the need for 'careful observation' of works of art and the earnest way that she had repeated those words from her teacher had made them look at each other and struggle not to laugh out loud.

"Ah, okay then. Careful observation it is." He ran his hands along Veronica's arms again, then curled his fingers around hers. "This is by someone you know, Lils?"

"Yeah, we met at the zoo camp I went to last summer. We text sometimes but I haven't seen her...in a while." Her voice trailed off at the end and Logan knew that meant that she hadn't seen her friend since before Duncan died.

"Well, maybe you should text her and you guys can make some plans to get together, if you want." He felt Veronica sigh and lean back into him.

"Okay. I'll send her a text when we get back to the hotel." Lilly smiled at him and his heart ached for her. All he'd wanted to do was keep all these children safe and happy in a way he'd never been growing up, but he couldn't stop the world from touching them like he wanted. This was one thing he could control though; she wasn't going to lose out on this friendship if she wanted to keep it. "Thanks, Uncle Logan."

"Oh sure. The girl's already got art in a museum. Gotta make sure that when she's really famous, we'll be able to say we knew her when." Lilly laughed and shook her head.

"Goofs. Both of you. No denying it."

They'd finally finished exploring the gallery to Lilly's satisfaction. Reenie had crashed in the stroller a while ago and Logan was now piggy-backing Robin but Danny was still on his feet, grasping Lilly's hand as she'd moved them through the exhibit. If she'd stood too long in front of a particular piece, he would sit on the floor next to her but as soon as she moved, he was up and moving with her.

"So is there anything else we want to see?" Lilly asked as she stood in front of a kiosk studying the facility map.

"I think everyone's about art'd out," Veronica said, looking pointedly at Reenie who was twisted sideways in the stroller, mouth open and legs hanging over the side as she snored softly. "Unless there's something else you really want to see, I think we probably should head out."

"I think I'm done," Lilly said and turned toward the front entrance, Danny still in tow, the rest of the family trailing behind her. They were nearly to the exit through the gift shop when a voice called out, "Lilly!"

Veronica glanced behind her and pulled the stroller to a halt, her mouth dropping open slightly. This is a weird coincidence. Celeste Kane was coming up behind them, eyes locked on her granddaughter.

"Grandmother. Wow, this is a surprise. How are you?" Lilly stood awkwardly for a moment before she smiled and moved forward for a quick embrace. "It's great to see you."

"You too." Celeste looked equally awkward and stepped back quickly. Veronica had watched the two interact periodically since Lilly and Duncan returned to Neptune and was always sad for both of them. Celeste seemed to genuinely care about Duncan's daughter but she was always standoffish, just as she'd been with her own daughter. She simply didn't seem to know how to approach her granddaughter.

Through the years, Veronica had been glad that the younger Lilly was with them enough that she'd been able to develop strong, affectionate relationships with Keith and Alicia. She was such a loving child and she lit up when that was reciprocated. Celeste didn't seem able and Veronica had no idea how Lilly was with Jake and Lianne; she still avoided both of them like the plague.

Shockingly, Veronica had realized about six years earlier that she had no more ill will toward Celeste. Once Robin had been born, the bad feelings that she'd held onto about Celeste had disappeared after she considered how Celeste had managed to live through the death of her daughter, and, when Duncan had died, Veronica was almost as devastated for Celeste as she was for Lilly. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like for her children to all be taken from her. Any time the thought went through her head, she was pretty sure she would not be able to survive. That, combined with the fact that Celeste's animosity toward Veronica had been Lianne-induced, made the decision to stop resenting Celeste simple. That choice had ultimately made the legal proceedings regarding Lilly's guardianship easier to handle. There had been a time when Veronica would have wanted to come at Celeste with both barrels when she filed to challenge Duncan's will assigning Logan and Veronica as Lilly's legal guardians but her new attitude and horrified empathy with Celeste's plight kept her from doing so. Veronica had actually gone against the advice of their legal counsel and forced a private meeting with Celeste, where she assured her that they would never keep Lilly away from her, would encourage regular visits to the Napa house, and would do everything they could to keep Duncan's memory fresh for Lilly. They would stay Aunt Veronica and Uncle Logan, with no attempts to become Mom and Dad; there would be no efforts to change Lilly's name from Kane; and they would encourage active recollection of Lilly's life with Duncan. They may not have been particularly close with Duncan at the end but Veronica felt certain that she and Logan would be the best way to keep Duncan a living, breathing, positive memory for Lilly.

Although she had been absolutely committed to what she was suggesting, Veronica had been amazed when Celeste agreed with her terms and dropped her legal action. Watching them now, Veronica felt a wave of relief. Lilly needed their family and their casual intimacy with each other. The cold, proper demeanor that Celeste exuded almost in spite of herself had produced the first Lilly's attention-seeking misbehavior and Duncan's emotional vacancy. He'd managed to break away from that in his time on the run and had been a loving, involved father. To Veronica, that had made it even more important that Lilly live with their family. How could she lose that relationship with Duncan and be left with only this stiff, uncomfortable properness? Lilly was thriving in the chaos of their full house and Veronica would always be grateful that Celeste had been able to let go.

"What are you doing here?" Lilly asked. "You didn't let me know you were coming to town."

"I was only going to be in San Diego for these two days and I didn't think I'd be able to get up to Neptune," Celeste answered in a hesitant voice. "I didn't know what you'd be doing this weekend and I didn't want to inconvenience anyone."

"Aww, come on, Celeste, we live in a house with four kids and two dogs, you know we live to be inconvenienced," Logan broke in with a teasing tone in his voice. "If you're gonna be within an hour or so of us, at least let me or Ronica know. Lilly doesn't get to see you enough. We might not always be able to work out a plan so you guys can get together, but if we can, we will."

A flash of something—confusion? suspicion?—moved across Celeste's face, then was replaced with a smile. "Thank you, Logan. I will remember that next time. I'm still on the Board of Directors for this museum so I come down at least quarterly."

"You're on the Board of Directors here?" Lilly said, excited.

"You mean I didn't have to pay to get everyone in here?" Logan asked at the same time, playful exasperation in his voice.

"Half of this group was free anyway," Veronica interjected. "Stop whining."

"Yeah, Daddy, stop whining," Robin giggled, then gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek.

Celeste smiled nervously at the exuberant group. "Well, I do have a meeting to get back to. I just wanted to say hello." She turned back to Lilly. "It's so lovely to see you, darling. It's obvious that Logan and Veronica are taking excellent care of you." She opened her arms slightly and this time, Lilly came eagerly into her arms, clasping her tightly. Celeste's face was frozen at first, then she smiled and relaxed into her granddaughter's embrace.

Veronica could feel herself tearing up at the sight. I didn't use to be this emotional. This is Logan's fault. Then she saw both Celeste and Lilly jerk a little and shift to look down.

Danny was pressed up against their legs, his little arms wrapped around them. This was not surprising behavior from him; he never wanted to be left out of a hug. Lilly was used to it; Celeste was not. She was looking quizzically at the sandy blond head pressed against her knees.

She looked up at Veronica. "This does, I presume, belong to you."

Everyone laughed. "Guilty," Veronica said, starting to move toward them to pry Danny off the Kane matriarch but she stopped in surprise when Celeste bent over and picked the little boy up.

"Hello, young man. What's your name?"

Danny goggled at her for a moment and then smiled broadly. "Danny." He patted her cheek with a pudgy hand. "Who're you?"

Lilly moved closer, putting her hand on Danny's back. "This is my grandma, Celeste."

Danny looked at her, still smiling. "Grandma?" he asked, patting Celeste again. Her eyebrows rose and she blinked in surprise, then her eyes shot to Veronica who shrugged.

"He's already got two other grandmas and neither of them are actual blood relatives either," she said, watching as Celeste registered what that statement meant for Lianne. "So, if you don't mind..." she trailed off, shrugging again. "I'm warning you now though, he inherited his father's puppy dog eyes. Makes him hard to say no to."

"Tell Grandma your other name," Lilly said, now beaming. "You know, the one your daddy and Uncle Dick call you sometimes."

Danny looked at her, his little face scrunched up as he puzzled for a moment, than realization dawned across his face and he looked back at Celeste. "DK!" he said, jerking his thumb toward his chest, clearly excited to know the answer.

Celeste blinked at him, startled again. Veronica knew she would have never used that name for Duncan herself but she had to have heard it repeatedly.

"His name is Daniel Keith," Logan said. "I'll admit, the initial thing didn't dawn on us when we chose that. Dick though, he's the king of nicknames, he picked up on it right away."

Celeste seemed to cuddle Danny closer, something Veronica wouldn't have believed if she hadn't witnessed herself, and put her arm around her granddaughter, pulling her into her side. "Did Duncan know you call him that?" she asked in a rough voice.

"Yeah, he thought it was funny. Kept saying we'd named the kid after him." Logan's smile was sad and Robin, still clinging to his back and always ultra-sensitive to his mood, snuggled her face into the side of his neck. "I kept telling him I hadn't realized it until Dick noticed but he kept insisting it must have been a subconscious decision. I finally stopped arguing with him."

"Pretty funny, don't you think, Grandmother?" Lilly said. She'd wrapped one arm around Celeste's back and was hugging the other around her middle with a hand on Danny's leg.

"Yes," Celeste answered, swallowing hard. Her eyes were shiny with tears Veronica knew she would never see fall.

"We've got reservations for dinner at six," Logan said, glancing at Veronica, "at the Hotel Coronado where we're staying. You probably already have an obligation, but if you can work it out, and you want to join us, send Lilly a text, and we'll get an extra seat. And if you can't this time, maybe we can plan something a little further ahead when you're here next."

Veronica nodded, wanting to assure both Logan and Celeste that she was on board with his spur-of-the-moment invitation. "Just be warned, sometimes dinner with this group gets a little louder than you might be accustomed to."

"Yeah, because some people steal food," Lilly giggled. She tilted her head toward Celeste and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "It's Aunt Veronica."

Veronica gave an offended huff and everyone over the age of five laughed. Celeste gave Lilly a last squeeze and released her, then set Danny down next to her.

"I really do need to get back to my meeting. They're going to think I ran out on them." Celeste smiled at the whole group. "I'll check on my plans for the evening and let you know one way or the other." She paused, then smoothed her hand over Lilly's hair. "I'm so glad we ran into each other." With a final smile, she turned and walked back into the museum.

"Wasn't that a nice surprise!" Lilly said. She leaned down to pick Danny up. "Did you get a new grandma, Danny?" she asked him as she walked into the gift shop.

Robin squirmed off of Logan's back and ran to catch them. "If he gets another Grandma, I get her too."

Veronica turned the stroller toward the gift shop and held her hand out for Logan. "That was unexpected," she said.

He met her partway and moved their joined hands to the handle of the stroller, helping her push. "Yeah, it definitely was. I don't think I've ever met that particular Celeste Kane before."

"Yeah, too bad she had to lose nearly everything before she finally realized that she could afford to bend a little." Veronica leaned into his side. "Maybe she and Lilly will finally be able to have the relationship they both obviously want."

"Let's hope." They made their way carefully through the aisles to where the three awake kids were standing in front of racks loaded with art supplies. "This is super wrong but you do realize that the next time she encounters Lianne, she's probably going to make a point of rubbing it in that the grandson Lianne's never met is calling her grandma."

Veronica snorted. "Yeah, I thought of that too. Oh well. Everyone makes choices and then they have to live with them."

He untangled their fingers and put his arm around her. "But sometimes second chances have to be allowed too." He kissed her head. "I know we're a little past just second chances with your mother but maybe there's a reason that you might want to offer again. Maybe there's not, this is totally your call. But if you can offer family dinner to Celeste Kane, maybe you're ready to try to let your mom in again."

Veronica looked up at him. "I don't know if I'm ready for that."

He nodded. "Your call. You know I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"I do know that. Absolutely. But I think the person I need to talk to about this is my dad."

"Yeah, I think you're right. And now's the time I get to tell you that he is ready and waiting to have that conversation whenever you're ready."

She looked at him indignantly. "You guys talked about this already?"

"Chill out, Sugarpuss, of course we have. He's got enough happiness in his life that even his aggravating ex-wife can't rile him. And he thinks letting her back in, at least a little, might be good for you."

"Isn't that my decision?" she asked, still ready to be angry even though he was cheerfully refusing to cooperate.

"Yep, no one is pushing you to do anything. I'm just giving you something to think about." He kissed the top of her head again. "But maybe you should think about it a little later. Right now, we need to make sure these kids don't try to spend all their inheritance on fancy coloring books."

This 'Dissolutioned Moment' marks seventy weeks in a row posting at least one chapter in the lives of Logan and Veronica (in multiple universes) and it may be the end of my streak. I have nothing else pending in this universe and the next multi-chapter that I'm working on is not complete. I've been reluctant to start posting that one, 'The Casablancas Legacy' without having it done because, like with 'Dissolutioned', I'm afraid of not being able to finish and I hate the idea of getting partway through and then losing the path. Posting 'A Change of Circumstance' while writing the chapters weekly was kinda stressful and I'm on the fence about whether I want to put myself in that position again. Seventy is a nice round number so it appeals to me as a stopping point although I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself if I'm not up after midnight every Saturday morning deleting extra blank lines in AO3. They say twenty-one days makes a habit—seventy weeks kinda does too. So, I'd appreciate your good vibes being sent my way while I try to decide if I'm going to be up in the middle of the night next week or not. If I'm not, then please accept my thanks for being such a receptive audience over the last seventy weeks. This may be more of an addiction than a habit and it's because some of you have been so warm and supportive and that is a hard feeling to replicate out in the real world.