Dick pulled the Hummer through the crowd of photographers with ease. Now Veronica could see why they took the monstrosity. What it lacked it character, it made up for in intimidation. And the throngs of paparazzi that lined the police perimeter near the beach needed some intimidation to drop their cameras and get out of the way.

Dick maneuvered past the officers and pulled his ID out of one of the cup holders. A man with a clipboard and a safety vest held up his hand for the vehicle to stop. Dick rolled down his window and showed his I.D. "Richard Casablancas and Veronica Mars."

The tall, thin man gestured to Veronica. "I need your I.D. too."

Veronica frowned and dug in her purse. She flashed it at him, not taking it out of her wallet. He nodded and make something down. "Thank you. Proceed to the parking area. The ceremony will take place in approximately 20 minutes. No photography or video recordings please."

Veronica looked back. The paparazzi, while kept at bay, still had an excellent view of the site with their telephoto lenses.

Dick nodded and rolled up his window. "Yeah. We can't take pictures. We may catch Carrie at a bad angle. Leave it to the professionals."

"I am getting the distinct impression you don't like Carrie."

Dick pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. "You know, she was an okay girl, and then Susan died and she just kind of went loopy."

Veronica was shocked. "What? Susan died? When did this happen?"

"The year after you left for Stanford. Logan was deep into his 'whoa is me, Ronnie left me' period."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Anyway, I went out to party with Carrie, Gia, Susan, Luke, and Cobb on this boat, since Logan was hiding in his room again. So we all get fucked up on this stuff Cobb brought and I pass out. Next morning, I wake up and all hell is breaking lose. They can't find Susan. I guess she got messed up and kept crying about the baby she lost, and the man that she thought would love her."

"Wait? What happened to the baby? She left town while she was pregnant and I never heard about it."

"Stillborn. Completely fucked up situation. She had convinced her parents to let her keep it too. That's when she really started getting into the hard drugs. So the police, they figure that she was so upset that night that when we all went to sleep, she jumped out of the boat and killed herself."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah. Carrie was never the same. I think that's why Carrie and Logan bonded when they ran into each other overseas; two fucked up people trying to make sense of the world. Except Logan was getting his act together and she was still fucking up her life."

"How?"

"Drugs. She was sober when Logan originally got together with her, and when he was in town, but if she was on the road or he was, she was usually using something. "

Veronica was quiet. "Do you think the $50,000 was to pay off someone for Carrie?"

"Possibly. But why wouldn't Carrie use her own money? She was loaded from her albums."

Veronica sighed. People were starting to gather in the chairs near the podium that was set up near the water. "We should go."

Dick took a deep breath and exited the vehicle. Veronica slipped out of the car, straightened her long deep-blue dress, and adjusted her flowered shawl. Dick came around and put a hand on her shoulder. "You ready?"

"Fuck no."

"Me neither."

The two walked close together, trying to make a beeline for the chairs. Unfortunately, their path was stopped by someone.

"Oh. My. God. Dick asked to have you put on the list but I didn't believe you would actually come."

"Hey...Gia..."

The tall, skinny woman was in a plunging black dress with rhinestones around the edges. "I can't believe you're here. After all you put Logan...and Carrie...through."

"I'm sorry. What was that? What did I do to Carrie?"

"You know perfectly well that you broke Logan's heart so badly that he couldn't get over it. No matter what Carrie did, she was never as 'good' as the great Veronica Mars!"

Veronica's mouth dropped open. She was unable to make a sound.

"She tried and she tried to live up to Logan's expectations and she never could. Not with him calling YOUR name in his sleep."

It was Dick that finally interjected. "Yeah. Logan's high standard of 'don't get fucked up on drugs while I'm gone.' That is all Veronica's fault."

Gia turned on him and hissed. "Oh, like you haven't been hurt by Veronica's daggers too. I believe she was the one who was there when Cassidy died. And her and her dad called my dad a paedophile before he died."

"Ummm, Gia...let's not forget your dad abused Cassidy. And then it was Cassidy that killed him. So I'm not too sure how it's Veronica's fault..." Defended Dick.

"Whatever, Dick. Just keep her away from Carrie. She's already really fragile. I don't want Veronica getting her hooks in her." Gia spat, then turned with a flourish and marched down the beach.

Veronica was shell shocked. "Well, that didn't go very well."

"Pffttt. Gia's a nut job. She and Carrie are, like, BFFs but in a completely co-dependent way. It was actually Gia who organized this with her husband, Luke. Luke is a City Councillor now so Gia thinks she's the First Lady of Neptune."

Veronica looked toward the podium and saw a very official looking officer standing there. She nudged Dick. "I think it's time we sat down."

The two sat near the back of the chairs. There were about 100 seats in total, many of them occupied by Naval officers in full dress whites. The rest were a smattering of people that Veronica did not recognize. Friends of Carrie's? Friends of Logan's? There was so much she still didn't know about Logan's life now.

The man at the podium started to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Fellow officers. Thank you for coming tonight. We gather today to celebrate the life of Lt. Logan Echolls. For those of us who knew him, we gather to share our stories as well as our grief. Together, for one small moment, let us all take comfort in the knowledge that we were a part of Lt. Echolls extraordinary life."

Veronica's chest tightened. Remember...He's still alive...He's sill alive...

'The first person who wanted to speak is Lt. Luis Hernandez, one of Lt. Echolls friends and shipmates on the carrier Harry S. Truman."

The older man stepped back and a Hispanic man, about their age, in full uniform stepped to the mic. The Lieutenant saluted the senior officer and then stood to speak.

"Speaking isn't really my thing. But it sure was 'Mouth's'! Hence his nickname. I remember seeing him in basic training, lip off a training officer. He had to do 100 extra push-ups, in the mud. So he gets up, and tells the officer off again, and had to do 100 more, dipping his face in the mud each time. You'd think he would learn, but nope. Some days, I was astounded how he managed to get to the point where they let him fly. But, man, when he got in the air, that boy was amazing! All focus, no lip. He was one of the best pilots in the Navy. He could out manoeuvre me in a heartbeat, and brag about it after, but you never minded. He could be the biggest jackass, but at the same time, he was one of the nicest guys. Like when my wife had our baby...He gave up his Facetime so I could see her more often when we were overseas. And when Frenchie's mom was sick in L.A. he somehow arranged for a doctor to come and check up on her, even though she didn't have insurance. I could go on for days...and that's jusy the ways he helped that we found out about! We all knew who he was and that he didn't need to be in the military for money, he was there because he loved it, and he wanted to help anyone he could. But that's all I gotta say." He kissed his fingers and pointed to the sky. "Fly high, Mouth." And then left the podium.

Speaker after speaker continued like this. Stories – funny, sad, joyful – filled the next 30 minutes. After the last speaker, there was a pause and Veronica looked at Dick. "Are you going to talk?"

He shook his head. "Carrie knew I wasn't a fan of her's. I wasn't asked to speak."

Veronica reached out and put a comforting hand on Dick's shoulder. He looked stoic. Even though they knew he was alive, this whole production was an obvious show for the cameras behind them.

A low murmur rippled through the crowd. Carrie, guitar in hand, walked in front of the crowd. She was wearing a long, gauzy black dress. Her wavy hair was flying in the evening breeze, showing streaks of purple and blue, combined with jet black. She wore no make up and was barefoot in the sand. Cobb jumped up and put out a folding chair for her to sit on. She took a seat and surveyed the audience. Gia moved the mic into place in front of her. She was silent for a moment, her head down. When she looked up, her eyes were dull and hazy. Her movements seemed stunted and awkward.

She must be on something. Veronica thought.

Just then, Carrie started strumming her guitar. It was beautiful. The melody was low and haunting. The sun started to set in the background. "For you, my beautiful Logan." She said quietly.

The night you left the moon shone bright

Through my bedroom window pane

The sheets still pressed

Where your body once lay

And things were not the same

Two broken people fall in love

What else could we do

But hold on tight

Try to do what's right

Until we were through

And I wished the things that I had said

Didn't hurt you oh so bad

That you needed this new escape

From this life we knew

And left us all so sad

Two broken people fall in love

What else could we do

But hold on tight

Try to do what's right

Until we were through

You took it all that crazy night

And now I have to say goodbye

God, this can't even be real

You have my heart and my mind

Until the day I die

Two broken people fall in love

What else could we do

But hold on tight

Try to do what's right

Until we were through

The final strains of the song hung in the air. And then it started. A low rumble in the sky. It took the civilians a moment to realize what they were hearing. Suddenly, over Carrie's shoulder, across the skyline, Veronica saw them. The military planes, flying in formation. Carrie lowered her head as the charged over the crowd with a crack.

That was when Veronica let go. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She knew Logan was alive, but she cried for the time they had lost. For everything she knew and everything she didn't know about him. Her cry turned to a sob and she felt Dick put his arm around her shoulder. People started to get up to leave but Veronica was frozen.

Then suddenly, from her seat, Carrie looked up to survey the crowd. Her eyes lolling along, in a daze. Until she saw Veronica.

The stricken singer jumped out of her seat and threw down her guitar. She pointed at Veronica. "HER! WHO LET VERONICA MARS IN?! GET HER OUT! GET HER OUT!" She shrieked violently.

Gia, Luke, and Cobb rushed to Carrie. Veronica was on her feet in seconds. She and Dick turned around and fled towards the car. When they reached the parking lot, they realized their exit was being captured on film. "Hold on." Said Dick as he started the car before Veronica had even closed the door.

Dick shot the Hummer into gear and took off down a stretch of sand. The confused police and paparazzi broke free of their mutual comfort zone and stated to move towards the ceremony area. Dick gunned it, jumped the curb, and took off for home.

Veronica was shaking. "I know Logan was sober, but do you have any alcohol at home? My nerves are shot."

Dick laughed. "Logan was the sober one. I have about ten different tequilas and seven different scotches."

Veronica sighed. "That will be a good start."